#you may have won the battle but the war wages on

[genericpuff]

when were y'all gonna tell me about persephone, the poodle webkinz who runs a shop that's pretty much exclusively for rich people-

i need to make it clear that the irony here is not lost on me LOL

what's even better is the comment section which is a mixed bag of praise and "fuck you persephone for hating poor people" criticisms and again, thE IRONY SHOULD NOT BE LOST ON US HERE-

this has literally nothing to do with LO and yet it makes me laugh so fucking hard to see a whole ass other niche and specific fandom embroiled in criticism regarding a pink depiction of persephone who they deem to be a snobby diva

d-

do you think-

do you think this is what rachel's been referencing the whole time when she keeps having the male characters in LO brag about persephone's pedigree-

#never expected the antiLO community to have a crossover episode with the webkinz community fr #i support you webkinz persephone haters #you may have won the battle but the war wages on #btw in case anyone can't see the obvious here this is a shitpost purely for gags #like this literally has zero to do with lore olympus so please don't take an ounce of it seriously #i know i shouldn't have to say that but i just know i'm gonna get messages in my inbox over this LOL #it's hilarious that persephone is a lightning rod for snobby diva girl characterizations like this #they really do just keep making her pink and mean #this is officially the dumbest thing i've ever posted fr #out of everything i'm going to hell for this is up there as the worst LMAO

[jurakan]

Can I have a fun fact friday pls?

You’ve got it. Today You Learned about Robert Smalls.

[Maybe you knew about him; if so, I apologize. But he’s not that well-known of a figure, and it IS Black History Month, after all.]

Born into slavery in Beaufort, South Carolina in 1839, as a young man he was hired out into Charleston by his owner. This was a thing some slaveowners did and most of the money went back to them, but Robert was able to get a small wage for himself. He gained some skills working at the docks piloting boats, and learned a lot about Charleston Harbor. When he grew older he married another enslaved woman who worked in Charleston as a maid, and they had two children. He planned to be able to buy their freedom, but unfortunately the cost was too much.

And then the Civil War happened.

Robert was a good helmsman, so he was made the pilot of the Planter, a Confederate ship tasked with setting mines and transporting supplies and troops in Confederate waterways. But at this point, dear Robert decided to start planning escape, which is going to be difficult with the Union blockade of Charleston Harbor. But with the other enslaved crew members, they made a plan.

On the night of May 12, 1862, he and the other crew members (who were often left by the ship as long as they made curfew) managed to sneak off with their families. Robert wore the captain’s uniform and hat, so they were able to pass checkpoints by giving the correct signals, not getting too close to Confederate ships, and he copied the Confederate captain’s physical mannerisms. Confederate ships didn’t realize what happened until he was out of gun range.

He approached the Union blockade with a raised white flag, and surrendered the ship to Union forces. For this, he and his crewmen instantly became heroes in Union states.

As if that wasn’t awesome enough, Robert Smalls decided to use his knowledge of ships and the Confederate navy to join the Union military, taking part in over fifteen major battles in American Civil War. At one point he became captain of the Planter, the ship he had escaped on and given to the Union.

After the war, Smalls actually bought the house his enslaver used to own, and won the court case when that guy tried to get it back. He also let that man’s wife live in the house in the last few years of her life, which is probably a lot more gracious than I’d be in those circumstances. He was a part of the South Carolina State Constitutional Convention, and then the SC House of Representatives, working to make education free to all children in the state, and built a reputation as a good rhetorician. He then served in the US House of Representatives.

Look, Robert Smalls is The Man. The fact that he isn’t that well-known is incredibly disappointing, (he’s only got a couple small memorials and signs in Charleston) though there are some efforts to give him more recognition. he has an episode of Stuff You Missed in History and a Badass of the Week article. 

There’s also supposedly a movie in the works. I’ll wait until I see a trailer to get excited for that though.

#Robert Smalls #Today You Learned #Fun Fact Friday #Black History Month #US history #American Civil War

[morlock-holmes]

@onecornerface linked me to this paper, which I mostly agree quite a lot with, and lays out some thoughts that I've been having lately in a much more coherent, far less fundamentally angry form than I have. Particularly the fact that the American racial culture wars are primarily waged between rival groups of middle-to-upper-class whites and that the distinction between de jure and de facto segregation is actually important and worth focusing on.

I'm trying to think how to put certain thoughts in order, but over the last few years I have been increasingly fixated on the fact that de jure segregation and affirmative action have both been resolutely defeated in the law here in the US.

The defeat of segregation has been the quicker and more complete; I cannot bring to mind any attempt to revive Jim Crow or repeal the Civil Rights act.

Affirmative action, in contrast, has not been completely excised from the US but it seems to be well on the way out.

My followers will know that I like to piss people off by asking for a legislative or court victory for Affirmative Action that happened in the last half century. I think the closest I've gotten was a California ballot measure that didn't pass and maybe, like, one Supreme Court decision that was kind of a mixed bag rather than being entirely restrictive from the early 70s.

Both these situations strike me as incredibly weird, and people hate when I say that, because they sense a kind of dismissiveness lurking behind the assertion that these total legal defeats are weird.

Which frustrates me because it makes them incapable of even admitting that anything happened.

I cannot name any other important culture war issues like this. Roe V. Wade dates to very close to the Civil Rights Act, and American conservatives never once stopped working at overturning it through the courts and legislatures, and, as we know, they finally succeeded.

The same kind of continual push for legislation and court victories can be observed for every other culture war battle I can think of. If I asked you to name one legislative or court victory for anti-gay activists in the last fifty years you could probably name several off the top of your head, e.g. Prop 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act. If I asked you to name similar victories for pro-gay activists you'd cite Lawrence V. Texas and the Respect For Marriage Act.

Gay rights battles have been fought in the courts and legislature and continue to be fought up to the present day, just like battles over Abortion, drug use, gun rights, etc.

But the same is not true of Segregation or Affirmative Action. For example, current Supreme Court precedent bans the use of official racial quotas in college admissions. Affirmative Action advocates could pass trigger laws requiring such quotas, which would go into effect as soon as they could get friendly court judges to overturn current precedent. The same is true of white supremacists who want to bring back the bad old days.

But they don't.

When I point this out people get very angry and say, "Just because something isn't done by the courts or legislature doesn't mean people don't still do it. Here's an example of some private citizen doing something really egregious! Everybody knows that you don't get results by going to the courts or the legislature anymore! Please ignore all the states that are now banning abortion!"

I disagree. If something is a huge, controversial culture war flashpoint, but only one side has won any legal victories in a half century, that's actually so anomalous that I genuinely cannot come up with a third example after Segregation and Affirmative Action.

I think this is related to a conviction that destroying segregation and affirmative action are held (By different political groups) to be the key to achieving racial harmony.

It may look like segregation was defeated so thoroughly that nobody could possibly advocate for it seriously anymore, but that hasn't led to an end of racial strife. Since racial strife is caused by segregation, if it's still around that means segregation and race hatred must have somehow gone underground. Those feelings must be as strong as they were in the 60s, but now they're hiding and we have to do more and more psychological work to figure out where they're hiding.

And an essentially exactly analogous process happens for affirmative action.

Essentially, on the left the feeling is that if we had actually rooted out race hatred from the white psyche, we'd have racial harmony and equality.

We don't have racial harmony and equality, therefore the white psyche must still be riddled with race hatred, and we need to find it. It must be expressing itself through white chefs that want to cook soul food and tourists trying on kimonos, and we need to treat people who do those things as the racists they are.

On the right, the feeling is that the psychological problem is the ability to conceive of race at all; the way to racial harmony is colorblindness and particularly color-blind policy.

We don't have racial harmony and equality, therefore the affirmative action mindset must be heavily embedded in the left-wing psyche, and we need to find out where it is hiding. People hide it behind innocent-sounding phrases like "diversity" and "inclusion" and we need to run anybody who uses those phrases out of town on a rail.

Our whole approach to race in this country is devolving into increasingly hysterical attempts to force (white) people to have the correct attitudes about race.

Step back for a bit and the fact that we are trying to make it illegal to cause a white person to feel guilt about history has a sort of bizarre, 1,001 Nights fairytale quality about it. Like some fairy story where it is illegal to remind the Emperor that he will die someday.

I think I am coming around to the idea that racial strife in the US is no longer caused primarily by defects in the individual (white) psyche, and that our efforts to keep finding those defects are kind of the same mindset that convinced Soviet leaders that all failures were caused by sabotage.

#racism #us history #annoying everybody #unity of opposites

[sunflowercider]

speaking of the white cavalry i know sir blanc said he'll give his loyalty to lloyd in a roundabout way but lloyd said to be careful with his words during the dead matsodons attack...

which brings me who do you think they sided with during the fourth ending spoiler where the queen waged war when she bace a bit crazy/paranoid

DELICIOUS ASK ANON, SO FUCKING DELICIOUS.

Damn. Damn. If I wanted to waste a few hours or days, I would sketch out entirely what I think happened politically and geographically in the fourth spoiler. While that future ends incredibly horribly, the lead up to it? Im so sorry, destiny writes some good stories (´-ω-`)

Anyways. Specifically about the white cavalry. After the dead mastadons attack kills 6 of the cavalry, Lloyd feels terrible. He feels it's only right to treat their remains with incredible care and respect, send a letter to the queen telling their tales as flowery as possible to help their loved ones get cared for in their absence, and build a memorial stone for them. Lloyd takes their lives (and the loss of them) gravely seriously. And Sir Blanc is moved nearly to tears.

This is a man who has been quite literally treated like a chess piece in others' wars. And here's some random noble who simply had an unpredictable skirmish with monsters, not even a proper battle, and treats their lives like precious gold. Sir Blanc, in his heart, wants to follow Lloyd (and I imagine the others in his group feel the same).

Lloyd may have roundaboutly turned him down but. The cavalry is still here you know.

When the queen loses her mind, there's first a civil war between those who support and those who oppose her. The Fronteras technically pick the side supporting her, but remain neutral otherwise. This is the most uncertain part for the cavalry. They could get called by the queen during this time, but my hunch is that the Fronteras' status quo is kept, as they are still technically an area of growth for the Cremona region, as well as a stronghold with the apartment fortresses. Leaving the cavalry with the County would make sense; theyre an important military group, but only a part of the queens forces. However, if the cavalry gets called at that moment, they will follow her. They are still loyal to the queen, they just also want to follow Lloyd... and hey, he's technically supporting her.

Now. If the cavalry stay at the Fronteras until the queen makes the error of attacking a peaceful foreign country and Lloyd opposes the decision? Oh ho hoooo thats a whole different ballgame.

The first civil war actually ended before that. Once the queen wins that, she attacks the Benetto Kingdom as a way to consolidate her nobles. (You know, similar to what the Sultan wanted to do?) Lloyd opposes when he hears - he built the route to Benetto for trade, not military. Then the next civil war begins.

HOW does the White Cavalry respond here?? What a pickle, what a pickle. There's no more pretending the queen and Lloyd stand aligned. There's a choice to be made. They're originally loyal to the queen but... she recently killed many nobles (and their armies) for reasons that were never justified properly, and then attacked and took control of a peaceful kingdom. You know, the cavalry helped build the mountain pass too. They have some pride.

In the face of all this, despite the fierce loyalty of a knight to their ruler... I think the White Cavalry would have to cave and join the Fronteras. I think they'd have a fierce internal fight about it, and they wouldn't be very happy about the choice either way. But Lloyd has shown his good nature many times over, while the queen has failed spectacularly. They know who is right.

But even if the White Cavalry did join the queen again due to knightly loyalty reasons, i think they would take the scenic route home. After all. Lloyd won the fight within 10 days. They can afford an unusually long walk back to the capital.

#sat here chewing on this for a legit hour #TEN DAYS #it only took him ten days to win a war against a kingdom that was world power until recently #anyways. the loyalty of knights is tricky. bc i dont think theres anything quite the same in the modern era? #at least in the western world? (like where i am) #loyalty is still a thing but KNIGHTLY loyalty is a whoooole kettle of fish #i need to emphasize- javier refusing the queen to be with the Fronteras is both exemplary of impeccable loyalty and also highly insane #loyalty in the face of even powerful people? perfect loyalty. loyalty to the minor nobles when the queen they serve asks for loyalty? insane #anyways #im off track #holy shit im sorry this was so long #tged #long post #_:(´ཀ`」 ∠):

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

What would happen to the Twilight vampires in the world of The Host? The Cullens, the Volturi, the nomads, Maria?

Interesting question.

First off, it's sort of another Fire Eater scenario (or a close cousin). In studying the planet, the Souls likely have concluded that the human race are the a) apex predators and dominant species and b) the only sentient lifeforms. They may look into whales and various other highly intelligent creatures to double check after the Fire Eater disaster, but from what we see in the book only the human race passes the criteria to become host bodies.

Vampires are just too sparsely populated and purposefully hidden from society for them to pick up on and study en masse.

So, what you get is the human race starting to act... really fucking weird.

The Cullens and the Volturi would likely be the first to notice, on the periphery of human society, as I'm sure Carlisle's taken to a back room where they try to shove a soul into him (it does not, ah, go well).

The Cullens, I imagine, then dedicate themselves to trying to save what humans they can and setting up refugee camps in the wilderness where they won't be found (when it becomes clear that this invasion of the body snatchers thing has gone too far, too fast, and can't be stopped).

Of course, it'd become very clear the Cullens themselves aren't human which makes things awkward and I imagine they're run out of several camps.

Other vampires start noticing that people are tasting like shit. What the hell is with these weird silver eyed humans? They have no idea but they start hunting down the not silver eyed humans in earnest.

Which, per the host world, means they're going to be eating a lot of babies (humans before a soul is inserted as it's discussed that there can and is sometimes a bit of a gap so that a soul is not stuck into something completely useless.)

Maria and those battling for territory turn their sights to battling over places with the best tasting humans.

The Volturi, I imagine, despair that this snuck up on them and they try to figure out if they should wage war on the souls (pointless as they seem to have already won and there's not enough non-infected humans to replace them) or wait in the shadows and just get used to eating infecting humans.

Maybe it's time to try that animal diet.

#twilight #twilight meta #twilight headcanon #twilight renaissance #the host #the host meta #the host headcanon #the volturi #the cullens #maria #meta #headcanon #opinion

[namorslutfanfiction]

Dialogue that's been haunting me and will get put into a fic sooner or later.

I made a promise to protect you. That doesn't change now that I hate you.

What would you have preferred? Drowning or burning? That was all you had left if I hadn't saved you.

Please, just look at me for once without seeing her!

You are safe here. I know that you think you have to be the one protecting everyone else. But here, I protect you.

I forgive you every wrong you've done against me. Remember that. I know you'll blame yourself for the rest of your life. But I forgive you.

If you turn away, if you walk out of this room, you sign your death sentence. Do not make me kill one who I dreamt of a whole future with.

You don't understand! She is snow. Soft and cold and temporary. But her? That girl who has given you every waking moment since you first met? That girl is the sun. Hot and comforting and forever.

Say it back. Please just say it back even if you don't mean it.

Did you just moan? He literally just walked in and your first response is to moan?

I do not fear death. He walks with me every day as my ally.

Why do you still have that?

^ because it reminds me of when we were happy.

I just want you happy. With her or another girl, or anyone else, because I know you'd never choose me.

Beg me. Beg me to make you mine.

You have no idea what you do to me? You could have me at your beck and call. Just ask.

I know this isn't what you had planned. But I am happy that it happened.

I would die for you. I would kill for you. Is that not enough?

This once, stay. Stay with me tonight. I know it breaks our rules but I need you.

Look at me. Don't think about any of them. Look at me, my love. Breathe. I am here, I will always be here. No one will hurt you.

Just kiss me, please. Just once. I promise it will be enough for me. Just a taste would be enough.

You may have won these battles, but she will wage war. A war none of you are prepared for.

Horrific. Honestly, it's just disgusting. I'm not wearing that.

God has favorites and so do I. And guess what you're neither of ours.

I'm really going to need you to stop glowering so loudly. It's giving me q migraine.

I have to know. Are the shorts spandex or compression? Or do you do the drag queen tuck because I really feel like I should be able to see it.

You have no sense of self preservation if you have come here to yell at me!

It's beautiful. But why?

^ I know you will leave me. This way I can at least see you.

There are no words in any language that can convey the adoration and love I have come to have for you. Nothing I say will explain to you that you own me, every particle of me, from the moment you looked in my eyes and defied me.

So that's it. I really will use some fo these eventually.

#namorslutfanfiction #fic ideas #fic prompt #otp prompts #fanfic prompt #quote prompt

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Mary Elaine LeBey : Sign of the Day... June 6th is eternally D-Day... and this beautiful tribute "sign" was created and shared today in 2015, right there on the beach at Normandy... and I love it ... Dunno who took it, but it was shared by the US Embassy in France.

* * * *

“You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle hardened. He will fight savagely.

But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man-to-man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our Home Fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to Victory!

I have full confidence in your courage and devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory!

Good luck! And let us beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.” ― Dwight D. Eisenhower

+

“Lieutenant Welsh remembered walking around among the sleeping men, and thinking to himself that 'they had looked at and smelled death all around them all day but never even dreamed of applying the term to themselves. They hadn't come here to fear. They hadn't come to die. They had come to win.” ― Stephen E. Ambrose, Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest

+

“The road will be long and hard. For the enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces. Success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again; and we know that by Thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph. They will be sore tried, by night and by day, without rest -- until the victory is won. The darkness will be rent by noise and flame. Men's souls will be shaken with the violences of war. For these men are lately drawn from the ways of peace. They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate. They fight to let justice arise, and tolerance and goodwill among all Thy people. They yearn but for the end of battle, for their return to the haven of home. Some will never return. Embrace these, Father, and receive them, Thy heroic servants, into Thy kingdom.” ― Franklin D. Roosevelt

#D-Day #Franklin D. Roosevelt #Stephen e. ambrose #Dwight D Eisenhower

[dwellordream]

“Naturally mercenaries took different forms. Armoured cavalrymen serving for cash within an elite squadron would have angrily rejected the notion of being associated with other groups of hireable warriors including siege engineers, miners, infantry, or light cavalry. Yet the fundamental principle of their employment was the same: no money = no war.

So what was the nature of the mercenary market in the Near East? What were its guidelines, whether spoken or unspoken? Here I offer five themes common to at least some mercenaries across the region at this time.

Be ready to switch sides

Mercenaries could be discerning about their choice of employer. Some preferred to fight alongside members of their own faith or culture, others were loyal to a specific commander, but for many the basic principle was to … follow the money.

If this meant switching employers at the last minute then so be it. In 1124 the ruler of Melitene in Southern Anatolia was besieged by a rival named Ghazi and so he slipped out from the city at night to recruit some mercenaries from the Crusader States for 30,000 dinars. Unfortunately for him, these mercenaries never turned up because they were called away to support King Baldwin II of Jerusalem who was gathering troops to besiege the city of Aleppo in northern Syria; presumably they received a better offer.

Of course, the sudden abandonment of one employer for another could impact the region’s balance of power. From the mercenaries’ perspective however this probably wasn’t too much of a concern because their priority was generally to maximise their pay.

In the years directly before the famous Battle of Hattin and the subsequent Fall of Jerusalem (1187), mercenaries had been flocking away from the Crusader States, heading instead to serve King William II of Sicily who then used them to wage war against the Byzantine empire.

For Near Eastern mercenaries, languishing during a period of truce in the Crusader States, in the years directly before the Hattin campaign, this was an easy decision – they wanted to be paid. Even so, King Henry II later came to fear that his actions had drawn possible soldiers away from the Crusader States at a crucial moment.

Be careful who you work with!

Some mercenary companies were huge. In the twelfth century many leading Turkish rulers in Syria employed thousands of Turkmen nomadic warriors to bulk-out their armies. These warriors were not necessarily mercenaries in the traditional sense, but some groups were evidently prepared to fight for money because in 1119 the Turkish ruler Ilghazi, having won a major victory against the Principality of Antioch, complained that he needed all his cash to pay his considerable force of Turkmen warriors.

Another commentator called Ibn al-Athir complained about these warriors observing: ‘Each one of them would arrive with a bag of wheat and a sheep and would count the hours until he could take some quick booty and then go home.’

Nevertheless, teaming up to form mercenary companies could pose problems. Mercenaries have their own agendas and those agendas aren’t always solely centred on the acquisition of money. In 1270, two mercenaries approached Philip of Montfort, lord of Tyre in the Kingdom of Jerusalem asking for employment, dressed as Turkmen warriors.

They were then enrolled as turcopoles (light-cavalry) and Philip learned to depend heavily upon their assistance. In time he relied on them so much that he permitted them to live in his own house. Nevertheless, these soldiers weren’t actually seeking money or even employment. They were assassins intent firstly on seeking his favour and then – when he dropped his guard – assassinating both him and another Frankish lord.

In the event, one assassin managed to murder Philip of Montfort and almost killed his son as well. The other was apprehended before he could strike. For mercenaries in the Near East the lesson here was clear – be careful who you ally yourself with. Fellow mercenaries may have hidden agendas.

Have an eye on the main chance!

Normally when rulers hire mercenaries, they just want to supplement their forces with a company of auxiliaries or perhaps a few specialists, such as siege engineers. In such circumstances, mercenaries generally had to be content with their pay and then go home.

There were some occasions however when mercenaries realised that their paymasters were starting to depend on them for their very existence. For many mercenaries – this was the moment of opportunity. Perhaps they could aspire to take power in their own right.

This kind of scenario occurred many times in the Medieval Mediterranean. In 1303 a mercenary band called the Catalan Great Company arrived in the Byzantine Empire, seemingly ready to offer its services to Emperor Andronicus II. Initially the mercenary company drove back the empire’s enemies in Anatolia winning several important victories.

Nevertheless, their leader soon recognised just how badly Andronicus needed his assistance and how little resistance he could offer should the Great Company turn against him. Consequently, he demanded more and more concessions from Andronicus until the situation declined into open war as the mercenaries sought to take power for themselves.

Be alert to opportunities created by rising powers

There is a story about a former king of Jerusalem, Guy of Lusignan, who became king of Cyprus in 1192. The tale reports that soon after taking power he wrote to Saladin asking for advice about how he could best secure his rule. Saladin replied a little reluctantly, but his advice was clear – Guy should liberally hand out the island’s estates to settlers from friendly territories. He wasn’t necessarily talking about mercenaries here, but the principle is important.

Rulers in this era sought to attract the best warriors by paying them or giving them as much as they could. They needed to be generous or these same warriors would simply transfer to the higher bidder. When they had these warriors at their command, they stood a far higher chance of being victorious in war.

Of course for mercenaries, the key principle was to stay vigilant to changing political tides; wealthy and successful employers have a much greater chance of keeping you safe and paying you well than their weaker and poorer counterparts.

Know your exit strategy

There comes a time in every mercenary’s life when their fighting days are done and it’s time to hang up the sword. This raises the significant question – how will they support themselves when they are no longer being paid?

The Arab nobleman Usama ibn Munqidh tells the story of one of his close friends called Tadrus who went for a meal with an elderly Frankish (Western European) knight in the city of Antioch. They were on very good terms and, although Tadrus expressed some concerns that Frankish food might be served, especially pork, the knight hurriedly reassured him that he never ate pork and that he had an excellent Egyptian chef.

Tadrus was however clearly curious to know how this knight supported himself given that he was no longer paid by the prince of Antioch as a fighting knight. As it turned out, the knight possessed enough property in the city to enable him to live in some style on the proceeds of the rental income. The key principle here for aspiring mercenaries was to make sure that enough money was invested to keep them in their old age!

- Nicholas Morton, “Five tips for unscrupulous mercenaries working in the Medieval Near East.”

#nicholas morton #history #medieval #mercenaries #warfare

[stupitude-and-sorryness]

So... I may or may not be slowly getting back into fanfic... I'm also thinking abt writing my own story abt Rayllum's currently-non-existent kid. I have somewhat of an intro and I have a script for a scrapped animation from late November 2022 but the script still needs some work done bc I want to finish it, tho ill probs never finish the animation itself. I'll attach the intro/prologue here:

Long, long ago, there lived two beings

~-~

A young human step-prince who yearned to learn magic

He, however, had no interest in the human practise of the dark arts

He wanted to learn magic of purity and healthiness- primal magic

~-~

A young eleven assassin who could not bear to kill

All she wanted was peace throughout the land of Xadia

Belonging to the Moonshadow clan, she was unable to express her need for belonging

~-~

The war between Xadia and the five human kingdoms had been going on for almost 10 years by the time these two unlikely heroes met. Along with the step-prince's younger brother, they discovered the supposed 'destroyed' dragon prince egg, which in reality was living on strongly.

Combining their forces, the three left their homes and families whilst war raged inside the castle- the king of the young boy's kingdom was killed by the young assassin's acquaintances, however the assassin herself had to part to play in the king's death.

An evil man that was formerly known as the king's right-hand man declared himself king, and used dark magic to formulate a plan to rule Xadia.

With the news of the king's death, the step-prince's brother was the now official king, as he was indeed next in line for the throne. The child king made his way back to his human home, whilst the step-prince and the moonshadow elf continued to Xadia, to return the now hatched Dragon Prince- Azymondious.

Deserts were travelled, seas were conquered, and mountains were climbed and love was found.

After discovering an evil man had taken the throne, the young king returned to the duo, helping to finish returning Azymondious to his mother- the Dragon Queen, Zubeia.

A final battle was waged, and Xadia won over the evil man, who in turn fell from the top of the Storm Spire- the Dragon Queen's home that stretched far above the clouds, and DIED.

The was over.

Or was it just beginning?

Are there tales we haven't heard? Events not recorded in scriptures? Births and deaths long forgotten in the shadow of what once was known as 'The Great Return of Azymondious, The Dragon Prince'?

=======

Yeah I'm aware it needs some work and it's short and sounds super boring, but believe me, it's gonna be looking good once I do some real work on it

And yeah I'm aware not everything is going to match up bc tdp is pretty much only half finished(just over half now 🥲) but to see the general timeline of the story, imma include this dialogue somewhere:

"But soon the moonshadow elf left the step-prince to complete a mission she knew had to be done to protect him, and it broke his heart in two... AAAAAND no-one really knows what happened after that because for some stupid unknown reason, nobody had the decency to WRITE IT DOWN"

*other dialogue idk yet*

"Well they must've made up EVENTUALLY considering I exist, otherwise that's just a wee bit suspicious don't you think (🤨)"

======

So, yeah idk abt any details yet tho 🤣

[evangelistedissoncharles]

Good morning brothers and sisters! We must live for God always.

‭1 Peter 2:11-12 NIV‬

[11] Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. [12] Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

Peter says that our sinful desires and passions of our flesh are going to war against our soul. In fact, we should be worried if we do not feel that war because that would mean the war is over and our passions have won.

There is a battle going on in our minds and hearts. Our culture tells us that we should give into whatever passions and desires we feel. Let it be known that if we do that we are forfeiting our soul. If we give in, then we are not living for eternity and the world to come but we are living for this world.

Please do not keep this battle on merely a sexual temptation level. We are talking about speaking evil of other people. We are talking about venting our anger. We are talking about not having self-control. We are talking selfish thinking. We are talking about selfish ambition and asserting ourselves. We are talking about envy and jealousy. We are talking about drunkenness. We are talking about idols in our hearts. We are talking about being divisive. We are talking about not loving our neighbor as ourselves. We are talking about causing strife. These are the passions of our flesh that are making war against our souls. We cannot allow our desires to rule over us and they are battling our souls to do that very thing.

In the above passage, Peter reminds us that we do not belong here. Therefore we must battle against the fleshly desires. Please notice what else Peter said. He said we must abstain. He did not say that we can dabble in our fleshly passions. He did not say that we can occasionally dip in with our desires. To put this another way, when our fleshly desires are winning the battle against us, then they are stripping away our ability to fulfill the purpose we have been given by God. We are forgetting our identity and losing our ability to fulfill our God given purpose.

[obraveyouth]

❛ still my heart is heavy with the hate of some other man’s beliefs. ❜

❝ △ &. 𝐡𝐨𝐳𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬

❝ △ ╼ ⟨ @regnantlight ⟩

there is a relentless anger etched onto her visage, one that cannot be silenced by the shortcomings of failed duty or the remaining crumbles of a displaced kingdom. every incarnation of the princess seemed to be weighed down just as he with the frustrations of the duty and burden of being one intertwined within destiny. this princess zelda's eyes held such an intense sorrow ( a gaze you'd witness in mourning / a look you'd see fighting death ): lifetimes, millenniums, and even aeons have wars been sought: waged, won, and lost. the reasoning or original meanings lost to time. for victory was written in the senseless bloodshed of another. transfigured truths warped to fit another's ideal narrative. the seemingly boundless power and unending hate going hand in hand in creating destruction, in a foretelling of a gospel of death.

an entire decade of trauma and suffering made just another incarnation carrying the soul of the hero wonder do the goddesses love the people within the kingdom of hyrule even in all of their folly? in all of their ignorance? do the goddesses of old get enjoyment in the reenactment of a battle long bygone or was this divine punishment in spite of it? link has never been one to claim being of unwavering faith ( divinity had made a martyr out of a sacrilegious hero ): nor ever spoken to be knowledgeable in the true nature of the divine, the hero of twilight was simply roped into their game of repeated pastime, an actor upon the stage called hyrule. but alas, he has never been to worship at the feet of their alter either ( how did one find solace in belief kept whole; woven by his own two hands? ): trivial it was to aid in struggles to see no end.

heavy was the head that was borne into the crown, into the role of holy reincarnated blood. how her gaze could weep a thousand teardrops that shall never touch the soil of the earth. ❛ n' still do ta people suffer at da hands of da three of creation. ❜ they may hail from a different era, different events of circumstance but their despondency surpassed the very streams of time, reached so much further than the expansive of twilight.

was the cause in which link was eternally bound too just another's belief? it was. how was it to curse the very goddesses you still served. he was the best and worst kind of man ( well dressed fraud / a wannabe hero ): all link could do was hate and crawl and scream from his throat since a demon clad a false king brought the chaos of hell and thunder upon a people that had once been godless, lawless--yet its a kingdom free. her plight was all that zelda, was all that link could own. their mind's through the countless aeons the only embers of what remained outside of sovereign duty and a binding vow to a sometimes slumbering blade. still, her eyes looked sharp, steady, and at ease from his words. how funny, he mused that she must find it for the one worn in the legendary one's green to spit and curse all it represented, all that it was.

the hero of twilight was meant to embody something far more grandiose than he, something far more ostentatious and ancient and expected. ❛ don it botha ya? how ya can try ta stop but it comes back. jus' another you or me ta have da burden, have da weight. ❜ just how long must they suffer? just how long did her eyes have to hold every emotion that did not know true uncontested happiness? ❛ if its heavy, den it means ya heart still there, means ya don' hate. ❜ and truly link did not want her to hate. not ever.,

#regnantlight #△ — message › ❝ incoming letter from the local postman ❞ #△ — in character › ❝ actions can speak louder than words ❞ #△ — meme response › ❝ give me eight hundred rupees for a job well done ❞

[rainsmediaradio]

Seeds Of Destiny Devotional 12th January 2024 By Dr. Paul Enenche: Continuity – The Danger Of Premature Contentment

Seeds Of Destiny Devotional - The Danger Of Premature Contentment

The Topic of Seeds of Destiny Devotional for Today 12th January 2024 Is “The Danger Of Premature Contentment”

Scripture: 2 Kings 13:19. Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice. Thought for The Day: When you arrive too soon, you arrive too small.

PASTOR PAUL ENENCHE’S SEEDS OF DESTINY DEVOTIONAL MESSAGE FOR 12TH JANUARY 2024.

In the Book of 2 Kings, Chapter 13, the King of Israel came to Elisha to ask for deliverance and victory over Syria who were waging war against Israel at the time. Elisha told the king to open the window and shoot an arrow. When he did that, Elisha said: The arrow of the Lord’s deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them. 2 Kings 13:17 However, Elisha expected the king to shoot the arrow up to five or six times, but he shot the arrow only three times, and Elisha was annoyed and said: Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice. 2 Kings 13:19. The king shot the arrow just three times and stopped. Elisha seems to have told the king, “What is wrong with you? Why did you shoot the arrow only three times? Israel shall defeat their enemies only three times and the enemies will start dealing with them. You should have continued shooting the arrow until you finish the enemies.” (Paraphrased). The king was prematurely satisfied and Israel lost the war due to his lack of continuity, even though they won the initial battles. The point is, never be satisfied prematurely with any level of result or success you have seen in your life. Refuse to agree that you have succeeded. Just keep moving forward despite your level of success and result in life. You must understand that until you see Jesus Face-to-face, there is still one realm of success or result that you should keep striving to achieve. Refuse to be prematurely satisfied. When you arrive too soon, you arrive too small. Do not let people clap for you when you are meant to be starting. Do not let people celebrate you into obscurity and irrelevance. REMEMBER THIS: When you arrive too soon, you arrive too small. ASSIGNMENTS: - Refuse to be satisfied prematurely. - Keep on making impact for the Kingdom until your see Jesus Face-to-face. PRAYER: Lord, I ask that You deliver me from premature satisfaction. I receive the grace to keep making impact for the Kingdom until I see You Face-to-face, Lord, in Jesus’ Name. FOR FURTHER UNDERSTANDING, GET THIS MESSAGE: MAKING THE MOST OF A NEW SEASON. QUOTE: Where there is premature contentment, there can be no ultimate fulfillment. Culled from the book, “21 FOOLISH THINGS PEOPLE DO” by Dr Paul Enenche. DAILY READING: Exodus 6-10. AMAZING FACT: The eagle has always been considered the king of birds, on account of its great strength, rapidity and elevation of flight, natural ferocity, and the terror it inspires into its fellows of the air. DECLARATION/WORD: May you never stop short of God’s ultimate plan for Your life in Jesus’ Name. Read the full article

#PastorPaulEnenche

[x-x-witchcore-x-x]

Day 23 - Five Of Swords

Five of Swords Upright Meaning

Traditionally, the Five of this suit references the grim and sobering process of cleaning up the battlefield after a conflict. The war as a whole has not been won or lost yet, but in this skirmish there were grievous casualties. This card admonishes the loser to study carefully what went wrong, so that a new strategy can be devised and more setbacks forestalled. There is a need to regroup and rethink the game plan, discover your blind spots and weak links, and take corrective measures before getting back into the field for another round.

In these modern times, when the battle is more often being waged with words, laws and contracts instead of weapons, we have even more reason to examine our approach, our style, strengths and weaknesses. If we have underdeveloped communication skills or lose our objectivity in tense moments, our ability to reach our goals and dreams will decline. But, if we avoid letting ourselves be haunted by the misfortunes and detours that inevitably befall us, we will go on to achieve those goals. Do not obsess. Try to learn something.

Five of Swords Reversed Meaning

The Five of Swords reversed suggests that you are finally gaining some mastery over competitive or combative impulses. This suggests that you may be outgrowing tendencies towards being automatically judgmental or critical.

If this is true, you are successfully letting go of that part of your personality which tends to magnify others' flaws and weaknesses. Much to your credit, you are using your life force in a more creative and positive way. Having overcome conflicting impulses, you now use your energy in a positive way.

Five of Swords Advice Position

The Five of Swords in this position advises you to prepare yourself for disappointment over how your fellow humans are setting their priorities. It seems that the lower end of human nature may be eroding good will in the current situation. Due to a strong cultural trend toward scarcity thinking, a "me first" outlook prevails. If this means that you need to develop a thick skin or carry your sword of truth closer, then do so.

Try not to be too quick to anger or jump to conclusions. Just because others may have a pessimistic sense of the world, their reality does not have to undermine yours. There is certainly no point in struggling or competing with them. Your challenge now is to learn how to sidestep confrontation and evoke a more evolved response from people. At the very least, be assertive about setting boundaries for yourself.

#me #mine #tarot #card of the day

[its-a-crazy-world-aintit]

Music Analysis Time!

Listening to music the other week and come across Gang of Youths "Achilles Come Down". It is gorgeous!!

I google the lyrics to get clarification on a few of the overlapping lyrics and a translation for the french sections and am shocked that one of the first things to pop us as a popular search is "did he come down?"

What?!? How is that in question? Did you listen to the song?

I played it for my sister and she actually asked me the same question. I stared at her dumbfounded for several moments before giving a music lecture that lasted half an hour.

Condensed Version:

YES! He did come down. The music makes this plain.

Long Version:

The song starts with our hero on the roof and the vocalist appealing to him to come down. This continues for a couple of verses, appealing to logic and resorting at one point to jump too.

Another voice cuts in, Achilles inner demon, telling him why he should just go ahead and get it over with. (While it is the same vocalist singing you can hear a distinct difference in the voices.)

The first voice comes back in warning him against listening to the demon (alcohol) and while life may be pointless you can make your own meaning.

The next verse both voices sing contrasting messages at the same time, refuting the others points. They then merge at the very end:

Be done with this now and jump off (get off) the roof Can you hear me, Achilles? I'm talking to you I'm talking to you

And the second voice fades out as it continues:

I'm talking to you I'm talking to you Achilles, come down Achilles, come down

At the end of this phrase, the music turns from somber to a more slow hopeful sound, before almost lurching back to what we have heard the rest of this song.

The second voice fading out and the more hopeful music sends a clear signal that Achilles is convinced to come down. The jarring back to what we have heard previously may be that he changed his mind but was already within reach of the first singer and prevented from jumping when the doubts creeped back in.

The final lines imply that that they won the battle today but the war will wage on but that it is always better to keep moving forward.

For many people I know (myself included), that have had a "jump" moment this is a very powerful and hopeful song BECAUSE he doesn't jump.

I think we are missing something by not emphasizing music literacy. And i don't mean heavy music theory, but how changes in music mean things. I have been lucky enough to have been immersed in music on a day to day basis since I was young but I think we do a huge disservice to many kids now by not teaching them how to analyze what they are listening to.

Anyway before I get even more on my soapbox, I think I'll stop here.

#music #music analysis #achilles come down #gang of youths #yelling into the void #music literacy #its a such a beautiful song #how do so many people not understand that he comes down!?! #very sad #Spotify

[uboat53]

“The automakers can’t plead poverty. They will need to find a creative way to package a fair contract that rewards workers but do it in a way that doesn’t repeat the mistakes of the past. [The Big Three will definitely need to agree to pay hikes well north of previous increases.] The automakers are going to be very rational about this. If this is what my cost per unit is here in the US — including labor — and it’s uncompetitive, I’m going to have to move it to where it’s more competitive, like Mexico. You don’t want the UAW to win the battle but lose the war. … Traditionally, the UAW has kept their demands close to the vest and it’s done behind closed doors. The risk is by sharing all these ideas about what could be won, they could be setting expectations unreasonably high. [That in turn could make it harder to win ratification among rank-and-file members on a deal that will ultimately include some level of compromise.]” -- Former Ford CEO Mark Fields

“It’s not just the union workers doing a landgrab here. Everybody is rushing to get wage increases. You can’t fault them for trying to deal with inflation that is hurting their families. I don’t blame them. But unfortunately, this just adds to the inflation problem.” -- Former Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli

This is some surprisingly good analysis. Certainly biased sources, but better understanding of the issues than I expected. If the current CEOs have a similar level of understanding, the UAW strike may have a happy ending after all.

Source

#unions #uaw strike #uaw

[spookyagentfmulder]

Continued from here 🚬

The intentions couldn't be clearer than if he had burned them into his skin.

Teeth clashed just as their words had moments before, and the testosterone filled antics had devolved into a petty battle for dominance between their lips and tongues. However this time it was a bit more personal, a bit more flush against a wall and a lot more heated than whatever the hell they had been arguing about. None of that was important now. What was important was holding Constantine tight to him and practically gnashing at him with all the pent up emotions and desires he thought too hard about whenever he was alone.

"Is this always how you plan to end our arguments?" Mulder managed to squeeze out, pulling away for just a moment to get some air before getting dragged back in. He didn't expect an answer. He knew better, but of course he had to at least try to get the last word in. He had to at least attempt to make it seem like this wasn't something he wanted instead of finding resolution in whatever excuse they had made to get their hands on each other. The rituals were intricate, making the magic that happened between them incredibly volatile and uncontrollable.

Wherever and however this ended, Mulder knew damn well that the battle may have been won but the war was not over. They'd be back at it again. And again. And again. And again. Part of him hoped it waged on forever.

@talentforlying

#talentforlying #;case file -memes and prompts #NO obligation to reply but I h a d to get this down #good grief you two