#Interesting Facts About Luxembourg

[hard--headed--woman]

I know I spent two days without posting any lesbian pride post lol but I swear I'm gonna post two posts per day in the following days to make up for it. I am again going to talk about an artist, but from a different period this time.

Rosa Bohneur !

(I love her name by the way... Bohneur means happiness in french and that's such a pretty name to have)

Marie-Rosalie Bonheur, known as Rosa Bonheur, was born in 1822 in Bordeaux and died in 1899 in Thomery. She was a French painter and sculptor specialising in representations of animals.

She has kind of an interesting family story (mother adopted by a rich guy who found out later who was her real father, siblings all artists, father who met a lot of interesting people, links with many famous people...) but it would be too long to talk about it and I want to focus on Rosa herself. Do check it up if you're interested!

During her youth, Rosa Bonheur had a reputation for being a tomboy, a reputation that followed her throughout her life and which she made no attempt to deny, wearing her hair short and later smoking cigarettes and cigars. Her emancipated lifestyle never caused a scandal, even though she lived in an era that was very concerned with convention. Like all women of her time, Rosa Bonheur had to apply to the Prefecture of Paris for a cross-dressing permit, renewable every six months, in order to wear trousers, in particular to attend livestock fairs, travel or ride horses.

Here's one of her permits, from 1857 :

And though many historians tried to deny the fact that she was a lesbian, she always refused to marry a man, has only ever had relationships with women and literally wrote that she never felt any sort of love, attraction or tenderness for men, "besides a frank and good friendship for those who had all my esteem". After the death of the woman she loved, she also wrote "If I'd been a man, I'd have married her, and they wouldn't have made up all those silly stories..." You got it : even if she didn't shout it from the rooftops, Rosa was very probaby a homosexual woman.

Rosa Bohneur grew up in a fairly wealthy family, thanks to the financial support of her mother's adoptive father. But when her mother's father died, the family was left without any such support, and fell into dire poverty. When Rosa was 11, her mother died, which deeply traumatised her. She kept a lifelong admiration for her mother.

In 1836, at the age of 14, she met Nathalie Micas, who became her lover. Only Nathalie's death 53 years later separated them.

Her father remarried in 1842 to Marguerite Peyrol, with whom he had a last son, Germain, who would also become a painter. Rosa Bonheur did not get on well with her stepmother and when her father died in 1849, she left the family home to live with the Micas.

After her mother's death, Rosa Bonheur went to primary schools, was apprenticed as a dressmaker and then went to boarding school. Eventually her father took her into his workshop, where her artistic talents were revealed. He was her one and only teacher. Gradually, she developed a passion for animal art, which became her speciality.

She exhibited for the first time, at the age of 19, at the Salon of 1841. She won a 3rd class medal at the Salon of 1845, and a 1st class medal (gold) at the Salon of 1848. This award enabled her, at the age of 26, to obtain a commission from the State to produce an agrarian painting (paid 3,000 francs). The painting resulting from this state commission, "Labourage nivernais" was supposed to go to the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Lyon. But it was so successful at the 1849 Salon that the Beaux-Arts department decided to keep it in Paris, at the Musée du Luxembourg. After Rosa Bonheur's death, the work went to the Louvre, before being transferred to the Musée d'Orsay in 1986.

When her father died in March 1849, Rosa Bonheur replaced him as director of the École impériale gratuite de dessin pour demoiselles (or École gratuite de dessin pour jeunes filles). She remained in this position until 1860: ‘Follow my advice and I'll turn you into Leonardo da Vinci in skirts’, she often told her pupils.

In 1860, she moved to a huge house in By, where she had a huge workshop built, and ample space for her animals. One of her relatives wrote: “She had a complete menagerie in her house: a lion and a lioness, a deer, a wild sheep, a gazelle, horses, etc. One of her pets was a young lion she let run around. My mind was freer when this leonine animal died".

In June 1864, Rosa was visited by Empress Eugenie, who invited her to lunch at the Château de Fontainebleau with her husband. The following year, Eugenie returned to see her, to present her with the Legion d'honneur herself. Rosa is the ninth woman and the first artist to receive this distinction. About this, The Empress said :

“At last, you've been knighted. I am delighted to be the godmother of the first woman artist to receive this high distinction. I wanted the last act of my regency to be devoted to showing that, in my eyes, genius has no sex."

She was also the first woman to be made an officer in this order, in April 1894 (first female officer of the Legion d'honneur).

Rosa traveled extensively with her lover Nathalie, herself a painter and mechanical enthusiast (she invented and patented a railway braking system), and painted many pictures inspired by her travels.

In 1889, Nathalie died after some 50 years together. It was then that Rosa expressed her regret at not having been able to marry her.

After Nathalie's death, Rosa met Anna Klumpe, a talented American painter. The two women moved in together some time later.

Rosa Bohneur died of pulmonary congestion in 1899, without having completed her last painting, “La foulaison du blé en Camargue”, a monumental canvas she had planned to exhibit at the 1900 Universal Exhibition.

She is buried in Père Lachaise cemetery, alongside Nathalie, her parents and Anna (who died years after her). She left her entire fortune to Anna, who, in 1908, published a biography of Rosa Bonheur and created a Rosa-Bonheur prize at the Société des artistes français. The Société des Artistes français posthumously awarded her the Medal of Honor shortly after her death.

Rosa could have had military honors at her funeral, but she specified in her will that she did not wish this.

There's a lot of interesting things to say about Rosa, her art and her history, so I suggest you do some research on her! She was a very talented and strong-willed woman who had a huge impact on French art and left a considerable cultural legacy.

Here are some of her paintings :

I personally love them ! I am not a painting expert, I just find them sooo pretty.

See you tomorrow :)

[er1chartmann]

Walter Schellenberg

These are some facts and curiosities about Walter Schellenberg, the deputy head of the Gestapo:

He was born in Saarbrücken on 16 January 1910 but his family moved with his family to Luxembourg when the French occupation of the Saar Basin after the First World War triggered an economic crisis in the Weimar Republic.

 He returned to Germany to attend university, first at the University of Marburg and then, in 1929, at the University of Bonn. He initially studied medicine, but soon switched to law.

He joined the SS in 1933.

He was recruited in the SD through 2 professors ( he gave an anti catholic speech which aroused Heydrich's interest )

In November 1939 Schellenberg played a key role in the Venlo Incident, which ended with the capture of two British espionage agents and was awarded the Iron Cross for this.

In 1940 he was responsible for drawing up a list of 2,300 British personalities who were to be arrested as soon as Germany occupied Great Britain; he was also involved in many other espionage activities, among which the Kitty Salon activity was very successful.

In March 1942, Heinz Jost was fired from his position as RSHA Chief of Amt VI, SD-Ausland (SD foreign intelligence). In his place, Schellenberg was appointed chief of SD-Ausland by Heydrich

According to his memoirs, Schellenberg had been a friend of Wilhelm Canaris, the head of the Abwehr (military intelligence).

In the last months of the conflict Schellenberg tried to persuade Himmler to reach a separate peace with the Western Allies by exploiting the mediation of Count Folke Bernadotte, whom he himself met personally in Stockholm in April 1945.

He was captured in Denmark in June 1945 while working on an attempt to make a separate peace with the Americans.

During the postwar Nuremberg Trials, Schellenberg testified against other Nazis. In the 1949 Ministries Trial he was sentenced to six years' imprisonment, during which time he wrote his memoirs, The Labyrinth.

He died of cancer in 1952 in Turin, Italy.

During the German occupation of Paris, Schellenberg was believed to have been a lover of Coco Chanel, who paid for the cost of his funeral when he died penniless.

Sources:

Wikipedia: Walter Schellenberg

Military Wiki: Walter Schellenberg

❗❗I DON'T SUPPORT NAZISM,FASCISM OR ZIONISM IN ANY WAY, THIS IS AN EDUCATIONAL POST❗❗

[polishdynasty]

CHRISTINA ROKICZANA ( BEFORE 1330 — AFTER 1365

Christina was a Bohemian woman from townsfolk and daughter of Wenceslaus, mayor of Prague. At some point she was married to merchant Mikuláš Rokiczan, who unexpectedly died leaving her with great fortune. Thanks to her husband's connection with the King, she most likely became the lady-in-waiting at Bohemian court.

It was well known that King Casimir The Great is a womanizer and Charles of Luxembourg decided to use that fact to gain a spy in Polish court and possibly destabilise situation in Polish Kingdom. He invited Casimir to Prague in May 1356 and asked Christina to charm the man. It was successful, because Casimir shortly after brought her with him to Cracow. Christina, however, refused sleeping with him and becoming his mistress, what made Casimir marry her.

The problem was that he was already married with Adelaide of Hesse, which was sent away by him to Żarnowiec. She didn't agree to get a divorce, what made Casimir's marriage with Christina bigamous.

She stayed loyal to Charles of Luxembourg, stating in one of the latters they exchanged that as a Queen (although she was never crowned), she will make sure to take care of his interests and “being there [in Cracow], thanks to him, he can trust her as if they were still personally in the city of Prague”.

At some point Christina's and Casimir's relationship fell out and there are two theories about what happened — one of them says that Christina was suffering from hair loss and scabies and Casimir found out about that from one of his servants, whereas the other one says that Casimir was mad at her after Christina ordered to burn the peasant house, because it blocked a view of Wawel Castle.

It is known that Christina was still in Cracow when King Casimir married his fourth wife, Jadwiga of Sagan. According to the legend, she was burried in the garden of Łobzów residence, which Casimir builded for her.

[mononijikayu]

so historically there are comparable thoughts about the velaryon boys being legitimate.

so, richard duke of york has black hair and his wife cecily neville has light hair, so blonde. they produced a couple of children but one of the most important was edward iv of england who had brown hair.

a lot of times, this fact actually got twisted. that he didnt look like his father enough or that his father was away and he couldn't have fathered edward. those were all made up to make edward look lesser in the eyes of his contemporaries. edward had to fight the rumours of illegitimacy based off the greed and politically motivated moves of others. especially by both of his brothers, george of clarence and richard of gloucester. they too wanted the crown but as eldest son, edward was the one who managed to maintain his claim. and later on, he is betrayed by richard, who claims falsehoods on his brother and his own nephews.

now his own wife, elizabeth woodville had red copper hair and probably inherited it from her mother, jacquetta of luxembourg. her own father lord rivers, was probably of dark hair as her own brother lord anthony has gotten black hair in medieval contemporary depictions.

the power of elizabeth's hair is actually the stuff of legend in the plantaganet line because it was her hair that would later be the staple of the later tudor dynasty and even as far as the stuarts who became the main line.

she and edward had a big brood of children but their eldest son named was named edward v and he was born of blond hair. which he probably got from his father's line, which he also could have gotten from his mother's line. various ancestors can provide something interesting all the time.

so, up above we can see that with richard and cecily's union, the dark colored hair hair and blonde hair equates to black or brown hair - which edward does get. his own brothers as far as we know have also the same predicament in hair. however we also know that his sister mary of york, duchess of burgundy inherited fair/blonde hair as well. YET it would also have been very likely for him and his siblings to have inherited copper red/red gold or blond hair because its in the genes already.

as mentioned before, edward and elizabeth have many children besides edward v and his brown hair to her red hair equated to blond and copper blond in the family. edward v inherited lady cecily's blond hair and his sister elizabeth of york had her mother's copper red.

this later on with many brood of other children later on would pass on to the rest of the plantaganet children and into the tudor dynasty and become such a famous trademark for them.

BUT had edward v not been blond or for elizabeth of york to not have copper red, it would also be possible for him or her to have gotten red copper or even black/brown hair/ blonde.

because as we mentioned before, it is in the family already. their grandmother lady cecily had blond hair and their own maternal uncle anthony rivers also has dark hair.

as long as there has been a family member close enough, it doesnt matter which generation it decides to come or skips - that character trait will continue to pass on. just as character traits, just like traumatic experiences, just like language and heritage and culture - the genes and the features like hair come with it.

it would have been very possible for any of the velaryon boys to earn any trait from genes already there, waiting to be rebirthed in one of them.

like we have to understand that there was 100 years of intermarrying by the time of rhaenyra. like we dont know how many kids orys and argella completely had. we dont know how many kids davos baratheon had. we dont know how many kids ronnell arryn had or if he had sisters or who they all married and had kids with.

but the one thing that is sure is that there would be a lot of new blood that could be in rhaenys and aemma and even from corlys himself who had first men blood from the masseys. the genetics that they bore and brought to a very intrinsic incesteous bloodline is gonna be an interesting, fresh, lottery.

they could pass that on to their descendants. a lot of the bastardry claims about the velaryon boys is highly politically motivated, especially when we consider the fact that their claim rests on the matriarchal line. which is important because westerosi law is salic, male to male. and then viserys made it semi - salic by naming a female heir and her male sons his heirs.

a great way to undermine the claim of the heir's heir is to declare them bastards, illegitimate and a stain on the dynasty. especially the heir being a woman, it would be easy to call them out for 'improper' behaviour because of the double standards settled between man and woman in a heavily patriarchal society like westeros. many people were really desiring a male line for the male line. and it didnt matter if the male claimant was not a good ruler. what mattered was them being a man in a mam's world for the sake of preserving the status quo. and rhaenyra challenges that by being heir and having her own line exist.

like here we see that no matter the dominant features - some genes would overpower that and produce children with different features than what we are used to. genetics is a mystery box that people dont understand. even with magic, the targaryens are not exempt from intermingling their blood outside house targaryen and forging new flow in the veins. like, the fact that the valyrians had ties of marriage with first men is already interesting enough. that brings A LOT OF POSSIBILITIES.

that is why its important to look at asoiaf as also having traps especially in terms of features. being a targaryen isnt only the silver hair or lilac eyes. if it was, then we wouldnt have the pleasure of enjoying characters like baelor breakspear or daeron, son of maekar i who inherited more diverse genetics than their other targaryen counter parts. like i expect GRRM loves to play around things in the story and make us have a lot of stuff to ponder about. and its insane.

[elbiotipo]

Interesting (for a lack of better term) that there are Europeans countries that technically were literally created to be buffer states from one another to avoid wars. Like Belgium or Luxembourg to be a barrier between The Netherlands and France, Switzerland to be one between Italy, Germany and France. Could the same be said for Uruguay? Panama is different I believe, as the only reason it exists is because the USA wanted free acess to the Panama channel (or so I learned in History class).

In one of my old Argentine history textbooks, it is literally defined as a buffer state like that. In fact it's compared to Belgium in that regard.

To talk about the fragmentation of the United Provinces of the Rio de La Plata would take a whole history PHD, but the short version is this: Spain and Portugal always disputed the Banda Oriental (or Cisplatina in Portuguese). This dispute was 'inherited' by the United Provinces and the Empire of Brazil, who fought a long war about it after Brazil invaded in 1816. The United Provinces, busy with their civil wars, did not respond properly to this, so the war was mostly in Uruguayan hands. Uruguay became indepedent in great part through British mediation of the conflict (the British did not want either Brazil or Argentina controlling the Río de La Plata) in 1828. So in a way, yes, Uruguay was a buffer state to prevent further Brazil-Argentina conflicts. Argentine and Uruguayan armies still intervened into each other's civil conflicts (as well as Brazilian ones) and there was always the possibility of reunification well until the late XIX century.

While this is controversial, from my reading, José Gervasio Artigas, while celebrated as father of the Uruguayan nation, actually wanted a Confederation with all the provinces of the Río de La Plata, including Uruguay. In fact, he nearly made it, with the Liga de los Pueblos Libres, and I would argue his ideas would have been better for everybody, with his federalism and inclusion of native peoples (the first representation of Chaquenian people in a national goverment were the Abipón tribes that fought with Artigas) and afrodescendants. He was a real hero for both Argentina and Uruguay, and really, all the free people of the continent.

This is, however, all history now. Uruguay has long become an independent nation separate from Argentina and Brazil, and, in any case, we are closer in peace than ever. But the historical ties that bind us are undeniable.

This is the shortest reading I can give you, really: to fully explain it, one needs to sit down and read whole books.

[ollieofthebeholder]

to find promise of peace (and the solace of rest): a TMA fanfic

Read from the beginning on Tumblr || AO3 || My Website There's a soundtrack to this one if you're interested

Chapter 105: March 2001

Gerry gets back into town with exactly two hours to spare. It isn’t exactly optimal, but at least he’s able to grab a shower before rushing off. He has to double back when he almost forgets something important, and his mother tries to waylay him, but he manages to get away from her and catch the train just before it closes its doors.

Still, he’s a bit later than he’d like, and he just hopes Melanie is being optimistic.

The auditorium is crowded with families, from babes in arms to elderly folks, and it takes Gerry a good bit of scanning before he spots who he’s looking for. He distractedly thanks the student usher who hands him the folded bits of paper that constitutes a program and makes his way down the aisle to some seats on the left side of the theater, about three rows back. He’s in luck—there’s a seat next to Melanie that’s empty except for a bouquet of roses. From the fact that they’re mixed red and yellow, he guesses she’s the one that brought them.

“Does this mean you’re saving a seat for me?” he asks.

“Gerry!” Melanie’s face lights up, and she leaps to her feet and hugs him tightly. “Jesus, I thought you were still in Switzerland!”

“Luxembourg. Got back a couple hours ago.” Gerry leans over to shake Uncle Roger’s hand, then picks up the bouquet. “So, can I sit with you?”

“Duh.” Melanie plops back down into her seat and bends over to retrieve her program. Gerry notices she’s wearing the stole Alastair gave her for her ninth birthday, thrown over her jumper and jeans, but doesn’t say anything about it.

Instead, he opens his own program and skims it. There are two choirs that are more or less open—the Junior Choir and the Senior Choir—plus a Young Men’s Chorus and Women’s Ensemble, both by audition only, made up of students eligible for the Senior Choir but with a better grasp of things like pitch, musicality, and not bobbing your head violently along with the beat. This is Martin’s last year in the Junior Choir, and Gerry knows he’s planning to try out for the Young Men’s Chorus when they open up again…or has he already?

“Did Martin ever do that audition?” he asks Melanie, who would be the first to know.

“It’s not until next term, I don’t think,” Melanie answers. “It starts in the fall, after all. Anyway, he hasn’t said anything to me about it.”

Gerry hums as he skims the list of songs the Junior Choir will be singing. Unsurprisingly for the Easter term, there are a couple of songs that look to be religious, or at least trending in that direction—he knows “Because He Lives” is definitely an Easter song, and “One Song (A Song of Peace)” is probably similar—plus a couple generic spring songs, some songs that seem to just be for fun, and a single song in a foreign language, French this term. Gerry mentally braces himself for the typical childish hacking through the language.

“I haven’t heard Martin practicing any of these,” Melanie murmurs, also looking over the list.

“Well, you know, your mother isn’t well,” Uncle Roger says absently. “Martin doesn’t practice in the house so much, so he doesn’t disturb her.”

“There is that,” Melanie admits. She glances at the opposite page. “Ooh, the Young Men’s Chorus is doing ‘Diu Diu Deng’!”

Gerry is about to ask her what that means when the lights in the auditorium dim and everybody—for the most part—quiets down. It’s not like a professional performance where people understand what they’re supposed to do; it’s an amateur production, quality notwithstanding, and some people don’t seem to care how loud the crowd noise is as long as it’s not their child on the stage.

The Junior Choir, all neatly dressed in black slacks or skirts and white tops, file onto the stage in ordered rows, filling the risers as they do so, to enthusiastic applause and a few good-natured cheers. Gerry scans the group coming in; Martin, as both one of the older and one of the taller boys in the choir, is usually one of the first ones out so he can climb up and get to his spot, and he wants to get a good look at him before all he can see is eyes and hair over the row of faces going from plump to angular as they begin to change from child to teen.

But there’s no sign of him.

Gerry blinks, and looks harder—like Martin would be difficult to miss. But no, it’s only girls filing out now and climbing the risers. Martin is nowhere to be found. As the last child takes her position, the director, a man Gerry knows well by now, comes out and bows to the audience, then turns to the choir, waiting for the applause to    die down so they can begin.

For his part, Gerry is having something akin to a mental breakdown. Could Martin have dropped out of chorus without telling them…or worse, been removed against his will? It’s likely he wouldn’t say anything; he wouldn’t want them to worry. But would he let it get this far—let them think he was going to be in the concert, knowing he’ll be found out? That’s not Martin’s style at all. He’s not the kind of person to put people out, and for them to show up expecting to cheer him on would be (at least in Martin’s mind) a huge inconvenience. He surely knows by now that they will come to all his concerts; Gerry might go out of town more often than he likes, but Melanie and Uncle Roger never miss.

So it must be something else. Something must have happened to him…but what? Surely he rode in with Uncle Roger and Melanie rather than walking himself, so something must have happened to him since they arrived, but—

Melanie slaps his arm urgently, not hard, just a frantic patting to silently get his attention. Gerry turns to face her as the choir begins a slightly clumsy but overall decent (to his ear at least, not that he’s paying a whole lot of attention) rendition of their first spring song. The question dies on his lips as she stabs her finger repeatedly at the back of the program. With the lights down, Gerry can’t read it from there, so he picks up his own program and turns it to the back, then holds it closer to his face. The back of the program is where all the members of the various choruses are listed, and his first reaction is to breathe a silent sigh of relief when he sees MARTIN BLACKWOOD right there on the page, immediately above ANDREW CARTWRIGHT.

It’s awfully low down on the page, though. The Junior Choir is usually right at the top…

Gerry’s eyes flick up, just a little, and he sees the word TENOR, which is also unusual, since the Junior Choir is only two parts as far as he knows—he remembers Martin saying once they don’t start really breaking them up until Senior Choir. Then his eyes widen as he realizes that Martin’s name is on the far right of the page…and the column is actually headed TENOR 1.

He looks again, and there it is—Martin’s name listed under the Young Men’s Chorus.

Gerry—there’s no other word for it—goggles. He knows you’re supposed to be thirteen to get into that group; Martin won’t be thirteen until August. Then there’s the fact that, according to Melanie, he’s not supposed to start in it until the fall. But yet…here he is.

During the applause for the latest song, Gerry leans over and whispers to Melanie, “He wasn’t in the Young Men’s Chorus at Christmas, was he?”

“No!” Melanie hisses back. “The most complicated piece they did was ‘Dona Nobis Pacem’, remember?”

Gerry does, but he’s been wondering if he misremembered. Still, Melanie wouldn’t have said Martin was still planning to audition if he had already been in.

He can hardly concentrate through the first half of the concert, barely manages to applaud at the appropriate times, but when the Senior Choir sits down and the director announces the Young Men’s Chorus, he leans forward, anxious and eager.

Bit odd to call them ‘men’ when they’re thirteen to sixteen, isn’t it? whispers a voice in the back of his mind, sounding amused, and Gerry has to admit that it is a bit odd even if they did append young to the front, but he supposes that if they’re referring to the Women’s Ensemble they can’t very well call it a Boys’ Chorus. His eyes flick back and forth along the line of boys, young men, whatever, as they file in. There are only about a dozen of them all together, and—ah, there he is. Third from the end, he’s the taller of the two Tenor Ones on the front row. Even from where he sits, Gerry can see that he’s visibly pale and nervous, only not fidgeting in his tuxedo jacket and bow tie because he’s too much the professional to do so. But as soon as Martin’s eyes lock on the director, a whole new demeanor takes its place. He’s still pale, but he’s calm and focused. Nothing will exist for him from here on out but the music.

And what music it is! Even Gerry, who really knows very little about music overall, is impressed. For such a small group—now that they’re all out, he can count sixteen, four to each part—they fill the space, and they sound wonderful. Maybe he’s a little biased because Martin is part of it, but he never felt this way about the Junior Choir, only that Martin was one of the few good parts of it, so they must actually be good.

They sing a classic song with a lot of “hallelujahs” in it, another song that invokes the stars, and a song that has Melanie sitting bolt upright and smiling from the very beginning. Gerry surmises this is the one she mentioned before the concert. It’s obviously a Chinese song, and just as obviously about a train—Gerry doesn’t speak it, but he gets that much—and from the bright look on all the boys’ faces, not just Martin’s, they’re obviously enjoying it. It gets the loudest round of applause of the evening so far.

Once the auditorium is quiet again, there’s a single note on the piano that dies away quickly. The director waves a few beats, and then the boys begin singing a slow, sonorous song that thrums in Gerry’s chest. “Brightly beams our Father’s mercy…from His lighthouse evermore…”

Gerry lets his eyes drift shut as he listens. The song is poignant and solemn, but somehow feels…important. It’s almost as though the song itself is a beacon calling to them; in fact, it gives him almost the same sensation as that song Melanie sang a couple years back to find Martin in the park, an incident he still shies away from thinking about too hard or often. It’s a song of hope, of steadfast faith, of assuring someone that you’ll be there for them, no matter what.

And then a single clear, pure voice rings out over the room. “Throw out the lifeline, throw out the lifeline, someone is drifting away…”

At that, Gerry’s eyes pop open wide, because he knows that voice. His lips part in shock as he stares at the stage. Martin, his eyes shining green all the way from out here as they fix on the director’s baton, sings the verses to the second half of what’s obviously a medley, alone and unaccompanied and unafraid. Martin, who is always nervous and afraid of putting himself out there, who stammers any time he’s put on the spot, sings with a confidence that’s no different than when it’s just the three of them in a park or on the river bank or on top of a hill, with the unfettered pleasure of someone doing what he’s always meant to do.

And Gerry, who has heard Martin sing a thousand times, who knows his voice is like this, is utterly entranced.

There’s a beat of silence when the whole choir finishes a reprise of the chorus of the first song, and then the audience nearly takes the roof off the auditorium with their applause. Martin’s cheeks turn faintly pink as the director gestures to him, but he doesn’t duck his head or back away, which is…honestly progress.

The boys do a fast, peppy song about putting bones together and taking them apart again, and then they end with an absolutely gorgeous song Gerry’s never heard before, but he recognizes the lyrics as being one of Martin’s favorite Byron poems, “She Walks In Beauty”. Gerry’s pretty sure he’s not the only one that tears up a little.

The Women’s Ensemble goes next, and in Gerry’s totally unbiased opinion, they should have gone before the Young Men’s Chorus, because they can’t hold up. The director calls everyone out for the final song, which they do at virtually every single concert, and then it’s over.

Melanie is beaming ear to ear as she turns to Gerry. “That’s the best one ever.”

Gerry can’t help but laugh at her. “You’re just saying that because Martin got a solo.”

“No, I’m saying it because it was amazing.” Melanie shifts the bouquet to one hand and punches Gerry with the other. “Come on. Let’s go find him so we can yell at him for not telling us.”

The lobby and halls are crowded with people finding and congratulating their respective students. Melanie greets and congratulates a couple of girls she evidently knows at least in passing—as usual, they act polite but not particularly enthusiastic—but it takes Gerry a bit before he spots Martin trying to edge his way around the crowd. He nudges Melanie and points. “Look, there he is!”

Melanie shoves the bouquet at Uncle Roger and immediately starts threading her way through the crowd. She’s always had a talent for this sort of thing, and she slides through the gaps like water sliding through cupped hands. Gerry glances over his shoulder at Uncle Roger, unable to hide his amusement. “Well, she’s going to get there first. Shall we?”

Uncle Roger gestures. “Lead the way.”

Gerry is not particularly large or intimidating, so he can’t exactly shove people out of his way, and he’s not as agile as Melanie. He squeezes through whatever gaps he can, Uncle Roger’s polite “excuse me”s following him, and makes it to Martin’s side well after Melanie has attacked him in a tight hug.

“You’re an absolute ass,” she says, the delight in her voice belying her words. “Why didn’t you tell us you’d got into the Young Men’s Chorus already?”

“It—it was a last-minute thing,” Martin says, his cheeks turning bright pink. The blush gets even deeper when he notices Gerry. “When—wh-when did you get back?”

“Just in time.” Gerry comes over and hugs Martin, too. “What do you mean, last-minute thing? That’s not something you can just learn at the last minute.”

“No, I—I mean, not—” Martin swallows nervously. “It, um, over the break at half-term, Joseph White had to have his tonsils taken out, and something went wrong, so he couldn’t sing anymore. He told Dr. Clayton to run the auditions early and pick someone to replace him, and…well, I-I guess I was the only person to audition who could hit Tenor One parts who did well enough to start now?”

Gerry doubts that, actually, but he’s not going to say as much. Instead, he says, “But then you got the solo?”

“Not originally. It was supposed to be Kent Phillips, but he missed his cue one day and I just, I kind of jumped in out of habit, and Dr. Clayton asked me to take over.” Martin ducks his head, obviously embarrassed. “I know I shouldn’t have, but…”

“Yeah, well, obviously Dr. Clayton doesn’t think so,” Melanie points out.

Uncle Roger finally makes it over to them, smiling broadly. He presents Martin with the bouquet. “Well done, son. It’s a shame your mother couldn’t make it, but if you’d told us you had a solo, I know she would have been here.”

Yeah, right, whispers that voice in Gerry’s head. Gerry grunts his agreement without thinking. Melanie scowls momentarily, but says nothing. Martin, for his part, manages a tentative smile that at least looks convincing as he accepts the bouquet, even though he doesn’t actually agree with his stepfather’s assessment. “Thanks, Dad. I’m glad you could make it, anyway.”

“Wouldn’t have missed this for the world.” Uncle Roger rumples Martin’s hair affectionately. “Come on. After that, I think you deserve ice cream. Gerard, care to join us?”

“I’d love to. Thanks, Uncle Roger.” Gerry smiles up at the man and throws an arm around Martin’s shoulders. “He’s right. Let’s go celebrate, yeah? Even if you think it was an accident, that was a damned good performance and you deserve to celebrate.”

Melanie slides her arm around Martin’s waist from the other side. Obviously unable to protest, he lets them drag him outside, Uncle Roger leading the way.

Okay, the voice in the back of Gerry’s head whispers. Why this? Why tonight?

Why not? Gerry asks the voice.

Sorry, Ger. Not talking to you right now, just trying to work some stuff out. We’ll talk later.

Gerry feels something inside him warm, for reasons he can’t explain. But since his brain has just informed him they’re not going to be on speaking terms for the rest of the night, apparently—he swears he can hear someone laughing at him all of a sudden—he decides that’s a problem for later. For now, he’s going to concentrate on his siblings, and on his Uncle Roger, and on ice cream.

He can worry later.

[badgersprite]

My 2024 Eurovision Top 37!!!

It's that time of year again! That time where I give my opinions on Eurovision that nobody asked for!

Is this an especially strong year for Eurovision? Eh. Yes and no. There's a lot of songs I don't like, more than there probably has been in any recent years, but there's also lots of songs I really like and would be happy if they won.

I think this is shaping up to be a very interesting year. I would argue that there is no clear and obvious frontrunner. Any winner is really probably going to feel like a "surprise", and most likely a pleasant one at that. There's a lot of songs here that feel like they'd be deserving winners, with no one really so clearly ahead of the pack to where it would feel like they were "robbed" if they lost.

But anyway, we're counting down, in reverse order, below the cut!

XX. ISRAEL - EDEN GOLAN - Hurricane

Ok, full disclosure, this is why I was kind of late to post my top. I haven't listened to this song. Frankly, I don't feel comfortable listening to this song. I don't know if I ever will. So, accordingly, I will not be giving it a rating, review, or ranking. I wish to make no further comment and please respect my decision.

Sorry for the downer start, but that's just how I feel.

36. SWITZERLAND - NEMO - The Code

I'm starting off controversial. I have no idea why this song is so popular in the community. I do not know what other people hear in this. To me, this just sounds like an annoying, disjointed mess.

35. LATVIA - DONS - Hollow

This song is a slow, dirgey wall of sludge. Sorry to this man, but I don't come to Eurovision to feel like I'm at a funeral.

34. BELGIUM - MUSTII - Before The Party's Over

This song is a slightly less slow, dirgey wall of sludge. I don't know, it feels like it's trying really hard to be artsy and ~important~

33. ICELAND - HERA BJÖRK - Scared of Heights

"I'm not one to take risks."

Yeah, Hera. We can tell. Jesus Christ. This song is so safe it feels like getting a lecture on abstinence at a Christian private school.

32. MOLDOVA - NATALIA BARBU - In The Middle

I like the chorus. Shame about literally everything else in this song.

31. ALBANIA - BESA - Titan

What's with the random banjos? Albania in its Folklore era.

30. AZERBAIJAN - FAHREE & ILKIN DOVLATOV - Özünlə Apar

As much as I want to give Azerbaijan bonus points for finally sending something partially in Azeri, I literally cannot remember a single note from this song and I relistened to it about an hour ago.

29. FRANCE - SLIMANE - Mon Amour

Every year at Eurovision be like

Eurovision: "Hey, France, how French do you want to make your entry this year?"

France: "Oui."

He's got a great voice but to me this is just a run of the mill, paint by numbers Eurovision ballad that is also French and mentions Paris.

28. GERMANY - ISAAK - Always on the Run

Okay I actually don't really care for this song at all, it sounds like the kind of generic, inoffensive, slight hint of country so they don't alienate the flyover states kind of song they make American Idol winners sing. He's only this high because I really like his voice.

27. MALTA - SARAH BONNICI - Loop

This is an average Eurovision song.

26. LUXEMBOURG - TALI - Fighter

This is an average Eurovision song.

25. GEORGIA - NUTSA BUZALADZE - Firefighter

By the time this song gets going, it really comes together. It finishes really strong. The problem is the first...half or so? It's a disjointed mess. But the fact that I like at least PART of this song so much is what puts it above all these other songs that are insta-skips.

24. LITHUANIA - SILVESTER BELT - Luktelk

Probably my next most controversial pick. I don't get the hype for this song? I mean, don't get me wrong, it's fine. I like it. But it's just, like...an average song in this genre? It's nothing special.

23. PORTUGAL - IOLANDA - Grito

This is probably a case where it's not the song so much as it's me not getting it. To my ears it sounds pleasant but dated. And slower songs are often fighting an uphill battle with me at Eurovision anyway so.

22. ARMENIA - LADANIVA - Jako

I really like this, it's the fun folk throwback of this year. The only problem with it is, it's basically just straight up folk instrumentation. It sounds very small as a result. It could have used just a bit more modern production to give it that real OOMPH factor.

21. NETHERLANDS - JOOST KLEIN - Europapa

I probably would have liked this song a lot more if I hadn't heard Finland first. Spoilers for later. Also maybe I'm just too Australian and not European enough to really be able to relate to this song.

20. UNITED KINGDOM - OLLY ALEXANDER - Dizzy

This song feels like a throwback to a lot of the kind of British pop music that would cross over onto the Australian charts here when I was a kid. Like, remember when Billie Piper was a pop singer? Remember Craig David? This song doesn't sound like either of those per se but it does sound like the kind of song that would be on like one of these albums that I have in a box in my garage somewhere

19. AUSTRALIA - ELECTRIC FIELDS - One Milkali (One Blood)

Listen, I love Electric Fields. I've seen them live, and they were great. And I love this song. It's very meditative, it gives some good kind of spiritual advice that I vibe with. I think the song is only this low because, well, the video is meh, and this kind of feels like a "safe" Electric Fields energy? It feels like they could have done more.

18. SERBIA - TEYA DORA - Ramonda

See even though this song is a slow ballad, it avoids being a dirgey wall of sludge because it actually has like dynamic range to it. It's mostly quiet and gentle, and it builds to a big high point. It doesn't just feel like a wall of melancholy sound slowly drowning me.

17. GREECE - MARINA SATTI - Zari

I think I'm not hip enough for this. I feel like I'm going to come back to this later and like it a lot more than I already do. And I do like this. It feels kind of like a Greek Russian Woman in terms of vibe, and I mean that as a compliment. This is really good. It just may be a bit too weird, too out there, and too current to really land at Eurovision. Like this song definitely feels like it belongs on the internet. This song has iPhone face.

16. SPAIN - NEBULOSSA - Zorra

I love her lack of energy, go girl give us nothing!

Seriously though, this song is for the girls and the gays. And as I am a girl and a gay, I can appreciate it. This song is about, no matter what you do, people are going to call you a bitch and try and drag you down. So she's like, OK, fuck you, I'm going to go take on the world, be an empowered woman, and be successful, and if that makes me a bitch then fine, I'm the best bitch here. And I think that's a good message, and I support it. Women shouldn't have to make themselves smaller so as to not threaten your insecurities.

15. CYPRUS - SILIA KAPSIS - Liar

There is just something absolutely FILTHY about this beat that makes me want to throw it back. Fortunately for everybody, I am incapable of throwing it back, so you don't have to be subjected to that. But, like, I feel it in this song. This beat does dirty things to me.

14. ESTONIA - 5MIINUST & PUULUUP - (Nendest) Narkootikumidest Ei Tea Me (Küll) Midagi

Every time this song comes on, I can't resist the urge to get up and start dancing to it, so it must be doing something right. But also fuck you for making me write a title that long.

13. SWEDEN - MARCUS & MARTINUS - Unforgettable

Swedes are too OP at pop. Like this song is basically perfect. Fortunately, I am too much of a lesbian to be nostalgic for boy band music. If I had been into the Backstreet Boys or N*Sync back in the day, this song would make me super nostalgic, and it would probably be my number one. But as it is I'm nostalgic for different things, and it's all those songs that are in my top ten this year. As you'll see.

12. UKRAINE - ALYONA ALYONA & JERRY HEIL - Teresa & Maria

Ukraine doesn't miss at Eurovision. If the Vidbir staging had like...any budget at all, this would probably be higher. That's really all that's holding it back. I love this song. It's great.

11. CROATIA - BABY LASAGNA - Rim Tim Tagi Dim

This was hard. I went back and forth with this and other songs in my top 10 so many times. If you ask me to make this list again five minutes from now, this is probably there. If this song wins Eurovision, I'll be happy. I love it. If there's anything holding this back in comparison to the songs in my top, it's: I'm more nostalgic for other genres apparently; there's no real vocal moment in this song; the production kind of sounds like this was made in Garageband? Don't take any of this to mean I don't like the song. I do. But I like this a roughly equal amount to like half of my top ten and I had to split hairs.

10. SLOVENIA - RAIVEN - Veronika

This is art, mama. This was the first Eurovision song I heard this year and it really started everything off on a good note. The insane vocal moment at the end is what kept this in my top 10 above Croatia. I cannot wait to see the staging because this has a vision.

9. NORWAY - GÅTE - Ulveham

This feels weird having it this low. It was my number four for the longest time. Like, until I made this list today. I think it's the verses holding it back for me. The verses are a little bit nothing. It's just a lot of "this happened, and then this happened". And that's the one thing that docks an execution point from this otherwise excellent song. But it's lovely hearing Norwegian at Eurovision for the first time in forever

8. AUSTRIA - KALEEN - We Will Rave

Things Badger is nostalgic for, entry #1 - Cascada, apparently. This is taking me back to playing fucking DDR at the Time Zone outside of Hoyts at Hornsby Westfield when I was like 15. This was one of the songs I was juggling with whether to keep in my top ten, asking myself "Do I really like this song as much as I thought I did the last time I played it?" So then I'd play it again, and every time I played it...I'd get this feeling. And every time we kiss, I swear I could fly.

Wait.

7. ITALY - ANGELINA MANGO - La Noia

OK, full disclosure, if I were ranking the songs "objectively" in terms of which one is the best, like if I were taking personal taste out of this and just telling you what song I think will or should win Eurovision, this would be my pick. This is by far the hippest thing Italy has ever sent to Eurovision. It's great. It's fun. It's fresh. It's vocally challenging but executed with unbelievable ease. Angelina Mango is style, she is fashion, she is an icon, she is the moment. She's everything. Also, BUSINESS PRINCESS. What more can you want?

6. CZECHIA - AIKO - Pedestal

Things Badger is nostalgic for entry #2 - late 80s/early 90s girl grunge rockers. This song is stuck in my head all the time, and it's awesome. You just want to scream out the chorus. Because, you know what, I relate to this. I am currently going through a phase of loving me more, loving me more than your bullshit. And it feels great. It's empowering. It's a good message. Sometimes we do need to learn to put ourselves first, and learn what self-love actually means.

5. DENMARK - SABA - Sand

This is Scandinavian pop perfection. And I am not immune to Scandi-pop. Far from it. It's a well-known weakness of mine. I apologise if it makes me boring, but I fucking love this. I love every single second of this song. I'm probably going to vote for it in the Grand Final. If this wins the Jury I will be the one person who was like yeah I told you.

4. POLAND - LUNA - The Tower

OK, I initially had this lower. This was always in my Top 10. I always loved this song. But I always kind of had it in my mind of like, oh yeah, this is a really great song, but I like other songs more.

But, do I, though? Because, other than my #1 song, this is the song I've listened to more than any other song this year. And, as I was putting together this list, I kept thinking, oh yeah, The Tower is going to be the song that I listen to the most (other than my number 1) after this contest, it's going to be on all my playlists.

And then I stopped and thought, wait, hang on. If I keep wanting to listen to this song more than all the others, and I'm already looking forward to listening to this song for years to come...doesn't that mean I like it a hell of a lot more than I keep thinking I do? And, yeah. The answer is yes. I really love this song. I think the reason I kept underrating it is because it's just a great song all the way through with no real big epic Eurovision moment, right? But this list isn't what song I think will win Eurovision, it's what songs I like best. And I like this song almost the best. This is the kind of music I listen to.

3. FINLAND - WINDOWS95MAN - No Rules!

Things Badger is nostalgic for entry #3 - Y2K era Eurodance. This is basically just Planet of the Bass with only slightly less irony. And I love literally everything about it. Eurodance is a fundamental, defining characteristic of who I am. The first album I ever owned was Aqua's Aquarium. This shit just speaks to my soul, OK?

2. IRELAND - BAMBIE THUG - Doomsday Blue

*stands and applauds* You did it. You fucking did it, Ireland. You sent something interesting. Thank God. And, like, OK, interesting in and of itself does not equal good. This song is a stylistically experimental mishmash of different genres that could very easily be an unlistenable messy clusterfuck, but it's not. It's unironically actually very good and...oddly coherent? It's honestly bizarre how well these stylistic shifts that should be jarring just flow seamlessly. Or at least to me they do.

Is there maybe a part of this song that is trying a little too hard to be different and edgy? Yeah, sure, maybe. But I was once a teenager trying too hard to be different and edgy, and maybe this song speaks to that part of me that I haven't accessed in a while.

1. SAN MARINO - MEGARA - 11:11

Man, it sucks that this is going to go out in the semi-finals because I REALLY love this song, and I don't get why other people don't.

But apparently it's because...Thing Badger is nostalgic for, entry #4, mid-2000s electronic rock, which was absolutely fucking huge in Australia at the time. This song reminds me so much of that time in my life when I was listening to, like, The Rogue Traders, The Veronicas, TV Rock, The Presets, The Potbelleez, Sneaky Sound System. I could keep going. Apparently I was hugely nostalgic for this exact sound and I had no idea until I heard this song. But apparently this is also an experience entirely unique to me because it seems like nobody else likes this song, or cares about it at all.

Whatever, it will always have a fan in me.

OK HAPPY END

[randomvarious]

Vengaboys - "We Like to Party! (The Vengabus)" 1998 Eurodance / Eurohouse / Europop

The Vengaboys really struggled for a little bit to break out internationally before managing to basically become a co-ed Eurodance/Europop version of The Village People. Their first two singles, "Parada de Tettas" (which I guess translates to "Parade of Tits"?), and "To Brazil" both managed to chart in their home country of the Netherlands in 1997, but nowhere outside of the Benelux region (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg), besides Hong Kong, did any label seem interested in picking up either song.

Sometime around 1998, though, the group's producers, Danski & Delmundo, figured it all out: they found that patented, trancey, fuzzy-buzzy, honking Vengaboys synth sound. And its arrival was marked by a song called "Up & Down," which, if you've never heard it, is remarkably similar to "We Like to Party! (The Vengabus)"

So, "Up & Down" represented the start of the Vengaboys' turn-of-the-millennium Euro-dominance. It would become the first single of theirs to really be picked up internationally, and it smashed, particularly in the UK, where it reached #4 on the singles chart and #1 on the dance chart. And in the US, while it didn't touch the Billboard Hot 100, it still topped the publication's dance chart too.

Now, here's where things can get a tad confusing, though: after the Vengaboys released "Up & Down," they followed it up in April of 1998 with their hard-to-find, Dutch-only debut album, Up & Down – The Party Album!, which is not to be confused with their *international* debut album, The Party Album!, which came out over a year later; both releases happen to have pretty different track lists, and the original Dutch-only album only has one song on it that actually uses what would end up becoming the group's famous synth.

In fact, while both the Dutch and international releases have a song on them called "We Like to Party," they are actually two completely different versions. The one that went stratospheric and got the Vengaboys to really break out in the US contains the synth sound, whereas the original version off the Dutch-only album doesn't. And instead, the one from the Dutch-only album is like a weird breakbeat-Eurotrance thing that sounds like it *might* be sampling Slick Rick's "we like to party" line from "La-Di-Da-Di"??? Give a listen to this rareness. It took me multiple YouTube searches to find it, and a 90s throwback DJ might find some use for it, to blend it with the far more popular version 👀.

So, now, knowing about this particular track, here's what I think happened: Danski & Delmundo saw that their group had finally found success because of that trademark synth in "Up & Down," and they thought that they could earn another big hit if they had just used it again. So they constructed a pretty similar beat, repurposed the titular line from the original version of "We Like to Party," and then had group member Denise Post-Van Rijswijk sing some lyrics over it, which happened to include what would become one of the catchiest choruses of the entire decade. And voila, the Vengaboys then had an even bigger worldwide hit than "Up & Down" in "We Like to Party! (The Vengabus)."

This version of the song not only ended up slaying in Europe, but because it had lyrics, it became the group's biggest American hit too, reaching #26 on the Hot 100. And then after that one came the group's third straight single to use the synth: "Boom Boom Boom Boom."

Now, if you actually doubted my comparison of the Vengaboys to the Village People before, here's two things: one, the art for The Party Album! literally has the two male members of the group drawn as a cowboy and a sailor; and two, the music video for "We Like to Party! (The Vengabus)" has a short scene in it in which the Vengaboys run into a group of guys who are dressed as the Village People and are doing the "YMCA" dance; but the Vengaboys, who are a mix of bored and befuddled by their presence, end up pushing them aside, so as to say, "Out of the way, Village People! The new breed, The Vengaboys, are here!"

And as far as Europe goes, they weren't wrong. They'd never have another hit in the US after "Boom Boom Boom Boom," but they'd keep up the momentum with The Platinum Album, and now they're still beloved over there as a nostalgia act more than two decades later. And the Vengaboys would remain relevant in the US too, of course, with Six Flags appropriating "We Like to Party! (The Vengabus)" as its own theme song in 2004, which came with an iconic ad campaign that featured a dancing, besuited old man called Mr. Six, who, according to this credible Reddit comment I found, was actually just a 30-year old guy in prosthetic makeup?! 😲

More fun videos here.

[maaarine]

thinking about the sociology of football and wondering why the Spanish team is so white, compared to other European teams

if you suppose that a fair amount of players grew up poor and with an immigration background

you expect to see guys whose roots are specific to the country’s history (former colonies and post-WW2 economic migrants)

so for instance, in the Belgian team, you see black guys with Congolese ancestry (Lukaku, Kompany) and used to see white guys with Italian names (Belgium ~imported Italians to work in the country’s coal mines)

in the English team: Commonwealth guys; in the French team: West African guys; in the Dutch team: Surinamese and Caribbean guys; etc 

I don’t even have to look up Luxembourg’s team to know there’ll be Portuguese names in there

and of course Turkish names in the German team (maybe Syrian names someday?)

so what is the whiteness of the Spanish team a reflection of?

did it attract fewer migrants because it was poorer than other European countries?

does this same idea apply to other white teams like Poland and Croatia?

but then again Denmark was rich but its team is white too?

or did Spain attract people from South America whose kids don’t stick out in the national team because they’re white with Spanish-sounding names?

I’ve also got questions as to why the women’s teams at the Euro were all super white except for France?

I obviously don’t have a problem with teams being white or not, I’m just genuinely curious as to how it all happens

like the fact that you don’t see guys with Indian/Pakistani ancestry playing for England, it’s interesting sociologically

[wannabe-cartoonist-blog]

Historical Notes for “What Was I Made For” video

DISCLAIMER/TRIGGER WARNING: HISTORICAL HETALIA. Allusions/references to wars and politics, including current events are made. None of these references are made In mockery or meant to diminish these events, but to acknowledge them. That being said, these characters are fictional, but a lot of the scenes depicted here are based upon real facts + events. As always, please take everything with a grain of salt.

- Up until the global Great Depression following WW1, Liechtenstein was off on her own being a fabulous little nation with lots of castles and culture and history. WW1 monetarily ruined Liechtenstein though and their economy was never able to recover on their own. Then Switzerland stepped forward to supply monetary and military support. To this day, Liechtenstein is still closely guarded/monitored by Switzerland. I obviously alluded to those famous scenes from the anime here (the scene where Liechtenstein collapses and when she cuts her hair to be like Switzy + when she gets the ribbon from Switzy).

- Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, and parts of South Italy were all under the rule of Spain’s Habsburg House. From 1556-1771, Belgium remained under Spain’s rule. Eventually, the Netherlands fought for its independence from Spain with the Eighty Years War lasting from 1568-1648. For the video, I had Belgium view it at her little family breaking apart. (Though Belgium’s bid for independence wasn’t too far behind, and Belgium would then be under the Netherlands’ rule until 1830). Finally, Belgium got shafted a LOT during WW1 + 2. Poor girl went through it. Wish we got more WW2 stories with her in it, as Belgium was a vital area in the Western Front; the Germans had to go through Belgium before they got to France.

- The island of Taiwan gained independence from Japan in 1952. Before that, it had spent much time under China (it was taken by the Japanese when they were doing their whole little empire thing). When China turned communist in 1949, the old Chinese government fled to Taiwan. So, in this video, I had her be an “ideal” old world China in that sense (at least to the Taiwanese). In this video, during a parade, Taiwan notices a little girl and her father, and it causes her to morn her lost childhood (which you don’t really get when you’re a nation). The car scene is based on President Eisenhower’s (US) visit to Taiwan in 1960.

- Seychelles was founded in the 18th century. Prior to Europeans bringing enslaved people there, there were no inhabitants. Seychelles was owned by France for a long time until it was surrendered to Britain in 1811. Poor girl’s probably got a heavier dose of identity crisis/imposter syndrome than most nations. Though she’s doing pretty well for herself today: in 1976, Seychelles gained independence from Great Britain.

- I inarguably do not know much about Monaco as a character + country, as she could have a number of origins. Like did she not exist until the Grimaldi family established there in 1215? Or was she still around as a personification when the Romans were there? Without a doubt though, France is the foreign power that has had the most influence on Monaco. It has claimed it then later recognized its independence a few times now, between all of France’s different Kings and Emperors. I think Monaco, for all intents and purposes, is France’s “sister”. In my fanon, she came to exist when Phonecia colonized it in the 6th century, then it was taken by Rome, but she later becomes a colony of the Republic of Genoa (Italy), then later France, then a brief stint with Spain, then France again… Monaco gained independence in 1861, though to this day, it is militarily defended by France (so sorta a similar relationship to Switzerland-Liechtenstein, here, hence the sibling headcanon). I think Monaco views the Italys as cousins of a sort and France as a sort of pseudo big brother. Spain is some guy she lived with/who protected her/a potential love interest, idk.

- Vietnam is another country with a long rich history of their own, but for a long time, they’re been forced under the influence of foreign powers. For this video, I decided to alluded to the Vietnam War, fought by the Capitalist United States (America) + South Vietnam and the Communist Soviet Union (Russia) + North Vietnam. Civil Wars are messy and confusing when it comes to this fandom, let me tell ya… Though without a doubt, this was a time of immense conflict for her.

- Oh man the countries that exist as females in canon so they can not-gay marry another man, you own my whole heart. That’s right, I’m talking about you, Hungary and Czechia. Both these ladies have a long history of being badass warriors. In Hungary’s case, she even canonically crossdressed/thought she was a boy. I imagine that even after she went through puberty and realized her true gender, she still crossdressed to be taken seriously. But of course, she later marries Austria and becomes a bit of a housemaid. That’s so sad. Let my girl fight. I imagine that Czechia would crossdress too (I imagine a lot of female nations do, especially in times of war) before she would later marry Slovakia. I also think that even though Hungary and Czechia both love their ex-husbands and understand they’re in a similar bind with the arranged political marriages, they still long for the times before they were placed in a box based on their gender/nationhood. (On an almost unrelated note: I love the himbo/useless boyfriend Slovakia we see in the anime, 12/10 content).

- Often in the fandom, Belarus is pretty one-note in her devotion to Russia and her distain for anyone else. But I imagine that Belarus is actually quite a complex character who often questions where her loyalties lie. Belarus used to be part of the kingdom of Lithuania-Poland, where I imagine for a time she was happy until she wanted to be on her own/back with her family. Then it was part of the USSR. Then it left the USSR and was creating ties with capitalist America, her brother’s sworn enemy. I imagine Belarus has always been loyal to her brother, but in the 90s she sorta gets all turned around when the Union collapses and has to rethink everything she thought she knew. Obviously, her path leads her back to her brother, as Russia and Belarus still have strong political ties to this day.

- Finally, we have Ukraine which has a long history of terrible things happening to it via another country. I contemplated whether or not to include such current, sensitive subjects. But, this is history we’re witnessing, and so I decided to include an allusion to the present war in Ukraine. Ukraine is another character in the show/fandom who is often portrayed pretty one-note as just a devote matriarch to her family/brother. Obviously, especially with the current political climate and the relationship between the actual countries of Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus, that’s pretty bullshit/insensitive. I imagine that for the nations, there is a healthy dose of disconnect between them and politics; the countries usually represent the PEOPLE of the country, not the political/governmental parties, in my mind - they’re still their own people with their own feelings and relationships - but I definitely feel like (the characters of) Ukraine and Russia’s relationship has been strained since the 90s (probably even the 80s, since Chernobyl).

This blog supports a free Ukraine. 💙🇺🇦💛

[fallenwingzero]

Frozen Teardrop Translation

New chapter finally released! This chapter had me researching Humphrey Bogart movies and various Cinderella adaptions more than I thought I ever would need to so thanks Sumisawa for that.

Full translation under the cut ~

Frozen Teardrop

Volume 8: Rhapsody of Loneliness (Middle part)

Chapter: Peacecraft File 4

“Once upon a time, there were twin sisters called Cinderella and Cendrillon. Both names meant ‘grey’. One day they heard there was going to be a ball in the king’s castle, and they wanted to go. Unfortunately, the sisters have neither money nor clothes to wear.

A kind wizard appeared and prepared a pumpkin carriage, a lovely dress and beautiful glass slippers. However, it is for one person only.

The sisters discuss it, Cendrillon goes to the ball and Cinderella stays at her house to take care of her stepmother. Cendrillon had a dreamy time with the prince at the ball and at midnight, before the spell wore off, she hurried home. She left one glass slipper on the castle stairs.

Using the glass slipper as a clue, the prince searched for Cendrillon, whom he missed and finally came to their mansion.

On that day, in order to repay Cinderella for staying at the mansion, Cendrillon worked hard and went to draw water from a distant well.

The prince met Cinderella at the mansion, and he gave her the glass slipper as a test. As twins, the size fit perfectly. The prince decided to marry Cinderella.

When Cendrillon came back from fetching water, Cinderella was nowhere to be seen in the mansion – “

-A story handed down in a certain royal family from ‘Cinderella and Cendrillon’.

AC-146 April

Political stagnation becomes a hotbed for the creation of aggressive power organizations. If politicians are negligent and the people are lethargic, those with armed forces will have an active mentality that says, “We must stand firm”.

In fact, it was the military organizations of each country that led the Earth Sphere to unification. As a result, in a multipolar international community, it was more efficient to solve conflicts in each region with a mighty military power all at once than to gradually wear out due to conflicts between nations.

As a result, a monster called the ‘United Earth Sphere Alliance’ was born. These aggressive subversives also routinely forged imaginary enemies to keep their organizations alive.

From ‘Shut up, Old Man’ by a student named Heero Yuy, who appeared at the Romefeller Foundation in Luxembourg.

The anti-war speech that began greatly tilted the position of the United Earth Sphere Alliance. His speech was acerbic and truthful. Sometimes violently, sometimes supplely, he spoke passionately and rhythmically.

The gist of it is that the intrusive, extreme utilitarian political system of the elect widens the gap between the rich and poor, deprives the people of their vitality and creates a society that affirms war and rejects peace.

It was a point about the process. It hit the point. It was a clear logical progression. Moreover, his argument was not limited to criticism, but rather it presented an alternative plan for reform. And was so apt that the people in power who attended the meeting were embarrassed. The counterarguments of the old generals of the United Earth Sphere Alliance were completely ignored.

This was the brilliant political debut of Heero Yuy, who would be later called the legendary leader of the colonies.

At the same time, it was also the beginning of the entire Earth sphere rushing into the darkness of loneliness. An eloquent, righteous argument breeds an insidious antipathy. Shining youth is the object of the jealousy of the old. Selfless reformers are hated by vested interests.

After finishing the speech, Heero and Sabrina decided to hide themselves in Cinquante Khushrenada’s mansion for a while. This was because he had heard rumors that a secret agency of the Alliance government had begun to move. Their actions are aimed at ‘assassination’.

Maybe the stage called history didn’t need a ‘light of hope’ like Heero Yuy.

The Alliance General Staff Headquarters still considers the defeat of the two navel battles in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to be improbable. The third, fourth and fifth Combined Fleets, which held more than six times the strength of the rebel fleet, was lost almost instantly. And in the space of just a month or two, air and sea superiority in the northern Atlantic Ocean was completely in the hands of the rebels.

Goods transportation inland was still going strong but there was still a shortage of supplies to keep the Sanc Kingdom siege network going. The Alliance Forces have no choice but to decide to withdraw, and as a major premise, they had to urgently start ceasefire negotiations with the rebel army.

The rebels accepted the proposal. However, they added that the location of the meeting would be designated as the kingdom of Sanc Kingdom and that the event was to be broadcast throughout the globe. Both were unprecedented but the Alliance responded that they would comply with those demands.

Everyone on the side of the rebels thought, “the Alliance Forces have become weak”. It seemed odd but it was an old-fashioned ruse.

At a later date, the ceasefire negotiations were to be held in the hall of the Sanc Kingdom Castle.

*

Spring in the Sanc Kingdom is still dull. The deep forests in the mountains were white and cold and there was scattered snow in the central city where the castle was located.

Katrina Peacecraft was watching such a spectacle from the deck of the rebel flagship ‘Robin Hood’ floating in the Sanc Kingdom Bay.

“The snow hasn’t melted yet…. That’s good,” she whispered, as she felt the cold sea breeze.

Snow absorbs excess sound and brings silence. That whiteness covers up a heart full of lies.

“I’m a useless student who keeps lying… Is that right, Professor Heero?”

That’s what she was thinking. Katrina hasn’t met Heero again since she came down to Earth. If she had met him, she had to fulfill one promise.

“I am suffering. Please help me,” Katrina had once said.

After a while, Heero asked her about it, when he was communicating to the cockpit of the Wyvern heading for Earth.

“I want you to tell me what you’re suffering from so much.”

Katrina didn’t tell him.

“I won’t tell you, but I’ll let you know when this mission is over.”

It was just a cover up. She couldn’t tell the truth.

“I like Heero.”

Perhaps, no, definitely, Sabrina also noticed that she likes Heero. Nearly half a year has passed since then. She can’t tell a good lie to the current Heero. She can’t think of anything but messy words, like walking on a melting snow road.

“Sabrina is more suitable as a teacher…”

In Immanuel Kant’s philosophy, there is a thought called “Categorical Imperative”. It is commonly called “Falsehood is a sin” and has no religious nuances. It is a formula of universal law derived from the supreme principle of morality. It seems that Sabrina has been practicing it ever since she learned it from Heero at Marquis Welridge’s mansion.

Katrina was the first to learn that way of thinking. When she was at the Darlian’s mansion in the colony, she was taught by Heero, who was her tutor. But he could not be understood by Katrina. Even among the same lessons, she can’t help thinking that Sabrina was the better student.

Actually, she still has feelings for Heero. It was a shameful and regrettable feeling.

Katrina had to let go of such attachments. In order for her to confirm her determination to live as a warrior.

To make her unhappy sister, Sabrina, happy.

Two months ago, she knew they had followed her down to Earth. Still, she didn’t go to meet them herself because she felt like her resolve was fading.

“I don’t need anything; I’ll always have memories of Heero.”

It was a pun on a line Humphrey Bogart said in the movie ‘Casablanca’ that she saw a long time ago.

Katerina heard a voice calling out to her from behind. She turned around to see it was Sabrina. It seems that she came to this “Robin Hood” to have a final meeting with the rebels before the ceasefire negotiations with the Alliance forces.

As her assistants, she was accompanied by Cinquante Khushrenada and Eric Shergold of the Romefeller foundation.

Katrina was relieved that Heero wasn’t there. Feeling relieved, she asked her where he was.

“Where’s Professor Heero?”

“He’s taking care of Sam.”

For a moment, Katrina looked at the Wyvern Sam on the deck. She soon realized that Sabrina meant ‘Sam’ the cat. It was strange for her to make such a misunderstanding.

“Is Sam attached to the teacher?”

“He’s got scratches here and there.”

The two of them smiled at each other. Katrina had a hard time dealing with the selfish Sam, but she could see Heero struggling while lining up various difficult words.

The early Spring sun still doesn’t feel warm. There is only a slight warmth between them.

All of them had the meeting while looking at the cease-fire mediation documents handed by the Alliance forces in advance. Confirming points that could be compromised and points that can be pushed hard and simulating the contents of the assumed meeting from every angle and carefully check it over.

They would vehemently refuse any request to hand over the Wyvern ‘Sam’ and say there was no such item. They were certain it wouldn’t help if ‘Sam’ the cat was brought in again. There were no major problems at this stage.

After that, Cinquante Khushrenada made a suggestion.

“From now on, I don’t think the two of you should be present at the same place.”

“Why not?” Katrina asked plainly.

Cinquante explained apologetically that a person named Sabrina Peacecraft is supposed to have died in the Earth mission shuttle explosion last Fall. Therefore, the fact that it was Sabrina, not Katrina, who appeared at the Foundation conference hall in Luxembourg was also hidden.

Katrina was the one who immediately agreed. Originally, she believed that Sabrina would be the one who would succeed the Peacecraft family.

With this, she won’t be able to see Heero anymore. If there was one problem, it was letting her beloved sister take her name.

“I’m really sorry, Sabrina.”

“No, Katrina… I’m the one who wants to apologize to you.”

“…. Why?”

“I didn’t do anything… I let you feel scared.”

“Don’t worry about that because this life suits me better.”

After sending Sabrina and the others off, Captain Marticus Rex spoke hesitantly.

“I heard you were talking about twins,”

Katrina, who seemed to be seeing her off forever, didn’t turn around at the voice.

“I had a different impression of you.”

During this period, Marticus seemed to have a kind of affection for Katrina. He told his companions that he loved the occasional carefree smile of the princess.

“I feel like goddess of victory smiles on me. It gives hope to soldiers who are fighting hard. As a subordinate and a close comrade in arms, there is nothing more reassuring than that,” he said.

While it is true that Sabrina and Katrina carry different weights of fate. While showing the same smile as Katrina, Sabrina’s eyes hide sorrow and sadness.

“Well then –” Katrina said with a bright smile.

“I’ll have to decide on my new name!”

AC – 146 April 20

The Sanc Kingdom talks have begun. Seated at the center table were the Alliance and the Rebels, as well as Sabrina Peacecraft. She had everything required to represent the country. Her talent, knowledge, and negotiation skills were outstanding.

However, Sabrina had one cause of disconcert. On the broadcast screen of this meeting ‘Katrina Peacecraft’ is displayed as Sabrina’s name in the telop.

Sabrina was slightly ashamed by the unwelcomed falsehood.

The most notable point of this meeting was that the Alliance did not admit defeat. It seemed that they just wanted the world to know that this is a humanitarian ceasefire to avoid further bloodshed.

Originally, the beginning of this war was that the rebel army stood up against suppression from the Alliance and took a hard-liner stance. It would have been a sufficient result if it had been alleviated.

Today, the Allied forces made major concessions without compromising their pride.

“Understood. As you said, lets accept the truce.”

Sabrina agreed.

To put it bluntly, “avoid bloodshed” is a bargaining cliché. They are words often used in places like this. However, the peace-loving Sabrina took such a clichéd phrase that had become a mere formality as a sincere attitude. Of course, she doesn’t believe this is peaceful.

As long as even a little bit of hostility remains, it cannot be said to be a state of peace. She believed that even the first step towards peace would be enough.

On the other hand, a truce was also desired by the rebel army. The soldiers were in high spirits, but the fleet and land forces were running out of fuel and ammunition.

The economy that continued the front was already in trouble.

Contrary to the lofty idea of “avoiding bloodshed”, the compelling reason for ending this war was “because both sides no longer have the strength to maintain their front lines”. Both sides confirmed the terms of the ceasefire treaty and offered each other compromises.

Sabrina’s eyes were caught on the last item. It was a new addition, unlike the document that was informed in advance. “About claiming reparations to the Kingdom of Sanc Kingdom” was typed out.

The amount demanded by the Alliance was staggering. It was a figure that required more than five times the total assets of the Peacecraft family. There was no way a poor and weak country could afford it.

First, why should Sanc Kingdom have to pay reparations?

The reasons for the items were “the main factor that spread the war”, “damage to neighboring countries”, “Arbitrarily escaped from the Allied side without approval”, and so on was plausibly listed.

The reasons were true, but demanding compensation from the winning side was unprecedented.

Sabrina was keenly aware of whether this meant “winning the battle or losing the negotiation”. By this time, the rebels had assumed the Alliance was weakening. However, the reality was different. They were using cunning negotiations to get their hateful demands through.

They should have made each other’s positions clearer before the discussion. She made a hasty decision because she wanted peace too much.

Would be possible to refuse the request at this point? – Sabrina thought hard about it.

If she refuses the ceasefire treaty will be broken and war will continue.

If that happens, Katrina and the others will return to the battlefield again, and their hands will be died red with blood. Unlike navel battles, inland battles can be disastrous with the possibility of involving many ordinary people unrelated to war.

And in order to maintain the front line, they will have to borrow a large amount of money from other countries.

In the long run, the Alliance will eventually win. Ultimately, it is easy to imagine that the country itself will be destroyed by paying the debt and reparations that will have increased several times the amount claimed this time.

“After everything, I have no choice but to give up and pay -”

Sabrina desperately wants this war to end. She wants to keep the rebel soldiers, the citizens of the Sanc Kingdom, and her beloved sister away from this battlefield. But where could this huge amount for reparations come from? She cannot afford to burden her own citizens. Sabrina was driven into a hopeless stagnation.

At that time, she heard a gentle whisper in her ear.

“Princess… Please understand about the compensation,” Eric Shergold of the Romefeller Foundation spoke. “We will do something about that matter.”

She didn’t know when he had approached, but he had just whispered those words and left.

All limits are within yourself. Sabrina had believed this. Stagnation and despair are things you think of yourself.

As soon as someone offered her a method to break through, she felt that her heart had suddenly become radiant.

Sabrina decided to obey. At the very least, she recognized Eric and Cinquante as trustworthy people.

“Sanc Kingdom accepts everything.” She spoke quietly, looking straight at her negotiating partner.

The war between the Alliance and the Rebels in Northern Europe ended when Sabrina Peacecraft signed “Katrina Peacecraft” in the signature column of the approval.

At the same time, the rebel army disbanded.

*

A brazen withdrawal of the Alliance forces began. In the mountains of the Kingdom of Sanc, roads were forcibly widened, and forests were torn apart.

The villages along the way had been requisitioned for supplies. All civilians in the surrounding area had been evacuated as it was all expected. Originally, they were supposed to be able to withdraw without incident.

It was midnight as Alliance withdrawal continued.

Among them, there was a unit that behaved inexplicably.

The 99th Tank Battalion unit, also known as the “Hydra Corps”, which was serving as a chief, was far from the planned course.

Then, unexpectantly, they launched an attack on a faculty where civilians had taken refuge. They reported to the main unit that they had confirmed the Rebel army pursuing them but in reality, there were no Rebel pursuit units.

The Rebel army itself has already been dismantled and the citizens of the Sanc Kingdom are unarmed. The claim made no sense.

But the last tank Commander was harsh. They destroyed evacuation facilities with artillery fire and aimed strafing at the fleeing civilians.

In a panic, their subordinates intervened.

“Stop it, Commander! None of the people here are armed!!”

“Aren’t you guys frustrated?! We have no honors, medals or rewards!!”

The tank commander was completely insane.

“Here are the enemies! The civilians have become resistant and attacked us!!”

The Alliance force’s peculiar, fabricated constitution was ingrained in this man.

“Don’t report this to anyone!”

At that time, a dazzling light came down over the tank commander’s head. It was a flash bullet, and for a moment, they lost sight of their targets. At the same time, all electronic devices were disabled.

The civilians had fled in the meantime.

The tank Commander looked up with still flickering eyes.

Up above - A wyvern, a two-headed dragon shining in silver, was in flight. Its pilot called from the sky. The voice heard was that of a gentle girl.

“You know of the ceasefire treaty. If you really want to dance, I’ll be your partner.”

The voice was certainly that of Katrina.

“Meow.”

The menacing meow of a cat was also heard in that moment.

Katrina listened to the advice of the quantum computer “Sam” and decided to fight for those who could not do so themselves.

The tank unit realized that it was the rumored “Sam” and fled like spiderlings.

*

There was a secret base where Katrina and her friends were hiding in the forest in the northern part of Sanc Kingdom.

Admiring Katrina, Marticus and several former rebels disembarked from the flagship “Robin Hood” that had arrived there and were gathered in.

There is mainly a Wyvern maintenance dock, where engineers such as “D.D” and Mike Howard were as well as a figure. They built this base in honor of the legendary hero of England whose name was the same as the flagship they were on. They called it “Sherwood Forest”.

Katrina and the others may be outlaws who oppose the great power, but they are also a group of thieves who protect peace and freedom -.

AC-146 May

May nights are filled with the breathing of trees. The murmuring of the brook reflects the brightness of the moon and emits various colors. Owls can be heard hooting from somewhere. The Shergold Mansion was located in a scenic spot surrounded by such natural beauty.

Sabrina Peacecraft got out of the car in front of the fountain and headed towards the entrance at the top of the stairs.

The opulent mansion was built more solidly than Sanc Kingdom Castle. It is said that Eric lives alone in such a luxurious mansion. Of course, since he is single, there are probably some servants living there but even so it is too splendid.

It wasn’t an official visit, but Sabrina was embarrassed that she came here in casual clothes, not formal attire.

“But I am dressed almost too plainly”.

Sabrina had asked Eric to meet her. There was an explanation that she really wanted to hear from their meeting.

Up until this point, Sabrina believed that the reparations for the Sanc Kingdom was paid for by the Romefeller Foundation. That’s what she had thought, but it wasn’t. It was paid out of the Shergold family’s personal assets. What’s more, it was fully paid off, and no bill came to Sanc Kingdom.

“Why did you do that?” Sabrina went to the Shergold household and abruptly asked Eric, who welcomed her.

“No, please do not worry about it.”

His clothes were unexpectedly casual, and she felt relief at her own casual attire.

She took his words at face value and thought, “Do I really not have to worry about compensation?”

The hospitality was so friendly.

“I’m so sorry, did you find out?” Eric had the embarrassed smile of a child whose prank was discovered.

“Thank you for your help, but it’s too much for a donation.” Sabrina said, while being led to the drawing room.

“You have nothing to pay as a person” he continued. Eric sat down on the sofa in the drawing room, stroked his bangs that were hanging down, and gave his usual gentle smile. “It’s not a donation… so to speak, it’s more like and advance investment in your country.”

Sabrina sat directly across from him and listened with a glaring gaze.

“Investment?”

“That’s right… The Sanc Kingdom is a country that is necessary for the future of the world. Princess, I’ve been thinking that ever since the first time I saw you.” With a smile on his face, Eric continued his words as if to admonish Sabrina. “In today’s world, everyone wants war. Many countries have perished because of this. No one will listen to me when I appeal for peace in these times. But it may be all able to change, no, it has to change. That’s why I want Sanc Kingdom to survive until then.”

Sabrina let out a deep sigh.

“What we were fighting was not the Alliance Forces, but the era itself.”

Eric admired her intelligence.

“Yes, it’s an opponent that can’t be beaten but that is also something to be proud of. It’s almost dazzling. I thought you could entrust your ‘hope for peace’. That’s why I made this modest investment.”

“Do you really think that a peaceful era will come?”

“If you believe that it will come… But peace is fragile like a piece of thin glass. If it hits the floor it will shatter into pieces. So please keep it in your heart. Please think of it as the mission of the Princess of the Sanc Kingdom.”

*

Eric managed to calm Sabrina and sent her home. He returned to the drawing room while relieving the stiffness in his shoulders.

“You look pretty tired, Eric.” Cinquante was sitting where Sabrina had been seated until just a moment ago and spoke teasingly. “You don’t even understand people feelings.”

Eric slumped down on the sofa.

“If you had heard everything, I would have liked you to have participated, Cinquante.”

“…. Shame on the name of the Khushrenada family for such an uncouth imitation.”

“Uncouth? You’re a man with a strange way of looking after yourself.”

Cinquante poured amber scotch into two baccarat glasses and handed one to Eric.

“Let’s have a toast.”

“Oh, I’d like that…”

The two of them lifted their glasses up to their line of sight.

“To the future of the Sanc Kingdom.”

“And peace.”

Each spoke and downed their drink at once.

“Peace is like a thin piece of glass, is it. Those were the words, right? You are usually only interested in economics” Cinquante said while blowing the empty glass.

“That doesn’t sound like a compliment, Cinquante.”

“Because I’m not praising you… you should be more honest with yourself.”

Baccarat cuts are delicate yet powerful, refracting the light in a complex way and reflecting it gorgeously.

Cinquante continued quietly, holding up a glass emitting various colors.

“What is fragile and transparent is beautiful. That’s why it captures people’s feelings and won’t let go, I wanted you to say, “it’s like you princess….””

As soon as he said that Eric’s cheeks turned slightly red.

“What are you talking about?”

“Your face is red. Did your investment have ulterior motives after all?”

“Hey, wait.”

“Good grief, did I hit the bullseye?”

“I’ll get mad if you don’t lay off!”

Eric poured only his portion into the glass.

“So, what’s going on? Did Cinderella like the ‘Glass Slipper’?”

“…….”

Eric wasn’t going to say anything else and decided to keep drinking in silence. He is fifteen years older than Sabrina. There’s no way anyone would understand such a middle-aged man’s faint love. A young prince on a white horse is the one who brings the ‘Glass Slipper’.

“Oh, never mind. There was an old movie called ‘Sabrina Fair’… Hepburn’s partner is Bogart.” Cinquante spoke as if he could see through Eric’s mind.

Hearing that, Eric became even more silent and continued drinking scotch.

*

In Sherwood Forest, a new engineer joins the ranks. She was a slim beauty who once worked as an engineer for the rebel army’s fire control system. Her long hair in a white coat was dashing.

Even though she was young, she handled her subordinates well and instructed them quickly, so there was no waste in the work.

By reusing existing weapons, the defense system of this place was completed in an instant. However, she was just as eccentric as any other engineer. She told the others to call her “Sorciere”. “Sorciere” means “witch” in French.

“There is no deep meaning. If you just think of me as a “genius”, that’s fine.”

For the past month, she had created a large heavy tank with her own development. The naming sense was strange though. She had named the new model “Jack O’ Lantern” after those haunted pumpkins that you decorate for Halloween.

There were five heavy tanks in total, but because of this name they were called the “Pumpkin Tank Corps” by their comrades.

One day, Katrina asked Sorciere to go to the shower room with her. However, she was flatly refused. When she asked her again, Sorciere took off her long wig and showed her short, bristling hair.

“I’m actually a man. Dressing as a woman is just a hobby.”

The man that she had thought was a women walked away indignantly after saying that.

This Sorciere later became Doctor S, the developer of “Prometheus” and “Heavy Arms”. As expected, the sense of naming things is different from that of ordinary people.

Katrina was amused to see Sorciere’s completed heavy tank.

“Very good! It’s a pumpkin chariot made by a witch.”

Excited, she hugged Marticus who was by her side.

“Then tonight I’m Cendrillon.”

“No, that…” Marticus was completely embarrassed.

“But our magic doesn’t end at twelve o’ clock!”

“Meow.” The Wyvern’s ‘Sam’ replied.

Katrina quickly turned away from Marticus and turned to her fellow forest companions.

“Shall we go out to the nightly ball- ‘Endless Waltz’”

Katrina Peacecraft’s smile was shining like never before-

 (End Chapter)

[depictae]

10 Interesting Facts About Luxembourg

Discover 10 interesting facts about Luxembourg, known for its wealth, multilingual population, historic castles, and role as a major financial center.

Basic Information About Luxembourg Country Full Name: Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Continent: Europe Official Languages: Luxembourgish, French, and German Currency: Euro (EUR) Capital: Luxembourg City Main Dish: Judd mat Gaardebounen (smoked pork with broad beans) Famous For: Banking sector, castles, diverse culture, and high quality of life. Size: 2,586 square kilometers Population:…

[lettersfromcats]

spotify wrapped

hey kate,

it's been a while! i am sorry for that but uni has been busy. anyway yesterday last week spotify wrapped came out and i thought i could maybe examine mine more closely. see what memories are connected to the music in it and just tell you about my year through the music i listened to.

my top 5 genre this year was Neue Neue Deutsche Welle, which i find really interesting because growing up i loved Neue Deutsche Welle. Nancy Kilpatrick in the The Goth Bible , Neue Deutsche Welle or short NDW is "is a genre of west German rock music originally derived from post punk and new wave music with electronic influences". according to my mom it is the sound of her youth. according to me it is the sound of those 80s music documentaries i love watching. one of the most globally famous songs from this genre is without a doubt this one. however it is probably not the only one you know. anyways i am getting distracted. Neue Neue Deutsche Welle is hard to define but i will try my best for you. it seems pretty similar to the 80s genre, however there sometimes seems to be bigger emphasis on using synth and the vibe of the songs is overall gloomier. whether that is an accurate description or not, you should decide for yourself. what i can say for sure is that to me, this genre has been a huge part of my year. when i would genuinely want to listen to music and not just have something playing in the background this is the type of music i would go for. artists like mia morgan, die tränen and modular were the soundtrack of m 2023. futhermore i wanted to tell you about this genre as it is crucial to one of my favorite memories from this year. as you can probably tell from my brief mentioning of a few Neue Neue Deutsche Welle artists, is that mia morgan is one of them. attending her show together just last month was so much fun and so was finding new artists in the genre. both her support artists were new discoveries, although i had heard of them i had just never taken the time to actually go and listen to them.

"this year listening took you places!", is what it says on the next slide of the spotify wrapped and that is certainly true. a little spoiler but the day i listened to the most music in 2023 was the day i was travelling back to ireland after the maneskin concert. so here's a list of all the places i saw this year because of concerts (also funnily enough, the place spotify is saying listens just like me is not included):

luxembourg (twice)

düsseldorf (three times, unfortunately)

dresden

it might not seem like a lot of places, but i am always glad for getting to travel and see my favorite artists in concert and hear my favorite songs.

this was fortunately also the case for my top song kein gott, kein staat nur du by kraftklub ft. mia morgan. this song was already my top song last year (despite the fact it came out 32 days before the spotify wrapped cutoff) so i would say it's real love. i saw kraftklub live only two times this year (one of those times was the show in dresden) and was thus fortunate enough to hear my favorite song live at both of those shows. at one of the shows they brought out mia to sing her own part, at the other this was done by gwen doyln. both times are fond memories of mine.

out of my 5 top artists of the year, i saw 3 of them live this year. kraftklub, 5sos and maneskin. interestingly enough on the little clocks spotify wrapped gave us for when we listened most to our top artists it shows very clearly that i listen most to an artists just after i saw them live. i don't know what to do with that information but i am glad i have it.

lastly, for the little categories spotify gave each listener, they gave me alchemist, so the playlist curator. thus it feels only right to end this blog post with my 23 out of 23 playlist, which includes my favorite releases of the year. i might go into more detail about the songs on that playlist another time, but for now this seems enough.

doreen <3

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Rosa Riedl - The Inspiring Journey to Paralympic Glory

Rosa Riedl's tree of her family and historical documents. Records could include photos, original documents, family histories relatives, dates, locations and full names. Cecilia graduated at Oregon State University with a degree in English. She loves traveling, hiking, and spending time with her pet; Maguey. Her interests in research are narrative and semiotics.

About the Author The Paralympic Games began in 1960, with the first Athlete's Oath (which is identical to the Olympic Oath) being taken in the year 1960. Since 1960, athletes who have disabilities compete to win an Olympic medal, just like Olympic Games competitors. Geros Geros is an adaptive athlete who is a competitor in the sitting snowboard cross men's category. He has put in a lot of effort to fulfill his dream of competing in the Winter Paralympics 2022. When he stepped onto the podium for the award at the conclusion of the contest He reflected on the many obstacles and challenges he has overcome to get to this moment. Marika Cecilia Riedl is a harpist who performs solo for the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich and the Philharmonie Orchestre de Berne among other orchestras. She also is a member of various ensembles and also teaches music at the Musikhochschule Munchen. She is a scholar of the Kiwanis Club Zurich and the Lyra Foundation. About the Book The word "Paralympics" is derived from the Greek para (meaning in conjunction with) and lympos (athletes). The Games were named in order in order to emphasise the fact that disabled athletes participated in the same competition as Olympic athletes. Megan Stockwell, a 22-year-old from northern England she has been dreaming of becoming a Paralympian since the age of just nine years old. After a few attempts at wheelchair basketball and swimming until she found her true passion in table tennis. After Mary Wettengel lost her leg after a fall, she decided to live a normal life. She did it by using prosthetic legs to dance as well as acting and playing the piano. Her involvement in theatre and music empowers children with disabilities. She also participates in research and advocacy to promote inclusion of disabled people. Her work has been recognized and rewarded several times. She lives in Luxembourg with her husband and two cats. She loves writing, painting, and being creative in all ways possible. About Caecilia Riedl Caecilia Riedl is a 12 year old Judo athlete with a vision impairment. She has been recognized by the National Ministry of Education's Young Talent award and dreams of participating in the Paralympics someday. She has been taking harp classes since the year 2010. In 2014, she won study grants from the Migros-Kulturprozent and was accepted to the Swiss Music Conservatory. She also received instruction from masters including Luisa Prandina Cristina Bianchi, and Marie-Pierre Langlamet. Historical records and family trees related to Rosa Riedl. They can contain photos of original documents, family history and relatives dates, addresses, full names, and specific dates. Rosa Riedl was born in the month in which she was born. She was married Hubert Konrad in 1933, at age 19 years old. They had two children: Franz Riedl and Juliana Riedl (born Wach). Rosa died on month day in death place. She was buried at Cimitero Parrocchiale, (Pfarrkirche St. Pankraz), Glurns in Trentino-Alto Adige. There was a brother as well as three other siblings. About the Illustrator Megan Riedl was nine when she was diagnosed with a severe spinal cord injury. But the sports-mad child didn't let this handicap prevent her from. She was the national athlete in wheelchair basketball in table tennis, swimming and wheelchair basketball before she made her debut at the Paralympics in 28. Marika Cecilia Riedl erhielt ihren ersten Harfenunterricht von Tabitha Nicolas, und im Jahr 2010 wurde sie zum Jungstudent bei der Musikhochschule Munchen belegt. Seit 2014 absolviert sie die Zurcher Hochschule der Kunste unter Sarah O'Brien und hat einen Austauschsemester in Lausanne bei Letizia Belmondo absolviert. She has received awards from the Lyceum Club Zurich as well as the Marianne and Curt Dienemann Foundation Luzern. Stephanie is an illustrator and writer who loves hiking, traveling, and having time with her pet Maguey. She is a student of semiotics, Narratology along with affect theory and monster theories. She enjoys applying them to the field of education and arts. Click for the video

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Rosa Riedl - The Inspiring Journey to Paralympic Glory

Rosa Riedl's family tree and historical documents. Records could include photos and the original documents, family history relatives, specific dates, places and complete names. Cecilia has graduated at Oregon State University with a degree in English. She enjoys traveling, walk, and spend time with Maguey and her dog. Her research interests are in semiotics, narratology and affect theory. About the Author In 1960 it was the year that the Paralympic Games were first held. The Athlete Oath was taken (which is identical to the Olympic Oath). Since since then, athletes who have disabilities have competed to win a medal similar to what Olympic Games competitors do. Geros Geros is an adaptive runner who competes at the sitting snowboard cross men's competition. He has worked tirelessly to fulfill his dream of participating in the Winter Paralympics 2022. He reflected on all the hurdles and challenges that he faced to reach this point when he was on the podium to receive the awards. Marika Cecilia is a soloist for a number of orchestras which include the Tonhalle Orchester Zurich, the Philharmonie Orchestre de Berne and other orchestras. She also participates in ensembles and also is a teacher at the Musikhochschule Munchen. She has received scholarships from the Kiwanis Club Zurich, and the Lyra Foundation. About the Book The word "Paralympic" is derived from the Greek words para (meaning side-by-side) and lympos ("athletes"). The Games were named to highlight the fact that disabled athletes participated in parallel to Olympic athletes. Megan Stockwell, a 22-year-old from northern England, has dreamed of becoming a Paralympian since the age of nine years old. After having tried wheelchair basketball and swimming before she found her passion in table tennis. Mary Wettengel was determined to have a happy, normal life after losing her leg. She did it by using her prosthetic legs to dance in theatre, acting, and playing the piano. The work she does in the field of theatre and music helps disabled children. She is also involved in research and advocacy to promote inclusion of disabled people. She has won numerous awards and recognition for her efforts. She lives in Luxembourg with her husband and two cats. She loves writing, painting and is creative in every way is possible. About Caecilia Riedl Caecilia Riedl is a 12-year-old Judo athlete with a vision impairment. She has been awarded the National Ministry of Education's Young Talent award and dreams of competing at the Paralympics in the near future. She has been taking harp classes since the year 2010. She was awarded a study award by the Migros-Kulturprozent in 2014 and later accepted into the Swiss Music Conservatory. She has also received advice by masters like Luisa Prandina Cristina Bianchi, and Marie-Pierre Langlamet. Rosa Riedl's family tree as well as historical records. These records can include photos of original documents as well as family histories and relatives dates, addresses full names, and specific dates. Rosa Riedl (born Folie) was born on month day in birth place. She got married to Hubert Konrad at the age of 19 in 1933. The couple had two children: Franz Riedl and Juliana Riedl (born Wach). Rosa died on month day in death place. She was laid to rest in Cimitero Parrocchiale (Pfarrkirche St. Pankraz), Glurns, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy. There was a brother as well as three siblings. About the Illustrator

When she was a young girl when she was nine, a severe spinal cord injury rendered Megan Riedl a wheelchair user however, the athlete-loving youngster never let her disability prevent her from experimenting with new activities. She took home national medals in swimming and wheelchair basketball prior to taking part in her Paralympic debut at age 28 and winning gold in table tennis. Marika Cecilia Riedl erhielt ihren ersten Harfenunterricht von Tabitha Nicolas, und im Jahr 2010 wurde sie zum Jungstudent bei der Musikhochschule Munchen belegt. Seit 2014 absolviert sie die Zurcher Hochschule der Kunste unter Sarah O'Brien und hat einen Austauschsemester in Lausanne bei Letizia Belmondo absolviert. She is the recipient of scholarship awards from the Lyceum Club Zurich as well as the Marianne and Curt Dienemann Foundation Luzern as well as the Zangger-Weber Stiftung, and the Richard Wagner Verein Munich, as well as the Kiwanis Club Zurich-Enge Patenschaft. Stephanie is an illustrator and writer who enjoys traveling, hiking and having time with her dog Maguey. She is interested in semiotics and narratology, affect theory, as well as monster theories. She is interested in exploring ways to apply these theories to education and the arts. Go to YouTube