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technospotatoes · 3 years

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C!SAM - Redeemable Qualities Analysis (Dream SMP)

Hallo! I’m back with another brain rot post for ya’ll instead of doing my schoolwork :]

Recently, I’ve been doing some thinking and theorizing with some friends on discord following Quackity’s huge lore stream (if you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend you watch it). I woke up this morning with a head full of many thoughts about C!Awesamdude and where his story could take us. Seeing as how there is going to be lots of change in the future with the server, there must be changes in these characters as well-- evil to good, good to evil, and the like. With these changes comes my thought: “can these characters be redeemed?” Here are my thoughts on how this applies to C!Sam.

Please let me know your thoughts and theories, I’d love to discuss with you! As always, strap in, it’s gonna be a long one :]

I hope you enjoy!

Author’s note: I want to start this off by saying that all of the contents being discussed are fictional, and are from the Dream SMP universe. I do not support the actions of these characters, but merely have interest in analyzing them through a lens of psychology and for entertainment purposes. Content of this post will contain spoilers up to 3/25/21 of the DSMP lore. I will also talk about ATLA a little bit ;)

Content warning: mentions of torture, manipulation, death, possible psychological trauma

(pls be safe ily)

What makes a redeemable character?

Redeemable characters are some of the most pleasing and favored characters in modern media. Their stories are rich with emotion, and they can even evoke some form of catharsis within the most skeptic consumers. Redeemable characters are memorable and inspiring, and without one, a story can feel empty. Before we apply this character trope to the Dream SMP and C!Sam, we need to answer a basic question in order to fully understand the complexity of redeemable characters and how they are so universally significant.

What is a redeemable character?

Simply put, a redeeming character or characteristic counteracts or corrects something negative. From a storytelling standpoint, a redeemable character is someone who has roots in good qualities, turns bad, and has the ability to revert their wrong choices to become a better person.

Examples of redeemed characters in popular media include:

Zuko - Avatar the Last Airbender

Boromir - Lord of the Rings

Kylo Ren - Star Wars

Severus Snape - Harry Potter

Zuko, for example, starts his story off as the villain. He tirelessly hunts down the protagonist, and will stop at nothing to achieve his goal to please his father. However, as the show progresses, we learn that Zuko wasn’t always bad. He was only driven to his path of villainy because of his fear of failure, of his father (the firelord and true antagonist of the show), and of a greater punishment than what he had already received. With the help of his uncle, Zuko learned to push through and accept his past, while also making amends with his wrongs and coming to the realization of who the true enemy was; ultimately choosing peace and unity over destruction and fear. Zuko’s story is so appealing because it was drawn out. It was raw, it was real, and it was a genuine telling of how damaged people can heal, change, and come to accept themselves. Because he went through the process of redemption, he was not only able to be loved by those around him, but also by his audience-- And I believe that this can be the same case with any redeemable character.

So how does this relate to C!Sam? How could he possibly be redeemable if he is not evil?

C!Sam has become increasingly interesting to me in the DSMP lore, and he has shown how complex his character is-- in contrast to many first impressions that people have of him. Based upon his actions from the past, and his willingness to remain neutral in times of conflict, we can conclude that he sustains both “neutral good” and “lawful neutral/good” qualities. This means that Sam is a reliable character, driven by his own personal values, and is devoted to helping others (when he sees fit). Evidence of these qualities emerge…

When he sided with Pogtopia during the Manberg War to maintain good relations with Tommy and Tubbo.

When he saved Hannah from the Egg

Created Sam Nook to assist Tommy in building his hotel

Built Pandora’s Vault for Dream

Showed concern for Ranboo after one of his denied prison visits

Sam’s moral code is deeply rooted with good intentions; he keeps an eye out for his friends, maintains his relationships, assists in builds/projects, and also serves as a “stable adult figure” for some of the younger members of the server. In contrast to his logical outward appearance, C!Sam lets his emotions drive his decision making-- which can lead to many severe consequences depending on how he acts. However, recently Sam’s actions indicate that he is experiencing a flip in morals.

Below are incidents that have led to C!Sam’s recent change in moral code.

Incident 1: Trapped with the Egg

Many weeks ago, during the height of character involvement with the Egg lore, C!Sam was lured into a trap by BBH and Antfrost. He spent about a day trapped in close contact with the Egg, and after he was saved by Puffy and Tommy, he was clearly changed. It is likely that the Egg is behind these sudden changes in character motivation for Sam… similarly to how it corrupted BBH, Ant, and Punz. Whether this is the case with Sam is unclear.

Incident 2: Tommy’s death

C!Sam and C!Tommy’s relationship within the DSMP lore is one of my favorite things to talk about. After his victory over the disk war and finally landing his nemesis in prison, Tommy was left empty, without much to do. He decided to take upon a new project to incite a new era of peace, and was able to enlist the help of Sam with building his hotel. Throughout this process (and under the watchful eye of Sam Nook), Tommy and Sam were able to develop a bond with each other through their work, along with their interactions at the Prison.

Sam has made it clear that he intends to defend Tommy no matter what-- but after his untimely death at the hands of C!Dream, Sam was deeply wounded. He felt as if he failed his promise to keep Tommy safe, and he made it clear that the blame for the “security issue” and C!Tommy’s death should be placed fully on him. No matter how selfless and responsible this makes his character appear, this event will only serve as the basis for severe consequences in moral change in the future.

Incident 3: Confrontation with Quackity

Following the large emotional impact of Tommy’s death, C!Sam is very vulnerable, because he is still within the stages of grief. C!Quackity came to Sam for a partnership, to take advantage of Sam while he was low to gain the upper hand. It’s no question that Q’s character is a talented manipulator, we can see that clearly in his interaction with Sam. Q restates again and again that Sam failed, further cementing Sam’s existing guilt and desire for revenge for his failure. Sam gives in to the manipulation, and somewhat reluctantly allows Quackity to torture Dream to get information and to get payback for what he did to Tommy... which completely goes against what his responsibility of Warden entails.

As Warden, C!Sam is supposed to uphold the law and rules of visitation, but because of his leniency with Quackity (in breaking the rules) and because he is still emotionally raw, he no longer defends good from evil, but is now biased against it. C!Sam probably wants Dream dead, but as Warden, his opinion shouldn’t matter. Because Sam fully blames himself for failing Tommy, he's lost the "lawful good" in his character, meaning Warden Sam (as a set of morals) truly doesn't exist anymore.

Incident 4: Ponk’s mistake

To recap a stream briefly, Ponk did a prank on Sam a couple days ago, and stole a few of the expired keycards to Pandora’s Vault. Rightfully, Sam was very angry, and not only took back the keycards, but also imprisoned Ponk. However, where this interaction should have ended, C!Sam only took it to the extreme. (TW!!!!) Out of anger and frustration, C!Sam tortured Ponk for his wrongdoing by setting him on fire, and amputating his arm (END TW!!!).

This only proves my point from Incident 3. Warden Sam is fading, only bits and pieces of his morally neutral character remain within him for basic tasks. His encounter with Quackity had a huge impact on his psyche, not only is he allowing the torture of the prison occupants, but he is doing it himself as well. C!Sam is now starting to believe that pain and torture are the only solutions for punishment, which is the complete opposite of what he believed before Dream was imprisoned.

In short...

C!Sam is losing his grip on moral and mental stability because of his emotional insecurity due to his psychological trauma. Because of this, I believe that it is entirely possible for Sam’s character to explore the route of evil and unlawful values-- which furthers the possibility for a redemption arc. Even currently, Sam is eligible for redemption as well.

If C!Sam is willing to acknowledge his wrongs from today and improve himself upon them, he will likely become a more memorable, lovable, and even more human character than we’ve seen in the SMP before.

SIDENOTE!

IRL Sam recently posted in his discord talking about his character. Here are a few key things to keep in mind as the story goes forward:

“There is a LOT of things in the plan for me as a character and a very big change is coming about for me as the story moves along.”

I believe this change could be a villain arc, or a turn towards evil that incites the possibility for redemption.

“My character is playing a role that I think is VITAL for the server and a role that I like to think was a good one for me to pick up and accept.”

You can read the reddit post I referenced for this here (ty to my friend on discord for providing me with the link <3)

TYSM FOR READING!! <3 <3 <3

#dreamsmp #awesamdude #ponk #tommyinnit #tubbo #mcyt #captainpuffy #dsmplore #dream smp lore #dream #dream smp analysis #QUACKITY #my work

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muertawrites · 4 years

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Two Halves - Chapter Three (Zuko x Reader)

Part Two

Word Count: 2,450

Author’s Note: Something very important to note about this series is that in it Zuko has very long hair. I’m talking like feudal era Japan hair (use this post from @frogydraws for reference. It is *chef’s kiss* gorgeous). Also, I feel like I’m missing people who asked to be on the tag list - if you asked but don’t see your name, PLEASE direct message me so I can fix that! Other than that I don’t have much else to say about this chapter. It’s mostly exposition but who doesn’t love some good plot speculation?

~ Muerta

Everyone gathers in a sitting room in Zuko’s personal wing of the palace, clustered in groups or pairs in an attempt to create some sense of comfort after the night’s discord. Katara, Aang, and Sokka gather in the center of the room - their typical formation, still very much a reflex due to years of working as a team. You sit with Iroh and Toph to one side of the room, Iroh sharing a chaise with you and Toph seated on the floor beside you, one hand laid protectively over the top of your foot. Zuko stands at the room’s fireplace, passing a ball of flame between his hands; you watch him closely, already innately drawn to him as your partner, noting that while the others (mainly Katara, Aang, and Sokka) discuss the evening’s events, attempting to formulate a plan for whatever should come next, he remains silent, secluded deep within his own thoughts. He looks every part the leader you’re now married to, in a way you hoped you’d only see much later in your relationship.

“It had to be someone within the palace,” Sokka states. “The gates were too heavily guarded for anyone to get in from the outside.”

“But how could they commit a murder without being seen?” Aang wonders. “There were too many people around for something like that to go unnoticed.”

“That’s just the thing,” Katara counters. “There were enough people to create a big enough distraction that nobody saw until whoever did it wanted us to.”

“And we’re absolutely positive it was that specific guy who was the target?” Sokka proposes. “It wasn’t just a random attack to make a statement against the whole government?”

“No,” Zuko chimes in. “They meant to kill him. When I proposed making someone from outside the Fire Nation queen, he was the only one in favor of the idea. He convinced the rest of the board to support me.”

“Do you think maybe they wanted to make a statement against just you, then?” Aang asks.

“It wasn’t just a statement,” you tell him, speaking for the first time since entering the room. Everyone turns their heads towards you; the only one who doesn’t show any surprise is Zuko. “It was a threat, meant for both of us.”

“And probably on behalf of Ozai or Azula,” Toph adds.

“Do you think he’d really still have followers within the palace?” Katara questions. “Everyone who served him was imprisoned after the war.”

“It’s possible,” Zuko responds. “My father radicalized more people than we could possibly know of. I expected his resistance at some point.”

“If Ozai intended to stage any resistance, he would have done it much more gruesomely,” Iroh interjects. “He wouldn’t have wasted time with threats. He would have killed one or both of you, if not everyone in attendance tonight.”

“But who else could hold that much of a grudge against not only the Fire Nation, but the alliance with an outsider?” Sokka asks.

“It could be someone from the Water Tribe,” you suggest. Your words are deadpanned and grim. “It’s very possible they see this as another form of colonization.”

“Nobody else from either tribe is here, though,” Katara says. “It’s just me and Sokka.”

“I don’t think they’d be here officially if they planned to kill someone,” Aang reasons. “If it was someone from the Water Tribe, they’re probably in disguise.”

“They couldn’t have been,” Sokka replies. “They’d have to have been inside the palace, and nobody got in without official documentation.”

“Our concern right now should not be the manhunt,” Iroh speaks up in his firm, tepid way. “It should be the safety of our loved ones; our lord and lady especially.”

“He’s right,” Toph agrees. She stands, placing a hand on your shoulder. “I think she should stay with me tonight. I have the best chance of seeing someone and stopping them before they can do any harm.”

“She’s staying with me,” Zuko quips.

The entire room falls into a heavy silence, the air itself seeming to drop to the floor. Everyone stares at Zuko in shock, yourself included.

“We’re married,” he explains. “It’s our responsibility to look after each other. She’ll stay with me in my chambers.”

Five sets of eyes shift to focus on you. You meet Zuko’s gaze, the steely determination within them only serving to remind you of the bond you now share. You nod, keeping your eyes locked with his as you speak.

“It’s okay,” you affirm. “I’ll stay with him.”

After a few more minutes of deliberation, everyone parts ways for the night - Sokka is sent with Katara and Aang to provide them extra defense, and Toph goes with you and Zuko, moved to the guest chamber just outside his sleeping quarters so she can monitor any movement that happens during the night.

You follow Zuko into his rooms, arms linked together in a mutual nervous embrace. His chambers are divided into three spaces; two rooms connected by a sitting room and a large, covered porch. Zuko leads you down a short hall off the right side of the sitting room, opening a set of doors to reveal an ornate bedroom - your things rest at the foot of the four poster bed, your sleeping clothes already laid out on the mattress.

“This used to be a sunroom,” Zuko tells you. “But I had it converted into a bedroom. I figured it would be weird sleeping together, but also weird keeping you in your own wing across the palace, so… this seemed like a good way to be close to each other without making it too awkward.”

You squeeze his arm in a gentle, appreciative hug, turning to look up at him.

“Thank you,” you say. “I really appreciate all you’ve done for me.”

Zuko nods, laying one of his hands over where yours rests on his bicep.

“Let’s get changed,” he murmurs. “I’ll call for some tea and we can try to have a normal night.”

He leaves you, and you draw the curtains of the room’s sweeping windows so you can dress in peace; one side overlooks a garden courtyard, while the other gives a view of the ocean beyond the palace’s farthest wall. The sights are stunning, but the suspense you feel building in the pit of your stomach makes it hard to enjoy them in full.

Your hands shake as you undress, letting the layers of your wedding robes drop to the floor and leave you naked at the foot of the bed. You stare down at your night dress, the pristine white fabric glaring virginally up at you. You warily slide yourself into it, then cross the room to the vanity that’s been set to the left of the bed.

You can hardly control the shiver of your fingers as they work the beads out of your hair, taking the freed locks behind your head into the single braid you typically sleep in. You stare at yourself in the mirror, clutching the totems Katara gave you to your chest; your eyes are wide, your cheeks sunken, your knuckles white. A small voice, somewhere in the far reaches of your mind where the sound can hardly carry, tells you to have faith in your new husband; he’s treated you with nothing but kindness since even before the moment you set foot on his soil, and has showed nothing but the utmost respect for you - he wouldn’t be the man your family loved and trusted with your life if he shifted his behavior in such a sudden, drastic way by forcing you into his bed.

Despite these cries of reason, all you can hear is the voice of the beautician who prepared you for tonight - she hovers behind you in the mirror, her face contorted into a heinous, scowling grin as she cackles with laughter. She reminds you of the children you’re meant to bear, her nails digging into your shoulders as she goes on to tell you that, as the Firelord’s wife, he’s entitled to all the pleasure your body can give him, and will take it at any cost.

Your terror turns the man who’s been so endlessly sweet to you into a monster.

Through the bedroom doors, you hear a servant enter with a tray of tea, followed by Zuko’s gentle voice thanking them. You swallow, taking the strands of beads in your hands and twining them together, forming a necklace which you place over your head and tuck into the front of your night dress. After a few deep, quivering breaths, you stand, making your way out to the shared sitting room.

Zuko sits on the side of the room closest to his bedroom, head turned towards the now lit fireplace and eyes lost within its glow, his gaze distant and glazed with worry; he snaps back to the present when he notices you enter, giving you a faint, slightly defeated smile. His military uniform has been replaced with a simple set of pajamas and a robe, his long hair free from its knot, now hanging loosely about his shoulders and down his chest; he’s even more handsome this way, his features contoured by the darkness of the room and the light of the fire. You feel a rush of lightheadedness as you lower yourself across from him, nervously returning his smile.

“Uncle took the liberty of preparing our tea,” Zuko greets you. His voice is soft and welcoming, tinged with a mirth that feels almost ironic given the circumstances. “He didn’t want to subject you to my awful cooking skills so early in the marriage.”

You huff amusedly, sharing a genuine smile with him as he serves you. You sip the scalding liquid slowly, letting it ease down your throat and warm you from the inside out; it relaxes you, the shaking in your limbs disappearing.

“I’m glad we have him,” you say. “I don’t think we’d know what to do with ourselves otherwise.”

Zuko chuckles, his grin causing a manic tremble to erupt in your chest.

“He’s definitely the romantic one in the family,” he agrees. “He hasn’t stopped talking about you since he met you. I think if he were forty years younger, he’d have married you before I could.”

You giggle, a timid blush coloring your cheeks.

“I never thought I’d be so popular among Fire Nation men,” you tease.

Zuko smiles, wistfully and exhaustedly, letting out a soft breath of laughter; you can tell the nights events anchor his thoughts.

“I’m sorry tonight ended the way it did,” he tells you. “I wanted your arrival to be a source of happiness for our people. Maybe I was too hopeful.”

You sigh heavily, running a finger along the brim of your teacup as he meets your eyes; you can tell he blames himself for what happened.

“A hundred years of hatred doesn’t end in a decade,” you console him. “It isn’t just here, either - many people in the Water Tribe feel just as divisive as people do here.”

You cautiously reach forward and take his hand, letting your thumb stroke over his knuckles. His fingers tighten around your palm, and you can feel every callous and scar that marks his alabaster skin.

“We have to stand together,” you say. “We have to show the world that we can overcome the past; that things are different now, for the better.”

Zuko nods, raising the back of your hand to his lips and pressing a light, tender kiss to the knuckle of your forefinger. He smiles faintly, letting his mouth linger on the bone for a long moment before placing your hand back where it was on his knee, still twined with his.

“I really did make the right choice in a queen,” he muses. Heat spreads across your skin, your lips curling up slightly at his endearing remark.

“It’s late,” Zuko says after a beat, letting his fingers slip away from yours. “We should both get some rest.”

He stands, leaning over you and placing a docile hand at the back of your head. Your heart leaps from your chest and into your throat, your fingers curling to grip the skirt of your night dress as anxiety rushes to your head. You deny every instinct you have that tells you to fend him off. If this is when he chooses to take you, you have no choice but to go willingly - you can’t form any rifts in a relationship that’s already somewhat fragile, especially when doing so would mean driving a wedge through the center of an already divided country.

Zuko lowers himself and rests his lips to your forehead, etching the phantom of a kiss just below your hairline; he parts almost as soon as he arrives, leaving you dazed and flustered in his wake.

“Sleep well,” he murmurs, offering his arm to help you to your feet. You accept it, feeling much smaller beside him than you did only hours before. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

You each return to your respective bedrooms, your legs floating towards your bed of their own accord and dropping you backward onto the mattress. You stare up at the sheer, billowing canopy hung from the ceiling as the shivering in your limbs returns, your body completely unable to accommodate with what your mind can barely seem to process.

He didn’t force himself onto you. He didn’t violate the comfort between you simply for the sake of tradition and lineage. The extreme relief you feel is overwhelming, so much so that you think you might throw up or faint.

You fall asleep to the sound of the ocean beyond the palace walls, the danger that looms within them doing little to deter the peace that washes over you as you drift into a pleasant dream.

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#muerta's works #two halves #zuko #prince zuko #zuko x reader #zuko x you #prince zuko x reader #prince zuko x you #zuko fanfic #zuko fanfiction #prince zuko fanfic #prince zuko fanfiction #atla fanfic #slow burn

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theeurebellion · 3 years

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Though the THo Yor Arrival was often considered the starting point of Galactic history, there were other civilizations that existed in the galaxy for thousands of years. The three biggest were the Pwa, Celestials and Columni.

The Columni were among the earliest interspace travelers. They visited many worlds and studied them but could not find a world that was advanced enough for them and had the right gravity for their odd forms-huge heads with four-part brains and tiny, atrophied limbs. They eventually retreated closer to home, but some continued to survive until the modern era, as Han Solo was familiar with them.

The ancient Celestials built Centerpoint Station in 100,000bby to help imprison Abeloth. They used its power to put in place systems like Corellia’s and Voltar, complete with repulsors that could move the entire planet they were embedded in. They built the Maw black hole cluster, Hapes cluster, Kathol Rift and possibly established the hyperspace disturbance at the end of the galaxy that imprisoned a creature called Mnggal-Mnggal that took over sentients and used them like zombies. It once claimed to have witnessed them. The Columni retreated in fear of them. They made contact with the Killiks, Rakata, Gree and Kwa who acted as servant races. The Sharu burrowed underground, made large plastic pyramids and tried to drain their intellect in fear of the Celestials.

No one knows what happened to the Celestials but the Ones had a connection with them. The Rakata revolted with stolen Kwa technology and some think the hyperspace disturbance was actually a barrier against the Rakata. Still, they broke through and waged war. Abeloth may also have played a role, according to the Killiks. Centerpoint Station was used to move black holes and create a rift that imprisoned Abeloth. The Celestials may have escaped through their barrier or even to another dimension, no one is sure. They were thought to have driven the Killks from Alderaan when they tried to take another world.

The Kwa created the Infinity Gates that allowed instant travel between locations. They encountered the Rakata and gave them technology that the Rakata later used to revolt and conquer the galaxy. The Kwa retreated to Dathomir to guard the Infinity Gates and devolved into the Kwi, whose elders retained some memory of their ancient power but most of the rest did not.

The Kwa also ran into the Gree, another ancient empire. The Gree were one of the oldest civilizations In the galaxy. They came into contact with the Kwa and the war raged all the way til 27,000 bby before the Rakata pushed them both back.

Abeloth escaped during the war they had later with a large saurian species. The Gree retreated and isolated themselves, though they survived til the modern era. They were pretty unknown by the founding of the Je’daii order some 36,000 years bby though.

It’s also known that the Taung-Zhell war over Coruscant happened in this ancient period, with the Taungs being driven offworld to eventually restyle themselves as the Mandlorians.

#galactic history #Legends #Legends Timeline

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stellarcat52 · 4 years

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Timeless Blue Chapter three

Writer’s block and low-energy moods suck. Also yes, I will not be rewriting every scene in wizards. I do not have the ability to function for any length of time close to what would be needed to do so. Scenes that A) don’t change, B) don’t include Douxie or Krel, or C) are just difficult for me to write, will not be rewritten but will possibly be mentioned.

“Well that went better than expected.”

The door slammed shut behind Douxie, Krel was already pacing.

“I don’t think it went as well as you think. And you have a lot to explain to me. I’m sure Claire and Steve... well I’m sure Claire does not like what’s happening. I’m not entirely filled in on the story, but it was very clear she does not like this Morgana woman. I cannot transform back to human for any longer than eight horvaths and that King Arthur almost killed the Trollhunter.”

“Okay, first of all, Arthur didn’t kill Jim, he’s just imprisoned for now. And second, Morgana isn’t a threat to Claire, she’s centuries away from trying to kill any of us.” Douxie interjects.

“Well that might change. If I’ve learned anything from Eli and Steve’s nerdy ‘sci-fi’ movies, aside from the fact humans think all aliens are war species, it’s that time will change if you change what happens in the past. Which, we happen to be in right now. You and your past self cannot meet, and we must make sure that time doesn’t change too much.” Krel was standing tall and much too confident for someone who wasn’t alive during this era.

“Krel.” Douxie motioned with his hands to calm down. “I agree, well aside from the past me and me meeting. It’s entirely fiction that meeting yourself will blow up the universe, probably. What I’m saying is yes you’re right, but we need to focus on one thing at a time. First, getting the time map and finding a way home. One of which, I need to do, preferably alone.”

Krel sighed, sitting down for the first since the blanks had started malfunctioning that afternoon. “Douxie, Hisirdoux, wizard. Whatever I’m supposed to call you in this time. I still want an explanation. I come from a very technologically advanced world, now I’m in the past of an already primitive world but people now seem capable of things impossible to Akiridions. I don’t even know the whole story of the Trollhunters. I know you have to do what you have to, but promise to explain what is happening to me. I don’t like not understanding things, but magic and sorcery is not something I can pick apart and study.”

Douxie was caught off guard, probably due to the lack of previous interactions between them. Krel had always been the awkward guy at the cafe trying new foods and drinks every week, and of course the guardian of Arcadia. But they hadn’t interacted on eye level with each other. “I promise. But I need to get the time map first, which means taking my past self’s place.”

Krel was left unattended in their room for too long. Without technology, music, or other people around, he grew bored. At some point he would even rather Steve be there than be alone. So he calculated a risk, which is much more difficult to do when it involves the possibility of destroying the future, and started wandering the castle.

Most knights around the castle seemed to have been informed of what he was, if one or two of them seemed suspicious or tried to attack him, another would shake their head and pull them back. However, they still seemed cautious. Servants and knights never getting too close unless they were moving to attack him, nobody talking out loud to or about him, and that subtlety of unwavering stares and tightened grips on the hilts of swords.

Hallways and corridors mixed, faces blurred until every person who didn’t trust him might as well have been everyone else. Until the throne room. Arthur’s throne was vacant, actually the whole room was. Krel hadn’t gotten a good look earlier, but now he took in as many details as he could.

“Homesick?” Arthur stood in a doorway behind Krel, the door softly bumped into the wall as Krel turned around.

“Eh, yeah, I guess so.” Krel watched as Arthur walked towards his throne, Excalibur shining from his back. “It’s been a while since I’ve been to Ak- Cantalupia. It’s very different here.” Krel gestured to around him.

Arthur grunted in acknowledgement. “I’d assume so.”

A knight, once standing in the doorway from which Arthur had come, came over and whispered something to Arthur. A shifting set of eyes didn’t hide their suspicions as the knight said something that led to Arthur excusing himself.

“And Prince, you have free reign of Camelot, only because I know magic can tear families apart. I hope you can return to your kingdom soon.”Krel nods, and watches as Arthur leaves, and he is left alone again.

Krel walked out, once again wandering the halls, this time ignoring the people around him, and exploring where he hadn’t earlier.

——

Krel hadn’t shown up before the group learned of Jim’s planned execution at dawn. They hadn’t even met up with him prior to executing their plan. He met them inside, after the trolls had escaped, with two sets of crossed arms.

“Krel! Where have you been?” Claire was somewhat angry, if Krel had been there maybe they could have gotten Jim and the trolls out faster.

“Being left out of a prison break apparently.” Krel flared at Claire, knowing she had a big part in saving her boyfriend.

“And what are you wearing?” Krel had an outfit change, still four armed and blue, but he was wearing mildly altered alchemist attire. Douxie would be lying if he said he wasn’t staring.

“You ask me that and not Claire who is actually wearing a dress, I do not understand that.”

“Okay Claire has worn dresses before, and she’s beautiful. Not as beautiful as Aja... of course, but beautiful.” Steve defended, his voice muffled due to him laying face down.

“Claire and Steve... augh that’s not important, you disappeared for a day and came back wearing alchemist’s clothes. You could have done something!”

“Hey you’re the one who interacted with their past self! Did you even get the time map?”

“No, and you would have known that if you were hear earlier!”

“Guys!” Claire shouted, frustrated and upset that her friends were fighting.

“On the bright side,” Archie interrupted, “Arthur believes you to be too incompetent to be behind this.”

“Not exactly...” all eyes, except Steve, go back to Krel. “During the attack a few knights were looking for me. The only reason they accepted I wasn’t behind this is because I was with the alchemists.”

“Arthur suspects you?” Douxie groans. “This is all just great.” The wizard apprentice heads towards the door.

“And where are you going?”

“To get the bloody time map!”

The door slams behind him.

Part two part four

#douxie x krel #timeless blue fic #krel x douxie #drel #krelxie #douxel #krouxie #i promise it will get gayer soon #please be patient with me

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lifeofresulullah · 3 years

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The Life of The Prophet Muhammad(pbuh): The Assignment of the Duty of the Prophethood and First Muslims

Sa'd Bin Abi Waqqas is honored by Islam

Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas was only a 17 year old young man filled with excitement and energy. During this period, he saw a dream: While he was in pitch-black darkness, a bright moon rose instantly and he began to follow a moon-lit road. Afterwards, on the same road, he saw that Zaid bin Harith, Hazrat Ali, and Hazrat Abu Bakr were walking ahead of him. He asked them, “When did you all come here?” and they responded, “Now.”

Three days after his dream, Hazrat Abu Bakr, who showed remarkable exertion and zeal during the era of secret conversions, mentioned Islam to him. Afterwards, Hazrat Abu Bakr took him to our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) presence and after receiving knowledge on Islam from the Master of the Universe (PBUH), he immediately became a Muslim.

Both his mother’s and father’s pedigrees were connected to our Holy Prophet (PBUH). Since the family of Hazrat Sad’s mother belonged to the Sons of Zuhra, Hazrat Sad was considered to be our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) maternal uncle. For that reason, our Holy Prophet (PBUH) paid Hazrat Sad a great compliment by saying, “Here is my uncle, Sad. If anyone has an uncle like him, then he should show me.”

Hazrat Sa’d and his Mother

Hazrat Sad’s mother was not pleased by her son’s conversion to Islam. How could her son abandon the religion of his forefathers and follow a new religion without her consent? Hamna was aware of the respect and attachment that her son had towards her. She was determined to dissuade him from Islam and have him return to idolatry. One day she said to him:

“Are you not the one who says that Allah commands you to take care of your relatives and to show continuous kindness to and do favors for your parents?”

“Yes”, replied Hazrat Sad.

Upon hearing this response, Hamna expressed her true purpose with the following words:

“By God, until you disavow what Muhammad has brought forth, I am not going to put anything into my mouth until I die from thirst and hunger. The people are going to blame you for murdering your mother.”

Until that day, Hazrat Sad had submitted to all of his mother’s wishes and had always pampered her. However, he had now testified to Allah and had submitted to His Messenger (PBUH) with the fullest sincerity in his heart. And of course, everything was going to be ranked in accordance with his faith.

When Hazrat Sad saw that his mother was refraining from eating and drinking, he went by her side and said, “Oh mother, even if you had 100 lives and were to sacrifice each one so that I would denounce Islam, I would still keep firm with my faith. Now, if you wish, you can eat or choose not do so.”

Upon hearing this answer, Hamna’s stubbornness melted against Hazrat Sad’s steady faith in the truth; she quickly began to eat and drink. Once again, disbelief and polytheism were crushed and defeated by faith and the greatness of Tawhid (the doctrine of Oneness of Allah).

Allah presented an eternal criterion for the believers by sending down the eighth verse of Surah al-Ankabut upon this incident that took place between Hazrat Sad and his mother: “We have enjoined on man kindness to parents: but if they (either of them) strive (to force) thee to join with Me (in worship) anything of which thou hast no knowledge, obey them not. Ye have (all) to return to me, and I will tell you (the truth) of all that ye did.”

This time, Hamna made another attempt to turn her son away from Islam: One day while Hazrat Sad was praying in his home, his mother called the neighbors to imprison him by having them all shut the door. In the meantime, Hamna, whose heart had been so hardened by polytheism that she could torture her own beloved child, shouted:

“He will either abandon the religion that he has entered or die!”

By looking at this example, it is possible to understand that a mother can torture her own son when her heart has been darkened from disbelief and wickedness and when it is devoid of compassion and mercy!

Every attempt that had taken place had counteracted Hamna’s interests since Hazrat Sad’s son, Amir, had followed his father’s tracks and became Muslim.

This time, Hamna, who had become completely ill-tempered, took Amir by the scruff of his neck: “I am not going to rest under the shade of this date tree nor am I going to eat and drink until you leave the religion you are following!”

As soon as he heard his mother’s vow, Hazrat Sad, who had experienced the unbounded pleasure of having faith in Allah and submitting to His Messenger (PBUH), went to his mother and said: “Oh mother, do not you dare rest under the shade nor eat and drink until you reach the station of hellfire.”

Hamna could not manage to do anything but keep silent in the face of this phenomenal amount of faith and unwavering perseverance and willpower.

The Courage of Hazrat Sa’d

It took place at a very crucial and most difficult period for the Muslims on account of the continuous persecution and torture the polytheists inflicted on them.

Hazrat Sa’d was praying in the Abu Dubb valley with some of the other Muslims who were among the first to embrace the glorious faith. Abu Sufyan, a leading figure among the polytheists, came to them with a few other unbelievers by his side. When the polytheists made the claim that the Muslims’ form of worshipping was a groundless practice, the two sides went at each other’s throats. With the bone of a camel’s chin that he held in his hands, Hazrat Sad wounded the head of one of the polytheists. When the other polytheists saw this, they lost their audacity and began to run away. And the Muslims chased them until they exited the valley.

In this way, Hazrat Sad had become the first companion to shed blood in the way of Allah. This was also the first instance in the history of the Islam in which blood had been spilled.

At the same time, Hazrat Sad bin Waqqas, who was immensely generous, was one of the ten companions who had been given the glad tidings of Paradise. He participated in all of the holy wars during our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) time. During the Battle of Uhud, he devoted his body as a shield for our Holy Prophet (PBUH) and threw arrows at the polytheists in such a manner that allowed him to become the recipient of an address that no other creature has ever had the honor of receiving:

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said to him, “Oh Sad, do not stop shooting your arrows, may my mother and father be sacrificed for you!”

Hazrat Ali would say:

“On the day of the Battle of Uhud, Allah’s Apostle (PBUH) only addressed Hazrat Sad with the words, “Fadaka Abi wa Ummi” (May my mother and father be sacrificed for you).

During the same battle, Allah’s Messenger (PBUH) would say, “Oh Lord, this is your arrow” each time Hazrat Sad shot one and would pray for him in this manner:

"O Lord, direct his shooting and respond to his prayer."

It is through our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) decree, “O Lord, respond to his prayer” that he was able to attain wealth with the acceptance of his supplications alongside his heroism, bravery, arrow-shooting skills, and. Just as the enemies of Islam feared his sword and arrows, the Muslims feared his supplications for the same reason. They would be extremely hesitant to hurt his feelings.

Hazrat Sad, who at a young age became a Muslim during the era of secret conversions and the springtime of Islam, continued to spend his entire life in the service of Islam thereafter. He was appointed as the commander of the army that marched to Iran during Hazrat Umar’s reign. And by leading this army to victory in the Battle of Qadisiyya, he conquered the country of Kisra and incorporated it into Islamic territory. Therefore, he was given the title “the Conqueror of Iran”.

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theosdoros-blog1 · 5 years

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❝ Wish somebody would’ve told me I’d end up so lost without you leading me astray. ❞ ALEX FITZALAN? No, that’s actually THEODORE BURKE. A SEVENTH YEAR student, this RAVENCLAW student is sided with THE DEATH EATERS. HE identifies as a CIS-MAN and is a PUREBLOOD who is known to be EGOTISTICAL, BOISTEROUS, and FLIPPANT but also VIBRANT, AUDACIOUS, and STAUNCH. { CAMI, NINETEEN, GMT, SHE/HER }

THE BURKES

old money, old names, old houses - although their name was proudly featured in the list of sacred pureblood families, kept pure throughout the ages, the burkes were never truly a part of that group. their ancestry was foggy, with no dusty records of alliances and ministry positions. their wealth was sufficient, yes, but never in the expected way. the oldest record of a burke they could relate to the present family was a healer of little consequence, and the rest mostly worked for others, especially under the great names they supposedly considered their equal. to marry a burke wasn’t treason, but it was a step down, the acceptance of an insignificant middle-class life.

the family wealth grew when, in 1863, they partnered with the borgins to establish a shop in knockturn alley. their business? buying and reselling wizarding artifacts, mostly belonging to other more reputable families. the burke’s most potent claim to fame and respect was to be the money-hungry keeper of the deeds and inventories of their superiors. that stigma still accompanies the family to this day, anchoring them in a position of SERVITUDE to the other great families - the burkes are not able to make their own history, so they buy and sell others’ for what they’d consider small change.

nevertheless, it has put them in the public conscience, even if negatively. the shop has grown over the last nearly two centuries, but has remained strongly in the family’s hands. borgin and burkes is where people from all walks of life can attempt to sell their latest steal or inheritance, and where one may find the cursed objects capable to cause all sorts of pain, death, misery. the burkes may be inferior, but they are resourceful and plenty useful. their contacts with the criminal underground of the wizarding world and their possession of dark magic objects turned them into a desirable addition to extremist movements, even if never in positions of high power. grindelwald’s army simply led to half the family being imprisoned, some dying while evading capture. some years later, however, the remaining burke’s gave a chance to a young man who would not forget the name he worked for. the job gave tom riddle a public justification for his search of knowledge in areas of magic so nefarious that no other place would allow for them to be explored but borgin and burkes. when he finished his ascent from man to power, he kept in mind those names. the recently graduated children of his employer, with whom he’d spent some shifts at the store during their summer breaks, got the promotion of their lives, with a mark on their arm and a mask over their faces. when their dark lord returned, it was their children’s turn.

merrick burke didn’t share the devotion of his elders, but certainly felt the same gratitude. to be picked, from all possible choices, to join the forces of the new era was, once again, the promotion he would have never dreamt of. in a perfect world, he’d have remained in the store, mostly dealing with finances as he’d always prefered, a quiet life that would leave barely more than a footnote in the writings of history. but how could he refuse such an offer? the man took the mark immediately, ready to pledge his all to the cause.

when their attempt at a fully fledged second war failed, merrick retreated to the store, forever hiding the lines on his skin. his girlfriend, esme flint, did the same, and their short-lived part in the second rise of the dark lord faded from memory. between then and the reformation of the death eaters, the couple married, devoted themselves to the shop and to evading association with their previous criminal activities, vowed to never speak of the darkest things they’ve done, and had two children.

BEFORE

born on august 13th, 2007, theodore talbot burke was brought into a peaceful world. the small cottage in upper flagley, yorkshire, made up most of his existence for a few years. the world of impressive estates and ancient manors was the stuff of books and the occasional wedding or birthday celebration of some family friend, or acquaintance from his parents “old job”. the young boy’s loud personality made it possible, however, for even those encounters to grant him friendships he held dear, even when he was stuck in his small village. he always prefered those other children, though. at least with them he didn’t have to be careful to mention his parent’s store or which spells they were performing at home. after all, upper flagley was mostly wizard populated, but still had a handful of muggle families settled there. a preference was clear in his mind. children with magical families like his, no matter how different from the burkes, understood him better than the rest. they were EASIER.

hogwarts was the adventure theodore had been craving for ever since he could remember. it was bigger and much more interesting than the broken clock that was upper flagley. it was a place where he could spend all of his time with the types of people he actually liked, those whose experiences were the same as him, with no fears of saying something he should not say. in many aspects, it was a reinvention. at last, he could attempt to become the person he’d rather be, full-time. one single train ride was enough for him to make sure most people his year at least knew his face, as he popped in to chat for a while. the sight of the castle came with a clear indication: he was finally somewhere big enough to contain all of him. his energy quickly had him dubbed as the wannabe class clown, evidence in the story of how the burke boy, while playing around in the small boat that’d lead them across the lake and pretending to be their legendary sea captain, tripped and fell into the water.

theodore was sorted rather quickly into the ravenclaw house, and that made sense to him. his mother was the smartest person he knew, and she owned more books than he could recall. his father was a genius with numbers. he’d certainly get his chance to prove his intelligence at hogwarts. the first year was a rude awakening.

try as he might, the boy seemed to lack behind in most things. in a highly individualistic group such as the ravenclaws, he found himself more and more alone in times of need. sure, theo was funny, he’d make the entire classroom giggle; he’d entertain his dorm room until near dusk; yet his connections felt hollow. he wasn’t creative. he wasn’t very book smart. his house felt less and less like home - perhaps the hat had made a mistake. maybe he was a gryffindor like his mother, or a slytherin like his father. perhaps an hufflepuff even.

during his second year, theo was louder, more boisterous, a bit too much for some people’s tastes. what he lacked in grades and proper friendships, he made up in stage presence. it was near impossible to not notice when theo was sitting right next to you, or even in the same room. he tried out for the quidditch team (and failed), and ended up joining a few extracurriculars to fill his time with things he could actually be good at. years of learning the violin with his neighbor, an elderly witch who’d done some tours with some forgotten orchestras, came in handy when he joined the hogwarts’ orchestra (although he only ever got truly good at it during his third year, with intensive practice). the debate club became one of his favourite activities, it being an outlet for the endless bite in him, to the constant need in theo to say something back until only he could have the final word. without realising it, he expanded his skills into things he could actually do. creativity. music. spontaneity. an ability to think on his feet at all times. a pompous nearly-suave way of being.

after over a decade of struggling, the burkes at last brought to the world another child and for the rest of the school year, that was all theo could talk about. philippa, philippa, philippa. to this day, she is his favourite person in the world and he cares about her just so much.

NOW

the following years were a constant discovery of who theodore burke truly is. although he’s been achieving no better than passing grades, except at DADA, which most have attributed to all the knowledge he gets by working summers at his family’s store; theo’s proven himself in the two extracurriculars he’s in, and spent most of his sixth year training to join the dueling club and not make a fool of himself, or at least no more than one would expect from him.

a big part of that discovery was a conversation his parents had with him during one summer, when he asked them in the middle of the store why they hid their dark marks. while not the most astute of people, a fourteen year old theo had heard enough about the boy who lived, the dark lord who’d terrified the word, and his many followers. he’d seen enough pictures from trials and attacks in some books. the kernels of ideology he’d been catching all his life came together in that kitchen table, when he was told of the generous and righteous man who’d attempted to make a new world time and time again, for which the rest were simply not prepared. it wasn’t exactly an hostile story, but rather one of a rebel that kept being taken down by the establishment. the darked deeds the burkes themselves had been involved in? necessary evils. an escalation of events easily preventable had the ministry done something more.

it was a stark contrast. the loud boy that played the violin and made paper planes with his unfinished exam sheets. the legacy of a revolutionary line that was waiting for its new leader.

he digested it the only way he knew how - by sharing his experience to those who understood him. that group kept getting smaller, and by the end of his sixth year it was mostly those who carried the same expectation to join the ranks as soon as their leader returned to continue the war.

the dissonance caused him great confusion. still struggling to understand his very own moral compass, theo began his final year at hogwarts with a bang. suddenly the big question was no longer what the orchestra should play for the christmas concert or what he’d do after hogwarts before he resigned to his faith of working at knockturn alley. no. it was who to turn to as his world shifted more than it ever had. it didn’t take long for one side to attract him, the one he’d gotten the closest to in the previous few years, those who understood the weight of his burden. their names had history too, much longer than his, more scarier. theo has quickly adapted to his role as support. he isn’t the brightest, the strongest, the fastest, but he’s been training like hell. he has the connections the group might need at times. he isn’t seen as exactly a powerhouse, and that gives him some manoeuvre room many don’t possess. he is a part of the revolution. and he has no clue how much of himself he’s ready to commit to it.

some stats, which you can find HERE.

some character parallels: jake peralta (b99), albus potter (cursed child), greg serrano (cegf), richie tozier (it), eliot waugh (the magicians), quentin coldwater (the magicians), nick miller (new girl), percy jackson (pjo+hoo), felix dawkins (orphan black), haley dunphy (modern family), eve polastri (killing eve), eleanor shellstrop (the good place)

WANTED CONNECTIONS

ravenclaw friends: i’m assuming mostly from the creative side of the house, rather than the studious one. people who’ve grown up with theo, gone through some of the same challenges of being pulled towards a characteristic of their house that often gets neglected. just creative out-of-the-box nerds pls thanks

ravenclaws that do not like him as much: this is really more of a default house sort of thing. theo doesn’t fit the most general template for ravenclaws lots of times, and in fact, mocks it a lot. gets house points deducted all the time. just not a general fan-fave.

a tutor: or more really. someone his year (or a professor who’s given him the extra time and help) who gave him a hand in some subjects and kept him from truly failing them. he’s a slow learner, a distracted one at that, but he pours all of his loyalty and care into those who help him out along the way. but also makes them want to bang their heads against the wall.

childhood friends: so we’ve got two options here. someone who was also raised, at least partially, in upper flagley. OR one of the pureblood kids around his age that he’d visit with his family. either way, people who knew him before hogwarts and had seen his changes over the years.

borgin and burkes clients and traders: the biggest claim the burke family could make within the DE was always that they have the connections to be good supplies, and so they did. the same applies to theo right now, who uses the knowledge of cursed and dark artifacts he learned at his family’s shop, and the connections they’ve gained throughout the ages, to be of use. his face is a staple there during the summers so many characters would have dealt with the boy.

ex ex ex: theo falls fast, hard, and then crashes and burns everything around him. he’s had many absurdly short-lived relationships in the past, usually ended by his own making. fight him.

ex friends ex friends ex friends: see above. he’s just terrible at human connections wow

orchestra friends: or just musically inclined really. playing was one of the few things he discovered pretty soon he’s great at, so he can often be seen practising, listening with heart eyes to others’ music, or testing out instruments he does NOT know how to play and thus sounds horrible. music pals !!

debate club pals: his tongue is sharp, fast, and accompanied by a wannabe suave personality and an intense need for validation. the only times theo can be seen in the library are doing research for debate topics, and he’s really just invested in perfecting how to talk his way out of things. that, however, leads to more philosophical and introspective conversations than he’d rather have, so lots of room for development all around for characters !! he became the president of the club this year and he is devoting so much of himself and his to it, it’s ridiculous and mentally provoking and i love it

pine trees galore: his this is theo and he falls in love too much. it’s obviously not always a two way street and he’s not ashamed to proclaim to his peers that ‘you see that one over there with the yellow jacket? i will marry him someday’. be the yellow jacket person

ravenclaw 7th year dorm room: who has had to share a bedroom with this idiot for the past 7 years and how tired are they?

duelling partners: he’s not in the official duelling club, as he feels like he has enough on his plate this year, but he’s made tremendous progress in the last year. theo’s been practising more and more, for what he isn’t certain. it started as training to join an extracurricular. then it turned into perhaps a need to protect himself and those he cares about in the upcoming dark times. and maybe it’s a way for him to prove himself within the death eaters and show his worth as their soldier. whatever the reason, he needs people to practise with him so LETS FIGHT

death eaters: this is a bit of a vague one and applies to regular ones and students. theo is a good fighter, but not great. he’s a diplomatic talker, but no expert in mental warfare. he can’t brew the easiest of potions to save his life. however, he’s loyal to a deep fault, especially to the PEOPLE, not the cause. death eaters and their legacies are mostly what he grew up surrounded by, and those he’s navigated towards the last few years. he’s the loyal servant who keeps trying to prove he can be more than that, and the resourceful one who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy. sometimes, however, others may doubt his commitment to the cause, or need to shake him up a bit to get hi to loosen his morals. that may cause some connections of friction or suspicion, some of superiority (with him being seen very much as the loyal dog and not an equal in many occasions), and some of protection, both him protecting others (be it from the DE, from their enemies, or them themselves and their own actions) or others protecting him in the face of all the impulsive illogical decisions he makes or his lack of care for the ideology.

#iidyintro #❛ v . | it made me a man that says “ fuck all those rules i will be who i choose “ ; headcanons .#this is uh a lot #HMU PLS LETS DO STUFF

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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Black Widow: Could Red Guardian Have Fought Captain America?

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This article contains Black Widow spoilers.

When we finally catch up with Alexei Shostakov (David Harbour) in the Russian prison where he’s been idling for years, he’s reliving his glory days in the midst of dealing with a string of arm wrestling contenders. Marvel’s Black Widow has already shown us just how strong Alexei is during its long, Ohio-set opening, so we know that the man who was once Russia’s answer to Captain America is going to win every single one of these bouts.

As Red Guardian, Alexei even had his own action figure, and although he’s now pretty out of shape the super soldier is more than a match for any of the younger and more ripped inmates who hope to challenge him. While a collection of men excitedly watch Alexei peacock his strength, he even brags about the time he beat Captain America.

“So,” Alexei teases. “I have the nuclear code, but there he is. Captain America! Finally, the Red Guardian’s time has come. I grab hold of his shield and, face to face, it’s a test of strength. The shield that he carries with him like a precious baby blanket? I use it to my advantage. I take it, I push him out the window, I make my escape.”

The beefy inmate he’s currently grappling with calls bullshit on the tall tale by getting Alexei to date his face-off with Cap at around 1983 or 1984 – a time when Steve Rogers was still in the ice.

“Are you calling me a liar?” Alexei rages, snapping the poor man’s wrist until it’s as floppy as a glove. Yikes.

But, hey, he’s just annoyed about being called out. There’s no way Cap and Red Guardian battled in the ’80s, right? It’s just not possible. Well, probably not. Unless you start thinking too hard about the events of Avengers: Endgame, the different ways that the writers and directors of the blockbuster view Steve Rogers’ fate, and the appalling way America treated Cap’s legacy, as revealed in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

Let’s look at the possibilities…

Replacement Captain America

A fascinating but deeply upsetting thing we learned in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was that Steve Rogers wasn’t the only super soldier fighting for America.

In the 1950s, Isaiah Bradley was one of many unwilling human subjects that the United States military tested their super soldier serum on, and as far as we know the only one who made it through those trials. During the Korean War, Isaiah fought Bucky Barnes when he was locked in Winter Soldier mode, and managed to destroy half of his metal arm in the heat of battle. The government started to worry about news of an African-American super soldier going public, and imprisoned Isaiah for three decades. He was freed in the 1980s and his death was later faked so he could live a normal life.

We’re pretty sure Alexei could tell the difference between Steve and Isaiah, but we guess it’s possible that the US military could have had other super soldiers posing as Cap between the period when Isaiah was active and Steve made his return from the ice. For example, in the comics, there were several men who stood in for Steve after Cap had been frozen, because the government didn’t want the world to know that Captain America was gone. One in particular, William Burnside, even went so far as to get plastic surgery to resemble Rogers and really took the whole thing too far (it didn’t end well, but that’s another story). Could Alexei’s tall tale be the first way the MCU nods to replacement Captain Americas beyond Isaiah Bradley?

It’s pretty unlikely that Alexei fought anyone other than MCU Steve Rogers, though. He knows that Steve Rogers is Captain America. Hell, everyone does! Rogers is a “war criminal” on the run in Black Widow, which is set between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, and he wouldn’t ask Natasha if Cap had mentioned him otherwise, so we should probably assume that when Alexei is talking about his bouts with Cap he means Steve and only Steve.

Old Captain America

In the months following Avengers: Endgame’s release, the film’s directors and writers held court on the details of Steve Rogers’ mission to return the Infinity Stones and the long life that he subsequently chose to live with his WWII sweetheart, Peggy Carter. As you may recall, after Steve finished popping the stones back to their rightful places to avoid any of the chaotic branch timelines that The Ancient One warned Bruce Banner about, Steve and Peggy grew old together, and Old Cap then re-emerged on the very day he’d first left to pass his iconic shield over to Sam Wilson – an incident followed up in Marvel’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

But fans weren’t entirely sure whether the life Steve and Peggy lived would have caused its own branch timeline, a matter that directing team Joe and Anthony Russo were happy to clear up.

“Based on everything that happened, he would have been in a branch reality and then had to have shifted over to this, so jumped from one to the other and handed the shield off,” they said. “One thing that’s clear that Anthony and I have discussed, I don’t know that we’ve discussed this publicly at all, Cap would have had to have traveled back to the main timeline. That’s something that, yes, he would have been in a branch reality, but he would have to travel back to the main timeline to give that shield to Sam Wilson.”

A branch timeline, guys? Really? Loki, Mobius and everyone else at the TVA want a word.

Avengers: Endgame writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely had a totally different view of how Steve managed to show up where he did at the end of the film – he never left.

“That is our theory,” explained Markus. “We are not experts on time travel, but the Ancient One specifically states that when you take an Infinity Stone out of a timeline it creates a new timeline. So Steve going back and just being there would not create a new timeline. So I reject the “Steve is in an alternate reality” theory. I do believe that there is simply a period in world history from about ’48 to now where there are two Steve Rogers. And anyway, for a large chunk of that one of them is frozen in ice. So it’s not like they’d be running into each other.”

Yes, according to Markus and McFeely, there were two versions of Steve Rogers around in the seven decades that followed Captain America: The First Avenger, and the older version was just off living his life with Peggy while the younger one was in the ice. The confusion was palpable, with many fans refusing to believe that Steve would have hidden in the shadows instead of deciding to do something about all the horrible things that may have been happening in history’s relentless geopolitical conflicts.

The time travel rules of Avengers: Endgame – arguably nonsense – don’t leave much room for Markus and McFeely to be right – Banner tells the team that they can’t change the past because the past will become their future. But Markus and McFeely later doubled down on their comments, claiming that Old Cap was even at Peggy’s funeral during Civil War.

“I would like to believe that through some sort of bullshit time loop paradox–throw in the words you use when you’re bullshitting science in a movie: ‘some sort of quantum paradox’–that there are indeed two Captain Americas in the MCU timeline. That Steve Rogers who looped back into time has therefore always been there, and that he is living somewhere else in the movies you’re watching….And what I really like to believe is that there’s an old man sitting in back at Peggy’s funeral in Civil War, and that’s old Steve Rogers, watching young Steve Rogers, carry old Steve Rogers’s wife up to the front of the church. Can I explain it scientifically? Not really, no.”

Weirdly, it’s Black Widow’s throwaway moments with Alexei that could support the writers’ take here. Maybe the Steve who was with Peggy didn’t stay out of the fight all those years. Maybe he did try to stop Red Guardian from stealing the nuclear codes. And maybe this wasn’t the only time he and Alexei came to blows during the Cold War era. Sure, Cap would have technically been in his ’60s, but he ages slowly and Alexei is proof that the super soldier serum still very much has a kick to it as the years fly by.

Straight Up Lying For Clout

Alexei could have fictionalized his interactions with Captain America for clout, and he comes across as the kind of person who would do so, but let’s look at the second time he brings up Captain America with his “daughter” Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow. He couldn’t be any more proud that she became an Avenger, even if she defected to fight for the other side. Instead of reconnecting with her properly, however, the first thing he talks to her about privately is in the interest of boosting his own ego.

“Natasha come here, I want to ask you something, its important,” Alexei insists. “Did he talk to you about me? You know, trading war stories.”

“Who?” Natasha asks.

“Captain America! My great adversary in this theater of geopolitical conflict. Not so much a nemesis, more like a contemporary, co-equal. I always thought there was a great deal of mutual respect,” he says genuinely.

Natasha doesn’t confirm or deny that Red Guardian got a mention in her conversations with Steve. She’s too annoyed that Alexei is harping on about himself again after they’ve spent so many years apart, but it may leave a tantalizing Captain America mystery lingering on the MCU timeline. Why would Alexei take an obvious lie this far, to someone with first-hand knowledge who would absolutely be in a position to call him out on it if he didn’t at least believe it was true?

For what it’s worth, Harbour told Inverse that Red Guardian’s Cap stories are “absolutely true, 100 percent,” but also went on to add “There’s a thing, confabulation, where people actually just believe their lies to such a degree that even when confronted with reality, they can’t process it. It doesn’t make sense [to them]. I think Alexei is very much the same way. He lives this reality completely independent of what other people have seen or heard.”

Whether any of this is ever canonically confirmed or not, the MCU is known for its breadcrumbs and callbacks, so don’t count out more Cap vs. Red Guardian hints just yet.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

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crimethinc · 6 years

Text

Notes on Anti-Fascist Self-Defense Training: 10 Lessons from the Russian Anti-Fascist Experience

The Trump presidency has seen a boom of fascist organizing and anti-fascist resistance in North America. Strategies and tactics that originally developed in the European context have spread around the USA. Meanwhile, in Russia, both Nazi violence and anti-fascist activity have died down to a mere fraction of what they were at the peak of the years of confrontation, 2002-2011. In the following text, a participant in the Russian anti-fascist movement suggests some conclusions about how to train for anti-fascist confrontations.

In publishing this perspective, we aim to facilitate dialogue between those fighting fascism in a variety of conditions all around the world. We believe it is crucial for anti-fascists to learn from history and from each other’s experience. If the Russian model for anti-fascist action reached its limits based on internal factors, as described below, we should take care not to reproduce those elements in our own organizing. Likewise, we encourage readers to bear in mind the political, social, and legal differences between the Russian and US contexts; you’ll do no one any good by ending up in prison on weapons charges unless the alternative would have been even worse. In the long run, fascism won’t be defeated simply by individual courage or force of arms, but by building a broad-based, participatory movement that addresses the social and economic problems fascists capitalize on to recruit for their organizations.

youtube

Antifascist Attitude, a documentary made in 2008. Click on the option for English subtitles.

Introduction from the Author

Unfortunately, this text cannot go into detail about the history of Russian anti-fascism. That text has yet to be written. You can get a general sense from two texts that appeared between 2009 and 2011, before it was obvious that the situation was about to change:

Antifa in the Wild East—Internet Warrior Sets the Record Straight

Notes of a Co-Conspirator

There are a number of reasons why both fascist terror and anti-fascist organizing have drastically diminished in Russia over the past decade. First of all, Russian society is less dysfunctional. During the economic crisis of the 1990s, entire communities were devastated due to drugs and crime; people born in the 1980s were among the most affected. When this generation reached their twenties in the following decade, they were prone to violence and mayhem. Almost all the major Nazi terrorists were born in the 1980s. Since then, the majority of those still alive and not in prison have settled down somehow.

The police are also taking fascists and anti-fascists more seriously. A decade ago, you could bribe beat cops to get out of trouble; sometimes you could even bribe officers of the FSB (the successor to the KGB). Nowadays, beat cops contact the Center of Counteraction Against Extremists (E-Center) or the FSB, and they do not accept bribes anymore. The government has also heavily suppressed the football hooligan subculture, which used to be the biggest youth subculture in Russia.

A third reason is changing fascist strategies. Russian fascists have oscillated between organizing wide mass movements and underground terror. In the 1990s, Barkashov’s party Russian National Unity boasted hundreds of thousands of supporters; by the late 2000s, nothing remained from those days and fascists were concentrating on underground terror cells. The most prominent of those was the Fighting Organization of Russian Nationalists (BORN), the speciality of which was high-profile murders, including those of anti-fascists Ivan Khutorskoy, Fyodor Filatov, Ilya Dzhaparidze, Stanislav Markelov, and Anastasia Baburova.

Murals depicting anti-fascists murdered by Russian fascists.

All the known BORN members have been dead or imprisoned since 2013. During the cycle of protests against election fraud in 2011-2012 and Alexei Navalny’s rise to prominence on an anti-corruption and anti-immigrant platform, fascists rediscovered their lost hope of building a mass movement and joined liberals and leftists in mass demonstrations—not without occasional fights with anti-fascists, however. New terror groups still occasionally emerge, such as the group around 20-year-old Pavel Vojtov, which murdered at least 15 homeless people in the Moscow area from 2014 to 2015. But this is nothing compared to the situation of the previous decade.

The last major Nazi attack on an anti-fascist concert was in summer 2010, when a group of Nazis aiming to assault a show by Moscow Death Brigade dispersed after warning shots were fired with a shotgun. The arms race had reached its logical conclusion; both anti-fascists and fascists lost interest in attacking the gigs of their opponents.

After the collapse of the movement against election fraud, the fascist movement was in a crisis, just as the rest of the opposition was. The war in Donbass (a region in eastern Ukraine torn by a Russia-backed insurgency) was another devastating blow, as Nazis were bitterly arguing about which side of the conflict to support. Eventually, both Nazis and anti-fascists ended up fighting in both sides of the front. Even anarchists have failed to reach a common position about the war in Donbass.

In a way, Russian anti-fascists had achieved a victory, as the movement was always organized around the goal of defending shows, not combating racism in Russian society in general. Since Nazis do not come to shows anymore, there is little organized anti-fascism left.

Because of all these factors, racist violence has dropped dramatically in Russia. According to SOVA center statistics, there were 692 incidents in 2007 and 93 in 2016—a whopping 86% drop. The real drop might be even more, as readiness to report crime grows as crime drops.

The reasons for the rise and fall of fascism and anti-fascism in Russia were rather local; there are probably not many universal lessons to draw from this. However, we can offer some notes regarding the practice in the streets.

The following suggestions are drawn from the experience of those years in Russia. All of this is basically common sense, but judging from what I’ve read online lately, some people may still benefit from these suggestions.

Note that self-defense in this text refers also to precautionary offense, as you cannot expect a state of peace with fascists to last indefinitely.

youtube

A video from the classical Antifa era—2006 in Moscow, when the police were not particularly interested in what occurred in street confrontations between fascists and anti-fascists.

1. When it comes to physical confrontations, there is a strict hierarchy of tools.

A blunt weapon almost always wins against bare hands. A sharp weapon almost always wins against blunt weapons. A gun always wins against knives.

This hierarchy of tools is much more important than any disparity in size and strength; it also erases most disparity in skills. With a sharp weapon, you can easily defeat an unarmed opponent twice as heavy as you. Take this into account if you are small and weak.

Because of this…

2. There is no universal practice of self-defense.

The appropriate practice of self-defense depends completely on the cultural and legal context. For example:

-In Western and Central Europe, confrontations usually involve bare hands, sometimes blunt weapons. Most of these countries have a cultural aversion to using sharp weapons, although knives are sometimes drawn. Guns are almost never used, as firearm ownership is strictly regulated.

-In Greece, the mere possession of sharp weapons is heavily penalized. As a consequence, confrontations typically involve blunt weapons.

-In Finland, carrying knives is not unusual, and you should be prepared for the possibility that your opponent will be carrying one. Guns are also more available than in the rest of the Europe.

-In the USA, gun regulations are lax. You should operate under the assumption that your opponent may be carrying one.

-In Russia, the cultural framework is fluid. According to tradition, conflicts should be solved with bare hands, and gun legislation is rather strict. However, due to the escalation of conflict between 2002 and 2011, trauma guns and knives replaced fists; then shotguns replaced trauma guns and knives. Shotguns created a balance of terror and confrontations died out for the most part. Because of cultural and legal pressures, both of these shifts took a few years.

Antifa was born in Germany and originally spread in Western and Central Europe, but the practice of fighting barehanded is not applicable in places where the cultural and legal framework does not confine confrontations to those terms. There is no sense in training in unarmed self-defense if your opponent is likely to carry a blunt weapon. There is no sense training in self-defense with blunt weapons if your opponent is likely to carry a sharp weapon. If your opponent is likely to carry a gun, there is no sense training in self-defense with sharp weapons.

In addition to cultural and legal frameworks, scenarios also matter. I read an article about anti-racists setting up a powerlifting gym in the USA in order to be prepared for confrontations with racists and sexists in the streets and clubs. However, lifting weights is of very little use if you expect to confront a fascist demonstration. If the scenario is confronting a random racist, sexist, or homophobe in the street or serving as a bouncer at a benefit party, appearing big enough may solve the problem without violence.

This brings us to our next point…

3. Understand your priorities.

Unless you are a teenager or 20-something and plan to be a self-defense professional, you should prioritize. You cannot prepare for all scenarios; you should pick a few of them. Even if you do not have studies, a job, or a family now, you are likely to have any or all of them during the next 10 years that it will take you to become a universal expert.

You have a choice to make. If you expect to face unarmed opponents, train in unarmed self-defense. If you expect to face armed opponents, figure out how to survive the situation. If you only expect to face random harassers or drunken assholes at parties, you may lift weights. But most likely, you wont be able to prepare for all of these scenarios. Concentrate on what is most likely to keep you alive and healthy.

Therefore…

4. Do not train in Mixed Martial Arts.

Or at least do not concentrate on grappling, unless you only plan to be a bouncer and you do not anticipate any serious confrontations. This goes for anything related to ground fighting, including Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and wrestling.

If you have to fight against several opponents and you go to ground with one of them, someone will kick your head or stab you in the back. If you want to stay alive, you never want to go to ground in any serious situation. You should know something about holds, but spending years studying the complex art of grappling makes no sense if the goal is to survive in the streets.

I always feel sad when I read about anti-fascists training in MMA. Obviously, it is a beautiful form of art. However, it has little to do with the kind of self-defense you may need in political confrontations. Yes, anti-fascist MMA tournaments have been organized in the former Soviet Union since 2009, but this choice is not due to street realities but due to culture. Pulling a knife is considered disgraceful; this is why people kept training and competing in MMA even when everyone was already carrying a knife or a trauma gun.

Avoid any fancy Japanese or Chinese technique with a thousand-year-old noble tradition unless studying it is your chief goal in life. These arts were developed for the purposes of a professional caste in feudal times; they require years of full-time study to master and involve impractical and outdated weapons. If you are landed gentry, perhaps you can afford to become a samurai. Otherwise, that is unlikely.

You know best what to do with your own life. Mastering Kwan Dao or Katana might be just as fascinating as mastering model train collecting. But in the streets, all three of those options are comparably useful unless you always carry a Kwan Dao or Katana with you.

If you have a job or other demanding commitments in your life, you haven’t studied martial arts since childhood, and you do not possess natural talent, you should concentrate on learning the most essential and rudimentary skills. If you expect to face an opponent in an unarmed confrontation, the first thing to learn is how to deliver kicks and punches. Muay Thai is good for this. If you live in an area where it is more likely that you will find yourself in a scenario involving blunt and sharp weapons, I recommend Filipino martial arts such as Kali or Escrima—and nothing else. If you live in an area where everyone has a gun and issues are likely to be resolved through confrontations with firearms, just get a gun and learn how to use it.

And also…

vimeo

A video summarizing the first No Surrender anti-fascist mixed martial arts tournament in Moscow in October 2009. The chief referee, Ivan Khutorskoy, was murdered by BORN the following month.

5. Be prepared to use your weapon.

Even in countries where there are strict cultural norms or laws against weapons, they are sometimes used. Sticks and stones are everywhere; your opponent will probably find one if he is really in trouble. There is no country in which you should concentrate only on unarmed training.

Even if you do only prepare for unarmed confrontation, you should think about how to protect your knuckles. You are not going to go around with boxing gloves—nor would you want to use them in a serious confrontation, anyway. But if you break your hand with your first punch, you are in trouble. You should think about this. Always be prepared to protect your knuckles.

And when you train with weapons…

6. Do not spend much time studying disarming techniques.

Most likely, you will never have the opportunity to use them. Attempting to disarm a person of any weapon is always extremely dangerous. You should only try it if your opponent is obviously drunk and inexperienced and there are no other opponents around. Otherwise, you should not attempt to disarm someone, but rather, use your own weapon instead. If you don’t have a weapon of your own and there is no way to escape… you’re probably in trouble.

But besides training…

7. Be prepared to use what you have learned.

There is no point training in Filipino martial arts if you do not carry a weapon with you. It is pointless to do target practice if you don’t carry a gun. When you have learned your art, you should always carry your weapon anywhere that you expect you may be involved in confrontations—and sooner or later, even where you do not expect them. If you are not able to do this, you should be prepared to deal with confrontations without your weapon.

8. What about running away?

Self-defense gurus often say, “First of all, you should attempt to run away.” This is often good advice—but not always. First, it is always easier to catch someone than to run away, so it only makes sense to run if you believe that you are faster and you know your escape route. Second, you may not be the only one whose life and health is at stake. What if you are able to escape, but that would mean leaving your comrade to face your adversaries alone?

Obviously, it is a good idea to stay in good shape and do cardio training. Almost any street confrontation requires stamina and at least a bit of running. But you should be prepared for situations in which running away is not an option.

But even if gurus sometimes give bad advice…

9. Always train with professionals.

Or at least study under very experienced trainers. It might be nice to hang around and practice with your friends from time to time, but in order to learn something and to develop your skills, you have to join a serious group.

Yes, many trainers and people in clubs are assholes. Both trainers and regular students might be unfriendly, unsupportive, sexist, or otherwise insensitive. However, the people you’re likely to face in street confrontations will not be nice, either.

I’m not saying that you should pay to participate in a class that is almost unbearable. If the other people are such assholes that you can’t concentrate on the exercises, it’s not worth the money. But any major city has plenty of options; if one trainer or club doesn’t suit you, look for another one. You should only train exclusively alone or with friends if there really is no other choice.

However, although it is better to train with professionals, a professional trainer is probably not the best person to seek life advice from. If you ask your trainer how you should train and how much, she or he will probably answer that you should train six days a week and go to a competition on the seventh. Perhaps you only want to train to win in the streets, or at least to stay alive out there. Your trainer will probably have different life priorities than you. Not every anti-fascist has to be a professional trainer or fighter. If the art of your choice can only be useful after you’ve been practicing it three times a week for five years, it’s not a good choice. One of the stupidest choices I made in my life was to train in ancient varieties of kung-fu for years. I never had enough time or skills achieve anything in them.

And at last of all…

10. Practice sparring in every training.

Only sparring can prepare you for serious confrontations. You should practice with many different rules and many different scenarios, such as one person against many people and many people against many people. You should train to draw your weapon fast. Do this in every training, even if you’re a beginner. If your trainer does not understand importance of sparring, change classes.

Don’t take it too hard, as you don’t want to have CTE. But don’t take it too easy either.

-Cloudbuster

I would like to thank Jew Bear, xAx, and CrimethInc. agents for valuable comments.

youtube

An example of football-hooligan-style fighting. In 2010, Arsenal Kiev, known for its anti-fascist fans, played Karpaty Lviv, which was known for its fascist fans, in Lviv. Many anti-fascists from Russia came to support Arsenal. Arsenal fans managed to stand their ground, although outnumbered more than 2 to 1.

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dweemeister · 6 years

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Sissi: The Young Empress (1956, Austria)

When last we saw Elisabeth of Bavaria (”Sissi”), she had just married Emperor Franz Joseph I to become Empress of Austria. Those events were depicted in 1955′s Sissi, the beginning of Ernst Marischka’s Sissi trilogy. This review concerns the second part of that trilogy, Sissi: The Young Empress, released the year after. The cast is largely the same, with few additions. Like the other films in the trilogy, this middle installment has become a Christmas television fixture in German-speaking countries even though it might not be as escapist or as accomplished as the first. We see Sissi beginning to understand the extent of her imperial duties and intervene in European politics in places where her husband cannot. Essentially trapped in the imperial summer residence of Schönbrunn Palace, she attempts to create her own happiness in the midst of the historical and regal expectations that she is unprepared for.

It is in or near the beginning of the summer of 1854 when we find Sissi (Romy Schneider) adjusting to life as Empress of Austria. Her movement, her courtly behavior, and the political matters in which she may partake in are controlled by Archduchess Sophie (Vilma Degischer) – Franz Joseph’s (Karlheinz Böhm) mother, who abdicated her claim as empress to give to her son. The Archduchess is not cruel like the archetypal fairy tale stepmother, just steeped in tradition and imperial decorum. Tensions flare when the Archduchess, upon the birth of Sissi’s firstborn in March 1855, states that she feels Sissi is too immature and young to take care of her own child. The Archduchess instead believes instead of childrearing, Sissi should concentrate on imperial duties. Heartbroken, Sissi causes scandal when she leaves Schönbrunn to see her family in Bavaria as Hungary is demanding political equality with Austrian citizens in the Empire.

European history buffs will object to that final sentence, and their objections are justified. The co-equal union of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary did not occur until 1867 – a year never covered by this trilogy, which keeps to the 1850s. The unification of Austria-Hungary was also a result of the Austrian Empire’s loss to Prussia in the Austro-Prussian War (1866); Marischka is not interested in depicting, let alone discussing, European warfare and the royal stratagems and pivoting to assert a monarch’s power and a nation’s sovereignty. The coronation of Franz Joseph and Elisabeth as King and Queen of Hungary is expedited more than a decade to create some sort of triumph for Sissi to end the second film on – the actual Hungarian palace where the coronation took place was unavailable for film production, as the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 against Soviet control was underway.

By the end of this second film, viewers should probably predict that the trilogy, entirely written by Marischka (who also co-produced the trilogy), all follow a similar structure: the reintroduction of our main characters and discussions of political developments that will appear in the final passages of the respective movie, Sissi feuds with Archduchess Sophie and a life-encumbering crisis develops (whether started by the Archduchess or someone else), Sissi overcomes the crisis through a feat of personal growth, and the political troubles alluded to early in the film is resolved without bloodshed or sociopolitical acrimony. This predictable structure reduces the enjoyment of watching this and the third Sissi film, provided that one has watched the trilogy in order.

The antagonism between Sissi and the Archduchess over who should care for Sissi’s firstborn is the beginning of the decline in Empress Elisabeth’s mental health. A series of tragedies rocked the House of Habsburg-Lorraine during Sissi’s four decades as Empress in what was not a happy reign. Those events, combined with Sissi’s belief that she was essentially being imprisoned within the walls of the imperial residences, has ingrained Sissi into the minds of Austrians as a reluctant, tragic beauty.

But Sissi: The Young Empress might be unwatchable if it remained as a brooding, angsty acting exercise where Romy Schneider is made to look miserable all the time. Respite comes from the precious interactions Sissi has with her newborn baby girl, her improper return home to her parents’ residence in Bavaria (an Empress is supposed to be at the Emperor’s side whenever she is needed, repeatedly notes the Archduchess), and learning new languages like Hungarian. It is her willingness to learn Hungarian that endears her to a significant portion of the Empire, despite the objections of some in the court (and, yes, especially Archduchess Sophie, who loathes Hungarians). Sissi’s budding friendship with Count Andrássy (Walter Reyer) – historical gossip speculates that the two had an affair, a historical footnote-that-might-be-more-than-a-footnote-if-historians-knew-more swatted away by Marischka’s screenplay in the third film – also helps to calm her anxieties over her official roles. Sissi’s charisma and surplus of political capital with Hungarian leaders opens the possibility of a peaceful union between Austria and Hungary – a union later ended in the flames of World War I.

Romy Schneider disliked being so closely associated with Sissi. Nevertheless, all of these movies are impossible to imagine without her. Perhaps Schneider had more accomplished performances when she worked with Luchino Visconti and other notable European directors. But in the public’s imagination – in German-speaking Europe and, increasingly, abroad – Schneider, embodying all of Sissi’s disappointment, happiness, and courteousness, does masterful work. As Franz Joseph, Karlheinz Böhm is less of a romantic lead in Sissi: The Young Empress than in the first movie, and to have Franz Joseph keep to imperial responsibilities is a necessity of the screenplay that does not make an interesting performance. The chemistry established between Böhm and Schneider feels deflated here as a result of Marischka’s decisions. The best supporting performance, like in the prior film, is with Vilma Degischer as the Archduchess. Degischer understands that she cannot afford to have the Archduchess seem too uncaring for Sissi’s plight, so she makes sure to be less threatening and demanding when the scenario calls for it.

Many of those who worked on Sissi (1955) behind the scenes worked on the two subsequent films. Cinematographer Bruno Mondi has the eye for Bavarian landscapes, but Sissi: The Young Empress almost entirely takes places indoors. Mondi is not as well suited for so many interior shots and, compositionally, this middle film is the least interesting in the trilogy. More dolly shots following actors into and out of rooms, shots from different heights (what about closer to the floor so that we might see the ceiling and highlight Sissi’s entrapment?), and shots paralleling the walls on the far side of the room could have contributed to the aesthetic, but Mondi does very little of any of this. Mondi’s cinematography is functional, never interesting.

Costume designers Leo Bei, Gerdago, and Franz Szivats also return for Sissi: The Young Empress. Because there are more imperial courts, ball scenes, and formal ceremonies, this trio are working at such a high caliber of expertise. Borrowing some of the elements from the earlier film, alongside studies of the period’s artwork and actual dresses and suits of the Austrian Imperial Court, their work feels as authentic as it could be.

There is not enough free English-language literature about exactly where each scene was shot (was production allowed inside Schönbrunn, or were most of the interiors shot in a movie studio soundstage?) for this film. No matter what that actual ratio is, production designer Fritz Jüptner-Jonstorff has, again, provided sets that make this film stunning to look at. From the high-ceiling rooms, deep dining halls and dance floors, and ornate furniture, the art direction – despite originating from a film – is fit for an Empress.

Yet Ernst Marischka’s direction for Sissi: The Young Empress is not as impressive as the initial entry; his screenplay takes fewer risks than any of the other films (no, messing with the timeline to provide Sissi with a movie-concluding victory is just historical revisionism in this case). In an era before sequelitis infected major American studios, Sissi: The Young Empress feels too much like the prologue for a more interesting movie to come – one with more political hostility between Austrians and Hungarians and additional conflict between Sissi’s love for Franz Joseph (which never abates, but is deemphasized in this film compared to the first) and distaste for her imperial responsibilities.

Romanticized as ever, Sissi: The Young Empress is where the forces of history – despite the film’s inaccuracies – begin to converge, threatening to destroy the image of a princess-turned-Empress only looking to be happy in a role that makes her belong to an entire nation. The balance between her responsibilities to her people and state clash with her individual preferences, making “Young” the crucial word of the film’s title. It is Sissi’s youth – a desire to extend it, a realization of how alien the imperial system is – that is the subject of personal sacrifices very few people, regardless of age, are willing to make. Through it all, Sissi remains a compelling, complex character even if the filmmaking falls short of what was seen in the first part. The important lessons to be learned, the most infuriating situations to grow from, have yet to show themselves to the Empress.

My rating: 7/10

^ Based on my personal imdb rating. My interpretation of that ratings system can be found here.

Also in the Sissi trilogy: Sissi (1955) and Sissi: Fateful Years of an Empress (1957)

#Sissi #Sissi: The Young Empress #Ernst Marischka #Romy Schneider #Karlheinz Bohm #Magda Schneider #Gustav Knuth #Vilma Degischer #Josef Meinrad #Walter Reyer #Erich Nikowitz #Anton Profes #Bruno Mondi #Fritz Juptner Jonstroff #Gerdago #Leo Bei #Franz Szivats #TCM #My Movie Odyssey

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feathersandblue · 7 years

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Hi!I love your meta about black sails characters and I've read your last one about flint's real motivations and how much more human silver is.One of the biggest critic moved to silver is about madi, and the fact that he betrayed her stopping the war without her consent. That he has taken away from her a possibility to free the world from slavery. A cause for which she was ready to die for and to see him dying too. And for this betrayal he doesn't deserve and won't obtain her forgiveness...

Everyone is entitled to their own interpretation, and canon does not really answer the question what their future relationship will look like - or rather, it indicates that while reconciliation is possible and Madi might be willing to forgive him, their relationship will never be the same.

I don’t think canon really backs the idea that she won’t be able to forgive him. The fact that Madi comes to him in their last scene is pretty telling - it’s meant to indicate that Madi is changing her stance, rather than Silver. If the creators hadn’t meant to imply that they would still be together in some form, they could easily have their last scene be a shot of Silver looking at her longingly from a distance, and she turning her back on him and walking away.

Of course, we also have a very concise statement from the show’s creators:

“The way you see them at the end, they’re in the same frame but they’re yards away from each other. Emotionally, that’s as close as they’ll ever get again.”(x)

So I think it’s made pretty clear that Madi does forgive him, but that it’s not really the same after. And how could it be? Silver has betrayed her. There are fundamental differences between them that have now become obvious, which at least Madi hasn’t really been aware of before. He’s not the person she thought he was.

Concerning the fact that Silver stops the war without her consent, and that this makes him a bad person … well, I have a couple of problems with that.

1. One of them is a distinct one-sidedness in the way people look at their relationship, where Madi is treated basically as a saint, and Silver as an illoyal boyfriend who doesn’t support her and her cause as is his duty. But in a romantic relationship, both parties have obligations toward each other, it can’t be just a one-sided thing, no matter how much we relate to one partner and their goals and ambitions.

It’s also important to point out that if Silver had acted the way she wanted him to, Madi would be dead. Madi only survived the entire ordeal because Silver chose a wife over a war. If he hadn’t brought the cache, even though Flint and the maroon queen opted against it, the governor would have shot her.

It’s also only fair to mention that the choice between a noble cause and the life of a partner is not one that you can dictate to anyone. It’s a deeply personal decision. The fact that Madi’s life was more important to Silver than vice versa is not something you can really blame Silver for.

“You may think what you want of me. I will draw comfort in the knowledge that you’re alive to think it.”

I imagine it’s pretty difficult to remain perpetually pissed at a person for saving your life, going forward.

When Madi was imprisoned by Rogers, she wasn’t willing to bargain for Silver’s life. It was her choice. I don’t see anyone pointing out that it would have been her moral duty as a romantic partner to think of Silver and what they had together, that she is a horrible girldfriend for putting her beliefs first.

And yet I see people say that Silver’s failure to act in a way that reflects her beliefs rather than his makes him a bad person.

In a relationship between two equals, there is no such thing as an obligation to defer to your partner in such a profound way. There is no way to justify why Silver should have to defer to Madi. And yet parts of fandom consider him a horrible human being for failing to do just that.

So really, that one-sidedness, where people look at things only from Madi’s point of view - one that emphasizes her marginalization as a black woman and comes with the premise that Madi’s wants and needs clearly exceed Silver’s - that he’s a horrible boyfriend for disregarding her priorities, which are so much nobler and more important - is something I can’t share or support. People often judge their relationship from a position of real life activism, where the fact that Madi is fighting slavery is a killer argument. In my personal opinion, regarding their personal relationship as well as their historical situation solely from that perspective is somewhat reductive and simplistic.

2. The second problem that I have is the assumption that Madi was entitled to that war, as if war was some sort of possession or property. It was “her war”, and then Silver “took it away from her”. You might recall what I said about Flint personifying that war in my previous meta post. So according to Flint, Silver is a ruthless murderer; according to fandom, he is a thief.

But no matter how you twist it, war is not something that people have a right to, because war always requires the partcipation of other people. It requires soldiers to do your dirty work. If you are a war leader, you have to have the support of your troups, you have to lead them into battle, you have to order them to fight and kill on your behalf.

I’ve already written extensively about how Flint acts as a leader, but there’s one thing that can’t be denied, and that’s that he’s willing to put his own life on he line, fighting side by side with his men. He’s doing more than his own share of dirty work, he’s usually part of the boarding crew or the vanguard. It’s rare that we see him stand back while others do the killing.

When it comes to Madi, on the other hand, we have an entirely different situation. Madi is the heir of what is framed as a hereditary monarchy, she wasn’t elected into a position of power, she’s awarded that position - stepping into the footsteps of a leader who is “priestess, governess, warlord.” Her authority is absolute, she even takes pride in making it obvious to Silver in 3.08. that her men obey her without question. But Madi doesn’t do the dirty work. She doesn’t spill blood. In an era where war still means a lof of close combat, Madi steps back and lets other peope fight her battles.

What right does she have to this war, morally speaking, when that war demands the obedience and the sacrifice of other people? A position of authority where you can order people to die is not something that any human being, no mater how much we like them, should be entitled to.

Imagine there’s a war, and no one shows up. (*)

Basically, what Silver and Julius do in the finale, is to make that war so singularly unattractive to people that they are no longer inclined to show up. They are no longer willing to kill and die on Madi’s behalf because, guess what, they, too, value their own lives and those of their loved ones more than they value the prospect of a long, bloody war that puts their own freedom at risk and has very little chances at success.

Tough shit. It almost looks like it’s been Madi’s war rather than “their war”, as she so succinctly phrases it in her conversation with Rogers. Madi felt so confident speaking on behalf of her people, but then it turns out that she never actually had their vote. It should be mentioned that Madi herself has not experienced slavery first hand - not the way that Julius, Max, Ruth, or her mother and her father have experienced it, who are all far less enthusisastic at the prospect of a war because they know how much they stand to lose when England retaliates.

I am going to copy & paste a couple of praragraphs from one of my earlier posts here.

Fandom often treats Silver as if he were taking away Madi’s agency, but that’s not really what he’s doing.

By removing Flint and the treasure from the picture, Silver basically dissembles the nukes and cuts the finances of a war that he considers a fucking nightmare, which, and I don’t think anyone can deny it, is a valid concern. Flint, as a war leader and a brilliant tactiction, second to none, is more of a force of nature than a man. His reputation, his tactical genius, his ability to overcome the greatest odds, and his ability to get people to follow him are nothing short of amazing. So really, the analogy of Flint being the nuke - the devastating weapon of mass destruction - is not far off. And of course, the treasure is both a media-effective means of propaganda and a valuable resource.

Both Flint and the treasure, however, are also not something Madi had a right to, or at least, her right to them did not surpass Silver’s.

Silver has bled, and spilled blood, for each of these things.

Silver was a key player in securing the Urca gold in the first place. He bled for the cause (lost his leg in Charles Town), he was part of the Walrus crew which made Flint’s name what it became in the aftermath of Charles Town. He was the one who served as Flint’s quartermaster, he was the one who sailed with him into that storm, he is the one who went with him through the doldrums. When Flint made the bargain with the maroons, he made it under coercion - because the maroon queen threatened the lives of him and his crew. But it was Silver whose intervention forged that alliance. Without Silver, Flint would have given up in that cages, and all of our pretty pirates would have ended up dead either from torture or slave labor, or slain during their escape.

Madi, on the other hand, got that war handed on a silver plate (pun intended). She was living on that island, and, like most young people, struggling to forge her own identity by establishing herself in opposition to the more protectionsist rule of her mother. Along came a bunch of pirates who offered her a shiny war, as well as the war leader to fight it for her, a man with the persuasive power to convince her mother to support it.

Madi’s war relied on Flint - his tactical skills, his willingness to sacrifice anything and everything for the cause. It also relied on Silver, who put his life on the line again and again, torturing, killing, and descending into darkness. Silver was reluctant to step into that role, and we can see, during season three and four, how he struggles not to let that darkness consume him. Long John Silver is also not something that Madi has a right to. Nor, and that is where we get back to 1, is his unwavering support and loyalty even when it goes against his beliefs, especially since she doesn’t seem willing to offer the same.

When I say that Madi’s war relied on Flint, there is also another aspect to it, wich ties back to the previous meta about Flint and his reasons for fighting. Madi’s war relies on Flint being fucking miserable.

The thing that Madi seems most upset about in 4.10 is the fact that Silver sent Morgan to Savannah to look for Thomas Hamilton.

But why would Madi be upset about the fact that Silver sent someone to find out whether his best friend’s lover might still be alive? I mean, let’s assume that the Spanish invasion hadn’t happened, that Morgan had returned with the good news that Thomas was alive, imagine Silver had told Flint, there would have raided the plantation to free Thomas, and there would be a tearful reuion of two lovers. How on earth could Madi possibly see this as a form of betrayal?

Maybe because Silver, and Madi herself, knew that Thomas being alive would be a game changer for Flint. Looking for Thomas - which is all Silver did in that moment, it’s not as if he’d really been planning to imprison Flint there at that point - can only be considered a form of betrayal if they both knew exactly that Flint was only willing to fight that war because he was so lost to his grief and rage that it drove him to such extremes, if they both knew that Flint was born “out of great tragedy”. But it’s Flint that Madi’s war relies on. Not James McGraw.

All these things - the treasure, Flint, Long John Silver - they do not belong to Madi. There is a certain irony in the fact that Madi used Silver’s considerable skillset - his cunning, his inventiveness, his power of persuasion, the legend of Long John Silver - to fight her war, but that is is this exact skillset that is then used against her to end it.

Of course, Madi is free to do as she pleases. If she wants that war so desperately, she can go and try to find some likeminded people who help her fight it. She can find the outsiders, the rebels, the other “scattered objections” and form her own army, wage her own war, if that’s what she thinks is right. Build her own resistance. Do it the hard way. She can send someone to Savannah to find Flint and free him. She can do a lot of things to make that war happen.

But she won’t do that, because she isn’t stupid, and she’s not like Flint, who was so consumed by his war that he simply could not let go of it. Madi has other things to live for, thankfully. For sane people, a war immdiately gets a lot less attractive the moment their chances of winning decline. Madi is a good leader to her people, and she’s a good person. She would not waste lives and resources in a war that no one wants.Silver did betray her, and I’m not saying she has to forgive him. But I think it’s important to acknowledge that Silver’s motives and reasons are no less valid than hers, and that taking out Flint and the cache did not mean denying her agency, because if her agency relied on these two things, then it was never real to begin with.

3. Third, what bothers me is to look at Silver’s betrayal of Flint and make it about Madi when it was never about her in the first place. I know we all look at the show from different pespectives, but I think it’s fair to say that Silver and Flint, their individual arcs and their complex and fraught relationship, are central to Black Sails. In Silver’s story, Flint is the antagonist, and the conflict between Flint and Silver and its resolution has very little to do with Madi - if anything, she’s a catalyst that contributes to brings things to a head. Accordingly, the idea that Madi’s wants and needs should be the determining factor in Silver’s decision-making seems quite absurd. Flint may be Madi’s nuke, but first and foremost, he’s Silver’s … friend, alter ego, antagonist, partner, captain, whatever you want to call it - this overwhelming influence in Silver’s life.

The relationship between Silver and Flint is complex, fraught, full of landmines. There’s a co-depenency that’s not quite healthy, a power imbalance that only changes in Silver’s favor in season four - and there’s a tentative, hard-won friendship between them. And in that situation - with their shared history and everything they’ve been through together - should Madi’s wants and needs really be the deteminigg factor in Silver’s decision-making? Or should it be his own moral compass?

Of course, the situation in Black Sails is more complex than that, there are other factors to keep in mind - first and foremost, the issue of slavery, which, as I’ve said before, is a killer argument all on its own. How can Silver possibly turn aganst Flint and Silver when they fight for a better world without slavery, for a revolution? If he doesn’t want to fight, he can just walk away, can he not?

But the thing is, people who tend to say that rarely look at the whole thing from Silver’s point of view. There is a distinct lack of willingness to put themselves in his shoes.

Silver is in a position of an individual having to make a choice. Jack has arrived with a clear agenda, one that gives Nassau a chance at peace. From Silver’s point of view, Flint is entirely driven by rage, the intent “to see the world burn” - as someone who is decidedly not an idealist, Silver simply cannot focus on these far-away visions of a better future the same way. And in that situation, confined by his own experiences and worldview, Silver is left with two options: side with Jack, secure the peace and the freedom of Madi’s people, stop Flint, and keep Madi safe. Or turn against Jack, enable the war and let Flint set the New World on fire, then lose both him and Madi either trough a violent death or by leaving them behind. War or peace? The decision, in this moment, is not an easy one, but I think it displays a lack of understanding to suggest that with Silver’s and Flint’s relationship right at the core of it, with everything that stands between them - the things Silver has seen Flint do, the murder and the insanity and the gambling with lives, and the things Silver himself has done on behalf of the war - that Silver acting according to his personal beliefs makes him a villain, or that it is his moral duty to support his girfriend’s ambitions - the very girlfriend who, at this point, is only still alive because he’s already “betrayed” her once by prioritizing her life over the cause.

So, after all of that, we are still left with a couple of things that cannot be denied.

1. Silver acted behind Madi’s back, and he betrayed both her and Flint on a personal level. They had no reason to suscpect he would turn against them (though I would argue that there were signs, they just didn’t pick up on them), which further contributes to the sense of betrayal.

2. Silver put a stop to a war that was meant to abolish slavery. We cannot conclusively say that it was the right choice (but neither can we say it wasn’t, as we have no means to determine what the outcome would have been).

It’s of course perfectly okay to have personal opinions about all of these things, or to think that Madi should not forgive Silver. But I can’t help but think that a lot of the criticism levelled at Silver is a consequence of a very limited viewpoint that is rooted in activism, not in empathy - to an extent where the entire thing becomes a black and white thing, where Madi gets awarded all the oppression points that forever put her on a pedestal of moral high ground, because SLAVERY!

Perdonally, I don’t think that this viewpoint acknowledges the complexity of the issue at hand, something that the show itself is actually very good at.

—————————————-

* The original phrasing, of course, is “Sometime they’ll give a war and no one will come.” The variant used here is a re-translation of the German version, “Stell dir vor, es ist Krieg, und keiner geht hin.”

#black sails #madi #john silver #silvermadi #black sails meta #long post #very long post

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euphoriccalliope-blog · 7 years

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Pinpricks: Moftiss, Doyle and Coded Messages

ARG Meta. You know you want it.

So. Some of the most dedicated and responsive TJLC blogs are receiving anonymous asks that are enciphered cryptograms. **fondly leans out of window at epic ticker-tape parade, throws armfuls of confetti onto each puzzle-solver and puzzle-tracker** Some of these cryptograms seem to be coming from a person written in character as moriarty. When solved, these in turn have ties to other aspects of this ARG (alternate reality game) -- tweets from the @contact_jm twitter account, for example. Possibly also ties to the thelostspecial.com website, which is somewhat quiet for now but may not remain that way.

TJLC Languishes in Prison; TPTB Baking Files in Cakes

I dunno whether this is relevant or might become so, but in case it is -- I was just digging around learning about Victorian-era cryptography, and stumbled across this account of how ACD used the text of his own Sherlock Holmes stories as a means of communicating news from England to British POWs held in Germany during WWI. ACD was speaking at a convention dinner in 1921. A pamphlet describing the convention dinner speeches and events ended up in the British Library, and the keeper of the website at this link transcribed the relevant ACD info for the benefit of online Sherlockians in 2014. (X)

Bold emphasis mine, natch:

That Conan Doyle was familiar with this type of secret message transferal is evident when during the Stoll Convention Dinner he reveals how he used this cipher to communicate with a friend by employing pinpricks underneath letters of his stories:

“My creation of Holmes did, after all, a small bit of war work. It is hardly worth mentioning, but I had a friend who was shut up in the Magdeburg Military Prison in Germany. As he and his brother officers were getting no news from England, I took a volume of Sherlock Holmes and in it I pricked out all the news letter by letter, beginning with the third chapter --- pricking under each letter of the message with a needle I sent the book to him with a note saying: “This may relieve your prison captivity and afterwards be placed in the prison library. It is slow but perhaps you might find the third chapter to be a little more interesting.” I thought that would be good enough for him, but as a matter of fact he missed it. There was however, another officer, Capt. The Hon. Keppel, of the Guards who with extraordinary sagacity, “got on” to it. The result was that the British officers in captivity got the whole of the news of England at that time. I then got another letter saying “Please send us another Sherlock Holmes story.” I continued to send them with all the news pricked out in them to those officers until I learned that they were actually being allowed to have English newspapers, and then I desisted.”

What if We Get an Ur-Cipher?

We’ve all been on Prison Shutter Island since TFP, and hints within hints can get a gal down after three straight weeks of emotionally invested theorizing. The attention has become a shade annoying.The verifiably “real” cryptograms that are part of the ARG are possibly parts of a puzzle, but what is the end goal of the puzzle? What if the end result of all of this cipher fuckery teamwork is a pattern we can then apply to the existing BBC show footage or shooting scripts to read/generate a completely different set of information than the one TPTB originally told? This would not be as nice as having more video footage as a new episode, but given what I just read it in Doyle’s own words, I feel like this may come up at some point. Just theorizing here, but I had to mention it, because I like the elegance of Moftiss doing it flat-out. I mean, c’mon. How could they resist following in ACD’s footsteps, pinpricking their own canonical text to bring relief to beleaguered imprisoned friends longing for news?

Since their medium is audiovisual, though, and not text, it doesn’t entirely make sense that they would limit themselves to the shooting scripts. Maybe the end result will be a series of time stamps that the fandom can then edit into an alternate canon, perhaps using some additionally provided footage found along the way?

What Do You Think — Do We Make the Lost Special?

The fandom is already thinking of doing this anyway, or already doing it fast, through fix-it fic. . . not a huge leap. I’m still holding out for an actual release, but maybe this is part of the “patience bomb” going off before that happens. They know we can. Would it still be a worthwhile endeavor even if we know on some level it’s all marketing for the real fourth/next episode? Hell, yeah. They said it would be annoying and yet, here I am. I don’t care at this point. I’m serious about them owing us birthday cards though, and public acknowledgment-slash-apology if this goes big à la Kemp/KRATIDES/Geek Interpreter. There is hope here: after all, we only need to do it “. . . until I learned we learn that they were we are actually being allowed to have English TJLC confirmation newspapers.” Or maybe the whole shebang has jumped mediums, and is now a Tumblr meta-project, so all of this is a moot point, and we are making the effort as we speak, and canon is now a swarm of TJLC Tumblr blog posts. Still interesting, if only because it’s all of you who are making it so.

Caveat: I use “we” on eggshells, as someone who joined Tumblr like 3 weeks ago out of sheer frustration with S4 and a keen need to de/reconstruct it. Total n00b here, offering sincere apologies if I am stepping on anyone’s sense of belongingness. Willing to earn my own. Y’all are rock stars. I’ll be over here just yelling ARG a lot and feeling every cryptopuzzle keenly as a pinprick.

Tagging folks who seem to be engaged in the puzzle-solving or discussion thereof. . .and frequent use of the ARG tag. @teapotsubtext, @inevitably-johnlocked, @jenna221b, @kinklock, @tjlc, @johnlock-incorporated @rowanthestrange

#arg #alternate reality game #tjlc #puzzle solving #clueing for looks #the lost special #meta meta meta

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poppun-chan · 7 years

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The Year of Keroro Challenge Update 4 (Yes Sir)

Goodness, even though I mentioned looking forward to this one it took quite a while to write it (this has been a difficult week)in terms of watching I’m almost finished with the first season, actually, one strange thing I noticed was that the valentines episode actually lines up with valentines day. But before we get started Jlucy pointed out to me that the scene from episode 21 with the car is specifically a nod to “Castle of Caliostro” with the drivers being based on two of the main characters and the car being a nod to the Fiat from the movie. Actually I wonder if the writers for the dub had this in mind when they were writing; in the English version the driver mentions he was renting a car because he didn’t want to use his Fiat.

Either way I had planned to wait until there weren’t any text pieces to translate, but I have at least one more of these non-episode specific notes to do before we reach episode 65, so a bit on name origins (The ones for the Human characters will probably be less familiar, but still....)

Keroro-Kero, the noise a frog makes (I’ve always suspected this is actually a really common name)

Tamama-Otamajakushi, meaning tadpole (I really find myself wondering about his family background that his parents gave him a name that assumes he’s going to look like a child for a long time)

Giroro-Giro, the onomatopoeia for glaring at someone/something

Kururu-Kuru, it’s used as an onomatopoeia, a noun, and a verb, either way it refers to something twisting, spinning or turning (which is why his resonance creates a loop)

Dororo-It’s best known as a reference to the Osamu Tezuka manga Dororo, which takes place in the feudal era, it also works as a play on Doro-Doro which is the sound of something dripping

And the plan count:

Serious Plans: K66:16 D66:1 MMK:1 TMM:1

Funding Plans: K66:1

It’s a plan, I Swear!: K66:5 (I’m throwing the sports day mission in here too)

Oh look! Progress!: K66:3

And the marker board from episode 27:

Episode 22: Now first of all I’ve always enjoyed this episode, the absurdity, the cute break down Tamama has at the end, the completely impractical but still fun plan (actually I think Tamama only comes up with three plans over the course of the entire show and they’re all more or less the same basic concept). Plus the little stealth pun when Natsumi gets angry about the shower; she shouts “Kora!” which is an interjection that can be used as a reprimand, but it’s pronounced similarly to Cola.

Actually, speaking of this part I have to admit I sort of agree with Tamama’s point that Fuyuki could just serve that cake in the fridge instead of making dinner....Actually even the bit about accounting for nutritional balance could sort of be refuted; Baked goods often contain grains and eggs, not always dairy but ice cream and cheese cake covers that, his plan allowed tuna as an exception so that’s meat covered, plus many desserts are made with fruit and there are some made with vegetables (carrot cake, anything with pumpkin in it, corn cake), sure most people would probably either stop eating before this point or simply die trying, but theoretically it IS possible to get normal nutrients that way....Yes I’ve seriously thought about this; there are quite a few characters that can be explained this way.

Finally no discussion of this episode would be complete without bringing up the infamous letter, so I’m going to try and cover this in more depth since I have the luxury of making this a separate note. First of all, it’s written really oddly; everything except the word “leader” is written in katakana which you normally wouldn’t do (hiragana only is a different matter, but in modern times it’s considered a bit childish). One big issue with not using kanji is that it’s much harder to tell what you’re trying to say, plus katakana itself is a bit sticky since some of them strongly resemble each other or other kanji (one relevant to this is katakana ni resembling the kanji for two which is often pronounced the same way). The revealed part admittedly seems phrased a bit simply, but it says “Taichou wa Tamama ni” or “Tamama’s Leader” while the full message is “Taichou wa Keroro ni Makasetamama ni” or “Keroro will be left as the leader” I suppose the closest thing in English would be if the letters were a bit more spaced apart instead of grouped together

And fun fact; Etsuko Kozakura, the woman who provides Tamama’s voice, also did the voice of Puppetmon/Pinocchimon from the original Digimon series. I just thought I’d mention this since I noticed a few....similarities between their management styles (Though Tamama just imprisoned people who crossed him instead of....deleting them)....actually watching the episode and knowing this made me look into Digimon again, did you know one of the newer series has a Puppetmon who is one of the friend Digimon that shows up every now and then? Really. They have his nose grow when he lies (including to himself) and give him some really charming moments....and he shares his English voice with Keroro, hm.

Episode 23: And it’s the clone episode! I have to confess, the bit about the clones not having a star always makes me wish there was a video of the original Keroro singing the song from the Sneetches, the one where the starred Sneetches are roasting marshmallows....I know it’s a strange association to make, but....Come to think of it, I don’t think this was a manga chapter, I’m not completely sure and I know most of the season one episodes were based on the manga, but I know a few stories were anime exclusive and I believe this was the first one, either way it’s hilarious to see Keroro being the responsible one and getting annoyed by the behaviour of his own clones (still, at least there was an easily visible way of telling them apart, which is better than what happened with Pinkie Pie, some people still theorise that they kept the wrong Pinkie).

Now for a bit of a sticky area, especially since I’ve been putting up with my grandfather’s preoccupation with this particular time for most of my life, but I noticed something a bit odd. Even now, a lot of people seem to be weirded out by the “clone salute”, but they actually switched two of the syllables in the Aliens’ name for Earth because the original term from the manga was associated with the Sino-Japanese wars (I’m not sure which, there’s two major ones and a bunch of smaller conflicts, but the second big one was during the world war) and was banned from television. I’d be curious to find out what it is that makes one war reference more acceptable than another (maybe because calling Earth “Pokopen” alludes to much longer standing conflict with a specific country? I have to admit I always wondered if the best way of handling “touchy terms” would be to find a positive, unrelated use for them so they take on a new meaning and the old one eventually falls out of use; you often hear about the power of words, but it’s actually their meanings that have effect rather than the words themselves)

Episode 24: Oh dear it’s 556, I have to admit I’ve never liked this guy (though I will admit, I like the instrumental version of his song on the Christmas album) I know for a lot of people felt the same way with Joriri eventually replacing him, but it didn’t work the same way for me.

Actually, one thing I love about this episode is how when Keroro wonders about the emotions he’s feeling watching 556 fighting “monsters” they immediately cut to Tamama; it’s almost as if the cinematography is saying “Let’s ask your resident expert, shall we?”

Actually I recently looked at the Japanese version of the full character page again, I think there’s one surprising one on there; I know 556 and Labbie are references to Space Sheriff Gaven and a character named Annie from Space Sheriff Shaider, but the character page lists their relationship as Gukyou-Kenmai or “Goofy Older Brother, Wise Younger Sister” which was the original title for a T.V. series called “Otoko wa Tsurai yo” or “It’s tough to be a man” which later became a huge film series of the same title (Often called “Tora-san” after the main character, Torajirou), spanning 48 installments and nearly three decades (only ending when the actor playing Torajiro died). The films followed a similar formula of Torajirou the traveling salesman going home to his sister’s family, walking out after getting into an argument and meeting a distressed young woman in the next town he goes to and offering to let her stay at the family’s sweet shop if she needs it. Eventually this happens and he falls in love with her, but in trying to win her over indavertantly ends up setting her up with another man and ending up disappointed, but putting on a brave face and wishing her the best before journeying to another town in hopes of getting over her and eventually becoming somebody his family can be proud of.

The first movie was actually made to please fans of the original show who were upset that Torajirou died of a snakebite in the final episode, it also took quite a bit of convincing from the director to get the first movie made. Incidentally, the working title for the original show came from the final caption in another piece Torajiro’s actor played in

Episode 25: And here we have a Nishizawa family quarrel....which is appearently not considered complete unless enough money is spent that you could buy a small town and heavy weapons are nearly used (that’s the second time Keroro’s nearly let to Earth be destroyed only to be stopped at the last moment by the realisation that Earth is the official “Gunpla Planet”). Still there are some nice little moments (though I wonder if they ever did make that video, as long as they cut out the bits where they start to lose it could work)

Episode 26: Sports Day fun times ♪ Actually, has anyone ever noticed that whenever a show wants to slow down a sports day they usually target the scavenger hunt? Though now that I think about it, the cruel irony of all this is if they hadn’t tried to help, Aki probably would have made it in time to run in the race (or at least, the combined effect of accidentally speeding up the 100 meter dash and ruining some of the manuscripts). Though I do admit that I miss the parts from the manga where Momoka is running a race and the newspaper article at the end “Freak in tights crashes sports fest” I find it strangely hilarious the way they worded it. Also it’s amazing the things that become relevant later on, let’s see who remembers what I’m talking about.

Episode 27: First of all, I love the way Keroro offhandedly compares renewing interest in the invasion to reviving the dead (He already knows it’s a lost cause), it’s especially interesting considering they come across the remnants of a failed invasion later on. Actually I sort of want to see a spin off about those past invaders; not necessarily a big, dramatic, action-y thing mind you, honestly I expect it would be more or less the same thing as with Keroro but in ancient times, perhaps with the human characters being the ancestors of the current ones.

Also they use the pun of kaeru meaning both “frog” and “to return” quite a lot in the series. Though I have to admit I can relate to Keroro’s feelings a bit here; all of the women in my family have been quite formidable, especially for their time, and my mother is crusading to change the child welfare system in Canada (even though she’s never been in it) and doing all of these things for political change and I sometimes feel I can’t really measure up to that, even though I don’t plan on going into a related field. Plus because of her work I’m a bit burnt out on people issues, I focus more on environmental ones.

Episode 28: This one was a bit tricky, though I always thought the effect of the cold weather on the Keronians sounded more like windburn than all out frostbite. As for the second part this officially marked the beginning of the odd sort of dynamic of Mois & Kururu, I don’t remember how much it was explored in the show apart from her sometimes being who they went with when they needed a girl to associate with Kururu, though I remember a few moments from the manga that built on it, such as the “Angol Stone” chapter.

#keroro gunso #sgt frog #Year of Keroro Challenge

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vamonumentlandscape · 3 years

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Richmond Day 2

Near the former slave market in Shockoe Bottom in the heart of Richmond is a 15-foot statue dedicated to the reconciliation of slavery. It was unveiled on March 31, 2007, and has identical copies in Liverpool and Benin. These other locations are paramount as Liverpool had significant profits from the shipbuilding of the massive slave vessels. Benin also gained greater access to goods in exchange for human beings. The Richmond statue itself is evocative as it shows two human figures embracing. Engraved on the base of the statue are slave ships, chains, and maps of where the enslaved were brought in to be auctioned to the highest bidder at markets like the one in Shockoe Bottom. It was estimated that nearly 300,000 people were sold in Richmond before the outbreak of the Civil War. We noticed that a few broken light fixtures surround the base, which necessitates attention from the appropriate city department. The statue remains a vital part of the Richmond Slave Trail as it presents an honest portrayal of the role that Richmond had in the most tragic violation of human rights in the history of the United States. The city government could never go back in time and stop slavery from happening, but this form of apology is a positive step towards addressing our troubling past.

After we viewed the Reconciliation Triangle Monument, we walked over to see the nearly hidden memorial to the Slave Auction. It is just across from the train station, beside a trash can. It is a sign in disrepair from weather and age. The first sentence on the sign makes you aware that you are in the exact geographical location of where the slave auction block was. It leads one to imagine yourself in the 19th century Shockoe Bottom. “To your left, around, and behind you were the cobblestone streets that led to the large, fashionable, brick hotels where dealers had their first floor offices and buyers rented upstairs rooms.” The image is vivid of how it once looked when humans were being sold by other humans. Signage leads you to continue on the Richmond Slave Trail. We walked about a quarter of a mile towards the parking lot below the train station and highway to find the next oddly placed stop on the trail. Lumpkin's Slave Jail was right below a major street, with a large, white structure on a trailer directly beside it. The greenery was overgrown on the signage. Once we got past the disrepair the site was in and began reading, the story came alive. “The Devil’s Half Acre” is what Lumpkin’s Slave Jail was known as. A dark place where those who bought slaves could come to purchase the enslaved who were known to “rebel” or seek their own freedom. The torture the enslaved men and women went through at Lumpkin’s Jail is unimaginable as the jail was eight feet underground without any ventilation or light. It is interesting to note that despite the abuse Lumpkin put many enslaved people through, by either owning, buying, selling, or imprisonment, the wife and mother of his five children was a formerly enslaved woman named Mary. After the Civil War and Lumpkin’s death, Mary was left with all of his property. Of course, she did not want to remain on a property where her life was spent in the shadow of an evil man, so she leased the land for a better purpose. Nathaniel Colver, an abolitionist and preacher, was searching for land and space to have an African American Seminary. Once Mary and he met to create the seminary, which is now Virginia Union University, the “Devil’s Half Acre” became “God’s Half Acre.” Continuing to read about the site, one also learns the oddly placed white structure is an important piece of preserved Richmond history. Winfree Cottage was owned by the formerly enslaved Emily Winfree and stood at the intersection of Porter and Commerce streets. This home was going to be demolished in 2002 for a parking lot, but thankfully Alliance to Conserve Old Richmond Neighborhoods raised the money to preserve the site to where it is today. Though all three sites discussed are in semi-disrepair, it is notable they exist at all. Thankfully those all across the nation are beginning to recognize the importance of many different stories in America’s history.

Towards the middle and hottest part of our travels, we ventured to Brown’s Island, which is located near the riverfront of the James. During the Civil War, the Confederate States Laboratory operated here with women and children making ammunition for the Southern forces. It was a prime location due to its proximity to the railroads and canal. Throughout the early part of the 20th century, the Albemarle Paper Company operated a mill on the island before gifting the land to the City of Richmond. It is now a beautiful park with trails for visitors to get some fresh air and exercise. The main reason we sought to visit the park was to see if there was any progress on the Emancipation Proclamation and Freedom Memorial. While it has yet to be constructed, progress has been made at the site. We believe that the fenced area just across from Tredegar Street is where the monument will be placed. According to the MLK Commission, Virginians that will be included at the site are Mary Elizabeth Bowser, Dred Scott, Nat Turner, and many others that deserve to have their stories known. Across from the construction site is the Headman Statue, which commemorates the contributions of African-Americans to the city economy. A bronze statue depicts a man standing on a boat holding an oar while looking over his shoulder. Unfortunately, the original fiberglass statue was stolen and vandalized in 1989. When found, it had over 400 bullet holes. It is possible that this incident was racially motivated. The Headman was replaced in 1993 by the original artist and has remained in its current location ever since. We enjoyed making a quick stop at this picturesque part of Richmond.

One of the more complex stops on day two in Richmond was at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) and the United Daughters of the Confederacy Headquarters (UDCH). The VMFA looks inviting with a large garden space in the back, a stairway fountain, and art surrounding the main building. The UDCH parallel to the VMFA has an entirely different feel. A marble fortress with orange cones, empty flagpoles, and private security surrounding the already seemingly indestructible building. It was an odd feeling as we looked upon Rumors of War, the 2019 piece by Kehinde Wiley that was inspired by the JEB Stuart statue on Monument Avenue. Despite being inspired by the Stuart statue in looks, the meaning is entirely different. The African American man sitting atop the horse in streetwear is an ode to People of Color who have been lost due social and political injustices across the nation. Just to the right of this powerful statue stands the fortress of the UCDH. It is a conflicting site that shows the state our country is in now. Two narratives battling for recognition and validity. One that represents the Lost Cause that is fighting to stay alive, the other showing the harsh, yet true realities that People of Color have struggled with continuously. How can these two narratives exist side by side? As events in 2020 proved to us all, the two narratives can no longer coexist. We spoke with the African American security guard who was perched outside the UDCH. He made it known to us that he and others around were armed and were not to be messed with. We asked him about the protests Richmond had seen in the summer of 2020 and how they were affected. He told us there had been graffiti all on the walls of the building, but it had been removed. Flags of the Confederacy had been taken down. But, the main reason for their presence was “a scooter was thrown into one of the windows and destroyed many records. We couldn’t have history like that lost again.” When we were finished talking to him about the increased security and state of the building, Tomi asked if we could walk around the grounds which were plastered with orange cones and no trespassing signs. The guard immediately stopped her as she took a step further and told her to walk on the sidewalk surrounding the facility. A fortress indeed.

Though we ventured to see a few permanent exquisite pieces of art on display at the VMFA, such as the Romanov Fabergé eggs, we were lucky enough to get in for free at the Dirty South exhibit Thank goodness for Dr. Sherayko’s museum membership and the kind employee at the front desk! The purpose of the exhibit was to highlight Black southern culture. The first thing that we saw were a stack of televisions playing a piece of Billie Holiday's “Strange Fruit” on a loop. The words “Black Bodies Swaying” were permanently ingrained in our brains. Throughout the rest of the exhibit, works from artists are highlighted to show the challenges of being an Afircan-American in the United States. We were brought to tears by a sculpture that depicted a tree used for lynchings across the South in the Jim Crow era of the 19th and 20th Centuries. A short film played near the end of the exhibition. It had an interesting contrast of highlighting elements of Black culture while also showing snippets of police officers viciously shooting and beating unarmed African-Americans. However, it did appear a bit dated since it was created before the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Though the video was powerful, it seemed to be missing something since it left key Afircan-American women and images from the Black Lives Matter movements of 2020. We are curious about when the short film was created. The main exhibit concluded with several hubs of Black music throughout the South, including New Orleans, Atlanta, and even Hampton Roads, Virginia. Who knew that Missy Elliott and Ella Fitzgerald were from this great Commonwealth?

We were startled to see Paul Rucker’s KKK mannequins on exhibit upstairs. The robes were purposefully meant to be unsettling, but are also unique because the fabric used for the 52 figures included kente cloth, camouflage, and other unique materials. Rucker sought to normalize systemic racism in the present and make it clear that our society has yet to break free from it. Rucker stated in a recent interview with Alex Teplitzky of Creative Capital that though the KKK is weak today, “The people enforcing white supremacy today are normal, everyday people, who are not associated with any groups whatsoever.” The artifacts and robes within should scare anyone who views them but should also prompt them to act in favor of social justice.

After walking through the powerful Dirty South exhibit, the beautiful Natural Bridge display, and seeing the Romanov eggs, we walked outside in the garden of sculptures. Our attention was grabbed by the random church structure in the far left corner of the campus. We walked over to find a church dedicated to the Confederate dead. It was past four o’clock at this point and the church was closed, but signage and peering through windows gave us a pretty good idea of what was inside. Built in 1887 as a memorial to the Confederate dead, the church housed a space for the veterans to worship and congregate. Used until 1941, the church witnessed over 1,500 funerals to veterans of the Confederacy. After 1941, the space was used as a memorial and is now owned by the VMFA. Currently the church is being used as a part of the Dirty South exhibition. Jazz and blues fills the hall as you walk around the seeming shrine to the Confederacy. As we walked away from the building, we noticed a stained glass window through another window that depicted the Confederate flag flying. The exhibit inside the Confederate church is just another sign of progress in that two histories can co-exist, but not two narratives. The Lost Cause is truly beginning to become erased from many sites such as this and it is encouraging to see the truth coming to light.

A special mention to a source that made this post possible:

www.creative-capital.org

#richmond #history #virginia #civilrights #news #student #important #monument

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Charting Russia′s role in Poland′s path to NATO | Europe| News and current affairs from around the continent | DW

September 17, 1993, was a highlight in the political career of former Polish President Lech Walesa. Soviet soldiers, who had been stationed there since 1945 and considered a symbol of Communist oppression, were about to leave.

The last remaining officers had departed their headquarters in Legnitz the day before. Now General Leonid Kovalev officially informed the Polish head of state in the courtyard of the Belvedere Palace in Warsaw that the troop withdrawal was complete.

The end of the occupation

The date is imbued with historical symbolism in Poland. Exactly 54 years earlier, on 17 September 1939, shortly after the German invasion of Poland, the Soviets marched into the eastern regions of Poland and became the second occupier of the country. Walesa described the date as “painful and calamitous.”

“Today marks the end of a certain epoch in our common history. Historical justice has been done. There are no more foreign troops on Polish territory,” Walesa announced in a landmark address.

Read more: The strengths and weaknesses of Russia’s military

The Soviet Union is dead, but its weapons live on

Seven decades of Kalashnikov

The 30-round AK 47 is arguably the most recognizable firearm in the world. The Soviet engineer Mikhail Kalashnikov (pictured above in 2002) created the automatic rifle after World War II. It quickly earned a reputation for being cheap and reliable, with various armies, guerilla groups and street gangs all using the weapon to this day.

The Soviet Union is dead, but its weapons live on

Makarov goes to space

The 9mm Makarov pistol entered service in 1951 as a staple sidearm for the Soviet army, police and Spetsnaz special forces. Soviet cosmonauts even took the weapon to space as a part of a special survival kit, which was provided to them in case they become stranded upon landing back on Earth.

The Soviet Union is dead, but its weapons live on

MiG-29 still flying high

The Mikoyan MiG-29 first entered production in the early 1980s, and was praised as a highly maneuverable and agile dogfighter. The original model has since been upstaged by both NATO fighters and its more expensive brother Sukhoi, but its variants are still deployed in combat. The Russian air force uses MiG-29s to target the so-called “Islamic State” forces in Syria.

The Soviet Union is dead, but its weapons live on

Blast from the past

The Red Army used Katyushas to devastating effect against German soldiers in World War II. The multiple rocket launchers were attached to army trucks, making them cheap and highly mobile. Its distinctive whine and appearance reminded the German soldiers of a church organ, prompting a nickname “Stalinorgel” or “Stalin’s organ.”

The Soviet Union is dead, but its weapons live on

S-300 and its descendants

In 2016, Russia sold its advanced aerial defense system to Iran, but kept quiet on the details. The Cold War-era version of the S-300 had a range of 150 kilometers (93 miles), and could hit targets at altitudes above 27 kilometers, with the more modern Antey 2500 system reportedly expanding the range to 400 kilometers. India and China are seeking to buy the even-more-advanced S-400 missiles.

The Soviet Union is dead, but its weapons live on

Dragunov sniper rifle

The Dragunov sniper rifle was first introduced to the Soviet army in 1963 and has since found its way to war theaters across the world. It was reportedly used against US soldiers in Vietnam. In 2015, the SITE Intelligence Group published photos of the “Islamic State” soldiers with Dragunov rifles.

The Soviet Union is dead, but its weapons live on

T-34, a symbol of an era

The Red Army owes much of its victory over Germany to the iconic T-34, which first appeared on the battlefield in 1941. The battle-tested T-34 eventually became the most widely produced tank of the war and influenced armored vehicles for decades. The Russian military still honors it by having it lead the Victory Day parade.

Author: Darko Janjevic

Poland under Soviet control

Troops had been stationed in Poland since the end of the World War II when the country fell under the Soviet sphere of influence in Eastern Europe.

In June 1945 there were about 300,000 soldiers in the country. Their task was to secure the control of Poland by the provisional communist government. Soviet officers were appointed to key positions in the Defense Ministry and became commanders in the Polish army.

It was not until 1956 that a formal agreement was signed between the two states that capped the number of Soviet soldiers in Poland at 66,000. The military presence primarily laid down a political marker, drawing up the Iron Curtain and the division of Europe into East and West.

Read more:Moscow to stage largest post-Soviet maneuver in eastern Russia

A deep wound: Poland commemorates the Soviet invasion

Traces of the Soviet era

When communism collapsed in Eastern Europe in 1989, Moscow gradually reduced troop numbers in Poland. According to Andrzej Friszke, a historian at the Polish Academy of Sciences, the so-called August Coup of 1991 and the subsequent power struggle in the Kremlin accelerated the withdrawal of troops from Poland.

A bilateral agreement was signed in October 1991. “It was connected with the reorientation of the Russian political sphere, with the departure from a politics of intimidation and imperialism,” explained the historian.

From 1991 to 1993, around 56,000 Soviet soldiers, 7,500 civilian personnel and 40,000 members of military families left Poland. And with them, an entire military infrastructure was dismantled: 600 tanks, 200 planes, 90,000 tons of ammunition and tactical missiles for nuclear weapons were transported to Russia.

The Soviet military had occupied 70,000 hectares in Poland, mostly in the western regions of the country. Some of this land was left with lasting environmental damage for which Poland demanded compensation but never received.

Today, Russian cemeteries and Red Army statues continue to remind people of the Soviet occupation in many places across Poland. In recent years, however, many monuments have been removed. The Soviets are considered occupiers by the right-wing populist Law and Justice (PiS) government, but also by many Poles.

Soviet Soldiers in Poland

A banquet with Boris Yeltsin

The withdrawal of troops changed the geopolitical situation and allowed Polish politicians to expand their horizons and seek alliances with Western Europe.

During the final phase of the withdrawal, then-Russian President Boris Yeltsin visited Warsaw. Polish President Walesa took the opportunity to tell Yeltsin about his vision of Poland becoming a member of NATO. That evening, the two heads of state engaged in long talks over a banquet that went well into the night.

The outcome surprised many observers the next day: Yeltsin’s final communique expressed an understanding for Poland’s NATO ambitions. But most surprised of all were the Russian president’s staff, who forced him to retract his Warsaw promise in writing after he returned home.

Boris Yeltsin was forced to backtrack after promising Walesa Poland could join NATO

Paving the way for NATO

However, Yeltsin still “helped Poland on its path to NATO,” according to Friszke. The initial statement, despite its following revocation, encouraged Poland and other Eastern European countries to forge ambitious NATO plans.

None of this would have been possible in the presence of the Russian military. Friszke sees the withdrawal as a defining moment in history for Poland.

“As long as the troops were stationed in Poland, it was always possible for Moscow to exert pressure. With Russian soldiers still on their territory, Polandwould have had no path towards the West.”