#naval armour

[ltwilliammowett]

A greek chalcidian styled helmet worn by an Etruscan, found near the greek Harbour City of Elea (Roman Velia), Campania, South Italy. Between 541-535 BCE

During this battle, which probably took place between 541-535, a fleet of Phocaean ships - who had founded a colony, Alalia, on the island of Corsica - entered the nearby Tyrrhenian Sea to repel attacks from neighbouring Etruscan and Carthaginian forces. Although the Greeks emerged victorious, the costly naval battle eventually caused the Phocaean colonists to abandon Alalia, leaving it to the Etruscans, and establish a colony closer to other Greek settlements along the southern coast of Italy.

The Phocaean settlers sailed to the mainland and acquired a piece of land that would later become Velia. To prevent the Greeks from establishing more settlements in Sicily, Corsica and Spain and from expanding further, the Carthaginians established a naval blockade and the Etruscans tried to drive the Greeks out in several battles, which they lost.

The conflicts between Carthaginian and Greek cities in Sicily eventually led to the Greek-Punic Wars in the 5th- 4th century BC. 

#naval artifacts #naval armour #helmet #6th century bc #etruscan #ancient seafaring

[ohtobeleah]

Secret Sacrifices // Jake Seresin

Series Summary: Jake’s got his eyes set on the new Hard Deck Bartender who seemingly appeared out of nowhere. With a traumatic past and hundreds of secrets to keep close to your chest—it’s hard to play ‘pretend’ when everything feels so real with a certain Naval Lieutenant who won’t take no for an answer.

Series Warnings: Witness Protection F!reader. Jake Seresin x Reader. Violence. 18+ Content. Mature Themes related to death, gun violence and kidnap. Assault.

Main Masterlist

Prologue: [BrainBox] Managing the Hard Deck isn’t always easy, especially when a certain Naval Aviator is always just one step away.

Chapter One: [Mermaids Don’t Exist] Jake continues to plays your knight in shining armour when tensions rise between you and an overly intoxicated patron. Bob brings up a mutual memory.

Chapter Two: [Like A Brick] The weight of the world sitting on your shoulders, you confide in the gentle soul that is Bob Floyd. Also known as, your first kiss.

#secret sacrifices // jake seresin #jake seresin x reader #jake seresin x you #jake seresin x y/n #jake seresin fanfiction #jake seresin imagine #jake seresin smut #jake hangman fic #jake hangman imagine #jake hangman seresin #jake hangman seresin x reader

[probablyasocialecologist]

Reports of tanks accompanied by an armoured bulldozer reaching Salah ad-Din Street south of Gaza City could mean that Israel has, for the first time, conducted daylight armoured reconnaissance to identify Hamas’s defensive positions and their response capabilities. Limiting operations to open farmland or desert would be the least costly way for the Israeli army to maintain a presence in part of Gaza because that’s where its superiority in armour, artillery and air cover benefits it and it can avoid bloody urban warfare. Should it decide to attack Gaza City, it would have to use enough soldiers to reach the city limits and dig in, which will draw most Hamas fighters to the city. A follow-on combined attack, with armoured forces advancing from the east and naval infantry from the sea, might succeed in what is being hypothesised now, that it is trying to cut the Strip in half. The corridor, 6km long from the sea to the border and up to 2km wide from the outskirts of Gaza City to al-Mughraqa would be militarily defensible and a useful asset in any negotiations.

#gaza #gaza city #palestine #israel

[amuseoffyre]

The Ongoing Identity Crisis of Edward 'Blackbeard' Teach Esquire

A collection the various roles and identities he has assumed, played around in, been confronted about and left. This isn't to say none of them are him. They are all displaying elements of him.

Ed's biggest issue is that he feels he's not enough as himself. He's masking and code-switching all over the place, depending on who he's interacting with, all of which to make sure to get the correct reaction. He keeps all the disparate parts of himself separated.

It's very telling that we never see him express his emotions about Stede in the open while he's in his leathers. As Jeff? Yes. In the naval academy uniform? Yes. In a rice sack? Yes. In his leathers? No. Not until he chooses to put back on his leathers.

There is something about him cutting so many pieces of himself off to make himself palatable, to make people like him, to get the correct response. He's got so many walls up that letting then crumble, letting all the facets of himself meet and mix seems impossible.

He's spent his life being what other people want him to be or expect or demand him to be. 1x08 is a perfect example with him switching up when interacting with Stede and Jack. When he tells Jack it's too early for drinking, Jack shames him into his old behaviours.

Same happens again in 1x10 - people keep betraying him and rejecting him and then there's Izzy, telling him "this is what you have to be" with a threat overlaid on top, so Ed becomes exactly what Izzy says but only on the surface. Underneath, he's still falling apart.

It's part of the reason that him retrieving his leathers hit home so hard for me. He felt he couldn't be Ed if he was Blackbeard, but then in the face of Stede's success and that life looming again, he didn't feel he could be Ed there anyway, so he ran. Like Stede, he runs.

For him to come back to the Republic - because of lack of other choices - only to be confronted with the belief he has lost Stede? Has lost everything? He's a survivor. He has survived so much of this life and if he's to ever have a chance at finding him, he needs his armour.

Out of love and desperation, he finally kicks down the walls. He chooses to put the leathers back on instead of hiding from it. He faces his fear that he is a monster and walks out of the sea straight into a love letter from Stede telling him he is loved, unconditionally.

And in that moment, when the Blackbeard theme, the Kraken theme and the Gnossienne 5 love theme all twine together, he's tearful and in love and still Blackbeard. He's not afraid to show how he feels and the moment he finds Stede, he kisses him and tells him.

#ofmd #ofmd meta #ofmd parallels #ed teach #edward teach #blackbeard

[zvaigzdelasas]

Detailed tests on the damage capability of kinetic energy weapons against US military armour have found it could be possible to take out a tank in one shot – even if it does not look like any damage has occurred.

That was the conclusion of Chinese scientists who conducted the in-depth assessment of kinetic weapons through experiments and numerical simulations.

They found that a solid sphere, weighing 20kg (44lb) and hurtling towards its target at about four times the speed of sound, could spell disaster for advanced tanks manufactured to US military standards.

The kinetic energy carried by such a projectile would be around 25 megajoules. This value may seem large, but when converted into electrical energy it is less than 7 kilowatt-hours, scarcely more than the energy it takes to cook two turkeys for Christmas.[...]

it was found that bolts connecting important equipment to the inner cabin wall could fracture. Even if the crew survived the impact, they would be unable to return the tank to its normal combat state.[...]

“Under high-speed kinetic projectile impact, certain typical locations in the armoured target exhibit impact response spectrum lines with amplitudes at certain frequencies exceeding the safety limits recommended by the US military standard MIL-STD-810,” Huang’s team wrote.

“Components at these locations have a high probability of failure due to overload damage,” they said.[...]

high-speed kinetic projectiles have the potential to achieve lethal damage even upon grazing contact, and their launching methods can be diverse.

Chinese naval scientists recently claimed that they have installed an electromagnetic coil gun on to a land-based wheeled platform and conducted rapid consecutive firing tests. This coil gun has the ability to accelerate heavy spheres to incredible speeds in the blink of an eye. Photos of this new weapon circulated on Chinese social media, sparking much speculation and excitement.

While the mobile coil gun might have appeared primitive, just as the early tanks did, some military experts believed it to be a game-changer. If electricity replaces gunpowder as the driving force behind lethal weapons, the landscape of future warfare will never be the same.[...]

Tank crews often point the front of the vehicle towards the energy, as this section is designed to be the most rugged and able to withstand the most firepower. But a kinetic projectile hitting this section would send destructive stress into the tank’s interior, potentially causing catastrophic damage to its firepower capabilities.

“The grip of the tank gun stabiliser console can be shaken off, the wiring base of the console pulled out completely, all connections between the fire control computer and the turret severed, resulting in a substantial loss of firepower,” the researchers said.

1 Jan 24

[stirringwinds]

ngl, i'm a subscriber to the "yong-soo is older than kiku" club too...i know canon says he's 15 or 16 but...eh. i do like some aspects of canon, like its depiction of him being tall and capable of projecting a photogenic image (more so than yao and kiku). but...is there justification for him being that young? old man yong-soo feels like it fits in way better with Korean history imo, and please i cannot resist the whole "the old master and his rival apprentices" dynamic between yao, yong-soo and kiku, with yong-soo being the "older" apprentice—given Korea's tremendously important role as the route through which several Chinese cultural elements were transmitted to Japan in real life (kanji, for one). that is on top of other elements of Korean culture that Japan imported, or Korea being the source of iron weapons and armour during japan's kofun period (300 to 538 AD)—and later, also advanced ship-building techniques.

i feel like it adds further dimension to how we might otherwise have a simplified view of the sinosphere as a universe where yao is the one who turns the wheel of "civilisation": it's also yong-soo taking those influences in. not passively, but actively incorporating his own cultural elements, before they're all passed on by his monks, traders, philosophers, mariners and soldiers to kiku. and in the modern era, Japanese imperial ascendency and ambition isn't just a yao-kiku dynamic of a weary old master and his talented, regicidal protégé, but with yong-soo, about a total inversion and desecration of the confucian hierarchy of seniority too. more than one older nation has had to endure imperial subjugation to a younger one—but in the shadow of meiji japan's naval power, there's the additional sting that it was him once teaching kiku ship-building a long time ago.

#hws korea #hws south korea #hws japan #hws china #hetalia #hetalia headcanons

[barbariankingdom]

British Rolls-Royce armoured car. An official, Admiralty approved Royal   Naval Air Service conversion mounted on the Silver Ghost chassis.

[kingwilliamv]

WHAT WILLIAM WORE: FATIGUES 🪖

2006: Army training exercise in Cyprus

2007: Visit to HM Naval Base Clyde in Helensburgh, Scotland (in his role as Commodore-in-Chief Scotland and Submarines)

2007: Visit to the 1st UK Armoured Division in Sennelager, Germany

2010: Remembrance Day ceremony at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan

2011: RAF training exercise at Holyhead Mountain in Anglesey, North Wales

2018: Visit to the British Army Training Unit in Kenya

2023: Visit to the Mercian Regiment at Salisbury Plain, England (in his role as Colonel-in-Chief of the regiment)

#what william wore #prince william #prince of wales #british royal family #military

[dailyadventureprompts]

The Daily Adventure Prompts Masterpost

After several years of running this blog, it’s become more and more evident that I need some central reference where people can access all my different DM advice posts, important tags, and ongoing series. Sharing my ideas with people and helping to improve the art and craft of being a dungeonmaster was always the point of DAP after all, and its of no help to anyone if the answers to important questions are buried under a hundred or more pages of my rambling.

To that end, I present this post as an ever expanding catalogue of my thoughts. Something that you can page through at your leisure in hopes some of my hardwon lessons will be of use to you.  

DM Advice: The go-to tag for all my rambling on how to improve your d&d game, with some highlights presented here,

My Process

Getting Organized

Basics of Campaign writing

Railroading & Rollercoasters

The “more than you can chew” universal d&d story structure

Ghosts on the Horizon: not getting bogged down with overplanning

Mapmaking 101

Writer’s Block

Better Random Encounters

Better Loredumps and Exposition

Writing Adventures to Make your party care about your world

Series of Interest

The DM Starterpack: Focused on first timers or those who want to re-learn d&d from the ground up this series of posts is intended to give you an idea how to come up with a campaign concept, write a first adventure, run a session zero, and slowly pivot into running a larger campaign.

Tableskills: While a lot of my work focuses on how you can write better stories, these posts talk about being a better storyteller focusing in on the performance art of DMing.

Mechanics: On the flipside, sometimes you need to put on your game designer hat and focus in on ways to make the underlying engine of the game run more smoothly to better facilitate fun and storytelling.

How to Run...: there are certain types of adventure that need more thought put into them then the average monsterhunt or dungeon delve, and so I wrote a series of articles to not only help you write/design them but to pull them off at your table.

Wilderness Exploration

Heists

Naval Combat

Infiltrating a fancy party

Mystery

Airship Adventures

Political Intrigue

Mythology style epic labours

The Loot Overhaul: A series of posts where I focus in on different aspects of d&d’s treasure and item

An overhaul to player wealth & The Economy

Better Loot & Treasure Hoard generation

A case for magic item shops & Item focused treasure hauls

Shopping trips & Group Inventory Management

Making Identifying & Attuning to Items interesting

Crafting Overhaul pt 1: Weapons & Armour

Crafting Overhaul pt 2: Magic & Consumables

Monsters Reimagined: My ongoing delve into d&d’s bad monster lore and how it can be improved. Sometimes it’s because a cool monster is just underwritten, sometimes its because how they’re used in the narrative just doesn’t make sense, sometimes its because there’s decades or even centuries old pro-genocide talking points that we need to unpack.

Footnotes on Foes: For those topics that don’t warrant a full “monsters reimagined” but I still want to give my take on. Fun stuff in there, especially with lesser known monsters that could use a revamp.  

Heavy Topics: Where I deepdrive on the nuance of particular topics, ranging from uncomfortable touchstones in history that are important to my writing to sensitive subjects that you’ll want to discuss with others around your table.

Bad Opinions: Sometimes a take so awful lands in my inbox that I need to hold it up infront of my audience and perform a vivisection. Its part media study, part bloodsport.

Dungeon Design: An attempt to do what the creators of the game have put off for decades (despite being half of the title) and actually provide a coherent framework for step by step dungeon design. After nearly twenty years of banging my head against a wall, it finally seems to have worked.

Planescape: Where I try to add cool new (or revamped) destinations to the tapestry of d&d’s multiverse.

Special mention to “Why I don’t use the Great Wheel Cosmology” as it underscores a lot of my overall problems with d&d’s cosmic lore and its weird moralistic claims.

Deities: A collection of new/overhauled gods focusing on making them represent ideals that people would actually believe in as an embodiment of ideals and narrative themes.

How to use the divine in your game: a story first view of how to use faith, religion, and gods in your campaigns aiming for things more subtle and thematic.

Outer Gods: For when you want to get lovecraftian

Religion is the tag I use to talk about the concept of both faith as a theme in writing, as well as how the organized religion serves as a worldbuilding tool

Adventures by Type: not a comprehensive list

Press Start: Opening adventures for those who want a solid start for future campaigns or adventures

Campaigns: For those who’d like a larger story framework to play with

Adventure Compendium: If you’d like a lot of ideas on the same theme

Dungeon: Need I say More?

Monsterhunt: Facing off against a powerful enemy that has some tricks

Villain: In both Quantity and Quality

Player Home: Every party needs a place to rest their head

Ally: They’re here to help, usually

Patron: Benefactors of the shady and non shady verity

Mystery: Put your Sleuthing Hat on

Thief: Time to steal something

Faction: Larger groups the party can join

Adventures by Environment

Lowland

Swamp

Field

Desert

Wasteland

Highland

Cave

Mountain

Forest

Seaside

Ruin

Settlement

Village

Town

City

#DM advice #masterpost

[captain-price-unofficially]

Rolls-Royce Armored Car of No. 2 Armoured Car Squadron, British Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS), 1914

#Rolls-Royce Armored Car #wwi #home front #british armor #armored cars

[whencyclopedia]

Dunkirk Evacuation

The Dunkirk Evacuation of 26 May to 4 June 1940, known as Operation Dynamo, was the attempt to save the British Expeditionary Force in France from total defeat by an advancing German army. Nearly 1,000 naval and civilian craft of all kinds, aided by calm weather and RAF air support, managed to evacuate around 340,000 British, French, and Allied soldiers.

The evacuation led to soured Franco-Anglo relations as the French considered Dunkirk a betrayal, but the alternative was very likely the capture of the entire British Expeditionary Force on the Continent. France surrendered shortly after Dunkirk, but the withdrawal allowed Britain and its empire to harbour its resources and fight on alone in what would become an ever-expanding theatre of war.

Germany's Blitzkrieg

At the outbreak of the Second World War when Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939, France was relying almost entirely on a single defensive line to protect itself against invasion. These defences were the Maginot Line, a series of mightily impressive concrete structures, bunkers, and underground tunnels which ran along France's eastern frontiers. Manned by 400,000 soldiers, the defence system was named after the French minister of war André Maginot. The French imagined a German attack was most likely to come in two places: the Metz and Lauter regions. As it turned out, Germany attacked France through the Ardennes and Sedan on the Belgian border, circumventing most of the Maginot Line and overrunning the inadequate French defences around the River Meuse, inadequate because the French had considered the terrain in this forested area unsuitable for tanks. Later in the campaign, the Maginot Line was breached near Colmar and Saabrücken.

To bolster the defences of France, Britain had sent across the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) under the command of General John Vereker (better known by his later title Lord Gort, 1886-1946). Around 150,000 men, mostly infantry, had arrived in September 1939 to strengthen the Franco-Belgian border. The BEF included the British Advanced Air Striking Force of 12 RAF squadrons. The aircraft were mostly Hawker Hurricane fighters and a few light bombers, all given much to the regret of RAF commanders who would have preferred to have kept these planes for home defence. The superior Supermarine Spitfire fighters were kept safely in Britain until the very last stages of the battle in France. The BEF had no armoured divisions and so was very much a defensive force, rather than an offensive one. More infantry divisions arrived up to April 1940, so the BEF grew to almost 400,000 men, but 150,000 of these had little or no military training. As General Bernard Montgomery (1887-1976) noted, the BEF was "totally unfit to fight a first class war on the Continent" (Dear, 130). In this respect, both Britain and France were very much stuck in the defensive-thinking mode that had won them the First World War (1914-18). Their enemy was exactly the opposite and had planned meticulously for what it called Fall Gelb (Operation Yellow), the German offensive in the west.

Totally unprepared for a war of movement, the defensive-thinking French were overwhelmed in the middle weeks of May 1940 by the German Blitzkrieg ("lightning war") tactics of fast-moving tanks supported by specialist bombers and smartly followed by the infantry. German forces swept through the three neutral countries of the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium. The 9th Army punched through the Ardennes and raced in a giant curve through northeast France to reach the coast around Boulogne. The BEF and the northern French armies (7th and 1st) were cut off from the rest of the French forces to the south. Germany had achieved what it called the 'Sickle Slice' (Sichelschnitt). By 24 May, the French and British troops were isolated and with their backs to the English Channel, occupying territory from Dunkirk to Lille. Although there were sporadic counterpunches by the defenders, Gort had already concluded that the French army had collapsed as an operational force. Gort considered an attack on the Germans to the south, which he was ordered to make, would have achieved very little except the annihilation of his army. The BEF must be saved, and so he withdrew to the north.

Continue reading...

#History #DunkirkEvacuation #Britain #Dunkirk

[ltwilliammowett]

Half time with our calendar and this is the perfect moment to introduce you to a lady who shows the interface of Age of Sail and Age of Steam. She is generally regarded as the start of the Age of Steam and yet she still has both elements. But who am I talking about ? - The HMS Warrior

HMS Warrior

More about her history here:

HMS WARRIOR was built as part of Britain’s response to concerns over France’s maritime ambitions which included the building of LA GLOIRE, a powerful ironclad which was the most advanced warship of its day.  WARRIOR was commissioned on 1 August 1861 and at that time unquestionably ruled the seas. Her main guns, engines and boilers were contained within an armoured wrought iron hull and she could be driven by both steam and sail. This combination meant that she could outrun and outgun any ship afloat and she never fired a shot in anger – the classic deterrent.

During the first commission her main role was to lead the Channel Squadron. On 22 November 1864 she paid off for her first major refit at Portsmouth Dockyard during which the ship was comprehensively refurbished. She was also completely re-armed with 7” and 8” muzzle loaded rifled guns. However, in the American Civil War the success of the Monitor was to have a dramatic effect on naval thinking and WARRIOR’s role as ‘Monarch of the Seas’ was to be very short-lived.

She re-commissioned in July 1867 and re-joined the Channel Fleet. The second commission was rather less interesting than the first as she was no longer regarded as the most powerful warship afloat and faded from the limelight. The second commission ended in 1871 and she then spent four years in refit at Portsmouth being fitted with improved boilers, steam power for the forward capstan and a new poop deck to accommodate an Admiral.  On completion in 1875 she became part of the First Reserve Fleet where she was to remain until paying at Portsmouth on 31 May 1883.

After periods as a depot ship and part of HMS VERNON she was paid off in 1924. She was then converted for use as a floating oil jetty and in 1929 was towed to Pembroke Dock where she was to remain for the next 50 years. In 1967 the campaign to restore WARRIOR started and prominent in this was Sir John Smith who formed the Manifold Trust. A committee chaired by the Duke of Edinburgh met in 1968 to discuss her future and from this emerged the Maritime Trust. When Pembroke Dock closed in 1978 the Manifold Trust agreed to underwrite the cost of restoration and the ship was handed over to the Maritime Trust in 1979.

In 1983 ownership was transferred to the Ship’s Preservation Trust which became the Warrior Preservation Trust in 1983. Although the hull was very sound the rest of the ship was in a poor state. The task which was part restoration and part re-building needed vast resources not only of money (£8M) but also of skill, patience and endurance. The 8 year restoration programme at Hartlepool transformed her into one of the world’s most important historic warships and in 1987 she returned to Portsmouth where she is now moored in the Historic Dockyard.

A planned preservation programme is in place for the ship and over the years she has been dry-docked twice, and the upper deck, (£725K provided by the Heritage Lottery Fund), all three fighting tops and half moons and the stern gallery have been replaced.

#naval history #naval artifacts #tall ship #hms warrior #1860 #day 11 #age of sail #age of steam #advent calendar

[newtie-patootie-bootie]

Masquerade (Chapter 5)

Summary: This is your third season and your aspirations on finding love are dwindling but news on Lady Whistledown’s society pages say that there is to be a foreign royal in attendance to the season. Could this royal dignitary be the one you’ve been waiting for, or could there be a mysterious stranger lurking in the shadows, waiting to pluck your heart for his?

Disclaimer: I do not own Bridgerton nor The Mandalorian- all rights go to the owners and creators of their separate stories.

Warnings: Descriptions of violence and minor blood and wounds- nothing too major. (I tell you, we’re getting into it, I promise!)

|| Please do not repost or plagiarise my work ||

If you’d like to read more of my works, please visit my Masterlist!

| Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2  | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 6 |

Tags: @technicallykawaiisoul @call-me-soap @the-feckless-wonder @elinedjarin @bluevxnus @literallydontlook @sm0l-0ne @1am9root6 @ems-alexandra @notsosecretspy

(If I have forgotten anyone who wished to be tagged, please do remind me~!)

This work is also cross-posted on Ao3 at: pleasehelpmeimstuckinthefandoms

Din rarely lost his composure, mostly maintaining a calm demeanor even when faced with overwhelming trials and tribulations.

This one was one of those times where he had to show the most restraint.

His jaw ticked in irritation as dark eyes stayed pinned on his general and he leant over his desk, hands curled into fists as they rested atop the oak surface. Important documents crinkled under his twisting knuckles as Paz relayed the day’s earlier events. “There was no correspondence ahead of time to warn us of any vessel of ours sailing on international waters. We are lucky that we have not been questioned but I suspect it will not be overlooked so easily the next time.”

“There will not be a next time, Paz. Not if I can help it.” Gravelly and cold, the voice of the true man beneath the royal title and gold-enlaced armour bled through. “What the kriff was she thinking?”

"We were not informed that there was any ship scheduled to sail. As such, I have had no reports from our staff or any correspondence from our Naval officers ahead of time that would suggest we are in need of supplies which means-” 

“-this was planned and executed in secret.” Din growled, teeth grinding together as he untied the cravat constricting his throat and tossed it into the corner of his office without a second thought, resuming his previous position as he desperately tried to calm his breath. “I am growing tired of secrets and hidden plots hatching right under my nose.”

“That’s not all, Manda’lor.” Din tensed at Paz’s apprehensive tone, clicking his tongue as he inhaled sharply through his nose, “apparently the other clans are doubting your actions. They question why you did not choose one of our own to be your riduur.”

He exhaled sharply, slamming a fist against the wood. “You mean that my inferior birth must somehow be cleansed with a true Mandalorian? How many of those are out there, Paz?” Din questioned hotly, dark eyes meeting with his vod’s blue and Paz remained silent as his King let out his frustrations, “truly? If they wish for a true Mandalorian, I sincerely hope they enjoy living through another civil war. After The Great Purge and The Night of a Thousand Tears, I can count how many true Mandalorians remain on one hand.” Anger flamed deep within his chest as he continued, “not many of those of true blood remain amongst our people anymore. I did not see any one of those clan members raise their swords to fight the Imperial rule that they allowed to be wreaked upon them.”

“I admit when you first took the throne, I shared their opinions. I shared their doubts. I even issued a challenge because I believed you could not uphold the traditions of our culture and land.” Din remained silent, allowing Paz to speak his mind, “but you taught me that bloodline means little when one is to rule a kingdom.” Paz moved forward and set a strong hand on Din’s shoulder. “You proved your worth to be Manda'lor when you obtained the Darksaber and used it to liberate us from the Imps. This time, I shall fight for you if the need arises."

"Thank you, vod." Din straightened from his hunched position and sighed deeply through his nose, "it seems I must make appearances at more social gatherings to dissuade the lieutenant. I will not allow her to hurt Lady Dalton."

Paz's hardened expression softened to something akin to pride, "you care for her, don't you?"

Another sigh and the King of Mandalore raised his gaze to his clan-brother, voice barely above a whisper, "more than I am willing to admit."

“I believe we must make a statement.” Paz spoke, “the Manda’lor must make a statement.” 

“What kind of statement, Paz? That my affection for Lady Dalton exceeds two personalities that I have been forced to craft, no thanks to my impertinent General?” Din raised his eyebrows while Paz simply rolled his eyes in response.

“I mean, di’kut,” the familiar insult curled Din’s lips into a familiar smile and he gestured for Paz to finish, taking the seat opposite his desk and he leant back, “that we should hold a ball. Open the estate to the masses and allow them to see our culture and our ways.” 

Din sucked on his bottom lip as he pondered the notion. “This could only go one of two ways.” 

“Well, then we make it go our way.” Paz answered simply, “the Manda’lor is still a shadow to most of the ton. It is time they understand the strength and valour he represents. That they understand the reason you are here.” Paz sighed, looking down at his vod with as much softness as he could muster. “You are here to sample western culture and to take one of their daughters for your bride. They must see you for who you are, they must understand the man beneath the helm and the crown. They must see you.”

Din took in Paz’s words, a harsh sigh expelling from his lips and he stood up, moving toward his small cart topped with various alcohols and picked up a tumbler before allowing a large pour of Mandalorian brewed cognac. 

He passed one to Paz before pouring himself one as well. With one hand in his pants pocket, he turned to face Paz and took a sip of his beverage. “Send a message to Karga to prepare himself to sail. I will require his assistance.” 

“Of course, Manda’lor.” Paz pressed a fist to his chest, over his heart before straightening up. “And what will you do?” 

“I will attend the Vauxhall Gardens.” He raised a finger from his glass to Paz and immediately silenced his General’s next words. Din swallowed softly, taking his pen and he took out a fresh piece of parchment before taking his seat once again and placed his cognac beside the stack of paperwork. “You are right. The Manda’lor can no longer hide.”

You basked in the sunlight, standing just off to the side of the lake, your delicate umbrella resting on the base of your shoulder as you twirled it lazily in thought.

The latest Whisteldown had been released and somehow, the details of the Manda'lor’s special attention toward you had caught her unnerving gaze. It didn’t take long for the hoards of mama’s and daughters to make plans to cast Mando’s gaze from you. Little did they know that you did not care for his gaze. 

However, the dream your mind produced last night disproved those feelings:

Your garments piled atop each other in an undignified heap.

You lay on your back, clinging to him amongst the silk sheets. A gentle stream of light beamed across his back from between the gossamer curtains. 

Your hips bucked into his body as his fingertips traced invisible patterns along the sensitive flesh of the back of your thighs. A chuckle rumbled against the shell of your ear as he lifted your legs and made you curl them around his narrow hips, “cross your ankles together, Sarad.” You immediately took to his instruction and locked them together at the base of his back, your core flush with his. “That’s it. Just like that.”

His hands slid from your naked thighs, curling around your hips and waist. He pinched and pulled at the ties of your smallclothes before burying his aching touch into the mussed bedding by your head. His lips began to trail a line of hot, needy kisses along your naked shoulder and throat- tongue curling against your thumping pulse point and your eyes rolled back as his teeth gently pulled at the soft skin before he soothed and suckled around the faint marks he left behind.

He didn’t allow you to feel the bashfulness associated with this moment; this life-changing event that you had been raised for. The moment you’d been unconsciously preparing for with all those years of lessons to be a proper young lady and three whole seasons spent with little to no thought of any suitor that vied for your hand.

Your hands slowly traced the contours of his arms, curling into the dip of his shoulders before slowly coming to frame his jaw and pushed him back slightly to take in his features.

His face mingled between the stoic beskar helmet and Din’s carnal grin.

Din and Mando’s voice melded into one as they both whispered, “Sarad.” 

A loud squeal tore you from your sinful musings and you turned to witness the commotion just as you spotted your youngest siblings chasing each other just ahead of where your family had set their picnic for the morning. 

Ryder lounged on his garden chair, nose deep in the morning’s paper as your mother sat beside him, idly perusing through the latest Whistledown for the third time today.

“Is something troubling you, owlet?” Your father’s voice murmured from beside you and you sighed deeply.

Turning back to the shimmering waters of the lake, you pondered your whirlwind thoughts before shaking your head, “simply reflecting on these weeks past, father. Nothing of import.” 

Thomas’ sigh was a copy of yours and he turned to face the lake. “I understand that the unorthodox amount of attention placed upon you must feel so overwhelming,” he began quietly, “when I had attended my first season I couldn’t even speak to any of the ladies also promenading for suitors.” 

That got your attention and you looked up at your father who sported a small, amused smile. “You, the Duke of Wintere were too shy to socialise with the women of the ton?” 

Thomas simply smiled, “I could not even attend their residence to leave them gifts to even be recognised as a proper suitor.” 

You giggled at the thought of your father stuttering in front of the women of the town expecting the Duke of Wintere to be a suave and confident gentleman. “I can’t imagine you being so anxious, Papa.” Then a thought struck you. “Didn’t you marry Mama in your first season?”

“Your mother brought a side out of me I wasn’t aware existed.” Thomas turned his head to face his beloved wife as she conversed with her eldest son and cradled her youngest child in her lap while their second son sat on the blanket, munching on grapes. “She made me the man I am today.” He slowly turned back to you and raised his hand, gently cupping your cheek, “follow your heart, my dear. It will never steer you wrong.”

You watched your father, a soft smile curling your lips as his words seared themselves in the chambers of your heart. “Yes, Papa.”

He smiled, his thumb caressing the soft skin of your cheek before leaning forward and he placed a soft kiss to your forehead, “that’s my beautiful girl. Never settle for less than what you deserve.”

“Thank you, Papa.” He nodded once before taking his leave and walked back to your family and you turned back to face the water. One hand moved from the stem of the umbrella to curl around the silver locket that delicately hung around your throat. 

You were not familiar with the metal, but the intricate design resembled a hellebore. If it had not been accompanied by a letter then you would not have known who would have been so thoughtful.

At this point, you could memorise the letter word for word, recognise the penmanship almost immediately.

“Sarad,

I apologise for not replying to your recent letters, there have been some pressing matters that required my attention. However, I admit that most of my thoughts have been consumed by you.

Consequently, I hope this small token of my appreciation will win me back in your favour.

I am unsure if I have ever mentioned this, however Mandalore is rich in metals. More specifically, it’s called beskar. It is a highly profitable metal, incredibly durable and nigh impossible to destroy. I will no longer bore you with the scientific discoveries of a metal that I am sure you are no more interested in than those scandal papers you lament over.

I appointed my head blacksmith for this task. I trust her implicitly and I pray you do not find my forwardness too distasteful. I hoped you would enjoy something with a little more familiarity than a simple design that would hold no meaning for you.

However, I would be most appreciative to hear your thoughts in person rather than a scribed letter.

I will make an appearance at the Vauxhall Gardens tonight, I hope to see you there. I have heard it shall be an affair to remember.

Yours,

Mando.”

The smile threatening to split your cheeks hurt but there was nothing that could dim your happiness. 

However, the knot beginning to tighten in the base of your belly refused to loosen considering the event at the Vauxhall Gardens tonight. With Mando in attendance, it would be the first time you’d seen him since he’d walked with you in the park.

Perhaps, the soiree at the Gardens would alleviate some of your anxiety.

#din djarin #the mandalorian #the mandalorian x reader #the mandalorian au #the mandalorian x bridgerton #bridgerton au #Bridgerton #din djarin x reader #din djarin x you #the mandalorian x you #Pedro Pascal #pedro pascal x reader #Jose Pedro Balmaceda Pascal #pedro x reader

[theculturedmarxist]

Yves here. You are getting a Sunday extra on the conflict in Gaza and where it looks set to be headed, given Hamas’ apparent strategy, the dug in position of the US and Israel, and the so far on-track behavior of the Arab world.

John Helmer’s post clinically and persuasively draws conclusions that most commentators, including yours truly, have been loath to state clearly, perhaps because depicting the likelihood of bad outcomes somehow feels as if it increases the odds they come to pass (magical thinking cults and their lesser “intention” cousins illustrate this superstitious tendency).

Even though the earlier part of Helmer’s analysis is based on known facts (at least if you’ve been paying attention), he adds critical information about the implications of even a shortish war with Israel’s neighbors on Israel, and the apparently-not-heretofore-reported sighting that China has naval vessels in the Persian Gulf that have anti-sub and anti-missile capabilities.

It’s not hard to conclude from Helmer’s depiction that with the US and Israel unwilling to accept a loss and the lack of any adults on “our team” mean the odds of eventual nuclear war are way too high.  And if you think Helmer is too pessimistic, listen to the section from Larry Johnson in the broadcast on Judge Napolitano with Ray McGovern. Starting at 11:40, Johnson describes how Pakistan has offered to send some of its nukes to Türkiye in case of a dustup with Israel.

By John Helmer, the longest continuously serving foreign correspondent in Russia, and the only western journalist to direct his own bureau independent of single national or commercial ties. Helmer has also been a professor of political science, and an advisor to government heads in Greece, the United States, and Asia. He is the first and only member of a US presidential administration (Jimmy Carter) to establish himself in Russia. Originally published at Dances with Bears

Preamble1.  Since 1943 the US and its European allies, including Germany (Olaf Scholz’s government, not Adolf Hitler’s), have aimed to liquidate the secular nationalist Arab leadership capable of co-existence with the West and a state for the Jewish people.

2.  In Palestine Hamas has studied seventy-five years of lessons on the impossibility of coordinating Arab state war in the defence of the Palestine part of the two-state solution.

3. For more than a year, therefore, Hamas has prepared in well-kept secret an offensive against Israel to achieve five objectives – the first to demonstrate how inferior the Israeli military is, how vulnerable, how incompetent their intelligence on the Arab world. This has been achieved by the initial attack of October 7.

4. The second Hamas objective has been to demonstrate the Israeli plan of ethnic cleansing of Gaza,  genocide against the Arabs, and incorporation of all Israeli-occupied territories in a single theocratic Zionist state —  Quod erat demonstrandum. The third objective is to hold out against the expected Israeli counterattack for long enough to activate the Hezbollah forces on the northern Lebanon front;  Syrian and Iranian forces on the eastern Golan front; and the West Bank Palestinians, including the Jordanian Palestinians; the latter’s targets will be US air and armoured land force bases in Jordan. So far, so good.

5. The final Hamas objectives are to compel the vacillating sheikhdoms to resist US pressure; limit oil and gas supplies to the enemy markets; prevent regional land base and air transit rights being activated in support of Israel — so far, so good. And lastly, the fifth objective, to engage the friendly nuclear powers – Russia, China – to deter, and if necessary combat US forces in the region and Israel’s threat to fire its nuclear weapons.

The rules of war 6.  These aren’t in the code of secular international humanitarian law referred to in the western media and by UN officials in support of Israel. Those rules were eliminated by the destruction of two generations of Arab leaders willing to abide by them. The war doctrine of Hamas does not concede that international law may dictate to or supersede Islamic law.  In parallel, the war doctrine of Israel is that Jewish and Israeli law supersedes every other.

This report is the most comprehensive record in English to date of the official Israel statements of genocide against the Gaza Palestinians in intention, policy and practice. Source:  https://ccrjustice.org/ In 1948, the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide expressly included in Article II “the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”. Forty years later, in 1988, the US Congress added two qualifiers to the provision in the US criminal code which defines genocide as a crime to be prosecuted if Americans commit it. This new US law declared genocide is “the specific intent to destroy, in whole or in substantial part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group”. “Substantial part,” the statute now said, meant “a part of a group of such numerical significance that the destruction or loss of that part would cause the destruction of the group as a viable entity within the nation of which such group is a part.” So long as the genocidal Arab killer isn’t “specific” in intention and the part of the people attacked isn’t “substantial”, the killer is off the hook in the US criminal code.  This was a calculated US change to the crime of genocide. The US senator who drafted it and promoted it into law was Joseph Biden. For more, read The Jackals’ Wedding – page 14-18.

7. The Hamas offensive of October 7, OPERATION AL AQSA FLOOD ( عملية طوفان الأقصى,  amaliyyat ṭūfān al-ʾAqṣā), is, as its code name indicates and in the interpretation of Islamic law, lawful self-defence, and the killing of Israelis, including civilians, lawful according to the retribution doctrine of Qisas.  It’s clear there is a Koranic injunction against killing non-combatants, particularly children, the infirm, the old, and women.  When women are combatants, as they are in the kibbutzim, they lose their exemption; also children, if they are armed and trained. So, the evidence question is — how many children under the age of arms-bearing were killed at the border settlements on October 7? And how did they die – by Hamas directly, or in crossfire between Hamas and IDF?  The Israelis say one thing; Hamas says nothing.

8. It is clear the Israeli rules of war allow indiscriminate killing of children in offensive and defensive operations, in retribution and in collective punishment. No Palestinian Arab or Iranian is in any doubt that this has been Israeli policy from the beginning; that it has always been US policy to support it; and that the destruction of Gaza is the current episode of the long laid plan.

The two-state solution 9. Zionist ideology and Israel’s constitution have ruled out the two-state solution.

Source: https://perma.cc/9PZN-DJGY 

10. The Arab state supporters of the two-state solution (including Fatah and the Palestine National Authority) cannot support it when Gaza is being liquidated by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), supplied by the Pentagon.

11. President Joseph Biden’s (lead image) recent public remarks endorse Israel’s one-state solution, adding his personal religious benediction — “may God protect our troops”.    Until he said that, Biden had limited himself to invoking God’s protection of “our troops” in speeches on the Afghanistan  War in April 2021  and on the war against Russia in the Ukraine in February 2023.  Before Biden, it was President George Bush Jr. who claimed God on the US side when he meant self-defence – “we will defend our freedom. We will bring freedom to others and we will prevail. May God bless our country and all who defend her.”  With Biden the Christian, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken declaring himself Jewish in Israel,   the war of Israel against Gaza is a theocratic one, a crusade.  This is how it is understood now throughout the Muslim world.

12. According to God, therefore, there is only a one-state solution – it is either Palestine or Israel.

The current battlefield situation 13. On the Gaza front, Hamas has fought the IDF to a standstill outside the Gaza border wall. The Israel Air Force has dropped about 4,000 tonnes of bombs per week, 8,000 tonnes to October 21; that is more than the US Air Force dropped on Afghanistan in the peak year of 2019.   More than 3,500 Palestinians have been killed so far, including at least 1,030 children  and hundreds of family units; more than 12,500 people have been injured, one million Palestinians displaced, and thousands of homes destroyed. About 1,200 are missing believed to be trapped under the rubble. The Israeli and US government record, reported by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in Washington, documents the continuing firing from Gaza into Israeli territory in what the ISW calls its “Iran updates”.   A prolonged IDF siege threatens to kill several hundred thousand Palestinians by starvation, dehydration, disease, and a combination of artillery and aerial bombardment,  while leaving the Hamas forces relatively unscathed and waiting to inflict a higher rate of casualties on the IDF than it has ever experienced.

14. On the northern front across the Lebanon border, there have been exchanges of missile, drone, anti-tank rocket, artillery, and mortar fire between the IDF and Hezbollah. There have been casualties on both sides. Border settlements on the Israeli side have been evacuated to the south. For a summary of the ISW reports favouring Israel, read this;    For maps and summaries of military action as of October 20 on the Gaza and northern fronts, as well as the Golan and West Bank, click to open.

Incident map on the northern front between October 12 and 17; source:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/

15. US forces on the Jordan front. The Israeli press has been reporting some details of USAF reinforcements at the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in the northeastern corner of Jordan and possible Marine deployments in Jordan.  Whether the Marines will be moved to defend the Al-Tanf base on the Syrian side of the border, 230 kilometres northeast of Muwaffaq Salti, isn’t known.

Top, right – the US airbase at Muwaffaq Salti; source: https://twitter.com/ According to an Israeli report, “a squadron of U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle bombers based in Britain was deployed over the weekend at the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base east of the Jordanian capital of Amman. Another squadron of A-10 attack aircraft has also been deployed there.”  Bottom, the location of Al-Tanf in Syria across the Jordanian and Iraqi borders.

16. Russian and Chinese navy deployments. The Russian fleet based at Tartous, Syria, is at sea, as reported here.   At the moment, there are as many, possibly more Chinese vessels of the 44th Naval Escort Task Force in the Persian Gulf.   The anti-surface, anti-submarine, and anti-air missile capabilities of the Type-052D destroyer can be followed here,  and of the Type-054A frigate here.  For the time being, the significance of this Chinese screen to deter a US-Israeli missile and aircraft attack on Iran has been missed in the western press and by Russian military reporters.

Top:  https://russianfleetanalysis.blogspot.com/ Bottom: the Chinese Defense Ministry announcement of the arrival of the destroyer Zibo and frigate Jingzhou at Kuwait on October 19.  

Armageddon strategy 17. US Afghanistan War veteran: “Suppose Israel and the US understand they are facing an existential survival future in which they must combat swarm attacks on three or four fronts — Gaza/Hamas, North/Hezbollah, Golan/Syria/Iran, and West Bank/Jordan, and they calculate the Arabs have at least a 30 to 60–day arms supply in stock, do they calculate they can withstand a multi-front offensive for enough time, resupplied by air from the US? If they calculate that they can withstand a 30-day multi-directional swarm, they must understand that, at a minimum, Israel’s infrastructure and economy will be ruined. In a scenario like that, even if they ‘win’, they lose. In terms of airlifting and shipping supplies, we’ve already seen that the Arabs can hit Israeli military and civilian airfields, airports and seaports. Defending Israeli infrastructure with their air defence capability is the main mission of the strike groups the US is deploying in the eastern Mediterranean and in the Red Sea.

According to the Pentagon on October 19,  the USS Carney, a part of the USS Gerald Ford group, had transited into the Red Sea through the Suez Canal the day before and was in the northern Red Sea when it intercepted three land attack cruise missiles and several drones.

Western societies like Israel cannot function without solid, reliable, electrical power and communications services. We can be certain that power generation, transmission and distribution will be targeted by the Arabs non-stop. The cell towers and central communications centres will be too.”

18. Moscow source. “When does the threat to Israel become so dire, they go nuclear, and when they do, against what targets will they fire – Hamas, Beirut, Damascus, Teheran?*  The US won’t accept a Palestinian state so the only option left for the Palestinians, Arabs, Iranians, possibly Turks is to fight with this new kind of warfare whose objective is to cut into the flesh and bones of the Israeli adversary, and make life in that state unviable. Without a Palestinian homeland, all of Israel and the Arab territories become a battlefield. The IDF options then shrink to two – carpet bombing and mass killing of the civilian population centres on all fronts at once. If that isn’t sustainable or effective for the Israeli-American purpose, then option 2 is to attack Lebanon, Syria and Iran to stop the flow of reinforcements. But that’s regional war, and it can only be conducted by the Israelis with full US military participation. This becomes nuclear very quickly because President Putin has already placed the Kinzhal missiles in range of the US carrier fleet in the eastern Mediterranean, and the Chinese have installed their screen to protect Iran. It’s obvious that the race hatred policies of Biden and Netanyahu, and their belief that God has chosen them both as destroyers for their people, lead to the final, nuclear weapons solution. The Russians and Chinese can maximise their limited military projection by deterring, or if need be pre-empting a nuclear attack on the Arab cities or Teheran. For this to work, the Russians and the Chinese need to say more – loudly so there’s no mistaking what they mean.”

[*] In 1983, in conversation with his General Staff, Iraq’s President Saddam Hussein said: “the Iraqis would be able to withstand three years of fighting in a war. However, the Israelis cannot withstand one year of fighting in a war.” In April 1990 Hussein was hosting Yasser Arafat of the PLO in Baghdad. “[Israel] has 240 nuclear warheads, 12 out of them for each Arab capital,” Arafat said. Saddam replied: “I say this and I am very calm and wearing a civilian suit [everyone laughs]. But I say this so that we can get ready at this level.” Quoted in The Jackals’ Wedding, page 16.  

#israel palestine conflict #us imperialism #israel #palestine #china #russia #nuclear war #world war 3

[stephensmithuk]

The Blanched Soldier

Originally published in 1926; the Americans actually got this one first by a month.

I have covered the Boer War extensively in a previous post, but will add some notes on items directly relevant to this story.

The Imperial Yeomanry were a volunteer i.e. not career military force of mounted infantry formed in 1900 as reinforcements in the Boer War. They were disbanded in 1908 and merged into the Territorial Force, a precursor of what is now called the Army Reserve.

Mounted infantry were infantry that travelled on horseback and fount dismounted. They continued in use into the Cold War, with some units also being "mounted" on bicycles on both sides of the Second World War, before being replaced with mechanised infantry.

Middlesex was the traditional county that covered much of the North and West of what is now Greater London; losing a large chunk of its territory and population to the London County Council in 1889. It was abolished in 1965, but remains very much a thing for sporting and cultural purposes, with its own county cricket team being just one example.

A martinet is a strict disciplinarian, the name coming for a type of short whip. Arnold RImmer from Red Dwarf is sometimes described as such, although the character is clearly meant to be quite pathetic.

The Victoria Cross is the highest British award for gallantry, equivalent to the Medal of Honor and like that medal, frequently awarded posthumously. It also usually requires multiple witnesses to the gallantry in question. It trumps absolutely everything bar the George Cross in the honours system, and it is traditional for a private with a VC to be saluted by a general officer.

The most recent VC was awarded to Joshua Leakey in 2015 for his involvement in a firefight with the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2013, where he took control of a machine gun left on a hill and kept firing even as bullets ricocheted off the weapon.

An elephant gun is a large calibre rifle intended for use against elephants and large animals. They saw some military use in the World Wars by the British against armoured German snipers in the trenches of the First and by the Italians against British armoured cars in North Africa during the Second. Since ivory hunting became taboo, they are much less common.

Bedford is a market town in England and county town of Bedfordshire. It has two stations, the main one being located on the Midland Main Line running into St Pancras. Served by Thameslink, East Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway services, the last on the Marston Vale line to Bletchley, it is on the outer edge of the London commuter belt.

The other station at Bedford St. John's is served by LNWR services on the Marston Vale line to Bletchley, which is part of the former Varsity Line from Oxford to Cambridge. The station was resited in 1984.

The Sultan of Turkey - and the whole Ottoman Empire - in 1903 was Abdul Hamid II, a modernising absolute ruler who faced many assassination attempts and was ousted in a coup in 1909, replaced by his half-brother Mehmed V.

The Spectator is a British political magazine that has run since 1828. Being distinctly conservative in its world view, its former editors include one Boris Johnson.

"Squadron" was the traditional term for company or battalion sized cavalry or mounted infantry units. Outside of naval and air force use, it is now used for armoured units, which are frequently old cavalry units that just changed their level of horsepower.

Stoep is an Afrikaans word for "stoop".

Leprosy is transmittable by close contact, but you generally need a lot of it. It is still common in Brazil, much of Africa and India, but is now curable. Prejudice remains a big problem, with "leper colonies" still being common.

The general scholarly consensus is that it wasn't ichthoysis, of which there are many types. The NHS has more information here (with pictures): https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/ichthyosis/

#letters from watson #sherlock holmes #history #acd canon #blan #the blanched soldier #factoids

[matrim-cauthons-hat]

i finally finished her, flag titan of Legio Vi Taffey and centerpiece for my force, the warmaster titan Repulse! For the titans of the legion i plan on sticking with this naval style camouflage, while im gonna try and do ground army based stuff for the knights, but try and give them a wide variety of patterns to represt several houses being seconded to the legio as retainers

also i finally thought of names for my acastus knights, picking the erebus class monitors Erebus and Terror as their namesakes, since the acastus kinda reminds me of monitor ships: big guns with very thin armour (or lack of void shields in this circumstance)

#titanicus #legio vi taffey #horus heresy #40k #warhammer 40k #my stuff