#Codicil

[dagreb]

It has been stated elsewhere what occurs before and after the ritual but what is The Ritual?

I'm still unsure and my memory is not clear. There is a dagger... and also a cloak. Ordinarily that would be funny and it does make me think of a movie from the 1980s but the cloak and the dagger in this case are much more sinister. If I sit with it perhaps I will recall more details.

Codicil is released!

Metal I guess. Maybe Psych Rock, maybe Acid Rock. Is it Doom? Is it Graveyard Sleaze? Who can say...

It has fuzzy guitars, it has piercing guitars, it has twangy spy guitars. There's pipe organ, combo organ, smooth jazz organ. Choirs, sound effects, eveh a baritone ukulele!

[charmac]

The prop used for Barbara Reynolds' Will in "Dennis and Dee's Mom is Dead"

It's mostly the script repeated and then standard legal clauses. It's interesting it does name Frank as the Executor because we know he isn't later on, as the Lawyer is in Season 8. And there's randomly a Codicil, with the same script language but adding and naming a son, "Frank Miller"... probably means nothing. (Weird, though, cos there's seemingly no sense in having a Codicil with the exact terms retyped, but handwritten language added...lol)

"County of Los Angeles, Pennsylvania" is taking me out.

[wonder-worker]

"Hannes Kleineke cites Dean and Canons of Windsor MS XI.B.6, rot. 2, for evidence of a deathbed codicil by Edward IV concerning a dispute between the knights and canons of Windsor"

remember when I said that we don't know what Edward IV's deathbed codicils were as they haven't survived? that there is no reason to automatically assume they were relevant to his son's minority? that it's entirely possible that they weren't very important at all considering how dismissively Croyland spoke of them ("some codicils thereto", with no emphasis or elaboration whatsoever)? I LOVE being proven right <3

[tojisun]

.

[whetstonefires]

Something fantastic about the idea that Xue Yang appreciates Jin Guangyao's honesty. Jin Guangyao's. Honesty.

Like, it actually tracks! They're both lying monsters as a primary identity by this point, but they also both feel that so is everybody in the world, and the others are perhaps most of them less monstrous on the whole but they're also lying about it so much harder and are therefore so much more two-faced.

Xue Yang was so deeply offended by the idea that Song Lan had the right to strike him to interrupt his tormenting the weak for literally no reason, and then call him the violent one, after having drawn blood on sight.

Which is great because you can actually follow that logic and empathize with it, while still being able to identify it as logic from the dimension where the social contract doesn't exist, every person is a perfectly atomized individual, and no one has any business helping anybody else. But everything about Xue Yang personally including his whims is the most valuable thing in the world, and worth far more than other people's whole lives.

You know. The Xue Yang dimension.

Anyway admitting outright that you like to sacrifice human lives to your own convenience and amusement is what these two most recognize as sincerity, so Jin Guangyao having spelled out that he likes to murder and discard his thugs when they get uppity means it wasn't even a betrayal. Fantastic psychological coherence from these serial killers.

Huge fan actually of the fact that Jin Guangyao said right to Xue Yang's face: People like you aren't very scary, because if you turn against me I can freely slaughter you in broad daylight without even needing to make up an excuse. It's people with good reputations and support systems who are actually dangerous.

Like 1) excellent summary of his whole philosophy 2) he told Xue Yang exactly what he was going to do to him.

And I bet this is actually why Xue Yang, king of obsessive petty retribution, doesn't really hold a grudge about the whole getting stabbed and left for dead in a ditch, and never pursues the matter. Jin Guangyao never pretended he was going to do otherwise! He was totally up front about it! No hypocrisy here!

[sandersstudies]

At the beginning of 2024 I started keeping track of English words I learned over the course of the year. In 2024 I encountered 85 84 [whoops, there was a duplicate] new words spontaneously — that is, I encountered them in books, films, or other media, and did not flip through the dictionary or Google “lists of unusual words” — my goal is to make a list of 100 words in 2025, but for now here is my 2024 list.

Please be kind if there are words in here that seem obvious or common to you, or if there are some that you’d consider added incorrectly (some are slang or borrowed words from non-English languages, for example).

1. Veldt

2. Unctuous

3. Impecunious

4. Ignominious

5. Tetanic

6. Chary

7. Cynosure

8. Baize

9. Evince

10. Volubly

11. [whoops! A duplicate word was removed here]

12. Presage

13. Adroitly

14. Intestate

15. Tantalus

16. Portière

17. Apostrophize

18. Puerile

19. Asperity

20. Ficus

21. Mountebank

22. Mendicant

23. Negus

24. Pyrrhic

25. Carabiner

26. Portico

27. Arenaceous

28. Patina

29. Adipose

30. Yob

31. Therianthrope

32. Entoptic

33. Carapace

34. Biltong

35. Propitiate

36. Moribund

37. Cagoule

38. Claret

39. Plexus

40. Lanolin

41. Embolize

42. Titer

43. Augury

44. Bucolic

45. Rumen

46. Effete

47. Sartorial

49. Soupçon

48. Gimlet

50. Chamois

51. Susurration

52. Châtelaine

53. Voivode

54. Ineluctable

55. Escutcheons

56. Soubriquet

57. Sequela

58. Ligneous

59. Muselet

60. Palimpsest

61. Ruderal

62. Cornice

63. Atavistic

64. Remiss

65. Pochette

66. Abstemious

67. Plaudits

68. Obstreperous

69. Pellucid

70. Picayune

71. Canaille

72. Lief

73. Oracular

74. Omerta

75. Legerdemain

76. Cupidity

77. Imprecation

78. Gallimaufry

79. Milquetoast

80. Fusillade

81. Barding

82. Denouement

83. Codicil

84. Venery

85. Caduceus

[absolutebl]

Have you watched the new chinese bl “Secrets happened on the litchi island”? It’s one of the best bls i’ve watched recently. The cinematography and directing amazing and acting is so good imho. Reminds me of “Call me by your name”. It’s free on youtube with english subs. I’m interested in hearing your thoughts on it 🥹

does it end happily?

no

like

actually happily

with a kiss

that would have happened had they been a het couple

codicils need not apply

[uesp]

Are you a Daedra looking for employment? Keep in mind that if you sign up with Molag Bal, you will have to go through 97 onboarding presentations referred to as "Kynbriefings", memorize 701 edicts, learn the Mandatory Codicils, and meet your torment and toil quotas. Failure to do so will be punished with the scathe-rings and discorporation. But if you manage all of that, you will be rewarded by earning time in the bliss-cells.

[sorrygotthesesacks]

Once upon a time, I lived on the second floor of a three floor apartment building. Not like a complex, but like a place with the type of apartments I consider "flats."

And in this apartment, I had an electric flat top stove. And my then-bf spent a lot of time there like... as a not-on-the-lease tenant shhhhh.

So one night - and it's late, because I worked until midnight - I wake up to the sound of rain. Like, a downpour.

IN THE KITCHEN.

Naturally, I get up to see what the hell this noise is because it does not typically rain inside buildings, and lo - it IS raining, all over the nice flat top electric stove.

So I called my landlord because um. I am on the second floor and so it's not like the roof is leaking. And also. There is water pouring out of the ceiling onto an electrical appliance and I don't know where the fuck this thing is even plugged in.

(After my half asleep landlord gets off the phone, I can hear the landline in the apartment upstairs ringing, and then, like magic, the water stopped! Apparently the third floor tenant had been filling their tub - in the middle of the night - and then... walked away and forgot about it. Or fell asleep. Or passed out. I don't know. I was just happy it was no longer raining in the apartment.)

Now I have a soaking wet kitchen and towels everywhere and the landlord calls back but I can't get to the phone so my then-bf answers it and of course since he is not a tenant, my landlord is like "who the fuck are you?"

And my then-bf says "I'm the one who helped you move that refrigerator out of the apartment."

See, when I lived in my old apartment, the refrigerator died (like, ice cream was melting, and lettuce in the crisper was literally iceberg lettuce). When my former landlord replaced it, I ended up with this much smaller, much older refrigerator, and my much older, I mean, it was not frost free. It was the kind of refrigerator that, like dorm refrigerators, required defrosting by taking everything out and putting buckets under the freezer until all the ice thaws.

I was like...wtaf

So my mom helped me out by paying half of a new refrigerator, so I talked to my then-landlord and he took out the not-frost-free refrigerator and I replaced it with a much newer (and larger!) version. Since this refrigerator was one I paid for, it went with me to the new apartment. Which meant that the refrigerator in the new apartment had to be moved out.

Anyway.

After then-bf said "I'm the one who helped you move that refrigerator," the landlord said "funny thing about that refrigerator. Did you know there was a turkey in it?"

MY BROTHER PUT THE TURKEY IN THE WRONG REFRIGERATOR.

The Case of the Missing Turkey

Ok so frozen turkey story.

We got these frozen turkeys as a holiday bonus of sorts and I stuck it in my freezer because of course I did. I wasn't cooking it any time soon.

And then I moved to a new apartment.

But here's the thing. I had my own refrigerator in this apartment (the old one died and the replacement might as well have been a dorm fridge) so the refrigerator had to go with us. So of course we have to take the food out to move it.

The turkey was still in the freezer at this point. This is a key piece of info.

I had recruited some coworkers and family members for assistance to move everything from one end of the city to the next. So I was not on kitchen duty as far as packing went.

Things were transported from Apartment A to Apartment B, and things were put back in the fridge that came with us, and I have to say right now that I am not great at unpacking.

So a few days go by and I am looking for some mail that I'd received before I'd moved. And I realize that someone had helpfully "filed" the mail in an empty wastebasket.

In that empty wastebasket was also previously frozen chicken cutlet.

It was very very previously frozen as it had been sitting at room temperature for several days and I am happy to report that I discovered this misfiled chicken before it became an explosive science experiment with expanded plastic wrap and an assault on the olfactory senses.

And then I remembered "hey, didn't I have a frozen turkey, too?"

So I opened the freezer and you will not be surprised to know, by the title of this blog post, that there was no frozen turkey in that freezer.

Now I'm thinking...I am against the clock now. It is somewhere in this apartment, thawing away. I need to find this thing before it gets aromatic. The cats have not paid particular attention to any particular location in the apartment, but they hadn't done that with the chicken cutlet either.

I'm looking in closets, and suitcases, and things that were too small for a full frozen turkey to fit in.

NO TURKEY.

I mentioned the Mysterious Case of the Missing Turkey to those who helped me move. One coworker who'd helped said they had definitely moved it from the old apartment because they put it on their passenger seat and buckled it in for safety.

So we know it made it to the new apartment. And allegedly, the turkey was handed off to another helper, who insisted that they put it in the freezer.

But it's not there!

If someone took it, great. If it got thrown out, fine. But I don't want to find this turkey in my apartment in the worst condition possible.

The turkey never showed up in the apartment and because of this story, I was gifted a turkey plushie for my birthday.

[kimgotong]

Last Will and Testament

I, Harvey Langford of ▆▆ ▆▆▆▆▆ Road, ▆▆▆▆▆, ▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆, ▆▆▆ ▆▆▆, United Kingdom, revoke all former wills and testamentary dispositions made by me and declare this to be my last will and testament.

1. Declaration of Legal Status

I am unmarried and have no children, biological or adopted. I have no dependents under my care at the time of executing this Will.

2. Appointment of Executor

I appoint John Price as the sole Executor of this Will. If John Price is unable or unwilling to act, I appoint John MacTavish to act as alternate Executor. My Executor shall have full authority to manage, administer, and distribute my estate in accordance with the provisions herein.

3. Bequests and Beneficiaries

3.1 Charitable Donations

I direct that the following donations be made from my estate before any other distributions:

£50,000 to the Combat Stress Foundation

£50,000 to the NSPCC

£50,000 to Mind UK

£25,000 to the Royal British Legion

3.2 Residual Estate and Financial Assets

All monetary accounts, savings, and pensions held in my name and the remainder of my estate, after the above bequests and settlement of debts and taxes, shall be divided equally (50/50) between John Price and John MacTavish.

Should either be deceased at the time of my passing, the other shall inherit the full residual estate.

4. Personal Effects

My personal journals, notebooks, photographs, and letters are to be delivered to MacTavish. He may read or destroy them at his discretion.

My military memorabilia, insignia, medals, commendations, field journals, operational records (excluding classified materials under Official Secrets Act) and service uniforms may be donated to the Regimental Museum of the Special Air Service, with the stipulation that none of my medical or psychological records be disclosed publicly, or returned to Task Force 141 for memorial purposes at the discretion of the Executor.

5. Medical and Psychological Records

While my personal medical and psychological records remain protected under relevant confidentiality laws, I authorize their use in anonymized research for the advancement of medical and psychological care for:

Survivors of childhood abuse

Veterans with PTSD

Individuals suffering from mental disorders

Individuals recovering from head or facial trauma

Permission is granted for release to academic, governmental, or NHS-affiliated research institutions only, provided identifying information is omitted unless required.

6. Burial and Memorial Instructions

I leave the method of body disposition to the discretion of my Executor. I express no preference between cremation or burial. If cremated, the ashes may be kept, scattered, or interred according to the Executor’s judgment.

I request, however, that I be remembered with a grave marker bearing the following:

Name: Harvey Langford

Dates: 1977 – [Year of Death]

Unit: 22nd SAS Regiment – Task Force 141

Epitaph:

If you're reading this, you're still here. That's enough. Keep walking.

The grave is to be located in a military cemetery if possible, or a civilian plot with appropriate discretion and dignity. This is so my comrades may visit and remember.

7. Digital Records and Security

All digital assets, encrypted drives, and online accounts are to be deleted and destroyed, excluding any documentation relevant to MOD or Executor's duties.

8. No Bequest to Family

I intentionally make no provision for my biological parents or extended family in Korea or elsewhere, as all claims to kinship or inheritance are hereby rejected. I instruct my Executor to oppose any claim to my estate by any blood relative not named herein.

9. Final Wishes

Four sealed personal letters have been written by me and entrusted to the Executor, addressed respectively to:

John Price

John MacTavish

Simon Riley

Gary Sanderson

These are to be delivered posthumously, by hand or by secure courier. These letters are not codicils and do not amend the legal contents of this Will.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I hereby sign this Last Will and Testament, written and executed in accordance with the Wills Act 1837.

Signed: Harvey Langford

Date: 7th July, 2016

Witnessed by:

1. 

Name: Simon Riley

Address: ▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆ Occupation: British Army Officer

Signature: ▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆

Date: 7th July, 2016

2. 

Name: Gary Sanderson

Address: ▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆

Occupation: British Army NCO

Signature: ▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆

Date: 7th July, 2016

[angelasscribbles]

Savage Love Chapter 39: We Have a Plan

Series: Savage Love

Fandom: The Royal Romance

Pairings: Riley x Liam, Riley x Drake

Rating: R         

Warnings: Mature themes

Word Count: 3,094

My other stuff: Master List.

Naked, and still struggling to catch my breath, I glanced up at the man I’d just agreed to marry.

Liam stared down at me with such utter devotion in his gaze that it sent butterflies exploding through me.

It also terrified me.

There had been no romantic proposal or declaration of undying love.

I had agreed to marry him to keep him alive. Our discussion about how that would work and what it would look like had been interrupted by a vigorous bout of lovemaking when the electricity that always snapped between us exploded, the potent mix of physical passion and intense emotion as we danced around the topic of my unspoken feelings for him cumulating in the physical expression of everything that I could not bring myself to express verbally.

Not yet.

I needed to ensure his survival first.

“Move into my room.”

“I don’t know if that’s the best idea…”

“Why not? You spend almost every other night in here, anyway.”

“That’s true, but…”

The knowledge that the rest of those nights were spent with Drake hung in the air between us.

He rolled off me and sat up, swinging his legs off the edge of the bed. “I’m not asking you to end your relationship with Drake. Just so we’re clear.”

“No?”

He turned his head back to make direct eye contact as he answered. “No.”

I found nothing but sincerity in his determined gaze. “Even after we’re married?”

“Even after.”

“Really?” I raised my eyebrows skeptically.

“Really.” He fixed me with a determined gaze. “We have a thing here called a Cordonian Arrangement. It’s an official codicil to the marriage contract that allows for an open relationship with no negative consequences to either party in the event of a divorce.”

“And you’d agree to that?”

“Of course, I would. I want you to be happy. I want Drake to be happy. I want to be happy. This seems like the best way to accomplish all of those goals.”

I stared at him for several heartbeats as I took that in. Then I nodded. “All right.”

The weight of the crown dropped away from his expression as that boyish grin I first saw in New York appeared. “Alright, you’ll move in with me?”

“I’ll consider it,” I told him as I got up and started collecting my clothes.

“Do you really have to rush off? We could order some food and—”

“I think you know that I have to go talk to Drake now. He can’t find out about our plan from anyone else.”

“Yes, I understand.” He ran a hand along his jawline with a sigh. “Listen. I know this isn’t a traditional love story. I know you’re only marrying me to keep me safe.”

I turned to eye him suspiciously because I could hear the “but” in his voice. “But?”

He rewarded me with that smile that could light the entire country. “But you do love me, or you would leave safeguarding my life to the King’s Guard.”

I felt dismay sweep through me. “Liam, this isn’t some fairy tale where love conquers all.”

“Isn’t it?” He stood and took my hand. “All I’m saying is that it’s okay if you don’t say it out loud. I love you and I’ll say it enough for both of us.”

“Liam…” He deserved to have someone tell him they loved him. He deserved to be told how amazing he was. He deserved all the romance and the fairy tale ending.

“It’s okay, Riley, I get it. Catch the bad guys first. Romance later. Go. I have things I need to be doing, anyway. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

I didn’t have to go far. Drake’s room was just down the hall from Liam’s. He opened the door, surprise and happiness lighting his features when he saw me. “Riley! Come in!”

I walked into the room and straight into his arms. He wrapped me in a tight embrace and buried his nose in my hair. “Damn, I missed you.”

“It’s only been two days,” I laughed.

“That’s two days too many.” His arms tightened around me before dropping away. “Now, tell me about Hidar.”

“I’ll tell you everything, but first I want to know how you’re handling the news about having a sister you never knew existed.”

“I….” he looked lost, an expression I’d never seen on his face before. With a great sigh, he raked a hand through his hair and shook his head. “It’s a lot. I mean… do I tell my mom? Does she already know? I have no idea how I’m supposed to approach this.”

“Hey.” I took his hand in mine. “You don’t have to figure it out alone, okay?”

“Thank you.” He squeezed my palm. “Having you on my side means a lot to me.”

I returned the squeeze with a smile. “Always.” I realized with sudden clarity that I meant that. I wanted to be there for him as much as I wanted to be there for Liam. My determination to leave after wrapping the case up had been slowly dwindling, day by day, without me even noticing.

He looked like he wanted to say something more, but after a brief hesitation, he released my hand and gestured to the couch. “Please, have a seat and tell me how the mission went.”

We exchanged details of our respective missions. Drake ended his story by expressing frustration with Nick. “It’s like he didn’t even care that Rico got away!”

“Well, he accomplished his goal, and that’s all that matters to him.”

Drake looked at me in astonishment. “He loved you, Riley. Maybe still does. How can he not care about the threat to your life?”

“I’m not sure he loved me as much as he loved the idea of having a wife and a family. He projected a lot of shit onto me that was never actually about me.”

Drake nodded. “Yeah, I got that from my conversation with him.”

“Oh?” The corners of my lips quirked up. “You discussed me with him?”

“No!” His eyes widened in panic for a second, and then he blew out a loud breath. “Okay, yeah, I did.”

“It’s okay,” I laughed. “I would have done the same thing in your place.”

He brightened at that confession. “Yeah?”

I bumped him with my shoulder. “Yeah.”              

He was silent for a long moment as he pinched the skin between his thumb and index finger on his left hand with his right hand, a gesture I’d come to associate with nervousness on his part.

“What is it?” I prompted.

“It’s just that there’s only a few days left in the social season and—”

“Yes, I wanted to talk to you about that.” I interrupted him. If he were about to make some declaration of love or beg me to stay, I needed to stop him. It was now a moot point. “I’m not leaving at the end of the social season.”

I don’t think he could have looked more surprised if an alien had just landed on the front lawn. It took him a few seconds to collect himself. His gaze pierced me to my very soul. “I’m not complaining about you hanging around longer, but why? What’s changed?”

“The mission has expanded.”

“In what way?”

“I think we can take the whole thing down. And it’s imperative that we do.”

“Why is that?”

“You have to realize by now that even if we take down the local faction, Liam will still be in danger. Via Imperii leadership wants Cordonia’s coffers.”

“We’ll up our border security. Make it harder for them to get a foothold here again—”

“We have to take down the whole thing. It’s the only way to keep Liam safe.”

“Okay….” He studied me carefully, trying to figure out where this was going. “I’m not disagreeing, but unless I’m missing something, we don’t have what we need to take the whole thing down and he’s going to be in danger from the local faction the moment he chooses anyone other than Madeleine at the selection ceremony. So that’s the biggest, most immediate threat. Taking them down will keep him safe for now and give us time to figure out how to counteract any future threats.”

“I have a plan for that. I know how to keep him safe from the local faction and buy us time to take down the whole thing.”

“How?”

“Simple. I’m going to marry him.”

“What?” Shock flashed across his face, followed by anger as he jumped up from his seat and thundered, “The fucking hell you are!”

I followed him to my feet. I locked my jaw and thrust my chin out defiantly as I tried to make him understand. “Drake. Listen. He has to pick a wife in less than a week! He won’t choose Madeleine. If he picks anyone other than her or me, they’re going to kill him!”

“They’re going to try—”

I arched an eyebrow at him. “And you’re okay with that?”

“Of course not! But—”

“But nothing! If we don’t take down the whole thing, then all we’re doing is postponing it. The Via Imperii will eventually regain a foothold in Cordonia. If he marries me, it buys us the time we need to take the entire thing down. It’s the only way to keep him safe and you know it.”

“We could—” he paused, his expression making it obvious that he was spinning through scenarios in his head. “Or maybe….. If we…. Okay, what if…. fuck!”

Bingo. The moment he realized I was right.

He stared at me with desperation in his eyes. “There has to be another way!”

“There’s not.” I knew it. He knew it.

His shoulders slumped in defeat. “What does this mean for us?”

“Nothing,” I assured him as I stepped closer and took his hands in mine. “I’m marrying him to keep him safe. He’s already agreed to a Cordonian Arrangement.”

The desperation in his eyes was replaced with a sliver of hope. “So, does this mean that you’re staying at court after the case wraps up?”

“What?”

“Surely you know that the moment your picture is plastered in newspapers all over the world as the future Queen of Cordonia, your career in the GIA is over. Have you thought about that?”

“Of course I’ve thought about it! It’s all I’ve thought about since I opened my big mouth and blurted it out!”

“You can take it back....”

“I can’t... and I don’t think I want to.”

“Do you…. Love him?”

I could tell how hard it was for him to ask that question, and I knew that the question he really wanted to ask wasn’t if I loved Liam, but if I loved him.

It was time for me to stop being a coward and face my feelings.

I reached up and touched his face as I answered. “This is a complicated situation. I have feelings for both of you that I never saw coming. Liam seems genuinely okay with me having a relationship with both of you. How do you feel about that?”

Of all the reactions I had expected at this moment, amusement wasn’t one of them.

He grinned at me with nothing but happiness shining from his eyes. “Did you just admit to having feelings for me?”

A sound that was half laugh and half scoff escaped me. “That’s what you got out of that?”

He grabbed me around the waist and tugged me closer. “That’s the important part!”

Then he was kissing me and every question I had was answered, every doubt erased.

“Mm-hm,” I murmured as I leaned into him.

We both moved our bodies closer to the other. His hands caressed my face and shoulders. His fingers traced down my back as mine threaded through his hair. He released my lips so he could nip and lick along my collarbone. I arched my body into him in encouragement.

His phone chimed, and he froze. “Shit!” He rested his forehead against mine as he expressed a few colorful opinions about the interruption and the character of his commanding officer.

“It’s okay, I have a couple of phone calls to make anyway,” I told him as I struggled to disentangle myself from him. “We can continue this later.”

“Continuing this is the only thing on my priority list,” He assured me as he returned the text.

“Don’t let your boss hear you say that!”

“I don’t give a damn who hears it!” He returned his phone to his pocket and lunged at me for one last kiss before hurrying out the door to a meeting that I had made him late for.

Alone in his room, I decided there was no time like the present. I took a deep breath as I punched in the familiar phone number.

My boss wasn’t as understanding as Drake had been. “I understand your concerns, Agent Brooks, but the social season ends in four days! We have everything we need to take down the Cordonian branch right now.”

“I need just a little more time and we can take down the whole thing! Isn’t that what we’re all about? Taking down the bad guys?”

“Of course. But once the social season is over, you’ll have no more reason to remain in Cordonia. You’ll have no cover.”

“Oh, I will.”

“I’m listening.”

I filled her in on my plan. She was less than thrilled with my ideas, to put it mildly. “Absolutely not!”

“If you’ll calm down—”

“Don’t tell me to calm down! I’m telling you no! You cannot marry him for the love of God!”

“Why not?”

“You know why not! Right now, the social season is just local news. An engagement will be bigger news, and an actual royal wedding will be broadcast across the globe! You’ll be compromised! Your face will be splashed on newspapers everywhere! You’ll be worthless as an agent!”

“That’s not true—”

“It is true! You’ll be too recognizable to work undercover.”

“Are you saying you’d fire me?”

“I’m saying, at the very least, we’d have to pull you from fieldwork. We can’t, and we won’t, send a compromised agent into the field. Not only would it compromise you, but it would also endanger every agent working with you and you know it! We won’t allow that, and neither will any other agency. You do this, and your career is over, at least as a field agent.”

“It’s the only way to keep him safe and infiltrate Via Imperii leadership.”

“Brooks, I mean it, do not do this!”

“I’m doing it. So, tell the team to stand down. Please! If you take down the local branch, my cover is blown. I’m marrying him, regardless. You may as well take the win I’m offering you. I can deliver the entire organization. Give me another week.”

Barton was silent for so long that I thought the connection had been lost. Defeat and a note of awe were in her voice when she finally answered. “Fine. One more week. I never thought I’d see the day Riley Brooks leveraged her career over a man.”

“It’s the only way to keep him safe long enough to get what I need to take down the Via Imperii.”

“Right.” I could hear the smirk in her voice from across the Atlantic. “That’s your only concern.”

I chose to let that go and thanked her for giving me another week. It should be all I needed. It had to be all I needed because Rico was still out there somewhere and the moment the engagement was announced, there was nothing stopping him from leaking my actual job to the press. We needed to be ready to breach within hours of the announcement. Preferably before.

Fortunately, my impending engagement to Liam also gave me the bargaining chip I needed to infiltrate the highest level of the Via Imperii.

I lifted the phone that was still in my hand and dialed Sigrid’s direct line. She sounded both annoyed and impressed. “How did you get my private number?”

“Did you forget who my aunt is?”

“What do you want?”

“I wanted to let you know that though it won’t be official until the selection ceremony, Liam has gotten down on one knee and proposed to me.” I crossed my legs as I spoke, getting into character. I let the entitlement drip off my words. “You should see the diamond. It’s exquisite!”

That piqued her interest. “Forget the diamond, have you seen the marriage contract?”

“I’m holding it in my hands right now.” I lied.

“How much access does it give you to the finances?”

“Plenty.”

“How much influence does it give you over policy decisions?”

“Liam is still the monarch with final decision making power on everything. But don’t worry, I can sway his decisions in the correct direction.”

“You’re very confident in yourself.”

“I am.”

“I hope it’s well founded confidence.”

“It is. But as you know, Liam is very devoted to the people of Cordonia, so swaying him to see our side of things is going to take a little effort. I’m up for the job, but I need to know what I’m getting out of it.”

I could hear the suspicion dripping like venom from her words. “What do you mean?”

“I mean…” I paused for dramatic effect. “If you want access to Cordonia’s bottomless coffers, I need something in return.”

“You’re already a member in good standing. What more do you want?”

“This is a lot of money we’re talking about. I want some input into how it’s spent. I think that’s reasonable.”

“You want a leadership position.” I heard the surprise in her tone, tinged with a hint of awe.

She had underestimated me.

“I do.”

“And what makes you think I’m in a position to make that happen?”

“Come on, Sigrid, there’s no way that a woman as driven and intelligent as you isn’t in the upper echelons of this thing. Do you really expect me to believe that you’re bowing down to someone like Eirik Midsommar?”

There was a long pause as she considered how much to trust me. I had appealed to her ego, and it worked “Fine. I’ll set everything up. Be here in two days, with the signed and notarized marriage contract in your hands, and we’ll talk.”

“Great. See you in two days.”

She hung up on me without saying goodbye. I didn’t care. Everything was falling perfectly into place.

[misforgotten2]

And now Grandma Ward's has a codicil that removed you and your heirs from her multimillion dollar will . "That generation got not respect for tradition."

Better Homes and Gardens - September 1963

[kurtvrich]

Tumblr Hunk…

He just added a new codicil to his will, “Bury me with a permanent stump erection.”

[dostoyevsky-official]

Zelensky’s ‘victory plan’ is unlikely to impress Europe

After confidentially briefing it around various Western capitals, President Zelelsnky has unveiled – to a degree – his much-trailed ‘victory plan’ to the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament. Along with three additional secret codicils shared only with certain partners, the plan has five main points. In and of themselves, none of them are implausible, and all would certainly strengthen Ukraine’s security. However, they also embody certain assumptions that likely make them unworkable, simply because they are asking from Nato, the EU and the West in general a great deal more than they seem willing to offer. The first is an immediate and unconditional invitation to join Nato. Zelensky is realistic enough to appreciate that actual membership will have to come later, but feels this would be a mark of resolve that would somehow change the situation. But how? Even if one assumes Ukraine already meets all the accession criteria (which some question) and that all existing Nato members agree (which is even more dubious), how does the promise of membership deter Putin? After all, he already believes Ukraine is essentially Nato’s proxy. [...] Zelensky presents this as a ‘bridge’ to peace negotiations, but peace through strength by ensuring ‘that the madmen in the Kremlin will lose the ability to continue the war’. There is a flat rejection of the kind of deal trading territory for peace that, behind closed doors, is increasingly being discussed in the West. Instead, frankly, it is a challenge – not to Moscow but to Ukraine’s own allies. ‘This plan can be implemented,’ Zelensky told the Ukrainian parliament. ‘It depends on the partners… it certainly does not depend on Russia.’ Well, maybe, although in war the enemy always gets a vote in practice. (And if, as Zelensky claims, ‘Putin is insane and only wants war,’ then the corollary of that rather sweeping statement would seem to be that no deterrence can ever be enough.) More to the point, it does indeed depend on the partners. Zelensky wants unconditional guarantees of Nato and EU membership, he wants more and better weapons without any constraints on their use, he wants investment in Ukraine’s defence industries and national resources, and he wants a ‘strategic deterrent package’ – whatever that may be – that would presumably be largely delivered by Nato and would thus be considered by Putin as the expansion of hostile Western security architecture. This may well be what Ukraine needs, and Zelensky certainly doesn’t lack for chutzpah in presenting such an extensive shopping list. It is hard to see that Ukraine will get it, though. Expect warm words, ringing declarations, token one-off weapons deliveries, and promises of detailed consultations instead.

[microcosme11]

Muiron P.S.

Napoleon still remembered the companion who had sacrificed himself to save his life and made the last codicil in his will the bequest of "one hundred thousand francs to the widow, son, or grandson of my ADC Muiron, with me at Arcole and killed whilst covering me with his body."

napoleon.org