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Some of the new followers haven't understood. What are you doing here?
Creating a strong shieldwall with our fellow LGBTQ+ heathens so as to protect ourselves from hate, now that pride month has arrived!
Oops, I meant THEM. What are they doing on my blog if they're not part of the shield wall! Thank you, though! Happy Pride!
Well said, ahaha! Happy pride to you, my friend.
I'm pinning this, because I want this to be known here.
I have never liked bringing up politics here. Even as I look this over as I write it, my choice of language lacks names, parties and associations beyond emotion and ideals, because it’s where I live, and how I can connect with reality and my own heart. Whether that’s a strength or a weakness, you can decide for yourself.
For all my love of running this blog as I have for nearly ten years now, I generally don’t get into the fray or to put forward my thoughts. I value privacy for myself and others, and I l feel I don’t need to expose who I am as a person to encourage others find ways to better themselves or to find ways to tell stories about people doing their best against the darkness with whatever light they can find.
But there are times when the light is hard to find, and I am afraid of the more immediate future and its consequences than I care to admit. My choices and my encouragement of others to live a virtuous life feels hollow in the face of a humanity that will forever conflict with itself over what these even mean or if they even matter in the face of more basic day to day needs or the promise of fortune. Or that the very real consequences that will permanently affect lives or end them are not something that we can wait out with grace for the days things get better, when there are people who will not share those days with us.
It’s hard to find light in the face of that. By its nature, it illuminates but cannot be held. We need only close our eyes to it and it is gone. And if enough doors are closed, and shutters slammed shut, we can even block out the sun. But these are things we choose to do to ourselves and others. We can just as easily choose not to do them.
In the face of that, I can only decide to keep reaching for light and encouraging others to do the same. In the immediate, this is a small consolation, even for me. It’s hard to see history repeating itself and not despair. But in the long run, we do more good by continuing the fight regardless, both to ourselves and the world around us. To the world beyond, it’s because absent our efforts, things can only get worse. To ourselves, it’s the quiet fire that can sustain against any winter darkness. The soul deep assurance that you were true to our better selves in the face of it all.
Travel with the light, friends. Don’t close your eyes to it.
hi! your posts make this seem like the coolest sport(?) ever, and i'd like to get into it, but i have no idea how one even goes about looking for classes and such, or what different stuff is called. could i have a rundown of the basics please? ty :]
I'm guessing you mean the swordfighting stuff, and happy to help if so!
What I practise is generally called HEMA, which stands for Historical European Martial Arts. It is also called Western Martial Arts (WMA). Personally, I just call it Historical Combat, because not all of what I do is authentic "HEMA", which is generally work derived from historical manuscripts.
The best way to get into it is to find a club, ideally. You can find a club on a website link such as "HEMA club finder", which can look up your nearest known club!
If there aren't any clubs nearby, perhaps you'd like to start one? I'd recommend looking up what sort of focus you'd like (weapons, unarmed, etc) and seeing if you can find a translated manuscript to assist your study of fighting.
Whichever way you go, I strongly recommend looking up resources online for the chosen weapon, system, or focus of your interest, and from that, practising with others.
Make sure to work with others for studying these things, as one cannot learn a combat system in isolation.
I hope this helps!
To add on to this. HEMA is a broad category that encompasses many historic traditions. There are a ton of manuals that cover different weapons with different systems depending on both the author writing it, the time period it's from, and the country of origin. The manuals were written with the assumption that their students had a basic knowledge of how swords were used that we just don't have today. Instead, older practiotiners had to find a base in other martial arts traditions then interpret the manuscripts from there. As such, learning the fundamentals is absolutely key. A lot of clubs focus primarily on the Longsword, specifically because of this, as it's a weapon whose principals are the most widely applicable. Learn footwork, learn timing, learn distance management, and from there, you have the foundations to start branching out and maybe even developing interpretations of your own. I wanted to add this because I've personally seen a lot of newcomers to my own club drop out. A lot of people join for the beginners class and then realize something about it isn't what they want. For some, it's because it's not like what they see in movies and TV. For others, it's the realization that it takes a long time and a lot of work to become truly proficient. And for some, it's just that they don't enjoy it. Hell, in my own case, I hate longsword. I still practice it because it's a good tool. But I don't really enjoy doing it, and that almost drove me away from HEMA. I only stayed because of the promise of other weapons. Which is one of the best decisions I ever made because HEMA has changed my life. I've made so many friends, I've developed a hobby that I love, and I always have something to do on a Sunday now! So, good luck with your journey, and I hope you get as much enjoyment from it as I have.
Anyone want to explore the realm tonight, my curse was finally lifted.
I could explore
I'm always up for a journey with my fellow adventurers!
reblog to bonk the person you reblogged it from with a hollow cardboard tube
This HAD to be on my blog.
Credit: theemidknight on TikTok
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Eowyn vs the Witch King by artist Nacho Molina.
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Warrior Girls #10!
Finished my Illustration of Davinia! She’s a character I designed for a game that was part of my graduation. I’ve given her a bit of a redesign since then, as I feel like a short stature adds a lot to her story. If you’ve followed me a long time, you probably recognize her!
With that the first series of Warrior Girls is complete! I’m going to be looking into creating a few small books of these illustrations after I’m done cleaning up some of the older ones. (Saber was done a little over two years ago!) So please look forward to that!
As always I am open to suggestions for future Warrior Girls illustrations!
Warrior Girls #1 - Saber
Warrior Girls #2 - Urbosa
Warrior Girls #3 - Makoto Niijima
Warrior Girls #4 - Mathilda
Warrior Girls #5 - Blade Lord Lyn
Warrior Girls #6 - Marisa
Warrior Girls #7 - Fenra
Warrior Girls #8 - Casca
Warrior Girls #9 - A2
Not counting this as today’s sketch, just having a bit of fun.
Ended up quite liking Angell last night, So I gave her a super quick paint job.
