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actually-factually-anonymous · 1 year ago

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Ladybug Vs Avatar's use of the supporting cast and the problem thereof.

I'm not sure if this has been covered before, but there's a serious problem with Marinette being the be-all end-all of everything in Miaculous.

And it's not just because "she's stressed" or "it's all on her". Her being the most important, talented and plot-relevant character in every situation is.

Let's make a comparison to the Gold Standard:

In Avatar the Last Airbender, Aang is the axis of the story. He holds incredible powers beyond anyone else, can bend every element and could conceivably end the entire conflict that plagues his world with relative ease- which he eventually does.

However, for 99% of the story he cannot do so. Because Aang is untrained, he cannot access that divine win-button of the Avatar State at will, and using it carried enormous risks to himself and those around him- making it functionally unusable for common conflicts. Furthermore while he does technically have the capacity to use all four elements, he had only mastered one and needed to learn the remaining three.

Indeed, Aang has outright difficulty with learning Earthbending despite his innate talents and while he's a quick study for the other two, he doesn't demonstrate the same effectiveness with water and fire as Katara and Zuko.

This means that Aang cannot do certain things as well as the others in his team. This means that for the majority of the story, even though his first and preferred element provides him with useful abilities" Aang has weaknesses that he needs others to cover and provide for.

Enter Katara, Sokka, Toph and Zuko.

Katara is a waterbender who teaches Aang and later advances her powers to include the all-important power of healing and the disturbingly effective (though situational) Bloodbending.

Toph is an earthbender who is also one of Aang's teachers, and whose tremor sense later allows her to both detect liars and invent Metalbending.

Sokka is seemingly just the comic relief normie. However his technical mindset allows him to serve as the general of the group, and even plan and lead in that role for entire armies later in the show.

Even Zuko who joins later and becomes less a teacher but a fellow student alongside Aaang in firebending is a skilled infiltrator and melee weapon expert. (This is less of a case than the others since it's not used as much, but it's more of a concrete example than his insights into the fire nation and his potential utility as a replacement Fire Lord).

They each provide far more than those short summaries, but it's important to note that in each case, even when Aang does learn the elements and starts growing into his role as the Avatar: he never gains the full range of abilities that his team offers. He never assumes the fully strategic mindset of Sokka, and even though it's downright implausible that no Avatar before him never learnt healing, he never demonstrates that ability or any Metalbending prowess even in the Avatar state.

There's also the enemy trio of Azula, Ty Lee and Mai. Azula is a powerful firebending genius, but Mai's prowess with her throwing weapons are a close match- and Ty Lee's chi-blocking can outright cripple enemy benders for any given fight when combined with her insane agility: something that not even Azula can do with her firebending. They are an incredibly dangerous combination and when Azula loses them, she becomes far less effective for their absence.

In both teams despite the leader being a powerful, talented bender who is objectively the strongest person on their respective side: there's no doubt about each member of the team contributing something that said leader cannot.

Now let's look at Miraculous:

Marinette is the "Greatest Ladybug" of all time despite being fourteen, only having had the earrings for less than a year, and having a list of predecessors that go back literally thousands of years and include Joan of Arc.

She is also the Guardian of the Miracle Box. Specifically she is the Guardian of The Mother Box that is the most important of all the boxes, despite there being at least a full Temple's worth of actually trained candidates somewhere in Tibet who should be far and above more capable than her or her mentor Fu. However, her supposed superior Su-Han seems entirely convinced that she's already surpassed any teachings his order has by how often she breaks said teachings in his face only for him to roll over like a dog. There's not been a single time when Marinette has been confronted by some shortcoming in her responsibilities as a Guardian where she has had to learn anything from the multi-millennia old Order of Guardians.

Marinette has also worn almost every single Miraculous in her Box at the same time, a feat that supposedly risked serious harm to her but merely made her woozy for an afternoon (if that). As of the season five Finale, she has also unified her earrings with her partner's ring: a scenario that in earlier seasons seemed to imply great risk: yet she was able to use the powers flawlessly.

As Ladybug, she is also the lone hero who has unlocked any new advanced powers with her Miraculous (unless you also include the arbitrary "adulthood" that she and Chat Noir achieved that allows them multiple uses of their Miraculous before detransforming), and on the occasions when she's used anyone else's powers has shown no sign of being any less capable than they are with them.

Ladybug does everything as well if not better than everyone else.

Marinette can not only unify with any Miraculous she needs for a given mission, she can use the powers as effectively as their "dedicated holder" can and without any restrictions. Unlike the majority of the cast who are still under the child-power limit. She can even unify with multiple miraculous at the same time without any drawbacks.

And without those drawbacks, without anyone on the cast being able to use the power of their Miraculous more effectively than Marinette: everyone else on the team is more or less superfluous.

Sure, Marinette has tossed out the Miraculous to her team like candy now. But when you get down to it: the real lesson that she should have learnt from Strikeback to just put some damn security on her Yo-yo/The Box. Because this just means that she has to wait for the hero in question to show up when she could have just pulled off whatever plan she has in mind herself.

And that superfluous label includes Chat Noir.

As frustrating as it is to come to the this conclusion: as of right now, there's no real reason for Adrien Agreste to be anything but a temporary holder. Certainly you can point to his experience with Plagg's power, and a few examples that seem to imply he can do more with it (in his second outing he was able to reconstruct part of the Eiffel Tower into a makeshift extension to catch someone from). Things that imply that if he perhaps received any actual training in the show like Marinette did from Fu, any guidance whatsoever from the Order or their Grimoire he might be able to achieve more.

But there's no solid evidence to expect that Marinette wouldn't be as effective, and the narrative precedent does not lend itself to the idea that anyone could overshadow Ladybug as a holder even of their own Miraculous. If anything, the sheer ability Marinette showed as Bug Noire implies that her having a partner instead of just keeping the ring herself is a detriment to any given situation.

If you can justify exposing the ring to potential capture in the first place considering that there seems to be no requirement to do. By all rights the practical thing to do is just keeping Plagg in the box instead of risking reality.

Of course we wanted to be generous, Adrien could still be of some use. He's the resident meatshield and narrative jobber. So long as he has a Miraculous he could continue faithfully serving in those roles, eating up mind-control beams and taking hits for Bug Noire so she can save the day as usual.

But everyone else on the Miraculous team might as well turn in their furry super-suits and go home.

You couldn't get a more black and white depiction of the value of others outside of the protagonist. in Avatar, Aang is literally a semi-divine being who still needs to be humble and learn while the others around him still have useful special talents and prowess that he can't simply attain at will.

While in Miraculous, there's only one person of actual true competence. From Paris to Shanghai, Marinette alone is the capable one- barring the odd episode in the limelight (Alya and Felix stand up and take a bow. Adrien can stay seated).

There is a word for a character that is impossibly more capable than any other in spite of all reason and logic. And Marinette is increasingly fitting that mold as the show goes on. There's also a term for characters that ultimately contribute nothing good or bad to a story; wasted space. You can't have an entire ensemble of characters as part of the cast and have them provide nothing if they're supposed to have even a smidge of narrative value without making them something the story would be better off without.

Just as you can't just have one person at the centre of everything, make them capable of everything and not eventually have the story they're in turn into (at best) a power fantasy.

And it's a shame. Because Miraculous seemed like it could have been a lot more.

#ml writing critical #ml writing salt #Marinette doesn't have to be everything to be a good character #Making her the “Greatest X” means she has no where to grow to.#Making her utterly overshadow the rest of the cast doesn't make her look good it just make them look irrelevant and replaceable #If the writers want there to be a giant team they need to justify handing out the superweapons en masse

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whencyclopedia · 2 months ago

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Battle of Smolensk in 1943: Operation Suvorov

The Battle of Smolensk in August to September 1943 was the second time the Soviet Union and the Third Reich fought over the city on the Dnieper during the Second World War (1939-45). By the summer of 1943, the plan by Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) to permanently occupy the USSR was in tatters. The Soviet Red Army was relentlessly pushing back and recapturing lost cities. Smolensk was to be next in a prolonged three-phase battle that ended any hopes Hitler might have had of winning the German-Soviet War.

The German-Soviet War

Hitler's decision to invade the USSR in the summer of 1941 with Operation Barbarossa had got off to a good start with massive territorial gains thanks to victories like the Battle of Białystok-Minsk and the Battle of Kiev in 1941. The following year, though, the Soviet Red Army began to fight back, winning the Battle of Moscow in 1941-2, holding out in the siege of Leningrad (Saint Petersburg), and resisting Hitler's Sixth Army at the Battle of Stalingrad, eventually winning that particular encounter in February 1943. Another large Soviet victory came at the Battle of Kursk in July and August 1943. The Axis armies simply had neither the men nor the material to face an enemy that was growing ever more powerful in size and ever more confident in ultimate victory in the German-Soviet War.

The Axis armies were now fighting a retreat, steadily losing the gains they had made earlier in the war. Smolensk was a case in point. The city, located on the Dnieper (Dnepr/Dnipro) river and the traditional gateway to Moscow, had been captured by Axis forces following the Battle of Smolensk in 1941. Now it was time to get the city back. Joseph Stalin (1878-1953), who had always had the final say on how the war was conducted, began to take an even more direct role. Stalin now prohibited encircling manoeuvres and told his commanders to instead focus on a wide front, utilising multiple direct attacks and employing a massive numerical superiority over the enemy. Stalin's new policy resulted in eight Soviet fronts with 19 parallel thrusts along a frontline over 1,000 km (660 mi) long. One of these thrusts involved the task of liberating Smolensk. This latter offensive was code-named Operation Suvorov, after the great Russian field marshal Alexander Suvorov (1729-1800). The problem for the Soviets was that they greatly underestimated how well dug-in the invaders were at this crucial crossing of the Dnieper.

⇒ Battle of Smolensk in 1943: Operation Suvorov

#History #OperationSuvorov #SecondWorldWar #Smolensk #WWII #WHE

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dorianbrightmusic · 2 years ago

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i'm seeing a lot of Pokémon SV DLC analyses where people say 'Oh, Kieran's fixation on Ogrepon is because he sees it as a path to strength; Carmine's bullied him long enough that his shield against admitting his weakness to himself is adoring a legendary creature'. And don't get me wrong – these interpretations certainly hold water – but I've actually been working from basically the opposite angle for all this time.

By all means, Kieran idolises strength, but he inhabits Carmine's shadow – he's the weak sibling, and probably has been for a long time. Yet, rather than fixate on the fantastical power of the Loyal Three, he identifies himself with Ogrepon – the downtrodden, ostracised creature cast out to eke out a subsistence. A terrible demon that wasn't quite terrible enough to cause anyone any lasting harm. The creature defeated by heroes, rather than the perfect, heroic figureheads themselves. He's enamoured with the downtrodden; he sees himself in its grief, in its being cast out and excluded. He's been cast out and excluded all his life (and he can't be a bad person, right? It's not fair – he's hated senselessly, surely, rather than for some reason?) – he sees himself as harmless; so the ogre, too, must be harmless, mis-blamed. Strength is thus in resistance; in growing a shell to tolerate others' inexplicable cruelty. So Kieran looks to Ogerpon, and he thinks that the meek shall inherit the earth, and it gives him the strength to tolerate long nights with poor company. Others are villains – not him, not this creature – and he's safe in the knowledge that at the end of the day, at least an ogre can go down in mythology as the putative sole survivor of its trials.

In this sense, Kieran's like Penny – he finds himself in a position of weakness, of being victimised, and forms himself an armour of being an underdog, of being the thing that bites back. Yet while Penny's position is that the underdog might muster the strength to bite back and restore justice, Kieran's view is that at least the underdog was worth loving. He's inert and preoccupied with his inertia. He can't understand that maybe he could be a human, with the capacity to grow, the capacity to sin. And when Carmine is cruel to him, he reaffirms his own contrarian mindset more – she says I am worth little for my weakness, so my weakness is all I am worth; my weakness is my strength.

And yet he chases strength, because he has to to survive. So when the player comes by, and supports him, maybe he has the safety to walk away from his preoccupation with being an underdog, to enjoy strength for strength's sake. And then, he starts losing, but this time, there are stakes, since he can't just withdraw and be consoled by the fact that withdrawing is right, is right, is right. Thus, he must get stronger. And then, when Ogerpon turns out to favour Juliana, who's become Kieran's idol for all that strength means, rather than Kieran, who's Kieran's selfsame designated weaklingpatheticscumidiot——well, what can Kieran do but fracture, since his whole ideology, his whole premonition that he might have the right to inherit the earth, has been fractured? And, under stress, he pivots from one extreme to the other. All he knows is that weakness is now unbearable. He must get stronger. Must get stronger. Must get stronger—because otherwise he's doomed, he's nothing. He has no myth to dissolve his identity in any longer, so he reshapes himself around the only other standard he's ever known. And it twists him and it breaks him into tiny pieces, because suddenly, the last thing he can bear to be is Kieran: Kieran, the downtrodden and meek boy. He has to flip on his axis; he must become the designated villain of his story by popular imagination, or else be subsumed in the fact that he's going to die someday without any place in the world. He has to play a part, because he's been consigned to one so long, and he can't think of anything other than heroes and villains, enemies and martyrs. He can't be the bad guy. Strength is now goodness; weakness is now evil. And he can't reconcile who he thought he was with who he must become, and as a result, all he can do is try to destroy the person who's destroyed his ideology.

#ngl the more i dive into kieran's character the more i worry about his mental health.#i do have a specific diagnosis in mind but it's not one i have and it's a stigmatised one so i wanna be really really careful here #still: let's just say 'black and white thinking' 'mutable identity' 'abandonment phobia' 'very rash when angry' 'emptiness'#and 'very verrrry reactive mood' – well if you know you know #anyway. he's my blorbo and he breaks my heart #pokemon sv #teal mask #the teal mask #kieran #pokemon kieran #pokémon #scarvio #scarvi #SV #scarlet and violet #pokémon scarlet #pokémon violet #pokemon scarlet #pokemon violet

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irisfixation · 5 months ago

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we'd like to speak for a time of one experience we had in the past, regarding modded minecraft and nonsexual power fantasy, that resurfaced in our memory without warning. this story takes place somewhere around seven years ago, to the best of our recollection.

this will be a long, meandering, autobiographical tale, but perhaps you'll enjoy it. as for why it's on this blog... i suppose it just feels correct.

gods above bless minecraft modpacks wide enough to ensure one's singular power within a niche.

this server had... maybe ten active players. it was new-born, a tight-knit little group of friends of which we were perhaps an acquaintance at best, a friend to one or two of them at best.

the server was, beyond us (eye was already an outspoken trans woman at the time), mostly cis men. the server admin - who we will refer to as Z - has since transitioned, and out of courtesy (and not knowing their current pronouns) we will refer to them with they/them pronouns.

now, the premise of the server was that it was a light-roleplay SMP where Z was the Emperor of a tiny kingdom, and others could complete quests set by them (mostly farm-building things) in order to further a main plot. Z was not outspoken about it, but from what little we've seen of their internet presence since we're relatively sure Z was a domme, and in this manner we wonder if the server was fulfilling that craving for them too; to exist in a world where others work to your demand, where you are the guiding hand above it all.

honestly, we can relate all too hard to that desire.

that was not what we were doing in this server, though. while numerous other server members set about the path of building vast factories or mines, we pursued one goal with abandon - becoming the supreme magical authority of the server.

we knew the server's custom modpack had three* primary magic-based mods and several smaller add-ons on top of that. we rushed their progression paths one by one, syncretizing the most useful tools of each into an overall toolkit. we watched around from our hidden base; noone else in the server was pursuing spellcraft - the closest was Z using creative mode to gain the vampire transformation from one of the aforementioned magic mods - so we continued.

it was almost hilarious when the first group expedition began, looking for specific critical biomes. we watched as people came by with horses and jetpacks and wings, only to be effortlessly outsped by us on broom. overpowered mod enemies that slaughtered the oh-so-strong warriors of the team could barely make us flinch. at one point, we incidentally demonstrated that Z - whose vampirism was supposed to make them almost invulnerable - could be reduced to near death with just one spell from us.

needless to say, people started asking us for equipment a little more after that event. we relished in the toolset we had acquired; we'd announce our entry to a building by simply dematerializing their wall, walking in, and rematerializing it behind us. (we later found this tool could bypass server claim protection, and that's all we'll say on that front!)

it was... nice. sure, the big factories and farms made by the other people on the server gave them an endless processing line of ore-quadrupling and mob body parts, but they didn't have power like we did, could not interact with the world on the same axis as us. and that was fun, to have that in our hands and yet still exist on amicable terms with everyone else.

our most proud work in the server was probably us making a fast travel nexus. the server didn't have anything like that, so we took it upon ourselves to use the tools we had found to do so, setting up teleportation networks to a central hub, a beautiful little "mystical underground cave" build with all the portals dotted around a central silver tree. all of them ran off one simple power source; our own pooled blood, a well of endless self-sacrifice and regeneration gathered up simply to make everyone's lives more convenient. it didn't even hurt us.

honestly, part of what makes us proud of the fast travel network is that it was one of the most convenient parts of the server, and yet it was made by us. next to most of the Big Desktop Rig Gamers on the server, it felt like a statement: "our shitty little laptop can barely make 5 frames per second near some of your bases, and yet we've made something like this that none of you could or would."

in the end, Z ended up swapping plans to a different project and leaving the server to the wayside, but we still enjoyed it while it lasted. sometimes we long for those moments again, where we had such significant power that was - at least at that time - unique to us and us alone, and using it to aid those around us.

#saintclaire posting #nonstandard irisfixation content #okay that's all. we need to get some rest #words from a dreaming darkroom

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pinturas-sgm-aviacion · 7 months ago

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1941 12 13 Malaya, Brewster Buffalo aces cover - Mark Postlethwaite

On the morning of 13 December 1941, British Commonwealth forces in northern Malaya were reeling from the ferocity of the Japanese invasion that had been launched less than a week earlier.The harbour on Penang Island, off Malaya's west coast, had been heavily attacked in previous days,so at 0600 hrs the first three of sixteen Buffaloes from No 453 Sqn Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF)left Ipoh for Butterworth as reinforcements for the hard pressed fighters that were trying to defend the area. Flying AN185/TD-V, Flt Lt Doug Vanderfield led Sgts Bill Collyer and Mal Read ahead of the rest of the unit. No sooner had they landed at Butterworth than they were ordered off to intercept another raid on Penang. Some 18 Ki-48 'Lily' twin-engined bombers of the Japanese Army Air Force's 75th and 90th Sentais had been sent to attack the town, these machines being identified as 'Mitsubishis' by British soldiers. Just prior to the Ki-48s arriving overhead Penang, three Ki-51 'Somas' (reported as 'Stukas') of the 59th Sentai began attacking shipping in the nearby harbour.The Buffaloes immediately took off again, climbing up into cloud cover before diving on the intruders. Following his leader,Bill Collyer recounted;'

Vanderfield was having problems with his undercarriage. His wheels were still down. Read and I were in line astern. At about 7000 ft Vanderfield led an attack on a"Betty". The port engine caught fire and the aircraft dived into the sea. No one bailed out.'

Collyer had just described future Buffalo ace Vanderfield's first victory against the Axis powers .The latter also recalled the action;

'We immediately took off and intercepted three Japanese bombers. We attacked these bombers, and five or six dive-bombers then came out of the clouds and attacked us. We let them have the works and definitely shot down two in the first attack. A sergeant pilot in my flight fired on a dive-bomber that was trying to sit on my tail, and it rolled over and disappeared. Another went out to sea in along dive.'

Collyer and Read were also successful, the pair sharing in the destruction of a Ki-51, whilst the latter was also credited with two more 'Sonias' destroyed. By now short of fuel, the Buffaloes had to land almost immediately. Ground observers reported that three enemy aircraft had indeed come down, whilst a fourth had staggered away trailing black smoke. With Butterworth under attack, Vanderfield headed directly back to Ipoh. His two wingmen landed briefly at Butterworth, however, before heading back to Ipoh as well. After landing, Doug Vanderfield was credited with two of the twin-engined bombers and one dive bomber destroyed, thus setting him on the path to 'acedom'. He achieved this accolade on 17 January 1942,becoming one of only four Allied pilots to attain this highly coveted status whilst flying the Buffalo. More remarkably, he had achieved his first three victories with his aircraft's undercarriage stuck down!

#mark postlethwaite

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mariacallous · 11 days ago

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From Israel’s perspective, the timing of its attack on Iran, which started last week, couldn’t have been better.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s assertion that he had no choice but to act now because Iran was taking steps to “weaponize [its] enriched uranium” and could make a bomb “in a very short time” cannot be verified. But what is certain is that Iran is currently more vulnerable to an attack than at any time since Israel began contemplating one 15 or so years ago.

Iran’s air defenses were considerably degraded in two Israeli raids last year. Tehran’s carefully constructed and so-called Axis of Resistance, which was supposed to help defend Iran in case of an Israeli attack, had all but collapsed. Fighting its own desperate war, Russia was in no position to help its ally rearm. It turns out that U.S. President Donald Trump’s warnings to Israel to not attack Iran while nuclear talks were underway were not made in earnest. They may even have been aimed at deceiving Iran into believing no attack was imminent.

The case for starting the war and removing the Iranian nuclear threat was a powerful one. But four days into the fighting, it is becoming increasingly unclear how it will end. In a public statement after the initial strikes, Netanyahu said the operation would continue for “as many days as it takes.” Israeli army chiefs were less sanguine, talking about weeks rather than days, but it doesn’t seem they envisioned a war of attrition as appears to be developing. Could Netanyahu end up being like Russian President Vladimir Putin, a leader convinced his superior forces could vanquish the enemy quickly and efficiently, only to discover the enemy wouldn’t cooperate?

It is unlikely that Israel and Iran will be striking each other with missiles, drones, and bombs three years from now. Israel, at least, is not in a position to fight an open-ended war of attrition. It is geographically too small and its population too heavily concentrated in an even smaller area around Tel Aviv to absorb chronic pummeling. As its offensive against Iran has amply demonstrated, the Israeli military is capable of remarkable feats, but it also has limited resources in terms of personnel, weaponry, ammunition, and money. Since Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have been engaged in almost continuous warfare in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, as well as countering regular Houthi missile strikes.

Israel is bigger, richer, and militarily more powerful now than at any time in its history, and it no longer has to rely on lightning victories as it did in the past, but it does not have endless resources. A war of days or even weeks appears to have been based on the swift destruction of three broad targets. The first was Iran’s already weakened air defenses, a goal that seems to have gone according to plan. As of June 16, Israel said it had achieved “aerial superiority over Tehran’s skies,” which is to say near-complete freedom of movement. The second was to take out a large part of Iran’s two-pronged military command structure (the army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) and its leading nuclear scientists. That has also been a success—operationally at least—although whether the deaths will significantly undermine Iran’s ability to fight or continue its nuclear program remains to be seen.

But all these targets are secondary to the main one, which is to eliminate Iran’s nuclear program. Here, there is little evidence that Israel has achieved its aims. Of Iran’s three main nuclear facilities, Israel probably did extensive damage to Natanz’s aboveground facilities, but it is less clear how much damage it caused to Isfahan. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Fordow has been attacked but has not sustained any observable damage.

Many doubt that Israel can destroy Fordow, which is located under a mountain. Military analysts have raised several ideas, including repeated Israeli airstrikes on the same location (a task made more feasible now that Israel has freedom of action in Iranian airspace) or a land operation by special forces. Israel did something similar in Syria last September, but Fordow is much bigger, more secure, and much more distant. The risk of failure is enormous.

It seems hard to believe that Netanyahu launched an attack on Iran on the assumption that, by hook or crook, the United States would eventually join it—for the denouement of destroying Fordow if nothing else. At this stage, the White House seems divided between pro-Israel hawks and isolationists, but the final word will come from Trump. His public remarks indicate that he is content to let Israel fight the war alone and that his ultimate goal is still to bring Tehran back to Oman for resumed negotiations. “I hope there’s going to be a deal. I think it’s time for a deal, and we’ll see what happens. Sometimes they have to fight it out, but we’re gonna see what happens,” Trump said on June 15.

An Iranian attack on U.S. military assets, Gulf oil tankers, or even Saudi oil facilities might tip the balance in Washington in favor of attacking Iran. If so, then decision of whether the United States enters the war really lies with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and he may not comply with Netanyahu’s wishes for the very reason that they are Netanyahu’s wishes.

In what must be deeply worrying for Netanyahu, it is becoming increasingly evident that Tehran’s strategy is to wage a war of attrition, a replay of the “war of the cities” Iran fought with Iraq in the 1980s. Iran’s target bank in Israel appears to include military and nuclear facilities, mirroring the one Israel has for Iran, albeit without the same kind of precision. But its missiles have hit a number of residential buildings, in or around Tel Aviv. To date, the attacks have killed at least 24 people, injured hundreds, and leveled or damaged large numbers of buildings. The majority of Iranian missiles and drones have been intercepted, but it takes only a few to wreak severe damage.

The casualty numbers are nowhere near the kind that would give Israeli leaders second thoughts about continuing their assault on Iran, but they represent only four days of war. Unless Israel succeeds in destroying Iran’s missile launchers and stockpiles, Tehran has enough firepower to pummel Israel for some time. Would Israel be able to withstand a war of attrition that involves targeting the civilian population?

On the one hand, Netanyahu’s obsession with the Iranian threat never struck a chord with the Israeli public; they were willing to make personal sacrifices for its war with Hamas in Gaza, but they may not be prepared to do the same to fight Iran. Moreover, Israel has been engaged in almost nonstop fighting for 20 months, straining its economy and the reserve forces that the IDF relies on and testing Israel’s wherewithal. On the other hand, the history of city bombing as an enemy morale-crusher is not very good, as Putin learned after he turned to the tactic as part of his plan for the assault on Ukraine.

It is becoming increasingly evident that the conclusion of the Israel-Iran war will not be nearly as clean-cut as its start. Unless Israel has a rabbit waiting to be pulled out of its hat or convinces the United States to join the war effort, it is unlikely to end Tehran’s nuclear ambitions by force. And if that is the case, the scenarios that Netanyahu would face are less than ideal, or worse than the prewar status quo, from his point of view.

One is that Khamenei drinks from the “poisoned chalice,” as Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini described in 1988, when he decided to end Iran’s mutually destructive war with Iraq for fear it was unwinnable and risked bringing down the Islamic regime. Israel may be trying to coax Khamenei to take that fateful sip by threatening to foment regime change. The risk for Netanyahu is that Khamenei could return to the negotiating table with Trump and get sanctions relief that improves the regime’s survival prospects. Iran may even be able to retain part of its now degraded nuclear program. That’s not the end Netanyahu envisions.

A more plausible option for Khamenei might be to reject the chalice and continue fighting, for months or maybe even years. In that case, it would be the Iranian leader who is channeling Putin’s strategy in Ukraine—betting on the idea that his country can ultimately win a war of attrition by tiring out its smaller adversary.

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fraulein-landa · 3 months ago

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Essay on brutality, or my weird opinions

I love this scene so much. Not because of the brutality, but because it made me stop watching the film, and unable to finish it for c. two months.

It is brutal. Animalistic. But in my opinion, it establishes how all of the characters in Inglourious Basterds is morally grey at best. Yes, the Basterds are American soldiers, and Nazi killers. But the Wehrmacht were conscripted. When I first watched this, I thought it was an American director's misinterpretation and exploitation of what happened in Europe, specifically to young men in Axis countries. However, I have realised, that it serves to show that in their own way, the Basterds, Landa and other characters are all equally bad. Obviously, real crimes and atrocities were committed by the Axis powers during the Second World War - but this scene shows, that people of all backgrounds are capable of committing the same extent of violence.

Because, while I agree that the Nazi leadership deserved to be executed, and that the SS, SA, and Gestapo were all war criminals, and I know, that Hitler rose to power through democratic elections and mass propaganda in a time of economic instability (which usually leads to the emergence of extremist parties/ideologies [e.g. 1917, Russia; 1918, Germany (Communists were popular); 1933, Germany; and today's society], meaning that at least some of the Wehrmacht did vote for him, and align themselves with his surface-level ideology and programme - he 'ended' unemployment by creating invisible unemployment through making the Jewish population, as well as women, ineligible for work - in my eyes, if they were not as committed as the above mentioned groups, they are a part of the misguided and semi-innocent and brainwashed public.

Landa's role in the farm scene showcases his intelligence, and how he utilises his skills in order to carry out his job. A sick animal. The Basterds' scene in the woods shows, that they are also capable of the same animalistic, unemotional infliction of pain, and take joy in doing so. It is so subtle, but in my opinion, it highlights that Quentin Tarantino aimed to create three dimensional, and questionable characters. The sergeant they kill - Werner Rachtmann - repeatedly refers to his people as 'German', which carries a deeper meaning, in the quote "You can't expect me to divulge information that would put German lives in danger?". The adjective here, in my interpretation, shows that he is not in his situation out of committment to the ideas, while it also emphasises what many people lose, as the line between the use of the adjectives 'Nazi' and 'German' is quite blurred - those soldiers were also people. People, who, just like those in the Allies' countries, did not have a choice. And what else would the Basterds themselves do in his situation? Yet, they kill him. And without ever explicitly going against my British (younger) teenage peers' comments about 'Nazi's, whenever German nationality is mentioned, it, in a weird sense, tries to have an emotional impact on the audience. Where do you draw the line, and when do you become nearly identical to the worst of your enemies?

And so, I hate loving and love hating all of the military-aligned characters in this film, at the same time.

Anyways, this may just be the ramblings of an Eastern European with a guilty conscience for my country's war crimes. Feel free, to disaagree, but these are just my opinions. I do not agree with fascism in any way, and am quite worried about its re-emergence in today's global politics, as well as in my native country. I always welcome debate on topics, such as this.

#inglourious basterds #the basterds #aldo raine #donny donowitz #werner rachtman #history #politics #dan yaps #to add to the last line: universal human rights are non-negociable and not up for debate.#but we can argue about history; films; books; whatever else

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snowbellewells · 10 months ago

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CSSNS24 Fic: "For All Life and For All Time" (A CS Dracula AU in 3 Parts)

Author's Notes: Okay, so this is posted late, on a day that was luckily unclaimed. I struggled with doing justice to the work that probably began my love of all things Victorian Gothic, and re-reading it again for plotting and inspiration certainly didn't make the prospect any less daunting. While I love the original Bram Stoker novel's epistolary format, it was not something I wanted to carry on for an entire fic. Nor is this fully true to the original's narrative. I do hope that those who have read the novel and enjoyed it may find nods to the original to make them smile. I didn't want to make Killian the Dracula character - he is neither at all attractive nor redeemable in the original work - so he became my Van Helsing. Emma is the kick-butt awesome Mina Harker, quite a standout female character for that time, but I did away with the Jonathan Harker character altogether.

This starts in the middle of the action, then has a fair bit of reflection to bring readers up to speed. The next installment should have more action and pick up where this one leaves off.

A MILLION thank yous to @myfearless-love for all the editing work she did - my writing is quite a mess when I first translate it from my handwritten pages to a doc! She made it so much better, and I am incredibly grateful!!

A Victorian, Dracula-inspired AU in Three Parts

Please Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Summary: Having lost her dearest friend and with her own life on the line, Emma Swan joins a noble band to face an ancient evil. Three of them stand by her in honor of the one they loved and lost. The other might be the first man she could love. He might love her as well - even more than life itself. Time will tell... if they both survive the fight against their immortal enemy.

**Also available on AO3, if you prefer

Part One

by: @snowbellewells

Emma craned her neck to peer out the small window of the carriage into the impenetrable darkness encroaching on all sides as the conveyance careened around sharp curves and stark cliff faces, making her stomach pitch and her heart leap into her throat. More than once, her mouth opened to call the driver, beg him to slow down, but each time a sudden jolt or swerve had her clenching her teeth and swallowing the words as she gripped the seat tightly. Pitching wildly from one side of the bench to the other, Emma was nearly toppled to the floor repeatedly as they sped on.

The torches beside the carriage doors flickered wildly behind the glass sconces but barely made pinpricks of light in the surrounding night; deep blackness which had swallowed them since leaving the small gypsy outpost where they had supped just an hour past. Emma realized belatedly that she was only becoming more overwrought by attempting to stare blindly into the void while they hurtled forward, and instead forced herself to lean her head against the seat back and close her eyes, resolutely taking deep, calming breaths.

Scant moments passed in such a manner before Emma felt her racing heartbeat slow. It was a different sort of thrill which then ran along her spine - distinct from the chill which had settled on her skin with the horrifying loss of Aurora’s sweet friendship and from the eerie foreboding which had accompanied her since setting out in this last effort to ensnare the perpetrator of her younger friend’s downfall. This determined trek higher and higher into the isolated Carpathian heights seemed to weigh on her more with every mile they gained.

Yet, despite the tightening pit in her stomach and the anxious flutter of her pulse, Emma would not fail to accomplish her part in Killian’s plan. The Professor had turned Emma Swan’s already teetering world upon its axis. He was beyond description - no words could capture what his mere presence, his voice, a glance in her direction could do to her - a power no man had ever held before, because she would not allow it. And yet every hair on her body stood on end when he was near; her awareness utterly captured by the mysterious scholar. He had introduced himself merely as Killian Jones when they met at Aurora’s sick bed, but as they had nursed her together, even when their every desperate attempt proved futile, it had become clear his vast intellect, his determination and resolve, placed him well beyond the scope of any man she had met before - or likely would again.

By the time he had spoken the truth of the fiend who had siphoned Aurora’s life before their eyes, she could not doubt him, even in the face of the utterly impossible - a vampire.

This ancient evil, Count Dracula, had ruled his isolated corner of the world for ages, but in coming to England and extending his reach, he was a threat to all mankind. Aurora had been only a prelude to what he intended. A monster of myth and legend had destroyed her innocent friend, and without pausing for rest, he had stalked and marked Emma as his next victim, only she had the advantage of awareness and warning enough to resist.

Though the threat was deadly, and knowing what she faced - stakes and dark graveyards and the betrayal of her very humanity from what she gathered of Aurora’s end that no one would speak of in full - Emma did not wish to be shielded and to wait hidden in safety while others risked their lives for her sake. She would have her hand in it, even if that meant to some extent playing the helpless damsel as bait in the trap.

To Killian, it was personal as well. He had still been a medical student long ago, traveling to study folk remedies in Romania when he met a darkly beautiful Countess, lonely and sad, all too eager to join him on his travels. She had set his world aflame - first in joy, and then in ruin, for she had not been as free as he had believed. He had fallen for her, and then seen her drained of life by her husband - the creature of night who had proven nightmares lived and walked the earth. Killian had only survived that first encounter because the Count wished him to suffer. For years, Killian had studied and prepared. He had made himself into an expert much different than he had once aimed, and he had intended for his suffering to end only when his life, or the Count’s, did as well.

There was a fine line to walk, however, between justice and bitter revenge. When he had seen the desire for reprisal in Emma after Aurora’s death, when she learned of the indignity to which the young beauty had been subjected and the lengths to which the men who cared for her had gone to assure her peaceful rest, she had sworn she would see this Count Dracula pay for his cruelty somehow. That was when Killian had told her all. “Do not fall into that trap, Swan,” he had spoken softly, though the import of his words was unmistakable. “That way lies ruin - only wasted years and endless torment.”

His blue eyes bored into her very soul as he strove to make her see. “When I lost my love, my Milah, I sore revenge upon her foul husband, the vampire who murdered her without remorse. I was nearly consumed, and when I finally came back to myself, I realized that seeking only retribution would make a monster of me as well. That was when I took on the name Van Helsing, obtained my licenses and degrees with it in fact, in the hope of evading his detection while I waited and watched and the years crept by. I must pursue the course for the sake of all, but not for my own ends, my own anger and hate.”

He would not release her eyes, his focus searing as he continued, “You too must find a way to separate yourself, to retain your purity of heart despite the terrible mission you undertake. Do what you must to save all, but do so without letting it twist your soul with similar darkness.”

And so, in their desperate alliance, they all had their roles to play - Aurora’s bowed but unbroken suitors, and she, Aurora’s dearest friend. The three gentlemen had rallied around Emma, swearing to protect her in her friend’s name. And Killian, their worthy advisor and leader, had not yet steered them wrong. She wanted justice and what retribution could be found for the torment Aurora had suffered. None of them would falter. They had taken solemn vows. Now all that remained was to see the mission through.

Emma could only wonder how had her life been altered so drastically in a few short weeks. Such thoughts replayed through her mind in what was at first a rose-tinged procession as she recalled how bright and full of promise she had been when first arriving on the coast of Whitby for a holiday with her childhood playmate. It had been some time since she and Aurora had seen each other, and those first days on the shore were spent in a haze of sunshine and laughter. They caught up with one another’s lives as they shared tea and biscuits on the wide veranda of the Spindleton’s gorgeous summer cottage. They giggled under the covers long into the nights, whispering of Aurora’s debut season, the many eager suitors who had vied to court her, and her blushing fondness for her chosen fiancé Sir Philip Thornswood, Lord Briarling. They also chuckled over Emma’s adventures - how she disguised herself in men’s pants to move freely while researching her stories, and the various pseudonyms she used when submitting her pieces for publication, subverting the male-dominated publishing world.

It had been an idyllic change from the crowded, dingy part of London where Emma could afford to live and work. Aurora’s family belonged to the upper echelon of society, well-known and old-moneyed, and Emma had been mostly alone in the world for as long as she could remember. She was discovered on the front stoop of the Widow Lucas’ boarding house as an infant, wrapped in a snow white baby blanket with her name stitched in purple as the only clue to her identity. Fortunately, the Widow Lucas was a formidable woman, well-versed in making her way in the world against harrowing odds. She had already raised a granddaughter who was now off traveling the continent, so she took in the little blonde foundling and raised Emma as her own, teaching her all she knew. Though the tough older woman - “Granny” to all who knew her, especially Emma - had been gone for some years now, Emma remained eternally grateful that it was her doorstep her unknown parents had chosen that cold dawn so long ago.

Granny had even managed to scrounge and save enough, and was willing to spare Emma’s assistance twice a week, for riding lessons - where Emma had met Aurora Spindleton. Though poor Aurora had been an absolute lost cause at equestrian pursuits, Emma had excelled with enthusiasm, and everyone involved was relieved when she took the slightly younger future debutante under her wing during their lessons.

Emma loved the freedom riding gave her, and Granny was glad to know her charge would have the ability to get help quickly and effectively if ever needed - and defend herself too, if her skill in archery and marksmanship was any indication. In truth, Granny had been secretly delighted. She had lived long enough to know just how dangerous the world could be, and she wanted to see her girl as prepared as possible without completely tarnishing her outlook.

Though Aurora’s family was of a higher social standing, they had always been welcoming and kind to Emma whenever she visited their townhouse in Mayfair. She sensed that they were glad their only child had found a practical friend who could provide a steadying influence on Aurora’s naive, head-in-the-clouds sweetness. Since gossip photographers insisted on capturing and reporting the doings of the peerage, her parents were certainly relieved that Emma’s tips and encouragement had kept Aurora from being caught falling off her mount or in some other embarrassing faux pas. Aurora, for her part, was so endearing and open that Emma couldn’t resist being charmed. She might have been cosseted and sheltered, but she was hardly the sort of snob Emma had expected to encounter when mingling with the upper crust during her lessons. Instead, Emma was pleasantly surprised to make her first close friend - a friendship that lasted for years, with Emma always missing the Spindletons when they left for the shore in summer, counting down the days until her confidante would return.

This year, however, she had received a request, along with a train ticket, to join them at Whitby. It had been wonderful - strolling, swimming, and lovely summer hours blending together joyously - until all had gone horribly wrong. If only the happy, haze of sunshine-warm days had not gone dark and tinged with blood.

Aurora had already been betrothed to Philip by the time Emma had arrived. Still, it had been lovely to meet each of the worthy men who had sought her hand. With not an ounce of malice in her slender body, they had each sworn their friendship and fealty, even after the troth had been gently rejected. Even without Aurora there to blush and smile sweetly while introducing them, Emma could easily see why her friend might have been drawn to each in his own way, despite the obvious differences between them. All the men who had sought Aurora’s hand in marriage were honorable and true, respectable and worthy beyond reproach. Their faithfulness to Aurora tested beyond natural bounds and withstood the onslaught, and Emma felt the protection of their bravery as they had rallied around her when she faced a similar fate. If only any one of them had understood what had preyed on Aurora before it had been too late!

Philip Thornswood, Aurora’s betrothed, was the most like her young friend in Emma’s eyes. Upon first meeting the landed peer, she felt the warmth in his large, chocolate eyes, his gentle strength and charm, and she knew they would have melted Aurora’s heart irrevocably. There was a sad sweetness to his expression, as if Emma herself returned a bit of his lost love to him with her presence. He had bent over her hand to gallantly kiss its back, and she had blinked away tears for the happiness that Aurora would never enjoy, knowing the two would have been well-matched beyond her friend’s wildest dreams. All she could do was press his hand in return, and give him a wordless smile she only hoped might express her bittersweet feelings.

Graham Morris, from the wild, rolling hills of Ireland - a cowboy of sorts, as they would call it in the Americas - was a man of few words and swift action, easily winning and debonair, but also a bit rumpled and informal. He was clearly happier out of doors, more comfortable in the woods and riding horses than in a crowd of people, and yet his easy good humor and almost bashful regard could easily have swayed her young friend. He was an excellent shot, ever on the alert, and a godsend to have in their desperate endeavor.

The third suitor, Dr. Jefferson Seward, was a celebrated and innovative physician who had fought to restore Aurora’s health with every fiber of his energy. If the foe he had battled had been a mortal man rather than an immortal being, Emma had no doubt they would have prevailed. Though he was slightly older, he was thoughtful and doting; Aurora would have naturally been fond of him. The affection between them had been undaunted by her choice of another - so much so that when Jefferson had found himself losing the fight for her life, he had urgently sent for his friend, the renown Professor Van Helsing, expert on the supernatural forces, to do what he could not.

And that was how she had come to be in this rattling horse-drawn carriage, racing up a treacherous mountain path. The devious monster who had taken everything from Aurora - and who now threatened to drain Emma’s own life as well - awaited her in the deserted outpost at the end of this long night’s journey. Her hands clenched and unclenched in her lap. Every few minutes, her fingers reflexively gripped her reticule, its strap looped around her wrist, drawing comfort from the small Derringer hidden within its folds. She also took strength from the knife secured in a special holster at the top of her stockings, pressing against her thigh. Her cheeks flushed at the memory of Professor Van Helsing - Killian - explaining its purpose as he presented her with the clever sheath. He had been deathly serious about her safety, but there also had been a heated flicker of clear attraction when she shyly gestured to ascertain where it should be worn, a moment that had ignited a warmth deep inside her.

The gentle feathering of gray in his hair near his temples and sideburns reminded her of the vast experience and knowledge he had gathered in his life - the very things they were all counting on to help them survive. The deeper lines around his startlingly bright blue eyes and at the corners of his firm lips reminded her that he had once smiled much more than he allowed himself to now. It made Emma wish to see him do so again. Everything about the man radiated power and purpose, commanding her respect from the moment they met, just as Aurora’s terrifying affliction had reached its peak.

They had not won the victory any of them had prayed for, least of all Lord Briarling. Emma had hardly been able to bear looking at the strong young man bowed by grief as she had boarded the carriage for her mission. Philip Thornswood had given her a hand up onto the step, and was the last to speak to her before Killian Van Helsing’s own farewell. The gloom in his demeanor made her very glad she was not leaving the young gentleman alone, but in the company of true comrades. Even so, she trusted that Philip would not allow himself to falter in their cause. That steady hand, such a gentle support for her own as she ascended into the carriage, might have trembled in the doing, but had not hesitated to drive a stake into the breast of one he loved most in all the world for the sake of her eternal soul.

Breaking from her reflection on the journey’s beginning, Emma remembered herself suddenly as an eerie calm seeming to settle over her surroundings. She was instantly on alert when the carriage began to slow. A shiver of trepidation ran up her spine, returning her harshly to the present and the task before her. Outside there was a foreboding, unnatural quiet, only the crunch of the carriage wheels and the sound of the horses’ hooves on the rough ground broke the eerie silence. They rolled to a stop, and Emma leaned from the window, intent on calling up question the driver.

To her utter confusion and horror, when she glimpsed the seat where the driver had perched, she found no one there. He was gone, and she was stranded alone in the dark. Uncertain of what to do, but knowing she could not stay on the desolate mountain pass in the cold, Emma exited the carriage and alighted on the ground. As her feet touched the rough stone and dirt beneath, some unnerving signal was sounded. The silence was broken by the howling of wolves - loud, spine-tingling, and coming from every side, all around them.

There was no way to outrun them, and as the echo and answer of their baying circled nearer, Emma knew there was no way through their number at any rate, even without being able to see. The horses stamped and tossed their heads nervously, panic driving them as instinct warned them predators lingered just beyond the faint circles of light from the carriage lamps. She would not leave them to be devoured; nor would she lie down and wait to be torn apart herself. She was nearly there!

Desperate and trembling, but steeling her resolve, Emma moved to the front of the carriage, intending to climb up onto the driver’s box, take the reins, and break through the pack, to drive them to the castle herself. It might have been her imagination, her terror breathing life into her senses, but it felt as though the creatures drew closer still. She could almost hear the heavy pants and growls between their mournful howls and feel their hot, slavering breath on the back of her neck. A nervous glance over her shoulder showed only moving flashes of grey fur and horrifying red eyes shining out of the shadows. She had gripped the metal railing to pull herself up when all seemed to fall away, the night going perfectly still.

A dark figure glided with unnatural grace through the mass of half-seen forms. The pack almost seemed to bow their shaggy, sharp-toothed heads before it, if Emma could at all reconcile that impression in her mind. One would almost believe they had been summoned.

The slim, dark, and sinister figure appeared before her, having reached her almost before Emma could mark his movement. Wearing a fine black cloak trimmed in thick fur and reaching almost to the ground, Emma saw little else but the flash of deep garnet in its lining and the glimmer of an evil, yet irresistible, smile. A pale hand reached out of the folds of the garment, outstretched to take hers in strangely formal greeting.

“I believe you are seeking me,” a sibilant voice nearly crooned.

Emma fought back a shudder at the sight of dagger-sharp nails at the end of long fingers somehow reminiscent of spider legs, pulling her into the web. She wanted to deny his claim, but all resistance failed her. What else could she do but allow the cold, dry hand to encase her own, and pull her forward through the wolves and dark and gathering mist? This was the nightmare she had come to find…

Tagging a few who might enjoy: @cssns @kmomof4 @searchingwardrobes @jennjenn615 @laschatzi

@whimsicallyenchantedrose @jrob64 @apiratewhopines @spartanguard @therooksshiningknight

@stahlop @myfearless-love @xsajx @bluewildcatfanatic @kday426 @lfh1226-linda

@tiganasummertree @optomisticgirl @jonesfandomfanatic @motherkatereloyshipper @drowned-dreamer

@anmylica @booksteaandtoomuchtv @xarandomdreamx @resident-of-storybrooke @everything-person

@undercaffinatednightmare @caught-in-the-filter @winterbaby89 @hollyethecurious @darkcolinodonorgasm

@donteattheappleshook @elizabeethan @the-darkdragonfly @teamhook @revanmeetra87

@goforlaunchcee @laianely @belovedcreation @gingerchangeling @gingerpolyglot

@grimmswan @ultraluckycatnd

#cssns24 #cs au three shot #cs dracula au #for all life and for all time #part one #Victorian CS ff

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chillbusinessax · 1 year ago

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Boruto: Two Blue Vortex Chapter 10 analysis & Implications

Sarada vs Hidari & the Mangekyou of Sarada: As we know, the fight between the last survivors of the Uchiha lineage is approaching: Sarada & the Shinju of Sasuke. Sarada’ll face a Shinju that’s absorbed Sasuke’s chakra & powers, plus the power of the Ten Tails. It’ll undoubtedly be a fight that’ll offer one of the most impressive battle choreographies & 'll foster necessary character development as she faces a formidable enemy. The first time Sarada encounters Hidari, he automatically attacks with Chidori. Sarada dodges & counters with Chidori. This symbolic act kicks off the fight, as only two living people can execute Chidori: Sasuke & her. However, she’s confused; although it’s clear her opponent possesses Sasuke’s chakra & powers, Hidari isn’t Sasuke. (This topic’ll be addressed in another section of the post). Sarada holds one of the most important positions & stories in the manga, being the heroine of the story, heir to the Uchiha power, immune to omnipotence & possessor of the Mangekyō. Why have 10 chapters passed & nothing has been revealed about the Mangekyō? Even the rebirth of the Kyubi was revealed before the powers of the MS; the answer is simple: the abilities Kishimoto’ll grant Sarada in the Mangekyou’ll be convenient to the story’s context. When the power of that Mangekyō is discovered, it’ll be a pivotal axis that’ll mark a before & after in the narrative of Two Blue Vortex. The Mangekyou Sharingan is meant to be a decisive point in the plot. To contextualize, among the special abilities known so far in Mangekyou users, there are dangerous & high-level powers like Kotoamatsukami, Tsukuyomi & Kamui. Theoretically, Sarada should awaken with the Mangekyou two special abilities (they can be both new & those already mentioned, for example, Itachi & Sasuke had Amaterasu in common), in addition to the Susanoo (considering the divine weapons of Susanoo). The Sharingan is a dōjutsu of Ōtsutsuki lineage that comes from the Rinne-Sharingan; it was Indra Ōtsutsuki who awakened & bequeathed this ability to the Clan descended from him, the Uchiha Clan. It’s important to highlight that, with just the Sharingan three tomoe, definitive techniques like Izanagi, a technique based on Hagoromo’s Banbutsu Sōzō no Jutsu, & Izanami, both Kinjutsus characteristic of the Uchiha clan, could be used.

The last thing to discuss in this section (which’ll likely generate antagonistic opinions in the fandom) is the fact that, observing how events are unfolding in chapter 10, where Kawaki had (and was the only one who could) intervene in Himawari’s fight against Jura, the complexity of these enemies, representing not just an individual but a collective problem, being a monthly manga & mainly, the way Boruto is (and has always been) emotionally involved with Sarada, I wouldn’t be surprised if, sooner or later, he joins in Sarada vs. Hidari. He knows the danger these enemies pose & won’t hesitate to support the fight. Only two people have, on an emotional level, the authority to intervene & support this fight: Sakura & Boruto. This position of Boruto is something Kishimoto has made clear from the beginning of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, just as Sarada intervenes without regard for her own life when Boruto needs her. This feeling is mutual between them & is fully justified. Although some of the fandom may see it as a regression in Sarada’s character, it’s actually an enrichment of the characters & an added value by Kishimoto, a shōnen where, beyond the fights, bonds & expressions of human feelings are valid to show & are present. Additionally, it would allow us to see quite an interesting team battle choreography, as Boruto & Sarada have always formed a formidable combat team. The heir of the Hiraishin & the heiress of the Mangekyou united in battle.

2. The Shinjus: They’re still a mystery. In fact, they don’t even know exactly what they are. Hidari asked himself & the other Shinjus: “Exactly What… are we?” We know they’re the result of a “claw grime” absorbing a person’s chakra. They’re a divine tree evolved & self-aware, produced by Code’s Ten Tails, created from the chakra of the person they’re absorbing, but the implications of this are still unclear.

We also know that the people the Ten Tails has absorbed are still alive. However, how long’ll they remain alive after the “claw grime” absorbs them? Will there come a time when Sasuke & the others sealed’ll die if not released? If Sarada kills Hidari, or if someone kills one of the Shinjus, does the person get released or die? And when releasing the person, does the Shinju die? These are questions still without definitive answers. Only time & the plot’s development’ll provide us with more information about these mysterious beings.

We could see this as the birth of a new species, or rather, the Ten Tails’ species becoming conscious. Moreover, they have a goal linked to the person from whom they’re absorbing chakra, which, if they manage to fully absorb, they’ll find a higher degree of evolution. The powers of the Ten Tails, the human abilities of the “sealed” person, the Rinnegan, the ability to launch bijudamas with their eyes, & even their wisdom & thirst for knowledge, make these enemies something totally unknown & formidable. Keep in mind that, in addition, their main goal after their “target” is to devour an Ōtsutsuki, therefore, they have the capacity to face enemies with levels of power that humanity isn’t capable of facing.

It won’t be a short battle & everyone’ll probably have to support each other to achieve something against this threat. Kawaki, upon learning that Himawari was in danger, quickly headed to the battle. Boruto, due to the resonance between the Karmas, can’t be near Kawaki, so he’ll likely assist in the battle within Konoha.

The battles against these enemies’ll be fought in teams & will likely be more than one confrontation. Although symbolically each Shinju has its target, it’s clearly a global problem, so it’s normal for third parties to be involved, even mixing scenarios. Everyone is in a conflict on the scale of the Fourth Shinobi World War, where everyone had to ally to achieve something against the common enemy. But, to summarize, the protagonists of the battles go like this:

Kawaki & Himawari vs Jura

Sarada & Boruto vs Hidari

Konohamaru & Team 10 vs Mitsuri

Eida & Daemon vs Bug

3. Himawari & Kurama: It’s interesting to see how they’ve imprinted on her the concept they initially had with Boruto (Byakugan + Kyubi). With lineage from Hamura’s line (Hyuga clan) & Ashura’s line (Uzumaki clan), & now with the Kyubi, she’s placed among the most powerful characters with raw chakra of the new generation. It’s surprising that Kurama’s return has caused astonishment in readers, considering it’s predefined that the tailed beasts don’t die definitively but reincarnate. A precedent for this is Isobu. Moreover, there’ve been hints (especially in the anime) that Himawari would somehow be related to the tailed beasts. She’s always shown interest in them; she even coexists with Shukaku in an anime episode.

The relationship between Kurama & Himawari started on good terms. Kurama retains his memories, including his time with Naruto, with whom he formed a bond of friendship & familiarity after they understood & accepted each other as equals. This precedent opens the opportunity for a friendly & mutual collaboration between Himawari & the Kyubi. An interesting fact to consider is that Kurama retains his past memories. There’s a possibility that they haven’t been altered by omnipotence, & if that’s true, he could convey to Himawari that her brother is actually Boruto, & that all the experiences she believes she shared with Kawaki (before omnipotence) were lived with Boruto.

Some believe that Himawari’s suspicions are due to the hidden power in her (the Kyubi), but that’s not the case. Sadly, Himawari was affected by omnipotence, & the fact that she feels Naruto & Hinata are alive & that “Boruto” would never harm them is because, due to the effect of omnipotence, her experiences lived with KAWAKI make her believe they were actually with Boruto. In short, what’s really being conveyed to the reader is that Kawaki would be incapable of harming Naruto, & that’s why she feels Naruto & Hinata are alive. Remember that omnipotence exchanged in people’s subconscious the memories & concepts they had of Kawaki & Boruto, but it didn’t alter reality.

4. Regarding Inojin: Another event that caused a stir is that Inojin was impaled by Jura. There’re already people who’ve prematurely concluded that Inojin is dead, but the truth isn’t definitive.

If Inojin survives, this’d mean 2 things:

Himawari might use some special power of the Kyubi to heal Inojin.

Inojin could be saved by the ninja medical unit, or by interference of ninja technology, although it’s important to understand that ninja medical jutsu & ninja technology have their limits.

Otherwise, it’d bring many implications to the plot. It’d be an emotionally shocking blow for many characters, starting with Ino & Sai, the Ino-Shika-Cho team that was raised as siblings, & other close friends of Inojin. It’d be the first character from the descendants of Naruto’s generation to die in battle just as the conflict begins, showing how dark the situation in TBV could start to turn. For Himawari, already the fact of losing her parents hardened her character, seeing the death of a special friend for her, who also died trying to protect her, would awaken a deep desolation.

For others like Boruto, Sarada, Sumire, & Mitsuki, who’ve known & shared time with Inojin at the academy, & Sarada & Boruto who’ve known him since childhood, it’d be an important before & after. It’d show them that no one is safe in the situation they’re living & that they’re facing dangerous enemies who don’t value human life. For Boruto, it’d be a hard blow to know that he might’ve helped, but the activated karma didn’t allow him to do anything in that situation. For the older generation, the loss of Inojin would make them aware that they failed in their mission to bring an era of peace to their children & the new generation, & the harsh reality that a new war has begun.

5. Boruto & Kawaki: Kawaki identified Boruto’s weak point in the previous chapter. It’s impressive that all of Boruto’s shinobi feats in the first 9 chapters were due to his pure training, without relying on the power of Karma. This is a great source of power, but at the same time his greatest weakness. Something must’ve happened over those 3 years that led Boruto to radically avoid karma. That fear has to do with Momoshiki, who finds a way to materialize & take over Boruto’s body by channeling through karma.

As we know in advance, in the battle Boruto vs Kawaki on the faces of the Hokages, Boruto can already activate his Karma at will. That is, by that point, Boruto’d probably have full control of his powers. But, seeing that Kawaki noticed that Boruto’s weakness is the activated karma, a possible scenario is envisioned: The cause of the destruction of the Shinobi era & what subsequently leads to the last confrontation between brothers is that Kawaki exploits Boruto’s weakness, causing him to lose control & Momoshiki to cause destruction. For some reason, Boruto regains control of his body & enters battle to defeat Kawaki.

Considering Boruto could lose control of the Karma at any moment & is emotionally affected by it, you can be sure that Sarada’ll be the one to help him channel those emotions. She’s the person he calls home, the intact fragment of his past, & she’ll be the one to show him he has the strength & will to stop Momoshiki. Sarada has always been a light in his life & was the one who thwarted Momoshiki’s plans to take over Boruto. The fight against Momoshiki is a battle waged on the plane of emotions & wills. And rest assured, Sarada won’t let Boruto fall into darkness; she’s the love that’ll turn Boruto’s vortex into a spiral. As always, Kishimoto gave us a great reference to this in Minato’s one-shot: Sarada is to Boruto what Minato was to Kushina & what Hashirama was to Mito.

There’re many more points that could be discussed, but this is what I wanted to highlight from the chapter. Boruto TBV is just beginning, there’s a lot to go through before drawing definitive conclusions.

Before closing, I’d like to point out that to know what ideas & projections Kishimoto has for the characters & their interactions, it helps to know chapter 700 of Naruto, “Naruto: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring”, & the novels belonging to Boruto’s timeline, some of which are written by Kishimoto & others directly supervised by him. These fit very well with how the characters are behaving in TBV. After Kodachi delegated the writing back to Kishimoto, a change in perspectives is noticeable. TBV is a pure concept of Kishimoto, so for those who like to theorize, analyze, or simply have a more complete understanding of the work, I suggest reading those stories that are part of the canon.

And lastly, beyond criticizing or causing fights in the fandom, enjoy the canon! Kishimoto has great things prepared.

#boruto #boruto two blue vortex #borusara #boruto uzumaki #sarada uchiha #himawari uzumaki

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freetheshit-outofyou · 1 year ago

Text

The Paris Gun

The Krupp arms-making dynasty was founded in Essen upon the fortune amassed by Arndt Krupp, who settled in that city in 1587. His son Anton expanded the family’s endeavors into making firearms during the Thirty Years’ War of 1618-1648, and the family progressively expanded its operations over the ensuing decades. In 1811, Friedrich Krupp (1787-1826) established a steel casting facility, and, although he successfully began casting steel in 1816, he expended considerable funds in the process. His son, Alfried (1812- 1887), continued his father’s work and eventually re-established the family fortune. By its nature steel was very difficult to cast, and internal faults were often impossible to detect through existing testing procedures. Defective cast steel pieces were also much more dangerous to crews than iron cannons, as the softer iron tended to split or burst with less energy than the harder steel, which more often ruptured with deadly violence. The Krupp firm’s success in casting steel was considered one of the major metallurgical achievements of its day.

Beginning in 1844, Alfried Krupp began experimenting in machining guns from solid cast steel blanks and in 1847 produced his first steel cannon. That same year he presented a steel gun to the King of Prussia, Frederick Wilhelm IV (1795-1861)-an act of entrepreneurial generosity that later won an order for 300 field guns. He went on to display a 6-pounder muzzleloading gun at the Great Exhibition of 1851 and began experiments in developing breechloading weapons. In 1856, Krupp introduced a 90mm field gun fitted with a transverse sliding breechblock that fit through a corresponding slot in the rear of the barrel.

Germany subsequently made the transition to rifled breechloaders during the 1860s, a move that gave it a distinct artillery advantage during the 1870-1871 Franco-Prussian War. Shortly after the war it adopted 78.5mm guns for its horse artillery and 88mm pieces for field use. The logistical difficulties associated with supplying two sizes of ammunition in the field and recent advances in metallurgy and gun design then led to the Model 73/88 system, which used the 88mm caliber for both horse artillery and field use and the later Model 73/91 system, utilizing nickel steel barrels. The Model 73/91 was finally superseded by Germany’s answer to the French 75-the Model 96 or Feldkanone 96 neur Art.

The development of specialized antiaircraft artillery also intensified during the war. The first documented use of antiaircraft artillery occurred as early as the siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. At Paris, the Prussian commander von Moltke ordered weapons from Krupp in order to shoot down balloons in which the French were trying to sail over the Prussian lines. Krupp eventually delivered a number of single-shot, caliber 1-inch rifles that were mounted on pedestals bolted to the beds of two-horse wagons; they theoretically could follow the balloons on the ground while maintaining a steady firing rate. The Krupp pieces were relatively ineffective, yet at least one French balloon was apparently downed by their fire.

The rapid proliferation of powered military aircraft at the turn of the century, however, spurred an equally dedicated effort to neutralize the threat of air attacks. During the 1909 Frankfurt International Exhibition, Krupp unveiled three antiaircraft guns in a bid to monopolize the emerging market. These included a caliber 65mm 9-pounder and a 75mm 12-pounder. Krupp claimed that the largest, a pedestal-mounted 105mm gun intended for shipboard use, achieved a maximum ceiling of 37,730 feet. The caliber 65mm gun had an 18,700-foot range, could elevate 75 degrees, and its carriage had unique hinged axles that allowed the wheels to be pivoted to a position perpendicular to their traveling position. With the trail spade acting as its axis, this arrangement enabled the crew to traverse the piece 360 degrees to track enemy aircraft. With a claimed maximum ceiling of 21,326 feet, the caliber 75mm gun was mounted on a truck bed, thus giving it a high degree of mobility. Not to be outdone, Erhardt, Krupp’s closest domestic competitor, also exhibited a 50mm quick-firing antiaircraft gun mounted in an armored car’s turret.

The period also witnessed considerable experimentation in antiaircraft shells and fuses. Krupp introduced a high-explosive shell for its 3-pounder equipped with a “smoke-trail” fuse, an early tracer round that both aided the crews in sighting and was an effective incendiary against the hydrogen-filled airships of the period.

During World War I the Germans continued to experiment in antiaircraft weaponry, beginning in 1914 with the 77mm Ballonen-AK. The Ballonen-AK was then, in turn, followed in 1915 by the 77mm Luftkanone, a basic 77mm field cannon barrel mounted on a rotating scaffolding. The more effective Krupp 88mm FlaK entered service in 1918 and eventually became the inspiration for the famous World War II German “Eighty-Eight.”

Popularly named after Alfred Krupp’s daughter, the 41.3-ton, 420mm “Big Bertha” had a horizontal sliding block and fired a 1,719-pound shell up to 10,253 yards. Big Bertha required five tractors to transport its components, and it had to be assembled on site. In conjunction with a number of Austrian Skoda 305mm howitzers, the L/14 was first used with devastating effect against Liege in August 1914; it saw other action on both the Western and Eastern fronts. Owing to its relatively short range and vulnerability to Allied fire, Big Bertha was obsolete by 1917. Another heavy piece, the 211mm Mörser was adopted in 1916. It weighed 14,727 pounds and fired a 250-pound shell up to 12,139 yards.

Designed by Krupp engineers and adopted in 1918, the Paris Gun used the basic 380mm Max railroad gun barrel fitted with a barrel liner and lengthened 20 feet. The 210mm Paris Gun weighed 1,653,470 pounds and mounted a 2,550-inch barrel with a horizontal sliding block. It fired a 264-pound shell up to 82 miles. Crewed by naval personnel, the Paris Gun was so powerful that it fired its shells into the stratosphere, where the thinner atmosphere exerted less resistance, allowing such long ranges. The stress on the bore, however, wore the barrel significantly, and each succeeding projectile had to have progressively larger driving bands and heavier powder charges to compensate for the increasing windage. Although hugely inefficient in the final analysis, the Paris Gun’s greatest value lay in its use as a propaganda tool rather than an artillery piece. Source

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