#council being the moots

[bamsara]

the council has spoken; im slicing the chapter in half, its too long lskdhglkdsg you get one half right and the next ??? tomarrow idk we'll see how long it takes for me to finalize

[fanfic-obsessed]

Unavailable

This started as the seed of a different idea, but it fit so well into this beginning that it was like they were made to go together.

Just before the intel starts arriving that would lead to the Rako Hardeen mess, the Force gets a warning to the Jedi. This warning, once translated, is very clear. Obi Wan Kenobi needs to be out of communication for a while (can’t be sent on a mission whose real purpose is to fracture the relationship between Obi Wan and Anakin, if Obi Wan is not there…).

So Obi Wan and Cody get sent undercover to infiltrate some criminal enterprise whose main base is on Endor (while they are undercover the 212th will be on leave-part of an initiative to prove that the clones are not actually being abused).  Their cover is married mandalorian bounty hunters, thus their faces can be covered. The mission is that they will arrive on Endor, find a place to live, and start taking bounties that would make them highly visible to the criminal enterprise. It is anticipated that this mission will be at least 4 weeks, and there cannot be any contact (Because this is not faking Obi Wan’s death, Anakin is warned the Obi Wan will be out of communication for a while, though he is still given no details) throughout this time. 

It all goes well at first, then three days in (due to Force shenanigans, and a Force artifact that was disguised as an antique) both Obi Wan and Cody wake up with no memories. They were just far enough into their mission to have found a place to live and all of their idents and paperwork is in the names of Ben and Kote Beroya, married bounty hunters. Ben (Obi Wan) is just aware enough of the Force to know that they both need to keep their armor on while they are not alone.  Not knowing about their other mission, they find a decent bounty, complete it, and leave the planet. 

Meanwhile on Coruscant Palpatine tries to go forward with the Rako Hardeen plan, in spite of his main goal (which requires Obi Wan Kenobi) being impossible.  Without the additional emotional damage to Anakin Skyalker to distract everyone, Palpatine is found out.  The high council, barring Obi Wan but with Anakin, goes to confront Palpatine. 

It is the middle of an emergency senate session. 

Palpatine activates Order 66(galaxy wide it should be noted) … for about 45 seconds before a Force fueled panic attack from Anakin disables all of the chips at once (also galaxy wide-incidentally giving Kote Beroya a headache from half a galaxy away).  Palpatine was planning on relying on the controlled clones and might have considered going quietly (with an idea to salvage the 1000 year plan) with the realization that the clones were now free. It was all a moot point, since moments after the clones (now very confused and more than a little horrified themselves with their new knowledge) were freed, Palpatine is fatally shot by Bail Organa (Bail has been up for five days working on a draft of the clone rights bills. He is tired, cranky, and pissed that this meeting cut into his scheduled Comm call with Breha). 

In the aftermath it is found that Palpatine used Dark Side Magic to partially (at varying degrees) control a number of people in the Senate. This includes Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala. In this one Palpatine’s control is what caused Anakin to slaughter the Tuskens.  Anakin is not the only one who needed specialized Jedi therapy (meant to deal with the topic of ‘so the Darkside fucked with your head/possessed you’). It very quickly became the most common type of therapy in the Senate

Palpatine also forced the relationship between Padme and Anakin. There was attraction there, and it was possible that the attraction would have grown into something more but their entire relationship was hijacked by Palpatine (Padme alone had been mostly controlled since she was 14 and needed to go through 4 Jedi exorcisms). More horrifyingly Palpatine used more Sith Magic to put Padme’s womb into stasis, which was currently occupied by fraternal twins, held at the three week marker (so that he could make her ‘become pregnant’ when he was ready to start his end game) that were biologically Anakin’s and Padme’s, though after the Sith magic controlling them was removed, neither remember having sex. 

Everyone involved is utterly horrified. It seemed impossible to conceptualize the level of violation on all parties.  The Jedi Order eventually bought an incubation tube from the Kaminoans and, with Padme’s grateful permission (who had been a bit conflicted, she truly did not want to be pregnant- especially in these circumstances- but did not personally feel comfortable with getting an abortion), moved the twins there for the duration.  The Twins would then become part of the Order and both Padme and Anakin would be allowed to decide how much the children would be told.

At this point Anakin requested that his Master be brought back from his mission. Anakin really needed Obi Wan, and a couple of dozen hugs.  The clones are doing their part cuddling their general and Ahsoka is trying too, but sometimes you just need your dad/older brother figure to tell you everything is alright. Especially when everything is fucked up. 

The Jedi Council agree and reach out to the secret Comm to contact Obi Wan and recall them (theoretically the whole operation became moot after the Chancellor's death). There’s no answer (as it was a hidden, secret comm neither Ben nor Kote knew to bring it along). The council looks at each other. They try again. Still no answer.  They manage to get in contact with the landlord of the place that was rented to Ben and Kote, who goes ‘Oh those guys. Good tenets, quiet. They left six weeks ago (two weeks into their mission). Think they said they were heading toward Corellia.’ 

Now the Jedi council are wondering just what happened that sent Obi Wan and his commander to Corellia and why they didn’t get in contact about the change. It is decided that this was a good mission for Anakin to go on, as it would help distract him, leading both the 501st and the 212th. 

So now Anakin is on the galaxy’s biggest scavenger hunt, being evaded by two bounty hunters that do not know they are being hunted. 

Back with Ben and Kote, they have been taking bounties and slowly learning about themselves and each other throughout (and what married means to them). They realized quickly that they had some specific standards (they DO NOT kill kids or innocents, but Kote has found that he takes a particular glee in bringing betrayers in and Ben has a hatred for anyone who would hurt kids). They have also found that Ben had a tendency to draw the attention of slavers, without fail. They had shut down an even dozen slavery rings in the middle rim.   Because they are always wearing a helmet, except for around each other, they have not realized that their faces are really famous.   They have also realized in that time that Kote is a hand to hand fighter and Ben can do some really weird things (lifting things with his mind) when he concentrates.

It takes another few months before they start to hear that Galactic General Anakin Skywalker is apparently asking for them by name. Rather desperately, at times almost violently. Ben’s instincts (supplemented by the Force) says that General Skywalker does not mean any harm. Both of them, in a fit of whimsy, decide to lead the General on a merry chase across the galaxy (incidentally giving Anakin more time to not focus on the body horror of…well everything to do with Palpatine or Padme). 

During this time the Galactic War ends. 

The chase eventually ends because Ben and Kote encounter another member of the Beroya clan (Obi Wan had been legitimately inducted into the clan when he protected Satine as a teen), who they are around long enough to take their helmets off around them.  

This being blinks twice and basically says holy fuck you are a famous republic general and his commander, you have been missing for months. Ben and Kote blink at each other, shrug and go ‘that explains Skywalker stalking us’ and admit their amnesia to the being.  

Anakin is greatly surprised that the next time his fleet comes out of hyperspace he is greeted by his former master, in armor, asking what took him so long. 

For a moment Anakin considered Falling right then and there. 

Then he considered it again when he met up with Ben and Kote and realized they had no memories.  

How the fuck was he going to explain this to anyone…

[duncan-rohanne]

i really like the scene where aegon is looking for jaehaerys to take him to the council. it's a great window into helaena and aegon's marriage but what i really like that a) he is the one looking for his son, not sending a servant and b) that he has enough foresight to start preparing jaehaerys for being a king. the fact that he does a terrible job about it is a moot point. but he does try. which is more what viserys has ever done.

[qsycomplainsalot]

Lindybeige is Either an Idiot or an Asshole

Most Likely Both

--There could be more flattering ways to put it, but he's never once given us that favor so why should I. His videos are wildly speculative and often based in cherry-picked British sources, when they come with any sources at all - see his masturbatory piece about the Bren vs the “Spandau”.

--There are two videos that I absolutely loathe at the edges of my youtube recommendations, both just filled to the brim with misinformation and logical contrivances. Videos that neckbeards will endlessly quote at me without question, taking a frustratingly long amount of time to untangle by which point they'd have usually lost interest already. The first one is Shadiversity's video about boob armor, the other is Lindybeige's video about the French Resistance.

--This video will have you believe that the French Resistance on its own did nothing of worth, based in great part on the fact that De Gaulle glamorized its contribution to the war for political status. I cannot stress this enough, just because De Gaulle used the general idea of the Resistance to smooth over a lot of Vichy war crimes and restore national unity does not mean the Resistance did not exist as a capable fighting force. --The very first more specific argument he offers to support his view -if you ignore “ME AND ME PA FOUND THAT VERY FONNY”- is that most of the French armor was American-made and provided through the lend-lease policy, making French people less deserving of credit in winning World War 2. I assume that in his mind that would diminish the contribution of the French Resistance to war efforts, even though these tanks and armored fighting vehicles were used by the Free French Army, not the Resistance at any point of its existence, making the point moot while also conveniently ignoring that the United Kingdom received ten times the aid France did through that same program.

--The image is from War Thunder because it makes for a better glamor shot than having it stand behind a museum fence or in black and white.

--His next argument implies that De Gaulle was "allowed" to walk in the liberated Paris ahead of Allied troops to give a speech that solidified the myth of the Resistance I mentioned. Again, in this passing, deceptive comment, Lindybeige implies that De Gaulle walked in after the fact and that Allied forces did the heavy lifting, only allowing him to do his speech a their convenience. Even a cursory amount of research will tell you that Paris was in fact liberated by the FFI, the Parisian people themselves and Leclerc’s 2nd Armored Division composed of Metropolitan and Colonial French with Spanish elements, supported only on the very last day by the US 4th Infantry Division and a special British unit sent to gather intelligence. --Following this, he quotes the speech De Gaulle delivered in front of the town hall the day the German garrison surrendered, but cuts it short of the part in said speech mentioning “the help of our dear and admirable Allies” to then call De Gaulle ungrateful, which I have a hard time believing could be anything but intentionally deceptive. He then goes on to claim that the French Resistance was not organized by De Gaulle but by the British, justifying the ludicrous claim with 'they didn’t tell him because French intelligence services were bad and would have leaked all of it’. This is of course ignoring the fact that De Gaulle had personally sent Jean Moulin back to France for the exact purpose of organizing the five big Resistance movements into one organization, which he did, creating the Council for National Resistance that played a major role in the liberation of Paris. How the British would have any hand in this may be explained by his further comments, where he goes on to say that agents of the organization preceding the MI6 had been infiltrated in the Resistance to organize it, which begs the question of who's responsible for it being a non-effective combat force if it had been the case. He then gives us a voice in a sarcastic tone by saying, “of course you and your British bias would say that !” but does not really address it. Because honestly yeah, you and your British bias would say that.

--After quickly rambling that there were too many people in France and not enough bushes for all people to join the Resistance, which I have to admit is an extremely pointed and pertinent thing to say in a video downplaying the efforts and suffering of thousands of people fighting back against Nazi occupation under constant threat of torture and execution if caught, he mentions that the German forced labor system had severely depleted France’s manpower of fighting age. He says that by 1944, only teenagers and decrepit middle aged men were left to fight in the Resistance, to the great disappointment of the British agents he mentioned earlier. According to him, this meant France lacked the manpower and the communication capability required to pull the Resistance off, which is again contradicted by the actions of Jean Moulin, who had seemingly managed to access both before his death.

--There are a few problems with that argument. The Service de Travail Obligatoire, STO for short, was a system put in place by Vichy France to supply Germany with civilian manpower to make up for their own shortfalls due to the Eastern front. Because Vichy had negotiated a relative independence compared to other occupied country, its own government was responsible for the order, although it was in almost every point similar to forced labor orders in Denmark or the Netherlands. Now the STO did deprive France of over six hundred thousand young men, many of them skilled workers. However as an incentive given by the Nazis, every three forced laborer sent to Germany would lead to the release of one French POW, meaning that as far as manpower was concerned, France pretty much lost only four hundred thousand men and received qualified military personnel for its trouble. Not only is it hardly the manpower drain pictured by Lindybeige, it also ignores that many of these forced laborers, my grandfather included, immediately skipped work and joined either the Resistance or Allied military regulars after operation Overlord, as they were not as tightly surveilled as POWs and minorities in concentration/death camps. It also bears mentioning that it was teenagers, dismissed by Lindybeige as a negligible quantity, that acted as reconnaissance troops for the Free French using their motorbikes to scout and guide the way to the German Kommandantur. In any case, most members of the FFI integrated the regular French army after the liberation of Paris, meaning they were definitely of fighting age. Of course that whole argument is dropped as soon as he brings in British involvement, at which point he finally points out how the Resistance disabled most of the railway network and stopped the famously lightning-fast German army from facing the Allied invasion properly. For their role in this sabotage, a hundred fifty Resistance members working for the French national railway company were shot and another five hundred deported.

--To put it simply, Lindybeige dismisses the Resistance as a useless, wasteful and infighting group of functional morons, while every successful operation they carried out, every display of good mobility and coordination is attributed to British uniformed soldiers overseeing it. In reality most of that effort was done by either agents of the French government in exile or the Allied command under Eisenhower, with no account mentioning any significant autonomous British involvement which stands to reason as De Gaulle and Churchill could not stand one another. In fact Lindybeige tries to pass off operation Jedburgh as a purely British operation while it was specifically a joint one with American, British, French, Belgian and Dutch operatives all along the Atlantic coast.

--The next part is baffling. Lindybeige points at the Allies stopping their shipments of weapons to the French Resistance after July 44 and justifies it by saying the various cells were fighting each other and were uncoordinated. Thank god the Brits stopped sending arms or there would have been a civil war between these silly French Resistance members. Of course what happened in August was the liberation of Paris followed by the integration of the FFI into the new French army, which would go on to liberate the rest of the country. But Lindybeige pushes this civil war angle pretty hard, calling at this point of the video both Vichy France and the Resistance to be pro French in a way and underlining the conflicts between the two as a reason why the weapon shipments stopped coming, with examples such as Resistance members exacting reprisals against Nazi collaborators, which is a completely moot point because Vichy France and collaborators had nothing to do with the Resistance and were in fact, at this point of time, recognized as the enemy by all Allied forces, meaning acts of resistance against them would in no way prompt Allied command to stop supporting the French Resistance. Lindybeige goes so far as to say that the OSS and British secret service stopping the weapon shipments in August 1944 legitimately prevented an outright civil war between the different cells of the French Resistance, which was in actuality pretty unified in its support to De Gaulle at this point thanks to the efforts of Jean Moulin as discussed previously. This hardly gels with the events following August 1944, where the members of the Resistance and FFI were enlisted in the Free French Army and were therefore issued American military equipment and training to function as regular troops. Now stop me if I'm wrong but it appears that in Lindybeige's mind all French people were ready to tear each other apart until the British stopped sending them pipe guns, after which the Americans sent them tanks which obviously disabled their ability to start a civil war.

--Two French colonial soldiers using a blend of Allied gear during the winter of 1944-45. They are presumably thinking of killing each other.

--Much like the Phantom Menace review this is addressing a piece of media were essentially everything is wrong, hence the length of this post. Lindybeige has obviously researched the topic to great length, then ignored half of it to record 17mn of vague, dismissive and unsubstantiated claim that each take an equal amount of time to debunk. He present the facts as if everything that happened on British soil was under British orders so as to make the French Resistance only effective on their accord, all the while disregarding the French government in exile and slandering the efforts of French people but also inadvertently of the Americans. It is my honest belief that this sad excuse of an historian is either profoundly lacking in literacy or actively trying to justify his xenophobia by bending WW2 historiography around his bias, and whatever it may be he should be deplatformed to avoid spreading more harmful and disrespectful lies about a group of brave men and women who fought to liberate their country from fascism.

[space-blue]

I'm so glad there are people discussing the politics of Arcane! It's something that bothered me too while watching. One thing I wish they had portrayed more fairly was Silco's time in power. I mean, we only get one montage of the more advanced industrialized Zaun with clean air stations, and only one mention of "Silco the Industrialist." Meanwhile his Shimmer business got episode upon episode of "look at how evil this is".

It even seems to be common for watchers to think he was ONLY doing Shimmer. So many people didn't pick up on the industrialization of Zaun, the cars and new machinery, nor the clean air stations. To the point that it's common to say he only destroyed Zaun and did nothing to improve it. I'm just like.... why did the show not put in more effort to portray both sides of the coin of Silco's operations, especially when his faction is the ONLY one specifically fighting for independence from their oppressors. Just seems like an odd choice.

I feel like Silco has more implied time in the way he talks to the chembarons. He makes it quite clear that HE brought them up here, and they're now corrupted by their time in the sun. And it's set in a gorgeous cultivair... So I think Silco making the Lanes wealthy is really undeniable. It's just that making crimelords wealthy is dodgy in itself, even if we assume that everyone got richer and better.

But honestly I want to say... People have a tendency of forgetting that Silco is a private individual. It's not his job to make people richer or to modernise the Undercity. It's not his responsibility to keep the streets clean or control crime.

That's the Council's.

The scene where Jayce looks in wonder/disgust at all the children in the shimmer factory always strikes me as a great moment for him. I've seen a lot of bad takes on it, making Silco EVIL for having kids working there and Jayce GOOD for feeling bad. Like, flashnews, Silco is providing them with stable income! Kids in his factories don't need to steal or prostitute themselves.

Wouldn't it be great though if they didn't have to work at all? No shit. Shall we ask the Council why there is ZERO social wellfare programs for such poor kids in Zaun?

Well, probably because when they don't work at Silco's, they work at Piltovan factories and mines for scraps. Because Piltovans don't have a normal relationship with Zaunites.

Silco is basically the head of a mafia, and he operates in a power vacuum left by Piltover. If the council took an active interest in the well being of Zaunites, if they weren't starved and beaten and killed point blank for wanting rights, there would be no need for Silco's dream, and no show.

I think even if the show made a greater effort to portray both sides, people would still vilify Silco, because "drugs" have such a demonic reputation. What bums me out more is that they made no effort to make separate chemicals, and ended up making shimmer into the philosopher's stone. WHY wouldn't you make shimmer??? It powers crazy cool engines, saves people from imminent death with no visible bad side effects, gives people a strength boost, and is a cool party drug?

Those are all things we're shown as well. It's so weird.

It really bums me out how Ekko talks about the horrors of shimmer, what it did to Zaun as it flooded the streets, and yet what we're shown is a camp of a dozen people, and a couple homeless people begging in the street when Heimer visits. As well as a violent fight.

Like... Yes? Zaun apparently has been the pits for generations. Is that truly the worst you have? A few addicts and 1 homeless beggar? As well as being "told" it affected families?

I totally get this is horrible, but we are shown a lot more screen time of shimmer being super OP when well used, and used for years without bad effects at that, via Sevika. It makes the criticism sort of moot, especially after one drop of shimmer saves Vi from a horrendous gut wound.

I highly doubt Silco invented poverty or addiction. The show makes it seem like those are his responsibility in equal measure because he commercializes shimmer (which is true) and because they need him as a villain. If shimmer is too good, then he'll become a straight up hero, instead of an anti-hero in villain clothing.

The show just wouldn't commit to have the third act fully go with 'the council are the villains, Silco is in the right', and I genuinely think it's because Riot is an American Company owned by a Chinese one, and that nobody up the foodchain really wants a story in which an underdog character is morally justified in exacting violence on the powerful.

It's my tinfoil hat theory. The hopeful tinfoil says that the writers did their best to give us that story but couldn't realise it fully. The dark tinfoil says that everyone involved is too far deep the neoliberal hellhole to escape centrist narratives (in which Ekko and his useless, powerless artsy rebels are the true heroes).

I'm happy to take the show as it is though, and fill in the blanks my way. I don't have to bend the canon's arm too much to tell a politically charged story that fits my desires!

[wyn0rrific]

your mothmarines are occupying my mind so much. im kindove noobish about these things so forgive me if i am misunderstanding chapter(?) structure, but if theres terminators within the chapter, would they be named/inspired by giant moths (i.e. attacus, hyalophora).... i love moths and warham so i had to come yap about it 🫶👌 AKDBJDLSJA

hii moot!!

honestly im not sure since i started developing this chapter with very little 40k knowledge LOLL (i think at the time the only knowledge i had of terminators were my bf's homebrew chapter since i designed his captains for him ^^)

i do finally have the book i wrote all the lore in (book in question is a lil sanrio journal LOL) so i can go in depth about the chapter organization a bit ^^

the ranking is still the same except they refer to the titles as different terms:

broods (aspirants)

hornworms (neophytes)

eclipse siblings (battle brothers)

sphinxs (sargents/veterans)

swarm lords (captains)

instead of referring to nyx as the chapter master they call him the beacon priest!

all of the rankings (except broods and hornworms) have special armor coloring and facial markings exclusive to their rank

eclipse siblings wear dark green/olive with salmon accents similar to sphinx moths

sphinxs wear green with red and brown accents similar to an Atlas moth

swarm lords wear green with desaturated purple and pink accents based off of Luna moths

and nyx's palette is based off an oleander hawkmoth

i also managed to develop the companies as well for this chapter (which are referred to as saturniidaes) with names based off of moon phases:

new moon- comprised of the hawk moth veterans/councils and focus on research and non-battle duties

waxing crescent- composed of the top warriors that specialize in assassination

first quarter- assault squad

waxing gibbous- close support squad

full moon- specific task force (they specialize in the retrieval of samples/tyranid corpses for research)

waning gibbous- recon squad

third quarter- combination of different roles

waning crescent- recruitment force

The first and second companies are the only ones I have somewhat of a description for, that being at the first company is comprised of a small group of individuals from the very first round of gene seed implantation and serve as Nyx's confidants (they're one of the only people who are able to actually speak while the rest of the homebrew developed weak vocal cords leaving them lack of speech).

The second company is comprised of individuals with little to no identity as they are kept secret, wearing masks to hide their face in front of everyone except for Nyx (they're very strict about this as if ones' identity is revealed they will be exiled).

ok that's ALOT of info i am terribly sorry here is art for compensation of making it this far

nyx's traditional garment for when he is to meet with nobles/imperialists

sketches i did awhile back of nyx and what is supposed to be the swarm lord for the 2nd company

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: Freedom, for a price.

( Please come see me on my new patreon and support me for early access to stories and personal story requests :D https://www.patreon.com/NiqhtLord Every bit helps)   *Sound of a door opening*

*Multiple footsteps entering before creaking door shut*

*scuff of a chair being dragged against rock floor before someone sits down*

Human: I was wondering if you would accept my invitation.

Nivo: Ga’tek sha von tout.

Human: Forgive me, my translator must be offset.

Human: *Slaps translator*

Human: There we go; can you repeat your last statement?

Nivo: Why should I not kill you?

*Sounds of alien weapons being pulled out and charged*

Human: Is such unwarranted aggression needed?

Nivo: You somehow located our stronghold, snuck past all of my men, and left a calling card in my war room.

Nivo: The only reason you are still alive now is that I would know how this was done.

Human: Let us not focus on the past and instead look to our future.

Nivo: You have no future if you do not answer my question.

Human: Where as you have none should you not hear what I have to offer.

Nivo: *Silence*

Nivo: *Motions for guns to be lowered*

Human: Tell me general, how goes your civil war?

Nivo: We shall soon overthrow the corrupt council and restore order to our world and our people.

Human: Oh?

Human: Then I must congratulate you!

Human: As my information says you will lose in six months if things do not change.

Nivo: LIES! *Smashes fists against table*

Human: There is no need for the acting and bravado with me, general.

Human: I am not one of your soldiers who need their spirits lifted by your defiant speeches.

Nivo: We shall not be defeated by those vile snakes!

Nivo: Our cause is just and noble; we will never surrender!

Human: A rather moot rationality, considering your enemy is not excepting surrender at this time.

Nivo: This discussion is quickly becoming less amusing by the moment, so speak quickly.

Human: *Sighs, puts out cigarette*

Human: Let it not be said that you and your followers are not dedicated and courageous warriors.

Human: The ruling council of yours has long since abused your people and it was only a matter of time until a breaking point was crossed.

Human: But what you lack are the tools to break the chains they have wrapped your people in.

Human: *Taps table*

*Two humans approach out of darkness and set a crate down on the table before retreating*

Nivo: What is this?

Human: *Stands up and pops lid off crate*

Human: The tools of your freedom.

*Reaches into box and pulls out energy assault rifle*

Human: What I have here is the Mark VII Continental.

Human:  Carries a sixty round energy capacity with on the fly recharge, each round capable of piercing through an energy barrier of 1.5 frequency or a solid six feet of reinforced concrete.

Human: *Tosses it to Nivo who catches it midair in one hand*

Human: These babies make your current arsenal look like children’s toys.

Nvio: *Angry grunts but inspects the weapon nonetheless.*

*After a few moments passes it behind him to one of his waiting men*

Human: Don’t be shy, plenty to go around.

*flips over crate and several more rifles spill out across the table*

Nivo: This is what you brought me here for?

Nivo: A crate of weapons?

Human: No.

Human: A sample of what is to come.

Human: *Reaches into coat and removes data pad, sliding it over to Nivo*

Human: My associates are willing to supply you, your men, and anyone else you deem worthy; with the weapons and necessities needed to win this righteous war.

Nivo: *Takes up data pad and scrolls through items*

Nivo: Impressive.

Nivo: But if we truly are losing, why sell to us?

Nivo: As you said we are on the verge of falling and have little in means to pay you.

Human: *Chuckles* We know this, but fortunately for you my associates are not looking for monetary compensation for these items.

Nivo: Then what?

Human: There is an island in your southern hemisphere; rather desolate place isolated by miles of ocean in every direction.

Nivo: What of it?

Human: When you achieve victory we want you to cede that island to our control to manage and govern as we see fit.

Nivo: What use would it be for you?

Human: That is not your concern.

Nivo: You ask me to sell sovereign lands of my people and think I am desperate enough not to ask why?

Human: *Pauses, paces away from table before turning around*

Human: The truth then?

Nivo: The truth.

Human: We have little care for you or your war.

Human: You can grind yourself into dust and be scattered to the winds by your enemies and we would not lift a finger in contempt.

Human: But what we do care about are your neighbors.

Nivo: Neighbors?

Human: The Talayan Empire and the Rembar Republic.

Human: You see they we are concerned about and are very much interested in keeping an eye on.

Human: They’ve made some rather inciting remarks that have made my associates nervous.

Nivo: What does that have to do with my people?

Human: Your council refused our previous offer to establish a listening post on the island; going so far as to ban us from your space entirely.

Nivo: So your truth is made clear.

Nivo: You seek only your own betterment by supporting my cause.

Human: Is that so wrong?

Human: You obtain your freedom and we get our small island; everyone wins.

Nivo: And what is to stop me from simply denying you your prize after we win?

Human: *Chuckles* We both know you are a warrior of honor and would never break your word.

Human: Likewise you are a being of common sense and realize the folly of such a betrayal.

Nivo: *looks confused at remark*

Human: If my associates have access to this type of hardware and are willing to dispense it so freely to help a potential ally, what do you think they would do to a hated enemy?

Nvio: *silent*

Human: There is no need to dwell on distasteful possibilities.

Human: For the price of one island you can have the better future you have dreamed of for you and your people.

Human: *holds out hand* Do we have a deal?

Nivo: *Turns to see his men holding weapons, the look of despair gone from their eyes replaced with the flickering flame of hope*

Nivo: *Turns around and takes humans hand*

Nivo: We have a deal, Mr.?

Human: Yuri.

Yuri: You may call me Yuri.

[inchidentally]

more of my completely pointless self-indulgent f1 royalty AU with a Charles focus (as always, pls ignore all historical/monarchy mistakes bc it's an AU) (this is a charlos au but I had to throw in a very tiny lestappen moment bc so many moots love them)

after seeing these of Charles playing football I decided they were from a moment when the prince was playing around with his attendants in the palace because he loved terrorizing them about the many breakables and his not-very-precise footwork with the ball. he's permitted to remove his head and hand coverings within the palace walls but only if he won't risk being seen. I imagined this to be after jousting practice - he's not allowed to properly joust ofc but he can do a pretend version with blunted lances and on soft earth covered in hay. he has a special set of beautifully made leather armor so that there aren't any ridged or sharp places to hurt himself.

it's too hot to keep on once they've returned to the palace and underneath he wears this long red and white suit (replace the sponsors with royal insignias lol)

in my tags I had Charles accidentally run out into the courtyard chasing the ball after a particularly wild header and not realize what he's done until he hears his attendants frantic footsteps behind him. he stays frozen in place, eyes wide and sun beating down onto his face. the courtyard is only on the side of the private apartments and he hasn't ventured far but it's still absolutely forbidden.

the only other person there is a young man about the same size and age as the prince with tightly cropped reddish-brown hair, tugging at the stiff collar of his formal suit in the summer sunshine. in the seconds that their eyes meet, Charles feels himself smile wide and open and radiant. the stranger's grumpy pink face turns awed and his eyes widen when the attendants crowd Charles and carry him back inside. Prince Max Emilian is too young and unlearned about the royal customs of Monaco to understand why his mother turns grey and his father looks cunning when Max runs to their chamber and bursts out the story of the beautiful young man in the courtyard whom he'd just seen 'abducted'.

but from then on, Max Emilian would wisely adopt a look of innocence when the sole rumor of the Monaco's second son's exceptional beauty made it's way through the royal courts again, source unknown.

immediately after the incident, the National Council are expecting heads to roll. the royal visitors from the Netherlands have of course been hushed up (or so they thought) but surely someone must pay with their life and the prince's movements restricted even more. they argue that without the prince's virtue and purity, his value to the royal courts hoping to wed one of their own to him will be as nothing. the very protection of the larger countries of Europe could be in jeopardy. they regularly cast acidic glares up where Charles stands in the gallery, fully covered once more and shaking with anger and fear, unable to even speak for himself. they say all kinds of things about how it couldn't have been worse timing for the prince to show such callousness because the palace is meant to still be in mourning.

Sovereign Prince Lorenzo is weary, having only been on the throne for a year and still deep in his grief for his father. he beckons the head of Charles' retinue forward to stand in front of the throne. Joris bravely pleads the case that he and his staff were just happy to see the young prince having fun again as they'd been worried that his grief combined with the particular seclusion he already lived in would sink him. he offers to take the blame entirely on himself as he shouldn't have allowed the game to venture so close to the courtyard at all.

Lorenzo smiles grimly at him and looks up to meet his brother's pleading, tear-filled eyes. almost twenty years of growing up together and Charles frequently only able to communicate with his eyes have made Lorenzo an expert at reading them. he decrees that the lives and positions of the prince's retinue will be safe but that in concession to the Council, the prince will be confined within the private apartments for three months and afterward he must remain covered even in the private courtyard. it's possibly the final blow to Lorenzo's spirit as sovereign to see his brother's eyes smiling down at him, even as his freedoms being stripped back even further.

little did any of the court know that in just over a year, Prince Lorenzo would abdicate. and that in just under two years, the powerful Sainz family would see their son ascend to the throne and free Charles from his bondage forever.

[isoobie]

MOOT GAME: " make up a trope for your moots and their biases. doesn’t need to be romantic. can be crackfic/funny/anything you want

THIS WAS SO FUN thank you anon !!!! i suck at crackfic so im doing the most basic tropes i can think of sadly :/

@boyfhee & jay as friends to lovers

cael and jay who have been besties since diapers !!! they both like each other secretly but don’t confess because it might ruin their relationship but jay being the man is takes her on a (friendly) date to tell her his feelings as he plays the guitar for her and sings the song he wrote by himself. im the no1 caeljay shipper 🙏🏼

@weoris & jungwon at the amusement park

xin and jungwon being silly little goofballs as the amusement park with the matching headbands, the photo booth pictures and making fun of each other because they are too scared to go on certain rides. but for the cute part they would hold hands wherever they go and jungwon would always steal a couple pecks on the cheeks w/o xin knowing !!!!

@soov & jungwon as part of student council

rei and jungwon as student council buddies who help each other all the time, greet e/o in the hallways and text all the time after school. your friends would ship the two of you together and set you both up so that one of u confesses either way because they know that secretly you guys like e/o. its giving school it couple and i love it !!!!

@urszn & niki as grumpy x sunshine

es as the upbeat, bright girl whose friends with everyone whereas niki is that mysterious, cool guy who only talks to his 6 friends. but they slowly become close and niki starts to have a soft spot for her and when they're dating he becomes a little version of her. eski all the way 🧘🏻‍♀️

@jjunae & jake as brothers best friend

honestly idek ur bias but its okay 😆 ( u just give me jake vibes ) kae being annoyed whenever her brother invites his loud friends over but little does she know that one of them was her soon to be crush. jake would accidentally come into her room thinking its the bathroom, resulting in an awkward first encounter. but both of you would think that the other was reallly cute. shy introverts who are too scared to speak ㅠㅠ

@hoonvrs & sunghoon and the wrong number

sunghoon being the silly little goofball he is would be drunk and accidentally call saint because he pressed the wrong number but they’d both have a light heart conversation while one is sober and the other isn’t. and after that day, those little texts would grow into voice messages and into video calls and then a meet up where they both fall for each other even more!

@okwonyo & jake as strangers to lovers

jiji and jake suddenly bump into each other one day and thats when the attraction begins … they realise they both go to the same university and jiji is very shy at first but its okay because jake is initiating all the conversations first because she’s giving him oblivious hints that she likes him & the rest is history ㄱㄱ

@tyunni & niki on a skateboard date

my favourite couple !!!! i refuse to believe that niki and may AREN’T that skater couple. but seriously niki would be such a goat at it while may would trip every 2 seconds cause she has a bad sense of balance but niki being the amazing boyfriend he is, he’d help her and teach her 😁 ( even put his hand on your waist )

[wheeboo]

MOOT GAME: " make up a trope for your moots and their biases. doesn’t need to be romantic. can be crackfic/funny. ^ㅇ(๑>◡<๑)ㅇ^ "

okay i received this ask game 3 times so JDFKLS i guess i shall do it rn . i will be doing my moots svt biases <3 rlly wish i could do a lot more moots but this took more brain power than it needed 😭😭

@slytherinshua -> joshua

first thought was cute lil teacher x teacher couple!! maybe he's a new hire as a music teacher and him and zanna both have a lil meet ugly at first in the staff room (one of them spilling coffee on the other or something dsjfklfsd) but its all full of shy smiles and fumbled apologies, and joshua smoothly gives her his # with the purpose of starting over 😍

@etherealyoungk -> hoshi

the classic case of the class president x class clown. skye our big brain queen is just trying her best to sort through all these plans and plans for school while hoshi keeps curiously meddling in her business, trying to get close with her by proposing these weird n funny ideas at meetings (even tho he's not in the student council???) that don't make any sort of sense, and overall just wanting to make her smile cuz he may or may not have a tiny tiny crush on her. and skye may or may not like him having around...

@roziesmei -> jeonghan

love at first sight. not the biggest fan of this trope but hello who wouldn't fall head over heels over this man at first glance? maybe mimi is out and about running some errands to the store, and as she's about to grab for the door, another hand meets hers, and i WONDER who it is!!!! the two of them gaze at each other for a second, and maybe the world feels a lil brighter and a lil warmer in those few moments, before maybe jeonghan pulls away and holds the door open for her. she spends her entire time shopping thinking abt him wondering if they'll ever cross paths again (they do)

@bookyeom -> seokmin

i love the whole concept/trope of exchanging letters. maybe leslie gets received this Very long letter detailing something she has no idea what is and its signed sorry from me & my dog, lee seokmin. does she know who lee seokmin is? absolutely not. but is she very curious why he seems so STRESSED in this letter over his dog accidentally stealing a stranger's pair of socks from the laundromat? yes

@welcometomyoasis -> seungcheol

ngl the whole enemies to lovers arc from rival families has always been a concept in the back of my mind and i've ALWAYS envisioned something for cheol for it so here you go shu 😭!! and perhaps there's some forced proximity involved, where they both become reluctant allies for some overly complicated business reasons and realise 'maybe we aren't exactly enemies after all...'

@haecien -> jun

fake dating!! maybe cien accidentally says to his group of friends that he has a partner but like... who is it ?? and so he gets jun to play as his fake boyfriend for the time being and it's this whole cute mess but yeah they're both sorta falling for each other. i can imagine this whole cute prom scene where they are each other's dates and this cute slow dancing scene... yeah you get i'm going with this i think lmao

@planetkiimchi -> minghao

strangers to friends to lovers!! but it's the most natural, sorta slow burn ever. it's kinda like reading your favourite comfort book with your favourite comfort couple where they get together and it's like THE standard ?! they're both communicative with each other, understand each other's boundaries, etc. bonus for the plot since they're both dancers and meet each other for the first time at practice, and it kinda just blossoms from there :)

@blue-jisungs -> wonwoo

a very very cute office romance. axe may be like a new intern at this workplace and is nervous asf abt everything, but she gets assigned this very handsome man with the power of glasses in his eyes to help her around and get adjusted. but even after settling in axe really tries her best to get close with wonwoo. he's a little reserved, composed, maybe a bit cold at first, but it's enough to cause some gossip to float around the office hehe. one thing leads to another, and they're both trying to hide their relationship from everyone else (but they all know anyway)

[southeastasianists]

Asia’s youngest nation emerges as a voice of conscience on Myanmar

Two decades ago, freedom fighters on a mountainous island in southern Indonesia won a long, bloody struggle against a corrupt military regime, establishing East Timor, also known as Timor-Leste, the first independent state of the 21st century. Memories of airstrikes and indiscriminate killings are still fresh here. And they’ve led the country’s leaders to take an unusual interest in another fight for freedom in Southeast Asia.

In 2021, a group of generals overturned an elected government in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, starting a civil war that some conflict monitoring groups consider the most extreme in the world today. Many countries have looked away — much as they did for 24 years, East Timor’s leaders say, as Indonesian soldiers fought Timorese independence fighters.

“For so long, nobody paid attention to us,” Xanana Gusmao, the prime minister of East Timor, said during an interview in the capital, Dili.Gusmao led the insurgency against the Indonesian military, later serving two terms as East Timor’s president and now, his second as prime minister. At 77, with a head of white hair and a stiff back from years of imprisonment, he still remembers every person he saw killed or tortured in the jungles of Timor, he said.

“I do not accept the suffering of the Burmese people,” Gusmao said. “I cannot.”

Many in East Timor, even opposition politicians and civil society leaders critical of Gusmao on other issues,said in interviews that they agree. The country of 1.3 million, with an economy one-seventh the size of Vermont, has gone further than almost any other in supporting the Myanmar resistance, receiving its leaders as state representatives and openly advocating on their behalf at international forums.In the coming months, East Timor will let Myanmar pro-democracy groups open offices in the country to help coordinate resistance activities and take in a number of political refugees, officials say.

Increasingly, human rights activists say they see Dili as a voice of conscience, challenging more powerful countries that have been too distracted or too divided to press for change in Myanmar. “What the Timorese are doing is vital,” said Debbie Stothard, a Malaysian rights advocate.

Regional inaction

The U.N. Security Council has repeatedly called on Myanmar’s military government to comply with a peace plan adopted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and Western officials, including from the United States and the European Union, have also cited that plan for resolving the conflict.

But ASEAN, which operates on a principle of “noninterference” and includes Myanmar as a member, has largely failed to convince the junta to cooperate.

In 2021, ASEAN adopted the “Five-Point Consensus” on Myanmar, which calls for a cessation of violence and a dialogue among all parties. The junta signed the plan but has ignored it with little consequence. The military has ramped up airstrikes to a rate of nearly once a day, according to conflict monitoring groups, and faces mounting allegations from human rights groups of carrying out mass killings, beheadings and other atrocities. Myanmar has declined invitations from ASEAN to meet with resistance leaders.

“The five-point consensus has failed,” said Saifuddin Abdullah, who served until last year as foreign minister for Malaysia, an ASEAN member. The plan, which has no enforcement measures, is being disregarded not only by the Myanmar government but by other ASEAN members, Abdullah said.

In April, Thailand’s foreign minister traveled to Myanmar and met with junta leader Gen. Min Aung Hlaing without notifying other ASEAN members. Thailand, which borders Myanmar, has also hosted secret meetings with junta officials and mooted the idea of ASEAN “fully re-engaging” military leaders.

By normalizing relations with the Myanmar opposition, East Timor is trying to pull the region in the opposite direction — but at some risk to itself. The country is in the final stages of negotiating admission into the bloc and was allowed last year to attend meetings as an “observer.” Its outspoken stance on Myanmar could jeopardize its application or otherwise alienate some of its neighbors, analysts say.

East Timor can’t afford to be excluded from ASEAN, Gusmao admitted. With more than 40 percent of its population living in poverty, the country is in dire need of foreign investment. It has 15 years to find an alternative to its dwindling petroleum revenue, according to the International Monetary Fund, and has struggled since independence to feed its people,a problem set only to worsen with climate change.

At the same time, political scientists say, the country’s history has made it particularly sensitive to authoritarianism. East Timor has become probably the most robust democracy in Southeast Asia, according to experts.It’s the only country in the region ranked “free” by the think tank Freedom House and was recently listed 10th in the world for press freedom by Reporters Without Borders.

Smoking as he paced a meeting room in Dili’s government palace, Gusmao said that when he watches extensive coverage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on television, he often thinks about suffering elsewhere, in Yemen, Somalia, Myanmar. Powerful countries aren’t obliged to care about crises that don’t affect them, Gusmao said.

Among small, fragile nations, he added, “all we have is our solidarity.”

A diplomat expelled

When Gusmao was inaugurated in Dili two months ago, a visitor from Myanmar was seated in the front row alongside cabinet ministers and diplomats from various countries. It was Zin Mar Aung, foreign minister for Myanmar’s National Unity Government (NUG), formed in opposition to the junta after the coup.

That event marked the first time any country had formally received an NUG official and sparked indignation from Myanmar’s military government, which demanded that Dili cut contact with what it called “terrorist groups.” The following month, when East Timor hosted a second NUG official in Dili, the junta expelled Avelino Pereira, East Timor’s top diplomat in Myanmar.

While some countries have downgraded diplomatic relations with Myanmar, the junta had not thrown out any foreign representatives until Pereira and hasn’t since.When other governments meet with opposition officials, they’ve done so privately or informally. Dili’s actions were “public and senior level barbs” at the junta, said a Western embassy official in Yangon, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because that person had not been given authority to speak on the issue.

“It showed great courage,” said Aung Myo Min, the NUG’s minister for human rights, the second opposition official to visit Dili. “It empowers us to know we’re not alone.”

Some Timorese officials worry Pereira’s expulsion could affect the country’s ASEAN bid. But President Jose Ramos-Horta, who was behind both invitations to the Myanmar opposition figures, said he was unperturbed. “It was an honor,” he said, eyes crinkling behind dark Ray-Ban sunglasses during a recent interview as he was traveling between official engagements in Dili.

Ramos-Horta, who shares the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize with Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo for his opposition of Indonesian oppression, led the “diplomatic front” for East Timor’s sovereignty. Over years, Ramos-Horta formed alliances with activists from other countries, including Myanmar.

In recognizing Myanmar’s opposition government, Ramos-Horta, 73, said he was paying back the support that Myanmar pro-democracy groups gave East Timor. But he was also, he said,acting in line with historical precedent: During World War II, the Allied powers recognized Free France, a government in exile, over the Vichy government that collaborated with Nazi Germany.

“Are we supposed to accept the norm that elections can be disregarded?” asked Ramos-Horta. “The answer, at least for us, is no.”

‘Who is listening?’

When Gusmao attended the semiannual ASEAN summit in August, he was feeling contrite, he said.

He’d been chided by his staff a few weeks earlier for saying East Timor would reconsider its ASEAN application if the bloc couldn’t end the violence in Myanmar. Those were “uncontrolled” remarks, he reflected later, and at the summit in Jakarta, he had intended to stick to his prepared speeches.

But faced with leaders from the United States, China and Russia, Gusmao decided again to go off-script. News reports had said Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s deposed civilian leader, was ill, Gusmao told the room. The junta should provide medical care, he appealed. No one responded.

“We will speak out, always. But we are a small country,” Gusmao said as he recounted the incident. “Who is listening?”

Diplomats and aid workersin Dili say Gusmao and Ramos-Horta might have a bigger impact than they know. The two leaders have allies in places from Europe to Africa, and they command respect as that rare breed of statesmen who fought for freedom and won, said Olufunmilayo Abosede Balogun-Alexander, the U.N. resident coordinator for East Timor. On the world stage, she added, “they have an outsize voice.”

Earlier this year, at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Ramos-Horta said he watched as heads of state and chief executives rose one after another to lambaste Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and rally Western governments to supply Kyiv with weapons. He was stunned, he remembered, that virtually no one mentioned Myanmar.

“Next year, I will,” said Ramos-Horta, days before departing for the U.N. General Assembly session last month in New York, where he again met with the NUG. “I will say something,” he continued. “So at least people there will hear the word, ‘Myanmar.’”

[princesscatherinemiddleton]

What do you think about Kate not going to Earth Shot?

So, I very much did not have an opinion on the whole “Kate doesn’t go to Singapore” thing beyond the fact I thought it was fine and moved on with my life but since I am nothing if not opinionated, I’ve decided to get an opinion. Also, this is very long.

1. We quite literally, if not already knew, already had a very strong inkling she wasn’t going. How is this shocking to people? Even the very original press release is entirely focused on Earthshot, rather than William and Catherine (which I checked when the rumours first surfaced) so - unlike with London and Boston - it hasn’t been a given that she’ll go.

2. Also, she doesn't need to go. Earthshot is nothing to do with her, beyond the fact she’s married to the founder. Ngl, I get really frustrated when William goes to Early Years engagements so I can’t be upset Kate isn’t going to Earthshot. I get that there's not really a need for her to be at most things but this is different than Trooping, which is a celebration of the monarch because - in a way - she does need to be there on the one of the most significant days of the BRF each year. She doesn't need to go to the Duke of Edinburgh awards, she didn't ever go to Invictus, she is not essential for Earthshot.

3. Saying Earthshot needs Kate is laughable. The most popular royal is William. He’s always been the most popular (bar the Queen). Earthshot is his thing. If anything, Kate being there takes away from the event. I also think Earthshot is phenomenal and is almost strong enough to stand independent from the royals entirely so this point is moot. Don't get me wrong, there would be more press coverage with Kate there. There would be a lot more fan coverage with Kate there. But doesn't that just take away from the coverage of the 15 incredible nominees?

4. I don't know who chose the date for Earthshot. But I don't think William could just change it because of George's exam (also, these aren't Eton-specific exams because the dates for these things are readily available and there aren't any Eton-specific exams in November.) The date had to suit the Earthshot council, Singapore, the nominees, the Earthshot trustees. The fact it's in November at all, not December, makes me feel like the date was out of their control.

5. George having exams is not “an excuse”. I’m not a parent but I am a teacher and I know that if a child in my class has a big thing coming up in their life - maybe a show with their drama club or their mum has gone on holiday or it’s their birthday - you check in more and give them more attention. Remember being 10? Imagine sitting exams - a really big stressful exam, when previously the only exams you will have taken will be phonics screeners and times tables checks and in-school tests - for the first time and both of your parents are not only not there, but are out of the country in a different timeline. This is fundamentally different than them wanting to do school drop offs and pick ups (they need to get over that but I’ve accepted they won’t). You don’t know how George will react to doing an exam but his parents do. This is a non-negotiable for me.

6. Controversially, I don’t think it’s the 11+. I think it could be the Stage 2 admission test for Tiffin School - even if he doesn’t go there, I know that if you’re aiming for grammar schools, some families choose to do a range of entrance tests, since it lessens pressure. These tests are independent from the 11+, which - if George is doing - he has already done.

7. If she didn’t stay home, the three scenarios are: George does the test and everything is fine; he does the test and struggles immediately, whether due to the test or to his parents not being there, which will have a huge impact on him; or he does the test, feels fine, and in 30 years releases a tell-all book about his mother - known child mental health campaigner - abandoning him to wear fancy dresses. If she does stay home, she can support her son. I know which I prefer.

8. “It’s sexist because why does Kate stay home and not William” - he can’t skip Earthshot, Kate doesn’t have to go to Earthshot, they can’t pick the date of the exam. Next question.

9. The lack of royal tours is an issue. I don’t think it’s a royal issue - it’s a FCO issue (I will call them the FCDO over my dead body). There’s a reason there have only been 4 official overseas FCO visits this year and two of them should have been one state visit. I would also like to see more overseas working visits but a) if the FCO have been explicitly against it, I would not recommend working against parliament and b) if we’re not doing a tour, I’d rather they focused on doing UK- and Commonwealth-based visits first. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that official Commonwealth visits (even if not tours) are up in the air since there was a Commonwealth world tour last year and no one knows whether Charles is supposed to go there first. TLDR: they need to sort out overseas visits and do more, they need to get out into the commonwealth, the FCO need to get over themselves and start planning official tours again.

10. I will be really annoyed if she doesn’t do any engagements that week but we don’t know that she won’t! It’s different to work in the UK while the kids are at school and take off the day of George’s exam, being available in the evenings, than being in Singapore for the whole week. (I am going to rule out her being at the State Opening of Parliament because the Waleses would never have been there this year - the fact William was there last year and that Charles went as Prince of Wales are moot and she won't go without William - and I hate this rumour). Also, my last anon helpfully pointed out about the fact it coincides with Remembrance Week so...

11. Yes, I would have loved her to be at the Earthshot prize ceremony and I would love to see her in a new gown. I like seeing Catherine’s clothes but honestly her recent gown track record is poor so maybe it’s for the best. There are people who won't watch because Kate won't be there. But also my mum and dad watched Earthshot because it was on TV on Sunday night after the Strictly results; lots of people watched it because it's on TV, on BBC, near Christmas; people watched it because it's about the environment and has a royal in it. It's not all about Kate, as much as I'd like it to be.

So, essentially, I had far more opinions than I thought I did and everyone complaining is being an idiot. I would have loved to see Kate in Singapore - the South Seas tour was incredible and we're overdue an Asian tour - but, since the circumstances are what they are, this is the best option. Can we all please just stop talking about it now?

[ginger-grimm]

DESCENDANTS NEW OCS

Hello, yes, new OCs that I have been workshopping with a lot of help by Poppy so here you go hope you enjoy! Fair warning some of them exist on vibes only and they're all being put into Petra's story.

Arminta "Minty" Liddell, daughter of Alice Liddell of Alice in Wonderland fame

- is a whirwind of trouble but everyone loves her (well, mostly everyone)

- is a proper Brit through and through, loves her tea time

- is roomies with Willa Darling and besties with Tabitha Andrews

- Ben Beast endgame

- is forced to face the Queen of Hearts somewhere in the trilogy, though it will be more on the side

- has the kookiest style that Evie immediately comes to appreciate (she reminds her of Dizzie)

- can never stfu unless she's around Ben, suddenly she never learned how to talk

- Tee puts a spell on her and Ben to get him some courage to drop Audrey faster because he means well but really shouldn't be trusted with magic

- loves little tea cakes and macaroons

- is on student council

- knows how to read tarot

- good with...substances

- always wearing outrageous heels

Tabitha "Tabby" Andrews, daughter of Tiana and Naveen

- is also on student council

- OC ship endgame

- baker officianado because of course

- coffee addict

- is a genuine sort of person, gets along with mostly everyone

- has a fiercely protective instinct, especially over Minty and later Falk

- green is her color (she got it from her Mama)

- track runner and damn good at it

- successful at many things but in that effortless way

- very much a romantic

- has a collection of stuffed animals in her room, don't ever touch them unless you're Minty or want to lose an eye

Falk White, son of Snow White and Prince Florian

- Tabitha endgame and you better believe it

- the epitome of beauty at Auradon Prep

- can't turn the girls away fast enough

- took a level in Prince-ness

- is an athlete but one of the nicer ones, does track with Tabby and used to play Tourney before coming to find it too violent

- tea lover in training (Minty leaves him a tea of the month box in his room every single month)

- can't cook for shit but really tries, it's not his fault everthing he touches burns

- has seen the worst horror movies without flinching

- is good at decorating

- animals flock to him

- will be poisoned by step-granny

Juniper "June" of Agrabah, daughter of Jasmine and Aladdin

- literally the cutest person you could ever meet

- bit of a ditz, but she gets by in school

- tried bringing a tiger to the dorms but had to give him to the zoo because obviously pets can only be as big as dogs

- the Princess to be

- won several beauty contest and loves doing makeup and costuming

- theater nerd

- roomies with Tabby

- no endgame yet, dunno who to choose

- always hides underneath blankets when forced to watch horror movies

Tagging all of my Descendants moots: @come-along-pond @dancingsunflowers-ocs @daughter-of-melpomene @ginevrastilinski-ocs

[storms-path]

FFXIV Write 2024: Day 25 - Perpetuity

I, Arashi Washi, being sound in mind and (mostly) in body, do hereby denote this as my last will and testament. Much though I’d like to pretend I’m going to live forever, I’m not. Death comes for us all. And now that Raubahn’s gone and passed, it’s time I put down my wishes properly for what to do with everything once I go to join him.

Firstly, I entrust the various artefacts of power to the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. Yes, they’re still around. No, don’t go spreading that news to everyone you know. The old guard may have retired, but who knows what threats are waiting for the last of us to slip away before springing into action. Anyway, give the scary stuff to their representative. You’ll know who they are.

Secondly, the house and all the possessions unlikely to cause a major disaster in the wrong hands will go to Lyse Hext. I’ve no doubts she’ll outlive me in the end, no matter how much she complains about all the grey hairs the council have given her. I forgive you for the diaries, dear. I know you just wanted to keep my memory alive after my end. Just… keep my more daring adventures out of them, please?

If the unlikely event that Lyse doesn’t outlive me does come to pass, the above shall go to my sister, Sanda Washi. Knowing her, she’ll be off gallivanting in the 13th, so break the bad news gently. She may be the mother of all pains in the arse sometimes, but she’s still my sister.

This next point is likely moot, given I’m already in the process of transferring ownership, but… Tenzin Washi, I grant you the title of Grandmaster at Storm’s School of Combat, and with it ownership of the land, building and all the other aspects of it. Good luck, my boy. You’re going to need it.

To Hana Washi, I dedicate my tomes on the finer points of combat. The Blackest Night isn’t in there, before you ask. It’s an art dedicated to grief, and I wouldn’t have you immerse yourself in that just for a cool shield. Fray would kill me, for a start. I also leave to you the crystal I carry around in my left pocket. You know the one. When you need help, clutch it to your breast and wish. The crystal will do the rest. I pray you never need to use it.

And finally, to all my friends, I leave you this. Treat each other with kindness and love. I fought tooth and nail to bring you a brighter world. Don’t you dare go throwing away that legacy. Otherwise you’ll get an earful from me when we reunite in the Aetherial Sea.

-Arashi Washi

P.S. Alisaie, I know what you’re going to ask. Look under the cherry tree in my garden. You’ll find what you’re looking for.

P.P.S. Alphinaud, take care of your sister. She’ll need you when she finds my final gift, even if she’ll never admit it. And sorry for the boxed ear she’s about to give you.

P.P.P.S. If you find another Ascian out there, kick them in the balls for me. I think I got them all, but you never can tell with them. There, THAT’S my final request. You can stop writing now Arenvald

[abiiors]

After reading three's a party I just immediately remembered how fucking hot George's voice is. It's soo deep and sultry ughhhhhhhhhh. Imagine him breeding you and being all dominant 🥵🥵🥵

it FUCKING ISSSS

and i am going to let you in on a lil secret. the moot thirst council (i will let them be anonymous for now unless they want to reveal themselves) have discussed a possibility of george, ahem, recording a lil ✨instructions tape✨ for you for when he’s away and given his production talents you know something like that is going to be…

yeah

anyway

[powersofhell]

do you and hades dine in the forbidden mountains or in the underworld? do you ever visit mount olympus with him?

"We have spent many hours in each of our respective lairs, of course. As for Mount Olympus, I had the... pleasure of attending a Council of the Gods soirée."

Maleficent waves her hand over the orb atop her staff, and an image takes shape depicting the event.

"Behold."

In the image in the staff, Hades and Maleficent approached the golden gates of Mount Olympus where Hermes was escorting the guests in. Hephaestus and Aphrodite were waved in before Hermes laid eyes on Maleficent.

"Whoa, hey, the fairy goth-mother is too nutty, babe," Hermes remarked, "but you know Olympus's policy: no minions allowed."

"Minion?" Maleficent asked angrily.

"Let's get one thing straight here," Hades said as he got up in Hermes's face. "I work for HER! She is under NO circumstances MY minion. If ANYTHING, I am HER minion. But, hey, you invited ME, so I'm guessing that lil' policy of yours is a moot point. Malef is here as my plus one, which, last I checked, I'm still entitled to, 'kay?"

"Whoa, don't need to tell me twice, uh, just go on in," Hermes said as he flew out of the way.

"Yeah, I think we will," Hades said as he held out his arm.

Maleficent took his arm and glared daggers at Hermes as Hades escorted her into the Cloud Nine ballroom. Most of the other gods and goddesses were mingling and snacking already. None of them gave Hades and Maleficent much more than a passing glare, but Hades knew quite well that they were gossiping about him and his date behind their backs. Hades grabbed two glasses of nectar from Ganymede's serving tray and passed one to Maleficent.

"To parties where you hate everyone in attendance," Hades said, holding up his glass.

"To, at the very least, being invited to attend," Maleficent said as she clinked her glass against his.