Хочу ще раз представитись своїм фоловерам, щоб не було ніяких недопоніманій.
Всім привіт, мене звать Сан, мені майже 30, я живу у Києві.
Я втомлена, зайобана, цинічна оптимістка, що каже, що "якось та й буде", а думає "буде гірше".
В мене немає сил на інформативні пости, як є у моїх бестіс, але є сили на емоційну жовч. І на фандом. Я багато ребложу і пощу по своїх фандомах.
Я *та сама* клята лівачка, яка провела левову частку останніх 8-ми років, сручись з йобаними комуністами. Я вірю в соціальну рівність, в доступну медицину для всіх, в ЛГБТК+ права, в те, що з олігархами треба щось робити. Я вірю в соціальну державу і оподаткування, а не державу, де заслуговують жить тільки достігатори.
Всі люди рівні, крім русні. Русня - не люди. Росія має розпастися і звільнити всі поневолені народи, але і ці народи теж мають зробити роботу над собою.
Феміністка, але я не вірю в радфем, ненавиджу треф.
Якщо ви: комуняка, рашист, нацик, терф, пліз, на вихід.
As far as I know, this is not a real quote from anyone. It certainly does not come from the linked article. Please don’t spread false quotes, no matter how much you like the sentiment.
Also, I personally hate the conclusion of this article.
Here the lesson of the Russo-Finnish War is that a diplomatic compromise may be necessary. Ukraine may have to provide a guarantee of neutrality and agree to give up some of the territory that is already de facto in the hands of Russia: Crimea and the Donbas region in the east.
- -
In some sense, everyone will dislike such an outcome. Much like the Soviets in Finland, Putin will be frustrated that he failed to conquer and annex the entire country. The Ukrainians will be unhappy with the loss of their territory, as the Finns were. The U.S. and its allies will dislike removing sanctions against Putin despite his evident war crimes (although may be partly mollified if it calms the global economy).
But that outcome would stop the fighting, get Ukrainian refugees home, and allow the nation to continue as a sovereign albeit neutral state. Sometimes neutrality has advantages: Finland was able to serve as the negotiating place for the 1975 Helsinki Accords, which among other things guaranteed new human-rights protections for Soviet citizens.
Although there are obvious differences, the lessons of the Russo-Finnish War provide important lessons as we consider how to conclude an awful chapter in European history. The keys will be not just the continuing spirited resistance of the Ukrainians and more outside assistance, but also a willingness for compromise on all sides.
The writer is incredibly ignorant. Finland would have never agreed to give up its territory had there been a real choice or it wouldn’t have fought so fiercely in the first place.
The article does mention that like Ukraine, Finland received help and volunteer fighters, but it neglects to mention that most of the actual physical, tangible help arrived too late or not at all. Some of the material help meant for Finland hadn’t even been shipped yet by the time Finland ran out of ammunition and was therefore forced to sue for peace or face the inevitable defeat. Many of the volunteers who did arrive in Finland in time were not fit for action (such as Christopher Lee who famously volunteered and never saw combat in Finland).
“Outcome would stop the fighting, get Ukrainian refugees home, and allow the nation to continue as a sovereign albeit neutral state.” Are you serious?!
It did not stop fighting in Finland. It led to another war with just as devastating results for Finland, and that’s what led to Finland’s “neutrality”. Finland’s neutrality was not by choice and it would not be a true choice for Ukraine, either. Finland was forced into “neutrality” that led to Finland being unable to pursue the kind of relationship with the West it had wanted (even before independence Finland pursued a relationship with the West and wanted to be seen as Western which it very much wasn’t considered at the time – Finland being part of the West is still a very new concept) and left Finland under the influence of the Soviet Union despite “neutrality”. Finland may have been independent, but it was firmly under the Soviet Union’s thumb until its fall. Is this the future you want for Ukraine?! A sovereign nation only in name where media and people need to censor themselves? What a disgusting, deplorable suggestion.
The refugees cannot go home in this situation. If you give territory to Russia, people cannot go home. That happened in Finland. 420,000 people lost their homes forever. That was roughly 12% of Finland’s entire population at the time evacuated from the territories the Soviet Union took with the blessing of the West.
Try to, for a moment, imagine having to give up 12% of your own country’s territory (including your country’s second largest city) to an enemy and needing to resettle 12% of your country’s population while trying to recover from a war. Imagine being one of those people, forced to leave your home, your home region, forever. Having to start a new life potentially with nothing while many people around you inevitably grow frustrated because on top of their own problems and losses you are there. This is what happened to Finland. Is that the future you want for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people?
We all know what happened to ethnic minorities, dissidents, and the residents of the conquered territories in the Soviet Union. They died in millions. That would have likely been the fate of the Finnish people, too, had they remained in the ceded territories. We’ve already seen Russia deporting and killing Ukrainians in the occupied territories. People cannot safely go home if these territories are handed to Russia.
The lesson of the Winter War should be that we, the world, must never allow the same end result in Ukraine.
One of the better takes I’ve heard about the Winter War is that the conventional view, that it was a disaster for Russia or at best a symbolic victory, completely misunderstands the Russian point of view on things. Yes, two hundred thousands Russians died for a comparatively small piece of territory. But the territory was acquired, the local Finnish population was either ethnically cleansed or swamped with Russian colonizers, the land remains Russian to this day, and nobody even in Finland seriously considers that they’ll ever get it back. That’s a win. As far as Stalin was concerned, two hundred thousand dead is an acceptable trade, and Putin’s made it clear that he’s the same.
It’s not just Putin and Stalin. Any capture of land, especially from an enemy framed as “evil fascist” (which to Russia after WWII is every enemy) is celebrated and the casualties presented as a valiant sacrifice for the motherland.
summary: rhodey hangs out with tony and his kid, and remembers some of the conversations he's had with tony in the past.
tags: rhodey realizing he has a nephew, tony being a good mentor, tony and rhodey are bestest of best friends, fluff, rhodey pov, peter is a nerd, rhodey and tony are og nerds though, introspection onto tony's relationship with parentingTM
wc: 1,713
cross-posted on wattpad under the same name!
Colonel James Rhodes has been working all week long on paperwork. His eyes have started to blur at the mere mention of an email, and at first that was funny, but with a chill in his spine, he's suddenly been remembering all the times his sister joked about him having cataracts in his old, ancient age.
Needless to say, maybe he should take a day. He's earned it. He deserved it. So he called Tony up to schedule a weekend at the Compound— and chuckled when his point was relatively proven by Tony's alarm and immediate worry about the whole thing.
It had just been a while since the two of them had enjoyed each other's company without any kind of universal threat looming over them. When Rhodey was still doing PT nearly every hour of his waking day, Tony had been pretty rigid in not wanting to leave his side, and that was fine, but at some point Rhodey realized he'd been doing it mainly out of guilt; so Rhodes shut that down fast and decided to impromptu move back home.
It didn't mean Tony wasn't supportive, or that Rhodey was angry— it just meant that Tony needed some tough love, and this time it meant giving him the space he needed to sort through the stuff he kept shoving down and hiding away.
But Rhodey's doing fine now. He's going to all his appointments, he's not in any more pain than usual, which is all you can ask for in his age, history, and career. He hasn't had problems with his braces, please stop asking, Tony, and he just wanted to hang out with his family.
So he made the drive, pulled into the Compound at about two in the afternoon. He walked in, and was immediately greeted by his best friend. But he had some weird growth at his side—almost as tall as him, but scrawny, and mousey, talkative, and—oh, right, a super-powered teenagerwas following him around.
"Sorry I didn't warn you," Tony had explained to him privately, while the kid had went ahead to the elevators. "He was out of school today, and his aunt was busy with work, so I kept him."
Rhodey gave him an artful side-eye. He hadn't sussed out whether Tony was joking, whether there was a punchline that he was supposed to be waiting for. "Oh, no, that's... that's fine."
Tony nodded, looking ahead to the elevator. Then he grinned, he shouted out to the kid: "Hey, don't go pressing too many buttons over there! Don't want a repeat of last time."
The teenager groaned, leaning back on the wall. "Oh, come on! That was one time, Mr. Stark."
Tony chuckled, and on catching Rhodey's lost gaze, started shrugging and waving it off. "It's just a— kid did something funny the other week, I'm pulling his leg about it."
"Right, ok," Rhodey said easily.
Yeah, no. That makes total sense. Tony usually adopted kids off the street and then made inside jokes with them like they were family. Of course. How could Rhodey forget? This was super normal behavior for the guy he'd known for the past... Thirty years? Jesus, they were getting old.
And then in the blink of an eye, Rhodey's remembering the echo of an equally scrawny blond kid in some Tennessee dump, and Tony telling him how smart the kid was, if only he'd had some good education, some direction, how far he'd probably go in life. Then, after a few drinks, in a much quieter voice, Tony asked him if he thought he'd make a good father.
("What?" Rhodey had blubbered, just confused then as he was now. "Are you thinking of actually taking this kid?"
"No," Tony huffed, and he sounded so despondent about all of it, so much more downcast from how he usually presented himself. "No, of course not. I just... When I think about all the parent stuff, the being-a-dad stuff, it makes me sick to my stomach. I start thinking of my dad, and then I'm just stuck in this cycle of shit and it's awful."
And then, the longing. Something vulnerable in his eyes that he wanted to be broken.
"But then..." Tony sighed. He shook his head. Downed the rest of his amber glass and placed it on the table with a click. "I don't know. I just don't know, Jim.")
"So, what do you want to do, Honeybear?" Tony elbowed him. The elevator doors closed, and a gentle lull carried them up to the living floors. "We don't have to, but I know Pete's been wanting to watch this movie... Ah... kid, what was it called?"
The teenager, Peter, furrowed his eyebrows. "Er."
"C'mon, you've been talking about it all week." Tony snapped his fingers a few times, staring off as thought. "You know. The Baldur one, it's like a sequel for the game."
"Baldur's Gate 3?" Peter cracked a polite smile. "It's just a game, it's not a movie."
"They made three of those?" Rhodey mumbled. "I don't even remember it being that good. Me and Tony just played regular old Dungeons and Dragons."
At that, Peter swung around to his mentor, his eyes lighting up. His mouth dropped open, and he was looking at Tony like he was about to ask a million questions at once.
"I played a half-elf bard, and yes," Tony cut in, "I made it cool. Incredibly so."
Rhodey scoffed, holding back an obnoxious bout of laughter. Maybe it was because Tony knew him too well, and therefore could sense that he was about to call him out on his tomfoolery, because he then immediately changed the subject.
"Anyways," Tony cleared his throat quickly. "So, we can't watch that. Platypus, any suggestions that are equally nerdy? Gotta give the kid the enrichment he needs, of course."
Rhodey made an amused sound in the back of his throat and shook his head. "Right, right. Well, it's getting about time for horror movies, don't you think? Does the kid need a permission slip or something if we watch The Shining?"
"No," Peter said stubbornly, "I definitely don't."
"Hmm," Tony looked over him, his eyes narrowed. His hand scratched at his goatee speculatively. "Well, I suppose I'll allow it."
"Mr. Stark."
Tony couldn't stop chuckling all the way up the elevator. (It really wasn't that funny.)
So, sure, they put on The Shining. It's just as much of a classic as Rhodey remembered it being, and through the first half, he actually found the kid's weird little behind-the-scene blurbs interesting.
("Stanley Kubrick almost wanted Harrison Ford to play Jack," Peter said mindlessly, shoveling popcorn into his mouth. "Can you imagine this movie but it's just Han Solo the whole time? I mean, I love Han Solo, but I'm kinda glad they didn't cast him in the end. It would be fun though, to have like, an extra copy where it's Han Solo and not— er— ah, I forgot the name! I just had it—"
"Nicholson," Tony filled in, hiding a very fond smile behind his hand. He wasn't watching the movie in the slightest, but he didn't look like he'd rather be anywhere else.
"Right, yeah! Nicholson.")
The credits roll around, and Rhodey's getting hungry for dinner, so he yawned and stretched and looked over to ask Tony what place they should order from.
Tony was sitting very still, his eyes soft and crinkled at the edges, while the teenager snuffled sleepily on his shoulder. And Rhodey's never seen this before, it's so new to him, but he can't help but feel this is the perfect portrait of a man who's just found the piece of himself that's been missing for a long, long time.
"Baby's out for bedtime," Rhodey smiled.
"Yeah," Tony murmured gently. "He had a rough patrol last night. I'm really glad he's actually getting some rest."
Rhodey hummed nonchalantly. He studied his old friend for a few moments longer. There was a great comfort in knowing this is the first time he's seen a weight on Tony's shoulders that made him at ease.
"I've got to ask," Rhodey hazarded. "What are you thinking right now? Just, when you look at that kid."
Tony glanced up. "What, right now?"
"Sure."
Tony looked back down at Peter, who was properly knocked out, his mouth hanging open while he quietly snored. Rhodey got to see it again; the way Tony's eyes softened. A glint of that old vulnerability shining through like steel.
"I don't know," Tony answered thoughtfully. "I'm just happy he's happy. I mean, Christ, it's morbid, but it's nice to see him safe and healing, away from all the danger. It's nice to hear his heart beat at a calmer pace for once."
Rhodey let that settle in the space.
Tony smiled like he was amused. "He doesn't usually snore. He must really be tuckered out."
("Do you think..." Tony swallowed thickly. His teeth curled up in something bitter, like he was trying so hard to laugh, but just couldn't. "I mean, you know me."
"'Course," Rhodey affirmed, nodding over and over again. The world was a little spinny. He's gonna have to switch to water, soon. "'Course I do."
"Right, yeah. You know me." Tony drummed his hand on the table anxiously. "Just for throwing conversations out there... Do you think I'd be a good father?"
Rhodey's stomach lurched. He stared at Tony and the world went into focus for a few solitary seconds. "Huh?"
"I'd be shitty at it," Tony argued. "I mean, logic stands to reason, I'd just be awful. I don't know how to do it. There's not a lot I don't know how to do, and my whole philosophy for learning overnight doesn't really distend to parenting, does it? That's just... there's too much there. It can't be easy enough to just love, is it?"
Rhodey stared some more, the drunken shock only starting to wear off as Tony kept spinning himself into a spiral.
Tony looked at him, helpless. His smile, fake as it had been, faltered. He just looked tired. He looked scared. "Is it?")
Rhodey swallowed the lump in his throat. "Hey, Tony?"
"Hm?"
"You're good at this," Rhodey said. "You're good."
Tony smiled crookedly, giving him a strange look. "Oh-kay?"
Rhodey nodded firmly. He pushed off the couch with a grunt. He started toward the kitchen. "Now, wake my nephew up so I know what type of pizza he wants."
After all, his stomach was rumbling. He had a delivery to call for.
the purpose of friends is to have people who unconditionally hate your shitty exes & relatives. like maybe YOU have a complex relationship with your father but i sure don't. i'm outside his house with a gun. he's not the unforgivable asshole who raised me he's just an unforgivable asshole
