#More power to them for not putting up with racist monarchs | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

rametarin · 1 year

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Imagine a person..

The sort of person that walks into a D&D campaign, or any place centered for nerds on high fantasy, and the conversation they want to have is that, castles and monarchy are bad, and therefore, bad culture and bad influence on society.

So they demand putting in big disgusting notes at the start talking about, “CERTAIN UNDESIRABLE GROUPS sure have been whooping up monarchy and racism lately, huh! The feudal times were actually horrible and unequal and a terror, and we should stop idolizing them beyond nostalgia for [beloved book series that’s on thin ice but politically inexpedient to trash on without losing the audience]”

Then they start to suggest, ohhh, I dunno, fantasy settings with more.. I dunno.. just spitballin’.. anarcho-syndicalist or socialist themes maybe? Or mythological tribespeople with weird cultures on equality, something about ‘critical lenses’ maybe, and advice on why you should want to involve many cultures in your games and stories, but not allow anyone to play as them unless they’re the appropriate racial background in real life.

Yeah it’s irritating. But it’s also fucking ridiculous and presumptuous. You know whom you sound like when you do this?

How so? Okay,

what other presumptive ass would walk in on a bunch of nerds and tell them they’re FANTASY GOVERNMENT IN THEIR YE OLDE TIMEY MEDIEVAL EUROPEAN FANTASY GAME AND FRANCHISE WRONG? And then have the audacity to demand maybe OHHHH I DUNNO... CONSTITUTIONALIST FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAVING REPUBLIC, WITH REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY?

Having the gall to tell them they, “shouldn’t idolize dead kings and should get a REAL government system in their imaginationland.” Because, “kings and royalty are for wusses and communists.”

You might be going, “THAT’S TOTALLY DIFFERENT FROM WHEN I DO IT!” and. no it isn’t.

D&D and fantasy fiction use mythological past to stimulate the mind and actually learn about history, just to mythologize it. Of course feudalism was actually terrible. Romance of some things, particularly pirates for example, is terrible. But the people marching up this hill to make a fuss and try to pull a silk screen over peoples hearts and minds to manipulate them know publishing academic hitpieces, calling women out on their romanticizing pirates in novels and fiction, would make them terribly unpopular and rend their target audience dumb to their voice.

When fantasy utilizes the romantic image of the monarchy, they are NOT sponsoring monarchism, oh my fucking god. This disgusting fiction exists for nothing else than to justify treating aspects of media and culture the way tribes and nations treat features of geography for area denial from the enemy, to keep them thirsty, to starve them, to give them nowhere to live. I’m so tired of it not being understood that these people are behaving and thinking like this specifically for this tactic and outcome. Gatekeeping and ownership of the entire fandom of production and consumption of stories and fiction and art.

That’s authoritarian and tyrannical, and trying to use postmodernist nonsense the way religious moralists bandy about their religious text as if it were a book of facts for their undesired opinions.

Also popular is talking about how, “you know how European culture is specifically racist and all their fantasy creatures are just expressions of xenophobia, right? Orcs are ‘swarthy’ dangerous barbarian foreigners. black people! Those racist Europeans!”

Boiling down and tainting all European history to just, “white people are conceited monsters who unlike everybody else, hated everybody that was not their chosen people.” The least historical and most unflattering interpretation of culture and mythology you can have, done purely to invalidate and delegitimize a thing.

They invite other groups of people to accept this interpretation for two reasons. Firstly, it gives them cultural power to interpret things as true or false. That is a kind of power. Second, it gives different political entiites a popular (if incorrect) imagery to treat as true when dealing with European or people that are descended from them. And in theory since these people claim to be SoooOooOooOO protective of “persons of color,” this relationship can never go bad, can it?

Wrong. That’s not how people that think like this work. In conventional Marxism, the Marxists start spreading propaganda and working backwards with people to demand upon them even imaginary common ground they can agree on. Such as, “Ryan is an asshole because-”. Then they keep doing that, until the group reach consensus Ryan is an asshole, at least they can agree on THAT, and decides to kill Ryan. They make him dig his own hole, then put a bullet in his head and bury him.

And then the Marxist does the same thing to the next runner up, Michael, progressively assassinating the character of the competition without directly competing with them, getting the other participants to do his dirty work for him.

It start with, “all white people are racist.” When white people are no longer the scapegoats, then the same people that clawed their way up claiming to, “only care about racial and sexual justice!” and that white men embody the worst elements of both, suddenly switch to the next nearest, “oppressive majority.”

And they train youth to do this inter-community. So on the macro scale they’ll at least pay lip service to caring about Native American culture and religion and identity. On the micro scale, if they were being honest, they’d call many Native American tribes racist, most Native American cultures sexist, and tell them they don’t care what their history or traditions or culture say- they’re doing them wrong unless they do whatever the postmodernist socialist thinks is correct.

They didn’t USED to be so bold and broad with their terms for racism. They at least used to maintain a doublethink by the positive liberals that would say, “all racism is wrong,” while carefully using non-discussion and not allowing arguments or probing these thought destroying statements to prevent them asking if they’re saying non-whites are incapable of “being racist.”

The truth was they always believed racism was tied to class struggle theory and that meant white people were oppressors, thus racism was “the phenomenon of oppression living under a white majority with capitalism.” But the more general, palatable interpretation was, “racial discrimination bad. :)” With a million unseen and inaccessible asterisks that you WEREN’T SUPPOSED to even see to further ask them to clarify about.

But then they realized with the internet, people could trace the social lines back to sociology classes and professors and see the organization and institutions preaching this shit, even find the textbooks they’re printed in. So, they started being more upfront about it.

Before, they would’ve just avoided talking about it and let the other person give them the benefit of the doubt. SURELY, they didn’t mean, “all white people are racist/black and Asian people are incapable of racism,” right? When, yes, they did. Hiding in the ambiguities and things you’d never imagine they’d be implying in practice.

However, that’s just one step. Vilifying white people until white people are denied access or legitimacy to society because of their ethnic background isn’t the final step. Once whites are denied franchise just on the basis that being white is oppressive to others, then they’ll start trash talking the next minority as being the in-power majority; probably Asians, seeing as black people are the biggest sacred cows when it comes to racial discrimination, not just in the US, but globally. Then the generational story will be, “our beliefs weren’t complete. Also [other group] are bastards and their culture and heritage are imaginary trash, too.”

And so on. Presenting this as, “white people bad, we should gang up on them and do justice” is merely a means to an end for them. Sugar on medicine that sits in wait. Even if the next step is introduced 20 years from now.

So in short, these people are not the people you want to give the power to interpret fiction and fantasy, or gatekeep what is appropriate or not. They are not forthcoming, most of the time, and confuse THEIR good with true good on purpose. And believe so long as the book they’re drawing their absolutes from isn’t a religious text, but a sociology one, that it’s somehow more valid or empirical.

And they have no more weight to their bullshit than Stan Smith does, demanding our fantasy stories and romantic genres revolve around his idea of a “correct, moral and upstanding government and social values.” for the exact same reasons Stan would want to impose those on his son’s games.

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blackswaneuroparedux · 3 years

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Anonymous asked: I have always appreciated your thoughtful views on the defence of the British monarchy, and as a university historian it’s reassuring to see someone using history to make invalubale insights to a controversial institution. I wonder what are your own thoughts on the passing of Prince Philip and what his legacy might be? Was he a gaffe prone racist and a liability to the Queen?

I know you kindly got in touch and identified yourself when you felt I was ignoring your question. I’m glad we cleared that up via DM. The truth is as I said and I’m saying here is that I had to let some time pass before I felt I could reasonably answer this question. Simply because - as you know as someone who teaches history at university - distance is good to make a sober appraisal rather than knee jerk in the moment judgements.

Contrary to what some might think I’m not really a fan girl when it comes to the royal family. I don’t religiously follow their every movement or utterance especially as I live in Paris and therefore I don’t really care about tabloid tittle tattle. I only get to hear of anything to do with the royal family when I speak to my parents or my great aunts and uncles for whom the subject is closer to their heart because of the services my family has rendered over past generations to the monarchy and the older (and dying) tight knit social circles they travel in.

Like Walter Bagehot, I’m more interested in the monarchy as an institution and its constitutional place within the historical, social, and political fabric of Britain and its continued delicate stabilising importance to that effect. It was Walter Bagehot, the great constitutional scholar and editor the Economist magazine, who said, “The mystic reverence, the religious allegiance, which are essential to a true monarchy, are imaginative sentiments that no legislature can manufacture in any people.” In his view, a politically-inactive monarchy served the best interests of the United Kingdom; by abstaining from direct rule, the monarch levitated above the political fray with dignity, and remained a respected personage to whom all subjects could look to as a guiding light.

Even as a staunch monarchist I freely confess that there has always been this odd nature of the relationship between hereditary monarchy and a society increasingly ambivalent about the institution. To paraphrase Bagehot again, there has been too much ‘daylight’ shone onto the ‘magic’ of the monarchy because we are obsessed with personalities as celebrities.

Having said that I did feel saddened by the passing of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. After the Queen, he was my favourite royal. Anne, Princess Royal, would come next because she is very much like her father in temperament, humour, and character, so unlike her other brothers.

I have met the late Prince Philip when I was serving in the army in a few regimental meet-and-greet situations - which as you may know is pretty normal given that members of the royal family serve as honorary colonel-in-chiefs (patrons in effect) of all the British army regiments and corps.I also saw him at one or two social events such the annual charitable Royal Caledonian Ball (he’s an expert scottish reeler) and the Guards Polo Club where my older brothers played.

I’ll will freely confess that he was the one royal I could come close to identify with because his personal biography resonated with me a great deal.

Let’s be honest, the core Windsor family members, born to privilege, are conditioned and raised to be dull. Perhaps that’s a a tad harsh. I would prefer the term ‘anonymously self-effacing’, just another way of saying ‘for God’s sake don’t draw attention to yourself by saying or doing anything even mildly scandalous or political lest it invites public opprobrium and scrutiny’. The Queen magnificently succeeds in this but the others from Charles down just haven’t (with the exception of Princess Anne).

However, many people forget this obvious fact that it’s the incoming husbands and wives who marry into the Windsor family who are relied upon to bring colour and even liven things up a little. And long before Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle (very briefly), or Lady Diana Spencer, were the stars of ‘The Firm’- a phrase first coined by King George VI, Queen Elizabeth II's father who ruled from 1936 to 1952, who was thought to have wryly said, "British royals are 'not a family, we're a firm,” - it was Prince Philip who really livened things up and made the greater impact on the monarchy than any of them in the long term.

Prince Philip’s passing belied the truth of a far more complex individual: a destitute and penniless refugee Greek-Danish prince with a heart breaking backstory that could have been penned by any 19th Century novelist, and also eagle eyed reformer who tried to drag the royal family into the 20th century. At the core of the man - lost scion of a lost European royal dynasty, a courageous war veteran, and Queen’s consort - were values in which he attempted to transform and yet maintain much older inherited traditions and attitudes. Due to his great longevity, Philip’s life came to span a period of social change that is almost unprecedented, and almost no one in history viewed such a transformation from the front row.

Prince Philip would seem to represent in an acute form the best of the values of that era, which in many ways jar with today’s. He had fought with great courage in the war as a dashing young naval officer; he was regularly rude to foreigners, which was obviously a bonus to all Brits. He liked to ride and sail and shoot things. He was unsentimental almost to a comic degree, which felt reassuring at a time when a new-found emotional incontinence made many feel uncomfortable. Outrageous to some but endearing to others, he was the sort of man you’d want to go for a pint with, perhaps the ultimate compliment that an Englishman can pay to another Englishman. This has its own delicious irony as he wasn’t really an Englishman.

There are 4 takeways I would suggest in my appraisal of Prince Philip that stand out for me. So let me go through each one.

1. Prince Philip’s Internationalism

It may seem odd for me to say that Prince Philip wasn’t English but he wasn’t an Englishman in any real sense. He was a wretch of the world - stateless, homeless, and penniless. That the Prince of Nowhere became the British Monarchy’s figurehead was more than fitting for a great age of migration and transition in which the Royal Family survived and even flourished. That he was able to transform himself into the quintessential Englishman is testimony not just to his personal determination but also to the powerful cultural pull of Britishness.

He was born on a kitchen table in Corfu in June 1921. A year later in 1922, Philip, as the the great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria and nephew of Constantine I of Greece, was forced to flee with his family after the abdication of Constantine. He grew up outside Paris speaking French; ethnically he was mostly German although he considered himself Danish, his family originating from the Schleswig border region. He was in effect, despite his demeanour of Royal Navy officer briskness, a citizen of nowhere in an age of movement. From a very young age he was a stateless person, nationally homeless. Indeed, Philip was an outsider in a way that even Meghan Markle could never be; at his wedding in 1947, his three surviving sisters and two brothers-in-law were not permitted to attend because they were literally Britain’s enemies, having fought for the Germans. A third brother-in-law had even been in the SS, working directly for Himmler, but had been killed in the conflict.

Even his religion was slightly exotic. He was Greek Orthodox until he converted to Anglicanism on marrying Elizabeth - what with his wife due to become supreme head of the Church and everything - but his ties with eastern Christianity remained. His great-aunts Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine and Tsarina Alexandra are both martyrs of the Russian Orthodox Church, having been murdered by the Bolsheviks; Philip’s mother went on to become an Orthodox nun and a “Righteous Among the Nations” for saving a Jewish family during the Nazi occupation of Greece, spending much of her time in squalid poverty.

His parents were part of the largely German extended aristocracy who ruled almost all of Europe before it all came crashing down in 1918. When he died, aged 99, it marked a near-century in which all the great ideological struggles had been and gone; he had been born before the Soviet Union but outlived the Cold War, the War on Terror and - almost - Covid-19.

The world that Philip was born into was a far more violent and dangerous place than ours. In the year he was born, Irish rebels were still fighting Black and Tans; over the course of 12 months the Spanish and Japanese prime ministers were assassinated, there was a coup in Portugal and race riots in the United States. Germany was rocked by violence from the far-Left and far-Right, while in Italy a brutal new political movement, the Fascists, secured 30 seats in parliament, led by a trashy journalist called Benito Mussolini.

The worst violence, however, took place in Greece and Turkey. Following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, what remained of Turkey was marked for permanent enfeeblement by the Allies. But much to everyone’s surprise the country’s force were roused by the brilliant officer Mustafa Kemal, who led the Turks to victory. Constantinople was lost to Christendom for good and thousands of years of Hellenic culture was put to the flames in Smyrna.

The Greek royal family, north German imports shipped in during the 19th century, bore much of the popular anger for this disaster. King Constantine fled to Italy, and his brother Andrew was arrested and only escaped execution through the intervention of his relative Britain’s George V. Andrew’s wife Alice, their four daughters and infant son Philip fled to France, completely impoverished but with the one possession that ensures that aristocrats are never truly poor: connections.

Philip had a traumatic childhood. He was forged by the turmoil of his first decade and then moulded by his schooling. His early years were spent wandering, as his place of birth ejected him, his family disintegrated and he moved from country to country, none of them ever his own. When he was just a year old, he and his family were scooped up by a British destroyer from his home on the Greek island of Corfu after his father had been condemned to death. They were deposited in Italy. One of Philip's first international journeys was spent crawling around on the floor of the train from an Italian port city, "the grubby child on the desolate train pulling out of the Brindisi night," as his older sister Sophia later described it.

In Paris, he lived in a house borrowed from a relative; but it was not destined to become a home. In just one year, while he was at boarding school in Britain, the mental health of his mother, Princess Alice, deteriorated and she went into an asylum; his father, Prince Andrew, went off to Monte Carlo to live with his mistress. "I don't think anybody thinks I had a father," he once said. Andrew would die during the war. Philip went to Monte Carlo to pick up his father's possessions after the Germans had been driven from France; there was almost nothing left, just a couple of clothes brushes and some cuff-links.

Philip’s four sisters were all much older, and were soon all married to German aristocrats (the youngest would soon die in an aeroplane crash, along with her husband and children). His sisters became ever more embroiled in the German regime. In Scotland going to Gordonstoun boarding school, Philip went the opposite direction, becoming ever more British. Following the death of his sister Cecilie in a plane crash in 1937, the gulf widened. As the clouds of conflict gathered, the family simply disintegrated. With a flash of the flinty stoicism that many would later interpret, with no little justification, as self-reliance to the point of dispassion, the prince explained: “It’s simply what happened. The family broke up… I just had to get on with it. You do. One does.”

In the space of 10 years he had gone from a prince of Greece to a wandering, homeless, and virtually penniless boy with no-one to care for him. He got through it by making a joke of everything, and by being practical.

By the time he went to Gordonstoun, a private boarding school on the north coast of Scotland, Philip was tough, independent and able to fend for himself; he'd had to be. Gordonstoun would channel those traits into the school's distinct philosophy of community service, teamwork, responsibility and respect for the individual. And it sparked one of the great passions of Philip's life - his love of the sea. It was Gordonstoun that nurtured that love through the maturation of his character.

Philip adored the school as much as his son Charles would despise it. Not just because the stress it put on physical as well as mental excellence - he was a great sportsman. But because of its ethos, laid down by its founder Kurt Hahn, a Jewish exile from Nazi Germany.

Hahn first met Philip as a boy in Nazi Germany. Through a connection via one of his sister’s husbands, Philip, the poor, lonely boy was first sent off to a new school - in Nazi Germany. Which was as fun as can be imagined. Schloss Salem had been co-founded by stern educator called Kurt Hahn, a tough, discipline-obsessed conservative nationalist who saw civilisation in inexorable decline. But by this stage Hahn, persecuted for being Jewish in Nazi Germany, had fled to Britain, and Philip did not spend long at the school either, where pressure from the authorities was already making things difficult for the teachers. Philip laughed at the Nazis at first, because their salute was the same gesture the boys at his previous school had to make when they wanted to go to the toilet, but within a year he was back in England, a refugee once again.

Philip happily attended Hahn’s new school, Gordonstoun, which the strict disciplinarian had set up in the Scottish Highlands. Inspired by Ancient Sparta, the boys (and then later girls) had to run around barefoot and endure cold showers, even in winter, the whole aim of which was to drive away the inevitable civilisational decay Hahn saw all around him. To 21st century ears it sounds like hell on earth, yet Philip enjoyed it, illustrating just what a totally alien world he came from.

That ethos became a significant, perhaps the significant, part of the way that Philip believed life should be lived. It shines through the speeches he gave later in his life. "The essence of freedom," he would say in Ghana in 1958, "is discipline and self-control." The comforts of the post-war era, he told the British Schools Exploring Society a year earlier, may be important "but it is much more important that the human spirit should not be stifled by easy living". And two years before that, he spoke to the boys of Ipswich School of the moral as well as material imperatives of life, with the "importance of the individual" as the "guiding principle of our society".

It was at Gordonstoun one of the great contradictions of Philip's fascinating life was born. The importance of the individual was what in Kurt Hahn's eyes differentiated Britain and liberal democracies from the kind of totalitarian dictatorship that he had fled. Philip put that centrality of the individual, and individual agency - the ability we have as humans to make our own moral and ethical decisions - at the heart of his philosophy.

At Dartmouth Naval College in 1939, the two great passions of his life would collide. He had learned to sail at Gordonstoun; he would learn to lead at Dartmouth. And his driving desire to achieve, and to win, would shine through. Despite entering the college far later than most other cadets, he would graduate top of his class in 1940. In further training at Portsmouth, he gained the top grade in four out of five sections of the exam. He became one of the youngest first lieutenants in the Royal Navy.

The navy ran deep in his family. His maternal grandfather had been the First Sea Lord, the commander of the Royal Navy; his uncle, "Dickie" Mountbatten, had command of a destroyer while Philip was in training. In war, he showed not only bravery but guile. It was his natural milieu. "Prince Philip", wrote Gordonstoun headmaster Kurt Hahn admiringly, "will make his mark in any profession where he will have to prove himself in a trial of strength".

2. Prince Philip and the modernisation of the monarchy

In his own words, the process of defining what it meant to be a royal consort was one of “trial and error.” Speaking with BBC One’s Fiona Bruce in 2011, Philip explained, “There was no precedent. If I asked somebody, 'What do you expect me to do?' they all looked blank. They had no bloody idea, nobody had much idea.” So he forged for himself a role as a moderniser of the monarchy.

He could not have had much idea back in 1939. Back then in Dartmouth in 1939, as war became ever more certain, the navy was his destiny. He had fallen in love with the sea itself. "It is an extraordinary master or mistress," he would say later, "it has such extraordinary moods." But a rival to the sea would come.

When King George VI toured Dartmouth Naval College, accompanied by Philip's uncle, he brought with him his daughter, Princess Elizabeth. Philip was asked to look after her. He showed off to her, vaulting the nets of the tennis court in the grounds of the college. He was confident, outgoing, strikingly handsome, of royal blood if without a throne. She was beautiful, a little sheltered, a little serious, and very smitten by Philip.

Did he know then that this was a collision of two great passions? That he could not have the sea and the beautiful young woman? For a time after their wedding in 1948, he did have both. As young newlyweds in Malta, he had what he so prized - command of a ship - and they had two idyllic years together. But the illness and then early death of King George VI brought it all to an end.

He knew what it meant, the moment he was told. Up in a lodge in Kenya, touring Africa, with Princess Elizabeth in place of the King, Philip was told first of the monarch's death in February 1952. He looked, said his equerry Mike Parker, "as if a ton of bricks had fallen on him". For some time he sat, slumped in a chair, a newspaper covering his head and chest. His princess had become the Queen. His world had changed irrevocably.

While the late Princess Diana was later to famously claim that there were “three people” in her marriage - herself, Prince Charles and Camilla - there were at least 55 million in Philip and Elizabeth’s. As Elizabeth dedicated her life to her people at Westminster Abbey at the Coronation on June 2, 1953, it sparked something of an existential crisis in Philip. Many people even after his death have never really understood this pivotal moment in Philip’s life. All his dreams of being a naval officer and a life at sea as well as being the primary provider and partner in his marriage were now sacrificed on the altar of duty and love.

With his career was now over, and he was now destined to become the spare part. Philip, very reasonably, asked that his future children and indeed his family be known by his name, Mountbatten. In effect he was asking to change the royal family’s name from the House of Windsor to the House of Mountbatten. But when Prime Minister Winston Churchill got wind of it as well as the more politically agile courtiers behind the Queen, a prolonged battle of wits ensued, and it was one Philip ultimately lost. It was only in 1957 that he accepted the title of “Prince.”

Even though he had almost lost everything dear to him and his role now undefined, he didn’t throw himself a pity party. He just got on with it. Philip tried to forge his own distinct role as second fiddle to the woman who had come to represent Great Britain. He designated himself the First Officer of the Good Ship Windsor. He set about dusting off some of the cobwebs off the throne and letting some daylight unto the workings of the monarchy by advocating reasonable amount of modernisation of the monarchy.

He had ideas about modernising the royal family that might be called “improving optics” today. But in his heart of hearts he didn’t want the monarchy to become a stuffy museum piece. He envisaged a less stuffy and more popular monarchy, relevant to the lives of ordinary people. Progress was always going to be incremental as he had sturdy opposition from the old guard who wanted to keep everything as it was, but nevertheless his stubborn energy resulted in significant changes.

When a commission chaired by Prince Philip proposed broadcasting the 1953 investiture ceremony that formally named Elizabeth II as queen on live television, Prime Minister Winston Churchill reacted with outright horror, declaring, “It would be unfitting that the whole ceremony should be presented as if it were a theatrical performance.” Though the queen had initially voiced similar concerns, she eventually came around to the idea, allowing the broadcast of all but one segment of the coronation. Ultimately, according to the BBC, more than 20 million people tuned in to the televised ceremony - a credit to the foresight of Philip.

Elizabeth’s coronation marked a watershed moment for a monarchy that has, historically, been very hands off, old-fashioned and slightly invisible. Over the following years, the royals continued to embrace television as a way of connecting with the British people: In 1957, the queen delivered her annual Christmas address during a live broadcast. Again, this was Philip’s doing when he cajoled the Queen to televise her message live. He even helped her in how to use the teleprompter to get over her nerves and be herself on screen.

Four years later, in 1961, Philip became the first family member to sit for a television interview. It is hard for us to imagine now but back then it was huge. For many it was a significant step in modernising the monarchy.

Though not everything went to plan. Toward the end of the decade, the Windsors even invited cameras into their home. A 1969 BBC fly-on-the-wall documentary, instigated by Philip to show life behind the scenes, turned into an unmitigated disaster: “The Windsors” revealed the royals to be a fairly normal, if very rich, British upper-class family who liked barbecues, ice cream, watching television and bickering. The mystery of royalty took a hit below the waterline from their own torpedo, a self-inflicted wound from which they took a long time to recover. Shown once, the documentary was never aired again. But it had an irreversible effect, and not just by revealing the royals to be ordinary. By allowing the cameras in, Philip opened the lid to the prying eyes of the paparazzi who could legitimately argue that since the Royals themselves had sanctioned exposure, anything went. From then on, minor members of the House of Windsor were picked off by the press, like helpless tethered animals on a hunting safari.

Prince Philip also took steps to reorganise and renovate the royal estates in Sandringham and Balmoral such as intercoms, modern dish washers, generally sought to make the royal household and the monarchy less stuffy, not to have so much formality everywhere.

Philip helped modernised the monarchy in other ways to acknowledge that the monarchy could be responsive to changes in society. It was Prince Philip - much to the chagrin of the haughty Princess Margaret and other stuffy old courtiers - who persuaded the Queen to host informal lunches and garden parties designed to engage a broader swath of the British public. Conversely, Prince Philip heartily encouraged the Queen (she was all for it apparently but was still finding her feet as a new monarch) to end the traditional practice of presenting debutantes from aristocratic backgrounds at court in 1952. For Philip and others it felt antiquated and out of touch with society. I know in speaking to my grandmother and others in her generation the decision was received with disbelief at how this foreign penniless upstart could come and stomp on the dreams of mothers left to clutch their pearls at the prospect there would be no shop window for their daughter to attract a suitable gentleman for marriage. One of my great aunts was over the moon happy that she never would have to go through what she saw as a very silly ceremony because she preferred her muddy wellies to high heels.

A former senior member of the royal household, who spent several years working as one of Prince Philip’s aides, and an old family friend, once told us around a family dinner table that the Duke of Edinburgh was undoubtedly given a sense of permanence by his marriage into the Royal Family that was missing from earlier years. But the royal aide would hastily add that Prince Philip, of course, would never see it that way.

Prince Philip’s attitude was to never brood on things or seek excuses. And he did indeed get on with the job in his own way - there should be no doubt that when it came to building and strengthening the Royal Family it was a partnership of equals with the Queen. Indeed contrary to Netflix’s hugely popular series ‘The Crown’ and its depiction of the royal marriage with Philip’s resentment at playing second fiddle, the prince recognised that his “first duty was to serve the Queen in the best way I could,” as he told ITV in 2011. Though this role was somewhat ill-suited to his dynamic, driven, and outspoken temperament, Philip performed it with utter devotion.

3. Prince Philip’s legacy

One could argue rightly that modernising the monarchy was his lasting legacy achievement. But he also tried to modernise a spent and exhausted Britain as it emerged from a ruinous war. When peace came, and with it eventual economic recovery, Philip would throw himself into the construction of a better Britain, urging the country to adopt scientific methods, embracing the ideas of industrial design, planning, education and training. A decade before Harold Wilson talked of the "white heat of the technological revolution", Philip was urging modernity on the nation in speeches and interviews. He was on top of his reading of the latest scientific breakthroughs and well read in break out innovations.

This interest in modernisation was only matched by his love for nature. As the country and the world became richer and consumed ever more, Philip warned of the impact on the environment, well before it was even vaguely fashionable. As president of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in the UK for more than 20 years from 1961, he was one of the first high-profile advocates of the cause of conservation and biological diversity at a time when it was considered the preserve of an eccentric few.

For a generation of school children in Britain and the Commonwealth though, his most lasting legacy and achievement will be the Duke of Edinburgh Awards (DofE). He set up the Duke of Edinburgh award, a scheme aimed at getting young people out into nature in search of adventure or be of service to their communities. It was a scheme that could match the legacy of Baden Powell’s scouts movement.

When Prince Philip first outlined his idea of a scheme to harness the values of his education at Gordonstoun by bringing character-building outdoor pursuits to the many rather than the fee-paying few, he received short shrift from the government of the day. The then minister of education, Sir David Eccles responded to the Duke’s proposal by saying: “I hear you’re trying to invent something like the Hitler Youth.” Undeterred he pushed on until it came to fruition.

I’m so glad that he did. I remember how proud I was for getting my DofE Awards while I was at boarding school. With the support of great mentors I managed to achieve my goals: collecting second-hand English books for a literacy programme for orphaned street children in Delhi, India with a close Indian school friend and her family; and completing a 350 mile hike following St. Olav’s Pilgrimmage Trail from Selånger, on the east coast of Sweden, and ending at Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, on the west coast of Norway.

It continues to be an enduring legacy. Since its launch in 1956, the Duke of Edinburgh awards have been bestowed upon some 2.5 million youngsters in Britain and some eight million worldwide. For a man who once referred to himself as a “Greek princeling of no consequence”, his pioneering tutelage of these two organisations (alongside some 778 other organisations of which he was either president or a patron) would be sufficient legacy for most.

4. Prince Philip’s character

It may surprise some but what I liked most about Prince Philip was the very thing that helped him achieve so much and leave a lasting legacy: his character.

It is unhelpful to the caricature of Prince Philip as an unwavering but pugnacious consort whose chief talent was a dizzying facility in off-colour one-liners that he was widely read and probably the cleverest member of his family.

His private library at Windsor consists of 11,000 tomes, among them 200 volumes of poetry. He was a fan of Jung, TS Eliot, Shakespeare and the cookery writer Elizabeth David. As well as a lifelong fascination with science, technology and sport, he spoke fairly fluent French, painted and wrote a well received book on birds. It’s maddening to think how many underestimated his genuine intellect and how cultured he was behind the crusty exterior.

He didn’t have an entourage to fawn around him. He was the first to own a computer at Buckingham Palace. He answered his own phone and wrote and responded to his own correspondence. By force of character he fought the old guard courtiers at every turn to modernise the monarchy against their stubborn resistance.

Prince Philip was never given to self-analysis or reflection on the past. Various television interviewers tried without success to coerce him in to commenting on his legacy.But once when his guard was down he asked on the occasion of his 90th birthday what he was more proud of, he replied with characteristic bluntness: “I couldn’t care less. Who cares what I think about it, I mean it’s ridiculous.”

All of which neatly raises the profound aversion to fuss and the proclivity for tetchiness often expressed in withering put-downs that, for better or worse, will be the reflex memory for many of the Duke of Edinburgh. If character is a two edged sword so what of his gaffes?

There is no doubt his cult status partly owed to his so-called legendary gaffes, of which there are enough to fill a book (indeed there is a book). But he was no racist. None of the Commonwealth people or foreign heads of state ever said this about him. Only leftist republicans with too much Twitter time on their hands screamed such a ridiculous accusation. They’re just overly sensitive snowflakes and being devoid of any humour they’re easily triggered.

There was the time that Philip accepted a gift from a local in Kenya, telling her she was a kind woman, and then adding: “You are a woman, aren’t you?” Or the occasion he remarked “You managed not to get eaten, then?” to a student trekking in Papua New Guinea. Then there was his World Wildlife Fund speech in 1986, when he said: “If it has got four legs and it is not a chair, if it has got two wings and it flies but is not an aeroplane, and if it swims and it is not a submarine, the Cantonese will eat it.” Well, he wasn’t wrong.

Philip quickly developed a reputation for what he once defined, to the General Dental Council, as “dentopedology – the science of opening your mouth and putting your foot in it”. Clearly he could laugh at himself as he often did as an ice breaker to put others at ease.

His remarking to the president of Nigeria, who was wearing national dress, “You look like you’re ready for bed”, or advising British students in China not to stay too long or they would end up with “slitty eyes”, is probably best written off as ill-judged humour. Telling a photographer to “just take the fucking picture” or declaring “this thing open, whatever it is”, were expressions of exasperation or weariness with which anyone might sympathise.

Above all, he was also capable of genuine if earthy wit, saying of his horse-loving daughter Princess Anne: “If it doesn’t fart or eat hay she isn’t interested.” Many people might have thought it but few dared say it. If Prince Philip’s famous gaffes provoked as much amusement as anger, it was precisely because they seem to give voice to the bewilderment and pent-up frustrations with which many people viewed the ever-changing modern world.

A former royal protection officer recounts how while on night duty guarding a visiting Queen and consort, he engaged in conversation with colleagues on a passing patrol. It was 2am and the officer had understood the royal couple to be staying elsewhere in the building until a window above his head was abruptly slammed open and an irate Prince Philip stuck his head out of the window to shout: “Would you fuck off!” Without another word, he then shut the window.

The Duke at least recognised from an early age that he was possessed of an abruptness that could all too easily cross the line from the refreshingly salty to crass effrontery.

One of his most perceptive biographers, Philip Eade, recounted how at the age of 21 the prince wrote a letter to a relation whose son had recently been killed in combat. He wrote: “I know you will never think much of me. I am rude and unmannerly and I say things out of turn which I realise afterwards must have hurt someone. Then I am filled with remorse and I try to put matters right.”

In the case of the royal protection officer, the Duke turned up in the room used by the police officers when off duty and said: “Terribly sorry about last night, wasn’t quite feeling myself.”

Aides have also ventured to explain away some of their employer’s more outlandish remarks - from asking Cayman islanders “You are descended from pirates aren’t you?” to enquiring of a female fashion writer if she was wearing mink knickers - as the price of his instinctive desire to prick the pomposity of his presence with a quip to put others at ease.

Indeed many people forget that his ‘gaffes’ were more typical of the clubbish humour of the British officer class – which of course would be less appreciated, sometimes even offensive, to other ears. It’s why he could relate so well to veterans who enjoyed his bonhomie company immensely.

But behind the irascibility, some have argued there also lay a darker nature, unpleasantly distilled in his flinty attitude to his eldest son. One anecdote tells of how, in the aftermath of the murder of the Duke’s uncle and surrogate father, Lord Mountbatten, Philip lectured his son, who was also extremely fond of his “honorary grandfather”, that he was not to succumb to self-pity. Charles left the room in tears and when his father was asked why he had spoken to his son with so little compassion, the Duke replied: “Because if there’s any crying to be done I want it to happen within this house, in front of his family, not in public. He must be toughened up, right now.”

But here I would say that Prince Philip’s intentions were almost always sincere and in no way cruel. He has always tried to protect his family - even from their own worst selves or from those outside the family ‘firm’ who may not have their best interest at heart.

In 1937, a 16-year-old Prince Philip had walked behind his elder sister Cecile’s coffin after she was killed in a plane crash while heavily pregnant. The remains of newly-born infant found in the wreckage suggested the aircraft had perished as the pilot sought to make an emergency landing in fog as the mother entered childbirth. It was an excruciating taste of tragedy which would one day manifest itself in a very princely form of kindness that was deep down that defined Philip’s character.

When about 60 years later Prime Minister Tony Blair’s spin doctors in Downing Street tried to strong arm the Queen and the royal household over the the arrangements for the late Prince Diana’s funeral, it was Philip who stepped in front to protect his family. The Prime Minister and his media savvy spin doctors wanted the two young princes, William and Harry, to walk behind the coffin.

The infamous exchange was on the phone during a conference call between London and Balmoral, and the emotional Philip was reportedly backed by the Queen. The call was witnessed by Anji Hunter, who worked for Mr Blair. She said how surprised she was to hear Prince Philip’s emotion. ‘It’s about the boys,” he cried, “They’ve lost their mother”. Hunter thought to herself, “My God, there’s a bit of suffering going on up there”.’

Sky TV political commentator Adam Boulton (Anji Hunter’s husband) would write in his book Tony’s Ten Years: ‘The Queen relished the moment when Philip bellowed over the speakerphone from Balmoral, “Fuck off. We are talking about two boys who have just lost their mother”. Boulton goes on to say that Philip: ‘…was trying to remind everyone that human feelings were involved. No 10 were trying to help the Royals present things in the best way, but may have seemed insensitive.’

In the end the politicians almost didn’t get their way. Prince Philip stepped in to counsel his grandson, Prince William, after he had expressed a reluctance to follow his mother’s coffin after her death in Paris. Philip told the grieving child: “If you don’t walk, I think you’ll regret it later. If I walk, will you walk with me?”

It’s no wonder he was sought as a counsellor by other senior royals and especially close to his grandchildren, for whom he was a firm favourite. His relationship with Harry was said to have become strained, however, following the younger Prince’s decision to reject his royal inheritance for a life away from the public eye in America with his new American wife, Meghan Markle. For Prince Philip I am quite sure it went against all the elder Prince had lived his life by - self-sacrifice for the greater cause of royalty.

This is the key to Philip’s character and in understanding the man. The ingrained habits of a lifetime of duty and service in one form or another were never far away.

In conclusion then....

After more time passes I am sure historians will make a richer reassessment of Prince Philip’s life and legacy. Because Prince Philip was an extraordinary man who lived an extraordinary life; a life intimately connected with the sweeping changes of our turbulent 20th Century, a life of fascinating contrast and contradiction, of service and some degree of solitude. A complex, clever, eternally restless man that not even the suffocating protocols of royalty and tradition could bind him.

Although he fully accepted the limitations of public royal service, he did not see this as any reason for passive self-abnegation, but actively, if ironically, identified with his potentially undignified role. It is this bold and humorous embrace of fated restriction which many now find irksome: one is no longer supposed to mix public performance with private self-expression in quite this manner.

Yet such a mix is authentically Socratic: the proof that the doing of one’s duty can also be the way of self-fulfilment. The Duke’s sacrifice of career to romance and ceremonial office is all the more impressive for his not hiding some annoyance. The combination of his restless temperament and his deeply felt devotion to duty found fruitful expression; for instance, in the work of Saint George’s House Windsor - a centre and retreat that he created with Revd. Robin Woods - in exploring religious faith, philosophy, and contemporary issues.

Above all he developed a way to be male that was both traditional and modern. He served one woman with chivalric devotion as his main task in life while fulfilling his public engagements in a bold and active spirit. He eventually embraced the opportunity to read and contemplate more. And yet, he remained loyal to the imperatives of his mentor Kurt Hahn in seeking to combine imagination with action and religious devotion with practical involvement.

Prince Philip took more pride in the roles he had accidentally inherited than in the personal gifts which he was never able fully to develop. He put companionship before self-realisation and acceptance of a sacred symbolic destiny before the mere influencing of events. In all these respects he implicitly rebuked our prevailing meritocracy which over-values officially accredited attainment, and our prevailing narcissism which valorises the assertion of discrete identities.

Prince Philip was Britain’s longest-serving consort. He was steadfast, duty driven, and a necessary adjunct to the continuity and stability of the Queen and the monarchy. Of all the institutions that have lost the faith of the British public in this period - the Church, Parliament, the media, the police - the Monarchy itself has surprisingly done better than most at surviving, curiously well-adapted to a period of societal change and moral anarchy. The House of Hanover and later Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (changed to Windsor), since their arrival in this country in 1714, have been noted above all for their ability to adapt. And just as they survived the Victorian age by transforming themselves into the bourgeoise, domestic ideal, so they have survived the new Elizabethan era (Harry-Meghan saga is just a passing blip like the Edward-Wallis Simpson saga of the 1930s).

There was once a time when the Royal’s German blood was a punchline for crude and xenophobic satirists. Now it is the royals who are deeply British while the country itself is increasingly cosmopolitan and globalised. British society has seen a greater demographic change than the preceding four or five thousand years combined, the second Elizabethan age has been characterised more than anything by a transformational movement of people. Prince Philip, the Greek-born, Danish-German persecuted and destitute wanderer who came to become one of the Greatest Britons of the past century, perhaps epitomised that era better than anyone else. And he got through it by making a joke of everything, and by being practical.

I hope I don’t exaggerate when I say that in our troubled times over identity, and our place and purpose in the world, we need to heed his selfless example more than ever.

As Heraclitus wisely said, Ήθος ανθρώπω δαίμων (Character is destiny.)

RIP Prince Philip. You were my prince. God damn you, I miss you already.

Thanks for your question.

#question #ask #prince philip #duke of edinburgh #queen elizabeth II #the queen of spades #monarchy #britain #british #royalty #politics #history #culture #europe #crown #icon #great briton #society

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celticcrossanon · 2 years

Note

Hello Celta,

Thanks for your reading on the BBC. Very interesting and it ties into a lot of what various psychics and others have said around the web about this matter. I’ve tried to combine what I’ve come across into the basic four points below. But anons feel free to add other issues I’ve missed.

1. The power brokers behind H&M essentially want the power the BRF currently commands. Not necessarily the money, as most of these guys are billionaires, far richer than monarch. They are more interested in the power. And dismantling the monarchy would create an ideal opportunity for them to grab that power. With the impending demise of HTMQ, they see this as the perfect opportunity to discredit her heirs and take everything apart. IMO what they have failed to realize or acknowledge is the utter stupidity and incompetence, and naked greed of their protégés. These past three years have riled people up against the horrid duo and for the monarchy, as they’ve seen this monarch unfairly and unjustly attacked after welcoming the viper into their midst. People on the ground are angry and won’t stand for it. What it makes clear is that this isn’t the 1990s and she’s no frigging Diana. And Harry is the most dimmest bulb on the Christmas tree. But the duo seem to be operating in a 1990s mindset. Technology and media have marched on, and any strategy that may have worked back then won’t work now in 2020s (god I feel old typing that).

2. Lady C said this Amol chap has the Russian Evgeny Lebedev as his former boss at The Independent who fits the bill as one of those shady billionaires as described above. There may be others on the same board as well, plus others lurking about in the shadows. Don’t forget the Chinese as well. Word is that they are behind the movement to make Barbados independent of the commonwealth. They offered a shit ton of money for them to kick start the movement. Word is they are interested in other commonwealth countries as well. But these players are motivated and monied up. It’s only natural that various commonwealth countries will seek to remove themselves over Charles, and then William’s reign, it’s expected. But IMO there’s nothing natural about these attempts at power grabs in this move, it’s like adding fuel to fire.

3. The BBC has associates in Pile 2 and some interest in Plié 1 (above). Lady C mentioned they played a role in bringing down two monarchies already. Word is Amol wanted first dibs to interview Harry for his traitorous ‘autobiography’, and this was his way of buttering up H&M, soft soaping them into consenting to the interview, to make his name a la Martin Bashir. As smart as he thinks he is, he probably did not read the BBC charter and he’s not good at reading the room. Very very bad traits as a professional journalist. Failure to read the fine print and to judge the mood of the people can be fatal. As I mentioned earlier, people are riled up, and not in the way he thinks they are. Thank god for that. There is a 4 or 6 part podcast he made that went along with the supposed documentary, that has been put on hold and will now be released as a ‘box set’, again what is this the 1990s?? Lol. I look forward to the combustion of his career.

4. There are actors behind the scenes working on behalf of the monarchy, fighting back against these groups. It seems to me it took some time to figure out exactly whose involved where, and how to coordinate the defence. But I think there’s now a a big picture view of things so they can now effectively take counter measures. Harrymeghan blog had some scuttle butt that there were some inter governmental agencies meeting with Jason Knauf and his lawyer this week or last. So there are more eyes on this now, and it’s not just family gossip at this point. Charles has lawyered out against the racist claim, and William has lawyered up against the BBC. And should the duo bring more claims, they’ll be further lawyering up. Lol. I guess the days of never complain never explain are truly over. Definitely not the 1990s anymore. Harry must be pooping in his diaper. Poor ittle tyke.

As you can see it’s a coordinated attack, but for the flaws of the duo it would have worked. Sorry for the long post. :)

Hi Anonymous Retired,

Thank you for all that information. I appreciate it very much. I am going to leave this here for people to read and form their own opinions.

As much as I like the 'never complain, never explain" policy, there are times when it opens the BRF up to hurtful behaviour from others, so I am kind of glad to see that they will take action on certain things.

While I have you here - I want to apologise again for misnaming you as 'aran' in your last submit. I must have had a mind slip or a blank moment when I typed that greeting. I am very sorry for reply using another person's name, and I am going to be very careful not to do so in the future.

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venomous-ko · 3 years

Text

Wine Drunk while watching Godzilla vs Kong

Some major spoilers up ahead!

Mans really just annoyed the shit out of his coworker until he left so he could hack shit, huh?...I love it! 🤣🤣

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You mean to tell me that the explanation for why Godzilla attacked the one tech company site by the dude who studied Kaiju communication and behavior for a living is just, “sometimes people (and creatures) change”???? Like some dumbass justifying a toxic person/relationship??? Like excuse me???? Why are the literal teenagers making more sense than you?????

Also, we’re all in agreement that this facility is either housing Ghidora’s dead head, Mecha Godzilla, or Mecha Ghidora, right?!?

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Lol! “Apex Cybernetics!” That’s not foreshadowing! 🤣

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Apparently, I didn’t get my fill of white nonsense from Falcon and Winter Soldier, bc someone decided to put this blonde-hair-blue-eyed little bitch in charge! That’s not ganna go wrong somehow. 🙃😑👀

Like this bitch literally wanted to send a fucking child into unexplored hollow earth territory without a second thought! 🙃🙃🙃🙃 I was literally like 🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕 for that entire convo.

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I’m sorry! This conspiracy man just met these teenagers, and his first impulse was, “yeah, theses seem like some good people to break into a tech conglomerate with!” 🤣🤣🤣🤣

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Why are these people surprised Kong knows sign language? These are people who study Kaiju (and presumably other animals in order to draw conclusions about certain behaviors) for a fucking living!!! We have primate species that recognize and communicate in sign language already! Why is this surprising???!?! Like...has NO ONE except this precious child tried this????

Also, nothing bad better happen to this child.

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That ship literally fucked around, and Godzilla let it find out! Lmao!

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Kong: Hey, Godzilla...look at me...

Godzilla: >:[

Kong: ...bitch.

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Precious girl: Thank you, friend 🧏🏽‍♀️

Kong: ☺️😴

THIS GIRL IS TOO PRECIOUS!!!!

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Bitch-ass White Man: How’s Kong with heights?

BITCH, you really ganna try that?!?! You really think you ganna find any aircraft(s) that are ganna be able to support all that weight?? Never mind any other problems with Kong trying to nope the fuck out of that situation and all kind of other hosts of problems!

And if you do somehow have one (or multiple) WHY TF DIDN’T YOU USE THAT BEFORE KNOWING FULL AND WELL YOU RAN THE RISK OF GODZILLA MERCING KONG’S ASS IF YOU TRAVELED VIA SHIP!?!?!?!

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Down the Hell Naw tunnel we go!

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“I think it’s romantic,”

I fucking love Millie Bobbie Brown’s character!! 🤣❤️🤣

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WHY IS THIS TEENAGER SMARTER THAN EVERYBODY OMG!!!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

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“This is page one in the ‘Playing God’ handbook, right?”

I’ve decided I love this character! 🤣

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WHY YOU GETTING INSIDE THAT THING—Oh god! 😨 Why y’all got eggs!?!? This is like if Weyland-Yutani succeeded in getting Xenomorphs! 😬

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Oop! Locked in! THIS IS WHY YOU DON’T HIDE OUT IN MYSTERIOUS ROOMS!!!!

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Oh shit! Apex Cybernetics think they on that Wakanda shit now!

Also, why was that one Apex Cybernetics bitch bitching about how one of those HEAV crafts could power Vagas for a week if y’all clearly have a whole network or transportation using this tech!

And I never understood how tech companies kept that shit to world domination shit! Build a public transportation system with that shit! Boss man said he likes ideas that make him rich! Pretty sure that would do the trick!

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WINE BREAK!!!

Saving the rest of the last bottle for coking Gumbo, so gotta open up a new bottle

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Aw, Kong is so sick of this bullshit! 😂😭

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“It’s not working”

Bruh! Give it more that two seconds!

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HOW DARE Y’ALL USE KONG’S LOSS AGAINST HIM!!!! HOW DARE Y’ALL!!!

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HEAV go Brrrrrrr Shoooooooooooom!!!!

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LMAO!!! Monarch has their own brand of bottled water!?!?! Idk why that amuses me so much!

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This hallow earth portal thing is some Pacific Rim bullshit right here, lol!

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NYOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMM

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Are we...are we really Ice Age: Dawn of Dinosaur-ing this shit rn??? 😂😂😂

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“It’s beautiful,”

Of course it’s beautiful! No hoomins have touched it! Lol

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Y’ALL GOT FUCKIN DRAGONS IN THIS BITCH!?!?!?!!! 8D YO!!! SIGN ME THE FUCK UP!!!!

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*marvels at the creature creation ideas*

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Kong’s first thought: *nom the dragon guts*

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THE ROCK HAND OMG IM GANNA CRY!!! 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 It’s the same gesture the Precious Girl did OMG!!!!

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“We going in?”

“Yeah”

The BALLS on this child!

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“AAAAHH 😐”

*fear*

LMAO!!!!! I’M FUCKIN WHEEZING!!!

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“Sacrifice Pit”

OMG 🤣🤣🤣

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I KNEW IT!!!! MECHA-GODZILLA MOTHERFUCKER!!!!!!!! 8DDDDD

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YO PACIFIC RIM RAN SO MECHA-GODZILLA COULD FUCKIN SPRINT!!!!!!!!

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YO IT’S A GOOD THING I AIN’T SEEING THIS IN THEATERS BC I’D BE FLIPPING MY SHIT!!!!

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“Humanity, once again, will be the apex species,”

THERE it is!

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Why Mecha-Godzilla so skeeny?!? He need ta be thicc if he ganna take down REAL Godzilla!

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*Ryan Bergera conspiracy voice* Is this the real reason Kong was contained!? So this douche could snatch up Skull Crawlers without Kong intervention???

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OH SHIT!!! I think this thing is emitting alpha waves (or whatever we’re calling it) and THAT’s what set Godzilla off!!! He fought Ghidorah, heard this shit and went, “Nu-uh, bitch! NOT AGAIN!!!”

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Monarch dude: Yo, Godzilla’s headed to Hong Kong for some reason?

FUCKIN CALLED IT!!!

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This look like the door to fuckin General Grievous’s lair,da fuq?!? 🤣🤣🤣

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I got waaay too emotional over that handprint, y’all! 😭😭😭

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Y’all, the fucking art history major in me is fuckin screaming at this temple scene! The fact that some of these Kaiju not only had the urge and drive and capacity to build a fucking temple around this power source or some shit and create weapons like the axe that Kong just fucking Excalibured the shit out of that one skull crawler’s skull fucking implies the fact that there is intelligent civilization amongst these fucking Kaiju and all that shit! I want to know more about this shit! Take that you fucking racist-ass white historian motherfuckers!

(Note: I definitely needed to use talk to text for much of this bit, because there was no way I was going to be able to contain all my excitement in just typing, alone, lmao)

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BRUH!!! Why y’all exiting g the HEAV without no breathing apparatus or lead suits or nothing!?!?! In previous movies, y’all implied that these Kaiju lived in environments in which their environments were hella radioactive compared to our own!!!

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Kong is s the true heir to the iron throne, Lmao!

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FUCKING CALLED IT!!!! THEY HAD GHIDORA’S REMAINS IN THERE SOMEWHERE!!!!

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OH FUCK!!!! Y’ALL AINT JUST SENDING OUT ALPHA VIBES WITH YOUR MECHA-GODZILLA!!!! YOU SOMEHOW USING GHIDORA’S HIVE MIND OR TELEPATHY SHIT TO DO IT!?!?!?! AAAWWWWW SHEEEEEET!!! Y’ALL ARE BONED NOW!!!! FUCKIN BONEROWNED!!!!

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Godzilla! My bruh! My dude! You didn’t HAVE TO get up right where that bridge was!!! 😂😂 Ya douche bag!!!

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At the same time, tho, I can just hear him going, “Ah! FUCK! NOT AGAIN!!! Sunova bitch!! Motherfuckin!! STOP BUILDING sHIT SO DAMN HIGH!!! Goddammit!”

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You know, with all the Bright twinkly lights in Hong Kong, I can’t help but think of the sequel to the original Gojira movie ( that I can’t remember the title of ,rn) where he was fucking triggered by fucking lights. And I wonder if this little scene where he’s stomping all through Hong Kong is a tribute to that or whatever. But I’m probably overthinking it.

[Sober Edit: it was Godzilla Raids Again]

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*GASP* HOLY SIHIIIT!!! The axe is made out of Godzilla skute!?!?! GOLY BALLS THAT’S NOT ONLY COOL BUT CONTRIBUTES MORE TO THE FACT THAT THESE KAIJU (likely Kong’s species, in particular) WERE REALLY FUCKING INTELLIGENT AMD TJOUGHT, “Imma beat this muthafucka with their own spiky thing! Bc that’s what screws us over, so, why WOULD’nt it hurt them!?!” I need SO MUCH MORE of this Kaiju/Kong culture studied and shit! HOLY FUCK!!!

It even fucking glows!! Like ... they managed to fucking piece together that its glow was a fucking warning sign like Sting or some shit!!!! Holy fuck!!!!

Also, how does that work? How are the skutes still connected even after dismemberment???

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NO FUCKIN WAY WRE YOU—AAAAAAAAHHH!!! Excalibur that shit my boi!!!!

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I FUCKIN LOVE YHIS MOVIE HOLY SHIT!!!

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“ that’s Apex property now,”

Excuse me bitch! Are we really not gonna listen to the scientist who saying “hey we don’t understand the shit out of this fucking power! Maybe we should hold off on taking some fucking samples!”

Are we really just gonna ignore that shit???????

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Kong said: TRY ME BITCH!!!!

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Oh thank the GODS this Serizawa dude is taking precautions like his old man! Also, what is his relation to Ken Watanabe’s Serizawa!?!?!

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UH OH!! SOLDIER DUDES GETTIN ATE!!!

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OH SHIT!!! PILOT JUST GOT ATE!!! FUCKIN DRAGON BASEMENT UP IN THIS SHIT!!!

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BITCH YOU REALLY GON THROW A ROCK AT IT!!! FUCKIN NONSENSE OF THIS BITCH!!!

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LOVE AND FITE ME ENERGY IS STORED IN THE ATOMIC BREATH

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“Shoot him!”

WHY!!!???!! He literally had NO problem with you before then!!!

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Why does white man who don’t know anything about this vehicle suddenly know how to pilot this shit!???!?!!!!!

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Y’all love had SO MUCH wine!

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The FUCK this dude got a flip flop phone for!!!?!????!!!?

Da fuq!?!?! 🤣🤣🤣🤣 yeah that’s the most unrealistic part of this entire fucking movie! Not the fuckin Kaiju robots. Not the fucking hollow earth bullshit! The fucking flip phone! LMFAO!!!!

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“Maintenance! I’M MAINTENANCE!!! This bitch ain’t buying it”

That made me laugh WAY FUCKIN harder that it should have!!!!

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Y’all really ganna try to shoot at a kid!?! REALLY!?!?!??!

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GAWD, I’m so glad I impulse bought these oatmeal bites from Dominos! 🤤😋

[Sober Edit: I have no idea how my autocorrect managed to convert “Parmesan” to “oatmeal,” but okay! 😆😅]

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Kong be like, “Hey, bitch!!! You lookin’ for me!?!?”

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Find you a partner that bites your neck like Godzilla does! Lmao!

Sorry, I’ll be crawling back into my hell hole, now.

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EAT YOUR FOOKIN VEGETABLES GODZILLA!!!!!

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Did Godzilla just axe throw with his fuckin teefs!!!????!?!?!

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THIS IS THE FOOKIN MONSTER VS MONSTER FIGHTS IVE BEEN CRAVING SINCE KING OF THE MONSTERS HOLY SHIT!!!!

——————————————

“Really? Groupies, again?”

First of all, again!?! What happened last time???

Secondly, where tf are YOUR grpupies, asshole! No need to judge! Ya cunt!

——————————————

“There can only be one alpha,”

Really! You really gotta bring your toxic masculinity into a fuckin monster fight, my dude!?!

——————————————

Kong said, “Yeet! YEET SELF!!!”

——————————————

I am living for the feral fight scenes!!!!

——————————————

Kong’s expression , tho! 🤣🤣🤣

Like, “Can you ducking NOT, Godzilla?!? Can you, like, fucking chill??!!? Aight, fine! ASDASHKLSDJKLDZJL ADKLKDZDJ!!!!!!”

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Awwwww! Godzilla let Kong go, bc he knows what it’s like to be the last of his species! 🥺🥺🥺🥺😭😭😭😭

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“This is how we [...] win!”

Oh, honey, you ‘bout to die! Lmao! 😂

——————————————

Oh god! I knew he was going to use the sign for “coward” at the most inappropriate time! Lmao! At least the Precious Girls is smart enough to know what Dumbass White Man means, lol

——————————————

Oh, thank god we do t see this dumbass in any sequels!

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Dammit, he escaped!

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This girl is too good!

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Did y’all really think you were ganna break into a semi-sentient Mecha-Godzilla by GUESSING ITS FUCKING PASSWORD!!?!?!?!!!!???? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

——————————————

YEAH!!!! TEAM-UP COMING THROUGH!!!!!

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“I was hoping to die with adults, but that’s okay,”

🤣🤣🤣

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“I’VE GOT TO DIE WITB YOU AND SOBER!!?!?!”

GOD, I love this movie!!!!

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OOOOOOHHHH HOLY SHIT!!!!! 😱😱😱😱😱 He powering up the axe!!!!!

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YOOOOOO KONG WENT PREDATOR/YOUTJA ON MECHA-GODZILLA’s ASS!!!!

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Kong said, “I’m done, y’all! Imma take a nap!”

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“Dad. Uh...Bernie.”

I fucking love Bernie!!! 😂😂😂😂

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JIA NOOOO!!! Don’t go running between two disgruntled Kaiju bby!!

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Yo, why do monsters have less toxic masculinity than we do??? Lol!

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Yaaaaaay! Kong has a new home!!

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WELP!!! I fucking loved this movie, and I highly recommend it to everyone!!!

#SPOILERS #Godzilla #godzilla vs kong #King Kong #kaijuverse #my posts #my drunk ass #godzilla vs kong spoilers

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ecoamerica · 2 months

Text

youtube

Watch the American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 now: https://youtu.be/bWiW4Rp8vF0?feature=shared

The American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 broadcast recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by active climate leaders. Watch to find out which finalist received the $50,000 grand prize! Hosted by Vanessa Hauc and featuring Bill McKibben and Katharine Hayhoe!

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jyndor · 3 years

Text

okay so because anons CONTINUE to harass poc and minors who ship zutara and are saying that zukka is inherently less problematic because it has a more equal power balance, now we gotta have this conversation.

there has always been a weird sexist hostility towards women and girls in the atla fandom - it's not surprising that this mostly impacts zutara fans since A) we tend to be women and girls, B) we were a little older on average than kataang fans back in the day (like mid to late teens versus younger kids and early teens), and C) the creators exhibited thinly veiled hostility to fan girls (mostly minors which... eurgh) and told us that we’d never be able to have healthy relationships.

I think zukka was probably not as popular then as it is now, so at the time the main harassment came from kataang shippers and non-shippers. and while I have seen some serious misogyny from all corners, I do think that some slash shippers find girls/women, in particular girls/women of color, hard to relate to (and it’s weird given how so many slash shippers are women and girls). I also know that zukka is so popular and a lot of the content seems... kinda like zutara tbh. just like, applied to sokka. I’m not saying it’s a bad ship or that it doesn’t have its own unique qualities, but I think the fandom has picked up some of the usual talking points that people used to bully zutara shippers and then added in an extra pop of misogyny.

so like, one of these anons said something to a minor poc that was like, “zukka is more equal in terms of the power balance, and zutara is so imbalanced so it’s more racist.” okay like I reject the idea that because people have once been enemies (especially as children) they must be problematic because they have powers and have fought in the past. but also IDK who watches the show and doesn’t realize that katara is a prodigy and probably the strongest bender besides aang. she sweeps the floor with zuko after very little formal training and manages to outsmart and beat azula. if we’re talking about raw power, zuko should be the one put at a disadvantage, not katara.

if we’re talking about POLITICAL POWER being imbalanced, that IS true. katara’s people have been marginalized by fire nation imperialism - zuko’s family. but katara is the chief’s daughter - that adds to the weight of zuko and azula calling her a peasant. because to them, anyone who is not fire nation, and likely not of their class or family, is a peasant. is beneath them. zuko starts to unlearn this when he has like five minutes of interaction with people who are not like him, azula never does. by the time zuko and katara get together for most of fandom, zuko has done about as much work as a monarch can do to make amends for their nation’s atrocities - defected to the rebels, ended the war, made reparations, worked with colonists and former colonies to come to a solution, etc. katara is the one who beats azula, she is the one who saves zuko’s life after the agni kai - and she is tantamount to a princess of her tribe. the only power imbalance is that zuko is fire lord, but then I guess he can’t be in a relationship with anyone besides aang, but aang is more powerful than he is so??? what the fuck.

(it’s almost like context matters; if zuko never redeemed himself, if he captured katara and abused her, then... okay yeah that’s fucked up. it draws on that p*cahontas trope, which undoubtedly is racist and colonialist bullshit. but that is not what most fandom likes at this point).

of course, sokka is a non-bender and therefore automatically at a greater disadvantage (even if he is a genius strategist and swordsman). he is the son of the chief of his tribe. but he still belongs to the tribe that the fire nation subjugated. but what... he’s a boy so it’s okay? I would argue it is okay regardless, and that saying katara being a girl puts her at a disadvantage is gross and sexist.

honestly this is not one of those things where indigenous people everywhere are outraged and nasty racist white people are ignoring them. this is like three people on twitter who have valid opinions and are offended by zutara, and they are well within their rights to be offended by something that triggers some trauma for them, but to say that they are right and speak for the whole community is not only wrong, it is essentialist garbage.

but when (imo white - i can tell because of the entitlement and rage, it’s very apparent to me) fans start acting up, regurgitating bullshit they heard that just confirms their own biases as a means of defending their anger at seeing poc and minors supporting something they don’t like, I’m gonna call bullshit on their anti-racist messaging. they don’t care - if they actually cared about imperialism, they would get educated and back up their shitty arguments.

and quite frankly women slash shippers have a history of internalized misogyny and fetishizing mlm over mlm’s objections, so I just think it’s all very suspect. I’m not giving a pass to the other fans who harass zutara shippers, you all suck too, but I wanted to address this fucking ridiculous narrative that has been gaining traction lately.

you are not doing anti-racist activism by harassing poc minors for shipping two characters of color. because as several white adult fans like myself have said a number of times now, we really aren’t getting the same level of harassment and... that is very, very telling.

#zutara #zutara fandom #atla #petty fandom drama #fandom racism

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st-just · 3 years

Note

Most to least cringe: Hamilton, Lafayette Kerensky Nick II Louis XVI Charles X Madero Maximilian of Mexico Hoover Wilson Laurier

CRINGE

Charles X – A wannabe absolute monarch who only had the throne because his brother was put back in Paris by foreign bayonets, ‘learning nothing and remembering everything’ from the Revolution (or whatever the line is), trying and failing to reinstate the ancien regime and getting his ass thrown out in French Revolution 2. Not too much to say here. Gets more even less credit than all the other overthrown monarchs because he literally lived through the first Revolution and actually didn’t learn a thing.

Maximilian of Mexico - on the one hand, an incredibly sympathetic guy for the role he played. But also, like, 'mail-order royal bought by the cringier Napoleon to install as the head of a puppet regime in Mexico, burnt conservative support by not being enough of a racist asshole, got shot by victorious rebels". Less an agent of history and just a container of the bluest possible blood getting thrown hither and yon by other forces.

Nicky II - to be clear, a much worse person that Maximillion. Also, still incredibly cringe. Up there with Charles II is single-handedly ensuring the overthrow of his own dynasty. A micromnaging workaholic who was terrible at everything he tried. Also the whole Rasputin thing.

Louis XVI – Gets more credit than all the other ‘literally handed absolute power on a platter and promptly fucked it up on a world-historical scale until shot’ kings because he admittedly had a much tougher job in keeping things together than the others, who all might as well have been trying to get murdered by their subjects. But, like, still.

Kerensky - Mostly ahead of Nicky because it is inherently more based to connive and scheme your way to power than get it handed to you because of who your daddy was. Regardless 'pick advisers to form an impenetrable bubble, refuse to acknowledge anything's going wrong, piss away every bit of legitimacy you have until when the revolution comes no one's even willing to fight for you", extremely cringe. Also the whole Kornilov affair was both a kind of pathetic farce in the doing and an incredible self-own strategically.

Madero – Like Kerensky but more bumbling and less of an asshole about it. On the other hand, died a martyr instead of being universally despised, so that puts him ahead.

Laurier – look he’s not one of the 3 prime ministers we spent any time on in school and I have never been possessed by an urge to research late 19th century Canadian political history on my own time. Just gonna assume cringe but less so then the guys who got revolutioned

Hoover: Based up until the exact moment he became President, at which point he became incredibly cringe and never stopped. Like the whole stopping a post-WW1 famine in Belgium thing is legitimately very impressive. Being so bad at politics and not-having-depressions that ‘Hoovervilles’ are named after you, extremelly cringe.

Lafayette: Okay provisional judgement - I've got a biography ofthe guy I really need to get around to reading. But like - running away from home to join a foreign war is obviously based. Being incredibly obvious about viewing Washington as a surrogate father is cringe. Being one of the only people to constantly rub the founding fathers' faces in the slavery thing is at least slightly based. Being an early leader of the French Revolution is very based. Sucking at politics and ending up freezing in an Austrian prison for years is cringe. Becoming a leader of the republican opposition through the Restoration years is based. Publicly endorsing the House of Orleans to legitimize them before the Parisian mob is incredibly cringe. A man of contrasts, clearly.

Hamilton: Look he got the musical about him because he does actually have some real main character energy, I'm sorry! Like if entire hometown putting together tuition for you to go the big city and get an education, and then you never so much as glance their way again, that's a dick move but it is kind of based. Also war hero stuff etc. The whole Reynolds pamphlet thing is incredibly cringe, but getting killed in a duel with a political rival after you spiked their chances at the Presidency makes up for it imo.

Wilson: I'm not sure he should get credit it for it, really. But 'the president's wife and chief of staff weekend-at-bernie's him to keep running the country after he has a stroke, and afterwards the constitution is amended so no one can ever do the same thing again" is incredibly based. Also getting re-elected on staying out WW1 and then instantly starting on justifying joining the war once reelected.

BASED

#reply #anon #ask meme #history #in this essay i will

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this-is-an-open-letter · 3 years

Note

Did you watch the Meghan and Harry interview with Oprah? What are your thoughts? I have so many thoughts and am so glad that they got out of there when they did!!

I sure did!

I am so sad for them and so incredibly disgusted by the Monarch and the Firm’s treatment of Meghan all because of the colour of her skin.

There were so many telling and disturbing things said; the fact that the media and the Crown are basically in each others pockets-was so troubling. As long as the Royal’s give the media access the media will maintain positive stories. And with that knowledge the Firm still refused for 2 years to kill any story about Meghan that they knew wasn’t true.

I am unclear on where the Queen starts and the Firm ends, how she couldn’t just step in and put a stop to this all. But from what I gathered the Firm is the Monarch and Queen is just the figure head for the people, she really has no power at all that not even she could stop her grandchild from losing his protection and that she didn’t have enough power to allow Meghan and Harry step down from being Senior Members, the only solution being they had to leave everything behind if they wanted their family to be safe.

Prince Charles continues to be a spineless bag of trash. I have zero sympathy for that snake. He spent the entirety of his marriage to Diana having an adulterous affair with Camilla and putting Diana through hell just with that knowledge that she wasn’t enough for him. And then when she was able to find her footing and her voice, doing her duty, the hate parade started all while he got to continuing fucking his side piece while his wife was being destroyed in the media. And then he has the gal to stop talking to his son? The same son who lost his mother because the media was so obsessed with her to the point that it got her killed? Fuck that guy.

Diana was slut shammed and mommy shammed for finally moving on from Charles after they filled for divorce while Charles continued to have protection from his mother and his title. Charles and William are cut from that same pathetic spineless cloth and I have zero sympathy for either of them.

Harry kept talking about his father and brother being ‘trapped’ and certainly they are, but there was an opportunity when Meghan joined the family to bridge that hateful racist gap that the Monarch has carried for centuries and all of them bawked at the opportunity. William is a classic case of stands for nothing, falls for everything. William has always had responsibilities that Harry was never given or wasn’t ever expected to take on, but when he wanted his brother to stand up for him and his family he didn’t. I don’t know how one comes away from that with any respect for the other.

Much of this will be also be about Meghan’s plea for help that went ignored. That Piece of Shit Garbage Human Piers Morgan was the first one to already dismiss Meghan’s suicidal thoughts as not true and unimportant, which is far more damaging than his pea brain will ever understand. But I think its the shattering of some glass that people need to see. They full refused to help her because of how it would be perceived by the public after they were the ones who pushed her to that edge. I dont know how anyone watching that interview when Meghan told Harry he couldn’t leave her alone because she didn’t know what she would do [to herself] had she been left by herself. There’s thousands of people who watched that and knew the exact feeling she expressed. Its heartbreaking.

Harry telling Oprah that they can afford security for their son because of the money his mother left him and that she knew this was all coming. That’s devastating. I think the biggest drop the mic moment for me was Harry saying that he was disappointed that his family hasn’t learned anything from the past. And my god if that isn’t the truth I dont know what is. The media’s obsession killed Diana. Literally followed her into a tunnel at break neck speeds and the rest is history that is in the process of repeating itself because image and racism continues to outweigh any and everything.

#meghan and harry #you can blacklist this too #(the tag)

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hms-chill · 4 years

Text

RWRB Study Guide, Chapter 8

Hi y’all! I’m going through Casey McQuiston’s Red, White & Royal Blue and defining/explaining references! Feel free to follow along, or block the tag #rwrbStudyGuide if you’re not interested!

James I (203): James I/VI (First of England, Sixth of Scotland) is known for both translating the Bible and being just... so, so incredibly gay. The book mentions that he promoted a dumb jock to gentleman of the bedchamber, but it leaves out that 13-year-old James would just make out with dudes in public, and that the dumb jock (George Villers) was James’s third serious adult relationship. His friends introduced him to George because his last boyfriend was bad for the kingdom.

George Eliot (205): Mary Anne Evans wrote under the pen name George Eliot to escape the stereotype that women could only write romances. She wrote seven novels, of which Middlemarch is the most famous, known for their realism and psychological insight.

Daniel Defoe (205): A pioneer of the English novel, Defoe wrote Robinson Crusoe as well as a series of divisive political pamphlets and tracts.

Jonathan Swift (205): Irish political writer most famous for A Modest Proposal, a satirical piece that suggests cannibalism of infants as a more humane response to the British treatment of Ireland than letting them grow to starve in adulthood.

Dickens... “woman who languishes away in a crumbling mansion wearing her wedding gown” (205): Charles Dickens wrote stories concerned with the lower classes. This quote in particular refers to Miss Havisham from Great Expectations, who was left at the altar and refused to take off her wedding dress or even put away the food set out for the wedding.

Sense and Sensibility (205): This is probably Austen’s second most popular novel (after Pride and Prejudice); it follows the four Dashwood women in their move to a new home following the death of Mr. Dashwood. Like most of Austen’s novels, the opinionated narrator follows the women through a series of romantic mishaps, culminating in a happy ending.

Green American Money (206): Fun fact, British money is blue and orange and purple and all sorts of fun colors! It also all looks different, because (at least in Scotland) four banks are allowed to print pound notes, so there are four different designs all in circulation.

Sean Hannity (206): A conservative American political commentator.

Harvard rowing (206): Rowing is like... the bougiest of sports.

Pleiad (206): In Greek mythology, the pleiades were the daughters of the titan Atlas who became stars following his entrapment under the earth. They are remembered for their beauty and loyalty. Myths of the missing pleiad explain why only six of the seven stars are visible to the naked eye. According to some sources, the missing pleiad is Merope, who was shamed out of the sky for her relationship with a mortal.

Minute Maid Park (206): The baseball stadium associated with the Houston Astros baseball team; it seats just over 41,000.

Politico (207): An American political opinion news source.

Drop-kick Murphys (208): An American Celtic punk band. (listen here and here)

The Klan (209): The Ku Klux Klan, an incredibly racist organization that has been responsible for the lynching of thousands of people of color.

Kim Nam-June (210): Kim Nam-Joon, known as RM or Rap Monster, is the leader and rapper of the K-pop group BTS.

Milwaukee (211): The largest city in and main cultural center of Wisconsin, which is a “swing state”, meaning that it could go either way politically in a national election.

Seth Meyers (211): An American talk show host and comedian whose creatively titled show, Late Night with Seth Meyers, is liberal-leaning. He hosts celebrities and often chats about politics or the news.

Clear Crystal Quartz (211): Apparently the most “iconic” crystal, it is believed to be able to help with clarity and the achievement of goals.

Wimbledon (213): The oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious.

Royal Box (213): The royal box at Wimbledon is a section of the best seats, reserved for royalty and specially invited celebrity/politically powerful guests.

David Beckham (213): A former professional soccer player and current fashion icon known for being hot and wearing nice suits.

McQueen (214): Alexander McQueen was an openly gay British fashion designer who rose from a lower class background to become one of the most famous designers in the world. Though he died in 2010, his brand continues to be known for unconventional fashion shows and theatrical imagery.

Dashikis (215): A colorful, ornate piece of clothing somewhere between a shirt and a tunic originally from West Africa.

Orangery (218): A very large greenhouse or conservatory designed for growing orange trees.

Woman at her Toilet (218): This painting shows a woman in her bedroom putting on her socks with a little dog next to her; you can see it here.

Baroque bed* (218): Baroque art was designed to show off a monarch’s power; it is incredibly extravagant (Versailles is pretty much the iconic Baroque thing; you can see more about it here).

The Killers (219): An American rock band formed in the early 2000s and known for having donated over $1 million to charity (they did “Mr. Brightside”). (listen here and here). According to McQuinston’s twitter, the song Henry plays is “When You Were Young”, which you can listen to here.

Dred Scott (219): In the 1857 Dred Scott v. Sandford case, the US supreme court ruled that the constitution did not extend to or protect Black folks.

Nina Simone (219): An American singer/songwriter/political activist whose music spanned a variety of genres and whose activism focused largely on the civil rights movement and was largely influenced by her “friend” Lorraine Hansberry, a Black lesbian playwright. (You know Hozier’s “Nina Cried Power”? She’s Nina) (listen here and here)

Otis Redding (219): Considered one of the greatest singers in American pop music and was one of the foundational soul artists in the US. (listen here and here)

Brahms (219): A German composer known for sticking to more classical forms of music while his contemporaries often leaned toward more dramatic or opulent styles. (listen here and here)

Wagner** (219): A German composer who wrote both the music and the librettos for his operas; his works tend to be very complex, and he has been credited with beginning modern music. (listen here and here)

Romantic (219): Artistically, the Romantic movement was a direct response to industrialization that called for a return to and celebration of nature. Queerness was very much a part of this movement, as it was seen as a return to or celebration of one’s natural state (think Byron).

War of the Romantics (219): A music history term used to describe the split between conservative composers like Brahms who wanted to stick with the Baroque, opulent styles of the past century and radical progressive composers like Liszt, who favored newer styles that blended music with narrative and morals.

Liszt (219): A Hungarian composer known for a diverse body of work and his position as the leader of the radical progressive group in the War of the Romantics. (listen here and here)

Alexander Scriabin (219): Russian composer known for his atonal or dissonant music. (listen to the piece Henry mentions here)

Elton John’s “Your Song” (219): A song written before Elton John came out, but with his queerness in mind. In a 2013 interview, John referred to it as “a perfect song”, and that the lyrics (written by Bernie Taupin) got even better as he got older and sang it more. (listen here)

Consecrated (220): made holy.

DNC (221): The Democratic national conference, when members of the Democratic (liberal) party get together to prepare for a presidential race.

College Republicans of Vanderbilt University (221): Vanderbilt University is a private (and therefore more expensive) school in Nashville, Tennessee. Its location in the South and its price tag would both mark it as being more conservative.

Cage match (221): A type of wrestling match that takes place inside a steel cage; the most common way of winning is by escaping the cage, usually by climbing over the top.

Paul Ryan (222): A conservative retired politician and former Speaker of the House.

The Second Amendment (222): The second amendment grants Americans the right to bear arms (have guns).

Salon (222): An American news and opinion website with a politically liberal editorial stance.

Air Force One (222): the president’s plane

“My Canadian girlfriend” (223): A running joke that someone (often a high schooler) whose partner goes to another school or lives somewhere else is made up.

Five Guys (225): Five Guys Burger and Fries is a popular fast food burger chain across the US.

Vampire Weekend (225): An American indie rock band.

The general (226): the general election in November, when Americans would vote for their president

Plainclothes (226): out of uniform

The Beekman (226): A very fancy hotel in Lower Manhattan, near the Brooklyn Bridge.

NATO (233): the North Atlantic Treaty Organization; an intergovernmental military alliance between 29 North American and European countries.

----

*every time I read this, I flinch just a little bit. Baroque architecture is just... so much, and the concept of a Baroque bed when beds/bedrooms are supposed to be simple to help you rest... It’s just so much and I hate it with all of my being. I’m sorry if you like Baroque furniture, but especially for Henry, who dreams of a simple life where he can just write and be anonymous... It’s a big yikes.

** Literally no one asked, but his stuff is just... it’s so boring? Like I’m sure it’s great to fall asleep to or calm down to, but I tried to listen to it while I wrote this and I just couldn’t. Liszt is better, but he’s no Mozart. Also? Mozart wrote BOPS. ONLY. “The Birdcatcher’s Song” slaps and no one can change my mind on that.

----

If there’s anything I missed or that you’d like more on, please let me know! And if you’d like to/are able, please consider buying me a ko-fi? I know not everyone can, and that’s fine, but these things take a lot of time/work and I’d really appreciate it!

—–-

Chapter 1 // Chapter 7 // Chapter 9

#rwrb study guide #English Major Brain™#English Major Brain™️#rwrb #red white and royal blue #rwrb analysis #analysis #red white and royal blue analysis #henry fox mountchristen windsor #henry fox mountchristen windsor x alex claremont diaz #alex claremont diaz #FirstPrince #june claremont diaz #bea fox mountchristen windsor #pez okonjo #nora holleran

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doomedandstoned · 4 years

Text

THIS IS SOUND OF ORIGIN

~By Shawn Gibson~

When last we encountered SOUND OF ORIGIN, the smoked-up and tuned-down quartet from Huddersfield were featured in the landmark compilation, 'Doomed & Stoned in England' (2019), where we dipped our feet "Into The Vile." Since then, Sound of Origin have gifted us with an entire album's worth of material and we've had a blast immersing ourselves in their groovy soundscape of swirling riffs, vicious beats, gritty singing, and some terrific vocal harmonies. Our resident sludgehead Shawn Gibsonheavy set out to get to know these guys better, speaking to drummer Chris 'Foz' Foster following their latest APF Records release, 'The All Seeing Eye' (2020). [Billy Goate]

Chris, how the hell are you? Thank you for your time!

Hey, Shawn. All good and absolutely no bother at all, thank you for reaching out and doing the interview. It’s very much appreciated.

Who are the members of Sound Of Origin and what do they do in the band?

There are four of us in the band. Joel (Bulsara) who is our vocalist/ frontman. Joe (Wilczynski) on guitar/backing vocals. Jax (Townend) on bass and myself, Chris (Foster) on drums.

Where is Sound Of Origin from?

We are based out of and rehearse in Huddersfield, UK. I live in a place called Sowerby just outside of Halifax and Joel lives in Leeds, so we both travel across to join up with the other two guys.

What bands do you love from your area?

Wow. That’s a tough one as there are so many. The UK Underground scene is awash with fantastic bands, and many come from around our local area. If we are talking around our immediate area, then there are the likes of Ironrat, Gandalf the Green, and our bros in Son of Boar that immediately spring to mind. But if you look within an hour's drive from where we are, you have the likes of Barbarian Hermit, Spaztik Munkey, Archelon, Boss Keloid, Ten Foot Wizard, Blind Monarch, Hundred Year Old Man, and so many more. All killer bands doing different kinds of heavy.

This is the reply to all who wrote us off: Not Dead Yet.

What venues or bars do you go to see heavy music?

There are a good number within a short travelling distance to us. The Parish in Huddersfield is our local venue. However, our good friends in Iron Boar bookings put killer lineups on in Bradford at venues such as The Underground and Al’s Juke bar. Manchester-wise, Chunk from Stonebaked promotions usually uses The Bread Shed and there is also The Alma in Bolton that puts on some cracking gigs, too.

Which bands got you turned on to doom, psych, and stoner?

From a very young age it’s got to be Black Sabbath, for sure. I can still remember how I felt when I heard them for the very first time as a five-year old, It’s stayed with me all my life. But bands like Type O Negative, Acrimony, Cathedral, Candlemass, Trouble, Weedeater, Paradise Lost, Eyehategod, Reverend Bizarre, Saint Vitus, Monster Magnet, Electric Wizard, My Dying Bride & Anathema have all hit the spot at some point over the years.

The All Seeing Eye by Sound of Origin

Who did the artwork for your new album 'The All Seeing Eye' (2020)?

A friend of Joel’s called Sam McDougall. Such a talented guy and really easy to work with. Our mates over in 4Q Media delivered the overall design for the CD package and it has worked out really well.

I love the slow part of "Warfarin" at about 5:35 minutes in. Slow and on the moon! There's even a part that incites moshing!

The end of "Warfarin" finishes off low & slow for sure. (laughs) We wanted to ensure the first song from our original EP ended with a big riff. As for the faster part, all of us in the band like some faster bands (Joe used to play in a thrash band many moons ago) and we felt like it was a natural fit in the song when we were first putting it together.

Seeds of the Past by Sound of Origin

On your first album, "Seeds Of The Past," "Warfarin," and "Asphalt" are my favorites. Tell me a little about these songs.

"Asphalt" is my personal favourite from the first EP. The way it keeps coming back around, but builds and builds each time and John’s vocal delivery (old singer) did it real justice. It was always great to play both in the studio (volume turned up to 11) and live as we used to get a great reaction from the crowd on that one. The end riff on "Warfarin," where we slowed things down, always was fun to do as we rehearsed it in the studio 'till we got it down to a virtual crawl.

My favorite off your new album, 'The All Seeing Eye' (2020), is "Not Dead Yet." That is how you start an album, goddamnit! Face melted!

It’s a big sound, for sure, when it kicks in. When our old singer left the band, we went through some pretty dark times, and we were written off by many people -- some going as far as to say we were dead as a band and we should just knock it on the head. Enter new vocalist Joel and everything changed for the better. The fact is, as a band, we have never been more alive and well. This is the reply to all who wrote us off. Not dead yet.

At times, it’s been like a budget version of Spinal Tap.

What are some things that inspired your album 'Seeds Of The Past' (2017)?

Joe had been trying to get a solid stoner-doom band together for about 10 years or so. It took a very long time to get a workable, regular platform to flourish, as life generally got in the way of establishing a fully integrated band. Seeds Of The Past is a reflection of some of the music Joe wrote years prior. That said, the title track "Seeds" we came up with in the studio jamming and it just took off from there.

What are some things that inspired the music on 'The All Seeing Eye' (2020)?

The main contributing factors that inspired the music on The All Seeing Eye were more circumstantial than anything. We hunkered down in the studio and started writing material for a new album whilst we were in the process of finding a new front man. With this in mind, we set out on patching the initial framework of songs together and took things from there. It wasn’t until the addition of Joel that we really started to get to grips with the music and what we could achieve with the overall sound on the album.

What has been an awkward moment as a band?

Ha, where should I start? At times, it’s been like a budget version of Spinal Tap. Band-wise, I would say the most awkward time for us all would be the gap between singers. Having an idea of what you want to do moving forward and not being able to do it became frustrating at times. When Joel arrived, it was like a huge breath of fresh air swept through us all. Things came together really quickly and the growing pains we had when we first started out have all but disappeared now.

On 'Seeds Of The Past' (2017) there is a song "Left For Dead." 'The All Seeing Eye' (2020) has a song "Not Dead Yet." Your sophomore album is alive and kicking!

Absolutely. There was a completely fresh take and approach on this album. The arrival of Joel in the band led to a clean sweep of what we had done before. The lads (Joe & Jax) invested completely in new amps and cabs and guitars, and a change of approach came with dropping our tuning further. Whilst a number of the songs from the album had already been written, because of Joel’s vocal range we had another look at them between the four of us and reworked a few things here and there. The four of us now are in a much better place than at any time previously with the band.

"Dim Carcosa" and "Morning Bird" are rippers off 'The All Seeing Eye' (2020)! Talk to me about what's behind these songs.

"Dim Carcosa" references Robert W. Chambers and his fantastic work in The King in Yellow. Dim Carcosa is where horror truly resides and it delves into madness in various forms. This song describes the practical inevitability of mental health issues in today’s society.

"Morning Bird" came about when Jax started playing a bassline in the studio and sparked a song out of the group. Following the general themes of perseverance and will power, this song discusses the ups and downs of self-worth and the way the political landscape recently has given a lot of people the excuse to judge, be racist, and to discriminate on all fronts. As human beings, we are very tribal and like to separate. We don’t realise that we are, in fact, one tribe.

What makes Sounds of Origin laugh?

Each other. There is a two-decade age gap in the band and we are four very different people, but when we get together the laughs are constant. There is a real feel-good vibe in the band now more than ever, which has led to an intense period of songwriting and ideas. Even through this period of uncertainty with the COVID situation. Everyone is contributing now and the songs and ideas are coming together for the next album already.

Chris, it's been a pleasure! Thank you again for your time talking about your new album 'The All Seeing Eye' (2020)! I hope you and your mates in Sound Of Origin are well.

No problems at all. Again thank you guys for the support. Big shout out to APF Records for signing us and giving us a platform to push our music on. Best wishes to you all and we hope you stay safe and well in these strange times.

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#D&S Interviews #Sound Of Origin #Huddersfield #United Kingdom #doom #metal #doom metal #APF Records #music video #Shawn Gibson #Doomed & Stoned

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ingek73 · 4 years

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The British Royal Family, The Media and ‘SussExit’- Part 3

Zanye Linda August 16, 2020 2 Comments

The British Royal Family, The Media and 'SussExit'

We pick up from the end of part 2; the period after Harry and Meghan’s Southern African documentary, and the announcement that the Sussex family will not be spending Christmas 2019 in Sandringham.

Winter 2019

After completing a series of low-key royal engagements, Harry and Meghan quietly took their break from royal duties. There was no mention of when the break started or where they would be spending their downtime. According to the Royal Rota finally this was a chance for William and Kate to get the spotlight. But things didn’t get up to a great start. Prince Andrew had been forced to step back from royal duties following his disastrous interview with BBC Newsnight, in which he attempted to set the record straight about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and clear himself of any wrong doing.

For the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge it was the bread and butter royal engagements; a royal visit for Statesman William to Kuwait, a visit to a hospice for Catherine followed by a joint appearance at the annual Royal Variety show. Kate would however pull out of the Tusk awards at the last minute citing “childcare challenges”, which were resolved fast enough for her to visit one of her patronages the next week. Their most publicised engagement happened in the week leading up to Christmas, when William and Kate appeared alongside Mary Berry on a Christmas Special. This was of course followed by glowing coverage by the UK media, although they did not address the part where Catherine, for reasons known only to her, shrugged off William’s touch in an almost reflexive move, much to the amusement of social media. This prompted a number of questions about the chemistry or lack thereof in the Cambridge union. In response, we were told that according to Mary Berry, who could attest to the deep love the couple had for each other, they were like pigeons who mate for life. So that was settled.

After attending a media briefing at the palace, the Royal Rota informed the public of important news and some “ stunning images” to be released in due course. What followed was a series of still and video images depicting the monarch and her 3 heirs, and referencing the plan for a slimmed down monarchy going forward. That along with the notable absence of the Sussexes from the pictures curated for the Queen’s desk during her Christmas address more than hinted that Harry and Meghan were not included in the plans going forward. On 21 December 2019 about 4 days after the palace briefing Rebecca English, who always seems to have the scoop on all things Cambridge-related, published a story revealing where Harry and Meghan were spending their break in Canada. The revelations forced Harry and Meghan to release a statement via their press team confirming their location, graciously followed by a welcome note from the Prime Minister of Canada.

Daily Fail reports Sussexes are in Canada

Harry and Meghan spend time in Canada

Justin Trudeau welcomes Harry and Meghan

If you were guessing that to deflect attention from the “pigeon issue”, once again the palace was leaking information Harry and Meghan had intended to remain private, you wouldn’t be the only one. The timing was interesting, to say the least. With the media’s tireless efforts to train the spotlight on the Cambridges yielding a lackluster response, it was time to bring out the children – because who does not love to see the royal kiddies? On Christmas morning Prince George and Princess Charlotte would join the royal family procession as they walked to and from Christmas service, much to the delight of traditional royal watchers and the media as they had pictures to splash across their pages.

Early January 2020, Harry and Meghan returned to the UK and their first order of business was to visit Canada House to thank Canadians for their wonderful hospitality during their stay. The engagement was unusual but for Harry and Meghan supporters this was the calm before the storm as it was clear from this engagement that something was brewing. The visit to Canada House was followed by an exclusive report from Dan Wootton at the Sun revealing Harry and Meghan were considering relocating to Canada, something that went on to become a hot topic of discussion on UK TV and radio stations. One notable discussion was between Tom Bradby and Piers Morgan on ITV’s GMB show, amidst a weak attempt by the palace to dismiss the rumours as speculative. In his discussions on GMB, Tom indicated that discussions had been taking place within the palace regarding Harry and Meghan’s future role but revealed he knew very little of their plans as they have kept these discussions close to their chest.

As speculation mounted and the story was gaining international attention, a statement announcing the couple’s decision to step down a Senior Royals was posted on their Instagram account. The palace responded with their own statement stating the discussions were still in early stages and these were very complicated matters. Meanwhile Dan Wootton would go on to brag about getting the exclusive. It soon came to light that Harry and Meghan had been forced to prematurely reveal their plans because of the leaked information to the Sun. Dan and the rest of the UK media, shifted the narrative and accused the couple of not consulting the Queen or any other officials prior to releasing their statement, purposely neglecting to provide the context in which the events unfolded. The aim was to cast Harry and Meghan as ungrateful people who had scorned the monarch.

Dan Wootton breaks story of Harry and Meghan stepping back

Sussexit Dan Wootton

Dan Wotton Sussexit

Basking in the glory of his exclusive, Dan revealed he had obtained this information through a palace insider. In the days that followed, the world media speculated on the reasons behind this decision or how this unprecedented decision would play out. We were inundated with all manner of speculation with all royal reporters and experts firmly planted in the defend William at all cost corner. Even Camilla Tominey took the time to spare a thought for Carole Middleton. The only person who could speak with any authority on Harry and Meghan’s perspective was Tom Bradby, who made a series of revelations.

First of all he acknowledged that Harry and Meghan had no intentions to release their unprecedented statement but once the story appeared in the Sun they were left with no choice but to take control of the narrative. Discussions of the couple’s future had been a matter of palace discussion for a some time including during the time while they were on a break from royal duties. Palace courtiers had requested Harry to put his plans in writing and he initially objected because he was afraid of leaks but eventually he compromised, put his request in writing and as predicted the information leaked.

Prior to releasing the statement, Harry requested a private meeting with the Queen – grandson to grandmother, to explain his plans (and not to negotiate the terms of his exit) however on arrival in the UK, he was blocked from meeting the Queen by palace courtiers, while the media created a public narrative around his planned exit. With the couple’s plans now public, the palace courtiers were forced to address the issue and Harry was able to get his meeting with the Queen in what was called the Sandringham summit. But given the delays in the days leading up to the summit, Meghan returned to Canada and did not participate in any subsequent negotiations with the palace.

The question on everyone’s mind was how did it come to this? Tom Bradby provided what insight he had, sharing that since the wedding, there had been a total breakdown in relationships behind the scenes and according to him “terrible things were said and done” in the build up to the weding. Whereas some in the palace felt the couple were difficult, Harry and Meghan felt most of the family with the exception of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were jealous and most of the time unfriendly. Even the Times, a paper that favours the royal family in tone of coverage touched on the animosity behind the scenes with stories on how William bullied Harry (one that was swiftly denied), the power struggles between the different households and how information constantly leaked.

As the media continued to prosecute this issue, they made sure to find commentators who could say the most negative stuff about Meghan. Of course we could count on the trusty dead-beat father Thomas, to make yet another GMB appearance. Thomas Markle went on to appear in a channel 5 documentary; Thomas Markle: My Story in which he accused Harry and Meghan of cheapening the Royal Family, threatened to continue doing paid interviews and claimed “The Royals owe me”. For what? Your guess is as good as mine. At a time when the Britihs media was confronted by the racist coverage they had subjected Meghan to, her own father a willing participant in the media abuse, unsurprisingly said “the negative coverage of his daughter Meghan is not racism”.

Thomas Markle Sussexit

Sussexit Thomas Markle

Amidst all the hyperbolic coverage and ridiculous accusations of Harry betraying his army friends and colleagues, on 18 January 2020, the Queen via Buckingham palace released a statement that read in part “together we have found a constructive and supportive way forward for my grandson and his family”. In her first public acknowledgement of Meghan’s role in the royal family she recognised the ‘challenges” the couple had experienced and thanked them for all their dedicated work across the country – “am particularly proud of how Meghan has so quickly become a part of the family”, she added. For whatever reason, the family rejected the part-time model that the Sussexes proposed in favor of a clean break, stripping Harry of his military honours in what was seen as a vindictive move. It seems however, that the silver lining is becoming evident.

Spring 2020

Harry and Meghan returned to the UK to complete their royal engagements on what was called the ‘farewell tour’. It was hard to imagine that just two years ago, Harry had traveled across the UK introducing Meghan to what was supposed to be her new country. The farewell tour was a success and the pictures were beamed across the world. For the couple there were moments of sadness that it had come to this, but as Harry had earlier said in first speech following discussions with the Queen, their departure was the only option.

Shortly after returning to Canada, and as the world was responding to the Corona virus pandemic, the couple would quietly relocate to Meghan’s hometown of Los Angeles to begin their new life as non-working royals, still committed to service. Since then, the couple notified the editors of UK tabloids of their no corroboration/zero engagement policy, except when necessary through the couple’s lawyers. Security is being privately funded by the couple. Also, the couple are now paying rent for their Frogmore residence and even offered to refund the cost of renovation. In spite of all the severed financial ties, the media is yet to find a way to stop investigating and reporting about the Sussexes. It has always been about economics, rather than principle, and their product was hate.

The big question for many is what next? All we know so far is the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are taking their time shaping the work they intend to carry out under their charitable vehicle, Archwell. They continue to support their existing patronages from across the pond while seeing the ongoing legal proceedings through. At a time when charities supported by royals are struggling with some downsizing or reducing the scope of their programs, we witnessed organisations close to Harry and Meghan’s heart come together to lend their support to communities in need. At the time of writing this, they have backed the #StopHate4Profit campaign, a group of six organisations including the Anti-Defamation League, The National Association for the Advanceme of Colored People (NAACP), Sleeping Giants and Color of Change which are calling on Facebook advertisers to halt their spending on the social media platform to protest the platform’s irresponsible propagation of hate speech, racism and misleading voter information, a move that the President and CEO of NAACP, Derrick Johnson described as “Leadership that meets the moment”.

Though the British media want everyone believe Harry and Meghan are no longer relevant, they continue to dedicate space to discussing them. As for the House of Windsor they are unashamedly trying to fill the gap left by Harry and Meghan – from declaring Sophie as the next Meghan, Camilla now doing voice overs and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge imitating everything Harry and Meghan did, things that were considered “not royal” or the famous “breach of protocol” including hiring their former staff. Suddenly what was not the done thing, is now the bread and butter. Whether it is the lack self-awareness or shameless imitation, some of these Windsors look quite pathetic. It makes you wonder what they had their knickers in a knot for, if they were just going to copy the innovators who have now exited the building?

Now, we have repeated stories of “Harry is welcome back”, “The monarchy can only survive under Charles’ reign with both his sons”. Talk about a pyrrhic victory. They have earned it and deserve it.

Part 3! clips in the article linked below.

(I had not yet seen Kate’s shrug.... thats Melania esque)

#meghan markle #prince harry #duchess of sussex #duke of sussex #duke and duchess of sussex #meghanpedia #brf #royals #british royal family #tocix tabloids

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finding-the-daylight · 4 years

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Today has been a very stressful day, so guess wtf time it is? Drunk Breaking Dawn Pt. 1. Here is what I soberly remember of the movie (I have not watched it since BD2 came out):

1. There’s a wedding.

2. There’s a honeymoon.

3. There’s swimming in the ocean.

4. There’s an accidental pregnancy.

5. The baby almost kills Bella.

6. The canon incident that we all hate happens.

7. The Volturi evilly laugh.

Same as Eclipse, my drunken narration of the movie will be below the break.

A brief intro statement, I was 100% sober and just beginning to drink at the beginning of the Eclipse post and progressively got more drunk. For BD1, I’m throwing back before I even start watching this shit show.

- I love the effects of the intro. it’s very calming. THe putting away childish things quote is literally a Bible verse. I hate that Stpehen appropriated Quileute culture, Christian culture, and every culture. I know she’s mormon but sitll. THis shit feels real appropriated.

- Idk why rennee is all happy. she never gave a shit before.

- OMG ALICE TEHCING BELLA TO WALK IN HEELS IS THE CUTEST ICRY.

- carlisle carryign the bench is literally the hottest hting i’ve ever seen fck

- lowkey kinda creeprd out because she’s literally sacrificing her humanity to marry this deud she’s known for like a year but everyone other than jacob is super supportive

- damn she’s looking @ this dreamcatcher and it’s making me sad but tbh that shit probably caused half her nightmares because she’s not native so sleep paralysis (if you know you know).

- DAMN EDWAD RELALY JUST ADMITTED HE’S BEEN A VIRGING FOR OVER 100 YEARS WHAT AB RAVE MAN WE STAN

- BUT FOR REAL WHY IS NO ONE FREAKING TF OUT THAT SHE’S LITERALLY BEGGING TO DIE FOR THIUS DUE?

- he just todl her hes killed people and explained it and it didn’t work she’s still down to clown with this vapire emo boi

- HOW HE’S SMILTING @ HR WTF I AM SO ALONEEEE

- i just wama ne im loved amd ne loved in retun plz

- this dream sequence is awful also fck the volturi is til hate that they never overthrew that crabbyass monarchy bullshit they were powerful enough

- i just wanna be like rosalie when i greow up

- charlie knew shit was off when he saw those crapsk

- why the HELL is renen actin liks she cares? bitch go the fuck back home

- jessica is the only one with any damn common sense in this whole series talking about they’re too fucking young for this shitt bitch true and itm akes sene now why she was the valedictioajrn

- SLEEPING AT LAST IS THT GROUP IDK IF YALL HAVE HEARD ANY OF HTEIR OTHER STUFF BUT THEY’RE AMAIZNG AND I USED TO CRY MYSELF TO SLEEP # THAT SHIT

- damn id’ be fuckign panicking too your lfie is over hoe

- stpeheen sto pwiht your racist ass smiling its offensive

- CHARLIE FUCKING DEWEVRE BETTER SOMEONE LOVE HIM PLEASR

- this wedding is gorgoeus though i live for hte fuckj g aestiec

- OH MY GORD THE PROM SONGGGGGGGG FCK ME RIGHT IN THE EMO

- IT JUST HIT ME WHN THEY WRE LOOKI @ EACH OTHERS EYES THIS BTCH REALLY MARYING AN UNDRSF VAMPIRE HOE this shit is horryighn why was i not scare?

- carlisle is the love of y life

- sth is a lil ray of sunishen

- i just reaized howd fucked it is that sue and chalrie are starng to catch feelz ut sue knows his daughter is funckugn off with a unded vamp emo iboi

- OMG I FCUKING HATE STEPHENE RACIST ASS I LEGIT MADE AP OST EARLIER SYAING LAURENT WANTED TO DO THE RIGHT THING ANDWOUVLEBE BEND A VEGETATIAN BITCH AND IRENEA CONFIRMED FCK THIS SHIT IM OUT ANG ANGRY

- charlie is gget ing drunk as hell my spiritn animel

- jesica is smart and beautiful she needs t os stop being jealous and petty know ya wotht girlie you got itl

- I SWEAR WHEN IGET MARRIED OSMEDAY IF ANYONE GIVES A SPEECH LIKE THIS I WILL PERSONALLY DRAGT HER ASS OUT.

- edwar lves her so much fck im all alone\

- how haoph hacob is when they hig i hate canonn they were best friends fc,

- jacob stay the fck outta her sex life she;s been wanting this for ad dman year fkc steohe let them jsut befriend

- steh is so swert but e is a chidl fck the is reacist plot bulshit

- CHARLIE DESEVRD BETTR FCK THIS PLOT FOR REAL I HAE CANON

- bela looks os ad she knows it’s goodbye but edward’s family is all smiling because they have her now hwat fthe ckc

- jac0bs cryng my heart brke

- i love bineg dunk

- the scene isn rio is my faorite isn any of the movies eveyrhting looks warm and happy

- this bich can drive ab oat too damn he can just fod evryhin cant he

- CARLISLE BOUGHT A WHOEL DAMN ISALND FOR HIS WIFE AND I CANT ECVE GET A TEXT BACK?

- deis this honeymon scene make anuone else unconmfy becuae same

- marying a vampire would be horrying af but also hot af and good af becuase htye oculd love so much and protect you from everythign fck 1-/10 woukd efeel safe

- bwll gaving a panic attakc ism e anyt tinme i try talking to an attractive man

- slepeign at last fckign ti up agin bit ch theis m yshit

- when he said it was the best night i cred

- tstoehe added the chess game like this shit is a hoje but i would love to play chess on my honemodn idk how uut i want a man to each me but not mansplin

- WHY THE FUCJ AR THEY SO CTE ON THIS AMN HONEYMOON?

- i know i sadn it was horryig but i want a hotass vamp emo boi husband plas

- damn jacob is being too emo she aint really gonan be ded for ever youll see her agianb itch

- ‘CULLENS ARE NOT A DNAGER TO THE TOWN OR TRUBE” BITCH IB EG TO FUCKIN DIFFER THIS SHIT BIOLOGICAL WARDARE RACIST ASS STPEHEN WRITING THIS FUCKING BULLTSIT

- ‘NONE OF THEM BELONG TO THEMSEVLES ANYGMROE” - SOMEONE SAID IT BITCH THSI SHIT IS FUCKRE IP

- i fucking hates these vamp racist bitches but i want a nonracist va,p husband bitch thus hot afck

- how tf does she not know shes rpegr yet eatin this weid ass shit?

- THESE FKERS BEEN AROUND FOR CENTURIES TLAKING BOU IDK IF ITS VEEN POSSIBEL BTICH YU SHOULD FUCKUGN KNO BY NOW

- ROVERT SPOEAKIN G PORTGUEVE IS SO KING ATRACTIV

- poor bella her life chaned so uqick and she[s soc scared fck dcnaon

- POOR CHARLIE I HATE THIS HE DESERVES TO BE LOVED AND TURTH TOLD

- ROSALEI IS THE EST

- “YOU LOOK TERRBLE’ THIS IS THE FRIENDHSOP WE WANT WHYT THE FCK DOES FOPSTHE RUIN EALL THIS SHIT

- CARLISE IS FUNCIGJ HOT

- LIRALY BITCH I JUST WNAT A PURE FIRENDHSIP WUTH JACOB AND BELLA ITS WHAT THEY DESERVE FJC CAON

- this montage is turopy a f when youre drunk waht the helc por jake thugh

- im sorry but i;n laughign my ass off at these fuckugn wolf vocie overs lmaoooo this shit hilarious

- SETH HAS SUCH A PURE HEART WHTY TF DID SPTEHEH RUIB HUS FUCJING CHILDHOOD BULTHIST

- WHY IS EVEYRIJE BSUCG AFUCKUGN BUTCG TO LEAH???? SHE DESEVRED THE FUCKING WORLD STPEHEN IS A RACISHT BITCHHHHHH

- calisbe is fos unicngn hot

- i just reaized robert is like the best fuckugn actor like this diolaguge is wha k as fuck btu he’s acitng all emo boi oscar worhty shti

- they realy had her fuckin drink blodo i hate cannjnonnn

- ifelel the same as kaje watchign this

- but carlisle’s prety face made it all fuckig hetter

- FUCKRT HIS SHTI CHARLIE DESERVED BETTER HE’S THE BEST DAD FCK CANO NFUCK STEPRHNE

- okay ut id is cute as fkc whe nedward hears the baby

- esme and calrisle wilougn to risk their lives for bella i cryi

- fkc i really do hate cnaon because jake is acting liek an adult now and trying to do the honrble thig bue he should be a hpaoy chidl

- resnemsien is a ficking ridjcils name and we all fuckj nnew

- i ahte this part i’n bot even wathcing this shit rgros me rout

- WHY THDID FUCK DID THIS BITCH HAVE A FUKCUNG SYRINGE OG VENOM LAYING AORUND? HOE!?!?!

- literlaiy fuick the dynamics of this whole moty hfknfucjg storyline plot bitch

- LEAH AND STHE DESERVERD BETTER

- SO DID JACOB

- SO DID ALL THE WOLFPAKC STPEHEN IS A RACIST AS SHOE

- aw hell here the fucks we hgo with theu ickgn im************** bulshit i ghate cnaojn canon can suck ad ick

- YES BILLY DEFEND YOUR CHIDL

- rosalie is literally perfect when cnai b ehr

- im real glad im drunk rin now because ioculd nto sit throguh this shit sober

- imp&******* is the worst plotline fkc]

- bit iamgiben falling alseo lookin gsick and waking up fhot as uck goals

- this sogn making me cry literlalu imcruing ims o alone lmao

- rheye really ended htoe move wirh red eyws lmaoooo

- hodl the fick up a damn minute stpeehebn producre htis cufkcng shit?

- now heres the hoes iv’ve been waiting on burnt the monarch fuckwits i hate thes epompis fuckers

- OVERTURBR THESE FUCKSERS THEY HAVE TIOO MUCH POWR

CARLISR COULD FUCKING D OI T I HATE CNAON BRING THE VAMPIRE DECONOARCY

- OOHG BRUNNO MARS BRINGNG THE FUCKING SIMPSSHOES ANTHM I NEEDLOVE IT

#Twilight #Twilight renaissance #Breaking Dawn #Breaking Dawn Part One #Breaking Dawn review #simp ass hoes #simp ass hoes fandom #we hate canon #WE HATE CANON HERE

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ncfan-1 · 5 years

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Oh, Moon. Moon, Moon, Moon. I made the point earlier that this is a character who would really have benefited from having access to Aesop’s Fables as a child, because the story of ‘The Farmer and the Viper’ would potentially have been of great interest to her. She could also have benefited from watching Gargoyles as a child, if only to hear David Xanatos say “Revenge is a sucker’s game.”

Like, Moon. Moon. You’re mad because Eclipsa wouldn’t let you kill her child right in front of her, and that when she intervened to keep you from killing her child right in front of her, you were badly injured and wound up in the Realm of Magic for a while, without your memories, and was temporarily separated from your family? Moon. Moon. That wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t jumped the gun when Eclipsa was succeeding in talking Meteora down and decided that murder was your only option. And it’s just a bit hypocritical of you to be mad at Eclipsa for defending her daughter against you, when you’ve proven you’re more than willing to kill on your own child’s behalf. (Also, you’re mad because you were separated from your family for a few weeks? By your own standards, Eclipsa has every right to just go on the rampage, because she was separated from her family for three hundred years.)

So, Moon. You get mad that Eclipsa wouldn’t let you kill her kid and that you were hurt and temporarily separated from your family, so you decide to orchestrate a coup and depose her so you can win back your old throne and kick her out of the dimension. But in so doing, you decide to join forces with a genocidal racist with superpowers, and empower other violent racists with the same superpowers Mina has, all of whom are people who have made it clear time and again that they’d like to do harm to Eclipsa and to the monsters of Mewni, which, though very little can be said for you at this point, it can at least be said that that was not part of your plan. You knew what Mina was. You knew what the other people you turned into Solarian warriors were. And you just thought you’d be able to rein them all in and keep them from turning this coup into a genocide, because of course they’d all respect your authority and ignore both their own hatred and the power you gave them to do something with that hatred.

Oh, and you completely betrayed your daughter’s trust, singlehandedly erased all of the work your daughter poured her blood, sweat, and tears into, set up a situation where most of her friends will die if you, Star, and Eclipsa don’t come up with a solution, created an army of super-powered, nigh-invulnerable genocidal warriors who are off to gleefully commit genocide, have been driven out of your home dimension on pains of death, and your daughter is absolutely furious with you and will likely never trust you again.

So yeah, you fucked up. With age does not necessarily come wisdom, and no matter how much we ought to know better, we’re all still capable of making monumentally stupid decisions.

But I don’t think you’re beyond redemption. Not by a long shot.

Okay, we’re below the cut, so I’m exiting Direct Address mode and going into Essay POV mode.

First of all, though I was, like many people, surprised by the revelation that Moon… Did That, I don’t think it came out of nowhere. She’s spent most of this season surrounded by people who hate Eclipsa and hate monsters. She’s spent months living in an echo chamber of hate that, coincidentally, happens to validate all of her old beliefs. It was almost inevitable that something bad was going to come of that. (And don’t think I didn’t notice that at least some of the Neo-Solarians were members of Moon’s yurt village.)

Also, Moon has been visually linked with Solaria since Season Two. Ever since ‘Into the Wand’, where we first saw her tapestry, in fact. Theirs are the only two royal tapestries that depict violence, and both depict violence against monsters. Also, Moon’s battle garb? Is pretty clearly designed after Solaria’s battle garb. Her dress is almost literally a palette swap of Solaria’s, and as an adult, she wears her hair braided into battle, just like Solaria. It was probably intentional on her part, meant to hearken back to this “heroic” queen of old as she, too, carried out a campaign of extermination against monsters as a grieving teenager.

And I’ve always found it kind of iffy that Moon’s battle garb is literally her cosplaying the genocidal warmonger in the family tree (I wonder what Eclipsa thought when she first saw Moon wearing that dress as a teenager). Something’s finally come of that, I guess.

Second, Moon’s main fault here was not a fault of malice. It was, first, of arrogance, and considering that Moon has spent the better part of her life ruling as an absolute monarch who is extremely unaccustomed to anyone challenging her authority, arrogance is entirely too plausible as a character flaw for her. It was, secondly, one of short-sightedness, and, well, I guess Star comes by it honestly. As arrogant and short-sighted as she would have to have been to seriously believe that she could control Mina and the other Solarian warriors, as serious a lapse of judgment as it was to think that she could just open this Pandora’s box of bigotry and hatred and then close it again with no problems, it was at least clear that Moon wanted her coup to be as bloodless as possible. She didn’t want to hurt Eclipsa; she just wanted Eclipsa gone.

I think part of Moon’s saving grace here is that her coup, once she revealed her role in it, immediately and violently blew up in her face.

Oh, don’t get me wrong. Even if everything had gone to plan, it still would have blown up in her face. Because a throne you win by violently deposing your predecessor is a throne you spend the rest of your life fighting just to hold onto. Because resurrecting the Solarian warriors is just the thing to ignite the powder keg of Mewman-Monster relations, and just might be the thing to reignite the Mewman-Monster war. Because if Moon thought the other kingdoms gave her flack for her handling of Toffee, oh, can you just imagine the fresh hell she’d be in for on the diplomacy front after Rich Pigeon, Ponyhead, and (less directly) Penelope Spiderbite got caught in the crossfire of her coup? Because if Moon’s coup had gone completely to plan, I honestly think it would have been the end, the very end, of her relationship with Star. It would have destroyed any bond of love and trust the two of them shared, and Star probably would never have wanted anything to do with Moon again.

And don’t get me wrong, things are bad right now. Because on top of everything else, River? River doesn’t know what she did. He can’t possibly know what she did; there’s no way he would have been able to keep it a secret. And if the Solarian warriors find out he helped (or tried to help, if Globgor doesn’t make it to the Magic Sanctuary in time) Globgor? They’ll kill him. Or try to, at least. After all, Mina told her warriors to round up all “monster smoochers” (I see they’re being as clear in their references to real life attitudes towards miscegenation as possible) along with the monsters; one wonders how long it’s going to be before it’s made clear that Penelope Spiderbite’s on that cliff, too. But they could be worse. Moon should honestly be grateful that her coup didn’t go to plan, because she would have paid dearly for it, and I don’t think the love of her daughter is a price Moon would have been able to bear paying. Even to get back at Eclipsa.

She’s still going to pay dearly, though. Moon wrote a check she couldn’t cash, and if the promos for ‘Cleaved’ are any indication, we’re about to watch the price get taken out of her hide. Her one route to redemption is the fact that, since her coup blew up in her face, she can actually do something to make up for what she did, and start down the road to regaining Star’s trust. But it’s not going to be easy, it’s not going to be pleasant, and ‘Cleaved’ is almost certainly not going to be a fun outing for her.

The other part of Moon’s saving grace is that upon being removed from Mewni, she seems to have asked herself almost immediately, “Was it all worth it?”

And answered her question with a resounding, “No, it really, really wasn’t.”

Because she can’t find a single thing to say to Star when Star calls her out. Because she is just so obviously guilt-stricken and confused by Eclipsa treating her much more charitably than she really deserves. And I really don’t think her actions were truly rooted in malice, because whenever Moon is actually around Eclipsa, away from the echo chamber of hate that she was living in these past several months, she seems at a loss to remember what exactly it was about Eclipsa that she hated so much in the first place, what it was about her that made her feel as if she was justified in ruining the life of a woman whose life has been ruined so many times that she can just compartmentalize it and make nice with the person responsible as if Moon did nothing more serious than swipe the last Snookers bar from the vending machine, instead of nearly getting Eclipsa and Eclipsa’s beloved baby daughter killed, and putting the life of Eclipsa’s beloved husband in serious jeopardy and being more than willing to use that as leverage against Eclipsa to make her surrender. Oh, and resurrecting the Solarian program probably unearthed just a heap of unpleasant memories for Eclipsa, considering who her mother was, but oh, look, Eclipsa’s happy to play pool with, strategize with, and give advice on reconciling with her daughter to Moon. The closest she comes to actually calling Moon out for anything is getting a tiny bit passive-aggressive with Moon over her working with Rhombulus to frame Eclipsa for Globgor’s release. Which must make Moon feel even worse, because if their situations were reversed, Moon would not be nearly as civil. For starter’s.

Yeah, Moon fucked up. She fucked up monumentally. But she at least understands that she fucked up, and that is a start.

#Star vs the forces of evil #Svtfoe spoilers #Moon Butterfly #Meta #Oh Moon

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