#Neutral Third Party Investigator

[theshadowrealmitself]

Was thinking about how one of the reasons why Humans would be so unsettled by Vulcans claiming they don’t have emotions (because I’m constantly trying to make the fact that Vulcan and Earth aren’t best friends which they fucking should be make sense in my head) is because one of the reasons why a Human wouldn’t feel emotions is because of depression, they’d just feel that numbness at times

And that really gave me pause, because I think about that a lot, but a new thought came from it, what would,,, how would.. what does.,.. what the fuck does depression feel like for a Vulcan

Like if there are Vulcans full on purging their emotions then it makes sense to assume that that wouldn’t want to make them kill themselves, so that’s probably not what depression feels like for them, so what does it feel like??

[racinginchid3nt]

Friendly reminder in this whole Horner situation, that the allegations were never once confirmed by Red Bull to have been related to sexual harassment or misconduct. Things like over aggressive behavior, shouting, pressuring overtime, etc are all within the realm of what Red Bull stated they were looking into but people took the SH/SM allegations and ran with them.

The times even stated that they were told by Red Bull that no messages of a sexual nature were ever submitted or apart of the case.

Additionally, they brought in a neutral third party and a large team of lawyers who spent months investigating (weeks before the story leaked) before a decision was reached. This was not some quick internal hush hush situation.

You don’t have to like Horner/RB and this has certainly damaged his/their reputation but consider all the facts before you start threatening to burn down RB for not reacting the way you wanted them to for a case that you actually know nothing about

[dontmixpaintinyourcoffee]

As per usual, info under the cut <3

IM BACK BITCHES!!!

Alright, here's the design stuff:

I wanted to go for kind of a Lois Lane vibe, including the way she gets all the way up in business she should not be up in. At the same time I wanted to bring the super cutesy gothic lolita style in at least a little. So I ended up going with a poofy short jumpsuit with bows and teddy bears. I would love to make a specific thank you to @themooncallsyou for suggesting I look at the Moschino 2022 spring line for inspiration, it ended up having a very heavy impact on the final design.

I tried to lean into the investigative part of investigative reporter, so that's what the heavy coat is about. I thought adding that classic detective silhouette would be a nice final touch. Plus, I think Blondie likes the drama of the coat flying behind her as she's chasing down a lead. It makes her feel very cool.

Alright, so her original pet is a bear cub named Grizz but I have. Several problems with that. The main one is that it's not clear what the difference between Grizz and the actual sentient bears and her story is. There is never any differentiation between them. It's a Goofy-Pluto situation. Like it doesn't need to be explained, but the minute you start thinking about it too hard it gets weird real fast.

Anyways say hello to Honey the magpie!! Magpies are great mimics and lovers of shiny things, so I thought one would be a perfect fit for Blondie. She repeats bits of gossip and steals little trinkets and clues to help Blondie with whatever case she's on. Honey is where Blondie gets her infinite supply of bobby pins. Her scale is a little off, I don't think magpies are actually that big, but I still think she's cute so I'm not changing it now lol.

Now for character stuff:

Honestly I'm not really changing anything as much as I am exploring what's already there. I think Blondie has the potential to be really interesting, because she's unique within the class system of the school. She's kind of the inverse of Raven status-wise. Raven was born to royalty, but because her mom is the Evil Queen she's actually considered a commoner by society. Blondie was born to a wealthy commoner family, but her fear of rejection leads her to exaggerate the prestige of her lineage. Everyone sort of knows that she's not a Princess but she's so desperate to keep up the image of royalty that no one knows where she actually lands. Most of the royals assume her parents are Lord and Lady or Duke and Duchess or something. In reality they don't have any noble title, and Blondie is very insecure about that.

Blondie isn't so much ashamed of her family as she is terrified of exclusion and rejection. Her standing in society is the one major thing that makes her different from all the other royals, but she has major anxieties that she's always on thin ice. In her mind she's permanently one wrong step from total ostracization.

On a happier note, she does have a genuine passion for journalism! She considers her news blog/podcast practice for her future career. She starts out discussing school drama and gossip, but tries to stay a neutral third party. That's why her hair is so big. It's full of secrets. As the story goes on she starts reporting on more political and social topics beyond the boundaries of the school (and therefore becomes one of Milton Grimms worst nightmares). She is really, really, really good at getting into shit people do not want her to get into. She's got her eyes on prize and good luck stopping her

[carionto]

See, we got this... inclination

The Galactic Coalition is no stranger to war. Every sapient race has a history filled with external conflict, and most with some internal strife as well. Even now, the Coalition is in a stalemate with the United Federation on the North-Western arm of the Galaxy, a recently cooled hot war over what the Federation call foreign meddling in internal affairs, while the Coalition claim is an abusive contractual effective enslavement of a pre-stellar civilization, which goes against the Coalition's Ethics Directorate For All Sapient Encounters.

The Humans, who managed to learn of this on their own, sparking a hushed debate about their espionage capabilities, wanted to send their own delegation to the established Neutral Zone to speak with the Federation. As a party to the Coalition governing body, they have free reign to make contact with anyone on their own terms, with the understanding such individual activity will not represent the Coalition itself.

It did not take long for the Humans to reach back to us with an inquiry:

"So like, this might just be us, but these fellas are giving us some nasty fascist vibes, ya feel me? Maybe we're wrong (though we do got a lot of experience with that), but have a look at this data we've gathered so far."

What we saw were shockingly detailed and up-close images of clearly Federation design medical and emergency disaster relief encampments. A baffling number in fact, but technically nothing that would indicate wrongful action or intent. But there were a lot of them all across the planet.

"Yeah, we only got data from right now, so do you got info on this planet and it's folk from earlier? My gut, and all these shuttles full of some kinda cargo we can't scan hyperin' away, is telling me that it's not gonna match well."

The Human, or his... gut?... (we'll have to ask them to elaborate, we thought they only had one mind?) is correct, startlingly so. We informed the Human the atmosphere was far thinner than it was merely 40 years ago, containing a third less Nitrogen and almost no trace gasses at all, save for CO2, which was at nominal levels, but the planet used to have an abundance of Helium, now almost entirely gone. If further investigation corroborates this, and perhaps other inconsistencies, this will be cause for a full open investigation and possible sanctions!

"So... can we fight them?"

The Human's question startled us from our anger, now replaced with confusion and worry. Humanity boasted the most powerful fleet in Coalition space, there was no question about it, but they are still only a singular planet with some specialist stations dotted around local space, while the Federation was composed of dozens of races across thousands of planets in a very efficient hierarchical structure, plus the true strength of their military was unknown.

This is a delicate matter and we need them to not act rashly. We have learned, however, that outright denying Humans anything leads them to desire it more, so we must adopt a new approach to each situation we wish the Humans to... not take the initiative on.

Offering the delegation leader command of our own covert investigation units, and requesting he withdraw his ships to act as emergency response and intervention forces in the area seemed to please him. He had an important task to do, and his crew busied themselves preparing for a variety of possibilities, thus making the Humans feel both needed and engaged in productive activity, preventing them from escalating the situation. For now.

We really hope this "gut" will not cause rash action.

[theresattrpgforthat]

TTRPGs that are played specifically through the framework of the Discord app? I'm reviewing a work in progress game that's being set up to work like that and I wanted to know if there are others!

THEME: Discord RPGS

Hello there friend, I know you mentioned This Discord Has Ghosts In It in another ask, but I’m going to mention it anyways - along with some other awesome options that exist out there!

This Discord Has Ghosts In It, by Will Jobst.

You’ve been invited to a haunted house. That haunted house is a Discord server.

Find your greatest fear, spill your worst secrets, and get to the thrilling seance in This Discord Has Ghosts in It.

I played this game for Halloween one year and it was great! In this game there are two roles: investigators and ghosts. All of the players will hang out in a voice chat, but only investigators can speak. Meanwhile, ghosts are the only ones who can type inside the game channels - and they are allowed to add new rooms to the house, upload pictures, and alter the text.

I definitely encourage players to use Lines, Veils, and the X card for this game, as it’s a horror game and you’re often met with images, not just descriptions.

MUDSLURP, by Will Uhl.

MUDSLURP (Multi-User Discord Server Lore-Universe Role Play) is a roleplaying game about asynchronous communication, intersecting storylines, and carrying a piece of your characters with you in everyday life. Everyone involved controls at least one character and participates in a shared text chatroom integrated into a fictional setting.

MUDSLURP is also compatible with other tabletop RPGs - bring a new dimension to your story with a chatroom for all your characters! Host server events, build out the world, and learn more about each other. MUDSLURP even supports multiple tabletop campaigns sharing the same chatroom, including guidelines for avoiding & resolving canon disputes.

This is something that really intrigues me, as I run a Discord server myself and I’m always looking for options that incorporate more people and give people multiple ways to interact. Since this is compatible with other tabletop games, I’m assuming you can have real-time sessions alongside something more like a play-by-post format - although I haven’t bought the game yet so I can’t say for sure.

Tournament Arc, by SystemxEmotion.

Tournament Arc is a text-based, real-time, head-to-head, fighting roleplaying game. Most importantly, Tournament Arc is a game where you create any character you can think of (or steal from your favourite media), and fight your friends.

When you play Tournament Arc, you will create a powerful fighter and you’ll try and beat other fighters in arena combat. Fighters can be anything you can fathom, from talented martial artists to alien creatures from other dimensions, and from off-duty superheroes to ordinary people granted arcane powers by elder beings. The one thing that they all have in common is that their powers come from spirits. Spirits are strange entities that recently appeared in the world, and are as diverse as the fighters themselves. 

As a text-based game, Tournament Arc depends on a third, neutral party for each battle. This third player is called the Conduit, who will judge both attacks and determine an outcome. I can see this being a great game for large groups, especially because each person gets to pick up the GM role at some point. You create move sets using different abilities that might be active or passive, and the book comes with advice on how to make the combat dynamic and interesting. If you are playing with a group that likes feeling powerful and enjoys big action scenes, this might be the game for you!

Eccentric Millionaire, by nickwedig.

Somewhere in the wilderness, an eccentric millionaire has buried $50 million worth of bearer bonds, gold, historic artifacts and art treasures. 

You’re going to hunt for it, from the comfort of your own homes. 

There are a lot of other people also searching for the treasure, too. Work with them for more clues, but don’t trust them. If they get the treasure first, they get millions of dollars. Second place gets nothing.

Eccentric Millionaire is an online game of logical deduction and social deception. One player acts as the host and organizer of the game. They will also play the role of the Eccentric Millionaire. The other players take on the role of treasure hunters. The game is played online, through chat systems like Discord or Slack, and via online map tools like Google Maps. Gameplay takes place over days or weeks, as the treasure hunters uncover more clues and zero in on the location of the treasure. Eventually, one player will find the treasure and win the game.

I love games that use innovative online tools, and this game's use of Google Maps is a great example. This is also great for large groups, of up to 25 people! I caution you though, the organization for a game like this definitely requires a lot of set up - you might have to customize a Discord Server before you are ready to play.

Games I've Recommended in the Past

Subway Runners, by Gem Room Games

[loquaciousquark]

The Great Counting House Docks Heist

THE RULES

face value awarded for all materials stolen: all materials must be sold post-heist by a neutral third party (Gale) to avoid CHA- or theft-based adjustments of cost

natural 20: +250gp bonus

successful pickpocket of any guard: +100gp bonus

disabling an alarm: +100gp bonus

any detection or accusation of theft: -500gp bonus each

THE SETUP

each Thief will be given a scroll of Haste, which must be cast & concentrated on by the respective Heister

each Thief will be additionally buffed with one casting of Greater Invisibility by a neutral compatriot, who will remain unmoving in a safe zone at all times

each Thief will have his or her inventory fully emptied prior to the Heist*

each Thief will have all curses, poisons, bloodlessness, divine disfavor, or any other negative status effect removed prior to the Heist

any potion, elixir, divine blessing, or other imbibement which would provide a material advantage to the Heister must be removed prior to the Heist†

no previously looted keys to any chest, lock, door, or crate may be used by either Thief

the bounds will be from easternmost docks alarm-stand to westernmost alarm-stand, with the northern border being the Counting House doors & the southern border being the Chionthar; no Thief shall leave the bounded area at any point

THE HEIST

Shadowheart & Gale are the Greater Invisibility casters for Tav & Astarion, respectively. From the perspective of the above screenshot, Tav takes the rightmost boat and Astarion takes the left. While I've robbed these docks before, it was on my last playthrough & done entirely with one character, so I have absolutely no idea which boats contain anything of value.

Immediately, I'm surprised by how little Tav's Thief-based extra bonus action helps. I was worried it'd give her extra mobility, but she's limited by the lockpick action rather than her speed, and I have to end several of her turns early with her sitting on a chest and kicking her heels.

Guard distribution is very equal between boats. The Steel Watchers move fairly quickly, and the guards have comprehensive pathing within the target area.

The locks range from DC 10 to DC 20. None pose any issue for either Astarion or Tav.

Astarion immediately rolls two natural 20s within his first few chests. Tav successfully pickpockets a patrolling guard of 23 gold, a Docks Chest key, and a torch.

Both Tav & Astarion successfully disable their alarms.

Astarion pickpockets a guard of 23 gold.

Both Tav & Astarion completely wipe their respective boats of all wares, including paintings, chest contents, and food, without detection.

On the final approach back to the Counting House (which they did at approximately the same time), there are a pair of guards on either side of the doors. Tav successfully pickpockets hers of 6 gold and re-enters the Counting House. Astarion, on the last check of the entire heist, rolls a 2 and is detected.

Chaos breaks out immediately. Astarion is accused of theft and, while able to persuade his way out of prison, is thrown from the Counting House. (He'll claim he got caught on purpose for a more expedient escape.)

The docks guards realize theft has occurred and begin accusing everyone they can reach. This includes Gale, Shadowheart, Minsc, Jaheira, and—tragically—Tav. One by one, everyone either claims innocence or Persuades their way out of trouble. I can barely take two steps in any direction without being accosted by a guard.

The chaos brings some of the internal guards up to investigate, where they discover the interior thefts from the previous ransacking of the Counting House during Minsc's quest. The rounds begin again, though Tav manages to avoid accusation this time.

Eventually, both thieves manage to escape, along with the rest of the party, clutching their ill-gotten gains.

THE RESULTS

Gale acts as intermediary with Dammon, the only merchant in the game Tav hasn't stolen from. (This is because I, Quark, was challenged in Act 1 to not ever steal from him again, and @probablylostrightnow rolled a 16 with inspiration & Guidance from @bettydice on a DC 16 Persuade check against me. This is a holy binding to which I have adhered religiously.)

ASTARION'S WARES TOTAL: 1636 GP

TAV'S WARES TOTAL: 2602 GP

ASTARION BONUS ADJUSTMENT: two natural 20s, one successful pickpocket, one disabled alarm, one unsuccessful pickpocket resulting in detection & accusation of theft:

250 + 250 + 100 + 100 - 500 - 500 = -300gp to final score

TAV BONUS ADJUSTMENT: no natural 20s, two successful pickpockets, one disabled alarm, one accusation of theft:

100 + 100 + 100 - 500 = -200gp to final score

FINAL SCORES

ASTARION: 1336 GP

TAV: 2402 GP

WINNER: TAV

*soul-bound relics, prisms, prisons, or weaponry excluded

†permanent blessings, benefits, or buffs which would disappear only on death excluded

[starboyshoyo]

For the event request, can I get either riddle or Kalim with “helpless” from Hamilton. Ty!

Curtain Call: a songfic event

Song: Helpless from Hamilton

Pairing: Riddle Rosehearts x gn!reader

Fandom: Twisted Wonderland

Genre: fluff

Warnings: mentions of alcohol

A/N: I tried writing reader as gender neutral this time! Hope I did alright.

At a bonfire party, Riddle experiences a case of love at first sight.

Flashing strobe lights and warm air caressed Riddle’s face as the sun went down over the beach. Nearby, some third-years were setting up a bonfire, roasting marshmallows over the open flames.

“Remind me why I agreed to let you bring me here.”

Riddle’s t-shirt clung to his back in the humidity of the party. He was holding a red plastic cup in his hand, half filled with a liquid with a name he couldn’t pronounce. No doubt his mother would have a heart attack if she saw him now. “Is it really necessary to be holding an alcoholic beverage?”

“Well, you asked to join me for a real party.” Cater responded, voice loose from the liquor. Riddle resisted the urge to snap at him to straighten his posture. “I know it seems strange now, but there are different, unspoken rules for parties, just like how there are unspoken rules in business meetings and stuff. And one of them, is that you are never caught without a drink.”

“Fine.” He didn’t argue with Cater- these things were his area of expertise, after all. But his hands itched with the urge to collar one of the many rule breakers that ambled around the beach.

A commotion arose halfway down the dunes, and Riddle turned to look. Voices whooped over the party conversation.

“Hey,I haven’t seen you since you transferred to RSA! How’s the hero school treating you?”

There’s an RSA student here? Riddle could excuse the flippancy of the partygoers, but bringing a student from a rival school to the event? He frowned. Perhaps he would have to investigate this newcomer himself.

Making his way over, he tripped on a sand dune. Grumbling, he sat back up. But as he got a glimpse of your face, Riddle stopped right in his tracks.

Oh. His face burned. There was indeed an RSA student here. And they had the prettiest eyes he had ever seen in his life.

“Riddle! I told you not to wander off!” Cater’s worried voice snapped him out of his trance. “Rule number two at parties- don’t wander off without telling one of your buddies! Where are you even going?”

Riddle didn’t look at him. His breath caught in his throat. “I… who is that?”

“Hm?” Cater glanced over to where you were standing, and a realization dawned in his eyes. “Ohhh. I see what’s going on.”

He grins at the lovestruck, lovesick, housewarden, experiencing his first love at first sight. “That’s Y/N, heartthrob of Royal Sword Academy. Want me to introduce you two?”

Comments and reblogs are greatly appreciated!

[opencommunion]

"On 7 October and after, ZAKA served as a front for the Israeli army to launder false Hamas atrocity propaganda. The Haaretz investigation revealed that during the first days of the war – when the Israeli narrative concerning the nature of the Hamas operation was crucial to establish – uniformed soldiers from the Israeli army’s Home Front Command made many media appearances. 'But over their uniforms, they wore non-IDF vests on which the name ZAKA was emblazoned. Military officers who were informed about this blaring detail could not account for it,' the paper found. This gave the impression that claims coming from the Israeli army, an obviously biased source of information, were coming from a neutral third-party source. While even Israeli journalists were skeptical of claims by army commanders, including the false storyline that Hamas hung seven dead babies from a clothesline, the equally implausible claims made by Yossi Landau and other allegedly selfless ZAKA volunteers were largely reported uncritically in the US, UK, and Israeli press. The close relationship between ZAKA and the Israeli army is further illustrated by Haim Outmezgine, who is the head of ZAKA's 'special forces' and also a reservist in the Home Front Command's rescue unit. Outmezgine was one of several senior officials who made frequent press appearances wearing the yellow ZAKA vest. But he didn’t only play a media role; Haaretz notes further that according to some sources, 'he also played a central role in the association' between ZAKA and the Israeli army. He was 'in command of several sites starting from the evening of the attacks,' including the site of the Nova music festival in Re'im and the settlements (kibbutzim) of Kfar Aza and Be'eri. Outmezgine’s dual role in the army’s Home Front Command and ZAKA apparently led to the decision to deploy untrained, amateur ZAKA volunteers to collect bodies at these sensitive sites rather than army soldiers already well-trained for this purpose. The only soldiers the Home Front Command chose to use alongside ZAKA were from the Military Rabbinate's southern search unit, stationed at the Shura military base. Several army officers involved in the operation at the Shura base told Haaretz they had 'no explanation' for why the additional soldiers were not allowed to assist in the mission. One officer at Shura said that the inexpert way ZAKA volunteers collected the bodies 'made the identification process very difficult.' A volunteer who worked at Shura said: 'There were bags with two skulls, bags with two hands, with no way to know which was whose.'

But why were amateurs from ZAKA deployed to the most sensitive sites with the most bodies on 7 October, rather than highly trained soldiers from the army? One possibility is corruption. As both a member of ZAKA and the Home Front Command, Haim Outmezgine may have arranged for ZAKA to be deployed to Nova, Be’eri, and Kfar Azza to ensure the organization was at the center of events, and able to gain media attention and millions in donations. However, another possibility is that higher-level officials in the army, intelligence services, or Netanyahu’s cabinet wanted ZAKA deployed to these sensitive sites to make any investigation into the hundreds of Israeli deaths there as difficult as possible. This was crucial because it was the Israeli army itself that killed large numbers of its own civilians.

... This raises questions of whether ZAKA ... is a cut-out used by the Israeli army and intelligence services to justify Tel Aviv's massive military campaign in Gaza that many view as genocide, rather than an authentic volunteer rescue organization. Such a view is strengthened by the fact that, as Brad Pearce notes, ZAKA’s long-time Chief Operating Officer, Mati Goldstein, says on his LinkedIn profile that he is a 25-year veteran of the Israeli army, a current commander in the reserves, and someone who 'took part in many major undercover missions,' meaning he has been a trained spy. This connection could explain the praise ZAKA receives – despite its past controversies – from top levels of Israel’s military and political class, which positions it strategically in obscuring the truth of the 7 October events."

[youphoriaot7]

...okay. I'm still trying to get my thoughts together so this might be a bit rambly, but bear with me.

The more I look at the black shulker investigations that Cellbit did around the time of the election dinner, the more I believe the Federation intercepted him rather than manipulated him.

The information that was discovered through the mission was a lot of stuff that was super private to the Federation: he found evidence that the Federation knew about the Code Sword prior to Etoiles even knowing it existed, he saw mention of the Federation doing experimentation and tests long before Baghera or even Jaiden's plotlines came to light, he found Project A0 weeks before we heard about Egg A1. (And none of this is me bashing on other plotlines; don't twist my words.) [The ultimate culmination of the investigation was the Code Sword, so it seems as though there may be a tie there—which, if the Codes are currently using the black concrete, would make sense.]

When he got to the final coordinates that the shulkers led him to, however, there was another book inside that shulker with more coords. This struck me as weird at the time, and still bothers me—because the final book had told him to leave the evidence at the coordinates; so why say that only to give him more coordinates?

But the final shulker was out in the open: it would be fairly easy to find and drop a book inside. If you knew what you were looking for.

Switching gears a bit—if I'm not wrong, all of Bagi's childhood lore fragments have also come in black shulkers, not chests or white shulkers. All of her information has been stuff I'm absolutely certain the Federation would not want her to know about or remember, especially if/considering they had something to do with it all.

If the Federation is order, control, and perfection—white—then this new...thing is chaos, luck, and confusion—black.

I think those black shulker investigations were just an exceptionally early introduction to whatever the third player in this island's chess game is. One of the books Cellbit received then said that they "share[d] a common enemy," and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since. If it was from the Codes, would that be referencing the Federation? If it was truly the Federation tricking him the whole time, would it mean the Codes? Why would they say that; acknowledge the Codes in private like that? Either way doesn't really seem to fully click into place. Not to mention he was investigating both parties at the same time: the Code Sword and the Federation's tests/experiments.

This...black shulker association(? ksjdfg) doesn't seem fully aligned with either the Federation nor the Codes: I think they're a "neutral" third party. They might be working together with the Codes at the moment, what with the Codes helping the eggs to communicate(??? still not positive that's what's happening) but I don't think they're the same entity.

The black organization seems to simply be committed to giving out information the Federation doesn't want people to know.

To add another piece to this puzzle, look at Hombre Misterioso and ¿?. (Which I consider two different people—one being the mysterious figure that was torturing (/lh) Cellbit, one being the man that gave Maxo the plans for SOFIA.) If we consider that both of them are also a part of this black concrete association(? skfjg), then they are also doing things that don't quite benefit the Federation or the Codes. The ¿? man seemed wary of the Federation (he told Maxo to "be careful, the Federation may be watching") and just had these masterplans for a giant supercomputer on hand, for whatever reason. Hombre Misterioso seemed to have his own still unknown reasons for torturing Cellbit, but he didn't seem fully aligned with either side either.

Neither of these people really...strengthened the fight for or against the Federation at all; all they did was give us more questions. More confusion. More information. More chaos.

[araelinn]

I've been thinking lately about the current conflict in Israel-Palestine. Many aspects of it I'd like to touch on. But more than anything I'm curious about people's opinion about the allegations women have made on both sides regarding to their treatment by the forces of the opposite side. (If you know, you know. Im being vague in language so hopefully this post will reach more people).

I do need to research on pro women NGOs denying some of the accusations. (Which if true is a reprehensible behavior). As personally, I wouldn't be surprised if they were true on both sides. It is an unfortunate thing that happens on armed conflicts. And never is one side completely innocent. At most, less worse.

So onto the question. If I told you today, that this third party will investigate the accusations of the side you support,but only if the opposite side's accusations are equally seriously investigated. Would you agree?

Please reblog or at least share, I'd really like to have as large sample size as possible. If anyone responds no, it would be nice to hear your reasoning. If not in the notes, you're free to anon me and I'll put them in a reblog

[indignantlemur]

Did a thinky think while on the elliptical- now I gotta know if Andorians have any awards like our Nobel or Pulitzer.

-Horta-in-Charge

This is a fascinating question! Thank you!

Alright, to set the baseline I'll define what the Nobel and Pulitzer prizes are actually awarded for.

The Nobel Prize is granted to individuals and organizations that have made contributions toward the improvement of human welfare, such as chemistry, medicine and physics. This is an international prize. The Pulitzer Prize acknowledges journalism that has best exhibited “distinguished journalism, outstanding writing and photography. This is specific to the United States, though there are international equivalents.

Or, to really render it down to bare bones: the Nobel is for improvements and advancements for our entire species, through science, while the Pulitzer (and its international equivalents) is for contributions to culture in the form of art and writing, including journalism.

So, looking at the purpose of the awards, I think it would be reasonable to assume that Andorians would have something in the same vein, if not necessarily exactly the same. Since Emigre takes place at the beginning of the Federation, however, I imagine that there's still some significant separation between Andorian awards and ceremonies and everyone else's. The Federation is still in its infancy, and while I think eventually everyone will be on the same page it's not quite reasonable to me to assume that Andoria would just dump it's old and familiar ways of doing things and adopt a whole new system right away. In fact, I can't see Andorians as I've envisioned them ever really getting rid of their original versions of anything.

So, what would prestigious awards for Andorians look like?

In previous asks, we've established that Andoria is run by the civil government, the Imperial Guard, and the Guilds, all of which function under the umbrella of the Emperor. Thus, it makes sense to me that the most prestigious and sought-after awards stem from these four sources.

Let's start with the Guilds. Guild awards would be primarily for lifetime excellence and contributions to Andorian culture, I think, and would be selected by a council of senior members from each Guild. To prevent any corruption or internal politicking, no one from the same Guild as a nominee would be permitted to vote on their selection, and generally the council members voting would be required to remain segregated from the others until the voting was complete. It's not fool-proof, and there have been scandals in the past where it was discovered that so-and-so gave 'incentives' for someone to vote a particular way, which usually had everyone else up in arms about it for weeks afterwards while the whole thing was investigated by a neutral third party.

The civil government has very little to do with awards. In the past they used to present awards to individuals who, through their position, introduced revolutionary laws or worked to shape the future of Andoria, but the general populace actually protested the idea. It felt, to many, to be too much like a bunch of politicians patting themselves on the back for the work of their underlings. The awards were very quickly declared defunct, and most Clans who have these awards in their family history find them a little embarrassing.

The Imperial Guard is less about awards and more about medals and merits, and individuals are recognized for their accomplishments based on performance reviews, recommendations by superiors, and quite often by recommendations from their peers as well. It's very common for a Guardsman to be recognized by their peers and put forward for a commendation, often with the thought that what benefits the individual is to the benefit of all. The highest possible commendation is given directly from the Emperor (and/or his proxy) for exceptional service to Andoria and her people, though it should be noted that this award is often given posthumously. The last military award given by the Emperor was given to Thy'lek Shran alongside a promotion to the rank of General for his accomplishments in the field in service to Andoria.

And now, we look at the Imperial Family. Very, very rarely will the Emperor (or Empress, as the case may be) give out any kind of commendation or award himself or via a proxy, but when it happens it's a big deal. Most often, it's for a Hero of Andoria (who is almost always a Guardsman, and usually a deceased one at that) but now and then someone contributes something so fundamentally valuable to the culture of Andoria that the Emperor recognizes them. The last cultural contribution that warranted such an award was the work of an Andorian woman who personally lead a small team to excavate and translated ancient texts carved into the ice surrounding an extinct Clan's holdings describing the roots of early Andorian civilization.

Hopefully this covers everything, but feel free to ask for clarification on any points I might have been a bit vague on!

[tieflingkisser]

Independent review panel releases final report on UNRWA

An independent panel released its much-awaited report on Monday about the UN relief agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA), providing 50 recommendations and noting that Israeli authorities have yet to provide proof of their claims that UN staff are involved with terrorist organisations.

“Israel made public claims that a significant number of UNRWA employees are members of terrorist organisations. However, Israel has yet to provide supporting evidence of this,” according to the 54-page final report, Independent review of mechanisms and procedures to ensure adherence by UNRWA to the humanitarian principle of neutrality. The UN Secretary-General, who received the final report at the weekend, had appointed the independent review group days after Israel announced the allegations against UNRWA, which employees 30,000 people and serves 5.9 million Palestine refugees in the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and war-torn Gaza. The much-awaited final report found that UNRWA, established by the General Assembly in 1949, has extensive tools in place to ensure it remains unbiased in its work and routinely provides Israel with employee lists and “the Israeli Government has not informed UNRWA of any concerns relating to any UNRWA staff based on these staff lists since 2011.”

UNRWA has ‘most elaborate’ rules within UN system

“The set of rules and the mechanisms and procedures in place [at UNRWA] are the most elaborate within the UN system, precisely because it is such a difficult issue to work in such a complex and sensitive environment,” Catherine Colonna, former French foreign minister and head of the review group, told journalists at UN Headquarters following the report’s launch. “What needs to be improved will be improved. I’m confident that implementing these measures will help UNRWA deliver on its mandate.” Strongly encouraging "the international community to work side by side with the agency so it can perform its mission and overcome the challenges when they are there", she said “this is the purpose of the review.” In its nine-week-long review of existing mechanisms, the group conducted more than 200 interviews, met with Israeli and Palestinian authorities and directly contacted 47 countries and organisations, presenting a set of 50 recommendations on issues ranging from education to fresh vetting processes for recruiting staff.

Report steers new UN action plan

The report’s recommendations include creating a centralised “neutrality investigations unit”, rolling out an updated Code of Ethics and associated training to all staff, and identifying and implementing additional ways to screen UNRWA applicants at an early stage of the recruitment process. The report also suggested exploring the possibility of third-party monitoring for sensitive projects and establishing a framework with interested donors to ensure transparency. In a statement on Monday, the UN Secretary-General’s Spokesperson said the UN chief accepts the recommendations contained in Ms. Colonna’s report. He has agreed with Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini that UNRWA, with the Secretary-General’s support, will establish an action plan to implement the recommendations contained in the final report.”

Claims financially hobbled UNRWA

According to the review group’s final report, Israel’s claims against UNRWA triggered the suspension of funding amounting to around $450 million. The direct impact of Israel’s allegations swiftly hobbled UNRWA’s ability to continue its work. Operating solely on voluntary donations, UNRWA saw major donors, including the United States, cancelling or suspending funds for the agency. In April, Washington banned funding for UNRWA until at least 2025, but other donors have pledged additional funding or restored their donations. The new report recommended increasing the frequency and strengthening the transparency of UNRWA’s communication with donors on its financial situation and on neutrality allegations and breaches. The review group suggested regular updates and “integrity briefings” for donors interested in supporting UNRWA on integrity and related issues.

[keep reading]

[plethoraworldatlas]

After a doctor suffered a fatal allergic reaction at a Disney World restaurant, Disney is trying to get her widower's wrongful death lawsuit tossed by pointing to the fine print of a Disney+ trial he signed up for years earlier.

Jeffrey Piccolo is representing the estate of his late wife, Kanokporn Tangsuan, a doctor at New York's NYU Langone hospital who died of an allergic reaction while visiting the Florida resort in October.

The couple, along with Piccolo's mother, went to dinner on the night of Oct. 5 at Raglan Road Irish Pub, a restaurant located within a shopping and dining complex called Disney Springs.

Tangsuan was "highly allergic" to dairy and nuts, and they chose that particular restaurant in part because of its promises about accommodating patrons with food allergies, according to the lawsuit filed in a Florida circuit court.

The complaint details the family's repeated conversations with their waiter about Tangsuan's allergies. The family allegedly raised the issue upfront, inquired about the safety of specific menu items, had the server confirm with the chef that they could be made allergen-free and asked for confirmation "several more times" after that.

"When the waiter returned with [Tangsuan's] food, some of the items did not have allergen free flags in them and [Tangsuan] and [Piccolo] once again questioned the waiter who, once again, guaranteed the food being delivered to [Tangsuan] was allergen free," the lawsuit reads.

The three of them ate and then went their separate ways: Piccolo brought the leftovers to their room, while his wife and mother headed for the stores. After about 45 minutes, Tangsuan "began having severe difficulty breathing and collapsed to the floor."

She self-administered an epi-pen, and an observer called 911. The Piccolos, who had tried calling her multiple times, were eventually told she had been rushed to the hospital. They went to meet her and, after a period of waiting, were told that she had died.

"The medical examiner's investigation determined that [Tangsuan's] cause of death was as a result of anaphylaxis due to elevated levels of dairy and nut in her system," according to the lawsuit.

...

He is seeking more than $50,000 in damages and trial by jury "on all issues so triable."

Disney says the case should be handled out of court because Piccolo created a streaming account

Neither Disney Parks nor its lawyer has responded to NPR's request for comment. They have, however, fought back in legal filings.

In late May, Disney's lawyers filed a motion asking the circuit court to order Piccolo to arbitrate the case — with them and a neutral third party in private, as opposed to publicly in court — and to pause the legal proceedings in the meantime.

Arbitration is generally considered a more efficient and cost-effective method of resolving disputes than litigation, and Disney said explicitly in court documents that the "main benefit of arbitration is avoiding heavy litigation costs."

The reason it says Piccolo must be compelled to arbitrate? A clause in the terms and conditions he signed off on when he created a Disney+ account for a monthlong trial in 2019.

...

"The notion that terms agreed to by a consumer when creating a Disney+ free trial account would forever bar that consumer's right to a jury trial in any dispute with any Disney affiliate or subsidiary, is so outrageously unreasonable and unfair as to shock the judicial conscience, and this Court should not enforce such an agreement," they wrote.

[mariacallous]

Last week, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez decided to serve out the remainder of his third term after briefly threatening to resign following allegations of corruption against his wife, Begoña Gómez. Though Spain’s national prosecutor’s office has already recommended that the case be dismissed due to a lack of evidence, Sánchez and many members of his leftist coalition suspect that the legal action against Gómez—brought by the anti-corruption organization Manos Limpias (Clean Hands)—is politically motivated.

Though Manos Limpias claims to be politically neutral, its most famous cases have focused on Catalan separatism and targeted prominent left-wing causes, such as the one that it brought against judge Baltasar Garzón for investigating human rights violations that occurred during the Spanish Civil War and the ensuing nearly 40-year dictatorship.

Ultimately, though, it is not Manos Limpias that decides whether to pursue the case against Gómez or anyone else it targets. The more important question is whether the judge in the Gómez case is politically motivated, having launched a preliminary investigation into her business activities on the basis of such weak evidence.

Sánchez is therefore justified in suspecting that the case against his wife could be politically charged—and possibly a reaction to the controversial amnesty deal that he recently made with Catalan secessionists.

Last fall, Sánchez secured parliamentary approval for an amnesty deal that potentially benefits hundreds of Catalan separatists. The complex and divisive process that resulted in the deal began with an inconclusive general election last summer, when the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE), Sánchez’s party, had to scrape together an agreement with two pro-independence Catalan groups in order to form a coalition government.

The secessionist groups, the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) and Junts per Catalunya, were quick to name a high price for propping Sánchez up. They demanded amnesty for all those prosecuted or awaiting prosecution for their roles in staging the 2017 independence referendum, which was declared illegal in advance by Spain’s Constitutional Court.

Though the turnout was low at 43 percent, 92 percent of Catalans voted to split from Spain, prompting Catalonia’s then-president, Carles Puigdemont, to make a unilateral declaration of independence in an address to the regional parliament. The federal government, then led by conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, responded by suspending the region’s powers of autonomy and, on the day of the vote itself, sending in police to seize ballot boxes and barricade polling stations.

Puigdemont has since been in self-imposed exile in Belgium and would be the highest-profile beneficiary of the amnesty deal, which was approved by a narrow vote in Spain’s lower house of parliament in March. The bill has been filibustered by Spain’s conservative-dominated upper house since then, but when it returns to the lower house on May 14, it will almost certainly be approved by a second vote and become law. (Even if Spain’s Senate vetoes legislation, it can still be passed by an absolute majority the second time around.)

Despite being backed by a majority of Catalans, the amnesty bill is hugely unpopular throughout the rest of Spain. A poll conducted last fall found that 70 percent of Spaniards surveyed were opposed to it becoming law, including 59 percent who voted for the PSOE in June 2023. Protests, some violent, erupted across the country in opposition to the deal, which conservative leader Alberto Feijóo has described  as “the greatest affront to dignity, equality and the separation of powers seen in a western democracy.” A group of magistrates from the Spanish judiciary regard the pact as effectively meaning “the abolition of the rule of law in Spain.” It is scant consolation for the deal’s many critics that national and regional judges would have the power to review pleas on a case-by-case basis.

Brussels has also expressed concern—in November 2023, months before the proposed amnesty bill was approved by the lower house, the European Union’s justice chief requested details from the Spanish government regarding the bill’s potential scope and force. The EU also ruled last summer that Puigdemont, who currently serves as a member of the European Parliament, should lose his parliamentary immunity—a move that, barring the amnesty deal, would have allowed for his extradition to and prosecution in Spain.

Over the past five years, Sánchez has completely reversed course over Catalan independence. In 2019, when Spain’s Supreme Court sentenced nine leading separatists to prison for up to 13 years for orchestrating the 2017 vote, he described the sentences as the result of an “exemplary legal process.” Two years later, when he was more reliant on Catalan separatists’ support in parliament, he pardoned the same secessionists and insisted that they would not be asked to renounce their political cause in exchange for freedom.

Given the PSOE leader’s increased dependency on Catalan support over that period as well as his initial promise to comply with the Supreme Court’s sentences, it is hard to believe that his flip-flopping was motivated by anything other than expediency.

Still, Sánchez could just about get away with granting the pardons and maintaining the government’s official unionist line: Releasing prisoners only indicated that he believed their punishment was excessive, not that there had been no offense in the first place.

In contrast, “amnesty” is derived from the Greek word amnesia (which means the act of forgetting), and it effectively implies that no crime was committed in the first place and that the 2017 Catalan independence referendum was legal. Plus, since the amnesty deal was named by Catalan separatists as the price of their support for Sánchez during his third term, it comes with zero conditions attached for them. Secessionists are pulling the strings that control Sánchez, rather than the other way around.

For this reason, the Spanish prime minister is mistaken if he thinks that the amnesty bill will guarantee Junts’ and ERC’s votes for the remainder of his third term, or ease relations between unionists and secessionists. Whereas Sánchez hailed their deal as a “brave and necessary step towards reunion,” separatists, including the Catalan President Pere Aragonès, will likely use it as a political tool to renew the battle for an independent Catalonia.

Blocking their path, however, is the Spanish Constitution, which is fundamentally committed to the “indissoluble unity” of the country. This was the basis for the Constitutional Court’s ruling that the 2017 referendum was illegal, and why any attempt at a repeat—perhaps modeled on the vote that took place in Scotland in 2014­—would run into difficulties. Unless the relevant sections of the constitution are altered in advance by parliamentary approval, the referendum would still be illegal. Thus, by attempting to grant the amnesties at the same time as insisting that there is no possibility of a state-approved referendum, Sánchez has ensnared himself in a Catch-22.

If Sánchez were to permit a referendum on Catalan secession, it would be the biggest risk taken by a Spanish premier in the country’s post-Franco democratic era.

Yet there are strong indications that now is the perfect time to do so, as far as unionists are concerned. A poll published in November 2023 showed that support within Catalonia for independence has dropped to just 31 percent, its lowest point in more than a decade (even as 60 percent of Catalans back the amnesty deal). It also looks as if Aragonès’s pro-independence minority coalition, long debilitated by fratricidal tensions, is finally on its way out.

One day before Spain’s lower house approved the amnesty, Aragonès announced an early regional election in Catalonia for May 12, prompted by his government’s inability to pass this year’s budget. (The next vote was not due to be held until early 2025.) Polls indicate that the PSOE will come first, and that support for two of the three main pro-independence forces—including Aragonès’s party, the ERC, and the more hard-line Popular Unity Candidacy—will drop significantly, making it uncertain whether the secessionists will be able to form a regional coalition by themselves.

But their failure to do so wouldn’t necessarily take the pressure off Sánchez in the national parliament: Boosted by the amnesty deal, secessionists are likely to keep requesting a legal referendum on independence.

Shortly after Aragonès announced the early elections, Sánchez canceled Spain’s 2024 budget, opting instead to roll over the 2023 budget on the basis that the ERC and Junts will be too distracted by campaigning to steer this year’s spending plan through parliament. It’s a move that highlights the logistical difficulties that will mark the rest of his third term: Even if the amnesty deal becomes law, Sánchez will still have to win the support of the ERC and Junts on a case-by-case basis. That, in turn, will result in increased hostility from the right regarding collaboration with secessionists—and potentially also from the factions of the prime minister’s own party that opposed the amnesty deal in the first place.

Theoretically, there is one way out of this impasse for Sánchez: backing another independence referendum in Catalonia, much like Westminster backed the Scottish vote in 2014, on the reasonable expectation that it would fail. If it did, he could then claim to have met all the separatists’ demands at the same time as having strengthened the union.

But the constitutional and legal difficulties render this course of action virtually impossible. Instead, Sánchez will spend his third term at the mercy of emboldened separatists, locked into a stance on Catalan secession that is no longer credible.

[fiendishartist2]

web avatar jon thoughts i will probably never do anything with:

-joins with the rest of the archival staff-> is brought on (instead of martin) by elias in order to mark sasha with the web, since she didn't have the encounter with mr. spider

-sasha is the archivist now, tim and martin are still archival assistants

-no encounter with the spiral-> no one is replaced by the not-them. smth happens with the web instead (sasha's first mark alongside prentiss+the corruption) and is "resolved" by jon

-jon is antagonistic throughout the first 2 seasons and plays a role similarly to helen (friendly but should not be trusted. hes manipulating them all to do what he wants). he is not in cahoots with jonah (he quite dislikes the man, thinks he takes too much pleasure in ruining the lives of others. at least jon is a mostly neutral party) and does not help in getting sasha marked by the other fears. his involvement with introducing them all to the web is to establish more power for his fear in the archives

-in the third season, however, jon starts to turn his attitude around, esp after leitner's death. he uses his power of manipulation to keep sasha in hiding + help with the investigation. he does not stop puppeting them all in the background, but uses it more to keep them all safe, and less for his own gain

-specifically helps with preventing the unknowing, partially bc he doesnt want the spiral to take over and partitally bc he cares about his friends

-sasha goes through it like canon jon, has a similar relationship to tim as jon did to martin

-jon and martin are still involved, however their relationship prior to s3 is kind of manufactured. jon does and says exactly what they all want to hear to get in their good graces, and it works especially well on martin. s3 onwards features them getting to actually know each other as jon loosens up on messing with their personal lives and focuses on protecting the archives

-daisy and basira are unchanged, however daisy takes a dislike to jon as well as sasha (bloodlust in sasha's case and disgust in jon's. idk if she would want to kill jon too bc his fear manifests much more subtly than sasha's, but i think she would hate him more. maybe that would be reason enough at this point ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯) and basira is more willing to work with jon than she is of sasha. at this point, she is effectively being used by daisy and i dont think she would be able to notice the same behavior in jon

-melanie is unchanged, she still hates being there and gets marked by the slaughter

-tim hates jon even more than in canon-> thinks hes a little creep almost from the beginning and doesnt trust a word he says. finds him much too similar to the spiral and the distortion, 2 fears he has a particular hatred of

-the unknowing team is now comprised of: tim, sasha, melanie, basira and at home are: daisy, jon, and martin. jon weasles his way out of going bc he doesn't like to get directly involved in situations. staying home is much more appealing to him. also, he wants to fuck with elias just as much as martin does. daisy stays (despite wanting to go with basira) bc she wants to kill jon

-martin's confession is left out of this version bc jon is there. however, elias does get martin to stop- not with his insecurity regarding his mother, but with his insecurity regarding jon. he successfully plants a seed of doubt in martin about jon's true intentions, when he brings attention to all of his actions throughout the show (some of which, martin has witnessed and tried to ignore bc he didn't want to face them)

-sasha still goes into a coma, tim still dies (not without apologising to sasha, even if she never hears it bc the unknowing is happening), melanie gets thrown into the buried, basira returns home, daisy is stuggling with the hunt (much like melanie and the slaughter) martin retreats into the lonely, now convinced that all of his friends are dead and the rest cannot be trusted. they successfully get elias arrested and peter lukas takes over running the institute

-jon absolutely despises peter lukas bc of his isolation approach to running the institute; if everyone is seperated, there are no connections to manipulate. bc the web is manifested so strongly throughout the archives, he still has some control, but the ppl he genuinely had relationships with are gone and its much harder to handle

-daisy fights off the flesh, but it leaves her lost to the hunt (how to resolve? maybe she learns to keep it hidden from everyone until she snaps when those monster hunters come at the end of s4. maybe basira helps her through it. melanie still gets to heal, after they take out the bullet and get her out of the archives)

-when sasha comes back, jon clings to the last remaining thread in his web of the archives, becoming her new anchor after tim's death. when she goes into the coffin, he is the one who places all of the recorders on top it and wills her back home, melanie in tow

-at this point, jon has given up any malicious intent he had, as hes seen elias's plan unfurl and works to prevent it (like annabel cane, he knows smth is up). he wants to counter-manipulate everyone into not allowing the apocalypse to happen, basically

-which means he needs to get martin out of the lonely asap. martin joins peter now, not bc he does believe in the extinction, but bc there is nothing else for him in his life and he needs a way to detatch himself from jon, who he thinks has been lying to them all the whole time (finds out hes an avatar of the web some time during sasha's coma). jon manages to convince him their relationship is not entirely built on lies with sasha's help and prevents lukas from taking martin into the tunnels + to the panopticon. they leave just as the hunters arrive

-sasha still escapes into the tunnels (she Knows lukas is down there and potentially elias?) + eviserates peter lukas <3 finds elias

-daisy goes hunter mode and kills julia montauk, basira escapes into the tunnels, daisy hot on her heels after also killing trevor. she meets up with sasha and elias

-like in s5 w georgie + melanie, basira has been finding ways to get rid of the archives altogether, eventually stumbling upon whatever gas thing allows them to blow that shit up in the last episode. in her rage about daisy's decline (as well as her promise to daisy) and everything shes had to do for elias in the past season, she successfully blows up the building, trapping herself, elias, jonah (body), and daisy inside. idk whether sasha should bite the dust or not...... maybe it wouldn't be satisfying, but i think the nature of her character is to not survive and leave you mourning her lol

[partined]

Where there's smoke there's fire

On the 5th of February the news dropped of Cristian Horners alleged sexual misconduct with a female RedBull staffer, while the woman's identity remained a secret to the public, we knew she was well known around the paddock. In the ensuing days it remains "business as usual" for RB despite cries on social media for Horner's dismissal (or suspension) and the next weekend (5 days after news broke) he was seen meeting with his lawyer. RedBull put out a statement confirming that there was an internal investigation being held by a third-party barrister, i guess in a small effort to appear impartial. The investigation goes on for 3 weeks, meanwhile the only information we have is that there is an investigation, and that there are apparently over 100 pieces of evidence. Accusations flying from every direction towards anything living and breathing in the paddock, and no one knows what's speculation, rumour, or truth. Until it's released that the investigation has concluded, and that "the grievance has been dismissed". Not that Horner has been cleared, but it's been dismissed. No further word on the investigation has been mentioned since. A few days after that, a google drive was emailed to every team principle, media personnel and big name in Formula 1 with screenshots of the "alleged" misconduct in the form of whatsapp message screenshots, videos, and photos. I don't think I need to explain the online male consensus was, but the paddock's public consensus was to stay quiet.

The release of these images, whether real or fake, pivoted the situation. It's confirmed that the accuser was Horner's PA and that the validity of the situation couldn't be ignored. Since then, a number of drivers have called the scandal "Noise" or "distractions" or simply preferring to reiterate "that it doesn't affect/bother (them)" and reminding everyone that they are just here to drive.

We have seen over this month the number attempts to cover the situation up, to downplay it, and to move the conversation away. And all im left wondering is, how does Formula 1 intend to keep the female fanbase they've seemed so desperate to accumulate when the sport clearly can't handle the maintenance of morality and inclusion they were preaching just a few years ago. Helmut marko, Ben Sulayem, Jos verstappen, and numerous TP's have come out trying to influence the PR outcome of this whole debacle, yet only one driver has said anything of any substance since this whole thing started. Meanwhile female RB employees are getting doxxed (in attmepts to root out the accuser), female content creators are getting harrassed and doxxed by male fans of the sport, and every single woman in the paddock can tell you that when there's smoke, there's fire.

If one woman felt like she needed to come forward, despite having known Horner-and being involved in the sport- for years, knowing the danger and public scrutiny that would come with her telling her truth. Knowing that she most likely will never get another job in F1– or motorsport–again, how many other women have there been?

We've seen sexual assault and harassment committed live on F1TV, sky sports, and on any broadcaster associated with F1 since it's creation. It's not new, most women don't work in male-dominated fields and still 97% have experienced sexual harassment in their lives.

I hope this hasnt blown up yet, I hope we get news soon and I hope the full details are revealed. Most people have made up their minds about the situation already despite the lack of information, but the damage seems to have been done. CH's reputation is dusted, Max has been surprisingly coy, the general feelings towards the FIA ,most drivers, and F1 in general are below neutral, and even if this turns out to be a massive plot for Marko, Verstappen Sr., and the Austrian RedBull sector to gain control that Horner previously attempted to snake out the door with, it's done potentially irreversible damage to the female F1 fanbase thats grown from this past year.