The Roaring 2020s [2020s|PG-13|NATION MAINTENANCE]

[Palmyrion]

We're up all night to get lucky!

It is the year 2020.

Everyone in the world welcomed 2020 thinking the new year would be the year they will seize their day, and thus challenged 2020 to bring it on.

They got more than what they bargained and asked for, as the world welcomed 2020 with the assassination of a high-ranking general and a coronavirus pandemic. The 2020s is just starting to roar, and its roar is resonating across the world. For Palmyrion, the 2020s shall be an era of equal parts virtue and decadence, of equal servings order and chaos, of servings of cars, guns, booze, and sex to more than satisfy one's delight. It's like the Roaring 20s, but jazz made way for house music a la Daft Punk, Tiesto, and Martin Garrix; the Prohibition would give way to an attempt to criminalise homosexuality and transgenderism; the Chicago Typewriter, a submachine gun, makes way for the Aragon Keyboard, an assault rifle; and all the sex in the world.

We've come too far to give up who we are, so let's raise the bar and our cups to the stars - and make the Twenty-Twenties roar.

---

Greetings, NS! I bring you a nation maintenance thread about the 2020s in Palmyrion, in both the Grimtide (Kali Yuga-based) and Resurgent (Greater Dienstad-based) canons! This thread will serve to provide vignettes of daily life in Palmyrion during the Roaring 2020s, and at the same time host plot hooks for some 2020s-era RPs in which Palmyrion will be involved.

RESURGENT (Greater Dienstad)
—Love and Realpolitik

• Prologue: A Losing Game [1] [2] [3]

—Friends with Benefits

• Prologue
• Chap. 1: Formalities and Pleasantries [1] [2] [3] [4]
• Chap. 2: Touch Us Not [1]

This thread will have content not appropriate to children below 13 years of age.
Please proceed accordingly. Thank you.

[Palmyrion]

Palmyrion Presents
LOVE AND REALPOLITIK

---

I will gladly break my heart for you.

PROLOGUE | A LOSING GAME

---

Toxic relationships are like quicksand. The more you struggle, the deeper you sink.
—Anna Ballard

Recommended Listening: Drake - Marvins Room

Joint Base Patikul, 49km WSW of Patikul
Islamic Republic of Sulu, Royal Palmyrian Commonwealth
3 August 2024 - 1337H

"Captain, you're on the line with Ms. Annika Solomon."
Alright. I just want to make sure Nikki is safe and sound. My mum wrote via Telegram that
she got black-out wasted in Club Soleil. Again.

Hello, Gerry?

You home, Nikki?
The suspicion of infidelity is just palpable. Not since she told me she got the clap and
I had an STD test...I was clean but I had to endure gut-wrecking antibiotics.
Fucked me up, still fucked to this day...

Yeah, I just got home, somebody gave me a ride.

You good? Eaten breakfast yet?
Just tell me who gave you a ride back home, Nikki. Just be honest:
May nangyari ba sa inyo? (Did something happen between you two?)
If you didn't want what happened, just tell me, please, so I can help you...

Yeah, I'm good, will be going down for brunch soon, you?

Had a good one. Omelet, meat, rice, and veggies. Enjoy your brunch.
Pretty sure she's gonna go for chow in an upscale Michelin-starred restaurant again
while I subsist on reheated canned slop. She enjoys Michelin-starred chefs
while our base is cursed with some sloppy chefs and cooks.

Sounds tasty, hope you enjoyed your meal.

No I didn't, you bitch. We got cursed with sloppy chefs and cooks down here,
and everyone here from all walks of life agree. It's not just me with my
royal tastes, it's the chefs and cooks being sloppy as all fuck.

By the way, I miss you so much, when are you coming back?

I'll be back home by the first week of December. Be home for the holidays.
I'm pretty sure she's going to drain my pockets and drag me around on a Yuletide
shopping and partying spree. For fuck's sake, I just want something to spend
for myself, my family, and the causes I care about. Time and money alike.

Ok baby, looking forward to the dates and gifts. Have you heard of that...

My mind just goes into a blank blur as she tells me of the new upscale restaurants
that opened in Greater Alexandria, as well as the newest high fashion releases.
It seems that I'm at my limit of throwing money to keep her happy and distracted
while I'm out on deployment. I'm fucking tired, but I dug this foxhole.

...and I can't wait to try them on myself! I'll be eagerly waiting, baby.

You'll get them this Christmas, baby.
I dryly replied, exasperated with this bottomless pit of a girlfriend that I have
helped create. Now I'm left with a problem that's boiled over.

Thank you baby! And thanks for calling, for your time.

The gratitude is welcome, babe. I gotta go. Work calls. Bye. Love you.
I ended the call on a dry note, putting down the phone gently in surrender as I let out
a deep sigh from the bottom of my heart. I needed motivation and cause to dump her
but they both seem elusive.

[Palmyrion]

-CLEARED-

[Allanea]

Official Message From the Emperor of Greater Prussia

By the Grace of the Gods and the Will of the People, We, Alexander Blaken-Kazansky, Emperor of Greater Prussia and the Thousand States, King of Allanea, Reichskamphen, Leipzig-Island, Tsar of All Russia, Moscow, Vladimir, Novgorod; Kazan, Astrakhan, Siberia, Chersonese Taurida, Lord of Pskov and Grand Prince of Smolensk, Prince, Karelia, Tver, Yugorsky land, Perm, Vyatka, and others; Lord and Grand Prince of Nizhny Nogorod, Ryazan, Polotsk, Rostov, Yaroslavl, Belozersk, Udorsky land, Obdorsk, Kondia, , and all of the northern countries Master; hereditary Sovereign and ruler of the Circassian and Mountainous Princes and of others; Lord of Turkestan; Archduke of Free Dragkon, Duke of Leyfield, Blaken-Island, Schleswig-Holstein, Stormarn, Dithmarschen, and Oldenburg, Count of Centreville, Protector of Snogohsia Liberator of Torontonias, President of the Capitalist Internationale, Friend of the Elves, and Headmaster of the Leyfield School for Girls, hereby declare,

Given the fact that Palmyrion is a member of the Capitalist Internationale, which has contributed for years for the upkeep of the alliance, and has suffered from an insurgency that had disrupted its trade, its economy and breached the rights of its citizens to liberty, life, and property, We, by the Grace of the Gods, Emperor of Greater Prussia and President of the Capitalist Internationale, hereby authorize a program to assist the reconstruction of Palmyrian infrastructure through the use of CAPINTERN funds, and also call upon those charities, companies, and other non-state entities that may wish to assist in this effort, to assist in the rebuilding of said infrastructure.

For this purpose We hereby affirm the use of 21 billion New Dornalian Dollars from the CAPINTERN emergency fund to rebuild and improve port facilities in those areas of Palmyrion most affected by the acts of terrorism that had recently been seen there, as well as construct needful railways, roads, and other such infrastructure. We will be sending a team of architects, engineers, and security analysts to the Vigan International Harbour to see what can be done to improve its security as well as improve its capacity.

*

Dear friends at the government of Palmyrion!

I write to you as the representative of Dillard Industrial Logistics. I have received news of large Greater Prussian investments in the improvement and rehabilitation of infrastructure in your country. I propose, in addition to the funds already pledged by Greater Prussian leadership, that DIL also invest money in building a private harbor at Mindanao or on Osmalik Island, with the capacity of handling 5 million TEU per year. For this purpose we will invest a sum of 5 billion dollars in the construction of several wharfs on the island, as well as a range of other equipment such as portal cranes, digital warehouse maintenance systems, and digitally monitored entry gates to the new port to both deter terrorist infiltrators and improve the efficiency of cargo movement.

Please respond as soon as possible regarding the legal and practical feasibility of such a project.

Yours, Matthew T. Gresham,
Foreign Sales Officer,
Dillard Industrial Logistics

[Palmyrion]

Palmyrion Presents...
FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS

---

You scratch my back, I scratch yours...

Palmyrion. Allanea. Friends.

While commercial relations between both nations stem back to 1985, when private industry was legalised and given legal recognition, Palmyrion's entry into CAPINTERN - and by proxy the Greater Prussian Alliance - elevated the relationship to cordial levels. Since then companies from either nation have set up shop in each others' territories and countries, resulting into a trade volume that rivaled the trade volume Palmyrion had with its time-immemorial allies the Marshites and the Romandeans.

Right now, at a time of great need for Palmyrion, with its economy buoyed predominantly by heavy state investment into its "Vital 12" sectors, Allanea steps in to help with Palmyrion's economic rejuvenation in the wake of a devastating insurgency. Granted, it wasn't to say that Palmyrian private and state companies were effectively inactive - in fact they were heavily invested into resuming corporate activity and rebuilding their assets - but security concerns that prevailed in the wake of the insurgency hampered any sort of investment. The conflict may have "officially" ended on 2018 with the defeat of the Communist and Islamic secessionists and the re-integration of the affected areas into the Royal Commonwealth, but low-intensity conflict still swept the affected areas with a little bombing and mass shooting here and there, on top of Communist rebels charging revolutionary taxes and Islamist insurgents charging jizya on local businesses in exchange of non-aggression. The monopolistic collusion that "The Twelve Juggernauts" held over these places also had to be broken too, if only to foster competition that would hasten the revitalisation process.

So the news that CAPINTERN would be investing 21 billion New Dornalian Dollars for the rebuilding and improvement of damaged port facilities in the affected areas was welcome news for the Executive Council, especially for the Departments of Commerce, Labour and Employment, Interior and Local Government, Transportation, and Trade and Industry, and (most importantly) the Commonwealth Economic Development Agency - and the CEDA Secretary, on behalf of the Royal Palmyrian Commonwealth, immediately sent a letter welcoming the Emperor of Greater Prussia's investment of CAPINTERN funds into Palmyrion's economic recovery programmes and initiatives.

COMMONWEALTH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGENCY
167 Mondragon Avenue, Aragon, D.C.
Royal Palmyrian Commonwealth

27 November 2020

Emperor Alexander Blaken-Kazansky, Emperor of Greater Prussia
Liberty City, Free Kingdom of Allanea

---

Dear Emperor,

Greetings, Your Majesty! On behalf of the Royal Palmyrian Commonwealth, we welcome this substantial investment into the revitalisation programme aimed at the areas most affected by the Turbulent Tens Conflict, which lasted from 2010 to 2018. This will definitely help in efforts to return the region to its former, pre-Conflict vitality, especially in repairing the damaged road, rail and port networks.

This would be a watershed moment and part of a larger initiative to repair and revitalise the war-torn transport network in the region, itself relatively backwards relative to other parts of Palmyrion (in particular the federal subjects closer to the capital). While other companies, notable Palmyrian, Romandean, and Marshite ones, have already poured private direct investments into the revitalisation process, the funds as received from CAPINTERN's emergency fund will nonetheless go a long way to help reconstruct the region's transport networks.

While the security issues in the norther highlands of Palmyrion may be risky, owing to a still-ongoing low-intensity conflict that followed the collapse of the secessionist states during the bygone Conflict, we will do our best to keep insurgent activity in check in order to maintain and ultimately restore stability in the region - and we also believe that the current revitalisation efforts can contribute to the achievement of stability in the region.

Sincerely Yours,
[digitally signed]
Nathaniel Alindogan
Vice-Chancellor for Socioeconomic Planning
Commonwealth Economic Development Agency

---

Royal Palmyrian Commonwealth Official Standardized Communique v2.0 | Encrypted Using SHA3-512
For Official Government Use Only | Misuse Will Be Penalised
Copyright 2018 by the Department of Information and Communications Technology, All Rights Reserved

At about the same time, the Department of Trade and Industry also expressed its approval of Dillard Industrial Logistics' plan to set up a wharf in either Mindanao or Osmalik Island, which when completed in its full form would have a capacity of 5,000,000 Twenty-foot Equivalent Units...and be opened to international trade - the first international port in either island, and the first with the capability to accommodate intermodal container traffic.

DEPARTMENT OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY
88 Graciano Apacible Boulevard, Aragon, D.C.
Royal Palmyrian Commonwealth

27 November 2020

Matthew Gresham, Foreign Sales Officer
Dillard Industrial Logistics
Free Kingdom of Allanea

---

Dear Mr. Gresham,

Greetings! On behalf of the Royal Palmyrian Commonwealth, through the Department of Commerce and Industry, we would like to express our interest and warm acceptance of this proposal of yours to establish a private harbour at either Mindanao or Osmalik Island. While there have been ports on either island, they have been mostly restricted to domestic maritime traffic, and have been using outdated port facilities dating from as far back as the 1990s; on top of that, they lack the facilities necessary for accommodating intermodal containers.

This $5 billion investment would be a major and welcome addition to revitalisation efforts in the region, and we believe this, when completed, would be the first international port in the region, and also the first to contain intermodal container traffic. The establishment of said port would be a big boon to local industries, as trade volume would increase whilst giving local industries a major maritime portal for trade and industry.

The area, however, legally adheres to Islamic economic jurisprudence, and Sharia Law is the law of these lands as well. This is on top of the ongoing Islamist low-intensity conflict in the area that poses a major insurgent threat, but rest assured that this will be kept in check by security forces both state and private; we also believe that by establishing economic infrastructure in the area, socioeconomic vitality - including but not limited to well-paying jobs - can be provided both in the near and far futures starting with the establishment of said port and the trade and economic development that such port will enable. Security concerns aside, we believe the region's adherence to Sharia Law and Islamic economic jurisprudence will not pose a significant obstacle for Dillard Industrial Logistics' operations in the area.

I also recommend meeting with local community and corporate leaders in a stakeholders' meeting so you can negotiate on terms and regulations for this proposal. Given the dangers posed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic we suggest this stakeholders' meeting be held online.

Sincerely Yours,
[digitally signed]
Theodore John Naraga
Vice-Chancellor for Trade and Industry
Department of Trade and Industry

---

Royal Palmyrian Commonwealth Official Standardized Communique v2.0 | Encrypted Using SHA3-512
For Official Government Use Only | Misuse Will Be Penalised
Copyright 2018 by the Department of Information and Communications Technology, All Rights Reserved

[Allanea]

Greetings.

I am pleased to announce the beginning of planning for the construction, at our Mindanao facility, several wharfs capable of handling ships of a capacity up to 30,000 TEU each. For this purpose we will dredge the approaches to the wharfs to be capable of accepting the ships (to a depth of 30 meters, to be capable of safely accepting high-draft ships with a substantial safety margin), as well as construct wharfs and assemble the appropriate harbor cranes.

We would also like to announce the commencement of tenders to purchase and install crane equipment on the wharfs, as well as two electronically-managed security gates and an electronic shipment management system. When the port enters operations, any ship owners, shipment owner, or shipping company will be able to track their individual shipments (down to individual containers) on a real-time basis through the official Port of Mindanao site which we are also working on setting up.

For the purpose of acquiring skilled personnel that will work at all tiers of the Port of Mindanao, we will be also creating continuing education and professional training classes for people living in the port area to be qualified and certified as forklift operators, call center employees, technicians, and other personnel for the port. This, combined with work at the port, will provide people in the Mindanao area with new opportunities both at the port itself, and later on elsewhere if they choose to later move on to other careers.
Yours,
Jerry Abantas Manrique,
Dillard Industrial Logistics Mindanao Harbor Officer

[Palmyrion]

Marawi City, Lanao Province
Islamic Republic of Mindanao
Royal Palmyrian Commonwealth

Along the shores of Lake Ranao lay the verdant Marawi City, a once-bustling metropolis of nearly 3.5 million people thoroughly eviscerated to a mere shell, a crumbling skeleton, of its former glory for the entirety of the Reunion War, having seen for nearly 2/3rds of the war's duration (more specifically, 18 months out of the war's total of 25) vicious urban combat rivaling that of Stalingrad, Manila, and Berlin combined. In Palmyrion's history, her equivalent of Stalingrad was Vigan, and Marawi being a bustling metropolis comparable to the likes of Abu Dhabi, UAE and Doha, Qatar only set the stage for one of the most vicious theatres of urban combat in recent years, having claimed nearly two million military lives alone (with the bulk of lives lost being Islamic insurgents) as Palmyrian, Romandean, and Marshite alike were chewed and eviscerated apart by the urban grinder that Marawi during the Reunion War came to be (at least during the Second Battle of Marawi). As a whole, the Battle for Mindanao was like D-Day followed up by the French WW2 campaign happening alongside the Battle of Stalingrad.

Two years on, in spite of promising economic recovery and revitalisation, the city still remains relatively devastated. Basic utilities - water, electricity, telecommunications, and public transport, to name a few - remained largely destroyed, and while progress was made in many parts there still remained a lot to rebuild, and many experts suggested that its recovery could take 20 years at the current pace; this would leave the region as a whole in the dust as the rest of the country moved on forward halfway into the 21st century, compounded by the resulting social unrest brought about by post-bellum poverty resulting from the region's economic devastation. The region was a tinderbox, and Marawi City could prove to be a major flashpoint, especially now that Islamist insurgent activity had an upsurge even as Palmyrian counter-insurgency efforts have proven largely effective in containing the insurgency.

Thus, the opening of a major international port by Allanean company Dillard Industrial Logistics - with a high capacity for containerised cargo to begin with - just literally a stone's throw from Marawi City's outskirts was a welcome development that would enable trade. DIL's initiatives to train locals in relevant trades and provide entry-level skilled and unskilled work was a major serving of gravy for the chicken that only made the offer more attractive for a government that, in spite of steady progress, nevertheless struggled to stabilise what looked to be a socioeconomic tinderbox. The port would be set up along the shores of Iligan Bay, near the mouth of the Agusan River, and an international port set up near a major waterway flowing into a bay just lay in a sweet spot for trade: international goods bound for the region would be brought to the Port of Mindanao, from where it can travel either upstream to the many lakeside ports along Lake Ranao, or trace the Coastal Superhighway to various markets and trade posts along the said superhighway's network of railways, expressways, and highways.

Thus, Minister of Commerce Ismail ibn Ahmed abu Bakr's first order of business was to write a letter to DIL expressing approval and glee in setting up such a port, bustling into his relatively modest office bringing along with him a takeout breakfast meal from Joybee's: cornsilog (a portmanteau of corned beef, sinangag (fried rice), and scrambled itlog); after he finished his meal and wiped himself clean and ready for the day he immediately set out to write a letter for Dillard Industrial Logistics.

MINDANAO MINISTRY OF COMMERCE
Marawi City, Southwestern Ranao
Islamic Republic of Mindanao
Royal Palmyrian Commonwealth

05 December 2020

Jerry Abantas Manrique, Dillard Industrial Logistics Mindanao Harbor Officer
Port of Mindanao, Southwestern Ranao
Islamic Republic of Mindanao
Royal Palmyrian Commonwealth

---

Dear Mr. Manrique,

Greetings, good sir! We in the Mindanao Ministry of Commerce gleefully welcome your operations in the region, and after three days of talks with the local communities and environmental experts about the social and ecological effects of construction and future harbour operations we have decided to give you the greenlight in the construction of the Port of Mindanao.

The Port of Mindanao sits at a sweet spot for trade, being near the outskirts of Marawi City, and close to the mouth of the Agusan River, a major waterway that has been used as a major trade route since the birth of Palmyrion in times immemorial. From the port, goods can either sail upstream along the Agusan and into Ranao Lake's many lakeside harbours, or be transported by road and rail along the Coastal Superhighway.

Additionally, we also welcome your initiative to provide technical-vocational training for the locals, which will happen alongside the Ministry of Education's own efforts in the restoration of public education, and private educational institutions resuming their respective operations in the area. In this regard you may want to collaborate with the Ministry of Education and the various private educational institutions in the area.

You may begin construction at your convenience, with construction (and potential future harbour) operations to be overseen by, notably, the Mindanao Ministry of Ecological Conservation for ecological impact, the Ministry of Commerce for compliance with Islamic economic jurisprudence, and the Ministry of Science and Technology (alongside the Ministry of Commerce as well) for compliance with internationally and locally accepted industrial standards and benchmarks.

Sincerely Yours,
Ismail ibn Ahmed abu Bakr's
Minister of Commerce
Mindanao Ministry of Commerce

---

Royal Palmyrian Commonwealth Official Standardized Communique v2.0 | Encrypted Using SHA3-512
For Official Government Use Only | Misuse Will Be Penalised
Copyright 2018 by the Department of Information and Communications Technology, All Rights Reserved

---

And that wasn't the only letter. While they would be warmly welcomed by the Islamic Republic and its citizens (of course with concerns about environmental impact), the Islamic insurgents saw this as an opportunity to exact jizya from Dillard Industrial Logistics, or "face consequences" - and by consequences they meant anything from death threats to outright terrorist attacks.

To the kuffar merchants of Dillard Industrial Logistics:

We are the Swordsmen of Allah, and we are here to inform you that we exist to carry out the will of Allah through jihad.

We will be straightforward with our intentions here. If you do not pay us jizya in the form of 10% of monthly port income, you shall face consequences as rebellious kuffars.

You have been warned.

[Allanea]

Jerry Abantas Marinique looked at the letter in front of him with some surprise. Now, today had been a busy day for him. He had to look over, and sign, the environmental review for the planned port – which is to say, the document that summarized how the port construction would affect the environment, and how the company planned to minimize and mitigate the damages. He had to meet the Human Resources officer, who would discuss with him his plans to coordinate with the Ministry of Education in Mindanao for training the forklift operators and call center teams that the port would need when built. He had to schedule a phone call with the Ministry of Finance to see how the Islamic finance requirements would apply to his company. But most of all, there was a terror letter.

It put him in a serious bind. Yet after a while, he decided to be an absolutely honest man. First, he sent an encrypted email to the Ministry of Justice at Mindanao with a copy of the letter, and another one to his corporate headquarters. Then, he composed a reply.

Brothers in Islam!

Consider now the problems you are putting me under. Remember the words of the Prophet, peace be upon him – those who believe and do good deeds — the Gracious God will create love in their hearts. If I agree to your demand, then surely I will be exposing myself to being prosecuted, and perhaps subject to being executed, by the law in my country, but if I do not agree, then surely you will subject those who are under my care to your wrath. But this could be averted perhaps if we came to an agreement (perhaps instead of your group I could organize a donation of the money to orphanages or to mosques or to such needful things as are described in the Holy Quran.

But beyond this, the problem is that the port does not yet have any revenue, for it has not yet been built, and thus does not accept any ships or any shipping. You can see this with your own eyes. For to build this port, we must dredge the harbor and build the wharfs, and then build all of the needful things such as the cranes and the gates and the warehouses, and lay down the cable and the rail. Until then there is no profit for me to share with you, or with anyone else. What, if the revenue is negative, shall you contribute ten percent? Surely you shall not.

As such I ask you kindly to wait, or to negotiate, because as it stands now you are asking me to place my life upon the horns of the antelope, and to share with you a revenue that does not exist!

Bismillah,
Jerry Abantas Marinique

[Palmyrion]

Unknown location
Lanao Province, Islamic Republic of Mindanao
Royal Palmyrion Commonwealth

Rifaat Jibrail al Mansouri read the letter sent to him by Mr. Manrique. They could reach an agreement with Dillard Industrial Logistics funding Islamic charity groups using port revenue, should the port start operating even in low capacity (compared to its fully-constructed capacity, as a large infrastructure project like this would be realistically constructed in phases and sections.). At the same time they also needed money - and not for profit's sake. They were, at least to themselves, waging a protracted jihad against kuffar dominance and degeneracy in the island of Mindanao, and restore it to being a truly Islamic republic - but to sane people in the 21st Century and not the 14th, let alone the 6th, they were Wahhabi insurgents adhering to an ultraconservative form of Islam.

What more could they want? The "rainbow sexual degeneracy" they talked about was literally banned in these areas, with the military even going as far as escorting LGBT people (in coordination with Rainbow Rescue's armed covert operations wing, to boot) out of the islands and into better places such as the District of Corazon or anywhere north of the Islamic islands. The place faithfully adhered to Islamic economic jurisprudence and had strong anti-trust laws and industry standards in place. Islam was also the dominant religion on the island, a religion adhered to by 2/3rds of the islands' residents. Islamic social purity laws were in force in the area, meaning that anyone who didn't wear something straight out of the Victoria Era would get a 24-hour stay in a cold, dank police cell. The place was, to many, an ultraconservative Islamic dystopia - to the point that everyone called it a "Republican Saudi Arabia".

But they didn't mind. They wouldn't reply. At least they got into the nerves of the kuffars at Dillard Industrial Logistics. enough to make them cautious - or, in pursuit of security for their operations in the area, brutal. If Mr. Manrique alerted local authorities on what they would be doing, it didn't make a difference for them, for it was all the better that they would finally draw the Armed Forces of Palmyrion from the vicinity and comfort of the urban areas and their fortresses to the increasingly hostile wilderness; draw the lion out of its mountain lair, so to say. Not that the military can't hold its own - and thrive - in combat away from these areas, but al Mansouri can't wait to give the AFP a taste of their refined strength in the form of modern equipment on par with the military (which was in reality in the arms of his most elite troops the Alharis al-Dhahabiu, the Golden Guard, while everyone else had Cold War-era equipment), courtesy of foreign friends.

At the same time, he saw an opportunity to get some intel on the port itself. He could embed spies among the construction workers (and, should the port start operating, dock workers). He could disguise drone intelligence as bystanders shooting stock drone footage. Geolocation services that are publicly available would provide him a powerful tool for intelligence (considering that smartphones were on the cheap nowadays if you knew where and what to buy, on top of construction and dock operations supplying internet connection as a basic utility for on-site workers). The possibilities were endless, especially for an insurgent force that was becoming increasingly sophisticated in the realm of cyber-electronic warfare.

The first thing he did was to have his S1 contact known collaborators and their city-residing sleepers apply for jobs, skilled and unskilled, in the Dillard Industrial Logistics' construction operations (dock operations can go later). He had his S2 arrange IMINT operations for the port - drones, cellphone photos, maybe even plain old Google Maps and Waze (satellite views are a handy thing) - anything that can pass as good intel will be good intel...even geological surveys or which mining sheikh of a playboy (in reality just Keystone Mining's lackey) just ordered a diamond-studded, lavender-scented Kevlar bra for his 69,420th concubine.

FOB Mondragon
5KM WNW of Marawi City
Islamic Republic of Mindanao
Royal Palmyrian Commonwealth

The background music for the mobile game "Adorable Home" could be heard not from afar as a not-in-duty soldier played the mobile game in his free time while lounging at corner of the base, while CPL Valerie Cordoba

[Palmyrion]

Palmyrion Presents
HAIL TO THE CHIEF

---

Sometimes love is not enough and the road gets tough.

OOC note: This story, which is about Book Trench's operations in Palmyrion, is inspired by the troubles that Stonewall Inn, Jackstreet Tavern's RL counterpart, is facing during the still-ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As a member of the LGBT community, I dedicate this to Stonewall Inn, and wish to reach out to my fellow LGBT persons and comfort them during this time of grave need.

---

ALLANEAN COMPANY'S PLAN TO BUY LGBT RIGHTS CRADLE SPARKS IRE
Jennelyn Garcia | 09 Dec 2020 5:27PM PST

---

• Jackstreet Tavern served as the cradle of the LGBT rights movement in Palmyrion - and possibly the region
• Jackstreet Tavern facing severe issues due to the COVID-19 pandemic related lockdowns
• Book Trench plan to buy related real estate draws ire of the Palmyrian LGBT community

---

Where the communists failed, COVID-19 succeeded: Jackstreet Tavern hit bankruptcy in mere months as its clientele disappeared practically overnight due to the COVID-19 related lockdowns. Its future, especially in the face of an acquisition by Allanean company Book Trench, looks bleak.

JACKSTREET TAVERN, QUEZON CITY | Jackstreet Tavern used to be a bustling gay nightclub, the legendary crown jewel and cradle of the LGBT rights movement in the Royal Commonwealth - and possibly the region of Greater Dienstad as a whole. The site of the legendary 1970 Jackstreet Tavern Riots between communist troops and Tavern patrons, Jackstreet Tavern survived many challenges since then (the Tavern itself being founded on 1910), and has been the mecca of the LGBT community not only in Palmyrion but also the entire region of Greater Dienstad since the early days of the Junta - even as homosexuality was considered a civil offence by the Junta, a regulation whose enforcement by the then Palmyrian Constabulary was relatively lax, if not nonexistent, until its legalisation on the year 2000.

But where the communists failed, COVID-19 succeeded.

COVID-19's virulence necessitated extreme remedies for an extreme malady, as the Lakambini issued a Royal Prerogative authorising and, in many cases, requiring lockdowns and community quarantines be declared as local authorities see fit, a move that has been criticised as having caused major chaos in Palmyrion due to the inconsistency of lockdown and community quarantine rules until a Commonwealth Quarantine Protocol, which applied across Palmyrion and her territories, was enacted starting March of this year.

The lockdowns caused Palmyrian economic activity to plummet practically overnight, and Jackstreet's clientele practically disappeared overnight as they stayed at home in compliance with the quarantine procedures. Struggling to maintain its upkeep in the face of near-zero revenue, Jackstreet Tavern closed down operations even as lockdowns were conditionally lifted and Jackstreet attemtped to temporarily operate as a restaurant and not a nightclub, but it was to no avail as restaurants were forced to operate in lowered capacity and nightclubs were forbidden from operating, both in compliance with social distancing mandates. On May, Jackstreet Tavern filed for bankruptcy and not long after ceased operations altogether; the loss of a major historic site (having been declared a historical landmark by the Commonwealth Historical Commission) and the cradle of the LGBT rights in Palmyrion dealt a major blow to the LGBT rights movement in Palmyrion.

Jackstreet Tavern announced plans to hold a soft relaunch by June 2021 to celebrate Pride Month, with full operations to resume by 2022 or when the pandemic has been eradicated, amid relatively unpopular proposals by the local government to convert the bar into a small museum for the LGBT rights movement.

However, the entry of Allanean store company Book Trench into the picture only complicates things further, as the Allanean company plans to purchase the real estate of Jackstreet Tavern for use as a Book Trench branch, one among millions of Book Trench branches across the world. When Book Trench announced the move last December 8, Book Trench gained widespread ire of the LGBT community in Palmyrion, itself one of Book Trench's largest clientele demographics.

"We condemn this act of vulture capitalism by Book Trench in the midst of a pandemic. While Book Trench has been a consistent ally of the LGBT community in Palmyrion since its arrival, and the free market has allowed Palmyrian LGBT people to earn their keep and sustain their emancipation, even allies condemn their own allies when they step out of hard moral boundaries, and this act of profiteering vulture capitalism by Book Trench only tarnishes the bond between it and the LGBT community in Palmyrion." Lawrence Guillermo, President of LGBT rights organisation Jackstreet Foundation, said in a scathing but concise condemnation of Book Trench's supposed äct of vulture capitalism.

Book Trench Palmyrion, however, considers accusations of "vulture capitalism" as baseless, saying that it intends to do its part in saving the Tavern as a major historical landmark for the LGBT community, while recognising that the purchase is "a sad, harsh choice on either party."

"We recognise the value of Jackstreet Tavern to the LGBT community not only in Palmyrion but across the region of Greater Dienstad, and we wish to uphold the socio-cultural value of this landmark once it and its related real estate go under our care." Ursula Zamora, CEO of Book Trench Palmyrion, the Palmyrion-based subsidiary of Book Trench, said. "This purchase, done in bleak times, is a saddening choice on either party, agreed to reluctantly by either side as a harsh last resort in these trying times." she added.

The Commonwealth News Service tried to contact the owner of Jackstreet Tavern, Andrew Vallesteros, for his comment on the issue, but his legal representative said that he is in a state of depression and wishes not to comment on anything related to the Jackstreet Tavern issue.

[Allanea]

The Book Trench

Guns. Books. Coffee.

The Book Trench organization wishes to once again issue a statement of its support for the LGBT community. As an organization, we attempt to do our best to support the rights of all individuals without inserting ourselves into local political and cultural issues. It is wholly possible that local management have engaged in a miscalculation when they entered a bid to purchase Jackstreet Tavern, which is clearly a culturally sensitive location for many members of the LGBT community in Quezon city and beyond. That said, we would like to remind our audience that Jackstreet Tavern is a for-profit organization as well, and is not currently dealing well with the spread of the novel coronavirus in Palmyrion. When a business is unable to pay its upkeep, an unfortunate consequence of that is that it is sometimes forced to close down and sell any remaining absence.

As such we propose to meet with representatives of the LGBT community in Quezon to discuss what can be done with the Tavern facilities. We believe that we can either transform the tavern into a branch of Book Trench that will attempt to preserve its architectural and cultural heritage (albeit, understandably, we will no longer serve alcohol there), or donate towards transforming it to a non-profit museum. A third option is to locate another buyer who will attempt to preserve the tavern in a respectful way towards maintaining its cultural and historic significance.

Moreover, we are issuing grants for up to five separate researchers to interview witnesses and participants in the original Jackstreet Tavern Riots so as to contribute to books and documentary films preserving the oral history of the LGBT community in Quezon.

[Palmyrion]

Bladebreaker Greater Aragon Field HQ
Navotas, G.A., Royal Palmyrian Commonwealth
1951H 29 JANUARY 2023

Avery Alexander - Ghost

A convoy of three armored SUVs, carrying with them guests for a meeting with the local Bladebreaker Tactical commander, pulled up to the entrance of the Bladebreaker GA Field HQ, a sprawling fortified military installation located along the shores of Navotas, and strategically located along the northern borders of the Greater Aragon region a fair distance away from civilization. The neon and LED lights that dominated the skyline of Aragon could be seen dotting the horizon from a distance from atop the hill upon which the field HQ was situated, light inter-city traffic zipping steadily along the highway just at the foot of the hill.

"Papeles po." inquired a heavily-armed guard at the gate as he stopped the convoy, with the lead vehicle complying in earnest and issuing the credentials of the HVIs for the meeting: CID Agent 1st Class John Martin Agpangan (in the lead SUV), UP Diliman University Student Council Chairperson Latrell Inosanto accompanied by UP Fair organizing team head Katrina Rimando (in the second SUV), and UPD Chancellor Hadrian Raniag. The guards verified the identities of the HVIs in the vehicles in a short two-minute long process, then informed them that the commanders of the Greater Aragon Area commands of the National Police and the Civil Defence Force were already in the meeting venue with the Bladebreaker Greater Aragon AO commander for the past hour.

The convoy, now granted passage, cruised through the base and towards the command center, wherein the rest of the delegation was waiting. The convoy passed through two-story prefab buildings, some serving as barracks, motorpools, data centers, medical centers, and supply warehouses. The base saw normal OPTEMP for the night, with the usual patrols and maintenance activities livening up the night-darkened streets of the field HQ. They finally stopped at the foot of the command center, the entourage systematically disembarking at the door.

"Magandang gabi, ma'ams and sirs. You must be the entourage ALPHA WOLF has been expecting." one of the door guards spoke to the CID agent as he was accompanied by his entourage. "Yes, sir. We're here to meet with ALPHA WOLF tungkol sa Ordenite spy at sa UP Fair." he replied, as he issued his clearance document to the door guard. The door guard skimmed through the clearance document, and gave the all clear to the rest of the door guards and the receptionist before letting them pass through. The entire entourage walked down the hallways and stairwells, passing through multiple checkpoints in the command center before finally arriving at a conference room, wherein the local Bladebreaker Tactical commander (BGEN Paolo Rosarda), the GAPD chief (PMGen Harold Obrero), and the CDF-GA chief (MGEN Taylor Maxwell Barreto) were already waiting and engaging in small talk to pass the time.

"If it isn't our esteemed guests. Good evening, everyone — take a seat." Brigadier General Rosarda welcomingly proclaimed to the entourage, who replied with brief good evenings as they took their seats. At the seats were prepared snacks for the entourage: a bottle of water, commercially-sold saltines, and a burger made by the cooks at the mess hall. "I presume you have all eaten dinner?" he asked, to which the entire entourage replied with affirmation. "Good. Let's get to business, shall we?" Rosarda said, and looked at the CID agent. "Tell us what brings us here, agent."

"We confirm the identities of two espionage assets, one Ordenite and one Ralkovian, within UP Diliman, studying their master's degrees in various engineering courses as a cover for academic espionage." the agent replied, producing a thick folder of a dossier that contained files for the high value targets. Rosarda gestured for the documents to be brought to him, his aide retrieving the documents from the agent and giving them to Rosarda. "So, an Ordenite and a Ralkovian taking master's degrees while spying on the Royal Commonwealth as a side gig. Pretty clever, but not unprecedented." he said, as he skimmed through the files one by one. "I just didn't think that problem would eventually find its way onto Palmyrian lands." he added, skimming further through the files.

The USC Chairperson gestured to speak by raising his hand, and Rosarda gestured him to go ahead. "We have been informed by ticket sellers that they will be going to Cosmos, the Saturday event for this year's UP Fair." Latrell Inosanto said. "We then relayed this information to the chancellor...and here we are. he added, with Katrina Rimando raising her hand shortly after to speak, to whom Rosarda gestured permission to speak. "We have their transaction record on hand, general, if that helps." she said. "As they were considered UP students their ticket pricing was that for UP students. We also have the transaction records of undergraduate students they are known to be in collaboration with, and are going to the same event." she added.

"So, let me guess: these students will cause a ruckus to distract security, so they can get away with whatever shady deal they're gonna be up to for the night?" Rosarda queried. "I think so too, general." Katrina replied. "Additionally, they have been known to be the more violent members of various campus fraternities and their sister sororities." she added.

The Chancellor raised his hand to speak next, and Rosarda gestured for him to speak. "This is on top of a spike of on-campus violence in the recent months, general. Hiring your mercenaries to provide security for the event was one thing." he said, to establish a point from which to escalate the gravity of the situation, "Ordenite and Ralkovian intelligence assets using the event to meet, and using frat gangbangers to cause a distraction for their dealings, is another." he added, establishing its gravity after a short pause.

"General, if I may?" the GAPD general said, raising his hand to ask permission to speak, to which Rosarda replied a succinct "go ahead". "I propose an operation to arrest the spies then and there at the event." PMGen Obrero said, with the whole room turning his attention to him. "I'm all ears, general. Go ahead." Rosarda affirmed.

[Palmyrion]

Joint Base Patikul, 49km WSW of Patikul
Islamic Republic of Sulu, Royal Palmyrian Commonwealth
7 August 2024 - 1337H

When one wants to know who runs the country, they look at the reigning Lakambini, the Sovereign. But if they want to know for whom they're running the country, one need not look further than the Lakan Emeritus. Since becoming bedridden in 2019, his wife, the Consort Emeritus Agatha, has taken front stage and become the woman behind the scenes, discreetly brokering the personal while the Sovereign and other royals toiled the professional.

Naturally, her role as a broker of the personal has its limits, as anything and everything in this mortal world does. She has, behind the scenes, been instrumental in managing the public image of the much-storied relationship between the film starlet Annika Solomon and her son, Prince Gerard. In particular, she has worked to calm the rumors about Annika's excesses and the problems it caused for her relationship with Prince Gerard. She could, however, only do so much for so long, before the problem boiled over; her last resort, should it come to it, was to turn off the heat and put the simmering to an abrupt stop.

But alas, she didn't have control over the fire. It was Gerard who did, the son who thought he could manage Annika's excesses by simply throwing money and luxury her way, hoping to appease her while he was deployed. Her demands, however, were slowly but surely increasing, and he was about to reach his limit. By now, almost all of his military salary was spent paying for her fondness for excess, with little left for the Prince. He could not stand this further, and thus he had put a line on the sand: if he had to cut into his royal allowance, the single most heavily audited part of his personal income stream, that's it, they were done.

Wherever House Roseguard scions worked, there were always Royal Liaisons, and there was one where Prince Gerard was deployed: in Joint Base Tuguegarao, a joint base used by the Army and the Aerospace Forces. The base headquarters where the Royal Liaison Unit was stationed was a fair ride away from his Officers' Quarters, but if House Roseguard and the Agency for the Royal House needed him for a call, he would make the ride when he had time. Right now his mother needed him for an honest heart-to-heart.

"Ma'am, you're on the line with Prince Gerard." The RLU Liaison Officer began as Prince Gerard rushed into the RLU office, clad in his Air Force Combat Uniform, his boots stomping on the cold concrete floors of the base headquarters as he anxiously brisk-walked his way into the first-floor office.

The Liaison Officer gave him the phone, and left him to his privacy in the office as he talked things through with his mother. The RLU LO would stand guard at the door, making sure nobody went through without his permission or knowledge.

"Ma, you called?" the Prince began, his voice heavy with anticipation - and anxiety: if he had to talk about Annika again he'd be damned. There better be a new development. If Annika promised to stop being a gold digging bitch, he'd be fucking happy, but he knew hell would freeze over before it would even happen.

"I have a proposition to you, anak. A way out." the Consort Emeritus reassuringly said, as if belying what was to come.

Finally, a bloody fucking way out, the Prince thought to himself as he sighed relief. Well, it was about Annika, but at least it was a way out. He needed reason and motivation to finally abandon her for good - and his mother finally came up with one.

"What is it, mom?" he replied, exasperatedly relieved to see that his biggest problem of the past 4 years was finally being solved.

"We could negotiate a relationship - and eventually marriage - with foreign royalty.” said Agatha, as though irreverent towards the gravity of what she just said. Within moments, Gerard's relief turned into disappointment: out of the frying pan, and into a new one, he thought.

But oh well, this is par for the course for royalty, he thought. It was family duty: much has been given to him, hence much shall be asked of him. If he is arranged to be married off to foreign royalty, or if foreign royalty is arranged to be married off to him, so shall he accept.

"Who?" he asked, coldly, expressing a range of emotions from prime disappointment to sullen outrage. Please mom, just...I'm bloody sick and fucking tired of the royal drama and string-pulling, he thought to himself.

"Do you remember a certain Empress Neda?"

Now ain't she a personality, he thought. He met Her Imperial Majesty the Holy Roman Empress, and Queen of Romilija and the Netherlands, at the Archducal Ball in 2022. Shared some drinks; he was a jet fuel boy, she was a wine girl, the whole table laughed to tears at two things: the name of the drink - a Palmyrian Air Force concoction - itself, and the fact that he gave the bartender detailed instructions and got the bartender to make it in the first place. It's a custom cocktail named after jet fuel...in a high profile ball with nobles and royalty; what's not to laugh about drinking jet fuel in front of royalty? To add a third: he laughed at himself.

- 2 oz lambanog/whiskey/rum (depending on local availability and preference)
- 1 oz coffee liqueur
- 4 oz Red Bull or unsweetened cold brew coffee (depending on local availability and preference)
- Ice cubes
- Calamansi twist, lime twist, lemon twist, or coconut flakes for garnish (optional)

Some of the nobles on the table knew who he was. Palmyrion's rising fighter pilot prince. The Weaver of Missiles, The Lucky Charmer, the Teaser of Death, the Firestarter. And there he was, drinking jet fuel in front of them, dressed in an Air Force black tie mess dress, his medals and badges displayed as symbols of pride and honor.

"What about her, ma?" the Prince replied, with a sullen agitation.

"Consider this: the marriage will be strategically advantageous for both Palmyrion and Romylia." The Consort Emeritus reassuringly and calmly began her professional pitch, pausing for half a second before continuing to the personal pitch: "Both of you resolve your respective personal woes—she, her status as an unmarried Sovereign; you, the burden of that gold-digger Annika."

The Prince's agitation was no longer sullen. "Don't bring Annika into this. Don't mix the personal with the professional." he said, with measured anger, expressing his outrage over his mother's insertion of the personal into the professional while keeping a modicum of respect towards his mother.

"And why?" Agatha challenged, matching her voice to his constrained outrage. "You want to get rid of her, don't you?"

"Look, ma, there has got to be another way..." the Prince said, his measured anger now battling with a rising sense of despair, seemingly aghast at his personal agency being trampled, and the fact that his own mother was maneuvering him as a chess piece for what seemed to be an audacious geopolitical maneuver.

"And what is that way?" his mother asked, her voice stoic yet stern.

"I just dump Annika. That's it. I just..." Gerard responded, pausing in hesitation as he mentally fidgeted out the words to explain his indecisiveness in this matter of the heart.

"...I just lacked the reason and will to do so. And uncertainty about what goes next. No need for matching me off to an unmarried Sovereign." He continued, his indecisiveness finally explained. Quite ironically for a man who fearlessly stared at death in the face, who undertook missions with varying certainties of success, the indecisiveness and uncertainty on the matters of the heart is what paralyzed him with fear the most; the irony of such duality wasn't lost on everyone, but it was starting to not be funny, for it was already jeopardizing who he was.

"I see then, anak." Agatha replied, her voice softening to match that of her son's, seeing that she was starting to get to him, and he was starting to see reason - reason to leave the relationship with Annika.

Now she would establish and buttress a reason for Gerard to consider a courtship with the Empress.

"Then I'm sure you'd find Neda to be an attractive and healthy prospect," Agatha said, pitching a relationship this significant as if it were a Tinder option that one could casually swipe left or right on. "A prospect about what lies at the other side of your hesitation." she added, appealing to Gerard's hesitation, and his innate desire to finally end a toxic relationship once and for all.

Gerard paused, reflecting in this prospect his mother presented to him.

This courtship was no mere courtship; this was a courtship of state with greater ramifications than the personal. This was a courtship of state that could end in a marriage of state, a prince marrying an unwed sovereign and Empress regnant.

It was a daunting prospect on its own.

"If this goes well, it would be a big boon not just to us, but for our nation, and surely theirs as well." she added, appealing to Gerard's deep-seated sense of patriotism, one shaped by his bemedalled and honored service to the nation as a fighter pilot, an ace made and forged by the fires of war. A marriage of state, a gesture of friendship between nations - and he was going to be the tribute. "What say you, Gerard?"

But then, he had resigned to the fact that, if it came down to it, he would, after a period of courtship to determine and establish interpersonal compatibility and affection, be married off in a politically strategic marriage, for that is his fate and duty as a royal. Besides, the Empress was his type, not only in the matters of the mind and the spirit, but also of the flesh. A woman of grace and wisdom - and, well, of lithe, athletic build. He just didn't think that it would come down to this, his own mother arranging for a courtship with a whole Empress.

Gerard sighed. His own mother knew just how to appeal to him, quite deeply so. One must not underestimate the amount of knowledge a mother has about her child's workings, after all, and use that knowledge to appeal to her son with such depth. "I guess there's no harm in trying, ma, assuming she says yes." he replied, his hesitant approval palpable, hinged partly on the Empress' prospective approval, and partly on his mother wantonly playing matchmaker, his personal agency be partly damned. But at least he knew that if he did otherwise say no, his mum would at least respect it, drop the idea altogether. Besides, beyond the potential awkwardness that could arise due to the power dynamics between him and the Empress, and beyond the geopolitical implications of this courtship of state, it personally seemed like a good idea.

"That's the best you're getting. For you. For us. For our country." Agatha replied, driving her point home as she summarized her pitch. "Think about it." she stressed further, taking a pause to let her words sink further, before ending the conversation. "This conversation is over. Mama loves you. Farewell."

He put down the phone gently, and signaled for the RLU Liaison Officer to come back in. He was done. The Prince and the LO exchanged standard departing courtesies before the LO resumed his point and the Prince walked slowly out of the RLU office, diminished but not defeated.

Tough love, he thought. Par for the course of royals.

[Palmyrion]

Dining Hall, Royal Citadel
Alexandria City, Greater Alexandria
Royal Palmyrian Commonwealth
9 August 2024 - 1905H

A light meal of rice, paired with sauteed bok choy and ground pork with oyster sauce, washed down with water and a cup of tea - a 7:00PM dinner to end a workday of public appearances to patronages and appointments, and administrative heavy-lifting to fill the stomach for the night. Sitting at the long dining table were the Lakambini and the Consort Emeritus, alongside Princess Mavis, and the family’s Navy officers Prince Maxwell and Princess Jilliane on shore leaves from their respective carrier strike groups. The table stood lonely, the LED chandelier casting a smooth light across the room, a serene atmosphere interrupted only by the clanging of metal utensils on the plates as the royalty dined on their meal.

The family discussed issues of the day as they dined: the 3rd Carrier Strike Group’s deployment in Opheros, the start of diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of Azmeny, rumors of Arakhkhar infiltration of Palmyrion’s academic and industrial complexes, and Prince Gerard’s relationship with Annika.

His “love” with that gold-digging bitch, the Lakambini thought. Morning, noon, and night she’s revulsed with how Annika has been spending the money that Prince Gerard has been blindly showering upon her. More than what the Pathseekers did in Azmeny, more than what the Children of the Rising Dawn did in Opheros. As a fast-rising starlet, she’s currently working on a film project, she’s paid well for advertisements, and yet she has the gall to say she doesn’t have enough, she’s not content with what she has. The Lakambini had nothing but revulsion for Annika and remorse for her younger brother-in-law - and hoped that one day, the man would see the light of reason dawn upon him and finally dump that avaricious wretch to the streets.

“Look, ma, if Gerard doesn’t see the light of reason, he’s fucked. Ewan ko na lang sa kanya kung magbubulag-bulagan pa siya sa pokpok na yan.” she bluntly stated, her disgust for Annika and disappointment for Gerard palpable. He’s fallen for two gold diggers already, and the family’s had enough of it. This may well be the last shred of pity they have for Gerard, the resident hotshot of the House Roseguard, the maverick pilot Prince of the Royal Family. “Because if he remains willfully blind to how that bitch is milking him dry and making a glittery shitshow of the cash Gerry gives her, at the expense of the family’s reputation, I don’t fucking know how to help him.” she remarked further, her indignation laced with her frustration over her brother-in-law’s willful blindness to Annika’s toxic gold-digging .

“I told him I found a way out, and that is by marrying him off to a foreign queen.” the Consort Emeritus bluntly and nonchalantly replied, as if downplaying the gravity of just how she kicked around Gerard like a football.

The Lakambini grimaced in shock. Of course, mama-in-law, the Consort Emeritus, just did that. She’s the broker of the personal, after all. “Who, ma?” she asked, her sullen outrage palpable.

“The Holy Roman Empress. Neda III.” she replied, afterwards taking a spoonful of food in her mouth.

“That Neda?” the Lakambini said in surprise. As much as she respected a fellow head-of-state who’s acted decisively in just the first year of her reign, the respect was strictly professional; in the personal, she held every shred of doubt that such a relationship would even establish solid footing to begin with. Granted, Prince Gerard was a member of the Stevidian Catholic Church, and like Agatha, Elizabeth saw Neda's bachelorette status as a geopolitical opportunity, exploitable through a marriage of state - but his less-than-pure past, and his daredevil tendency, was sure to cause friction and, if not mitigated, irreconcilable differences with Neda, the wide socio-cultural and religious gap between Palmyrion and Romilija - and between the Holy Roman Empire and the Royal Palmyrian Commonwealth's diverse power bloc - notwithstanding.

“They met before. Archducal Ball, 2022.” the Consort Emeritus dryly said.

“Right.” the Lakambini sighed. “I don’t know if a relationship that started in a place of revelry will end well.” she remarks, recounting with sullen disgust just how many relationships that started as bar flings ended up badly, Prince Gerard and Annika included. That accursed night at Club Soleil; it is said they held amorous congress in the infamous red backrooms of the Club the night they met, for goodness' sake. Take Ellie back to the night Annika and her brother-in-law met, and she would come with a portent from the future, intending to nip the problem in the bud. “But I’ll leave it to you to convince Neda to be onboard with it.”

“You can bet I’d convince her.” the Consort Emeritus retorted, with a sly wink and smirk. “And if I can’t? I’ve got options.”

“Who?” the Lakambini inquired, aghast at just how nonchalantly the Consort Emeritus suggested that she could just marry Gerard off to someone else if Neda didn’t approve.

“There’s Imperial Amadorian Princess Elsa, Archon of Ilethlean, to the east." she replied, her cold approach to geopolitics showing itself. “Why marry off one of our scions to some distant bit player that is 50/50, when we could marry Gerard off to either a long-time ally or a more-capable minor power, both of whom are more likely to say yes?” she rhetorically asked.

“Well, you tell me, this whole marrying Gerard off to the bachelorette sovereign of a distant bit player was your whole idea.” the Lakambini retorted. "And I wouldn't call the Holy Roman Empire a bit player either. I wouldn't call Romylia, the HRE's political hegemon, a bit player either."

"And the Alfar princess and Archon would far outlive Gerard by centuries, millennia even." the Lakambini remarked, noting the Alfar lifespan in comparison with that of a human's. Why, the Amadorian Imperium's Queen Maeralya was, herself, upwards of 14,000 years old; she has seen Palmyrion's first datus, first barangays, the first cities of human civilization, and the birth and crucifixion of Jesus Christ, for goodness' sake. Marrying Gerard off to Elsa would mean that Elsa could only have him for 50, 60, 70 or so years, with only 20 of those being in his sprightly self. Granted, Gerard being a red-blooded man would mean that Elsa would be kept busy with a lot of kids, but Elsa would have to see Gerard rot and die while she remains her sprightly self across the years. "It would be a sad insult to marry off Gerard to her; by doing so, we're going to make her see Gerard rot and die while she remains youthful and sprightly. It's as heartbreaking as it sounds."

"It's not like it's the first time Datu Paubari's children married Alfar - but then, we'll try Neda first." Agatha responded, ever so simply and dryly, reinforcing and buttressing, with a slight hint of obstinacy, her move to initiate a courtship between her troubled, beloved middle child and the sovereign of a distant nation.