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davidmariottecomics · 9 months

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Goodbye IDW! Hello Something New!

Hi there!

After seven years and some change, today, 12/22/2023, is my last day at IDW Publishing. It's for good reasons. Things just timed out that my last day could be the last work day of the year for IDW and in the new year, I'll be starting a new job elsewhere. I'll still be in comics and once I can talk about the new gig, I'm really stoked to be letting you all know. So, today, I want to say my goodbye to IDW.

But first, before I get to that, I did have something else notable happen this week. I sent my last tweet! I'm officially shutting down my Twitter at the end of the year and if you see a Twitter account claiming to be me after January 1st, it's an imposter. If you'd like to keep up with me, however, I've got good news! There are lots of other ways to find me still. Here are a few!

Check out and bookmark my website! Get access to my blog, plus lots of behind the scenes stuff and new projects at my Patreon! Subscribe to a newsletter version of my blog for free at Buttondown! Follow my blog on Tumblr! Keep up with my main socials: Bluesky and Instagram (I'm @davidmariotte at both)!

Okay, with that out of the way, let's talk about it. This is not my first time saying goodbye. In fact, almost exactly a year ago, I said my farewells to Transformers, one of the hallmarks of my IDW run. I don't want to revisit that too much, so if you want to read about my early days at IDW or that part of my career or a big list of thank yous to my collaborators, you can! And while I've had significant runs with other books, most notably Sonic the Hedgehog which with January's Sonic: Fang the Hunter #1 will mark 100 issues of Sonic at IDW under my editorial eye, or my personally exciting, if shorter runs on stuff like Godzilla, Samurai Jack, the Hasbro Action books, Canto, Scarenthood, The Kill Lock, The October Faction, Wynonna Earp, Brynmore, Atomic Robo, or literally so many other books, I don't want this to just be a retrospective on the work. In fact, I'm largely not interested in talking about the past when I say goodbye this time.

IDW has afforded me a lot. They've helped me find my place in the industry. They let me do some writing. They let me do a lot of editing. I learned various other skills both through directly on the course of the job and through my own interest because of what I was doing and seeing there. I have made true lifelong friendships. And I have made comics. So leaving feels weird. I'm very bummed to be leaving a place that really has been my home (and for the past couple of years, has quite literally been mostly at my home) for so long. But I am even more excited about what's to come. On my side, I can't announce it just yet, but watch this space for some big news soon (after a couple weeks of much needed vacation).

Talking about the future I actually can say a little more about, I wanna tell you how excited I am for IDW. Yes, I'm leaving, but IDW remains home to so many people--both at the company and our freelance creators--and so many projects that are close to my heart. Next year is their 25th anniversary. That is an impressive feat in not just the world of comics, but any industry. For the milestone, they've got a lot of cool stuff planned.

I'm not going to blow up IDW's spot and say anything about what's coming up too early. Just to talk about the things that are already public knowledge, you've got things like the new TMNT: The Last Ronin sequel! The TMNT ongoing on it's road to issue #150! There are cool new originals like Golgotha Motor Mountain! There's the launch of the aforementioned Fang the Hunter which is IDW's first Classic Sonic mini-series and sees 100 unique issues of Sonic at IDW and is just laugh-out-loud funny and full of such good action! And I'll tease this, when the Sonic ongoing is back with issue #69 in May, you'll be in for an absolute treat as that series runs up to #75!

I know some readers of this blog don't read a ton of American direct market comics. You aren't "Wednesday Warriors" who go to the comic shop every week. You like the comics you like and I've been graced to be a person working on those comics. If you aren't as familiar with how these comics work, let me assure you of a couple things. The books I was editing and many unannounced projects that I set up will still be happening. Because of the timelines of comic production, you'll still see my name in IDW books for a few more months and, at the same time, you'll see new credits creeping in. And if we've done everything right, that'll be about the only thing you'll notice is different, at least at first. As the editors really take the reins and take over, we'll both be in for the treat of the unknown! I'll be reading them with a good sense of professional jealousy.

Now, there's one other book that has been announced for next year and I wanted to do a special call out for. Godzilla: Valentine's Day Special went to press this week. It's the last IDW book I saw all the way from inception to completion. And, in many ways, it's kind of a really good analogy of a comics editorial career. I think, genuinely, this may be the book that went from conception to reality the fastest in my career. I think it took... less than a week from a half-joking suggestion of doing a Godzilla Valentine's Day book to getting Zoe Tunnell's pitch in and approved by Toho and getting it on the publishing schedule. Usually these things take a bit--people are working on other projects, licensors need time to review things, whatever other bumps happen along the way--but this was like lightning. Everyone just got it instantly. And then Zoe turned in the script and it was great! Things continued, as they do, and then... we got a curveball or two. I won't go into too much detail, but major thanks to Sebastian Piriz and Rebecca Nalty for getting it done and having a book that we were all so proud of that I could send to press this week. And it struck me on that final press day that despite the curveballs we had been thrown, when it came to actually getting it approved, everything was so easy, straightforward, and smooth. When you read it in February, if I've done my job right, maybe you'll remember seeing somewhere that there were some curveballs. But mostly, you'll just have a really good book in your hands. (BTW, you did JUST MISS the final order cutoff on that, so do check in with your shop about still trying to get you a copy!)

Most of the time, after a book like that goes to press, an editor gets ready to do it again--maybe in a few minutes or days or the next week. For the first time in a long time, I won't be getting ready to do it again at IDW. That's a complicated feeling, but I'm so excited for the future.

The best metaphor I've been able to come up with for what is happening is it's like I've been working in a one room office constantly for the past seven years. It's got that dull office lighting, you know the kind. Each day, projects come and go across my desk, and as they otherwise disappear into the world, I put up one of those glow-in-the-dark stars as a memory of it. And each day, I work with so many people--my coworkers at IDW who've helped foster my growth, my collaborators as both a writer and editor who have made so many stories with me, all the folks where things never quite lined up but we kept trying, and the readers who are an inherent part of the ecosystem, the reason we make what we do. And so, for each of those people, I put up a little glow in the dark toy.

Now, for the first time, I'm going to get up and leave the office. As I flick the switch behind me, everything in there that has been soaking up light for years now glows. Some of the glows are slight. Some are so fantastically bright, it feels like they're drawing attention through the walls of the room. Together, they make the room brighter than it was when I left. Now, sometimes, I might sneak in to borrow a toy--make a copy of it for the new office I'm doing the same thing in. Other people will certainly do the same and make they've got their Evan Stanley figure on their shelf. If I ever return for a longer time, I'll be so glad to flick the light back on and let them all absorb even more light to glow an even longer time. If I don't, I rest happy that the glow goes on and forever people will be able to come back and discover some part of it. And I'll start working on a new office soon.

If I keep going, I'm a little afraid that I won't be able to stop. So, for now, I'll just say again, thank you. The future is about to be very exciting. Next year is for the creators you love or don't know you love yet, the books that are going to light you up that you've come to expect and the ones that will catch you by total surprise. While there are a lot of things I'm going to miss deeply and books that I'm going to wish I had gotten to do more on, I also have the really exciting experience of getting to see this stuff as a fan of IDW, just like you. And, hey, I hope you'll be a fan of the stuff I do next too!

As for next steps, like I've said, I'm not going far. I'll still be in comics. I'll share the news when I can.

Before that, I'm getting a little break. Not too long, just a few weeks, and obviously the holidays are part of those, but in my time between my jobs, I'm going to be working on some personal projects. I put together a little tracking list recently and I have something like 40 projects in various stages of gestation right now. Obviously, I'm not going to be working on all of those at once, and chances are, some of them will never see the light of day, but I'm going to be working on trying to bring a couple of them to you in the new year (and beyond). If you're an artist that I've had the pleasure of working with in the past and you think you might be interested in peeping the list and seeing what we could do together, let me know. You can reach me on my website contact page, through my email, or through Discord (feel free to ask if you don't have it!).

And if you read this blog, you'll see me hyping my last IDW projects up until we run out of what I left behind. Simultaneously, once I've got stuff to start hyping up for my personal projects and for the new gig, you'll see those start to pop up here too! I'll also keep talking about making comics and my thoughts on the state of the world and whatever else it is I blog about here on a regular basis!

Thanks for reading. Bye-DW! Next week, I'll be doing a little Best of 2023. But for now, onto our regular features.

What I enjoyed this week: Dungeons & Daddies (Podcast), Reverse 1999 (Video Game), Nancy (Comic), Lego Masters (TV show), Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror (Short story collection), Yu-Gi-Oh: Duel Links (Video Game), Cunk on Earth (TV show), I'm a Virgo (TV show), The Boy and the Heron (Movie), an easy last week at IDW, all the well-wishes that've already poured in, leaving today to celebrate Christmas with my family and then have some downtime to work on my stuff, signing the paperwork for the new job, not being on Twitter anymore, getting all of our mail out in a timely fashion for the holidays, Chainsaw Man (Manga), I picked up Superman and Hawkgirl, so excited to get caught up on those, and knowing that in leaving this job, there are certain folks I just get to deepen my relationships with as friends, instead of co-workers.

New Releases this week (12/20/2023): Godzilla: The War for Humanity #3 (Editor) Godzilla Rivals: Jet Jaguar vs. Megalon (Editor)

Announcements: The Cartoonist Cooperative is still doing E-Sim cards for Gaza. You can donate a digital sim card so that residents can get access to the internet and have more functional phones and, in exchange, get some comics or a drawing or whatever else is available from the many participating artists. Additionally, the CC is hosting their mini-comic awards! It's a cool way to maybe get your mini-comic recognized and make some scratch!

You can also give more directly. If you don't have money, and I get it, you can call or fax or email or show up at the offices of your representatives. Keep your eyes open for actions too, whether they're another general strike or demonstrations and marches in your area. Given the nature of the things, they often come together fairly quickly, so do exercise your due diligence. Also, of course, being informed and just giving your time to Palestinian journalists and writers is incredibly valuable.

While Becca has got some things brewing for next year (and now on a schedule), you should reach out if you'd like to work on comics with them! You can find their gallery on their website and also, y'know, maybe pick up a few things for belated gifts while you're there!

Finally, I called out my Patreon earlier. You can support me (and boy, that would be cool during the time between paychecks because vacation is nice, but living is still expensive) and get not just this blog, but a lot of cool special features like extra posts, comics, infographics, and more! At the $10+ levels, you can also access stuff like a holiday gift guide I made, a podcast pilot for a spicy show with Becca, and a ton more!

Pic of the Week: Happy holidays from Becca and me! If you wanna full card in your inbox, lemme know!

#comics #godzilla idw #sonic idw #transformers idw #goodbye idw #comics news #david mariotte

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terastalungrad · 11 months

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BB20: Wednesday 25 October

Nominations!

Chanelle nominates Hallie and Noky for causing social difficulty for Chanelle during the ants task.

Jordan nominates Hallie for her prank where she hid people's possessions, and Jenkin whom Jordan finds "difficult to read". Jordan can't work out whether Jenkin is a friend/ally or otherwise.

Olivia does a very funny impression of Kerry's swings between negative and positive thinking.

Kerry nominates Trish for being confrontational, and Dylan for being bossy.

Trish nominates Chanelle. Chanelle admitted that she finds Trish intimidating, and Trish doesn't like this perception. Trish also nominates Dylan for portraying Trish as loud and scary, which she considers stereotyping.

Yinrun asks Henry's advice - should she vote for who she wants to go, or vote tactically to change the fates of the people she loves? I reckon she's worried Henry will face eviction again. This is possible. Four housemates nominated Henry last week, and none have nominated this week yet.

(It's just occurred to me that I'm writing this on eviction day! Excited to see who faces the vote.)

Yinrun nominates Hallie for breaking the rules and calling Zak a gameplayer behind his back. This makes Yinrun paranoid. Yinrun nominates Kerry - they're not close, and Yinrun doesn't trust her.

Noky nominates Chanelle for being conflict-averse, and Dylan for failing to avoid conflict.

It is really interesting how Noky speaks. Very careful and considered, almost like a politician. Did she learn to speak this way for the benefit of Miss Universe I wonder?

Henry nominates Paul for his irritating playfulness, and Noky who Henry believes is hiding her True Authentic Self.

Olivia nominates Dylan for leaving the toilet seat up, and Matty for being a quiet man who's scared of loud people i.e. Olivia.

Matty nominates Olivia for how she spoke about him behind his back, and Kerry for her negative outbursts.

Paul nominates Trish for bringing up thorny subjects, and Noky because of the confrontation they had (and Paul thinks she's not being her True Authentic Self).

Dylan nominates Trish for accusing people of sexism. This refers to the ants task - Trish meant this as a joke. Dylan thinks the word "sexist" just didn't need to be put out there. Dylan also nominates Kerry for making a fuss during the disgusting fast food challenge.

Hallie nominates Henry for failing to pull his weight, and Tom for taking jokes too far.

Tom nominates Trish for hypocrisy - complaining about others monitoring her food intake, but then doing exactly that to Tom. Tom also nominates Hallie for stirring, breaking rules, and maybe being a gameplayer.

Jenkin nominates Hallie for stirring, and Trish for hypocrisy. Exactly the same nominations and logic as Tom's!

WOAH, Yinrun's punished for discussing nominations (an innocent mistake - the conversation with Henry), and her nominations are REVOKED! This makes a significant difference. With Yinrun's nominations, Trish and Hallie would face the vote. Without them, Trish and Hallie are joined by Dylan.

It's still a very balanced house. Even including Yinrun's nominations, none of the 14 housemates received more than five nominations each, and only two received no nominations (Yinrun and Jordan). There are loose groups, but they're not super-cliquey factions.

I don't love the nominations this week personally. Hallie's a huge fave of mine, but I really don't want to lose a third POC in as many weeks. I guess I'd evict Dylan out of these three.

Kerry's always at her best when she's comforting Hallie. She does such a good job of being present without being too much.

Kerry: What would mum say?

Hallie: She'd say, "Stop fucking crying."

Kerry: I suggest you stop fucking crying then.

Yinrun is very upset at being sent to jail. Nothing works to console her. Not:

Physical comfort

Being promised nobody's cross with her

Being told not to feel guilty

Being reassured by half the house

The only thing that works is when her close friend Henry gives her heartfelt advice that is SO stupid, she can't help but laugh.

Aw, Dylan comes and sits next to the jail so Yinrun can have company.

I've been thinking more about the continuity announcer's claim that this series features the "most-watched house" in the country. I've decided that the most-watched house in the country right now is probably Button House. And that's only because Bake-Off is in a tent.

Observation. In a house that's good at conflict resolution, avoiding nomination places more value on serving the group. With fewer hotheaded targets to distract, you're more likely to be nominated for not washing up, or for annoying pranks, or for being a bit negative.

Yinrun isn't sure she can cope if she loses Trish to eviction. Her valued friends keep facing the vote.

#bbuk

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maytheoddshq · 1 year

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AT HOME WEEK

The Victor's Ball and At Home Week have officially begun! You may commence threading both simultaneously. Some important housekeeping and details that may help you with plotting are below.

The 132nd Victor's Ball to celebrate Nano is on October 15.

Read the Victor's Ball post for details about the plot drop and the information that muses will learn there. This will likely be the first time they hear about the rebels in Eleven, unless your muse is already dialed into the underground rumor mill, particularly when it comes to rebel activity.

July through October, nothing much out of the ordinary happens in Panem. Districts celebrate region-specific holidays. In farming communities, they gather before the harvest begins, for example, though what that celebration looks like differs between communities; in the north, they gather for a last 'hurrah' at the end of summer, as the winter will be long and cold. District officials are careful to ensure that no resources are used during these types of celebrations that would otherwise be routed to the Capitol. Feel free to use your imagination for what types of holidays and gatherings can happen in your muse's district.

After the events in Eleven that occur during the Victor's Ball, the mood across the nation changes. The official news channels of the Capitol report very sparingly for the first few weeks after the ball, mostly sharing that citizens should avoid District Eleven. As November goes on, the rebels become louder and stronger. There are a few rebel broadcasts on the Capitol airwaves before they're cut off. There are regular executions of rebels which are televised throughout the districts to instill fear. Sometimes they are killed by firing squad, other times by hanging, other times by beheading — the methods change continually to keep the fear alive. Most of the typical holiday celebrations that might occur in the districts are cancelled, as gatherings are now viewed as a threat. The Capitol puts out anti-rebel propaganda at a greater rate, and despite the executions and propaganda, they claim that the situation is completely under control.

In fact, it is not. Muses may hear through the whisper network, as well as through rebel propaganda, that the rebels are slowly but steadily gaining land. It still amounts to only a few square miles in District Eleven by January, but as Peacekeepers are being sent in droves, the wins of the rebels are impressive. It helps that other rebel factions throughout the nation have traveled to Eleven to join them, so that their numbers are growing almost as fast as the Peacekeepers' numbers are.

What are some ways your muse could get involved?

Join the fight by volunteering with the Capitol to do…

Intelligence (spying, hacking rebel devices)

Peacekeeping (best for those from Career Districts, but anyone who wants to volunteer to be a Peacekeeper is welcome. They may be sent to Eleven to join the fighting, or they may be sent elsewhere so that the strongest Peacekeeper troops can go to Eleven and coverage can continue around the country.

Propaganda work (commercials, ad campaigns, etc. — Victors speak out against rebels)

Join the fight by volunteering with the rebels to do…

Fighting (head to Eleven, but make sure to remain out of sight of the Peacekeepers who might recognize you)

Weapon shuttling or creation (stealing weapons from Two, taking them to Eleven, or creating weapons [bombs, guns, etc.] if your muse has the skill)

Recruiting (traveling throughout the Districts to recruit people to the cause, but again: be very careful)

#132 #133 #announcement

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uh--nope · 5 years

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October Faction: First Impressions

MISSPELLINGS BEWARE

I dont understand how Im so fixated on a show that has my birth month in the title, but somehow I am and this is my first look at the show after two episodes.

SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST TWO EPISODE.

You can skip down to VERDICT to know whether its worth it

First impression:

I'll be honest, when I first saw this show, I was thinking, "I need something to fuel my Umbrella Academy withdrawal and I cannot wait 2 years for another season, this show will have to do."

That was becauuse I saw the show was based on a comic with Netflix doing well with comic/YA novel adaptations I have it a shot.

The show really hits with drawing you in first episode. Like Umbrella Academy, it starts with the death of a kranky old man that everyone hates. Some people mourn others dont but monster dies so thats cool. According to the trailer, the monsters are Octobers and from what I have gathered, they smell like rotten eggs and copper and theyre normal people at first, until they go monster-mode. But Ive yet to know what makes them like this and why they do this HOWEVER instead of getting a mystery about beings Im getting creepy ish AND I LOVE IT.

I love the characters. Especially the older people. Gosh, its sort of wierd to hear an 50+ years old man swearing like a teenager. Its actually kind of hilarious. The kids are kinda cringe but a lovable cringe?

Like I love Viv, but some of her dialouge is wierd to me? Like as a fellow teen, I dont mind when 20 year old act as teenagers. Some the teenagers I have seen around my school have full grown beards already. (Me, holding Hollywood at arrowpoint: GIVE ME BEARDED TEENS, COWARDS.) So with Viv looking like a full hrown adult I understand, but there was one line she said that nearly ticked me off like "MAJOR GROSS." CAN WE PLEASE STOP TALKING LIKE THIS?

Or maybe Im too much of a weird normie to be picky about that sort of stuff, I dunno.

Geoff is a charaismatic boy. I dont have too much insight in him, but I know the relationship he has with his sis is cute, especially when they speak to each other in Japanese. It feels super wholesome and like their secret code among the racist, close-minded twicks. Also its nice to see a homophobic brown person. Negitivity doesn't see color when it manifests in people, my dudes, but neither does positivity.

So MY FAVORITE THOUGH, IT HOME BOY FRED ALLEN.

I don't know why or how but seeing that man get HIGH AND DRUNK IN THE SAME EPISODE was golden.

I don't think he's outgrown his 70s life style, and homestly, I hope he doesnt. Despite looking like a slightly younger Uncle Gambi, that dude obviously is not the mature one of the family. More like the baby of the family. Or the harden teen? I dunno I stan this man.

Theres nothing out there that I dont particually like about the show, YET. Theres alot of mystery happening, plot wise so Im digging that. The tone of the show is very creepy, but it seriously cool and has a tint of edgy. I love the yellow coloring when it does flashbacks inside a building, and when the flashbacks occur outside there is no tint on it.

After reading through all of this I just remembered something I forgot the plot reminded me of. Remember Spy kids? Remember how furious and comfused the kids were when they found out their parents are spys and work for a secret company? Yeah, that sort of thing is getting a bit old for me, but I love the aspect of the parents hiding something from their kids, even though desperately wished that this show didnt have that and the kids are aware of their parent being monster hunters.

But alas we have OCTOBER FACTION.

VERDICT

Worth the watch, alot of things we dont know yet

Fred Allen, just FRED ALLEN

Racist homophobic ppl beware

Good sibling bond

Colors are on point

Plot mystery i love

Characters are fun

WATCH IT ON NETFLIX

#netflix #netflix orignal series #netlfix october faction #october faction #first impressions #october faction impressions #fred allen #viv allen #geoff allen #i cant remeber their moms name #denisis?#i dunno #i literally just started watching today #ISSO GOOD #watch it cowards #watch it

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findingjoynweirdstuff · 4 years

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Crash Course: The History of Dream SMP Season One

So...

You want to get into the Dream SMP, but oh no! There’s eight months of extensive and event-filled history to catch up on, and dozens of highlight videos to watch that don’t always include everything, and pages upon pages of detailed Wiki articles...where do you start!?

Well, I’ve created this to summarize the events of Dream SMP Season One into a single post as a sort of “narrative timeline.”

I’ve also included the dates of the events to the best of my ability, so that everything is in (mostly) chronological order.

I’d highly recommend also checking out the Wiki for more detailed descriptions of the big events if you’re interested.

Happy one-month anniversary of the Grand Finale!

Enjoy!

---

Note: Some dates, but not all, are taken from VOD upload dates, and Tommy’s VODs are usually uploaded a day later than initial broadcast, so they may be slightly inaccurate. Dates marked with * are the dates the VOD was uploaded, in cases where I am unsure of the original broadcast date.

---

The Early Days

April 25th:

The SMP started out as an ordinary survival server, and was often referred to as “the survival world” on early Dream Team streams. The first eight members to join the SMP were: Dream, George, Sapnap, Badboyhalo, Ponk, Alyssa, Callahan and Sam, though Sam took a hiatus until the events of the Election Arc. The Community House was the first thing to be built in the center of a lake.

It was in this period that Beckerson and Mars were named from donos (the various named knicknacks in the Community House are also from donos), Dream tamed a white horse named Spirit, and Sam tamed Fran. There were also several other various pets like dogs and foxes that were tamed by the members.

Some notable events from this period include: the construction of the Court House (and subsequently Sapnap and George’s murder trials there), Dream building the wooden path, George texting Dream’s mother, Sapnap’s Famous Storytime Stream (in which Spirit died due to mobs), and the burning of Ponk’s first Lemon Tree due to a conflict with George.

There was also a running joke that Callahan and Alyssa were dating (they aren’t)

Tommy’s Arrival

Tommy joins July 4th. Tubbo arrives shortly after, with Fundy a day after Tubbo.

The day of Tommy’s arrival:

Tommy joins the SMP. His first day, George and Dream get him to stand on a crafting table and he subsequently murders George and takes from the Community House chests. Dream and George put Tommy on trial in the Court House. After a brief manhunt, Tommy is banished 2,500 blocks away (the first of three exiles) in the snow and is ordered to stay there. He fails to comply and is briefly banned before Dream lets him back on. He chooses to settle on a hill next to Ponk’s Lemon Tree.

The Disc War: Start of the Disc Saga

Taking place from July 9th* - July 11th*, though there were various events/conflicts relating to the discs that happened before and after this time.

After listening to two discs, Cat and Mellohi, with Tubbo on a bench while watching the sunset (VOD: July 8th*), Tommy considers the two discs to be his most prized possessions.

This event is considered the first major war of the server, and the Disc Saga would continue to have developments throughout the rest of Season One.

The events of the first Disc War began due to another conflict between Sapnap, Ponk and Alyssa. Punz and Tubbo were also involved. Tommy ended up siding with Sapnap, and much vandalism and fighting happened before Dream logged on with the intention to stop it.

Tommy and Sapnap murder Dream, and Dream steals Tommy’s discs in return, threatening to burn them unless Tommy returns his gear. Tommy, Tubbo and Sapnap end up combining forces to murder Dream and take back the discs, which Tommy hides under his base. Dream spends time off stream digging up the entirety of Tommy’s land in search of them.

The rest of the Disc War proceeds with Tommy and Tubbo working repeatedly to take back the discs from Dream. It only ends when Tommy crafts an Ender Chest to put the discs in.

This was also around the time that Fundy’s Socializing Club was built, which later led to a brief conflict taking place there.

(It was also during this time in the middle of the Disc War that Wilbur joined a call with Tommy and asked Dream out on a date to Pizza Hut, with Tommy speaking in game chat as Wilbur’s wingman. Dream says yes, George gets jealous on Twitter, and the infamous Vlog plot starts. It would go on from July to October.)

Schlatt and Wilbur

July 12th: During a short conflict between Tommy and Tubbo over the death of Tubbo’s pet bee, Tommy burns down Tubbo’s house. Wilbur logs onto the server to act as Tommy’s lawyer.

On July 17th, Schlatt gets whitelisted on the server without Dream’s knowledge and Tommy spends a day with his idol. The SMPLive Cuck Shed is recreated in Dream SMP, and Tommy listens to the disc Blocks with Schlatt. People trend #kickschlatt on Twitter. Both Wilbur and Schlatt log off the server “permanently,” Wilbur by choice and Schlatt by banning (as Dream didn’t know who he was). Tommy gains ownership of Wilbur’s ball house.

Also worth mentioning is Eret joining July 19th.

The L’manburg War for Independence (aka “Revolution”)

This was a relatively short but very consequential arc, taking place from July 24th to August 2nd, a little over a week in total. It is the second major war of the server, and the first to be faction-based.

July 24th: Wilbur joins the server again.

He decides to start an empire with Tommy. He builds the Camarvan (aka “hto dog van”) in a remote part of the woods and recruits Tommy to help create artificial scarcity in the server’s drug market by stealing everyone’s blaze rods. This isn’t taken too kindly by other members, especially Sapnap. One thing leads to another and they decide to mark out a tiny square in the woods to declare as an independent country. Tubbo joins them, and he and Tommy sing “Hallelujah” to a tilled patch of dirt (this melody would later become the L’manburg National Anthem). They also recruit Eret to help build. They decide on a name: L’manburg, and also don revolutionary skins.

Dream comes over, displeased by this, and declares war. His side consists of Dream, George, Sapnap and Punz, though the L’manburgians attempted to convince George to their side due to his Britishness.

Eret builds the walls, Fundy joins the revolution after logging in within the walls and being very confused, Wilbur claims Fundy as his son. Tommy constructs a fight club beneath his house and, after poorly speaking Dutch to Fundy, goes down the path placing signs in various languages saying “the green bastard shall die!” as propaganda to Dream’s viewers of various nationalities.

July 31st:

Dream and Sapnap log on during one of Dream’s streams, inspect the area, and go through a multi-step plan to demoralize the L’manburgians: they burn down all the trees around their land, lavacast a huge cobblestone wall just outside, construct obsidian TNT cannons around the walls, and fire several TNT blasts into the country, destroying part of the hotdog van’s roof. George joins the call, gets filled in on what’s been happening, and assists in the chaos. Eret, the only L’manburgian online, is helpless and can only meekly protest in game chat. As a final message, Dream and Sapnap set fire to Tubbo’s house (the second time) and Dream gives his famous “white flags” ultimatum.

August 1st:

The ultimatum’s war date was pushed back a day due to Twitter drama. The final evening before war, Dream, after doing his serious stream, logs onto the server and blows up Tommy’s land with TNT, exploding part of the beloved Cuck Shed. Wilbur, in VC, tells Tommy to return the favor to Dream, but instead, Tommy chooses not to fight fire with fire. Impressed, Wilbur makes Tommy his right hand man. Eret joins Dream’s side around this time.

August 2nd:

The day of war comes. Dream’s side goes to Tubbo’s jungle base to kill Tubbo repeatedly. There’s a brief conflict at the Power Tower. Wilbur logs on - the L’manburg side is grossly underprepared. They meet at the Embassy and exchange fire with the Dream SMP members. After Dream seems to retreat, Eret suggests they return to L’manburg, saying he has a “secret weapon:” Eret has been grinding for items.

He leads them down a long tunnel into a blackstone “Final Control Room.” The chests are empty, and Tommy pushes a button in the middle of the room, wondering what its function is. The redstone doors slide open and Dream’s men ambush and kill all of them, leaving them with nothing.

After speaking with Wilbur, who refuses surrender, Dream returns to L’manburg and lights a piece of TNT at the entrance, triggering tons of TNT that had been laid beneath the ground beforehand to ignite. Tommy leads everyone into a final bunker. As one last chance at independence, Tommy challenges Dream to a bow duel for Mellohi. George and Wilbur have a short exchange in which they reflect on their Pizza Hut Date, wondering how they could end up like this, with their men fighting each other on opposite sides. Wilbur tells George he should have been on their side as a British person. Eret too.

Tommy and Dream take ten paces and fire at each other on the Prime Path.

Tommy loses the duel.

Instead of giving up just Mellohi, though, Tommy asks Dream if he could give up Cat as well in return for “technical independence.” Dream agrees. Wilbur declares independence again, putting himself as President, Tommy as Vice President, and Tubbo as Secretary of State. Eret, meanwhile, is declared king of the Dream SMP.

YOOOOOOOOOOOO...you know the rest.

Jack Manifold is whitelisted. It’s a silver-lining ending.

Post-War Period General Events

August 3rd (?), VOD uploaded August 6th*:

On Jack’s first day, Dream attempts to bribe Jack onto his side with riches, real money, and books containing secret codes. Jack decides to act as a double agent.

VOD uploaded August 7th*:

Fundy and Eret continue their pranks. Eret builds his two towers to watch over L’manburg - Fundy completely destroyed the first of them, which is why Eret’s towers are now reinforced with obsidian. That same stream where Fundy “shrank” the tower was where Tommy and Jack first heard the tale of Fundy’s heritage. Fundy explained that his mother was a salmon (they came up with the name “Sally”) and that she was an accountant who raised him the best she could. Tommy and Jack are understandably weirded out by this.

August 6th:

Niki is also whitelisted and joins the server. The original Camarvan is torn down, and Wilbur introduces the first version of the L’manburg National Anthem.

The Drug Park Trivia Contest

August 9th:

Due to L’manburg needing more funds, Wilbur, Tommy and Tubbo get together and create a drug park business to attract drug dealers and women. They see four chickens hanging out near some gravel and name them Clementine, Clementine, Clementine and Clementine, deciding that gravel must attract women. PPA (Ponk-Purpled-Alyssa) signs a trade agreement with L’manburg.

The drug park attracts a confused Dream, who wanders around through the alleyways. Dream gets scammed and then scams them back, so Wilbur challenges Dream to a trivia contest.

August 10th:

Fundy takes off his revolutionary outfit and he and Wilbur get into a brief argument over it. Eret continues to build his second tower. Wilbur asked Tommy and Tubbo to prepare the trivia questions together, but while Tubbo had researched real trivia, Tommy put in bullshit questions that were later removed from the point score.

Dream loses the trivia contest and jumps off a cliff.

The Disc Saga: Showbiz Business

August 13th*:

After Tommy, Tubbo, Thunder, Skeppy and Fundy give a performance of Hamilton and Macbeth to Dream, gaining Dream’s favor, Skeppy tells Tommy he has Spirit’s leather. Tommy, seeing an opportunity to use Dream’s sentimental attachment to get Dream on his good side, asks Skeppy for the leather. Instead, Skeppy trades the leather back to Dream in return for one of the discs. Tommy gets Quackity in a VC to try and intimidate Skeppy (Quackity fails), then asks for Quackity to be whitelisted. Dream whitelists Quackity.

This was also around the time that Fundy kidnapped Punz’s bee, Beenis, and was put on trial, resulting in the birth of Tubbo’s alter ego: Big Law. This would come into play during the Pet War.

The Cartel

August 17th:

Quackity joins the server.

He is initially not allowed to join L’manburg.

He and Tommy start the Cartel together, going on a heist and cracking jokes about John Lennon. This is an overarching scheme over the course of several streams. Tommy ends up building a summer house for himself in the hills, and constructs a drug lab in its basement which he uses with Quackity to attempt a drug scheme.

August 28th*:

Later, after Tommy finishes his summer home and names the several cows who live there, Quackity kidnaps the one named Henry and threatens his life, as he feels that Tommy has become too attached to Henry and is no longer dedicated to the Cartel. Quackity forces Tommy to play a sick trivia game show where if he gets an answer wrong, a cow dies. Tommy asks Tubbo for help, but Tubbo sides with Quackity for the drama. The conflict ends in violence, but Henry is still alive.

Tommy and Wilbur Revive the Server

August 19th*:

Tommy, concerned that the SMP is dying due to Tubbo not being online, calls in Wilbur and Quackity for a chill stream. He and Wilbur rebuild the Camarvan very, very poorly, turning it into a monstrosity of a dirt-bug held together by cobblestone. This wasn’t very consequential, I just included it to explain how the Camarvan ended up looking like That.

The Disc Saga: Railway Skirmish

August 23rd*:

One day, Tommy was hanging around at his summer home. He hops in a minecart and accidentally runs Dream over. Dream uses the /kill command as a funny way to mess with Tommy (and the audience), causing him to die and lose all his stuff. Dream hadn’t been expecting Tommy to take advantage of it. Unbeknownst to Tommy, Tubbo runs in and snatches Dream’s prized sword, hiding it underground.

Tommy and Tubbo realize that with all of Dream’s gear in their possession, they finally have the high ground, and try and use that high ground to trade Dream for the disc. Wilbur joins and questions Tommy about why they’re trying to cause conflict, as L’manburg can’t afford to fight another war so soon. Wilbur orders them to return Dream’s things and apologize. Dream doesn’t give Tommy the disc, but does trade Tommy for Spirit’s leather in return for his stuff back. Tommy tries and fails to trade Skeppy the leather for the disc. He and Sapnap also then team up to kill Dream, but Sapnap betrays Tommy after being threatened and Tommy never succeeds in getting a disc back.

Tubbo reveals to Tommy afterwards that he’d hidden Dream’s sword, and they’d successfully kept it: they now have leverage.

Church Prime

August 24th:

Tommy and Dream put their differences aside for one day and start a religion together after plugging Twitch Prime for twenty minutes straight, to Tubbo’s disapproval. Quackity assists as well. The Vape Tower and Holy Land are created. Dream levitates into the air and /kill’s himself, then gets resurrected. One of the funniest streams the SMP’s ever had.

Church Prime has been born!

The Disc Saga: Spirit Scam / Start of the Pet War

August 27th*:

Tommy is enraged by Sapnap killing one of his beloved cows, Harold. He griefs Sapnap’s house and also informs Niki that her pet, a little fox named Fungi, was also killed by Sapnap. Niki is furious. She, Tommy and Tubbo kidnap Mars and Beckerson with the intentions of holding them for ransom as revenge. Dream, concerned about this, tries to reason with them. He can’t let Mars and Beckerson die at any cost.

While the sides make their threats, Dream locks up the jukebox room in Tommy’s house with obsidian and starts playing the real Mellohi to taunt them out of cockiness. Tubbo and Tommy manage to snatch Mellohi and put it in an ender chest. Dream, realizing he’d screwed up, names a fake Mellohi disc “Tommy’s Disc” and tries to convince them that that was the real one.

After plenty of scamming involving Dream’s sword, Spirit, Mellohi, the fish, and a confusing switcheroo, Tommy ends up with the real Mellohi and the real Spirit, while Dream keeps Beckerson and Mars in his possession. Niki just wanted an apology.

The Pet War

August 29th*:

After taking a brief recess from the SMP, Fundy logs on and starts to catch up on what he’s missed. He’s confused by Church Prime, but is more concerned with chat spamming “RIP Fungi.” He doesn’t believe it at first, but sees Fungi’s grave in L’manburg and calls Niki, who tells him what happened. Furious, he says that Sapnap must pay.

He asks Dream for Mars, but Dream is unwilling to give her to him. Instead, Dream leads Fundy and Niki to the dog house and show them the pets. He tells them that Skechers is Sapnap’s fox, but they didn’t hear it from him. As he is unable to kill one of his own kind, Fundy asks Niki to murder it with a pickaxe.

After a scavenger hunt stream with George, Dream tells Sapnap what happened. Sapnap, enraged, kills Niki’s animals and Fundy’s enderman pet. The Dream Team hide their remaining animals off screen.

August 31st*:

Fundy gets Beenis and a beehive at Tubbo’s base and offers to play a cruel game with Punz in which Punz chooses to spare one of the beenests while the other is thrown into fire. Punz decides that choosing is better than leaving Beenis in an enderchest and chooses. They place down the spared beenest but no bee comes out. Tommy and Tubbo arrive in full armor, looking ominously at Punz. Fundy explains the situation to them, favoring his side of the story, and Tommy and Tubbo defend him as one of their own. Fundy has started a war.

September 1st:

Fundy and Niki get a pet bee named Beelloon. They hide it in an obsidian box to keep it safe. They also locate Sapnap’s pets based on small details in the background of George’s stream.

Sapnap and Punz arrive one day after a Twitch Rivals tournament and force Fundy to watch as they explode Fungi’s grave with TNT. Fundy says they should end the fighting for good with a duel: one vs. one, Sapnap and Fundy.

September 10th:

Fundy builds a scaled-down version of Technoblade and Dream’s arena just behind his base. Tubbo referees the duel between Fundy and Sapnap. Fundy loses. Sapnap takes Niki’s fish and starts to play the same game with Fundy, but stops at the last second - it’s not worth stoking up the fires of war again. He congratulates Fundy on being a worthy competitor and leaves after returning the fish to Fundy. The Pet War ends there.

The Election

September 3rd*:

Tubbo and Fundy get into an argument that threatens to tear L’manburg apart in Civil War. Tommy, while Wilbur isn’t online, is the one left in charge of diffusing the conflict, which he does successfully. The next day (September 4th*), Wilbur logs back on and Tommy fills him in on what he’s missed. They decide that they need to consolidate power, and choose to hold a rigged election where they’re the only party that can be voted for. Quackity, after learning this, states that he’ll be running as well to prevent their dictatorship, declaring his campaign “SWAG2020.” This throws a wrench in Wilbur and Tommy’s plans. Wilbur and Tommy’s party is renamed “POG2020.”

September 9th*:

The Presidential debate is held in Tubbo’s King’s Court. Quackity reveals that Georgenotfound is his running mate. Tommy attempts a smear campaign against him, then later accepts bribery from Karl, who was overseeing the debate. Tubbo takes Karl’s spot to be less biased. Fundy states that he wants to run for president as well. September 15th, Tommy gains Sapnap’s vote by publicly denouncing Fundy, telling him that if Wilbur weren’t Fundy’s father, Fundy would be kicked out of L’manburg. The following days, they hold a few more rallies, sing a duet of Let it Go, and Wilbur, Tommy and Quackity construct the White House while speaking Spanish. This is also the birth of “Tubbox.”

September 20th:

They hold one last rally where the parties show off their endorsements. POG2020 is endorsed by Vikkstar. Georgenotfound is a no-show. Everyone wonders where he is, with one of the running theories being that he’s off editing the Vlog. Fundy and Niki announce their campaign: COCONUT2020.

Tommy and Wilbur have one last endorsement up their sleeve: Schlatt logs onto the server. He’s been unbanned. Instead of endorsing POG2020, however, he accidentally endorses COCONUT2020 and then decides to run his own candidacy, SCHLATT2020. Violence breaks out, Tommy, Wilbur and Quackity all escape underground. Wilbur and Tommy offer to combine votes with Quackity, but Quackity refuses after they reveal the offer is conditional on their own defeat. Instead, Quackity decides to partner with Schlatt.

Also worth mentioning is the fact that Wilbur asked for Tommy’s Mellohi disc, the real one, to keep until they’d won the election. Tommy gives it to him.

Schlatt’s Inauguration

September 21st:

HBomb is added to the server. Wilbur gets on the podium and states the election results: POG2020 won the popular vote by 45%, but was beaten out by the combined vote total of SCHLATT2020 and SWAG2020 of 46%, making Schlatt the President and Quackity the Vice President. Schlatt designates Tubbo as his right-hand man, still Secretary of State.

Schlatt’s decrees are as follows, given throughout the rest of the stream: Tommy and Wilbur’s citizenship is revoked, the walls are torn down, L’manburg is renamed to Manberg.

Tommy and Wilbur escape into the woods (Tommy’s second exile) and Technoblade offers them assistance. Technoblade logs onto the server and they find a ravine to make a barracks in: Pogtopia.

Tommy and Wilbur then go to negotiate with Schlatt for a one-day visa to L’manburg for Ninja’s visit. Schlatt agrees to it.

Ninja’s Visit

September 25th*:

Ninja visits and streams with Tommy for a day. He ends up getting married to Georgenotfound and using their marriage to get the Pogtopians an extended visa without Schlatt’s knowledge.

Pet War II: Battle of the Lake

Sapnap and Karl, who were engaged to marry with a wooden Eiffel Tower as their honeymoon spot, attempt to kidnap Henry. Instead, Sapnap accidentally kills Henry with fall damage.

October 5th:

Tommy is beyond enraged at the death of Henry, and goes to grief Skeppy’s property with Niki while he’s grieving. Dream joins and helps Tommy lavacast the Eiffel Tower. They attempt to frame Badboyhalo for this, which starts a new conflict and a battle between Skeppy and Bad against Dream and Tommy.

Sapnap logs on, Tommy confronts him, and Sapnap eats Henry’s corpse. Antfrost also joins in on Bad and Skeppy’s side. The fight continues, and Dream and Tommy escape into the wilderness together and a chase ensues. Niki is taken hostage.

Dream decides to entrust Tommy with one of the most valuable pets on the server: Mars. Tommy must never, under any circumstances, harm her. Tommy tells Sapnap he has Mars, but Sapnap doesn’t believe Dream would trust Tommy with such a thing at first.

Everyone heads to Pogtopia. Tommy gives his famous “I have the Blade” line and Technoblade logs on. Dream also joins Techno and Tommy’s side. They declare it the Battle of the Lake after a tiny pond next to Tommy’s Intimidation Tower. Punz swaps sides mid battle, and Dream, Tommy and Techno overpower the opposing side, claiming victory.

Dreamon Hunters

October 7th:

Tubbo and Fundy want to create some chaos, but their targets keep logging off and foiling their plans. Eventually, Dream logs on, and that’s when they get the idea to perform an exorcism on Dream. They get Dream to Skeppy’s Mansion and perform a complicated ritual, ending with them logging out and then back in again, and Dream exploding TNT, killing himself and also Tubbo in the blast. After this exorcism, Dream seems...different. He says he wants to be a builder, he wants to hug Technoblade, and his IQ is...75!

Tubbo and Fundy think at first that they’ve successfully removed the Dreamon, but after performing a test with an iron door, everything goes sour. In a last effort to get Dream back to normal, Fundy recreates his marriage proposal scene with Dream. Dream ascends into the air, explodes, and all seems to go back to normal...until DreamXD logs on.

October 15th:

In a second stream, Tubbo and Fundy get their proper Dreamon Hunter outfits, set up a base of operations on the beach near the Mansion, and recruit Sapnap to assist them.

The Festival

VOD uploaded October 10th*:

Tommy has an idea to connect the Prime Path from Pogtopia all the way to Dream SMP, but accidentally reveals Tubbo’s tunnel to Quackity in the process. This leads to a split between Tommy and Wilbur, in which Wilbur snaps and tells Tommy that this is why he isn’t the President and never will be.

Schlatt comes on. He ignores the tunnels, but announces something new: The official Manberg Festival, a celebration of democracy and freedom. With this announcement, Wilbur starts to have doubts about his intentions. Why should he want to go against someone who was democratically elected, hosting fun events for the citizens? Wilbur has a realization: he��s the villain. A few minutes pass, and he’s completely gone, slipping into paranoia about everyone’s loyalties as he starts to distrust that even Tubbo is on his side. He has a plan to blow the entire place up with TNT, and asks Dream to help.

At the end of the day, Tubbo and Tommy have a moment by the bench. Tubbo reveals to Tommy that he’d been given a Mellohi disc by Wilbur, who had also given a copy to Tommy as well. They question why Wilbur would give them both copies of Mellohi, and try to hide the truth about the disc. Tubbo says he probably has the real one.

In the coming days, Tubbo and Fundy help create the decorations. Fundy, meanwhile, has been questioning his loyalties. He wonders what Tommy and Wilbur ever really did for the country in their administration.

October 16th:

The day of the Festival arrives. Everyone, including Technoblade, has been invited except for Wilbur and Tommy. Techno joins in with the party activities, and it’s a joyous day. Tommy and Wilbur wait on the roof, and have a brief conversation with Tubbo before the moment arrives. Wilbur accuses Tubbo of being a yes-man, explains that there’s a key phrase in the speech to activate the TNT. There are twenty pieces of TNT beneath Schlatt’s chair alone.

He puts Tubbo in charge of making the final decision of whether Manberg stays or falls. It’s up to Tubbo to say the line. As the party settles, Tubbo goes up to give his speech. He says it, Schlatt prompts him for more, and Tubbo says the line. Wilbur and Tommy hop down to press the button, but Schlatt gives a little chuckle. He and Quackity start trapping Tubbo in concrete, keeping him in Schlatt’s chair while everyone looks on in confusion. Wilbur and Tommy pause – they can’t detonate the TNT with Tubbo in the blast radius. Schlatt reveals that he’d known about Tubbo’s spying all along, and calls up Technoblade for a favor.

Schlatt orders Technoblade to execute Tubbo. A few shots from Techno’s rocket launcher, and the deed is done. Techno then turns and massacres the crowd as Tommy pearls onto the podium and Wilbur searches around for the button, which he’d lost. Wilbur confronts Schlatt in order to defend Niki, but Schlatt orders Niki’s death and everyone runs back to Pogtopia.

Tommy is fuming at Technoblade, and the two have a short fist fight in a combat pit to settle their differences. Tommy loses, but his rage still remains. Techno tells him that the only universal language is violence, and now that they’ve settled that issue, it’s time to move on.

October 19th:

A few days after the festival, Tommy comes online and overhears an argument between Quackity and Schlatt over the destruction of the White House. Quackity snaps at Schlatt, shoots him, and runs off into the forest while Schlatt tears the building down. Tommy meets with him, and Quackity is recruited into the rebellion. Wilbur comes on and gets filled in. Wilbur also reveals that he’d found the button room off stream, and shows it to Tommy and Quackity. He only needed two witnesses. Tommy and Quackity trap Wilbur into the corner before he can press it, though, and talk him down into taking another approach for now.

The Meeting

November 2nd:

It’s Niki’s birthday party. A fun-filled gathering hosted by Karl at his new Haunted Mansion, featuring several members of the SMP. Wilbur and Quackity are both there, and hang around after the party to sing love-hate songs to one another while playing the guitar. After Quackity sings one last song to Wilbur, though, things turn south. Wilbur tells Quackity that he’s going to blow up Manberg, and Quackity is going to watch. Everyone runs to Manberg in a panic as Wilbur starts playing the chords to Hallelujah. He begins to sing the L’manburg National Anthem in preparation, but Quackity manages to convince him not to do it. Wilbur gives Quackity an ultimatum: set up a meeting with Schlatt by the coming Friday, or Manberg gets blown to smithereens.

November 6th:

Friday comes. Quackity and Schlatt have a meeting in which Quackity attempts to trick Schlatt into signing away his presidency. Schlatt doesn’t fall for it. He, Quackity and Tommy wander through the woods while Wilbur makes his way to the button. But Schlatt reveals that he’d found out about the Button Room, and he’d disconnected the button’s redstone and moved the TNT somewhere else.

Coincidentally, Fundy had just done a massive prank marathon the day before, and one of his many pranks was to fill Pogtopia to the brim with buttons…loads, and loads, of buttons.

Everyone meets in Pogtopia. Badboyhalo arrives as well, and Fundy comes to reveal his Spy’s Diary, a book of information he’d collected on Schlatt throughout the entire administration with details on Schlatt’s deteriorating health. Wilbur starts to realize that instead of no one being on their side, everyone was on their side. Just as he comes to that idea, though, Dream joins the call and there’s another reveal: a traitor in their midst. Wilbur and Dream agree to end things for good on November 16th: the final war for L’manburg’s fate.

Pet War III: The Panda Skirmish

November 5th:

While in the jungle, Punz finds a panda and Sapnap helps retrieve it, saying that if anyone touches the panda, who they named Dumptruck, it would be a battle.

Once they get back, though, Antfrost, with assistance from Badboyhalo, attempts to steal the panda for the animal sanctuary. During the movement of the panda around from place to place as Punz and Sapnap attempt to get it back, the panda dies due to Punz’ armor enchantments. They blame the Badlands for the panda’s death, as if they hadn’t tried to steal it, the panda would still be alive.

As things break out into all-out war, Sam joins the fray to help the Badlands. Sapnap threatens Fran, saying Fran would not be able to come back if the dog died.

The battle ends in the victory of the Dream SMP members, and the defeat of the Badlands.

Pet War IV: The Final Pet War

November 15th:

The night before the final war, Tommy and Sapnap finally have their confrontation about Sapnap stealing Tommy’s horse, Juorse, not too long before.

Tommy and Techno meet with Sapnap. Sapnap, surprisingly, advocates for talking out the conflict instead of immediately breaking out into fighting. All he wanted was Mars back.

They meet at the Community House and negotiate. While Sapnap returned Juorse to Tommy, however, Tommy refused to give up Mars. Sapnap killed Juorse in retaliation, angering Tommy. Tommy runs away, while Dream and George join the server with the intention to kill Sapnap for an unexplained reason.

After a chase, Tommy is led to Sapnap’s secret base and shown his remaining pets. Sapnap tells Tommy to kill them. Tommy, refusing to stoop to Sapnap’s pet-killing level, says no. To settle the conflict, Sapnap and Tommy agree to a duel at Eret’s museum. Sapnap wins very quickly. While Tommy is being made fun of by the others, though, Sapnap is gracious and does not. He respects Tommy as an opponent, and the two go off on their own to talk.

Tommy tells Sapnap that all the Pet Wars have to end, for good this time. He says Sapnap has to let go of Mars. If he truly loves Mars, and doesn’t want to see her passed around as a bargaining chip forever, she should be freed.

Sapnap, though saddened, agrees, and they set Mars free at the shore, watching her swim out to sea.

Free at last.

The Manberg-Pogtopia War: Finale of Season One

November 16th:

It’s war day. All hell is about to break loose. Dawn of the finale.

Tubbo logs on to prepare, and ends up getting stalked and killed by Dream. Dream allows him to retrieve his items, though – it was just a show of strength.

Quackity and Tubbo share a few moments of reflection together. They discuss who could possibly be the traitor. They both suspect Tommy.

On top of Ponk’s tower, they make a promise to each other. At the count of ten, they would stand opposite each other with the Eye blocking their view, and would, at the same time, take a step to one side. Towards the city if they would stay and fight, and towards the forest if they would run. The count reaches zero: they both step to the side to fight.

Tubbo starts to question if this is all just history repeating itself, if every war since the Disc War is just bound to end in defeat.

Karl attempts to bribe pretty much everyone on the Pogtopia side to join Manberg, with little success.

Eret is confronted by Dream, who asks him where his power comes from. Eret says respect, but Dream says the only reason Eret is king is because of an axe and a shield: the people who fight in his name. Dream warns Eret to stay neutral, sit on his throne and look pretty. Eret decides to betray, and Dream revokes his kingship. In Eret’s place he puts George, fulfilling his promise from the first L’manburg war. George is pleased, and then goes off to continue building a little mushroom house for himself, which would of course go on to become a vital plot point of Season Two.

Eret joins the Pogtopians (minus Tommy and Wilbur) at Manberg. They head to a little spot by the sea and set up a board to discuss who is on their side, and who is not. Meanwhile, Tommy and Wilbur log on together. Tommy protects the L’mantree in a wall of obsidian, and beneath the Power Tower, Tommy plays the disc Mellohi and Wilbur rants, threatening to blow up the country.

Everyone meets in Pogtopia. Wilbur has also started to give out blue dye, which he calls “blue.” Techno leads them all to his secret base and the vault beneath, revealing all the items he’d grinded for. Everyone stocks up on supplies, but they didn’t realize that the Netherite armor was full of useless enchantments that Techno had put on it to disguise the truth: that he was planning on fighting them all along.

Everyone then charges across Tommy’s bridge to Manberg and ascends Eret’s second tower to shoot down on the Manbergians. The fight continues on the ground, ending with Dream asking Wilbur to talk. It was time to negotiate for Manberg’s surrender.

He leads everyone to Schlatt, who was hiding out in the Camarvan completely drunk. Everyone gathers around Schlatt as he gives his last words, last rants, and then abruptly dies of a heart attack or stroke. Everyone is surprised, but uneasily happy.

Wilbur makes Tommy the President. Tommy goes up on the podium to give a speech, but says he can’t be the President right now: he still has a Disc War with Dream to fight. Instead, he makes Wilbur the President.

Wilbur gives a speech, but says he can’t be President as well. Instead, he gives the Presidency to Tubbo. (This is the point where, on Philza’s Hardcore stream, he tunes in to hear Tubbo’s speech)

Tubbo gives a speech and actually accepts the Presidency. Wilbur says he’ll be right back and heads off, causing Phil some concern. Wilbur heads to the button room, Phil realizes what’s going on, and Phil scrambles to get on the server, desperate to stop his son.

During Tubbo’s speech, Dream messages Techno, pointing out that Techno is anti-government. Techno doesn’t like how this is going, and decides to assassinate Tubbo with his rocket launcher, causing panic. A fight breaks out.

Tommy and the others are told by Dream that there is a traitor: the traitor is Wilbur. Everyone realizes in horror that Wilbur is nowhere to be seen.

Wilbur is confronted in the button room by Phil. He gives a short speech before giving his final line: “It was never meant to be,” and presses the button. Manberg goes up in a blast. Afterwards, as Tommy and the others watch, Wilbur begs Phil to kill him, and Phil does.

Techno tells Tommy the tale of Theseus and spawns two withers.

“Do you want to be a hero, Tommy? Then die like one!”

Wilbur respawns, wanders around the SMP, has a short moment at Eret’s museum and then returns to Manberg, at which point he gets attacked by a wither. He decides to end stream, and declares Tubbo the President of a crater.

In the aftermath of the final battle, everyone surveys the damage. Tubbo creates his new cabinet, Techno and Phil speak with one another as well.

Tommy, Tubbo and Dream all agree to a moment of truce as they listen to a disc at the bench together, sitting side by side.

With that, Season One draws to a close.

It’s not the end.

Just a new beginning.

---

...And that’s about it for now!

Season One of the Dream SMP was a half-year-long wild ride to experience, full of countless fond memories and all-around good times.

Here’s to what comes next!

I hope you enjoyed!

#mcyt #dream smp #dreamsmp #dream smp recaps #dream smp timeline #long posts #reference #dream smp lore

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pyrajanison · 4 years

Text

Oleander goes into PJ’s Mind.

As told by Morceau himself.

“All right, give me a second to collect my thoughts, Caligosto. I’ve been in some damaged minds in my time but this one might just take the cake.”

“Let’s see...Once I got boots on the ground, I surveyed the terrain. Seemed to be a dense forest with a town in the distance. Closest building was what appeared to be a burned out cabin, parts of it missing in clear indications of memory loss. It had a resident, seemed to be a younger version of PJ."

“Little PJ was very informative. The mindscape apparently is an island with two factions, the town and the forest. There also are frequent earthquakes which ruin her progress with her collection of Etch-a-Sketches. She began to draw me in one and I couldn’t get another word out of her after that.”

“Decided to explore the seaside town first. Place was unsettling, but I didn’t get a real sense of danger from there. Quite a few characters about, most were standoffish, though I did get a few to greet me. Place gave me an odd sense of deja vu.”

“I quickly found out why though. Girl seems to have a thing for you, Cal. Common case of hero worship no doubt. You’ve left quite an impression on her. That loyalty is definitely strong, we should count ourselves lucky, considering...”

“Ok, but the reason for why what happened happened, I’m getting to that. After the town, I went into the woods. Something about it felt... off. Place had fog thicker than clam chowder, and as I got further in, found a lot more memory damage-”

“-not to mention censors. These censors seemed a lot more aggressive than what would normally be found in a sane mind. Was in the thick of it what the ground started the shake. But it wasn’t an earthquake.”

“That thing, whatever it was, was immense. The psychic power it gave off was not at all human. I... well, you know what I mean, after all-”

“-you saw it too! Never seen an entity astral project themselves out of a door in such a clear apparition, and with real world manipulation to boot. Good thing I got that door closed and you turned on that anti-psychic field.... I’ll, uh... pay for the damage to the lab by the way.”

“But about her... I don’t think I can use her in my army. I need real psychic brains. That brain? That’s most likely a UPE at worst, a possession case or artificial psychic at best. In any case, I got no use for it.”

“But hey, if you want an abnormal brain to experiment with, she’s all your’s, Doctor. Just so long as she doesn’t interfere with the plan. Consider it a bonus.”

OK! This took a lot longer then I anticipated but it’s done! Got a lot more coming this month, so stay tuned for the follow ups. Gonna be keeping the timeline linear from here on out. Happy October all!

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minervacasterly · 4 years

Text

Henry VII & Elizabeth of York's Dynastic Union

“Henry VII did not remarry. It is difficult to know, at this distance, just how sincere his marital attempts were; whether they were driven by personal factors or simply another facet of the complicated game of European politics, or both. It would be misleadingly anachronistic to separate these motives and see his attempts at wooing as anything less than his royal duty. If he was looking for comfort, he might have found a willing wife closer to home, among his own nobility; dynastically, the pool of available women failed to provide him with a successful candidate. Perhaps it was the very geographical and political distance between him and these potential brides that made them attractive; the king was the ultimate prize in the delicate game of foreign alliances and to commit himself may have risked alienating other potential unions. He was spoilt for choice, so long as his marriage remained theoretical. There is no doubt about the genuine grief he exhibited at the loss of his wife, retreating ‘to a solitary place to pass his sorrow’ and seeing no one except ‘those appointed’. Ill health increasingly plagued him during the last years of his life, as he resigned himself to his losses.”

- IN BED WITH TUDORS: THE SEX LIVES OFA DYNASTY FROM ELIZABETH OF YORK TO ELIZABETH I by Amy Licence

“In many ways, the union had long been inevitable. From the early negotiations of Edward IV, bogus though they might have been, through the long years of plotting and maneuvering in separate exiles, emerging against all odds as the inheritors of their respective houses, Henry and Elizabeth moved steadily towards each other. Now that they were joined together, they would rarely be apart for the rest of their lives-unless necessity wedged between them.”

- ELIZABETH OF YORK by Nancy Lenz Harvey

"In theory, it was a perfect match. Henry claimed the throne by right of conquest and had overthrow a regime that had been unpopular in many places, tainted by the controversy of Richard’s accession and the disappearance of Edward V. His Lancastrian roots gave him the requisite degree of authority but he had not been heavily embroiled in the bloody events of recent decades, making him a new face on the political scene. However he was still sufficiently British, having been born at Pembroke Castle and spending many of his early years as a ward of the Herbert family in their impressive Raglan Castle home; there had been the possibility of a marriage to their daughter Maud before the events of 1485 unfolded. Elizabeth’s popularity was legendary. The common sympathy for her sufferings also assimilated much of the outrage and grief surrounding the deaths of her brothers and the majority of England recognized her as the rightful heir of the house of York. However, there was no expectation that she could rule alone. A woman’s subordinate position to her husband extended even to those through whom the inheritance traveled. She was of marriageable age, tall, beautiful and had been brought up in anticipation of queenship. The union had been proposed by their mothers through the long days of suffering under Richard, liaising in secret through the offices of a mutual doctor and astrologer while the dowager queen remained in sanctuary. The prospect of success must initially have seemed remote. Eventually, if Henry had married either daughter of the protectors of his youth, Anne of Brittany of Maud Herbert, Elizabeth would have even free to marry and take her royal inheritance elsewhere. Providing she chose carefully, she and her husband would then have been rival claimants to the English throne and perpetual thorns in Henry’s side. So, to what extent did Henry and Elizabeth choose each other? The union was practically decided by the time they eventually met, probably in early September 1485 … Henry’s splendid coronation took place on 30 October 1485 … The wedding did not take place, though, for another three months. This is not to suggest Henry was not keen for the match, as some historians have concluded: there was his first parliament to sit, repeals of the law to ensure that Elizabeth’s illegitimacy was rescinded and dispensations to secure, as well as a terrible outbreak of plague in the capital that autumn … Henry also want to ensure his kingship was established and independent of Elizabeth’s claim before the ceremony took place. The couple probably met on a number of occasions, both at court and at Margaret Beaufort’s home, Coldhabrbour House, an ancient building originally named La Tour, comprising two linked fortified town houses, with a number of chambers of suites of rooms within its tower and a Great Hall on the riverside. Perhaps Henry was taking the time to get to know his bride; more cynically, it has been suggested he was ensuring she was not carrying of his predecessor. Elizabeth was not pregnant But she may have finally yielded to Henry’s advances once the union appeared a certainty. The couple’s first child would arrive the following September, exactly eight months after the wedding, a time frame which has given rise to much subsequent historical speculation. Assuming the baby was full-term, conception must have occurred in mid-December 1485. Parliament approved the match on 10 December 1485, suggesting consummation around that time, almost exactly nine months before the birth.

Predictably, early Tudor chroniclers were full of blessings for the match. The fourth Croyland continuer wrote that the marriage, 'which from the first had been hoped for’, was lauded for the sake of Elizabeth’s title as well as her virtues: 'in whose person it appeared that every requisite might be supplied, which was wanting to make good of the title of king himself’. He cites a poem included by the previous Croyland writer that 'since God had now united them and made but one of these two factions, let us be content’. Other writers celebrated that 'harmony was thought to discend out of hevene into England’ from this 'long desired’ match. Shakespeare presents them as the 'true succeeders of each royal house, by God’s fair ordinance conjoin together’. Their heirs would bring 'smooth-faced peace, with smiling plenty and prosperous days’. Hall claimed the match 'rejoiced and comforted the hartes of the nobe and gentlemen of the realme’ and 'gained the favour and good minds of all the common people’ ...

Henry also sought to obtain a second papal dispensation for the match, as the pair were related within the fourth degree: he already had one dating to March 1484 and could not allow any possibility of the marriage being invalid. This involved religious and legal specialists giving depositions about their respective lineages before witnesses, which was confirmed by the current papal legate to England, James Bishop of Imola. He was successful on 16 January. Two days later, Elizabeth and Henry were married."

- ELIZABETH OF YORK: THE FORGOTTEN TUDOR QUEEN by Amy Licence

#elizabeth of york #henry vii #history #english monarchy #dailytudors

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redbeanboi · 4 years

Text

Scacchi

Rating: M (nothing particularly crazy, but it’s still related to BBP)

Characters: OC’s: Giuseppe Giovanna, Vittorio Pesca, plus a few extras. Mentioned: Don Giorno Giovanna/Reader, Fugo, Narancia, Mista.

Summary: Giuseppe learns how to play the game.

Alternatively: Pesca doesn’t approve of sheltering who he considers to be the “heir” to Giorno’s empire and takes matters into his own hands.

Word count: 1.8k

A/N: One of several Giuseppe-related OCtober writings that I’ll be sharing in the next few weeks. This takes place about 15-16 years after BBP, so Giuseppe is a teenager and it would basically be taking place around his “part” (as some of you have come to call it :-D ). For context: Giorno and the Signora have discovered that against their wishes, their son has managed to secretly join Passione (more on that in another snippet, and know that Giuseppe’s “uncle’s” aren’t any more pleased). Unfortunately they all have to deal with some other mess happening in the city, and the only relative around to spend time with Giuseppe is Pesca, who I have yet to fully introduce in BBP. I hope you’ll enjoy this interaction between them!

some translation notes;

trisoru (’tesoro’ in Siciliano), Matri/Patri and Matre/Patre (mother and father, in Siciliano and Napulitano, respectively), Se (yes, Siciliano), La Famigghia (the family, Siciliano), prozio (great-uncle in Italiano: referring to Don Arnaldo from BBP).

One of the soldati entered the room, Giuseppe in tow. “I hope your trip was pleasant, Signore Pesca. Things are a bit… disorderly here at the moment,” he added, casting a wary, sideways glance at his charge.

Giuseppe’s greeting was less effusive. Passione’s princeling was in a sullen mood, furious that he had been ordered to stay home while his father and trusted men sought out the current threat. “You need to stay home, where it’s safe, trisoru,” you had insisted. “These are unsettling times.”

None of this satisfied Giuseppe, Pesca noted. Perfect on many accounts, but still a child for all that, still inexperienced in the ways of this world. “Giuseppe,” he called. His nephew looked over sure enough. “Seeing that we’re stuck here together, perhaps you’ll be a dear nephew and entertain me to a thrilling game of scacchi? For old time’s sake.”

Giuseppe fixed him with a wary stare. “Chess? My homework sounds much more interesting.”

“Not interesting to you? I suppose it’s only natural when you’ve never beat me. Do continue with your studies.” Pesca raised his book, smirking in safety behind the pages.

His comments pricked Giuseppe’s pride, just as he expected. “Very well then, Uncle. Fetch the board and pieces—this time I mean to actually beat you.”

They set the chessboard on a wooden table in the center of the room, a handsome piece of furniture that was undoubtedly carved and toiled over by some craftsman in the city. Pesca knew his cousin-in-law liked to patron the local artisans. Giuseppe had already moved his first piece on the board—’Grob’s Attack,’ Pesca thought with amusement. Most would consider it a mark of daring youth, a move that was as bold as it was foolish. Willing to risk it all for the quick kill. Giuseppe’s bodyguard Affogato sat in a chair beside his charge, watching as they played.

Pesca responded in kind, setting his Queen’s pawn two spaces forward. Later, when all the pieces had cleared the way and Giuseppe reached for the Queen’s Bishop, Pesca hummed and shook his head. His nephew paused and quirked a brow at him. “This is an interesting opening, dear nephew, but I wouldn’t do it in the future.” He offered Giuseppe his most disarming smile. “You’re just as bold as your Matri and Patri.”

“So I’ve been told,” Giuseppe returned warily. “...My mother says that you let her drive your car when she was twelve.”

“She’s a very good driver. She’s good at plenty of things, actually. A clever woman. Do you heed her advice?”

The boy pushed a tuft of dark blue hair away from his eyes. Pesca noticed that the dye had yet to fully wash out. “Of course I do. She’s my mother.”

“And yet we find you here, already a fully initiated member of your Patri’s gang.” Pesca blinked at the board before moving his knight. “If I remember correctly, your beloved parents had every intention of shutting you out from either organization. Were they heartbroken when they found out?”

Giuseppe flushed. “I’ve told you already, it was the right thing to do. I can help them.”

“Se,” Pesca returned in his rough Siciliano. “And in doing the right thing, you’ve also uncovered a new plot to dispose of them. It’ll make for an interesting family story in the future, and I’m sure your children will love to hear of how you managed to save us all… assuming your Matri and Patri ever let you set foot outside of this house any time soon.”

“They will. They have to.”

“Must they?” Pesca asked with a tsk and a scandalous tone. “I would be careful with that. Don’s and Signora’s do not like receiving orders, least of all from children. Your Matri is a Signora, a principessa of one of the oldest criminal organizations in this world; she knows a great deal more about these sorts of things than you do. Your Patri, on the other hand? Why, he’s the Boss of all Bosses, made himself a conqueror at the age of fifteen. They love you dearly and clearly gave the world to you, but I don’t think you’ll find them very willing.”

“They will be willing,” Giuseppe insisted, clearly shocked by this information. It was clear to Pesca that Giuseppe had never considered the possibility that his parents might lock him away for his safety and refuse him. “You don’t know them as I do.” Giuseppe took his knight and leapt over the pawns, letting the piece land on the board with a harsh thud.

Pesca shrugged at that. “Perhaps I’m still a stranger to the sacred love between parent and child, but I know what they are like. I know your Matri most of all. I know that she stole cars and sold them, that she impressed Don Vittorio Andolini with her thievery. She’s known danger from a young age, knows what it is like to run, to be hunted, to never be safe. I know that she is fierce. How else would Cosa Nostra bend so easily to her? The ‘Ndrangheta are half hers, considering her family ties to Don Arnaldo. She grieved for her father and schemed to protect you and your ridiculous Patri years ago—all when she was matched with a troublesome opponent. She’s not officially initiated in any gang, yet your Patri relies on her to no end. How do you suppose a woman like this will react when you come to her with a pleading child’s eyes and say, ‘Buongiorno Mamma, I have grown up now and would like to be recognized as a member of La Famigghia.’”

Giuseppe gave him a cold and hard stare. He looks so much like his father. “I am not going to plead to my Matre like a child. I am a young adult, with reasonable requests. I actually accomplished a decent amount of work before you discovered me and alerted them.”

“To be frank? You have too many requests, and as well as you did your job you can easily be replaced,” Pesca corrected. Good, that’s made him angry. It almost reminded Pesca of the times he teased you for having similar ambitions. This boy looks like Giorno but he acts more like his mother. “Don Giorno has plenty of soldati, and last I checked none of them add this much stress on those slender shoulders of his.”

“Think whatever you like, Zietto Vito,” said Giuseppe. “I can still prove myself to them. Signore Fugo said that if I wait, they will see that I’m not a child anymore and can listen like a respectful adult.”

“And you believe that? Goodness. Trust no one, dear boy. Not your strange padrino who wears that ridiculous suit, nor your false uncles or cousins or brothers. Above all, don’t hold to every word your parents say to you—they’re liars like the rest of us. And perhaps this wariness will dampen your gatherings or keep you awake for much longer than you’d like to be at night, but I’m sure it’s better than the never ending sleep that awaits us all.” He sighed and moved his Queen. “I am only your uncle though, only your mother’s lawyer. What could I possibly know that your padrino doesn’t? Still I’ll insist. If you really aren’t a child, you should know that one must make their own way in the world. I wouldn’t do as Signore Fugo says.”

“... What would you do then?” his nephew asked, leaning forward with interest.

“If I were in your position, I would simply sneak away from this city. Go south. These threats come from the Sacra Corona Unita in Puglia, and neither of your father’s forces from Campagna have enough men to deal with an organization from the east. I’d go to Sicilia first, rally the other factions of Cosa Nostra, and meet with your prozio in Calabria. You can start making moves once you’ve got the forces—”

“I have none.”

“You have a famous name and enough resources to tempt the men associated with Cosa Nostra... And even if you don’t, you’re a smart boy, you’ll figure out some way to procure funding.” Pesca flew a Bishop two spaces over. “You’ll need plenty of them, if you want enough men to overwhelm and absorb this new organization.”

“I still would need Patre’s help,” Giuseppe said. “I can’t make any actual moves without his approval. He’s—”

“You don’t need to make any moves, not right away. All you need to do is gather enough support for your Patri. He’ll join you at once.”

Giuseppe frowned. “You said Patri doesn’t intend to let me work with him. I’m still a child to him. He doesn’t entirely respect me the way he does any of his trusted men...”

Pesca shook his head. “A poor choice of words on my part. Ask Don Giorno, your father, for permission, and he’ll treat you like a child. Do you want to act on your father’s whims for the rest of your life? Now… if you left and bolstered his cause down south, in Sicilia? The men of Cosa Nostra only follow the strong, and that is what you’ll be if you can soothe out the wrinkles that stayed after your first birthday. That would prove you are your own man. Bold, reckless, a perfect followup to the infamous Don Giorno. Another conqueror.

“Your Patri has suffered many losses in his youth. You might have noticed he’s grown an attachment to your Matri. If he finds that you’ve taken up his cause and put yourself in a vulnerable position, ordering around the men of Cosa Nostra—no doubt directing attention to yourself—and gone on the offensive, he’ll come and join you. When he meets with you, he will find a fierce and bold youth waiting for him. Not his son, but an equal. How can he help but name you his Underboss and heir then?” Smiling, Pesca took his Queen and ate Giuseppe’s King. “I hope you’ll still harbor some affection for me. And know that you impressed me by managing to last this long, even with an underdeveloped Bishop and godawful castling.”

Giuseppe stared at the board in disbelief. “My Queen–”

“You put her in a tight spot several moves ago. Do you not remember? My Knight took her.”

“What you said earlier... about my first move—”

“Ah! Remember what I said? Trust no one. Though I definitely recommend using a different opening next time. If you’re going to listen to anything I say, at least remember never to start with “g4” ever again.”

Giuseppe jerked back, gaping at the table and then at his uncle. Not ten seconds had passed before he frowned and shoved the board away, hard enough that a white knight and pawn flew across the room. One of the butlers grumbled as he shuffled around the carpet to return them.

“Giving up so soon?” Pesca asked, taking the pieces and setting them up once again.

He half expected the boy to saunter off, especially with the way he’d lectured and poked at him, but to Pesca’s surprise, Giuseppe leaned forward and shook his head.

“No.”

“I won’t be going easy on you,” he warned, “but I promise you’ll have much to learn if you decide to continue.”

Giuseppe nodded. “Teach me then.”

A/N:

Ah ! That’s teenaged Giuseppe for you. Very different from his parents, I think, but I love him all the same. He has much to learn. This is generally untouched from when I first wrote it, so I hope you enjoyed it in all its rough, out-of-context, first-draft-ish glory!

Honestly surprised myself with how much I ended up writing, but I was mostly just following these two; the way they bounce off each other made it easy to let the words go onto the page.

If you wanted to see what the board looked like towards the end of the game, here’s a bit of a visual:

Lots of ways that this could go wrong for Giuseppe’s pieces... I stand by Pesca’s advice though. If you start on white, avoid opening with the infamous “g4.”

#fun fact !!!#i used to play chess with my uncle and i'm actually very much like giuseppe so this was a fun way to revisit that #anyway i love giuseppe he's a little brat and he's got a quick temper and a quicker tongue and he still has much to learn #ocs #giuseppe giovanna #vittorio pesca #sidenote #i love writing these two together as WELL as the signora and pesca #they all just kinda come for each other's throats #but like... in a polite way #also yes giuseppe dyed his hair blue but that'll be explained in a different snippet #belated but uhhhh #oc.tober #previews

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kadeu · 4 years

Photo

Accepted — Han Cassius

♦️ Cassius Han looks like Bang Chan (straykids) ♦️ He was born October 23, 1997; making him 23 years old ♦️ This Human is Bisexual and a Six of Diamonds ♦️ He is a croupier (dealer) at the Koromo in the Circle

Biography

tw: child abandonment

All tales begin knowing that one day they must eventually end. Some tales speak of heroic adventures and battles hard fought between dragons and foes, while other tales are nothing but steeled resignation to a life lived mundane until the pages finally close shut. Cas’ story is like that. It’s not yet over, but he knows that by the end nothing will have changed, and he’ll be just as insignificant as when he was first born.

In October of 1997, Cassius Han is born into the Diamond faction a mundane lowranking human, not an ounce of magic-wielding ability in his blood. From the best of his knowledge, he is descended from nothing but generations upon generations of lowborn and low ranked humans, barely a blip in the periphery of Kadeu’s recorded history. His existence is almost pointless really, but that’s not a fact he learns until far later.

At the beginning, Cas knows nothing but love and warmth. Knows what it must feel like to fly as his father hoists a young Cas up onto his shoulders after the brightness of day has faded into the darkness of night. His father tells Cas to look up at the stars and reach for the ones that shine the brightest, laughing as he watches his son’s tiny hands eagerly grasp for the constellations dotting the sky. Cassius also knows what it must feel like to believe you’re the centre of the universe, important beyond belief as his mother wipes away stray hairs from his face and kisses his forehead every night before bed. She whispers sweet nothings of fairy-tale dreams set in some reality far far away, making Cas feel as if every fantasy he’s ever imagined is conceivable.

As a child, Cas knows nothing of the limitations that face humans in this realm, knows only that should he wish upon the stars hard enough, there is nothing he cannot achieve.

However, all picture-perfect storybooks must come to an end, and eventually Cassius’ does too.

After several weeks of uncharacteristic distance between the boy and his father, Cassius’ world shifts in the span of one night, tilting the axis which Cassius had so peacefully spun around until that very point in time. It happens when his mother isn’t home. His father sits Cassius at the table, a firm hand on the boy’s shoulder when he asks what Cassius’ dreams are and then proceeds to dismantle every last one of them until there’s not a star in the sky that Cassius thinks is attainable. Because Cas is, “just a human, an insignificant human – irrelevant to the gods and the stars up above”.

(It’s the last thing that Cassius hears from his father before the man disappears).

And just like that, the storybook begins to crumble.

The façade that Cassius’ mother built following his father’s departure doesn’t last long, and soon enough she’s shattered beyond repair; the proverbial cracks near the corners of her mouth far too severe even to support the smallest of encouraging smiles. Without warning, on a warm summer’s day, the pair move across town to a grand household where Cassius’ life becomes not his own but another’s. Here, he addresses the master of the house as “Sir”, and Sir addresses Cassius as something closer to “Cashius”, never bothering with the correct pronunciation.

Retrospectively, little Cassius should have anticipated the later fall of his mother. She becomes increasingly distant, the room they reside in gradually becoming so devoid of speech the air inside feels as frigid as a crypt. When he’s thirteen, she leaves. Or, well, she’s kicked out, waifish frame disappearing into the inky darkness of a winter’s night while Sir mutters something under his breath along the lines of “good riddance”.

She never even says goodbye.

At some point thereafter, Sir seemingly takes Cassius under his wing, sitting him down at the table nightly and teaching him card games; reminding Cassius that he ought to be thankful the man is teaching him such an important skill when his mother had squandered the “kindness” that Sir had bestowed upon them both. (It’s not until he’s grown does Cassius understand the weight of those tiny pills his mother took every day). There’s a specific sheen to the man’s eyes that tells Cassius the man sees him as nothing more than a charity case, a simple way to self-aggrandise when he gathers his friends on the weekends and tells them the heroic tale of how he’s taken it upon himself to care for this poor orphaned magicless human.

And Cassius abhors the flagrant ego-stroking masquerade of the entire “kindness”, but he yearns for knowledge and the unspoken promise of escape more than he desires to shove the man’s words back down his throat. So he fashions his very own façade instead. Cassius smiles and praises the man, tells him just how terribly kind and brilliantly intelligent he is, thanking him as a grateful puppy would upon receiving an unwarranted treat.

The act does not fail to reap its own rewards.

A “charitable benefactor” to the end, the man leverages what connections he has and eventually finds Cassius a position working at the Circle, setting the boy free from his service once he has worked his way up to the position of a card dealer. It’s a conflicting feeling, to resent the man for his unabashed self-serving pity, yet inexplicably grateful for the luck he’s found himself inheriting as a result of their unbalanced relationship. But in the end, it doesn’t matter how Cassius feels about it all. His façade is well built, and he provides the man with endless words of praise and thanks for all that he has done for him, because even as a free man, that is their relationship: one of serf and lord.

Fast forward a few years and at the end of it all, this is the man that Cassius has become:

Now a six of diamonds, Cassius works as a croupier at the Koromo. Skilled at small talk, flashing a charming smile, and mesmerising cardistry to impress the table should they ask, perhaps his unwanted connection had provided him the opportunity, but skill alone had earned Cassius his position and he’s proud of that fact. It’s a good position for a human, he’s protected while he’s on the job and that’s more than most professions care to offer. Sure, other casinos that cater to a far more limited audience might be considered “better”, but Cassius is more than happy to avoid exclusively serving the upper echelons of society in favour of including individuals closer in rank to him. Those whose futures are not so disparate from his own.

Others might wonder, or even anticipate the great potential their future might hold, so assured that the future ahead is bright, but Cassius is well-aware he’s reached his peak in society. Face the facts: most humans are serfs, the lucky ones work in lowranking job positions, and the rest are forced into arranged marriages and used as tools to produce offspring. (The unluckiest ones live their lives as pets, something Cassius finds unfathomably degrading). There isn’t much to be excited about as a human in Kadeu. Yes, blessed with his father’s words that incessantly remind him just how insignificant he and his dreams are, Cassius lives life as a pessimist, unable to even hope for more. His mother’s descent and society itself only serves to reaffirm this engraved schema, Cassius morbidly confident that one day he too will fall and end up just as miserable as his parents.

Indeed, as a human, where was there to go in society but down? Sure, other dealers from the heart faction were a rank higher than he was, but Cassius would never rise higher than that, would never be a face card because who in their right mind would readily accept a human in a position of that much power? There isn’t really any place left for Cassius to go up, so that leaves down as the final option, a fact which Cassius is well-aware of.

However, in private Cassius is a secret dreamer. Sometimes he catches himself wishing for more than he can ever have, wishing that where he is now wasn’t the peak of his life, but rather the beginning of something grand like in the stories he was told as a child. Cassius tries not to let these thoughts slip out, they’re dreams of futures he will never have, and wanting what you cannot have will lead you to nothing but unhappiness. Dreams, no matter how you look at it, are poison. You swallow just a drop, and that one drop multiplies over and over until you’re drowning in your own delusions of a life you can never achieve. They’re insidious, but Cassius can’t truthfully claim to have vanquished them all.

When it comes to matters of society and politics, it’s practically in Cassius’ job description to outwardly ignore the tension between factions, as individuals from any faction may be his customer. Behind closed doors however, Cassius tends to watch from afar with amused fascination, knowing full-well that he’ll never have much of a say in it all, and that it’s easier to simply accept what will happen, will happen. He sees political ongoings more as uncontrollable events, almost like the weather.

Despite his prominent position as a croupier, for the most part Cassius tries to keep to himself and remain unnoticed by those around him. In his experience, attention seeds trouble, and trouble is the last thing that Cas wants to find himself in. Existing as a human without magic in a place clearly not meant for him places Cas and his rank (which is relatively high for humans) in a precarious position, wherein it probably wouldn’t take much more than a minor infraction to send him toppling back to the bottom. So rather than placing himself in situations where he might be forced to bite the hand that feeds him (or rather, the hand that he simply exists within the grasp of), Cassius prefers to avoid attention all together.

In line with his trouble-avoidant nature, although Cassius may agree with some of the resistance’s values, he doesn’t want anything to do with them and the chaos they might bring. However, at the same time Cas isn’t going to go out of his way to actively oppose the resistance. Surviving as a human in society is already difficult as it is, so he’d rather avoid getting on the bad side of the resistance, essentially an understated fifth faction. In a similar manner, although he does not openly display any aversion to higher ranked individuals, Cas is admittedly more reluctant to befriend highrankers; painfully cognisant of the fact that they hold too much power, and he, too little. (Not to mention highranker’s politics. Terribly messy).

Personality

A croupier (dealer) at the Koromo located in Heart territory’s casinos, Cassius (or, Cas) is proficient in card tricks and skills, willing to show off his cardistry for those who ask nicely. Catch him on the job and you’ll find him nothing but cordial regardless of your rank or faction, a trait that extends to outside encounters. As a non-magic imbued lowranking human, he figures this is the highest in society’s ranking he will probably ever go, and he’s determined to keep his position for as long as he can. To Cassius, this equates to being as amiable as possible to avoid provoking a powerful party. This easy-to-get-along-with façade extends to strangers across all factions and ranks as Cassius recognises the immediate threat that highrankers (from any faction) might pose, and likewise, the potential threat that midrankers and lowrankers could pose should they one day outrank him. Indeed, upon first meeting Cassius may be kind, but rarely is his initial kindness genuine. In fact, seldom is the Cassius you first meet as a stranger anywhere near a genuine representation of him as a person.

(His unspoken opinion of highrankers? “I may be a miserable human, but at least my ego isn’t inflated beyond repair”)

As opposed to his external behaviour, from a shallow standpoint, internally Cassius is ambivalent to those of his own faction, finding many of them rather arrogant but otherwise tolerable. With those from the Hearts faction, he approaches them with a degree of caution, knowing that he can have a good time with a Heart, but never should he trust them near his coins. Cassius holds a neutral indifference towards Spades, simply finding them a little too high-strung for his taste. Concerning Clubs, although knowing that he is unlikely to be physically involved with any of them, Cassius finds himself subtly wary of members from the faction, well-aware of the high mortality humans face there.

Generally, Cassius carries an assured air of confidence with him despite his almost crippling pessimism that has him convinced there is nowhere left for him to go in the future but down. (Although, perhaps he is not as pessimism as he presents himself to be, spending a surprising amount of energy arduously trying to extinguish his own hopes and dreams rather than risk nurturing them). Touting about his own well-built façade, Cassius is perceptive, quick to anticipate what others want to hear from him and providing them with just that while keeping his own true opinions and thoughts locked away. However, that doesn’t mean he’s above sneaking a few underhanded comments in here and there, you might find yourself looking back at a previous interaction with him and realising that a compliment he paid you was significantly more affronting than you realized.

Despite providing an ingenuine kindness to strangers, he does have moments of true kindness with the few trustworthy people he calls friends, willing to do just about anything for those he genuinely cares about. That isn’t to say his friends are treated to kindness alone. Cas rarely sugar-coats his opinions when he’s with people he trusts, highly valuing blunt truth when so much of his public persona is a façade. Further, some may find themselves pleasantly surprised to unearth a rather playful version of Cas once they become closer, the croupier enjoying his fair share of teasing banter when comfortable. (Occasionally, those close to the croupier might even witness Cas when he’s flustered, ears tinted red and palms raised to hide his “unbecoming expression”. Testimony has it that the entire thing is rather endearing and almost… cute?)

Congratulations Chun your app has been accepted and your first plot drop will be sent to you soon.

Please follow and welcome @croupiex to Kadeu!

#follow;#accepted;#diamonds

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city-of-ladies · 5 years

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Maria Bochkareva and the Women’s battalion of death

Maria Bochkareva (1889-1920) was a Russian soldier who fought during World War I and lead an all-female unit, the Women’s battalion of death. Maria and her soldiers were far from the only women to fight during World War I. In 1915, the London Graphic revealed, for instance, that about 400 Russian women served as soldiers, especially in Siberian regiments. 50 of these disguised themselves as men and were found to be women after being wounded or killed.

Maria Bochkareva was born to a peasant family. Her father was a violent alcoholic. She left school early to work and got married at fifteen with an abusive man. She worked as a construction foreman, on a steamship and as a baker. After her husband was drafted in the army, Maria entered a civil agreement with another man who turned to be just as violent as her first husband.

While he was at the hospital, struck by a fever, Maria escaped by cutting her hair and dressing in his clothes. She then decided to enlist in the Tsar’s army in 1914 as Russia entered with war against Germany. She wrote in her memoirs: “My heart yearned to be there, in the boiling cauldron of war, to be baptized in its fire and scorched in its lava”.

Her demand was, however, rejected. She directly petitioned the Tsar and was allowed to enlist as a regular. Being accepted by the other soldiers was difficult and she faced sexual harassment. She told about her first night in Tomsk that: “All night long my nerves were taunt and my fists busy (...) I continued to rain blows till the bell rang at five o’clock”. She nonetheless stated that she was afterward “found to be a comrade and not a woman by the men”.

Maria, known under the nickname “Yashka”(a diminutive of her last partner’s name, Yakov), would soon show her courage:

“I found myself confronted by a German, who far towered above me. There was not an instant to lose. Life or death hung in the balance. I rushed at the German before he had time to move and ran him through the stomach with the bayonet��.

She volunteered for scouting missions, rescued fifty wounded soldiers on the field, was wounded and returned to the front as a corporal in command of eleven men. She ultimately became a senior noncommissioned officer responsible for provisioning a platoon of seventy men. She was awarded the Order of St. George, fourth degree. For rescuing the wounded and capturing German sentries while incarcerated by the Germans during a Russian counteroffensive she was recommended for the Order of St. George, second and first degree, but, as she noted: “being a woman...received only a medal of the 3rd degree”.

In 1917, the army was totally demoralized by the war, with the threat of increasing desertions and mutinies. In Russia the February Revolution had ended the monarchy and brought the Provisional Government to power. Maria thought she had the solution for improving the moral of the troops: she asked the government to form an all-female battalion. This unit would shame the men into action and make them consequently more involved in the war effort.

2000 women volunteered. Maria was however a very strict instructor: her recruits had their head shaved and she didn’t tolerate any behavior she considered as frivolous. Thus, only 300 women remained in the end. The members wore a special insignia on their sleeves: red and black chevrons and skull-and-crossbones emblems. The volunteers’ backgrounds were extremely diverse: some were from wealthy families, others were clerks, dressmakers, factory workers or peasants. Some already served during the war in medical or auxiliary positions while at least ten fought previously with all-male units. Thirty of these women had already been decorated for valor in the field.

The women’s motivations for enlisting were extremely diverse. According to American journalist Bessie Beatty, some of them believed that the “honor and even the existence of Russia were at stake and nothing but great human sacrifice could save her”. Others because “anything was better than the dreary drudgery and the dreary waiting of life as they live it”. A fifteen-year-old Cossack girl, who managed to enlist though all volunteers were supposed to be at least eighteen, said that her whole family died in battle: “What else is left for me?”. Eighteen years old Maria Gulobyova gave the following reason:

“I had no sensation except to rid my country of an enemy. There was no sentimentality. We were trying to kill them and they were trying to kill us -that is all. Any Russian girl or American girl in the same position would have the same feeling.”

Some of them were disillusioned when they learned that the battalion’s goal was to embarrass the men. They also complained about the chauvinism they faced: “we expected to be treated as heroes, but we were always treated with scorn”. Other female soldiers didn’t not necessarily have a good opinion of the battalion. Flora Sandes, a British woman serving in Serbia, said: “I would like very much to see it, but I don’t think I’d like to be part of it”.

The battalion was finally supposed to take part in an offensive against a German position. However, the order for the attack didn’t come. The Russian soldiers were unsure about what to do. Several hours passed. Maria and her soldiers decided that they would go alone. Male soldiers joined the assault, but others refused to take part in the attack. Some of them were afterward found drinking the store of alcohol left by the enemy.

The women and a few men took the first and second line of the German trenches and held off six German counterattacks on their position. They captured two machine-guns and a number of Germans, including two officers. One of them was so humiliated by having been taken prisoner by women that he threatened to commit suicide. The London Exchange published the following information about the women’s action:

“A peasant girl related that she found herself right next to a German, ran him through with her bayonet and at the same time shot him and took his helmet for a memento. . . . Another girl related that before they went over the top they were all very much excited and scared. But when the order to charge came she forgot everything and leaped over the top with the mob of screaming and bellowing girls. All excitement had virtually disappeared when the time came for shooting. This despite the fact that bombs were bursting all around. The first dead man that she saw made her pause for a moment but she just had to go on and therefore passed right over his dead body, a thing to which she soon became quite accustomed. Another girl related how her battalion had surrounded a company of German soldiers who threw away their weapons, held up their hands and shouted in amazement, 'Good Lord! Women!'”.

Without reinforcements, they were forced to return to their position and suffered heavy casualties during the retreat. Regimental and divisional commanders were impressed by the women’s performance, but this wasn’t sufficient. The initiative didn’t manage to raise the troops’ morale. The war was just too unpopular. The male soldiers grew furthermore increasingly hostile to women’s presence and their prowar stance. Other all-female units were created during summer 1917, but the female battalions were finally disbanded.

When the Bolsheviks took the power after the October Revolution , Maria found herself in danger and labeled as anti-revolutionary. She escaped execution and traveled to the United States and England. She also met the leader of the Suffragette movement, Emmeline Pankhurst and dictated her memoirs.

When she returned to Russia, the Red Army was fighting the Anti-Bolsheviks factions. Maria wanted to join the fight against the Bolsheviks, but her demand was refused. After the defeat of the Anti-Bolsheviks, she was imprisoned by the secret police. She was executed after four months of interrogation for being an “enemy of the people”.

Sources:

Allen Mary, “Bochkareva, Maria Leont’evna”, in: Higham Robin, Pennington Reina (ed.), Amazons to fighter pilots, biographical dictionary of military women, vol.1

Goodridge Elizabeth, “Overlooked No More: Maria Bochkareva, Who Led Women Into Battle in WWI”

Grant de Pauw Linda, Battle Cries and lullabies

Hirschfield Magnus, The sexual history of the World War

Shipton Elisabeth, Female tommies, the frontline women of the First world war

Stoff Laurie, “Women’s battalions of death”, in: Hingham Robin, Pennington Reina (ed.), Amazons to fighter pilots, biographical dictionary of military women, vol.2

Toler Pamela D., Women warriors, an unexpected history

Wheelwright Julie, Sisters at arms, female warriors from antiquity to the new millenium

#maria bochkareva #world war I #first world war #military history #women's bataillon of death #female soldiers #warrior women #women in war #women warriors #history #women's history month #russia #russian history #20th century #women in history #herstory

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warsofasoiaf · 4 years

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Austria-Hungary and the European War - A Hearts of Iron IV AAR

Austria-Hungary today is one of the principal powers of Europe, a highly-industrialized, prosperous and modern country. The krone is considered a major reserve currency, the University of Vienna is held in similar esteem to Cambridge or Harvard, and the Two Crowns are as recognizable as the Union Jack or the 51-starred American flag. Tourists regularly flock to Venice, political summits are regularly held at Budapest, and Austro-Hungarian goods are sold across the world. Yet the meteoric rise of Austria-Hungary was mired in controversy particularly for its role in the Balkan Crisis and the short-lived Hungarian-Yugoslavian war of aggression, and it was only the struggle against the Axis powers that united the western and eastern halves of Europe into a single whole.

Refoundation

The Kingdom of Hungary was in a precarious position in 1936. Dismembered by the Treaty of Trianon after the Great War, Hungary had seen a succession of ministers promising to restore the prestige of the diminished state from the short-lived Hungarian Soviet Republic to the ardently pro-Nazi Gyula Gömbös. With the failures of both the fascist and communist movements on full display, the Regent Admiral Miklos Horthy elected to work with the monarchist parties, approving their motion for stricter budgetary controls and supporting their call for a restoration of the Hungarian monarchy, giving a famous speech on 8 October 1936 that “a regent is a steward, not a king.” The debate raged as to who would be invited to wear the crown of Saint Stephen, with Frederich Franz of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Carl Wilhelm of Sondermanland both suggested as candidates. The former with the nationalist Unity Party and encouraged by pro-German elements along with Adolf Hitler, the latter was championed by the liberal parties in the hopes that he would introduce a monarchy modeled upon the Swedish constitutional system. However, the monarchist voices were the most powerful, and they selected as their candidate Otto von Habsburg, to restore the previous prestige that the country enjoyed under Habsburg leadership. At his coronation ceremony on 16 December, 1936, Otto von Habsburg swore to restore the kingdom to prominence, and return the provinces lost in the war. This caused an uproar within the European diplomatic community, with President Edvard Benes of Czechoslovakia and Prime Minister Leon Blum of France providing the strongest voice against the move. When pressed to reaffirm France’s eastern commitments established in the wake of the Great War, Blum was noncommittal, domestic commitments and the weakness of his Popular Front government in the wake of rising violence between the French Communist Party and the nationalist Leagues.

Yet despite the rhetoric, King Otto I took an unexpected policy direction. His first cabinet was dominated by industrial policy, looking to revitalize a decaying industrial structure by importing ideas from the more industrialized nations, particularly the United States, who benefitted from a large trade deal for U.S. Steel. Keenly aware of the limited natural resources, King Otto commissioned an institute to innovate synthetic materials, primarily Buna rubber and oil from coal liquefaction plants, bringing in ideas developed in Germany and the United Kingdom. Even more surprising, Otto convened the Danubian Railroad Summit, inviting Austria and Czechoslovakia to unite their railroad networks, which had suffered since the break-up of the old Austro-Hungarian empire. This move particularly impressed the Austrian people, which sparked pro-Hungarian demonstrations which sometimes descended into violence with pro-German groups who wanted to unite Austria with Germany into one Germanic nation. The pro-Hungarian movement owed much of its support to Otto von Habsburg himself, who had spent much of his time in exile writing on Austrian affairs and made a name for himself as a fierce critic of nationalist policies. While monarchist and Catholic voices were among the most loyal of his supporters, he also enjoyed the support of Austria’s Jewish population, largely concentrated within Vienna, as they had hoped that a government led by Otto could stand up to the Third Reich and a large majority of the middle classes who wanted similar industrial policies to help revitalize Austria’s economy. Even stranger, his fierce opposition to Nazi Germany earned him the support of anti-monarchist groups, most notable among them being the social democrats.

Upon learning of the pro-Hungarian demonstrations, Otto suggested to Kurt Schuschnigg to hold a referendum on reunification with Hungary and the restoration of the Dual Monarchy. With the threat of forcible German annexation on the horizon, Austria agreed to hold the referendum provided that Austria would be seen as an equal, and not merely a junior partner. The date of the vote was scheduled for 15 July 1937, a hot summer day. The referendum was fiercely protested by local communist groups, who boycotted the election and accused the Austrian government of manipulation by foreign powers. Otto encouraged participation by funding street parties for pro-Hungarian political groups, and the results were even better than Otto could have predicted: a landslide victory for unification. The Austrian government announced the results on 16 July, and formed itself into a provincial government under the overlordship of the Hungarian monarchy. Otto assumed the title of Emperor of Austria on 22 September, and proclaimed that the Austria-Hungary of old was reborn, and that he would not rest until all of the former Habsburg territories were brought under one banner.

The Balkans Aflame

Almost immediately, this brought a crisis to the Balkan region, with both Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia expressing concern about Austro-Hungarian ambitions in Eastern Europe, as both provinces were formed in the collapse of the previous Empire and King Otto’s rhetoric on reclaiming lost territory meant he might be thinking of annexing their territories. Indeed, King Otto embarked on lengthy negotiations with Edvard Benes, discussing the return of Czechoslovakia into the Austria-Hungary as the province of Bohemia. The young democracy had a long struggle with balancing the monarchist and republican voices within the country and the fear of Germany demanding the Sudetenland in its goal to establish a pan-German state. Surprisingly, Otto von Habsburg offered a surprising amount of compromise, promising to respect the Czech parliament as well as the language privileges enjoyed by the region during the time of the previous Austro-Hungarian Empire. Noting the political tension between Czechs and Slovaks, Otto offered to continue Benes’s plan of shared industrial growth in order to relax ethnic tensions, a prime example of Otto’s vision of an Austria-Hungary that was a cosmopolitan, poly-ethnic nation. On 1 December 1937, Benes accepted the offered terms of Austro-Hungarian overlordship, and Otto was acclaimed as King of Bohemia. His speech following his accession was careful, stating his respect for “the young parliament and its enthusaiastic supporters,” as an olive branch to the liberal, anti-monarchist factions who opposed the move. Yugoslavia lodged diplomatic protests, stating that the control of the Czechoslovakian army violated the 35,000 man limit on the Hungarian army as stipulated in the Treaty of Trianon. Otto disagreed, noting that the army was trained in Czechoslovakia before its annexation into Austria-Hungary. Benito Mussolini agreed with Hungary’s claims, and French and British did not comment directly, stating that their primary goal has always been the preservation of peace in the region.

With Bohemia within its borders, Austria-Hungary set its sights on the territories awarded to Romania in the aftermath of the Great War. Transylvania, or Siebenbürgen as the Hungarians named it had a large segment of ethnic Hungarians. Romania, ruled by King Carol II under royal dictatorship, refused the gesture out of hand; Hungarian aggression had caused the Great War and the territory was lawfully transferred to Romania as part of war reparations. Upon hearing his refusal, King Otto retaliated by stating that the treaty went against its stated objective of national self-determination and that the Romanians had violated the treaty due to its land confiscation and anti-Semitic policies. Both Otto and Carol moved their armies to the border, neither wishing to back down in a crisis. The news media of the day was alight with articles fearing another Great War that could start at any time, the Balkans lit aflame yet again.

Wishing to avoid a war, Otto suggested impartial mediation through diplomatic back-channels. With Germany hostile, and France already invested in the conflict with its post-war foreign policy guarantees but unwilling to enforce them, the United Kingdom and Italy were named as possible mediators. This move has been considered a foreign policy masterstroke by Austria-Hungary. By being the one to suggest mediation, it engendered goodwill toward France, Italy, and Great Britain. Neville Chamberlain, the United Kingdom Prime Minister, debated a compromise by returning North Transylvania to Hungary within his own Tory cabinet. Italy however, preferred a strong Hungary ever since coming to diplomatic blows with Germany regarding Austria, and recommended that the territory be ceded to Austria-Hungary. The Italian offer reached the Romanian government first, and believing that they would be facing the Italian and Austro-Hungarian armies combined, ceded the territories without a fight. Chamberlain, upon learning of the compromise, believed it to be a Romanian capitulation, and never sent his proposal.

Otto turned his attention to Yugoslavia, which had been struggling with rising separatist movements among the Croats, Macedonians, and Slovenes. Yugoslavia had vociferously protested Austro-Hungarian actions in the region, but found limited support from France and Britain, particularly after Yugoslavia announced claims on Bulgarian lands in the interests of establishing a “South Slav Union” and started quietly sacking officers who opposed German interest in the Balkans. Having already been disillusioned by the failure of the British and French to prevent the re-militarization of the Rhineland, Prince Paul believed that only alignment with Germany would save Yugoslavia from being annexed by Austria-Hungary. The Jewish populations in Macedonia, Thrace, and Dobrudja were particularly anxious about the direction that Yugoslavia was taking. Citing the need to protect Bulgarian lands from Yugoslavian aggression and the need to return the favor for their assistance in the Great War, Otto declared war on Yugoslavia. Thanks in large part to the highly modernized forces produced by the Czechs and the Skoda Works, the Austro-Hungarians were quickly able to penetrate the Yugoslavian defensive perimeter on their shared border. Austrian forces swept into Slovenia, encircling and destroying isolated units. Belgrade fell in less than thirty days, and the Yugoslavian government was forced to evacuate to Skopje. Even a last minute, desperate defense in the southern theater did little to stop the advancing Austro-Hungarian troops. In less than four months, the Yugoslavian government capitulated completely.

While there were several high-profile diplomatic protests from the League of Nations, most media at the time reported great relief that the conflict was a small, contained struggle that did not erupt into a global war. Sanctions were imposed on Austria-Hungary, but these were of limited effect, as the war had ended before major actions could be agreed upon. The United States, citing the Neutrality Act, traded with neither Austria-Hungary nor Yugoslavia, France had withdrawn its guarantee of independence, and Germany declined to help Yugoslavia, unwilling to help a Slavic power. On 24 February, 1939, King Otto, having secured the territory he had lost, proclaimed the restoration and reintegration of the Dual Monarchy, and the rebirth of Austria-Hungary.

The Sudeten Crisis

Elsewhere in Europe, the great powers were slowly aligning against one another. In 1936, an attempted coup by the Spanish Army had failed and had erupted into a massive civil war. Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler quickly sent support to the armies of Nationalist Spain, providing weapons, fuel, and volunteers to assist. Republican Spain had a much harder time finding international support, with only the Soviet Union sending material shipments, while French Prime Minister Leon Blum chaired a Non-Intervention Committee with the United Kingdom, the formation of which led to renewing the Great War-era alliance between the two countries. King Otto joined the Non-Intervention Committee, considering the Spanish Civil War to be a domestic Spanish matter and that the Habsburgs had not been in Spain for over two centuries. During the Civil War, an anarchist rift formed in the Republican faction, with the Regional Defense Council of Aragon refusing to obey Manuel Azaña and starting their own rebellion. The Nationalists, however, were unable to take advantage of this, as they suffered their own coalition fracture between Emilio Mola of the Spanish Directory and Manuel Fel Conde of the Carlist faction. The two factions were driven by irreconcilable divisions over the direction of post-war Spain. In desperation as 1938 began, Azaña accepted Stalin’s offer of expanded Soviet aid. Otto’s refusal to intervene caused a diplomatic rift between Austria-Hungary and Italy, who had expected support in exchange for mediating the Transylvania conflict in Otto’s favor. The Republicans eventually won the civil war on 12 November 1938, and Stalin installed Gabriel Acuna, a retired military officer and ardent Stalinist, as President of Spain, who immediately suspended elections and fired all non-Communist ministers, and instituted emergency laws to allow him to dissolve the Chamber of Deputies in favor of regional Soviets and establish a one-party state. Manuel Azaña, despondent over the death of Spanish democracy, never recovered, and died of illness shortly after the war’s conclusion in exile in France.

The loss of such a state to communism caused Germany and Italy to mend their diplomatic fences. In a famous speech, Mussolini declared: “France, Britain, and Austria-Hungary are unwilling to face the Bolshevik menace.” and signed the Pact of Steel, a treaty of cooperation with the German Reich. Shortly thereafter, the two announced a military alliance. Italy began to court Bulgaria as another possible member of this “Berlin-Rome axis,” Afterward, Italy demanded that Albania’s King Zog cede the country to be ruled in a personal union under Victor Emmanuel III, and Greece received a similar demand from Hitler in June 1939. King Zog of Albania submitted to Italian demands, stating that Albania did not have the manpower to resist Italian invasion and that he would not murder his citizens for pride. Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas defied the demands, and Germany declared war on 15 June 1939. The invasion of Greece was quickly condemned by United Kingdom Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, who issued an ultimatum: leave Greece immediately or face war. When Hitler refused, the United Kingdom declared war, joined by France and the various Dominions. This was too late for Greece, which could not receive reinforcements and was forced to capitulate. The failure of the Allies to protect Greece led to a vote of no confidence in Neville Chamberlain, who was replaced by his deputy, Winston Churchill. At Stuttgart, Hitler made a grand show of turning over control of Greece to his alliance partner Mussolini. Diplomatic historians have theorized that this overture was directed at governments which were not part of the Allies, in the hopes of causing them to join the Axis powers and becoming a part of the new European order to receive similar boons of territory.

This development caused a crisis within the Austro-Hungarian cabinet. With Greece and Albania administered through Italian puppet governments, the south flank of the nation was exposed, and if Bulgaria joined the Axis powers, they would be almost completely surrounded. Austria-Hungary’s relationship with the United Kingdom had been frosty ever since the war in Yugoslavia. Several councilors suggested rapprochement with the Axis powers, or attempting to split Mussolini and Hitler to break up the Axis and align with Italy against Germany. The left suggested approaching Stalin for a defensive pact. In a defiant response to the Greek and Albanian submission, Austria-Hungary declared that the countries of eastern Europe were free and independent powers, offering independence guarantees to Romania and Poland to protect them from Axis expansionism, much to the surprise of King Carol II. Hitler began to fund pro-fascist political groups and parties within Austria-Hungary, using nationalist sentiment against the poly-ethnic nation and promoting rhetoric that Otto’s policies were causing ruination of the region, that he must be deposed and Admiral Horthy must be returned to shepherd the government, in the hopes that the 1940 elections would cause domestic unrest and Austro-Hungary distracted by concerns at home. Wehrmacht officers suggested that Hitler thought little of the Austro-Hungarian military, confident that it was full of “weak and backwards races that would crumble against German armor,” and that he wanted to maintain focus on his war with France and the United Kingdom. German groups in Austria were their prime target, but Hitler also targeted Slovaks in eastern Bohemia in an attempt to stir up the divisions that had been present in Czechoslovakia. This effort caused a rise in nativist parties in the north and south of Austria-Hungary. King Otto retaliated with a large-scale crackdown on fascist groups, typically under a flimsy excuse of violating public safety laws, but fascist sentiment grew.

Almost a year after the February Proclamation, Germany, citing the principle of ethnic self-determination and a German state for the German people, demanded that the Sudetenland be ceded to Germany. Konrad Heinlein, leader of the Sudeten German Party and a Great War combat veteran, campaigned publicly for the cession of the territory. King Otto proclaimed Konrad a traitor to the Empire, to which Heinlein responded “You lived in comfort for your nation, I lived in a prison. Which of us has given more?” Street violence followed between the Legitimist monarchist party and the Sudeten German Party, and the First Royal Army Group was positioned along the border from Tyrol to the eastern Sudeten, the Second on the border near South Tyrol, and the Third sent to Macedonia on the border with the Albania and Greece. As the deadline for the German ultimatum drew near, King Otto remained defiant, proclaiming to the emergency session of the joint National Assembly “The Germans may have their war if they dare..The Czech people gave me their trust, and I give it to every man on the border down to the lowliest private. I nor any of the citizens of this reborn nation shall sacrifice this great enterprise.” When the deadline expired, Germany issued a formal declaration of war with Italy following less than four hours later. Austria-Hungary was now at war.

Opening Gambit - The Invasion at Zara, The Greek Campaign, and a War on Two Fronts

While the Wehrmacht had hoped to push into Austria-Hungary from the north, early attempts were repulsed by the extensive fortification network in the Sudetenland and the Austrian mountains. The heavy fortifications and powerful Austro-Hungarian artillery left the theater in a precarious stalemate, neither side able to break through enemy fixed positions. The initial moves from Austria-Hungary had better luck, with the Austro-Hungarian Fifth Army pushing south, deep into enemy territory in Italian-occupied Greece. Initial records from the battle had cited the brilliance of the commander, General Lajos Verees, but later analysis of the war had shown a lack of coordination between Hitler and Mussolini on the war plans for Austria-Hungary. Mussolini’s army had been organizing the annexation and administration of the new Greek holdings, the sudden increase in territory had forced Mussolini to assign many of his forces in that region to garrisons and coordination with the new puppet government while the majority of his trained forces were stationed on the French-Italian border. Several divisions had not even shown up, delayed in transit as Mussolini had to organize an Albanian and Greek regional government. The Italians that had been mobilized had made a valiant showing, but ultimately were forced to cede territory as garrison forces were scrambled at fallback positions and artillery was airlifted to provide firepower for the reeling army.

Hitler had originally intended to reinforce Italian holdings in Greece, but Admiral Karl Donitz suggested a bolder push, to reinforce Italian holdings at Zara and push into Austro-Hungarian territory, hoping to spark a panic. The Austro-Hungarian navy was barely functional, as the shipyards on the Dalmatian coast had only recently been acquired, and intelligence suggested that the Austro-Hungarian only had a few destroyers and submarines staffed with barely trained naval forces. Hitler gave his approval, and the Kriegsmarine launched Operation Blue Serpent. The results were astounding, the combined Italian and German naval force was able to overwhelm the patchwork Austro-Hungarian Navy and force a landing at Zara. From there, Axis forces overran Split and Rijeka in Dalmatia before a relief force under Austro-Hungarian general Fritz Lipfert was able to form a battle line in Bosnia. The loss of vital industrial facilities severely hampered Austro-Hungarian war production. President Franklin Roosevelt’s proposal to extend the Lend-Lease Act to Austria-Hungary met with resistance even from his own party, but an impassioned speech by Harry Hopkins was able to secure the passage of the bill, and Austria-Hungary was able to manage the supply shortfall. In public recognition of the material support, King Otto commissioned a statue of an American factory worker entitled: “The Hands of Freedom.”

In a surprising and stunning move, Romania elected to send volunteer detachments in support of Austria-Hungary, which constituted themselves under Lipfert’s command as the Foreign Corps. This was done at the behest of the new king Michael. Carol II, who had long irritated his government with his wild, hedonistic lifestyle, had been deposed in a bloodless coup by his son, and declaring the need to stand against Axis oppression, sent volunteer forces to fight with the Austro-Hungarians. The Foreign Corps and the Austro-Hungarian Sixth Army set up their headquarters in Ljubjlana. Michael I also offered to mediate dialogue between Otto von Habsburg and Winston Churchill. The Copenhagen Conference was productive, with Austria-Hungary and Romania both welcomed into the Allies.

Hitler was reportedly furious. Coordination between the Austro-Hungarians and the British meant that he was facing a war on two fronts. Historians speculate on Hitler’s expectations, whether he had anticipated a greater result from Konrad Heinlein, that Otto von Habsburg would cede the Sudetenland rather than risk being encircled by the Axis, that previous bad blood between Austria-Hungary and the United Kingdom regarding Yugoslavia, or that Austria-Hungary would sue for peace following the successful landings at Zara. There are no surviving written records of the strategic objectives, but military historians consider this to have been one of the greatest strategic mistakes of the 20th century.

The Push Through Italy

With Greece re-captured and under Austro-Hungarian control, the Allied War Council met in London to discuss war strategy. Of the two Axis Powers, Germany possessed the more accomplished and capable army. France wanted to push into Italy, removing the weaker power before bringing all forces to bear on Germany. Austria-Hungary, by contrast, wanted reinforcements in Eastern Europe, to liberate Dalmatia before striking at Germany to the north. Italy, Marshall Luza, leader of the Austro-Hungarian Second Army Group, believed that the Italians were contained, argued: “If we should break the German back, Mussolini will surrender and the war will be over before autumn.” The United Kingdom agreed with France, stating that if Northern Italy were cleared, France could reinforce the battle lines in Dalmatia, while the Royal Navy could keep the Adriatic clear and prevent any reinforcements to the Axis lines. With any luck, once the Axis expedition was cut off from supply shipments from the mainland, they would surrender en masse before starvation began to bite. As an acknowledgement that Austria-Hungary had some of its territory occupied, Great Britain and France agreed to detach several divisions to help hold the battle lines in Austria-Hungary, setting up an expeditionary corps headquartered in Banja Luka.

In March 1940, the Italian campaign was kicked off in earnest. Austria Hungary ordered a push from the Second Army Group toward Venice, while France ordered a major assault toward Genoa and Milan, while sending a destroyer group to secure the Corsica-Sardinia strait and support an amphibious assault on the small Italian island. The United Kingdom prepared a naval invasion from Egypt, hoping to strike Sicily once Mussolini had sent his forces northward. By April, French forces had taken Milan, but Genoa had been reinforced by a large number of infantry and armor divisions, Mussolini’s elite. Genoa was taken, but it was hard fought. Austria-Hungary had better luck, pushing through Venice and beginning the push along the Adriatic Coast. The Second Army Group experiencing a stunning breakthrough, with Italian forces falling back to Florence and establishing a fighting position in the hilly terrain outside the city. Austro-Hungarian and French troops, along with detached British divisions, met at Bologna, and theater commanders agreed to exploit the Austro-Hungarian breakthrough, bypassing the fortified Italian fighting positions in Florence. May saw further Italian retreats as the Allied forces pushed into Ancona and the successful launch of the British invasion of Sicily and the fall of Palermo, which became the main naval staging yard for further Mediterranean operations. The Royal Navy successfully contested the Mediterranean, and by the end of May Italian ships found it incredibly difficult to leave port either in the west or the east.

Operations continued into June, although hot weather slowed the tempo. Dogged resistance in the hills of Florence had failed to dislodge the Italian positions, and Allied war planners feared a stalemate that would permit the German army to redouble production efforts, push south from Germany, and possibly threaten the war effort. British efforts to push from Sicily to the Italian mainland had similarly stalled. Bohemian Marshal Luza of the Second Army Group, always an aggressive commander, suggested pushing toward Rome instead, charging Richard Tesařík with the task. Tesařík’s idea was called Operation Saber, better known as the Corneo Needle, where an infantry force would push southeast from Ancona while the spearhead of light tanks and motorized infantry would push through the center of the Italian peninsula. The Italian field officer took the bait, dispatching a relief force from Anzio to support the defense of the east. Followed closely by French infantry, Tesařík’s forces began shelling Rome to the surprise of the Italian defenders. On 28 June, 1940, Rome fell to the advancing Allies. Disheartened, the Italians pulled further south, but the isolated Florentine hill forces were unable to regroup, digging in. The dogged Italian defenders fought for two months, during which the famous war memoir “Colline Rossa” was written. As the Italian Army began to crumble, King Victor Emmanuel seized control of the Italian Parliament, arrested Mussolini, and sought an armistice. On 27 August 1940, Italy surrendered to a joint Allied delegation. Hardline Fascist holdouts persisted, moving their provisional government to Crete, but the British Navy bottled them on their island, and they played no part in the remainder of the war.

Hitler’s Gamble, the German Lemon Squeeze, and the Postwar Order

With Italy lost, Hitler faced a losing war. Strategists within the Nazi council debated, with many suggesting making a peace overture, but Hitler refused to consider it. Instead, he embarked upon a daring gamble, a westward push through the Low Countries, bypassing the Maginot Line and threatening Paris. The prevailing theory among military historians is that Hitler hoped a display of strength would force a general ceasefire before the Allied armies could march north from Italy to threaten Germany. A few days before the Italian Army surrendered, Hitler attacked Belgium and the Netherlands. However, British cryptologists at GCHQ led by Alan Turing had uncovered the plans. Belgian and Dutch defenders had fortified their positions, reinforced by the British Army, and had been able to repulse Hitler’s plan. Disgusted by the German actions, the United Mexican States, under President Lázaro Cárdenas, joined the Allies, and sent a small expeditionary force to supplement the Low Countries defense.

The Austro-Hungarian army, having secured Italy, began the slow march north to the central European mountains, spilling over the Austrian border and pushing slowly toward Munich. British and Dutch forces advanced from Frisia while French forces began to emerge from their Maginot defenses and attacked southwestern Germany. Hitler’s force, spread out, were significantly outnumbered, and began to take heavy losses.

The Allies developed their plan as a broad pincer movement, for an aggressive attack moving both north and east, not stopping until they had received an unconditional surrender. General Bernard Montgomery had caused a slight diplomatic row when he wagered with Austro-Hungarian general Géza Lakatos that the British could take Berlin before the Austro-Hungarian even got there, to which he was privately censured by Churchill for antagonizing his coalition partner.

As September came, Austria-Hungary took Munich, where the First and Second Army Groups split, with the First marching north while the Second marched west to press German divisions stationed between the French and Austro-Hungarian lines together. It was here that the combined Allied offensive received the nickname “Lemon Squeeze.” In discussion with French reporters, an unknown sergeant said “Of course we’re going until we see the French on the other side! When you squeeze a lemon, you do not stop until there is nothing left but the rind!” By November 30, the Austro-Hungarian army proved the unknown sergeant correct, as they had closed the fronts save for a holdout force of 20 German divisions near the Swiss border. At a joint session of air command, British bombers volunteered to begin all-out strategic bombing including hard-to-fly night bombing raids, where the smaller Austro-Hungarian bombers would cover tactical bombing and free up the larger British planes for more important missions.

The Belgian-British-Dutch-French breakout in the west accomplished the most success in the German theater, sweeping through northern Germany, while the Austro-Hungarian northward attack had only reached Leipzig. General Lakatos, angered that Montgomery might win his bet, ordered a redoubled effort, and detached line troops to march across the Belgian front to Magedburg, and then to march east to attack Berlin. Three days after Christmas, Austro-Hungarian forces radioed to the joint Allied command outside Berlin that they were joining the assault, much to Montgomery’s chagrin. With 43 divisions outside the gates and Hitler out of communication, the fall of the German Reich came swiftly. On the fourth of January, 1941, Hitler’s body was found within his improvised command bunker, dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and the German Reich formally surrendered.

While the war was devastating, the casualty count was much smaller than the Great War, with slightly over 3 million military casualties total, although this was only an 11-month conflict. At the Peace of Konigsberg, the Allied Powers set out their aims for post-war Europe. Greece was liberated and founded as the Hellenic Republic of Greece. Occupied Lithuiana was similarly reorganized, with Memel being returned. Austria-Hungary wanted to reinstate Victor Emmanuel as King of Italy and the territorial concessions of Venice, Istra, and South Tyrol, while the United Kingdom favored Ferrucio Parri and re-established borders. A compromise was hastily made, permitting the territorial concessions, but establishing Italy as a constitutional monarchy, with Victor Emmanuel having little political power. Germany was reorganized as a republic, with Konrad Adenaur becoming the first Chancellor of a newly democratic Germany. Austria-Hungary returned Albania to King Zog with much fanfare, a victory procession into his country. In less than a year, the threat of fascism was lifted from Europe, though tensions still ran high. Joseph Stalin eyed Polish territories and Bessarabia with hungry eyes, and the United Kingdom has taken a firm stand against the brutal oppression happening in Spain. Japan continues to threaten China in the Pacific, and both the United States and the United Mexican States worry about Venezuelan aggression in South America. War may come again, and the world may not be so lucky next time.

The Dual Monarchy Today in 1941

The Austro-Hungarian military is a modern and sophisticated fighting force. While not as large as the French or Red Army, the Habsburg army is a well-funded and well-equipped force with modern infantry, artillery, and armor divisions. Austro-Hungarian warfare is dominated by firepower theory, stressing a mobile defense, artillery barrages called in by forward observation units from advanced firebases, and an integrated support structure. This last notion is particularly important, as Austria-Hungary is famous for its support corps, among the most highly trained individuals in the military profession today. Austria-Hungary developed an extensive military engineering corps capable of breaching obstacles and building field fortifications to both protect its own and bypass the defenses of the enemy. The Royal Patrol School develops skilled reconnaissance squads, with its infamous “High and Low” course on mountain and forest recon being internationally notorious for its difficulty. An early adopter of military radio, the Royal Signal Corps helped to pioneer backpack-sized signals equipment and field telephones. Armor corps have dedicated maintenance divisions to keep tanks in repair, as early conflicts with Yugoslavia were littered with broken-down tanks causing delays in military timetables. Most highly prized, however, are the logistics and hospital corps, when one British general said: “If I get hurt, please let me be picked up by the Habsburgs!” These two were of special interest to King Otto, and he invested a great deal of capital into developing field surgery equipment and a highly educated logistics staff, recalling the grueling conditions suffered by Austro-Hungarian troops during the Great War. Austro-Hungarian military thinkers have emphasized the need for dedicated supply in both men and materiel, with logistics study mandatory in all officer academies. These developments came as a result of an extensive motorization program, with Otto von Habsburg famously declaring: “A modern war is a truck war,” and permitting the motorized and mechanized infantry divisions to name themselves the Hussar Corps, distinct from the Royal Hussars, a primarily ceremonial unit present at most Austro-Hungarian state functions.

Austria-Hungary also fields a small special forces program. Of particular note are the Royal Mountain Corps, based off the Alpini program in Italy. The Corps, often nicknamed the Skyscrapers or the Hold-Your-Breath Squad, often provide training and consultation to other nations on developing and maintaining a trained mountain warfare program, and inter-Allied drills on mountain warfare are often conducted in Austro-Hungarian territory. The Danubian Marine Corps primarily trains in river and marsh warfare, specializing in high-speed bridging operations.

On the sea, the Austro-Hungarian navy is not a true blue water navy. As much of the earlier Austro-Hungarian navy was disbanded, Austria-Hungary had little in the way of development with its navy, and naval warfare was often seen as a distant third priority compared to land and air warfare, much to Austro-Hungarian chagrin when the Axis were able to land forces in Zara. His Majesty’s Navy primarily acts as a coastal and Mediterranean force, primarily destroyers and cruisers and a small but well-established submarine force. King Otto, however, is looking to modernize the navy with a focus on aircraft carriers with destroyers acting as escort and heavy cruisers providing firepower from naval guns.

In the air, Austria-Hungary boasts a well-trained and well-equipped air force. The Austro-Hungarian Air Force’s most famous planes are its RMI-8 X/V and it’s RMI-16. The former is a heavy fighter, primarily an air superiority and bomber escort, a large, twin-engine heavy fighter, while the latter is a streamlined medium bomber. The Austro-Hungarian Air Force is a relatively small service, with an operational doctrine toward flexibility. Bomber pilots are expected to be able to perform at both strategic bombing and close air support missions. Drop-out rates for its Bomb School are high due to the intense demands of the course, but the pilots who successfully complete them are among the most decorated and talented members of the Austro-Hungarian armed forces.

Imgur Links for Full-Size, images are in the same order that they are in the AAR

Austria Hungary country map

Otto Assumes the Hungarian Crown

Austria Agrees to Unite with Hungary

Restoration of Austria-Hungary

Before the War Begins

The Italian Push

The German Lemon Squeeze

The Battle of Berlin

War Score and Participation

-SLAL

#hearts of iron 4 #hearts of iron iv #creative

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deathvalleyqueen · 4 years

Note

Full clear on OC asks for Sam! 💋

Thank you my dear... now lets gush about John’s first born and only son shall we???

BASICS

What’s their full name? - Samuel Joseph Seed

What does their name mean? Why were they named that? - Well he was going to be named Joseph, after his Uncle...The Father... but his mother was having none of that and switched out the birth certificate forms for the one she had filled out because there was no way in hell Mary Jane was about to let her precious baby boy be named after Joseph... though she allowed his middle name to be Joseph as a way to keep the peace.

Do they have any nicknames? - SOOOO MANY! Sam - is the most common one and what most people call him. Sammie - What MJ still calls him even as an adult. Bubby - Ellie’s nickname for him as a child, Thing 1 - Sean’s nickname for him as kids. Cousin It - Finn’s nickname for him. Jesus - another Finn nickname. (because he looks like the only image of Jesus they had ever seen) Weasel - Mac gives him this as small child and sticks.

How old are they? - At the time of New Dawn 24 almost 25 years old.

When’s their birthday? - October 19th

What’s their zodiac sign/element/birthstone/etc.? Do they believe that holds any significance?

What’s their species/subspecies? Do they have any special/magical abilities? - He’s a Seed... does that count? He has John’s “far too blue” eyes...so like... That could be considered super powers....

What “class” do they belong to (for fantasy characters)? If none, what weapon do they favor? - If there was such thing as a Healer Mage class in the FC universe.. .that would probably be Sam’s class because he is exceptionally smart with a real focus in medicine and science/chemistry. If the Collapse wouldn’t have happened he would probably have gone to Med School to become a surgeon.

APPEARANCE

What do they look like? - Same is the tallest of MJ and John’s kids standing just a hair taller than his father at 5′11. He has long dark brown hair and an impressive beard, both of which he has sported since he was 16 making him often be mistaken for much older than he is. He slight of build and looks to be in far better shape physically than he is actually is.

Do they have a face claim? - Tom Payne - Specifically as Paul “Jesus” Rovia from TWD

What’s their style like? Clothes, hair, makeup? - He is a pretty standard guy. He isn’t fancy, mostly because this world doesn’t allow for it. He likes t-shirts, sweaters and jeans. He will wear an old button up shirt if he can find it and has several trench coats he has acquired over the years. His hair is usually down and one the rare occasion that he puts it up, Lily always glares at him and tells him to put his hair down before their mother sees... because with his hair up.. he looks a lot like a young Joseph.

How do they carry themselves? What’s their default expression? - Sam is a very self assured young man, bordering on the cockiness of John in his youth. He has been painfully aware that he was always one of the more intelligent people in the room from a young age and developed a bit of a superiority complex because of it. He tends to stand with his shoulders back and hands at his side or in his pockets. He is an observer, rarely the person leading the conversation but always watching and passing his judgment.

Do they have any physical ailments or disabilities? - Sam is the only one of MJ and John’s kids to have been born with health issues. He had a medium sized hole in his heart when he was born that eventually required surgery. Though since that surgery had very little issue besides a heart mummer. This however left MJ way over protective of him well into adulthood.

PERSONALITY

What’s their alignment? Lawful Neutral

Which one of the 16 Personality Types do they fit into? - INTP

What are their hobbies and interests? Do they have any particular “favorites” (food, books, and so on)? - Sam loves music, he plays piano and guitar. He is much more of a classical music person and as a child spent hours practicing. His favorite books are Animal Farm and Frankenstein. His favorite food as a child was pizza and pasta, as an adult he is happy with whatever he can get but still loves carbs. His favorite item from his childhood he was able to keep was a model plane that John and him made when he was 6. It’s of John’s plane.

What are they bad at? - Dealing with intense emotions, both their own and other people’s. He never knows how to react and often seems to ‘over react’ with his own emotions. He also can not shoot to save his life.

What kind of things do they dislike/hate? - Unnecessary cruelty. Onions, Fish and split pea soup.

Do they have any vices/addictions/mental illnesses? - Well... lets just start with he has a lot of childhood trauma... which defiantly manifests it’s self in some pretty well hidden anxiety and depression. He also comes from a long line of people who suffer with various addictions and I could see Sam having again...a very well hidden...drinking problem. Particularly post-ND events.

What are their goals and motivations? - Their end goal is not peace, as much as an agreement that would allow everyone to function as they need to with in a certain set of rules... IE... he wants to re-establish a ruling body of government on a very small scale in Hope County that would allow for the communities to work together when needed but function independently as they wish as long as they cause no harm to the other communities. This is motivated by his study of history and his belief that because he has studied so much, he has found fault in the old systems and what he will build will be better.

What are their manners like? Any habits? - He has an odd stillness about him, even as small child. He was the quite one, the better behaved of the twins (easily the most well behaved of all MJ and John’s children). He tends to crack his knuckles when he is nervous or clear his throat when he feels the conversation is getting off topic.

What are they most afraid of? - Not being able to do enough. He sees what happened because of his father, his family.. his mother’s family. Sam feels (like all the kids do in some way) responsible for fixing the mess that the Seeds created in Hope County.

BACKGROUND

Where were they born? What was their childhood like? - He was born with his sister Lilith at the birthing center in Hope County (but both he and Lily were sent to a much bigger hospital shortly after they were born because the small hospital couldn’t handle them being 8 weeks early). Their childhood before the collapse was filled with pockets of really happy times mixed with stretches of chaos. Both he and Lily vividly remember The Project at Eden’s Gate and the events of the Reaping. Both he and Lily were present for the attempted arrest of Joseph. After the collapse it was still difficult in the bunker as both his parents struggled with believed loss of Jacob, Ellie and worst of all Grace. Once they left the bunker things settled into a new normal. He is very close with Lily and Rose, as well as his Uncle Mac. He is close with both of his parents but is resentful on some level of their preoccupation with losing Grace.

What’s their family like? - A hot mess... but the core they are very tight knit. Sam is more ready to trust a member of his immediate family than anyone else.

What factions or organizations are they a part of? What ranks and titles do they hold? - He and Lily were called “The First of the Children of New Eden” within the Project as small children and as an adult he holds the role of the “doctor” in the community John calls “Redemption” but really Sam is main intelligence gatherer as people are very disarmed by him because of his ability to help the sick.

How do they fit into their “story”? - Sam is Ethan’s foil for lack of a better way of putting. Ethan is grasping for power, while Sam wants nothing do with holding an position at all within New Eden. He has no desire to fulfill any of the role that The Father saw him. He is easily the one most suited to lead, but has no desire what so ever to lead anyone or be any manner of spiritual leader to people.

Where do they currently live? What’s their place like?

How do they eventually die? - He dies of a sudden heart attack while speaking to a group of people gathered in New Eden (preaching basically) at the age of 36. He dies before both his parents and all three of his sisters.

RELATIONSHIPS

Do they have any friends? Would they consider anyone to be their best friend? - His best friend is easily Lily, because they are twins. Their relationship is just on a different level than other peoples. They understand each other often with just glances and small changes in expression. He also becomes close with Finn, both sharing a bit of a sarcastic and witty sense of humor.

What’s their friend group like? What role do they play in it?

What’s their love life like? (See also: ship question meme.) Do they have any kids? - Well.. not really. He spends most of his time with his sisters during the story and I never really thought of him in romantic terms...at all. I could see him having kids one day, either “adopting” or by natural means... either or.

Who do they look up to? Who do they trust? - Really the person Sam looks up to the most is Mac. He respects Mac’s ability to pragmatic about difficult choices and always put the others before his own benefit. Mac had a big hand in raising Sam, so this really comes as no surprise. As far as people he trusts, he trusts his family... his sisters (including Grace), his uncles, Rachel/Faith, Ellie,... pretty much everyone but Joseph and Ethan that share DNA with him.

Who do they hate? Do they have any enemies? - Joseph, mostly because he puts the full blame on what happened with the collapse and the events the happened in his life right before squarely on Joseph’s shoulders. This by proxy extends to Ethan...

Do they have any pets? - As a child he had several, Boomer and Salem even made it to the bunker with them (thank you Sean and Faith) but since then he never really kept bets.

Are they good with kids? Animals? - Yes to both.

FUN FACTS

Which tropes do they fit? Which archetypes? - The Dutiful Son , Looks Like Jesus/Hippie Jesus (that one goes without saying right?), The Spymaster & Big Brother Instinct

Do they play any instruments? Sports? - He plays Piano and he was never much for sports.

What are some items they always carry?- A knife, a small black notebook and a pen.

Do they collect anything? - Books.

What position do they sleep in? - On his stomach mostly with the pillow over his head rather than under his head.

Which emoji would they use the most? - The eyes emoji

What languages do they speak? - English

What’s their favorite expletive? - Fuck

What’s their favorite candle scent? - Probably like Pine...

What songs remind you of them? - Loosing My Religion - R.E.M

Which animal would you say represents them? - The Raven

What stereotypical high school clique would they fit into? - The Weird kids that don’t fit in with any other group who is kinda metal head looking but gets straight A’s.

What would their favorite ride at an amusement park be? - Bumper Cars (he actually gets to go once as a child)

Do they believe in aliens? Ghosts? Reincarnation or something else? - For someone who grew up in such a superstitious home, if Sam doesn’t have evidence for it... he doesn’t believe.

Do they follow any religions/gods? Do they celebrate holidays? - Again, for someone who grew up in such an intensely religious home, he lost all connection to PEG or even conventional Christian beliefs by the time he is an adult he declares he is in Atheist. He does preach about keeping a very personal set of morals that you should adhere to but, not the belief there is an all knowing deity.

Which Deadly Sin do they most correspond to? Which Heavenly Virtue? - Pride

If you had to choose one tarot card to represent them, which would it be? - The Hierphant

#OC Asks #Samuel Seed #fcnd ocs #this thing was a beast btw

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rustedeaglewings · 4 years

Text

The Chosen Ones and the War of Many

October 31st 1994. Harry James Potter’s name comes out of the Goblet of Fire, despite having been missing since October 31st 1981. But the Triwizard Tournament’s Magical Contract means he must compete or risk losing his magic. Here enters Hal Leblanc, an unassuming Gryffindor student known only for his protectiveness of his adoptive sister Rosie Leblanc, and Harry Potter in disguise. Raised by a hidden Sirius Black and hidden from Dumbledore in plain sight in Hogwarts, Hal must navigate through a deadly tournament, new offers of alliances and an unexpected discovery of a secret society older than Hogwarts herself.

The year is 1981 and a very different war is being fought. There is Lord Voldemort and the Knights of Walpurgis, advocating the Blood Supremacy and the annihilation of Non-Magicals. Opposing him openly is the Order of the Phoenix, lead by the so-called Leader of the Light, Albus Dumbledore. The Ministry of Magic is being being torn apart in the midst of Voldemort’s open warfare against Muggles and Dumbledore’s Guerrilla Tactics. But behind the scenes, another battle is being fought, by two opposing factions of an organization founded by Merlin himself, the Ouroboros Circle. Since the end of the Grindelwald War, the then younger Augusta Longbottom opposed the older Arcturus Black III. Augusta stood for the Origins, relying on the old ways, keeping power with those who knew what to do with it and keeping the New Bloods separate from the Old Bloods to keep both pure. Arcturus differed, having seen the ideals Augusta believed in used to fuel Grindelwald. He felt while knowledge and respect of the old ways was important, Wizardkind needed to innovate and create new paths, power needed to be spread out so one single person could not control the rest and the New Bloods needed to learn the old ways to remain pure. Caught up in their own struggle for control, they missed Voldemort’s decisive grab for power.

Because of the Circle’s turmoils, Fleamont and Euphemia Potter decided against inducting James and his friends into their lifelong commitment to keep Wizardkind safe from those without magic and vice versa. Sirius never learned of their mission because his parents’ radical opinions meant Arcturus never brought his son into the fold, and was too distracted to induct Sirius. When Albus sought new members for his organization, they were free to join and in doing so became enemies of Voldemort.

But James and Sirius know as purebloods of influential families that there is something influencing this war other than the obvious. When tensions rise in the Order due to rumours of a spy, they stage a break up to assess the reactions of others, drawing the other Marauders into their fallout without telling them anything. Their suspicions means Dumbledore’s suggestion of a Fidelius Charm falls on deaf ears. The prophecy is enough to worry all the Marauders, convincing Peter he was right to defect to the Dark Lord.

Regulus, more cautious than his brother and less radical than his parents was a little more discreet than he might have been in another world. His discovery of Voldemort‘s Locket Horcrux came at the same time he heard rumours of Voldemort‘s other ‘priceless treasures’ and he remained at the Dark Lord’s side to find out the truth.

Frank Longbottom had joined the Circle in his Hogwarts years, but before he even knows to warn her, Alice follows her Gryffindor roommates Lily Potter nee Evans, Marlene McKinnon, and Mary MacDonald to Dumbledore’s Order of the Phoenix. As they were engaged to be married, Frank joins the Order with the intention to spy on them for the Circle and tell Alice the truth of his allegiance once he is certain of her occlumancy skills. Unfortunately, this never happens.

October 31st 1981. Voldemort decides to go after Neville Longbottom as only a pureblood could oppose him in his mind. He gets the secret of his location from Frank Longbottom, whom he killed leaving the ministry after planning to go into hiding after hearing the prophecy from Dumbledore. Voldemort found found Neville silently, casting the killing curse before Alice awoke, but the curse rebounded, killing Voldemort instead. A frantic Alice and Neville is found by Augusta, who shares enough Circle knowledge that remaining in the Wizarding World where Dumbledore’s influence will only grow after Voldemort’s defeat is dangerous for Neville and urges Alice to flee to the Muggle world.

Desperate for a sacrificial hero, Dumbledore goes to the Potters, only to find James and Lily unconscious from overexposure to the Crucio Curse and Harry gone. It is discovered that it was Sirius Black who took Harry and Albus assumes it was on the Dark Lord’s orders. But a Ministry search can not find either Sirius or Harry.

So Neville Longbottom is named the Boy-Who-Lived, lost to the Wizarding World and Harry Potter an unfortunate victim to the Dark Lord’s minions.

But the Members of the Nights of Walpurgis, known by the young as Death Eaters, know that Sirius Black was not on their side. However, they cannot prove so with their Master gone and they bribe their way out of Azkaban to watch and wait for an opportunity to strike next.

Because they were not caught during their attack on the Potters, Bellatrix, Rodolphous and Rebastan Lestrange escape Azkaban with Barry Crouch Jr. Bellatrix and Rodolphous have a son but are caught a few years later attacking the Weasleys for information on the Dark Lord. Rigel Raban Lestrange was left to his uncle Rebastan’s care. He would later be sorted into Slytherin to no one’s surprise.

Molly Weasley was killed in the attack, leaving a mourning Arthur and seven young children. The children’s Great Uncle and Aunt, Ignatius and Lucretia Prewett came to help with the younger children, leading to an improved Burrow and closer familiar ties. In a Light family, Percy surprised everyone and no one who knew him by being sorted into Slytherin, having clung to his Great Aunt after the attack and learning some of her Black Ways. It would surprise no one when Ron was sorted into Ravenclaw, and Ginny into Hufflepuff.

After Voldemort’s disappearance, Regulus knew it would not last and, lacking any other options, went to his Grandfather. Both Arcturus and Regulus were surprised by the resulting conversation, Arcturus because he would never have believed Voldemort’s insanity in splitting his soul and wondering how he had missed the signs and Regulus because of the secret organization his Grandfather was a part of, trying to prevent abominations like this from occurring. Having risen to a stable position in the Dark Lord’s inner circle, Regulus reluctantly agreed to remain close to the other former Death Eaters while trying to find out the exact number and locations of the Horcruxes. With Sirius missing, on the run and supposedly kicked out of the family by their parents, Regulus remained the Black Heir. He married a fellow Slytherin Lucinda Talkalot pureblood and they had three children, rare in the Wizarding World. Arista Melania Black, Alcyone Cassiopeia Black, and Leonis Orion Black were all Slytherin and would break tradition by allowing Arista the Black Heirship despite having a younger brother. Although he kept his wife in the dark about his true allegiance, Regulus would eventually tell his children after trying to prepare them growing up. Even so, Lucinda definitely knew he wasn’t as firm a believer in the Dark Lord’s ways as others would believe.

Peter Pettigrew on the other hand had the opposite problem as Regulus. Having followed the Dark Lord in secret, he didn’t have to hide when Voldemort vanished. His relationship with others in the Order of the Phoenix was strained however, because of all the secrets he kept in the war and he found himself surprisingly joined by Barry Crouch Jr. in looking for a way to bring the Dark Lord back. However, as suspicions arose about what he was up to, Peter married a weak-willed Hufflepuff Maria Boyle and the two had a son, Timothy. But Maria would eventually leave Peter, taking Timothy with her, because of their differences and his secret obsession with the dark arts. During the few visits he got with his son, Peter impressed the knowledge of something greater than the Light to him, leaving behind a dark seed. Timothy Peter Boyle would go on to be a Hufflepuff and a supporter of not only the pureblood ideals but Voldemort himself.

Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. But their two children were not. Not saddled with an unwanted freak, Petunia and Vernon gave Dudley a younger sister named Peony, and when both ended up displaying signs of magic at a young age, Petunia realized she could live her childhood dream through her children. Luckily, their neighbour, Mrs. 7 Privet Drive also known as Mrs. Eleanore Martins had a sister ‘in-the-know’ Emmeline Vance. Emmeline helped keep the Dursley children’s magic manageable, taught the Dursley’s what they needed to know about the Wizarding World, and became a well known friend of the family. However Emmeline was also a spy, not once but twice over. Emmeline’s squib sister Eleanore had been placed at Privet Drive to give cover for Emmeline to watch over the Dursley family by Albus Dumbledore, having both feared the Dark Lord’s followers - namely Sirius Black - might come after them for the relation to Harry Potter and Lily Potter nee Evans. But Emmeline had another allegiance. A few years younger than the future Alice Longbottom, she was tutored by Alice and protected from other student who mocked her for having a squib sibling. When Alice disappeared with Neville after Voldemort’s downfall, she went to Emmeline for help on navigating the muggle world. In return, Emmeline learned about Augusta’s suspicions about Albus and agreed to help both Longbottoms in their quest to protect Neville. Knowing Alice meant Emmeline knew Lily and from Lily, knew of Petunia and agreed to help Augusta keep an eye on Lily’s extended family. After seeing her devotion and her increasing suspicions on Dumbledore herself, Augusta inducted Emmeline into the Origins Chapter of the Ouroboros Circle. Thus, Dudley and Peony learned of more than Albus may have wanted them to know about the politics of the Wizarding World. Dudley would go into Gryffindor and Peony in Hufflepuff.

Draco Malfoy would grow up with not only other Death Eater children as playmates but pureblood cousins as well. Being the oldest of the Black cousins, he believed himself his younger cousins’ protector. With this experience, and with his Uncle Regulus’ teachings, Draco learns discretion and subtlety as well as how to evaluate his father’s words. The Draco who comes to Hogwarts is a quieter Slytherin, at the top of the food chain for his year, but second to his cousin Arista. When rumours of the Dark Lord’s expected return reach him, he is given the choice to spy on his peers or be granted protection, not by the Light, but by the Drake Chapter of the Ouroboros Circle by Uncle Regulus. He chooses the first, never having completely rid himself of his Gryffindor tendency to do reckless things.

Born before the Fall of the Dark Lord, Draco’s godfather was his father’s close friend in Voldemort’s inner circle, Severus Snape. But after realizing that by telling the Dark Lord the beginning of the prophecy had put Lily in danger, Severus regretted his actions. But the one he went to was not Dumbledore. He went to Lily herself, to beg forgiveness for everything he had done in the past and that he would like to help in any way he could. She of course forgave him, always having mourned their past relationship as siblings, especially with Petunia pushing her away. Without consulting James, she repeated the godfather ceremony, giving Harry a second godfather. With this bond, there was no way Severus would be able to cause harm to Harry without risking his own life. Forgiven, Severus went to Albus, seeking help but keeping his arrangement with Lily a secret. But Albus wanted Severus to continue to work with the Dark Lord, as a spy, claiming passing on information the best repentance there could be. When Voldemort asked his inner circle their opinions on which child could be the one in the prophecy, Severus could only say Neville, his bond to Harry preventing him from causing harm even in this indirect way, despite dooming another child. But the spy in the Order condemned him, as Severus didn’t know who the spy was but the spy had discovered Severus and told the Dark Lord. Severus was imprisoned and tortured by his former allies, including the father of his other godchild, Lucius Malfoy. It was luck for him that Voldemort disappeared that night, causing the wards around the manor to fall and Aurors resume him from death. Severus was revealed to have been Dumbledore’s spy in the ranks of the Dark Lord, and protected from legal prosecutions. He mourned for Lily because despite not being completely dead, her mind was unlikely to recover, same as with James. When Albus offered him a job at Hogwarts teaching potions, he nearly refused, but was convinced due to easier access to the potions ingredients he would need to search for a cure for Lily. Becoming Slytherin head of house was something no one wanted, not him, nor the other teachers, nor his students. The Slytherins felt he could betray them like he betrayed their parents, even those who didn’t believe in the Dark Lord’s ideology. But what Albus wanted, Albus got.

Which is why it was so frightening when Severus discovered Albus’ search for the Deathly Hallows, even more so when he realized only the stone was missing.

Two boys switched places that October night, not because of a whim but many many happenings.

Neville Longbottom grew up with his mother Alice in the middle of Muggle London. Along with Emmeline’s help, Alice found help from Remus Lupin, or rather, they helped each other. Remus knew more about the muggle world than Alice, and helped her settle down in a small bookshop and flat. He had become disillusioned with Albus when he realized Albus was doing nothing to keep the Marauders from tearing each other apart, as it appeared James and Sirius were doing. Others in the Order had feared Remus for the curse he bore and Albus had also done nothing to stop it. When his school year girlfriend turned mutual platonic friend Emmeline come to Remus looking for help for Alice and Neville with the need to keep it secret from Albus, Remus agreed. Alice herself had needed another person around, someone to help keep an eye on Neville and the shop while she was busy with the other. She had never minded Remus, a distant cousin of hers had had the same affliction as many a pureblood could trace in their lines, and his gentle nature reminded her of Frank. It was also a miracle she had gotten through those months without Remus, so distraught with the loss of her husband and the only life she had ever known. Over time they became closer, not romantically - for Alice felt she would never forget her love for Frank - but as close as a brother and sister. Soon, Alice claimed Lupin as her maiden name, both to protect her and Neville and as a lifeline of family. Augusta was not too far however, visiting during holidays when she could claim the loss of her family as reason enough not to host holiday parties and to remain secluded from society when not required to be present for Wizengomot sessions. She brought both Alice and Remus into the Circle, impressing them with the knowledge that there was more at stake than Light and Dark. Neville also got training, having been told about the prophecy and a meddling old fool. He would still tremble when he put the Sorting Hat on his head, but this time with the weight of more than just an old woman’s expectations that he follows in his father’s footsteps. He would be placed in a very different and exactly the same Gryffindor house. But this time, with a friendship already formed. Attending a muggle school, Neville recognized the signs of accidental magic. He was unsurprised to find bullies, who scattered upon seeing him. Only their victim was left, a young girl his own age. Hermione Granger. So clever and brave, she would leap into Gryffindor after her longtime friend Neville.

In his seventh year of Hogwarts, Sirius Black found himself growing up just a little. He had flirted with the girls of Hogwarts almost since he had arrived in first year, had chased girls and been chased, but this time, he felt something different. He, Sirius Black, has a crush on a girl. It may have been because of James and Lily’s recent relationship but all of the Marauders found themselves spending more time with the Gryffindor girls. And now, Sirius was developing an attraction to one of Lily’s best friends, Marlene McKinnon. For months they danced around each other, oblivious to the obviousness of their attraction to each other to everyone except themselves. But when they were going to graduate and the war was suddenly real for them, they disagreed on what should be done. Sirius wanted to take Marlene and run off, keep her safe and out of the war but she would have none of it. She would not be helpless and protected while her friends were in danger and she joined them in the Order of the Phoenix. Their on-again-off-again relationship was off as they both did what they could and tried to forget each other. Finally, they got caught up in the war and stopped the longing touches in the private moments of Order meetings. Sirius and James were staging their fight, hurting Lily because she didn’t understand what could have come between them. After Harry was born, she finally got them to sit still in the same room and got a garbled telling of their plan to rat out the spy, and that was why even though they were still going to pretend to be fighting, they wanted Sirius as Harry’s godfather. Lily was silent, she had met with Severus the day before and maybe this would work out for them all? She agreed, Sirius was bonded to Harry as his godfather and he left, feeling elated and suddenly missing the company of the woman he loved. He met with Marlene and they took the night for each other before she revealed she was going back to her family home to help out for a while. It was all Sirius could do to watch her leave and all he could do to comfort Lily as news of the attack on the McKinnon’s family home was reported with no survivors. They cried together into the night. When Sirius got wind of Voldemort’s attack on Frank Longbottom, he feared for Harry. He had just calmed James and Lily down and gone up to check on his sleeping godson when the Lestrange’s attacked. He heard James cry for Sirius to take Harry and run and the need to protect Harry won over his desire to help his brother in all but blood. He ran.

Only later did he find out that Voldemort was gone and he himself was declared an enemy for kidnapping and possibly killing Harry Potter and his parents. Without options, he hid from the Wizarding World before coming to the realization only one person had the political power to help him. Reluctantly, Sirius returned to Black Manor to find help from his grandfather, only to be stunned by what he found inside.

Marlene McKinnon had discovered she was pregnant four weeks after her night with Sirius. Fearing her unborn child and remembering what he wanted to do when they were about to graduate, she secretly left her family home, planning to make arrangements before springing the news on Sirius. But when her family was attacked and killed, she suddenly found herself at a loss. When Sirius was declared a follower of the Dark Lord a short time later, Marlene did the only thing she could think of, seek refuge from the great grandfather of her unborn child. Arcturus had been surprisingly welcome when she arrived on his doorstep, listening to her story before granting her request. She could stay in the Black Manor until they came up with a plan of what to do with Sirius’ child. When Sirius himself turned up with Harry Potter in tow, Arcturus once again had to rethink his plans. Hearing for the first time about the prophecy and connecting it with the knowledge Regulus had just recently shared about Voldemort’s immortality, Arcturus knew Harry needed to be protected. Neville Longbottom has disappeared and someone was going to have to defeat the Dark Lord. So the three adults made a plan.

Members of the Drake chapter of the Ouroboros Circle, Marlene and Sirius adopted the surname of a Black branch family in France and moved their with Harry and their newborn, Rosemary Aelia. They gave Harry a nickname based off his full name Harold Jame Potter, for they knew he would one day attend Hogwarts and didn’t want to give up the game too quick. When a chance meeting between Regulus and Severus revealed Severus’ secret status as Harry’s other godfather, Severus was granted knowledge of their location so he could also aid them on their quest. This was how Arcturus learned of Albus’ obsession with the Hallows. Knowing this was part of why the Circle was founded in the first place, they tried to find a way to keep the Stone away from Albus and protect Harry. He grew up loved with his father Sirius, mother Marlene and sister Rosie, despite knowing he was adopted he loved them like a real family. He learned of the politics in the United Kingdom and what role he might one day play in the not yet over war. When given the choice though on whether or not to attend Hogwarts, he knew he would go, for it was o my a matter of time before they found him anyways. But they wouldn’t make it easy for their enemies. So, in 1991, a famous newly emerged Neville Longbottom the Boy-Who-Lived was joined in Gryffindor by one unassuming Hal Leblanc.

#harry potter #harry potter au #REW AU #ksye AU #ksye writes #my writing #long post #COatWoM #to be continued?#fanfic #fanfiction #hp #hp fanfic #hp fic #au

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novocalgame · 4 years

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Star Wars Squadrons Movie with subtitle multilanguage

https://youtu.be/JJQUDdltNEU

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Star Wars Squadrons subtitle Indonesia, Tagalog, Spanish & Portuguese Full Movie Game All Cutscenes

The Star Wars franchise is back in game format and finally released world wide at October 2020. Now we present it to you in Movie Game Animation Style for you all to enjoy it and understand Star Wars Squadrons story line. Star Wars Squadrons graphics quality is quite interesting and realistic, although made primarily for PS4, Xbox One, and PC Windows Platform, Star Wars Squadrons also includes VR modes for SteamVR and PSVR headsets, those VR devices can let you play entire single-player campaigns and multiplayer components from the immersive first-person view, Awesome and feels like a real Star Wars pilot engaging space dogfight.

I'm here to say: Star Wars: Squadrons are amazing, with a few caveats - minor design grievances you'll probably forgive when you encounter the immersive and fully embodied game cockpits of Star Wars Squadrons beloved battleships, well-made story mission throwing You go from Empire to New Republic through 14 levels, and a ranked multiplayer mode that will have you fighting against anyone with games, consoles, PCs and VR headsets, you'll swear you really did stepping into the Star Wars Universe. But Sadly, this time it doesn't adapt the storyline of the Jedi as a common story line in Star Wars series, but instead we are playing the story of the pilot in the Star Wars Squadrons.

Star Wars: Squadron Gameplay

Star Wars: Squadron will present head-to-head singleplayer modes and multiplayer battles. We will have to become pilots in squadrons of two factions, Vanguard Squadron from New Republics and Titan Squadron from Galactic Empire.

We are presented with several fighter planes that have often appeared in the Star Wars franchise, for example the X-Wing, A-Wing, Y-Wing, U-Wing, TIE Fighter, TIE Interceptor, TIE Bomber, and TIE Reaper. In fact, there will be Fleet Battles mode, whose main mission is to destroy the capital ship or the main aircraft. Flying is a familiar experience to anyone who has played space arcade games before, although it may still take some time to get used to the turning skills and loading rows of each ship. I find myself constantly switching back to the controller menu to adjust button placement due to the number of weapons, shields and other functions you can perform in the game.

Star Wars: Squadron Expansions

Star Wars: Squadron will have various expansions including from aircraft modifications to weapons and outfits or appearances. Star Wars: Squadron will offer exciting dogfights, Star Wars: Squadron will also support virtual reality (VR) devices to present the impression of driving the fighter plane.

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#star wars squadrons #star wars universe #star wars pilot #star wars spacecraft #star wars aircraft #dog fight #movies #youtube #videos #game #subtitle indonesia #subtitle spanish #subtitle portuguese #subtitle tagalog

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wrestlingisfake · 4 years

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Wrestle Kingdom 15 day 1 preview

Tetsuya Naito vs. Kota Ibushi - Naito is defending the IWGP heavyweight championship and the IWGP intercontinental championship. Whoever holds the two titles after this match will go on to defend them against Jay White on day 2 of Wrestle Kingdom, on January 5.

Naito and Ibushi haven’t met in a singles match since June 9, 2019, when Ibushi lost the intercontinental title to Naito in a match filled with rather dangerous spots. The point of that match was that both men wanted to hold the intercontinental title long enough to also win the heavyweight belt at Wrestle Kingdom 14. The obsession with being a double champion culminated in the “Double Gold Dash” mini-tournament, where Naito went 2-0 to win both belts and Ibushi went 0-2, losing in the first round and the consolation match with Jay White.

Since then, Ibushi mounted a major comeback by winning the G1 Climax tournament, earning a Wrestle Kingdom title shot. However, he lost his title match contract in a match against White on November 7. Luckily, Naito decided he wanted to wrestle matches on each night of Wrestle Kingdom, and he concluded that Ibushi was still the logical choice for the other title match. (Ibushi did still win the G1, after all, even if he lost his reward for doing it.)

I’m very worried these guys are going to do sick bumps on their necks, as in the June 2019 match. Both of them have a bad reputation for doing scary shit. After the last time I was like “that was really good, please never wrestle again.” It’s been 19 months (six years in 2020 time) and I’m just now starting to be like “maybe potentially it would be okay to come back with this match, but be careful.” I don’t really expect them to be careful--these are two guys who always have something to prove, and now they’re going to particularly want to prove they can tear the house down during a pandemic in a stadium show where fans aren’t allowed to shout.

It feels to me like the natural arc of this storyline is for Ibushi to rebound from last year’s defeats by finally winning the titles and finally avenging his losses to Jay White. But...I expected Kota to go sweep the Double Gold Dash last year, and look what happened. So I go into this first title match with no confidence that either man is a lock to advance to the second one. Even when one guy looks to be heading for the finish, I’m going to believe one sudden counter can change everything.

Will Ospreay vs. Kazuchika Okada - Ospreay is the RPW British heavyweight champion, but it looks like the title is not at stake in this match. When Ospreay originally issued the challenge for this match, I could’ve sworn he demanded that Okada put his career on the line, but I guess everybody just ignored that.

This feud began on October 16, when Ospreay was still a member of Okada’s stable, CHAOS, and they met in a G1 Climax tournament match. Bea Priestley and the Great-O-Khan interfered to help Ospreay win, whereupon he turned on Okada to start his own faction, the Empire. If I went back in time to 2019 and told myself all this was going to happen, past me would assume it’d be way cooler than it’s turned out to be. (Past me would nonetheless wonder why they’re rehashing the Okada vs. Jay White storyline.) For years I’ve wanted to see the creation of a totally new faction in NJPW, but the Empire hasn’t lived up to my expectations.

If nothing else, this match itself should be good. I’m just not convinced anything big will come of it. If Okada wins, it kind of maintains the status quo where 2021 Ospreay is at the same level as 2020 Ospreay, except he’s a heel. If Ospreay wins, he gets the rub from Okada but he still has to prove it’s not a fluke like EVIL’s middling run as a top heel. The easiest way to sidestep all this is to distract everyone with a big angle, like doing a run-in finish with a new guy joining Ospreay’s group. But I’d rather just see a clean match where the guy getting the next push wins clean.

I’ve learned to avoid betting against Okada, and Ospreay’s heel run hasn’t given me a good enough reason to break from that policy. At least not on this show...

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Great-O-Khan - There’s not much to this one. O-Khan basically beat up Tanahashi a couple of times during the World Tag League & Best of the Super Jr. tour last month. O-Khan’s gimmick is that he’s a new badass in the tradition of “Mongolian wild man” characters. Tanahashi’s storyline, for what feels like forever, is that he was the best but he’s old now and his knees are shot and everybody keeps beating up his knees. So for the 800th time Tana has to prove he can still hang in there with the top guys in the world.

A win for O-Khan would probably be considered a big upset, but I think that’s tainted by how hard they’ve tried to sell that Tana is practically on life support. Moreover, it doesn’t really feel like they want to push O-Khan that hard--he seems more like an enforcer type than a future main eventer--so I’m not sure he even needs this win for the role he’s slotted into. Tanahashi, on the other hand, really needs a singles victory, if only to build him back up for the next time they do the “does Tana still have it?” story. So I guess I’m picking Tanahashi to win.

KENTA vs. Satoshi Kojima - Kenta is defending his “right to challenge” contract for a future title match for the IWGP United States championship. This match was originally booked as Kenta against Juice Robinson, but an orbital bone fracture took Juice off the show. On any other year, New Japan could probably arrange a more impressive substitute. But the pandemic and travel restrictions have limited their options, so they’re making do with 50-year-old Kojima.

The IWGP US title has not been defended since February 9, 2020, when Jon Moxley retained against Minoru Suzuki. Moxley’s commitments to AEW are such that he cannot wrestle a New Japan match in the US, and he can’t fly to Japan long enough to satisfy Japan’s 14-day quarantine policy. Rather than simply vacate the championship due to inactivity, New Japan has politely ignored the situation in favor of booking Kenta to win this contract in a nifty red briefcase. I had believed that meant a plan for Mox vs. Kenta was in the works, but as the months went by it became clearer that they couldn’t make it happen. So it looked like Kenta vs. Juice for the contract was the next best thing, and now we don’t even get that.

Kojima was a top guy back in the 2000s, so I don’t mean to be dismissive of him. But whereas 50+ legends are pushed as unbeatable gods in the US, in Japan they tend to be positioned to put guys over as they slowly accept the twilight of their careers. Which is fine, to have the old lion prove come back to prove he can hang in there with a guy in his prime. But they’ve been telling that story constantly with 44-year-old Tanahashi, so doing it again with Kojima feels like overkill. I suppose an upset win is at least possible, but it would certainly shock the hell out of me.

Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa - Dangerous Tekkers (Sabre and Taichi) are defending the IWGP heavyweight tag team championship. The Guerillas of Destiny (Tonga and Loa) won the 2020 World Tag League tournament to earn this match.

For a long time I was thinking the tag title match at Wrestle Kingdom would be David Finlay and Juice Robinson against either GOD or the Tekkers, but I have to admit this match is more interesting. It feels like every tag title match in New Japan is a straightforward babyface vs. heel dynamic, whereas the singles title matches can have more shades of grey. So a heel vs. heel tag title match feels fresh. We’ve seen Sabre and Taichi get heat on every face team available, so how will they adapt when their opponents are pulling dirtier tricks than they do?

These teams met during World Tag League last month, and the Tekkers actually played babyface a bit, which was interesting. Actually, I get the feeling the Japanese fans have been warming up to Suzuki-gun in general, and Taichi in particular had a cult following for years. Maybe an exceptionally valiant battle here can turn Sabre and Taichi all the way?

The story for the Guerillas is that, despite their numerous tag title reigns, they had never won World Tag League or walked out of the Tokyo Dome with the tag titles; now they’ve finally got their WTL trophies, so there’s one thing left to do. If they do win the belts, I’m hoping it will lead to rematches that keep Dangerous Tekkers in the mix. My fear is that this will be the end of the Tekkers’ run as a team, and it’ll just be GOD vs. FinJuice for a whole year, which doesn’t grow the tag division as well as having three top teams. Of course, if Sabre and Taichi just win, I don’t have to worry about that, so I guess I’m rooting for them.

Hiromu Takahashi vs. El Phantasmo - Takahashi won the 2020 Best of the Super Jr. tournament, and ELP won the 2020 Super J-Cup tournament; the winner of this match will challenge the IWGP junior heavyweight champion, Taiji Ishimori, on January 5.

I kinda wish this match wasn’t a qualifier for tomorrow’s title bout, because it’s fresher and more compelling than Takahashi vs. Ishimori would be. (ELP vs. Ishimori would be interesting, except that I’d expect Phantasmo to just lay down for his buddy.) I’m pretty sure Hiromu and Phantasmo have never met one-on-one before, and ELP’s super-douche style should be very different than anything Hiromu’s lol-random style has contended with.

Phantasmo is one of those heels that trolls so hard I can’t even get mad at what he does, but I get sick of him trying so hard, so I guess it all works out and I hate his guts and want him to lose really badly. But this will be his first match back in Japan since the pandemic, so it feels too soon for him to do a job. So I could see this one going either way, if not for thinking Takahashi challenging for the junior title is the obvious destination. Gotta go with Hiromu on this one.

New Japan Ranbo - This is a gauntlet battle royale, with two wrestlers starting and each additional wrestler entering at timed intervals. Participants may be eliminated at any time by pinfall, submission, or exiting the ring over the top rope. When all but four wrestlers have been eliminated, the match ends and those final four advance to another match on January 5 to determine possession of the KOPW 2021 trophy.

New Japan does this type of match all the time for Wrestle Kingdom (usually with just one winner, not four), and I always thought it was called “New Japan Rumble,” but someone was mistranslating something. Turns out “ranbo” is literally a Japanese word that can mean “riot.” So we all learned something today!

I’m not certain how many participants are supposed to be in this. I think I read 21 somewhere, but even if I did I wouldn’t trust any hard number. If they have everybody pencilled in a month ago and then the day of the show they get an idea to put, I dunno, Captain New Japan in there, they’ll just do it. The main thing is that anybody who doesn’t have a regular match on this show or tomorrow’s show will probably be on the short list for this one. The biggest names that I think we can expect would be Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, El Desperado, SHO, Bad Luck Fale, BUSHI, and maybe Minoru Suzuki.

The gimmick where you just have to make it to the last four in the ring should make the finish a bit more unpredictable. Ordinarily I woudn’t expect, say, Tomoaki Honma to win a match like this. But it’s not going to make or break tomorrow’s four-way if one or two guys are curtain jerkers or joke guys. With that in mind I think this match is impossible to predict. But I guess my dream lineup for the four-way match tomorrow would be...let’s see...Yano, Suzuki, Toa Henare...and let’s go with Yoshi-Hashi to win the KOPW trophy to start 2021 off weird.

#njpw #wrestle kingdom 15 #tetsuya naito #kota ibushi

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