#;event overview

[hananoami]

Ready to take a spring trip with him?

Check out the event overview to prepare for the memorable springtime with him!

[literallys-illiteracy]

Kurokumo Clan Heathcliff and Kurokumo Clan Captain Ishmael overview:

Artists: Selfishprayer (pixiv)

before I continue onto the ID I just want to gush over this artwork, came across my dash and it's just so fucking pretty

KK Heathcliff:

artist: Kyote10

Skill 1 (wrath):

2 coins slashing. By default this skill rolls fairly high, especially for a skill 1 that has coin power conditionals: Without any bleed on the enemy this skill rolls for 11 (same base max as Blade Lineage Meursault).

This skill gains up to 2 coin power rolling for 15 (higher than BL meur).

This skill also gains defence power up (on the following turn) due to his counter (Rules of the backstreets) being a major part of his kit. this 2 defence power can only be gained once per turn however.

This skill inflicts 2 bleed without outside effects, however there are several outside effects which will also be discussed later.

Skill 2 (Pride):

2 coins slashing, pride affinity. By default this skill can roll for up to 16, rolling up to 20 with the same coin power conditional as skill 1 (+1 coin power for every 6 bleed on target (max 2)).

This skill also gains defence power up next turn, however only 1 power rather than 2.

This skill can inflict 2 bleed and +2 bleed count without outside buffs, alongside Slash Fragility and attack power down (however only 2 attack power down may be applied assuming this skill is used multiple times per turn).

Skill 3 (Lust):

3 coins, +5 offence level, slashing, attack weight 1. This skill rolls for 17 on its own, with the exact same coin power conditional as his skill 1/2, allowing this skill to roll up to 23.

This skill will grant him defence level on use, alongside "Cumulus wall" on combat start. Cumulus wall was the defence page of Yang from the Library of Ruina Kurokumo Clan encounter. Cumulus is also a type of cloud, fitting with the Kurokumo (romanisation of "Black Cloud") thematic). Cumulus Wall is basically a glorified defence final power boost, which also affects the function of his counter skill, Rules of the Backstreets.

Oh also on clash win he gains "Dark Cloud Blade" which is KK clan slash power up, as well as a free 1 bleed on hit with slash skills. It comes from passive effects outside of this skill.

The first two coins have similar "on hit" effects to BL Don (also known as Fujiyoshi Don) skill 3 "Fare Thee Well", dealing 10% more damage on the final coin. This effect is also present on other skills in the game but I just wanted to type the words Fujiyoshi Don.

These first coin(s) inflict 2 bleed potency and 1 slash fragility respectively alongside this.

The final coin deals 10% more damage for every negative effect on the target of this skill. On his own, Heathcliff is able to inflict 4 types of negative effects through his skills, gandering him 40% increased damage (the max increase is 100%). Combining all the various debuffs that the Kurokumo Clan IDs have access to:

Offence Level Down (Ryoshu, Gregor, Ishmael, Heathcliff) Plus Coin Drop (Gregor) Slash Fragility (Ishmael, Heathcliff) Fragile (Ishmael) Paralysis (Ryoshu, Hong Lou) Attack Power Down (Heathcliff) Damage Down (Ryoshu) Fucking Nothing (except for bleed) (Rodion) Bleed (all)

this skill can gain up to 80% damage increase.

Clashable Counter (Lust) :

So, first effect to note, this skill is buffed greatly if KK Ishmael is deployed and present on the field. This effect converts the coin(s) into unbreakable and grants +4 final power on clash lose. This skill ALSO deals more damage per negative effect on the target, which as we mentioned, assuming only KK ID and no EGO, can grant up to 80% of its max 100%.

This counter has 1 coin that has 2 "on hit: reuse" effects. The first "reuse" effect is triggered by Dark Cloud Blade, the second is triggered by "Battle Ready" (gained through costless passive). That being said, if he has Cumulus Wall, he will always activate both reuses.

This counter can roll up to 20 (for attacking, when clashing it rolls for 9 + Defence Power Up + 1 (Cumulus Wall)), which is not the highest counter skill in the KK clan, so I guess that Rodion has exactly ONE thing going for her.

I still don't like Rodion( or her KK ID).

Passive(s):

When a KK clan Ally dies, gain slash power up. If/when 3 KK allies die, gain the "Battle ready" effect

Which also allows him to retrigger his counter a second time if he doesn't have the Cumulus Wall effect.

Dark Cloud Blade:

When there are 2 or more allied KK clan ID (self inclusive) gain 1 "Dark Cloud Blade"

When attacking enemies that are/were max HP when the attack started, or who used defence skills this round, deal +10% more damage.

When an enemy deals attack damage to an ally, use skill 1 against the attacker for free (once per turn). If the allies HP is below 25% after the attack, or if they die, instead use Rules of the Backstreets against the attacker (counting as an attack skill, meaning that the defence level up from the rest of his kit. I assume this is intentional?)

I also want to point out for a moment that the actual passive says "If the enemy killed an other ally" which is interesting. I can't be bothered to report it because it's also kinda funny.

Overall:

This ID is not bad in the slightest from what I can see, the only problem being that he very much likes to have KK clan allies (not so much as the next ID), which are notoriously not very good.

Dark Cloud Blade grants slash power up, Ryoshu is only pierce damage. The new IDs (and Ryoshu) are somewhat able to inflict reliable bleed count; Hong Lou cannot reuse his skill 2's coins if the enemies reliably have bleed. Rodion has poise? Also inflicts no kinds of debuff other than bleed.

The only true benefit I can see from this is the fact that, due to most KK ID being quite bad, it is decently easy to activate the Battle Ready passive on Heathcliff.

That being said, I think that this ID is quite alright, held down by the fact that season 1 happened.

Yeah considering that the artwork primarily breaks the sections apart more clearly (visually speaking) this one should work.

Kurokumo Clan Captain Ishmael:

artist: Mu (Pixiv)|(Twitter)|(Skeb)

shoutout to the girl in my dash who is commissioning "art" of this ID I guess, you go girl.

all of KK ishmael's ID's skills deals 10% more damage for every negative effect, the same effect as Heathcliff's skill 3 and counter, however with different maximum increases.

This ID also aims to be somewhat the mirror to BL Meursault, buffing Kurokumo IDs, and buffing Kurokumo IDs even more when you bring all 6 of them to the fight.

To do this she has a similar passive, applying a buff to adjacent KK allies, or to all KK allies with 4 (lust) resonance.

The effect in question is "Dark Cloud":

Convert all basic skill coins to unbreakable. All of the affected coins inflict +1 of all bleed effects. This unit cannot be staggered from damage this turn. On clash lose, this units skills gain +3 base power.

This is actually quite good considering that I don't trust any of my Kurokumo IDs released in season 1 (except for Ryoshu kind of? She's alright).

This conversion to unbreakable coins actually is very useful considering that we want these IDs to die for the "Battle Ready" passive, which Ishmael also possesses.

Now the funniest thing about this passive is that Kurokumo Hong Lou's skill 3 can roll for the same amount when losing the clash with this effect.

Skill 1 (envy):

This skill rolls the exact same as Heathcliff's skill 1, 11 without conditionals, 15 with.

as mentioned, this ID has the same +10% damage per negative effect as Heathcliff's skill 3; this one is capped at 30% rather than 100% increased damage.

Also this skill inflicts 3 bleed overall (without outside sources) and 1 offense level down.

Skill 2 (pride):

This skill rolls... the exact same as Heathcliff's skill 2. I don't know why they've made it this way but it is interesting at the very least.

This is to say that she rolls 16 base and 20 with full conditionals.

the +10% buff is capped at +50% on this skill.

On combat start: apply 2 damage up to the 2 other fastest KK allies (once per turn). If there are 6 KK "units" (note that it checks for units, not allies, meaning that it should proc with enemy units as well. The other buff effects specify "Identities" or "Allies" ), apply 4 damage up to 5 allies instead.

Same bleed infliction as Heathcliff, 2, +2 bleed and bleed count.

The first coin inflicts slash fragility, however if there are 6 KK "UNITS" inflict 2 fragile (once per turn). The second coin then gains slash power up the following turn, twice per turn at max.

INK OVER:

This skill ALSO rolls the exact same as Heathcliff, 17 at base and 23 with the coin power conditional

+2 Bleed count +3 bleed on the first and second coin respectively.

The third coin has the same +10% damage per unique negative effect, once again maxing out at 100%

This coin also has an effect to activate bleed on the target, three times to be specific, which consumes 3 bleed count meaning that this skill is still very bleed-count negative.

Evade:

for some reason the evade is called "Scattering slash" despite not being a slash really?

Anyways it rolls for 14 at base, grants 1 protection (which is weird, it's an evade so you're probably shouldn't be planning around getting hit). this also grants up to 8 Allied Kurokumo ID (2+highest resonance) +2 defence power up this turn.

we already went over the passive at the start, being the Battle Ready effect for ally deaths and the Dark Cloud effect on allies being the proper passive. She also shares the "if there are two or more KK allies including self gain Dark Cloud blade" so she gains +1 slashing power for free

[genshinimpactresources]

Genshin Impact | Version 5.0 Events Overview Artwork

Cleaned and upscaled by asddzr on bilibili

[from-a-legends-pov]

From a Legends (Legend’s) Point of View 2024

Background

From a Legends Point of View (or From a Legend’s Point of View, see what we did there?) is a Star Wars fandom fic event dedicated to celebrating the characters and stories of the Star Wars Legends continuity during and around the time of the Original Trilogy (OT).

Building from the talents of the many writers in the Star Wars fandom, we hope to develop and share a diverse collection of approximately 40 stories of pilots, smugglers, spies, scoundrels, and other characters from the original Star Wars Extended Universe in mid-September 2024.

How It Works

At signup, writers will each pitch at least three (up to five) different ideas for a fic of 5k-10k words to write for the collection. The pitches should focus on Legends characters or situations during the Original Trilogy and must fit the other story and pitch guidelines listed below.

Mods will review signups and assign one pitch from each writer to be written for the collection, with a goal of creating a collection with stories covering a variety of OT-era time periods, characters, and events.

Writers will submit their fics to a collection on Archive of Our Own (AO3), which will then be shared with the fandom.

Schedule

Sunday, April 28: Signups open

Sunday, June 2: Signups close

Saturday-Sunday, June 8-9: Writers receive their assignments

Week of July 7-13: First check-in with writers - happening now!

Week of August 4-10: Second check-in with writers

Sunday, August 11: Final drop out deadline

Sunday, September 8: Assignments due

Sunday, September 15: Collection revealed

(More details under the cut…)

Story and Pitch Guidelines

All stories should be set during or within six months of the events depicted in the Star Wars Original Trilogy films (0 BBY - 4ABY), and set within the main Star Wars galaxy (aka the Galaxy Far Far Away/GFFA).

Stories should focus on characters and/or events in the Star Wars Legends continuity, which can include any characters who appear in the three Original Trilogy films as well as characters from the Legends novels, comics, video games, or other materials.

Shipping guidelines: Stories should not be focused on romance or shipping and should not include smut. References to ships among characters in the story or among other characters are fine, but please limit these to mentions (for ships that do not include the point of view character) or subtext (for ships that do include the point of view character). Within these restrictions, any ships are allowed, regardless of whether they are considered canon in the Legends continuity.

Ratings and archive warnings: Any ratings or tags are allowed, as long as stories are appropriately tagged and follow the other story guidelines (e.g., no smut).

Each writer will submit at least three and up to five pitches for stories they would be willing to write for the collection. Across all the pitches, stories should feature a minimum of at least three different characters and a minimum of at least two different time periods during the OT. To ensure that we include a wide range of characters and stories in the collection, at least two pitches should feature a point of view character who is not one of the Original Trilogy main trio (Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, Han Solo), and at least one pitch should feature a point of view character who is not another prominent OT character (Lando Calrissian, Chewbacca, R2D2, C3PO, Darth Vader), nor a member of the Rogue Squadron “Fab Four” (Wedge Antilles, Wes Janson, Tycho Celchu, Hobbie Klivian).

Stories for this collection are intended to add to the universe of fic we have for Legends; please do not submit pitches for stories you have already written and shared elsewhere, even if they fit the other guidelines.

Signup and Submission Details

Signups are now closed as of the end of the day June 2, 2024.

Once all signups have been reviewed, one of the mods will contact you via the information provided to let you know which one of your story pitches has been accepted (your assignment), and will provide instructions on how to submit your assignment to the collection.

We will also provide a signup form for people who would be willing to serve as a beta reader or cheerleader for other writers. Writers can request a beta reader when they sign up, or at any time before the beta request deadline (approximately two weeks before assignments are due). Betas may be available on a more limited basis after that deadline, but cannot be guaranteed.

Mods will check in with all writers twice over the course of the writing portion of the event to see how they are doing and connect them with a beta reader, cheerleader, or other assistance as needed. Please be sure to check your messages regularly and respond promptly to messages from the mods.

If you realize you will be unable to complete your assignment in time, please let the mods know as soon as possible, but definitely prior to the August 11 dropout deadline. That will enable us to reach out to find potential pinch hitters as needed.

Assignments are due Sunday, September 8 at any time. You will submit your fic via AO3, mods will confirm that it follows story and tagging guidelines, and it will be approved for the collection. The collection will be open for submissions a few weeks ahead of the deadline if you wish to submit early.

Because we intend to reveal these stories as a collection, please hold off on sharing or promoting your story until the full collection is released on September 15. After that time, please promote your story and others in the collection as much as possible!

Questions?

We’ll be posting more information as we go, but here are a few ways to find out more:

Check out our FAQ post HERE.

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Reach out the event mods by email: fromalegendspov@gmail.com

We’re excited to share this event with you — please help us out by spreading the word!

[ltwilliammowett]

The Raid of the Medway, 12–14 June 1667

“And, the truth is, I do fear so much that the whole kingdom is undone”

These were the words of Samuel Pepys Chief Secretary to the Admiralty (1633-1703), taken from his diary entry on 12th June 1667, a stark reminder of the victorious Dutch attack launched on the unsuspecting Royal Navy. This attack became known as the Raid on Medway, a humiliating loss for England and one of the worst in the history of the Royal Navy.

The dates here refer to the Julian calendar used in England at that time.

The Prelude

After the end of the first Anglo-Dutch War in 1654, the restoration of the monarchy had taken place in England with the return of King Charles II (1630-1685). The latter needed financial resources for a government independent of Parliament, which he hoped to gain through the spoils of another war against the United Netherlands. He was supported in this by the ambitions of the Royal African Company to damage the Dutch competition. In the spring of 1665, open warfare broke out. After the initial fighting, the Dutch won the Battle of Four Days in June 1666 and thought they had gained the upper hand. A few weeks later, however, the English fleet regained naval supremacy in the North Sea in the "St. James's Day Fight". As a result, the Royal Navy interdicted Dutch shipping and English captains raided places along the coast. The most famous case occurred on 20 August 1666, when Vice-Admiral Robert Holmes (1622-1692) burned down the village of Ter Schelling on the island of Terschelling and sank 140 to 150 merchant ships anchored in nearby Vlie. This event became known and celebrated in England as Holmes's Bonfire. Afterwards, the English fleet retreated to its own waters.

The raid of the Medway, by Willem van der Stoop (–1665) (x)

War weariness grew in the States General as the costs strained the national budget and confidence in the ally France had waned. After the catastrophic losses of the merchant ships at Terschelling, the Dutch opened peace negotiations under Swedish mediation. But English finances were also exhausted. The war had not brought the hoped-for profits, and Parliament refused to grant new funds for warfare after it emerged that some of the money granted had gone to the king's expensive court. Added to this were the losses caused by the severely impaired maritime trade, the great plague epidemic of 1665 and the "Great Fire of London". Against the opposition of Admiral Monck (1608-1670), King Charles II therefore ordered in the winter of 1666/67 that the large ships of the line be dismantled and decommissioned. The war was to be continued only with privateers in order to damage Dutch trade.

Meanwhile, at the peace congress in Breda, the English envoys had been instructed to reach as advantageous a conclusion as possible. Against the background of the last successes in 1666, Charles II dragged out the negotiations in order to end the war with a profit, even though he had had his only means of pressure, the fleet, de-rigged. The United Netherlands were not prepared to make concessions. Soon, however, they came under pressure from elsewhere. King Louis XIV of France (1638-1715) declared war on the Kingdom of Spain in May 1667 and began an invasion of the Spanish Netherlands to appropriate it. The United Netherlands was now forced to bring peace negotiations with England to an immediate conclusion so that it could concentrate on containing French expansionist intentions. To this end, it seemed necessary to Johan de Witt (1625-1672), the council pensioner and head of Dutch policy, to increase the pressure on England by directly attacking the island of Great Britain.

The Plan

The idea of landing troops on the British Isles was not new. Such plans had already been worked out after the victory of the Dutch fleet in the Battle of the Four Days. In the summer of 1666, Admiral Michiel de Ruyter (1606-1676) had taken about 6000 soldiers to the Thames estuary in addition to the fleet, in order to be able to intervene in a supportive manner in the event of a local uprising of the English population against Charles II. But such an uprising failed to materialise, and the transport ships were sent back to Dutch ports after a storm. Only a brief landing on the Isle of Thanet was achieved.

The burning of the English fleet off Chatham, 1667, likely painted by Willem van de Velde the Younger, 1670 (x)

In the summer of 1667, Johan de Witt was well informed by spies about the financial shortages of the English crown and also knew about the decommissioning of most English ships of the line, as well as about the situation of the sailor and dockyard employees who had not been paid for months. Despite his own financial strain, he now prepared the equipment for a Dutch expedition. They were to sail into the Thames Estuary, enter the River Medway and sail to the great dock at Chatham, where many of England's proudest warships lay. Once at their destination, the raiders were to sink or burn as many ships as possible, taking care to capture the best ships as prizes. Such a raid would be a severe blow to the power and prestige of England, for the Royal Navy was the pride of the island nation. Chastened and humiliated by defeat, the English might accept peace on Dutch terms.

The designated contingents of ships were gathered and prepared in various Dutch ports, while in April a squadron under Admiral Van Ghent attempted to enter the Firth of Forth. The main purpose of this enterprise was to provide cover for the main fleet, which assembled at the island of Texel in early June 1667. Admiral de Ruyter sailed along his own coasts, taking in the various contingents as he went. In the end, his fleet consisted of 64 ships of the line and frigates, 15 fireships, 7 escort ships and 13 galliots with a total of 3330 guns and about 17,500 men.

The attack begins

The Assault on Sheerness

The Dutch fleet reached the English coast at Harwich on 7 June 1667. The following day it sailed south along the coast and anchored off the Thames estuary. While doing so, she ran into a storm that forced a large number of ships to cut their anchor ropes and drift. This mainly affected troopships, which were no longer available for the following operations. At a council of war on board the flagship, the further course of action was discussed. Admiral de Ruyter had reservations about sending the entire fleet up the river, as he was not precisely informed about the whereabouts of the smaller English fleet units. Should they return unexpectedly and close the mouth of the Thames, the Dutch fleet would be trapped. Cornelis de Witt proposed that the main force itself should remain off the mouth of the river and a small detachment should guard the English Channel, while a squadron under Admiral Willem Joseph van Ghent (1626-1672) should advance up the Thames. There, this squadron was to attack some West Indian merchant ships at Gravesend, which had been reported by an intercepted Norwegian trader. Admiral van Ghent's squadron consisted of 17 smaller warships, four fireships, some yachts and galiots, and 1000 marines under Colonel Dolman. The squadron set off on the morning of 9 June and initially occupied Canvey Island. However, the wind then shifted and the English merchant ships, which in the meantime had been warned of the approaching Dutch warships, escaped upriver.

Sail to Chatham, Willem Schellinks, c. 1668 (x)

Cornelis de Witt now urged Admiral van Ghent to enter the Medway and attack the English fleet lying there. The entrance to this river was controlled by a fort still under construction at Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey. However, to defend this key position, the English had only a weak Scottish garrison, 16 guns, the small frigate Unity and two lightships at their disposal. On 10 June, Admiral van Ghent attacked the fort. The Unity fired only a single broadside and then fled up the Medway, pursued by a Dutch fireship. The Dutch ships took the fort under fire for the next two hours and eventually landed 800 naval soldiers under Colonel Dolman. The fort garrison fled without offering serious resistance to the landing troops and the whole of the Isle of Sheppey was occupied by Van Ghent's forces. The battle for this important position had cost the Dutch about 50 men. The value of the 15 cannons and other goods captured in the process was 400,000 livres or four tons of gold, according to contemporary estimates.

Informed of the events on 9 June, George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle (1608-1670) received royal orders to organise the defence. Monck first inspected the installations on the Thames at Gravesend Fort and on the morning of 11 June went to Chatham on the Medway. There he found virtually no organised defence. At Gillingham an iron chain had been drawn across the course of the river, but it was too low. There were only three smaller ships to protect them: the Unity (44 guns), the Charles V and the Matthias (former Dutch merchantmen Carolus Quintus and Geldersche Ruyter). Otherwise, panic reigned. Of the more than 800 dock workers, almost all had fled or refused to help because of their unpaid wages. Out of thirty boats and ships, only ten were still to be found because refugees had used them to escape or local officials had evacuated their personal belongings on them. The Duke ordered the soldiers and officers he had brought with him to set up two coastal batteries on the shore by the chain, but even for this they lacked the necessary tools. To create further obstacles in front of the chain, Admiral Monck ordered fire ships to be sunk there. Two ships, the Norway Merchant and the Marmaduke, were successfully sunk, but the great Sancta Maria, which had also been designated as an obstacle, ran aground. Also on the scene was the large warship Royal Charles (88 guns), but it was completely unarmed.

Stern decoration of the Royal Charles, anonymous, c. 1663 - c. 1664 (x)

Admiral Monck ordered them upriver to safety, but there were not enough personnel to do so. When the Dutch attack came later, she was still lying unmanned on the shore. Among the more than 1100 workers in the docks at Chatham, there were few willing to help. Their pay was months in arrears, as the King lacked the financial means, and now they too refused to serve.

The breakthrough at Gillingham

On the morning of 12 June, the Dutch units began their advance in the Medway. The narrowness of the channel forced the ships to sail one behind the other in a single line. In the lead was the Vrede under the command of her captain Jan van Brakel. The captain had been placed under arrest two days earlier for allowing his men to plunder on the Isle of Sheppey. In order to restore his reputation, he had now voluntarily taken over the top position. Brakel's ship soon came under the crossfire of the three English defensive ships and the two coastal batteries.

However, he steered straight for the Unity without firing and gave her a broadside at point-blank range. The English crew then fled the ship and left it to the Dutch. Under cover of the powder smoke, the two following brander under Brakel's command also approached and sank the English ships Charles V and Matthias in quick succession. The iron chain was subsequently broken during the first ramming attempt (there are some discrepancies in the tradition here, some historians also think that it was simply sailed over because it lay so far in the water and were actually useless).

From the left ;  "Agatha" , "Beschermer" , "Charles V" , "Propatia"  , The "Royal Charles"  , "Matthias"   and a Dutch Admirals yacht, by Jan de Quelery (x)

The Dutch ships now had free passage up the Medway, because behind the chain there was a wide gap between the sunk English ships, which should have been closed by the sinking of the Sancta Maria. The following Dutch frigates soon silenced the English coastal batteries with their fire, whose fire had been almost ineffective anyway due to structural deficiencies. The biggest prize of the day for the Dutch fleet was the Royal Charles which had often served as a flagship for the English fleet commanders. Btw the Dutch did not take her into naval service because it was considered that she drew too much water for general use on the Dutch coast. Instead the Royal Charles was permanently drydocked near Hellevoetsluis as a public attraction, with day trips being organised for large parties, often of foreign state guests. After vehement protests by Charles that this insulted his honour, the official visits were ended when she was auctioned for scrap in 1673.

Raid at Upnor Castle

Meanwhile, the English were making defensive preparations at Upnor Castle. The Duke of Albemarle and Peter Pett, the commander of the docks, put the castle's guns on standby and set up another battery on the far bank. The attempt to stretch another chain across the river failed. Now they wanted to bring the warships towards Chatham, but again there were not enough men. To at least save the largest warships from capture, the Duke of Albemarle ordered them to be sunk in low water where they could be raised again later.

The Dutch before Upnor Castle, by Jan de Quelery (x)

Late in the afternoon of 12 June, the Dutch advance was halted by the state of the tide. On board the captured Royal Charles, Van Ghent, De Ruyter and De Witt met to discuss further action. These three commanders decided to push further upriver the following day and attack the Chatham Dockyards and the large warships located there. At midday on 13 June, the remaining Dutch braders, protected by four frigates and a larger number of smaller ships, attacked the English positions. They were soon caught in the crossfire between Upnor Castle and the battery hastily raised on the opposite bank of the river. A detachment of naval soldiers landed and moved to attack the English ammunition magazine at Upnor Castle, which they successfully blew up before withdrawing again.

The bombardment of Upnore Castle by Arnold de Lange (x)

In the meantime, the Dutch ships fired on the English gun batteries. While the battle was still going on, a calm set in, forcing De Ruyter and other officers to transfer to longboats in order to direct the actions of their units from them. After a fierce firefight, the Dutch fireships succeeded in attacking the three large warships lying on the shore, Loyal London (92 guns), Royal Oak (76 guns) and Royal James (82 guns). The water in which these ships had been sunk by the English themselves was not shallow enough to offer protection even against an arson attack. All three ships fell victim to the Dutch fireships after their hull crews fled. The Duke of Albemarle, meanwhile, tried to tow the remaining warships upriver under the protection of Chatham's guns. He lined up battle-ready warships on the banks and gathered militia troops to halt the Dutch advance. In fact, the Dutch ships went no further against the stiffening English resistance. Late in the afternoon they retreated with the rising tide as far as Gillingham. There they made the captured English ships Royal Charles and Unity seaworthy and left the Medway on 14 June. The losses from the battle in front of Upnor Castle amounted to about 500 men on the English side, while it is assumed that the Dutch lost between 50 and 150 men.

The aftermath

The Dutch raid on the English ships in the Medway became the biggest debacle of the war for the Royal Navy. It lost more ships than in all previous naval battles combined. The Royal Charles and the Unity had been captured by Dutchmen and the Loyal London, Royal James, Royal Oak, Charles V, Matthias, Marmaduke, Sancta Maria as well as five fireships, two ketches, a fleute and a smaller ship sunk or burnt. In contrast, the Dutch had deployed a total of ten fireships. In addition, there were further indirect losses of the Royal Navy. The Vanguard, for example, had drifted while attempting to ground her and eventually wrecked at Rochester so that she could no longer be lifted. Further north, beyond Gravesend, Prince Rupert had wanted to block the Thames to a possible Dutch advance by sinking the Golden Phoenix, House of Sweeds, Welcome and Leicester there. This turned out to be a sheer waste of important warships, as the Dutch never advanced further than Gravesend. All in all, these losses - especially those of the three large warships - changed the strategic balance between England and the United Netherlands in favour of the Dutch for years to come.

After this success, the Dutch were able to display their unrestricted superiority. One part of the Dutch fleet took action against the English merchant ships on the Channel coast, while another under Admiral Van Nes continued to blockade the Thames for English shipping. In smaller operations, Dutch troops still landed in some places or sailed warships up the Thames in the following weeks.

In London, the events on the banks of the Medway led to a severe economic collapse and panic among the population. Rumours said Chatham was on fire, as were Gravesend, Harwich, Queenborough, Colchester and Dover. Dutch landings at Portsmouth, Plymouth and Dartmouth were reported, and even claims that the king had fled; the Papists were about to take power. Even an imminent French landing was expected.

After the Raid on the Medway, Admiral Michiel de Ruyter, Admiral van Ghent and Cornelis de Witt each received a golden cup from the States of Holland (x)

The Dutch had taken up a position in the Thames by which they cut London off from trade. Coal supplies from the Tyne in particular were failing, and soon the price of coal increased tenfold. The English fleet was weakened by the raid and there was hardly any money available for its replenishment. King Charles II therefore had little choice but to instruct his envoys at the peace conference in Breda to conclude the treaty as soon as possible. The Peace of Breda was signed on 21 July 1667, and on 16 August the Dutch fleet abandoned the blockade of the English ports and the Thames estuary in accordance with the treaty. But England’s desire for revenge helped motivate another Anglo-Dutch War the following decade. But also an upgrade of the Navy as well as a change in the pay and living conditions of the Sailors which laid the foundation for one of the most powerful navies in the world. 

[thereareeyesinsidethetrees]

going more into detail on that ‘gravity what now’ au because the summary was a bit vague. ‘everything is terrible and ford thinks it’s targeting him’ and ‘the fact that it takes place in researcher ford era is dubious’ and ‘stan and fiddleford are getting along while ford is suffering’

so here’s a collection of events/general things that started happening to our trio sometime after they got to gravity falls:

-ford has traumatizing nightmares about bill, despite never having met him or even been into the cave yet. without going too into detail, these nightmares give him: a fear of sleeping, a fear of darkness, and severe touch aversion. it is also one of two things that starts to erode his relationship with stan, as a result of the latter not taking the nightmares seriously

-ford tries to curb his newfound fear of the dark via exploring the cave behind the waterfall. it doesn’t work, but he does meet the geodites and become fond of them. he visits the waterfall cave often, as nothing in the woods ever seems to follow there

-it takes eight separate tries for stan to believe ford when he says there’s something dangerous in the woods. it only takes the last time because ford came back with undeniable evidence. this is the second thing that damages their relationship

-ford continually witnesses things in the surrounding woods that the other two never do. this is intensely frustrating for him

-on two separate occasions in the woods, ford comes across fiddleford and stan in rather gruesome states. they are both perfectly fine and have no idea what he’s talking about when he gets back to the shack (not actually the shack but y’know). these two events were very real, they just weren’t actually fiddleford or stan

-stan and fiddleford bond over engineering (stan taught himself how to repair cars, we already know about fiddleford’s robot thing). they also cook meals together. they’re having a wonderful time guys

-ford has seen so many some-type-of-creatures that he’s started talking to them and they’ve started talking back

-one of the creatures has started trying to give him words of advice. it doesn’t take because said creature is unsightly and does it while perched on the trio’s roof like a spider

-ford has no healthy coping mechanisms. he doesn’t have time for them and he barely even knows what that word means anymore

-fiddleford gets really good at making various kinds of treats for when ford has especially bad days. he has no idea what’s going on with him, but that doesn’t mean he can’t try to help

-fiddleford was invited to gravity falls first (so quickly he didn’t even get a chance to meet emma-may). stan was invited second

-both the stan twins are going through it in different ways and fiddleford’s just trying to keep the peace

-ford takes in a stray cat. stan doesn’t approve, fiddleford questions it, neither of them are stopping him. feline lifeline

[stsebastiens]

Ilan Pappe, from The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine (published 2006)

[deathbind]

BG3 SEQUENCE OF EVENTS.

This post aims to give an overview of the order and outcome of major events during BG3. I tend to think of the party as more of a consensus where they all get a say in what happens, but I do need a baseline to work with. So although this is written with the thought "what if Serot was driving the wagon", I am very open to alterations.

ACT ONE.

Serot is very much in favor of helping the Grove. The party’s interests are somewhat aligned anyway as Halsin is their only lead on the tadpoles (at the time). They clock the goblins in Moonhaven and attempt to skirt them. This leads them to cross paths with Mayrina’s brothers confronting Ethel. They’re successfully knocked out. Serot can’t move on without helping their sister, though. Ethel is ultimately slain, and Mayrina is freed. He informs her of Ethel’s true intentions. However, he destroys Bitter Divorce without informing her (or the party, if they don’t notice). He helps her move Connor out of the wetlands, where they run into her brothers. They help her bring Connor the rest of the way.

There’s no way to skirt Moonhaven, though, so that’s about a day lost. He’s not best pleased about that, but he remains optimistic. At least they were able to help Mayrina.

They’re able to talk their way through Moonhaven. Serot stops to help Barcus. Otherwise, he doesn’t wish to test their luck.

They likewise talk their way into the defiled Selûnite temple. He dearly wants to explore but recognizes the danger and focuses on finding Halsin. He’d intended to assassinate the leaders rather than wipe out the temple, but Dror Ragzlin sparks his ire. The ensuing fight is bloody, but they manage. Somehow.

With the Grove thus secured, they spend a day or two gathering provisions before continuing to the shadow-cursed lands. He spends this time exploring Moonhaven more thoroughly, though still not as thoroughly as he’d like. Still, secrets are uncovered (i.e. Necromancy of Thay).

NOTE: Obviously I won’t hold any Karlach rper to this, but just in terms of logistics, I don’t think she was recruited til after the goblin matter had been resolved. So they crossed the bridge, went far right, and got her. Then they cleared the nearby “paladins of Tyr”. Next they stumbled into the gnolls / trapped Zhentarim agents. Finally, they came upon Waukeen’s Rest.

INTERLUDE.

He has his misgivings about going to the Githyanki Creche, but Lae’zel has earned trust by this point. His voice is behind hers when she suggests they seek them out. Thus they head to the mountain pass. He explores Rosymorn Monastery as they seek entrance to the Creche. Although all goes to Hell in a handbasket (he doesn’t attack the Dream Guardian), they do make it out with the Blood of Lathander without triggering the weapon. However, he is strongly opposed to anyone wielding the Blood of Lathander. He is not a Lathanderite, but that doesn’t matter. It’s a holy relic they went to great lengths to save. He believes they should safeguard it til it can be delivered to a Lathanderite temple. A cleric of Lathander has the best chance of changing his mind, though he’s still reluctant.

In any case, they flee the monastery pursued by Githyanki. I’m gonna diverge from canon and say they couldn’t continue across the mountain path as a result. Instead they backtracked to Waukeen’s Rest and used the Zhentarim’s entrance to the Underdark.

Serot can’t help but look at their surroundings with wonder. Perhaps there have been lifetimes where he explored the Underdark beneath Zakhara, but it certainly wasn’t his first life. Were it not for the sussur blooms briefly knocking him on his ass, he would be thrilled by this turn of events. In any event, they free the gnomes and completely wipe out the operation down there. He pursued no alliance with the dissenting duergar.

ACT TWO.

Their escapades in the Underdark depleted their resources significantly. If they hadn’t stumbled on the Harpers at Last Light, they wouldn’t have made it. Serot clocks the spiked drink from Jaheira, but he chooses to drink it and answer her questions honestly. He also, of course, prevents Marcus from taking Isobel. He recognizes the signs of necrotic magic on Marcus’ wings; it sets his teeth on edge.

They make a direct line for Moonrise. They explore as thoroughly as possible without getting in trouble. Exploring Balthazar’s rooms all but makes him see red. He had intended to be cautious in his approach, but he is so infuriated that all caution is once again thrown away. He makes the snap decision to free the prisoners at the very least (including Minthara). This does mean they cannot return, but it's a compromise from his desire to burn it all down.

After that, they explore the shadow-cursed lands. First they sweep the Ruined Battlefield; then they zero in on Reithwin. Gerringothe and Thisobald both self-destruct after his conversations with them. He intends to talk Malus down, but he ends up so pissed off with him that he attacks mid-conversation. They then backtrack a bit to wake up Art Cullagh and free Thaniel.

Finally, they brave the Gauntlet of Shar. Balthazar doesn’t get a word out before Serot silences him permanently. It’s on sight. Where Yurgir is concerned, the deal with Raphael is fulfilled for Astarion’s sake. Serot finds that final Sharran afterward, though, and ultimately decides to let them be. Aylin is freed. Serot admittedly overextends himself during the assault on Moonrise, but hey, they win.

ACT THREE.

Firstly, he refuses the astral tadpole. He has refused to consume any of the normal ones and certainly won’t accept a super powered one. He had nevertheless leaned toward trusting the Emperor / Dream Guardian all this time. Discovering Orpheus trapped within the prism calls that into question.

Once in Baldur's Gate, he is angry enough with Gortash to challenge him immediately, but the safety of Wyll's father and anyone else at Gortash's mercy tempers him. He agrees to an alliance. He makes a point to specify, however, that they shall be allies as long as their goals align. He won't break his word, but he will be clever about how he gives it.

He prioritizes taking down Orin and recovering their abducted party member. It is decided they should not move against Gortash until they'd resolved the matter with Orpheus. If nothing else, it gives them time to plan. Serot also takes this time to seek out Mystic Carrion and aid the rest of the party in clearing up their business. Once they learn of Helsik, things move quickly. They move from recovering the Orphic Hammer to disabling the Steel Watch to infiltrating the Iron Throne as rapidly as possible, hoping to prevent the enemy from catching its breath.

All that is left is to seek out Ansur, and once that is completed, confront the Elderbrain. He chooses to free Orpheus, though he appeals to the Emperor to continue fighting alongside them. The Emperor refuses. As for who becomes a mindflayer, Serot must refuse or risk Meresankh being lost forever, not to mention the possible damage to Refhremmit. (He is ashamed to know that he is also simply . . . tired of sacrificing himself. He has done so in too many lifetimes.) He refuses to volunteers others, however, leaving it to them to decide. The end result is the Elderbrain is destroyed.

[anotherpapercut]

they should invent a life that isn't exhausting

[heavencasteel420]

Okay, I’m feeling more confident about the next Jonathan chapter of Tomorrow’s a Long Way Off.

[hananoami]

[chiakinanami82]

A Series of Unfortunate Events: Gothic Hits

A Series of Unfortunate Events is a chapter book series written by Daniel Handler that follows the Baudelaire orphans and the treacherous ordeals that they experience. The first book, The Bad Beginning, was published in 1999, and was an instant hit. The series continued until 2006 with The End. The books waver between 162 and 368 pages. These books are considered to be gothic-esque, dark comedy, fictional children’s novels. I have also read the prequel series, All the Wrong Questions, which explores narrator Lemony Snicket’s first assignment in a failing town called Stain’d by the Sea. AtWQ is more like a film noir. Lemony Snicket, within ASOUE, is an older gentleman who’s lost a lot, and it shows in his monologues at times. He’s also intelligent and crafty, but can be cowardly at times. The title intrigues the reader, as life can be described as a series of unfortunate events, and it fits well with the text of the book. After all, the title warns the reader of misfortune, and Lemony consistently tries to prevent the consumer to cease reading of the unfortunate lives of these poor children. The illustrator is Brett L. Helquist, and his art is distinct, gothic, and absolutely gorgeous.

Our protagonists are the Baudelaire orphans, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny. They’re pretty stereotypical kid protagonists, being clever, kind, morally good, and polite. Each one has their own special talent. Violet is a fourteen-year-old inventor whose inventions save the trio time and time again. Klaus, twelve, is a massive bookworm with an impressive memory. Gladly, his research does come in handy a ton. Sunny’s the baby, and originally starts the series with a love of biting things, which evolves into a culinary interest. The overarching villain of the entire series is Count Olaf, an awful actor who plans to gain the Baudelaire fortune. He’s actually my favorite character. He’s terrible, violent, slimy, and unclean, yet he brings up good points about the world and society, especially in the twelfth book. The kids encounter several other characters, but I’ll keep them a secret just in case.

This satirical series has a lot of heart, and it treats its younger audience quite well, as Handler understands his audience’s intelligence. Not to mention, the series is dark enough for older audiences as well, and the literary references hit harder when you’ve read them. Hell, a ton of the lingering overarching mysteries have clues in the side works, and it’s up to the fans to figure it out. While some may complain about the writing style, I appreciate the humor it generates. The writing style is somewhat simplistic and repetition is a common sight, but the humor and the strangely specific definitions give it that spice. Is it somewhat annoying for there to be two full pages and the word “ever”? A bit, but it’s hilarious. There’s even a point where Snicket can’t describe a deadly fall into a dark place, so the page is just completely black. The books are written from Snicket’s point of view as he investigates their journey, making little quips foreshadowing or even spoiling certain events, such as a guardian’s death.

The series is built on subverting tropes and applying certain sayings quite literally for comedic and dramatic effect. In The Penultimate Peril, the hotel is called the Hotel Denouement. A denouement is the part of the story where the mysteries are solved and hanging threads are revealed, but Handler doesn’t answer any of our questions in the almost final chapter of the Baudelaire’s story. It’s brilliant. An example of a character taking a saying literally is a character named Babs who appears (or is rather heard) in The Hostile Hospital. She believes that if children are to be seen and not heard, then adults should be heard and not seen, so she hides in a booth and no one is able to see her face.

This series has more than wit, the subversion of tropes, and unfortunate events. It also has powerful themes of hope in times of great despair, the importance of family, and adults failing children even if they have the power to help due to their own issues. If you haven’t read this series since your childhood, I implore you to. If anything here has piqued your interest, well, check it out. You might be pleasantly surprised.

[genshinimpactresources]

Version 5.2 “Tapestry of Spirit and Flame” Events Overview

[arachnidiots-a]

MARTIN LEVY.

“martin’s okay. he’s got a bad habit of being a smart-ass, but he’s okay.” — liam kaz, spiders issue #4

martin levy was born a year before liam to hannah and oscar levy. with his parents being hard of hearing and deaf he was raised with both asl and speaking english at the same time. liam was raised the same when she was born, a big part of why the two cousin’s spent a great deal of time together. unlike liam, who led a rather a independent childhood, martin spent a lot of time with his parents and when not with them then in after-school programs and camps. he recalls a lot of early memories of sitting in the office where his dad worked as a web designer for a small company or with his mom at the dentist’s office where she worked. 

liam and martin were close for much of their childhood, one family always picking up the other, and with their shared school, but their closeness outgrew them around the time they reached middle school, drifting apart in social circles and interests. liam’s parents going through their divorce would really only separate them more. they wouldn’t really be so close again until after liam got to college. despite this, martin’s parents remained pretty present in liam’s life.

martin attended empire state university, where he earned a bachelors in history and would continue his education in the school’s graduate program. during his undergraduate years he met his boyfriend, charlie, and was roommates with earth-1530’s peter parker for two years, at which time liam and roxy confided in them both, accidentally, about their spider identities. on the run, liam directed themself and roxy towards an apartment they knew to be safe: martin’s. after the incident, the two reconnected and have become important pillars of each other’s support system. 

talking certainly runs in the family, martin with his own tendency blurting words out of fear of losing them in his head. while texting, writing, he just happens to say it all out loud. between him and peter, there were a lot of “did you say something?” moments, on both sides. their apartment is covered in random sticky notes detailing reminders or simply miscellaneous words and phrases. 

he is the more extroverted and connected one compared to liam (and any of the e1530 group), frequently away at meetings for clubs or parties of friends. on campus, there was a high likelihood someone would recognize him— and more than once liam’s found that someone happened to know him from a random other connection. his popularity (or rather recognizability and participation in so much) was frequently joked about by him and the group. while his arguably closer connections were outside of liam, he’d come to love the little group that never seemed to leave his apartment. 

[yulecatt]

If you’re still into mystery dungeon, can I ask you a question about your PMD story?

I read in your post with the fire type starter statue that fire types were oppressed in the past, do you think you could please go into more detail about that? It sounds really interesting!

Yee I can give an explanation on that! Lil long so it'll be explained under the cut:

So basically fire type Pokemon in this setting have always had at least a low level of stigma against them due to the sort of general fear of wildfire and other forms of fire destruction and its associations. There are a few other Pokemon types who see similar stigmas against them such as dragon types (for reasons similar to fire types), ghost+dark (because other mons are afraid of them), and bug (for reasons like "pestilence" and again fear).

There was an event in this setting known as the "Reign of Fire", which was an attempt at conquest a few hundred years ago by a Charizard known as Blast Burn, who lead a small band across the continent razing the countryside and homes with intent to claim territory and rule unchallenged. During this time, humanity had disappeared not very long ago, which gave opportunities for various Pokemon extremist groups to try and assert power and control.

Eventually, retaliation groups formed and hunted down and killed Blast Burn and his close allies. But when they succeeded with that, misplaced blame and preexisting bias encouraged some of these Pokemon to continue with an elimination effort against fire type Pokemon, worsening the deadly conflict.

So for a while there was a cycle of persecution, which didn't exactly see a peaceful end. Instead the only end to the conflict came when various anti-fire type organizations saw their disbanding over leaders dying or going into hiding (one such major figure being a Golduck known as Redgem).

You started to see a rise in places labeling themselves as explicitly pro-fire type to combat the lingering conflicts, and it only really ended "fully" when enough non-fire types showed their support through policy and direct action.

Even in the modern age there remains some stigma, some areas worse than others, but thankfully the systemic aspect has almost entirely disappeared. Like with any kind of oppression though there are still some who are generationally affected, whether through loss of homes, family, etc. Some areas also still have policies in place that check for fire type discrimination.

NOTE: As a sort of disclaimer I wanna mention that this is not meant to like, represent or mirror any specific real world oppression or conflict. It's not an intentional allegory cuz I think it can be easy to kind of make yknow "fantasy racism" types of things represent issues wrong. This is simply a form of oppression that exists solely within this setting, even if it borrows some language from some of the ways people advocate and talk about oppression+discrimination.

[iravinirattu]

ok no no no FONTAINE IS COMING OUT???? NOW???? DID SUMERU NOT JUST GET RELEASED