#That lead directly to an uprising that he directly took part in and then how he picked the one moldy bun got sick and died forever | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

oldfacesnewdawnoffical · 1 year

Note

Can we get the story of scourge? Or anything about them!? Their fraction even? How it’s run?

Hm… let’s see…

The son of Quince, Tiny was born as the runt to a litter of three. Due to his size, his littermates bullied him often, especially when it came to stealing his share of nutrition, and eventually did away with him by tricking him into a scrap of old fabric and throwing him into a river. He nearly drowned, but was rescued by a kind, elderly black molly-hound named Haggler who essentially raised him from then on. Desperate to keep her safe, and himself alongside his adopted mother figure, he started sweeping the surrounding areas for a better place to live - and was ultimately confronted by the king of the ruins, a twisted mass of an archfiend. Struggling to escape, he ultimately turned to fight the beast, and ended up tricking it off of a great height, where he impaled it upon a jagged spire of stone. His victory was seen and spread, and it wasn’t long until he took the name Scourge, warrior of the streets, The Slayer, The Protector, commander of those bound not by blood, but by fear.

The Bloodbound is definitely not a faction; they’re not part of the fealty, and look with envy and disdain upon those who occupy the lush, fertile, safe forestlands. They’re more like… a gang, really. Sort of… Think of if an activist organization/commune had a really weird baby with the way a medieval kingdom is set up, but they were led by a tiny Batman and full of a bunch of aggressive outcasts governed by fear and intimidation, and you’ve got yourself the Bloodbound.

They have an incredibly strict, set hierarchy: at the very top, their leader, the strongest amongst them, is their commander and founder, Scourge. He has a reputation for being bloodcurdling vicious, terrifying and ruthless, but also with a distinctive softness towards the weak and a loathing for the fealty. When he first stepped foot within the ruins, he gained power horrifyingly swiftly, as he single-handedly slain the eldest archfiend that haunted and dominated the streets. With Scourge at the very top in the wake of such a mind numbing victory, everything just kind of fell into place beneath him.

His wardens, his personal guard of sorts, rank directly below him; they flank Scourge, act as his escorts and messengers, etc. They’re essentially the direct enforcers of his will; whatever Scourge wants? They do it, without question. Most of Scourge’s orders to them, however, are asking to offer food to the weak or put a haughty head in their place.

Speaking of which: the regiment heads! The Bloodbound is split into four sectors… I suppose factions, as well ;). The heads are third in the Bloodbound’s rankings, with those of their regiment ranking directly below them. The heads don’t so much lead them as they manage them, making sure everyone is healthy, well-fed, and satisfied in their roles. The heads report to the wardens, and the wardens report to Scourge.

The Claw Regiment are the fighters, skilled in combat and typically used to swiftly quell any uprisings or keep the untamed archfiends at bay. They are managed by Fury, a one-eyed molly cat with a tendency towards violence.

The Tooth Regiment are the scavengers, the hunters, the gatherers. They find the food that feeds the entirety of the Bloodbound, and distribute it evenly amongst their ranks. They are managed by Mourn, a blind molly hound. (Roughly inspired by/pays homage to @am-i-too-old-for-warriors-yet’s Cricketleap; they were one of the original inspirations for OFND)

The Horn Regiment are the Bloodbound’s primary defense unit. They sweep the streets, take note of infrastructure and potential hiding spots, keep things clean and safe. They are managed by Claw, a massive, mutated rat tom the size of a cat.

The Wing Regiment are the Bloodbound’s eyes. They survey the streets, scouting out anything new that may change from the day-to-day normalcy. They are how Scourge stays updated on the daily affairs of those under his care; if anything threatens them, the Wing Regiment (and their head) report directly to him to be taken care of. They are managed by Hiss, a vulture jack with a clipped wing and a mangled beak.

Anyone not part of a regiment are referred to as unofficials or wanderers - creatures that are technically part of the Bloodbound, but who are too weak, young, old, or otherwise unable to take part in the natural hierarchy and sorting of the primary group. Rust is an unofficial/wanderer of the Bloodbound!

#old faces new dawn #ask #flippythegodzilla #warrior cats rewrite #warriors rewrite #culture card #<- ??? I guess lmao #it’s definitely not set up how the culture cards for the factions will be #but there’s a whole lot of information here that basically sums these guys up so…#yea culture card lol #the bloodbound #bloodclan

16 notes · View notes

post-leffert · 2 years

Text

Iran’s relentless uprising continues as people call it a “revolution”

Sunday marked the 24th day of protests spreading throughout Iran as regime authorities scrambled their security forces in desperate measures to contain an uprising that more and more Iranians are describing as a “revolution”. Many cities across the country saw people take to the streets at around noon, with protesters escalating their measures in response to the regime’s deadly crackdown.

Sunday’s protests began with demonstrations by students in several cities across the country. In Tehran, the students of Allameh Tabataba’i University held strikes at the campus. At the Tarbiat Modares University, students were chanting, “We will be here every day.” In Qazvin, the students of Islamic Azad University were chanting, “Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!” A very large protest rally was held at Amir Kabir University. At Arak University, students held a large protest rally and chanted anti-regime slogans, including “No fear! We are all together!” The students of Gilan University also held a large rally.

High school students also held protest rallies in several cities, including Bandar Abbas, Fardis, and Mashhad.

At the same time, strikes were reported from several cities, including Tehran, Ravansar, and Baneh. Other reports indicate the regime transferring large contingent of security forces to different areas in an attempt to quell protests in cities where demonstrations were especially intense.

youtube

And protest rallies were reported in several cities. In Kermanshah, protesters were chanting, “Death to the dictator!” In Mehrshahr, protesters were shouting, “No fear, we are all together!” as regime security forces tried to disperse them.

Nightly protests were reported in several cities. In Sanandaj, protesters set fire to dumpsters and blocked roads while chanting anti-regime slogans. In Mahabad, protesters held rallies in streets and chanted slogans against the regime and took control of some districts. In Yasuj, protesters were chanting “Death to the dictator!” In Kermanshah, the streets were filled with smoke and fire as protesters shouted slogans against the regime. In Tehran’s Valiasr Street, protesters clashed with security forces.

On Saturday, reports from Tehran and many other cities showed protesters taking control of various cities and confronting the regime’s security forces. The checkered nature of these protests is making it extremely for regime officials to effectively dispatch their forces to put an end to these nationwide rallies. This is playing a major role in the protesters’ success and significantly decreasing morale and efficiency among the regime’s forces.

youtube

Saturday’s protests began with a collective effort in mostly Kurdish cities of Kurdistan and West Azerbaijan provinces where locals once again closed their stores in a general strike. Little by little college and high school students began taking to the streets to spark Saturday’s anti-regime gatherings. People across the country are chanting slogans against regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Security forces in many parts of Tehran and numerous other cities began opening fire directly targeting the protesters. There are many videos posted online showing how security forces are aiming directly at protests, sometimes at point-blank range. Other footage shows brave Iranians, especially women, holding their ground in the face of fully armed security forces.

Regime President Ebrahim Raisi paid a visit to Tehran’s Al-Zahra University to deliver a speech. He was “welcomed” by the students as they chanted “Raisi, get lost!” and “Mullahs must get lost!” among other slogans that also specifically targeted Raisi and his decades of taking part in the regime’s killing spree against political dissidents, especially members of the Iranian opposition People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) during the 1988 massacre of over 30,000 political prisoners.

As people started chanting anti-regime slogans, regime security forces resorted to brute force that lead to clashes in numerous areas of Tehran, along with the city of Sanandaj in Kurdistan Province, western Iran, Isfahan in central Iran, Shiraz in south-central Iran, Mashhad in northeast Iran, Karaj and Gohardasht in Alborz Province just west of Tehran, and many other cities across the country.

Protests continued into the night. In Tehran, many districts saw intense protests as the people rallied and chanted anti-regime slogans. The people of Tehran were chanting “Death to the dictator!” in several locations, including Tehranpars and Azari intersection. A massive demonstration also took place in Naziabad district of Tehran from where activists posted footage of streets packed with protests. One activist said he had never seen so many people in this area of the capital before.

Similar scenes were reported in Sanandaj, Dorud, and Hamdean, where protesters clashed with security forces and continued their anti-regime rallies. In Fardis, west of Tehran, protesters engaged in hit-and-run tactics, preventing security forces from storming their area.

In Karaj, protesters set fire to vehicles and motorbikes that belonged to security forces. Such attacks by people against the regime’s oppressive security forces were also reported in many other cities. In Isfahan, fully-geared anti-riot forces attacked unarmed protesters.

According to Netblocks, an organization that monitors internet connectivity across the globe, authorities had imposed a complete internet blackout in Sanandaj.

youtube

hese protests began following the death of Mahsa Amini. Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, a 22-year-old woman from the city of Saqqez in Kurdistan Province, western Iran, who traveled to Tehran with her family, was arrested on Tuesday, September 13, at the entry of Haqqani Highway by the regime’s so-called “Guidance Patrol” and transferred to the “Moral Security” agency. She was brutally beaten by the morality police and died of her wounds in a Tehran hospital on September 16. The event triggered protests that quickly spread across Iran and rekindled the people’s desire to overthrow the regime.

#Iran #Iran protests #Mahsa Amini #anarchy #anarchism #protest #revolution #riot #ACAB #revolt #Youtube

10 notes · View notes

spellboundheartsaga · 1 day

Text

Hearts of Bronze: Aethel

I love a good love story, and I've noticed that there are two sort of main conflicts in them. Either the story is about politics and people trying to keep the romantic leads apart, or it's a quest or problem to solve while their romance develops.

Hearts of Bronze is the latter. My leads are part of an ethnic group from a former country called Aethel. It was surrounded by several militaristic and expansionist countries and eventually was overrun. Their leaders and nobles were slaughtered to prevent an Aethelian uprising, and the common people were driven out en masse.

They have scattered across the continents. This story follows a group that has moved south to the desert countries of Khem and Carthago. In this post, I'll explore some of the key traits of the Aethelian people.

Aethel's violent surroundings had a significant impact on its society's development. Men were often called to defend the country, and women took over looking after the house, the finances, and many major decisions regarding the children. Women became responsible for all things "within the home," and men took care of matters "beyond the home."

While still largely a patriarchal society, this led to a few rights and freedoms unique to Aethel. A woman's dowry is actually directly related to the marital home. For the average woman, this might be the furnishings that fill their rented house or apartment; for a wealthier family, this might be property or home ownership. Even if the couple later purchased property, it would traditionally go into the woman's name, and the property remained her possession throughout the marriage and after a divorce. Men were responsible for protecting this property and funding the upkeep.

Women were in charge of most of the money in the relationship. A man would surrender his earnings for her to maintain the home and children and buy the family food and clothing. He would typically hold back some for his personal use. Women could divorce their husbands if they failed to provide enough or protect their assets. This included the women's bodies. She wouldn't have to prove that her husband beat her, only that he failed to protect her and that she was injured. On the flip side, if the woman failed to maintain the home, manage the finances, clothe, and feed the family, he could divorce her. He would need to prove to the court that the money he provided had been sufficient and the wife had squandered it.

A woman might hold a job, but it would be an insult to her husband if she were married, as it would show that he was incapable of providing enough to allow her to stay home. Child rearing was largely the women's responsibility. Male children would live with their mothers until they married as they were seen as someone who needed to be taken care of rather than capable of running their own home. Female children could move out as their ability to maintain a residence is a significant factor in her value as a marriage partner. However, her parents would support this home, or she would have to work. Unmarried women with jobs could divide opinions. These jobs typically involved handling finances, maintaining businesses' properties, or were hospitality-based. These are all skills that showcase her skills as a marriage candidate. However, if her parents were alive and seemed well off, it could show that she had a poor relationship with them, and her dowry might not be as much as expected.

Education was limited to the upper class. Women married to nobles would be in charge of the entire estate in his absence, needing to make complex decisions about its upkeep, oversee those who worked there, and perhaps even decide matters like crop rotations. For this reason, both men and women of the upper class were taught to read and write. The subjects differed. A woman's education was catered to finances and how to maintain property. A man's would be more centered on war and business.

What was considered "within" or "beyond" the home was often a source of conflict. The apprenticeships of the children or their education were often the mother's decision, but the husband's business or military connections could impact what opportunities were available to the child. Each couple would have a slightly different take on who the final decision maker was, and this was a major point that could lead to conflicts in the marriage. Aethel was moving away from a monarchy to a senatorial republic when it fell, and a woman's right to vote was hotly debated. Men saw this as an opportunity to pass laws allowing them more control. Women felt it was natural that they not only vote but also hold office as laws would directly impact matters that were traditionally their responsibilities.

This inner political strife distracted the Aethelian people and ultimately was one of the factors that led to their fall. The early form of a senate did not allow a single person to control the military and make decisions without a vote in times of emergency. This delayed their response and led to a disorganized response to the invasion.

The Aethelians who survived were not nobles or decision-makers and were frustrated with the Senate. While one might think they'd gravitate back towards a monarchy, the ability for the average citizen to have a voice in their laws would lead them to organize a senatorial republic again.

The Aethelians in this story are a mercenary group called the Bronze Jackals. As the noble class of Aethel was slaughtered, these commoners earned their rank by proving themselves to be competent. Much like the garbage dump baboons, the Jackals like their leaders to be chosen based on skill and individual merits and continue this tradition. By the time the story's lead couple joins the Bronze Jackals, the group has been around for 47 years. It has done so well in this merit-based system that new recruits symbolically walk away from their pasts and family reputations during their initiation and pick up their first sword, swearing that their deeds with the weapon are all that matters.

This does not mean they are forced to cut ties to their families. One of the reasons the Bronze Jackals exist is to aid in the Aethelian people's survival, which takes families and children to continue the lineage. While they avoid having one main base of operations, they regularly visit the same cities and some Jackals start a family in one of them. As it can be quite some time between visits, the Aethelian tradition of the wives caring for the children and home continues. However, Khemian and Carthagoan laws and cultures make this difficult, contributing to the desire for an Aethelian territory where people can live as they please.

In another post, I talk about my romantic leads, Maevia and Ataxis, and how, through years of hard work, Maevia breaks through the stigma of a woman in a military setting and becomes the Chief Strategist of the Bronze Jackals (key takeaway: she's highly educated by her wealthy Khemian father and studies the military stratagems of the Khemian military whereas the Jackals are competent from their experiences but uneducated and struggle to go from a small force to one that has political impact in Khem and Carthago). She proves that women deserve the right to vote and to hold office. The Bronze Jackals do have some hesitations among the lower ranks who haven't seen her in action, and there will be political issues with Khem and Carthago as they don't want their women to get any ideas. Ultimately, Maevia, Ataxis, and their allies will ensure that Aethelian women get the right to vote and hold office. Maevia, knowing damn well it's her education that led to her successes, will promote education for all.

(I am thinking that Khem will have its own female leader, a la Hatshepsut or Cleopatra, which would soften opinions on women in politics. Maevia would take advantage of that to prove that her abilities are not rare and that it's a matter of giving women the opportunities to shine. I am as yet undecided.)

The traditional Aethelian gender roles play a large part in how my leads act. Ataxis leaves their hometown after his military apprenticeship to join the Bronze Jackals. He goes out to earn money to show he can provide for Maevia and protect her. Maevia worries that the uneducated leaders of the Bronze Jackals will struggle, is aware of her privileged education, and is confident she can help. She unconsciously treats the Bronze Jackals like an estate or property that needs to be maintained. She finds issues and problems in how they store grain in linen sacks while they travel from job to job. The Jackal's reasoning is that linen is lighter and cheaper than a pottery container. She proves that because the troop loses so much grain to spoilage when these sacks get wet and to rodents chewing through bags, eating, and creating leaks, the troop has to overbuy to such an extent that it's actually more money and weight.

Meanwhile, Ataxis is super stressed because, as a man, it's his job to protect his woman, Maevia. But, the beautiful, lovely, smart, stubborn, bullheaded, know-it-all has come to a literal war zone. This leads him to train, train, train until he's the best fighter in the Jackals and no one will ever threaten what his to protect (except the major plot point that opens the story is that traitors within the Jackals sold Maevia into slavery, covered it up, and Ataxis doesn't save her for 8 years).

Current story word count: 20,936

#writers on tumblr #fantasy romance #hearts of bronze #romantasy #writing #writeblr #world building #worldbuilding

0 notes

we-have-bangtan · 3 years

Text

I summoned you

Random one-shot #3

Pairing: demons!OT7 x witch!reader

Genre: fluff, fluff and more fluff, poly au

warning: swearing, its hella longggggg. <33

Part 2

Synopsis: The seven most powerful demons in the world were summoned for the first time in over a hundred years only to find out that their summoner is a little witch who was being hunted by witch hunters. She seeks protection from them but at what cost?

“Who the fuck summoned us?” Hoseok groaned feeling the familiar pain of transformation go through his body, “I don’t know but it better be worth it, I’m getting too old for this shit” Seokjin groaned as pain shot through his veins, black, bat-like wings erupting from his back as he fell to the ground in pain, the scars on his body burning up.

Namjoon wasn’t much better either, biting into a pillow as burning pain took over his head, his horns and fangs coming out for the occasion, it had been over a hundred years since they had last been summoned and they were bearing the pain of not transforming in all there years, Jungkook hissed as he felt his tailbone extend out of his body, piercing through his skin to form a tail.

Jimin and Tae held each other as each of their left eyes glowed bright, screaming as they changed from black to red, “I hope it isn’t an accident again or I’ll eat them alive” Jungkook groaned as he pulled himself off the ground grimacing at the pain that shot through his body.

Yoongi was the only one not in pain because he had been living in his demon form for a few years now, he didn’t have to transform.

“The spell was lost, I don’t know how someone is summoning us” he informed as Seokjin opened the portal to the mortal world, the portal would take them to where ever they were being summoned.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Y/n anxiously stared at the pentagram she had drawn on her cottage floor, she’d be over if this spell didn’t work. She could hear the villagers approaching, could see the glow of their torches from her window. They were climbing up the hill, coming for her life, this spell was her only way of living.

She didn't know why the villagers had turned on her so easily when she had never done anything to them. She had kept her witchcraft confined to her cottage and its surroundings, but they seemed to have found out, she would blame the church people for that, because they were at the beginning of the uprising egging the villagers on.

They had almost caught her an hour ago when she had gone down for supplies, her arms were bruised from their assault but she had managed to escape from them, but she could run anywhere except her cottage.

She couldn't run anymore, there was no where to run now, she either had to stand and fight, which she was too weak for, or she had to perish, which she was too stubborn for so she had taken to the last resort, the demon spell.

Her magic wouldn't be enough to Wipeout all the people who were marching up the hill to her cottage, they'd burn her on the stake if they caught a hold of her, it would be a death with no pride or honor.

She felt the air shift around her, the salt grains blowing here and there and the candles flickering, the wind picked up speed outside as a portal opened directly above the pentagram and a demon fell out, falling to the ground with a thud and a groan. She moved to help him up but quickly stopped as a scream came from inside the portal before six other demons fell on the first one. Chaos ensured as each of them yelled at the other to get off their wings or tails or any other body part, she loudly cleared her throat to grab their attention making seven pairs of eyes snap to her.

_________________________________________

"Did you summon us little girl?" Namjoon asked as he took in her condition, she was awfully malnourished, her arms bruised and frail, she was a timid little thing who he assumed wasn't much younger than Jungkook before he had been changed into a demon. The girl nodded, holding a wand in her hand, a witch, Seokjin realized before he focused on her arms, “How did you summon us little witch” he asked, he was pretty sure the spell to summon them was a 21+ spell and she barely looked 18+ to him.

“with the spell of course although I didn’t know it would summon seven of them, I would have drawn a lager circle had i known” she mumbled making Yoongi gawk at her statement, “HOW THE FUCK DO YOU CAST A SUMMONING SPELL WITHOUT KNOWING HOW MANY DEMONS IT WOULD SUMMON?? WE COULD HAVE RIPPED YOUR THROAT OUT THE MOMENT WE SHOWED UP HERE” Hoseok barked, snapping his fangs at her.

“I know, no need to be an arse about it” she retorted as Hoseok stared at her in disbelief, “well then why did you summon us little witch?” Taehyung intervened, “I need help,” she stated plainly. This piqued Jimin’s interest, they all were clearly thinking the same thigh judging from the look in their eyes, they were mates, he knew how they thought, “Are you sure you can pay the price for our services darling” Seokjin remarked sweeping his eyes over the mostly bare cottage.

This girl was clearly living alone, a cauldron with coals under it sat in one corner of the house and a winding staircase lead up to attic which he assumed was her bedroom. Clothes hung to dry near the fire place in another corner of the house, her cupboards were mostly empty other than a loaf of bread and a tin of something he couldn’t recognize. She clearly didn’t have much to give.

“What is your price?” She asked, Yoongi admired her guts, she was clearly working hard on trying to seem unafraid, although she failed miserably, at least she tried. The seven of them thought for a while when they head a loud bang on the door. The girls eyes widened in fear, “they’re here” she cursed as she cast a colloportus spell on the door, “hurry up please” she pleaded, “what’s going on? what help do you need?” Jungkook asked as Seokjin place a shield over the door blocking the people from coming in for a short while.

“They’re hunting me and i want them gone” she revealed, the boys looked up at her, “how sure are you that we won’t rip your throat once you set us free from this circle” Yoongi asked, “I don’t have anything to lose if you kill me the moment i let you free, I don’t have much to live for anyway” she answered, “we’ll discuss the price once we’re done” Namjoon warned as she cast the aqua eructo spell, a stream of water sprouting from the tip of her wand, wiping the circle of salt away just as a window shattered, glass spilling everywhere.

“Jimin, get her somewhere safe” Namjoon commanded his mate, the younger demon nodded dutifully before stepping forward and wrapping an arm around her waist, positioning his wings, “hold on tight” he warned as he too to the air, going out through the back door of the cottage, taking her to the roof of the cottage, “stay here while we sort that stuff out” he told her, taking off to join the others.

They possessed the humans, making them kill each other or they’d simply burn them to a crisp, she had expected them to be strong and powerful, but not this powerful, powerful to wipe out all the people who had come to attack her. She didn’t pay much heed to the humans who ran into the forests, she didn’t care where they went as long as they didn’t come near her or her cow, Morphus, who was currently in the shed, a little away from the clearing she lived at.

She noticed one of the church men trying to climb the roof to get to her but she quickly jinxed him, making him fall off the roof. Half way through the battle, Yoongi called in quits because the boys could deal with it without him, he joined Y/n on the roof top, folding his wings carefully to not hurt her, “Why don’t you just move from here, go fin some other forest to live in” he asked, leaning back on his hands, looking up at the sky, “there’s no where else to go, I’ve been running for too long” she answered and with that all conversation subsided as they both watched the others fight, Yoongi noticed a few people running for the forests and jerked up to go after them only to be stopped by Y/n, “let them be,” she said and he obey’d.

_____________________________________

It didn’t take the demons long to finish everyone, they all gathered in her kitchen, Jin and Taehyung were hurt, but nothing big, just minor wounds according to the two demons but she insisted on tending to their injuries with a warm cloth and some potions, “this will scar” she told Jin, feeling guilty all of a sudden, “one of a million, don’t worry” he smiled as she wrapped his almost fully healed hand up.

“what is this?” Jungkook asked as he peered down the mug on Y/n’s table, “banana milk” she answered as she turned to Taehyung to wrap his wound up too, Jungkook took a sip of the milk before downing the whole mug, “do you have more?” he asked, looking like a child who wants an extra treat, she nodded, getting up to pull out a jar full of it from her cupboard, handing it to the boy, she didn’t seem the least bothered that a demon boy was drinking up all her banana milk.

“so what is the price I have to pay? if you’ll hurry up, I have cleaning to do” she said looking at the dead bodies scattered all around her house, some even on tree branches. The boys looked at each other, “We’ll need some time to discuss” Namjoon said on behalf of them all, “you do that and I’ll clean that up” she said, grabbing her wand and leaving the house.

“So, what now?” Namjoon asked once he made sure she was far away from them, “I don’t think she can really give much, she barely has anything herself” Hoseok said, scanning the room again, “This place is nice tho, although she could use some more things in it” Seokjin admitted, looking around the peaceful cottage, it was clean, and would look beautiful if it wasn’t so bare, “it is” Namjoon admitted when Jimin’s piped up, “I don’t like the fact that she lives like this, she could die any moment and no one would notice, maybe we can come here more often” he suggested, already planning all the things he’d bring here from the underworld, Namjoon nodded, “it has been way too long since I’ve actually seen the sky, donno why mortals have to have all the good things when they die so easily” he huffed as he looked out of the window, looking down at the valley in which the village nestled.

“I have an idea hyung, why don’t we use her place as a sort of abode, she can offer her house to us when ever we want in exchange for our services” Taehyung offered and Namjoon and Seokjin agreed, it would be nice to come to the mortal world often, “is everyone fine with that?” he asked the others, none of them rejected the idea and soon enough, Y/n was called back in.

They explained what they wanted and she just stared at them, dumbfound, “why would you want to come here when you can live luxuriously in the demon world?” she asked, “the demon world is not all its cooked up to be” Jimin answered.

It took a little convincing (threatening) to get her to agree but she did.

________________________________

The boys were common visitors to her little cottage, each of them would show up on their own accord and timing with their own reasons, often in their human form, she had been surprised to see how much more handsome the seven of them were in their human forms and she had told them so.

They would show up with little things that she would need around the house, sometimes unnoticeable and sometimes ridiculous, they’d bring her small fancy plates and saucers, fabrics and potion ingredients and even a new wand once before they progressed to bringing bigger things like vases and pillows and rugs despite her protesting.

Namjoon was the first to show up at her door with a book in hand to see books about the seven of them scattered on her table. They had stopped popping up directly inside the house after Y/n had yelled at them for freaking her out, “reading up on us I see” he commented as he dragged a chair to sit, “I’ll have to because i literally don’t know anything about the seven of you” she mumbled as she read on. They both read their books in silence before Y/n offered him tea which he accepted gratefully.

Seokjin and Jungkook were the next one’s to show up because they were hungry, she served them with honey bread and maple syrup. Seokjin showed a keen interest in cooking, offering to help her out while she cooked for the three of them, since then, he’d show up during meal times to eat with her and cook with her, it became something the two of them got used to and one of the greatest things Seokjin would miss once she had passed.

Jungkook and her bonded over banana milk, the boy couldn’t get enough of it, even taking some back to the demon realm only to come back for more the next day. They both would wander the forest in search of bananas and maple trees and make the banana milk together, he was the most frequent visitor that even Morphus had started to recognize Jungkook who would sit next to Y/n when she milked the cow every morning.

Tae and Jimin would often come together just to mess with her and to make a fool out of the villagers down in the valley. They went herb searching together in the forests. They’d pick flowers for the house and they even dug up a well for the little cottage to use.

Hoseok would also come by often just to gossip with her, telling her about all the events in the demon world, they both would talk over tea and little cakes about Namjoon’s snoring and Seokjin’s new obsession with bad jokes. On days which were not too hot or too cold they’d set up a table outside and just bask in each others company.

Yoongi was the last to visit her, and even when he did visit, he decided to take a nap only to get back up complaining about how bumpy the mattress was before vanishing off and coming back with a new mattress. They’d nap together on days Y/n didn’t have anything to do, and had been found wrapped up with each other by the other quiet often.

They’d all come together once every few days to have lunch and dinner and to talk and play, enjoying the sun and grass and flowers before they had to go back to the demon world.

It was funny to see the seven strongest demons be so gentle and ind to a little human girl, weaving flower crowns for her and laying their head in her lap, taking cat naps together.

_____________________________

They seven boys got quiet attached to the little witch, trying to meet her as often as possible and be as gentle as possible to her. Imagine their surprise when Namjoon walked in on a sorcerer sitting on one of the chairs as Y/n made him a cup of tea.

“A demon!” the sorcerer shrieked as Namjoon came inside the house, Y/n slowly turned around to see Namjoon standing st the door, greeting him with a smile and a kiss to his cheek, “Namjoon-ah meet my mentor, the great Sorcerer Potter” she introduced as Namjoon felt a green knot form in his chest, he was sure the rest of his mates felt it too because a portal opened not soon after, tossing the 6 other boys into the mortal world, all of them looking eerily calm, “why is he here y/n? he questioned, “he just came to visit” she explained, “then why is his smell all over you?” Jungkook demanded, grabbing her wrist to get a scent of her.

“get lost” Yoongi hissed at the sorcerer, the powerful man shrieked as he apparated to who knows where. “Y/n,” Hoseok said, taking her hands in his, “did he touch you” he asked, his voice low, she shook her head, no, no one had touched her, thank the demons, Jimin thought as he enveloped her in his arms, overpowering the sorcerer’s smell with his own. “good, don’t let anyone touch you except for us little witch” Seokjin mumbled as he placed a kiss on her forehead, she hummed in agreement as they all bundled up in her cozy cottage, now a lot more comfortable and colorful than before.

They loved her but they couldn’t have her because demons didn’t deserve happiness, it was a curse on them, they weren’t meant to love, only hate and kill because even if they loved y/n they’d inevitably end up with a part of their heart hollow because demons couldn’t love little witches because demons were immortal while witches would meet their end soon enough.

None of them laid with their little witch because it was forbidden but they did caress her, they held her close and made her feel warm and loved by each of them, they were tender and careful with her, trying to spend every moment with her and while that might seem like too much for a mortal, it was a mere few moments for immortals and they tried to carve her memory into their hearts and minds so they would never forget her despite how much time passed by.

___________________________________

The eight of them spent 86 years together, Y/n passed due to illness at the ripe age of a hundred and twelve years with a smile and her seven demons surrounding her when she too her last breath.

The demons wished she’d reincarnate bu they didn’t keep much hope in that because demons wishes were never fulfilled. But they lived on with the memory of the little witch who had summoned them and had carved herself into their cold, dark hearts.

__________________________________

Y/n's cottage

___________________________END_________________________________

First try, how was it? let me know!!!!

182 notes · View notes

josefavomjaaga · 3 years

Text

Helfert, “Joachim Murat”, Chapter 4, Part 1

Sorry for the long delay!

4. Occchiobello - Tolentino - Casa Lanza.

April/May 1815.

The army led by King Joachim, with which he undertook the great risk of challenging Austria and the Congress of Vienna, did not number 80,000, nor 60,000 men, which were the figures he constantly mentioned, but about 35,000 men on foot and 5,000 on horseback with 60 guns. It was divided into six "legions" - the Napoleonids never lacked ostentatious titles - two of the Guard, of which Pignatelli-Strongoli commanded the infantry, Livron the cavalry; then three line infantry with Carascosa d'Ambrosio and Lecchi as commandants, and one legion cavalry under GL Rosetti. Millet de Villeneuve was at the head of the general staff, and Pietro Colletta, the future historian, was at the head of the general staff.

The Neapolitan army, which had been the focus of the king's attention from the very beginning, was a handsome sight; but underneath the beautiful shell lay serious defects and deficiencies. Even a supporter of Murat as enthusiastic as Guglielmo Pepe cannot fail to pass a harsh judgment in this respect. "The army", he says, "was paid in the most punctual manner, but the internal administration of the troops was the worst imaginable; little or nothing was known of discipline". The latter will be comprehensible on learning that three regiments of foot soldiers were made up of people taken from the prisons and the galleys. The evils this entailed had already become apparent in the last campaign, where people ran off en masse with their weapons and baggage, firing on the guards who stood in their way; of the 9th Line Regiment, 3,000 strong when it marched out of Naples, a third had disappeared within a few days, until Guglielmo Pepe, who knew how to deal with his Neapolitans, took over command and kept the rest together. But not everyone understood this, least of all the foreign officers, especially the French, of whom there was still a large number in the army; of 25 generals, 10, of 27 colonels, 13 were French by birth, who always occupied a kind of special position, were sometimes haughty and overconfident, insisted on their compatriotism with the king and were regarded with as much disdain by the national officers as they were hated and cursed by the common man. Samples of this had already been seen in the last campaign. But no less annoying than the national jealousy was the political division, since among the Italian higher officers there were a number who cared less for Naples than for the independence and political unification of Italy and, usually going hand in hand with this, for the introduction of liberal institutions, whereas others knew only their service, wanted nothing to do with innovations and were therefore regarded by them as sinister or royal lackeys. Also in this direction, Guglielmo Pepe was at the forefront, who boasted that he had been the first to proclaim "Italian independence" in an appeal to the population when he entered the Marches in January 1814. Pepe had many like-minded comrades and supporters in the army, but it remained to be seen what deeds their desire for liberty would inspire them to do in the field. For on the average, Murat's generals were not particularly fit for war; there were many of the king's favourites among them who were not worth the credit he gave them. Some good, useful material was to be found in the common man and in the lower ranks, whereas among the officers neglect of duty and cowardice at the decisive moment were not exactly rare phenomena. General Mack had made a sad experience of this in 1799.

This time, as in January 1814, the Neapolitan army marched out in two main directions: the two legions of the Guard were ordered to march via Rome to Tuscany, the main force was to advance eastwards from the Apennines towards the Po. The army was preceded by Joachim's political emissaries, who, amply provided with instructions and money, crept under various titles and pretexts into Rome and Tuscany, into Milan and other cities of the Austro-Italian territory, in order to stir up emotions there, to heat up tempers, to prepare revolts. Soon, their successes became palpable. Fear, apprehension and terror came over the seven-hill city, which Charles IV of Spain hurriedly left with his wife to go to Florence for the time being, where the ex-queen of Etruria was to follow them. The papal curia was getting ready to leave. Things seemed to have taken such a serious turn that the British agent Edward Cooke wrote to Lord Castlereagh asking whether it would not be advisable to vouch for King Joachim's throne because he would then keep quiet, and suggested to the Bishop of Saint-Malo, who represented France to the Holy Father, that he should influence his monarch in this sense, but the Bishop absolutely refused in view of the principles of Louis XVIII, with which he was well acquainted. But in the northern regions of the peninsula, too, the party of Italian unity was stirring; in Austrian territory, Venice, Padua, Verona were in a fever, Brescia declared itself in favour of the national uprising. Thus everything seemed to be favourable for the adventurous king's enterprise. On 19 March he arrived in Ancona, while his guard was already on the march on Rome. In the middle of Holy Week on 22 March, Pius VII, followed by the ministers of Austria and Spain and the majority of the Cardinals, left the eternal city, which was occupied by Neapolitan troops.

In the east, at the same time, the vanguard of the royal army led by Carascosa was already beyond Ancona. Among the dethroned Napoleonids, the king's enterprise was followed with eager anticipation. Between Fano and Pesaro, the secretary of the former King Joseph arrived, sent from Switzerland to Joachim, to whom he conveyed the admonition to hasten his march as much as possible. Nor were the royals lacking in swiftness of movement. Even before a declaration of war had been made, their advance troops appeared before Cesena, which 2500 Austrians evacuated in order to retreat via Forli and Imola towards Bologna. For they were not strong enough to offer successful resistance and had been instructed not to engage in any rash fighting: already on all roads leading to Italy, troops and war supplies of all kinds were moving from the interior of the empire in rapid marches towards the south.

On 30 March, Joachim was in Rimini, from where he issued two proclamations: a decree according to which he had annexed the two Marches of Fermo and Ancona, then the territories of Gubbio, Pesaro and Urbino to his kingdom, of which the north-eastern border was no longer to be formed by the Tronto, but by the Foglia; and an appeal to the "Italians" to rally armed under his banners and fight under his leadership for their independence. The following day the king, crossing the Fiumesino, the Rubicon of the ancients, went to Forli. Here he was met by new tidings from beyond the Alps: it was Jérôme, the former King of Westphalia, who, coming across the sea, welcomed and encouraged him. But the speeches he made did not please Murat's generals; for instead of directly approving of their king's enterprise, he spoke of the Italians as subjects of the emperor, to whom they owed sworn obedience.

Thank you, Joseph and Jérôme, for ruining the moment. Those two always have impeccable timing. (Didn’t they also show up at whatever place Marie Louise had gone to after leaving Paris in 1814, trying to make her go see her father?)

#napoleon #joachim murat #hundred days #naples #italy1815 #helfert murat

9 notes · View notes

wulved · 3 years

Text

i feel like a tl;dr on some of my lore is needed because i essentially built it from the ground up, and the show only gives us like 10% and i had to fill everything else in and i also rewrote a lot . this will be temporary until i get my ass together to put it all up on a google doc. hopefully i got everything, but if i missed something i will go back and add to it as i remember

first some of the vocab from the show that i use that’s probably confusing:

zweilt’s / zweilt guardians : “god’s warriors.” a group of individuals who are continuously reincarnated and gifted with different supernatural powers that aid them in fighting demons and keeping the balance of the world in order

duras : the word for “demon”

niedertracht : lowest ranking demons, normally appear in the form of animal like beings , with red glowing eyes & black crystalline skin

mid-villain : mid ranking demon, as the name suggests. appear humanoid, but closely resemble sprites or fae. they do have the ability to gain more power and rank up to opast over time

opast : the most high ranking type of demon, just below the demon king himself. known to be deceptively and strikingly beautiful, usually spotted by their tell tale fangs, claw like nails, and slitted pupils

the demon king : their ruler of hell, the highest ranking and most powerful demon

infernus : their version of hell / the underworld. the home of the demon king & all demons

the black lake : a lake that takes up a vast majority of infernus. its waters are pitch black and deep, reflecting only the starlight above. it is said that any who try to journey through it have never returned

lore changes from the show that i personally made ( if you’ve never heard of the show or read anything about it, you probably don’t need to read this part )

luze does not exist. the idea of him is stupid im so sorry

the demon king is not “lucifer,” but an entirely separate entity named alcmena

the “bloody cross” is both a branding and a contract / blood pact made between luka and alcmena. this does not make luka his servent as the show suggests, but instead makes luka unwaveringly loyal : i.e. he cannot directly harm or usurp alcmena’s throne. he can still hold distasteful feelings, and downright hate him, but he cannot commit any acts to betray him. this contract also placed luka as the leader of alcmena’s demon army, and binds him to stay in that position eternally

the zweilt’s know luka’s real name. for the love of god i don’t know why he used the codename zess, that just doesn’t happen. what a weird idea

since the zweilt’s usually retain their memories with each reincarnation, that means they KNOW luka, and he’s close with at least some of them, specifically touko and tsukumo. they consider one another family

luka is the most powerful demon to exist to date

luka has jet black angel wings, we see them in the intro and then never again. he has them. they are hidden most of the time, only visible and tangible to others when he wills it

now luka’s backstory / lore in as short as i can get it

luka is the son of alcmena, the demon king, and an angel named mora crosszeria

from his very birth alcmena was wary of the power luka could possess. the combination of the most powerful demon in existence, and an actual angel was potent, having both divine and demonic blood in his veins

mora noted this, and became afraid of what alcmena would do if left with their son, and she ran away with luka to the mortal world, where she hoped to raise him on her own.

despite this alcmena still sent demons to watch luka as he began to grow, and after noticing severe power spikes that lead him to believe luka would grow to be more powerful than him, he had mora killed and brought luka back to infernus as a young child

alcmena treated him decently, not well, but not horrible. he never acted as a father, and often passed him off onto a demon named elya to care for him. elya, secretly an old friend of mora’s, tried her best to shelter luka from alcmena while raising him. alcmena mostly just wanted to keep tabs on his growing power, and other than that left him alone

once luka became an adult, alcmena banned elya from seeing him any longer, after gathering that she had spoken ill against him and told luka to follow in his mother’s footsteps. at this point alcmena was well aware that luka had become more powerful than him, and that if he so choose it he could very well usurp the throne. he was lucky, however, because luka himself was not aware of the full extext of his power

now an adult, luka began to speak out against alcmena and defy him, often starting fights wherein his untrained powers would explode and injure alcmena. to stop this, he forced luka into a contract of loyalty. luka did not yet known the full extent of how cruel alcmena was, and did not bother reading the contract. luka was then branded with two blood red x’s on his upper forearm, and the deal was sealed with blood.

luka was now unwaveringly loyal to alcmena, and would therefore be unable to cause him any physical harm, or to start any sort of uprising against him. along with this, to keep luka busy and exhausted, he put him in sole charge of the demon army. he was to watch after, train, and lead them into battle day in and day out without rest. it was only then luka began to see the full extent of his father’s cruelty. tricked into an eternal contract, and constantly battle torn and exhausted. and because he could not strike alcmena due to the contract, any form of speaking out against him or disobeying commands would result in punishment

eventually exhausted by this ordeal, luka takes his familiar and decides to try to look for the path out of infernus. he single handedly crosses the black lake, and finds a cave that leads to the mortal world

there, he meets yuki giou. a zweilt guardian, and someone he had seen briefly on battlefields fighting against his armies.

luka and yuki begin to sneak off together to meet, with luka traversing the deadly lake in infernus to see her. eventually luka tells her of the contract binding him to alcmena, and she offers him a deal. instead, he could make a contract with her. a contract bound by heaven, and the divine, would overrule anything alcmena had done. and because of the angelic blood in luka, this contract would be especially binding. in return he would swear to protect her, and to stay by her side. luka agrees. the contract with alcmena is broken, and he never returns to infernus again

luka remains bound to yuki and the other zweilt’s, fighting against other demons to protect them. he is known as a traitor, or betrayer to his kind

npc’s of my creation

alcmena : luka’s father, the demon king

mora crosszeria : luka’s mother, an angel

elya : one of the first demons created, sister of laelia and phaedrian, represents “speak no evil.” caretaker / adoptive mother of luka. mute, speaks strictly telepathically, lives at the far edge of infernus, deep within a thick woods, exiled

laelia : one of the first demons created, sister of elya and phaedrian, represents “hear no evil” deaf, resides both in the castle and on the shores of the black lake

phaedrian : one of the first demons created, brother of elya and laelia, represents “see no evil” blind, the gatekeeper of infernus

wolf mrithun : the first of death’s reapers, often appeared around luka when he was in infernus, andreas’ love interest

andreas : a mortal prophet who foretells of luka’s eventual overthrow of alcmena

canon characters

sodom : luka’s familiar, a giant dragon that often takes the form of a large wolf. found shivering and abandoned as a baby on the shore of the black lake by luka

yuki giou : “god’s light,” the most important member of the zweilt’s, luka’s love interest and the focus of the show

touko, tsukumo, hotsuma, and shusei : the other zweilt guardians

takashiro giou : leader of the zweilt’s , immortal , in an eternal dogfight with reiga because he killed his girlfriend like 500 years ago

cadenza and elegy : two high ranking opasts that torment luka, very powerful, ranking just below luka and alcmena. cadenza took over leading the army once luka abandonded infernus

reiga : basically just the bad guy, hates takashiro which i think is understandable

#im sorry this is so long i have so much to say for no reason #❛ ⛧ 𝟎𝟎 . 𝚁𝙴𝙻𝙸𝙶𝙷𝚃 𝚃𝙷𝙰𝚃 𝙼𝙾𝙾𝙽 𝙱𝚄𝚁𝙽𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝙱𝙴𝙷𝙸𝙽𝙳 𝚈𝙾𝚄𝚁 𝙴𝚈𝙴𝚂 : meta #if u read this whole thing i give u a kiss

4 notes · View notes

echoes-of-the-clockwork · 3 years

Text

Book Three: Pestilence (Ignis x Reader) Chapter Seventeen

"Yes, we're finally here!" Prompto cheered as Cid docked the boat in Altissia's harbor. Once the vessel came to a complete halt, the group disembarked and headed toward the city.

Noctis was leading his companions but was stopped when the man guarding the entrance to Altissia called out to him. "Sir! What is the purpose of your visit?"

Noctis rubbed the back of his neck, trying to think of an excuse without giving away who he truly was. "Purpose? Uh..." He looked toward his friends and Cid before deciding to entrust the situation to Pestilence. "(Y/n), a little help."

The ivory-haired girl stepped past Noctis and leaned over the counter, whispering in the man's ear. The boys exchanged glances when they wondered what she could possibly be whispering to the stranger.

Then, a smile blossomed on the gatekeeper's face as the girl pulled away. "Sorry for the inconvenience, Ma'am. I hope you have a wonderful time." He opened the gate, allowing everyone through. They waved farewell to Cid as they entered Altissia.

Gladio asked the one question that was on his and the other boys' minds. "What'd you tell him?"

(Y/n) spun around and faced the boys with a grin. "Oh, just a harmless lie."

She went to turn her back and walk further into the city, but the shield grabbed her shoulder and pulled her to a stop. He was itching to know the whole truth. "Oh, no. You're not getting away that easily. Tell us what you told him."

"Your curiosity will not let this rest?" She folded her arms across her chest, tapping her finger against her upper arm.

Gladio smirked. "Nope."

"A shame, really," she sighed. "Because my lips are sealed. Your curiosity shall never be quelled."

"What?" Prompto gasped. "I want to know!"

"As I said, my lips are sealed."

Noctis, Prompto, and Gladio groaned in disbelief while Ignis was amused at their reactions. He wanted to know just as much as the others, but he remained silent as he continued to watch (Y/n) torture the others with silence.

<-----------<<<<<

After exploring a small portion of Altissia and eating a proper meal, Gladio suggested searching for the man Cid mentioned on the boat. "You wanna check Weskham's place out?"

"Yeah. "Let's all go to Maagho!"" Prompto responded cheerfully.

"Perhaps we'll even make it in time for tea," Ignis comments.

"Oh," (Y/n) gasped excitedly. "I hope we do. Altissia has quite a selection of flavorful teas. That is one thing I do remember from my first trip here."

"So, Iggy likes coffee and (Y/n) likes tea. What a match," Prompto snorts with laughter.

"Match made in heaven," Gladio snickered, eyeing the couple. "When's the date?"

Pestilence stopped and faced him with a hand on her hip. "Date?"

The shield stared down at the shorter girl. "Heard you and Iggy talkin' about it on the boat."

"Eavesdropping," Ignis corrects the brute.

"So you were listening," (Y/n) sighed. "Regardless if you overheard or eavesdropped, our private affairs are only for our ears."

Gladio looked over at the advisor, nudging him in the side with his elbow. "Think you can handle the lady?"

The tactician adjusted his glasses with a faint sigh, choosing to remain silent. The Horseman glowered weakly at the tattooed man. "What kind of question is that?"

"You're Iggy's first girlfriend."

The snowy-haired girl sighed in disbelief, looking away from Gladio. "Are you insisting Ignis doesn't know how to treat me to a proper date?"

"Far from it. He knows how to handle the ladies, but I don't think he realizes his true potential."

Pestilence placed a hand against the side of her head, heaving another sigh. "What company we keep..."

"Indeed..." Ignis added with his own exasperated sigh.

Gladio didn't hear their mumbling and gestures to an empty awaiting gondola. "Better make this quick so the lovebirds can go on a date."

"Then we better start looking now," Noctis said after a prolonged silence.

<-----------<<<<<

After a lengthy, peaceful gondola ride, the group successfully located Maagho. They stepped off the gondola and entered the bar, immediately being spotted and greeted by the man behind the counter. "Welcome to Accordo, lads and lass. Cid mentioned you'd be dropping in. Weskham Armaugh, as you've gathered." His eyes traveled over to Noctis and smirked lightly. "My word, you've grown, little prince."

Noctis hums in confusion, the man behind the bar ringing no bells in his head. Weskham chuckled at seeing the boy's confused expression. "Ah, but of course-you were only a babe at the time."

The five head over to the bar. (Y/n) sat down directly in front of Weskham, offering the man a gentle smile. "May I ask for your finest cup of tea?"

The man bowed his head slightly. "Right away, M'lady." Weskham disappeared for a couple minutes before reappearing with a hot cup of tea. "Here you are. It's on the house."

She thanked him, blew on the tea, and took a small sip. When she tasted a hint of cinnamon and vanilla, she smiled in delight. "What an exquisite, delectable taste."

Prompto guffawed at her comment. "You sound like Iggy."

"It's a blend I made myself," Weskham proclaims. "I only provide the best for one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse."

(Y/n) took another sip before setting the porcelain cup onto the matching plate. "I must have a tag with my name and status on it somewhere."

The man shook his head with an amused smirk. "Not at all. Cid gladly informed me of who you were. It's an honor to meet you, Pestilence. The Four Horsemen is one of my favorite stories to tell."

The Horseman looked up from her cup of tea. "I pray such a tale does not frighten away your customers."

"You'd be surprised how many of my customers enjoy the tale as much as myself." He looked toward the others, who sat in the chairs beside Pestilence. "So, this is your maiden visit. Enjoying it so far? You doubtless have many questions, so ask away."

Noctis' eyes narrowed in suspicion. "This country is a part of the empire, isn't it?"

"Morosely, yes..." (Y/n) muttered from in between Noctis and Ignis, her comment going unnoticed by all.

Weskham chuckles at his cautionary question. "You're wary, I understand. But there's no need to jump at every shadow. Just be aware that the terms of our independence grant the empire free reign to come and go as they please."

"We'll bear that in mind," Ignis replied.

"It's admittedly a one-sided arrangement," Weskham confesses. "Most everything we do requires Niflheim's permission, and they wouldn't knowingly permit the Oracle to appear before the public. How our government spun that is quite a mystery. Is there anything else?"

Noctis decided to ask about Lady Lunafreya first. "You really think Luna will make an address?"

Weskham nodded, resting his hands on the countertop. "If every recent radio broadcast is to be trusted, absolutely."

"Where is Lady Lunafreya?" Ignis inquired.

"In the city somewhere, but no one has caught so much as a glimpse of her. The media has been conspicuous in its silence on the matter, which speaks volumes of government intervention. That'd certainly explain the rumors of disgruntled imperial officers leaving the city."

"How suspicious," (Y/n) comments before taking another sip of her tea.

"I'll say..." Noctis muttered in agreement before asking his next question. "So you see lots of Niffs around here?"

"We do," the bar owner answered. "Sometimes even at my place. Theirs is a familiar presence, and the citizens don't think much of it. Though, the high commander did cause a stir when he showed up the other day."

"Ravus..." The soon-to-be king mumbled under his breath.

"Friend of yours?" (Y/n) asked.

"Far from it..."

"The elder brother of Lady Lunafreya," Ignis stated in a slightly hostile tone.

It didn't go unnoticed by the girl. "Not an admirer, I see."

"Hell no," Noctis scoffed.

Weskham continued once the others were silent. "So soon after they felled the Archaean in Lucis, his arrival fuels rumors that they will next come to Altissia. The empire's not content ruling all the land-they want the heavens as well."

"If one tastes the blood of sovereignty, such a thirst shall never be quenched 'til all is conquered," (Y/n) said. "King Aeshema knows such subjugation all too well."

"The daemon king?" The tactician questioned with a tone of bewilderment.

Pestilence nodded. "Yes. The reason why daemons wander Eos at night is to prevent an uprising. King Aeshema forged a contract with his subjects to keep them in check. If the daemons were to ever overthrow His Majesty, the netherworld would crumble and daemons would flock to Eos day and night."

"Couldn't he help us take down the empire? I mean, he's a powerful immortal, too," Prompto chimed in.

The Horseman shook her head with a small frown. "Unfortunately, no. If King Aeshema were to leave Hell, the daemons would run rampant. While they posses a certain level of intelligence, their thirst for control overthrows such perception. The only time the daemon king could possibly leave is when his subjects roam the land of the living, but even that is risky."

"Guess we're on our own then," Noctis sighed. He leant his arms on the countertop, asking his final question. "Is anything changed with Leviathan?"

"For now, it's business as usual at port, but word is the government will soon open the Altar of the Tidemother," Weskham explains.

"In preparation for the rite," Gladio added.

"Ah, but on the other hand, they're scrambling to stockpile emergency provisions. This begs the question: if they're anticipating that the Hydraean will wreak havoc, why would they allow the rite to proceed?"

"If knowing summoning and receiving Leviathan's power would aid in the downfall of the empire, many in governmental affairs would risk all," (Y/n) replied. "Even wrecking the city is a viable option."

"Yeah, but what about the people who live here?" Prompto asked.

"Even knowing the possible outcome of the rite, the government officials will protect their people at any costs."

"Indeed, we would," a person stated calmly. The group and Weskham turned their heads in order to see the owner of the voice.

The bar owner chortled lightly. "My dear Camelia, it's been a while."

Camelia's eyes trailed over to the four boys and girl. "I heard about your distinguished guests."

"Ah, you've an ear for gossip."

"Lady, gentlemen," Camelia rounded the bar, wishing to chat with them. "I won't waste your time nor the time of an immortal. My name is Camelia Claustra."

Ignis knew the woman's status all too well. "First secretary of the Accordo Protectorate."

The first secretary's gaze focused on Noctis. "You should know we have Lady Lunafreya in our care. And the empire demands we surrender her."

The raven-haired boy's eyes widen at the news. "What?"

"Yet I am loath to acquiesce unless we stand to profit. Hence I've come to discuss terms...with the King of Lucis. If you've a mind to talk, come to my estate." With those final words, Camelia left.

Weskham watched the elder woman walk away with a sigh. "She can be oblique at the best of times, but I assure you her heart is in the right place."

"Oh. Okay," the gunslinger muttered.

"At any rate, you must be weary from your journey. Might I suggest you seek your beds for now and ponder matters anew in the morning?"

Noctis nodded in agreement. "Yeah, think we'll do just that."

"Then, to the Leville." (Y/n) finished her tea and led the boys out of Maagho. While the city has changed since her last visit, she still was able to navigate the streets with ease and find the Leville without asking for directions. She stood in front of the hotel with her hands on her hips, the four boys lined up behind her. "Here we are, gentlemen."

"Guess the city hasn't changed much if you were able to find this place without asking for help," Noctis comments.

"There are an abundance of new buildings and businesses, but the street layout is nearly the same as it was a century ago," she explained. "The Leville is where Raiden and I spent our nights after we exhausted ourselves exploring the city. Also, it seems you've a guest, Noctis."

Noctis looked into the lobby and spotted a familiar figure. He entered the Leville as he eyed the woman. "Gentiana."

With sealed eyes, the messenger delivered her cryptic message. "Ahead lies a future uncertain, yet sure is the astral memory, wherein the King may walk." Before the boy could react, she vanished.

Noctis stared at the spot Gentiana once stood as the others stood behind him. Prompto was the first to break the silence. "Well, that was...sudden."

"I expect no less from a divine being," (Y/n) stated.

Noctis turned around to face the girl. "You know Gentiana?"

"She has visited the Inner Sanctum countless of times. We'd chat for hours over tea," Pestilence smiles. "Her wisdom is vast and I find joy in conversing with her."

"I never can understand what she says," Prompto confesses under his breath.

"No need to linger on the subject," (Y/n) said, deciding to change the subject once she heard a small growl from the blonde's stomach. "You four must be famished. Shall we search for an eatery?"

"Definitely," Noctis agreed in a heartbeat. "I'm starving."

"But shouldn't we go and talk to Camelia first?" The gunslinger questioned.

"Yeah, like we have any other option," Gladio stated.

Ignis, on the other hand, opposed visiting the first secretary so soon. "There's no telling how events will unfold. Let us prepare before making our way. I also suggest we find an eatery."

"Yeah, she can sit tight a while. My stomach can't," Noctis said, leaving the Leville lobby with the others in tow.

<-----------<<<<<

After a lengthy, peaceful meal, (Y/n) stood up from the table and wandered over to the edge of the nearby canal. She stared down at the glistening water, watching the sun bounce off the surface.

When she heard a group of scrambling footsteps, she turned around and saw Noctis, Prompto, and Gladio rushing off. She blinked owlishly as she watched them vanish into the streets of Altissia without her or Ignis. She crossed her arms as the advisor sauntered over to her. "My, they seem to be in a hurry."

"It appears so," Ignis sighed in exasperation.

The Horseman offered him an innocent smile, knowing what the three boys had in mind and decided to not waste the time they were graciously given. "Since those three scampered off, we've time for ourselves. Shall we explore?"

"Let's," Ignis simply replied.

The two departed from the eatery and began exploring what all Altissia had to offer.

#ffxv x reader #ffxv #final fantasy xv x reader #final fantasy xv #ignis x reader #ignis scientia #prompto argentum #gladiolus amicitia #Noctis Lucis Caelum

6 notes · View notes

latristereina · 5 years

Photo

UNDERRATED RELATIONSHIP/PARTNERSHIP/FRIENDSHIP MEME 4/?: @mihrunnisasultans‘ pick: Süleyman the Magnificent & İbrahim Pasha

Among all the colorful public personalities gracing the Süleymanic era (1520–1566), Ibrahim Pasha, known as “∞makbul [favorite] and maktul [executed],∞” stands out as a particularly intriguing figure. In 1523 this childhood friend, favorite, and slave of Sultan Süleyman was most irregularly promoted to the highest office in the empire, the grand vizierate, directly from the sultan’s personal service, without having had any experience in government. For the following thirteen years, with the enormous power and authority that he assumed, Grand Vizier Ibrahim Pasha ruled the empire like a second sultan. As the sultan’s chief advisor and commander, Ibrahim Pasha not only was single-handedly in charge of the political and military administration of the empire but also acted as the sultan’s alter ego and absolute representative in public. In this way Ibrahim Pasha played a pivotal role in the promotion of the Ottoman sultan’s image as the world ruler and in the consolidation of Ottoman claims to universal sovereignty both within and beyond the empire’s borders — two crucial developments that defined the Ottoman Empire for centuries to come. Ibrahim Pasha’s career abruptly ended one night in March 1536, when he was mysteriously executed in the imperial palace on the orders of his beloved sultan.

- Ebru Turan, The Marriage of İbrahim Pasha

İbrahim Pasha had been born a Venetian subject at Parga, on the Ionian coast opposite Corfu, and after his capture by the Ottomans had served in Süleyman’s household in Manisa when he was prince-governor of Saruhan. Almost as soon as he became sultan, Süleyman publicly demonstrated the favour in which he held İbrahim by building him a magnificent palace on the Hippodrome in Istanbul. Having inherited his first grand vezir, Piri Mehmed Pasha, from his father, Süleyman appointed İbrahim to succeed him. Such promotion, of someone who was not a vezir but a senior officer of the Sultan’s household, was extraordinary.

- Caroline Finkiel, Osman's Dream: The History of the Ottoman Empire

The Sultan and Grand Vezir, well-informed about matters in the West, quickly received details of Charles V’s splendid coronation as Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Clement VII in 1530, and as quickly interpreted it as tending to reinforce the claim that the Holy Roman Emperor saw himself as the recreated caesar of the Roman Empire. Sultan Mehmed II had aspired to be a universal sovereign and had been seen as a rival by Matthias Corvinus, in his day the most powerful figure in central Europe, who fancied himself the new Hercules or (like Mehmed himself and, according to the Venetian ambassadors of the sixteenth century, both Selim I and Süleyman) Alexander the Great. Süleyman could not leave this perceived challenge unanswered. From Venice İbrahim Pasha commissioned a gold helmet of four superimposed crowns surmounted with a plumed aigrette. It reached Edirne in May 1532, by way of the Ottoman tributary port-city of Dubrovnik on the Adriatic, as the Sultan was leading his army towards Hungary. The helmet-crown was prominently displayed at the audiences Süleyman gave and played its part in the carefullychoreographed triumphal parades that took place along the route to war, for the benefit of the foreign ambassadors and other observers the Sultan wanted to impress with his power. The Habsburg envoys Süleyman received at Niš seemed unaware that the turban was the headgear of sultans, and thought this gaudy regalia was the Ottoman imperial crown. Neither the timing of İbrahim Pasha’s commission nor its form was accidental. The helmet-crown bore stylistic similarities to the Emperor’s and also to the papal tiara – but with more tiers it symbolized a challenge to their power. İbrahim was like a brother to the Sultan, his intimate adviser and highest officer of state, and this very closeness made him enemies. In 1525 his palace on the Hippodrome was sacked in a janissary uprising in Istanbul that may have been incited by his rivals.

- (x)

In ‘The Story of Suleyman's attachment to his Vezir Ibrahim’, Stanley Lane-Poole wrote: ‘Suleyman, great as he was, shared his greatness with a second mind, to which his reign owed much of its brilliance. The Grand Vezir Ibrahim was the counterpart of the Grand Monarch Suleyman. He was the son of a sailor at Parga, and had been captured by corsairs, by whom he was sold to be the slave of a widow at Magnesia. Here he passed into the hands of the young prince Suleyman, then Governor of Magnesia, and soon his extraordinary talents and address brought him promotion... From being Grand Falconer on the accession of Suleyman, he rose to be first minister and almost co-Sultan in 1523. He was the object of the Sultan's tender regard: an emperor knows better than most men how solitary is life without friendship and love, and Suleyman loved this man more than a brother. Ibrahim was not only a friend, he was an entertaining and instructive companion. He read Persian, Greek and Italian; he knew how to open unknown worlds to the Sultan's mind, and Sulevman drank in his Vezir's wisdom with assiduity. They lived together: their meals were shared in common; even their beds were in the same room. The Sultan gave his sister in marriage to the sailor's son, and Ibrahim was at the summit of power.’

- Stanley Lane-Poole, Turkey, Story of Nations series

#UNDERRATED RELATIONSHIP/PARTNERSHIP/FRIENDSHIP MEME #perioddramaedit #historyedit #men in history #suleiman the magnificent #ibrahim pasha #magnificent century #muhteşem yüzyıl #halit ergenç #okan yalabık

209 notes · View notes

trained-trainwreck · 4 years

Note

game over!!

Smoke. That was all he could see for malms out to the horizon as it billowed up in thick plumes from the valley floor below. When combined with the eerie orange glow of the flames lashing out at the sky from below, it was as though the spectre of death spread its inky tendrils to every corner of Gyr Abania. So choked with ash and soot was the air that every gasping breath scorched his throat and lungs as his body desperately fought to keep him standing. He’d been fighting for so long now that he’d lost track of time. How long had it been? Thirty minutes? A bell? Maybe more- without the sun it was impossible to know. All he knew for certain is that his limbs were so heavy there may as well have been lead weights hanging from his wrists and cermet in his boots. At long last his legs gave out and he collapsed into a sitting position in the dirt.

Everyone in Eorzea knew it was only a matter of time before the Empire retaliated after Ala Mhigo’s largely successful uprising, but no one expected it to come this swiftly...certainly not this aggressively. The relative peace that had settled over the Ghimlyt Dark was little more than a prelude to the symphony of destruction that was to come. Somehow, despite everything, the Empire had managed to not only recover from the series of blows delivered to them by the Alliance but counterattack with such overwhelming force that they shattered the Alliance’s fortifications in the Dark and swept back into Ala Mhigo to wreak their terrible vengeance upon the people of Gyr Abania. Though only barely reformed, the Fists of Rhalgr had tried in vain to put up some kind of resistance across the steppes and they too were swatted away like gnats.

There had been twenty of them when he first joined the mob hastily assembled to defend some of the outlying villages while the people evacuated, but those numbers dwindled rapidly. Too few. Too little training.

Too goddamn weak. Only a few had stayed with him when the others decided to save the few wounded they could as they fled back toward the west. She had wanted to stay as well- the blonde one with fire in her eyes and lightning in her fists- and it took no small amount of shouting and arguing to convince her otherwise. The weak would have need of the strength she possessed to see them through to the border. Eventually she relented and grumbled something near enough to ‘good luck’ before rallying her people to depart. A pleasant enough notion, perhaps, but a pointless one: both of them knew exactly how today was going to end.

A storm of blood.

The time since had been a blur, a smear of fists and steel that all ran together into one big muddy blob of unrelenting carnage that had only just ceased. This reprieve, he knew, would not last. His head thumped against the sturdy pole behind him and his gaze drifted skyward, toward the great purple and white banner flying above him. Tattered and scorched though it was, that banner was the most visible act of defiance his group had been able to display and they were certain it would draw the Garleans’ ire. Scores of broken Imperials in varying states of dead and dying around him and his now long-dead comrades were proof enough of that theory. All he could do now was sit and wait for the next wave.

He didn’t have to wait long.

Again the enemy presented himself, but not the way he’d expected. Instead of the thundering footfalls of a horde of men and machines, he heard only a single man approaching. His footfalls were even, measured, unhurried; it was as if he had all the time in the world to take a leisurely stroll across the killing fields. He drew in another deep breath through his nose and closed his eyes as the footfalls drew nearer and nearer before coming to a stop only a few short yalms away.

“Disappointing.” That voice made his skin crawl. He opened his eyes and turned toward the source. The man who stood before him was towering, even by Ala Mhigan standards, and adorned in Garlean armor that may as well have been painted with blood. It wasn’t the armor or the almost porcelain paleness of his skin or the shoulder length blonde hair billowing in the wind that he found the most striking about this man, though. It was his eyes. Blue, piercing, and...completely devoid of the spark of life. “I had hoped to find my friend amidst this carnage, yet all I am met with is a half-dead animal.” The Garlean heaved a weary sigh and turned to leave.

“And surrounded by your all-dead pals, asshole.” He grunted, braced himself against the pole, and slowly pushed himself to his feet despite his body’s many protests. “I don’t know what they feed you limp-dicked whoresons in Garlemald, but it makes smashin’ your fuckin’ skulls in real satisfying.”

This apparently gave the Garlean pause. When the man’s attention fell upon him again, he noticed something of a spark flickering in the darkness of those eyes. For several long moments did his foe stand rooted to the spot and he could feel himself being judged as something less an enemy and more livestock at an auction. It was in this moment that the realization of who this person was struck him like a levinbolt from Rhalgr’s own hand. This was no imperial noble or princeling playing at being a warrior. No, the man he found himself standing in opposition to was none other than the butcher of Ala Mhigo- Zenos yae Galvus. He should have felt the creeping stranglehold of dread slithering up from the pit of his stomach- any normal man would- but instead he felt fire stoked anew course in his blood.

“This country bores me. These people bore me.” Zenos took a few short steps to his left and now stood directly in front of him. One hand lowered toward the contraption hanging from his hip, which rotated with a whirr and came to rest with a dull thunk when Zenos’ wrist came to rest casually atop it. He could only assume this man had decided which implement of death would be the end of one more sick animal. “Hardly sporting, but I suppose you’ll do.”

Every fiber of his being was burning from a combination of exhaustion and what must’ve been a dozen injuries, minor or otherwise, but he wouldn’t let himself show it. There was no room for weakness. Not here. Not now. “And you call me a rabid dog?” He scoffed, pushed through the pain, and forced himself into his stance. “Sick bastard.” Zenos remained motionless, a statue with his eyes squarely fixated on the man he had decided would be prey. Both of them remained in this state as the world fell away around them, consumed by the all-devouring jaws of complete focus. He forced himself to draw in a long slow breath through his nose and exhale through his mouth, to feel the world around him as he and the ebb and flow of the battlefield became one. Memories flashed in his mind’s eye as he breathed in again, reliving the briefest of moments from battles past and catching glimpses of the warriors who took part in them. Tiny pools of aether scattered around him came together to form rivers that wound their way to the swirling tempest of power at the very core of his being.

Rhalgr. You and I have rarely spoken- I’ve never known or needed the words. The rivers built in intensity, crashing against the shore of his soul. But I need them now. Grant me this one request, Destroyer: grant me the strength to crush the invader before me. Rivers became torrents became floods that overflowed and warped the air around him in a shimmering haze of his aether. And if you do not listen? He drew in one final breath. Everything he had left, every onze of energy he could muster, was going into this one fight. There was no other option.

Then to hell with you.

Stone splintered beneath his feet as he lunged forward fueled by the very aether of the battlefield itself. He could almost feel the spirits of his ancestors driving him onward, filling his body with an unnatural strength the likes of which he’d never known. In an instant he was upon his foe, feet planted, hips rotating, driving through his shoulders to pour everything the man he was into his fist as he focused entirely on driving it straight through the Garlean who had yet even begun to move. Earth trembled and a mighty clap of thunder filled the air around them as he drove his strike home, certain that it had landed clean. Then came pain, white hot and racing up his arm from his fist as the dust began to clear and he cursed under his breath. Not only was Zenos not crumpled on the ground at his feet, he’d simply absorbed the blow with one hand.

He created separation, exhausted beyond belief but unwilling to give up the fight, and surged forward again. A hailstorm of blows followed, snapping kicks, tight hooks, and punishing straight punches from every angle that he could create. Not a single one of them got through the red armored Garlean’s effortless guard and his body began to break down. Zenos slipped under one hook and he saw what he thought was an opportunity. He shifted his feet wide apart, dropped his rear shoulder, and snapped his hips to drive all of his weight into a savage right uppercut...straight into his opponent’s armored elbow. His wrist buckled, then shattered. The followup left hand was caught in a mailed fist and crushed with next to no effort. Zenos’ expression never wavered throughout. In agony, without the use of both hands, and on his last legs he knew the end was near. Surrendering was out of the question. Not here. Not to him.

With a bellowing roar, he closed the distance between them again, planted his right leg and lifted his left- a desperate feint at this point- then dropped his left leg back and threw everything he had into his right leg aimed squarely for Zenos’ ribs. He connected cleanly, but not hard enough- Zenos trapped his leg against his side with his right, then delivered a devastating chopping blow to the knee that shattered bone and crumpled him immediately. He lay there in the dust, groaning in agony, as the victor took stock of his prey.“Valiant,” spoke the Garlean in that flat tone, “but pointless.”He glared up from his prone position, unable to even lift himself from the ground.“I’ve seen that look before. In my friend’s eyes.” Slowly, Zenos retrieved one of the blades from its scabbard. “Curiosity gets the better of me.” He canted his head ever so slightly to the side. “What is your name?”

“Ehren,” he spat with all the venom he could muster. “Ehren Ahyfend.”

“I shall remember you then, Ehren Ahyfend, as one who entertained my hunt if but for a moment.”Zenos raised his blade. Ehren, determined to remain defiant, held his head high. There was a flash of silver.

Darkness.( @spiral-seeker thank you for the ask! I got a little carried away. Also @hellocatemonster for the mention )

#Ethalrin #REAL NAME TIME BOIS #Ala Mhigo #FFXIV #Balmung #RP #Role Play #Zenos yae Galvus #writing #Ehren Ahyfend

15 notes · View notes

mewtwowarrior · 4 years

Text

Today’s story is directly connected to the “Depression” prompt one. There should be a part between the two, I was going to write up a summary of what happened between them, but it happened to come out in the process of the story. I still plan on writing the bridging part sometime and sharpening everything up, but that’s another story for another time.

Long story short, this takes place pre-Uprising, where Ark is one of the Programs Tron trained and met a bad end before the show started. This is leading up to a particular scene/story I have in mind that’s been floating in my brain for a while.

I still need to rewatch Uprising and the movies, so it’s playing a little loosely with canon, there’s definitely stuff I need to go back and rework once I canon review.

Rough drafts: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 (you are here) | Part 4

Second drafts: Part 1 | Part 2 version 1 | Part 2 version 2

Final draft: Combined Parts

Ark stealthily made her way towards her goal, leaving the rendezvous point behind.

The chosen meeting spot had been some distance away from where she was headed, it was safer that way.

She was feeling confident, this wasn't her first mission or even her first solo mission, she'd handle it like she had all the others.

Tron had been on edge, though, something about this had felt off to him. Which was one of the reasons why Ark had volunteered to go instead. Ever since that chance meeting, they had been a team, just like back in the old days. Well, not quite. They were still trying to protect the system, however, there was a very clear threat they were now facing.

As a System Monitor, it was her programming and her duty to protect the Grid and, so far, this was the best way to do it.

She had been careful on the run, trying to stay out of sight as much as she could, so she had missed all the whisperings of Tron's return, right up until they had crossed paths.

He had already come to the same conclusion that she had, that the only way to save the system was to fight against Clu's forces. Having worked with Tron before, Ark teamed up with him without a second thought.

Tron had been doing this for a while, so Ark learned on the go. The more they accomplished, the more confidence and hope she had. One day, the system would be free.

But, for now, she still had work to do.

Ark approached her destination and held back, watching to make sure that everything looked how it should. They had observed this place for a while and had obtained some of the schematics.

There were still questions, though, Tron had thought there were too many, but Ark had argued that if they waited too long, it could be too late. If they really were almost done developing a weapon, then they needed to sabotage it before it was finished. Even if they couldn't completely destroy it, they could at least set things back and buy a little more time.

Tron had finally agreed with her, but had insisted that she take extra precautions. Ark gladly accepted these terms, while she thought it would be an easy matter to take care of, it wouldn't hurt to be more cautious.

The plan was simple, go in, find the weapon, and destroy it. Nothing else mattered, there were to be no deviations or distractions, no matter what. The weapon hadn't shown up on the schematics, but there were a few places where it could be. They ranked them in order of most to least likely, though, if she got through checking some of them, and things started to look dangerous, she was to get out. They could try again another time.

Waiting for the guard to change, Ark made her move, slipping in and counting the time. She had practiced the timing over and over, until both her and Tron were confident she had it down.

Darting in, she went around a dark corner and paused. They didn't know exactly what or who would be waiting for her inside, and she wanted to be as ready as she could be.

Ark couldn't turn off her circuits, so her presence was announced by a constant glow. She was thankful that as part of their plan to free the Grid, she had taken up Tron's more minimal circuits on missions, rather than her own distinctive lines.

She silently counted her steps as she walked down hallways and turned corners. This place was massive, and so far, she had been lucky to not run into anyone.

Consulting her mental map, she was getting close to the first room to check. According to the schematics, it was a large room, so it'd likely be full of Programs working on the weapon.

There didn't seem to be much activity, though, no one was coming or going down the hallway. Ark kept on, though, and when she reached the door, she carefully peeked around, hoping that if anyone saw her, her generic mask wouldn't catch that much attention.

At a glance, the room was empty. She couldn't see all of it, though, so she headed in carefully, sticking close to the wall.

She made her way around part of the room, and once she had gotten a clear look a things, Ark was confident that there was nothing of interest here. Frustrated and ready to check the next section, she chose to walk across the middle of the room to get out quicker.

That was her last mistake.

So focused on checking the perimeter of the room, she hadn't spared a glance upwards, where guards were lined up all around the room. When she reached the center, they all jumped down at once, surrounding her completely.

Despite being vastly outnumbered, Ark fought fiercely, derezzing quite a few guards before her strength and luck ran out. Exhausted, she was easy to capture, she had one guard on each side gripping her arm, and another had their disk pointed at the back of her neck. It was then that she realized that none of the guards had fought to kill, that capturing her was their endgame.

Ark tried to pull out of the guards' grip, but they just held on tighter. She just didn't have the energy to escape at the moment, so she'd have to conserve her strength until she recovered enough to break her way out.

Trying to make things more difficult for the guards, Ark went limp, not bothering to help walk. It didn't matter, though, they dragged her along like it was nothing.

Her mind racing, she tried to remember the pathway she was being taken down and how it compared to the schematics, but she soon lost track as they went down corridors that had been unmarked.

Finally, they reached their destination. After entering the room, the guards forced Ark to her knees. She struggled a little, but after realizing it was inevitable, she decided to hoard what strength she had left.

She didn't have long to wait like that, she heard the incoming footsteps before an all-too-familiar voice spoke up.

"Well, well, look what I found. You're wearing Tron's circuits, but you're not him. Who are you?"

Clu strode forward and reached down to deactivate her helmet in order to reveal her face.

Ark put on the most resolute face she could muster up, glaring at Clu silently.

She might be attempting to hide her emotions, but Clu didn't bother to disguise his shock.

"You! You were supposed to be dead cycles ago. Where did Tron dredge you up from?"

He was only answered by a scowl from Ark.

Clu easily regained his composure, "It really doesn't matter. I had hoped to catch Tron in my trap, but you're not a bad second place prize." He gestured to Ark, "Give me everything you know about Tron and the rest of your little resistance, and I'll kill you now. Refuse, and we'll torture the information out of you."

It was starting to sink in that she wasn't going to get out of this. But, there was no way that Ark was going to sell out Tron or anyone else. Scared, but defiant, she simply stared at Clu with a cold glare.

Clu shrugged, "It's your choice." He waved a casual hand to the guards holding Ark, "You know what to do."

The guards dragged Ark off through the hallways to one of several different rooms designed for torture.

Back at the rendezvous point, Tron waited for far longer than he should have, scanning the area to see if there was any sign of Ark. Eventually, it was clear that Ark wasn't coming back, that the mission had failed, and something had happened to her. Even so, he still waited a little while longer before giving up and heading back.

No matter how much they threatened or hurt Ark, she wouldn't even speak. In some ways, it was easy. She sought refuge in her programming, as a System Monitor, she had to do whatever it took to protect the Grid, even at the cost of herself. It was against everything she stood for to give up Tron and the rest of the resistance.

As the cycles went on, Clu got bored with Ark's silence, so he devised a new plan.

The two hadn't been face to face since she had been captured, which made his personal appearance surprising.

"I've never liked you, you know. But, I think I've finally found a way to make you useful. I've been working on a process to erase Program's memories. You're not giving yours up, so they're of no use to me. Without your memories, you'd still look the same, though. Which makes you the perfect bait for your dear friend Tron."

Ark gasped, and for the first time, finally shouted at Clu, "No!"

Clu smirked, "Oh, so you do still have some emotions left. Hold onto that, it'll be the last one you'll ever feel." He waved a dismissive hand at Ark and the guards came in to grab her.

Struggling, she managed to break free just for an instant, her desperation giving her just enough strength before she collapsed and the guards grabbed her once more.

Ark tried to escape again, but the cycles of torture had drained her of nearly all of her energy. She didn't give up, though, she fought until the very last second, right up until the rectification was complete.

Once it was over, Clu admired his handiwork and the blank expression on Ark's face. He addressed one of the guards, "Keep her in a low power mode for now, we'll bring her out when the time is right."

#idea bag #writing #story #stories #fanfic #fanfics #fanfiction #fanfictions #OC #OCs #Tron OC #Ark #Tron #Clu #Tron: Uprising #Tron Uprising

5 notes · View notes

thenavajotourist-blog · 4 years

Text

Your Hero is Not Untouchable Pt 2

Your Hero is Not Untouchable

A Monuments Study: Dakota War of 1862 Memorials, Monuments and Markers

by Rye Purvis 7/3/2020

(T.C. Cannon, Kiowa, painting “Andrew Myrick - Let Em Eat Grass” 1970)

On December 26th, 1862 38 Dakota prisoners of war were executed in Mankato, Minnesota. This was to mark an ending (though not an end to the suffering of the Dakota peoples) to the Dakota War of 1862, a war that began just months earlier in the Fall of ’62. The 38 men were ordered to be executed under the order of Abraham Lincoln, after Lincoln’s examined 303 war trials conducted from September to November of ’62 in Minnesota:

“The trials of the Dakota prisoners were deficient in many ways, even by military standards; and the officers who oversaw them did not conduct them according to military law. The hundreds of trials commenced on 28 September 1862 and were completed on 3 November; some lasted less than 5 minutes. No one explained the proceedings to the defendants, nor were the Sioux represented by defense attorneys. "The Dakota were tried, not in a state or federal criminal court, but before a military commission. They were convicted, not for the crime of murder, but for killings committed in warfare. The official review was conducted, not by an appellate court, but by the President of the United States. Many wars took place between Americans and members of the Indian nations, but in no others did the United States apply criminal sanctions to punish those defeated in war." The trials were also conducted in an atmosphere of extreme racist hostility towards the defendants expressed by the citizenry, the elected officials of the state of Minnesota and by the men conducting the trials themselves. "By November 3, the last day of the trials, the Commission had tried 392 Dakota, with as many as 42 tried in a single day." Not surprisingly, given the socially explosive conditions under which the trials took place, by the 10th of November the verdicts were in, and it was announced to the nation and the world that 303 Sioux prisoners had been convicted of murder and rape by the military commission and sentenced to death.” 1

Lincoln reviewed all transcripts from the rushed trials and made his decision on the final execution in under a month. The public execution remains the largest mass execution in American history. Today a public park remains at the site of the execution, named “Reconciliation Park” and given the theme “Forgive Everyone Everything.” 2 Merriam-Webster’s lists its dictionary definition of reconciliation as “the act of causing two people or groups to become friendly again after an argument or disagreement.”

It Starts with Treaties

To provide context to the Dakota War of 1862 is to acknowledge a trail of once again broken treaties and a US hunger for land acquisition. Before colonial interactions, the Great Sioux Nation covered present-day northern Minnesota and Wisconsin. The ancestors of the Sioux “arrived in the Northwoods of central Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin from the Central Mississippi River shortly before 800 AD.” 3 Under the Great Sioux Nation are three subdivision groups: The Lakota (Northern Lakota, Central Lakota and Southern Lakota), Western Dakota (Yankton, Yanktonai) and the Eastern Dakota (Santee, Sisseton). It wasn’t until the early 1800’s that the Dakota, of the Sioux Nation, signed a treaty with the US in order to establish US Military posts in Minnesota and open trading for the Dakota. Soon after, the 1825 Treaty of Prarie du Chien and the 1830 Fourth Treaty of Prarie du Chien were put into place to cede more land to the American government. Another 1858 Treaty established the Yankton Sioux Reservation for the Yankton Western Dakota peoples, a treaty that ultimately moved the band from “eleven and a half million acres” to a “475,000 acre reservation.”11 The US created the Territory of Minnesota in 1849, thus placing even more pressure on the Sioux to concede land. More treaties followed with the 1851 Treaty of Mendota and the Treaty of Traverse des Sioux. In both deals, 21 million acres were ceded to the US by the Sisseton and Wahpeton bands of the Dakota in exchange for $1,665,000. “However, the American government kept more than 80% of the funds with only the interest (5% for 50 years) being paid to the Dakota” 4

The US’s aim ultimately was to force the Sioux out of Minnesota. Minnesota, established as a state on May 11, 1858 had two temporary reservations set up along the Minnesota River, one for the Upper Sioux Agency and one for the Lower Sioux Agency. Relocation and displacement from land once used for hunting created even more tension with delayed treaty payments causing economic suffering and starvation. Treaties promised payments to the Sioux, payments that were used for foods but at that point but were often late due to the US’s focus on the Civil War. Trader store operators many times charged credit to the Upper and Lower Sioux Agency’s, collecting the annuity allotments directly from the government in return.

Let them eat grass

Having owned stores in both the Upper and Lower Sioux Agency at the time, trader Andrew J Myrick eventually refused to sell food on credit to the Dakota during the summer of 1862. That summer saw additional hardship with failed crops in the previous year on top of late federal payments. In response to his refusal to allot food, Myrick was quoted as “allegedly” saying “Let them eat grass” a quote that is oftentimes disputed. Around the same time as this disputed quote, on August 17, 1862 a few Santee men of the Whapeton band killed a white farmer and part of his family, thus starting the beginning of the Dakota War of 1862.

This is where we in the 21st century have to take a pause. Most of the written accounts of the start of the war or the “murderous violence” of the “Murdering Indians” 5 (a quote from Peter G Beidler’s “Murdering Indians”) were accounts from the side of the colonizers. When researching the Dakota War of 1862, perspectives from the Dakota are not common. At some point the basis for war warrants a question of American mythology. In researching about this white farmer debacle, the killing is in one instance described as coming from “an argument between two young Santee men over the courage to steal eggs from a white farmer became a dare to kill.”6 In another account, the story follows the same narrative about the farmer’s eggs: “Upon seeing some chicken eggs in a nest at the farm of a white settler, there was a disagreement whether or not to take the eggs. When one refused, his companion dared him to prove that he was not afraid of the white man's reaction.”7 I bring up the eggs incident not to stress on this sliver of historical mythology but to emphasize the instability of perspective in historical accounts. Anti-Indian perspectives and a notion of eradication of the “Indian” has been profound in the beginning in the colonization of the US. For a war to rest on the stolen eggs of a farmer, and the killing of 5 individuals doesn’t take into account the broken down persons that were driven to get to the point of having to steal eggs nor what exactly occurred between the farmer and the men.

After the incident, however it occurred, Mdewakanton Dakota leader Little Crow led a group against the American settlements waging war as a means to remove the white settlers. Little Crow as he is known in European mistranslations, name was actually Thaóyate Dúta meaning “His Red Nation”. He was instrumental in leading discussions in the treaties, providing a voice for his people, and leading Dakota in the Battle of Birch Coulee. In a letter to Henry Sibley, the first Governor of the US State of Minnesota, on September 7, 1862, Thaóyate described the context for the uprising:

“Dear Sir – For what reason we have commenced this war I will tell you. it is on account of Maj. Galbrait [sic] we made a treaty with the Government a big for what little we do get and then cant get it till our children was dieing with hunger – it is with the traders that commence Mr A[ndrew] J Myrick told the Indians that they would eat grass or their own dung. Then Mr [William] Forbes told the lower Sioux that [they] were not men [,] then [Louis] Robert he was working with his friends how to defraud us of our money, if the young braves have push the white men I have done this myself." 8

Famine, broken treaties, late payments from the government were but a few of the motivating factors for driving change. The killing of the five white settlers by the 5 Santee men prompted a motion of action led by then natural leader Thaóyate.

When the war neared an end, Thaóyate and other Dakota warriors escaped. It wasn’t until July 3 of 1863 that Thaóyate was shot by 2 settlers and mortally wounded. Upon his death, Thaóyate’s body was mutilated and his remains were withheld from both family and his tribe until 1971 when the Minnesota Historical Society returned his remains to Thaóyate’s grandson. A historical marker remains where Thaóyate’s life was taken:

“[The] marker, erected in 1929 at the spot where Chief Little Crow (who escaped the hanging) was shot, glorifies the chief’s killer: “Chief Little Crow, leader of the Sioux Indian outbreak in 1862, was shot and killed about 330 feet from this point by Nathan Lamson and his son Chauncey July 3, 1863.” The marker does not mention that Little Crow’s body was mutilated, that his scalp was donated to the Minnesota Historical Society and put on display at the State Capitol. He would not be buried until 1971.” 9

Marker of where Little Crow was shot (photo by Sheila Regan)

I just want to acknowledge, that there is a lot of information to unpack that occurred during the Dakota War of 1862, and I don’t want to pretend that this article can sum up every occurrence, battle or person involved. Author and non-Native Gary Clayton Anderson wrote “Through Dakota Eyes” in 1988, and though not perfect, it provides eyewitness accounts from various Dakota peoples perspectives that is worth noting. The Minnesota Historical Society, though known for its problematic history holding on to Thaóyate’s body, also provides more information on its website regarding oral traditions, resources, publications and more in regards to the Dakota War of 1862. I encourage those interested in diving deeper into information to seek out more while simultaneously questioning the source of the information.

Stolen Bodies

Before Thaóyate’s death, the 38 Dakota men were hung at Mankato under Lincoln’s orders. An additional 2 men by the name of Shakpe and Wakanozanzan who had been captured were also executed on November 11th, 1865 under the order of Andrew Johnson. But this mass execution was not the end of the US’s threat to eradicate the Sioux. After the mass execution, “277 male members of the Sioux tribe, 16 women and two children and one member of the Ho-Chunk tribe”1 were sent to a prison camp at Camp McClellan from April 25, 1863 to April 10, 1866. The prisoners who did not survive Camp McClellan were buried in unmarked graves, later dug up and their skulls used by scientists at the Putnam Museum in the late 1870’s. The 23 skulls were given to the Dakota tribe and not until 2005 was a proper memorial ceremony held for the Dakota prisoners.

In addition, 1600 Dakota women, children and old men were forced into internment camps at Pike Island. Wita Tanka, the Dakota name for Pike Island, is now part of Fort Snelling State Park.

“During this time, more than 1600 Dakota women, children and old men were held in an internment camp on Pike Island, near Fort Snelling, Minnesota. Living conditions and sanitation were poor, and infectious disease struck the camp, killing more than three hundred.[37] In April 1863, the U.S. Congress abolished the reservation, declared all previous treaties with the Dakota null and void, and undertook proceedings to expel the Dakota people entirely from Minnesota. To this end, a bounty of $25 per scalp was placed on any Dakota found free within the boundaries of the state.[38] The only exception to this legislation applied to 208 Mdewakanton, who had remained neutral or assisted white settlers in the conflict."1

Where does this leave us?

The year was 1990 and a 36-year old Cheyenne and Arapaho artist by the name of Hock E Aye VI Edgar Heap of Birds had just finished an installation along the Mississippi River in Downtown Minneapolis titled “Building Minnesota.” The installation featured 40 white metal signs containing the names of the 38 men executed under the order of Abraham Lincoln, and the 2 men executed under the order of Andrew Johnson. Heap of Birds explained, “‘Not everyone loved the piece. Heap of Birds says that he received criticism because of the negative portrayal of Abraham Lincoln. ‘They thought it was a betrayal,’”9 Beyond that, the installation came to be known as a space for healing, mourning, for acknowledgement of the lost men, and a place for community to gather.

(One of the 38+2 Signs by Edgar Heap of Birds, photo from Met Museum)

Two monuments were placed up in 1987 and in 2012 at Reconciliation Park in Monkato, MN. The ‘87 monument named “Winter Warrior” features a Dakota warrior figure made by a local artist and the 2012 monument features a large scroll with poems, prayers, and the list of all the men killed on that dark day of 1862.

Beyond that, Minnesota boasts a plethora of statues, monuments and memorials under the umbrella of the Dakota War of 1862. Fort Ridgely State Park located near Fairfax MN hosts a number of monuments, Wood Lake State Monument, Camp Release State Monument, Defenders State Monument are a few of the myriad of locations dedicated to the Americans who fought, lost their lives as well as civilian causality acknowledgement.

Located in Morton, MN, the Birch Coulee monument was erected in 1894. Close to this monument a granite obelisk was erected five years later titled the “Loyal Indian Monument,” to honor the 6 Dakota “who saved the lives of whites during the U.S. Dakota War.” This monument stood out to me, not so much for its bland appearance, but the unusual circumstance to highlight six “loyal” Native lives amongst the many lost who were seen as disloyal.

Seth Eastman, a descendant of Little Thunder (one of the 38 men executed in Mankato) shared how “one public school at the border of Minnesota, where a man dressed as Abraham Lincoln talked to the students and answered their questions [and one] of my nephews asked the question, ‘Why did you hang the 38?’ This man went on to tell him, ‘Oh, I only hung the bad Indians. The ones that killed and raped.’ Telling kids this, that we’re bad, it’s the same as how we’ve been portrayed in the media. That struck my core.””

He continued:

“Minnesota has its own memorials for the Dakota War, but some of the older ones especially are quite problematic. These markers paint the settlers who fought the Dakota as brave victims who defended themselves, without discussion of the broken treaties and ill treatment the Dakota endured which prompted the war; neither is there any mention of the mass execution, internment, and forced removal that followed.”9

Director and Founder of Smooth Feather productions Silas Hagerty released the documentary Dakota 38 in 2012. The documentary highlights a yearly journey where riders from across the world meet in Lower Brule, South Dakota to take a 330-mile journey to Mankato as part of a commemoration and ceremony of remembrance for the 38 lost in 1862. The film also delves into bits of history on the attempts the US took to remove the Dakota peoples from Minnesota. Jim Miller, a direct descendant of Little Horse (one of the 38 men) started the annual ride in 2005 as “a way to promote reconciliation between American Indians and non-Native people. Other goals of the Memorial Ride include: provide healing from historical trauma; remember and honor the 38 + 2 who were hanged; bring awareness of Dakota history and to promote youth rides and healing.”10

(Dakota Riders Ceremonial ride to Mankota, Photo by Sarah Penman)

The memorials and monuments are in abundance in regards to the Dakota War. But who’s perspective is acknowledged? Through work such as Edgar Heap of Birds in his 1990′s installation, to the 2012 larger public scroll monument in Mankato’s “Reconciliation Park” there have been steps taken by both Native and non-natives to explore what this reconciliation looks like.

Of the two Dakota men captured and ordered to be executed under then US president Andrew Johnson on November 11, 1865, Wakanozanzan of the Mdeqakanton Dakota Sioux Nation’s final words were:

“I am a common human being. Some day, the people will come from the heart and look at each other as common human beings. When they do that, come from the heart, this country will be a good place.”12

This article is dedicated to the 38+2.

-------

Images Sources Andrew Myrick – Let Em Eat Grass 1970 TC Cannon, Google Arts & Culture https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/andrew-myrick-let-em-eat-grass-t-c-cannon-kiowa-and-caddo-southern-plains-indian-museum/uwGyR0PTzacQkA

Met Museum photo of Edgar Heap of Birds artwork https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/653721

Mankota riders https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/dakota-382-wokiksuye-memorial-riders-commemorate-1862-hangings-ordered-lincoln/

Sources

1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakota_War_of_1862 2 https://www.mankatolife.com/attractions/reconciliation-park/ 3 Gibbon, Guy The Sioux: The Dakota and the Lakota Nations https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Sioux.html?id=s3gndFhmj9gC 4 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sioux 5 Beidler, Peter G. “Murdering Indians” October 17, 2013 https://books.google.com/books?id=4RRzAQAAQBAJ&dq=santee+men+murdered+white+farmer 6 History of the Santee Sioux Tribe in Nebraska http://www.santeedakota.org/santee_history_ii.htm 7 https://www.usdakotawar.org/history/acton-incident 8 Little Crow’s Letter https://www.usdakotawar.org/history/taoyateduta-little-crow 9 Regan, Sheila June 16, 2017 “In Minnesota, Listening to Native Perspective on Memorializing the Dakota War” Hyperallergic https://hyperallergic.com/385682/in-minnesota-listening-to-native-perspectives-on-memorializing-the-dakota-war/ 10 https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/dakota-382-wokiksuye-memorial-riders-commemorate-1862-hangings-ordered-lincoln/

11 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yankton_Sioux_Tribe

12 https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/64427183/wakan_ozanzan-medicine_bottle

Monuments Depicting Victims of the Dakota Uprising http://www.dakotavictims1862.com/monuments/index.html Morton, MN Monuments https://sites.google.com/site/mnvhlc/home/renville-county/morton-monuments

More information regarding Dakota War of 1862 Holocaust and Genocide Studies: Native American University of Minnesota https://cla.umn.edu/chgs/holocaust-genocide-education/resource-guides/native-american

2 notes · View notes

bountyofbeads · 4 years

Text

Qassim Suleimani, Master of Iran’s Intrigue, Built a Shiite Axis of Power in Mideast

https://nyti.ms/36l1n3r

Qassim Suleimani, Master of Iran’s Intrigue, Built a Shiite Axis of Power in Mideast

The commander helped direct wars in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen, and he became the face of Iran’s efforts to build a regional bloc of Shiite power.

By Tim Arango, Ronen Bergman and Ben Hubbard | Published Jan. 3, 2020 Updated 8:37 a.m. ET | New York Times | Posted January 3, 2020 |

He changed the shape of the Syrian civil war and tightened Iran’s grip on Iraq. He was behind hundreds of American deaths in Iraq and waves of militia attacks against Israel. And for two decades, his every move lit up the communications networks — and fed the obsessions — of intelligence operatives across the Middle East.

On Friday, Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, the powerful and shadowy 62-year-old spymaster at the head of Iran’s security machinery, was killed by an American drone strike near the Baghdad airport.

Just as his accomplishments shaped the creation of a Shiite axis of influence across the Middle East, with Iran at the center, his death is now likely to prove central to a new chapter of geopolitical tension across the region.

General Suleimani was at the vanguard of Iran’s revolutionary generation, joining the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps in his early 20s after the 1979 uprising that enshrined the country’s Shiite theocracy.

He rose quickly during the brutal Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s. And since 1998, he was the head of the Revolutionary Guards’ influential Quds Force, the foreign-facing arm of Iran’s security apparatus, melding intelligence work with a military strategy of nurturing proxy forces across the world.

In the West, he was seen as a clandestine force behind an Iranian campaign of international terrorism. He and other Iranian officials were designated as terrorists by the United States and Israel in 2011, accused of a plot to kill the ambassador of Saudi Arabia, one of Iran’s chief enemies in the region, in Washington. Last year, in April, the entire Quds Force was listed as a foreign terrorism group by the Trump administration.

But in Iran, many saw him as a larger-than-life hero, particularly within security circles. Anecdotes about his asceticism and quiet charisma joined to create an image of a warrior-philosopher who became the backbone of a nation’s defense against a host of enemies.

He was close to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who on Friday issued a statement calling for three days of public mourning and “forceful revenge,” in a declaration that amounted to a threat of retaliation against the United States.

“His departure to God does not end his path or his mission,” he said.

The first years of General Suleimani’s tenure in the late 1990s were devoted to directing the militant group Hezbollah’s effort against the Israeli military occupation of south Lebanon. General Suleimani, along with Hezbollah’s military commander, Imad Mugniyah, drove a sophisticated campaign of guerrilla warfare, combining ambushes, roadside bombs, suicide bombers, targeted killings of senior Israeli officers and attacks on Israeli defense posts.

At the end, the price for Israel was too high, and in May 2000 it withdrew from Lebanon, marking a major victory for General Suleimani, his Quds Force and Hezbollah.

The Arab Spring in the Middle East, and later the fight against the Islamic State, turned General Suleimani from a shadow figure into a major player in the geopolitics of the region, said Tamir Pardo, a former head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence service.

“Suleimani’s professional life can be divided into two periods,” he said. “Until the Arab Spring, he is commander of a force that has branches in various parts of the world, active mainly in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, but at the end of the day is a secret operational organization whose main purpose is terrorism.”

“From the shock that befell the Middle East following the rise of ISIS, he is changing course,” Mr. Pardo continued. “He becomes a kingpin regional player, knowing with great talent how to exploit the secret infrastructure he has established for so many years, to achieve noncovert objectives — to fight, to win, to establish presence.”

In recent years, the man whose face had rarely been seen became the face of Iran’s foreign operations.

In Syria, he oversaw a massive operation to shore up the government of President Bashar al-Assad, whose own troops had been depleted by widespread defections and fierce fighting with rebels seeking to topple the government since 2011. His command of Arabic helped put local commanders at ease as he welded them into a support network for Mr. al-Assad.

Over a number of years, Iranian operatives guided by General Suleimani recruited militia fighters from countries, including Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, who were airlifted to Syria to back up Mr. Assad’s forces in key battles.

Many of these militia fighters received training at military bases in Iran or on the ground in Syria by operatives from Lebanon’s Hezbollah, an organization General Suleimani had helped develop over the years.

When Iranian and Iranian-backed forces became major combatants against ISIS after the group took over roughly a third of Iraq in 2014, pictures of General Suleimani, often photographed on the battlefield in fatigues, began being widely shared on social media. The publicity spawned rumors that General Suleimani was trying to widen his fame for a possible run for Iran’s presidency; he denied them, saying he always saw himself as just a soldier.

That conflict, from 2014 through 2017, was a rare instance of Iran and the United States nominally fighting on the same side. On a number of occasions, Americans were hitting Islamic State targets on the ground while General Suleimani was directing ground forces against the militants.

It was unclear what direct role General Suleimani played in Yemen. But Iran’s patronage of the country’s Houthi rebels, which intensified when Saudi Arabia intervened against them in Yemen’s war in 2015, had all the hallmarks of the Suleimani playbook: above all, to support local militants as a way of expanding Iranian influence and foil Saudi Arabia, the region’s Sunni power.

Iran had long offered similar support to the Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, creating decades of new security headaches for Israel. And with the support of the Quds Force, Hamas was able to take over the Gaza Strip, capable of firing rockets that can reach into most of Israeli territory.

Previous American administrations had resisted striking General Suleimani directly, either because of operational concerns or out of fear that killing him could destabilize the region further and lead to all-out war between the United States and Iran.

At least once, though, Israeli officials ran the possibility of attacking him up their command structure. That was in February 2008, while Israeli and American intelligence operatives were tracking Mr. Mugniyah, the Hezbollah commander, in the hopes of killing him, according to senior American and Israeli intelligence officials. Operatives spotted the Hezbollah commander talking with another man, who they quickly determined was Mr. Suleimani.

Excited by the possibility of killing two archenemies at once, the Israelis phoned senior government officials. But Prime Minister Ehud Olmert denied the request, as he had promised the Americans that only Mr. Mugniyah would be targeted in the operation.

Perhaps more than any other individual, General Suleimani was the foil for American plans in Iraq, which like Iran is predominantly Shiite.

After the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, Iranian militiamen and their Iraqi allies fought a clandestine war against American troops, launching rockets at bases and attacking convoys. The militias also played a large part in inflaming sectarian tensions that led to Iraq’s sectarian civil war in 2006 and 2007 between Shiites and Sunnis, leading President George W. Bush to order a troop surge there.

General Suleimani and other leaders of his generation were shaped by the brutal war between Iran and Iraq in the 1980s, a conflict so cruel, with trench warfare and chemical weapons, that some compared it to the devastation of World War I. Nearly a million people died on both sides, and General Suleimani spent much of that war on the front lines.

For him and his fellow soldiers, the war was a “never again” moment. Ensuring that Iraq was weak and unable to again pose a threat to Iran became the primary goal of Iran’s policy toward Iraq after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, whom the United States supported during its war with Iran in the 1980s.

“For Qassim Suleimani, the Iran-Iraq war never really ended,” Ryan C. Crocker, a former American ambassador to Iraq, once said in an interview. “No human being could have come through such a World War I-style conflict and not have been forever affected. His strategic goal was an outright victory over Iraq, and if that was not possible, to create and influence a weak Iraq.”

Sometimes, American officials secretly communicated with General Suleimani in an effort to ease tensions in Iraq. In 2008, the American general, David Petraeus, was trying to find a truce in a fight that American forces and the Iraqi Army were waging against Shiite militias loyal to Iran. In Mr. Petraeus’s telling of the story, he was shown a text message directed to him: “General Petraeus, you should know that I, Qassim Suleimani, control the policy for Iran with respect to Iraq, Lebanon, Gaza and Afghanistan.”

Years later, General Suleimani personally, and mockingly, addressed another American leader: President Trump, who in July 2018 warned Iran’s president not to threaten the United States.

“It is beneath the dignity of our president to respond to you,” General Suleimani declared in a speech in western Iran. “I, as a soldier, respond to you.”

“We are near you, where you can’t even imagine,” he added. “We are ready. We are the man of this arena.”

For years after the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, Iran railed against what it saw as American aggression in the region, worried that the United States would turn its attention to regime change in Iran after Mr. Hussein was gone.

American officials have blamed Iran for killing hundreds of American soldiers during the war, many with sophisticated, shaped-charge bombs that could slice through American armored vehicles.

As the United States sought to negotiate a deal with Iraq that would allow American forces to stay in the country past a 2011 deadline, it was General Suleimani who relentlessly pushed Iraqi officials to refuse to sign, using a mixture of threats and the promise of more financial and military aid, American and Iraqi officials say.

On his orders, Iraqi construction crews in 2014 began building a roadway for Iranian supplies and militiamen, a small piece of what was perhaps the general’s most important project: establishing a land route from Tehran to the Mediterranean, across Iraq and Syria to Lebanon, where Iran has long supported Hezbollah, a primary threat to Israel.

One telling episode that illustrated the depth of Iranian control came in 2014, when the Islamic State was rampaging across Iraq. General Suleimani paid a visit to Bayan Jabr, then the country’s transportation minister.

According to a collection of Iranian intelligence cables published recently by The Intercept and The New York Times, General Suleimani came to Mr. Jabr with a demand: He needed to use Iraqi airspace to fly planeloads of military supplies to support the Syrian government of Mr. Assad. Despite lobbying by the Obama administration to close Iraq’s airspace to the flights, Mr. Jabr quickly said yes.

“I put my hands on my eyes and said, ‘On my eyes! As you wish!’” Mr. Jabr told an Iranian Intelligence Ministry officer, according to one of the cables. “Then he got up and approached me and kissed my forehead.”

The same trove of documents contains evidence that General Suleimani is not universally admired within Iran.

A bitter rivalry between his Quds Force and the other main Iranian intelligence agency, the Ministry of Intelligence, played out over the course of the cables. Many criticized General Suleimani’s proxy campaign in Iraq, and the way his militia allies abused the Sunni population there, as weakening Iran’s long-term interests in the region.

“This policy of Iran in Iraq has allowed the Americans to return to Iraq with greater legitimacy,” one cable read.

In others, ministry case officers portrayed General Suleimani as a relentless self-promoter who used the battle against the Islamic State to bolster his potential political aspirations in the future.

Iran watchers sounded alarm that General Suleimani’s death would unleash unpredictable regional mayhem from Syria to Iraq that would be difficult for the United States to contain. Several Iranian diplomats said that the prospect of diplomacy with the United States, being quietly negotiated through Japan and France, was effectively dead. The talk was now of revenge, not negotiations, they said.

“This one life lost will likely cost many more Iranian, Iraqi, American and others,” said Ali Vaez, director of Iran program for International Crisis Group. “It is not just Suleimani’s death, but likely the death knell of the Iran nuclear deal and any prospect of diplomacy between Iran and the U.S.”

Qassim Suleimani was born in 1957 in Rabor, in eastern Iran, and later moved to the city of Kerman. He was the son of a farmer, and began laboring as a construction worker at age 12. His highest level of education was high school, and he later worked in the municipal water department in Kerman, according to a profile published by the Iranian state media.

According to a 2012 profile in The New Yorker, General Suleimani’s father became burdened with debt under the Shah. When the revolution came he was sympathetic to the cause, and joined the Revolutionary Guards soon after. He was married and had children, although there were conflicting stories in the Iranian news media about how many.

Within Iran, he was widely seen as exerting more influence over the country’s foreign policy than even the country’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif.

General Suleimani, in death if not in life, appeared to have united Iran’s rival political parties to rally behind the flag. Iran’s expansionist policies in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon have been contentious at home among ordinary Iranians and some reformist politicians who saw money and resources diverted from Iran to fund General Suleimani’s missions.

But on Friday, there was only praise and grief. Iranian officials across the political spectrum issued statements of condolences and condemned the United States.

The powerful Revolutionary Guards, of which the Quds Force is a component, said plans were underway for a huge public funeral.

“He was so big that he achieved his dream of being martyred by America,” wrote a reformist politician and former vice president, Mohammad Ali Abtahi.

General Suleimani had received the country’s highest military honor, the Order of Zolfaghar, established in 1856 under the Qajar dynasty. He became the only military commander to receive the honor in the Islamic Republic.

Ayatollah Khamenei pinned the medal on General Suleimani’s chest last February, and in remarks that now seem prophetic, said: “The Islamic Republic needs him for many more years. But I hope that in the end, he dies as a martyr.”

______

Tim Arango reported from Los Angeles; Ronen Bergman from Tel Aviv, Israel; and Ben Hubbard from Beirut. Nazila Fathi contributed reporting from Washington, and Farnaz Fassihi from New York.

10 notes · View notes

antoine-roquentin · 5 years

Text

snipers in iraq are accused of killing the bulk of protestors and police alike. video 1 2 3 4 5 massive trigger warning for all vids

Govt Violence Reducing Number Of Protests In Iraq

Baghdad continued to have the largest and most violent demonstrations. The curfew in the city was lifted early in the morning, and things started off calmly, but people eventually gathered in the center of the city to march on Tahrir Square. The police immediately fired on the crowd killing 4. People regrouped but were met by more bullets leading to 3 more deaths. There were clashes in other neighborhoods such as Zafaraniya in the south where one person was killed. The police closed down all the major intersections leading to Sadr City in the east to try to block people from there travelling to downtown. That led to violent confrontations, and even a report by the end of the day that mortars were fired into the neighborhood leaving 20 casualties. There were also 2 killed in Shula in the north. Reports had a total of 55 people have lost their lives in the province so far, but that did not include the reported mortar attack.

Yesterday there were reports of snipers firing into crowds across the city. Reuters reported that these were police in East Baghdad. By the end of the day the police had re-imposed the curfew. Like the rest of the country, there were fewer neighborhoods taking part in the demonstrations on October 5. The police are also not hesitating in using force as soon as they see people gathering. Snipers and mortars also show that the authorities are taking this tactic to a new level hoping that the mounting dead and wounding will deter people. It showed how vacuous the government is that it is not even attempting to offer any concessions to the people this year. It has turned to the boot almost right off the bat.

The police and possibly the Hashd have also begun targeting the media for covering the disturbances. Five TV stations had their offices ransacked during the day including NRT, Dijla, Al-Arabiya, Al-Hadath and Al-Ghad. Al-Hurra reported that the security forces were behind two of these raids. In all five instances, equipment was smashed and the staff were beaten. Last year, the government forces went after reporters arresting them, beating them, issuing arrest warrants, etc. As another sign that the authorities want to clamp down on things they have attacked the media more directly.

Overall on October 5 there were protests in five provinces, down from ten the first day of unrest in the country. In Basra, the police have used pre-emptive tactics arresting people as soon as they gather in the city. In Najaf, protesters signed a statement calling for Abdul Mahdi to resign. Nasiriya and Diwaniya in Dhi Qar and Qadisiya provinces respectively have mimicked the capital in their hostilities. The day started in Nasiriya with the Counter-Terror forces surrounding the government building where people have met each day. From there, the crowds moved onto the offices of Saraya Khorasani, Badr, Asaib Ahl Al-Haq, Dawa, the Communist Party, Fadhila, the Supreme Council, Hikma, and a former parliamentarian and burned them. Badr and Asaib Ahl Al-Haq guards used gunfire to try to turn people back killing one and wounding more. Four reportedly died during the day along with one policeman according to the Human Rights Commission. The provincial health directorate said that 21 people had lost their lives since October 1. Like the other governorates people went to the council building in Diwaniya where the police shot at them leaving 6 dead. A bodyguard for a councilman was arrested for killing a protester the day before during the demonstrations. Finally, in Wasit, people tried to burn down the deputy governor’s house in Kut, and there was one more fatality. By the end of the day the Human Rights Commission said 94 had died since the start of the protests including 8 police.

When the protests originally began on October 1 they occurred across every southern province. That is shrinking in the face of the all the lie fire, dead, and wounded. That showed that the government’s violent tactics were working somewhat. Still, places like Nasiriya and Diwaniya appear to be out of control once people gather. Basra on the other hand, appears to be relatively subdued with the security forces having learned their lessons from last year. It also shows that all the gunfire is unnecessary if the police had been more pro-active and arrested crowds before they could even march on places like Tahrir Square or the government buildings. This is a lesson being missed by Baghdad.

Officials continued to be ineffective in their responses. Speaker of Parliament Mohammed Halbusi yesterday invited activists to meet with him and go over their demands. That happened October 5, but then people in the streets said whoever met with the speaker did not represent them. Parliament was also supposed to have an emergency session, but there was no quorum due to the boycott of the Sairoon bloc led by Moqtada al-Sadr. The weakness of the Abdul Mahdi administration from the start was that he had no party behind him, but rather was elected due to a deal between two rival factions Sadr on one side, and Badr’s Haid Amiri on the other. Parliament would do nothing if it met as a result. The prime minister has been feckless during his entire time in office as well, and his weak speech saying he couldn’t do anything and that it was the people’s fault for getting killed just showed that he will do nothing substantive about the protests politically and rely upon the police instead in the hopes to put them down. This is a very dangerous move as it is pushing many people towards revolution and wanting the entire elite to be brushed aside.

The US-Iran silent war is transformed into an “Iraq uprising”

Iraq has special status due to its position, since the 2003 US occupation of the country, as both an Iranian and as a US ally. Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi up to now has armed himself with article 8 of the constitution, seeking to keep Iraq as a balancing point between all allies and neighbouring countries, and to prevent Mesopotamia from becoming a battlefield for conflicts between the US and Iran or Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Notwithstanding the efforts of Baghdadi officials, the deterioration of the domestic economic situation in Iraq has pushed the country into a situation comparable to that of those Middle Eastern countries who were hit by the so-called “Arab Spring”.

Fuelled by real grievances including lack of job opportunities and severe corruption, domestic uprisings were manipulated by hostile foreign manipulation for purposes of regime change; these efforts have been ongoing in Syria since 2011. Baghdad believes that foreign and regional countries took advantage of the justified demands of the population to implement their own agenda, with disastrous consequences for the countries in question.

Sources within the office of the Iraqi Prime Minister said “the recent demonstrations were already planned a couple of months ago. Baghdad was working to try and ease the situation in the country, particularly since the demands of the population are legitimate. The Prime Minister has inherited the corrupt system that has developed since 2003; hundreds of billions of dollars have been diverted into the pockets of corrupt politicians. Moreover, the war on terror used not only all the country’s resources but forced Iraq to borrow billions of dollars for the reconstruction of the security forces and other basic needs.”

“The latest demonstrations were supposed to be peaceful and legitimate because people have the right to express their discontent, concerns and frustration. However, the course of events showed a different objective: 8 members of the security forces were killed (1241 wounded) along with 96 of civilians (5000 wounded) and many government and party buildings were set on fire and completely destroyed. This sort of behaviour has misdirected the real grievances of the population onto a disastrous course: creating chaos in the country. Who benefits from the disarray in Iraq?”

The unrest in Iraqi cities coincides with an assassination attempt against Iran’s Soleimani. Sources believe that the “assassination attempt against the commander of the Iranian IRGC-Quds Brigade Qassem Soleimani is not a pure coincidence but related to events in Iraq”.

“Soleimani was in Iraq during the selection of the key leaders of the country. He has a lot of influence, like the Americans who have their own people. If Soleimani is removed, those who may have been behind the recent unrest may think it will create enough confusion in Iraq and Iran, allowing room for a possible coup d’état carried out by military or encouraged by foreign forces, Saudi Arabia and the US in this case. Killing Soleimani, in the minds of foreign actors, could lead to chaos, leading to a reduction of Iranian influence in Iraq”, said the sources.

The recent decisions of Abdel Mahdi made him extremely unpopular with the US. He has declared Israel responsible for the destruction of the five warehouses of the Iraqi security forces, Hashd al-Shaabi, and the killing of one commander on the Iraqi-Syrian borders. He opened the crossing at al-Qaem between Iraq and Syria to the displeasure of the US embassy in Baghdad, whose officers expressed their discomfort to Iraqi officials. He expressed his willingness to buy the S-400 and other military hardware from Russia. Abdel Mahdi agreed with China to reconstruct essential infrastructure in exchange for oil, and gave a $284 million electricity deal to a German rather than an American company. The Iraqi Prime Minister refused to abide by US sanctions and is still buying electricity from Iran and allowing the exchange of commerce that is bringing large amounts of foreign currency and boosting the Iranian economy. And lastly, Abdel Mahdi rejected the “Deal of the Century” proposed by the US: he is trying to mediate between Iran and Saudi Arabia and therefore is showing his intention to keep away from the US objectives and policies in the Middle East.

US officials expressed their complete dissatisfaction with Abdel Mahdi’s policy to many Iraqi officials. The Americans consider that their failure to capture Iraq as an avant-garde country against Iran is a victory for Tehran. However, this is not what the Iraqi Prime Minister is aiming at. He is genuinely trying to keep away from the US-Iran war, but is confronted with increasing difficulties.

Abdel Mahdi took over governance in Iraq when the economy was at a catastrophic level. He is struggling in his first year of governance even though Iraq is considered to have the fourth largest of the world’s oil reserves. A quarter of Iraq’s over 40 million people live at poverty level.

The Marjaiya in Najaf intervened to calm down the situation, showing its capacity to control the mob. Its representative in Karbalaa Sayyed Ahmad al-Safi emphasises the importance of fighting corruption and creating an independent committee to put the country back on track. Al-Safi said it was necessary to start serious reforms and asked the Parliament, in particular “the biggest coalition”, to assume its responsibility.

The biggest group belongs to Sayyed Moqtada al-Sadr, with 53 MPs. Moqtada declared – contrary to what the Marjaiya hoped – the suspension of his group from the parliament rather than assuming his responsibilities. Moqtada is calling for early elections, an election where he is not expected to gather more than 12-15 MPs. Al-Sadr, who visits Saudi Arabia and Iran for no strategic objective, is trying to ride the horse of grievance so he can take advantage of the just requests of the demonstrators. Moqtada and the other Shia groups who rule the country today, in alliance with Kurds and Sunni minorities, are the ones to respond to the people’s requests, and not hide behind those in the street asking for the end of corruption, for more job opportunities, and improvement of their conditions of life.

Prime Minister Abdel Mahdi doesn’t have a magic wand; the people can’t wait for very long. Notwithstanding their justified demands, the people were “not alone in the streets. The majority of social media hashtags were Saudi: indicating that Abdel Mahdi’s visits to Saudi Arabia and his mediation between Riyadh and Tehran have not rendered him immune to regime change efforts supported by Saudi,” said the source. Indeed, Iraq’s neighbours gave strong indications to the Prime Minister that Iraq’s relation Iran is the healthiest and the most stable of relations with neighbouring countries. Tehran didn’t conspire against him even if it was the only country whose flag was burned by some demonstrators and reviled in the streets of Baghdad during the last days of unrest.

The critical economic situation is making the Middle East vulnerable to unrest. Most countries are suffering due to the US sanctions on Iran and the monstrous financial expenditure on US weapons. US President Donald Trump is trying hard to empty Arab leaders’ pockets and keep Iran as the main scarecrow to drain Gulf finances. The Saudi war on Yemen is also another destabilising factor in the Middle East, allowing plenty of room for tension and confrontation.

gulf papers are pointing to the anti-iranian stance of the protestors as evidence that the snipers are irgc. other media are reporting on the similarities between the snipers during the maidan protests in ukraine and the current protests. a popular analysis has pointed to the fact that many of the pro-protestor posts on twitter have been from saudi arabian accounts.

26 notes · View notes

simonjadis · 4 years

Photo

Anon I’m ASSUMING that these are from the same person; apologies if they are not

I would say that my feelings are similar to yours, but not quite identical ...

Disney’s handling has been imperfect, and some of the mistakes have been made the highest level (I know that people give Kathleen Kennedy a hard time, but if rumor is to be believed, some of the interference that made IX kind of weird came from higher than that)

for example, Kennedy said in an interview that she tries to find people who just make big, successful movies to make sure that these are also big, successful movies. I can understand that as being a safe bet from a business stand point, but that’s not the same thing as finding someone passionate about very specifically telling good, new Star Wars stories, which we did not really get in the Sequel Trilogy

(one of the most common theories that I saw from TLJ apologists was that people didn’t like that it was new/different than what they were expecting, which was really not the issue for me or my friends. Also it was just a speedrun of parts of Episodes V and VI)

I think that I’m “too close” to Star Wars to see it as a financial asset rather than a beloved universe full of characters and stories that I adore, but I don’t think that “literally just rehash the Original Trilogy for two movies and barely acknowledge any other part of Star Wars until IX” was a good idea

Rey deserved her own story. and Luke deserved to not be retroactively robbed of his

as for George Lucas, I do think that years of backlash over the Prequels sucked the fun out of it for him. Also, who doesn’t want four billion dollars? it was a sweetheart deal for Disney, of course

the sad thing is that this meant the end of Clone Wars, because Disney took one look at Lucasfilm’s budget and was like “OH NO YOU CANNOT SPEND THAT KIND OF MONEY ON A CARTOON” which is why Season 6 was paid for by Netflix and why Maul: Son of Dathomir was a comic

I love Star Wars Rebels and I’m not trying to knock the show at all, but the budgetary difference was palpable. Clone Wars did have it a little easier because of the Clone Troopers (all having the same face), but on Rebels, you notice that 90% of the Imperials are the same guy wearing a hat with his visor obscuring most of his face. market scenes show just a few people (but plenty of Storm Troopers)

the designs of the main characters -- Ezra, Hera, Sabine, Zeb, Kallus, Thrawn, Kanan, etc -- are great and loving and detailed and most of those change a little over time, but there’s a reason that we only see so many planets on Rebels. look at the huge armies and crowds in Rebels. my friend @drunkkenobi is the first who pointed out to me that in Clone Wars, you sometimes see lines of ships (Space Traffic) and each ship in line will be unique, distinct from the others

it’s not Rebels’ fault that they didn’t have that kind of budget. that’s also why their space battles (and space ships) never quite look right. meanwhile, for Clone Wars, if they wanted a particular scene or ship that went over their planned budget, all that they had to do was ask Uncle George

eccentric billionaires funding expensive media isn’t necessarily the most sustainable model for storytelling, but it sure worked out well for Clone Wars and for The Expanse

(Jeff Bezos personally called up the head of Amazon Prime programming, who had already been considering acquiring the extremely good but expensive show, and was like “hey the cast from this show is at a thing where I am, I’d love to just tell them that their show is saved, give me it?” and we saw as many new locations in Season 4 as we did in the first three seasons)

but streaming -- where you actually get money directly from customers who then, through their activity on your platform, show you exactly what they want to see aka what is keeping them on your platform -- offers a new opportunity for high quality genre media. remember, scifi and fantasy were EVERYWHERE in the ‘90s and the early aughts, and then because too expensive for regular TV unless they had huge audiences. only through streaming do we have these new Star Treks, The Witcher, and the real possibility of a new Stargate series

why do I bring up streaming? because

The Mandalorian goes to show that Disney can 100% do good Star Wars. Rebels was good, despite its budget, but can you imagine how much better it would have been if it had aired on Disney+

as with the DC movies (three of which are good and I’m also excited for Birds of Prey), the solution to the our-movies-made-a-lot-of-money-but-aren’t-strictly-speaking-good is literally just “let the people who do the cartoons make the movies”

and now we’re getting a final, seventh (half) season of Clone Wars! twelve episodes looking better than the show has ever looked!!

if you’re like me, you probably thought to yourself “gee, only 12?” and, cynically, you figured that it’s a trick -- announced at ComicCon in 2018 to build up the first wave of hype for Disney+

and it is ... but it 100% worked on me, I signed up for Disney+ and will pay anything for Clone War

my HOPE is that this is a test run to see if people really like high-quality animated Star Wars stories enough to continue with it. there’s only so much clone wars that one can cover (my suspicion is that we will see Ahsoka fake her death during Order 66 in these eps, so yep, that’s the end of the Clone Wars right there)

imagine a well-written series with everything that Clone Wars had in terms of content and visual quality, but it’s set after Episode IX. to my frustration, IX ends with effectively the same worldstate as VI which essentially means that nothing much happened in the Sequel Trilogy. but imagine a series set after IX. we could see a new set of (Force-wielding) characters. we could see Rey, Finn, Poe, and Rose during some episodes. Rose could finally get to do something that’s not an insulting fool’s errand (she deserves so much better!!!!!)

we don’t need a new Big Scary Empire/First Order thing, just organized crime and pirates and Hutts and bounty hunters and individual planet systems going to war as the characters try to assemble a NEW New Republic (gods I hate the unchanged worldstate)

now, I know that Star Wars Resistance is not ... reassuring. this is the only screencap that I have from it because I couldn’t get into it. it’s not the animation (I enjoyed Tron Uprising and Iron Man: Armored Adventures and this is the same kind of deal), but three things:

-I watch Star Wars for the Force primarily; other stuff can be cool but I need the Force

-I will never care about ships racing and really I don’t care about an individual ship flying; I’m a Command Ship kind of space nerd

-apparently the writing doesn’t improve much during the first season. people tell the main character to not do something, then he does it, and disaster ensues. that’s ... it’s fine, it’s fine to exist as a show, it’s just not for me

obviously, not all Star Wars media is for me, but when something -- like TLJ or the Sequel Series as a whole (even though VII and IX are enjoyable) or Resistance -- disappoints me, I would never accuse it of “ruining Star Wars”

Star Wars is a whole franchise. the breadth of canon isn’t all wiped away by some disappointments. was the MCU ruined by Age of Ultron? no. it was a bad movie but from the same franchise that gave us The Winter Soldier and Thor Ragnarok. hell, Dawn of Justice doesn’t “ruin” Wonder Woman or Aquaman or Shazam. bad movies aren’t contagious

for the past several years, the Entitled Dude crowd has felt empowered. they were radicalized in the altright/redpill/MGTOW/meninist/nazi/gamergate/comicsgate/etc spheres of the internet and now they just have a reflex where they see any sort of representation and decry it as “SJW,” which they also seem to think is a bad thing

in the same way that well-meaning people on tumblr can get radicalized into being antis/puriteens, people with certain vulnerabilities on reddit or youtube can get sucked into a world that tells them that they are the default and that other people existing is “political” in media and in real life, and that people being upset by outright cruelty towards them is both funny and means that the cruel person is the victor. they need therapy and studios need to not listen to them

unfortunately, sometimes there are movies that are bad despite having things like solid representation. Ghostbusters 2016 was a delight, but my friends and I with whom I saw TLJ (all of us queer feminists) left the theater angry. we’ve bitten our tongues a lot (even if it seems otherwise) because publicly criticizing the film too often leads some incel monster to chime in with agreement, and we’re just like

the redpillgate crowed et all is a natural ally of conservative white evangelicals, even though the former group is generally made up of New Atheists (the short version is atheists who hold socially conservative views because racism/misogyny/transphobia benefit them without using christianity as an excuse). it’s kind of like how terfs will side with conservative hate groups because, though they’re natural enemies, they both despite trans people just for existing

unfortunately, when you’re looking at who went to see a movie or who hated it, not everyone posts with an ID card saying exactly their demographic. which is only going to make studios like Disney even more nervous about including queer content in Star Wars and in the MCU (I mean real queer content with characters whose names don’t have to be searched on a wiki)

that was a bit of a tangent, but yeah. sorry if I missed anything

#star wars #clone wars #anon #ask #anon ask

13 notes · View notes

ninja-muse · 5 years

Photo

Heart of Europe - Peter H. Wilson

In brief: An incredibly comprehensive macro history of the Holy Roman Empire, from its founding to dissolution, with the general thesis of “No, no, this actually existed, it was important, and it was not actually backwards. Historians who say otherwise are being ahistorical.”

Thoughts: How do you review what is pretty clearly the work of decades? When you’re not entirely sure you understood everything, because there was just so much to understand?

About how you write such a book, I think: by compartmentalizing.

First, some explanation, though, because the Holy Roman Empire isn’t that well-known of a historical entity. Basically, we’re talking about German-speaking Europe with some extra bits—northern Italy, bits of Poland, bits of France, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Hungary—between the late 700s to the early 1800s. (Napoleon ruins everything.) The HRE was a pretty big deal in a lot of ways too, like, part of the “Holy” and “Roman” was that many Emperors either chose the Pope or protected the Pope and the Church.

As you can maybe guess by that half-joke, this doesn’t have the structure I’d expected. Wilson starts at the beginning and ends at the end, yes, but he does this multiple times, running through the changes of dynasty and ideas of kingship, the wider political structures and wars, the social order, and the justice system so that the reader gets a good sense of how one state of affairs lead directly into another, but less sense of concurrent events. For instance, he’ll discuss an emperor’s ruling style in one section, the war he was fighting in another, and the peasant uprisings he was contending with in a third. Honestly, I’m kind of impressed how well Wilson manages to remind the reader of information, but it’s not perfect and when I need to reference this book in the future, I will be very grateful for the timeline of events, the genealogies, and the index.

I’m equally impressed by the amount of research and synthesis Wilson’s done. Even if he didn’t read through all the tax records and law codes and contemporary political writings himself, he has to have all the articles and books that discuss them, and to have read a whole lot of 19th and 20th century histories of the Empire to boot—and then somehow he’s managed to write a narrative in reasonably non-academic English. It’s still pretty dense and dry, but the book gives a good overview of the Empire in all its facets without getting bogged down in details (and yes, the names of kings, emperors, and popes are frequently details, that’s how macro this book gets).

Those two points alone are enough for me to call this a solidly good history book and to recommend this to people genuinely interested in the topic, but then we come to Wilson’s thesis, which honestly? I wasn’t expecting to get. I enjoyed seeing him pointing out the more than a little biased historical readings out there, the ones that, say, apply a 19th century idea of a nation state and political identities to the past and find the 1100s decidedly lacking, and seeing him point out, at the same time, that not only was the 1100s in the HRE about the same as the neighbouring countries, but that in many ways, the fluid, flexible, “works for us” structure of the Empire gave it more stability over time than other regions of Europe. Probably Wilson comes with his own biases—he certainly is passionate about his subject—but it’s also a bias that works for me.

So those are a few of the biggest things I took away from reading this: the overall history of the Holy Roman Empire and how it was structured and run; the Empire more or less in context of the rest of European history; and the ways history can be misdirected but also interrogated. I also learned a lot about historical political systems and social orders in general, and have a better idea of what Europe looked like in the past when it wasn’t being British or, occasionally, French. There were also a number of wars and uprisings that I’d only heard vaguely of or didn’t have the historical run-up to (like the Reformation and the Thirty Years’ War) which I have a much better idea of now.

If you quizzed me on any particular aspect, though, a month from finishing this and nearly three from starting it, I’d be hard-pressed to give more than a vague answer. There’s too much scope in the book for that. I was a little disappointed too that Wilson assumes the reader has a decent general understanding of European history, and will mention the Pope fleeing to Avignon or a monarch outside of the Empire or a war without filing you in on context except for how it relates to the Empire. (And that he scraps a lot of social history in favour of politics.) Can’t say I really blame him, since this book is already 1000 pages long, but all the same. It’s something to go in aware of, I think.

In sum: this book was excellent. It does everything a history book of this scale should, does little if anything such a book shouldn’t do, contains more information than a human brain can retain in one go, and is, dare I say it only having read the one book on the topic, the definitive book on the Holy Roman Empire. If you’re interested in European history, medieval history, or anything else that the HRE touches on, especially if you’re working in an academic framework, this is an important book to have. I’ll definitely be rereading sections and working through the index when that one writing project comes up on the docket.

To bear in mind: This is a heavy book, in terms of both size and content. While the sentences are always readable, the paragraphs and sections often need time to sink in, and even if you’re an actual historian of the HRE or adjacent topics, I’d highly advise giving your brain a rest at least at the end of every section. Also, I spent most of my reading time with this either held in both hands or propped up on some object or other and I definitely strained my thumb at one point, so there’s also that.

Also, fair warning: there is reasonably frequent reference to historical Muslim peoples as a “threat” or “menace”, as in “the Ottomans are threatening our borders and political stability”, and also the occasional reference to or discussion of early medieval slavery, intra-European racism, poor treatment of women and peasants, war and famine, and similar things which I’m undoubtedly forgetting now but should probably be expected in a history book. Oh, and historians and political leaders using the HRE’s existence to support their own agendas.

9.5/10

#books #booklr #book reviews #history #europe #the heart of europe #peter h. wilson #non-fiction #book recommendations #read in 2019 #adult booklr

22 notes · View notes