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paulinedorchester · 3 years

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Garrett, Leah. X Troop: The Secret Jewish Commandos of World War II. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2021; London: Vintage Publishing, 2021.

(The American cover is on the left, the British on the right.)

Every so often, gifs from something called X Company cross my dashboard. When I came across Leah Garrett’s book X Troop, my first thought was that it must treat the same subject, but it seems that that can’t be the case: Garrett maintains that none of this story has ever been told before, because most of the documentation remained classified until very recently. (She claims to have single-handedly declassified many sealed British military records.) X Troop is about No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando, 3 Troop, commonly referred to as X Troop, comprising 87 German, Austrian, and (in a few cases) Hungarian refugees, all but five of them Jewish (at least under Nazi racial laws — I’ll get to that). It is indeed an extraordinary story, and occasionally an infuriating one. Garrett has done a tremendous public service in relating this tale, but the book itself has some puzzling — no, let's be honest, irritating — aspects.

The men who would make up X Troop left their native countries in their mid to late ’teens during the late 1930s, most of them without their parents as passengers on the Kindertransport. They occupied themselves in various ways until the middle of 1940 when, apparently without exception, they were interned on the Isle of Man, in Canada, or in Australia, to which more than 2,500 of them were transported on the H.M.T. Dunera, a dangerously over-crowded liner on which they endured conditions so horrific that the officer in charge — Major William Patrick Scott, a gleeful sadist and anti-Semite — ended up being court-martialed.

It is heartening to be able to report that British public opinion appears to have turned strongly against wholesale internment by mid-1941, but it wasn’t until that December that the internees were released from confinement. Those who had been transported overseas were offered immediate permission to return to the U.K. — if they volunteered for the Pioneer Corps, and I’m grateful to Garrett for providing the first detailed explanation that I’ve seen of what that meant. It wasn’t a good situation: they did menial labor and were bored out of their minds.

In the summer of 1942, they were finally offered an opportunity to join in the fight against the Nazis. This appears to be an instance in which the “great man” theory of history is perfectly valid, Lord Mountbatten being the great man in question. Garrett explains:

Mountbatten made a bold suggestion [to Winston Churchill]: they should create a new special unit of commandos, different from anything used before. Rather than coming from the ranks of the army or the navy, No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando would be composed of soldiers made up of displaced nationals such as Poles, Norwegians, and Frenchmen. Each of the units . . . would be used for different missions depending on their native languages. They would be unified by the shared desire to drive the Nazis out of their home countries. These commandos, highly trained and highly motivated, would lead the way when the time came for the Allies’ invasion of Europe.

And that’s exactly what happened. There were French, Dutch, Belgian, Norwegian, Polish, and Yugoslavian troops within No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando. There was also a troop known as the “British” troop, made up of Germanophones. That was X Troop (a nickname Churchill gave them). “X Troop would be Britain’s secret shock troop in the war against Germany,” Garrett relates:

They would kill and capture Nazis on the battlefield. But that would not be all. They would also immediately interrogate captured Germans, be it in the heat of the battle or right afterward. The men’s fluency in German would enable them to get essential intelligence that would guide the next moment’s choices rather than having to wait to interview prisoners until they were back at headquarters. ... They would have to be in peak form both physically and mentally. And because they were nearly all Jewish refugees from the Third Reich, they also would need to be diligently protected.

The situation was particularly dire because most were stateless — stripped of their citizenship in Germany or Austria, but refused naturalization by the Home Office. As one officer later recalled, “If any of them were captured in battle and their true identity had been revealed, their fate would have been almost impossible to contemplate.” (Those who chose to remain in the U.K. after the war faced an uphill battle in gaining British citizenship, as Garrett relates. She tells us nothing, incidentally, about Jewish personnel in the other No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando Troops.)

The first step was to have them adopt pseudonyms. When they arrived in Aberdovey (now Aberdyfi), Wales, for training they were each given 30 minutes to come up with a nom de guerre. They also had to concoct false backgrounds to explain why they spoke English with foreign accents. One man told the couple with whom he was billeted “that his accent was somewhat peculiar because his father had traveled a lot on business,” an unlikely story that they apparently accepted without question.

X Troop personnel were involved in the Dieppe raid — which may have been a mistake, as the troop was just past its infancy and several of the men were killed — and the Sicily landings and their aftermath, but of course all of that was really just a warm-up for the invasion of Normandy and, beyond that, Germany. More than half of the book is devoted to this. Assigned to various units, nearly all of the commandos landed at Sword Beach on June 6th, 1944, and proceeded into Central Europe, achieving victory after victory. Garrett places great emphasis on anger as their motivator: anger at the disruption of their lives and at their uncertainly over the fate of their parents and other relatives.

Leah Garrett is American; she is also Jewish. Like the overwhelming majority of my fellow Jews in this country, she is incapable of acknowledging the possibility of viable Jewish life outside of the U.S. or Israel. Her main piece of evidence for this view, which she hammers home repeatedly, is the fact that all but three of the surviving X-Troopers (22 were killed in action) chose to continue using their noms-de-guerre after the war — and, as she is at pains to point out, all of those who resumed their original names ended up emigrating to the United States! (The book’s excellent index helps the reader keep track of who was whom.) It’s true that names hold an important place in Jewish culture, but coming from someone using Garrett as a surname, her attitude comes across as either oblivious or chutzpadik, I’m not quite sure which. She also seems not to know that, historically at least, Jewish immigrants to Britain have changed their names with an assiduousness that makes the same phenomenon in the U.S. look like a mere blip.

Garrett also informs us, in the written equivalent of hushed tones, that some of the men who settled in the U.K. after the war married gentile women and brought up their children as at least nominal members of various Christian bodies. I share her discomfort with this, to be sure, but in order to maintain her shocked, shocked, stance she has to ignore something that she has in fact explained at some length in the book’s early chapters: a significant percentage of the future X-Troopers had only one or two Jewish grand-parents apiece, were brought up as Lutherans or Roman Catholics, and had absolutely no idea that they had any Jewish forebears until Nazi racial laws forced the issue into view. While I’ve known quite a few converts to Judaism whose initial impetus was the discovery of Jewish ancestry, it’s a bit much to expect that everyone will react that way. On the other hand, it’s dispiriting to learn that the inscription on the monument to X Troop that was raised in Aberdyfi in 1999 does not include the words Jews or Jewish.

Garrett is Professor of Jewish Studies and Director of the Jewish Studies Center at Hunter College, part of the City University of New York (CUNY), a post she has held since 2018; she previously taught at the University of Denver and Monash University. As a former CUNY faculty member myself, I’m in a position to tell you that (a) even as a full professor, she won’t have been hired with tenure, and (b) this book probably won’t help her to achieve it. It’s a great read on an important topic and represents prodigious research, but as a work of scholarship it has several marks against it. It doesn’t come from an academic publisher. It has only a partial scholarly apparatus — end notes, but no bibliography, or even a list of the many abbreviations used in the notes. Those notes aren’t always as useful as one would like, I might add: after relating that some of the men interned in Australia chose to remain there permanently, Garrett announces that they “would forever change the landscape of Australia. They would be known as the Dunera boys and would become leaders in the arts, sciences, culinary arts, and industry during the twentieth century,” but fails to give us any clue as to where we can go to find out more.

She also adopts an informal writing style that alternates between the faintly slangy (“All the evidence I’ve found points to ... ”) and the unnecessarily dramatic: two key chapters are written entirely in the present tense, a strategy that would normally be after my own heart, but which feels contrived in this context. It also seems not to be the case that none of this has ever been written about previously, as Garrett asserts. (Last but not least, Garrett recently resigned from CUNY’s faculty union, which may end up affecting her status there, as tenure recommendations are made by union members.)

Mixed feelings, then; but the book is worth reading, and I can recommend it.

#world war ii #u.k. armed forces #refugees #historical accounts #a long post for sunday #longer than i had intended in fact #with some very long paragraphs #book review #recommended with reservations

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steph-writing · 5 years

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Fem Byleth x Claude wedding...? Please

I got this ask a while ago but I needed the F E E L S to do it justice. And I can only hope I did it justice because THIS COUPLE!!!!!! DESERVES!!!!!! THE WORLD!!!!!! 😭😍 And I’m not used to 3rd POV writing so shit if I screwed up my bad lmao enjoy ;)

AO3 link

“Claude, you will not see the bride before she walks in!” Hilda barks at Claude for what feels like the hundredth time as she catches him trying to sneak in the room where Byleth is getting ready. “Get out of here before I chop off your favorite toy and ruin Byleth’s honeymoon.”

“Now, there’s no need to get aggressive, is there?” Claude tries to laugh it off but it’s clear as day from the way his stance shifts that he’s taking her threats very seriously.

But as he turns to try and make his escape back to the dining hall, a very smiley and a very annoyed Raphael and Lorenz block his exit.

“Hey Claude-”

“What exactly made you think you will marry Byleth dressed like that?” Lorenz interrupts Raphael’s warm-hearted exchange with nothing but sheer exasperation on his voice.

Letting out a deep breath, Hilda drops the axe she was wielding menacingly moments ago and smiles at the guys. “Good, you’re here. Could you please drag Claude’s sorry ass out of here? I need to check on Byleth.”

Not waiting for their reply, she storms off down the hall.

“I just wanted to talk with my fiancée, is that some sort of crime?” Claude tries to sound nonchalant, but it’s to no avail.

“I’m not sure you grasp the magnitude of the event that’s about to unfold!” Shaking his head, Lorenz, motions Raphael to grab Claude and start leading him away as they walk back to his room to finish getting him ready.

“This wedding is not only your joyous and, might I add, much delayed love union with Byleth, but also the joining of two great nations! Fódlan and Almyra were never amicable to each other, but that is bound to change with a romantic union of the leader of our free nation and the King of Almyra. You ought to show some respect and dignity to carry out your duties today!

“Besides, how do you think Byleth would feel if she could see just how little you seem to care to your appearance for today? Oh my, is that sauce I see on your shirt? Claude, this is unacceptable!

“Have you any idea what it would look like if…”

Lorenz keeps talking until they get there, all the way on the other side of the Monastery, but doesn’t seem to realize Claude, thrown over Raphael’s shoulder for good measure, has fallen asleep to the sound of his nagging, and only wakes up when Raphael puts him down non-ceremoniously on the chair while Lorenz hits his closet to find something he deems suitable for Claude to wear for his wedding.

Meanwhile, Hilda deals with something she never expected to see.

“What if he doesn’t show up? Or worse, if he says no? Or that it was all just a joke? What if he doesn’t really love me and this is just an overelaborated prank?”

Byleth is pacing around so fast that Hilda is having a hard time believing her former Professor even has the ability to talk so much and so fast all at once.

“Byleth, will you just calm down?” She storms up to the bride, stopping her at once and proceeding to fix the diadem on her hair.

“But Hilda, I-”

“I know, I know. It all seems very easy until it gets down to it, right? You get all these doubts and uncertainties and it makes you want to run far, far away and never look back.” Byleth nods slowly, biting down on her lip so hard she can almost taste the metal on her blood. “I’ve been there, remember? And you were there to knock some sense into me while I was already getting my wyvern ready to fly away.”

They both laugh softly at the memory. It is true, Byleth can still remember the tears on Hilda’s eyes as she questioned all she and her now husband ever went through and whether she was forcing him into their marriage.

“I was silly for doubting then, and you’re being even more now.” Gently pushing Byleth back to the chair, Hilda grabs some makeup and starts giving her some finishing touches. “My husband is a bit slow on that aspect, we both know that. But Claude’s different. He never hid how much he cares for you, nor how much he loves you.”

Byleth sighs, a small smile tugging the corners of her lips, and Hilda feels a pride tug on her now very pregnant belly. She was making her little boy proud by soothing his godmother at this time of need.

“I was outside kicking him out of here because he couldn’t stand not to see you until the ceremony, you know? He’s with Lorenz and Raphael now, and we both know those two won’t let anything happen to our boy. You can rest assured that he’ll be on that altar, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was already there, honestly.”

“It’s just… there’s so much that could go wrong.”

“Well, it wouldn’t be a Golden Deer wedding if it all ran smoothly. We are quite the troublemakers, Professor.”

Winking mischievously at Byleth, Hilda focuses on finishing her makeup, the ceremony is just around the corner, and everything better be working out because she will not run around to fix everyone’s mess with a belly this big.

But she’d sure as hell make her husband do it.

As Hilda turns around to grab a different lip tint color, Byleth seems to gather her strength and rushes what’s been eating at her from the inside.

“Hilda, there’s something I haven’t told anyone yet…”

Finally, it’s time.

Claude can’t stop fidgeting on the altar, counting the seconds until Byleth walks through the Cathedral’s door. He hasn’t seen her all day, and ever since he came back, he’s tried to hear her laugh at least once a day. But today when he woke up, she was already gone, and the guys were already ready to drag him all around until the ceremony.

He managed to sneak away a few times, but a very pregnant and menacing Hilda blocked his every attempt at seeing his fiancée.

They lived in Derdriu but decided to hold the wedding on the Monastery for several reasons. It was here they shared their first kiss, all those years ago before the battle where Byleth disappeared. It was here where they were reunited, where they shared their first touches, where he heard her cries of pleasure for the first time, where they declared their love for each other… and where he proposed before leaving for Almyra.

He looks around the room and sees all of their friends sitting there, eager to see their union at long last, all happy smiles and teary eyes.

Dorothea, Manuela and Annette are next to the piano, ready to sing the entrance song when Byleth walks in.

Everyone attended, there are Blue Lions, Black Eagles and Golden Deers spread out, sitting next to each other… Claude can’t help but feel proud of his soon-to-be wife.

She really did help create a unified Fódlan, if you look at everyone on this room, you’d never say they weren’t always united.

He wishes, however, that Dimitri and Dedue could’ve been here. Even Edelgard and Hubert… but he knows that they’d be proud of what he and Byleth are accomplishing in Fódlan, and it brings a smile to his face.

Even the Almyrans have showed up for his wedding, some of them even mingling and chatting with the guests from Fódlan – the way it’s supposed to be. Looking at his parents sitting on the end of the front row, he can’t help but feel his heart break a bit.

Byleth doesn’t have any blood relatives left. He knows she still thinks of Jeralt, she told him as much, and every time he sees that forlorn look on her eyes when she visits his grave when they come to the monastery, he swears over and over again that he’ll give her the biggest and happiest family she’s ever seen.

Lorenz shifts next to him, and he notices he’s making room for Hilda to get on the other side of the altar as the maid of honor usually does. He also notices Seteth and Lorenz are quirking their eyebrows at Hilda, which he soon does too when he sees the huge smile that’s on her face.

“What…”

Claude’s question dies on his lips when the huge doors crack open, and the music starts playing.

The sun is shining bright, and it causes a halo of light to surround Byleth’s white dress as she steps on the threshold.

By all the Gods in this world, how is it that she’s looking even more beautiful than usual? Claude asks himself, all else forgotten. There’s a certain… glow on her, he can’t look away. Is it magic? It must be.

As Byleth walks in on Alois’s arm, he only partially notices how the old man is bawling his eyes out. He remembers how emotional he got when Byleth asked him to walk her on the aisle as her father figure. And he’s sure the song the girls are singing is very emotional and has nice lyrics, but he can’t hear them. He can’t see anyone else.

All he sees is Byleth.

All he feels is love.

All he wants is to hold her in his arms and swear before every God and Goddess out there that he will never let her go again, that his life is hers and that he promises to spend eternity making her happier each day.

Her hair cascades down her back in soft curls, the golden diadem crowning her head making her look like a Queen, his Queen. And her dress hugs her every curve, making her look so tempting it should be a sin to walk in a church like that.

When she reaches the altar, he’s dazzled by her smile, by the sheer love that’s on her eyes, a look he’s sure is a clear reflection of his. Claude’s hardly able to spare a glance to Alois when he takes Byleth’s hands in his, but he’s sure the man didn’t notice through all the tears on his face.

Seteth begins the ceremony, a mix of Fódlan and Almyran traditions, and Claude’s sure it must be lovely, but he can’t stop looking at Byleth, and she can’t stop looking at him. It’s only when it’s time for his vows that he finds his voice again.

“I vow to love you, protect you, and stand by you. Now and forever. My anamchara, I will never leave you, for my life is yours and without you I can’t ever be. I never thought I’d need someone as much as I need you, and never have I thought that I’d enjoy sharing so much of myself, my dreams and my life with someone. Thank you for trusting me, for being my friend, for being my teach, and for being my love. I promise to give you all I am, and to be your friend, your lover, and your family. Now and forever.”

Byleth’s eyes are so marred with tears, her voice wavers when it’s her turn.

“I vow to love you, protect you, and stand by you. Now and forever. Finding you was like finding a piece of me I always knew was missing. Thank you for being there for me when I needed someone, for being my shoulder to cry on and the one to make me laugh even in the darkest times. My anamchara,” she says the word with that cute accent that always makes Claude’s heart hammer on his chest, “I love you more than I ever thought it to be possible. I promise to give you all I am, and to be your friend, your lover and your family. Now and forever.”

Claude’s lips quiver at her vow, and as they exchange their rings, both of their hands shake at their overjoyed anticipation of a life together at last.

At the sound of all their friends’ cheer, Claude pulls Byleth against his chest by her waist, and they share the purest of smiles before he leans down to kiss her with all the love he can muster.

Pulling their lips apart, Claude still can’t let go of his wife. Wife. He thinks the word to himself over and over, adoring the feel of it, only to have his thoughts interrupted by her small voice whispering against his neck.

“Claude, I…”

“What is it?” He senses her hesitation and tilts her head up with a gentle finger under her chin. She knows she can tell him whatever, he’ll still be there for her.

“I’m pregnant.”

His smile falters for a moment, but before Byleth can even look away, he breaks out in laughter, and pulls her even closer, lifting her as he spins around hugging her, which is enough for her to loosen up and laugh alongside him, both basking on the joy of the chance of starting their own family.

Today is, without a shadow of doubt, the best day in Claude’s life.

And as they walk down the aisle into their new life, they know they’ll love each other until the end of this world.

#fe3h #fire emblem three houses #claude von riegan #clauleth #bylaude #claude x byleth #byleth x claude #f!byleth #wedding #fe3h imagine #fe3h fanfic #fe3h fanfiction #fire emblem fanfic #fire emblem claude #fire emblem fanfiction #writing #fe3h writing #byleth #fe3h headcanons

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newsninjablog · 4 years

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Vengeance or Reconciliation

There are prisons which we can’t see, that we can get locked into, without even knowing it.

There’s a fantastic documentary that you should take time to watch, if you haven’t yet. It’s called, The Sixteenth Man. It tells the story of how Nelson Mandela used sports, compromise and a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to bring a fractured nation together, avoiding a bloody civil war. Although he wasn’t a perfect leader, I think he should be remembered as a very great man. Despite his lack of setting a good economic foundation for his country, he did make key decisions that changed the life of every South African, and most likely avoided the shedding of mass amounts of blood. When you examine the history of apartheid and look at the conditions that blacks in South Africa were living under at the time that Nelson Mandela went from the prison to the presidency, you likely would be appalled. Here is a man who was the first black president, as a result of the first election that included all South Africans, black and white. When he came to power, his people wanted blood. They wanted vengeance in the name of justice. But instead, he chose Truth and Reconciliation.

Justice or Mercy

Have you ever been wronged, I mean really wronged. Have you ever felt you were the innocent victim of an attack, whether physically or verbally. I can imagine that all of us can relate to greater or lesser degrees. I’ve never had a violent crime perpetrated against me. I can’t even imagine the outrage, the anger, and possibly the hatred that one might feel for the person who murdered or injured someone you loved, or even yourself. But I have had hurts, times when I felt attacked and the first thing I want is TO BE HEARD. I want to get my version of the story out there, to make the person who hurt me understand what they did, to see them apologize, and maybe even pay restitution, emotionally or in some other way for what they did.

As you know if you’ve ever been in a disagreement with your spouse, there are always two sides to the story. Your story almost never matches theirs. As the spat gets more and more heated, you each move farther and farther apart, until you are at opposite corners. Neither can see the others side because at this point you’ve been pushed by your own self-seeking need for justice to opposite sides of the room. At some point, if someone doesn’t lay aside justice and pull out mercy and grace, you will remain at odds... Little things can lead to bigger things, and two people can find themselves in divorce court.

Maybe you get counselling or seek someone to arbitrate for you. Perhaps they ask you, What is it you want from this person? What will be enough? Hmm...an apology, an acknowledgment, you hurt me, you were wrong, etc. Perhaps, your spouse says the same thing. Through arbitration you come together, they apologize, repeating the words the arbitrator has instructed and then you do the same. If you were the victim of a crime, maybe justice would be seeing person tried and convicted, jailed or maybe even put to death. Justice has now been done. What next? Do you go on as if it never happened? Do you the have peace? I think not. When we make our peace contingent on another person’s behavior...we have just put ourselves in a victim-hood prison, and sentenced ourselves to a life filled with offences, and absolutely no peace or unity.

Acting Justly vs. Exacting Justice

Here’s why: because justice is different than “acting justly, or doing justly,” (Micah 6:8) Getting justice, is something that someone else does, or is something done to them, in the name of obtaining justice. The fact is, that when the family leaves the courtroom and the murderer is put in jail, the family obtain a measure of justice, but they may still live in prisons of their own bitterness if they haven’t embraced mercy and forgiveness for the perpetrator. And, worse yet, what if the guilty man goes free...no justice...no peace...no unity...a prison of bitterness??? In this imperfect world that we live in, there are always going to be injustices, but we don’t need to obtain justice to be able to experience peace. The option of choosing grace and forgiveness is always there.

Truth and Reconciliation or Retribution?

As I said before, you cannot make your peace and unity contingent upon another person’s behavior or some kind of legal outcome? Nelson Mandela knew this truth. He said, “As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn't leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I'd still be in prison.” He had been in prison for 27 years!!! He could have left prison, if he had given up the fight to end apartheid, but he didn’t give up. His kids grew up without him, and his wife lived as a single mom. How would one obtain justice for that? How much punishment would you exact to make up for 27 years? The answer is, no amount of actions could make up for it...justice would never lead to real freedom. He knew that and he left his cry for justice in the prison cell. He came out ready to bind up the wounds of his nation, instead of ready to exact punishment on his white oppressors, and that was a powerful decision that saved the lives of countless blacks and whites in his country.

He did two major things in the early months of his administration that were brilliant and game changing. The first thing he did was to form something called the TRC, (The Truth and Reconciliation Commission.) The goal of this commission was to allow victims and victimizers, blacks and whites to come together and tell their stories. The goal was to get to the truth and to reconcile the races. Participants were promised immunity from prosecution. Now, some have argued that the government didn’t follow up with prosecutions of those who refused to participate and with the recommendations of the commission, but if you go online you can access 1000′s of testimonies... Blacks and whites who both did atrocities to one another, coming together, getting their voices heard, forgiving, reconciling, and leaving the prison of Justice and Bitterness behind.

Little Symbols Can Lead to War

The second thing he did was to embrace the country’s Rugby team which had been banned from competitions due to apartheid and was just being allowed to participate once again. The Springboks had long been a symbol of White South African privilege. Black people hated the Springboks and would actually go to the games just to cheer for the opposite team. His cabinet wanted him to dismantle the Springboks, and form a new team to go with the new South Africa. He refused to do this. He took a LOT of heat for it, but he could see that this team was a powerful symbol. He told his advisors, “These little symbols could take us to war.” So instead of exacting restitution and insisting on justice, .He made friends with his “enemy.” He embraced the team, wore their jersey to the game, visited them in their practices, encouraged them, learned all their names and addressed them personally. The team was a complete underdog in the league that year. They were in last place, but spurred on by the encouragement of their new president, they went on to the finals and then won the world championship after two grueling overtimes. The country rejoiced as one, in a moment so unifying and healing for the whole nation, that South Africans still weep when they talk about it. The team called him their “16th Man.” (Watch the documentary, it’s amazing!) In the movie, there is a black South African man who tells the story of how he was eaten up by hatred for his white oppressors and how he was delivered from that hate, not by justice, but by a mindset change that HE made.

Are You Helping or Hurting the Cause?

I was watching a video of a young Christian Black woman today. She looked right through the screen at me and ask me a couple hard questions. “Are you, (being white), afraid to tell me, (being black), the truth? Are you afraid if you tell me the truth, you will be called a racist?” She went on to explain that only the truth can set someone free, and if we as white people are skirting the truth, and failing to speak it, because of our fear of being called racist, then we are contributing to the problem. This was like a gut punch to me. I’ve been speaking out politically about what’s clearly going on here...but I really haven’t addressed the root issues..I really haven’t spoken openly about the spiritual reasons for why I can’t support the #BlackLivesMatter movement. The spiritual reason why I can’t support BLM is because this organization is promoting the kind of justice which is really vengeance and they are threatening that if there in no “justice” there can be no peace. I know from personal experience that seeking this kind of justice is mutually exclusive to unity and peace. Therefore I can’t support this idea, I believe it is driving wedges between people, not uniting them.

I have a question for white American Christians, riddled by guilt for an institution you had nothing to do with. Are you, by supporting the ideas of #BLM helping your black brothers and sisters find true peace and unity, or are you actually interfering with the true healing and peace that God wants to bring them? That’s a tough question. I have been confronting it in myself, because while I have no problem calling out the bad politics surrounding this issue, I feel really uncomfortable talking about racism.

An entire segment of society is being demonized and everyone is scrambling to make sure they’re on the “right” side. It becomes “us” against “them” (the racists). Instead of all the virtue signaling and demonizing of racism, is there something we could be doing that would actually help the process? If we’re not careful, we will be reinforcing the bitterness and a victim mentality, which will never bring about the change of hearts, we truly seek.

Let’s take a look at the root of racism which is prejudice. Prejudice is pre-judging by what you see on the outside instead of by the content of the heart or character as Martin Luther King described in his “I have a dream” speech. This is explained in I Samuel 16:7, “ But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart’.”

According to the Bible, prejudice is a HUMAN problem, not a white problem, and not a black problem. Prejudice is a sin problem and all of us were born with sin, none of us, except Jesus, is exempt. Instead of making this a me/them issue, where we are demonizing a certain group of people as being racist, and making sure we’re on the other side. If we really want blacks and whites to heal, shouldn’t we all start being really honest about the things that divide us. You can’t stop a racist from being racist by demonizing them, you can only do this by understanding them, and combating the ignorance with the truth of God’s Word.

Truth and Reconciliation

I felt like something I could do to humanize this problem and to break out of this “us against them” mentality, would be to make a confession. You see, I’m guilty. I’m guilty of prejudice, of prejudging people based on what they look like, what they’re wearing, their education level, the way they carry themselves, and a million other things, and I’ve prejudged people based on their ethnicity. I don’t think I can help it...when I look at someone, I judge. I decide whether or not I’d like to get to know them or whether I’d like to avoid them. I happen to think that all of us are prone to choose people who are like us..people who share our views...think like us...come from the same economic status as us... To the degree that we override this selfish, me-centered tendency, the Lord blesses our lives with a diversity of relationships.

I can apologize for these things, but they are automatic things that happen when I come into contact with people. I’m not a perfect example of Jesus yet, therefore my first impression very often is going to come from the outside of the container and not from the inside. But, there’s something that helps me break out of this prejudicial thinking, it’s relationships. Relationships break down barriers and allow people to enter into communion with one another. It’s very hard to hate anyone, if you know their story and you have a relationship with them. If we really want to judge people on the content of their character and not on the outward appearance, we are going to have to be in relationship with them. We can’t be in relationship with people if we are demonizing them.

That being said, it’s easy for me to love my black friends. They are unique, gifted, amazing beautiful people. But I have to confess, I’m still struggling with loving those I don’t know. I can’t promise you that when I go to serve at the homeless shelter in our city and I’m walking up the sidewalk and a group of young black men is approaching me, I’m not going to hold my purse a little closer. I would like to believe that eventually I could be like Jesus and be able to look at someone and see straight into their heart, but there is still some fear that dominates my thinking. The point I’m making is that we all judge...all of us...and all of us have probably been guilty of some type of ethnic prejudice. Instead of virtue signaling, and encouraging division, maybe some confession would help. Instead of leading our black brothers and sisters down the path of justice seeking, maybe our candid confessions and stories could help us all find a path forward that would lead to more unity and honesty. I for one am so brokenhearted about some of the stories I’ve heard of prejudices. Is there some way we can begin to address the ignorance in others in a way that doesn’t push them away and demonize them. The only way to do this is to recognize that in all of us, there is the potential for prejudice. I think we would be less condemning, more understanding, and we would be modeling the kind of humility and grace that would encourage dialog, relationships and healing in the black and white community.

Relationship is the Key

As Christians, we’ve been given the most powerful relationship available. It’s a relationship with God through his Son, Jesus Christ. This relationship makes available to us the Holy Spirit of the Living God. God actually comes to dwell in us and with us. Just as Christ’s death on the cross broke down the barrier, the wall of separation between man and God, this same Spirit cancels out the separation between Jews and Gentiles, Greeks and Scythian, and all other ethnicities. If we are in Christ, we are one big family. It’s not a perfect family...it’s got dysfunctions, and we don’t always get along...and sadly, we still pre-judge each other, BUT we are family and families have to stick together!

I guess the thing that was so harmful about segregation and apartheid was that It was an artificial wall of separation that kept whites and blacks from knowing one another, and from relating to one another. Without this relationship, we can never break down the walls. Praise God, Jesus has broken down the wall that separated us from Him and now we have the power to break down walls through relationship. Our pastor said this week in church, “I could persuade you to my political views, but if you are without Christ, you’re still lost...still headed to a Christ-less eternity.” This is the most important relationship and the most important decision you can possibly make. Jesus took the punishment for all the sin of man to satisfy the divine JUSTICE of God and so that you and I could receive mercy and grace, forgiveness and eternal life. Without this relationship, you can never hope to have anything healing to bring to this broken world.

What we do here, as individuals, may not save our nation from the path of destruction we appear to be on, but it could save one life. Will you be a bridge of reconciliation, leading angry people to the saving, freeing forgiveness that only Christ can bring. It will require speaking the truth about justice and forgiveness, in love. I believe that is the RIGHT side of history.

#nojusticenopeace

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xathia-89 · 5 years

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Long Lost Sibling - Mitsuhide

I was frowning at the bowl full of dark paste in front of me. The staff reckoned that it would help cover up my roots after I’d had to break down and ask for help in this era. All of the warlords had been highly suspicious about not seeing me apparently, but since my hair was growing quicker than I could cover it with scraps of fabric and I’d now run out of contact lenses, my appearance was changing swiftly. The maids had known from the start and had been very accepting of the tale I spun about being from the future. It was a game to keep the warlords from finding out.

Playing Princess was never something I was comfortable with, so I had argued back with Nobunaga and also been given the role of Chatelaine. Not that Hideyoshi trusted me to do anything except murder Nobunaga. I wasn’t sure who he was more suspicious of, Mitsuhide or me. He was brutally open about the lack of trust at least, both of us always knew that he was waiting for one of us to betray the great Lord Oda.

The staff revelled in it when I was bored. Since the job was to freak out the warlords as much as possible. Swords would never stay still, and Shogetsu was always pouncing out of cupboards and mostly onto Hideyoshi and Ieyasu. Then it was a case of minute adjustments to clothing, very mean I had to admit, so I tended to stick to doing it on the haoris rather than their actual clothes. Make something just the tiniest bit too short so it wasn’t that comfortable to wear when it had been perfectly fine last week. Then I started using bamboo cages to drop onto Mitsuhide, something that everyone was looking forward to being tripped.

“You really are a pain in the behind when you’re bored,” a silky voice interrupted me, as I couldn’t help but smile. Mitsuhide had figured it out, unfortunately.

“Are you going to tell on me then?” I asked, trying to keep my eyes down on the floor so that he wouldn’t see the differences.

His head was resting now on my shoulder, breath hot on my ear. It almost felt familiar, a flash of an impression in my mind before it slipped away again.

“Maybe not about the pranking, but I do have some questions about this lovely hair of yours,” he eventually said. I kept my panic internal, it was something I was trained to do, regardless of the situation you never let anyone see any kind of emotions except those you want them to. He tilted my head up and then paused. “Just where did you grow up little girl?” He frowned.

“I think your better question would be as to how I managed to hide my true appearance for so long,” I scoffed, removing his fingers from my chin.

“You seemed to have gotten all the staff onto your side, judging from the state of things around you,” he commented.

“Well, a chance to have something over on you guys, they were eager to take part as long as it was harmless. Brought amusement to them in their work,” I replied casually. It was haunting me to look straight into Akechi’s eyes. It felt like looking into a mirror, and the eyes were meant to be the window to the soul. If I listened to Hideyoshi, then it would be believed that Mitsuhide had no soul. He was happy as anything to lump us together, and this new uncovering of mine would sign me to it.

“Why change your appearance? I heard your long tale of being from the future,” he swiftly stepped away, putting a small distance between us as I went to make some tea. “I have no taste buds, I am sure you’ve been told.”

“You still need hydration,” I replied. “And it’s impossible to hide if you look like you do. You have aides to sneak around and hide as the spider setting the trap, I prefer to do the dirty work myself,” I smiled, pouring out the tea into cups. “If you would take a seat, then I am certain we could have a civil conversation about my past, and answer that question you have in your eyes,” I gestured.

He was wearing a neutral mask to cover his emotions. I could only glean the smallest pieces of what he was thinking by the motions in his eyes.

“My past starts when I am seven years old,” I smiled.

“What about before that?” I had never heard such a tone before from the snake and recoiled slightly at it.

“I have no memory before that. I was found in some woods near Kyotanba, not far from here. I was taken in by a couple who took in kids as a way of money. They constantly made fun of me for my hair and eyes, so I took to hiding my hair early on, then when I became of legal age, I left. I had good enough grades and credentials to get myself taken on by the specialist governmental department,” I paused and smiled. “I say credentials. I broke in when I was 15 and exposed all of their weak spots. They were so impressed that I could be brazen enough to turn up the following day and talk them through everything that was wrong with their current system, that they said if I had the grades to match my practical knowledge, they’d take me on.”

“What sort of specialist department?” His voice was coming out strangled, and something was clearly bothering Mitsuhide, but he didn’t want to discuss it directly.

“Much like what you do for Nobunaga,” I replied. “I was working to eliminate any problems for Japan’s safety. Chasing down unsavoury individuals that were working to undermine the government. Our form of Lord is a unified Japan, and everyone selects their leaders, and they all come together to form a government. You always get those pushing for their own agendas though, so accidents happen, I’m sure you know that,” I smiled. “Anyway, I had lenses to cover the colours of my eyes up and then coloured my hair. You’d never know I was there,” I shrugged.

“This is some fanciful tale Natsuki,” Mitsuhide took a sip of the tea, and paused. He was staring into the cup. “I had a little sister. Whenever she was bored, it was lethal to the rest of us. We could never find our prized possessions, and she always charmed the staff to her side without a problem. She disappeared suddenly when she was about seven. It devastated our parents, and I remember that I was constantly searching for her. Then you turn up, with the same name as her, the same traits, the same hair and eye colour, and give me a long spiel about coming from the future, and I am meant just to believe it?” His voice was a thread in the air. “My Imoto was the prize jewel of our family, her smile would light up the whole of Tanba.”

“I don’t understand you,” I shook my head, a little afraid of the man.

“Ah, excuse the intrusion,” Hideyoshi burst the door open, and then froze as he got a good look at us both. My hair was white from the roots to where the brown hair dye started, and my eyes that had always been brown up to this point were now a shade of amber, and I was pointing a .44 calibre handgun at the addition to the room. “What?”

“We were just discussing my sister who disappeared all those years ago, and then how this lovely young woman turns up with exactly the same name and traits,” Mitsuhide was back in his shell, no emotions on his face. “And I find out we have the same eye and hair colours, so I was asking about her past.”

“Are you sure it’s Natsuki this?” Toyotomi was more than a little broken as I sighed and rolled my eyes. My gun was tucked back away in my obi where I liked to keep it, as I could see the slightest changes in both of the men from their stances. It made me smirk on the inside for them to realise I was never unarmed.

“Seeing as you keep threatening me all the time about your precious Lord Nobunaga and making sure I’m still not a threat after all this time, then yes I’m fairly certain I am the same woman who pulled Nobunaga out of the flames,” I sharply replied. “Now, got tottering back to your war council, and leave me to sort out my hair please,” I ordered, glowering at them both.

The paste hadn’t worked. I was frustrated as I sat at the teahouse in Azuchi. The only person who had changed was Hideyoshi, he was struggling to decide who to follow around the castle when we were both present. Otherwise, he was constantly trailing me. Sasuke had nearly been caught on a couple of occasions as I played with my white and brown braid that was trailed over my shoulder. The ninja had told me that he had a theory on the wormholes that he wanted to discuss with me, but it was going to have to be a time when we could make sure we had some privacy.

“Have you considered my offer yet, princess?” I grimaced at the sound of Shingen’s voice.

“And my response still stands,” I replied, not looking happy as I turned around. His whole posture froze up as the hair and eye colours sunk in. “Have you seen a rogue ninja? He wanted to talk magic with me?” I smiled sweetly.

“Wait, what’s happened?” Takeda took a seat and most of my patience.

“We’re from a special little place that allows for you to change your appearance. Natsuki has run out of things by her appearance,” the aforementioned Sasuke appeared from nowhere, slotting between us. “I had heard the rumours. And it’s science, not magic.”

“Mitsuhide thinks I’m his long lost sister, trust me there, there’s magic involved somewhere,” I snorted.

“Given your change in appearance, I am suddenly quite inclined to believe him,” Shingen surprised me with his opinion, the flirtatious tone long gone as he peered closely at my hair.

“I take it the pastes and things didn’t work then?” Sasuke asked, trying to ignore the warlord.

“The maids were lovely, but my hair is just too much to colour sadly,” I sighed. “And my lenses are going to give me eye infections if I’m not careful. I’ve run out of cleaner and clean sets.”

“It would be awkward to deal with,” Sasuke nodded. I could see him subtly admiring the new hair colour, and trying to hide that he liked it. “I was looking at the wormhole patterns and where you were in the weeks leading up to our meeting at Kyoto, and I think it was following you around,” he frowned, producing a map for me of the pattern of wormholes.

“Do you think it was trying to do something then?” I asked, tilting my head to the side as I shifted a little closer to the ninja.

Shingen was watching us with avid interest. I figured from the start that there was definitely something that I hadn’t been told about these two, and the merchant, Yuki. But it wasn’t hurting anyone from what I could see, especially since they never asked me about anything aside from my daily life. Though how quickly they both disappeared when Hideyoshi came to find me was a puzzle.

The vassal didn’t want to make me jump after the display a few days beforehand, and he was exceptionally polite. I would likely need to produce my gun again once Nobunaga had heard about it. He led me back to Azuchi, the atmosphere tense between us. Friendship was never going to happen, he simply didn’t trust me on a subconscious level as I realised he was taking me to the main hall.

All of the warlords were looking at me with a renewed interest, the sole exception of Mitsuhide. Oda had a glimmer in his eyes that I didn’t like at all. All of the men had their swords, and there was an air about the room. Warfare seemed likely if I made the wrong move.

“I can definitely see the resemblance now,” Nobunaga commented with a smirk. “Hard to deny what stares you in the face Natsuki, I would say you are the missing little sister of Mitsuhide.”

“If that is the case, explain how I come from the future,” I snapped, forgetting that most of the room had no clue as to the tale I had spun to Oda just after rescuing him from the flames.

“Are you still spouting about that?” The dark haired male frowned.

“She wasn’t lying,” I was surprised that Hideyoshi stood up for me of all people, my mask slipped momentarily before I could school my expressions again. “I overheard her talking to Mitsuhide about her life, and then she pulled a weapon of sorts on me when I entered and startled her,” he was looking embarrassed about the situation at least now.

“You mean this one?” I sighed, producing my favourite handgun from the folds of my obi, and startling the entire room. “It’s a gun, just a little more advanced than your pistols,” I shrugged. Ieyasu was swift and had it out of my hands for a study, and then keeping it out of my reach. “Hey, that’s mine,” I was trying to grasp it by twisting myself around Tokugawa. Then I was fed up, kicked him in the back of his knees to make him stagger and snatched the weapon off him before anyone else could get their greasy mitts on it. It was safely tucked back away with a slight glare to the room.

“Now there’s definitely more to you than I know,” I didn’t like the sound of the tone of Oda’s voice.

“I trained as a special agent. I took out any perceived threats to the country, I would study them, stalk them and determine if they needed eliminating or just realigning,” I spoke briefly. “Much like Mitsuhide does for your rule.”

“Seems like the siblings are not that different anyway,” Masamune chuckled. “No one expects a woman.”

“In the future, you don’t expect anyone who blends in,” I corrected him.

“Now I’m just tempted to take you out onto the field,” Nobunaga’s laugh was haughty.

“If you send me out in a kimono then I’m just begging to be caught by tearing the fabric,” I shrugged.

I had spent the time with the seamstresses to perfect my outfit. It was a mimicry of the sort of thing I had seen Sasuke in when we were last on the battlefield, the only differences that I had pistols tucked into an obi sash that I liked around my waist. As annoying as it was to adjust to the era, I found that part of me liked being dressed up as a girl and a princess, not that I wanted to be in full formal dress all the time, that would drive me nuts. The other warlords just smiled when I appeared, and all the more so when I scared one of the ninjas of Nobunaga’s collateral and then stole his horse as my winnings. I pulled my mask down after completing the task and moved the horse towards Oda, who smirked at me. He had set me that preliminary assignment just to break me in for the forces I think as half of them were trying to figure out who I was while the others knew and were trying to work out how I did it.

“How are you going to hide your hair then?” Hideyoshi was a combination of paranoid and intrigued.

“I have a covering for it when I need to move in darkness,” I replied nonchalantly, the saddles of the Sengoku weren’t as comfortable as the ones in the modern era as I began to fidget a little. If this wasn’t going to be a one-off, then I would definitely need to design something to put on the saddle.

Setting up camp was a new experience, I was still being treated like a Princess despite that I was about to be used to go out on a scouting trip that night. I was made to sit with Nobunaga and Mitsuhide once the main tent was set up, and they were looking over maps in silence. It wasn’t the most thrilling of things to do to pass the time for sure.

Oda finally summoned his ninjas, and I pulled my mask back up. It kept my nose and mouth protected from anything getting into them and also from the chill of the night air. Though I was then held back until they had all gone off in one direction, and I frowned at Nobunaga.

“I figured that they would just hold you back,” he smirked, and it was the first time I recalled ever seeing Mitsuhide look like he was prepared to fight his Lord physically. “You go off in the other direction, and prove yourself,” he shrugged. “You’ve been biting for a chance to do so,” he smirked.

“You won’t be disappointed,” I laughed, pulling the material over my roots and back to cover most of my head as it formed a bandana appearance, and gave a mock salute to the two warlords before disappearing off in the opposite direction.

“She didn’t take a horse?! What’s she doing?!” I heard the panic in Hideyoshi’s voice as I dashed through the treetops. Horses made too much noise, and I had a lot of ground to cover, but needing to avoid any traps was essential.

I spied the usual pairings of scouts trying to overlook our camp, a few collections littered through the forest as the warning system to get back to our enemies, and then I spotted our scouts in the form of Masamune’s trusted aide, Kojiro and his men. I scuttled down a tree to meet up with him as part of me thought that touching base in the field would help.

“You scared me, Princess!” The aide hissed as I stole one of the favoured food supplies from the pack between them.

“Three sets of scouts slipped past you,” I stated, pausing to take a bite of the rice ball.

“We let two of them go, either one of them was ahead of us, or they’re really good,” Kojiro replied. “I take it this was a fuel stop before you keep moving?”

“Keeping in touch is never a bad thing,” I smiled and patted the man on the head as I finished eating. “I’ll let you know if I see anything else.”

I had found something of a comfortable spot, I had a decent view of the Uesugi-Takeda camp when the sound of a twig breaking alerted me that I wasn’t alone in my immediate vicinity. My movements were slow and steady, peering through the leaves as I saw that it was a guard patrolling the camp. I had been in deeper than this before and not been caught, and lifted my head back to focus on the base.

A rustle of leaves over my head sent me into a mild panic, and then the covering over my hair had gone before Sasuke showed himself and dropped onto the branch next to me. We lowered our masks and gave friendly smiles.

“Is this the point we admit we’re on opposing sides?” I asked, tilting my head slightly.

“We always knew it though,” he replied.

“It was just a polite avoidance of the obvious then,” I nodded, turning my head back towards the camp, where Kenshin appeared to be looking for someone. “Your Lord is missing you.”

“I heard your brother was nearly sent into a panic when you were sent out by yourself,” Sasuke countered.

I smirked and then gave the man a kiss on his cheek before disappearing back the way I came. My ears were honed to catch any sounds of being followed before I chose to drop back in on Kojiro.

“I’m surprised to see you again,” the aide eyed me up.

“There’s only one ninja in both forces who stands a chance at catching me, and he found me,” I shrugged, “Any intel you need me to feedback?”

Mitsuhide was expressing emotions when I returned, and it was surprising to us all. He had decided that regardless of the wormhole problem, I was definitely his little sister, that we looked like mirror images were starting to push doubt into my mind that I wasn’t. Then I remembered that Sasuke had taken my bandana and I hadn’t retrieved it as every warlord was staring at me during my report to Nobunaga.

“And your head covering?” Oda asked, an unimpressed look in his eyes.

“Kenshin has a ninja that’s really close to him, and he got close enough to grab that piece of fabric. That’s all that happened in that encounter,” I replied with a casual shrug.

“If you are still doubting that you are Mitsuhide’s sister, then what just happened is a prime example of how you are,” Hideyoshi snapped.

“I can accept falling through one wormhole, not two,” I replied before going to leave.

“I won’t tolerate failure Natsuki,” Oda’s voice was that of fact.

“Who said I’d failed? I might be able to learn more about this ninja now we’ve established he’s interested in me,” I replied, a smirk over my shoulder to my boss.

I wasn’t sure who had initiated what, but each kiss was never enough as I was pinned to the floor underneath Sasuke. We had gone looking for each other and found the other in a small clearing halfway between the camps. It had been a simple small talk at first, then we’d gotten onto the topic of how I could be Mitsuhide’s sister as he continued his explanation that the wormhole that brought us to the Sengoku had been chasing to get me back here. I didn’t know just how anxious I had been about my childhood. I shared about all of the teasing I had growing up, and how I was passed from foster home to foster home because who wanted a teenage delinquent who was smart enough to break into government properties and then have the balls to go back to tell them what she’d done. He was fixing the bandana back into my hair, the moonlight kept illuminating it, and we wanted to stay hidden in our little bubble for just a bit longer. For someone who had such a stoic outside, he was bursting with passion on the inside as my fingers were tangled in his thick, shaggy brown locks.

A chuckle made us both freeze, and we found that we were facing my brother after turning our heads slowly.

“I didn’t think the interest was anything but mutual, Imoto,” he smirked. “Though hearing how you grew up exactly is nothing short of heartbreaking,” he paused and took a seat next to us. “Is the world still that cruel?”

“Not for everyone, I had no family,” I replied, reluctant to lose complete body contact with Sasuke as I entwined our fingers. “I didn’t look like anyone else, and standing out meant that I got all the anger because they could justify it to people who couldn’t care less.”

“It was terrible when you left,” Mitsuhide’s voice wavered slightly, to most people I imagine they wouldn’t have caught it as I stared at the white haired male. “Our parents spent their time scouring the country for you, every time someone came to us with news, they were hopeful. You disappeared without a trace.”

“Like I just fell through a wormhole,” I murmured, taking the time to try and push my memories.

Then I felt the weight of Mitsuhide’s head on my shoulder. “You were always up to no good,” he chuckled. “And you’d never hear me sneak up, so I’d catch you out like this. And I’ve seen the expressions on your face in reflections, you know this feels familiar and safe otherwise you would have already punched me.”

“The thought has crossed my mind,” I replied, trying to keep aloof of the whirlpool that I was skating dangerously close to.

“And ninja, I don’t care what side you’re on, I won’t mention anything unless you hurt my sister,” Akechi promised before kissing me on the forehead and disappearing back into the forest.

“This won’t be easy to keep quiet,” Sasuke spoke up. “Though I get the feeling we do have a supporter in your brother at least.”

I rested my head on his shoulder. “It could be worse,” I smiled after a short silence, and a smile. “I know exactly where your fingers were going, and we could have been a lot less clothed when he found us.”

#Mitsuhide Akechi #Sasuke Sarutobi #ikesen #Ikémen Sengoku #ikemen sengoku

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arcticdementor · 5 years

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Ok, I'll do my best to try, because reading some of the galaxy brained takes about China and the Chinese government have cemented in my head the agonizing fact that most people prefer simple narratives and have little understanding of history, let alone an understanding of how history affects the present.

This will be long and requires some groundwork on explaining the modern Chinese mindset as a whole. Disclaimer: I am currently in Hong Kong, I hold British citizenship by birth and frequently do business with Chinese companies.

1) Big China and Collective Society.

This is something most people really don't grasp the scale of. To assign shared characteristics to fully one quarter of the human race would be broad enough to make those descriptors basically meaningless. Dividing sections of China along any non-geographical lines, economic lines, socio-political lines, this is all incredibly difficult. Despite a massively homogenous Han Chinese population, just looking at Chinese food culture would tell you just how freakishly diverse and different each section is. There are different dialects, accents, lifestyles all across China. When people say "China" it is often completely unhelpful when it comes to pinning down what they mean. For the sake of this discussion, we're assuming that we're talking about the type of Chinese person that the central government has taken pains to portray to the world. Which is, the middle class, consumerist, worldly and tech-savvy Han Chinese. Native of a Tier 1 city (e.g. Shanghai or Beijing).

Most Chinese people are aware of just how big the country is and how difficult a task it is keeping it all together, on a scale I've seen very few people outside of China appreciate. There is a real ethos of "tianxia", or the concept depicted in the Jet Li movie Hero (criticized for being state propaganda at the time, it was largely missed that most Chinese understand, if not support, this thesis). Chinese see themselves as sharing in a common destiny and collective group ethos. This can be traced back to Confucianism - a young person can have said to have "come of age" when they have fully adapted to and understood their role within a harmonious society. This both gives the common Chinese a shared purpose and skin in the game. They literally feel a stake in the collective power and status of their own country. This is not the flag-waving nationalism that the western nations consider passe, but a belief that China must hold together as a shared country and people.

…

Chinese pride is young, and very damaged. There is a sense of grievance and hurt pride that has never been resolved, and this is occasionally glimpsed in everything from their foreign policy to their mass market serialized literature. The reasons behind this can be traced back to a century of colonialism and rampant opportunism by the world powers during the 19th and 20th centuries. Chinese histories and memories are very long, and despite happening a few centuries ago this is very fresh in people's minds. An old joke about China's view of history has the Chinese waiting to see if the French Revolution is still a good idea. China has never forgotten that despite a massive population and huge amounts of territory it fell from being one of the world's oldest civilizations to becoming the "weak man of Asia", and their modern politics has mostly been about resolving this pride. There is a shared belief, or a hidden form of mass psychosis, that China has been denied its destiny as the foremost world power, either through treachery, the work of foreign powers, or other means. Even worse is the proof that the old rival Japan, a similarly impoverished nation, had managed to drag itself onto the stage of the world powers in the late 19th/early 20th century. This has caused some real complexes in the Chinese psyche.

Adding to this is the understanding of recent history. Coupled with historical understanding that ruling China is an incredibly difficult job and only people like the legendary Emperor Qin were able to unify the country in the first place, China collectively remembers the much more recent history of the Communist revolution, the Great Famine, the Cultural Revolution, and more. The fact that China's current financial power and global status is largely a result of Deng Xiaoping's market reforms and liberalism is besides the point - the defining thing that most Chinese in the older generation take away is that revolution led to some truly fucking heinous shit and a death toll enacted on its population greater than any ever seen in the history of mankind, and as a result they have no taste for another revolution. The government stays in power largely because the older generation are aware of just how much death is involved with a changing of the guard. There is also no promise that whatever comes to replace the government will be in any way better than what came before it. Sure, the kuomintang government were corrupt as sin, but was that really preferable to having everyone starve because nobody knew how to farm land for years?

…

It is no surprise that the most radical nationalist pro-Chinese are the young students sent overseas to study in western universities. The Chinese attitude towards these western academies is not great; they attend for credentials and status, but these places of study have become cultural battlegrounds and ground zero for showing Chinese students that the Western societies and arguments are fractured and impotent. Students are given courses and humanities curriculum that demonize western civilization and its achievements, and emphasize the breaking down of existing power structures. Of course this would lead to nationalist students violently attacking pro-Hong Kong protesters and demonstrations, as both sides consider each other indoctrinated suckers (and one sees the other as trying to destroy the power structure of the country). An attack on China and Chinese identity is both a dangerous attack on national and societal cohesion and stinging Chinese pride. They have been handed something that can be easily interpreted as an attempt by foreign powers to fracture the unity of Chinese society, cause chaos in their country, and stop China from achieving its destiny of world #1 power and subjugator of other nations.

…

Many people have asked me why Chinese people put up with their government being totalitarian, so many human rights abuses, this and that. Social credit system, organ harvesting. No end of horrible things we hear about Chinese government. The corruption. The dark things the CCP has done to consolidate its power. Tiananmen.

Well, the unfortunate answer is that China, as a collectivized group, wants to fuck over people who looked down on them, even if it means causing itself grievous injuries in the process. It's painful to admit, but the regular Chinese is perfectly okay with the Uighur death camps, even if the government goes to some length to pretend they don't exist. After all, surely they must be doing something to destabilize and weaken Chinese society if the government is putting them in death camps. Don't you know Uighurs can be unpredictable, barbaric, and violent? And if Chinese society is destabilized and weak, the Chinese people won't achieve our common destiny of being the #1 world power.

Chinese people don't care that there is anti-Chinese sentiment internationally. In fact, it even helps. It plays into the narrative that people hate China now because China is strong.

Privately, Chinese people will celebrate the NBA and Blizzard backing down in fear, because they equate this with power and respect. It is perfectly natural for the NBA to apologize for offending the Chinese government, because this is a display of strength. How will you be able to tell that you are stronger than someone, if they are not underneath your boot heel?

…

China has gone from largely a nation of rice farmers to modern state with terrifying speed. They are now the world leader in 5G communications technology, technological integration into daily life, the world's biggest consumer market. By every single metric, logistics, travel, entertainment, living standards, Chinese life has gotten better. And they are completely aware of this. Twenty years. Thirty years?

…

So there is an unspoken pact between the government and the people. In exchange for getting rich, the people have willingly given up their freedoms. Because you can't eat freedom. Many of the social problems in China are rooted in this short-term manner of business thinking; tomorrow, there may be trouble. Maybe the country would be in trouble. I'll never see this customer or client again. Why bother maintaining anything? If I can get a benefit out of cheating, why wouldn't I do it?

Chinese, especially the older generation, understand existential failure on a level the western nations don't. They don't take anything for granted, including the attitude of the government (and this has in fact driven a lot of asset flow out of China into other nations). They remember the Cultural Revolution, the societal madness that took hold when roving gangs of diehard Communists went around lynching people who wore glasses or owned books. They understand that the possibility of that shit happening again, or coming for them, is non-zero. So the attitude is to use every trick in the book to make sure that they come out on top.

…

There is a recurring belief from Americans that most Chinese are brainwashed by their authoritarian government, and if they only understood democracy, knew about the atrocities of the CCP, or were exposed to the taste of an All-American cheeseburger, there would be a great awakening and China would truly "become free". While certain elements of brainwashing and information control are most certainly true, there is a certain level of arrogance in this method of thinking.

For one, this viewpoint has completely ignored the possibility that China already knows exactly how cheeseburgers taste, all about the atrocities of its own government, and about democracy.

…

China's political and social state project has openly stated its intent to utilize and take advantage of what worked before, while adapting it to fit their own situation. Throwing away what doesn't work, surgically excising elements they consider dangerous or don't like. 'Socialism with Chinese characteristics'. 'China Dream'. These are adapted policies, methods, and ideals, refocused through the lens of the Party. Yes, they are stealing. They are also adapting.

Any good propagandist will tell you that the ideological battle is the first battle that must be won, and on this note America has failed utterly at defending democracy and personal freedom. This is not by Chinese design; rather, a combination of factors including financial inequality, changing demographics, chaotic governance, political point-scoring and media clickbait have done their best to demonstrate that American government is both unstable and spectacularly inept, and no longer believes in the values set down in the Declaration of Independence. America has considered the argument for democracy so thoroughly won that it has forgotten to defend it, or even the value of it. Into this void steps the Chinese government.

…

It is impossible not to watch. The US is the world's only really global power, and the current measuring stick by which all global powers are compared against. China wants what the US has, but is going to attempt to do so without the mistakes the Americans have made. After all, American empire is ending, or so everyone says. The bars are equalizing. America was a leader in space travel, so China will become a leader in space travel. America was a leader in world culture and entertainment, so China will become a leader in world culture and entertainment. America has a strong military, so China will have a strong military.

…

To leave with one last note, in the online kerfluffle surrounding Hong Kong's current situation, Chinese netizens think it's fair play to "support 9-11" and advocate for California seceding from the United States, as payback for a mistaken belief that the fight in Hong Kong is over independence. When confronted with the fact that edgy teenagers in America have been making 9-11 jokes barely a week after the tragedy and a non-zero amount of non-Californians in the US would also prefer it if California sunk into the ocean, they are legitimately surprised. The idea that this kind of independence would be preferred by both parties is almost completely alien to the Chinese, who wonder and are surprised at the fact that Americans apparently wish their country to be weaker.

#reddit #the motte #read the whole thing

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evilrubberducke · 5 years

Text

Strangers In a Strange Land Chapter 2: Hunt

The second chapter of my MHA meets Monster Hunter fic is up! In this chapter, Izuku and Mina explore the Ancient Forest, make some new friends, and take on their first monster.

Read it on AO3!

Or on FF.Net!

Teaser below cut;

Life in Astera started early. Before the sun even rose, Izuku was awoken by a massive horn being blown somewhere far above him. He bolted to his feet, nearly falling on his face as the sheets tangled around him. Near the foot of his bed, Ashido had leapt to her feet as well, her fur puffed out to nearly twice its usual size.

“Up and at ‘em, people,” came the voice of the Field Team Leader from the doorway. “You’ve got work to do!”

Apparently, Izuku had been placed in one of the smaller barracks, a fact which had earned him a few jealous looks from other hunters when he got the assignment. Even knowing that, he still had a hard time adjusting. Between the two-bedroom apartment he and his mother had shared since he was little and the spacious dorms that UA had built for its students, Izuku was used to having his own room. Sleeping in the same room as a half dozen other hunters had lead to him sleeping poorly. He’d been awoken multiple times when someone had snored a bit too loudly or went to relieve themselves in the middle of the night.

It certainly didn’t help that the dorms were co-ed. And that casual attire for most hunters consisted of a pair of skin tight shorts and an equally tight crop top-like shirt. He kept catching glimpses of the female hunters out of the corner of his eye and blushing furiously.

Ashido had seemed surprised by the arrangement as well, though she had gotten over it much more quickly. A couple of times while he was getting ready, he had caught her gaze straying away from him to a few of the more attractive hunters.

He couldn’t put his finger on exactly why that bothered him so much.

He and Ashido were friends, though they hadn’t spent a huge amount of time with each other due to being in different social circles at UA. It made sense that they hadn’t discussed romance with each other. He hadn’t even discussed it much with Iida and Uraraka, and he had spent nearly every day with them.

Still, he found himself glancing at the same hunters as Ashido, wondering if there was anything they had in common. He couldn’t see anything significant. While not as varied as the crowds he was used to, the junior hunters comprised a varied spectrum of skin and hair colors. The only ‘unifying’ traits were that they were almost universally tall and fit, although he imagined that was more to do with the demands of the job than an underlying set of traits.

He didn’t get much time to watch them, however. As disorganized and noisy as they had been, each of the junior hunters had their armor and weapons strapped on in record time, leaving Izuku in the dust. He kept having trouble with the various straps and clasps that kept the leather armor in place.

“Need some help there, pawtner?” Ashido said from behind him.

She had somehow gotten her armor on before Izuku as well, despite her lack of opposable thumbs. It appeared that the transition from human to feline hadn’t dulled any of her natural litheness.

“Uh... yeah. That would be great. Thanks Ashido,” Izuku said, turning his back to her. There was one strap in particular that was situated awkwardly at the center of his back that was causing most of his problems.

Ashido giggled when she saw it. “Pretty sure you’ve got this on backwards. There’s one like it at the front of my armor.

Izuku flushed with embarrassment. It wasn’t like anyone was expecting him to have a lot of experience putting on armor, but he still felt like he was letting people down.

At least he had Ashido to help him. She gripped his shoulder with a paw, then yanked the offending strap around until its buckle rested in the center of his chest. Then she spun him around to tighten it.

As she fixed that buckle, and a few others that seemed to have offended her sensibilities, Izuku marveled yet again at how little she had changed despite her new feline form. Somehow, despite the layer of soft pink fur that now covered her head to toe, her expressions were exactly the same as he remembered. She still brought her brows together in the same way when she was trying to concentrate on a problem. Her nose still wrinkled slightly when she got frustrated, though now her whiskers moved as well.

The only thing that had really changed were her eyes. The colors had reversed, leaving the center of her eyes a deep black, while the outer edges shone a brilliant gold. Izuku wasn’t quite sure if he liked the change. It was only a small thing, but it left her feeling just a little bit different to him. He had always liked her eyes. When she looked at him, it always felt like she was really seeing him—unlike the people he had grown up with, who had always seemed to look past him.

“Earth to Midoriya,” Ashido said, rapping him sharply on the forehead. “Your armor’s ready.”

He blinked, then looked down at himself. While he had been reminiscing, Ashido had finished adjusting his armor. It now sat much more comfortably than it had when he had adjusted it.

“Oh. T-thanks Ashido,” He said.

“No problem,” She replied, smiling broadly. “What were you thinking about?”

He stiffened slightly. Telling Ashido how he’d been thinking about her eyes for the past several minutes was the absolute last thing he wanted to do.

“N-N-Nothing important!”

She grinned wickedly. “Awwww, c’mon! You don’t have to hide anything from me! You said it yourself, we’ve got each other to rely on here. That means you can ‘tail’ me anything!” She shook her tail to emphasize the pun, and leaned in closer. She might not be as much of a gossip as Hagakure, but Ashido loved a secret as much as the next girl.

Izuku frowned. She made a very good point, and with his own words, no less. He really had no reason not to tell her what he had been thinking. Still, he resisted telling her the whole truth, even if he didn’t know why.

“I was just... I was thinking that I got really lucky to have you here. Even after you’ve been turned into an adorable kitty, you’re still helping me do my best. So... I wanted to say thank you.” He gave her paw a squeeze.

Ashido’s head whipped around, looking anywhere but at him.

Too late, Izuku realized his mistake. He had just assumed that the cat puns she had been making were a sign that she had overcome the shock of her sudden transformation, but she must still have been struggling to come to terms with it, and he had just poked the open wound.

“Ashido, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to—”

“No, it’s ok,” She said, facing him once more.

There was an expression on her face that Izuku couldn’t quite place. It looked halfway between embarrassment and... excitement? But that couldn’t be right. Maybe he wasn’t as good at reading her feline expressions as he had first thought.

“I just… got really hungry all of a sudden,” Ashido said, patting her stomach. “So I was just thinking that we should go get some food. C’mon!” With that, she scampered out of the room.

Izuku was a bit taken aback by the sudden shift in topic, but he did have to agree with Ashido. Despite the large meal he had eaten the night before, the smell of breakfast that was wafting down from the canteen was making his stomach rumble.

Shaking his head to clear the unnecessary thoughts, Izuku followed Ashido out of the barracks and into the sunshine that was already beginning to warm the planks of Astera’s walkways.

Read the rest on AO3 or on FF.Net!

#midoriya izuku #mina ashido #izumina #monster hunter world #my hero academia #monster fighting #action #fluff #mha fanfiction #bnha fanfiction #mha #bnha #dekumina #crossover #fanfiction #minadeku #alternate world transport

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motherstone · 5 years

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So, I was looking at your AU (So well developed I must say) and there's this question in my mind, is Emily... dead?? In your Oc universe I mean, no need to answer if you don't want to

Haha! Anon, be prepared for a rant because you have pressed my Hyperfixation Button.

Warning: this rant shows how bias I am towards a character and certain places in Amulet and contains real world opinions and issues that I am Absolutely Pissed about so I retconned a couple of things in my OC world. It addresses issues that is very much happening and if it makes you uncomfortable, well, it’s never meant to comfortable. This contains a lot of sensitive themes and frankly I am still doing research

Technically speaking, the entire Council is gone along with Cielis (although the Surface knows it’s still alive they just ceased contact). Vigo died quite some time ago, along with several of theoriginal crew. Emily and Trellis are what remains of the Council but theresponsibilities are split because Trellis stayed on Alledia while Emily assistsin Space as a fighter (she’s not a leader). Elves age differently here, so Emilyis well in her senior years while Trellis is in his early 20s. Emily found Moze(already having a stone) abandoned as an infant in a wreckage after a fight inGhen-7, and brought him back to Alledia to raise him. Here Trellis actuallyserved as Moze’s adoptive father with Emily as his mom (but they’re not in arelationship, more of QPR because Emily is aroace while Trellis is a demi throughand through).

He’s p reluctant at first and suspiscious where Emily gothim and if she just “stole” him without, I dunno, searching for his parents butultimately agrees because Emily has to be in Space and the safest place sheknows is Alledia and the most trustworthy person she knows is Trellis.Fortunately, he genuinely loved him and raised him as his own despite being differentspecies, even more so as from different planets. The problem is, Emily was kindof… Emotionally neglectful. The only time she ever bothers to visit Moze iswhen she wants to train him and bring him to space so he could join her in herfights but nothing beyond that. Trellis is a bit more affectionate, butconsidering he is recovering trauma from his own abusive childhood, strugglesto communicate properly with Moze and tries to feebly and reluctantlyunderstand and justify Emily’s action.

Unfortunately, this just bred resentment in Moze, as most ofthe time he’s complimented and recognized based on his skill and power, ratherthan his worth as a person. It worsens to the point that he believes that theonly reason Emily adopted him in the first place because he’s a weapon they canuse in their “war” (considering Alledia’s mandatory 500 years of peace is ineffect, Moze interprets that his parents has not yet switched out of their “atwar” mindset. And considering Emily’s actions, it’s quite hard to blame Mozefor drawing up that conclusion). The fact that Trellis is training him as astonekeeper to one day become a Guardian of the Council and didn’t evenconsider if THAT’S what Moze wants…. Moze was in a very claustrophobic anddistressing situation. When he does try to bring it up with Trellis, he’llreceive excuses. When he does try to bring it up with Emily, he gets dismissed.His lack of friends because of prioritizing his training made him deprived of agood support network (which a weakened Ikol took advantage of)

Contrary to what Moze thinks, Trellis DOES notice Moze’sdistress and worries about it, but is torn from defending his best friend ofmany decades to defending his beloved son. After he remembers how he alwaysyearned to be an adult his younger self needed, he goes off to confront Emilyfor her actions. Now I have to tell you, they both loved Moze, but they areindeed terrible parents with flaws they didn’t properly addressed, leading totheir kid suffering for it (considering Trellis has little proper adult guidanceand Emily is also emotionally neglected by Karen… It’s inevitable). That’swhere he realized Moze was just “taken” and Emily never bothered to search forhis parents. Trellis nearly broke down then and there because he realizes theySTOLE Moze. Moze is a Ghensepta (citizen of Ghen-7, it still hasn’t fallen tothe shadows yet), but he was raised Alledian, taught Alledian culture, taughtAlledian history when he already has ONE of his OWN. Moze was forced to take anidentity that wasn’t his and was absolutely isolated from his real culture andheritage. He is horribly sickened by what he and Emily has done and is outragedby it.

(Trellis’s and Emily’s relationship isn’t abusive per se, andit was genuinely a good one from the start but as they spent of the timeseparated from one another and be desensitized and cynical by their traumaticand heavy issues they encounter in their duties in either ruling or fighting…Well, it dissolved to the point that they only bothered to listen to oneanother because of past yearnings and insistence to try to stick of what they wereinstead of accepting the other as now. They still do care one another though,and consider each other family, but the former passion and harmony is long gone.Trellis do ended up going along to what Emily desires instead of protestingback in the good ol days)

Trellis demands that Moze be returned to his home planet butEmily declines, as they are his parents now and Ghen-7 will be safe no longer. Whatkind of parent that endangers their child? Trellis dissents that they are not Moze’sparents and that he doesn’t belong to Alledia and deserved to return to hisreal home and family. The argument heated to point it dissolved to a fightwhere Trellis is nearly crippled from Emily’s attack. Her own actions horrifyher, and in the gist of the moment, Trellis begs to understand, that they didMoze wrong, that he’s sick of always compensating for Emily since the start oftheir friendship, and that she at least don’t do it for him, but for Moze. ThatMoze still loves her, and she undoubtedly loves him, but they need to talk, andshe needs to listen this time. That Moze was hurting and that they failed himlike the adults in their lives failed them. Realizing the truth, Emily breaksdown as well. The thing is, Moze overheard some of their fight, andmisinterprets this as Trellis becoming sick of him, hating him, and desiring todisown him (it doesn’t help that to Moze’s unawareness, that Ikol is amplifyinghis self-hatred)

Utterly heartbroken and crushed, Moze felt sick when Trellisvisited him in his room that night, to tell him that he has to go with hismother for a while. Believing this affirms his worst fears, he promptly acceptsit (Moze prefers Trellis over Emily clearly and loathes spending time with thelatter). Trellis looks like he wants to say something and Moze was about toanticipate it, but he shakes his head, and leaves him alone. The last timeTrellis saw Moze was when he was leaving with his mother

When Emily returns, Trellis is overjoyed to greet her,although surprised they got back early but presumes that they must have quicklyresolved things.

He stops dead when Emily was there alone, with Moze’stattered blue cape.

His whole world shatters when Emily disappears to get Mozeback when he lost control, never to return.

Destroyed by his son’s and best friend’s death within ashort span of time, Trellis fell into depression and suicidal tendencies,abandoning his position and duties as both Guardian and King, leaving a powervacuum and a fragile peace and structure his Cabinet and other offices try tofill and stabilize. Ultimately Riva is forced to shoulder his position asGuardian. The entire world goes into a shitshow when he’s gone for 3-4 years,isolating himself in his home village with only Luger keeping him from killinghimself but it’s clear he’s lost the will to live. He only returns when Gulfenis threatened to be overthrown by a tyrant and start another war again, andonce again usurps the throne to his great reluctance and despair (he hatesruling tbh and would rather live a normal life til he dies but duty has brandedhim to the bone), becoming Alledia’s sole ruler as the only remainingstonekeeper alive (the motherstone is actually still intact but no one knowsthat except him, because they are saving the stones for a new Council once the500 years of peace passed and the cycle of discord becomes anew). However,traumatized with rollercoaster of recovery and relapses and mental healtheducation and treatment virtually next to nonexistent yet, he spent most of hisearly reign with and emotional limp. Navin, last of the original group asideTrellis and his first friends, dies.

Fortunately, he’s REALLY good at ruling and ended upimplementing laws that revolutionizes Alledia, especially Gulfen, but strugglesto implement it in other countries, especially Windsor due to racism and many ofthe country’s authority resisting him, and thus simply left them to their owndevices if they desire to implement it or not. Thus, his power as a Guardian isreduced considerably because of it, meeting resistance and suspicion ineverything that he does, no matter how well-intentioned. Still, believing thefight is not over, Trellis the forms strategies and plans to prepare Allediawhen the shadows return, and that includes warnings of rising fascism and discord.He prioritizes public education, equal rights (be it in gender, sexuality,disability or race), and (mental, physical, and emotional) health oversecurity, intending to help Alledia recover first before preparing for a war.He also tries to unify Gulfen by solving the divide of the East and West after itscivil war, and tries to harmonize and fix the racism that divides the elves andhumans, by allowing elves to reside in more friendly cities, such as Lucien,Ippo, and Frontera. Cielis, hated by the surface due to their actions andabandonment in the war, was dropped as Windsor’s capital and acknowledgesLucien instead. It became Alledia’s first metropolis, boasting as the richestand most diverse city in the world.

With that in mind, he forms the Lufenian Green Cross (acharity volunteer organization that spreads welfare and healthy internationally,its HQ based in Ippo, Lufen’s capital), Frontera Science Prefecture (and whereGulfen’s Space Program members aka the Elvem Resistance operated in secret to assistwith the war in space), and the Alledian Auxiliary, a cohesive paramilitaryorganization that is formed by the remnants of the Elf Army and the HumanResistance (sure enough, early days were bad but over time formed a s trongbond, contributing to the Hamony movement). He’s done a whole lot more but let’smove the fuck on

Eventually, around 23 he started dating Riva (after dating afew people to test the waters. He’s dated only three people before Riva, but he’sdated both men and women, human and elf), and then marrying her after a fewyears. It was a private ceremony, but Alcyone claims it was the only day shenever saw Trellis frown and was happy throughout. Still, he never fullyrecovered from his PTSD and clinical depression and anxiety, often overworkinghimself to compensate. Although as mental health becomes more widespread andrefined, Trellis allows himself to go to therapy, but struggles to recover.Succeses are far and few in between, and healing was hard work on top of hisoverwhelming duties. Nevertheless, he actually manages a happy and healthy marriagewith Riva regardless of his deep rooted mental issues thanks to it. Riva andTrellis never never had any children, as Trellis was far too traumatized and guilt-riddenfrom what happened to Moze, believes himself to be a curse like his father towhoever his child may be. Yet feeling like he owes Riva, they eventually haveRavis when they are around their 40s (in Elf age, so 300 after the events inAmulet).

Trellis didn’t want Ravis to suffer and experience thedangers of Royal life, thus kept the existence of the child secret and keptthem both in Lucien as simple citizens, with him separating personal life and leaderwork, thus he visits from time to time. But he refused to be more active inraising Ravis in his toddler years in fear of hurting him and guilt yet treatedhim genuinely well (he is also scared of loving him, and then losing him). He onceagain experiences a relapse and isolates himself more, leading to a few suicideattempts. When Ravis is around 5, Trellis’s condition worsens, to the point heis frequently hospitalized and isolated to keep him from his self-destructiveand suicidal tendencies (it happened enough times that the staff knows him wellenough, but he’s never hurt Ravis or Riva). Fortunately, after extensivetherapy, Trellis finally chooses recovery and affirms himself that he is worthyof the good life he is trying to cultivate, now tries to be a more active andgood father to Ravis. And sure enough, he did, absolving himself of mistakes hedid with how he raised Moze (but the fact that Ravis and Moze nearly have thesame personality tells that their kind and rather timid nature comes from him)

He does have relapses from time to time, but now he’s relieving himselfof his duties more and more to leave it to his subordinates in order to spend moretime with his family. Besides, it’s just 400 years, they have a century ofpeace. It comes to the point he’s considering to abdicate his throne and dissolvethe monarchy. Unfortunately, the last gadoba (the plant Riva saved in bk 6)warns him that the shadows are returning much earlier to exact their revengeand commit the genocide they intended from the start. Knowing full well theyaren’t ready, Trellis despairs, that why now of all moments, the moment wherehe is now desiring to live did the gadoba ask him to die to sacrifice himselffor Alledia. But Trellis comes to terms to impending death and plans to facethe shadows on the new moon, which is a month later. Father Hope tells him thathis century will only end under the light of the full moon with his son in hisarms.

He does tell Riva all of this, and she despairs as well, buthe tries to reassure her. He then goes on behind the scenes to prepare Allediaonce he’s gone, all the while spending whatever time he has left with hisfamily. Ravis thought their father was feeling sad, and tries to cheer him up, andalthough he does smile, it cant seem to reach his eyes. Thus, when Trellis isaround his 50s, he suddenly disappeared from his chambers in Valcor, the dooropening to his balcony and into the red rocks bellow. They can’t find his body,and the scene was ruled as suicide.

Thus to answer, Emily is dead, and Trellis is “dead”.

#Sorry for long post #ugh tell me if you want me to delete it #as I said bad idea to get me to rant #to say that it's well developed is not innacurate

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nuestkings · 6 years

Text

NU’EST W interview with @Star1 Magazine

(Trans: Melodia_Muse | Original Article)

What are your thoughts on your photo shoot with Labiotte that took you through a variety of concepts from sweet to chic?

Ren: I had so much fun. It was quite different from our usual photo shoot concepts, so I thought of it as an opportunity to show a new charming side of NU’EST W. I think we were able to take on both the sweet and chic concepts very well.

Baekho: I’ve never had makeup applied on my cheeks before. Putting blush on my cheeks made me feel a little shy for some reason.

Aron: We’ve never done a concept like this before so it was a little difficult at first, but I simply thought of it as a new challenge to tackle. I was looking at the photos in between takes and they looked pretty good, so I felt proud.

JR: I’m happy because I feel like we’ll be able to show various sides of ourselves through this photo shoot.

With the number of male beauty models growing, what do you think are NU’EST W’s charms?

Baekho: People around us often tell us that each member has a very distinct personality. We often hear that each member’s individuality can be clearly seen within NU’EST W’s overall charms.

Ren: Our fans sometimes call us “cold and handsome men.” I think they like that cold and cool image.

Do you have any skincare tips to share with people?

Baekho: I try to use one facial mask a day. I realized it’s not easy to remember to regularly use facial masks. I’ll work on it really hard for two days and then forget on the third day. But I still try my best to use one facial mask a day.

JR: All of the members use facial masks if we have an important scheduled activity coming up. Of the members, Ren is the one who puts the most care into his skincare routine. While Ren is already taking care of his skin before any acne pops up, I usually take care of my skin after I have trouble with acne.

Ren: I’m usually very thorough with my skincare because I have the type of skin that is prone to acne. When I first started, it used to take me quite a lot of time to apply all of my basic skincare products, but now that I’ve gotten used to it, I naturally began investing less time on basic skincare. And my skin tends to worsen if I eat greasy food or a lot of snacks, so I’m careful about what I eat.

What have you been up to since wrapping up promotions for “Dejavu”?

Baekho: We’ve each been enjoying our personal hobbies. And going out to eat delicious food. Though I’m on a diet, I really like to eat so I work out to make up for the things I eat.

Ren: Baekho exercises a lot these days. There are times when he goes to the gym in the early hours of the morning, and even when our scheduled activities end late at night, he doesn’t skip out and still goes to the gym. Seeing him go to the gym without fail like that, I think he’s amazing.

Aron: I recently went on a domestic trip with my friends. I had a relaxing time with them and took some time to recharge.

Ren: I like to go on walks. My hobby is to just walk around the park in front of our house or around the neighborhood.

Do you have a hobby that you all share together?

Ren: We all have different hobbies but we have similar taste in food. We all like the same foods so it’s easy to pick a menu when we order food to the dorms or go out to eat. The food we like most is grilled meat. We like flour-based snacks too. We eat fried chicken a lot.

Seeing that you have different hobbies, all of you must have different personalities as well?

Ren: JR has a very strong sense of responsibility. He also has very strong leadership skills as the leader of our group. We’re always grateful because he’s very good at leading the other members. He’s overflowing with charisma on stage, but off the stage, he’s very innocent and cute.

JR: Baekho has this unvarnished innocence. He’s always very honest. When he sets a new goal, he never gives up midway and always works hard until he reaches his goal.

Baekho: Aron has a lot of things he wants to do and a lot of dreams he wants to achieve. And when he’s faced with a problem, he’s the type of person who tries to resolve it quickly. Though he’s the oldest in the group, he’s so cute that he feels like the youngest at times. He has a lot of aegyo. He also buys us food pretty often.

Aron: The members know a great side of Ren that not many other people know very well. He’s very thoughtful, and he’s the kind of friend who will listen to the troubles and concerns of the people around him and give them lots of great advice.

We’re curious to know what kind of leader JR is when leading the group.

Baekho: He doesn’t try to be at the front on his own and he prefers to create an atmosphere of "Let’s all work together to make the team better.”

JR: I’m the leader of the group but I’m also just one member. We’re all in the same team, we’re all standing in the same place, and we’re all walking in the same direction, so I don’t want to act like I’m above anyone else. I want us to walk together. I don’t find it hard to be the leader. I’m naturally a very responsible person so I don’t see it as a source of stress or pressure.

You were able to perfectly complete your missions on SBS funE School Attack without being caught by the students.

JR: I don’t think the students recognized us at all. Haha. They probably never imagined we’d be roaming around their school wearing their uniforms.

Baekho: Still, we were trying to be as discreet as possible while moving around so we wouldn’t get caught. Because it’s a program in which we have to carry out missions without getting caught.

Ren: It was our first time wearing school uniforms in five years and it was nice because it felt like we were going back to our days in school. All of the members looked really good in school uniforms. It made me think that we’d do well if we were ever picked for a school uniform CF.

Aron: This was my first time wearing a school uniform in seven years and it reminded me a lot about the past. Through the program, it felt like I was able to go back to my days as a student.

What kind of students were NU’EST W back in the day?

JR: I was a very quiet and nice student. One of those ordinary kids you see at least one of in each class. I was pretty good at studying too. Up till my second year of middle school, I received full marks on my math exams for midterms and finals quite often.

Baekho: When I was in elementary school, I was a really good student and even placed in the top 10 of my grade with my scores. I was even the student president in sixth grade.

Aron: I was the kind of student who would work hard and play hard. I liked to study.

JR: I was the kind of student who always volunteered if our teachers asked us to showcase our talents. Haha. I often did cover dances for dance moves that were popular at the time.

The dance practice video you made after winning first place with “Dejavu” became a hot topic. Is there a reason you went with such extravagant costumes for your promised video?

Baekho: Before “Dejavu,” we’d dressed up in costumes after winning with “Where You At,” but we felt that video had been quite lacking. When we were watching the video, we thought to ourselves, ‘It would have been better if we’d taken our costumes even further.' So we all agreed that when we made our promise about first music show wins [for “Dejavu”], we’d go all out for this one.

Each member dressed up as a different character, but who had it the hardest?

JR: I think it was me who struggled the most because I had to wear that dinosaur costume for the video. The costume was bigger than I expected it to be. The tail was long so I fell over a couple of times.

Aron: That’s right. When we were dancing, it was JR who had the hardest time because of his outfit but when it comes to makeup, I think Baekho becoming a chicken and Ren becoming a cavity had it the hardest.

Baekho: When you get makeup done, it’s best to stay still and not laugh to make it easier for the makeup artists. But it was so hard for me to hold in my laughter whenever I looked next to me and saw what was going on with Ren.

Ren: We all laughed really hard before we started filming. Even just meeting each other’s eyes made us laugh. Because we got all the laughter out, we were able to hold it in when the cameras were rolling. Haha.

Have you already thought of what to do if you win first place with your next album?

JR: I want us to go even further with our transformations than we did with this one. It would be more like actual cosplay than just dressing up. I think it would be fun if we set a theme for all of us to follow.

Aron: I haven’t thought about future music show win promises yet. If we do get first place, I want us to do something that will bring joy to our fans.

You’ve taken on a wide variety of concepts during your seven years of activities. What has been the most memorable concept?

Ren: We really like to challenge ourselves so we take on a new concept with every album. I grew my hair out once. I think for me, our debut song “Face” is the most memorable concept. We wore school uniforms and were representing the viewpoint of teens, and we had hairstyles and accessories that matched each of our personalities. It was a song that had a unifying concept, but also showcased each member’s individuality.

JR: It’s so difficult for me to pick just one because all of them are precious to me. Whenever we come back with a new side of ourselves, it’s actually us opening that part of ourselves that already existed up to other people. It’s not something we forcibly have to create, so each concept is memorable to me.

What is the concept that best represents NU’EST W right now?

Ren: I think there are charms that you can only show in your early to mid-twenties. That feeling of being in the middle, not too young but not too mature, that’s the kind of thing we want to show.

Baekho composes music and writes lyrics. Which member would you want to write a solo track for as a gift?

Baekho: Each member has a different charm and vocal tone. JR’s voice suits lyrical music really well. Ren is very expressive, so I think he'd do well with trendy music. For Aron, I would create a song perfected with a rhythmical tempo and cute and hopeful lyrics.

JR is currently appearing as an MC on Mnet’s Love Catcher and JTBC’s LAN Cable Life. Did you find adjusting to variety shows difficult?

JR: I’m the kind of person who doesn’t sugarcoat my words and I truthfully say what I feel. I’m learning so much while filming because I have such great seniors around me. The people who have helped me the most on my variety show journey have been the cast members of JTBC’s Night Goblin. I learned so much from them. It was my first regular appearance on a show, and I was grateful to be appearing on a program with such great seniors despite having no experience in variety shows. I learned so much from them. It’s thanks to the people I worked with on Night Goblin that I’ve been able to appear on variety shows till now.

Do the other members have variety shows you want to appear in?

Ren: I want to appear on MBC’s I Live Alone. Although I live in a dorm with the other members, we each have our own rooms so they can just install cameras in my room. I think I’d be able to show a more natural side of myself if I filmed something at home, rather than if I filmed something in a studio or outside. I can show people how I like to dance at home, or even ordinary things like what I look like when I’m eating.

Aron: I’ll be ready for any program that will invite me. I think I’d be able to show the more mischievous side of myself if I appeared on variety shows.

Baekho: I want to appear on tvN’s Three Meals a Day. I like to cook, and I find the concept of escaping the city and filming in nature to be quite charming.

Aron was accepted to study journalism at NYU but gave it up to become a singer. We’re curious to know why you chose to become a singer.

Aron: I studied hard because I wanted to become a reporter, but I didn’t want to give up singing. I thought long and hard about it and picked singing in the end, and I’ve never regretted it. I’m happy right now because I get to do something I like. I want to keep being a singer and be with the other members for a long time. If I ever get the chance to later on, I’d still like to attend college and study.

Do you have any plans for an album release?

Baekho: We don’t have anything set definitively, but we’re working hard to return and show a better side of ourselves as soon as we can.

Aron: We all talk to each other about the stage very often. We’re always thinking about what kind of performance our fans would like most.

JR: We’re so grateful that [our fans] are always supporting us no matter what stage we prepare. It’s thanks to them that we’re able to release better albums and enjoy more growth. We want to repay our fans for their love. We’re constantly thinking about what our fans will like most as we prepare for our next activities.

There’s such a thing as a “7-year jinx for Idols” but you’ve been continuing your group activities and are closer than ever. Do you have a secret to your longevity?

Baekho: I don’t know. We’ve just been focusing on working hard and doing our best in every moment, and we find ourselves in our seventh year as a group already.

JR: I don’t think there are any secrets or tips. We’ve just spent a long time together and grown affectionate of each other, and we like each other. We treasure each other and I think that’s what has helped us stay together for seven years.

Are there any goals you want to achieve as NU’EST W?

JR: I want us to be a group that always brings happiness to our fans. We’ve earned this great second chance to perform again and do photo shoots like this, and it’s only possible because of all the love our fans give us, right? It’s because of their love that we’ve been given this opporunity to do our best in every moment, so we’re going to work hard to always bring happiness to our fans.

Ren: I think all singers dream of winning a Daesang (Grand Prize). Haha. We will continue to do our best to become a group that can win a Grand Prize.

Aron: I want us to repay all the love we’ve been given. We’ll continue to work hard and keep showing a better side of ourselves in every moment.

What are your future plans?

JR: We plan to keep doing what we’ve been doing till now, doing our best in every aspect possible. Whether it’s acting, variety shows, or creating new albums, we will work hard in our respective places. We will keep making an effort to meet our fans more often and create spaces for us to connect. Please wait for us just a little longer.

#NU'EST #NU'EST W #Aron #Ren #JR #Baekho #photoshoots / interviews #Star1 Magazine #ad campaigns #Labiotte

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livinginlandmarketing · 3 years

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Guests at Westfield Topanga in Canoga Park enjoy the shopping and air conditioning on Thursday, July 15, 2021. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

A shopper wears a face covering while shopping at Best Buy in Santa Clarita, CA Thursday, July 16, 2021. Beginning at 12:59pm on Saturday, residents of Los Angeles County will once again be required to wear face coverings indoors at public places. L.A. County has seen several consecutive days with more than 1,000 new cases reported daily amid a “rapid and sustained” spike in the number of infections. Many shoppers have continued to wear face coverings even though they have not been required to vaccinated individuals. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

A shopper wears a face covering while shopping at Vons in Santa Clarita, CA Thursday, July 16, 2021. Beginning at 12:59pm on Saturday, residents of Los Angeles County will once again be required to wear face coverings indoors at public places. L.A. County has seen several consecutive days with more than 1,000 new cases reported daily amid a “rapid and sustained” spike in the number of infections. Many shoppers have continued to wear face coverings even though they have not been required to vaccinated individuals. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

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Disappointment.

It was in the air on Thursday; July 15, as medical leaders lamented the the reluctance of so many Los Angeles County residents to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, stalling the onset of the much-coveted herd immunity.

It was on the lips of business owners– just starting to see the fruits of returning foot traffic after the human and economic toll of the pandemic — worried what renewed mask-wearing indoors would mean to their clientele.

It was baked into the words of a local city councilman, fed up with public health orders in general.

And it was the first word that occurred to Dr. Thomas Yadegar, as he absorbed the latest county Public Health Order: Effective Sunday, most everybody in L.A. County must wear masks inside anew — vaccinated or not. Just a month from the state’s sweeping elimination of COVID-19-spurred restrictions, the news hit hard.

“It is obviously disappointment … there’s a lot of of people who still have hesitancy about getting the vaccine,” said Yadegar, medical director of the Intensive Care Unit at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center.

And it’s that simple, blunt fact that is fueling Yadegar’s concern that the region may be in for an even more protracted battle with sporadic spikes of the virus for some time to come.

“I think, unfortunately, we’re going to have to be dealing with this,” said Yadegar, still fresh from the reminders of when his unit overflowed with people dying and on the verge of death during the worst throes of the pandemic in December and January.

Back then, the worry was over those who were older and who had underlying conditions. But now, Yadegar says the newest patients are younger — 30 to 50 — and unvaccinated.

Just on Sunday, he ordered a a 32-year-old man to be treated with supplemental oxygen after he came into the hospital.

“He said, ‘if he knew that it was going to happen like this, he would have been vaccinated.’ He was pretty sick.”

And so goes L.A. County’s battle not just with the disease, but with the pushback on immunizations.

Meanwhile, COVID-19’s variants have flourished, leading to the return of the L.A. County Public Health order on masks, which echoed through the region on Thursday — from medical offices and ICU units to restaurants and other businesses, still weary after a year and a half of physical distancing orders.

Dr. Lawrence Sher, who leads the Palos Verdes Medical Group and Peninsula Research Associates, said he supports L.A. County’s move.

Even for the vaccinated, there is still a small risk of serious illness. And when people are in public around strangers, Sher said, it’s better not to take chances.

“It’s important to emphasize to people that they still need to wear their masks when they are around people they don’t know in a crowd,” Sher said earlier this week. “Number one, you don’t know who is vaccinated or not, and you don’t know how long ago they were vaccinated and what vaccine they had.

“There are too many factors,” Sher added. “And besides, if you can eat outside, eat outside. It’s nice out.”

A return to masks indoors was not exactly music to the ears of the region’s businesses, who since June, when cities and counties aligned with the state’s lifting of capacity and distancing mandates, were trying to find a renewed stability.

Nancy Hoffman Vanyek, president and chief executive at Greater San Fernando Valley Chamber of Commerce, said “we would like to be able to not continue to have these mandates, but we understand that with the rising COVID count that we need to be concerned for the safety of our employees and the safety of our customers.”

She added that businesses “are just frustrated that they’re gonna start shutting things down again and the businesses cannot financially handle that. And employees who are now back at work can’t handle going through another round of EDD, especially if there are not any of these subsidies because they may have already exhausted their unemployment.”

Also, there are neighboring counties that don’t require masks in indoor public settings, she added.

“We want to keep business in L.A. County,” she said. “We understand the concern of what’s going on and we want to make sure everyone is safe, so we could continue to keep our business community open and workers employed.”

John Staats, the bar manager at Riviera House in Redondo Beach, was just beginning to see an uptick in business.

“I hadn’t heard about that news (the mask mandate) yet,” said John Staats, the bar manager at Riviera House in Redondo Beach. “But our staff is going to keep wearing masks, so that’s not a huge hindrance to us.”

Following the state’s June 15 reopening, Staats said that business has enjoyed a resurgence. “The last couple of weeks have been great for business,” he said, “and staff has definitely been reinvigorated with the reopening of our bar seating.”

The news was shaking out at local schools districts and universities, too, as they prepared to return to in-person instruction.

The Los Angeles Unified School District already planned to require everyone to mask up indoors when the fall semester arrived in August, so it didn’t appear that the county’s latest order would change indoor masking requirements for K-12 schools.

California public health officials issued guidance this week that all students and staff, including those who are fully vaccinated, must wear masks inside school buildings. Accommodations can be made for individuals with certain medical conditions by having them wear a non-restrictive alternative such as a face shield with a drape around the bottom, if conditions permit.

In a note to districts Thursday afternoon, L.A. County Superintendent of Schools Debra Duardo reaffirmed that the county is aligned with state guidelines on mask wearing indoors.

Related links

LA County will require masks indoors regardless of vaccination status starting Saturday night

Update: LA County’s coronavirus cases top 1,000 for 6th straight day; governor urges vaccinations

COVID: Delta variant now dominant in California, U.S.

Local News: Los Angeles Daily News

The University of California announced Thursday that it will require all students and staffers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to return to campus for the fall term.

Fueling public health concerns is the mutation known as the Delta variant, which L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis said is spreading unnervingly fast. The county has seen a troubling spike in cases, with one week of more than 1,000 new residents testing positive each day — and more than 1,500 new cases on Thursday.

“We need to take action now before we see uncontrollable spread,” she said in a Thursday statement, stressing that the return to masks indoors is only a temporary action, until we can lower our cases and continue getting more people the doses they need.”

It was that kind of action that was always a possibility, said West Covina City Councilman Brian Tabatabai, who has been the lone dissenting vote on the West Covina City Council against the city trying to get its own health department, detaching from the L.A> County Public Health, an effort that is still in progress.

“It’s always been a fragile situation where we’ve always had to be just wary of possibly having to take steps back as we move forward,” he said. “And so, again, it’s just a reminder that science has accomplished something historic with the vaccines, and if we want to get to a space where we no longer have these situations, people who can should go out and get vaccinated.”

The inability to get that “space” will continue to hit the area’s economy hard.

Stuart Waldman, president of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association, was blunt about the business ramifications.

“It’s tragic for everyone. It’s tragic for businesses,” he said, “but the fact is, a few people who refuse to get vaccinated are bringing the rest of Los Angeles down.”

Waldman noted that “enforcement is difficult with employees having to get into an argument with someone over wearing a mask in their establishment, and that’s where the problem is.”

“We hear about employees getting attacked for asking people to wear masks,” he said. “If people followed the rules, we would be in a much different situation.”

But Torrance City Councilman Aurelio Mattucci, who has been an outspoken critic of county Public Health officials, said Thursday’s action was further evidence tha Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer should be removed, calling the department under her leadership an “utter failure and a disgrace to our core American values.”

White House calls Facebook a conduit for COVID misinformation

Revamped child tax credit is coming your way, Southern California. Here’s why – and how it will work

UC finalizes policy requiring students and staff be vaccinated against COVID-19

COVID: When there might be a vaccine for younger kids and why it’s taking so long

LA County will require masks indoors regardless of vaccination status starting Saturday night

Torrance, along with West Covina and a handful of other cities, have explored ways of breaking away from the county health department. Thursday’s county decision could be a motivator for those cities to redouble such efforts.

Mattucci said it comes down to civil rights. “This is not about the masks,” he said. “It’s about control over the people.”

Waldman added that the new mask mandate “is definitely a concern” for business owners because it sparks uncertainty about the future. “Does the mask mandate for the indoor means that outdoor is next?” he said. “And a lockdown comes after that?”

Such steps were not part of Thursday’s edict and it was hard to say what would happen if rekindling mask rules prove ineffective to slow the virus’ spike.

But one thing several officials did know for sure: “This is a stark reminder that this pandemic is not over,” said L.A. City Councilwoman Nury Martinez, “and Angelenos are still at risk.”

Staff writers Elizabeth Chou, Brennon Dixson, Olga Grigoryants, Hunter Lee, Robert Morales, David Rosenfeld and Linh Tat contributed to this story.

-on July 15, 2021 at 10:54AM by Ryan Carter

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recentanimenews · 6 years

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Bookshelf Briefs 6/25/18

Astra: Lost in Space, Vol. 3 | By Kenta Shinohara | Viz Media – Two things are the most notable about this volume of Astra, which otherwise sees our heroes going to more alien worlds and slowly firming up into the obvious romantic couples. The first is the big reveal that Luca is intersex, which comes out after a confrontation with Ulgar over Luca’s father, the senator. We’ve seen intersex characters in manga before, but it doesn’t usually hit Jump titles. The other reveal is back with the parents discussing their kids, who have now been missing for a month. It’s clear that there is some sort of big conspiracy going on here. That said, I’m not sure I’d really be continuing with this if I didn’t know the next volume was the last. I look forward to it ending, but also want to see the end. – Sean Gaffney

Battle Angel Alita: Mars Chronicle, Vol. 2 | By Yukito Kishiro | Kodansha Comics – Having recently started reading and enjoying the original Battle Angel Alita, I was naturally curious about Mars Chronicle. While the first volume of Mars Chronicle served as a prequel to Battle Angel Alita, taking place during Alita’s childhood as a war orphan on Mars, the second volume is a sequel set after the events of the Last Order series. Tying the volumes together are the characters and the Martian landscape. Alita finds herself caught up in a dramatic battle with Erica, her childhood friend and another expert martial artist, while larger efforts to establish a unified Mars are in danger of collapsing, Alita herself framed for an assassination attempt of the emerging leader. For the most part, Mars Chronicle is a fairly accessible series even for those who haven’t read the earlier manga, although some basic familiarity with the franchise can still be useful. – Ash Brown

Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Vol. 24 | By Yuto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki | Viz Media – One of the more iconic things about Food Wars! are the images that are drawn by the artist summing up the preparation of food. Sometimes, when it involves the judges eating, it’s pure fanservice, but not always. There’s two terrific portraits here of the different types of cooking that two of the teams do—the one with Gin, Takumi and Megumi is shown as a sort of cocktail jazz band, while the one with Soma, his dad and Erina is shown to be avant-garde Jackson-Pollock style painters. It’s great stuff, and helps get us into the big final matches, which start with Soma immediately having rotten luck destroy him, as he’s challenging a soba expert and the meal they’re doing is soba. Ah well, he’s the hero, I’m sure he’ll come up with something. – Sean Gaffney

Ghost in the Shell README: 1995-2017 | By Takuma Shindo | Kodansha Comics – Despite being subtitled 1995-2017, the recent Hollywood live-action Ghost in the Shell film is oddly the first incarnation of Shirow Masamune’s manga to be addressed by the README guide and artbook. The rest of the volume is devoted to the various anime films and series by Mamoru Oshii, Kenji Kamiyama and, most recently, Kazuchika Kise. Each of the adaptations is given a chapter of its own which includes general information, story summaries, character, mechanical, and landscape designs, an abundance of full-color artwork, and more. For me the most interesting parts of README were the essays, the interview with Atsuko Tanaka and Maaya Sakamoto (the voices of “The Major,” Motoko Kusanagi), and the roundtable featuring all of the Ghost in the Shell anime directors in conversation with one another. README will likely appeal most to established fans of the franchise, but it provides a terrific overview and general introduction, too. – Ash Brown

Horimiya, Vol. 11 | By Hero and Daisuke Hagiwara | Yen Press – It really is impressive how the author of Horimiya is just not letting go of the fact that Hori really gets turned on by being dominated/struck, and that this really seems to bother Miyamura. It’s one reason, perhaps, why the volume ends with a short chapter that shows that, though they love each other, they still have tremendous difficulty figuring out how the other thinks. And there’s also Hori’s rage issues, which they at least acknowledge but don’t really deal with. As for the other couples, well, Ishikawa and Yoshikawa (Ishiyoshi?) are still struggling a bit, mostly due to embarrassment and embarrassing family. Horimiya isn’t as fantastic as it once was, but it’s still fun. – Sean Gaffney

Kuroko’s Basketball, Vols. 23-24 | By Tadatoshi Fujimaki | VIZ Media – We begin with the conclusion of the Winter Cup semifinal game, during which Seirin manages to defeat Kaijo by a one-point margin. It’s tense and exciting and there is a lot of manly crying. Rather than move right into the finals, however, the story diverges into flashback mode, with Kuroko telling the story of his time at Teiko Middle. This arc is fabulous and I’m a little bummed we didn’t have it earlier, as it would’ve informed so many of Kuroko’s interactions with his former teammates. However, putting it before his big matchup against Akashi makes sense, since Akashi was the one who sensed his potential to develop a unique style in the first place. In particular, I wasn’t expecting to come out of the arc loving Aomine so much. It’s nice knowing he finally did find someone who could defeat him. One of the best volumes in a while! – Michelle Smith

Kuroko’s Basketball, Vols. 23-24 | By Tadatoshi Fujimaki | Viz Media – As you might expect, Kuroko solves things, and is even allowed to make the winning shot—something that stuns him a bit. We’re clearly getting near to the end of the series, which means it’s now time for a biiiig flashback showing how the Generation of Miracles actually came to be. As you might imagine given everyone we’ve seen, it was not free and easy. Kuroko is almost put off the team a few times and the others barely work together at all. (It’s also cute seeing a middle-school, pre-sexy knockout Momoi falling for Kuroko.) I’m glad that this flashback is coming now, as we’ve come to know all the leads, and it also gives us a break from the tournament while still being filled with basketball. – Sean Gaffney

Mushroom Girls in Love | By Kei Murayama | Seven Seas – If it weren’t for the length, this could easily have fit right into the middle of A Centaur’s Life, a series that seems to enjoy randomly wandering off into whatever the hell for a few chapters on end. Instead of animal-human hybrids, this time it’s fungi-human hybrids, as our heroines try to stay married and in love despite root rot, royalty trying to break them up, and evading gunfire and the world seemingly being against them. As with A Centaur’s Life, this is not so much comedic or dramatic as just plain weird. And then there’s the girls riding tarantulas like horses… I guess what I mean to say is that if you like A Centaur’s Life and wish that the lesbians were the main characters, give this a shot. – Sean Gaffney

Princess Jellyfish, Vol. 9 | By Akiko Higashimura | Kodansha Comics – In many respects, this is a satisfying finale. Jelly Fish is back in business and it’s great to see the girls, particularly Jiji, finally able to don fancy clothes without hesitation in order to help Tsukimi’s visions become reality. In fact, I pretty much cried straight through from that point on. Reveals and reunions occur, but when one looks closer, one sees that several things remain unsettled. Amamizukan is still owned by Kai Fish, we don’t know whether Jelly Fish will actually be a success, and we don’t know how Tsukimi feels about Kuranosuke being in love with her (though I do love that he recognizes she doesn’t need a man right now). The feeling is all very optimistic, though, and perhaps it’s for the best that we just imagine a happy outcome without worrying about the details. It’s hard to believe it’s over! – Michelle Smith

Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku, Vol. 2 | By Fujita | Kodansha Comics – If you enjoyed the first volume of Wotakoi, this second one gives you more of what you enjoyed. The four leads are still all otaku types, but realistic and not caricatured. We get to see how Hanako and Taro met, which temporarily turns Wotakoi into Haikyu!! for a bit, and also see the couples accidentally getting swapped thanks to a haunted roller coaster. And there’s a new character, introduced (I thought) to be a gay love interest to Naoya, but no, she’s just a shy girl who dresses like a schlub. Still, there’s some comedy to be mined from hiding this from Naoya for the time being. As an anime and manga geek, reading Wotakoi is both fun and heartwarming, and I like it a lot. – Sean Gaffney

Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku, Vol. 2 | By Fujita | Kodansha Comics – I really liked the first Wotakoi omnibus, but I flatout loved this one. All of the characters are so great and so vivid, and there was an interesting structure to the two volumes included here. In the first, the continuing story of Hirotaka and Narumi’s first real date is interspersed with short vignettes and the story of how Naoya makes a friend. I came away with a much stronger idea of why Hirotaka loves Narumi, and how he feels like an inferior adult compared to her. In the second volume, the continuing story is an amazing flashback to Kabakura and Koyanagi in high school, with all the tsundere goodness one could wish for. Ordinarily, characters who bicker this much would bother me, but these two are the exception. This is a fabulous series that everyone should be reading. Get on it! – Michelle Smith

Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs, Vol. 2 | By Tadahiro Miura | Seven Seas – If nothing else, Yuuna is proving to be a slightly better ecchi Jump title than To-Love-Ru has, possibly as there’s slightly less emphasis on falling into everyone’s breasts all the time. Only slightly, though, and Yuuna still positions itself for one type of reader and one alone—the horny teenage boy. But if I were a horny teenage boy, I’d like this—Kogarashi is a bit less hapless than the typical ecchi protagonist, the girls are for the most part fun (I was amused that the drunken Kitsune wannabe is a manga artist), and there is the occasional sweet romantic tease. Still, if you’re expecting romance, read Nisekoi. If you want boobs, this is the book for you. – Sean Gaffney

By: Michelle Smith

#Anime #News #Manga Bookshelf

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rutabagaemp · 3 years

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The Galactic Writers’ Guild (Unfinished) - 2018

The galaxy is a strange place, full of strange people. Did you know that there was a man from Earth who dated at least one of every known sapient species, whose funeral was so widely attended that three ceasefires had to be negotiated just so that his lovers could mourn him without bloodshed? Or that, from 2340 to 2344, the president of the United American Nations was a self-aware bacteria named Eunice? Have you heard of tales of Planet X, where a secret cabal of monks is rumoured to keep their star burning through telekinesis? All of these legends and myths are told throughout the known galaxy, igniting the imaginations of trillions of receptive lifeforms across millions of star systems. The folks who share these stories come from all walks of life, from every corner of the galaxy. Some are writers, some are poets, some are simply storytellers, all bonded by the unifying goal of telling tales to as many people as possible. And every so often they all descend on a dingy bar in the ass-end of nowhere to tell stories to each other.

The Crashdown Bar, located on the damp, rocky surface of the asteroid (16069) Wang, was old, and dingy, and smelled of mildew. Next to no one visited it, because next to one visited the detestable little asteroid that it was built on. To call (16069) Wang a rotting, mold-encrusted pile of excrement wouldn’t be too far off the mark, but it hardly does the environment justice. The scant few locals refer to the asteroid by many names, none of them particularly nice. The prevailing one, Lil Wang, is a fairly harsh jab at an inanimate assembly of space dust and rocky materials, but if it brings comfort to those poor souls on the asteroid’s surface, no one’s going to stop them. Underneath an environmental dome that seems to constantly need maintenance and repairs, there’s a small collection of structures, built by and initially inhabited by settlers seeking to colonize the nearby planet of Tau Ceti e. There are several houses, a workshop, a small science centre and the Crashdown itself, all surrounded by abandoned, ruined and forgotten buildings. Lil Wang never boasted an impressive number of occupants, but its population fell drastically after Tau Ceti e, now officially known as Petram to the galaxy at large, and Big Wang to the inhabitants of Lil Wang, was fully colonized. This is because Lil Wang sucks, and no one wants to live there. You don’t move to Lil Wang, you end up at Lil Wang. Every month or so a small transport brings a meagre collection of ex-convicts, transients and other lost souls to the colony. They move into one of the abandoned, crumbling buildings, try to make the most of their fresh start, and usually end up dead within a year or two, either from alcoholism, industrial incidents or suicide. Lil Wang, despite its comedic name and designation, is sadly a very bleak place.

Fortunately, the Crashdown was there to try and lift the spirits of the locals. A handful of patrons would call the Crashdown a “quaint spot for a quick drink”, only to close friends and family, since describing it like that to any of the locals would earn a swift rebuttal and weird looks for several weeks after. Everyone who lived on Lil Wang agreed that the Crashdown was a shithole, but it was the only shithole for miles that actually sold a decent drink. You see, Big Wang was a resort planet, occupied by wealthy tourists and upper class citizens. Ships from Lil Wang and other nearby offworld colonies were typically turned away, leading to limited options for alcohol consumption. The Crashdown, as run-down and awful as it was, boasted a frankly miraculous variety of drinks, all for relatively affordable prices. As such, the bar saw a large clientele, with both locals and offworld visitors passing through its airtight doors.

This success was largely a result of the owner himself, Ernie. Bartending was easy for him, since his species, the Bexa, were natural bartenders. A goat-like species from a planet that no longer exists, the skills of drink mixing and bartending were once taught in Bexan schools, when such schools still existed. This was due to the fact that the Bexa can produce alcohol from their horns, with older and larger-horned Bexa functioning as their own micro-breweries. Once in a generation, a Bexa was born with four horns. This four-horned Bexa, known as the Qufu’, was regarded as highly lucky, and typically became the leader of the species, once they were old enough. The great irony of the Bexa is that they can’t feel the effects of alcohol themselves, due to their body’s extremely high tolerance. Alcohol was instead used for medical and cleaning purposes, and the homeworld of the Bexa was said to be the cleanest of all sentient life. Unfortunately, a short time before humanity first encountered them, the Bexa homeworld was destroyed by forces unknown and the species was scattered across the known galaxy. But that’s enough of the Bexa. Back to the Crashdown.

A long time ago, long enough that no one could remember the exact date, Ernie had purchased a bunker in the side of a hill, a short distance away from the main residential area on Lil Wang. Over the following five years, he had worked with outdated resources, equipment and technology to turn the bunker into what would become the Crashdown Bar. A flickering red and yellow neon sign, depicting a stylized transport pod crashed into the ground, was the only indication that there was a structure inside the hill, aside from the worn-out steel door set into the hillside. After descending a staircase, visitors were greeted by another door, this one made of higher quality wood. “Crashdown Bar” was engraved below a carving of the same crashed ship on the sign outside. Past these doors, patrons found themselves in a decently sized room. Iron mined from the asteroid had been used to coat the walls, and polished stone was used on the floor. In recent times, these coatings had worn down, and in the case of the walls, had begun to rust. The room had been well-lit, once upon a time, but now many of the ceiling’s lights had broken, leaving parts of the room darker than others. If not for the tables and chairs, as well as the bar itself, to the right of the door, it would be easy to mistake the interior of the establishment for that of a warehouse, and a dingy one, at that. The seating and tables weren’t of high quality either; they had matched when Ernie first opened the place, but after a couple decades they were a mix-and-match of various styles, materials, and levels of disrepair. One table next to the entrance was infamous for being made out of the side door of a cargo vessel that was supposed to bring a shipment of tables, but which brought children’s activity tables instead.

The room was more or less just a large rectangle. The bar was backed against a wall that split the room down the middle, separating it into two sides. It was designed to have two bartenders working at once, with dusty shelves of drinks and mixes on both sides, but as time progressed and the population declined, Ernie usually just manned the bar himself. A double-barrel shotgun, with the word “Chekhov” engraved into the stock, was mounted above the side of the bar facing the entrance, though to the locals’ knowledge, it had never been used. There were two old-style television sets mounted on the walls on either side of the bar. One displayed news, the other showed galactic sports. Next to the entrance was a corkboard with a number of notes affixed to it, some more outdated than others. A motley smattering of scavenged posters and art filled out the rest of the walls, strategically placed to minimize the feeling of stepping into an abandoned industrial facility. Along the back wall, a set of stairs led to a second floor, which was apparently where Ernie lived and kept his office. No one went up there except for him, so no one was really sure what it looked like. Guesses ranged from traditional study and bedroom all the way to perverse sex dungeon, though no one was quite sure of the specifics of Bexan mating, and no one wanted to ask the elderly man for information about it.

[There was sure to be a big turnout, since this is the second meeting after the GLA]

That’s enough tangents for now. Surely you came here to meet the authors, yeah? Tonight, it’s about five o’clock, at the end of a work week, so it’ll be a bit more crowded in here than usual. Let’s see…Ernie’s at the bar, as always, and there’s a small handful of regulars slouched over the stools in front of him. One lone Human, looking as if he was dragged through hell and back again, is watching the perky news anchor with disinterest. The only noise, aside from the soft industrial ambience, is the gentle tune that’s playing from a radio Ernie keeps behind the bar. The doors swing open, and it looks like this month, the first two members through the door are the Human writing duo, Mabel Merryweather and Alice Oakley. In case you haven’t heard of them, they’ve co-written dozens of highly-acclaimed novels, many of them set in quaint villages around the galaxy. On this particular evening, they’re dressed in pastel frock coats, one pink and one white, paired with tall, formal boots. Alice has her hair in a bun, while Mabel wears hers loose. Their engagement rings gleam from their intertwined fingers, and they exchange pleasant greetings with Ernie as they pass him. They move to the back corner of the left side of the bar and sit across from each other in their usual spot, the faded blue leather booth that’s seen dozens of club meetings through the years. After settling in, they continue their conversation.

“I’m just not sure Luytea is the best setting for this story.” Alice folds her hands in her lap and thinks for a moment. “I was thinking that a fishing village would be better for it.”

“Babe, Luytea has fishing villages.” Mabel’s voice, sweet and southern English, has a tinge of bemusement. “Fishing is one of their main businesses.”

“It’s just…not exactly what I was hoping for.” Alice absentmindedly rubs her hands together. “It feels too alien.”

“Too alien? Alice, you love Luytea more than anywhere else in the galaxy. What do you mean, too alien?”

Mabel gives Alice a concerned look. She hadn’t been sure why Alice had been so fascinated with Luytea until she went there herself. It wasn’t that the planet was beautiful. In fact, the planet was classified as having relatively subpar aesthetics, due to the naturally occurring sugar dunes that covered almost everything on the planet in a thin layer of gritty material. Alice seemed to love the planet because it reminded her of her childhood home in north England. The weather, the foliage, even the architecture in the main city was nostalgic for her, and it just kept her coming back again and again. Early on, Mabel had a feeling that Alice would want to get married there given how enamoured she was with the planet. Fortunately, the two had agreed that would get married on Mabel’s parents’ farm in rural London.

Now, though, Alice just sighs and rubs the back of her head. “I don’t know, it’s…it just doesn’t feel right, you know? Last time, Oxford Falls just felt right, from the moment we stepped off the train.” Her eyes light up. “Those beautiful, ancient houses surrounded on all sides by wild grass, glowing rose gold in the setting sun.” She seems wistful and lost in thought, but quickly snaps back to reality. “It was the perfect place for our book.”

Their last book was Annie, a novel about a time-travelling American pioneer girl who had wound up in present-day Oxford Falls, located on Akea in the Proxima Centauri system. Critics and audiences had both loved it, and Mabel had chosen the stage of the 131st Galactic Literary Awards to propose to Alice. That was already a month ago, and they still haven’t come up with a solid concept for their next book. Mabel can tell that something’s bothering Alice, but she still hasn’t said anything to her. She reaches out and takes Alice’s hand, but before she can say anything Ernie arrives with their drinks. His eyes glitter behind his wire-frame glasses as he sets down a pint of old fashioned ale for Mabel and a Luytean Shirley Temple; that is to say, a standard Shirley Temple but with Luytean sugar brine instead of ginger ale, for Alice, before bowing slightly and backing away from the table. Alice immediately takes a deep swig of her drink, and Mabel can tell the moment has passed.

The fact that Alice isn’t more excited about going to Luytea is enough to concern Mabel further, but she doesn’t want to press the issue yet. She trusts that Alice will tell her in due time, if she’s comfortable enough to, and now certainly wouldn’t be the best time. As close as they had grown to the other members of the club, and even some of the local population, she still didn’t really want to have this conversation in such a public venue. A few more patrons had filed in since she and Alice had arrived, and the gentle buzz of conversation grows in the background. She sighs, takes a swig of her ale and begins talking to Alice about other possible towns.

Old Castor? Too gloomy.

Xoke? Too far away.

New Old Newford? Too cold.

After several minutes of this back and forth, Mabel gives up, and the two drink in silence for a while. Alice, seated facing towards the TV, watches passively as the anchor explains a recent galaxy-wide shortage of raw wood. Mabel finishes her first pint just before she hears the door open. She turns around to see a very tall man entering the bar. He’s dressed in all black; a trench coat with a hood and bandana, gloves and thick boots, seemingly to disguise his appearance. His gait is lumbering as he makes his way over to the table, and as he draws closer it becomes obvious that he has some kind of tail following him.

“Oh, hello Ver! You’re early too, I see.” Mabel calls out to him as soon as he draws closer. The man nods and makes his way around the table to sit at the booth. He pulls down his hood and the bandana to reveal a reptilian face, similar to that of a crocodile on Earth, but with a shorter snout and blueish-grey scales. One of his eyes is a piercing green with a slit pupil, the other is milky and grey. A scar runs down the right side of his face, starting at the tip of his eye and running down to his mouth. As he sits down, his tail slaps against the table leg and the couple’s drinks shake. Ver gives a toothy, sheepish smile.

“Sorry about that. I always forget how small this place is.” His voice is deep and has a hint of a strange accent to it. If Mabel had to describe it, she’d probably say it was very similar to a traditional German accent from Earth. In fact, Ver is a member of the Dirik, a reptilian species from Planet Kanan in the TRAPPIST system, known for their militaristic nature and intense breeding sessions. The fact that they so closely resemble Earth reptiles was a sore spot for several years after first contact.

Ah, but that’s another tangent. If Mabel cares about Ver hitting the table with his tail, she doesn’t show it; waving her hand and saying “Don’t worry about it.” She finishes her drink and sets the empty tankard back on the table. “Congrats on the win at the GLA, by the way. I’d toast you, but…” She tilts her head towards the mug.

“Allow me.” Ernie’s soft voice appears behind her as if out of nowhere, and she turns to see that the bartender has reappeared with a tray of drinks. The empty tankard is whisked away and is replaced with a full one, while Ver receives several elongated flasks of traditional Dirikan mead, specially designed to accommodate his snout. The two thank the bartender. Ernie just winks and returns to the bar.

“Bless that man.” Says Mabel, before she raises her mug.

“To you, Ver, for being the best poet in the galaxy.”

Ver hesitates. “And to you two, for enriching the lives of readers across the galaxy.”

The three of them clink their glasses together and drink deeply. Alice has almost finished her drink but makes no move to get it replaced. She looks a bit queasy. Mabel and Ver both down their drinks in one go. At some point in the past, when they were both relatively new to the club, Ver had challenged Mabel to a drinking contest. The two were fairly evenly-matched, and in the end the winner was unclear, as the only person who remembers that night is Ernie, and he refuses to reveal the result. Whatever happened in the end, they had collectively consumed more alcohol than everyone else in the club combined. This has led to numerous jabs at their expense in the years since.

“So Ver, did you have any trouble getting here?” Mabel’s words are clear, if a bit slower than they had been a few minutes ago. “I heard you’ve found yourself in another war.”

Ver snorts, or at least, makes a sound that Mabel assumes is a snort. She doesn’t know if the Dirik can snort, or even laugh, for that matter. Maybe that’s why they’re always at war with someone.

“Yeah. Our wise and powerful leader decided to pick a fight with the Vichniel and now our fleets are at each other’s throats.” He looks more annoyed than anything else. “Time to wait six months for him to back down and sign another crippling peace treaty with another hostile alien empire.”

“Huh.” Mabel doesn’t really know how to react. After all, the Sol Empire doesn’t really get into too many wars. “You seem pretty wound up about this.”

“Obviously. If this keeps up, the Dirik Empire won’t exist within a couple years.”

Alice seems to be struggling just as much as Mabel. “Hmm. Just how strong are the Vichniel, anyway?”

“Strong enough that we shouldn’t be messing with them.” Ver slammed back another drink. “But of course, if you’re the great leader of the Dirik Empire, you can’t let one solitary Vichniel carrier cross through your space without launching an assault on it.” He gives an exasperated sigh and looks at the two women sitting with him. “Sorry, I must be boring you with politics. I get easily distracted when my Emperor is making stupid decisions. How are you two doing lately?”

“Oh, not too shabby. Alice and I were trying to think of a good setting for our next book.”

“Mhm.” Alice nods. “We thought a fishing village would be a good location for it, but we couldn’t settle on the right one.”

Ver thinks for a moment. “Isn’t New Old Newford a decent fishing town?”

“No, we decided it was too cold.” Mabel receives another drink from Ernie, who smiles at her and walks away.

“Hmm. I’m afraid I can’t think of any other fishing villages offhand.” Ver downs another drink. “I’d recommend Nerva on Plazos, but I think the Vichniel just vaporized it earlier this week.”

“Holy shit!” Mabel leans in closer. “How many were lost?”

“We don’t know. The Dirik media’s not saying anything. Too busy covering the Emperor’s decisions and not the war itself.” He sighs. “I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Plazos was a newer colony, so there couldn’t have been more than a million casualties.”

“A million casualties? Are you referring to the Gamrada?” A voice unfamiliar to any at the table rings out from a figure standing behind the group. To call the voice icy would be to do it a great disservice. This voice is devoid of warmth, a deeply chilling and disturbing sound that seems to drop the temperature of the room by several degrees. The three writers turn, with varying degrees of dread, to see who had made the awful sound.

The stranger is quite tall, standing almost as high as the main entrance door itself. The alien has a humanoid form and features, if slightly elongated in places. Its skin is silvery, metallic and perfectly smooth, glittering gently as the alien moves closer to the table. All four of its eyes are piercing red, and none of the authors notice them blink. A shimmering, dark blue poncho is draped around its shoulders. Tight-fitting pants, of a similar material, and a black leather belt are the only other clothes to speak of. It extends a four-fingered hand to scratch one of its pointed ears, and even this small movement causes the alien to sparkle in the cheap pub lighting. It then seems to strike a casual pose, gripping its belt with one hand, its poncho with the other, and tilting its head down, as if it’s an extra in an old Western. The three writers are momentarily flabbergasted.

Finally, Ver manages to sputter out a question. “G-Gamrada? What are you talking about?”

“Haven’t you heard?” The alien stops their power pose and crosses their arms, staring at Ver with all four of its eyes. “The Nebuloids launched some colony ships through a system near Meudron space. The Meudrons took offense and destroyed one of the ships, the Gamrada.” The alien pauses for a second, then points towards the TV on the wall with one of its arms. “The news is just starting to report on it now. They’re estimating that there were around one million Nebuloid casualties.”

Mabel swivels around in her seat and, sure enough, a breaking news report has replaced the galactic poker championships. NEBULOID SETTLERS MASSACRED BY MEUDRONS: MILLIONS DEAD reads the headline. A calm-looking Human is speaking, while images of starship wreckage are shown in the background. The volume isn’t loud enough for anyone at the table to make out what she’s saying.

“Hey Ernie!” Ver calls across the room. Ernie looks up from his chat with a bar regular, sees Ver’s gesture towards the TV, and wordlessly presses a button on a nearby remote. The news anchor’s voice gradually fades in.

“…act of aggression is unknown, as the Meudrons have maintained peaceful relations with the Nebuloids for several years now.” With the volume increased, several other patrons notice the news. There are sporadic gasps of shock from some of the tables.

“The Nebuloid Collective has released a ship’s manifest, revealing the ship’s complement to be around one point two million settlers, including children and spawnlings.” A group of Dirik in the far corner of the bar give a bored glance at the TV and continue drinking. A couple of Meudrons, gelatinous aliens with robotic legs, get up and leave the tavern, looking extremely uncomfortable, or at least, as uncomfortable as a shapeless gelatinous blob mounted on mechanical legs can look.

“No survivors have been confirmed yet. The Nebuloid Collective is treating this as an act of war and is mobilizing their troops. Calls for de-escalation by intergalactic observers have gone unheeded.” Mabel looks back to her companions. Alice looks unnerved, and Mabel takes her hand for support, knowing that the expression on her own face can’t be too different. Ver looks uncomfortable, but doesn’t say anything. The alien standing near them stares at the TV for a moment, its eyes continuously unblinking. Then, it offers a hand to Ver.

“How rude of me not to introduce myself. I am Xiven. This is my first time attending this club.”

Ver hesitantly shook the alien’s hand. It was cold, like grasping a metal rod, yet surprisingly soft at the same time. Mabel let go of Alice’s hand and followed suit.

“Hey, welcome. Always good to see new faces around here. Pull up a chair and relax for a while. We’re a bit early.” She looks towards the bar, where Ernie is watching the news with a look of sadness in his eyes. “You may want to tell Ernie what you want to drink. We have a tab that we pay off at the end of the night. Galactic marks are the standard currency but I think he’ll accept others…”

The alien opens its mouth and laughs, or at least, Mabel thinks it was a laugh. It sounds like a combination of leaves rustling and chains rattling. Mabel’s arms break out in goosebumps. It sounds more like a machine than an actual flesh and blood being.

“I think I’ll pass, thanks.” Now that the alien is sitting next to her, she can see that the alien possesses very sharp, very metal teeth. “I cannot process fluids. My species subsides off of a special gel indigenous to our homeworld.”

“Do you eat food? You look like you have the teeth for it.”

Another laugh. “Of course! We Caxxom enjoy a hearty diet of silicon-rich rocks and minerals.”

“Oh, are you silicon-based then?” Alice leans into the conversation. “I think you’re the first silicon based lifeform we’ve met. Where are you from, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Nah, I don’t mind. We’re from the - what did Humans name it? The Kepler-443 system, I believe.”

“Ah, so you’re way out there.” Alice vaguely recalls that Kepler-443 is at least a couple thousand light years from Earth. “I don’t recall any empires out that far…”

“Well, we’re fairly new. We only encountered other sentient life forms around ten of your years ago. We’re just stepping out onto the galactic stage.”

“That’s not too long.” Mabel knows a fair bit more about galactic history than Alice does, having completed her degree in the subject. “Our first contact was a little over a hundred a fifty years ago, so we’re pretty recent too, I guess.”

“Yes, but once you Humans starting exploring, everyone came to know each other.” Ver has just finished another drink and he was starting to feel the effects. If you’ve never seen a drunk crocodile before, you’re very fortunate; if you’ve never seen a drunk Dirik before, you’re missing out on a good time. “I don’t think your species has met another sentient race which you didn’t immediately want to bang.”

Alice sputters indignantly, but Mabel smirks. “Yeah? As if there aren’t entire subspecies of Dirik caused by you guys sticking your dicks in everything.”

Now Ver is sputtering. “That’s…whatever! It’s irrelevant!” He takes another swig and looks to Xiven. “I don’t know if you’ve heard this story before…”

“I know a couple stories…” Xiven starts to speak, but Ver continues anyway.

“Very first human on Kanan? Diplomatic ambassador. One of very few aliens to set foot on our planet. First thing they do? Wind up in bed with one of our diplomats.” Ver points to Mabel. “Humans? Absolutely determined to fuck everything and anyone possible. It’s how they know so many other species, how they spread so fast.” He turns to Xiven. “You want to get in contact with any unknown races? Tell your government to talk to Humans.”

Whether it was a joke or not, Xiven seems to take it seriously. “Thanks. I’ll tell my superiors about this.” Xiven’s eyes fixate on Ver. “You never introduced yourself.”

“Ah, my name is Ver.”

“Nice name. You’re a…Dirik, I’d wager.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Right on.” Xiven leans back. “How intriguing. You’re the first…Dirik?” Xiven fumbles with the pronunciation again, but Ver nods and Xiven continues. “The first Dirik that we have encountered.”

“For a new alien race, you seem to have a pretty good grasp of our languages.”

“Are we the first humans you’ve met?” Alice interjects. Xiven shakes their head.

“No, we know about you. A small amount of you wind up in our space from time to time, either by accident or for exploration. I believe the first time we encountered your kind was…five of your years ago. A small vessel with a skeleton crew. After we repaired their ship, they told us where your empire was, and they mentioned the club that gathers in this tavern.”

Alice frowns. Not too many people were aware about their gatherings here. The club isn’t exactly a secret, but it’s not common knowledge either. A glance at Mabel tells Alice that she was thinking the same thing. “Who was the captain of the ship?”

“He called himself Malcolm.”

“Oh! Malcolm Kayode?” Mabel snaps her fingers in realization. “Black, tall, buff dude, eye patch over the right eye?”

“That sounds about right, although he didn’t have an…eye patch at the time of our encounter. Both of his eyes were unobstructed.”

“Huh.” Mabel strokes her chin. “He had that eyepatch when I first met him, two years ago. I know he didn’t have it seven years ago, when he and Ver first met…”

“Still had both his eyes at that point, and I still had both of mine.” Ver’s blind eye seems to flash in the low light of the room.

“What exactly happened to your eye, if you don’t mind me asking?” Xiven turns their four, perfectly functional eyes towards Ver.

Ver waves a hand dismissively and leaned back. “That’s a story for another time.”

Mabel continues. “Now we know that he still didn’t have it when Xiven met him five years ago. That leaves a three year period for him to have been grievously wounded.”

“I’m pretty sure someone else had mentioned meeting him without the eyepatch, but I’m not sure who that was.” Alice thinks for a moment. “It could have been Velvet, or even Razza…”

Ver clears his throat. “I’m sure our new friend finds this all very interesting-“

“Oh yeah, definitely.” Xiven cuts in without a hint of sarcasm. Ver’s good eye twitches and he continues.

“But,” he emphasizes the word, glaring at the metallic alien, who doesn’t seem to notice, “we were in the middle of learning more about Xiven’s planet.”

Mabel waves her hand. “Of course. Where were we?”

“I think we were learning about the former interactions between the Caxxom and Humanity.”

“Sounds about right.” Xiven crosses their arms and leans back in their chair. “I was a member of the scientific team that communicated with Malcolm, the one who found his ship in the first place. Your friend’s vessel was quite badly damaged.” They turn their attention to Mabel. “He didn’t answer my questions, so I’ll ask you instead. What exactly does Malcolm do?”

Mabel shrugs. So does Alice. Xiven turns to Ver, and gets a similar response.

“We have no idea.” Mabel drains what’s left in her mug. “All we know is that he has enough free time to write those mystery novels he does.”

“Yes, he did offer me one of those…mystery novels upon his departure. It became quite a sensation on our homeworld. There aren’t that many Caxxom fiction writers, so that book was really something.”

“Not many fiction writers?” Alice addresses Xiven. “What sort of writing do you do, exactly?”

Xiven gives another one of their metallic laughs. “Mostly scientific reports. Mineralogical reports are of particular interest. Don’t give me that look,” they say, noticing the looks of perplexion on their companion’s faces, “aren’t you the species who came up with the adage ‘truth is stranger than fiction?’”

“So you’re a scientific writer then?”

“Yeah, that’s where my training is.” Their four eyes dart around the table. “Is there something wrong with that?”

“No, no, of course not, it’s just…” Alice sputters out a protest, but Ver cuts in.

“We don’t really get a lot of scientific writers here. The people here typically write fictional stories.”

“Oh? What do you write then?”

“I’m a poet.” He leans back in his chair and grins. “I try to draw attention to the atrocities of my government through my works.”

[...]

#creative writing #sci fi writing #sci fi #spec fi writing #spec fi #alien creative writing #writing #unfinished

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womenofcolor15 · 4 years

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HISTORY, MADE: Official VP Nominee Kamala Harris Is The First Black Woman To Appear On A Major Party's Presidential Ticket. Here's Why Biden Chose Her.

It's official. Joe Biden just named the frst woman of color as the VP nominee of a major Democratic party. She's already got Howard and HBCU's, the Obama Administration, the people of California, a sector of voter from the black and Indian communities, and even the Divine 9 ready for battle at the polls. Here's why Joe chose Kamala Harris.

It's been months in the making, but Joe Biden finally stopped dangling the VP catnip in front of the masses and tossed them a bone. And hopefully it plays out as much more than just a bone.

Senator Kamala Harris is the Democratic VP nominee, making history as the first (presumed) woman of color nominee on a major Presidential ticket.

.@JoeBiden can unify the American people because he's spent his life fighting for us. And as president, he'll build an America that lives up to our ideals.

I'm honored to join him as our party's nominee for Vice President, and do what it takes to make him our Commander-in-Chief.

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) August 11, 2020

The 55-year-old Senator from California, and the daughter of immigrant Jamaican and Indian parents, is set to make even more history in November , and we're here for it.

Despite having more than a couple cut throat moments on the Presidential campaign trail in the primaries, the former Presidential candidate is now a promising VP candidate.

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Biden • Harris

A post shared by Joe Biden (@joebiden) on Aug 11, 2020 at 4:42pm PDT

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I have the great honor to announce that I’ve picked @KamalaHarris — a fearless fighter for the little guy, and one of the country’s finest public servants — as my running mate. Back when Kamala was Attorney General, she worked closely with Beau. I watched as they took on the big banks, lifted up working people, and protected women and kids from abuse. I was proud then, and I'm proud now to have her as my partner in this campaign.

A post shared by Joe Biden (@joebiden) on Aug 11, 2020 at 1:27pm PDT

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Let’s go win this, @KamalaHarris.

A post shared by Joe Biden (@joebiden) on Aug 11, 2020 at 5:18pm PDT

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Let’s go win this, @KamalaHarris.

A post shared by Joe Biden (@joebiden) on Aug 11, 2020 at 5:18pm PDT

Most people figured the choice was between former Ambassador Susan Rice and Kamala, and we wouldn't be surprised if Ambassador Rice ends up in Joe's cabibet if the Biden/Harris ticket wins in November.

But first order of business is getting the racist, sexist and ignorant occupier of the White House right up out of there. ASAP.

Many are in a tizzy already, considering Kamala's history as a former prosecutor, but folks better get in formation and check their sources (and misogony).

President Obama explained just how important this choice of Kamala is:

View this post on Instagram

Choosing a vice president is the first important decision a president makes. When you’re in the Oval Office, weighing the toughest issues, and the choice you make will affect the lives and livelihoods of the entire country – you need someone with you who’s got the judgment and the character to make the right call. Someone whose focus goes beyond self-interest to consider the lives and prospects of others. @JoeBiden nailed this decision. By choosing Senator @KamalaHarris as America’s next vice president, he’s underscored his own judgment and character. Reality shows us that these attributes are not optional in a president. They’re requirements of the job. And now Joe has an ideal partner to help him tackle the very real challenges America faces right now and in the years ahead. I’ve known Senator Harris for a long time. She is more than prepared for the job. She’s spent her career defending our Constitution and fighting for folks who need a fair shake. Her own life story is one that I and so many others can see ourselves in: a story that says that no matter where you come from, what you look like, how you worship, or who you love, there’s a place for you here. It’s a fundamentally American perspective, one that’s led us out of the hardest times before. And it’s a perspective we can all rally behind right now. Michelle and I couldn’t be more thrilled for Kamala, Doug, Cole, and Ella. This is a good day for our country. Now let’s go win this thing.

A post shared by Barack Obama (@barackobama) on Aug 11, 2020 at 2:34pm PDT

If you're asking "Why Kamala?", Joe explained it all in a letter to his supporters, where he read off her receipts for why she's the best person for the job:

These aren’t normal times. For the first time in our history, we’re facing three historic crises -- all at the same time. We’re facing the worst pandemic in 100 years. The worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. The most powerful calls for racial justice in a generation. And we have a president who has both failed to lead on the virus -- costing lives and decimating our economy -- and fanned the flames of hate and division.

I need someone working alongside me who is smart, tough, and ready to lead. Kamala is that person.

I need someone who understands the pain that so many people in our nation are suffering. Whether they’ve lost their job, their business, a loved one to this virus. This president says he “doesn’t want to be distracted by it.” He doesn’t understand that taking care of the people of this nation -- all the people -- isn’t a distraction -- it’s the job. Kamala understands that.

I need someone who understands that we are in a battle for the soul of this nation. And that if we’re going to get through these crises -- we need to come together and unite for a better America. Kamala gets that.

If I’m President, I’m committed to making things better -- not just in the short term, but sustainably, structurally, and permanently. We won’t have time to delay. I need a partner who can help deliver on those promises, and quickly.

I was privileged to serve this nation for two terms as Vice President alongside President Obama, a man of extraordinary character who I believe will go down in history as one of our great presidents. So, I know a thing or two about being Vice President. More than anything, I know it can’t be a political decision. It has to be a governing decision. If the people of this nation entrust me and Kamala with the office of President and Vice President for the next four years, we’re going to inherit a nation in crisis, a nation divided, and a world in disarray. We won’t have a minute to waste.

That’s what led me to Kamala Harris.

As a United States Senator from California, Kamala represents the biggest state in the union. She’s been one of the toughest and most effective Senators on two of the most important committees in the Senate -- Intelligence and Judiciary. Two committees that have directly dealt with some of the most important issues facing this nation at home and around the world.

She sits on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, where she deals with the nation’s most sensitive threats.

We’ve all watched her hold the Trump administration accountable for its corruption, stand up to a Justice Department that’s run amok, and be a powerful voice against their extreme nominations.

She’s been a leader on criminal justice and marriage equality. And she has focused like a laser on the racial disparities as a result of the coronavirus.

As California’s Attorney General, she led one of the biggest legal departments in the nation -- where she was a powerful advocate for people in taking on the big banks and protecting women and kids from abuse. She’s delivered billions in settlement money to consumers, taking on companies for fraud, pollution and abuse.

I first met Kamala through my son Beau. They were both Attorneys General at the same time. He had enormous respect for her and her work. I thought a lot about that as I made this decision. There is no one’s opinion I valued more than Beau’s and I’m proud to have Kamala standing with me on this campaign.

Her record of accomplishment -- fighting tooth and nail for what’s right -- is why I’m choosing her. There is no door Kamala won’t knock on, no stone she’ll leave unturned, if it means making life better -- for the people.

Welp. There it is. And also this:

biggest winners with biden's pic 1. biden himself. mala ain't perfect, but if he would've picked anyone other than her...

Posted by Damon Young on Tuesday, August 11, 2020

Election Day is November 3rd. If you're mailing in your ballots, plan to mail them in by October 13th to allow for ample time for their travel since Trump has also been systematically destroying the post office to jeopardize this election.

Photos: Kim Wilson/Shutterstock.com

[Read More ...] source http://theybf.com/2020/08/11/history-made-vp-nominee-kamala-harris-is-the-first-black-woman-to-appear-on-a-major-party

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askdawnandvern · 6 years

Text

A Lamb Among Wolves Ch:26

First off, I want to apologize for being two days late posting this. I imagine you guys were sort of on the edge of your seats after last time, so making you wait longer probably sucked. The whole point of having a chapter buffer was if i got sick, I would still have something to post. But thanks to the poor weather being what it was, I was, and still am suffering a pretty bad cold. On top of that I had to have some stuff done today medically that'd I'd rather not go into. Sufficed to say, sitting at my desk and working was a very non-option.

So I missed the Monday post date, and for that I'm sorry. Here's the chapter you had to wait on. I hope you all like it. And don't worry, schedule is still the same. I'm not changing the post date to Wednesday now or anything. The Monday after next will see the next chapter go up. Until then, here's hoping you like this new chapter, and until next time, I'm going back to bed...

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Chapter Twenty Six: A Brief History of The Northern Roaropean Lamb

"When compared to other mammals rise to a civilized state, sheep and caprids in general were found to have crawled out of their caves significantly earlier than most. Long before the founding of Scottram, Irelamb, and The new Pridelands, Sheep had been subsisting in the form of small communities and cities states spread across the regions. Records of advanced farming tools and written texts have been found to go back nearly as far as the advent of the original Pridelands Empire, and it gave them a great deal of time to grow and refine their culture and practices as they approached nation status."

"Early sheep herds were actually surprisingly similar in structure to that of their wolf counterparts, although forgoing the alpha-beta hierarchy system. At the advent of sheep cultural norms, the herd was largely composed of family members, with the sire ram or ewe leading the herd. But sheep were largely less tribal earlier in their development, which lead to largely peaceful intermingling and trading with other herds. This would lead to the herd dynamic quickly shifting away from simply being made up of families, and expanding to outside herds and even other species of caprids in the interest or protection and convenience."

"This is where early sheep and wolf differed the most greatly. Caprids were generally more docile, and as such spent more time cultivating and perfecting the land they already held rather than forcibly expanding into new territory. But what they lacked in offensive war mongering, they made up for in defense. And this is why they open and inclusive nature of the herd system became a great benefit when it came to sheepkind, especially those centered in the burgeoning nation of Shcottram."

"Years of proxy wars against invading wolves had only proved to hone and embolden the herd mentality of sheep kind, more and more small herds combining their resources and arms in an effort to keep the wolves at bay. Naturally these increasingly larger and larger herd based clans would place their faith in the strongest warrior among them, looking to them as the herd leader. It was this style of herd structure that would lead to the Blackwool clan's rise to power, and the birth of Schottram as a unified country. Specifically Sean Blackwool, who would become the first king of Scottram upon it's creation in 954 A.P. Irelamb, the neighboring nation would see formation just six years later."

"Sean was a seasoned warrior who, in his years before rising to the status of ruler, would lead the sheep under his command to many glorious and seemingly impossible victories against the invading Norwulff forces. But the one that would earn him the favor and praise of every herd in the nation would be 'The Battle of Woolcrag' in 944 A.P. Sean's strategic planning, cunning, and exemplary skill in combat would see him lead his armies to the successful liberation of the town after ten years of wolf occupation. Word of Blackwool's greatest victory spread like wildfire, sung from village to village and herd to herd. And with it came the pleas and requests to join under Blackwool's herd and finally put an end to the wolf occupation of sheep lands. It would take a total of ten years, and numerous battles, but eventually every herd in the land would join Blackwool in his fight against the wolves, and elevate him and his family to the status of being the recognized leader of all the herds in the country."

"This of course saw the birth of Shcottram, In which Sean would declare every sheep who resided upon its shores as being one herd, as well as every wolf as unwelcome among them. And soon after the installation of the Blackwool family as the ruling class among the Shcotts, Blackwools armies successfully drove the last of the occupying wolves out of the nation, This of course wasn't the end of the Norwulff attacks, but never again would the invaders manage to hold any land on Schottish soil."

"The royal line would keep Schottram stable for many centuries. With each onslaught of attacks, (mostly coming from the Norwulves) being successfully repelled. Between the strategic planning of the Blackwool lords in regards to their armies, and many members of the family line leading the charges, kings included, attacks by the invading Norwulves were foiled at every conceivable turn. The Blackwool family, keeping in line with the legacy Sean Blackwool had left in his wake, considered themselves rams of the sheep of Shcottram. And so every male in the family was taught how to fight without exception. However the frequent Norwulff attacks kept the ruling Blackwools rather busy when it came to dealing with the economic needs and rule of law among the everyday Shcotts. And so it was left to the ewes of the Blackwool family to deal in the matters of diplomacy and the needs of the citizenry, especially the acting Queen. More often than not, the acting Queen would often find herself in a greater role as the face of the citizens of Shcottram, but the King's vigilant defense of Schottrams shores did not go unappreciated by the populace despite this."

"The Norwulff reformation caused great consternation and argument among the Blackwool Royal Court, as well as the residents of the nation as a whole. While the ruling herd in Irelamb seemed to be more open to hearing the pleas for peace with the new wolf nation out, the festering old wounds of the constant battles between groups kept Schottram on the offensive. Both the acting King and Queens remained unwilling to hear the Düclaw clan out on peace talks, that was until Delcan and Moira Blackwool took thier respective thrones in 1342 A.P."

"The newly crowned King had an even more distrusting and suspicious attitude when it came to the wolf's entreaty. In fact, the old wounds of the previous attacks, as well as Lesser Norwulff's continued attacks on the nation despite the Greater Norwulff's calls for peace left Declan eager to pay their old enemy back. He was one of the first of the line of Blackwools to call for an offensive stance rather than defensive one. That the time had come to bring the fight to the nation of wolves, to wipe them out, and ensure that sheepkind would never have to worry about their treachery ever again."

“Moira on the other hoof, believed that negotiation and mending old wounds were the key to moving forward as a species, for the sake of sheep and wolves alike. She believed that a full scale war would be nothing more than a fools errand, and would only end disastrously for both parties. This became the catalyst for the many arguments the couple, although it wasn't their first. According to the documentation left by castle guards and castle hoofmaidens close to the couple, they rarely spoke to each other in any manner other than professionally and coldly. There were rarely any affectionate moments between the pair, even after the birth of their sons they remained stoic and cold to one another. It is for these many reasons their short marriage was rumored to be an unhappy one."

"King Declan's attitude toward the wolves would prove to be his undoing however. Eager to get a jump on the unsuspecting wolves, the king put out an order to shore up every able bodied ram in the nation to prepare themselves for enlistment in the King's army. He planned to lead a fleet of 45 of Schottrams finest warships to the shores of Lesser Norwulff to exact what he felt was long overdue revenge for the wolves heinous crimes. Ignoring his wife's pleas to rethink the invasion, the King set off with his ships and nearly half of Scottram's males in 1345 A.P. But of course we all know how that ended, I more or less went over it in the chapter about Norwulff history. The ships never made it to the shore, swallowed by an angry sea while caught in a snarling winter storm. Not even a piece of the wrecked ships washed up on the shores of Lesser Norwulff, and thus the wolves never even knew anything about the supposed oncoming invasion. The Kings death left Moira to sit upon the Schottish throne alone, until her sons came of the proper age to take over the position of King in her stead. Moira's prediction had proven to be half true, in that the attempt at war had proven to be disastrous for the Schottish citizens."

"Now seated on the throne with a nation in chaos, Moira had to act quickly to repair the void left by the loss of so many able bodied rams to her husbands foolish endeavor. She would go on to announce to her subjects that the disaster that befell Declan and his army was an act of the gods, a powerful and painful warning that the time had come to end the bitter feud between sheep and wolf-kind. Some of the Schottish citizenry were vehemently against Moira's call for peace, but the overwhelming majority of sheep under Blackwool's rule respected and were willing to follow the Queens call."

"Schottram had suffered greatly for Declan's folly, and the prospect of making peace was more favorable than the possibility of losing even more lives while the nation was in such a critical state. Even more so, the possibility of finally putting an end to the dreary life of perpetual preparedness for war was an enticing prospect to the Schottish populace. Instead of living in constant fear and alert of Norwulff attack, always on guard for the next invasion, the Norwulves would now be the ones to guard the sheep."

"Queen Moira is quite an interesting and enigmatic figure. As well as being one of my ancestors of very high distinction, she was probably the most beloved ruler in all of Schottish history, even more so after the peace treaty was formed with the wolves in 1346. Many historic accounts of Moira describe her as a mammal of poise and grace that no Queen who had sat on the throne before had ever held, and those who wrote such statements could scarcely conceive a Queen in the future who could live up to her legacy. The air around her was said to fill those who looked upon her with renewed faith and confidence, and even her detractors couldn't argue against the wisdom and skill with which she managed the nation as a whole, with no King to aide her on top of it all. The strength and foresight she carried carving her a prominent and powerful role in the shaping of Shcottish History. Even today her portrait can be found on the ten buck note used as Schottish currency, as well as various churches and art pieces depicting scenes from her benevolent rule."

"However, details of the Queens personal life are few and far between, especially after her first meetings with the wolf ambassador Erik Düclaw. The Queen had kept sparse personal journals to begin with, and they completely stopped about a month after negotiations with Erik began. When concerns were brought up about meeting the ambassador alone, the Queen had been cited as brushing off said concerns off with a laugh. Apparently one of her guards accounts had described the Queen as mentioning that she was certain the meetings would go fine as she had dreamed that they would, as well as having dreamt of Erik specifically."

"Incidentally, aside from being the live-in ambassador, Erik was also made to be Moira's personal body guard despite the protest from the royal court and castle guard. Public accounts cite the Queens reasoning for the move as being a bid to instill confidence in wolves living among sheep, as well as a show of the Queens strength and resolve when it came to her beliefs. In the same way the Blackwool males fought along side their citzens, she was willing to risk her life in order to stand behind her decrees, at least in the eyes of the public it seemed."

"Even after the Queen turned control of the crown over to her son Declan the second, and retired to the royal estate to the north, Erik was bid to follow suit. While he was no longer the acting ambassador, Queen Moira insisted he remain her body guard until the end of her days despite more objections from her sons and the royal court. But the Queen once again justified these decisions as remaining firm on her stance about how well sheep and wolves worked together. Even though she would now remain out of the public eye, she refused to be seen as a mammal who says one thing, and does another."

"Reasons like these are the straws with which conspiracy theorists grasp at to point to the possibility of a secret tryst going on between the pair. Between the sudden absence in the Queens journals after Erik became a permanent fixture in Moira's life. That he was with her at all times, even so far as appearing in every portrait of the Queen post becoming her personal guard. There were even accounts from the night watch of alleged howling coming from the Queen's personal bedchamber in the midnight hours. Of course with no other wolves within close proximity to the castle, and the inability of mammals outside of the wolf species being able to read the type of howl being heard the watch chalked it up to dumb, functionless savage instincts.

"There was also Declan the second's short lived time on the throne, and the controversy surrounding his expulsion and the seating of his younger brother Roderick in his stead just four years later. Despite having been given the throne by his Mother without a struggle, Declan seemed to have a chip on his shoulder when it came to his Mother and her relations with Erik. Much like his Mother, his personal accounts are few and far between. But from the portions that he did write, it was clear the young king shared his Father's view when it came to wolves in general, and seemed to have a general disgust for his Mother's close relationship with Erik. Key phrases in his writings such as referring to his Mother's relationship to the wolf as an "unholy union." as well as an "affront to his Father's memory and legacy." tend to be the ones theorists tend to gravitate toward. But the most baffling turn was Declan's attempt to burn his Mother's Estate to the ground with the Erik and her inside without provocation. I mean, at the time Declan had already secured the throne, with no one to answer to other than perhaps his Mother's clout over the Schottish citizens. Was it simply to honor his Father's memory? To remove any dissent at the possibility of rolling back the Ram-Wolf pact? Perhaps a hatred of Erik specifically? Again the personal accounts are to few and far between to form an accurate account of the young King's reasoning."

"The plot was of course, a failure. Queen Moira and Erik Düclaw survived the blaze, despite half of the estate burning to the ground. It had apparently started in the newest addition to the estate, Blackwool Tower, a large windowless tower built once Moira had turned the throne over to Declan II, which was odd considering it was far from the Queen's living area. Despite the fact that no lives were apparently lost, the Queen was noted as being livid to the point of illness. Personal accounts of the guard staff and hoofmaidens had referred to her breaking down in tears on several occasions despite never expressing why. Needless to say, her anger and disgust fell at Declan immediately, and despite her turning over royal authority to the ram, she was able to easily rescind it in the face of the overwhelming evidence of his involvement in the arson attempt. Many of his personal staff held no loyalty for the new King, and had willingly confessed against him when faced with Moira and the Schottish public. Declan found himself imprisoned in a tower similar to the one he had burned to the ground shortly after being found guilty, and he would spend the rest of his days there while his younger brother Roderick took the newly evacuated throne."

“Instances like these do make it somewhat hard to completely dismiss such theories and notions about Schottam's Queen. Believers are also quick to postulate that the absence of the Queen's personal records and Declan the Second's after the Ram-Wolf pact are actually the fault of the Schottish Government. That officials and the current royal Blackwool descendants have buried the texts, in fears that confirmation of any relationship other than professional existing with Erik Düclaw would tarnish the Queens legacy. But whether it proves to be true or not, it seems we'll never know for sure.""I personally would like to believe in such a secret, clandestine relationship, having always been a hopeless romantic. But the idea that Vernon and myself were not the first star crossed lovers in my family line, and that our hardships were not only shared, but considerably more difficult to endure for the couple during the time. But I have yet to find any concrete clues to solidify it for me, despite my personal hopes. Perhaps if I find the time, I can do more research on the topic and revisit Moira's mysterious relationship in a later chapter, but for now I must press forward in regards to my family's history lest I get distracted from the overall goal of this book."

"Wolf integration in Shcottish society was slow going despite the overwhelming desire for peace amongst the sheep folk. Sheep remained wary of their new neighbors, and despite the desperate need for workers in a great deal of trades among Shcottish soceity wolves were turned away from most positions. The only exceptions were the role of peace keepers among the towns and cities, as well as positions in the Shcottish Army. This is where it is believed the association between wolves and positions of law and order really began. And even as the years went on, and the sheep became more lax when it came to the jobs available to wolves they continued to naturally migrate toward law enforcement and defense work."

"By the time the visionary leader King Richard the Lionhearted took the throne of the New Pridelands, the combined forces of wolf and sheep in the Shcottish army had repelled two incursions by the empire on the Southern Shcottish border. Proving just how effective the aide the Norwulves gave to the Schotts had ultimately been. At the time the nation had grown rather quickly, as had it's populace, and so these victories were nothing to simply shrug off. The New Pridelands had become a growing threat to Shcottish sovereignty, and without the aide of the wolves among them it is arguable that the nation would have remained independent."

"Luckily, Lionheart signified a changing of the guard in terms of the New Pridelands expansionist polices. The charismatic leader spearheaded a radical change of ideals, including phasing out the monarchy in favor of democratic rule, and the concept of co-operative exploration and shared ownership. Lionheart was very eager to find a new land where he could field test these ideas, and his plan would lead to the birth of modern day Zootopia as I mentioned in the section related to Norwulff History."

"While the Blackwool royals remained skeptical on the idea of phasing out monarchies, the concept of mutually beneficial co-operative exploration was somewhat appealing to them. Despite fears that Animalia was largely flat, the building pressure applied by the rebound of Shcottram's population created a great need to expand and find new resource supplies."

"While the population of Shcottram was adapting and growing comfortable with the wolves among them, the royals relationship with them seemed to grow increasingly bitter after Moira and Erik's respective passings. Despite all the benefits to the nation the wolf populace had brought, Moira's descendants almost refused to acknowledge that such changes had been the work of the new wolf migrants. When Declan the second took the throne, he was quick to make sure that no wolves were employed within the castle walls despite his Mother's stern condemnation of it. His son Donnan treated the wolf populace in Shcottram even worse, calling for the mammals to be taxed for simply choosing to live in Shcottram."

"However, to the public, the beneficial changes including wolves had made on their society was readily apparent to even the most uneducated among them, and as such disagreed with the proposed taxation. But the outcry became louder and more angry when Donnan began calling for undoing Moira's truce and expelling the wolves living among them. The wolf and sheep populace grew unruly and violent, and in response the king deployed his own army upon the most troublesome towns under his control to better keep the peace. However, his efforts would prove futile thanks to the work of his cousin Arthur Bellwether. A prominent public speaker, the sheep was found at the center of many of the unruly demonstrations, and the King's continued tyrannical action only garnered him enough public support for the staging of a violent coop against Donnan."

"With Donnan removed from power, and the throne assumed by Bellwether, the Ram-Wolf pact remained untouched. But with Bellwether's descendants, that coldness fostered for wolves and predators in general seemed to return and persist, and while nothing in direct conflict with the rights of Shcottish wolves ever came back into the laws of the land. The royals seemed averse to hearing the mammals concerns and looking after them as well as they did the sheep citizenry. Even under King Ewan, despite his willingness to join Lionheart's exploration of the mysterious western lands, his trust for the leader and predators in general remained bitter and strained."

"This would of course spread to Zootopia with the King's second son, Archibald Bellwether. And it would remain a consistent rhetoric in nearly every Bellwether that would hold political office after him, myself unfortunately included."

"No one is really sure why even after the change of hooves in the royal family, that the strange distrust and coldness in regards to wolves and predators seemed to return to the blackwool-bellwether line. But again, if one were to ask a conspiracy theorist, they would explain that the each ruling member of the bloodline was burdened with the truth in regards to Moira and Erik's affair. That living with the shame and the fear of exposure of that royal secret caused them to distance themselves from associating with wolves in any way. The more they appeared to disdain them, the less suspicion the public might have when it came to the Moira connection. But again, this is nothing that can be proven with any sort of hard evidence. And as far as Bellwethers go, when it comes to my Grandfather, my Father and me, we knew nothing about the alleged affair. At least I know I certainly didn't, and such information was never told to me."

"The events leading up to 'The Wolf War of the Meadowlands', and the subsequent aftermath is what saw the return of the public divide between the common sheep and wolf. The bloodshed and barbarism of the Native Canideans reminding the sheep populace of what their ancestors had always warned them that wolves were truly capable of. And while it was ultimately Leif's efforts to drive the Redclaws out that saved the county, Archibald had latched on to the fear and waryness of the local sheep and exploited it to fill the citizens heads with his own beliefs. The ram would feed into the rising anti-wolf sentiment, and even go so far as to expand it into including all predators in general. This left the caprid citizens more distrustful of their wolf neighbors than ever, and the wolves found themselves silently shunned and marginalized by the Meadowlands populace. Archibald's fear mongering was an attempt to set stage for how predators were to be looked at in this new world, and his take on sheep and wolf relations is largely what has persisted to this day in the caprid consciousness. But despite his efforts to denigrate wolves to the lowest echelons of society, they continue to find themselves in positions of protection and law enforcement. In fact it seems that when it comes to the overall perception of predators, the only thing Archibald's sentiments manage to construct was a hierarchy among the new world's predator classes. One that supported wolves and lions in higher roles in society while at the same time causing those predators to look down their muzzles at preds like foxes, racoons and rats."

"As for Shcottram as a nation, it remained under the archaic rule of a monarchy longer than any civilized society in historical record. The reign of the Blackwool-Bellwethers continued up until the early 1900s despite the other branch of their family in Zootopia allowing the district to be subject to a democratic vote since its inception. Today, the royal family still exists in Shcottram despite the nations now fully democratic government as a powerless entity with no real authority over the Shcottish citizenry. They exist as something of a tradition, a relic of cultural importance to the fabric of Shcottish identity. At most the members of the Blackwool-Bellwethers are akin to that of the famous actors and movie stars of North Mammalia. Making posturing speeches at public events, and hosting glitzy and glamorous ceremonies from their palatial castle estate. The most involvement the public has in regards to the family is paying for them to throw weddings and celebrations despite the fact the family has a near endless supply of wealth. But to the citizens of Shcottram, such celebrations are not just praising the Blackwools, but praising the rich history of Shcottram itself."

"Meanwhile the Bellwether family in Zootopia have been in and out of office since the city-state was founded. And though the faces may have changed, the anti-predator sentiment only seemed to worsen with each new Bellwether. Some believe this is why the Bellwethers would find themselves spending less and less time in office as mammalian society grew around and away from their primitive beliefs."

"Before my Grandfather, Ash Bellwether, there hadn't been a Mayor Bellwether in over sixty years. And almost as much time passed before I was elected to the lesser role as Assistant Mayor to Leodore Lionheart. Even from my perch in such a lowly position my poisoned mind was set on continuing my families legacy, thanks in no small part to the indoctrination and abuse I suffered during my youth. I schemed, and I planned, and I justified it to myself by buying into my families rhetoric full sale. And in the end I did more damage than any Bellwether who came before me. Despite coming to my senses, and even going so far as to prevent a catastrophe that followed the seed of my once heinous intentions, it will never be enough to properly make amends for my terrible actions."

"I don't think the future of politics hold any place for a Bellwether. The name is tainted, marred by the actions of myself and those who have come before me. And now, my choice in mate assures that I will be the last in the line of Zootopian Bellwethers. The name will die with me, and perhaps that is for the best."

Dawn let out a tired sigh as she scanned the final sentence once more.

"The name will die with me, and perhaps that is for the best." Dawn murmured to herself quietly. She was sure if Vernon ever read that particular passage he would pitch a fit. After all, the wolf had been one to argue just how important it was to keep her name even in a hyphenated form on the ride up to the Meadowlands in the first place. The wolf remained stubbornly set on not going through a caprid wedding ceremony unless he got to wear the name Hunter-Bellwether in exchange. The wolf believed she should be proud of her name, that it had come to represent that a mammal was not only capable of change, but even heroic after how she had helped save the city from her Father. Even she had begun to consider the idea after talking to her sisters on the ride out to the fair. The praise and warm wishes causing the ewe to begin to believe what Vernon saw in the name, and why keeping it was so important.

But it only took a few minutes in Dorian's study to remind her why she had grown to detest it so. And writing about her families 'illustrious' history had only managed to sour her further on the idea. Dorian was right, the ewe would never be able to truly make up for her wrong doing. The damage had sent ripples across the world around her, had wounded families and friendships in ways that were beyond her ability to mend. It wasn't as if she could simply go back in time and stop herself, to pull herself back from the brink of madness long enough to prevent the hysteria and chaos caused by her scheming.

No matter what good she could do now, the name Bellwether would remain synonymous with bigoted, speciesict ideologues, and at the very least the one good thing she could do at this point was allow it to die the death it deserved. Vernon may never agree with it, this she was sure of. But she knew the wolf loved her enough to ultimately give up on sharing last names should she remain firm on the idea. It wasn't a position she wanted to put him in, but it was necessary, at least to her.

'Knock, knock' A light rapping a the bedroom door drew Dawn's attention up from her laptop. Up until now she had been alone, taking the time Vernon spent being forced into dish duty to write the more boring but necessary portions of her book. She figured she would have more than enough time to finish the sections before the Hunter girls decided the time had come to turn in for the night, and checking the clock for a moment had proven that she had. In fact the ewe had managed to finish earlier than planned, leaving her puzzled as to who else had turned up for bed early.

"Dawn?" Came Vanna's voice from beyond the door. "Are you in there?"

Dawn let out a sigh of relief at the sound of the familiar tigress' voice. After everything that happened earlier in the evening, having to face Ada or Qali without a buffer would have made the already uncomfortable ewe even more uneasy. At the very least should Vanna bring up Dawn's transgression in the corn field, it would be done with tact and careful wording rather than bluntly bringing it up.

"Y-yeah, I'm here." Dawn replied, closing her laptop softly. "You can come in."

The door opened slowly, Vanna moving it with care as she slipped in to the large bedroom. The tigress was already in her pajamas, wearing a pink tee-shirt that said 'bad kitty' across the chest, and a pair of pants adorned with colorful yarn balls. It was almost enough to cause Dawn to laugh out loud, the colorful and cutesy outfit contrasting sharply with the tigress' looming and intimidating figure. Then again, Dawn knew better by now, at least if their midnight musical duet was anything to go by. Still the ewe couldn't help but crack a smile at the large feline.

"I was hoping to catch you alone." Vanna said, keeping her voice on the quiet side. "I wanted to talk to you before the other girls came up to bed."

Dawn's smile dropped slightly, the concerned tone in Vanna's voice conveying a gravity behind her words that told Dawn whatever she had to say was important.

"O-oh of course Vanna, is everything alright?" Dawn said as she placed her laptop aside, sliding it to the edge of the bed where the tiger now stood.

"Yes, I mean..." Vanna trailed off as she placed a paw behind her head and awkwardly scratched. She looked away from Dawn, seemingly unable to keep steady eye contact as she continued. "I mean if you are that is?" Vanna asked.

Dawn scrunched her muzzle in confusion. "Am I okay?" The ewe replied.

Vanna sighed, grimacing as she tried to focus her gaze back on the ewe.

"I mean, I wanted to see if..." Vanna shook her head. "If you spoke to Papa Hunter at all, like we had discussed?"

Dawn froze, her brow furrowing at Vanna's unexpected question. She hadn't expected the tigress to follow up on their conversation so soon. The ewe had already spent enough time dwelling on what had happened in Dorian's office while she mulled over the disappointing and disgusting history of the Bellwether families crimes despite having elected to bury it when faced with Audrey's overwhelming kindness and the prospect of destroying any enjoyment the ewe might be able to get out of the remaining weekend. Dawn had sort of assumed that Vanna simply wouldn't have followed up on it, instead waiting for Dawn to tell her about what happened whenever she had chosen to finally do it.

But now the ewe was faced with a dilemma. How could she lie to her new found sister about her meeting with the older wolf. Unlike Audrey, Vanna was trained in the same way Dori was, at least Dawn reasoned as much. If the ewe showed even the slightest hesitation or wavering in tone while crafting the lie she intended to tell, she was certain the keen eyed feline would pick up on it. On the one hoof, lying to Vanna could easily hurt their budding relationship, especially if she picked up on it. But telling her what had truly happened, what Papa Hunter had said about her, Zach and Dawn herself might cause all sorts of problems.

Even now Dawn wondered if Vanna knew the truth about why her transfer request to the North Meadowlands had been approved. Had Zach even told her that he had been shot just weeks before she joined the force? And if Vanna knew what Dorian had said about Dawn, would the tiger feel obligated to argue with the wolf? To fight on Dawn's behalf and damage yet another relationship in the Hunter family.

All these questions continued to swirl around the ewe's mind, making her more and more uneasy as she desperately tried to think of how to respond. She could feel beads of sweat starting to form on her brow as she began to wring her hooves nervously.

"Dawn?" Vanna's voice brought Dawn's attention back to the tigress. Already she had screwed up, taking long enough to think of a reply for Vanna to feel the need to follow up. The ewe had to act quickly now.

"After how Audrey had caught us..." Dawn said with a sharp exhale as she looked in the tigress' eyes. "After how our...picnic..." Dawn said trailing off, her voice wavering slightly as she tried to find the right words. "Ended, well...I didn't think it was a good idea anymore."

Vanna squinted slightly, placing a paw to her chin as she seemingly began to analyze Dawn. The ewe recognized the stare, having been on the receiving end of a similar one just hours earlier. The tigress was scanning the ewe for nervous twitches and subconscious tells, anything to prove to her whether Dawn was lying or not.

"Oh?" Vanna asked, suspicion rising in her voice.

"W-well I thought maybe I should just leave it be after talking to Audrey." Dawn lied through her teeth, cursing herself for once again stuttering at the start. Dawn offered a meek smile. " She told me to wait him out, t-that he would come around eventually."

Vanna raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms as she squinted down at the ewe. From what Dawn could tell, the tigress' only seemed to slightly doubt her. Her body language exuding uncertainty when it came to gauging Dawn's responses.

"Hmm..." Vanna said before easing into a seat next to the ewe. The weight of the feline pressing against the mattress caused such a deep impression that Dawn found herself pulled closer to the big cat despite her best efforts. The tigress placed her paws on her lap as she let out a tired sigh.

"You know, if anything happened, I'd want you to be able to tell me right?" Vanna said, her tone laced with concern.

Dawn felt the guilt start to bubble up within her stomach as Vanna spoke. The genuine concern in her voice tugging at Dawn's heartstrings almost immediately.

"I mean, I know we haven't known each other long." Vanna continued. " I mean we're already calling each other sisters but..." Vanna paused, scratching the back of her head again. "I know we're still sort of getting used to each other."

Dawn gave a soft nod, swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat as quietly as she could.

"I don't know what exactly has gotten into Pa. But I don't want you to think I'm just going to stand by if he does anything out of line." Vanna sighed, placing a paw on the ewe's shoulder as she looked her way. Vanna's eyes shone with concern as she attempted to meet Dawn's gaze. "If he hurts you in any way, I would want you to feel comfortable enough to tell me."

The guilt was now weighing heavily on Dawn's heart as she listened to the feline's plea. Vanna truly did see her as a sister, and was set to do what she felt was the sisterly thing to do should Dorian act out of turn. She wanted nothing more than to help. But Dawn knew she had to keep up the lie. She had already done enough damage to the Hunter family, and she couldn't bear to do anymore.

"I would." Dawn murmured. "I-I swear."

The two were silent for a while, the awkward atmosphere filling the ewe with deeper dread and discomfort as she prayed for the tigress to simply accept her lie.

"You would?" Vanna asked, breaking the silence.

Dawn's response was immediate, as if she had seen the question coming a mile away.

"Of course!" Dawn said with a weak chuckle, flashing the tigress as genuine of a grin as she could muster despite herself. Even with her best efforts, the ewe couldn't manage to meet the large feline's gaze for longer than a few seconds at a time.

The tigress lowered her eyebrows, clearly unimpressed by the ewe's attempts at earnestly. Dawn could tell in Vanna's dull glare that there was no more doubt in her eyes that she was hiding something.

"Dawn." Vanna said firmly, her eyes tightening into slits as she grimaced.

A loud barking laugh suddenly broke through the tension, pulling Dawn's focus away from Vanna's interrogation to the entrance to the bedroom. The door had flung open revealing Ada standing proudly in the wooden frame. She was wearing a baggy pair of shorts, and a sleeveless tee that were a matching shade of blood red. Emblazoned across the front of the shirt was the white image of some sort of canid skull that Dawn could only assume was that of a hyena, with two bones crossing over one another behind it. She also seemed to be wearing some sort of fluffy white and purple cape draped around her neck.

"The party has arrived ladies!" Ada let out another cackle.

"Woo!" A voice chirped from seemingly nowhere. As Dawn searched for the source, her eyes fell back on Ada's odd, plushy cape. It took the ewe a moment, but as it suddenly dropped to the floor Dawn realized it hadn't been a cape at all, but rather it had been Qali. The arctic fox had been hanging from Ada's neck, and was now bouncing in her step as she made her way into the room in little more than a oversize purple tee-shirt and a pair of matching panties.

"Ada! Qali!" Dawn chirped, relieved that their sudden arrival was enough to quash any further probing from Vanna.

"'Evenin' squirt! How was your night?" Ada cooed teasingly, raising and lowering her eyebrows in a playful manner. "Cause from what I heard youse had a lotta fun."

Dawn immediately blushed, slapping her hooves over her muzzle in her best effort to cover it up.

"I...I..." Dawn stammered.

"Ah, dat's a yes!" Ada said with a grin as she made her way over to the nearest empty bed. With no hesitation the large mammal threw herself onto the bed, bouncing on the mattress as she came to rest in a lounging position. Leaning a paw on her chin, the hyeness regarded the ewe with a mischievous smile.

"Well c'mon lamb cakes, spill it. I want to hear all da juicy details!" Ada let out another barking laugh.

"W-well..." Dawn muttered, tapping her hooves together nervously.

"Howdy ladies." Once again Dawn's attention was drawn back to the bedroom entrance to find Malcolm standing in the doorframe. The pudgy wolf was dressed in baby blue pair of insulated underwear, monogrammed with his initials. The one piece garment seemed slightly undersized, as a good portion of the wolf's wrists and ankles were exposed, and the fabric seemed to strain around his pudgy belly. It was clear the wolf's PJ's had once been fitted to a slimmer wolf, but Malcolm had elected not to update his garment with the change in weight. The wolf had a tan, worn looking pillow clutched tightly against his side.

"Good evening Malcolm." Vanna replied as the wolf made his way into the room.

Dawn raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"W-wait, I thought Audrey separated the boys from the girls?" Dawn asked, looking to Vanna.

"That's only sorta true." Malcolm cut in as he sat down on another empty bed. "It's more about keepin' the couples separated." The wolf placed his pillow on the mattress, and proceeded to fluff it. "And me and Xavi bein' couples, well she had to figure out somethin'."

Ada chuckled. "Yeah, he couldn't stay wit da boys, dat would be like a buffet o' hunky wolves for 'em."

"So we made him an honorary Hunter girl!" Qali chirped, now bouncing on her mattress.

Dawn smirked, doing her best to suppress a chuckle.

"H-he's a Hunter girl?" Dawn bit her lip as the urge to giggle pressed against her teeth.

"Darn tootin'" Malcolm replied, leaning forward on the bed. The wolf idly kicked his feet in the air as he face the other girls. "Even got me a nickname and everythin'."

Dawn looked up at Vanna in a mixture of surprise and amusement.

"Really?" Dawn asked.

The tigress gave a short and simple nod. "Yes, we call him-"

"Butterbuns!" Qali snorted, idly playing with her tail as she stared up at the ceiling.

That was all Dawn could take before a giggling snort slipped free of her muzzle, Dawn did her best to close her muzzle with her hooves, but the giggling continued regardless.

"Butterbuns?" Dawn snickered. "H-How'd he get th-that name?" Dawn choked through her giggling.

The russet wolf's ear sagged slightly as a blush played across his muzzle.

"W-well it's sorta...I mean..." Malcolm stuttered awkwardly, poking his index fingers together as he looked away from the group.

"Let's just say I overheard him and Xave talkin' about a wild night involvin' sum budda." Ada said with a mischievously grin as she eyed the increasingly embarrassed red wolf. "And da name sorta....stuck." Ada let out another barking cackle.

Dawn felt a blush creeping on her own muzzle as she processed exactly what the Hyena was hinting at.

"But dat's old Buddabuns story to tell, for now lets get back to da topic at paw!" Ada shifted closer to the foot of her bed as her attention zeroed back on Dawn. "So enough stallin', I wanna hear about how you made ol' Puppy howl!"

Dawn's blush intensified as she shrunk into her shoulders. The ewe found herself skirting away from the attention, shimmying up to the head of her bed inadvertently.

"W-well I don't thi-"

"Leave her alone Ada." Vanna interjected, rising to Dawn's defense. "If she's not comfortable talking about it then you shouldn't pressure her."

Ada scoffed. "Ah c'mon, I ain't gonna rip on ya too hard for it." The hyena chuckled "Besides you ain't the only one here whose broken' dat rule." Ada grinned widely.

Dawn raised an eyebrow curiously. She had heard Vernon mention something like that earlier, and Audrey had more or less implied to the truthfulness of the wolf's statement, but in her emotional state she had barely even registered the statement. Now however...

"Wait..." Dawn said, moving away from the head of the bed as the hyeness peaked her interest. "Do you mean to say that you...?" Dawn trailed off, tapping her hooves together nervously as she found herself unable to finish the sentence.

Ada snickered. "Pft, of course not, I'm like da only on here who hasn't!" Ada leaned her head against her paw again. "Not for Yuri's lack a tryin'." Ada placed her paws under her chin before playfully batting her eyelashes. "I'm a classy goil."

Dawn turned her attention to Qali and Malcolm, both of whom seemed to be sharing an uncomfortable blush. With Dawn's eyes now fixed on them, the two produced weak smiles.

"Yeah, I'm afraid it's true." Malcolm said, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

"Same, me and Trenny totally did it here." Qali added, with considerably less hesitation.

Dawn placed a hoof over her mouth in an attempt to stifle another rising giggle. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. That not only had she not been the first to break the House rule, but was now placing third overall. The previously shameful and embarrassing situation was starting to seem significantly more of a trifle now that she found herself among equally guilty members of the Hunter family.

"So you and Vanna are the only ones who-"

"Pft..." Ada shook her head. "Just me Fluff, I'm da only one who actually respects Ma Hunter's house."

Dawn blinked in surprise as Ada's words registered.

"Then...that would mean..." Dawn trailed off as she turned her attention back to the large, stoic cat sitting on the end of her bed. The looming tigress now seemed remarkable small as she cowed under the sudden attention. There was no way that Dawn could even begin to conceive of what Ada was implying, but the tigress' body language was all too telling.

"Vanna?" Dawn uttered as she raised her hooves to her mouth in shock.

The tigress only glanced at the ewe for a moment before turning away, but the blush that was radiating off her muzzle was blinding.

#Zootopia #Assistant Mayor Bellwether #dawn bellwether #fanfiction #furry #ask blog #wasted time #fan character

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