#Also anywhere but British or France

[heartbreakercupcake]

Listen, I need a Fallout Game set in China

I wanna know how life has changed after them after the bombs drops and what they've been doing to adapt

What where their vaults like???

fuck it, give me a Fallout Game set in the USSR

GIVE ME THE COMMUNIST GHOULS THAT CURSE THE AMERICAN YANKEES FOR BOMBING THEM

Fallout game set anywhere BUT America

[sgt-tombstone]

Old Guard/Immortal AU

I found this in my notes and I can’t remember if I ever posted it here

————

Whenever Johnny had spared a thought towards his own death, he always imagined a dusty desert somewhere in the Middle East, a knife to the throat by insurgents or a stray bullet to the chest in the dead of night.

He never imagined the Channel Tunnel, halfway between England and France, a bullet turning his brain to bloody mush 115 metres below sea level.

He also never imagined waking up again.

———

Simon, Price, Gaz, and Roach all woke up at exactly the same time. It was a rarity, all of them being in the same place at the same time, but Laswell had requested their help, something to do with a human trafficking ring, and Price had never been able to turn his oldest friend down. But human trafficking was the last thing on Simon’s mind as he shot up, the dredges of his nightmare still clinging like thick ink to his mind and skin. As soon as he caught sight of Roach’s eyes across the room, he knew.

Another one. A new one.

“His name is Johnny,” he gasped out, his voice on the edge of rasping panic. Something in his chest flipped at the name; he hadn’t known it until it had slipped out of his mouth, but it felt right on his tongue, even when everything else about the vision felt achingly, viscerally wrong. “Price,” he said, equally breathless, almost a plea. “His name is Johnny.”

“He was shot in the head,” Gaz said, rubbing both temples where the bullet had entered and exited. “Pistol, small gauge. I heard a Slavic accent. Russian, maybe?”

“Underground,” Price supplied. “A tunnel. I saw train tracks.”

“That could be anywhere,” Simon said, shaking his head, attempting to dislodge the inexplicable sense of wrongness. He had born witness to others in the group die their first deaths before. He had seen Roach’s sandy-blond hair catch fire like summer-dried grass, had seen Gaz’s hand slip from a rope as he plummeted from a helicopter to the busy highway below. Neither of them had affected him like this.

Slowly, Roach turned his sketchbook to the group. After his own death, he had become the group’s designated sketcher. He wasn’t the best, but he was leaps and bounds better than anyone else, whose hands were far more used to the heft of weaponry rather than the finesse of artistry. His knack for visualization helped, too. As usual, his sketch of the details he had caught from the nightmare revealed far more than Simon’s spotty detailing or Gaz’s audio clues.

Simon dragged himself from bed and scrambled to snatch the sketchbook from Roach’s hands. His friend didn’t seem to mind; it left his hands empty enough to sign, finally joining the conversation properly. But Simon wasn’t paying attention. He was drinking in the details.

A mohawk. Wide, bright eyes that he instinctively knew were light; green, maybe, or grey. No, blue; he knew they were blue. A strong, stubbled jawline below slightly pouty lips. A headset and tactical vest: military. A Union Jack patch: British, or British-adjacent. A blood type patch: O positive.

A gaping gunshot wound to the head, leaking colorless blood and viscera onto cold concrete.

He didn’t realize he was keening until Price’s hand landed on his shoulder, and he didn’t realize he had clutched the sketchbook to his chest until Roach gently pried it from his grip.

“We’ll find him, son,” Price said, and a glance up into his stubborn, flinty eyes settled something in Simon’s chest. Whoever Johnny was, he was going to be okay. They just had to get to him first.

[barbielore]

Happy 2024 Olympics, Barbie! (Again!)

I've made a few posts about the Olympic Games and the history of Olympic Games themed Barbies, including some controversies.

However, there have been so many Olympic Games themed Barbies over the years that I could not help myself: I saw an opportunity to talk about them some more, and I'm going to.

For example, for the Sydney Olympics in 2000, Barbie was an Olympic Fan: but what I find most interesting is that there were Olympic Fan Barbies of a handful of different nationalities!

Including (among others) Canada, Australia, Puerto Rico, Spain, France, Italy, Cuba

I can't find a comprehensive list anywhere and to be honest, I might be misidentifying some of them since I am not great at recognising international flags. Given I found at least one Amazon listing misidentifying the Australian flag as the "British flag", I can't be sure identifying them based on what they're labeled as on various websites is accurate either.

In the interests of not making even more separate Olympic Games themed posts, I have something else fun for you.

Did you know, Ken is also an Olympian! For example, in one of the very first Barbie Olympic-themed releases, he was "Our U.S. Olympic Favourite"!

Not to mention the "Best in the World" Olympic Skier!

And Barbie and Ken competed together in a couple's event as "Olympic Skater Barbie & Ken".

There are shockingly few recent Olympic Kens, however. I understand why, but it still feels like a missed opportunity.

[linkedsoul]

HI MY FRENCHIES FROM THE 3RD CIRCUMSCRIPTION OF FRENCH PEOPLE ABROAD aka my French residents of Northern Europe and especially London: (and my English speaking followers who'd like to French elections drama)

Macron's candidate, Vincent Caure, is blatantly lying on his program about his opponent's party, the NFP, which feels very dishonest and, frankly, kind of pathetic? I know Frenchies in London voted a lot for him but PLEASE let's not let a liar get ahead of the race.

He claims the NFP - a coalition of green and leftist parties - will have Mélenchon as Prime Minister. For some reason, the French media is OBSESSED with making Mélanchon (the leader of a prominent leftist party) THE DEVIL. Look. I know some people don't like Mélenchon even on the left. But he's NOT EVEN PART OF THIS ELECTION. Besties: he's not a candidate anywhere. And even less for French people abroad. And even worse: the NFP has NEVER said who they'd send as Prime Minister if they get the majority in the assembly. This is FAKE.

He pretends French people abroad will be doubly taxed because of the NFP wants to put back the "exit tax", and that the NFP is obsessed with the universal tax (aka paying taxes for your country even when you work abroad). The exit tax is a specific tax that affects only people who own A LOT in assets. I have no idea how to even reach to that kind of criteria. I don't think neither me nor any of the French people I know in Dublin have the assets required to have to pay the exit tax. I wish I had that amount of money so I could get taxed on it! Alas, Vincent Caure and I don't live in the same world because it's not even remotely a worry for me. As for the universal tax, it's nowhere in the NFP's program so I guess they're not as obsessed with it as Vincent claim they are.

He offers to put more procedures online such as passpot renewal online whereas the NFP offers nothing. Ok slay king, then run your campaign on that instead of telling lies. Unless this is your only good point?

He claims that the NFP wants to end nuclear energy, which would make us depend on Russian gas. Nowhere is this written on the NFP program. There are only 4 mentions of the word "nuclear" in the NFP program and none of it is associated to the word "stop" or "end", half of them are not even about nuclear energy itself... I don't see where he got that from.

He does agree that the NFP wants to make railways more accessible but argue that they didn't vote for a law making mobility within France easier. Fair! He forgets to mention most of the supporters of this law were his party only and BOTH LEFT AND RIGHT voted against, citing lack of funding for this law as an issue, that the Prime Minister back then brushed away, so take that what you will. Also want to note his only point for this program is that they're going to use the funding for transport that they already have so... ok good? that's not revolutionary. That's just expected.

He also claims that:

the left is the one who led to the far right taking the lead when it's his own party who called for an election. Like. The move no one expected nor wanted except the far right. That was all Macron. That was all your party. You guys flirted so much with the far right that you led them right in, that is NOT the left's fault and even less your favorite scapegoat, Jean-Luc Mélenchon - who, I'd like to remind everyone, is not a candidate for this election oh my god shut up about Mélenchon already I don't care about Mélenchon why are you obsessed with Mélenchon

The left wants a Frexit because of their tax policies (debunked above) and nuclear energy policies (also debunked above). The left is notoriously pro-EU, his opponent is a British-French citizen who probably saw the shitshow of Brexit from the front rows. And even if the left wants to tax VERY rich people trying to avoid being taxed on their huge assets out of France (fun fact: it's for the people who try and get their assets moved to Dubai not to pay taxes on them lmao) and wanted to reduce the use of nuclear energy, that does not equate Frexit, like, I... I don't see the correlation.

The left is planning for 300 billion more expenses and intends to cover for those expenses by taxing people the most. The thing he's not saying is that they intend to tax the richest. It's the rich the target. The very VERY rich. Not you, regular French immigrant to Ireland who struggles with the cost of life in Dublin and cry for a better flat.

ALL IN ALL: Vincent Caure is a liar who ment comme un arracheur de dent et fait sa campagne dessus, ce qui est un peu dégueu.

He cries about potential taxes that would only affect a very, very tiny minority of French people who were probably trying to evade said taxes anyway and tries to frame it as "double taxing French people abroad"

The left wants to tax the rich and good for them and good for us who are not playing in the targeted tax bracket AT ALL.

Macron's party is the one who's fucked us all over; Attal is a notoriously impopular Prime Minister; they're a party for the rich (as proven above by trying to act as if a tax on the rich was gonna be a double tax for everyone like... lmao how out of touch are you) and love to frame themselves as the only right solution QUAND C'EST EUX QUI NOUS ONT MIS DANS LA MERDE

As with the rest of his party, he's obsessed with Mélenchon, who has nothing to do with this specific election since the opposition is initially from the Green Party.

SVP SI VOUS ÊTES DANS LA 3E CIRCONSCRIPTION DES FRANÇAIS À L'ÉTRANGER, VOTEZ CHARLOTTE MINVIELLE AU MOINS POUR NE PAS ÊTRE REPRÉSENTÉ PAR UN CANDIDAT QUI VOUS MENT SANS HONTE POUR AVOIR DES VOTES

and for my English speaking friends: please pray for us all (at least here the far right is not gonna pass but I'd rather not have such a liar for deputee please and thank you)

ET COMME TOUJOURS, ON EMMERDE LE FRONT NATIONAL!

[softguarnere]

Hi! Your writing is amazing! Could you write something Joe Toye x reader or George Luz x reader?

The Rest of the World Falls Away

George Luz x reader

A/N: This is written for the fictional depiction from the show - no disrespect to the real veterans! I feel like I don't have as many fics for Luz as I do for Joe, so I decided to go with him. Thanks for the request, Anon, and I hope you like this! 💕🕊️ Warnings: mentions of war

The airfield is buzzing with energy, like a livewire. Uniformed men dart around in every direction, trying to find all their supplies, trying to get in line for a mohawk, trying to get the grease smeared on their face just right. And trying to find their friends to say goodbyes that hopefully won’t be goodbyes – merely see you later-s or good luck-s.

There seems to be an endless list of things to do, and at the same time, nothing you can do but watch and wait. Standing with your fellow nurses off to the side in front of the tents, you observe the scene around you, trying hard not to think about how some of these men that you’ve gotten to know will not be coming back from this jump. Instead, you keep your eyes focused on the sky.

It’s brilliant, as the British men walking around would say. Warm sunlight lights the area, spilling golden paint over the scene, giving it an angelic look. Even the palest and most nervous of the men regain some of their natural color standing in it, coming back to life. Artists will paint this someday, making them all look strong and shining, like paintings of the Greeks and Trojans preparing for war. Hopefully the artists will get the lighting right.

“Everything ready to go?” Sarah, one of the upper echelon of the nurses, asks for the hundredth time, just to give herself and everyone else something to do. When all of you nod in response, she pushes a sigh through her nose. “Well, nothing to do but wait then.”

You wring your hands as you watch the men. Men with whole lives ahead of them. Men with families back home worrying about them. Men with girlfriends . . .

As if on cue, one of the paratroopers approaches then. He strides forward purposefully, and even beneath all the paint on his face and his mused-up hair, you would recognize him anywhere – especially when he gets close enough to flash you a smile.

“Oh!” One of the other nurses pats your shoulder. The gesture says it all: there’s excitement and jealousy that your beau has sought you out before the Big Jump, but also sympathy because of the risk . . .

The rest of the nurses are probably expecting a show. The last thing you want is for these next few minutes to be a spectacle, though, something that they can replay in their minds whenever they need a bit of drama, or something they can claim as their own years down the road when they need a good story to tell. No, this belongs to you. And to George.

And to no one else, you decide as you step forward to meet him. Gently, you ghost your hand over his elbow, steering him away from the gaggle of nurses, back behind the tents, to a more private area. It’s not like you expect something to happen – there’s no time for anything that anyone would love to gossip about – but if you can be selfish this once, claiming a few moments for yourself, then now is the perfect time.

Once the two of you are away from prying eyes, George takes your hands in his. He holds them, and you squeeze his in turn. You stare at your joined hands, neither speaking; there’s too much to be said, with everything that’s about to happen. It is strange, though, to see George at a loss for words. Who would have thought it possible?

Finally, George shakes his head. “Can’t believe it’s finally here. The Big Jump.”

“I can’t believe we’re getting split up,” you say. “Two years. We’ve seen each other almost every day since Toccoa . . .”

A cruel twist of fate, surely. It had been easy to imagine that you would be one of the nurses chosen to travel to France and establish an aid station. But instead, you’ll be here, in England, waiting.

George runs one of his thumbs along the side of your finger. “Gives me all the excuse I need to get the job done and get out of there.”

You’re long past the point of feeling embarrassed whenever you realize how much George likes you, and how much you like him in return. Still, your heart flutters inside your chest like a butterfly beating its wings against a glass jar; it could soar to new heights if you would let it.

Now seems like the perfect time. You hate slipping one of your hands out of George’s, but you use it to reach into the pocket of your apron and take hold of a small piece of paper. Then you press it into George’s free hand.

“Here,” you say, pressing your token of affection into his hand. “To remember me by.”

The picture had come in a letter from home a few weeks before. It’s the small photograph that had been taken on the day of your graduation from high school. A few years old now, it still looks like you, nevertheless.

George smiles down at it. With care, he stows it away in his jacket pocket, right over his heart. He pats it. “That way you can make the jump with me,” he explains.

Before either of you can say another word, that fateful call echoes across the airfield – the men are being told to get ready to board the planes.

No! That can’t be right! There has to be more time. You have so many things to say, you just need a little more time to figure out how to word them –

“Hey.” George takes your chin in his hands, bringing you to focus on him. “I’ll see you soon, okay?” Beneath his face paint, his eyes look determined. Your own feel wide as saucers.

“Okay,” you agree. Not caring about the grease coating his face, you surge forward and kiss him. For just a moment, the rest of the world falls away. Away from prying eyes, you try to convey everything you want to say in this one kiss: how much he means to you, how you hope he’ll make it back . . . With the sudden rush of activity on the airfield, kissing George is like standing, unbothered, in the eye of a hurricane, safe from the storm.

The kiss breaks and the storm sweeps the two of you up in it. You’ve got to go, both of you. There are duties to be performed. Duties that the outcome of history, the fate of the world, depend upon.

“I love you,” you whisper. It’s only the second time you’ve admitted it.

“I love you, too,” he whispers back. “Will you wait for me?”

“Of course.”

He kisses your hand then, like a gentleman in a novel, as he departs. A smile flashes from beneath his face paint, and then he’s walking away, to the rest of his company, to the planes, to his fate. But every few feet, he glances over his shoulder at you.

There’s probably something that you should be doing. But with all the preparation that you and the other nurses took part in this morning, you doubt there’s anything to keep you distracted. Collecting yourself, you break away from your spot and begin walking back to the tent. As you walk, over all the commotion, you hear a familiar voice that hasn’t quite faded into the distance yet yell, “Hi-ho, Silver!” followed by other men laughing, cheering, and returning the call.

You smile despite yourself. If George is still joking, then everything is going to be okay.

[504py]

Wait you said you are a fan fic writer? Can you show us your work?

ooh, i've never published my work anywhere but i like to casually write about the fandoms i'm in. i haven't really written anything romantic (besides that time i wrote headcanons about what leon kennedy would be like in a relationship), but i'd be open to receiving imagine/reaction/headcanon requests if my followers wanted that! anyways, since hetalia is the main thing on my blog right now, here we go!

Axis + Allies Physical Appearance Headcanons

SFW, no content warnings at all.

Italy is handsome but he's so stupid that his stupidity overshadows his looks and people often don't even realize he looks good. He does think he is handsome, and takes great care of himself. I feel like he thinks like this, "Well, being pretty is one of the few things I can do, so I might as well be good at it!"

Japan looks nice! He's very hygienic and always makes sure to take care of his skin. He blushes easily. His hair partially covers his ears on purpose because his ears get red pretty often. He has quite a few moles and a few crooked teeth. His fingertips are rather red.

Germany looks alright but he's so uptight/scary that people just do not want to hit on him. His hands are very calloused. Also one who is very hygienic and takes care of himself a lot. He has quite a bit of body hair, but since it's a very light blond and not very visible, he doesn't bother with it. Nice straight teeth, but his canines are rather prominent.

Russia is cute! I actually think that people do not see his face very often because it's obscured by his scarf, and/or people are too scared to look him straight in the eyes (LOL). Also the issue of looking up to even see his face. He's usually naturally blushing even if just a little bit. Also his ears are kinda big. Gets bashful if you compliment the man himself, because he doesn't think of himself as particularly attractive, and will instead divert the conversation to, "A-Ah yes, Russia has many beautiful sights and landscapes!"

China is pretty!! He has wild eyebrows and lots of sun spots, freckles, and moles. He has a bad habit of leaving his lips dry though, LOL. Takes a lot of pride in being attractive. He is VERY good at doing makeup.

America doesn't care about his appearance much other than his hair, but he just tends to naturally look good. He hes a very boyish vibe. His glasses are always covered in fingerprints but he always forgets to clean them so he doesn't even bother anymore. He's learned to just ignore the dust LOL. I also think he has perfect teeth, like a good ol' Hollywood smile.

Canada is the prettiest out of the allies! People just don't notice because.. y'know. Canada tends to put a lot of care into his appearance in case someone does notice him, like having better posture, wearing nice, clean, ironed clothes all the time, and just having better self-care habits than America does. Though sometimes he forgets to shave or comb his hair LOL.

England is attractive but in a sorta unkempt scrunkly way. His teeth are crooked, and he has sanpaku eyes. His feathers get quite ruffled if someone brings up appearances, because... Not the best climate in England, and there's the whole British people meme LOL. But, the one thing he's got going for him is he's INCREDIBLY photogenic. I'd say he photographs the best besides China. He's great at modeling, and excels when it's for more punk photography.

France is just stereotypically good-looking LOL. He cares the most about his appearance, but since he's relied so much on just looking naturally good, he has a bit of a hygiene problem.. But hey, at least he's got the best closet out of anyone here– Ah, nevermind, China's got him beat there..

[formulaphoe]

a deep dive into endurance racing

wec for beginners

image source: british gq

the fia world endurance championship (wec) is a racing discipline where speed meets strategy, and drivers push their limits for hours on end. if you're new to this exhilarating world, or if you've been following it from a distance, we're going to explore everything you need to know about this thrilling motorsport.

what is wec?

image source: dailysportscar

the wec, established in 2012, is an international series of endurance races organised by the fédération internationale de l'automobile (fia). it brings together the best manufacturers and drivers from around the globe, testing not just their speed, but also their ability to endure the grueling demands of long-distance racing. each race can last anywhere from six to 24 hours, with teams often swapping drivers and strategising pit stops to keep their cars in peak condition.

key features

endurance racing format: unlike traditional races that might only last a couple of hours, wec events are marathons. the races include the iconic 24 hours of le mans, a test of stamina, skill, and strategy, held annually since 1923. other races in the championship include six-hour events at various tracks around the world.

diverse categories: the wec features several classes of cars, including le mans prototype (lmp) and grand touring (gt) categories. each class has its own unique set of regulations and performance characteristics, making for an exciting mix on the track

global reach: the championship hosts races in various countries, providing fans with a chance to experience a multitude of different tracks and cultures. from the rolling hills of spa-francorchamps in belgium to the iconic circuit de la sarthe in france, each location brings its own challenges and charm.

evolution of wec

image source: wec-magazin

the history of the wec is a fascinating one. it replaced the previous intercontinental le mans cup and aimed to revitalize interest in endurance racing. the early years saw fierce competition, particularly in the lmp1 class, which featured powerful hybrid prototypes from manufacturers like audi, porsche, and toyota. these teams showcased cutting-edge technology, blending performance with environmental considerations.

as the years progressed, regulations changed, leading to the introduction of the le mans daytona h (lmdh) class, which aims to bring more manufacturers into the fold. this class allows for greater technical freedom while ensuring that costs remain manageable, making it more accessible for teams looking to compete at the highest level.

iconic races and legendary teams

image source: autosport

one of the standout features of wec is its iconic races. the 24 hours of le mans is undoubtedly the crown jewel, drawing massive crowds and significant media attention. winning at le mans is considered one of the highest honours in motorsport, and teams prepare for it all year round.

aside from le mans, other races like the 6 hours of silverstone and the 6 hours of fuji have become staples in the endurance racing calendar. legendary teams such as audi, porsche, and toyota have built a rich legacy in these events, each with their own stories of triumph and heartache.

the role of technology

image source: pit lane

technology plats a massive role in wec racing. cars are equipped with hybrid powertrains, advanced aerodynamics, and sophisticated data analytics. this focus on innovation not only pushes the boundaries of performance on the track, but also helps manufacturers develop technologies that can be applied to road cars too. the crossover between motorsport and everyday vehicles is a hallmark of wec's philosophy, blending sustainability with speed.

sustainability and the future

as we move towards a more environmentally-conscious future, the wec has made significant strides in promoting sustainability. with the introduction of hybrid technology and plans for fully electric racing, the championship is at the forefront of a green revolution in motorsport. this focus on eco-friendliness doesn't sacrifice the excitement and competitiveness that fans crave; instead, it enhances the sport's relevance in a changing world.

how to get involved

image source: racer

whether you're a die-hard motorsport enthusiast or a casual fan, getting involved in the wec can be incredibly rewarding. attending a race is an experience like no other. the atmosphere is electric, and the camaraderie among fans is palpable. for those who prefer to enjoy the action from home, wec races are broadcast worldwide, often featuring comprehensive coverage that highlights not just the racing, but also the stories behind the teams and drivers that make up the sport.

sources

"fia world endurance championship." fia wec, www.fiawec.com/en/

"fia world endurance championship." wikipedia, 9 aug. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIA_World_Endurance_Championship

"wec beginner's guide: about the fia wec." wec-magazin, www.wec-magazin.com/features/about-the-fia-wec/

"fia world endurance championship." federation internationale de l'automobile, www.fia.com/events/world-endurance-championship/season-2023/fia-world-endurance-championship

"the world of wec: a beginner's guide to endurance racing." circuit of the americas, 1 sept. 2023, www.circuitoftheamericas.com/blog/2023/9/1/the-world-of-wec-a-beginners-guide-to-endurance-racing/

"history of the wec." wec-magazin, www.wec-magazin.com/features/history-of-the-wec/

if any errors or typos are noticed, PLS PLS point them out via comment, ask, or dm. if there is a specific topic you would like me to cover, send in an ask and i'll look into it!

[mask131]

So Thanksgiving just passed apparently? I didn't notice because I live in France, and you know, it is not celebrated anywhere in Europe...

In fact, Thanksgiving is usually presented as the only holiday celebrated in the USA that is "purely" American, unlike Halloween (which comes from the All Hallows Eve of the British Isles) or Christmas (Santa Claus is just the grandson of European Father Christmas or Saint Nicolas). And yes, Thanksgiving is an essential American holiday, which only works for the USA and is recognized by everybody as such...

... And yet it also has European roots! Ha! Wasn't expecting that, huh? Mind you Thanksgiving is a very BIG reinvention compared to its original European counterpart, but it is still a direct descendant of... Martinmas. Saint Martin's Day. La saint Martin if you're French. 11th of November.

It was a BIG big rural holiday back then. The official end of the harvest season, the beginning of winter. The big date on which all rural hirings, negociations and deals were made - new workers hired, old workers let go of. The original opening of the Advent (the awaiting time and preparation time for Christmas - and thus Martinmas was technically the opening of the "Christmas season"), before the Advent was reduced to just December.

Sometimes incorrectly referred to as "Old Halloween" because, on the continent, it was upon THIS date that children went down the streets carrying vegetable lanterns, asking for treats and candies (which, funnily enough, was sometimes said to be the poop of saint Martin's donkey turned into sweets for the kids). It could also be called an "old Christmas" as it used to be THE big rival to saint Nicolas's Day for the "gift-giving night during which a riding bearded saint gives food and presents to children" (saint Nicolas' Day won).

And more importantly, it was on Saint Martin's Day that a huge "thanks meal" was organized, a communal feast to thank the workers for their hard work, to thank the earth for its bounty, to thank God for the product of the earth, sometimes to honor the spirits of the deceased, a feast centered around the "bird of Saint Martin", THE traditional meat of Martinmas... a goose.

Sounds familiar? A clue: the Pilgrim Fathers had to do with what they had when they decided to cook. Hence a change to the menu.

[brezelzeit]

For those of you who follow me and don’t know what Allo Allo is lemme tell you

It’s this old British sitcom from the 80’s set in ww2 occupied France centered around this cafe owner of whom all he really wants to do is fool around with several women- his waitresses in his employ- and prevent his wife who he doesn’t really like all that much from catching his affairs with them but has to respond to the ridiculous antics of both the resistance and the Germans on the daily and never catches a break 😂. Well the plot is actually a little more complicated than that and there’s several subplots between other characters, but that’s the key premise of the show. It’s friggin’ hilarious and all the characters are soooo lovable and cute- all of them, the French civilians, the Germans, and the resistance.

I know I get obsessed with obscure unpopular shit with dead fandoms 😂 be like that

It can be streamed on any of the following platforms: Britbox, Tubi, and/or Amazon Prime. Tho keep in mind Tubi is missing two very special episodes (season 2 episode 7 and season 8 episode 1), so it would be best to temporarily rent Britbox or Prime to watch those and then cancel xD cause Tubi is completely free with ads. But these sites are only accessible in I think, the US and the UK although I’m sure Prime is in other countries idk if the content there would be the same everywhere. You absolutely have to see these episodes if you watch the show because unlike most sitcoms, Allo Allo has a continuous narrative where each episode builds off of the plot of the previous one and so on and so forth.

For those in other countries-I have found the series pirated on some site (I’ll dm it if you’re curious but I’ll look for more tho- because it is missing those same two episodes sadly, so I wonder if another platform has all of them). I also found the series on Dailymotion, but the lengths of the episodes look as if things are cut short so I don’t know if they’re missing important parts of each episode (most episodes of Allo Allo are anywhere from 25 to 30 minutes long, with the two special episodes being like 40-50 something minutes long) or if they only trimmed the outtro credits out. Or you’d probably need a VPN or have to get the series on DVD xD there are lots of clips of the show on YouTube tho but no full episodes from what I can tell.

I have learned from observing the fanbase online that apart from the UK and US it seems to also be popular in Poland, Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, and a couple of Balkan and Scandinavian countries plus Australia and New Zealand- so if any of y’all are from these places it would probably be easy to find it to stream there. But it might be harder to watch elsewhere, but I could be wrong!

Anyway y’all if you end up watching it hope you enjoy it xD I certainly do! I’m on my third rewatch of the show.

[nesaluvstherecoms]

𝐆𝐨𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐒𝐢𝐱.

ᴍᴀɪɴ ᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢ: ʀᴇᴄᴏᴍ ᴄᴏʟᴏɴᴇʟ ᴍɪʟᴇꜱ Qᴜᴀʀɪᴛᴄʜ x ʀᴇᴄᴏᴍ ᴍᴀᴊᴏʀ ɢᴇɴᴇʀᴀʟ ꜰᴇᴍ. ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

ꜱᴇʀɪᴇꜱ ᴍᴀꜱᴛᴇʀʟɪꜱᴛ ʟɪɴᴋ

。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。

𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭 𝐀𝐋𝐏𝐇𝐀 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐭

MSpOT11 (Pronounced: M spot eleven) (Marine Special Operations Team 11) - Previous unit name. Colonel L/N’s Special Operations unit, composing of 10 main highly trained operators and 4 additional spots for other operators who were replaced regularly depending on the mission. These four spots were reserved for allies, mission-specific specialists, and operators assigned by higher up commanding officers. All operators were often divided into two sub teams of 7, where the commanding officer (Y/N) would choose which one to lead depending on the task.

ALPHA - Recom unit name, given officially by General Frances Ardmore. Regarded as the RDA’s muscle alongside Colonel Quaritch’s Deja Blu unit, ALPHA is Major General L/N’s special forces team. Since the very top of command remain only the Generals, ALPHA takes orders from them only, and are to assist them in any circumstances. The unit composes of the Recombinants of the 10 main operators, along with the Recombinant of F/N L/N who has the authority of commanding officer.

This data sheet displays detailed information about the operators before Project Phoenix was launched. However, in some sentences the Recoms are also mentioned.

Commanding Officer: Colonel (As a Recom: Major General) F/N L/N

Operators:

1. Captain John Keller (Callsign: Phantom)

2. Master Sergeant Oscar Bailey (Callsign: Coma)

3. First Sergeant Scott McCaskill (Callsign: Pyro)

4. Second Lieutenant Riley Jones (Callsign: Phoenix)

5. First Lieutenant Fernando Álvarez (Callsign: Alpino)

6. Sergeant Major Diego Silva (Callsign: Fuego)

7. Sergeant Major Maria Herrera (Callsign: El caos)

8. Master Gunnery Sergeant Henry Davis (Callsign: Ranger)

9. Gunnery Sergeant Khalida Fadel (Callsign: Liberty)

10. Artillery Officer Stefan Kessler (Callsign: Berlin)

1. John Keller

Mental age: 38 years

Nationality: British

Place of birth: UK

Rank: Captain

Callsign: Phantom (Has a talent for moving silently and versatilely, materializing anywhere in the front line during combat like he just came out of thin air, like a phantom.)

Skills and Specializations:

- Hostage rescue

- Kill - capture missions

- Sniper techniques

- Close quarter combat

- Counterterrorism

- Expertise in weapon handling and proficiency

- Versatile in multiple environments

- Expert in interrogation techniques

- Seek-and-strike expert

- Shock-trooper

- Long-range reconnaissance operator

More about the character:

⋆☠︎︎⋆ The “dad” of the group.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Pushes the unit to stay clean of alcohol and smoking because it’s bad for their health and then after everyone has fallen asleep pours himself a cold glass of whiskey and lights a cigar. (He thinks no one knows but everyone knows. Whenever this is brought up within the squadron, Riley says: “Let the old man dream.”.)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ The first person he met in the unit was Oscar Bailey. Oscar was 23 years old then and was making a name for himself as one of the most talented young operators, rising in career. They met in a track-and-kill mission when Oscar and his teammates got ambushed by a terrorist group and John with his unit came to the rescue. Since then John feels a fatherly love towards Oscar and has been watching over him ever since.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ You can hear him clearing his throat and sinuses in the bathroom sink with the volume of a thousand mountain banshees in the early hours of the morning after he has just woken up. (Yes, he bolts the whole house awake, and their PTSD doesn’t make it better. Oscar has gotten more used to it than the rest but the first time it happened the whole squadron rushed to the bathroom armed to their teeth, thinking that someone stabbed him in the throat and he was choking on his own blood. What they found was a sleepy but startled John, standing in front of the bathroom sink with his thick ass black socks, and his pajama pants holding onto the curve of his half exposed ass for dear life, looking back at them with wide eyes and fists balled up ready to throw punches. Not a fun morning. Later at the breakfast table he cracked a “Who pissed in the cereal?” joke to lift up the mood. No one laughed.)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Doesn’t give a fuck who is in front of him. If someone is being disrespectful or purely showing ignorance, he doesn’t hesitate to speak his mind and put them in their place, even if they are higher in rank than him and hold more authority. (He used to get in trouble because of this before he met Y/N, but now she covers his back.)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Snores. Loudly. And when he’s tired; very, very loudly. (Y/N personally made sure that the rooms in their dorm were soundproofed. Her reasoning was “to give all of us privacy” but everyone knew it was because of John’s 60 decibel, chainsaw sounding snore (and some others who also snore obnoxiously loudly, ahem… Fernando). The whole unit prays that they do not get sent on missions where they have to spend the night in a foreign base, sleeping in the same room. When he’s on open air missions, he doesn’t sleep, afraid that he’ll be loud and lead the enemy to them. Once, he spent six days without sleep because of this and started to hallucinate, until Y/N intervened and forced him to go back to base.)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He's been shot, captured, blown up, locked up, tortured, and left for dead, multiple times.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ His preferred weapon of choice is a HK433.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He taught Oscar how to fish, and they go fishing together if the weather is good and they have the day off.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Workaholic. Puts his job before anyone and anything.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He used to have severe insomnia, but slowly got better until it was gone. Before his insomnia he didn’t use to snore.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He’s constantly feeling nauseous and sometimes dizzy but no one can figure out why, not even the medics.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ For some reason his feet are always cold and he tends to wear thick socks when he’s at home.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Always reads for a little bit before going to sleep, and he has reading glasses too.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He’s a well known name among the military world.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ An excellent and harsh trainer. Often times, units and new talented recruits are put under his supervision and guidance.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He nearly has an aneurysm every time he hears Americans say “soccer” when referring to football. (When this happens he gives them the biggest side eye. This happens a lot with Henry, the only American in the unit.)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Once, Oscar referred to him as “grandpa” and he was genuinely hurt.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Oscar convinced him once to go to a concert and they left 20 minutes in, because the man has PTSD and you can guess yourself what the flashing lights, screams and loud sounds of the CO2 jets were doing to him.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Women hit on him a lot and he doesn’t understand why. He also politely declines each time because he is a loner. (When this was brought up one day and he said he doesn’t get why, Maria and Scott turned to him with the biggest shit eating grins on their faces and started to explain it to him with the sentence: “Because you’re daddy material.” Y/N had never seen the fearsome Captain John Keller widen his eyes so much before, not even in the middle of battle.)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ His voice is naturally deep (not entirely considering the cigars but I digress) and it gets even deeper in the morning. This happens with the other male operators too but everyone teases John when it happens to him because he’s the eldest in the unit and they love teasing him. (Y/N always jokes that he sounds like he’s narrating a “Ford” commercial in the morning.)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He is one of the few people that General Ardmore genuinely trusts.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Always praises the team and tells them that they did good even if the mission failed. He does this because he doesn’t know when he might lose them. Throughout his career he has lost a considerable number of people dear to him and he regrets the last words he has said to some of them, without knowing that the next time he’d see them they’d be laying dead. John now tries to show his team how much he appreciates them as often as he can.

2. Oscar Bailey

Mental age: 26 years

Nationality: British

Place of birth: UK

Rank: Master Sergeant

Callsign: Coma (Has a tendency for shooting enemies in the stomach before bashing the butt of his weapon into their skulls, either killing or sending them into a coma.)

Skills and Specializations:

- Target elimination

- Covert surveillance

- Expertise in weapon handling and proficiency

- High tolerance and tactical awareness

- Demolitions

- VIP protection

- Counterterrorism

More about the character:

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Oscar was the only one in his class to pass the RTI (Resistance To Interrogation) testing, and pass selection with the highest possible scores on all courses, at 20 years old.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He has spent most of his career hunting terrorists.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He has been routinely subjected to physically and mentally harsh scenarios.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ The first person he met in the unit was John Keller.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Loves spicy food and any type of tea.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He firstly joined the British Army and then got transferred to the U.S. Marine Corps where he met John and the rest of the unit.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Before he enlisted for the British Army, he used to frequently go to concerts and music festivals.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Once during a mission, he got heavily injured, resulting in a concussion, a broken collarbone, a broken femur and multiple stab wounds. The person who carried him all the way to safety was John, while yelling at him to stay conscious. It took Oscar some time to recover. He had to undergo some surgeries and have a metal rod and plate placed on his femur. During the weeks he was in bed rest, the unit would take turns visiting him so he wouldn’t be alone. (During one group visitation, Fernando made a joke and started laughing, and forgetting that Oscar was still injured, before the unit could reach out and stop him, slapped Oscar’s thigh with his damn gorilla strength. Let’s just say the medics forbid anyone from visiting Oscar for a few days….)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Once fell out of a speeding JLTV while trying to shoot an enemy vehicle mid-confrontation. It’s a miracle that he dropped flat in time and did not get run over by the other vehicles behind the JLTV but rather let them drive over him before rolling off the track and running to a safe zone.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He sucks at fishing. The only reason he goes to fish in the first place is because it makes John happy.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He secretly judges every decision that the people in command make, but unlike John and Riley, he doesn’t voice it out. He only tells John what he’s thinking once they’re alone together.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ The only reason why he doesn’t complain about John and Fernando’s snoring is because he falls asleep with his earphones in, even though Y/N advises the squadron to keep their doors and ears open at night for cautious reasons.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Sometimes when he’s very tired he will snore softly.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ His preferred weapon of choice is a SIG MCX.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He lowkey believes that Riley secretly likes cuddles. He doesn’t know why. That’s just the vibe he gets from him.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Whenever someone takes a picture, he looks like he doesn’t want to be there.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He is insanely good at carjacking. (The first time he did this in a mission, the whole team stared, not having expected it, while John was standing a few feet away, smiling proudly.)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Out of all the operators in the unit, he is the one who is the most careful in missions. While the others sometimes act out of instinct, Oscar has the ability to control even his instincts almost entirely. This has led to him saving his fellow troopers individually or in groups, multiple times during altercations.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He tried weed once and hated it. Now he huffs in annoyance every time he smells it one someone.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Has crashed a helicopter before. Why was he flying a helicopter in the first place, when he’s not a pilot? Interesting question. (They were in a rush to get away from an ambush and he thought he could pull it off. The most careful operator of the unit, ladies and gentlemen.)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He loves diavola pizza to a concerning level.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ When the unit was first assembled, Fernando asked him if he speaks Spanish and he said he didn’t. Fernando grinned and told him that he’d teach him all the curse words. He did in fact do that. So now Oscar walks around with a Spanish curse words vocabulary that could send a Drill Sergeant into a coma.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He once saw Henry make tea with “Lipton” teabags and forgot how to breathe for a few seconds. I’m not even exaggerating, he genuinely stopped breathing, and stared at Henry in horror. (A few moments later he taught him how to make loose leaf tea. When he told John and Riley about it later they also stared in horror. Everyone in that dorm was banned from using teabags ever again.)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He has a scar on his left eyebrow. When he was born, the doctor who performed a c-section on his mother accidentally cut the corner of his left eyebrow and he has had that scar ever since. (He does not have this scar as a Recom.)

3. Scott McCaskill

Mental age: 29 years

Nationality: Scottish

Place of birth: Scotland

Rank: First Sergeant

Callsign: Pyro (During his early years as a trainee, he once accidentally triggered a few flares while getting his demolitions equipment ready and set fire to a MTVR.)

Skills and Specializations:

- Sniper techniques

- Demolitions expert

- Exceptional proficiency

- Remarkable speed and accuracy in room clearance and urban warfare

- Specialized in covert reconnaissance

- Counterterrorism operator

- Hostage rescue

- Expertise in weapon handling and proficiency

More about the character:

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Scott set the record for youngest trainee passing selection and RTI testing with the highest possible marks on all phases of the course, at the age of 22. This record was then later on broken by Oscar Bailey.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ The first person he met in the unit was Riley Jones. For his first mission he joined Riley’s team in securing a building that inhabited WMDs. During the mission, the unit was ambushed and Scott would have lost his life in bomb droppings from enemy aircrafts, if it wasn’t for Riley pulling him to safety. Since then, they have remained close friends.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He used to be a smoker, before he met John Keller who slapped the cigarette out of his mouth as Scott went for a handshake the first time they met. (Riley secretly grinned like a Cheshire cat.)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Drinks coffee with strictly two teaspoons of sugar. Anything over or lower than that amount and he will not drink it.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Chatty…. Very chatty…. (Riley tends to zone him out anytime he talks.)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Secretly frowns at how John smokes at night and mutters “hypocrite’ bastard” in his Scottish accent, under his breath.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ When he sleeps, he rolls himself into the covers like a cocoon.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Once, after him, Fernando, Maria, Henry and Stefan returned from a mission, they found Riley sleeping on the living room floor. Scott got a not so brilliant idea and somehow convinced the others to join (it wasn’t hard, all four of them are as idiotic as he is, except maybe Stefan). The five of them turned off the lights and formed a circle around Riley. They started spinning while holding hands and chanting satanic verses. (Riley woke up and started swinging at everyone. Y/N had never seen five grown adults run so fast for their lives while their comrade chased them around the dorm with a combat knife.)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ His alarm sound is the Scottish national anthem. (Don’t ask.)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He spends his off-duty days chilling in the living room, watching sports and drinking cold beer.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Once went fishing with John and Oscar but did not have the patience to wait for the fish to catch the bait so he fell asleep while still holding the fishing rod.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He enjoys wearing war paint on his face during missions.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Once got drunk out of his fucking mind, went to the rail of the living room balcony, before lowering his pants and boxers. He held his cock between the metal bars of the rail and started pissing with concernedly high pressure while screaming “SCOTLAND FOREVAAAAAAAA” while holding a fist up in the air. (Luckily their balcony faced the forest and no one got contaminated in the process. He also got two weeks of cleaning duty for that, and no one allowed him to drink that much alcohol ever again.)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ His preferred weapon of choice is an AR-57.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He gives the biggest side eyes to John and Riley when they question their authority figures, even if he agrees with them.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ One time he walked in on Y/N changing and didn’t say anything but wiggled his eyebrows seductively. (Y/N put him in a headlock and didn’t let him go until he started begging.)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Constantly uses Scottish slang (Riley sighs each time he does this before asking him to “Speak English, you arsehole.”)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Masks his emotions with humor, but Riley can always tell what he’s truly feeling.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Gives the biggest bear hugs.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Every time Riley, John or Oscar do something remotely British he rolls his eyes and huffs out a “Fuckin’ brits.”

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He doesn’t have tattoos but he has been thinking of getting some of Riley’s drawings tattooed on him for some time.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Has a habit of patting people firmly on their chest or on their shoulders as a greeting. (First time he did this Riley found it extremely annoying. But now it’s comforting to him.)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ When he was a kid he was very close to his older sister. They did everything together, and were each other’s best friend. They grew apart after he joined the military and now he sees her and his mother only once a year.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He absolutely loves making Molotov cocktails and smoke bombs.

4. Riley Jones

Mental age: 32 years

Nationality: British

Place of birth: UK

Rank: Second Lieutenant

Callsign: Phoenix (He survived a helicopter crash where all of the people in that helicopter with him died instantly, including the pilot. When rescue forces rushed to the scene, they saw him rising among the flames and wreckage, like a Phoenix rising out of ashes after death.)

Skills and Specializations:

- Sniper techniques

- Expertise in weapon handling and proficiency

- Sabotage

- Infiltrations

- Master in clandestine tradecraft

- Ambush execution

- High Intelligence

- Torture Expertise

- Master Combatant

- Knife Mastery

- Counterterrorism

- Extremely high pain tolerance

More about the character:

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Has spent most of his career executing covert assignments in classified locations.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ His most frequent injury have been stab wounds.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Extremely organized. Has an agenda which he plans and follows strictly. This includes timetables, meetings, medical check ups, cleaning schedules etc.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ His arms are covered in tattoos.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ His favorite type of alcohol is bourbon.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He drinks a specific tea blend that is flavored with bee balm oil.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Before the crash, his callsign used to be Rico because he’s always armed to the teeth.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Sarcasm king.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Just like John, he doesn’t hesitate to point out flaws in orders or missions given by higher ups. The people in authority often get annoyed at this because they see it as him complaining about everything, but to Y/N this is extremely valuable as he provides the other perspective and helps her eliminate loopholes.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He has a little sketchbook that he keeps with him at all times, where he doodles or draws concepts for new tattoos he wants to get.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Has a resting bitch face.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Loves to scare the living shit out of new recruits.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He has a feared reputation among the military world because of his brutal executions and high kill count.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He really likes knives and has a large collection of them. He’s always fidgeting with a combat knife and you’ll always find one on his person. (Yes, he keeps one under his pillow.)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Even though he zones out when Scott gets too chatty, it gives him comfort when listening to his voice.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He did not believe that Y/N would be a good commanding officer for their squadron when she was assigned as such. It didn’t matter if she had grown up in a military facility or if she was a so-called prodigy, she was too young and did not have a lot of experience. The fact that she had been ranked Colonel at such a young age was, in his opinion, a huge mistake that would cost them. He also expected her to argue his opinion every step of the way just like the rest of the authority figures did. He was however proven wrong when they came out victorious in some of the most harsh and difficult missions they had ever been in, missions which she led by also listening to his insights. Riley eventually gave her his respect.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He knows that he comes across as threatening and that boosts his ego.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He used to be a Christian since he was a child but after serving for some time and seeing the horrors he has seen, he lost faith in God.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Rolls his eyes at people so much that John once joked that his eyes would get stuck like that one day.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Actively calls John “old man”.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He was the first to witness drunk Scott pissing from the balcony while screaming “SCOTLAND FOREVAAAAAAAA”, and that was the first and last time that Riley Jones malfunctioned.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He really enjoys cooking and often listens to corny music while doing so. (Scott never fails to poke fun at him for this.)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ His preferred weapon of choice is an ArmaLite AR-18.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He’s very cold and sometimes rude to people he doesn’t know personally.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He tends to be competitive.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Since the crash, he has had some levels of anxiety whenever he has to board a helicopter. (Of course he doesn’t show it.)

5. Fernando Álvarez

Mental age: 37 years

Nationality: Mexican

Place of birth: Mexico

Rank: First Lieutenant

Callsign: Alpino (From Spanish; Alpine. The environment he thrives in are mountainous terrains. Enemies stand no chance against him in such environments.)

Skills and Specializations:

- Counterterrorism

- Stealth expertise

- Sniper techniques

- Expertise in weapon handling and proficiency

- Target elimination

- Master combatant

- Sabotage

- Clandestine tradecraft

- Ambush execution

- Infiltrations

- Specializes in reconnaissance by fire

More about the character:

⋆☠︎︎⋆ When he was a kid, his dream was to be in the army and would often skip school to watch the soldiers of his hometown do their daily drills.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He has a very loud voice and almost always soldiers jump startled when he starts yelling at them.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He grew up with Diego and they have been best friends since childhood.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Diego would often scold him for skipping school.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Later on, after they both had enlisted for the military, they met Maria.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ His weapon of choice is a SIG MPX but his favorite weapon is his CheyTac Intervention which he calls “mami”.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Fernando and Maria have a “that annoying sibling” relationship.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Once said: “It’s not gay if it’s the homies.”

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Snores obnoxiously loud, to the point that people dread having to sleep next to him. The worst part is that his snore adds on top of John’s during the night and sometimes they leave their doors open, making it sound like someone has switched on two MS 881 Petrol Chainsaws all night.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He once got shot in his right asscheek. Luckily, it wasn’t a deep injury and it didn’t reach anything that shouldn’t be reached. (He quite literally ran around the battlefield with a bullet up his ass.) (He couldn’t sit on the toilet for three weeks.) (He cursed “puta madre” out loud approximately 400 times while trying to sit during his entire time of recovery.)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Has an insane amount of tolerance for spicy food. Has eaten Carolina Reaper peppers before and looked like he was eating candy. (He suffered on the toilet a few days later.)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Very good cook. But ironically enough, he’s too lazy to cook.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Constantly goes to Maria’s room for the sole reason of making eye contact with her and staring her down judgmentally for 45 seconds, and then leaving the door to her room open, because he knows that it annoys her carnally.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Uh… very hairy. But he shaves regularly and keeps it neatly trimmed. Once tried waxing but the hair was so strong that the waxing tissue stuck to it. (On the bright side, as a Recom he has no body hair.)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He once unintentionally decked a stripper square in the face because she tried to choke him unexpectedly while straddling his lap, thinking that he’d get turned on, but he got startled, causing his reflexes to kick in. (She got knocked out, suffered a broken nose, a fractured maxilla and nasal bone, and a few of her front teeth got knocked out. It took her months to recover fully. She sued him but he won the case, and out of spite sued her back for emotional distress. Ironically enough, he won the case and she had to pay him a mighty sum of money.)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He really cares about Diego. He’s always watching over him even when he’s unaware of it. To Fernando, Diego is his brother and he will protect him with his life if he has to.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He’s especially deadly in mountainous terrains.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He’s insanely good at what he does, to the point that even John Keller had his jaw drop the first time he saw him in action. He knows the battlefield like the back of his hand and he’s extremely lethal in action.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He had an eyebrow piercing on his right eyebrow throughout high school, but had to take it out when he joined the military and it closed entirely. (His mom grounded him for three months when he got it.)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ When he turned fourteen years old, he spent three months building a training field on his uncle’s farm. It was a piece of his land that wasn’t nutritious enough to grow produce or good grass for herds, so he let Fernando do whatever he wanted with it. With help from Diego, a few other friends and friendly neighbors, Fernando ended up building multiple tiny buildings to resemble houses, spread junkyard cars, old shipping containers and stacks of sacks filled with gravel, all over the place to practice open-air gunfight, and even made multiple dummies for target practice. He used that training field 24/7 religiously for four years until time came when he and Diego signed up for the military.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He loved Diego’s grandmother dearly and he would often go to spend afternoons at their house. At one point, she and Diego cleared out the old storage room in her house and let him have it. Fernando was deeply touched by this, and he did not take it for granted at all. He cherished that tiny room deeply and his mother even joked that it had become his favorite bedroom. (His mother always shared her cooking with Diego and his grandmother to show her gratitude for them making her son happy, and would pack some carefully in Fernando’s backpack before he would go over to their house.)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ During his rookie years he would get into a lot of fights with other recruits for Diego’s sake, and he’d always win. He almost got kicked out of the military because at one point he beat up a dude so badly that his face looked like it had been shoved inside a meat grinder.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He likes going to watch rodeos, and always invites Diego to come with him.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He makes the most delicious Enchiladas.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Has a bullish devotion to Y/N and his fellow troopers. He’s always looking out for his squadron.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He can be very overprotective and possessive over the people he cares about.

6. Diego Silva

Mental age: 37 years

Nationality: Mexican

Place of birth: Mexico

Rank: Sergeant Major

Callsign: Fuego (From Spanish; Fire. He almost lost his life during a mission where C4 explosives were placed in the enemy-filled building he was clearing. He realized this moments before the explosives were about to go off. He decided to sacrifice himself for the mission and doused as much of the building as he could with gasoline so he could take out every enemy with him. When the explosives went off, not only did the building start to crumble but what was left caught entirely on fire. John was about to pronounce him KIA but then Diego was pulled out of the fire and rubble by Fernando who had rushed to the scene the second he heard that something had gone wrong.)

Skills and Specializations:

- Counterterrorism

- Stealth expertise

- Sniper techniques

- Expertise in weapon handling and proficiency

- Target elimination

- Master combatant

- Ambush execution

- Infiltrations

- Covert surveillance

More about the character:

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He is very friendly. Almost everyone eases up to him quickly. (Even Riley.)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He would always scold Fernando for skipping school to watch soldiers train.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ His parents were drug dealers and traffickers, and were never home.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ When he was young, he had a very close bond with his grandmother, who raised him. He would always spend his afternoons after school cooking and helping her around the house. After dinner, they would sit together by the fireplace and she’d tell him stories while teaching him how to knit and do embroidery. When she passed away, Diego took it very harshly and it took him years to recover. He still misses her dearly every single day, and keeps a small handkerchief that she embroidered with his initials, on him at all times.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He has a very strong brotherly bond with Fernando, and would sacrifice his own life for him if he had to.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ The girls of his hometown all had a crush on him because he was soft, caring, kind and overall just a great guy. Often times friends of his grandmother’s would try to convince her to set him up for marriage with their daughters or nieces but she’d always politely decline. She’d tell him everyday that he had to let his own heart choose the person he wanted to be with.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Diego never wanted to join the military but he did so for Fernando’s sake.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ His preferred weapon of choice is a SIG MCX.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Unlike Fernando, he has an easygoing friendship with Maria.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He, Riley and Henry do most of the cooking in the house.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He has a talent for zoning out Fernando’s snore.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ When he and Fernando first started as recruits, others would often pick on him because he was the least aggressive out of all of them. They tried breaking him because he was the only one who didn’t want to be there, and if you know you know that that’s no mentality to have in the military. Key word there: tried. Fernando beat them all up so bad that some of them dropped out and were never seen on the training ground again.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He doesn’t drink or smoke, and never has. He believes that those are poison to one’s body.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ When Fernando was building his training field, he was the one who made the target practice dummies using his sewing skills.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ His favorite dishes to cook are soups and stews. He also really enjoys baking.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He was always on top of his class since elementary. Even in military training, he always had the highest scores in written tests.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Do not be fooled by his friendly personality and soft looking features. Despite the fact that he does not really like his job and that compared to the others he seems somewhat non-threatening, Diego Silva has the rank of Sergeant Major for a reason. His skills, knowledge and specializations are right behind Riley’s and he places second along with Fernando on experience.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He uses handguns more than the rest of the unit.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He’s an excellent driver. Whether that be during a chase, a getaway, an open gunfire fight on the road, or just a plain simple change of location, Diego will always be behind the steering wheel. (Fun fact; Diego has never gotten a speeding ticket. Even with the corrupt police force in his hometown, he never got stopped.)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ When he and Fernando visit their hometown, grandmas will still try to set him up with their nieces. (They gather around him like a flock of those seagulls in “Finding Nemo”. One time he even lost Fernando in the herd of abuelas, and found him half an hour later, sitting near their hometown’s small church while shoving pistachio ice cream in his mouth with a tiny plastic spoon.)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He and Fernando have a secret hang-out place in an abandoned school in the forest near their hometown. It has been their secret place since they were five year old niños and before they signed up for the military they would always go there to watch the sunset or just to talk and quiet their minds. Whenever one couldn’t find the other, they always knew where to look. They still visit that place when they get the chance.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Whenever he is faced with something that is troubling him, he looks up to the sky and asks his grandmother for guidance.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ In the same chain where his Dog Tag is, he keeps a locket that has two pictures that are especially precious to him because they capture two of his core memories. The right one is a picture of his grandmother smiling at the camera while knitting in her rocking chair. She had saved up a lot of money to buy him that camera as a present for his birthday and Diego cried that day, because it had been a very expensive camera, especially for an old lady living on her pension. Her picture was the first one he ever took with it. The other picture in the left side of the locket is a picture of him and Fernando together, laughing as Fernando drapes an arm over his shoulders and hugs him close. That day, the both of them had volunteered in the soup kitchen of their hometown, and at the end of the day, the staff had thanked them and the rest of the few volunteers by offering them a meal. Before sitting at the dining table, Fernando pulled him aside. He told him his plans to sign up for the military in a month, the day of his birthday. Diego listened carefully as Fernando told him the plans he had made for his life and that the decision was final. Even though it did not come as a surprise to him, Diego still had felt a pang of dread in his heart. That moment he decided that he would never separate lives from Fernando, and told him he would sign up with him too. Fernando was caught back and asked him to reconsider but Diego’s mind was made up. The words he then said will forever be in Fernando’s heart, for he told him: “Aquí no hay nada para mí sin ti, hermano mío. Nunca me perdonaré si dejo que nuestras vidas se separen. Te seguiré hasta la tumba, Fernando Álvarez.” (There is nothing for me here without you, my brother. I will never forgive myself if I let our lives separate. I will follow you to the grave, Fernando Álvarez.). They later went to the dining table with tears in their eyes and sat down. The rest raised a toast while laughing happily and Fernando wrapped his arm around Diego’s shoulder before hugging him close. That’s the moment a friend of theirs pulled out his camera and snapped the picture.

7. Maria Herrera

Mental age: 37 years

Nationality: Mexican

Place of birth: Mexico

Rank: Sergeant Major

Callsign: El caos (From Spanish; Chaos. Has the ability to cause havoc everywhere she goes, if she wants to. Moreover, has often unpredictable and erratic behavior when she’s irritated.)

Skills and Specializations:

- Counterterrorism

- Stealth expertise

- Sniper techniques

- Expertise in weapon handling and proficiency

- Target elimination

- Ambush execution

- Infiltrations

- Covert surveillance

- Track-and-kill missions

More about the character:

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Most of her career has been spent hunting down cartel leaders and narcos.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ She prefers being the undercover operator during missions because she gets to display how good she is at having a poker face. (Plus she loves the thrill.)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Flirts with Y/N more than she should.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ She once got kidnapped by the enemy and they gave her back after 14 hours of captivity because she had objectified the men so much that they felt violated. When Oscar, Diego and a small team of operators arrived at the warehouse she was being held in, they found her in the middle of the building, tied to a chair with a note stapled to the front of her shirt that wrote: “In my 15 years of crime, I have never had a hostage make my guys so uncomfortable. They’re not objects.”. (Maria still keeps that note as a souvenir.)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Most of her time in the gym is spent on working on her arms and thighs, providing her with a nice set of firm thighs and muscled biceps that she loves flexing. (She was devastated to see that her recom body had average looking arms and thin thighs. That was her only concern waking up for the first time.)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ She once started a cult because she was bored. (It was awfully successful and Y/N had to intervene and shut it down.)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Her parents were cartel members. When she turned eighteen, she was expected to join said cartel with them. When she refused, her parents attempted to kill her, saying that she was a disgrace to their blood. No one knows what happened that night. But Maria joined the military a week after, and no one has seen her parents ever since.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ She has multiple tattoos. The biggest one stretches from her shoulder to the elbow of her left arm.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ After she had been in the military for a while, Fernando gifted her a golden chain because she was a good friend to Diego. She wears that chain everyday.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ She grew up in the same town as Fernando and Diego but they never met before the military. However, Diego’s parents worked for Maria’s parents.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ When she was young she wanted to be a tattoo artist.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ She loves dogs. She was the one who always wanted to take care of the K9s and no one bothered to stop her.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Has a pretty high alcohol tolerance. (She also loves beer.)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ She was a bully and a class clown in school. (The teachers despised her.)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ When her, Diego and Fernando first started as recruits, she would get into a lot of trouble for talking back to the Drill Sergeant. She despised that man so much that she slept with his wife out of spite.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Her preferred weapon of choice is a Heckler & Koch HK43.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Despite the fact at how carnally annoying she finds Fernando, she does indeed care about him and Diego.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ When she got heavily drunk in a bar one night when the team were celebrating a recent victory, she made scissoring gestures with her fingers at Y/N who sighed and told Khalida to keep an eye on her. (She ended up fighting a random dude at the bar and Khalida helped her.)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ She can be extremely jealous and possessive over the people she cares about.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ She has a cross necklace that she wears along with her gold chain. Her family were Christian so she kinda stuck to it. She doesn’t really agree with Riley’s view on God but she understands and respects his opinion.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ She really likes Riley’s drawings, especially the doodles, and she got one of them tattooed. (It’s a doodle of a Heckler & Koch HK43. Riley has multiple full pages in his sketchbook with doodles of every type of gun and combat knife he knows.)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ She once took a picture of Y/N working out and dripping in sweat and when Khalida and Henry looked at her questionably she cleared her throat and said: “For research purposes.”

⋆☠︎︎⋆ She enjoys beating the shit out of new recruits during training. (She unironically refers to them as “fresh meat”.)

8. Henry Davis

Mental age: 35 years

Nationality: American

Place of birth: U.S.A

Rank: Master Gunnery Sergeant

Callsign: Ranger (He spends a lot of time making presentations to explain the plans and strategies he proposes for upcoming missions. The unit started calling him PowerPoint Ranger because of this, so his callsign became Ranger.)

Skills and Specializations:

- Advanced sniper techniques

- Weapon handling and proficiency

- Counter-insurgency

- Special reconnaissance

- Information warfare

- Tactical planning and coordination

- Anti-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction

- Counterterrorism

- Sabotage

- Ambush executions

More about the character:

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He’s very positive. You’ll always find a smile on his face.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Cracks the most horrendous dad jokes.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Just like Diego and Riley, he’s a very good cook and does most of the cooking in the house with them.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He is arguably the most skilled sniper in the unit.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ His intelligence and mission planning tactics are of the highest level and he is one of Y/N’s most valuable assets.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He’s a family man. Moreover, he absolutely loves kids, and they stick to him like glue whenever he’s around.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He is the one who bakes the birthday cakes for teammates’ birthdays.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Before the team decided to give him the callsign “Ranger” they called him “Stars n Stripes”. (Because he’s American, badum tss.)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He can be as friendly as Diego. Arguably, even more.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Both of his arms are covered in sleeve tattoos.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He had to babysit his nieces during duty hours once. They wanted to play dress up and forced him to participate. The problem was that he had a very important meeting with the team and the General at the time, to discuss an upcoming classified mission. He showed up to that meeting with green eyeshadow, smudged mascara, smeared red lipstick and hot pink blush, because his nieces would start crying when he’d attempt to take it off. Needless to say, the whole unit was horrified and Y/N avoided eye contact with the General at all costs. Henry kept his head down and avoided drawing attention to himself as much as he could. (The whole unit was secretly dying inside from laughter.) (When the General asked who would be planning the infiltration tactics for the operation, Y/N hesitantly pointed to Henry, who gave the General the most awkward half smile. Y/N wished the ground would just open below her feet and swallow her whole.)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ His preferred weapon of choice is a M4A1 carbine.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ As mentioned in his specializations, his most important missions included counter-insurgency, special reconnaissance, counterterrorism, information warfare and anti-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Henry has played key roles in ensuring definitive victories against emerging terrorist networks.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Before he joined the unit, he was an operator for the Special Activities Division of the CIA.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ His favorite equipment are laptops, sat-phones, and rocket-equipped combat drones.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Since the SAD is permitted to execute missions against enemies of the state, without consulting the Pentagon or White House, Henry has been involved in multiple actions to assassinate enemy leadership.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He really likes the doodle that Maria got tattooed from Riley’s sketchbook. He brought it up one day and he said that he also was thinking of asking Riley to get one tattooed on him. That day the team talked about it and joked that they each would get one tattooed.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He is Y/N’s right hand in planning tactics. He is the first to come up with a plan, then if Y/N approves they are to present it to the rest of the team and the higher ups.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Before Y/N became their commanding officer, he and Riley would argue every single day. Henry absolutely despised the way Riley would shit on his mission tactics proposals and that became the reason why they would be at each other’s throats every minute of every day. He still hates the way Riley finds something wrong with every single plan he makes but since Y/N finds it useful he doesn’t argue that much anymore.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He joins Fernando in watching rodeos when he has time because he genuinely enjoys it.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He had a mustache and a beard which he had had for years, so when he woke up as a Recom he was devastated to learn that Recombinants can’t grow facial hair.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He and Y/N were the only ones who actually researched about Pandora and the Na’vi before they signed their Project Phoenix contracts.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He nearly got half of his body blown to pieces in a mission in Russia and he still gets shivers thinking about it.

9. Khalida Fadel

Mental age: 34 years

Nationality: ???

Place of birth: ???

Rank: Gunnery Sergeant

Callsign: Liberty (No one knows why. This was the callsign she had when she first joined the unit and she demanded that she kept it because it was dear to her.)

Skills and Specializations:

- Counterterrorism

- Stealth expertise

- Sniper techniques

- Expertise in weapon handling and proficiency

- Target elimination

- Ambush execution

- Covert surveillance

More about the character:

⋆☠︎︎⋆ She showed up one day and Y/N introduced her to the unit as the new member. She left no room for questions, so everyone has went along with it since then.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Not much is known about her past before she joined the squadron, except that she has a brother who lives in the Middle East. The only people who know the whole story are Y/N and John Keller.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ She’s a master combatant and one of the best operators in weapon handling and proficiency.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ She’s one of the best motorcycle riders that Y/N has ever seen and she prefers to ride one during missions rather than joining them in their military cars.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ You’ll almost never see her without an army headband on.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ When she’s irritated, she cusses people out in Arabic.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ She doesn’t usually initiate outside-of-work conversations, it has to be someone to talk to her first. But she’s very good at indulging in a conversation and it’s actually really nice to talk to her.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ She’s very quiet in her combat. Has a talent for taking people out almost silently.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ She has led all-women teams multiple times into battle and each time has resulted in victory.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Her preferred weapon of choice is an AK-47.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ She can be excellent at motivating soldiers during battle, reminding them of why they’re there and that she’s right there with them.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Her tactic-planning skills are also quite impressive but unlike Riley she doesn’t prefer to intervene in Henry’s plans.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ For some reason, her and Riley cannot maintain a conversation for the life of them. Put them in a room together and they’ll make the most awkward chitchat before staying in the most uncomfortable silence that humanity has ever experienced.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ She likes Henry quite a bit and she spends a lot of time talking with him. (Maria often jokes that they have a crush on each other.)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Like John and Riley, she tends to call out on bullshit whenever it happens. She does tone it down a bit more than them, but still doesn’t hesitate to point it out, no matter of who it comes from.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Even though not much is known about her past, Y/N and John have dropped hints here and there that she has had a very hard life since childhood.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ She has a locket necklace with a picture of a middle aged man inside but doesn’t tell people who he is.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Khalida doesn’t see war as just liberation of land but also as freedom from the old ways.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ She introduced Henry to Arabic food and that man ate that day like he was never going to see food ever again.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ She has a talent for being able to use anything around her to her advantage during battle. Oil filters of a random vehicle? She’ll use it as a suppressor. Wax and random container of bleach? She’ll make a smoke bomb out of it. Broken glass on the street? Perfect for a Shiv.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Despite everything, Y/N doesn’t trust her very much. Except for John, no one else knows why.

10. Stefan Kessler (Keßler)

Mental age: 32 years

Nationality: German

Place of birth: Germany

Rank: Artillery Officer

Callsign: Berlin (He’s massive, and the tallest operator in the unit. He was the largest soldier in the entire Marine division. Because of this and because he’s German, he was given the callsign “Berlin” to compare him to the Berlin Wall.)

Skills and Specializations:

- Sniper techniques

- Expert in weapon handling and proficiency

- Sabotage

- Infiltrations

- Clandestine tradecraft

- Ambush execution

- High Intelligence

- Torture Expertise

- Master Combatant

- Counterterrorism

More about the character:

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Very quiet. He’s usually in his own world. He won’t really talk to people unless he knows them.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ The first person he spoke to within the unit was Diego.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He spends most of his free time taking care of their guns and equipment.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He used to dislike Riley, since his behavior reminded Stephan of how much he hates people. Then one day, during a mission where it was the two of them, Oscar and Scott, he walked out to find a place to be by himself. He found a quiet place and when he walked a bit further, he saw Riley sitting by a tree, drawing in his sketchbook. He was about to turn back but Riley called him over. They ended up bonding over their shared talent for drawing, and talked for hours. Since then, they have had a good friendly relationship.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ His favorite people within the squadron are Diego and Oscar.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He prefers to stay home when the unit goes out to celebrate victories. He just enjoys alone time. Sometimes he does go out with them but doesn’t do much, just stays at a table, slowly sipping from a pint glass of cold beer while watching whatever is going on around him.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ The smell of gun oil calms him down because his safe space is when he’s taking care of their guns and equipment.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ To keep his body mass he has to eat very large quantities of food, and he feels bad when one of his teammates says they’re gonna cook for the day. This has been brought up multiple times and everyone assures him that he’s really not the problem, because they’re all bulky built soldiers and they all eat a lot. (Diego, while tying his apron, also told him that he shouldn’t be feeling guilty about this when Fernando Álvarez exists.)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Back when he was a recruit, when Drill Sergeants would see him for the first time, they would look at him like basketball coaches look at a very tall kid who has just stepped foot in the school for the first time.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He doesn’t curse much, only when something goes wrong in a mission or when he drops something while oiling their guns, and even then he curses under his breath and in German.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Even as a Recom, he is the largest Na’vi among both Recombinants and Avatars. He has it the hardest to move around in human-sized spaces and since he ends up tipping everything over, even people, Y/N mostly keeps him at their living quarters. And he doesn’t mind one bit.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He has a talent for crafting gadgets with very few materials. Give him a couple of batteries and some wire and he’ll make something very useful with it.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ When he was a kid he wanted to be a veterinarian.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He’s very intimidating and he knows it. But unlike Riley, he doesn’t enjoy it too much. He does like it that he’s able to intimidate the enemy with his size however.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He loves cats. He always feeds the strays when he sees them.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He’s a good babysitter. He minds his business. The kids mind their own and at the same time they don’t get into trouble because they’re lowkey scared of him. Who wouldn’t be, the man is huge. Boom. Babysitting 101.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He’s a smoker. John tried to get him to stop but to no avail. He smokes Marlboro religiously and will not have any other brands.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He has a very good understanding of his body. From what foods are best for him to what exercises strain his muscles more. He knows his strengths and his limits perfectly.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ His preferred weapon of choice is a M249 SAW.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He’s a master at grilling. Whenever the team decides to have a barbecue night, he’s the one slaying above the grill. (Scott has gifted him an apron that reads “Grill Daddy.” Yes, he had a lot of questions when he received said gift.)

⋆☠︎︎⋆ His father was a butcher so he basically grew up in a butcher shop. His mother was a drug addict so he never really saw her unless she came at their doorstep to beg for drug money.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ He has multiple tattoos on his arms and body and some of them he designed himself.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Just like Oscar, he is very calm and calculated during combat. Since he’s older, that makes up for Oscar’s lack of experience.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ If Riley or John are busy, then he is usually the guy who’s gets put in charge of the interrogations.

⋆☠︎︎⋆ Sometimes the team refers to him as the “Gun Bunny” because he’s the artilleryman.

[mariacallous]

I am bad at small talk, so I went in big. “You are probably going to be the social democratic leader with the largest parliamentary majority anywhere on Earth. How does it feel?” I said to Keir Starmer during a private meeting with him and a few advisors in late 2022.

Starmer’s aides looked annoyed, while the likely next prime minister of the United Kingdom paused and tried to deflect: “We can’t take anything for granted,” which has become the unofficial motto for Labour’s general election campaign.

Yet despite Starmer’s hesitancy to bank success—he is genuinely a modest man—it is likely that on the morning of July 5, Starmer will wake up as the world’s social democratic superhero: the only center-left leader of a major economy with a parliamentary supermajority and the great hope for progressives all over the world.

The governing Conservative Party, which is historically arguably the most successful political party on Earth, now faces electoral oblivion. In 2019, Boris Johnson demolished Labour’s heartlands, the so-called red wall. Labour had become detached from its base and collapsed in its postindustrial heartlands after then-leader Jeremy Corbyn embraced the siren sounds of political extremism; he refused to sing the national anthem at a memorial for the Battle of Britain and drove the party toward a position of fiscal incontinence that scared anyone with financial assets.

Five years later, Labour is on track not only to regain the red wall but also to achieve a dream of progressives by taking solid Conservative seats in their blue wall of affluent commuter constituencies surrounding London and rural seats that have voted Conservative since time immemorial. (East Worthing and Shoreham, for example, is part of a constituency that first voted Tory in 1780 and has been reliably Tory since. Polls suggest Labour is on track to take the seat.)

What is happening in the U.K. is unusual for center-left parties, to put it mildly. Labour could gain as many as 70 percent of seats in the House of Commons—a victory that could surpass even the electoral landside of former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair in 1997, offering lessons for progressives everywhere. A politically dominant Starmer will attend the G-7 as a leader in total political control, in stark contrast to his counterparts in France and Germany, Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz, who are facing high disapproval ratings and struggling to pursue their governing agendas.

Labour’s victory in the U.K. will be important in three key regards: It will recast how progressives can win national elections and set a high-water mark for what social democrats can achieve; it will reshape British politics in new and unexpected ways that could be more important than the victory itself; and it will flip external perceptions of the U.K., resetting international views of the country and its future.

Despite the pathological obsession Britain’s political class has with America’s, it is perhaps time for Democrats in the United States to look across the pond and glean some lessons from Labour’s success.

Part of Starmer’s success has been to take an oath of omertà on culture war issues, much as the Australian Labor Party did. These include transgender rights, Britain’s colonial past, and immigration—all issues that the British right has tried to capitalize on. Starmer, a former human rights lawyer, has committed to scrap the Tories’ controversial Rwanda deportation scheme but on the grounds of practicality rather than as a wider moral statement. More broadly on immigration, the party has been treading very carefully. This is certainly not brave, but it has worked. For all the attempts to fire up the culture wars in this election, Labour has remained focused on the prize.

While the Conservatives have attempted to stoke a culture war, what remains more salient for voters in the U.K. is the perceived corruption and rule-breaking of leading Conservatives, culminating in the current scandal involving elected officials using insider information to bet on the election date.

Scandals including preferential contracts for protective equipment for the National Health Service (NHS) during the COVID-19 pandemic, where an astonishing 4 billion pounds ($5 billion) worth of faulty equipment was procured (some allegedly from companies with links to the ruling party). Then came “Partygate,” in which Johnson and current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak were fined by police for breaking COVID-era laws. A lobbying scandal involving another former prime minister, David Cameron, also caused significant public anger. Elite rule-breaking has cut through with voters in a way that the endless culture wars simply haven’t.

In parallel, Labour has pivoted from a form of identity politics under Corbyn to a very proactive position on class. Starmer has put his humble upbringing center stage in the U.K. election campaign and has spoken authentically about the “class ceiling” in British society. This has particular resonance as Starmer is running against Sunak, whose net wealth of $822 million makes him the richest leader of any democracy.

A typical Starmer set-piece homily is as follows:

“My dad was a toolmaker, he worked in a factory, and my mum was a nurse. We didn’t have a lot when we were growing up. Like millions of working-class children now, I grew up in a cost-of-living crisis. I know what it feels like to be embarrassed to bring your mates home because the carpet is threadbare and the windows cracked. … I was actually responsible for that as I put the football through it.”

This focus on class is unusual in modern British politics. Indeed, recent Labour leaders—from Blair to Gordon Brown to Ed Miliband to Corbyn—were all in different ways outsiders to the British working class: Blair and Corbyn for their relatively affluent (and privately educated) upbringings, Brown and Miliband because of their middle-class backgrounds and partly because Miliband’s father was one of the country’s most notable Marxist academics. As for the Conservatives, the days of a prime minister who was a grocer’s daughter are long gone. Cameron and Johnson didn’t just attend the same elite private school (Eton) two years apart; they went to the same university (Oxford) and were members of the same private dining club (for the most privileged).

Starmer is leaning into class politics—and it is working. The promise to impose the same value-added tax on private school fees that is applied to most goods and services (20 percent) has led to an outpouring of anger from the often very wealthy 6 percent of U.K. parents who send their kids to private schools—usefully, those who are privately educated often tend to vote Conservative. Labour’s pledge to use the private school tax revenues to invest in education for the 94 percent of kids in state schools has, on the other hand, drawn support from ordinary voters.

This focus on class has won back a group of voters who in other countries have now been captured by the right and far right. Labour now leads among working-class voters with 38-42 percent of the vote share, in contrast to Conservatives’ 22-24 percent. For those with the fewest educational qualifications, Labour leads in every age category except the over-50s.

One of the architects of Labour’s reengagement with the British working class is Angela Rayner, who is on track to become deputy prime minister. Rayner is working-class, was a mother at 16, and a grandmother at 37. Opinionated and unfiltered, an unapologetic smoker who enjoys a strong drink, she worked in a care home before rising quickly through the trade union movement and becoming a Labour candidate. Rayner’s story is a masterclass in how to elevate remarkable people into parliamentary politics. Her success is her own, but the unions cultivated her, and the membership backed her as deputy leader. She has real star power—and there is virtually no one like her in the upper echelons of the Democratic establishment in the United States.

Remarkably, the class dimension has not, it seems, alienated middle England. Disillusioned surbubanites and centrist liberals have been turned off by a Conservative Party that seems increasingly radical and dysfunctional. Starmer’s former career as the country’s chief prosecutor, and his knighthood—he is formally referred to as “Sir Keir”—have given him broad appeal, just as the Conservatives’ unapologetic embrace of the populist right’s pet causes has cratered their support.

Part of Labour’s success is due to the systemic clusterfuck that has been the last few years of the Conservative government. The Tories have foisted five prime ministers on the public since 2010—four of them elected by the party’s mostly white, male membership of about 170,000 rather than the public at large. Economic growth is anemic; there are nearly 8 million people on the NHS waiting list in England alone (in a country where the use of private medical care is uncommon); and essential public services including the prison service and local government are on the edge of systemic failure.

Yet signs exist that there may be more fundamental shifts at play. Labour leads in every age group except the over-65s. If you work, you are more likely to vote Labour; 45 percent of voters under 45 are likely to vote Labour, compared with only 1 in 10 backing the Conservative Party. Millennials will become the largest voting bloc in the U.K. in this election. Their key issues include policies to prevent catastrophic climate change (which poll well across the U.K. political spectrum), the building of homes, better transport links (especially for non-car owners, many urban millennials among them), and pro-family policies. All of these have come into play in this election.

Older homeowners across the Western world have been successful in running what is, potentially, the world’s largest cartel—by opposing construction of new homes for millennials. Labour is committed to ending that in the U.K. with a significant loosening of planning regulations that currently thwart sustainable development.

While the party has ruled out taxes on working people, no such commitment has been made on unearned income, leading to widespread speculation that the tax system may be rebalanced with higher capital gains taxes and fewer loopholes for the megarich, including for the landed gentry whose farming estates pass between generations tax-free. Labour has no love for landlords either. After nearly two decades in which London’s property market has been inflated by speculative investments from the world’s kleptocrats, the public appetite for new restrictions on foreign property ownership or new taxes has grown.

Labour has also surrounded itself with a technocratic positivist elite. This group includes Labour Together, an ambitious intellectual think tank closely aligned with Starmer’s inner circle, and the Tony Blair Institute, which has embraced a techno-futurism aligned with the country’s comparative advantage in the life sciences and artificial intelligence. Public sector reform under a Starmer government could be significant if one imagines the potential, for example, of using the NHS’s treasure trove of data (on 70 million people) to drive innovation in health care.

In stark contrast to Labour’s focus on the future, an aging right-wing voter base is now split between the Conservative Party and Reform, a vehicle that is a mix between a private company, a political party, and a personal platform for Nigel Farage—the pro-Brexit politician Donald Trump has trotted out as a posh Anglo stage prop. Conservatives in Parliament are already moving rightward. Tory MPs give statements to the media condemning the European Convention on Human Rights, a document co-drafted by David Maxwell-Fyfe—a Conservative MP and prosecutor of Nazis at Nuremberg—that was inspired by Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s vision for postwar Europe.

Meanwhile, a wing of Conservative MPs are already attempting to cast the almost certain defeat as evidence that the party did not pivot enough to the populist right. The divided right is making the admission of the controversial Farage into the Conservative Party a real possibility, a prospect that fills Labour with glee. Needless to say, the next Conservative leader is unlikely to be a moderate. With the party tacking to the right, it could soon become a vessel for Faragism and a weak British version of the Trump movement.

Finally, there are the vibes. A progressive recasting of British politics will shift narratives around the U.K. National narratives can flip in an instant: Think of foreigners’ perceptions of the United States from Barack Obama to Trump or the assumption of Chinese economic primacy to a sense of retrenchment and decline under Xi Jinping. The U.K. in recent memory was seen as a fairly stable, politically dull island anchored somewhere in the mid-Atlantic. Brexit, Johnson, and Liz Truss put an end to that. With the shift from perceived and actual chaos and an insurgent right to a progressive supermajority, attitudes will likely shift again.

Vibes are important, especially to the economy of the U.K., which may have ceased to be a traditional superpower but remains a cultural one punching significantly above its weight internationally. Six percent of U.K. GDP comes from the creative industries—from the success of British music to the Premier League, a booming film and TV industry, fashion, and the arts. That’s double the level of Germany and larger than the contribution of the German car industry to the country’s output (4.5 percent). For a country that trades on vibes and is reliant on the export of its creativity, Brexit and isolation have caused real damage.

It’s long forgotten now, but during the last Labour government from 1997 until the 2008 financial crisis, the U.K. was the fastest-growing economy in the G-7, faster than that of the Clinton- and Bush-era United States. Given the country’s currently stagnant economy, the next Parliament will be more challenging, but in a highly open society, the role of consumer confidence and investor confidence cannot be underestimated.

In a previous piece in these pages, after Labour’s historic loss in the 2019 general election, I wrote: “Radical leftism is not a drug you can take as a party and return to normal the next morning.” I was right about the election but wrong about the next morning.

No one expected Labour to turn a historic defeat into a historic victory in just five years. The circumstances the Conservative Party faced were extraordinary, but Starmer has shown that tight party management, a focus on voters and not ideology, and a sprinkling of class-based politics can reinvigorate social democratic politics.

What lessons does this hold for other center-left parties?

First, culture war issues aren’t a central motivation for most voters. On all the major culture war issues, Labour holds a less popular position than the Conservative Party. Yet when mortgage rates have risen from 2 to 5 percent, “it’s the economy, stupid.” Progressives don’t need to fear the charge of the populist right; they need smarter answers.

Second, rule-breaking or perceived corruption is a powerful motivator for voters, and global polling proves this. Progressives need a stronger line on conflicts of interest, corporate lobbying, the kleptocratic buy-up of the finest properties in the world’s global cities, and tackling emerging monopolies that exist due to political capture. Doing so counters the populist right head-on.

Third, the dominance of identity politics in left-wing online spaces is not matched by public understanding of or interest in this form of politics. Class is understood, whereas intersectionality isn’t. Class may, or may not, be the most relevant dividing line for progressives in different places—but for progressives to win, they need messengers who are from outside the upper middle class and have lived experience that resonates with people who feel disenchanted and left behind. In other words, Democrats in the United States need an Angela Rayner.

Most critically, once in power, social democrats do not have the luxury of time. Crumbling infrastructure, failing public services, falling living standards, and a lack of housing all point to direct state intervention on a scale not seen since the late 1960s Great Society programs in the United States and similar policies during that era in the U.K. Unless progressives can deliver, it will be challenged further by a populist right that is gaining momentum.

U.S. President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act has been the talk of London and Brussels for progressives, and Biden deserves more credit for his boldness. With a supermajority, Starmer has the scope for even bolder programs. A progressive U.K. government will not only reset Europeans’ views of the country, but if successful, it can aid progressive arguments within Europe that austerity and fiscalization do not generate economic growth or social stability.

Starmer’s victory will give global social democrats a high-water mark for electoral success in a wealthy democracy. The challenge for Starmer is the incredible weight of hope in an era of polycrisis. If Labour succeeds in delivering growth, building homes, and raising wages, then it will provide a blueprint that can—and should—be copied elsewhere.

[catigereptile]

FYI, it's the Jordan River and the Mediterranean sea. LMAO

Also:

Most Palestinians are light-skinned and Kufiya aren't hijab. Most Palestinian women aren't hijabi (except for those being forced by Hamas). Arabs (except younger Arab-Americans) do NOT think of Palestinians as their "brothers and sisters," Palestinians are discriminated against, oppressed, have been expelled, and are the victims of military attacks throughout the ENTIRE Middle East and North Africa. Like in the early 90s when Kuwait expelled 300,000 Palestinians from their homes. Syrian massacres on Palestinian refugee camps. Egyptian blockade on Gaza and flooding tunnels where Palestinian refugees try to escape.

Half of the "brownface-wearing culturally appropriating white Zionists" in "isnotreal" - 50% of them - are Jews literally from the Middle East. Literally from Arab countries, they're called Mizrahim. They've been eating hummus for 5000 years. And even the Ashkenazi remained culturally similar to the middle east because the Europeans wouldn't let them integrate. And they didn't just stroll down here. Have you ever heard of the post-WWII Kielce Pogrom? The Farhud?

You Americans have to racialize EVERYTHING because it's gotta be light skinned Foreign Colonists oppressing and displacing Indigenous Brown People(tm) because how else could we have possibly ended up in this situation?

Actually, you're right. It was light skinned foreign colonists: BRITAIN and FRANCE carved up Palestine, BEHIND THE BACKS of BOTH the Arabs and the Jews moving to the BRITISH COLONY that "The British Mandate of Palestine" was after WWI and before 1948. Do you assholes KNOW what you all did after WWI? Have you ever even HEARD of the League of Nations? That the ALLIES were the ones who carved it up again after WWII. BRITAIN is the one who lied to the Palestinians after WWI. Have you ever heard of Lawrence of Arabia? The Sykes-Picot agreement? Hell, have you even heard of the Ottoman Empire?

It's been eight months and you care SO MUCH but in the end you're still the annoying westerners making things worse. Normally I'd blame it on a white savior complex but Western POC are being no better about educating themselves.

You want to help?

Donate to the red crescent and other reputable charities. Donate to anti-hamas and pro-LGBTQ Palestinian groups - and show your support for them ESPECIALLY, because things are going to be extremely unstable for them in the future. Learn about Palestinian politics, actually! Learn about Israeli politics! Protest against Egypt while you're at it! And stand with the TENS of THOUSANDS of Israeli college students who are protesting against this massacre EVERY NIGHT instead of complaining that they live there in the first place! As if they're all rich New Yorkers who can move anywhere they want!

And for the love of God, go on Wikipedia for five minutes. Stop disrespecting Palestinians and Jews with your Western savior bullshit when you don't even educate yourself about them. A Twitter account with a brown person PFP is not a reliable source, neonazis are sock puppeting. I could probably get 80% of you to use the phrase "Zionist Occupied Government" if you don't already. Stop embarrassing yourself. Jesus.

Anyway I'm falling asleep while writing on the phone

[tanadrin]

I roll my eyes a lot at Austria (and to a lesser extent Ireland) that refuse to join NATO due to "neutrality". It feels like there's no way their neutrality would be respected if Russia rolled through Europe again, and their security is being heavily guaranteed by NATO in general. Switzerland at least has the history of trading with everybody, where Austria and Ireland can't because they're in the EU.

Although I suppose I can't expect much less of a country as rabidly anti-nuclear as Austria.

Ireland isn't really on the way to anywhere--I guess it's sort of useful as a staging point for attacking Britain? But the UK knows this, and the UK has nukes, so whether Ireland is a member of NATO or not, anybody attacking Ireland is going to have to deal with the British military, including its nuclear deterrent. And if you were the USSR during the Cold War, surely it would be easier to bomb Britain from, like, France, if you got that far. Ireland also has a tiny military; it's not like it would contribute significantly to NATO if it joined.

The USSR only agreed to the restoration of Austrian sovereignty on the basis Austria was going to declare itself neutral. For small countries positioned between NATO and the Warsaw Pact during the Cold War (like Finland and Austria), neutrality made a lot of sense. If nothing else, it meant you weren't going to get nuked when the Soviets made their play for the Fulda Gap.

Nowadays I think it makes even more sense--the only way Austria or Ireland are ever going to come under threat from outside powers is if the rest of NATO/the EU has already been overrun. But IIRC Ireland would be willing to participate in a joint EU military, and Austria has participated in UN and NATO peacekeeping operations, and is also a member of the ESSI. These aren't countries unwilling to acknowledge the realities of collective security, they just have good reasons for pursuing an independent position generally and not being members of NATO specifically.

[hetalia-has-a-secretary]

How would the German Brothers, France, England, Russia, and China react to their American s/o (who recently moved countries to move in with them) dealing with extreme homesickness?

German Brothers + Allies with a homesick S/O

(I made this for a S/O from anywhere in the world since America already lives there and he must be included. Everyone loves that greasy bomber jacket blonde lol)

German Brothers:

Germany:

He understands what homesickness feels like. Between the wars from the past, and the meetings for the future he usually upholds, he is rarely at his nice clean home.

He does his best to console them, and buys them stuff from their home country.

One day he was talking with Italy, and was shocked when Italy suggested to just have more meetings in their home country and bring them with when they start to miss it.

He starts to do just that.

Makes extra time to take them to nice resturants or their hometown and to visit as much of their family and friends as possible.

He realizes having them as a traveling companion helped his stress levels so now they're his emotional support S/O!

Now at least when they miss their home, they won't be alone in that.

Prussia:

Man is retired, and LOVES to travel and learn stuff.

Has no problem sneaking his S/O away to their country.

Movie nights with subtitles will happen frequently. He's not even paying attention he's just so happy his Jewel is happy.

Also cooks a lot of food from their homelands as well as gifts and tacky tourist gages just to make them smile.

Allies:

America:

Doesn't fully understand at first since he couldn't WAIT to break free from England.

Doesn't stop him from bringing his S/O to all the themed resturants in America.

Even has pinned down all the cultural museum spots from their Homeland.

Has an endless knowledge about S/O's heritage of cryptic and ghouls.

Loves seeing them happy and will fly them out, even if he can't go with due to restrictions.

Will help make an album of photos and magazines and newspapers and all that good stuff with them.

Also expect a LOT of imported snacks from their home country as well.

England:

We will pretend he thinks museums don't exist, and that his country doesn't have any major art works.

This will be the ONLY time it's a good thing because now his S/O can ramble off what all the foreign words are.

Laughs when he learns the British museums didn't realize a relic was NOT in fact used to make biscuits.

He won't be able to go with them, but sends a friend of theirs to go with and gives them an allowance to go on a shopping spree and eat at the highest quality of resturants/food markets.

Bring him back a teacup, or pottery piece and he will fight tears over the fact they thought of him just as much as he did of them.

France:

HUGE advocate for getting to travel with his S/O.

Unless there's a riot outside his window he will drop everything to go.

"It would be unfair to give up your life completely just for me, non?"

Showers them with romantic evenings and maybe a get together with friends and family.

France has an amazing wifi connection so he will set up a place to video chat with their friends.

After all even just friends can bring you back home.

Will have random people send postcards so his S/O can make a picture map of their countries best sight seeing places.

Even if he does most the work.

China

He's not too keen on traveling there, and rarely let's his S/O go back

But when they do its not a small trip. We're talking a couple months, or until they had enough.

He will try his best to incorporate foods from the other country and enjoys the process.

He has also shipped out many books and movies to China for them.

Though he will evidently receive chinese rip offs, and gets agitated and apologetic.

He knows it's an issue, they guy is trying his hardest!

Russia

He gets a little sad, thinking they just don't want to be with him.

Even so that in itself is understandable, but decides to go on a trip with them anyway.

Look out if it's a nice and sunny beach like country (or has any beaches regardless)

He will become a very happy sunburnt Russian. Sunscreen? What's that?

His S/O will have to fight with him ti actually go back home because how their home is him new home, da?

Have fun with your summer stays!

[werewolfetone]

I'm not sure if I've asked this before so ignore if I have but what things do you wish were taught about more in Irish history i secondary schools/universities? I personally always found it disgraceful how little Cumann na mBan is that about and how we weren't taught about the fact that the Black and Tans weren't just British, but irish soldiers that fought in ww1 too.

Ok so let me preface this by saying that my secondary school experience was extremely nontraditional in ways I don't want to get into + I did not attend secondary school in ireland & so I everything I know about irish history in regular irish secondary schools or regular secondary schools anywhere else is secondhand -- so forgive me if this is something that ppl actually are taught & I just don't know about it. anyway with that over with this is very specific but I wish that people were taught more about the influence of the french revolution on the invention of irish republicanism. not even in a people need to be more pro-revolution way, I just wish that more people would acknowledge the fact that the united irishmen and their contemporaries, though they obviously grew to be extremely unimpressed with the french after the bantry bay disaster, were directly inspired by the frev in many many ways and even took some of the ideas that people praise them for directly from it, rather than pretending like the UI being similar to groups like the jacobins was either an accident or not important. also, relatedly, I wish that, when teaching about how important the frev was for the development of the UI, people stopped doing the thing where they act like the jacobins in france were the most evil thing in the entire world but the people in dublin or belfast who held the exact same beliefs were right about everything because that is, to put it diplomatically, a completely nonsensical way to think about it. again I'm not insisting everyone love robespierre forever but let's be consistent here at least

[froguemorgue]

I'm shooting my shot hoping you have an idea

But, financial means aside, could people own property in diff countries back in the 18th century. Could someone from the 13 colonies own property/business in california or Mexico without living there?

I don't know the exact answer to this as far as Mexico and California go because American colonists weren't really out there yet, but I would assume the answer to your core question is a yes. Colonists definitely could and did own land (probably most likely plantations) in the Caribbean, for example, or maybe a house in somewhere in Europe. That was almost certainly a thing that happened.

And while I have no knowledge or sources to back up the claim that someone in the 13 colonies (early to mid 18th century leading up to the revolution, I assume) might have owned land in specifically Mexico, we know there were plenty of Spanish colonizers there fucking shit up and had been since the 1500s at least. So Mexico was already in its colonial era just like North(er) America/The U.S./British colonies. Spain also controlled parts of Florida at this time and by the mid to late 1700s also had colonized California. In the West Indies, there were civilizations colonized by Spain, England, and France so proximity wise I do believe the wealthy colonists could have owned land anywhere so long as they purchased it from the respective COLONIZERS (they did NOT obtain this land ethically as we all know).

TL;DR it's definitely possible but I don't have examples so fact check everything I just blabbed about.