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humanitys-strongest-bamf · 5 months

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Hi lovely Kat, congrats to 2K followers! 🥳❤️

I would like to request a post-war drabble taking place during Levi's first birthday after the Rumbling. The reader knows about her pregnancy for a couple of weeks but decides to keep it a secret until his birthday. They could have a nice celebratory dinner with the 104th kids, Gabi, Falco and Onyankopon, and the reader decides to break the big news to Levi just after they leave.

thank you rose!! i also accidentally turned this into a oneshot bc i couldn't get myself to decide how i wanted levi to react and ended up word vomiting as a result ksdjfksdjf

World's Grumpiest Dad | 2K Follower Event | Post-War Dadvi Oneshot

✧ word count ➼ ~1.1k ✧ notes ➼ post-war, fluff

The lights were pretty at this time of night.

You began wheeling Levi back from the diner after waving goodbye to some of the 104th, Gabi, Falco, and Onyankopon. They had visited to grab dinner at a nice restaurant in celebration of Levi's birthday, much to his own disdain. Of course he was grumpy the entire night, just from the fact that he wasn't expecting to get all of this attention throughout the day. It was draining—but it was nice to see everyone in a setting that wasn't hauling ass trying to remedy all the damage from the Rumbling.

"Please tell me we're going home," he grumbled.

"Almost," you reassured. "Just going to stop at the dock first. Sunset's pretty."

Levi didn't protest against this change of plans. His evening strolls with you always played an important part in keeping him sane, especially throughout the height of the war.

You reached into your bag as you continued walking Levi forward, eventually pulling out a small box and setting it on Levi's lap.

You could physically see him hesitate, not having expected the sudden object to be handed to him out of nowhere.

"It's your birthday," you reminded, knowing that he was going to have this reluctant reaction. Levi was never a fan of gifts, but this one was important.

"It's going to clutter the house."

"You don't even know what it is yet."

He let out an exasperated sigh, slowly opening the top of the cardboard box. There wasn't any wrapping around the box and there wasn't any filling inside. It was just a plain box with a singular object resting within it: a handmade mug with one of those uneven handles that indicated that you were likely the one that made this at some shoddy pottery studio, which added to its charm.

"What's wrong with the ones we have at home?"

It's not that he didn't like it, he just didn't see the need for an extra mug in your kitchen cabinet.

You groaned as you rolled your eyes.

"Just read it, you asshole."

He pulled the mug out of the box and turned it so that he could see the text that was carefully painted onto it in your handwriting:

"World's Grumpiest Dad"

You couldn't see his face, but you were able to essentially imagine the furrowing of his eyebrows from the confusion that was no doubt running through his mind.

His body posture visibly changed once he realized—he sat a bit further back into his chair, his clenched jaw relaxed, and you even heard a small gasp escape his lips.

"...you're pregnant."

You turned his wheelchair so that he was facing the horizon and took a seat next to him on the nearby bench that you had wheeled him next to. Giving him a small smile, you nodded, eyeing him intensely for how he was going to react to the big news.

"Yeah," you whispered. "Just got confirmation a little while ago, but wanted to save it as a surprise."

You could tell that he was struggling to process. The two of you weren't particularly trying for a kid, but mutually agreed that if it happened, then it happened.

He switched his gaze from your eyes and back down to the mug to reread the text.

"...'m gonna be a dad," he mumbled, although it wasn't clear what emotion was behind it. You couldn't tell if he was happy or not, which was only adding to your nerves.

Levi looked back up at you, his eyes softening once he saw the concern in yours.

Having a kid was never really something he imagined for himself, although this was primarily because he couldn't afford the luxury of imagining the concept of the Titan-free world that you were in. It always provided him and the rest of your comrades the drive to keep fighting, but the idea of settling down in a world that was safe from man-eating Titans—a world in which you could birth and raise a child in peace—never crossed his mind for him.

"You're going to be the world's grumpiest dad," you corrected, trying to lighten the mood in an attempt to dispel your own anxiety in addition to the hesitant look he was wearing.

It worked to some extent, with his eyebrows coming together again into a frown.

"I'm not grumpy."

"Then why are you frowning?" you challenged.

"That's just my face, you brat."

He barely got to finish his sentence before you planted a gentle kiss on his cheek.

"It's okay," you whispered with a small smile. "I like you grumpy. I'm sure our kid will like it too. It's part of your charm."

You were too close to be able to see the slight hint of color rising to his cheeks at your comment, but you could tell that it affected him as soon as he averted his gaze.

"What is it?" you asked as you tilted your head at him.

Levi immediately cleared his throat and shook his head in an attempt to suppress how flustered he had just gotten over your comment.

"Nothing."

He handed you the mug and began to push himself up from the wheelchair, which immediately got your attention.

"Need to stretch," he grumbled. "Been sitting in that damn thing for hours."

You watched as he walked over to the dock railings, noting that his limp wasn't as noticeable, likely because he hadn't been putting strain on his knee for the past few hours since he's been more or less just sitting throughout dinner and your stroll here. Sighing, you placed the mug back into the box and placed it securely on the bench before walking up next to him.

The wind was blowing through his dark locks, causing it to fall perfectly back onto his head due to his undercut, tempting you to run your fingers through it if you didn't already know that Levi was just going to shoo your hand away.

There was a hint of concern in his one good eye. The frown lines were present despite his expression being soft, and his lips were slightly turned downwards—not enough to be a frown, but noticeable enough that you knew what was on his mind.

"You're going to be a great dad."

Levi's eyes widened as his lips parted in surprise, not expecting you to come in with the reassurance. You were right in that his unease over his own ability to be a good parent was what was bugging him, even though he knew that the anxiety was ultimately unfounded, given his interactions with the kids he had basically helped to raise to some extent—the 104th, Isabel, and even Gabi and Falco.

He placed his hand over your lower belly before looking back up into your eyes, his lip turning up subtly before whispering to you.

"I know."

#: @chaotic-on-main @levisbrat25 @leviismybby @moonmalice @averysmolbear @cathybarn @tclbts @emiwhore @bejewelledd @sad-darksoul @ackermendick @aomi04 @apolloshaiku @laraackerman @pulpolicia @raenacreates @nube55 @saenora @noctemys @sixpennydame @sleepyfairyxo @heichoucleanfreak @svftackerman @catskze @nixie-writes-aot @la-undercover-latina @v4mp-wife @darkstarlight82 @professorweezy @braunsbabe @levis-squishy-cheeks @dumbfound-princess @evas-leslas @deepzombieyouth @lovedbylevi join my taglist! and please lmk if you wanna be taken off

#follower event #levi x reader #levi ackerman x reader #levi heichou x reader #captain levi x reader #levi fluff #levi #levi ackerman #levi heichou #captain levi #attack on titan #aot #shingeki no kyojin #shingeki no kyoujin #snk

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actual-changeling · 3 months

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We need to talk about the Archangel Michael.

No, seriously we NEED to talk about Michael because I think she's going to be way more important than we currently think.

(quick side note: I will be jumping between pronouns for everyone involved because I go by vibes and also bc I'm trans and I like doing it. Hopefully it won't be too confusing, but I'll try to make it clear who I am talking about.)

So! Welcome back to Alex's unhinged meta corner. In accordance with the usual essay rules, let's begin with my hypothesis before we go down a long, probably very unhinged spiral.

I completely underestimated how thorough I was going to be, so to not overwhelm everyone with a miles long post, I will be dividing this meta into parts and will post them as I finish them.

A lot of small details have been fluttering around my mind over the last few weeks, and I think I am finally starting to put all the pieces together—and there are a LOT.

Part 1: Season One and Michael's Rank

We know them as one of the three (four—but that's another post) Archangels next to Gabriel and Uriel. While Gabriel's title was that of the Supreme Archangel, Michael's is explicitly stated in episode one of season two as 'duty officer', which, broadly speaking, makes them the Watcher, the one in charge in the case of Gabriel's absence for whatever reason, taking command where he can't; usually that probably meant him simply being busy and not him being unemployed and naked.

Their position is further signified by their ring, which resembles the Ophanim, the many-eyed angel wheels.

They are the one to keep a literal eye on things—they find pictures of Aziraphale and Crowley in S1 in the Observation Files, they watch over the heavenly hosts, they oversee plans, everything.

Michael even takes it a step further and (presumably created) the grapevine with hell, having direct contact to higher ranking demons such as Ligur, most likely also Dagon, and Beelzebub.

This is where we get to my theory: Michael is actively working with demons against both heaven and hell. It doesn't mean that they care about preserving earth, though they might later on, but that whatever plans heaven currently has are to be stopped.

I'm going to take this one step further and say that Michael also knew about Gabriel and Beelzebub, and helped him escape.

Now to the fun part: the evidence!

In season one, they are interested in stopping Crowley and Aziraphale from preventing the apocalypse, but that does not mean that they agree with the plans heaven has for said event—only that they need it to happen so their own agenda can stay on track. She has information she technically shouldn't, like, well, literally all the details about how, when, and what is going to go down

This is due to heaven and hell's general cooperation, which is its own post, but all of that runs through them.

That 'apparently' is doing a lot of heavy lifting here, it's the basic and plausible deniability that's required for them to not be in trouble. She is also in charge of ORGANIZING the troops, fulfilling her role as a navigator.

On top of that, the way she talks to Ligur highly mirrors the way two covert operatives might talk to one another, using phrases like 'our man' and 'working for you'. The mere assumption Michael makes here, that Aziraphale could be a spy, implies that there ARE already spies and angels working for hell.

Consorting with the enemy is allowed as long as it is done within a very specific framework, so Michael and Ligur are free to do so, while Aziraphale and Crowley are working outside of it, which gives heaven & hell the basis to punish them for it.

I think the phrasing of this sentence is also quite interesting.

Not "time to come back to heaven" or anything along the lines that takes Aziraphale's ethereal status into account, no, she simply says he needs to 'choose sides'—and who is to say that he needs to choose heaven or that heaven and hell are the only sides one can choose? Additionally, Michael is the one to bring the holy water to hell while they send one of the Erics, and while the trial as a whole holds a certain tension, there does not seem to be any open animosity between him and the dukes of hell.

In short, Michael is working with hell behind the scenes, likely pursuing their own goals, and standing in opposition to heaven.

Moving on to season two, and here it gets REALLY fun.

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5

(hopefully it will just be five. it was supposed to be two. then three. but here we are)

#alex talks good omens #good omens #good omens season 2 #go2 #good omens meta #archangel michael #archangel uriel #archangel gabriel #good omens michael #crowley #aziraphale #aziracrow #crowley x aziraphale #ineffable husbands #ineffable wives #ineffable spouses #ineffable divorce #the final fifteen #alex's unhinged meta corner

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vasito-de-leche · 1 month

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A short (or not) ramble of scenarios and questions for reverse: 1999 self aware. (sorry if this bothers you, I just don’t have enough confidence to post it on my own blog (plus I love your content))

- Okay so first of all, in the main page of the game, when you click on the upper left corner with your level and username, you go to a screen with Vertin looking fly as ever along with some user information.

So if Vertin can see the game’s ui, then she can see the year in which the player has joined the game (2023-2024). I haven’t dived deep into Vertin’s character so I can’t portray her reaction to much, but I feel like she would tell this info to someone close like Sonetto.

Also our motto: I put “When in a rush, say ‘runs in high heels cutely.’”. I’d be so embarrassed if anyone (even fictional sentient characters) saw that. Like im dead.

On that topic, when you mentioned in your Sonetto self aware post that she can sometimes see us, and honestly, I’d be even more embarrassed. Cause like, if any of the characters from games I played, were sentient and could see me, id pray they didn’t see my bad angle. Like imagine looking up to the sky to see, just for a second, the chin of a head as the hands go to scratch their nose. Like the first impressions I would make.

- P2p players. Imagine the player spending money on the game (at the risk of Vertin possibly seeing their credit card number) to help level up or get costumes for their fave characters.

(Some misc. questions)

-what would happen if player didn’t log in the game for a while (a week to a month as best) cause I would ditch some games to spend more time on others

- What does Vertin think of the mail messages that the player gets? Like the latest mail I got was the discord event invitation. Upon closer inspection and critical thinking, it would hint that there would be more players other than us because it says the winners get 60 clear drops (oh and money too)

- If I remember correctly, I think you mentioned about Vertin hearing the player sometimes. So imagine her hearing us trash talk certain character *cough* Constantine *cough*.

(Anyways, I love your content ❤️ especially your fmn headcanons, can’t wait to see more posts!!)

;R1999 - Self-Aware AU (2)

Answering some questions and discussing the Self-Aware AU. A follow up of this post.

not a bother at all, you bring up really good questions and details that are fun to explore! I'm glad you like my stuff, have a nice day o7!

On the subject of Vertin seeing the player's profile.

With the way I intended to portray Vertin within the AU, I don't think she would be affected by the date on the Player's profile!

This is the date you came into contact with her from your perspective, whatever time and space that flows within your world, not hers─the world behind the fourth barrier that she cannot see nor hear nor even fathom, let alone try to make sense of. In a way, it's like expecting ants to care about concepts we made up, such as time. They understand night and day, they do not understand 3PM nor 8AM.

Is it truly proof that time can go beyond 1999, when this is something that only she can see? When it doesn't affect a single thing within her universe by being part of a game menu meant for your eyes only? There's also the fact that she finds out the proper time of the world in the 1.4 update, in Chapter 05.

Her dynamic with the Player is something I like to keep vague, so that everyone can fill in the blanks, but ultimately it is something so complex and private for Vertin─who sees it as a one-sided relationship, since she cannot hear nor see you, unlike other arcanists who may reach the 100% bond─that I don't think she would talk about it with anyone, not even Sonetto! The name on your profile and whatever message you've written there are secrets she will take to her grave. The idea of Vertin being the eyes and hands of the Player, but having no way to truly see or hear them makes for a really fun concept to explore!

And on the subject of messages, let's be honest, if you've written something funny or some modern shitpost, chances are she won't understand it LMFAO so it's okay! I literally just have my socials and "men enjoyer" listed there.

Oh! But since you brought it up, the message section could be a fun, little way to communicate with Vertin, since she can read what's on there!

As for P2P players, Vertin wouldn't see any information from the Player's credit card since that's something that happens outside the app lolol. Like, to me, it directly opens to google play transaction stuff.

On the subject of the player dropping the game for long periods of time.

Hmm, in the first post I said that there might be characters ouside Vertin and her suitcase who may be self-aware, with their own goals and such. But nothing truly "matters" unless the Player is there to witness it. So to keep including these possibilities and details, I feel like there's two options, pick whichever you like the most!

One, time continues as usual within the game─but once it reaches an important date where the plot is meant to kick in with some important event, it simply resets back to where you left it. This is a world that exists outside of your perception, but cannot continue without you.

Two, time freezes entirely within the game─but only for those who are not self-aware. Keep in mind we're talking about long periods of time, this wouldn't happen if you log in every day, or every few days. This is what happens when your phone picks up the fact that Reverse: 1999 is one of the unused apps taking up space in your phone. This is a world that stops existing once you stop looking at it.

In both options, the Wilderness would remain unaffected as it seems to be entirely disconnected from the flow of time and space outside of it.

On the subject of the game's mail.

Since the messages auto-delete and all, I can't check but I'm pretty sure Vertin receives mail too? There were a few ones from a few characters a while back like Druvis III or An-an Lee, and I think the implication is that they were vaguely addressing Vertin?

If someone has screenshots and can confirm this, please let me know!

Either way, the easy answer is that yeah, she knows this is a game, so she could make the assumption that there's more players. She has access to your friend list, after all! And even if you don't have anyone added, the fact that it exists is enough for her to start connecting the dots.

I don't remember saying that Vertin can hear the Player, though! I think I was pretty consistent with her not being able to see nor hear you, to have the Player as some sort of eldritch, unknowable entity. But I also write so much stuff in this blog that it's hard to keep up sometimes lolol, if I've mentioned somewhere that Vertin can hear the player, it was a mistake!

#reverse 1999 #reverse: 1999 #reverse 1999 x reader #self aware au #vertin

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ninjago-oc-appreciation · 7 months

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Ninjago Oc Secret Santa 2023

What is a Secret Santa? - A Secret Santa is a gift giving event; you'll be assigned someone to secretly make a gift for, and someone will make a gift for you. - It's very important that no one knows that you are making them a gift and vice versa, that you don’t know who is making you a gift! - This event is a writing and art event! Are there any rules? - Absolutely no N/S/F/W or Suggestive content is permitted for prompts, gifts, or references. This is /not/ an 18+ event. - No direct contact with the person you're making a gift for; you can communicate through me or someone helping run the event, or ask through anon on tumblr if you can. - No AI art/writing, Gacha edits, face claims, picrews, or bases will be permitted for oc reference submissions or gifts. - Oc x Canon and Oc x Oc ships are 100% allowed. - Fankids, sonas, and self inserts are also allowed; my only rule is that fankids of Lloyd x Canon ships are not permitted. - Please respect requests regarding holiday or seasonal preferences when making a gift. Don't depict an oc participating in a holiday or seasonal activity that the creator asked not be depicted. How many ocs can be submitted total? - At least one oc is required, but up to three can be submitted ^^ What will I need for sign ups? - Refs or art that show a clear, colored depiction of your oc. - OR at least two pieces of writing for said oc (does not need to be a whole fic. Could easily just be a quick blurb showing how they’re written as a character) - Basic Information/Fun Facts about your character. This can be background information, relationships, likes/dislikes, age and height, personality, etc. - Suggestions or prompts for your gift giver. Stuff to help get their brain going. - Your blog name (not the name you go by online but the url name. Like @/Ninjago-Oc-Appreciation. Make sure it's a tumblr url, and not from any other social media) What's the general timeline for this event? - Sign ups will officially begin near the end of October, around the week of Halloween. - Assignments will be within the first couple of weeks of November. - You will have until December 23rd to January 7th to finish your piece. These will be the designated posting days. - January 8th to 14th will be the designated late week. How do I sign up? - In Late October, I'll post a google form where you can submit your oc(s)! There will be one for writing and one for art! - Please reach out to me in someway after signing up. This can be through messages, asks, comments, etc. In the past we've had issues with the forms, where they'd "eat' a submission, and I'd like to know when to check to make sure this doesn't happen again. Additional Notes: - The forms won't collect your email, I turn off any settings that will to ensure privacy. If they are requiring you to sign in, tell me so I can look into why. - This year I am joined by @totally-not-into-drama! They have offered to help with assignments, so expect to get a message from either me or them when the time comes! - We'll be using #NOSS2023 and #SecretNinja2023 as tags for this event! That's all! If you have any questions feel free to let me know, I tried to cover everything but I may have missed something!

#Ninjago #Ninjago oc #Ninjago ocs #Ninjago oc Secret Santa #Ninjago events #NOSS2023 #SecretNinja2023 #Aries posts #Aries talks #dunno which tag I use

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9w1ft · 3 months

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I always interpreted evermore as a song about depression, I never linked it to Kaylor, can you tell me your view on this song?

dang i had a conversation about this with someone several months ago but i can’t find it. ill give you the abridged version. firstly, i think it can be about both! because the situation got depressing there for a hot minute!!

taylor said in an interview with zane lowe for apple music that she had written the song when the election was upon us and she didn't know what was going to happen. evermore the album was released in december 2020, which suggests that she wrote it pretty close to the release date, but also had time to reflect on what she knew to be true before releasing it— that trump wouldn’t win reelection. there’s a billboard article where she talks about the moment she learned biden won and i think it meshes really well with how evermore concludes thematically and emotionally.

when we think about the impact that trump being elected had on kaylor back in 2016–throwing a birthday party for lorde only days before the 2016 general election and wearing the vsfs angel wing ring in public for the first time, and that picture of them both kissing lorde on the cheek, going from that to at once enacting a love blackout and never being seen regularly in public again (the next time being rep tour 2018)— and on top of that, them going out of their way to separate themselves in the media via the creation of a “feud” during 2017 (swish swish, sushigate, etcetera) which pitted karlie with katy perry and kanye and cast her as someone for swifties to hate, guilty by association, we can imagine the weight and sadness of this chapter in their story. this is the start of the pain. this choice (i consider it a choice), to take the battle underground, sunk kaylor little by little into the world of the improbable for any casual observer. and it also put somewhat of a hex on karlie indefinitely, and for as brave of a soldier as she is, its an awful long while to be put in jail for something you didn’t do.

with these details as the background, i consider evermore to be a song chiefly about 2019 onward, though you might also position some of the date markers in the song within a sort of 2016/2017 focused timeframe. personally though i tend to think that 2019 events work just as well and operate under similar themes. for example, “hey november i’ve been down since july” could be in reference to the period of time where it became slowly more clear that the 2016 election results might not be a non-starter. or, it could reference the day after the masters sale (which was end of june 2019) and the theorized “failed coming out” that many expected her to do at the new york city pride parade that week. this followed by november, the conclusion of editing Miss Americana which would be released the following month (“motion capture put me in a bad light”) or alternatively november 2020, the point at which she is writing this song. there’s also an lsk theory that taylor and karlie were broken up from july to november 2019 but im not so versed in that so i’ll just keep it to a mention.

in any case, “hey december” can circle back to miss americana being released, not as a coming out documentary but as a “political coming out” documentary. hence the “can’t remember what i used to fight for.”

or it could be both, in a way. for example rewinding the tape but all it does is pause on the very moment all was lost could be both the rewinding of the miss americana documentary released in 2019, and/or perhaps conceptually the idea of the 2016 election night footage being rewound by everyone in the disbelief that occured the night that “all was lost”

because all was lost that night, in a way, no?

i tend to see justin vernon’s part as being a depiction of karlie after kaylor was exiled to a new level post the masters sale. i don’t mean this to say they were broken up. it’s just that they had to do a factory reset on a lot of the progress that had been made up until that point, and they would not be seen together (in order to accomplish some vigilante shit, is what i think anyway). back to justin vernon’s lines. it just reminded me deeply of all the hate karlie got that summer. and indeed, all the hate she had accrued until then. whether summer or winter, this feuding arc had put karlie in a position that i would argue was growing unbearable and incessant. “out on waves im being tossed, is there a line that i could just go cross?” referring to the latest wave of said hate. in this scenario, “can’t not think of all the cost and the things that would be lost oh can’t we just get a pause to be certain we’ll be tall again?” seems like karlie calling out to taylor, amidst the haze and confusion of the masters sale, think about everything that we would be giving up if you don’t come out right now. (think of me.). and then upon that line leading nowhere saying hey let’s pause before we hurt each other, to be certain we will make it through. here “tall again” reminds me of paper rings “standing here so tall”

so what of the ending? well, as a time marker i would once again refer to when the song was released, post-2020 election, where taylor saw that trump had lost and they would have a path forward. …covid-19 was yet to happen of course, and with that i think there were life priority shifts, but i just see evermore as a song that covers taylor and karlie seeing a light at the end of the tunnel that had been their love lockdown to love blackout to exile story. its a song that encompasses so much hope and i just really really really love it as a kaylor song because of the specificity with which you can tie it to their story, specifically a more contemporary chapter, the likes of which we hadn’t had too many songs depicting up until that point (basically just peace/hoax/the lakes).

so yeah that’s why it’s a kaylor song to me 🫶

#it paints a singular picture

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mythriteshah · 24 days

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Ladies and gentlemen: the time has come once again! After yet another long winter’s time of gathering resources - And now sponsoring the illustrious Etheirys Blitzball League - the Higuri Regalia is proud to announce the return of the “Regalia Largesse” - marking its seventh occurrence!

For those unaware or uninitiated: The Regalia Largesse is an annual event spanning anywhere between 5-7 days that occurs around the late spring/early summer, and is considered the “pinnacle of Noblesse Oblige”!

During this event, individuals from the Higuri Regalia’s hierarchy will make appearances within the various city-states to offer wares to the adventuring public - FOR FREE (Tips and donations are always greatly appreciated, but never mandatory)!

On Sunday, June 16th, at around 7PM EDT, look for a Party Finder ad from any one of the Regalia members; they will provide you information on where they are, and what items will be offered, with a detailed list of what’s available while supplies last. Due to the ever-increasing quantity of wares, their post duration has been extended to three hours. All locations take place on the Balmung World in the Crystal Data Center.

Also, throughout the week, starting at the commencement of the Largesse, those who are willing to partake in a special contest will receive a number. On last day of that week (i.e. the end of the Largesse), a raffle will take place where a series of numbers will be drawn, and those who win will be offered prizes!

RULES:

*To enter the raffle, simply ask the representative currently posted during that day; a tracker is kept throughout the course of the event, and is shared amongst the Regalia members.

You MUST attend the final day of the Largesse in order to qualify for a chance to win.

In the event you are unable to attend the raffle for any reason, you are allowed 1 proxy to vouch for you, so long as they state whom they are replacing.

If your number happens to be drawn, you are offered a chance to decline a particular prize if you have eyes on another, but a winner will be decided for the sake of fairness.

*IMPORTANT: IN LIGHT OF CHANGES TO THE MOG STATION, AND AS AN ADDITION TO THE FIRST RULE: YOU WILL RECEIVE A FRIEND REQUEST FROM THE REGALIA MEMBER DURING THEIR POST. SHOULD ANY WINNERS RECEIVE AN ITEM FROM THE MOG STATION AND DO NOT YET MEET THE 72-HOUR GRACE PERIOD, THEY MUST WAIT UNTIL THAT IS CLEARED BEFORE RECEIVING IT.

Notes: Sprouts (New Players/Adventurers) will receive Flying Beds and/or attire Coffers as a consolation gift.

The prize list includes the following, and are subject to change:

1st Place Winners: A Chrysomallos Horn/Magitek Avenger G1 Identification Key/Gilded Mikoshi Horn/Golden Ronkan Flute! (x3 each; 6 winners)

2nd Place Winners: An Island Adenium Whistle/Island Peerifool Whistle/Quaqua Horn/Sabotender De La Luna Whistle! (x2 each; 8 winners)

3rd Place Winners: An item (or items) from the Mog Station worth ≤$35! (5 winners)

4th Place Winners: An Uolosapa! (10 winners)

*NEW UPDATE: As thanks to the Etheirys Blitzball League for allowing the Regalia to serve as League Sponsors this season, the Regalia is providing additional items to promote the many teams who performed admirably throughout the season. Whether you're a newly-dubbed fan of the sport, or a longtime supporter, show love for your favorite team by acquiring one of their "team exclusives"! (NOTE: You're only allowed a maximum two items: one from any one team in either Conference. In the event you already possess the listed items, you may simply state your favorite team to the individual posted that day.)

Aldenard Blitzball Conference

Ul'dah High Rollers: Royal Lunatender

Limsa Lominsa Barracuda: Assassin Fry

Gridania Greenswrath: Blue-footed Booby

Ishgard Sky Strikers: Hraesvelgr Attire Coffer

Ala Mhigo Liberators: Ala Mhigan Gown

Sharlayan Archon Aces: Greener Gleaner

Eastern Blitzball Conference

Kugane Daigoros: Black Hayate

Doma Nine-Tails: Dress-up Yugiri

Radz-at-Han Radiance: Thavnairian Bustier/Bolero

Garlemald Ceruleum Knights: Private Pachypodium

Azim Steppe Naadominators: Wind-up Magnai/Sadu/Hien

Valnain Red Comets: Save the Princess

Look for these beautiful individuals throughout the week for the item(s) of the day. Note: stock may (and will) expand between now and the commencement of the Largesse, so everything listed herein is not final.

Sunday, June 16th: Isja "Coldgaze" Kaltablik (Ul’dah, Steps of Nald; Arrzaneth Ossuary)

Items:

Fashion Accessories

Summer Attire

Parasols

Monday, June 17th: Treasurer Susuna Suna (Ul’dah, Steps of Thal; The Gold Court)

Items:

Modern Aesthetics (A Close Shave; Gyr Abanian Plait; Samsonian Locks; Both Ways; Scanning for Style; Battle-ready Bobs; Wind Caller; Controlled Chaos; Early to Rise; Form and Function; Modern Legend; Saintly Style; Ambitious Ends; The Bold and the Braid)

Ballroom Etiquette (/Lean; /Shiver; /Wow; /Eatapple; /Eatriceball; /Bread; /Malevolence; /Guard; /Confirm; /Insist; /Scheme; /Wringhands; /Read; /Paint; /Broom; /Highfive; /Fistpump; /Wow; /Reference; /Humbletriumph)

Tuesday, June 18th: Yuanji Yuji (Shirogane; Ward 16, Plot 60)

Items:

Chocobo Barding

Wednesday, June 19th: Umimi Umi (Limsa Lominsa Upper Decks; The Aftcastle)

Items:

Rare Minions

Wind-Ups/Dress-Ups

Thursday, June 20th: Sesena Sena (Old Gridania; Mih Khetto’s Amphitheatre)

Items:

Vanity clothing

Pajamas

Friday, June 21st: Thiji Higuri (???)

Raffle & Additional Surprises

We look forward to serving you all, and thank you for choosing the Higuri Regalia, Where There is Power in Beauty.

#thiji higuri #higuri regalia #ffxiv #high fashion #lalafell #ffxiv rp #ffxiv a realm reborn #largesse #regalia largesse #ffxiv balmung #balmung rp #crystal rp #crystal data center #rp event #raffle #radz at han #thavnair #hannish

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owmylasagna-blog · 4 months

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Headcanon: I guess post-BPS, Eddy would be really depressed and in a indetity crisis for at very least two weeks (it's too much of a drastic change to him), Edd would do his best to be a sensitive, empathetic friend and help him out while struggling with his own flaws and his bitchy side (I figure they would stop bickering SO THAT MUCH after BPS, at least for a while). tbh I guess Ed would be too happy making friends with the kids or rebulting a sibling relationship with Sarah to notice for some while (He always had been somewhat oblivious to the others' problems, and I figure him being the most popular, beloved, accepted one post-BPS).

What do you think?

Oh yes let’s talk about it! I could see quite a lot of what you’ve mentioned happening for sure. I’m just gonna go into more detail because I can’t help myself and you asked so…

BPS obviously is meant to be THE groundbreaking moment for Eddy’s character. So let’s get into it.

Eddy is a survivor of abuse. And a fighter. He’s got a little of that Childhood Trauma™️ and it does in fact “build [his] character”. See what I did there? Anyway, the point is that just because Eddy has this major turning point, his trauma isn’t going anywhere overnight.

Rachel Connor, one of the writers of the movie who worked specifically on the scenes with Bro, wrote a post where she described Eddy as the Great Pretender which… BIG OOF! As the show progresses Eddy loses sight of who he is more and more as he digs himself deeper into the Bro hole: emulating him more, wanting to impress him more, lying about him more (or perpetuating lies. Who knows!). The whole Great Pretender act isn’t exactly fulfilling. It’s putting more stress on his actual friendships with his pals. His depression in the 5th season (@book-o-scams has written about this) feels like a result of all this.

So when Eddy’s scam goes so horribly wrong that he and his friends are run out of PC, he almost loses Edd’s friendship, only to get publicly abused by his big bro, Eddy is faced with the reality of the person he could become. And that’s when he knows it has to end. This epiphany should be liberating for him in some ways but also sets off a whole self discovery journey. Of course he’d feel a little lost at the start, trying out lots of different versions of himself, before ultimately embracing his multifaceted self into adulthood. Aren’t we all a little lost in our teen years?

After all he’s been through with his brother, the guy has major trust issues. It's clear that Eddy is anxious to belong and be popular, but attempting to fleece the other kids for quarters at every turn isn’t exactly the best way of making friends (except that it’s a bonding activity with the other Eds). And that feels intentional whether he’s conscious of it or not, that what he’s really after is status instead of acceptance. Because if he doesn’t get too close with others he can’t get hurt. Trust issues are really hard to shake. That’s always going to impact his relationships and specifically his interactions with the other kids immediately following the events of BPS. It’s going to take him years to work through that. And I think he will, with time, get better at trusting and getting close to others.

My interpretation is that Eddy would be pretty bummed and depressed for a while despite all the new acceptance from his other peers, just because he’s having to analyze his own behavior more, question his relationship with his bro, with his family at large, with his best friends, with everyone else around him. I often add a layer of him struggling with the realization he might be gay during the year or two following the events of BPS, and that's not the easiest pill for him to swallow either. I think he’d still put up walls to protect himself and try to find ways to be liked and accepted, to be entertaining or prove himself. I don’t see him immediately being as outgoing with the other cul-se-sac kids as he is within the Eds, but I think at his core he is actually a cool and interesting guy and that comes through. On the flip side, I think he’d mostly work on being more honest and vulnerable with Edd and Ed in the months and years following which just strengthens their bonds more and together they learn to be better people to each other! Woohoo!

We’re moving on: Edd. BPS is a trial of his friendship with Eddy and they came out the other side much more sympathetic to one another. The tension that grows between them during the series run is as much a result of Eddy’s desperation as it is a result of Edd’s anxiety getting way worse. So yes, where I do see Edd helping Eddy through some of his depression following BPS, I also see Eddy helping ground Edd with some of his own issues that are percolating to the surface more. Just two little emo outcasts being there for eachother. Couldn’t be a recipe for a little gay awakening. No chance. (I’m being sarcastic, y’all. You know my schtick). I still think they’d bicker, though. Like a lot. It’s just core to their personalities. Fights just wouldn’t come to blows in the same way. It’s a lot harder to stay mad when you can see the clearly labeled buttons you’re pushing, you know?

Outside of his relationship to Eddy, Edd also seems to be shifting away from being blindly obedient towards authority like in the series. Nothing like seeing a man-child beat on an actual child to really wreck your world view. Up until that point, Edd is a textbook rule follower. I think there is an interesting perspective shift, seeing the world as Eddy has, that will shake his idealism and optimism ever so slightly. Thus starting a tiny little rebellious streak. Again, can’t reiterate enough that turning 13 is such a bitch. The mental toil.

Ed. Oh, Ed. Ed kinda has his whole thing figured out already. I sometimes describe Ed’s heroic act in BPS as him getting his brain back a bit after the school season episodes. I think the kid just dissociates especially hard when he is at school which makes him seem extra random in these episodes. We all gotta cope somehow. Anyway, I do also weirdly think Ed would get on with the other cul-de-sac kids pretty well on his own: he already has decent rapport with the likes of Jonny and Rolf so it would be interesting to see these relationships explored more. In the show he already seems the floater type. Maybe Ed becomes Jonny’s only friend when he becomes the new “outcast” of the cul-de-sac.

I think his consistency is really going to help Edd and Eddy through whatever ups and downs they go through. He’s the type to lighten the mood or give a sympathetic ear or listen to a rant without judgment. He has and always will accept them just as they are, and himself just as he is, and that does wonders for the group’s morale. Also, with Eddy dialing back on the Bro act I can see Ed also being kinder (he’s often feeding off the bad examples) and really embracing the surrogate big brother role for Eddy. I’d love for that relationship to be strengthened more too, and Ed to come to his defense and protection more readily in the way he does with Sarah. At first it would probably annoy Eddy to no end but he’d reluctantly get over it because deep down it feels good to be cared for. Soft like mashed potatoes indeed.

More than Ed rebuilding the relationship with Sarah is Sarah sticking up for her brother to her parents. I think she’d definitely come around to recognizing she’s abused her privileges as the favorite child and also grateful that her brother didn’t turn out That Bad considering. While she’s mending things with Ed I think she’d still take out her younger sibling rage on Eddy (I like to think she sees him as a bonus brother she never asked for). I don’t think they necessarily hate each other or anything, they just have that energy of two scrappy alley cats who have to hiss and swat before parting ways.

#I feel like I both answered the question and only scratched the surface #lots to chew on #yap yap dribble dribble

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tendersky · 17 days

Note

hiii, do you have sources for the whole ao3 situation? where the volunteer didnt actually get kicked out for being pro palestine?

Sure! I'm getting all my information from the "official" sources that everyone is sharing, which is this tumblr post and this Google Doc. (I believe there's a "new year" Dreamwidth post that people also reference but I haven't read it so won't reference it).

First, a direct quote from the Tumblr post: "I left because I was horrified by the org and all of the racism they promised to work on but never ever did." -> didn't get kicked out, suspended, or anything from AO3, the user (Bjorn) voluntarily left the organization.

The rest of the screenshots from the Google doc are from a Slack channel you have to opt into about I/P, which is a place you are most likely to find Zionists.

I'll break down the conversation here.

Here's the first included warning:

I'm writing to you on behalf of Tag Wrangling Chairs due to a few serious issues which have been brought to our attention. A number of volunteers have approached us, either privately or through VolCom, to convey concerns regarding your behaviour in the #x-politics-society-current-events and #x-politics-israel-palestine-events Slack channels.

Our Code of Conduct,, which you agreed to in our most recent Still Willing to Wrangle, requires that all volunteers maintain a level of civility when interacting with one another. Specifically, "We never lose sight of everyone's right to be treated with dignity, compassion and respect."

The language and tone that you have been using do not convey compassion or respect toward your fellow volunteers. For example, you accused a fellow volunteer of defending murder and war crimes, and have referred to another as a "fucking asshole".

We understand that this is an emotionally charged situation, and that with so much death and destruction happening, it is easy to misdirect the anger and helplessness you might feel. However, to the best of our ability, we need to assume that our fellow volunteers are well-intentioned and speaking in good faith, and not devolve to insults or name-calling.

Please understand that should we receive additional complaints or note that you have continued to violate the Code of Conduct in your treatment of other volunteers, we Chairs may step in and remove you from certain social Slack channels, either temporarily or permanently depending on the number and nature of the complaint(s). We hope that this will not be necessary.

--> so, they're being warned for not following the Code of Conduct, which includes being civil to other people. Nothing is said about "from the river to the sea". Bjorn brings up "from the river to the sea" unprompted in their response:

Additionally, if me saying "from the river to the sea" is supposedly against the Code of Conduct and grounds for repeatedly removing me from the channel, when other people are allowed to deny genocide and defend war crimes on perceived technicalities with explicit defense from the org, I believe that reflects extremely poorly on the org as a whole. If this sentiment continues to be upheld by supervisors, that is extremely concerning. Especially since I was reported and warned for accusing someone of supporting genocide, but people are allowed to accuse me of the same thing with support from other people in the channel.

It looks like two days passed before staff responded to Bjorn, and we get this quote:

Okay. To be very clear. You are absolutely entitled to your opinion and to your beliefs, and we have zero issue with you expressing those opinions and beliefs in conversation so long as you do so while obeying both the letter and the spirit of the Code of Conduct.

Now, to the other side of this. You have been removed from the room repeatedly within the past 24 hours for Code of Conduct violations as we told you might happen, and I am now going to go ahead and remove you from the room and ask that you do not return for one week while we discuss the room in general with the other chairs.

When we wrote to you two days ago, we specifically chose not to address your Slack status "Palestine will be free" with you even though several volunteers had mentioned to us that this phrase made them uncomfortable. While the phrase did make some folks uncomfortable, it also wasn't obviously trying to be antagonistic. We are not responsible for making sure everyone is comfortable all the time. It was an expression of your beliefs, and that wasn't an issue we felt was appropriate for us to address since it wasn't in and of itself a violation of the Code of Conduct.

So: Having your Slack status as "Palestine will be free" is not a violation of the Code of Conduct.

We go on with their response.

What is a violation of the Code of Conduct is that since we notified you that folks were having a hard time with your behaviour in that channel, the behaviour has gotten worse. You've gotten into arguments repeatedly and called folks names; you've accused folks of defending murder. You've been abrasive and argumentative throughout your exchanges there.

Are you the only person who has done so? Clearly not. And you aren't the only person we've spoken to about this. If it feels like you're being singled out, I'm very sorry for that, and you are correct that you are not the only one who has caused issues. However. We do not address the behavior of other volunteers with you the same way we do not address your behavior with them.

That said, when we let you know that others were uncomfortable, instead of discussing this with us or asking any questions, you gave us a dismissive "k", and instead began relentlessly posting articles to the room and occasionally leaving long tirades about your disgust for folks who do not agree with your specific point of view. Within about an hour of our having spoken with you, you changed your status from "Palestine will be free" to "from the river to the sea Palestine will be free". And this was after we let you know that you were making folks uncomfortable and specifically asked you to be more mindful of your language and not to lose sight of everyone's right to be treated with dignity, compassion, and respect.

Basically, 'we talked to you about the code of conduct violations, you continued to specifically provoke people with your Slack status, you know how it affects people'.

You have been involved in enough conversations over the last month about that particular phrase that you knew or should have known the impact it would have on other volunteers to see that in your status given its fraught and controversial history. You were also aware of the impact it would have to use it in the room, repeatedly.

We are a volunteer organization and the use of Slack is, at its core, a way for us to be able to communicate with each other more easily to do our work. The social aspects are absolutely a lovely bonus, but they are not the point. If you can not have civil exchanges in those spaces and respect your fellow volunteers enough to stop when they ask you to stop, we expect you to remove yourself from those spaces. Just as we expect of every single other volunteer on our committee.

So: removed from the specific channel for violating the Code of Conduct and deliberately provoking other people.

I also want to address another part of Bjorn's accusation, as seen in their response to staff here:

when other people are allowed to deny genocide and defend war crimes on perceived technicalities with explicit defense from the org

if there was any explicit defense from ao3 about this I would expect to see screenshots, which I don't see

We don't know if other people in the channel also got reprimanded from AO3, because Bjorn doesn't know.

I'd love to see a comprehensive investigation, possibly with undercover volunteers, into Ao3's zionism and racism. Unfortunately, I find this to be shoddy, sensationalist journalism. Something else that puts me off of this statement is that @end-otw-racism refused to promote/work with Bjorn on this because Bjorn refused to redact names from the screenshots in the Slack, opening up volunteers to potentially being doxxed. With the past CSAM attacks happening to AO3 volunteers, I find this extremely off-putting.

#ao3 discourse #ao3 #archive of our own #end otw racism

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anotherhumaninthisworld · 6 months

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What caused the conflict between Robespierre and his supporters and Thermidorians that led to the events of 27/28th July? Everyone keeps saying different things

If we’re talking about a specific event that lead directly to July 27, the answer to me is pretty simple — it was the speech Robespierre held the day right before it, in which he called for new proscriptions against deputies in the Convention, the Committee of Public Safety (CPS) and the Committee of General Security (CGS), without being clear about exactly which ones he was targeting (even after explicately having been asked to to do so right after the speech was finished). If dissent between the robespierrists and other deputies, as well as more longgoing plans to undermine the former, had existed already before this speech was held, what ultimately happened on July 27 was not a result of these as much as something improvised in less than 24 hours in response to the sudden crisis it had caused by making everyone fear they might be on Robespierre’s list.

If we’re talking more about the underlying motives which made the situation on July 26-28 happen in the first place, for Robespierre’s part, he had grown convinced that the Convention and the two government committees contained conspirators within their midst. Exactly which people he suspected to be part of this conspiracy is hard to know for sure, seeing as he, as already stated, didn’t make himself clear enough in the speech (I’ve speculated a bit on which people I think it’s most likely he had in mind in this post). It is equally dubious whether Robespierre’s collegues at the CPS to some extent had supported his views or how much this new conspiracy was his own hobby horse. Regardless, Robespierre believed the conspirators had to be unveiled and crushed at any price, and, after openly having expressed his fears about them a couple of times at the Jacobin club, he finally decided to openly ask the Convention to take action.

When it comes to the people who overthrew Robespierre, once it was over and done, they would almost all give the same answer as to why they had acted the way they had acted — Robespierre was either acting like or aspiring to become a tyrant/dictator, and they killed him in order to put a stop to this authoritarian project. While I wouldn’t dismiss a fear like this to be nothing but a post construction, it can nevertheless also be established that, when looking closer at these guys’ activities shortly before thermidor, many can be revealed to have had motives grounded in personal dissatisfactions and/or fears of Robespierre as much as any eventual noble intentions. Some examples can be seen below:

Tallien (spoke against Robespierre during the session of 9 thermidor, was one of ten deputies to have signed the pampleth Conjuration formée dès le 5 préréal [sic] par neuf représentants du peuple contre Maximilien Robespierre, pour le poignarder en plein senat released shortly after thermidor) — Openly denounced by Robespierre on June 12 on the grounds of being ”one of those who speak incessantly with terror, and publicly of the guillotine, as something that concerns them, to debase and disturb the National Convention.” His mistress has been imprisoned since May 22 (the warrant for her arrest was actually written by Robespierre himself, but idk if Tallien was aware of that) and he is in dire need to get her out of jail. In his memoirs, Fouché claims that Tallien was one of several deputies he in the weeks leading up to thermidor would tell: ”you are on the list, you are on the list as well as myself, I am certain of it!” no doubt alarming the latter.

Fouché (Pointed to by several contemporaries as the leader of/important for the conspiracy. Did however not play an active role during July 27-28) — was recalled from his mission in Lyon on March 27by a rather frosty decree written by Robespierre. After returning, Fouché possibly had a private meeting with him where he would have been scolded for his conduct (though interestingly, on April 8, Robespierre is recorded to have ”praised” Fouché after the latter had read a report regarding his activities in Lyon…) He has also come under suspicion for his alleged atheism and ties to certain hébertists (most importantly Ronsin who had been his collegue in Lyon before getting executed alongside the hébertists in March 1794). On July 14, Fouché was openly attacked by Robespierre, who called him ”the leader of the conspiracy which we have to thwart" and got him expelled from the jacobins. If Fouché wasn’t already plotting Robespierre’s downfall at that point he surely must have started doing so after this incident.

Billaud-Varennes (spoke against Robespierre during the session of 9 thermidor) — Indirectly denounced by Robespierre in his final speech, both through the phrase ”why do those who told you once that we are walking on a volcano think that we walk on only roses today?” and the suggestion to purge members of the CPS. Booed down and driven out of the Jacobin Club under shouts of ”the conspirators to the guillotine” when Robespierre rerread said speech there on the evening of July 26, which probably gave him a very strong feeling that he was on the menu and would be executed if Robespierre was not. Claimed after thermidor to during a CPS meeting loudly have accused Robespierre and Couthon of pushing through the law of 22 prairial without anyone else in the committee having been involved, leading to the session becoming so stormy that the windows had to be closed.

Collot d’Herbois (spoke against Robespierre during the session of 9 thermidor, was also chairholder during this session) — Driven out of the Jacobin Club under shouts of ”to the guillotine” at the same time as Billaud-Varennes. According to one report, this was not before he had thrown himself before Robespierre’s feet and begged him to reunite with the CPS. Had been tipped off by Fouché on April 20 that Robespierre was investigating the latter for his actions in Lyon, which would make him guilty by association. Claimed in his defence (March 1 1795) to once have been declared ”traitor and conspirator” by Robespierre, ”because I had strongly supported the useful and wise proposal that Lindet made, to require horses and carriages in each section of Paris, in order to provide for the supplies of the armies.” According to Michel Biard’s Collot d’Herbois: légendes noires et révolutions(1995) Collot and Billaud’s abandonment of Robespierre is best understood through their perception of his political role than it is by any eventual differences in political or religious matters.

Vadier, Élie Lacoste (spoke against Robespierre during the session of 9 thermidor, Lacoste being the one to demand an arrest warrant against Augustin Robespierre) — these were both members of the CGS. Robespierre had explicately denounced said committee, and particulary its agents, in his July 26 speech, ending by demanding it lose its autonomy to instead become subserviant to the CPS. The CGS had however already earlier that year been robbed of some of its special attributes, when, on April 20, a CPS driven police bureau, mainly directed by Robespierre, Couthon and Saint-Just, had been introduced, something we might imagiene also became an object of irritation. Two months later, Robespierre had also personally taken care one of the committee’s cases (the Catherine Théot affair, which I wrote about more at length here) was taken away from them to instead be run by robespierrists. The handling of said affair was also something Robespierre explicately denounced the CGS for in his July 26 speech. It is also commonly stated that Vadier disagreed with Robespierre’s religious ideas, he himself being a militant atheist, but I’m not sure for what the source for that is.

Fréron (spoke against Robespierre during the session of 9 thermidor, was one of ten deputies to have signed the pampleth Conjuration formée dès le 5 préréal…) — was never openly denounced by Robespierre as far as I’m aware, nor was the decree recalling him from his mission in Marseille, on the grounds of having gone to far when wanting to rename the city, been neither authored nor signed by him. We do however know Fréron had been close to the dantonists executed in April, thereby making revenge and/or fear of being seen as ”guilty by association” a possible motive. The same thing can be said for other men traditionally described as dantonists that we know worked against Robespierre, such as Bourdon de l’Oise, Thuriot, Guffroy etc.

Guffroy (was one of ten deputies to have signed the pampleth Conjuration formée dès le 5 préréal…) — disillusioned by the fact Robespierre and the rest of the CPS have failed/chosen not to act on the representative on mission Joseph Lebon after Guffroy multiple times had denounced him to them.

Bourdon d’Oise (spoke against Robespierre during the session of 9 thermidor) — Had spoken against the law of 22 prairial both June 10, 11 and 12, earning himself a reprimand from Robespierre on the latter of these dates. According to the memoirs of Pierre Nicolas Berryer, it was after this session Bourdon started plotting for Robespierre’s downfall, seeing in it ”a struggle to the death” between the two, and planning to on his own stab him to death with a cutlass.

Lecointre (author behind the pampleth Conjuration formée dès le 5 préréal [sic] par neuf représentants du peuple contre Maximilien Robespierre, pour le poignarder en plein senat released shortly after thermidor) — Openly spoke against the law of 22 prairial when it was introduced on June 10, asking for an adjournment and applauding the deputy Ruamps when he said he would blow his brains out was the law to pass. In the above mentioned pampleth, he wrote that it was when he heard rumors Robespierre was the only person behind the law he decided to start working to undermine him.

So as can be seen, there’s not really a single motive for the conspirators, but a whole bunch of them. To understand them better, it is also important to remember just how the political climate looked like by the summer of 1794. I think it’s safe to assume the trials and executions of the hébertists and dantonists in March and April had unnerved several of the Convention deputies, the death of Danton in particular being seen as evidence that anyone could be declared a counter-revolutionary. Then just two months later, the law of 22 prairial gets introduced by Couthon and Robespierre, a law which strips the Convention of its exclusive rights to bring its own members to trial. This just two days after Robespierre has presided over the Festival of the Supreme Being, an event which had put several members a bit off. With all these things combined, I don’t think it’s fully unreasonable people would be willing to believe Robespierre was up to no good/planning to make himself a dictator, especially if someone was actively spreading/confirming that fear. It’s also important to keep in mind that on both sides of the conflict, the deputies were overworked, tired, irrational and suffering from the summer heat. I think thermidor is therefore best understood if we assume none of the men involved in it were necessarily on their most rational behaviour when things went down.

#sorry this took forever to get published #robespierre #fouché #tallien #billaud-varennes #collot d’herbois #frev #laurent lecointre #ask

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triaelf9 · 1 year

Note

FYI re the toxic chemical event and train derailment post. OP's initial post has been fact-checked and found to be inaccurate, hyperbolic and alarmist. While the spill, the fire and the chemical fallout IS absolutely catastrophic and awful, it's unclear how likely the scenario laid out in OP's post is. Most experts following updates from the EPA website have tended more towards "bad, but not life-extinguishing and not likely to be as far-reaching as initially feared".

It's infuriating that the derailment and extent of the damage was preventable and indeed that this is exactly what the rail unions were trying to stand against and highlight as recently as last November. This is an horrific environmental disaster caused almost solely by capitalism and corporate greed, cutting corners and sacrificing maintenance and regulatory adherence for the sake of maximising profits.

But it is probably not quite as bad as OP made out, and their catastrophising and spreading of alarmist misinformation isn't going to help the people of East Palestine, nor the unions and environmentalists fighting for better regulation and working conditions to prevent further environmental disasters.

For anyone who can afford to and wants to help, there's a reputable GoFundMe that seeks to provide relief funds to the residents of East Palestine to help ensure access to safe drinking water and financial relief following the recent evacuation and associated loss of income and additional expenses:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/relief-for-east-palestine-after-train-derailment

I've gotten a number of messages on this, but this is the one I'm sharing b/c it acknowledges that it's an issue outside of just the chemical aspect of it (which is why I shared the post) but also gives a way for us to help. Thank you for this message!

My main issue with this all is that the news coming out of this IS so slow and so varied in info (everything I've seen says something different) b/c I'm used to hearing about this sort of thing the day it happens, or at least within the week, but given twitter shit and the state of online news sharing, I feel like we're being let down in terms of media coverage, for those of us not in the area. To be clear, not all of us live in America, or have access to American TV and news coverage (especially b/c so much is region or paywall locked nowadays), but have family there and care about folks in the area.

I really do hope it's not as bad as initially feared, but I get why people could be panicking, given how recently those in charge have been...pretty shitty about handling recent bad situations *cough pandemic cough*

I do appreciate the heads up, as it's important to get all the information we can, but it's very difficult when we CAN'T get all the information, when it's getting harder to verify even media sources, and when this sort of thing isn't really clear about fallout until years later.

But I understand folks getting frustrated at the spread of misinformation. It was same for the Fukushima situation when no one here bothered to check up on any of the info of that, and Western media wasn't really reporting anything other than worst case senario.

We're all susceptible to misinformation!

Also, if I don't answer right away, you don't need to send more messages, time zones are a thing, and I live in Japan so I'm likely not awake ^_^;;

#Tria talks #thank you for this informative message!#look I'm mostly just freaked out that news isn't moving the same way online as it used to #I feel like that's something we need to pick up on #but it's hard b/c so many folks here live in the US and don't know what it's like to not be there amidst local and national news

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alwaysfarawayeyes · 6 months

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GatheringFiKi Trick or Treat event 2023

Trick Prompt: Something in de the Depths

Pairing: Fíli/Kíli

Rating: T

I spontaneously wrote a short prequel to my nearly (!!) finished story called ‘Ripped apart’.

I’ve also posted it on AO3 here. You can read Ripped apart here.

Fíli had seen them looking. They were staring and pointing when Kíli was close to him, when he and Kíli were together, just talking and holding hands. The councilmembers tried to be discreet, but Fíli noticed their scrutiny anyway.

Thorin's new council had formed within weeks of the great battle at their doorstep. The necessity of a council in Erebor had become painfully clear in the weeks directly following the battle. Balin had been run ragged to keep up-to-date on all the rebuilding, trades, cleanup, payments and new citizens, but it was just too much for him and Thorin to manage.

The council had a specific function. Thorin needed them to be his eyes and ears to keep up with everything happening within and around the mountain. They were tasked with researching and advising Thorin on all matters deemed important by them.

Most of the councilmembers were old, some had even served Fíli’s great-grandfather Thrór.

Most of them were set in their ways, steadfast in their beliefs.

Most of them had rumors of corruption surrounding them, but none of these accusations had ever been proven.

All of them had too much power.

Their staring continued over the weeks that followed. Their whispers stopped when Fíli got too close. Their long documents were quickly hidden away when he walked past them. Something was wrong.

He confided in Kíli first. "They're just old and can't handle the sight of so much love and beauty when they look at us." Kíli joked. Fíli laughed along, but in the back of his mind warning bells were going off. He needed to keep Kíli away from them.

He confided in his mother. She was thoughtful, promising to look into it.

He did not tell Thorin until he had overheard a councilmember mention Kíli by name while scowling and gesturing wildly. Kíli was no longer safe.

Thorin was busy, he always was, but he generally made time for his nephew. “Come in.” Thorin invited after the knock, putting down a folder of papers on top of a wobbly stack of other files.

Fíli thanked both his uncle and the member of staff who provided them with a cup of tea.

"It was a long day." Fíli sighed after they had both taken their first sip.

"And many such days will follow this one. It is the burden of ruling." Thorin agreed.

"I did not expect to be talking and sitting quite as much as I have been." Fíli confessed.

Thorin laughed. "It is different from our lives in the Blue Mountains and our life on the road." Thorin agreed. "But we can accomplish much more from our seats now than we ever could with our swords."

"It depends on what we want to accomplish." Fíli countered. "A band of orcs can hardly be thwarted from behind a desk."

"Touché."

The fire in the hearth provided a welcome noise during Fíli’s silence. Thorin looked at him expectantly. Everybody knew Fíli rarely visited for purely social reasons. There was always a purpose.

"I wanted to speak to you about the council." Fíli started after a particularly loud pop in the fireplace.

Thorin’s fingers tightened around his cup.

"What about them?"

"Perhaps I've read the situation wrong, but they seem preoccupied. By me and Kíli.”

Thorin frowned, pausing before saying “It seems only natural the council would take an interest in the heir to the throne of Erebor.”

Fíli felt his heart hammer in his ears. Thorin must have said it deliberately. The singular heir. Him and Kíli had always been the heirs, especially since their bond as Ones was publically acknowledged by Thorin.

“So they are interested in me specifically?” Fíli asked, careful of his phrasing. He gripped his mug to keep his hands from shaking.

“In Kíli as well of course, but you especially. You are the most important Dwarf in the mountain after all. After me of course.” Thorin’s smile was strained. He put his cup down and folded his hands tightly together. “I am afraid our time is up. I want to finish this before I head to bed.”

Fíli nodded as he got up. He tried to smile, but his face felt numb. His suspicions had been confirmed. Something was brewing.

----

Want to know what happens next? Read it here.

#gatheringfiki #fiki #fili/kili

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eoieopda · 1 year

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i’m going to discuss this one (1) time in full and then i will no longer devote my time, energy, or blog space to this topic. i simply cannot be assed to keep having this conversation. i will continue to block these anons as they pop up. in fact, i'll see y'all in a minute when you inevitably come calling.

here’s the tldr for anyone who is curious but does not have the capacity and/or desire to continue seeing this shit*.

*i have neither, and yet this is somehow still not over??

this whole thing is both buffoonery and goonery. i am so, so tired.

the people doing this are more concerned with hurting M and M’s friends than they are with their allegations of racism.

it’s gross as hell that people have misappropriated and devalued what could’ve been a meaningful discussion about an important topic... to instead shit on people they don't like.

i see you, besties 👀

tw: racism as written by white creators & as i have personally experienced (examples of micro-aggressions, racist messages i’ve received, etc.,) anonymous messages, harassment, cyberbullying.

p.s. i recognize that this is an exercise in futility and that literally nothing will convince these people to stop. i also recognize that saying something will probably make things worse for me. that's a problem for future jade™️, though, because present jade™️ is on one.

as we’re all aware, somebody is engineering an anonymous hate train against some of the writers on this site. these anons have been in their feelings (and the inboxes of writers, hate blogs, their own vagueposts, etc.) for weeks.

for what is probably the 100th time: my opinions are my own. i speak for myself, loudly and exclusively. not everyone is going to agree with me; that’s fine. my problem is not — and has never been — that people have different opinions than i do about the things i’m about to discuss. i’ll get into that later.

where it started:

an anon sent a message to a tea blog (read: hate blog) about M, who is white. the anon’s stated issue was that M included a depiction of racism/xenophobia in a chapter of a fic; and anon didn't feel that they should have. the position they took (if it existed in a vacuum) was valid and within their right to take. the way they went about all of this (by posting on a hate blog? in the year of our lord 2023?) was — in my opinion — sus as hell.

and that was before we all figured out what was happening here.

my position on white ppl writing about racism:

if a white writer can’t depict nuance or demonstrate any meaningful understanding of the issues they want to discuss, it’s my opinion that they have no business doing so.

for example: i’ve seen stories by white writers in which BIPOC react exclusively with violence or harsh words when confronted with racism. this, to me, is an “orange flag” because actual BIPOC have to do a lot of calculating in these situations. sure, the impulse to hulk out is there, but so is the risk that our immediate safety would be compromised further by hulking out. if that ^ kind of consideration isn’t fleshed out, i have a problem. when i see that ^ in stories, it tells me that the writer is not viewing the events they’re writing about through the lens of someone who actually experiences them and has not done their due diligence.

when i read racism as written by white authors, i primarily look at four things:

is the racist action depicted believable, or is it clear that the writer has absolutely no clue what they’re trying to talk about & made no attempts to learn?

does the inclusion of racism make sense in the context provided, or was it included for nefarious purposes (shock value, wokeness points™️, etc.)?

is there inclusion of the characters’ race, ethnicity, and/or culture in the fic outside their experiencing racism, or is that the only representation we get?

how do the characters process/react to this racism?

important context:

at the time i read the fic that sparked this whole ordeal, i’d just “met” M. this was around the time we became mutuals and started getting to know each other. all that to say, when i read this fic and formed an opinion on it, that was done as a reader, not a friend.

not as an “ass-licker,” “boba liberal,” worshipper of whiteness, and/or whatever else these anons have called me, either.

my opinion on the fic/situation hasn’t changed now that we are friends. if anything, getting to know M as a person (and not just as a writer whose fics i liked) has reinforced my opinion. regardless of what these anons have said, the M i know is a deeply empathetic and supportive friend. they consistently uplift me — and others — and make me feel seen/heard.

the only people who are indicating otherwise haven’t publicly identified themselves or stated any basis upon which their opinions (or borderline obsessive behaviors) are founded.

for what it’s worth, none of them that i’ve seen have even claimed to be asian. this will become relevant in a moment.

my position on the fic in question:

i'm a korean immigrant living in the united states. the chapter in question showed racism experienced by korean people in the united states. i'm qualified to make up my own damn mind about this.

i didn't have a problem with it, based on that four-part analysis i described up yonder. here's why:

(1) the depiction was of something i personally experience on a semi-frequent basis. in my life, racism often takes the form of micro-aggressions, as was the case in the chapter.

for example: being compared to people i look nothing like and/or aren’t korean simply because they’re also asian; people rolling their eyes when i correct the pronunciation of my (obviously) asian name like it’s not worth their effort; and tokenism/fetishizing, as if i’m a collectible item based on where i was born and not a full-fledged human being who is many things beyond simply being korean.

in my opinion, M’s portrayal of this more “subtle” racism (aka no slurs, no violence, etc.) was believable. to me, them making this choice demonstrated an understanding of what others experience, despite not experiencing it themselves.

(2) the scene made sense to me in the context of the chapter. bts encountered racism when they broke into the US, and the characters were in the US for an award show. frankly, i appreciated the acknowledgment of how asian immigrants/international tourists are treated in america because it’s not something i noticed non-asian people pointing out at all until COVID hit.

(3) the MC is a reader-insert who lives in korea and speaks korean. yoongi is obviously korean. the racism/xenophobia experienced by the characters in this chapter is not the only time i saw these things depicted in this series. importantly, the other references to korean culture were thoughtfully made, and they were either neutral or positive, not negative. the conclusion i came to was that M took this seriously, as they should have.

(4) the reaction of the characters is one i frequently have (not engaging, walking away) and i think it was communicated well in this scene why they reacted the way they did.

this was significant to me.

reading that, i got the impression that M had discussed this with BIPOC in their life and listened when they shared their experiences. that impression turned out to be accurate, though i didn’t have confirmation of this at the time i read the fic.

(conclusion) if i thought that any of these four things weren’t handled well, i would’ve brought my thoughts to M directly because it is important that these conversations happen. it’s also important that white writers listen. from where i’m standing, M has been open to those conversations with others, on or off anon. i believe that they do take this feedback to heart; and that they were taking steps to remedy those things — prior to being bullied off the platform at the end of april.

why ✨ i ✨ have a problem

i’ve discussed this issue already here, but i’ll elaborate further.

i have no reason whatsoever to believe that these anons are/were looking for changed behavior or remedial action because they continued to harass M — on M's blog, through the hate blog, and on the blogs of literally any person who has so much as perceived them — when M was addressing the issue. based on that, i have serious doubts that these anons care about the issue of racism the way they purport to. worse, they’re now harassing BIPOC in their inboxes and on the aforementioned hate blog.

on park jimin's internet, no less!

i haven’t spent much time discussing the substantive issue (hence this post) but have been very vocal about how shitty the anons’ behavior is. again, see here for the only take i’ve posted thus far (spoiler alert: cyberbullying is bad.)

for reasons that aren’t clear to me, that take resulted in metric ton of shit in my inbox. here’s a small sampling of what i've been forced to read with my own two (2) eyes in the past 24 hours:

*i did not include screenshots of other users’ inboxes in which anon messages reference me, or untagged submissions on the hate blog that very clearly allude to me.

at some point ?? they were mad about racism ?? but now the racism ?? is calling from inside the house ??????

and one last thing before i go touch grass….

i have reason to believe that this entire situation was orchestrated by small people with big feelings about M as a person, not about what they wrote. that’s not my story to tell, though, so i won’t.

when this shit kicked up, the majority of us who were/are being harassed installed IP trackers on our blogs because the identity of these people was suspected but not confirmed. that means we can see who they are, what they do on our blogs, and how many times per day they view our blogs (hint: a lot). we know that they are jumping from one blog to another as if they’re stopping on a goddamn mail route.

some of us (myself included) have alerts set to notify us via email when they pop by for a visit.

their presence on my blog this week lines up with the hostile and blatantly racist anonymous messages i’ve been receiving. i don’t think that’s a coincidence.

they’re either the ones sending them, or they’re lurking to see if/how i react to these messages.

that’s categorically fucked up.

#jade speaks #jade engages in discourse #psa #tw racism #tw harassment #tw bullying

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algumaideia · 1 year

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Some thoughts about Octavian's overly villification

In HoO Octavian is presented as nothing more than an antagonist, an annoyance the characters need to deal with, overcome to achieve their goals. And this is fine, Octavian is not liked about the main cast and often presents himself as an obstacle for the goal, of course the narration will not frame him well. However, I do have a problem with how this writing made him seen unreasonable all the time and acted like he was only being mean and an antagonist for the sake of it. I have this problem especially when it is Roman characters didn't even thought about the complexity of the situation, as Octavian was overall trying to protect/revenge Camp Jupiter. And this exaggerated villification led to this place where you shouldn't try to look closer to Octavian because he was nothing more than a bad person.

This post is about how what we are told doesn't match what we are shown, specially considering the context of Octavian's actions.

To look closer to this problem within the narrative and how I think this antagonization was exaggerated I chose a scene from House of Hades, when Rachel and Grover go ask Reyna's help., very fitting as it is from Jason's pov.

Let's start with the fact that normally when it is about Octavian, we have him, the bad mean antagonist, at least a good Roman -in this case Reyna- the Greeks, our good guys, and then the rest of the Romans who are just the crowd without personallity. They stay quiet most of the time, but take every chance to turn against Octavian, but are also there to shown how good he is at manipulation (the dining scene in mark of athena is a perfect example).

Now to the scene in question.

One of the first things Jason does is describe how complicated the situation is, but not to the Romans or the possible upcoming war between Greeks and Romans, but mostly in regards of his relationship with Reyna.

"He’d disappeared, leaving her to run the camp on her own. (Okay, that hadn’t exactly been Jason’s idea, but still ...) Then he had returned to Camp Jupiter with his new girlfriend Piper and a whole bunch of Greek friends in a warship. They’d fired on the Forum and run away, leaving Reyna with a war on her hands."

I think this already doesn't set a good look for the Greeks, but there are some context missing in this quick description of events.

What happened was that this Greek kid, remembering that the Greeks are long enemies with the Romans, appeared out of nowhere in the camp right in time to stop a tragedy, attracked the attention of two gods that appeared - extremely rare occurance in cj - which could be either a good or bad sign, then after one week which he spent more time away from the camp he managed to become praetor becuase he stopped the tragedy. After that he convinced the Romans to let the Greeks stay and promised that if anything went wrong he would fight by the Roman's side, but nothing would go wrong. The Greeks fired, this Greek kid didn't fight in the Roman's side and run away with the Greeks.

Why on Earth would the Roman's trust or be kind with the Greeks after all that? I have no idea.

So this is the full context and considering it, the way Octavian greets Rachel and Grover is very understandable and the narration recognizes how messy the situation is right?

"Octavian snorted. ‘That’s the only reason you made it this far alive, Graecus. I hope you’ve come to discuss surrender terms.’ ‘Octavian ...’ Reyna warned. ‘At least search them!’ Octavian protested. ‘No need,’ Reyna said, studying Rachel Dare. ‘Do you bring weapons?’"

Apparently no... it becomes clear by Reyna, our good Roman, that Octavian's actions and feelings are not acceptable. He is obviously presented as the Roman behaving badly, by the Greeks, Reyna and the narratioin.

"Octavian sneered. ‘Another friend of Percy Jackson. That’s all I need to hear.’"

This line is set up to just put us against Octavian, but remember the context, Percy was a key factor to New Roman being fired and Octavian seems to be the only one to care.

‘So far, our guests speak the truth,’ Reyna said.

Look how nice and non threatening the Greeks are being and how Octavian is overreacting.

"Reyna handed him the letter."

Just like how Octavian is more than annoyance in this scene, he is also an authority there. Not above Reyna, but to be respected and whose opinion has weight or should have at least.

"He looked around in outrage, as if waiting for someone to contradict what he was reading. ‘A Greek trick! Greeks are infamous for their tricks!’"

I like how Octavian can't be shocked and everything he does needs to be up to stage, a performance. A Greek sent a letter from Tartarus demanding Reyna to give the Parthenos to end up a war that the Greeks started but Octavian can't have a genuine reaction.

"'Look, we wouldn’t have risked coming here if we didn’t trust Annabeth’s instincts. A Roman leader returning the most important Greek statue to Camp Half-Blood – she knows that could prevent a war.’ ‘This isn’t a trick,’ Rachel added. ‘We’re not lying. Ask your dogs.’ The metallic greyhounds didn’t react. Reyna stroked Aurum’s head thoughtfully. ‘The Athena Parthenos ... so the legend is true'"

First of all, we know Grover and Rachel aren't lying, they truly believe the letter is from Annabeth, but what proves it is? Just because someone believes in something this doesn't make it true.

Also how returning the Athena Parthenos would prevent the war if the war started because the Greeks fired New Rome?

When Octavian mentions a trick, it is not only about the Trojan war, it is also about Percy, Annabeth, Piper.

"‘Reyna!’ Octavian cried. ‘You can’t seriously be considering this! Even if the statue still exists, you see what they’re doing. We’re on the verge of attacking them – destroying the stupid Greeks once and for all – and they concoct this stupid errand to divert your attention. They want to send you to your death!’ The other Romans muttered, glaring at their visitors. Jason remembered how persuasive Octavian could be, and he was winning the officers to his side."

Is Octavian wrong though? Again, Greece and Italy are forbidden for Romans and extremely dangerous places for demigods. They are really about to revenge their city and this message is suspiciously convenient. The praetor of the Romans is asked to go away to a mission that for some nonsensical reason will stop the war right before the Romans are to attack.

And remember what I said before about the other Romans? They are there just for us to know how manipulative Octavian is. He has no real interest in the well being of the Romans or in the situation besides his unreasonable hate for the Greeks. He is just an antagonist for the sake of being one. Why make things so difficult for the Greeks if they are being so nice and honest? (there was sarcasm in this paragraph)

"‘It’s your decision,’ Rachel said, as if nothing had happened. ‘I have no specific prophecy to offer you, but I can see glimpses of the future. I see the Athena Parthenos on Half-Blood Hill. I see her bringing it.’ She pointed at Reyna. ‘Also, Ella has been murmuring lines from your Sibylline Books –’ ‘What?’ Reyna interrupted. ‘The Sibylline Books were destroyed centuries ago.’ ‘I knew it!’ Octavian pounded his fist into his palm. ‘That harpy they brought back from the quest –Ella. I knew she was spouting prophecies! Now I understand. She – she somehow memorized a copy of the Sibylline Books.’ Reyna shook her head in disbelief. ‘How is that possible?’ ‘We don’t know,’ Rachel admitted. ‘But, yes, that seems to be the case. Ella has a perfect memory. She loves books. Somewhere, somehow, she read your Roman book of prophecies. Now she’s the only source for them.’ ‘Your friends lied,’ Octavian said. ‘They told us the harpy was just muttering gibberish. They stole her!'"

There is a lot to unpack here.

First, yes Rachel said she has this glimpses of the future, but she hasn't said what those glimpses mean to the Romans. It will end the war, but how? At what cost? What it will make to the Romans? How it will affect them? We have no idea. As far as we know this glimpses could be confirmations that it was a Greek trick.

Second, why would they trust the Greeks if they were aware of how important the Sybilline Books were for the Romans and then proceed to lie about Ella knowing them and made an effort to take the only source of them out of their hands? At every act is like they are trying hard to not be perceived as trustworthy by the Romans.

Is Octavian exaggerating? Is he just being antagonistic for the sake of it?

Again my problem is not that the characters don't like him or take him as an obstacle but it is how he is not allowed to be anything more and how it poorly reflects on how the situation is being handled.

It is also very curious how Reyna is okay and not mad at all during this scene. Why? Her home was attacked! The person she chose as her partner betrayed her! Her enemy is with an important part of her culture! They are asking her to go away right before an attack!

"'She wants me to bring this statue from the ancient lands to your camp.’ Rachel nodded. ‘Only a Roman can return it and restore peace.'"

But why Reyna specifically? suspicious...

"‘And why would the Romans want peace,’ Reyna asked, ‘after your ship attacked our city?’ ‘You know why,’ Rachel said. ‘To avoid this war. To reconcile the gods’ Greek and Roman sides. We have to work together to defeat Gaia.’ Octavian stepped forward to speak, but Reyna shot him a withering look. ‘According to Percy Jackson,’ Reyna said, ‘the battle with Gaia will be fought in the ancient lands. In Greece.’"

Rachel doesn't provide a good answer. This attack is also about revenge and how would the Romans asking pardon by this gesture would solve a war that again stared with the Greeks firing New Rome? It doesn't make sense.

Interisting that our good Roman Reyna stops Octavian the only person to ask resoanable questions and to defy the illogic of the Greeks to speak. It is almost like she is at the Greeks side not the Romans.

"'Speculation,’ Octavian said. ‘A distraction. The Greeks fear our attack. They’re trying to confuse us. It’s the Trojan Horse all over again!’ Reyna twisted the silver ring she always wore, with the sword and torch symbols of her mother, Bellona. ‘Marcus,’ she said, ‘bring Scipio from the stables.’

'Reyna, no!’ Octavian protested. She faced the Greeks. ‘I will do this for Annabeth, for the hope of peace between our camps, but do not think I have forgotten the insults to Camp Jupiter. Your ship fired on our city. You declared war – not us. Now, leave.’"

This definetly looks like a distraction, half baked answers that don't answer anything.

I also think it is interisting how Octavian is "power hungry" and apparently does anything to have more power, but begs for Reyna to stay and continue to be a leader.

It is almost like he is not tha selfish/s.

If they declared war, why go in this stupid mission? Why Octavian is portrayed as so far away from reason?

"After they had retreated back down the stairs, Octavian wheeled on Reyna. ‘Are you mad?’ ‘I am praetor of the legion,’ Reyna said. ‘I judge this to be in the best interest of Rome.’ ‘To get yourself killed? To break our oldest laws and travel to the ancient lands? How will you even find their ship, assuming you survive the journey?"

All good points and Octavian is clearly worried about Reyna, but the narrative treats as just him being against our good heroes.

"‘This is insanity,’ Octavian muttered. ‘We’re already under attack. We must take the offensive! Those hairy dwarfs have been stealing our supplies, sabotaging our scouting parties – you know the Greeks sent them.’ ‘Perhaps,’ Reyna said"

it is so interisting how Reyna always has good faith and believe in the Greeks when all evidence points out she shouldn't and is portrayed as good because of it. Meanwhile Octavian rightfully distrusts the Greeks and it just this annoying villain trying to prevent the war to end when he is actually defending what were supposed to be Romans' interests.

I don't know how to make conclusions so I'm gonna end my post here. I just hope I was able to make my point clear.

#i hate my titles #octavian #octavian hoo #octavian analysis #tbh i love how unhinged he is in the scene but overall it is just so dumb i cant like it #also lets remember that octavian saw piper charm work so how could he trust jason

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ploppythespaceship · 10 months

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The New Prime Timeline - A Star Trek Theory

This week's episode of Strange New Worlds, "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow," did something that I cannot stop thinking about. This episode changed the date of the Eugenics Wars -- and not accidentally. It was clearly done very deliberately, with the writers directly referencing the original date to make it clear that they knew what they were doing. After another rewatch, I just kept asking myself -- why? Why would the writers change this?

And after much pondering and a bit of research into the franchise's history, I think I have an answer. Something that explains not only why the writers would do this, but why it's actually a smart decision -- and some of the interesting implications. It's also led me to a theory about the new batch of Trek shows, which is probably reading too far into it, but is fun to think about regardless.

TL;DR -- most of the modern Trek shows are actually set in a very slightly alternate timeline from the rest of the franchise, created by Romulans interfering with Earth's history, which follows the same general course of events but has subtle alterations.

(After poking around in the tags a bit, it seems I am not the only person who came to a similar conclusion, but I spent several hours on this post and want to share it anyway.)

Join me under the cut for far too deep of a dive into fictional history.

Defining the Events

First, I have to define what events we're even talking about.

The Eugenics Wars were a series of conflicts on Earth after a group of genetically engineered Augments seized power -- the most famous of these being Khan Noonien Singh. The Augments were eventually overthrown, with Khan and his followers escaping to the sleeper ship Botany Bay. The result of these wars was a deep-seated fear and distrust of all genetic engineering within the Federation, leading to the practice being outlawed.

World War III, comparatively, we don't know as much about. It was a devastating worldwide conflict that killed hundreds of millions, and it's intrinsically connected to the Eugenics Wars.

First Contact happened in the aftermath of World War III. When Zefram Cochrane constructed Earth's first warp-capable ship, a passing Vulcan ship caught it on their sensors and chose to make contact with the planet. This ushered in a new age for humanity, leading to world peace and the formation of Earth's socialist utopia. It was a pivotal step towards the ultimate foundation of the Federation.

Dating the Events

So when did these events take place? For the most part, this is fairly easy to pin down.

The Eugenics Wars are consistently dated to the 1990s -- specifically 1992 to 1996. This is established in the TOS episode "Space Seed" and later confirmed by the ENT episode "Borderland."

(The DS9 episode "Doctor Bashir, I Presume?" seems to contradict this, with Bashir stating that the Eugenics Wars were two centuries prior -- placing them in the 22nd century. However, writer Ronald D. Moore has said this was an error on his part -- he borrowed the line from "Space Seed" without accounting for the setting difference. Therefore, I feel pretty comfortable ignoring this one discrepancy outright.)

World War III is dated to the mid 21st century, with the rough dates of 2026 to 2053. The 2026 date comes from a production resource image used in the ENT episode "In a Mirror, Darkly" -- though I do think it should be taken with a grain of salt, considering it gets the First Contact date wrong. The 2053 date, on the other hand, is more certain -- both First Contact and the ENT episode "Terra Prime" state that First Contact occurred ten years after the end of the war, and First Contact has a definitive date of April 5, 2063.

The Problem

So those are the established dates -- Eugenics Wars in the 90s, World War III in the mid 21st century, and First Contact in 2063. However, a few episodes from the 90s and 2000s seem to clash with these dates.

First, we have the VOY episode "Future's End," a time-travel two-parter set in 1996. This would put it either during or directly after the Eugenics Wars, but the episode has absolutely no mention of this. This was intentional -- producer Jeri Taylor stated, "I think those of us who entered into the Nineties realize that the Eugenics Wars simply aren't happening and we chose not to falsify our present, which is a very weird thing to do and be true to it." They also didn't want to alienate casual viewers by having to explain the Eugenics Wars to them.

Second, we have the ENT episode "Carpenter Street," another time-travel episode, this time set in 2004. This is still close enough to the Eugenics Wars to expect seeing some of the fallout, yet there is none visible.

These two are easy enough to shrug off, however. It's possible that the wars just weren't relevant to the story, as humanity was trying to get back to normal. It's also possible that America wasn't involved in the Eugenics Wars -- Khan ruled over Asia and the Middle East, after all, while these episodes take place in San Francisco and Detroit, respectively.

(The DS9 episode "Past Tense" may also come to mind, as it's another time travel story, but I think it actually fits in pretty well. It's set in 2024, and shows the United States on the brink of a massive sociopolitical conflict -- it isn't hard to imagine that they're just a few years away from a worldwide war.)

The thing is, these episodes are running into the same problem -- the dates for these events were settled on decades ago, by writers who never conceived that the franchise would continue for this long. What was once a hypothetical future is now an alternate present. Writers are looking to tell stories that reference and relate to and even directly show our modern day, but they can't do that when they're beholden to these events. And they're put in an awkward spot. Do they lean into these established events, and keep showing modern day Earth as a battleground, and risk losing that direct relatability by not showing the world as we know it?

The answer for a lot of these writers is clearly no. These older shows all managed to just dance around the issue. But it seems like the writers of the current Trek shows have a different strategy in mind.

The Theory

Prior to "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow," there are two moments in modern (post-Discovery) Trek that contradict the established dates for these events pretty hard. Ironically, both episodes were released on the same day.

In the PIC season 2 finale, "Farewell," Adam Soong pulls out a file folder labeled Project Khan -- this is happening in the year 2024, which is obviously not right. Khan would have been created prior to the 90s. However, in a vacuum this could be excused -- the folder doesn't necessarily mean that Khan has yet to be created. Soong could just be looking at an older file. But it is an odd moment.

Then, in the SNW premiere, "Strange New Worlds," Pike is showing images of Earth's history to the people of Kiley 279, while stating, "This is Earth in our 21st century. Before everything went wrong. [...] Our conflict also started with a fight for freedoms. We called it the Second Civil War, then the Eugenics Wars, and finally just World War III." This statement contradicts the dating of the Eugenics Wars in the 90s, and it heavily implies that the Eugenics Wars and World War III are simply different names for the same conflict.

Which finally brings us back to "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow," which tackles this entire mess head-on. La'an and an alternate universe Kirk are sent back in time, to around the year 2022, knowing that they must prevent a change to the timeline. They learn that Romulans from the future have been manipulating Earth's history to slow its progress -- but this isn't what's causing the timeline change they must prevent. The actual change is the death of Khan, who is now still a child in the 2020s due to the Romulan meddling.

As Sera, the undercover Romulan, explains, "It's almost as if time itself is pushing back, and events reinsert themselves. And all this was supposed to happen back in 1992." It sounds as though minor timeline changes don't matter to the overall trajectory of history -- details may change, but as long as the big picture remains more or less the same, the outcome will be the same. Only a massive change, like the absolute prevention of the Eugenics War, causes enough of a ripple to fundamentally alter Federation history. Which is of course what Sera plans to do, and what La'an ultimately prevents, preserving the timeline.

The thing is, the timeline she preserved... I still don't think it's the original timeline. The Romulans have still slowed Earth's progress, and delayed the Eugenics Wars -- if Khan is a child in the 2020s, then the wars likely wouldn't happen til perhaps the 2040s or 50s. This would cause them to run into World War III, and likely alter that conflict as well. It might even delay First Contact -- who knows? I think these changes are enough to cause a slightly altered timeline. The Federation still exists, the same characters still inhabit the same roles, and so on, but it's now a world with a slightly different history. And I think that a lot of the newer Trek shows -- Discovery, Picard, Strange New Worlds, and really any others that they want to include -- are intended to take place in this timeline. This would explain Pike's speech to Kiley 279, as well as the Project Khan folder -- Khan really hadn't been created yet.

More importantly, this slightly altered timeline officially undoes the problem that Trek writers have been running into with time travel stories for decades. The hypothetical future of the Eugenics Wars and World War III is once again a hypothetical future -- it doesn't need to interfere with any stories set in or referencing our modern day.

And if you lean even further into this alternate timeline idea -- which I will call the New Prime Timeline -- things start to make even more sense. For one thing, it could explain why the technology of the new shows looks so different when compared to the older shows it's meant to be similar to. Out-of-universe, this was done because sticking to the 1960s designs would seem cheesy and dated to a modern audience, who have a quite different view of the future -- updating the design just makes sense. But this could offer an in-universe solution, as well. If Romulans were affecting Earth history, and these massive wars that devastated the planet happened decades later, then the development of Earth's technology would be quite different. Future technology would then have a more modern look and feel.

It could even explain minor mismatches between The Original Series and its modern prequels, Discovery and Strange New Worlds. Whenever a character isn't quite acting like themselves, or an event doesn't quite line up, it could simply be a result of this New Prime Timeline.

Now, I honestly don't think the writers would ever go that far with it. I think they fully intend for their shows to be in the same universe and timeline as the older ones. But I also think they intend to stick to this altered Eugenics Wars date going forward, and the ripple effects of that decision are really interesting to think about.

#personal #star trek #strange new worlds #snw spoilers #idk what to even tag this as but i've been working on this all day

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