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[tactiklighting]

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[scotianostra]

On 5th April 1820 government forces defeated Radical weavers at what became known as the Battle of Bonnymuir.

I touched upon this on Thursday and was going to follow it up yesterday, but decided to wait for the more important event.

The ‘Radical Rising’ or ‘Radical War’ of 1820, also known as the Scottish Insurrection of 1820, was a week of strikes and unrest in Scotland that culminated in the trial of a number of ‘radicals’ for the crime of treason. It was the last armed uprising on Scottish soil, with the intent of establishing a radical republic.

Based in Central Scotland, artisan workers (such as weavers, shoemakers, blacksmiths), initiated a series of strikes and social unrest during the first week of April 1820. This pushed for government reform, in response to the economic depression. The Rising was quickly, and violently, quashed, and the subsequent trials took place in Scotland from July to August 1820.

The events of the Rising followed years of economic recession after the end of the Napoleonic Wars and considerable revolutionary instability on the European continent. As the economic situation worsened for many workers, societies sprung up across the country which espoused radical ideas for fundamental change.

In the early nineteenth century, Scottish politics offered power to very few people. Councillors on the Royal Burghs at this time were not elected to their position, rich landowners controlled county government and there were fewer than 3,000 parliamentary voters in the whole of Scotland, hardly a democracy.

It was recognised that the key to change was electoral reform, and the events of the American Revolution of 1776 and French Revolution of 1789 helped to promote these ideas. Radical reformers began to seek the universal franchise (for men), annual parliaments, and the repeal of the Act of Union of 1707.

Between 1st and 8th April 1820, across central Scotland, some works stopped, particularly in weaving communities, and radicals attempted to fulfil a call to rise. Several disturbances occurred across the country, perhaps the worst of which were the events at Bonnymuir, Stirlingshire, where a group of about 50 radicals clashed with a patrol of around 30 soldiers, while Bonnymuir is the most famous, or should I say infamous of the events during this period, it was by no means the only “uprising”

On Monday April 3rd a strike took force across a wide area of Scotland including Stirlingshire, Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire, Lanarkshire and Ayrshire, with an estimated total of around 60,000 stopping work.

Reports were made of men carrying out military drill in Glasgow while foundries and forges had been raided, and iron files and dyer's poles taken to make pikes. In Kilbarchan soldiers found men making pikes, in Stewarton around 60 strikers was dispersed, in Balfron around 200 men had assembled for some sort of action. Pikes, gunpowder and weapons called "wasps" (a sort of javelin) and "clegs" (a barbed shuttlecock to throw at horses) were offered for sale.

In Glasgow John Craig led around 30 men to make for the Carron Company ironworks in Falkirk, telling them that weapons would be there for the taking, but the group were scattered when intercepted by a police patrol. Craig was caught, brought before a magistrate and fined, but the magistrate paid his fine for him.

Rumours spread that England was in arms for the cause of reform and that an army was mustering at Campsie commanded by Marshal MacDonald, a Marshal of France and son of a Jacobite refugee family, to join forces with 50,000 French soldiers at Cathkin Braes under Kinloch, the fugitive "Radical laird" from Dundee.

Government troops were ready in Glasgow, including the Rifle Brigade, the 83rd Regiment of Foot, the 7th and 10th Hussars and Samuel Hunter's Glasgow Sharpshooters. In the evening 300 radicals briefly skirmished with a party "of cavalry", but no one came to harm.

The next day, Tuesday April 4th, Duncan Turner assembled around 60 men to march to Carron, while he carried out organising work elsewhere. Half the group dropped out, however the remaining twenty five, persuaded that they would pick up support along the way, set out under the leadership of Andrew Hardie. They arrived in Condorrat, which was on the way to Carron, at 5am on April 5th. Waiting for them was John Baird who had expected a small army, not this bedraggled and soaking wet group. He was persuaded to continue the March to Carron by John King, who would himself go ahead and gather supporters. King would go to find supporters at Camelon while Baird and Hardie were to leave the road and wait at Bonnymuir.

What the leaders didn’t know is that the Government had placed spies and agitators among the crowds and they were lured to the confrontation with well-armed, trained soldiers on Bonnymuir,

The authorities at Kilsyth and Stirling Castle had however been alerted and Sixteen Hussars and sixteen Yeomanry troopers had been ordered on 4 April to leave Perth and go to protect Carron. They left the road at Bonnybridge early on April 5th and made straight for the slopes of Bonnymuir. As the newspapers subsequently reported:

"On observing this force the radicals cheered and advanced to a wall over which they commenced firing at the military. Some shots were then fired by the soldiers in return, and after some time the cavalry got through an opening in the wall and attacked the party who resisted till overpowered by the troops who succeeded in taking nineteen of them prisoners, who are lodged in Stirling Castle. Four of the radicals were wounded".

The Glasgow Herald mocked the small number of radicals encountered, but worried that "the conspiracy appears to be more extensive than almost anyone imagined... radical principles are too widely spread and too deeply rooted to vanish without some explosion and the sooner it takes place the better."

The end of the Rising

On the afternoon of April 5th, before news of the Bonnymuir fighting got out, Lees sent a message asking the radicals of Strathaven to meet up with the "Radical laird" Kinloch's large force at Cathkin. The next morning a small force of 25 men followed the instructions and left at 7 a.m. to march there. Among them was the experienced elderly Radical James Wilson who is claimed to have had a banner reading "Scotland Free or a Desart"

At East Kilbride they were warned of an army ambush, and Wilson, suspecting treachery, returned to Strathaven. The others bypassed the ambush and reached Cathkin, but as there was no sign of the promised army they dispersed. Ten of them were identified and caught, and by nightfall on April 7th; they were jailed at Hamilton.

I’ll leave things there for the moment, the aftermath will be told in further posts, one in a few days, and more as the ringleaders were made examples of as they were tried for their parts in the events.

A large memorial stone to mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Bonnymuir was unveiled last April, the first lockdown having delayed it.

[royalghostsofhistory]

Boudicca

Queen Boudicca is considered to be a British heroine and a symbol of the struggle for justice and independence. She was a queen of the ancient Iceni tribe, and she led a failed uprising in 60 or 61 CE. Her name literally translates to "Victorious Woman", and it is sometimes spelled Boudica, Boudicca, Boadicea, and Boudicea, and sometimes as Buddug in Welsh.

Not much of Boudicca's early life is known, but it is believed she was not of the Iceni tribe and rather of royal descent. We don't even know when she was born, though it is estimated she was born between 25 and 30 CE. The historian, Cassius Dio, wrote "In stature, she was very tall, in appearance most terrifying, in the glance of her eye most fierce, and her voice was harsh; a great mass of the tawniest hair fell to her hips; around her neck was a large golden necklace; and she wore a tunic of fivers colours over which a thick mantle was fastened with a brooch. This was her invariable attire." However, this was written more than a century after her death and wasn't translated into English until 1925, so it may not be accurate.

She may have married King Prasutagus of the Iceni tribe somewhere between the years of 43-45 CE. The Iceni was a Celtic tribe that inhabited what is now Norfolk in England, a parts of the neighbouring counties of Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Lincolnshire. Her husband may have been one of the eleven kings who surrended to Claudius following the Roman conquest in 43. He was considered an ally of Rome and his tribe was allowed to remain independent to some degree, though disarmed.

Upon Pasutagus' death in 60 or 61 CE, he made his two daughters and the Roman Emperor, Nero, his heirs. The Romans ignored this will and absorbed the kingdom into the province of Brittania. It was Tacitus who detailed the Romans and their pillaging and ransacking, as well as the cruel treatment of Boudicca and her daughters. According to Tacitus, Boudicca was flogged and her daughters, possibly twelve years old, were raped.

Shortly after, Boudicca seemed to become the leading figure in a rebellion against the Romans, possibly because she wanted revenge for the humiliation she and her daughters had suffered. The first move was at Camulodunum (modern Colchester) where the queen captured the Roman forces. As the Roman governor, Seutonius, who was leading a military capaign in Wales, heard about the revolt, he left a garrison on the island of Mona and made his way to deal with Boudicca. He made it to Londinium (Roman London) before Boudicca but he was outnumbered and decided to abandon the town, which was burned down by the rebels after torturing and killing everyone who had remained. The Queen and her army proceeded onto Verulamium (modern St. Albans) and won another victory.

Suetonius regrouped his forces, amassing an army of 10,000 men at an unidentified location. They stood in a defile (a narrow pass or gorge between mountains or hills) and used this terrain to their advantage, apparently throwing javelins at the Britons. Though the Roman army was heavily outnumbered, Boudicca's army was defeated.

While Boudicca survived the battle initially, it is said she poisoned herself or that she fell ill. With Boudicca's defeat, the Roman's secured control over Britain.

In film a TV, Boudicca has been portrayed four times.

Boadicea (1927), a British silent film starring Phyllis Neilson-Terry.

Warrior Queen (1978), a British television series starring Sian Phillips.

Boudica (2003), a British television film starring Alex Kingston.

Boudica (2023), a British drama film starring Olga Kurylenko.

[gethoce]

Project Galaxia Masterlist

Worldbuilding

Positive Matterborn

Negative Matterborn

Matterborn Immunities & Talents

Abilities

Charge Changing

References

Matterborn series: Dark Meta Knight, Galacta Knight, Sir Falspar, Sir Nonsurat, Sir Dragato, Kirby

Meta Knight, Morpho Knight and Sir Arthur

Meta-Knights series: Mace Knight, Axe Knight, Javelin Knight, Trident Knight

Marx and Magolor

OC Masterpost

Right back into Ancient Halcandra

A story focused on the timeframe that led to Halcandra’s downfall featuring anime exclusive characters, OCs and game characters such as Galacta Knight and Morpho Knight.

Fuck Off

Various Doodles

Greatest Knight

Ghost Ability

Not so Distant Past

Events that took place before Kirby’s Dreamland.

I AM (A Dedede in Slowmotion)

Fanfic: “Project Halberd”

Heroes from another Perspective

A series that, for the most part, follows characters other than Kirby during the events of the games.

Too late

Teeny Tiny Rod

VS Axe Knight

Marx' Plan A (Remake WIP)

A Waddle Dee joins the Crew

Crash

Guard Duty

Shattered

Betrayal & Breaking a Crystal

Star Ally Army

Four Guest Star Teams on their journey to collect Dark Hearts at the same time as Kirby's team.

Team Betrayal Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3

Team Imposter

Comic: FEAR

A comic series all about King Dedede and Meta Knight overcoming their greatest fears together.

Dedede's confession

Just tell him already

Meta Knight's confession Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Just a little Guy TBD

The Jester, The Knight and The King

Art that focuses on the strange friendship between Marx, Galacta Knight and Magolor and also Dark Meta Knight later down the line.

The Shoppe

Substitute King of Dreamland

Nevermind

They're Friends Now Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

The Carving Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

The Wedding Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

He read Marx, Wing Challange Part 1 & Part 2, They Reproduced and Uno

[weirdfishy]

working on my hall of justice tour guide!danny au or heimdall!danny au for this wip poll game

basically danny lives at the hall of justice and works as mostly a tour guide but also is in charge of security (the watchtower still exists, and the hall is the main access point in this)

while i have some stuff hashed out in the middle, i've decided to switch to the 'write everything out straight n then remix it like you know what you're doing' approach.

it's led me to danny being dropped in space, flying around mars in fascination, and finding an unconcious jla member. only question is, who is it?

[o-wise-corvid]

The squad insignia of Kitchen Sink of the 212th! Co-owned with @hotshot9.

The squad is led by two Jedi, one of which is my OC: Raejel Dagani. (I’ll let Hot Shot describe her’s.)

The Clones are based off of some of our favorite series; I’ll describe a few and let her tell about the others.

Ee’an: The “freethinker” of the group. He’s very metal (looking) but he’s got the soul of a poet. He usually dons all black when not in his armor and has a massive Alderaanian flitterfly tattoo on his throat. He loves to study philosophy and theories in his spare time. (Based on Ian Malcom from Jurassic Park.)

Brewin: An all-round good guy with a passion for coffee. He is as passionate about his love of brews as he is his handlebar mustache. (As well as the lovely owner of the Guzzlin’ Gungan on Naboo.) (Based off Beren from The Silmarillion.)

Tiilk: The “dad” of the group, he’s very no-nonsense and hard to make laugh. But he keeps an eye on his group very fastidiously. He’s also super into dead lifting and can throw a side eye like a javelin. (Based off T’ealc from Stargate:SG-1)

Orbach: the exuberant soldier turned chef. He is a MARVELOUS cook and frequently hums while he does so. He’s also a bit of a flirt, so watch out. You’ll find him with billowing flames tattooed up both arms. (Based on Lumiere from Beauty and the Beast.)

Fitz: A Clone who was discharged from the GAR before the CW’s ended, he’s stuck with the Jedi since they lost their master. He’s something of a loner, surly and has a major issue with the chain of command. Due to his poor near-sight, he was frequently the target of the Cloners’ ridicule and he carried that resentment with him to adulthood. He also had his vision remedied with an extra set being implanted to the side of his natural eyes. They’re only for use in the dark and are usually mistaken for odd scars. He’s freelance now and travels with Kitchen Sink as an “occupational advisor” to his Jedi. (Based on my cat of the same name.)

[autumngracy]

From CNN: House passes $40 billion Ukraine aid bill

(CNN) - The Democratic-led House of Representatives voted 368-57 on Tuesday evening to pass a roughly $40 billion bill to deliver aid to Ukraine as it continues to face Russia's brutal assault.

All 57 votes in opposition were from Republicans.

The measure will next need to be passed by the Senate before it can go to President Joe Biden to be signed into law.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said earlier in the day on Tuesday that after the House approved the package, the Senate "will move swiftly" to get the measure passed and sent to Biden's desk.

Aid to Ukraine has been a rare bright spot of bipartisanship on Capitol Hill with Democrats and Republicans largely rallying around a call to help the nation as it faces Russian attack.

Lawmakers unveiled bill text earlier in the day ahead of the House vote. The legislation the House approved provides funding for a long list of priorities, including military and humanitarian assistance.

The bill includes an increase in presidential drawdown authority funding from the $5 billion the Biden administration originally requested to $11 billion. Presidential drawdown authority funding allows the administration to send military equipment and weapons from US stocks. This has been one of the main ways the administration has provided Ukrainians with military equipment quickly over the past 75 days of the conflict in Ukraine.

In the Ukraine aid supplemental that was signed into law in mid-March, $3 billion in this kind of funding was included. The Biden administration has been using that funding to provide military assistance to Ukraine in a series of presidential drawdown authority packages. The latest package of $150 million was authorized on May 6.

The bill also provides $6 billion in Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative funding, another way the Biden administration has been providing Ukraine with military assistance. USAI funding allows the administration to buy weapons from contractors and then provide those weapons to Ukraine, so this method does not draw directly from US stocks.

According to a fact sheet from House Democrats, the funding will be used to assist Ukrainian military and national security forces and will go toward weapons, equipment, training, logistics and intelligence support as well as other needs.

There will also be roughly $9 billion to help restock US equipment that has been sent to Ukraine. That comes as many lawmakers have raised concerns about replacing US stocks of weapons the US is giving to Ukraine, especially stingers and javelin missiles.

To address humanitarian needs, the bill will include $900 million to bolster refugee assistance, including housing, trauma support, and English language instruction for Ukrainians fleeing the country.

The measure provides an additional $54 million that will be used for public health and medical support for Ukrainian refugees.

"This package, which builds on the robust support already secured by Congress, will be pivotal in helping Ukraine defend not only its nation but democracy for the world," Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a letter to House Democrats on Tuesday after the bill text was released.

The House vote comes after Biden called on Congress to "immediately" pass a new Ukrainian aid bill as he warned that existing aid would soon run out.

"Get it to my desk in the next few days," Biden said in a statement on Monday.

Biden had previously urged Congress to pass additional pandemic relief funding and the new assistance to Ukraine in the same bill.

But he said on Monday that congressional leaders told him to decouple the effort in order to more quickly get the aid to Ukraine. Congressional Republicans had insisted on the two issues moving on separate legislative tracks.

Biden initially requested $33 billion to help Ukraine as it fights Russia, but Congress has proposed billions more for food aid and military equipment.

"We cannot afford delay in this vital war effort," Biden said in the statement. "Hence, I am prepared to accept that these two measures move separately, so that the Ukrainian aid bill can get to my desk right away."

[ysbnews]

Russia on Defense! Ukraine Forces Putin’s ‘Poorly Led, Ill-Trained’ Troops on Back Foot — EXPRESS.UK

War Analysis | 8/21/2022 — VLADIMIR PUTIN'S Russia is now "on defence" and hampered by the performance of "poorly led, ill-trained" soldiers "with low morale", a retired US general has said.  Mark Hertling offered a withering assessment of Putin’s forces almost 6 months after the Russian President ordered his invasion on February  24.The 68-year-old, who was Commanding General of United States Army Europe and the 7th Army from March 2011 to November 2012, provided an in-depth analysis in a series of tweets yesterday. 

Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky - Image © Getty 

He explained: “Russia’s ground forces have proven to be poorly led, ill-trained & with low morale, increasingly & significantly attritted in personnel & equipment (some sources now indicating that when they went into this fight in Feb most units were understrength), unable to regenerate.”  Russia had lacked the ability to execute combined arms operations (CAOs), which are defined as combining resources including infantry, tanks and artillery along with intel and logistics in order secure ground, Mr Hertling suggested.

Mark Hertling believes Russia is now "on the defence" - Image via Twitter

He explained: “Executing CAOs is much more difficult than what many might comprehend.  “It takes years of developing the right kind of leaders and soldiers, getting the right equipment, having the right doctrine, doing the right kind of training & exercises, and having the right kind of government to support those activities without grift or corruption.

“It's more than ‘giving Ukraine everything they need’ and believing it will automatically become a modern and capable force.”  Mr Hertling stressed: “Russia came into this fight thinking they could execute a ‘Desert Storm-like offensive’ that would be completed in a few days. This was delusional. They lacked the leadership, training, equipment, to do it. Given RU culture & systems, they aren't capable of fixing this.” 

General Mark Hertling pictured in 2007 - Image © GETTY

Ukraine’s forces, while relatively well trained with high morale, did not currently have the training for large scale CAOs, Mr Hertling said — but added: “They are adapting, training w/allies, incorporating new equipment, and doing so very quickly. “The Donbas slugfest was a counter-fire battle; limited maneuvre, a battle of attrition.” Russian forces had tried to sap Ukraine’s will to fight with “imprecise strikes against civilian targets” but Ukraine, armed with new weapons including the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) were stopping them in their tracks.”

HIMARS: A missile is launched from an undisclosed Ukraine location - © Getty

In the south of the country, Russia was struggling as a result of “bad leadership”, and was hence relying on a “scorched earth campaign”, Mr Hertling suggested. He added: “Russia is now stalled in the south and can only resupply from Rostov-on-Don (in Russia) or from Russian bases in Crimea (which is now being threatened).”  In the south, Ukraine was now targeting logistics while defending and conducting limited attacks to regain ground with conventional forces, and conducting a “guerrilla campaign”. 

Russian Z tanks, destroyed by Ukrainian forces precision attacks of Javeline and HIMARS - Image © GETTY

Mr Hertling said: “Ukraine knows something Russia doesn’t: Ukraine knows you can’t WIN wars with artillery or air alone.  Those may affect the outcome, or even prep the battlefield for future fights, but a force can’t regain ground with “fires” alone. You must do it with manoeuvre forces...in CAOs.  Early RU goals were beyond their capability. Reducing the goals didn't help. Now, RU's defending in more places against a growing conventional Ukraine threat and an expanded guerilla war.  Ukraine has transitioned to the offense and can pick where they attack; Russia is now on the defense.”  

Volodymyr Zelensky meets Ireland's Taoiseach, Micheal Martin, in Kyiv last month - Image © GETTY

August 24 will also mark 31 years of Ukraine's independence from Soviet rule and President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking during his nightly video address called for vigilance, feared Putin might use the date to launch a brutal attack on his people.  He said: "We must all be aware that this week Russia could try to do something particularly ugly, something particularly vicious.”

Russia vs Ukraine military power in numbers - Image © Express

Read full of War News, analysis + watch video on EXPRESS.UK  ▶️  https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1658362/russia-news-vladimir-putin-ukraine-update-himars-volodymyr-zelensky 

[faerendipitous]

Li-Po Backstory Document: Ford

Ford grew up in a family of accomplished eccentrics. His mother was an ambassador, his father a noted scientist. But most of what his parents did was a mystery to Ford, because it was highly classified. He and his brother and his sister attended private school with the other ambassador’s children. They grew up surrounded by international intrigue. They continent-hopped for vacations.  They dined with presidents and kings. They were expected to grow up and rule the world.

And Ford did in fact exceed at everything he tried. In fact, that was kind of the problem, because nothing held his interest for very long. As soon as he mastered something he lost interest and moved on.

In school he played football, baseball, hockey, and lacrosse. He won the national championship in bocce ball and curling.  By college, he had lost interest in sports, but he managed to become a star javelin thrower anyway. He only pursued the sport to kill his spare time as he completed a triple major in Neuroscience, molecular chemistry, and Theology. He finished up in three years, but hung out for the following summer to pick up doctorates in Astrophysics and Philosophy.

After college, he wandered through a series of odd jobs: Jockey, Tugboat captain, Astronaut, that sort of thing. When his parents had to go into a special form of the witness protection program, that’s when he found out that they had been spies all his life. They vanished completely, but would still get postcards from them for years. Even when he was at the south pole working as a bounty hunter, or repossessing semi-trucks in the deep south, or away fighting for the Lincoln Brigade in the Spanish Civil War. The postcards finally stopped somewhere between his stint as security chief for the pope, and when he was testing experimental, high-altitude aircraft.

He tried to find out what happened to them, but was only able to pick up a thin thread, and it led eventually to little-known-at-that-time organization known as the Psychonauts. Turns out his parents were spies AND psychics. Ford decided to give it a shot himself. He didn’t know if he was psychic or not, but he figured what the hell, he’d try anything once.

Turns out he was a psychic, and a very good one. Within two years, the Psychonauts had elected him Grand Head. In that time he had managed to discover Psitanium, the powerful, extraterrestrial, psychoreactive quartz that is so plentiful in Whispering Valley. Under his direction the Psychonauts bought land in Whispering Valley and mined the special mineral. They also set up a research facility here, and on top of it all, a training camp for young Psychonauts—Whispering Rock.

He might have lost interest in the Psychonauts at this point, only because he had risen as high as possible in their ranks. But a mysterious organization known only as the Poison Path emerged, and begain a campaign of psychic terror across the nation. Their psychic prowess was considerable. No one knew where they came from or what they wanted. There were even theories that the founders of the Poison Path were ex-Psychonauts, or had someone working on the inside, because they always seemed one step ahead of the game. Ford managed to thin their numbers through a series of manhunts and clever sting operations. But eventually it came down to a duel--Ford had to go up against the Poison Path’s enigmatic leader, Botulo Kanker.

They traded blow for blow, trying to gain control over each other’s mind, a mental armwrestling contrest. But Botulo was fighting dirty, and was more interested in just chewing up Ford’s noodle. He knew Ford was the better fighter, but he also knew he could do some damage before he went. Botulo ended up in a maximum sercurity insane asylum, his mind completely gone.

Ford seemed to come out of the battle unscathed, at first. Before long, however, the damage became apparent. Ford would completely forget who he was from moment to moment. Some sort of schism erupted in his mind, and left his identity lying in shards on the floor like a broken mirror.

The Psychonauts eased him out of the Grand Head position, allowing his Second Head, Molton Yuppa to take over. They put him in a figurehead position at Whispering Rock, the very summer camp which he had founded. They made him scoutmaster, because he was still good with kids. But they couldn’t get him to remember what his job was. Every time he reached a new place in camp, he thought he had a new job. In the kitchen he became the chef, on the docks he was the harbor master. They eventually had to fire a lot of their staff because Ford was doing everybody’s job for them. But no one complained because Ford saved them a lot of money in personnel.

So now he is the camps scout master, janitor, chef, and nurse. And anything else that comes up. Except when it’s a monstrous lungfish that’s attacking the camp and kidnapping your friends. That he can’t help you with.

[aion-rsa]

The Suicide Squad: What’s Next for Harley Quinn in the DCEU?

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This article contains major spoilers for The Suicide Squad. We have a spoiler free review here.

The Suicide Squad might just be the best DCEU movie yet. Not only is it a sterling ensemble piece about the horrors of American imperialism but it’s also the world’s weirdest buddy comedy. And in a film full of stunning performances–Idris Elba, David Dastmalchian, and Daniela Melchior please stand up–we got another killer turn from Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn. 

After kicking all kinds of ass in Birds of Prey, the Mistress of Mischief is back and better than ever. This is a truly emancipated Harley, one who hates the Joker, will kill an abusive man in a second, and who plays a huge part in saving the day after choking out a man with her thighs, of course. 

While Robbie has said she has “no current plans to reprise the role” after The Suicide Squad, we couldn’t help but think of where the DCEU’s most badass and brutal on-screen anti-hero has been and where she could go next. Thanks to the comics, cartoons, and imagination of those at DC Comics, we’ve got plenty to draw on. 

Let’s start with where Harley has been to see how it impacts her potential future…

Before the DCEU

Harley began her career in the beloved Batman: The Animated Series cartoon as a one-time henchwoman for the Joker. But that quickly changed and she soon became a core part of the show, and not long after became a fan fave character in the comic book universe. 

This iteration of Quinn was a huge influence on James Gunn in bringing her to The Suicide Squad and might explain that unforgettable animated sequence as she escapes from the palatial prison of Corto Maltese. 

It’s also important to note as until The Suicide Squad her most popular contemporary iteration was once again in a cartoon, but this time it was the DC Universe turned HBO Max smash hit adult animation series that bears her name. 

Harley Quinn in 2016’s Suicide Squad

While David Ayer’s Suicide Squad might not have been for everyone–apparently including Ayer himself–one thing stood out: Robbie as Harley Quinn. While she was mostly sexualized and used as eye candy, Robbie gave Harley depth, humor, and heart. It was the standout performance and is a huge part of why the DCEU version is so popular today. While it’s great to see Harley’s growth, we have to mention the movie where Robbie made her debut. 

Birds of Prey

Cathy Yan’s brilliant Birds of Prey let Robbie go wild with her take on Harley. This was the action heavy R-rated take that fans wanted to see. With a predominantly female creative team behind it, the film eschewed the male gaze and misogyny that Harley has sometimes had to fight through. 

Here we saw a Harley who was freed from the Joker, had her own crew, her own incredible fashion sense, and even her own burgeoning moral code. Not only was this a badass outing for Harley but it feels tonally and aesthetically in tune with the route that James Gunn went in The Suicide Squad. The emancipation of Harley Quinn began here, long may it reign! 

The Suicide Squad Sets Up What’s Next for Harley Quinn

While it’s unclear where Robbie sees the character going next, we get a good feel for Harley and her new found freedom here. The world is her oyster. She has new allies–maybe even… friends?–and a magical javelin. Basically, anything can happen as she heads into the future. 

Poison Ivy

This seems like the clearest and most popular option for more Harley Quinn. 

While it looked like it might happen in the form of the now not happening Gotham City Sirens movie (which Suicide Squad director Ayer was once attached to), there’s still legs in this partnership which has been delighting fans for decades. In both the comics and cartoons her relationship with Poison Ivy has been a key part of Harley’s lore. While they began as friends, the canon has shifted to being on-again off-again romantic partners in all mediums. So we need to see that on screen in live action… SOON! 

It would be really easy to take the comedic action stylings of the HBO Max Harley Quinn series which saw the pair traverse the hard realities of love in Gotham and bring that to either a longer format series–which we’d love–or a movie. Just putting these two A-listers together would be a huge selling point and if they played into the queer romance it would make huge waves. 

“Trust me, I chew their ear off about it all the time,” Robbie recently told us when we asked about the possibility of adding a live action Poison Ivy to the DCEU. “They must be sick of hearing it, but I’m like, ‘Poison Ivy, Poison Ivy. Come on, let’s do it.’ I’m very keen to see a Harley-Poison Ivy relationship on screen. It’d be so fun. So I’ll keep pestering them. Don’t worry.”

If DC decided to go a little more dramatic they could take from the pair’s comic book canon. It would make a lot of sense to explore Harley’s love life post the Joker as both of her most recent DCEU appearances have made note to mention his negative impact on her life. 

During the 2013 Harley Quinn comic series fans got to see the pair finally become official as Harley came to terms with her abusive relationship with the Joker. An easy route for the DCEU to take–either seriously or more comedically–would be to make Harley and Ivy a sort of Thelma and Louise of the DCEU, a couple of cool gals against the world… and if they have their “daughter” Cass Cain with them too we’d be very happy. 

While they broke up in the official DC Comics continuity, they are currently getting back together in Harley Quinn: The Animated Series – The Eat, Bang, Kill Tour. The hilarious sequel to the cartoon expands on their romance and plays into that more humorous angle. But simply the fact that the pair are together again in the comics means that there’s even more canon to take from here. 

Female Furies 

In spite of the sad news that Ava DuVernay’s New Gods movie is no longer in production, we might have found a silver lining. In recent years Harley has faced down against Granny Goodness and even joined her Female Furies. This has happened in both the ongoing Harley Quinn comics series and the DC Universe cartoon. It’s a really cool and out there idea for the character in the DCEU, and could be a cool way to introduce the more cosmic aspects of the universe through the lens of one of the world’s most popular comics characters. 

It would be pretty easy to do a Female Furies movie or TV show where Harley is enlisted into Apokolips’ hardcore squad of warriors. There’d be an exceedingly fun fish out of water element as well as the potential to do something totally different than we’ve seen before. 

There’s also the option to emulate the Harley Quinn TV series and follow Harley as she seeks out Granny Goodness in order to gain the nefarious power of the Motherbox, which would obviously go wrong pretty quickly. While we’ve seen elements touched on in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, DC isn’t afraid of reimagining things regularly and we’d love to see Harley on an epic cosmic adventure with Darkseid on her heels! 

Another HBO Max Spinoff? 

If the villainous Peacemaker is getting his own HBO Max show, why shouldn’t Harley? And there are a ton of incredible routes the series could go. The most obvious right now would be continuing the Harley we see in The Suicide Squad. 

Seeing as Rick Flag and Harley were clearly close, it would be very easy to intertwine the Harley show and the Peacemaker series. What if while Peacemaker was trying to “save the world,” Harley and potentially Bloodsport–he served with Rick and clearly cared about him–were hunting him down in their own series? That would be a pretty smart way to expand the radical world of The Suicide Squad while giving Robbie far more space to play with the character she’s long defined. 

Ever since Birds of Prey, fans have been wishing for a Black Canary or Harley-focused spinoff. With Peacemaker setting the precedent for solo DCEU shows, this could be another great route. We’d love to see the return of Ella Jay Basco as Cass Cain or even the return of Rosie Perez as Renee Montoya. This is a little more of an outlier but the gritty crime movie tone of Birds of Prey really fits into the current DCEU and HBO Max vibe. And in our real dreams, Cathy Yan would get the Gunn treatment and direct. 

Batgirl

We’re finishing off with what is currently the most likely of our options. The upcoming HBO Max Batgirl movie is penned by Christina Hodson. Hodson and Robbie have a close working relationship as the Bumblebee screenwriter also wrote Birds of Prey. There’s also the fact that Robbie is a huge supporter of female-led storytelling so bringing her clout and fan favorite character to Batgirl would do just that. It would be really cool to see Harley pop up here as either an antagonist or ally to Barbara Gordon. 

As this is going straight to HBO Max, there’s likely more freedom to play with canon and format. But with Robbie unsure of Harley’s future it could be more realistic to expect a brief cameo rather than a full on-screen Harley storyline when the movie hits the streamer down the line. 

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

The Suicide Squad is on HBO Max and in theaters now! 

The post The Suicide Squad: What’s Next for Harley Quinn in the DCEU? appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3AhUjCZ

[ask-jaghatai-khan]

Sect of the Revelation Mechanism

// AdMech lore! This started as a desire to make some tech-priest OCs and fluff a Mars-Taranis-Fortidus army concept. I may end up writing some actual story snippets featuring this group in the future.

A secretive, small, yet powerful organization within the Martian Adeptus Mechanicus, the Sect of the Revelation Mechanism has been headed by the Lord-Archmagos Chertovsky Upsilon-28 for nigh-on several thousand years. Though few can discern the true motives of these enigmatic tech-priests, none can dispute the might of the forces that follow their commands. More than just their hosts of rare and loyal war-walkers, from Knights of House Taranis to relics of the ancient Legio Fortidus, the Sect is at the center of a broad range of alliances with shadowy figures throughout the Imperium of Man. Archmagos Upsilon-28 has attracted the ire of many elites within the Mechanicus and the Imperium for his lack of accountability, though none have been able to lock down a specific heresy upon him or his followers. Like a javelin thrown from the void, the unstoppable forces of the Sect – known as the “Red Legion” – will appear on some warzone or another with little warning, assist Imperial forces, and promptly assume command of the situation. Though many have noted that the extreme efficiency and precision of the Sect’s methodology produces commendable results, the tech-priests always retreat back into hiding in the end – often with a new haul of rare technological artifacts pilfered from those locations they choose to visit.

Lord-Archmagos Chertovsky Upsilon-28

Appearance: Archmagos Upsilon-28 is as inhuman as is to be expected from a veteran lord of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Little of his original form remains save for a handful of specific organs, which are themselves augmented and locked away beneath layers of arcane technology. Chertovsky specialized in bionic research in his early days as a tech-priest, and so he spent countless centuries assembling the finest cybernetic enhancements for himself before branching into further fields of study.

Beneath layers of Martian-red robes, Chertovsky does not look too different in silhouette from a human, and his core chassis in many ways still resembles a humanoid form. However from his back and waist emerge a veritable tangle of mechadentrite tentacles, which provide both additional articulation support, as well as enhanced mobility beyond what the Archmagos’ standard bipedal gait could provide under so many equipment harnesses. The Magos’ face is styled to suggest a skull, with many sub-lenses to enhance his standard vision. Most notable in terms of exterior augmentations is his Abeyant, which takes the form of a metal hood extending into an insectoid carapace mounted on his back. More than just a device for additional enhanced mobility and tool-uplinks, the Abeyant is Chertovsky’s most advanced store of artificial organs, mainly to provide increased processing power and memory space to his cyborg brain. If that wasn’t enough, within the Archmagos’ torso unit are additional masterworks of bio-cybernetic engineering, making Chertovsky’s simple if strange outward appearance little more than a mask to the full extent of his prowess as an augmeticist.

Background: Born Germani Chertovsky in the sprawling hives of Mars, the current Lord-Archmagos was far from the pinnacle of guile and might that he has since become. No, he was rather a weak and skittish youth who joined the Adeptus Mechanicus for lack of any other course in life, and a desperation to alleviate some of the weaknesses of his own flesh through just a few spare augmetics. However, when he began studying more and more into the possibilities of the Mechanicum’s arcane technologies, he became obsessed. Rather than focus on more petty devices, Chertovsky went down the path of bio-cybernetic-augmentation, undertaking extensive enhancements to his internal organs and brain before anything else. In this way, he was able to manipulate his own biology to make all his future endeavors far easier, removing his sense of pain, his need for rest, and other hindrances of the flesh.

Chertovsky’s curiosity ended up pushing him away from many of the more orthodox priests on the Red Planet, however, though he still remained a patriot to his order. The Archmagos fell in with more radical sects of the tech-priests, until at one point he dropped from the galactic stage and was not seen for several centuries. When he reemerged, Chertovsky was changed. Now he is among the most enigmatic and reclusive of all Archmagi, and has placed himself at the center of a broad web of inscrutable alliances in service to some unknown end goal. None have been able to brand him as a heretic – more for how hard it is to encounter the Archmagos than the added difficulties of delving his secrets – but few trust him. This does not bother Chertovsky, as what alliances he has are ironclad, and suit his aims just fine.

Lord-Archmagos Chertovsky Upsilon-28 maintains three primary bases – one being on the small but highly industrialized ice-moon of Tyrentis, in orbit around the gas giant of Volans, located in the distant Vol system of the Segmentum Tempestus. This serves as Chertovsky’s sect’s primary base, though he still maintains a pseudo-lab and office in the southern polar region of Mars proper. It is known that Chertovsky can call upon the transport of at least two Ark Mechanicus-class vessels, with the Archmagos’ personal ship being the Immanent Ascendance.

Archmagos Dominus Go Zeta-06

Appearance: Though not so ancient as his superior Archmagos, Go Zeta-06’s outward appearance is far more typical of the eccentricities indulged by the elite of the Adeptus Mechanicus. It was Go Zeta’s dream as a youth to be a commander of one of the mighty God-Machines, or even an Imperial Knight, though he was distraught to find that his base flesh lacked the constitution for such an undertaking. Still, as a current overseer and top engineer for these venerable war-walkers, he’s remade himself to reflect his passions.

Go Zeta’s overall form is rather humanoid, with an upgraded outer dermis meant to almost evoke the armor of the God-Machines he loves. The Archmagos’ head is somewhat atypical of most tech-priests, instead taking on a form akin to a Skitarii Vanguard, though more gilded and regal, resembling the war-helm of an senior Knight-Pilot. From his back emerge several high-grade servo-arms similar to those used by Techmarines, as Go Zeta requires far greater strength than normal for the engineering he specializes in. Most unconventional are Go Zeta’s missing legs – more than just a nest of mechadendrites, the Archmagos Dominus’ lower half has been stripped bare in favor of a selection of specialized cables and appendages allowing him to jack in to one of several advanced harnesses. These “mounts” enable the Archmagos to adapt to different situations, with such variations as an equine mobility-enhancer, or a Dreadnought-esque war rig.

Background: Martian-born and first known as Temur Go, the future Archmagos was the son of a pair of menial servants of the great Knight House Taranis. From an early age Go was afforded glimpses of the mighty machines, and grew infatuated with their majesty. He joined the Adeptus Mechanicus despite his rather humble background and lack of any prominent skills beyond janitorial work, as his impassioned praise for the Imperial Knights was met with approval by his superiors. Go Zeta-06 was trained as a basic mechanic, before rising through the ranks to undertake additional work on the grandest of all Imperial walkers – the Titans. In time, Go’s eccentricity and zeal led him into the company of Archmagos Chertovsky, where he found a fellow admirer of the rare and unorthodox. Go became a sort of field commander beneath Chertovsky and was granted access to the Lord-Archmagos’ web of elusive contacts in exchange for his total loyalty.

Now, Go Zeta-06 is the master of the 2800th Martian War-Division, known colloquially as the Red Legion. This is the personal battle order of Archmagos Chertovsky, and is meant to be both the hammer and the scalpel of the Revelation Mechanism whenever violence is needed to overcome an obstacle. The Red Legion specializes in the deployment of Imperial superheavy walkers, with most of its actual infantry, maintenance, artillery, aerial, and other supplemental forces geared towards supporting these God-Machines. House Taranis has provided dedicated Knight lances towards the Red Legion’s forces, and the Titans which Go is able to deploy are his pride and joy. Through a series of intensive searches and clandestine deals, Archmagos Go acquired several Titans said to have been a part of the extinct Legio Fortidus. After recruiting select Pricipes crews and appealing to some bribed bureaucrats, Go Zeta was able to “resurrect” the Dauntless Legion and fly their heraldry over his maniples. A great victory for a collector as obsessive as Go Zeta.

Archmagos Go’s primary home and main base of operations is the Ark Mechanicus Worth of the Slain, which acts as the flagship of the Red Legion, and is outfitted with not just advanced engineering and combat capabilities, but a robust suite of intelligence-gathering and communications arrays.

Fleet

Ark Mechanicus Immanent Ascendance

The personal ship of the Lord-Archmagos, Immanent Ascendance is as much a masterwork as would be expected from a vessel of its station. Always accompanied by a fleet of servitor-craft, this Ark Mechanicus is outfitted as a mobile base of operations for Chertovsky. Prominent features include broad-based automation – a rarity closely guarded by the Adeptus Mechanicus – along with permanent astropathic communications to both the Mars and Tyrentis strongholds. Massive hangar bays service those war-walkers kept closest to the Archmagos, along with laboratories brimming with other rare artifacts. As with most ships in service to the Sect, the Immanent Ascendance also boasts a massive sensor array focused on information gathering in any local and nearby systems, reflecting Chertovsky’s compulsive need to remain aware of every last shred of data that could be of use to him.

Ark Mechanicus Worth of the Slain

There is at least one other Ark Mechanicus that the Sect can call on, and the Worth of the Slain could be said to be the more fearsome of the two, at least by conventional standards. Functioning as the personal chariot of Archmagos Dominus Go Zeta-06, the Worth of the Slain is also the flagship of the Red Legion. With similar systems and suites as the Immanent Ascendance, this Ark Mechanicus is nonetheless a warship first and foremost. Its duty is to clear all obstacles that lay in the path of the Sect’s goals and oversee the deployment of the mightiest Titans the Red Legion can boast possession of. Despite this awesome power, the Worth of the Slain is rare to deploy Exterminatus measures. Archmagos Go prides himself on providing a swift and decisive end to any conflict he deigns to enter, so that the most post-conflict value can be extracted from the relevant warzones.

Order of Battle

Though the beleaguered Imperial forces who are fortunate enough to receive assistance from the Red Legion might show gratitude, the truth is that the Revelation Mechanism does not intercede in any battles they do not believe they could win. Or, more importantly, profit from. The vast intelligence network that Chertovsky considers more powerful than any conventional weapon is the means by which he may track down lucrative opportunities to obtain artifacts, resources, or even just additional allies and informants. Once these goals have been identified, the Red Legion is the unstoppable spearhead that may claim these treasures in as swift a manner as possible.

Go Zeta is not a novice tactician, but he is still an eccentric obsessive. Though he has numerous spies, infiltrators, support troops and supplemental war engines, these are all considered just facilitators for his mainline – the Knights and Titans. Zeta-06’s preference is to weaken entrenched targets through clandestine means so that absolutely nothing might stand in the way of these superheavy walkers, inflicting maximum damage to morale and cementing the image of the Red Legion as Omnissiah-blessed liberators to their allies. The majority of the Red Legion’s actual strength in not in their own troops, but in the resources they are able to call in, such as specialized cult-assassins, mercenary insurgents, prototype archaeotech projects, and other oddities. These auxiliaries allow the mechanics and pilots of the Sect’s treasured Titans to operate with maximum focus and freedom.

The two most notable and glorified groups of war-walkers within Chertovsky’s arsenal are the Titans and the “B-class” Knights. Every Titan is valued not just for its incredible power, but for the fact that Go Zeta was able to arrange maintenance lines and Imperial filing in such a way as to “resurrect” the heraldry of the ancient Legio Fortidus. Once the pride of Mars, the Dauntless Legion suffered massive casualties in the Schism under Kelbor-Hal and was forced to be shut down. Now, a fragment of that venerable Legio remains under the control of the Sect, like vengeful ghosts of the distant past. The B-class Knights are an unofficial categorization of those off-pattern Taranis Kights that have been collected and maintained by Chertovsky’s engineers. Such legendary suits include mechs like the King-Slayer or the Martyr’s Shroud, whose core chassis reflect that fact that they were once Renegade engines which were reclaimed and purified through the most painstaking ministrations of the Mechanicus adepts. The rarity of these suits means that none but the most loyal and skilled pilots may operate them; and they provide a distinct advantage of surprise over any foes who might otherwise know the best ways to engage Knight walkers.

Secrets of the Revelation Mechanism

Ultimately, the secret of Archmagos Chertovsky and his order, as reflected in the whispered name of their Sect, is that they prescribe to the Revelationist school of radical theology. This philosophy contains a strange mixture of apocalyptic and fringe dogma, and is condemned by many within the Imperial elite. Revelationism holds that the Time of Ending is upon the galaxy, but that a great ascension is forthcoming with the return of the Emperor and the Divines. Rather than sinking into typical doomsayer dogma, however, the Revelationists believe that all endeavors of the galaxy should be geared towards preparing for this final confrontation between the Light and the Darkness, regardless of any other ethical concerns. They believe that those who sacrifice themselves in the battle against the forces of darkness will be blessed and reborn in the final battle, and in the end a new era will arise filled with divine beings like the Emperor in abundance who will be able to destroy the powers of Chaos once and for all. Therefor, while Revelationist groups are known for their suicidal zeal, they are also known for supporting any movement that will bring about greater cohesion in the name of supporting the Imperial war effort. Governors who otherwise would have been considered ideal by the High Lords have been deposed by Revelationist uprisings, only for the resulting government to be even more pious and productive than its predecessor.

As such, the Red Legion reflects their hidden religious leanings by focusing all their efforts on obtaining rare and powerful technologies, and striking key blows against the “servants of Darkness” in service to this higher plan. Numerous series of inscrutable decisions, allegiances, and wars may confuse critics of Chertovsky’s order, though within the Archmagos’ mind they are all part of one massive algorithm meant to ensure that the Imperium is preparing itself for that glorious Final Battle and subsequent ascension.

[scotianostra]

On 5th April 1820 government forces defeated Radical weavers at what became known as the Battle of Bonnymuir.

The ‘Radical Rising’ or ‘Radical War’ of 1820, also known as the Scottish Insurrection of 1820, was a week of strikes and unrest in Scotland that culminated in the trial of a number of ‘radicals’ for the crime of treason. It was the last armed uprising on Scottish soil, with the intent of establishing a radical republic.

Based in Central Scotland, artisan workers (such as weavers, shoemakers, blacksmiths), initiated a series of strikes and social unrest during the first week of April 1820. This pushed for government reform, in response to the economic depression. The Rising was quickly, and violently, quashed, and the subsequent trials took place in Scotland from July to August 1820.

The events of the Rising followed years of economic recession after the end of the Napoleonic Wars and considerable revolutionary instability on the European continent. As the economic situation worsened for many workers, societies sprung up across the country which espoused radical ideas for fundamental change.

In the early nineteenth century, Scottish politics offered power to very few people. Councillors on the Royal Burghs at this time were not elected to their position, rich landowners controlled county government and there were fewer than 3,000 parliamentary voters in the whole of Scotland, hardly a democracy.

It was recognised that the key to change was electoral reform, and the events of the American Revolution of 1776 and French Revolution of 1789 helped to promote these ideas. Radical reformers began to seek the universal franchise (for men), annual parliaments, and the repeal of the Act of Union of 1707.

Between 1st and 8th April 1820, across central Scotland, some works stopped, particularly in weaving communities, and radicals attempted to fulfil a call to rise. Several disturbances occurred across the country, perhaps the worst of which were the events at Bonnymuir, Stirlingshire, where a group of about 50 radicals clashed with a patrol of around 30 soldiers, while Bonnymuir is the most famous, or should I say infamous of the events during this period, it was by no means the only “uprising”

On Monday April 3rd a strike took force across a wide area of Scotland including Stirlingshire, Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire, Lanarkshire and Ayrshire, with an estimated total of around 60,000 stopping work.

Reports were made of men carrying out military drill in Glasgow while foundries and forges had been raided, and iron files and dyer's poles taken to make pikes. In Kilbarchan soldiers found men making pikes, in Stewarton around 60 strikers was dispersed, in Balfron around 200 men had assembled for some sort of action. Pikes, gunpowder and weapons called "wasps" (a sort of javelin) and "clegs" (a barbed shuttlecock to throw at horses) were offered for sale.

In Glasgow John Craig led around 30 men to make for the Carron Company ironworks in Falkirk, telling them that weapons would be there for the taking, but the group were scattered when intercepted by a police patrol. Craig was caught, brought before a magistrate and fined, but the magistrate paid his fine for him.

Rumours spread that England was in arms for the cause of reform and that an army was mustering at Campsie commanded by Marshal MacDonald, a Marshal of France and son of a Jacobite refugee family, to join forces with 50,000 French soldiers at Cathkin Braes under Kinloch, the fugitive "Radical laird" from Dundee.

Government troops were ready in Glasgow, including the Rifle Brigade, the 83rd Regiment of Foot, the 7th and 10th Hussars and Samuel Hunter's Glasgow Sharpshooters. In the evening 300 radicals briefly skirmished with a party "of cavalry", but no one came to harm.

The next day, Tuesday April 4th, Duncan Turner assembled around 60 men to march to Carron, while he carried out organising work elsewhere. Half the group dropped out, however the remaining twenty five, persuaded that they would pick up support along the way, set out under the leadership of Andrew Hardie. They arrived in Condorrat, which was on the way to Carron, at 5am on April 5th. Waiting for them was John Baird who had expected a small army, not this bedraggled and soaking wet group. He was persuaded to continue the March to Carron by John King, who would himself go ahead and gather supporters. King would go to find supporters at Camelon while Baird and Hardie were to leave the road and wait at Bonnymuir.

What the leaders didn’t know is that the Government had placed spies and agitators among the crowds and they were lured to the confrontation with well-armed, trained soldiers on Bonnymuir,

The authorities at Kilsyth and Stirling Castle had however been alerted and Sixteen Hussars and sixteen Yeomanry troopers had been ordered on 4 April to leave Perth and go to protect Carron. They left the road at Bonnybridge early on April 5th and made straight for the slopes of Bonnymuir. As the newspapers subsequently reported:

"On observing this force the radicals cheered and advanced to a wall over which they commenced firing at the military. Some shots were then fired by the soldiers in return, and after some time the cavalry got through an opening in the wall and attacked the party who resisted till overpowered by the troops who succeeded in taking nineteen of them prisoners, who are lodged in Stirling Castle. Four of the radicals were wounded".

The Glasgow Herald mocked the small number of radicals encountered, but worried that "the conspiracy appears to be more extensive than almost anyone imagined... radical principles are too widely spread and too deeply rooted to vanish without some explosion and the sooner it takes place the better."

The end of the Rising

On the afternoon of April 5th, before news of the Bonnymuir fighting got out, Lees sent a message asking the radicals of Strathaven to meet up with the "Radical laird" Kinloch's large force at Cathkin. The next morning a small force of 25 men followed the instructions and left at 7 a.m. to march there. Among them was the experienced elderly Radical James Wilson who is claimed to have had a banner reading "Scotland Free or a Desart"

At East Kilbride they were warned of an army ambush, and Wilson, suspecting treachery, returned to Strathaven. The others bypassed the ambush and reached Cathkin, but as there was no sign of the promised army they dispersed. Ten of them were identified and caught, and by nightfall on April 7th; they were jailed at Hamilton.

I’ll leave things there for the moment, the aftermath will be told in further posts, one in a few days, and more as the ringleaders were made examples of as they were tried for their parts in the events.

The large memorial stone to mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Bonnymuir was unveiled in April 2021.

[docgold13]

365 DC Comics Paper Cut-Out Villains - One Villain, Every Day, All Year…

June 26th - Javalin

A former Olympic javelin thrower who decided to use his skill to become a costumed villain for hire.  He utilized a specialized suite that allows for limited flight along with a series of weaponized javelin spears.  Javelin was hired to sabotage Ferris Aircrafts and the mission led to a confrontation with Green Lantern (Hal Jordan).  During their battle, Javelin discovered Green Lantern’s vulnerability to the color yellow and he subsequently painted his arsenal this color in order to give him an advantage.   Green Lantern was nonetheless able to prevail and the villain was defeated.  Following incarceration, Javelin was recruited into Task Force X and served as a member of The Suicide Squad in exchange for a reduced prison sentence.   He was seemingly killed in a battle against the sorceress Circe, yet later reappeared in a battle against Supergirl.  Javelin is set to feature in the upcoming move, The Suicide Squad.   The villain first appeared in DC Sampler #3 (1984).  

[ademocrat]

Republican Senators Tried to Stop Trump From Firing Impeachment Witness

WASHINGTON — A handful of Republican senators tried to stop President Trump from firing Gordon D. Sondland, the ambassador to the European Union who testified in the House impeachment hearings, but the president relieved the diplomat of his post anyway, according to people briefed on the discussions.

The senators were concerned that it would look bad for Mr. Trump to dismiss Mr. Sondland and argued that it was unnecessary, since the ambassador was already talking with senior officials about leaving after the Senate trial, the people said. The senators told White House officials that Mr. Sondland should be allowed to depart on his own terms, which would have reduced any political backlash.

But Mr. Trump evidently was not interested in a quiet departure, choosing instead to make a point by forcing Mr. Sondland out before the ambassador was ready to go. When State Department officials called Mr. Sondland on Friday to tell him that he had to resign that day, he resisted, saying that he did not want to be included in what seemed like a larger purge of impeachment witnesses, according to the people informed about the matter.

Mr. Sondland conveyed to the State Department officials that if they wanted him gone that day, they would have to fire him. And so the president did, ordering the ambassador recalled from his post effective immediately. Mr. Sondland’s dismissal was announced just hours after another impeachment witness, Lt. Col. Alexander S. Vindman, and his twin brother, Lt. Col. Yevgeny Vindman, were marched out of the White House by security officers and told their services were no longer needed.

The ousters came two days after the Republican-led Senate acquitted Mr. Trump on two articles of impeachment stemming from his effort to pressure Ukraine to incriminate Democratic rivals. Outraged Democrats called the firings a “Friday night massacre” aimed at taking revenge against government officials who had no choice but to testify under subpoena about what they knew.

Among the Republicans who warned the White House was Senator Susan Collins of Maine, who after voting to acquit Mr. Trump said she thought he had learned a lesson. Others included Senators Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Martha McSally of Arizona and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin. The White House did not respond to requests for comment on Saturday but a senior administration official confirmed the senators’ outreach on behalf of Mr. Sondland, a donor to Mr. Tillis and other Republicans.

Ms. Collins said Saturday that her lesson comment had been misinterpreted and that she had earlier noted that she did not support retribution. “The lesson that I hoped the president had learned was that he should not enlist the help of a foreign government in investigating a political rival,” she said in a statement to The New York Times. “It had absolutely nothing to do with whether or not he should fire people who testified in a way that he perceived as harmful to him.”

The senators did not express the same concern about Colonel Vindman, who is viewed less sympathetically by the president’s allies. Republicans considered some of Colonel Vindman’s comments during his testimony overtly political and, in any case, believed it was untenable for him to remain on the staff of a president with whom he broke so publicly.

Other witnesses who testified have quietly left their positions in recent days. Jennifer Williams, a career official working for Vice President Mike Pence, asked to return early to the Defense Department. Marie L. Yovanovitch, the ambassador to Ukraine removed from her post last spring because she was seen as an obstacle to the president and his associates, retired from the Foreign Service. And her acting successor, William B. Taylor Jr., returned home as well.

Some of these witnesses may begin to speak out. Mr. Taylor has given a series of news media interviews in recent days. And Ms. Yovanovitch has enlisted the Javelin literary agency, picking the same agents who represent John R. Bolton, the former national security adviser, among others.

Mr. Trump on Saturday defended his decision to fire Colonel Vindman, calling the decorated Iraq war veteran “very insubordinate.”

“Fake News @CNN & MSDNC keep talking about ‘Lt. Col.’ Vindman as though I should think only how wonderful he was,” Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter, without explaining why he put the colonel’s rank in quote marks.

“Actually, I don’t know him, never spoke to him, or met him (I don’t believe!),” he continued, “but, he was very insubordinate, reported contents of my ‘perfect’ calls incorrectly, & was given a horrendous report by his superior, the man he reported to, who publicly stated that Vindman had problems with judgement, adhering to the chain of command and leaking information. In other words, ‘OUT’.”

Mr. Trump offered no explanation for why Colonel Vindman’s twin brother, Yevgeny Vindman, who is also an Army lieutenant colonel and who worked as a lawyer on the National Security Council staff, was fired and escorted out of the White House complex at the same time even though he did not participate in the House hearings. Nor did the president mention his decision to recall Mr. Sondland, a hotel magnate who donated $1 million to Mr. Trump’s inaugural festivities before receiving his ambassadorial appointment.

Mr. Sondland and Colonel Vindman were key witnesses in the House hearings. Mr. Sondland, who was deeply involved in the effort to pressure Ukraine, testified that “we followed the president’s orders” and that “everyone was in the loop.” Colonel Vindman, who was on Mr. Trump’s July 25 phone call with Ukraine’s president, testified that it was “improper for the president” to coerce a foreign country to investigate political opponents.

Colonel Vindman, a Ukraine expert on the National Security Council staff, and his brother were scheduled to remain at the White House until July but will now be sent back to the Defense Department. Mr. Sondland, a political appointee, will return to the United States and presumably leave government service.

A lawyer for Colonel Vindman said Mr. Trump’s Twitter messages contained “obviously false statements” about his client.

“They conflict with the clear personnel record and the entirety of the impeachment record of which the president is well aware,” said the lawyer, David Pressman. “While the most powerful man in the world continues his campaign of intimidation, while too many entrusted with political office continue to remain silent, Lt. Col. Vindman continues his service to our country as a decorated, active duty member of our military.”

Mr. Trump’s tweets misstated or overstated testimony about Colonel Vindman. Tim Morrison, who supervised him at the National Security Council for just three months, told the House that he had concerns about Colonel Vindman’s judgment and believed he did not always adhere to the chain of command. But when Mr. Morrison said he had originally heard such concerns from his predecessor, Fiona Hill, she disputed his account.

Ms. Hill, who supervised Colonel Vindman for two years, testified that she had a much narrower concern that he did not have “the political antenna” to deal with matters related to domestic politics. “That does not mean in any way that I was questioning his overall judgment, nor was I questioning in any way his substantive expertise,” she said. “He is excellent on issues related to Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova, on Russian defense issues.”

In fact, Colonel Vindman read from Dr. Hill’s personnel evaluation at his own hearing: “Alex is a top 1 percent military officer and the best Army officer I have worked with in my 15 years of government service. He is brilliant, unflappable, and exercises excellent judgment.”

Democrats on Saturday denounced Mr. Trump’s actions. “By firing Lt. Col. Vindman and Ambassador Sondland like this, the Trump administration signaled it won’t tolerate people who tell the truth,” said Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island. “The fact that Lt. Col. Vindman’s brother was also removed from the N.S.C., as well as the transfer of Ms. Williams from Vice President Pence’s staff, are signals that the president places blind loyalty above all else, including testimony under oath.”

[3d10fire-damage]

red sun summary 7/2/2020

the party awoke in the aqueduct cave, fully rested. zoroe, in the night, had coiled gently around calypso, but didn’t want move to undo that before calypso woke up. as they were heading out, calypso mentioned that she had a weird dream involving a boa constrictor wrapping around her. zoroe was mildly flustered. in their further exploration, the party heard someone’s beautiful singing and discovered a pretty elf woman, bathed in the light from a driftglobe, putting together a flower crown. cluk approached, joining in the elf’s singing with her lute. it felt a little like the party was interrupting a private moment. the elf woman introduced herself as Feher, a druid. calypso commented that someone like Feher didn’t seem the type to be hanging out in such a place. Feher said that she was exploring the area, observing the plant life, and that she entered from the west. phosphorra asked where she was from, and Feher answered that she came from the far west. she came through a desert west of the Abban Serru/Parikh border, and that she didn’t stay because of the very aggressive creatures there. calypso understood what she meant.

Feher explained that there were “bad vibes” in this ruined city, that some sort of bad plant life originating from the east (though, she’s uncertain of their exact origins because roots run awfully deep). since the party said they were trying to take down the King’s troops and/or the bad plant life, Feher offered some potions of poison resistance to help them. Feher also grew a little flower for phosphorra, though phosphorra wondered if that flower was actually natural, since magic was used to grow it. the party then continued exploring the tunnels (which was some fuckery-- there were many questions about the water flow in the aqueduct and phosphorra clipped through a wall) before finding a series of bridges and halls guarded by skeletons. the skeletons didn’t react at all to the party’s approach, and the party could hear the sounds of three people arguing down a hallway. calypso not-so-stealthily went up to a door, passed another unresponsive skeleton, then waved the others on to follow her. one path led to a watch tower over a dried up river bed, and the other path led to the people in the middle of an argument. calypso saw that these people were wights, and told phosphorra to keep her pants on. phosphorra checked to see if her pants were falling, then called out a greeting and apology for interrupting.

the wights explained that the skeletons were their soldiers, and that their last orders, as city guards, were to find and destroy a rebel cell in the aqueduct. they were arguing about whether they should keep looking for the rebels and continue guarding this outpost, or if they should leave since everything is cleared out, mostly. the wights knew of Ku-aya but didn’t take orders from her, and they said they were alive at the same time she was, so... they’ve been dead for a long time. phosphorra said that there wasn’t anyone to rebel against, and one of the wights, Erishti, insisted that they need to know what happened to the rebel cell and then they could leave, freed from their last orders at that point. she wanted to search the aqueduct, but she didn’t want to be alone and the others weren’t giving her any of the skeletons. phosphorra suggested to the party that they go looking for some proof of the rebels in this area, and the party agreed.

heading back into the large room where they fought the oozes, cluk, with her eagle eyes, spotted a hidden door that led to a long-abandoned hideout. zoroe fought some gold and silver in the room, but other than that there were just very old fragments of supplies and dust. returning to the wights, Erishti relaxed at what the party reported to her, saying that she and the others could leave this place and go home. phosphorra told them that the world was very different now, and that maybe Ku-aya would be good company. she also... said that she herself could be good company, maybe at dinner or something. calypo nudged cluk like, “she’s flirting with the ghosts.” she also teased phosphorra to keep her pants on, again. as the party headed out of the aqueduct, calypso complained that she hadn’t punched anything in like 12 hours, and cluk offered to take a punch from her. upon taking said punch, she said it was refreshing. the party went back to the mining commission office and got the key from the tiefling Mistral, who kept saying things in French for some reason. she suggested that the party could use the aqueduct tunnels to sneak out since they run all over the city. she said that she and her associates used the tunnels sometimes to pester the King’s troops... with weapons. calypso and Mistral exchanged winks, and then it was “au revoir.” calypso asked zoroe what that meant, and was disappointed that it didn’t mean Mistral was coming on to her. zoroe asked to commission a map of the tunnels from Mistral, who took up the offer for 15 gold pieces. with the key now in their possession, the party set out for the mines.

upon approaching the entrance, the party noted a couple of watch towers, which appeared freshly built. hidden behind a pile of dug up rock, the party made a plan: cluk would cast Silence on the lone sentry outside and the party would take her out and go in, ideally without rousing much suspicion. zoroe mentioned that she would use the password: Inflict Wounds. calypso chimed in that the other password was her fists, to zoroe’s approval. cluk ran up to cast Silence and spotted two more guards past the first one, but the party still took a surprise round. zoroe cast Fire Ball and took out one of the guards. calypso, with Step of the Wind, rushed up and threw her javelin but missed. phosphorra, with her initiative of 0, finished off another guard with Fire Bolt. the party continued fighting the guards, though they didn’t notice that the guard in a watch tower had noticed the giant goddamn Fire Ball going off and ran down from the tower.

cluk dropped Silence so that the spellcasters could actually cast their spells. phosphorra kept doing surprisingly good damage with her cantrips, because her two burdens in life are being really cute and having incredible powers. her powers come from her cuteness. calypso ran up further into the entrance and saw numerous other cultists and a shadow creature. she caught an arrow out of the air... and then caught a few others with her body, looking a bit like a pin cushion. the cultists were in full defense mode, taking cover behind palisades. the shadow looked impatient as combat continued. cluk stepped up and said it was time to get loud, high fived calypso, and cast Shatter. phosphorra cast Fire Ball in the room, taking out several cultists and also hitting calypso. but calypso seemed to appreciate the spell, shivering a little. “yes!” “boom.” “YES!” zoroe used a radiant attack on the shadow, but it didn’t seem to take any damage. zoroe told calypso to look for an artifact like they found in the cultist hideout previously, and to destroy it.

at this point, several wisps emerged from the walls, attacking the party. calypso disengaged from the shadow to look for the artifact, leaving the combat behind momentarily. meanwhile, phosphorra attempted to protect herself with Sanctuary and zoroe healed cluk. the wisps started using some sort of cold breath attack. calypso, upon finding the artifact, ran up and punched the shit out of it. the shadow in the other room weakened. she also spotted several additional cultists in defense mode, along with another shadow creature and artifact. calypso shouted about this to the others, and zoroe called back that she should come back. calypso ran and hid in a corner, and meanwhile the wisp’s attacks continued. cluk, for like the fourth time (she had been trying to get the cultists to feel bad and stop attacking her), busted out sad puppy dog eyes, to get zoroe to heal her. phosphorra also dished out some healing, trying to maintain.

we then cut the combat short, and we will pick it up next week aaaaa

[gascon-en-exil]

FE16 Golden Deer Liveblogging

Chapters 21-22. Magical ballistic missiles, EDM, and zombies - it’s like they threw every random thought they could come up with at the wall to see what would stick.

Now that I’m finished with them I can say that the Deer do have overall more complicated map design than the other routes (and I know I haven’t done the church yet, but I’m pretty sure all but their last map are reused from one or more other routes), but for these two “complicated” did not mean hard. Chapter 21 reminded me of Shadow Dragon’s endgame, with your army split into the four corners and the boss in the middle, but even with that division and all the same gimmicks from the Fhirdiad chapter of Azure Moon - the giant mechs, the lightning turrets that in this case you can’t deactivate - it was pretty simple to tackle. I got surprised by Thales’s Quake spell killing Raphael from halfway across the map as soon as I opened the door to his room, but that’s what Divine Pulse is for.

And for all that I’d heard bad things about Chapter 22, it was the easiest last chapter of the three I’ve played so far (although I did have three fliers...). You can remove the poisonous swamp covering most of the terrain by killing one of the casters in the north, and killing one in the south cuts off the beast reinforcements. The reanimated Ten Elites were for the most part not very threatening either, and once they’re down Nemesis has only one HP bar and is locked to the attack range of a normal unit. He’s more in line with how FE typically handles its final bosses, in that they’re far from the hardest challenges of their respective games.

Oh, this was something I forgot to nitpick for Crimson Flower, but what is it with this game sticking treasure chests in its final chapters? I could understand if there were a postgame, but there isn’t - and I’m going to wager DLC isn’t going to add one somehow. What’s even the point?

Story/Character observations

Alright, let’s tackle the Agarthans, which is what I’m going to call them from now on in place of Hubert’s stupidly clunky title. After some thought it doesn’t bother me that Shambhala is a metallic monstrosity of LED lighting, robot mechs, and some kind of techno rave backing track. This is for a few reasons: one, that it distinguishes them aesthetically from the numerous other dark cults in the series (particularly the Loptyrians, with whom they share a similar backstory of seeking revenge after being driven underground long ago), and two, that the other characters in the game see their technology as alien and nearly impossible to put into terms they understand. The playable cast consistently refer to the missiles as javelins of light, Lorenz looks upon Shambhala and declares it impressive but not beautiful, and Claude can’t find a word for the Titanus mechs other than “things.” And anyway, repackaging modern technology as ancient to squeeze it into pseudo-historical settings is a time-honored gaming trope. For another recent example, Breath of the Wild provides the same handwaving excuse to all its ancient Sheikah technology - tablet computers with cameras and GPS, laser-touting killer robots, and all.

Now, when Thales’s secret Plan B is revealed to be an army of corpses led by Nemesis and the Elites, all complete with replica versions of their Relics, that’s classic Fire Emblem right there. It’s specifically a callback to Jugdral’s Deadlords, which saw later revivals (pun intended) in spirit if not always in name in Blazing Sword, Awakening, and Fates. Odd how the Elites manage to be less threatening than the Deadlords of Genealogy and Thracia even with fake versions of legendary weapons....

The jury’s out on whether Byleth being named ruler of a united Fódlan in this ending is more or less stupid than Corrin becoming ruler of Valla (plus territory from the other two nations arbitrarily gifted to them) in Revelation. At least Fódlan is in the position of needing a ruler and not an empty, desecrated country in another dimension where the laws of physics are kind of screwy. Of course Byleth is unqualified, but everyone loves them and Rhea (whose fate in this route is uncertain, but it never says she dies?) probably put in a good word with everyone. Make no mistake, it is still stupid, but in my opinion there are fewer leaps of logic required.

As for Rhea, she surprised me by spilling her true history and the origin of the Relics and the Crests in this story, and even that Byleth has Sothis’s heart/Crest stone inside them. The whole spiel doesn’t absolve her of the large-scale deception she’s been perpetrating for centuries and I can absolutely see why she’d step aside in the epilogue after blowing her cover to someone with Claude’s particular ambitions, but it does make her more sympathetic. It also puts an even worse spin on the entirety of Crimson Flower, with Edelgard instigating her rebellion based on a bunch of misinformation that she never learns about because she kills Rhea before the truth ever becomes known. But at least she gets Byleth’s heart beating? Not that I care, naturally.

If Verdant Wind makes Edelgard’s crusade and death seem utterly pointless, it’s even crueler to Dimitri, dying offscreen in a feral rage and leaving his vassal to carry out his vengeance. Dedue’s fate - destroying Edelgard’s body, then leaving for Duscur or parts unknown - is approximately equivalent to Finn wandering the Yied Desert after the war, except he would have nothing to come back to even if he ever does*. In hindsight I’m glad I played these three routes in the order that I did, because with each one the scope of the story has gotten successively larger. That’s not to say that Verdant Wind’s story is more satisfying than the other two, but it’s got the narrative space to look beyond the heavy personal dramas of Dimitri and Edelgard.

In the end I still don’t buy that Claude is selling exactly what he claims to, and that he doesn’t have some further scheme to control Fódlan himself after the credits roll - hell, several of his endings including the all-important S rank with Byleth imply just that. But I think that’s part of his charm, witty and inspiring even as he’s manipulating everyone around him. Claude is unique among FE lords; what a shame he’s straight.

(But if you asked me if I would rather have not had all the heavy subtext surrounding Dimitri in exchange for a romantic S support between m!Byleth and Claude, my answer would always be no. Even setting aside that Byleth is a non-entity to me, I don’t see Claude’s big ambitions not including a wife with whom he can produce heirs to rule over whatever the scope of his eventual dominion turns out to be - and Three Houses already features two instances of Byleth not being allowed to be a homewrecker.)

Speaking of which...Alois’s S support. It’s not even slightly romantic, or interesting. Their ending in Verdant Wind doesn’t see Byleth marry someone else, but that only means it’s about as romantic as their paired ending with Gilbert.

*There’s room for a fix-it fic where the ginger warlock NPC who tells you what happened to Dedue tracks him down in Duscur after the war, and the two of them establish a rapport where Dedue learns to love again and ginger warlock learns to love being a size queen. Hey, if everyone’s going to stan the hell out of that unnamed gatekeeper the sky’s the limit right?