#october faction impressions

[malakaie]

had some feelings to write out – for/about @tommyend, no pressure at all to respond

I started watching wrestling – specifically, AEW – in late October 2023. It’s been just over a year since I started watching, and I didn’t expect it to consume as much of my brain-space as it has. When I started watching, I didn’t really know who anyone was. I had heard a few names – Randy Orton, CM Punk, Jade Cargill, Roman Reigns – but had no real concept of the landscape I was entering or what it would mean to get invested.

Truthfully, it was a little overwhelming, and there was more I didn’t understand than I did. In those first few weeks, I received one very helpful piece of advice: don’t try to understand everything. Find a wrestler or two whose vibe you like and stick with them – the rest will click into place eventually, or it won’t, and either way is fine.

And so I did. I think it was around the lead-up to Full Gear 2023 that I started really paying attention. There was something about what House of Black was doing that was different from anything else I was seeing. I could understand just enough to recognise talented athletes when I saw them, but I wasn’t quite plugged in enough to the overall wrestling “ecosystem” that that was enough on its own to get my attention. Now that I understand more of what I’m looking at, it’s easier to understand what I’m meant to be impressed by – it’s easier now to have that moment of, holy shit, how did they do that?

But I didn’t understand yet. I’d been watching wrestling for about a month and was still finding my footing. What I saw, and latched onto, in House of Black was a group of four impressive performers that I could tell were in love with the art of what they were doing. Everything was done with intent – the way they entered the ring, the different but cohesive styles with which each member of the House wrestled, the gear they wore, the ever-evolving paint on Malakai’s face, the evolution and growth of Julia’s character.

It was both the moment that I finally, properly understood that professional wrestling was also theatre—and, I think, the moment that I was magnetised. It felt like a faction that was made for me: a band of storytellers who wanted to take my hand and show me what wrestling could be and was and is, and had the creativity and cohesiveness and physical talent to pull it off.

I could breathe a sigh of relief. I wasn’t lost anymore, desperately trying to catch up to understanding something that everyone around me already seemed to know. I had a guide of some sort, and one that resonated: I’ve been reading since I was 3, writing stories since I was 11, have always been a little “strange,” drawn to creative types and niche hobbies and other people that don’t have many friends. And here was someone who not only felt like me, sounded like me, but was wanted and loved and succeeding. A stranger to me, in the way that performers and public figures always are, but I felt like it was going to be okay. If Malakai could make it—though I didn’t and don’t know him personally, I had no way of knowing if he was ever afraid, or if he doubted himself—then maybe I could, too.

The more I watched and the more I learned, the more true that became. I’ve been depressed and anxious most of my adult life. I have scoliosis that is likely to get worse as I get older, and causes me pain multiple times a week, if not every day. Hearing someone whose work I admired be open about his mental health—especially when sports industries have typically not been kind to people, perhaps especially men, who are vulnerable in that way—and be honest when he’s in pain shook something loose in me that I hadn’t quite realised was stuck and frozen in shame. It’s okay that I’m afraid. It’s okay that I have days where my brain is trying to consume itself. It’s okay that I’m in pain. Did I get out of bed today? Have I been outside? Have I eaten? Have I done something to be kind to myself—or, failing that, kind to someone else? Have I done something creative today?

I started my “gender journey,” for lack of a better phrase, in 2018. There was a lot, a lot, of messing around with pronouns, labels. I didn’t know what I was, only that “just a girl” didn’t feel quite right anymore. And then I felt like I was lying, because, well—I was fine being a girl when I was ten, and thirteen, and sixteen, so why was it suddenly different at 25? Sometimes I still feel like I’m lying. The generation above me often still holds an image of trans people that requires them to have always been miserable, always been “pretending.” A few months ago my mother suggested it was fine if my idea of being feminine had expanded, but she didn’t really believe I was trans, because I’d never been unhappy as a girl child, and besides that I looked like a “clone” of the small handful of other transmasc and nonbinary people she’s met. I must be a pod person. (Newsflash, mom: This is just what queer people look like, a lot of the time. I cut and dyed my hair and got one singular tattoo. How terrible.)

She didn’t ask me how I feel when people call me she, or her—it makes me feel horribly small and unreal, by now—and in fairness to her, I didn’t quite defend myself either. I cringed and shrunk and asked for time to think about it, when what I wanted to say is yes, I know I haven’t had the history you expect to see from me, but this is who I am, and I’m not telling you that I was never a girl. I’m telling you that girl isn’t the place where I stop.

But I was scared, and I felt cornered, and I didn’t say any of that.

What I did have, though, was an artist and a performer and a storyteller who did things with his expression, his clothing, how he presented himself to the world that was like a lightbulb going on. The confidence of a man who told stories with the way that he looked, and who used feminine symbols to do it. He wasn’t any less masculine—but it was an embracing of both that cemented who he was, and I thought: holy shit. I can do that. Our identities are not the same, and I’m not too keen on speculating about the identities of public figures that I don’t know in any event—but it’s reassuring, motivating even, to be able to regularly see someone comfortably expressing his gender (because, yes, cis presentation is gender expression too) in a way that makes sense to him and incorporates the feminine and resonates through his art without doubt or reservation or compromise. This is who we are. Take it or leave it.

I don’t know what’s coming next for any of us. AEW looks like such a different place—in a good way—from when I started watching, and the world is looking pretty scary these days, but I’m still here. The art that got me interested in wrestling in the first place is still here, and I have my theories—unsubstantiated, so far—about where Malakai and House of Black are taking their story, but regardless of theories I’ve been so fortunate to watch them continue to grow and evolve over the past year. There’s a lot I don’t know, but I know the love for the story and the art is real.

I don’t know you personally, Malakai, and I don’t want to claim to, no matter how many scraps I’ve gathered together from interviews and how much of the backlog of matches I’ve done my best to watch so I can understand where you’ve come from and where you’re going next. But your work and your love for your craft has moved me, and I’m glad I stayed alive when it was hard so I could be around to see it when it mattered.

[kitchenisking]

February Fic Rec

Hey Guys, I'm sorry I'm so late this month that its already the next month😅 I went back to work this month and I have mixed feelings about it so there's that🫤 but at least there's faction - please don't tell my kindle, there's so many books on there that I got to read😓. anyway, happy readying everyone! enjoy the spring and remember to kudos and comment😘

Show Him The Love by scarlettletterr - (Rating: Mature, Words: 2,911, sterek)

Everyone realizes Stiles is awesome, and actually gives him the recognition he deserves! For all his research, for his constant loyalty, for having awful stuff happen to him and always coming back for more, for trying to do the right thing even when people don't listen when they should.

------

My gift for Meggplant, for the Glompfest. Hope you like it!

You feel like Home by Itsreallyjustforresearch83 - (Rating: Mature, Words: 24,300, sterek)

Five times Stiles gets abused by his boyfriend and and the one time everything falls into place, like it was always meant to be. 

Maybe it was. 

-------------------------------------------------------

"Are you really just leaving?" Stiles asked him. 

"Yeah? There's no point in me sticking around, we already did what we always do." His boyfriend said, fastening his belt and walking out of Stiles' room.

It Starts When You're Around by strobelighted - (Rating: Explicit, Words: 26,406, sterek)

"Earth to Derek. You okay, man?"

Derek's eyes are drawn back to the guy in front of him, who's starting to look more worried now.

"I --" he starts, then swallows against the dryness. "Who are you?"

--

or, Derek gets amnesia

eli's parents are so gross (read: in love) by ash_mcj - (Rating: T, Words: 1,195, sterek)

"I would’ve been here earlier, but nobody thought it would be smart to call the one person who’s intimately dealt with the Nogitsune before, so,” Stiles said bitterly as he threw his hands up. "Now I have a list of asses I gotta kick over this very avoidable fiasco. Scott’s first, since he’s the Alpha—I’m pretty sure that’s how that works. His responsibility, or whatever.”

The familiar sound of Derek’s car pulling into the driveway caught Eli's attention, and he grinned. “Is Dad on your list?”

“Hell yeah, Dad is on my list! Right under Scott.”

“Well, he just got home, so—”

Stiles didn’t wait to hear the rest of the sentence before stomping off in the direction of the living room—and Eli quickly scrambled to follow him, ready to eavesdrop on what was likely going to be a rather impressive and amusing lecture.

[or: eli is glad that stiles is home, since derek has nearly died several times in his absence, but he really wishes they were a little less glad to see each other] -- prompt | a reunion kiss

Hide by dr_girlfriend - (Rating: Explicit, Words: 12,419, sterek)

Stiles has been rejected so many times that it doesn't really surprise him when it happens again. Hurts, yeah, because dammit — he'd thought Derek was the one. Heartbreak sucks, and he's not so sure he's going to get over it this time.

Breaking A Rule by SinQueen69 - (Rating: Explicit, Words: 1,426, sterek)

Anon on tumblr wanted: Hiya! Please with sugar on top write a Sterek fic where derek is a business man and Stiles is a horny cockslut that sends Derek nudes while at work and Derek is pent up and punishes him when he gets home. Daddy Kink, Manhandling, Strength Kink, Bruises, Spanking, Rough Sex, Orgasm Denial, mentions of kittenplay?, verbal humiliation, gags! Tanks be safe and healthy

Soft Space by TuppingLiberty - (Rating: Mature, Words: 1,492,k sterek)

This time of year, Derek has to face too many bad anniversaries - the fire, the deaths. Stiles understands when Derek has to take a break from being alpha, when he just needs his daddy. 

Rated M for kink, but no explicit (or even mature) sex.

Kinktober day 4: Daddy (Starting Kinktober now so I can maybe finish in October this year)

How to Win an Argument Without Really Trying by sffan - (Rating: Explicit, Words: 2,288, sterek)

It started with a kiss.

Well, actually, it started with an argument.

no river, no rush by CoraRochester, ravenclawkward - (Rating: Explicit, Words: 5,351, sterek)

“You can’t marry me! I’m the worst choice. For one, there’s no strategic value to marrying a prince from Gajos—and if there were, I’d have been betrothed to you or Cora years ago. We have nothing to offer Beacon. I’m not even good at being a prince!”   …

On the eve of Derek’s coronation, he proposes to Stiles.

Are You Fucking Kidding Me? by Itsreallyjustforresearch83 - (Rating: Mature, Words: 2,893, sterek)

Derek has liked Stiles for a really long time, like embarrassingly long. But he swore to himself that he wouldn't make a move on Stiles until he knew for sure that his feeling were returned because he refuses to force something onto the Spark. 

OR

Derek likes Stiles, Stiles likes Derek, but the Alpha is convinced that Stiles is still in love with Lydia and can't see the obvious dofus Stiles is being around him. Lydia intervenes just because she's sick of watching the two dummys not be together.

[davidmariottecomics]

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! 

[girlactionfigure]

🟧  Sunday afternoon - events from Israel  

ISRAEL REALTIME - Connecting to Israel in Realtime

♦️LEBANON.. The IDF announces it eliminated in an airstrike yesterday in Beirut Nabil Qaouk, commander of Hezbollah's Preventative Security Unit, and deputy head of the group's executive council.

♦️LEBANON.. Lebanese media: The fate of Hashem Safieddine, the current Hezbollah council head and expected successor to Nasrallah, remains unknown.

♦️IDF ATTACKING LEBANON.. Air force attacks continue all the time in all of Lebanon.  Relatively low intensity compared to the past few days.

♦️GAZA.. IDF installing huge observation poles on the Philadelphi border corridor.

♦️GAZA.. Destroyed: an underground route about a kilometer long in a civilian area.  In the tunnel, several rooms and facilities were found that were used byHamas to hide for extended periods, as well as weapons storage.

♦️GAZA.. airstrike against a group of Hamas operatives operating out of a former school in the northern Gaza Strip a short while ago. Hamas terrorists were using the Umm al-Fahm School in Beit Lahiya to plan and carry out attacks against IDF troops and against Israel.

♦️SYRIA.. air defense systems activated in Homs, Syria - which has been a frequent target of the IDF.  Syrian media reports that before noon the IDF attacked positions of the pro-Iranian militias in the area of ��​Wadi Hana near Al-Qusayr in Homs.

🔹LEBANESE PM.. Prime Minister Najib Mikati at a press conference: ready to implement UN resolution 1701.  The number of displaced people may reach a million.

🔹US ADMIN SAYS.. The Biden administration continues to call on Israel to refrain from a ground operation in Lebanon - and claim that such a move would harm attempts to weaken support for Hezbollah inside Lebanon, per the Washington Post.

🔹NOTING CHANGING TONE.. in the international press: (Amit Segal)

1. Israel has the most impressive army in the world

2. Israel is winning the war on terror

3. Israel exposed the hypocrisy of Biden's & UK’s Starmer’s policy

4. Were the hawks in Israel right and is it possible to achieve a complete victory?

Articles in the Daily Telegraph ->

Israel has exposed the lie at the heart of Starmer and Biden’s foreign policy - https://archive.md/6peFD#selection-2369.4-2369.81

Israel has proved it has the most impressive military in the world - https://archive.md/Ge9kB#selection-2369.4-2369.70

 ❗️AIR TRAVEL.. the EU Aviation Safety Agency really did issue an airspace warning for Israel warning airlines away from Sept. 28 until Oct. 31.  “Considering the current conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, there is a high risk to civil aviation. The conflict involves rockets, missiles and drones launches from Lebanon with Israeli airstrikes and artillery fire, including systematic activation of air-defence systems… Although, until now the Civil Aviation Authority of the State of Israel has been efficiently managing the risks to civil aviation in its airspace through a tactical deconfliction, it is considered that the current intensity of the conflict represents an overall high risk to civil aviation.”

Official statement:  Ben Gurion Airport is open for takeoffs and landings. Those leaving Israel should take into account there may be difficulties in their return to Israel (due to flight availability.)

▪️ECONOMY.. The price of fuel at the beginning of October will be NIS 7.16 per liter, a decrease of 0.13 per liter.

▪️WAR POLITICS.. Arab MK Ahmed Tibi: from the Ra'am-Ta'al faction “Israel excels in assassinations. Killings do not bring security, agreements bring security. The worst thing about the killings is when families and children are killed.  There is no worse criminal situation than those not involved being killed.” 

[oywcalendar]

Prelude to the One Year War

The following is a master post of events leading directly to the start of the One Year War, particularly the rapid development of new weapons by the Republic of Zeon.

UC 0074

The EFSF convert their vessels' main armaments from shell-firing cannons to mega particle cannons.

In February, Zeonic complete the MS-04 Prototype Zaku.

December, UC 0074

The first Jupiter Energy Fleet returns to the Republic of Zeon, rendering the nation energy independent from the Earth Federation.

Zimmad submits the design of their EMS-04 Zudah to Zeon’s military.

Zeonic completes the first prototype YMS-05 Zaku, later renumbered MS-05A.

UC 0075

Zeonic’s Zaku and Zimmad’s Zudah are trialled against each other to determine which will be adopted as the Zeon military’s mainline mobile suit. The Zaku underperforms compared to the impressive Zudah, but the Zudah’s reactor overheats and explodes, destroying the mobile suit. The Zaku is chosen for its reliability and lower production cost.

In May, Zeonic rolls out the MS-05B Zaku 1, Zeon’s first combat-ready mobile suit.

In July, Zeon commissions the Musai-class space cruiser, the first warship in history designed to carry mobile suits.

UC 0076

In March, Zeon commissions the Gwazine-class battleship, a command ship for their highest-ranking officers.

In April, Zeon begins mass-producing the MS-05B Zaku 1 after widely expanding their mobile suit factories.

In May, Colonel Kycilia Zabi creates the Mobile Training Battalion to train mobile suit pilots and establish mobile suit tactics.

In December, Zeon begins development of specialized mobile suit variants, especially for terrestrial and maritime warfare. A high-performance "R-type" Zaku is also proposed.

UC 0077

In April, the Riah Revolution occurs at Side 6. Zeon military backs the nationalist faction, sending a squad of Zakus to blockade the EFF, helping to secure the revolution’s victory. Side 6 declares independence from the Earth Federation as the Riah Republic.

In August, Zeonic rolls out the MS-06A Zaku 2. Its performance is greatly improved over the Zaku 1, but Kycilia Zabi orders it redesigned to be better equipped for melee combat, expecting that the Federation will eventually develop their own mobile suits.

In September, per Kycilia's orders, Zeonic rolls out the MS-06C Zaku 2.

UC 0078

In January, Zeon begins mass-producing the Zaku 2 C-type, replacing the Zaku 1 as its military mainstay.

In February, the EFF's SCV-X project begins construction of SCV-27A, a carrier for the FF-S3 Saberfish fighter.

In March, the EFF commence the RX Project, though the Federation at large dismisses the threat of Zeon's humanoid weapons and remains skeptical about developing their own.

In September, Zeonic rolls out the MS-06F Zaku 2. This version lacks its predecessor's heavy radiation shielding, making it lighter and in turn granting it better performance. The commander-use S-type is later developed, based on the nimble F-type.

In October, as part of Zeon's preparation for a possible Earth invasion, Zeonic rolls out the MS-06J Zaku 2. It is closely based on the F-type, but lacks rocket thrusters to further reduce its weight.

On October 24, the government of Side 3 rechristens itself as the Principality of Zeon and declares independence from the Earth Federation.

In November, the Principality of Zeon begins national mobilization. Supreme Commander Gihren Zabi divides the military into the Space Attack Force, under Vice Admiral Dozle Zabi, and the Mobile Assault Force, under Vice Admiral Kycilia Zabi.

In December, the Principality of Zeon begins the lengthy production of the Dolos-class, a trio of massive warships capable of carrying a staggering 182 mobile suits.

[dailyanarchistposts]

Sect History and Strategy

The National-Anarchists have their origin in the National Front, a far right British party with an impressive 1977 dark horse electoral success based on their xenophobic anti-immigrant platform. After the election, the group fractured into many internal factions before splintering into different sects. Troy Southgate, the main English-language National-Anarchist ideologue, is a veteran of this internecine maze. He joined the National Front in 1984, and subsequently joined a splinter group that eventually split again before becoming the National Revolutionary Faction (NRF), a small cadre organization openly calling for armed guerilla warfare.[10]

In the late 1990s however, the NRF started to morph into the National-Anarchist movement; the two were referred to interchangeably for a number of years, until the NRF disbanded in 2003.[11] Southgate’s ideology does not seem to have changed substantially with the shift, and he continues to circulate his NRF-era essays.

The NRF’s only known public action as “National-Anarchists” was to hold an Anarchist Heretics Fair in October 2000, in which a number of fringe-of the-fringe groups participated. However, when they attempted a second fair, a variety of anarchists and anti-fascists blocked it from being held. After the same thing happened in 2001, Southgate and the NRF abandoned this strategy and retreated to purely internet-based propaganda.[12]

The fair reflected Southgate’s adaptation of the Trotskyist practice of entrism — the strategy of entering other political groups in order to either take them over or break off with a part of their membership.[13] Southgate argues, “The NRF uses cadre activists to infiltrate political groups, institutions and services… It is part of our strategy to do this work and, if we are to have any success in the future, it is work that must be done on an increasing basis.”[14] He claims that the NRF infiltrated the 1999 Stop the City demonstration and the 2000 May Day protest, as well as activities of the Hunt Saboteurs Association and the Animal Liberation Front.[15]

Beyond its tactical uses, entrism is a philosophy for the National-Anarchists as they recruit members from the Left and in particular anarchist groups. Instead of simply calling themselves “racist communitarians,” they purposely adopt the label “anarchist” and specifically appropriate anarchist imagery. Examples include the use of a purple star (anarchists typically use either a black star, or a half black star, with the other half designating their specific tendency, i.e., red for unionists, green for environmentalists, etc.), or a red and black star superimposed with a Celtic cross (the latter being a typical symbol of White Nationalists). The allied New Right factions in Australia and the UK also use the “chaos symbol” —an eight pointed star —which they adapt from left-wing counter-cultural anarchists.

The fascist use of the “black bloc” political formation at demonstrations is also an appropriation of anarchist and far left forms. In recent years, German fascists calling themselves Autonomous Nationalists have marched in large black blocs, waving black flags (a symbol of traditional anarchism), and even appropriated the symbolism of the German antifascist groupings.[16]

As far back as 1984, Pierre André Taguieff, an expert on the European New Right, condemned the “tactic of ideological scrambling systematically deployed by GRECE,” a rightwing think tank that embraced some leftist critiques of advanced capitalism while promoting core fascist ideas.[17] Here we see that ideological scrambling deployed on a grassroots level.

It needs to be stressed that, despite the name, National-Anarchists have not emerged from inside the anarchist movement, and, intellectually, their origins are not based in its ideas. Anarchists typically see themselves as part of a cosmopolitan and explicitly antinationalist left-wing movement which seeks to dismantle both capitalism and the centralized state. They seek instead to replace them with decentralized, non-hierarchical, and self-regulating communities. Although similar to Marxists, anarchists are just as adamant in their opposition to racism, sexism, and homophobia as they are to capitalism. In the United States, anarchists were key players in the formation of labor unions, were the only political faction to support gay rights before World War I, were leaders in the free speech movement, and were active in helping to legalize birth control. The White Nationalists’ embrace of the anarchist label and symbolism is more than little ironic, since anarchists have a long history of physically disrupting White Nationalist events, for instance by groups like Anti-Racist Action. Anarchist military units were even formed to fight Franco in Spain and Mussolini in Italy.

[thedinanshiral]

Exciting times

As we enter the last leg of this race, please beware of the SPOILERPOCALYPSE.

The reason i'm not here much lately is precisely because of spoilers. I think marketing has done more than they should have, i don't need to see more of the game, i just want to play it. Now just checking my socials puts me at risk of getting major spoilers i'm trying so hard to avoid at all costs.

Yesterday the embargo on the preview event was lifted and all the people who was fortunate to be invited have been sharing their reviews, impresions and recorded gameplay. Unfortunately for those of us who wish to experience the game ourselves instead of having the first Act spoiled, not everyone uses spoiler warnings, hashtags or keywords one can mute or block while this lasts. Personally i'm mostly on twitter and there i muted +130 words for 30 days only to have a spoiler about Rook's origins in one of the factions still slip through.

I've been checking on YouTube carefully like it's a minefield -because it really is- for some of these content creators' videos, for the most part just to listen and what i've gathered so far is they were allowed about 7 hours of play, including the character creator and 5 selected missions from Act I, but there's a couple of late Act I missions they weren't allowed to record or talk much about, and they weren't allowed to show some menus, namely the accesibility menu as it seems there's official marketing coming up centered on that.

The big and main positive i can take from these recent developments is that there's a new consensus: Dragon Age The Veilguard looks good. Long gone are the days of first trailer bad impressions and Fortnite accusations, now that some people finally got to experience the game themselves the reviews are mostly positive, excited, and i've seen some content creators change their minds about the game entirely. Bioware took notes all these years and are ready to deliver an unexpectedly very polished game as a result. People at the event were told the game has 3 Acts and i've heard this from several people, if the rest of the game keeps up the rhythm from what they saw of Act I, then Bioware is back. GOTY contender. IMO BW was never "gone", they were just slowly cooking this upcoming full meal

Sure, combat may not be for everyone, a more linear experience may not be for everyone. But personal preferences aside all seems to indicate The Veilguard will deliver as promised.

Spoilers are unavoidable sometimes so i've actualy looked for some, namely the Character Creator, the different factions origin stories, the different surnames. I had to go out of my way to see these things tho, intentionally spoiling myself these details because I have as of now 12 different Rooks planned and i needed to know if the stories i made for them would conflict or not with what the game will offer. Only one origin has a detail that might restrict things a bit.

There's apparently also a scene from a mission i'm not sure they were allowed to show, i skipped through a video about it without really looking and just now saw something from it on my dashboard but i scrolled down as fast as i could because it's something i really want to see in game first. It's such a big thing, it shouldn't have been showned or leaked at all. All i'll say is it's about Solas, and something many of us wanted to see for a long time.

All this said, while we wait for October 31st to come quick we still have the podcast Vows&Vengeance each Thursday. I might write on it soon. This podcast is safe from spoilers, it's set pre-Veilguard and introduces the companions one per episode, and the original characters are apparently a V&V exclusive and won't show in game. I think this podcast series is currently the only safe marketing material available until release. Meanwhile the IGN coverage continues, full of minor spoilers sprinkled all over so i'm also avoiding all of it.

We're now 41 days away from an event we've been waiting for 10 years! The waiting has never been harder.

[divineerdrick]

Warhammer 40,000 Balance Update for October 16, 2024: State of the Game and Warhammer Community Article

Warhammer 40,000 is in a great state!

Warhammer 40,000 is in an awful state!

Which of these statements you agree with might depend on what kind of player you are or what discussion we're having.

From the point of balance, 40K is in one of the best states it's ever been in. The balance is really tight right now with only three factions peeking above a 55% win rate and no factions, other than two important outliers, dropping below 45%. You can genuinely win a game of 40K, and even a competitive 40K event, with any army. And for armies with multiple detachments, there are usually multiple ways you can play and win. All of this is fantastic!

However not everyone is happy, and with good reason. Back when I did my reactions to Pariah Nexus I was genuinely impressed and excited by the level of obvious time and effort the 40K Team had put into the new season. And while there were problems, I still think that having a 40K Team that is willing to make those kind of overhauls to the game is a good thing. But not everyone agrees with that.

GW's determination to maintain expensive physical rule books, while pursuing digital updates, but while not properly maintaining a digital rule set, has become a sticking point with many fans. What's the point in buying expensive rule books when they'll be out of date in less than a month? Why buy unit cards if their stats can be out of date? You might think that this a grognard thing that only older players like me care about. But I played a game with a player less than half my age who had gotten what they thought they needed to play, and became frustrated when I tried to play with the most up to date rules. Despite being chronically online like most of their generation, they'd still bought physical products from a store and had the expectation they could be used to play the game with anyone.

But even if you're a digital only person, GW really isn't catering to you either. If you go to Warhammer Community and download the Core Rules, it's basically the same one they released when 10th Edition dropped last year. There's no reason for Core Rules changes to not be reflected in this document. If you want the most up to date rules, you need to use the 40K app. But there's no way to just use the app either, even if you pay for a subscription! If you want the rules for your army, you still have to go and buy a book. And those books have never been a worse value when it comes to content.

And even if all that is still fine for you, you might still be overwhelmed by just how fast things get updated. The plan for updates has always been for rules to get updated every 6 months and points to get updated every 3 months. But there have been two problems with this. The first is that the rules updates have been massive! With all the changes to the game in the first year, we're almost playing in a new edition. Second, they haven't stuck to that rules release schedule. There were multiple rules changes in the first three months of the game including rules drops at what was supposed to be the first points only changes. Of the four major balance passes that we've had before this one, only one of them was just points. And there are rumors that this one will be no different.

Now if you're a competitive player, this probably isn't a big deal for you. You're probably playing lots of games and getting to experiment with a lot with each new set of rules. But what if you only get one game a week? Even one game a month? Imagine getting to play three or so games and then everything changes. Even if you are a competitive player, there's a point that happens in a good meta where players will start to experiment. We've been seeing that a lot in recent competitive events. But just as the best players are starting to show up with new and exciting builds, we're now going to turn the meta on its head again.

I honestly think that points updates should be every six months and rules updates should be yearly. But there's still a problem, and that's why these updates happened in the first place. And if you've followed me for a while, you know what I'm about to say here.

Three years is just too short of a cycle for a game of this size. It was especially bad with the transition between 9th and 10th because of how massive of an overhaul the rules got. At least for 8th to 9th, you could still use your old Codex. In 10th Guard and World Eaters players got to use their books for less than five months. But even in 8th and 9th edition, people were stuck waiting for their books as the new Codexes just completely outclassed the older rules. But the big problem is game balance. We wouldn't need all these rules changes if GW had enough time to balance and release the books. And it's extremely obvious with all the balance changes 10th has needed that they just don't.

On the whole, I still think it's good that GW is paying attention and trying to make the game as good as it can be. No edition is going to be perfect, no matter how much play-testing GW does. So the fact they're willing to make needed changes is extremely important. We just need them to change how the cadence of how they release and fix editions.

With all that out of the way, I said that the balance is currently great. So what do I think needs to change?

Current Balance

Right now the top dogs are Space Wolves, Sisters, and Thousand Sons. Sisters we all saw coming. Their book had released too close to Pariah Nexus for any serious overhauls, and only got the lightest of love taps. I'd also predicted Space Wolves weren't going to go anywhere either. While they did get some changes, I didn't think they'd be enough. The good news is you can now totally take a Champions of Russ build and succeed. I was wrong about KSons though. That army and its players are just built different. I honestly don't know what you can change to drop them down to where they need to be without making them fall through the floor though.

I was also wrong about Orks. Boy oh boy did they just get hammered! The double nerf to Mega Nobz combined with the nerfs to Green Tide just crushed them. I'd said I thought they went to far with Mega Nobz, but even then I didn't predict them becoming the worst faction in the game.

Then there's Space Marines and Imperial Agents. I and so many other players have talked at length about Space Marines. The TL;DR there is that there's no point in skilled players taking Codex Marines while the other Chapters have so many more good options. And I think only rules can fix this.

As for Imperial Agents, they just aren't a real army. Their army rule is just the core rules for detachments. Imagine being told what makes your army special and unique is that you get to do what every other army already gets to do, and all while Blood Angels and Dark Angels get to do that and then some. Some brave players have decided to take them for a spin, but we just don't have enough data on them to actually say anything. As for Deathwatch, GW appears to have turned around on them and has promised new rules later this year. I wouldn't expect anything this time around though.

Let's see what the team thinks about balance and where they're trying to go!

Okay! According to the article this is a points update with some FAQ and Errata. That's good! That means we're back on schedule! Now some FAQ or Errata can create effective rules changes, but hopefully we won't see anything to massive.

Looks like Drukhari are taking some hits with the big dogs. Drukhari honestly aren't in such a bad state. They're a niche faction that has some dedicated specialists that are performing really well with them. So hopefully they didn't go too far here. Thunderwolves are called out specifically though, so it's clear the team is as tired of how efficient Wolf Jail is as we are.

They also mentioned internal balance passes, so I'm expecting some factions to see other changes. Hopefully they've gotten better at these, as sometimes GW accidentally nerfs factions that need their best units to survive.

Orks and GSC are called out for buffs. But they're honestly not the only ones that need them. Custodes could really use some love as well, and, as always, Chaos Knights need to have their big boys brought down in cost.

Surge moves such as Endless Swarm and Accursed Cultists have had their rules clarified, rewritten, and made more universal. I honestly wasn't aware of too many issues here, but they must have been receiving a lot of questions, complaints, or just saw some potential problems.

The next update will apparently be later this year in December, when the Deathwatch changes were slated, instead of January. They call out Sisters, GSC, and Codex Marines for rules changes. More specifically, Miracle Dice and Cult Ambush will be getting changes, but they haven't mentioned anything specific for Marines yet. Hopefully they'll get something like a mini army rule to help give them some love. They need more than just some changes to their Epic Heroes.

With that, I'm going to go to a separate post where I go through the MFM and errata. I don't think I'll need to do a whole post for any individual factions, but we'll see.

[terastalungrad]

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.

[cbairdash]

Navigator Guild

Author’s note: Hoist the Colors may eventually inspire fiction. Most likely will and I’ll gladly write it. But right now, it’s a role-playing game setting with what I hope is an interesting take and look at an “Alternate History” of Earth. It isn’t really “steampunk”, though I can see how someone would get that impression. For me, it’s more a “flintlock fantasy” set on Earth of 1722 in all it’s historical mess… that I’ve stirred up even more!

So, with that said, this one gets us into one of the more powerful guilds in the world. One that exploded into view in 1712 as a result of the catastrophe that reshaped the world. It is absolutely a faction that characters in the roleplaying game for Hoist the Colors can deal with, and may show up in Legends of the Privateers, a Hoist the Colors serial fiction!

Navigator Guild

If you’re looking for an odd map or rare journal about a ruin or distant location, they’re the ones to see. If they trust you near their collection. - Doctor Pedro Sangre, Alchemist and Privateer

October 31, 1712. The night that shook the world.

That moment reshaped the Earth. Every nation, down to its people, faced the horrible truth that the world they knew was gone. Trade routes were lost, mountains shifted, and once peaceful forests and coastlines turned deadly for everyone, from honest trade folk to rogues and scoundrels of the seas.

The world was now something else.

Maps had become obsolete overnight as new lands, if not continents, appeared in the middle of the deep ocean. Lakes either dried up, expanded, or appeared where they hadn’t been seen in a thousand years. A mad scramble started around the globe to make sense of this new world. Into that need stepped the Navigator Guild.

Old World Guild, Born New

The Navigator Guild of today was founded in 1712 by Minerva Goodsong, Ferrum Anvilson, Salvador Almeida, and a young man named Wohali from North America. All four were highly experienced navigators in their own right. They came from distant places such as the Mississippi basin in North America, Portugal, Afalon Isle, or the grimling sept settlements in Newfoundland. Strangers from far lands with shared experiences that bound them together.

Those four founders understood the problem ahead of them. Not just how it affected trade between nations, but how smaller settlements who relied on those same trade goods might suffer. Also, these four were the first to feel the uncanny pull of the Etherwave. They heard the mystic song of the Arcane Gates from their lonely places among the deep ocean currents and tall waves.

Minerva and Ferrum knew those songs all too well from their time on Otherworld, but never thought they would hear them on Earth. As for Salvador and Wohali, it was a new experience. The Arcane songs brought the four together outside Lisbon, Portugal, where they established the first guild house in November 1712 out of an abandoned warehouse.

They worked with the local mapmakers and privateers to collect what information they could. Slowly, this new world came into view. The Navigator Guild grew while they redrew maps, proposed new and safe trade routes, and recorded locations of the mysterious Arcane Gates. Most important of all, they also expanded the guild with a branch that was an institute of learning to train new navigators in the ways of Arcane Gates and more.

It wasn’t long before stories and accounts of unknown places came to the guild. These filled in some blank spaces on maps, but showed us just how much we didn’t know. - Doctor Pedro Sangre, Alchemist and Privateer

Loose But Nimble Structure

The founders were skilled navigators and explorers who understood how important it was to stay organized. Their guild was no exception. A nimble organization was needed for this group to not drown in the ever-increasing flow of new maps, journals, and students looking to become new Navigators. This guild would need to act like a traditional craft guild, but also an institution of learning.

Each member in good standing of the Navigator Guild has a rank that is used as a rough measure of their skills and responsibility. Overall, there are four ranks in the Navigator Guild. They are Grand Cartographer, Master Navigator, Journey-Pilot, and Inkrunner. Unless a Navigator says otherwise, most Privateers are often Master Navigators or, occasionally, Journey-Pilots.

- Grand Cartographer. This is the highest rank in the Navigator Guild, and only held by one person at a time. A Grand Cartographer keeps their position for only two years as the leader and overseer of the Navigator Guild. They make decisions that affect the entire guild, such as negotiations with other guilds, trading companies, and governments.

While they cannot overrule the decision of the Navigator Council on matters like curriculum, a Grand Cartographer’s word carries a lot of weight. The Grand Cartographer is selected by the Navigator Council from eligible Master Navigators in good standing. But, per guild law, once a Master Navigator has served as the Grand Cartographer, they aren’t eligible to serve again for another three years.

- Master Navigator. Members of this rank make up the bulk of most any Navigator met out in the world, especially as Privateers. Master Navigators are fully trained navigators, able to handle any type of voyage, no matter how risky. They also will take up roles as teachers to instruct Journey-pilots and sometimes Inkrunners. It’s not uncommon to see Master Navigators take up the trade of a Mapmonger as well.

- Journey-Pilot. Also known as Journeyman-Pilots, these are Inkrunners who have finished their apprenticeship and now work under the guidance of a Master Navigator. It’s uncommon, but not unheard of, for a Journey-Pilot to take on the job of a navigator for a ship or crew. Often, it’s more common that a Journey-Pilot accompanies their Master Navigator out into the world so they can continue their studies and gain real world experience.

They continue this training until they can prove their mastery over their skills to the satisfaction of their mentor. Often this is through a series of tests or trials designed by their Master Navigator to test their student’s abilities. Usually this takes place in ever increasingly difficult situations.

Once they pass the test, the Master Navigator sends word to the Navigator Council that the Journey-Pilot has qualified for the ranks of the Master Navigators. The Journey-Pilot is officially given the rank of Master Navigator during a ceremony held in the guildhall called ‘Walking the Map’.

- Inkrunner. The last and lowest rank are the Inkrunners. These are new apprentices who have joined the guild to learn the Navigator craft in the hope to become a Journey-Pilot and study with a mentor. As new students to the craft, they spend their days in intense study. It’s rare to see an Inkrunner out as a Navigator. If they are, it’s under the close watch of a Master Navigator for a specific purpose.

Each year, dozens of hopeful students enter the Navigator Guild with visions of being a Navigator. But not all pass the trials to become a Journey-Pilot. Some Inkrunners that fail are offered a chance at another guild that’s in good standing with the Navigators. Others simply leave out of frustration over the rigorous training, or are expelled for breaking the Navigator Guild’s strict rules of ethics.

Guiding Hearts and Minds

Along with ranks, there are the Navigator Guild’s departments. These are group that help guide the guild’s direction and shape its teaching curriculum for Inkrunners and Journey-Pilots in becoming Master Navigators.

- Guild Council. Composed of the Grand Cartographer and seven senior Master Navigators, this assembly oversees daily operations of the Navigator Guild. Also, when the need arises, they act as a legal court in matters of Navigators who act against the guild, its members, or guild law.

Commonly, these are cases of an actual crime, such as murder or theft. In those situations, a Wheelhunter brings before the council the accused. After which, the accused pleads their case to the Guild Council, while the appointed Wheelhunter acts on behalf of the Navigator Guild regarding the charges. The council will decide based on the answers if the accused should be stripped of guild rank and turned over to local authorities or not. If the council finds them innocent, a Wheelhunter is sent to defend the guild member in a local court of law or act as their second in a duel of honor.

- Wheelhunters. The infamous Wheelhunters are the small legal branch of the Navigator Guild. Each one is a Master Navigator in their own right, but they are also bounty hunters and lawyers as well. Wheelhunters are the enforcement arm of the Guild Council, tracking down errant Navigators as needed. They are sent to bring navigators back to the Council for judgment, or to help defend a navigator against any legal trouble they might have out in the world. It isn’t unheard of for a Wheelhunter to defend both a Navigator or their allies when the need arises.

- Mapmongers. They are the most well-known, and the most vital, group of the entire guild. Mapmongers are the guild’s caretakers, librarians, and instructors. They are Master Navigators that, either by choice or injury, remain at the guildhall to study and maintain maps or journals for the guild to use. Mapmongers create copies of these valuable journals and maps, then store the originals in locked vaults guarded by Wheelhunters.

As instructors, Mapmongers handle training all Inkrunners through their basic lessons from reading and writing, to mapmaking and simple Etherwave channeling. All the foundation skills necessary to progress through the guild ranks. Their duties also cover the final test all Inkrunners take to prove their skill to become a Journey-Pilot. Ones that succeed these ‘Ink Trials’ are given an engraved compass to mark the special moment. Rumor has is that these fine quality watches were designed for the guild to act as a compass as well.

It’s uncommon for Mapsmongers to venture out into the world away from their maps, books, and Inkrunner students. But it has happened. When it does, it’s often for a Mapmonger to investigate a rare map or navigation relic that can’t be moved from its original location. The other reason is to advise about a sensitive expedition to a dangerous location.

A Rising Power

The Navigator Guild is young, as most guilds measure time. But in just ten years, the guild grew from four determined navigators to several hundreds, with small guild halls scattered Portugal to the Caribbean and beyond. This has caught the attention of many governments, guilds, and kingdoms. Most of the attention has been favorable, and many approach the Navigator Guild for trade route advice or to consult on a dangerous expedition. Other attention aimed at the Navigator Guild has been less kind.

There are some that see the Navigator Guild as a threat. A rising power that could challenge long held monarchies or the iron grip of the Trade Guild Syndicate. The common claim is that the Navigator Guild hoards the most rare journals, logbooks, and maps for themselves. Then use them to hunt down and fill their own guild coffers with relics and other recovered valuables. One item drives this jealousy, the legendary Mistrunner Logs that supposedly detail the location of every Arcane Gate that exist on Earth and Otherworld.

It’s a common rumor they have maps and more the guild keeps to themselves. Notes on dangerous places that aren’t safe for the world to know about. At least, not yet… - Doctor Pedro Sangre, Alchemist and Privateer

Game Notes

Threat 3

Faction Contacts:

Obadiah Liggett. Human. Master Navigator with a talent for finding sunken ships or hard to find Arcane Gates.

Garnet Bronbur. Grimling. Always seems to have a smile and look on the bright side. Mapmonger with a talent for ‘Weatherbinding’. Some say she can speak with the Spirit of the Sea herself.

Jal’rek Klossuv. Morasu. Cartographer well steeped in the sea's lore and said to have a natural talent for working with Arcane Gates. Even to where some say the Gates obey his every command.

Notable Assets and Resources:

Extensive maps with notes concerning Otherworld ruins on Earth

Wheelhunters who will help allies deal with troubles both in and outside the courtroom.

Materials and supplies for repairing or crating a ship’s ‘portal platform’ that a navigator uses to open an Arcane Gate.

Allies:

Cogworks House

Kelstani, the Covenant of the Coast

Enemies:

Trade Guild Syndicate

Bonewright Order

----

Taglist: @thelaughingstag

[maytheoddshq]

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)

[uh--nope]

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

[findingjoynweirdstuff]

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!

[pyrajanison]

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!

[minervacasterly]

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

[redbeanboi]

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.”