#seigE

[scotianostra]

26th May 1652 saw the surrender of Dunnottar Castle, the last Royalist stronghold in eastern Scotland.

The ruined medieval fortress located upon a rocky headland on the north-east coast of Scotland, about two miles south of Stonehaven. The surviving buildings are largely of the 15th to 16th centuries, but the site is believed to have been an early fortress of the Dark Ages.

Dunnottar played a strategic role in the history of Scotland from the Middle Ages through to the Enlightenment, because of the location: it overlooked the shipping lanes to northern Scotland; and is situated on a narrow coastal terrace that controlled land access to the coastal south via Portlethen Moss to Aberdeen during the medieval period.

The Castle was home to one of the most powerful families in Scotland, the Earls Marischal, from the 14th century when Sir William Keith, the 1st Earl Marischal, built his Tower House, also known as the Keep. The Earl Marischal was an office bestowed on the Keiths by James II. The role was one of the 3 great offices of State, along with the Constable and the Steward. The Earl Marischal had specific responsibility for ceremonial events, the Honours of Scotland and for the safety of the King's person within parliament. Consequently it was not unusual for the monarchy, including Mary Queen of Scots, to spend time and stay at Dunnottar

In 1649 Charles Stewart was executed by the English under Oliver Cromwell, the self-proclaimed Lord Protector. In 1650, his young son Charles II arrived in North East Scotland, and stayed a night in Dunnottar on his journey south to give battle for his fathers' two kingdoms.

In England, on hearing of the young Kings arrival, Oliver Cromwell was so enraged that he ordered the invasion of Scotland. In some haste Charles II was crowned at Scone, but the "Honours of Scotland", the crown and other regalia, could not be returned to Edinburgh Castle, as it had been taken by Cromwell's Army. Having already destroyed the English crown jewels, the Honours of Scotland were the most potent icon of monarchy, and as such were next on Cromwell's list. Cromwell's army was fast approaching, so Charles II ordered William the 7th Earl Marischal to take the Honours to Dunnottar and secure them there.

It was not long before Dunnottar was under siege, and a scratch, aged garrison of seventy men held out for eight months against the invading might of Cromwell's army until heavy cannons arrived. Following 10 days of heavy fire, surrender was made. This was not however before the Honours of Scotland were smuggled out of the Castle and taken to Kinneff Church, where they were buried in the Church.

It was symbolic that on this day in 1819 the Honours of Scotland were put on display in Edinburgh Castle after they had been rediscovered from their 1707 burial place after a campaign led by Sir Walter Scott, the jewels have been on a more or less permanent display there ever since. When I was a bairn I recall a visit to the castle, which in the early 1970's was free to get in, and my mum and her best pal discovered that they had to pay to see the jewels back then, they quickly rushed back to the gatehouse to get tickets for the two of them, us bairns were not really interested in these things and played away round the battlements as they went to see them, nowadays the Honours are included in the entrance fee.

[alkalische]

vina victoria with zero edits at all this is just what she looks like promise

[sharkgirls]

I love her so much, she’d be a lot of fun to hang out with

[eretzyisrael]

by Caroline B. Glick

Liri Albag, one of five female IDF soldiers still being held hostage in Gaza, was the subject of Hamas’s most recently released video. The video of Liri alive was filmed on Jan. 1. Available online on pro-Hamas websites, it shows the 19-year-old in emotional distress, shaking at times, as she begged for her life.

The hostages have been held in Gaza for 457 days. And the question of why they are still there, why has Israel been unable to bring them home, gets asked with increased frustration and alarm every day from all quarters.

On Saturday, we received an answer to that question. Shortly after news broke of the release of the video of Liri Albag, The New York Times published an interview with outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken. Blinken said that Hamas has refused to agree to release the hostages in exchange for a ceasefire for two reasons.

In his words, “There have been two major impediments, and they both go to what drives Hamas. One has been whenever there has been public daylight between the United States and Israel and the perception that pressure was growing on Israel, we’ve seen it: Hamas has pulled back from agreeing to a ceasefire and the release of hostages.

“The other thing that got Hamas to pull back was their belief, their hope that there would be a wider conflict, that Hezbollah would attack Israel, that Iran would attack Israel, that other actors would attack Israel, and that Israel would have its hands full and Hamas could continue what it was doing.”

Under harsh questioning from the Times’ anti-Israel reporter Lulu Garcia-Navarro, Blinken revealed that U.S. pressure on Israel began immediately after Oct. 7, 2023, and became a central feature of U.S. policy in relation to the war from its very earliest days. From the outset, the provision of unlimited supplies to Gaza—euphemistically referred to as humanitarian aid—has been the constant focus of U.S. pressure on Israel.

Almost immediately after the Oct. 7 invasion, then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced a siege of Gaza. The move was self-explanatory. The Gazans had taken 256 Israelis hostage to Gaza. So long as they weren’t released, Gaza would remain under siege. Siege warfare has long been considered one of the most humane, least destructive forms of warfare, and it is legal under the laws of war.

The Biden administration would have none of it. Blinken described how he compelled Israel to resupply Hamas from day one of the war.

“We’ve said from Day 1 that how Israel does that matters. And throughout, starting on Day 1, we tried to ensure that people had what they needed to get by. The very first trip that I made to Israel five days after Oct. 7, I spent with my team nine hours in the IDF’s headquarters in Tel Aviv, six stories underground with the Israeli government, including the prime minister, including arguing for hours on end about the basic proposition that the humanitarian assistance needed to get to Palestinians in Gaza.

[mrmousetolliver]

Self Defense aka Seige (1983) A gay bar is hit by a group of sociopaths, and all the patrons are killed except for one man who escapes and takes refuge in an apartment occupied by a group of friends, who will do anything they can to protect him and survive the siege. The film was called “an unheralded landmark of Canadian B-film.” by Canuxploitation.com and is available for streaming on Darkroom.film under the Seige title.

[shamlesspandanerd]

[lindsayfrazerdraws]

[zrllosyn-art]

My two pieces for a defunct Arknights zine back in 2020.

[travsd]

250 Years Ago Today: The Lesson of Fort Ticonderoga

250 years ago today there occurred another in a series of miracles that led to America’s independence from Great Britain. In one of the first offensive actions of the war, jointly led by local Vermonter Ethan Allen and newly appointed Colonel Benedict Arnold (the latter acting officially on behalf of the Continental Congress), a force of about 400 men took Fort Ticonderoga at the base of Lake…

[oneatlatime]

The Siege of the North Part 1

I'll be watching parts 1 & 2 separately.

Once again, audio commentary is off. Saving that as a treat for rewatches.

Hey look! A giant breach in an otherwise impenetrable wall! Bet that's plot relevant.

This episode has already won. It's already perfect. This face is the last thing the patriarchy sees before death. Katara has so earned this.

And then they pan to the casualty line as well! This opening would have had me hollering at the screen if I had seen this as a kid. Doing my Spice Girls Girl Power pose and everything.

Pakku is still Poophead. At least his writing is consistent.

This is what Aang's all about. This is who Aang is. Just a goofy kid indeed.

Try Off.

Yue! Sweetheart! You're allowed to be confused but you're pushing this mixed signals stuff a little far. "This is wrong; I'm engaged!" *Does the bison-riding equivalent of the yawn and stretch like two minutes later.* I get it and I'm sorry, but you can't literally put the moves on a boy you've explicitly stated it's wrong for you to see. Excellent recovery from Sokka though. Totally not awkward at all.

Given the isolation of the Northern water tribe, are the Gaang the only ones who know what the black snow means?

Zhao the asshole's ego has been turned up for the season finale. And since when can he order Iroh around?

"Do you have a plan?" "I'm working on it Uncle." Translation: Nope!

I get it. She's under the massive pressure of her whole society's expectations and traditions and she just wants to be happy for a bit. But seriously, hot, to cold, to hot, to cold, in five minutes of run time? Not to mention last episode's flip flops too. At what point does it go from teenage angst to stringing the poor guy along?

"I like you too much. It's too confusing to be around you." Ouch. Talk about a no-win situation.

"You don't understand. I have duties to my father, to my tribe. I have to do this." AHEM

These two should sit down and really talk to each other instead of making googoo eyes. I think they would find they had a surprising amount in common.

RIP eleven arctic foxes.

When the chief talks about faces disappearing from the tribe, it pans to Yue, Poophead and some guy with a large amount of chin. Foreshadowing?

Is this the total population of the Northern Water Tribe? Why is the Fire Nation bothering to attack? All they have to do is wait 40 years and the isolationism will do the job for them.

I've been ragging on the Sokka x Yue Knots Landing melodrama, but this is just sad. Real talk, it's ouchy.

"The stillness before battle is unbearable." How would you know? Haven't you been behind your walls for decades? I guess it's set up for Aang's line, but it's a bit clunky.

One fireball just displaced their entire defending force. That inspires confidence. These guys are going to get flattened, aren't they.

One man army Aang is back!

The hammers used to trigger these catapults are making inches deep dents in the catapults' frames. That metal is way too soft. There's no way these things wouldn't tear themselves apart under the stress of operation.

Tying the catapults to the ship and to each other is clever. I wouldn't have thought of that.

OH MY GOD

Hang on what's her name

Jojo Siwa works for the Fire Nation ?!?!?

Appa murdered Jojo Siwa?!?!?

Math time! There are five waterbenders in each boat, five boats on this side, and judging by the ice spikes on the other side of the ship, five boats on that side too. That makes ten boats of five waterbenders, which makes 50 waterbenders, one Appa, and one Avatar to take out one fire nation ship.

Not the clearest shot, but I see 117 ships. So it's going to take 117 Appas, 117 Avatars, and 5850 waterbenders to take out this force. I bet they're regretting not training their female benders now.

You and me both Sokka. The Chief praises Sokka and calls Han on his behaviour twice in this scene. Makes me think that he knows that Han is an ass. Which makes me wonder why he's letting him marry Yue? I was ambivalent about the Chief until now, but if he's knowingly shackling his daughter to that, then I think the Chief is a jerk.

More math time! I count nine waterbenders here. This includes Poophead, who's apparently good enough to teach the Avatar, so let's round up and call it ten. Ten waterbenders per fireball.

Jojo Siwa's ship has five catapults. Assuming that all 117 ships have five catapults each (which is a big assumption, because some of them must be support ships), then that's 585 fireballs without reloading. At ten waterbenders each, they're going to need an additional 5850 waterbenders behind the walls to catch incoming fireballs. I bet they're really regretting not teaching women how to bend now. And with the fireballs, how many of the healers have already been pancaked?

Interesting exposition from Iroh. Waterbenders are werewolves.

It's the problem from a century ago in The Storm episode again! The world needs a fully realised Avatar; the best Aang can do is just one (goofy) kid.

Ooof. Zuko is far from my favourite character, but the dynamic between these two is so comfortable, so well-worn. They feel like they've had no one but each other for years, which has made sense from Zuko's side of things since The Storm, but apparently Iroh has a dead kid (?!!?) and suddenly his side of things makes sense too.

"Remember your breath of fire." "Put your hood up." "Pack a lunch." "Bring a sweater." "Listen to your teacher, learn lots, have fun!" "Call me when you get home" "Eat your vegetables" "Call your uncle. He misses you already."

Han is so well liked that when the guards see him getting attacked, they all collectively decide not to do anything about it. "Should we interfere?" "Nah, it's been a long time coming. He deserves it."

Zuko approaching the wall is accompanied by Blue Spirit music, but he's not wearing his Blue Spirit costume. Thoughts?

HYBRID ANIMALS!!!!! HYBRID ANIMALS!!!!! HYBRID ANIMALS!!!!!

Zuko is such a dumb smart guy. He can figure out that the turtle seals are coming up for air, but he can't figure out that marine mammals and humans might have drastically different lung capacities. Then again, if what the deserter says is correct and firebending is all about breathing, then firebenders probably have training on the kind of breath control that lets you hold you breath for extended periods. On the other hand, they probably learned that in water that wasn't so cold that it made you gasp involuntarily, so we're right back to dumb smart guy.

Does the Avatar world's moon cycle not work like ours? Our moon is out pretty often during the day, but Katara's waterbending is stronger at night. So the Avatar world's moon only appears at night?

Is there a connection between the spirit world and bamboo? The giant panda grew bamboo in the village gate, now we see a gate with bamboo behind it.

Strange face. Do not like.

You smack turtleseal? You smack turtleseal like a football?

Thought that was a palm tree for a sec.

Couldn't the Chief have reassigned Sokka in a way that didn't embarass him in front of all the other warriors?

Zuko's got some crazy swimming skills. He's also frozen to death at least three times by now.

"SHADDUP!" -Aang.

Avatar hypnotised by fish, more at 11.

How does Katara know that Aang's body can't be moved? Last time he went to the spirit world, she was sitting in a village gate cradling her brother's boomerang and Aang was ragdolling into a giant panda statue.

Might want to check your ego there Katara. You may be crazy skilled now but there's nothing wrong with backup.

Zuko having the same problem as Sokka and Aang with announcing his sneak strikes.

I love that when Zuko shows up Yue's just like Biyee!!! I wish I could make that into a gif. She ZOOMS.

It's a good thing that Katara knocked Zuko unconscious because otherwise there's nothing permanent she can do to stop him. Ice cage? Melt it. Water cage? Turn it to steam. Fire always undoes water.

Firebenders are powered by photosynthesis. Zuko one shots Katara here. Even powered by a full moon it took Katara a whole lot of moves to incapacitate him, then he gets one sunbeam and knocks her out with the recoil of one blast. Katara may be the best student Poophead's ever had but Zuko's got years on her.

Clever use of the otherwise counterintuitive ship doors: combination battering ram and landing ramp. Neat.

I normally don't agree with Zhao on anything, but my math shows that inevitable is the right word for the outcome of this battle.

"Where did they go?" How about up the giant very obvious path that is the only way out of the oasis that isn't through a city full of waterbenders on high alert?

Verry cool image to end on, but wasn't the fact that it was brilliantly sunny two minutes ago actually an important plot point?

That's it?

Well. Ok. That's a bit of a cliff hanger.

Final Thoughts

This one's really an obligate two parter huh?

How long has the Gaang spent in the Northern Water Tribe? It feels like maybe a week? Zuko couldn't remain undetected indefinitely on Zhao's ship, so it can't have been too long. I feel like Katara's amazing skills would make sense even after just a week, because we've seen how she progresses quickly when she has the opportunity (the waterbending scroll really did work, loathe as I am to admit it). But I feel like Sokka and Yue's story arc, particularly Yue's changes of heart, would work a lot better if it was established that they'd been around each other for a while. They're both aware she's engaged, but they both make the resolution to just be friends, and before they know it they've spent countless hours together and fallen into horribly deep love and now they're in too far and they have to quit cold turkey but they just keep pulling each other back in like their love is inevitable and before either of them know it, they can't stop loving each other. Yue panics and the scene on the steps of the palace as soot falls happens. They both know that maybe it's wisest to stop seeing each other, but then the Chief assigns Sokka to protect Yue and now they're unavoidably thrown together and they're right back where they started and they can no longer even pretend to deny their feelings and the sheer strength of their love acknowledged wipes out the entirety of the fire nation fleet and when the firelord hears the news he has a heart attack and dies so the war's over and Aang goes into the jewellery business and everyone lives happily ever after and Aang and Katara get married when they're both 35 and Sokka and Yue rule over a joint north-south water tribe matriarchy.

Seriously. Yue is giving me Eowyn vibes. I am WORRIED.

I have my suspicions about the Chief. He'd rather a stranger from the southern tribe guard his daughter than her fiance? I wonder if Han was the politically powerful choice. I guess having only a daughter in a patriarchal society doesn't make for a firm power base. I wonder if the Chief's council or whatever picked Han, and the Chief didn't have the power to refuse. So instead he sends Han on a suicide mission and arranges it so that Sokka can spend time with Yue. Is the Chief aware of Yue's feelings for Sokka and trying to help sneakily? If that's the case, I rescind calling him a jerk. Maybe he has to be seen to favour Han in public, so he takes Sokka off the mission when he and Han fight with an audience, but assigns Sokka to his daughter when it's only Sokka in the room. Maybe the Chief ships them as much as I do?

Anyways...

The Northern Water Tribe have been staying out of the war completely, so why are the Fire Nation even bothering to waste resources on them? Their mandate is to capture the Avatar alive, so a full-scale indiscriminate assault on where he's staying feels dumb.

Zuko's one-sided banter with Katara recalled their interactions in the Waterbending Scroll with the pirates. Kind of off-putting, kind of insulting, kind of creepy.

Aang had a neat fight scene, but not much beyond that. I have a feeling he'll be the star of the next episode. Congrats to Appa on the murderous assist. Air nomads may have been pacifists but their bison sure weren't.

This episode set up a lot of dominoes. The next one is going to have to do a lot of things very quickly.

[scotianostra]

On April 1st 1571 Dumbarton Castle, under siege since January 1570, was captured by Captain Thomas Crawford scaling the walls.

Crawford, also spelled Craufurd was a close confident of Lord Darnley and had every reason to be an enemy of Mary Queen of Scots. It is said he was one of the few people who seems to have had a genuine regard for Darnley.

Dumbarton Castle was held by supporters of Mary Queen of Scots, who had been forced to abdicate and fled Scotland in 1568 leaving regents loyal to James VI ruling Scotland, the King was still an infant.

Although Crawford knew the castle and was familiar with its defences he was unsure of the numbers and disposition of the garrison defending it. According to local tradition he got the information required from a disgruntled former garrison member by the name of Robertson. It seems this man had left the castle after his wife had been accused of theft and publicly flogged at Dumbarton cross. He now held a grudge against the castle’s governor, Lord Fleming.

Robertson knew the castle’s defences intimately and was familiar with the topography of the rock. He suggested to Crawford that the castle could be taken by climbing the rock with ladders to reach the walls on the north side of the castle above seemingly impenetrable cliffs. The walls here were not as strongly defended as the rest of the castle, as the garrison reckoned that the chances of anyone reaching them were almost non -existent due to the sheer rocks beneath them.

Crawford assembled a force of 150 men, and made plans to approach the castle in secret and under the cover of darkness. A temporary truce between the forces of the Crown and those loyal to the deposed queen was set to expire on the 1st April 1571, and that was when Crawford planned to strike. On the evening of the first he began his advance on the castle rock. He sent a small cavalry force to scout the road ahead and intercept any travellers who might give away his approach.

At Dumbuck, a mile or so from the castle his small force was equipped with scaling ladders and ropes and made their way towards the castle rock under cover of a mist which had rolled in from the River Clyde. They reached the foot of the rock undetected and began scaling the slopes. The ladders were equipped with steel hooks or “craws” at their heads for wedging into the crevices of the rock and by passing the ladders up in turn and slowly advancing they hoped to reach the top of the cliff without alerting the castle guards. The first attempt failed when the ladders slipped from their perch and came crashing to the ground. If the guards had been more alert the attack could have been foiled before it had even begun, but luck was on Crawford’s side and a second attempt was made. This time the “craws” were wedged more securely and the advance party managed to reach a small ledge where a tree was growing. They quickly tied their ropes to the tree and this enabled them to haul the rest of their force up to the ledge. They were only half way up the rock at this stage however and the second stage of the climb began. It is said that during this second climb one of the soldiers was seized with a fit or convulsion whilst climbing his ladder and gripped the ladder so tightly that he could not be prised from it. With the situation so precarious that no-one could climb over him, the advance had come to a halt.

Crawford ordered the man to be tied to the ladder and the ladder was then turned around with the unfortunate soldier suspended beneath it allowing the rest of the force to climb the ladder. During the climb one man fell to his death, but the remainder reached the foot of the castle wall where three of the party climbed the wall into the castle to try and find a means of entry for the remainder.

At this point they were finally discovered by the castle guards who quickly engaged Crawford’s three men.

The castle walls were reputedly in poor repair and Crawford’s men on the outside were able to force their way through a partially collapsed section and stormed to the aid of their three comrades inside loudly shouting “A Darnley!, A Darnley!“, the battle cry of the Earl of Lennox’s followers. Some of the castle’s cannon were quickly seized and turned against the castle’s defenders, who decided that discretion was indeed the better part of valour and promptly surrendered.

In the confusion, and under cover of the mist, the castle governor Lord Fleming was able to make his escape, possibly by the Watergate of the castle where he fled, according to local tradition, by boat.

The French ambassador to Queen Mary was captured within the castle, but was released unharmed. He made his way to Edinburgh Castle where he continued to aid Mary’s cause.

The Governor’s wife, Lady Fleming, was also captured, but she was allowed to leave the castle along with her servants and possessions.

Another prominent occupant of the castle was not so fortunate. John Hamilton, the Archbishop of St Andrews, was captured in mail shirt and steel helmet, and sent to Stirling to be tried for his part in the murder of Darnley. At 6pm on 6th April 1571, three days after his capture, he was hanged beside the Mercat Cross at Stirling

The capture of Dumbarton Castle was a major blow to those loyal to Mary and left Edinburgh as the only major stronghold still in their possession. Following his success at Dumbarton, Crawford went on to advise in the siege of Edinburgh two years later and in 1577 he was made Provost of Glasgow. In later life he retired to his family’s historical estates in Kilbirnie where he died on the third of January 1603 aged 73. He is buried in Kilbirnie churchyard within a tomb that he designed himself!

[morganhazelwood]

Holy Mice Army

If you are not following whimsington's ongoing story about the mice army who loves trebuchets and really wants to get cheese - as told in parody Christmas songs. It's not my fault!

A new one drops everyday and they are so worth it. I'm looking forward to seeing how the storyline evolves. https://youtube.com/shorts/6yqJ93fxEZE?si=lzjmMaMjvU3OBxTE

[feckcops]

‘Do not use our pain to bring death’: plea to Israel from peace activists’ grieving families

“Noy Katsman knew the eulogy for their murdered brother would anger some who came to mourn, but did not want the violence of Hayim Katsman’s death to eclipse his life as a peace activist. Grief and loss at Hayim’s slaughter was magnified by watching Israel launch a war in his name, said Noy, who is non-binary. So at the funeral, relying on a Jewish tradition of respect for the bereaved, Noy called for it to stop.

“‘Do not use our death and our pain to bring the death and pain of other people and other families,’ Noy told the hundreds-strong crowd, as the government bombed Gaza and prepared for a massive ground invasion. ‘I have no doubt that even in the face of Hamas people that murdered him … he would still speak out against the killing and violence of innocent people.’

“Arguing against retaliation in Gaza, as Israel reels from the scale and brutality of the massacres by Hamas on 7 October, is unpopular. At one point in the eulogy the mourners tutted in anger and disapproval. But afterwards Hayim’s friends came to thank Noy. ‘One told me: It’s exactly what your brother would have wanted you to say.’

“Hayim and Noy are part of Israel’s relatively small community of leftists, peace activists and human rights campaigners, people who broadly believe their country cannot fight its way to peace.”

[eretzyisrael]

[baheuldey]

Siège (Sur les remparts de Minas Tirith) / Seige (On the walls of Minas Tirith) (Tolktober, 26), 2023, encre de Chine sur papier, 21,5 x 14 cm