#it's not really clear where Wales stand on that

[icharchivist]

Imagine being King Carl who overall is a decent and reasonable leader (at least I can't think of anything pointing to the contrary off the top of my head rn) and getting attacked by the King of Wales because he was driven insane by literal hell demons while grieving his mom but then he just magically got better and now everyone wants to hop on his dick because he's a gacha game bishounen

(i'm assuming both asks are related)

I mean King Carl enhabled Isabela so much so it poisoned his whole country while also focusing his knight forces on hunting Siegfried and protecting Sylph rather than protecting the people. I get what you're getting at, but him being a bad King at the start of the story is the reason we're here to start with :sob:

LIKE Aglovale did commit crimes, he committed treason, infiltrated an enemy country to make it implode from the inside, and his only motivation for that was indeed "demons driven insanity bc he wanted to see his mom again :(", i'm not defending Aglovale here, his crimes were Really Bad.

If anything Aglovale's "redeeming quality" is that his whole villain arc only lasted a few months, since The Union of the Countries (Savior of Dalmore) happened a bit after the One Year Anniversary of his reign and others timelines hints we have here and there establish that.

I'm not intending to dunk on King Carl (i didn't intend to turn the previous jokey post into a meta lmao esp since the point of the plot was superficial beauty), he's currently doing his best to be a better King and rights his wrongs.

But the Feendrache storyline starts out with the notion that Carl was a bad king due to how he basically enabled Isabela and defended her and turned a blind eyes to her acts. The Plot also condemns him for not taking enough precautions to make sure no one would try to take down the country after Isabela was first taken down.

It's the whole crux of the conflict of Lancelot's base 5*, when we learn that the people of Feendrache don't trust the King anymore because it has been the neglect of the King that had led to poisoning the land and countless of attacks on the land without properly offering protection to the people, and that it really brings conflict for Lancelot because he is torn between his blind duty to the kingdom (a coping mechanism he developed to "not be like Siegfried" at a time he felt betrayed by him), and the fact he cannot actually defend the King while the people are right to be upset at the King.

Which is why the resolution of this FE, set right after 4KoaFK, is that Lancelot takes in Percival's advice that it's not blind devotion to his country, but to the values of his country, that he should stand for, and if the King isn't going to follow those values, then Lancelot has to argue with it. And the resolution comes from Carl coming to Lancelot and telling him he totally agrees he has been a terrible king and he had driven Lancelot in a corner where Lancelot couldn't even advise him and as a result, he left himself and the Kingdom vulnerable.

whenever *you* agree about Carl's responsability in all of that or not is one thing, but the story is pretty much blaming Carl for most of what went wrong, he is NOT framed as a good king in the first few events, it's only in BFAF that he starts to take initiative that makes him respectable by his knights and such work as a contrast to Aglovale who is losing his sanity at this point.

Because we spend most of the story with the knights it's easier to see what was the direct harm caused by the actions, and as such we see Aglovale and Isabela as the ones who hurt us because of Aglovale's and Isabela's actual harmful actions and the vague consequences of "war" in general. But there's an aspect of long lasting consequences that ends up being different especially on a politic level.

Aglovale still took good care of Wales during the war, it shocked Percival at the time. Aglovale always had the opinions of the people by his side, and since him hurting the others countries was temporary despite the conniving approach to it all, Aglovale remained to the eyes of his people, a good King. Carl did NOT take a good care of his people during the calm time of his reign while he was being manipulated by Isabela, and it's something that is put in focus a lot.

And I think it's worth discussing because the Dragon Knights storyline is, to me, the pinnacle of "paying the price for the sins of the past", the storyline. And it goes for all of them, Aglovale is also paying the price directly of what his father had started with the whole Otherworld dealing for example.

Feendrache meanwhile is set up to constantly having to pay the price of how Isabela manipulated the Kings at the time.

Whatever is going to happen with the Merlin storyline, we know for a fact the starting incident is that King Josef apparently promised to help his kingdom, and then he left them to be destroyed. The possibility that it's Josef taking that decision by himself sure is there, but it's also extremely likely Isabela was involved. It doesn't change the fact that if Isabela manipulated the King, the King enabled a situation that led to a mass genocide.

as long as King Josef and King Carl have done Isabela's bidding, they endangered countless of people on a more political scale than personal scale.

And once again i don't mean to be defending Aglovale, because he still did fucked up shits, but framing Carl as someone who is mostly a chill king and stuff is, imo, going past the actual consequences of how him "being chill" for a long time meant "neglecting his people who were being slowly poisoned because he turned a blind eye to his advisor's behavior".

Especially considering how much the Dragon Knights storyarc is building more and more toward having to actually face how much the sovereignty in place has blood on its hands that they will have to answer for. (which is also the conflict of Grandcelot's FE, with the fairies specifically asking Lancelot if he's going to be able to keep defending his country when realizing the basis itself is unforgiveable and built on blood.)

I really like this saga a lot especially for the way those themes are unwinding so i can't just let say "Carl is mostly good we only like Aglovale because he's pretty" yaknow.

Also i concur on the idea that Aglovale is "the most reasonable king", he's really Up There nowadays, he's a very good king to his people, but during Savior of Dalmore he was constantly picking fights up with Dalmore for how Dalmore abandonned them midwar, which was so funny considering Dalmore were on their side because Wales drove a war against them to start with lmao. Savior of Dalmore literally conclude with Aglovale having to apologize for his defensiveness toward Dalmore, and for his crimes toward both countries. Carl is actually the one who's the most reasonable in this event.

Anyway, nuance and all.

But once again the previous post was literally just about who was the prettiest in the room, didn't expect that "prettiest" could be interpreted as "therefore the most right and forgiveable of the people in that room" yaknow.

[ukrfeminism]

Boys are watching violent porn on their smartphones then going on to attack girls, police have said, as new data showed children are now the biggest perpetrators of sexual abuse against other children.

Police data shows there has been a quadrupling of sexual offences against children, in what officers say is the most authoritative analysis of offending against youngsters.

The report from the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said the offending by adults against children was usually more serious, but said they were alarmed by the growth of sexual offending by those aged 17 or under.

In one case a child of four was referred to police after allegedly using a smartphone to upload an indecent image of a sibling. Police declined to give any more details.

In 2022 a total of 107,000 reports were made to police in England and Wales alleging sexual offences against children, ranging from rapes and, in a quarter of cases, to the making and sharing of indecent images.

The NPCC said 52% of alleged offenders were children, compared with around one third a decade ago.

Police received reports of 14,800 rapes and sexual assaults against children aged 10 to 17 where the suspect was classed as a child, the overwhelming majority being boys.

Ian Critchley, the NPCC lead for child protection, said: “This is predominantly a gender-based crime of boys committing offences against girls.

“I think that is being exacerbated by the accessibility of violent pornography and the ease with which violent pornography is accessible to boys and, therefore, a perception that is [normal] behaviour, and that person can carry out that behaviour that they are seeing online in the most violent way against other peers as well.

“Clearly the accessibility to smartphones has just rocketed, not just in relation to 11- to 16-year-olds, but in relation to under-10s as well. That accessibility has really exacerbated that and I think this is a debate that does need to be had in our society.”

A third of attacks take place within the family, the most common setting for abuse, and eight out of 10 victims knew their attacker.

Police said it is estimated as few as one in six offences are reported to them.

Critchley said the clear-up rate – where someone is charged or cautioned – was 12% where a child is physically attacked and 11% for indecent images offences. The clear-up rate for child-on-child attacks is 15% for sexual assault and 12% for rape.

He said offences involving AI were already being reported to police. These include “nudification” where the photo of a person – usually female – is digitally stripped of clothing to make it appear as if they are naked.

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) announced it was increasing the capacity and raising awareness of its helpline through which adults can report suspicions about child abuse. The charity last month said it was taking 14 months for a defendant in a child abuse case to stand trial after being charged, placing a greater strain on victims.

Wendy Hart, the deputy director for child sexual abuse at the National Crime Agency, said about 830,000 adults in the United Kingdom are estimated to pose a danger to children. “The severity of offending has increased, as have the complexities faced by law enforcement in tackling it,” she added.

“We are now seeing hyperrealistic images and videos of abuse being created using artificial intelligence, for example, while the rollout of end-to-end encryption by technology platforms makes it a lot more difficult for us to protect children.”

[syrena-del-mar]

Examining the Use of Movie Posters in Dead Friend Forever, Episode 8

So, for the past few weeks I've been paying attention to the different movie posters in Non's room and we finally got a clear shot of the posters in Episode 8! A big thank you to @lukaherehelp, @slayerkitty, and @fiction-is-queer for helping me identify, track down, and discuss all the movie posters and their possible significance.

Before we jump in, I think there are some interesting trends that have come from the chosen movie posters that have been plastered on the walls. First, all the movies either have kids dying or kids involved in some capacity. Second, two of the posters were in Spanish (does this hint that New was in a Spanish-speaking country?). Third, several seem to be in the horror films. Fourth, most seem to take place out in nature (a la cabin in the woods.)

El Fuera de la Ley -> The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)

Interestingly enough, Clint Eastwood's The Outlaw Josey Wales is the only legitimate poster that I have been able to find that Be On Cloud has chosen to use. I'm attributing this to mainly be due to American copyright laws.

For those that aren't familiar with U.S. copyright laws or just copyright laws in general, the law protects any tangible, intellectual property. Under the Copyright Act of 1976, as amended in 1978, any work that is made for hire, the copyright endures for a term of 95 years since its first publication. Movie posters do fall under this category. But this term of 95 years only took effect starting from January 1st, 1978, meaning that any work prior to this amendment was still controlled by the 1976 act. Under the 1976 act, the initial term of copyright was 28 years from the date of publication or registration. After the initial term, it could then be extended for 67 years for a total 95 years, but the copyright holder would need to actively extend the term. The Outlaw of Josey Wales came out in 1976, and assuming that the did not pursue copyright for the next 67 years, the copyright term would have ended in 2004. Meaning that Be On Cloud would be able to use the original movie poster without having to pay for the right of use.

Now onto the actual relevant portion of the plot. Josey Wales, a Missouri farmer, seeks revenge after his wife and son are murdered by pro-Union militants led by Captain Terri. Refusing to surrender to the Union, after the war, he ends up with a bounty on his head. Captain Terrill hunts down Wales and opens fire on him. Struggle ensues, Terrill draws out his sword and tries to kill Wales, but instead Wales take control and forces the blade through Terrill's chest and finally avenges his family. There is still a bounty for Wales, but locals cover him and tell the Rangers that came looking for him that he had already been killed. Ultimately, Wales has found his peace and rides off in the sunset, while you're left being unsure whether he survived or died of his wounds.

Now, I'm thinking this is where we're heading for the ending. After it's all said and done, I think this may play out in two different ways: either we'll never really truly find out whether Non made it out alive or we'll never know who the actual killer is. Either way, with the ending of The Hidden Character and coupled with the ending of this movie, I really think we're heading towards the direction where we're going to end up with a rather ambiguous ending. And if Non is confirmed dead, will it be Phee to be the last one standing after having avenged him? If Non's the writer and Phee is the killer, by Non's new storyboard and following Wales' story, he would.

La Madre: Love Never Dies -> Mamá : El Amor De Una Madre Es Para Siempre (2013)

‘Mama’ is a supernatural horror film that follows two young girls, Victoria and Lilly, who disappeared the of their parents' deaths but are later found abandoned in a forest cabin after 5 years have passed. They are taken in by their uncle Lucas and his girlfriend Annabel, but strange occurrences reveal the presence of a malevolent entity they call "Mama." As Annabel struggles to bond with the girls, Mama becomes increasingly possessive and dangerous, threatening their safety. Annabel offers Mama her lost child's remains to soothe Mama's anger but Lily's call interrupts, leading to Mama's return as she attempts to take the girls. Victoria chooses to stay with Annabel, and Mama and Lily fall off a cliff, before becoming spirits that turn into moths. At the end, you see one of the moths land on Victoria, likely showing the Lily would always be with Victoria.

Now at first glance, I thought this was just in reference to Non's tumultuous relationship with his mother, which I'll get to that in another meta, but the more I think about it seems like it parallels the corruption of innocence and the monstrosity found in humanity. In ‘Mama’, the corruption of innocence occurs not only to the children but actually to Mama herself. She becomes a malevolent entity after the loss of her child and becomes obsessed with the sisters in a twisted form of motherly love. Meanwhile, Non's life is irrevocably altered by the actions of the THC gang. They initiate the beginning of Non's life imploding on him. He's rendered a victim of relentless harassment and violence. The psychological and physical trauma that the THC gang put him through eventually breaks him and what little of his sanity that he had left. They destroyed him, intentionally. There’s no true remorse from any one of them, sans (maybe) Jin. Monsters do not always come in the shape of supernatural entities and the THC gang has proven that. They relentlessly tormented Non, manipulated and exploited him for their own gain, while showing little regard for the life that they, quite literally, traded in return for their own success. They may be haunted by te supernatural, hunted by a killer, but they were the first monsters.

"A ghost is an emotion bent out of shape, condemned to repeat itself, time and time again until it rights the wrong that was done." This quote comes directly from the movie and really sums up everything that the THC gang has been living and fearing. Non's movie is has come full circle, it's finally being performed the way he wrote it. There's no more hijacking of his film and changing the ending depending on who is skimming through the script. Instead, who ever is laying out these murders is fixing the changes made and following what Non wanted. And if he gets his way, nobody is going to survive this time around.

Considering the ending once more, it's going to be interesting if the DFF's ending parallels Mama's. If so, who is going to be the hypothetical sacrificial lamb? Will it be Phee? Tan? White? Or, has it been Non this whole time?

Whisper (2007)

Quite frankly, I'm not familiar with this movie at all, but I'm going to do a quick recap from what I could find online. In "Whisper," Max Truemont and his fiancée Roxanne seek a fresh start by opening a diner, but face financial obstacles. Max agrees to join his former partner Sydney in kidnapping 8-year-old David, son of a wealthy woman, for ransom. After the abduction, tensions rise among the group as suspicions emerge, exacerbated by David's ability to manipulate minds. It's revealed that David's mother is the mastermind behind the plot, claiming David is a demon with mind control powers. She urges Max to kill David, but she dies by her own hand when he refuses. Max ultimately kills David, unintentionally causing Roxanne's death in the process.

I think the obvious parallel here is the kidnapping that occurs. Yet, in 'Whisper', trust and betrayal are central to the plot where Max places his trust in Sydney only to betrayed when loyalties are questioned. Meanwhile, Non gets dragged into the movie by Jin, the one who places himself to be the friendliest of the group and is the only one that seems to want to have Non around. Out of everyone, Jin appears to be the closest to Non. Hell, in the present Tee even states that if Non were to visit anyone after disappearing for so long, it would be Jin. But we know that's not true, arguably the biggest betrayal comes from Jin. First, he films him getting sexually assaulted. Second, he lets Non get kidnapped by Tee and Top. Thirdly, he completely lies to the police officer about not knowing what happened to Non and actively frames Non as a promiscuous kid that ran away with his teacher. Jin was actively a bystander to Non's torment. Both narratives highlight the fragility of trust and the consequences of betrayal.

With that, ‘Whisper’ also revolves around the consequences of Max's actions. Max's decision to participate in the kidnapping of David set off a chain of events that screws up his whole life, quite literally causing the death of his fiancée. Here, Non's choice to continuously get involved with the THC gang really was the beginning of an end for him. Same with the decision to repay Por with the mafia's horse accounts... his choice to fix a problem with another problem shaped what little future he had.

Rivarium -> Vivarium (2019)

Again, this is another movie that I had to research. In "Vivarium," the concept of brood parasitism is starkly depicted through the introduction of a cuckoo bird. Gemma and Tom, a young couple, become trapped in a surreal suburban neighborhood called "Yonder" after being led there by a mysterious real estate agent. As they struggle to escape, they discover they are part of an experiment conducted by an otherworldly entity, with a strange child named "The Boy" at the center. Ultimately, the film concludes with The Boy assuming the identity of the dying real estate agent Martin, perpetuating the cycle of captivity and manipulation.

‘Vivarium’ explores the theme of cycles and repetition, as Gemma and Tom find themselves trapped in a seemingly endless loop of confinement and captivity. Despite their repeated attempts to escape, they always return to the same house, number 9, mirroring the cyclical nature of brood parasitism found in nature. Non finds himself in the vicious cycle of abuse and retaliation, where every time that he tries to fix one problem, he gets in another. No matter what he tries to do to dig himself up from his hole, it only leads to further escalation and harm to himself. @lukaherehelp and @fiction-is-queer made good points that in this case, Non is the 'bird' that the 'cuckoos', the THC gang, used for their own benefit. And now that Non is gone, the loop restarts, only now it’s Phee and Tan’s turn to infiltrate the group that has caused Non’s ruin.

The Devil (2010)

Now, this is the only movie poster that is not found in Non's room, but is actually located in Jin's.

‘The Devil’ revolves around five strangers that become trapped in an elevator. As they struggle to escape, it becomes apparent that one among them is the Devil incarnate, manipulating events and tormenting the others with a series of disturbing manifestations. Meanwhile, outside the elevator, a detective investigates the strange occurrences, gradually piecing together the connection between the trapped individuals and the sinister presence haunting the building. As the situation inside the elevator becomes increasingly dire, the characters are forced to confront their darkest secrets and sins, each suspecting the others of being the Devil in disguise. Once they deny their sins, the devil is able to claim their soul. The Devil is unable to claim the last survivor's soul, because Tony confesses and repents for having killed a family in a car accident and fleeing the scene.

This one I find to be incredibly interesting, because I can't help but wonder if this is foreshadowing Jin's journey. To gain forgiveness, you first have to admit your faults. Jin has to first acknowledge the harm he has caused Non, since he constantly postures himself to be the 'nice guy'. Now the question is will he continue to be a coward and deny that he had any part in Non's disappearance, in Non's mental break down, or will he 'confess his sins' and face the consequences of the reality that he helped create?

Final Thoughts

If you read all the way through this... first off, thank you, because this might just be my longest meta.

I might just be reading way too into this show and maybe they just needed movie posters to demonstrate Non's interest in filmmaking, but Be On Cloud is known for paying attention to their minor details. Plus if Non's t-shirts can speak, why not his movie posters? Especially when they gave us such a clean shot of the foreground in today's episode.

Everything beyond The Outlaw Josey Wiles is pure speculation, since there's no exact movie poster that I could find. It’s going to be interesting to see if DFF's ending mirrors any of the endings in the referenced movies.

[ineffasaurus]

An (embarrassingly long) post of my gushing about good omens:

I’m 16, but I’m writing from when I was 12/13 So it’s almost the end of summer, 2019, I remember this moment as clearly as anything. As clear as tasting my favourite food for the first time ever.

I’m layed on the patch of fake grass on the patio, with a couch cushion to rest my chin on. I’m scrolling some good old 2019 TikTok, I see this random cosplay of a demon and an angel. This is where it all began. This was the birth of it all 😂. I didn’t know I was autistic at the time but it was and still probably stands as 1000% my biggest special interest. I just loved this show, the characters, the actors, the writing, and all the crew I researched and I especially grew this strong bond towards the two main characters .

Crowley and Aziraphale were like real people to me for a long time, their story got me through a lot, took me right through 2020 when I had no friends ; when I was stuck in most of the year, It was a perfect distraction.

I am so grateful for Neil, Michael, David and everyone in the fandom. The community wasn’t just about the show and the book, ( and the radio production lol ), it was so much more about how we all felt during this weird weird year, and how we looked forward to whatever new content Neil had for us as it helped us stay grounded in reality whilst also helping us escape into numerous worlds of fantasy. I bought the book, then the DVD, which came with these exclusive prints, that I cherished like a little weirdo and I stuck them on a piece of paper and made it into a poster, I remember tagging Neil on Twitter in which he reposted my stupid little poster and I went straight to tell my aunt who probably couldn’t care less. She did actually really support me in this obsession, she was invested as much as I was in the lives of the actors and booked tickets for me to go to a sort of comic con in Wales to see Michael in person. Me and my best friend at the time, had costumes all set up as Aziraphale and Crowley. It made me feel so special and really I’ve never had that same feeling about any other franchise. I don’t even feel that strongly about dinosaurs, but the feeling is similar. Like I happened to stumble on this perfect thing, perfect to me in a way that I still don’t understand. It just made me so happy, and that’s what I’m grateful for. I can’t believe looking back now we couldn’t see I was autistic because the way I knew every single little fact and tidbit about the show, the production, the references, the costumes etc, it was honestly something that should be written in history books.

So, back to Neil, I read about four More of his books and in doing so, fell back in love with reading for a while, Ocean at the End of the Lane was special to me, I liked how Neil did and still does blend magic with the mundane. It appealed to me. I also became interested in religious history in a way, not so much, but I liked to research the angels and demons that were represented in the show. This isn’t supposed to be an analysis of the show, although that would also be something I’d enjoy a lot. I just want to get all these words out of my head about this chunk of my life that shaped who I was because I was only around thirteen. Everything was changing in my life, I needed this one form of escapism. Thank you Neil, for good omens, it won’t be so special to everyone as it is to me, but I will always love it and I am unbelievably excited for this new season. Roll on that 2019-2021 obsession, She’s back for round two. 🫶😇😈

@neil-gaiman Thankyou :)

[grits-galraisedinthesouth]

Revisiting information from Tom Bower's book Revenge and current events in the House of Windsor.

Misan Harriman: All Roads lead back, to Soho House & the person Rachel described as her "gay husband," Markus Anderson.

Anglo-Nigerian photographer, Misan Harriman, was instrumental in Meghan’s 2014 post-Trevor re-brand from Deal or No Deal Briefcase Girl to faux philanthropist/humanitarian.

Allegedly he's also gay, along with the other "boys" in MEgain's Soho House Circle. All in "contract" marriages with female "beards" like Rachel Meghan Markle. All liars.

According to Tom Bower's research (Revenge p. 63), Meghan was determined to use One Young World as her launching pad to celebrity philanthropy.

She was unknown to the OYW founders and event staff so she contacted Misan Harriman to ask for an introduction to his friend, tennis star, Boris Becker.

Becker was already scheduled to speak at the Dublin conference and Misan pitched the idea of Meghan's participation.

Becker referred Meghan to HIS AGENT, Gina Nelthorpe-Cowne.

If I remember correctly, in Gina's pre-wedding articles and interviews, she mentioned that Meghan contacted her office in 2014 to express an interest in helping with the OYW conference(s). I had no idea that Meghan and Misan were friendly while Meghan cohabitated with Celebrity Chef Cory.

MEgain did not choose Misan for her engagement photographs. Misan has only been in the photography business for five (5) years.

Soho House members, the York Sisters, invited Misan to capture the moment Edo proposed to Beatrice. (sigh & smh) SAME Eugenie who told the press, "we really like her..." when someone (OMIT & Jessica) gave Camilla Tominey permission to publicize their affair. Camilla repeatedly writes that William MUST forgive Sparry. Tominey cares nothing for the Wales family or the country. Her interests are rooted in greed and irresponsible reporting to sell papers.

Notice The Meghans began paying Misan during MEGXIT. He captured the stills and video footage for Megflix. He is also paid by Invictus. There's a lot of cash flowing into Misan's bank account via The Meghan and their archeficicial business ventures. IRS, where you at???? 🤔

I'm not sure why I included the following in my original 2022 post: "Allegedly, during Harry's 2 nights in Tornto (babysat by Jason Knauf), just before he flew to the US-FL IG, Meghan (while cohabitating w/Cory & just back from spending Mother's Day weekend w/Cory's parents) Meghan told Harry about her interest in helping him with the Invictus Games."

One thing that stands out to me is how much both Meghans lied during the engagement interview:

Sparry & MEgain admitted (on international television) that they were secretly dating for 5-6 months BEFORE Tominey received the story.

Do the math. If they met in July of 2016 and had 5-6 months together in secret, Camilla's article would have been published in December or January, not October/November.

Camilla's article was published at the time of their Toronto (soho house) Halloween party with Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank: October 2016 = only 3 dating months.

If they began dating during Sparry's Spring promotional visit to Toronto for Ingriftus, then YES--- they were "together" (like spooning bananas) for five (5) months before MEgain leaked the details to Tominey

Sparry is just as much of a compulsive liar as his wife. He lies about the unnecessary details:

"we had to announce your megnantcy for the tour because you were showing..."

"It's true, you did blend in-----‐until our farewell week..."

I have future content coming about Victoria Hervey and Dan Wootton's despicable behavior during kategate. At the moment I wish she would stop extending open invitations for Sparry "to come home," when he's repeatedly been clear that America is his home & America is where he feels safe.

In my opinion, Sparry and MEgain deserve to be married to one another FOREVER!! Initially I viewed Sparry as her victim but just because Sparry is mentally & emotionally unstable and intellectually "sub-educational" (as Lady C would say), does not excuse his character issues: lying, cheating, stealing, grifting to achieve fame and fortune in America. People all over the world with low IQs know the difference between right and wrong. There is no excuse for Sparry's crimes.

Royal Families cannot expect their people to look past bad behavior. Charles got what he wanted, "Camilla." Despite the good press she receives, the majority of the world sees Charles as spoiled and feckless. I do think he will be surprised to learn just how many Brits wish he & Camilla would just go on a permanent holiday.

In a world of meritocracy, we have watched Meghan Markle, Sparry, and Andrew get away with murder. Zero on the job consequences for bad behavior------>Out of touch with everyday people.

Andrew & Sparry have caused permanent damage to brand BRF. When Charles chooses tone deafness over humility and shame, they are begging the people for a Republic.

Normal people pay a price for their unwise decisions. Selfish Charles chose Jesus' resurrection day to rub Andrew into the faces of the British people and global royal watchers.

People won't take these moments of pure contempt for the will and opinions of the people and just let it all go due to cancer. Charles is still seen as a feckless king who will ultimately destroy this monarchy because it appears he cannot or will not manage his household.

Go to church Andrew & Fergie, but not in front of the cameras and not at the expense of the taxpayers. These are not difficult situations for Buckingham Palace. Does anyone have a working brain? It's as if Charles is deliberately destroying everything his mother & father worked so hard to preserve.

I agree @sassyfrassboss and don't get me started on Sarah's health related virtue signals. Why is it so difficult for Fergie to stop talking? And why won't Andrew go away and live out a solitary life? No one wants to shake hands with Epstein's pal. No charity wants to be represented by Epstein's pal. Consequences.

Andrew is reviled and despised because he refuses to accept responsibility for his unwise choices. He has no remorse for choosing "sleazy e & co" over his family and his country. It's not complicated.

I have drafts of future content about the York's. Surmise it to say, Andrew and Sarah are just not bright people. What's worse is they are selfish and refuse to step out of the limelight to give their daughters & grandkids a fresh start.

Unfortunately, like The Meghans, Eugenie was willing to exploit the identities of other people's children while concealing the face of her own child with stickers.

Ultimately Eugenie used the Jubilee to change course. She finally held up the child to show his face. Cute child. What's not cute is the elitist mindset that "blue blood makes us extra special."

After visiting Davos, Eugenie was quick to parrot her elitist, WEF talking points. There was no critical thinking about the issue(s) (like, "hmm, my husband wears glasses"), just a regurgitation of elitist talking points.

No one wants to see Andrew on Easter Sunday or for that matter at any other holiday. Seeing him jolly on parade is a slap in the face to all who had a deep affection for Queen Elizabeth's virtues and basic human decency. It's past time for him to retire from public life.

Rolling up to Easter service as though the York's are respectable members of society who serve Jesus Christ is absolutely shameful.

Not because of a liar named Virginia and her fake photo, but because of Andrew's REAL Central Park, NYC photos and the video footage of Andrew coming and going from Epstein's NYC home. Not to mention their big Epstein dinner with guests like Katie Couric, George Stephanopoulos and Woody Allen---- to name just a few.

Andrew used tax payer's money to travel in support of Jeffrey Epstein upon his release from prison.

A man who was convicted of sexually assaulting under age girls served about 12 months in prison and upon release he threw a NYC party for his royal pal Andrew! The Palace was "too honorable" to reply, "No thank you. Have a nice life." Andrew seems too self centered to concern himself with the commandments to "avoid even the appearance of evil" and to "honor" his mother & father's legacies.

[houseofbrat]

I’m so glad you did a post on the order. As Gert outlines, it’s not an “honor” and is some serious shade.

What’s also clear is that Lee and Willy activated their pet reporters to spin this as some kind of prestigious award, even using the same photo to accompany the spin. It’s so pathetic 😂

PS: He will continue getting zero credit for it compared to Saint Elizabeth II, but The King has give far more visibility and reward to the Monarchy’s workhouses who have given more service than William and Catherine to the country at this point. Well deserved honor for the Duchess of Gloucester 🫶

Gert is right. This isn't an honor.

Being given an honor that is lower ranked than one Kate already has means this: "We can't take your Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order away, but here's where you really stand in the monarchy." That's what this is.

If this was some high honor being bestowed upon The Princess of Wales, then why didn't Princess Margaret get it? Margaret did far more for the arts than Kate has, whether you compare Margaret's lifetime or just thirteen years Kate has officially been a royal.

This isn't a high honor. This is a public insult that Kate has to suck up and take because The King, Queen, and all of BP & KP know what is about to happen.

Of course, the KP comms team has to polish this turd. Just like they've been polishing all of Will & Kate's turds over the last years. Everyone at BP and KP is at DEFCON 2 right now because they know DEFCON 1 is going to happen soon, in May. Kate's recent "honour" just makes it official, even though the general public and the Wales fandom doesn't realize it yet.

Nothing is funnier than watching the Wales fandom scream about how Kate is "saving the monarchy" because she's the most popular royal or whatever. All the courtiers at BP know that her poll numbers are about to plummet. That's one of the reasons why they did this.

She's no longer going to be the most popular. Also, monarchy isn't a popularity contest. Celebrity is. Which is why the shade of lumping Kate in with all the other celebrities with this order is so on point. She's only capable of acting like a common celebrity folks, not a royal.

And the idiocy of the Wales fandom whining about how Harry would be given The Garter by now because his dad is king just shows how out of touch the Cambridge cult really is. Harry is about to get his style removed. He'll be lucky if he gets to keep his title. The best order Harry could hope for as a working royal is Order of the Bath. Or maybe just Royal Victorian Chain.

[longitudinalwaveme]

King Lear vs King Leir

King Leir (written by an anonymous playwright in the 1590s) is one of the sources Shakespeare used for his King Lear, so I decided to track it down, read it for myself, and compare the two versions. Here are my thoughts:

-Let's get the most obvious difference out of the way first. Since Shakespeare added the Gloucester subplot, and the tragic ending, to the King Leir/Lear story himself, King Leir does not contain any characters who are analogous to Gloucester, Edgar, or Edmund, no one gets blinded, King Leir gets his throne back at the end, and no one dies. Seriously---even Goneril and Regan (or rather, Gonoril and Ragan) are alive at the end (though more on that later).

-Also, all of the shared names between the two plays are spelled slightly differently (though this is probably more down to non-standardized Renaissance spelling than to Shakespeare deliberately changing the names)--we have Leir, Gonoril, Ragan, and Cordella instead of Lear, Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia. This is convenient as a way for me to distinguish between, say, Shakespeare's Cordelia and the anonymous play's Cordella.

-Now for the more interesting differences.

-King Leir opens with so. Much. Exposition. In Shakespeare's King Lear, there's a brief conversation between Kent, Edgar, and Edmund, and then Lear comes onstage and immediately divides his kingdom. In King Leir, there are five straight pages of exposition before the love contest starts. Admittedly, we also get some interesting character dynamics, but it makes for a very different opening.

-In King Leir, all three daughters are unmarried at the start of the play, and their mother (Leir's wife) has apparently just died. Leir plans to marry them off, split his kingdom between them, and retire. Amusingly, he also informs us that "Although ourselves do dearly tender them, yet are we ignorant of their affairs; for fathers best do know to govern sons; but daughters’ steps the mother’s counsel turns", and that, surprise surprise, he really would rather have had a son instead of a bunch of girls. But since he has no sons, this is the next-best plan.

-Leir also has two advisors. One of them, Perillus, is basically a proto-Kent (and seems to be where Shakespeare got the character from, as the versions of the Lear story from Monmouth and Holinshed don't include a Kent equivalent); the other is named Skalligar and basically exists to be evil and drive the plot forward.

-Anyway, in this version, Leir comes up with the love test not because he wants to have his ego stoked, but rather because Cordella has sworn that she won't marry someone she doesn't love, and so has been ignoring her many suitors. Leir is essentially using the love test as a trap: he assumes that Cordella will swear that she loves him more than her sisters, and that once she does, he can say "then, daughter, grant me one request, to show thou lovest me as thy sisters do, accept a husband, whom myself will woo." I...actually can't decide if this is better or worse than Lear's motivation for the love contest. On the one hand, at least he has an actual political motivation for it. On the other hand, he's planning to use the love test to trap his daughter into a marriage she doesn't want (more specifically, he wants her to marry the King of Hibernia, which seems to be a stand-in for Ireland), which is really skeevy on his part.

-Leir also plans to marry Gonoril to the King of Cornwall (which doesn't have an exact equivalent) and Ragan to the King of Cambria (which is explicitly a stand-in for Wales). So yes, King Leir gives the Goneril-character Regan's husband and gives Regan an entirely new husband (in the earlier versions of the story, I'm pretty sure that it's made clear that Goneril marries the Duke/King of Albany and that Regan marries the Duke/King of Cornwall, so it's not just Shakespeare who has the opposite setup).

-Perillus doesn't seem crazy about this plan, but doesn't really say anything to Leir about it (like Kent probably would have). Skalliger, for some reason (I guess we can assume hope for political advancement?) decides to immediately tell the two older sisters about the love competition.

-Unlike in Shakespeare's version, where Goneril and Regan are not fond of Cordelia but seem to be more quietly bitter about her than actively jealous, King Leir's Gonoril and Ragan are openly, angrily, and explicitly jealous of Cordella, because she's more beautiful and accomplished than they are and they're afraid that she'll marry before (and better than) they do. So they're kind of the evil stepsisters from Cinderella. Interestingly, Leir doesn't seem to play favorites between his daughters like Lear does---he doesn't call Cordella his favorite, and Gonoril and Ragan likewise don't claim that he favors her over them.

-Skalliger the Sketchy Advisor then comes in, tells them that their father plans to marry them off to the King of Cornwall and the Prince of Cambria (the men to whom they are already apparently in love with, or at least fond of), and that he wants Cordella to marry the King of Hibernia, and informs them of their father's brilliant "entrap Cordella into marrying my choice of husband for her" plan.

-Gonoril and Ragan immediately decide to cheat on the love test. Since they know ahead of time that their father is going to marry them off to the men they like anyway, they can promise that they love their father so much that they'll willingly marry any man he wants them to, leaving Cordella, whom they know will not say anything of the sort, facing Leir's wrath alone. This is all a noticeable contrast to Shakespeare's play, where none of Lear's daughters seem to have known the love test was coming before he announced it.

-Things play out exactly as the two older sisters plan. They make their extravagant declarations of love, Cordella refuses to do so, and, egged on by Gonoril and Ragan (in another contrast to Shakespeare, where the two older sisters don't speak at all about Cordelia until after their father has already left the room), Leir disowns Cordella for not playing along with his devious plan to entrap her into a marriage she doesn't want.

-Perillus also doesn't speak up for Cordella at all. So far, he's zero for two as Proto-Kent, but he'll get better soon.

-We then cut to the King of Gallia (France), who is planning to pay suit to one of Leir's daughters. He's also bringing along his pal, Mumford, whose main defining character trait is that he wants to scope out all the British women. However, because the King of Gallia is a romantic, he decides that he and Mumford will disguise themselves as pilgrims, so that, presumably, he'll know if whichever girl he decides to court will love him for himself and not his title.

-The King of Cornwall and the Prince of Cambria (whose real name is Morgan, apparently), who are going to be married to Gonoril and Ragan, respectively (remember, the sisters' husbands got switched around in this version), run into one another on the way to Leir's palace. Both are eager to marry their new brides. We will also eventually learn that these two have the combined IQ of a turnip.

-The two of them are married off to Gonoril and Ragan, and then Leir promptly divides his lands between the two of them. Both married couples seem quite happy with the arrangement and will stay that way throughout the play (which parallels Regan and Cornwall's relationship in Shakespeare's Lear but is a noted contrast to the trainwreck of a marriage that Albany and Goneril have.)

-Perillus finally tries to speak up for Cordella here, but it has no effect--though Leir doesn't actually banish him for doing so, possibly because he, unlike Kent, does not say anything like "What wouldst thou do, old man" while arguing Cordella's case.

-Meanwhile, Cordella is trying to figure out what to do with her life now that she's been disowned when she runs into the disguised King of Gallia and Mumford, who are calling themselves "Will" and "Jack". A+ fake names, guys.

-Cordella and the King of Gallia have a chat, wherein Cordella explains what has happened to her and falls in love with the King, whom she thinks is a random pilgrim. She plans to marry him even without him having any title, and then is pleasantly surprised to learn that he's actually the King of Gallia. The two then leave to get married and go to France together.

-So, you know how in Shakespeare's version Goneril gets mad at Lear because his 100 knights are destroying her house and harassing her servants? In this version, Gonoril essentially gets mad at Leir because he keeps scolding her for buying expensive dresses and throwing a lot of parties. So she kind of comes across as a rebellious teenager, and as a lot less reasonable than Shakespeare's Goneril.

-Also, instead of telling her father that he'd better get his knights under control or she'll get rid of some of them, she's already dismissed half of his "portion" (not sure what this means, exactly, as Leir doesn't seem to have an entourage of knights) and is planning to get rid of the other half to "encourage" him to leave. Man, can you imagine how Shakespeare's Lear would've reacted to this Gonoril?

-Skalliger the Sketchy Adviser encourages Gonoril in all this. But don't get used to him, because after this he's going to cease being relevant to the plot.

-Leir is talking to the King of Cornwall (the Albany equivalent), and they seem to be getting along pretty well, when Gonoril suddenly storms in and accuses her father of trying to turn her husband against her. The King of Cornwall tries to calm her down, and Leir's all like "maybe she's moody because she's pregnant". Gonoril reacts to that about as well as you would expect, and then the King of Cornwall just sort of leaves to avoid the argument.

-As soon as the King of Cornwall's gone, Gonoril tells Leir to pack his bags and get out. Which Leir....does. And Perillus goes with him. No horrible curses of infertility or anything! He just goes off to Ragan's house and assumes everything will be fine.

-One similarity between the two plays is that in both cases, the confrontation with the oldest daughter makes Lear/Leir feel guilty about his treatment towards his youngest daughter. The noticeable difference, however, is that while in Shakespeare's play Goneril is being mostly rational and Lear's the one causing friction and shouting insults, in the older play Leir's maybe mildly embarrassing at worst and Gonoril comes across as a spoiled brat.

-Ragan then gets a soliloquy that conveys, in essence "I can do whatever I want, and it's great! I'm so glad my killjoy dad is with my sister and not me!"

-Meanwhile, the King of Cornwall asks Gonoril where her father disappeared to, to which Gonoril replies "Oh, he went off to see my sister with no warning. He's impetuous like that. Don't worry about a thing, honey." The King of Cornwall plans to send a messenger to Ragan's to make sure Leir arrives okay, but otherwise questions none of this. Remember how I said he had the IQ of a turnip?

-Gonoril intercepts the messenger and tells him, to, basically, deliver a letter full of lies to the tune that Leir has been causing problems at her house (she explicitly says she'll lie about her father in her letter). In other words, she wants Ragan to believe that Leir is behaving in the way that Shakespeare's Lear...actually did behave.

-The messenger, as it turns out, is a low-down scumbag (and proud of it), so he's all too eager to deliver a letter full of lies.

-Then Cordella gets a soliloquy about how, although she loves being Queen of France, she misses her father and wants to see him again.

-Leir and Perillus arrive at Ragan and the Prince of Cambria's house (Cambria being the Cornwall equivalent. If Cornwall wasn't an eye-gouging psychopath but did have the IQ of a turnip).

-Cambria is pleased to see Leir, and Ragan pretends to be glad to see him too (though obviously she wants nothing to do with him). This actually is a little reminiscent of the interactions between Lear and Regan in Act II, scene iv, although the fact that the Cornwall-equivalent isn't acting and no one's been put into the stocks are obviously differences between the two scenes.

-Ragan's opinion of her father is naturally only worsened when the Messenger gives her Gonoril's letter full of lies, and, when the Messenger guy casually offers to murder her husband or father for her if she wants him to, she eagerly takes him up on the offer and hires him to ax her father (and Perillus). She tells him that she'll ask her dad and Perillus to meet with her at a specified location tomorrow morning, and that he can kill them there.

-Well, that escalated quickly!

-Cordella and the King of Gallia have another conversation about how much she misses her father and hopes he's okay. The King of Gallia is understandably confused by the level of concern she's showing for her jerk of a dad but agrees to send a messenger to the King of Cornwall's place to check on the old man anyway (since they don't know Gonoril booted Leir out of the house).

-The King of Cornwall and Gonoril are having a conversation, during which the King is wondering what's taking that messenger he sent so long to return with news about the king, when the French messenger shows up and asks how Leir is doing.

-Gonoril and the King both tell the Messenger that Leir isn't at their castle right now, but that they think he'll be back soon (the King really believes this, Gonoril is of course lying), and the conversation then turns to Cordella. Gonoril not-so-subtlety hints that she hopes her sister's not doing too well, and the Messenger immediately picks up on the fact that she's all sorts of sketchy (The King of Cornwall doesn't pick up on this fact, but we've already established that he's got the IQ of a turnip, so that's not surprising.)

-Leir and Perillus are waiting outside for Ragan when the Messenger she hired to murder them shows up. He announces to them that he's going to murder them, and also tells them that Ragan was responsible for the whole thing (after Leir initially assumes that Cordella must have hired the murderer since she's got the best reason to want him dead). Interestingly, the Messenger also claims that Gonoril hired him to kill Leir even though we only saw Ragan doing so. He does have a letter from her with a commission to murder them, though, so maybe she wrote that alongside the letter she sent to Ragan.

-Leir takes the news...shockingly well, all things considered. What's even more shocking is that the two of them manage to talk the Messenger out of killing them. Seriously, he just gives up and leaves, never to be seen again in the play (though presumably richer thanks to still having money from Ragan for the hit he didn't carry out).

-Leir and Perillus then decided to set sail for France and the last remaining daughter. They exchange their fancy clothes with the clothing of some mariners to pay for the passage on the ship.

-The French Messenger, having determined Leir's not at Cornwall, decides to go look for him at Cambria.

-In France, meanwhile, Cordella, the King of Gallia, and Mumford decide to go for a walk on the beach together...in disguise! Apparently the King of Gallia just loves disguising himself as a common person. It's actually kind of an endearing character trait.

-Mumford also gets his second fake name in the play. For their beach walk, he's going to be called Roger.

-The Prince of Cambria, who has noticed that his father-in-law has gone missing, is getting kind of worried about where he might have gone. Ragan replies by telling him that it was probably her evil sister Cordella who was responsible for his disappearance. She puts on a bravura performance of mourning her father's fate, and Cambria, who has the IQ of a turnip, immediately buys it.

-Then the French Messenger comes in and asks them where Leir is. Ragan replies by basically accusing Cordella of murdering Leir. The Messenger is not impressed, but Cambria seems to think his wife's story is true (because, again, he's got the IQ of a turnip).

-The French Messenger makes it clear that he thinks Ragan is responsible for Leir's disappearance, which prompts her to slap him. The Ambassador wisely chooses to get out of dodge, and, as soon as he leaves, Ragan starts fake-crying and claims that Cordella is probably trying to steal their land now that she's totally murdered their father. Her husband, who, bless him, totally believes her, promises that he'll punish Cordella for what she (allegedly) did to their father. He may have the IQ of a turnip, but at least he means well.

-Leir and Perillus, upon their arrival in France, are close to starving for want of food (probably because they couldn't pay for food on the boat). By sheer coincidence, they run into the disguised Cordella, King of Gallia, and Mumford, who are having a picnic on the beach.

-Cordella and the King of Gallia immediately recognize her father and invite him and Perillus to eat with them (which is a good thing, because Perillus was trying to convince Leir to cannibalize him rather than starve! There's the proto-Kent we all know and love!)

-After they eat, Cordella reveals her true identity to him and they reconcile. Leir having also told her and her husband about Gonoril and Ragan's plot to murder him, she and the King of Gallia immediately promise to invade England and restore him to the throne.

-The invasion is a complete success, in part because the two soliders on watch decide to abandon their post and get drunk rather than actually doing their jobs. It also helps that most of England is still in support of Leir.

-That being said, Cambria and the King of Cornwall do manage to raise armies against the King of Gallia's army, and they and their wives confront King Leir, Cordella, and the King of Gallia.

-Gallia accuses the two daughters of plotting to murder their father. They of course deny this and claim that he's just using that as an excuse to justify the invasion. Cambria and the King of Cornwall still back their wives up, which is nice and all, but you'd think they'd be getting at least a little suspicious by now (especially Cambria!). IQs of turnips, the both of them.

-Leir even has the letters that they wrote to have him murdered! Sure, Ragan tears them up (in a scene reminiscent of Goneril trying to tear up her letter to Edmund in the end of Shakespeare's King Lear), but still neither of them get suspicious. Nor do they seem to be suspicious of the fact that Leir is with Cordella in spite of the fact that presumably at least Cambria should believe that she tried to murder him! Seriously, how are they possibly that stupid?

-Anyway, the two sides fight, and the King of Cornwall and the King of Cambria both run away (presumably with Gonoril and Ragan) when they lose. Leir is restored to the throne, and he gets to be happy with Cordella and the King of Gallia.

-Except that his daughters, who tried to murder him, are still alive. And so are their idiot husbands, who are still presumably in total support of them and would be on board to fight against Cordella and Gallia again as soon as they manage to regroup and gather up new men for their armies. And no one seems intent on doing anything about that!

-And then the play just ends, as if we're operating under the assumption that Gonoril and Ragan are just going to go "Oh, well. Our plan to kill our dad and take his crown failed. Guess we're just going to do something else with our lives now." or something.

-Seriously, Gonoril and Ragan's husbands are unbelievably stupid. Albany and Cornwall aren't geniuses, but they're a million times smarter than the King of Cornwall and the Prince of Cambria from King Leir!

TL; DR: Shakespeare's play is obviously more complex and better-written, but there's something very entertaining about reading this earlier play that tells the same story in such a wildly different fashion.

I honestly think the three daughter's husbands may be the best part of King Leir. They all clearly love their wives, the King of Gallia's passion for disguising himself is great, and I can't help but kind of smile at how stupid the King of Cornwall and the Prince of Cambria are. They may have the combined IQ of a turnip, but they mean well.

[ben-j-erickson]

So the RWRB trailer is out. And I have thoughts.

I wanna preface this by saying that I am gay and that I also love RWRB with like all of my heart. That book is the first piece of queer media that I bought for myself. Just so we’re clear on where I stand vis a vis the book.

SO on very very first impressions, I just don’t have high enthusiasm for this film. I get that it’s a 2ish hour movie and there’s a lot that you can put in and things you just gotta leave out. But I’ve heard that they’re combining Nora and June and that upsets me bc they’re both PIVOTAL to the plot in their own ways. Also how??!?? do you combine them?!?!? Anyway…into the next bit of BTS that makes me upset: combining Liam and Raf into some ex of Alex which totally defeats the purpose of Alex discovering his bisexuality in the way that he does(everyone say thank you to HRH Prince Henry of Wales).

Also I keep noticing things like little details that aren’t right to me: Henry getting Alex’s number and not Alex giving it to him, Alex wearing not-a-burgundy-velvet-suit at the New Years Party, just like little things like that.

Just on a lil headcanon moment tho: Bea is not how I imagined at all if that is Bea talking to Henry in the trailer. She’s not ginger to me. I always sort of pictured as Ella Purnell or Holly Earl(if you want my full list of the peeps I envisioned as the cast, hit me up, no disrespect to the cast tho)

HOWEVER I am happy to report that I INSISTED that Nicholas Galitzine and Taylor Zakhar-Perez has the kind of chemistry that Alex and Henry have and I.WAS.RIGHT. Also Una Therman as Ellen Claremont ROCKS, she has big president energy anyway. Also if Cash isn’t in the movie whatsthepoint

Ultimately though, it is too early to tell and the movie could be really good and more importantly it’s always good to have more queer film out there. Representation like this always something that I am on board with.

ANYWAY, thank you for coming to my lil rant, that is all.

[oscarjamesleigh]

The Parliament Fart of 1607, or Satire and Respectability

On the 4th March, 1607, just after being read a message from the Lords, one of the younger members of the English Parliament, Henry Ludlow, farted somewhat loudly, enough that everyone heard it. This event was noted enough that it is remembered even now as the Parliament Fart of 1607.

Farting was common in humour throughout the Medieval and Early Modern periods, as broad humour involving sexuality and scatology was quite widespread, however in-person farting was considered indiscreet for a gentleman. Cleanliness and control of one's bodily functions was associated with sophistication, and farting could be particularly awkward in a society that associated bad smells with infection (see miasma theory). So this was the kind of thing that might damage your reputation, even your career, particularly at a public event. But, in the end, Henry Ludlow escaped relatively unscathed, he had other scandals given his quarrelsome nature, so perhaps that distracted people.

What did emerge from this moment however was a series of manuscript poems satirising the event. Manuscript, hand-writing, was the standard form for controversial writings because it couldn't be traced back to a specific printing-press, as seen similarly in the "libels" of the time where people would mock recently-deceased political figures. This one was written many times in different ways, and continued to be reimagined as late as the 1660's early Restoration.

All versions start with the fart, often described him similar wordings, and then follow a format of rhyming couplets with various named members standing up to respond to the fart. There's a bit of mischief here in how the members, speaking largely like they would with any other parliamentary business, attempt to keep a sense of dignity in their responses.

One example has the first sentences as:

"Downe came grave auntient Sr John Crooke And redd his message in his booke. Fearie well, quoth Sr William Morris, Soe: But Henry Ludlowes Tayle cry’d Noe. Up starts one fuller of deuotion Then Eloquence; and said A very ill motion Not soe neither quoth Sr Henry Jenkin The Motion was good; but for the stincking Well quoth Sr Henry Poole it was a bold tricke To Fart in the nose of the bodie pollitique." (Bodleian Library manuscript, Malone 23)

You can get a sense of the style of these poems from that. At the time of the original incident, the parliament was debating the naturalisations of the Scots after the Union of the Crowns under James VI and I.

James was originally a Scottish king before English, somewhat subverting the original English desire to conquer Scotland, which unsurprisingly some people weren't very happy about, the Gunpowder Plotters themselves where partially motivated by anti-Scottish xenophobia. His mother was Mary Queen of Scots (of head-losing fame) but he was separated from her long before she died and raised by his Protestant relatives. Because of their descent from the line of Henry VII's eldest daughter Margaret, many considered James and his mother as the primary heirs to the throne, so his Protestantism cleared many of the barriers for his acceptance his mother had faced. Though it's unclear whether Elizabeth ever really accepted James as heir, he was increasingly treated as de-facto heir in the later years of her reign.

Because James inherited the English crown separately (and associated crown of Ireland, English dominion over Wales and not-yet-forgotten claim to the throne of France) it remained entirely independent from and distinct to his kingdom of Scotland. James disliked the idea of holding two crowns at the same time when the system were quite different, so he became the first person to propose the political idea of Great Britain, which would not become a reality until the reign of his great-grandaughter Anne in 1707. While he could only use the title Britain in prerogative matters, things the King could do unilaterally, since he could not convince parliament to accept it, James wanted parliament to at least recognise Scottish subjects born after the union, "post nati", to have natural rights at English subjects.

Naturally, this was one of the subjects referenced in the first Parliament Fart Poems, along with other contemporary topics like freedom of speech and royal finances. But the different versions changed significantly over time. They didn't just fiddle with wordings, they also adapted to reference different issues. Later in James' reign there was the Overbury Scandal, a political murder, and the 1624 Monopolies Bill, on a form of profiteering patenting, later versions written during the 1640's took on the context of the intense parliamentary debate at that time leading up to the civil war. And when it re-appeared in the Restoration, it was used to mock parliament from a Royalist perspective, despite most previous uses being more pro-parliament.

Of course, at the end of the day, the Parliament Fart Poem wasn't just about politics or any other serious topic, it was also play, it was funny, it was fun to write neat little rhyming couplets. It appealed to a taste for irreverent crude humour that was popular at the time even in higher circles. You can see a similar sense of humour in many of Shakespeare's play, so it was far from alone in mixing the high and the low, that was what made such pieces appealing to a relatively wide audience. They weren't too snobbish or narrowly airy. A lot of the classic literature from the Medieval and Early Modern periods had crude humourous moments, Chaucer's Canterbury Tales did too, and that was commonly reprinted in this period as a kind of vintage classic.

Perhaps in the modern day we could also use a moment to laugh at a fart, we'd be in good company.

[deadendtracks]

Lizzie and Tommy: Ruby's death, pt. 9

Okay, I think this will be the last part of this particular discussion.

It's hard to know where to cut things off, because everything in season 6 is related to everything else, and what happens later between Lizzie and Tommy is intimately connected to Ruby's death.

I hope by now I've made it clear that Tommy was very deeply impacted by Ruby's illness and her death. He loves his children very much, even if he struggles in the later seasons to be present with them. It's hugely traumatic to him, not just to Lizzie.

I wanted to talk a little about the funeral for a moment, because I think it's another bit where people can easily misinterpret Tommy.

The scene opens with the family proceeding to Charlie's yard behind a carriage carrying Ruby's body. Just to give a little context, Tommy says the meeting with the fascists, which happens the night of the funeral (Lizzie is still in her mourning clothes when he gets back from murdering Evadne Barwell), is 4 days after Ruby's death. Lizzie yells at him to go to bed, from which we can infer he probably hasn't slept much if at all in that time. If you look at Tommy as he and Lizzie walk into Charlie's Yard behind the casket, he barely looks conscious. It looks as if Lizzie might be holding him up.

All of this to say that when Tommy then asks Arthur to please read his eulogy for Ruby, because he can't say the words, I think he's being genuine. I think he's not capable of reading the speech he wrote. I think because he goes on to make a speech, people sometimes assume he wasn't being truthful or was just trying to get in a dig at Arthur (I've seen some pretty weird and harsh stuff about this). I also think it's telling that no one else in the family steps forward in that moment. Not Ada, not Charlie Strong. They just let him stand up there and struggle.

And he does struggle. I think it's clear the speech he gives isn't the speech he wrote. He doesn't look at the paper in his hand, and it's fairly rambling and unfocused and repetitive. Finally, when he can't go on, he turns his back on them all. It's only then that Uncle Charlie steps forward.

Sure, there are a lot of reasons for the family failing to step up there, and some of them are Tommy's extreme independence and how he's coped all these years by being hyper-competent in the face of stress and trauma. At the same time, he's visibly falling apart here, and actively asked his brother for help. He doesn't look in control or competent at all. But his family expects him to be these things, and none of them offer help even when he asks for it.

So yeah, Tommy fails in any ability to offer comfort to Lizzie during Ruby's illness and death, because he's incapable. Lizzie cannot offer him comfort either, because of her own reactions. But importantly no one else steps forward. No one tries to offer Tommy comfort in this scene when he clearly needs it.

I think because the audience expects extreme control and competence from Tommy as well, this point gets ignored or missed. People just assume Tommy is fine, really, that Lizzie is the only one who is truly devastated. That Tommy isn't as deeply impacted, because he makes an attempt at the funeral to be the man everyone expects him to be. Part of that dynamic has been that he *has* to be that person, because no one else will. His oldest brother is too fucked up on junk at the funeral (or in withdrawal, it's unclear) to help him even when Tommy begs him to. Lizzie understandably can't be expected to step forward either. And no one else does.

His leaving the funeral for revenge is an echo, in away, of the way he left for Wales after Grace's death, I think. There are similarities in the way his family expects him to function when he's clearly falling apart. In the face of that, in both cases, he leaves. And the two events are connected plot wise as well, because in the first instance he gives the sapphire to Madame Barwell and in the second he takes revenge on her sister for her curse.

But I think at the core both actions have similar triggers: being vulnerable in front of his family and having it be met with their expectation that he'll be able to continue on. And that too might have contributed to the amount of rage he feels, that gets aimed the people he murders.

Anyway, to close, I just wanted to say I wrote this to try to draw out the way Ruby's illness and death impacted Tommy, because I think sometimes he can be discussed as if none of this touched him, or not as deeply as it touched Lizzie, and I don't think that does the story or the characters justice.

[omsdoortodoor]

OMS Door to Door Challenge departure date minus 17 weeks

Quote of the week.

“Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach him to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to cycle and he will realise fishing is boring and stupid”  Desmond Tutu.

Ian's week

Contrasts.

This last week saw contrast in where I cycled. On the previous Sunday my friend Andrew dropped me off at Black Cat near Bampton so I could cycle home, a fairly short route of 10.5 miles but with a couple of decent climbs.  On the Thursday Jane & I along with the dogs headed off to the Gower Peninsular in Wales for our annual camping weekend with friends. This was after carrying out emergency repairs to Pete & Carol’s trailer tent so that they could join us.

Friday saw me go on a 15 mile ride, passed the Britannia Inn at Llanmadoc to Llanrhidian.

I then turned right towards Reynoldston, along the road through the centre of Gower with its challenging climb to the point where you can see both coasts.

The views are fantastic and remind me a bit of Exmoor, especially with the additional hazard of cattle & sheep wandering across the road without looking. Someone needs to teach them the Green Cross Code!. I then passed the King Arthur hotel before joining the Port Eynon road for a short while before heading back to the campsite through Burry Green.

Later that day we all set off to the beach at Llangenneth. I cycled both ways. A short cycle, but with a climb in each direction.

On the Saturday I rode a similar route but extended it to over 20 miles by going out to Three Crosses and joining the B4271 back across Gower to Reynolston.

Cycling on the Gower was fantastic, I loved it, it was challenging, great training & as Desmond Tutu states, better than fishing.

Jane’s week

So very pleased to be able to bring you the promised interview.  I just needed a quiet few minutes to think through how I was going to up load it.  Thank you once again to our interviewer Claire.  Enjoy.

Purchase of the week for Celeste was ‘Ear Defenders’ for Celeste (wingmirror protectors).

I now feel less likely to face a rather expensive repair if someone catches our wingmirror. Having no rear view mirror (although there is a reversing camera) I also don’t want to loose some of the drivers view.  So with the new equipment we had a great drive down to Gower.  Our new super duper Sat Nav/Dash Cam beeps all the time: video saves, collision warning (when someone pulls in front too close not because I’m dangerous), 70mph, speed camera ahead, sharp bend ahead (on a motorway!).  Good news is I reckon I have cracked driving Celeste, I just need to get used to the length when pulling back in after overtaking.  Ian will be pleased when he can stop having to shout ‘CLEAR’ so I know when I can complete the manoeuvre.

But the big challenge for me was to set up Celeste once we arrived at the Campsite all on my own.  So Ian had the luxury of just standing and watching which I pulled things out of the ‘garage’, cranked up the awning and then hit the windbreak poles into the ground.  We have three windbreaks, which are needed to give our dogs a safe space.  I managed one of three before I had really had enough.  I was really pleased with my effort.  I just need to build up my strength and I am already on a strength improvement programme (thank you Sarah Grey - Pilates South West and Martyn Phillips – Phoenix Endeavour).

We took the dogs to the beach, and it would have been the perfect opportunity to use those dog drying bags we bought. But we left them at home, so here is a photo of the dogs anyway enjoying one of their walks.

And finally, I can't complete this blog without a photo of the Northern Lights. What an experience. My number one bucket list is now ticked.

So we feel that our preparations for the 950 miles cycle challenge are going well. I what we are doing has inspired you, we would be so very grateful for any donations towards Overcoming MS. Our justgiving page link and training route are here.

Thank you Jane & Ian

[college-girl199328]

No matter where King Charles went for his first trip outside the U.K., there was bound to be high scrutiny — both for the diplomatic signals the destination would send and for the opportunity to see how the new monarch would carry out his new role on the world stage.

Charles is hardly a stranger to that stage, given his travels through his decades as Prince of Wales. But his recent trip to Germany also offered a view of how he may try to forge his own way in a role been held by his mother, Queen Elizabeth, for an unprecedented 70 years.

The trip, initially planned for France and Germany, was seen by many as a signal of the importance the U.K. places on its relationship with Europe going forward.

"Diplomatically, in light of Brexit, this was viewed, I think, as an opportunity by the U.K. government to reset the relationship between the U.K. and France and the U.K. and Germany, who are in geopolitical terms the two main players in the EU," Craig Prescott, a constitutional law expert at Bangor University in Wales, said in an interview.

The trip ran into a significant hiccup before it even began, with the postponement of the French portion in the face of protests over pension reform rocking the country.

Still, Germany stayed on the itinerary, with King Charles and Camilla, the Queen Consort, spending three days in Berlin and Hamburg in those three days, which mixed the earnest and severe with lighter moments and the occasional behind-the-scenes glimpse, there were perhaps some hints of how Charles will bring his own approach to the role.

"Whereas the Queen always maintained distance and it was always just a bit more upright, just generally [with Charles] it seems to be a bit more relaxed, a bit more open and sort of more modern in a sense," Prescott said.

Headlines noted the "historic address" Charles made as the first British monarch to speak in the German parliament, where he received a standing ovation.

In that speech, which was furnished predominantly in German, he referenced the war in Ukraine and remembered Germans killed in air raids during the Second World War; he also drew laughter from his audience with references to the victory by the U.K.'s women's soccer team over Germany in the European Championship last year.

"The visit was an Anglo-German bonding session, offering reconciliation for past divisions and now recasting their roles as European democratic allies responding to the war in Ukraine," the BBC reported.

As much as there was the diplomatic side to the tour, there was also the personal side for Charles and Camilla always see Charles and Camilla making clear that they're not just in a country on a diplomatic mission; they're also really taking the time to get to know ordinary people and to really show that they're having a good time there and are engaging with the local culture," said Toronto-based royal author and historian Carolyn Harris, noting similar experiences when they have been on visits to Canada.

This time, Charles tried his hand at cheese-making at an organic farm, and Camilla also visited a food market outside Germany; the visit seemed well received.

"I think it generally was viewed as being a success and arguably couldn't have gone any better, both for the Germans and the U.K. side," Prescott said.

The world was watching, too; press coverage, including CNN, was quite positive," Harris said; there's a new monarch, and there's a lot of interest in how they will conduct themselves on the world stage."

Harris expects we'll see many more European visits from Charles and other members of the Royal Family in the next few years; see various monarchs at various points in their reigns emphasizing either more of a Commonwealth or more of a European focus," she said.

"And at this time, with the United Kingdom renegotiating its relationship with Europe and the aftermath of Brexit and the war in Ukraine, we're going to see a strong European focus going forward."

It had been a question shrouded in some curiosity and sensitivity for quite a while: Would Camilla be called Queen when Prince Charles became King?

Since his accession in September, Camilla has been formally identified as Queen Consort, a title Queen Elizabeth endorsed seven months before her death.

But with the release of the invitation to next month's coronation, any lingering doubts about Camilla's title have been removed; the word "Consort," as "Queen Camilla" is noted on the ornate and colourful card being sent to more than 2,000 guests ahead of the ceremony on May 6 at Westminster Abbey in London.

Camilla's title became problematic in 2005, when she and Prince Charles were married, royal author and biographer Sally Bedell Smith said via email.

At that time, Buckingham Palace announced that Camilla's title was "intended" to be Princess Consort decision was an effort to head off lingering antagonism" toward Camilla after the death of Charles's first wife, Diana, Princess of Wales, Bedell Smith said, noting that Camilla deliberately declined to use the Princess of Wales title for the same reason.

"The problem with 'Princess Consort' is that it is an invented title, with no precedent in British history," Bedell Smith said to be called Princess Consort, an act of Parliament would have been needed.

"By settled law and tradition, the wife of a King is automatically titled Queen, as was the case with Queen Alexandra, Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth [the wife of George VI], following the style and precedence of their husbands," said Bedell Smith, whose book, George VI and Elizabeth: The Marriage That Saved the Monarchy, was published this week.

When Charles's mother said in February 2022 that it was her "sincere wish, that when the time came, Camilla would be known as Queen Consort," it was an effort "to remove all traces of the Princess Consort idea and to provide a transitional title after Charles took the throne," Bedell Smith said.

The coronation will in ways mark the culmination of the transition between reigns the period of mourning, there was potential for confusion if the [title] Queen was used to refer to both the late Queen Elizabeth II and Queen Camilla," Harris said.

"With the coronation, there is only one King and Queen, Charles III and Queen Camilla have been a rare royal transformation, as she has gained more acceptance from a public that at one time showed little warmth for her, given her ongoing involvement with Charles during his ultimately doomed marriage to Diana.

"The initial press coverage of Camilla was extremely negative," Harris said, then gradually, after Charles and Diana's divorce and then after Diana's passing … there was sympathy for Charles as a single father. Unhurriedly, there came to be the view that he should be able to find happiness later in life."

Camilla has had a lot of time to come into her own as a public figure, Harris said, noting that she has taken on numerous charitable and military patronages and accompanied Charles on royal visits.

"During the COVID-19 pandemic, she became quite a popular figure as she spoke very frankly about the challenges of seeing her grandchildren or trying to keep active during periods of social distancing and quarantine, and concern for Charles, who had COVID twice."

Still, the shadow of Diana remains of the challenges that have emerged in recent years; there's been a revival of interest in Diana in popular culture," Harris said.

"There are very long memories of the breakdown of Charles's first marriage, and the portrayals of Diana in popular culture are very sympathetic to Diana. Even as some of these portrayals portray Camilla in a balanced fashion, others on Diana."

Harris said Charles and Camilla will likely address this through efforts to engage with the vaster public; we see Charles and Camilla on walkabout, and those who've met them are interviewed afterwards, and often they comment on how warm and engaging Camilla is in person."

Camilla stepped into the role with Charles later in life, and she has to some degree, maintained a private life, keeping her own residence where she can spend time with her children and grandchildren.

"We're seeing her family incorporated into the coronation, that her grandsons and grand-nephew [will be] there as page boys, just as Prince George is going to be a page boy to his grandfather," Harris said.

"So it's clear that her family has her as well; few more coronation-related details emerged this week with the release of the invitation and the names of eight-page boys who will support Charles and Camilla during the ceremony on May 6.

But without the release of the order of service or broader indications of how it all might unfold, tremendous questions remain over how a ceremony steeped in 1,000 years of history might be modified for the 21st century.

"Given that we've had further details about the service, such as the page boys, and the role for Prince George, it becomes increasingly curious that there is still a lack of information about the service itself," Prescott said via email.

It's widely thought the service be shorter than the three hours for the coronation of Elizabeth in 1953. But will it be an hour or 90 minutes starting time has been revealed, although royal ceremonies often begin around 10:30 or 11 a.m?

"We know that it will be a shorter ceremony than 1953," Prescott said, but unlike that ceremony, this one will involve the crowning and anointing of both a King and Queen.

"So there is genuine interest in how the service will some ways do more but in a shorter period. Which elements will be cut or reformulated?"

Also publicly unknown at this point is the guest list — and by extension, what the decisions around who is invited will say about the priorities of King Charles and the British government.

Still, some attention has focused on one person who won't be there: U.S. President Joe Biden. (His wife, Jill Biden, will attend media; speculation has swirled over what the presidential absence might indicate about the nature of the relationship between the U.K. and the United States.

But observers have also noted that the two previous coronations — George VI in 1937 and Elizabeth in 1953 — the U.S. presidents in office — Franklin Roosevelt and Dwight D. Eisenhower — weren't there either.

"Presence at the coronation doesn't really indicate whether the relationship is a close one," Harris said, noting that both Roosevelt and Eisenhower had their own close relationships with the monarchs; if Biden isn't at the coronation, there is at least one get-together for Charles and him on their agendas.

Biden has accepted an invitation from Charles for a state visit, a White House spokesperson said earlier this week really grateful that my mother took me and showed me another part of society that I probably wouldn't have exposure to."

[dailyrugbytoday]

Rugby DONE: Exeter Chiefs complete the signing of Wasps trio

New Post has been published on https://thedailyrugby.com/rugby-done-exeter-chiefs-complete-the-signing-of-wasps-trio/

The Daily Rugby

https://thedailyrugby.com/rugby-done-exeter-chiefs-complete-the-signing-of-wasps-trio/

Rugby DONE: Exeter Chiefs complete the signing of Wasps trio

[#item_title]

Exeter Chiefs Director of Rugby Rob Baxter believes he has picked up three of the brightest young talents in the English game following the confirmation of Wasps slipping into administration.

Having already secured the services of hooker Dan Frost last month, Baxter has swooped to seal the signings of Academy youngsters Alfie Bell, Greg Fisilau and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso.

Lock Bell, who hails from Nuneaton, is an England Under-20s international and stands at a whopping 6ft 8in tall and tips the scales at 118kg.

Back-row forward Fisilau was born in Plymouth and is the son of former Albion and Tonga centre, Keni Fisilau. Like Bell, he too is an England Under-20s international, standing at 6ft 2in tall and 109kg.

– 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗥𝗨𝗜𝗧𝗦@exeterchiefs DoR Rob Baxter on his three new signings from @waspsrugby and his recruitment plans moving forward pic.twitter.com/uRheQiCcSi

— Exeter Chiefs (@ExeterChiefs) November 9, 2022

Feyi-Waboso, meanwhile, was born in Cardiff and came through Cardiff’s Academy before he transferred to Aston University in Birmingham and was then picked up by Wasps. A lightning-quick back, who can play in the centre or on the wing, he has previously featured for Wales at Under-18 level, as well as being part of their Under-20s squad.

The talented trio, all aged 19, have all been added to the Chiefs squad this week and Baxter is looking forward to them playing an exciting part in the future of the Devon club.

“Once things started happening as it did at Worcester and Wasps, the players we actually started looking at first were the young guys for obvious reasons,” said Baxter. “I’ve made it clear a few times now, I want to find guys who have not won anything and I want to find that next group whose sole focus is winning.

“I want a group that enjoy being on a journey that takes them to winning Premiership titles, winning European Cups or becoming international players. I don’t mind saying it, Wasps have a very talented group of players there – they have done fantastically well bringing them through to where they are now – and for me, it was the most exciting thing about looking at the players becoming available.

“Manny has played in their Premiership Cup games on the wing and done very well. He’s a bit like Tom O’Flaherty in that he was playing in Wales, but then transferred to Aston University and got picked up by Wasps. Already he looks to me as though he’s going very well, he looks good in training and that he could easily be thrown into a match-day 23 at any stage.

“With both Greg and Alfie, they are both within the England Under-20s set-up. When I spoke to Greg, I said tell me about your rugby story and he said he spent a lot of time as a youngster down in Plymouth where his dad was playing at the time. In a different scenario, he could easily have come through our academy system had he spent longer down here.

“He’s another who has played in the Premiership Cup, he’s had time playing in the Championship, and he looks to be on that pathway, similar to Sam Simmonds when he was in the Championship, that really excites me. With Sam moving on at the end of the season, he may well take on that mantel of being that explosive, ball-carrying, all-action No.8 for the future.

“And Alfie, he’s a big guy, another who has had that bit of experience playing in the Championship, so we’re very excited at what all of them will bring. What I like already is that all of them are willing to work and want to improve. That’s a great trait to have and I’m seeing it in abundance from all three of them.”

Four city shortlist for Wasps, Phil Vickery picks ‘brilliant’ new home

Former Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley and his team have reportedly ‘agreed an eight figure sum’ for the Coventry Building Society Arena.

It’s now expected Wasps will likely leave the city, though Ashley’s team hasn’t ruled out the rugby team staying in Cov.

The two-time European champions have been suspended and will be relegated from the Gallagher Premiership after entering administration.

Wasps takeover offer accepted by administrators https://t.co/IGLklwkK8J pic.twitter.com/kXnVKNYasS

— TheBusinessDesk WM (@businessdeskwm) October 30, 2022

In better news, Wasps’ joint administrators confirmed that an offer has been accepted from a consortium including members of the Wasps Legends.

The offer is only for the men’s rugby team and youth academy, with separate discussions currently ongoing for Wasps Women’s Rugby and Wasps Netball clubs.

It’s been revealed that ‘a number of cities are under consideration’ as Wasps hope to prepare for life in the Championship next season

Wasps four-city shortlist:

#1. London

Former Wasps prop Phil Vickery believes the club must leave Coventry and return to London.

He is part of a consortium of former Wasps players trying to buy the men’s team and the academy. 

“To see Wasps come back to London would be awesome,” Vickery told Sky Sports News.

“I associate Wasps with London, but it’s easier said than done. They’ve tried for years to get the opportunity to do that.

“Yes, it would be brilliant – but let’s focus on getting the club up and running.”

Embed from Getty Images

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[melbournenewsvine]

Australian rugby leaders back Dave Rainey but want Spring Tour success

Rennie would prefer to stay in Australia but this time frame is not in line with RA’s plan to wait and see the Wallabies perform at the World Cup. Rugby Australia CEO Andy Marinos, Australian seven players Henry Hutchison and Dom Du Toit and Chris Nye, CEO of Wheelchair Rugby Australia, upon the announcement of ISPS Handa as sponsor.attributed to him:GT “Our position is a results-driven business, so obviously we have to get results on the field and have that consistency in performance. Dave is very clear, on our part, about the outlook,” Marinos said. “It’s very typical, going to the World Cup. He is one of many coaches with a contract that expires at the end of the year. We will be rational about what will be involved and what it will look like next year, before the World Cup. It’s about getting results and we have international players before we get to a Cup.” The world, where we can make another assessment. We just have to be very flexible.” Rainey has strong support among the Wallabies players, with Nick White saying the Kiwi coach was doing a “great job” and was among the best players he’s worked with. “He drives high standards and as a group we haven’t met,” White told 2GB Radio. “I’ve said that for a while now, we’ve had a really young team for the last couple of years and I kind of felt like the coaches were working, I think, above the level we were playing at. Right.” Meanwhile, Wallaroos coach Jay Trigonning has adjusted his striker’s line-up to face Wales in Saturday’s Pool World Cup final in Whangerei. Bridie O’Gorman is back in the front row for Eva Karpani, as Brumbies captain Michaela Leonard starts on lock to boost the squad. Fellow Brumbies and prostitute Tanya Nadine will make her debut from the bench, replacing the suspended Ashley Marsters. loading The Wallaroos’ win over Scotland would have sealed a place in the playoffs, but a win would be the best chance to avoid big-time defenders like New Zealand and England in their first knockout match. A loss to Wales could see them lose a playoff spot, but only if Scotland also beat the Kiwi, or Fiji beat France. Trigonning said the thrilling win over Scotland was a huge confidence booster. Coming from behind, take the win, Laurie ([Cramer] He kicked some goals under pressure – it was all great and that’s great for everyone’s confidence.” “We’ve shown we can do it, and hopefully that won’t be close to my health this weekend, but if it is, we have confidence in the girls to be able to bring it home.” In other news, the men’s and women’s champion Australian Sevens team has a stand-alone major sponsor for the first time, with ISPS Handa now the jersey sponsor for both teams. The men begin their new season and defend the world series title in Hong Kong on November 4. “It’s due recognition. Both have had exceptional seasons, break seasons, this year and [the lack of a major sponsor] It’s always been a headache for me, to be honest. “It’s a really global exposure, they’re traveling around the world,” Marinos said. See all events from Women’s Rugby World Cup From New Zealand with every match broadcasted without adverts, live and on demand on Stan Sport. Continues on Saturday with Australia vs Wales (11.45am EST) Source link Originally published at Melbourne News Vine

[greyeyedmonster-18]

Sweaty hands, full heart, can't lose

(i've wanted to write this one for a really long time. enjoy the ficmas finale, babes)

It was supposed to be cute and romantic. And initially, it was: Remus inviting Sirius, and only Sirius to his home the day after Christmas for the weekend. What Sirius didn't factor in when he said yes absolutely show me the country, was that this also meant he was meeting Remus' parents for the first time since they had begun dating and that was decidedly less romantic and more...fidgeting inducing.

---

If Sirius caught himself clearing his throat or picking invisible lint off his clothing one more time, he swore he was going to go out into the freshly fallen snow and lie in the cold for the rest of the weekend. He would rather freeze to death, become a permanent ice sculpture in the Lupins' front yard than catch himself fidgeting with nervous energy at a dinner table again. It was supposed to be cute and romantic. And initially, it was: Remus inviting Sirius, and only Sirius to his home the day after Christmas for the weekend. What Sirius didn't factor in when he said yes absolutely show me the country, was that this also meant he was meeting Remus' parents for the first time since they had begun dating and that was decidedly less romantic and more...fidgeting inducing.

"Just be yourself!" James said, sitting on the bathroom counter at The Potters home, as Sirius washed his face, getting ready to leave that morning, Lily standing between James' legs with her arms on his shoulders.

"I think I should be someone else. Parents don't like me. They like you."

"My parents love you."

"I'm not dating you," Sirius told him, wiping his face off with a towel.

"I don't think they'd be opposed."

"Excuse me," Lily said.

"Not that I would!" James turned back to her smiling, "But like...you know we're going to have an extra bedroom in our home for Sirius, right?"

Lily rolled her eyes but didn't refute James' statement, "Why does it matter if you're dating Remus? Parents are all the same."

"Coming from the girl who said she was going to--and I quote-- shit her pants before meeting The Potters?" Sirius asked, and Lily gasped.

"I told you that in confidence!"

"Oops." Lily reached over and shoved Sirius, making a face when it didn't have quite the same effect as she wanted, the petite redhead barely knocking him off balance.

"Just remember your manners, be polite, ask questions. And smile! You have such a good smile, Padfoot!" James told him and Sirius gave him a smile that was much too forced, airing on the side of creepy rather than charming, "Okay..not like that."

"That's what I got right now."

"You should probably just write Remus and break up with him. Mr. Lupins going to look at both your tattoos and probably hex you to stay away from his angelic, precious son," Lily shrugged.

"Why would you say that?!" Sirius' eyes went wide and he looked down at the tattoo on his forearm, quickly pulling down his shirt sleeve to cover the script and tree design. "I allowed you both to be in here to give me a pep-talk and you're telling me I'm going to be hexed and my smile is creepy!

"I didn't say it was creepy, I just said...maybe...don't smile in that particular way...because it kind of looks like you're constipated?"

"That's not better!"

"Padfoot, sweetheart, darling, Habibi, relax. You've met them before, it'll all be fine." James tried to soften the blow, Lily continuing to laugh and Sirius made a face at her.

"Your girlfriend is a bloody terror"

"Yes, yes, we know," Lily said, finally having enough and giving Sirius a stern look, "You want a pep talk? Get your shit together. You get one more minute to feel bad about yourself and do the whole woe is me act where you don't think anyone will ever like you because you're scary and dangerous or whatever, and then you're going to get that portkey and go to Wales and charm the crap out of The Lupins like I know you can do. Got it?"

"Yes ma'am." Sirius nodded shortly.

"Good." Lily straightened haughtily, tossing her ponytail off her shoulder, "And you do have a good smile, so...just use it."

But Sirius found himself at the dinner table, after settling into the Lupins and the usual pleasantries that Sirius could recite like a memorized script they had been drilled into him so forcefully as a child, smiling like a serial killer and unable to form a coherent sentence. Remus was across the table with him watching the scene of utter ridiculousness unfold as Sirius laughed too loudly at jokes and comments, and was on his fifth glass of water since sitting down, choosing to mainline liquids in an effort to keep from having to say anything at all.

"So, Sirius, have you--" Lyall attempted to ask Sirius a question, not for the first time.

Sirius immediately grabbed his water glass, his hand unbelievably sweaty, and finished the remainder of its contents. Remus' eyes widened in a mixture of confusion and absolute horror at Sirius, his lips parting just the slightest as if he wanted to tell Sirius to get it together just as Lily had that morning.

"I'm so sorry, sir, hold that question, would love to answer it, I'm just...so....thirsty. Absolutely dehydrated and I...just...you know, traveling," nodded Sirius quickly and stood up from the table, scooting his chair out with such haste it made a sound against the floor and Sirius hit his knee on the table, his head barely missing the hanging lamp. "I will...I'm just...going to...excuse me," Sirius gestured vaguely towards the archway that led to the kitchen, feeling uncomfortably warm as he walked out of the dining room. Sirius turned on the tap letting the water run and wondered if it would be loud enough to mask the sound of hitting his head against the wall a couple of times. He settled for the counter, putting his forehead on the cool granite, the temperature shift helping slightly when he felt hands on his waist.

"Alright in here?" Remus asked and Sirius made a noncommital noise as Remus shut the tap off. "Look at me, please." Sirius groaned again and stood up straight, turning around to look at his boyfriend, who was wearing the same look he was wearing at the table, "I mean this in the nicest way possible, what the hell is going on?"

"I'm thirsty," Sirius said, and Remus' face shifted from confusion to deadpan at his response.

"Sirius, I have seen you high, I have seen you drunk, I have seen you when James put a very strong love potion into your morning tea and you thought Your Song was the most romantic song ever made and insisted on playing it in the Great Hall at 9am," Remus moved his hands from Sirius' waist to his face, hands on both of his cheeks, "I have never seen you act like that. What the hell is going on? Did James prank you before you got here?"

"No, I'm nervous!" Sirius exclaimed in a hushed whisper, even though he was sure Remus had put a silencing charm around the kitchen due to his own voice level.

"You don't get nervous."

"You're right, I don't, except for right now apparently! I was nervous this morning, I've been nervous since I realized that coming here after Christmas would also mean meeting your parents. I couldn't use the toilet for a fucking week, it was distressing. I almost had Mr. Potter give me a Potion for it," Sirius started, speaking so rapidly he was stumbling over his own tongue, the corner of Remus' mouth twitching in mild amusement, "And I know what you're going to say, you've met them before, they're just my parents, they just want to get to know you-- I know! But that doesn't make it any less absolutely terrifying sitting at a dinner table with them! You know what I was thinking? While I was overheating in there--your house is a bloody furnace, by the way--I was thinking that my actual biological parents would smack me for the way I was acting because that's how horrid it was that any ounce of manners I had left just-- POOF, GONE!"

"Sirius..."

"And, and, and then I thought that the Potters would probably smack me to, even though they don't believe in smacking, I think they'd make an exception because apparently I'm charming and know how to ask questions but where'd that bloke go? Out the fucking window with the rest of my common sense, that I didn't have too much of to begin with!"

"Babe, why are you--"

"Because Remus! Because I have one bloody weekend to prove to the people who brought you, the best fucking person ever--don't tell James I said that please--into the world, that I am good enough for you! And that even though I'm just some washed-up plastic bag on the side of the shore or whatever--"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"and I have no idea what I'm going to do with my life, I can be good for you and good to you and, and- and, we would be just fine! Just fine!" Sirius grabbed Remus' hands from his face, starting to pace, not breaking his train of thought.

"Are you finished?"

"I have money, from my Uncle, a shit ton of money a-a-and if that runs out I'll get a job not that I particularly want one but I would get one! I make good marks, I could get a job, and-and even though I have tattoos and will probably get more and I'm a fucking idiot most of the time, I can be good for you. I just need them to see that!"

"...Can I talk now?"

Sirius let out a breath, "Probably not but for now. Merlins fucking-left-ballsack, I feel so much better."

Remus let out a breathy sort of laugh, grabbing Sirius' chin gently, "You're not cattle, Sirius."

"What?"

"You don't need to prove your worth to my parents. You don't need...they don't need to know what you can offer me. That's not why they wanted to meet you. I don't know how many times I have to tell you that I'm not dating you because I thought, 'oh that Sirius Black will certainly set me up for a prosperous financial future and as a bonus he's really fucking handsome'," Remus grinned, his tone playful. Sirius rolled his eyes, softening with his boyfriend's words and nerves evaporating slowly. "You're not...cattle they're looking to purchase at a fair or whatever you think this is. You're my boyfriend."

"They have to care a little, Remus. They have to be thinking about it."

"They just need to know that you love me. That's it."

"That's...that's it?"

"Yeah."

"Well in addition to making a complete proper arse of myself, I also haven't been showing them that."

"It's sweet you're nervous, baby," Remus said and leaned forward to kiss Sirius gently, smiling against his mouth, "And your little rant? Very cute." Another kiss and every last bit of uncertainty disintegrated. "Gonna provide for me, love? Going to set me up in a big house? Get a proper ministry job for me? So kind."

"Shut up."

"Nope, never." Remus smiled and Sirius was transported to a year ago when he first realized he was falling for his sarcastic-as-sin, bookish best friend; transported back to seventeen when he realized love didn't follow any rules. Sirius reached forward to put his palm on the back of Remus' head, pulling him in for a kiss that was equal parts passionate and grateful. But then again thank you were two words Sirius always seemed to hear in his inner voice whisper when around Remus.

Thank you for doing something right and finding this quiet golden boy.

"Are we alright now?" Remus asked, pulling away, "They might think you're actually ill if we're in here much longer."

"I...will try my very best to not be such a tosser."

"Just be yourself."

"You know, everyone keeps telling me that and I think you've forgotten who I actually am," Sirius said, grabbing his glass of water that could've been filled ten times over."

But Remus just shook his head, grabbing Sirius' hand that wasn't holding onto the glass, canceling the silencing charm easily, "I know exactly who you are. That's why you're here," he said quietly, in a voice meant only for Sirius, a small smile pulling at the corner of his mouth and Sirius desperately wanted to kiss him again as they moved back to their respective chairs.

"I am so sorry," Sirius started, once they were both sitting and Mr. and Mrs. Lupin welcomed them back, pretending that nothing had gone wrong at all, "I was..." but Sirius stopped, and deliberated for a few moments on whether to lie, "Actually no, I was panicking a bit in there and your son has more patience than any person has any right to have," Sirius admitted and for the first time since Sirius arrived both Lyall and Hope laughed.

"It's alright, dear," Hope said gently, "I remember when I met Lyall's parents for the first time. I was a muggle too, so it was my first time in a magical home and I think I actually tripped within two minutes of arriving?"

"She did," Lyall nodded, "Over a chest, we had in our front landing, and I didn't even have time to catch her."

"Pretty sure his Da' saw straight up my skirt," Hope finished and Remus laughed, shaking his head at the story, and Sirius smiled.

"I'm also sorry for being a bit of a...you know, I don't actually know who that bloke was," Sirius looked at the Lupins, "But this one sitting here right now just wants to be honest right away and if I say it that it's off my chest and I'm really not one to be subtle--"

"Sirius," Remus hissed, and had they been sitting closer, Sirius knew Remus' hand would've been on his knee cap in a please think through whatever you're going to say next sort of way.

"I love your son, a lot. And we're young or whatever, and I'm...stubborn and careless and I've been told have a flair for the dramatics, which I am now inclined to believe given my charade in the kitchen a few moments ago, but I really do love your son a lot. I know everything there is to know about him and I love him more than I've ever loved anyone. He's smart and he's funny, in a really kind of dark way but it seems to match with me, and kind and a million other things that I am happy to write down for you and send off to you later but," Sirius nodded, "Just...need you to know that, so we can...get on with the rest of the weekend."

Remus now had a hand over his face, Sirius seeing the faintest bit of pink on his boyfriend's neck.

"Oh, we know you do," Hope said, reaching over to put her hand on top of Sirius', "And I would love the letter about--"

"No, Mam," Remus cut her off quickly, but his mother was immune to Remus Lupin's glares.

"In the morning," Sirius whispered loudly, "when he's sleeping."

Hope smiled widely, and Sirius could see all his favorite parts of Remus on her face. The gap between her teeth; freckles on her nose; blonde in her hair. "Best time."

"Now, uhm, Mr. Lupin, I think you were asking me a question before I had that....water emergency?" Sirius asked and gave Remus a wink from across the table. Remus rolled his eyes in response, giving Sirius a look he knew all too well and was also one of his favorites to receive.

I love you too, my stubborn dramatic, idiot. Sure as the sun sets and rises, I love you too.

[saturnsstufff]

The Empress pt.VII

Ya like weddings?

Warnings: Hinting to sexual Innuendos.

   “I don't mind them” you said, taking your seat in front of him per usual. “Why do you ask?” you questioned, your head tilting slightly. your eyes watching his kind ones.

   “General Hawthorne is marrying her lover, since she is a friend of mine since our early childhood, she asked me to walk her down the isle in place of her deceased father” you smiled gently finding that action very sweet. “Since I was going with my family... I was curious if you would attend as my date perhaps?” pink dusted his cheeks, watching your eyes intently for your response. your cheeks flushed at the question.

   “I-Id love too” you said, eyes slightly widened. You could feel your heart beating faster, subconsciously you started to fidget with your hands. He asked you as his date. Phil’s words laced through your mind slowly. 

   Techno's form visibly relaxed at your words. feeling a major weight lifted off his shoulders. He had herd from Phil that you were quite soft with the thought of him, as was Techno of you. after your nightly snowball fight, Techno couldn't get you out of his mind. That night he thought for hours on the sight of you under him, smiling ever so fondly up at him. It had his heart in complete knots. He could tell you trusted him completely. For how you always put your guard down around him, it made it easy for him to read you. He saw your lingering eyes at dinners and the casual times you would reach out for him, hug him or just make attempts at contact. He could hear how your voice was when he had to leave. You wanted him to stay. Techno would admit, although he wasn't one for many gatherings. the idea of seeing you in something more formal had him rather eager. He never had a taste for the court women, there poofy frilly dresses, all the extra jewelry they would drape on themselves. He never found attraction to it. Yet when his eyes linger to you, he couldn't wait to see how you presented yourself. Would you wear jewelry? He thought back to the golden earrings you had made a while ago. his eyes lingered to his desk drawer.

   “I suppose if your going as my date, you should have the finest things. correct?” Techno's eyes glanced to you. You looked at him doe-eyed, he had to clear his throat and glance away. His cheeks going pinker at the sight of you.

   “I-I... I mean, I’ll be ok with what I have Techno” You watched him. He pulled one of his drawers out and taken something out.

   Techno sighed. “(y/n) I'm gonna be honest with you...” He said walking to stand in front of you. He offered you his hand, when you took it you could feel how clamy his hand was. He was nervous. He gently pulled you up so you were standing in front of him. although he towered you, you were not scared by his presence. You actually found him very comforting. He gently let go of your hand and showed you a little velvet box. You recognized this box easily. It’s what you put the earrings you made in. “Do you remember these?” He asked. You nodded in response. how could you forget after all. “What was the ingot, and gem’s I gave you, when you made these?” You paused briefly. thinking back on this.

   “It was a gold ingot, and emerald's” You said looking up to him, your eyes never leaving his. 

   “It wasn't just any golden ingot” He said, his eyes now finding yours. “Do you remember when I raided that Mansion? the night we found Tommy?” You nodded. again, how could you forget something that was important to you. Yes, you remembered it for Tommy, but it also was the day Techno said the two of you were friends. “That night I left with a totem of undying. That totem will guarantee that the person holding it will not die.” He pressed his lips.  collecting his thoughts. “I..I-I don't let people very close to me... But you, Your just different. I-I, I cant put my finger on why. But you are, and when I say I will protect you. I promise, I will protect you.” His cheeks were a light red now. He was stumbling over his words as he opened the box to show the earrings you made. “I understand that at times, I wont be at your side. But I made a promise to your father, that at no point would I ley harm befall you” You gently rested your hand on his to reassure him. He was nervous, you knew he had no reason to. But that didn't stop him from stumbling over himself. “What I'm tryin’ to say is. Please... Please wear these for me...”

   You knew Techno well enough to know that this was his way of saying he cared for you. He was asking you to wear something that would prevent your life from ending. You gave him a kind smile, almost a loving one. “Anything to make you happy” You said softly. His eyes softened by ten-fold. Oh you definitely had his heart in your hand. “could you put them in for me?” You asked, looking up at him. He gave you a slow nod. gently removing your studs, he placed them on his desk as to not loose them to the floor. You felt him put your new emerald earrings in. The Gold of them made with totem of undying. The earrings you now wore, were the same style ones that Techno and Phil wore together. The three of you now having matching earrings.

   Techno’s eyes lingered as he put the earrings in. You were so warm to the touch, your skin ever so soft. when you looked up to him with innocence. He couldn't help but think of other things...

   later that night you were sitting on your bed thinking. You had forgotten to ask Techno about himself. Far to lost with the moment he gave you, your new favorite earrings. You glanced to your clock. It was late. Your mind drifted back to Techno. You couldn't stop yourself, you wanted to see him again and talk to him more. 

   “maybe... just a quick visit...” you said to yourself as you got up, slowly waling out of your room. Heading for Technoblade’s room. You had never been to his room, of course you’ve passed it. But you’ve never had a reason to enter, until now. You knocked gently on the large door. waiting for a ‘Enter’ or some signal to go in.

   When the door opened it was your turn to go speechless, and red with blush. Techno stood there lazily, his hair was completely down and brushed out of every braid he normally wore. He had no crown, and no shirt. You couldn't help how your eyes fell, I mean you already were chest level with him, but this did not help. He did go pink at your longing stare, choosing to tease you about it for more amusement. “You know my eye’s are up here Princess...” You drew in a breath and quickly spewed out apologies. only earning a fond chuckle from him. “I'm only kiddin’” He leaned on the door way well giving you a moment to compose yourself. Your blush never leaving. “what brings you to my room? Don't tell me your still tryna’ sleep with me now” You gave him a shy smile before starting.

   “I uhm.. wanted to actually ask you a bit about yourself... I meant to earlier, but we were side tracked with the earrings.” You explained. He hummed and stepped aside for you. You gave him a quizzical look not understanding why he moved.

   “I'm not going to talk to you at my doorway, Princess” You realized he wanted you to come inside. you slowly entered, having not expected this turn of advents. Well you looked around you realized he actually had a nice room. It was a decent size room. In the middle was a rather large, four-poster bed, the covers were pulled back a bit signaling he probably had just gotten out of bed to get the door. There was a fireplace across from his bed with two sofa’s placed in front of it. He had two doors made of glass that led to a rather large balcony beside his bed. Where the room looked natural, there were books lingering, and set aside everywhere, he had bookshelves against the wall. Somehow it fit for him. On one wall there were two doors. one probably being a bathroom and the other for a closet. His room was actually pretty cold contrasting to the way it looked. You assumed it was like this because his body temperature was hotter like Phil said. “Would you like to sit at the sofa or the bed?” his eyes lingered yours. 

   Glancing between the two you really didn't mind, your rubbed your arms from the chill of the room well you thought. Techno had noticed this and walked towards his bed, pulling the covers back more. “Here... clime in over here. If your cold now, your just going to get colder.” you looked to him and went pink. You chewed your lip a bit thinking, ultimately deciding it wouldn't hurt to sit beside him.

   You walked over and climbed up onto his bed. it was so soft, you relaxed down and pulled the covers over your legs, praying for the heaviness of the blankets to rush forth their warmth. Techno climbed in next to you and got comfortable again. As he shifted he figured he would ask. “So what was it you wanted to ask me?” he moved his head to face yours. 

   You both were laying on your backs, loosely facing each other. “Well... I guess id just like to know more. You know about my childhood and stuff... I was curious if I could know about yours maybe” He pondered a bit, thinking about your words.

   “I suppose that’s fair. It’s a bit lengthy though, princess” you shifted your body and faced him, showing he had your full attention.

   “I don't mind. Your interesting, anything you tell me will be worth it” He smiled softly at you.

   “is that so...” he mused. You nodded and he lightly chuckled, running a hand over his face well he thought. Your eyes lingered down his jaw to his neck. Without his usual pendants it looked bare, he had a prominent collar bone. His shoulder muscles also were very prominent. All in all Techno had a side profile of a god. 

   After Techno thought of were to start, he slowly began. “When I was about one or two Phil had found me in the Nether. I guess he was just making a supply run for some potions and I was just left behind. He couldn't leave me there so he took me home with him... That's when I met my Mother. She was a very kind and loving person... She always cared more about others than herself. She Taught me how to read, write, she basically taught me everything she could..” His eyes went a little sad. you watched his Adam’s apple move as he swallowed thickly. “She didn't care that I was a hybrid, she was always protective of me... If someone from the court made a comment on me not being a prince she wouldn't hesitate to stand up for my name. Of course Phil would stand up for me too, but mother was the most protective of her boys.” He took a deep breath pondering again. “when I was five Mother had Wilbur, it was a weird adjustment to being a older brother, but I didn't care, I took Wil with me wherever I could. He could be a massive pain, but he’s still my brother” You gave him a sweet smile, finding it cute of how he talked about his brother. “When Wilbur was Four, I was Nine.” he gave a slight pained laugh. suppressing his emotion. “It was right after my birthday... Mother and Dadza had sat down for a dinner. In the middle of it she started to choke. We knew there was a spy among us, after all we were in a rough spot with one other country." He let out a sharp breath "But those bastards targeted her." You gently rested your hand on his arm for reassurance, your smile having fallen. Gently rubbing your thumb over his arm. You didn't realize how strong he was until you felt his muscles under your hand. Slowly he continued on. "I had always herd voices.. they linger and get louder when they ban together... sometimes they request things... Other times just they talk among themselves...” Your brow furrowed as his tone lowered and slowed. His head turned to you, almost checking to make sure he didn't scare you with that information. He was tense, but as soon as he met your eyes he relaxed slowly. “When Dadza and I realized why she was choking... We found out my voices had a very keen ideal for violence... Her funeral was hard... The whole palace adored her completely... Not to mention Wilbur took it the hardest... It does still bother me on some days... But after a while I just came to terms she wouldn't come back." Your slowly rubbed your thumb over his arm again. Gently giving a squeeze to show some reassurance. He gave a soft slight smile. Resting his hand on yours. " When I turned Fifteen Dadza had stepped down from the throne and gave it to me. He said it was time to make a name for myself. About that time Sarah Joined the army. That's when we started turning our small kingdom into a expanding Empire. We had the same ideals and goals so we knew with each others support we could do it” you watched him. Unlike Wilbur who wasn't over his mothers death, Techno, like he said was over his stage of grief. He mourned, but knew nothing would bring her back. So it was best not to live in the past.

   You adjusted your head on the pillows to see him better. "You said Sarah was a childhood friend?" He hummed, his hand still rested on yours. Offering warmth to your rather cold ones.

   "I know I met her when my mother was alive. Sarah's mom was my mothers personal Knight, and best friend. Sarah's father was part of our court too, so she was always around one way or another." Techno subconsciously shifted closer to you. Your hand still beneath his. "The court tried to set us up, but Sarah made it clear that she was strictly devoted to her work. Well, she was. Couple months months ago she proposed to the jeweler's Daughter. So as of lately she's been trying to sort things out for the wedding." You smiled softly. Happy that she had someone to confide her love in. "Sarah's a good General... She has her blood thirsty tendencies, but she's a good woman. She just wants, what's best for the Empire and for the Royal family." He let your hand go and slowly turned to face you, now resting on his side. His eyes lingered yours and then slowly dropped down to your lips, and neck. He took your hand in his and and held it gently. Liking the feeling of your gentle hand in his.

   Your hand wasn't soft, it was calloused with the hard work you put into your trade. Although Calloused they were ever so gentle. When Techno held your hand he could only marvel at how tiny it was.

   Recently techno had started thinking. Especially after the snowball fight. You laced his mind before, but now it was becoming a awfully noticeable. You were actually the other reason Seraphina was in Techno's office. Techno had a feeling that what he felt for you, went beyond a casual friendship. But, he's had no prior relationships to base this off of so he needed a outside opinion.

    He found himself pondering you quite often, whether late at night, when he was in his office. Ect. He had even talked to Phil about it. Sarah poked fun that Techno finally had fallen for someone, specifically you. Unlike Sarah, Phil was casual when talking to Techno. Asking if you made him happy, if your happiness was important to him. Techno knew he wanted someone strong, kind, and gentle. But also someone who could make a elegant, but confident Empress. When he thought of you, he knew you were everything he wanted. You were kind, gentle, hardworking, smart, and your confidence was growing daily. Phil had mentioned that he knew he had met the right person, when he couldn't see her with anyone else but him. When Techno tried to imagine you with a different man, he could feel his stomach twist into the beginning of jealously.

   Well he pondered this, it hit him. Almost full force.

   He wanted you.

   After the talk of Techno's childhood, and Sarah's wedding. You two sat in a soft silence, having no urge to talk and disrupt it. The walls had the light of the fire dancing in front of you two. the light dancing over techno’s and your face. Your eyes flickered between each other, almost waiting for someone to make a move. Occasionally techno would glance to your lips or neck again. But you would also catch him looking at your earring. He was always hard to read, so you just sat admiring him. Wishing to wrap your arms around him in another hug.

   Soon his hand let yours go. You gave him a slight confused expression, having loved the feeling of his hand on yours. you went to protest but you were cut off.

   Techno cupped your cheek gently. Moving closer to press his lips to yours in a ever so sweet kiss. It wasn't forced, he allowed room incase you wished to pull back from him. But thankfully you didn't. You rested your hand on his and kissed him back with everything you had. 

   The kiss was worth a million words. Unspoken words. Techno had a hard time explaining his feelings. But his actions always shown where he stood with people, and where he wanted to stand with you, was right at your side.

   He did slowly part from you, his eyes lingering yours for any sign of disproval or hesitation. But he saw none. You were looking up at him doe-eyed, he couldn't help but want to stare at how pleading you looked.

   "May I.. k...kiss you again?..." He asked softly. You nodded, your cheeks far past pink and going to a hot red. You could only utter out a quiet 'please'.

   He didn't hesitate to give you what you wished for. His lips were back on yours. To make it easier he sat up on his elbow a bit and wrapped his arm around your waist. Pulling you tightly against him, well his lips never left yours. He could feel your arm snake around his neck, the other one resting on his chest. your body was beckoning him closer. His hand held firm on your back, keeping you pressed to him. He didn't want to let you go, now that he had you. now that you were in his bed. He wanted nothing more than to keep you close and protected.

   The kiss, although loving and soft, was deep and passionate. Something that you and Techno had wanted from each other, and now that it was a arm's length away, you were not going to let it go.

   Techno had wanted this moment longer than he realized. The feeling of your soft lips on his was addicting, he didn't want to stop. Without much thought he gently moved his hand down to your thigh, pulling it closer so your legs intertwined with his. Only roughly a hour ago he was joking about you sleeping with him. But if you continued your grip on his shoulder he sworn he may have just went through with it. Techno couldn't deny it any longer.

He was in love.

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