#First abdication

[microcosme11]

Napoleon, on the way to the ship to Elba, randomly encountered Marshal Augereau. They had an argument where each accused the other of fucking up and/or being a traitor. I think Augereau still tried to return to Naps during the 100 days but Naps said forget it.

[duchessofostergotlands]

This would never happen in my Sims royal family

[akashis-waifu]

Drinking Buddies | Furina's Character Story 5

[gabrielferaud]

“Patient, precise, and painstaking in every stroke of the pen, he [Berthier] walked in his master's shadow until it was dark. Then he went away and killed himself.”

a description of Louis-Alexandre Berthier from R.F. Delderfield’s Napoleon’s Marshals

[charlotte-of-wales]

royal drama keeping us on our toes until the very end - just like it should be

[primordialruin]

Lilith is not a queen consort to Lucifer. Their union predates this practice, so the job would continue to be hers regardless of their marital status. If they were to remarry, then their spouses would sport the consort title, probably with a 'via' addendum to differentiate between the official monarchs.

Essentially, your muse would be Queen/King/Monarch Consort of Hell via Lilith.

[stellamusing]

[gilbirda]

#gil#are you Aus or just rlly into auspolitics#either way is good#but you need to be careful before the Americans see this @miki-meh

I'm not Australian or even close to Australia, but I think the batshit auspol are so fucking funny and I feel some kind of kinship since Spanish politics are as insane

Consider: We have Royalty in Spain and things do get silly real quick

[ad1thi]

@ifmywishescametrue felt like it was finally time from some good old-fashioned angst. stevetony rwrb AU ft. the night at Kensington Palace. @bieddiediaz pls enjoy your fav rwrb scene re-done.

please note : characters’ opinions about the English Monarchy do not reflect author’s own opinions. Fuck the Monarchy.

The rain is thunderous. Steve’s been in London when it’s rained before, but it’s never been this bad. Their visibility is shot to hell, and they’re inching towards Kensington Palace, because Clint is worried that if they go any faster, then they’re at a serious risk of losing control of the car and veering off the side of the road.

Steve knows this. He knows this because Clint’s told him as much, all three times that Steve has asked why they aren’t moving faster. None of this stops the anxious bounce of his leg, nor does it stop him physically hurtling out of his car as soon as they’re close enough to Kensington Palace that he can make out the shaky outline of the mansion in his periphery.

“Anthony Edward Stark!” He bellows, even though there’s a piss poor chance he can be heard over this rain, “Open your fucking door!” Its superfluous of course, because even if they weren’t fighting it wouldn’t be Tony who lets him in, but it has its desired effect : the door cracks open, and Bruce steps out.

“Mr. Rogers,” He inclines his head, and then looks past Steve, “Mr. Barton. His Royal Highness is indisposed at this time.” It’s the middle of the night. Steve knows, as surely as he knows the back of his hand, that Tony is just upstairs, sat on his bed.

“Undispose him then,” Steve says firmly, arrogantly, “I’m not leaving until I’ve seen him.”

Bruce’s face remains blank. “I’m sorry you’ve made it all this way for a wasted trip. His Royal Highness cannot see you now. If you insist on being a nuisance, rest assured there are other ways to get you to vacate the premises.”

Almost instinctively, Clint steps in front of Steve just as Steve stiffens. They both recognise Bruce’s words for what they are : a threat.

Still, Steve will not be deterred. “Oh for fuck’s -“ He cups his mouth and tilts his head back, “Tony ! I know you know I’m here ! The least you owe me is to look me in the eye, you absolute piece of shit!”

“His Royal Highness owes you nothing,” Bruce says harshly, “You’re lucky that you were able to get this close to the residence - “

The door opens again, and Tony steps out. He’s in silk pajamas, draped in a fluffy robe. He grabs it and wraps it around himself tightly, sighing deeply. Tony looks haggard, Steve thinks to himself, blinking through wet lashes, puffy eyes, sunken cheeks, and hair sticking up in various directions.

He’s never looked more beautiful.

“Let them in Bruce,” Tony says, placing a hand on his equerry’s shoulder, “Get Clint a towel and a change of clothes. Best to put a pot on as well, tea will kill the chill.”

Bruce inclines his head, and Tony turns around and walks back into the residence. The entire time, Steve notes silently, he hadn’t looked at Steve once. Bruce follows after, holding open the door for Clint and Steve to step in. They’re both soaked to the bone, dripping all over the expensive floors of Kensington Palace, but Steve couldn’t care less. He pauses just long enough to shrug off his jacket, safe in the knowledge that Clint will be taken care of, and moves two steps at a time - unwilling to lose Tony.

He knows the way to Tony’s bedroom, having been there the night after Wimbledon, but he wouldn’t put it past Tony to spirit away to another part of the Palace and leave Steve walking around the halls aimlessly.

“You can say what you’ve come to say,” Tony says once they enter his room, “And then you will leave.” It isn’t a request, it’s an order.

“Look at me,” Steve means for it to be firm, but it comes out soft, desperate. “Look me in the eye, Tony, you owe me that much.” With what looks like supreme effort, Tony raises his gaze off the floor, and meets Steve’s eyes.

“What happened?” Steve asks, begs, “We were good, we were happy. And then you just leave ? Scurry out of the apartment in the dead of the night, leave me this -“ He fists the scrap of paper out of his pocket and shakes it at Tony, “And then, nothing. No messages, no calls, not even a whisper. Do you know I checked the news obsessively for a week ? I thought, god I thought everything. Your father was poisoned, your sister relapsed, your plane was shot out of the sky by insurgents, you’d been kidnapped, anything because I didn’t want to believe that the man I am in love with would be this cruel.”

Tony makes a sound like he’s wounded, but Steve barrels on. “But eventually, I had to accept it. ‘When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.’”

“Arthur Conan Doyle,” Tony interjects nonsensically.

“If you want to end this, end us,” Steve says, steeling himself, “You’re going to have to look me in the eye and do it.”

There’s a pregnant silence.

“My mother was one of the most celebrated actresses of her generation,” Tony starts, “She has one of the most recognisable faces on the planet. I have one of the most recognisable faces on the planet. I was four years old when I realised every single person in this country knew who I was. I was five when one of those people spat on my mother’s face and called her a currymuncher.”

“My mother gave everything up for this,” Tony gestures around him, “To be a symbol of something more. She believed that the monarchy could stand for better, to use centuries of blood money for something more. I have her face Steve, I can’t be like you. I’m not like you. I don’t have the luxury of giving them all of me, I don’t have the luxury of giving anybody all of me. I'm already too much. This is all I’ve got, and you made it abundantly clear in Brooklyn that it was no longer enough for you.”

After the election, Steve had said, mindlessly, thoughtlessly, We can walk around holding hands and it wouldn’t matter.

“I never said that,” Steve says fiercely, “Don’t put words in my mouth. I have never once said you aren’t enough. If you want to bury your head in the sand and stay in the closet forever, then that’s your choice, but don’t you dare say I’m the one who put you there.”

“I’m not in the closet,” Tony says tiredly, “I’ve known I was gay since I was eleven. My entire family knows, in some manner or fashion. Forgive me if I don’t want to hear it from someone who’s known they’re bi for all of five minutes, and didn’t say anything to anyone until he was literally caught with his hand on my dick.”

It’s a low blow, and from the way Tony’s face softens, he knows it. This is what Tony does, Steve reminds himself, he lashes out when he’s cornered. It doesn’t make it hurt any less.

“I have no more cards to play,” Steve says finally, changing tactics, “This is all I have. I love you Tony, I love you so much that sometimes it could kill me. You have consumed me, body and soul, you’re it for me. I have nothing left to give you.”

“So, if this is over, you owe it to me to tell me.”

“You think I don’t love you?” Tony runs his hands through his hair, “Christ Steve I’ve loved you since Rio ! You were bright and shiny, and I was utterly transfixed, and I just knew that if I let you that you would burrow yourself deep in me and never let go. But my life is the Crown, and I can love you, and want you, and still not want this. I can love you and still not want to subject you to that life, because this is all I have to give.”

“Do I get no say?” Steve asks hotly, because it hasn’t escaped his notice that none of those words were ‘It’s over’. “It’s my life too, right ? Our life.”

“The Crown - “

“Fuck the Crown,” Steve says passionately, fervently, “We can find a way to love each other on our own terms. You just have to be willing to try. Or : you tell me to leave, and I will leave, and nothing will happen to you. Nothing, will ever happen to you.”

"Ask me to leave." Steve says again, because he's a masochist, because Tony is the best thing that's ever happened to him, because Tony is the worst thing that's ever happened to me. "Ask me."

"You know I can't."

Steve steps forward, finally closing the gap between them to clasp his hands over Tony's. From this angle, Steve is taller than Tony, and Steve is close enough to count all of his eyelashes individually.

"Then let me stay." Steve begs, implores, "Let me prove to you that this, us, is worth it. Baby, let yourself have something for once. Let yourself have me."

Tony makes a sound in the back of his throat, and then wraps his hand around the back of Steve's neck, pulling him in for a kiss.

It's the worst thing that's ever happened to him. It's the best thing that's ever happened to him.

fin

[yourqueenb]

Idk how I ever chose who MC was gonna marry when I first played RoE because I’m having such a hard time with it now. I picked the prince (Leo) the first time because of his adventurous spirit. And I feel that that’s something this MC has as well. But I love the business man (William) too. He’s so sweet and was willing to adjust his entire work/life balance so he could have more time with MC

[thedragonagelesbian]

it's so funny that theneneria and luc are in the same worldstate.......

[isthenapoleoncute]

Hudson Lowe is a Sir now? They give knighthoods for animal cruelty?

Apparently! This is a sick world we live in, anon

[lexicals]

Thinkin about my trans prince story again today.... nice to take it off the backburner once in a while and give it a stir. Add some seasoning

[bizarrelittlemew]

What country?

Denmark! Queen Margrethe II is abdicating on january 14th

[sonicprim3d]

" Let's not bring Uncle Nigel into this please- "

[marvelsmostwanted]

There are people – some in my own Party – who think that if you just give Donald Trump everything he wants, he’ll make an exception and spare you some of the harm. I’ll ignore the moral abdication of that position for just a second to say — almost none of those people have the experience with this President that I do. I once swallowed my pride to offer him what he values most — public praise on the Sunday news shows — in return for ventilators and N95 masks during the worst of the pandemic. We made a deal. And it turns out his promises were as broken as the BIPAP machines he sent us instead of ventilators. Going along to get along does not work – just ask the Trump-fearing red state Governors who are dealing with the same cuts that we are. I won’t be fooled twice.

I’ve been reflecting, these past four weeks, on two important parts of my life: my work helping to build the Illinois Holocaust Museum and the two times I’ve had the privilege of reciting the oath of office for Illinois Governor.

As some of you know, Skokie, Illinois once had one of the largest populations of Holocaust survivors anywhere in the world. In 1978, Nazis decided they wanted to march there.

The leaders of that march knew that the images of Swastika clad young men goose stepping down a peaceful suburban street would terrorize the local Jewish population – so many of whom had never recovered from their time in German concentration camps.

The prospect of that march sparked a legal fight that went all the way to the Supreme Court. It was a Jewish lawyer from the ACLU who argued the case for the Nazis – contending that even the most hateful of speech was protected under the first amendment.

As an American and a Jew, I find it difficult to resolve my feelings around that Supreme Court case – but I am grateful that the prospect of Nazis marching in their streets spurred the survivors and other Skokie residents to act. They joined together to form the Holocaust Memorial Foundation and built the first Illinois Holocaust Museum in a storefront in 1981 – a small but important forerunner to the one I helped build thirty years later.

I do not invoke the specter of Nazis lightly. But I know the history intimately — and have spent more time than probably anyone in this room with people who survived the Holocaust. Here’s what I’ve learned – the root that tears apart your house’s foundation begins as a seed – a seed of distrust and hate and blame.

The seed that grew into a dictatorship in Europe a lifetime ago didn’t arrive overnight. It started with everyday Germans mad about inflation and looking for someone to blame.

I’m watching with a foreboding dread what is happening in our country right now. A president who watches a plane go down in the Potomac – and suggests — without facts or findings — that a diversity hire is responsible for the crash. Or the Missouri Attorney General who just sued Starbucks – arguing that consumers pay higher prices for their coffee because the baristas are too “female” and “nonwhite.” The authoritarian playbook is laid bare here: They point to a group of people who don’t look like you and tell you to blame them for your problems.

I just have one question: What comes next? After we’ve discriminated against, deported or disparaged all the immigrants and the gay and lesbian and transgender people, the developmentally disabled, the women and the minorities – once we’ve ostracized our neighbors and betrayed our friends – After that, when the problems we started with are still there staring us in the face – what comes next.

All the atrocities of human history lurk in the answer to that question. And if we don’t want to repeat history – then for God’s sake in this moment we better be strong enough to learn from it.

I swore the following oath on Abraham Lincoln’s Bible: “I do solemnly swear that I will support the constitution of the United States, and the constitution of the state of Illinois, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of Governor .... according to the best of my ability.

My oath is to the Constitution of our state and of our country. We don’t have kings in America – and I don’t intend to bend the knee to one. I am not speaking up in service to my ambitions — but in deference to my obligations.

If you think I’m overreacting and sounding the alarm too soon, consider this:

It took the Nazis one month, three weeks, two days, eight hours and 40 minutes to dismantle a constitutional republic. All I’m saying is when the five-alarm fire starts to burn, every good person better be ready to man a post with a bucket of water if you want to stop it from raging out of control.

Those Illinois Nazis did end up holding their march in 1978 – just not in Skokie. After all the blowback from the case, they decided to march in Chicago instead. Only twenty of them showed up. But 2000 people came to counter protest. The Chicago Tribune reported that day that the “rally sputtered to an unspectacular end after ten minutes.” It was Illinoisans who smothered those embers before they could burn into a flame.

Tyranny requires your fear and your silence and your compliance. Democracy requires your courage. So gather your justice and humanity, Illinois, and do not let the “tragic spirit of despair” overcome us when our country needs us the most.

Sources:

• NBC Chicago & J.B. Pritzker, Democratic governor of Illinois, State of the State address 2025: Watch speech here | Full text

• Betches News on Instagram (screencaps)