#King Charles the weak | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

houseofbrat · 2 months

Note

So, what’s your honest opinion of the full #picturegate drama?

I’ve seen many people believing that KP used The PoW as scapegoat and she doesn’t did the photoshop. But what are your thoughts? In case some are correct, why do you think they are blaming Kate? Why not blame the ‘real’ responsible (some suggested it’s her staff)

As we have discussed, their PR team is awful, but this new nonsense takes the cake

The situation leading up to the "photo kill" I've already described here:

That basically summarizes the situation leading up to the photo and its very public dismissal.

2. One of the other problems is the staff they have working for them. Clearly the KP communications department is not up to par. It should have been the communications head/chief taking the blame for this instead of Kate. Instead, he thought that a statement from Kate would quell the drama, when all it did was pour more gasoline on the fire.

So Kate can take the blame for the photo but couldn't make any comments about any messages she received from well wishers in the previous weeks? WTF?!

But then there's KP spokesperson giving statements to People magazine today!

A palace insider downplayed the PR crisis, telling PEOPLE exclusively that although the situation is a "bump in the road, it's not an earthquake." "[Kate] has apologized and graciously so," the insider says. "She has done something that 99% of us do — and we don’t have the scrutiny that they do." "Think of the level of scrutiny of pictures of her, as people pore over them," the insider continues. "You’re always on display and always got to be perfect." The insider adds, "She might be a member of the royal family, but she’s also a human being. If you've just had an operation, you want to look your best with the first photograph that’s published for the outside world."

I'm sorry but why is this person still in the employ of Kensington Palace and why are they speaking to People magazine? "We don't have the scrutiny that they do." FUCKING DUH!! That's why all sorts of people who don't pay attention to the BRF are like, "What the actual fuck is going on over there right now???"

So the KP comms people are continuing to dig the hole they are in. They haven't stopped digging and are unlikely to do so as long as they are calling up People magazine to give them exclusives on their professional fuckups!

3. Guess who hired and continues to employ the professional fuckup?

William!

William is an emotionally damaged, thin skinned, control freak with a privacy fetish. And William found his perfect YES MAN to accede to his control freak nature and his unhealthy demand for privacy with Lee Thompson.

YES MAN + Control Freak - connection to reality = the mess we have today

And the mess we have today continues to roll on. And will continue to roll on. Just as it has since he was hired in 2022...

There was the fuckup at Boston in 2022 when William issued a statement throwing his godmother under the bus when all he had to say was "This is an issue for Buckingham Palace." Except he didn't.

There was the bizarre photo op of Andrew being driven to church by William last August (2023), when everyone with a working, long-term memory knows that William has never kowtowed to his father.

Kate's stretch of wearing thirteen pantsuits in a row, 'cause she was all about "the work." Somehow, she didn't go on a crusade about wearing pantsuits when she was only The Duchess of Cambridge.

Announcing Kate had "planned abdominal surgery" the day after said planned abdominal surgery. If it was "planned," then wouldn't they have said something at least the day of rather than the day after?

Then there's the timeline of fuckery that's happened from Christmas until 09 March 2024 that I collated before The 2024 Mother's Day Photo Disaster.

And it's going to keep going on and on because the root of the problem is William!

4. Then there's The Princess of Wales, aka Kate or Catherine. She is the woman with likely more sense than either Lee or William put together. Do those two fuckups listen to her? Doubtful. Did they listen to any concerns or feedback she gave these two last summer? Or fall/autumn? Also doubtful.

So there's a woman who is a globally known public figure that does not have an easy way out of the mess the two men created, and also she may share some of the blame for decisions made last summer and fall?

And it's a very depressing situation being trapped with a husband who won't listen to you and takes you for granted, yet your husband will listen to the YES MAN at his employ. Because the husband is a emotionally damaged, thin skinned, control freak with a privacy fetish.

A very depressing situation when she knows that her reputation of twenty plus years in the public eye is about to go down the drain as a result of the choices these two men have made. (And no, I'm not talking about the Mother's Day photo.) Gee, what kind of situation could that lead to over the holidays?

5. Then you have Charles, Camilla, and the officials working at Buckingham Palace.

They know about all the communications problems taking place at KP since last summer. Oh, they know. BELIEVE ME. They know.

Charles is someone who believes people should learn from their mistakes and isn't going to interfere in his sons' lives and mistakes. Charles resented his parents interfering in his dating life long before he ever dated or married Diana. (Sabrina Guinness, anyone?) He also resented them interfering in his marriage to Diana.

Basically, Charles won't do what one of my friends from college did: write about her college roommate's pregnancy and due date in a Christmas letter. Yup. Charles isn't that man.

So, yes, BP's communication and pr about Charles's BPH treatment and cancer treatment veers toward being over the top. They have been very transparent with the press for a reason. They know there is a metaphorical nuclear bomb about to go off due to KP's lack of transparency and accountability to the UK public. The monarchy cannot be seen as complicit in it. It is KP's problem. Always has been a KP problem.

This is why Queen Camilla made so many visits to the front entrance of The London Clinic. Transparency. Proper communication with the UK public. The public can trust that The Crown is being honest with them. Kensington Palace clearly not so much.

It's why King Charles has been photographed doing mundane things such as greeting cards and going to church.

And yes, BP communications team is undoubtedly shading the KP comms team when King Charles got photographed in a car at Windsor last week, four days after Kate's pap shot with her mother.

So yeah, we're about to get the biggest scandal since the 90s when Diana died or the War of the Waleses. Pick your throwback reference. Get your popcorn. Because it is going to be that bad.

And the reputations of Will & Kate will never be the same.

Ever.

32 notes · View notes

pucksandpower · 1 year

Note

Hey can I request an Insta au where Charles has nail marks on his back and fans and the drivers tease him and his gf... thanks ❤️

Charles Leclerc x shameless!Reader - Social Media AU

yourusername

Liked by charles_leclerc, pierregasly, and 625,893 others

yourusername when a bear gets credit for your handiwork 😒

View all 2,748 comments

charles_leclerc then you must be the cutest bear i’ve ever seen

carlossainz55 do you need certified smooth operator flirting lessons?

yourusername he’s a lost cause but i love him anyway

charles_leclerc i resent that, my flirting skills are top notch

yourusername the first words you ever said to me were “are you an f1 pitstop? because you can get me from soft to hard in less than 2 seconds” 🤨

carlossainz55 and you still chose to go out with him?

yourusername it was a moment of weakness

arthur_leclerc a bear definitely isn’t the reason i refuse to sleep over in your guest room anymore

yourusername sorry not sorry

charles_leclerc we gave you earplugs

arthur_leclerc they didn’t work and now i’ve been traumatized for the rest of my life

yourusername posted a story

charles_leclerc

Liked by yourusername, carlossainz55, and 1,158,472 others

charles_leclerc my favorite midnight snack

View all 3,296 comments

yourusername i’m your exclusive all you can eat buffet, bon appetit

charles_leclerc don’t mind if i do

pierregasly let me get this straight, y/n claws at you and you eat her?

charles_leclerc we like to leave our mark on each other in our own ways

yourusername charles loves to use my neck as his personal canvas

charles_leclerc just call me the picasso of love bites

feralferrari the king and queen of TMI 🫣

f1wagupdates TMI for you maybe but i’m over here taking notes 🍿📝

3K notes · View notes

dilemmaontwolegs · 3 months

Note

Idk if you watched the movie Were the Millers?? But can you do imagine where reader never had a first kiss and charles and lando give her her first kiss ?? Like the scene with Jenn Anniston, will poulter, and Emma roberts ???

Grounded || LN4 & CL16

AN: Been a while since I watched it but this was fun to write ☺️ virgin!fem!reader

The backseat to Lando’s Range Rover was spacious and you stretched your legs out to settle in for the drive. A snow storm had grounded the planes in London and Lando had offered to put you both up for the night. As Charles assistant you had tried your best to find a hotel but with Christmas right around the corner everything decent was booked out.

Lando had said to call him if you ever needed anything, but you hadn’t been brave enough to use it until now.

“Are you sure it’s okay to drive in the snow?”

“It’s 4 wheel drive,” Lando replied as he looked at you in the rear view mirror and reassured you with a smile. “We’ll be fine, but if we get stuck at least we can huddle for warmth.”

Your eyes widened at the departing wink in the mirror and your cheeks could have melted all the snow within the greater London area. It would have been a service to the city worth a damehood by the King himself.

“Stop teasing my assistant, Lando,” Charles said with a laugh. “She accidentally deleted my calendar the last time you flirted with her.”

You wanted to argue but he had left you so frazzled you hit the wrong buttons on your iPad. It had been mortifying and the fact your boss was bringing it up again only made you slink lower in the leather seat. It was hard enough to work with such a handsome man, but the fact that his friends that he competed against were just as handsome made your life much harder. At least Charles paid you so there was a line of employee/employer relationship that kept things professional, but there was still the occasional comment that crossed that line - and you never knew how to handle it. Mostly, your brain just shut down.

Shoving your AirPods in, you started to open Spotify to find a distraction from your embarrassment and they both noticed it.

“I can’t help it, you cannot tell me that you don’t find the innocent vibe hot?”

Your fingers froze over the song you were about to play and realised they thought you were already listening to something.

“She’s my assistant.”

“That’s not a denial.” Lando was grinning from ear to ear. “I bet she’s still a virgin.”

You spluttered indignantly and both men looked at you, Charles over his shoulder and Lando in the mirror. Tugging the AirPods out you narrowed your eyes and lied, “I am not a vir-” you couldn’t even bring yourself to say it but you swallowed and took another attempt, “virgin.”

The weak lie caused a crack in the press of lips, until both men laughed outright. Huffing, you crossed your arms and looked out the window. “Does it really even matter?”

“Aren’t you even curious?” Lando shot back.

“I know all about sex, for Christ’s sake, I do read.”

“I’m not sure reading is quite the same as doing in this case,” Charles said, remembering the many times he caught you slamming a book closed at his entrance. He was even more intrigued about those thick volumes now.

“Reading doesn’t threaten to leave me disappointed as I have heard men tend to do.”

Lando scoffed and shook his head. “I haven’t had that complaint. Charles?”

“No, no complaints either.”

“I’m sure it’s less romantic than the books describe too, like kissing. What is so good about possibly chipping a tooth, or sharing saliva?”

The SUV screeched to a halt into a rest stop and Lando turned in his seat. “Wait. You’re telling me you’ve never been kissed?”

“Don’t be stupid,” Charles asked, before he turned and saw the telltales signs of your discomfort. “No, really? How? You are beautiful.”

Your mind went to that place of thoughtlessness, where every neurotransmitter misfired and your heart seemed to find itself beating in two places. “Uh…” you scrambled for an answer that they patiently waited for. “I don’t have any time to date so it just hasn’t come about.”

Charles certainly utilised your availability to be on call 24/7 but he hadn’t thought about the personal cost that took on you. He assumed you didn’t have or want a social life, not that he was the cause for it. Maybe that was why he next words slipped out without censoring, or so he told himself. “I will kiss you, right now.”

“Or I can, and I’m not your boss so there wouldn’t be anything wrong with it,” Lando countered, already unbuckling his seatbelt. “Everyone deserves a perfect first kiss.”

You gripped the seatbelt across your chest as you tried to understand why they were both unbuckled and opening their doors. Cold air rushed in as both backdoors opened and they slipped in beside you, mist billowing from their breath before the warmth was sealed inside once more.

Your lips felt dry and they watched as the tip of your tongue peeked out between to wet them. Your fingers were gently pried off the belt until each hand was laced with theirs but you still stared ahead at the unhappy quiet road. “What if I don’t want to be kissed?”

Lando scoffed but Charles turned you to face him with one curled finger under your chin and a look that made breathing impossible. “Then tell me you don’t want to be kissed,” he whispered as his lips drew nearer, his breath fanning your cheek. The touch of his lips were chaste at best, a caress on cheek before trailing closer to the place where words failed. Your toes clenched in your boots and you trembled with anticipation until the air burst back into your burning lungs. Your lips parted with the intake and he struck.

Your stomach that had been knotted suddenly erupted in the explicable feeling you had only read about. Butterflies, chaotic and energetic, fluttered joyously around your insides and a foreign sound escaped your lips that danced with his.

“I think she likes that, Charles.” A hand on your throat stole you from the taste that you certainly wanted more of and when you opened your eyes you found the pair change from green to blue. “My turn, gorgeous.”

Lando didn’t tease. His hand squeezed and you gasped in response, a sound so similar to what Charles had drawn from you. He took the opening you gave him and devoured you with the hunger of a starving man. His tongue dominated yours as he tipped your head back and deepened the kiss further until you were certain you were going to be consumed by him.

You welcomed it.

You weren’t adept enough after two kisses to know whose was better, both left you yearning for more. But they were parked on the side of the road and you were all too well aware that losing your virginity in the back seat of a Ranger was not what you wanted. Even if your body screamed yes.

“How do you feel?” Charles asked as he eyed your swollen lips and your dilated pupils between your flustered blinks with pride.

“Uh…” You told yourself to think but it was nearly impossible, and the men chuckled with the knowledge they had kissed you stupid.

“Just think of what other ‘firsts’ we could be,” Lando offered as he ran a thumb along your bottom lip, wanting another taste. “We could be snowed in for a while.”

“Wait, what?” They cut through your mental haze with clarity and you sat up straighter. “No, the airport said tomorrow…”

Charles shrugged and your brows pinched. “The storm’s worsening, it might be a few days until the planes can take off.”

“It’s okay,” Lando assured you with a kiss to your cheek. “I’ll look after you.”

#charles leclerc imagine #charles leclerc fanfic #lando norris fanfic #lando norris imagine #lando norris x reader #charles leclerc x reader #f1 fanfic #f1 imagine #formula 1 fanfic #formula one imagine #f1 x reader

983 notes · View notes

leclerc-s · 3 months

Text

the blue - part nine

series masterlist // previous // next

ameliaholland triple header, you were amazing, time to go home for a while before vegas! p.s. i'll be performing for one night only in london on the 7th, tix on sale now!

tagged: oscarpiastri, charles_leclerc, landonorris, mclaren

view all comments

username girl do you ever fucking rest?

↳ ameliaholland you know what they say, the devil works hard but amelia holland works harder

samholland1999 how soon are you flying out again?

↳ ameliaholland we fly out on the 9th...

↳ samholland1999 damn.. they're right you never rest

↳ ameliaholland wag life is not for the weak

username NEW MUSIC? A PERFORMANCE IN LONDON?

paddyholland2004 tell mum i'm old enough for the vegas gp

↳ ameliaholland sorry kid, you're not

↳ paddyholland2004 I TOTALLY AM! THIS IS UNFAIR!

username the random charles picture is so funny. like no context is given and it's my favorite thing ever.

username oscar's featured on this more than amelia on her page, and i don't mind it one bit

mclaren perhaps tickets for admin?

↳ ameliaholland keep sending the oscar pictures and you've got a deal

↳ mclaren will do ms.holland!

logansargeant boo! we hung out and not once is there a picture of me here!

↳ ameliaholland you said and i quote, "i look like shit, don't you dare fucking post those amelia!"

↳ logansargeant but you still could have posted one of me!

username i live for wag amelia!

username my favorite wags are amelia holland and taylor swift.

danielricciardo DO I GET A FREE INVITE!!

↳ ameliaholland OF COURSE, ANYTHING FOR MY 2ND FAVORITE AUSTRALIAN!

amelia holland added 5 people

max verstappen i swear if one of them is harrison i reserve the right to sic yuki on him

yuki tsunoda who am i fighting?

amelia holland it's my brothers, tuwaine, and z

daniel ricciardo i may just be uncultured but who's z? amelia holland zendaya? duh.

lance stroll sure just casually mention of the biggest actresses of our generation as if we should all personally know her.

lando norris to be fair, that is technically her sister-in-law. am i allowed to call her that? they aren't married.

tuwaine barrett why would you call each other max's biggest nightmares?

george russell he said we were. except for charles

alex albon they're in love with each other, they just don't know it yet.

logan sargeant sort of like pierre and yuki, although they know they're in love.

mick schumacher amelia, toto was hunting down the person who left a whoopie cushion on his seat.

amelia holland te-he. carlos sainz is next on my pranking hitlist. charles leclerc do i want to know why? amelia holland inexperience... daniel ricciardo i love this kid

amelia holland can't believe they were all bitching for a week straight to be added to this group chat and when i add them they don't answer.

zendaya amelia, do you ever fucking rest?

amelia holland sometimes but in my defense, i got nothing.

oscar piastri she just doesn't want to see harrison

yuki tsunoda that's the dickhead, correct? lando norris yes, yuki, that is the dickhead

tom holland i don't get what performing has to do with seeing harrison but okay.

amelia holland you’re a man, of course you don’t get it.

zendaya ugh men lando norris yeah, you girls tell him. amelia holland that goes for you too norizz

yuki tsunoda yeah fuck men, especially pierre

amelia holland speak your truth king! lando norris this is favoritism! pierre gasly what the fuck did i do? yuki tsunoda you know what you did dickhead

alex albon nothing will ever hurt more than the yukierre break up

amelia holland WRONG!! BROCEDES EXISTS alex albon true

amelia holland AHHHHHH

amelia holland SOMEBODY SEDATE ME!!!

amelia holland THERE'S NO WAY THIS HAPPENING

lando norris WHAT? WHAT'S HAPPENING??

zendaya NO WAY!! CONGRATS AMELIA!!

max verstappen what are we celebrating??

daniel ricciardo why is she so happy? what’s happening? did oscar propose?

tom holland now hold on! he hasn’t even met our parents! harry holland eh, as long as they don’t have a vegas wedding who cares? sam holland I CARE DIPSHIT!! oscar piastri i didn’t propose.

amelia holland GRAMMY NOMINATED BABY!!

amelia holland I, AMELIA GRACE HOLLAND, AM OFFICIALLY A GRAMMY NOMINATED ARTIST!!

charles leclerc CONGRATS AMELIA!!

lando norris LET'S FUCKING GO! THAT'S MY BEST FRIEND!!

tom holland OH MY GOD!!!

tuwaine barrett OH MY GOD!! THIS IS CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION!!

daniel ricciardo PARTY TIME IN VEGAS!!

ameliaholland not a whole lot going on at the moment

tagged: oscarpiastri

view all comments

tomholland IS THAT WHY HE TEXTED ME SOS AT THE ASS CRACK OF DAWN??

↳ oscarpiastri I'M SORRY I DIDN'T KNOW ANY BAKERIES IN THE AREA THOMAS

↳ username HE WOKE UP EARLY TO GET HER CAKE AND FLOWERS?? SHUT UP THAT'S SO FUCKING CUTE!!!

username CONGRATS ON THE NOMINATION AMELIA!!

maxverstappen1 i see i've corrupted you on becoming a cat parent

↳ ameliaholland oh shut up, it anything taylor corrupted me

taylorswift congratulations amelia 💙

↳ ameliaholland thank you taylor 💙

username she's and icon. she's a legend. and she is the moment

hazosterfield congragualtions

↳ ameliaholland thank you

↳ username usually in the past she would include a heart

↳ username she has a boyfriend. and some f1 fans are so toxic they'd accuse her of cheating on oscar based off of that

tuwaine this barbie is a grammy nominated artist

↳ ameliaholland tuwaine i swear i'm going to cry again

username not a lot going on? girl you're nominated for a grammy!!

danielricciardo congrats baby holland!

yukitsunoda i was promised a party

oscarpiastri proud of you 🧡

↳ ameliaholland i know, you've told me about 8 times already

↳ oscarpiastri just making sure you know

username what's the kitty's name??

↳ ameliaholland i, of course named her after a taylor swift song. her name is ivy. she adores sleep much like her father oscar.

↳ oscarpiastri lies. slander.

landonorris THAT'S MY FUCKING BEST FRIEND!!

↳ ameliaholland grammy nomination before your first win

↳ landonorris we are no longer best friends

taglist: @six-call @1nt3rnetgf @fernandoswarcrimes @skynel09 @arieltwvdtohamflash @Mimolovescookies @brekkers-whore @natcha888 @camdensreg @mycenterfold @woozarts @dear-fifi @tygecjjd @cataf1 @nothaqks @caipng @nataliambc @formulaal @lichterfee @prongsvault @kaa212 @anxxiousaries @julesbabey1 @julesbabey @georgeparisole @hobiismyhopeu @melissayalene @nikfigueiredo @bella-1 @nichmeddar @namgification @anniemae299 @octopussesarecool @jensonsonlybutton @ragioniera

strikethrough means i couldn't tag you

¡leclerc-s speaks! let's ignore that the picture says gracie. we have to use our ✨imagination✨ the taglist for this story is officially closed, because i plan on ending this series soon.

¡disclaimer! this is in no way making assumptions about the people involved in this story, this is all fake. it is a fanfiction please don't take any of what is said seriously. this is all for entertainment purposes and as a creative outlet for me. enjoy!

#leclerc-s #the blue series #formula 1 #oscar piastri #oscar piastri x female oc #formula 1 fic #fanfic #fanfiction #f1 #f1 smau #f1 fic #f1 social media au #f1 instagram au

172 notes · View notes

ltwilliammowett · 5 months

Text

Life on board a 17th century warship

The sailing crew was divided into two watches under the two lieutenants, each working for four hours while the other rested. While off duty, they were expected to stay below decks and out of the way, but could be called to work at any time if all hands were required, such as when anchoring or making a major sail change. When below, they probably tried to sleep as much as they could, since the four-hour schedule is not natural and quickly leads to fatigue. When not sleeping, they probably used much of the time off watch to mend their clothes and shoes, but they might relax with games, music or a popular new pastime, smoking, although this was only allowed in the cookroom.

War Ships 17th Century, by Jefferys, Charles W. 1942 in: The Picture Gallery of Canadian History Volume 1, p.99

Food was also prepared in the cookroom, a brick-lined hearth in front of the mainmast in the hold, and carried up to the gundecks in buckets, where it was doled out into big wooden bowls. Depending on the ship, food could also be prepared in the galley, which was located in the forecastle or midships.

Each man had his own wooden spoon, and some had wooden plates, but most ate from the bowl shared by a mess, a group of six or seven men who ate and lived together. They drank weak beer, "ship's ale," from a shared wooden tankard. The base of the diet was salted meat for protein and dried peas and bread for carbohydrates. Barrels full of bones found in the hold show that the meat was mostly beef, with a little pork and mutton, as well as fish and poultry. Interessting fact was that some of the crew were prepared to supplement this, as fishing equipment and hunting weapons were found in shipwrecks like the Vasa, as well as the bones of roe deer, moose, and grouse. The skeletons of chickens suggest that a few fresh eggs were available.

As in other navies, they did not issue uniforms in that time, the men had to buy or make their own clothes. In some cases cloth was provided as part of their salary, but the typical sailor's clothing was the same as the clothing they arrived in from the farm or town: a linen shirt, a short, skirted woollen doublet (jacket), wool trousers that ended below the knee, woollen socks, and leather shoes. Many had broad-brimmed hats or conical caps. The cloth varied from coarse homespun to imported dyed fabrics, but almost all sailors sewed strips of contrasting cloth or even lace down the outside seams of their trousers in imitation of the clothing worn by the well-to-do. Clothes had to be hard-wearing, since most people could not afford more than one set.

The senior officers lived aft in the cabins of the sterncastle, where they had more space, glass windows, proper furniture, and ate their meals from pewter or earthenware table service. They had finer clothes, but as more than one visitor to Sweden from the continent remarked, it was difficult to tell the nobles from the peasants, since they dressed alike. The officers also had to share their accommodation, sleeping in pairs in narrow double beds, but the cabins were built to resemble the interior of houses ashore. The great cabin, where the king or an admiral would stay, was fitted out like a room in the royal palace, with fine panelling and carved sculptures that emphasised the power of the people who lived there.

The 17th century was a violent period, and both on shore and at sea brutal punishments were prescribed for even minor crimes. Conscripts often came from rough backgrounds, but discipline was essential for the smooth and safe functioning of a ship. In crowded conditions, small disagreements could easily blow up into fights, grumbling could turn to mutiny. Officers had to earn the trust of the men they commanded, but needed the option of punishment for the intractable. The articles of war specified that a person causing a fire was to be cast into the same fire, a person starting a fight was to be stabbed through the hand with a knife, blasphemers and those speaking ill of the king or his officers were to be keelhauled, murderers should be tied to their victims and thrown in the sea. In practice, a captain who had to use these punishments too often risked losing the respect of his men and his fellow captains and could not rule for long.

#naval history #life aboard a warship #17th century #age of sail #history

279 notes · View notes

brf-rumortrackinganon · 4 days

Note

A certain mega-narc was noticeably absent from Victoria’s big 50th birthday bash here in London. I wonder if this was a bruise to M’s ego… Any thoughts on this? She basically has paid PR friends who are d-list actresses like herself and its pretty pathetic. I bet Meghan envisioned her life being very different than the sad reality it actually is, as she’s still a massive fraud and a failure, but now on a global scale. I don’t think she will ever get to the crème de la crème of elites that she craves to be like and obsesses over. Even Misha Nonoo married better than poor old Meg. I think Harry is well and truly stuck with her because she will never find anyone as weak or as spineless or as stupid as him. He’s not wealthy enough for her lazy good for nothing ass, but beggars can’t be choosers - and she has been a desperate grifter and beggar all her life. I truly believe this toxic marriage is her ultimate karma and it couldn’t happen to a nicer person.

The Beckhams put a stop to Meghan's PR shenanigans with their family in 2021. The cracks have been there since 2018.

Sometime in late 2017/early 2018, Meghan accused Victoria of leaking about her to the tabloids. Harry called David to confront them about it and there was a row. Supposedly they patched things up and the Beckhams were invited to the wedding. (Revealed in 2022)

Harry asked David to be an ambassador for the Sydney Invictus Games and David agreed. But when the Games were actually taking place, Harry refused to meet, see, or speak to David. It pissed David off and he soured on Harry.

Meghan asked Victoria for free clothes. Victoria declined; she doesn't give freebies. (First revealed in 2019, resurfaced again in 2023.)

Fast forward to 2021 when the Beckhams' son has gotten engaged and they're planning the wedding. Meghan issued several PR stories and a blind item about how the Beckhams are scheduling their son's wedding around the Sussexes' availability.

The 2021 PR manifestation for invites to the Beckham wedding seems to have been the final straw that broke the Beckhams' back. It's pretty plausible, IMO; there haven't been any articles, stories, or blind items about the Sussexes and Beckhams hanging out. In fact, the Beckhams have been pretty solidly aligned with the Waleses since early 2022 and appear to have cut all ties with the Sussexes.

July 2022. David and William do a mental health thing together.

December 2022. David leaves the FIFA Qatar World Cup for a whirlwind trip to Boston to present at Earthshot 2022.

May 2023. David gives King Charles a jar of honey from his bees. (Becks got into beekeeping during the pandemic. It's covered in their documentary.)

July 2023. David and Victoria throw a huge party in Miami to celebrate Messi's first game with the team. All the celebs from LA attend. No Sussexes.

April 2024. Sussexes are in Miami for polo party. No Beckhams. Not even a hint or trace of PR - in the olden days, Meghan would've at least tried to manifest a lunch or cocktails.

And of course, we can't forget David queueing for 12+ hours to pay his respects to The Queen. If that's not a sign to the rest of us that he's exclusively TeamBRF, then I don't know what is.

#ask #brf #sussexes

62 notes · View notes

lookismstuff · 16 days

Text

Highlights of Eps 492-496

SPOILER ALERT

Moved by Soojin's words about the death of Vin's mother, Seongji decided to attack the shaman. He made sure, however, to set ablaze some of the things that he stored in his hut.

Seongji fought the genius James and kept on winning. But James realized his potentials midway and changed his game. Still, Seongji pressed on, to James annoyance (and this determination is true to Seongji's name meaning, "total determination").

Just then, the Gwang Yoo Trio came unannounced while dragging the Cheonliang Fam kids as their hostages, with Beolgu especially having overpowered Vin.

Worried for his pupils' safety, Seongji told Shinmyeong that he knew of the shaman's bad karma with Vin's father. As such, he was willing to bear the brunt of the shaman's wrath for Vin's sake.

So the Gwang Yoo Trio beat him up. Then the shaman proceeded to add to Seongji's torments by removing every one of his sixth fingers and toes. The Kojima brothers grabbed the King by the hair, gleeful to see him so weakened.

All through the tortures, to James' annoyance and amusement, Seongji withstood the pain in silence so as not to wake his pupils up.

Ruthless as always, Shinmyeong proceeded to kill Vin in spite of Seongji's pleas, but before the shaman could do anything, five young men came: the Kings of the first generation.

Each King received news of Seongji's smoke signal for help.

So, Jaegyeon (The King of Incheon) raced his car to Cheonliang, only for Taesoo (the King of Ansan) to crush it, followed by Seokdu (the King of Suwon), and Gongseob (the King of Daegu), who even urinated on it, as was his habit. Jaegyeon nearly lost his mind, but, spearheaded by Jichang, they refocused their attention on the matter at hand.

The Kings defeated the henchmen first, but to their shock and indignance, they saw bloodied Seongji, whose sixth fingers and toes were already sawed off.

To Jichang's chagrin, Seongji admitted that he could've avoided the tortures, but he refused to lead James's budding four crews and that sealed his doom.

The Kings fought against the Gwang Yoo Trio, with Taesoo defeating Jaesu in no time and moving on to Beolgu, Gongseob challenging Gwang, Jichang trying to tackle both Kojima Brothers (the so-called Gwijeon) and Seokdu was tasked by Jichang to protect Seongji. Meanwhile, Jaegyeon talked to James, who declined to answer the King's indirect challenge.

Around them, the duels commenced. Beolgu, who apparently learned his techniques from Gabryong himself, taunted Taesoo about only using his fists (the taunting that would later get to Taesoo once it was made by James instead). Gwang taunted Gongseob about his muscle weakness and speed, while the Gwijeon brothers taunted Jichang that they were stronger than him, even when they were tired.

James remarked to Jaegyeon that the Kings were weak after all, but like Jaegyeon said, he couldn't be more wrong. One by one, the Kings defeated their opponents (special mention here that Beolgu lost tufts of his hair from shock and shame, and the mention of Gongseob's The Iron Fortress).

Once they advanced on Shinmyeong, the shaman yelled at James to protect him but it turns out that James was also there to finish him off, supposedly per Charles's orders (because of the Red Paper).

The other Kings moved to stop James from leaving, while Jaegyeon was tending to Seongji's wounds. But the kid evaded them, all the while calculating each of their strengths, realizing that he was much weakened by Seongji's attacks earlier. James then escaped, leaving Shinmyeong to the mercy of the kings.

But the grip of Shinmyeong's parasitic influence was too strong on the Cheonliang villagers, that they rose up to protect their revered shaman and surround the Kings.

Just then and there, Seongji started having his panick attacks, to the Kings' horrifying realization. They hurriedly left the place with sick Seongji. Always the intelligent one, before he left Jichang asked the enraged villagers whether Shinmyeong had really granted their wishes at all.

Shinmyeong escaped to a cliff, but Vin found him alone and beat the shaman senseless. Still, he couldn't bring himself to kill the old man.

As Vin turned his back on the shaman, he found his mother's satba ribbon on the ground (he previously wore it wrapped around his fist) and stooped to pick it up.

In vicious glee, the shaman tried to kill Vin by lifting a boulder above the kid's head, but tripped and fell from the cliff to his death.

To Vin's horror and shock, Taejin was there all along, and saw what happened to his father.

With his last memories of the dark-skinned girl and his young self fading, Shinmyeong died.

Taejin faked his grief, all the way to his father's funeral when he finally was anointed as the new shaman and leader of the cult. He couldn't wait to reclaim all of his belongings, including the young girl Soojin.

Safe in Seongji's hideout, the Cheonliang Fam checked on their teacher (it seems that Jaegyeon helped bandaging Seongji's fingers).

Jewoo, their leader, remembered what Jichang told him earlier about Seongji's PTSD: that it was triggered whenever Seongji was around too many people, that he might turn vicious when it happened, and had no memories of his actions but would regret them so much. Luckily, this time Seongji was alright.

Back in the abandoned high school, James was tending to his injuries, to Gun's sarcastic remark: Was James really the person who ended Gabryong's reign?

To Gun's remark, James retorted that it was an unsolved case, anyway, and he wasn't alone in doing it (!). What mattered to him now was how the Kings had to be defeated, separately. Since together they were such a force to reckon with.

Gun offered to train James, but the genius student outright rejected it, since he already got the hang of Gun's methods (maybe from observing how Gun fought, from time to time).

Back in Cheonliang, Taejin assumed his shamanic roles and the first thing that he did was rejecting Charles's offer for co-operation. However, the cunning Charles had predicted this, since Taejin had no idea of the existence of the Red Paper. Then he left the village with the Gwijeon brothers.

Far away inside an unnamed meat market in Seoul, Jichang and his men found other men bloodied and unconscious, trampled by a raw meat-chewing young man.

The man was none other than Gabryong's other son, Gitae Kim. Yes, this is the future King of Seoul. And most likely, he was there per James's request.

Notes:

I find it interesting that it's sort of hinted that when Seongji died, he probably died some time after his frenzied PTSD set in. And maybe the Cheonliang kids couldn't stop him at all.

I wonder if Vin was forced to hurt or mercy kill Seongji back then, and whether this sad event was the action that drove the wedge between him and the other Cheonliang boys, other than Soojin's violent death, supposedly at the hands of Taejin.

I think Jaegyeon might have a bit of medical background, enough for him to know about surgical attachment of body parts. He probably also experienced it, with one of his fingers being recently re-attached in the past timeline.

Since James and Gitae previously were in cahoot (with or without Charles's knowledge), I wonder how they had since fallen apart, with Taejin now working under Gitae instead and James supposedly worked with Yoojin to bring down Charles.

It's delightful to me that, true to his nickname as The Genius of Nurture, Gun offered to help James in getting stronger (even though Gun probably did this out of the desire to show that he was superior to James). But it's sad that the two, being so young, had to live in such a derelict building under a shady businessman's order.

64 notes · View notes

nebbyy · 4 days

Note

Hi! I'm not sure if you are currently taking requests, so feel free to ignore mine if you aren't! If you are taking them, however, would you please write something for King Baldwin IV overhearing reader sing and falling further in love with her because of her soft and sweet voice? Upon realizing that he's there, she becomes extremely flustered and apologizes for disrupting his peace and quiet. Thank you!

King Baldwin IV x reader - Sweetest of melodies

A/N: omg it’s been so long since I’ve received a request! I can’t lie, Baldwin is my supreme comfort character, I think I’ll never stop writing fro him because it gives me sooo much joy😩😩😩 I personally like to think of this piece as taking place a few months after Baldwin’s and reader’s wedding, so it could be considered a sequel for my first fic ever. Also, the song mentioned in this piece is a real song from the 12th century called "Can vei la lauzeta" (in English,"When I see the lark") by Bernart de Ventadorn, and the painting is "Lovers in a garden" by Charles Edward Perugini!!

Oh btw!! I’m working on a long ass series about him, based off of a prompt by @phantomsghoulette which I absolutely LOVED. Sooo all the KoH fans stay tuned for future updates🤭

Warning: nothing really, just pure fluff. Maybe you could say that religious innuendos could be something triggering for some people but I don’t know. There might be ONE, SLIGHTLY spicy mention but only if you squint really really hard. Also, keep in mind that the historical accuracy in my fics is rather relative, I try to add some details here and there but I don’t have the knowledge (nor the skills) to write a piece 100% accurate to the real history. Also, reader’s gender is female and uses she/her pronouns!!

Word count: 2918

Someone would say Baldwin's patience could already be put to test by only his illness, which she ruthlessly does not grant him a moment's respite, the eternal enemy of his body and his spirit. But no, to this perpetual torment of his had to be added the perilous duties of a king. And it was certainly not governing his people and lands that sucked what little energy he had left; this duty of his, given by his father and willed by divine design, he had long since embraced.

It was the nobles, the leeches who had drained him of his lifeblood lately. It was their endless demands, the insidious words that hissed behind his back, the languid bows and sleazy gifts designed only to gain some favor from him. Looking around him, he seemed to see only vices and sinners, power-hungry beasts just waiting for his moment of weakness so they could feed on what Baldwin had under his power.

In fact, not without reason in the past the young monarch had attempted to abdicate the throne and leave it in the hands of one of his sisters, rid himself of this burden and devote the rest of his short life taking care of his declining health and to nurture his mind away from so much corruption. At times he dreamed of retiring to France, experiencing for the first time that cold climate and verdant landscape of which his preceptors and advisors told him so much.

In fact, not without reason in the past the young monarch had attempted to abdicate the throne and leave it in the hands of one of his sisters, rid himself of this burden and devote the rest of his short life taking care of his declining health and to nurture his mind away from so much corruption. At times he dreamed of retiring to France, to experience for the first time that cold climate and verdant landscape of which his preceptors and advisors told him so much.

And he dreamed of taking you with him, imagined how sweet his life would be if his only concerns were taking care of his health and you, faithful wife, sole blessing in his life battered by such burdens. How he would wish that his days would revolve around you, that his first thought in the morning would be riding by your side through the flourishing meadows, and his last thought in the evening would be caressing your face as you lie slumbering in his arms.

It would have been a blissful fate his, if only Sybilla's husband had not died at the very moment when he would have needed him most. If only his mother had not convinced him that Guido de Lusignan was a good fit for his sister and had continued to seek a new consort for her, perhaps that fate would not have been snatched from him so early. Too late to repent now, for Baldwin would have preferred to die agonizingly on his throne rather than leave power in the hands of that bumptious and arrogant lord, who was noble only in title.

And so he found himself in this sort of hellish limbo, forced into a position that should never be required of a man in his condition, but prevented by his morality from abandoning his reign, impelled by faith in God's greater plan, that his suffering should not be in vain.

And his faith always seemed to strengthen when he had a way to escape the stifling air that characterized the throne room, always packed with knights and crusaders and nobles, when he had a way to retreat to the palace gardens, one of the few verdant places in all of Jerusalem.

With slow, swaying steps, Baldwin strolled slowly among the local palm trees and flower beds from the faraway lands, those where men speak Italian and the more distant ones, those from which his fathers came. Exotic fruits mingled with those more congenial to the French, who out of nostalgia for their lands and fields did what they could to bring the seeds of these plants with them to overseas.

His mind seemed to go out, shifting his attention from the constant buzz of court demands and duties to the chirping of birds perched on the roof, to the eviction of the soft branches that shielded him from the scorching sun. He enjoyed the refreshing air that reigned in that small oasis of greens, which was able to infiltrate the fabric of his white robes, crossing the bandages that covered much of his body and finally reaching his skin, numbed by leprosy.

To tell the truth, of that refreshing sensation little reached his damaged nerves, if not for those few points that had been spared by the merciless disease, from which departed that unusual shiver that caused him a delicate smile of relief, enjoying the refreshing breeze. Then he closed his eyes and breathed in, discovering with satisfied surprise that that light gust was also a harbinger of an intoxicating perfume, a mixture of exotic and familiar.

How funny to think of the concept of "exotic", for an Angevin born and raised in the unknown lands of the east. For him it was exotic French fruit, exotic were the green plains and heavy clothing that brought his allies from the northwest, and equally alien to the snowy mountains and forest beasts that he saw drawn in detail in his childhood books. It was these changes of perspective that stimulated his mind in a myriad of thoughts and reflections, but in a pleasurable way for him, not as exhausting as his daily duties.

His reflections on exotic and local made his mind travel, wandering until he came to a subject very close to him: Muslims and Jews, reflecting well on the landscape in front of him, recognized that he could share with them the same concepts of what is foreign and what they can claim the original belonging. And he could not but reflect on how it must have been for the first inhabitants of Jerusalem to observe the Franks who came as conquerors, and filled their gardens with such foreign plants as those pale warriors who had taken possession of their dwelling... But after all, the French soldiers who were emissaries of God’s will needed something familiar to stabilize them as they fought to reclaim the Promised Land, ut Deus voluit.

But all his brooding over these matters of conquest and submission ended up in the background in his mind, when a colorful scarlet sphere caught his attention. An exquisitely red apple seemed to tempt him from a branch just above his head, beckoning him to be picked and savored by the king, that he might lose himself in the juicy sweetness of that fruit with origins so far removed from the Holy Land. But the king's modesty prevented him from yielding to that temptation, wanting to avoid exposing the advanced state of deterioration in which his mouth was.

And in fact if that temptation had been alive it would have pale in front of something much more captivating, a sound that echoed in the most melodious distance of the song of any nightingale. Baldwin was surprised to think that he had not realized before the melody that inibriated the atmosphere around him, so taken by the tribulations of his mind that he almost missed such an intoxicating song. He did not know what he felt once he arrived in Heaven, if he had ever arrived in spite of the unjust fate in Hell that the evil Saracens wished him. He didn’t know it, but if one ever had to imagine what Heaven sounded like, that song would come to mind.

When I see the lark beating

Its wings in joy against the rays of the sun

That it forgets itself and lets itself fall

Because of the sweetness that comes to its heart

She sang in Occitan, the beautiful one in the distance. The voice of his people, of his lineage, that few in the palace can pronounce after so many years of distance from their homeland in Provence. Paying more attention to the echoing song, he would not even have had to approach it to give a face to that melodic voice: he knew how to recognize his wife’s voice.

Yet it was a new context in which he saw you, new facets of you that he had not yet had a chance to observe. Your voice, sweet as honey, venerable like all your other traits, he had never heard it except in speech, when you were proclaiming orders before your subjects with the authority fit for a queen, or when you laughed at the poems and performances of the court singers, or when you whispered in Baldwin’s ears sweet words, while you lay with bodies merged between the soft silk sheets. Always spoken, but never sung.

Alas! Such great envy then overwhelms me

Of all those whom I see rejoicing,

But though he didn’t need to approach you to recognize you, the desire to see your face exceeded any of his other needs. As if mesmerized by the sound of a siren, Baldwin was advancing towards you, with steps so slow that it seemed a hunter about to catch a deer in the woods. He wanted nothing more than to hear you sing again, that you continue to bless him with that angelic melody. What worse sin would there be than to interrupt your song, more sacred than a prayer?

His stomach filled with butterflies and turned upside down like the beasts' jugglers, his breath seemed to stop in his throat, depriving him of the breath he no longer needed, as long as he could hear you sing a moment more. And her cheeks warmed, when finally she saw you among the white lilies, more beautiful than divine salvation.

I wonder that my heart, at that moment,

Does not melt from desire.

Baldwin wondered if you sang with him in mind, if those words of love reflected your own emotional turmoil.

Oh, if only it were so, and your singing equalled his own words inscribed in the sonnets and poems he composed in your honor, which he himself commissioned from your favorite singers to perform at banquets, only to steal an embarrassed smile and to see the blush of your cheeks, along with the glint in your eyes.

Whether it was or not, the outcome remained the same since he was at that moment in your proximity, in the same state mixed with adoration, love and wonder at the bold gesture. But if only he had confirmation from your words...

Alas! How much I thought I knew

About love, and how little I know,

Because I cannot keep myself from loving

The one from whom I will gain nothing.

"My angel, your voice sounds like heaven but your words are false." Baldwin practically saw you blow up from your session, completely taken aback by his sudden appearance, unaware that your husband has been acting as a secret public all this time. Your initial surprise quickly turns into a laugh to mask your embarrassment for being caught in a moment like this, when you thought you were alone to be able to run the streets of music with your voice.

"I beg your pardon, I thought I was alone in the gardens," your eyes met his own only for a moment, before you turned your face to try and hide the blush of your face, "it was just a silly song I heard singing to the Provençal knights. I hope I did not disrupt your walk, my love..”

He laughed softly, trying to hide his amusement from having caught you off guard. He approached you more quickly than when he did just a few moments before, but with the same phlegm that managed to inspire a feeling of safeness in you. Sitting by your side on the bare rock, he raised his bandaged hand to gently cup your face and make you turn your eyes towards him. It was only then, when you had no choice but to look at Baldwin in the face that you noticed how his eyes, the only part of his face exposed to the outside world, formed two half-moons, and you came to find that it was because of how widely he was smiling, as you lowered the veil from his face.

He was making fun of you, you realized. With that swagger in his manner, you understood that his amusement came from your embarrassment at that silly misunderstanding. Laughing softly, he gently shook his head before bringing both hands to your face, holding it as if it were the most sacred of relics. "As much as I would love to hear you sing of your affection for me, just to hear your voice echoing in the air is the sweetest of gifts. How could you deprive me of this blessing thus far, my dear?"

You could do nothing but giggle at his sweet words, bringing your hands to his wrists to feel him closer to you. "You flatter me, my king. My voice boasts nothing more than those sweet melodies that the singers in the palace sing. Mine is only a dabble."

His gaze softened, his playful spirit addicted to your presence. He took the floor again, in a tone as soft as cotton, "At least this once, my queen, allow me to disagree with your words. My life may be short and my reality small, but never have I heard such an angelic voice, singing such sweet melodies. And God may not yet have granted me the ability to predict the future, but in my heart I know well that never will any singer be able to hold a candle to your beautiful voice, never will any song be able to express the same feeling of ecstasy.

"You, my angel, have managed to make a simple ballad an absolute work of art through your voice. I think I should take you with me into battle next time, for with your mere voice you could addict Saladin and his entire army.

"And seeing you here, angelic and perfect like the lilies that surround you, singing so softly that it would make any bird jealous, that I realize that whatever toil, whatever challenges God has stored up for me, and all those that still await me in my life, are worth it, if at the end of each of them there is you, voice of an angel, to hold a place for me in your arms of heaven."

You were sure you were on the verge of crying a flood of tears, the result of pure emotion at his sweet words. It was not new to you that Baldwin worshipped you as much as the God to whom his kingdom was consecrated, from the first moment he got to hear your voice and admire your face, and you knew at once that he had become yours, body and soul. But it was new to you to see him like that, completely entranced by your simple being-it was something new. A wonderful newness that made you feel like the most desired of women on this earth.

Taken by a rush of boldness, you practically jumped into his arms, wrapping your arms around his neck; you ended up on top of him, with his hands around your hips. You both laughed, like two little boys frolicking in the gardens. And you left a kiss on his left cheek, then on the bridge of his nose. A kiss again on his forehead, and then down on the side of his lips. When you were about to give him another kiss, just where he most yearned for your lips, against his, you stopped a few inches away, with a wide smile, before speaking again, "If so little is enough to make your happiness, then I will sing to you every day, whenever you ask. Let me be your nightingale, your morning song and your lullaby all at once!"

"I couldn't wish for anything else, my dear. Now, however, I beg you, sing one more melody for me, before my duties drag me back to the palace, and I shall consider myself a blessed man."

"With great pleasure, my love." Your voice was now little more than a whisper. With a languid movement, Baldwin moved his body to rest his head on your lap, and you eagerly greeted him. After slightly moving the hood that veiled his head, so that you could play with his golden locks, you began to sing a new melody, one that this time spoke of reciprocated love, of the joy of being able to hold your loved one in your arms. But the words you sang barely reached Baldwin before his sky-colored eyes closed softly, his mind giving him at least a moment's despite from his perilous life. You continued to sing, caressing his face, which from day to day appeared more and more mutilated by his disease, singing the sweetest of melodies so as to prolong this idyll in which you and your husband found yourselves in.

For with you Baldwin had a way of putting the crown aside, and being nothing more than a foolish young man in love, whose only duty was to love you, to love you with all the love that an angel like you deserved.

@sweetworkoffiction hope you like it <3

#fluff #writers on tumblr #f!reader #kingdom of heaven #king baldwin iv #king baldwin x reader #king baldwin x you #koh #medieval fiction #historical fiction #writing requests #requests open #anon ask #anon request

55 notes · View notes

celticcrossanon · 2 months

Note

Hello Celta, it may sound a mean and an unpopular opinion. But I’m wondering if Charles is using his cancer diagnosis to push for certain outcomes he’s desired all along.

Firstly, it’s been discussed and you’ve seen in your cards that Charles wanted Camilla to co-rule with him, and he was not able to make it happen at the coronation. Now with his cancer diagnosis he seems to be pushing Camilla to “lead” the family. Witness yesterday’s service which looked like a huge PR disaster where Andrew and Sarah came out ahead of everyone else. It’s not a good look, I doubt Charles was aiming for that outcome (more on that below). Next up, there’s a rumour or it’s been announced that Camilla will be leading The Commonwealth Service in March. If that’s true, he’s putting Camilla ahead of the heir, his own son. Very Game of Thrones. Then there’s all this PR is about Camilla saving the monarchy. He seems to be deliberately pushing for Camilla to stand in for him through all this, while William is right there. And then his press will turn around and say, William is unwilling or reluctant or flat out doesn’t want to step up. It’s Machiavellian.

Secondly, I believe Charles was hoping for the money shot of William walking slightly ahead of Andrew out of the service yesterday. It seems that’s what he was hoping for. So that when the talk of Harry coming back ramps up again, as it will inevitably, he could through his PR turn around and say, hey, you’ve no trouble accepting Andrew back, look at these photos of you and him together, why not Harry? We saw the photos of the Wales in the car with Andrew, dint you think he’s capable of manipulating further opportunities? He’ll say Don’t you now I’m sick with cancer? Why can’t you make my last remaining years peaceful by giving me what I want? Namely my snake of a son, with or without his snake wife, at my side with my dying breath?

Thirdly, he’s using his cancer for positive PR, he’s enjoying the bump up in popularity since his diagnosis and wats it to continue. All those photos of him reading get well cards, and getting tearful about it. It makes him a sympathetic figure and he’s milking it. It’s despicable and low down. Him greeting the PM Sunack and saying oh all these cards and letters, awwww they bring me to tears. Can you ever imagine a sovereign such as HTMQ making such a statement to a politician??? I know she’s from a different generation, but my goodness. Our late queen had a dignity no one can deny. She bore her trails with such stoicism, and reserved her tears for when she was alone or with family. It’s makes me so angry to see him portray himself weak and vulnerable simply for the despicable way he treated Diana. Where was his empathy and thoughtfulness when he was dealing with a much younger wife and mother? He was busy plotting and planning with Camilla to show this side to Diana. Seems he only reserves the right to feel sorry for himself and no one else. Instead of me seeing him as sympathetic, I see cunning and manipulation. What a manipulative a-hole.

Wow that took a turn I did not expect, but while I’m sorry he’s got a disease he’s dealing with, he should not be using it to further denigrate his heir, and manipulate others into giving him what he truly wants. I fear that’s what Charles is doing.

Hi Anonymous Retired,

I am posting this before it vanishes on me again and I will come back and edit with my reply.

I would not put it past the King to use his cancer diagnosis to further his own agendas, unfortunately. I don't like saying that but after my past two readings I would not put anything past him.

I can see the King using this to push the Queen into a role that is fitting for a co-ruler and not a Queen Consort (which is the same role that Prince Philip occupied as Prince Consort). What complicates it for me is that while Prince William is right there, he is also dealing with his wife recovering from surgery and having to be there for his three young children. So yes, I can see the pushing of Camilla, but I am also grateful for it in a way as it frees up Prince William to be with his family more than if he was standing in for the King. The crunch will come when Princess Catherine is recovered and Prince William is back to full time royal duties. If the King is still unwell as this stage, as I expect he will be, then the proper thing to do would be for the Queen Consort to take a step backwards and the The Prince of Wales to step in for The King. I can't see that happening, but I could be surprised.

You were spot on about the money shot, as per my reading of today. I also believe that King Charles would use emotional manipulation like you suggest, as we have seen him do it before. This time, I think that William will stand up to him and say No, which will be hard to do but very much worth it in the end.

I think that so far the King remarking on the cards and showing the video of himself reading them has been nice. Those are the only two pieces of PR I have seen. If I see more, or if the illness card is played in articles for sympathy, then I will absolutely think he is suing his diagnosis for good PR. As you said, I think the King reserves his sympathy for himself and perhaps for people that he currently likes (I could be wrong about this). He certainly is not showing the dignity that was such a characteristic of Her Late Majesty, in my opinion anyway. It could just be that he doesn't want to be as stoic as his mother, or that he is trying to show his appreciation, or something. I am more than usually annoyed at him at the moment so I'm not the best person to ask. :)

The King should not be using his disease as a manipulation tactic, I agree. Unfortunately, people do it all the time, from the sick child asking for extra ice cream 'because they are sick' upwards. All you can do is recognise it and do your best not to let it influence your judgement of the matter. It is unbecoming of the monarch to behave in such a manner (and I am still undecided as to whether he is doing this consciously or not), but if he decides to act like that people will see through it eventually and then he will face the consequences.

69 notes · View notes

the-empress-7 · 2 months

Text

Nice try again trying to make it seem that it was solely the Queen’s decision and belief that a part time royal role was unworkable.

Nah, it was, and is a non-starter because of how the monarchy works. Stop trying to drag your dead mother into everything and speak for yourself.

Say it in your own words that part time royals are not needed in your reign.

#King Charles #Charles the weak #BRF

63 notes · View notes

houseofbrat · 2 months

Note

Latest statement from KP: William is focused on “work” and not social media.

Also William: hasn’t been seen working anywhere all week.

Meanwhile The King did in-person audiences with ambassadors today. His team don’t need to make statements to confirm he’s alive or working…because we can see it.

Just what are KP’s comms team playing at? How do they think this is going to end well? The Uk media might lick his ass but the internet and other media won’t.

And he met with Canadian PM this week.

[link]

But yes, doing the work of being the head of state.

[link]

I think this comment from the RoyalsGossip subreddit was quite informative. It's a fairly neutral subreddit where a LOT of people like Will & Kate.

Plenty of people can see that Kensington Palace is a train wreck right now, except for the Wales fandom.

PR win for King Charles & Buckingham Palace officials.

PR FAIL for Prince William & Kensington Palace officials.

There shouldn't be American comms/public relations professionals on reddit slamming the handling of the Waleses' current crisis. Yet, here we are. William & KP do not know how to complete easy pr wins. The UK press has to engineer it for him. And if they don't, well, then it's time to "exert huge pressure" on the UK media.

#ask #twitter #King Charles III #comparison #Workshy Will #William The Weak #William The Terrible #William The Prince of OWN GOALS #prince william #William The Prince of Wales #british royal family #reddit #kensington palace #palace officials #pr fail #my gif

45 notes · View notes

softrozene · 1 year

Text

Doing the little romantic things for their s/o

Anon asked: Welcome to the rdr2 community!! May I get some fluff hc for Arthur Charles and John? Them just doing the little romantic things for their s/o? Thank you ♥️

rdr2 masterlist

Omg yes and thank you! I hope you like these, anon!

These are probably on the shorter side since it’s the first request and first time writing them!

Originally published on January 10, 2020

Arthur, Charles, John x Reader (Gender-neutral/nonbinary)

Warnings: Just Fluff

Arthur Morgan

Romance isn’t his strongest suit but when he tries it is so dang obvious to everyone

He goes out of his way to make sure you know how much you mean to him

You get extra servings off his own plate

If you feel like someone is watching you- It’s him and he will do it straight-on, no shame at all

Sends you that small charming smile that makes your knees all weak

He’d be the doting wife everyone hears about

I’m not kidding either, he’ll act like he’s not or that something you want is a hassle but don’t worry, he’ll get it for you

He’d be the one to oil your guns without you asking

If you’re the type that needs to hear it, he’ll say he loves you

If not, it should be said all through his actions

Since he’s not one well for words- all the little things will be through awkward but sweet, sweet, gestures and materials

Charles Smith-

The motherfucking King of romance

He likes to be near his partner at all times

Even if he’s one for silence he’ll love to listen to your voice

He’s the hand-holder, he’ll want to hold your hand all the time

He doesn’t keep his eye on you all the time but it surely relaxes him whenever he sees you

He’ll pick flowers and plants for you first thing in the morning

Looks after your horse when you can’t

1000% takes you on nature rides just to be in your presence in peace

If you don’t know how to hunt he’ll teach you the basics and watch as you grow to be a better hunter

He doesn’t go to sleep until you do

He’ll always be willing to teach you or learn from you

Since he’s already a hard worker around camp, he’ll try and do your chores too

Will always profess his love before missions

John Marston-

He probably has some kind of PTSD from his relationship with Abigail ngl so he’ll be more like Arthur

He’s not sure what to do or how to act like but he’ll always keep an eye out for you

Makes sure you are stocked with ammo/knives just to be on the safe side

Gets you only the best jewelry/watches he manages to steal

He is not good with words so he’ll relay his love to you through actions

Always cracks a joke with you- especially if he knows it’s not your day

If you ask him for something poor boy would probably ask a million questions out of habit with Abigail but he’ll get it for you in a heartbeat

Use a gentle tone with him- He’ll be so soft and gentle with you

Most of his affection will be shown while you’re asleep, he’ll play with your hair, caress your face, make sure you aren’t too cold or too hot- It’s just easier for him

#softrozene writes #rdr2 x reader #arthur morgan x reader #charles smith x reader #john marston x reader #rdr2 #fanfiction #rdr2 fanfic #headcanons #rdr2 headcanons #gender-neutral reader #nonbinary reader #fluff

311 notes · View notes

mapsontheweb · 3 months

Photo

Napoleon's Spanish War

“Atlas histórico de España”, Enrique Martínez Ruiz, Consuelo Maqueda Abreu, Emilio de Diego, Ediciones Istmo, 2016

by cartesdhistoire

For Napoleon, the Iberian Peninsula was a weak link in the southern flank of the continental blockade. In 1807, he sent Junot to occupy Portugal, where smuggling of British products was developing on a large scale. The presence of French garrisons on Spanish territory exacerbated the dynastic crisis which undermined power, torn between King Charles IV, Prime Minister Godoy and Infante Ferdinand. Napoleon deposes the Bourbons, exiled in France and replaced by Joseph Bonaparte. A popular riot broke out in Madrid on May 2, 1808, followed by fierce repression on the 3rd. The country was set ablaze, resistance was organized by politico-military juntas. French troops were defeated at Bailén, in Andalusia, in July 1808. Napoleon had to strip the eastern front to undertake costly reconquest operations.

In the years that followed, Spain became a gigantic battlefield. Spanish resistance is composite; a strong Catholic component gave the conflict the appearance of a crusade, while the politicians were divided between dynastic loyalty to the “legitimate” king, Ferdinand VII, and liberal aspirations which were expressed in the Constitution of Cádiz of 1812. The supporters of “Intruder king”, the “josefinos”, are isolated and only provide a semblance of authority under the cover of powerful military governors, Soult in the south, Suchet in the north. The French and their allies know how to play on the divisions of their adversaries, the liberals wary of the bands of partisans often supervised by priests and fanatically devoted to Ferdinand, whose absolutist tendencies are a mystery to no one.

It was the English expeditionary force commanded by Lord Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, hostile to the people's war, which ultimately decided the balance of power. In June 1813, the French army was crushed in Vitoria and had to evacuate the peninsula.

#maps #cartesdhistoire #igsourced #napoleonic wars #spain

56 notes · View notes

emmashouldbewriting · 2 months

Note

Do you think that some of this animosity against C&C is the result of ageism? The fans who are the most rabid supporters of W&K also seem to be the ones who comment constantly on how hot William is, how beautiful Catherine is. While all of these comments are, indeed, true--you've met them and can attest to the veracity of these statements--any comments about how work-shy these two are are met with screams of denial. They have a family! They also have a job, which they are not doing. If Camilla is out there pressing hands, it's in service of her own ego. Yet, if Prince Philip were doing the SAME things that Queen Camilla is doing now, he would be praised as a supporter of his wife, and not an evil man basking in the PR. Queen Camilla appears in the same jewels the Queen wore and Queen Elizabeth was oohed and aahed over, but what nerve Queen Camilla has to wear the SAME EXACT jewelry. The last time I looked, Camilla was Queen. Why shouldn't she wear these jewels? They weren't Elizabeth's. They belong to the Crown. But let's hand out tiaras to Catherine like they're Smarties because she's so perfect. More tiaras for Kate. I mean, it's unhinged.

Two elderly people in their 70s aren't the clickbait that W&C are. Acknowledged. But being fandom means that we have this ridiculous ship war because that is what this is even if people don't want to acknowledge it. Charles is King for as long as he wants to be. That's a fact, and royal watchers who are obsessed with tiaras and the length of Catherine's hair and William's abs really need to take a few breaths and step back. I like both couples. I think Charles is weak regarding his youngest son, and I think that William and Catherine are abusing their privilege. That doesn't mean that I don't appreciate both couples' efforts on behalf of the UK.

i think it's more prejudice of the adulter/mistress combined with the fact that neither of them are conventionally attractive. william isn't either, really, but he has a natural presence that adds to it. that's where my own feelings about them come in, but i maintain that their beauty goes far beyond their looks - they are genuinely warm, fuzzy, cosy people. their auras are so comforting

i think for many royal watchers it's easy to support those in your generation - millenials especially have a connection with W&K because we "grew up" with them. even us baby millenials watched their romance in real time. our kids will have more of a connection with George/Charlotte/Louis because they're 'their' royals, you know?

I think Charles is weak regarding his youngest son, and I think that William and Catherine are abusing their privilege

bestie you nailed it in one go with that right there. and that's why we must continue to call them out

43 notes · View notes

bikenesmith · 8 months

Text

Despite [Xavier's] previous insistence that he is only whole when able-bodied, he comes to terms very quickly with his return to disability: “My back is shattered, a parting gift from the Shadow King… It appears… if I am ever to achieve my dream… I will need all of you… to walk me there” (Nicieza 23). In the span of a single panel, Xavier acknowledges that he is once again disabled, accepts it, and asks his teammates for help. Due to his previous elation at becoming able-bodied, one would think he would require more time to adjust, to shift his identity once more from “able-bodied” to “differently-abled.” The ease in which Professor X resumes his disabled identity lends itself to the notion that being able-bodied, not disabled, is a plot device. He takes more time to adjust to using his legs than he does to losing them, a pattern generally reversed when other characters become disabled. This smooth transition back to disability implies that his truest identity is as a disabled man.

(emphasis mine) was reading crippled crusaders: disability representation in the superhero genre by cassandra m. nicol a few days ago and was struck by this bit....the idea that charles' "true" self is a disabled self is really interesting. (edited) crosspost from twitter:

the dominant, most objective read is that charles becomes abled, is disabled, + becomes abled again ad nauseam. yet those narrative tendencies have inadvertently created a reading where charles' disability is, functionally, a chronic illness that flares due to outward stimuli.

whether charles' paraplegia is due to physical injury or a brain/psychosomatic/astral issue isn't clear, having been complicated over the years by all the different ways the text has chosen to able + re-disable him.

what makes the most sense to me is leaning into that ambiguity. its both — either mental or physical injury/ailment can cause him disablement. and the back + forth of charles' paraplegia signifies he's uniquely in danger of that specific disablement — paraplegia/spine issues. and those issues happen ALL the time in real-life non-psychic people who experience (non-psychic….i presume) brain damage. the brain + the spine, the central nervous system, they're basically extensions of each other, and are some of the most important parts of your body.

so you can extrapolate that charles has a particularly "weak" spine, and it's likely to give out if he experiences intense physical or psionic injury. and as an x-man, he risks that often.

i also think the "ease" with which he moves from ability one state to another that nicol mentions is important to this. to be clear: we have seen charles agonize over his disability, and especially losing his ability. it's undeniable that it impacts him emotionally. but charles doesn't go through the intense "grieving" process a lot of newly disabled ppl do — the kind he went through himself when he was recovering from his first spinal injury. as nicol points out:

In Xavier’s next appearance two issues later, he is seated in a golden wheelchair and seems insistent that his disability not hinder his participation in X-Men adventures. Instead he emphasizes his usefulness with his telepathic powers, declaring, “I too shall be coming. Though I am crippled once again, my particular talents may be needed there” (Portacio and Byrne 6). His disabled status is stressed through a visual weight of the word “crippled,” both bolded and italicized in the comic panel, similar to how “whole” was stressed when he became able-bodied in 1983. But here, “crippled” is not laden with judgment. It is merely an acknowledgement of Xavier’s condition. This smooth transition back to disability in some ways rectifies his description of “able-bodied” as “whole,” as Charles insists that even paraplegic once more, he is still more than capable of being an X-Man, and he is still the most powerful mutant in the world. Regardless of the state of his physical body, Charles knows that his disability need not impose limitations on his actions; he harnesses his role as leader of the X-Men and his disability is, effectively, relegated to background information.

of course this is in part bc he'd already been paraplegic for years, but you can also see it as him just being ready for it. seeing it as an eventuality, a familiar state that he will return to throughout his life. a chronic disability that exists whether or not he can walk.

There is one more major instance in which Professor X becomes able-bodied. In 2002, a mutant named Xorn restores Xavier’s ability to walk (Morrison, “All Hell” 32). This is the most short-lived instance of Xavier being able-bodied. Only a year later, Xorn is revealed to be Magneto in disguise, one of Professor X’s oldest enemies; Xorn removes the nano-sentinels that had been holding Xavier’s spine together, crippling him again (Morrison, “Planet X” 19). Later, once freed from captivity, Xavier reappears in a chair with alien-like legs, giving him autonomous movement (Morrison, “Phoenix Invictus” 27). This time, he makes no mention of his return to paraplegia. He is in full command of the X-Men, and has again made a smooth identity transition from “able-bodied” to “differently-abled.” The fact that this occurs once more stresses that to be disabled is part of Charles Xavier’s truest identity, and that being able-bodied is a temporary plot point rather than a character trait.

and that raises the question…what does this mean in the krakoa age? does a newly grown body come without that disability? or is it a "symptom" of his mutation? is it imprinted in his mind-soul-whatever you want to call what part of a person cerebro catalogues?

throughout all of krakoa era, there's never been any mention of what charles feels about making his bodies ambulatory. the closest thing we have is the knowledge that he brought his own wheelchairs with him to krakoa which is a solid point in that theory's direction at least.

(interjection from a subsequent thread:

keep thinking abt the fact that charles brought his chairs with him to krakoa…in this place allegedly free of death or sickness he still prepares for his needs to change, as if its an immutable part of him that can resist miracle drugs + literal resurrection.

its so quintessentially x-men that we only get that interesting insight in the backdrop of an ableist story beat where a character is punished and humiliated by…. being dis-abled.

i'm still floored by how incompetent and tactless that whole thing was but that was the same book that gave us hits like kitty's "viking funeral", emma flashing men to distract them instead of using her, you know, telepathy, emma worrying about eating carbs, + other such bullshit. but i'm still surprised it went so under-discussed in x-comics fandom)

via xuân's resurrection, we know that its possible to request your physical disability be preserved when you're resurrected. so this must have been an active choice of his.

i don't think it's odd at all that charles would choose to walk considering his past feelings about it i just wish the text contended with that like at all 😭 but getting into charles' feelings abt his disability is a long ass post for another day.

(i accessed this paper on proquest here via my alma mater. if you would like to read it yourself but are not connected to an institution or library that has access, dm me and i'll send you the pdf!)

addendum: examples of charles’ disability as neurological illness and/or chronic illness

#charles xavier #professor x #xmen #x men #cherik #Me If Tagging Posts That Are Just About Charles or Erik Separately As Cherik Was A Job: 💵💵💵💵💵#x.txt

117 notes · View notes