#Caravan Annexes

[falloulex]

Howdy y'all, I'm still kind of tryin' to figure out how Tumblr works so

Uh

Here are my OCs!

Alex Jameson

Birthplace: El Paso, Texas, The Southern Wasteland Birthday: June 16, 2255 Occupations: - Enclave General(Formerly) - Raider King (Current) - Casino Manager (Current) Wanted by the NCR for the following crimes: Mass murder, mass destruction, vandalism, theft, manipulation, assault and battery, treason, fraud, public endangerment, jailbreak, burglary, breaking and entering, brainwashing, terrorism, psychological abuse, physical abuse, public indecency.

Alex was born in a small settlement on the outskirts of El Paso, Texas.

When the nearby water purification plant was overrun by feral ghouls he wandered off in search of help and returned with the Enclave, who annexed the settlement and occupied it as their own military base, conscripting the entire settlement's population.

He enlisted and worked his way through the ranks until the Enclave turned against him, after which he wandered aimlessly until he found his way to the Mojave wasteland

He found a rundown casino not far from New Vegas, and had it rebuilt, and it's now fully functional as a caravan rest stop on the way to the city, and serves as his new headquarters for his raider crew to carry out their savage schemes.

Nikita Bird-Crusher

Birthplace: Unknown, somewhere in the Mojave Wasteland Birthday: April 9, 2252 Occupations: - New California Republic Ranger(Formerly) - Raider (Current) - Head of Casino Security (Current) Wanted by the NCR for the following crimes: Vandalism, theft, assault and battery, treason, fraud, public endangerment, jailbreak, burglary, breaking and entering, murder.

Nikita was born to one of the many tribes in the Mojave, though she refuses to specify which one or from where. At a young age she wandered off into the desert, and somehow found herself enlisted as a soldier in the NCR, quickly working her way up to becoming a ranger.

She was present during the Bitter Springs tragedy, and became disillusioned with the NCR in the days after, prompting her to retire to a settlement called Stateline and act as their interim sherriff.

Following a chance encounter with Alex, the entire population of Stateline was massacred, and she ran into the desert after him to avenge her fallen settlement.

It's unknown how they ended up becoming close friends, but Nikita now serves as the head of security at the Royal Flush Casino, and serves as the second-in-command of Alex's raider group.

[fatehbaz]

As America’s borders moved west, empire thus unspooled through farming and homesteading as much as military conquest. [...] The unfamiliar desert ecology and climate meant that they could not easily deploy their trusted models of farming, animal husbandry, and commerce in places with limited access to water, high and variable temperatures, different soil compositions [...]. To address this challenge, empire-builders in early America took Middle Eastern deserts as a key source of inspiration. 

Jefferson Davis’ Camel Corps [funded by a 1855 Congressional appropriation to collect camels from around the Middle East and Northern Africa] was one of the earliest examples of how this worked. [...]

American travel writers, explorers, scientists, and government officials had long described the arid West as a local version of the Middle Eastern and North African desert – an “American Zahara” or a Biblical Orient with spiritual and physical power equal to the Old World deserts [...]. These authors harnessed the “Sahara” trope, Catrin Gersdorf argues, “to deactivate the existential anxieties of the pioneers and to alleviate some of their visceral reactions to the American West’s aridity, recasting it as a quasi-Oriental space containing yet unidentified but extremely valuable historical and cultural riches.” Nineteenth-century authors’ constant references to the Sahara [...] helped [...] settlers imagine the newly American desert lands as a “domestic” Orient and, in this way, [...] familiar. [...]

---

[T]he U.S. Army waged overt war [with Indigenous residents] into the early 1900s. Displacing the people from the land was one thing, but redefining their social and cultural association with the desert was a different matter. 

Here again, the camel proved useful. This is vividly illustrated when the U.S. Army finally collected enough camels in Texas to run its first Camel Corps trial to assess the animals’ endurance and suitability for military purposes. The Army’s man in charge, General Edward Fitzgerald Beale, brought Hi Jolly, his fellow cameleers, and a large camel caravan together to travel from Texas to California beginning in September 1857. When the expedition stopped in Los Angeles in January 1858, the San Francisco Evening Bulletin described the scene with dramatized gusto:

General Beale and about fourteen camels stalked into town last Friday week and gave our streets quite an Oriental aspect. It looked oddly enough to see outside of a menagerie, a herd of huge, ungainly awkward but docile animals move about in our midst with people riding them like horses and bringing up weird and far-off associations to the Eastern traveler, whether by book or otherwise of the land of the mosque, crescent or turban, of the pilgrim mufti and dervish with visions of the great shrines of the world, Mecca and Jerusalem, and the toiling throngs that have for centuries wended thither, of the burning sands of Arabia and Sahara where the desert is boundless as the ocean and the camel is the ship thereof.

This account actively rewrites the then-dominant imaginary of U.S. West [...], enlisting the camel to transform it into a whimsical vision of the Old World in the New. [...] Colonization was made friendlier by conceiving of it as a pilgrimage, an act of return. [...] In this way, the territories annexed in the mid-1800s could begin to be imagined as a [...] home [...].

---

All text above by: Natalie Koch. “Double Exposure.” Arid Empire: The Entangled Fates of Arizona and Arabia. 2022. [Some paragraph breaks/contractions added by me. Presented here for commentary, teaching, criticism purposes.]

[delafiseaseses]

What are your thoughts on Samuel Cooke?

Ooo this is a good question. Samuel Cooke's an interestin' bloke.

As we all know, Cooke is very anti-NCR, its even how he ended up in prison. As Cooke describes it 'I was blowing up supply caravans along the 15 freeway. The NCR got wise to my ambush spots, picked me up and threw me in a cage.' (this makes the fact the geniuses in the NCR Prison system put him in proximity to dynamite ridiculous in a way that proves 'ow incompitent the NCR am).

And Cooke is 100% correct in this statement which serves as his motivation:

"Their "republic" is a joke. They're a bunch of tyrants led by an even greater tyrant, that idiot Kimball. They think they have the right to annex every inch of dirt in the West and force their system on every man, woman, and child."

His revolution at the NCRCF, unfortunately, certainly hasn't helped the people of the Mojave: The Primm Escaped Convicts, the Deathclaws infesting the Quarry, the NCRCF Powder Gang which is just a Raider Gang.

Now, I'm not gonna blame Samuel for this, I don't know which parta the Gangers raided the Quarry, I know Cooke probably did some raiding to survive until he found Vault 19, but most of the shit that's happened is other men's faults, not Cooke's.

In fact, Cooke himself seems overall scornful of Raiders as he describes the Fiends as "Like raiders, but worse - these guys are messed up on every damn chem there is. You can spot them by the horned skulls they wear as hats." and prior to his conviction he presumably was only attackin' NCR Military Supply Caravans.

No credit will be given to Cooke in the default Vault 19 ending, the direction he's heading if y'don't interact wi' Vault 19 "Armed with a wide array of improvised explosives and stolen weapons, the Vault 19 Powder Gang tormented the Mojave Wasteland for years. Citizens of the NCR were favorite targets, and they always suffered the worst fates" in that case he ends up just as much a Raider as Eddie, and the specification that they go after Citizens of the NCR and give them 'the worst fates' that's fucked up. Cooke knows not everyone in the NCR Lands is a willing citizen, but I guess the strain of keepin' the gang t'gether and fed made him lose that awareness in that timeline.

Cooke is needed for the gang to stay together too as the 'Cooke Dead' ending says "With Cooke dead, the Powder Gangers at Vault 19 fell apart. Those who weren't destroyed by the Courier fled into the hills or attempted to work their way back through the Mojave Wasteland. Few survived." so without him it all ends badly for those loyal to him.

The Lem Surrender endin' of Vault 19 isn't particularly relevant, as the guys turn 'emselves in, probably will never be released from prison an' Cooke leaves, never to be heard from again (probably runs out of luck an' dies to a Deathclaw or somethin').

Then we have the Khans endin' for Vault 19, where they join wi' the Khans. Its a sensible tactic, though it doesn't change no matter what else y'do with the Khans (also Lem can be convinced t' do it too, but that's also not important).

Cooke's logic is simple an' understandable "There aren't enough of us here to make a real impact on the NCR, and the Khans probably hate the NCR more than we do. Strength in numbers, they say." this also provides an explanation f'why Cooke ends up just a Raider otherwise. He never thinks to ally himself with Mojave-based factions, but its possible he thinks that they wouldn't accept him and his men due to the Raiders that use the Powder Gang and Escaped Convict names.

So, in the end it says "After the majority of the Vault 19 Powder Gangers joined the Great Khans, the weaker members scattered throughout the Mojave Wasteland. Though a few managed to erase their pasts, most never survived the journey." deeply unfortunate for those weaker members. You could write an interestin' story from the perspective of someone in that situation, actually... hmm, maybe another time.

However, sadly, this means that Cooke's revolution, no matter what, never gets off the ground. The Prison Break actively hurt the Mojave and Cooke's legacy to most who know of him would likely be "Guy behind the NCRCF Outbreak" rather than "Anti-NCR Revolutionary". Samuel Cooke was right, but circumstances beyond him meant his revolution never made it.

Also, he killed Philip Lem for understandable reasons, but I'm not gonna let that slide. He could've let Lem leave like he leaves if y'side wi' Lem. Like "Didn't have a choice. He was confusing the men, and I need to control them or we're just a bunch of disorganized idiots." is not an excuse, Cooke.

[kapi-tanka]

So I’ve been thinking about the Ramirez family again, my mind wonders at what could have caused the rift between them all. They all seem to think the distance between them is for the best, but each have differing reasons for why. 

Andy seems convinced that they don’t need their family, and is better off alone. But I can see in their one good eye, there’s resentment. Resentment and trauma. There’s a sense of abandonment that just emits from them. I get the feeling that Andy has never felt like they belonged anywhere. Even with their family, they never felt understood but I think Andy still loved them. And they loved Andy back, even if Andy couldn’t see it. 

Oscar seems convinced he isn’t good enough to be around his family, and they’re better off without him. There’s guilt under his fun loving and free spirited persona. Oscar loves his younger sibling, I can tell, but he never asked for the responsibility of being an older brother. 

Ovidio is the hardest for me to read. Maybe that’s why I didn’t realize he’s their uncle and not the eldest sibling lol. I can’t say why but I just feel that Ovidio caused the rift between them all, or at least played a significant hand in it. Ovidio seems to want someone to kill for. He wants someone whose name can justify his actions, but none of his family want to be that someone. 

Anyways, that's just my interpretation of your wonderful characters! Sorry that this is a bit long lol. I hope I got some of it right and I look forward to the next piece!

oh my GODD honestly it's insane how accurately you read all of my characters. i'm so so so humbled someone's invested in their story, thank you SO MUCH for you interest and your ask! i'm very sorry it took so long to answer, it's a bit hard to collect my thoughts.. but i truly appreciate your analysis! i made this scheme to support info under the cut. i must warn you that this story's a bit dark in a domestic way and... it's really long lol

so. you're mostly right about ovidio causing the rift! i hope i'm not ruining it for you by telling, i know that stories often seem much more interesting before we know any specific details. but basically the actual tragedy of the ramirez family has it roots not in the interpersonal drama (though it definitely played a significant role in everything) but in the ncr and fallout politics in general. all of them used to live in some independent settlement in california, with its own militia, farms, crop fields and traders before the ncr annexed them. the republic put this settlement through their standard modus operandi with enforcement of taxes and recruiting of many promising and not so promising youngsters in the army, including ovidio who was around 18 at the moment (i even have this sketch below with some arcade and ovidio bonding which kinda summarizes it)

mateo and ramona were traders. obviously, the ncr started to suck resources from the settlement (mostly crops and animal products) and they needed caravans to transport them. ramona and mateo (and some other settlers) took the job and both eventually were killed in one unfortunate trip by raiders (which at least partially are the aftermath of ncr's actions in california and nevada imo). so, as you said, andy was lonely and abandoned from very early on in their childhood. they were raised in this post-annexation "world" where their parents almost never had time for them and were never home. oscar was a bit more fortunate (he's 5 years older and had his chance to spend some quality time with mom and dad) and naturally he took their death harder than andy. ovidio was demoted from the ncr army (it's the whole other story) and came back to provide for children and his own parents. he was around 20 at the moment, oscar was 12 and andy only 7. the three of them grew to love each other with time but it was a baffling shift in family dynamics because oscar and andy were relatively independent kids and had never spent much time with ovidio before.

also oscar really wanted to accompany caravans himself (to get away from home a little and out of sheer curiosity about the world) and ovidio just wasn't having it. it literally was the same conflict between them over and over, so andy had to listen to constant bickering and drama which left a lasting impact on her psyche. the second thing that really traumatized andy was abuela's dementia - this slow decay of the mind of someone who was once very clever and loving. and the third thing... well. once upon a time oscar just LEFT after some especially heated argument and it changed everything once again. he didn't plan to run away for real, just wanted to party a little, to teach ovidio a lesson and to come back home. but he ended up meeting someone cute and kinda postponed and postponed his return to the point of never coming back LOL (he did kinda come back later but... spoilers). just like you guessed, he didn't believe his family needed him because his experience at home was basically doing hard labor and being yelled at. of course his family actually loved him and everyone was scared shitless about him including other settlers but... he never got to know that. he dissappeared without a trace because good luck to anyone who looks for a "dark-haired, dark-eyed lad of medium height" on the wastelands. ovidio didn't find him back then but he really tried, and his life became pretty much centered around this desperate search for oscar. andy grew up into a capable, cold and emotionally unavailable young adult by then. but her brother's escape was like a nail in the coffin of the avoidant attachment style. imagine 1) never having your parents around and losing them to the wastelands, 2) losing your grandma to dementia and seeing her literally not remembering your anymore, a fate worse than death in andy's opinion, 3) losing your brother to the wastelands too but this time he "deliberately" left you 4) losing your uncle to this obsession with finding your brother. andy AGAIN, JUST LIKE YOU SAID felt abandoned by others. they were a shadow, not noticed by anyone, not being anyone's priority, overworked at home, without any way to decide something for themselves. and it was the turning point when poor abuela fell sick and finally died. andy lost her last anchor to the hometown that stopped feeling like home a long time ago. and yeah. whoopsie. she left too! it was the first real decision in andy's life, a hard call to make yet a weirdly freeing one.

later on ovidio dropped what was left of the caravan business altogether and left their settlement too, this time to search for both "kids" who were adults at this point. that's how the things still are during the fnv events - the ramirez family is separated, all of them found some surrogates of familial relationships and left their impact on the political map of california and nevada. they reunite only after the independence ending (achieved by oscar). and speaking of your other observation: "Ovidio seems to want someone to kill for. He wants someone whose name can justify his actions, but none of his family want to be that someone" - it sounds more like how things play out after the big reunion. but... that's a whole other story :) thank you so much for reading and, once again, for this ask! had great time answering!!!

[therafanatics]

MR. TOPHAT - ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK? / HYPOTHETICAL SPIN-OFF (2019-2024)

As we well know, almost five years ago during the Halloween period the reboot of the 90s anthology television series "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" concluded with the defeat of the main villain called Mr. Tophat.

Rafael Casal as the enigmatic and cruel circus director Mr. Tophat. The still photo belongs to Nickelodeon.

He owned a majestic and terrifying amusement luna park, known as the "Carnival of Doom" usually located around the woods as the caravan traveled from town to town.

The official Carnival of Doom logo, created by Westlake Design.

This possibility was given to him by an evil entity after the events of the tragic accident that occurred in 1944 when he was just an ordinary mortal named Marcus Cochran, receiving a magical staff.

However, a prophecy would have shaken his new condition with the arrival of a little girl who would have remembered the existence of the carnival with the face of the owner annex, upsetting the balance.

This happened in the present day with the arrival of Rachel Carpenter in the new town of Oregon, at first marginalized and then united with a group of peers who were part of the Midnight Society, where they told scary stories around a bonfire in the woods.

The Midnight Society of which Rachel definitively becomes part of the last episode "Destroy All Tophats." The still photo belongs to Nickelodeon.

During a long trip to Idaho to confront him personally, his trusted assistant lures them into a trap well orchestrated by Tophat himself.

He reveals that he has a twisted mental link with her due to the prophecy through her memories, ultimately stating that the full power of which he is the absolute master does not come from the hat, as was originally explained to her by Bartholomew, but rather from the artifact which he holds in his hand.

Lyliana Wray and Rafael Casal in their respective roles of Rachel Carpenter and Mr. Tophat. The stills photos belongs to Nickelodeon.

Escaping from his clutches and freeing the friends from his spell, the five boys encounter difficult obstacles to overcome within the evil carnival. Mr. Tophat offers her a truce in exchange for the stick, but she adamantly refuses and then defeats him once and for all.

It is not clear, however, whether he really died after the last words expressed, indeed it suggests that he could return in an as yet unspecified future.

The demonic entity that made him such an individual seems to still be around, so rather than a real conclusion it seems rather an ending open to new possibilities.

Rafael Casal managed to give a worthy depth to the character, making it iconic despite being niche. A man longing for acceptance and approval, pushing him to perform immoral acts in order to make his deceased father proud.

Despite being the villain to be defeated, he proved to be the true protagonist of the story, perfectly moving every single plot thread and triggering all the events.

Rafael Casal credited in an opening credit sequence in the homonymous TV series. The main title photo belongs to Philmograph.

So it seems more than right to me to create a possible spin-off centered on the disturbing and fascinating Master of Ceremonies which serves above all as a sequel with various more in-depth flashbacks to his past, then experiencing new and daring adventures with his own carnival. I really hope that Nickelodeon might consider the idea one day.

[four-loose-screws]

FE6 Novelization Translation - Chapter 14 Section 1

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Chapter 14 - Breath of Fate (Section 1)

*Note: The 1st 13 chapters are FE7's novelization.

There was once a man named Damas.

In the center of the continent, sandwiched between the largest and most powerful countries of Etruria and Bern, was the Lycian League. Within one of its various territories, House Pherae, was Bolm Mountain, which Damas had claimed as the stronghold for his bandits. The scope of their operations was small. They were a scruffy group who, at best, could normally only target defenseless travelers and lightly guarded merchant caravans. When they were lucky, they could attack a small village.

They had no interest in hard labor. It was good enough for them to steal money and food from others.

That was why Damas' activity as a bandit never became greater than small attacks. He was small fry who had never even once thought about attacking a noble's estate or a castle’s treasury. 

But when Bern's army suddenly started to invade other countries, he was forced to take actions that were much more bold and daring.

Bern first annexed its neighboring country of Sacae, then Ilia, before finally turning its focus towards Lycia.

All of the knights of Lycia were currently gathering within Marquess Araphen’s territory to prepare for the threat of Bern’s arrival.

To answer their call, because Marquess Eliwood of Pherae was bedridden with an illness, it was decided that his son Roy, next-in-line for his title, would represent Pherae in his place. As part of that decision, the knights of Pherae traveled to retrieve him from Ostia, where he was currently studying.

The only people left in the castle were a small number of troops and the deeply ill marquess.

That was enough information to spur Damas’ timid heart that betrayed his tough face to action.

He took his men with him and made it to Pherae Castle without any roadblocks, but the raised drawbridge, deep moat, and arrows shot over the castle wall prevented them from entry.

Damas' bandits had never attacked a castle before. The remaining knights put up a greater fight than they anticipated, and as they hesitated, Roy returned with the rest of Pherae's army.

“You idiots! While you were all lollygagging about, now these guys have showed up!!”

To hide the fact that this was all a result of Damas’ reckless lack of planning, he started shouting at his men, but it was already far too late. Before the brave and renowned knights of Pherae, they were like leaves being swatted away into the wind.

Within the blink of an eye, all of his bandits were defeated, and a single young soldier was closing in on him, sword in hand.

But he was no ordinary young soldier.

He was a boy about to come of age, with a head of hair as red as a blazing fire - he was none other than Roy himself, next-in-line of Pherae.

“Curse you! Like hell I’m going to die here!!” Damas, now in a state of utter desperation, screamed at Roy and raised his steel axe.

However, the sharp, thin point of Roy’s sword - a rapier - was already aimed at his heart, moving as quickly as a bolt of lightning.

There was no need for Damas to die here. If only his greed had not lured him into choosing a target he could not handle at his mediocre strength, this would not have been the end of his story.

-

The knights of Pherae routed the bandits without taking any major losses nor even sustaining any injuries, and passed through the castle gate.

As they did so, the cheers of the soldiers still stationed at the castle welcomed them back.

As Roy looked around, everyone showed him expressions of joy upon seeing the son of their beloved lord return home safely. It filled them with the confidence that they could guard their castle even in their currently compromised numbers.

Roy responded by waving at them. “Thank goodness… It looks like almost no one got hurt.”

“That does indeed seem to be the case. It appears that this group of bandits attempted to storm the castle without even preparing a single battering ram.” Marcus, standing beside Roy, said with a pained laugh.

Marcas was an older, veteran soldier who had fought through countless battles as the general of the knights of Pherae. Both his hair and chinstrap beard were entirely gray, and deep wrinkles were carved into his face, but he had become an indispensable leader within Pherae’s army.

“I’m happy to say you’re right, General Marcus! When Lance appeared to report the news of the attack to us with his face as white as a sheet, I thought for sure that it was Bern’s army attacking the castle!”

“Alen, I thought that even the worst might happen, and decided that I should tell Lord Roy straight away. Underestimating any enemy could put us in a life-threatening situation.”

Two cavaliers came up from behind them and started bickering with each other.

Alen was from a noble house that had served House Pherae for generations. He was a bit impulsive and hot-headed.

Lance, on the other hand, had only been serving Marquess Eliwood for a few years, and was still an inexperienced new recruit compared to the other members of the knights. However, he was fiercely loyal, and a calm, collected man who always fought with his focus on the battle before him.

They each acknowledged the other’s strength, and thought of them as a worthy rival. Their relationship could be described as that of friends. And because of that relationship, they could express to each other their honest feelings. But they would often say too much, so it was not rare for them to start arguing like they were now.

‘They’re at it again,’ Roy thought, overhearing their exchange, as an archer walked up to him.

“Still, Lord Roy. I was surprised when I saw you face the enemy leader all on your own! Please refrain from putting yourself in danger by going out on the front line!” Said Wolt, a member of the army’s archer unit.

Wolt was Roy’s milk brother, and as such, they were the same age, raised the same as brothers throughout their entire childhood. Because of their connection, Wolt was always worried for Roy’s safety.

His mother Rebecca had been Roy’s wet nurse, and she was stern whenever she told Wolt to protect him. But it was more so his deeply serious nature than his mother’s words that made him scold Roy for his reckless actions.

“I understand. But for me to be alone in the back while everyone else is fighting…” Roy frowned.

“What are you saying?! If anything ever happened to you, then it would make everyone living in Pherae suffer!”

“I know what you’re saying, Wolt, but still…”

“Don’t be like that! Of course Sir Wolt is worried about you!” Interjected Bors, commander of Ostia’s armor knights.

He wore a full suit of armor over his muscular body, which was already like a suit of armor on its own, and had a calm smile on his face that made him likable to everyone. “While I’ve been out fighting, I’ve been worried about Lady Lilina’s well-being this entire time.”

Bors was a retainer of Lilina, Marquess Ostia’s daughter, who had traveled to Pherae to pay a visit to the bedridden Eliwood. He was assigned to serve as her guard on her way home, so he had joined up with the Knights of Pherae while they were in Ostia to retrieve Roy.

However, just as they were nearing the castle, Lance arrived with the report that it was being attacked by bandits.

Upon hearing the news, Bors became so worried for Lilina that it made him jump.

Bors’ words made Roy want to see his father and his childhood friend safe as soon as he possibly could, and so he started moving through the castle even faster.

-

“Roy, you've returned!” When his son arrived in the throne room, Eliwood pushed his body to get up out of bed and greet him.

Marquess Pherae, deeply respected by all the knights of Lycia, was so ill that his cheeks were deeply sunken in, and his muscles had already weakened significantly. Both were symptoms characteristic of a transmittable disease that had ravaged the continent several years prior. Yet the light in his blue eyes that looked at his son was still filled with his knowledge and strong will.

Someone else also rushed over upon seeing Roy - Lady Lilina of Ostia herself.

“Roy!” The moment she saw him, a smile like a flower in bloom spread across her face.

Her father, Hector, marquess of Ostia, the leading house of the Lycian League, shared a deep bond of friendship with Eliwood. They had been friends since childhood, when they met while in Ostia, working hard at their studies together.

Her long hair was as beautiful and lustrous as silk, and her eyes that looked at Roy invoked the same feeling as a calm sea. Just by looking at him, anyone could tell that her father Hector was a big, strong lord his people could rely on; but she was much more like her mother Florina, giving off the sense that she was gentle and ladylike.

“Father! Lilina! …I’m happy to see you both safe.” Upon seeing the two people he had worried about safe and sound, Roy placed a hand on his chest.

“Roy, you must be exhausted after coming all this way.” Eliwood said.

“Not at all, Father! How are you doing?”

“I’m fine. I still have plenty of life left in me. I’m sorry to get straight to the point, Roy, but… you know the reason why I personally summoned you back to Pherae… right?”

The son nodded at his father’s question. “To lead Pherae’s army and join the Lycian League’s army in your place.”

“That is correct. As you know, Bern to the east has started to invade Lycian territory. To honor the age-old treaty signed by all members of the League, we must send an army to help protect this land.”

“I understand.” He’d heard the words of the Lycian League treaty so many times throughout his childhood that he knew it by heart.

If another country were to ever invade Lycia, all of its territories would band together and fight their foreign invaders. It was an agreement made several hundred years ago to guarantee their safety.

“It was difficult to ask you to return while you are in the middle of your studies, but in my current condition… I would not want to bring everyone else down…”

“Father…” The pained look on his father’s face also hurt Roy as well.

What Eliwood really wanted was to lead the army himself. For both his beloved homeland, and his dearest friend Marquess Ostia… However, he was frustrated that he could not do anything on his own, and regretted that he must entrust this responsibility to his young son instead. Those feelings were written all over his face.

Immediately picking up on Eliwood’s feelings, Lilina said as cheerfully as she could, “Lord Eliwood, I will go with Roy! Father should be with the League’s main army, and if I can be of even a little help to Roy with my magic, then…”

“No, Lilina. You should return home to Ostia.”

“Huh…? But why?”

“Ostia is without its lord at the moment. The people are probably living in fear every day. As the person next-in-line to become their marquess, there are other duties that you must fulfill. You understand that, don’t you?”

“...I do.” Lilina was Hector’s only child. Eliwood was right. She needed to take his place while he was away.

Her only possible response to Eliwood’s argument was to nod.

Eliwood shifted his posture to stand at attention, then turned back towards his son and said, “Roy, you will first meet up with a group of mercenaries I have signed a contract with at the Lycian-Bern border. Merlinus will go with you. He may be easily scared, but he is knowledgeable, and will be of great help to you.”

“Thank you for everything, Father.”

“You'll be fine. If anyone can do this, it's you! Fight honorably as the heir to House Pherae!”

“Yes sir!” Roy said in response to his father, who was wrapping his weakened arms around his shoulders as tightly as he could.

-

At dawn, the knights of Pherae all gathered at the castle gate, having rested their tired bodies after their fight against the bandits. Their overall number of cavalier units was especially high. This was because the knights of Pherae’s greatest skill was their maneuver warfare tactics that expertly utilized cavaliers’ mobility.

“All units, move out!” 

At Roy's orders, the knights were to go with him to meet up with the mercenaries Eliwood hired, and so they all traveled into northern Pherae, near the border with Bern.

They marched with Roy as the vanguard, while Marcus, Alen, Lance, and Wolt all followed him closely.

Behind them was Bors of the Ostian armor knights, who was originally supposed to retrieve Lilina. Roy was worried about Lilina, but since she couldn't go with him, she wanted Bors to take her place.

Finally, in the very rear was Merlinus, one of House Pherae's government officials, and the supply convoy he commanded. The group managed a fleet of horse drawn carriages filled with provisions and supplies essential for battle. They followed magnificently behind the soldiers.

The current season was early summer. The vegetation that grew along either side of the road was all a beautiful bright green.

Roy glanced back past his army and at Pherae Castle getting smaller and smaller. It was the place where he was born, that he knew inside and out.

He vowed that he would return home alive, then turned back around to look straight ahead.

☆

[neopronouns-in-action]

Neopronouns in Action #044: Malfunction or Mutiny

Neopronouns: fae/faer/faerself which follow the same rules as she/her/(hers)/herself

Replace she with fae

Replace her with faer

Replace hers with faers

Replace herself with faerself

EX:

"She is going to adopt a new puppy soon, as soon as she gets a fence set up around her yard so the puppy can go outside without her having to walk it. Her uncle is going to help set up the fence, since he has a set of power tools he's letting her use, since she lost hers. She's going to buy toys and train the puppy herself."

Becomes:

"Fae is going to adopt a new puppy soon, as soon as fae gets a fence set up around faer yard so the puppy can go outside without faer having to walk it. Faer uncle is going to help set up the fence, since he has a set of power tools he's letting faer use, since fae lost faers. Fae's going to buy toys and train the puppy faerself."

================

“--Look, if we can just stick to the plan and keep detours to a minimum, it's going to take us an extra two weeks to get to City, but we'll get there. We just have to conserve as much fuel as we can. Only minimal lights at night, okay? We've got plenty of candles, we can use those for reading light, and save the batteries. Copy?”

Fae waited for the response, which should have come almost immediately. No one was allowed to go anywhere without their radio, and the radios operated on separate batteries than the boats.

“Do you copy?” Fae repeated, starting to get simultaneously concerned and frustrated. All day, faer requests for information on the radio had gone unanswered almost half the time. Most of the soldiers weren't answering even for basic necessary checks. But now not even Vrx. Dreland wasn't answering faer?

Either he was dead, or...fae had a bigger problem on faer hands than just malfunctioning radios.

The crossboards had already been lowered for the night, and through the darkness below the cloudy sky, fae could see the lights shining faintly through the fog over the black waves.

It was a long walk over the crossboard to reach the other side of the caravan. Stationed in the directory, fae was the only one on this side. There should have been at least fifteen other people to help faer, at minimum, but that...just wasn't going to happen any time soon. Too many people were afflicted with the plague, there just weren't enough people well enough to help fill out the caravan roster.

The only reason fae was even able to be here in the first place was because the Arvretian military had volunteered to help fill out the staff with the Verix Unit. A mission of mercy was, the Admiral said, always a worthy quest for the Verix Unit.

Fae had just been too relieved to question that statement when fae'd heard it. It'd been two full days since fae'd slept, too busy frantically trying to muster nonexistant personel to help complete the mission to City, and the next thing fae knew with any clarity was waking up on the first day of the mission, feeling like absolute shit with a pounding headache and feeling so tired it was almost like fae'd never slept at all.

By the time fae'd gotten done just doing the bare minimum of heating up faer rations in the oven under the solar shield, there were so many other things to worry and think about besides questioning by the military was so eager to send one of its most highly trained combat forces on a mission of peace.

True, City was legally part of Arvretia, and had been since it had been annexed fifty years before, but the resistance was still fighting strong, and most “real Arvretians”, despite the forceful demands of the government, did not consider it to really be apart of the country, and thought the people who lived there were parasites “leeching off Arvretian blood to further their own agendas”, completely glossing over the fact that it was Arvretia that had conquered City, rather than City demanding to be made part of Arvretia.

That first day on the caravan, though, fae hadn't had time to think about any of that. There were too many inventories to complete and maps to triple-check and make sure all the solar panels were working the way they should and that the solar shield wasn't damaged.

For the first few days, everything had gone...well, as well as could be expected for a caravan with only one trained member of the staff.

But then the fuel tank had turned out to only have a little more than half of what they should have. Vrx. Dreland had gone on a rage, swearing and yelling and cursing incompetent loaders and checkers at the port so loudly that fae had to turn faer radio's volume down to the lowest audible setting to stop it from bursting into static overload.

Vrx. Dreland had seemed so genuinely upset that fae'd chocked the loss up to an accident. The port was just as severely understaffed as they were, it wasn't anyone's fault that part of their fuel allotment got misplaced. They could still make it to City with careful rationing of power resources. Lower speeds, letting the wind push them when it could, and only the minimum requirement of lights at night to avoid a collision with another boat.

(Not that there were likely to be any other boats out at sea, but no one was expecting them to be out here, either, so they had to assume they weren't the only ones).

But now this. A whole day with only spotty communications, and now Vrx. Dreland himself seemed to be ignoring faer.

Fae gave it one last try with the radio, asking, “Do you copy? Vrx. Dreland, are you receiving me?”

But still the only response fae got back was the buzz of empty static.

Fae stared out the small porthole and over the long, dark crossboard, the sky above almost as black as the waves below, the only lights visible the white, flickering squares of the other boats, pulled up in single-file, the metal of the hull lost in the darkness.

...One way or another, whether this was a malfunction or a mutiny...

Fae was going to have to go over there...

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 8.9 (before 1945)

48 BC – Caesar's Civil War: Battle of Pharsalus: Julius Caesar decisively defeats Pompey at Pharsalus and Pompey flees to Egypt. 378 – Gothic War: Battle of Adrianople: A large Roman army led by Emperor Valens is defeated by the Visigoths. Valens is killed along with over half of his army. 1173 – Construction of the campanile of the Cathedral of Pisa (now known as the Leaning Tower of Pisa) begins; it will take two centuries to complete. 1329 – Quilon, the first Indian Christian Diocese, is erected by Pope John XXII; the French-born Jordanus is appointed the first Bishop. 1428 – Sources cite biggest caravan trade between Podvisoki and Republic of Ragusa. Vlachs committed to Ragusan lord Tomo Bunić, that they will with 600 horses deliver 1,500 modius of salt. Delivery was meant for Dobrašin Veseoković, and Vlachs price was half of delivered salt. 1500 – Ottoman–Venetian War (1499–1503): The Ottomans capture Methoni, Messenia. 1610 – The First Anglo-Powhatan War begins in colonial Virginia. 1810 – Napoleon annexes Westphalia as part of the First French Empire. 1814 – American Indian Wars: The Creek sign the Treaty of Fort Jackson, giving up huge parts of Alabama and Georgia. 1830 – Louis Philippe becomes the king of the French following abdication of Charles X. 1842 – The Webster–Ashburton Treaty is signed, establishing the United States–Canada border east of the Rocky Mountains. 1854 – American Transcendentalist philosopher Henry David Thoreau publishes his memoir Walden. 1855 – Åland War: The Battle of Suomenlinna begins. 1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Cedar Mountain: At Cedar Mountain, Virginia, Confederate General Stonewall Jackson narrowly defeats Union forces under General John Pope. 1877 – American Indian Wars: Battle of the Big Hole: A small band of Nez Percé Indians clash with the United States Army. 1892 – Thomas Edison receives a patent for a two-way telegraph. 1897 – The first International Congress of Mathematicians is held in Zürich, Switzerland. 1902 – Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark are crowned King and Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. 1907 – The first Boy Scout encampment concludes at Brownsea Island in southern England. 1925 – A train robbery takes place in Kakori, near Lucknow, India, by the Indian independence revolutionaries, against British government. 1936 – Summer Olympics: Jesse Owens wins his fourth gold medal at the games. 1942 – World War II: Battle of Savo Island: Allied naval forces protecting their amphibious forces during the initial stages of the Battle of Guadalcanal are surprised and defeated by an Imperial Japanese Navy cruiser force. 1942 – Dmitri Shostakovich's 7th symphony is premiered in a besieged Leningrad. 1944 – The United States Forest Service and the Wartime Advertising Council release posters featuring Smokey Bear for the first time. 1944 – World War II: Continuation War: The Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive, the largest offensive launched by Soviet Union against Finland during the Second World War, ends to a strategic stalemate. Both Finnish and Soviet troops at the Finnish front dug to defensive positions, and the front remains stable until the end of the war.

[aggravateddurian]

Maple Mike's Great White North Caravan

Introducing an original caravan for my Fallout fanfic 'Iron Guardians'.

Maple Mike's Great White North Caravan is a caravan company that made it big from selling rare commodities, and formalised the use of Golden Maple brand maple syrup bottle caps as currency in the Great White North wasteland of eastern Canada, formerly the provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and parts of eastern Quebec. The Golden Maple brand of maple syrup was a dominant brand in Canada prior to the US annexation, and the distinctive gold, white and red bottle caps became collector’s items. Much like how Nuka-Cola bottle caps became a form of currency in the American wastelands after the Great War, most of the Atlantic provinces began to use Golden Maple bottle caps.

Maple Mike’s isn’t just a trade caravan, they’re a vital line of communication for disparate settlements, as well as a currency exchange, converting water into bottle caps, and Canadian bottle caps into American bottle caps. Its founder and leader, Michael ‘Maple Mike’ McClellan, worked in the infamous pre-war Canadian Federal Maple Syrup Reserve, and was one of the driving forces of the use of Golden Maple brand syrup bottle caps becoming the go-to currency.

More lore and character profile below the cut.

Maple Mike

“Finest wares from the Great White North. Ever tried pre-war maple syrup, smoothskin?”

Maple Mike, born Michael McClellan, is a Canadian travelling trader and a pre-war ghoul, born in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, on October 3rd, 2038. Mike served in the Canadian Forces when Canada finally had enough of US domination and exploitation and managed to survive post-defeat reprisals by US troops occupying New Brunswick. He instead found employment with the New Brunswick branch of the (in)famous Canadian Federal Maple Syrup Reserve, a job with near-guaranteed job security, because of the benefit of maple syrup (and its economic boost) to the US occupation authorities.  Mike’s luck was stretched to the limit when Canada was subjected to nuclear attack.

While Mike’s family, including his wife, Annaleise, his two children, Sandra and John, perished in the Great War. Mike was somewhat less lucky, being exposed to enough radiation to ghoulify him. Now mutated by the radiation of the wasteland, Mike found himself distrusted, even feared, by the ‘smoothskins’, yet he was indispensable, because Maple Mike, as he would soon become known, had managed to get in on the ground floor. Red Maple brand maple syrup bottle caps had become an unofficial currency of the Great White North wasteland, and with his knowledge of the locations of the Canadian government’s maple syrup reserves, he was able to amass enough wealth to establish himself as a reputable trader, and owner of a trade caravan.

Mike has done business not just in New Brunswick, but in Nova Scotia, Quebec, Maine and even as south as the Capital Wasteland. However, he tends to do his business in the northern part of New England, recognising the comparative lack of centralised authority in the region and enhanced opportunities for trade with the disparate settlements, essentially making himself a vital line of communication for the Commonwealth and northern New England.

C48 light automatic rifle

Image credit: https://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=78363

One of the few weapons Maple Mike will sell are the .308 calibre Canadian battle rifles, prized in the New Hampshire wastes for their reliability and stopping power. While 10, 20 and 30 round magazines were issued, 30 round straight magazines were common. The C48 is an evolution of the C2 automatic rifle, itself a variant of the classic FN FAL battle rifle, and was adopted in 2048. Many of them fell into American hands during the annexation of Canada, and have been found as far south as Panama, and as far west as the Los Angeles Boneyard.

Mike tends to sell the Canadian battle rifles without mods, expecting wastelanders to likely modify their weapons after purchase with God knows what sort of abominations.

The average C48 is sold at Maple Mike's stand in the Nashua Foundry Markets, starting at 1000 caps (or 10 litres of water).

[caravanaccessoriesonline]

Discover Caravan Accessories Shop to Gear Up for Your Journey

You will be happy that you possess a caravan accessories shop whether the weather is pleasant and sunny or dreary and chilly. It will shade the van's side and keep it significantly colder in the heat. You will also have a shaded spot to unwind with a glass of wine and a book. You can even add an annexe if you want to stay longer to offer yourself even more room to walk around and take in the surroundings.

Provides Convenience to Employees and Boosts Employee Productivity

Providing transportable mobile toilets for sale and showers to your employees might have a significant impact. Thanks to these miracles, workers may now comfortably take a brief break and relax close to where they work. They don't have to leave the area and take a lengthy stroll to look for public restrooms.

Given that they spend the majority of their time on the construction site, this could result in a quicker project completion. Offering your employees, the convenience of a mobile restroom on-site can boost their output considerably.

Your employees will not be concerned about where to urinate when they can readily reach the restrooms. They are happier and feel more at ease in their workplace as a result. Furthermore, employees who feel comfortable are more motivated to finish the task at hand.

Time and Cost-Effective Hygiene and Cleansing

Ensuring the cleanliness and hygienic conditions of building sites is vital for the welfare and health of labourers. Portable restrooms are made with hygiene in mind; they have regular maintenance, handwashing stations, and adequate ventilation.

Purchasing portable restrooms for your building site might truly result in cost and time savings. On the other hand, portable toilets are easily assembled and maintained self-contained systems. Choosing portable toilets cuts down on installation time and expenses because it eliminates the need for substantial plumbing work.

  Source

[sawtellaustralia]

Quiet, Affordable Living Within an Over 50's Waterfront Park

[archietaylor123]

How To Choose camping caravan Annex Floor Mats For Your Needs

Choosing the right camping caravan Annex Floor Mats for your needs in Australia can make your outdoor experience more comfortable and enjoyable. Choose a Floor Matting For Caravan Annex design that suits your style and preferences. Some mats come with patterns, while others are plain in colour. You can also choose a mat with a non-slip backing to prevent slips and falls.

[ibaileystrempel]

Find a great range of highest quality Caravan Products for caravans and motorhomes at the best prices. We offer onsite measure & fitting services in all locations across Australia. Shop Now! Visit here: https://www.xtendoutdoors.com.au/caravan/

[danielnesbitt099]

Best caravan Annexes in Brisbane - Xtend Outdoors Brisbane If you’re looking to add some space to your caravan or motorhome, look no further than Xtend Outdoors – the perfect solution in Brisbane. The Australia Wide Annexe by Xtend Outdoors is easy to set up, looks great, and gives you heaps of extra space. We offer an innovative range of roll-out annexes, inflatable annexes, slide-in annexes, and wind-up camper annexes. To know more visit us at https://www.xtendoutdoorsbrisbane.com.au/annexes/

[jamesriordan]

Xtend Outdoors presents the best quality caravan annexes in Melbourne. We offer a wide variety of annexes suiting your camping needs in Melbourne from the Australia Wide Annexe to Camper Room Walls to our Inflatable Freestanding Annexe. You get 3-year Australia Wide warranty for zips, fabrics, and installation. To know more visit us at https://www.xtendoutdoorsmelbourne.com.au/annexes/

[johnwilsonuniverse]

What Are The Factors To Remember While Buying Caravan Annexe Walls? We Have A List!

You’re probably looking at caravan annexes for sale online or planning a trip to a store soon. This could be your first annexe, or it could be that your current one has become too worn to use.