#his imperial arbitration

[serpentface]

FAMILY TITLES AMONG THE HILL TRIBES

(ft. various linguistic notes and tangents)

In-universe Brakul’s self-given title of ‘Red-Dog’ is Brakul 'ne-Dainh' in his native language (Bict-Urbinnas dialect of the Highland language group) and Brakul 'Chin-Reyla' in Wardi. Ne-Dainh/Chin-Reyla is not something he treats as or considers an actual surname or identity, just a self-styled nickname. He already has a title.

Family names/surnames are not a native practice among the Hill Tribes (though some clans or individual families have adopted this practice), and all traditionally use titles that designate immediate ancestry, clan and tribe. These full titles are officially given when one comes of age and are spoken aloud in ceremony (with the entire direct male and female lines listed by name, with most traditions expecting 12 generations of each being named).

The function is to cement one’s sense of place in the world, and their place in a direct ancestral line, which puts the person under the full watch and guidance of their ancestors. It's also a critical method of recording lineage- the long held practice of each person memorizing at least 24 total direct ancestors allows for very long, largely accurate records of family history to be kept, with some people able to trace their ancestry all the way back to initial settlement of the Highlands (or even beyond).

Brakul’s full title is:

“Brakul virsum Kuligan et Borunil an Briyonis ne-Taig an Bict-Urbinnas”

Which dead literally translates to “Brakul son of Kuligan and Borunil of the Foothills (of) Red-Cattle, of the North (Urbin/Erubin) River Valley” but has a much richer meaning in the original language.

"BRAKUL VIRSUM KULIGAN ET BORUNIL"

The actual meaning here is closer to ‘Brakul, son of Kuligan and his father’s fathers, and Borunil and her mother’s mothers’.

“Virsum” means ‘child (son/daughter) of’ (the gender is contextual), but implies the person’s status as a descendant of a full male and female line of ancestors. A different word is used if you’re just saying ‘I’m so and so’s son”. The title describes him as a son of his father Kuligan and of Kuligan’s male line, and of his mother Borunil and Borunil's female line.

All ancestors (within this particular system of kinship, divided into one direct male line from the father and one direct female line from the mother, and not including husbands from the female line or wives from the male line) are invoked and credited with the word ‘virsum’. Speaking it as part of the personal title is part of the routine and necessary honoring of one’s ancestors, who watch over their descendants from the afterlife and can temporarily return to the land to guide and protect (and sometimes punish, or teach sharp lessons to) the living.

"AN BRIYONIS NE-TAIG"

The actual meaning here would be understood as ‘clan/people of the foothills where cattle are lit red by the setting sun'.

‘Briyonis’ is the word for ‘foothill’, citing his clan’s specific location being the foothills that form the slopes of the north Urbin river valley. He is of a lesser clan within the powerful North Urbin River tribe. His clan benefits from close affiliation to their more powerful ruling clans located directly in the river valley, which grants them access to a greater variety of cultivated foods, but their actual position in the foothills still renders them predominantly reliant on cattle for subsistence. Clan names referencing cattle or horses are very common, given their frequent centrality to life.

The ‘ne-Taig’ literally means ‘red cattle’, but the ‘ne’ color word for red specifically invokes shades of red seen in and cast by a rising/setting sun. This red cast is culturally regarded as a unique beauty and evocative (and part of the name) of the solar god Hraighne. The foothills his clan is physically located on are a vantage point from which the western horizon is not fully obscured by mountains, and they experience very striking sunsets and are directly touched by the light. This is fairly unique to this location, and is invoked in the clan name and identity. ‘Ne-Taig’ here suggests a visual of grazing cattle illuminated red by the sun as it crosses the horizon.

‘Ne-Dainh’ carries the same implication, a dog illuminated red by setting sunlight. The Wardi language does not have a comparable word for a sunlit red and ‘Chin-Reyla’ really does just mean ‘(orangeish) red dog’ (‘reyla’ is specific to orangey-red colors, which is the closest match he could get. There’s no way to impart the meaning of ‘sunlit-red dog’ in Wardi that is non-clunky enough to be appropriate for a name).

"AN BICT-URBINNAS"

‘an Bict-Urbinnas’ is fairly simple, Bict means ‘north’, and 'Urbin' is the name of the specific river that stems from a northern and eastern tributary. This river has a very ancient name (or a derivative of one) that predates settlement by the Hill Tribes, and its exact meaning is lost.

The root -(n)nas designates a river valley, but has strong implications of being an esteemed and bountiful place, rather than solely a literal geographical descriptor (as the river valleys are centers of power and trade in the highlands). It may be a loanword from the Wardi language family, as its usage is VERY similar in form and function to the Wardi -(n)nos, which also suggests a place of esteem and bounty (more specifically having connotations of a kingdom).

’An’ literally means ‘of’, but in the specific sense of describing the place and identity of a collection of people. ‘an Bict Urbinnas’ would be understood in speech as ‘of the north Urbin River Valley (people)’. The clans historically settled in and around the valley of the North Urbin River form the totality of the Bict-Urbinnas tribe.

The ‘Urbin’ word predates the contemporary Wardi name ‘Erubin’ for the river, the latter of which invokes the semi-mythological founding figure Erub, who himself was of a Wardi tribe located downriver to the south of the Highlands. The real historically extant ‘Erub’ was most likely named Urub after the river, with his cited name shifting over the centuries in folklore, and the Wardi name for the river shifting with it.

‘Erubin’ as a corruption of ‘Urbin’ functions very well in Wardi language due to ‘-bi/bin’ denoting something as a ‘gift’, usually in a more metaphorical sense. ‘Erubin’ is understood as meaning ‘(The river that is) Erub’s gift’, and the Erubin/Urbin river is a key tributary to the much larger Black river, one of the key rivers that feeds the region's wetter and more fertile west. This 'gift' meaning also occurs in the name of the southeastern Imperial Wardi city-state Erubinnos, which is understood as meaning ’((The kingdom that is) Erub’s gift’. He is considered to have conquered and taken the land (from the core city's actual founders, the Wogan people) and established a kingdom there in the early days of warring Wardi tribal monarchies.

[teriri-sayes]

Reactions to Chaos Creator's Chapter 260

TL;DR - Cale learns about the group Cotton and fake Hilsman belongs to. Cale hears about demon world stuff. Cale receives messages from Foreign Minister Bailey and Clopeh. Cale's group enters the castle in disguise.

More Info Dump It seems both of my guesses last chapter are correct. We get another info dump, and Cale's group finally enters the castle. Let's summarize the new information we learned:

God World, hunters, and Demon World are involved in one big mess because they want to change the status quo

One group wants to stop them, which is the group Cotton and fake Hilsman belong to

The group is called "Arbitrators" and its leader is... the illegitimate daughter of the former Demon King

Current Demon King is a hardliner who deposed the former Demon King who is a moderate

Arbitrators leader is the only surviving child of the former Demon King

Arbitrators know little about the new god world the hunters are trying to create

So... will TCF Part 2 really end in 300 chapters? The scale has gotten so big now that even demons are involved. 😂

Cale was mentally panicking and cursing when he heard about the demon world stuff too. 🤣🤣🤣 He was so badly in denial about the job he had to do, brainwashing himself that he only needed to take care of the hunters. Yeah, as if that would work, Cale... 😂

Let's organize this mess... The groups involved are:

God of War's group - gods jealous of ancient gods, God of Chaos (?), Lady Orsena

Hunters - 5 families, some wanderers

Demon World group - current Demon King and his followers

Arbitrators - illegitimate daughter of former Demon King and her demon followers, Cotton, fake Hilsman

God of Death's group - Cale's group, gods on the side of Cale, the worlds (Xiaolen, Jungwon)

There's also the side of God of Balance, the Divine World, the Red Bloods, and all that mess with King Zed and the Thames. Cale's slacker life dream goes further and further away... 😂

Oh yeah, during the part about the new god world the hunters were trying to create, Cotton suddenly had a crazed look upon hearing it. CH and the others became alert and tense at the "aura of the battlefield" she emitted. Apparently, Arbitrators knew little about it, so Cale scammed her into thinking that he knew what and where that new god world was.

The Messages In the end, the Har Kingdom gave in to the empire's demand and agreed to head to the empire. Foreign Minister Bailey messaged Cale, asking for help, and Cale decided to go to the imperial capital too.

But when Cale received a message from Clopeh saying, "Everything went according to Cale-nim's will. Only one temple was destroyed, and everything went easily", Cale decided that he REALLY needed to go to the imperial capital. 🤣🤣🤣

Alberu though... Cale was feeling anxious that Alberu had not sent any message. He was seriously trying to deny the possibility that Alberu had become addicted to the game even though the back of his neck felt cold. 🤣🤣🤣

Ending Remarks That Demon King info was a surprise to me. Today's chapter ended with Cale's group disguising themselves as soldiers and servants to secretly enter the castle, so I'm expecting some fights and robbery next week.

[wonder-worker]

It was assumed that, as a woman and one not born to rule, [Anne de Pisseleu] was prey to passions and vengefulness, that she could have no consistent 'policy'. / *Anne’s political activity has often been described as incoherent and Anne herself as a flighty interloper in the male business of politics…whose “role in court politics under Francis I was essentially capricious, with changes of alignment according to the whim of the moment”.

*Contemporary reports are partly responsible for the interpretation. / For Benvenuto Cellini (1500–1571), who saw too much of her for his own peace of mind, she personified fortuna in all its caprice. For the papal nuncio Hieronimo Dandino (1509–1559), who saw a great deal of her and noted her dislike of gossiping Italians, the king in 1543 was more a prey than ever to his lasciviousness and under her sway. He thought the secret of her success was the spirit of contradiction, always saying the opposite of what others did. For the Imperial envoy Nicolas Villey de Marnol, Anne had been légière (unstable) all her life. This was the same view as that of the Venetian envoy Marino Cavalli (d. 1572), who reported in 1545 that, despite her previous preference for peace with England, she was pressing for further war, hoping that failure would undermine Admiral Annebault, her rival. Literary views were similar; for instance, Rondabilis, the protagonist of the 1546 Tiers Livre by François Rabelais (1494-1553), views all women as frail, variable, capricious, and inconstant.

*[However], in her political actions nothing distinguishes [Anne] from her male counterparts. Court factions resembled neither modern political parties nor social cliques. Factions formed around a central dispute—in the case at hand, around the long-standing rivalry between Brion and Montmorency over their competing desires for supremacy, or, to put it slightly differently, over their incompatible strategies for dealing with the emperor. In 1540 Montmorency, himself on shaky ground, spearheaded an effort to get Brion investigated for fraud. Begun by the chancellor Poyet in August 1540, the investigation resulted in the admiral’s conviction in February 1541. In general, other quarrels then formed around the central one, with different players joining in when they thought that to do so might further a cause of their own. Factional players changed tactics with shifts in the situation— Marguerite of Navarre and Montmorency switched sides with noticeable frequency, as did François I, Henry VIII, and the emperor—leading to an impression of constant treachery. But such side-switching is quite simply the inevitable result of factional politics, which is, by definition, the spontaneous formation of groups to promote results in the absence of overarching institutions formally invested with the authority to arbitrate. Nothing like a political ideology of the type that unites members of a modern political party and determines their response to issues motivates members of factions. As for the perception of factions as social cliques, it is even more difficult to find evidence of friendship as a motivating factor. Despite the well-known language of love that marks exchanges of the period, decisions were in a strange way also fundamentally impersonal, motivated by family interest.

-David Potter, "The Life and After-Life of a Royal Mistress: Anne de Pisseleu, Duchess of Étampes" / *Tracy Adams and Christine Adams, "The Creation of the French Royal Mistress: From Agnès Sorel to Madame Du Barry"

[workersolidarity]

🇻🇪🇬🇾 VENEZUELA HOLDS REFERENDUM TO REASSERT ITS CLAIM TO GUYANA ESSEQUIBO

The Venezuelan Government held a national referendum Sunday to reassert its claim to the lands of Guyana Essequibo, reigniting geopolitical tensions in the region decades in the making.

The Guyana Essequibo region is part of the legacy of the British Empire, and is a region the Monroe Doctrinaires placed firmly in the US sphere of influence that today is dominated by the corporate interests of US oil giant Exxon Mobile.

The government of Guyana issues licenses to Exxon Mobile to drill and process petroleum products off Guyana's shores in an arrangement that the native inhabitants are none-too-happy with.

In Guyana, only 25% of oil profits remain in-country, and a poor system of redistribution has left the country's inhabitants with the lowest Human Development Index in South America, while extreme poverty affects 35.1% of the population.

In this way, Exxon Mobile has become the chief player in this century-old territorial dispute between Guyana and Venezuela.

Even internally, Guyana has major complaints with Exxon Mobile as an imperial extension of the US ruling class, with huge court battles coming to head in recent months against the giant domineering US corporation.

According to a recent article about just such a court battle, The Intercept's Amy Westervelt wrote:

"In Guyana, it’s become hard to distinguish where the oil company ends and the government begins. Exxon executives join the Guyanese president in his suite at cricket matches, and the vice president regularly hosts press conferences to defend the oil company."

The territorial dispute goes back to an 1890's International decision on the location of the borders of what was then British Guyana, a cruel colonial outpost of the British Empire.

At the time, the burgeoning US empire backed Venezuela's claims, a country which the US ruling class was trying to turn into a colony of its own, and were saying the lands in question should be a part of Venezuela, while the British wanted it to be part of its Guyana colony.

A Russian arbitrator, whom many Venezuelan historians believe to have been bribed by the British, ruled in favor of the British Empire's claim.

The territory made up 2/3rds of the territory of Guyana, and as long as the British held their colony, the Venezuelans could do little to change the situation.

In 1966, an agreement was reached to begin negotiations between Guyana and Venezuela to revisit the Essequibo territorial claims, however those negotiations never made any progress and the situation is coming to head now, many decades later.

The UN Secretary General, Antonio Guitierrez, recently referred the matter to the International Court of Justice in the Hague, however the Venezuelan government has no faith in the institution, believing (correctly) that it is merely an extension of Western geopolitical power.

And so, today the Venezuelan government is holding a referendum to reassert its claim to the Guyana Essequibo territory and that they reject any decisions by International institutions to reward Guyana's claims.

#source1

#source2

#source3

#source4

@WorkerSolidarityNews

[thegalievthought]

The Question of Venezuelan Social-Imperialism

Are Venezuela's threats against Guyana Social-Imperialism? Lenin used Social-Imperialism ok in simple terms of a nation that is Socialist in deeds or name (for example the ruling party of Venezuela is ostensibly socialist in character at least historically) however in deeds In either policy as a rule or in a particular action do imperialist deeds.

But what does this mean? And how is it important to Venezuela's confrontation against the Socialist nation of Guyana? Well, let's start with why Venezuela wants the region. Well, the dispute comes from firstly imperial sources, this dispute predates an independent Guyana and is namely a dispute between Venezuela and the United Kingdom. In 1899 the British Empire which at the time controlled Guyana as a puppet awarded “the entire mouth of the Orinoco River and the land on either side to Venezuela; it granted to the United Kingdom the land to the east extending to the Essequibo River.” When Guyana gained independence in 1966 all countries involved Except the signed the Geneva Agreement which said that all parties should come to a peaceful, practical and satisfactory decision on the status of the Essequibo. Which never happened. However, the treaty said if a stalemate happened then a relevant international organ Could step in as a mediator which happened in 2020 when the ICJ took the case. Guyana filed the case with the ICJ and the majority of judges agreed the court has jurisdiction to take the case further with Guyanana. First, the ICJ needed to have a case to decide if this was in the ICJ's jurisdiction. And if so, what timeline did it have jurisdiction over. in that case for the first ruling it was ruled 12 to 4 that the ICJ had jurisdiction based on the 1966 Geneva agreement that it has the authority to arbitrate over the award given in 1899, “that it has jurisdiction to entertain the Application filed by the Co-operative Republic of Guyana on 29 March 2018 in so far as it concerns the validity of the Arbitral Award of 3 October 1899 and the related question of the definitive settlement of the land boundary dispute between the Co-operative Republic of Guyana and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela;” However there was a judge who disagreed notably with four Judge Gevorgian, Which for the sake of accuracy here is the entire dissenting opinion.

“Dissenting opinion of Judge Gevorgian Judge Gevorgian disagrees with the Court’s conclusion that it has jurisdiction to entertain Guyana’s claims. In his view, the Court’s Judgment undermines parties to the Court’s jurisdiction. The Court has made the unprecedented decision to exercise jurisdiction on the basis of a treaty that does not even mention the Court and contains no clause referring disputes to it. This is especially problematic as one of the Parties has consistently refused to submit the present dispute to the Court, and the dispute concerns national interests of the highest order, such as territorial sovereignty. In particular, Judge Gevorgian considers that Article IV (2) of the Geneva Agreement does not empower the Secretary-General of the United Nations to issue a legally binding decision as to the means of settlement to be employed by the Parties. The contrary conclusion reached by the Court is not supported by the text of the Geneva Agreement or by the Agreement’s object and Purpose. In Judge Gevorgian’s view, the object and purpose of the Geneva Agreement is to help the Parties reach an agreed settlement to their dispute. As such, the Secretary-General has a non-binding role similar to that of a conciliator or mediator, entrusted with facilitating the Parties’ attempts to reach an agreed solution, but not empowered to impose a means of settlement on them.”

End opinion.

For the second case, the court however was unanimous in its decision that “that it does not have jurisdiction to entertain the claims of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana arising from events that occurred after the signature of the Geneva Agreement.” Meaning for things such as an invasion voted on by the Venezuelan parliament to annex the disputed territories it had no jurisdiction to arbitrate or to arbitrate any deals made after the 1966 Geneva Agreement.

Anyway, now Venezuela is considering military action against another socialist in-character state, And one at that with one of the largest indigenous populations on the continent because of imperial agreements made by Europeans who didn't own the land (rightfully) then and definitely not now. So that begs the question of whether Venezuela is threatening action against another sovereign socialist state (that is I should note backed by the US and NATO) Over an imperialist agreement Social Imperialism? In my opinion, yes. Ignoring the fact that Venezuela, despite its socialist character is still a settler colonial state, its aggression against Guyana is Certainly social imperialism despite the submission Guyana has shown to the US (ostensibly because of the colonial past of the nation and submission being 'voluntary'.

However especially now as Brazil another 'socialist' in character nation moves to confront Venezuela and make a regional war we must understand and condemn Venezuelan Social Imperialism and stand with Guyanana and yes recognise that if the US intervenes on behalf of Guyana that is Imperialism and needs to be similarly combatted social imperialism is not justified against other socialist in character states without a justified cause or reason such as Vietnam's intervention in Cambodia. Venezuela does not have that Justification. And I must firmly say that to the International working class and anti-imperialist movements worldwide particularly those in the occupied Palestine, Yemen, and Lebanon to stand with Guyana as Venezuela moves to occupy what is at this point land owned by a majority indigenous nation in the Americas this is by all rights no matter what any European agreements were made, whatever colonization took place. Guyana's land furthermore the entirety of the Americas (occupied Turtle Island) belongs to those indigenous people and not settlers or mixed indigenous people who act in part as settlers. Ostensibly we must support Guyana against social-imperialism not only because of Imperialism's barbaric nature but also because of the hundreds of years of history of this very colonialism and imperialism being wrought on the indigenous people and their right to the land being verily ignored like that of the ignored right to Palestinians to their land. Moreover, this is not just an anti-imperialist struggle, it also needs to be the start of a larger struggle for decolonisation which never happened in the occupied Americas.

[thetruearchmagos]

Hey pointy hat

Trick🙀 or treat🍭

Hi there, thanks! [Had to work to figure out what this was let me tell ya...]

The generous Magi that I am, I'll keep this a Treat!

So... here's some Worldbuilding;

Author's Post-Writing Notes: To the shock of no one, this piece has gotten a helluva lot longer than I'd originally planned. Honestly, it might've worked as a good Worldbuilding Wednesday post, but oh well. Tagging @athenswrites @hessdalen-globe @caxycreations @theprissythumbelina @thatndginger @imslowlydisintegrating

L'Eglise: The Gollandiac Faithful

Early History

Long before Republic, Empire, or imperial dream, the far flung "Gollandiac" peoples were tied together by their common faith more than anything. Religion, like politics, was in those bygone times a highly localised affair, reliant on what pieces of scripture village or town churches possessed from the holy texts of "Premier Monde".

The Social Institution

As the decades and centuries rolled on, these disjointed and fiercely independent enclaves grew larger, and the role of organised faith grew with them. Not merely places of worship, a community's 'Church' functioned as arbitrators in disputes, keepers of the peace, and often managed pieces of local infrastructure. In a time when the rule of states and kings was weak everywhere beyond sight of their palaces, the church stepped in to provide stability and authority in manner that the ordinary Gollandiac could see and feel in their day to day lives.

The Estates

In the process, the various village and provincial clergy would amass for their parishes great wealth, privilege, and influence. They often side-stepped political regimes and governance to deal directly with their fellow holy men, and indeed many grew to see political authority as simply an obstruction. A parallel economy and system of politics came to be which ingrained itself into the fabric of Gollandiac society deeper than any of its petty kingdoms of the time could, and sovereigns and statesmen knew that they ruled with the consent of their bodies of churches, and would surely fall if they lost it.

To many within it, this arrangement was deemed tolerable, and the Church was often thought of as a steady and calming hand which acted to cool the tempers and avarice of dynastic rulers or other centers of power. While the balance of power would last for centuries, its fall would see the rise of the Goilac Empire, and the unification of the Gollandiac peoples under one King, and one chosen Church.

The Schism

The first cracks in the old ways came with the rise of industry, commerce, and foreign influence into the largely agrarian society of the land. These influences brought about the single greatest movement of humanity Gollandians had ever seen, away from the pastoral country and towards those handful of might cities who sat on the lands natural bounty in coal and iron, or with coastal access to plentiful foreign markets. This period was known to the United Commonwealth as its 8th decade from the signing of its Charter, and the polity's victory over the Fuhrati Empire sent shockwaves across the 12 Worlds. ******

With their flocks much diminished, so went much of the power of those Churches with more agrarian domains. Those in urban centres, on the other hand, were quick to adapt and seize the chance to entrench their influence in this new order, swapping their holdings in farmland or vineyards for foundries, mills, and shipyards. Their wealth and sheer hold on public life would make these institutions key players in the political game to come.

L'Eglise Et L'Etat

While Gollandia had often seen sharp competition between the organs of Church and State, a small handful of shrewd actors in the region's history had at various points seized on the potential offered by mutual collaboration. Of these, Antoine d'Porlanger, scion of the House of Porlanger and ruler of the rapidly industrialising Duchy of Goilac, would be remembered as the most fiercely successful in wielding the tools of faith and state to unite the squabbling continent under his crown.

His house had long fostered amicable relations with the various clergy leadership within their holdings, but Antoine would take a more involved approach than his predecessors. The same political mind that had undone half a dozen plots against his ascension applied itself to the subordination of these holy men to Ducal rule. One the one Antoine used subtle pressure and backroom negotiations to topple those cardinals who undermined his expanding government, while through gifts of wealth and offices of state he won over enough supporters to shore up his internal legitimacy. After all, those were days when the only regular news that rural townsfolk often received from the happenings in the city came from their local priests and word of mouth.

Crusade Royale

With his internal position secure, Antoine turned beyond his Duchy's borders. A self declared believer in the dream of a common and singular Gollandiac people, he was pragmatic enough to know that it would be an uphill struggle against entrenched institutions who abhorred the idea of surrendering their positions and power.

The Duke first sought to win hearts and minds across the Gollandiac lands, especially leveraging his credibility amongst the body faithful. Aside from their organisational independence, it was not uncommon for different church establishments to maintain their own dogma and tenets around the faith. Antoine believed a unified people would need a common nucleus around which an identity could be forged, and a common scripture would serve that purpose well. His sponsorship of various religious schools across the land, operated by his own Duchy's clergy and according to its rulings. Opposition was, subtly but firmly, discouraged. The conflagration that burned down the mountaintop monastery of Courvey Abbey is considered one example, or to the clergy of the time a singularly unfortunate act of God.

The Century Long Trapeze

The Goilac Church would play an integral role in Antoine's quest for holy and national unification, and in that programme's continuation under his successors. That history, however, must wait for another time.

After the consolidation of the Gollandiac peoples under the rule of Goilac, its Church could rest comfortable in its position as a vital arm of the Empire's governance. As the Empire grew to extend its reach beyond the Gollandiac peoples to conquests of others, its clergy would remain a vital connection between the state and its masses.

This privileged arrangement would last for almost a century, but it would not do so unchallenged. The rising institutions of the Empire's bureaucracy would be its first challenger, who preached a more secular approach to statesmanship. More would come. The fabric of Gollandiac society had already changed greatly once so long ago, then in a way that set it on the path of unity and conquest. The second great wave of change and upheaval would take a very different form, where

------

On Terra-Primo Artefacts

One notable item in the Goilac Church is the sacred text known as The True Book, or "Le Vrai Livre". The manuscript is estimated to be at least six centuries old, more ancient than any record of history on the continent and the oldest known bible in the 12 Words. Found on the grounds of the original Mortray Abbey, the text remains the Churches most prized possession, guarded under lock and key in the archives of the rebuilt monastery. With the scripture's age and its consistency with many texts on other Worlds, many content that it is in fact an original, Old World book, making it a major piece of evidence for subscribers to that theory.

------

[kamreadsandrecs]

Title: Cabinet of Curiosities: History from Philippine Artifacts

Author: Ambeth Ocampo

Genre/s: nonfiction, history, Philippine history, essays

Content/Trigger Warning/s: brief discussions of war, genocide, colonialism, and imperialism

Summary (from the publisher): “Cabinet of Curiosities: History from Philippine Artifacts” by Ambeth Ocampo takes readers on a captivating journey through Philippine history by exploring a diverse array of 100 artifacts. This collection of essays, inspired by Ocampo’s acclaimed newspaper series, unveils the rich tapestry of the Filipino past through tangible objects that have played significant roles in shaping the nation’s identity.

From prehistoric relics to works of art by renowned Filipino artists, Ocampo’s meticulous research and engaging storytelling bring these artifacts to life, revealing the hidden stories and cultural nuances they carry. The book goes beyond traditional historical narratives, proving that history need not be confined to the written word, as even mute artifacts can provide profound insights into the Filipino experience.

“Cabinet of Curiosities” not only celebrates the Philippines’ cultural heritage but also challenges conventional historical perspectives, making it a must-read for history enthusiasts and those curious about the country’s fascinating past.

Buy Here: https://www.anvilpublishing.com/shop-anv/trade-books/history-culture/cabinet-of-curiosities/

Spoiler-Free Review: Not bad, not bad at all! I guess the overall choppiness of the narrative is attributable to the fact that this is a collection of short essays, but otherwise it’s pretty fun! I liked how it wasn’t just things like statues and coins and jars and such, but included literary works and even a menu. The connections he drew between artifacts, history, and culture make for some very interesting reading, and really live up to his aim of making these “mute” artifacts “speak” in the same way that written history does.

I noted though that he seemed to get a wee bit defensive on the matter of repatriation. He makes a good point about how several of the artifacts he mentions were spared from destruction because they weren’t in the country when the Battle of Manila happened (because the Americans practically leveled the city - it was the second most-devastated city, after Warsaw, at the end of World War II), but at the same time I kind of think this question of repatriation is one that should be revisited and reconsidered in the current period. Maybe not for all artifacts currently out there, but for a few.

I also noted how Ocampo pecked at contemporary political and social issues here and there, wherever they were relevant to a particular artifact. For example, when discussing the Murillo Map that helped bolster the Philippines’ territorial claims against China in the UN arbitral court, he briefly tackles the Philippines’ ongoing dispute with China over the West Philippine Sea. It would have been interesting if he’d been able to expand a bit more on those political ideas, but I also recognize that this book might not be the best place for them; besides, he’s got columns and socmed accounts on which he can expand on his ideas as he wishes.

Another thing that Ocampo points our regularly, especially when discussing precolonial artifacts, are the efforts of local archaeologists to preserve remnants of the Philippines’ past before the colonizers arrived. Between the less-than-ideal preservation conditions and looting both past and present, being an archaeologist in the Philippines is a very difficult and dangerous job, and Ocampo makes note of that in the essays accompanying many of the precolonial artifacts featured in the book. Their persistence and oftentimes downright heroic efforts are the main reason why the enormous gaps in our knowledge of the Philippines’ precolonial past are slowly but surely getting filled in.

So overall, this was a nifty and informative read. While there were times when I wished Ocampo had gone into greater detail and depth into the history of a particular artifact, for the most part the essays were fine on their own as starting points for creating greater interest in Philippine history as a whole.

Rating: four and a half artifacts

[open-hearth-rpg]

Open Hearth Video Roundup September 22, 2023

Welcome to the weekly Open Hearth Gaming video roundup!

These recorded sessions represent only a portion of the games we play every week, and anyone is welcome to join the fun! If you'd like to play in games like these, join our Playabl community and click on the "Calendar" tab to sign up for upcoming games. To browse our library of videos of past sessions, please visit our YouTube Playlists page.

Open Hearth Gaming Calendar

Free from the Shadow: Samurai Fantasy Free from the Yoke (Session 2) Lowell Francis runs for Alun R., David Morrison, and Will H Our protagonists meet with a dragon and negotiate a trade relationship between him and the Empire. But they also learn the secrets behind others mysteries and threats in the Empire. However that information doesn't do much good as one clan loses its daimyo and an sees its capital fall to a corrupted host.

Hearts of Wulin: Numberless Secrets: Series II (Session 8) Lowell Francis runs for Ethan Harvey, Patrick Knowles, Sherri, and Tyler Lominack The group investigates the death of a librarian in the Empress Dowager's retinue, discovering that she was poisoned by a mismarked scroll. The plot thickens and the group discover the victims role as an Imperial Agent and the existence of a former agent who ought to have been executed.

Delta Green: Impossible Landscapes (Session 8 of 12) Shane runs for Blake Ryan, Brandon Brylawski, Mark (he/they), and Puckett Are the agents really working for Delta Green, or have they been unknowingly recruited by an enemy agent? Is Delta Green trying to help them or planning or kill them? Are the missing agents still alive? What connects the demons of the Ars Goetia to the King in Yellow? The agents are forced to take drastic action as they try to get to the bottom of their many questions.

Capitalites (Session 3 of 5) Donogh runs for Madelancholy and Thomas Manuel Things heat up at the (emotionally repressed) Theatre Club. Camilla meets with an actual celebrity who's been promised a part in the play. Salman throws barbs at Charlie as regrets over how his relationship with Ami ended. While Ami herself has an golden opportunity with a local player...

Dreamspace (Session 1) Madelancholy runs for David Miessler-Kubanek, Gareth, Mona, and Rod Santos Folded space travel through dreams...and obstacles and complications seep into the crew and passengers' journey on The Endymion in this two-shot of an alternate reality setting of Hillfolk. We see a slice of their lives aboard a dream-traversing ship.

Star Trek: Fate of the Quadrant (Session 2) Alun R. runs for Donogh, Lowell Francis, Paul Rivers, and Will H Captain's Log - Supplemental: The Montgomery is at warp 7 in pursuit of the Pakled ship and the Federation's dilithium. I have ordered our Guest Quarters to be put back into service to accommodate Princess T'Ren and her husband, while two of my senior officers are sharing to free up quarters for Manager Et-Rah. The rescued miners are housed in cramped temporary berths in Cargo Bay 2; the wounded Pakled is in surgery; and the other two prisoners are in the brig awaiting interrogation. Then, there's a visit to Farius High Station, a 3-way arbitration with Orion hosts, and a covert visit to the Pakled ship...before Comms are cut off, and transporter priorities have to be established...

Hearts of Wulin: Numberless Secrets: Series II (Session 10 of 11) Lowell Francis runs for Ethan Harvey, Patrick Knowles, Sherri, and Tyler Lominack In the penultimate session of our mystery, the group pushes forward to put together the pieces behind the murder of an Imperial Agent. They find themselves deeply entangled in a conspiracy which may reach to the highest levels of the Empire and put them in deadly peril. Revelations begin to tie together old threads and point to events which may bring all of them to their doom.

Free from the Shadow: Samurai Fantasy Free from the Yoke (Session 3) Lowell Francis runs for Alun R., David Morrison, and Will H Our three protagonists meet again in the gardens during a Winter Court, with the situation much changed since last year. Kase Yori asks the other to assist in a ritual to trace the supernatural kidnapping of the Quartz Oak Daimyo. The ritual goes wrong but reveals much, including the corruption of their lord. Armed with this knowledge, Kaze Yori recruits the Imperial High Magistrate along with a band of madmen to walk through The Sundered Mirror and hopefully rescue her clan's heir. But more than one will not return from this task.

The Veil Iterations: Nonesuch (Session 5.5) Lowell Francis runs for Cale P and Mike Minutillo We focus in on Lark and Cora in this penultimate short session (we had two players out).

Star Wars Saturday

OSR 5 in 1 - X-Plorers Rich Rogers runs for Anders, Keith Stetson, MadJay Brown, and Steven Watkins The crew of the Trident seek revenge and things don't turn out well.

MCU Sunday

Hit the Streets: Defend the Block (Session 11 of 11) Rich Rogers runs for Kae, Marc Majcher, and Sherri The Bushwick Originals fight their final fights.

Impulse Drive: Guardians of the Galaxy Aux (Session 2) Rich Rogers runs for Alex, Bryan, Greg G., and Steven Watkins The crew of the Lady Guinevere defeat the Dire Wraiths and set off to find Galador.

Off-Calendar Highlights

Ironsworn RPG: The Vow of Ring and Blade (Session 2) Madelancholy runs for Rob Fletcher Ajla takes Jurek to task over a familiar ring. While on watch one night, Jurek discovers his companion Ajla is...not quite herself. A secret of her blade comes to the fore, and their pursuers catch up to them. On the way to see a lorekeeper with the possibility of answers, Jurek and Ajla find themselves too close to the Forbidden Lands.

Hearts of Camelot: Once and Forever (Session 1) Madelancholy runs for Chris Greenbriar, David Miessler-Kubanek, and Rod Santos Meet Ydelles, Sir Elio, and Sir Granit as we create characters and then watch the beginning of their quest, in this Arthurian-inspired hack by David Adrian Randall of Hearts of Wulin.

[randomnameless]

I just had a super important Adrestian thought, relating to the post of yesterday :

“By the covenant between the red blood and the white sword and by the double-headed eagle upon your head, I hereby pronounce you the new emperor.”

“Imperial Year 32: The War of Heroes -

Wilhelm Paul Hresvelg, the inaugural Adrestian Emperor -”

HC of the day : 

Faerghan propaganda, just after the independance, said Adrestia sucked because it was created by “Emperor small dick”.

Adrestian historians and the Imperial palace was so pissed, they replied with “tru facts discovered yesterday” pamphlets, more or less saying :

“He had a super LARGE and BIGGEST CLAYMORE EVER”

“A GIGANORMOUS white sword, Saint Seiros needed to rest for ten days and ten nights after bleeding that much due to its MASSIVE SIZE!”

“Befitting the progenitor of our glorious line, his sword was 15FT LONG!”

Some more sensible Adrestians replied with something like size does not matter, and as Adrestians they are more civilised than barbarian brutes who think about mating and are controlled by their impulses - not wanting to participate in a dick measuring contest, because hey, they are Adrestians, they won’t sink that low.

Faerghan sensible people agreed that talking about the size of dicks is ridiculous and they are worth more than randoms who laugh at dick jokes. It worked for several years.

However, one of their King - Robert the Simple - who had a too much “worthless adrestian grape juice” during a diplomatic meeting hosted at the Monastery, called Emperor Otto the IIIrd a coward for refusing to send soldiers at the border of their territory (Leicester didn’t exist yet!) against Almyran invasions, but that was to be expected from “Emperor small dick’s descendant”.

The Archbishop of that time thus had to arbitrate a possible conflict arising over a penis joke, and asked to a random lass called Valefor if they remembered anything about a throne, or a place called Zanado, because she was so going to have a breakdown dealing with those humans.

[archivio-disattivato]

Guyana, Venezuela, and Colonialism

Dec 23. Written By Intersect. Blog post by Lucia E. Murray, Intersect Antigua

On December 14, 2023, presidents Ifraan Ali of Guyana and Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela met in Argyle, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, to sign a “Joint Declaration of Argyle for Peace and Dialogue.” This declaration was crafted as a direct response to the recent re-escalation of tensions between Guyana and Venezuela – engendered by Maduro’s continued invocation of the Guyana-Venezuela territorial dispute and his insistence that Venezuela has claim to the Essequibo region of Guyana. This issue first arose in the late 1800s due to the colonisation and subsequent partitioning of the region by European powers – namely, the Spanish, British, and Dutch. Since then, in spite of repeated efforts to arrive at a resolution, the dispute still persists and has been reignited several times throughout the years. In her article, “Guyana and Venezuela: The Currently Unfolding Crisis of Imperialism,” Dr. Tamanisha John underscores a key, inciting incident in this controversy:

“In 1899, the borders between an independent Venezuela and British Guiana were considered settled via an Arbitral Award – in which Venezuela, Great Britain, the United States, and (what is now) Guyana were all signatories . . . and both parties accepted those boundaries as ‘full, perfect, and final’ (Felix 2015, 6). It would not be until August 18, 1962, that Venezuelan President Romulo Betancourt – given the knowledge that Guyana would soon become independent from Great Britain – declared the Arbitral Award ‘null and void’ (Felix 2015, 10). This date marks the discursive controversy of Venezuela and Guyana border tensions – as legally, the border is considered settled.”

Following continued claims for Essequibo from Venezuela, it was agreed through the 1966 Geneva Agreement – signed by the “United Kingdom [as Guyana was still under British rule at this time], Venezuela and, upon attaining independence, Guyana” (Joseph) – that a peaceful settlement of the matter would be attained through legal means, which includes referring the dispute to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). However, the Venezuelan government has also refused to recognize the ICJ – leaving any further proceedings regarding Essequibo at an impasse. Ultimately, this conflict is one of colonial inheritance and, consequently, completely ignores the sovereignty of the indigenous people native to Essequibo. The potential for this region to be annexed persists beneath conditions created by capitalism, imperialism, and chauvinism – all of which are interlinked as vestiges of colonialism.

The Venezuelan government’s motivation for the annexation of Essequibo is manifold; however, two key factors are the discovery of oil and U.S. presence in the region. In 2015, ExxonMobil – an American oil company and one of the wealthiest in the world – confirmed the existence of massive oil reserves in Essequibo. Not only had Exxon been permitted to explore particular areas of Guyana prior to this, but they were also present in Venezuela until 2007 –  when the “last remaining oil production sites . . . under foreign company control” (Wilpert) were nationalised. In a capitalist world that rewards the exploitation of land and labour, as well as exponential resource extraction, whoever is in possession of the oil reserves in Essequibo would gain access to substantial wealth and power. This means that both Venezuela and Exxon – and the U.S., by extension – stand to gain a great deal from the region, far more than Guyana, whose government struck a notoriously unfavourable deal with Exxon in 2016 (Sanzillo). Hence, it is no surprise that following the company’s 2015 announcement regarding the discovery of oil in Essequibo, tensions surrounding the territorial dispute rose once again (John). Furthermore, Venezuela’s interest in the region’s oil is corroborated by recent orders from Maduro to “‘immediately’ explore and exploit the [area’s] oil, gas and mines” (“Venezuela orders state companies to exploit oil and gas mines in Guyana territory”). Whether done by the U.S. or Venezuela, the plundering of Essequibo is a colonial practice that is at odds with and infringes upon the indigenous peoples living in the area. 

Maduro’s push to annex Essequibo is also propelled by a desire to secure his position in Venezuela’s upcoming elections through appealing to longstanding, nationalistic sentiments. In an interview with Black Power Media, Dr. Tamanisha John underlines the connection between calls for annexation, (re-)elections, and nationalism. Asserting that Essequibo is a part of Venezuela is essentially equated as being pro-Venezuela – at least within the country’s political sphere. John also adds that part of what is fueling the continuation of this dispute is the persistence of an ideology that frames Spanish colonisation as more legitimate than British, French, or Dutch colonisation – despite the fact that colonisation, in all of its forms, is egregious and unjust. It is along these lines of thought that Maduro held a referendum on December 3, 2023, “to mobilise public support” regarding the dispute. However, “[t]he turnout appeared so underwhelming that the Venezuelan government has been widely accused by analysts of falsifying the results” (“Maduro vote to claim Guyana’s territory backfires as Venezuelans stay home”). The actions of the Venezuelan government to this end are authoritarian, and consequently, colonial in nature. Imposing the Venezuelan identity on the people of Essequibo ignores their right to self determination. In an interview with Agence France-Presse (AFP), Thomas Devroy, “a former village chief” in the village of Arau, Essequibo, says that “Essequibo was ‘the land of the Akawaio’ Indigenous people who live across Guyana, Venezuela, and Brazil.” He states, “This is our land. Before the Spaniards were here, since time immemorial. For us there are no borders, but with the politics now, there is one. And Essequibo belongs to Guyana.” Although the current lines dividing South America and the Caribbean were drawn by colonial powers and do not reflect the reality of the indigenous residents prior to colonisation, it is nevertheless important to recognise that the indigenous Caribbean people – in addition to the afro-Caribbean and indo-Caribbean people – living in the Essequibo region consider themselves Guyanese. This fact alone should warrant an end to the dispute. 

“This is our land. Before the Spaniards were here, since time immemorial. For us there are no borders, but with the politics now, there is one. And Essequibo belongs to Guyana.”

— Thomas Devroy via AFP

It is clear, through their threats of annexation, that Venezuela – while also a victim of colonialism – is engaging in colonial violence against Guyana, as this acquisition would entail exerting dominion over a smaller, less powerful territory to exploit its resources at the expense of those living there. Intersect stands in support of the people most affected by this dispute – this being the people of the Essequibo region, especially the indigenous people to whom this land truly belongs, and the people of wider Guyana. In the face of colonial and imperial interference, we call for their sovereignty to be respected.

[christ2525]

What is the Spanish monarchy system?

The government of Spain or Spanish government (Spanish: Monarquía Española), naturally alluded to as The Crown (Spanish: La Crown), is a sacred establishment and the most elevated office of Spain.[1] The government contains the prevailing ruler, their family, and the imperial family association which upholds and works with the ruler in the activity of his obligations and prerogatives.What is the Spanish monarchy system? The Spanish government is right now addressed by Lord Felipe VI, Sovereign Letizia, and their girls Leonor, Princess of Asturias, and Infanta Sofía.

The Spanish Constitution of 1978 re-established[note 1] a sacred government as the type of government for Spain after the finish of the Francoist system and the rebuilding of a majority rules government in 1977. The 1978 constitution confirmed the job of the ruler of Spain as the living representation and encapsulation of the Spanish State and an image of Spain's persevering through solidarity and perpetual quality and is likewise contributed as the "mediator and the arbitrator" of Spanish state institutions.[2][4] Unavoidably, the lord is the head of state and president of the Spanish Outfitted Forces.[2][4] The constitution classifies the utilization of illustrious styles and titulary, Imperial Rights, genetic progression to the crown, pay, and a regime guardianship possibility in instances of the ruler's minority or incapacitation.[2][4] As per the constitution, the ruler is additionally instrumental in advancing relations with the "countries of its verifiable community".[2][4] The ruler of Spain fills in as the leader of the Association of Ibero-American States, addressing north of 700,000,000 individuals in 24 part countries worldwide.[5][6] It is the final government on the European Mediterranean coast (aside from Monaco).

History of the Spanish Government Does Spain have a ruler? While most understudies realize that Sovereign Elizabeth II is the head of Britain, they may be shocked to discover that of the 195 nations in presence starting around 2022, 43 of them have governments. Spain is one of those 43 nations, as the top of the Spanish government is Above all else Felipe VI, who started his standard on June 19, 2014. His significant other is Sovereign Letizia. The other Spanish imperial family names incorporate two girls named Leonor, who is the Princess of Asturias, and the Infanta Sofia. The Princess of Asturias Grants are given out yearly to those people who are considered meriting beneficiaries. Curiously, the Spanish illustrious family has a heredity to the English regal family. Ruler Felipe VI of Spain and Sovereign Elizabeth II of Britain both are relatives of Sovereign Victoria of Britain.

The Umayyad attack from the years 711 to 718 brought about the triumph of the Iberian promontory. Accordingly, the foundations of the Spanish government can be followed to the Place of Jimenez, which was established in 835. The defining moment was the association of Castile and Aragon with Ferdinand and Isabela in 1479. The Reconquista took more than seven centuries until the Fall of Granada in 1492. The illustrious place of Ferdinand and Isabella made what is referred to now as the nation of Spain. The Habsburg Government of Austria stretched out to incorporate Habsburg Spain from 1516 to 1700. The Place of Whiskey has controlled for a large portion of the years from 1700 until current times. Spain was a fascism under Franciso Franco from 1939 to 1975.

Qualities of the Spanish government: Disturbances in the Spanish government Spain is a well established government, just interfered with during three periods: that of the Primary Republic (1873-1874), that of the Subsequent Republic (1931-1939) and during the Franco system (1939-1975).

Beginning of the Spanish government Despite the fact that history specialists typically mark as the start of this government the individual and dynastic association of the alleged Catholic Rulers (Isabel I of Castile and Fernando II of Aragon), since the fifth century Hispania was controlled by the purported Hispanogoda government, political and lawful replacement from Rome on the Promontory.

A few lords of the Spanish government Different lords succeeded each other during the long stretches of the Reconquest of the southern grounds of the Landmass, under Muslim rule; Alfonso VI and Alfonso VII of León and Castilla were some of them.

The treatment of "Catholics" of the lords Fernando, Isabel and their replacements was conceded by Pope Alexander VI in 1496, concerning serious areas of strength for the of Spain to the Catholic confidence, from that point forward and for quite some time. The Campaigns comprise the most over the top total illustration of this intense and unreasonable bond.

Targets of the Spanish government The fundamental goals of the Catholic Rulers were, in issues of interior governmental issues, to accomplish the inside mollification of Spain (up to that point separated into a few realms) and to make a focal power; In issues of international strategy, it was a significant target to segregate France and extend the territories through undertakings to different regions of the planet. Large numbers of these excursions intended to the Spanish Crown the addition of provinces, from which they got significant wealth. This prompted the development of a genuine realm.

Relations of the Spanish government In the Spanish government, various countries, different political practices and, surprisingly, a few dialects existed together. Unwaveringness to the ruler was the main component of attachment before all else.

[seafoamsweetheart-blog]

[ Her Merciful Ascendance [HMA] began trolling His Imperial Arbitration [HIA] ]

HMA: S)(ello fincess.  3B) HMA: Did you miss me?

HIA: 'ey its the princess HIA: what's up? HIA: may6e? wh9's askin'

HMA: It's a fincess eelrig)(t. HMA: Noffin muc)(.  Just enjoying a day wit)( my clade. HMA: I saw your tidal and t)(oug)(t 'T)(is bass)(ole )(asn't )(eard from me in a w)(ale.' HMA: Moby I s)(oald grace )(im wit)( my cute quirk.

HIA: well c9nsid'a me graced (;B HIA: sh9cker a cut fin like y9u w9uld 6e talkin ta me again s9 s99n HIA: what's the 9ccassi9n sweetheart wantin' a r9und 2?

HMA: )(e)(e.  It seams you can't reefsist me, can you? HMA: Muc)( to your displeasure no, I'm afraid I can't take you up on your 'generous' offer. HMA: I acs)(oally wanted to sea )(ow you were doing.  38P HMA: Or is t)(at conc)(sidered taboo for you wit)( your fuckbuoy lifestyle.  38P

HIA: HEY HEY AIN'T N969DY HEA LIVIN N9 FUCK6U9Y LIFESTYLE HIA: It's called 6ein' an emper9r that can d9 what he want HIA: anyways this m9nth I get extra cra66y a shame ya can't c9me 9ver HIA: Y9u wantin' t9 kn9w h9w I 6e is less 6elieva6le than c9ld fire

HMA: Someone got all D-EF-ENSIV-E so suddenly. HMA: You must )(ave woken up on t)(e wrong seaside of t)(e absurd )(uman bed. HMA: )(e)(e. HMA: Once a fuckbuoy alwaves a fuckbuoy. HMA: -Efin if you )(ave a fancy little tiara on t)(at cute )(ead of yours. HMA: 38*

HIA: hey at least I can admit I like fuckin ar9und unlike y9u princess d8B HIA: aint en9ugh m9ney in the w9rld that'd make me 6elieve half the facade y9u 6e fr9ntin all the time. HIA: speakin' 9f ann9yin' 6itches have ya heard fr9m Cal? HIA: I ain't hear fr9m that lil shit in a while I'm w9rryin 9ver here.

HMA: I don't pike fucking around, acs)(oally. HMA: Conc)(sider yours)(ellf a lucky case to efin be touc)(ing me, muc)( less getting to sea all of me. HMA: Naut t)(at it matters anywaves.  I know I've been on your pan.  38;) HMA: I am naut annoying.   I'm CUT-E. HMA: )(owebber, I t)(ink Cal is doing ocray? HMA: I've been busy wit)( my own fins. HMA: T)(ere's been no tide to reely to worry aboat )(im. HMA: Aw)(.  Look at you. HMA: You acs)(oally DO care aboat somefin otter t)(an your )(UG-E -EGO. HIA: 6ig statement ta say c9min fr9m the 6itch wh9 was all up 9n this 6IG EG9 last time ya visted (;B

HIA: and I care s9metimes! shit ya think im s9me kinda m9nster? HIA: lil guy left an impressi9n 9n me lets leave it at that HIA: and may6e y9u have 6een 9n my pan HIA: m9stly that fat ass 9f y9urs 6ut I mean it's still y9u right? HIA: 6itch that ain't luck I kn9w I'm irresista6le

HMA: It was bigger t)(an somefin else last tide. HMA: Just kidding! HMA: Your -EGO is bigger t)(an anyfin else on you. HMA: T)(at's still so CUT-E.  You care aboat someone more t)(an doing your )(air or your nails. HMA: MY ASS ISN'T FAT. HMA: It's perc)(fectly proportioned for my size. HMA: YOU are just jellyfis)( I )(appen to )(ave a cute one. HMA: ... HMA: Coddamnit.  W)(y do I let you encourage me to be so lewd. HMA: W)(at is your S-EACR-ET. HMA: You moby irresistabubble... HMA: Boat one fin is for s)(ore, you're t)(e one w)(o caved first and invited me over. HMA: Someone wants to rest in Peixes.  38;D

HIA: why rest when I can just keep c9min in and 9ut all day? HIA: (8B HIA: 6a6e ya ass is fat and I remem6a it quite well fr9m my angle HIA: and that ain't n9 insult either HIA: And just like ya said 6a6e I insight it cause I am irresista6le HIA: And last I remem6a Peixes y9u the 9ne wh9 sent me that 699tycall n9t me. HIA: and y9u can g9 fuck a clam with that carin' 6S y9u spillin' actin' like me havin' s9me s9rta c9mpassi9n is the funniest shit this side 9f Alternia eva see. HIA: 6itch if I truly did n9t care then this c9nv9 w9uld n9t 6e happin' and y9u'd 6e a piece 9f ass I get t9 mark 9ff my list 9f 6ad 6itches t9 fuck. |8B

HMA: You're getting sentimental on me eelready? HMA: T)(at's so sweet! HMA: Moby. HMA: Just moby. HMA: I )(appen to miss you too, )(mm? HMA: If I could sea you again, I would. HMA: Boat I pike teasing you.  It's fun. HMA: It seams to keep you coming back. HMA: And conc)(estly, it must be working if you're still glubbing wit)( me.  38) HMA: It just means t)(at we )(ad a lot of fun. HMA: And moby, just MOBY, our connection is reel, t)(en.

HIA: I c9me 6ack 6ecause my mem9ry 6e fuzzy HIA: 6ut I kn9w I feel s9methin f9r y9u HIA: I kn9w Cal wiped my mind a s9methin, I just d9n't kn9w what that is. HIA: and he w9nt tell me why. HIA: I wanna kn9w why a pink fuck like y9u makes my pusher race and d9 all s9rts a things wheneva ya message me. HIA: 9r efin sea me. HIA: SEE. ME. EVEN. HIA: stupid puns

HMA: You mean you acs)(oally reely do? HMA: )(oly s)(ip. HMA: Conc)(sider me impressed! HMA: Again, if I could tell you, I would. HMA: I want to. HMA: I eel t)(e same wave. HMA: -Efin t)(oug)( you irribait me, naut being able to glub wit)( you )(as been )(ard. HMA: And you punned for me! HMA: I'm flattered!  Reely! HMA: It makes it bereefabubble t)(at my caring aboat you is wort)( it. HMA: )(alibut you pun for me again? HMA: Joking and flirting seaside, )(ow are you doing? HMA: I still do acs)(oally care, you know.

HIA: ... HIA: I've 6een 6eta cutiefin HIA: c9nchestly they g9t me swamped 9va hea d9in all my shit and Didi g9t me w9rkin t9 the 69ne. HIA: I g9t c9urt in an h9ur t99 HIA: I aint neva had this many sessi9ns in a fuckin day let al9ne a week. /8B HIA: shit's 6een stressin me and the witch w9n't sit d9wn tw9 m9thafuckin' sec9nds t9 6e my m9ireel and listen t9 me. HIA: all she want is take take take she ain't neva give 6ack ta me. And if I speak up '69at it she get mad. HIA: and I w9n't say what happen afta w9rds 6ecause it aint shit y9u need ta kn9w. HIA: I 6e wantin ma lil cra6cake s9metimes s9 I can talk '69at half this shit 6ut I feel like I fucked up 9ur friendship s9meh9w? HIA: aint the first m9therfucker t9 leave s9 I mean I'm g99d whateva... HIA: I d9n't g9t much pe9ple wh9 t9lerate my shit eitha way. HIA: I g9t millie 6ut she d9n't give a shit she just a slave. HIA: she'd s99na krill me than talk pale shit.

HMA: I )(ad no idea you were so lonely. HMA: 38C HMA: I'll tell you w)(at. HMA: If I come across Cal, I can pass on a little message if you want. HMA: I'm s)(ore )(e wants to )(ear from you. HMA: I t)(ink )(e still cares aboat you, I reely do! HMA: Seadweller's )(onor.  380

HIA: I'm n9t l9nely I g9t s9me9ne in my 6ed every night- HIA: d8B HIA: ... I mean that'd mean a l9t yeah HIA: I just wanna kn9w h9w he 6e.

HMA: I'll pass it along, on my )(onor. HMA: I'm ocray I guess. HMA: I've been a little stressed trying to take care of everyone )(ere. HMA: Boat otter t)(an t)(at fins )(ave been ocray. HMA: I got a Feebas!  A little Pokemon t)(at evolves into somefin beautiful. HMA: I dunno if you remember Lady, my Magikarp, boat t)(ey get along. HMA: )(ere are my two little gills! [HMA uploaded princessleiaandladyred.jpg]

HIA: 9h c99l HIA: s9unds shitty when did ya 6ec9me every9nes lusus? ?8B HIA: them little 6aes l99k ad9ra6le! (8B HIA: I g9t a kra66y named Pinchers HIA: he an 9ld fuck 6ut I l9ve 'em [HIA uploaded krabbyfuckrr.jpg]

HMA: )(e is so CUT-E! HMA: GLUB GLUB GLUB! HMA: I could stare at t)(at cutiefin all day! HMA: )(e)(e. HMA: I t)(ink I'm in love!

HIA: Next time I'll let y9u see him HIA: he a friendly giant HIA: He 6ig en9ugh y9u c9uld sit 9n his 6ack y9u'd have a 6last

HMA: I t)(ink I )(ave a reefson to come sea you t)(en. HMA: I would love to spend some tide wit)( your crabby frond. HMA: 38D 38D 38D

HIA: I g9t m9re 6ut he my fav9rite

HMA: Play favorites wit)( your partners. HMA: You're suc)( a glubbing tyrian. HMA: 38P

HIA: Whaaaaaat?? HIA: I g9t gigi my shiny gyarad9s that likes swimmin in my aquarium HIA: sharpedo likes hanging with gigi HIA: and claws my crawdaunt chills with Pinchers 9ut 9n the sand in the 6ack

HMA: You )(ave so many! HMA: I'm tidally jellyfis)(! HMA: T)(oug)( I will admit I want a s)(iny Umbreon. HMA: I want to call t)(em Nox.  38) HMA: I love my little gills t)(oug)(. HMA: One day t)(ey s)(ell be beautiful and powerful after all of t)(e love I give t)(em.  38)

HIA: I was a fuckin' nerd when I g9t the thr9ne the first few sweeps s9 HIA: I started c9llectin' and trainin' my 6a6es and n9w they 9ld, 6ig and p9werful like their daddy (8B [ HIA uploaded gigitrippin.jpg, PINCHERSNO.jpg to HMA ]

HMA: O)( my cod! HMA: I'm SO saving t)(ese! HMA: T)(ese will mako me smile over t)(e next week for t)(e fins I've got to do. HMA: You know, 'searious business'.  38P HMA: Just look at t)(em! HMA: T)(ey are so CUT-E! HMA: I want to pet t)(em all~!

HIA: i w9uldn't pet gigi they a mess HIA: 6ut yeah i g9t l9ads 9f 'em HIA: sharped9 the 9nly girl th9ugh s9 I can't even 6reed 'em )8 BHIA: I g9t m9re cute shit y9u'd pr96a6ly l9ve 6ut y9u kn9w h9w it 6e HIA: reputati9ns and shit d8B

HMA: Don't be t)(at wave! HMA: It's naut pike I )(ave anemone one I can s)(are t)(is wit)( pike t)(at. HMA: -Everyone would get ANGRY if t)(ey knew I was glubbing wit)( you.  38V HMA: Please s)(ow me! HMA: Do it for your fincess~!

HIA: why s9me69dy get mad y9u talkin t9 me aint y9u an empress??? HIA: 6itch y9u sh9uld 6e all9wed t9 d9 what y9u want when y9u want HIA: with9ut tellin n969dy y9 6usiness the fuck HIA: And fine... [ HIA uploaded plushpile.jpg to HMA ] ==> The pic is a pile of plush dolls from pokemon, different anime but the one feferi notices most are the salior scout ones, death note and attack on titan, generally cute cat, sheep and crab plushies, and sweets themed plushies as well.

HMA: W)(Y DIDN'T YOU -EV-ER GLUB YOU PIK-E SAILOR MOON OR OTT-ER ANIM-E! HMA: O)( my COD! HMA: I'm fangilling so )(ARD! HMA: You are now my favorite tyrian bass)(ole. HMA: I glubbing adore you! HMA: We )(AV-E to cuttle in t)(at pile!

HIA: T//8B HIA: Like i said HIA: I've g9t a fuckin reputati9n. HIA: I used t9 watch a shit t9n 9f anime with didi......

HMA: Fuck your reputation. HMA: You're glubbing adorabubble! HMA: 38D

HIA: N9 

HMA: Coddamn it, Crabcatc)(. HMA: You're B-EGGING to be cuttled.

HIA: FUCK Y9U

HMA: Later.

HIA: YA 6ETTA KEEP YA PR9MISE N9W

HMA: I will, ocray?HMA: W)(en )(ave I ever let you down?

HIA: and I 9nly sh9wed y9u 9ne pile..... HIA: T8B y9u d9n't want an answer t9 that HIA: i g9t m9re piles...

HMA: Rig)(t. HMA: S)(ore. HMA: I need to sea moor of you piles. HMA: I'm CURIOUS. HMA: You're giving me ideas for my own.

HIA: depends which 9ne y9u wanna see HIA: m9re plush? HIA: 6lankets? HIA: pill9ws? HIA: I mean I g9t a "pile" f9r t9ys 6ut that shit's private y9

HMA: ... HMA: 38//Y HMA: I.  Don't need to sea t)(at anywaves. HMA: I've.  I don't. HMA: T)(at's naut necessary, Crabcatc)(.

HIA: N9T TH9SE KIND SHIT HIA: SHIT I'M N9T THAT 6AD HIA: ITS LIKE A SHELF 9F FIGURINES FUCK HIA: AND I TH9UGHT I WAS 6AD

HMA: YOU WOULD )(AV-E SOM-EFIN PIK-E T)(AT YOU GLUBBING BOTTOMF-E-ED-ER! HMA: You're still a fuckbuoy after all. HMA: For all I know you )(ave piles of underwear from all of your conc)(quests.

HIA: THAT'S DISGUSTING HIA: I'm a pr9per 6itch I g9t that kinda shit in a dresser HIA: And N9 I D9 N9T HAVE TR9LL UNDIES THAT NASTY HIA: I'm a fuck 69y n9t a pervert HIA: T8B

HMA: Good to know w)(ere you draw t)(e line. HMA: You're still )(orribubble and you know it.

HMA: It's ocray t)(oug)(. HMA: [Message deleted].

HIA: ?8 BHIA: well yeah fuck y9u t99

HMA: Saury.  I got a little carried awave. HMA: Now is naut t)(e tide for somefin pike t)(at. HMA: Boat I'll tell you one day. HMA: In person.  38)

HIA: 6itch en9ugh with the cryptic talk HIA: I ain't signed up f9r this paran9rmal activity shit HIA: st9p with the damn riddles and 6e real with HIA: getitn' fuckin' ann9yin'

HMA: I am being reel wit)( you, Crabcatc)(. HMA: Just please trust me for now. HMA: As much as you can. HMA: After t)(at I can tell you everyfin. HMA: Ocray, love?

HIA: yeah yeah HIA: i d9n't like this patience shit y9u g9t me 9n HIA: T8B

HMA: I know. HMA: I'll mako it wort)( it. HMA: For t)(is I'll do nearly anyfin you ask after. HMA: )(ey. HMA: ... HMA: I'm glad to )(ear from you again. HMA: I would be lying if I didn't glub I miss you.

HIA: I'll h9ld y9u t9 it. HIA: yeah yeah same here.. HIA: /8B HIA: g9 d9 y9ur weird clade thing HIA: I g9t c9urt

HMA: Stay safe! HMA: And take care of yours)(ellf you bass)(ole. HMA: Try naut to miss me too muc)(. HMA: 38;)

HIA: same t9 y9u princess (;B [HIA has ceased trolling HMA]

[steellegacy]

The armor of King Sigismund II Augustus was returned to Poland ⠀ ⚜️ Childhood Armor of King Sigismund II Augustus, Innsbruck, 1533 Height: 156.8 cm Medium: forged and embossed steel, etched and gilded engravings. Armorer: Jörg Seusenhofer (1516-1580) ⠀ 📝 The armor was ordered in 1533 by the king of Czechia and Hungary (later the emperor) Ferdinand I for the nuptials of his daughter Elizabeth with the son of Sigismund I, the thirteen-year-old Sigismund II Augustus, crowned King of Poland. ⠀ This late medieval and Renaissance suit of armor served a practical purpose, yet it was also symbolic and for show. This was a most costly bit of apparel. King Sigismund II Augustus’s suit is an outstanding example of armor being forged to resemble court garb. ⠀ By the authority of a decision by the arbitrations court in 1933, the armor was handed over from the imperial Viennese collections to the National Museum in Budapest, as allegedly the property of Hungarian King Louis II, who perished in battle with the Turks (Battle of Mohács in 1526). ⠀ In reality, as outstanding weapons expert Bruno Thomas showed in 1939, the armor was ordered in 1533 by the king of Czechia and Hungary (later the emperor) Ferdinand I for the nuptials of his daughter Elizabeth with the son of Sigismund I, the thirteen-year-old Sigismund II Augustus, crowned King of Poland in his father’s lifetime. The breastplate and sleeves hold an interlocking monogram with the letters "E" and "S" (Elisabetha, Sigismundus). ⠀ In 2020, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki turned to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán with a request to hand over the Renaissance armor of the young King Sigismund II Augustus. And Viktor Orbán signed a decree to transfer the armor belonging to Poland. In February 2021, the decision was made to transfer the piece to the Wawel Royal Castle. ⠀ 🏛 The Wawel Royal Castle, Krakow ⠀ - - Доспехи Сигизмунда II Августа вернули Польше ⠀ ⚜️ Детские доспехи Сигизмунда II Августа, Инсбрук, 1533 г. Высота: 156,8 см Материалы: ковка, чеканка, гравировка с позолотой Оружейник: Йорг Зойзенхофер (1516-1580) ⠀ 📝 Доспехи были заказаны в 1533 году королем Чехии и Венгрии (впоследствии императором) Фердинандом I для свадьбы его дочери Елизаветы с сыном Сигизмунда I, 13-летним Сигизмундом II Августом, коронованным королем Польши. ⠀ Этот доспех позднего средневековья и эпохи Возрождения служил практическим целям, но в то же время был символическим и наглядным. Это была самая дорогая часть одежды. Костюм короля Сигизмунда II Августа - выдающийся пример ковки доспехов, напоминающих придворную одежду. ⠀ Решением арбитражного суда в 1933 г. доспехи были переданы из венских императорских коллекций Национальному музею в Будапеште, как якобы собственность венгерского короля Людовика II, погибшего в бою с турками (Битва при Мохаче в 1526 г.). ⠀ На самом деле, как показал выдающийся эксперт по оружию Бруно Томас в 1939 г., доспехи были заказаны в 1533 году королем Чехии и Венгрии (впоследствии императором) Фердинандом I для свадьбы его дочери Елизаветы с сыном Сигизмунда I, 13-летним Сигизмундом II Августом, коронованным королем Польши при жизни своего отца. Нагрудник и рукава украшены переплетающейся монограммой с буквами «E» и «S» (Elisabetha, Sigismundus). ⠀ В 2020 г. премьер-министр Польши Матеуш Моравецкий обратился к премьер-министру Венгрии Виктору Орбану с просьбой передать ренессансные доспехи молодого короля Сигизмунда II Августа. И Виктор Орбан подписал указ о передаче брони, принадлежащей Польше. В феврале 2021 г. было принято решение перенести экспонат в Вавельский королевский замок. ⠀ 🏛 Вавельский королевский замок, Краков

[imeverywoman420]

I haven't been following your European discourse or whatever but I did read the post about 'self-flagellating Texans' & found myself completely agreeing. im not saying we need more patriotism from americans or chauvinism from whites but I personally wince a little whenever someone's like, "I don't have a culture! I don't have any heritage, history, etc etc." are you not embarrassed?boy? When I hear people say that, the only things they're telling me is that 1. they don't think critically about their own lives & 2. they don't listen to literally anything their family's told them about their own memories & experiences. like, fun to rag on pandora bracelets & mcmansions or whatever. But everyone belongs to a culture even if it's one they're ashamed of, one not conducive to human happiness. plus I think in a way it fetishizes or even woobifies non-Western & non-first world cultures. by intimating you don't have a culture what you really mean is that your way of life is the default. by saying you have no culture is to say your standards of living transcend it, & the pitying head-nodding self-hating liberal americans who perform this ritual denigration have boxed themselves comfortably out of the uncomfortable acknowledgment of their own relativism. Other cultures are "nice", & they 9 times out of 10 mean this supposed exemption from culture as a searing critique of imperialism. but imperialism cannot wipe out one culture without imposing another on both its oppressed & oppressor classes. this really feels no different than a white person saying they're colorblind or a straight person saying that there's no unique gay experience, love is love, after all.... these are people too entangled in their own guilt complexes to evaluate their material reality as americans. Only americans could ever insist that born-and-bred americans do not have a culture. for better or for worse, own it. I used to be boring & insufferable in this way. Like I'm a white girl from the midwest. I didn't think I had to, you know, think about this fact of my person because I was too privileged, too stupid, un-self-aware. whatever.but one night my grandma came over & we sat outside & got to talking about Her father. And he was an inventor in his free time? And a farmer? He dropped out of school in the 4th grade? And still went on to become arbitrator on behalf of his workplace's union?everyone from my family, basically, is from Ohio. Like I wouldn't qualify for the DAR or anything (thank god) but my parents' parents, their parents, & so on. anyone living on firsthand in some relation's memory, then, is from Ohio. and the older I get the more I realize I am a person with a hometown & a past, & this has a miraculously self-humanizing effect on an individual. too many kids think they were born in anywhere, USA, & the worst part's that this is becoming more & more a real truth (though by no means The Truth).....late stage capitalism, the technology it is impossible without, has more than anything else created these vast swaths of courage-draining monoculture in recent decades. So now more than ever culture preserved on individual & familial levels is being threatened. but even while an unimaginative culture of consumption diminishes the recognition of culture on an intimate level, it's....not too late. if you have living relatives you can talk to, then it isn't too late. Not yet, anyway. and while there are undeniable, indelible bonds bt. whiteness, americanness, & imperialism, too many gen-Z people think they "don't have a culture" because they're white or American. And these are, yes, the reasons why they don't want to think about their culture. But any real cultural erosion happening is facilitated by technological evolution & capitalism. Too many cheesecake factories. Simple as.

Literally so true!! The whole reason i embraced being from west virginia is bc i spent all of my life embarrassed and self flagellating for other peoples amusement.

[xavierbautistagarcia]

Hunting after the war

When the architect Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt began planning the construction of Schloß Halbturn in 1701, it was only a hunting lodge and Austria was still under the rule of Emperor Joseph I. Located on the borderlands between the Austrian and Hungarian possessions, it was only a short distance from Lake Neusiedl.

When the original construction was completed in 1711, a new emperor assumed the highest office in the Holy Roman-Germanic Empire, Karl VI, who ended his Spanish adventure by attempting to become the effective king of Spain under the name of Charles III. Halbturn was to become his hunting lodge for the new times that awaited him.

However, the documented existence of Halbturn dates back at least to the 15th century, when the Counts of Bazin (Bösing, in German, the present-day Slovak town of Pezinok) disputed the boundaries of their possessions with the abbey of Heiligenkreuz. On that occasion, the Hungarian king Mátyás Hunyadi, better known as Matthias Corvinus, was asked to act as arbitrator, and the abbey benefited from property and vineyards.

The area around Halbturn was present in Roman times, documented by a cemetery from the Imperial period and a Roman villa. A Jewish community is believed to have existed as early as the 3rd century.

The name Halbturn is identified with a half-ruined tower or damaged fortification. Its origin may have served to protect the road from Neusiedl to Altenburg (the modern Hungarian town of Mosonmagyaróvár) and from Ödenburg (Sopron in Hungarian) to Preßburg (the German name for the present-day Slovak capital, Bratislava).

In 1516, the Bazin family died out and their possessions reverted to the crown. The then king Lajos II of Hungary and Bohemia (under the name Ludvík I) bequeathed the estate to his wife Maria, sister of the Austrian Archduke Ferdinand I, who took over after her husband's death at the hands of the Turks at the battle of Mohács (1526).

When Queen Maria died in 1558, the possession of Halbturn passed to the Austrian Habsburgs, who already held the Imperial, Bohemian, Croatian and Hungarian crowns.

But let us return to the 18th century. During the reign of Karl VI's daughter Maria Theresia, Halbturn was rebuilt under the direction of the architect Franz Anton Hillebrandt as the summer residence of the regents of Hungary, Archduchess Maria Christina and her husband, Albert of Saxony-Teschen.

In the 19th century, the usual name was the Hungarian Féltorony, an evolution of Felthorom, documented in the 15th century, until after World War I most of the territory surrounding Lake Neusiedl became the present-day federal state of Burgenland, which was incorporated into the Republic of Austria in 1921.

[count-lero]

Okay, I guess, I’m still a bit too shy to translate from French into English even for my personal blog. Nonetheless, I want to make at least few small steps towards my dream project and simply need to find a starting point. :)

For example, I can begin with some interesting passages from the works of Russian researchers, concerning the political situation on the eve of the Sixth Coalition’s formation!

I’ve discovered this particular book only recently but already found curious observations about the prospective position of Austria as an international arbitrator (at least, that’s how Metternich envisioned it in his dreams), before circumstances finally forced Austria to join the Coalition.

“Austrian diplomacy in March-April 1813 was darting between Russia and France, trying to force both powers to move in the right direction designated by Vienna. Sometimes it seemed, despite the certain setbacks (as, for example, in the case of England), that everything was going exactly as the clever Viennese diplomat had planned. Metternich spared no effort and time to convince Napoleon and Alexander I through his subordinates that "only the power that wants nothing but peace for itself can be an intermediary." Austria wanted not only peace — it wanted to remain a power that alone decides all issues of the future territorial structure, and also serves as a kind of buffer zone between the two great empires (while extending its influence to the whole of Germany and the Balkans). To achieve this, it was necessary first of all to withdraw from the alliance with France, while convincing Bonaparte of the sincerity of Vienna's peacekeeping initiatives. And Russia, on the contrary, had to be kept at arm's length, in no case making any promises to Alexander I, who persistently convinced Metternich and Emperor Franz himself of the necessity and importance of Austria joining the coalition.

Playing on two fronts is always fraught with serious complications, especially if the task is to keep an equal distance from both fronts. But Metternich managed it for the time being. Although there was still some distortion: relations with France were more important for Austria at that time. The explanation was very simple — they were afraid of Russia in Vienna. "Recent events have shown us how dangerous Russia can be for Europe... We need a power equal to it, which will balance it — France is such a power: it should establish the foundations of a new system of European equilibrium," Karl zu Schwarzenberg bluntly told French Foreign Minister Y.-B. Mare in Paris on April 7, 1813 before meeting with Napoleon. And the bet on Napoleon seemed justified to Metternich.”

At the time Metternich’s ambitions were truly grandiose (as grandiose as his own flamboyant persona)!

Aside from that I also have to add commentaries, since the author of the book seems to me somewhat “biased” (or as a Russian myself I simply sense a bit of “patriotic” exaggeration): they were not “afraid of” Russia in Vienna, it’s just the fact that two opposite parties existed. The first one was inclined towards pro-Russian political course and the second one rooted for the balance between the two countries - Russia and France. The first one seemed to be much more numerous: not only Vienna’s aristocrats but also the major part of the Imperial family had been sympathising with the struggles of Russians for a long period of time. Those sentiments only grew stronger during the campaign of 1812. However, they lacked one crucial thing - the influence on the Emperor Franz himself. This particular influence was still the sacred privilege which belonged to his fellow minister, chancellor, etc, etc, in the face of Metternich. Klemens also was that lone, though stoic mastermind of the second party - party of balance.

As for Schwarzenberg he shared most of Metternich’s opinions regarding the matter. This man was very well familiar with both sides - Russian and French - thanks to his ambassadorial service and he witnessed the might of military potential which belonged to both of these countries from the front row as well. Besides, the key to active actions - emperor Franz’s good will - remained in Metternich’s hands, thus nothing could stop them from trying to settle the whole situation on their own intermediary terms.

Nothing but the fact that Napoleon didn’t want to cooperate, until for him it was too late! 😅

Moreover, this whole discourse made me remember another exemplary passage from my favourite Russian biography of Metternich (who could have guessed).

“On December 20, 1812, Schwarzenberg's auxiliary corps was advancing towards Warsaw to prevent the Prussians from invading deep into the territory of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw. Schwarzenberg's position can be judged by his own words: "The more both colossi [meaning Russia and France] mutually weaken each other, the better." With a soldier's straight-forwardness, he expressed what was now on Metternich's mind.”

So yeah, Metternich, Schwarzenberg and that one collective brain cell they were sharing. 😘🤝😊

P. S.

By the way, it’s not about them, Napoleon and Alexander, it’s Austrian raison d’état! Nothing personal, just politics. 🇦🇹