#leader century

[kurayamineko]

[radiance1]

Vlad has been asleep for a few centuries now, in a goddamn coffin that he specifically made just for that like the weird rich person he is. He was also, the phoenix king.

Or at the very least, one of them.

Honestly, Danny couldn't give less of a flying cheerio how long Vlad would sleep for if it wasn't an inconvenience to it.

But it was.

You see, he's the ghost prince, prince of the infinity realms, dragon of infinity, son of war and ward of time, etc, etc.

And somehow, he has bloody paperwork.

Even though the Infinite Realms fell into Anarchy eons ago.

So he honestly doesn't know why he has paperwork, and it's so much that Danny has been spending centuries doing it and he's so tired of it and then he remembered, hey? Who likes can do mountains of paperwork without breaking a sweat and could finish this way better than Danny could?

Vlad Masters.

Hasn't seen the guy after his mother died, don't know where exactly he is, but he isn't in his lair (yes Danny managed to get in, don't ask how) and Danny is going to find this man by the Ancients because he cannot deal with those anymore.

He barely even made a dent!

Anyways, so Danny goes over to Earth because he hasn't been there for a hot minute, and that's probably where Vlad is and uh, woah there is this really Earth cause it's lookin mighty different to how he saw it last time-

Why was the Earth currently covered in flames? Black flames that look mighty familiar to someone else's that he knows actually. You know, someone who should have been sleeping the centuries away instead of, oh he doesn't know.

Taking over the mortal world?

It even seems that Vlad got himself a goddamn cult too! How neat! How much time did it take you to assemble all these people Vlad? You even gave out pieces of your power when you could've been, oh, he doesn't know.

Helping him with paperwork?

So, he's kinda mad about this, pissed, actually. So, he goes to find where exactly Vlad is in this reign of madness, finds a literal crack in reality and just heads on through because he couldn't care less about that actually.

What he finds is not what he expected.

Cause you know Vlad? Phoenix king who is probably trying to take over the mortal world instead of helping him with paperwork and was supposed to be sleeping inside a coffin?

Yea scratch that. Because that isn't a coffin.

When the hell was Vlad sleeping inside a magical barrier-

And who the heck was that spamming Vlad's signature black flames while laughing manically, and who in the infinite realms were those guys who were currently fighting said spammer.

"What exactly, in the Infinite Realms, happened while I was doing paperwork?"

===

So, the Justice League is now combating a new world ending threat. Some cult who wants to cleanse the world in the name of their deity so they could hand it to him once he reawakens.

Which, apparently, might've been around for centuries, slowly preparing for this day which, dedicated, but not the good kind of dedication really.

So, back to the fight, they're fighting this possible immortal who's been taking over the bodies of each new head of the cult for centuries and, well, he genuinely had power to back him and his cult up.

Not really a shock there, to be fair, since he claimed his powers to originate from the sleeping deity who blessed him with a portion of his power.

Vlad didn't, bro just stole a portion of his power and claimed it as a blessing lawl. Not that the cult knew that-

So the Justice League managed to break their way into the place holding said sleeping deity that also acted as the base for the cult leader and, well. Yea he truly does have the power to back himself up and, if the magic users had anything to say about, a very magically powerful deity he follows too.

So they're kinda screwed if said Deity wakes up, they don't even know when he will actually, neither did the cult leader. He just will 'eventually' which isn't as descriptive as some (read: Batman) would like.

First things first, beat up and disband the cult, figure out a way to prevent the sleeping deity's awakening later.

So they were fighting a battle (shocker I know) with their forces spread between their world and the pocket dimension and things weren't looking quite as good as they hoped. Lots of causalities, both civilians, heroes and even villains alike, a whole lot of magic and powers being thrown about and the monologuing of the cult leader who was floating above said sleeping god.

You could even think it to be symbolic in some way, that he thinks himself above a god.

So, safe to say, in all of this chaos they weren't exactly expecting a new voice to join the fray.

"What exactly, in the Infinite Realms, happened while I was doing paperwork?"

And the owner of said voice, to be a goddamn dragon.

[city-of-ladies]

Antonina: a powerful woman in the sixth-century Roman world

"Antonina was the most powerful uncrowned woman in the sixth-century Roman world. She deposed Pope Silverius, arranged for the sacking of John the Cappadocian, traveled across the Mediterranean with her husband, and even occasionally inserted herself into the running of his army. She knew soldiers, officers, the emperor, popes, bishops, and historians, and at various times commanded them, pleaded with them, and intimidated them. This is a remarkable resume, virtually unparalleled among Roman military wives, and certainly without parallel in the sixth century. She was a formidable woman and, like her friend and patron Theodora, one who was occasionally feared. If the reputation of Belisarius is sometimes inflated in modern evaluations, the reputation of Antonina has been chronically underappreciated. Historians have focused far too much on the Secret History story of Antonina’s affair and her supposed domination of Belisarius, and far too little on her exceptional career. She is evidence that elite women in the sixth century could take on public roles alongside their husbands."

Belisarius & Antonina: Love and war in the age of Justinian, David Alan Parnell

[seilon]

my only complaint about 2005 dw is that we didn’t get more episodes with gung-ho mortal baby jack harkness. absolutely smitten by that fucker

[p4r4n0rmal-exe]

my brain? godly, someone, tell em my brain is godly for thinking of narilamb but switched au tell me I'm not the only one who went "Yeah, yeah that sounds cool"

[rosemilo]

It has been 7 years since we lost one of the best and most impactful characters of all time. We'll miss you forever, Caesar ♡

[mantarobin]

a hundred years apart.

[menandwomanofhistory]

Nelson Mandela

[florenceafternoon]

war shows character and James Potter proved his

[lacewise]

I am absolutely fascinated by unforced errors online. I have fallen down an information literacy rabbit hole while reading and I am seeing the exact same tropes I found playing out online.

I have seen someone, nearly in the same breath, decry how older Black women organize the Democratic Party in the States to then say “leftists should adopt [something that Black women organizers already do with the Democrats].”

It’s to the point where I truly believe that if Republicans got school vouchers passed, leftists would organize to cap the cost of school tuition, while pointing out how Republicans are going to go after public parks next. And, meanwhile, mainstream party members would coalition to try and fight for education reform (again) on the basis that not having free public school violates children’s civil rights. Again.

Chances are, no one on this platform has any idea what that last paragraph meant.

Some of them, while calling themselves US political activists.

You guys don’t argue left-wing talking points. You argue left-wing talking points filtered through the gaze of the hard right.

And that’s why so many protests and political movements lead to nothing. In the US and Canada especially, we are losing skilled organizers faster than we are gaining new ones.

The truth that “no one wants to take orders [from older Black women, usually*]” has become “we don’t need anyone telling us what to do.”

You cannot squash down complex political problems on different axes trying to see if the newest oversimplification makes sense. It doesn’t. That’s why you need to focus your attention, listen, and build coalitions.

But ultimately this won’t matter because I have heard from many younger organizers in non-Black spaces. We all have.

They don’t want leaders.

They want statues.

That way, they can insist their personal thoughts were endorsed by legends.

*circumstances may vary

[kurayamineko]

[kindaorangey]

ROLIN!!!!! EXPLORE ARMAND'S RELATIONSHIP TO ISLAM IN THE SHOW AND MY LIFE IS YOURS!!

[city-of-ladies]

"That Æthelswith was the bestower of such gifts is consistent with the other things we know about her. In 868 she witnessed a West-Saxon charter, in which she made a grant of fifteen hides of her own land in Berkshire. She also witnessed all of her husband King Burgred’s charters. Though we only see glimpses of her influence, Æthelswith, like other Mercian queens before her, was a politician.

In 874, twenty one years after Æthelswith married Burgred, the royal couple were forced out of their kingdom by an encroaching Viking army. They fled together to safety in Rome. While Burgred died soon after they arrived, Æthelswith outlived him for another decade, which she spent in Italy.

Queen Æthelswith passed away in 888 in Pavia, and was laid to rest there. She may have been undertaking a pilgrimage when she died. Her body and the ring that she once bestowed were both buried underground a thousand miles apart. And they say medieval women didn’t travel…"

[art-portraits]

Shaumonekusse (Prairie Wolf), Oto

Artist: Charles Bird King  (American, 1785–1862) 

Date: circa 1822

Medium: Oil on Canvas

Location: White House, Washington, DC

Chief Shaumonekusse (c. 1785 – 1837) was a leader of the Otoe Native American tribe in the early 19th century. The Otoe are a Central Plains tribe, closely related to the Ioway, Missouria, Ho-Chunk, and Winnebago.

The subchief was known as Shaumonekusse, Chonmonicase, Ietan, Letan, and L'Letan. Sų Manyi Kathi in the Chiwere language means “Prairie Wolf.” His name is also spelled Sų Manyi Kasisooⁿ and Shųmanyikathi.

Sų Manyi Kathi belonged to the Bear clan. Shaumonekusse was described as a witty and sociable person, and “a daring, active, and successful warrior. We are not aware of his having any hereditary claims to the chieftainship of his tribe, to which he has risen gradually by his own merits. He is a person of deep penetration, and is capable of acting with much duplicity on any occasion when he may consider it politic to conceal his real views.”

Shaumonekusse traveled with an American Indian delegation to Washington, DC in 1821 to meet with high-ranking officials, including President James Monroe. Of his five wives, he took the youngest, Eagle of Delight, with him to the American capital. Charles Bird King painted both of their portraits on that trip.

[thevalleyisjolly]

The biggest source of information that we have about the details of the Prophidian Heresy comes, in-canon, from the book that Jet reads in ACOC when she began researching the Bulb.  In that book, she learns not only about the Prophidian Heresy but also the Ramsian Doctrine.  We also later find out that that’s not the only connection the two philosophies have - Belizabeth Brassica, a champion of the Ramsian Doctrine, was mentored and first ordained by a priest who adhered to (and was executed for) the Prophidian Heresy.

Which led me to think, what is the point of connection?  How do these ideologies relate to each other, apart from being fringe beliefs of the Church?  With what we’ve learned this season about the FDA, who uphold the Prophidian Heresy, the followers of the two beliefs seem to be at opposite ends of the spectrum.  The FDA wants to stop the end of the world by filling the world with rot and decay, while Belizabeth wants to bring about the end of the world by ensuring that it is only made out of “healthy” food - hence the attempt to annihilate Candia in ACOC.  On the surface, they appear to be foes, and Raphaniel even promotes the Ramsian Doctrine in an attempt to undermine the FDA.

Then I realized: sugar doesn’t rot.  It can spoil if moisture gets in -Candians are more vulnerable than anyone else in Calorum to watersteel daggers- but sugar acts as a preservative.  And so far, there aren’t any known Candians in the FDA.

It’s not about what they have in common ideologically but rather it’s what stands against them both.  Although they may seem to have opposite goals -the FDA and the Prophidian Heresy want to “save” the world by preventing its destruction while the Ramsian Doctrine headed by Belizabeth wants the end of the world to come- where they are both similar is that there is room in neither philosophy for Candians.  Sugar does not rot, that is a whole part of the world that theoretically remains palatable to the Hungry One.  Sugar is “junk food” (according to the Ramsian Doctrine), the Hungry One will not eat the world so long as it is unhealthy.  The followers of both heresies may be working to different ends but as per the details of their beliefs, neither group can succeed in their desired goals as long as Candians continue to exist.

I don’t know what, if anything, this means for The Ravening War.  We know that the FDA’s plan does not succeed, although we don’t know how it happens.  But I think it’s significant to the worldbuilding of Calorum that the biggest heresies of the Church (that we know of), the heresies which so many prominent Church leaders seem to hold to, are fundamentally hostile to the existence of Candia.  And I think that even if the vast majority of ordinary Bulbians probably consider these beliefs fringe and heretical, it doesn’t mean that the leaders at the top who do adhere to them aren’t using their influence to promote subtler anti-Candian ideologies.

You don’t get to a genocidal crusade from nowhere.  You don’t just declare one day that it’s going to happen, everyone get your armour on and grab a blade and torch, and people just listen to you.  But if you spend years cultivating mystery and fear, spreading rumours but never confirmed facts of strange Candian alchemy, that’s how you start to other Candians so that by the time you get to the point where you’re ready to make a move against them, people perceive them as mysterious heathen others “not like us.”

[yellow-dejavu]