#one rank one pension

[shalabhojha-blog]

OROP Final Table Released

One rank one pension final table released orop final table – OROP2 FINAL TABLE हुआ जारी ! orop2 latest news | one rank one pension #exservicemen #pensioners #jcos #OROP #dailynews #salaryincrease #retirementage #bigbreakingnews #govermentemployees #7thpaycommission #jwanokipensionband #ExArmySecurity #Bharti #Indianarmy

[redbean-nom]

Rebel Admirals Rex & Kalani from an au where the clone and droid rebellions were a bit more successful

Rex's fleet (rebel fleet Remembrance) - the whole 'ahsoka's not actually a jedi' thing worked and most of the 332nd got dechipped. (maul still escaped, but they managed to patch up the maul-damage before he got to the hyperdrive, so the Tribunal is mostly okay). the extra resources & manpower allowed the clone rebellion to operate on a much larger scale, and they eventually allied with pantora as a whole with the backing of senator chuchi. cody and later wolffe brought their imperial fleets to join the rebellion about a year later (after the chips started wearing off).

the fleet (one venator (the Tribunal), four star destroyers, associated clones, gunships, fighters, and tanks, plus a handful of stolen imperial walkers and shuttles) formally joined the rebel alliance around 10bby.

(rex got put in charge of the fleet because he's the least traumatized out of all the surviving officers. cody ran off to live with obi wan on tattooine.)

Kalani's fleet (rebel fleet Independence) - something happened and he and kraken managed to steal a chunk of dooku's ships (and later a good chunk of whatever was left of grievous' fleet on utapau) after his death. they essentially got lost in the chaos of o66, since the rest of the separatists thought they were deactivated after the shutdown order, and escaped with essentially a full separatist fleet. since they were active instead of stuck on agamar, kalani noticed that the leader of the empire happened to be the republic's supreme chancellor, and decided the empire was the new target of the CIS army. he later encountered the clone rebellion and decided that since the clones had effectively deserted the republic and were now fighting the empire, they were therefore allies.

the fleet (one dreadnought, three cruisers, one stolen imperial carrier, associated droids, fighters, transports, and tanks) formally allied with the rebel alliance around 10bby, with the backing of serenno and raxus secundus.

[reasonsforhope]

Less than three months after U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin and her colleagues launched an investigation into the four major American manufacturers of inhalers, three of the companies have relented, making commitments to cap costs for their inhalers at $35 for patients who now pay much more.

25 million Americans have asthma and 16 million Americans have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), meaning over 40 million Americans rely on inhalers to breathe.

Inhalers have been available since the 1950s, and most of the drugs they use have been on the market for more than 25 years.

According to a statement from the Wisconsin Senator’s office, inhaler manufacturers sell the exact same products at a much lower costs in other countries. One of AstraZeneca’s inhalers, Breztri Aerosphere, costs $645 in the U.S.—but just $49 in the UK. Inhalers made by Boehringer Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithKline, and Teva have similar disparities.

Baldwin and her Democratic colleagues—New Mexico Sen. Ben Ray Luján, Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey, and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders—pressured the companies to lower their prices by writing letters to GSK, Boehringer Ingelheim, Teva, and AstraZeneca requesting a variety of documents that show why such higher prices are charged in America compared to Europe.

As a ranking member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, Baldwin recently announced that as a result of the letters they had secured commitments from three of the four to lower the out-of-pocket costs of inhalers to a fixed $35.00 rate.

“For the millions of Americans who rely on inhalers to breathe, this news is a major step in the right direction as we work to lower costs and hold big drug companies accountable,” said Senator Baldwin.

A full list of the inhalers and associated drugs can be viewed here.

It’s the second time in the last year that pharmaceutical companies were forced to provide reasonable prices—after the cost of insulin was similarly capped successfully at $35 per month thanks to Congressional actions led by the White House.

-via Good News Network, March 25, 2024

[sailing-ever-west]

The thought just occurred to me that Belle-mere is 100% abandoned veteran representation. She was an active combat soldier for two years, nearly giving her life to serve the marines. She had an officer rank, and was a good, reliable fighter. Then she came back wounded, decided to retire and start a family, and got zero support. No pension, no nothing. She and the girls were poor to the point of starvation risk and Nami turned to stealing just to get one thing she liked. Arlong's price to let her and her daughters live was 200,000 beri, which sounds like a lot, but beri is closer to yen, basically worth less than a cent. Belle-mere had to give up her kids or her life over the lack of about $1,000, if that. And when she did die for it, she was buried in a pauper's grave and no one from the marines was even in contact enough to hear about it. Then when the marines do come? They accept Arlong's money. They never honor Belle-Mere's death or do anything to help her daughters. They dig up her tangerines and steal Nami's fortune when she's moments away from buying her freedom. Who knows if they ever even crossed her name out in their records? No freaking wonder Nami had no love for the marines despite her mom being one. They chewed Belle-mere up and spit her out.

[kryaaas]

Hello! Love your analysis on Jean, can you elaborate more on his ableism?

Oh boy, my favorite topic 

Jean at the end of the game makes a lot of ableist comments about Harry. The most obvious ones are about Harry’s addiction - *constantly* calling him a drunk at every chance he gets, and calling his previous attempts at recovery as “farce”.

Basically its “addiction/ relapse is one’s moral weakness” attitude that ignores the reality of the situation that recovery needs proper external support and health treatment, especially in the term of a long term use of both drugs and alcohol. Which it's clearly not something that RCM is willing or can provide

So Harry pretty much trapped in a eternal damnation where he needs substances to cope with his ruthless and taxing job but it also makes Harry more unstable and he needs to quit it but he can't quit because then how the fuck he is going to do his job and save people while experiencing bajillion side effects from withdrawal like pain, seizures, nausea, headaches so he relapses but that is also only further his ruining his body and mind and makes him dangerous to covers civilians and no fucking wonder Harry tells Jean that he wants to get worse because there is no way out for him out of this hell—

Khm. Where I was. Ah yes, Jean is really not trying to empathize with Harry or understand his circumstances. And this isn't even to say that Harry is not responsible for his actions or that Jean cant be angry but there is quite a difference between "calling out one's actions" and "shoving their addiction in their face all the time and reminding how irredeemable they are".

Another thing Jean loves to do is to dismiss Harry's amnesia and mental issues entirely. He doesn't miss a chance to discredit Harry wherever he can

When Trant is actually give an explanation to Harry's memory loss, Jean immediately dismisses them all - all in favour of his own narrative - that Harry is an insane psycho who somehow lies the entire with some kinda ulterior motives

"Teenage phyco" is so fucking funny btw... Jean really doesn't give less of a shit about 10 year difference or higher rank - he acts like some toxic mother who wants to kick her son out of the house for taking drugs xD  

What it makes funnier is that Jean clearly has some double standards when it comes to his own mental illness. Jean is “clinically depressed” while Harry is “insane”. Jean's mental illness is more "valid" because Jean "can keep his shit together" (apparently sitting in a wig and sungless and sulking is keeping his shit but. alright lol), unlike Harry whose disability makes him *disfunctional* (and obviously he doesnt deserve disability pension for this)

[ddarker-dreams]

pls. elaborate more to the mementos from yan genshin characters !!!! pls pls pls

the people have spoken . i'll go ahead and share some additional thoughts on this then.

albedo's sketches of you feel more candid in nature. they have this casual, day-to-day vibe, as if he were depicting snapshots of your life. you stretching with your shirt raising slightly to reveal your navel, how it'd look if you fell asleep at his desk, smiling softly with this gentle look in your eyes... he's essentially drawing his fantasies of you. for the time being, you have some 'reservations' about him, so this is the only way he can see a version of you that isn't glaring or spiteful. he keeps the art on rotation depending on the mood for the day. there's a sketch of you winking playfully for when his spirits are high, a sketch of your arms out to receive an embrace when his spirits are low, and many others.

kaveh basically draws reference sheets of you. there's your front facing view, side profile, and back, all faithfully recreated by his neat penmanship. naturally, he does this for every outfit he's ever seen you wearing. these sheets are hidden in a suitcase under his bed with a blanket placed on top. alhaitham will offhandedly mention that your pocket should've been a few inches higher and cause kaveh's soul to leave his body. he would've liked to have pictures of you to stare at, since that's the most accurate, but taking pictures of you from afar would be creepy. he can't have that! this method has got to be more socially acceptable... he thinks.

scaramouche secretly captured this one picture of you beneath a drizzle of sakura petals, your hand extending to catch one, this look of awe written over your countenance. he is obsessed with it. it's your expression he's particularly bewitched by — that's how he wants you to look at him. isn't he far prettier than a stupid little flower petal? he certainly thinks so. any unfortunate fatui underling who has stumbled upon their harbinger gazing softly at this picture goes missing under 'mysterious' circumstances. knocking is a vital skill to learn within the ranks if the fatui goons want to live long enough to see their pensions.

the person who accepted zhongli's commission to depict you is somewhat regretting their life decisions. zhongli is absolutely adamant on every single feature of yours being captured perfectly. he knows the shade of your hair under every possible lighting, the exact circumference of your pupils, how many eyelashes you have... he doesn't think it strange either. doesn't it make sense to have all this information on his dearly beloved memorized? the poor artist has to do multiple touchups to meet zhongli's strict standards. at least they're compensated well for their troubles.

[infernumequinomin]

"Kipperlily hates Riz because she's got a crush on him," this, "Kipperlily hates Riz because he somehow snubbed her," that... First of all, this boy imprinted instantly in a bully throwing him in a trash can thinking they could be friends, Riz wouldn't just forget someone he met in any sort of positive or negative way for zero reason. If they met, even if she didn't make a huge impression, Riz was SO desperate for companionship in Freshman year I don't think he'd have forgotten or ignored her.

I think a lot of people are forgetting the complexity of Riz's story as a poor kid who is of a "monster race" going to somewhere like Augefort through sheer working really fucking hard on the part of both him and his mom, and that they have explicitly in canon faced adversity both for their financial class and race. One of Riz's driving forces to do really well this year is so he can even GO to college. Sklonda EXPLICITLY lost her pension from YEARS of sleepless nights working as a detective and working her way up through the ranks this year (and I don't think it's something to overlook that Kipperlily's mom works as a county clerk and may have had some say there). I think Kipperlily may just be a graden variety privileged bigot who thinks some "gutter scum goblin shouldn't be in classes with normal people." And that a lot of her work with Jawbone has probably been unpacking these internalized biases.

Like, from the outside, the Bad Kids were ressurected by the principal the very first day of school, throwing the whole school into chaos and got DETENTION for it. Riz not only killed, but ATE the vice principal, after they defeated Kalvaxis! They were all on the verge of failing if they didn't complete their Sophmore year spring break project (it was 70% of their grade or some insane shit!), and while most of them may still have passed, Fig and Kristen DEFINITELY needed that credit and that is mentioned in the season, Adaine is insanely stressed about them completing their quest for "school credit".

If Kipperlily grew up rich and entitled, with all the biases about poor people that can grow (especially if her dad's real estate office owns Strong Arm Apts and she thinks of it as a slum, because it's kind of described as low income public housing lbr here) and saw that some lower class goblin was EATING PEOPLE after defeating them (you know, like a monster does, clearly not taking any time to understand his motivation OR culture), and getting preffered treatment because the principal just happened to LIKE HIM and his party (because they took the time to become closer to him over the years and Augefort clearly values students who will absolutely kick his teeth in bc adventurers are "insane violent psychopaths" citation: the Seven), and breezing through his classes without doing ANY of the work (because she doesn't SEE the work or the sleepless nights or all the stress he's taking on for others) it absolutely tracks for her to grow this huge chip on her shoulder about it and for it to reinforce these biases she may have already had about goblins and esp abt POOR goblins like Riz.

I don't think Riz did anything wrong. I think Kipperlily just has shit to fucking work thru in regards to how she views the kinds of people she doesn't know or has had no opportunity to associate with. Even among her party, they're all rich to middle class for the ones we know the class of. She's 17 and has a bunch of internalized biases, likely from her upper middle class upbringing, and major anger management issues. Idk it just makes sense to me. I met all kinds of girls like her in college who were type A to all shit who resented me for seeming to "have it easy" despite how hard my life should have been coming from a poorer background than them.

[the-starry-seas]

🖊️

When Obi-Wan dropped by on Kamino to check out those rumours of a clone army, those sneaky suckers grabbed some of his DNA. Just for funsies to play around with, y'know? They actually managed to get something useful out of it, and sent the samples to the Akranian facilties on Centax-2 to get the clone fully grown in a year.

The intent was to clone Jedi to make an army with superpowers. Of course, it didn't turn out that way, for reasons that nobody could figure out. They really thought they figured how to get that Jedi gene in there... Eh, oh well! Huck him in the ranks, he's CT-5775 now.

It was wildly freaky for Obi-Wan when the 212th got some new troops from Centax-2 and one of them was quite literally his clone. It was no secret amongst the Akranian clones themselves. They called our man Oxygen, short for O2, short for Obi-Wan 2.

For his part, Oxygen doesn't really have any intent to have anything to do with General Kenobi. They both have their roles in the war and Oxygen isn't really opposed to his. He's got no reason to pay attention to someone just because they share genetic material. All the other GAR clones share that, and most of them ignore each other, to some degree.

Obi-Wan has much different feelings on all this, and is doing his best to get Oxygen to pay attention to him. Maybe like him. Maybe call him 'dad'.

It's a strange time for all involved.

(You would not believe the look on Cody's face when Obi's mini-me popped up in full clone armour).

Eventually Obi-Wan's able to negotiate things with the GAR to get Oxygen released from the GAR. There's the little matter of "you stole my DNA to make a clone of me without my knowledge or consent, do you want me to sue you into the ground? also the security concerns about a regular soldier being able to access all my tech and files."

The Kaminoans regret not having kept Oxygen away from the general because apparently he has decided to go on the warpath about this. They give in because it's frankly easier than arguing with him, and also they don't really want to draw legal attention to their slave army. Surely it's no problem to let one clone have a pension and freedom to get this damn Jedi off their backs.

Oxygen gets to hang out with a bunch of Jedi who are trying to figure out what exactly he is. And also his genetic donor and his genetic donor's boyfriend. He would much rather go back to his planned life of being a soldier, but apparently everyone else has strong feelings about him dying on a battlefield. He's not sure what he thinks about that.

Thus begins a wartime family comedy with a precedent-setting case that helps the rest of the clones get their pensions and independence as well. Obi-Wan decides the responsible thing to do is to retire from the Jedi Order to be a proper father to Oxygen. Bail offers to let them move in on Alderaan. Cody goes along. It's not long before "genetic donor's boyfriend" turns into "dad's husband" turns into "dad". Cody is more pleased with this than he expected. Obi-Wan is just exactly as pleased as he expected.

[aedesluminis]

Most ridiculous thing Carnot has ever done?

Sorry for the late, dear Anon.

This took me a while to reply, since, during his life, Carnot had put himself in rather problematic situations, that led him to act in ways that can be considered embarrassing (1) by various people with different views. So it was hard for me to choose just one thing: a specific thing that he did, which might be seen as foolish and careless by someone, might not be viewed in the same way by another person.

I'm pretty sure that what I'm about to say has a chance to the considered ridiculous by many - if not all - here on Frevblr. I'm referring to the fact that he accepted the cross of Saint-Louis, becoming de facto a member - a knight to be more precise - of the homonymous order, just a few months before the trial of the king. I don't know for sure when exactly he received it, but it definitely happened in 1792, according to L'Histoire de l'ordre royal et militaire de Saint-Louis (p. 493-494).

The order of Saint-Louis was an ancient cavalry order founded in 1693 by Louis XIV, the "Sun King". Until the latter's death it was intended as a prestigious and profitable (2) reward for officers who had distinguished themselves through their feats, but in later years, it started to be treated as a decoration which officers eventually achieved. It's also important to point out that non-nobles could be admitted in the order and it was easier to join for engineering officers, like Carnot. Requirements were further lowered in a series of decrees by the Legislative Assembly and sanctioned by Louis XVI (3) and the order was eventually suppressed on 15 October 1792.

Personally, I find questionable the decision to receive such a reward, after the flight of Varennes, or worse after the 10 of August (again I don't know exactly when he was granted that). On one hand, I can understand the desire for prestige and the conspicuous pension he would have received, allowing him to retire in peace, as well as the fact that he grew up in a world, in which being a knight of Saint-Louis was seen as honorable and worthy of praise. On the other one, we are talking about something which was intrinsically part of an old oppressive system, that Carnot himself was contributing to reform; not to mention that the highest authority of that system and head of the order was found guilty of treason against his people at the time Carnot accepted the cross.

Notes

(1) I'm referring to things that revealed themselves to be embarrassing for him only, so nothing that caused harm to other people. Framing his responsibilities in the arrestation of the Babuovistes as ridiculous would be an euphemism if what I read from bits here and there is true.

(2) Members of the order of Saint-Louis were granted a special pension which added itself to that of the military rank at the time of retirement.

(3) For the decrees see A. Mazas, T. Anne, L'Histoire de l'ordre royal et militaire de Saint-Louis, Tome 2 (1860) (p. 502-504).

[cow-rants]

Fair warning: this post is in regards to the recent Assassin’s Creed: Shadows trailer. I will talk about my thoughts and feelings regarding race. Thank you.

I’ve been a massive fan of Assassin’s creed (AC) since I first saw my uncle playing it at 7 or 8 years old. I’m a massive history buff and the idea of being able to experience the past through the eyes of an ancestor is such a brilliant idea. Not mention the concept of a secret war being fought through out the centuries is always fun. But as of late, I haven’t been really excited for a new entry. Odyssey was the last game I really played and it was alright, but I’m personally not a huge fan of the new RPG mechanics (although I do understand why they were implemented).

Valhalla looked interesting, but didn’t really feel like an AC game to me. So I put it on my “to play later” list. Mirage looked far better and I definitely do want to play it, but I honestly just haven’t felt a super big pull to pick it up. But when I saw that AC was finally going to Japan, I was ecstatic. I adore Japanese history in general and the Sengoku period is full of interesting conflicts and characters that would fit perfectly with the assassin’s and the templars.

Although they went with some pretty standard people to showcase, such as Oda Nobunaga, I still think they have a chance to do something really interesting story wise (of course, reserve all real judgement for the gameplay reveal. But I’m mainly just talking about the story). Especially with the portrayal of Yasuke. From what I could tell, it seems like his story will be one of disillusionment, possibly betrayal, and redemption. Certainly a story we’ve seen before, but it’s still interesting to see Yasuke in something as big as AC.

Before I get into the more unfortunate discourse regarding Yasuke, I absolutely have to talk about Naoe. See, what caught my eye about her was how she and my OWN AC OC have very similar stories. Well, I don’t know for sure. But they certainly share a similar experience, which is watching their families be butchered by Oda Nobunaga’s armies. It’s not much, but by the gods does it make me pretty happy. My OC’s name is Minori Kishimoto and she’s one of my favorites, so seeing a canon character with some similar traits is kind of exciting for me (okay, very exciting).

Anyhow, back to Yasuke. As soon as I saw the trailer, I knew I was going to see people saying something stupid. So I checked both the comments on the video and twitter. And I was certainly not mistaken. So so so many bad takes and ridiculous arguments that, honestly, only go to show either mild racism or straight up hatred toward African people. Not to mention the fact that they completely ignore Naoe as a protagonist. I guess she must be the greatest assassin of all time.

From what I understand, a lot of people are upset that for a Japan centered AC game, there is a black protagonist. Which, again, ignores Naoe entirely. The biggest argument I have heared against Yasuke being one of the protagonists is that he wasn’t actually a samurai. To which I say: False. Incorrect. Mistaken. Wrong. Factually incorrect.

The primary issue here is the fact that many people refer to him as a retainer. A title that he never officially held, as far as I’m aware, but even so that still makes him Samurai! Looking just at the facts of his life, he was respected by arguably the most powerful Daimyo of that time, earned his trust, received a pension, received a sword, and received property. So then the question becomes: what exactly makes a person a samurai at this time? Because I can tell you one thing, it isn’t noble blood.

A peasant man was once hired by Nobunaga to do a multitude of tasks, one of which was to hold his sandals. This man would soon prove himself to be capable of all of his tasks as well as in the art of war. He would become a powerful man and rise through the ranks until he held the rank of Taiko at the end of his life . That man was Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

If Hideyoshi’s story proves one thing, it’s that at this time anyone could rise to become a daimyo. So then, why wouldn’t Yasuke also be considered a samurai? We’re not even trying to claim he was a daimyo, just that he was a samurai. Retainer, bodyguard, slave, whatever. The fact is that the man was 10000% a samurai and was a respected one at that. To claim otherwise is to prove yourself ignorant in the history you claim to be proficient in, and incompetent at backing up your argument.

Not to mention that from a writing point of view, it’s a brilliant move. Yasuke was not super well recorded and thus is relatively unknown to others. Which makes him perfect for being a:

1. Fish out of water character

2. Real person, that can be treated written like a fictional one

All of this to say, I think that this newest Assassin’s Creed has a chance to become one of my personal favorites. As well as putting the series back on the map for many. But, with no gameplay and an already worrying pre-order package, I’m worried to say the least. Only time will tell, but I look forward to it.

[themalhambird]

The world is not real: Charlotte cannot touch it. This -news-, this tragedy  is not real either, and it cannot touch her. There’s too much cotton in her ears, there’s an endless, keening chime slowly boring through her skull- in at one temple, out at the other- a continuous line, all the way through…

She is sitting on the sofa. There’s a cup and saucer cradled in her hands. She doesn’t remember picking it up, but the steam is ghosting over her face. It’s fresh. (Her husband is dead). Polly must have given it to her. (Her husband died at his own hand.) They have a visitor, she ought to be showing more hospitality. She wonders if there’s any of that fruitcake left. (Alfred confessed to murder. Alfred confessed to murder,  and then Alfred murdered himself)

“Mama?”

Polly’s voice, soft and tentative as it is, makes her jump. Tea sloshes, spills over, pools in the delicate saucer. She shakes herself and focuses her gaze on Sir Julian. “That’s not,” she tries, but the sound barely forms. Charlotte pauses, swallows, tries again. “That’s not right,” she says, unsure if she’s really addressing Sir Julian Harker or merely facing his direction whilst trying to bargain with a Higher Power. “That’s not- none of this is right, Alfred wouldn’t- he wouldn’t do any of it, any of this…” But he has. He has, he has, he has, and when he comes home she’s going to skin him alive. “What will we do?” she asks, as the first beginnings of fear worm their way through the numbness of shock. “The disgrace of it-”

“Mama!” Polly cries, indignant. “At this moment, of all moments, your thoughts cannot be of what other people will think- what does that matter, what do any of them matter!”

It matters because they have never been reckless with money, but savings will not last forever and Charlotte doesn’t know if the widows of Police Inspectors who confess to capital offences and then take their own lives qualify for any sort of pension. It matters because the disapprobation of society in any circumstances can be death by a thousand cuts, whereas the widow who has the sympathies of her community has a better chance at maintaining a somewhat genteel situation. It matters because the infamy of the father will cast a shadow over the life and the character of the daughter- the best chance for Polly, now, is marriage, but what respectable, decent man would want a father- in- law six feet deep in unconsecrated ground?

“Mrs Hillinghead,” Sir Julian says solemnly, “I wish to assure you that you and your daughter will have the fullness of my protection. The events of the last twenty four hours- they will not reflect on you, nor on your daughter. You have my word.”

She acknowledges his words without really understanding- it will not be until much later, lying in a too-empty bed and staring up at the ceiling, unable to sleep- that Charlotte will consider that Harker told Polly about Alfred’s death before he told her, that he stood as close to Polly’s chair as proprietary allows for, that he has seemed- these past few weeks- to admire Polly: her beauty, her music. And perhaps nothing will come of it but friendship- , but the friendship of a man that powerful is not an asset to be scorned. And if it turns into anything more…

They were nineteen, she and Alfred, when they married- they had been friends their whole lives before that. And she had known about him:  years before they had married, she had known that  his desires steered his eyes not towards the ranks of giggling, frivolous girls who batted their eyelashes at his well built figure and handsome face, but to other members of his own sex. And she had ignored it, because she knew him: he was too good a man to act on those desires. And he was kind, and gentle, and they were friends, and a husband who would be perfectly happy to conduct a marriage with minimal activity in the matrimonial bed suited Charlotte. She had courted him as much as he had courted her, really, although whether he ever realised that…

And he’s dead. Her best friend of nearly forty years. The murder confession, she has already written off- she neither knows nor cares about the details. If it was a false confession, then he confessed to try and protect someone- probably that journalist, given the confession it prompted to her, and she is furious at him. She is furious at him for not protecting his wife and child, and for not letting the journalist face whatever justice he merited- unless, of course, the man threatened to reveal Alfred’s inclinations, and take the Inspector who had detected his crimes down along with him. That seems, to Charlotte, the most likely explanation. And if the confession is- was- true, then Alfred must have had good reason for taking another man’s life: she has seen him carry spiders in the palm of his hand to release them outside, rather than squash them underfoot; she has listened to him vent his frustrations about officers being too heavy handed with their arrests at more dinners than she can remember. Taking another human life…it must have broken something in his mind, which would explain being in such a state that he would…. It does not matter. Alfred is dead, either way- she is a widow, either way. And she will encourage Julian Harker’s friendship, because if Polly can catch him she will have a comfortable home, and a husband who seems a good hearted and generous man. And she, Charlotte, will grieve Alfred Hillinghead. But if his death unravels into the scandal she fears, then she will take care to grieve him quietly. She will survive this. She has to. She has to survive this so that there’s someone who remembers that Alfred Hillinghead played cricket as a boy and took two sugars in his tea.

[racefortheironthrone]

Warhammer Gaslamp: Imperial Society

(For the Introduction, see here)

The State

In many ways, the Empire of Man in 2725 IC is scarcely recognizable compared to the rickety feudal monarchy of the 2500s. While the Grand Provinces still exist on paper, the vectors of power have transformed radically. In exchange for generous subsidies from the central government, seats in the Imperial Parliament's House of Nobles, and other privileges, the Elector Counts and the provincial nobility have ceded much of their de facto independence - such that it is now provincial law that must be approved by the Emperor's Prime Estates in Altdorf for harmony with Parliamentary law and Imperial regulation, not the other way around.

While the electoral franchise has been gradually extended to all adult men with an income of 12 marks (one for each of Sigmar's tribes), as well as veterans of all income levels, the Imperial Parliament's power of legislation and the purse is balanced by the immense state capacity of the Imperial Bureaucracy. A massive civil service of some 2 million public sector workers who answer to the Emperor and his Chancellor (who also serves as the Chairman of the Council of Ministries) the Imperial Bureaucracy is fanatically meritocratic and even though the sons of the elite are disproportionally represented (especially in the top ranks), mere birth and privilege are not enough to succeed in government. Even the bluest of bloods must still pass the draconian Entrance Exams and follow those up with a strong record of Yearly Performance Assessments in order to survive the political knifefighting and rise through the ranks.

In addition to the General Staff of the Imperial Armed Forces, the Treasury Ministry, and the Ministry of Industry and Public Works, one of the most influential of the Ministries is the Health Ministry. Emerging out of a longstanding compromise between the Farmer-Artisan Party and the Patriotic Party, the Health Ministry is in charge of the Sozialversicherung Gemeinschaft, which provides modest old age, widows and orphans, disability, and kurzarbeit pensions to all citizens of the Empire...as long as they give yearly blood samples to the Imperial Plasmic Survey. The Survey tests tens of millions of samples for signs of epidemic, industrial, environmental diseases, and malnuitrition, which it uses to triage people into Imperial Hospitals and District Health Centers.

Secretly, the Imperial Plasmic Survey also tests citizens for were-Beastmanism and other forms of mutancy, and signs of vampirism and vampiric transfusion (and increasingly less commonly, unlicensed witchcraft). The Health Ministry then passes on the information of anyone who fails their tests to the Schwarzmänner - the secret police descended from the Ancient Initiatic and Holy Order of the Templars of Sigmar - who will hunt you down like the dog you are.

The only way for one of the "Untervolk" to escape the hunt is to flee into the sewers, subway tunnels, and ancient sub-sub-sub basement communities known as the Undercities, where they fight a desperate war for survival (and food) against the Skaven.

The Church(es)

In the last two hundred years, most of the Imperial Cults have fallen under the benevolent paternalism of the Church of Sigmar; while Morr, Verena, Shallya, Myrmidia, Taal, Rhya, Mananna, and the like are honored by those who have need of their services, their clergy are largely dependent on the Church of Sigmar for their financial livelihood.

As I have already mentioned, the Church of Sigmar is increasingly polarized between the Orthodox Volkmarites and Radical Hussites. Socially conservative and stronger in the north and west of the Empire, especially among the bourgeoisie, nobility, and larger farmers, the Orthodox Volkmarites believe strongly in obedience to authority. In their doctrine, Sigmar's Plan has predetermined for every person in the Empire their proper place on the Great Chain of Being, and Sigmar does not make mistakes.

By contrast, the Radical Hussites are stronger among workers, agricultural laborers, and small farmers in the south and east of the Empire. The Hussites believe that "the Strength of Sigmar is in the People," and that all believers stand equal in the ranks of His Army. Moreover, Hussites believe in "Strength Through Progress," that in order to be strong, the Empire must constantly reform itself to meet the crisis of the day. Proof of the righteousness of their beliefs is to be found in the Avatars of Sigmar, who are continually born into the world to serve as the Messiahs of the People, and show them the new path – Valten the Martyr being the most famous of these Avatars. Hussites await the coming of a New Avatar of Sigmar in the coming Time of the Comet.

While most of the conflict between Volkmarite and Hussite are carried out in pulpits and Church councils, both factions also recruit and sponsor Hammermen, the modern descendants of the Warrior Priests of old, who still carry two-handed warhammers as symbols of their faith, although they have long since traded red robes for long Army-surplus greatcoats. Among the common people, the Hammermen are seen as incorruptible tribunes who will see that justice is done in all those cases that the Reichspoletzei don't consider worth their time, but they are equally likely to turn their warhammers on their rivals.

In recent decades, the religious status quo has been violently disrupted by the Neo-Ulricanism of Nietzsche Zarathustein. Growing ever stronger in the North, especially around New Middenheim-Ulricberg, Neo-Ulricanism emphasizes the need for the individual to move beyond conventional social authority and become independent moral agents in the world by continually testing their strength against the darkness. As Zarathustein writes in Man unt Wulf-Man, “he who wars against the abyss shall never fall into the abyss.”

Institutions of Learning

In addition to the Imperial War Academy and the various State Universities, the Imperial University of Neüscience and Techno-Sorcery bears particular mention, as it is the institution whose Technomancers have given the Empire the upper hand in economic development and mechanized warfare. When the winds of the Aethyr shifted westward starting in 2594, gradually bypassing the Old World and drawn across the Great Sea to the "gulf stream" effect of the Vortex of Ulthuan, magic began to weaken on the Continent, even as a new breed of super-engineers began to produce inventions and discoveries once only possible through sorcery.

While initially denounced by the Colleges of Magic and rigorously investigated by the Schwarzmänner, the Technomancers were vindicated by the fact that repeated tests done by the Imperial Plasmic Survey demonstrated not even latent aptitudes for witchcraft. Under pressure from the Emperor and the General Staff, and with the strong patronage of the Monopolhauses, the Imperial Colleges of Magic, the University of Altdorf, the Nuln College of Engineering, the Imperial Gunnery School, and the University of Nuln were merged into the Imperial University of Neüscience and Techno-Sorcery (known better as the “Exploding University”), with rival campuses in Altdorf (specializing in theoretical neüscience) and Nuln (specializing in applied neüscience).

The common people of Altdorf and Nuln would be more outraged by the dangerously weird and weirdly dangerous experimental research perpetrated by the faculty and student body alike, if the University wasn't such a boon to the local construction, manufacturing, and sanitation industries. As it is, they only storm the campuses with torches and bricks when the University forgets to pay its parking tickets, or when the wrong team wins the University Blood Bowl Cup.

[idolbound]

Modern Verse Timeline

1967:

Meredith is born in London, England, to Bernard and Maighread Stannard, 7 years after her older sister Amelia.

1972:

The Stannard family is murdered by one of Amelia's school teachers. He fostered a relationship with the vulnerable 12 year old Amelia by manipulating her into believing he could be trusted; he gained access to the home by asking her to let him in. During this incident, their next door neighbour, Officer Wentworth Kell heard the disturbance and entered the Stannard residence. Unfortunately, he was too late to save Amelia (who had tried to stop the assailant), but he was able to apprehend the man before he found Meredith. Subsequently, after making a call to the police and handling the aftermath, wee Meredith refused to leave Wentworth's side; with no other family on record, he decided to pursue the adoption process, officially becoming her adoptive father only weeks after the murders.

1973-1985:

For the next 12 years, young Meredith harbors the trauma of what she witnessed as a girl. Wentworth does his best to raise her to be well-adjusted, given the circumstances. He gets her involved in extracurricular activities like rugby (which, women's clubs were just beginning to form at this time in the U.K.), and by the time she's ready to take her final exams at high school, she had already decided to pursue a military career much like Wentworth did before 'retiring' into policing.

1986:

However, in this time frame, Wentworth's years-long symptoms of forgetfulness and cognitive impairment (which had led to his early retirement from policing) ramp up quite quickly, and he becomes diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Meredith manages to finish school and graduate with high grades, but she does not yet pursue her enlistment in order to take care of her adoptive father.

1987:

Wentworth eventually passes a year later; fortunately, with changes in U.K. police legislation, officers both active and retired who passed away could leave their pensions to their surviving loved ones. As a young 20 year old with no family left in her life, she enlists with the British Armed Forces, beginning her military career with the intention to rise through the ranks, despite being at a disadvantage in such a male-dominated field.

1990-1991:

With rising tensions abroad, Meredith is deployed in one of the first units to have women in active combat roles, seeing live combat in the Gulf War.

1995:

After 2 consecutive terms, Meredith retires from the military, deciding to take up a career in law enforcement in London like Wentworth did. She starts off as a beat cop but desires to become a detective eventually.

2002:

After 30 years, the Stannard Family killer is released on 'good' behaviour; it makes the news, and it sends Meredith spiraling. She believes there had to have been corruption behind bars that led to a deal being made. This eventually leads her to being put on "leave" from active duty, but in the meantime, she decides to quit the police force, sell Wentworth's house, and moves to Scotland. She does this in order to pursue a career in Corrections, seeking to climb the career ladder to one day become the Prison Warden of Kirkwall Penitentiary, with the intention of both implementing strict regulatory policies and harsh punishments within the prison, as well as using her access to the judicial system in order to keep tabs on the status of her family's killer. She holds this desire because she wishes that no one else should experience seeing their loved ones' murderers/rapists/etc. be set free on "good" behaviour. She is a staunch believer in corporal punishment.

2004:

After a couple years as a corrections officer, the board sends Meredith along with a few others to attend a Prison Security conference in New York City, USA. It is the first time she has left the U.K., and their hotel rooms and meals are all paid for through their work, allowing her to learn American methods and to socialize with others there. However, on the first night, Meredith decides to go out to a local club and it is here that she first meets Amelia Comstock ( @sanctamater ). They two very much hit it off and return to Meredith's hotel room to hook up. It goes so well that they call each other the next day and decide, after the conference concludes, to go out to dinner, and spend the night together again, as well as Sunday, ordering in room service for all their meals, having gratuitous sex in between. Meredith's flight leaves the following Monday night, but within the week, they are calling each other, and desire to see one another again. This continues for weeks into months, with Amelia being able to easily afford the time and trips to visit Meredith. In the time in between visits, Meredith falls into an old habit, getting with a friend with benefits (Constable Anne S. Jackson, a police colleague of Meredith's and resident corrupt cop), only to realize she has deep feelings for Amelia, and that even this casual endeavor did nothing for her, deciding that she wants to make it work with Amelia, whatever it may look like as a distanced couple.

2008:

4 years into their relationship of going back and forth (including a time when Amelia and her young daughter Liz came to live in Kirkwall on her own for a few months to be near Meredith), Amelia prompts a streak of jealousy which finally pushes Meredith to purchase a ring and propose, (pushing past her repressed Catholic ideology). Amelia accepts.

2009:

A year later in the winter time, Meredith and Amelia legally enter a Civil Partnership in Scotland, as gay marriage did not become legal until 2014. For them, it was not so much about the law as it was the symbolism of recognizing their relationship as legally binding. In this time, Amelia expresses the desire to have another child, and they agree to have children through IVF using donor sperm and fertilized eggs from Meredith, implanted in Amelia to be the childbearing parent. The timing of this process works well as it just became legal for lesbian couples to get access to IVF treatments via the NHS by November of '09.

2011:

By early 2011, Meredith and Amelia give birth to fraternal twin daughters. Margaret Isobel Stannard and Johanna Siobhan Stannard are born, healthy and well. Meredith takes maternity leave for the first year of her daughters' lives. When she returns to work, she receives a promotion to Prison Warden, invoking new responsibilities at the Penitentiary and a much bigger paycheque. She runs the prison much like the military, following strict regulations and laws, and cracking down on contraband and illicit dealings within its walls. The prison soon earns the nickname The Gallows, as often, many prisoners feel that their time there is so horrific and cruel, that they would rather take their own lives rather than continue to live under the same conditions for the rest of their sentences. This repeated problem begins to arouse the interest of a few detectives back at the Scotland Yard who knew Meredith when she was an officer, wondering if they have a case to investigate for cruel and unjust punishment. The Penitentiary goes under a few inquiries and investigations with Meredith at the helm, but each time they try to find evidence of her practices (e.g., violent interrogations, undue punishments for bad behaviour, corruption at the administrative level, etc.), they seem to come up shorthanded with nothing really to persecute her without the case being thrown out by the judge.

2015:

It is at this time that Meredith and Amelia begin the process of moving to the United States permanently. It is not a decision that comes easily, but one Meredith is willing to do now that Maggie and Anna are nearing school age, and she herself has saved up a lot of funds. Throughout the year, Amelia has most of their things sent stateside, and starts adjusting the twins to attend school by September in the U.S. With this in mind, Meredith tenders her resignation to complete by the end of the year, December 31st. In the meanwhile, Meredith plans to to visit Amelia, Liz, Maggie, and Anna during holidays. However, news breaks that a local London family has been murdered, and while full case details are not provided to the general public, Meredith's friend Anne feeds her information because the killer appears to have the same M.O. as the man who killed the Stannard family (grooming one of the teenagers, gaining access, killing all of them using that trust). This sets Meredith on an spiral once again, fueling an unhealthy obsession trying to link her family's killer to the case. With Anne, they begin to look through the details and piece it together in their off duty time. At this time, Meredith isn't sleeping well, and she picks up her old cocaine habit out of stress. She is distracted and doing poorly at work. Her mind is obsessed with this new case. She also ends up using the resources available to her as the Warden to get a most recent known location of the man that killed her family through the parole system, and with the acquired insider details from Anne, gets confirmation that police suspect it is the same killer responsible for both families' deaths. In the interim, she visits Amelia and the children for American Thanksgiving, but it is noticeable that something isn't quite right with her. Amelia does not say anything, and Meredith returns to Kirkwall after a 5 day trip. It is in this time, that she creates a meticulous plan of operation for premeditated murder; she intends to go to London in advance to lure the man into a false sense of safety to then kill him in time to leave the country on her already-booked one-way flight to the United States. However, after locating the man and instigating a fake flirtation at a local pub to convince him to take her home, Meredith's confidence wavers; it ends up going a lot messier than she’d planned - both out of a revenge-filled rage and being high on a lot of cocaine. She does her best to clean and remove any trace of blood, and in her panic calls Anne to help her. Together, they end up ditching the weighted body in the river before Anne drives Meredith straight to Heathrow to board her scheduled flight In this time, however, she has had her phone turned off for the past 72 hours, leaving Amelia to be calling and texting with no answer. She calls to put out a wellness check on Meredith at their home in Kirkwall. However, when Meredith lands stateside on New Year's Eve, she turns on her phone and receives all these messages, but does not answer them. Instead, she takes the next cab to their NYC brownstone home, finally meeting an exasperated Amelia, asking to put their daughters to bed because they need to talk. Much of the conversation is hushed, spoken out on the balcony in the snow. Immediately, Amelia asks who knows, and Meredith confides that her old friend Anne is in on it. Creatively, Amelia plans a strong alibi, provided that Anne will cover her -- she suggests that Meredith was having a 3-day long affair with Anne, for old time's sake before moving away to the US permanently. They get Anne to agree to testify to that story, but still invest in hiring a powerful lawyer to handle the eventual case. Meredith ends up being cleared as a potential suspect as there isn't enough evidence to convict, and her alibi with Anne is firm, given their past relationship.

2016 to Present:

After settling in New York, Meredith and Amelia focus on raising their daughters together, while maintaining their long-term relationship. When gay marriage becomes legal in the U.S., they officially get 'married', and both women hold dual US/UK citizenships. While with Amelia's money, they do not have to work, but Meredith chooses to, pursuing her corrections career in an American setting, getting into the management of a high security prison. Amelia eventually expresses interest in pursuing politics and Meredith quits to support her wife.

Some headcanons of note:

As a young girl, Wentworth brings Meredith into the Catholic church with him (especially as her mother Maighread was an Irish Catholic as well) - which, of course, at the time in England, still had a bit of lingering anti-Catholic sentiments in its own context as well as in the context of 'The Troubles' in Northern Ireland. However, this had Wentworth instilling a strong sense of faith in Meredith at a young, impressionable age, which she still very much carries with her to this day, going to church every Sunday.

In her teens, Meredith became well aware of her attraction to other girls. While her friends were busy being 'boy crazy' and dating, she had no interest. In this way, she used her faith as a cover (she was just a good Catholic, and would be saving herself for marriage as an adult). That said, she did have a very homoerotic relationship with a close friend that, unfortunately, never came to fruition and Meredith was preoccupied with Wentworth's declining health, and then enlisted in the military. Which, eventually, she met another lesbian who wasn't exactly out when in the military (especially since the U.K. military had anti-homosexuality laws in place for its army until 2000), but had a first relationship with this woman when they were off duty and keeping it a secret for the many months they were together.

Meredith has dealt with a lot of repression and Catholic guilt about her sexuality, but given that she has no family or ties to anyone important, she also has no one to judge what she does behind closed doors, eventually coming to accept herself but keeping her personal life extremely private.

With the money she inherited from Wentworth's account and his pension, along with her own income, Meredith was able to sell the house and put a payment down on a secluded home in the rural area outside of Kirkwall, commuting to work as the Prison Warden. She prefers to drive a 4 door Mercedes-Benz sedan with tinted windows and drives it standard/manual.

Meredith's house is a fair size, with dark colour themes and wood furniture and hardwood flooring, with marble tiles in bathrooms and the kitchen. She collects classic literature and history texts, and spends much of her time in her office when she is not working. There are lots of trees around her property, and the house is almost a quarter mile back from the road.

Meredith boards her grey mare at a local stable and rides her a few times a week. She once thought of competing in hunter-jumper events, but with previous injuries and an ageing body, she prefers to go for solo trail rides for a couple hours on weekends, and otherwise working her horse to keep her in shape during the week.

Meredith has PTSD from both her childhood trauma as well as her stint in the military; she is not in therapy (and she should be).

Meredith is also addicted to cocaine, using frequently throughout the workday when stressed and dealing with a lot of problems. (She can often be found doing a line off the counter in her personal office bathroom). This is mainly the cause of her erratic behaviour as of late, though stress and paranoia are additional factors.

She keeps a childhood picture of herself and her sister Amelia on her desk; it is one of her most prized possessions.

Cullen is her second-in-command at work, but they also have a more personal relationship outside of it (well it started when she asked for his help outside of work hours and then they've become weirdly friends but also he's like a pseudo-son and she invites him along to events sometimes).

Orsino is a social worker with the NHS who stands to help and represent the prisoners and is a constant thorn in Meredith's side.

Meredith tends to dress in classy business wear, preferring pantsuits and jackets with heels most days, though sometimes a blouse and pencil skirt. She seldom wears jeans or casual clothing outside of the house.

[lira456]

Naruto failure of hokage in every front like his ancestors

Many things needed fair conclusions which were overlooked so what naruto did what kind of reform he enforced regarding clan laws and treatments because of uchiha tragedy, regarding reformation of child soldiers and anbu matters becuase of rin and itachi, regarding reforming continental laws and regulation if invasion of small coutries and villages happening and their rebuilding and reparation because of wrongdoings 5 NATIONS AND KAGE have caused in the past,

also how he gonna bind all shinobi villages and even countries in the mutual trust and common ground so that nothing unlawful conclusion happen like that of shikimaru shinden and who gonna maintain or correct it in future that's why you need solid effective laws that equally and equitably benefit and treat and question everyone( author only just blink of some years bring phone,computer and video games but still maintains feudal sytem does not have international laws we have under UN so that no one can easily go to war even israelis are condemned against by UN but in naruto we don't have any such organization,laws,platform for time to time problem which can connect all shinobi countries and villages on the continent, even villages can not oppose their daimyo's order meaning they have no alternative source of income so naruto did not find another way for complete econmical survival without shinobi missions on 80 percent level such as using chakra and exporting chakra tech not for warfare especially and chakra natures lol feels like he still wants to maintain system in 60 percent ground: pure bad writing to continue boruto),

also what about orphanage system for other villages especially orphan from small villages or destructive land or from remote area like that of ryogi and kabuto and kara children and ame child how did not naruto send no shadow clone or shinobi for such purpose as he always preach about how he understand everyone's pain so called messiah or any welfare like system for poor shinobi from impoverished village shinobi or even his own village especially their widows and orphans did not shown or pension like something for shinobi especially who lost their body parts such as guy or some especial payment for shinobi like kawaki's father and give him alternative employment becuase of being war hero could have saved kawaki feels like villages abandoned many remaining shinobi or why not give them alternative employment because of their past service (just simply dispose of them if they lost value so cruel, just how pain said), by checking all the shinobi they could have but becuase they don't have correct and effective database like system even without tech that's how inaffective their shinobi system is because it's only focus on deciphering stupid message that would do no good for average shinobi and their family, collect tax from people building hiring,build some stupid building, maintain shinobi academy and its doctrination and missions and ranks and secret non transparent scheme meaning they don't have any citizen or shinobi benefit only jonin and upper echelon have that luxury even nothing special fund for orphan that's why ryogi doest not send to kabuto nothing specific, only all connected to glrifying and worshipping their anscestor that's why they don't have effective database maintained because of that after the war they lost track many shinobi and who knows how their family survived not shown not even regarding the other villages saddening, also about their individual desire or dream for that can they stop being shinobi suddenly or leave the village, did not shown regarding such issues especially how they panicked when mitsuki left and send their kids to die really sad.

it seems they even don't have unique trade that could connect all in a way that not one can lie or go to war meaning kakashi did not create any trade system only how they can rebuild and maintain ninja system which was in threat because lack of manpower(losing most of the shinobi in the war) meaning focused mostly making buildings,transportation,long distant upgraded message device and sharing shinobi missions with other villages, so kakashi did not change any political,children curriculam,ideological and law related issues in the village, naruto not even focused on changing of dangerous social struture in kiri village and lack of resources problem in iwa country and village, even we did not see how sand village's lack of resouce problem and how they solved it under gaara, really half baked, so many things overlooked,

so even did not even focus on what law or regulation he would establish to maintain clan's inner environment and conflicts becuase hyuga slavery( ther are maybe no large clans left in konoha anymore because in boruto we never see any clan meeting like that of hyuga or many clan fighting together like sarutobi and akimichi only showed some yamanaka power but not said whether they are members of yamanaka or not that's likely most died in the war, ony maybe at bare minimum members around 20 to 30 and they maintain no more clan positive harmonious tradition like clan meeting and practice just stop the heritage as we are not shown, meaning some cultural genocide, naruto as hokage could have celebrated each clan's power as culture festival making it show in public like we see chinese,european cultures etc. in many carnival and festival, in this way he could have connected and create harmony and pleasure for these lost heritage clans because naruto was suppose to be a hope that connect people it seems he has forgotten his own theme in boruto cooperation through understanding and sharing pain lol he is not doing that kind of effort to maintain harmony,peace and love among village,clan and outsider instead he is busy in collecting more power and benefit from amado and eida and katasuke and even from kawaki, that's strategic why both kawaki and boruto remained in konoha and not in other village, so much for mutual trust lol.

This is why naruto as a hokage and MC is complete bulshite and loser especially kishimoto's false half baked writing surrounding lack of insight of political atmosphere felt so underserving and hypocritical because i felt so much ideological and behavioral difference between zabusa arc naruto and ending &boruto naruto, really dissapointing.

[skellyflowers]

Royal Ball

Masterlist

Vessel x reader

Sleep will be referred to as “Queen Jeinnv” 

Vessel will be referred to as “Prince Adrian”

II will be referred to as “Prince Roddric”

III will be referred to as “Dilan, Duke of Elderstock”

IV will be referred to as “ Edgard, Duke of Haverlem”

We were a noble family. Not very high ranked but still we are part of the nobility. My father is known as the “New Money Baron'' by other noble families. My father was given his new title directly by Her Majesty Queen Jeinnv. For his diligent work in The Litchgrave Botanical Garden, Her Majesty’s private gardens. My father was able to save the Queen’s favorite Wisteria tree grove from root rot. After rescuing the trees She named my father Baron of Hazelvale.

The new position gave my father a pension, a manor house and full time staff. It was like a dream come true. I was no longer the middle daughter of a gardener, I was the middle daughter of a Baron. My mother wasted no time getting all manner of tutors, instructors and seamstress for me, my two sisters and my two brothers. We were to be educated and dressed like the family of a Baron. 

All of my siblings had found a niche. Both of my brothers, Alfred and Andrew, were excellent at horse riding and hunting. My eldest sister Quinn was as graceful as a swan when she danced. My younger sister Maddie was the next great poet of our time. I had found my love of the piano and reading. And my mother was glad to have someone to watch the twins Thomas and Alice. They're only 10 years old.

It had only been a month of being named Baron before an invitation from the Queen arrived at our front door. It was an invitation to a ball to celebrate Prince Adrian’s birthday. The ball will be in two weeks under the full moon. All members of the nobility were invited and the high ranking lords.

After my father read the invitation out loud my mother set off to find the greatest dance instructors and dressmakers in the whole kingdom. For me and my siblings each day for the next two weeks would be spent being fitted for clothes, learning to waltz, the rules of fine dining or sleeping.

When the actual night of the ball came the house was a frenzy of activity. The staff were helping in every way they could. They were helping us dress, fixing our hair, applying makeup and getting the carriage ready.

“Mother, is all of this really needed?” Asked Quinn. All three of us are in floor length gowns, opera gloves and corsets. Quinn is in a champagne dress, Maddie in sky blue and my dress is lilac. “We are going to a masked ball after all.”

“My children will be the envy of everyone at the ball.” Mother declared. “This night is not just about dressing up and having fun. It is your debut in society and a chance for all of you to make powerful connections.”

“Mommy we want to go too!” cried Alice.

“When you're older and ready to climb the ladder of society my little loves. Tonight is about your brothers and sisters.”

“Your mother is right.” said my father as we walked into the main entryway. “I have it on good authority that the Queen is using the ball to find wives for Prince Adrian and Prince Roddric.” We all fall quiet as the father continues. “I also know that Her Majesty has invited some foreign nobility too.”

I breakout in a cold sweat. I can’t help the sudden feeling of dread. My sisters have always been social butterflies. And now hearing how much is riding on tonight makes me think I am going to be sick. Maddie noticed my slow building panic and put her hand in mine. I take a slow deep breath.

“Your carriage is ready Baron.”  called one of the staff members.

“Excellent! Let us head off family.”

And with that declaration my parents, brothers, sisters and I head off to the ball. We say goodbye and good night to Alice, who is still pouting, and Thomas who is nearly asleep. As the carriage pulls away from the manor I can't help but to think about how much my life has changed. I’m on my way to a Royal Ball.