#sec2018

[frenchy-lu]

Summing up Eurovision:

“If you listen to all the songs from Eurovision since its creation you’ll have 73 hours of music straight”

“straight?... Well... That’s one way to put it”

[praeliumrp]

The entire wizarding community was on the edge of their seat as voting to break the historic and unexpected tie began and came to an end. Dozens of interviews were conducted, biting questions thrown at the remaining duo, heated debates and finally the opening of the polls, a ballot with only two names. Was the wizarding world ready for a werewolf undersecretary or would they follow tradition, security and familiarity with an underestimated elite? No one was really sure how this would end, all they could do was watch, weigh answers, view platforms and VOTE. 

The day rolled around where the winner would be announced, a gloomy monday morning, clouds rolling in fat with rain and thunder.  Whoever won would change the way everyone viewed the candidates for minister as well. Would it strengthen or weaken the campaigns of the men fighting for that top spot? It all depended on this result. Not every wix had immersed themselves in the technology given to them so the result was broadcast over many mediums, on the radio, through the papers, even a podcast or two as it was announced on the steps of the ministry with both Remus Lupin and Rodolphus Lestrange in attendance, their teams with them and Helena Rosier and Alecto Carrow standing just in front of the leader they had run for.

The announcer was making a grand speech about history and society but no one was listening, waiting with anticipation coursing through chilled bones. Hopefully they’d say the winner before the sky opened up and covered those too slow to react with icy rain. 

“And finally, I am honored to announce that your new Senior Undersecretary is HELENA ROSIER!!” thunderous applause, some grumbling, and practiced smiles from both sides as Helena was congratulated by Rodolphus and his team, making her way to the podium to accept. Alecto Carrow, to her credit, smiled convincingly and clapped politely, as did Remus Lupin and the Uprising members in attendance. There was no loud protesting, no booing, even if she hadn’t been who they voted for all seemed to accept with dignity the election of Helena as undersecretary. Would her win signify another for the Opposition, did it ensure Rodolphus would be minister or was Helena enough of a middle ground to give confidence in the appointment of Remus Lupin? Only time would tell.

This concludes our first event! Helena Rosier is undersecretary! Roleplay will continue as normal, threads for her win and alecto’s loss are definitely some things we want to see! We don’t have any special instructions for this one, but we are so thrilled to see where our members are driving this rp!!!

[pensameus]

Semana Científica do UNIFSA, com a apresentação de trabalhos científicos nos Grupos Temáticos. GT 5 ESTUDOS SOBRE O CORPO: O MOVIMENTO COMO PROCESSO DE DIÁLOGO SOBRE GÊNERO, IDENTIDADE E RELAÇÕES COM AS MÍDIAS. COORDENADORES Thanandra Priscila de Sousa Rocha Ferreira - UniFacema E meu amigo @fabio_efe Fábio Soares da Costa - PUCRS No Anexo II do UNIFSA. #UNIFSA #SemanaCientíficaUNIFSA #SEC2018 https://www.instagram.com/p/BoVEz3cgvIu/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=bafw60ztcxbt

[aulty]

The Summer Entertainment City at DECC - #SEC2018 #entertainment #EidalFitr #holidays #DECC #Doha #Qatar #QTA #colourful #football #FootballFanZone #rides #games #tourism #playground #ShoppingSouq #instaqatar #Aulty #Kerala #India #followme #addme #instadoha #jenipower #middleeast #instadaily #BouncyCastle (at Doha)

[amelyushkin]

#спидвей #speedway #sec2018 #sec #вятскиеполяны (at Vyatskiye Polyany)

[christinaahoney]

Just reminiscing on an absolutely phenomenal weekend last weekend the @wearenacue conference #SEC2018 . Learnt so many amazing things (including a little bit of coding- which I've avoided for so long because I was scared I wouldn't understand or be good at it- and it was actually okay- face your fears guys lol). I met a lot of great people. And realised that I'm not alone on this journey. It's so important to surround yourself with people who are trying to achieve goals and dreams as big as yours because it makes you feel unstoppable, and that's exactly how I felt last weekend. Also being interviewed about my experience really made me miss filming and had me thinking that maybe I should start YouTubing again????? Anyways you guys know that I always have a message behind every picture I post (story of my Instagram feed lol). This one is basically that I want to encourage everyone that reads this to go out of your comfort zone and go to events, try new things, network and meet new people. Doing so makes you realise 1) You are actually an amazing person (when people meet you for the first time they tend to tell you how great you are compared to people you've known for a while, who are more used to your amazingness- without sounding too arrogant). This will in turn 2) give you a confidence boost and make you realise 3) That your dreams, goals and aspirations are valid and the world needs you to fulfil them and this will 4) give you the boost you need to get on with fufilling them without holding back. A bit of a long caption but I hope this helps anyone who thinks they've got a place in their life where they are craving for more, something bigger and something better. The first step to fufilling that craving is to go out, learn new things and meet new people!!! Have a lovely rest of the weekend guys. Will have a post on my blog tomorrow morning so keep your eyes peeled. Stay amazing ❤️❤️❤️ (at Birmingham, United Kingdom)

[alvctc]

A tie; it wasn’t anywhere near what she expected. In fact, she expected Helena to win by a landslide. The people seemed to want a middle ground and perhaps she and Emmeline were too far to either end of the spectrum. Still, despite knwing Helena most her life, and the few years since she had been betrothed to Amycus, didn’t give her the confidence that Helena would do well in the position. Helena was kind, compasionate and seemed willing to help all people, Alecto also knew she was helping the Uprising but she wasn’t outright supporting them. Sure, she had to keep it secret, Amycus would literally kill her if she were discovered but she seemed to have a penchant for high risk scenarios, that didn’t sit well with Alecto. So despite all those good traits she saw all the flaws in the image Helena projected and a lot of her answers in interviews were outright lies. Alecto felt she might also be railroaded by someone like Rodolphus, someone that could and would threaten her and the people she loved to get what he wanted should she win and he become minister. If Remus won she wasn’t sure Helena could be firm enough with him, despite her medical career. There were serious red flags for Alecto with each new response and interaction she experienced with Helena. Plus, their personal argument. The woman had come at her in a pub with her complaints, playing the role of victim, putting all of the blame on Alecto and taking zero responsibility for her own choices. 

Alecto had meant to attack her brother, to call attention to his abuse in order to keep Helena safer, with a spotlight on him and such intense scrutiny he was less likely to harm her, Alecto knew that from experience. But she also felt Helena had more choices than she believed. It was 2018 for fucks sake, betrothals were arcane to most families at this point and believing she was trapped, as a capable, intelligent and apparently fierce adult was absurd to Alecto. If Helena wanted too she could free her damn self, but she actually seemed to enjoy the ----Alecto wasn’t sure what the right word here was, but again, high risk scenarios that her own choices put her in, that seemed to be what Helena thrived off of. The wizarding world might still be behind muggles in some specific areas but law enforcement, and all the friends Helena seemed to have, and the strength she displayed in openly lying to the world...it just didn’t add up to Alecto. And being verbally assaulted by her, she had immediately jumped to the worst possible conclusion, she hadn’t even bothered to ask Alecto what she’d meant by it or why she’d done it, just immediate accusation and blame. She had experienced that her entire life, not being given a chance to defend herself, immediately being guilty of whatever the crime was. Helena might have thought she was right, or righteous and she was certainly entitled to whatever she was feeling but what kind of person went right for You did this thing to me on purpose for this reason and i’m hurt, and i deserve to be hurt, so fuck you.?

It wasn’t a real secret, that the old pureblood families were still abusive, elitist sacks of shit, they were all supposed to support one another, to not put each other through the crap their families had. Alecto had given a poor choice of words, but she’d meant to threaten Amycus and to warn Helena, as if she didn’t know, that her actions were well beyond dangerous and she chose them anyway. Instead of working to remove herself from the Carrow family clutches she had provoked a man she knew would seek retribution. Turning the eyes of the world on Amycus could have kept her safe, but only if she actually wanted to be, and Alecto just wasn’t sure she did. When people remained in situations like that, though she knew abusive relationships weren’t a cakewalk to escape from, for this woman it seemed more a conscious choice than one of fear. She wasn’t even sure why Helena had decided to run, it felt odd. The girl was a Healer, a good one from what she heard and well liked but no background in politics and no public face whatsoever and when the stakes of running were so high why go ahead when others could do a better job?

Perhaps alecto figured she’d lose, after being outed publicly, it would make sense and only go to highlight how deep the prejudice was against halfbreeds and magical creatures. If she had kept her mouth shut, if she hadn’t admitted to being a werewolf, maybe she’d have won. There was really no way to know now. But even if she had won, or if she did now, the consequences of HER choices would not disappear, they’d increase but she had prepared herself for that.

Under Rodolphus as minister she wouldn’t back down from him, not ever and none of his threats would matter because she could take care of herself and she wasn’t under anybody’s thumb. Her thoughts and beliefs were her own but she wouldn’t let him pass laws that appeared to help when they truly oppressed and she’d never stop fighting for the rights of all people in their world, including the ones like him, and the ones that voted for him. ALL magical beings deserved equal rights. And if Remus won, she saw what everyone else did, that perhaps the two most important seats in government would be vulnerable once a month. But wolfsbane was becoming more effective and Severus Snape was working on a cure. Plus they would implement plans for those times and she’d make sure Remus didn’t fold under the pressure or let his personal feelings keep him from governing them all. She was the perfect candidate, the perfect undersecretary, between her background and her platform, and her ability to handle both candidates for minister she should have won perhaps. And it was wrong to believe she had only tied, or lost, because of her admittance but no one wanted to see a half breed in power, they’d do anything to avoid that, including electing a girl who was easily manipulated, who enjoyed dangerous situations and who seemed to be playing at a life she didn’t really want. Someone with that much self denial shouldn’t be given so much power. 

So Alecto found herself in the booth, voting again. It was good Emmeline had been knocked out, she’d throw them all into endless war, perhaps bring about the end of the world and she’d certainly eradicate everyone like Alecto and everyone who sympathized or supported those like her. Maybe they were all dangerous choices, filled with risk but that was how politics worked. Alecto wanted this, from the moment she’d actually stopped fighting how well she fit the role, knowing she could bring change and equality to everyone and terrified that with Helena as undersecretary they’d never get it. With this fear and determination in her bloodstream she checked the box by her own name and hoped to Merlin people were ready for someone like her.

[rodolphuslcstrange-blog]

undersecretary election || self-para

He should have been accustomed to it by now. The blinding flashes of cameras and the endless shouted questions all culminated into a maddening chaos. Ordinary citizens could enjoy their right to privacy, but the Lestranges were no ordinary lot. Merely arriving at the polls became a family affair, each member of their household present - Rabastan, their mother and father, himself, and the soon-to-be Narcissa Lestrange. Each fulfilling their patriotic duty.

As expected, and as had been the case for months now, his fiancee stood by his side, composed and dignified. But the mood between the two of them had changed ever since her revelation of her activities. Now he didn't know what to make of her. So, in a rare and uncharacteristic moment of wisdom, Rodolphus elected to instead steer clear of her warpath. He was beginning to learn that he oughtn't make assumptions about Narcissa after all - that perhaps she was more poison ivy than delicate daisy.

They carried on their charade, though, and the family made a charming picture -- all tall figures and sharp angles. A perfectly unrealistic portrait of the ideal political family.

It was in the quiet solitude of the voting booth that he could shed that facade. A frown twisted his features, and his posture, so perfect before, slouched as he leaned most of his weight on his right foot. Only now, without the flurry of pretense, could he truly consider the decision before him.

Rodolphus typically refused to even entertain the thought that he could lose. To consider that possibility meant opening the doors of self-doubt. It meant allowing the seeds of insecurity to take root and poison everything they had worked so hard for.

But what if?

What if, by some miraculously cruel trick from the hands of Fate, he lost the election? Who would rise above to carry on the torch of their cause and their idea? Who would act to protect the people - actual people, he thought - first, and not some romantic, idealistic notion of equality?

Alecto Carrow was certainly out of the question. For a moment he pondered the idea of her working under his leadership, how he could push and provoke and plot for her to reveal her true nature - to unleash the monstrous beast he now knew lived beneath her skin. But this vote could not hinge upon his success and his plans for the traitor - to her family and to their cause. If he lost and if Alecto won this election, then the Opposition's cause was as good as dead. They would have free roam and the interests of the common witch or wizard would be lost to the chaos.

Helena had a gentle heart. She was ruled - no, blinded - by her belief of the inherent goodness in people. That belief was sure to get her killed someday, while getting others killed in the meantime. Rodolphus wondered if she could make the hard calls that this position would require her to make, and whether she could live in their harsh reality. She spoke of their kindness and their empathy, of childishly romantic ideas of learning to live amongst one another. Helena was young, and while that was a point that he had stressed to be one of her greatest strengths, Rodolphus believed that she still had much more to see from this world than her nineteen years had afforded her.

But more than that... he feared Amycus's reaction in the event that Helena did triumph. Amycus, whose political ambitions he had all but smashed to the ground in his own campaign. Amycus, whose preference for violence made him a deadly friend to have - and an even deadlier foe. Rodolphus could only imagine how the eldest Carrow son would react if his fiancee won the second most powerful seat in government. Would he lash out in anger? Would he manipulate Helena even more? No. She could not win. A profession in politics would only make her more of a tempting plaything to her future husband. Her failure would protect her, he told himself.

Which brought him to the final choice - and to anyone who truly knew him, the only choice.

It was odd, how a name could evoke a flood of emotions. Of pride, of admiration, of unceasing and stubborn joy. She was a hurricane made human, devastating all in her wake. Her ruthlessness was matched only by her wit - a woman born from the ashes of tragedy instead of buried by it. His mind remembered each stark and vivid detail of the day he met her. Of the months following afterward when she and Amycus struck up some sort of partnership that he still did not understood to this day. He could recall perfectly when she chose him instead.

If he lost to Lupin, she could work to enact all they had fought for. And if he won, then together they would be unstoppable. They would bring peace and order back to their world. He had fallen in love with her vindictive anger, and her story only fueled his convictions. She deserved her revenge. She deserved to watch as deplorable half-breeds crumbled before her, poetic justice in her dark eyes as she finally settled the debt.

Blood must be paid with blood.

He dragged his quill to the box next to Emmeline's name, watching with grim eyes as the ink seeped through the parchment.