I want. Four to get appreciation. Because
Four gave a ton of unnoticed help when Twilight was injured
The fight with Wild was difficult, and I know we're all concerned about his negative view of the shadow crystal
But Four did something that no one else really thought of to help- He took care of Twi's stuff
From the beginning he told Twilight to not worry about them
So Four took care of pretty much everything but the others (that Sky and Wars handled)
He took care of Epona
Which is so very important- he took care of Twilight's horse. After her arrival at the stable Four followed up on her
And for Epona, a horse so attached to her human, having some company can help so much for reassurance
He took care of Twilight's stuff
He got Twi's shield- his bags and equipment, and organized it into one place
And he was worried. He obviously found the shadow crystal while handling Twi's stuff, but his negative reactions to it were out of concern.
Also- because of his placement in this scene
I'm fairly convinced Four was ready to start cooking before Wild showed up (since he's beside the counter with food supplies). At the very least he had the basket of fruit out for everyone -but he was literally standing with food behind him- he thought of everything
And he did housekeeping!
Wars payed for the inn, so Four took care of the inn
Realistically these boys were probably not too concerned with tidyness. Four got all of Twi's things on one table, and took care of the room they stayed in
Organizing tables and Twi's things, having food supplies ready, and opening the curtains- overall he was the one tidying up the inn
Four helped in a huge way! He took care of Twi's horse (Epona is so important), his equipment and shield and bag, as well as the other rooms in the inn
Four filled in all the little tasks that others didn't think of. He helped in ways that were needed, but not obvious
There's a lot of problems with the shadow crystal and with Wild, and I don't know what's gonna happen in the future
But don't forget this- don't forget that Four was one who stepped up in an almost unnoticeable way
Don't forget that when everyone was barely holding it together, Four visited Twilight's horse and took care of his things
No matter what develops in the future- this amount of care shown is important ya know?
.
Art and comic from Jojo @linkeduniverse au :)))
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June's 2024 Pride Month is fast approaching in Thailand, so I thought now would be the perfect time to explain the Thai legislative process and what the future of the Marriage Equality Bill looks like:
How Does A Bill Become Law in Thailand?
I'm going to explain it as simple as possible. A bill is always first introduced into the National Assembly. The National Assembly is broken down into two houses: you have the lower house (House of Representatives) and the upper house (Senate). First, the bill goes through consideration in the lower house and there's three separate readings. Once it gets approved on its third reading, it's then sent to the upper house where it has to go through the same process. Again, it goes through three separate readings. Then if it's approved on its third reading, the PM (Prime Minister) sends it to the King for royal approval. If the King signs the bill, it'll become law once it is published in the Royal Gazette.
At What Point in the Process is the Marriage Equality Bill?
In April, the Senate voted "Yes" to accept the bill for consideration. A committee will be formed to consider the bill in its second reading--which will not happen until July. So, really we're just waiting because the current senatorial term ends early this month...
Unfortunately, given the timeframe of how the process works, the bill was never going to be realistically passed by Pride 2024. It is a little bit disappointing, but there's still lots to celebrate. Thailand is seeking to host the World Pride Events in Bangkok by 2028...So there is a lot to look forward to, regardless. (Best case scenario*, marriage equality will be legal by November 🤞🏾🤞🏾🤞🏾)
What Will Happen during the Second Reading in the Senate?
The second reading is where things get a little more complicated. This is probably the biggest hurdle to overcome for the bill to be passed as quickly as possible. Once the committee is appointed, they'll be going through the bill section by section. Any amendments that were proposed from the lower house, which this go around is mostly just about equal representation in the language of the bill, will be considered (Consideration cannot exceed 30 days). The hope is that all 27 members of the committee will vote to agree with the amendments and then the bill will be revised as such. However, at this stage, if the committee cannot come to a full agreement, then the amendments must be debated. During debate, if the majority approve the amendments, the text is revised and the bill moves on to the third reading. If the bill is withheld, meaning the Senate doesn't agree to any of the amendments, it goes back to the lower house for reconsideration.
What Happens if the Bill is Presented for Reconsideration in the Lower House?
The lower house can agree and approve the bill as is. But if the lower house does not agree with the Senate's decision or if the Senate has proposed amendments that the lower house does not agree with, then the two houses must form a joint committee that will work to resubmit an agreed upon version of the bill. From there, my knowledge is pretty limited, but I know due to the numbers from the houses initial votes, the bill would eventually be approved by a combination of votes from both houses.
What Happens during the Third Reading in the Senate?
During the third reading of the bill, the Senate must decide whether to enact the bill as law or not. They're not allowed to change anything on the bill and they cannot debate any of the amendments. It's just: here's the bill, it's being presented as it's been approved by the second reading, should it be passed as law or not? One more than the majority of the vote is needed in the upper house in order for the bill to be approved.
What Happens if the Senate Votes "No" on the Bill?
The bill can be reintroduced into the lower house after 180 days. If the lower house votes to approve the bill that was presented in the third reading of the upper house (which they will), it basically bypasses the Senate's decision to not approve the bill. From there it'll go directly from the lower house to the PM... who will present it to the King for royal approval. Like I've been saying: the bill is eventually going to become law at some point. It's just a matter of when. Because if the Senate decides to make things difficult, then it would just take longer for the bill to pass. Since it's going to pass eventually, we want everything to go as smoothly as possible without any hiccups.
What is the Likelihood of the Senate Voting "Yes"?
It's hard to give a definitive answer. The expectation is that, since they know the bill is going to eventually become law anyway, they're just going to do the decent thing and approve it so that they don't have to prolong things any further... because it's taken long enough at this point. The problem is that the upper house is more notoriously known as the conservative house of the National Assembly. And if you understand Thai and were paying attention to the discussions that were going on in their first reading, you can kind of see why that is. Unfortunately, there is a chance that they're going to want to make things more difficult... but I'm hopeful that they won't.
What Happens if the Senate Votes "Yes"?
Once the National Assembly approves the bill, it goes to the King for approval. After the King receives the bill from the PM, he would have a period of twenty days from when he received it to sign it into law. Once it is signed, it is arranged for publication in the gazette. After 120 days from its publication, it is considered officially legal in Thailand.
Can the King Veto the Bill?
He can...BUT the King's never used his veto once the National Assembly has approved a bill. In the extremely rare case that he does, the lower house would reintroduce the bill and the National Assembly would vote to bypass the King's veto anyway. The bill can then be sent directly to the gazette, with or without the King's signature, to be published into law.
*The best case scenario, overall, is that 1) the Senate votes to approve any and all amendments during the second reading and 2) in the third reading they vote to approve the bill in its amended form. Then the PM will present that bill to the King, it'll be signed, and then published in the gazette. And, that's it. Then you have marriage equality in Thailand. Officially!!!
❤️🧡💛💚💙💜
Marriage equality has been in talks for a while in Thailand, and a lot of us were frustrated when it didn't get passed the first few times around. Now that we know that it's going to be legal, I'm hopeful about what this could mean in the future: Gender recognition... full and equal protection under the law...
I was 11 when I moved to the United States to live with my dad (I won't get into the reasons why, they're very personal) and ~11 years later, when marriage equality passed I could not express the amount of joy that had overcome me...and I was only 21 at the time, with no intention of being married in the near future. Yet, for some reason, I felt as though I could not be fully excited because things were so different back home. What I could have here, I could not have if I ever decided to move back to Thailand. That's not to say that Thailand is not very culturally accepting of the LGBTQIA+ community, because they are (for the most part), it's just that the laws have failed to keep up.
Given my personal situation, which I don't typically feel comfortable sharing with people I don't really know, something as simple as being able to change my gender indicator on my Thai I.D. and my passport...those are things that can now be dreamt into reality. Whereas before, it was something that you couldn't even fathom being a discussion had marriage equality not been passed. It's just a really big deal and I'm happy to see that it's finally happening! ❤️
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So this is my idea of what the afterlife would look like for Everlark (this is a very rough draft) -
Katniss, as an old lady, smiling as she talks with a young man in a brown leather jacket & a short whisp of a woman in a colourful dress.
A woman with curly hair decorated with flowers (every kind except white roses) & a brown eyed boy are deep in conversation.
Prim & Rue (who also have flowers decorating their hair - for Rue it's the ones she was "burried" with & for Prim it's the ones Peeta planted by Katniss's house) are playing with Buttercup & Lady as their mother's (one of which looks much younger then she did in Katniss's lifetime) watch on fondly.
Old man Peeta suddenly strolls into the clearing with an, old, Delly laughing & talking as they carry baskets of freshly baked goods. Madge gives a wave & a smile then goes back to trying to teach Delly's brother how to play the recorder.
The woman talking with Katniss & the man in the leather jacket stop when Peeta approaches, let's out a squeaky laugh at his apology before going to join the conversation between the curly haired woman & the brown eyed boy.
Peeta puts down his basket to hug Katniss & the man in the leather jacket smiles & kisses her forehead before heading to where his wife is.
Peeta asks her where the others are, to which she says Haymitch & his GF went to visit Mayslee, Hazelle had left to catch up with her family & Greasy Sae went to spend time with Ripper.
Peeta was disappointed as he'd just finished making a strawberry tart that would have been a perfect dessert for Madge's father & Katniss lovingly reminds him that Madge can take it with her whenever she leaves.
Then Mags & Finnick show up, by climbing out of a lake, with a young Annie (they're both dressed in their wedding clothes). Peeta & Katniss congratulates her on reuniting with Finnick again & on all she's accomplished in her life after they left, explaining that Finnick & Mags weren't the only ones checking up on her from this place.
That wether it was from Peeta's kitchen window, Katniss's lake, the puddles Haymitch's geese loved to splash around in, the throats of the Mockingjays or Finnick's & Mags's dreams. Everyone had seen, heard or felt the best & worst parts of her life without them & had just been waiting for her to finally be able to join them.
Mags (now free of the effects of her stroke) gose to join in the conversation between the short, whisp of a woman, the lady with the curly flowery hair & the brown eyed boy, who'd began feeding bread crumbs to a flock of Mockingjays.
Finnick smiles lovingly at Annie as she burst into tears when, later in the evening, Joahnna trudges into the clearing, plops down in front of the fire & deposits a bag of shells she'd "happened to stumble upon" in her lap which Annie & Peeta deside to set aside to paint/turn into jewellery later.
Much to everyones delight, Mr Everdeen opens one of the baskets & pulls out the ingredients to make smores. Then when eveyones nice & full him, Lucy & Maude strike up a song. Peeta eventually gets Katniss to join in, which makes her dad smile, her mum cry, Prim (with Buttercup on her lap & Lady at her feet) & Rue cheer, Joahnna wolf whistle & everyone else laugh & clap along.
When the fire finally dies out & the only light left comes from the moon & fire flys most of the people start saying their farewells & heading to their own "places" until its only Katniss, Peeta, her family, a young Haymitch & his family left.
At that point they all walk to what would be the Victors village in the real world (but there is no gate, the houses aren't run down & the path to get there is covered in flowers & beatiful wildlife).
Once outside his home, Haymitch says a hasty goodbye to Katniss & Peeta before him & his younger brother are battling to see who can make it through the door first (much to their mother's exasperation).
Katniss & Peeta then go to drop the Everdeens at their house that has a plant shop downstairs & leave just as Prim is begging Mrs Everdeen to allow Rue to sleep over the next day to which she replys 'if her mother allows it' (Katniss of course dose not leave without giving her dad & sister a big hug while her mother settles for a kiss on the cheek).
Katniss & Peeta then make their way to where Katniss's childhood home once recided (though much cleaner & warmer than it had ever been when she'd actually lived there & now with a rather nice kitchen).
As Buttercup curls up at the foot of their bed (she & Prim take it in turns who he stays the night with) & the two lovebirds get ready for bed Katniss turns to her husband.
'I want a night with the girl's tomorrow,' she says. 'I thought you might,' says Peeta with a smile. 'I'll be younger....for a bit,' Katniss decides. 'So will I, probably,' says Peeta. 'Oh?' Asks Katniss, curious. 'I was thinking of visiting my family for a few hours,' he admits. 'That's great, just don't let your mother-'. 'I won't, I promise'. Katniss still dosn't look sure. 'Tell you what if she says anything even remotely passive aggressive, I'll leave straight away & just hang out with Haymitch & Finnick for the day?'. 'Good, it's just'. 'I know'. 'I don't ever want you feeling bad about yourself again, not here'. 'Don't worry, this place is good, we'll always be safe here'. 'Like in our cave?' She asks fondly. 'Even better,' he insists as he wraps his arms around her small but plump frame. 'How long do you think it'll take for the others to come, do you think?'. 'Not for a long time, hopefully,' he responds & she sighs. 'You're right, I guess I just miss hugging my babies,' she admits. 'I know, my little swamp potato,' he teases making Katniss sit up with a blush. 'Oh, I should never have taught you about plants!' She seeths making her husband laugh, dissolving her anger as quickly as it had come but also waking Buttercup with a hiss. 'Ok, ok, we'll quieten down, you silly old thing,' she muttered. 'Hey, be nice to your sister's cat,' Peeta teased again. 'His both of ours now,' she reminded him primly before sticking her tounge out. 'Ok, you got me there, but we really should go to sleep now, we both have big plans tomorrow afterall,' Peeta says, through a yawn. Katniss nods sleepily as he turns off the bedside lamp & the two cuddle up beneath the covers.
'I guess waiting for them here isn't really the worst thing in the world,' Katniss admits. '& why is that sweetheart?' Ask Peeta, curious. 'Back....before there was no guarantees, everything....so rushed & fragile, so likley to go wrong'. She says, starting to sweat. 'Ah huh' agrees Peeta patiently. 'But here it's' she stops. 'Different?' he asks gently. Katniss nods aggressively into his chest, wrinkly hands suddenly gripping one of his dad's old shirts he'd decided to wear tonight. 'We've got forever now right?', she whispers, like a kid who's scared their wish won't come true. ''That's real ok, please believe that," Peeta assures her as he strokes her back, leaning down to kiss her as soon as she lifts her face from his chest.
When Buttercup next wakes, it's to his parents holding hands & smiling as they dream of good things to come.
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