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whatisonthemoon · 1 year

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The Rev. Moon, the Unification Church, and the KCIA

The following is excerpted from "The Death Squads: Bringing in the Kingdom of God Through Terror, Torture and Death" (1996) by S.R. Shearer

In addition to the Americans, the Argentineans, the conservative Catholic Church, and various right-wing politicos, business leaders, and the military - with their attendant intelligence apparatus - there was a final component to the deadly mix which constituted the environment in which the Death Squads worked: specifically, the World Anti-Communist League (WACL) of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon. WACL became involved in these operations as a result of its Korean connections - connections which also led back to Phoenix..

WACL is a Moonie front organization with strong ties to the KCIA (a creation of the American CIA); its ultimate allegiance is to the Rev. Sun Myung Moon and the Unification Church.

Moon, of course, is no friend of democracy. He is a theocratic authoritarian who considers himself to be the Son of God and the new Messiah.[22] Moon believes that Jesus failed in His earthly mission to save man through His death on the cross; in addition, Moon claims that Jesus had sex with the women who followed Him.

As early as 1978 newspapers like the Washington Post began to pick up on the connections between Moon (WACL) and the Latin American Death Squads. For instance, one such article which appeared in the Post describing these connections carried the headline: "The Fascist Specter behind the World Anti-Red League."[23] In 1984 these connections were further explored in a series of columns by Jack Anderson.[24] Other publications carried additional articles detailing these connections and the Nazi components which comprised these elements.[25]

ORIGINS OF THE UNIFICATION CHURCH

In the light of all this, it might be fair to ask, what was it in the history of Moon and the Unification Church which would have led to such links between what ostensibly is supposed to be a religious organization and Nazi-oriented, right-wing Death Squads? The tides which produced these strange relationships originated in the very early 1950s in the murky right-wing political, religious and military currents which swept through Korea as a result of the Korean War; specifically in the wrath of Korean President Syngman Rhee and other right-wing elements in the Korean military who were furious at Truman and Eisenhower for not prosecuting the Korean War through to a successful conclusion - by which they meant the re-unification of the Korean Peninsula under President Rhee.

Right-wing elements in the United States were also enraged; many saw in the U.S. "surrender" the outlines of a sinister conspiracy. Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin went so far as to blame the U.S. "surrender in Korea" on the machinations of a White House clique besotted by "bourbon and benzedrine;" in a rage, he actually called the President a "son-of-a-bitch" from the floor of the Senate. Senator William Jenner of Indiana, echoed McCarthy's rage; he too saw the silhouette of an ominous conspiracy; he went on to declare that "... this country today is in the hands of a secret inner coterie which is directed by agents of the Soviet Union." Both groups - right-wing Americans on the one hand, and right-wing Koreans on the other - felt they had been stymied in Korea by a vast, underground intrigue which had seized control of the United States and which was aiming at the destruction of the Free World; they perceived themselves as engaged in an immense struggle against an implacable foe which not only controlled Communist China and the Soviet Union, but powerful, secret elements in the West as well (i.e., the "Illuminist Conspiracy"). This view of things was only strengthened when Rhee was toppled in April of 1960 with Eisenhower's help.

It was this witches' brew of virulent right-wing politics which gave birth to the aberrant theology and politics of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon and the Unification Church; Moon became as much a believer in the existence of the "world-wide communist (Illuminist) conspiracy" as had been Korean strongman Syngman Rhee and Senators Joseph McCarthy and William Jenner. Moon believed that the conspiracy could only be stopped by uniting the Western World under the banner of "Christianity" (by which he meant his own weird blend of New Age philosophy and aberrant religious teachings). Thus, Moon's movement was (is) as much a political movement as it is a religious movement; it is the result of a strange convergence of extreme right-wing politics (which stem not only out of sources in Korea, but also elements in the United States) and a bizarre mixture of fanatical, authoritarian religious beliefs.

There are, of course, many such movements throughout the world; but what has given Moon's organization such power is the relationship it enjoys with the government of South Korea - a relationship which endows Moon's religious empire with unlimited funds, business fronts, and access to sensitive intelligence matters - things which no other religious association in the world enjoys - outside of the Vatican; and it is precisely these things which have bought Moon entrance - if only through the back door - into America's Religious Right; the Religious Right in this country has seemingly found itself unable to resist the allure of Moon's money, the high-paying jobs he is able to offer through his various business fronts, and the excitement generated out of his intelligence (KCIA) contacts.

THE DEATH SQUADS AND THE REV. MOON

All this brings us back to Moon's involvement with Latin America's Death Squads; Moon's involvement originated as a result of his contacts with the KCIA, and the KCIA's involvement flowed out of Korea's connections with the Vietnam War. Korea was one of the very few U.S. allies which actively participated militarily in Vietnam alongside American forces. ROK (Republic of Korea) forces thus came into direct contact with Phoenix.

The KCIA was thrilled with Phoenix - and this favorable impression was passed on to WACL where the KCIA, as already indicated, exercised a great deal of influence; as a result, WACL soon became a purveyor of Phoenix-like operations throughout the world as an effective means of combating the spread of communism - so much so that in Latin America many of the Death Squad networks which were later established became synonymous with Moon and the Unification Church. Indeed, investigative reporter Russ Bellant writes that "... the ... Death Squad network{26} (in many of the various Latin American countries) is (in instance after instance) also the Latin American branch of Moon's World Anti-Communist League (WACL)."[27] For example, in Argentina, the Death Squads and WACL were so closely identified that in Buenos Aires the various Death Squad cadres constituted in fact the main Argentine branch of WACL.[28] These kinds of connections between the Death Squads and the Unification Church were repeated throughout Central and South America. So closely and effectively did Moon and the Death Squads cooperate in Latin America that they were actually responsible - along with Nazi fugitive Klaus Barbie - in helping to establish a Nazi-style state in Bolivia in 1982.[29] And what about the individuals who constitute the membership of these organizations? - they have been variously described as a mix of Hitler collaborators, anti-Semites, right-wing politicos, rich businessmen, etc. - all of whom hold to an unshakable belief in a world-wide conspiracy directed against capitalism and Christianity[30] - the same kind of ideological mix which - to a large degree - can be found in the CNP (the principle coordinating agency bringing together members of the Religious Right with members of the political right and the business right) today.

Full article: https://www.antipasministries.com/html/file0000105.htm

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illustratus · 2 years

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Germania by Philipp Veit

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stupitunclehal · 1 year

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fe3h and 3hopes alike would be so much better if the end goal wasn’t always unification

#fe3h #fe #somebody brought up that this was largely influenced by east asian history and lit iirc (specifically how china looked throughout history)#and how it's understood by both an east asian audience and the japanese writers of the game (plus also the echoes of japanese imperialism)#but it really doesn't mesh well with the historical behaviour of european states where unification happened with plenty of territories #kicking and screaming the whole time well into even the 20th century #and since fe3h is set in smth resembling medieval europe esp in terms of each individual player in the war and also #the church having a lot of the hallmarks of catholicism #it gets pretty dicey and weird quite quick? and unification does NOT look like a bright future in pretty much any ending #spext #spext: meta #if that even counts also presumably should have a tag on that

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howwelldoyouknowyourmoon · 1 year

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Unification Church/FFWPU makes false claims over photo to promote Moon as a ‘hero.’

Moon himself claimed to have carried Chung-hwa Pak for 600 miles!

Won-pil Kim, Bo Hi Pak, Hyo Jin Moon and Jin-hun Yong all repeated the lie.

From 1983, when the photo (above) surfaced in a newspaper story (see below), the Unification Church leaders always knew it was not of Moon and Pak. But they decided to use it for propaganda, regardless of the truth.

Three men made the journey from Pyongyang in North Korea to Kyongju in the winter of 1950-51: Sun Myung Moon, Won-pil Kim and Chung-hwa Pak. Pak remained in Kyongju – for a couple of years – while Moon and Kim continued on to Busan on the south coast. The Unification Church frequently STILL claim this photo is of Moon carrying Chung-hwa Pak to Yongmae Island. The detour to Yongmae Island never happened either! Won-pil Kim was forced to remove the photo from his testimony book – and he had been one of the three refugees! He repeated his false testimony all over the world.

▲ The photo was taken on Jan 14th 1951 by Cpl J.J. McGinty of the US Army. The caption at a Korean War exhibition in Seoul reads “A Korean carries his aged father across the icy Han River at Chungju, Korea, in their flight to the South to escape the onrushing Chinese Communist Forces.”

중공군의 공격으로 국군과 유엔군은 다시 첨수하였습니다. 중공군 의 공격을 피하려고 총주의 남한강물 건너 더 남쪽으로 가려는 한피란민ol 연로하신 아버지를 업고 차디찬 강물을 걸어서 건너고 있습니다. 일자: 1951년 1월 14일 자료: (사)월드피스자유연합

▲ The profile photo of Moon praying (above) was taken at Heung-in Dong in about 1955. Comparing the facial profiles of Moon and the refugee carrying his father, it is clear that Moon is not in the photo. Moon was 30 at the time of the journey. The refugees are both older than Moon and Pak were in 1950.

Chung-hwa Pak explains how he first saw the photo: “One day in 1983, the international department of the church contacted me. They asked me to stop by because they had some questions to ask. They showed me a picture in the Choong Ang Ilbo newspaper. It was a picture of a man carrying another man on his back, and they were crossing a river. They asked me whether it was a picture of Moon carrying me on his back. I answered them that we had no chance to take any pictures at that time. I never crossed any river on Moon’s back. They said nothing and I thought that was the end of it.”

▲ Here is the photo, published on October 24, 1983 in a memoir about the Korean War in The Joong-ang Ilbo 中央日報.

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Chung-hwa Pak explains how his ankle was fractured – his leg was not broken:

“One day [in Pyongyang] I was surrounded by a gang of thugs who called themselves a security force. They were just thugs who joined the North Korean side when it was in control, and later swapped to the opposite side. They said, “You were a real communist who served as a company commander in the North Korean army. We will kill you!” Then some of them struck my leg with hammers. My ankle was fractured and I couldn’t move. I thought that my life was going to end there. An unexpected twist of fate saved me. Fortunately, I was saved by Korean Military Police. I was questioned, but because I had been imprisoned in North Korea I was soon released. All the other prisoners were executed. They were shot. I was a black belt in judo, but I really needed to get treatment for my injury. There were no hospitals in Pyongyang that were functioning.”

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Hyo Jin Moon gave a sermon based on the invented story: Inheriting God’s Heart And True Parents’ Heart

April 28, 1991 Belvedere, New York

When he was carrying that person on his back he tried to compare himself to … it’s bothersome sometimes to think of some of the people who were with Father in the beginning. Anyway … many of you have seen those pictures of Father carrying Mr. Pak. He was carrying that person across the seabed [to Yongmae Island] a distance of about six kilometers.

I’ll try to tell you later the circumstances surrounding it. I’ll try to explain it in the video. He had literally to carry this person even though his own physical condition, just coming out of prison, was not good. All through his time in prison he utilized his imagination, thinking.. “I must overcome no matter how difficult it is.” He gave himself inspiration. He relied on his imagination to see that his work was incomparable to the kind of suffering God was facing. He really tried to think about God’s heart and tried to visualize the suffering of God. Based on the visuals that he created with his imagination about God, he overcame all those difficulties, even when he was carrying Mr. Pak. Of course it was physically difficult; he had just come out of Hungnam prison, living under those circumstances for almost three years. Obviously, he was not in shape physically to carry anybody for that long distance, let alone across a slippery, muddy seabed. Try to put yourself in that situation. But he thought to himself, “I’m not carrying a man, I’m not feeling this physical pain.” While he was carrying this person he tried to think about God’s heart. He imagined, ‘This load is nothing compared to what I must bear in order to complete the mission of restoring humanity. This is nothing compared to what I must face later on.” Based on that idea, relying on his pure imagination, Father drew a pure rationale to help him persevere through all kinds of hardship.

Ultimately they reached their destination, but couldn’t find any boat to travel down to South Korea [Inchon] and he had to walk back carrying this man again. He had to travel the same course again. It’s just unbelievable that anybody in that situation, indebted to a person in that way, would ever forget their gratitude. But this person, he rejected Father later on. I guess he couldn’t bear the persecution that he was receiving from all around him. He couldn’t take it so he left. That’s the course of Father. In a way that is the essence of his life. Over and over. People who were to assist and support Father rejected him because of their own individual lack of understanding.

Through these difficult times Father relied on his imagination. He believed in the ideal world. He believed that what he imagined would one day come true.

(LINK to Hyo Jin’s sermon)

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Chung-hwa Pak said, in a 1993 interview in Seoul, that on the way south Moon had only carried him a couple of times, and each time for only around 400 yards, during the entire journey from Pyongyang to Kyongju. Pak clearly said that Moon had never carried him across any water.

Michael Breen recounts just two incidents of Moon carrying Pak in his book, Sun Myung Moon, the early years – on pages 129 and 135.

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Here is how Moon boasts about his achievement: The Necessity for the Day of Victory of Love

January 15, 1984 – Tarrytown, New York“Upon the victory of my prison experience, I can claim the foundation for the fatherland. After being liberated by United Nations forces, I carried Mr. Chun Hwa Pak 600 miles from North to South Korea. Most people aren’t even able to go beyond their own needs, but I showed the example of serving others by carrying Mr. Pak for that distance.”

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Here are the words of Bo Hi Pak in an interview in the documentary “Emperor of the Universe” which was broadcast in 2000:

Narrator: “His followers speak with awe of how he carried an injured man across Korea.”

Bo Hi Pak: “roughly 200 miles walking and walking in a mountain he carried him on the back. 80kg man on the back, all the way to the south. To me alone that shows him the messiah to me.”

LINK

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Michael Breen’s description in his book ‘Sun Myung Moon, the early years’ (pages 135-136) is no doubt much closer to the truth than the words of Moon and Bo Hi Pak:

“From Jechon, they took the old road, which used to be the main communication link from Seoul to the south-east in the days before the railroad. It took seven to eight hours one day to struggle over the Moongyeong Pass, at the boundary of North Chungchong and North Kyongsang provinces. Kim carried the bicycle, and Moon carried Pak up the steep, icy track, which was covered in fresh snow. At the top of the pass, they walked through the ancient gate. They stopped at the town of Caun. Pak’s leg was improving and from here, he was able to ride the bicycle without being pushed. …

With Pak now able to walk, they travelled rapidly southwards, through Andong, Uiseong, and Yongcheon. They arrived one evening at Koncheon, near the historic town of Kyongju. …

Moon and Kim Won-pil [left Pak behind in Kyongju and] continued on to Ulsan, a fishing port on the east coast. There they bought train tickets, and travelled the last fifty kilometres of their journey to Pusan in two hours. They rode up front, clinging on to the front of the engine. They arrived at Choryung Station in Pusan, cold and hungry, on January 27, 1951.

However, on pages 129-130 Breen does include a version of the Yongmae Island story which he most probably got from Won-pil Kim.

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Here is what Jin-hun Yong presented in 2011. He has known for decades that Moon, Kim and Pak never went to Yongmae Island.

How much can these Unification Church leaders be trusted?

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Won-pil Kim was inconsistent with his lies. His own testimony book had to be revised and a replacement rushed out.

Won-pil Kim was a blatant liar

The UC Yongmae Island Fake Story

Young-oon Kim lied. She said Sun Myung Moon was “a pure virgin until the age of 40”

Should Bo Hi Pak be charged with the crime of perjury for his Fraser testimony of 1978?

Bo Hi Pak Contradicts Himself

Sun Myung Moon: “How do you know I’m not the world’s worst con man or swindler?”

#Liar #Fake News #Sun Myung Moon #Chong-hwa Pak #Won-pil Kim #Unification Church #FFWPU #Heungnam #Yongmae Island #Bo Hi Pak #church history #Chung-hwa Pak

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playitagin · 1 year

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1954-Founded the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity (HSA-UWC) in Seoul .

#May.1.1954 #世界平和統一家庭連合 #Unification Church #history today

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phantom-at-the-library · 1 year

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#shinzo abe #japan #politics #japanese politics #asian politics #history #japanese history #2022 #2022 politics #cults #unification church #ldp #sun myung moon

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aokozaki · 7 months

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"Most successful assassination in history" or however the meme goes.

Anyway, this does rule, the Unification Church are a famous example of the type of cult that abuses the tax exempt status of religions, so good riddance! (X)

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immaculatasknight · 2 years

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United Stooges of America

#Japan #assassination #CIA #imperialism #history #Unification Church #Jesuits #freemasonry

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leonstoenailunderhisbed · 9 days

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RE Villains and my psychological opinion (+mini history lesson hehe.)

I really like the way CAPCOM writes their villains. Everyone talks about the main protagonist(s) such as Chris, Leon, Jill, Claire, etc. I think we should definitely give some credit to the evil guys of the franchise. I have my own two favorite villains, Lord Saddler (RE4/RE4R), and Svetlana (Damnation). I wish I could write about ALL the characters but that would almost be a book's length.

(I am no expert in psychology, i barely survived my spring semester lol. I am not licensed and i most certainly am not a doctor. The history part is true, but the psychology is just me being hyper fixated on the minor details. Once again, take this lightly. Also, i have my psych final soon and I'm so ready to kick ass.)

There's just something so alluring to me about the obsession with one being known as a God or God's messenger. Lord Saddler really got me thinking about how easy it is for a narcissist to make a cult about, essentially, themselves. Everyone knows the story about Narcissus, the mythological Greek God, and how he fell in love with his own reflection and basically starved himself to death. Hence why the term narcissism derived from the myth of Narcissus. Narcissism goes deeper than just one being self-centered. A narcissist is much more evil- they lack empathy and exploit others for their own goals/achievements. I would like to believe that Lord Saddler definitely has a narcissistic disorder because he took it upon himself to become, and as I like to call it, The God of Plaga. I mean, the dude literally created his own "bible" and his own insignia. He, like James in RE0, believe that they can conquer the world using the parasite. But the psychology behind it, or least in my humble knowledge, is really just a narcissist playing God. Saddler's psychological disorder is being projected onto religion, maybe in a response to a traumatic event. Freudian theory states that projection is a psychological defense mechanism where an individual projects unwanted thoughts, feelings, and motives on another person/group. I'd like to think that Saddler is a narcissist that projects his own motives as defense mechanism using religious methods.

I'm no expert on modern religion but I do like to think myself as someone well versed in BCE and CE religion. As i played through the game, I couldn't help but notice some similarities between Saddler and his cult and some ancient religious beliefs. Ancient civilizations often believed that their God's power was absolute, thus making religion an important part of their culture. The village in which the game takes place obviously contains a small church and then a castle- followed by the peasant village in the beginning of the game. We know that this is a remote location in Spain and since Spain was known as Hispania during the Roman Empire, it would be safe to say that maybe MAYBE CAPCOM was inspired by the history of the country that had followed all the way to CE. I'd like to believe that Saddler was probably inspired by the ruling of the Roman Empire after Emperor Theodosius (who declared Christianity as the state religion of the empire.) Saddler, much like Theodosius, created his own religion but it was considered a minority. Once Saddler had recruited more people, his "empire" expanded, much like Christianity all across Europe in CE. His plan was obviously to expand his domain and control the world with Las Plagas. Of course, this is just my own theories and observations.

I really loved Svetlana's character as a villain. She's cunning, diplomatic, and very goal oriented. It fascinated me the way she handled situations, as if she already knew everything from the start (except the temporary unification of Russia and the US). We know she used to be a combat instructor, or still is maybe. To me, she's the definition of a wolf in a sheep's disguise. Which again brings to my point on my analysis on Saddler- a narcissistic will do anything to make sure they accomplish their goals, regardless of whose lives are at risk. Svetlana, unlike Saddler, has international support and can manipulate ambassadors to be in her favor. She already has control over her republic as president, she only needs a little more help from her international supporters. This is not only a trait from a businessperson but also someone who is very smart and probably knows how to use people at their expense. But that's every politician, in my opinion. Greed and money are basically what sugar is to kids for politicians and government officials. The way she smirked and basically declared her victory when she was talking to Buddy through the barrier was literally so evil of her part, but it made sense. At the end of the day, I'd like to think that she really just had this urge of not messing up the country since she probably faced a lot of pressure from being the first female president of the country.

Svetlana is very smart. She resigned of her position right after the civil war ended because she knew the consequences of basically breeding Nemesis’s cousins (LOL) A narcissist is never dumb and if they are then they aren’t narcissists. Narcissists are extremely smart and extremely manipulative with no sense of guilt.

I would like to talk more about James and then deeper in Resident Evil Village bc that game is literally so well written I’m like 😍🫶🏼

#resident evil 4 #resident evil damnation #resident evil #re4og #re4 remake #re4make #lord saddler #Svetlana belikova

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deathbirby · 4 months

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Decided the Church was the biggest threat??

You do realise she destroys TWSITD too right? But TWSITD is an organisation that isn't made of giant superpowered dragons, they just have the tools to kill a giant superpowered dragon if necessary.

She captures Rhea in most routes specifically so that she can get her help in fighting TWSITD after the war.

She also takes criticism several times. From Manuela, Lindhardt and Ferdinand and constantly changes her opinions.

She doesn't even say the Church is the biggest problem, she says Crests and Nobility are, because, if you fucking recall, the only reason TWSITD were able to kill her siblings at all was because of the nobility system and Duke Aegir!

Holy shit it's almost like she identified the root cause instead of the thing instantly in front of her, which she still ALSO DEALT WITH.

She needed Those Who Slither to capture Rhea, who she keeps free from their grasp. She is using them as best she can to defeat an eternal monarch of all of Fodlan for a millenium, before dealing with the less powerful force. She doesn't call Those Who Slither less important, but you don't win chess by killing the Queen do you? Doesn't mean she isn't the most powerful piece on the board, sometimes it's necessary to do one before the other.

Who would have thought in a tactics game a character would take the time to identify the severity of their threats.

Also Fodlan's history is legitimately twisted BY RHEA. Who's history is she going to listen to? Even Claude gets angry.

The character who most refuses to listen to anyone else's perspective, that would be a very special king man who can't see the forest for the trees. Crests are important because other places have advanced military forces, but y'know, we can't do that so forced caste system and breeding stock of women it is! The rich and poor just need to understand each other and the poor need to understand why I live in a castle and only marry women with crests.

Not only that. There's so much irony in the way that every single route ends with a unified Fodlan, without Rhea as the head of the religious state, who have all undergone reforms that serve to the betterment of the people.

Edelgard legitimately correctly identified the problem areas of Fodlan, that's why all the routes share the same outcomes.

Unification. No Rhea. No TWSITD. Political reform.

Wow!

You argue that she was wrong when she was entirely correct.

Fodlan's past doesn't even matter. It matters to Rhea and TWSITD.

What matters is nobility and crests feed into each other and Rhea is purposefully destroying technology to keep Fodlan in a state of perpetual readiness to accept the return of the goddess who she expects to *drumroll* unite Fodlan! Edelgard blames the Church for a few things they didn't do, but it scarcely matters because the Church is doing wrong things and so is TWSITD and she's getting rid of both.

She doesn't even remove the faith and keeps it running during her occupation of Garreg Mach. What more could she possibly do?

She's not interested in world domination, she never forces Brigid to fight.

She just knows that she can't reform Adrestia without the standing army that is the Knights of Seiros banging down her Empire. Or did you miss the bit where Rhea calls for the summery execution of the head of a sovereign nation without a trial or discussion. And then refuses Byleth when she tries to stop Edelgard from being executed without any form of discussion.

Look, I know people are going to be more harsh on Edelgard and more forgiving to the others because of, reasons? I guess it's kind of evil of her to support disability care where she enables others to work in environments that allow them to reach their maximum potential. Instead of, idk, believing that you're either born strong or weak and the job of the strong is to accept the weak and never try and understand how circumstances may very well be the thing that makes someone "weak."

But what do I know, it's not like there's a character with crippling anxiety that only comes out of her room in a singular route due to the support of someone who helps the "weak" find their strengths. Unlike someone in another route who baulks a being called a shut-in like that very same character. What a guy!

In the end, the history doesn't matter.

Fodlan is a misogynistic, homophobic, feudalist society, ruled by an eternal theocracy, and nobility who would rather assassinate their leaders than attempt reform.

It does not facilitate the common people, who are likely illiterate due to the suppression of the printing press by SOMEONE, and is stifling its own potential for the sake of mindless xenophobia. Which is what the officer's academy is for, by the way, to fight invaders like Dagda and Almyra, two places Rhea has coincidentally collected two people from! Don't forget how Catherine said she would have struck someone who wasn't Shamir down! Rhea did that. Super chill and peaceful. And that's not even mentioning the cover up that was Christophe... Or the treatment of the Western Church, who *checks notes* ah, yes, they eradicated over their errant beliefs over the saints and Rhea's position as archbishop. Yes. She handles dissent from sovereign people well.

The Church seems good because they can afford to appear good because Fodlan has no choice! The nobility are church backed and the church is nobility backed and the Holy Kingdom has no choice because it also church backed!

So yeah, she might have been able to swing an internal reform of her country, all while TWSITD enact their plans in the Kingdom, or she wages a shadow war against them. But, that's probably going to get her the ire of the church if her people start reading and realise their gods are all fake because Sothis is literally dead.

But that's not going to help the poor crested woman in the Kingdom who is needs to have her 10th child so this one, hopefully, maybe might be crested. Which is what Mercedes, Ingrid, Marianne, Dorothea and Bernadetta all have in store for themselves! Oh, and probably Annette and Hilda too but it's less obvious.

Sure would be kind of Edelgard to only help Bernie and Dorothea.

"That example you gave comes from Adrestia!" Yeah, I know. But do you think in the world Sylvain is so afraid of that HASN'T happened? It's unfortunate that the land of Man's Strength didn't have more female students... Unless... You don't think that's indicative of what life is like there do you? Some kind of land where the future king might forget to include one of his close female friends in his list of friends!? The very same one who lost the man she was betrothed to since birth? Surely that places values its women and wouldn't fatten their only daughter up to be breeding stock despite her personal ambitions, all because the loss of crests would destabilize their nation as a whole because the nobility would lose their power and so would the church that legitimises them as an actual nation??

Things are great there. There is no war in Ba Sing Se.

Who fucking cares why Nemesis and Seiros fought. Seiros dragged the entire continent into a war out of vengeance. That's what happened. She then neglected to look into Those Who Slither in the Dark not for one year, not for two, not for five, but for one THOUSAND years.

They're ONLY exposed because of Hubert and Edelgard. Don't fucking forget that. It was their actions that got Those Who Slither killed.

But na, Rhea is gud.

Or at least it's far more comfortable to just believe that both the women are bad and the Boi has all the answers.

"He's setting up the groundwork for a democracy" I hear people bullshit.

You know that's a bad thing right? He's not setting up any fucking schools. Duscur was a genocide. Fodlan is xenophobic. Literally any votes that happen are going to go the exact same way the Voice to Parliament did in Australia and I don't say that as a joke, it's disgusting what happened. Democracy is fucking shit for groups of people who cannot use socially equitable (publically available and suited to the individual circumstances of the user) services to attain political power to force progress.

Dimitri's entire idea isn't to raise these people up, it's to hear what they say and decide PERSONALLY if that's a good idea.

Which is going to go oh so well the first time that comes into conflict with the legitimacy of the church or crests.

Meanwhile Edelgard establishes a system that actively contests her individual judgement through the use of expert testimony filling in for various public and political sectors that are open to literally anyone who proves they are the best in their field, with an intentional retirement plan that breaks the line of succession opening the door for any commoner to rise to the position of emperor.

But yeah, I guess the person who destroys all the major corrupt institutions of Fodlan, believes in rehabilitation instead of retributive justice (she does not kill Aegir or any of the nobles responsible for her imprisonment. She even offers Rhea a chance to surrender and instead serve public reform, something she also offers Jeritza,) creates public schooling, changes her mind on the purpose of religious thinking, grants sovereignty to her vassal state, creates a workspace specifically designed to enable the disabilities of several workers while also aiding them in reaching their personal potential (even while those people could very well turn on her later), and rules the most sexually liberated nation in all of Fodlan, both with regard to gender expression and sexual preference (see Lindhardt, Caspar's less-toxic masculinity, and like, all of the gayness of all the Eagles) which she personally fall under. Yeah. That woman is the stuck up bad guy because she thinks that Nemesis and Seiros fought for the right of humanity to rule itself vs immortals. Instead of. That, ah. Other reason. That they fought.

Yeah Seiros fought Nemesis out of revenge, but did you ever stop to think that maybe Nemesis might not have wanted a dragon pope either? That he may have actually have been a good leader in the north?

Seiros is justified in wanting revenge for her family, but she didn't do Fodlan any favours. She didn't help them. Dagda is doing just fine without the Goddess. Crests may have been genetically wiped out over time if Rhea didn't put so much importance on them to the point they literally change inheritance.

I get it, Slithers bad. They killed Edelgard's family. They hurt her. But it sure must suck to not be able to see the path beyond that and how that was even made possible. Edelgard can see it. She even explains it. Everyone agrees because no one keeps Rhea in charge, including Rhea. And they all kill the Slithers. Except Dimitri who did it on accident and got very lucky it wasn't a Hydra situation... We hope.

Sure is fucked up that Three House's main character dies of screen half the time. Weird.

I also feel like I didn't mention Claude enough. Y'know, the guy who looks into Fodlan's history like crazy. Super fucking crazy and answers all of, zero questions until he asks Rhea who tells him because literally only she has that information and STILL she doesn't know shit about the Slithers.

Yeah, what was Edelgard supposed to do again?

Claude got really lucky. His reformed Fodlan would have been super bad of he didn't know the specifics of *checks notes* Rhea is a dragon and the Slithers did bad things to Fodlan.

Wait. That's the same shit Edelgard knows!

Oh, but it's different because, ah, Seteth and Flayn are still alive, no, wait, that happens in Crimson Flower too.

Seteth is allowed to be in government? The same guy who slaughtered the western church for headcanoning Cichol wrong? Wonderful.

Except, Edelgard doesn't really actually say that Seteth and Flayn can't hold government. She says they can't "rule over humanity" which is contextually different. She doesn't want them to do what Rhea did, but public office is different...

Aww beans. Looks like all she did was start a war under the entirely true pretext that Rhea was abusing her power in the here and now, and so she could break the shackles that her oppressors had over her by turning the tides on them through Byleth or a captured Rhea.

So evil. I hate it when someone comes along to criticise the religiously and politically sanctioned sexual slavery of women and then asks why the King of said kingdom isn't just surrendering to her terms despite the fact that he doesn't have any political motivation outside of:

1. Revenge

2. Occupation is bad? I think? (Wait doesn't the church occupy us-)

when surrending to those terms would actually remove them from under the church's legitimization and provide them with the means to undo the harmful social practices such as sexism and xenophobia instilled within them from the church that lead to his personal trauma in the first place.

But y'know, the name would change. He'd still be in power because Edelgard does maintain the regional leaders for a time while she puts her reforms in place, but the name would change and that's icky. Better die on this hill for some reason so the sacrifice of everyone who died in this war can be even more for nothing as we half ass the same fucking reforms off the back of Rhea's dethroning and the death of the Slithers. Oh shit, that wasn't Dimitri was it. That's Sylvain who does that. The most Eagle Lion to ever be a bisexual man repressed by the sexist and homophobic society he lives in.

Fuck off Edelgard is wrong. The history is vague because Rhea literally hid it and even then it's not actually the truth because we literally still don't know if Sothis was benevolent or not. Rhea is also trying to install a method of governance (Sothis) that already fucking failed. Most good rulers and gods don't let their nations nuke themselves to death but maybe Shamir can tell us of the time Dagda did that to themselves. And the history also doesn't matter. Who cares why Nemesis did what he did. It was bad, it's Rhea's origin story for why she doesn't let humanity advance itself. The cause is irrelevant because it literally can't happen again! Not to mention that, if the Nabateans were as bad as the Slithers, we do genocide the Slithers, but that's okay, because they're bad.

What a useless criticism to level at her. That's like saying it's unjust for me to hate the church for homophobia because I don't understand the persecution of catholics under Nero.

Bitch, who gives a shit they're doing bad fucking stuff now! Yes, I think it's also valid to overturn the government of a nation that wants me dead on sight for being gay, they're violating human rights and citing sovereignty as their excuse, fuck that, people over countries.

War is bad, yes, but y'know what's also bad? Political reforms that fail because the population is uneducated, xenophobic, and democracy is a system of privilege and popularity that gives voices to those who don't know what they're fucking talking about. Just look up Voice to Parliament in Australia, it's just racism that got it knocked back. Democracy gave a voice to racism.

Bring on the Edelgards of the world. I'm disabled as fuck and I want her meritocracy more than anything. Definitely much more than I want dumbfucks "we hear you" new world with upward mobility determined by how able bodied and willing to participate in bioessentialism I am. I think there's a word for it. Ah. Eugenics. Crests are a form of eugenics. Rhea and Dimitri both endorsed eugenics. (remember! He only pairs with crested women! And his right to rule is literally based on his possession of a crest.) Good shit.

Adrestia: Commoners can become the Emperor.

Faerghus: You can become queen if you're afab, heterosexual and have a crest. (You also need to be able to produce viable children who are also crested. It's a good thing nothing bad has ever happened to queens who failed to produce legitimate heirs to a king, that would be a worrying precedent! Henry the who-th?)

"Everyone can participate in politics!" With what fucking education? No one goes to school but the rich! It's the same shit we have irl, it's the same thing they ALREADY HAD.

Just say you're a sexist and move on.

Edelgard bad because no pebis :C

P.S. Claude is just a less effective Edelgard who prolonged the war due to his vanity. His refusal to choose a side so that he could be the ultimate victor stalled the war for several additional years racking up additional loss of life which he could have prevented by deciding that he didn't need to be the sole author of this victory and reform. Either side could have won sooner if not for his impotence. And the Roundtable is still full of crested nobles with no schooling and religious doctrine so it's still a fucking L. Die poor Leonie of the world and anyone who wants higher education. Get born rich next time?

P.P.S. You gotta feel somewhat bad for Dimitri, he can basically marry Dedue or Felix, but he can't actually marry them because he reinforced heteronormative practices that require him to take a wife instead of actually getting to be with his husband. Sure "everyone" can participate in politics, except for the bisexual king who isn't actually allowed to be himself because of all the bigotry he reinstalled in his country. Meanwhile Edelgard and F Byleth are referred to as spouses in the Japanese, exchanged rings, and the English made it homophobic so certain characters wouldn't seem to bad to the sensibilities of particular white men. How. Interesting.

LMAOOO WHY IS THIS OVER 3000 WORDS LONG??

Nahh you gotta out and touch grass my dude, there is no character worth writing a whole college thesis about.

#edelgard discourse #grey borb #bro you cant call me sexist and expect me to take you seriously #put this energy to better use than your fictional waifu #seriously go outside #this is just sad

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whatisonthemoon · 1 year

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Early Interaction Between Moonies and MRA

Bio of Kang Sun-ae from FFWPU: Mrs. Kang Sun-ae was born in Seoul in 1915. She graduated from Ewha College in 1937. She lived during a time when the role and value of women were changing in Korea. She had married and had children before she joined our church in 1958, without her husband. This is a testimony that evokes the Korea of a past time, and as such is a study of some of the values and sacrifices that characterized the spirit of the early period of our movement [The following is written by Mrs. Kang on an early experience in the Unification Church]

After the tour, I went back to the headquarters church. I had planned to finally take time to recuperate and begin taking medication, but Mrs. Ji Seng-ryeon came to look for me again. Once again, I had to visit our Gangwon District. We both paid a visit to the governor of Gangwon Province together with Mrs. Choi Jeong-sun. After receiving the governor’s permission to give a lecture to the officers of the Gangwon provincial government, we invited Choi Chang-rim to give the lecture. The lecture received a great review, enabling us to give a lecture to even the public officers working in the city of Chuncheon. On this foundation, our activities developed by the day and we could convey our message to the chairman of the Promotion of Reconstruction Committee,[2] the director of the YMCA, pastors, universities and even broadcasting companies. We even visited the Army Second Corps, but could not meet the commander. So we went all the way to the Counterintelligence Division and asked to talk to the general in charge. An officer reprimanded us saying, “Do you know what this place is?” We had lunch at a cafeteria for army officers. We also talked with the adviser on the troop information and education and the director of a broadcasting station.

Once, a Moral Re-Armament (MRA) movement leader paid a visit to Gangwon and invited religious figures under the name of the provincial governor. I remember being the only woman invited.

After the governor’s skilled greetings and personal introductions, we listened to the motive and purpose of MRA. After the presentation, the governor then said, “I would like to welcome Mrs. Kang, being the only woman here today, to say a few words” and made me stand. I tried to press down my beating heart and thought, “This is the moment I should convey Father’s teachings.” I started by saying, “There cannot be a result without a cause. Hence, we can see a cause through its result.” All the participants on that day, including the governor, appeared quite surprised by my message. Many said they had difficulties comprehending such a highly philosophical lecture.

Since that event, the chairman of the Promotion of Reconstruction Committee always comes to our church and give words of encouragement whenever the community leaders’ meeting was held. The entire Chuncheon area, starting from the governor to those working in the local government felt like members. However, I aimed for more, thinking, “How can I make all the people of Gangwon listen to the lecture?” So, I made another request to Governor Pak. According to him, the Home Affairs director, the Public Affairs chief, and the local section chief had to all agree on my proposal. He suggested that I meet them. I went to their offices at the provincial government building almost every day. With a heart that I had to accomplish this before Father returned to Korea from his world tour, all the prayers and dedications I invested paid off and I ended up persuading all those who opposed us.

One day, a local official, Lee Seok-bong, and I urged the Home Affairs senior director with earnest hearts. He gave in with a smile, saying, “No matter how hard I try, Mrs. Kang’s enthusiasm just outmatches mine.”

The next day, I met the local section chief and he quietly revealed to me about an internal problem and told me to talk with the chief secretary. Soon afterward, I went to the chief secretary. The chief secretary reported the matter to the governor and once he came back, he instantly summoned the Home Affairs director and the local section chief and told them right in front of me, “Why are you opposing what people are doing? Tell everyone that if they don’t do it, it will be the same as committing hara-kiri.” He instructed that an official notice be sent immediately. I met the Public Affairs chief and raised my two hands up saying “I am a Unification Church member” and then put them down. He told me that I looked like an innocent child when I did that. I was certain that our pleas were conveyed to Heaven and that it was God who was helping us.

A few hours after this decision was passed, a dam collapsed, flooding the surrounding area. The flooding caused many problems. However, because the provincial government office had immediately written the official notification, it was conveyed to the church. God’s work and providence could have almost gone up in the air in one second. This enabled the community leaders to act as Victory Over Communism lecturers.

https://familyfedihq.org/2023/02/the-righteous-are-as-bold-as-a-lion-part-5/

#Kang Sun-ae #sun-ae kang #unification church history #early unification church #early church #church history #unification church #moonies #anti-communism #korean church #unification church in korea #unification church in south korea #south korea #unification church in the republic of korea

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nashaalya · 1 month

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How old is the Croat/Serb ethnic feud? Is it purely a product of 20th century conditions or does it predate Yugoslavia?

any investigation into the 'true age' of the serb/croat ethnic feud is going to be complicated by skirmishes between the two predating any notion of them constituting two distinct ethnicities

croatian and serbian nationalism are the degenerate daughters of two separate pan-slavic movements that emerged more-or-less independently from one another, both of them considering the other nation to be part of their own. i mean this quite literally—consider the 18th century ethnographic work croatia rediviva, which grouped serbs with bulgarians, macedonians and thracians under the sobriquet 'red croats'. the serbian equivalent of this kind of pan-nationalism is pejoratively referred to as 'greater serbian chauvinism' nowadays, and it formed the basis for serbian foreign policy toward croatia since the establishment of a sovereign serbia in the first decade of the 19th century until, like, 1995

so, a substantial amount of early conflict between 'croats' and 'serbs' was really ideological conflict between two differing schools of pan-yugoslavism: part of it was a general unwillingness of the two traditions to use names foreign to them (serbs didn't want to call themselves croats; croats didn't want to call themselves serbs), but a lot of it revealed true differences in preference—the degree of loyalty to the habsburg monarchy, for instance, and how exactly should the serbo-croatian literary language look like (eventually resolved through the adoption of standard serbian as the basis for what is today standard croatian)

there's really no date for when did all these incongruities make the friction between the two schools disintegrate into ethnic conflict in the proper sense; one could make the argument they never did (see below). as late as the early 20th century you had things like the 'movement of catholic serbs in dubrovnik' that claimed themselves to be serbs because they were, by all standards, croats, and who worked in tandem with croatian nationalists in the region (until they didn't). much of it boils down to conflict between the orthodox inhabitants of what is today central croatia and the dalmatian hinterland (basically all of whom self-identified as serbs by the 20th century—given that we have records of albanians, aromanians and bulgarians settling in the so-called 'croatian military frontier' alongside serbs proper, it is likely their sympathy for serbian ethnic identity was partially downstream from them being catered to by the serbian orthodox church) and the territorial aspirations of the kingdom of croatia, which lobbied for the annexation of the croatian military frontier and dalmatia into croatia proper

the aforementioned distaste of the serb orthodox for incorporation into croatia boiled down to the preservation of an independent military frontier securing the religious liberty of the region's orthodox, and it giving them the ability to directly arbitrage with vienna. but it should be emphasised there were serbs that supported the territorial aspirations of croatia out of a basic sense of yugoslav solidarity; it took a while for the political loyalties of 'croats' and 'serbs' to truly solidify

anyway. some of the watershed moments in the pre-ww2 history of croat-serb relations were: the slow shift of dalmatian serbs toward political collaboration with italians (who favoured an independent kingdom of dalmatia) over croats (who favoured the kingdom's annexation into croatia); the establishment of the croatian party of rights in 1861, the first party to explicitly argue against the unification of croatia with serbia (though many of its early members never quite claimed croats to be ethnically distinct from serbs); the austrian occupation of bosnia in 1878, lauded by croatia and denounced by serbia (further exacerbated by austria-hungary's annexation of bosnia in 1908); the 1914 anti-serb riots in sarajevo, sparked by the assassination of franz ferdinand; the extremely unclear terms by which croatia was annexed into the kingdom of serbia after the first world war (1918) and dissatisfaction of croat republican parties with the 1921 yugoslav constitution; the partition of yugoslavia into banates in 1929, and the establishment of a semi-autonomous 'banate of croatia' in 1939, by which point serbs and croats behaved functionally if not formally as separate ethnicities

i think one could make the argument the split between croats and serbs was only finalised within the last, like, thirty years, if that. serbian popular consciousness and historiography is still quite on board w the notion croats constitute a branch of the serbian nation, even if serbia as a state no longer formally seeks the annexation of croatia; conversely, denial of a separate serb ethnicity (specifically the idea of serbs as ethnically mixed (derogatory), and us supposedly lacking our own language and tradition of statehood) is still central to croatian national identity. much of it comes down to croatian nationalists being kind of shit at articulating what makes them ethnically distinct from serbs, and serbian nationalists not even trying to imply any ethnic difference between the two (those maps of a 'greater serbia' that excludes the croatian heartland were a last resort proposal, made when the reintegration of all croatia into yugoslavia became a clear impossibility). grim situation all around

#long

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reunionatdawn · 3 months

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My Analysis of the Best Paired Endings in 3H (Part 3: Claude/Hilda)

Byleth: (His easy smile is striking… But that smile doesn't reach his eyes…)

Claude is a Leo, a fire sign ruled by the Sun. Leo traits include being confident, comfortable being the center of attention, drama-adoring, ambitious, loyal, fiercely protective of their nearest and dearest, generous, luxury-loving, sunny, and big-hearted. Like Edelgard, his goal was to usher in the dawn of a new age as supreme leader.

He bears the Crest of Riegan, which is associated with The Moon arcana. The general meaning of The Moon is that everything is not as it seems. It is also the Major Arcana of intuition. It tells you that something about a situation or person in your life is not what it appears to be, and you need to trust what your instincts are telling you in order to see past this illusion.

Claude: When I first saw you wield the Sword of the Creator, I wanted to use your power to my advantage. I wanted to use you to make my dream of a new world come true. But before long, I realized what I really wanted was to see that new world…with you by my side. I still feel that way, you know. I always will. That's why I have to leave.

Claude was taking advantage of female Byleth's romantic interest in him to achieve his dream. He admitted as much himself in his S-Support. That explained why his Goddess Tower scene was all about his political ambitions and lacked any genuine romantic undertones. Supposedly he fell in love with her somewhere along the way. But something felt off to me. He couldn't even attend Byleth's coronation?

Byleth & Claude After ascending the throne as the first leader of the United Kingdom of Fódlan, Byleth sought to rebuild the war-torn towns and villages and to help guide the reformation of the Church of Seiros. After a few months of peace, remnants of the Imperial army joined with those who slither in the dark and marched upon the capital city of Derdriu. The new kingdom lacked the power to repel the invaders, but when defeat seemed imminent, a battle cry rang out from the east. Claude, the newly-crowned King of Almyra, led a mighty army that broke through the rebel forces with ease. This show of solidarity forever altered the course of history, heralding a new age of unity.

If he is paired with Petra, he postpones his return to Almyra for years due to his love. With Lysithea, his love for her compels him to give up the throne entirely. Even when he does return to Byleth like he promised, it's to defeat the remnants of the Imperial army and TWSITD. That earns him the title "King of Unification". But there's nothing in their paired ending to indicate a marital union.

Claude did care about Byleth as more than just a tool. But to me, it felt like the writers were trying to portray that he didn't love her romantically, albeit in a very subtle way. Which I actually found to be a very great idea. He definitely had a reason to marry Byleth for political purposes, considering his dream. And I liked that his reputation as a schemer finally amounted to something in the end after all. Besides, he had more chemistry with Hilda, anyway.

Hilda: It's just a legend, sure…but I prefer to be cautious about such things. One of the guys was pretty handsome, and he came from a good family… But that doesn't really tell you what a person's like on the inside. I want a life partner who's good-hearted and good-looking.

Claude is a very flirty person in general and has a lot of chemistry with most of the girls he can Support with. But he was particularly flirty with Hilda. Even their C-Support was surprisingly sexual. But their connection gradually developed into more than just physical attraction. The tagline for the game was, "Sweet memories twisted by time's cruel hand". Claude has many sweet memories of his childhood and Hilda is the only one who takes an interest in them.

Because of this, she was the only girl he offered to bring home. Claude is usually a very guarded young man who keeps his secrets close to his chest. He was afraid of his Almyran heritage being exposed because he's been the constant victim of racism. While Hilda made the occasional off-hand racist remark (moreso out of ignorance than malice), Claude still offered to introduce her to his family, showing his trust in her character and her ability to be judge people for who they are on the inside, not their heritage.

Holst: But what if the next king of Almyra turns out to be a kind and decent man? What if Hilda even likes him? Claude: Uh, if Hilda wants to marry that hypothetical heartthrob, I'm not gonna stop her. Look, what's all this really about? Holst: Apologies. My imagination ran free for a moment. If that is what Hilda wants, then I will not stand in her way either. Claude: Your imagination's definitely still running there. Holst: I'm just as worried about Hilda's future as I am about Leicester's—maybe even more so. Claude: I completely understand, so let me just say this… I believe that both Leicester's and Hilda's futures are as bright as they can be. All I ask is that you trust me.

Claude and Hilda don't need Byelth to choose the Golden Deer house to get married. Golden Wildfire proves that. Holst approves of their relationship. His A-Support with Claude even foreshadowed the Claude/Hilda paired ending. So, it definitely feels like it's the one Claude ship that's most rooted in "canon".

Hilda: I don't understand why anyone would want to risk their life for someone else. When you die, no matter how you died, it's over. To me, it's more important to enjoy life. We only live once, after all. It's a waste to spend all your time working and being responsible, right?

Hilda was the only character I did not recruit on my AM New Game+. If I had to guess, I'd say she was probably not even gonna be recruitable outside her home route, similar to Dedue and Hubert. I left her behind because I didn't want Claude to be alone. But also because she truly belonged on that bridge in Derdriu defending him. It's the ultimate fulfillment of her character arc, showing how she's changed from a spoiled and lazy girl into a mature woman who will try her best to not let down the people she cares about.

Hilda and Claude were the only lord and retainer I felt comfortable shipping because their differing social status had practically no effect on how they related to each other. Hilda could see through his fake smile because she was just as manipulative, constantly flirting to get people to do things for her. In CF, she died for Claude because she had fun with him and found him sexy, not because it was her duty as a Crest bearer. Claude expected her to run, but she stood her ground.

As a lord, Claude was in the middle. He was ambitious like Edelgard but not quite as ruthless. He shared Dimitri's distaste for war, but would compromise those ideals in pursuit of his goals. What I liked about Hilda as a retainer was that she supported him emotionally, but she also challenged him on his decisions when it was necessary. She questioned whether being king was really what he wanted when he was a natural free spirit at heart.

Claude: You and I may not hold any grudges, but if you look to our history, you'll see it was the Kingdom who tossed us to the wolves first. When our people were fighting for independence from the Empire, Faerghus attacked and conquered Leicester for themselves.

Claude certainly had good intentions, but in the end, he was perhaps a bit too motivated by self-interest. In VW, he realized that, which is why he stepped down in favor of Byleth. In GW, there is a chapter called "The End of the Alliance". Claude becomes king of the Federation and allies with Edelgard. He announces his intention to eliminate the church and invade the Kingdom using historical disputes as a justification, however questionable that may be.

Claude: If you're going to lead Fódlan, then the Alliance lords will follow you. Back in the day, the Alliance split off from the Kingdom. I'm just putting us back together again.

In AM, there is a cutscene called "The End of the Alliance". Claude puts aside all historical animosity and willingly unifies with the Kingdom. Why the change of heart? He admitted he wouldn't do anything unless he had something to gain, but Byleth and Dimitri selflessly came to his rescue. And because of that, he gives his Hero's Relic to Dimitri, something he did not to for Edelgard. Symbolically this gesture is so important because he always thought he needed the power of the relics to realize his dream. But he doesn't.

Claude & Hilda Trusting the affairs to his comrades with whom he had fought, Claude departed for his homeland. While in Fódlan he was no more than a noble, upon returning to his homeland of Almyra, he was a prince of the realm. Having grown strong and mature, he gained recognition among the royal family and eventually wielded influence in national politics. Several years later, the king of Almyra retired, and Claude succeeded to the throne. Simultaneously, a queen was introduced – none other than Hilda. Leveraging her brother's support, she unexpectedly demonstrated diplomatic prowess, contributing to the establishment of diplomatic relations between Almyra and Fódlan. Furthermore, with two consecutive queens from Fódlan, the values of Almyra began to evolve.

In AM, Claude's fate doesn't change much compared to VW. He still goes back to Almyra, presumably with Hilda if she wasn't recruited. So, I don't even think their VW paired ending would be any different in the AM timeline. And their marital union is what will help Claude achieve his dream. He didn't need Byleth, the Hero's Relics, or to become supreme leader. Marrying Hilda opens Fódlan's Locket. This is the only ending where Hilda gets involved in politics instead of making accessories, but it is better for her character development, and I think she'd be happier that way in the end.

#fe3h #fe3h meta #claude von riegan #hilda valentine goneril #hilclaude

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howwelldoyouknowyourmoon · 2 years

Text

Allen Tate Wood interviewed: as a top UC leader in the 1960s he was a moderator at WACL in 1970 in Tokyo

youtube

Updated August 1, 2022

Allen Tate Wood wrote a book about his experiences in the Unification Church and has given many interviews over the decades. A selection of his work is available here:

Allen Tate Wood on Sun Myung Moon and the Unification Church

1. Interview at North Texas State University (Summer 1985) 2. Deconstructing Extremism in 21st Century America (c. 2014) 3. Interview with Walter Evans in the Texas Metroplex (1985) 4. Moonstruck: A memoir of my life in a cult – Allen Tate Wood with Jack Vitek (1979) 5. Defectors inside story: How the nickel and dime Moonies rake in $219 million

________________________________________

Edited auto translation:

“I thought we could rule the world,” said a former executive of the Unification Church in the United States about the reality of “electoral alliance” and “large amounts of funding”

[News feature]

TBS NEWS DIG 30 July 2022

A former executive of the Unification Church in the United States responded to a news feature and testified to the reason why the cult approached politics and the fact that it was paying politicians a lot.

■ “I’m Sun Myung Moon’s dog”

It is said that the donations in Japan were also used to acquire believers in the United States.

Allen Tate Wood, was an executive in the political branch of the Unification Church of the United States from the 1960s to the 1970s. He testified to the actual situation of the cult in response to the news feature.

Former Unification Church executive Allen Wood: “Sun Myung Moon and others were trying to control the powers, to make them believe that the organization dominates the world. That’s why we make videos of the [top political leaders] and show them to young people.”

Mr. Wood himself was brainwashed through these lectures until he left.

The International Federation for Victory Over Communism (IFVOC), which was a political organization related to the Unification Church, held an event at the Nippon Budokan in 1970. Mr Wood was a moderator. Right-wing tycoon Ryoichi Sasagawa from Japan also spoke. Mr. Wood says he will never forget Mr. Sasagawa’s remarks.

▲ Allen Tate Wood speaking at WACL in Tokyo.

Mr. Allen Wood: “He (Sasagawa) struck his chest and said,‘I’m Sun Myung Moon’s dog.’ It was a surprising statement. The strongest person in Japan placed himself under Sun Myung Moon. At that time, I thought, “We can rule the world.”

▲ Sasagawa “right-wing tycoon” speaking at the 1970 WACL conference

■ Letter sent by Prime Minister Kishi to President Reagan ...

Furthermore, it is said that former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi, the grandfather of Shinzo Abe, had a close relationship with Sun Myung Moon. In October 1982, Prime Minister Kishi sent a congratulatory telegram to the mass wedding ceremony held in South Korea.

Prime Minister Kishi congratulatory telegram reading: “I teach and educate based on heaven-centered ideals and beliefs. That is why I respect Sun Myung Moon from the bottom of my heart.”

This is a letter sent by Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi to President Reagan in 1984, two years later. “Today, I would like make a request to you, Mr. President. This request is about a person whom I believe you may be acquainted with, the Reverend Sun Myung Moon. Rev. Moon is now under unjust confinement. With your cooperation, I would like to ask that he be released by all means from his unfair imprisonment as soon as possible.”

In fact, when this letter was issued, Mr. Moon was imprisoned in the United States for [perjury, document forgery] and tax evasion. Prime Minister Kishi asked President Reagan to release Mr. Moon.

Kishi’s letter continues:

“My understanding of Rev. Moon is that he is a genuine man, staking his life on promoting the ideals of freedom and correcting [the mistakes of] communism. His existence is, and will be in the future, a rare, precious and indispensable one for the maintenance of freedom and democracy. I respectfully ask for your good decision on this case so that proper steps may be taken.”

LINK to the full text

■ If you raise anti-communism ...

Following this request, Mr. Moon was not released, but eight years later, in 1992, Mr. Moon came to Japan for the first time after his imprisonment in the United States.

It is said that it was Shin Kanemaru, then vice president of the Liberal Democratic Party, who approached the government at this time. During Mr. Moon’s visit to Japan, he had a meeting with former Prime Minister Nakasone.

Former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone: “That person (Mr. Sun Myung Moon) has a relationship like the Unification Church or the old Katsuko, and rather puts a wedge into the communist bloc. And puts in the air and light of the free world. I think it was done with such a consistent policy.”

Allen Wood, a former executive of the Unification Church in the United States, said that anti-communism increased the influence of the cult after the end of the Vietnam War in the 1970s.

Above all, the relationship with the Republican Party ...

Former Unification Church executive Allen Wood: “President Reagan said,‘This is the only newspaper I read,’ while holding a copy of the Washington Times published by an affiliate of the cult. It’s the newspaper owned by Mr. Moon. It’s a newspaper for political propaganda. I was trying to get into politics. I was very successful in getting Republican politicians.”

Mr. Moon expressed his support for successive presidents in newspapers under his umbrella. Furthermore, in the election campaign ...

Former Unification Church executive Allen Wood: “Reagan, Bush father and son, Trump, all received extensive support from the Unification Church. Believers raised funds and made door-to-door canvassing throughout the United States to expand their support. Bush Sr., said, “Without the Unification Church members, we wouldn’t have won the election.”

■ Approximately 130 million yen per speech

He also testified that big politicians were paid large fees when attending events and sending messages [to support the UC or related organizations such as the Universal Peace Federation].

Former Unification Church executive Allen Wood: “When Bush finished his term as president and gave a lecture to South Korea, he was paid $1 million for each speech. He also paid $1 million for Reagan. This is amazing, because this money was taken from young people who were brainwashed and enslaved.”

Former President Trump also sent a video message to an event of a related organization, UPF, last September, and the connection with the Republican Party is still ongoing.

The former Unification Church has deepened its ties with the political world of Japan and the United States through election cooperation and large amounts of compensation. Mr. Wood ...

Former Unification Church executive Allen Wood: “[Mr. Moon] said that if he couldn’t [gain people’s loyalty through] his ideology, he would buy loyalty with money.”

________________________________________

「我々は世界を支配できると思った」米・統一教会の元幹部が語った “選挙協力” と “高額報酬” の実態【報道特集】

TBS NEWS DIG

30 July 2022

アメリカ統一教会の元幹部が報道特集の取材に応じ、教団が政界に近づいた理由、そして政治家に多額の報酬を出していた実態などを証言した。

■『私は文（鮮明）氏の犬だ』

日本での献金はアメリカでの信者獲得にも使われたという。

1960年代から70年代にかけてアメリカ統一教会の政治部門の幹部だったアレン・ウッド氏。報道特集の取材に応じ、教団の実態を証言した。

アメリカ統一教会の元幹部アレン・ウッド氏「文鮮明氏らは権力者たちを支配しようとしていました。信者に “組織が世界を牛耳っている” と信じ込ませるためです。そのために権力者たちのビデオを作成し、若者に見せるのです」

ウッド氏自身、脱会するまではこうした講演を通して洗脳されていったという。

1970年に日本武道館でおこなわれた統一教会と関連する政治団体「国際勝共連合」のイベント。ここでウッド氏は司会を務めた。日本からは右翼の大物・笹川良一氏も出席。ウッド氏は笹川氏の発言が忘れられないと話す。

アメリカ統一教会の元幹部アレン・ウッド氏「彼（笹川）は胸をたたきながら『私は文（鮮明）氏の犬だ』と言いました。驚くべき発言でした。日本で最強の人物が自分を文氏の下に位置づけたのです。あの時、『我々は世界を支配できる』と思いました」

■岸元総理がレーガン大統領に送った親書には・・・

さらに、文鮮明氏と深い関係にあったのが、安倍晋三氏の祖父・岸信介元総理だという。1982年、韓国で行われた合同結婚式には岸元総理が祝電を送っていた。

岸元総理祝電代読「天を中心にとした理想と信念のもとに指導し、教育しておられる。私が文鮮明先生を心より尊敬する所以であります」

これはその2年後の1984年、岸元総理がレーガン大統領に送った親書だ。

文書（岸信介）「本日、大統領にお願いをしたいと思います。文（鮮明）尊師は現在、不当に収監されています。あなたのご協力のもと、何としてでも、一刻も早く、彼が不当な収監から解放されるよう、お願いいたします」

実は、この親書が出されたとき、文氏はアメリカで脱税の罪で収監されていた。岸元総理がレーガン大統領に文氏の釈放を依頼する内容だったのだ。

文書（岸信介）「文尊師は、自由の思想を掲げ、共産主義の誤りを正すことに人生をかけている、誠実な男だと私は理解しております。彼の存在は、現在も将来も自由と民主主義の維持にとって、貴重で不可欠です」

■反共産主義を掲げると…

結果的には、釈放には至らなかったが8年後の1992年。文氏はアメリカでの実刑後、初めて来日した。

このときに政府に働きかけをしたのが、自民党の金丸信副総裁（当時）だったという。さらに来日中に、中曽根元総理と会談を行っていた。

中曽根康弘元総理「あの人（文鮮明氏）は統一教会、あるいは昔の勝共というような関係で、むしろ共産圏の中へくさびを入れていくと。そして自由世界の空気、光を入れていくと。そういうような一貫した方針でやられたんではないかと思いますね」

アメリカ統一教会の元幹部アレン・ウッド氏は1970年代、ベトナム戦争の終結後、反共産主義を掲げることで教団の��響力が増したと話す。

中でも共和党との関係は…

アメリカ統一教会の元幹部アレン・ウッド氏「レーガン大統領は教団の関連団体が発行するワシントン・タイムズを見せながら『私が読んでいる新聞はこれだけだ』と言いました。文氏がオーナーの新聞です。政治的プロパガンダのための新聞で、政界に入り込もうとしていました。共和党の政治家を取り込むという点では大いに成功しました」

傘下にある新聞で歴代大統領への支持を表明した。さらに選挙運動においては…

アメリカ統一教会の元幹部アレン・ウッド氏「レーガン、ブッシュ親子、トランプ、その全員が統一教会の大々的な支援を受けました。信者が資金集めをし、全米各地で戸別訪問をして支持を広げました。父親のブッシュが『統一教会の信者等がいなければ、選挙での勝利はなかった』と発言していました」

■1回のスピーチで約1億3千万円

また大物政治家がイベントに出席したり、メッセージを送ったりする際には、多額の報酬が支払われていたことも証言した。

アメリカ統一教会の元幹部アレン・ウッド氏「ブッシュが大統領の任期を終えて、韓国に講演に行ったときは1回のスピーチにつき100万ドル（約1億3千万円）を支払いました。レーガンにも1回100万ドル支払いました。これは凄いことです。なぜならこの金は洗脳されて奴隷となった若者たちから巻き上げたものだったからです」

去年9月には、関連団体のイベントにトランプ前大統領もビデオメッセージを送るなど、共和党とのつながりは現在も続いているという。

選挙協力や多額の報酬によって日本やアメリカの政界とつながりを深めた旧統一教会。ウッド氏は…

アメリカ統一教会の元幹部アレン・ウッド氏「（文氏は）イデオロギーで心を掴めなければ金で買収するんだと言っていました」

______________________________________

Nobusuke Kishi wrote a letter to President Reagan to get Moon released from jail; he was in for perjury, document forgery and tax evasion in 1984

Former Japanese Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi was Honorary Chairman at Moon’s 1984 World Media Conference

Allen Tate Wood on Sun Myung Moon and the Unification Church

The case of a mysterious death at a CARP training session in Japan. The 18 year-old student had been beaten.

#Allen Tate Wood #Unification Church #Universal Peace Federation #UPF #Sun Myung Moon #WACL #World Anti-Communism League #church history #nobusuke kishi #ryoichi sasakawa #reagan #anti-communism #unification church in japan #japanese church

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randomnameless · 15 days

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what do you think would realistically edelgerd's fate post AG?

We know Doylist wise she was Supreme Puppet'd to have her, somehow, survive (when we know how she reacts to military defeat in AM!) and removing all of her agency - Supreme Puppet was Puppet'd, so she cannot be hold accountable for what she did as Lobotogard, or with her regressed state, cannot be accountable the things she did with her mind intact.

I've already ranted about this special plot device to make sure the waifu escapes the axe and its sexist undertones, but damn if thinking about it to this day pisses me to no ends.

Faced with Regressed!Leader, Dimitri dgaf and moves on (or rather, away from her, reminiscing of AM - he has other things to do than to linger on his relationship with Supreme Leader).

I'd say -

Dimtri dgaf and leaves her to her own devices (which would be a nod to the "parley"? Now that Supreme Leader became one of the "weaks" what is she going to do? Bootstraps or rely on a support system she so much decried?) and move to Enbarr to put an end to the War.

But thinking in more serious terms?

His bannermen, friends and people wouldn't settle for anything else than Supreme Leader's death (maybe not on the gates on Enbarr?). She's the one who started this war and had so many people killed in her imperialist bid, so the only way Supreme Leader escapes death is with the Church.

Now, Supreme Puppet'd by Thales and maybe acknowledging Supreme Leader's second crust, Rhea might be more partial to her - she had been used as a plaything by Agarthans (hopefully she developped her racist tendencies after the experiments?) - and could see her as a victim.

On the other hand, she did start this war, and had more agency than expected given how she petitionned the CoS to war against the Agarthans who infiltrated her Empire - and yet, she still launched her attack on the monastery of her own free will.

Rhea is a compassionate person (Yuri still exists even after killing her knights!) so I think, with all things considered - Supreme Leader's status as a victim of Agarthans, Supreme Puppet and Lobotogard, but also, the war she declared and planned, sacking Garreg Mach, attacking the CoS both spiritually (the Southern Church thing was meant to be a direct "contradiction?" to what she preaches?) and martially, and MAGA > Peace - I'd say Rhea'd agree on not killing Supreme Leader, but at the only condition that she remains with the CoS, in something like her sentence will be to rebuild what she destroyed and mend the wounds she caused so that she might have a different outlook on Fodlan and its people (aka, not going all "i don't mind sacrificing them to reach my goals") when she will remember what she did/who she was, and/or will not become the same "tyrant" she was when she will "grow up" (mentally speaking?).

But that's at the only condition that she never gets to rule anything ever again or hold any kind of political power returning to Adrestia/Enbarr - if those conditions aren't met, she will be executed.

(and maybe to appease the people she's now supposed to work with, Rhea will lend her some old bottle of hairdye, maybe people will not see her as the former emperor who bled the continent for her whims, but as someone who is living a new life)

Rhea might thus "request custody" of Supreme Puppet and while the Kingdom might want her dead, the Church, as the main victim of the war, can have the last say (besides Dimitri might be relieved that Supreme Leader will not be executed), however, the Church asks to everyone present to tell their people that the "Supreme Leader who declared this war of unification died and is no more", maybe taking her crown and Aymr away, as proof she's "dead".

It sounds a bit too merciful coming from Rhea, when we see her in Tru Piss and with her history as Seiros the Warrior - but post!AG!Rhea imo is in a different mood, first of all, with Thales gone there are no people who will target Nabateans because of their race (so no genocide PTSD anymore?) and/or try to make new relics, and unlike the events of FE16, Rhea spent the last few years living with humans who demonstrated they could be trustworthy and actually helped her when she was in need (tfw Rhea doesn't know about Dimitro).

I can see her having more faith in humans and a future in Fodlan for everyone post!AG, as Dimitri and the Kingdom people seem to be trustworthy, than in FE16 when all of the events we play through in WC are basically triggering her genocide trauma (people hunting bones and crest stones, killing Jerry, turning her beloved wards in demonic beasts, some people targeting her for no plausible reason (unless the Western Church knew she had pointy ears?), Hresvelg becoming the new Nemesis, etc...)

That being said...

If Clout tries, during the epilogue, to take a shot at Rhea - when people are celebrating the end of the war - I cannot see things not turning sour for him.

Granted, if you want realism, Clout and GW cannot function because they expect the people involved to be completely stupid, but for this AU's sake, let's say Clout and Dimitro had their heart to heart in Zahrofl, he holds her at Failnaught range and demands her death/resignation/removal of her church.

If he shots and kills her (because Rhea would have dropped her guard, thinking she is surrounded by allies!), I cannot see anyone/anything preventing Claude from being dismembered/slaughtered in the seconds after Rhea's death - not even Dimitro because, hey, Clout said he will accept the consequences of his actions to "change" Fodlan, right? - by Church forces, Kingdom forces and, if we want to push the realism card, even Alliance forces (why the fuck did he do that? Maybe it's a weird doppelganger like those dark mages use! Or Erwin will behead him himself - sure this guy did that, but he doesn't represent the Alliance!).

In the chaos and confusion following Rhea's death, Supreme Leader is executed ("if she never started her war, nothing like this would have ever happened") and Fodlan is fucked when Sothis eventually pops up.

If Clout only holds Rhea at "Failnaught range" and she wonders wtf and asks him to explain - while the entire host of people from, again, the Kingdom, the CoS and KoS, the former BL and maybe some peeps from the GD and Leicester are there - Clout gives his bonker

"Who steals your freedom and gives you an endless list of duties and obligations simply because you have a Crest? Who forces you and your friends into a bunch of unwanted marriages and positions of power? The church even forbids any official contact with outside regions! Not exactly great for Faerghus, right? Being as close to Sreng and Albinea as you are."

reasons, Rhea's first reaction might be to crush him (because now she's on guard!) but if Dimitro says this is not a matter partaining to Faerghus and would rather stay aside (which would throw a wrench in Rhea's previous belief that humanity can be trusted again!) the CoS/Kos, Kingdom and Alliance people might just call crap and bullshit and debunk his baseless accusations (rekindling Rhea's faith in people and Fodlan?) from Annette telling him that they already trade with Albinea, Duscur generals and even Dedue telling him they witnessed the Church helping them regardless of their place of birth, Ingrid saying that her marriage to Glenn had not be organised or planned by the Church, but out of the affection they both had for each other and Ashe telling him those obligations and duties he seems to resent don't exist because he has a crest, but out of a genuine desire to help people.

Maybe we can add Judith wondering wtf is going on with Clout-boy, has he forgotten people get responsabilities and duties because they want them or because Nobility exists well beyond Fodlan's borders? "And I thought you had more common sense than this!"

A Goneril bannerman/loldier might add that the Archbishop asked them to treat Almyran as something else than nuisances and parasites when she came to visit and left with an Almyran kid in tow, but hey - they always attack them for no reason and create strife in Goneril for no reason, haven't they attacked just before the Academy closed?

Basically everyone debunking his claims, Clout realising that said claims were sprouted from his ass so he gets some tissue and wipes it clean.

Clout then relents (tfw no allies to support him) and the Alliance's roundtable finally vote to elect a branch member of the Riegan fam as head of the House - Clout leaves Failnaught and departs "somewhere far away".

(maybe he returns as Almyra's King later on, or as a crown prince, with a treaty/offer of peace, wishing for prosperity between the two lands).

-> all jokes aside and in a more serious setting, even with Dimitro not outwardly condemning him, Clout's course of action would be frowned upon by every party - Alliance included - and depending on his involvment, Dimitro himself might be challenged by his vassals/friends "Sure it's not about Faerghus' safety, but are we really going to let this guy target and ice and bring more chaos by eliminating our ally - who repaid our hospitality with kindness and supported our war efforts - when the Alliance refused to assist us when the Empire swore to Make Adrestia Great Again and warred against us?"

Granted, in this more serious setting, Dimitro doesn't exist because the plot doesn't bend backwards to accomodate Clout so...

Even if Clout doesn't try to ice Rhea asap and waits maybe 8 months after GM's recovery and the end of the war, I cannot see the Lords of the Alliance - when they can try to do "business as usual" with the former Adrestia lands - endorse a military campaing against the Church to, uh, decalcify Fodlan's current order to put YOLO in place. Clout suggesting this is basically handing to Erwin/anyone reason enough to depose him from his seat as Riegan's representative (the alliance has more to win with rebuilding Adrestia/Fodlan than to wage a pointless war that will alienate everyone and leave their backs open to an Almyran attack), and he either runs away to Almyra or dies in a pointless attempt to start a civil war/rebellion to garner troops to target the Church.

For sure this looks like an ideal "and everything ends good AU!" but in a more serious setting, where people have common sense and don't suddenly hold idiot plot balls to make sure Clout seems to have a point... his POV doesn't hold under scrutiny and no one can normally follow him, unless they have another agenda (Make Leicester Great Again?)

#anon #replies #3 nopes #tbh if you want a serious setting in Nopes #erase GW from the plot #while I can see an alliance with Adrestia I can't see the Federation existing without serious civil unrest in Leicester #we bow to no king and no emperor cannot be overthrown in one night by Clout who listened to Barney #in b4 Supreme Leader when she recovers her memories still want to throw a continental war to unify the world #it will depend on how far in MAGA + lizards bad Supreme Leader was before the experiments #Rhea's anger at Supreme Leader is qualmed in this AG AU bcs she realises Supreme Leader was puppet'd by Agarthans #and yet actions have consequences #let her heal and help the ones she maimed #what happens in Adrestia though? I guess it's under Faerghus' jurisdiction #and it either becomes a hell hole or is a temporary hell hole until some random becomes Emperor or tris to make a government #maybe a republic? Even if we know how they end in the FE verse...#sorry anon i disgressed on clout when you asked about supreme puppet but #they go hand in hand in this game #and i happened on a fanfic i'm not fond of so here goes

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