judionlineqiuqiu-blog

[alwritey-aphrodite]

Scout!! Congrats on the milestone, my dear!

You know I love a fake dating trope, can i get 14 with you and me 13 with Poe? He truly is every Grandma's dream 😌

AHAHAHAHHA 14 WORKS SO WELL FOR US

“Please, Poe?” You sit at your tiny kitchen table, pleading for your best friend to pretend to be your boyfriend.

“I-just… why?” He sits confused, for once not trying to tease you but instead beyond confused as to what you’re asking him to do.

“Because my grandma loves you! And she’s only here for a few days and I never get to see her and it would make her so happy if she thought we were dating!”

You and Poe had grown up together, best friends since the day you were born. You’d spent your childhood running around the neighborhood, climbing trees and drawing chalk figures along your driveway. Poe’s been by your side for you entire life, even now, years later and miles away from where it all started.

Your grandma, the sweet old woman that she is, had always wanted you and Poe to get together.

“Think of how easy the wedding slideshow would be!” She’d exclaim, flipping through photo albums from when you and Poe were in elementary school. Sure, she was mostly teasing just to see how flustered the two of you would get, but deep down, she thought the two of you would be perfect together.

With her age and the distance, you’re rarely able to spend time with your grandma, so when she does come to visit, you always try your hardest to make it the perfect trip for her.

And this year, that includes getting Poe to pose as your boyfriend for the few days she’s staying with you.

“Alright, alright, fine,” he says, holding his hands up in supplication, “but I’m doing this for your grandma, not you. You owe me big time.”

“Thank you!” You fly from your seat, rushing around the table to crush him in a hug, “You’re a lifesaver, Poe Dameron.”

The two of you get to work on constructing a believable story on how you got together, even bringing his dog Bee over to your apartment to make it more realistic. Your grandma would be staying in a hotel, due to your limited extra space, so Poe and Bee would return back to his place whenever she returned to her hotel room.

You’re amazed at how natural it all feels, pretending to be dating Poe. Really, the two of you act like you always do, but you’re just a bit more touchy, a bit more soft with each other. There’s a tiny little part of your brain that thinks ‘this is nice’ and ‘maybe it could always be like this’. You do your best to ignore that part.

The week goes by smoothly, and soon you’re helping your grandma with her luggage as her ride to the airport waits downstairs.

“The two of you just look so happy together,” she tells you, sitting at the bench by your door to put her shoes on, “I’d always known you’d end up together.”

You’re trying not to look too wistfully at Poe, who’s standing in your living room as Bee runs circles around his feet. You’re hit with a pain in your chest at the realization that your little scheme is coming to an end. You’re going to miss spending that time with him, being that close to him for most of the day.

“If only you’d tell each other how you really feel.” Your attention snaps back to your grandma, who just sends you a wink.

You help her downstairs, and spend the rest of the day thinking about what she said. Maybe, just maybe, you’ll follow her advice.

[buckets-and-trees]

Field Guide to Forestry

We just hit another follower milestone, so since there are way too many of you around for me to put this off any longer, how about I officially let everyone know who I am and what you'll find around here...

CHIEF FORESTER: ASPEN Elder Millennial/upper 30s, she/her

THINGS ASPEN KNOWS WAY TOO MUCH ABOUT Trader Joe's, Disney Parks, the Great British Bake Off, CBS Survivor, Houseplants

IN THIS FIELD GUIDE YOU WILL FIND:

↠ Maps & Masterlists: my writing ↠ Forest Rules & Regulations: my guidelines and boundaries ↠ Visitors to the Forest: my approach to asks, requests, and tagging ↠ Upcoming Expeditions: projects I'm working on ↠ Tree Classification: my current tags ↠ Tales of the Teller: more about me and my writing

↠ THE FOREST OF FICS IN UPSTATE NEW YORK The MCU realm of my writing

↠ I do not interact with minors. It's not safe for anyone under 18 in these woods, and I'm honestly more comfortable knowing folks are over 21 because of the nature of things around here.

↠ I do not consent to having my works translated or posted to other platforms. If I wanted to, I would.

↠ I will block at my own discretion. This is my forest, and I set the boundaries. Underage? Blocked. Pornbot pigeon? Blocked. Bigotted? Blocked. Rude? Blocked. Just be a reasonable human over the age of 18, and you'll be free to roam the woods.

↠ ASKS Always open. I adore asks! Send thoughts, thots, questions, gifs, pics... Asks are NEVER a bother and you can ask about anything - questions about my existing works, stuff I'm working on, fandom things, my life... I'll answer within reason (no spoilers, I'm semi-open about my life but do keep some things private, etc). FULL DISCLOSURE: I'm not always prompt with answering them. Some have inspired fic or drabble ideas, and sometimes that writing goes fast, sometimes it goes slow, and there are a few that are sitting in my box that are "future" parts of current WIPs. But the hope is to always get to everything eventually.

↠ REQUESTS The only thing I'm actively entertaining requests for is my Cedar Trees Royal AU collection - but even these will be fulfilled subjectively and only as I have time and muse cooperation. Periodically I may host a request fest (as I did for my 300 follower celebration or for other occasions in the future).

↠ TAGLIST At this point in the growing season, I'm not maintaining an official taglist. In the future I will probably set up a secondary/library blog as many other authors have done where you can follow and turn on the notifications. There are only so many hours in the day, explorers.

↠ HOT BUCKY SUMMER 2024: thirteen weeks of prompts ↠ BUILD-A-BUCKY BINGO: twelve months of prompts ↠ THE GREAT BUCKY BAKE OFF: a Bucky x Reader episodic story with a Great British Bake Off format (coming fall 2024) ↠ ASPEN'S HOLIDAY EXTRAVAGANZA 2024: eight days of fics followed by one day of many, many fics (coming December 2024)

↠ FOREST NAVIGATION: field guide, masterlists, story collections ↠ AN ASPEN THING: when I post something more to do with me than anything fandom ↠ ASPEN MILESTONES: ONLY YOU CAN CREATE THESE FOREST FIRES ↠ ASKpen: responses to things from my ask box ↠ ASPEN IS WRITING: any commentary, sneak peaks, progress posts ↠ ASPEN WROTE SOMETHING: new writing post (fic, drabble, chapter) ↠ WRITER COMMENTARY: commentary either as a response to an ask or in a reblog ↠ OMG REBLOGGED THANK YOU: responding to or thanking people for reblogging my fics ↠ READING: my reblogs of other people's fics ↠ MY MOOTS: flailing about or responding to one of my mutual friends

↠ HISTORY OF ASPEN I grew up in a family that was steeped in all things stories: grandparents, aunts and uncles always telling stories at family gatherings; parents read to me before bed; watching too many movies and cartoons; staying up way past my bedtime trying to sneakily keep the light on to read and read and read; playing elaborate imagination games after school with my best friends (house, princesses, orphans, dance coaches, etc). I wrote my first story in my eighth grade English class where one day in the computer lab we were assigned to write a mystery that was at least one page. I loved it. My teacher said it was good...

That summer our family moved - mere days before I started my freshman year of high school - so that fall before I made friend friends, I read a lot and I started writing. I was desperate for the next Harry Potter book to come out, so I started writing my own... the next year I learned about fan fiction on the internet and that it was a thing. I was drawn into Lord of the Rings fanfic, then I wrote a Pirates of the Caribbean fanfic, and then I went back to Harry Potter and actively wrote in that fandom for around six years.

In college I majored in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing because while I was writing fan fiction, I was also occasionally dabbling with original fiction... the dream was to be a famous writer.

↠ WHY BUCKETS-AND-TREES Buckets because I thought I'd be writing almost exclusively Bucky and Trees because Aspen. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

↠ ASPEN NOW In summer of 2022 I aggressively reclaimed HAVING hobbies in an effort to re-establish Aspen having a life outside of work. I love my career and I've worked incredibly hard to establish myself in the professional world, but... I needed to be more than just my work again.

So, again I write.

Throughout 2023 I started venturing out and participated in A LOT of challenges, which was so much fun in pushing my creative boat out into new waters. In 2024 I plan to DO THE DAMN THING and write a novel. I've always intended to, but 2024 will be the year. ↠ MY WORK Primarily I'm writing MCU fan fiction - typically Bucky Barnes or Steve Rogers; I have written some pieces with Sam, Natasha, Matt Murdock, Namor, and Wanda; I have some ideas for Thor, Carol, and M'Baku that I may or may not get around to. I've written for a slew of Sebastian Stan and Chris Evans characters and that's mostly where my muse lives.

I write a range of fluff, smut, and dark. Nearly all of my work has mature elements whether that's stronger language, sexual situations, or mature themes. HEED THE WARNINGS FOR EACH WORK AND DO NOT READ IT IF IT'S SOMETHING YOU DON'T LIKE. If I miss tagging something properly in the content warnings, please send me a message or an anonymous ask and let me know.

Most of my stories feature a reader insert. Reader is typically female, but when the reader is gender neutral I will designate accordingly! Striving to write an inclusive reader as much as possible, but if I stumble, please send me a message or an anonymous ask and let me know how I can grow.

[be-events]

— HAPPY HALLOWEEN 2024, WANNABES ! 

it’s almost time for halloween, wannabes! 

as is now tradition, several areas in seoul are gearing up for this year’s spooky season. it’s a month-long halloween extravaganza, so get your costumes ready to join in on the fun! 

just like last year, the lotte business group has partnered up with several shopping districts to provide family friendly activities all month long across the city. think face painting, open noraebang nights, discounted rides in theme parks for children of all ages, and more! if you’re looking to do some last minute shopping for a costume party or you want to take your nephew out for some mild spooky fun, the lotte group has got you covered.

the lotte group has also prepared a special event to be held on sunday, october 27: a zombie run! participants will be put into groups and asked to complete a 3km run course in the lotte world tour building, the tallest in korea - can you accomplish that without getting caught by zombies on the way?

last but certainly not least, the dark side of seoul ghost walking tour will be happening multiple times throughout the month! make sure to reserve a spot in the guided tour that will take you off the beaten path and on a journey through the most haunted areas of the city, as you’re told ghost stories mixed in with historical facts and incredible sights. this one is not for the faint of heart!

aside from the above, shops and restaurants will be decorated for the occasion with pumpkins and cobwebs if you’re looking for a more intimate halloween night out. and if nothing else works, why not throw your own halloween party instead?

have a spooktacular halloween season, everyone!

OOC:

this event is for both wannabes and trainees, and will run until november 6 at 11:59pm EST. any threads or solos posted after the deadline will not count toward points. please send in your points submission before this deadline.

please use the hashtag #BE:HALLOWEEN2024 for all posts relating to this event.

FOR +3 SKILLS OR ANCILLARY POINTS, please write a 4-post thread with any other muse (wannabe or otherwise) or a 300+ words solo attending the halloween market events. * this can be repeated up to 3 times and claimed for points

when you’ve completed all options that you’d like to participate in, please sent the following form to our points submission blog:

SUBMISSION TITLE: MUSE NAME - HALLOWEEN 2024

spook 1: +3 points to distribute to any performance or ancillary skills [ link to thread ]

spook 2: +3 points to distribute to any performance or ancillary skills [ link to thread ]

spook 3: +3 points to distribute to any performance or ancillary skills [ link to thread ]

[hmollik]

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[aseppw]

Hey, Have you entered this competition to win Dregn 300 USDT Giveaway! yet? If you refer friends you get more chances to win :) https://wn.nr/Er9Uqcm

[ilutf13ani]

Hey, Have you entered this competition to win Dregn 300 USDT Giveaway! yet? If you refer friends you get more chances to win :) https://wn.nr/x97kbHU

[virtualmemoriespodcast]

Episode 524 - Thomas Woodruff

Artist and illustrator Thomas Woodruff joins the show to celebrate his amazing new graphic opera, Francis Rothbart! The Tale of a Fastidious Feral (Fantagraphics). We get into how Chris Ware's Jimmy Corrigan floored him and inspired him to make this 300-page extravaganza, what it was like to finally make a comic after decades of critiquing them in his role at the School of Visual Arts, and how living through the AIDS crisis forced an emotionalism into his art. We talk about the terrible glamour of his art, his predilection for making series of works (like his 365 paintings of apples and his ongoing series of apocalyptic, graceful dinosaur paintings), the virtues of carbon pencil and his hunt for the last supply of his favorite paper, and why he treats teaching drawing is like a religious rite. We also discuss his legacy vis-a-vis the students he taught and the programs he built, his philosophy of using the same model for a full year of drawing classes, the story of his first tattoo and the apotropaic act, the difference between having a sensibility vs. a style, why he retired from SVA after 20 years of chairing the Illustration and Cartooning departments, how students changed over that span, the mind-melting experience of watching Diver Dan as a child, The Next Project, and more! Follow Thomas on Instagram and at Vito Schnabel Gallery • More info at our site • Support The Virtual Memories Show via Patreon or Paypal and via our Substack

Check out the new episode of The Virtual Memories Show

[thereallvrb0y]

RICHIES 300 FOLLOWER CELEBRATION PALOOZA EXTRAVAGANZA ROUND 1

HEY YALL!!! for round one of the celebration, let’s play a game of gartic phone!! to get the invite, all you have to do is give me your email so i can email it to you! (the invites work super weird ik)

DM ME if you’re up for it ! 🥳🥳🥳

[alwritey-aphrodite]

Omg congrats on 300 hon!!! Here's to 300 more!!! After some serious contemplating, I went with a prompt instead 👀 "standing on your tip toes to reach your partner's lips" + Poe?

It was common knowledge that Poe Dameron was an absolute menace.

No matter the situation, he would find some sort of way to tease you. It didn’t matter if you were alone in your quarters, doing maintenance on Black One, or out on a mission: he’d find an opportunity to get on your nerves.

You knew it was his way of dealing with all of the stress and tension of the war, of keeping both of your lives a little bit lighter. And, as much as you hated to admit it, sometimes his antics put a smile on your face, accompanied by a roll of your eyes.

Today, though, he seemed more keen to get on your nerves than usual. Maybe he was feeling stir-crazy, adrenaline building up with nowhere to go. Maybe he just wanted to be near you, spend time with you while you worked. Or, maybe, he just likes to be a smart ass and annoy you.

“Maker, Dameron, can’t you find something else to do?” You ask, feet sticking out from under an x-wing, BB-8 whirling around you.

“Nope,” he responds, popping the ‘p’ sound in the most obnoxious way possible.

You roll yourself out from under the ship, and fix Poe with a look that says ‘please let me work for five minutes before I lose my mind’. He understands, smiles gently at you, and plants a kiss on your oil-stained forehead.

“I’ll see you later!” He yells out as he retreats, BB trailing behind him.

You loved to spend time with Poe, but you’d been feeling overwhelmed and strung out, and Poe understood that. He always understands you, never takes it personally when you get a little frazzled with him and send him off, because he knows he can be a bit much for you at times.

Plus, he knows you’ll always come back to him, ready to be smothered in his attention and affection.

Tonight, when you return to your quarters, Poe has already showered, biding his time until your return by reading over some reports, BB sitting quietly by his feet. You strip from your grease-stained coveralls and spend more than enough time in the shower, letting the hot water work over your muscles.

When you exit, you’re ready to spend the rest of your evening with Poe, even if he insists on being a shithead.

But, as you exit the ‘fresher, Poe is not sitting in the same chair he was before, BB-8 gone as well. It doesn’t take you long to find him: he’s in your small kitchen on a step ladder, fixing a light that has gone out the night before.

Craving time with him, you go and stand by him, craning your neck to talk with him as he tries to fix the light. Competent as he is, he’s certainly not an electrician, and it takes him a while to replace the light.

“Alright, come down and we can watch a holo or something.” You say, pushing off the counter you had been leaning against.

“No thanks,” he says, trying and failing to hide a smile.

You sigh, in a good natured way, and cross your arms.

“What will it take for you to hop off that stool?”

“A kiss.”

“A kiss?”

“Mh-hm.” He looks all too proud of himself, but he’s too cute not to indulge him.

So, you lift yourself up on your tiptoes, kissing him gently before grabbing his hands and pulling him off the stool. He stumbles a bit, right into your arms. Despite his teasing, there’s no one you’d rather spend your time with, no one else you’d rather indulge on their silly requests.

Because, it’s really no secret that you’d do anything for Poe. And, you know he’d do whatever you asked of him, whatever you needed from him. So, you smile into the kiss and pull him a little closer, feeling beyond lucky to have him in your arms.

[lavenderdaisyhoney]

Hana’s Café is once again open for business! Place your order (send in an ask) with our barista, Hana! It should go something like “Can I please order an apple crisp with Levi?”

pumpkin pie:

a little “tiktok” video (I’ll be using a tiktok like video format) of any one you simp for.

apple crisp:

a sweet little fall themed, fluff extravaganza of about 200-300 words with the 2D character of your choice! If you have a favourite activity that is fall themed, please let me know as I will try my best to work around that.

cinnamon rolls:

a fall themed mood-board. Send in your favourite fall ANYTHING and I’ll try to incorporate it into the board.

sweet pumpkin bread:

a post card from your favourite. Also, if you have a sweet nickname your fav calls you, pls let me know (if you’re comfortable Ofc if not, then I can make one for you)

maple sugar cookies:

phone wallpaper! I know I’ve done this before but this is fall themed and different photos will be used.

IMPORTANT: This café is open until Monday! You don’t have to be following me to participate but it would make it easier for me if you do (in case I lose your ask.) One order per person! If you change your mind about your order, simply let me know before we close!

[avengershumanresources]

GUYS. I broke 300 followers 😭😭😭

ANYONE WANNA DO A WRITING CHALLENGE????

#AHR Writing Extravaganza

[sciencespies]

Sparta Was Much More Than an Army of Super Warriors

https://sciencespies.com/history/sparta-was-much-more-than-an-army-of-super-warriors/

Sparta Was Much More Than an Army of Super Warriors

A monument in Thermopylae to King Leonidas. Bridgeman Images

Ancient Sparta has been held up for the last two and a half millennia as the unmatched warrior city-state, where every male was raised from infancy to fight to the death. This view, as ingrained as it is alluring, is almost entirely false.

The myth of Sparta’s martial prowess owes much of its power to a storied feat of heroism accomplished by Leonidas, king of Sparta and hero of the celebrated Battle of Thermopylae (480 B.C.). In the battle, the Persian Army crushed more than 7,000 Greeks—including 300 Spartans, who are widely and falsely believed to have been the only Greeks fighting in that battle—and went on to capture and burn Athens. Outflanked and hopelessly outnumbered, Leonidas and his men fought to the death, epitomizing Herodotus’ pronouncement that all Spartan soldiers would “abide at their posts and there conquer or die.” This singular episode of self-sacrificing bravery has long obscured our understanding of the real Sparta.

A scene from Thermopylae by the Italian novelist, painter and poet Dino Buzzati. The 300 or so Spartans helped hold off an enormous Persian Army for three days.

Luisa Ricciarini / Bridgeman Images

Actually, Spartans could be as cowardly and corrupt, as likely to surrender or flee, as any other ancient Greeks. The super-warrior myth—most recently bolstered in the special effects extravaganza 300, a movie in which Leonidas, 60 at the time of the battle, was portrayed as a hunky 36—blinds us to the real ancient Spartans. They were fallible men of flesh and bone whose biographies offer important lessons for modern people about heroism and military cunning as well as all-too-human blundering.

There is King Agis II, who bungled various maneuvers against the forces of Argos, Athens and Mantinea at the Battle of Mantinea (418 B.C.) but still managed to pull off a victory. There is the famous Admiral Lysander, whose glorious military career ended with a rash decision to rush into battle against Thebes, probably to deny glory to a domestic rival—a move that cost him his life at the Battle of Haliartus (395 B.C.). There is Callicratidas, whose pragmatism secured critical funding for the Spartan Navy in the Peloponnesian War (431-404 B.C.), but who foolishly ordered his ship to ram the Athenians’ during the Battle of Arginusae (406 B.C.), a move that saw him killed. Perhaps the clearest rebuttal of the super-warrior myth is found in the 120 elite Spartans who fought at the Battle of Sphacteria (425 B.C.); when their Athenian enemies surrounded them, they opted to surrender rather than “conquer or die.”

These Spartans, not particularly better or worse than any other ancient warriors, are just a handful of many examples that paint the real, and utterly average, picture of Spartan arms.

But it is this human reality that makes the actual Spartan warrior relatable, even sympathetic, in a way Leonidas can never be. Take the mostly forgotten general, Brasidas, who, instead of embracing death on the battlefield, was careful to survive and learn from his mistakes. Homer may have hailed Odysseus as the cleverest of the Greeks, but Brasidas was a close second.

Almost no one has heard of Brasidas. He’s not a figure immortalized in Hollywood to prop up fantasies, but a human being whose mistakes form a much more instructive arc.

He burst onto the scene in 425 B.C. during Sparta’s struggle against Athens in the Peloponnesian War, breaking through a large cordon with just 100 men to relieve the beleaguered city of Methone (modern Methoni) in southwest Greece. These heroics might have put him on track for mythic fame, but his next campaign would make that prospect far more complicated.

Storming the beach at Pylos that same year, Brasidas ordered his ship to wreck itself on the rocks so he could assault the Athenians. He then barreled down the gangplank straight into the teeth of the enemy.

It was incredibly brave. It was also incredibly stupid.

Charging packed troops, Brasidas went down in a storm of missiles before he’d made it three feet. Thucydides tells us that Brasidas “received many wounds, fainted; and falling back into the ship, his shield tumbled into the sea.” Many of us are familiar with the famous admonition of a Spartan mother to her son: “Come back with your shield or on it.” While this line is almost certainly apocryphal, losing one’s shield was nevertheless a signal dishonor. One might expect a Spartan warrior who had both lost his shield and fainted in battle to prefer death to dishonor. That’s certainly the kind of choice Leonidas is celebrated for supposedly making.

An 1888 illustration shows a bust of the ancient Greek historian and general Thucydides, known as “the father of scientific history.”

Science Photo Library

Herodotus tells us the two Spartan survivors of Thermopylae received such scorn from their city-state for having lived through a defeat that they took their own lives. But Brasidas, though surely shamed by his survival, did not commit suicide. Instead, he learned.

The following year, we see a recovered Brasidas marching north to conquer Athenian-allied cities at the head of 700 helots, members of Sparta’s reviled slave-caste, who the Spartans constantly feared would revolt. Forming this army of Brasideioi (“Brasidas’ men”) was an innovative idea, and quite possibly a dangerous one. As a solution to the city’s manpower crisis, Sparta had promised them freedom in exchange for military service. And arming and training slaves always threatened to backfire on the slavers.

This revolutionary move was matched by a revolution in Brasidas’ own personality. Far from rushing in, as he once had done, he now captured city after city from the Athenians through cunning—and without a single battle. Thucydides writes that Brasidas, “by showing himself…just and moderate toward the cities, caused most of them to revolt; and some of them he took by treason.” Brasidas let the slaves and citizens of Athenian-held cities do the dirty work for him. After one particularly tense standoff, he won the central Greek city of Megara to Sparta’s cause, then marched north, cleverly outmaneuvering the Athenian-allied Thessalians deliberately to avoid combat.

Brasidas’ foolhardy crash-landing at Pylos, in a 1913 illustration.

Bridgeman Images

Arriving at his destination in northeastern Greece, he used diplomacy, threats, showmanship and outright lies to convince the city of Akanthos to revolt from Athens and join Sparta, deftly playing on their fear of losing a harvest that had not yet been gathered. The nearby city of Stagiros came over immediately after.

But his greatest prize was Amphipolis (modern Amfipoli), a powerful city that controlled the critical crossing of the Strymon River (the modern Struma, stretching from northern Greece into Bulgaria). Launching a surprise attack, he put the city under siege—and then offered concessions that were shocking by the standards of the ancient world: free passage for any who wished to leave and a promise not to pillage the wealth of any who remained.

This incredibly risky move could have tarnished Brasidas’ reputation, making him look weak. It certainly runs counter to the myth of the Spartan super-warrior who scoffed at soft power and prized victory in battle above all else.

But it worked. The city came over to Sparta, and the refugees who fled under Brasidas’ offer of free passage took shelter with Thucydides himself in the nearby city of Eion.

Thucydides describes what happened next: “The cities subject to the Athenians, hearing of the capture of Amphipolis, and what assurance [Brasidas] brought with him, and of his gentleness besides, strongly desired innovation, and sent messengers privately inviting him to come.”

Three more cities came over to Sparta. Brasidas then took Torone (modern Toroni, just south of Thessaloniki) with the help of pro-Spartan traitors who opened the city gates for him.

The mythic Leonidas, failing in battle, consigned himself to death. The very real Brasidas, failing in battle, licked his wounds and tried something different. Charging down the gangplank at Pylos had earned him a face full of javelins. He had been lucky to survive, and the lesson he took from the experience was clear: Battle is uncertain, and bravery a mixed commodity at best. War is, at its heart, not a stage for glory but a means to advance policy and impose one’s will. Brasidas had even discovered that victory could be accomplished best without fighting.

Brasidas would make many more mistakes in his campaigns, including the one that would cost him his life outside Amphipolis, where he successfully fought off the Athenians’ attempt to recapture the greatest triumph of his career. Brasidas daringly took advantage of the enemy’s bungled retreat, attacking them and turning their withdrawal into a rout, but at the cost of his life. His funeral was held inside Amphipolis, where today you can visit his funeral box in the archaeological museum.

That he died after renouncing the caution that had marked most of his career seems fitting, a human end for a man who is the best example of the sympathetic fallibility of his city-state’s true military tradition. He is valuable to historians not just for his individual story, but moreover because he illustrates the humanity of real Spartan warriors, in direct contrast to their overblown legend.

Fallible human beings who learn from their errors can achieve great things, and that is the most inspiring lesson the true history of Sparta can teach us.

When we choose a myth over reality, we commit two crimes. The first is against the past, for truth matters. But the second, more egregious, is against ourselves: Denied the chance to see how Spartans struggled and failed and recovered and overcame, we forget that, if they did it, then maybe we can too.

Ancient Civilizations

Ancient Greece

Arts

Myth

Poetry

Warfare

#History

[stusbunker]

Lie to Me in Melody Challenge

Stu’s Masterlist’s 2nd Birthday Writing Extravaganza

When: May 22 - July 30th 2020

Where: Tumblr (or a Tumblr post with a link to AO3)

What: A Supernatural Song Lyric Writing Prompt Challenge with a Twist!

Last year I asked you all to Break My Heart, well this year, I am asking you to lie to me. But make it convincing. I need you to weave something so well that I won’t know where the lie is coming from until it is too late. It could be a big lie, it could be a little lie, good or bad, but there must be a lie!

How: Please send me an ASK if you would like to participate.

Include the prompt you’d like and a back up. There will be a two blog limit per prompt this year.

Write your masterpiece! Use the lyric as best you see fit (theme, dialogue, description, etc), but please list it in your A/N so I know what to look for.

Post your fic and tag me!

Include ‘#I lied to Stu’ in the first five tags so I can organize things later.

I will reblog your fic once I’ve had the chance to read it. Likes come from my mainblog @stunudo. 

Interested? Okay, well, there’s still the nitty gritty to worry about!

RULES:

NO WINCEST, incest, or underaged shenanigans. Bobby and Jack are both related to the Winchesters, don’t @ me.

No real people, please and thank you.

Any pairing is acceptable (beyond the above).

Tag your fics! I don’t care what your kinks are, but tag them! (I am not going to shame you. I just may gloss over certain parts.)

Minimum 300 words. No Max.

OCs/ series/ AUs are all welcome!

Deadline: July 30 (My actual birthday)

I would love a follow if you’re joining, but I doubt I am everyone’s cup of tea.

Keep Reading link on anything longer than 500 words. Seriously, don’t be a savage.

Song Lyric Prompts:

Jewel

1. And you try to find yourself In the abstractions of religion And the cruelty of everyone else And you wake up to realize Your standard of living somehow got stuck on survive

2. There is this hunger This restlessness inside of me And it knows that you're no stranger You're my gravity @thewhiterabbit42​

3. Some are walking, some are talking, some are stalking their kill You got social security, but that doesn't pay your bills 

4. I feel your tongue Telling me I'm dirty And licking my bones A surge against silence A knife across a plate Makes the sound Of need on hate @thoughtslikeaminefield​

Train

5. You're hopeless 'cause you tell the truth The stars are jealous of your shine @67midnightwriter​

6. There's nothing in between us knowing where we're going is inside. Every letter that I wrote, every dress you never wore under your coat

7. Together can never be close enough for me To feel like I am close enough to you You wear white and I'll wear out the words "I love you"

8. These bruises make for better conversation Loses the vibe that separates It's good to let you in again

Billy Joel

9. I believe I've passed the age of consciousness and righteous rage I found that just surviving was a noble fight I once believed in causes too I had my pointless point of view And life went on no matter who was wrong or right @a-winchester-fairytale​

10. They showed you a statue and told you to pray They built you a temple and locked you away But they never told you the price that you pay @awesomesusiebstuff​

11. You had to be a big shot, didn't you All your friends were so knocked out You had to have the last word, last night @idabbleincrazy​

12. For the promises our teachers gave If we worked hard If we behaved So the graduations hang on the wall But they never really helped us at all

13. I know I'm searching for something Something so undefined That it can only be seen By the eyes of the blind In the middle of the night @deanwanddamons​

Carole King

14. Sometimes I think I'm a prisoner of fate Doomed to find out things a little too late And so I must play this broken man's role

15. I feel the earth move under my feet I feel the sky tumbling down I just lose control Down to my very soul @fangirlxwritesx67​

16. Tonight you're mine completely You give your love so sweetly Tonight the light of love is in your eyes But will you love me tomorrow @phantomwarrior12​

17. As I watched in sorrow, there suddenly appeared A figure gray and ghostly beneath a flowing beard In times of deepest darkness, I've seen him dressed in black

Now my tapestry's unraveling - he's come to take me back @dontshootmespence​

Modest Mouse

18. Talking shit about a pretty sunset Blanketing opinions that I'll probably regret soon I've changed my mind so much I cant even trust it My mind changed me so much I cant even trust myself

19. Working real hard to make internet cash Work your fingers to the bone sitting on your ass I know now what I knew then But I didn't know then what I know now

20. When you’re living your life, well, that's the price you pay Whenever I breath out, you're breathing it in Whenever I speak out, you're speaking out

21. Blame it on the weekends. God I need a cola now. Oh we mumble loudly, wear our shame so proudly. Wore our blank expressions, trying to look interesting. Blame it all on me cuz God I need a cold one now.

22. Well you were spitting venom at most everyone you know If you truly knew the gravity you'd know just where to go Well let it drop @there-must-be-a-lock​

^*^*^*^

Tagging: @dontshootmespence​

Slackers: @mskathywriteswords​ @fangirlxwritesx67 @itmighthavebeenintentional​ @there-must-be-a-lock

Shout out to MJ @thoughtslikeaminefield​ for the banner!

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