#Alexander as strategist

[jeannereames]

Based on the tactics vs strategy component of your most recent ask (on how ATG should or should not be depicted on TV)—do you think, if he hadn’t died so soon and lived a little longer, he might’ve been able to improve his strategic mindset? I think that’s how Philip became good at it, right? After experiencing some failures. I think perhaps that’s one of the tragedies of Philip not being around longer—he might’ve been able to show his son how to handle mistakes and move on from them.

Oh, I think Alexander was definitely improving as a strategist. He was never bad, he just wasn’t Philip… who was exceptional. But Philip had to learn very early, just to survive. I doubt the man had much of a childhood.

A quick review of Philip’s early life, for those reading who may not already know. We think he may have been sent to the Illyrian court of Bardylis at some point in his childhood; for how long is unclear. (If I ever get around to a Philip novel, that’s where I’m starting it, too.) Then he must have come home, only to be sent down to Thebes as a hostage when he was in his early teens. He returned to Macedonia once Perdikkas was no longer a minor himself and could kill his erstwhile regent. Some years later, Perdikkas made him archon of a canton (maybe Amphaxitis?), probably when he was c.18-20 years of age, where he had his own little militia to train. Perdikkas was dead on a battlefield, fighting Illyria, before Philip was 24.

So, he came to the throne a bit later than Alexander but suffered a MUCH more uncertain childhood. It makes Alexander’s look like the “poor little rich boy,” tbh. This is why I respect Philip so much. No, I don’t think he was “greater than Alexander” (as per Richard Gabriel), but I do think he earned his place as, per Diodoros, “the greatest of the kings of Europe.”

I will also add that I suspect Philip benefited a lot from his mother Eurydike’s advice, as did his brother Perdikkas. There was a woman to be in awe of! I also think it’s why Philip was so damn determined to see that Alexander got a “proper” education. Yes, it owed the influence of Thebes’ upper-crust circles…but also residue from his own “school of hard knocks” upbringing.

It also explains why he was a master chess player. He’d had to be, just to stay alive.

Alexander learned quickly, but he didn’t have to exercise it quite as young; Daddy was there to take care of things. Mostly masterfully (outside his private life). Then Philip got himself killed, and Alexander was on his own at just 20. No surprise if he made mistakes, but being king already, they were on full display for posterity in a way Philip’s weren’t. (In fact, we know almost nothing of Philip’s childhood, as evinced by the brevity of my summary above.)

To my mind, one of the tragedies for both men was Philip’s sudden death. While it’s possible they might have clashed even more as Alexander aged, their friction may also have eased. Alexander was right on the cusp of that age when teenaged boys transform back into somewhat sane human beings. Ha. My own seemed to change virtually overnight between about 22 and 23. Philip had been dead two years by then, and Alexander invaded Persia at 22.

Many years ago, I wrote an alternate history short story for Gene Borza’s birthday, wherein Philip died at Chaironeia, and Alexander was taken captive, then had to escape and re-do everything Daddy had done. It was fun to imagine what might have happened, in part to underscore how singular/important Chaironeia was for not only Philip, but Alexander too.

Yet an equally interesting “What if?” would be that Philip wasn’t assassinated in 336 and did invade Persia that autumn. But let’s say he didn’t survive “Granikos” or “Issos” (or whatever those would have been for him*), while Alexander did. What might that have looked like, giving Alexander another 2-3 years under Philip, only becoming king himself around the same age his father had? (23-24?)

I love alternate history scenarios when well-done. (Maybe why I’m a big fan of Melissa Scott’s A Choice of Destinies.)

So in short, yes, I agree that it was a tragedy that Philip didn’t live at least a few years more. And somebody needs to write that alternate history. Then send me the link. Ha.

——

* I think, if it HAD been Philip at the head of the army, Darius would have taken him much more seriously, probably moving up the timeframe of a serious clash (such as Issos). I suspect Philip, like Alexander, would plan to take the Asia Minor coast the same way, to cut off the navy. Darius might have come after him with a bigger army somewhere in Asia Minor. But I also think Asia Minor would have gone over to Philip more easily, as he was proven material and that area had already rebelled against Artaxerxes only about a decade or so prior.

[aphroditelovesu]

Can I ask for more Yandere love letter from Alexander to his twins? Maybe when the two are older ❤️

author's note: why am I wanting this man right now? 😭

My beloved and precious children,

My soul overflows with an intense love and pride for you, as deep as the lands I conquered and as hot as the fire that ignites the hearts of heroes. You are the precious jewels of my heart, the only witnesses to the fragility I hide under the armor of a conqueror.

My beloved (Y/N), your mother, who gave birth to you, I thank her every day for the gifts she gave me. You are the reflections of our love, the embodiment of my ambition and desire to conquer the world to protect and create an empire worthy of you. No army will ever be more loyal or fiercer in protecting you than mine.

My daughter, with eyes that reflect your mother's sweetness and your father's determination, you are the promise of a better world that I long to create. No man will ever be worthy of your love, and I will watch out, making sure your heart belongs only to the one who deserves it. You are my little girl, my princess and my precious daughter.

My son, with the courage of a lion and the intelligence of a strategist, you are the continuation of my legacy. The sword you will one day wield will be the extension of my will, and I will train you to be invincible as the greatest warrior who ever lived. You will be my successor but more than that, you are my son and I know that one day you will surpass me and I am excited for that day.

Always reminding you, my dear ones, that the world is a dangerous place, and you are the most precious thing I have. I will do anything, absolutely anything, to protect them. My love for you is so deep and unreasonable that there is no limit to what I am capable of doing in the name of that love.

The world will be yours to conquer, and I will be by your side, watching every step you take. My love for you is unshakable and eternal, and nothing and no one will dare to come between us. I can't believe how you've grown, how you, my daughter, become more beautiful every day, and how you, my son, become stronger every day. You are my pride and my greatest achievement.

With all my love,

Alexander.

[ask-half-blood-hill]

Meet the Demigods: Ren Takayama

Testing, testing! Sephora Chambers here, LIVE from Cabin Two in Camp Half-Blood, ready to interview all the lively and rowdy faces of Half-Blood Hill! Welcome to Meet the Demigods! Today, we have a treat! I’d like to introduce my best friend, Ren Takayama! There’s a lot to cover, so let’s get on with the broadcast!

Q1: How would you describe how you look?

“Different from my half-siblings here. Most of the have light hair, or light eyes. I’ve got a sort of golden-brown eye color, and my hair is black. Serenity did offer to put some blonde streaks in it though… I’m about five foot seven, and I’ve always been a bit on the lean side.”

Q2: Who is your godly parent?

“I was claimed by Apollo! I think it was a little obvious, now that I noticed all those nuances in my life. Yellow this, music that, yadda yadda yadda. He’s the god of a lot of things, actually. Medicine, the sun, music, archery, poetry, stuff like that. You name it, there’s a 30% chance he’s the god of it. He’s probably also the god of overachievers… No offense, dad. You know you’d live up to that title.”

Q3: What’s your talent?

“Like all of my siblings, I have a talent with medicine and archery. My actual power that makes me stand out… Geez, I guess that’ll have to wait. I’m not sure if I want to expose myself just yet, Seph. I guess it’s also cool that I can tell the time of day, no matter where I am. Isn’t that neat? What do you mean that’s lame?! You’re full of-”

Q4: What are your hobbies?

“I really like music, but I guess that’s just a given, since I’m a kid of Apollo. I also have a passion for painting and acting, which my mom got me into. I also really have a good hand with gardening, too, but for some reason all my flowers end up turning yellow…”

Q5: Who’s your favorite cabin mate?

“Oh geez, this isn’t a fair question. Cyrus is a little cutie, he even offered to let me snuggle one of his frog plushies the other night. Serenity is cool, but a little too cool. Kieran is strange, and a little too in the clouds sometimes, and Alexander is a force of pure chaos. Dawn is sweet, but you can’t get away with anything when she’s around- she can detect liars. Sebastian is cool, but he’s always cooped up in the workshop… Caroline? She’s a doll, but she’s very shy. I guess that leaves Myra. I admire how hard she works, and since she swore off violence, it’s mostly just her running the clinic almost all day, every day.”

Q6: If you could live in any other cabin, which cabin would you choose?

“Man, have you ever been in the Hypnos cabin? It’s the most comfortable place ever. It would be paradise just to go to a sleepover there, let alone live there! The Hebe cabin is also pretty nice, so that’d likely be my choice. It’s got this sort of… nostalgic feeling to it. Maybe it’s just the aura of youthfulness.”

Q7: How would you describe yourself, personally?

“I guess I’m a bit of a scatterbrain. I mean, most demigods think at a million miles a minute, but I genuinely feel like I will explode in the sunlight. I love my family, I love my friends, but I’ve been noted to be reckless at times. I zone into things, and it’s like a trance to me. Um… I guess I’m average in terms of intelligence, but sometimes I can think of quick solutions to issues. Maybe I’m more like a problem solver, than a long-term thinker, or strategist…”

Q8: Do you have a crush on anyone here in camp?

“What? Seph, you can’t just ask that! What do you mean ‘Yes I can?’ Fine! Fine, yes, I do, but like heck would I tell you!”

Well, thank you all for tuning in to the first ever ‘Meet the Demigods!’ Join me next time, when we take on the spooky, haunted face of the Hades Cabin, Jasper Graves! Until next time, stay safe and praise the gods!

[thegreenwallrabbit-blog]

Explaining One of VTMB Paintings (part 16)

Louis XIV en Empereur Romain [Louis XIV depicted as Alexander the Great] (second half of 17th century)  by Unknown artist.

So this piece is difficult as the artist and any info on this one piece is very sparse online.

The painting depicts Louis XIV [Louis the 14th also known as Louis the Great] (September 5 1638 – September 1 1715) who was the king of France from 1643 until his death in 1715 which makes him still currently (as of 2023) the longest (verifiable) reign of reign of 72 years and 110 days which is the most of ANY sovereign whose reign we can verify.

The description of his reign as monarch given on the Versailles official website is:

"As sovereign by divine right, the King was God’s representative on earth. It is in this respect that his power was “absolute”, which in Latin means literally ‘free of all restraints’: the king was answerable to no one but God. During his coronation, Louis XIV swore to defend the Catholic faith. To honour this pledge and preserve the religious unity of his kingdom, he cracked down on the Jansenists of Port-Royal and ordered the persecution of Protestants. The previous policy of religious tolerance was abandoned with the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. Protestants were forced to convert, and over two hundred thousand fled the country. From his base in Versailles, Louis XIV ruled over a centralised, absolutist state which revolved entirely around him. The King lived in the main wing of the palace, on the first floor, in a suite of three apartments reserved for his use. He applied a strict etiquette at court, a set of rules and protocols by which his noble courtiers were obliged to abide. With the help of Colbert, he oversaw the administrative and financial reorganisation of his realm, and also set up manufactures and worked to boost trade. With Louvois he reformed the army and enjoyed a string of military victories. "[1]

It is most likely a replica based of a lost portirt of Louis XIV as a Roman Emperor painted by the well know Frencch court painter Pierre Mignard. This is due to the many compositional similarities to a copy of this work painted after Pierre Mignard death shown below.

Louis XIV as a Roman Emperor (Copy of lost painting by Pierre Mignard)

Whats note worthy is that in both paintings Louis XIV is not being depicted as himself leading his army in contemporary(for his time) battles but instead being depicted as Alexander the Great.

"Alexander the Great, also known as Alexander III or Alexander of Macedonia, (born 356 BCE, Pella, Macedonia [northwest of Thessaloníki, Greece]—died June 13, 323 BCE, Babylon [near Al-Ḥillah, Iraq]), king of Macedonia (336–323 BCE), who overthrew the Persian empire, carried Macedonian arms to India, and laid the foundations for the Hellenistic world of territorial kingdoms. Alexander the Great was one of the greatest military strategists and leaders in world history. He was also ruthless, dictatorial, and ambitious to the point of regarding himself as divine. His conquests of the Mediterranean states, the Persian empire, and parts of India spread Hellenistic culture across these regions"- Summery from Encyclopedia Britannica. [2]

So by depicting Louis XIV as Alexander the Great the artists are associating Louis XIV's reign and his accomplishments with being on the same scale and impact as Alexander the Great. In terms of the pairings place in VTMB this is especially important because the only place this painting appears is in Sebastian LaCroix's office. Specifically it hangs over the entrance way which makes it one of the two paintings LaCroix faces from his desk. The other painting being Pierre Séguier, Chancelier de France (translated Pierre Séguier, Chancellor of France) oil on canvas  2nd quarter of the 17th century (1660 - 1661) by Charles Le Brun (See part 5). And as I pointed out in my explainting of Pierre Séguier, Chancelier de France, LaCroix's is someone who claimed to be “an officer in Napoleons army” yet has a lot of French Royalists paintings. It is also of note as the only other large paintings of this scale that he has in his office are three different painting of Cain slaying his brother Able by different artist yet it is the paintings of  King Louis XIV (whose reign of 72 years and 110 days is the longest of any sovereign in history whose date is verifiable.) and his chancellor of France, Pierre Séguier that he looks directly at from his desk in his Versailles style office. Indicating that these mere HUMAN men*[as far as I know nether were embraced in VTM canon but don’t quote me] are more significant role models to LaCroix then Cane father of all vampires. It also tells us that just how Louis XIV is being depicted as Alexander the Great was used by the artist order to elevate him and his reign as King of France to the same historical significance and prestige as Alexander the Great, LaCroix aspires to elevate his rule as the Prince of LA in Kindred society/history to the same level as both of these human rules have in mortal history if not beyond that. And again despite having three paintings of Cain, all of them at the same height and size yet are to the side rather then across from LaCroix's desk, almost as if they are peripheral. Almost as if Cain's reign as Father of all Vampires and Ruler of the First City of Enoch is below the level of importance/significants of Louis XIV, Alexander the Great and even Pierre Séguier (who wasn't even a reigning Sovereign, just Chancellor of France). The accomplishments and legacy's of all three of these men who were only ever human (again as far as I can tell none of them were ever embraced) are seemingly above that of Cain in LaCroix's mind based on how he's chosen to arrange the paintings in his office, and he may be attempting to hide this fact and would explain why he chose to have having 3 different painting all depicting the Cain slaying his brother Able hanging at the same level as the two painting depicting the legacies of three mortal men.

[1]“Louis XIV .” Palace of Versailles, 17 Feb. 2023, en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/history/great-characters/louis-xiv#the-royal-family.

[2] Walbank, Frank. “Alexander the Great.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 5 Oct. 2023, www.britannica.com/biography/Alexander-the-Great.

[qqueenofhades]

I kinda doubt there will actually be a civil war or that putin is in any kind of real danger but do you think that maybe prigozhin will be killed? it would at least be sth i guess

I have seen some speculation in various places around the lines that "Putin ordered Prigozhin to do this and Prigozhin is just playing the role of the agent provocateur/setting the stage for another war crime in Ukraine and there's no actual crisis at all." I do not think that's true. They already blew the Kakhova Dam with much less ceremony, and with much less tangible risk to the regime. Likewise, the thing about Russian "provocations" or "false flags" is that they're all lies and don't actually involve any real action, just rhetoric and claims in their information/social media sphere. This also plays into the repeatedly discredited idea that Putin is a "master strategist" and is playing some incomprehensible genius 12-dimensional chess that it's impossible for us to understand, rather than being an aging psychopathic dictator who decided to "reconquer" Ukraine for a) the greed of his rapacious oligarchic inner circle and b) the "messianic militarism"-inspired crusade favored by Alexander Dugin and the other ultra-Orthodox, ultra-nationalist, neo-fascist thinkers who influence Putin the most. It's not actually that complicated.

Likewise, the amount of Russian military activity/attempts to fortify Moscow against an actual siege suggests that whatever Prigozhin is doing, it's not on Putin's orders and is out of Putin's direct control. Putin has given the requisite fiery speech about how Prigozhin is a traitor and he should be destroyed, there are Wagner Group vehicles heading up the M4 motorway to Moscow, anti-terrorism preparations underway in Moscow itself, etc. If you remember the fit they threw when there was one tiny drone above the Kremlin, you can see that they're taking the possibility of an actual attack seriously. If Putin was a master strategist (which he's not), there's no way in hell he would decide on launching an actual, real-world, armed coup against himself as the best way to shore up his power. The Wagner group has been fighting for months, Prigozhin has been blasting the Ministry of Defense for months, and Putin, like any other degenerate Russian dictator increasingly past his sell-by date, fears a coup more than anything else in the world. That's why he keeps hiding in bunkers and using doubles and whatever the fuck else layers of disinformation and misinformation that the regime specializes in. He knows what happened in 1917 and then in 1991 and the collapse of the Russian Empire/Soviet Union as a result. Putin's only aim has been to keep power, no matter what. There's literally no way in hell he would actually run the risk of letting a coup succeed.

Basically: I still don't know what's going on, nobody else does either, and as I said in my last answer, it's a good idea to question everything that comes out of Russia. However, this does absolutely not at all appear to be in Putin's control in any way, and is something he and the establishment are trying desperately to tamp down, because it represents a genuine threat to his power. Also as noted, we're rooting for all of them to bite each other's dicks off and explode. If Putin is still in effective control of the military or the country or anything, he clearly has to give the order to execute/liquidate Prigozhin. If he gives it but can't carry it out, he's no longer in command in reality, regardless of what it says on paper. If he doesn't give it, he's fatally weak and knows the inept regular Russian army of conscripts and criminals can't compete against the battle-hardened Wagnerites, and he's totally dependent on them to continue his insane war. If that's the case, everyone else will also see it too, and things could go very bad for poor old Vladimir Vladimirovich, very fast.

As I said before: Stay tuned.

[skyler10fic]

Lightning Strikes Twice Ch. 12

Summary: The battleplan commences as Pierce tells Natasha of Yon Rogg's impending arrival.

Read on Ao3

-------------------------------------------

“Ms. Romanov!!!” Alexander Pierce shouted from his office.

“Yes, sir?” The redhead walked in, dressed in her typical office blazer, blouse, and pencil skirt. With her tablet in hand and hair in loose waves, no one would suspect she was any more lethal than the average intelligence agency secretary.

“Mr. Rogg is arriving in one hour. Ensure he gets his usual treatment. None of this rigamarole with the line at registration. You will escort him directly to my office.”

“Very good, sir.” Natasha waited. “Anything else, sir?”

Pierce considered her carefully. It held his leering—that, she was used to—but also respect.

“You have a keen sense of judgment, Ms. Romanov. What do you think of this Mr. Rogg? Do you think we can trust him?”

Natasha was genuinely taken aback. “In what way, sir?”

Pierce turned his office chair to the skyline view of LA. “Mr. Rogg may have a special opportunity for us. A mission only I can complete. And I’d like your assistance, if you don’t mind a little field work. We’ll have to get you a new uniform, of course.”

“A uniform, sir?”

Pierce chuckled. “Shopping, Ms. Romanov. Something that you can travel in. Put it on your company card.” He winked. He often referred to the agency as his “company”—a habit that secretly grated on everyone’s nerves.

“Thank you, sir. You know how we girls love our shopping.” A more perceptive man would have caught her playing directly into his bias, but Pierce’s ego was too inflated this close to victory.

Pierce turned to her and stood. “I have one more task for you, Ms. Romanov. There’s a new enhanced recruit downstairs. Carol Danvers. We will need her on this mission as well.”

Natasha feigned concern. “A recruit, sir? Has she even completed her field testing?”

Before Pierce could answer, his computer dinged with a notification. “Ah. Mr. Rogg is heading over early. Fetch Ms. Danvers and send her up before he arrives, won’t you? We’ll meet for an initial briefing in one hour.”

Natasha turned to leave, stomach knotting with anxiety about the rushed timeline but outwardly as cool as a cucumber.

“Oh and Ms. Romanov?” he paused as Natasha turned back to face him. “Just tell her I have picked her for this mission on her demonstrated merits and accomplishments under Agent May’s guidance. No reason to bring Mr. Rogg into this; it’ll just confuse her. I’ll explain all she needs to know in the mission briefing.”

Natasha nodded in obedience. “Yes, sir.

“One hour, back here, field work ready.”

“Yes, sir.” Nastasha set off in the direction of the elevators down to the training center, but she made a pit stop at Phil’s floor first. She knocked at his office door.

“Come in!” he called. “Ah, Agent Romanov, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Phil wore his reading glasses and a plaid shirt, with a navy blazer draped across the back of his chair. Typing away at his computer like that, he almost looked like an average history professor rather than a chief strategist at an intelligence agency so secret that even other intelligence agencies considered it an enigma.

“Director Fury would like to see you in his office. Something about Project Pegasus. I think its planning deadline is coming up soon.”

Pegasus was their code word for their effort to protect Carol, namely because she could fly in ways others could only dream of. If Natasha or the others heard of Yon-Rogg and Pierce putting their kidnapping plan into motion, or any danger to Carol, they could work the code word into the conversation and meet in their secure conference room.

“Thanks, I’ll head up. Oh, and have you seen my daughter around today?”

Natasha frowned. “Sorry, I haven’t seen her. If I do, I’ll send her your way.”

In other words, Skye didn’t know that Pierce was on the move to take Carol. With luck, Skye would be at the training center with Melinda, Carol, and the enhanced recruits, but between her status as an enhanced agent and as a cybersecurity prodigy, Skye could feasibly be working anywhere in the building.

Phil typed on his computer. “Thanks. She is definitely around here somewhere according to her phone location.”

Natasha smirked and leaned against his doorframe. “Be honest, did you ever put a tracker on her before she worked here with a Shield phone? Or get tempted to?”

Phil relaxed for a moment and chuckled with fatherly affection. “Oh yeah, I wanted to. From the day she arrived. She was always running off after her own curiosity and wonder, faster than we could keep up. Given how she arrived, though, Melinda thought it was too much of a risk, in case someone came looking and hacked the tracker.”

“Wise woman.” Natasha stood up straight. “I better get going, Agent Pierce has a visitor arriving soon. In about an hour, I’m supposed to find out my first field assignment.”

“Ah. Good luck.” Phil understood exactly what she meant. In reality, of course, Natasha had more field experience than nearly anyone, but coded as office chit-chat for the sake of anyone who might be listening or simply overhearing, she was giving him the urgency of the timeline for their plan.

“Thanks. See you around.”

As soon as she was gone, she knew, he’d head to the secret conference room. She just had to get to Melinda and Carol before Yon-Rogg arrived. If Pierce planned to take her to space with him as his assistant, she’d have to show unwavering loyalty to go along with her undercover ruse so she could keep Carol safe and return her to Earth. The point of Project Pegasus, however, was that it didn’t get that far, metaphorically and astronomically.

—---------

Natasha changed clothes into more flexible material, and she alerted Melinda and Carol that it was go time. With Melinda’s clearance level, they were able to bypass all other floors on the elevator ride up from the training center to the secret conference room. Skye was waiting for them with Phil and Maria Rambeau when they arrived.

“This isn’t going to work.” Carol fiddled with the communications equipment Fitz had brought in. “I don’t know the codewords they are using to verify their identities, and they are already waiting for us for the mission briefing.”

Fury and Maria Hill popped up on the conference room screen. Fury announced, “I have a plan B if you’re taking suggestions.”

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Maria Rambeau began as Maria Hill screen-shared an image of a shiny new spaceship. “Welcome to Saber.”

[cadmusfly]

magical girl marshalate au

Uh.

This is just a dump of what I ended up rambling about on discord to various people because i cant stop, very slightly edited but I can't really be bothered writing this up into a proper thing right now

so have pure unfiltered lowercase cad sentence fragments after the cut (you too can experience this by adding me on discord)

I do not have plans for this apart from some silly doodles, I don't even have that much magical girl show experience, this is just. based off vague tropes that other things parody or something, feel free to steal or remix these ideas or whatever

link to the doodles of Shining Sabre (Lannes) and Sentinel Strategist (Soult)

if anyone has any additional ideas just throw them at me

but basically yeah TL;DR:

A mix of angsty schoolkids, exhausted college students and overworked office workers are actually the reincarnations of Napoleon's trusted generals! A strange penguin claiming to be Napoleon has empowered a school boy and an office worker with magical powers, entrusting them with the mission to find and awaken the hearts of the others while fighting off the evil Coalition of Nightmares! Will the Magnificent Marshals reunite in this strange modern times, or will they fall to shadow and darkness?!?!?! And is Napoleon actually telling the truth????

--

so we have some kind of magical napoleon who is trapped in the form of a cute cartoon mascot penguin, some kind of ghost or fairy or alien or maybe even The Real Historical Napoleon

who is seeking the reincarnations of his marshals and needs to awaken their hearts to magic in order to fight against something he claims

so the ones that he's awakened - it would be very funny and self indulgent to me personally for the first ones to be lannes and soult - are tasked with finding the others

but they are stymied by the Nightmare Coalition, who are pretty much evil shadow monsters until evil magical girls Alexander and Wellington show up

but also napoleon might not be telling the whole truth or something

i think that napoleon is genuinely looking forward to reuniting with his pals, and doesn't want to awaken junot because of what happened to historical!junot

but also napoleon has some sort of agenda he's not telling people, whihc couild be something like the Nightmare Coalition isn't actually evil

and they arose to stop him from conquering the world or something

why is he okay with awakening lannes but not junot, why is he specifically awakening the reincarnations of his marshals, those certainly are questions

duroc is either another cute funny animal who napoleon hangs out with, or duroc is a normal guy at whose house napoleon crashes

i cant decide whether to have the marshal reincarnations be schoolboys at a high school, or... office workers, that would be really funny

oh my god some of them are high schoolers, some of them are uni students, some of them are office workers theres 26 of them

... if we have soult and lannes forced to work together, lannes is the office worker, soult is a high schooler because. the other way around would make too much sense.

and soult is just so fucking done with this adult man being so stupid

and lannes is like "this is the prime of your life! you should be enjoying yourself, young man!!"

their ages do not match up with their historical ages because thats funnier

junot is a schoolboy

bessieres and murat are college students who are roommates

murat is doing a degree in uhhh fashion design or theatre and he also does SCA reenactment so he knows how to hold a sword! but he has no clue about the napoleonic stuff

bessieres is a perpetually exhausted med student who is a hairdresser on the side

courtesy of @phatburd, ney is a normal guy who actually isnt like the historical ney at all, but. due to all the shenanigans and weirdness - he is in a sparkly short skirt fighting monsters - he just gets more done and fed up with everything and thus more aggro

(could be fun in a horror/creepy way if its because of past life memories taking over, i do like my identity horror, or could just play it for comedy by having him just. be like that due to all the nonsense)

lannes is a glass cannon who has super speed and is fast, soult may be able to do green lantern esque-summoning but takes a really long time to do it so he can't react quickly, ney may be literally on fire, murat has illusory copies of himself because he's so vain

im this close to giving everyone RWBY esque stupid weapon combos

soult has a gunscythe because. baker soult memes -> bread is made of wheat -> scythes cut wheat

lannes has a gunsabre

--

anyway feel free to tell me additional ideas for the Magnificent Marshals or whatever

maybe we can have other people in the setting awaken like Josephine or Caroline as tuxedo masks or something

what even is this au

[moltengoldveins]

- Foreign Eyes 1: Empire -

(the first in a series of poems I wrote ages ago, freshman year of college. I might share the rest one day, but I liked this one.)

.

I open someone else’s eyes

In a narrow cot, just shy of the tent wall

Piled high with periwinkle blankets 

And red sheets.

The floor is matted reed, laid in rows,

Richly carpeted with cerulean and cream,

Stained with old blood.

There are boots in the corner, beneath the rack

Where the weapons are kept perfectly clean. 

They are caked with it, 

Leather stained dark like the wood of the central table. 

On it is a map, yellowed paper mountains,

Valleys, rivers, 

Populated everywhere by little wooden men. 

They match in careful navy lines against their scarlet foes,

Stand firm in adversity, 

Charge parchment hills and hold sketched fortifications,

And die silently at the delivery of the hasty missives 

Stacked in the corner. 

His stride as I walk is long and purposeful, 

His footsteps firm, silent, balanced, 

but not quite perfect; 

A hitch that tells of some old wound long-healed. 

An arrow to the knee. 

I look down. There is a narrow scar across his palm, 

And though his fingers are calloused, his nails are clean.

His nails are clean. 

‘This body is some petty warlord’s,’ I think, ‘scraping for glory. 

‘An advisor, perhaps, or a strategist, told “Triumph, at all cost,”

‘Or some great Alexander.’ 

[mariacallous]

Let’s talk about the ‘elections’ that just went down in Russia

A stress test: Over the past weekend, Russians cast ballots in 21 gubernatorial races and elections for 13 regional parliaments. As Meduza reported at the outset of the voting, the contests were less a democratic undertaking than a trial run for the Kremlin’s latest spin on managed politics. The “elections” tested a handful of acting governors who have struggled in office or previous posts, but the Putin administration’s main goal, according to various sources who spoke to Meduza, was to stress-test Russia’s neutered party system to ensure that the public accepts the scripted results of voting two years from now in federal parliamentary elections.

More or less on target: Most of the weekend’s voting results show that the presidential administration’s political orchestration is running smoothly. In seven of the 21 regions that held gubernatorial elections, regime-backed candidates won more than 80 percent of the vote (though no one dared tally above the 87-percent mark Vladimir Putin set in his most recent reelection). In another eight regions, the Kremlin’s candidates won with 78–79 percent. 

Some stand-out races: Even in the Altai Republic, former United Russia General Council secretary Andrey Turchak came away with 74 percent of the vote — outperforming his predecessors, who won 58.8 percent in 2019 and 50.6 percent in 2014. St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov walked away with the lowest victory threshold with 59 percent of the vote, despite election officials deliberately packing the ballot with opponents who endorsed unambiguously unpopular platforms that included banning foreign music and closing the city to gasoline-powered cars. Meduza’s Andrey Pertsev notes that a mayoral race in Bratsk, in the Irkutsk region, came closest to competitive politics because the two leading candidates were both United Russia members (though one ran as an independent). In the end, Alexander Dubrovin defeated incumbent Sergey Serebrennikov with 70 percent of the vote, declaring it a win first and foremost for the party.

Taking down KPRF: In regional parliaments, United Russia won more than half the votes, though the Kremlin’s reported plan to oust the Community Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF) from the number-two opposition spot was successful in only half the voting regions. (Notably, KPRF fell to fourth place in occupied Sevastopol.) The Communists continue to perform better in the national republics, where non-Russian ethnicities are the majority and where the nationalist rhetoric of LDPR and its late founder, Vladimir Zhrinovsky, continues to alienate the local populations. 

Setting the stage and readying the room: Two sources close to the presidential administration told Meduza that the Kremlin has instructed regional officials and the state media to focus where possible on the weekend’s high turnout and record results for United Russia. The regime’s political strategists reportedly want to cultivate the idea that the past weekend’s managed numbers — even the record-breaking victories — are “predictable and natural.” Familiarizing the public with such voting outcomes will reduce the potential for controversy when the authorities orchestrate Russia’s 2026 State Duma elections.

[adrl-pt]

On April 12, 2014, the war in Donbass began with the capture of the city police department of Slavyansk. https://gordonua.com/publications/Zavtra-byla-voyna-God-nazad-terroristy-nachali-zahvat-Slavyanska-75620.html

The reserve colonel of the FSB of the Russian Federation, Igor Girkin (Strelkov), who led the invasion, in an interview with the newspaper Zavtra, said that for the first two weeks no one wanted to fight and both sides wanted to convince each other. “The flywheel of the war, which is still going on, launched our detachment.” - he said. https://zavtra.ru/blogs/kto-tyi-strelok

On March 4, 2014, Putin, when asked if they were Russian soldiers, replied that they were local self-defense forces. Intercepted recordings of conversations prove that the separatists were following orders from Russia. It is indicative how Moscow political strategist Alexander Boroday forced accepting the text of the constitution sent by Vladislav Surkov, which contained errors. Surkov at that time held the position of Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation. On March 15, 2015, Putin already said that under the guise of strengthening the security of facilities in Crimea, special forces of Main Intelligence Directorate and the military were transferred there. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLa2MOKFAVM

Then the Malaysian Airlines Boeing MH17 was shot down. A court in the Netherlands found Girkin, Dubinsky and Kharchenko guilty of the crash due to a hit from a Buk air defense missile brought from Russia. https://ru.euronews.com/2022/11/17/netherlands-court-mh17-verdict-ppp

Russian authorities blamed Ukraine for this. “Dispatcher Carlos,” who allegedly worked at the Kiev airport and wrote that Ukrainian fighters were pursuing this plane, turned out to be a fraudster convicted in Spain. And his “work” was paid for by the Spanish branch of the RT propaganda TV channel. https://www.rferl.org/a/catch-carlos-if-you-can-mh17-russia-ukraine/29065244.html

In July 2014, Channel One of Russian television showed a story about a “crucified boy” in order to accuse the Ukrainian army of abusing civilians. Local residents denied this and called the Ukrainian soldiers “guardian angels.” https://www.stopfake.org/ru/lozh-raspyatie-v-efire-pervogo-kanala/

And one of the first things the Russian authorities did in captured Mariupol was to show propaganda on cars with special screens. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMn8Ooe6wlk

According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, before the full-scale invasion began, the number of civilian deaths in Donbass was constantly decreasing. https://www.dw.com/ru/zertvy-vojny-na-vostoke-ukrainy-infografika/a-51469181

Last year, ex-major of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Russian Federation Igor Salikov on the Gulagu.net channel told how the separatists themselves shelled the territory under their control to maintain a state of war. https://youtu.be/GMpl2TPNqW8?si=xsLMd_DsprAnUA_K&t=5701

In 2013, Donbass enterprises provided about 15% of Ukraine's GDP. Now the self-proclaimed authorities are closing dozens of Donbass mines, with violations of technological standards. This leads to contamination of drinking water sources. https://zona.media/article/2022/07/26/coal Equipment from some factories was transported to Russian territory. https://gordonua.com/news/society/Promyshlennost-Donbassa-Svobodnyy-polet-ili-svobodnoe-padenie-74032.html Before the war, the average salary level in Donetsk was one of the highest in Ukraine. In 2019, salaries were already 4 times lower than pre-war. https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/29728846.html

Then propaganda promoted the thesis “Donbass was bombed for 8 years” and Putin started a big war, in which in just the first few months more civilians died than in the previous 8 years. https://www.dw.com/ru/oon-v-ukraine-za-dva-goda-vojny-pogibli-bolee-10-tysac-mirnyh-zitelej/a-68346488

The well-being of people has never been Putin's goal. We urge you to be critical of pro-Russian messages regarding Ukraine: Russian propaganda is spread not only in Russian.

[yourfavvtatasworld]

Sarah “Fox” Matthews' Brothers' Skills: A Combination of Strength and Intelligence

Kenji Matthews:

Wushu Master: Kenji has an exceptional mastery of Wushu, with acrobatic movements, powerful kicks, and complex combinations. His agility and precision make him a formidable opponent.

Acrobatics Expert: Kenji is capable of performing incredible acrobatics, using them to dodge attacks, surprise his opponents, and reach inaccessible places.

Powerful Kicks: Kenji's kicks are devastating, capable of breaking bones and knocking down larger opponents.

Takeshi Matthews:

Muay Thai Master: Takeshi is a master of Muay Thai, with powerful kicks, knees, elbows, and clinch strikes. His precise and brutal technique makes him a relentless fighter.

Calm and Calculating: Takeshi remains calm in combat situations, analyzing his opponents and planning his actions with precision.

Cunning Tactics: Takeshi is a natural strategist, capable of devising complex plans and predicting his enemies' movements.

Kai Matthews:

Master of Krav Maga: Kai is a master of Krav Maga, focusing on self-defense, simple and efficient techniques, and the use of everyday objects. His ferocity and agility make him an unpredictable opponent.

Impulsive and Courageous: Kai does not hesitate to face danger, using his impulsiveness to surprise his opponents.

Hand-to-Hand Combat: Kai is an expert in hand-to-hand combat, using quick and precise strikes to incapacitate his enemies.

Jacob Matthews:

Master of Internal Martial Arts: Jacob has a deep knowledge of internal martial arts, such as Tai Chi Chuan and Qi Gong. He is able to control his life energy and use healing and defense techniques.

Mystical Powers: Jacob has mystical abilities, such as telepathy, telekinesis, and spiritual healing.

Patient and Wise: Jacob is patient and wise, using his intuition and knowledge to guide his brothers and resolve conflicts.

Alexander Matthews:

Tech Genius: Alexander is a technological genius, capable of creating state-of-the-art weapons and equipment. His inventions aid his brothers in combat and facilitate their missions.

Creator of Innovative Solutions: Alexander is able to think outside the box and find creative solutions to the challenges his brothers face.

Artificial Intelligence: Alexander has developed an advanced artificial intelligence that assists him in his creations and provides strategic information.

[dystini]

Indycar Driver Lore

Indycar Driver Lore Masterlist

Colton Thomas Herta

Birthdate: March 30, 2000 Hometown: Valencia, California Residence: Brentwood, Tennessee Height/Weight: 5’10”/140lbs

Rookie Year: 2019

Team: Andretti Global

Follow him on: Instagram Twitter

Career Stats

2018: 1 race with Harding Racing - 37th Overall 2019: Harding Steinbrenner Racing - 7thg Overall 2020: Andretti Harding Steinbrenner Autosport - 3rd Overall 2021: Andretti Autosport - 5th Overall 2022: Andretti Autosport w/ Curb-Agajanian - 10th Overall 2023: Andretti Autosport w/ Curb-Agajanian - 10th Overall

IMSA 2019 BMW Team RLL, GTLM class, won Daytona 24 2020 BMW Team RLL, GTLM class 2021 Turner Motorsport, GTD class 2022 DragonSpeed USA, LMP2 class, won Daytona 24 2023 BMW M Team RLL, GTP class

2022 Race of Champions

-He was the first NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver born in the 2000’s and is a seven-time race winner. -Became the youngest race winner in NTT INDYCAR SERIES history when he won at Circuit of The Americas in 2019 at 18 years, 359 days old and became youngest pole winner in NTT INDYCAR SERIES history at 19 years 83 days when he scored his first pole at Road America in 2019. -Son of former NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver Bryan Herta, who won four races in his driving career and two Indianapolis 500s as a team owner. Bryan Herta was race strategist for his son's NTT INDYCAR SERIES team and a co-owner of the Andretti Herta Haupert with Marco and Curb-Agajanian entry. -Won the 2019 Rolex 24 at Daytona with BMW Team RLL in GT Le Mans class. -Competed for Andretti Steinbrenner Racing in INDY NXT by Firestone in 2017-18, winning six races. -Enjoys electronic dance music (EDM), comedies and video games. He is also an active athlete who enjoys cycling, running and golf. -Plays drums in a rock band caled The Zibs, which is an arabic slang term for penis. The band toured the West Coast in 2019 -Doesn't really drink coffee

-left handed

Iconic/memorable moments 2022 INSIDE THE RACE // COLTON HERTA AT HONDA INDY TORONTO Outside the Line: Colton Herta HONDA PACE CAR // COLTON HERTA AND ALEXANDER ROSSI What Racecar Phenom Colton Herta Is Listening To JAVA WITH JAMES // JAMES HINCHCLIFFE WITH COLTON HERTA Colton Herta crashes, flips in final Indy 500 practice | Motorsports on NBC Colton Herta impresses in Formula One test at Portimão Circuit Outside the Line: Colton Herta The Racer Channel videos with Colton Herta Unbelievable Herta Save | Indycar GMR Grand Prix 2022 2022 PACE CAR LAPS // BRYAN AND COLTON HERTA ON THE STREETS OF LONG BEACH King Taco: Questions with Colton Herta

IndyCar rookie phenom Colton Herta's side gig: Rock band drummer Colton Herta INTERVIEW! The IndyCar Podcast Tom Griswold Interviews Colton Herta (2022 Indy 500) Colton Herta and Dan Wheldon Celebrate Bryan Herta's Win at Michigan 2005 MP 651: The Week In IndyCar,, Sept 28, with Colton Herta Colton Herta Loves Star Wars, Drumming, & Talladega Nights

Andretti IndyCar Drivers Test Their Pit Stop Skills | #AllAndretti | Indy 500

Road and Track's music issue, Feb/Mar 2023:

Colton is easygoing and laidback, a true California kid, yet is intensely competitive. Participant (rumored to be the mastermind) in several of the infamous Indy 500 bus lot pranks in recent years, he somehow eludes any true blame falling upon him. He’s well-liked within the paddock, most recently sort of adopted by the Bus Bros and nicknamed “Swolton.” He is also close friends with Alex Rossi, often staying with his former teammate when he needs to be in Indy. He doesn’t make a lot of waves off-track, one of the quietest drivers on social media, but makes up for it on-track with fantastic saves and crashes in equal measure. Just 23 years old in 2023 has 7 wins, 11 podiums and 9 poles in his young life.

F1 discussions.

In late summer 2022, it was announced that F1 team AlphaTauri had an interest in Colton for the 2024 F1 season. Colton, already signed to McLaren F1 as a test driver in addition to his Andretti contract in Indycar, was not eligible for a Super License, a requirement to drive in F1, but this could be addressed with an exception by the FIA. At one point it was announced that this was a done deal but it was not and Red Bull (AlphaTauri’s parent team) soon abandoned all efforts to acquire Colton as a driver.

The Super License system is a convoluted thing that I will not explain here other than to say that Indycar is vastly underrated in points assigned and if not for this discrepancy, Colton would have had more than enough points. But as it is, Colton had 32 points out of a needed 40. Other drivers in similar situations have raced in various lower tier FIA sanctioned series to make up the points and Colton was willing to do this over the winter of 2022-23 but this was also not allowed by the FIA.

But seeing Colton in F1 is still a possibility, should he do well enough in Indycar to earn the points needed and should Michael Andretti eventually succeed in buying an existing F1 team or convincing F1 to allow him to enter a new team. After the end of the 2022 Indycar season, Colton signed a multi-year contract extension with Andretti that includes the ability to switch to an Andretti owned F1 team.

Fanfic Lore

Paired with Pato O'Ward, ship name O'Herta

[ricardian-werewolf]

propaganda under the cut. (Spoilers for KOS and ROW). Nikolai info taken from the grishaverse wiki.

Threads:

Threads is a 1984 British-Australian apocalyptic war drama television film jointly produced by the BBC, Nine Network and Western-World Television Inc. Written by Barry Hines and directed and produced by Mick Jackson, it is a dramatic account of nuclear war and its effects in Britain, specifically on the city of Sheffield in Northern England. The plot centres on two families as a confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union erupts. As the nuclear exchange between NATO and the Warsaw Pact begins, the film depicts the medical, economic, social and environmental consequences of nuclear war.[2]

Nikolai Lantsov is a former King of Ravka. He is the second son of Alexander III (though later revealed to be the biological son of Magnus Opjer). He spent many years undercover, taking on a variety of jobs and hobbies.

Personality and traits

As Sturmhond, he appears to be cocky and brash, always "using ten words when two would have sufficed." He is rather mysterious; no one is able to tell where he is from or what his real name is. Sturmhond is said to have the respect of his crew, not their fear; he is able to retain their loyalty without resorting to threats of power plays that Alina has seen the Darkling employ, and it is said that he "does things his own way," implying that he abides by his own rules rather than conventional ones.

He is shown to be proficient with a number of weapons and is always seen to be bearing an assortment of weapons, including a brace of pistols, several knives, and a sword. He seems to have a particular fondness for the sword, even being willing to instruct Mal in the use of it. Usually, Sturmhond is observed wearing a bright teal frock coat with gaudy gold buttons and huge cuffs that Alina thinks would be more at home in a ballroom than on a ship's deck. When Alina and Mal dine with him, he shows a preference for fine cooking – the ship's crew includes a chef employed for this purpose. In conversation, he is jovial and intentionally lighthearted; though, when he is challenged, he betrays a much harder edge.

Alina and Mal are impressed by Nikolai's ability to appeal to the people around them and present them with a persona that they want to see. During this time, he shows himself to be extremely socially intelligent and willing to do whatever he can to manipulate the public into supporting him. He is really fair and just and cannot stand the mistreatment of innocent people. Nikolai is very intelligent and is said to excel at practically anything he tries. Nikolai suffers from being told he is ‘Nikolai Nothing’ by his brother and comments about his parentage but he hides his insecurities and does his best to satisfy everyone. He is adored by the public.

Skills and abilities.

Nikolai is a gifted fighter, swordsman, and marksman having learned to fight in street brawls as a child and serving in the First Army.

Nikolai is a natural leader, diplomat, and strategist.

Nikolai is a master actor able to pass off as Sturmhond which helps him be very manipulative and persuasive with his natural charisma.

Nikolai can juggle.

In King of Scars and Rule of Wolves, Nikolai is able to use his monster form while remaining conscious. He can fly and use his fangs/claws.

Nikolai can pilot airships and fighter planes, dating back to his experiments with his ship the Hummingbird.

Nikolai is a gifted inventor, when he was a child he turned a priceless Lantsov clock into a bizarre contraption.

[rxnefairs]

I'll go with 'royals motherfucker'... 😂

@deiasilva10 (you guys had the same WIP ask lmao)

It’s literally the only straight-forward WIP title of the bunch. 😭😭

There’s no snippet for this one, BUT I do have a couple ideas about it. So that’s what you’re getting instead!

IDEAS:

Modern Royals AU where Saul is a King and he falls in love with Farah (either an actress or supermodel). The whole relationship is considered a scandal by everyone because Saul has royal blood and Farah certainly does not. I’m kinda leaning towards Farah being a supermodel for two reasons. One, I think it just adds a more taboo aspect to the whole relationship because not only does Farah not have any noble blood, but also because her face and body are her fortune. Two, EVE BEST HAS THE GENETIC MAKEUP OF A SUPERMODEL AND I WILL SAY THIS UNTIL THE DAY I DIE.

A Tudor AU where the Church is pressuring Saul to find a wife because he needs a Queen and an heir. Instead of falling in love with the French princess he’s meant to marry, he instead falls in love with her lady’s maid, Farah Dowling. (It’s very Catherine of Aragon-Anne Boleyn-equse but no one gets their head chopped off.)

Farah is the greatest military strategist of their time, her accomplishments are compared with the likes of the First World’s Alexander the Great and Napoleon Bonaparte. When Solaria wages war against Eraklyon, General Dowling (unwittingly), attracts the attention of King Andreas’ younger brother, Prince Saul Silva of Eraklyon.

[godstrain]

✘ SMACKS DOWN › @valour-bound › scar tracing!

rarely had wesker found himself completely off guard- he'd prided himself in preparing for every single outcome (a chessmaster / strategist / conqueror king- like legends of old. son of thunder, he fashions himself as a new alexander the great / rightful new god of a new world that would never be), but this? this he was completely, horrifically, tragically unprepared for.

from childhood, he expects harm when a hand reaches out- from experience he knows. hands reaching, tearing. hands breaking and twisting. hands covered in blood- but the hurt never comes. it should, he thinks. chris has fought him time and time again- there's no reason for anything to be different. there are no variables to change-

chris will stand against the new world. chris will fight to his last breath, and wesker knows he will fight, too. for his ideals- he imagines the world as ashes slipping between his fingers. the zen garden made of death. he imagines a world where there is no one who will hurt him and no one he will hurt, and chris- chris is there. chris isn't supposed to be there. chris' hands reaching- calloused from years of fighting-

chris is reaching (holding a gun, a knife, the goddamn syringe- empty handed, bloody knuckles / crimson with the proof that he is alive. covered in an inky darkness, the rotten ichor of the endless thing that wesker had become). a phantom pain shoots through his chest (sharp like a bullet, a needle, fire around him / inside him) and wesker is left reeling- searching for a name for whatever this is. this feeling that makes his heart hammer in his chest and his vision blur and-

fear. it's fear. unfamilar, because gods aren't meant to feel fear. there's nothing that can hurt a god (but he isn't a god in the end. his new world remains a distant dream / fading dream, he knows nothing else but to chase it anyway).

chris' hands are calloused and warm and shockingly gentle. he's losing his mind. that's what this is. some hallucination / side effect of whatever uroboros had really done to him. chris' hands are warm and gentle and real (how? how is this real?) and wesker's eyes go wide when chris' thumb brushes over his cheek. over the scars left from wounds that healed wrong (he healed wrong. or maybe he'd never really healed in the first place. it's pathetic, isn't it?) because it doesn't make sense.

for the first time in his life, he wants to turn tail and run. he wants to grab chris by the arm and throw him as far as possible and never feel this fear (longing? nostalgia? the days lifetimes ago where he was human and came back from missions with scrapes and bruises like everyone else- but he'd never really been like anyone else-) ever again.

he doesn't.

chris' hands are grounding and gentle and they feel like chains. tenderness makes him a caged animal, and maybe this time he's the guinea pig and this is just another experiment and it will be okay. like the ones long ago, he always walked out when no one else did- chris' hands, familiar and foreign- chris' hands... !

[vpsreports]

Proud Boys. Three Percenters. Ku Klux Klan. The Western Chauvinist. Rise Above Movement neo-Nazi street gang. America First neo-Nazi Groypers. White Lives Matter neo-Nazis. Clockwork Crew neo-Nazi gang (formerly known as Crew 562). Donald Trump's lawyer. Members of Donald Trump's former presidential cabinet including Nazi-linked former Deputy Assistant to the President and Strategist Sebastian Gorka and Former Acting Director of the United States National Intelligence Richard Grenell. Multiple January 6th insurrectionists. Andy Ngo. Matt Walsh. Chaya Raichik. Joey Camp. Ali Alexander. There's plenty more but I'll stop there.

I have a lot of powerful fascist enemies who have targeted me by name because of my reporting and my politics. The radicalized followings of these groups and individuals regularly call for my execution, rape, and/or kidnapping. Some of them have doxed home addresses of me and my loved ones. Others claim I've been placed on some kind of kill list. They've even stolen my social security number.

I've been followed home before. I've had Proud Boys jump me late at night while I walk alone to my car. A homophobic stranger punched me when I was out for a walk with my significant other and called me a "f*ggot." I've survived brutal assaults by pro-Trump mobs that left me hospitalized. I've been run over by a truck driven by a far-right extremist. I've been shot at point blank range by a beanbag round from a 12 gauge shotgun. I've been maced and choked out and had my bones broken repeatedly. I've had people pull guns on me while I was reporting.

I could go on and on with the trauma overshare.

This is what being a public anti-fascist journalist is like in the United States. I won't have this abuse swept under the rug. The far-right is willing to do anything to stop me from doing what I do.

So I won't stop. Not until I'm ashes in the sea.

And for the record: if I ever die in a mass shooting or at the hands of some extremist, POLITICIZE THE FUCK OUT OF MY DEATH.

That is all.