#leader of the commons

[blackswaneuroparedux]

Onwald mæg wel reccean se þe ægðer ge hiene habban con ge wiðwinnan.*

- Old English

He wields power well who can both hold and resist it.*

Penny Mordaunt, Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Privy Council, took on a leading role during the coronation service at Westminster Abbey of King Charles III. Many commentators agreed she stood out for doing such a sterling job in standing to attention and holding up a sword weighing around 3kg for a good part of the proceedings. She didn’t waver once.

It’s all the more surprising that the upward political trajectory of the MP from Plymouth had flatlined after she had a promising junior ministerial career before losing out twice in the Tory leadership elections to Liz Truss and later Rishi Sunak.

It was the ill-fated Truss in her brief stint as Prime Minister who had given the 50 year old Mordaunt the wooden spoon of political offices, Leader of the House of Commons, often seen as half-way house for a minister on his way down the greasy pole of ministerial politics. Sunak kept her in the same position after annoying Sunak loyalists for staying in the leadership race to the bitter end. In that position she has thrived somewhat for her debating skills and being good on her feet as well being loyal to the Prime Minister.

Little did anyone think - least of Mordaunt - that as Leader of the Commons she would also breathe life into the nondescript title of Lord President of the Privy Council. But in one of the more arcane details of that title is the right to hold the Sword of State in any royal coronation.

As Lord President of the Privy Council she was expected the wear the august robes of that office but chose instead for a more modest presentation of a blue dress with mute gold olive leaf trimmings. As Lord President of the Privy Council, Mordaunt exchanged the larger Sword of State, a steel blade with a silver-gilt hilt that symbolises royal authority, for the jewelled Sword of Offering, which the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby then placed in the King's right hand. Mordaunt later redeemed the sword by offering 100 newly minted 50 pence coins and carried the sword before the King for the rest of the service.

Symbolising the protection of good and the punishment of evil, the jewelled sword was used as a Sword of Offering at the coronation ceremony of George IV in 1821. It wouldn't appear again at a coronation ceremony until 1902 for Edward VII and it has been featured at all subsequent coronations since. The sword features partly blued and gilt steel decorated on both faces with national emblems, including roses, thistles and shamrocks, while the hilt and scabbard are decorated with numerous jewels such as diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds.

There is no question that Penny Mordaunt cemented herself in the public consciousness, with even Labour counterparts commenting that she looked 'damn fine' and 'stole the show'. Admiration for her sword-bearing skills at the coronation might just reignite her political fortunes especially if Sunak and his government are widely expected to lose the upcoming general election. She may be third time lucky at getting the chance to be the leader of the Tory party. In any case many would agree in watching her steadfast performance at the coronation, it really might be the case that the ‘Penny is mightier than the sword’.

[serpentface]

A witch of the Naig-Troibadnnas (Yellowtail river valley) people, resting and enjoying a smoke of the mild stimulant brolge leaf on a hot summer day.

Witches are a small part of the everyday cultural framework among the Hill Tribes. They are individuals considered born possessed by a virgranul, a type of disembodied wild spirit that seeks to inhabit human flesh, either entering the body at the moment of conception, or entering the body at the moment of death. The latter is a dire circumstance that requires significant intercession to fix (the dead body may wander off without rites, leaving the person's soul trapped and liable to warp into the dangerous fuldaigh spirit), while the former circumstance is what causes a person to be born a witch.

In the case of those afflicted in the womb, possession by virgranul is lifelong, and is both a curse and blessing- it divides and isolates them from the human world and causes other wild spirits (both benevolent and malicious) to be perpetually drawn to them, but also allows for them to be attuned to the subtleties of spirits, and able to work magic and divination that the everyday person is incapable of.

Witches are usually recognized from a young age due to marked behavioral differences or atypical development, though are sometimes simply identified as such without obvious behavioral indications, by other witches having read signs of their coming. Their occurrence is not frequent, usually once in a generation for any given tribe. An identified witch child will be taken from their family (the timing varies by tradition, though is usually upon puberty) and into mentorship by an established witch, who will impart their accumulated knowledge and skill and teach the child how to best harness their condition.

One can be a witch regardless of their gender, with the only commonality being that they must remain unmarried, and are expected to never have children (deemed too dangerous, unavoidably placing a child in the path of potentially harmful wild spirits). With no spouses or children to support them in holding a household and herds, witches are instead supported by their communities as means of payment for their services. They typically live in semi-isolation in the boundaries between the village and wilderness (a reflection of their own division between the world of people and of wild spirits, and a protective measure for their communities), and will periodically be brought needed supplies. They do not commonly enter villages unless summoned, or for the sake of certain holidays and festivals, and live most of their lives in seclusion aside from any given mentee (who will in turn care for their mentor in old age).

The societal function of witches is as intermediaries between people and their ancestors, people and wild spirits, and as especially skilled performers of practical magic (most commonly weaving protective spells into worn items, such as clothing or the nose rings of cattle). Forms of practical magic and intercession with ancestors and spirits are performed by all members of society, but a witch has intimate, detailed knowledge of such things and tremendous natural skill that makes them an invaluable asset.

Witches personally discern the identities of the spirits living in any given area and will attempt to familiarize themselves with them, learning in depth about their ways, giving warnings of where the particularly dangerous (or mischievous) ones are, and giving recommendations on which will be receptive to offerings in return for boons. When a village needs to commune with a particularly powerful or dangerous spirit (such as a wildfolk witch), they will commonly send their own witch as an intermediary.

They are ascribed have the ability to directly summon ancestors (who otherwise come and go of their own volition, and rarely ever deign to come at the call of one who is not their descendant). This is of great use when a person finds themselves punished by their ancestors with no certainty as to why, or cases where an orphaned child's ancestry must be identified to gain them proper spiritual support.

They are also regarded as having innate qualities of divination, particularly in reading birdsign (itself generally acknowledged as communication from ancestors, and occasionally gods). The average person has basic knowledge in reading omens of birds and a learned repertoire of key signs, but a witch can divine the messages of birdsign in immense and specific detail, through a vast knowledge system of the meanings of the species, sex, flight direction, gaze, prey, number, and songs of birds. It is common for people to approach a witch for a reading of the skies before undertaking a significant venture or life change, in order to receive detailed and specific advice.

Witches are always literate (and will be taught to read and write by their mentor if they cannot already) and will record their repositories of knowledge in tomes. These are items of absolute secrecy and taboo for a non-witch to touch (the consequences can be severe, you really don't want a witch ancestor-spirit upset with you). Witches can often become competitive about the knowledge stored in these tomes and are known to organize heists amongst themselves in order to gain access to each other's secrets. Most people avoid getting themselves entangled into the complicated rivalries of witches, as these competitions can get ugly and result in many a petty curse if one gains a witch's ire.

---

The only visual cue distinguishing this man as a witch is the tattoos on his forearms, otherwise usually regarded as inappropriate to mark in the contemporary Hill Tribes cultural sphere (the face, upper arms, and sternum is reserved for important clan/tribe/ancestry identification, hands and forearms are reserved for witches, and the rest of the body is appropriate for decoration). These unique forearm tattoos indicate his ancestral connection with a lineage of witches, not blood ancestry but rather the generations of mentors that have produced him. The lines extending down to his fingers are the newest, indicating that he has fully mentored another witch and gained a place in this ancestral line.

The rest of the tattoos here are tribe and blood ancestry identifiers (on the face and upper arms respectively, worn by all members of society), and purely decorative imagery (visible here is a deer, horse, eagle, and a dragon). He also has a snake on his forearm, applied decades ago in an act of youthful rebellion, which has since gotten in the way of critical open skin space.

His clothing is otherwise typical wear for warm seasonal conditions- a man's wool shawl and woven belt, short trousers, decorative deer hide (distinct to the Naig-Troibadnnas), and sandals (these are imported Wardi style sandals, which have been modified with preferred elevated heels). The horn shaped torc on his forearm identifies him as an esteemed elder.

[farshootergotme]

Hot take, anyone who thinks Dick Grayson has a persistent case of anger issues just doesn't know what anger issues are.

Does he get angry? Yes (I sure would hope so since he's a human being). Would I call it anger issues? No, not really.

[druidonity2]

A lost little king, seeking advice from all corners of Azeroth, finds himself searching for this 'Loa of Kings'. He is surprised when he finds it's someone he's met before...

[phoenixyfriend]

Why must I be struck by the thought of dead (but only sleeping) Ahsoka with an army of terracotta (clone) soldiers

[lass-us-slay]

There’s a lot B-127 doesn’t know

He’s been down in sub-level 50 for Primus knows how long, so it’s certainly plausible that B doesn’t know certain words. By the Pits- B probably doesn’t even know what certain Cybertronian traditions are! Or even what there’re called (and probably even more-). He’s been down there that long.

Some words that he might have no clue of are:

Conjunx

Engex

Berth (there were nothing to sleep in down there)

Any vulgar words

Shanix (there’s no need for it down at sub-level 50)

Examine

Medical terms

Most likely emotional terms aswell

Sometimes B has to stop and remember what a certain items name is. But so far hes had no reason to, so he hasn’t had to ask anyone of what something is.

I imagine that he only knows certain word thanks to the data-pads that were thrown down to waste disposal. Although that doesn’t change the fact that many of those data-pads didn’t explain things such as a “Trine” or anything else. (Those are common terms to the regular Cybertronian, there’s no need for anyone to explain what they are)

But the word that I’ll focus on today is: Leader.

———

B-127 has heard of it, but not what it means. He ment to ask- he really did! But everyone got swept up with work and he found he couldn’t really find the time to ask.

So he guessed what it meant. And what did he think it meant?

A friend who many people knew and took advice from.

Did he confirm this? No. But did it sure look like one? Yes.

So he supposes Ori- Optimus and D-16 (or Megatron-?) will have to find themselves a new leader to help work through their troubles! And he’d be more than happy to help them, after all their all best friends aren’t they?

And best friends always have each others backs.

B just needs to find a way for them to talk to each other without fighting… Then they can finally all work together to rebuild Iacon together!

He bets it’ll be fun.

(Edit: I PUT B-126 INSTEAD OF 7 😭)

[canisalbus]

translated by GT

Today I learned that the Pope has the right to appoint secret cardinals, and even the cardinals themselves may not realize that they now have a new position. Popes have the right to make the name public at any time, but if the Pope dies before the Cardinal's name is made public, the individual ceases to be a Cardinal.

Yes, Catholicism is weird.

But more importantly, there is only one person in the world who can prove that I am not a cardinal.

.

[ohitslen]

College (uni??) AU catering to my own interests as it should always be hehe :)

[destinywillowleaf]

this might already exist (and if it does please send it my way i want to read it) but XY AU where language barriers exist.

Ash is fluent in Japanese and has decent Galarian (Iris and Cilan helped fill in a lot of gaps from school).

Serena is Kalosian but went out of her way to learn Japanese after that summer camp.

Clemont is fluent in Kalosian, has passable Galarian, and knows enough Paldean and Japanese for challengers (but usually uses a translation tool anyway. which is currently stuck in the gym thanks to Clembot).

Bonnie only knows Kalosian and a couple random Galarian phrases.

i might make loose comic thoughts on it but like. ash shows up in kalos with 0 knowledge of the language aside from MAYBE a few basic things from Alexa like "hello" and "i want to battle". two people with wildly different accents trying to speak the same secondary language until serena shows up and can more effectively communicate some thoughts that get lost in translation. bonnie and ash half-miming to communicate early on but still getting equally excited about pokemon things. an extra layer of "ash does not know miette is flirting with him" cause she thinks he knows at least some kalosian. do you see my vision

[yrrtyrrtwhenihrrthrrt]

I live for the dynamic of "Both Goldenloin and Blackheart are very smart and competent in their respective fields but they are also both very fucking stupid"

[aadmelioraa]

Eärien and Valandil parallels Rings of Power Season 1

[d13t0rt10n]

Raimundo: Clay is off to see his dad, so while he is gone, I’m going to cut the sleeves off all of my shirts.

Kimiko: Why?

Raimundo: He's like 90% of my impulse control.

[druidonity2]

Anduin and Nanamo would be friends I think.

[secrescaryat]

do u guys think father gernot and father thomas have beef w each other

[politemulch]

They are besties!