The interactions between Jack Smith and Judge Canon raise curiosity amid limited means and educations for the general public to know what's goin' on. To irrelevant foreigners, it sometimes seems American "Justice" is an establishmentarian political affiliation on the bench protecting itself, changing the law on the fly, depending on which group you happen to look like you come from. For even a flawed DEMOCRACY and leaving something credible for kids, it is good to TRY to know what's goin' on. Right?
So to select a random (probably unrepresentative) case which Judge Cannon officially cites, let's try a bit. ---
In the "Order" of August 22, 2022 (2022 is not a misprint - Gad, 2 years); Under "Discussion - Jurisdiction" the focus here is on Case 9:22-cv-81294-AMC Document 64 Entered on FLSD Docket 09/05/2022 Page 7 of 24. AND.....-----
Written under titles "Violation of Illegally Seized Evidence is Motion to Suppress and Hearing"...Remedy for Fourth Amendment violation of illegally seized evidence is motion to suppress and hearing..FED. R. CRIM. P. Rule 41(f). Also the 4th paragraph starting with "“This new wording of Rule 41(e) requires the Court to consider..." And after that - 4th paragraph ending with "~Movant need only show that the United States’ legitimate interests can be satisfied even if the property is returned. Under such circumstances, the Government’s continued retention of the property becomes unreasonable. In re Search of Kitty’s, 905 F.2d at 1375.”~
~NEXT- Compare the above to a reading of~ Home » Our Passion » Legal Resources » Suppression of Evidence (Search & Seizure) » "REMEDY FOR FOURTH AMENDMENT VIOLATION OF ILLEGALLY SEIZED EVIDENCE IS MOTION TO SUPPRESS AND HEARING." Then to sub-title "REMEDY FOR FOURTH AMENDMENT VIOLATION OF ILLEGALLY SEIZED EVIDENCE IS MOTION TO SUPPRESS AND HEARING" and finally to "~PRE-INDICTMENT RETURN/SUPPRESSION OF SEIZED PROPERTY."~
As a minor advocate in these spaces, let us say that the law should not, even falsely, appear as an ass. The appointment to the bench must be objective as much as possible, indeed not subterfuge under a fascade to cover real affiliation. The bench should be apolitical... but is it so, at least in this case?
It appears Judge Cannon has the Justice Maiden pulling the political cart. Further, it appears that Laws of Equity are put beside her in national security. "What is the point to being a country?" If a citizen is not secured nationally with existential protective secrets, what does it's Parliament (Congress) pretend to play and pray to represent?
To challenge the phrase "the United States' Legitimate interests" in a criminal trial would be uncontested by the mob of Calabria or Sicily. Why in the USA?
Finally, the TRUMP v USA case would be ideal for this site to use its definitions on ethics and heirarchy to point out the breach of ethics apparent here. One institutional org has crossed over the borders of another.

JEFFERSON CITY — The 2024 legislative session that ended Friday seemed more a referendum on Republican Party loyalty than a collective venture toward policy.
Constant infighting among Republicans over priorities and which ones were truly conservative led to days-long filibusters, name calling and the death of many conservative bills, including a top party priority: making it more difficult to amend the Missouri Constitution.
The divisions were so ingrained that the Senate Democrats, holding 10 seats in a 34-person body, delivered the deciding votes on some of the session's most important bills.
The hard-right Freedom Caucus has said their issue with mainstream Republican leaders in the legislature is a lack of dedication to “big red” policies like reducing personal property tax and preventing foreign countries from owning Missouri land.
Looking back at previous sessions, that argument doesn’t quite stack up. In the last several years Republicans have passed one of the nation's most strict abortion bans, limitations on transgender health care and enacted several income tax cuts.
The Freedom Caucus went to great lengths to disrupt Senate procedure and strong-arm leadership in an effort to pass their highest priority, changes to the initiative petition process. The impact was that they were tossed off Senate committees by the Republican leadership and later in the session failed to convince their Republican colleagues to embrace their priorities.
Less than two weeks before the constitutional deadline for the budget and with an important federal health care reimbursement that creates over $4 billion in revenue, Freedom Caucus members filibustered for 41 hours with the demand that leadership first bring up a resolution changing the approval threshold for state constitutional amendments.
Going into the last week of session, initiative petition reform still had not passed.
This week, the Freedom Caucus supported a motion among Republicans to end the Democratic filibuster on the issue through an extraordinary motion — the previous question — that hasn’t been used in the Senate since 2020. But only 16 Republicans would support that plan, which needed 18 votes, so it was never brought before the floor.
With that failure on Wednesday, the resolution was sent back to the House, which refused to budge on Thursday and sent it back to the Senate. On Friday the Senate adjourned without any further action and the effort died.
The failure to pass the resolution making initiative petition changes showed the inability of even a supermajority to act when splintered on such chaotic, disruptive lines.
Senate President Pro Tem. Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, said that this session showed that more can get done through compromise than confrontation.
"I'm walking out of here as a guy that has basically accomplished everything I wanted to accomplish and I did it in a way that was respectful and collegial," Rowden said in a press conference after adjournment.
Senate Minority Leader John Rizzo, R-Independence, backed up that point saying, "I don't think Democrats won or Republicans lost (the session), I think decorum won."
Fiscal Year 2025 budget
A set of constitutionally mandated bills that fund the state's operations passed just three hours before the May 10 deadline. The final budget is $51.7 billion, $1 billion less than what the governor proposed, and about $2 billion less than last year's budget.
Three things stuck out in this year's budget: Infrastructure continued to be a major focus, spending was reduced to come in line with revenue projects and numerous members on both sides of the aisle were frustrated by the lack of transparency in the process.
Over the last two years, about $3.5 billion has been put into widening I-70 to six lanes statewide and I-44 in the southwestern part of the state. Both projects are about equally funded through debt and general revenue. The budget that was approved is expected to reduce the state surplus to about $1.5 billion.
Up-to-date numbers from the Office of Administration show a more rosy revenue picture than anticipated. So far Fiscal Year 2024 revenue receipts are up 2.7% year over year. That's far higher than the projected .2% growth in revenue used to craft the budget. If that revenue continues at the same pace and with a current general fund balance of over $4 billion there is a chance the state's surplus will hardly be tapped over the next year.
The declining budget also represents a return to normal state budgeting. Since the pandemic, states have received an unprecedented influx of federal COVID relief and infrastructure cash. That has led to record high appropriations that oftentimes don't get spent. In the FY 2023 budget, $10 billion of the $48 billion appropriated was never used. In 2018, only $2 billion of the $28 billion budget was left unspent.
No public comment was taken during the budget process and meetings between the House and Senate where the final budget package was finalized only existed behind closed doors. Senators only had a few minutes to review the bills before voting on them and House members had little time to debate as they passed the budget just hours before the constitutional deadline.
This backdoor process drew criticism from Democrats, Freedom Caucus members and the governor as many felt out of the loop.
Elections and initiative changes Fighting over changes that would make it harder to amend the Missouri Constitution again put the brakes on normal operating procedures on the Senate floor this session.
The Freedom Caucus has more than once sent the Senate into disarray over a piece of legislation that again failed to cross the finish line after years of attempts.
The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, R-Arnold, would have asked voters whether the current threshold to amend the state constitution — a simple majority, or 50% plus one — should be raised to also require a majority vote in at least five of the state’s eight congressional districts.
This year’s proposal included two provisions that led the chamber to several lengthy filibusters totaling more than 100 hours. In addition to the threshold requirement, the provisions would ask voters to bar noncitizens from voting on constitutional amendments and to ban constitutional amendments sponsored by foreign governments.
These provisions are already state law and Democrats made a point of filibustering against those provisions.
Republicans this session also pushed a resolution that would ban ranked-choice voting in Missouri. SJR 78 was passed by the House on Friday. The question will now go to voters to decide.
Ranked-choice voting is a practice where voters rank their preferred candidates on a single ballot until a winner is declared after receiving a majority of the vote. The idea is to give voters more options once their top-ranked choice is eliminated by distributing their vote to their next preferred candidates. Opponents said the practice does the exact opposite by splitting the vote.
While it is not in state law, St. Louis practices a version of ranked-choice voting that will be protected if the ban passes.
Education bill An omnibus education bill, SB 727, raising the minimum teacher salary, allowing charter schools in Boone County and providing private school scholarships to low-income students, has already been signed into law by Gov. Mike Parson. The provisions of the bill, approved by the minimum vote required in the House, are estimated to cost the state $468 million.
The new state minimum salary for teachers is set at $40,000 a year beginning with the next school year and includes additional incentives for teachers with longer careers and those with master’s degrees.
The voucher-like scholarship program for private school students offers up to $6,375 per child for expenses such as tuition, textbooks and transportation. The program is funded by private donors who can claim tax credits.
The size of the bill ballooned from 12 pages to more than 150 because of amendments in the Senate. House leaders blocked amendments so that the bill would not have to be returned for another vote in the Senate out of concern it would die because of filibusters on other topics.
The law requires a public vote to approve any switch to four-day school weeks while providing incentives to schools that stick with five-day weeks.
New crime provisions A major public safety bill that passed during the final House session on Friday made changes to how children are viewed in the court system, increased punishment for various crimes and limited the authority of citizen police review boards, among other items.
The bill tracks legislation passed last year, except for two technical provisions that prompted a veto by Parson. The law increases the age under which children could be considered adults in felony offenses from 12 to 14.
On July 4, 2011, Blair Shanahan Lane was killed by reckless celebratory gunfire. A portion of the bill dubbed "Blair's Law" creates penalties for such activity. After the bill passed on a bipartisan basis Friday, House members rose for a round of applause directed at Blair Lane's mother, who was in attendance.
The bill also creates "Valentine's Law" raising punishments for fleeing a law enforcement stop. It is named for St. Louis County Detective Antonio Valentine, who died in a crash pursuing a person fleeing police.
And there is a provision known as "Max's Law" that increases punishment for injuring or killing law enforcement K-9 dogs.
Sludge regulations House Bill 2134, which would create new regulations for wastewater sludge under the Missouri Clean Water Act, gained bipartisan approval and was signed by Parson.
The bill gained traction as concerns about waste lagoons and land application practices by Arkansas-based Denali Water Solutions have been brought to light. The new law prevents companies like Denali from applying waste as fertilizer without a regulatory process and testing.
Denali was previously forced to cease operations in Missouri after 6,000 gallons of slaughterhouse waste spilled into a field, causing residents to complain about the smell and runoff concerns.
Regulatory Sandbox Act The House Friday gave final approval to SB 894 creating an avenue for new companies offering innovative products to be excused from meeting some state regulations for the first 24 months that they begin offering innovative products to consumers.
Companies would be required to apply and meet certain criteria to participate in the program.
The bill also creates an Office of Entrepreneurship within the Department of Economic Development that will promote policies and initiatives to support the growth of entrepreneurship of Missouri-based businesses with less than ten employees.
Eviction moratorium A bill passed on Friday barred any municipality from enacting an eviction moratorium. The bill, SB 865, comes in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic when cities across the country prevented landlords from evicting tenets. Realtors and apartment associations spoke in favor of the bill as they feel moratoriums violate the rights of property owners.
National Guard deployment Parson signed a bill on May 8 approving additional funding for a Missouri National Guard deployment to the southern border. The governor traveled to Eagle Pass, Texas, to sign House Bill 2016 into law and visit with members who have been deployed since March.
“The battle that we’re fighting down here at the border is keeping it from happening in our own borders, in our own state in Missouri,” Parson said before signing the bill.
Members of the National Guard are assisting with Operation Lone Star after being invited by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Operation Lone Star is a state-level border security effort at the Texas-Mexico border that began in 2021.
The $2.2 million in funding supports the operations of approximately 200 National Guard members and 22 Missouri State Highway Patrol officers for 90 days. Since the start of their mission, only around 50 guardsmen and 22 members of the highway patrol have served in Texas.
Sports wagering moves ahead After years of failed attempts to get legalization through the Missouri General Assembly, sports gambling appears to have found a more promising path.
Early in May, the Winning for Missouri Education committee along with a coaltion of Missouri professional sports teams submitted over 340,000 signatures for a ballot initiative to the Secretary of State's office desk.
If the Secretary of State verifies that enough signatures are genuine, the question would be put to voters in November. Thirty-eight other states have legalized some form of sports wagering.
The petition proposes a 10% tax on wagers to be collected by the Department of Revenue, deposited into the state treasury and credit to the "Gaming Proceeds for Education Fund," raising a projected $35 million.
Approximately $5 million in funds from the sports wagering tax would go into a fund to help compulsive gamblers and the rest would go to public school and higher education programs.
Child tax credits Bipartisan support and a State of the State address plug by Parson helped two bills, SB 742 and HB 1488, which would add provisions allowing for tax credits related to child care services to reach the Senate floor for consideration.
However, opposition from Freedom Caucus members of the Senate stalled action both in an effort to advance bills they felt deserved more priority and out of a general dislike of tax credits. The Senate version is sponsored by Sen. Lauren Arthur, D-Kansas City, while the House bill is sponsored by Rep. Brenda Shields, R-St. Joseph.
Protecting IVF House and Senate bills to protect in vitro fertilization clinics got a flurry of attention but did not advance following an Alabama state court ruling that relied on a state abortion ban to restrict in vitro fertilization clinics.
The Missouri Court of Appeals in St. Louis ruled in 2016 that IVF-created embryos were a matter of “marital property of special order.” This has provided legal protection for doctors and patients in the IVF field.
However, that court ruling cited abortion protection offered by Roe Vs. Wade, which was overturned in 2022. With Missouri having a similar abortion ban to the one in Alabama, leading advocates and lawmakers alike are concerned about what could lie ahead.
Sen. Tracy McCreery, D-Olivette, filed SB 1486 which would specify that Missouri's abortion ban does not have a definition that includes in vitro fertilization embryos that have not been implanted in a body. Rep. Bill Allen, R-Kansas City, filed House Bill 2845 which states that the IVF process is protected under law and no one can be prosecuted for undergoing or administrating IVF.
Here is what happened to other legislative topics that garnered attention during the session but did not pass:
Protections for pesticide maker: HB 2763, sponsored by Rep. Dane Diehl, R-Butler, would have protected pesticide manufacturers from claims that they failed to warn consumers of possible cancer risks in their products as long as the federal Environmental Protection Agency has approved those products.
Much of the debate before the House approved the bill focused on Bayer, the company with U.S. headquarters in St. Louis that purchased Monsanto, the original manufacturer of RoundUp pesticide. According to The Associated Press, the company is seeking to stem a tide of lawsuits claiming that Bayer’s products cause cancer.
Diehl, a farmer, said he drafted the legislation out of fear that Bayer would be forced to pull RoundUp off of the market, harming farmers ability to grow crops. The bill never made it to the Senate floor for consideration.
Presidential primaries: New voting laws passed in 2022 eliminated the presidential primary in Missouri. Following low voter turnout in this year’s Republican presidential caucus, SB 1120 and HB 2618, which would reinstate presidential primaries, passed out of their respective committees. The House bill passed with amendments that would create new residency restrictions for candidates vying for U.S. Congress. Ultimately, neither bill got floor consideration.
The Taylor Swift Act: Bills in both the House and Senate sought to address the impact of problematic images created by artificial intelligence but did not make it into law. While ten states provide some form of retribution for this type of crime, only Minnesota and New York statutes allow for both civil and criminal relief.
The Taylor Swift Act, House Bill 2573, offered by Rep. Adam Schwadron, R-St. Charles, targeted fake pornographic images. The bill was approved by the Special Committee on Innovation and Technology but never received a floor vote. The name of the bill referred to explicit AI-created images of the singer that went viral in January.
A similar bill, Senate Bill 1424, sponsored by Sen. Travis Fitzwater, R-Holts Summit, did not get a hearing.
Media Literacy: Companion bills, House Bill 1513 and Senate Bill 1311, aimed to teach students about media and digital literacy. Neither bill advanced.
Danny's Law: Legislation that sought to protect 911 callers from prosecution when calling to report a hazing incident stalled in the House. The bill was named after former University of Missouri student Danny Santulli, who suffered irreparable brain damage after drinking too much when pledging a fraternity at MU in the fall of 2021.
Danny’s Law was meant to offer exoneration to those involved in hazing incidents if they’re the first to call for emergency help.
“As the mother of three college-age men, I understand this is a major issue,” said Rep. Jo Doll, D-St. Louis, who spoke during a March 7 committee hearing. “It’s really important to give kids the ability to call 911 without being afraid of the consequences to them.”
Protecting major water users: House Bill 2669, which sought to limit information being released to the public about major water users, was approved by a House committee but failed to get a floor vote. The bill was meant to protect the information of Missouri’s family farmers and would keep information about individually identifiable water users from being disclosed to the public.
Highway Commission changes: A bill, House Bill 2568, that would have changed the makeup of the Missouri Highways & Transportation Commission was voted down in a committee in Apri. Two other bills that would have either changed the makeup of the commission or done away with it altogether failed to move forward after being the subject of public hearings in early February.
Nursing restrictions: Missouri is one of only a few states not to allow nurse practitioners to practice independently without the authority of a physician. A House committee passed an amended version of one bill, HB 1773, sponsored by Rep. Chad Perkins, R-Bowling Green, that would allow nurses to practice independently after 6,000 hours of work under a physician's supervision. The bill was never placed on the House calendar, a roadblock which some nurses point to opposition from House Floor Leader Rep. Jonathan Patterson, R-Lee’s Summit.
Dmitry Martirosov, Molly Miller, Aidan Pittman, Grant Green and Madeline Shannon contributed to this story.
Cover image: State Representative Chantelle Nickson-Clark(cq) throws her papers at the end of the legislative session on Friday, May 17, 2024 at the Statehouse in Jefferson City. Nickson-Clark was the first Black woman elected to represent District 67 in St. Louis County in Nov. 2022.

First I Previous
Chapter 4
The days and weeks that followed were a whirlwind of activity. There was so much to learn; history, both Earth’s future, and the war against the Satura, science and modern technology, much of which Mike struggled to grasp, as well as more mundane tasks like requesting information from the “computer”, and creating items with something called a “replicator”. He went to bed exhausted, his mind bursting with new knowledge, while his nights were restless, filled with nightmares of the past and future. Both Vargas and Amélie were patient with him, but there was an undercurrent of urgency impossible to ignore. He recognized its source all too well.
They were worried an attack was coming and were desperately trying to prepare him for when it did, but it was also obvious they feared it would happen before he was ready. He buckled down, pushing himself even harder, but they all knew the clock was ticking.
Three weeks after his arrival, a blaring alarm roused him from his fitful slumber, sending him staggering towards its source. The others were already there, huddled over the computer’s display, with worried expressions evident on their faces.
“What’s going on?” he asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
“Temporal incursion,” Vargas informed him, “attempting to trace its source now.”
He glanced over at Amélie. “The enemy?”
“Oui,” she nodded, her eyes never leaving the screen.
The long hours of instruction allowed him to follow the highlights, if not the details. Through the commander’s efforts, he finally pinpointed the location of the enemy’s attack. “May 14th, 1840,” he said at last, “in London, England.”
“What’s happening in London?” Delany asked in confusion.
“I don’t know yet,” he said, irritated. “I’m still trying to trace its effects. There’s a lot of interference going on here.” A sharp intake of breath betrayed Amélie’s distress at the news.
“I take it that’s not a good sign,” Mike said quietly.
“No, it is not,” she agreed. “Interference is caused by changes to the timeline. The more interference, the greater the change. Our only hope, then, is to trace the distortion to its source. If we can isolate where the timeline first diverges, we may be able to prevent it.”
“And if we can’t?”
Amélie shuddered. “I do not know,” she whispered.
The pair watched in earnest while Vargas worked to clear up the data. As the information finally came into focus, he winced and looked away. “Fuck,” he swore under his breath.
“What?” Mike demanded.
“Queen Victoria,” he grimaced. “Both she and Prince Albert were assassinated before they produced an heir. No wonder the temporal plot is such a fucking disaster.” He looked closer, reading the details as they emerged from the computer. “With their deaths, next in line for the throne was Ernest Augustus, King of Hannover.” He shook his head, turning to face them both. “This is very disturbing news.”
“Why?” Delany asked him. “I mean, I know she was important and all, but England’s had lots of kings. Why does this make such a big difference?”
“Half of Europe’s royal families are descended from Victoria and Albert, or married into their family!” he exclaimed. “The Romanovs in Russia, the Kaiser in Germany, the kings and queens of Spain, Denmark, Norway, Greece, and Sweden? The entire map of Europe would be irrevocably altered, and that’s not even the worst of it.”
“Mon Dieu,” Amélie said in horror. “A German king, sitting upon the English throne.”
Vargas nodded in agreement. “Imagine how the First and Second World Wars would have played out, with Great Britain aligned with Germany, instead of the Allies. Imagine if Churchill couldn't rally the British people, and the American forces couldn't be based in England prior to the invasion. How would history have unfolded then, Sergeant?”
His mind whirled at the grim reality they just laid out for him. “The fascists would control all of Europe,” he said in shock.
“Not just Europe,” Vargas disagreed. “Let’s not forget the Japanese. Without the British and Dutch interfering with their plans, they would have free rein in Asia.”
“Wait a second,” Mike argued, holding up his hands, “you’re forgetting about America.”
“No, I'm not,” he said quietly. “Before Pearl Harbor, America was staunchly isolationist. Hell, I doubt I need to tell you that,” he snorted. “After all, you saw it with your own two eyes.”
“Yeah,” Mike said quietly. “I mean, there were a few folks that wanted to get involved, like the ones who went north to Canada to join up.”
“Yes… let’s not forget about Canada,” the commander said darkly. “A nation that shares our longest border, allied with a fascist England. America would be surrounded, isolated… and alone. How long do you think we could survive against the entire world?”
He couldn’t imagine a worse future. “We have to stop this,” he said fervently. “Tell me there’s a way we can prevent all that from happening.”
“There is,” he said with determination. “You and Amélie have to go back to 1840, and prevent the assassination.”
“Me?” Mike shook his head. “You should go, not me. You have a lot more experience than I do. I still don’t understand any of this shit!”
“I can’t go,” the commander argued. “That’s right at the edge of my Temporal Limit. But you’ll have Amélie to guide you… after all, this is her era we’re talking about. She knows it better than anyone. The replicator will provide you with period clothing, weapons, whatever you need.” He put a hand on Mike’s shoulder. “You can do this. I have faith in you.”
It wasn’t as if he hadn’t been on more dangerous missions before. “All right,” he said at last, “but how do we pinpoint the assassin? If we’re forced to wait until he commits, that could be too late.”
“If it were one of the Satura in disguise, we could easily track them,” Vargas explained, “but they prefer to use cutouts and cat’s paws. Our assassin is most likely someone they bribed or radicalized against the monarchy, which makes our job that much harder. However, I think I have something that will help you.” He smiled and pointed them toward the replicator. “Come on… time to get you both geared up.”
“... there,” Vargas said at last, “I think that should just about do it.” He gave Delany a final once-over. “It looks good on you,” he said in approval.
Mike turned and stared dubiously at his reflection in the mirror. He looked like an escapee from a Dickens novel. It wasn’t too bad. The trousers and jacket may have had an odd cut to them, from his perspective, but they were manageable. The shirt collar, on the other hand…
"Non,” Amélie chastised, swatting him with her handheld fan, “leave it alone. Tugging at the collar like that will brand you an imposter.” She wore a long printed dress, with ruffles and petticoats, like one of the sisters from “Little Women”.
“It itches,” he complained, pulling at it once more.
The Frenchwoman glared at him. “Perhaps you would prefer wearing my corset?” she snapped.
Delany swallowed. “Forget I said anything.”
“Here,” the commander continued, as he handed over the rest of their gear. “A Colt Paterson revolver, cut down to make it easier to conceal.” Mike took the weapon and tucked it inside his coat. “Don’t get caught with that,” he cautioned, “with the shortened barrel and pared-down grips, you’ll look like an assassin yourself.”
“Understood,” Mike nodded.
Vargas passed‌ over a pair of tiny derringers to Amélie. “I’ll let you decide where you want to conceal them,” he said with a shrug. She gave him an old-fashioned look as she tucked them away. “A dagger for each of you,” he continued, giving them a pair of blades, before opening up a small case. “These, hopefully, will help you spot your target,” he explained, as he gave Mike a pair of spectacles, before gifting his companion with a jeweled lorgnette. “There’s a tiny stud on the frame, next to the right lens,” he explained. “Press that, and you’ll have infrared vision. Press it again, and they’ll function as night goggles. Someone planning to kill the queen will probably have an elevated body temperature from sweating. It might just give you the advantage you need.”
He fiddled with the glasses, testing the various modes, before nodding in approval. “Could have used these at Normandy,” he said, mostly to himself.
Finally, he gave Delany a top hat and cane, while Amélie received a fur muff made with mink, or at least a reasonable facsimile. “Remember, you’re high society types, so act the part. That should get you close to the queen, without arousing suspicion.” he gave them a final once-over. “All right. Your pocket watch will tell you when you must return, and will act as a beacon when it’s time to retrieve you. Any questions?”
They both shook their heads. “Then step onto the platform, and Godspeed.” The pair stepped onto the raised dais as she took his hand in hers. “Good luck, both of you,” Vargas told them, as he activated the controls.
Once again Mike felt himself being yanked away, as the gray featureless compartment vanished from sight.
First I Previous

The interactions between Jack Smith and Judge Canon raise curiosity amid limited means and educations for the general public to know what's goin' on. To irrelevant foreigners, it sometimes seems American "Justice" is an establishmentarian political affiliation on the bench protecting itself, changing the law on the fly, depending on which group you happen to look like you come from. For even a flawed DEMOCRACY and leaving something credible for kids, it is good to TRY to know what's goin' on. Right?
So to select a random (probably unrepresentative) case which Judge Cannon officially cites, let's try a bit. ---
In the "Order" of August 22, 2022 (2022 is not a misprint - Gad, 2 years); Under "Discussion - Jurisdiction" the focus here is on Case 9:22-cv-81294-AMC Document 64 Entered on FLSD Docket 09/05/2022 Page 7 of 24. AND.....-----
Written under titles "Violation of Illegally Seized Evidence is Motion to Suppress and Hearing"...Remedy for Fourth Amendment violation of illegally seized evidence is motion to suppress and hearing..FED. R. CRIM. P. Rule 41(f). Also the 4th paragraph starting with "“This new wording of Rule 41(e) requires the Court to consider..." And after that - 4th paragraph ending with "~Movant need only show that the United States’ legitimate interests can be satisfied even if the property is returned. Under such circumstances, the Government’s continued retention of the property becomes unreasonable. In re Search of Kitty’s, 905 F.2d at 1375.”~
~NEXT- Compare the above to a reading of~ Home » Our Passion » Legal Resources » Suppression of Evidence (Search & Seizure) » "REMEDY FOR FOURTH AMENDMENT VIOLATION OF ILLEGALLY SEIZED EVIDENCE IS MOTION TO SUPPRESS AND HEARING." Then to sub-title "REMEDY FOR FOURTH AMENDMENT VIOLATION OF ILLEGALLY SEIZED EVIDENCE IS MOTION TO SUPPRESS AND HEARING" and finally to "~PRE-INDICTMENT RETURN/SUPPRESSION OF SEIZED PROPERTY."~
As a minor advocate in these spaces, let us say that the law should not, even falsely, appear as an ass. The appointment to the bench must be objective as much as possible, indeed not subterfuge under a fascade to cover real affiliation. The bench should be apolitical... but is it so, at least in this case?
It appears Judge Cannon has the Justice Maiden pulling the political cart. Further, it appears that Laws of Equity are put beside her in national security. "What is the point to being a country?" If a citizen is not secured nationally with existential protective secrets, what does it's Parliament (Congress) pretend to play and pray to represent?
To challenge the phrase "the United States' Legitimate interests" in a criminal trial would be uncontested by the mob of Calabria or Sicily. Why in the USA?
Finally, the TRUMP v USA case would be ideal for this site to use its definitions on ethics and heirarchy to point out the breach of ethics apparent here. One institutional org has crossed over the borders of another.

I don't know why many people think that it's the right thing!! It's not at all, I know many will suffer, but we will suffer for a much greater purpose which is existence. Remember in 1948 when the Zionists said land with no people to people with no land.. What would happen if Egypt opened it's borders and all Gazans get to leave Gaza, well that's exactly the number one goal for Israel, which is empty Gaza again so that we can occupy it.. Israel's nightmare is the demographic change, they worst dream would be Palestinians in the great Palestine over-count Israelis. That's why they wanna occupy Gaza, to make sure that the 2.5 million Palestinians go to diaspora.. ( and yeah you can protest outside out there) but here in Palestine we're gonna destroy you ethically. NO PALESTINIAN SHOULD LEAVE GAZA, look at the bigger picture, we should sacrifice our souls to keep that part of Palestine PALESTINIAN. I do excuse some people who raise funds to get out of here, but when it becomes more of a selfish thing, we should say NO, it's wrong. It's a Betrayal to Palestine,, it's okay to raise funds but bear in mind you should serve your community here in Gaza, personally I'm raising funds to continue my education in an online university, BUT I'M NOT LEAVING.. Education is our strongest weapon, and Israel's nightmare is to face well-educated people. Mohammed Saleh

https://xenagoguevicene.wordpress.com/2024/05/18/old-genocide-joe-has-got-to-go-by-philip-giraldi-17-may-2024/
Embracing Netanyahu does not constitute a foreign policy
It is extremely difficult to discern what might be the thinking behind the clueless President Joe Biden and his Blinken-Austin-Mayorkas foreign-policy-plus national security team. Or rather, the problem is that there does not appear to be any thinking about it at all if one measures it by what benefits it brings to the American people. It all actually seems to derive from a desire to construct a narrative that will win the presidential election coming up in November, which will fortunately be run against a deeply flawed GOP candidate named Donald J. Trump. But look at what is on the Biden record: the country’s southern border with Mexico is a porous as a Swiss cheese, allowing literally millions of illegal immigrants into the USA since Biden took office; Washington is both de facto and de jure simultaneously fighting and losing two unnecessary wars involving nuclear powers which has cost a nearly bankrupt Treasury well into the hundreds of billions of dollars; and the White House is needlessly sanctioning non-hostile competitors like China while also making illegal popular social media sites like TikTok which have committed the sin of reporting and disseminating accurate narratives about good old “best friend and closest ally” Israel. Predictably, neither of the assertions about the value of the Jewish state is true, nor is it a democracy, but who cares when you’re having fun shooting people and spending someone else’s money?
Oh, and just try to exercise your first amendment free speech rights by demonstrating against Israel’s slaughter of upwards of 40,000 Palestinian civilians using US provided weapons and you will be hit on the head by a cop, possibly arrested, and even expelled from college! If you want to see where this is all going, check out reports of the recent FBI detention and interrogation of distinguished Israeli historian Ilan Pappe seeking to enter the US through the Detroit International Airport. Pappe is a critic of the Netanyahu government and of US policy so he was held, questioned in detailed about his contacts, and had his phone copied before being allowed to proceed. Meanwhile, a group of top federal judges have signed a letter stating that they will strike back against the demonstrating students by refusing to hire any graduates of Columbia University Law School as law clerks. And there even is a bill currently before Congress that would empower the government to label the foreign protesters “antisemites and terrorism supporters” and deport them, with some going to Gaza with the expectation that they would be killed, possibly by the mighty Israel Defense Forces (IDF)! It would be a startling new development to punish those whose crime consists mostly of trespass even given the rather loose ethical boundaries established by the war on terror and the Antisemitism Awareness Act! Or indeed one might follow the Senatorial route led by a chirping Lindsey Graham who recommends dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza to kill everyone who has survived the Israeli onslaught. The area then might be developed after the radiation dies down for those splendid seaside villas for Jews only suggested by the esteemed Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner.
To be sure, Joe sometimes mumbles something that might just be viewed positively, like his recent blocking on humanitarian grounds of a consignment of bunker buster bombs on their way to Israel due to Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence that, no matter what, he would invade Rafah to completely destroy Hamas and whoever else might happen to get in his way. Joe predictably reversed that decision last Tuesday, approving a $1 billion supply of munitions after he came under pressure from the Israelis and their many friends in the US, to include a host of Israel-loving GOP congressmen who have carried their fight on behalf of the Jewish state to The Hague, where the International Criminal Court (ICC) is being directly threatened with American wrath lest it try to punish Israeli leaders for their genocide in Gaza. As Bill Astore put it “Last week, President Biden appeared to have strapped on a temporary spine in delaying shipments of ‘offensive’ weaponry to Israel for its murderous invasion of Rafah in Gaza. That spine had a short duration as Biden announced [Tuesday] renewed shipments of tank and mortar rounds to Israel.” Congress has also gotten into the game with the GOP controlled House of Representatives having passed a bill that would compel the White House to continue all arms shipments to Israel. Joe might also be thinking of political contributions, as American Jews donate the majority of Democratic Party funding, as well guaranteeing a friendly media in his campaign as they dominate both the news and the entertainment industries. See, Joe can figure some things out all by himself every once in a while!
Here’s the problem with Joe, apart from the roughly $12 million in gift-donations from Jewish/Israeli sources that he has obtained in his political career. His tactical thinking does not extend beyond his personal interests, to include his corrupt children, a trait very much like that which is possessed by his good buddy Netanyahu who is facing corruption charges of his own in Israel. Joe believes he is much cleverer than he actually is and thinks that an occasional mild verbal criticism of the Israeli behavior will convince his target audience of voters that he really is concerned about the continuing death toll in Gaza, where the Israelis have already been taking initial steps in their attack on Rafah by using their tanks to penetrate into the targeted zone to destroy and kill.
And as for the reported completion and initial functioning of the floating pier connected to Gaza constructed by US military engineers, it will not dramatically change reality on the ground even though Biden is claiming that it will enable the entry of much needed food and medical aid. Israel will still “security” control what is allowed to enter into Gaza proper while Netanyahu is seeing the pier as a bridge to nowhere, usable primarily to export excess Palestinians to foreign lands that are either willing or unwilling to accept them. And its existence creates some interesting possibilities. As it presumably will be logistically supported on the pier itself by US-based personnel, Netanyahu might well be tempted to stage a false flag attack blamed on Hamas to kill a few Americans and lock Biden into Israel’s right-wing Gaza policies from now on. Bear in mind that, in reality, Biden could care less if all the Palestinians might be “disappeared” just as he would like to see any and all critics of Israel be subjected to the harshest punishments, including prison and denial of basic rights as well as being stripped of government benefits. He has called the protesters “lawbreakers” and spreaders of “chaos” and congress is currently investigating the alleged “subversive organizers” of the “anti-Israel terrorists.”
Biden and company, as well as Trump, who is advising the Israeli government to “finish the job” with the Palestinians, clearly have no actual red lines that must not be crossed when it comes to Israel. The war of extermination of the Gazans has been accompanied by a more hidden war being conducted by the Jewish settlers on the West Bank, which has been largely under Israeli occupation since 1967. The frequently armed settlers have been attacking unarmed Palestinians, destroying their homes and businesses, ruining their crops and vineyards, and even killing them on occasion. Israeli police and army standing by do nothing to stop the fun and even frequently participate themselves by arresting and beating Palestinians who are guilty only of being Palestinian. Hundreds of Palestinians have been arrested without charges apart from “preventive detention” since the troubles began in October and the jails are overflowing. The clear intention, verbalized without any shame by senior Israeli government officials like Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, is to produce a Greater Israel cleansed of Arabs. And Biden, who pretends to favor a two-state solution to the unrest, helps the process along by vetoing UN resolutions that would help create separate sovereignty for Palestine.
Some of the most outrageous recent developments have been the settlers’ interfering with shipments of food and medicines entering into Gaza, a point that a faux-sympathetic Biden stresses repeatedly when pontificating regarding bringing aid to the starving people who are trapped with nowhere to go inside the enclave. The Israel clampdown even includes the Mediterranean Sea being blocked off by the Israeli navy which shoots any desperate Gazans who try to go close to the water so they can fish for food. In the most recent incidents, observed by the standing-by but inert Israeli army and police, truckloads of food were blocked, the drivers and aid workers removed and beaten, and the food was destroyed and burned before the trucks were treated likewise. In another incident settlers dumped huge boulders on one of the access roads to a checkpoint leading into Gaza, rendering it impassible and blocking any aid. Journalists and aid workers are meanwhile being killed by the army to prevent any reporting of what is going on while the US State Department refuses to condemn the activity. Biden called the interference with assistance convoys “outrageous” but has done nothing whatsoever about it, nor has he followed up on pledges to sanction Israelis who attack Palestinians or their property on the West Bank.
The whole problem is that Israel is a monster, an apartheid state that somehow feels it is empowered by God and the United States to kill all its neighbors and rob the American taxpayer to pay for and equip the slaughter. Israel is backed by an all-powerful US domestic lobby that includes unlimited Jewish money and activist Zionist groups like the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) led by the hideous Jonathan Greenblatt and the venerable American Israel Political Affairs Committee (AIPAC), both of which are now busy raising money to defeat all congress critters who have ever criticized the Jewish state. ADL and AIPAC are also linked to “that old time religion” knucklehead Christian Zionists concentrated in the Republican Party who have their Scofield Bibles firmly embedded between their ears where their brains are supposed be. A partial solution would be to make the Jewish-Zionist groups register as foreign government agents directed by Israel under the the terms of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), which is exactly what they are, but that will never happen. President John F. Kennedy tried to register the predecessor group to AIPAC and many believe he paid the ultimate price for that affront as well as for his bid to stop Israel’s nuclear weapons program.
So, my fellow Americans, what should we do? Well, we should do whatever we can, which includes speaking out about how we have been sold out by our leaders and opinion makers, and we should continue to do that even knowing that they will try to silence us by destroying free speech in this country. It is all we have left and we should continue to oppose what is happening. The first step however, is to get rid of politicians like Joe and Donald, who have been completely corrupted by more than fifty years in the “system” and are totally sold out and irresponsible in their behavior. There are honest politicians and journalists out there and we just have to find them, support them and get them elected and in positions where they will be able to bring about change in how things are done in Washington! One might call it the New American Revolution to restore our rights and free us from foreign oppression!

https://xenagoguevicene.wordpress.com/2024/05/18/old-genocide-joe-has-got-to-go-by-philip-giraldi-17-may-2024/
Embracing Netanyahu does not constitute a foreign policy
It is extremely difficult to discern what might be the thinking behind the clueless President Joe Biden and his Blinken-Austin-Mayorkas foreign-policy-plus national security team. Or rather, the problem is that there does not appear to be any thinking about it at all if one measures it by what benefits it brings to the American people. It all actually seems to derive from a desire to construct a narrative that will win the presidential election coming up in November, which will fortunately be run against a deeply flawed GOP candidate named Donald J. Trump. But look at what is on the Biden record: the country’s southern border with Mexico is a porous as a Swiss cheese, allowing literally millions of illegal immigrants into the USA since Biden took office; Washington is both de facto and de jure simultaneously fighting and losing two unnecessary wars involving nuclear powers which has cost a nearly bankrupt Treasury well into the hundreds of billions of dollars; and the White House is needlessly sanctioning non-hostile competitors like China while also making illegal popular social media sites like TikTok which have committed the sin of reporting and disseminating accurate narratives about good old “best friend and closest ally” Israel. Predictably, neither of the assertions about the value of the Jewish state is true, nor is it a democracy, but who cares when you’re having fun shooting people and spending someone else’s money?
Oh, and just try to exercise your first amendment free speech rights by demonstrating against Israel’s slaughter of upwards of 40,000 Palestinian civilians using US provided weapons and you will be hit on the head by a cop, possibly arrested, and even expelled from college! If you want to see where this is all going, check out reports of the recent FBI detention and interrogation of distinguished Israeli historian Ilan Pappe seeking to enter the US through the Detroit International Airport. Pappe is a critic of the Netanyahu government and of US policy so he was held, questioned in detailed about his contacts, and had his phone copied before being allowed to proceed. Meanwhile, a group of top federal judges have signed a letter stating that they will strike back against the demonstrating students by refusing to hire any graduates of Columbia University Law School as law clerks. And there even is a bill currently before Congress that would empower the government to label the foreign protesters “antisemites and terrorism supporters” and deport them, with some going to Gaza with the expectation that they would be killed, possibly by the mighty Israel Defense Forces (IDF)! It would be a startling new development to punish those whose crime consists mostly of trespass even given the rather loose ethical boundaries established by the war on terror and the Antisemitism Awareness Act! Or indeed one might follow the Senatorial route led by a chirping Lindsey Graham who recommends dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza to kill everyone who has survived the Israeli onslaught. The area then might be developed after the radiation dies down for those splendid seaside villas for Jews only suggested by the esteemed Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner.
To be sure, Joe sometimes mumbles something that might just be viewed positively, like his recent blocking on humanitarian grounds of a consignment of bunker buster bombs on their way to Israel due to Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence that, no matter what, he would invade Rafah to completely destroy Hamas and whoever else might happen to get in his way. Joe predictably reversed that decision last Tuesday, approving a $1 billion supply of munitions after he came under pressure from the Israelis and their many friends in the US, to include a host of Israel-loving GOP congressmen who have carried their fight on behalf of the Jewish state to The Hague, where the International Criminal Court (ICC) is being directly threatened with American wrath lest it try to punish Israeli leaders for their genocide in Gaza. As Bill Astore put it “Last week, President Biden appeared to have strapped on a temporary spine in delaying shipments of ‘offensive’ weaponry to Israel for its murderous invasion of Rafah in Gaza. That spine had a short duration as Biden announced [Tuesday] renewed shipments of tank and mortar rounds to Israel.” Congress has also gotten into the game with the GOP controlled House of Representatives having passed a bill that would compel the White House to continue all arms shipments to Israel. Joe might also be thinking of political contributions, as American Jews donate the majority of Democratic Party funding, as well guaranteeing a friendly media in his campaign as they dominate both the news and the entertainment industries. See, Joe can figure some things out all by himself every once in a while!
Here’s the problem with Joe, apart from the roughly $12 million in gift-donations from Jewish/Israeli sources that he has obtained in his political career. His tactical thinking does not extend beyond his personal interests, to include his corrupt children, a trait very much like that which is possessed by his good buddy Netanyahu who is facing corruption charges of his own in Israel. Joe believes he is much cleverer than he actually is and thinks that an occasional mild verbal criticism of the Israeli behavior will convince his target audience of voters that he really is concerned about the continuing death toll in Gaza, where the Israelis have already been taking initial steps in their attack on Rafah by using their tanks to penetrate into the targeted zone to destroy and kill.
And as for the reported completion and initial functioning of the floating pier connected to Gaza constructed by US military engineers, it will not dramatically change reality on the ground even though Biden is claiming that it will enable the entry of much needed food and medical aid. Israel will still “security” control what is allowed to enter into Gaza proper while Netanyahu is seeing the pier as a bridge to nowhere, usable primarily to export excess Palestinians to foreign lands that are either willing or unwilling to accept them. And its existence creates some interesting possibilities. As it presumably will be logistically supported on the pier itself by US-based personnel, Netanyahu might well be tempted to stage a false flag attack blamed on Hamas to kill a few Americans and lock Biden into Israel’s right-wing Gaza policies from now on. Bear in mind that, in reality, Biden could care less if all the Palestinians might be “disappeared” just as he would like to see any and all critics of Israel be subjected to the harshest punishments, including prison and denial of basic rights as well as being stripped of government benefits. He has called the protesters “lawbreakers” and spreaders of “chaos” and congress is currently investigating the alleged “subversive organizers” of the “anti-Israel terrorists.”
Biden and company, as well as Trump, who is advising the Israeli government to “finish the job” with the Palestinians, clearly have no actual red lines that must not be crossed when it comes to Israel. The war of extermination of the Gazans has been accompanied by a more hidden war being conducted by the Jewish settlers on the West Bank, which has been largely under Israeli occupation since 1967. The frequently armed settlers have been attacking unarmed Palestinians, destroying their homes and businesses, ruining their crops and vineyards, and even killing them on occasion. Israeli police and army standing by do nothing to stop the fun and even frequently participate themselves by arresting and beating Palestinians who are guilty only of being Palestinian. Hundreds of Palestinians have been arrested without charges apart from “preventive detention” since the troubles began in October and the jails are overflowing. The clear intention, verbalized without any shame by senior Israeli government officials like Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, is to produce a Greater Israel cleansed of Arabs. And Biden, who pretends to favor a two-state solution to the unrest, helps the process along by vetoing UN resolutions that would help create separate sovereignty for Palestine.
Some of the most outrageous recent developments have been the settlers’ interfering with shipments of food and medicines entering into Gaza, a point that a faux-sympathetic Biden stresses repeatedly when pontificating regarding bringing aid to the starving people who are trapped with nowhere to go inside the enclave. The Israel clampdown even includes the Mediterranean Sea being blocked off by the Israeli navy which shoots any desperate Gazans who try to go close to the water so they can fish for food. In the most recent incidents, observed by the standing-by but inert Israeli army and police, truckloads of food were blocked, the drivers and aid workers removed and beaten, and the food was destroyed and burned before the trucks were treated likewise. In another incident settlers dumped huge boulders on one of the access roads to a checkpoint leading into Gaza, rendering it impassible and blocking any aid. Journalists and aid workers are meanwhile being killed by the army to prevent any reporting of what is going on while the US State Department refuses to condemn the activity. Biden called the interference with assistance convoys “outrageous” but has done nothing whatsoever about it, nor has he followed up on pledges to sanction Israelis who attack Palestinians or their property on the West Bank.
The whole problem is that Israel is a monster, an apartheid state that somehow feels it is empowered by God and the United States to kill all its neighbors and rob the American taxpayer to pay for and equip the slaughter. Israel is backed by an all-powerful US domestic lobby that includes unlimited Jewish money and activist Zionist groups like the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) led by the hideous Jonathan Greenblatt and the venerable American Israel Political Affairs Committee (AIPAC), both of which are now busy raising money to defeat all congress critters who have ever criticized the Jewish state. ADL and AIPAC are also linked to “that old time religion” knucklehead Christian Zionists concentrated in the Republican Party who have their Scofield Bibles firmly embedded between their ears where their brains are supposed be. A partial solution would be to make the Jewish-Zionist groups register as foreign government agents directed by Israel under the the terms of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), which is exactly what they are, but that will never happen. President John F. Kennedy tried to register the predecessor group to AIPAC and many believe he paid the ultimate price for that affront as well as for his bid to stop Israel’s nuclear weapons program.
So, my fellow Americans, what should we do? Well, we should do whatever we can, which includes speaking out about how we have been sold out by our leaders and opinion makers, and we should continue to do that even knowing that they will try to silence us by destroying free speech in this country. It is all we have left and we should continue to oppose what is happening. The first step however, is to get rid of politicians like Joe and Donald, who have been completely corrupted by more than fifty years in the “system” and are totally sold out and irresponsible in their behavior. There are honest politicians and journalists out there and we just have to find them, support them and get them elected and in positions where they will be able to bring about change in how things are done in Washington! One might call it the New American Revolution to restore our rights and free us from foreign oppression!

Hey all, 4th Wall here. The little storm that blew threw upended my, sort of, schedule. So, I'm just decided to write what came to mind first then alternate from there. Hope you guys enjoy the Episode.
First, Previous, Next (Patreon)
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Benjamin stared at the exhausted looking Farie in shock, “How much time do we have?”. Jukha simply stood, stepped over to the floorboards near the fireplace, and began ripping them up with his bare hands. After several planks yielded to his strength, Jukha pulled out a pair of packs, and handed one to Vilora. “Oh” Ben stated flatly, having been given the answer to his question. He turned to see the sisters already packing up their packs, and Ben began the same.

In moments, the four were ready to go, slipping out the back door and into the forest. Benjamin paused, “Hold on a moment.” He turned to look back at the house, reaching out with one hand before clenching it into a fist. He ripped the heat out of the roaring fire dispelling it into the air before kneeling down and placing both hands on the ground. Vilora gasped quietly at the power Benjamin began wielding a dangerous amount of Majik. He pulled from the depths of the world itself, summoning pure compounds from the ground and from various natural sources. He used the refuse in Jukha’s farmyard to provide him with the last of the required ingredients. It wouldn’t be much, but Benjamin relit the fireplace, forcing the flames to turn a few of the remaining logs into charcoal without burning them.
Extinguishing the flames once more, he combined the components he had acquired, before willing the concoction up into the flue and packing it around the circumference of the inside of the brick chimney. Vilora stepped up to him, touching his shoulder with a trembling hand, “What… what have you done. I felt it, but I don’t understand it.”
Benjamin took a long cleansing, and slightly shakey breath. The exertion left him feeling drained for a moment. He turned to her, expression was grim, but he patted her hand on his forearm, “Giving us some breathing room. They will search the house. I’ve just left them a little surprise.” He stood, looking towards the forest, “how do we get to your sisters.”

Vilora nodded and they followed her into the forest, it was not a long walk. And after about 20 minutes they came to a clearing with a strange tree in the middle. “Please, Ben. Whatever happens next, know that we are not Fay. Promise me.” Benjamin heard the fear in her voice wondering if it was from what he had just done, or something deeper. He nodded once absently, his musket already unslung and in his hands. He had loaded a buck and ball cartridge into it before they left the cabin, knowing that he was only going to get one shot in an ambush. Viola had his original flintlock pistol in her hand, and Valtrya was semi hiding behind her sister with Bens Stiletto dagger clutched tightly in her fingers. “Very well,” the Farie stated, and turned to face the tree. Her wings quickly began glowing a vibrant green, and they fluttered violently as she began to chant something in her native tongue.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

The Hunters arrived, led by the singular Orc from the capital guard. He was the same one that had been spared by Benjamin just over a week earlier. He brought with him a tracker. Ski’murika was one of the arachnid people known as Sil’skira. This one was a flat grey to Mi’ki’s own jet-black carapace, and she skittered lightly into the room. The Sil’Skira had no sense of smell, but their sense of taste bordered on the supernatural. She raised one leg to her mandibles, tasting the ground around them, before dipping it into a bowl and repeating the process, “four of them. An Orc, a Fay, two Aereesin females, and… a strange one. I’ve not sampled this one before, but he carries majik’s sour aftertaste.” The Soldier orc, and the three other Hunters managed to not cringe. The Sil’Skira were known for their wide… pallet… as far as what they considered food. Many a sentient being had been turned to a husk by a hungry Sil, and The Orc did not doubt that this one came by her… flavor recognition… honestly. The other three; a Hellirine named Jazeel, her twin brother named Jeraal, and a Mountain troll who’s name defied pronunciation gave the Sil a wide birth, stepping up to the fireplace. “Well, while we’re here. Lets warm our bones.” Jazeel casually began stacking wood and kindling atop the chared remains of an apparently freshly quenched fire. “How far do you think they could have gone?”

“Not far” the Sil’Skira stated absently, “Their food is but lukewarm. I can still taste the spittle on the strange one’s spoon.” She turned to pad over to the fireplace. The Soldier orc, named Gurrut leaned up against the table, “Should we really be stopping for a fire? If they are so close?” Jeraal only smirked, “It’s a long game boss. They may not have gotten far, but they will be frantic. Look at how they left. Something, or someone warned them. They will be ill prepared. No, better to keep our pace. We will wear them down easily in the mor..”

Jazeel lit a spark into her tinder box while her brother was talking. She placed it into the fireplace and the kindling lit quickly. A single twig flared up, sending an ember into the flu where Benjamin had packed his quickly made gunpowder. It ignited instantly, and the flu provided enough constriction to pressurize the reaction. The fireplace detonated in a weak, but effective improvised bomb. The brickwork shattered into shards of deadly fragmentation, Jareel simply ceased to exist, being turned to a cloud of yellow blood and internal organs trimmed in red skin and white bone fragments. Her brother’s head was caved in by a large brick chunk, sending skull bone spalling deep into his brain, rending it to ribbons. He died before he hit the floor. The Sil’Skira’s abdomen popped like a balloon in the over pressure wave, and she quickly curled into a quivering ball as her blood pressure dropped, no longer fighting against her leg muscles. Their employer, the soldier orc from the capital, lost his arm above the elbow. His armor saved his vital organs however, but one shard threaded the needle, taking his right eye. The Mountain troll was thrown to the far wall, but Her naturally resilient body survived both the shockwave and the fragmentation impacts. She picked herself off the floor, stumbling to the screaming capital guard. She bound his wounds quickly before taking a flaming shard of the sabotaged fire and searing the stump to stop the bleeding. She then left him there. There was no point in anything else. The hunt was over.

___________________________________________________________________________________________
Benjamin tried not to stare, but he was failing miserably. Jukha’s Farie wife’s body was glowing bright green now, and he almost had to shade his eyes if he tried to look directly at her. She was not the only one he was struggling not to stare at. Viola’s explanation and subsequent revelation had taken him by surprise. He realized that he had treated them like children, pupils at best. Benjamin had focused on training them to be free, turning a blind eye to the relationship forming between them and himself. *You are not forcing us to do anything but leave* He ran that statement over in his mind. The “leave you” was implicated heavily, and it ate at him. He did not want to force these girls to do anything. Yet, despite his best efforts, he was forcing something on them anyway. He silently both cursed his situation and cursed his own ignorance. He found that, if he was truthful with himself, he did not want them to leave either; and that more personal revelation brought its own paradox. He could not bear to own them as property, but the thought of leaving them tore at him with similar pain.

“It is almost time!” Benjamin looked back from where he was keeping watch, Vilora was panting heavily, her painfully bright glowing wings drooping slightly, “I won’t be able to keep the connection for long!” She called as the tree in front of them began to creak. Two of its great limbs began to move on their own accord, groaning under forces older than space and time. Benjamin’s eyes widened as the two branches slowly formed a sphere, then his head snapped around at the sound of a dull thud emanating from the direction they had come. He smiled grimly. His little IED must have been triggered, and with any luck, taken their pursuers with it.

“Ready yourselves!” Jukha called, and Ben turned back to a view he had not expected in his wildest dreams. ‘you’ve gatta be shitting me’ He thought as a rippling green mirror filled in the center of the circle created by the branches of the tree. Benjamin felt the sisters at his side. And he nodded to them, “you first. I’ll cover our six.” Vi raised an eyebrow at the odd expression but nodded. Taking her sister’s hand and stepping through the portal. They were closely followed by Jukha, who seemed absurdly calm about the whole thing. Benjamin held his ground, slowly backing toward the portal while he kept his eye on the tree line.

“Benjamin. Hurry, I can’t.. I can’t hold!” Vilora’s frantic tone moved Benjamin into action, He spun on his heels, slipping his musket to his left hand and scooping up Vilora as he passed her at a full sprint. He jumped as the portal sputtered, passing through it and into a familiar tunnel that he remembered from his first meeting with the Celestial, Sol. This one was a minute fraction of the distance, however, a single step in fact. His feet landed on soft moss and an earthy smell alerted him to his change of location. His eyes began to adjust to the much dimmer light as he set Vilora’s exhausted form on the ground gently. His eyes peeled away the darkness after a moment and Benjamin grunted, tucking the butt of the musket under his right arm as he thumbed the hammer and slapped the frizzen in place. He drew his sword/pistol hybrid and settled the sights on a second being, who just so happened to have the misfortune of being ordered to bind the sister’s wrists. The mechanical sounds of his weapons attracted the attention of everyone in attendance, but his voice froze them in place, “unbind them… now” he growled.
His musket, loaded with Buck and ball, was trained on a small group of Farie’s standing in close formation with thin lances rested base to the on the ground. The other Farie was currently holding the rope leash to the sisters. He glanced at the small squad of lancers, “you move, you die.” His tone bore icy promise on its wings, and even Jukha could not bring himself to act. “Benjamin. Peace, please. These are my sisters. They are Vin. Remember your promise” Vilora’s voice cut through the silence first, and Benjamin glanced at her, then back at the scene in front of him. He took a long deep breath, sheathing his sword/revolver, and lowering his Musket. He did not sling it, he returned it so a muzzle up ready position designed to keep his ammunition from falling out of the barrel should he still need it. “Then please explain to them that I have a pathological aversion these women being bound, and that It would be in their best interest to release them...mediately.” Vilora’s eyes widened as she turned to see the state of Vi and Val. She spoke quickly, and the Vin who held the girls looked back at Ben in shock before frantically unbinding both Vi and Val. The girls sprinted to Benjamin, slamming into him with shaking embraces before he gently, but protectively pushed them behind him.

One of the Lancers, a Farie with more ornate armor on than the rest stepped forward and Benjamin turned to face her, not so subtly settling his musket into a position to easily kill her if he needed. The Fairie paused, clearly considering something before Vilora stepped over and laid a hand on her shoulder. She shook her head at the other woman, it was an almost imperceptible thing, but the other farie’s eyes widened as she regarded Benjamin again. “Peace, Beenjaymin.” She said finally, handing off her lance to a subordinate and opening her hands to show them empty. “We do not mean you harm, but we must protect what little we have left. The Matriarch wishes to see you, but we cannot allow you to meet here bearing arms. Please, understand.”

Benjamin hesitated, and Viola leaned around him to look up. He gave her a smiling glance before looking back at the Farie. She nodded in understanding, “I swear to you. Your… girls… will be permitted to stay at your side for the trip. Our sister has explained that they are not mere slaves to you.” Benjamin eyed her skeptically, and if this realms concept of honesty were not already explained to him, he would have not believed her. He slowly reached for the hammer on his musket, lowering it gently to half-cock before handing it slowly to the Farie who originally bound the sisters, “Do not touch anything on it. This is not a weapon you have any concept of, and it can kill 4 people at once.” He held her gaze until she nodded, “lean it against something. This side up, and DON’T touch it.” He then unhooked the scabbard from his belt, handing the revolver sword and its sheath to her as one unit, “Same goes for this. I’ll know if you touch it. It is very loud.” He did the same with Vi’s flintlock pistol, surprised that it didn’t go off when it was dropped on the ground during their capture. The stiletto dagger was the last, a familiar weapon to this realm that needed no explanation.

“Very well.” Benjamin said finally, “I believe that is everything.” The head lancer nodded, waving an arm elegantly toward the biggest live oak that Benjamin had ever seen. Benjamin thought it might be a live oak, at least. It stood twice the height of a California Red Wood but had the proportions of a Live oak. Massive drooping main branches arched overhead before touching the ground and returning skyward. Some of the largest limbs were the lowest and seem to bounce along the ground. Each grounding seemed to sprout smaller trees, and Benjamin felt his mouth fall open as they drew closer. The texture of the limbs sharpened as they closed, and Benjamin began to make out lit windows, carved into the tree limbs themselves.

Carved into the base of the tree was an ornate entrance with lettering that Benjamin didn’t recognize carved into the arches. Benjamin felt Viola take one of his hands, and Valtrya take the other. He ran his thumbs over the soft tops of their hands, trying to comfort them as much as he could. He felt them press up against him as they entered a throne room of some kind. On the far end, atop a series of steps was a throne, carved into the wall itself. “The Matriarch” Vilora whispered from behind him.

Ben halted several paces behind the lancer squad, bowing as he watched Vilora and Jukha do so out of the corner of his eye. “Rise” came the command from the ornately yet unarmored Farie sitting on the throne, “So tell me,” She asked, looking directly at Benjamin, who was keeping the girls directly behind him, “Are you the reason that my orders to bind the Aereesins were not followed?” Benjamin instantly regretted giving up his weapons. “I am,” he stated meeting her gaze unflinchingly. “Oh? You believe yourself above my command?” Her cold tone registered, and Benjamin slowly closed his fist, finding what he was looking for. A single guard, one not present at their arrival began to march toward him, hand on her sword.

Benjamin speared the guard with an icy glare, while talking to the Farie ruler, “I expected Vin to be more hospitable.” He reached out with one hand and the guard froze as he gripped the metal of her armor with his mind, “Especially with women baring Vin names in solidarity.” He slowly began to close his outstretched fist, and the guard inside the armor began screaming as the metal buckled, compressing against her body. Benjamin finally turned his icy gaze to the monarch, “My girls” He hated to use that card, but it was the only one he had that wasn’t lethal, “Have spent over a century being bound, tortured, raped, and degraded. I killed their former master, a Romoregin no less, for it. I killed his puke son’s champion for it. I’ve killed two capital guards for it. I will kill without mercy to keep bindings from touching their skin. So, my lady what are you willing to do to bind them.” He gave the guards armor another small squeeze, using the shrieking metal to punctuate his resolve.

The queen slowly stepped off her Throne, walking stoically over to her guard as she eyed Benjamin contemplatively. “Stand down, Vailin.” She said to the now trembling guard, but her eyes were on Benjamin. Benjamin slowly released his grip on her armor and she fell to the floor, weeping. “You two, get her to a healer.” The monarch ordered before taking to her wings and hovering up to face Benjamin at eye level. “You care so much for your slaves, yet you do not free them. Why is that.”

“Benjamin doesn’t want to keep us slaves!” Viola blurted out before she caught herself meekly adding “Your majesty” as the Monarch leveled a surprised but firm expression at her. “Oh? And yet you are still his, dear.” she said, turning back to Benjamin. Benjamin took a deep breath, “The principality would have resold them anyway. My only choice was to own them, teach them, then smuggle them to a free nation, or murder them by returning them to the system. Had we made it to Maridia, they would be emancipated already.” He met the Monarchs gaze levelly, “Their lives are in my hands… but at least their blood isn’t on them.”

“Hmm, compassion and violence of action. No wonder Cosmos touched you.” The Queen mused. Benjamin chuckled at the expression drawing a raised eyebrow from the Vin Monarch, “Something funny, young one?” and Benjamin gave her an amused smile, “It’s just that I’ve heard something like that before, from Sol. I believe the Orcs call her Suelin.”

This time, the Vin Monarch’s face smoothed of all expression as she failed to find any falsehood in Benjamin, “Come with me, please.” She stated it as a question, but her urgency peaked Benjamin's curiosity. The four of them followed the queen up to the throne. She pulled on an armrest and the throne slid into the wall to one side, revealing a simply carved passage into the heart of the tree.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
f you made it this far, I very much appreciate it. I hope you enjoyed the episode! If you believe I have earned it, I have a Patreon that is two episodes ahead of the free releases for this series. I hope you feel taking a look is worth it. Either way, come hang out in the comments. Everyone's welcome! I've discovered Im a bit of a "warts and all" poster, so even critical comments are welcome. Hell, You might even teach me something (it happens more than I'd like to admit).
I have heard people off and on reference Royal road, So I am going to give it another shot. I'll be adding the Royal Road link from now on. If you like reading over there, It is on the same schedule as here. I would greatly appreciate a like/review/comment if you feel so inclined. Thank you again for stopping by.
First, Previous, Next (Patreon) Royal Road

Over these past 7 months, we have witnessed some of the worst atrocities of the 21st century committed by the IDF. 45,000+ killed, 77,000+ injured, 2 million people effectively homeless, and 60%+ of all the buildings in gaza damaged/destroyed. We have seen IDF shoot civilians raising white flags, bomb places they instruct civilians to go, block the aid causing mass starvation in gaza, imprison children and civilians and send them to torture camps, use AI to bomb hamas fighters when they get home so they can kill their families too, they aren't even targetting hamas anymore in their bombings but rather civilians, and a lot lot more. What has been made clear now is that this isn't really about Hamas, as they have shown time and time again to be intentionally brining harm to the civilian population.
Their constant justification for all these atrocities is the october 7th attack. however since day 1, it was always suspicous as to how israel could've let hamas in so easilly and why they took so long to surpress them. Isreal is one of the most surveilled and secure countries in the world, it really makes no sense how one can just paraglide into a place that is so secure, and easilly land. In the time since October 7th, a plethora of information has come out that brings even more cause for suspicious on isreal's part for their supposed "big security failure" that I will be going over.
I want to start by mentioning this stunt by Netanyahu a few weeks before 10/7 at the UN.
a popular talking point from the pro isrealis is how the "river to the sea" chant is genocidal. well if that is true, doesn't that mean isreal's democratically elected leader also issued a statement of genocide before 10/7 even happened? I am not seeing Palestine on that map at all. Doesn't look like palestine's existance is a part of bibi's plan at all. I also see Gaza as part of isreal, by the looks of things, he wants that strip of land too.
to start, research has shown that there was rise in short selling of isreali stocks on the New York and Tel Aviv Stock exchanges in the week prior to 10/7. these investors were said to have made millions betting against isreali stocks.
https://www.peoplesworld.org/article/someone-knew-stock-traders-made-millions-short-selling-before-oct-7th-hamas-attacks/
https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2023/12/05/did-hamas-make-millions-trading-the-october-7th-attacks
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/israel-hamas-attack-stocks-short-selling-october-7-study/
So someone had to be in the know. you might say it was hamas who did the short selling, but since all of hamas are designated terrorists in the eyes of the US, all their assets in the US will be frozen making it almost impossible to invest in the stock market. What is more likely is that some higher up/rich/elite americans and isrealis knew what was going down and wanted to make a quick buck.
Furthermore, new york times reported that isreal had the exact plans to 10/7a year in advance. It was an indepth, 40 page report on what hamas was going to do (and they did it exactly on 10/7). one of the officials they interviewed said it was "inspirational," but considering the rest of the evidence i gave, this is likely just him bluffing
The article also delves into how isreal knew hamas was preparing for the attack. additionally, in this BBC report, the women tasked with reporting any suspicious activity in gaza. When they did so they were "ignored" by the higher ups. hamas were clearly and visibly rehearsing hostage taking, raiding, and detonating the gaza fence. The main comeback I get from pro isreal people when I tell them that isreal knew about 10/7, is something like "isreal always get warnings of an attack". However I highly doubt the things mentioned in the BBC report are common occurences.
What's more is that Hamas literally were posting their rehersals on their telegram. They literally made zero effort in hiding what they were planning on doing. What I also find funny is that isreal wasn't able to notice when they post on telegram for these rehearsals, but when they post on telegram about their killings on 10/7, they immediately take notice to that, and already have everything up on "hamas.com" by the end of the day. just strange.
Moreover, isreal literallyconfiscated weapons from towns by the gaza border and significantly weakened their security. What other excuse could possibly be plausible for this besides wanting hamas to have an easier time taking over these places? "The Israeli army believed that the chance of terrorist incursion after the erection of the border fence was 'close to nil.'". funny...
Isreal also reportedly had information that the festival would be under attack but they chose not to relay this to the festival organizers or to evacuate it at all.
Now this is a good read from Times of Israel. Apparently, IDF and Shin Bet were well aware Hamas were planning a big attack for over a year and even had a presentation about it, and even said “This invasion constitutes the gravest threat that IDF forces are facing in the defense [of Israel].”. I also hear pro isreal ppl tell me that isreal didn't think hamas were capable of 10/7, well this presentaion mentioned would refute that point.
Furthermore, on October 6th and early 7th, they were detecting hamas activity and there was evidence to suggest an assault was imminent. Yet they did nothing and only took more secuirty away from gaza.
At midnight on October 7th, 6 hours before the attack even started, IDF detected numerous Hamas fighters active israeli SIMs. While this by itself may not be as suspicous, when you corroborate it with everything else, it should be easilly apparent to isreali intel what is about to happen
In the hour leading up to the attack, israel detected lots of unusual hamas activity, but didn't even put any of the troops by the gaza wall on alert, not even level one. This is especially odd since this deviates from normal military protocol. as a result, the hamas soldiers stormed all 12 idf bases by the border. the footage shows them storming empty looking bases and shooting idf soliders in their beds (they weren't even woken up??). and most of the tanks weren't even being operated. hamas was expecting to lose 80% of thier attack force taking these bases, but ended up losing barely anyone.
This new york times report is also interesting. In it, it further reiterates that isreali intel was picking up plenty of hamas activity in the hours before the attack even started. And that while it took 8+ hours for any of the civillians to receive any help by the IDF. This in it of itself is extremely suspicious, but even more so when you add the fact that the IDF literally tweeted militants had broken in just an hour into the attack. What is also interesting is that it took only 4 hours to send jets to bomb Gaza, yet they couldn't spare any apaches to help their own ppl in that same time? I also find it suspicious how "Israeli officials declined to answer questions about the timing of their response to the attacks."
I suppose after all this you are going to tell me something along the lines of "IDF just underestimated Hamas". But with all these intel reports they were getting, I just find that to be a little far fetched. But just watchthis video on the gaza fence. $1 billion dollars into this wall covered in state of the art cameras, sensors, and turrets, but it wasn't enough to stop a paraglider? Now do you understand where I am coming from?
If you are still not conviced, isreal were literally the ones who helped started hamas, and netanyahu openly admitted to propping them up, and isreal literally funded hamas too. its apparent that hamas was a sort of proxy for isreal, to justify their attacks onto gaza.
It was just the opportunity Israel was waiting so they could have an excuse to the world for their horrific genocide of gaza that has already killed more than 2% of all their people. They made up all these lies about beheaded babies, babies in ovens, and babies ripped out of wombs (seriously what is it with them and babies) and the western media ate it all up. They pulled out in 2005, because they thought protecting those 9,000 illegal settlers was more trouble than it was worth, and they preferred controlling gaza from the outside, but now they plan to drive the gazan population out, so they can harvest tha gas, create the canal, and build new settlements with even more settlers. already they are establishing a permanent base with reason to believe they will bring civilians there to resettle as well
Anyway, saying this was all a big "security failure" just seems far fetched to me considering their vast resources and the reports I cited in this post. But is something that isreali general Amos Yadlin said in 2007,
“Israel would be happy if Hamas took over Gaza because the IDF could then deal with Gaza as a hostile state.”
October 7th allowed them to do just that: treat gaza as a hostile state
I will conclude this post by quoting Douglas Murray, who is ironically a staunch pro isreal supporter: "Simply claiming something is a conspiracy theory, doesn't necessarily make it false. Not anymore"

Everything expressed are my opinions based solely on my perception. They should not be taken as statements of absolute truth or fact
A note from the author: I have a very clear bias in this matter. I am speaking on Mel because I believe it is impossible to talk succinctly about Adora without the mention of Mel's direct involvement. I truly saw Mel as a mother figure to me. So I ask you, the reader, to keep an open ear and heart to the fact that I cannot and will not be as harsh or direct as I have been as Adora. Writing this is hard for me. That all being said, I am still determined to speak as candidly as possible, as I take my writings very seriously.
In conclusion, I do hope that even should you disagree with my evaluation, I just ask you treat this as "Andromeda's miss".
Please do not harass anyone based upon what I write. You have no idea what it costs me to put this to words, let alone to post it. My continued writings in the reddit will come to an end if I cannot be respected in this. Thank you.
Mel and I got involved in debating together a little over a year now. She is the mother of a trans daughter, and she started using the clock app to discuss what her daughter was going through. She wanted people to have a new understanding of what trans kids actually experience, given that they have recently been the target of legislature in the United States.
Mel discovered that she had found a niche. There were so many trans individuals discussing being trans, going into the science, or their personal relationship with how society treats trans people. Mel brought something new, because all those trans people were adults. And even if many of them had come out as minors, they were no longer that way now.
Mel's initial goal was to have discussions. Merely going over what trans youth actually experience, and wasn't really entering live spaces with the intention of debates. It actually was a little over a year into her LIVEs that I broke that news to her; She had become a debater. I had told mel and co, flat out, that if you're seeking opposition, if you're using sources, and you're on debatetok? There's no way around it, you've become a debater. It wasn't what Mel had wanted for herself, but she begrudgingly accepted that much.
She actually found her roots in Tommy's server. That's where a host of her mods originally came from. Sherri, Norma, Mamamoon, etc. She was encouraged heavily by many people there to go live, and had absolutely zero expectation of taking off. It wasn't long after that Mel set up a discord, initially just for discussing lives and sources. But everyone within started to bond.
It has been a very bumpy road, to say the least. We dealt with drama, rhetorical missteps, and interpersonal issues. Most of which were dealt with behind the scenes without much FanFair. And more often than not, I was in the vc's, in the chats, wherever these took place, and I often acted as a guide for navigating these situations. Not that i acted alone. I would often request Mel and a few others to opine on what their issues were and how they wanted them solved, and I would help get us there.
And we continued like that as far as January or February, when i initially started to take my own personal steps back (more on this another time).
One last piece of backstory: I was asked so often if I was Mel's daughter, and for a couple reasons I leaned into it. Firstly, it was because her daughter would often receive a host of hate directed at Mel. And frankly I would rather deal with that shit than have some teenager get shit on, even if indirectly. The second reason was because it started to get funny. And the longer we leaned into it, the more it became true in our own minds. Mel legitimately thought of me as a daughter, I thought of her as a mom.
Most of you know all of this already, so I'll get into the stuff you likely know less about.
Why I chose Mel:
It was my own personal decision to platform with Mel. I put all my weight, all my support, all my knowledge into Mel and co. Why? Because I considered Mel's story to be an essential one. The most targeted, systematically, in the trans community are the youth. And often enough they cannot speak for themselves. Definitely not on TikTok. but even when they can, they would get hate and harassed by the internet as a whole (look at child political activists like Greta Thunberg. No, better that children do not become the face of political activism sometimes.
But these stories needed to be known about. They needed to be told. People needed to know what children actually experienced. The good. The bad. The ugly. And there was a lot of ugly, unfortunately.
And given the importance of this story, from a activist sense, I became this 'behind-the-scenes manager+PR' person. I took care of so much. I used to be extremely proud of myself for it. I impressed myself, frankly. I managed to navigate us out of so much, and it was me that figured out how. ME. Now? It isn't that i regret doing it in the past. I just started to become wary. It started to feel like the worse the drama got and the bigger our collective platform got, the more expectations that were put on my shoulder. And frankly, this reddit was my breaking point. I couldn't PR Mel and Co out of this. They had to fix it themselves.
What is Mel and Co?
It may seem obvious to most, but i'll explain anyway. Mel and co was built around Mel's server. It was me that coined the name, too. (I get a touch of sardonic amusement seeing how even those that disagree with us use the name i coined). There were plenty of people who were in Mel and co that you might not realize, and no, out of professional courtesy, i will not be leaving a full list. But it included LIVE creators and mods, which is how Mamamoon got there, to answer all of your questions. There's no tea on why Mamamoon was allowed to be around. Mamamoon doesn't have anything over Mel's head. Just a friendship built on advocacy.
I've called Mel and Co my 'baby' multiple times, but I never really explained what I meant by that. Mel and Co is a collaborative effort, built with everyone's effort and input. But it was predominantly through mine and Mel's efforts that it got where it did. I helped build it from the ground up and i was not only proud of how far we got, but i was also fiercely protective of it. We used to let many a people in and as we blew up, it was harder for people gain access to being apart of Mel and Co. The last added to the server was Adora.
I'll be honest, while usually I have my thoughts and my say as to who comes in and who doesn't, it isn't my call. I don't get final word. It was Mel's server, and others got their voice too, which is how the last two got in. In both instances, I was out on a trip with dizzy when they were added and came back to find them present. And given that i was treating this like a profession, and not just a hangout discord, I treated it as such, and i worked with what i was given.
Mel Meetups:
The idea was initially floated early on, and I really didn't take it all that seriously when it was. I traveled a lot, but the idea of everyone coming together felt so out of the box, that I left it be until about 5-7(?) months after it was initially suggested, and by that time there were suddenly some conversations about it actually happening.
From an outside perspective, I get how such a thing is a bad look. Advocates using the money to meet up and crash in an air bnb. Even typing that out hits me with how bad of a look that was. I think our biggest issue, frankly, was not really involving people enough in the meet-ups though. An issue i worked to correct at the last one. the benefit i generally give Mel here, as she was the one who raised money for it, was that she was transparent where the money was going. If i could go back, the only thing i would change there is that i would have a little more transparency as to what the Meet-ups actually would entail, as i read some were upset with how they ended up being smaller quieter affairs. Ultimately the honest were the most important pieces to me. You can disagree, though, I won't hold that against you.
No one was expressly prohibited from being at the Mel meet-ups. (aside from one member who was under the age of 21, given that mind altering substances would be present) I did see that idea get floated, like Casha or Abby not being allowed. This wasn't true. Casha just had an issue with passport stuff, given that she would have to cross a national border to get to us. And Abby was actually going to intend the last one. She had personal business interfering with her ability to attend the other two. Mel even bought Abby a plane ticket for the last one, Abby just couldn't attend. Speaking of which, I also think it's important to discuss
The money
It took a few months before Mel ever introduced any kind of payment method that wasn't Gifts. And even when Mel got gifts, she would often put them back into coins and distribute them back into other creators. It was actually because of me that any kind of cashapp to kick or any paypal anything started to be introduced. My logic being that she's holding this debate to support her daughter politically, she can then use that money to buy her daughter a new wardrobe (given that i had to replace my entire wardrobe when i came out, I know how absolutely expensive that is).
I know the last thing you want is to hear Mel defended, but I do want to take a pause to tell you what Mel won't, especially because she feels it would be gauche if she did. She has sent fellow people thousands over her time on the app. And that isn't just counting the Mel meetups. If someone was struggling to find food, she sent them money. She sent abby money to help with her tuition. She sent me money over time for different things, like when my car broke down, or when i was just struggling. Hell, back when i went live sometimes, we actually blocked out certain time slots for one another. And sometimes she would go live during my time and would even pay me for the day. She payed hundreds into my fundraiser, and I have little reason to believe she would stop now.
What I'm trying to say is that I personally don't believe her to be financially motivated to hold these lives. Again, you can disagree, but that's my perspective of her.
TikTok Fatigue
I honestly wish many of you who snark here now would be able to see Mel when she first started. She was fresh faced. Patient. I actually made a comment some months ago about how it made me sad watching her lose patience more easily. And was admonished for it by an old Cohost who's name i've forgotten by now, but I believe was something with 'Rose'. She was actually quite glad to see Mel was quick to lose her temper, as she saw it as Mel breaking out of the traditional way she raised. A feminism win, if you will.
At the time, i took it and thought on it. and for some time i've accepted it. But now that i've had some time to take a longer consideration of it, I've come back to what I originally thought: it saddens me still.
I've coined a phrase: TikTok Fatigue. And i mentioned it a handful of times. This is in no way unique to tiktok of course, but i digress. Essentially, it is when you've been doing debates for so long about something so close and personal to you that it wears down your patience. You begin to behave in a way you never saw yourself capable of because you're so used to throwing yourself into this ring to go up against hate and disagreement. It wears you down. And it is what I believe has happened to Mel.
We do not exist in a TikTok bubble. Mel has a real life outside of the app, and it isn't always sunshine and daisy's. Being the mother of a trans daughter has brought about difficult challenges, some of which she's discussed LIVE, and some that she never has before. It is not my place to disclose what she shared with us, but if you knew, you might have a bit more sympathy for why she is so short with people who disagree with the trans movement. Not that i believe her shortness is necessarily a good thing, just that it might make you feel something for her.
I've said this before, and I'll reiterate it here; i think mel needs a break. A good social media purge. I still believe she wants to bring about positive change, but she will find that increasingly challenging when she's not rested. And TikTok debates have a real way of defeating you. Even when you win.
Again, i reiterate that none of this means you should take what i've said here to harass Mel. This is not a call-to-action to push mel into taking a break.
Disappointed
I do genuinely believe that she cares about what she is doing. It is often stated by that Mel and Co 'fear me' or that I serve 'tongue lashings' when people mess up. This is half true, i guess. it's not like i'm some malicious person, or that i've done anything to harm them.
However, i have always been the one to nip a problem in the bud. Yes, i PR'd and managed so many Mel and Co issues. But the other end of it was a general sense of accountability within Mel and co. There were a fair number of times I would open Mel's discord and hit 'em with the "i'm disappointed" and they would listen to what i say, even should they dislike it themselves.
Mel personally has hung up on me or just been upset with me on a few occasions when this happens. But ultimately, no matter how mad she is about a situation, she has always listened. Even to this day, she greatly dislikes what i'm doing here, she still listens to what I'm saying. And that is a significant reason why i have little reason to go hard on her like I do Adora. So even with her misgivings, she is far far more open to critique than adora is, and she does not hold herself above reproach.
Again, this is not for snark. And this is not a condemnation of Mel like i have of adora. Feel free to call this Andy's first miss. Thank you for giving me the space to be candid. Let me know if you have any questions i haven't answered here, but i will reserve the right to not answer questions I don't care for.

I've been dating my boyfriend for about 3.5 years. We are both weird and quirky and it feels amazing to date someone who just understand me. We're both introverts and we both only have a couple other friends and most of the time we only hang out with each other. In general we agree with each other on a lot of things but not everything. Our interests don't overlap much though, and sometimes that can be a strain. We talked about kids and having a family and we both agree on parenting styles and mostly seem to agree about hypothetical situations.
Although he would have ideally wanted to wait a couple more years, we discussed surrogacy and he agreed to go through the process and raise a child with me. This is all on me, I'm paying for everything. I'm not rich and I saved a long time to get the money for this. It will be biologically my child. We aren't at the point where we are pregnant, but it would be costly to delay significantly, and moreso to back out.
He's always been somewhat sensitive and tends to shut down when he's upset. For a while though, we were starting to get along better and better. But slowly over the past year things that I do have begun to upset him more and more frequently. Most of the time I don't think he's being reasonable, but he won't accept agreeing to disagree. He also has a very polarized view on certain world events and is becoming increasingly upset with my stubbornly middle ground views.
However it doesn't even need to be some big topic. For example, just today, we are on a road trip with my family and had to do a border checkpoint we weren't expecting. I was driving. The officer asked for photo ID from everyone in the van so I yell that back to everyone. As I'm getting mine out he goes on to say any ID, passport, driver's license, etc. It's taking a while. Apparently everyone in the back was digging around for passports instead of readily available driver's license. I wasn't looking back, I don't know this. But I yell back again, turn around, see what's going on and clarify. We get moving, no issues, less than two minutes total. But afterwards he's upset with me for not telling them they could have used driver's licenses, saying photo ID doesn't mean driver's license?? That's why everyone was looking for passports. I could have just went meh and let it go but I was not having it today. So I was like absolutely not. Your driver's license is an ID and it has your picture. Absolutely no clarification should have been necessary. So he goes on about how I make everything needlessly difficult (We went back and forth a few times but basically just rewording the same statements) and then he won't talk to me for about 8 hours. My family thinks he's being unreasonable, but they're all nice and will never say anything to him. And I never said anything but couldn't shotgun seat (him) pass that info along just as easily?
Anyway the point isn't one particular situation, but mostly to highlight that small things are setting him off now. I'm at my wits end and I'm not just keeping my mouth shut which compounds the problem. And I promise, while he's always been sensitive, he's never been this level of unreasonable. I'm not sure if there's a way to approach this differently? Something I'm not seeing? I can be sassy especially in situations where I feel someone deserves a little sass. I have been trying to reign it in, but it's getting to the point where I feel like I'm walking on eggshells while he's putting in no effort. He's in-between jobs at the moment. The whole surrogacy thing. Traveling. These are all things that I'm sure are adding extra stress to him lately. We've tried therapy in the past but had a very mediocre therapist and I'm not sure I can convince him to try again, and to be honest my heart wouldn't be in the effort to convince him either.
I have a feeling I know what the comments will say. It seems everyone is always so quick to say break up. But it feels so horrible to call it quits when there are so many good memories and good times that we do still have. And now with being in the middle of a surrogacy contract? I am an anxious person who always thinks of every possible way things can go wrong. And I've thought about what would happen if he were to leave me with the kid by myself before I even started the surrogacy process. I'm confident I could do take care of a kid without a partner. But it would be difficult and I wouldn't want that for me or especially the child.
He lives with me in a two family house with my parents in the other unit. He doesn't get along well with his family, so moving out, even temporarily, would be difficult for him.
Please help me bounce some ideas.

Reddit Account: The-Lightbringer
Discord Tag: Indigo
Name and House: The High Septon
Age: 26
Cultural Group: Andal
Appearance: Rumor tells that no mortal eyes have glimpsed the face of the man once known as Septon Amory. He garbs himself in liturgical vestments of silver and pure white embroidered with thread-of-gold, the sleeves and skirts of his robes covering everything underneath. On his right hand he wears a doeskin glove, and his left is always carefully bandaged with clean strips of white linen. A single ring adorns his finger, the heavy silver and gold piece that bears his signet. Instead of a crystal coronet, he wears a simple cloth headdress of the same make as his other garments. The most striking and visible feature of the High Septon are his eyes, a piercing shade of blue, deep as the sky in summer, seen through the ornate silver of the mask that veils all else from view.
Trait: Mastermind
Skill(s): Covert (e), Sabotage (e), Ravenmaster
Talent(s): N/A
Negative Trait(s): Maimed (Left Arm)
Starting Title(s): His High Holiness, Father and Shepherd of the Faithful, Voice of the Seven, Supreme Leader of the Faith Militant, The Ecumenical Arbitrator of the Will of the Father, and so on.
Starting Location: Opening Event
Alternate Characters:N/A

Family Tree

N/A

Biography

A son was born in the year before the Conqueror’s arrival to the Lord of Riverrun’s younger brother, who served as a household knight and steward of the keep. Known by all as a proud and shrewd man, he worked diligently in his efforts to maintain the finances and prestige of their house. Not long afterwards, a sister made her appearance, and the riverlords rejoiced for their many blessings. Taken on by his uncle as a page and cupbearer at the age of six, the boy began the long journey towards knighthood. He served Lord Tully’s food, cleaned his armor, fed his hounds, and held a sword for the first time, albeit a training weapon. Whenever his services were not needed, he learned heraldry and horseback riding, attending his father and the other men on hunts within the Whispering Wood.
One of the boy’s earliest glimpses of memory was fire and blood. Buildings crumbling, dust choking, fire scorching, and the heavy, beating wings and terrible roar of a furious beast. When the septons arrived to bless the remains of the deceased, they found him tucked in a corner of the ruined stables, clutching at the corpse of his nameday gift, an orange tabby kitten. The hair had been singed from his small head, his skin was blistered and weeping, and the fingers of his left hand were fused together by the heat. Taken to Stoney Sept by his saviors, he spent many long, terrible weeks in a milk of the poppy-induced sleep at the hands of the healers, who fought tirelessly to keep the Stranger away. When he woke, he blessedly remembered nothing of the ordeal.
The kindly Septon Ambrose oversaw the boy’s continued education – reading, writing, numbers and history, all with a focus on the workings of the Faith. Amory, as they called him, was a quick and attentive learner. He made many friends amongst the wandering septons, sitting rapt at attention whenever they told stories of the realms beyond the borders of their humble home. His true identity was kept as a closely guarded secret by those who found him, for fear of bringing dragonfire down upon their heads. At five and ten, Amory set aside his brown cowl for robes of white, the youngest ever ordained septon (to anyone’s knowledge). He took to wearing a carved wooden mask to hide his scars from the world, though he’d long forgotten where they even came from. Traveling the riverlands from village to village, he held sermons on the goodness and grace of the Seven and healed the smallfolk of their spiritual ailments, performed marriages, blessing infants and forgiving sins. As a wandering minister, he became immensely popular, garnering much fame and attention and often being asked to visit various towns and villages.
While delivering sermons south of the Trident, Amory was called back to Stoney Sept where Ambrose lay upon his deathbed. The truth was revealed in the dying gasp of the old man; he was really Tristram Tully, the last of a fallen house. Utterly shaken by the news, he spent seven days and seven nights struggling with his beliefs while holding vigil within the sept for all that he’d lost – his family, his adopted father, and his name. He tore his robes and his hair, scourged his back bloody and raw, and prostrated himself before the gods. By the end of it, his faith had not fled but grown even deeper, for though he could no longer stand against the Targaryens in the name of House Tully, he firmly believed that the Seven would guide him on the path to retribution. On the morning of the eighth day, he emerged from the sept and made preparations to leave the village of his youth behind. He would travel to the Westerlands, where rumors told of a new militant order of the Faith on the rise.
There, he made the acquaintance of knights such as Ser Morden ‘Morningstar’, who became his traveling companion, and Ser Alesander, an aspiring captain within the Warrior’s Sons. Just two years after arriving at the temple, his popularity in the West had grown to heights rivaling the riverlands. While wandering with his constant shadow, he spoke out against the treatment of the smallfolk by the upper class during times of war: the fires set in their villages, the looting of their homes and the rape of their women. How, during times of peace, they were forced to hand over their hard-earned food for the lord’s granary and their coin for the king’s taxes. The rich in their castles lived in great excess and benefitted from the suffering of those who worked the land and lived simple, honest, godly lives. He paid for any provisions requisitioned from families out of his own pocket, and such was the fame and magnanimity of Amory that eventually the folk came running out to meet him whenever he arrived to give a sermon, acclaiming his name and offering gifts.
Whenever Septon Amory left the Westerlands behind, he was accompanied by a sizable flock of supporters, Warrior’s Sons, Poor Fellows and peasants alike. His teachings prove to be substantiated when the lords of the Reach answer with violence against the crowd. As the ground ran red with the blood of the martyrs, the High Septon himself was pressured to denounce the slaughter of the septons and their followers. Mercenary companies were unleashed by various lords to quell the unrest, which only served to harden the hearts of the smallfolk and the Faith Militant against them. Continuing on toward Oldtown, Amory was granted refuge at Holyhall for a time, where he befriended the bastard grandson of Lord Graceford. The two remained in touch even after the septon’s departure, and exchanged many letters.
Upon arriving at the city, a meeting was arranged with the High Septon himself, along with members of his council, and representatives from various lords. They offered to build Amory his own sept, tempted him with mountains of gold, and even promised a position within the Most Devout if he would control his fanatical followers and stop railing against the nobility, all to no avail. He could not be bribed, claiming to see the Faith as it truly was at that time – corrupt beyond redemption, and maintained that he had been chosen by the Seven as its savior. In his own words, the ‘wicked would fall before the righteous, and all creation would tremble before the standards of the faithful.’ Able to do very little against his growing influence, the High Septon was forced to concede, granting the Warrior’s Sons a portion of the land held by the Faith within Oldtown to build a chapterhouse.
Remarkably, things seemed to settle after that in spite of Septon Amory’s words. He busied himself with overseeing the building of the chapterhouse, and took to wandering the Reach as he had previously. The smallfolk were found to be as malleable as any he’d encountered thus far, and it wasn’t long before he had become a figure of great eminence among them. A year passed, and then another, and still a third, after which the uprisings all but seemed a thing of the past. The Warrior’s Sons kept themselves busy with expanding their holdings and influence, and Amory’s decree became little more than an afterthought. All was truly well, until the High Septon suddenly became ill after a meeting attended by septons of various orders. Although a robust and healthy man, he began to waste away over the course of days, with the maesters of the Citadel and numerous septons doing what they could to treat a perceived stomach illness. Eventually, his speech became too slurred to comprehend, and he died on the seventh day.
After a period of mourning and funerary rites, the Most Devout began the selection process to determine which of them would become the new High Septon. Before the voting could conclude, the Warrior’s Sons arrived at the steps of the Starry Sept with a figure both familiar and altogether new at their head. Septon Amory had shed his humble appearance as an adder sheds its skin, exchanging his wooden mask for one of silver and his plain linen robes for richly embroidered vestments. He was thusly appointed as the new High Septon by the Most Devout out of fear of his power and influence. His first act was to renounce the false gods of the East and to affirm that, as decreed by the laws laid down within the holy texts by the Seven, incest was an abomination. An excess of wealth was then transferred to the Westerlands for the upkeep of the temple garrison there. Many more drastic changes would take place after the new High Septon’s rise to power.
The first of these was the formation of the Knights Inquisitor, tasked with rooting out and punishing heretics within ecclesiastical courts. With the Faith Militant spreading to other kingdoms, the order was desperately in need of cohesive leadership. Ser Alesander, now Warden of the Temple, was anointed a third and final time and raised to the position of Grand Captain of the Warrior’s Sons. The Exemplary Soldiers of the Holy Brotherhood of the Sword were chartered, with seven of the greatest champions of the Faith chosen to serve as pillars of authority and shining examples of virtue. They pledged their swords not to the will of man, but to the gods themselves. Members of the Most Devout found embezzling money or otherwise participating in corrupt practices were ousted from their positions, which were then filled by the High Septon’s loyal followers. A lengthy meeting with Lord Hightower soothed any tensions that remained between the Reachlords and the faithful, and established much favor between them.

Timeline

1 BC – Born at Riverrun.
5 AC – Becomes a page for his uncle, Lord Tully.
7 AC – His home and family are destroyed by House Targaryen and he is found by septons who nurse him back to health. Septon Ambrose begins tutoring him.
14 AC – Ordained as a septon.
17 AC – Septon Ambrose tells him the truth of his origins on his deathbed before passing away. He travels to the Westerlands to join the fledgling Warrior’s Sons.
19 AC – Leaves the temple and travels to the Reach with a large following. Skirmishes erupt between the holy men and the nobility.
20 AC – Founds the Oldtown chapter of the Warrior’s Sons.
24 AC – Annointed as the High Septon.
25 AC – Travels to King’s Landing for the festivities.
Name and House: Morden ‘Morningstar’
Age: 32
Cultural Group: Andal
Appearance: Outwardly, the sworn defender of the High Septon is a plain-looking man. Fair of skin, with a chiseled face, brown hair, and two bright, attentive eyes, and he stands well above average height. His armor is steel and bronze with very little embellishment, and he carries an enormous mace in the place of a sword. On his shield is the device of the Warrior’s Sons, and from his shoulders hangs a cloak striped with the seven colors of the Faith. Inwardly, the septon-turned-knight is a man of great faith and piety, deeply linked to the knightly code of honor. The man shows absolute loyalty even to his enemies, while charity and help are the rules of his life. He considers excessive violence abhorrent, does his utmost for the weak and vanquished, and burns with furious anger in the face of all cruelty and injustice.
Trait: Hale
Skill(s): Blunt Weapons (e), Brute
Talent(s): N/A
Negative Trait(s): N/A
Starting Title(s): Septon Knight, Defender of the Faith, Sworn Shield of His High Holiness
Starting Location: Opening Event
Alternate Characters: N/A

Family Tree

N/A

Timeline

7 BC – Born to a smallfolk family from the Westerlands.
3 AC – Sent away to study at the local sept by his mother, who can no longer afford to feed him and nine other siblings.
5 AC – Taken on as a squire by the septon knight Ser Edmure the True, continuing his studies as both a holy man and a soldier.
9 AC – Anointed as a septon.
11 AC – Assists Ser Edmure in saving a family of farmers from bandits and is knighted for his bravery.
15 AC – Joins up with the Warrior’s Sons under the direction of Septon Karron.
17 AC – Meets Septon Amory and acquires Jeb Adaron as a squire.
22 AC – Knights Ser Jeb for outstanding skill and valor in a melee held at Starpike.
24 AC – Amory receives the mantle of High Septon and Morden is appointed as his faithful shield.
25 AC – Accompanies the High Septon to King’s Landing for the feast in honor of the princes.

Supporting Characters

Septon Ilyn (Questioner) – A confessor in the personal service of the High Septon.
Symond of the Seven-Pointed Star (General) – A champion of the Faith who serves as the commander of the Warrior’s Sons in Oldtown.

Zaon put on his gloves as he examined the array of armaments the aides had carried to the edge of the arena. Rows of swords, spears, polearms, and maces shone under the winter sunlight. There were bucklers and shields, parrying daggers and nets. There were even more exotic variants of curved swords and glaives. Zaon reached for a longsword with a broad blade, feeling its weight in his hand. With a practiced motion, he swung it in a diagonal descending arc, a small recovery motion, and back into a low guard. He shook his head and returned it to its place in the rack.
“Too heavy,” Zaon said.
Unlike practice swords, the weapons in the rack were real tools for war. They were designed for use by mid and high-level combatants whose strength far surpassed the natural limitations of non-combatants.
Lord Nara’s team geared up at the pavilion's opposite side while a Fortifier applied the ten-layer barrier over Zaon’s opponent. Whoever had changed our name in the official documents might have prepared another assortment of nasty surprises for us. I used my mana sense to examine the barrier. The Fortifier was a middle-aged man dressed in gold with the emblem of the royal stag embroidered on the chest. Despite his supposed neutrality, I decided to play it safe.
Zaon tested two more longswords before settling on the thinnest among them. Whether it was a deliberate choice or simply instinct, the blade seemed to fit with Zaon’s style of swift attacks and agile retreats. The boy looked at me, asking me a silent question.
“A fine choice,” I replied.
The crowd roared to deafening levels in the half-moon-shaped stands. Zaon looked around with a worried expression. Not only were the upper echelons of the kingdom there, but also most of Farcrest’s population. I wondered how many of them cheered for us. Probably very few. Orphans weren’t supposed to get good classes; they were destined to live in the outskirts of the social hierarchy where their purpose was limited to serve as cannon fodder for the armies of noble houses.
The Fortifier approached us. “I’m going to apply the barrier.”
Zaon gleamed with a blue hue as the mana surrounded his body. By the time the tenth barrier closed around him, the naked eye could barely catch the difference, but my mana sense could. There was a slight, almost indistinguishable discrepancy between Zaon’s barriers and his opponent’s, not to the point of being malicious, but I could tell the Fortifier felt a little disdain against us.
“Combatants, to the arena!” The Master of Ceremonies' voice rose above the crowd’s noise. Despite none of our teams being particularly famous, the crowd was starting to get heated.
The System's raw power against Zaon’s hard work and combat knowledge passed from generation to generation. Maybe putting Zaon against a Soldier was a mistake. It was like putting the kid against his future self, against the class he believed he would become. This fight could build the foundations of a new Zaon or damage his confidence forever.
I put my hand on Zaon’s shoulder.
“Don’t rush, Zaon. Fight smart. If your opponent uses [Strengthen Armament] or [Iron Skin], just retreat until his mana runs out. This is your fight, not theirs, understood?”
“Yes, sir,” Zaon replied, his voice quivered if only slightly.
Not all the kids reacted to pressure in the same way. Fighting in front of thousands of people wasn’t something my former students had done. However, I was used to dealing with nervous kids before participating in public debates and sports events. A technical rundown of the opponent might be reassuring for Wolf or Ilya. Zaon needed another perspective; he needed to feel in control.
“Listen to me, Zaon. I’m going to ask you something really important,” I said. “Who would you rather fight, Firana or the Soldier from Team Nara?”
Zaon gave me a quizzical look. Then, a timid smile appeared on his face. With her new wind powers, Firana had turned into a little tyrant on the sparring grounds. As a result, Zaon had spent the last few days being beaten up for Firana’s amusement.
“I’d take the Soldier from House Nara. No doubt,” Zaon said with a timid smile as the gears turned inside his brain. “He can’t be as bad as Firana.”
“I’m sure he isn’t as half as bad as Firana,” I replied, gently pushing him into the arena.
Zaon walked a couple of steps before turning around. His expression was serene, and his shoulders relaxed. There wasn’t a glimpse of the jittery elf I had met several months ago. Not even the deafening whistles from the stands shook him.
“Mister Clarke?”
“Yes, Zaon?”
“I got this,” he said, giving me the thumbs-up and walking to the arena where his opponent awaited him.
I sat on a bench on the pavilion's border. My heart didn’t feel heavy anymore. Grades and scores never meant a lot to me. Sure, they could give lots of useful information about the kid’s learning process, but they weren’t my endgame. Cutting a block of granite required tens, if not hundreds, of hits. Just like a granite stonecutter, Zaon had put in the work, session after session. Even if this weren’t the day he could cut the block, I knew that day would come, and he seemed to understand the same.
“What did you tell him?” Firana asked as she caught up.
“Nothing, just a couple of supportive words,” I lied.
Firana gave me a suspicious look but didn’t say anything else.
We focused on the arena. The Soldier from Team Nara was taller than Zaon, and his shoulders were broader. Elves were late bloomers compared to humans, but that didn’t mean Zaon was dramatically weaker. Zaon had the advantage of his elven traits.
Firana squeezed my arm as she bit her nails.
“The rules are simple. The fight will end after one of the participants breaks the opponent’s ten barriers. There will be no pause between breaks. If you want to give up at any moment of the fight, raise your hand,” the Master of Ceremonies announced. “On guard!”
Zaon adopted the perfect pflug guard: his knees slightly bent, his left foot ahead, his hands near his hip, and the tip of the sword pointing at his opponent’s head.
“Fight!” the Master of Ceremonies yelled.
The Soldier adopted a similar, low guard stance but with his longsword pointing down, inviting Zaon to attack. The elven boy, however, didn’t take the bait. His expression was serene, completely absorbed in the fight.
“Lino, what are you doing? He has no Class, no skills! End this quickly!” Lord Nara yelled from the bench at the other side of the weapons rack.
The Soldier seemed to snap out of his trance and threw a quick diagonal strike. Zaon avoided the blade by stepping back, [Keen Senses] helping him bring his reaction times as low as possible. I held my breath, waiting for Zaon’s riposte, but the attack never came. The Soldier, sensing the opening in his defense, hesitated for an instant, but Zaon stepped back, maintaining the defensive stance.
“What are you doing!” Lord Nara yelled from the sideline.
The Soldier pressed the attack, marching forward and unleashing a flurry of blows.
The crowd roared.
Zaon seemed to glide over the arena, his feet gently kicking the ground to dodge every blow. The Soldier’s broad longsword gleamed with mana as he unleashed a violent strike. Zaon leaned back, barely dodging the blow but leaving the Soldier off balance. Instead of exploiting the opening, Zaon stepped out of range.
“Is the elf toying with his opponent?” Someone asked inside the pavilion.
“I don’t know, that kid doesn’t move like someone without a class,” another voice replied. “Well… his opponent is a Soldier Class. It’s no surprise the fight is stalling.”
Minutes passed. Zaon hadn’t thrown a single strike and the Soldier was becoming more desperate as Lord Nara yelled at him to finish the encounter quickly. The Soldier lunged, feinted, and pushed forward, but Zaon was always a step away from the tip of his sword. Compared to Firana, the Soldier from Team Nara was downright sluggish.
I opened my mouth to tell Zaon to go into the attack but stopped at the last second. Zaon didn’t work well under pressure. I reminded myself that this wasn’t my fight. Zaon needed to find his own pace.
“Use your skills, stupid boy!” Lord Nara yelled from the sideline.
The Soldier hesitated. “But, sir…”
“Forget about the plan!” Lord Nara slammed his hand against the weapons rack, making the wood crack. That was the hand of a high-level combatant, not a wealthy merchant.
Mana surged through the Soldier’s body.
“Careful, Zaon!” I yelled.
The Soldier used [Quick Step], his body turning into a blur and closing the distance between him and Zaon in a blink. Mana swirled around his broad longsword and struck with a swift diagonal blow. Just as I had feared, The Soldier was also using a fortifying skill on his longsword.
Zaon blocked near the hilt, but even the leverage advantage wasn’t enough. The blow bowled Zaon’s sword out of the way. Zaon stepped away, but the Soldier smelled blood in the water. The Soldier used [Quick Step] again, placing himself in Zaon’s blind spot.
Zaon raised his sword over his shoulder just in time to block the Soldier’s attack. The weight of the enhanced weapon made Zaon stumble and fall to the ground. The crowd roared.
“Zaon! They train for power! We train for technique!” I yelled.
The elven boy rolled away and jumped on his feet just as the Soldier rushed him. This time, however, Zaon didn’t block. Instead, he dodged and moved his sword out of the way. The Soldier put too much force into the blow because his foot slipped over the loose ground. The enhanced sword was more difficult to control. Momentum was a jealous mistress.
I smiled. Wolf’s strength had taught Zaon that sometimes avoiding the opponent’s blade was better than binding swords.
It happened in an instant.
The Soldier lost his foothold, and Zaon seized the opportunity. Zaon swung his sword and landed a clean strike on his opponent’s head. Then, instead of retreating, Zaon pushed forward and landed a second blow before the Soldier could raise his sword. Even then, after two successful blows, Zaon pressed the attack, closing the distance between him and the Soldier and preventing his opponent from building momentum with his enchanted sword.
I held my breath as the swords bound in an uncomfortable position. They were too close to one another. If Zaon retreated, he would be in a disadvantageous position. Instead, Zaon grabbed the opponent’s blade and used his own sword as leverage. A violent pull, and a moment later, the Soldier’s sword flew from his hands and fell on the dusty arena with a metallic clank.
The crowd was completely silent. Out of nowhere, Zaon broke three barriers and disarmed his opponent. The Soldier retreated, raising his fists, but Zaon didn’t perform a follow-up attack.
The Soldier’s sword lay behind Zaon. There was no way he could retrieve it without losing his remaining barriers.
“There will be no pauses between barrier breaks,” the Master of Ceremonies said, reminding the contestants. “The fight must continue even if one of the contestants has been disarmed.”
Zaon looked at me, breathing heavily under the padded jacket. His blonde hair stuck to his face, and a drop of sweat hung from his nose. I nodded.
“Pick it up,” Zaon muttered, lowering his sword and wiping the sweat from his eyebrows.
“What?” the Soldier asked. “You know you could go for my remaining barriers, don’t you? The rules said so.”
“I know, but I won’t attack an unarmed opponent,” Zaon replied, picking up the sword and offering the handle to his opponent.
The Soldier grabbed it and raised his guard. “It would’ve been better for your team if you won already. They will hate you for giving me a second chance.”
Zaon shrugged his shoulders and adopted the alber guard, with the point of the sword low, pointing at his opponent’s feet. A guard that invited the opponent to attack. The Soldier’s strategy, however, changed. Instead of obeying Lord Nara’s angered commands, he assumed a defensive stance and waited for Zaon to take the lead. Zaon was a defensive fighter, so I feared that attacking would open him up to a riposte.
My fears were unfounded.
Zaon pressed the attack, fluttering around the Soldier and attacking with quick strikes aimed at his hands. It wasn’t the flashiest fight, but Zaon’s strategy was effective; by not engaging in a blow exchange, Zaon always remained a step away from the Soldier’s counterattacks. By ignoring Lord Nara’s commands, the fight became more balanced.
For each barrier broken by the Soldier, Zaon shattered two.
The Soldier used his last reserves of mana Quick-Step and landed a heavy blow to Zaon’s shoulder, but the elven boy brushed it off and countered with a diagonal slash that broke the Soldier’s last barrier. Zaon jumped back and raised his sword but the match had ended. The Soldier raised his hands, recognizing his defeat and the crowd burst into applause, whistling and yelling.
“The fight is over!” The Master of Ceremonies announced. “Zaon from Lowell’s Orphanage wins, with seven barriers left!”
An ovation came down from the stands.
Zaon saluted his opponent stiff like a 70’s movie robot and walked back to the pavilion.
“You forgot to greet the Prince, Zaon!” I yelled from the bench.
The kid jumped in place, like a startled cat, and ran back toward the VIP box. He made a deep bow and crossed the arena, still running, until he reached the pavilion. The crowd’s ovation had turned into a light-hearted laughter. It was hard not to love the kid.
As soon as Zaon reached the pavilion, Firana caught him in a headlock.
“You dirty showoff! How dare you steal my crowd!” Firana grunted, letting him go.
Zaon looked me straight in the eye, his shoulders trembling like a leaf and fear washing over his face. “Did I win, right?”
I had to stifle a laugh. “Yes, Zaon. You did excellent work.”
“Thank God,” Zaon sighed, dropping to the bench and closing his eyes.
Ilya, Wolf, and Firana swarmed Zaon, but the boy didn’t want to do anything other than hide his head on the ground. I smiled. He needed a moment to process what had happened and to let the adrenaline evaporate.
The weight in my chest was lifted. My teaching methods worked back on Earth, but until that moment, I was ignorant of their real effectiveness in this world. That feeling was no more. The small voice that told me I was nurturing false hopes in the hearts of the kids disappeared.
I glanced across the pavilion. Lord Nara was chewing out Zaon’s opponent. His face was red, and the veins in his forehead seemed about to burst. The pavilion was in a state of shock. Lords joined heads and whispered, casting swift glances in our direction. Even those who knew me from the feast couldn’t help themselves but try to find answers to the same question. How did an orphaned, classless kid like Zaon beat a Lv.9 Soldier?
I grinned. They would have to keep guessing.
We didn’t have time to rejoice in Zaon’s triumph because the Master of Ceremonies called the next round.
“Contenders, please enter the arena,” the Master of Ceremonies said. “Ilya the Hunter versus Arel Nara the Warrior!”
____________
First Prev Next (Patreon)
____________
Discord Royal Road Patreon

Now we’re reaching the end of the excellent competition that has enthralled us for over a month, it’s time for some level headed and calm discussion over who has the right to have forged England. Essays and polite arguments welcome.
I think there are valid claims on both sides but I will wear my bias cleanly, I am very much team Æðelstan. Alfred was a very influential bulwark against the Danes, and an excellent ruler, intellectual, lawmaker and general. But at heart he was only king of the West Saxons. Now, of course he claimed at certain points to be King of the Anglo-Saxons” but this was only aspirational and inspirational. I don’t believe he ever ruled a united England or saw England as a united political entity. He clearly did see the Anglo-Saxons as a distinct peoples and told their story in his Chronicle, but that doesn’t imply a united country or polity. And while his actions secured independence, peace and christianity, they didn’t give England unity.
Æðelstan on the other hand created an England as a united political entity and ensured it remained one kingdom. Raised in the Mercian court, he was not uncontested in his rule of Wessex, but when he did secure the throne he made it clear that he intended to be King of a united England (and Britain). The first act symbolising this was at his coronation, consciously held at Kingston, along the symbolic border between Mercia and Wessex, and nowhere near Winchester. He focussed his reforms in the centralisation and reorganisation of disparate systems and made an effort to subdue independent minded Mercia, York and Northumberland. It could easily have emerged that England formed as 3 kingdoms along the traditional lines of Wessex, Mercia, Northumberland or as two, England and the Danelaw, but Æðelstan’s actions allowed it to emerge as one, and as arguably the first united kingdom in Europe.
Fee free to make your arguments below

I work at a doggy daycare, boarding, and grooming facility. In august of 2023, we had two dogs stay with us - they ended up being abandoned and the one had my heart. One of my other coworkers was interested in the other. Legal stuff had to settle with the abandonment, but I had just moved into my first apartment and wanted something to care for. We really had no background knowledge of the dogs, but both were extremely skinny, king nails, poor dental care, etc. I ended up taking in the one, he is four now, and he wasn’t neutered when I first got him, but that was the FIRST thing I did. Anyways, he has some issues I wasn’t aware of. He was definitely abused… it started with me raising my voice, even if it wasn’t at him, he would hide under my bed. And then he would resource guard the space. He’s labeled as a border terrier mix - he definitely has a range of diff breeds but I have yet to do a dna test. He’s really high energy, has high prey drive, but he ADORES other dogs. He loves to be outside and run, genuinely he’s a good dog he just has issues. There’s been two times now that he’s gotten me VERY good. Both times I was drinking, I sense that his previous owners would drink and hit him. He resource guards my bed, his crate, certain treats. I love him, and I do worry that if I were to rehome him he would be euthanized for his behavior. I don’t think he’s too far gone and I want to help him. I don’t know what to do. I take him to work with me, unless it’s a half day shift. I think sometimes I don’t take him out enough. Cbd does nothing really for him. He was the dog I got after I lost my father and an ex boyfriend, so he means a lot to me and I want to make this work. I have changed his name, as it was suggested by a vet since he could associate his old name with abuse. I don’t know how to reprimand him other then crating him, he gets super nasty and shows all of his teeth. He’s got a bad underbite and snaggle tooth - but he can mess me up! And he has. He will bite me in my sleep if he’s in my bed. He’ll cuddle up next to me, but I’m an active sleeper so I’m not sure if when I move it scares him? Apologies that this jumps all over, I’m very stressed and lost and need help. Thank you!

Date: 05/17/2024

Reading time: 2 minutes, 402 words

🏛️ Politics & Government

Adopted “Agents Law” Differs from the Original, Foresees Personal Fines – Experts

The final version of the controversial foreign agents’ law was amended in its third and final reading on May 14. It now allows for imposing fines on physical persons for failing to disclose data on suspected agents under “foreign influence’s influence. The previous version, passed in the first reading, only foresaw such penalties against legal persons.

CivilGe

MIA Says “No Record” of Arrest of U.S. Citizen, Who Accused Police of Beating him at Rally

U.S. citizen Daryl Scholtz recounted how he was attacked by four masked policemen during one of the days of the ongoing rally against the Foreign Agents Law. He said four masked men attacked and beat him, causing injuries including a hematoma on his brain. The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) issued a statement in response to an interview with him. MIA states that this person was never arrested, never called 112, and was never taken to a hospital, in an attempt to evade responsibility.

CivilGe

NBG Refutes Reports of Russia Money Transfers Resuming through Sanctioned UNISTREAM

The Russian payment system Unistream was sanctioned by the U.S. last July. It is still possible to make money transfers from Russia to Georgia through the system.

CivilGe

Georgian PM offers youth to participate in “public discussions” on transparency law

Georgian PM Irakli Kobakhidze offered youth participating in demonstrations against the law on transparency of foreign influence to select 10 representatives and participate in “public discussions” on the controversial law. The PM also said the ruling team was “completely open all this time” to discuss the law, and noted his Government had also offered foreign ambassadors in Georgia to join public discussions.

AgendaGe

Forum Network Statement of Solidarity with Those Taking a Principled Stand against Georgian Authorities’ ‘Foreign Agents’ Law

The NGO Forum on ADB expresses solidarity with the tens of thousands of people across Georgia who continue to raise their voices against the ‘foreign agents’ law. The law labels NGOs and media outlets receiving more than 20% foreign funding as “organizations acting in the interest of a foreign power” The ADB, as a multilateral financial institution providing support to highly repressive regimes, is therefore nothing less than a complicit actor.

GeorgiaToday

💵 Economy

“Russo-Georgian Business Council” Advocates for Trade in National Currencies and Restoration of Diplomatic Relations

On May 14, the “Russo-Georgian Business Council” held an extended meeting to discuss “the development of relations” between Russia and Georgia on both economic and cultural levels. The meeting emphasized ‘the need for further work to bring the countries together’ and called for financial settlements in trade to be conducted in national currencies – rubles and GEL.

CivilGe

Date: 05/16/2024

Reading time: 5 minutes, 1003 words

🏛️ Politics & Government

Will Armenia Leapfrog Georgia to EU Accession?

The ongoing demonstrations in Georgia are the culmination of an ever widening gulf between the country’s ruling class and its disenfranchised masses. Billionaire patron Bidzina Ivanishvili delivered an inflammatory, anti-Western tirade last month that practically amounted to a war cry.

GeorgiaToday

If President Zourabichvili declared as UNM leader, it will be “announcement of second front” in Georgia - PM

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze says Salome Zourabichvili could lead the United National Movement party. He said the move would be good for the ruling Georgian Dream party's upcoming parliamentary results.

AgendaGe

RSF Calls for Transparent Investigation of Attacks on Journalists

Reporters Without Borders addressed the increasing number of attacks on journalists covering the ongoing protests against the foreign agents law. RSF notes that more than a dozen journalists have been subjected to violence and intimidation since April 3, when Georgia’s ruling party reintroduced the notorious law.

CivilGe

Key CSO Network Revokes Memorandum with Parliament over “Russian Law”

The Georgian National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum (EaP CSF GNP) unites more than 150 civil society organizations. The statement declares solidarity with those “who have become a victim of large-scale repressions, physical and psychological violence in recent days”

CivilGe, 120 CSOs Call for “Unconditional Withdrawal” of Agents Law

Leading MEPs call on European Council and Commission to ‘Reconsider’ EU-Georgia Relations

Three leading MEPs call on the European Council and European Commission to reconsider the EU-Georgia relations, including the EU’s political and financial support to the country. The MEPs reiterate their “full solidarity” with the Georgian people, who they say are “bravely defending” democratic values.

CivilGe, International Reactions to Final Adoption of Foreign Agents Law, MEPs Call on European Council & European Commission to review EU-Georgia relations, MEPs Call on European Council & European Commission to review EU-Georgia relations, Michael Roth: We shouldn’t help “Georgian nightmare” to “modify” the “law on foreign agents”, FMs: Georgian gov’t is not fulfilling its promises to the EU

Parliament completes public review of draft law prepared against LGBT propaganda

Georgian Dream submitted a bill on constitutional amendments “to protect family values and minors” from “pseudo-liberal propaganda” The changes concern the rights of representatives of the LGBTQ+ community. Chairman of Parliament Shalva Papuashvili said religious denominations fully support the draft law.

GeorgiaToday

President Salome Zurabishvili’s Interviews with Foreign Media

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili gave interviews to foreign media and publications on May 15. She said that she would veto the law within the 14-day period and would only be a demonstration of the vast majority of the Georgian people who oppose the law. She refused to make any predictions about the development of the ongoing mass protests against the law and especially about the ongoing popular protests.

CivilGe

The Prime Minister of Georgia to meet with the President of Turkey

The Prime Minister of Georgia, Irakli Kobakhidze, together with the delegation, was hosted by the President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

GeorgiaToday

💵 Economy

GEL is depreciating: Official value of 1 US dollar becomes 2.7596 GEL

The official value of 1 US dollar became 2.7596 GEL. Today’s rate was 2.7323 GEL. The National Bank sold 60,000,000 US dollars at the foreign exchange auction to stabilize the exchange rate of the Lari (GEL)

GeorgiaToday

Investing in Georgia’s East-West Highway – the Country’s Key Trade and Transport Artery

Georgia's East-West Highway carries over 60% of Georgia’s transit trade and cargo transit, as well as accommodating citizen and tourism flow. The cost of constructing the highway was set at approximately GEL 3 billion (EUR 1 billion), and after experiencing significant delays, it is now slated for completion by the end of 2026. It is part of the European E60, E97 and E117 routes and Asian Highways AH5, AH81 and AH82.

GeorgiaToday

Date: 05/15/2024

Reading time: 3 minutes, 737 words

🏛️ Politics & Government

“Still chance” for Georgian authorities to reconsider transparency law - EU Commission Várhelyi

EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement says there is 'still a chance' for Georgian authorities to reconsider law on transparency of foreign influence. Law adopted by Georgian Parliament on Tuesday calls for registration of non-commercial legal entities and media outlets in the country as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they derive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad.

AgendaGe, Trans-Atlantic Foreign Affairs Committee Chairs Slam Agent’s Law, Pledge Support to NGOs, Media, Joint Press Point of Georgian President and Foreign Ministers of Baltic Countries and Iceland, Foreign Affairs Committee Chairs of EU Member States Visit Georgia, Foreign ministers of four European countries held meetings in the Parliament of Georgia, Shalva Papuashvili meets with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, Shalva Papuashvili meets with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, Josep Borrell, EC urge Georgian authorities to withdraw the “Russian Law”

Parliament Overrides President’s Veto on Abolition of Quotas for Women MPs

Parliament overrode President's April 18 veto on amendments to Georgia’s Electoral Code that abolish gender quotas for female MPs. 85 MPs voted in favor of abolition, while 22 voted against. Prior to this decision, the Electoral Code of Georgia required that at least one out of every four persons on a party list must be a woman.

CivilGe, Amendments to Electoral Code Adopted: Parties Can Designate ‘Delegates,’ 40% Threshold in City Councils Abolished

The US will provide an additional $2 billion in aid to Ukraine

State Secretary Anthony Blinken announced this during his visit to Kyiv. Aid will be used not only to purchase weapons from other countries, but also to invest in Ukraine's own weapons and equipment.

EuroNewsGeorgia

Protests continue in Tbilisi

Protests against the "Transparency of Foreign Influence Law continue in Tbilisi. On May 15, students marched again from different places. Opponents of the law think that this law is.Russian and will remove Georgia from the path of European integration.

EuroNewsGeorgia

Georgian Companies’ Shares Drop on London Stock Exchange After Adoption of Agents Law

Shares of Georgia companies listed on the London Stock Exchange fell significantly. Bank of Georgia shares plunged about 15 percent as of 15:00 Tbilisi time. Georgia Capital fell by around 9 percent and shares of TBC Bank saw 12 percent drop.

CivilGe

Date: 05/14/2024

Reading time: 5 minutes, 1012 words

🪖 Military

Ukrainian military forces are helping civilians in Kharkiv to evacuate

Russian military operations have intensified in the northern district of Kharkiv. Thousands of civilians are forced to leave their places of residence. Only artillery bombardments have been taking place on this section of the front.

EuroNewsGeorgia

🏛️ Politics & Government

Lazare Grigoriadis again arrested near the parliament

Lazare Grigoriadis was arrested at the rally against “Russian Law” in front of the parliament. He was recently released from prison through an act of pardon released by President Salome Zurabishvili. Ministry of Internal Affairs says the rally damaged the protective fences located in the vicinity of the Parliament building.

GeorgiaToday

Violent incidents are “categorically unacceptable” - Georgian PM calls on “everyone to be patient”

Georgian PM Irakli Kobakhidze on Tuesday said violent incidents were “categorically unacceptable” and called on “everyone to be patient” The Head of the Government pointed out that an investigation had been launched into several cases and highlighted it as “higher than European and American investigation standards”

AgendaGe

The White House Ready to “Fundamentally Reassess” Relations with Georgia over Agents’ Law

Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the White House was “deeply troubled by Georgia’s Kremlin style foreign agents legislation. She said the legislation would compel us to fundamentally reassess our relationship our relations with Georgia.

CivilGe, Domestic Reactions to Adoption of Foreign Agents Law, International Reactions to Final Adoption of Foreign Agents Law, Breaking: Foreign Agents’ Law Adopted, Amid Protest, Brawls, US Assistant Secretary of State on the bill and possible sanctions, Top US politicians pen letter to Georgian PM condemning foreign agents bill, Top US politicians pen letter to Georgian PM condemning foreign agents bill

Salome Zurabishvili says Will Act as “Guarantor” of the Pro-European Front in Elections

President Salome Zurabishvili spoke to CNN’s Christian Amanpour and said she would be “leading the pro-European front” of the opposition parties and civil society in upcoming elections. She clarified that she does not intend to run for a seat but will “act as a guarantor” for this pro-Western and pro-EU front. Zurabishedvili said several laws, including the “foreign agent law” that she called “the Russian law, are “taking Georgia away from the EU path”

CivilGe, Georgian Dream to give final vote on “Russian” law at 12pm, protests continue

Protests against the draft law "On transparency of foreign influence" continue

Citizens gathered in front of the Parliament of Georgia from 9 o'clock in the morning for the action against the draft law "On transparency of foreign influence. 13 participants of the rally were arrested by law enforcers.

EuroNewsGeorgia, The Parliament of Georgia adopted the draft law on "transparency of foreign influence" in the third reading, The bill on "transparency of foreign influence" will be discussed in the third reading today, citizens are gathering at the parliament, Parliament adopts the Law “On Transparency of Foreign Influence”, Parliament adopts the Law “On Transparency of Foreign Influence”

Deputies physically confront each other at plenary session of Parliament

Georgian Dream MP Dimitri Samkharadze verbally attacked the Chairman of the National Movement, Levan Khabeishvili, at the plenary session, and then tried to physically assault the opposition MP. The bailiffs and other MPs did not allow him to do so.

GeorgiaToday

End of Visit Briefing by Assistant Secretary O’Brien: There’d be consequences if law implemented as it now stands

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Jim O’Brien held a briefing to discuss the results of his visit to Georgia and meetings with representatives of the government, civil society, and the opposition. He spoke of the US assistance of more than 6 billion USD to Georgia since 1992, as a manifestation of the strategic partnership.

CivilGe, US Assistant Secretary of State on the bill and possible sanctions, Gov’t: Georgian-American relations discussed at meeting between Irakli Kobakhidze and Jim O’Brien

If you'd like to support this work/ get these reports emailed daily: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsreports

https://preview.redd.it/m2nepp5r711d1.png?width=720&format=png&auto=webp&s=a3dc4a602bdb43c381757eb1eaf23ef7df7883c9
Download Pokemon: Cool Spot Version v1.3 patch
Pokecommunity Update Post
Hey folks! Here is a pretty big update for Cool Spot Version! This is going to be the last update before I polish everything up and release the full, finished game! There's some big changes here!
Changelog:
Bug Fixes - EVERY single pokemon is now available to obtain in a single playthrough! Even legendaries! - Text border #20 now works properly - Move tutors now work on intended Pokemon - Cave of Coolness warp locations now work correctly
Balance Changes - All gym leaders have been balanced based on feedback, Phanpy and other ground types now available to obtain before the Wattson fight, Staryu now available before the Flannery fight - Pinsir buffed just cause I like him and he's very cool, very minor improvement in base stats, +5 base attack, +10 base defense - All vitamins now only cost 500$, Rare candies cost 1000$ at the black market - Rare Candies now raise level by 2 stages, and there is no restriction on the amount of vitamins you can give a Pokemon per stat
NEW LOCATIONS!!! - Introducing the BLACK MARKET! For those folks who enjoy EV Training and don't like grinding levels or money, the black market is your one-stop shop for rare candies, vitamin supplements, and includes the Blissey Safari, a new EXP grinding location that lets you fight unlimited blisseys, all holding nuggets to grind $$$ pretty easily!

• The black market is open just outside the desert on Route 111 and can be reached as soon as you beat Wattson and learn rock smash.
• The Black Market also has entrances in Mosdeep City, and there is a secret Black Market entrance in the safari zone just in case anyone wants to use a Safari Ball to catch a specific pokemon
• Leaving the black market through its proper exit will take you to route 111, regardless of what entrance you picked
  
• In Sootopolis, next to the Pokemon Center is the HOUSE OF TUTORS! A new location to teach your Pokemon tutor moves that are not normally teachable, or are egg moves in gen 3
  
• Additionally, all move tutors will be able to teach your Pokemon their moves an unlimited amount of times, despite the "only once" dialogue appearing
  
• House of Tutors will teach your Pokemon: Rock Slide, Fire Punch, Heat Wave, Magical Leaf, Mandibite, Drill Peck, and False Swipe
  
• New tutors also appear on Slateport Beach and just outside Rusturf Tunnel and teach you Magnitude and Double Kick respectively
  

NEW FEATURES!!! - The story of the game has been slightly altered to reflect changes! Enjoy all the new dialogue, and enrich yourself in the battle of cola and uncola! Save the world in the coolest way possible! - Cool spot has invaded the HUD and UI of the game!! Look for Cool Spot on your trainer card, party menu, the Pokedex, the Map, your Bag menu, and all sorts of new places! How cool! - Both evil Teams have their costumes and overworld sprites altered to fit their twisted plans! - All in-game dialogue has been changed to reflect the appropriate in-game changes (Ex: Potions are now refered to as 7-Up and so on) - There is no longer an annoying beeping when you reach Red HP - Added several new Pokemon! - Added new locations: Black Market, Blissey Safari, and the House of Tutors - Cool Spot now has 2 new unique level up moves, and learns Bubblebeam at an earlier level - Introduces a new Gym Leader battle and unique TM move, available at the Sootopolis Gym - Tutors now Teach your Pokemon an unlimited amount of times - Fishing now works like FLG, no more timing bites - Poison will not damage you outside of battle anymore - Safari Zone now gives you an unlimited number of steps, you will only be kicked out if you retire or run out of Safari Balls - You now start with the national Pokedex! You can now read the dex entries/see areas of non-hoenn Pokemon - HMs are now Deleteable like normal moves! You do not need to see the move deleter - Deoxys/Mew now obey you! - New PC wallpapers and Text Box themes featuring Cool Spot and 7-Up - Harbor Mail is now the Cool Mail and has a picture of Cool Spot on it - Overworld changes are now much cooler! Pokemon Centers and Pokemarts are now Cool Centers and Cool Marts and have Cool Spot on the outside instead of a Pokeball - EXP is now Cool Points! The HUD and status screen now reflect this, Exp Share is now the Cool Share, and Lucky Egg is now the Cool Egg - Using Flash will illuminate the entire map, not just a little section - EVs will now be maxed out at 252 instead of 255 per stat - Randos will no longer bug you on the PokeNav
Thank you folks, and stay cool! I'll see you all in the final release!

Just for a bit of context, I originally wrote this story for Odd_directions which is a fiction subreddit. We're doing an event over there called Monster May where we write stories about giant monsters. I thought it would be fun to try writing one in a kind of analog/found footage transcript style. This story took me about a week to write. You can consider this to be more experimental on my part because I want to continue this style except with a longer narrative as opposed to this one-off story here.
Anyway, let me know what you think of it and I hope you enjoy it.
On May 22, 2008, a wrecked Honda Accord was found on the Alaskan-Canadian border at approximately 5:30 AM. According to the witness who reported this to the authorities, it seemingly appeared out of nowhere, somehow ending up on its roof in the middle of the road. No driver or passengers were present in the vehicle. The only thing found of note was a video camera, the footage of which revolves around a family of four.
Kent Morris: Owner of the vehicle as indicated by the certificates found in the dashboard. Age: 38
Charlene Morris: Wife to Kent and mother to their children. Age: 36
Lena Morris: Daughter. Estimated Age: 7-8
Deb Morris: son, Estimated Age: 1-2
The following is a transcript of the footage.
It begins with the camera turning on with Lena smiling into it.
Lena: I think I got it working!
Kent: How can you tell?
Lena: Um, the red light is on.
Charlene: Lena, turn that thing off! That’s supposed to be for your cousin’s wedding.
Lena: But I’m bored!
Kent: Alright, we’ll tell you what. You can turn it back on when we get near your aunt and uncle’s town. Okay?
Lena: Okay.
The footage ceases and resumes several hours later. A sign reading “Welcome to Silverwright. Come stay for a while” is shown. Deb is then heard crying which is recorded.
Lena: Mom, Deb won't stop crying!
Charlene: Aw, it's probably just his toothaches.
Some funny faces by her and Kent in the rearview mirror help calm Deb down. Now, he laughs and smiles. The next 30 minutes of footage consists of the surrounding forest area and local businesses.
Kent: Hey, I'm getting hungry. Who wants to grab a bite?
Charlene: I could eat.
Lena: Me too! I'm starving!
Kent: Alright, now the question is where can we stop?
Charlene: Margaret was telling me about a new place that opened up in this town a week ago. I think it was called Betsy's.
Kent: What kind of food does it have?
Charlene: Meat and seafood.
Kent: Sure, that should work. Did Margaret tell you where in town it is?
Charlene: No, sorry.
Kent: No big deal, we'll just keep an eye out for it.
The Morris family does come across the restaurant. The building has a cabin-like exterior with a sign showing a crab holding a fish with Betsy's name over it in green neon lettering. They park and exit their vehicle. Lena films the surrounding area. The sound of buttons on the camera being pressed can be heard.
Presumably, this is her trying to figure out more features about it. Lena activates the zoom function. Upon doing so, some figures can be seen moving amongst trees in the distance. The shadowing makes it difficult to discern, but there appear to be at least three or four, wearing hooded black robes.
Kent: Lena, come on!
The camera zooms out and Lena follows her family into the establishment. The inside is bustling with patrons.
Charlene: Lena, why did you bring that inside? I don't want people looking at us funny.
Lena: But you and Dad said I could use it.
Kent: I mean, she's not wrong.
Charlene gives her husband a look of annoyance. The family then gets a booth. Lena sets down the camera which is angled at the window they are seated in front of. They then make their orders.
Waitress: Alright, just to double check that's going to be one surf and turf plate, an order of stuffed crabs with hush puppies, and two kids' chicken tenders with fries, correct?
Charlene: Yes, thank you so much.
Waitress: And the drinks?
Lena: Coke!
Charlene: No, we can't have you bouncing around our hotel room all night.
Lena: But Mom!
Kent: Listen to your mother, sweety.
Charlene: She'll have a Sprite. I'll have an iced tea, heavy on lemon.
Kent: And I'll have a rum and Coke.
Waitress: And dessert?
Charlene: Baked Alaska.
Kent: Let's see. I could go for some apple pie.
Lena: Strawberry Ice cream!
Charlene: Okay, but you're giving some to Deb.
Lena: Why do I have to?
Charlene: Lena, learn to share.
Lena: Yes, Mom.
While waiting for their food, a ringtone sounds. Kent pulls out his cell phone.
Kent: It's Johnny.
He answers.
Kent: Hey, what's up? No, it's fine. We're about to eat. We're at that new place you and Margaret went to. Yeah, that's the one.
How's Sindy been? Nervous, I bet. Hopefully, it goes well. Brett seems like a good guy. What?
Kent covers the phone and looks at Charlene.
Kent: “Hey, Johnny says Margaret wants to talk to you.”
Charlene agrees and is handed the phone.
Charlene: Hi, Margaret. No, the ride wasn't too bad. Deb and Lena actually behaved better than we thought. What do you need? I mean I could, but it's kind of short notice. It's in a few days. How has she not decided on one yet? I know it's her big day, but at some point, she needs to accept that not everything about it is going to be perfect.
Kent: I can attest to that. Always limit the number of drinks people can have.
Charlene gives Kent another glare before continuing her conversation.
Charlene: Alright, if no one else can, I guess I can make a little time while we're here. Okay, see you soon then. Bye.
Charlene hangs up and hands the phone back to Kent.
Charlene: They want me to help pick out a dress for Sindy.
Kent: This close to the wedding?
Charlene: I know. That girl is smart, but it feels like she can't make a decision to save her life.
The food arrives at the table and the waitress tells them to let her know if they need anything else before leaving. The next hour consists of the family eating.
Kent (while chewing): They weren't kidding. This place hits the spot.
Charlene: Don't talk with your mouth full. It sets a bad example for the kids.
Kent: My bad.
Charlene: The food is great, though. Are you enjoying it too, Lena?
Lena: Yep!
After some time, Charlene excuses herself to go to the restroom and tells Kent to watch their children. Kent lets Lena sip some of his Coke.
Kent: Shit, your mother's coming back. Also, don't say that word.
Lena: Shit?
Kent: No, don't! Yes, Lena, that word.
The meal continues. Something to note here is captured through the window. Once again, this relates to the forest. This time, different colored distortions can be seen, similar to digital glitching. Further analysis of this segment shows that the top of the trees appears to bend slightly.
While this could be due to a camera malfunction, it is unclear why this was condensed to such a small distant area. Upon concluding their meal, the Morris family has the rest of their food to go and exits Betsy's, heading to their hotel, a place known as Salt River Inn. Once inside their room, Lena starts jumping on one of the beds.
Charlene: Kent, did you let her have some Coke?
Kent: No, maybe.
Charlene: I said not to. Lena, get down from there this instant!
Lena is presumably too occupied to hear her mother's command.
Kent: Don't worry. I think I know what might help.
Kent turns on the TV, flipping through the channels until finding that Mulan by Disney is playing, having just begun. Lena stops jumping and sits on the bed, watching the screen tentatively.
Kent: See? No problem. Anyway, I'm heading in the shower. Want to come?
Seeing that their children are occupied, Charlene agrees. Mulan continues playing. The parents exit the bathroom around the movie's climax. Just then, the film is interrupted by a screen reading “Silverwright Weather Service” and an EAS beep sounds from the speakers.
Lena: Hey, where did the movie go?
Below is the message as heard.
[Attention residents of Silverwright, hazardous conditions are expected shortly.]
Kent: Johnny said the weather was supposed to be clear. Damn news people don't know a snake hole from their-
Charlene: Kent, be quiet! I want to hear this.
[For your safety, staying inside and away from windows is recommended. Shut off all lights and unplug all electrical devices to prevent damage due to strong currents.]
Charlene: At least it doesn't sound too serious. Hopefully, this will pass by morn-
[It is also advised that battery-operated devices be turned off as well. This includes cell phones, portable gaming devices, and even calculators. If you must have something on, a radio is most suitable for up-to-date information. Be mindful of volume should you choose this. Conditions are projected to last through the next several nights. We now return to your regularly scheduled program.]
Mulan resumes after a McDonald’s Happy Meal commercial.
Charlene: I wonder if Johnny and Margaret saw this too. Maybe we should give them a call?
Kent: No, I bet they’re sleeping already. You know how they are. Even an earthquake couldn’t wake them.
Charlene: Okay, are you keeping your phone on?
Kent: I don’t see why I shouldn’t.
Charlene: What about what the alert said?
Kent: How should I know? It’s probably like having your phone on airplane mode during a flight. It doesn’t mean anything.
The movie finishes. Charlene tells Lena to get ready for bed. She obeys and afterward lays down to sleep.
Charlene: Lena, did you remember to turn off that camera?
Groggily, Lena turns over and tries to shut it off. In her attempt, she accidentally hits the zoom button on the camera again and knocks it on its side, making it face the window. The red blinking light of a radio tower can be seen far away. Someone is climbing it. This is believed to be one of the hooded figures seen earlier in the video.
They reach the top and seem to raise their arms to the sky in a sort of welcoming gesture. The earlier digital-like distortion appears again. Something comes out of it, either a limb or appendage, and lifts the person, out of view. The distortion then pulses violet and rapidly spreads, soon making the sky above Silverwright the same color. Two hours later, Kent’s phone rings.
Charlene: “It’s after midnight. Who’s calling us now?”
The sound of the bed creaking can be heard.
Kent: Johnny again?
Charlene: I bet Sindy's freaking out that the wedding might be canceled. Answer, but tell him whatever it is will have to wait.
Kent: Hey, Johnny, listen. Wait, Sindy?
The bed creaks again as Kent sits up.
Kent: What? Hang on. I can’t understand you. Let me put you on speaker.
Sindy (sobbing): Mom and Dad are gone. I think something’s happened to them.
Charlene sits up as well. Kent replies to Sindy in a leveled tone.
Kent: Okay, Sindy, I want you to listen closely. Are you somewhere safe?
Sindy: I think so. Brett and I got into an argument earlier. My parents said I could come over. We talked for a while and then I fell asleep on the couch. I woke up about an hour ago to grab something from the fridge. I heard something weird coming from upstairs I wanted to see what it was.
Kent (pausing before replying): What did you find?
Sindy: It sounded like my parents were up so I decided to check on them, but they didn’t respond when I knocked on their door. I decided to try opening it and it was unlocked. They were just standing in front of the window. I think they were staring at something.
Kent: Were you able to see what?
Sindy: No, but the only thing near the house is the woods and that radio tower. Wait, maybe that’s what they were looking at. Their radio was acting weird before it happened.
Kent: Before what happened?
Sindy: Kent…I don’t think I’ll ever be able to comprehend what I saw. There was a purple flash and then their windows were busted in. Something grabbed them. I don’t know what it was. It reminded me of a giant hand only dark like a shadow. They didn’t even scream or anything while they were being pulled away. It was like they were okay with what was happening.
Charlene is the one who replies.
Charlene***:*** Sindy, sweety, tell us where you are in the hose right now and we’ll come get you.
Sindy: I’m in the basement. I figured that would be the safest option. Wait, what is that?
Noises akin to a tornado hitting a home sound through the phone speakers.
Sindy: Oh, god, it’s lifting everything! It’s massive! Wait…Its eyes. I understand everything now. I know I’ll be with my parents again soon.
Charlene: Sindy?
Sindy laughs.
Sindy: It’s so beautiful!
The call ends.
Charlene: We need to leave.
Kent: Leave? What about Sindy? What about Johnny and Margaret?
Charlene: We need to get them some help.
Kent: Okay, let’s try calling the police first.
He attempts and the phone keeps ringing.
Kent: Are you fucking kidding me right now?
Charlene: They must be busy.
Kent: What do we do then, go somewhere else to get help? The nearest town is hours away from here.
Charlene: I don’t see what else we can do.
Kent: I guess you’re right. We better pack.
Charlene and Kent repack their belongings. Charlene grabs the camera and carries Deb while Kent has Lena. Then the family exits the hotel room. The hall and lobby are full of people also trying to reach the exit.
Kent: We're never going to get out of here at this rate. Come on. This way.
They go to an emergency side door and push it open, causing the alarm to go off. Upon reaching their vehicle, there is a sound similar to when a microphone is held up to a speaker. Kent and Charlene let out yells of pain.
Kent: Where the hell is that coming from?
Charlene turns. A figure can be seen floating in the sky above the radio tower. Its appearance is reminiscent of a person's shadow that's been stretched out. Beams of pink light come from its eyes that scan the town below. It has an anomalous effect on whatever it touches. Inanimate objects and people alike vanish, the instant contact is made.
Charlene (voice trembling): What in God's name is happening, Kent?
Lena and Deb can be heard waking up with the latter crying. Their parents put them in the car. The camera is placed on the seat between the two children. Lena rubs her eyes.
Lena: Dad, why are we out here?
Charlene and Kent close their doors. The latter starts the car.
Kent: It's nothing, sweety, we just need to go on a little drive.
He backs out of their parking space and exits the lot, speeding down the road.
Lena: But I want to see Sindy!
Kent: We can't right now.
Lena: Why not?
Kent (voice raised): We just can't, alright?
Lena sobs slightly, but suddenly stops when she notices the camera.
Lena: Um excuse me.
Kent sighs. Charlene answers instead.
Charlene: What is it, honey?
Lena: I accidentally left the camera on.
Charlene: Don't worry about that right now. Just stay quiet and let your father drive, okay?
Lena: Okay.
Charlene: Good.
Lena picks the camera up and faces the back windshield. The creature seems larger than before.
Charlene: Kent!
Kent: I know. I see it in the mirror.
He accelerates.
Lena: Mom, Dad, what's that big thing?
Charlene: Something bad?
Lena: Is it gonna get us?
Charlene: No because we're playing a game with it, tag and if we can outrun it, we'll be safe. If you can help, try to calm your brother down.
Lena: I'll try.
The camera pans over the car floor. The head of a teddy bear sticks out from under the passenger seat. Lena grabs it and hands it to Deb. He stops crying.
Lena: Mom, I did it!
Charlene: That's good, sweety.
Kent continues speeding. On the sidewalk, the pink light washes over pedestrians. They freeze and then raise their arms in the direction of the being before vanishing.
Lena: Where did those people go?
Kent: We don't know.
He sharply turns a corner and goes onto a road that leads out of town.
Charlene: Is that it? Are we safe?
Kent: I think so. I don't know who we can go to about this. We'll try, though.
Lena: Dad?
Kent: Yes?
Lena: What's that thing doing?
The creature is rapidly scanning the area back and forth. Then it stares in their direction. The radio bursts to life with its cry from earlier, causing Kent to nearly go off the road.
Charlene: Keep it straight!
Kent: I'm trying!
The entity rips up several buildings and focuses its light on those areas. It grows and then levitates itself in the air. Its next action is technically flying. Although, its movements are more resemblant to swimming. The noise on the radio increases.
Charlene: Faster, Kent!
Kent: I don't think I can!
Lena: It's gonna catch us!
It dives, going out of view.
Kent: Huh? Where did it go?
Charlene: Kent, the road!
Lena focuses the lens on the front windshield. In the center of the road ahead, the being rises, tall enough to reach the sky. Kent tries sharply turning the steering wheel. It's assumed he is about to attempt a U-turn. Before he can, it shoots its lights at them, making them wash over the car.
It lifts off the road, freezing midair.
Kent (laughs): I get it now.
Charlene: Yes, Sindy was right all along.
Lena: Mom? Dad? What are you talking about? I don't like this.
Charlene: Don't worry, honey. It'll be okay soon.
Nothing else changes at first. Then both parents' bodies began to flatten and stretch out. They laugh as this happens. Deb and Lena begin crying.
Lena: What's happening to you guys?
Charlene: It's okay, honey. It won't hurt soon.
Lena looks at Deb who is also starting to go through the same process. She checks her hands and sees that she is as well. Both shriek as their parents' laughter turns into cackling. Simultaneously, all four family members disappear. The car hits the road and flips several times before coming to a stop.
In the months following the discovery of the Honda Accord, its tag number was used to trace back to the address of the Morris family. This lead went cold because the people who were living there had no idea who they were. By using the address of that home, we determined the possible location of Silverwright. According to our calculations, it should have been on the border going into Canada, but when we went to investigate, it was as if nothing had ever been there.
It's unclear whether the town belonged to the US state of Alaska or the Canadian Province of Yukon. However, as far as the two governments are concerned both Silverwright and the Morris family have never existed.