#he is indeed stressed and in a western! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

eruverse · 5 months

Text

Another Ivan Braginsky headcanon

I keep perfecting my Ivan and I think this isn’t his final form yet but here it goes:

- Religion: none, but he’s no staunch atheist. He was a firm atheist during USSR era but these days he just doesn’t have ‘God in his daily life’ even though he keeps some superstitions and is respectful and even compliant of some Orthodox traditions during certain holidays. Some of his superstitions he developed on his own even, since he was a really sensitive child. Basically he doesn’t really think about it and is just a cultural observer.

- Sexuality: he just doesn’t think about it. Technically bi so he can get on with anyone and he has, but he thinks it’s useless for someone as old as he is to scrutinize one’s own sexuality very seriously. If he likes someone he’s either going to get it on or he’ll just suffer in silence, shit about sexuality. Is actually chill with any sexuality or kinks as long as it’s kept private — what he hates is the overt display of sexuality in public. Then he’ll start cursing ‘woke western culture’.

Regarding his romantic/sexual experiences: not as few as people think, not as many as people think. Neither prude nor promiscuous, but I would say those experiences tend to be on the more scarce end. He is not without drive but also isn’t desperate; can go a long time without sex. Contrary to popular belief, the USSR wasn’t his harem and he had probably the least sex out of all (or being one of the least promiscuous there). If sexual experiences are already scarce, the people who have ever been his actual lovers are even more so he probably can count them on one hand. Why? He is actually a distrustful person with a lot of paranoia so he hardly ever lets people in, though I would say, what he is even remotely desperate of is love (not necessarily romance though that is also nice). Therefore once he gets a lover he can stay committed for a long time, at least mentally if not technically. Ivan does not forget people and keeps dear ones close to his heart, and probably people who dislike him even closer.

- Contrary to popular belief, he doesn’t look that miserable from outside. Or at least, if you think he is miserable enough he actually has more of that stuff kept inside. He contemplates his misery through books and pieces of literature he pores into, or when he’s being insomniac and contemplating shits. Other than that though, he doesn’t really show it; most other people cannot understand anyway, or will start misunderstanding stuff.

- For him, those who can still bemoan fate are both privileged and still doing well enough actually. But those who are at the brink of it? They suddenly just, go. Ivan might not see the light at the end of tunnel nine times out of ten but he has life, life, life to go through. Life goes on regardless even if you’re miserable; Ivan is a person like this.

- Accent: is capable of speaking accent-less English but keeps using Russian accent and even emphasizing stresses bc it scares people. Especially because he is so huge it throws people off.

- I once said he was ‘insane’. But I then wrote him in fanfics and he came off mostly eccentric instead, at least from the outside. Basically tho, he wouldn’t just go off right off the bat and hit people or anything; he can, and he will if provoked enough, but mostly it’s just threats which he doesn’t follow through either because he’s a slob, because he means it to be empty, or because it’s just fun. But if you speak to him it’ll be pretty apparent he has some loose screws in his head indeed, especially if you’re close. He kind of thinks it’s just ‘normal human state’ to be having some loose screws tho.

- Morbid sense of humor and downright demented at times. He thinks it’s normal but also will tell these kind of jokes a lot because it creeps people out and he knows it. He likes those reactions.

- Ivan is a man of many layers, and often ppl cannot determine whether what they see is the real Ivan or what he wants to show. That’s if they’re not close; those close to him will be able to hazard better guesses, but sometimes they’ll also miss terribly. Why’s that? No one knows. Ivan looks both like someone who overthinks things and not think at all at the same time. Maybe there’s no difference between these two!

- Part of the many layers is just protection: Ivan doesn’t trust you and he doesn’t even trust himself. It’s also the case tho that what ppl think of himself is often so much cooler than what he actually is and thus he just goes with that (tho sometimes he’s annoyed because hey it’s Too Different).

- Resident troll (if that’s what people wish). Will lie or hide stuff (if you deserve it). But often he’ll lie just because he can. Everyone lies, what’s the difference? Things are bad, but they’re the same bad everywhere else.

- Is both better and worse at things people accuse him of doing/being. But what is true is that he is a slob.

- Lets problems grow and procrastinates on solving them. When they kick him in the ass, he solves them badly and feels betrayed by fate.

- Is actually pretty generous. Just unreliable af at times (either from mismanagement, misremembering, prioritizing the wrong things… all kinds of things)

- Has both deep insecurities and deep pride. Funny that these things usually exist at the same time in people! He both wants to be like others (to fit in, to be accepted) and only being ‘himself’ because there’s no other way. Being himself, being different, because he is rejected anyway, what’s the catch?

- Will quote Russian poems or pieces of literature during situations that call for it (will refrain from mentioning specific poems here bc that says more abt me than abt Ivan Braginsky lmao)

- He’s not visibly excited about kids though will totally have his own if he could, maybe just one tho. Totally envies humans, including the fact that they’re able to permanently die.

#hetalia #aph russia #hws russia #my heacanon

27 notes · View notes

argyrocratie · 4 months

Text

"As we shall see in greater detail below, the Western Allies established capitalist provisional governments in liberated Axis territory — often overseen by former Axis collaborators — and forcibly dispossessed leftist anti-fascist resistance movements from their gains on the ground. But they did so with the willing cooperation of Stalin who, for the sake of maintaining a postwar partnership with Roosevelt and Churchill, was quite happy to throw Western European communists under the bus and order them to submit — even when they might plausibly have been able to hold on to power against U.S. and British opposition. Kolko raises the question as to

why there was far less change in southern and western Europe after 1944, when armed Resistance forces might have filled the immense vacuum that the discredited traditional conservative classes created because so many of them were collaborators and fascists. Why, in such a context, there was no serious political crisis in any European country where the masses were radicalized, save Greece, reveals a great deal about the nature and objectives of the Soviet Union and the Communist parties, as well as the origins of the long peace in Europe that has begun to erode dramatically since their demise.[40]

He elaborates on the last, very suggestive clause of this quote by further asking

whether the very existence of the Soviet Union itself, and its hegemony over Communist parties, indeed spared the remainder of Europe the basic political and social challenges they might have confronted, challenges comparable to the far greater dangers Europe’s rulers faced after the much less destructive war of 1914-1918.[41]

Specifically, owing to his hostility to anything not subject to his absolute control, Stalin exerted a powerful restraining force on Western communist parties whose new mass memberships were considerably more radical and unpredictable than their leaders.

Given the overall balance of forces… in Greece, Italy, and France after 1943, the Left was closer to attaining dominant power in at least two of these nations than at any time before or since. The vast numbers who entered Communist and other parties were not deeply indoctrinated or disciplined ideologically…. [But] the Communists’ real problem was not the possible weaknesses in the masses’ commitments made late in the war, which Communist writers later cited to exonerate their parties’ passivity at this crucial moment — notwithstanding the reality that the main, if not exclusive reason for their restraint was Stalin’s policy…. The principal challenge confronting Stalin and his anointed leaders was to prevent the enormous numbers who enrolled from acting autonomously of the Party line, which is precisely what they did in Greece when reprisals left them no alternative. For the Communist elites the greatest threat inherent in large memberships under tight elite control was the possibility of losing absolute mastery of their parties’ organizations. …Had the Communists not existed, or not played the role of an anodyne for social discontent, then there certainly would have been many more strikes and social conflicts, and quite possibly more truly revolutionary challenges in southern and western Europe than the one in Greece….[42]

Elsewhere, again, he stresses the central role of the communist parties in facilitating the restoration of capitalist rule in Western Europe: “during the critical period of 1944-1947 the Russians gave the Western European social system a reprieve during which to consolidate its power.”[43]

The United Front strategy was the key to Communist political policy everywhere from 1943 through 1946, and well beyond then in France and Italy as well…. The only time the Left posed a true threat to Anglo-American interests occurred when the Russians did not fully control it or when the breakdown of the local social order was so complete that even the Communists could not prevent a sharp response from the masses. After the war, many of the militants in the Communist movement who directed the leadership of the Resistance found official conservatism uncomfortable, and the pattern of internal purges within most postwar Communist parties followed the division between the bureaucratic conservatives and ex-Resistance militants, often depending on who spent the war in Moscow or in the home country. In Western Europe the Communists worked for elements of stability that reinforced the Old Order: no strikes, high production, and the like, and in fact took genuine pride in their very substantial administrative aid in restoring the Old Order in a refurbished form. Capitalism survived only where the Communists and Social Democrats were instrumental in reforming it. Elsewhere upheaval and collapse ensued and the Anglo-Americans and their allies had to apply sheer force against the revolutionary response of the people. In this sense the Left became the savior of Western European capitalism….[44]

-Kevin Carson, "The Undeclared Condominium: The USSR As Partner in a Conservative World Order" (2023)

#ussr #communism #world war 2 #kevin carson #capitalism #Gabriel Kolko

6 notes · View notes

justforbooks · 11 months

Photo

Silvio Berlusconi, who has died aged 86, dominated the public life of his country in a way no Italian had done since the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. He was the Republic’s longest-serving prime minister. But whereas he was brilliant at winning and holding power, the use he made of it was disastrous. The “Berlusconi decade” – he held power for eight of the years between 2001 and 2011 – will be remembered as a period in which the Italian economy virtually stood still.

Berlusconi’s influence extended far beyond politics and the economy. It can be argued that he gathered to himself more power than was ever wielded by one individual in a western democracy. At the height of his career he was Italy’s richest man, and there was almost no area of Italian life untouched by his influence. His business empire encompassed property and insurance, debt financing and retail interests. He was the chairman of his country’s league-topping football side.

But, above all, he and the members of his immediate family held sway over a media empire whose potential for influence on public opinion had no parallel in Europe. It included three of Italy’s four commercial networks, two large publishing houses, two national newspapers, the country’s largest film production and distribution firm, and 50 periodicals, including one of Italy’s two main weekly news magazines. Since the state-owned RAI’s three TV channels were also answerable to Berlusconi in his role as prime minister, he directly or indirectly influenced 90% of everything that was watched on television in a country where TV enjoyed disproportionate influence because so few people read its newspapers.

The importance Berlusconi attached to images was characteristic of a society that has invariably placed great stress on appearance. Always immaculately dressed, he sported a tan as unchanging as his smile. But, as he aged, it became increasingly difficult for him to project the image he sought, and in 2004 he invited widespread ridicule outside Italy by having first a facelift and then a hair transplant.

Berlusconi’s career can be seen as one long exercise in getting around obstacles that, in a society less tolerant of rule-breaking, would have stopped him long before he reached government. He constructed a national commercial television network in a country where the possibility had been considered illegal. He entered politics despite a breathtaking assortment of conflicting interests. He survived repeated attempts to have him put in jail for offences including the bribing of judges. He was found guilty on several occasions. Some of his convictions were overturned on appeal. But in the remaining cases, he was saved from the consequences of his dishonesty by a statute of limitations.

In a way that was reminiscent of Margaret Thatcher, he cut across class barriers to construct an ample majority for the right. But, unlike his fellow conservative, he was never fully a politician. Indeed, his admirers credited him with pioneering a form of “anti-politics”. Certainly Berlusconi could be rash, tactless and, on occasions, outrageous. In a period of less than two months in 2003, he compared a German MEP with a concentration camp guard, said Italian judges were “mentally disturbed” and appeared to defend Mussolini’s fascist regime. But, in several respects, he was a product of the established political order he appeared to be challenging.

His success was made possible by patronage from one of its most corrupt politicians, Bettino Craxi. He may also have benefited greatly from his membership of the secretive and conspiratorial P2 Masonic lodge. Berlusconi always claimed that his greatest achievement was to save Italy from communism at the 1994 elections. And Italian capitalism was indeed in deep crisis then. The collapse of the Christian Democrats and the socialists left business people without politicians who could oil the wheels of government for them. Of no one was this truer than Berlusconi, whose patron, Craxi, had fled the country.

The only sizeable movement left more or less unscathed by the scandals ravaging the old order was the Party of the Democratic Left (PDS), which had ditched Marxism after the fall of the Berlin Wall. When he “came on to the pitch” (the archetypal example of his astute application of sporting terms to political life), Berlusconi joined a side with almost no players. Yet within just a few months his team had won, and its “captain” had accomplished at least two remarkable feats. One was to show for the first time that a politician with money and a firm grip on the mass media could win power without a traditional party rooted in an ideology. Berlusconi’s own party, Forza Italia (“Come on Italy”) was created by his advertising agency, Publitalia.

His other accomplishment was to mould a “new right” from the ruins of the postwar system. Apart from Forza Italia, it included Umberto Bossi’s regionalist Northern League and Gianfranco Fini’s MSI which, for the sake of political respectability, reinvented itself as a “post-fascist” National Alliance. Berlusconi’s coalition later took in the more conservative of the remaining Christian Democrats.

The man who for the best part of 20 years was the undisputed leader of the Italian right was born in a Milan suburb, the son of Luigi Berlusconi, a bank clerk, and his wife, Rosella (nee Bossi, though not related to Umberto). He provided early evidence of a talent for making money by ghostwriting essays for his fellow secondary school students. He went on to study law at university and paid for his tuition by selling vacuum cleaners, photographing social events and running a band that played on summer cruise ships. Berlusconi was the vocalist. He was particularly fond of Neapolitan love songs and later in life engaged a restaurant guitarist-singer from Naples to play for him and his guests. He and his resident minstrel made several CDs together.

After graduating in 1961, Berlusconi went straight into business, borrowing the money he needed to set up his first company, Edilnord, from the bank where his father worked. It was not long before he was engaged in a huge project, the development of Milano 2, a complex on the eastern outskirts of his home city that included 4,000 flats, a hotel and offices.

One of the enduring mysteries of Berlusconi’s career is how a young and largely untested property developer was able to get together the capital he needed. He himself refused to say. His adversaries suggested it came from the mafia. His supporters hinted that it was the undeclared savings of rich Milanese who would have otherwise stashed it in Swiss banks.

The roots of Berlusconi’s media empire lay in Milano 2 and a cable television station he set up for its residents, Telemilano. Dodging a law that allowed only the RAI to broadcast nationally, Berlusconi wove a network of local stations that simultaneously broadcast the same programmes. By 1984, when his friend Craxi sanctioned the ruse by decree, Berlusconi’s Fininvest holding company owned three channels: Canale 5, Italia 1 and Rete 4. Two years later, he became chairman of Milan football club and under his indulgent stewardship it once again became one of the most triumphant sides in Europe. He sold the club in 2017 and took over Monza in 2018.

Berlusconi’s first experience of politics was less successful. His 1994 government collapsed before the year was out. Its efforts to curb the powers of the prosecutors who were harrying him provoked a national and international outcry. His attempts to reform the pension system prompted a national strike. And his coalition was beset by internal disagreement. After the prime minister was notified that Fininvest was under investigation for bribing tax officials – while he was hosting an international conference on organised crime – Bossi and his MPs defected to the opposition.

There were times over the next seven years in which it seemed highly likely that Berlusconi would never return to high office. But in 2001 he stormed back in a campaign won, not with a manifesto, but a contract and a biography. On a TV chat show, he flamboyantly signed a “contract with the Italian people” that listed his campaign pledges. As he did so, a skilfully crafted account of his life entitled An Italian Story was being delivered, at Berlusconi’s personal expense, to every household in the land.

His second stint as prime minister was the longest of any Italian politician since the second world war (though, because of a reshuffle in 2005, it technically comprised two governments). After decades of short-lived administrations, Berlusconi’s 2001-06 government marked a unique opportunity to relaunch a country whose economy was already stalling. Instead, he used it largely to deal with issues of personal concern.

Laws were passed that obstructed trans-European investigations (such as one launched into Berlusconi’s Spanish dealings), prevented Rete 4 being moved to satellite, undermined the independence of the prosecution service and provided Berlusconi himself with immunity from prosecution (though that one was overturned by the constitutional court). Pension and labour market reforms were enacted. But the government shied away from the other structural reforms Italy’s ailing economy so obviously needed. Towards the end of its life, moreover, it began to lose its grip on the public accounts.

Mounting concern over Berlusconi’s management of the economy and the public finances coincided with growing divisions in his governing majority. The conservative Christian Democrats became increasingly fractious. An election was due the following year, and as it became clear that the right had little chance of hanging on to power, Berlusconi embarked on a project that – more than any other – betrayed his contempt for the nation he claimed to love. He rammed through parliament an electoral law that tipped the odds in favour of the right and, at the same time, ensured the left would have difficulty in governing if it won.

This breathtakingly cynical legislation made it possible for the winning party to have a majority in the lower house, but not in the upper. There, the odds were in favour of parties, such as the Northern League, whose support was regionally concentrated. Even the politician who drafted it called it a porcata (a “load of rubbish”, but also a “dirty trick”).

The 2005 act did away with first-past-the-post rules that had given Italy both a relatively stable, two-party (or rather, two-alliance) system and single-member constituencies whose parliamentary representatives had an interest in responding to the concerns of their voters. Unsurprisingly, the new law opened a gulf between the electors and the elected that helps explain the revolt against traditional politics, and mainstream politicians, later spearheaded by the comedian Beppe Grillo and his Five Star Movement. However, the immediate effect of the new electoral rules was slight. If the centre-left returned to power with only a two-seat majority in the Senate, it had less to do with the unfairness of the law than with Berlusconi’s genius for campaigning.

Throughout his career, he demonstrated an uncanny ability to monopolise the nation’s attention, often using shock tactics for the purpose. He opened the 2006 campaign by comparing himself to Jesus, and closed it by saying he could not believe the left would win because there were not “that many dickheads around”. In the event, he lost by barely 40,000 votes. And in one of the many ways in which Berlusconi prefigured Donald Trump, he refused to acknowledge defeat. It took almost a month to get him to resign.

The coalition under Romano Prodi that replaced Berlusconi’s government was probably doomed to be short-lived. And its members did not help by squabbling incessantly. But among the causes of its demise two years later was the defection of a senator who in 2013 told prosecutors Berlusconi had paid him €3m to do so.

To the renewed astonishment of Italy’s European partners, Berlusconi coasted to victory in the 2008 election.

More than ever before, foreigners asked how Italians could possibly elect as their leader – not once, not twice, but three times – a man widely viewed outside Italy as a buffoon, or worse. His media power and financial resources certainly accounted for a large part of the answer. But they were never the whole of it. Italians have always loved a winner and he was the embodiment of self-made success. He had a 70-room mansion outside Milan, a villa on the Costa Smeralda, a palazzo in Rome and about 20 other homes. In 1990, he had married the actor Veronica Lario (nee Miriam Bartolini), as his second wife. By the time of their wedding, they had already had a son and two daughters. He had also fathered a son and daughter by his first wife, Carla dall’Oglio, from whom he was divorced in 1985.

Berlusconi’s successful career appeared to offer Italians the hope that, with enough effort and intelligence, they too could escape the rigid curbs imposed on them by their society to have it all. His supporters also liked the way his gags and gaffes marked him out from the normal run of career politicians. But then he was a populist of genius. He was the first modern Italian politician to speak to voters in the language of the streets. Never one to shrink from oversimplifying an issue, he also knew how to push the emotional buttons that would get a response from his compatriots.

He was particularly adept at depicting politics in terms of the family. A scholarly analysis of his speeches concluded he adopted the role of the mamma: endlessly complaining about the sacrifices he made on behalf of his “children”, the electorate, to justify a possessive claim on their loyalty and affection in the form of votes. Perhaps most decisive, though, was Berlusconi’s shameless readiness to appeal to the voters’ basest, most anti-social instincts. His “dickheads” remark was one of many in which Berlusconi sent a coded message to Italians that, if they put him into office, he would not tax them too heavily and would take an indulgent approach to evasion. After 2008, however, the state of Italy’s public accounts, and the obligations imposed on it by membership of the euro, forced him to be more responsible. Nor was that the only promising thing about his fourth government.

Berlusconi had always claimed he had been prevented from carrying out a liberal revolution in Italy because of the obstruction of his allies, particularly the conservative Christian Democrats. But they had split from him in 2006, and the following year Berlusconi embarked on a campaign to forge a united Italian right. In the end, he succeeded only in merging his own party with the National Alliance. But the resulting movement, which he called the Freedom People (PdL), was the nearest thing modern Italy had seen to a mass conservative movement.

By the time of its inaugural congress in March 2009 even some of his most unyielding critics were admitting that he seemed to have learned something from the failure of his earlier governments. Some of his ministers were attempting genuine reforms: imposing changes on Italy’s sclerotic civil service and its hidebound, gerontocratic university system. Then, entirely because of Berlusconi, it all went horribly wrong.

It had long been clear that his marriage was in trouble. As far back as 2002, he had astonished a press conference by commenting on the good looks of his guest, the then Danish prime minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, and suggesting he might be of interest to Lario.

In 2007, she demanded a public apology after he openly flirted with Mara Carfagna, a former showgirl and glamour model who had been elected to parliament for his party. He gave the apology, but the following year in a move that left feminists open-mouthed he made Carfagna equal opportunities minister. The scandal over her appointment was to pale into insignificance, however, in comparison with what was to come. One theory was that it had to do with the death of Berlusconi’s beloved mother, Rosa, in 2008. She, it was said, had held him back from some of his greater follies and without her restraining influence he lost all sense of proportion and discretion.

The first sign of trouble came, once again, from Lario when she denounced as “shamelessly tacky” a scheme to put up a bevy of showgirls as PdL candidates for the European parliament. Days later, she announced through leaks to the press that she was seeking a divorce and accused her husband of “consorting with minors”. Her accusation brought to light Berlusconi’s never fully explained relationship with a Neapolitan teenager, Noemi Letizia. From then on, it was one sex scandal after another as the public learned of goings-on in the prime minister’s homes reminiscent of the later Roman empire.

First, there were claims that he had used his official plane to fly young women to his estate on the Costa Smeralda. Then came evidence of sex workers mingling with actresses and dancers at dinner parties in his Roman home (one even recorded her pillow talk with the prime minister, which was then put on the internet). But nothing was to be as damaging for Berlusconi as the investigation – and subsequent trial – centring on his relationship with a young Moroccan runaway, Karima el-Mahroug, who was 17 at the time she attended so-called “bunga bunga” parties at his mansion near Milan.

The sex scandals coincided with an accumulation of political and economic storm clouds. Impatient with Berlusconi’s undemocratic management of the PdL, his long-standing ally Fini called unsuccessfully for change before he was ejected, along with a small group of followers in late 2010. Their departure left Berlusconi with a wafer-thin majority, just as his government began to suffer the effects of the global economic crisis. His reaction to the US credit crunch of 2008 had been to insist it would not affect Italy. But the following year the economy shrank by 5.5%, and as 2010 progressed a growing number of Berlusconi’s compatriots began to realise they had been tricked. With the crisis spreading into the eurozone the following year, Berlusconi, his popularity ratings diving, repeatedly tried to avoid implementing the austerity measures demanded of him by the European institutions. Italy’s borrowing costs soared and his supporters grew increasingly restive.

By November 2011, no longer able to command a majority in the lower house of parliament, Berlusconi stepped down to make way for a non-party government headed by the former EU commissioner Mario Monti. Again, it seemed as if his political career was over. But that was to reckon without Berlusconi’s formidable resources and his vested interest in staying in politics, both as a way of keeping out of jail and safeguarding his companies. The following December, after watching as support drained from the PdL, Berlusconi snatched back the leadership, brought down the Monti government and forced an early election.

He did not lead the PdL back to government at the 2013 general election. But by reviving its partnership with the Northern League and promising to restore the proceeds of a much loathed tax on first homes, he saved it from eclipse. His rightwing alliance took enough seats to guarantee it an important role in the bargaining that followed. It ended in a left-right coalition headed by Enrico Letta. Once again, Berlusconi had made himself the arbiter of the Italian government’s fortunes. Or so he thought.

In the summer of 2013, Berlusconi’s legal difficulties turned from an irritant into a nightmare. In June, in a case brought against him because of his involvement with El-Mahroug, he was convicted of paying a juvenile sex worker and then misusing his official position to try to cover up their relationship. He was later acquitted of both charges on appeal.

But in August, his conviction in a less publicised trial involving his group’s trading activities was upheld. Berlusconi was sentenced to four years in jail for tax fraud. Partly because of an earlier amnesty, and partly because he was a first offender, he did not go to prison. But he did have to do community service in a home for elderly people.

Apparently furious with Letta for failing to protect him from the courts, Berlusconi tried to destroy him, as he had Monti. But his party’s ministers in the coalition refused to follow his orders and formed a new party, led by Berlusconi’s erstwhile heir apparent, Angelino Alfano. The rift highlighted the tycoon turned politician’s refusal to choose a political heir. Various successors were proclaimed, but each time Berlusconi’s giant ego got in the way.

Paradoxically, his warmest approval was reserved for an emerging rival: Matteo Renzi, of the centre-left Democratic party, who in early 2014 snatched power from Letta. Soon after, Renzi hatched a deal that pandered to the former prime minister’s vanity: Berlusconi would back the young leader’s ambitious programme of constitutional reform and thereby salvage his tattered reputation. He would emerge from the process as the godparent of a new Italy.

It was not to be. Renzi dumped him before the constitutional reform entered the decisive phase of its passage through parliament – a fateful decision because, without the support of Berlusconi’s party, which had reverted to its old name of Forza Italia, Renzi had to submit his proposals to a referendum, which he lost. By then, however, Berlusconi cut an increasingly baleful figure: the leader of a much-diminished party, surrounded by – critics said, hostage to – a coterie of hangers-on that included his new partner, Francesca Pascale, almost half a century his junior. As the results came in, showing Forza Italia struggling to get into double figures, Berlusconi suffered heart failure and later underwent surgery. It looked as if the curtain had finally come down on the longest running act in the variety show of European politics.

But that was to underestimate the man. Over the months that followed, Berlusconi moulded a new image for himself, as a soft-hearted grandfather – animal-loving and vegetarian, like his partner.

Forza Italia failed to gain any leverage at the 2018 general election, which ushered in a new kind of populism: that of the maverick Five Star Movement. Grillo’s followers were the senior partners in both the coalitions led by Giuseppe Conte that governed Italy until 2021. But Berlusconi’s party returned to power that year as part of a broadly based alliance in support of Conte’s successor, the former European Central Bank president, Mario Draghi.

Less than a year and half later, Berlusconi played a key role in bringing Draghi down. By then, the octogenarian TV tycoon had another improbably young partner, Pascale having left him and formed a partnership with another woman. Berlusconi’s new companion was Marta Fascina, a Forza Italia deputy just 33 years old at the time. Together, they hosted a lunch at one of the former prime minister’s many luxurious residences that sealed Draghi’s fate. Also at the table were Bossi’s successor as head of the League, Matteo Salvini, and Giorgia Meloni, the leader of the Brothers of Italy, a party with roots in neo-fascism that had been steadily eating into the League’s support.

At the general election that followed in 2022, their conservative alliance won an outright majority. But it was Meloni’s party that emerged with the largest number of votes and seats, and the right to take the prime ministership. Though she was significantly more reactionary than Berlusconi on many issues, Meloni, 40 years younger, had a very different conception of the role of women. Indeed, she once publicly criticised his “bunga bunga” parties.

It is profoundly ironic that with his last decisive political intervention, Berlusconi, the very embodiment of condescendingly patriarchal and sexist attitudes towards women, should have opened the way for Italy to acquire not only its first female prime minister, but one whom he found intolerably bossy.

Election to the European parliament in 2019 led to little after his health was affected by Covid-19. When he went into hospital with a lung infection in April he was found to have leukaemia.

He is survived by Marta and his children, Marina, Pier Silvio, Barbara, Eleonora and Luigi.

🔔 Silvio Berlusconi, businessman and politician, born 29 September 1936; died 12 June 2023

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at http://justforbooks.tumblr.com

#JUST FOR BOOKS #Silvio Berlusconi #in memoriam

19 notes · View notes

ammg-old2 · 9 months

Text

“The history of all coalitions is a tale of the reciprocal complaints of allies.” Thus said Winston Churchill, who knew whereof he spoke. This summer of discontent has been one punctuated by complaints: from Ukrainian officials desperate for weapons, and from Western diplomats and soldiers who think that the Ukrainians are ungrateful for the tanks, training, and other goods they have received.

Most of the Western sputtering occurred in and around last month’s NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, through anonymous leaks and public grumbles. Indeed, according to one report, the U.S. administration was so miffed by Volodymyr Zelensky’s complaint about the slowness of the NATO accession process that some advocated watering down language about NATO membership for Kyiv. Withdrawing the word invitation from the communiqué would, in their view, be a suitable punishment for a mean tweet.

One gasps at the petulance on display here, as at otherwise staunch British Defense Minister Ben Wallace’s snap about Ukraine treating its Western suppliers as a kind of Amazon of weaponry.

Peevishness about allies is a common and understandable mood that all senior diplomats and national-security officials eventually experience. A monologue sooner or later goes on in their heads that sounds something like this:

I’m lucky if I get a decent night’s sleep once a week. I leave work before my kids are up and get back after they’re asleep, six and sometimes seven days a week. I stress eat and can’t take a vacation without being called back to the office. Meanwhile, everybody thinks that the [insert ally’s name] are a bunch of victims or heroes, when they are, in fact, manipulative, ungrateful little bastards who don’t have a clue what I am doing to save them from [name a rival official, nation, or department of government]. And their American sympathizers are a bunch of nasty dupes who are just as ignorant, but with fewer excuses.

The adult thing to do in such cases is to get in a workout, complain to one’s loving spouse, or commit these thoughts to a diary for the delectation of historians who will read too much into what are, in sober hindsight, mere tantrums. To mention them to the press, or, even worse, act upon them is unfair and irresponsible.

Such eruptions occur when officials let their irritations suppress their empathy. At the moment of peak whine, they forget what it means to have a fifth of your country occupied, or to know that a far bigger country is attempting, every night, to smash your power plants, blockade your ports, and destroy your crops. They are not holding in the forefront of their minds obliterated towns and mass graves. They do not know what it is to welcome back exchanged prisoners of war who have been castrated. Or to mourn old men and women murdered, or younger men and women tortured and raped. Or to worry frantically about thousands of children kidnapped. They forget that while a Western official’s sleep may be interrupted by a phone call or an alarm clock, a Ukrainian official’s sleep is more likely (and more often) interrupted by a siren or the crash of a missile slamming into an apartment block.

Ukrainian officials are thankful. Analysis of their speeches reveals plenty of expressions of gratitude. But they are also insistent and vociferous in their cries for help. They would be both inhuman and derelict in their duty if they were to be anything else. Hopefully, after a whiskey (or two) on the plane back to Washington or London, Western officials simmer down and return to some level of maturity in understanding their beleaguered ally.

Unfortunately, the impulse behind the whining can also manifest in subtler, but no less pernicious, forms. Much of the public discussion of Ukraine reveals a tendency to patronize that country and others that escaped Russian rule. As Toomas Ilves, a former president of Estonia, acidly observed, “When I was at university in the mid-1970s, no one referred to Germany as ‘the former Third Reich.’ And yet today, more than 30 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, we keep on being referred to as ‘former Soviet bloc countries.’” Tropes about Ukrainian corruption abound, not without reason—but one may also legitimately ask why so many members of Congress enter the House or Senate with modest means and leave as multimillionaires, or why the children of U.S. presidents make fortunes off foreign countries, or, for that matter, why building in New York City is so infernally expensive.

The latest, richest example of Western condescension came in a report by German military intelligence that complains that although the Ukrainians are good students in their training courses, they are not following Western doctrine and, worse, are promoting officers on the basis of combat experience rather than theoretical knowledge. Similar, if less cutting, views have leaked out of the Pentagon.

Criticism by the German military of any country’s combat performance may be taken with a grain of salt. After all, the Bundeswehr has not seen serious combat in nearly eight decades. In Afghanistan, Germany was notorious for having considerably fewer than 10 percent of its thousands of in-country troops outside the wire of its forward operating bases at any time. One might further observe that when, long ago, the German army did fight wars, it, too, tended to promote experienced and successful combat leaders, as wartime armies usually do.

American complaints about the pace of Ukraine’s counteroffensive and its failure to achieve rapid breakthroughs are similarly misplaced. The Ukrainians indeed received a diverse array of tanks and armored vehicles, but they have far less mine-clearing equipment than they need. They tried doing it our way—attempting to pierce dense Russian defenses and break out into open territory—and paid a price. After 10 days they decided to take a different approach, more careful and incremental, and better suited to their own capabilities (particularly their precision long-range weapons) and the challenge they faced. That is, by historical standards, fast adaptation. By contrast, the United States Army took a good four years to develop an operational approach to counterinsurgency in Iraq that yielded success in defeating the remnants of the Baathist regime and al-Qaeda-oriented terrorists.

A besetting sin of big militaries, particularly America’s, is to think that their way is either the best way or the only way. As a result of this assumption, the United States builds inferior, mirror-image militaries in smaller allies facing insurgency or external threat. These forces tend to fail because they are unsuited to their environment or simply lack the resources that the U.S. military possesses in plenty. The Vietnamese and, later, the Afghan armies are good examples of this tendency—and Washington’s postwar bad-mouthing of its slaughtered clients, rather than critical self-examination of what it set them up for, is reprehensible.

The Ukrainians are now fighting a slow, patient war in which they are dismantling Russian artillery, ammunition depots, and command posts without weapons such as American ATACMS and German Taurus missiles that would make this sensible approach faster and more effective. They know far more about fighting Russians than anyone in any Western military knows, and they are experiencing a combat environment that no Western military has encountered since World War II. Modesty, never an American strong suit, is in order.

One way to increase understanding among Ukraine’s friends would be to put substantial military legations in Kyiv. American colonels and generals do not have to go on patrols or storm tree lines, but they would benefit from continuous, in-country, face-to-face contact with their Ukrainian counterparts. They would be able to communicate realistic assessments of the fighting and of Ukrainian tactical and operational requirements. They would also convey to Ukraine a reassurance that videoconferences cannot, and perhaps bring a bit of humility to deliberations in Washington.

Such an effort entails risks, but that’s what soldiers sign up for. Maintaining a continuous physical presence in Ukraine with a high-level military mission, supplemented by frequent visits from the head of the U.S. European Command and other senior leaders, would be invaluable in making the judgments that could help Ukraine defeat Russia, regain its territory, and win this war. And winning, not whining, is what it’s all about.

#current events #politics #ukrainian politics #american politics #warfare #diplomacy #russo-ukrainian war #2022 russian invasion of ukraine #ukraine #usa

9 notes · View notes

youdontloveme-yet · 1 year

Text

[It is the law] or a GMMTV 2023 line up's worst commentary. (part1)

Hello, my dudes and cryptids. Don't lie I know some of y'all are cryptids. Anyway, I said I will make the worst commentary for the new GMMTV line up, and so I am delivering. If somebody gets offended by something I've said - fuck you. That is all.

We all know what the gmmtv2023 line up is and apparently "diversity" in their dictionary is disability or weird conditions. So let's get to it.

Enigma

Starring: Prim Chanikan, Win Metawin, Piploy Kanyarat; Director: O Patha Thongpan; Genre: Horror, Suspense;

Interestingly enough the trailer starts with a Nietzsche quote, which sets the bar somewhere high, but at the same time, not the entirety of that quote is included, which I find kind of weird, since it is a horror series. What I mean with that? Well, the whole quote is as follows:

“Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.”

– Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil

I cannot comprehend why this was left out, when we are obviously going to be dealing with demons (monsters). Whatever, I am nitpicking I guess.

Typical school setting, because yes, that is exactly where all the occult shit always happens. Nothing new here. I’m guessing there is dimensional jumping, if I’m judging by the trailer. A person with a snap off blade that looks like it can give you some tetanus, is seen, which if I may add is not very creative. Can we finally have people with actual knives for once? Or swords. Swords are good. Anyway, is that supposed to be a girl holding the knife? Because in the shot with the knife it is definitely a man holding it. Some cool shots of occult shit - nice touch. Oh and our FL’s picture being cut into. Some more occult shots, because why the fuck not? There’s always something wrong with the school. We been knew. Students going crazy, yada-yada. The depiction of schools in Thailand is always horrific. The stress, the pressure, I can see why the favourite setting for horror is the schools. There always has to be one person to drown, it is the law. Can you imagine this occult shit happening every year and your parents not moving you to another school? Parents in this show will not be included as actual characters, it is against the law. They do not exist, these students are entirely on their own, it is the law. The new teacher is a socio, how surprising. (probably doesn’t shower as well). I love black magic, but too many western/christian ideas into this shit. Crosses, really? Thailand is a Buddhist country, no? Who the fuck holds a person’s face like that? It seems it is the socio teacher… oh, well, let’s hope he washed his hands. Suddenly has tattoos and jiggly things around his neck - kitsch. And we continue with the western symbolism. Ah, yes, putting that cape on makes you look so much cooler in front of the faiting student. Oh, my favourite - closing doors with the snap of the fingers. I’m guessing it is supposed to look seductive or whatever… it doesn’t. Ah, sorry, he can do more than just closing doors apparently. Who knew?

Well, it tries to look promising. But I am very much on the fence if it could actually deliver. Love me suspenseful horror, but I don’t see how GMMTV can execute this. Also, I cannot believe how many roles Prim has lined up!! I will indeed be watching for her only.

Conclusion: will definitely try watching it, but emphasising on the “try” part.

A Boss And A Babe

Starring: Book Kasidet, Force Jiratchapong (and other gmmtv people); Director: New Siwaj Sawatmaneekul Genre: Romance

It’s those dudes, whose names I keep forgetting every time.

At first I was “ah! A gaming series!”, but nope, not really anyway. I want his setup, ngl. But I would beat the shit out of him with that smugness. Annoying. Ah, no, they used the nickname of one of my favourite pro players, oh gods. The team is introduced. None of these people look like they can play games. Unrealistic. Where are the bags under their eyes or the dark circles? You say you play for 30hrs a day, which does not exist in the first place, yet you look as if you got out of a cryo chamber or whatever. Next thing you know, the 30hrs guy has an office job. Downgrade, my dude, very big downgrade. He’s the boy for everything in that office, as per the law. Yeah, nobody can convince me this guy has that amount of energy. The boss is grumpy, and the boy for everything is stupid, as is the law. What are we gonna do if there is no awkward bathroom scene? Most romantic thing is to ask your crush to dinner, while he’s taking a shit. The boss has no boundaries whatsoever. Oh, yes, the courting rituals are very intricate, borderlining with psychopathy. Typical trope, nothing to see here. Yes, ask your friends about love. The thing you are too much of an infant to understand. Stupid advice as is the law. He has an ASMR channel ?? Why the fuck are you doing an office job, if you are a pro player and have an ASMR channel? That makes you more money than that shitty office job, brother. This is not a real gamer. This Force guy is kind of attractive in a suit. I guess they have sex, idk. Wait. “Don’t act like main character in a novel who confesses his love when the other is asleep.” Who comes up with these lines. It is not even cheesy, just bland and cringe. Oh, he says it, okay. That is forgiven. Boss guy is done. And so am I.

Oh, another thing. Whoever comes up with these titles, I hope your socks are wet. Also, have in mind this is a New series, meaning that there’s the possibility this series will be progressing extremely slow.

Conclusion: looks kind of boring. All over the place plot. Overused trope of stupid office romance. Might take a look, but I doubt it.

Find Yourself

Starring: (a majority of people you don’t know) Nonkul Chanon, Aff Taksaorn, Earth Pirapat and other gmmtv lakorn people; Director: Petch Varayu Ruksku Genre: Business, Romance, Drama (it’s a lakorn)

Have these people been courting since the dark ages or what? I do not understand the constant nagging about having a younger partner, when you are female. Never will and never will try to understand. ‘Tis bullshit. Homeboy is very awkward, so I like him. So, she’s almost 40 and single? What about it? Stupid archaic tropes. Okay, homeboy has balls now, being all touchy-touchy. Are you looking for a sugar mommy, my son? Cute montage of them doing couple shit - 7/10 I’ve seen better. Ah, yes, the drunk first time. Classic. Girl, you are almost 40, can you not act like a 15 year old who just lost her virginity? Too much screaming. And ofc there is the accusatory “what did you do to me?” idk, babe, maybe you both initiated in sinful acts. This is per the law. Now she feels like a whore or some shit. Apparently sleeping with someone is the worst thing you can do. The mother is creepy, as is the law. And we continue with my least favourite thing - meddling in other people’s affairs. Ma’am your daughter is 40, why are you sending her brother to figure out who she’s dating. Stupid trope. Never let people come out with their partners on their own, it is against the law. Ah, yes, some dude taking a video of girls dancing or whatever. Classic. Now he has an accomplice in this bullshit. This girl is cute, but they are all psychos. Yes, everyone is dating, but there has to be that one guy who says it can’t be true. And the girl who apparently has ownership of the guy, even tho he really is not aware of that, bless his soul. Stupid one-liners. Again with the age garbage. Now, there’s an old man, idk what his deal is, but if I have to guess - to make drama. So, she likes him, but the age thing is a thing, how boring. What the fuck is a 3-month relationship trial, this is not a game or some astrological site behind a pay wall, girl. Another cute montage. Oh, they kiss… finally, I guess? Sign. What sign do you even need? You like him, he likes you, are you batshit insane or something?

Conclusion: it’s a lakorn. Looks cute, has an age gap - will watch.

Double Savage

Starring: Ohm Pawat, Perth Tanapon, Film Rachanun; Director: ??? Genre: Action

Starts off gritty and looks violent, I approve. Oh, not a terrible fighting scene, this is new. From the get-go we have the good and the bad. Who is who, we are yet to see. Aren’t these people like brothers or some shit, why so mad? Foei with a gun to a dude’s head, pretty sure I’ve watched this before. Good fight tho, enjoyed it. I can tell you from here that Foei’s character jerks off to men fighting. Ah, yes, the stare down. Good old stare down. Woah, jail? This doesn’t sound like giving him an option, jerkface. More like a threat. Disowning your children the moment the fuck up? Classic parents. This is very allowed per the law. Ohm and his staring through your soul, peak acting. Oh, no, he thinks he is irredeemable. I mean, unless you’ve killed someone I don’t see how you’re such a big bad criminal, my son. Why the fuck is Perth’s character mad? His brother got kicked out, not him. Calm your balls, boy, the world hasn’t stopped spinning. They keep calling him a criminal. Idk what this is about, but it sounds greatly exaggerated. Ofc there is a girl, it is by the law to like your brother’s girl. A fighting montage. This is right up my alley - more fighting, less talking, like in the stone age. Oh, no, the popo are involved - the horror. All of this for a girl. I’ll act surprised - GASP, IT IS ABOUT THE GIRL. Yeah, I can bet you all that he hasn’t done something so criminal. Foei and his psycho characters. Good touch. Always appreciated. I’d shoot him tho. Won’t even wait for his clown act before I pull the trigger. “Between blood brothers” is the “blood” that needed? Yeah, we kind of got the idea that they’re biological brothers. These people talk too much and shoot too little. You might as well blow both your brains out, that’d be fun.

Conclusion: will watch, let’s hope there is less talking in the actual series and more fighting and stare downs.

Hidden Agenda

Starring: Dunk Natachai, Joong Archen, Aou Thanaboon; Director: Tee Bundit Sintanaparadee Genre: Romance

Alpha rule of trailers: start with a cliche quote about love. Idk if it is the translation or the actual quote, but it sounds so weird. Ah, Louis! My child is in whatever the fuck this series will be. Wait, didn’t he say the same thing in Star In My Mind? University setting I’m guessing. Yes, we are definitely not sick and tired of the university thing. I mean, it could’ve been high school, which is much worse, but still. He’s stupid. This is literally the plot of half of the shows out there. The boy who wants a relationship, the popular girl that he will never have and the guy who will creepily pursue him. I haven’t finished the trailer yet. Show her you’re so manly bro, even if you look like a wet noodle. Seeking advice from HER ex? What have y’all been smoking, because that’s some otherwordly shit right there. His name is JOKE, hahahahah. I’m gonna watch it just to make fun of his name I swear. Ofc, he’s a jerk, it is the law. Wait, so it’s Zo and Joke… sounds like the worst possible joke. Can you imagine the ship name tho. I’m losing it here. Personal space who? He asks you to help him and you ask him to spend the night with you ?? If somebody told me that I’d get a restraining order. Taking notes, as if that will help you when the guy next to you will definitely do you before you do her. There has to be a study date, it is against the law to not have one. The staring. There was only one bed. Ah, yes, the stranger into whose home you went, now snuggles with you, this is by the law. Cute gays want kids. I hope you can adopt like 5, my dudes. Weird one liners, more intense staring. Then we have people not minding their business as is by law. Denial. Pushing him to be uncomfortable. Because that is exactly how you get in a relationship with someone. Okay, he’s not talking about the girl. Thought so, but I had to get sure. Smol guy gets annoyed, I am pretty sure this is Star In My Mind. Weird debate. So, I guess he got with the girl, who would’ve guessed. Joke is jealous. Girl needs help for who-knows what bullshit. But ofc, as is by the law, she would go to her ex, not her current partner, because that makes so much sense. And here somebody is gonna say “but, Ra, they have a bond!” and all I will hear is the voices in my head, not yours tho. Oh, no the secret. Could it be that he’s gay and people are once again too nosy? Oh, no, he lied. Local angry noodle throws paper at man who lied to him. You cannot trust anyone, bro, don’t try it. This is the drama world, you can’t trust even your mother. Ah, yes, cry on the shoulder of the next man that will lie to you. Smart. By the law, you have to be possessive of the person who probably wants you dead. Some angry grown ups. Idk what their deal is, but they might as well kiss with all that stupid tension. How many people wanna have this Zo guy ?? Confrontation done wrong. People giving weird looks as we read their names. Now you ask him not to hit on the girl. The hypocrisy is crisp. So, all is forgiven? The magical forgiveness is here by the law, okay? You won’t get it. They be smoochin’.

Conclusion: 50/50. Might try it only because it is the director of Lovely Writer. But I am pretty convinced this is at least 90% what happened in Star In My Mind.

23.5

Starring: Milk Pansa, Love Pattranite, Gemini Norawit; Director: Fon Kanittha Kwunyoo

Congratulations, my dudes, we made it! I don’t know who made a human sacrifice for this, but your jail time is not in vain. Anonymous chatting is my go-to romance bullshit. It never disappoints really. Cute conversation, some weird shit about the Earth and Sun, which sounds relatable and is probably some profound metaphor, but I am not here for that. Ah yes, walking past the person you are actively flirting with, can be a coincidence only in a drama, otherwise is pretty much stalking. Gotta love Milk’s backpack. The hat is stupid tho. Don’t be creepy, my girl. Ah, yes, seduction through knowledge. Gotta add some sadness to it, such is the law. Babygirl, we are all nobodies, chill. She’s not the center of the universe, she is just extroverted as fuck, while you probably stutter when speaking. Pretty sure you’re the only one spinning around her, but okay. More nerdy talk, because that is indeed hot as hell. No creepy staring, babygirl, you are better than this. Ah, yes, the “i must hide my feelings trope, cuz that person is out of my league” grow a pair, girlie. Ofc they all think it is a guy, how very heterosexual of them. Some creeping around. I’m guessing this is the rival or whatever. Or not, which is great. Let’s mope around instead of hyping ourselves up and actually talk to her. Because that always works so well. What do you mean she has the guts?? Are y’all insane? She’s literally hiding. Drama logic, as is the law, make no sense. Supportive friends I approve of, tho. So you are forgiven for being stupid. Love’s character asking the real questions. I mean, it could be some hobo, but she got the right spirit. Some cute moments in the gym are absolutely mandatory. More looking. Oh, there are gays here? This is some elementary school type of behaviour. What’s next? Pulling his hair and biting him in front of the class? And he continues throwing things at him. Take him home, but for the love of anything holy stop throwing stuff at him. Oh, no, she figured it out! Be distressed for nothing. Especially when she’s literally pining you at the book shelf. Gay panic. THEY CUTE AS SHIT BRO. I want what they have. Face rubs are cool. We continue with the profound astronomy metaphors I just can’t deal with right now. Overall good shit.

Conclusion: 100% watch, no need to even elaborate.

Phro Thoe Khue Rak Raek

Starring: Dew Jirawat, Prim Chanikan, Neo Trai; Genre: Romance

A lot of Prim and Dew this year. Delightful. For me, idk about you people.

I don’t like her with that ginger hair, makes her look older, not my jam. I can and I will complain about this when her series air. It’s a first love story. Not that anyone is surprised or anything. Girl, that’s some bomb-ass outfit and I need it. Guess half of the show will be in the past… or the majority. Ladies and gentleman, we are back at square one - grumpy guy and the girl who fell for him. I hope she’s not stupid. Height difference oh my. She’s literally like his child. How fucking tall is this guy?? Like 180? He makes you smile, yet he never fucking smiles at you. That’s just sad. I mean, you literally had him take space in your head. The memories of all the times he just straight up ignored your existence? Damn, girl, you thirsty. Jealousy, my beloved. Why is it always Neo tho? He’s like the go-to guy when you need jealousy. Now the tall motherfucker reacts. The confusion is mutual. He left. The drama. The irony. The cliche. Yes, pretending you’re not staring at him works every time. Hiding behind a notebook in a very non-suspicious way. It is the law, you won’t get it. Girl, if you look at me like that with that slow head turn, I can and I will turn into a human puddle. Adorable. I want to punch him in the face. Ruin it a bit, y’know. She smiles and he’s stoic as fuck. I’m punching you brother, I swear. Pretty doe eyes. Woah, he finally smiled, can you imagine. I still want to punch him tho.

Conclusion: will watch, but will be angry about it. Mostly because he never smiles at her.

Cooking Crush

Starring: Off Jumpol, Gun Atthaphan, Mark Pakin, Neo Trai; Genre: Food, Romance;

Okay, the first thing I said when this started was “another cooking flop”, because let’s be real here, they are bad at making cooking series. And that is that.

Anyway, some cool ass shots of food being prepared, because that’s how you know it is about cooking. Per law, it is mandatory that he is nothing less but a TOP CHEF. Hands. Gourme. Pretty boy. This guy is a fucking disaster. How in all hell is he a top chef? Yes, because grabbing the extinguisher is the hardest thing one could possibly imagine. Maybe if one of these absolute idiots removed the hat from his head and dropped it in the sink all of this could’ve been much easier. It is the idiot trio, maybe a disaster trio? Something along the lines, I am not good with words, shut up. A cooking competition? Wasn’t he like a TOP CHEF? Misleading intro. 10 million baht sounds cool and all, but it really is like 270k euro or something along the line. Oh, so the old dude is the top chef. The intro continues to be confusing. What does simple food even have to mean? Not putting black pepper and honey in one or what? Don’t mind me, I am everything but a food person. That is a necessity, idc about food beyond that. Off just appears out of nowhere. Who the fuck are you and why are you leaning on him like that? Fucking creep.Do they even know each other? This is so confusing. “From dog food to doc food” is legit the worst pun I have ever seen. This boy ain’t cheap, damn. Straight away with the fee, I feel you bro, that’s the way to go. You be calling him a fool, but you’re both fools. I can smell it from a mile away. He cannot hold a fucking knife. I would nope out of there is somebody held a knife like that. Neo’s character being the relatable one again. Fi-fi ??? No, no, don’t learn his name please, call him Fi-fi, it is most entertaining. My son, you are anything but fire with that ugly ass shirt. Please sit down. Love me some self proclaimed playboys. And a monster? I don’t think that you scared him, more like turned him on, because it is drama logic and these types of weird outbursts usually mean that for whatever reason. Yes, licking food off of the hand of the person you like is mandatory, you know it’s the law. Woah, bro, no need to make it gay. I too would be shocked. This is unhygienic. I’d freak out and punch him, that’s disgusting. Only 16?? I have friends who used to sleep in the university. Weak shit. Is he learning to cook for a girl? Weak shit x2. Another top chef, it’s like they’re selling them at the market with the fish. “For the price of one fish, you get a top chef for free!” or some shit like that. Top chef #2 wants some twink for dinner that’s for sure. Pure unfiltered jealousy as it is meant by the law. How the fuck did you deceive him? He didn’t learn how to cook or what? That would be only his fault really. Ah, the classic Off stare, has to be one of my favourite stupid faces. What funny business, my man? Oh yeah, give it up for spilling secrets, because this is purely platonic. Back hugs my most beloved. That yellow sweater is gorgeous and I want it. Did he just punch top chef #2? So, Neo and Mark are a thing now? I would never understand people carrying others bride style while unconscious. I am pretty sure that arm behind his neck has to fall off if he ain’t awake. But then again, by the law, this is a mandatory scene. Yeah, he does look heavy to carry around. But pulling him up like this may as well break his spine, this is stupid. Please, don’t fucking do this, guys. As usual, we have a dead parent, because it cannot be a good drama if we don’t have a tragedy along the line. The gay chase! Hugging and crying. Weird seductive noodle eating, as is by law. Do you like the food or him? I think you be lying about his food. Yeah, we’re not talking about food, damn. Awkward hand holding is my jam. And some weirdly animated stuff just floating around.

Conclusion: looks weird, 50/50 on this.

Wednesday Club

Starring: a bunch of people y’all know. Director: ??? Genre: Romance (?)

I don’t think anyone quite understands what this show is about. Star cast tho. Might flop.

What is this weak ass russian roulette? Choosing between friendship and justice sounds as dumb as it gets really. There’s like 10 of them, yet they chose to be crammed up in the smallest of spaces. Peak stupid. Mandatory squad shot. Can’t know who is in the squad without that shot. It is the law. These skinny motherfuckers be running nakes. Why is the guy next to Ohm so fucking pale ?? Somebody has to take the video I guess and girls absolutely love watching men’s ding-dong swing left and right while they run. It is definitely not the funniest shit. They definitely did not hit each others ding-dong while pushing each other, this is purely heterosexual. The popo is here! Always ruining the fun, huh. So you’re trying to tell me these fuckers meet after 2 of them run nakes on a fucking roof. Shit on the popo, as you should. Party time. Fancy bar. The middle children club. Can Jane be less pretty or do I have to constantly suffer? Oh, no, let’s make it dramatic that we are middle children. The outcasts. Poor rich kids. People like you? Brother, you ain’t a minority or whatever. This guy is a theatre kid. You guys need rules for friendship? My confusion grows. Is she taking a blood bath? This boy is like he has never seen money in his life. Greedy motherfucker. Slave? Ew. Not the sister, bro. You be breaking the bro code, bro. How dare you? Actual backstabbing? This trailers is confusing. Is this guy a freak or something? That looks like a cut scar, so maybe he’s into that shit and that’s why he doesn’t want to say. No romantic shit, says who? Yeah, because you can actually stop that shit from happening. Foolish. I am not understanding the russian roulette reference of this show. And they all got into a fucking fight I guess. Is the gun loaded this time? It better be or I am suing.

Conclusion: lots of pretty faces, huge confusion on my part. Will watch tho, I’m curious.

Last Twilight

Starring: Sea Tawinan, Jimmy Jitaraphol, Namtan Tipnaree; Director: Aof Noppharnach Chaiwimol Genre: Romance

The other two dudes, whose names I cannot remember. Nothing personal, you guys, I know you love to get offended at such things.

Ooh, bad boy mechanic vibe. Nope, nvm, I saw those atrocious jeans. I take my words back. More like wet towel boy. So, you can buy cigarettes, but you cannot pay your debts. Your maths suck I’m sure. Namtan pretty. Some poll going on. Idk how he can play poll when he has no money, but okay. It feels like she’s trying to set him up to be gigolo and I absolutely love that. She’s not unfortunately. Yep, wet towel boy. Fancy house. This is the mother I see in every show now. She plays all the good ones tho, so may she proceed to do so. This guy be going blind, damn. Sorry for your loss, my dude. Or whatever the fuck you say for shit like that. Why is he in a wheelchair? I thought he was only sight impaired. He makes the job sound like the worst in the world. Some self loathing going on around I see. Another wet towel boy. This is the wet towel boys series. Ahahah, straightforward NO. He looks so stupid. He just basically told him he’s a buffoon, didn’t he? “Can you read?” I am dying here. Yes, make fun of the man who will take care of you, that just never ends bad. I hope we get to know what the accident was. Very grumpy. Ah, we have the grumpy + stupid trope again. It is by the law that you make jokes about the disability of your employer. My dude still wants a pity party, who is he trying to lie to? Continue to be grumpy, doesn’t want help, while actually hiring a guy to help him. Logic at its finest. Why the fuck are you smoking in a non-smoker’s house bro ?? Go outside, these people rich, they have big yards and all. This is just poor manners. He can definitely walk by himself. If walking is defined as being on all fours. The gay shaving. This guy has balls, gotta admit. But with that smoking, I doubt he wants you to be too close. I want someone to explain to me what in the burning hell is a water curtain supposed to be? Weird gay mating ritual. Some flirting. They just made it sound like he’s dying, not going blind. “You have only 180 days. Make them count!” Or some other generic anime line. Despair. Depression. Namtan being a queen teaching the stupid gay what to do. Dramatic lying on the bed ying-yang style. Pining. The mating rituals are sophisticated and difficult, okay? Beach shots are kind of mandatory, it is the law. This guy has superpowers, but I can bet you that he would never guess what a person is online. So far with your powers, huh? Some more awkward flirting, but with face touches this time. We are progressing quite nicely. No smoochin’ here I guess, just some shoulder lean. Montage time. Some jealousy I see. Drama time. I mean, he is kind of your boss and all. Pretty shots all over the place, damn. Ah, yes, the smoochin’ has arrived. Beautiful shot tho. This trailer had more beautiful shots than an actual plot so idk.

Conclusion: might check it out, might not. Depends on my mentality at the time.

Part 2 with the other 10 shows will be tomorrow at some point, idk. Let me repeat myself, if somebody feels offended or does not agree, you can fuck yourself, this was made purely for my enjoyment.

#ra rants #gmmtv 2023 #enigma #a boss and a babe #find yourself #double savage #hidden agenda #23.5 #Phro Thoe Khue Rak Raek #wednesday club #last twilight #i will not tag a single actor #this is awful #to tag #so no thanks

19 notes · View notes

theculturedmarxist · 10 months

Text

The hypothesis that the Anglo-Saxon axis is pivotal to the proxy war in Ukraine against Russia is only partly true. Germany is actually Ukraine’s second largest arms supplier, after the United States. Chancellor Olaf Scholz pledged a new arms package worth 700 million euros, including additional tanks, munitions and Patriot air defence systems at the Nato summit in Vilnius, putting Berlin, as he said, at the very forefront of military support for Ukraine.

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius stressed, “By doing this, we’re making a significant contribution to strengthening Ukraine’s staying power.” However, the pantomime playing out may have multiple motives.

Fundamentally, Germany’s motivation is traceable to the crushing defeat by the Red Army and has little to do with Ukraine as such. The Ukraine crisis has provided the context for accelerating Germany’s militarisation. Meanwhile, revanchist feelings are rearing their head and there is a “bipartisan consensus” between Germany’s leading centrist parties — CDU, SPD and Green Party — in this regard.

In an interview in the weekend, the CDU’s leading foreign and defence expert Roderich Kiesewetter (an ex-colonel who headed the Association of Reservists of the Bundeswehr from 2011 to 2016) suggested that if conditions warrant in the Ukraine situation, the Nato should consider to “cut off Kaliningrad from the Russian supply lines. We see how Putin reacts when he is under pressure.” Berlin is still smarting under the surrender of the ancient Prussian city of Königsberg in April 1945.

Stalin ordered 1.5 million Soviet troops supported by several thousand tanks and aircraft to attack the crack Nazi Panzer divisions deeply entrenched in Königsberg. The capture of the heavily fortified stronghold of Königsberg by the Soviet army was celebrated in Moscow with an artillery salvo by 324 cannons firing 24 shells each.

Evidently, Kiesewetter’s remarks show that nothing is forgotten or forgiven in Berlin even after 8 decades. Thus, Germany is the Biden Administration’s closest ally in the war against Russia. The German government has stated its understanding for the Biden administration’s controversial decision to supply Ukraine with cluster ammunition. The government spokesman commented in Berlin, “We are certain that our US friends did not make their decision lightly, to deliver this sort of munition.”

President Frank-Walter Steinmeier remarked, “In the current situation, one should not obstruct the USA.” Indeed, the top CDU figure Kiesewetter suggested in an interview with the Green Party-affiliated daily “taz” that not only should Ukraine be given “guarantees, and if necessary, even provided with nuclear assistance, as an intermediary step to NATO membership.”

Coinciding with the NATO summit in Vilnius (July 11-12), Rheinmetal, the great 135-year old German arms manufacturing company, has disclosed that it is opening an armoured vehicle plant in western Ukraine at an undisclosed location in the next twelve weeks. To begin with, German Fuchs armoured personnel carriers will be built and repaired while there are plans afoot to manufacture ammunition and possibly even air defence systems and tanks.

Rheinmetall’s CEO told CNN on Monday that like other Ukrainian arms factories, the new plant could be protected from Russian air attack. Germany has more than doubled the 2022 allocation of €2 billion for upgrading Ukraine’s armed forces. It now touches around €5.4 billion with further plans to increase to €10.5 billion.

Now, is this all about Russia? Germany cannot be unaware that Ukraine has simply no hope on earth to defeat Russia militarily. Germany is playing the long game. It is creating equity in western Ukraine where it is not Russia but Poland that is its contender. Ever since the Tsarist army advanced into Galicia in 1914, Russia has had a difficult history with Ukrainian nationalists. If the current war in Ukraine spreads to western Ukraine, that cannot be Russia’s choice but out of some necessity forced upon it.

The Soviet victory in Ukraine in October 1944, the Red Army’s occupation of eastern Europe, and Allied diplomacy resulted in a redrawing of Poland’s western frontiers with Germany and Ukraine’s with Poland. Simply put, with compensation of German territories in the west, Poland agreed to the cession of Volhynia and Galicia in western Ukraine; a mutual population exchange created for the first time in centuries a clear ethnic, as well as political, Polish-Ukrainian border.

It is entirely conceivable that the ongoing Ukraine war will radically change the territorial boundaries of Ukraine in the east and south. Possibly, it can re-open the post-World War 2 settlement with regard to western Ukraine as well. Russia has repeatedly warned that Poland aims to reverse the cession of Volhynia and Galicia in western Ukraine. Such a turn of events will most certainly bring to the fore the issue of the German territories that are part of Poland today.

Perhaps, it was in anticipation of turbulence ahead that last October, eight months after the Russian intervention began in in February, Warsaw demanded WWII reparations from Berlin — an issue which Germany says was settled in 1990 — to the tune of €1.3 trillion.

Under the Potsdam Conference (1945), the “former eastern territories of Germany” comprising nearly one quarter (23.8 percent) of the Weimar Republic with the majority ceded to Poland. The remainder, consisting of northern East Prussia including the German city of Königsberg (renamed Kaliningrad), was allocated to the Soviet Union.

Make no mistake about the importance of the Eastern border for German culture and politics. Indeed, there is always something volatile about a “handicapped” Great Power when a whole new intensity appears in political, economic and historical circumstances, which prompts those in power to turn ideas into reality, and revanchist and imperialistic discourses that were quietly but steadily streaming below the surface of the carefully considered diplomatic efforts begin to probe pan-nationalist expansion.

In retrospect, Germany’s — in particular, then foreign minister and current president Steinmeier’s — diabolical role to align Germany with the neo-Nazi elements during the regime change in Kiev in 2014 and the subsequent German perfidy in the implementation of the Minsk Agreement (“Steinmeier formula”), as admitted recently in February by former Chancellor Angela Merkel should not be forgotten.

Suffice to say, even as Russia is winning the Ukraine war, the concern of the German foreign policy makers once again faces the need to redefine what was German. Thus, the war in Ukraine is only the means to an end. Recent reports suggest that Berlin may be moving, finally, toward meeting Ukraine’s pending demand for Taurus cruise missiles with a range exceeding 500 kms and unique “multi-effect war head” that can be a game changer in the the combat dynamics on the battlefield and create the prerequisites for victory.

Equally, German soldiers already comprise about half of the Nato battlegroup already present in Lithuania. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said two weeks ago while on a visit to Vilnius that Germany is preparing the infrastructure to permanently base 4,000 soldiers (“a robust brigade”) to Lithuania so as to have the capability to maintain military flexibility at the Eastern flank. The decision has support from both Germany’s governing coalition and its main opposition.

The CDU foreign policy expert and member of the Bundestag, Kiesewetter called the idea of establishing German base in the Baltics a “decision of reason and reliability.” Indeed, there have been past attempts, historically speaking, to create German rule in the Baltics based on revisionist claims towards the new states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania where German colonists had settled as far back as in the 12th and 13th centuries.

#kaliningrad #germany #russia #nato #ukraine conflict #poland

3 notes · View notes

mariacallous · 9 months

Text

One gasps at the petulance on display here, as at otherwise staunch British Defense Minister Ben Wallace’s snap about Ukraine treating its Western suppliers as a kind of Amazon of weaponry.

3 notes · View notes

thepastisalreadywritten · 1 year

Text

SAINT OF THE DAY (April 4)

On April 4, the Catholic Church honors Saint Isidore of Seville, a bishop and scholar who helped the Church preserve its own traditions and the heritage of western civilization in the early middle ages.

In 653, less than two decades after his death, a council of bishops in Spain acclaimed St. Isidore as “an illustrious teacher of our time and the glory of the Catholic Church.”

He is regarded as being among the last of the early Church Fathers, who combined Christian faith and classical education.

Isidore was born in approximately 560 in Cartagena, Spain.

Three of his siblings – his brothers Leander and Fulgentius, who became bishops, and his sister Florentina, a nun – were later canonized as saints along with him.

As the Archbishop of Seville, Leander was an important influence on his younger brother, helping Isidore develop a commitment to study, prayer and intense work for the good of the Church.

Isidore, in turn, joined his brother's mission to convert the generally heretical Visigoths who had invaded Spain.

When St. Leander died around the year 600, his brother succeeded him as Seville's archbishop.

Isidore inherited his brother's responsibility for Church affairs in an intense period of change, as the institutions of the Western Roman Empire gave way to the culture of the barbarian tribes.

For the good of the Church and civilization, Isidore was determined to preserve the wisdom and knowledge of the past, maintaining the fruitful synthesis of classical Roman culture and Christian faith.

He was also intent on preventing false teachings from shattering the unity of the Church in Spain.

Responsible above all for the good of the Church, Isidore also sought the common good by encouraging study and development in areas such as law, medicine, foreign languages, and philosophy.

He compiled the “Etymologiae,” the first encyclopedia written from a Catholic perspective.

Under Isidore's leadership, a series of local councils solidified the orthodoxy of the Spanish Church against errors about Christ and the Trinity.

Systematic and extensive education of the clergy was stressed as a necessary means of guarding the faithful against false doctrine.

Prolific in his writings and diligent in governing the Church, Isidore did not neglect the service of those in need.

“Indeed, just as we must love God in contemplation, so we must love our neighbor with action,” he declared.

“It is therefore impossible to live without the presence of both the one and the other form of life, nor can we live without experiencing both the one and the other.”

In the last months of his life, Isidore offered a moving testament to these words, intensifying his charitable outreach to the poor.

Crowds of people in need flocked to his residence from far and wide, as the bishop offered his final works of mercy on earth.

St. Isidore of Seville died on 4 April 636.

Later named a Doctor of the Church, he was more recently proposed as a patron saint of Internet users, because of his determination to use the world's accumulated knowledge for the service of God's glory.

#Saint of the Day #Saint Isidore of Seville #Etymologiae

3 notes · View notes

mochidreambubble · 1 year

Text

one more word and you won't survive [Day 4 chapter]

Written for OC x Canon week organised by @theocxcanonweek

Day 4 Prompt:

Cuddling / Western AU / “Take me with you!...”

Childe/Genshin OC. Dragonspine shenanigans - actually more like Sheer Cold shenanigans.

Ao3 link here.

Day 5 prompt here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ruyi normally doesn’t like equating anything to is childhood; nothing is usually truly as horrid or mentally stressful on such a personal level these days. That said, he could chalk up being lost and close to freezing on Dragonspine a pretty close second…

It was meant to be a simple request and despite his poor sense of direction, he’d normally be fine so long as he kept the Traveler and their little floating friend in sight. But amidst the snowstorm, everything all round him became a blanket of white.

So it’s no wonder Ruyi finds himself stranded on the mountain, unsure of where he is, to begin with, and absolutely freezing as he wades through the snow. He starts to worry as daylight seemed to be fading from the skies and he could barely make anything out of it. He hates to think what it be like to try and navigate on a snowstorm on a rather steep mountain…

“Squint any further and you’d look like Teyvat’s most miserably drenched kitten.”

Ruyi would jump was he were not genuinely soaked and freezing, and bogged down by snow. Or maybe the smart reaction really was to be stunned in shocked silence mixed with an undercurrent of fear.

“I also don’t think it’s a good idea to be gaping like that you know?” The eleventh freaking Harbinger of the Fatui says, casually as if completely unbothered by the snowstorm. He reaches forward to push Ruyi’s jaw shut, a little amused.

He gets his hand slapped away for good measure, Ruyi stuttering from the cold and disbelief. “Wh-Wha- How….?! Wh-what are y-you d-d-doing here?!”

Childe shrugs. “Just hanging around. Nothing nefarious, promise!” He crosses his heart for good measure, speaking loud against the storm. “Though I guess you don’t believe me?”

“C-Course I d-d-don’t believe you!” Ruyi snaps, turning around in a huff to walk away. He tries to ignore the ache in his heart and the inner shame of having put even the amount of trust he had given the other young man initially.

“Hey! Where are you going?”

Ruyi doesn’t even respond. He doesn’t make it very far though, a hand grabbing hold of his shoulder firmly and pulling him back.

“Wh-what now?!”

“I’m just trying to stop you from walking off the edge.”

“....Oh.”

“Look, you obviously freezing and it’s not like you can make out where to go right now,” Childe motions vaguely in the opposite direction. “I have a camp and fire set up in a small cave, so how about just coming with me for a bit?”

“W-with you?!”

“Well, it’s my mini campsite right now, after all. I’ve even got blankets and some food with me,” Childe acts as if Ruyi doesn’t seem utterly mortified, still unbothered by the frost beating down on them.

Ruyi blanches again. “You’re crazy if you think I’d go anywhere with you right now?”

Childe sighs, a degree of frustration apparent. “Look, I know I’m not someone you’d want to run into, but I’m not here to antagonise you, alright?”

“But why do you care if I walk off a cliffside or freeze up here?!”

“Consider it an act for your forgiveness. How about that?”

Ruyi does deliberate for a second, between being lost in a snowstorm and following a dangerous man to who knows where. “Fine.”

“Great,” Childe grins and grabs hold of Ruyi’s hand to drag him on a path. Ruyi wonders how he could even be so unbothered by the weather. He knew Snezhnaya was basically known for its icy weather but…

He tries not to think on it. Anything on the eleventh Harbinger shouldn’t even cross his mind. All he has to do is survive the storm and hopefully never run into him again. At least this whole ordeal would be as painless as he can make it-

“So,” Childe chuckles once they reach the rather tight-fit space for a cave. There was indeed a fire going, as well as a sleeping bag and… “I actually only have one blanket, but we can share it.”

“What?!” Ruyi’s teeth have stopped chattering but he can still feel the chill in his bones. “Now why would I ever-”

“What, you’d rather get frostbite rather than huddle for warmth with a guy you fought just one time?”

“Y-You..! You were not j-just some guy! You-”

“Yes, yes, I’m a horrible person who nearly destroyed your home with Osial,” Childe settles down on the sleeping bag, blanket over his shoulder, raising one side of the blanket in invitation. “Now would you just get over here?”

Ruyi ends up making a reluctant show of it, both absolutely freezing and needing just any source of warmth and the nervousness of being close to Childe in close proximity. Once he’s under the blanket, his heart jumping when Childe wraps his arm over Ruyi’s shoulder along with said blanket, he tries to focus on the flickering flames and the sounds of the howling winds.

“What in the world were you doing out in the mountains all by yourself anyways?” Childe asks, breaking the unspoken promise of silence.

“I wasn’t by myself. I just got separated…”

“From everyone’s favourite Traveler and flying fairy, then?”

Ruyi finds himself turning to face Childe, eyes narrowing slightly. “What’s it to you?”

“Whoa now, I’m just asking friend.”

“Hey, since when were we ever-”

“Hey now, what’s a little bit of sparring anyways?”

“You call what you did back at the Golden House sparring?” Ruyi asks in disbelief.

There’s a grin and glint in his blue eyes. Ruyi rolls his own. “Nevermind, shouldn’t have asked.”

Maybe he was far too tired by wading through the storm, for he accepts a mug with what seemed like broth when Childe passed it over to him without much protest this time.

“...What about you?” Ruyi asks, taking a sip. “What are you doing on Dragonspine, really?”

He hears Childe hum in contemplation. “Fraid I can’t tell you. I’d have to… Silence you permanently if you knew. And I’m deeply hoping to avoid that.”

Ruyi finds himself tensing again, but Childe simply laughs. “Look, I’m taking steps to make sure I won’t, alright?”

“I don’t find the idea of dying a bloody death that humorous…”

“Having you all bloody doesn’t make me happy either you know?” There’s a sombre pause before Childe continues. “Look, I know you probably won’t believe me but I wasn’t enthusiastic on using Osial, you know?”

“But you still went through with it…”

“All that havoc, and all for naught,” The bitterness is greatly apparent. “No gnosis by my hand and I burned every bridge I made in Liyue.”

“What, you’re saying that some of the friendships you made were genuine?”

“A complete game of masks and deceit sounds awfully boring, you know?” Childe gives a small smile. “And I appreciated getting to know you, and a lot of others.”

“...You sound pretty lonely.”

Childe laughs again, but Ruyi could wince at the hollowness of it all. “Nonsense. I get to move around freely as much as I like to on all the missions I get and I get to fight a whole feast of different enemies. How alone could I be?”

There’s a new ache in his heart, but Ruyi can’t find his words. Childe doesn’t continue either. There’s nothing but the fire and storm once more.

…

When Ruyi wakes, his heart almost jumps out of his mouth. He’s warm, but how could he not be, bundled in a blanket and in the freaking arms of his impromptu companion.

Said companion, unfortunately, gets a rude awakening as a shocking gust of Anemo to the face and strong enough to blast him out of the cave. At least the storm had halted, and it was nothing but a mountain coated in snow and stilled icy air.

“For the record, Ruyi, you were cosying up to me to- Hey, where are you going?!”

And the young man who refused to respond, flustered and now warm enough to potentially melt the snow, continues up the mountain path with the eleventh Harbinger hot on his heels.

(fin)

#not beta read #oc x canon week #oc x canon week 2023 #oc x canon #genshin impact oc #Genshin Impact OC #Hua Ruyi #genshin impact #childe #genshin tartagalia #tartaglia x oc #my fic #my writing

3 notes · View notes

sarah-aliterarylife · 1 year

Text

My Life In Literature : Welcome!

A boy once told me how I would die.

It would be breast cancer, he told me, in my right breast. It would happen on 20th June 2022. I would be 37 years old. So when I found a lump in my breast on a cold winter’s night in January 2022, frightened is not an accurate word to describe the fear I felt.

The boy was my first boyfriend, and he told me this when I was 15 years old. He was also a pathological liar, a psychotic bully who terrified me beyond belief for much of the two and an half years we were together. Our relationship was what I now recognise to be abusive. He would often threaten to harm himself or harm me if I left, and so I stayed, for far longer than I should have done. One day, I will write about my time with this boy and the effects his actions had on my life, but now is not that time.

21 years after I ended the relationship, I knew deep down that no one can predict the future and the lump was merely a coincidence, but nevertheless, the experience sent me into a spiral. I began to experience anxiety attacks (mainly at night before bed, leaving me unable to sleep afterwards). My skin broke out into red, scaly patches, that no moisturiser would clear. I lost weight. I stopped eating. My mind descended into a dark place and my work suffered. Sometimes I could feel the lump and other times I could not. I felt as if I was going mad. Eventually, I consulted my doctor and she prescribed anti-depressants, therapy and a mammogram.

After a long 3 week wait for a hospital appointment, a mammogram and ultrasound revealed the lump to be benign, a swollen gland that increased in size in accordance with hormones (hence why I could feel it at certain times and not at others). The relief I felt at discovering the lump was benign was so great that I burst into tears on the ultrasound chair, leading three concerned nurses to rush over and comfort me.

One of the worst experiences of my life was finally over, but the effects stayed with me for many months. Indeed, they are still with me today. I began to reflect on my life, and my choices. Have I really lived the life I wanted for myself? Will the choices I have made in my life lead to regret, or a sense of accomplishment? Have I lived my life with meaning and purpose?

I came to the conclusion that I have lived a cautious life, an unremarkable one. I work hard and live in a comfortable home, with a man I love very much. I am careful with my finances and follow the 80/20 rule – 80% frugality and modesty with my money, my diet, my lifestyle in general, and 20% fun and spontaneity. In a cost of living crisis, it’s the best we can all hope for.

I have spent my life moving. Moving house, moving jobs, moving between friendships and relationships. But throughout all this movement, the one constant in my life has been books. For as long as I can remember, I have been an avid reader. Most people in life have a passion – for some people it’s sport, or food, or fitness. My passion is books. I’m a book nerd, as a former work colleague once called me.

Books have shaped my life in a way that no person ever could. They have been my friends and constant companions through times of anxiety and stress, they have helped me to relax and grounded me throughout a lifelong battle with depression and anxiety.

Reading forms a non-negotiable part of my daily routine. I read on trains, whilst waiting in the car outside shops or petrol stations, at art galleries, in cafes, in fields, even standing outside buildings in a crowded city. I read everything I can get my hands on – everything from thrillers, the classics, biographies, memoirs, poetry, cookbooks and westerns. I don’t have a “type” or a favourite genre. As long as it is a good story told well, I will read it.

I do not consider myself to be an intellectual, or particularly well read. I have never finished the complete works of Shakespeare (although I do own a copy). I couldn’t finish Mrs Dalloway, Swann’s Way or Doctor Zhivago. It took me three attempts to read Lord of the Rings. My long standing ambition to read the complete works of Charles Dickens has stalled at 5 novels, and I have struggled with most of them (but I did enjoy Oliver Twist and Great Expectations). I dislike books that other people love, and often find myself enjoying titles that many people hate. For instance, I found On The Road by Jack Kerouac dull and meandering, but thoroughly enjoyed The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. Where I am at in my life influences what I read. Sometimes I’m in a non-fiction phase, at other times I decide to widen my range and begin working my way through the classics (again).

But when I find a book I love, I am obsessed. I find excuses to read it every moment I can. I have been known to read on my lunchbreak, whilst waiting for the kettle to boil, and on many occasions whilst I probably should be doing something much more important. A long time ago, I was once told off for reading at work. Today, the simple joy of sitting quietly with a good book at the end of my working day is one of the greatest pleasures in my life.

This blog is something I have been considering for a long time. It began with a clear-out and developed as the cost of living crisis in the UK began to bite. It will not surprise you to learn that I own a lot of books! Currently, I own two (large) full bookcases and several heaving bookshelves, plus a Kindle with over 180 titles stored (many read, some as yet unread). My haul increases by roughly one title per week (bought either electronically or second hand on Ebay – big shout out to World of Books, I’m a big fan of yours!)

One of the many thoughts that came out of my experience last year, was thinking about the books that have shaped my life. In this blog, I will be exploring some of those titles with you, and explaining how they have played a part in shaping my life. Some I loved, some I did not. Some I will illustrate with my memories of where I was and what I was doing whilst reading them. I will give you my thoughts on each title, as best as I can articulate them.

I am not a literary critic, nor am I an author. You may disagree with some of my thoughts, or come to the conclusion that I am not particularly well read. That’s ok. I am simply a lover of books, with a passion for reading. I do not stick to one particular genre, or certain authors (although I do have my favourites). Over the last few years I have tried to avoid re-reading the same books, but from time to time I have a relapse and return to titles that bring me joy. It’s a mental health thing.

By writing this blog, I hope to take you on a journey, and introduce you to some of the books that I have enjoyed (or not, as the case may be!) throughout my life. Along the way, I may even discover a few titles I’d forgotten about! On second thoughts, that’s unlikely – one thing you will learn about me is that I have a memory better than any elephant. Maybe you’ll agree with my thoughts. Perhaps you won’t. We may even have fun together.

But first, where to start?

#book blogs #books and literature #book addict #literary #literature

2 notes · View notes

if-you-fan-a-fire · 2 years

Photo

“Can We Assimilate the Douk?” The Province (Vancouver). July 10, 1932. Page 39. ---- Is the government adopting a policy in regard to the Doukhobors which will end in assimilation of a great number of them? To what extent, indeed, can they eventually be fused into the life of the people of Western Canada? In this, the first of a series of articles, a man whose contact for years with the Doukhobors and whose knowledge of their language and the direction of their thought has placed him in an exceptional position to understand them, deals with the question. He treats the problem as it exists at the present moment. The language and style of the writer has been purposely retained. ---- By "DOUK." THE Doukhobor problem is much more complicated than the majority of people believe it to be. Let me attempt to interpret only its most important features. The myriad details are entirely disregarded. The historical background of the Doukhobors, which is very important, is only outlined. At present there are four distinct groups of the Doukhobors.

Sons of Freedom.

Community Doukhobors.

Individualistic Doukhobors, and,

Independent Doukhobors.

The first three groups are members of the religious sect of the Doukhobors which originated in the middle of the eighteenth century. The Sons of Freedom are the extreme radical side of this religious sect. The individualistic Doukhobors are the nearest to the Independents. The Independents are Doukhobors only by their origin. They have lost the traditional beliefs and customs of the rest.

GROUPS AND THEIR LAWS. The Sons of Freedom stress the religious side of life to the extent that they are no longer interested in material well-being. For the sake of their convictions they re willing to suffer separation from their relatives, torture and even death. Because they believe that Peter P. Veregin jr. has proved a traitor to the Doukhobor cause (he is not sufficiently religious in the sense they understand it, and they claim he does not lead a clean Christian life), the Sons of Freedom do not recognize his authority. Some of them, on several occasions, openly and publicly opposed his orders, defying him in front of the loyal Community Doukhobors. The Sons of Freedom live in communes.

The Community Doukhobors are also religious sectarians, but they devote most of their time to the acquisition of material possessions. They are loyal to their leader, P. P. Veregin jr., and implicitly obey his orders. They live in communes and form the Christian Community of Universal Brotherhood Limited.

The individualistic Doukhobors are more or less loyal to the leader, and they still maintain the Doukhobor customs and traditions. But they live on individually-owned farms and do not surrender their earnings to the community.

This class has appeared only since the arrival of P. P. Veregin jr. to Canada; the latter did his best to bring back under his influence those who had left the community. Peter V. Veregin sr. did not recognize a person as a Doukhobor unless that person belonged to the community and lived according to its standards.

The independents are those who have forgotten their traditional beliefs and who do not recognize the authority of the leader. In most cases they are hostile to the community and to its leaders.

It is impossible to state the exact number in these groups. They are shifting bodies. An independent today may become an individualist in a month. A community Doukhobor may join the Sons of Freedom, or an individual may become a community Doukhobor. And movements in the opposite direction may take place.

Roughly there are now about 700 Sons of Freedom, 5300 community, 4000 individualistic and 5000 independent Doukhobors.

It is most important to know the trends of the movements of one class into another. Let it be well remembered that the Doukhobors are essentially ignorant people, who themselves are very vague about their religion. The writer does not presume that bit description of the Doukhobors' religion would be acknowledged by them. On the contrary, I am almost positive that my version would be considered a slander.

There have been many chivalrous attempts to describe the Doukhobor religion without hurting the Doukhobors' feelings. Of this type, that of Miss Phyllis Gregory is the best, "The Doukhobors" thesis submitted to the University of British Columbia:

"The Doukhobors possess high Christian ideals," she writes. "They simplified complex human existence to one standard, that of 'perfect man,' and claim that if each one bases his own life in very truth on the life of Christ so that his heart and intent are purest does away with the need of usual safeguards of society. The base of the Doukhobors' creed is their conception of the Deity as the soul of the world. They believe that God does not exist as a separate personal being. The Deity, according to them, dwells in soul of man, and directs him by its word within him. Hence the soul of man is a faithful image of God. The Christ continues to suffer in us now when we do not live in accordance with the behests and the spirit of his teachings.

CLAIM THEY ARE ONLY TRUE WORSHIPPERS. "According to the Doukhobors, the whole of the Old and New Testaments merely prefigure in some spiritual way the mysteries which are accomplished in every faithful man. The purity of the Doukhobors teaching is remarkable because they do not study religious books, 'not even the Bible, but the sayings of Christ and the teachings based upon them are passed down from one generation to another by word of mouth. It is astonishing that in such a manner they should have acquired a perfect knowledge of the Scriptures, especially of the New Testament.

"The Doukhobors proudly consider themselves as the only true worshippers of God, and deem that the rest of mankind is wallowing in superstition and idolatry. The Doukhobors, in their own fashion, believe in the immortality of the soul. God, who dwells in the souls of men, is immortal, therefore the souls must be immortal; but they entirely reject the Christian conception of immortality.

"They believe that the individual immortality of a man consists in the memory which the deceased leaves behind him among his fellowmen. They do not believe in either hell or paradise. The promise of future life that we find in the Scriptures refers to the future destinies of mankind on earth, and not to a life beyond the tomb in another world.

"There will be no resurrection and there will be no destruction of the visible world. Physical nature as the abode of an eternal God will last for ever. The difference between the present life and the future is this: Now the faithful have to live among sinners, whilst in the future they will overcome the sinners and will inherit the earth alone, though people will be born, will work and die, just as they do now."

FOUNDATION OF THEIR RELIGION. It would be incorrect to form a conception about the Doukhobors by adopting Miss Gregory's definition of their religious beliefs. Yet it would be vain to criticize the definition. Probably at some time of the Doukhobors history the leaders of that sect actually had that version.

The writer will try to explain their beliefs in the way he understands them:

The sect of the Doukhobors sprang into existence as a revolt against the glaring inequalities of the Russian social and economic life of the eighteenth century. It was a protest against the practices of the Greek orthodox priests and against the abuses of the government officials and autocratic landlords.

The foundation of their religion was formed by the following doctrines:

All people are children of God, and therefore are equals.

God dwells in the souls of man and He is the only proper guide to action. Being the embodiment of God every human being is entitled to the greatest degree of respect.

In different persons are - manifest varied shares of divine revelation. The greater share of this divine revelation gives to the possessor authority over the people with a smaller share of it.

Christ possessed the greatest share of the divine revelation. He was only a perfect man through whom God fully revealed.

After Christ,. God revealed himself through other human beings who were Christ's successors and equals. Those people, the Doukhobors' leaders, could interpret Christ's teachings, develop them and even improve upon them. The details of the Doukhobors' doctrine varied greatly from time to time, depending on the contemporary leader. The members of the sect were very sincere and ardent in their beliefs and they were ready to undergo any privation and persecution for the sake of what they considered to be the "truth." In the actual life their "truth" amounted to rejection of the authority of church, government and other person or organization unless favored by the leader. They proclaimed the Russian Czar, all governments and all churches as ungodly and refused to recognize their rights to demand compliance with their regulations.

The Doukhobors would have no priests nor temples. They stressed the point that the temple is any place where two or more persons meet in the name of God.

The Doukhobors always have been expecting the downfall of the government and of the existing churches in a very near future. They expect this now.

In the beginning of the history of the sect the Doukhobors' activity was limited to mutilation of icons of the Russian orthodox church. They did that because they considered the practice of worshiping icons as being idolatry. This practice of mutilation of icons gave them their first name, "Iconbortzy" (Iconoclasts) or "Iconobrostzy." The former meaning "the one who struggles against icons," the latter means "the one who throws icons about."

HOW THEY WON THEIR NAME. The church started its persecution of the Iconoclasts, but this only added to the zeal of the newly organized sect. The Iconobortzy began an open propaganda against the Russian orthodox church in general. They condemned its priests, its ceremonies and even its fundamental doctrines. The Doukhobors rejected the doctrine of Trinity, they proclaimed their conviction that Christ was not of a divine origin; they refused to worship Madonna and saints, they maintained that Scriptures were not inspired by God.

When the Doukhobors' rejection of the doctrine of Trinity became known by the high priests of the orthodox church the name "Iconobortzy" was changed into the name of "Doukhobortzy" (the very end of the eighteenth century).

This name originally meant "the one who wrestles against the Holy Spirit." The Doukhobors themselves mean by it a entirely different thing. According to their own interpretation, the name means "the one who wrestles (against evil) by spiritual means and not with carnal weapons."

Severe persecution followed. The stubborn sectarians were sentenced simply on their assertion that they belonged to the sect of the Doukhobors.

But intensified persecution only inflamed the sectarians. They began to oppose openly all government demands and regulations which contradicted their conscience.

DOUKHOBOR DOCTRINE IN 180O. The Doukhobors' doctrine at that time (1800) crystallized into four very definite rules:

1. Do not practice idolatry. 2. Do not recognize any authority except the divine authority of Christ and his successors, 3. Do not kill and do not oppose evil by violence (the refusal to participate in military service). 4. Consider each human being as your equal.

The persecution at the end of the eighteenth century prompted the government to appoint Senator Lojmrhin as a commissioner for investigation. His report was favorable for the Doukhobors. He blamed the priests for the inability to maintain the high moral standard of behavior appropriate to their position. Senator Lojmrhin recommended the emigration of the Doukhobors from the densely populated provinces into a district where they would not be able to curry their propaganda and to convert new members.

In 1801 the persecution ended and the Doukhobors emigrated to Faorida, where thev stayed for about forty years.

During the years 1841-42-43-44, the Doukhobors were transferred to Transcaucasia, then wilderness. This was done with the hope that the perpetual attacks of the savage and militant hillamen would force the Doukhobors to abandon their doctrine of non-resistance to evil by physical means. That hope was partly justified.

The economic structure of those settled in Transcaucasia was based on the principle of private property ownership. They prospered and increased in number. The temptation of material well-being following the compulsory abandonment of the principle of non-resistance to evil weakened the Doukhobors' moral force. Most of the members of the sect departed, more or less, from the requirements of their beliefs. They were willing to kill hillsmen who bothered them; many of the Doukhobors found it very difficult to defy the government by refusing to obey its orders and regulations. All this meant a degradation and even treason in the eyes of those who still remained faithful to their traditions and convictions.

The character of a leader who always played a prominent part in the history of the sect became of the utmost significance at that time.

In 1885 two persons became competitive heirs to the post of the leadership of the sect: Loyal to the government, Mr. Youbanoff, and Mr. P. V. Veregin, whose policy was extreme religious exultation and adherence to the ideals of the Doukhobors of old.

P. V. VEREGIN VERSUS YOUBANOFF. P. V. Veregin would not consider any compliance with the government demands, but prompted his people to return to the practices and customs of their ancestors.

About 8000 recognized Mr. Youbanoff as their leader and became loyal to the government. About 12,000 recognized Mr. P. V. Veregin, and this sect split also when Mr. Verigin introduced into their life three novel (for them) principles, which were:

Principle of absolute economic equality.

Vegetarianism, and,

Principle of internationalism.

The principle of economic equality meant redivision of the separate properties of the Doukhobors and life on the basis of communism.

The principle of internationalism emphasized the idea of the brotherhood of all human beings. For the Doukhobors this meant a forfeiture of the belief that they are a chosen people. This last innovation resulted only in the adoption of the new name. Verigin's Doukhobors began calling themselves "The Christian Community of Universal Brotherhood." The idea of being chosen people still persists in the minds of the orthodox Doukhobors.

About 5,000 out of 12,000 of Veregin's Doukhobors in Russia refused to redivide their possessions. They formed a third party, not exactly loyal to the government nor to Veregin, but who were not in opposition to either.

Only about 7000 of the Doukhobors remained loyal to P. V. Veregin and complied with the additional principles introduced by him. These emigrated to Canada in 1899. Their religious characteristics were:

Abhorrence of the practice of idolatry as understood by themselves.

Refusal to recognize any authority except that bestowed by God and revealed through a man whom they proclaimed as their leader.

Living up to the doctrine of non-resistance to evil by violence.

Belief in the perfect equality of men.

Adoption of the social and economic structure of their colony to that belief.

Vegetarianism.

The details of the tenet were and still are not well established. The Doukhobors themselves are very vague about them. Different Doukhobors had, and have, different ideas about God, future life, resurrection, immortality and paradise. The elders and, generally, the most ardent members of the colony adopted the ideas of P. V. Veregin. They will be described by the writer.

The 7363 Doukhobors who came to Canada in 1809 and 1900 varied in their degrees of loyalty to these six religious principles to which they were supposed to adhere. In due time the least ardent ones were seduced by the opportunities offered by Canada and became independents. The average orthodox Doukhobors lived up to the professed standards of Christian life. They formed a commune and named it the Christian Community of Universal Brotherhood Limited.

The most ardent members of the Canadian Doukhobors not only lived up to the established Russian standards but improved upon them, progressed in their spiritual development, proclaiming that the time has come when they were expected by the Divine power to show humanity that its civilization is that of the evil one. According to them the duty of every Doukhobor became the rejection of almost everything that has anything to do with existing civilization. Some of them would burn money, machinery, things of luxury. Such religious zealots became the originators of the Sons of Freedom (1901). Many still belong to this type of people.

CAUSES OF FRICTION WITH GOVERNMENT. Till the arrival of P. V. Veregin in Canada even the most radical Sons of Freedom lived together with the community Doukhobors and carried on their anti-social propaganda.

P. V. Veregin drove them out of the community and proclaimed them enemies.

In their own minds the Sons of Freedom never separated themselves from the Community Doukhobors.

It is said there are many among the Community Doukhobors who more or less sympathize with the Sons of Freedom. Whenever friction arose between the Canadian Government and the Doukhobors, the Sons of Freedom were the first to remonstrate.

The principal causes for such frictions were:

1. Refusal to register deaths. 2. Refusal to send children to school. 3. Refusal to become naturalized. In every instance the Sons of Freedom played a prominent part. They were always ready to protest and to suffer for what they considered to be the truth.

The reason for the refusal to register deaths and, as a mutter of fact, to register births and marriages also, was the resentment by the Doukhobors at the interference of the government in what they considered their private affairs. The elders of the colony were afraid that by yielding to this demand of the government they might lose the hold on their separate members. Moreover, obedience to the registration law would mean the provision of the government with more information about the internal life of the community than was desired.

Those are the objections of the elders of the colony in general and of the leader in particular. The common members of the sect, if properly handled, could be persuaded to obey the registration law.

THEIR ANTIPATHY TO SCHOOLS. Peter Veregin stated the reason for the refusal to send children to school in 1914. He said officially, "we learned that the schools are very harmful because they teach the children the art of murder (referring probably to the fact that the children were subjected to the drilling, similar to that practiced in the army” and to the fact that, in some of the text books, certain famous personages were glorified, in spite of the fact that they participated in military activities). Moreover, the education received at school has a detrimental influence on the whole life of an individual. All educated people endeavor to earn their living in as easy a way as they possibly can. They even try to live by exploiting other people. Besides this, after having spent some time in school our children became disobedient to their parents."

In the case of the Community Doukhobors and the independent Doukhobors, the school problem does not exist any longer. Almost all send their children to school. The present leader, P. P. Veregin, is very definite in his desire to see the children educated in Canadian schools.

If, in the future, the Community Doukhobors should refuse to send their children to school, it will be a demonstration organized as a protest against some action of the government.

The Sons of Freedom never were induced to send their children to school. Their reasons, of course, have already been given.

The refusal to become naturalized lies in the fact that the Doukhobors refuse to take oath. They quote the New Testament and express their sorrow that other so-called Christians disregard this instruction of Christ.

It would be unwise to coerce the Community Doukhobors and the Sons of Freedom to take oaths.

The fear that, by becoming naturalized they will forfeit their immunity from military service has kept many of the independent Doukhobors from applying for citizenship papers.

Image captions: Main drawing: Before Magistrate John Carmel appear all Doukhobors of the Nelson district charged with parading in the nude. Up to the day this picture was taken, he had sentenced 381 Doukhobors, each to three years in prison. Of these 168 were women. Top right: On the same day this picture lent taken, grandmother and mother were sentenced to three years in penitentiary for parading in the nude, while, the baby became a ward of state, being placed in a foster home at the government's expense.

[AL: A rather informative piece with a deliberately provocative title and illustrations, showing the mass arrests and incarceration of Doukhobors in British Columbia.]

#nelson #interior british columbia #doukhobors #sons of freedom doukhobors #mass arrests #mass incarceration #passive resistance #political protest #refusal to serve #christian communalism #christianity in canada #russian immigration to canada #canadian history #suppression of dissidents #great depression in canada #british columbia history #Iconoclasm #pacifism

2 notes · View notes

blitzendoggo · 2 years

Text

Order Chaos

Glib works at a coffee shop and Goodbid comes in at the same time to order the same drink. Goodbid is also ridiculously handsome and shows Glib some human decency so obviously Glib has to fall in love with the businessman he knows nothing about.

Glib/Goodbid Coffee Shop!AU (2291 words)

~~~

Order Chaos, named after its most popular drink, the Chaos (a monstrosity of a drink that is mostly white with swirling colors and enough caffeine to trigger a heart attack in the elderly) sits in a very convenient spot for many people. It is close enough to the dorms that it is barely out of the way to most college students, and it is very close to many of the local upscale businesses, meaning that a strange mix of college kids and businessmen frequent Order Chaos. The side effect of this is that the door almost never stays closed and the lobby is never empty.

To new employees, this is extremely overwhelming, causing Order Chaos to have an unusually high turnover rate.

When Glib saw the ridiculously high amount of money the baristas were making, he nearly choked. Apparently, Callisto -one of the three business owners, and the one who handles things like people and PR- had decided that the best way to keep staff was to basically pay them to put up with the insane amount of stress. Aldor -the one who runs the business side of everything- had protested the high amount, but Prophis -the creative input for the entire business- had managed to talk him into trying it out. And it had worked, kind of anyway.

Around the same time Glib had started working there, two other people begun. S.G. -a changeling with an awful habit of gaslighting customers into thinking that their drink was indeed what they had ordered when S.G. had messed it up horribly- and Canyon -a tabaxi man that is so nonchalant, he has gotten in trouble for being careless many, many times- both of whom get along fine with Glib. They tease him about being short, and Glib counters that at least he can make drinks right (most of the time).

Together they have been working at Order Chaos for just over a year now, and about two months ago a strange businessman started coming. On the weekdays, he comes at about 8:30 am, but on the weekends its always nine o'clock before he shows up. Glib isn't too sure about anything he knows about the man, other than his schedule. He knows his name is Goodbid and he works with contracts. S.G. is certain that he is a lawyer while Canyon has only met the man once. Canyon works almost exclusively evening shifts.

One thing Glib is certain of is that the man is ridiculously handsome. He is over twice Glib's height (not that impressive when you remember Glib is three-foot-tall) and always dressed in a perfect three-piece business suit, all of his suits also match his briefcase which Glib has never seen him without. His hair is always in the same slicked back style and his mustache looks like it walked right out of an old western movie. And do not get Glib started on his southern accent. The first time Glib heard it, he nearly killed over, and the reaction has not lessened in the two months, it has simply gotten easier to control.

Mr. Goodbid also consistently gets the same order.

"I'd like a cup of half Chaos and half black coffee with two pumps of hazelnut flavoring, please," he'd say with a practiced gentleman's smile, which Glib was certain that if his heart was beating, that smile alone would have been enough to stop it.

Glib always works mornings, mostly because he's a vampire and it's like working closing shift for him, and also no one else wants to. It took him less than a week to memorize Goodbid's drink order and Glib would already punch it into the computer before Goodbid had even finished talking.

It took about two weeks for Glib to memorize Goodbid's schedule.

By week three, Glib would already have Goodbid's drink ready and wrung up before the mustached man stepped into the shop.

"One cup of half chaos, half black coffee, with two pumps of hazelnut?" Glib asked when Goodbid came through the door.

He looked shocked for a moment before he grinned at Glib. "Am I that predictable?"

"Yeah, you've ordered the same thing every day for the last two weeks," Glib said flippantly as he handed Goodbid his drink. "That will be-"

"5.50?" Goodbid asked as he held out the money.

"Yeah," Glib said with a soft smile. Most customers are mean or degrading to him, something about a frogperson working in a coffee shop makes people uncomfortable, so Mr. Goodbid being nice to him was odd but very welcomed.

Cut to a little over a month later, where they have had this interaction daily, where Glib is standing on his step stool waiting on Goodbid to come in. His drink is sitting made next to Glib's hand, and said frog is starting to get a little worried. Its nearly 8:45 and Goodbid has never been this late before.

At about 8:50, Goodbid busts through the door, panting heavily. His normally pristine suit is a little wrinkled and his mustache looks like it could use some work.

"Rough morning?" Glib asks as he hands Goodbid his cup.

"Like you wouldn't believe," Goodbid says as he gives Glib the payment. "My alarm went off an hour later than it should have, and now I've missed breakfast."

"Oh? Here," Glib says as he grabs one of the breakfast muffins off the counter and hands it to Goodbid. "It's a hazelnut and cinnamon muffin, seems like something you'd like."

Goodbid's eyes light up. "That sounds wonderful," Goodbid says as he takes the muffin. "How much do I owe ya?"

"Nothing," Glib says with a wave of his hand, "you look like you need something to keep going."

"You are far too kind to me, Glib," Goodbid says with a chuckle as he bites into the muffin. "That is so good," Goodbid groans. "Now you gotta tell me how much it is, because I'm getting one of these with my coffee."

Glib laughs. "It's 1.50," Glib says shaking his head. He smiles for a moment before glancing at the clock on the wall. "You should probably get going, Mr. Goodbid, I think you're running late," Glib reminds him with a coy smile.

"Ah shit!" Goodbid yelps as he spins on his heels and runs towards the door. "Thank you!" he yells over his shoulder as he flies out the door and down the sidewalk.

Glib doubles over laughing for a full minute before pulling himself back together.

"When did you tell him your name?" S.G. asks as she comes up behind him. They do stock in the morning while Glib works the counter. Callisto made it this way after S.G. tiredly gaslit too many people and someone actually complained about it.

"What are you talking about?" Glib asks as he makes the next person's order.

"I mean," S.G. says in his classic "you're being stupid" tone, "that he called you Glib."

Glib pauses for a moment before shrugging. "I memorized his order and have talked to him every day for the last two months, maybe he just looked at my name tag."

"Or maybe he's crushing on you," S.G. suggests teasingly.

"I doubt that," Glib says dismissively. He learned a long time ago to not pay attention to S.G. and her insane ideas. Besides why would Goodbid pay him any mind? He's just the barista at Order Chaos that memorized his order and jokes with him in the morning. "I think he is just a nice customer who has a very regular schedule."

"Oh sure, ruin all of my fun," S.G. says grumpily.

Over the next month, Goodbid shows up at his regular times and is always delighted to see his coffee and his muffin waiting for him.

"I don't know how you always look so happy," Glib says one morning as Goodbid takes his goodies. "It is too early for anyone to be happy; I should know, I work in a coffee shop."

Goodbid laughs before shaking his head. "I'm always in a good mood, Glib." He flashes the frog his signature grin. "And it never hurts to be grateful."

"Okay, Bid," Glib says with a roll of his eyes. "You can continue to be weird."

Goodbid doesn't say anything else as he leaves the store with a smile and a wink thrown at Glib.

The next few days pass as normal until one day, Goodbid doesn't show up. Glib can't get over the anxious feeling in his gut as he keeps watching the door, trying to will Goodbid to walk through.

"Glib," Canyon says. Today is one of the rare days that Canyon is working morning shift. He looks like he rolled out of bed and walked here, which knowing Canyon, he very well might have. "Some one's calling for you on the store line."

Glib looks at him strangely before walking over to the phone and picking it up.

"Hello?" He asks suspiciously.

"Glib!" A familiar voice says cheerfully before coughing. "Hey, sorry, I won't be there today or tomorrow," Goodbid explains.

"Why what's wrong?"

"I caught a nasty cold," Goodbid explains before sneezing and Glib winces through the phone. "I just wanted to call so you wouldn't worry."

"Oh," Glib says and tries desperately to push the warm fuzzy feeling that settled in his chest away. "That's, uh, very kind of you."

"What can I say? I'm a southern gentleman," Goodbid says, and Glib swears he can hear the smile through the phone.

"That you are, Goodbid, that you are," Glib says with a fond smile. "You should probably go back to sleep," Glib says after a moment.

"Yeah, probably," Goodbid laments.

"Good night, I hope you feel better," Glib says softly.

"Thank you and good night." Glib hangs up the phone and has to stop to think for a moment.

Goodbid called him while he was sick to tell him not to worry. He really is a good guy. And just like that, the small crush he was harboring for the monopoly man, was suddenly a very large, fuzzy feeling that Glib could not ignore.

Crap.

Just as Goodbid said, he wasn't there the next day, but he returned the day after that.

"Glad to see you didn't die," Glib says as he hands Goodbid his coffee and muffin.

"It was a close call," Goodbid says gravely before he grins at Glib. "But the promise of coffee kept me goin'."

"I'm sure it did," Glib says with a laugh. "I'm not sure how you drink that stuff, that should be enough to induce a heart attack."

"I drink a lot of caffeine," Goodbid says dismissively.

The next week continues as normal until on a Friday Goodbid says, "oh, before I forget. I won't be here this weekend. I'm going on a business trip."

"Oh, okay," Glib says before pausing for a moment. "Where to?"

"Parian," Goodbid says with a sigh.

"Sounds fun," Glib says trying to cheer Goodbid up.

"Normally it would be, but my client is kinda a jerk," Goodbid explains with a defeated shrug. "But a contract's a contract and I gotta go up there."

"That sucks," Glib says empathetically. "I've never been."

"Really? Not even for the Victora festival?" Goodbid asks looking shocked.

"Nope, I'm kind of really unlucky so a festival that celebrates winning is kinda..." Glib trails off. "Ya know."

"Yeah, I do," Goodbid says with a small grin. "I'll have to get ya up there at some point."

"Yeah, that would be fun," Glib says.

Goodbid pauses for a moment before asking, "do you have anything going on this weekend?"

"No, I'm probably just gonna order take out and watch movies," Glib says with a dismissive shrug.

"Well, would you like to go with me to Parian?" Goodbid asks with a hopeful smile.

"Uh," Glib says as his brain short-circuits. Was Goodbid really offering to take him to Parian? This feels suspiciously like Goodbid asking him out, but why would he do that? Glib is just the barista at a coffee shop and he is some upscale businessman! It doesn't feel like a trap, but Glib is a chronic over worrier-

"You don't gotta!" Goodbid says hurriedly. "I don't mean to try and force you into a position to-"

"Yeah, I'd love to, it sounds like a lot of fun," Glib cuts him off.

"Really?" Goodbid asks lighting up like a kid on Christmas.

"Yeah, I'll need to call off, but I've covered enough of the other's shifts for it to not be an issue," Glib says with a smile.

"Great! Uh, when I go talk to my client, I'll have to leave you in the hotel room, but other than that I can give you a tour of the city!" Goodbid says with a cartoonishly large smile. "And if you like the city, maybe we can go back for the festival."

Goodbid nods to himself and turns to leave.

"Wait!" Glib yells before Goodbid can get to the door. "I don't have any way to contact you," Glib explains with a sheepish smile.

Goodbid makes an 'o' face before reaching into his breast pocket and pulling out a business card. In the center in a clean white font, it says "Mister Goodbid" and under it in a smaller font "Professional Hitman".

Glib's eyes go wide as he flips the card over. On the back it simply says a number.

"If my job bothers you, we can call it off-"

"S.G. and Canyon owe me ten dollars," Glib says like a cat who got the cream. "And like hell am I backing out now, Mama didn't raise no bitch."

#d&dorks #sir superhero #pandaredd #naethan apollo #momoiscariot #nikhilclayton #glib #mr. goodbid #s.g. iguess #mystery of the canyon #glib/mr. goodbid #coffee shop

4 notes · View notes

head-post · 2 months

Text

Zelensky at risk after fight with Zaluzhny at such a difficult hour

Volodymyr Zelensky ended his relationship with Commander-in-Chief Valery Zaluzhny at the worst possible time for Ukraine, according to Bloomberg.

Zelensky is as stressed now as at any time since the invasion, as Ukraine’s leadership is not only fighting the Russians on a 930-mile front, but also struggling to get crucial supplies from allies and, indeed, fighting among themselves, according to the assessment of an anonymous European diplomat.

The breakdown in relations between two of Ukraine’s most prominent figures, Zelensky and Zaluzhny, is the biggest internal shake-up since the invasion, as the outgoing general enjoys strong support from the army and the population. Some Western diplomats privately speculate that his popularity has begun to weigh on Zelensky. As if to smooth things over, the day after the commander’s ouster, he was honoured with a “Hero of Ukraine” award.

This incites the belief that the conflict in Ukraine is indeed at a “stalemate,” but one thing remains constant for Zelensky: he hates the word “stalemate.” Breaking up with Zaluzhny is a real “stalemate,” because he can nonetheless take credit for a resistance that few were capable of when Ukraine was embroiled in Europe’s largest armed conflict.