#farmers rally
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struck-by-the-rain · 1 year ago
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rh shrinky dink earrings batch 2 ready to be shrunk!!
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faisalqureshi6 · 3 months ago
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brewscoop · 6 months ago
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Discover how the nation's #1 brewer, Anheuser-Busch, is championing American farmers with the US Farmed Certification! Learn how this initiative supports local agriculture, ensures high-quality ingredients, and boosts sustainability. Check out the full story on how these efforts are shaping the future of US agriculture.
#BEER GROWN HERE: ANHEUSER-BUSCH ADOPTS US FARMED CERTIFICATION (Courtesy Anheuser-Busch) The nation’s 1 brewer#Anheuser-Busch#is making it easier for beer-lovers to “Buy American” with this new certification. Here’s the deal… On March#19#the American Farmland Trust#a national nonprofit that helps to keep American farmers on their land#launched a new US Farmed certification and packaging seal for products that derive at least 95 percent of their agricultural ingredients fr#the nation’s leading brewer#announced that it is the first-mover in adopting the U.S. Farmed certification and seal for several of its industry-leading beer brands. Ai#the seal will first appear on Anheuser-Busch’s Busch Light this May#and Budweiser#Bud Light and Michelob ULTRA have also obtained U.S. Farmed certification. This industry-wide effort will be supported by an Anheuser-Busch#“Choose Beer Grown Here#” to encourage consumers to seek the U.S. Farmed certification and seal when shopping for products. “American farmers are the backbone of th#and Anheuser-Busch has been deeply connected to the U.S. agricultural community and committed to sourcing high-quality ingredients from U.S#” said Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth. “We source nearly all the ingredients in our iconic American beers from hard-working US farmers#and we are proud to lead the industry in rallying behind American farmers to ensure the future of US agriculture#which is crucial to our country’s economy. The US Farmed certification comes at a critical moment for American agriculture. According to AF#within the next 15 years#ownership of over 30 percent of our nation’s agricultural land could be in transition as the current generation of farmers prepares to reti#farmland loss threatens the very foundation of our agricultural capacity#and new and beginning farmers are often challenged to secure the capital needed to enter agriculture. The US Farmed certification hopes to#as well as innovative strategies for transitioning their land to the next generation of farmers. We look forward to other companies joining#” added Whitworth#“so that together we can make an even greater impact and show our support for American farmers.”#certification#American farmers#sustainability
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sayruq · 9 months ago
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Close to four months since the conflict between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas began on Oct. 7, 2023, participants in the demonstration in Hiroshima's Naka Ward called to "free Palestine." More than 50 people, including members of a citizens' group that stands daily in front of the Atomic Bomb Dome demanding an end to bloodshed and attacks, walked down Hondori street shouting "Stop the massacre" and "Ceasefire now" among other slogans. They then held a rally in front of the A-bomb Dome.
A farmer in his 30s from the Hiroshima Prefecture city of Shobara commented, "No matter how hard a day I have (here in Japan), it would probably seem like paradise to the people of Gaza. We must take action beyond calling for a cease-fire, to bring the occupation to an end." A woman from Algeria, which was under French colonial rule for 132 years from 1830, said she came to the event because she felt that Palestine was suffering the same fate as her country. Participants also voiced anger and questions about the Japanese government's decision to suspend funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and the Hiroshima City Council's lack of resolutions regarding a cease-fire and other issues.
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muted5ilence · 11 months ago
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When the Farmer’s precious Livestock are being preyed upon by the Wolves
#maki mayhem#The poor livestock. Cows and sheep and chickens. All minding their business and living their lives.#Sometimes the Farmer will kill them to feed itself and/or it’s family.#Wolves will prey on the livestock when they can. Be it dark of night or broad daylight.#The Farmer is responsible for its livestock. A bad farmer lets the wolves have at it; as long as the farmer still eats.#A good Farmer will protect the livestock from Wolves by setting up protective measures for them or by killing off the wolves.#Some may still eat their lovestock despite protecting them from Wolves. As long as they eat.#The Livestock don’t know any better. They’re just trying to survive; it’s in their nature.#The Farmer or its family can try to save the livestock or they may selfishly steal the Livestock for their own purposes.#Sometimes the Farmer and its family can be particularly sick and twisted and cruel towards the Livestock.#Other Farmers do the same. They can steal livestock from competitors. because those Farmers perceive others as threats. Maybe 4 good reason.#Sometimes the Livestock know their Farmer sucks. They try to leave. Sometimes to other Farms. Who knows.#But of course; they do not have the power/ability to fight back against the Farmer or their family or the Wolves. Not alone.#It’s hard to rally a herd of cattle and sheep and chickens and horses and rabbits all together. They may not even like each other.#Sometimes it’s hard for them to get past it. Sometimes the Livestock may be just as bad as the Wolves or the Farmer and their family.#A Wolf in Sheep’s clothing if you will. The Farmer may turn a blind eye or can’t tell the difference. Rarely is the Wolf outed.#Give this to students as a logic problem or something. Put this in the education system. Find and raise problem solvers.
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head-post · 1 year ago
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South Korean farmers protest dog meat ban
More than 200 South Korean farmers who breed and raise dogs for food held a rally outside the presidential office in the capital Seoul on Thursday, demanding the government cancel a plan to ban the controversial centuries-old practice.
President Yoon Suk Yeol’s ruling party has introduced a bill that would ban the breeding and sale of dogs for food. Under the bill, those who are forced to close their businesses during the three-year grace period will receive monetary compensation.
Currently, more than 6 million South Korean families in a country of about 51 million people keep dogs as pets, and Yoon and his wife Kim Keon Hee are the owners of six dogs, including a retired guide dog and a rescue dog.
According to a Gallup Korea poll, nearly two-thirds of respondents oppose eating dog meat, and only 8 per cent said they had eaten it in the past year, up from 27 per cent in 2015. Joo Yeong-bong, who represents an industry group and led Thursday’s rally, said politicians had no right to shut down an industry or decide what people should eat.
Read more HERE
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forkandknife · 1 year ago
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I’m in a really fun and great time in my life where I am so exhausted I can barely get out of bed in the morning and only have the energy to lay on the couch most of the time but if I’m not doing things and I don’t have Plans for every minute of every day I feel like I’m going to explode
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heritageposts · 1 year ago
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Namibian Presidency (official account), 13 Jan 2024
this comes after germany announced that they, in defense of israel, intend to intervene as a third party in the ICJ trial
in the official government statement, they argue that the accusations of genocide against israel "has no basis whatsoever," and declares themselves to be experts on recognizing genocide by virtue of the fact that they're the ones that committed the holocaust (yes, seriously)
small problem for our self-declared genocide experts though — it wasn't until 2021, over a hundred years after germany killed and enslaved tens of thousands of herero and nama people (in what is now present-day namibia), that the german state was willing to officially recognize that they had committed a genocide; a genocide where, about 80% of the indigenous population of the herero and nama people were wiped out, thousands were enslaved in concentrations camps (with death rates between 45 and 75 percent), and many hundreds medically experimented on.
here's a good article from al jazeera which lays out the history of the genocide, and why germany's offer of "reparations" were met with disgust and anger in namibia
this part, in particular, is worth highlighting:
Today, German Namibians make up 2 percent of Namibia’s 2.5 million population but own about 70 percent of the country’s land, most of it used for agriculture. Multiple state-led efforts to legally restore ancestral land to Indigenous peoples by buying land from private farmers have only partially succeeded because it has proven too expensive for the state. Although the Namibian government sought to transfer 43 percent (15 million hectares) of its total arable land to landless communities by 2020, it has only succeeded in acquiring about three million hectares.
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redheadspark · 9 months ago
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Here (Part Two)
Summary - Azriel stays by his mate's side, not knowing his family is rallying behind him to find out who attempting to kill his mate
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Warnings - Mostly Angst
A/N - Part of the Ocean Eyes Series. I posted this as a sequel of Part One, which got insanely reactions! I am so glad you guys liked Part One and I hope you like Part Two!
Part Three Found Here
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"What's the plan, Rhys?"
"I'm focusing more on my cousin's health and her life in the balance than dealing with her attacker."
"That's not where my head is,"
"Enlighten me then, Cassian,"
Cassian rolled his shoulders and eyed his High Lord as Rhysand was perched at his desk in his office, the sun setting over the rolling hills outside the River House, and the cooler air was blown onto the office with ease. Cassian leaned against the wall, his arms crossed and his head reeling with questions and scenarios that he wanted to figure out immediately. But Rhysand was remaining calm, too calm for the Illyrian Army Commander's liking. He considered the wounded Illryian who was asleep upstairs, his friend's mate, his family. Someone tried to hurt his family and take away his family, and Cassian was fuming from the inside out.
But he was also a changed Illyrian, just as Rhysand and Azriel were. They were all fathers now: Rhysand with Nyx, Azriel with Alec, and Cassian with his daughter Rose. His daughter, sweet and yet fiery Rose was a splitting image of her mother but had his infectious and playful heart. They all had offspring to protect and think about, no more rash decisions and acting out on a limb. The children had to come first, and Cassian was not willing to do anything that would bring his family harm. Azriel never did that himself, yet that led to Alec almost being killed as a toddler and Azriel's mate now in a bed upstairs hanging between life and death. Nesta would never let Cassian do anything like that, not just for Rose but for Nesta too.
Cassian was the one who found you first, sprawled on the forest floor bleeding from your wing and the arrow still hanging out of your wing. You both were out in the outline border of Velaris, Cassian getting a hunch that there were rogue beings there making their way across the border into Velaris territory. You on the other hand were meeting with some of the farmers and shopkeepers that lived in the cottages there to check on them and talk business in contributing to the Community Center.
Maybe it was fate that he was there and come enough to hear your scream out, but he knew your scream far too well from knowing you since you both were younglings. He flew towards the wail you let out, his heart hitting against his chest far too hard and thinking it was a trick of the mind.
Everything slowed down for him as he gathered you in his arms, you were out cold and the poison already working in your blood. He had to act quickly, time was of the essence, and your time was about to be snuffed out if he didn't get you help in time. 
"The marks on the arrow," Cassian stated, reflecting on the arrow that was piercing your wing and sicking out so harshly that it sickened him to rethink it again, "We need to know where they came from so we get a hunch as to who did this,"
"I already have a big hunch, and I got in contact with the very High Lord that I'm thinking," Rhysand hummed, his cooldemeanor was hiding the anger he had. Cassian raised a brow at him as Rhysand rang his thumb over his fingers back and forth, a tactic he would use when he was thinking deeply, "High Lord Beron has been notified and is coming tonight,"
"What?" Cassian asked in shock, standing up stiffly and no longer leaning against the wall. 
"He knows the utmost importance of this since it does involve my cousin…my fucking family," Rhysand said the last part in a low tone, not a growl but close enough, "We are going to meet at the Townhouse since I know both yourself and Nesta would rather not have the High Lord of Autumn Court in your home,"
Cassian snorted, then gave him a questioning look, "Does Elaine and Lucien know what happened?"
"Feyre reached out and told them to stay at their home here in Velaris for the time being. In fact, I don't want any of the Inner Circle going anywhere outside of Velaris until this is resolved once and for all. We either stay in our homes or at The House of Wind until I say so," Rhysand explained as his violet eyes looked out the window to see the last images of the sun still in the sky before it hid into the horizon.
"Is that an order?" Cassian asked, Rhysand’s eyes shot back to his Commander.  Cassian, though tamer than he used to be when he was younger, was still reckless at heart at times. Something inside of him wanted him to find whoever did this and bring them pain. You were family to him, meeting him through Rhysand when he was a boy and considered him a brother of yours. His rational side was teetering to be pushed aside, and he was fine with it.
"I don't want another member of my family hurt, Cass. I consider you family, long before you became my brother-in-law. You need to think of your wife and daughter and that they need you," Rhysand explained to Cassian, seeing Cassian's eyes soften from the mention of Nesta and Rose, "We need to be smart about this, not reckless. I want you with me when we meet with High Lord Beron,"
Cassian hummed, knowing that Rhysand was right when it came to being reckless. He then gestured his head over to the doors that lead out of the office, "What about Azriel?"
"I don't want him anywhere else but with his wife, she's his priority now. And besides, I would rather not leave Azriel alone in the room with High Lord Beron. That's if Beron, or Autumn Court for that matter, did have something to do with this. He is not in the right frame of mind to be anywhere else," 
Cassian knew he was right about that too. The rage Azriel must be feeling at this moment, not knowing who in factharmed and attempted to kill his mate, must have been explosive. Cassian himself has been Azriel in such a way before, the anger that would fester deep down and be unlashed by either his shadows or his Truth Tellers. Cassian and strength behind him, but Azriel had something deeper.
Something more menacing.
"Alec is also staying here until his mother is well again, though he still doesn't know what precisely happened," Rhysand explained as he got up from his chair and walked around the desk to stand near Cassian with his arms folded in front of him, "I don't want Alec anywhere else but here, he's my nephew and he needs to be protected now more than ever. We all do, but epically him: someone is hunting his mother and father, and I won't let him become an orphan under my roof,"
"None of us want that, Rhys," Cassian reasoned with Rhysand, "He's secure and protected here with you and Feyre, and he's safe with his father, the safest he’ll ever be,”
"Which is why we need to be smart. For now, let's just focus on this meeting with Beron and making sure my cousin is comfortable and safe while she heals and come back to full health," Rhysand stated, then pausing as he gave Cassian a more cornered look, "How is Alec and Azriel now?"
"Alec's okay, he just misses his mother. As for Azriel…it's hard for him," Cassian confessed. Rhysand hummed and rubbed his eyes, already thinking of the next steps that were to come. The meeting tonight would be far too important, life-changing, and yet his cousin was still in the back of his mind and her health was his main concern. 
All he could do now was hold onto his Inner Circle, his family, so close in hopes they wouldn't slip away.
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"Alright, buddy. Time for bed, okay?"
"Ok, daddy,"
Azriel softly smiled as he watched his son hop into the massive bed he was going to sleep in, the guest room that wasacross from where you were still sleeping and still healing. He left the door slightly open, being able to see you from where he was in Alec's guest room as Alec was settling into his bed. 
Alec was only told that his mother was sick, severely sick, and he was not able to see her.  Of course, it confused him at first, not understanding that he wasn't able to see his own mother since he had seen her sick before, but he knew better than to question his father.  Seeing Azriel looking worn down and defeated made Alec worry all the more. 
But Feyre was a step ahead, making sure he was well fed at dinnertime and kept him busy with his cousin Nyx until it was time for him to go to bed. Still, his mother was in the back of his mind, wondering what was it that made his mother so sick. He missed his mother, hugging her and hearing her voice telling him goodnight. Azriel tried his best to be present with Alec, but his son caught onto something that was hidden from him. 
Perhaps a trait he inherited from his father.
"Alec, I know this is different from what we're used to," Azriel explained to Alec, who was watching his father with his wide blue eyes as he was snuggled under the soft sheets of the bed, "But you are being such a trooper for going with the flow of it all.  I promise you that things are going to go back to normal soon, okay? As soon as momma is all better, we'll go back to our house and things will be back to the way they were,"
"Is it going to be forever?" Alec asked tentatively as he searched his father's tired eyes. Azriel felt a twinge of pain that his son was still kept in the dark, so speak, when it came to what truly happened to his mother. The last thing Azriel ever wanted to do was to lie to his son like this, to have that trust broken at any moment. 
"No, not forever, baby," He reassured Alec as he pushed the inky black hair out of his son's blue eyes, "This is not forever, I swear to you. You believe me?"
"Yes, Daddy," Alec replied, Azriel smiled at his son and leaned over to kiss the top of his head. He was about to leave his son to sleep, and as Azriel eased himself up from the bed, Alec spoke up again in a gentler tone. So gentle, that it sounded like the curtains were swaying in his room from the night breeze.
"Daddy, is momma gonna be okay?"
Azriel could have cried then, seeing his son watch him for an answer. Azriel never wanted this for his family, the fear of losing someone he loved and another person he loved was filled with fear and worry. Alec was only four years old, far too young for something like this to happen in his life. Nothing could prepare him for this: consoling his son and hoping that his wife would pull through. 
Alec needed his mother, Azriel knew that deep down. There was no greater bond than Alec's bond with his mother, it was thick and filled with so much happiness and love. Inwardly, Azriel wanted that himself with his mother, and he did have that in the blink of a moment when he was young.  To see his mate give that same love to his son was beyond rewarding.
Now his son, looking at his father with worry in his young eyes, was asking about his mother.
"Yeah…yeah she's gonna be okay," he reassured Alec. He had to give Alec hope, the hope that his mother would be herself again. Although he had very little hope, he would at least give some of that hope to his son. He leaned down and kissed his son one more time, "Get some sleep, okay? I'm gonna check on momma and come back to you, I love you,"
"I love you too, Daddy," Alec replied, then curled into the bed under the sheets as Azriel moved away. He felt like he needed to be in two places at once: with Alec and with you. Although you were sleeping and till healing, Alec needed you and needed your warmth. Azriel wished he could change it all, make you all better so you can hold your son. Yet as he watched Alec fall asleep, facing the window with a look of peace on his face, Azriel could breathe a bit easier. 
He kept the door into the guest room open slightly, mostly in case Alec needed him as he walked silently across the hall into the room where you were in. Still asleep, facing the empty chair where Azriel was perched for the past few hours, the moon shining into your room to cast a bluish light along your still wounded wings. Azriel could even see the moonlight shine through the thin membrane of your wings, showing the veins and the damage from the Ash Arrow.
But the way you were snuggled against the body pillow, head against the soft pillow, and your long hair draped over your shoulder, you looked more peaceful than you did earlier when Azriel found you. Azriel sat down on the chair, taking in a long breath as he held his hands together in his lap and watched you. Your deep breathing, the softness that was now slowly coming back along your skin and your cheeks thanks to the medicine from Madja. 
"I might be talking to myself here, but I hope you can hear me," Azriel said aloud in the room, his voice sounding a bit raw as he watched you in earnest, "But I need you to pull through and get better. I….I don't think I can do this without you. I won't have the strength to, no matter how hard I'll have to try. I need you, our son needs you. He needs his momma, and I…I don't wanna do this alone and without you."
He might have sounded silly since he was talking alone in the room, but then again he needed to get it off his chest. Bottling up all his fear that he's had for the past few hours, would have suffocated him. The only person he was ever safe to unload his feelings, to be open and exposed therapeutically, was the one who was asleep in front of him and unable to be fully present with him.
"I'm sorry I failed you and couldn't protect you," Azriel admitted, sinking a bit in his chair as he was fiddling with his fingers, Clutching them together tightly and refusing to let them go, "I promised you when we were mated that I would protect you, keep you safe and never let anything happen to you. I broke that promise, and I know I can never repair that,"
He thought that if you were awake, you would reprimand him for being hard on himself. Azriel could even hear it clearly in his mind, your kind voice scolding him for being immensely harsh towards himself. You've always helped him out of his moods and insecurities, including what he does and how he takes care of others around him. Azriel thought back to a talk that he had with you when Alec was still a young infant, he was voicing his worry about taking care of his family and if he was doing enough. 
He needed you to bring him back to the light, and not have him hide in the darkness.
Azriel reached out and took your hands in his own, feeling the coolness of your skin and yet how soft they were. Healways loved your soft hands, a soothing balm against his calloused and scarred skin. He leaned down and kissed the back of your hand, his lips along your skin had you shift in your sleep and hum.
"Sleep and come back to me, come back to us. Your son and I need you more than anything, so I need you to get your strength and open those eyes for me when you're ready. I'm here when you wake up, I promise.  I love you more than life itself, more than my own life, and if I could trade mine for yours then I would in a heartbeat. Just gather your strength, we'll be here waiting for you," Azriel proclaimed to you and your sleeping form.  He did speak the truth: he would trade his life for yours since at times he felt you had more good for the world than he ever did.
Azriel cannot picture a world without you, without any of your beautiful traits or your tender heart. 
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Azriel heard it, almost like a whisper, as he was dead asleep with Alec cradled in his arms in the spare guest room.  His arms were tucked around his son, who was snuggled against his father and snoring softly. It was so soft, like a breeze, which didn't disturb the Spymaster at first.
But it was also distinct, not the sound of the curtains fluttering next to the bed or the very soft ticking of the clock on the fireplace mantle.  This was a shutter of a whisper, and it was calling his name.
Azriel…..Azriel….
His shadows hummed, licking along Azriel's arms as he stirred a bit in his sleep. Alec was thankfully a deep sleeper and stayed in slumber, even though his father was feeling the sensation not just with his shadows but in his mind. It was a familiar voice, so familiar that maybe it was a trick of the mind as Azriel took in a long breath. But he heard it again, a pinch louder and his name being called out as if the source was so far away.  Fighting through a fog that was thick and almost recognizable.
Azriel…Azriel…
Azriel was still asleep, but it was becoming more alert as the voice was getting a bit louder now in his mind. It was no longer a dream, it was something else, something familiar to him.  So familiar like coming through the front door of the small little cottage where he lived, or flying amongst the cloud with his wings stretched. Even the familiar touch of your lips against his own made him feel safe.
But he finally heard it, and his eyes shot open on high alert.
Azriel….I'm here…
It was you, your voice, speaking through the bond.
You were awake.
To Be Continued….
A/N - Part three?!?! Let me know if you want a part three!
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Tagging - @valeridarkness @impossibelle @acourtofbatboydreams @prettylittlewrites @fxckmiup @sizzlingstarlightsky @iluvyewman-blog @masbt1218 @a-courtof-azriel @homeslices @zanzie @topaz125
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halfmaskshadow · 7 months ago
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This might make sense to no one except me because I played AOC before BOTW, but in my headcanon Master Kohga is underwhelming and goofy and overdramatic and easy to beat on purpose
Like because of AOC it’s canon that the Yiga were once 1. fucking terrifying and 2. much more prevalent. It’s also canon that Master Kohga can and will redeem himself upon seeing the devastation caused by Ganon worshippers
Master Kohga has been around for at least a century and presumably longer, so it’s no stretch that he might become disillusioned with the world the Yiga are trying to form. But he was raised by the Yiga, so obviously any doubts he has have to be wrong, right? It’s only when he sees his worshippers/employees/family be threatened or killed by the very force he wanted to bring about that he realizes the true cost
In AOC he has a very convenient, very human seeming enemy to point at and team up against. In the BOTW timeline, he’s won. Calamity Ganon is free, millions are dead, there’s not enough food to go around, the royals are gone, he has loyal foot soldiers to feed, and he’s supposed to make the situation worse. No sane person is going to want to do that!!
But what can he do? He has no allies and no easy enemies to rally against beyond the very being they had just fought so hard to summon. The natural solution? Become so utterly incompetent that he fails to destroy the world any more. Ohh nooooo!!! We don’t have enough bananas for the winter!!! Well, I guess that the blademasters responsible for burning down orchards and killing farmers will have to go get some more :) Well now that we know Link’s alive we’ll need to dedicate all our troops to catching him instead of murdering civilians or whatever. What a shame :)
Of course he can’t be too obvious, otherwise the other Yiga will catch on. It was a gradual process that happened over the century Link slept. And now that he’s been dumped in a giant pit he doesn’t even need to try to fight the swordsman!! He’d much rather check out that glowing rock over there than teleport up to the surface, thank you very much
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cherryheairt · 7 days ago
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The Lost Dragon
Chapter Two: Thief
Previous chapter here
Series Masterlist here
@shabnam2005
Aemond x oc x Cregan (eventual)
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Aemond had every intention of forgetting the little farmer girl he'd met out in the countryside. No, she did not save his life from the lake nor from the men who had dared to turn their backs to him. Their king. She'd merely bought him time, and if anything the sudden appearance of the wild dragon what was truly saved him.
He had much more important things to focus on, like his uncle being alive and still rallying allies in the city he has never belonged in. Or, the fact that the goldcloaks were so easily manipulated against the crown. He needed to deal with the lot of them quickly before another incident happened against either him or his mother. He was the last. Without him sitting the Iron Throne, Daemon's bloodline would prevail over his own and he would be forgotten as the king who ruled for less than a moon.
The dark eyes and long, wavy brown hair that flowed past her shoulders like a cascading willow tree. The woman who, perhaps, seemed genuinely concerned for his well-being beyond her own selfish desires.
Yes, he had Sylvie to speak to down in the brothel at his disposal. He had for years, but coin was coin to the Madam, and Saryna had demanded no payment for her gentle healing touch.
Aemond, stepping through the gates of Maegor’s Holdfast to swiftly return to his room and sleep his panging migraine off before dealing with the goldcloaks, unconsciously felt his belt for both weapons. His sword, ever by his side, was slotted into its sheath almost loyally.
He stopped dead in his tracks. Aegon's—His dagger was gone. The peasant girl stole it right from under his nose and he was none the wiser. Perhaps too distracted with her, or with her foreign kindness.
All a front.
Of course it was. No one would do him a favor out of the kindness of their heart; everyone wanted something. He wanted his rightful throne, his mother wanted her family back, and that woman wanted coin. The most superficial thing of all. But, in front of him? When she guided him back to her own house?
Surely, no one would be so foolish as to bring someone to their home for the intention of thievery. Right?
Thief. It all made sense. That mysterious dragon that seemed to hover wherever Saryna went—it, too, must have been stolen from the Targaryens. But when?
He cursed his naivety, clenching his jaw tight and brushing past all servants who attempted to stop and check on the bandaged-up King. He needed to get Vhagar. Needed to teach that farmer girl that ‘King’ wasn't merely a title but a duty. As the law of the Realm, he was meant to preside over justice. Saryna would be made an example of.
“What happened to you?” A familiar voice gasped. Aemond turned to see Alicent, eyes sunken and pink and her hair dry and unkempt. Since Helaena's death, it seemed like Alicent's last straw was plucked from her already bare field. She hadn't been quite the same, always pacing around her chambers and biting her nails instead of being entirely present with her responsibilities. Not that she had too many, as Queen Regent and Mother. The title had worn heavy on her shoulders for years, and it seemed to Aemond that it dragged her to the depths of the sea.
“I have matters to attend to, mother.” Aemond said, exasperated though he spoke without grit to her. She came up quick, holding his face in her thin hands and turning it back and forth to inspect him. When he gently lifted her hands from his face and into his own, squeezing with a reassurance unlike himself, Alicent's eyes brimmed with tears.
“You've been missing all day. The stablehand said you left this morning on horseback with no warning. Vhagar never left, where were you?” She stumbled out.
He measured between the truth and a lie. Finally, he decided to ignore the question altogether. “How many bastards did father sire?” Was his calculated question.
Alicent flinched back like she had been burned. “None.” She hissed defensively. “Your father was good—” Her words were almost as deceitful to herself as they were to Aemond when she choked them out. Viserys Targaryen was never a good father, except perhaps to Rhaenyra at his best times. “He never indulged in heinous and vile actions like his brother did.”
Aemond contemplated her words. She believed them well, he knew, being a pious woman and hating sin more than any who had ever lived in this Keep. Viserys grew sick quickly after Daeron's birth, leaving little room for the possibility of a bastard afterwards. But, before? When he was healthy, he could have ordered a hundred whores to be brought to his chambers.
Aemond doubted his own accusations. Daemon, yes, but his father? That man had never gotten over his first wife, the one who had given him the Realm's jewel and delight.
That is, if this woman even was the blood of the dragon. The Velayrons were not faultless and pure in their activities, either. He needed answers from the source herself.
Aemond left his mother in the hall, ignoring her questioning and pleaful, ‘Aemond?’ calling after him hoarsely. He returned to his chambers, calling for a bath to be made and a meal to be brought to his chambers.
In the morning, he will find his answers.
🖤
Aemond wore the conqueror's crown when attending court. Hearing the menial problems of the commonfolk for hours at a time made him want to tear his hair from his head. It was his duty and honor as King to solve the Realm’s problems‐he knew this well-but endless whining of sheep being mixed between two farms and petty squabbling over a few leagues of land made his head ache with tension and annoyance.
He had not wished to sit the throne today, but to pay a well-deserved visit to the thief farmer girl instead. However, his plans were quickly foiled when his temporarily appointed hand, Tyland, urged him directly over breakfast that the matters of the city were piling up. Especially between the newly opened city gates and the influx of people moving into the city, as well as moving out.
The line reached far outside of the throne room. Aemond knew it would be days before all the men in line would be spoken with, much less have their matters actually resolved. That process would take moons, or even years.
He didn't have such time to waste lounging around sitting atop the throne. When the last man, a poor orange merchant, had given his problem and Aemond in turn gave his best solution, Aemond leaned in to mutter to Tyland. “Sit in for me.”
The demand caught the Lannister man off guard. “Your Grace, I can not just—”
“Great. The matter is settled.” Aemond decided, standing with a sharp smirk tugging at his lips. He left without another word, passing by the guards and men in line both without wasting a single glance. Outside, in the courtyard, the stableboy was waiting with an already tacked-up horse for Aemond.
It wasn't far to the slumbering Vhagar, who rested just outside the gates and in a grove of lush fauna. The old beast groaned in grumpy greeting, feeling Aemond jump into his saddle, yelling a demanding “Sovegon, Vhagar.” For her to hear.
Patting her side gratefully, he quite waited impatiently as the dragon took her time standing on her torn wings and wrinkled hind legs. Finally, when she took a running start to fly, it was only a mere minute before she flew over the farmland. Her shadow engulfed the small cabin and much of the land surrounding it. From the height, Aemond could still hear the panicked ‘baa'ing of the many sheep and clucks of chickens in their coops. Like the moon shadowing the sun in an eclipse, Vhagar brought fear and distress into the hearts of those smart enough to understand her power.
Aemond watched the ground for Saryna as Vhagar descended into the grassy plains. The girl wasn't outside—hiding from him and knowing her thievery wouldn't go unpunished. He smiled a cheshire smile, satisfied. A higher pitched squaking caught his attention, looking to her house and seeing the powder blue dragon perched upon the roof and roaring like a pup at Vhagar. Protecting his territory, and giving Saryna away at the same time. When Vhagar reared to burn the little dragon for his brave insolence, Aemond was swift to calm her. “Doar, Vhagar! Sagon gīda.” He soothed, brushing a firm hand over her scales. The dragon, though not quite as big as he hoped, could prove useful later if given a competent rider. Perhaps one of his own future children. It was about the size of Sunfyre, showing its adolescence yet its potential for growth.
Aemond leapt down from her wing, hand grasping his sword pommel with a disciplined calmness as he approached the door. What he didn't expect, however, upon approaching the cabin, was that the door would be immediately opened for him. In its doorway stood Saryna, with a furrowed brow and narrowed gaze.
She was a good actress, he would give her that.
His eye locked on to the dagger at her belt—the one she used to kill one of the goldcloaks that sought to kill him. “I should have known you had an inkling for daggers.” He hissed lowly, stepped forward and backing her into the home. She stepped back in turn, raising her hands to prevent him from standing too close. “Is that one stolen, too?”
“What are you speaking of?” She asked defensively.
He shot forth, swiping the knife from her belt and holding it high above his eyeline to inspect it in the light. It was a shabby thing, dulled from everyday use and the handle weathered down and frayed a bit from the oils of her hands, or the hands of the last man this weapon belonged to. It was certainly nothing to vie for, nor worth stealing.
“That's mine, hand it back!” Saryna yelled suddenly, jumping to grab it back from him. Her brazen behavior shocked and appalled him in a split second, taking a step back to avoid her reaching.
“Thieves do not own anything.” He insisted, looking around the empty house. “Where is my weapon?”
The woman stilled, a scowl forming on her soft features. “You came here to accuse me of theft? Why would I take from you after leading you to my own home?” She paused, calculating him in her dark gaze. “Your Grace.”
He tensed, searching her eyes for traces of deception. “My dagger was missing when I returned to King's Landing.”
“Mayhaps Your Grace lost it when he tumbled into the lake.” She crossed her arms.
Aemond coughed into his hand, hiding the embarrassment rising in his throat and pushing past it. “I had it after…the events of yesterday. Where is it?” He continued.
Saryna looked around her home slowly. Her eyes caught on the place that he sat at. With a huff, she strided over to the kitchen's stool and pushed it out of the way with a graceful kick. She plucked the dagger from the wooden floor, brandishing it with an unamused face.
Aemond was silent. He walked to her, taking it from her hand and replacing it with her own sad weapon. “That dragon.” He completely changed the subject. “How long has it been following you around.”
“He isn't following me.” She insisted quickly.
“He?” Aemond raised a brow.
Saryna blushed, wringing her hands subtlety behind her back. “It doesn't. The beast likes free and easy prey.”
He hummed, nodding along. “And how long has it been hunting around this farm?”
“As long as I can remember.” Saryna shrugged, glancing out to the plains and watching the blue dragon sniffing towards the green, both now on equal level.
Aemond glanced at her to continue.
“I am seven and ten years old.” She stated. “The dragon was small when I was growing, and has gotten bigger every year. Perhaps we are similar ages.”
The dragon had lived in this area for over seven and ten years before it was even discovered? This woman gained intrigue every moment he was around her. “It is docile, yes? No attacks made on the commonfolk?”
“None.” She answered.
“That's quite amusing.” Aemond said, leaning on the windowsill. “You're living right on his territory. He should have killed you and your brother ages ago.”
She stayed silent, reaching for the basket lying beside the door and scooping it up in her arms. She continued outside, heading towards the chicken coop where the little fowls were grazing along the grass and finally growing used to the dragon so near their home. Aemond followed her all the while, slowly watching as she went through her chores. “I'm just lucky.” She finally answered.
The blue dragon's eyes never left Saryna as she went along, collecting eggs from little slots in the coop. “Lucky.” He mused. “Or, perhaps there is something more.”
The dragon's watchful eye gave Aemond a sudden idea. With his dagger in hand, he held the beast's eye as he swooped behind Saryna and held the knife to her throat, listening to her gasp out in surprise and drop the basket of eggs. The dragon immediately jumped up, roaring in Saryna and Aemond's face, bearing his long teeth aggressively.
“Doar, Fracsor!” Saryna shouted, struggling to stay still in Aemond's arms to keep her throat from being grazed. “Lykiri!”
‘Fracsor’ settled quickly, wings still flaring unhappily but closing his mouth and staying relatively quiet.
Aemond, satisfied with her unconscious reaction, released and dropped her to the ground. He waited for her to catch her breath, looking down at her disdainfully. “A thief.” He hissed spitefully. “Hidden right next to the city? How long did you think you could get away with holding a dragon of House Targaryen for yourself” He crouched down in front of her, holding her jaw in his hand.
Her eyes were wide with suspended shock and slight fear. “My parents were dragonkeepers. They taught me High Valyrion. That's it—Fracsor just stuck around me.”
Aemond pondered her words, tumbling them around in his head thoughtfully. What an opportunity this was, to have a malleable woman who already spoke High Valyrian and a dragon who obeyed her well.
“Can you ride him?” He asked.
Saryna glanced between him and her companion. “I haven't before. I don't think he would wear a saddle.”
“I find myself lacking in dragonriders after the war.” He stood up straight, looking down at her once more and folding his hands. She stayed silent in her place.
“If you cannot be of use, I will find another to ride that dragon.” He trailed. “That means you can't be around to stop another bond. Choose carefully, girl, this is a more than generous offer.
“He is not mine, we are not bonded.” She insisted, tensely standing up. “Take him to give to another rider. It does not affect me.”
Aemond studied her for a long moment before returning to Vhagar.
Upon her saddle, Aemond turned to Fracsor contemplatively. He raised his voice for her to hear, “If my offer is refused…” He trailed off. “Sīmonagon, Vhgar.” The dragon rose to her full height, stretching out leisurely as if the dragon beside her proved no threat.
Saryna was turning her head between the two dragons, rushing to stand next to Fracsor. Placing a hand on his snout, she shook her head. “Don't hurt him.” She pleaded, eyes glossed with worry for her lifelong friend.
He sniffed at the pathetic display, commanding Vhagar to rise and journey back to King's Landing. “Have my answer ready when I come back.”
🖤
Saryna had never considered her life might change so drastically. In only a couple of minutes the King of the realm had branded her a thief and then a dragonrider. She was neither.
But, he was right. Fracsor would be useful to him as a threat against any outstanding enemies to the crown currently. Even if he never officially saw battle, his image alongside Vhagar and Dreamfyre would increase House Targaryen's credibility once more. It would restore the likelihood of more dragons being born and thus more Targaryens being fit to rule the realm as their ancestors all had. She resented the idea of being used in such a plot, especially for that arrogant boy king. Fracsor, too, would have to reside in the dragon pits for most of his time instead of out free in the fields.
Life or death, and Saryna didn't have much of an option. Vhagar would easily find her and Fracsor if she decided to take him and flee. Aemond would make a show of executing the thief dragonrider and find a new, more obedient soldier to ride him.
The idea was tempting, in the back of her mind. She might be welcomed into the Red Keep and treated like a respected warrior, as any Targaryen dragonrider should be. No more farmwork or meaningless years living day-to-day thanklessly.
She had no choice, so making the best of the one provided wasn't so bad, right? Tarkan would certainly not be happy knowing the events of the past two days, and he certainly would never allow her to go on her own into a pit of snakes like that. She worried about how he, too, might be treated without a dragon of his own and his only connection to the capitol being her. Perhaps he would take a job as a dragonkeeper.
Days passed with Saryna anxiously going about her chores and keeping her eyes glued to the skies in waiting for that massive dragon. Vhagar was unlike anything she'd ever seen or wanted to see, and the sight of her threatening Fracsor so mindlessly frightened the soul from her body.
Finally, her anxious waiting was put to a halt when Vhagar and Aemond returned. It was late in the evening when Saryna heard the wind-moving flapping of Vhagar's wings land outside of her home.
Fracsor waited by the door by the time she came outside. Since Aemond's second visit the young dragon had grown more protective of both her and the cabin itself, always hovering over the house during the day and sleeping right in front of it during the night.
It truly did not help to ease her mind, knowing that it only put him in more danger, but it did make her glad to see him showing his affection through his own ways.
Aemond lugged around a massive leather saddle attached to Vhagar's. It was extremely simple in comparison to his own, but Saryna figured it had to be done in the utmost haste. Wordlessly,Aemond unclipped and dragged it down her flank to present it in front of Saryna. The sight reminded her of a loyal dog fetching a bone, but she would never say that thought aloud to the king's face.
“It should fit, given a few adjustments here and there. The most important thing today is knowing whether or not he will let you get on.” Aemond started curtly, looking to Fracsor to assess his attitude.
The dragon grumbled back, shuffling next to Saryna. She hesitated a moment, unsure of the fate she would be sticking Fracsor with the moment she latched this saddle onto him. “And if he doesn't let me?”
“There will be more who are willing to try.” He said dryly. He lifted it from the winghole on one side, nodding for her to grab the other.
With a grand struggle, it felt like hours before Fracsor finally even bowed his head to allow the saddle to be placed over his head and tied behind his wings. Saryna patted him comfortingly as he stretched around stiffly to get used to the new feeling.
Aemond waved a hand to gesture for her to take. Saryna did only after a few moments of silent staring, wondering what he wanted from her. “Go on,” he urged, sounding strangely softer than his usually stern voice.
He helped her keep her balance when she gingerly stepped on Fracsor's wing. Fracsor watched intently with his neck craned to the side and an almost expectant look on his sharp face.
When Saryna settled herself on the saddle, gripping the pommels with whitened knuckles, she looked for Aemond for assistance. He nodded once, taking large steps away from the dragon to watch what the pair might do.
Saryna yelped in surprise as Fracsor wasted no time jumping into the air and catching wind to fly into the skies. In a matter of seconds, Saryna's cabin was a mere speck in the sea of grass and the clouds were surrounding her. Her jaw dropped in awe, reaching out to feel the white and puffy formations—giggling girlishly when she found that they were only slightly colder than their surroundings instead of soft like she had assumed.
After what felt like only a few minutes but could have earnestly been multiple hours, Fracsor returned to the cabin. Saryna took some time to catch her breath, hunched over the saddle's top while breathlessly laughing to herself with the feeling of euphoria.
Aemond was there to bring her down again, guiding her with a firm hand. His eye seemed to gleam with what could be only joy or a cunning plan. “If only you were a Targaryen.” He muttered to her, admiring her tussled curly hair and wind-chapped face.
Saryna felt her heart flutter again, this time not from the adrenaline. She swallowed harshly, shrugging his comment off. “That is too big a responsibility to bear.”
“It is.” He agreed quickly.
🖤
Fracsor seemed to have made friends with Vhagar in their little time together. Though the old dragon was not as chalk-full of energy as he was, she seemed to tolerate his company as they lay together in the grassy hills.
Aemond and Saryna sat nearby. In the pleasant shade of an old oak tree she held her knees to her chest and he fiddled with his dagger between his hands. It caught her eye, “why do you care so much about a dagger? It looks nice, sure, but you could order a thousand to be made within a fortnight.”
“This was my father's. Then, my brother's.” Aemond looked out to the fields. “Before any of us had it, Aegon the Conqueror had it made from Valyrian steel.”
He faced her, lips upturned. “So, no, a thousand cannot simply ‘be made’.” His words were slithered with amusement instead of scorn, making her huff out a small laugh.
“I see why you were so hellbent on getting it back, then.” She said.
Aemond hesitated a moment before offering it to her, blade facing himself. “It is dragonbone and dragonglass that made up the hilt. One of a kind materials that were only common in Old Valyria.”
“Quite beautiful, for a weapon.” She ran a finger across the smooth surface of the forged grip, noting that even that part of the dagger was sharp.
“All weapons have beauty.” He sounded forlorn, taking the dagger back and placing it into his belt.
“I never cared for Targaryen history.” Saryna said, surprising herself with her own honesty.
Aemond looked shocked too, for once. “What do you know of that?” He nearly scoffed. “Commonfolk don't read about the histories.”
She glared at him, narrowing her dark eyes. “I was raised by dragonkeepers. We are not so…uneducated.” It felt sour on her tongue to say, but it was true nonetheless. Commonfolk did not have the opportunity for education like the rich did. She and Tarkan were fortunate to be raised by the traditional dragonkeepers who were linguistic and quite educated in the histories.
He seemed to take her words to heart, humming in turn. “Why not, then?” He asked, referring to her previous harsh statement.
“Aegon the Conqueror himself.” She laid out. “The realm is worse for it—the Seven kingdoms were just fine being independent until he connected them.”
To her pleasure, Aemond did not immediately argue nor strike her down. “If you would rather live in a war-torn country, then be my guest.”
Saryna deadpanned, eyeing him from the corner of her peripherals. “I have. For the past two years.”
He tensed again, and Saryna nearly groaned at the lost progress. “I will not deny that those histories are intriguing, though. Maegor the Cruel and Aenys, Visenya and Rhaenys—I believe I have a soft spot for the doomed siblings.”
He smirked, glancing at the side of her face. “I have to agree on that front. Maegor and Visenya were the best options to lead the kingdoms, and they took it within their right.”
Shaking her head, “Aenys was Aegon’s eldest son. The throne was his birthright.”
“Birthrights are meaningless when the firstborn is unfit to rule.” The spite in his words told Saryna that he was not only speaking of Aenys and Maegor.
She leaned back into the pliant wood. “Very few are born leaders, much less kings.”
Aemond stayed silent, his grip tightening on his dagger. Eventually, after allowing her words to tumble around in his head, he firmly stated: “I was born to be both.”
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master-john-uk · 2 months ago
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11th December 2024.
What a magnificent sight! Around 500 tractors took part in a rally in Central London as farmers protest against the governments new tax changes.
I was not in London today, but as I was driving towards Sevenoaks just before 8am this morning I stopped and showed my support as a convoy of around 25 tractors en-route to Westminster passed in the opposite direction.
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royaltysimblr · 3 months ago
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Ophelia of Lausanne, Queen of Windenburg (1620-1673) - Part 6 - Early Revolutionary Years
Despite the alliance with Almeria and their generous trade agreements which improved the economic situation in Windenburg, the people were angered by a Jacoban marriage. The people believed that Ophelia had been behind the marriage and blamed her for corrupting the Royal Family. In 1654 revolts against the gentry began known as the Flour Rebellions. Due to famine, farmers couldn’t pay their landlords and were falling behind on their rent. The Gentry did not relent and were met with angry hostile mobs which burnt country homes across the kingdom. Ophelia advised her husband to support the gentry against the peasants, but instead, James listened to the peasants on the advice of his favorite, the Duke of Berkeley. The gentry was forced to lower their rent in favor of the peasants in 1655. 
The tension between the people and the King calmed down, but the nobility enraged. By 1656 most of the nobles left court, deserting the royal family, signaling the start of a rebellion. In February of 1656, Parliament assembled in the presence of the King and stated their grievances. Ophelia was at her husband’s side when he dissolved parliament at Windslar Palace and did not install a new government. Following the dismissal of parliament, James was warned that the Duke of Dartmouth, the Duke of Kinghorn, and the Earl of Franklin would raise an army in Witham. To prevent this, James ordered their arrest the same day, however, he failed and the trio had already fled the capital. 
The failure to capture the three noblemen marked the beginning of the Windenburg Civil War. The Duke of Dartmouth gathered hundreds of Windenburgian Noblemen and Politicians in Witham to raise an army and overthrow the king. Fearing for their family’s life, James and Ophelia fled Windenburg and sought refuge in Glencraig. During this time Ophelia spent time secluded in her chambers with her children and grandchildren. Ophelia rarely left Glencraig Castle, fearing an assassination or kidnapping. 
From February to May, cities across the country declared their allegiance either to the noblemen or to the King. James gathered his forces at Glencraig, with the Duke of Berkley organizing his militias. James gathered supplies from Royalist strongholds such as Coventry and Devonshire, while cities like Roxburghe and Newhaven refused to offer the king ammunition. As both sides began to gather supplies from cities around the country, Ophelia was sent to the continent to raise money for the royalists. Ophelia spent a year and a half abroad at several royal courts championing the royalist cause. Ophelia was able to convince her son-in-law, the Prince of Brichester, to lend two thousand troops to their cause. 
By the summer of 1656, both sides were marching toward each other with armies around the size of 15,000. It was inevitable that the armies would clash, resulting in the Battle of Whitfield. A cavalry led by the royalist Duke of Canterbury defeated a revolutionary army of 1500, approximately twenty miles north of Windenburg. Throughout the early summer, the Royalists defeated the Revolutionaries in several skirmishes and small battles. 
Beginning in the summer, Windenburg became a center of political tension, with protests in favor and against the war. A peaceful rally in favor of the war was met with violence as the Royal Guard fired upon the crowds. Hundreds of people were imprisoned and a curfew was imposed upon the city. James and his troops marched toward Windenburg which was in the hands of the Earl of Coldwell, a neutral force in the war. James along with an army of 4,000 marched toward Windenburg where the Earl handed the city over. For the next year, James remained in Windenburg while armies led by his close advisors, the Duke of Berkley and the Earl of Queensbury consolidated power in Southern Windenburg.
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longliveblackness · 2 months ago
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Yaa Asantewaa was an influential Ashanti queen at the beginning of the twentieth century who remains a powerful symbol today. She was a skilled farmer before ascending to the title Queen Mother in the 1880s.
As the Queen Mother, Asantewaa held many responsibilities, including being the Gatekeeper of the Golden Stool. The Golden Stool is an emblem of the Ashanti kingdom, cultural system, and power.
In 1896, the Ashanti peoples began to rebel against the British presence in their lands and the British attempt to construct the “Gold Coast” colony. To retaliate, the British captured and exiled Asantehene Prempeh I, King of the Ashanti, and Asantewaa’s grandson Kofi Tene, who was also a powerful leader. The British removed the king and other Ashanti leaders to the Seychelles Islands in an effort to acquire the Golden Stool.
While remaining leaders within the community debated on how to best respond to the British threat, Asantewaa held her ground and rallied the troops. Her leadership and passion led to her role as Commander in Chief of the Ashanti army. In turn, the Anglo-Ashanti wars’ fifth and final war against the British became known as the Yaa Asantewaa War of Independence (or the War of the Golden Stool), which began on March 28, 1900.
That conflict began when British representative Sr. Frederick Mitchell Hodgson sat on the Golden Stool. Since the Stool was not a throne, when Hodgson’s act became known, Yaa Asantewaa led the rebellion.
To inspire the leaders of her community, Asantewaa proclaimed that if the men of the kingdom would not defend the people, then the women would rise to the challenge. This both invigorated the men and challenged traditional gender roles. She led the rebellion and became an image of strength and resistance. Unfortunately, she was captured during the rebellion and exiled to Seychelles, where she died in 1921.
Yaa Asantewaa remains a powerful reminder due to her impactful actions in both empowering her people and in tactics against the British army. In August 2000, to commemorate her influence, a museum was opened in her honor in the Ejisu-Juaben District of Ghana. Similarly, there is an achievement award titled the “Nana Yaa Asantewaa Awards” (NYA) which honors women who uphold the values and leadership of Asantewaa.
•••
Yaa Asantewaa fue una influyente reina Ashanti a principios del siglo XX que sigue siendo un símbolo poderoso en la actualidad. Fue una granjera muy hábil antes de ascender al título de Reina Madre en la década de 1880.
Como Reina Madre, Asantewaa tenía muchas responsabilidades, incluida la de guardiana del Banquillo Dorado. El Banquillo Dorado es un emblema del reino, de el sistema cultural y el poder de los Ashanti.
En 1896, el pueblo Ashanti comenzó a rebelarse contra la presencia británica en sus tierras y contra el intento de los británicos de construir la colonia “Costa Dorada”. Para contraatacar, los británicos capturaron y exiliaron a Asantehene Prempeh I, rey de los Ashanti, y al nieto de Asantewaa, Kofi Tene, que también era un líder poderoso. Los británicos trasladaron al rey y a otros líderes Ashanti a las Islas Seychelles en un esfuerzo por adquirir el Banquillo Dorado.
Mientras que los líderes restantes dentro de la comunidad debatían sobre cómo responder a la amenaza británica, Asantewaa se mantuvo firme y reunió a las tropas. Su liderazgo y pasión la llevaron a ocupar el puesto de comandante en jefe del ejército Ashanti. A la vez, la quinta y última guerra de las guerras anglo-ashanti contra los británicos se conoció como la Guerra de Independencia Yaa Asantewaa (o la Guerra del Banquillo Dorado), la cual comenzó el 28 de marzo de 1900.
El conflicto comenzó cuando el representante británico, Frederick Mitchell Hodgson, se sentó en el Banquillo Dorado. Dado que el Banquillo no era un trono, cuando se conoció este acto de Hodgson, Yaa Asantewaa lideró la rebelión.
Para inspirar a los líderes de su comunidad, Asantewaa declaró que si los hombres del reino no defendían al pueblo, las mujeres estarían a la altura de enfrentarse a este desafío. Esto fortaleció a los hombres y desafió los roles de género tradicionales. Ella lideró la rebelión y se convirtió en una imagen de fuerza y ​​resistencia. Desafortunadamente, fue capturada durante la rebelión y exiliada a Seychelles, donde murió en 1921.
Yaa Asantewaa sigue siendo un poderoso recordatorio debido a sus impactantes acciones tanto para empoderar a su pueblo como también por las tácticas contra el ejército británico. En agosto del 2000, para conmemorar su influencia, se abrió un museo en su honor en el distrito de Ejisu-Juaben en Ghana. También existe un premio titulado “Premios Nana Yaa Asantewaa” que honra a las mujeres que defienden los valores y el liderazgo, tal y como lo hizo Asantewaa.
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justwanderingtheblog · 28 days ago
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The Full Timeline of Xena: Warrior Princess(‘s Backstory)
I recently made a video where I attempted to put every single event ever mentioned as part of Xena's backstory into chronological order.
That is, obviously, both impossible and highly subjective, because the timeline of Xena's past demonstrates little to no consistency. Still, the attempt was cheerfully made.
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This post is a replication of those conclusions in written format.
25 to 30 Years Before Series Start
Amphipolis (S01E01) - Xena is born in Amphipolis to an innkeeper named Cyrene and (allegedly) a warrior named Atrius. Her grandparents are farmers (Old Ares Had A Farm, S06E10). She has a younger brother named Lyceus (Remember Nothing, S02E02) and an older brother named Toris (Death Mask, S01E23).
She grows up a wild child, learning swordplay and fishing (Fins Femmes and Gems, S03E17) with her brothers, befriending a young girl named Flora (The Black Wolf, S01E11), presumably fending off the flirtations of Maphias (Remember Nothing, S02E02), etc.
Atrius comes home from war unexpectedly, has a Fury-induced mental breakdown and tries to murder Xena. Cyrene kills him (The Furies, S03E01).
More Than Ten Years Before S01E12
Sparta (Beware of Greeks Bearing Gifts, S01E12) - Xena befriends Helen "in Sparta, before the [Trojan] war." The war then lasts for ten years.
In Hercules Trading Card #6 ('Xena'), the unfilmed Xena pilot script, and a Xena comic book entitled 'Plowshares Into Swords,' it is suggested that Xena's father was a Spartan or Mycenean warrior, or perhaps a king. Similarly, a dropped plotline from the first season supposedly involved Xena's search for her father. These factors could account for Xena's presence in the area.
Precisely Eleven Years Before S02E02
Cortese Attacks Amphipolis (Death Mask, S01E23) - A warlord named Cortese threatens to attack Amphipolis. Xena and Lyceus rally the young men of their generation to fight back rather than surrender.
This may be when Xena has her first kill, a man named Termin (Dreamworker, S01E03).
This is also when Lyceus and many of those young men die, leading Cyrene and the villagers to blame Xena for their deaths. Xena leaves Amphipolis under duress, presumably with a small fighting force (Sins of the Past, S01E01).
As Months Pass
Raiding Around Amphipolis (Death Mask, S01E23) - Having lost her brother and her home, emotionally deadened and later saying she "didn't have time to feel anything," Xena starts attacking villages around her hometown in order to create a "buffer zone," protecting Amphipolis against future attack.
She also attacks Stagira (Destiny, S02E12), her hometown's "ancient enemy."
Engagement in Thrace (A Fistful of Dinars, S01E14) - Xena is engaged to a man named Petracles, who later "wins" the seduction game and leaves her. This is the first time that she is betrayed by someone she is romantically entangled with.
She also knows men named Lycus, Klonig, and Thersites. They are looking for the Lost Treasure of Sumeria, which secretly includes the Titan's Key to the Hall of Ambrosia near the fictional Mt Poulis.
Mt Poulis is potentially mentioned as being near Troy (BoGBG, S01E12), in Anatolia, but it is not implied that Xena traveled there at this time.
"Ten Winters" Before S02E12
Neapolitis a.k.a. Kavala (Destiny, S02E12) - Xena's army has taken to the sea. They raid a coastal town and she warns the townspeople that while they're "free to go," she will attack any enemy of Amphipolis.
Xena takes a prisoner named Julius Caesar. She believes that she has successfully seduced him, and that he sees her the way that she sees herself; as an equal. They part ways when his ransom is paid, promising to meet again.
She also has a stowaway named M'Lila, who teaches her the famous "pinch" and also a bit of humility.
Xena never purposely kills non-combatant women or children, but she actively seems to enjoy fighting and looting, and her actions are moving farther and farther from their original stated purpose.
As Months Pass
***Goliath?
*** The Ark-Bearers?
Betrayal on a Beach (Destiny, S02E12) - Caesar returns. As it turns out, he does not see Xena as his equal, but rather as one of "Rome's conquered." He betrays her, kills all of her men and presumably with them her last physical ties to Amphipolis, crucifies her, breaks her legs, and leaves her to die humiliated on the beach. Xena is left realizing for the first time that she's a very small fish in a very big pond.
Doctor Niklio on Mt Nestos (Destiny, S02E12) - M'Lila, who is under zero obligation to be loyal or compassionate to Xena, rescues her from the beach and brings her to a doctor on the fictional Mt Nestos, "north of the Strymon River," likely near the Nestos River.
Caesar's men track them down before Xena's legs can be fully healed. M'Lila, the last person alive from Xena's crew and the last person to show her any kindness, is murdered in front of her.
"A new Xena is born" who has had a very bad day and just wants to kill people.
***Ares?
Traveling East (The Debt, S03E06) - Her entire army dead, Xena, with "shattered legs and crippled soul," leaves Greece for the first time and goes east to "lose myself in vengeance - not against Caesar, but the entire human race."
She falls in with Borias and presumably his army, steals him away from his wife and child (The Last of the Centaurs, S06E17) which he is also obviously to blame for, and they spend a while encouraging each other's worst impulses and being mutually toxic.
Actor Marton Csokas is of Hungarian descent and production confirmed that Borias was of Hunnish origin, but there is no in-universe evidence that Xena met Borias north of Greece in the Hunnic Empire as opposed to east of Greece on the path to China.
Precisely Ten Years Before S02E03
***Goliath in The Levant (The Giant Killer, S02E03) - Xena fights with a friendly giant named Goliath against an evil giant named Gareth. When Xena is injured Goliath saves her, and his family is murdered. They "vowed ten years ago to meet in this place. "This place" is where a young King David and the Israelites are later battling the Philistines, which places it generally in the Levant.
Assuming that "Ten Winters Ago" (Destiny, S02E12) takes place prior to the "ten years ago" mentioned in this episode, this event would have to occur after the raid on Neapolitis.
Also, assuming that Xena and Goliath met near Jerusalem, this encounter would have to take place on the path eastward toward China. This possibly implies that Xena left Greece by ship and landed in the Middle East.
However, this event occurring after Neapolitis does not necessarily mean it also occurs after Caesar's betrayal, as there is a small implied time gap. Similarly, the quote, "We vowed ten years ago to meet in this place," does not mean that Xena and Goliath were in "this place" at the time of the vow. The battle against Gareth could therefore have also happened in Greece, when Xena was still of a disposition to be making friends with strangers and had two uninjured legs to rely on while fighting an evil giant.
***The Ark-Bearers in The Levant 2.0 (A Royal Couple of Thieves, S01E17) - When Xena is "young," she is wounded in battle. She is then fed, healed, and protected by a group of people carrying the Ark of the Covenant.
If both this encounter and Xena's encounter with Goliath took place near Jerusalem, these events could even refer to injuries from the same battle.
Unfortunately, placing both battles post-Caesar but pre-China would beg the question of where Borias was at this time. Perhaps they were briefly separated.
On the flip side, disconnecting the Ark-Bearers from the giants would mean Xena could have met them literally anywhere in Greece at any time when she was "young."
As Months Pass
***Ares?
Chin a.k.a. China (The Debt, S03E06) - The battles get larger, the stakes get higher, they get farther from home, and Xena's ambitions get bigger. She's at her most feral and most wild here, probably has the least self-respect she's ever had, and given that her legs never healed properly, she's also at her least physically powerful.
Xena puts a lot of heads on spikes and starts plotting with Borias against the Ming and the Lao. She kidnaps Ming Tien, the Ming leader's son, without Borias's knowledge or consent.
Borias hands Xena over to the enemy for execution. He is the second and final man romantically involved with Xena to ever betray her.
Lao Ma rescues and heals Xena, nearly pulling her back from the edge. But power, as always, is too tempting. Xena goes back to Borias, to her army, and to her old ways.
Siberia (Adventures in the Sin Trade, S04E01) - Xena and Borias move north to Siberia. Xena discovers that she is pregnant with Solan.
The shamaness Alti is a corrupting influence, telling Xena she could be the "Destroyer of Nations" and encouraging her darkest impulses.
Xena keeps gaining new powers (e.g. from the Northern Amazons) and keeps killing (e.g. the Northern Amazons). At Alti's urging, Cyane, the Amazon queen, is the first person Xena actively betrays and murders on-screen.
Alti also tells Xena about the powerful Ixion Stone, prompting her to go back to Greece.
***Byblosa a.k.a. Byblos (Blind Faith, S02E18) - Xena invades Byblosa and sets "the oil reserves on fire."
It makes sense if this happens as Xena returns to Greece from the east, but the event being referenced as "a few years ago" also suggests it could be more recent.
Byblos was a city in Lebanon known for its production of olive oil.
***Glaphyra in Anatolia (The Dirty Half Dozen, S03E03) - Returning to Greece, Xena meets a young woman named Glaphyra, who is young and eager to see the world. She later ends up a slaver.
"Glaphyra" is the name of a historical Cappodocian princess, but this also could have happened literally anywhere at any time.
***Ares (The Reckoning, S01E06) - At some point Ares starts whispering in Xena's ear. This most likely, but not provably, takes place both after Caesar and within the borders of Greece.
"Nine Years" Before S02E01
Battle of Corinth (Orphan of War, S02E01) - At war with the centaurs, Xena and Borias lay siege to Corinth, which is in the northeast Peloponnese, toward the south of Greece. Xena wants the power of the Ixion Stone to secure her destiny as Destroyer of Nations. She's a little less wild than she was in China and Siberia, but just as bloodthirsty.
Borias is increasingly worried, but the balance of power has shifted now; the army is generally following Xena's orders, and she's not listening to him anymore either. Borias splits from her for the last time in order to save the centaurs, but Xena is still badly shocked by his death, which was orchestrated without her knowledge by Satrina (Past Imperfect, S04E09).
Xena gives birth to Solan without her son's father. He is the first truly pure thing she's created in a very long time, and in a moment of clarity, Xena knows the best thing she can do for Solan is get him away from her. Xena gives her son to a centaur, who later tells her, "You aren't the woman I faced ten years ago." The same centaur says that, "For nine years Solan has been my son."
???
Now Xena is post-partum, without her son, partner dead, army depleted, battle lost, and the Ixion Stone beyond her grasp.
Thalassa's Village (Locked Up and Tied Down, S04E07) - Thalassa gets eaten by crabs, despite Xena not intending to kill her. Oops!
This could have happened anywhere at any time, but for fun we can place Shark Island at Makronisos Island, the site of an infamous political prison in the 20th century, which lies east of Corinth across the Saronic Gulf. If Thalassa's village was near or in view of Shark Island, this would in turn place it around the archaeological site at Cape Sounion.
In the flashback scenes to this event, Xena has no Chakram. She appears rougher around the edges than during her introduction in Hercules, but arguably seems less wild than during her time in China. She is not wearing the outfit she bore in China, Siberia, or Corinth. Instead, she is wearing the same outfit that she later sports during the Hercules crossover time-travel episode set in Cirra (Armageddon Now: Part 2, HERC S04E14).
Approximately Eight Years Before Season Two
Failed Homecoming in Amphipolis (Sins of the Past, S01E01) - In the pilot, Xena mentions, "I wanted to come home. I thought maybe this time I could get it right."
My unconventional hypothesis here is that Xena, post-partum and struggling with loss, army diminished and at loose ends, possibly even feeling guilt for Thalassa's death, tried to come home to Cyrene and it did not go well.
This is never directly evidenced on-screen, but it works handily as an excuse for Xena to return to Thrace and participate in events there that do not 'fit' her pre-Caesar era.
Specifically, it supports the idea that she rides away from Amphipolis in a particularly careless state of mind due to her fury and emotional turmoil, and her next village raid goes very, very wrong.
***Ares Gives Xena the Chakram?
Cirra a.k.a. Serres (Callisto, S01E22) - Xena raids the village of Cirra. A fire breaks out and destroys everything, killing many women and children, which again was not Xena's intent.
Cirra is located very close to Amphipolis, and this event needs to take place far enough in the past that Callisto has time to grow up.
In the Hercules crossover episode (Armageddon Now: Part 2, HERC S04E14), which may or may not count as canonical, Xena is wearing the same outfit she wore in Thalassa's village. She has already given birth to Solan. Her characterization, while less feral than China-era Xena, is more in line with her Corinth era than it is with her Valkyrie era or Hercules era.
She also has a lieutenant named Darphus, whose only other appearance is in her Hercules introduction episodes, but this scene cannot take place in that era because Callisto needs more time to grow up. We have to assume that Darphus briefly fell in with Xena's army, parted ways with her quickly after Cirra, and they only reunited again many years later. Alternatively, we can hand-wave his inclusion as a mistake.
The attacks on Thalassa's village and on Cirra both feature a loss of control, care, or forethought that lead to unintended casualties, suggesting they may have happened in a transitional period or a time of turmoil in Xena's life. This could even be motivation for Xena, after several years of enthusiastic slaughter and mayhem, to double down on her original promise to never kill civilian women or children.
This could also be, though of course doesn't have to be, her impetus to leave Greece again.
Unfortunately, the Hercules crossover episode also shows Xena in possession of the Chakram in Cirra, even though she did not have it in China, Siberia, Corinth, or Thalassa's village. This means that either Ares gifted the Chakram to her immediately before Cirra, perhaps because he sensed her conviction wavering and wanted to tempt her back into evil with a shiny new toy, or that the Chakram's inclusion needs to be completely hand-waved away as a mistake.
Xena Blinds A Cyclops (Sins of the Past, S01E01) - The blind cyclops introduced in the pilot episode is located somewhere between Potidaea in southern Thrace and Amphipolis in northeastern Thrace.
Assuming that he stayed in the same location since being blinded, and taking into account that blinding a cyclops would be difficult for a young Xena with a fledgling army immediately post-Cortese, this works with the theory that Xena rode north to Thrace again at some point.
It would also be significantly easier to blind a cyclops using a Chakram than it would with a regular weapon.
Approximately Seven Years Before Season Two
The Western Mountains (The Price, S02E20) - Leaving Greece again, Xena encounters the Horde in the "mountains" the "first time my army went west." Half of her army is demolished and she seems genuinely disturbed, perhaps even frightened, to remember this encounter.
Worth noting that the Horde as a design concept is incredibly problematic and has not aged well.
For the sake of having a definitive place to put this on a map, we could use the Dinaric Alps, a chain of mountains that connects Albania to Italy to the northwest of Greece.
Following this rout by the Horde, we are left with a Xena who is traveling west of Greece for the first time in her life, has been robbed of half her army, and is a bit freaked out by the savagery she just witnessed. Alongside Solan's birth, Borias's death, and Cirra, this could easily indicate an ongoing turning point in her life as a warlord.
***Ares?
***Kal's Temple Near Mt Amaro, Italy (Chakram, S05E02) - Ares steals the Dark Chakram from Kal's temple near Mt. Amaro in Italy.
We do not know if Xena was present in the temple, or even in the country, for this event. We also don't know whether she was actively involved in the theft.
However, it makes sense that Xena started using the Chakram as she shifted into a more solo style of travel.
Approximately Six Years Before Season Two
The Norselands (The Rheingold, S06E07) - The next time we see Xena she is traveling solo in northwestern Europe, possesses the Chakram for the first time on-screen (not counting the Hercules depiction of Cirra), and is less feral but just as power-hungry as she was in China.
To save Xena from having to travel too far into Scandanavia, we could perhaps place this in modern-day Denmark.
Apparently Xena came to the Norselands from a land in the east and "she called it Chin," but it is literally impossible that this took place directly after China. She has no Borias, no baby bump, no army, and she has the Chakram. We can assume, therefore, that Xena just happened to mention China after her arrival in the Norselands.
During the Rheingold saga Xena is playing smart, playing nice, and taking the lessons of seduction and betrayal that were taught to her at a younger age and turning them to her advantage. With Odin and the Valkyrie and the Rhein Maidens, she pretends to be their friend or their lover in order to get what she wants.
Gaul (The Deliverer, S03E04) - Traveling south from the Norselands and still in western Europe, Xena encounters Boudica in Gaul and pretends to be her friend in order to take her army.
For funsies we could place this in Alesia, in modern-day France, the site of the most famous battle between the Gallic tribes and the Roman Empire.
***Torrence?
Approximately Five Years Before Season Two
Returning to Eastern Europe (The Dirty Half Dozen, S03E03) - Traveling eastward back toward Greece, Xena trains a man named Walsim, who she would eventually introduce to Thersites, to be an assassin. This is the first time we see her acting as a sort of mentor-type figure.
Massalia was an ancient Greek colony in southern France, so we can place this there.
"Walsin" is the name of a French historical figure who was in service to a Hungarian royal family, so we can label Walsim the assassin as being of ambiguously European, non-Greek origin.
***Torrence?
Marcus in Italy 2.0 (The Path Not Taken, S01E05) - Xena meets a mercenary named Marcus, who has a Roman name and is terefore potentially also from the Italian Peninsula.
While Marcus later asks after Xena's mother and assumes she won't kill innocent people, suggesting they may have first been acquainted very early on in her warlord journey and much closer to Amphipolis, he fits better into the timeline and the geography here. Perhaps during this time period Xena has mellowed slightly.
Marcus may be the first pre-series lover of Xena's who she is genuinely still fond of.
Darnelle in Italy (The Dirty Half Dozen, S03E03) - Still traveling east, Xena hits the Italian peninsula. She meets Darnelle in a "small village" and trains him to be a gladiator.
Sicily (The Path Not Taken, S01E05) - Xena steals weapons from someone named Aescalus.
This scheme is mentioned later by the warlord Mezentius, whom Marcus is then working for, making it plausible that Marcus witnessed it first-hand and was the one to tell Mezentius the story.
Historically, Aeschylus was a Greek poet and Persian War veteran.
For fun, we can place this in Sicily where the historical Aeschylus passed away, and assume it was Xena's last stop before continuing east to Greece.
We can also assume that she brings Walsim, Darnelle, Marcus, and several others back to Greece with her. She may also still be leading Boudica's old army.
Increasingly, Xena is doing less straight-up rampaging and more trickery or manipulation.
Approximately Four Years Before Season Two
Return to Greece (The Path Not Taken, S01E05) - Xena returns to central Greece and starts the last "arc" of her pre-Hercules backstory. She has been gone from the area for several years and has evolved notably since then.
***The Battle of Torrence (Judgment Day, HERC S03E15) - Ares considers the Battle of Torrence one of his "greatest triumphs." Apparently "ten thousand corpses littered the battlefield" after Xena "led her army through the opponent's infantry like flies. Limbs were scattered everywhere. It was beautiful."
There is no ancient Greek city called Torrence.
The name 'Torrence' is of Scottish origin. Xena has never been to Scotland, though admittedly she has been to Gaul, and it's possible that in Xena-verse there was a Scottish settlement called Torrence in Gaul, but just trying to parse that possibility is making my brain crazy.
The name may also be referring to Turin in Italy or Tiryns in the Peloponnesian Peninsula in southern Greece, or may be made up wholesale.
It's hard to imagine that Xena could participate in a Greek battle with ten thousand casualties and still being a no-name to Hercules when he first meets her.
However, a battle of this size would provide us with a convenient opportunity to start paring down the size of Xena's army.
Riding with Zagreas (A Day In The Life, S02E15) - Xena "used to ride with Zagreas. He has nerves of mush and wouldn't trust his own grandmother."
Gregan tells Draco, who Xena has been flirting with under Cupid's influence (A Comedy of Eros, S02E22), that Xena "played the same sort of mind games with Zagreas. She tricked him into losing his whole army." This could be a reference to the recent events with Zagreas and Gareth, but those mind games involved zero flirting, so I choose to interpret this as a separate incident.
If Xena lost a lot of men on a battlefield in Torrence, and/or on a battlefield fighting Bacchus, she would need to get a new army from somewhere.
The Bacchae (Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, S02E04) - Xena fights against Bacchus and tries to save Eurydice, who is trapped between their armies and had previously tried to befriend Xena. Eurydice dies and Orpheus blames Xena for her death.
This accidental death of another innocent woman, during a fight against a monstrous deity, may lead Xena to again re-affirm the principles she espouses during her Hercules trilogy; they do not kill non-combatant women or children.
She's still not a good person. As is the ongoing issue with Xena, she genuinely enjoys the thrill of a fight and she genuinely wants power. She's had a dozen chances to change her ways, but there has always been an army for her to go back to, more power to grasp for, and more reason to keep digging herself downward.
This battle may or may not take place in the same Bacchae Forest that appears during the second season. Bacchus was from Thebes, which is where Hercules' mother may have lived, meaning this could lead us into the events of those episodes.
On the flip side, the myth states that Eurydice died in the valley of the River Pineios in Thessaly, central Greece, so we could place this event there as well.
It also gives us another reason for Xena to have lost a lot of men, bringing us closer to the minor numbers that we see when she first meets Hercules.
Parting Ways (The Path Not Taken, S01E05) - Marcus loses track of Xena "after the raid on Symbius," which may also be spelled "Sympius" or "Semples" or "Semplese" or "Simpius" or refer to aquatic animals attached to the mouthparts of cold-water lobsters.
They may have parted ways sooner after reaching Greece, but it's fun to suppose that when Marcus discussed Xena not wanting innocent people to die, he was partially referring to Eurydice.
Approximately Three Years Before Season Two
Continued Warlording (Sins of the Past, S01E01) - Xena meets up with a warlord named Draco who wants to be with her "in love or in battle," but she won't give him "the satisfaction of either." He picks "the wrong woman to get rough with" and she gives him a scar on his cheek.
They may or may not have been romantically linked during this time period. Notably, while Xena is happy to get down with the bad boys and use sex to get what she wants, she hasn't been romantically under anyone's thumb in a very long time.
During this period Xena likely re-establishes her connections in Greece and becomes more friendly with the hometown warlord crowd. She still wants to rule Greece, still is happy to slaughter her way across the countryside, but for whatever reason news of her major exploits in Corinth and 'Torrence' have still not reached Hercules. None of her original army or Borias's army and little of Boudica's army remain.
It's unlikely that Xena was warlording with Draco and Marcus simultaneously.
Fighting in Nespa (Death in Chains, S01E09) - A man named Toxeus saw Xena "fight in Nespa a while back."
There is no ancient Greek city called Nespa.
Nespa was also the location of a Hercules episode featuring a centaur named Nemis. Nemis is a mythological figure whose brother Nessus was the ferryman for the River Evinos, and the River Evinos is right at the entryway between central Greece and the Peloponnesian Peninsula to the south. We can place this event there and use it as a marker for Xena heading south into the peninsula.
Shelter for Wounded Men (Altared States, S01E19) - Xena uses some caves as shelter for her wounded men.
This could be literally anywhere at any time, but for funsies I've put it in the Kastria Cave Lakes in the northern Peloponnese.
Warrior Princess of the Kalmai a.k.a. Kalamata (The Price, S02E20) - An Athenian soldier calls Xena the "warrior princess of the Kalmai" and then that word is never mentioned ever again.
Kalamai is an older name for the city of Kalamata, which is on the southwestern coast of the Peloponnese.
Apparently something happens here that one Athenian will remember years down the line but that Hercules will not have heard of any time before then. Idk.
***Torrence?
Approximately Two Years Before Season Two
Arcadia in the Peloponnese (The Warrior Princess, HERC S01E09) - Xena is hell-bent on "conquering Arcadia" in the central Peloponnese.
Hercules now has a pretty firmly established foothold as a powerful protector of people in Greece, and Xena decides it's time to go after him in order to clear that particular blockade from the playing field. She may even believe what she says later in the episode - that Hercules is not a real hero, but just another selfish warlord out for his own interests.
Xena picks up Hercules' best friend Iolaus (possibly near Hercules' mother's residence around Thebes) and goes the seduction/betrayal route with the pair of them, rather than the blunt force route. It almost works, but she ends up fleeing.
Again, notably, Hercules doesn't know who Xena is at the beginning of these events. Realistically this is an inconsistency, but for the purposes of this exercise it forces us to acknowledge either that Xena was not well-known in Greece or that Hercules doesn't know shit about fuck.
Tripolis a.k.a. Tripoli (One Against An Army, S03E13) - Xena stockpiles a bunch of weapons in Tripolis, which would be in the general area of Tripoli in ancient Arcadia within the Peloponnese.
It makes sense that she would do this either after fleeing Hercules or later after losing her army one final time.
Parthus and the Parthian Province a.k.a. Patras (The Gauntlet, HERC S01E12) - Xena has reunited with Darphus and is warlording around "the peninsula" again.
Notably, she tells Darphus that they are "warriors, not barbarians." It's possible that she is slowly starting to remember the reason she got into the warlord business in the first place, though she's clearly not ready for a thorough self-examination.
"Parthus" is in Albania and "the Parthian Province" is in Iran, so this possibly means Patras in the northern Peloponnese.
When Darphus destroys that one town, slaughtering everyone and burning the whole thing to the ground, it's a type of destruction that Xena has only ever wrought by accident. And when Darphus essentially puts a sword to the neck of that baby, he's crossing one of the only lines she's constantly refused to cross. Arguably, Xena's defense of an innocent isn't just about that baby. It's about Solan and it's about Lyceus and Cirra and Eurydice and Thalassa and it's about, possibly, the last inch of integrity she has.
It's probably been a while since Xena has run into someone a lot worse than she is, morally speaking. The Horde is another example of this, marking another turning point in her life of sorts, and she doesn't seem to like what that mirror shows.
It's also been a long time since Xena was successfully betrayed by someone, but this time her and Darphus aren't romantically linked and she doesn't exactly trust him; she just doesn't think he has the brains or the guts to do anything rash.
The gauntlet is like the bookend to Caesar crucifying her on that beach; a betrayal resulting in the loss of her army and a horrifying physical injury, but this time she walks away. She does it with her dignity intact and even with the respect of the army she's just lost, because they all refuse to kill her after she survives the beating.
Xena then loses a fair fight - to Hercules, if fighting anyone after running a gauntlet could be called fair - for the first time in a good while, just like she once did to M'Lila and to Lao Ma and to Cyane, so that also probably gets the cogs turning.
And now, just like a decade prior surrounded by dead men in Niklios's cabin, Xena has to make a choice about who she wants to be.
Importantly, she also has no army to go back to. She has a moment for murder sobriety to catch.
It also probably helps that Ares, like a scorned ex, clearly senses her change in intent because he drops her like a hot potato and immediately starts supporting a resurrected Darphus.
So Xena has Hercules as a pseudo sponsor, after he shows her a kindness he is under no obligation to and spares her life. He is there to demonstrate a better path forward for her.
But it's not just about Hercules. It's Lao Ma and it's M'Lila and it's Boudica and it's Eurydice and it's Cyane and it's Marcus and it's Goliath and it's Borias and it's that one family with the Ark of the Covenant or whatever and it's everyone who ever showed Xena kindness when she didn't deserve it and told her she could be something better.
And it's finally, finally, enough.
Approximately One Year Before Season Two
Elysia a.k.a. Elis (Unchained Heart, HERC S01E13) - After an unknown amount of time traveling together, Xena goes with Hercules, Iolaus, and Salmoneus to stop Darphus and Ares in Elysia.
This could refer to Elis, also known as Illia, in the Peloponnese.
Home (Sins of the Past, S01E01) - Xena puts on new armor, acquires Argo, and goes north to reunite with her mother in Amphipolis.
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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 3 months ago
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Matt Wuerker, Politico
* * * * *
LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN
October 30, 2024
Heather Cox Richardson
Oct 31, 2024
On Friday, October 25, at a town hall held on his social media platform X, Elon Musk told the audience that if Trump wins, he expects to work in a Cabinet-level position to cut the federal government.
He told people to expect “temporary hardship” but that cuts would “ensure long-term prosperity.” At the Trump rally at New York City’s Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Musk said he plans to cut $2 trillion from the government. Economists point out that current discretionary spending in the budget is $1.7 trillion, meaning his promise would eliminate virtually all discretionary spending, which includes transportation, education, housing, and environmental programs.
Economists agree that Trump’s plans to place a high tariff wall around the U.S., replacing income taxes on high earners with tariffs paid for by middle-class Americans, and to deport as many as 20 million immigrants would crash the booming economy. Now Trump’s financial backer Musk is factoring in the loss of entire sectors of the government to the economy under Trump.  
Trump has promised to appoint Musk to be the government’s “chief efficiency officer.” “Everyone’s going to have to take a haircut.… We can’t be a wastrel.… We need to live honestly,” Musk said on Friday. Rob Wile and Lora Kolodny of CNBC point out that Musk’s SpaceX aerospace venture has received $19 billion from the U.S. government since 2008.
An X user wrote: “I]f Trump succeeds in forcing through mass deportations, combined with Elon hacking away at the government, firing people and reducing the deficit—there will be an initial severe overreaction in the economy…. Markets will tumble. But when the storm passes and everyone realizes we are on sounder footing, there will be a rapid recovery to a healthier, sustainable economy. History could be made in the coming two years.”
Musk commented: “Sounds about right[.]”
This exchange echoes the prescription of Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon, whose theories had done much to create the Great Crash of 1929, for restoring a healthy economy. “Liquidate labor, liquidate stocks, liquidate the farmers, liquidate real estate,” he told President Herbert Hoover. “It will purge the rottenness out of the system. High costs of living and high living
will come down. People will work harder, live a more moral life. Values will be adjusted, and enterprising people will pick up the wrecks from less competent people.” 
Mellon, at least, was reacting to an economic crisis thrust upon an administration. Musk is seeking to create one. 
Today the Commerce Department reported that from July through September, the nation’s economy grew at a solid 2.8%. Consumer spending is up, as is investment in business. The country added 254,000 jobs in September, and inflation has fallen back almost to the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%. 
It is extraordinarily rare for a country to be able to reduce inflation without creating a recession, but the Biden administration has managed to do so, producing what economists call a “soft landing,” rather like catching an egg on a plate. As Bryan Mena of CNN wrote today: “The US economy seems to have pulled off a remarkable and historic achievement.” 
Both President Joe Biden and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris have called for reducing the deficit not by slashing the government, as Musk proposes, but by restoring taxes on the wealthy and corporations. 
As part of the Republicans’ plan to take the country back to the era before the 1930s ushered in a government that regulated business and provided a basic social safety net, House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) expects to get rid of the Affordable Care Act. 
At a closed-door campaign event on Monday in Pennsylvania for a Republican House candidate, Johnson told supporters that Republicans will propose “massive reform” to the Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare,” if they take control of both the House and the Senate in November. “Health-care reform’s going to be a big part of the agenda,” Johnson said. Their plan is to take a “blowtorch to the regulatory state,” which he says is “crushing the free market.” “Trump’s going to go big,” he said.” When an attendee asked, “No Obamacare?” he laughed and agreed: “No Obamacare…. The ACA is so deeply ingrained, we need massive reform to make this work, and we got a lot of ideas on how to do that.” 
Ending a campaign with a promise to crash a booming economy and end the Affordable Care Act, which ended insurance companies’ ability to reject people with preexisting conditions, is an unusual strategy.
A post from Trump last night and another this morning suggest his internal polls are worrying him. Last night he claimed there was cheating in Pennsylvania’s York and Lancaster counties. Today he posted: “Pennsylvania is cheating, and getting caught, at large scale levels rarely seen before. REPORT CHEATING TO AUTHORITIES. Law Enforcement must act, NOW!” 
Trump appears to be setting up the argument he used in 2020, that he can lose only if he has been cheated. But it is increasingly apparent that the get-out-the-vote, or GOTV, efforts of the Trump campaign have been weak. When Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump and loyalist Michael Whatley became the co-chairs of the Republican National Committee in March 2024, they stopped the GOTV efforts underway and used the money instead for litigation. They outsourced GOTV efforts to super PACs, including Musk’s America PAC.
In Wired today, Jake Lahut reported that door-knockers for Musk’s PAC were driven around in the back of a U-Haul without seats and threatened with having to pay their own hotel bills if they didn’t meet high canvassing quotas. One of the canvassers told Lahut that they thought they were being hired to ask people who they would be voting for when they flew into Michigan, and was surprised to learn their actual role. The workers spoke to Lahut anonymously because they had signed a nondisclosure agreement (a practice the Biden administration has tried to stop).
Trump’s boast that he is responsible for the Supreme Court’s overturning of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision recognizing the constitutional right to abortion is one of the reasons his support is soft. In addition to popular dislike of the idea that the state, rather than a woman and her doctor, should make decisions about her healthcare, the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision is now over two years old, and state examinations of maternal deaths are showing that women are dying from lack of reproductive healthcare. 
Cassandra Jaramillo and Kavitha Surana of ProPublica reported today that at least two pregnant women have died in Texas when doctors delayed emergency care after a miscarriage until the fetal heartbeat stopped. The woman they highlighted today, Josseli Barnica, left behind a husband and a toddler. 
At a rally this evening near Green Bay, Wisconsin, Trump said his team had advised him to stop talking about how he was going to protect women by ending crime and making sure they don’t have to be “thinking about abortion.” But Trump, who has boasted of sexual assault and been found liable for it, did not stop there. He went on to say that he had told his advisors, “I’m going to do it whether the women like it or not. I am going to protect them.” 
The Trump campaign remains concerned about the damage caused by the extraordinarily racist, sexist, and violent Sunday night rally at Madison Square Garden. Today the campaign seized on a misstatement President Biden made when condemning the statement from the Madison Square Garden event that referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage.” They tried to turn the tables to suggest that Biden was calling Trump supporters garbage, although the president has always been very careful to focus his condemnation on Trump alone. 
In Wisconsin today, when he disembarked from his plane, Trump put on an orange reflective vest and had someone drive him around the tarmac in a garbage truck with TRUMP painted on the side. He complained about Biden to reporters from the cab of the truck but still refused to apologize for Sunday’s slur of Puerto Rico, saying he knew nothing about the comedian who appeared at his rally. 
This, too, was an unusual strategy. Like his visit to McDonalds, where he wore an apron, the image of Trump in a sanitation truck was likely intended to show him as a man of the people. But his power has always rested not in his promise to be one of the people, but rather to lead them. The pictures of him in a bright orange vest and unusually dark makeup are quite different from his usual portrayal of himself.
Indeed, media captured a video of Trump’s stunt, and it did not convey strength. MSNBC’s Katie Phang watched him try to get into the truck and noted: “Trump stumbles, drags his right leg, almost falls over, and tries at least three times to open the door…. Some transparency with Trump’s medical records would be nice.” 
The Las Vegas Sun today ran an editorial that detailed Trump’s increasingly obvious mental lapses and concluded that Trump is “crippled cognitively and showing clear signs of mental illness.” It noted that Trump now depends “on enablers who show a disturbing willingness to indulge his delusions, amplify his paranoia or steer his feeble mind toward their own goals.” It noted that if Trump cannot fulfill the duties of the presidency, they would fall to his running mate, J.D. Vance, who has suggested “he would subordinate constitutional principles for personal profit and power.”
LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN
HEATHER COX RICHARDSON
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