#predeceaser

[wonder-worker]

A central element of the myth of [Eleanor of Aquitaine] is that of her exceptionalism. Historians and Eleanor biographers have tended to take literally Richard of Devizes’s conventional panegyric of her as ‘an incomparable woman’ [and] a woman out of her time. […] Amazement at Eleanor’s power and independence is born from a presentism that assumes generally that the Middle Ages were a backward age, and specifically that medieval women were all downtrodden and marginalized. Eleanor’s career can, from such a perspective, only be explained by assuming that she was an exception who rose by sheer force of personality above the restrictions placed upon twelfth-century women.

-Michael R. Evans, Inventing Eleanor: The Medieval and Post-Medieval Image of Eleanor of Aquitaine

"...The idea of Eleanor’s exceptionalism rests on an assumption that women of her age were powerless. On the contrary, in Western Europe before the twelfth century there were ‘no really effective barriers to the capacity of women to exercise power; they appear as military leaders, judges, castellans, controllers of property’. […] In an important article published in 1992, Jane Martindale sought to locate Eleanor in context, stripping away much of the conjecture that had grown up around her, and returning to primary sources, including her charters. Martindale also demonstrated how Eleanor was not out of the ordinary for a twelfth-century queen either in the extent of her power or in the criticisms levelled against her.

If we look at Eleanor’s predecessors as Anglo-Norman queens of England, we find many examples of women wielding political power. Matilda of Flanders (wife of William the Conqueror) acted as regent in Normandy during his frequent absences in England following the Conquest, and [the first wife of Henry I, Matilda of Scotland, played some role in governing England during her husband's absences], while during the civil war of Stephen’s reign Matilda of Boulogne led the fight for a time on behalf of her royal husband, who had been captured by the forces of the empress. And if we wish to seek a rebel woman, we need look no further than Juliana, illegitimate daughter of Henry I, who attempted to assassinate him with a crossbow, or Adèle of Champagne, the third wife of Louis VII, who ‘[a]t the moment when Henry II held Eleanor of Aquitaine in jail for her revolt … led a revolt with her brothers against her son, Philip II'.

Eleanor is, therefore, less the exception than the rule – albeit an extreme example of that rule. This can be illustrated by comparing her with a twelfth century woman who has attracted less literary and historical attention. Adela of Blois died in 1137, the year of Eleanor’s marriage to Louis VII. […] The chronicle and charter evidence reveals Adela to have ‘legitimately exercised the powers of comital lordship’ in the domains of Blois-Champagne, both in consort with her husband and alone during his absence on crusade and after his death. […] There was, however, nothing atypical about the nature of Adela’s power. In the words of her biographer Kimberley LoPrete, ‘while the extent of Adela’s powers and the political impact of her actions were exceptional for a woman of her day (and indeed for most men), the sources of her powers and the activities she engaged in were not fundamentally different from those of other women of lordly rank’. These words could equally apply to Eleanor; the extent of her power, as heiress to the richest lordship in France, wife of two kings and mother of two or three more, was remarkable, but the nature of her power was not exceptional. Other noble or royal women governed, arranged marriages and alliances, and were patrons of the church. Eleanor represents one end of a continuum, not an isolated outlier."

[whitmerule]

Arwen: I choose a mortal life.

Elrond: et tu, Arwen??

Elros, somewhere: hell yeah that's my niece 🥳

[anghraine]

Just thinking about my headcanon that Elladan and Elrohir are both temperamentally inclined towards Men (and the Dúnedain particularly), and despite the difficulties and complications, would likely have both chosen the fate of Men had not Arwen chosen mortality.

But it's not that Arwen's choice wholly determines theirs. We know they have to consider their choice and that they delay making it. It's not an easy or obvious thing for them.

Still, the prospect of Elrond and Celebrían losing all their children to Elros's fate hangs heavily over their thought processes and quiet discussions and so forth. Ultimately, despite their personal inclinations, one of the twins decides he can't do that to their family and people, and makes the choice of Elwing.

And the other doesn't.

[redladydeath]

love how everyone is suddenly coming around to the idea of a vox redemption arc purely because we don't want him to die/be banished to the off-screen dimension by the end of season two

[winepresswrath]

drusilla's canon grandma kink is a thing that can be so charming & unhinged.

[solasan]

hm. since aegon dies a good forty years before olenna does. would it be cliche n overdone of me to have her dress in black for the rest of her days

[billandtedsgayjourney]

oooh nothing like two close friends getting engaged to their partners within a month to make me feel very Alone

[senorboombastic]

This One Song… PREDECEASED on SCENE PAROLE

Tell you what – we love hearing from artists when things go right. We equally love hearing from artists when things go dreadfully wrong. A song that was a piece of piss, written in 20 minutes? Or years in the making and a bastard to write? Whether it’s a song that came together through great duress or one that was smashed out in a short amount of time, we’re getting the lowdown from some of our…

[gbhbl]

Single Slam: Video Nasties, The Bedside Morale, Alienist, Lowlives, Vicious Rain, Break Fifty, This House We Built, Predeceased, Ghost Atlas, Trash Boat, fakeyourdeath, and Gutlocker!

This single slam features Video Nasties, The Bedside Morale, Alienist, Lowlives, Vicious Rain, Break Fifty, This House We Built, Predeceased, Ghost Atlas, Trash Boat, fakeyourdeath, and Gutlocker.

This single slam features Video Nasties, The Bedside Morale, Alienist, Lowlives, Vicious Rain, Break Fifty, This House We Built, Predeceased, Ghost Atlas, Trash Boat, fakeyourdeath, and Gutlocker. You can read our thoughts about the latest singles from these bands below. Video Nasties – Harvest of Flies Halloween may have passed but there’s still some remnants of evil lurking behind as Video…

[elainemorisi]

I don't know if it's temporal or geographic or I just never noticed as a kid, but obituaries out here often include people's best friends in a non euphemistic sense and I just think it's really nice

[froody]

If one wife dies on you, that’s unfortunate. If you’re widowed twice, that’s truly rotten luck. If you have 3+ wives that predecease you, you were one suspicious motherfucker.

[youremyheaven]

old hollywood actor bios be like:

"he was born in bohemia to a french whore and a romanian trapeze artist, he had 3 siblings, 2 of whom died in infancy of smallpox, he spent several years in the military, married his first wife, a dancer, in cuba where he also spent 6 months in prison for arson, he was discovered while selling newspapers in st tropez and adopted the stage name of Ken Walters upon the suggestion of Gina Lollobrigida whom he met at Federico Fellini's birthday party, since his birth name of Balthazar Moses Igor Bogdan was a mouthful, he died in his sleep in Zurich, where he had lived since his retirement from the screen in 1963. his fourth wife, actress, Giorgiana Bottesi predeceased him by five years. he is survived by 8 children, 16 grandchildren (inc the model, Lala Brun and writer Ulrich Heines) and 7 great grand children."

[gallusrostromegalus]

ok I need elaboration on pretty much all of those bankais that you haven't already talked about but for now i'm probably most curious about ichigo and hanataro? please, a measly few crumbs of context

The short version of Ichigo's sword situation is that he is D'artanigan to Zangetsu's Three displaced-during-the-fuckery-surrounding-his-parent's-meet-cute-slash-manslaughter-thing Musketeers. We got his dad's half-starved family Zanpakuto, The Family Ghost from his Mom's side, and a guy made in an evil instapot that wandered in here on accident and precipitated the whole enfuckening. They are untied in their goal of "Keep Ichigo Alive" but unfortunately they also have a collective IQ of Negative Four.

Reader: Gee Ichigo, why does the author let you have THREE Zanpakuto spirits?

Ichigo: That's nothing! Orihime has SIX!

Ichigo and Orihime's nonsense is connected to how The Almighty operates:)

Meanwhile, short summaries of Unohana and Byakuya's Bankai under the cut:

Unohana:

Minazuki is a sword primarily about the manipulation of flesh- healing injury, making better fighters by pushing the flesh to it's limits- This is a spirit that is distinctly VISCERAL in nature. It has mass. It has a very distinct body.

So it follows that, in order to supply injured patients with blood and drugs and new flesh and everything else, Minazuki is giving up some of her Mass. Consequently, the Stingray form of Minazuki is the SECOND one- she cannot create her elixirs and make new flesh from nothing. First she must FEED.

Which is why Minazuki's liquid format is acidic blood that devours anything organic. It's why Kenpachi!Unohana's bloodthirst was so bloodthirsty: she was literally starving for biomass to complete her sword's two forms and finally put her Soul in Balance.

In the fic, Ukitake is one of a handful of people old enough to remember "Yachiru" Unohana, and until Zaraki's arrival, probably the closest to understanding her. That Unohana and Retsu both understand the horrors of the flesh he lives with every day more intimately than anyone else in his life, and it's the basis of an almost sacred friendship between them. He knows perfectly well where the emergency transfusions and drugs she creates come from, and they have a standing agreement that if he predeceases her, she is to feed his body to Minazuki so he can pay forward at least some of the debt given to him.

He will not be the first of Unohana's friends that have been willingly devoured by her sword.

Byakuya:

Senbonzakura has been with the Kuchiki family for generations, passed from one head of the clan to the next in a sacred ritual that allows the Zanpakuto to bond to its new weilders and grant them the power accumulated with generations.

But for course, everything has it's cost.

Byakuya was not the head of the Kuchiki clan when his father Sojun died prematurely and make Byakuya the orphan heir apparent as an adolescent. He was not the head when he met Hisana in a grove of cherry trees in the middle of harvest, and fell in love with her He was not the head when he had a terrible row with his grandfather Ginrei and the rest of the clan elders about his elopement. He was not the head five years later, when on a cold spring morning before the plum trees had blossomed, Hisana died of a miscarriage.

One week later, when the plum trees bloomed and the cherry trees had budded, Byakuya came to his grandfather, head bowed and heart broken, and agreed to take up the mantle of Clan Head. His soul had already been torn in half, what was another half?

Everything has it's cost, and the price of Senbonzakura's power is the sacrifice of the weilder's own original Zanpakuto spirit, and by transference, the imminent death of the previous head.

He had known this day was coming, ever since his own native Zanpakuto spirit failed to awaken at the academy. At the time, he'd thought it a mercy that the poor thing wouldn't awaken and be aware of being devoured. But now, as he held the tiny, warm body of the spirit out to Senbonzakura, he could only think of the child he never got to hold.

...with Senbonzakura, at least, she'd be at rest with something beautiful that loved her.

Because Senbonzakura loves it's family, and in particular it adores Byakuya. It has, ever since Byakuya fearlessly climbed it's branches as a small boy, since he partook of the sword's fruits as a young man, and now, when Byakuya offered the most precious parts of himself to the sword with a sense of peace and profound trust. And Senbonzakura repays that trust in kind.

The sword's shikai release is the same, or at least similar for all it's wielders, but long-term friends of the family note that that is a LOT MORE blades than the sword ever summoned for Ginrei or any other head.

The Bankai is different every time. Senbonzakura is ready to give Byakuya whatever Bankai he wants immediately, but it's not until after he adopts Rukia and sees her fooling around in the family orchards when she thinks he isn't watching that he realizes the shape it should be.

It's name is "Senbonzakura: Sakura no Kaju-en" and it is beautiful and terrible.

Sakura no Kaju-en requires only that Byakuya pierce the flesh of his enemy or the terrain around him with one or more of his petal-blades. Once in the ground or embedded in flesh, the blade is transformed into a seed and an entire magical cherry tree grows from it, converting the Reishi and spiritual energy around it into its own mass. Since Byakuya is effectively wielding somewhere around 10,000 petal blades in his shikai alone, he can summon up to 10,000 devouring cherry trees, which will radically alter the landscape of battle and blossom into millions and millions of new petal-blades.

That is, unless his foe is unfortunate enough to have the blades penetrate their flesh. Then the trees will devour them as they grow. Even a truly massive opponent like Yammy can be mulched in minutes.

The trees initially blossom almost white, but as his enemies are felled and Senbonzakura drinks, the blooms grow pinker and then redder until they transform into deep crimson fruits.

It's a brutal Bankai, but a beautiful one. When Byakuya looks out upon the blooming landscape and tastes the sweet fruits of his efforts, it brings him peace to know the small, sleeping spirit he had to sacrifice is playing somewhere within, they way he saw Rukia playing in the family orchards that day.

[finitevariety]

omg the fact they found james fitzjames...

Douglas Stenton, adjunct professor of anthropology at the University of Waterloo, said, "The identification of Fitzjames' remains provides new insights about the expedition's sad ending."

Inuit told searchers in the 1850s that they had seen evidence of cannibalism among the crew members, a story that shocked Europeans.

In 1997, it was corroborated by the late bioarchaeologist Anne Keenleyside, who found cut marks on almost one-quarter of the bones discovered at King William Island.

Fitzjames' jawbone is one of those with multiple cut marks, demonstrating that he was cannibalized after death.

"This shows that he predeceased at least some of the other sailors who perished and that neither rank nor status was the governing principle in the final desperate days of the expedition as they strove to save themselves," Stenton said.

[jane-lynndrake-t]

The portrait in higher quality.

Transcript:

New Earth Observer

GOTHAM GLOBE (jane-lynndrake-t)

ISSUE 621 | 12/18/2020 | Morning News | Weather: Bad | AI DNI

Drake Socialite Murdered!

Deborah Donovan B.A.

Janet ’Jane’ Lynn Drake (neé Crowne), a beloved mother and wife passed away on June 21, 2020 at the age of 43.

Born in Gotham, NJ, on January 10 1981, Janet was the daughter of the late Mr. Marvin Noel Crowne and Ms. Patricia Lynn.

She is additionally predeceased by her half brother, James “JT” Thomas Crowne.

She is survived by her husband, Johnson “Jack” Drake, and her 14 year old son, Timothy Jackson Drake.

At the time of her death, she and her husband were kidnapped and ransomed while traveling to assess and provide relief work to the impoverished within the Caribbean islands. During rescue, she was poisoned and declared dead on the scene. Her husband, Mr. Drake is currently recovering.

From a young age, she loved history, the arts, and traveling. Many enjoyed discussions with her about artists, writers, and theater.

An associate of her late half brother recalled conversations between the two as fast paced, varied, and excessively thought provoking.

As a teenager, she was remembered tenderly for her beauty and self confidence. She had a smile despite any challenge she faced.

This bright attitude drew people to her. An old friend from her graduating class described her as a brave woman who was a delight to be around.

After her marriage to Mr. Drake, she became the CFO of Drake Industries. She was known by her associates as a diligent business woman with sharp wit and a sharper eye for character. She is credited for Drake Industries’ upstanding and honest reputation world wide.

Her employees remember her fondly for her unwavering direction and her equal dedication to her son and the company. Many recall the common sight of a 4 year old Timothy Drake carried protectively on her hip as she attended and led meetings.

Photo caption:

Mrs. Drake, May 15 2020, Wayne Charity Auction.

Jewelry Pictured: Auctioned For 4 Million Dollars And Donated To Ace Children’s Hospital (peepdraws)

She will be remembered by Gotham as a charming, noble, and innovative woman.

Her service will be held on December 24 at 4 pm at Pinkney C. Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers, her Last Will and Testament requests donations to different charities listed on page 10.

[senorboombastic]

Live Review: JOHN at The Deaf Institute in Manchester 08 December 2023

Words: Andy Hughes An unwelcome gig ritual of late has been untangling the cord on my earplugs. First world problems for sure, but the time spent taking on the laborious task this past Friday night put us in danger of drifting into tinnitus territory, given the wall of noise erupting from Manchester locals PREDECEASED at The Deaf Institute. First on just after 7PM, they were the providers of…