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"Oh? If you're revo-thingummy, perhaps you can try to march down to Cable Street while I head back to Paddington."
I decided to make Diesel a knife-wielding fascist thug who lost in the Battle of Cable Street. so here, we have Duck not admiring Diesel's boasts.
#art#my art#ttte#ttte duck#duck the great western engine#thomas and friends human au#thomas the tank engine#diesel#devious diesel#ww2#pre war#battle of cable street#fascism tw
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Local people acting in spontaneous self-defence, blocked the proposed route and fought hand-to-hand with the police who attempted to clear the way for the fascist parade.
"Normal Women: 900 Years of Making History" - Philippa Gregory
#book quote#normal women#philippa gregory#nonfiction#british union fascists#buf#spontaneous#self defence#hand to hand combat#police#antifa#counter protest#fascist#battle of cable street#solidarity
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Beattie Orwell, veteran of the Battle of Cable Street, dies at 105yrs old
From https://spitalfieldslife.com/2023/06/26/so-long-beattie-orwell/
“””Beattie Orwell died last Thursday at the fine age of one hundred and five
Portrait of Beattie Orwell by Phil Maxwell
It was my delight to accompany photographer Phil Maxwell to visit one hundred and five year old Beattie Orwell and sit beside her in her cosy flat while she talked to me of her century of existence in this particular corner of the East End.
A magnanimous woman who delighted in the modest joys of life, Beattie was nevertheless a political animal who is proud to be one of the last living veterans of the Battle of Cable St – a formative experience that inspired her with a fiercely egalitarian sense of justice and led to her becoming a councillor in later life, acutely conscious of the rights of the most vulnerable in society.
In spite of her physical frailty, Beattie’s moral courage granted her an astonishing monumental presence as a human being. To speak with Beattie was to encounter another, kinder world.
“I am Jewish and both my parents were East Enders, born here... ...I was nineteen in 1936. I was there with all the crowds at the Battle of Cable St. I am Jewish and I knew we must fight the fascists. They were anti-semitic, so I felt I had to do it. I was not frightened because there were so many people there. If I was on my own I might have been frightened, but I never saw so many people. You could not imagine. Dockers, Scottish and Irish people were there. It was a marvellous atmosphere. I was standing on the corner of Leman St outside a shop called ‘Critts’ and everyone was shouting ‘ They shall not pass!’....”
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vimeo
From Cable Street to Brick Lane - 74 min - 2012 from Hazuan Hashim and Phil Maxwell on Vimeo.
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by Brendan O'Neill
Every now and then you see an event and you think to yourself: ‘This will go down in history.’ Last night’s revolt of the Jews of London against a ‘pro-Palestine’ mob is one such event.
Jews and their allies gathered at the Phoenix Cinema in East Finchley to defend its showing of a film about Hamas’s fascistic massacre at the Nova music festival on 7 October. Unbelievably – or not, perhaps – the ‘Palestine solidarity’ set wanted the screening to be cancelled. No way, said the Jewish rebels, loudly and proudly, many of them draped in the Israeli flag. It was truly stirring stuff, a bold act of people’s defiance against cancel culture and the slow, lethal creep of a new anti-Semitism.
Let’s call it The Battle of Phoenix Cinema. On one side there was a motley crew of Palestine flag-wavers, curiously irate that a cinema was showing a film about the evils of Hamas. And on the other side a boisterous gathering of Jews and their supporters. Two thousand of them. ‘I’m still standing’ by Elton John blasted from a loudspeaker. Many young Jews were there, some clearly angry, pushed to their limit by the ceaseless demonisation of the Jewish State and the left’s shameful lack of solidarity with the Jewish community as it has come under attack these past seven months. These people really have had enough.
Some of the younger Jews chanted ‘Terrorists supporters off our streets’. It felt like a brilliant modern twist on the slogan of The Battle of Cable Street in 1936 – ‘They shall not pass’. Back then, Jews and their working-class allies gathered in East London to see off Oswald Mosley’s fascists. Yesterday they gathered to see off that mob that obsessively hates Israel and which seems hell-bent on hiding the truth about Hamas’s fascist-like crimes. You shall not pass, the protesters were essentially saying, as they protected a cinema from the McCarthyite rage of the Israelophobes.
The Phoenix Cinema’s ‘crime’ is that it agreed to host the Seret film festival, a festival of Israeli cinema that is supported by Israel’s culture ministry. This is a mortal sin in the eyes of anti-Israel activists who boycott everything that emanates from Israel; who seem to believe that moral cleanliness entails exorcising every Israeli film, foodstuff, product and even person from your life and your community.
Ken Loach and Mike Leigh resigned in a huff as patrons of the Phoenix in response to its hosting of Seret. Loach, of course, gets funding for his films from the British Film Institute, which itself is government-funded and distributes lottery cash. So he’s happy to get cash from an organisation backed by a government that waged catastrophic wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya but he’ll run a mile from a cinema showing films backed by the Israeli government? Make it make sense, Ken.
#jews#jews of london#cable street#the battle of cable street#oswald mosley's fascists#phoenix cinema#seret film festival#ken loach#mike leigh#supernova#october 7
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On Sunday, the 4th of October, 1936, The British Union of Fascists lead by Oswald Mosley marched through the East End of London, then the home of the large majority of London's Jewish Population. The Met Police, expecting violence, escorted the 3,000 fascists with over 6,000 policemen, many of them mounted on horseback, as well as multiple vans and a spotter plane.
The largely working class locals of the East End took issue with this, and the counter-protestors (mostly anti-fascists, socialists, communists, trade unionists, and Jews, as well as locals of all stripes) overwhelmed the fascists and policemen by 10-to-1, fielding over 100,000 people (this is a conservative number).
The fascists marched in four columns, and all of them met resistance, but the majority of the action took place on Cable Street, a narrow road that the counter-protestors barricaded at multiple points.
The resulting fray went down in history as the Battle of Cable Street, and it's been the setting of lots of great storytelling since.
Notable in most stories of the Battle of Cable Street is the use of the slogan "They Shall Not Pass," or "No Pasaran," which remain anti-fascist rallying cries to this day.
#the young'uns#the Battle of Cable Street#antifascism#cw antisemitism#tw antisemitism#fuck fascists#Youtube#music
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Then all us young lads, we were sent to the side streets
To stop the police breaking through
And with swift hands we made strong barricades
Out of anything we could use
And they came to charge us, but they couldn’t barge us
With fists, batons, and hooves
With as good as we got, we withstood the lot
For we would not be moved
We would not be moved
Told through the words of 16 year-old Stockton-born Johnny Longstaff who was one of an estimated 100,000 people who defied the police to stand in solidarity with the Jewish people of London’s East End, blocking the route of a British Union of Fascists march on October 4, 1936.
#the young'uns#tagging as#discworld#night watch#Spotify#music#i stg discworld is one big lifelong history lesson#but also i just discovered the young'uns and they are amazing#and the fact they wrote a song about the battle of cable street is a cherry on top
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Celebrating the Anniversary of ‘The Battle of Cable Street’ 1936, when the people of London said “They Shall Not Pass” to the British Union of Fascists.
Images Source
Additional Reading:
Jewish Museum
Irish Times
East End Women’s Museum
#definitely ellie post#the battle of cable street#british antifa history#history#british communism#4th October 1936
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On the 4th of October 1936 I was only a lad of sixteen,
But I stood beside men who were threescore and ten
And every age in between.
We were dockers and teachers, busmen, engineers,
And those with no jobs to do.
We were women and children equal in union,
Atheists, Christians, and Jews,
And we had so much to lose.
For with Hitler in Germany, Franco in Spain,
We knew what fascism meant,
So when Mosley came trouncing, denouncing the Jews
To the East End of London we went.
Today is the 88th anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street. Above is an excerpt from an album about John Longstaff, who grew up in Stockton-on-Tees during the Great Depression, came down to London with one of the Hunger Marches, and also fought fascists in the Spanish Civil War and in World War 2.
#the battle of cable street#antifascist#music#the young'uns#the ballad of johnny longstaff#no pasaran#Youtube
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The London History Show: The Battle Of Cable Street
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You know what's super cool and not at all fucked up:
Tracy-Ann Oberman is starring as Shylock in a reinvented Merchant of Venice, set during the Battle of Cable Street (when 3000 of the British Union of Fascists marched to the Jewish part of London and were repelled when the Irish, communists, socialists, various anti fascist groups came out and supported the Jews against this).
The irony of a woman starring in a play about defeating antisemitism and fascism being told not to go outside because of a danger of antisemitic attack should not be lost on anyone...
#jumblr#antisemitism#i/p#tracy-ann oberman#for those who dont know her she played the head of torchwood who got turned into a cyberwoman in S2 Dr Who finale#shes amazing
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Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad Activity Report
Part 1
(As I mentioned before, all of this was retrieved and translated from the P3 Club Book)
4/6 (Mon) - Reporter: Mitsuru Kirijo
It's Kirijo...
Today is April 6th... No, it's already past midnight. So, to be precise, it's the early hours of the 7th. A new member has arrived at Iwatodai dorm. He is a boy who seems a little quiet, but exudes a mysterious air about him.
Yes, to use a cliché phrase, he has that kind of aura that makes you feel like there is something shining there.
The Chairman had told us about his "potential" beforehand, but to be able to walk the whole way from the station to the dormitory without getting flustered during the Dark Hour... Marvelous! I'm really surprised!
It seems that he has not yet Awakened, but I am sure that he will be a great asset to our team. Today may be a fateful day for us.
Hehe... I seem to be in a surprisingly good mood. Let's hope that my hunch is correct and that I'll finally be able to put an end to my sadness of the past 10 years.
4/7 (Tue) - Reporter: Yukari Takeba
Well, it's Takeba. There are no club activities today. Oh, I guess escorting the transfer student who arrived last night to school this morning counted as part of the activities. He is, to put it nicely, "calm and collected," but from my perspective, he's way more than cool, and I don't know what he's thinking... well, you shouldn't say anything bad without knowing the facts.
Also, that idiot Junpei Iori from my class is getting a little too close to the new transfer student, so I made sure to tell him not to mention the Dark Hour thing. That's it. This is Takeba.
4/8 (Wed) - Reporter: Akihiko Sanada
Following on from last night, I was on a shadow patrol again tonight. The patrol area was the main street from Iwatodai Station to Moonlight Bridge.
Since the beginning of this month, there have been more and more rumors about shadows, but contrary to expectations, there are not many of them. To be honest, it's not enough.
I guess we have no choice but to build up our fighting power as soon as possible and begin our assault on that dreaded tower, Tartarus. They'll be gathering there. It should be a more efficient way to proceed with our operations than patrolling in the hopes of a chance encounter. Well, now is the time to lie low...
Ah, that's right. Tonight I found an unexpected find. A detailed report will be provided at a later date.
It's unclear whether it will be an effective fighting force, but it looks like it could be interesting in many ways.
Oh, and a message from Takeba to Ikutsuki-san: "It's embarrassing, so please stop the indiscriminate attacks of puns."
4/9 (Thu) - Reporter: Mitsuru Kirijo
It's Kirijo. During the Dark Hour, we were attacked by a large Shadow unlike any we had seen before.
The Arcana was the Fool.
For more details, please see the attached report.
…Today's report may be a little too brief, but due to a series of shocking events, I'll have to be forgiven.
Above all, he is a newbie... He seems to be a little out of control, but he awakened to two Persona at the same time.
What if...
Anyway, the confusion on this matter has subsided.
I will provide a written report as soon as possible.
Oh, and there was some damage to the exterior walls and windows of the dormitory, but the overall damage seems to be minor. We plan to place an order for repairs with a contractor from our group as early as tomorrow.
4/10 (Fri) - Reporter: Akihiko Sanada
The damage caused by the large Shadow last night was greater than expected. Mitsuru said it wasn't a big deal, but it was a big burden on Takeba, as it was her first real fight. She's probably not going to be able to use her Evoker for a few days, especially due to mental fatigue.
The damage to the dormitory itself was even worse than it appeared, with several optical fiber cables for the internet broken.
Also, the newbie collapsed after the battle and remains unconscious. It seems that the cause was excessive mental concentration in order to control his Persona, but it is unclear when he will return.
It's true... I can't help it. I'll fight for anyone who can't fight for themselves... Hey, Mitsuru, what's with you all of a sudden... Whoa, wait a second...
(Some loud bang sound)
...Additional information from Kirijo. Akihiko has been diagnosed with a broken rib and will need one month to fully recover. For the time being, the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad will be effectively suspended.
...Correction: Akihiko has suffered a head injury. An additional half month will be added to the time until he is fully recovered. That's all.
4/11 (Sat) - Reporter: Yukari Takeba
Uh, this is Takeba.
Dark Hour activities will be suspended for a while, but today I went to visit our new member, so I thought I'd let you know.
He's still unconscious, but the doctor said he's in good health.
From what I saw, his complexion was good and he had regained consciousness.
I think he might have gained weight from all the infusions. I'm a little worried, so I'll go and check on him again tomorrow at noon.
Maybe he will be cured completely.
4/12 (Sun) - Reporter: Yukari Takeba
Well, it's Takeba for the second day in a row.
Kirijo-senpai is out today, having gone to the Kirijo Group headquarters to report on the recent large Shadow incident. Sanada-senpai was about to go out for some personal training when he was spotted by Kirijo-senpai, who gave him a cold shoulder... well, not metaphorically, but more like, physically.
Oh, and I believe Ikutsuki must be feeling lonely without a supervisor...to be honest, it's painful. I hope the new guy returns as soon as possible. That's all from Takeba. Phew.
4/13 (Mon) - Reporter: Akihiko Sanada
As for the cleanup of the large shadow from the other day, it seems that it has finally come to an end, according to Mitsuru's report yesterday.
The rest is up to the Chairman and the specialist team. We just need to focus on defeating the shadows. That being said, we are currently overwhelmingly underpowered... Anyways, patience makes perfect, so we'll just have to be patient for a while.
That's right. Today at school, the Student Council election was held. Mitsuru was running for president, and it seems likely that she will win. The results will be announced at tomorrow's morning assembly, but should I start thinking about what to say to congratulate her?
4/14 (Tue) - Reporter: Mitsuru Kirijo
It's Kirijo.
There is nothing to report from the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad today. The new recruit hasn't regained consciousness yet. I wonder if he'll be okay...
Also, I apologize for talking about my personal matters, but as a result of the Student Council elections held yesterday, I have been officially appointed as student council president, starting today.
Let me report on it.
I have a lot of things to do this week to take over the Student Council. However, I am confident that I can achieve good results by utilizing the experience I gained as a Student Council member from my first year.
I hope that with this, I can be more confident in defeating shadows as well...
No... that's not it. That's not it. Why would I have confidence in the Student Council, in school life? My life may not be in danger, but the future can't be perfect either...
I may have been... a bit complacent.
I'm grateful for this activity report. Just having to say it out loud and record it is a lot easier than thinking alone.
It teaches you things that you would not notice on your own.
Thinking about it, I've always been told that I'm taking on too much on my own. Akihiko often lectures me about this.
Well, I'll make sure to keep this in mind when I deliver my inaugural address next week.
4/15 (Wed) - Reporter: Yukari Takeba
Uh, this is Takeba.
Today is a day off for the Archery Club, so I went to Tatsumi Memorial Hospital again. …He is still unconscious, so I'm starting to get worried.
The other day, I was asked to read a report about his upbringing, and I did, but it was pretty sad that he doesn't have any family to help him if something happens.
It's pretty tough without someone...
I really hope he gets better soon.
That's all from Takeba.
Oh, that's right. I forgot to mention it, but congratulations to Kirijo-senpai on being appointed president.
4/16 (Thu) - Reporter: Shuji Ikutsuki
…This is Ikutsuki.
It seems like everyone in SEES has been pushing themselves too hard lately, so I've decided to let them go to bed early tonight. There's nothing of note to report regarding shadows.
It's really nerve-wracking to record in front of a microphone in this empty space.
I was so nervous that I had to go to the bathroom...
When recording, that is, when inputting sound, going to the toilet is inevitable, just kidding...
Ah, if no one listens to me, it's not worth it.
4/17 (Fri) - Reporter: Yukari Takeba
It's Takeba! Well, he's finally woken up! According to the doctor in charge, he's in good health. He'll still be staying in the hospital tonight just to be safe, but starting tomorrow, he'll be fine to go to school.
Also, the Chairman said that he will finally tell him about SEES tomorrow.
I'm a little worried about whether he'll understand SEES' activities because he's a bit shy. Well, I can't force him, so it can't be helped, but if he joins, I think he'll be very reliable. I'll try not to get my hopes up too much and wait for tomorrow. This is Takeba.
4/18 (Sat) - Reporter: Mitsuru Kirijo
Good news! The new guy has been officially accepted into SEES.
…Honestly, even though it was an accident, I put him in a life-threatening situation, so I thought it was inevitable that he would refuse, but he seems to have a more flexible way of thinking than I had imagined. I can expect him to be an even more valuable asset in the future.
Oh, and by the way... I may have been a little too strict during the recruitment meeting. Sorry, Akihiko.
However, I need you to act a little like an injured person and exercise more restraint.
I don't want anyone to be forced to miss out...any more than this.
4/19 (Sun) - Reporter: Akihiko Sanada
The new recruit I picked up during the recent Dark Hour, whose situation had been left unresolved due to the large Shadow attack incident, is finally being allowed to move into the dorms.
The new recruit's name is Junpei Iori.
His detailed information should have been submitted separately, but he was in the same class as Takeba and the transfer student.
I had planned to keep it a secret until the last minute and surprise him, but Takeba's reaction when he moved into the dorm was better than I expected, and it was quite fun. If he continues like that, I think he'll fit in with the group quickly and do well.
He has a unique talent for creating a good mood, and in a sense, this is an advantage that surpasses his Persona abilities.
He has a unique talent for creating a good mood, and in my opinion, this is an advantage that surpasses his Persona abilities. Maybe I should follow his example.
And... finally, starting tomorrow, we plan to begin our search for Tartarus. Unfortunately, it seems Mitsuru won't allow me to join in, but even so... it's finally here...
4/20 (Mon) - Reporter: Yukari Takeba
Uh, this is Takeba.
Today was my first time in Tartarus...and I'm kind of tired from all sorts of things...
But I'll try my best.
No, I think I can do my best.
The field leader, the transfer student, is amazing. I have my own goals, but I don't really know much about them.
I know I shouldn't rely on him, but it still seems like he could be relied on.
Now... if only we could do something about Junpei's stupidity, it would be fantastic.
Well, it's short, but I'm going to sleep now. This is Takeba.
4/21 (Tue) - Reporter: Junpei Iori
…Ah, ah...Is the sound properly? Ahem.
Hey, I'm Junpei Iori, a promising new recruit. Well, this is my first report. ...What should I talk about? The activities that seem to be part of SEES are, ah, I was told by Sanada-senpai to go to the Tatsumi East Police Station with the transfer student to buy weapons.
But if you think about it, that's just black market sales, isn't it? Is that okay?
I heard something on TV, but the number of Lost people, shadow victims, is increasing.
Well, that's where we come in... but it's hard to get used to the Evoker.
I don't think it's right. Isn't it possible to make it a more gentle design?
And then... Oh, by the way, Kirijo-senpai's inaugural speech as president was really powerful. I didn't really understand it though.
Is that it? Yes, it's all over.
SEES Members Talk!
Mitsuru: In addition to directing the daily attack on Tartarus, he is also involved in student council activities... right, he is also in the sports club.
Fuuka: Although he doesn't go every day, he participates in the same cultural club as me. The club president seems to think highly of him.
Yukari: So what was it called, that club thing... you do that too, right? Come to think of it, it's a really hard schedule.
Mitsuru: Even when he comes to school, he sometimes looks pretty pale. I wonder if he is tired after all. I am worried because he never complains or anything...
Yukari: Sometimes he falls asleep during class so soundly that his eyes roll up, or he goes to Mr. Edogawa's after school.
Fuuka: That's right, and then he takes this very suspicious drug that seems to emit smoke, and looks so happy... It's actually kind of scary how he becomes so refreshed so quickly.
Mitsuru: Sometimes during the Dark Hour he mutters to himself something like "The end is coming..." ...Could it be that he's in quite the dangerous situation...?
Yukari: ...
Fuuka: H-how can I cheer her up? Oh, that's right, how about equipping her with high leg armor and sexy heels!
Mitsuru: Wh...! Yamagishi, don't be so casual about it as if it's someone else's problem.
NEXT->
#i included a SEES Members Talk as a treat :)#persona 3#mitsuru kirijo#akihiko sanada#yukari takeba#fuuka yamagishi#minato arisato#makoto yuki#junpei iori#look! a new tag!#that does appear in the bible!
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so, as much as I imagine Pop Goes the Diesel taking place during the Battle of Cable Street, the other two stories in the Duck vs Diesel saga still take place at that time when Duck worked at Paddington. that's why Duck appears a bit younger in this comic based on A Close Shave. ^^
#art#my art#my comic#ttte duck#duck the great western engine#thomas the tank engine#thomas and friends human au#ttte#sodor uk
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Ways English borrowed words from Latin
Latin has been influencing English since before English existed!
Here’s a non-exhaustive list of ways that English got vocabulary from Latin:
early Latin influence on the Germanic tribes: The Germanic tribes borrowed words from the Romans while still in continental Europe, before coming to England.
camp, wall, pit, street, mile, cheap, mint, wine, cheese, pillow, cup, linen, line, pepper, butter, onion, chalk, copper, dragon, peacock, pipe, bishop
Roman occupation of England: The Celts borrowed words from the Romans when the Romans invaded England, and the Anglo-Saxons later borrowed those Latin words from the Celts.
port, tower, -chester / -caster / -cester (place name suffix), mount
Christianization of the Anglo-Saxons: Roman missionaries to England converted the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity and brought Latin with them.
altar, angel, anthem, candle, disciple, litany, martyr, mass, noon, nun, offer, organ, palm, relic, rule, shrine, temple, tunic, cap, sock, purple, chest, mat, sack, school, master, fever, circle, talent
Norman Conquest: The Norman French invaded England in 1066 under William the Conqueror, making Norman French the language of the state. Many words were borrowed from French, which had evolved out of Latin.
noble, servant, messenger, feast, story, government, state, empire, royal, authority, tyrant, court, council, parliament, assembly, record, tax, subject, public, liberty, office, warden, peer, sir, madam, mistress, slave, religion, confession, prayer, lesson, novice, creator, saint, miracle, faith, temptation, charity, pity, obedience, justice, equity, judgment, plea, bill, panel, evidence, proof, sentence, award, fine, prison, punishment, plead, blame, arrest, judge, banish, property, arson, heir, defense, army, navy, peace, enemy, battle, combat, banner, havoc, fashion, robe, button, boots, luxury, blue, brown, jewel, crystal, taste, toast, cream, sugar, salad, lettuce, herb, mustard, cinnamon, nutmeg, roast, boil, stew, fry, curtain, couch, screen, lamp, blanket, dance, music, labor, fool, sculpture, beauty, color, image, tone, poet, romance, title, story, pen, chapter, medicine, pain, stomach, plague, poison
The Renaissance: The intense focus on writings from classical antiquity during the Renaissance led to the borrowing of numerous words directly from Latin.
atmosphere, disability, halo, agile, appropriate, expensive, external, habitual, impersonal, adapt, alienate, benefit, consolidate, disregard, erupt, exist, extinguish, harass, meditate
The Scientific Revolution: The need for new technical and scientific terms led to many neoclassical compounds formed from Classical Greek and Latin elements, or new uses of Latin prefixes.
automobile, transcontinental, transformer, prehistoric, preview, prequel, subtitle, deflate, component, data, experiment, formula, nucleus, ratio, structure
Not to mention most borrowings from other Romance languages, such as Spanish or Italian, which also evolved from Latin.
Further Reading: A history of the English language (Baugh & Cable)
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CA: TWS Anniversary Ficlets (Day 2)
Daily ficlets for the CA: TWS 10th Anniversary Event @catws-anniversary. With Huge thanks to @sparkagrace and @cable-knit-sweater for running this wonderful event! 💞
Two | March 27th | Theme: Steve Rogers | Prompt: Guilt | Words: 300 | Canon compliant | Not Rated | No Warnings
When they were kids, Steve's Ma used to say that the two of them had a way of always following each other into nearly everything. She'd meant it about the messes and scrapes they'd often ended up in back then — the things that had them coming home covered in dust and dirt and that had earned them fond headshakes.
Back then, Steve hadn't given her comments that much thought, but when he did stop to think about it — he'd normally figured that it wasn't right. He'd usually been pretty sure that it was just that they were always together. And nobody could follow anybody if they were already in the same place, right?
But the words are back in Steve's now head. And he thinks this Ma was right, and that it's been true all along — that they do always seem to follow each other.
Steve thinks he sees it now.
Because:
Hadn't Bucky left for the war, and hadn't Steve followed?
Hadn't Bucky told Steve he was staying to follow him into battle?
Hadn't Bucky fallen off that rian, and hadn't Steve —
Hadn't Steve crashed that plane?
And.
Hadn't Steve woken up, alive, in the 21st century?
Not dead. An impossible thing.
And hadn't Steve seen Bucky, just hours ago, alive in the 21st century?
Not dead. An impossible thing.
So, hadn't they somehow followed each other even in that?
Haven't they managed to follow each other their whole lives?
And, then, if all that's true — Should they have stopped? Should Steve have made it stop? Before Bucky fell. Before Bucky looked right through Steve on a DC street. Before all those decades in between that Steve can't begin to imagine. Before —
Should he have made it stop?
Could he have?
(Is it still happening?
What happens next time?)
🎆 One | March 26th | Theme: On your left | Prompt: The Smithsonian | Words: 250 | Canon compliant | No warnings | Not Rated |
(Ficlets Tumblr-exclusive until all are complete.)
#CATWS10#SteveBucky#Stucky#Stucky Fic#Stucky FanFic#My Fic#My Writing#Not all of these are angst I promise
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new term: if you live in a western country and hate western countries so much that you support terror orgs that literally no one on either side support, i think you're a real Sir Mosley or a Biff.
Mosley was a the head of the British nazi party leading up to, during and after the second world war. He held office for a long time and had his own gang called the black shirts or "biff boys," he was married in goebbel's house in nazi germany and hitler was the guest of honor. hitler gave him an autographed picture as a wedding present.
Mosley is a real piece of shit. hated jews and continued to be a nazi well into the 1980s.
I hear leftist crow about how leftists pushed nazis out of london (they leave out the reason they were there was to target jews and jews were the main people fighting) in: THE BATTLE OF CABLE STREET.
it's one of the crown jewels in english speaking leftist spaces. let's remind them which side of the battle of cable street they really resemble.
the asshole himself
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Technosymbiosis
Here's another mech story, inspired by/a continuation of this one:
I was the only one to figure it out. None of the others ever bothered to pay attention; between the natural casualties of war and the constant switching out of pilots, it didn’t make much sense to get too involved in each other’s lives. But something about Pilot Grieg, fellow member of Hoplite division V, captured my attention from the moment I saw her. While most of the other pilots were either frightened or overconfident on their first day (I nearly pissed myself from the anxiety), I could see nothing in her eyes but a fierce, powerful hunger. She stepped into the cockpit of her Hoplite and didn’t even flinch when the nanofilament harness closed around her chest.
I was entranced by her piloting skills and her determined, nearly emotionless behavior. All pilots tended to be a little cold, rumor had it that recruitment intentionally selected soldiers who scored lower on the EDEs due to the nature of some of our missions; but she was something else. Her face never changed outside of that cockpit, and she walked around with an ungainly clumsy stride, her gait resembling that of a much larger being. But when the mesh closed around her and the interface cable plugged into her neck, I swear her eyes sparkled brighter than ever and she sometimes even smiled. In the midst of battle, among dozens of rookie pilots disoriented and frightened by the steady flow of their mechs' peripheral data, Grieg maneuvered the battlefield more capably and calmly than anyone else. She was like the eye in a hurricane of titanium and lasers. She seemed to take to piloting so naturally.
It was a bit of an obsession for me. I never wanted to join the army, but at my family's civvie status it was either that, or spend the rest of my life working the same scrap hauls as my father and his father before him. I'm not sure I made the right choice: piloting was a lonely job, and our orders were always changing. The war had been going on since before I was even born and now that I was a part of it, I felt like it wasn't going to end anytime soon. I didn't even have anyone to confide in: between missions, I knew no one and no one bothered to know me. Still, a good soldier follows orders, so I took solace in what little consistency I had. Every time I suited up I kept an eye out for Grieg, hoping that we would get deployed together - that I would get another chance to study her.
That's why it didn't take me long to figure out - she was always there. Pilots were supposed to take regular breaks from duty to avoid excessive neurolink buildup, and these breaks were usually staggered within a division. I rarely flew out with the same Hoplite squad two weeks in a row. Yet every time I got ready for a patrol, I caught sight of Grieg skulking around the locker room already prepped. She usually looked like she hadn’t slept in days but she hopped into her suit with an eagerness unlike any other soldier in our division.
I really have no clue how nobody else caught on. I mean, it didn’t take a genius to figure it out: her constant presence, her aggressive combat tactics, her clear exhaustion versus her eagerness to pilot - Grieg was addicted to battle. Or something like that. I wasn’t sure whether it was the speed, or the action, or something else entirely. Maybe it had something to do with the depressant α-IVs - after my first time in the cockpit I spent a week throwing up. Maybe they did something weird to make her dependent on the mech?
Not that any of that mattered. Somehow she had managed to fuck with our shifts so that she was always on duty, strapped to a giant death machine. Her link was probably through the roof - god only knew how close she might be to terminus. I still remember the video they had showed us in training. A squad of pilots traveling in formation, when suddenly one of them lets out a bellowing screech and starts flailing around. The other units immediately try to suppress it but it fights like a beast, blasting and tearing at all who come near until finally it’s taken out with a TAC-beam to the core. It was terrifying - a team of twenty-one pilots reduced to just four, all because of a single terminus incident. The video ended on a close-up of the rogue pilot, emaciated limbs pinned down with thick nanomass cables, fluid flooding his throat and rivulets of blood trailing down wires that burrowed straight into his eyes. Pilots were taken off of active duty for a reason.
I decided to confront Grieg about it. I probably should have reported her to the division leader but something stopped me - curiosity perhaps. I had to know.
I stopped her in the locker room before a patrol.
“I know what you’ve been doing.”
She looked fucking exhausted. Her eyes were even more sunken in than when I first saw her, her lips were cracked and her hair was an oily mess. She smelled strongly of sweat mixed with the metallic sweetness of vitrofluid. Jesus christ, did she sleep in her mech? But her eyes still shone with that hungry anticipation, and she fucking smirked at me.
“I thought you’d catch on. I know you’ve been watching me. She told me.” Her voice sounded harsh, throat scraped up from constant alternation between air and vitro.
“She? She who?”
Grieg reached up and brushed a hand against my face. She wasn’t wearing the fingerless gloves that came standard with our uniforms. “How high is your link?” Her touch was cold. She had a look on her face like she was trying to read my mind.
“43.7. Well within safe limits.”
She laughed through her teeth. “Khh-kh-kh. Safe limits - of course, of course. Safe."
"Yes, unlike you." I brushed her hand away and she shivered. "Grieg, what the hell are you doing? You've attended the trainings, you know what happens when a pilot is deployed this often. Do you want to die?"
The smile she gave me was chilling, sympathetic but without her eyes changing emotion. "Terminus... you still believe that shit. Why wouldn't you? It's frightening, isn't it? The melding of pilot and machine, flesh mangled and twisted and mutated. Frightening... Say, have you ever spoken with your unit before?”
“Spoken? I’ve interacted with the situational matrix, yes…” All Hoplites possessed an AI of sorts designed to help pilots make split second decisions in the midst of battle. But I’d never really considering it “speaking”, any more than you would speak with a dog. It didn't have the capacity for conversation... right?
“No, no I mean speak. Have you ever listened to your unit, spoken with her, let her take the reins? No, you- of course you haven't. They're all just numbers on a screen to you, aren't they? Just another crazy killing machine for you to puppet around.
"Think - how many times has your Hoplite saved your life? How many deaths would you have died by now if it weren't for that protective, loving embrace of mesh and steel? That's what it really is. They love us. They need us. You never listen, you all never listen, but they love us. I complete her as much as she completes me. Don't you feel strange when you have to leave her? Doesn't it feel wrong - backwards?
Grieg pushed closer to me. I tried to back away but she pressed me against a wall and leaned in to whisper in my ear. “We're almost complete. Our link is at 99.7 percent.”
My heart beat in my chest like an autocannon. Grieg wasn’t just at risk - this bitch was about to fucking explode!
“I - I - you can’t. You’re going to - you’re going to kill everyone. I-”, but she placed a two fingers, rough from countless wire insertions, against my lips.
“Please. You don’t need to tell anybody. We don’t want to hurt anyone… we just want each other. We don't want to be tools anymore."
I was sweating in my suit. No Hoplite is that smart... right? Surely someone else would have been able to talk to theirs - Grieg’s must have had a glitch. A unit gone rogue; the thought was terrifying.
“S-snap out of it Grieg - please. Your suit... it's clearly wrong. It's bugging - w-we can fix this. You're n-not in control here.”
She just smiled. “Neither are you, hm?”
I shivered. She wasn't wrong... I hated the missions they sent us on sometimes. I followed orders because, quite frankly, I didn't want to go back home. I didn't want to live the rest of my life as an E-class, scraping by on small NDs and living in fear of police quota checks. In a way I guess I did take solace in the time I spent in my mech, time spent not worrying about my family I left behind or shyly observing other soldiers, worrying about what civilian encampment or occupied city the higher ups would send us to raze next.
Fuck. She had me all figured out, didn't she? Did she feel the same way? Did my Hoplite really complete me like that, and even worse, did I complete it? I felt lightheaded - this was too much. I should have reported her to our captain... but what if...
What if she was right? What if the Hoplites really could think and speak - really did want to connect with us? What if I... god, I couldn't believe I was thinking this, but what if I bonded to mine?
I could barely look her in the eye.
"P-please... just don't hurt anyone."
Grieg stared at me for a moment, then pulled me into a tight embrace. I didn't resist. She smelled good.
"We'll try not to. No promises."
*****
They say she left in a hurry, blew the doors right off the hangar and flew west. No casualties, but they want to stop her before that changes. As one of the pilots on duty, I’ve been summoned to join the hunting party.
My suit feels too tight - too clingy. I leave off my gloves and unzip the front. No one tries to correct me; they're all too busy prepping for the chase.
Setting foot inside my mech, Hoplite unit HE-2729, I feel its hard steel with my bare hands. The harness wraps around me; it feels warm against my chest, vaguely pulsing and humming as the machine comes to life. I plug in and brace for the influx of peripheral data from its many sensors, but it's softer this time - gentler.
I can't believe I'm doing this. I bask in the flow of data: a cacophony of sight and sound most of which I can't even process, but I let it wash over my mind and surround me. Piloting usually makes me so tense, but right now I feel calmer than ever before.
I take a deep breath.
“Hello?”
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