#charles to the fifth power? to the sixth?

[whole-yeet-potato]

[soapy-birblover]

Dead Boy Detectives x The Locked Tomb AU

Charles and Edwin have SUCH cavalier-necromancer potential it’s insane!!!!!!!!

My rambles on this AU below:

Edwin - Fifth House necromancer, generalist with slightly more experience in spirit magic and psychometry. Focuses more on the application of necromancy rather than research. Has studied on the Sixth House at some point.

Charles - Fourth House cavalier, offhand is a buckler (small shield. to protect Edwin :D).

They would have met at Koniortos Court on the Fifth, leading to a rare interhouse pairing which was only allowed due to the close association between their houses (I’m not sure if this would work in universe, as a lot of necro cav pairs are pre-determined, but maybe their pairing was some sort of alliance between houses, or maybe they’re low ranking enough that it doesn’t matter). Due to how revenants work in The Locked Tomb, I think our dead boys are gonna have to be alive, as even if Edwin cracked some way to exist as a fully conscious revenant that doesn’t need to attach itself to something/one, who would their clients even be lmao.

But yeah. Their devotion to one another would be insane (like Palamedes and Camilla levels of insane; they know exactly how the other thinks and are able to work together perfectly). If they were sent to the frontlines to fight, their role would more so be helping things run smoothly: detecting lingering revenants, helping suffering soldiers pass on through the River, solving the odd mystery here and there, whatever.

Charles being from Fourth House has.. hehehe... implications. He would most likely have siblings to “compete with” instead of being an only child, so maybe that feeds into his desire to please his father. Soldiers from the Fourth House tend to die young, so perhaps he’s stressed about keeping him and Edwin safe and alive. Also. "Four for fidelity, facing ahead" AHAHHAHAHA the loyalty is baked so hard into this guy. Charles would be a pretty good cavalier, as in this universe he would have actually had training, but his main priority is to protect Edwin, and he can usually do that through distraction and taking the blunt of a blow. As a necro-cav pair they would try to avoid violence, sort of like Pal and Cam.

Other characters:

Crystal - Third House necromancer who received training on the Fifth House due to a natural talent for spirit and soul magic. David was a fellow Third House necromancer (flesh magician) she dated, but then he died somehow (probably in some dumbass way), and now he’s an asshat revenant haunting her and fucking with her mind. If she has a cavalier, she doesn’t remember them.

Niko - Fifth House, neither a necromancer nor cavalier. Literally just chilling. Maybe she’s a romance writer or academic who writes fanfic on the side.

The Cat King - Heir to the House of the Third, Crown Prince of Ida. His cavalier primary is likely extremely skilled but someone he doesn't care all that much about. Powerful animaphilia flesh magician necromancer, and extremely influential within his house. He doesn't have "nine lives" but is instead very good at self regeneration, given some time, of course, as it's strenuous.

Esther - Seventh House necromancer. She attempted Lyctorhood without knowing that’s what it was, but messed it up (this is when she murdered her husband + his lover), so while she lives eternally (unless killed hard enough), her body is in a constant state of decay that she mitigates with injections of thalergy (which she extracts from little girls :3). She relies heavily on Eighth House soul siphoning magic for her methods, so has probably studied there. She’s not technically a Lyctor, but still very powerful, and lays low on her planet because she's content to just be a menace there, and maybe take over one day, if she can be bothered. She didn't absorb that much of her husbands' soul, so permeability is lower than usual, but still leads to some juicy shit whenever she catches herself thinking or doing something that he used to do, because she HATES him man. Also he was just some guy, so Esther doesn't have any cavalier skills, and can't drop into the River.

Monty - Seventh House cavalier. Esther chose to be paired with him when he was born, because she didn't want to be forcefully paired up with some rando who would report her little girl murders. So, you know, homeschooling indoctrination vibes. Esther doesn’t think she needs a cavalier, so he doesn’t do much besides odd jobs for her (kind of like Ortus but instead of writing fanfic poetry he’s into astrology). His offhand is a chain (I think that's customary for Seventh House cavs? also because chain symbolism relates to his relationship with Esther :P).

Jenny - Second House, neither a necromancer nor cavalier. Likely works to prepare food for Cohort soldiers. Received some cavalier training as a child but was never bonded with an adept, but, you know, the Second House wants everyone to be a somewhat competent fighter. Proficient at rapier with dagger offhand, but weapon of choice in a pinch are her butcher blades (two short swords).

Night Nurse - First House, definitely a Lyctor, idk who her cavalier would have been though (hence I don't have a saintly title for her). Originally Sixth House (all that bureaucracy!), or maybe even Eighth House (Mercymorn vibes). Her offhand is a net because she do be trying to catch people.

Okay. Okay now imagine Edwin trying to solve their conflict with Esther in a more civil manner: cavalier duel between Charles and Monty. Bro that’s. That’s delicious. The drama of it. Esther wondering why the duel seems so personal. Monty glancing at Edwin every few seconds. Charles getting ready to beat Monty's ass. Ehehehheherhehe.

[blackswaneuroparedux]

Les révolutions ont du moins l'avantage de hâter l'accomplissement des idées admises, mais dont la mise en pratique est difficile ou audacieuse ; elles hâtent l'éclosion de l'avenir paresseux.

Louis-Auguste Martin, L'esprit moral du XIXe siècle (1855)

The Fifth Republic is the name of France’s current government. It began in 1958, after a coup at the hands of the French military in colonial Algeria convinced officials in Paris to dissolve Parliament. Fearing that the military could extend their control beyond Africa, the government called former general Charles de Gaulle out of retirement to hold the country together, as he did during the post-liberation years of World War II. To do so, he crafted a new constitution. Under this government, the president has substantial power, holds a term of five years (it was originally seven) and, following a change to the constitution in 1962, is directly elected by the French people. (de Gaulle held the position until 1968.)

This system of government differs dramatically from previous republics, which relied on parliamentary rule. In the Fifth Republic, the head-of-state appoints a prime minister to lead the Parliament (which is comprised of a Senate and a National Assembly), controls the armed forces and France’s nuclear arsenal, can dissolve Parliament, and can hold referendums on laws or constitutional changes.

One caveat to the president’s powers is the possibility of “cohabitation,” when the president is from a different political party than the majority of politicians in the parliament. In these cases, the president must choose a prime minister who will be accepted by the parliament, and the two share powers of governing more equitably.

But while the conditions are likely not there to bring about a sixth republic in France, the current crisis could lead to other institutional changes.

Indeed, Macron already tried to amend the constitution during his first term, with a plan to add proportional voting to the parliamentary elections and to reduce the number of MPs.

He tried again after the "Yellow Vests" protest, with a reform that would have made it easier for the parliament and citizens to launch a shared referendum, but the law didn't come to fruition.

Will the Fifth Republic last?

French political commentators and scholars have been trying to answer this question since the Fifth Republic was first founded, and it’s impossible to do more than make educated guesses. Since de Gaulle first wrote out its constitution, there have been 24 revisions of it, which have affected 2/3 of its articles. Subsequent changes to the republic have even increased the president’s clout. A 1962 referendum had the president elected by popular vote, and a 2000 referendum resulted in an alignment of the presidential and parliamentary election calendars – something that has almost always resulted in an absolute majority for the president.

So far the constitution’s flexibility and the force of the past presidents has kept the Fifth afloat. But far left agitator and presidential candidate Jen-Luc Mélenchon has been leading a march for the “sixth republic” and Marine Le Pen talking about radically reshaping France’s domestic policies, there’s no telling what might happen by the time Macron leaves office and a new President is ushered in.

Many believe that a certain regime of politics is coming to an end, of which Emmanuel Macron is the epilogue. It is both the end of a regime in the political-institutional sense – hyper-presidentialism and the weakening of counter-powers – but also the exhaustion of a certain regime of "belief" in politics, i.e., the credit we give to men and institutions. It is a symbolic crisis as much as a legal-political one.

I suspect the Fifth Republic will chug along just fine. There may be a few bits of tinkering but not much. I suspect - much like the debates for Proportional Representation in the UK, politicians of all stripes say one thing but do the opposite one in power - once someone like Marine Le Pen comes into power (she is favoured to win the next presidential elections after Macron steps aside) then I doubt she would voluntarily give up her presidential powers any more than any other politician wanting to exercise power to make policy.

At the heart of these debates of changing the Fifth Republic is the very idea of France itself as it faces changes in its society and the challenges therein. In the mind of General de Gaulle, the French presidential system was intended to reaffirm France's independence and sovereignty in the bipolar world of the Cold War. Never have both appeared so threatened.

The decline of state sovereignty is a global phenomenon at the crossroads of several simultaneous revolutions. The first is the history of capitalism, with the financialisation and globalisation of markets and the new supranational actors that are the multinationals. The second is the institutional history of Europe, with the construction of Europe, which is deconstructing the nation-states of which it is composed. The third is the history of information and communication technologies with the emergence of the GAFA [Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon] and the new authoritarian algorithmic governance that is being imposed on States and citizens. And finally there is the strategic history of Europe with the end of the Cold War and the integration of France into the Western bloc under the aegis of NATO.

Any of these would be challenging for the nation state, but all five at once is enough to make any stable democracy shudder at the foundations.

Photo: President Emmanuel Macron presides over the fête nationale ceremony on the Champs-Elysées, 14 July 2023.

[jaeclerc]

I've just read the kingsman au you posted here and i scream to my teddy bear. It's so perfect!! I could imagine along when i was reading and I love every detail you put there. Ofc, I'd be honoured if I have a chance to read some more 🥺

And if my broken instinct is correct, at the end of the day, the relationship between Lancelot and Percival here is platonic no more? Ohhhhh 👀

hmmmm i don’t know, is it? was it ever?

but thank you so much 😭😭 every single time someone asks me about my aus it makes me so happy and genuinely motivates me to write more and more about our beloved Lancelot and Percival!

charles thought honeymoons were supposed to be relaxing and fun. getting day drunk with his beloved and having sleepy slow sex after a afternoon nap in the sun that was pooling through their curtains, casting charles’ husband in the most beautiful light that had charles rolling on top of him and taking him down his throat like he was a man starved.

and for maybe the first two days, charles got to relax, he got to sunbathe and get tanned. he got to have as much as sex as he wanted and wake up wrapped in the sheets with the man he loved most. until sebastian’s laptop pinged that someone involved in the outskirts of the mission he was on was nearby and suddenly, charles lost his husband to their work again.

to say that he was utterly unimpressed was an understatement, but when seb hit him with those blue eyes and a knowing grimace, charles rolled his eyes and let him do whatever he needed. sebastian had promised him he would only gather whatever he needed for his case and then would put his laptop away and spend the rest of their three weeks with him.

it had been three days of that, sebastian mining information and gathering intel while charles explored costa rica on his own. he couldn’t even peel sebastian away from his duty to go down and get brunch with him, and it was seriously becoming a problem for charles. his own husband leaving him alone on their vacation for his first love: work.

by the fourth day, charles was pulling out the stops, straddling sebastian in only his button down and tight boxers, tanned thighs on display around sebastian’s hips. he purred in sebastian’s ear about how he wanted him, and then pouted as seb wrapped his arms around him, pressed a kiss to under his ear and said “later.” before unwrapping one arm from his waist and going back to typing with one hand, the other holding charles there loosely. but it didn’t matter he was fucking annoyed and just pulled sebastian’s arm from around him and went to jerk off in the shower.

by the fifth day, he was laid on the lounger by the pool as sebastian worked through the day (again), sipping his tequila sunrise and whining on his encrypted line to max about how seb was too wrapped up in work to even pay attention to him and do what newly married couples do: have copious amounts of sex and annoy everyone with how in love they are.

by the sixth day, charles was rearing up to pick a fight with sebastian over how he couldn’t put work down for three fucking weeks to spend time with him. he was actually getting insecure, it was weighing on him. was he too boring for sebastian? too needy? he knew he could be a bit much, and in the worst, a total brat to sebastian. but sebastian proposed to him, soothed his fears about being too young and naive and stupid. seb was the one to approve both their leaves, to make sure they had enough time.

but when he got back to the room, cheeks hot with fury at sebastian’s gall to spend their whole honeymoon working and doing exactly what they could do in london, in monte carlo, in berlin, sebastian was waiting for him with a dinner spread and a look of repentance in his face, guilt seeping out of every pore.

he looked like a kicked dog as charles power walks in, his mouth already forming the words he was about to say when he stops in his tracks and takes in his husband, smiling sheepishly and then the dinner he set out for him.

charles ended up eating the dinner and getting the world’s best sorry blow job he’d ever received. and seb had given him many over the four years they’d been together.

on the seventh day, charles peaked over his mimosa at sebastian with a smile on his lips and a fresh mark sucked beneath his ear like they were teenagers.

-

when they returned from their honeymoon, back in their bespoke suits, with charles positively glowing from his beautiful tan and sebastian nursing a peeling sunburn on his ass from a private beach romp, cringing every time he sat down, he had his case nearly finished. which meant he got to return home to his husband just in time to say “honey i’m home” and see his favorite pair of dimples appear.

[slytherintragedy]

♡ FULL NAME: Felix Jackson Rosier ♡ KNOWN AS: Eli ♡ BIRTHDAY: October 21, 1968 ♡ GENDER & PRONOUNS: Male - He /Him ♡ ORIENTATION: Biromantic, Pansexual ♡ BLOOD STATUS: Pureblood ♡ HEIGHT: 5'10” ♡ WEIGHT: 154 lbs ♡ EYE COLOR: Brown ♡ HAIR COLOR: Brunette ♡ SPECIES: Wizard (Human) ♡ PLACE OF RESIDENCE: London, England, Great Britain, Hogwarts ♡ OCCUPATION: Student, Dragonologist ♡ HOUSE: Slytherin ♡ PATRONUS: Ocicat ♡ WAND: 10", Rowan, Phoenix feather ♡ FACECLAIM: Ashby Gentry

BIOGRAPHY

Felix was born to Elias and Rosemary Rosier, younger brother of Evan Rosier. He was born into a well-known and respected old pure-blood line. During his time at Hogwarts his father, became friends with Tom Riddle, due to that became one of the first to become a Death Eater when the Dark Lord started rising. And which given the fact his grandmother Vinda Rosier was arguably Gellert Grindelwald's most trusted and loyal Acolyte, it's safe to say his family had a pattern of becoming loyal subjects to whomever they deemed worthy. Even his aunt, Druella Rosier, achieved power and position when she married into the ancient and most noble House of Black, a pureblood family with roots every bit as deep, and coffers even fuller, than those of the Rosiers. However unlike many other members of his family, Felix did not want to become a Dark Wizard, and was instead interested in dragons.

Felix started attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in 1980 and was sorted into Slytherin. His Head of House at the time was Horace Slughorn, though Severus Snape took over the position in Felix's second year after Slughorn left. In his third year, Felix took at least Care of Magical Creatures as an elective.

In his fifth year, Felix was chosen as the male prefect on his house, and was responsible for watching over first-year students of his house. He told them about the importance of the House Cup and often told his fellow Slytherins to earn as many house points as possible.

On the first day of education that year, Felix found out that first-year Elena Jenkins, younger sister of the infamous Jacob Jenkins who had previously been in Slytherin and expelled from Hogwarts, had managed to lose ten house points in a Potions class. Over time, Felix and Elena began to have a more positive relationship as Elena proved to be a very successful house point earner. Felix eventually taught Elena how to duel, even if it was against a fellow Slytherin Merula Snyde.

In his sixth year, Felix lead his fellow Slytherins to prank Gryffindors whose behavior after the latter house's Quidditch victory against the former started annoying Slytherins. This act, however, lead to Slytherin losing 50 points at the end of the year.

Before graduating Hogwarts, Felix taught Elena about the Freezing Charm, the Babbling Beverage and the Snargaluff, as well as made sure to tell Snape that Elena would make a good future prefect.

After graduation, Felix became a Dragonologist, specializing in the Peruvian Vipertooth. He worked at the Swedish dragon reservation.

In September 1988, Gryffindor Prefect and Head Boy William Weasley contacted Felix and invited him to join a meeting at the Three Broomsticks Inn along with other former prefects Chester Davies, Angelica Cole and Jane Court, as well as newly appointed prefects Elena Jenkins and Charles Weasley. At the meeting, Felix told the two about his job, which made Charlie excited, as he was also trying to be a Dragonologist.

[helena-thompson]

Timeline

The following is just a timeline of all events related to Helena and anyone close to her that has an impact on her story.

everything is linked to more in-depth explanations of events/headcanons

anything redacted is just stuff I haven't shared or written yet that I don't want to spoil just yet

all fics I've written with Helena are on here as well so you can get an idea of when they take place throughout her timeline

Before Hogwarts

Spring/Summer 1874 - Helena's mother, Leonora, and real father, Orpheus Gaunt, are in a relationship before Orpheus is killed by his family for consorting with muggles. Leonora finds out she's pregnant soon afterwards. She later meets Henry Thompson, and they end up marrying, and Henry intends on treating the baby as if it were his own.

January 13, 1875 - Helena is born and grows up believing Henry is her father.

1883 - Henry Thompson dies of tuberculosis.

Summer of 1889 - Anne Sallow gets cursed.

Summer of 1890 - Professor Fig shows up with Helena's acceptance letter to Hogwarts.

Fifth Year: Autumn 1890

Helena arrives at Hogwarts, sorted into Slytherin

Helena & Sebastian start competing in Crossed Wands together as a duo

Sebastian shows Helena the Undercroft

Helena shows Sebastian & Ominis the Room of Requirement

Percival Rackham's Trial

In the Shadow of the Estate: Helena & Sebastian discover the first piece of the triptych in Isidora's estate in Feldcroft

Helena & Sebastian start adventuring together

Sebastian & Anne's 16th birthdays

The High Keep: Helena & Natty rescue Highwing, Helena shows the Room of Requirement to Natty & Poppy

In the Shadow of the Bloodline & In the Shadow of the Study: Sebastian convinces Helena & Ominis to find Slytherin's Scriptorium, he casts crucio on her.

The Helm of Urtkot & Charles Rookwood's Trial

Fifth Year: Winter 1890-91

Fire & Vice: Helena & Poppy rescue the dragon from the poachers

Eric Northcott asks out Helena, she agrees to try and get over Sebastian

In the Shadow of Discovery

Helena & Natty find Archie Bickle

Amortentia shenanigans (fic: "Laws of Attraction" → read on AO3)

Winter Holiday - Helena stays at Hogwarts with Sebastian and Ominis

In the Shadow of the Mine: Helena & Sebastian find the second piece of the triptych, they argue and get in a fight

A Basis for Blackmail: Helena saves Natty from Ashwinders

Surprise Meeting: Helena & Poppy talk to the Centaurs in the Forbidden Forest

Helena's 16th Birthday

It's All Gobbledegook

The Headmistress Speaks, The Polyjuice Plot, & Niamh Fitzgerald's Trial

In the Shadow of the Mountain: Helena & Sebastian find the last piece of the triptych, they make up from their argument after the mine & start dating

Helena & Sebastian enjoy a brief period of time bliss dating each other (fic: "Magic" → read on AO3)

Lodgok's Loyalty, San Bakar's Trial, Wand Mastery, & The Final Repository: Rookwood escapes, Helena contains the power of the ancient magic in the repository.

In the Shadow of Revelation: Helena tells Sebastian Rookwood cursed Anne not the goblins, and that there may be a way to cure her since Rookwood is on the run.

Weasley's Watchful Eye

In the Shadow of Time & In the Shadow of Distance: Sebastian and Helena explore the Feldcroft catacombs for a lead on the relic that could save Anne.

In the Shadow of Hope: Sebastian tells Anne about the relic

Save the Golden Snidgets with Poppy & the Centaurs

In the Shadow of the Relic, In the Shadow of Fate, & In the Shadow of Friendship (fic: "Forgiveness" → read on AO3)

Fifth Year: Spring & Summer 1891

Harlow's Last Stand

O.W.L.S.

The House Cup: Slytherin wins.

Summer Holiday - Helena returns to London, Sebastian and Ominis go to Feldcroft in case Anne returns and to take care of their affairs there.

Sixth Year: 1891-92

Helena & Sebastian reunite before returning to Hogwarts (fic: "One Year Later" → read on AO3)

Quidditch is back at Hogwarts - Imelda recruits Sebastian onto the team after noticing he bulked up over the summer and hoping he has some natural talent like Anne did

Sebastian & Anne's 17th birthdays

Helena & Sebastian take their relationship to a new level (fic: "A First Time for Everything" → read on AO3)

DADA class duelling shenanigans (fic: "Duels & Desires" → read on AO3)

Helena's 17th birthday

Rookwood ████████

Helena & Sebastian celebrate May Day (fic: "Angel in a Spring Field" → read on AO3)

Summer after Sixth Year - Helena finds out about her true parentage, Anne gets cured

Seventh Year: 1892-93

Anne is back at Hogwarts & back on the Quidditch team

18th birthdays

Restricted Section shenanigans (fic: "Forbidden Passions" → read on AO3)

Ministry of Magic ████████

NEWTs

graduation

After Hogwarts

1893 - Helena and Sebastian start their freelance cursebreaker business

Marvolo ████████

1896 - Helena accidentally gets pregnant, Sebastian proposes, they get married

House of Gaunt ████████

Helena & Sebastian retire from cursebreaking, they move to Hogsmeade, she opens up a specialty potions shop with Garreth, Sebastian starts looking for another job

1897 - Helena & Sebastian's first child is born

Sebastian starts teaching at Hogwarts

[popculturelib]

Interesting Find of the Week: Hobo Camp Fire Tales (1911) and Mother Delcassee of the Hobos: And Other Stories (1918) by A-No. 1

Hobos are a kind of migrant worker who travel around the country looking for work. They particularly make use of freight trains to move between cities and towns, an act known as "trainhopping" or "freighthopping." The peak hobo years in the United States were between the American Civil War and World War II, when trains were easier to board and itinerant labor more in demand.

Leon Ray Livingston (1872-1944), also known by his moniker "A-No. 1," was a hobo author who wrote around a dozen books about hobos and hobo life. As "America's Most Celebrated Tramp" -- as he called himself in the title of his first book -- A-No. 1 created an important record, albeit an embellished one, of a people and culture that was often excluded from written histories.

Here, we show the covers of the 2nd and 9th books in A-No. 1's writings on hobos, as well as the back cover and back endpaper of book 9. Note how the endpaper claims that hobo life is a "horrible existence;" towards the end of his life, A-No. 1 spoke against going on "the Road" after his negative experiences. This is perhaps why the back of Mother Delcassee features William Tyler Page's "The American Creed." Transcripts are below the read more.

If you're interested in reading more about hobos and hobo life, check out these other books in our collection:

Around the Jungle Fire I: A Collection of Original Hobo Poetry (1994) by Oats

Beggars of Life (1924) by Jim Tully

Boxcar Bertha: An Autobiography (1988) as told to Ben L. Reitman

Hard Travellin': The Hobo and His History (1967) by Kenneth Allsop

The Hobo: The Sociology of the Homeless Man: A Study Prepared for the Chicago Council of Social Agencies (1961) by Nels Anderson

Tales of an American Hobo (1989) by Charles Elmer Fox

The Browne Popular Culture Library (BPCL), founded in 1969, is the most comprehensive archive of its kind in the United States.  Our focus and mission is to acquire and preserve research materials on American Popular Culture (post 1876) for curricular and research use. Visit our website at https://www.bgsu.edu/library/pcl.html.

Transcript to the back page of Mother Delcassee:

The American Creed "I believe in the United States of America as a government of the people, by the people, for the people; whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed; a democracy in a republic; a sovereign nation of many sovereign states; a perfect union, one and inseparable, established upon those principles of freedom, equality, justice and humanity for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes. I therefore believe it is my duty to my country to love it, to support its constitution, to obey its laws, to respect its flag and to defend it against all enemies." -- William Tyler Page

Transcript of the endpaper of Mother Delcassee:

A List of the Books On Tramp Life Written by ->A-No 1<- The Tramp Author The First Book Life and Adventures of A-No. 1 The Second Book Hobo-Camp-Fire-Tales The Third Book The Curse of Tramp Life The Fourth Book The Trail of the Tramp The Fifth Book The Adventures of a Female Tramp The Sixth Book The Ways of the Hobo The Seventh Book The Snare of the Road The Eighth Book From Coast to Coast with Jack London The Ninth Book Mother Delcassee of the Hoboes Each title deals with a different phase of the horrible existence that is nowadays voluntarily led by more than three hundred thousand chronic hoboes, so that everybody, especially restless youths will find the contents of each volume an everlasting warning against the road. The Author has carefully avoided the least mention of anything that would be unfit reading for ladies or children. A complete set of these moral and entertaining Books should be in every home.

[f1]

Max Verstappen tops timesheets for Red Bull in eventful Australian GP practice

Formula One world champion Max Verstappen topped the timesheets for Red Bull before taking a late spin at Albert Park in an eventful first free practice at the Australian Grand Prix. The Dutchman lapped the lakeside circuit in one minute, 18.790 seconds, nearly half a second quicker than second fastest Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes, as two red flags disrupted the session. Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez was third quickest, with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso fourth. The session was halted midway through due to a GPS failure, which organisers said made teams unable to monitor car positions and closing speeds. A second red flag cut the session short by a few minutes as Williams rookie Logan Sargeant came to a halt on track-side grass with an apparent power failure. The first red flag led to plenty of traffic on the track and tempers flared as a number of drivers narrowly avoided ploughing into rivals. Verstappen finished his session with a bit of drama, taking a big spin at turn four to ruin his tyres. Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were fifth and sixth quickest with McLaren’s Lando Norris seventh. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was eighth fastest ahead of Mercedes driver George Russell. Hamilton complained of bouncing after a lap on medium tyres in a reminder of the team’s porpoising problems that plagued them throughout the 2022 season. But he squeezed in a fast lap between the red flags to sandwich himself between Verstappen and Perez’s times. Home hero and McLaren rookie Oscar Piastri was 12th on the timesheet. Haas’s Kevin Magnussen, the slowest of the 20 cars, skidded into the gravel, while AlphaTauri may have some repairs to do after driver Yuki Tsunoda locked up at high speed to take a big slide through gravel midway through the session. via Formula One | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/sport/formulaone

[legole45]

The Billionaire Loud Kids

These are the multibillionaire members of the Loud family: Lorraine, Helen, Alexandra/Lexi, Kathleen/Kathy, Lucia/Cia, Richard, Patricia/Patty, Daniella/Dana, Delores/Della, Elizabeth/Liz, and Lauren. They are the fifth cousins of Lincoln Loud and his sisters and the children of billionaire Lucius Loud, and they are devout Catholics. They are worth 300 billion dollars, and their wealth makes the Loud family one of the most powerful families in the world.

Lorraine Carroll Loud is the first-born of the family. She is currently a student at Harvard University. She is kindhearted, and acted as an advisor to Richard and Lucius. Lorraine's hobbies are golfing, car racing, and gambling. Lorraine aspires to be a businesswoman in her own right, particularly in the casino business. Her boyfriend is Johnny Martini Jr., a cousin of Bobby and Ronnie Anne Santiago, and a grandson of Tony Martini, a mob boss based in Utrecht City, New York. She is also a member of Johnny's street racing crew, the Golden Eagles.

Helen Margaret Loud is the second child. She is an aspiring actress, and unlike Leni, is much smarter, though not as intelligent as her brother Richard, and her sister, Liz. She currently acts as an advisor to her brother, Richard.

Alexandra Angela Loud is the third child. She is a successful pop musician, and she began her career when she won a contest show called America's Next Hitmaker, which was hosted by Doug LaRocca and Michelle DeLuigi, when her song, "Best Thing Ever", got the most votes in the contest. Her boyfriend is fellow pop singer Sammy Randazzo, a direct descendant of Great Lakes City Mafia boss Giuseppe Randazzo, a Mustache Pete who was murdered by Charles Scardino.

Kathleen Carroll Loud is the fourth child. She is an aspiring comedian and actress, but unlike Luan, her jokes and puns are much more funnier. Her pranks are always harmless, even on April Fool's Day.

Lucia Carroll Loud is the fifth child. Like Lynn, she enjoys playing sports, and she is skilled in martial arts and fighting. However, unlike Lynn, Lucia is more intelligent, strategic, and mild-tempered. Lucia aspires to be a lawyer, and eventually, a politician.

Richard Lincoln Loud III is the sixth and middle child. He has been best friends with Lincoln since they were infants. His personality is a composite of 11 of his fifth cousins. He has Lori's bossiness (albeit to a lesser extent) and love for golf, Leni's kindness and fashion taste, Luna's musical talents, Luan's comedy, Lynn's athleticism and love for sports, Lincoln's planning skills and love for comic books, Lucy's poetic skills, Lana's mechanical traits, Lola's fashion taste, Lisa's intelligence, and Lily's charm. He enjoys playing sports, reading comics, inventing, and conducting scientific experiments. He is the heir apparent to his father's business empire, so he has authority over his sisters, even his older ones. He is also cocky, and overconfident, but he cares about his family. He also has the voice of a teenage boy. His girlfriend is Veronica Martini, Bobby and Ronnie Anne's cousin and mob boss Tony Martini's granddaughter.

Patricia Colonna Loud is the seventh child. She is an emo girl, and likes to write poetry, but unlike Lucy, Patty is more interested in Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church, and does not like witchcraft or the occult. She is a goth and emo girl, because of her family’s past history and business dealings with organized crime, which affected the Loud family, specifically after her grandfather, Richard Jr., and his siblings, turned informant for the FBI.

Daniella Carroll Loud is the eighth child and older twin. She has an interest in mechanics and is I afraid of getting her hands dirty. Unlike Lana, Dana is more short-tempered, and likes to keep herself clean. Despite her temper, she is loyal and caring to her family.

Delores Carroll Loud is the ninth child and younger twin. She enjoys beauty pageants and does act like a princess, and wears a gold tiara. Unlike Lola however, Della is more kindhearted, gentle, innocent, and sweet, and only dresses like a princess for events such as beauty pageants, parties, etc., her regular outfit being a purple hoodie, blue jeans, and purple sneakers with white stripes.

Elizabeth Mary Loud is the tenth child and second-youngest. Like Lisa, Liz is intelligent, and enjoys inventing and conducting scientific experiments. Unlike Lisa, Liz is more extroverted and charismatic.

Lauren Carroll Loud is the eleventh and youngest child. Like Lily, she is aware of her surroundings.

[dry-valleys]

The Incomparable.

The fifth part in my Morocco series (please see here, here, here, here and here for more).

This is El Badi palace (today’s post is only about the time this was built and destroyed; please see here for earlier history and here for later history).

El Badi was built in 1578 by Ahmad al Mansour, sixth of the Saadian Dynasty, who ruled Morocco from 1549 to 1669, having taken over from the Wattasids, who were unpopular for losing the European empire that was ruled from this city from its founding in 1070 until the expulsion of the Wattasids in 1492 from what became the kingdom of Spain.

In the same year, the Spaniards expelled all Jews and Muslims, even though they had lived there for hundreds of years, and many fled to Morocco, thus bolstering the European influence (workers from around the world, Europeans as well as Moroccans, were employed in the building) which had been known here since the Almoravids (1056-1147) built an Andalusian empire from this city which is most clearly seen at Koutoubia Mosque.

The Saadians, whose nearby tomb is also well worth a visit, became wealthy and wanted to build a huge mansion to show their wealth and the power they gained from winning (most of) the wars they waged, and you can still here how imposing their statement was.

They fought off endless attacks from the Spanish, Portuguese (who ruled the nearby city of Tangiers from 1471 to 1661; is a a Portuguese camp in which El Badi is in the top right and you can see the rest of the city as was), the Ottoman Empire (who ruled every Arab country except Morocco, because the Saadians and their successors fought them off).

As well as defending their country from the Europeans and Ottomans, the Saadians could start wars; in 1591 Ahmed Al Mansour conquered the Songhai, an empire in sub-Saharan Africa; Morocco is linked not only to Europe and the Muslim world, but to its African neighbours, and the south was to become a source of slaves and money for Moroccan rulers from then on.

El Badi was already in decline when the last Saadi ruler, Ahmad Al Abbas, was murdered by his uncle in 1659, which led to a civil war that only ended when Al Rashid ibn Sharif seized power in 1666; he boasted descent from Mohammed, founder of Islam, and formed the Alaouite dynasty, which still rule Morocco in the person of present king Mohammed VI.

El Badi was knocked down knocked down by the fearsome ruler Ismail ibn Sharif, whose lengthly reign lasted from 1672 to 1727. He was an Alaouite, brother of Al Rashid ibn Sharif, who fought a series of wars but took no interest in the Saadian palace, which he gutted to use the material for a palace at Menes, which I sadly haven’t seen.

By this time, the English had taken over the old Portuguese colony at Tangiers, on the marriage of Charles II to Portuguese princess Catherine of Braganza, but Ismail booted us out in 1684.

It is rarely talked about in England because it went so badly for us-Charles, in angry humiliation, wanted to “demolish and utterly destroy the place” on the way out, but thankfully this didn’t happen.-

It was a great success for Ismail though, and he also subdued the Berber tribes of the Moroccan heartland (please see here for a glimpse into their way of life which I was allowed to share) who are still here and whose blood flows in the veins of many city dwellers.

Ismail, nicknamed “the bloodthirsty”, owned hordes of slaves whom he seized and then used to fight his endless wars against the Europeans, Africans, Ottomans, and other Moroccans; he is a forefather of current king Mohammed VI, and presumably lots of others as he enjoyed his shagging and has at least 868 known children with at least 500 known wives and mistresses.,

(This was long seen as normal for Moroccan rulers; 4 is an enormous harem where Saadian rulers would keep their wives and mistresses).

(His work is arguably unfinished; at the time of his death he was besieging the Spanish colony of Ceuta, which alongside nearby Melilla is still occupied by Spain, something to bear in mind when the Spanish government next pontificates about Gibraltar).

Leaving the palace I walked into (10) one of the many oases of palm trees that brighten and cool the city.

Here and elsewhere (please see enclosed the rest of my series) we see that Morocco, which has been linked to Europe since Almohad times, can take its place alongside the Greeks, Romans, Byzantines and Ottomans in the living museum with no frontiers that is the Mediterranean.

[tigerathleticmissionexperience]

Thursday morning began with the ETBU Baseball team traveling back to Santo Domingo for a game against the Dominican Republic Army.

The Tigers struck first, scoring one run in the top of the third inning, after Charles Gordon singled and later scored on a single by Michael Gallegos. In the bottom of the inning, the DR Army pushed across two runs to take a 2-1 lead.

ETBU tied the game in the top of the fourth, after Cameron French reached base after being hit by a pitch and advanced to third on a stolen base and errant throw. Kyle Reece followed with a RBI single, making the score 2-2, but the Dominicans responded with six runs in the fourth to take a 8-2 lead.

The Army team tacked on three more runs in the fifth, before the Tigers responded with a single run in the sixth and three runs in the seventh inning, on hits by Jacob Newland, Cayden Earnhart, Gordon, and JC Barry, with Connor Stewart adding a sacrifice fly, leaving the score 11-6.

ETBU surrendered three runs in the eighth, leaving the final score 14-6. After a quick lunch, the ETBU Baseball team headed to a local orphanage for the afternoon.

Ben Burroughs provided a recap of today from his perspective.

“Day four started early for the Tigers as the bus left at 8 AM and we headed to Santo Domingo to play our fourth game of the week. The game started around 10 AM and we played the Dominican Republic Army. At the game we once again got to witness the love and passion all Dominicans show towards the game. Whether they are in the stands or on the field the love of the game is all the same and it makes the atmosphere amazing.

After the game we headed back for a short break and to grab some lunch. After that we headed to an orphanage about 40 miles east of where we are staying. On the way there the bus broke down, so we had to wait on a new one for about 30 minutes. That did not deter us from continuing to do the Lord’s work though as a new bus arrived very soon and we were back on our way.

Once we arrived at the orphanage we had about an hour and half with the kids. I have to say visiting that and being with the kids has been one of the coolest experiences of my life. The experience while we were there is something that I cannot put into words. The happiness and joy of the Lord that we were able to share with the kids is something I wish everyone could feel. I think we loved the experience more than the kids did, and even though we had a short time with them it has created life long memories.

The bus ride home was also something that was super fun, and it was a great way to finish the day. At the end of day four something that has been consistent all week is the friendliness, kindness, and love this culture shows towards people, even when it’s difficult to communicate. Everyone has opened their arms and welcomed us in. I know that the only way we have been able to connect with people on this trip, and connect as a team is through the power of God's love. God in this trip has been so prominent and has been amazing knowing that this is all possible through him.”

[thosearentcrimes]

Apologies for the late reply, had to go vote against him. His opponent, Marek Hilšer, is a hapless liberal conscience vote perennial candidate and the incumbent in a district which is about as much of a liberal stronghold as it gets. He's ok. Marek Hilšer collected the near-universal support of the more or less authentic intelligentsia because Miroslav Bárta is such a massive asshole. Specifically, he has annoyed them by having been openly in the pocket of every significant oligarch we've had in the past decade, including the dead one, and also by being part of the Zima faction within Charles University, a faction which is insanely corrupt and is also viewed as being pro-Chinese (to be clear, I think it's probably not appropriate to turn a university into a lobby organization for foreign influence, but I think it's also not exactly new and most other countries get away with it), along with one of his best friends, a notorious plagiarist who now positively reviews his books. Marek Hilšer has, at the time of writing, just lost the election (turnout: 15%, as usual), because the liberal intelligentsia turns out to have no influence whatsoever and the voting public has amnesia.

I do not believe Miroslav Bárta is insane, and in fact at no point did I say he was insane. I said that the kind of person usually delivering the apocalyptic rhetoric in person that he delivers in print is a lunatic. I also said that his rhetoric, for related reasons, probably appeals to people who are lunatics. I wouldn't hate him like I do if he were crazy. He's just a conniving piece of shit.

Without further ado, the 7 laws (paraphrased, translated):

all societies and civilizations are limited in time and space and begin and end with conflict

changes in the development of societies and civilization are sudden jumps, not linear

that which leads a society and civilization to the top will typically cause its crisis

each society and civilization is based on shared values, visions, and implicit law

each civilization and society relies for its stable existence on a functional social contract based on mutual cooperation [look, I'm just translating, I'm not the one who paraphrased this, and this redundancy is not my fault ok] of the individual parts of society

the development of each society and civilization is determined by technologies and power sources

the success of each society and civilization is chosen by its level of its ability [look I'm translating honestly, people just write like this, I dunno] to adapt to changes in their natural environment

The first law is mostly tautological. If you define societies and civilizations by time and place they will be limited by those things. That's what delimitation is. Like, assuming that the society or civilization in question has any form of organization, it will tend to resist non-existence, therefore conflict. Also I don't think it's actually true.

The second law is literally tautological. A change, especially in historical terms, is definitionally a discontinuity. The discontinuity looks non-continuous. Next you will be telling me that continuities tend to occur linearly.

The third law is a nonsense platitude, a cold read. Doesn't actually mean anything to speak of, though it looks kinda like it does.

The fourth law is obvious and also false. I dunno, have you seen societies, civilizations? Do the people in them look like they broadly agree about these three things?

The fifth law is just the fourth law again, see previous paragraph, but with bonus corporatism. Look. It's not an *inherently* fascist concept. Well, it is, more or less. Nevermind.

The sixth law is a bizarre nod to materialism. It's only mildly consistent with most of the other laws. It's also very silly, right? I mean, even if we're taking a broader view of what development is, it's probably either productivity or dependent on it, right? Like, yeah the things you do depend on your ability to do things. Ok man whatever.

The seventh law just seems blatantly wrong? I dunno, I guess everything that exists is 'natural' and everything outside yourself so it's the 'environment' and everything is constantly changing and words don't really mean anything do they. I no longer know what a "society" or a "civilization" is, but apparently none have managed to arise and then end without any significant changes in their natural environment.

In the metro on the way to work, for weeks now, there has been a guy urgently telling everyone about how he has studied The Ancient Civilizations and has come up with the 7 Laws Of Civilization and that according to him we are all on the way to Civilizational Collapse and that we are all going to die soon and Only He Can Fix It. An ordinary public transport lunatic, you might think.

In fact he is a candidate for Senate with a massive ad campaign. He is a professional academic Egyptologist, which is where he gets his apocalypticism it seems. He is probably going to win, I think, he advanced to the second round and he seems like he should appeal naturally to insane people, who are markedly overrepresented among the maybe 15% of eligible voters liable to actually bother showing up for second round Senate elections (godspeed to them).

Under the circumstances I am quite glad that the Senate mostly does fuck all.

[tonystarkfucksaround]

Charles doing his best to get Erik therapy but the only thing that managed to get accomplished is that the doctors ended up needing therapy. And yes there are more than ones because he needs a whole fucking a panel of psychiatrists to look over him!

Hi! So I was going to write something silly and fun, but it maaaaybe got a little out of hand and turned somewhat (but not really) serious in the end, sorry :'D

Think of post-XMFC, no-Cuba-divorce AU! (although the timeline is somewhat ambiguous, so it could easily be read as a modern powered AU, too, I guess)

***

“Erik…”

Charles sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Erik just scowled (harder) and crossed his arms across his chest (tighter). A little more, and he was going to accidentally turn into a diamond, putting Emma Frost to shame.

His mind was a dark thundercloud that Charles could feel even through his mental shields – and honestly, at this point he was mostly shielding for his own sake rather than out of courtesy to Erik’s wishes.

He could feel the beginnings of migraine building behind his eyes.

Impossibly, Erik scowled even harder when the pause stretched, the corners of his mouth twitching defiantly. Even without looking into his mind (god forbid, but Charles wasn’t going in there, not right now, he wasn’t) Charles knew that Erik was waiting for him to say something – to admit that it was fruitless, perhaps, or to finally deem him broken beyond repair.

It wasn’t true, of course, but after the fifth time this week alone – and it was only Wednesday, lord help him – when he had to wipe a therapist’s memory because Erik’s scheduled visit went spectacularly out of hand, a part of him was almost willing to consider that maybe it wasn’t such a good idea, after all.

And to think that he’d been delighted when Erik actually agreed to see a therapist. Granted, it was after months of prodding and nagging and almost begging, and even then his agreement was more of a tantrum where he yelled that he’d go only so that Charles would please shut the fuck up about it aleady, but hey, at least he agreed! So it had to be a small victory, right?

Wrong. Oh, god, had he been wrong.

The first one was… well. Suffice to say, Charles didn’t really expect Erik to hit it off with the first therapist he found, regardless of her impeccable references and a variety of diplomas. He might not have accounted for Erik nearly killing the poor girl, either, which, okay, his bad; but all in all, it hadn’t been that bad, even if it made a rocky start. Erik didn’t kill the therapist, after all, which definitely counted as a win in Charles’ book, and furthermore, he agreed to try someone else after he had some time to cool down.

The next four appointments ended up pretty much in the same fashion.

Erik really didn’t want anyone getting into his head. Telepath or not.

“Just admit it, Charles,” he had sneered after Charles wiped clean his sixth therapist, leaving the man slightly disoriented, but not much worse for the wear, dozing in his spacious office, convinced that his four o’clock appointment couldn’t make it. “This is just a waste of time. No therapist in a whole world could ever fix this,” he had made a vague gesture at his head and grinned crookedly.

“Now that’s quite a bold statement, my friend,” Charles had said, squeezing his arm and ushering him out. “The world is terribly big, after all. We’ll find you someone you’d feel comfortable talking to yet.”

Erik had just shaken his head, incredulous, but didn’t refuse to try again.

And so they tried. And tried. And tried.

It took Charles almost a month of going through the best therapists New York had to offer to realize that Erik not going for the kill was not, in fact, an improvement; he kept his promise not to look into Erik’s mind, but he did have to look into the minds of all the therapists Erik had managed to traumatize along the way, and while he wouldn’t go so far as to say that their memories gave him nightmares, it certainly had been… less than pleasant.

And Erik, the troll that he was, apparently realized that this was much more fun than simply trying to strangle the doctors with any spare metal that could be found in their offices.

When it became obvious that Charles wasn’t going to say anything, Erik dropped his hands, admitting – not a defeat, not exactly, but a temporary truce.

“Lunch?” he muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets and walking to the elevators after Charles. Charles sent him a sharp glare.

It was a part of their routine now – they went to the therapist’s office together, Charles reciting their achievements and references the whole time it took them to get to the city from Westchester, Erik spent five to fifteen minutes at his appointment — fifteen being the record so far and having only happened once — with Charles waiting patiently at the reception, then Charles had to burst in and wipe a crying therapist’s memory clean. After that they usually went to have lunch or dinner, if the appointment happened later in the day, and, occasionally, catch a movie or get a drink at the bar before they had to go back to the mansion.

If Charles had to be completely honest, it was starting to grate on his nerves. More than once he caught himself thinking that these outing would’ve been so much more pleasant if they didn’t have to start with various therapy sessions; he felt guilty for these thoughts, of course – he wanted to help Erik, he truly did, and he’d never admit that Erik was ‘beyond salvation’, no matter what happened at his appointments – but good god, was it exhausting.

“I’m not really in the mood to be around people right now,” he managed to grit out, just barely keeping from snapping. “So if it’s all the same to you, I suggest we call it a day and go back to Westchester.”

Erik tensed beside him.

“Ready to admit…”

“No,” Charles sighed, frustrated, and rubbed at his face. “No, Erik, I’m not going to admit any such thing. I’m not giving up on you. We’ll find you someone to…”

Erik groaned, and the elevator’s doors slammed open with a shriek of metal that betrayed some sort of interference from the audience.

“I don’t need it, Charles. That’s—that’s not giving up, for fuck’s sake! You always speak about getting someone to listen to my issues, but you’re the one who won’t listen!”

“I’m a geneticist, Erik, not a therapist,” he snapped back. Erik’s anger no longer felt as suffocating as it had been at the office upstairs, but still it did little to alleviate his upcoming headace; the throbbing pain was getting worse by the second, and Charles really didn’t need to deal with this now. “I’m not qualified to help you with this!”

“You’re the only one who is,” Erik countered. “You can’t seriously expect a human to understand—”

“Well, and you can’t expect me to just—watch you breaking down, knowing I can’t help because you won’t let me into your head, and do nothing!”

The receptionist at the lobby startled when the elevator came to stop on the ground floor and the doors opened right as Charles shouted the last words in Erik’s face. He smiled tightly, barely apologetic, and considered wiping her mind for good measure – it’s not like his headache could get much worse, anyway. Before he could do it, though, Erik grabbed him by the arm and tugged him out of the building, muttering angrily under his nose.

“Charles, I have… issues. You know that. Hell, even I know that – and don’t you dare start with the whole ‘admitting a problem is the first step of solving it’ bullshit! It’s not going anywhere. There’s no fixing it. And this,” he waved a hand at the building they left behind, lips curling in distaste, “is not going to help it.”

“This is what I don’t understand – you never as much as give them a chance,” Charles winced, the streets too busy with the rush of people in the mid-morning rush, and the clutter of thoughts too loud even through his shielding. “Why go at all, then? You know I don’t think of it as a waste of time, and you’ll have tough luck trying to outstubborn me, my friend – but if that’s what you truly believe, then… why?”

He expected another snarl, or another biting remark, maybe a frustrated growl and an insistent need for a fight that never really left Erik’s mind, although its spikes used to be more dull these days and hardly ever pointed at Charles himself. Instead, Erik hesitated, and when Charles turned to look at him, confused, he pressed his lips tightly and nudged Charles to a side street. It was out of their way, but it was less busy, which, while wasn’t exactly a relief, was still a welcome sensation.

Erik’s anger and frustration giving way to something akin to hesitation were even more so.

“You want me to,” Erik said simply after a few minutes walking in silence. His shoulders hunched, and he wasn’t meeting Charles’ eyes – but he felt honest, almost painfully so, and Charles felt his heart clench. “I know I’m fucked up. I made my peace with it long time ago. I accepted it as a part of myself. It suits me just fine.”

Charles frowned. From what he saw in the months they spent together, it was anything but fine – Erik saw himself as a monster, and for all that he was strong, stronger than anyone Charles had ever met in his life, probably, he was also very much unstable – perhaps even more so now that he had killed Shaw and promptly lost the only goal that had been dictating his whole life up until that point. Erik had never expected to make it out alive, Charles knew that much, had gleamed it from his memories before Erik snapped at him to stay out of his head; he didn’t die that day, but he teetered dangerously on the edge of losing himself, and it was nothing short of miracle that nothing irreparable happened in the end.

After, he did his damn best to give Erik another goal, to give him a place to call home, people to call friends, family, to give his life a new meaning. There were days he could almost believe that it worked, could trick himself to feel content that Erik was healing; but then he’d catch a haunted look in his eyes and know that it wasn’t enough, that Erik still felt lost and unhinged, and the helplessness that followed that realization was enough to drive Charles up the walls.

Hence the therapists.

“It doesn’t suit you, though,” Erik added quietly, when Charles held back his tongue for once, and glanced at him from the corner of his eye. His eyes were – wary, Charles realized; wary, uncertain and tired. “I know you want me to do something about it, so--”

“No,” Charles paused, and they both stopped, the few passersby skirting around them with flashes of annoyance that he payed no mind to. “No, Erik—do you think I want you to change?”

“Isn’t this what this is about?” Erik’s eyebrows shot up to his hair, and for a brief moment he looked as perplexed as Charles felt.

“Erik, therapy isn’t—it’s not about… I don’t want to change you,” he finished lamely. “I—like you as you are, thank you very much. Probably more than healthy,” he rubbed at the back of his neck, swallowing a self-depreciating chuckle. “And that’s precisely what I want you to understand – that you don’t have to change anything, because there’s nothing to change. You’re not a monster. You’re not broken. But you do need to see how much good there’s in you, how much you’re capable of—”

Even through his shields, even through his persistent headache, even through the buzz of hundreds of minds on the streets around them, he felt, with a sudden clarity, a spike of longing, of need, and a vivid, distinct whisper of a thought, god, but I want to kiss him.

He stared, gaping like an idiot.

Erik smiled ruefully, shrugging – his mind turned a confusing mix of panicky yet weirdly calm, as if now that he knew he was busted (and was he, really, did Charles accidentally slip in his mind, losing his control for a moment, or did he intentionally project that thought?) there was no need to hide anything.

“Oh god,” Charles said, voice shaking a little, but before Erik had the chance to frown, worried (sick with worry, actually, that weird calm giving way yet again to the cold dread of ruining everything of losing this--) his face split into a huge grin that he wouldn’t have been able to contain even if wanted to. “Erik, you’re—you’re an impossible man, do you know it?”

He tugged Erik’s sleeve, pulling him close, closer still when he tried to resist – but everyone turned blind eye all of a sudden, them becoming practically invisible to people giving them a wide berth now, all so that he could wrap his arms around Erik’s shoulders and press their lips together, catching Erik’s surprised gasp and smiling.

“Come on,” he muttered after a moment. “I think you said something about lunch?”

“I though you said something about not being around people,” Erik breathed, and it didn’t really sound like he was being considerate, but rather like he was contemplating how getting Charles alone could be beneficial to him.

Charles chuckled and kissed him again.

“I can stand a little headache, I think. But really, Erik, you should’ve told me we were going on dates sooner; I can’t believe I’ve missed so many of them!”

“It’s only fair,” Erik sniffed. “I had to tolerate seeing therapists before we could get to the fun part. And it wasn’t even that fun.”

“Don’t think you’re getting out of it so easily,” Charles reprimanded him fondly even as they started winding their way through the street to find a proper diner, hopefully not too crowded for the sake of his headache. “We’ll find you a therapist yet.”

“As long as I get something to look forward to afterwards,” Erik squeezed his fingers lightly and smirked when Charles flushed, only now realizing that he let go of Erik’s sleeve only to grab his hand instead, “I think I wouldn’t mind giving it another try.”

[ducklooney]

Duckvember - Zealous, Cagey, Scandalous, Little, Mushroom, Mom, Dad, Maintenance, Honorable, Army, Nutty, Boyfriend, Depressed and Free Duck (Ducks)

Sorry for my delay, but I did this part of the job. Not to lengthen that much, for the reason that it would already be a very long post, I will only briefly say what is on these ten drawings from various franchises where ducks appear in cartoons (mostly in America and Europe).

The first drawing is related to the best ducks Donald and Daffy Duck, their first versions and current versions. Took inspiration from this ingenious drawing: https://www.deviantart.com/devilkais/art/Divine-Ducks-Duel-459538941

Tied this first drawing definitely to Honorable Ducks.

The second drawing is related to ducks (Army Ducks) going to war (World War II and propaganda cartoons) primarily related to Donald and Daffy Duck plus Gandy Goose from Terrytoons (yes, Gandy is a goose, but he looks like a duck). Certainly Daffy The Commando and Commando Duck are tied classic shorts to Donald and Daffy as well as other drawings and these are partly like redraw.

The third drawing is related to Maintenance Duck so I drew Duckman and his family (Bernice, Ajax, Charles and Mambo). Yes, Duckman is a private detective and has a lot of problems with his wife's twin and his family and his job. Yes, that cartoon is from the 90s and it is more for adults, but whoever wants, let them look at it.

The fourth drawing is related to Howard the Duck from Marvel and whoever wants to explore more about it, so there is no need for an explanation and it is related to Scandalous and Depressed Duck.

The fifth drawing is related to Alfred Johathan Quack (Kwak) from a Japanese-Dutch cartoon series with his girlfriend, Winnie. The sixth drawing is related to Baby Huey (from Noveltoon) with his parents Papa and Mama Duck (Gilbert & Silly). The seventh drawing is related to a frightened Wade Duck who stops Roy the Roster (they are from the U.S. Acres and appeared in the Garfield and Friends series). The eighth drawing is related to Petra Jobatta (Pierrot), a duck from the Japanese-Italian cartoon series Calimero with his friends Calimero and Valerian (Giuliano), who are more chickens, but Piero is definitely a green wild duck.

The ninth drawing is related to Duck Quacker from Tom & Jerry and who is Jerry's friend, but unfortunately both Jerry and Quacker were trapped by Tom Cat and who says (partly took inspiration from Bodyguard) "IN ME POWER!". Still, the two of them will get away with it, but I definitely mostly prefer Tom the cat in terms of the rivalry between Tom and Jerry. And interestingly, Quacker’s voice was played by the same voice actor for Donald Duck, Clarence Nash.

The tenth and last drawing is related to Count Duckula, which comes from the eponymous British cartoon series from the late 1980s and which holds a mushroom with a duck's beak. Yes, since Duckula is a vegetarian, he still can't eat vegetables, because there's Bushroot from Darkwing Duck who advises him not to eat any plants or mushrooms at all. Although they are supposed to be monsters, the two of them still have a good heart, with Bushroot being the antagonist and Duckula the protagonist.

P.S. That's it. I know Duckvember has already passed, but I plan to publish the rest tomorrow, but exclusively from the Disney and Warner Bros. franchises as far as ducks and their world are concerned, and if not, then certainly as a special topic or they will be shown next year. So there will be more for anime ducks next year. I hope you like these drawings and that you are a fan of one of these ducks, and not just Donald and Daffy.

[aj-allen97]

A Ranking of Marvels Adoptive Parents:

(This is all in good fun - please don’t attack me because i didn’t give your favorite parent a better score)

Thanos: Acquired his children illegally, Four created a cult in his name, made the fifth into a cyborg with anger issues, and killed the sixth child. 1/10 would not recommend.

Yondu: Illegally acquired his kid. Threatened to eat him, not a perfect father, but kept the kid alive till adulthood, and sacrificed himself to keep his kid alive. 6/10 would semi recommend if your feeling adventurous/brave.

Odin: Semi Illegal acquired his kid? Found him in the middle of a battle and just took him? Raised him second best to his chosen golden child. Gave him a villain complex. 3/10

Frigga: Didn’t bat an eye when hubby brought home a new baby, just took him in and raised him like he was her own flesh and blood. Taught him magic and never gave up on him. 10/10 would definitely recommend

Tony Stark: Adopted two. Did better then his own father, gave them cool tech to use, though he did blackmail one into going into Germany to fight adults and then semi ghosted him - technically ghosted the first kid as well. 7/10 due to The whole ghosting aspect.

Clint Barton: Adopted two, made them embrace the whole superhero arc one died the other survived, tried to be supportive and break her out of house arrest got her arrested- kind of ghosted her after she lost her boyfriend and had a mental break down. About to adopt another not for sure if that’s a good idea or not at this rate. 7/10 because he could have done better by this adoptive kid after her trauma conga line.

Charles Xavier: Technically raised a school of potential child soldiers. But also gave them a safe and loving environment to be raised in when brith parents turn them out. And yet took one kid and repressed certain memories, and tried to repress certain powers without her consent. 7/10 not the worst but still iffy.

Stakar Ogord: Found a kid, took him in taught him the ropes of being a space pirates, but then immediately booted him out when he broke a big rule without trying to figure out a middle ground. 5/10 would maybe recommend.

Deadpool: Found a kid, didn’t want the kid, kid kept coming back to him like a kick puppy, still rejected kid, so kid went evil but deadpool had a change of heart and now he’s like the fun uncle to the kid. 6/10 though I’m sure once he’s get used to it he’ll do better at it.

Uuuuh did I miss any? I feel like I did 😂

[doortotomorrow]

Mirrors and Cautionary Tales : John Murphy’s Journey to Redemption

When it comes to John Murphy, plenty of people have wondered why he spent a significant portion of his screen time interacting with the seasonal villains, and I think I’ve come up with a reason why this feels like such a steady trend in his overall story arc. It all comes down to how these villains represented Murphy’s internal struggles with himself as he grew and matured into the man we now know him as today. 

Let’s take this back to the very first season of The 100 where we first encounter Murphy as he touches down onto Earth and the kind of person he was back then. As beloved a character as he is now, I can’t mince words or sugarcoat things. He was the villain for the delinquents in the first season. So, what kind of villain was he?

He wanted power and authority by any means necessary - ( “Well, I think the princess is dead... but I know the king's about to die, so who's really gonna lead these people, huh? Me, that's who, and, yeah, maybe I'll have to kill your grounder-pounding little sister.” - We are Grounders I )

He was downright wrathful - ( his willingness to kill Jasper, holding someone over a fire, ganging up on Wells to remove his bracelet, almost killing Raven )

He was selfish and all about his own self preservation- ( making everyone else do the work around the delinquent camp while Bellamy is gone, wasting resources to blow a hole in the drop ship to make his getaway )

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With those things out of the way, let’s jot down all the villains Murphy interacted with.

Charles Pike

Ontari kom Azgeda

Paxton McCreary

Josephine Lightbourne 

Sheidheda

We’ll start with John Murphy’s origin point and his experience under his abusive Earth skills teacher, Charles Pike. While Murphy was largely absent from witnessing much of what Pike did to become Chancellor of Arkadia, he did see the end result of how that worked out for him. Desperate, in a jail cell, and then later on, stabbed to death in an act of revenge for the horrific things he did while in a position of power he practically stole. 

On the Grounder side, he had the unfortunate luck of being trapped in Polis with Ontari kom Azgeda. Initially, he went along with the whole false Commander thing, masquerading as her Fleimkepa and even gave her advice on how to maintain her power...but then he started becoming unnerved by her violent paranoia, ultimately getting traumatized by her when she viciously abused him.

Murphy’s front row seat to watching two people’s quests for power and authority left him with this valuable lesson : being power hungry will turn you in a paranoid, unhinged person with a list of enemies a mile long. You will never, ever have a moment’s peace. You will always be looking over your shoulder wondering if this is the day you get a knife in the back.

After the third season, Murphy’s desire for power and authority completely disappears. It’s not something he’s interested in anymore because he’s been shown that it’s simply not worth it. 

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Enter season five and its main villain : Paxton McCreary. What does McCreary like to do for fun? Start riots, blow things up, fire off big guns, and getting high off of combat. Oh, and he’s always, always emotionally detached and angry. His default setting is rage. It’s sounding kind of familiar, isn’t it? 

The fifth season is where Murphy’s at his most chaotic and destructive(both internally and externally). He’s blowing things up, playing with huge guns, causing riots, jumping into any battle he can for the adrenaline rush, pushing everyone away, breaking up with Emori until finally, it all comes crashing down on him. All of this chaotic behavior leads to him getting shot in the Rover, nearly losing his life in the process.

On the other side of the war, McCreary’s wrath caused untold levels of destruction. It was McCreary’s need for destruction that lead to Earth being completely fried, it was McCreary’s wrath that resulted in the loss of Monty and Harper, taking away two members of Murphy’s family from him. 

All of this unquantifiable destruction and death was a giant wake up call for Murphy. McCreary leaves him with this lesson: if you let rage and chaos possess you, you will end up losing everything. 

That’s why, when the sixth season rolls around, Murphy’s lust for battle was greatly diminished. 

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Speaking of the sixth season, it’s time to revisit Sanctum and get ourselves reacquainted with Josephine Lightbourne. 

When Murphy arrived in Sanctum, his heart was heavy, clearly in a state of mourning over those he lost when he woke up and realized Monty and Harper were gone. Not only that, but yet again, he had suffered another traumatic near death experience during Sanctum’s Red Sun event. His first day out of his long hibernation was hardly fun at all, experiencing nightmares about going to hell when he fell into a coma and waking up screaming over what he saw.

So, in a moment of vulnerability and wanting to avoid going to hell, Murphy became more and more tempted with the concept of the Prime’s method of immortality. The ultimate survivor’s move : not dying at all. It’s at this point where he met Josie and saw first hand what living forever does to a person. At first, he made a deal with her to get his hands on some empty mind drives(getting Emori in on the deal as well), but the longer he lingered in her company, the more immortality started losing its luster. When it was revealed Clarke was still alive, Murphy joined the others in helping to get Josie out of her head.

Immortality had turned Josie into a sociopathic monster, utterly incapable of respecting other people’s feelings and wishes, only focusing on her own wants and needs for the sake of preserving herself. This wasn’t who Murphy wanted/needed to be anymore, having fallen in love with Emori, and creating a family alongside her which Murphy valued too much to lose. After all, what was the point of living forever if he lost his family?

That’s why, when the mind drives come up again in the seventh season, they’re now a symbol of finite time in Murphy’s story. Just a few more hours with the woman he loved as humanity itself faced its final hours.

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With all of these cautionary tales Murphy’s seen play out throughout the seasons, avoiding all of those pitfalls the previous villains fell in, we’re introduced to his perfect foil : Sheidheda, the dark commander. 

Sheidheda was everything Murphy could have become if he never went on his journey of redemption, falling in love, and finding a family to fight for. Sheidheda craved power and desired nothing more than to see everyone kneeling at his feet. Through the Flame, he had lived forever, waiting for his moment of opportunity to arrive where he could rise again. If something got in his way, he’d burn it all down, creating chaos and bloodshed in his wake. He’s all of the previous villains combined into one package.

We were in desperate need of a hero...and we got one.

When Murphy and Sheidheda had their first confrontation, Murphy was deep into hero mode. He helped Emori calm down a rioting crowd, saved Sanctum from a nuclear meltdown, and rescued a group of frightened children. He kept on saying he was tired of playing the hero, but let’s be honest here, he wore the title well. Sheidheda was flawlessly utilized to showcase how far Murphy had come as a character, becoming a man we know his father would be proud of. 

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There you have it! My long, long winded way of breaking down why Murphy spent so much time interacting with the villains. It was their way of marking down each stage of Murphy’s overall arc. It was very much intentional.