#14th Century Mafia

[malyssmakneile]

Heck I finished the embroidery.

Now gotta wash it and then make a bag out of it

[gwarden123]

I know this is a pointless complaint. I know that they do the tapping the shoulders knighting ceremony, because it’s what medieval knights are supposed to have done. But knights did it because that was supposed to be the last time they let anyone strike them, or strike them without equal retaliation. And they don’t do the whole all-night vigil where they have to stay awake and pray in the chapel. Arguably, the vigil is the more important* part of the ceremony, since it’s the ritualistic, spiritual part. A feat of honour and control. And it’s a shame that the game doesn’t do anything to mirror that.

(I’m not actually sure how many knightly orders did the ceremony that way and how much of that is a later romantic invention. In some ways it doesn’t matter, because Star Wars is more about the pop culture idea of knights rather than the historical reality of them, but on the other hand, taking into account historical reality can be both interesting and important for a franchise so concerned with the idea of a glorious, mythical past.)

*I’m not a medievalist, I could be wrong

[flowerandblood]

The Golden Cage (2/5)

[modern! mafia boss • Aemond x female]

[warnings: angst, domination, sexual tension, fluff]

[description: Aemond works with the mob and finds a new accomplice. His attention is drawn to his daughter, trying to isolate herself as much as possible from their criminal underworld. Angst, domination kink, a lot of sexual tension.]

* English is not my first language. Please, do not repost. Enjoy! *

Previous and next chapters: Masterlist

______

Her father was furious with her, he only calmed down when she explained exactly why she had come to the club in the first place. They both quickly got into his car and drove to the hospital.

She felt her legs shaking the whole way, whoever he was, Aemond terrified her and made her shiver. She knew that he was someone very dangerous, seeing how the other guests of the club looked at him with fear.

They finally made it to the intensive care unit. The doctor told them that her grandfather's condition was stable, but would require rehabilitation. Her grandmother hugged her tightly as they entered the hospital room.

"Where have you been?!" She asked her son in pain, slapping him in the chest. "Business is more important than your family?!"

Eddard pursed his lips, looking away.

"I'm sorry. I was in a place where there was no phone service." He said quietly and humbly, clearly feeling remorse.

Her father went to the vending machine and brought them coffee and tea. They told Grandma to go home, promising to stay with Grandpa for the night.

When her grandmother left, she looked at her father with pursed lips. She saw that he was avoiding her eyes.

"What were you doing there?" She asked quietly.

Her father gave her a quick, uneasy glance, then turned back to his mug.

"I already told you. I had my business to attend to." He said, taking a sip of coffee.

"What kind of business do you have to deal with in a place like this?" She asked, annoyed that he was treating her like a stupid child.

Her father shook his head.

"The less you know, the better for you. Don't come there ever again. Got it?" He asked tensely and she looked away, angry and bitter.

She wanted to think that her father was a good, decent man, but she couldn't. She loved and cherished him, and at the same time she knew absolutely nothing about him.

After a few days, her Grandpa was able to leave the hospital. Her father used to visit them every day, helping him with his exercises. On Saturday morning, while she was eating her cereal, Eddard was getting ready to leave.

"Aemond is coming to pick up some papers, they're on the table. Give them to him if I'm not back in an hour." He said quickly and left before he could see her expression.

She swallowed loudly what was in her mouth and put down her spoon, losing all desire to eat, Harrold had the day off and she was home all alone. She didn't trust this man and she felt uncomfortable around him, so she prayed that her father would come back in time.

She was sitting on the couch in the living room, reading a book about the Polish kingdom in the 14th century, when she heard someone drive up to their driveway.

She felt a squeeze in her chest and swallowed hard hearing it, it was hot, she was wearing only an oversized T-shirt and shorts. She sighed heavily, thinking with relief that it wasn't a very inviting outfit.

She heard an impatient knock on the door and stood up, grabbing the papers her father had spoken of, walking barefoot to the door and turning the lock. She opened them wide, his eye wide open when he saw her.

His gaze quickly fled to her legs, chest and face. She pretended not to see it and extended her hand with a sheaf of papers towards him. They stared at each other in awkward silence and she wondered why he didn't just take it from her.

"Where are your manners, birdie. Won't you invite me in?" He asked dryly.

"I took you for a person who hates wasting his time." She said cautiously, looking at him expectantly, her hand still outstretched to him. He looked at her intensely, the corner of his mouth twisting into an ironic smile.

"I happen to be in the mood for coffee." He said low.

She swallowed hard and looked to the side, dropping her hand helplessly. She stepped aside, allowing him to enter and he did it without haste, slowly taking off his leather jacket.

She closed the door behind him, walked through the living room to the kitchen, placing papers on the table as she went, and opened the cupboard searching for a cup. She watched, looking across the bar, as he entered their living room, sat down on the couch, and picked up her book, opening it where she had left off.

"What kind of coffee will you drink?" She asked dispassionately and calmly, trying to sound at least a little warm.

"Black. Two teaspoons. No milk. No sugar." He said matter-of-factly.

It looked like he was actually reading her book.

She put water in the kettle, glanced at him, and sighed softly, her heart was pounding like crazy.

She prayed that her father would come by now and take over this conversation.

When the water boiled, she poured the mug and, with a heavy heart, walked back into the living room, placing it on the table in front of him.

"Thank you." He said dryly, not taking his eye off her book.

She pursed her lips as she looked at him, thinking that she couldn't just go to her room and leave him alone, so whether she wanted to or not, she had to sit with him now and watch over him. She sat down in the soft armchair next to him, drawing her legs under her buttocks, making herself comfortable, her whole body tense.

They sat in silence for a while, only the sound of him turning the pages in the room, she was surprised to see that he seemed to be drawn into what the author had written. He took a sip of his coffee once in a while, not stopping reading, and she thought that if she wouldn't bother him, maybe he'd leave her alone.

He turned the book over suddenly, placing his finger where he had left off, apparently he was checking the author of the entire publication.

"I'll borrow it." He announced calmly. She looked at him surprised, her mouth parted slightly.

"I… I need it for the exam." She said looking at him uncertainly, she didn't know if it was a good idea to say no to a man like him, but she wasn't about to fail the semester because of him.

He looked at her intensely for a moment.

"And the exam is when?" He asked, as if he wanted her to finish his sentence. She looked down on her knees.

"On Monday." She said softly. He rocked the book slightly left and right as he looked at her.

"Then I'll come pick it up on Tuesday." He said throwing the book on the table. "I used to study history myself."

He said indifferently, taking a sip of coffee, looking at the book absently. She pursed her lips, wondering if she should investigate further. There was silence between them.

"And what happened then?" She finally asked, unable to contain herself, she saw him smirk at her question as he pulled cigarettes and a lighter from his pocket.

"Many things." He grunted as he took the cigarette to his lips, intending to light it with his lighter. She stood up at once and reached out to take the cigarette from his mouth, but he gripped her wrist tightly, glaring at her warningly.

"Careful, little birdie." He said low and dark. She felt her heart pounding wildly, her chest tightening. She thought she wouldn't be intimidated by a stranger in her own home.

"No smoking inside our house. Where are your manners?" She asked, looking at him with a frown, mimicking what he said in a way. He looked at her intensely, his face completely frozen.

He finally took the cigarette out of his mouth with his free hand, the other still holding her wrist. Seeing this she wanted to go back to her seat, but he wouldn't let her, holding her tighter. He looked at her expectantly.

"Apologize."

Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Excuse me?"

His lips pressed into a thin line.

"Apologize."

She felt the tension between them could be cut with a knife. She looked at him defiantly.

"No."

She jumped in fear as he stood up suddenly, his hand gripping her jaw tightly, his other hand tightening around her wrist. He looked at her as if he wanted to kill her, towering her, their faces millimeters apart.

"What you did was impolite. I am your guest. Apologize." He hissed through clenched teeth.

She stared at him in horror and figured out that she didn't care. Maybe if he did something to her, her father would finally end his businesses with him.

"What you are doing is impolite. You barge into my house uninvited, want to take my book without my permission, and try to smoke without asking if you can." She said, breaking free from his grip, her chest was heaving fast.

He blinked at her, his jaw clenched tight, running his tongue over his mouth, looking at her thoughtfully.

"May I ask you for this huge favor, to lend me your book after your exam?" He asked ironically, articulating each word slowly and carefully. She knew that he was furious.

"No." She said right away. "You don't deserve it." She said angrily, grabbing her book and walking towards the stairs, leaving him alone, not caring what he do with it.

As soon as she entered her room, she heard a loud slam of the front door, and after a moment the sound of the engine starting, the screech of tires.

She lay in her room, continuing to read her book, enraged. She thought that he was a brutal, ironic, shameless man, who thought he could do anything to anyone. She didn't know who he was and she didn't care.

She had no intention of serving him or allowing herself to be humiliated in her own home, let him thrash herself like an animal. She thought he expected culture from her, and he had no respect for anyone or anything himself.

After a while, she heard her father enter the house. He ran up the stairs and opened the door to her room.

"What have you done to him?" He asked, looking at her incredulously. She blinked, not understanding what he meant.

"Who?" She asked innocently. Her father rolled his eyes.

"He's so pissed that he won't even talk to me on the phone." He said putting his hands on his hips. His daughter frowned.

"He was rude and insolent. He grabbed me by the jaw like some animal when I pointed it out. I don't want to see him here again." She said, going back to reading. Her father sighed heavily, running his hand over his face.

"He's not a person you can just chase away from our home." He said impatiently. His daughter looked at him angrily.

"Why? Because you're doing business with a man who will now kidnap me for revenge? Beat me? Rape me?" She asked furiously, tears of anger welling up in her eyes, her lip trembled, she turned her gaze towards the window, trying not to cry.

"Mother doesn't want me. With you are only secrets and dark deals. It's never safe. I have nowhere to run!" She almost screamed helplessly without looking at him, her breath and voice ragged and trembling.

She covered her mouth with a shaking hand, clutching her book to her. Her father wanted to approach her, but she moved as far away from him as possible.

"Leave me alone." She said in a trembling voice, without looking at him.

After a while, she heard him leave quietly and close the door behind him. Only then did she allow herself to truly cry.

____

Aemond Taglist:

(bold means I couldn't tag you)

@its-actually-minicika @notnormalthings-blog @avgdusterfan @nikstrange @zenka69 @bellaisasleep @k-y-r-a-1 @random-ocity @g-cf2020 @melsunshine @opheliaas-stuff @chainsawsangel @iiamthehybrid @tinykryptonitewerewolf @namoreno @snh96 @malfoytargaryen @qyburnsghost @aemondsdelight @persephonerinyes @fan-goddess @sweethoneyblossom1 @aemondsfavouritebastard @watercolorskyy @astral-blossoms @randomdragonfires @amirawritespoorly @apollonshootafar @bellameshipper

Others: @okfashionista @toodlesxcuddles

[mermaidsirennikita]

Share some stalking heroes 👀

HAPPY TO.

Historical:

Obviously, Valentine Napier from Elizabeth Hoyt's Duke of Sin, He Who Lives in Walls.

Mick Trewlove does a bit of stalking when he's staking out how to steal Aslyn (in order to ruin his half-brother's life) in Beyond Scandal and Desire by Lorraine Heath.

Magnus literally hunts Melissa down like a dog in S.M. LaViolette's Melissa and The Vicar (after she leaves him).

Shadowheart by Laura Kinsale has an EXTREMELY stalkery, villainous hero and I love the degree to which he's just a creep lol. Like, the heroine is all "... how does he know these things" and the answer is "baby girl, he's been watching you sleep probably". TW: the first encounter is noncon (forced marriage consummation). Kinsale is very true to 14th century approaches to consent, but Elena does very much take the reins in the rest of it.

In a different way, the preceding novel (set 10 years before) For My Lady's Heart is also a stalkery hero book. The hero is a knight whose wife left him to join a convent (lmao) and when he's dropping her off there he sees this beautiful (married) princess who notices that he's attracted to her and calls him out... but when he unexpectedly has to give up ALL his money in order to commit his wife to the order--a thing he doesn't want to do!--the princess does him a solid and gives him some cash to get on his feet. And as a result, he becomes obsessed with her, pledges himself to her, and serves from afar in her name for like. 13 years. Then they finally meet again and it turns out she's kind of a bitch! (In the best way.)

Pippa and the Prince of Secrets by Grace Callaway, of course, has Cull, who watches Pippa while she's out doing her vigilante shit and is like, ready to run interference and who knows maybe smell her hair.

Duke of Midnight by Elizabeth Hoyt of course has the truly insane and stalkery Maximus. Like Valentine, he refuses to call his heroine by her actual name lmao.

The Wolf and The Widlflower by Stacy Reid. Wolf Duke Duke of Wolverton is obviously a duke who lived with wolves for years, and after he realizes that his new shrink, a young man, is actually a woman in disguise (a fact he realizes when he SMELLS. HER. WOMANLY. SCENT. IYKWIM.) he's determined to catch her out lol.

Hotel of Secrets by Diana Biller has a hero who's admittedly a literal spy, but he does start lowkey stalking the heroine because he feels CRIME MAY BE AFOOT. And then he walks in on her... doing things alone.... and he goes "don't stop" and I lost my mind.

Again the Magic by Lisa Kleypas gives me this vibe because McKenna is so focused on revenge against Aline that it basically turns into this obsession with everything about her and what it takes to break her down. Like, McKenna gives strong murder vibes and I do find it hot.

The Dragon and The Pearl by Jeannie Lin gives me this vibe because he's like... keeping her captive for political reasons but you can literally see on the page when it starts to shift from politics to obsession lol.

Contemporary-ish:

Mafia Madman by Mila Finelli. I mean, Enzo watches Gia through security cameras while keeping her in a cage after setting up a faked death by bombing a bar after he buys in an Aperol spritz. Peak stalking.

Mafia Target--the book after Mafia Madman, m/m assassin/target... Alessio is literally stalking Giulio for months before they actually meet and he's obsessed with him and it's AMAZING.

All of Kresley Cole's Gamemaker books involve stalking but The Player is maybe the most intensely stalkery book of all time. I can't even tell you how. That would give it away. Trust and believe. This is a STALKER.

Sierra Simone writes some very possessive heroes. Mark from her Lyonesse series, though (starting with Salt in the Wound) gives strong stalker vibes. Partly because he clearly knows way more about Tristan and Isolde than either of them realize and has known it for a while lol. Also, he literally skulks around ruining people's lives, so. That's just WHO HE IS. And I do love it.

Paranormal:

Just shouting out the fact that every single IAD hero is a stalker, but special notes for Lothaire of Lothaire (on EVERY LEVEL, follows Ellie around for years before the book even begins, turns invisible to follow her around in his apartment, watches her from the shadows, has to carry her lingerie around in his pocket so he can deeply inhale it to cope); Cade from Dark Desires after Dusk (followed Holly around for years before the book began... again lmao); Trehan from Shadow's Claim (the MISTS!!!!).

Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison has a heroine who steals a penny from a dragon shifter's lair, and he literally hunts her down like a dog lmao.

[deadpresidents]

Latest books you have been reading?

Apparently I haven't shared the books I've been recently reading since the beginning of November. Usually someone reminds me to share my reading list every few weeks, so I think someone should be fired for dereliction of duty.

•Life After Power: Seven Presidents and Their Search for Purpose Beyond the White House (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) by Jared Cohen -- Just released on February 13th, this is the follow-up to Cohen's excellent 2019 book, Accidental Presidents: Eight Men Who Changed America (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO).

•Borgata: Rise of Empire: A History of the American Mafia (BOOK | KINDLE) by Louis Ferrante.

•Soldier of Destiny: Slavery, Secession, and the Redemption of Ulysses S. Grant (BOOK | KINDLE) by John Reeves.

•The Border: A Journey Around Russia Through North Korea, China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Norway, and the Northeast Passage (BOOK | KINDLE) by Erika Fatland -- A couple of months ago, I mentioned how much I enjoyed reading Erika Fatland's Sovietistan, and I was equally pleased with The Border, which has a subtitle nearly as long as the Russian border that she wrote about traveling around.

•Unruly: The Ridiculous History of England's Kings and Queens (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) by David Mitchell.

•The Fall of Eagles: The Death of the Great European Dynasties by C.L. Sulzberger.

•George V: Never a Dull Moment (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) by Jane Ridley.

•Adams and Calhoun: From Shared Vision to Irreconcilable Conflict (BOOK | KINDLE) by William F. Hartford.

•God Save Benedict Arnold: The True Story of America's Most Hated Man (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) by Jack Kelly.

•Justinian: Emperor, Soldier, Saint (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) by Peter Sarris.

•Magic: The Life of Earvin "Magic" Johnson (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) by Roland Lazenby.

•Oracle of Lost Causes: John Newman Edwards and His Never-Ending Civil War (BOOK | KINDLE) by Matthew Christopher Hulbert.

•Mirrors of Greatness: Churchill and the Leaders Who Shaped Him (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) by David Reynolds.

•Mansfield and Dirksen: Bipartisan Giants of the Senate (BOOK | KINDLE) by Marc C. Johnson.

•The World That Wasn't: Henry Wallace and the Fate of the American Century (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) by Benn Steil.

•Wide Awake: The Forgotten Force That Elected Lincoln and Spurred the Civil War (BOOK | KINDLE) by Jon Grinspan -- Available for pre-order now and will be published on May 14th.

[christinataft]

Hollywood Fixers Not Mafia Movie - Molly Bloom/Jessica Chastain, Ori Spado, Amber Heard, Mandy Moore "Chasing Liberty." NEW MOVIE.

Hollywood Fixer Ori Spado. Jessica Chastain/Molly Bloom Rejects Fixer Paul Barresi knowing debt of $2.8million ($10 million Amber Heard Playboy Club "Mob" Scenes). Memory blackout - at her high-rise building [insert fear]. Anthony Pellicano double crossed by Edit Richard DiSabatino. Security for Molly had her meet with the "New Jersey muscle" but she knew more sophistication. Paul says he wants an Albertini drink. Ori Spado helped out Naomi Campbell (Viper Room guest). Scenes interviewing a Witness to an assault by his friends at a West Hollywood Nightclub. Muse song: "Mob Madness." Molly's Game, Playboy Club Show Scenes.... "Chasing Liberty" Movie, To the rebel of the presidential family. [insert fear, falsus in uno omnibus claim Victoria Gotti photos or said audio tape] Victoria Taft did NOT witness a mob murder by the Gottis Ori Spado (of the "undergata" near Naples) Mocks: "Don't work quickly" Matthew Goode with a tea cup: "A job for the future." Eddie Cibrian: "I was their (legal) fixer"... "The next time you say you were mobbed in a back alley, don't tell Caroline.".. "How do they know?" Muse's Song Covers Up certain sections: to speak with the Witness directly, and "Relatable" Enjoying Life by Mandy Moore (Talent Agent is: WME's Jessica Kovacevic) in interview. FULL INTERVIEWS: Accidental "Mob Boss Of Hollywood" - Ori Spado - by Sally Colón https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-63tGhzDes Playboy Club Show TV Series starring Eddie Cibrian and Amber Heard: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pla... Bruce Hickey's Pilot Presentation with Cassidy Freeman interviewing a Witness at a West Hollywood Nightclub: https://vimeo.com/311363928 Mandy Moore's Chasing Liberty Movie: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chasing_Liberty Naomi Campbell always seems to be at the scenes and introducing people. Educational and Learning Use Only. Owned by rightful producers. #Movie #MandyMoore #JessicaChastain #Witness #AmberHeard

Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Angelina Jolie, Drew Barrymore | 60 Minutes Full Episodes

Drew Barrymore's Family has been in Acting/Creativity since the 14th century...

(Years in 1300s)! Actress Jennifer Lawrence in this collage in 2018 was with several friends having fun at her house and the editor claimed facetious over who is the artist of a painting!

As if! It's good to socialize.

[donfadrique]

For the fanfic ask meme: J, M, Z :-)

J: Write or describe an alternative ending to [insert fic].

Hehe, it was in the Zorro fandom for the first  time that I wrote an alternate ending to my fanfic :) A reader asked me 'what would happen if...'—and I wrote an alternate ending. But if the original fanfic, my main Zorro fanfic, 'The Curse of Monterrey', is supposed to be long (it's in progress), then 'The Whip' is short. In fact, this is an etude. I'm very happy when readers understand why I wrote this whipping scene without sex, why Zorro lost his temper—I always liked to read (and write) psychology genre (and liked passion, emotions). And in the original, this little fanfic is written in a rather poetic style, I usually don’t write like that now.

And I think this is not the first such experiment ;)

M: Got any premises on the back burner that you’d care to share?

I'm not sure I've understood the question correctly, so please correct me if I'm saying something wrong. If I'm not mistaken, I should talk about my stories/drafts/ideas that I don't write now because I write Zorro fanfics.

So, I have 4 long unfinished stories, three original ones (the first one is partly inspired by the Hornblower TV series, but it mostly about our time and the time of William Shakespeare, the second tells about the events of the Napoleonic wars in France, Europe and the Russian Empire, and the third, in the genre of mystical realism, at the beginning is similar to  'Dangerous Summer' by Hemingway, that is, in its first part there is a lot about bullfighting, but this story goes back to the time of the plague pandemic in Italy in the 14th century, and I was inspired by the French fairy tale 'The Raven King' for my major character) and one AU-crossover (Mikhail Bulgakov's novel 'The Master and Margarita' about an alternative image of the devil + the film 'Van Helsing' with Hugh Jackman + angels, demons, gods, historical figures).

I also have plots for the story about America in 1931 (mafia, arms trade, love triangle), the post-apocalyptic one a bit in the style of Stephen King's 'Dark Tower' and the plot of AU fanfic about Vlad Dracula, in which all parts of the franchise, including Van Helsing (2004) are mixed.

Oh, and I also have an unfinished fantasy story that is a gift to a friend of mine, but I have not published it anywhere *facepalm*

Z: Major character death–do you ever write/read it? Is there a character whose death you can’t tolerate?

Yes, I definitely read about it and one of my major characters will die when I finish my original historical novel. (When I wrote short stories or fan stories in medium size, I always had only one story in progress and I always finished it. But when I began to write long stories... :)

For now I can't tolerate the death of Captain Monastario, perhaps :) And Diego's death too, of course.

[freyalorelei]

There's a reason that "14th century mafia" is a term in the SCA: it's the most flattering era of clothing for men and women (and also non-binary, but that wasn't really a separate category in medieval Europe). They did leave out my favorite accessory, the bycocket (aka Robin Hood hat), which was fashionable throughout the 13th to 16th centuries.

Love the shoutout to my RL buddy Opus Elenae. https://youtube.com/@OpusElenae Go check out her channel! She does a lot of historybounding and literary cosplay as well.

If you’re on mobile, you may have to click on the images for better quality!

Plain text version with image descriptions is under the cut.

Please note that the image descriptions will be reflecting what I am trying to convey with the photo, rather than the total look of the photo itself. For example if I am trying to describe a dress, the hair colour of the person wearing it will be ignored. This is to reduce the total word count of the descriptions, because I have a lot of images to describe. On this note, I have also streamlined the information as much as possible.

[Plain text description:]

First slide: Mariota’s Guide to 14th Century (Medieval) Women’s Clothing

This slideshow is brought to you by @the-merry-otter on tumblr

ALRIGHT LISTEN UP MOTHERS AND FUCKERS. I’m bored, so today we’re going to be talking about medieval clothing. Specifically fourteenth century English clothing because that’s what I’m good at. (Source: trust me bro I’m a reenacter). Also this is all female stuff - sorry masc leaning folks, I’ll get to you someday!

Disclaimer: this is not completely comprehensive or nuanced in the slightest, it’s just a quick overview guide. Do your own research xoxo.

[Image ID: to the left is a picture of a woman in a light blue dress and a pink hood gazing out at a lake. The hood has a skirt that falls over her shoulders, and there is along thin pipe attached to the back of the hood that dangles to her knees. The edges of the hood are decorated with burgundy crochet. The picture is captioned “beautiful, stunning, gorgeous, literal goals.” End ID]

[Image ID: To the right is a picture of a typical renn faire outfit. It has a white poofy underdress, a black corset, and a brown skirt. There is a red cross drawn over the image. It is captioned “very pretty, but definitely not medieval sorry!” End ID]

Second slide: Underwear (ooh la la)

Now with nasty pocketses

[Image ID: a picture of gollum, from lord of the rings, snarling in disgust. There is a line in The Hobbit where he asks Bilbo what he has in his nasty little pocketses, which is what I am referencing. End ID]

So, corsets, stays, and shapewear in general kind of wasn’t a thing yet. So your underwear was a shift, which was awesome because it was also your pajamas. They were usually made of linen, though some might have been made of cotton is you were rich.

[Image ID: A plain white linen garment laid out flat on the floor. It is a dress that hangs to about knee length, with elbow length sleeves. An arrow points to it with text reading “this is a shift”. End ID]

There is evidence for supportive shifts for busy support, like this one from the fourteenth century!

[Image ID: a second shift, worn by a female presenting person. It is laced up the front, and is a lot tighter and more fitted, especially around the bust. It has straps instead of sleeves. End ID]

There’s also this bra like fragment found in Austria, but that is a whole debate so.

[Image ID: A bra-like garment fitted to a mannequin. It seems to be made out of white linen, coloured with time. The left cup is damaged, and overall the garment looks incomplete. End ID]

Then, over the shift, yet under your main dress went your pockets, which tied on at the waist. Your dresses had slits do that you could get at your stuff without flashing everyone lol.

[Image ID: A picture of medieval pockets. They are upside down teardrop shaped, but the point is flat and is part of the waist ties. There are slits in the side up the top to access the inside. They are cream coloured with bright floral embroidery. The caption reads “these bad boys can fit so many cool pebbles.” End ID]

[Image ID: A young female-presenting person wearing medieval clothing. She has her hands in the pocket slits of her dress. They are just below hip height. End ID]

Third slide: your dress, or the cotehardie. (Pronounced coat hardy)

Over the shift you put your dress, sometimes referred to as either a kirtle or cotehardie. 14th century people started actually form-fitting their clothes more than previous centuries. These needed fastenings, which were mostly lacings (spiral lacings specifically), or buttons made of either metal or cloth, used at the front of the dress from neckline to waist, and on the sleeves from elbow to wrist, with exceptions of course.

(Sidenote: fuck sleeves, all my homies hate sleeves)

[Image ID: a woman in a warm yellow dress to the left of the text. The dress is constructed simply, with a single piece of fabric used for the length of the body so there is no waist seam. The skirt is widened by inserting four triangles, one each at the front and back, and one on each side. The front has buttons made of the same fabric as the dress, that go down to the belt at the waist. The sleeves have similar buttons from wrist to elbow, on the outside of the arm. The woman is also wearing a liripipe hood. End ID]

Dresses seemed to be mostly wool, though I often use linen for mine because I live in Australia and it’s hot in summer and I don’t want to die. Most often they weren’t lined (that is what the underwear was for).

[Image ID: in the top left of the slide is a woman wearing a green woollen dress. It is constructed the same as the previous image, except it has spiral lacing on the front instead of buttons. The sleeves are fastened by three small buttons. She is wearing a simple and veil. End ID]

[Image ID: the top right of the slide shows a woman in a teal coloured dress, similar to the one before. This one has metal buttons at the sleeves and down the front. She wears a veil only. End ID]

The neckline of these dresses was usually round or an oval shape, and some manuscripts have it so wide that it falls off the shoulders slightly.

[Image ID: A photo of a medieval manuscript, depicting six medieval ladies in a row holding hands. The neckline of their dresses is wide enough that the tops of their shoulders are visible. The image is captioned “me and the girls on a Friday night”. End ID]

Clothing was a lot more colourful than the movies would have us believe lol.

[Image ID: Three women, each in dresses similar to the ones before. To the left is a forest green, the middle one is bright saffron yellow, and the one to the right is a vibrant tomato red. End ID].

Fourth slide: Dress two; electric boogaloo

[Image ID: Merry and Pippin from lord of the rings. Above them, meme text reads “we’ve had one, yes”, and then continues below with “but what about second dress?”. End ID]

You could also wear an overdress, which was usually of a contrasting colour and had shorter sleeves.

As well as fashion, they would have been used for extra warmth, and so were usually made of wool.

[Image ID: a woman in a maroon coloured dress like the ones on the previous slide. The sleeves stop just above her elbow, revealing a blue dress underneath. End ID].

Common people would have only owned a couple of different outfits, as fabric was super expensive.

[Image ID: various pictures of women with examples of an overdress. They are all constructed the same as the overdress, but with shorter sleeves that reveal a second sleeve of a different colour underneath. End ID]

A common late thirteenth to mid fourteenth century overdress was the ladies surcoat, which had big holes instead of sleeves.

Belts would have been worn underneath the surcoat.

[Image ID: three photos of women wearing surcoats. They are normal dresses, except there is a large D shape cut out of either side, leaving a large hole from the shoulder to below the hip. They have no buttons down the front. One of the surcoats is made of red brocade, and obviously belongs to an upper-class impression. End ID].

Fifth slide: Hair and headwear

Hair was worn braided and pinned up, with a coif (cap) and either a wimple or veil, or both. The wimple and/or veil were usually pinned to the coif, or secured on a band of fabric around the head.

Veils would be either oval, or a D shape. Wimples were rectangular. A wimple goes under the chin and a veil goes over your head.

[Image ID: a close up of a woman wearing a wimple. It is made of a light fabric, likely silk. The wimple wraps under her chin and is secured at the back of her head. A narrow band of fabric or possibly leather circles her brow, which would have been used to secure the wimple. End ID.]

[Image ID: A picture of YouTuber Morgan Donner wearing a wimple and veil. The wimple wraps under her chin, and the veil is placed on top of her head, draping down past her shoulders. It does not cover her face. Loops of hair are visible either side of her face. End ID]

All the headwear would be made of linen, thin wool, or silk, depending on class. The veils could also be made really fancy by ruffling the front edge or by attaching pearls.

[Image ID: a woman in a wimple and half-circle veil. The edge of the veil that frames her face is elaborately ruffled. The edge of a coif is visible under the veil. End ID]

I ride the bus in my medieval gear a lot because of events, and way too many people think I’m Amish because of my veil. It’s honestly just funny at this point. I should keep a tally.

[Image ID: a woman wearing a St Birgitta’s coif, pinning a wimple at the back of her head. The coif is a simple white linen cap that encloses the head, with a line of lace down the centre of the head. It is secured with a loop of linen around the head. End ID].

[Image ID: a picture of someone with plaits that have been pinned around the head like a crown. It is captioned “you could also pin your hair up like this”. End ID]

Working women might have just wrapped their head in a scarf instead, fuck this fancy shit right?

[Image ID: a woman in a headscarf that has been twisted and then looped around the front of her head. It is captioned #girlboss. End ID].

Fake braids were a thing! Blonde hair in particular was very fashionable, and bleaching or fake braids were sometimes used to achieve that.

[Image ID: two fake braids made of a coarse fibre. They are blonde in colour, and are looped like a hairstyle seen on many of the reenactors. They have white ribbons attached to the top end to help secure them to the head. End ID]

Sixth slide: Cloaks and hoods

These would have actually been two seperate garments! Integrated hoods on cloaks didn’t actually become a thing until the … seventeenth century or so? (Citation needed).

Cloaks were a lot simpler than the typical cloak we think of nowadays. Often they were just a rectangle of wool, or by the fourteenth century, sometimes a half circle.

They were almost always wool as far as I know, and were generally fastened by a cloak pin or buttons.

[Image ID: a metal cloak pin. It is a circle with a small opening at one point. A long pin is attached via a loop, allowing it to slide along the pin. It can fit through the opening in the circle. To use one, you would gather the fabric on the pin, and then slot the circle over the pin and then turn it, so the fabric is trapped between circle and pin. This is much easier to demonstrate than describe. The picture is captioned “these bad boys are the real MVP’s though”. End ID].

[Image ID: a diagram showing the construction of the bocksten man cloak. It is a half circle pieced together by laying strips of fabric together. In the centre of the flat side, a half circle is cut out for the neck. End ID]

[Image ID: a reconstruction of the bocksten man cloak. It is orange wool, and lined with an off-white linen. It is fastened on the right shoulder by three fabric buttons. It would fall to just above the wearers knees. End ID].

Women’s hoods could be short and open, or with a longer skirt and closed with buttons. Liripipe (pronounced leery-pipe) hoods were named for the tube of fabric that dangled off the back of your hood, varying in length. As well as a fashion statement, it could also be wrapped around the neck like a scarf if it got cold.

Hoods were nearly always wool I’m pretty sure, though they were often lined with linen, silk, or cotton.

[General description: a short liripipe hood would be open, with the bottom only reaching your shoulders. They were made from a single piece of fabric that would wrap over your head, with the seam down the centre back of your head. It was flared at the bottom by inserting triangular gores. At the front edge near your face there would be a strip jutting out that went from one side of your chin, over your head, and down to the other side. This would usually be folded back, revealing the lining colour. The bottom of the hood could either just reach the base of your neck, or reach down to just past your shoulders. The former would usually be open at the front, with fastenings optional. The latter option with the longer skirt was almost always able to be fastened up the front with fabric buttons. The liripipe itself was a thin flat tube of fabric fastened at the centre top back of the hood. End ID]

Fun fact, 90% of why I decided to reenact the fourteenth century specifically was because of liripipe hoods.

Seventh slide: Feet (not in a weird way)

Hose were used to keep your legs warm. For women they were usually knee height, and fastened just underneath it with a garter or tie.

[Image ID: a single light yellow hose, belted beneath the knee with a leather garter. The seam is down the centre back of the leg going all the way to your toes, and then around the top of the foot in front of where it connects to your leg. End ID]

Hose usually would have been made from wool, and were cut on the diagonal (bias) of the fabric to get the maximum stretch possible from the fabric. They still were looser than modern tights are though!

Knitted socks were also a thing I’m pretty sure, but I don’t know enough about them. Sorry!

Shoes were simple, usually referred to as turnshoes because of how they were made. Fun fact: the lack of foot support means that turnshoes are similar to going barefoot in terms of how you walk. Some reenactors love it, some hate it, and some are indifferent lol.

[Image ID: a pair of turnshoes made of dark leather. They have a strap that would fasten around the front of the ankle, similar to some modern shoes. The toes are pointed, and it is captioned “pointy toes were fashionable, especially for men”. End ID].

Because shoes were really hard to waterproof, (ask me how I know), and didn’t have solid soles, wooden pattens (pronounced pat-tens) were worn to keep you off the ground while outside.

[Image ID: a person wearing a pair of wooden pattens over their shoes, standing on a drenched cobblestone street. They are wooden platforms with an archway on the bottom, and are attached to the foot with leather straps around the toe, ankle, and around the back of the heel, similar to modern sandals. The image is captioned “ye old crocs”. End ID].

[Image ID: a woman’s leg with the skirts drawn back, revealing the bright yellow hose underneath. It is fastened below the knee with a strip of fabric. She wears a turnshoe with a buckled strap. End ID]

Eighth slide: Accessories

These are a few other items that might have made up a working woman’s outfit.

Aprons would definitely have been used while working. One were just a large rectangle of cloth tucked into the belt, some were smocked to draw in the fabric. They generally stopped at the waist.

[Image ID: a woman in a red dress, with a very light brown apron. It is smocked at the top, and is attached around the waist with a string. End ID].

Pretty broaches and other jewellery existed! There was cheaper stuff made of pewter for the lower classes.

[Image ID: five gold brooches, studded with different jewels and pearls. End ID].

They had a funny sense of humour as well… and they weren’t all prudes.

[Image ID: a pewter broach of a cat carrying a dick and balls in its mouth. It is captioned “you can actually buy these. I know a website.” End ID].

Eating knives were worn on the belt, though it is debated whether women would have carried one. I do because I’m a modern fourteenth century woman.

[Image ID: a small knife with a wooden handle, laying on top of a leather sheath that has been dyed red. End ID]

Belts are a curiously debated topic. Some people reckon that women would have definitely worn them, others say they they weren’t used by women much at all. As far as I know there are depictions of both, so choose what you’d prefer. They are great for hanging stuff on I gotta say.

[Image ID: a coiled up brown leather belt. The buckle and tip are a gold metal, and it has decorative flower studs along its length in the same metal. End ID]

Pretty little purses would have probably been worn. I don’t know enough about them to say anything else though.

[Image ID: two different pictures of reenactors wearing purses. One is brocade and the other a red fabric. They are in the shape of an upright triangle, and both have five tassels hanging from the bottom edge. They hang off the belt with long drawstrings. Unrelated to the purses, one of the women is wearing a gorgeous orange liripipe hood, that is embroidered and dagged on the bottom skirt edge. End ID]

Ninth slide: Fancy Shmancy

There is a lot I haven’t covered, especially in the realm of the upper classes. Here is some of what has been missed. (Buckle up because this section is very image heavy. I will be as concise as possible).

Heraldic dresses! If you are interested, go check out Morgan Donners video on YouTube.

[Image ID: a picture of Morgan Donner in her heraldic dress. One half of the dress is red, and the other is green, except for where it has been cut out by white with an ermine pattern on it. Her hair is unbound and uncovered, except by a small flower crown. It is captioned “Morgan bestie do your hair properly :(“. End ID]

[Image ID: a drawing of two women in heraldic dresses. The first has a blue right half with a yellow printed design. The top left of the dress is yellow with a blue fish, and the bottom left is red with a white fish. Her train is held by the second lady, who’s dress is blue on the right, and white with green birds on the left. End ID].

Fancy headpieces for rich bitches only.

[Image ID: a reenactor doing a high class impression. Her hair is bound up in Pearl studded hair nets on either side of her head like modern earmuffs, with a spiked coronet around her brow. She has a sheer silk wimple on. End ID]

Fancy dagged edged on hoods, sleeves, dresses, etc.

[Dagging description: where the edge has been cut away to make decorative dangly bits. One hood has red leaves around the bottom edge for example, and another just has a pretty geometric pattern. End description].

Brocade gowns! So pretty!

[Image ID: several different pictures of high class ladies wearing brocade gowns of different colours. These are similar to the wool dresses we were looking at earlier, but with longer trains, and often long draping sleeves. There is even a brocade surcoat. End ID]

Fancy sleeves!

[Image ID: examples of different long sleeves. On some, the sleeve is normal until the elbow, and then it falls away to a long strip of fabric that dangles to the ground. Not mentioned on the slide itself is tippets, which was a band of (usually white) fabric just above your elbow, with a thin strip of the same fabric that draped down to the floor. End ID].

Dresses that were two different colours.

[Image ID: examples of dresses that are exactly like the earlier wool dresses, except they are literally half one colour and half another. The manuscript example is a blue and red overdress with fancy sleeves, and the reenactor example is a yellow and green underdress with a red hood. End ID]

And of course, some of the funky fun fabric choices.

[Image ID: a manuscript depiction of a woman carrying a dead bird. Her hood is red and white striped horizontally, and her dress is dark and light blue striped, also horizontally. End ID].

[Image ID: a manuscript depicting a woman talking to a second lady in a chair. The dress on the first has horizontal stripes of white, red, yellow, and blue, repeated, and the second has horizontal stripes of white, pink, and light blue. Interestingly enough the latter colours are very similar to the transgender flag which would make a very cool dress project. Hmm. End ID].

Tenth (and final) slide: In summery

(Small red text below title reads “I hope you have enjoyed” with a drawn smiling face).

Dis you notice all the “usually” “commonly” and “often’s” in there? That’s because I cannot possibly illustrate everything that we know of the time in only ten slides, nor do I know everything, so I have just tried to show what seems to be the most depicted.

Note: I probably even got some stuff wrong by the way.

If you’re interested in this stuff, I really recommend doing your own research now! Hopefully I have given you a good overview of what a fourteenth century womens outfit might have looked like, so now you can go fourth and know what you’re looking for.

If you have any questions about costuming, reenactment, or anything else, feel free to contact me!! I respond on Timblr decently fast ☺️

[Image ID: a reenactor sitting on a log, staring into the distance with a slight smile. She is wearing a grey-blue dress, belted at the waist with a small purse dangling from it. She has a dark blue cape and a light blue hood, that has fallen back to show a ruffled white veil. There is a pewter broach on her hood. A leather turnshoe peeks out from beneath the hem of her dress. End ID]

A list of helpful YouTubers:

Elin Abrahamsson

Morgan Donner

Opus Elenae

Miss Joss (her instagram is more active).

Now go hydrate!!

[Image ID: a woman in fourteenth century garb drinking from a jug. End ID]

[tfbretz]

Comedy is when a member of your SCA household asks for a cotehardie pattern on the Kingdom FB page and not his household, which is kind of Cotehardie Central. #SCA #14th century mafia #to be fair he is a bard

[kellysbookblog]

BITTER PRINCE BY EVA WINNERS

My GR: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5742876632?book_show_action=false

My Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/review/R1MNYNSNL36Z27/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

My Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/3088675546

Genre/Tropes: Mafia / Coming of Age / Second chance / Forced Proximity / Triangle

📚✨ Bitter Prince by Eva Winners is NOW LIVE 🤴👑 

Once upon a time, a lion saved a girl. His little cinnamon girl.

Start the Stolen Empire Series today. Get ready to lose yourself in a world of mafia, second chance, forced proximity, and suspense romance that will leave you craving more!

🔥📖 Swipe through the pages of passion and betrayal as a young prince navigates the treacherous waters of power. Will love conquer all, or will ambition tear them apart? Join the adventure now and experience a story that will steal your heart! 💔💫

Grab your copy today

Add to your TBR

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/157716954-bitter-prince

BOOK 2: UNFORGIVING QUEEN

Preorder today

Coming September 14th

Add to your TBR https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/157717026-unforgiving-queen

BOOK 3: WRATHFUL KING

Preorder today

Coming October 5th

Add to your TBR https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/157720630-wrathful-king

BITTER PRINCE’S BLURB

Once upon a time, a lion saved a girl. His little cinnamon girl.

That lion grew up into a prince. Dark, bitter, and so beautiful that it hurt to look at him.

But underneath it all, the girl saw the man. I saw his hunger for love and affection, and I had plenty to give.

I fell in love, even though he told me not to. I gave him everything, because that was who I was.

I was determined to show him the light in this world, and his smiles were what I lived for. He was my art, my melody, my muse. We were beautiful together.

So I gave and gave, all to my bitter prince. Until I had nothing left to give.

Until he left me empty.

No one warned me love would push me into darkness so cold, it’d tear me apart.

To survive, I’d have to kill the cinnamon girl and become someone else.

Someone I didn’t recognize.

MEET EVA WINNERS:

Eva Winners released her first novel Second Chance At Love in 2020 and has been writing feverishly ever since. She writes about everlasting romance for every century focusing on characters emotional development and always guarantees an HEA.

She loves yoga, wine and her kiddos. In her spare time, she seeks adventures either hiking through trails, yoga or exploring the beaches.

Writing books has always been her passion and she brings real life to the forefront in everything she writes about.

Deeply passionate characters and stories will draw you in and you'll never want to leave.

Follow her on social media to stay up to date with all her new releases!

CONNECT WITH EVA WINNERS:

FB group: https://bit.ly/3gHEe0e

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Insta: http://Instagram.com/evawinners

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/EvaWinners

TikTok: https://bit.ly/40IPbpM

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Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3HCeoJF

Newsletter sign up www.evawinners.com

[malyssmakneile]

ah that feeling when you haven’t forgotten as much as you thought you had, and you can pick up a bit more based on your prior understanding...

context: i’m writing a letter to the baron of the barony-next-door asking him to let me try for courtier of the barony. the letter has to be persona-appropriate. given that it’s currently *checks watch* Anno Domini 1315 for my persona, i figured i can’t do worse than use the Declaration of Arbroath (Apr. 6, 1320) for an exemplar. reasons: a) it’s a court letter, b) petitioning someone of great status, c) originating in scotland (admittedly, ~160 miles away from tain, but at this close of an exemplar who am i to complain), and d) within a decade of my persona’s current date. however. it’s in latin. so i wrote up a letter in english, and then did a translation because reasons.

and then i had a friend (who’s a legit latinist) look it over, and he had one major comment on my translation of the name of the barony, but other than that didn’t have any criticisms to offer - and while “i understood what you were saying” isn’t the highest of praise, it does mean i got the vocab and the grammar correct enough.

plus, bad translations are period...!

so i guess thanks dad for making us do latin when we were kids (and - coincidentally - living in scotland at the time!) because i wouldn’t have had a snowball’s chance to get it that close that quickly otherwise.

the only thing now is to practice the hand so i can write it all pretty!

[thaliademaccuswell]

A few of my favorite badass ladies - Duchess Mary Grace, Queen Helene, and Juniper. Pictures taken opening day of Pennsic 2017 by Her Grace.

[ceaselessbasher]

I love putting hyperfixations in a blender so:

Dream's opinion: Tell me, Hob, what is more wonderful that a story that exists loosely between several minds, but it mostly exists in their collected subconsciousness? They put some of it into the world, but the connections they make, the images they visualize, those exist only in each of their dreamscapes. They say it doesn't exist, that that is the joke, but to me, it does exist, and it is extraordinary.

Hob's opinion: Listen, I miss the beauty of oral tradition as much as the next bloke from the 14th century and there is a shadow of that in all of this, but I gotta draw the line somewhere and this is it. This is where I'm drawing the line. Please. Have mercy on me, I am an old man and my students are inviting me to discussion forums of a movie that doesn't fucken exist.

Lucienne's opinion: *while holding the books that have appeared in the Dreaming because of our collective hallucination* What do you mean it doesn't exist, I have several scripts and fanfiction right here.

Matthew's opinion: FUCK YEAH MAFIA SHOOTING BLOOD KILLING SMOKING

Rose's opinion: [could not be reached for an opinion, too busy writing her own script]

[calabria-mediterranea]

Calabria, Italy among the World's Greatest Places 2022 - TIME Magazine

Hike across the boot

Calabria is one of the most overlooked Italian destinations—­underdeveloped and unfairly dogged by a louche reputation. (Easy Jet was forced to apologize after a 2020 ad cheekily promoted it as a land of “Mafia activity.”) The province, spanning the toe of the Italian boot, is home to breathtaking beaches, stunning mountain vistas, ancient hilltop villages, and unique, spicy cuisine.

Last year a group of enterprising and passionate hiking guides knitted the landscape into a three-day cross-­country trek, starting in the beach paradise of Soverato on the Ionian coast and ending about 34 miles west, in the 14th century fortress town of Pizzo on the Tyrrhenian Sea.

The meandering Kalabria Coast-to-Coast trail takes hikers through olive groves, mountain pastures, deep forests, and small villages, with stops in towns famous for their wine, smoked ricotta cheese, and a spicy spreadable sausage known locally as ’nduja. The trek is well signed and self-guided, but ­hikers—who should be reasonably fit—who have paid the 5-euro registration fee can access help, advice, and encouragement via a WhatsApp business account run by the organizers.

The website includes a list of local hotels and B&Bs to stay along the route. Participants receive a certificate of completion once they reach Pizzo’s Murat Castle. The best way to celebrate? Tucking into Pizzo’s iconic tartufo ice cream, another Calabrian specialty.

Written by Aryn Baker

JULY 12, 2022 7:10 AM

Follow us on Instagram, @calabria_mediterranea

[whorefordazai]

you said there’s so much to say about dazai and his relationship with women...care to share? I’d love to hear your thoughts 👀

dazai and his relationship with women

warnings: mentions of sexual assault and sexualization

// note: a few of you wanted to hear my thoughts on it, which is surprising 😅 but sure! I’d love to talk about it, especially since it’s been on my mind for a while <3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

// scenes in the anime/manga

// port mafia backstory

// sexualization/hyper sexuality

// yozo in no longer human

// conclusion

ps. I’m sorry if this seems messy and all over the place. I have a lot of thoughts on this topic and it’s really interesting to me. If you have anything to say, I’d love to hear it !!

scenes in the anime/manga

In the manga and anime, Dazai is portrayed as a womanizer and big flirt who uses his good looks and charms to manipulate women into getting what he wants. This can be seen in multiple different occasions—such as with Higuchi, the cafe barista (although it doesn’t really work 😅) and most importantly, the nurse.

It wasn’t shown in the anime, but in the manga it’s pretty clear that the author was hinting of some sort of sexual contact between Dazai and the nurse. My guess is that he seduced the nurse into giving him his phone.

“Perhaps if I’m in the mood”—I don’t think he was in the mood again lol.

Now, this is a pretty popular trait of his—using things to his advantage. Especially when it comes to flirting and sexualizing himself. He never attempts to get close with any of these women, or commits to relationships with them. Maybe he feels it wouldn’t be meaningful enough. Dazai doesn’t really do things if he finds no value in them.

port mafia backstory

As we know, Mori used Dazai’s intelligence and talents to get want he wanted and help the mafia in numerous ways. This involved killing, torturing, and other things. Dazai was taught to be strategic, efficient, and use opportunities to his advantage (just like Mori). But I feel like, along the way, there was also some sort of sexualization hidden there.

For example, when Atsushi and Kyouka started her first task at the agency to deliver this envelope, it gets delayed due to security stopping them. Kyouka’s first thought is to use her “womanly charms” and seduce the security guard to distract him and get past. She says that she learned these tactics from the Mafia.

She’s fourteen? Womanly charms?

I’m not saying it’s the most popular tactic in the Mafia besides torture/killing, but the Mafia does use its opportunities. There’s nothing morally right about the place, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Kyouka was taught about such things.

Since Dazai was Mori’s prodigy, I wouldn’t be surprised either if he learned a few tricks from him. However, Dazai does observe his surroundings so maybe he decided to utilize his good looks as advantage all on his own.

Chuuya describes Dazai as an “enemy to all women” and when they first partner up after years of not seeing each other, Chuuya threatens to give Dazai’s address to all the women’s hearts he’s left broken.

This can hint that he’s had multiple relations with women back in his Mafia days—meaning he’s been using these tactics since he was a young teen.

sexualization/hyper sexuality

Sexualization: a person’s value comes only from his or her sexual appeal or behavior, to the exclusion of other characteristics;

Sexualization is linked to sexual objectification. Obviously there are countless other ways to put this and definitions—but I think using the word “object” really fits Dazai. Early sexualization can lead to dehumanizing thoughts, which can be seen in Dazai.

Dehumanizing thoughts can lead to not caring about your well being or using your body however you’d like with barely any concern (either drugs, sex, etc). At one point in being in the Mafia, he lacked so much empathy for others and that definitely tied into having empathy for himself. To be kind to himself.

Him being manipulated into using these advantages is possible. Even though moments like these are played off as jokes, Dazai and Kyouka could’ve been exploited in such ways.

I do wanna mention hyper sexuality (that I saw in the irl Osamu Dazai when I read the book) but I’ll bring that up later.

yozo in no longer human

As I was reading the book, I noticed a lot about Yozo’s character. It is heavily implied that at a young age, he was sexually assaulted by the maids (men and women) in his house (I was unsure about that, but found out it was canon in the manga adaption by Junji Ito)

“Already by that time I had been taught a lamentable thing by the maids and menservants; I was being corrupted. I now think that to perpetrate such a thing on a small child is the ugliest, vilest, cruelest crime a human being can commit.”

“But I endured it. I even felt as if it enabled me to see one more particular aspect of human beings. I smiled in my weakness.”

— page 35

The first time I read it and processed it, I got chills. Now I’m not saying this has anything to do with bsd Dazai, but it does explain a lot of things.

“Women found me in a man who could keep a love secret.”

Due to the sexual abuse in his childhood, Yozo grew up to be a huge “lady’s man.” This caused him to be hyper sexual, practically using his charms to get whatever he wanted from women. He formed many different relationships with them (that he found no value in) just for all of them to never work out. He made the same mistakes with women over and over again (it was pretty painful watching him get hurt and hurt others so much).

It was an endless cycle of seducing women, using them for either drugs or sex, forming some kind of meaningless relationship, getting hurt, and then doing it all over again. He was stuck.

He was afraid of women.

But maybe breaking their hearts has something to do with his past trauma. In some way, it’s taking back the control and innocence he was stripped of from his childhood.

In the manga adaptation, I was able to clearly see how he treated women. Sometimes even throwing himself onto them, randomly initiating sexual contact, etc.

Yozo’s relationship with women is so incredibly sad and heartbreaking.

conclusion

It was said in this post that Dazai would never be faithful or form a real relationship with a woman unless it was someone like Oda. And I agree. Women, to Dazai, aren’t necessarily objects but they really aren’t something he needs or wants in life.

He can be nice to them, make them feel good, form relationships, but at the end of the day it’s like there’s this huge avoid of empty space between him and the “female species.” So much uncertainty and words that will never be spoken because he cannot form a bond with another human being.

All I can say, fictional or not—he was just a child who was stuck in a terrible situation.

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[ahagia-sophia]

Sophie's Notes on Balkan Bandits, Communism, and the Mob

Over a thousand years later the role of the bandit inside and outside of medieval society is something of a debate amongst scholars. Bandits, like Robin Hood, were often heroic figures in medieval folklore, across europe and into the middle east the bandit is portrayed in ballad and song as someone who fights oppression, resists unjust rule, and protects his own community. This has led scholars like Eric Hobsbawn to apply a marxist lens to the medieval bandit. Within this ‘social bandit’ model bandits, brigands, and highwaymen are beloved and protected by their community. Hobsbawn argues that bandits were viewed as a sort of armed social protest against the state by their contemporaries. This model of banditry uses epic accounts, stories, and legends to demonstrate that the common people viewed bandits in a positive and somewhat protective light. This ‘social bandit’ model comes as a direct rebuttal to the (now-antiquated) ‘spontaneous banditry’ theory that was dominant in the early 19th Century, which argued that banditry was a random and primitive form of rebellion.  

The primary critic of the ‘social bandit’ model is the Dutch anthropologist Anton Blok who is best known for his studies on the Sicilian Mafia. Blok argues that bandits often oppress and terrorize the very societies that they rose from. In addition to this violence Blok also argues that Hobsbawn takes too narrow of a view and willfully ignores the greater society that existed outside of peasant communities, specifically that of the local nobility (which were little better than bandits themselves). The life of a bandit was often brutal and short, Blok says, and the primary motivation for a man to take up such a life is to move himself up the social ladder. In a medieval context this can really only be done with the blessing of the elite. As a consequence bandits were often in the direct employ of the local nobility. 

These two ideas can, however, coexist. The people did sing songs and tell stories about noble bandits who stole from the rich and gave to the poor, this is a fact. Another fact is that bandits were men who turned to violence in order to escape a life of poverty. So, what did banditry look like and what conditions caused it within the Byzantine empire?    To chart the rise of the bandit we must first examine the land itself. The vast majority of bandits arose from within rural farming communities, which means that we as historians should examine why these men turned to banditry. From the 7th to 9th Century land in the Byzantine Balkans was populated by free peasant communities. Due to the famine and strife caused by repeated invasions [e.g. the Byzantine-Bulgar wars of the ninth and tenth centuries, the Pecheneg invasions in the eleventh century, the passage of the Crusader armies and the revolt of Peter and Asen in the 1180s and 90s, the Mongol and Tatar attacks in the thirteenth century, as well as the Serbo-Bulgarian conflicts and the Ottoman advance in the mid and late 1400s] the dominant towns and cities of antiquity were largely replaced by the village and the hamlet. In the village peasants paid taxes in common, with each member of the community having his own private land for farming and access to communal land for grazing and wood collection. From the 9th Century onward massive estates owned by the Church, the State, and wealthy nobles, began to consume these independent peasants and replace them with rent-paying serfs. This led to an increased burden on the common people and many went into hiding to avoid rents and taxation. By the 14th Century the independent peasant was a rarity in the Byzantine Thrace and Macedonia.