Letter Bee

The Empty Throne

Hmm, I might not join after all...

The Empty Throne

I might be interested.

Edit: Note though that I am trying to reduce the number of RPs I play...

Precipice of War - The Big Leagues of NRP (Only generous tippers need apply)

The Golden Lady, Part Four, The German Exile, Part Five, The Agriculturalist, Part Seven, Iron Lady, Part Ten

It was rainy season, and Aurelia was glad that her estate had electric lights as she sat in her room, writing with a new-fangled ballpoint pen. While she cannot send letters right now, she can draft them in preperation for the postmen once the storm had passed. In reaction to her cronies' complaining about Archie's betrayal, she had written on fine stationary:

Let Archie's treachery stand; I already have a way around it. Remember that the Constitution has the Vice-President be elected separately from the President. And unlike the Presidency, the candidates for that position are lackluster and obscure; and more importantly, the Vice-President is also Secretary of Foreign Affairs. With one stroke, I get all the power I want, with some patience, I will keep my place as Top Dog. She rejoiced in her counterstroke; just as Ludwig had established his own stake in this interplay, so had she. And yes, she had known that the exiled German geologist was behind this idea; he had even discussed this in her estate.

The next letter she drafted was a note to Henry Cornell informing him of her plans to get around Archibald's challenge, and requesting him not to do anything rash yet. The last thing the Philippines needed was foriegn interference in its affairs. That said, she did leave a caveat in her postscript. PS: If you absolutely must do something, make sure the Japanese look bad. A moment's thought, and the plantation owner added a second post-script: PPS: Archie knows how to increase tobacco yields without using foriegn fertilizers and pesticides; that's why he should be kept around. Some more thoughts, and another postscript: PPPS: If you can get us more planes, we are willing to pay; profits from our deal are manifesting.

Now for the next letter; the corrupt Worker Co-operatives in Subic Bay were making threats. Aurelia decided to write a simple reply: Your usefulness has ran out; we no longer need you.

Briefly, Aurelia thought of her son, Candido. How was the young man doing in Alaska? Was he still fascinated with 'Woolly Mammoths' like his father, or was he turning to more useful pursuits? His last letter was a bit disturbing; it showed that he was still interested in his 'Pleistocene Park' project, but wanted to fund it with mercenary work. And he was asking her for start-up funds...

----------

The rains in Manila were over for now, but Archibald Santos still questioned the need for holding the New Philippines Party Convention (Now attended by the Houists and Muslim Congress) in the city when the streets were still soaking wet at best and flooded at worst. Nevertheless, he couldn't deny it, he was having fun. Especially when Priscilla herself, in her position as New Philippines Party leader, walked over to him, a smile on her face as she said to the Agriculturalist, "I knew my people would make an adult decision once I leave them alone."

Archibald was embarrassed at how happy his Lady President, soon to be just a citizen, was. He rubbed the back of his head, before saying, "Well, I doubted I was the right man for the job, but Ludwig did a good job telling me how much my country needed me. That and I can't wait to send more trade missions to other countries; there is this really fascinating type of plant called Kola, which in turn is the source of the drink, Cola. If we can get our hands on it, we will have another product to sell!"

Priscilla nodded enthusiastically, "I will be the first to buy such goods once they are available. That said, I will probably be half-way to Africa by then."

The sound of footsteps was heard close to them as Isiah Macadangdang, the Youth League leader, went to Priscilla and embraced both her and Archibald, before saying to both: "I never anticipated such a countermove from you two! You just saved both the country and its democratic principles from that reactionary!"

As the young man's Barong Tagalog shone in the pale sunlight which shone through the window, he grinned even as his Lady President observed that he couldn't bring himself to address Aurelia by name.

Then came the Man of the Hour, Ludwig himself. Dressed in a formal dress suit of grey fabric with brass buttons, the German turned on the crude microphone and after testing it, began to give a speech:

"Greetings, people of the Philippines. When I first came to the Islands to participate in the 'Priscilline Concilliarist' experiment, I didn't know what to expect. To be honest, I still held various 'racial attitudes' about the people here and their intelligence. But then I worked with them, got to know them, and saw that despite their lack of development, simple virtues and a sense of family drove them on. And that is the prime virtue of the Filipinos: They are Family."

"And so, it is my moment of joy to announce, even as rainbows light up the sky: That Archibald Santos is the new General-Secretary of the New Philippines Party, and our Presidential Candidate!"

Applause sounded out.

Innocence Lost: An RP of Child Soldiers and Science Fantasy

@Double@Styrgwyr@Starlance@Pathfinder@Duoya@deadpixel101@TheHangedMan:

Roll call.

Innocence Lost: An RP of Child Soldiers and Science Fantasy

Guys, are you all busy?

Precipice of War - The Big Leagues of NRP (Only generous tippers need apply)

He said in a PM three days ago that he's still in the game.

@Byrd Man

Ah, I didn't know.

Precipice of War - The Big Leagues of NRP (Only generous tippers need apply)

@Keyguyperson, are you still in the game?

Precipice of War - The Big Leagues of NRP (Only generous tippers need apply)

The Lady of War, Philippines' Ally, Part Two

June 1960

She had survived, but Vinh had not. Vinh, her father's hometown, and her's too. Vinh, where she had her earliest memories. Vinh, once a bustling port town, now smoldering ashes. As Lady Trung organized the evacuation of the civilians of the city, while bringing in reinforcements and supplies, her heart felt weighted down with lead. Was there no end to this war?

The female commander looked towards the coast, where a flotilla of Sulu pirate ships had docked, bringing medical supplies, food, and tents instead of just death. Her mother-in-spirit was risking much, but said risk was mitigiated by the fact that the 'Sultan of Sulu' had been 'exiled' from the Philippines itself and now made his headquarters in Sarawak. From there, he was organizing a 'Sabahan People's Congress' to raise an army against his brother; she hoped the Sultan had learned from his mistake at Lahad Datu.

Not that she was any stranger to military blunders herself, considering how she didn't anticipate the 'Denver tactic'. Sighing, Lady Trung turned towards a messenger in the traditional shirt, vest, pants and turban of a Sulu Pirate. Said messenger, when he was in range, would then say, "Lady Trung, news has arrived from Huế; the 'Republic of Vietnam's' army has staged a coup against Ngo Dinh Diem and killed him and his entire family. It seems that bombarding their own troops at Vinh was the last straw. How did we know this? Because their navy, in response, has split; a few are returning to the French while even more, including the two destroyers Theirs and Gamelin, are defecting to your side."

The Sulu pirate smiled. "I've already sent a few of my ships to escort them; they may be just fishing boats and merchant craft with guns attached, but some of those guns can punch a hole in a larger vessel before they get brought down." Lady Trung smiled for the first time in eight days; things were looking up -

Then a raindrop fell on her nose, and a rumble of thunder followed. It seemed that the current gap between moonsoon rains had passed, and so was the opportunity to press the offensive.

"Back to the air-raid shelter; if it doesn't get flooded, of course," there might have been a mild quip in that sentence, but it went unnoticed as it would not have been funny anyway. And with that, she walked off to the converted cellar where she had her makeshift headquarters...

------

The Sulu pirate who had acted as messenger was with them in the converted cellar, which was still cramped, but less so as some of her troops chose to take shelter in what buildings remained intact after the bombing. Lady Trung, in order to distract her mind from the tedium, asked him a question, "How is Sultana Sabiha doing? And what is this I hear about the mid-term elections in the Philippines?"

"The Sultana is doing all right; she's currently managing the Sulu pearling fleet and discreetly arming said fleet with the proceeds from pearls, which is a good thing, as Mubarak Kiram of Sabah, our Sultan's misbegotten brother, has been staging further raids from Lahad Datu. All of those failed, don't worry; the Sultan is better at setting defensive works than fighting." The Sulu pirate then frowned at the mention of the Islands' mid-term elections.

"Well, let's just say that the last remaining rich...nonbelievers in the Philippines pooled together their money and promised electricity to the poor in exchange for votes. And it worked; even Muslims like the prospect of having electric lights," the Sulu pirate frowned at that.

Lady Trung sighed, "Priscilla might be my mother-in-spirit, but I think that she is being naive to believe that she can end her country's tutelage and just allow opposition forces to do what they want. Well, when that Aurelia bitch takes over and drives her out, my mother-in-spirit will have a unified Vietnam to take refuge in."

The Sulu Pirate chuckled. "You think that highly of your chances of victory? Not mocking, mind you, just that confidence is rare in a woman."

"I lead women into battle," Lady Trung pointed out. "And it's less my military skills - which are not infallible, as Vinh demonstrates - and more my enemies' tendency to self-destruct. Nevertheless, I will be the Lutalo to Priscilla's Sahle, only the both of us are bound together by more than self-interest..."

Pardon My Spirits (Yokai and Onmyouji)

Guys, I've decided to pare down the number of RPs I am playing or about to play after a personal crisis came up. Sorry to have bothered you, but I am going to have to leave this RP; I may come back, though.

Final Fantasy: Reverence [Spots Open]

I have to leave this RP.