#Everybody Wants to Rule the World MAP

[sammy8d257]

Hi!

İ want to attend the "everybody wants to rule the world"

but I'm not sure because I don't know what to do or how the animation will be etc.

So what I mean is, can you clarify this activity a little more?

I'm sorry if I took up your time so bye

Hey it's no problem at all!

I understand that MAPs/Multi-Animator Projects/ Multi-Animator Collabs probably aren't as common a thing in the AvA/M community, so I don't mind go over it a bit!

The AvA "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" MAP is a beginner friendly "Anything" Project

What that means is that I have cut up sections of audio (as seen in the MAP Call video) that I will be assigning to people who have filled out the Application form! Once a person receives their audio portion, they can start animating what they thing would work with that section!

Because this is a Beginner Friendly MAP, I'm not too concerned about how complex or professional your ability to animate is

(Although I will say that if you apply for a more complex musical part section or a part that has multiple people applying for, having examples showcasing your art will help me make a decision on who should get it)

Being an "Anything" MAP means that there isn't a script or animatic that needs to be followed for your part. There is however a Theme that should be followed (AvA/M Villains and Antagonists, yes Purple counts too) but aside from that, you can pretty much draw whatever you want for your part!

There is a Discord server set up for organizational purposes and theres already a bunch of people from a previous AvA MAP (Breezy Slide) on there that are very kind and I'm sure they wouldn't mind helping newer people with stuff!

This is also a great video to watch to get a quick rundown on what MAPs are and what to do or not do when applying to them!

[ohhhsosleepy]

Dw about the fact I disappeared for a month, will happen again, but I have something to show for my absence

My part of @sammy8d257 's Everybody Wants To Rule The World map :D

Bit of ramblings + individual frames under the cut

I started the part late June I think??? Took July off since Artfight began and I was also accosted by burnout. BUT I'd gotten a good amount of progress done in that time and was able to finish off everything before the end of August :]

Believe it or not I am a long haired + bug wings purple believer, but feathered wings were easier for me to draw (plus I think they look cooler (sorry bug wing enjoyers)) Decided to give Purple shorter hair because in my mind, they're closer to Rb/ Navy/ Whatever you call them, so they haven't started growing it out yet. After this whole dragon fiasco is when I think that starts happening Speaking of closer to Navy, I'm sure you've noticed the gem on their crown :) I cant share anything about the other parts of the map since well. They're not mine, but I will say all the parts are looking absolutely awesome, I'll be reblogging their posts as I find them Also hello avm community I think this is my first time interacting with you on this blog

[doodlebeeberry]

gary i need to host a map set to a tears for fears song

[what-stasis]

Everybody wants to rule the world ! [part 17, hosted by @sammy8d257]

Map call ^

[reptilia0freptiles]

My part of @sammy8d257’s Everybody Wants to Rule the World map!

Yayyyyy! Took me 2 months or smth, but I finishhhhed!!

[floralcrematorium]

2010s Nostalgia || Hetalia Edition

Hetalia Youtube Nostalgia Playlist | 117 songs | 7hr 5min

• Hey Na Na - Katie Herzig • Viva La Vida - Coldplay • Rasputin - Boney M. • Glad You Came - The Wanted • Hot Mess - Cobra Starship • Counting Stars - OneRepublic • Fireflies - Owl City • Bombshell Blonde - The Jagged Edges • Do Better - Say Anything • Welcome To The Show - Britt Nicole • Dance With The Devil - Breaking Benjamin • Survive - Sick Puppies • Life is Beautiful - Sixx:A.M. • Fairytale - Alexander Rybak • Everybody Loves Me - One Republic • Don't Mess With Me - temposhark • Mimimi - SEREBRO • I Like It Loud - Cash Cash • I Just Wanna Run - The Downtown Fiction • I'm ALIVE! - Becca • Lovestruck - Breathe Electric • I Like To Dance - Hot Chelle Rae • Haven't Had Enough - Marianas Trench • Kiss Me Thru The Phone - Soulja Boy, Sammie • Hard out Here - Lily Allen • Runaway Baby - Bruno Mars • I Don't Care - Fall Out Boy • Airplanes - B.o.B., Hayley Williams • Rock Star - Prima J • This Is War - Thirty Seconds To Mars • Hey Brother - Avicii • Cinderella - Tata Young • Centuries - Fall Out Boy • Déjà Vu - 3OH!3 • Sexy, Naughty, Bitchy Me - Lene Alexandra • Miss Jackson - Panic! At The Disco, LOLO • The Ballad of Mona Lisa - Panic! At The Disco • Europe's Skies - Alexander Rybak • Bad Apple!! - RichaadEB, Cristina Vee • Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off - Panic! At The Disco • Let's Kill Tonight - Panic! At The Disco • Hurricane - Panic! At The Disco • Casual Affair - Panic! At The Disco • Never Close Our Eyes - Adam Lambert • Playing With Fire - Ovi, Paula Seling • Angel With A Shotgun - The Cab • Nicotine - Panic! At The Disco • Killer - The Ready Set • How to Be a Heartbreaker - MARINA • This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race - Fall Out Boy • Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na) - My Chemical Romance • Troublemaker - Olly Murs, Flo Rida • Good Girls Go Bad - Cobra Starship, Leighton Meester • I Can't Decide - Scissor Sisters • One Woman Army - Porcelain Black • How To Start A War - Simon Curtis • Maps - Maroon 5 • Do Better - Say Anything • STARSTRUKK - 3OH!3 • Remember Everything - Five Finger Death Punch • The Diary of Jane - Breaking Benjamin • Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes • When You're Evil - Aurelio Voltaire • Canadian, Please - Julia Bentley, Gunnarolla • Sarah Smiles - Panic! At The Disco • Take Me to Church - Hozier • Viking Death March - Billy Talent • Headstrong - Trapt • Semi-Charmed Life - Third Eye Blind • Don't Believe A Word - Third Eye Blind • Warriors - Imagine Dragons • iNSaNiTY - CircusP • Paralyzer - Finger Eleven • I'm Awesome - Spose • 24 - Jem • Clarity - Zedd, Foxes • Hall of Fame - The Script, will.i.am • The Is Gospel - Panic! At The Disco • Immortals - Fall Out Boy • Rather Be - Clean Bandit, Jess Glynne • Wake Me Up - Avicii • a thousand years - Christina Perri • Just Like Fire - P!nk • Safe & Sound - Taylor Swift, The Civil Wars • Safe And Sound - Capital Cities • Everybody Wants To Rule The World - Lorde • Demons - Imagine Dragons • DNA - Little Mix • Remember The Name - Fort Minor, Styles of Beyond • Victorious - Panic! At The Disco • 右肩の蝶 (Butterfly On Your Right Shoulder) - Kagamine Rin/Len • We Are One (Ole Ole) - Pitbull, Jennifer Lopez, Claudia Leitte • Hero - Skillet • Maraca - Mohombi • The Phoenix - Fall Out Boy • DONTTRUSTME - 3OH!3 • Teenage Dream - Katy Perry • SING - My Chemical Romance • Good Time - Owl City, Carly Rae Jepsen • White Rabbit - Egypt Central • Not Gonna Die - Skillet • The Kill - Thirty Seconds To Mars • We No Speak Americano - Yolanda Be Cool, DCup • Nobody's Listening - Linkin Park • Disco Pogo - Die Atzen • German Sparkle Party - The Something Experience • Dirty Little Secret - The All-American Rejects • I Could Be The One - Avicii, Nicky Romero • Can't Hold Us - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis • Still Into You - Paramore • Primadonna - MARINA • Pompeii - Bastille • 恋愛サーキュレーション (Renai Circulation) - 物語シリーズ • Awake And Alive - Skillet • Monster - Skillet • Poker Face - Lady Gaga • Falling Inside The Black - Skillet

[deathssunshine]

A Date with Death After the End

Warning: bad language, SPOILERS. THIS GAME HAS ONLY COME OUT RECENTLY ABOUT A DAY MEANING SPOLIERS INCLUDING HIS NAME WHICH WASN'T IN THE DEMO AND POSSIBLY HIS NICKNAME FOR YOU ALONG WITH SPOILING THE END

Genre: Really silly

Word count: not counting 💀💀💀💀💀 its small though

Game: A Date With Death by Two and a Half studios

Pairings: Casper (Grim) x you silly

Character: Casper (Grim)

Description: Basically going on from where the end of ending 3 (I think) left off. So right after the kiss with Casper that silly silly reaper. I HAVEN'T WRITEEN FAN FIC IN AWHILE SO IM SORRY

~A date with death after the end~

The kiss lasted a good minute. It wasn't a rough sloppy kiss but rather a soft, sweet simple kiss. You pull back as you open your eyes still straddling his lap. Both you and him had you're cheeks dusted with a soft pink, you looked into his eyes happily as he did to yours.

"Seems like a certain little reaper is quite submissive" You teased earning a scoff from him. "I'm nor submissive or dominant however, I would prefer to be on the dominant side" He smiled reaching out to hold your hand. Your warm soft hand and his icy soft hand intertwined as you two gazed into each others eyes. He pulled you in for a hug, holding you tightly with an arm around your waist and another going up your back with that hand holding your head from behind. (I'm sorry yall know I'm bad at this shit) "I'm surprised you got here this fast from Australia, and without any spiders on you too!" You giggle.

"For the last time I'm from the underworld, not Australia. Pick up a map for fuck sakes," He sighed but chuckled at you. "I can finally hold you in my arms" He pressed his forehead against yours and held you tighter. You then roll off him and to right next to him, laying your head on his chest. He took the opportunity to play with your hair. "I love you, my sunshine"

[wolf-tail]

So, my little brother's been watching this cartoon called Craig of the Creek, and one of the things I really like about it is how it seems to, even if accidentally, promote an anti-authority stance, possibly an anarchist one.

Craig of the Creek is essentially Recess but in the woods, and takes place in a world where the kids of this town have their fun by going down to The Creek, a society made up of children who play and explore in and around the titular creek. And I do mean this is a functioning society, where the children have their own rules and culture, mostly centered around fun and play.

But the cool part is, no one makes them, there's no kid cops to enforce these rules. They're held up by a sort of social contact, mainly this shared idea that for this space to exist and be fun for everyone, we have to do these things. There's the girl who keeps time for everybody and blows the horn to notify the Creek that it's time to go home for dinner. There's the girl who runs the Trading Tree, where kids barter for snacks, entirely without the use of money. The closest thing the Creek has to leaders are the Elders, three grown ass men who hang out in a cave under a bolder and play Dnd. But they're not in charge, they're just the guys who've been here the longest and who the Creek kids come to for advice. Craig himself doesn't have a particular job per say, but he's the Mapmaker, he maps out the Creek, and he does this because he likes it, it's fun for him. Craig of the Creek is a show that understands that the lamest kind of kid to hang out with is the kid who demands that everyone play by the rules that they made up, and it's made evident by the kids who live on the Other Side of the Creek

On Craig's side, every kid is free to play how they want to. The horse girls run around on all fours in the field, the weeb kids read manga at the waterfall, Craig and his friends do whatever the mood strikes them to do. No one is forced to do something they don't want to, and any kid that tries is considered by the narrative to be a huge jerk and no fun, but on the Other Side?

The Other Side kids are under the rule of a tyrannical king who's word is law. The king decides who gets to eat what snacks and when, what games to play, and forces the kids into a strict hierarchical system, complete with uniforms, and little to no upward mobility. It sucks, it sucks so bad. The king is the logical conclusion to that one kid who makes up rules and throws tantrums being allowed to do whatever they want. It's the job of the Green Poncho kid to guard the overpass that separates the two sides of the Creek, or else the king's influence will spread and threaten sacred playtime.

Unlike in Recess, where a king is needed to enforce the rules and keep the peace, in Craig of the Creek, children don't need a king, rules are kept in place by mutual needs and values, all kings do is fuck everything up. This show really said "no gods no masters" and I love that.

[sanctus-ingenium]

I just wanted to say I loved your map of Inver and the history involving the werewolves and everything! I never would have discovered the Irish used to be known as Hibernians otherwise. I’d love to see more art of your boy Finbarr! His design is GOLDEN

Thanks! For Inver I decided that it needed some hints that it takes place in our world but with an alternate history, and one of the last common eras that we shared before the history diverged was the ancient roman empire. So the place names which linger on to contemporary times in the world of Inver are the roman empire names like Hibernia, Armorica, Aquitan etc (Albion doesn't exist tho it blowed up)

Developing the language of Inver was stupid fun haha. So you mention Finbarr, who lived several hundred years before all my other characters from this region. In his time, he would have called the land Indreabhán.

"Inver" is a real place name, it's the anglicisation of Indreabhán. The modern-day capital city of Invergorken was originally a keep built spanning the inner corner of Amhan bay, called Indreabhán Ceann, the head of Inver. This was where the first High Kings of Inver lived. Finbarr Ó Casaide and his arch enemy/fwb Olivier Fils-Tanet belonged to different cultures and clans, and their kings swore fealty to the High King. Their story is basically the history of the nation and those guys' part in starting the war which turned the scattering of small allied Hibernian, Aquitanian and Armorican kingdoms which settled Albion (post blow-up) and doggerland into one single empire of Inver ruled by werewolves and the near-extinct dregs of the Hibernians.

Everybody say "congratulations on being so toxically horny for one another that you ended destroying your entire world and irrevocably changing the course of history by starting a war" to Finbarr and Olivier

[theladyofbloodshed]

SJM Romance Week - Day 5 - Favourite Tropes

@sjmromanceweek

Forced Proximity x Injury Recovery meets Sister Act

Two years. Two long years since Nesta had been given sanctuary by the priestesses in Itica after running from her life from Hybern’s beasts.

Even now, days before the anniversary of hammering on the doors with her bloodied hands, she remembered the thundering of her heart as she was herded by monsters. Remembered the soul-wrenching fear that kept her bare feet pounding across the rough stone even as it tore open her skin. She bore the scars from that day. Her feet had been in ruins. Her hands even worse.

On that night, her slumber had come to an abrupt end. A soft voice had whispered that she must open her eyes and when she did, a knife was plunging for her chest. If she’d not stamped on her instincts year after year, her magic would have flared out of her. It had spent too long locked away, so like a beaten animal, it was too afraid to emerge. Nesta had wrapped her hands around the blade, its kiss agonising. She didn’t know how many soldiers had burnt their way through the village, how many lives they’d ended. Nesta had leapt from the window, bones cracking on the impact and ran. Ran and ran and ran.

The Mother had always favoured her, people said. They were comments that she’d laughed at. Everybody wanted to be favoured by the Mother but it was another thing to truly be blessed by her. But that night, Nesta did not know how she could have survived without a soft, maternal hand pushing her along.

In two years, she hadn’t become a believer. Despite the gratitude she felt towards the priestesses and the acolytes for granting her sanctuary, despite whatever kindness the Mother had offered her, Nesta wasn’t moved by religion. She wore their garb - pristine white robes with a hood that covered her hair - and joined them for prayers as was expected of her, but Nesta still couldn’t muster her faith.

It couldn’t go on like this, she knew, hiding forever amongst the priestesses. One day, the world would remember Nesta Archeron, the girl who stole from the Cauldron and come looking for her to tear her heart from her chest and repair what was taken.

***

Another dead end. From the whispers and foreign tongues that they had managed to gather across the centuries, the feet of the Cauldron were hidden in temples.

Azriel and Rhys had sat with Amren for hours, collating information, trying to narrow down the search. Prythian was littered with temples. As was the Continent. And Hybern. They ruled out temples that had been built since the war, which only eliminated a handful. It was Azriel’s task to sweep through as many as they could, starting with ones they had associations with, no matter how weak they were. The words were too precious to put in a letter. Every night, he’d winnow to a new location then return at dawn to cross it off on their map. Each night, their disappointment grew.

‘Where to next?’

Amren drummed her painted fingernails on the table. ‘Hybern. It would make sense if all three feet were on a different piece of land. One for the Continent. One for Prythian. One for Hybern.’

Azriel raised his brows. ‘Are you sentencing me to my death?’

‘Don’t get caught, Spymaster.’

Once darkness fell, Azriel was away. A different tactic was needed for Hybern. He’d hit up as many temples as he could in an area lest word spread that he was spotted flying there night after night.

It was bitterly cold in Itica. Snow had already blanketed the craggy ground before winter had truly arrived. He tread lightly, flying as often as he could despite the pummel of wind. The first temple did not allow him entry because he was male. The second was made up of only males but when Azriel made excuses that he wanted to pray, he was followed. If the feet were here, his shadows would be trailed by the priests. The third and fourth temple were also a bust, but more and more attention was being shown to him although it was late into the night.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end even before he’d winnowed to the fifth temple of the night. If Azriel hadn’t been so committed to finding the feet, he’d have listened to his instincts and not bothered going.

As soon as he landed, the armed guards stood on the brass doors of the temple outside moved.

At the same moment his shadows enveloped him again, an arrow hit him in the wing. He felt the sting of ash sear through his blood. He could only get a short distance away and the guards were coming. Again, he winnowed. Again, another arrow sailed through the black sky, this time piercing his leg. Amongst a volley of arrows, his shadows swooped around him, taking him as far as they could whilst his magic was nullified. Another hit him, sinking deep into the flesh of his shoulder. In the distance, he could just make out another temple carved into stone. His wings and his shadows did all they could to get him there despite the pain racking his body.

***

Poppea’s rough wake up left Nesta shaking. It had brought back too many memories of that night.

‘Come. Quickly.’

Nesta donned her garb, pulling the hood up and over her hair. It was still pitch-black outside so it had to be an emergency. That was not good news. She dreaded running again. She’d spent so much of her life running.

The temple was quiet. A peaceful sort of quiet. The great, metal basin at its centre remained blazing with more candles flickering in their silver candelabras around the prayer room.

At a statue to the Mother which was veiled, Poppea paused.

‘There is a male here.’

‘He cannot be,’ replied Nesta, well-accustomed to their sacred vows even if she had never said them.

‘He is a male I recognise – a good male. Yasmeen has used what little healing power she has to stabilise him, but you are more learned in such matters.’

‘Healing?’

Poppea frowned, the deep etchings of her face worsening from the motion. ‘Males.’

At that, Nesta’s own brows drew together. Poppea had made it clear that Nesta's rude, uncouth behaviour had no business in her temple over the last two years. Often, she'd been sent to bed without supper for snorting during prayer or for cursing when she dropped an item. Now she was flaunting Nesta's history.

The high priestess cleared her throat. ‘Many of these females have never known a life beyond these walls. They have few memories of the fathers that gave them away. Many have vivid memories of the males that hurt them.’ Poppea rested a hand on Nesta’s shoulder. ‘The Mother brought you here for a purpose. Perhaps this is it.’

With support from the other acolytes present during the night, Nesta was ushered into the tunnel running beneath the statue armed with supplies. Yasmeen offered strict instructions on how to take care of the male. As the statue was moved back into place, she followed the glow of lights at the bottom of the sloping stairs to find her way. Nesta knew the route well. She had spent three weeks beneath the ground when she had first arrived because it was the only place that could guarantee protection and privacy.

On one of the beds, a male with massive, leathery wings was asleep although the slumber did not seem peaceful. Sweat beaded his brow despite the relatively cool temperature under the ground. Blood stained his skin. A hole was punctured into his right wing. His clothes had been cut away by Yasmeen and an arrow removed from his shoulder. It would scar through the intricate whorls of obsidian ink on his upper body. Yasmeen seemed to have balked at removing his trousers so had sliced up the length, leaving them flapping open all the way to his thigh where another arrow had likely hit him.  

Nesta knelt down beside him and pushed his sweat-soaked dark hair from his tan skin. The moment she looked at him, she felt like she’d found something that had been lost forever, like he had been missing from her life until that moment.

‘Who are you?’

She ran a thumb over his brow, the skin burning beneath.

Whilst following Yasmeen’s instructions to clean and bind the wounds on his body, the judder of boots above her head had Nesta stilling. She remembered this moment. The absolute soul-gripping fear of discovery. How the gentle priestesses had the courage to look Hybern’s soldiers in the eyes and lie would always amaze her. For now, they hadn’t crossed that line in sieging a temple because their fear of the Mother held them back.

The male jerked away, hand reaching for his sheath which was now empty of its blade. Despite the pain, his eyes fixed on Nesta. Hurriedly, she bared her palms to him then pointed to the ceiling where the rough, low voices of the males seeped through. She pressed a finger to her lips.

He glanced down at the bandages she’d been winding around his thigh then relaxed slightly, recognising that she was not a threat. In a terse silence, Nesta continued Yasmeen’s instruction while they both listened keenly to any shift in the conversation above.

***

This female was enchanting.

Azriel had lost blood. Could still feel the ash coursing through his body. He ought to have been terrified of being found, of bringing death to this temple, but all thoughts emptied at the sight of this beautiful female dabbing the wound on his shoulder, silver eyes focused on his injury. She had an elegant, classic beauty – one that seemed criminal to hide away in a temple.

She grazed her knuckle along the bone of his wing and that motion had him biting down on the flesh of his palm.

‘Painful?’

Azriel shook his head. ‘Sensitive.’

‘I need to clean the wound.’ She added, ‘I’ll be gentle.’

That was almost worse, he thought. Azriel could feel every languid touch, every soft breath as she leaned close to the membrane. Her concentration had her lips pursing slightly, making her all the more enticing to look at.

Once the noise had died down, Azriel tried to stand but the female pressed a hand against his bare chest to keep him on the mattress. She was more forward, more physical than he knew acolytes to be when it came to males.

When she had finished, she carried a basket over to the bed. Inside were robes of differing sizes, all pristine white, and Truth-Teller rested on top. He felt better knowing the blade’s location.

‘How long must I remain here?’

She shrugged. ‘The priestesses risked their lives to keep you safe.’

Azriel bowed his head. ‘I’m grateful.’

‘Good,’ she replied, fighting a smirk from her lips. ‘And to answer your question, I was down here for three weeks when I arrived.’

Three fucking weeks?

Azriel doubted he’d make to morning before he was climbing the walls. Already, he was shaking his uninjured leg as the realisation that he was trapped in here settled in.

‘Are you going to do that all night?’

The female was staring at his jiggling leg, disgust curling her upper lip.

‘Who are you?’

‘Company for the foreseeable future,’ she replied. ‘There’s a small alcove back here with food for emergencies. Take what you need. There’s also a bucket that will be emptied when its safe for somebody up there to move the statue.’ She sucked in a breath. ‘Since you’ve bloodied up that bed, I will sleep in this one.’

Was he supposed to just fall asleep after being shot at by Hybern’s soldiers? Trust that these priestesses wouldn’t betray him or the soldiers wouldn’t come back and slaughter their way through the temple? The ash was still suffocating his magic preventing winnowing, preventing Rhys from reaching out with his mind.

‘What’s your name?’ The female was sizing him up like an apex predator.

‘Azriel.’

She gave a slow nod in response. ‘Poppea recognised you.’

The name wasn’t familiar. Azriel gave a shrug. ‘Where I live, we have a sanctuary for females who have been injured – similar to this temple. I help females find their way there.’

‘A hero,’ she said, not hiding her sarcasm.

Fine. That line had worked numerous times, but not on a priestess it seemed.

‘Your name?’

‘Nesta.’

As soon as she said it, her expression froze. A misspeak. She smiled tightly, the light not meeting her eyes.

‘Well, I was woken to be your nursemaid. I shall return to sleep.’

***

It took some tossing and turning, but Nesta eventually fell asleep. She had been hyperaware of the male definitely not sleeping in the bed opposite. There had been a lot of grunting from pain as he sloped off to the pantry then she’d spied him in the largest white robes they had to offer, with slashes in the back to force his wings through.

It was Azriel who woke her with his pacing like a caged beast. He dragged his injured leg across the floor and his wings rustled as he fought to keep them upright with the injury to his shoulder.

‘You need to rest your leg,’ she snapped.

‘I can’t be in here.’

Nesta sat up in the bed, her hood discarded in favour of comfort. ‘You have no choice. Get in the bed.’

If this male had a tail, it would be lashing. He stood at the foot of the stairs, staring up at the darkened tunnel.

Gritting her teeth to keep from yelling – her prickly nature never quashed by soft prayer – Nesta stormed across the room and dragged him by the hand back into bed. The skin beneath her fingers was odd, deeply set in some places or smooth in others. In the dim light, she could not make it out fully. She released his hand and pointed to the bed. ‘In there.’

‘Have they sent the most ferocious priestess to guard me?’

No, Nesta was on her final warning. She refused to say her vows, refused to commit herself to the Mother until her dying moments because she had to believe there could be more to her life. She’d not kerbed her bad habits; she still cursed, still blasphemed, still drifted elsewhere during services when the others sang. Poppea had made it very clear that staying was a curtsey if she was to remain a guest and it could be easily taken away.

‘Yes, I’ll smother you if you wake me up for a third time tonight,’ she replied shortly, before climbing back into her own bed.

‘It’s difficult for me to be here,’ Azriel said.

Nesta gave a short laugh. ‘Do you think any of us would choose to be here?’

Few of these females had dreamed of being the unwanted daughter given to the Mother because they served no other purpose or saying holy vows that committed them to the temple for eternity because they had nowhere else to go.

‘It’s different.’ Azriel eased himself back into bed with a groan. ‘I spent my childhood locked in a dungeon. I never planned to be locked up again.’

‘Nobody does,’ replied Nesta as she pulled the blankets up and over her shoulders. ‘I’m sorry that happened to you, but the females in this temple have risked their lives to keep you here. As soon as the soldiers aren’t watching the doors – and when your magic allows – nobody will stop you from leaving.’

In the morning, he was in a deep sleep. Nesta could hear his low snore as she opened her eyes. When she moved from her bed, he did not stir. She idled her time reading the book of prayers kept in the bunker for lost souls, not believing much of it. Faith was a strange concept to her. She’d grown up amongst mortals, her mother one, and they didn’t set much store in higher powers, not when the fae ruled their lives. Her sire – whoever he was – had to be fae for Nesta’s powers to be so great. They’d flared out of her one day when the soldiers came to the village to capture more slaves to be chattel for their army. Nesta couldn’t take the screams. Her magic had erupted in cold, silver flames that devoured. Since that day, Nesta spent her whole life running, never staying in a place more than a moon.

She perched on the edge of the bed near the male who was blanketed by shadows. They parted for her to press a hand to his forehead. The skin beneath burnt fiery. An infection had settled into his body during the night and she had slept through everything.

When the statue was removed for fresh water and food, she called for Yasmeen.

‘She is afraid to be here,’ replied Athilea. ‘You know what happened to her.’

‘This male is unconscious.’

Yasmeen would not go below again, but provided more tinctures and fresh muslin cloth to rebind his wounds.

‘The soldiers?’

Athilea nodded. ‘Still there. Still waiting.’

The male’s sleep was uninterrupted by the exchange. When Nesta returned to Azriel, shadows coiled around her wrist as she worked. It was wasteful to cut away his robes but she didn’t know how else to reach his shoulder. At Azriel’s nudity, she averted her eyes upwards and adjusted the thick, woollen blanket across his lower body. Nesta had seen males before. It was one of the hardest parts to give up when she entered the temple.

The wound on his shoulder was angry and swollen, the skin red around the entry. As she cleaned it, he stirred slightly with an incomprehensible murmur then a hand landed on her thigh.

Nesta spoke to him softly, explaining what she was doing in case a part of him could hear. His shadows were happy to curl onto her shoulders like little birds observing too.

For longer than she should, Nesta remained wedged onto a sliver of the mattress with him, a hand stroking against his black hair as she sang the few hymns she’d learned during her time in the temple. He was handsome, she decided. Too handsome. The sort of face she’d have made hers in a dingy tavern. The kind of face she’d want to wrap her thighs around.

Azriel blinked himself into consciousness, eyes adjusting to the dim light Nesta’s bobbing faelight offered. Could he have sensed those thoughts she’d just had? Surely not.

‘You were unwell,’ she stammered to explain why she cradled his head and had been caressing his soft hair for the last hour.

Azriel pushed an elbow against the bed to lift himself, teeth clenching together from the pain. ‘Were you singing?’

His shadows snapped between them, hiding her blushes. He waved a hand through the blockade, scattering them. ‘They don’t usually do that.’

‘I don’t usually sing,’ she countered.

‘Must be the effect I have on you.’ He cleared his throat. ‘I mean, I’m a shadowsinger.’

‘I gathered,’ she replied, pressing her lips together. It was fairly obvious from the blanket of shadows that stayed with him, but she’d let him keep his mystique. ‘You have an infection. It will require regular cleaning.’

‘Am I naked?’

Her blush deepened, turning the apples of her cheek crimson. Nesta tried and failed to speak, her tongue sticking to the roof of her mouth. No man had ever found issue with her undressing him before.

A brow rose. ‘A nude male doesn’t affect the gentle disposition of a priestess?’

It had been a long, long time since Nesta had seen a naked male but not a single one had looked like this male with his face carved by the Mother’s hands or his powerful body. And those wings. It had been such an effort to keep her hands from those but she’d seen the effects they’d had on him yesterday when she cleaned the blood away.

She flicked his cheek, sending him back down onto the mattress. ‘I’m not a priestess. I haven’t said any vows. I was like you once with no place to go but the Mother’s arms. Your nudity is no cause for alarm.’

***

This female had to have been sent by the Mother herself. She was gentle with his wounds, diligent and compassionate, but she had a sharp tongue which was at odds with that gorgeous face. The notion that she had not yet committed herself to a lifetime of servitude to religion sparked something in his chest that he was trying to extinguish. Nesta did not need him panting after her. But gazing at her provided an alternative to spiralling in worry about being beneath the ground with no escape route.

As the days wore on, they became more companionable with each other. Still, his wounds needed tending to thanks to the ash making them heal as if he was mortal. Nesta was devoted in this. She cared for him as though it was her calling in life. Day and night his wounds were left to air in between bandage changes and she’d clean each one before. It could have been his imagination but Azriel was sure her fingers lingered longer than they needed to on his thigh. Once, she even ran a tender finger against the whorl of his tattoo. It had been damaged from the arrow but it could be re-inked in Illyria. Nesta enquired about their origins then listened intently as he spoke of Illyria.

'You came from there, but they aren't your people?'

Azriel swallowed, the knot in his throat pulling tighter. He wanted to tell her everything - about his beginning, his father, his mother, learning to fly - but Nesta was a stranger. A stranger who felt as familiar to him as his reflection.

'No. I have family but we aren't bonded by blood.'

There was no news from Rhysand. He had to hope it was due to the nullifying effects of the ash. Either that or they thought him dead or in enemy’s clutches so had gone silent.

There were still soldiers making the rounds but not as frequent so as soon as his magic returned, Azriel could leave. They'd strike when a blind eye was turned to the temple so he could pass the threshold and winnow. Ancient magic was imbued into the building's foundations preventing winnowing inside the walls.

He almost didn’t want to leave. What would his evenings be without Nesta dragging her bed close to his and playing cards or word games to pass the time? She had no fear around him – almost seemed to relish his company despite spending her life in this temple. The females that he’d ushered into the library were reluctant to be around him, their fear of males deeply rooted. This one had moved her bed alongside his for their games then ended up sleeping just inches from him ever since. Each night, Azriel wanted to close the gap and reach out for her slender hand. Sometimes Nesta's reached out to the end of the bed, daring him to hold it.

‘I think you’re cheating,’ she murmured, peering at her hand of cards. Nesta was cross-legged on the bed, hood pulled down. They wore the same virginal white robes but they suited her. Cassian would laugh himself hoarse if he could see Azriel in his.

Azriel let out a low chuckle. ‘It’s my shadows. I didn’t ask them to spy.’

Nesta dropped her cards on his lap. ‘Dirty cheaters.’

‘You dealt a dodgy hand yesterday, bending the aces. I saw you.’

She shrugged both shoulders. ‘No idea what you’re talking about. False accusations.’ She pressed her hands together in prayer. 'I am a devotee of the Mother.'

‘How does a soon-to-be-priestess know so many card games – and how to cheat?’

‘I told you,’ she replied, ‘I’m not a priestess. I had a life before but I was given shelter here two years ago and never left. I've visited enough taverns to know how to play and how to cheat.’ Nesta held out a hand for a shadow to sit upon. ‘I spent my whole life running. I could catch my breath here, but it’s not my forever. I just don’t know where to go next.’

‘What are you running from?’

‘The King of Hybern.’ Nesta swept her hair away from the top of her ears. They were curved like his, but he’d have sworn she was high fae. ‘My mother was mortal. I was raised by mortals. But I wasn’t like them.’ With her free hand, she let silver flames crawl across it. Azriel flinched, expecting heat, but could only feel a seeping coldness. ‘I escaped his dungeon and have been running ever since.’

The flames died out, sputtering with sparks as Nesta banked her power. He couldn’t imagine looking over a shoulder all the time, never settling, never building bonds. Azriel didn't want to think about what she'd endured at the King's hands. Hell, how had she even escaped?

This was a female who’d had her choices taken from her. She’d chosen safety over desire but that need to be immersed in life still blazed within.

Azriel didn’t know if it was the right thing, but he said, ‘I know a place you could go. A library. It’s safe and secret.’

‘I’d have to be there forever?’

No. He imagined her dancing with him at Starfall on the roof beneath a sky of stars falling for only them. Cheating at cards alongside him to drive Cassian wild. Shopping with Mor as they explored the boutiques of Velaris and showing him what she’d bought. Curling her head against his chest at Solstice when they were full of food and joy. Mostly, Azriel imagined her beside him like they were here, beneath the ground.

‘You can be in my city. It would be safe. Hybern would never find you.’

From her expression, Azriel knew she doubted him. He clutched her hand, the shadow scarpering. ‘I promise you this: I would keep you safe.’

‘You arrived here with three arrows sticking out of you,’ she reminded him.

‘Trust me.’

‘I don’t know you,’ she said, voice dropping to a whisper.

Azriel pressed her hand to his heart to feel the steady beating of it beneath. ‘You have the rest of your life to know me.’

[probablyaseamonster]

On fWhip's new SMP

fWhip, years after ending the Empires series and New Life drizzled out, has decided to create what appears to be the first season of a new series: SOS smp.

Not an acronym (well, i mean, technically) for a longer name, that's the official title and not the fandom tag.

Other fans have addressed the "no lore" thing already, even though the series is only a day old. Check the tag if you want clarity. Or just, you know, watch the videos.

What I want to discuss is the "twist" that sets it apart from other related SMP concepts.

In SOS, every time you die, you leave behind a gravestone. But, the gravestone will also disappear if a set time runs out. This doesn't just take your stuff away, like one might expect. When you die, you enter spectator mode. And if the time runs out and no one ELSE comes to save you, you are banned from the server.

But that's not all! In order to save someone's life, one must ALSO insert a special currency. Each person starts the server with one coin, but you can get more from doing things. This means that a person could not save you, even if they dug into the deep dark or traveled to the end island, if they did not have a coin with them. Horrifying concept, right?

Now that the basic game mechanics are layed out, let's discuss how this relates to other popular SMPs.

This series could not be another edition of the X Life series, for one thing because of there being no world-gen mods, let alone the numerous amounts of other potential gamechangers Afterlife and New Life came with. Excepting everything related to the gravestones, this is a normal minecraft world.

This also clearly can't be the third empires season, for obvious reasons as well as personal context. And as far as I know, no other SMPs fWhip has played in have been this simple.

In fact, this series most closely resembles the Life Series with its simplicity, modded items, and death mechanics. It most obviously resembles the two newest seasons, with the time limit and an implied otherworldly force that could easily be headcanoned as evil.

Now, what REALLY makes me think is how SOS at its core, is set up to foster relationships. A player is 100% dependant on being rescued, but there are no rules that say a person can't NOT rescue someone else, and no penalizing for it. The worst thing a person could do is completely isolate themselves in a far off corner of the map, or worse, antagonize people without making any friends to balance it out. If nobody LIKES or cares about you, or if everyone agrees the server would be better off WITHOUT you, you will be dead forever. Everyone is encouraged to play nice, buy more importantly, develop a deep bond with at least one other person. But even then, there's a chance that person might not even be ABLE to save you. And THAT results in guilt, hatred, and hurt.

Everen, the person who made the iconic Who Are You Really, Everybody Wants To Rule the World, Running Up That Hill, and Battle Cry animatics, once said on stream that Secret Life has been her least favourite season so far, because she felt that none of the alliances really cared about each other. Now, I highly disagree with that take, but I was thinking about it. She said that the creators seemed more focused on making each new episode a Crazy Action-Packed Banger, that they forgot that what most fans really cared about were the quiet moments that make you root for a couple to survive. That, much like Last Life, the twist that season ended up driving people apart and breaking trust, even though the shenigans were funny to watch in comparison to largely angst-inducing. And, unlike Last Life, the winner that season was not the one person who defied the rules more than anyone else; the winner was someone who had played the game, had no allies, and was forced to hurt people and not explain himself. And considering the observation that each season's new rules seems to be based off of the previous winner's Life, I only fear that the next season will be even worse in those regards.

Then, you have fWhip, who'd never been a member of the Life Series (kinda hoped he would, but thats just me), and his new server seems like... like it's rules were made in opposition of that trend.

SOS will, there is no doubt, have at least one tragedy like I had formerly mentioned. Someone will eventually permadie because they had no allies, or were general jerks. In order for the server to end, everyone has to stop saving each other, until there is no one left to save the "winner". There WILL be angst. And there will be relationship drama to make it all hurt more. Even if there is no "lore", no characters or backstories or connections to prior series, there will be fanfics made, fanart drawn, analysis thought of, poetry written, and even songs produced. People will care about this server, even if the community is small and Hermitcraft's stories are booming.

And I am so glad that this series has been made, at this time when Hermitcraft and Life Series seem to hold a monopoly on this fandom.

[sammy8d257]

"Welcome to your Life~"

-o-o-o-o-

The Animator vs Animation "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" MAP Call is officially

OPEN!

CLOSED!

[EDIT 6/11/2024: ALL PARTS HAVE BEEN FILLED! But backups are always welcome to apply!]

This is beginner friendly Multi-Animator Project themed around the AvA and AvM Villains and Antagonists

With the success of last year's "Breezy Slide" MAP, I thought it'd be a great time to start a new one with a contrasting vibe

If you're interested in applying, please fill out the application form linked in the video's description!

You must be 13+ yrs, have a social media account, and a Discord to apply.

And if not, sharing this around is much appreciated!

Thank you so much!!

I hope to bring you more news about this project soon!

[jewishdainix]

Thank god for lorde's cover of 'everybody wants to rule the world' because imo the problem eith the original song is that its not ominious enough. That being said even her version doesnt hit as hard without its warrior cats map

[best-overplayed-song]

Everybody wants to rule the world should win because of the sheer amount of fandom maps/ animatics

[archtroop]

Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs

How Will the Israel-Hamas Urban War Influence Future Wars?

Lt.-Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch, June 24, 2024

Statements from political leaders saying “the correct number of civilian casualties is zero” would mean don’t fight a war. This is the first war I’ve ever observed where not only did people believe there could be a daily civilian casualty count, but they took the word of a terrorist organization on what it would be and just started parroting a terrorist organization’s numbers, which is the exact strategy that they want, in order to get the world, the UN, and U.S. to force Israel to be defeated.

Israel was condemned for the use of a 2,000-pound bomb in an urban area. The U.S. used over 15,000 in the first Gulf War, because it’s a very standard military munition to hit an enemy in a bunker underground. When Israel is following every rule that’s ever been thought of, and implementing ones that nobody’s tried, it then gets told that, well, you’ve got to find a different way.

If you ban the use of bombs in urban combat, then you’re going to see a lot more urban combat around the world, because a weaker force will say, look, all I have to do is get into the urban area and you can’t touch me unless you come in here, and I turn it into a meat grinder where you lose tens of thousands of soldiers and I achieve my political goals. This double, triple standard that Israel is being held to will come back to bite the world in the future.

Israel waited over three weeks after October 7th to allow civilians to leave. And the world said, well, you can’t do that. You can’t evacuate a million people out of northern Gaza and into southern Gaza, into the Al-Mawasi humanitarian zone. Israel did this for over 850,000, which is 85% of the population. Israel handed out maps of safe areas to help evacuate the civilians. No military in the world has ever handed out maps. This also telegraphed the IDF’s moves to Hamas. They also used advanced technologies, flying drones with speakers, using cell phone presence to know where the civilian presence was and then not going into those areas until they’ve been evacuated.

Everybody gave Israel advice on the way to bring the hostages home. Don’t launch a ground invasion. Just use raids. Look, I know it’ll take you a few years to get your hostages home, but just use raids and strategic strikes to take out Hamas leadership. That’s anti-historical, it has never happened. No military has ever been successful in doing something like that. Hamas spent years developing an environment with the sole purpose to get civilians killed if Israel ever entered that environment.

What would America have done in the same situation? Gen. Mark Milley, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said, We would have used overwhelming military force to achieve our objectives of bringing our people home and securing our borders and protecting our nation as quickly as possible. Step one would be ensuring not a single rocket emanated out of enemy territory, headed towards our civilian areas like Los Angeles. Gen. Milley has been very vocal, saying we would have used overwhelming force, immediate force.

I’m a researcher, and what the case studies show is that failing to do this will result in a protracted war and increased suffering. All of these groups who want to limit the suffering of war have in this case increased the suffering, not because of Israel, but because of Hamas and international pressure. The way Israel was forced to execute this campaign has caused hostages to stay in captivity longer. This way has caused civilians to die. This way has caused civilian suffering.

Maurice Hirsch: Welcome to the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs War Room update. We are over 260 days into the war with the terrorists in Gaza. It started on the October 7, 2023, with the murder of 1200 people and the taking of over 250 hostages into Gaza.

Today we’re joined by Major John Spencer, who’s the Chair of Urban Warfare Studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point. Could we have your impressions of what’s actually going on on the ground in Gaza.

John Spencer: What’s going on the ground is a very restrained use of force to achieve the goals set by Israel in Gaza. Within the political context of the world that Israel lives in, where they’re held to a double standard, if not a triple standard. Actually, based on my research of over a decade of urban warfare. Israel is held to a standard that doesn’t exist, a standard that no military has ever followed.

As Israel launched the operation to achieve its goals to bring the hostages home, to remove Hamas from power, to dismantle their military, and to secure the border, I knew that Israel used very strong restraints – from evacuating cities to the use of munitions.

Basically, everything that’s been said about the IDF has actually been the opposite of what I’ve observed in reality – to include frontline forces, their demeanor, the restraints on the use of force that all militaries impose, the use of tactics that no military has ever tried in order to prevent civilian harm, and doing the job despite the constraints of the world – where statements from political leaders say things like, “the correct number of civilian casualties is zero.” That would mean don’t fight the war.

This is also the first war I’ve ever observed in my long history as a both as a serviceman in the U.S. Army and as a student where not only did people believe there could be a daily civilian casualty count, but they took the word of a terrorist organization on what it would be and just started parroting a terrorist organization’s numbers, which is the exact strategy that they want, in order to get the world, the United Nations, United States, to force Israel to be defeated.

Hamas wants Israel to be forced to accept a Hamas victory. If anybody thought that Hamas was going to give up the hostages or conduct a unilateral surrender or disarmament, that’s just foolish, based on Hamas’s history, let alone war.

I’ve picked apart every allegation from the use of starvation as a form of war, indiscriminate bombing, all these libels, or genocide. It’s more than just a misunderstanding of the laws of war. It is because it’s Israel. I am very concerned that the standards that the world are trying to apply would then become a standard not just against terrorism but in war in general.

I think the use of bombs in urban areas is one of the examples where Israel was condemned for the use of a 2,000-pound bomb in an urban area, despite it being a very heavily used munition in past wars. The United States used over 15,000 in the first Gulf War, over 5000 in the invasion of Iraq in less than a month, because it’s a very standard military munition to hit an enemy in a bunker underground. The U.S. used 35,000 artillery rounds in a five-month battle in Raqqa, Syria.

We know Hamas built its whole strategy to use its tunnels and to continue to go at a deeper depth. So you couldn’t get to them. And then they put people on top of them, civilians that they want to sacrifice. But there’s been this growing interest in the human rights community to ban the use of all bombs, missiles, mortars, artillery in urban areas, period. Then they said, how dare you use a munition of that size in an urban area, even if you’ve evacuated all the civilians.

We still, because of the moral values of our nation, follow the laws of war and the application of force in war. But if this is the standard – well, you can’t do that. You can’t go into a city unless you’ve evacuated it – all of these would actually have huge implications to the point where nations can’t wage war.

The laws of war were put in to put limits on the brutality of war, especially the Geneva Conventions after World War Two. We’re never going to indiscriminately bomb civilians to try to force their leadership to give up the will to fight. But when Israel is following every rule that’s ever been thought of, and implementing ones that nobody’s tried, it then gets told that, well, you’ve got to find a different way.

If you ban the use of bombs in urban combat, then you’re going to see a lot more urban combat around the world, because a weaker force will say, look, all I have to do is get into the urban area and you can’t touch me unless you come in here, and I turn it into a meat grinder where you lose tens of thousands of soldiers and I achieve my political goals. This double, triple standard that Israel is being held to will come back to bite the world in the future.

The human rights activist groups do great work. But their actual agenda is to prevent all war. And if you ban war, again, there’s a long history of trying to put limits on war, which has actually led to more destruction.

The invasion of Israel that happened was an act of war of Hamas. Israel, in accordance with the UN Charter, article 51, responded in self-defense. This war is the first time in history that I’ve ever seen where one side – not the Nazis, not the Japanese, not even ISIS – did things to get their entire population killed and says that’s how they want to achieve their political goals.

If you’re going to say that Western militaries should follow these laws we all agreed to, but here are some additional things that you need to follow, including “Don’t fight in urban areas,” it’s going to be very problematic for the future of all nations.

When I say that Israel is being held to a standard that nobody else is following, this is because the experts who are criticizing Israel’s operations in this war are using a standard called the Civilian Harm Mitigation guidelines, which were created over the last 20 years through best practices of commanders on the ground in Afghanistan and Iraq during counterinsurgency and counter-terror operations.

It’s a collection of those practices that have actually never been implemented in totality. It’s a best practice. Like if you can, do these things. Even evacuating cities isn’t what you do in an invasion of another territory. That’s not what we did in invading Panama, invading Iraq, invading Afghanistan.

The whole purpose of war is to end it quickly so that it does limit the suffering of the populations that are caught in between. You do it with overwhelming force, surprise and speed. But this is a hangover from the war on terrorism, the counterterrorism, counterinsurgency period.

Hamas has learned from wars with Israel in 2008, 2014, 2021, that they need to go deeper with their tunnels, making it more of a challenge to get to them because their goal is not to fight. Their goal is just to wait the Israelis out until the international community stops Israel and tells them they can’t go another step, which has happened in the past.

Hamas is not an insurgency. Hamas has governed Gaza for 15 years. It’s not a state. They had all administrative control, built a massive military base, squandered billions of dollars instead of improving the lives of the Palestinian people in Gaza to build this terror military complex.

So the idea of even applying these standards, first. Okay, don’t go in with amazing speed to overwhelm the enemy and make them believe that they shouldn’t resist because they’ve lost the will to fight, which is the goal of war.

Israel waited over three weeks after October 7th to allow civilians to leave. And the world said, well, you can’t do that. You can’t evacuate a million people out of northern Gaza and into southern Gaza, into the Al-Mawasi humanitarian zone. They said you couldn’t and Israel effectively did for over 850,000, which is like 85% of the population. Even in a counterinsurgency war, that would be a very high standard of success of evacuating the civilians, then launched their ground invasion. And then Israel started handing out maps of safe areas to help evacuate the civilians. No military in the world has ever handed out maps.

The IDF handed out their maps to the civilians and to Hamas, and telegraphed every move they were making. They also used advanced technologies, flying drones with speakers, using cell phone presence to know where the civilian presence was and then not going into those areas until they’ve been evacuated.

Counterinsurgency operations are different. One of the differences is time. So everybody gave Israel advice on the way to do it, on the way to bring the hostages home. Don’t launch a ground invasion. Just use raids. Look, I know it’ll take you a few years to get your hostages home, but just use raids and strategic strikes to take out Hamas leadership. That’s anti- historical, it has never happened. No military has ever been successful in doing something like that. So why would you think that would be working? It’s crazy, right? It’s not even a double standard. It’s like a standard that doesn’t exist. It’s never been in place, to include, don’t use any munition that will reach somebody in a bunker. Go send your soldiers in to be sacrificed. And don’t strike the enemy before you get there with a military munition, even if the city is empty of people. They literally are saying, don’t use those munitions in a city, even if you’ve emptied the entire city of people, even if you’ve done everything you can to mitigate civilian harm.

There’s never been a war in the history of humans where there’s been zero civilian casualties. Yes, we’ve created all kinds of things to limit civilian casualties. But Hamas spent years developing an environment with the sole purpose to get civilians killed if Israel ever entered that environment. Then there are all the libels of Israel not helping with the humanitarian crisis, when the UN has a thousand trucks are sitting at the Kerem Shalom crossing right now and the UN says, it’s not safe enough for us to deliver it, and there are armed groups taking the aid, so we’re just not going to do it.

It’s very problematic, and not just for Israel, because if this was another country with somebody telling them, hey, look, what you’re doing there, you can’t keep doing that. You need to find a different way to achieve your goals. Legitimate goals. We all recognize it. It’s a just war. Those are legitimate goals. But you need to find a different way. Well, what are your recommendations? Well, just don’t do it.

What would America have done in the same situation if somebody had just invaded our borders and taken hundreds of hostages, and started bombarding with 4,000 rockets launched on October 7th and 9,000 more since then?

General Mark Milley, who was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for two presidents, said, what do you think I would have recommended to the U.S. president for us to do? We would have used overwhelming military force to achieve our objectives of bringing our people home and securing our borders and protecting our nation as quickly as possible.

Step one would be ensuring not a single rocket emanated out of enemy territory, headed towards our civilian areas like Los Angeles. General Milley has been very vocal, saying, of course, we would have used overwhelming force, immediate force. We have multiple divisions within a few hours of readiness that would have launched immediately to achieve our goals.

I’m a researcher, and what the case studies show is that failing to do this will result in a protracted war and increased suffering. All of these groups who want to limit the suffering of war have in this case increased the suffering, not because of Israel, but because of Hamas and international pressure.

The number of civilian deaths reported by Hamas is a lie, is not accurate. There are not that many civilian casualties. But some of them are because of the way you forced Israel to execute this campaign. This way has caused hostages to stay in captivity longer. This way has caused civilians to die. This way has caused civilian suffering. The problem with applying this to the future is that you would increase the brutality of war.

There has never been a case like this where they’re taking the word of a terrorist organization, who admittedly will not tell you if any of the casualty numbers they are providing are actual combatants, individuals partaking in the hostilities. In the recent hostage rescue operation that Israel did, the world immediately started reporting on the numbers of civilians killed. If you’re a civilian holding a hostage, you’re partaking in the hostilities and you are not a part of the numbers of civilians. You’re no longer so.

The numbers that have been announced by Hamas do not count for a single combatant or a person partaking in the hostilities. I’ve never seen a war or a battle where somebody asked during the war, what’s the civilian to combatant ratio? It’s never been done, especially in urban combat where there is this mixing of civilians and combatants, when combatants are using human shields, and Hamas is using them for human sacrifice, literally saying they want as many of them to die as possible and acting to fulfill that. I’ve never seen anybody take a terrorist’s word for the number of casualties.

They use these numbers to wage libels against Israel, that they’re intentionally causing civilian harm, when every bit of evidence shows that they are doing the opposite. They’re trying to prevent civilian harm despite Hamas’s actions. In past wars, it was months, if not years, after an urban battle that they developed what the civilian death toll was.

ISIS was an insurgency in Iraq, holding territory that it was allowed to hold it for two years and built up its defenses. In the 2016-17 battle in Mosul, it was a year later that they came up with a number of civilian casualties which ranged from 10,000 to 40,000. Nobody in the moment was saying, hey, ISIS, how many civilians have died inside the city? That just crazy. And if somebody thinks that’ll be the standard for the next war, that when the war begins, you can ask what’s the civilian death toll right now? It’s impossible. There’s nobody who could ever do that.

All these laws of war, like hospitals are protected, for Israel has become, hospitals are untouchable, which is literally a vignette of the problematic misapplication of what the law actually says. What Hamas has done in convincing the world that these things are legal and mass media propagates those despite what’s actually happening on the ground, even if it’s not a. law. There’s so many things that people believe are laws that aren’t laws, like the fact that hospitals were untouchable.

Now hospitals are very protected and Hamas used every hospital in Gaza for military purposes, on purpose, because it’s a highly protected area where you’re required by law to announce to the enemy who’s using it to stop using it, and then take all precautions to prevent the harm to the wounded, to the medical staff, which Israel did. People have asked me, is that right? Is Israel violating the laws of war? No, they’re actually going above and beyond all the laws of war.

People don’t understand. Hamas is not trying to defeat the IDF. Hamas’s strategy, which the world has fallen into, is to convince the world that Israel is doing something wrong and that there is this great misbelief on what Israel is actually doing, and that all the suffering will just stop if Israel stops. No. the suffering for the Palestinian people will increase and will continue because Hamas says they don’t care about their own people.

This is the crazy world we live in where Israel has had to justify its right to defend itself. There’s a failure to recognize that while people say they don’t want another front, the fact is that Hezbollah began viciously attacking Israel in an act of war on October 8th and has launched thousands of rockets, drones, mortars, artillery at Israel to where 80-100,000 citizens are homeless for over eight months. Any other nation would find that unacceptable, but Israel has to justify its right to defend itself. This is the point where we’re at, where we continue to say, we don’t want escalation. Nobody wants a second front. But then, put pressure on the other party attacking Israel to stop doing that.

Israel has had to make very hard decisions about what it would need to defend itself against Hizbullah, a much greater threat than Hamas, with over 100,000 advanced munitions, over 100,000 rockets and missiles. The world says, well, figure out a way to make them stop. But don’t launch a self-defense war. I think it’s very problematic. I think Israel has tried every means, especially diplomatic and signaling, preparations to defend themselves, trying to convince the other combatant, in this case, Hizbullah, who is Iran’s cherry of a proxy since they’re all Iranian-backed proxies, as Iran pursues its grand strategy for the Middle East.

But this is the dilemma, and we don’t even have time to talk about Iran, a state actor attacking Israel during the midst of all of this, with a massive barrage to cause massive harm to civilians with over 300 cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and drones on April 13th, while this is all happening, and all the pressure is on Israel to do things a certain way and to not escalate things while it’s being attacked by so many enemies, all at once. That would be unacceptable to any other nation of the world.

In some ways, everybody’s fallen into the Hamas strategy of trying to force Israel to not achieve its goals, to not remove Hamas from power, to not bring their hostages home immediately, and to not respond to Hizbullah. But every nation’s primary goal is survival and the protection of its population, to include just the immediate but the grander picture.

I don’t know what’s going to happen in the North, but I can tell you from logical military analysis that the current status cannot continue. The fact that it’s been allowed to continue thus far is very unfortunate for the Israeli people, but it cannot continue that Hizbullah attacks northern Israel at a massive cost to the Israeli nation, and that 100,000 Israelis are homeless.

I think Israel is absolutely winning the war, but I can’t tell you if they’re going to win the war. I think they’re achieving the military goals systematically. Despite all the constraints, the IDF are doing amazing things that blew my mind when I visited the forces in Gaza, and what they’ve been able to achieve despite the constraints put on them by the international community.

Just like Israel has in the past done the unachievable, things that people can’t even imagine, the IDF and Israel have found a way, despite the constraints, to not lose against Hamas, to continue to put military pressure to systematically dismantle its military capabilities in Gaza, things that people thought would never be possible and at great cost to Israel and the IDF. They’ve figured out a way to do the unimaginable. They need to continue that because they’re close to dismantling Hamas’s military capability.

I’ll leave you with one comment. The innovations of Israel and the IDF will save the lives of Americans in the future, from their approach to active protection systems on their vehicles, to how to deal with tunnel warfare, to how to preserve and protect civilians in combat, it will save lives in the future. Just like their innovations after the Yom Kippur War, how they did the unthinkable, changed the entire U.S. military land doctrine. It will save lives in the future. So that’s, for me, another reason why I do what I do. Because I know the amazing things that the IDF are doing will save lives around the world in the future.

John Spencer is Chair of Urban Warfare Studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point.

Lt.-Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch served as Director of the Military Prosecution for Judea and Samaria. Since retiring from the IDF, Hirsch worked as the Head of Legal Strategies for Palestinian Media Watch, as a Senior Military Consultant for NGO Monitor, an advisor to the Ministry of Defense, and head of an advisory committee in the Ministry of Interior. Hirsch was the architect of the Israeli law that strips citizenship from Israeli terrorists who have been convicted for terror offenses, sentenced to a custodial sentence, and receive a payment from the Palestinian Authority as a reward for their acts of terror.

© 2024 Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs

[ecruvian]

Here's my new story idea:

There's two characters who meet. Character 1 is super weird in how they interact with basically everything and everybody, causing destruction seemingly at random and picking up only the weirdest and most pointless objects - this is a person who has no credit card or driver's license, but does have a sack full of shaved-down pencils or something. Most people in society object to Character 1's existence, constantly yelling at them and protesting their behavior. This isn't without reason; they're usually harmless, but will just break a hole in the hallway wall of a hotel for no reason and then leave. Character 1 more or less ignores people.

Character 2 is just a normal, average joe who's fascinated by this behavior and starts hanging out with Character 1. Character 1's nature becomes more mysterious over time: they can't eat most food, they can't enter most elevators or use stairs that are the wrong size, they can only open certain doors, etc. Character 2 is definitely curious, but takes it all in stride. Character 2 is used to dealing with such odd behavior - maybe they're a disability rep at a school, or maybe they have a loved one with OCPD, but they adapt almost seamlessly to Character 1's "rules." Character 1 is ecstatic and they become the best of friends.

If you're getting video game vibes from this, you're correct! It turns out that, years ago, an indie game dev died and ascended to godhood, and with nothing better to do with these newfound powers, started to build a videogame framework on top of the real world in the form of hitboxes and assets. This young god is having a lovely time being a god. When Character 1 died in a freak accident, their soul was snatched from destruction by the video game dev god, who wanted to give them a second chance... but only had one way to do it.

Character 1 is living with some very severe limitations, but is definitely glad to be alive at all. However, since they are operating on an entirely different set of natural laws compared to the entire rest of society, they started to tune people out as a survival instinct: when people offer them food it's usually inedible, when people tell them to stay out of that "employees only" area they're limiting access to the only regen point in this part of the city, et cetera. Character 1 had to learn not to feel shame or awkwardness because they were going to have to walk in on a lecture happening at a random university if they wanted to get the random item drop that they need to proceed to the next quest location, and if they don't go to the next quest location, they'll be forced to wander into parts of the map that are incomplete. The dev god tries to incorporate feedback from Character 1 in the world's design, but first of all, dev god is a limited being who can only build so much at a time, and second of all, Character 1 knows that the amount and quality of resources will be much better if dev god is allowed to pursue dev god's own special interests and aesthetic preferences. So, Character 1 just abides.

Character 2 ends up having a great time following Character 1 on quests, and dev god, ecstatic to have an audience, starts to tailor make levels that are accessible to both characters - which has the side-effect of improving Character 1's lifestyle.

Anyway it's a heavy-handed metaphor but I think it's fun