You have to do yourself a favor here and go watch Gakkou Gurashi blind right now. Whatever you do, don't look at the plot summary, characters, or anything else; just go in without any context whatsoever and watch episode 1 until the very end, no matter what you think of it. Do not quit watching until you completely finish episode 1. I thought I would hate it halfway through episode 1, but by the end I found one of the best shows out there.
Again, do not quit until you've finished the first episode.
(I've been pasting this everywhere because I feed off of the disturbed reactions of first-time watchers of that show)
You have to do yourself a favor here and go watch Gakkou Gurashi blind right now. Whatever you do, don't look at the plot summary, characters, or anything else; just go in without any context whatsoever and watch episode 1 until the very end, no matter what you think of it. Do not quit watching until you completely finish episode 1. I thought I would hate it halfway through episode 1, but by the end I found one of the best shows out there.
Again, do not quit until you've finished the first episode.
(I've been pasting this everywhere because I feed off of the disturbed reactions of first-time watchers of that show)
You have to do yourself a favor here and go watch Gakkou Gurashi blind right now. Whatever you do, don't look at the plot summary, characters, or anything else; just go in without any context whatsoever and watch episode 1 until the very end, no matter what you think of it. Do not quit watching until you completely finish episode 1. I thought I would hate it halfway through episode 1, but by the end I found one of the best shows out there.
Again, do not quit until you've finished the first episode.
(I've been pasting this everywhere because I feed off of the disturbed reactions of first-time watchers of that show)
Have you ever had a dream that you, um, you had, your, you, you could, you’ll do, you, you wants, you, you could do so, you , you’ll do, you could, you, you want, you want them, to do you so much, you could do anything?
The OECD suggested heavier taxes on properties, pension contributions and mortgage interest payments for the rich as ways of reducing inequality while boosting growth by persuading the rich to invest their money wisely instead of parking it in Park Lane penthouses, for example.
My Composition instructor has an odd fascination with the global economy.
---
It doesn't matter if the bars are iron or gold, a cage is a cage.
"Nature abhors a vacuum, it'll probably take a few months to a year, but there will come to be a clear successor to myself on this forum.
There are several players I can think of who it might be (or it could be someone who hasn't joined yet, idk), but if you are good then you should take the current situation as an impetus to improve, in the hopes of assuming this great position. (BTW, the question of who I think is a likely prospect is one I won't go into detail in, even in private)
It's not as if I'll be back to coronate my successor, but there will be a few ways that you can identify them. Since I was hated more then Cow, my successor will likely be hated even more than me (mods: don't ban them, no matter how much you want to. If you hate them more then me, then you will hate their successor even more). Simpletons will call them terrible, demand they be blacklisted, maybe even accuse them of being my alt (they won't be, don't worry). You will also be able to see that a person has become my successor if they become utterly unreadable even to other skilled players."
---
I can survive scalding hot coffee and being whipped for 24 hours a day. Digestive biscuits or riot.
OoC: Wow! It's a good thing I didn't choose to have Val attack. I was considering it.
~Ember~
"I don't doubt that," I said aloud, watching the poof of smoke dissipate. Dangers and traps, huh. Guess I'd have to be careful. That is, more careful that I'd originally considered. Turning away from the spot, I headed the other direction, listening carefully for sounds, be they other people wandering through the maze or the mysterious creature following me.
~Tida~
"I'm Tida Nero," Tida introduced herself as she stepped forward.
"What are you doing?" Val hissed. "You can't trust these people! What with the whole spiel about vampires and royal families. Lythios would have told us if something like that existed."
"It's all very strange," the Water Catalyst admitted, "but I'm willing to give them a chance. You should too, Val."
Val winced at her usage of his name.
"We're sorry if you thought we were trying to sneak up on you and hurt you," Tida covered for Val, who didn't seem to keen on saying anything else in front of Remilia and Ygacath. "We don't know who's friend and who's foe around here. We saw you fight that beetle thing and figured we should be cautious."
~Gravel~
"I see." Gravel was no fool. The girl had more to say than she was letting on. Gravel was sure that he hadn't been that unfocused- he would've seen if she'd been standing there before he arrived. But no, she had appeared out of nowhere.
The Earth Catalyst decided it was best not to pry. Especially since he figured it was a good idea to keep his powers secret to a fellow human. With a nod to her, he maneuvered around where she stood and kept going along his intended path.
~Aeran~
"How do I know that, robo-boy?" Aeran near-screeched, taking advantage of her higher ground to look down on him. "You were very clearly chasing me!"
~Solis~
Solis froze. Did you hear that? he asked in his head.
-The sound of breathing?-
Yeah. There's someone here.
As he stood completely still, the blonde realized the breathing sound had gotten fainter. Like someone was trying to hide it. Solis was pretty good at detecting things that were out of the ordinary, and something told him it was a bad idea to wander this shadowy, misty place without all his wits about him.
"Show yourself!" He spread his arms and emitted a bright flash of light, scattering the fog.
1.How did the Bourbons of France consolidate their power and become “absolutists” and “divine rulers”? What were the symbols of this power? How were monarchs across Europe inspired by the Bourbons? What was Louis XIV’s foreign goals for France and what effect did it have on France’s economy?
The Bourbons came to power in France during the reign of Henry IV of Navarre. Henry IV was a politique, a ruler who doesn’t let personal feelings get into the way of what’s best for the for the people and state, and established an absolute monarchy where the king would ruled over a centralized state. Through costly religious wars, Henry IV was able to consolidate his rule and power by issuing the Edict of Nantes which allowed for religious toleration of the French Huguenots. Since the religious wars were so costly, that Henry IV had to issue a tax on the Third Estate, which helped to pay off the war debt. The Third Estate was outraged by this tax as it was costly and this in turn led to 12 assassination attempts at Henry IV. An unpopular king after his ascension, but his popularity didn’t improve until after his death. Henry IV’s successor Louis XIII under Cardinal Richelieu consolidated royal power by domestic factions and opposing the Habsburg to make France the most powerful country in Europe. Richelieu led France as the head political power of France during the Thirty Years’ War where he supported the protestants to check that the power of the Catholic Habsburgs by keeping the status quo of the Holy Roman Empire. The end of this war shifted power from the Habsburg to the Bourbons. During the Fronde however, people realized that an absolutist king was highly preferable over a competing nobility. Louis XIV ascended the throne at the age of five when his father Louis XIII died. Louis XIV took absolute control of France when Cardinal Mazarin, Richelieu's successor, died in 1661. Louis XIV chose not to rule with the aid of a chief minister unlike his father. He believed in the divine right of rulers where he believed that kings are chosen by God and only by God can judge them and not by people in a lower class society. Le Roi de Soleil was the symbol of absolutism for Louis XIV. All matters of France revolved around him with no religious or political authority having a right to challenge his decisions. Another symbol of power was the Palace of Versailles. Versailles was the seat of political power for French affairs and Louis XIV moved the royal court from Paris to Versailles so that he did not have to leave the vicinity of his palace to attend to government affairs. Louis’s goal was to expand French borders to natural barriers such as the mountains to the south and Rhine River to the west, make France the most powerful country in Europe, and tie France’s greatness with constant warfare. Constant warfare caused Louis XIV’s massive army to be financed with an aggressive tax policy and it ended up leading to massive poverty within the Third Estate.
3. How were constitutional and religious issues solved after the restoration of the Stuarts? How
did the modern “parliamentary” system develop? Why did the separate kingdoms of England and Scotland unite to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain?
James I who ruled as an absolute monarch dissolved parliament and ruled without the voice of the English people. Like Louis XIV, James I believed in the Divine Right to Rule. Upon the death of James I, Charles I ruled from 1625 to 1649. Charles I inherited a limited and angry Parliament that eventually regained its status. Parliament limited the power of the king by the passing of the Petition of Right which declared that Charles could not enact taxes without Parliamentary consent. Charles then proceeded to levy the ship money tax without the consent, ordering that all towns pay the tax to support the Royal Navy. This defiance of Parliament angered the populace and pushed for the repeal of taxes imposed by Charles I. The act of defiance ended up causing the English Civil War which pitted supporters of Parliament against the supports of the king. The war ended up resulting in the dethronement of the Stuart dynasty and the rise for a Cromwell-influenced government. Cromwell formed the Commonwealth, a military dictatorship, which lasted from 1649 to 1653, involved strict laws and restricted the ascension of Charles II to the throne during this period. When Oliver Cromwell rescinded his power in 1660, it led to the restoration of Charles II to the Stuart throne. Since the Stuarts were Catholic, Parliament implemented the Glorious Revolution to limit the spread of Catholicism within England. William and Mary dethroned Mary’s father James II to reinstate Anglicanism as the state religion. Constitutional issues were solved with the passage of the English Bill of Rights which enabled a constitutional monarchy and gave Parliament supreme power. The Convention Parliament of 1689 instated itself William and Mary as the heads-of-state of England and establishing itself as the superior force of government. The Act of Union of 1707 ended up creating the modern-day state of Great Britain. The Bill of Rights gave Parliament the contemporary powers that they still can use today. Such powers include freedom of speech and petition, laws being legislated by Parliament not the monarch, and only Parliament can dissolve itself. Both Scotland and England had shared a monarch since 1603 and because of this England wanted to ensure that Scotland would not choose a monarch different from the one on the English throne.
5. How did Peter the Great “westernize” Russia? Compare and contrast the styles of absolutism practiced by Peter the Great, the Hohenzollerns of Prussia, and Louis XIV.
Peter Romanov instated an absolute monarchy in Russia, without a social contract to the people.Through a number of successful wars, he expanded the kingdom of Russia into a much larger empire that would become a major European power. He also led a cultural revolution that replaced some of the traditional social and political systems with ones that were westernized, and based on The Enlightenment. Peter's reforms made a lasting impact on Russia and some aspects of the Russian government can trace their routes back to Peter the Great. Both Peter the Great and Louis XIV were able to gain self-sufficiency for their respective states by bringing about political, economic, and cultural success. Louis XIV and Peter the Great both act to constrain the power of the nobility. Louis XIV excludes nobles from his council to weaken the the nobles’ authority. Peter the Great establishes St. Petersburg where Russian nobles would leave Moscow and come to settle at his capital. Louis XIV did the same when he abolished the feudal system and have the nobles of Europe inhabit his palace at Versailles. The concept of absolute monarch took a notable turn from the above with its emphasis on the monarch as the "first servant of the state", but it also echoed many of the important characteristics of Absolutism. Friedrich Wilhelm, known as the Great Elector, used the uncertainties of the final stages of the Thirty Years' War to consolidate his territories into the dominant kingdom in northern Germany, whilst increasing his power over his subjects. His actions largely originated the militaristic streak of the Hohenzollern. Prussia and Russia followed the example of France in the way of absolutism.
On an average day
I have a dream
To see the world
For more than it seems
To take a look
At all the great sights
To cross the seas
To reach new heights
I preach my vision
But i’m pulled off stage
No criticism
But a violent rage
Two long, dark hands
Grab my face
A mouth screams loud
“GET OUT OF THIS PLACE!”
The voice spews it’s hatred, deception and lies
I try to make peace, but they don’t hear my cries
My once bright future, now far out of reach
Sentenced to death for a hopeful speech
My grip then loosens
I hit the floor
They grab my neck
Throw me out the door
The people on the street, they see my tears
They turn away, in a rash of fears
I try to get allies, but they all run away
I go back home
No sun for today
I look on my paper
A blank world to make
I pick up a pencil
But my hands still shake
The door bursts open
My jaw hits the floor
Those hateful, dark hands
Are back from before
“I TOLD YOU TO STOP!”
Screams a deep, dark voice.
I drop my pencil
I have no choice
I beg for mercy, but i am too late
The hands ignite, setting fire to fate
My room begins to burn
Every archive left to die
I hang my head
I begin to cry
“YOU’VE MADE A BAD CHOICE!”
Calls out the dark man
“I KNOW MORE THAN YOU, I DO AND I AM!”
He reaches out his hand
No attempt to be kind
He grabs my head
And steals my mind
Every idea
Every choice, every trust
Crushed in his palms
Withered to dust
I try to stop him, but i’m far too weak
“YOU’VE ALWAYS BEEN WRONG- CEASE TO SPEAK!”
The hands slither back, like a long, sly snake
As the door slowly closes, i begin to shake
My world and my life
Burnt, left to rot
Death to every wonder
End to all thoughts
I stand up with courage
Yet still filled with shock
I straighten my back
And begin to talk.
“What did i do
To deserve my fate?
What actions have lead
To the lingering hate?
I stand for no person
I sit for them all
I try to speak out
But my world begins to fall
Their voices cry out
Readying for war
They tell me i’m worthless
I’ll never be more
They say i must halt
For everybody’s good
And on nights like this
I wonder if i should.
What makes me better than what they believe?
What makes me think i’ll actually achieve?
I think to myself that i’m drowning in strife
Yet i’m an average man with an average life
And it will go forth, until my average death
With meaningless words on my final breath
And now that i think it, i begin to lament
Will anybody be there at my deathbed?
Will i ever have a wife to cry when i pass?
Will i ever have a son to make my legacy last?
Will i ever have a daughter to mourn for my days?
Will i ever have a family that wishes i had stayed?
I’m thinking too deep
I put fear in my head
I hope that these days
Are filled with no dread
That i can be better
And rise to the top
And ignore the dark voices
That tell me to stop
I know that i’m better
That i can be more
With one stroke of a pen
I be loved and adored
I can rise above the hatred, the halters, that man
And i say to myself
I will! I can!
I must gather my strength
And climb from below
I face the world!
I’m a hero!”
I race for the streets
A note in my grasp
I bolt through the night
I take the last lap
I see it above me
A destination i crave
A palace of crystal
Waiting to be saved
I climb it’s steps
They dazzle with light
The guards say “STOP!”
“YOU HAVE NO RIGHT!”
I push past their message
I skip to the door
I shout to the masses
“I CAN BE MORE!”
Then i see him again
The hands of the hate
He snaps his fingers
The crowd migrates
He summons his flames
They begin to elevate
“YOU MEAN NOTHING AT ALL!”
“THERE IS NO DEBATE!”
I stand up tall
I clear my throat
I close my eyes
I read my note.
“I want to see our world
For more than it’s said
I long for a land
With no such dread
Where children run free
And the men are at ease
The people have freedom
To do what they please
Your eyes have been tainted
You only see hate
You grow angry and jealous
Of a better fate
You pick on the people
Because you’re upset
You wish to be happy
But all you do is regret
So summon your hellhounds, your devils, your crooks
Destroy every pillar, burn every book
But there is one thing i have
That cannot be undone
In my own free mind
I’ve already won!”
The hate grows angry
His hands begin to shake
The ground starts moving
The earth begins to quake
He takes his hands, and grabs my neck
I look down at his crevice
The worst i’ve seen yet
It’s filled with darkness
A pit of despair
“YOU MADE THE WRONG CHOICE!”
“YOU MUST GO THERE!”
As my body drops
Into the hell below
I take a deep sigh
One last sorrow
The world has no mercy
I wish to speak my mind
I’m only met by hate
I am set to flatline
I always set to be something more
Like nobody has ever done before
The world spits in my face, sends me to the floor
death is in front of me, i’m at it’s door
I look to the sky
As i’m dragged down below
I shout from my heart
“I’m no hero.”
![[User Posted Image]](http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/240377/24037604_350.png)
![[User Posted Image]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C73Bd3pVQAEcD6I.jpg)
![[User Posted Image]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C748cbcVAAAYglK.jpg)
![[User Posted Image]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CtJ6pbTUkAAbC5M.jpg)
![[User Posted Image]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C75m6LvVQAAItf2.jpg)
![[User Posted Image]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C76dZYtV4AA_Y9C.jpg:large)
darkspyro
net
