#this is some point during the war

[wiskiemonk]

he's been talking about space for 45 minutes.

[omaano]

something something the clones were already decanted with blood on their hands

also, boba, you're the absolute worst influence

time to shelve this project for another two months because i have no idea how to go about render it any further orz

sketch, credit to the original hades 2 warsong update wallpaper and ramblings about this piece here, and the rest of the Hades AU project here

[keferon]

…..I should be working rn but one of the songs in my playlist hit harder than usual so

[rosykims]

i genuinely love love love the iconoclast path in rogue trader SO MUCH. its one of the things that ultimately enamors me to the warhammer franchise as a whole despite empathy being so antithetical to its world and genre. its not just because iconoclast is the Nice Person route or because it subverts the foundational principle that In The Grim Dark Universe There Is Only War............ but mostly i love it because its the best way to actually engage w the morality system presented in 40k and explore it the way it deserves to be explored. its so unique parsing through the choices of the game and navigating how one might actually ACHIEVE goodness through - or more accurately without - the lens of liberal modern morality. because adhering to what we presently would call morality is arguably crueler than some of the dogmatic choices - or at least the game wants you to reflect on that and decide if that kind of morality still has value or not. and i like that they give you the opportunity to do that. youre rarely rewarded for kindness in this game and in fact your oftentimes actively punished for it (void shadows was a TRIAL for my iconoclast rt) which presents another question: are you being good because of a reward you believe you'lll be entitled to, or are you being good for the sake of goodness itself??? in saying that i do LOVE how there IS payoff in the iconoclast route eventually - when youve bleed and suffered for it enough. but theres a quality to it thats so..... so BITTERSWEET, because yippee you Empathed your way to the top - but also what IS the top?? congratulations, you are the kindest autocrat in the most bloodthirsty fascist regime in human history, sitting on your throne on a voidship run by all your slaves and serfs who die by the hundreds every time you make a warpjump for some dumbass sidequest. what the fuck. can you actually call that goodness ????? is whatever goodness-adjacent thing youve achieved worth it even if you cant change the system in the ways that matter ??? lastly - the iconoclast ending is both so wildly universe-altering to the point of feeling like a heretical ending - but also kind of. not mattering really lol. because even though its hopeful, the "good" ending still feels soooo tentative with the likelihood that its very likely not going to last. but that in itself is my favorite take away from playing this game as The Last Good Guy in the Galaxy: because the love DIDNT change anything. and it DOESNT save anyone. but ohhhhhhhhh my fucking god does it absolutely matter that it was there.

[gingermintpepper]

In my Zeus bag today so I'm just gonna put it out there that exactly none of the great Ancient Greek warrior-heroes stayed loyal and faithful and completely monogamous and yet none of them have their greatness questioned nor do we question why they had the cultural prominence that they did and still do.

Jason, the brilliant leader of the Argo, got cold feet when it came to Medea - already put off by some of her magic and then exiled from his birthland because of her political ploys, he took Creusa to bed and fully intended on marrying her despite not properly dissolving things with Medea.

Theseus was a fierce warrior and an incredibly talented king but he had a horrible temper and was almost fatally weak to women. This is the man who got imprisoned in the Underworld for trying to get a friend laid, the man who started the whole Attic War because he couldn't keep his legs closed.

And we cannot at all forget Heracles for whom a not inconsiderable amount of his joy in life was loving people then losing the people around him that he loved. Wives, children, serving boys, mentors, Heracles had a list of lovers - male and female - long enough to rival some gods and even after completing his labours and coming down to the end of his life, he did not have one wife but three.

And y'know what, just because he's a cultural darling, I'll put Achilles up here too because that man was a Theseus type where he was fantastic at the thing he was born to do (that is, fight whereas Theseus' was to rule) but that was not enough to eclipse his horrid temper and his weakness to young pretty things. This is the man that killed two of Apollo's sons because they wouldn't let him hit - Tenes because he refused to let Achilles have his sister and Troilus who refused Achilles so vehemently that he ran into Apollo's temple to avoid him and still couldn't escape.

All four of these men are still celebrated as great heroes and men. All four of these men are given the dignity of nuance, of having their flaws treated as just that, flaws which enrich their character and can be used to discuss the wider cultural point of what truly makes a hero heroic. All four of these men still have their legacies respected.

Why can that same mindset not be applied to Zeus? Zeus, who was a warrior-king raised in seclusion apart from his family. Zeus who must have learned to embrace the violence of thunder for every time he cried as a babe, the Corybantes would bang their shields to hide the sound. Zeus learned to be great because being good would not see the universe's affairs in its order.

The wonderful thing about sympathy is that we never run out of it. There's no rule stopping us from being sympathetic to multiple plights at once, there's no law that necessitate things always exist on the good-evil binary. Yes, Zeus sentenced Prometheus to sufferation in Tartarus for what (to us) seems like a cruel reason. Prometheus only wanted to help humans! But when you think about Prometheus' actions from a king's perspective, the narrative is completely different: Prometheus stole divine knowledge and gifted it to humans after Zeus explicitly told him not to. And this was after Prometheus cheated all the gods out of a huge portion of wealth by having humans keep the best part of a sacrifice's meat while the gods must delight themselves with bones, fat and skin. Yes, Zeus gave Persephone away to Hades without consulting Demeter but what king consults a woman who is not his wife about the arrangement of his daughter's marriage to another king? Yes, Zeus breaks the marriage vows he set with Hera despite his love of her but what is the Master of Fate if not its staunchest slave?

The nuance is there. Even in his most bizarre actions, the nuance and logic and reason is there. The Ancient Greeks weren't a daft people, they worshipped Zeus as their primary god for a reason and they did not associate him with half the vices modern audiences take issue with. Zeus was a father, a visitor, a protector, a fair judge of character, a guide for the lost, the arbiter of revenge for those that had been wronged, a pillar of strength for those who needed it and a shield to protect those who made their home among the biting snakes. His children were reflections of him, extensions of his will who acted both as his mercy and as his retribution, his brothers and sisters deferred to him because he was wise as well as powerful. Zeus didn't become king by accident and it is a damn shame he does not get more respect.

[kerosene-in-a-blender]

Others have talked, very rightly, about Bells Hells having an extremely Us vs. Them style of morality and one thing I find interesting about all that is many of their most virulent (read: actively nasty towards other fans) defenders are also taking this stance. The party line has become that the segments of the fandom that are disappointed with how this campaign shook out have never been happy with anything Bells Hells did from the beginning and have been actively hating on people who do like it for just as long. Us, the beleaguered Campaign 3 lovers versus Them, the mean c3 haters (who are often characterized as being hung up on the Mighty Nein and simply mad Bells Hells aren't the Nein again).

What's been quite funny for me personally is that I have seen vague posts clearly targeted at myself giving me the above detailed characterization of the c3 hater when I: have never seen Campaign 2 (though I did watch Campaign 1 back in 2019), started watching live with the first EXU, got into the fandom (as a lurker) at the start of Campaign 3, didn't make any of my own posts about it until late 2022 and didn't start really posting in earnest until mid 2023. Practically none of the characteristics applied to the archetypal c3 hater certain fans have created actually apply to me, other than of course thinking Campaign 3 actually isn't very good. So it's been interesting to watch people draw lines in the sand and create an Us vs. Them narrative that I know isn't true based on existing as myself.

[wonder-worker]

Wild how we know that Elizabeth Woodville was officially appointed to royal councils in her own right during her husband’s reign and fortified the Tower of London in preparation of a siege while 8-months pregnant and had forces gathering at Westminster “in the queen’s name” in 1483 – only for NONE of these things to be even included, let alone explored, in the vast majority of scholarship and historical novels involving her.

[ifindus]

since you seem to know a lot of history, I was wondering if you could tell us a little more about norway and his role during ww2, I feel like not a lot of people talk about his importance as an ally.

Let's pretend this wasn't sent back in November! Of course I can!!And "a little" turned into a decent amount 😳

Norway declared itself neutral when the war started in 1939, but became occupied by Germany in April 1940. Throughout the war Norway played an important role helping the allies win. Note that there is also a lot to be said about Norwegian collaboration with the occupiers during these years as well, but that is not the topic of this post.

During the war Norway had both a military and a civil resistance movement. The civil movement was directed towards NS (Nasjonal Samling, the Norwegian nazi party and the only party allowed during these years) attempts at converting people to nazism, while the military resistance were building an underground army who were prepared to step in for the liberation and who also organized sabotages during the last year.

Norway’s government went into exile in London, and was in large responsible for Norway’s war effort and resistance. They took control of the Norwegian merchant ships and put it at the allies disposal, probably Norway’s most important asset and contribution to the war effort. The Norwegian marine and air-force also partook in operations along the Allies, and a Norwegian brigade was organized in Scotland, who were to partake in the final liberation of Norway.

The exiled government had an extensive running contact with the growing resistance back home in Norway, and could gradually provide the resistance with supplies and other support. Soldiers from the Scottish base were sent on missions to aid the resistance in Norway and conduct sabotages.

There as also a base for Norwegian resistance established in Stockholm, who were eventually allowed by the Swedish government to form a military force of 14 500 people under disguise of being police. About 50 000 Norwegians fled to Sweden during the war, and many Norwegians in the border areas aided them as guides over the mountains through difficult and secret passages – they also smuggled goods and supplies through the same routes.

The civil resistance was not exclusively organized, but included everyone who was not a nazi and could be as simple as civil disobedience. Teachers, parents, and priests opposed the effort to convert the youth to nazism by the NS through forced nazi curriculums in schools and obligatory youth service. Other examples of civil resistance were Norwegian workers sabotaging or not even doing the bare minimum at the jobs in factories for the Germans, and the publishing of illegal news-papers which were spread by people handing them to the next person. The most famous illegal news-paper was London-Nytt (London News), and were just Norwegian translations of BBC broadcasts transcribed directly from illegal radios.

The military resistance was known as MILORG, and this secret group had its peak in the last year of the war. This was when they began receiving guns, military equipment and professionals. During the last year they carried out assassinations and sabotages to a much more effective and extensive degree. MILORG was taking orders from the Norwegian military in London and coordinating with them, passing vital information back and forth.

When the Second World War began, Norway was the world’s fourth largest shipping nation, after Great Britain, USA, and Japan, with the Norwegian fleet being the most modern. When Norway was occupied and the Germans demanded Norwegian ships return to Norwegian ports, all of the around 1 000 ships set sail for Allied ports. The Norwegian government in exile commanded all Norwegian ships sail for securing supplies for Norway and the Allies. The ships supplied Great Britain with invaluable wares such as food and oil, and kept up the transatlantic trade during the war. The Norwegian sailors were also present at evacuations and invasions of occupied France and fascist Italy, North-Africa, and Normandy in 1944. The Norwegian ships were under constant attack from the German fleet and many sailors lost their lives transporting for the Allies, most of them working continuously for the five years Norway was at war. Almost half of Norway’s fallen during the war were sailors killed at sea.

[four-comma-five-verse]

Once upon a time, in the era of the old Gods – Aesti and Lett waged wars amongst each other, for lands and treasures and any other real and perceived slights, as beings such as them – all blood and earth - were wont to do.

One day – during another one of their battles – they sent out their strongest champions to fight – to see once and for all who was the mightiest between them.

Lett sent for her bear eared warrior – Lāčplēsis, who had the strength of a hundred men, while Aesti sent for Kalevipoeg, a giant with a cursed sword, who craftily fought with wooden planks and stones.

Both of them – heroes, both – mighty.

And so, it was set – that while Lett and Aesti crossed blades, so did their heroes – only – as Lāčplēsis and Kalevipoeg fought and fought – both each others match, they were forced to pause – both of them tired to the bone.

It is while catching their breath that they revealed to each other that they both knew of the darkness that was approaching their lands. Evil was coming to burn their land and slay their Gods – and in the face of such a disaster, was it not better to put their differences aside?

So the two heroes rose, and hurried to where Lett and Aesti waged their war – called out for them to stop!

It is Aesti who called back first, his voice alight in indigent rage : “Who goes there? Who dares to command us to stop our fight?”

Lāčplēsis hurries to stand next to the warring spirits, both of them a good distance shorter than him: “It is us, who are here to stop your war! I - Lāčplēsis!”

Kalevipoeg joins him in a manner just as quick: “And I - Kalevipoeg! Who come to end this once and for all.”

It is Lett who then bristles, her sword still at Aestis’s throat, just as his was to her heart : “You are our champions! Our heroes! Are you not? And yet you still say you shall still your swords?”

“Against an enemy, we will always stand, that is true. But as we fought, we realised that that enemy is not me or you.” says Kalevipoeg.

“An enemy comes to our land from afar with crosses and swords, have you not heard? I agree with my new friend, in these conditions, we should not cross swords.” says Lāčplēsis.

Aesti and Lett lock eyes with each other - sizing one another up, before they both turn to their champions – their blades gleaming from where they rest at each other’s lives, blood pooling from where they touch each others skin.

Lett, land of lakes that she is, turns her forest green eyes to Lāčplēsis, and says : “Lāčplesis, hero of mine, do you not know? You speak to blood and earth, asking it to not grow. Beings like us, we always fight, I suggest you just accept it, and move on.”

Aesti, with his icy eyes – the colour of fresh snow – land of seas and islands, turns to Kalevipoeg and says : “And Kalevipoeg, you who are of my blood. How can you speak of peace, when I am so good at war? I respect but a single one of her kind – the one who can back up his words with his might.”

“Yes, this he speaks true. We, who are born from your love and your words, refuse to be so easily subdued. I shall drive my sword through his throat, as long as we stand so close.” says Lett.

“We, who came to life from your thoughts, are merely a reflection of your own wants.” says Aesti.

The two champions look at one another – look at the rest of their people, who await their fate, and then Kalevipoeg says : “Then sheathe your swords and shake hands! We will be much better as friends.”

While Lāčplēsis says: “Our thoughts and love are what you hold, so swear a peace, as you were told!”

And so they do – for what else was there to do? They shook hands and promised that this would be their last war.

No longer would they turn their blades on each other, and instead they shall treat one another like brothers.

The war is off, and both champions hurry off to their own adventures – Lāčplēšis goes to ask for Laimdotas hand in marriage, while Kalevipoeg returns home to see what his brothers have built.

Far away from their eyes, Aesti and Lett sit on a tree branch in a mighty oak, Lett swinging her legs, while Aesti lays against the tree trunk.

Lett laughs: “What a waste, what naivete! We both know earth doesn’t tend to get friends.”

Aesti sighs in response and concurs : “On this we agree, but peace is a necessity.”

Lett, a grin on her face, continues making fun: “Oh well, that may be true. But friends and brothers – Us? What a joke! Can you even imagine this happening to our folk?”

Aesti scoffs: “Of course not! What a ridiculous sight! Hear this – me and you – we shall never be right!”

They say all this, and of course, in 700 year time, eat their words.

-

“Hey! Tolvīti! Uh. Tolvditī – uh…”

“Don’t hurt yourself.” Eduard calls, from his spot on the couch, right next to the huge tub of popcorn he’s hogging for himself, while a movie they had all chosen to watch this evening plays on the TV.

Ravis glares at him : “I am trying to call my dearest, favourite brother after someone hogged all the popcorn. It is not my fault his name is so hard to turn diminutive!”

“Wow. Maybe someone shouldn’t have taken all the chips for himself.” Eduard says, unrepentant.

“I need them, I’m a growing boy.” Raivis retorts.

Eduard looks up at Raivis, and stares at him.

“Not all of us are old, old men.” Raivis continues, while the corners of his mouth twitch upwards.

“Hm,” says Eduard, as his eyes narrow. Then he puts a hand to his mouth and calls : “Tolys! Raivis says he wants to try biting into those chili pepper plants you got gifted again for a euro!”

Raivis gasps, and puts a hand across his chest, like he’s been shot.

Whatever his next retort would have been is cut short by Tolvydas entering the living room, another bowl of popcorn in his hands, plopping down on the couch right next to Eduard and announcing, for what might be the 100th time : “I am never letting you two monsters inside my apartment again.”

Then, a few minutes later, after Raivis has wormed himself between Eduard and Tolvydas and is now attempting to steal popcorn from both of their bowls, both Eduard and Tolvydas lift their bowls with practiced ease.

“Get your own.” They chorus.

“You’re both jerks.” Raivis pouts.

[just-mebs]

Whenever I think about HamBurr, I can't help but think of it as a fluctuating one-sided mess starting with what is Hamilton's crush on Burr in the beginning, and later Burr's own crush on Hamilton.

Hamilton is starstrucked when he meets Burr. It might be a case of puppy love or similar, but I think that through the first act you see this crush on his side that is persistent even despite their butting heads. Maybe Burr sees it too. Maybe he takes it for granted. Maybe he thinks it's silly or unimportant or just a distraction while he waits for life to make decisions for him.

And then BOOM: Hamilton moves on (both physically with the war ending and emotionally seeing how Burr never reciprocated his feelings in any concrete way). He's going for more in life. He's moving forward to make a life out of the world he's helped create that Burr seems uninterested in in a way (see: Non-Stop). And I think it's this turning point that makes Burr kind of "wake up" and realize his own feelings. He sees Hamilton moving on and making a life for himself and suddenly its like all the feeling he did have for Hamilton, the feelings he either ignored and pushed aside, come front and center and he's realizes that he's missed such an important part of his own life.

Or maybe it's now that Hamilton isn't actively pursuing him/giving him as much attention that he's realized that it's something he did take for granted and now regrets. So now, with Burr harboring these feelings, feeling the way that Hamilton probably felt for years during the war, he slowly becomes bitter. He's constantly trying to outdo Hamilton or prove himself to be on the same level or higher than he his. And while Hamilton acknowledges Burr throughout all of this, he never gets back to that contemporaneous war time love Burr so desperately wants from him.

[chrispineofficial]

i'm definitely planning to vote but damn. it's like... constant? it's always been like this? it just sucks forever? and we just do the thing we've always done so that it gets the least bad it could get? while it all continues to get worse? that sucks.

unless you yourself are planning some kind of massive militarized coup to effect an immediate upheaval of the us government for the 100% certain betterment of the people then yeah you have to fucking vote bc positive change is neither swift nor linear and you have a responsibility to everyone around you not to act like a whiny little bitch just because you personally do not have the vision nor experience to understand that things really do get better when you exercise your civil rights

[greenerteacups]

Hi GT! Congratulations on the last chapter, as always! Lately my brain has been fixated on a detail that I find very interesting. I can't help but think that any adult in LH who is preparing for war has at least once thought while looking at Draco "ok, this could definitely help us in the future". And I find it almost hilarious because I love the way you characterize Artur and Molly and their protective instinct towards the kids... but let's be honest, Hermione, Ron and Harry have ensured the heir of the greatest house in the wizarding world to the cause.

One of the interesting parts about the Harry Potter series is that both sides of the conflict use child soldiers, and you get to see a realistic range of reactions to that from the adults around them. There's Molly, who's reasonably unconditionally opposed to it on the grounds that They're Children, and then Sirius, who unreasonably supports it on the grounds of being himself a stunted teenager, and then Mad-Eye, who reasonably supports it on the grounds of "they're going to have to fight anyway," and Dumbledore, who is some combination of these viewpoints depending on the situation — most protective of Harry when the danger is real, but perhaps necessarily the most realistic about Harry's role in ending the war. Lionheart has a slightly different cast of adults, because it's a different POV, but you still see a range of opinions from Narcissa ("you'll harm my son over my dead body, but also he needs to be able to defend myself") to Snape ("careful, Draco") to Moody (the same, arguably more so, because he's thinking of the long game) and Dumbledore (again, some situation-dependent combination of viewpoints). The kids are often so caught up in their own part of the conflict that it doesn't occur to them the strategic decisions that are happening over their heads — when you're a teen and an adult tells you you're too young for something, the kneejerk reaction is "fuck off" — but there are always conversations happening in other rooms, especially in Grimmauld Place.

[redjennies]

one of my top "00's indie romance film lead" traits is that as a child, I was afraid of the dark so my dad got me this globe that had a little light in it and it was like my favorite thing I owned. I used to slowly spin that thing around for hours past my bed time looking at all the little countries and use it as a reading light when I couldn't sleep. but like in the movie version of my life, this would be what instilled in me a deep sense of wanderlust and desire to travel, but in reality, it just means I know a surprising amount of world geography for a bumpkin who hasn't spent much time outside the Southern US and doesn't really want to.

[in-asterism]

Reading Women of Troy while listening to Epic the Musical is an unhinged experience. highly recommend

[gods-favorite-autistic]

People who are like “Omg gen z theatre kids only know *proceeds to list every single musical that came out after 1999*” are the most annoying assholes like hey maybe we just don’t like shit from the 1960’s or we have specific tastes have you ever considered that

[exploringcastleoblivion]

what does your heart look like?

a guiding, golden light

Just because you cannot see your own heart doesn’t mean that others can’t. Your heart is blinding, captivating, a fire so bright that others can’t bring themselves to look away. It illuminates the path they follow and cements you as a guiding star for their own wayward hearts. Every experience you’ve lived through has built your lighthouse heart up just a little higher. You are inspirational, a light that doesn’t go out.

a bird struggling to get loose

Your heart can never hold still. It pounds against your chest frantically, always turning your sights to one thing after the next. When was the last time you were certain? The last time your life was stable? Maybe this is how you prefer things. On the move constantly, not tied down to one person or place. You chase one goal after the next. Can you ever really feel complete without a place to land? Shouldn’t you build yourself a nest?

--------------------------------

Quiz here!

Tagged by @avampyone - Thank you!

Tagging: @neaththeheavens, @adrienvalmont, @irisopranta, @lal-ffxiv, @dire-catgirl, and anyone else who wants to do this!