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glcnpowell · 7 months

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hi, writing is hard right now, so this is much more of a not!fic but!! enjoy this exploration of the cyclone&rooster&maverick of it all pre/during/post tgm. <3

somewhere in my head right now, there's a short story exploring the past relationship of cyclone & rooster before, during, & after tgm.

rooster going through top gun for the first time and cyclone taking an interest, sensing the anger and the grief wrapped around rooster like a cloud he can't shake. cyclone knows it's crippling the kid in ways that rooster doesn't even realize. cyclone also knows about the history, right -- he was only two years behind mav at top gun, so he remembers the stories of the RIO that died during a training exercise. probably remembers all the rumors that flew, too.

after an exceptionally rough day during top gun, cyclone speaks to rooster one-on-one and slowly, it becomes a regular thing. one-on-one conversations, cyclone checking in on the kid throughout hops and classroom instruction. maybe cyclone gets teased by another instructor for having a favorite and cyclone denies it (poorly).

and then the awards ceremony happens, rooster & the rest of his class become graduates, and cyclone finds rooster sitting alone at the reception. rooster's a few drinks deep, buzzed enough to explain how he thought not getting to go to the academy was what had made him so angry all this time. but now that he's here at top gun, now that he's made it and is one of the best pilots of his generation, he's realized it wasn't about the academy at all. it was about finding out that maverick, his fiercest supporter, didn't actually believe in him. it was about being told he wasn't good enough despite the fact that he's clearly good enough.

(of course, we know that maverick believes in that kid and was just acting on his own fear/carol's wishes. but rooster doesn't know that. cyclone certainly doesn't know that.)

cyclone continues keeping in touch with the kid after that. keeps tabs on him. maybe iceman finds out and tries to casually bring up rooster in a conversation, but cyclone makes it clear he won't be gossiping about the kid so maverick can find out because "that is your real goal here, isn't it, sir?"

(it makes iceman grin. he and cyclone develop a relationship of mutual respect. they don't ever talk about rooster. iceman gets maverick out of trouble all the time. cyclone doesn't understand why.)

when cyclone finally meets the infamous maverick, he's already not a fan. he sees this man as a selfish, arrogant pilot that can't step aside to make room for anyone that could knock him off this pedestal. when he asks maverick, "is that how goose's son sees it?" it's intended to provoke him deliberately. cyclone's heard all the stories from rooster about how maverick wasn't at fault, but he also wonders if rooster only believes that because maverick drilled it into his head so many times.

he knows rooster being one of the recalled graduates is going to be a problem. and yet.

(also, there's something so interesting about how similar cyclone & rooster's ideas for the mission parameters are. rooster wanting to fly the mission more slowly than maverick (bc he's stubborn, bc he doesn't want to take instruction from the man that tried to keep him from getting here, etc etc etc). and tHEN, lo & behold, cyclone changing the mission parameters so that they all have more time to reach the target just like rooster demonstrated that first day. are they both trying to do the opposite of maverick, yes, but are they ALSO trying to do the same thing bc their styles of flying are similar and that's why cyclone's taken a liking to rooster? who could say for sure. insert the 'i've connected the dots' post).

rooster's angry after the bird strike & wants to know why maverick stood in his way. maverick says "you weren't ready" and rooster wants to hear him say it -- pushes maverick to say that he didn't believe in rooster, but maverick doesn't say it bc that isn't why.

(rooster flips it. does it for him. "i won't make the same mistake.")

cyclone goes from "they know the risks, all of these pilots accept that" to "get them home, now." and it's an incredible journey, right -- it's maybe one of my favorite things about the film. cyclone warring with what he has to do as an officer in charge versus what he wishes he could do in order to keep his own people safe.

but with this whole pre-canon journey in mind, cyclone trusting maverick to be team leader takes on a whole new Thing. he's trusting maverick to pick the right team, to pick the right wingman, and to complete the mission. that mission now includes getting everyone home. it includes getting rooster home.

maybe he's realizing that maverick is the best chance at that.

cyclone glancing over to rooster fearfully when maverick picks him for his wingman. cyclone's voice breaking when he says there's nothing rooster can do for maverick, not in a goddamn f-18. cyclone exhaling heavily when rooster gets shot down going back for maverick. cyclone's stunned reaction when the f-14 is located with rooster in tow.

i like to think that after the mission, cyclone does his duties of going through debriefs and meetings and checking in on everyone, and then he goes to the medical wing to see maverick. he's Professional about it and Awkward As Fuck about it, but he thanks maverick for serving his country and, more quietly, for getting everyone home.

maverick, always more perceptive than the fucker has any right to be -- "i was getting bradshaw home one way or another, sir. i know you know that."

"yes, captain. i do."

he still doesn't like maverick much. but he's grateful.

and then he goes to check in on rooster. he's just as Professional and just as Awkward (bc i think that's cyclone's default setting when there is any chance of Emotion).

(see: turned to face the window like a doofus while he monologued about picking mav for team lead. someone make a comparison gifset of cyclone at the window & hilary duff at the window in the 'come clean' music video.)

he, again, thanks rooster for his service and tells the kid he's glad to see him back in one piece. and then, breathing out a dramatic sigh --

"fuckin' maverick, huh?"

and rooster snorts, wiping a hand tiredly over his face. "god, i know. guess i'll have to find someone else to complain about now."

"oh, don't worry," cyclone huffs, shaking his head. "i think you'll still have plenty to complain about with him around, lieutenant."

#top gun maverick #beau cyclone simpson #bradley rooster bradshaw #pete maverick mitchell #cyclone #rooster #maverick #mywriting #*tgmfic #cyclonerooster #idk idk IDK reiver is at fault for this #bc i am THINKING THINGS about their pre-canon relationship #they're absolutely closer than canon lets on and that is a FACT #reiverreturns #is there a version of this in my head where cyclone and rooster are maybe a little Interested in Each Other #none of youR BUSINESS (yes)

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hiddenfolk · 1 year

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The teacherswap au,,

Iruma- the Imaginary Beings teacher and the Misfit's homeroom teacher! Despite being the newest teacher, the rest of the faculty treat him with a strange amount of respect? Kalego considers him weird because he's so excessively nice and easygoing, and a bit absentminded. He's always talking about weird concepts he made up like the magic of friendship?

Ameri- the head teacher! Very competent, hardworking and admired, amazing at her job. Can be a bit of a strict drill sergeant type. Students find her a little intimidating, but she's really just out here trying to make sure everyones living up to their potential.

Asmodeus-Fundamentals of magic teacher. Ever dignified, he is admired (and crushed on) by the students, but he's also pretty strict to both students and teachers, and is quick to crack down on troublemakers. When he's in a bad mood, it's best to avoid him.

Clara- the other Fundamentals of magic teacher, as well as the diabotany teacher. Shares the Gaming batra advisor role with Lied. She's super bouncy and fun, and does NOT believe in classroom learning, much to Azz's chagrin. Most of her lessons are held outdoors and are very, very hands on. Like ms Frizzle, she always coordinates her outfits to what she's teaching! Azz-azz may complain but he doesn't have to worry, because she always has a matching tie ready for him!

Lied- Demonic history teacher, and batra advisor. The resident 'cool teacher', he's very casual and friendly.

Jazz- Arithmetic teacher. He may come off quite intimidating, but in reality he's pretty chill. Has a mischevious streak. His bloodline ability and pickpocketing skills means he's able to confiscate contraband before students even realise its gone. He's secretly a bit of a softie who dotes on his students.

Camui- A dignified and gentlemanly teacher with the power to speak to beasts. He teaches familiars, and is also the Beast Summoning batra's advisor. He is always willing to lend an ear to students, perhaps his ability lets him translate teenager? Whatever proclivities he had as a child he has mostly grown out of, and those he does have he obviously keeps separate from his job. Rumor has it that he's not very successful with dating apps.

Elisabetta- the Succubus teacher. Kind, sweet and nice. Theres rumours going around that she's being considered for the position of the next Head of Lust?

Crocell- The cold and dignified music teacher, a woman of pure elegance and icy beauty. She is an accomplished beast summoner, and is also responsible for managing the familiar summoning ceremony for the first years. She can be quite irritable so it's best to avoid getting caught by her. Before she became a teacher, she was once the most famous Evidol in the world. Most students are too scared of her to bring it up though.

Sabnock- Demonic history teacher, as well as a Practicals teacher. He's responsible, caring and considerate, and a pretty well balanced guy. Though he can be pretty tough, student safety is always a consideration for him and he always knows when to pull back. Knows many healing spells.

Purson- The school's Security teacher. Spends most of his time on silent patrol, so like barely anyone in the student body knows he exists. He also gives private music lessons sometimes?

Gaap- Practicals teacher. Super sweet and kind, always has refreshments available. Very very approachable so he's the one students approach most often for help outside of class time. Can find it hard to discipline unruly students though, since hes a bit of a pushover.

Allocer- A super famous academic. Teaches multiple subjects, including Tactics, Psychiatry, Astrology and History. Very wise, kind of hard to approach.

Agares Picero- Diabotany teacher and part-time practicals teacher. He's also in charge of terraforming for events such as the Harvest Festival.

#m!ik #welcome to demon school iruma kun #mairuma #hidden draws #Kalego the misfit au

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supremechancellorrex · 1 month

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I've been hearing a lot of people say that Ozai in the Avatar: the Last Airbender cartoon isn't supposed to be "developed" because he's a "symbol". My problem with this is that a character can both be well-developed and a symbol at the same time, so why choose otherwise? "It makes sense because he's supposed to represent" doesn't justify leaving the writing a little loose.

In the cartoon, Ozai is hardly a character to sink your teeth into. You can surmise and speculate things about him, but ultimately every discussion was more about Zuko or another character overcoming him and how satisfying that was than any character depth of Ozai himself. On the Day of Black Sun, Zuko and Ozai's confrontation is less an argument and ideological battle with layers between two human beings and more an extremely developed character yelling at an evil cardboard cutout.

The Problem With Ozai

Zuko: "It was cruel and it was wrong."

Ozai: "Lol."

Zuko: "We need to replace this era with an era of peace and kindness."

Ozai: "Lame." (*scowls in annoyance, tries to leave*)

Zuko: "Stay or I'll cut you." (*waves swords*)

Ozai: "Fine. Whatever. Go on" (*proceeds to sit back down and wonder if he's having spiced fire rice cakes for dinner*)

The way the cartoon presents it, Ozai just was a bit too a moustache-twirling villain and that's even considering his actions. It's not even him being morally bankrupt or sadistic, but that his entire character only exists on the surface level. Him being "superficial" and "ruthless" isn't even a character trait because he has no real character beyond "I'm arrogant, selfish and evil". Even some of the worst dictators in human history from Hitler and Stalin to Mussolini and Mao have more complex 'psychological depth' than Ozai, despite committing the most evil and awful acts against other human beings.

I got they want to reflect the toxicity of the Fire Nation with him as a symbol, "fear" and "ruthlessness", but these are symptoms and the result of an ideology, and Ozai and this ideology need a bit more than "The Fire Nation's ideology is that they're superior, share the greatness and just kill people". We never see Ozai really talk about this ideology, how he is *civilising* the other nations (well, besides, setting them on fire). Why does he think Fire is superior? Why does the Fire Nation? We can speculate it's the unity of the Fire Nation and its industrialisation, that maybe the Fire Nation thinks they have better tea ceremonies and cleaner cities, but none of the Fire Nation characters really talk about this. Sharing their 'greatness', how?

And, of course, we know and the show know their 'greatness' is a lie and farce really, but for their citizens to buy into this farce realistically for 100 years, sending sons and even daughters to die for it, presumably working in factories endless hours to keep up war production like that giant drill, one would think the smokescreen would be a little more convincing than a couple lines. Yes, in the Headband, they show the kids are taught a warped version history with the Air Nomad army, but what is the unifying ideology of the Fire Nation exactly? And how does this reflect Ozai? Beyond ruthlessness and being a smarmy jerk?

And this brings me to a scene I have quite a problem with. The War Meeting flashback in Sozin's Comet Part 1, essentially Ozai just goes from 'How do we quell rebellion?' to 'We will destroy their hope by killing them all with fire'. Hehe, well, I mean, why even talk about "destroying hope" when they'll be too dead to despair? Of course, Sokka says after hearing that literally "I always knew the Fire Lord was a bad guy, but his plan is just pure evil". Then they throw in an Ozai baby picture to pretend they have some nuance, and then blah, blah, Energybending turtle appears out of near nowhere.

A Better Ozai

(I want it noted how hard it was to get a decent gif of cartoon Ozai, especially in his Pheonix King regalia. That is how little people care about or are interested in him. There is more Daniel Dae Kim gifs from the live-action than the cartoon version)

The funny thing is Ozai burning the Earth Kingdom could have worked if they actually gave him character arc in the cartoon. Have Ozai start out believing he can civilise the Earth Kingdom, who he views as inferior and needing to be kept in check. We see in the show Earthbending is banned in Fire Nation colonies and annexed territory, but they should also show him introducing policies to ban certain styles of Earth Kingdom dress, specifically their green national colour dress, and customs, forcibly *civilising* these territory with authoritarian laws. Earth Kingdom children have to go to Fire Nation school to be indoctrinated in how their cultures and homes are inferior, and told to report on their parents.

However, as time goes on, Ozai becomes increasingly disenfranchised with the war, as colonised Earth Kingdom citizens continue to resist, Earthbend and continue banned cultural practices in secret. He feels rising disgust at these people's Earthbender stubbornness and 'backwards' practices, resisting engaging in and conforming to Fire Nation's 'superior' cultural practices, science, and education. How dirty they are, so unFire-Nation, he thinks more and more. He begins to unravel in his hate and think to himself things like how "You just can't take the root edge out of people, so I should burn the root to the ground. Make the world clean, pure and Fire Nation".

If they showed Ozai in the cartoon shifting from the standard position of his father Azulon to an even more extreme and horrifying position over time, reacting in all the worst ways to whatever the world throws at him increasingly and increasingly, his turn as the Pheonix King could have been far more chilling. Azula isn't the only one who has to go "crazy" due to the Fire Nation's twisted teachings. It would have further emphasised the cycle of toxicity in the Fire Nation that Sozin set in motion.

Imperialism and fascism is often driven by a number of things in conjunction, commonly economics, but also vain pride, fear and discomfort; pride of your own nation at the expense of others, as well as fear and discomfort of others, how 'different' they are, their 'weird illogical customs' diluting the 'pure culture of yours' that you understand, their 'strange appearances' changing the face of the culture you know, that you like and think is the greatest and should be eternal. They could be spies, enemy agents of chaos and degeneration. They need to be 'civilised' or 'exterminated' to silence conflict and bring order, this 'dark horde' of backwards people who just can't ever be allowed to be 'in charge'. I think a weakness here is that Ozai is never shown to show any discomfort, he's just so confident and evil about everything, but if he were to reflect the dark face of the Fire Nation, a people they say aren't wholly evil demons, he does a bad job showing the twisted human face of evil and it makes him irrelevant in a way as a character with the themes other than "Defeat evil guy".

Lessons Taught Improperly

Now some would try to defend Ozai in that Avatar: The Last Airbender is a kid's cartoon, but I would say that makes it more important when discussing real-life issues. What is the point of lesson if it is taught improperly? Sometimes that can do more harm than good.

Avatar includes a number of mature themes, including the genocide of Aang's entire people and Gyatso's skeleton. Judging by the Tibetan influences in Air Nomad culture, a real-life people who have also been genocided, I think it is necessary and good practice for even kid's shows to make sure the lessons on real-life evils like the concepts and systems of imperialism, colonialism and nationalism are taught well. Because otherwise you get an inaccurate picture of what it is and how it actually works, and what is the point of that?

Stories want to impart lessons on things being "bad" as a message, but often I think they fall short in getting to the point of why they happen. I wonder if that makes them a little pointless in a way, because the reasons why characters/people and nations do things is both important to good writing and real life. If you aren't taught it properly, how well can you recognise it in your own country? And if you can't, then hasn't the lesson failed to be imparted?

#avatar legend of aang #avatar the last airbender #atla ozai #fire lord ozai #fire nation #imperialism #colonialism #air nomads #atla aang #atla gyatso #air nomad genocide #prince zuko #fire nation royal family

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grits-galraisedinthesouth · 2 years

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Question: When did you 1st know that Meghan Markle and Harry Markle were FRAUDS?

Answer: I was listening to my American talk radio station when I heard a report about an American actress (I didn't recognize the name) dating Prince Harry. I literally laughed outloud. I vividly remember thinking, "oh please! Harry would never seriously date an American actress, this is just another fling. Later came that train wreck engagement interview. I was stunned by their obvious lies. I recall writing a comment on a YouTube channel that was created to question their interview. I wrote, "this is a fraud," and the content creator replied, "yes it is, we just don't know why."

Today I firmly believe that radio spot was PR, purchased by Meghan, to quickly make the relationship go public & appear to be serious.

I've gone through several theories over the past 5 years, and the only theory that makes sense is they agreed to become BUSINESS partners who live in an OPEN sexually fluid marriage.

When they lived in London, someone with inside information wrote, "they don't have a traditional marriage." After relocation to the US, that same contact answered me, "bc they don't have a traditional marriage... they live in separate wings." I just couldn't grasp the meaning of a "non-traditional" BRF marriage.

Watching their robotic performance at the UN settled it for me. It was identical to their robotic hand holding at the royal theatre.

Their robotic love is simply the fruit of a fraudulent marriage. They live separate lives in a scripted marriage.

Meghan's name is on a list of Hollywood celesbians, as a "serial beard" & escort for gay men. BTW Serena's name is on this same list. The popular American couples that Harry admires & desires to emulate are also in open marriages.

Obviously I don't know these people, but Harry and Meghan have NEVER once appeared to be in love with one another, not even during the wedding ceremony. Meghan doesn't seem to like Harry let alone love him. More often than not, she appears to be annoyed and resentful of Harry.

Meghan's first loves are Meghan, fame, and money. Harry loves drugs, sex and alcohol. Meghan will do absolutely anything for money, and she grew up fantasizing about becoming a Princess, like Harry's mother Diana.

Markus and the Mulroneys drilled a hole for Meghan into the locked door to elite associates and global fame. She peeked through the hole and laid a trap for Harry.

Markus ensured that she had access to Harry at the private Soho House Istanbul Grand Opening in April of 2015. Both were in Turkey, along with many of Harry’s Eton friends and UK celebrities. Meghan documented this life changing moment on her Instagram:

"48 Hours in Istanbul may be the best 48 hours of your life."

She pre-planned to reconnect with Harry during his 2 night visit to Toronto in the May of 2016 by taking her first PR trip in March to Rwanda for photographs and a (final) vacation with Cory in April.

Harry began to grow out a beard and Jason Knauf traveled to Toronto with Harry as his minder. Was Jason aware of Harry's whereabouts for both nights?

Whatever occurred during those 2 nights seems to be the beginning of their affair.

Meghan planned to travel all summer and fall. She broke up with Chef Cory, and fled Toronto perhaps giving Cory time and space to relocate. During that time, Meghan traveled internationally with friends (Greece, London, NYC) and then used Gina, Violet, Serena & Piers to help stage a public alibi for a FAKE start date to their affair: July 4th, 2016. (In August Meghan wrote on Cory's IG). On her birthday, August 4th, Meghan notified her followers that she planned to go off the grid and travel. The rest is history.

Meghan scripted everything about their "secret affair" for public consumption: the blue bracelets, H & M necklace, spooning bananas, the come & get it photos outside of Soho Farm House, Scooby-Doo online job w/US Weekly, tips to paparazzi Jesal Parshotam, and Meghan's endless merching.

After only 3.5 months, Meghan rushed to publicize and promote a long distance relationship still in the infancy stage. What was the rush? Was it to generate interest in her marketing campaign, or simply to deepen their trauma bond by feeding Harry's "security" paranoia?

Ready or not, over the next 12 months Harry grew a full beard and officially proposed marriage to Meghan.

Today we see Harry PERFORM by wearing a gold wedding band & by holding hands & arms for the cameras, but they even fail to coordinate their attire for important photographs (George's Christening), and they stumble over one another.

The cost of Meghan's clothing is obscene, while her appearance is consistently unseemly. Many husband's look better after marriage, Harry looks far worse. His appearance is sloppy and unkempt. Real husbands and wives care about the appearance of their spouse. All marriages have problems, but these 2 try too hard to sell a relationship that looks empty and devoid of anything substantial. It looks like a requirement in their contract. Real married couples don't need an American wedding band or hand holding to convince the public of their love. They can confidently sit next to one another without PDA because they aren't starving for affection, they don't have anything to prove to the public, and they aren't trying to draw attention to themselves.

We've never seen their children, ever. Just a few strange photos and video footage of a brief, scripted meeting in S Africa where each one holds a cute baby who didn't know any of the adults. Then we saw a sweet brown haired baby boy with a full diaper seated on Meghan's lap for the reading of a complex & inappropriate story. Nothing is ever simple or straightforward with the Harkle family. Everything is smoke & mirrors, an illusion, a lie, a contract with RULES.

They are partners in the business of making money off Harry’s family connections, and providing for the welfare of 2 children who are invisible to the world. Does Harry actually believe he's being guided by his dead mother? Does he think his mother's spirit is in Meghan?

I wish Harry would "come out of the closet," and be honest about himself. There is no reason to pretend. Unfortunately he seems invested in living out this lie with Meghan. Their plan was to "change the world" by working part-time for the BRF (whenever they felt like working), but with full-time benefits. They planned to launch a royal brand and an American royal court. They forgot to consider the worse case scenario: The Queen said "no."

Today, they are also partners in offense and in revenge. Harry's living out this contractual farce with a beard on his face and on his arm.

Q-Do you think Meghan and Harry are FRAUDS? If so, when did you recognize it and what do you think is at the root of their dishonesty?

#meghan markle #prince harry #breadcrumbs #bring on bower #bringonbower #megxit #revenge #frauds #spare us #like a spare

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amaiguri · 10 months

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The North

The North is cold, harsh, and human settlements are often isolated from each other. Perpetually dim save for dawn and dusk thanks to the Upper Continent, sharp mountains, harsh winters, and richly colored plants mark the environment. Rumateurs — llama-like beasts with big noses — graze across the moors, seals lay on the ice cold beaches and turn to humans, and beasts that crawl from the Abyss eat human minds. In the East, Demons — shunned by all other races — live in their blood-soaked, feral hivemind. Across the North, it is generally accepted that you look after your own, as there is little room for generosity. Even if there was, it would do neither of you very good; one must learn to survive on one’s own.

The North has officially surrendered in the face of the Philosopher King's power. The Noble Houses are soon to be stripped off their titles and a new government is set to rise—but who will truly hold power in this new world?

Nouveau Thuille

Nouveau Thuille is an isolated city-state with a mafia-like government of oligarchs who claim to reign in the stead of their Once and Future Emperor. Their Gothic architecture fends off year-round snows and industrialization fills the air with Ysse and smoke. While corruption and murder is just the status quo, Nouveau Thuilleans will set it all aside if anyone else tries to tell them otherwise.

"Fitte Thuille, abso'uen." "For Thuille, the World."

The Saegen Folk

The Saegen Folk make up the rest of the North -- a diverse group of sailors and warlord families. Their culture is filled with song, from cooking and cleaning folk tunes to Sage-sung ballads at religion ceremonies. But even shieldsiblings drill to the rhythm of drums. Loyalty to family is matched by few other cultures in Yssaia.

Amai's Thoughts

Since Arlasaire is from Nouveau Thuille and ALSO since it's the setting of my Assassin Life Sim about Murder and Self-Care, it's a lot more developed on an individual level than some of the other cultures.

Like, I can tell you the details of their music and the history of their theatre and their frozen foods and that their coffee isn't actually coffee from coffee beans but ground from dried mushrooms...

I can tell you which families have power and what they control and produce and what their signature art forms are. I can tell you their family drama from the last ten years -- like how Giluniques was courting Lucienne, even though his father called off the marriage because HER father tried to murder everyone.

I can tell you about how Claudia d'Magnia started hallucinating and no one new how to help her and died tragically.

I can tell you about how Einharde d'Magnia picked up a bunch of disabled orphans and turned them into his personal assassins.

I can tell you what the crests and family words of every house is...

...or was, before the Aftokratoria dismantled them lol #EatTheRich but AMA

#worldbuilding #fantasy worldbuilding #fantasy world #fantasy art #fantasy writing #dark fantasy #writeblr #Yssaia #Amaiguri

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thepastisalreadywritten · 1 year

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In London during the late spring of 1953, preparations for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation were reaching their denouement.

Couturier Norman Hartnell was completing a dress to outshine any other.

Tucked away at the back of Hartnell’s lavish Mayfair townhouse, a team of embroiderers were finishing stitching a floral garland on the ivory silk bodice and crinoline.

Pastel thread, jewels, sequins, beads and 10,000 seed pearls were sewn as Commonwealth emblems and British flora around an English Tudor rose scattered with diamond dewdrops.

Six young, aristocratic maids of honour, including 19-year-old Lady Anne Coke – best-selling author Anne Glenconner – were being drilled like guardsmen by The Duke of Norfolk, responsible for organising the coronation, as they rehearsed the walk to the Abbey altar, with his wife, the Duchess, standing in for The Queen.

“If the Bishops don’t learn to walk in step,” he remonstrated, “we’ll be here all night.”

The photographer Cecil Beaton, well-versed in photographing crowned heads and aristocrats in the Vogue studios, was prepping a vantage point in Westminster Abbey, high up by the organ pipes, as the best location from which to capture the ceremony.

It would be a long day; he’d fill his top hat with sandwiches to sustain him.

Nearby, at Garrard, the Crown Jeweller and his team of master craftsmen were hunched over workbenches altering the Imperial State Crown to fit the young Queen’s head.

Garrard had made the Crown in 1937 for King George VI – a replica of the crown designed and crafted for Queen Victoria, which contained virtually all the same stones symbolic of centuries of Royal history, fitted around a purple velvet cap and ermine band.

Clusters of diamond-set crosses and fleurs-de-lis linked by swags of diamonds, supported by sapphires, emeralds and pearls in the form of oak leaves and acorns, dazzled around the massive 317.40 carat Cullinan II diamond, the Second Star of Africa, cut from the largest diamond ever discovered.

Above it sat the Black Prince’s Ruby – in fact, a spinel, worn by Henry V at Agincourt – while the 104 carat oval Stuart sapphire gleamed at the rear of the band, with the cross atop the orb set with the sapphire from Edward the Confessor’s ring.

King George VI requested Garrard create an inner “hammock” style fitting, like a guard’s officer’s bearskin, to distribute the nearly three pounds of weight evenly on his head.

Reshaping the circlet for Queen Elizabeth II involved remounting the stones and motifs of which it is composed, as well as repositioning and lowering the arches, all of which required craftsmanship of the highest skill.

The aim was to improve the strength of the crown with lightness of weight, which isn’t easy with large stones, and those which were cut nearly 300 years ago.

They were working against the clock. The new Queen required time before the ceremony to become accustomed to the crown’s feel and weight.

“There are some disadvantages to crowns, but otherwise they are very important things,” said Her Majesty, recalling its heaviness on the 65th anniversary of the coronation.

“Fortunately, my father and I have roughly the same shaped head, so once you put it on, it stays.”

The media demanded constant updates on Garrard’s work, with the coronation making broadcasting history as the first service to be televised, adding to the sense of pressure.

In addition, two gold Armill bracelets of sincerity and wisdom, symbolic of the monarch’s bond with the people needed to be finished, which were replacing the 17th-century enamel bracelets dating from the coronation of King Charles II.

In previous ceremonies, the Armills had been carried, but these were made for the Queen to wear, decorated with two rows of engraving and Tudor rose clasps with red velvet linings.

Garrard was also inundated with cleaning requests.

“No one had worn their jewellery or tiaras during the war,” explains Lady Anne.

“People were queuing to have their tiaras, which were like great fenders of diamonds, stomachers and necklaces cleaned.”

On the day, 2 June 1953, it poured with rain.

Lady Anne remembers arriving at the Abbey:

“It was pretty dark and cold. Our dresses weren’t lined, there were clothing coupons after the war you see.

A tiny thread of blue cotton had been placed on the floor in the Abbey, so the Queen knew where to stand.

When the procession began, we walked past row upon row of tiaras, as well as people in their National dress.

The Queen walked a bit faster than the Duchess had in rehearsals, so we had to adjust our steps.”

The ceremony ended at 2 o’clock in the afternoon.

Hartnell left after watching his historic dress sweep down the aisle followed by the procession of royal pages, maids of honour, peers and peeresses sparkling with diamonds, looking, he remarked:

“Like a lovely hunk of fruitcake, the damson jam of velvet bordered with clotted cream of ermine and sprinkled with the sugar of diamonds.”

Beaton rushed to Buckingham Palace to photograph the Queen theatrically against a painted backdrop, holding the orb and sceptre and wearing the Imperial State Crown.

The Crown Jeweller Garrard remained until The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh had taken lunch in the Abbey annex, in case any last-minute adjustments to the diamond-encrusted Crown were needed.

“Cecil was waiting when we all returned from the Abbey,” Lady Anne continues.

“He had everything set up for the photographs, and that’s when I really noticed the Crown and jewels glittering under the bright lights and took note of it all.

The Queen looked so young, beautiful and vulnerable, so the contrast of seeing her crowned with all the regalia was extraordinary.

She was weighted down a bit, but I remember thinking it was terribly poignant.”

A tense moment followed.

“The Duke of Edinburgh was fussing around, and Cecil got irritated, put his camera down and said, ‘Oh Sir, would you prefer to take the photographs?’” Lady Anne laughs.

“The Queen looked a bit horrified, and The Duke wandered off. You see, The Duke would have liked the photographer Baron, but it was The Queen Mother who adored Cecil.”

Later, it was still rainy and dark outside.

When the gleaming, crowned figure of The Queen appeared on the Buckingham Palace balcony, she shone with a sense of tradition and permanence.

With the Imperial State Crown, she wore the Coronation necklace and earrings, made in 1858 by Garrard and worn by Queen Alexandra and Queen Mary, including 25 brilliants suspending the Lahore diamond drop.

Time will tell if the Armills will return to being carried at the Coronation of HRH The Prince of Wales, and if he has inherited the Windsor head shape, but should substantial adjustments be required, the crown will appear once more unchanged.

The historical continuity of the regalia, and the fact the crown is still in constant use, makes these jewels created in the Garrard workshop the most potent in the world.

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mariacallous · 2 years

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According to Russia’s propaganda outlets, one of the goals of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine is to fight back against the "sexual permissiveness" and “moral decay of the West." Since the war began, Russian politicians and pro-government news net have flooded the airwaves with stories about the “depravity” of the Ukrainian army, repeatedly equated homosexuality with pedophilia, and presented Russian troops as heroes fighting for “traditional values.” But however absurd this rhetoric may be, it’s not new or unique: throughout history, these same ideas have repeatedly arisen in a variety of dictatorships, from Hitler’s Germany and Stalin's Russia to Gambia and Uganda in the 21st century. Meduza explains why authoritarians on both the right and the left can be counted on to persecute LGBT+ people.

Do we really want kids in Russia to have Parent No. 1 and Parent No. 2? Have we lost our minds? Do we really want our kids to have it drilled into their heads that there are more genders than sexes? Do we really want our schools to hammer perversions into their heads that lead to degradation and extinction?

So went one of Vladimir Putin’s numerous digressions during his speech at the signing ceremony for the treaties on Russia annexing four partially-occupied Ukrainian territories last month.

In recent years, the Russian president’s rhetoric surrounding LGBT people has gotten crueler and more intense. In 2014, for example, after signing the law banning “gay propaganda” among minors in Russia, Putin pointed out that “non-traditional relationships” themselves were still legal in Russia, denying accusations from human rights groups that the new law was discriminatory. On the other hand, in the same speech, he went on to name “homosexualism” and “pedophilia” as part of the same list, implying a similarity or connection between them. Even earlier, in 2013, he said that “in Euro-Atlantic countries, moral principles and traditional identity are being denied. [Those countries] are implementing policies that put multi-children families on the same level as same-sex partnership, and faith in God on the same level as faith in Satan.”

In addition to maligning LGBT+ people, Putin has told bogus stories about how, in Western countries, “there’s serious talk of registering parties that aim to promote pedophilia.” The party he was likely referring to was created in the Netherlands in 2006 and only had three members. It disbanded in 2010 after widespread public outrage.

Nonetheless, while Putin used to at least pretend that LGBT+ people have the same rights in Russia as everybody else (apart from the “propaganda” law), he now speaks about them as a force to be fought against. Moreover, in his annexation speech, Putin effectively said that one of the goals of Russia’s Ukraine invasion is to prevent the normalization in Russia of all sexualities not sanctioned by the state.

Meanwhile, for Putin and his propagandists, the idea that there are more than two genders has gone from a “perversion” to an “existential threat to the country and its people.” In Russian state discourse, homosexuality has rapidly became as inherent a characteristic of Russia’s enemies as their “commitment to Nazi or fascist ideas." On October 1, for example, pro-Kremlin film actor and Russian State Duma deputy Dmitry Pevtsov claimed Russian troops are fighting for “families to consist of a mom, a dad, and children — not some guy, some other guy, and some other who-knows-what.” And on a Russian talk show in May, he said that “militant faggots have become the main defenders of Ukrainian values.”

The Russian authorities’ rhetoric surrounding gender and sexuality bears a remarkable resemblance to that of numerous other totalitarian, authoritarian, and dictatorial regimes. To gain insight into why this form of intolerance consistently plays an integral role in how dictators maintain power, Meduza turned to history.

The Nazis simultaneously despised and feared LGBT people

The idea of a government-recognized union between one man and one woman as the only permissible kind of romantic relationship is one of the fundamental principles of most fascist regimes. What's more, both members of the relationship must understand their gender in a way that “matches” their sex characteristics; most fascist governments have considered cross-dressing and being transgender just as “deviant” as sex between two men, for example. It’s no accident that in Vichy France, the state motto was changed from Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité (Freedom, Equality, Brotherhood) to Travail, Famille, Patrie (Work, Family, Homeland).

In the Third Reich, LGBT+ people faced mass persecution and were declared a threat to the welfare of the state and of the people. In the minds of Nazi propagandists, gay people were the antithesis of everything Aryan patriots were supposed to embody: asceticism, masculinity, and a willingness to forego pleasure and entertainment to devote oneself to the homeland and the Führer.

Sexual “perversion” in Hitler’s Germany was seen as a remnant of the decadence and hedonism of the Weimar Republic. The Nazis sought to cut all ties with their predecessor state and tightened legislation criminalizing sexual relations between men. Beginning in 1933, when the National Socialist Party came to power and Hitler’s dictatorship was established, prosecution for homosexuality no longer required even physical evidence — it was enough to bring a witness statement from a “law-abiding citizen” who claimed to have seen a suspect look too intensely at another man.

Like in many dictatorships, the image of LGBT+ people that the Nazis pushed was based on two contradictory premises. The first was that LGBT+ people were weak, pathetic, sick people who didn’t deserve to be a part of society. The second was that homosexuality was passed down like a deadly virus and could destroy German society from within if the proper measures weren’t taken to defeat it.

Thus, on one hand, LGBT people were cast as subhumans who deserved contempt, while on the other hand, they were accused of being some of the most dangerous and insidious enemies of the state. The propaganda failed to explain how a group so weak could simultaneously be so powerful.

“In nazi propaganda, homosexuals were generally portrayed as soft, cowardly, cringing, and untrustworthy creatures,” Dutch historian Harry Oosterhuis has written. “[But] in Hitler's and Himmler's view they nonetheless appeared to possess an imperious character and to have at their disposal special intuitions and aptitudes which were withheld from 'normal' men. They were capable of strongly organizing in secret and thereupon making a grab for power.”

In the 12 years the Third Reich existed, according to historians’ estimates, about 100,000 men were arrested for allegedly engaging in “unnatural sexual acts.” Out of the 53,400 men convicted, between 5,000 and 15,000 were sent to concentration camps. The rest were given prison sentences or forced to undergo “treatment.” Persecution against LGBT+ people also got worse as time went on: from January 1933 to June 1935, about 4,000 men were charged for “unnatural sexual acts,” while from June 1935 to June 1938, the number rose to at least 40,000.

Communist regimes were no friendlier

In 1934, an openly gay Scottish journalist and communist named Harry Whyte wrote an open letter to Joseph Stalin. He wanted to explain to the Soviet leader why, in his view, “a homosexual [can be] considered someone worthy of membership in the Communist Party.” At the time, Whyte had been living in the USSR for several years, working as a writer for the English-language Soviet propaganda outlet the Moscow Daily News. Quoting letters written by Marx and Engels, as well as Stalin's own speeches, Whyte criticized the way gay men were treated under capitalism and fascism. He said that even when he had visited Soviet psychiatrists and asked them to “cure” him, they had admitted this might be impossible. He went on to liken the fight for gay rights to the struggle for women's rights.

Whyte expected Stalin to be receptive to his arguments — and to take a kinder view of gay men than that of the British authorities. Instead, the dictator’s response was brief and hostile: “An idiot and a degenerate.”

Shortly after, Harry Whyte left the Soviet Union and was kicked out of the Communist party — but not before Maxim Gorky published a response to his letter in the Soviet newspaper Pravda. “In a country where the proletariat manages courageously and successfully,” Gorky wrote, “homosexuality, which corrupts young people, is recognized as socially criminal and is punished.”

Despite universal equality officially serving as one of the principal ideals of communist and socialist regimes, LGBT people in the Soviet Union found themselves in similar circumstances to those of queer people in fascist dictatorships. The decade that followed the relatively free 1920s was marked by the passage of legislation even more reactionary and repressive than that of the Russian Empire. Like the Nazis, Soviet leaders viewed LGBT+ people with both contempt and fear. In official discourse, gay people were depicted as untrustworthy figures predisposed to deception and betrayal.

The year before Whyte’s letter, the USSR’s Central Executive Committee criminalized “sodomy," making voluntary sex between two men punishable by up to five years in prison.

However, unlike in fascist regimes, where persecution against gay and trans people took place primarily among the general population, "sodomy" allegations in the Soviet Union were frequently used as a pretext for political purges. Facing a “sodomy” charge under Stalin's government was tantamount to being accused of treason.

Over the next 60 years, about 60,000 people were convicted of “sodomy.” Having these charges on one’s record often made it impossible to find work or enroll in university.

Fidel Castro’s Cuba was another communist state in which LGBT+ people faced brutal repressions. For decades after Castro's rise to power in 1959, LGBT+ people were sent to labor camps and forced to publicly renounce their “criminal predilections.” Police arrested men whose behavior they deemed “feminine” or who dressed “like a hippy.” To extract confessions from gay men, investigators would wrap them in barbed wire or bury them up to their neck and deprive them of food and water.

Castro normalized and encouraged homophobia among the public as well. Like current Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, the Cuban dictator held that “there are no homosexuals in this country.”

The masculinity cult

Nina Khrushcheva, a professor of international affairs at The New School and the granddaughter of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, has attributed authoritarian leaders’ consistent persecution of LGBT+ people to their constant need to emphasize their own strength. The image of a man as the embodiment of masculinity, she writes, is connected in these leaders’ minds with the “natural order of things,” the violation of which poses an immediate threat to their continued power. For dictators and their devotees, queer people provoke not just disgust and confusion but also fear, because they represent an “alternative” order.

Under totalitarianism, homophobic discourse is usually predicated on the idea that if same-sex relationships or non-binary gender identities are normalized, there will be no place for “normal” people in the “new” world. Despite the fact that it’s LGBT+ people who have consistently faced persecution under fascist and communist regimes, dictators promote the idea that queer people are the ones who pose a danger to others. As Khrushcheva wrote in a 2021 column:

These leaders' reliance on “hegemonic masculinity” – the idea that men should be strong, tough, and dominant – to bolster their position should not be surprising. Authoritarian states are fundamentally weak, and dictators are fundamentally insecure. So, they constantly attempt to project strength.

But in today's fast-changing world, ordinary people are feeling insecure, too – especially those who think their traditionally “dominant” positions are being eroded. That makes them eager to embrace strongmen who promise a return to the order and predictability of a more socially rigid past. In other words, people are afraid of change, and think they need macho leaders and patriarchal rules to protect them.

The first order of business for authoritarian leaders seeking to scapegoat queer people is to convince the population that minority sexualities are dangerous. To that end, they usually claim that there’s a correlation between the sexuality or gender identity they disapprove of and some imagined negative trait. For example, authorities might claim that LGBT+ people are incapable of engaging in patriotism or living in society without imposing their “deviant” predilections on “normal” people.

To stir up homophobic sentiment among the public, propagandists try to convince the heterosexual and cisgender majority that LGBT+ people’s worldviews and psyches make them something akin to invaders from another planet. This is because it’s much easier for people to hate “aliens” than to hate people who have everything in common with the majority except their sexuality.

Leaders in authoritarian and totalitarian regimes frequently claim that LGBT+ people are a threat to demography, depicting homosexuality or nonbinary gender identities as a virus that can be passed from person to person. State propaganda traditionally seeks to scare people by asserting that the “spread” of homosexuality will lead to a decline in birthrates — and ultimately to extinction. But this is a fantasy: nothing remotely close to this has been observed in any democratic country where same-sex relationships are legal and socially acceptable.

One of the world’s most well-known homophobic leaders was Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s prime minister from 1987 to 2017. When trying to justify his repressive policies against LGBT+ people, Mugabe often presented the same arguments Vladimir Putin has begun using in recent years: that gay people are “harmful” and “unnatural,” and that their supporters are either “idiots” or “Satanists.”

In the years since Mugabe’s rule came to an end, Zimbabwe has seen the opening of its first health clinics for gay and bisexual men — a step lauded by the local LGBT+ community as a “historic victory.” In other African dictatorships such as Uganda, however, state-sanctioned homophobia continues to thrive.

After inculcating homophobia among the public, dictators themselves usually shape their own public image around stereotypes of masculinity, contrasting themselves with people who don’t fit into their “traditional” conceptions of manhood. And because citizens’ primary responsibility in authoritarian regimes is to buttress the state, LGBT+ people are stigmatized and demonized for not fitting into the model of the “classic” family and for showing their individuality — something authoritarian governments strive to suppress.

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anomalyhqs · 5 months

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are you ready to ruuumble ?! that’s right, folks ; it’s time for the long awaited WINTER RALLY ! ( ah, i’m so excited, i can barely contain myself ! ) time to shelve those winter blues for another day, ‘cause your team’s countin’ on you to dish out your best cheer ! who’re you bettin’ on ? er… hypothetically, of course ! if me and my trusty scarf have anythin’ to say about this, it’s samjoko who’s gonna take the lead — i hope ! gotta admit that things seem to be burnin’ up in gangcheori and haetae, though — between them, it’s enough to melt this frigid cold ! or maybe we’re all just wastin’ our breath talkin’, ‘cause if the historians are right about history repeatin’ itself, then maybe pulgasari’s gonna sneak their way to the top… again ! ( hey — anyone got any intel of them cheatin’ yet ? ) ahem… anyway ! time to put on your house gear and get out there on the streets, folks — let’s see your house pride ! ready, set — rumble !

that’s all, folks ! see you on the next episode of ANOMALEAKS !

EVENT SCHEDULE

WEEK 1, PRE-RALLY

OPENING CEREMONY

come one, come all, to the opening ceremony held on monday of the pre-rally week! the ceremony’s the only thing that’s university-run — other than the rallies themselves — so you know it’s gonna be grand! students will be gathered in the arena where the games are hosted, and the ceremony will kick off with a medium-length speech by sua’s verbose vice-chancellor! don’t worry about snoozing, because the speech will be followed by a live orchestra delivered by the talented students of sua’s music department — y’know, to wake you up! for the grand finale, the house players will finally be introduced and each captain will deliver a rallying speech to their loyal supporters in the crowd. the ceremony will then come to a close — not to worry though, you’ll see them again next week, same spot!

BEST DRESSED

throughout the week, students can decorate their room windows with their house colours — green for gangcheori, blue for haetae, red for samjoko, and yellow for pulgasari! no decorations are off limits — the only crime is to not capture the attention of passersby and, importantly, the anonymous student judges from t4d! the best dressed window for each house will be crowned on friday of the pre-rally week and the four lucky students will win free meals from sua’s cafeteria for a whole month!

STUDENT-RUN INITIATIVES

lost your fan gear? not to worry! there’ll be house merch sold by student-run vendors set up in the university’s hub! anything’s up for sale — from beanies, scarves, briefs, cups, keychains — you name it, they’ve probably got it! short on cash? there are other ways to show off your house pride, like participating in organised morning drills paired with booming cadence calls! their paths are typically a couple of big circles around each residential hall, supposedly to make sure the competition’s not slacking! if waking up early’s not your thing, you could also go for the organised flash mobs happening all over campus! rumour has it that they often start up when they see opposing house players, but we can’t be sure! don’t worry if nothing suits — participation is optional, after all! oh, except for those childish pranks going around! toilet clogged with yellow-painted sanitary products? real mature, pulgasari! shampoo replaced with blue glitter? darn it, haetae!

BETTING RING

wanna test your luck? head on down to sua’s extravagant library! in the rows of books between the economics and history sections, you might find some familiar evo faces carrying around that one doctoral thesis from evo’s founder and first president! here’s a hint: recite the words ‘i don’t know but i’ve been told, my team’s gonna win the gold’ military style and they’ll let you wager in their super secret betting ring! just make sure you don’t let that prissy librarian catch wind of it, or evo will make you pay!

LIVE COVERAGE

didn’t make it back in time for the rallies and worried you’re gonna miss out on all the fun? don’t worry — the curious currents have got you covered! featuring exclusive behind-the-scenes interviews with the house players, gnarly on-the-ground footage of scuffles between rival fans, and probably out-of-budget highlight reels of the games themselves — the curious currents have vowed to deliver their best, most extensive coverage of the rallies yet, from pre-rally week all the way to the grand finale!

WEEK 2, RALLY BEGINS

each round begins at 2.00pm on the day listed. students will flock the audience and the house players will take centre stage. the prompt for the round will be broadcasted on the big screens, and the teams will enter a ten-minute discussion period before each captain submits their house representative(s) to participate in the game. each round, we say goodbye to one team! the team that survives the third round will be crowned winner of the 2024 winter rally!

MONDAY

ROUND ONE. details to be revealed at a later date. HOUSE REPRESENTATIVES. to be determined by each house. KNOCKED OUT. to be determined.

WEDNESDAY

ROUND TWO. details to be revealed at a later date. HOUSE REPRESENTATIVES. to be determined by each house. KNOCKED OUT. to be determined.

FRIDAY

ROUND THREE. details to be revealed at a later date. HOUSE REPRESENTATIVES. to be determined by each house. WINNER OF THE 2024 WINTER RALLY. to be determined.

OUT OF CHARACTER INFO

welcome to the 2024 winter rally! we’re starting off with pre-rally activities which will be available for all characters of the directory to participate in! please feel free to interact with any part of this event, but participation is completely optional as always. for your ease, we’ve also italicised sections of the text that your muses can take part in ( or be victim to! ). given that this is a large event, we suggest dropping a short headcanon / plot call for the part(s) of the event that your muse will be participating in! you are free to start threads about this event from now ( 7 january ) to the end of the rally! if you are planning on writing for this event, please tag it with #nm:24winterrally! thank you for your continued interest in anomalyhqs — we hope this event is to your liking! without further ado, happy plotting!

#nm:event #nm:24winterrally

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e350tb · 1 year

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18 June 2023

Boney Was A Warrior

Aspley House 18 June 2023

It is now 208 years since the Battle of Waterloo. It was here, on perhaps the most famous battlefield in history, that the forces of the Duke of Wellington’s Anglo-Allied Army and Field Marshal Gebhard von Blucher’s Prussian Army decisively defeated Napoleon, ending over two decades of near constant European War and establishing a political order that would persist mostly unbroken for thirty years. In 2015, there was great pomp and ceremony at the site to mark its bicentennial. I was there. (At the bicentennial, not the battle.) So was the then Prince of Wales, and for reasons I’ve never completely worked out, Nigel Farage.

I couldn’t make the trip to Mont St Jean (for the battle was fought a few miles away from Waterloo itself), but I was going into London today, and it seemed appropriate to drop in to Aspley House, the Duke’s London residence, to mark the occasion.

Aspley House - ‘No. 1, London’ - is as handsome a Georgian townhouse as ever there was, and with the exception of containing perhaps more paintings than it did in his time, is kept pretty much as Wellington knew it. It is absolutely worth a visit. Yet I must make one major criticism of how Aspley House is run, and that is that it has a blanket ban on interior photography. I simply cannot agree with this. No flash photography is completely understandable, but I can’t help but feel that prohibiting photography altogether is a step too far, and out of touch with the modern world of phone cameras and go-pros. I do understand the reason - copyright - I just think it’s a poor reason.

Of course, you can take photos of the exterior to your heart’s content, and as an English Heritage property, there’s often little events going on to attract interest. Today, being Waterloo Day, the front of the house was occupied by redcoats - the men of the 68th Foot, the Durham Light Infantry. Of all the regiments of the British Army (or at least those I don’t have a family connection to), I’ve always had a particularly soft spot for the DLI. The 6th, 7th and 9th Battalions, during WWII, were formed into one brigade for most of the war in Europe, and Montgomery regarded them quite highly. (The 6th and 7th were rotated home at the end of 1944 for a well-earned rest, but the 9th DLI was folded into the famed 7th Armoured Division and fought for the last few months of the war.) On top of this, they had green facings, and my favourite colour is green, so that works well.

The reenactors drilled before visitors at 1pm, giving their audience a good idea of how British soldiers drilled, what they wore and how they fought in the Napoleonic Wars - specifically in the Peninsular and Waterloo campaigns and the War of 1812 against America. It was a very good show, and I quite enjoyed it. Kudos to the 68th!

(In case one is wondering what other British regiments I have a ‘soft spot’ for, they would be those my family were part of - the descendents of the 60th and 95th Rifles, plus the Royal Engineers and the Royal Artillery - the 2nd (Coldstream) Foot Guards, the Royal Marines, the Middlesex, the Black Watch, the Ox and Bucks and the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. I’ll stop myself there because I kept thinking of others.)

After Aspley House, we headed back down the Victoria and Northern Lines to Edgware, which will be my home base for tonight. Tomorrow will be a long day - the longest day, I’d say, except that refers to the wrong war - ambling around Central London looking at war memorials, the great monuments of the Imperial Metropolis, and a little provincial church they call Westminster…

#napoleonic wars #aspley house #duke of wellington #british army #68th foot #durham light infantry #redcoats #historical reenactment #battle of waterloo

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the-shining-river · 1 year

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Frank’s Complicated Education, Part II

Continuing from Part I and this little bit about Frank’s military specialisations, because I’m curious what exactly a scout sniper studies.

I’ll be skipping any physical requirements, and also I still haven’t found anything about Frank’s possible college education except that it can’t be medical (medical degree not accepted at USMC OCS).

But a bachelor’s degree is a hard requirement for getting to be a commissioned officer, so we know that Frank must have gone through some kind of college at some point in his life before his wedding, considering how he’s wearing a 2ndLt uniform in the flashback. I understand that technical, engineering, etc. majors would have given him a better chance of getting accepted into the Officer Candidates School (OCS), but other options are also possible, so everyone gets to have fun writing fics giving Frank the wildest majors :)

So, since writing Part I of this whole damn essay, I’ve found out that Platoon Leaders Course (PLC), NROTC, Officer Candidates Course (OCC), etc. can all be lumped together under “Officer Commissioning Programs”, and they all fulfill the same function of evaluating Marine officer wannabes. What differs slightly is the duration, timing (during or after college), and entry requirements (enlisted vs civilian, college student vs already a holder of a degree, etc.), while the physical fitness and good character etc. requirements are more or less the same.

As mentioned in Part I, it is possible that Frank enlisted at 18 years old, went through the regular boot camp, made his way up the enlisted ranks and only then went to college to gain commission. But, in order to become a 2nd Lieutenant quicker, let’s assume he followed the following path:

Platoon Leaders Course (PLC), 2 x 6w training during college summers (apparently, the most popular option in real life);

The Basic School + Infantry Officers Course;

Primary Military Occupation (PMO) school = Infantry Officer;

Additional PMOS = Reconnaissance Marine

First deployment, active service with the Force Recon

Scout Sniper Course

1. PLC, NROTC, or any other Officer Commissioning Program

All the Officer Commissioning Programs have the same goal of evaluating officer candidates, and the training, regardless of the program, takes place in the Officer Candidates School (OCS) in Quantico over 2 x 6 weeks (PLC) or 10 weeks (NROTC “Bulldog” or OCC, or MECEP, or OCS in itself). [X & X]

The training of officer candidates is basic in nature and is divided into seven general categories:

1. Leadership 2. Professional development 3. General military subjects 4. Physical training and conditioning 5. Drill, inspection, and ceremonies 6. Weapons 7. Small unit tactics [X].

A clear, nice list of PLC Senior subjects is available here, and it includes Safe Weapons Handling, Field Skills, and Law of War (which is kinda sexy until you realise just how fucked up Kandahar was and how Frank must have known that and still remained on board, because that’s how much he trusted his CO).

Unfortunately, no such list of subjects is provided for the PLC Junior course, but I assume the general categories would be the same and include more introductory studies of the same subjects.

According to additional sources, classwork at OCS includes also: History, Code of Conduct, Weapons Performance, Close Order Drill, Finance, Basics on Land Navigation, Small Unit Leadership Exercises, Squad in the Offensive, Call for Fire, Operation Order Format, etc. [X & X] There’s also the Combat Conditioning training that, I think, Frank mentions at some point, how they were conditioned to shoot at an enemy without thinking, and how it never took him any effort at all (unless I’m confusing this with some fanfic).

Taking into consideration that USMC boot camp or previous military experience is not required for OCS, this stage of training would also include all the practical and theoretical knowledge provided at a boot camp, with more emphasis on leadership.

2. The Basic School + Infantry Officer School

The Basic School consists of the Basic Officer Course + Infantry Officer Course in case the selected primary military occupation specialisation (PMOS) is an Infrantry specialisation.

The course is split into three graded categories: Leadership, Academics, and Military Skills. Classroom events include topic specific lectures, exams, tactical decision games, sand table exercises, decision-forcing cases, and small group discussions. [X] The subjects taught are:

Phase I (7 Weeks): Individual Skills

Leadership

Rifle and Pistol Qualification

Land Navigation

Communications

Combat Lifesaving

Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP)

Phase II (6 Weeks): Rifle Squad Leader Skills

Decision-making

Combined Arms

Rifle Squad Tactics/Weapons

Scouting and Patrolling

Phase III (6 Weeks): Rifle Platoon Commander Skills

Rifle Platoon Tactics

Convoy Operations

Engineering

Crew-served weapons

Phase IV (7 Weeks): Basic MAGTF* Officer Skills

Military Operations on Urbanized Terrain, or MOUT

Rifle Platoon (REIN) Tactics

Force Protection

Expeditionary Operations (AMFEX/"War")

Legal/Platoon Cmdr's Admin

*MAGTF - Marine Air-Ground Task Force

Let’s assume that Frank went for Infantry specialisation, because that’s the occupational field containing the pre-requisite PMOS for the Sniper Scout specialisation later.

So he continued his training at the Infantry Officer Course (IOC), the aim of which is to “prepare and train the student’s ability to decide, communicate, and execute in a mentally and physically demanding, austere, chaotic, and uncertain environment, for sustained operations,” but I couldn’t find any specific curriculum for IOC.

Upon completion of IOC, all officers receive the MOS 0302 Infantry Officer [X], and this is also when Frank could have been sent on his first deployment.

(Note that an officer with the generic 0302 Infantry Officer PMOS can command a Scout Sniper Platoon, where they “command, train, and employ 15-30 specialized infantry Marines” [X], but I’m not sure this 0302 specialisation would work for Frank to become a Scout Sniper himself.) (And, no, I can’t say I understand 100% how this whole damn system works)

3. Basic Reconnaissance Course

In order to become a Scout Sniper later, Frank would need also one of these other Infantry PMOS:

0311 Rifleman,

0321 Reconnaissance Marine,

0331 Machine Gunner,

0341 Mortarman,

0352 Antitank Missile Gunner, or

0369 Infantry Unit Leader.

With the Infantry Officer PMOS from IOC, he kinda has that Infantry Unit Leader covered. I don’t think the show ever mentions that he had anything to do with artillery, and, considering he already had his Rifle Expert and Pistol Expert qualifications from the TBS (see the marksmanship badges on his wedding uniform), I’m not sure what else he would have been learning as a Rifleman. So that leaves Recon Marine, which also explains how he ended up in Force Recon with Schoonover, Rawlins, and the entire Kandahar mess. Clearing that landing zone for evac—the mission that Schoonover refers to at court in DD S2—also sounds like something a Recon Marine would be doing.

So, a Reconnaisance Marine is part of Force Recon / Special Forces with advanced skills and training in the following [X] :

amphibious reconnaissance and ground reconnaissance & surveillance

combat swimming;

small boat operations;

highly-refined scouting and long range patrolling;

close combat skills;

demolitions;

forward observer procedures for supporting arms;

ITG operations for heliborne, airborne, and waterborne forces;

long-range communications;

imagery collections;

threat weapons and equipment identification.

All Reconnaissance Marines receive advanced training in Survival Escape Resistance Evasion (SERE), Low Level Static Line (LLSL) parachuting, Military Freefall Parachuting and Combatant Diving.

They are also trained as a Subject Matter Experts in advanced communications, special weapons, joint terminal attack control, helicopter rope insertion/extraction techniques, assault climbing, intelligence collection, mountain warfare, method of entry, sniper operations, advanced combat life support, close quarter tactics, jumpmaster’s and dive supervisor’s depending on their billet in the reconnaissance platoon. [X]

Critically, they’re able to also perform basic and advanced trauma casualty management and paramedic level skills, basic emergent surgical procedures, treatment of basic traumatic dental emergencies, and other routine and emergency medical healthcare procedures [X].

I bolded the skills Frank mentions in the shows (e.g. trying to remember his explosives training when disarming the bomb connected to Curtis, or when extracting info on Billy’s location from that other vet in TP S02).

Also, this list sounds pretty close to what Navy SEAL training includes [X], even the swimming and diving stuff, parachuting and the same SERE course. The newspaper article prop mentions that he was “permitted to go through US Army Airborne School and US Navy Underwater Demolition Team training, becoming qualified as a Navy Seal”. HOWEVER, Navy SEALs come from the Navy, not the Marine Corps, and I couldn’t find info how a Marine officer would or should end up or even theoretically qualify for a SEAL unless he downright went and got himself transferred to the Navy. But a Recon Marine sounds close enough:

[Force Recon] are similar to the Navy SEALs in that they are heavily trained in airborne and combat diving techniques in order to allow them to bypass traditional land defense systems. The water, and swimming, is a heavy component of being in Force Recon. The difference between them is that the SEALs' purpose is to kill the enemy, while Force Recon's main purpose is simply to gather intelligence. Force Recon's mission is considered a success if absolutely no shots are fired. [X]

So let’s go with that.

Here’s also a PDF with what the 12-weeks-long Recon Marine training at the Basic Reconnaissance Course involves physically.

4. Scout Sniper Course

Finally! :D

With some active duty experience and confirmation from his CO, Frank gets sent to the Marine Corps Base in Quantico for a 10w Scout Sniper Basic Course.

Phase 1: Marksmanship and Basic Fields Craft Phase

During this phase, Marines are trained in basic marksmanship on the Known Distance (KD) Range and also receive classes in basic skills such as camouflage, individual movement, weapons systems, observations, and field sketches. Observation, noticing of details and memory skills are trained.

Phase 2: Unknown Distance and Stalking

During the UKD (Unknown Distance) and Stalking portion students will become experts at engaging targets at unknown distances by way of range estimation and range cards. Stalking involves moving from a distance between 1200 and 800 yards to within 200 yards of an observation post (OP) undetected. After doing this, the student must set up a Final Firing Position and fire two shots without being found by the OP within a time period of 3–4 hours.

Phase 3: Advanced Field Skills and Mission Employment

There was no clear further info on this phase on Wikipedia, but another source lists the following subjects covered in the sniper school that weren’t mentioned above, so I assume they fit in whichever phase:

Land Navigation

Surveillance

Limited Visibility Target Engagement

Call for Fire

High-Frequency Communications

Mission Planning

Reconnaissance and Surveillance Patrolling

After the Scout Sniper Basic Course, further advance training is possible:

Urban Snipers

High Angle (Mountain) Snipers

Scout Snipers Team leader course

There are also some distance learning courses required/recommended that should be completed before the sniper school [X]:

Basic Comm Officer Fundamentals

Propagation of Radio Waves/ Antenna

Infantry Patrolling (recommended)

Scouting and Patrolling (recommended)

Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) Primer (recommended)

=================================================

So, my takeaway from all this is that I’m not sure why Frank is so proud of his Scout Sniper MOS, because it’s kinda low-level specialization that theoretically can be gained by any enlisted Marine who gets the Rifleman PMOS after the boot camp and the School of Infantry.

With the specific path I selected, to satisfy Frank’s wedding look requirement + him being so young when he married, I figure he should have been more proud of his Recon Marine skills that earned him that Navy Cross, or his 1st Lt rank. Unless maybe Scout Sniper was something he really really wanted to be from the very beginning, so it felt like such a proud achievement for him to get that specialisation?

Or he did get it as a newbie enlisted Marine, and then went to college, which would require some adjustments in the timeline? (That might explain how he met Schoonover at 18yo, and also how he met Billy who, being an orphan, probably didn’t have the funds to go straight to college after highschool). (But I like the possible (fanon?) explanation that Schoonover was a family friend when he met young Frank who’d never held a gun before; and Frank was already an officer and a Recon Marine when his path crossed with Schoonover’s in Force Recon again)

Another takeaway is that Frank should really know his electronics and telecom devices. We see how, on the one hand, he doesn’t understand much from Micro’s computer setup, but on the other hand, he confidently knows how to set up and use that police frequency scanner and all kinds of other equipment. The way he set up that bomb in the briefcase for the Kitchen Irish :) The way DIY for him means making his own smoke grenades :)

And look at this recommended reading list. Each year, a Marine is expected to read at least 3 books from the list, and, sure there’s Ender’s Game and All Quiet on the Western Front, but there’s also plenty of technical and academic literature to feed your brain.

Throughout this whole career, there are also consistent requirements for mental fortitude, emotional stability, common sense, etc. And I think we see that in all the cases where... Frank is actually pretty hard to piss off. Once chained to a table, he sits calmly. When arrested, he’s also sitting tight and not trying to escape if trying to stop him could hurt people who’re just doing their jobs. Like, there IS an unhinged element to The Punisher, and his anxiety over Karen’s safety or grief over his family’s deaths is tremendous, same as his rage over Agent Orange issuing idiotic orders, etc., but he’s also quite level-headed and self-possessed when going about getting shit done.

So, um. Yeah. There’s even a martial arts program in USMC, and we might not know what skill level Frank had exactly, but with the rigorous fitness requirements, years in deployment in harsh continental climates, stealth, marksmanship, comms, and mission planning training, not to mention the mystery college education, I think... we should have seen Matt getting his ass handed to him much more often than we did :D

#frank castle #frank castle meta #this is LONG #again #but the guy is SMART #and sexy dangerous #and so damn versatile #we should have seen much more of that #let him swim and dive and plant explosives #let him play mind games with people #more intel gathering!#clever comm setups!#:)#this is now DONE #so much free real estate #so much untapped potential #beng's shiny meta

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whitepolaris · 3 months

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Petroglyphs: History Carved in Stone

Native Americans had artistic abilities and the urge to demonstrate their skill as much as any members of modern society. In north Georgia, they often demonstrated this by carving various types of symbols and images on large boulders.

The Whale-shaped Stone

The best-known and most spectacular sculptured stone is found on the University of Georgia campus, moved there from its original location in Forsyth County. The fine-grained granite stone, nine feet long and two feet wide, is covered on three sides by numerous characters. Most of the markings are neat, concentric circles, carved deeply and with great precision. Some, eight inches in diameter, are cut to a depth of three-quarters of an inch. across a projecting spine are a series of deep "nut" holes that resembles walnuts in size and shape. These drilled holes are connected by lightly pecked lines. There are other undecipherable and ceremonial symbols found on the stone, and all appear ancient. This whale-shaped stone is no work of nature. It was obviously created by human hands to its present dimensions.

Track Rock Gap

The most famous rock carvings in the state are found at Track Rock Gap, located near Blairsville in the shadowy of Brasstown Bald, Georgia's highest peak. Here are several boulders carved with unusual petroglyphs, including a large number of animal tracks. The original number was close to 100, with twenty-six representations of human feet, including one that was seventeen inches long and reputed to be that of a giant. Others were horse, buffalo, deer, and rabbit tracks, rendered so faithfully that the Cherokee believed they were real prints left by humans and animals in clay that later solidified into stone. Several of the rocks have been stolen, and vandals have cut off the beet symbols from the remaining stones. Those that remain intact, still an impressive lot, are protected by steel cages.

An Expedition to Track Rock Gap

At six a.m., we arrived at the summit of the mountain. As we approached it, the heavens, which before for several days and nights had worn a brightened countenance, began to scowl and threaten; we advanced with a quickened pace to the foot of the rock and spread out our breakfast on the "table of stone," poured out a libation to appease the wrath of Jupiter, drank a few appropriate sentiments, and then, with chisel and hammer, commenced the resurrection of one of the tracks. Notwithstanding, I believe I possess as little superstition as anyone, yet I could not suppress a strange sensation that pervaded me. No sooner did we arrive on the consecrated ground than it began to threaten, and the first stroke of the hammer in the sacrilegious act of raising the track of a human being was responded to by a loud peal of thunder; the clouds continued to thicken condense, attended with the most awful lightning, when soon a deluge of rain was precipitated upon our offending heads. I continued, however, to labor incessantly until I succeeded in disintegrating the impression of a youth's foot, which I carefully wrapped up, and sounded a retreat, still however, looking back . . . in momentary expectation of seeing a legion of exasperated ghosts issuing forth to take their vengeance upon the infidel who would presume to disturb the relics of the dead. As soon as we passed the confines of the mountain, rain ceased, the sun broke out, and all nature resumed her cheerful aspect. -Matthew F. Stevenson, September 3, 1834

#weird georgia #type read

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luverofralts · 2 years

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Arkhelios University

Everyone in the crowd waited with bated breath to see if the grooms would appear and go through with their wedding without drama. Ulyssa had three different emergency scenarios she had planned for, just in case. Elaine already held a glass of the wedding champagne in her hand, preparing herself for the worst.

But Roman and Abe followed their son to the altar without incident. Theo presented the rings and then stood quietly beside his grandmother, and the vows that the two men had been allowed to choose were tasteful and appropriate. The cameras were catching plenty of happy, smiling faces in the crowd and Maura felt herself begin to relax for the first time in weeks. Everything was going perfectly.

Out of the corner of her eye, Maura saw two women approach the group. They were considerably late for the ceremony, but neither of them seemed to be bothered by it. One woman she swore she saw in passing in Pleasantview from time to time, while the other one she recognized right away.

There was no mistaking the demon sovereign. Maura had her image drilled into her memory over the years. The stories Ulyssa had told her about the woman would never leave her. Her own advisors had warned her away from the sovereign the instant she had asked them to help Roman control his dreams. If Pleasantview was intimidating on its own merits, the fact that the queen of all demons made it her home cemented its status.

She knew even less about the mysterious woman than she did about some of her other guests. Demons didn’t exactly invite human leaders to join them and were famously tight lipped about their customs. She was powerful enough to treat the Great demons like a toy and had the grudging loyalty of beings that would cause any human nightmares to stand beside. She was old, though she didn’t look it, and had probably lived longer than Twikkii Island had been founded. This was a woman Maura didn’t want to cross and she’d just walked unannounced into a ceremony hosted by her government. With all the information she did have, Maura made the decision to assume that Roman had invited her and to leave the matter alone entirely. She currently had enough worries without angering someone who could endanger her already shrinking family.

The instant the vows were completed, Maura rose to pronounce the two men as married by her authority. Nothing had interrupted the ceremony, and the demon sovereign had remained silently in the crowd, looking almost bored by her surroundings.

“You can now kiss your spouse,” she announced, keeping a careful eye on the sudden visitors.

Roman and Abe did just that and the gathered crowd clapped with approval. Both Maura and Elaine released the breath they’d been anxiously holding. A marriage ceremony for a couple that could only be described as problematic at times had successfully been performed. No one died. Not a single groom ran away from the altar, or mysteriously gave birth to unexplained children. Nothing was on fire. It was better than either woman could have hoped for. If anything, the ceremony had been almost boring, especially given the grooms’ history.

“I can’t believe those two idiots are finally married,” Cindra laughed, spinning around on the dance floor in Nathan’s arms. She kept telling herself that it didn’t mean anything to be held by her ex-boyfriend, or stare into his intense brown eyes. They weren’t there together or anything. Nathan was simply a better dancer than any of the other single men at hand and Cindra wanted to enjoy herself at the fanciest reception she’d probably ever be invited to. Her heart certainly hadn’t begun racing the instant he pulled her close to him; that was just her imagination.

“They deserve each other,” Nathan replied frostily. “No one else is going to take a chance with Roman after the whole Adrian train wreck, and Abe has enough exes to have gained a certain reputation. And all those kids? Who would want to step-parent that circus?”

“The same reputation that you’re gaining?” she asked. “You’re way too hard on your brother. He’s been through a lot and now he’s finally in a good place with Roman. I don’t think your mom could handle another blow up with those two, so try to be nicer to Abe. You’re already weird enough about Roman as it is.”

Nathan rolled his eyes, but didn’t elaborate on his feelings about the grooms. Cindra had already heard all of his rants about them before and during the ceremony.

“As long as you don’t start sounding like your brother,” he said finally. “Gushing about a toxic relationship and their babies is something only Valerian can put up with.”

“Your Majesty.”

Lucy bowed curtly to the unannounced visitor with excitement. It wasn’t everyday that the head of her professional organization appeared to something as simple as a wedding. She had an unsettling feeling about the sovereign’s intentions, but didn’t want to risk offending her.

“Lucy Helios, how nice to see you,” the sovereign replied. Her voice remained neutral, which Lucy chose to interpret as consent to keep talking.

“Did you enjoy the wedding?” she asked nervously. “I know it wasn’t very exciting, with everyone being in mourning. It was still a great ceremony.”

“The first ceremony for them,” the woman responded. “I hope to attend their second ceremony soon. It’s a matter of considerable interest to me. I trust they have spoken to you about the matter?”

Lucy nodded quickly.

“Yes. Yes, I explained to them how the contract will be formed, and Theo’s been practicing the necessary skills, as you commanded. We are only waiting for your decree to be given to host the ceremony.”

She hoped they were as actually as ready as she made them out to be. Theo was practicing and Abe had sounded committed to being permanently joined to his husband the last time she’d spoken to him about it. They hadn’t brought the matter up while planning for this rushed ceremony, but she assumed that everyone was still capable of pulling it off.

“Then consider my decree given,” the sovereign declared, bowing her head towards the woman beside her. “My wife and I are eager to see what your little hybrid can do. Now that this human tradition has been completed, I look forward to reminding Mr. Bellamy about the traditions of his mother’s people. Tell him that I will be awaiting him and his groom on the eve of Samhain. The magic will be strongest then should anything go awry.”

“I’ll let them know,” Lucy replied. “We’ll see you then.”

You sound like an idiot. “We’ll see you then”? Who says that to someone like her? I need a drink.

After bowing several times, Lucy excused herself from the terrifying woman and retreated to the relative safety of the ballroom.

While she couldn’t find Abe, her other brother was busy all but making out with his ex-girlfriend on the dance floor.

As queen consort, Ulyssa had to abandon her usual DJ role, especially when the royal family was officially in mourning. Fortunately for Maura, this fact finally meant that she could dance with her wife for once at an event. Lucy bristled slightly at them, despite telling herself that she was over Ulyssa. Still, an attractive blonde wearing a far more expensive tiara than Ulyssa’s caught her eye and it wasn’t long until she was in Lucy’s arms, twirling around the dance floor.

After the reception I’ll tell Abe about his new wedding date. It would be a shame to have to waste an expensive party like this with his worrying.Things are probably going to be fine.

#sims 2 #arkhelios university #arkhelios #lucy chun #Abe chun #Roman Bellamy #nathan chun #Cindra Durant #Ulyssa Durant #sim: Maura siew #sim: Benjamina Maricourt

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thetruearchmagos · 1 year

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Hey, Arch! Happy WBW! Tell me about military pomp and ceremony(if any) in your WIPs!

You bet your best valuables that I can, Gemini!

Okey doke, thinking over recent stuff I've worked on, I think I shall select the fine United Commonwealth Army tradition of the Parade in Review for this.

First Glory

The practice dates back to the old United Army of the Coalition and the Menteneian War, a conflict fought half a decade before the formation of the UC itself. In the times before a singular Commonwealth Army, much of the disparate forces of the states that would form that polity were gathered and encamped in the fields just beyond the Weslich city of Penzstadt, numbering almost ten thousand. Just before embarking on their ships for the coming campaign, a grand parade featuring the troops of every nation present was held in the freshly cleared fields, with heads of state of each country and many journalists and locals in attendance to watch the review. Troops marched through the streets of the former city state, and the ceremony would end with every unit and commander present gathering in a single massive formation for their General Officer Commanding, the Weslich Field Marshal Cochise Spengler, to ride through on his steed for the final review.

------

The practice would continue strongly into the new Commonwealth Army, and would grow ever more colourful and almost festive. The troops of the first Review donned their battlefield attire for the parade, but as colourful and complex regalia fell out of use with the rise of modern military tools their usage would continue in these grand affairs, with the more well reputed lineages of units taking great pride in the quality of their drill and smartness of their uniform.

Silver Screen

The practice would be rather more vigoously thrust into the modern 12 Worlds with the arrival of the Chainbreaker War, and the formation of the United Commonwealth Army in Upepwani. or UCAU. The greatest expeditionary force in Commonwealth history, almost fifteen thousand strong, had gathered itself on the same ground as Marshal Cochise's army had almost a century before, and despite the formation's vast size it was decided that a Parade in Review would be conducted in the usual tradition. This time, however, things would be different. In addition the Commonwealth and Weslich Imperial officials, as well as the Kaiserin herself, and the usual members of the press, a small team of cinematographers from The Observer, the Commonwealth's most reputable press agency, was admitted to the parade and allowed to create the first official, non-government film of military proceedings yet taken in the Commonwealth.* Filmed in monochrome and painstakingly coloured by hand over the next two months, the film would provide the public with their first glimpse into this most sacred of traditions.

Continues to this day, often for units at the end of a major exercise, or those about to go on a foreign deployment

Going into the Commonwealth's second century, the Parade in Review would experience yet more changes in character and conduct. In the present day, the ceremony is most commonly conducted at the closure of major military exercises, though due to the scale these typically take only a few units, usually those of the "Victor", are allowed to conduct the full ceremony in all its pomp and invariably donned in their most ornate dress uniform. Where time allows, the event retains its roots in being conducted to mark major foreign deployments of Commonwealth troops, in times of peace and war, to give the brave troops their final goodbye until they return home.

* A note on Military Film

While the technology of the motion picture camera had been available for some decades by the time this film was made, the armed forces had been slow to make use of them. The usual frosty relations between the press and military had been as much a hindrance as the still rudimentary quality of the equipment itself, and so the only (legally produced) moving pictures protraying uniformed servicemembers available for the UC public were those produced by the DG of Defence's own Directorate for Public Communications. These were notoriously poor in quality, limited in number, limited in what they covered, and barely viewed at all by the public they were directed at. This, however, was set to change. In opposition the the more conservative approach of earlier leadership, by the 70s After Signing there would be a growing impressiong amongst the government that the Free Press could be a useful tool in achieving the Commonwealth's objectives, as well as a broader increase in appreciation for government transparency in general by the public at large. Thus, it was decided by those involved with the deployment of the UCAU that it would provide an excellent oppurtunity for the Army to put the good word out of its activities to the wider Commonwealth, in line with the wishes of the more liberal and open government which then resided to the right of the Speaker's chair. Further films would be produced by both the press and government over the course of the conflict, bringing War and its sights and sounds into the public consciousness to a greater depth than ever before.

#worldbuilding #world building #my worldbuilding #worldbuilding wednesday #original worldbuilding #my writing #original writing #writeblr stuff #Gemini #may I just say how much your Ask means to me?#Seriously #You're absolutely wonderful for this

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reasoningdaily · 1 year

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Nowadays, Memorial Day honors veterans of all wars, but its roots are in America’s deadliest conflict, the Civil War. Approximately 620,000 soldiers died, about two-thirds from disease.

The work of honoring the dead began right away all over the country, and several American towns claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day. Researchers have traced the earliest annual commemoration to women who laid flowers on soldiers’ graves in the Civil War hospital town of Columbus, Miss., in April 1866. But historians like the Pulitzer Prize winner David Blight have tried to raise awareness of freed slaves who decorated soldiers’ graves a year earlier, to make sure their story gets told too.

Clubhouse at the race course where Union soldiers were held prisoner.

Civil war photographs, 1861-1865, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.

In the approximately 10 days leading up to the event, roughly two dozen African American Charlestonians reorganized the graves into rows and built a 10-foot-tall white fence around them. An archway overhead spelled out “Martyrs of the Race Course” in black letters.

youtube

About 10,000 people, mostly black residents, participated in the May 1 tribute, according to coverage back then in the Charleston Daily Courier and the New York Tribune. Starting at 9 a.m., about 3,000 black schoolchildren paraded around the race track holding roses and singing the Union song “John Brown’s Body,” and were followed by adults representing aid societies for freed black men and women. Black pastors delivered sermons and led attendees in prayer and in the singing of spirituals, and there were picnics. James Redpath, the white director of freedman’s education in the region, organized about 30 speeches by Union officers, missionaries and black ministers. Participants sang patriotic songs like “America” and “We’ll Rally around the Flag” and “The Star-Spangled Banner.” In the afternoon, three white and black Union regiments marched around the graves and staged a drill.

The New York Tribune described the tribute as “a procession of friends and mourners as South Carolina and the United States never saw before.” The gravesites looked like a “one mass of flowers” and “the breeze wafted the sweet perfumes from them” and “tears of joy” were shed.

This tribute, “gave birth to an American tradition,” Blight wrote in Race and Reunion: “The war was over, and Memorial Day had been founded by African Americans in a ritual of remembrance and consecration.”

In 1996, Blight stumbled upon a New York Herald Tribune article detailing the tribute in a Harvard University archive — but the origin story it told was not the Memorial Day history that many white people had wanted to tell, he argues.

An Alfred Waud illustration of the.Union soldiers cemetery known as "Martyrs of the Race course" in Charleston, S.C.

Morgan collection of Civil War drawings at the Library of Congress

The origin story that did stick involves an 1868 call from General John A. Logan, president of a Union Army veterans group, urging Americans to decorate the graves of the fallen with flowers on May 30 of that year. The ceremony that took place in Arlington National Cemetery that day has been considered the first official Memorial Day celebration. Memorial Day became a national holiday two decades later, in 1889, and it took a century before it was moved in 1968 to the last Monday of May, where it remains today. According to Blight, Hampton Park, named after Confederate General Wade Hampton, replaced the gravesite at the Martyrs of the Race Course, and the graves were reinterred in the 1880s at a national cemetery in Beaufort, S.C.

The fact that the freed slaves’ Memorial Day tribute is not as well remembered is emblematic of the struggle that would follow, as African Americans’ fight to be fully recognized for their contributions to American society continues to this day.

Write to Olivia B. Waxman at [email protected].

#Memorial Day #Black Holidays #Black People invented Memorial Day #Beauford S.C.#freed slaves #Youtube

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