#trophy exporter

[rottenpumpkin13]

GENESIS RHAPSODOS HEADCANONS

[these are my headcanons, meaning the way I view him in my head and may not follow popular fanon]

↘︎ Genesis was trained in fencing as a child. This was his introduction to sword-fighting and what ignited his proficiency in swordsmanship—of course this is also the root cause of why his sword is modeled after a rapier.

↘︎ He was obligated to study Latin, old Banoran, and Mideelese when he was a boy and is proficient in all three, though sadly not completely fluent in any.

↘︎ He has a golden singing voice and makes sure everybody knows. He had started learning to play the piano as a young boy but that was cut short when he enlisted in the army.

↘︎ He still has his favorite stuffed animal from childhood, a plush phoenix named Braeburn. It’s a little worn and its fabric is matted but it’s still locked away somewhere in his closet

↘︎ Genesis is a total apple snob, frequently being rather arrogant in his opinions—e.g.: he thinks gala apples are atrocious.

↘︎ He claims to only listen to classical pieces and musical soundtracks, but anyone who knows him IRL knows how big of a lie that is. Genesis is obsessed with the band LOVELESS and can turn into a complete metalhead when he’s in a fiery mood. He’s also big into trashy pop music. Big.

↘︎ His childhood endeavors included participating in musicals and other performances, seeing as he did theatre in late childhood. He was also encouraged by his parents to enter various competitions. The trophies can still be found on his desk in the Banora mines.

↘︎ As I kind of teased here, Genesis’s parents are—contrary to popular belief—pretty decent people. Angeal would describe them as ‘eccentric rich people’ while Genesis would regard them as having no filter whatsoever. They’re Genesis’s #1 fans and love to boast about his achievements.

↘︎ Genesis’s mother and Gillian call him Genny, and he endures it seething with rage.

↘︎ Genesis’s relationship with his parents became strained in his teen years but mellowed out once he reached adulthood. His parents are the primary Banora White and Banora White juice exporters in Banora.

↘︎ Genesis can cook. How did he learn? By spending too much time around Gillian Hewley as a child, leading him to pick up the basics. And of course, he’s a big reader so he can follow a recipe—oftentimes challenging himself to cook complicated dishes. Genesis can bake, although he rarely has the patience to, and his specialties include Banora White apple pie and apple tart.

↘︎ Amongst his many pet peeves, his primary ones include seeing his name misspelled and not being the center of attention

↘︎ He’s sometimes invited to model and do photo ops for famous designers, something he’s immensely praised for due to his attractive features.

↘︎ Genesis isn’t scared of insects and certain animals like rats, so much as he’s grossed out by them. Having said that, he will scream.

↘︎ People who’ve met him say he smells like apples, cinnamon, and expensive cologne

↘︎ He’s a social butterfly and has friends in multiple departments at ShinRa. He often uses this as a ruse to get out of doing work. Lazard is tired of sending awkward 3rd classes to go fetch Genesis from the General Affairs floor, where they find him gossiping. Needless to say, his eternal best friends are Angeal and Sephiroth.

↘︎ Genesis also has many friends in the theatre industry and regularly supports smaller shows, and sometimes appears on podcasts.

↘︎ As much as he and Sephiroth fight and argue, they both know it’s purely for entertainment and would never deliberately hurt each other. Angeal gets a kick out of making them hug it out after every argument

↘︎ Genesis would never openly admit the jealousy and resentment he harbors toward Sephiroth, but he would also never reveal the respect he has for him. Genesis loves to buy Sephiroth childish knick-knacks, candy, and other stuff he knows Sephiroth never got to experience.

↘︎ Genesis himself has no filter and will openly insult and demean people in the name of being “honest.” He’s also a serial gossiper and will even go out of his way to create rumors to feed the mill at ShinRa.

↘︎ His first kiss was with a girl from Banora village. He kissed her under the large Dumbapple tree on his family’s property. Afterward, he got curious and kissed her twin brother in the very same spot.

↘︎ He avoids the sun like the plague in the summer for fear of his freckles resurfacing.

↘︎ He has a series of writing WIPs he never finishes and never will finish due to his dissatisfaction with his own writing.

↘︎ He refers to Angeal and Sephiroth as Angela and Sophia for laughs. He shuts up quickly when they call him Genevieve though.

↘︎ If you see him wearing sunglasses at 7 AM indoors, there’s a 97.8% chance he’s hiding the dark circles he acquired after staying up the whole night reading. Bonus points if he has overpriced coffee in his hands.

↘︎ He’s actually fiercely protective over Zack and Cloud, who he affectionately calls Puppy and Baby Chocobo. He would never admit this, of course, and whenever he sees the pair he goes “Oh, Goddess, the children are here.”

↘︎ Contrary to popular belief, he does hand in his paperwork and mission reports on time. Goddess forbid he’s outbested by Sephiroth in that department and seen as anything other than the perfect SOLDIER.

[harrowedsoup]

Does Gideon even know how to use money. Like I’m pretty sure money isn’t really a thing in the houses but Harrow at least has to deal with the supply lines in supporting the Ninth. (Which like. If the Ninth is poor and isn’t exporting anything is the amount of imports they do get like… welfare?)

Gideon just trains, she doesn’t really have a job. I’m assuming she gets fed separately (I honestly think she thinks she steals it but Harrow knows about but leaves it alone so Gideon won’t cause trouble during meal times) All of her things are secondhand so she’s not buying anything.

Gideon trophy wife confirmed. 

[sprintingowl]

Writing Your First TTRPG

So you want to write your first TTRPG system.

A short thread.

First, you should know that you don't have to make your TTRPG from scratch.

You can always use Mork Borg or Fate or PbtA or Trophy or any other system that supports third party content.

Systems like Caltrop Core even come with tutorial material for how to write your game.

But let's say you don't want any guardrails. You want to make the whole thing yourself. Here's how to do that.

To start, zero in on what your system's about.

Don't worry about genre or style, just find something you think would be fun to tell stories about. Dinosaur bikers. Astronauts in a lover's tiff. Spiders selling hats. Anything.

Now that you've got your subject, the next step is crucial.

Dive right in.

I'm serious. Open up a document and start writing the part of the game that is most interesting to you.

It might be character Classes, or monsters, or even just a basic idea of how you want your game to handle some part of gameplay.

"Food is important! There's rules for hunting!" is a fine place to start.

From there, build outward.

If you've written "Gremlin Class: +1 to Sneak, +1 to Airship Repair", that tells you two things about how your system works.

It tells you that both sneaking and airships matter in your game, and that you should write rules for them.

When writing rules, here are some things not to worry about just yet:

-Are the rules realistic?

-Do the rules work?

Just get some mechanics down. Give people a way to interact with your game.

"Roll a d6. High is good and low is bad" is a fine place to start, but you can get weirder.

Do you want people to roll a lot of dice? Or use dice that get neglected?

Do you want to test something other than dice rolling, like playing cards or flicking a paper football?

Do you want players to have some degree of control over the dice? Can they spend a resource for rerolls, or to simply succeed?

You might end up finding that your dice system works a bit like another game, and this is completely fine. There are thousands of TTRPG systems that have elements that overlap with each other. Nobody has a patent on target numbers.

Once you've got some mechanics, take a look at how they interact with the other thing you built---the thing you care about. This will inspire you to design further.

Add new Classes, new monsters, new subsystems.

Keep designing until you feel like you've written down everything you want to, and then get some sleep.

Yes, really. Put the project down, go to bed, wake up the next day, and edit it.

Your game is going to look incoherent at first, and that's fine. The goal of this editing pass isn't to get it perfect. It's to get your game to the point where someone can read it and make a character.

Once your game is in that state, get some friends to build PCs. Play a session. See what breaks. Go back and adjust your game to fix the things that broke. Then play a bit more. See what else breaks.

If you wrote a really big system, this will all take longer, but eventually you'll find that your system isn't breaking all the time.

At this point, you can keep it for yourself and your friends, or you can distribute it.

Platforms like itchio are great for posting new TTRPGs. Depending on your skillset, you might illustrate your game and put it through layout, or you might just export it as a PDF and post it. Both approaches are fine.

If you decide you want to make your project into a commercial undertaking, you can go to kickstarter or gamefound, or print zines and sell them yourself. Or you can just sit back and enjoy the thing you've made.

--

Coda: This is absolutely not the only way to design TTRPGs, and I'm sure a lot of designers have completely different processes. If this approach isn't working for you, or if there's something you hate about it, go with your instinct and do things different.

[alo-piss-trancy]

Maybe I should just ask this on a reddit sub or smth but I figured I'd try here first since I'm hoping the tags are more active now that the new game is coming and people might be replaying the series. Dragon Age question:

Okay so, I have all 3 base games (Origins, 2, Inquisition) on disc for my ps3. I've played through Origins, exported that worldstate to 2, and am now on the last act of 2. But there lies my problem. Apparently you can't export from 2 to Inquisition, you have to enter all your choices into the DragonAge Keep website, then export THAT into Inquisition via an EA account and it'll link up with the console.

Unfortunately to do that I think I need PSN access to go online. But uh... I've had this ps3 since I was like 13, and my profile seems to be bound to my dad's old email address (I was pretty much the only one who played the console, so the few times he got on, I think he just used my profile instead of the others we made for him and another family member. He pretty much only played Arkham City which has multiple save slots, and I was always ahead on progress/trophies, so this wasn't an issue at the time). I never played online and neither had he (idk why/how he set up the email part), so I've never actually had to sign into PSN before.

From what I'm reading, once a profile is bound to an email for PSN, it cannot be unlinked. So I HAVE to log into my profile with his info if I want to keep over a decade of game saves and trophies, including my Dragon Age saves, and still be able to go online.

I do know the email, because it is automatically filled in when I hit the PSN icon. But I think we've tried many passwords and his birthday and it never works. I'm wondering if maybe he didn't finish setting the account up way back then??? But it won't let me link the profile to a new PSN account I made with my own email, so his is clearly bound to it in some way.

I guess I could try customer support on their website and pray they'd be willing/able to recover the info and help me change it, but I'm not sure they'd even bother since it's a ps3 with no actual online play history/friends list and we've never bought anything digitally.

I'm just wondering if anyone has advice on what I can do if I can't get into this damn PSN. If I made another user profile on the ps3 and attached my own new PSN to that one, could I log into Dragon Keep's site, set all my choices for the first two games, & successfully link EA/export to Inquisition? It'd suck not being able to have all 3 games/trophy lists on my main profile, but at the end of the day I just want to be able to finish the trilogy with my worldstates instead of a default one 😭🙏 Or would it somehow not work since I wouldn't have any save data from the first two games on that ps3 profile?

Idk this whole system is fucking stupid, we should be allowed to unlink shit ☠️

[mutant-distraction]

Trained African Giant Pouched Rats have found thousands of unexploded landmines & bombs. Researchers also trained these rats to detect tuberculosis. Most recently they are training them to sniff out poached wildlife trophies exported out of African ports.

source: Nature is Awesome

[shini--chan]

How about an reader who is an country.

Allies?

She has a lot of diamonds, gold/silver and unique jewelry but that's all her country has to offer. She sits most of the time like "I wished I had something else than diamonds!" and she sitts next to other countries that have not so much.

Yandere Hetalia - Resources

For this asignment, I'm just gonna pick a few country I think best fit in this role. Makes more sense than taking the allies in this case.

America

Alfred would low-key instigate a civil war in your country, fund the side more favourable towards him until them come to power and then make you depend on US aid for the rest of your life while he has all the diamonds and gold shipped to his house while you get pennies for it. If civil war wouldn't work, then he would contruct a chain of events that would lean to a US military intervention with the same outcome as the scenario above. All the while he'll pat you on the back. Chin up though, you'll get designer clothes, just ignore that they are second hand and that the previous owner wasn't kind to them.

If you would behave and chant all the scripted lines, then he would take you over to his place, keep you close and distract you with parties and glitter and glamour. You would be his trophy wife and while it wouldn't be obvious, you would still be regarded as inferiour, a poor third world country that would only be tolerated and appreciated as long as it would hang on the umbelicate cord of American charity.

While he would tout you in public and be so kind and loving on the world stage, behind closed curtains he would be down-right parentalistic. You would be infantalised, toeing out of line would be punished, and he wouldn't tolerate you socialising out of his chosen clique of people/nations. And if you really wouldn't behave, then he could also lay on thick with the sanctions, and since you would be fully dependant on him to beginn with, you would have no choice but to give it to his demands if you would want to survive.

He would use your nation as a dumping ground, making sure it is such a mess that you wouldn't want to return to it. Alfred would also prevent any third parties from helping you. Other than that, he would use your country as a setting to make what is called "poverty porn".

England

Step one Arthur would offer to trade with you at first, though he would slowly insert himself in the business of whatever material you are exporting, fixing things to suit his needs. Though that what only be if you were stronger than him; if that wouldn't be the case, then skip to step three.

Step two. He would wait until you are complacent and exploit internal power struggles amongst the nobility and play favourites. He would play the stupid, inferiour and unwashed barbarian, making your people think that they can use him and his armies and resources for their own gain, but the reality would be the other way around - they would be just pawn in a game where the end goal is to conquer you.

Step three. Emgland use a economic player to carve you futher up by armed means, i.e you would have the British East Indies Company on your pourch, and said company would bit by bit bring you under their control. You wouldn't be able to complain about a foreign nation occupying you because that simply won't be the case

Then he would slowly bring you under his total control. There would be a strict behavioural code you would have to abide by just to get him to treat you somewhat decently and even if you would stick to the letter, it still wouldn't be enough because you wouldn't be exactly like him.

Germany

To Ludwig, you would become a servant he wouldn't be able to dispense of. When you would come to complain to him of having so many riches, he would view you as a spoiled brat and therefore would trigger a train of events that would lead you into his service. For that, he would probably conspire with some other European nation that would either be indebt to him or view him favourably. Aside from giving you your new found purpose in life, he would happily relief you of your excesses.

Would be a harsh taskmaster and since he would develop a strong if very twisted liking in you, would have you somehow attend to him the whole day, every day. If you would point out the hypocracy of him labelling you spoiled, yet having you dote him, he would spout some ludicrous scientific theory that would "justify" him treating you as an inferiour.

He would forbid you from speaking your own language, except if he wanted to be entertained by the "funny" way you speak. Generally, he would be patronising and condecending towards your culture. Ludwig would even go as far as to say that most of your problems were self-inflicted and could have easily been avoided if you had a more adjusted personality.

This would all be during the colonial era. After the world wars and after having to relinquish you, his behaviour towards you would be completely different.

Japan

Unlike the other three, this relationship would be very complex and long in the making. Probably would first encounter you in the wakgou era, when he would be playing the part of pirate and raid you repeatedly. Perhaps there he would meet you for the first time, get a taste of your character.

This would be the foundation of an uneasy relationship between the two of you. On a large part, you would be more antagonistic towards him than vis versa. As for Kiku, he would mostly find the whole affair amusing and would take pleasure in needling you, in his own strange ways. It would commonly be discreet, other times overt, but always organised in a fashion where only few people would believe you. Between the two of you, he would chide you and claim that he's being so generous by revealing his hidden facets, and that you should reciprocate.

When you would openly reveal your vast deposits of riches, he would be suspious at first - he would think you are playing a game with him and he would be right. It would be part of political game designed with your allies with the aim being to conquer him. Though, he wouldn't be opposed to playing - if he would win, he would be able to claim ownership over you and use you to his own ends.

Rome

Would have invaded you anyway, you being harebrained enough to brag about your diamonds and gold would have only given him all the more incentive to send tbe army. Would see it as an oppotunity to introduce to introduce you to actual civilazation. Therefore he would take you back to Rome with you and keep you as an exotic pet/servant. You would be something he would show off at parties, flaunt as army candy.

Your resources would go into filling the state coffers. Meanwhile, he would have you assimilate to his customs - he would have you worshipping his gods and abiding by his laws and customs. He would have you tend to him, have you give your life to him while it wouldn't be the other way around. If you don't like his partying and mistresses and conquests, then tough luck for you. However, if you were to take a lover or the sort, then he wouldn't hesitate to make an example of them

[jupitermelichios]

i've got teen wolf on the brain rn, so here's every member of the hale/mccall pack listed by what their favourite video game is

scott: he has been playing world of warcraft since he was 11, and he has done basically everything it's possible to do in game, unlocked every trophy and epic mount, reached the level cap with multiple characters, and still he logs in almost every day, even after stiles got bored and moved onto other games

stiles: he gets bored of games fast, but he developed a brief but intense crush on the masterchief when he was a kid, so if asked he'll say halo

alison: she's not great at suspension of disbelief, and mostly can't be bothered with games, but she has a sims 2 build that takes nearly 30 minutes just to load because of all the mods

derek: hates playing any kind of video game, which is probably good because he would get so addicted to rts games if he ever tried one. does know a weird amount of game trivia and lore though, because he goes away and researches every one of stiles's new hyperfixations but then actually sticks with them, unlike stiles. do you want halo lore? because derek has it, and he is desperate for someone to share it with

erica: she tells people it's metro 2033. it's actually barbie horse adventures. it's her comfort game, okay?

boyd: he played the arkham games for erica, and he loved him, but he imprinted on kirby at a young age and nothing else will ever touch it in his heart

isaac: such a sucker for roguelikes. if he knew what kinning was, he'd probably kin zagreus from hades. the fact that failing over and over is built into the game and there's no punishment is reinforcement his brain desperately needs. erica has written at least one zag/meg fic specifically for him.

lydia: she went 18 years without ever touching a video game, and then stiles persuaded her to try the witcher 3, and she was instantly addicted. if she finds out someone romanced triss over yenefer, she will take this as a personal insult

malia: it took stiles years of trying to find a game that didn't make malia immediately want to put her fist through the tv screen, but then DMC 5 came out.

kira: she likes her games fast, plotless, and button-mashy, so she likes most fighting games, but she's an absolute demon at smash

peter: you might think i'm going to say peter doesn't play games, and it's true that he doesn't admit to playing games, but it's also true that he knows nearly as much about street fighter lore as derek knows about halo, and has a frankly insane number of combos memorised. he would literally rather die than tell any of the pack this.

liam: he plays COD, you know it, I know it

cora: jeff forgot to give cora a personality beyond 'plucky' so i have no fucking idea. lets say it's horror games, because i feel like one of these weirdos ought to have strong opinions about bloodbourne and no one else is picking up the slack

jackson: madden, obviously.

danny: he believes strongly that adding an actual ui to dwarf fortress ruined it, and he was very excited about the abilty to export eve online data into excel spreadsheets

[notyourmothersspellbook]

Here's a good reminder I want to put out there for no specific reason in particular: you cannot ethically purchase human bones. If you are buying anything (anything, anything, anything) made from human bone it is an atrocious desecration of what was once a human person who did not consent to be your trophy, plaything, or edgy bit of decoration in death. I also encourage you to read a bit about the history of bodies “donated” to science (read: often exported illegally from other countries to the US). Just, come on y'all. Leave human remains alone. 

[legions-top-dog]

I definitely think I could fix you.

Is that the reason why the degenerates come flocking from all over the Mojave and stalking me?

The belief that they can fix an evil man who can't do anything other than dig themselves deeper by necessity?

They know nothing of everything I face, and

THEY HAVE THE GALL TO THINK THEY CAN WALTZ IN AND EXPECT TO MAKE ALL MY PROBLEMS DISAPPEAR AND FIX MY FRACTURED PSYCHE LIKE A MAGIC WAND?!

AND THEN WHAT IF THEY SUCCEED?! PUT ME IN A GLASS CABINET LIKE A TROPHY AND SHOW ME OFF TO GUESTS THAT WALK IN THEIR HOME?!

ARE YOU FUCKING DELUSIONAL YOU RAT FACED DEGENERATE?!

So I'll tell you what I'm fucking facing.

The Eagles are planning to drop support if we don't make any further gains along the Nelson Parallel and eliminate the NCR and native remnants at Primm, the Mojave Outpost, Goodsprings and the NCR Correctional Facility, as well increase the 3 tonnes of concrete and 500 barrels of oil exported to 6 tonnes and a thousand barrels respectively. We have been forced to work hundreds of slaves in Quarry Junction just to get that limestone.

The Boomers are apparently beginning, in a sudden move to establish relations to the Eagles in a defense pact, as the Frumentariuses embedded within them tell me.

The troops holed up in that bastard region have not yet yielded to artillery, vertibird, AH-1 and bombing runs, micronuclear drops, armored vehicles, Whiskey Team and paratroopers deployed in their territories.

When this bloody war ends, I don't need anyone to tell me what the death tolls were, or how many survived.

I know how many survived, and that was one too many.

[explorers-central]

When Felix mentioned Oscar at the end of PBEC 2 (OWM) little me CLUNG to that so now I've made up the tragic homosexual lore!!

(They meet two times, a couple years apart.)

Summarized-ish version of their first period of time spent together under the cut. Please forgive my poor writing, it's been a while and I've had this cooped up inside my head for months.

Oscar was lodged in Coldgate while his boat got repaired, they had hit an iceberg passing through, trying to export valuables under the Royal name.

Felix, being around 16 at the time, was interested in these foreigners. He was always interested in places, and where people came from. Especially when they looked so cool.

Over a few weeks, Felix befriended Oscar. They got into all sorts of mischief together. Oscar had even got a tour of the nearby prestigious Explorers' Club that Felix was a member of. That's when he really got a grasp of how wealthy Felix must be.

Oscar decided to stay in Coldgate a while. He let his crew go on, getting a job as a footman at the Explorers' Club.

During this time, however, he had been instructed by his crew to scout out the club for valuables. They weren't really innocent voyagers, of course, but bandits.

Oscar really was fond of Felix, his affection for him only growing as he worked in Coldgate. In the Club, they secretly chatted away in corners. They stole tobacco from the older explorers, and flicked through ridiculously exaggerated Flag Reports.

Part of Oscar wished he could stay forever. Then finally, the day came where his boat docked once again.

He met up with his crew and discussed the layout of the club with them, knowing every inch of the grounds at this point. That night, after everyone had left, or, were dozing away in one of the ancient libraries on the grounds, he would disarm the alarm system for the trophy room. Then, he would open the gates for his comrades.

Even as he said it, he felt his heart sink. As if he were merely eavesdropping on the very same scheme. How could he do this now? Yet, he continued on as planned.

He had depressurized the cases in the trophy room, something he was taught to do to be able to clean the cases without the alarm sounding. Finally, he approached the trophy room.

This scheme he had worked on for over a year was here, it was happening. Yet, there was a ball of reason clawing at his heart, telling him to stay at the Club, to stay with Felix.

In the doorframe of the darkened trophy room the sconce in the corridor behind him, cas a long and flickering shadow at his feet. It's form wavered almost as much as his will. He stared wearily at his dark reflection when he saw another head pop into the box.

Oscar spun around, met with Felix, stood in a wide stance. He had an unreadable expression on his face. Which was uncomfortable, Felix was always very raw.

There was a very long moment of silent internal struggle, somehow prolonged by the dancing shadows made by the dim flame. Then, Felix began to ask questions that Oscar couldn't answer. The answers he did manage to growl came out in threatening shouts, which he surprised himself with.

All he could really think about was getting as far away from Felix as possible. To keep him safe, and to keep that shame buried deep inside of him. Maybe if he had chosen correctly, he could've become an explorer like Felix. No, though, he was a bandit.

Oscar suddenly turned from the argument he had been having with Felix and smashed the first case he could see with his bare fists. Inside, there were a pair of seemingly ordinary dog tags. Although, when Oscar picked them up, he found they were frosted over, cold in the way it sticks to your skin and seems to take too long to thaw. Except, it didn't thaw.

He could give no more consideration to this, however, as he found himself shoved against the broken case. Glass cut his skin, but the throbbing of the cold object in his hand overtook any pain he might have felt. Without hesitation, he spun around, ramming his fist directly into Felix's face with the momentum.

He hadn't meant it, he really didn't want to hurt Felix. But even he found that hard to believe as he watched Felix's head hit against the doorframe with a heartbreaking thud.

Oscar paused for a moment, kneeling down to Felix with frantic, quiet apologies. When Felix looked up to him his face was half red, blood splattered on the lower part of his face, his nose clearly badly broken. His eyes weren't exactly angry or sad. They were just hurt. Hurt and disappointed. His mouth hung slightly open, breathing used to control his emotions, as his nose was rendered useless.

Oscar wanted to believe Felix would have attacked him if his crew hadn't caught up to them, but he knew he would've preferred to talk. The men asked what had taken Oscar so long, saying they had simply used brute force to get into the club.

Then, they noticed Felix and asked what they should do about him. Now Felix looked angry. For the first time, maybe in his life, Oscar thought. He was wrong of course, but how could he know that? They had only known each other a year.

He tried to help Felix up and lead him to a corner, where he would be kept out of the way. Instead, Felix batted him away with a grunt, pulling himself up using the trophy case nearby. He glared at the men, then at Oscar.

Oscar looked back, trying hard to not look soft in front of his crew, but also to silently beg Felix not to try to fight anymore. He knew he'd probably be killed should he.

Seemingly, he got the message, because the next thing he did was... Leave. He just turned, walked past the crew, and around the corner. It was quiet, so quiet. Even his footsteps had been muted by the carpet of the corridor.

Before Oscar even knew what was happening them, the men were ransacking the trophy room and the libraries a few rooms over.

He didn't take part. He traced Felix's footsteps, all the way to the entrance to the club. Felix was nowhere to be seen, just a memory, or a hope, or something of the sort. It was a funny thing, falling in love with a rich boy when you were a bandit. It was bound to end poorly, he reasoned. Yet he still plopped himself down on the moonlit snow, tracing a finger through the fresh pile. For once in his life, Oscar didn't feel like he was allowed any self pity.

That night, he got back on the boat with his crew and left. He laughed and joked with his old friends, but the dog tags that now hung around his neck cooled his skin, almost to the point of pain. He knew the tags hung there, clacking together, Felix's father's name engraved into them. One curse taken by another in the poor boy's life.

Oscar didn't sleep well that night, or for many more. He never took the tags off, and over time they began to leave red burn marks on his neck. He didn't think about Felix, he chose to replace that pain with this one.

[gryphona]

To my home country of the United Kingdom,

Do you deny that you enslaved Africans and placed them in concentration camps when they revolted?

Do you deny that your exportation of food from India caused several famines that killed millions?

Do you deny that you imprisoned and tortured Malayans suspected of working against you, even going so far as to keep the heads and scalps of the executed as trophies?

Do you deny that your exportation of food from Ireland and refusal to stop it worsened the Great Famine?

Do you deny that you continued to torment the Irish all the way up until the late 1990s?

Do you deny that you massacred both Native Americans and Aboriginal people, both of whom continue to be oppressed today?

Do you deny that you are the main inspiration behind the politics that make the USA so fucking corrupt!?

Do you deny that you only fought against the Nazis because they were hoping to take power from you and NOT because they were committing fucking GENOCIDE!?

Do you deny that you are the reason for which India and Pakistan are always at each other's throats!?

Do you deny that you are the reason for which mainland China won't leave Hong Kong and Taiwan alone!?

DO YOU DENY THAT YOU ARE THE REASON WHY PALESTINIANS ARE BEING WIPED OUT BY ISRAELI FORCES!?

FUCK MY HOME COUNTRY! AND FUCK EVERYONE WHO THINKS THE BRITISH EMPIRE WAS GREAT! FUCK YOU ALL TO HELL! 👿👿👿👿👿👿👿👿👿👿🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[eretzyisrael]

Today Israel confirmed that Germany is buying the Arrow air defense system. The overall cost is thought to be around $4 billion. Israel and Germany had been in talks since last year. The system was developed by IAI with support from Israel and the US. This system is designed to defend against the top tier of long range threats, such as ballistic missiles, the kind of missiles that are exoatmospheric.

This is a big purchase. It follows Israel selling David's Sling to Finland. What this means is that Israeli defense tech is now increasingly integrated throughout Europe. Hardly a week goes by without another announcement. Elbit, for instance, has a series of recent deals, including an EW deal in Germany announced this week for helicopters. Greece is getting Rafael's Spike missiles. Central and Eastern Europe is a big market.

As European countries empty inventories to send to Ukraine they need new and modern systems. Israel is well placed to provide systems that are proven. Also Israel exports are not an all-time high for defense products; a total of $12 billion last year. Of this around one quarter went to the Abraham Accords countries.

Israel is now more than just providing "weapons", these are systems and system of systems that help integrate radars in central Europe to countries defenses; and also provide multiple layers of defense tech. Israel also has strategic partnerships in India, with a lot of partnerships for India's local production; and with Azerbaijan and increasingly in Asia/Pacific. In the US Israeli companies partner with major US companies such as Lockheed and Raytheon; and unique Israeli defense products, such as items that protect against drones, or the Trophy system for tanks, are being outfitted to US forces. The talk and critique we hear sometimes of "the US should end aid to Israel" has no basis in reality. The R and D partnerships and deals are so deep and complex today that the critics have no idea what they are talking about.

Here is Israel's statement*

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the Israel Ministry of Defense and Israel Aerospace Industries welcome the German Ministry of Defense and the Bundestag’s Budget and Defence Committees’ approval of the commitment to initiate the necessary steps to acquire the Israeli “Arrow 3” air and missile defense system.

The professional teams led by the Director General of the IMOD, Maj. Gen. (Res.) Eyal Zamir, the DDR&D’s Israel Missile Defense Organization (IMDO) and Israel Aerospace Industries are continuing discussions with their German counterparts to finalize the procurement contract. Israel Ministry of Defense officials maintain ongoing communication with the American administration to ensure the necessary sales approval.

The German commitment letter will be signed after the American administration grants approval for the sale.

Please find photos of the Arrow 3 system below for your use.

Photo credit: Ministry of Defense Spokesperson’s Office

Seth J. Frantzman

[richardsphere]

Leverage Redemption Log: The Fractured Job

Someone is moving house, puts a trophy in a box. Scouts are coming so the kid might get a scholarship for the sportsballs. Town is collapsing economically.

Fracking, (the water is flammable) --- Sophie is worried their actions could have collateral damage. She's still feeling guilty about Arthur.

Hardisons in space. (get the actor a greenscreen and he can do cameo's without burdaining his packed schedule too much or needing to be physically present. God are they lucky its the hacker whose career took off. I dont think they could've done this stuff if it'd been Elliot)

Elliot is on break. He's going to try and connect with his dad. (presumably lives in Frackingville).

--- Elliot on the road, listening to the radi-OH SHIT ITS A PARKER "Im here for emotional support" "Im here to ensure she gets the concept" 10/10 gag.

Elliot comes to his hometown and barely has the time to nostalgia about the hardware store before he has to intervene in some goon-on-guy violence.

Parker and Elliot punch some people while Breanna loads Checkov's Pepperspray Pipet. Interracial family representation. --- The goons are not proficient in disguise. Huh, i didnt know fracking caused earthquakes. (that reads sarcastic/suspicious of future plottwists. It isnt, i dont live in a country that has fracking so all I know about it is through cultural osmosis from american exported media)

Oh i thought Breanna meant "we should give these two some alone time" not "We've got a client". (I thought "we've got a client" was obvious enough it didnt need saying).

Elliot looking longingly at the siblings that have lived an entire life without him. --- Yup of course Harry knows how hard it is to prove the direct causality from "fracking rig" to "cancerous growths" in a legal setting.

Sophie is afraid of hurting Elliot's relationship with his dad through this.

--- Breanna and Dad talking bout the future.

Parker is worried that Elliot might be dying, (sudden decision to connect with family, it would match the symptoms) Bugs in place, "we dont upload anything we use a closed system" huh, guys actually smart enough to see through a con... until you double down with a second-layer. --- Meanwhile at the Oklahoma State Capital, Harry and Sophie are ready to deal with a probably-crooked politician. (as if there is another kind)

Time for an interview, show him the obvious microphone so we can make him think he's "safe" when its taken from play (leaving him unaware of a second, tinier microphone)

AG is going back home, (make him see the damage itself rather then the probably faked data. If he's not corrupt that'll be enough. If he is corrupt... well we'll know exactly where he is) --- Breakfast. The good thing about politicians locked away from their home for ages is that they're so unfamiliar with their own home they're extremely unlikely to notice any minor changes as a result of you bugging their house.

Elliot is staying to get that family talk in (and protect his dad from hired goons) Dad is still somewhat standoffish, but he's accepted the breakfast.

Well, he might not actually be crooked after all. A bit suspiciously defensive of the "wait for the reports" policy but correlation VS causation is a thing and its actually good for an AG not to let anecdotal evidence steer him too much so lets hope. --- Yeah he's crooked. Of course he is. Hope is a lie like always.

So yeah not only is he crooked, he's the real mastermind what the state actually prosecutes it means you bribe one and you are out and clear.

But he still wants that interview with Harry and Sophie, so that means we can literally put a camera in his face and he'd go with whatever script we feed him.

Father and Son heart-to-heart. --- We have a keycard and we're off to the rig. Dad is off to violate a restraining order.

reduced guards, more people for Elliot to punch. --- Oh we put him in front of a camera, on a stage and everything. Live broadcast as he boasts of his victory?

this robot bodies joke is getting a bit long in the tooth... 7 seasons and a timeskip's worth of buildup to that hug. "try to stay out of trouble"

[leolingo]

QSMP SHIPS AS VCT 2024 TEAMS according to ME

made this post for my own enjoyment 100% disclaimer: not everything fits

SPIDERBIT -> FNATIC (2024)

*2023 picture, but the roster didn’t change, so.

a LEGACY at this point. half of the lineup has been active in the scene for years, advancing in tournaments with scrappy fights but never winning. the other half came later, complemented the existing parts and immediately pushed them into powerhouse status. considered the best in the WORLD by many. some players look up to them, every player wants to take them down. they’re the active team with the highest number of international trophies. had a slow start this year, and are currently out of the spotlight — bumped off by newer talent. still, given that all 5 players are in the world’s-best conversation for their respective roles, it’s hard to count them out. definitely not a crowd favorite in brazil, a big sore loss in home-soil stands in the way, but the ones who do acknowledge them have great respect for their game. coincidentally my second favorite team overall.

PISSA -> LOUD (2024)

household name. consistently not only good, but often GREAT despite roster/staff changes, and still the overlookers persist. been in the scene forever, making it to big stages from their very first run. the name of the game is teamwork, despite also fostering some of the most consistent and individually talented players in the scene over the years. fairly reserved internationally, not as flashy as some of the others, but still EXTREMELY popular in their corner. brazil’s pride and joy — my #1!!!!!!!! + have made top 4 and are in contention to win the current tournament stage even though no one believed they’d do well, after losing their star player at the end of last year. they play tomorrow! any positive energy is welcome :P

FITPAC -> SENTINELS (2024)

used to be promising at the very beginning, then fell off into obscurity for years. this year, though, they’re BACK! in peak form like they never left, baby. some of the most beloved personalities in the community are here! slow and steady wins the race — a couple bumps in the form of SEVERAL roster/staff changes and several disappointing results never stopped anyone. the long-term fans, those who never stopped believing, are some of the most intense I’ve ever seen. very popular online and homecrowd buff is real for them no matter where in the globe they’re at. they have also made top 4 in the current tournament and are, by a good portion of viewers, expected to win! also somewhat beloved in brazil (we exported one the players, after all. they owe us SOME of the success) but mostly we just like to pick on them. it’s fun :)

ELQUACKBIT -> 100 THIEVES (2024)

ok these motherfuckers never win. most times they don’t even qualify. it’s so fun to root for them though. i heard they were decent maybe a billion years ago, when the game had just come out and no one was TRULY good. they have yet to go back to that. they lose so consistently it’s a community meme at this point, and viewers are PERPETUALLY clamoring for players to be dropped. their duelist has been on the internet’s chopping block for years and he’s still there! streets say THIS YEAR THOUGH! this might finally be when he gets booted and they bring in someone else! do i think it will happen? i’ll believe it when i see it. most believers lost hope a long time ago, and i truly believe the only reason the org is still afloat is because everyone in there is very clouted individually. they sell SO much merch. no game wins in sight, though. in the meantime, i wish them the very best :3

[the-al-chemist]

Artemis Hexley: The Wilderness Years

Chapter 3: Raising The Stakes

A/N: Artemis uses her connections to her advantage as she takes matters into her own hands. Warnings: A whole lot of awkwardness.

Badeea was talking Artemis through her final design for the Triwizard Maze when the two of them were interrupted by the unwanted presence of Thomasina Thistlethwaite.

“What do you want?” Artemis asked Thomasina, who did not flinch at her impolite tone.

“Mr Bagman would like to speak to you about something in his office,” she replied. “Artemis, that is.”

Artemis shrugged at Badeea and looked straight past Thomasina as she got out of her seat and left the room in search of Ludo, who had his own private office. She made her way straight there and found him sitting at his desk, a cabinet full of trophies on the wall behind him.

“Ah, Hexley! There you are,” he boomed, and held out both his fists to her. “Guess which one the Galleon is in.”

Artemis looked from his hands to his face before answering: “Left.”

“Bingo! Every time. By Jove, you may well have me bankrupt by the end of the year.”

“Is that the only reason you wanted me to come in?” Artemis asked him, taking the Galleon from his hand.

“What? Oh, no. No, I actually have a job for you,” said Ludo. He rifled through a pile of paperwork on his desk and held up a file with the word ‘confidential’ stamped on it in large red letters. “Here. You’re used to dealing with import and export procedures. And, from what I remember from your interview, you’re a dab hand with creatures, too.”

“I guess. Sort of.”

“Excellent. Now, in here is a list of all the creatures we need for the tournament. I’d like you to sort out importing and transporting them.”

He handed the file to Artemis, who opened it and scanned down the list, feeling a small sting of anger as she read each of the creatures listed, more than half of them the ones that Thomasina had suggested after talking to her. Still, she pushed her annoyance aside. Tonks had been right the previous weekend; if she wanted to best Thomasina, she would just have to work harder and do better.

“I reckon I can do the Sphinx, easy. I still have a couple of friends back at Gringotts’ headquarters in Egypt,” she said, making a mental note to write to Bill Weasley later that day. “The rest we don’t even need to transport. There are plenty of Boggarts at Hogwarts, because they keep them for Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons, and there are already Red Caps and Acromantula in the forest, it’s just a case of capturing them. I can talk to Hagrid, the gameskeeper. He’d be able to help, I bet.”

“Top job, Hexley. Say, you wouldn’t be able to speak Mermish at all, would you?”

“I only know one word. Sorry.”

“Shame. I need someone to negotiate with the merpeople for the second challenge. I’ll ask old Barty, they say he was into the old lingual activities in his day, so to speak.” Bagman winked, and Artemis tried her hardest not to pull a face.

“What about the dragons? Or is that sorted already?”

“We’ve scrapped the idea of the dragons. Can’t get any.”

“I have a friend who’s a dragonologist. He might be able to get us some, they’ve got loads on the reserve where he works.”

“It’s not that there aren’t enough,” Bagman told her, shaking his head. “There are plenty of dragons in the world, it’s just that the laws surrounding anything to do with them are so strict. Even with contacts in the field, we can’t bypass that amount of red tape.” He sighed deeply. “It is a shame, though. Imagine, dragons. Now, that would be a real challenge, wouldn’t it?”

“Maybe it still could be.”

“Sadly, Barty says there’s no way, and he would know, what with all the work he did for the Council of Magical Law. Ah, well. C’est la vie, as the French would say. Now, heads or tails?”

He flicked a second Galleon into the air, caught it and placed it on the back of his other hand. He snuck a look and raised his eyebrows at her.

“Fifty-fifty chance, Hexley. What is it?”

“Heads,” said Artemis, and Bagman handed her the gold coin. She took it and frowned. “Say, Ludo. How about we go double or nothing on these Galleons?”

“Raising the stakes, are we? I always knew you were a girl after my own heart. Oh, go on, then. What are we betting on?”

“I bet I can get you your dragons.”

Bagman laughed out loud.

“You might as well give me your money now, doll,” he said. “Didn’t you hear what I said? That’s a bet with almost impossible odds.”

Artemis shrugged and raised her eyebrows.

“Maybe. But then, I’ve always been good at beating the odds.”

The Department of Magical Law Enforcement was all the way up on the second level of the Ministry Headquarters. Having left Bagman’s office, Artemis hurried straight up the stairs, the file and two Galleons he had given her still clutched in her hands. She had a vague idea of where she was going, having spent a two-week-long work experience placement in the department the summer she turned seventeen, but three and a half years had passed since then, and she had not needed to go to every single office in the Department. Still, there was a good chance that either Tonks or her friend Kingsley, who both worked in the Auror office, would know where to find the room she was looking for.

Unfortunately, when she poked her head around the Auror office door, every single one of the Aurors were deep in a very serious looking discussion. Even without the several large ‘wanted’ posters Artemis had walked past on her way there, she could have guessed what - or, more to the point, who - they were talking about. Sirius Black, a Dark Wizard and first ever person to have escaped from Azkaban prison, was still at large and as dangerous as ever.

It was probably better that she left the Aurors to it, so instead, she knocked on a smaller door further along the corridor, on which a plaque read: Arthur Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office.

“Come in,” said a voice from behind the door, and Artemis did as it instructed.

On the other side of the door was a room that, judging from its tiny size and dingy atmosphere, may have previously been a cupboard of some description. Now, however, it had been converted into the smallest office she had ever seen, with two desks and several filing cabinets crammed so tightly inside that there was barely room for her to stand among them. A tall wizard with glasses and thinning red hair was sitting there, a collection of assorted Muggle items and photos of children, all at various ages and all red-headed, lining the desk in front of him.

“Artemis!” he said, turning in his chair and smiling at her. “Splendid to see you. How are you?”

“I’m fine, Arthur. I’m just on an errand for Ludo, and I’m not sure exactly where I need to go, so I thought you might be able to help me.”

“Of course. Where is it you need to be?”

“I’m looking for the Council of Magical Law,” she told him. “I need to speak to someone who works for them.”

“Right you are. Turn right out of this office, go all the way along the corridor until it bends to the left, and it’s the last door on the left before the bend.”

“Brilliant. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. And you’re also welcome to come around for tea any time. I’m sure that Molly will send you an invitation as soon as I mention that I saw you today, so I may as well give you a prior warning.”

“I’ll look forward to it,” Artemis grinned, and she turned to leave Mr Weasley’s office. Before she shut the door behind her, his voice called out to her once more.

“Oh, and Artemis,” he said. “If you see Ludo this afternoon, can you let him know that I am interested in the raffle he’s doing for tickets to the World Cup Final? I just need to get some money together to take part. Should have it by the end of next week, if he’s happy to wait that long. Got to wait until payday, you know?”

Artemis made a sympathetic noise and nodded her head in agreement, and Mr Weasley returned to his work. Certain that he wouldn’t see her, she pulled out her wand and pointed it at the two Galleons Ludo had given her. Wordlessly, she levitated them into the air and directed the coins so that they floated through the air and came to rest inside the pocket of the cloak resting on the back of Arthur’s chair.

A small but satisfied smile played on her face as she closed the door of the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office and turned to her right, made her way down the corridor and stopped as it bent around a corner. To her left, a wooden door - far better polished than Mr Weasley’s - was propped slightly open. Beyond it, a large and open room housed several desks, at each of which a witch or wizard was hard at work. Artemis narrowed her eyes and scanned the room until she found the wizard she was looking for.

“Hi,” she said as she approached the desk of Chester Davies, who raised his tired looking eyes from the parchment he was writing on and blinked twice.

“Hello,” he replied. “I wasn’t expecting to see you so soon, if ever. I was under the impression that you didn’t want to see me again.”

“That’s not what I said.”

“Still, this is a surprise. Is there a particular reason you’re here, or…”

Chester’s voice tailed off, and he raised his eyebrows at her. Artemis shrugged and sat on his desk beside him.

“Your law books. I might need to borrow them,” she told him.

“All of them?”

“Not all, just some. Any that will tell me what I can legally do to import a Hungarian Horntail into the country for a sporting event.”

“I’m sorry… A Hungarian Horntail?”

“Yeah. Or three, actually, that would be even better.”

“I’m not certain that there will be anything you can do to legally import a Hungarian Horntail - let alone three Hungarian Horntails - into the country for a sporting event. Laws surrounding anything dragonological tend to be extremely rigid.”

“But surely there would be a way. A loophole you can squabble over, maybe?” Artemis smiled at Chester expectantly, and he began to chuckle.

“Why do you want to know about this?” he asked her. “What sporting event could possibly involve a Hungarian Horntail? Or three, for that matter.”

“Top secret. Classified. If I told you, I would probably have to kill you.”

Chester laughed again, but he nodded his head. “Very well. I expect I’ll have something that’ll be of use to you. I’ll take a look later.”

“Brilliant, thanks,” said Artemis. “I’ll swing by tomorrow lunchtime to get the books.”

“Don’t do that. I have a better idea.”

“What?”

“I’ll look through the books, see what relevant information I can find, and I’ll talk it through with you over dinner.”

Artemis wrinkled her nose. “Dinner?”

“Yes, dinner. Do you not eat dinner?”

“Yeah, I like dinner, I just… Yeah, fine. We can do that.”

“I’ll meet you by the Fountain of Magical Brethren on Friday evening. Say six thirty?”

“Sure.”

Chester smiled. “Excellent. It’s a date.”

Artemis had half-expected Chester to take her to the Leaky Cauldron for dinner; it was where the majority of her co-workers met after work, and given the fact that he played piano for them on Saturday evenings, he was bound to get some sort of discount. However, after the two left the atrium of the Ministry on Friday evening, he walked her not to Diagon Alley, but to a Muggle restaurant in Covent Garden. Their table was upstairs, next to a window through which the sounds of three women playing string instruments in the market below could be heard. Looking around, Artemis quickly realised that she was underdressed for the occasion.

“May I take your coat?” asked the waiter who had shown them to their seats. Artemis recoiled from him slightly, her grip on her jacket tightening.

“Where?”

The waiter chuckled, as did Chester, who handed his own coat and scarf to him. Somewhat reluctantly, Artemis followed suit.

“Okay,” she said, once the waiter had left with their coats. “So, what did you find out?”

“You don’t beat around the bush, do you?” Chester laughed. “Well, it’s not particularly great news, I’m afraid.”

“It’s not?”

“No. Dragon keeping has been regulated for hundreds of years, but ever since they passed the Ilfracombe Amendment in 1933, there’ve been even tighter controls. As it stands, only specialised dragon reserves can authorise the movement of dragons, and there are now only nine such reserves in the world, and only in the United Kingdom.”

“That’s the one with the Hebridean Blacks, isn’t it? I don’t think they have Hungarian Horntails.”

“Well then, if you have your heart set on a Hungarian Horntail, you’ll need to import one. Unfortunately, international movement is even more difficult, because you have the International Federation of Wizards’ regulations and the local laws of the two countries you’re moving the dragons to and from,” said Chester. “Generally speaking, movement only occurs between reserves, and even then, it can only be done for one of three purposes, none of which involve sporting events.”

“So what purposes can they be moved for?”

“Conservation, welfare, and education.”

“Education,” Artemis repeated, an idea forming in her head. “That’s it! That’s our loophole! You know, that actually might work.”

“Glad to hear it, but it still won’t be easy. You’ll need official authorisation and everything you do will need to be overseen and signed off by a qualified dragonologist. I might be able to put you in touch with someone who was in the year above me, if you like. Chap by the name of Rosier, Felix Rosier.”

Artemis shook her head, her smile widening as she did so.

“No need,” she told Chester. “I have my own dragonologist. Thanks, though. And thanks for helping me with this.”

“You’re welcome, though I do prefer knowing the reason why I’m being asked to do a favour before I do it,” Chester said wryly. Artemis remained tight lipped. “Very well, then. Why don’t you tell me how you ended up working on this classified and clandestine project?”

“I won the job in a card game.”

“I’m being serious.”

“So am I. I played poker against Ludo and won a job in his office. That and some tickets for the Quidditch World Cup Final.”

“And are you a seasoned poker player?”

“Um, I don’t think so,” said Artemis, not entirely sure what Chester meant by seasoned. “But it got me the job.”

“I see,” Chester frowned. “Last I heard you were working for Gringotts with Bill.”

“I was.”

“So, was your decision to leave and take a job you won in a card game a spontaneous one, or…”

“I wanted a change,” Artemis said shortly. Chester inclined his head and opened his mouth as if to say something, but she interrupted him before he had the chance to do so. “Have you always wanted to be in the Council of Magical Law?”

“Yes. I started in the Department for Misuse of Magic, worked my way up from there.”

“And the piano playing?”

“It’s extra money, and I enjoy it. It’s good to have a creative outlet,” said Chester. “What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?”

“I dunno. Just stuff, I guess.” In response to her answer, Chester began to laugh again. Artemis frowned. “What?”

“You aren’t particularly forthcoming with information, are you?” he asked her, shaking his head. “You know, I am actually trying to get to know you.”

“Why?”

“Because I think you’re interesting.”

Artemis was not expecting Chester to say that, nor was she expecting the look in his eyes to be as sincere as it was. She shuffled slightly in her seat.

“I don’t think I’m that interesting,” she told him. Chester smiled as if he were amused. “Now what?”

“Well, I dread to think how immeasurably dull I must be if the girl who got her current job by winning a card game and spent her schooldays breaking ancient curses is ‘not that interesting’.” The expression on Chester’s face made Artemis grin, too. “You should smile more. It suits you,” he told her. “Humour me. Tell me more.”

A month previously, Artemis would have done just that; she would have told him about her time at Gringotts, about the time she helped to illegally smuggle a baby dragon across the continent to the dragon reserve in Romania where her friend Charlie lived, or a story about her eventually successful attempts to open the Cursed Vaults when she was at school. But now, she wasn’t sure whether she wanted to tell him, or anyone, about any of that. It might lead to harder questions, ones about Rowan’s death and her relationships with her immediate family members. And besides, that was how she had ended up needing Chester’s help in the first place, wasn’t it? She had opened her mouth and answered all of Thomasina Thistlethwaite’s questions, and it had backfired horribly, and now here she was.

So instead, she told Chester a less personal but also less interesting story about playing Quidditch, and turned the topic to the one thing she knew they had in common: music. This turned out to be a very strategic move on her part, for they were able to talk about that freely until the meal was over and Muggles outside had stopped playing their string instruments.

Chester paid for the meal and the two of them walked through the covered market together until they reached the square outside. The night air was bitterly cold, and Artemis shivered in her jacket, which had been returned safely from the waiter. Chester frowned at her.

“Here,” he said, removing the scarf from his neck and draping it over her shoulders. “Take this.”

“Thanks,” replied Artemis. “For dinner, too. And the legal advice, obviously. That was really good of you to look all that up for me.”

“You’re more than welcome. I’ll never complain about being given an excuse for more reading and research.”

Chester’s words caused something to stir in the recesses of Artemis’ mind, but she wasn’t sure what. Somehow, she got the sense of distant familiarity. It was uncanny and not entirely comfortable, and she shook her head to push it away.

“Still,” she said, “I know you’re busy enough as it is without me asking you for favours.”

“It was only a couple of late evenings, Artemis. That’s what coffee is for,” Chester smiled wryly. “And anyway, I’ve always been a bit of a night owl.”

That feeling of niggling nostalgia came over Artemis again, and this time she found herself unable to ignore it. Perhaps, she did not want to. And, for some reason, that strange sensation was what spurred her not just to allow Chester to lean in and kiss her on the cheek, but to kiss him on the lips in return.

That feeling of niggling nostalgia came over Artemis again, and this time she found herself unable to ignore it. Perhaps, she did not want to. And, for some reason, that strange sensation was what spurred her not just to allow Chester to lean in and kiss her on the cheek, but to kiss him on the lips in return.

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from The Revelator:

In South Africa, an insatiable desire for lions — whether to view the big cats in captivity, interact with cubs, hunt them for sport, or trade in their body parts — has created an explosion in their captive populations. Approximately 8,000-10,000 lions are now kept in captivity across the country, compared to the estimated 3,490 wild lions across our reserves and national parks. Activists and the media have given extensive attention to this cruel, inhumane industry, but significantly less is known about the other exotic cat species bred, kept, traded, and even hunted for this burgeoning industry built on greed and cruelty.

For instance, in 2022 the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment confirmed that at least 70 captive facilities kept 463 tigers across South Africa. Yes, tigers — the same endangered Asian big cats subject to intense conservation efforts, with a wild population estimated at just 5,500 animals.

Those of us working against this captive trade suspect the actual number of tigers in the country is much higher, as the department does not require captive facilities to register the big cats. The data provided by provincial authorities is only as accurate as the information provided by willing facilities.

And tigers are just one element of this industry. Across the country approximately 400 captive facilities keep indigenous and exotic cats of multiple species for tourism activities, breeding, trading in live animals and their body parts, and hunting.

Tigers bred in South Africa don’t always stay here. From 2012 to 2022[1], South Africa exported a minimum of 397 live tigers and 101 tiger body parts and hunting trophies, according to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species trade database.[2] And that’s just the so-called legal trade.