#a warlord and a fucking poet

[kredensik]

the PROOOOOBLEM with colin or rather MY PROBLEM with colin is that i knew he was gonna be wildly popular along with deli from the first ep. i was like oh yeah people are gonna ship them and i’m gonna get sick of it so fucking fast. WHAT I DIDN’T account for were lou wilson and zac oyama, who are incredible players. zac with his little tasty one liners of “no secret is worth this” and “you know what i mean” WHILE COVERED IN QUEENS BLOOD and lou with his quick violence and no talking and killing that poor fungi guy.

[homunculus-argument]

A little slice-of-life story about a group of different kinds of artists in a post-apocalyptic world - musicians, painters, someone running a printing press, and even a poet - just cheerily having their good time, doing hijinks, making ther respective arts. Absolutely none of these people are particularly good artists, but they're most likely the greatest talents of their time, the best drummer, painter and costume designer currently alive. And how do they support themselves? By comissions! Who the fuck keeps comissioning artists in the fucking post-apocalyptic wasteland? The biggest, most heinous warlord in the setting.

None of these people were going to survive, but one of them was smart enough to convince the warlord of the value and importance of reputation and propaganda. So now the artists are his pets, painting all the blood-and-fire art on the sides of his cars, the skulls on the faces of his soldiers' shabby helmets, while someone dyes and paints the rest of their scraped-together makeshift armour black and adds the warlord's emblems, making them pass for an uniform. Wherever this man goes and is seen in public, he never enters or leaves without the booming fanfare of wardrums.

Every once in a while the artists look at the very obvious and horrifying brutality that their patron spreads around himself to stay in power, and get kind of squeamish and cringe. Someone questions whether it's, uh, ethical of them all to be supporting this guy? Should they be doing something about this?

The poet is the one who shrugs and points out that first of all, he'll kill us if we stop working for him. Second of all, he would be running this show anyway, cool costumes and war drums or no. Third of all, they're not painting him as a good guy, after all, just the strongest one. If the last city-state in the world is a dictatorship, might as well be one that looks cool. If people have the choice to either kneel willingly or have their knees broken, and he wants everyone to know it, might as well write a song about that.

[romanceyourdemons]

that cao cao may have written some pretty nice ditties, but when it comes to warlord-poets i’m afraid he can’t hold a candle to zhang “the general with three long legs” zongchang, author of such divine lines as these:

Mount Tai is on the blackish side.

Its top is thin; its base is wide.

If you flip it upside down,

its base is thin; its top is wide.

(tr. ran, loquatiously)

You tell me to do this,

He tells me to do that.

You're all bastards,

Go fuck your mother.

(tr. unattributed, wikipedia)

[i-can-even-burn-salad]

OC Name Meanings Tag Game

So @starlit-hopes-and-dreams tagged me with this, and I should be writing, so let's do that instead! Gonna leave it an open tag.

Rules: Put down an OC or more and tell what their name means.

Gonna take my POV OCs. Fair warning: I am not googling all names. Everyone can do that. I'm just putting down where they came from for most.

Caldyn

Was a random name generator for the game GW2, I am pretty sure. Possibly swapped some letters around as well.

Breannan

I don't think this name exist with that a — so either I used a Gaelic name generator and just stuffed it in, or it appears like that in the GW name generator. Either way, no meaning was intended.

Seyonna

Shamefully stolen from a book I read back when I made the ingame char. In the book Transformation by Carol Berg, the protagonist's name is Seyonne, and it sounded so very fitting for that ingame race. Now I am stuck with it.

Lily

I decided that some kalani will probably have plant (and later: object) names, and picked the first flower I could think of lol

Marian

I literally did not think about it. I needed a name and she just appeared out of nowhere. Apparently it means "bitter" and "beloved" — well she's not bitter.

Josephine

Back in my roleplaying days, I had a char concept that never got much playtime which was a demon possessed girl, who really wanted to live, while the demon wanted to kill her to take over her body. I named her Joy, full name Josephine. I believe the original char's parents were religious, but no such meaning intended for this Josephine.

Valadan

My second stolen name — from my favorite book The Wind Witch, and I will live forever with the shame that this char was named after a stallion. Well, Valadan would find it very funny, I assure you.

Damien

I was listening to Savatage's Damien when I wanted to make a brother for Valadan. It apparently means "to subdue".

Merridy

This one I actually went for meaning — it was yet another ingame char, and for some reason, I had just bought the musical instrument flute, and I wanted a char with a music name. Some page I had back then said it means "happy melody" :D She does not have anything to do with music in writing.

Cedric

Just like Marian, appeared out of fucking nowhere.

Cédric means “warlord” or “war chief” (from Celtic “kad” = war + “rîg” = ruler/king) and “loved one” (from Celtic-Welsh “carad” = loved or “caru” = to love”.

Well. good pick.

Riordan

Was a name I like since I named... one of my neopets that. I did not have an OC for that name, instead using it for my weekly deleted key farmer in the game. It means something like "poet king, royal poet".

Then Fancy Boots arrived without a name and I looked at my list and thought— you know what, let's give this name a face.

Laurent

I am probably rolling with Caldeia having lots of french names, so I looked up a super french name and came up with that. It's so french. Realized a bit too late I have (had) a coworker with that name. Oops.

(No, France does not exist ̇)

Eilis

Another neopet. I have no idea where I got her from — she was a plush Ixi, and I am sure I never turned one plush myself, so it was probably a pound catch, and then lab turned. I was looking for names that work as, well, names, while keeping a small memory of my pets.

Finnian

A different kind of pet! I once drove 350 km to pick up two albino rat rescues, and named them Finnian and Winifred, both names which meant "white". Finnian is not particularly white; he's white, yes, but with dark hair and dark eyes, but I like the name.

[kamreadsandrecs]

Title: The Betrayal of the Blood Lily (Pink Carnation #6) Author: Lauren Willig Genres: romance, historical, Regency romance, thriller Content/Trigger Warnings: murder, snakes, adultery, period-accurate misogyny, racism, neglect Summary (from publisher’s website): Whisked away to nineteenth-century India, Penelope Deveraux plunges into the court intrigues of the Nizam of Hyderabad, where no one is quite what they seem. New to this strange and exotic country- where a dangerous spy called the Marigold leaves venomous cobras as his calling card-she can trust only one man: Captain Alex Reid. With danger looming from local warlords, treacherous court officials, and French spies, Alex and Penelope may be all that stand in the way of a plot designed to rock the very foundations of the British Empire… Buy Here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-betrayal-of-the-blood-lily-lauren-willig/11103225 Spoiler-Free Review: Well, this feels complicated! So I want to say off the bat that I was a little worried going into this - more worried than I was when I first read it, mostly because of the setting: India. And during this time, India was being colonized by European powers, with the British winning out in the long run. Given how colonization absolutely fucked India up on several levels, I was concerned about how the political and social situation of India would be portrayed, as well as how any Indian characters would be depicted. And I will say: some of it I think was done okay, but some of it was not. In terms of the political situation, I think those were handled fairly okay, in the sense that the struggle of the Indian city-states against the machinations of both the British and the French to bring more of the subcontinent under their control was touched upon, but it wasn’t something that the novel went into with a lot of depth, sticking only to tightly-controlled specifics that were pertinent to the plot and the specific moment in history that the story was taking place in. That was fair, in my opinion: the author had a specific plot in mind, and used aspects of the history that would work for that plot, without getting bogged down in too many details - details that, I think, they might not be best placed to talk about, given that they are a white American and some things are just better told by Indian writers and historians. This whole situation therefore brought a certain depth the overall plot, which I appreciated because it also upped the stakes significantly. Prior to this book the plots had been rather simplistic; things had been ramping up starting in the fourth book, but this is the first one in the series that REALLY feels like a proper spy thriller. The complex, tangled loyalties of the characters and the equally complex and tangled relations between the Hindu Maratha leaders (Mahratta in the book), the Muslim Nizam of Hyderabad, and the colonizer British and French forces, all make for some fantastic moments of tension and intrigue throughout the book. I was, however, disappointed in the way certain Indian characters were used. One character felt like all he was meant to do was function as the “native guide/friend” to Alex, the white male protagonist, and I wish said character had gotten a bit more depth to them than they got. I also wish that some of the more prominent Indian female historical figures had gotten some airtime - in particular, Khair-un-Nissa, wife of James Kirkpatrick. I guess her not appearing was the author’s way of making sure they didn’t muck up their portrayal of her, but given that the famous poet and courtesan Mah Laqa Bai puts in an appearance (and one that is pretty well-done in my opinion), I think it wouldn’t have been too terrible to have Khair-un-Nissa make an appearance, however, brief. After all, there are chunks of the story that takes place in the Residency, and the whole point of sending Frederick and Penelope to Hyderabad in the first place was because Wellesley strongly disapproved of Kirkpatrick’s marriage to her. As for the romance between Penelope and Alex, I REALLY enjoyed that as well, because they are both fascinating characters. In Alex’s case, his complicated relationship to his father and brother Jack, as well as his own principles and ideologies, make navigating the political landscape of the novel’s setting rather difficult for him, but interesting for the reader. It’s also through his past that we get a glimpse of the racism that was prevalent during the period, given that some of his half-siblings were themselves half-Indian and therefore suffered discrimination.  And then there is Penelope. She’s loud, she’s brazen, she’s rebellious, she doesn’t think too much about consequences before getting into something. She is, in short, the ultimate Bad Girl, in the way that Regency women and even 21st century woman would recognize. But it also becomes very clear, fairly early on in this novel, that Penelope’s rebellious and frankly self-destructive and self-sabotaging tendencies spring from a deep well of trauma that goes all the way back to her family. I felt deeply for her while I was reading, even as I felt a deep urge to shake her too. But that just made her even more fun to read about I think. Anyway, this was definitely an uptick in terms of quality of the books overall, sliding into some genuinely dangerous territory for once, and while the Indian colonization aspect was handled fairly well for the most part, I still think that it could have been rounded out a bit more. Rating: four blood lilies

[mcraewrites]

Choosing Pacifism Over Warlord.

In the olden days –I’d just take what I want.Caring little for Gold or Jewels,More for food & drink.Now I simply exist,Choosing Pacifism,Over my talents as Warlord.War Poets like me,Are fucking relics.Born slow.Grown fast.Warrior in the blood.I give freely,Of my exponentials of wisdom.

[witchersgoldenbard]

Do you have any geraskier fic recs for the weird slump that happens when you’re anxious about the semester, but that surfaces as deciding you’re a fucked up weirdo and then crawling into bed and hating yourself? Bc that is where I am 🥺 I’m in the US so the semester starts next week for me, and I am barely functional

hello my darling nonnie, i am sorry you’re in a slump, please know i am sending you all the hugs and cuddles 🥺💛 you’re not a fucked up weirdo, you’re lovely and deserve all the snuggles! In lieu of snuggles, i’m giving you some of my personal favourite geraskier fics – which are not nearly as many as i would like because i spent a long time in a (reading) slump myself. i tried to sort them for you becuase they got... a bit out of hand 💛

Canon-world AUs

of music and motion and love by WriteThroughTheNight

T | 12k | Jaskier and Yen are siblings, many feels, magic jaskier

When Jaskier was four, he slipped his mother’s watch and went to the field to gather a bouquet of dandelions. He climbed back into the yard, as stealthy as a child really cared to be, and crept over to the barn. In the barn, lived a secret. OR Jaskier comes from a far humbler background, and would really like to know why Yennefer never came back for her youngest brother.

the heart is a winged beast by @greyduckgreygoose

E | 99k words | warlord!geralt, mutual pining, intrigue

After the turmoil of war robbed him of his birthright, Jaskier endures life as a simple Bard in the court of Kerack, under the protection of his cruel, ambitious cousin. Until the night that Jaskier catches the attention of the Geralt of Rivia, Lord of the Clan of the Wolf, and is terrified to be gifted to the barbarian mercenary as a bed-warmer. However, Jaskier soon learns that the White Wolf is not the man his dark reputation makes him out to be. He might, in fact, be Jaskier's only hope of escaping his harsh circumstances. If only Jaskier can convince Geralt to allow him to remain at his side... if only Jaskier can avoid losing his own heart in the process...

Geralt Deserves Soft Things (series) by Bedalk05

mostly T | 200k words | wolf shifter jask, soft boys, all the feels

This series is almost entirely pure fluff, featuring shifter!Jaskier and a whole lotta cuddles and feels all around. Most of these can be read as a stand-alone if you’d like.

(i honestly love this so much, some of the first geraskier i read. perfect comfort 💛)

Modern AUs

Yours, Dandelion by dapperyklutz

T | 17k words | teenagers, soft boys, all the feels, pining

Jaskier has a secret. Well, he has two. The first is that he's in love with Geralt Rivia, captain of the rugby team and his childhood best friend. Only, they're no longer best friends. His second secret is that he writes poems dedicated to Geralt and anonymously posts it at the school's Freedom Wall under the pseudonym of Dandelion. And the thing is, Dandelion has become so popular - more popular than Jaskier - that it's getting more difficult to keep his silence when it's clear that Geralt is starting to develop feelings for the mysterious lovesick poet. How naïve was Jaskier to think that it would be so easy.

velvet and steel by balladofwolves

E | 21k words | mob!au, singer!jask, slow burn, action, epic

Reckless up-and-coming singer Jaskier lands himself in hot water when one of his more political songs goes viral, and nearly gets him killed. Queen Calanthe of Cintra wants his head, but Jaskier is placed under the protection of the Order of the Wolf, the most powerful crime organization in the Continent-- And finds himself falling in love with none other than Geralt of Rivia, the White Wolf himself, and leader of the Order. Jaskier’s never been known to make good, or safe, choices.

Opposites Attract by tinyjaskier

T | 28k words | autistic geralt, adhd jaskier, college au, softness

When Geralt is paired with Jaskier by the University accommodation team, he’s sure there must’ve been some kind of mistake. The guy is loud, unorganised and messy. Geralt likes peace, order and cleanliness. He’s going to drive him absolutely insane. But, there’s no more accommodation left. How will they cope?

Soulmate AUs

Nothing to Lose But My Secrets by @handwrittenhello

E | 45k words | enemies to lovers, warlord!geralt and assassin!jaskier

Jaskier is the best assassin in the Northern Kingdoms. On the most important mission of his life - kill the Warlord of the North or die trying - things go terribly wrong, and he's taken prisoner. During his time as a captive in Kaer Morhen, he's forced to confront some uncomfortable truths: witchers aren't what the stories say, his soulmate is most definitely somewhere in the keep and he may have found himself on the wrong side of this war.

Batshit by fungumunguss

E | 80k words (though the main storyline is like 60k?) | modern au, witchers in modern times

Jaskier is attending Comic-Con to promote his show, "Dandelion" a musical thriller. While everything on the show is fiction, Jaskier has a penchant for danger and very quickly finds himself in a bit of trouble and into the arms of one delectable man who he feels drawn to. His heart whispers soulmate, but after his previous disaster with his soul mark, he can't bear to believe it true. The punch in the gut tells him that much.

Other

The Reanimator of Rosemerrow by @cap-sweet-and-salty-sadness

E | 35k words | supernatural & horror elements, modern witchers

In 1819, Jaskier accidentally buys an old abandoned inn in the middle of nowhere, England. Haunted, as if this mountain of dust and debris wasn't already enough of a problem. At least he has a handsome carpenter to help him renovate it.

endless wonder by @kotemorons

M | 50k words | Warehouse 13 AU, a/b/o (but not really), magic

Jaskier knows three things for sure: One, most of the items stored in Kaer Morhen actively want to kill him. Two, all of the people he works with are absolutely gorgeous, terrifying alphas that want nothing to do with his flirty omega self. Three, he wouldn't have it any other way. Oh, did he mention the end of the world?

The Lesser Evil by @dont-tempt-me-frodo

E | 79k words | pirate captain!jask, assassin!geralt, epic, all the feels

1674 and piracy is rife throughout the Caribbean. Plenty of work for a Pirate Hunter such as Geralt. But when he takes a contract to hunt down a pirate captain who is interfering with important trade, a harsh truth arrises that will question his morals and he will be forced to choose between two evils, and risk the one thing he never thought he would find. Love.

💛 i also asked some of my friends for their geraskier fic recs, so here, have some more! (though i didn't sort them this time, sorry)

Life's Blood by @resident-lambert-hoe (T | 3k)

It had taken fifty-years of fighting tooth and nail for Geralt and Jaskier to be allowed to legally marry. After the deed was done, they chose to commemorate it in their own way. tattoo au

Secret by @mordoriscalling (M | 8k)

Based on artistsfuneral's take on the prompt "love confessions: in a language you didn't know they understand".

Taming the Wolves by @saltytransidiot (T | 9k)

When Geralt offers to bring Jaskier to Kaer Morhen that winter, the bard is overjoyed, but anxious as well. He desperately wishes to make a good impression on his lover's family. It turns out easier than he had thought, although Eskel isn't convinced just yet.

Sweet Nothings by @saltytransidiot (M | 10k)

Kaer Morhen is a warmer place than Jaskier had envisaged, and Geralt's family is nicer, and bigger, than Geralt had ever spoken about. Walking into the keep brings up some feelings that Jaskier hadn't realized were bubbling, and he has to delve deeper into his own feeling and who he really is. (God Jaskier)

Sweet Sorrows by @saltytransidiot (M | 19k)

Ciri doesn't find Geralt at the end, she finds Jaskier. She has known him all her life, and she trusts him. He decides to bring her to Kaer Morhen so that she will find Geralt. He dreads the moment it will happen.

Three Steps from the Sky by @bunnyofnegativeeuphoria (M | 30k)

Dear Reader, I present to you a tale of love, the value of faith and communication, and quite a ridiculous amount of horse content.

No King Among Wolves by IndigoDream (M | 32k)

Prince Julian of Kerack has been having nightmares recently. On the day of his twenty-first birthday feast, a week before his official coronation, he tries to ignore those nightmares and focus on the party. However, when a princess of Creyden greets him, accompanied by her witcher bodyguard, Julian starts feeling like he can't escape the dreams anymore. --- Jaskier was a son, a brother, a prince. One sweep at his mind, and he is only a Prince.

we could be married (and then we'd be happy) by @a-kind-of-merry-war (E | 50k)

Geralt and Jaskier have been playing this game for nearly a year, now: staging a proposal in an expensive restaurant to see if they can get a meal on the house. But pretending to be engaged to the person you're secretly in love with is starting to take its toll on both of them - especially when they're caught in the act.

To give without knowing by @flowercrown-bard (T | 108k)

Jaskier finds a wooden figure that Geralt carved and threw away in the woods and thinks it's a gift from the fae.

my dear friend (hehe) also compiled a list of geraskier fic recs

so! i hope you're not overwhelmed now, dearest nonnie. i hope you find something that lets you escape your slump. i love you 💛

[artsy-hobbitses]

Wait, did I hear right?! You DO SHIP MEGOP?! YEEEEEEEEE!!!!!! 😆😆😆😆😄😄😄😄😄😄

SINCE FOREVER I SWEAR or at least since I looked at them a little harder and went like “okay where have I see this sort of relationship before” also honestly lbr there is way a lot more chemistry and story to tell here than in OpElita (even if that is a cute ship! Hell I used to ship is as an early ‘Formers fan!).

It’s so full of tragic what-ifs for two people not entirely opposed to one another (and are genuinely supportive of their goals to a point) except by circumstance and their own shortcomings still destined to dance together till the end of time.

It’s Megatron acknowledging that there’s only ever been two constants in his life——hate for the world he grew up in and everything that has helped shaped him to be what he is today.....and Optimus.

It’s Optimus and:

in front of the whole Senate. It’s Optimus still searching for some shred of humanity in Megatron after millions of years of fighting and millions dead because sensible or not, a part of him wants to believe that the Megatron he knew, the aspiring poet and hopeful miner whose writings inspired him, whose writings he actually recommended to future Decepticons as excellent reading (future Decepticons who became Decepticons because of these writings at that), is still in there somewhere.

He’s like. He’s clearly in love with a man who by all accounts look like they died a long time ago (Until MTMTE/ Lost Light happens)

And then there’s Megatron himself, with this radiant, genuine smile when he hears Functionist-Universe Orion Pax’s voice ie. Orion Pax in a world where the war never happened, where he never became a warlord, where they could build a revolution together and they do, and this time more importantly, he does it Optimus’ way.

Like they’re flawed! So fucking flawed and they’ve hurt each other in so many ways but there is that once upon a time of the young miner and the naive cop both hoping for a better world which just refuses to die and I’m just.

I have really, really strong feelings about it tbh.

[bopinion]

2021 / 32

Aperçu of the Week:

"Freedom, freedom - Is the only one that is missing. Freedom, freedom - Is the only thing that matters."

(Song by German musician Marius Müller-Westernhagen, 1987)

Bad News of the Week:

"The security of the Federal Republic of Germany will also be defended in the Hindu Kush," said the then Federal Minister of Defense Peter Stuck of the Social Democratic Party of Germany in 2002 about the upcoming Afghanistan mission of the Bundeswehr. And that is what we then tried to do for many years, like so many other nations. The result is well known. The missions were called "Operation Enduring Freedom" and "Resolute Support." Both failed magnificently.

As I write this, the Afghan government is apparently preparing a "peaceful transfer of power" to the Taliban, whose militias are at the gates of the capital, Kabul. Having taken over most provincial capitals, infrastructure, and border crossings with unexpected speed in recent days. "Conquered" would be inaccurate; after all, most official bodies have fled even faster than the advance has progressed. Just two weeks ago, UN/NATO military bases such as Mazar-i-Sharif and Bagram were controlled by the Western military alliance; after their hasty withdrawal, they are now in the hands of the Taliban. But at least our soldiers took their weapons with them and didn't just leave them behind like the Afghan military itself - "Help yourselves!"

Panic is apparently spreading among the population. Most are either fleeing with their most important belongings or have barricaded themselves in their homes with provisions. Many are afraid of imminent purges and punitive measures because they have worked, for example, as translators or cooks for the foreign powers. The experience of recent years is clear: Since 2003, the Taliban have been waging a terrorist-military campaign against the democratic Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the international troops of the ISAF in Afghanistan, starting in Pakistan. In this campaign, the Taliban are more than twice as likely to carry out targeted attacks against Afghan civilians than against Afghan or international troops. A United Nations report shows that the Taliban were responsible for over 75% of civilian deaths in Afghanistan in 2009 and 2010, for example.

Far more frightening than the warlike actions common to the Taliban with regional warlords, however, is their religious fundamentalist underpinnings, especially toward women. On the one hand, these are erased from public perception, and on the other, they are virtually placed under blanket house arrest. Two examples of the former: Women are to be excluded from all media and all forms of public assembly. Photographing or filming women is strictly forbidden, as are images with female persons in magazines, books and newspapers as well as in stores - and even in one's own home. So having a souvenir photo with your own mother is illegal.

And one's own home is one's prison. Examples of the latter: Women and girls over the age of eight are forbidden to associate with men to whom they are not related. They are not allowed to go out on the street alone or without a burqa. They are not allowed to ride bicycles, take cabs, or even speak in public (!). The windows at home must be painted or taped shut, and they are not allowed to laugh or sing. Women are not allowed to work, attend schools or otherwise educate themselves. The only exception is instruction in the teachings of the Koran. If a woman - as well as without income - cannot afford food, she gets "food aid". Stupidly, however, this may only be received from a male relative. So if a widow does not live with a father, brother or son, she will starve.

So even in the 21st century, there are societies that do not guarantee even the most basic rights of democracy, freedom and equality. And in the case of Afghanistan, the West's two-decade effort, involving billions of dollars and thousands of lives, has effectively achieved nothing. Nothing at all. "Enduring Freedom?" What a bad joke...

Good News of the Week:

The so-called "Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change" (IPCC) is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change. It was founded to provide decision and policy makers worldwide with regular scientific assessments on climate change, its implications and potential future risks, as well as to put forward adaptation and mitigation options - independently, neutrally and objectively. Every few years, the IPCC issues an Assessment Report that summarizes all available data, findings and analyses. Last week it was time again. And the report is - surprise! - a "Code Red for humanity", as the UN calls it.

The contents of the report are dry and unsparing, as it presents only scientific facts and does not moralize. Which does not make the facts any less frightening. Two crucial aspects stand out: man-made climate change is progressing faster than previously feared. And many "points of no return" have already been reached, e.g. regarding the loss of summer ice in the Arctic. As with regard to many other developments, we cannot really predict what the consequences will be. But one thing is certain: they will be negative.

So why does it say "Good News" above these lines? Because we still have a chance. Because it's not too late for the survival of humanity. Cognitive psychologist Christian Stöcker makes a domestic comparison: we come back to the kitchen and find that the fat in the pan has caught fire. We can either react to this by warning the children, grabbing the fire extinguisher and calling the fire department. Or we close the kitchen door like an ostrich, go into the living room to let the TV bring us to more pleasant thoughts and start thinking about which delivery service we will order the alternative dinner from.

So it's our choice. Yes, we have a choice. In our day-to-day actions, in elections, with our priorities. So the federal election here in Germany at the end of September will be a choice of direction. We can stagger on like lemmings toward the abyss. Or we can take an exemplary path in which we, as an industrial nation and a people of "poets and thinkers," demonstrate that economy and ecology are not mutually exclusive. We have the fucking choice - so let's do the right thing dammit!

Personal happy moment of the week:

Last night we chilled out: on a picnic blanket on the shore of nearby Lake Tegernsee. Listened to the crashing waves, the splashing dogs, the playing children, the singing birds. We read the newspaper and nibbled pistachios. An oasis of peace and quiet. So simple and yet so precious.

I couldn't care less...

...that all the favorites lost on the first matchday of the new Bundesliga soccer season. Even "our" FC Bayern München, which has the historic chance to win the German championship ten times in a row (!). I would probably see things differently on the last matchday.

As I write this...

...I'm thinking back to the fact that two years ago we were at the 50th birthday party of a very good friend. In a big, good-humored group. For a whole week. In a luxury cottage in the Scottish Highlands. Feels like from another time. Probably because it was another time. Sigh.

[ghostinthelibrarywrites]

First lines meme

Thanks for the tag @handwrittenhello!

rules: list the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all!). see if there are any patterns. choose your favorite opening line. then tag 10 of your favorite authors!

(I don’t know if this is supposed to be only published stories or not, but I’m going to include the first lines of some unpublished WIPs.)

1) Untitled Geraskel Not Actually a Warlord AU (WIP): Eskel has only met King Vizimir of Redania once, but the man never struck him as much of a jokester.

2) Untitled Geraskel Soulmate AU (WIP): As a rule, Geralt doesn’t pay much attention to bards.

3) Untitled Geraskel Spy AU (WIP): It’s been two years, eleven months, and five days since the last time Eskel slept through the night.

4) These Pages Thumbed: “What the fuck are we supposed to do with a librarian?”

5) No Grave Can Hold My Body Down: There’s no body for them to bury today.

6) The Only Good Witcher: A lot has changed at Kaer Morhen in the four hundred odd years since Lambert set out on the Path.

7) I could be the sun that lights your dark: As far as battles go, it’s an anticlimactic one.

8) this is the road to ruin: The van that pulls up outside the E-Z-Go gas station at 3:23 AM has seen better days.

9) Once Bitten: Geralt and Jaskier have known each other for two years now and Geralt is accustomed to the bard’s dramatic tendencies.

10) Witcher, Poet Fool: In the two years they’ve been lovers, Yennefer has learned that Jaskier has an unparalleled talent for getting himself into trouble.

11) Never Love an Anchor: They don’t see the soldiers coming.

12) honeysuckle & chamomile: It starts, as far too many things in Eskel’s life do, with ichor.

13) like flowers the bodies tumble: Jaskier has always considered himself a generally delightful person.

14) Lil Bleater’s Life of Crime: By the time Eskel realizes that Lil Bleater is missing, it’s already too late.

15) living or dying first: Yennefer shouldn’t be surprised, she thinks as the pitchfork is thrust through her gut.

16) The Greater Good and Other Bullshit: When Jaskier first started traveling with Geralt twenty years ago, he thought he would see all the wonders the Continent had to offer, visit the most exotic locales, and meet interesting people of all walks of life.

17) I Hope Tomorrow Is Like Today: Deciding that he wants to propose to Jaskier is easy.

18) A Marriage of Inconvenience: “Yennefer, I have a proposal for you.”

19) Downward Goat: “What kind of yoga?” 

20) want to bleed your blood (want to be let in): Geralt doesn’t know exactly when Eskel and Jaskier started sleeping together.

I’m not going to tag 20 people, but I tag @eskelchopchop, @eyesofshinigami, @teamfreehoodies, @eldritcharchive, @storm-and-starlight, @brothebro and @theamazingbard

[wyyrmwood]

Im sorry w h a t is Arthurian Legend, stirling castle and Kings knot???? I D o Not understand the implications of King Arthur being based in historical fact with geographical archeology in Scotland. Im not smart enough to understand half those words pls give me wisdom

@scarsmood this ones for you too, buckle up kiddos because this has been my hyperfixation on and off for like the last 2 years.

Ok so everyone knows king arthur right dude was, according to legend, a 5th-6th century British king who, with the Knighs of the Round Table and the wizard Merlin did some stuff a long time ago now thats whatever we dont care about that because most of it is exaggerated beyond recognition or just straight up fake, except for maybe how he died, but thats for later. What we care about is the whole round table deal and the name. It came from somewhere, right?

The thing is nobody can find this supposed kingdom. Everyone looked all over Europe, hell most people were certain he wasn't even real. This guy was covered head to toe in tales of wealth and glory so surely there must be something that can link him to historical fact, after all legends are primarily based on real people and real events twisted over time so.... Where is he?

This went on for a while, looking and not finding much concrete stuff. Well, maybe he was just a propoganda story used to make the British feel real good about themselves then.

And then one guy thought, but what if that's exactly what it is?

People stole traditions and names and words and technology and shit from the lands they conqured, contacted, or invaded, why not take legends too?

And thats when shit gets real, because once they stopped looking at Britian and Europe, they found a lot.

Like a guy

Who lived in the 6th century

Named Artuir.

Who was a king...

IN SCOTLAND.

THATS RIGHT BABBEY KING ARTHUR WAS A SCOTTISH WARLORD AND WE HAVE OODLES OF PROOF TO BACK IT UP!

Exhibit A: in scotland there is an ancient castle known as Stirling Castle, now most castles are old but this place is like the great grandpa of castles. Its been a place since 655 (though the castle itself isnt written about until around 1107) been through wars of independence, renovations, the whole deal, certifiably fucking ancient AND right in that 6th century timeslot. It was the perfect place for a defendable fort, and thats what it was.

It sits on a crest of 350 million year old quartz dolerite, overlooking something even more fascinating. A formation known as Kings Knot. Now Idk what y'all know about this shit but ✨holy f u c k✨

Come take a gander

Now the masonry of the rings and geometric shapes is old, sure but only like regular mideval old, the garden earthworks at King's Park are thought to have been built for the king Charles I coronation in 1633.

I know what youre saying, Wow cool so some dudes put some earthworks down in the mideval period but whats that got to do with the castle or "King Arthur" right?

There is evidence however of something in the middle thats possibly hundreds of years older. And round.... Like a table 👀👀👀👀👀

"John Harrison, chairman of the local history society, said the distinctive “cup and saucer” shape of the mound had changed over the years. There are several competing theories on its dates of origin,” he added. 

...But about 1375 the poet John Barbour says that ‘the round table’ was somewhere to the south of Stirling Castle and tradition continued to place ‘the tabilll round’ hereabouts. It is a mystery the documents cannot solve."

----

"Writers going back more than six centuries have linked the landmark to the legend of King Arthur.

Archaeologists from Glasgow University, working with the Stirling Local History Society and Stirling Field and Archaeological Society, conducted the first ever non-invasive survey of the site in May and June in a bid to uncover some of its secrets.

Their findings show there was indeed a round feature on the site that pre-dates the visible earthworks.

...The new survey -- funded by Historic Scotland and Stirling City Heritage Trust -- used the latest scientific techniques to showing lost structures and features up to a metre below the ground.

It also revealed a series of ditches south of the main mound, as well as remains of buildings, and more recent structures, including modern drains which appear at the northern end of the gardens.

The ditches identified may intriguingly be part of historically documented earlier garden features, or if prehistoric in origin could add to our scant knowledge of prehistoric activity at Stirling Castle."

Now remember this is below Stirling Castle, which was maybe not a castle yet but 100% a place in the 6th century, overlooking Kings Knot with earthworks dating back hundreds of years BEFORE 1107, which was

WAIT FOR IT,,,,,,,

OCCUPIED BY THE SCOTTISH LORD ARTUIR ("ARTHUR") IN THE 6TH CENTURY, THE SAME TIME THE LEGENDS PLACE THE KING BEING AROUND

ARTUIR MAC AEDAN, A SIXTH CENTURY SON OF A SCOTTISH KING

AND THE CIRCULAR SHAPE BURIED BENEATH THE OLD ENGLISH MONUMENT

MAY VERY WELL BE THE ORIGINAL ROUND TABLE

WHICH WAS LATER COVERED UP AND RENOVATED AND CONVERTED INTO BRITISH PROPOGANDA OVER TIME VIA CULTURAL ASSIMILATION

Now I dont mean to sound lame BUT THATS THE COOLEST SHIT IN THE UNIVERSE

this is the type of history that makes me wanna turn my Archeology minor into an archeology major bro holy fuck

[cauldronoflove]

any book recs? ive been reading a tooooon of childrens lit for class but haven't had much luck with anything I've picked out for myself 💕

ooh yes!! ty for asking 💓

evvie drake starts over _ linda holmes

• a 30-something widow rents the apartment attached to her too-big-for-her house to a professional pitcher that has lost his talent for pitching and needs to get away from the new york spotlight.

- oh what abt this book did i NOT love!! small town maine, baseball, a believable romance w actual communication, a romcom where the comedy actually hit and made me laugh, genuine character arcs outside of the romance. its been a couple weeks since i read this one and i still catch myself thinking abt it like i borrowed the ebook to read it but im genuinely considering buying a copy for myself if tht says anything

seafire _ natalie c. parker

• an all-girl pirate crew sail the seas with the sole purpose of taking down the evil warlord that has taken everything from them

- its the first book in a trilogy and while ive only read this one i am SO obsessed w these characters and their stories holy fuck. the cast is so well juggled tht i cared abt everyone so thoroughly and immensely like the found family is impeccable, the action is probably some of my favorite ive ever read, and the writing in general just sucked me right in like i read this in one straight shot

quite literally anything elizabeth acevedo has written esp if it's the audiobook

• i listened to the poet x last year and fell in LOVE so this year i made it a priority to listen to with the fire on high and clap when you land which have been some of the highlights of my reading this year honest to god. with the fire on high stands out to me particularly bc i listened to the majority of it while i was in the kitchen and it just. took it to a whole other level like everything she writes blows me away but it was just so fucking good and definitely made me cry at some points

[the-witchhunter]

Sometimes i just want to get my friends together and make a podcast where drunk bisexuals talk about literature

Pride and prejudice? The sass

Romantic poets? Lord Byron traveled Europe while the Napoleonic wars were going on and fucked an Albanian warlord

[biggoonie]

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[loudlytransparenttrash]

There’s a whole lot of death in the Quran, a whole lot of violence. It promises paradise to those Muslims who kill for Allah and condemns those Muslims who do not engage in fighting (4:95) and will punish them to hell if they don’t fight (9:38-39) It calls for you to kill even if you don’t like it as it’s what Allah has prescribed to Muslims and he knows what’s best for them (2:216) It calls to “cast terror into the hearts of non-believers” (3:151) - sound familiar? Those who reject faith will be punished with terrible agony (3:56) It tells to cut the hands and the feet off anyone who attacks Allah (5:33) and behead and cut the fingers and toes off non-believers (8:12) and another call to tie up and behead non-believers, though you must first try get ransom money from them or convert them to Islam to avoid hell (47:3-4) - Sound familiar? And calls for his followers to never stop fighting the non-believers until everyone worships Allah - sound familar? It warns that Islam will be offered to people in towns they wish to destroy, if they refuse then there will be “utter destruction.” (17:16) - Sound familiar? Remember when Osama Bin Laden sent a letter to America offering them to submit to his demands or face total destruction just before 9/11? These extreme ideas didn’t just pop out of nowhere... It demands wives and daughters to cover all of themselves except for their eyes (33:59) and to cut the hands off thieves (5:38) and “The woman or man found guilty of sexual intercourse, lash each one of them with a hundred lashes, and do not be taken by pity for them in the religion of Allah.” (24:2) A perfect example of modern Islamic law which we are told “isn’t real Islam.”

It’s just a few examples of the Quran. As for the Hadith.

Muhammad permits children and women being exposed to terrorism as they are the children of the enemy (52:256) Muhammad said, “O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him" (52:177) Mummamad gloats, “I have been made victorious with terror” (52:220) Muhammad said: “I have been commanded to fight against people till they testify that there is no god but Allah, that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah” (1:33) Muhammad said, "I have been ordered to fight the people till they say: “None has the right to be worshipped but Allah.” (8:387) Ibn Ishaq/Hisham 990 decalres “Cutting off someone's head while shouting 'Allahu Akbar' is not modern, but a tradition of Islam that began with Muhammad.” Ibn Ishaq/Hisham 992 says Muhammad would instruct his military to "Fight everyone in the way of Allah and kill those who disbelieve in Allah" before each one of their raids. Tabari 7:97 talks about Muhammad declaring to, "Kill any Jew who falls under your power." Ashraf was a poet, killed by Muhammad's men because he insulted Islam. An innocent Jewish businessman was then slain by his Muslim partner, merely for being non-Muslim. Muhammad ordered a man who had committed “illegal sexual intercourse” to be stoned to death, when the first rocks struck the man he tried to flee but he was caught and continued to be stoned to death. Another perfect example of modern Islamic law which we are told “isn’t real Islam.”

The violent verses are much more numerous than the peaceful verses. Even then we have to remember, much of the peaceful verses are extended only to Muslims. When they talk about love, they talk about loving your fellow Muslim. When they talk about Allah loving you, it is Allah loving his believers. Show me one example where Allah has said he loves or cares for non-believers. It has nothing to do with loving and being peaceful against non-believers. Terrorism and killing or disgracing non-believers has been the epitome of Islam since it’s beginnings. The very translation of Islam is ‘submission’ for fucks sake. 

Muhammad was a bloodthirsty warlord hellbent on converting the world to Islam by the sword. He took child brides, forced a 9 year old to have sex with him when he was in his 50s, he had endless amounts of wives, he was a war criminal who loved only those who believed in him and Allah, it’s that simple. He and his men are no different from the terrorists we have today. They continue to carry out terrorism today and have the  goal for Islam to overtake the world because that’s exactly what their prophet once did and instructs them to continue. Yet we continue to believe that Islam is peaceful and terrorism or even extremism has nothing to do with Islam, because that’s what our Muslim friend at school told us to believe. Give me a break.