#John Medici

[muzaktomyears]

Mal himself was acutely aware of the special relationship he shared with Paul, the Beatle with whom he was, to his mind, undoubtedly the closest, but he also understood Paul's psyche best, and recognized that his friend "seemed to have the attitude of a North of England mill owner." In one especially painful instance, Mal recalled Paul "turning to me and saying, 'you are my servant. You do as you are told.'" Mal felt shaken to the core. "'I've never been anybody's servant,'" he replied, "always feeling in my heart that I worked with the Beatles and never for them." In his anger and hurt, Mal sought out John's advice. "They also lead who serve," Lennon told the roadie, paraphrasing the famous line from John Milton's Sonnet 26 (1673), "They also serve who only stand and wait." (...) Flush with John's guidance, Mal took to his diary, transforming the Beatle's words of wisdom into a poem: Don't take my weakness Give me your strength Don't give me your weakness Take my strength To rule is to serve To lead is to follow I'll serve and follow you And take you to love. For Mal, John's good counsel made all the difference, calming him after what he felt to be a personal affront.

Living the Beatles Legend, Kenneth Womack (2023)

[juby06]

Happy pride everyone💜

[cristina-t]

Radiance Moodboards

Sage Medici:

John B Routledge:

Ruby Routledge:

JJ Maybank:

[tiny-librarian]

Royal Birthdays for today, June 12th:

Reizei, Emperor of Japan, 950

Gaozong of Song, Emperor of China, 1107

Constance, Duchess of Brittany, 1161

Cosimo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany, 1519

Anna of Württemberg, Duchess of Legnica, 1561

John Casimir, Duke of Saxe-Coburg, 1564

Karl Emich, Prince of Leiningen, 1952

Sibylla, Princess of Luxembourg, 1968

[rubyroutledgeofficial]

Introduction

🦋 Rp account

🦋 Name: Ruby Routledge

🦋 Age: 16- 18 ( depending on what season you wanna rp)

🦋 taken by: JJ Maybank @jjs-hoe-hours

🦋 family: John B @itsme-johnb, Big John, the pogues

🦋 f/c:

🦋 rules: be nice!, message me first if there’s any darker themes you want to explore so we can make a plan, just have fun and don’t spam!

🦋: emoji anons are welcome

[thatsthewaythechrissycrumbles]

No Scrub

JJ Maybank x OC (Ruby Routledge)

Warnings: swearing, fighting, overreaction, slight innuendo?

WC: 0.7k

So... a Halloween party for the Pogues is basically an every day party, except they put on costumes and eat a shit ton of candy. And maybe do karaoke.

John B, JJ, and Pope are matching skeletons. Ruby, Sage, and Kie are fairies.

So when Ruby, John B, JJ, Pope, and Kie were watching Sage sing That's What Makes You Beautiful by One Direction? Highlight of their year. Better than fucking Christmas.

"Okay, okay," Sage huffs, completely out of breath. "Who's next?"

"You are, baby," John B chuckles, offering Sage her beer. "You put yourself down for all night."

Sage raises her eyebrows, chugging the beer. "Fuck, seriously? Well, I don't wanna go anymore."

"Too bad, Sage," Ruby chimes in, her legs laying over JJ's lap. "Come on, we all know you love singing. Just one more!"

Sage waves her off, "Fine, fine. But this one's gotta be fucking good."

JJ and Ruby tapered off into their own conversation, lost in their own little world. John B nudged Pope, grinning. "10 bucks says she picks a song from 1990."

"Destiny's Child, for sure," Kie chimed in.

"Okay, okay," Sage said, shaking out her hands. "No Scrub, TLC."

"Oh my God," Ruby grinned, "I fucking love this song! Can I duet?"

"Hell yes!" Sage said, handing Ruby the other microphone. "Bless you, Pope, for sharing your karaoke machine with us."

"Gift of the year, my good sir," JJ raised his beer mockingly, putting on an accent.

"It's my moms!" Pope defended weakly, sipping at his beer again.

The opening notes of No Scrub started playing and the two girls danced around, absolutely care free as they sang.

"Oh my God," Ruby huffed, flopping down on the couch beside JJ again. "That song is literally my life. Innit, J?" She nudged her boyfriend playfully, reciting a few lines, "Hanging out the passenger side of his best friend's ride, trying to holler at me--"

JJ got up from the couch in a huff, his cheerful demeanor gone and replaced with an upset, angry vibe.

"JJ!" Ruby yelled, confused. "What the hell?" She got off the couch, rushing after JJ and grabbing his arm. "JJ, what--"

JJ whirled, anger written across his features. "What do you mean, 'what'? You're just gonna act like it's about someone who won't give any love to a poor guy? Fucking Christ, Ruby, even you aren't that dumb!"

Ruby flinched. "Hey, that's not fair. I didn't even think--"

"Yeah, no shit," JJ responded, pulling his arm away from her and shoving the door open.

"JJ, that's not fair!" Ruby yelled, tears shining in her eyes. "You can't just--"

"Oh, I can't? Ruby Routledge, everyone, who's tryin' to tell me what I can and can't do? Get off your high horse."

"I'm not on a goddamn high horse, JJ! What the fuck is up with you?!" Ruby yelled, the pair now standing in the yard and having a full-on screaming match right in front of the open living room window. "Why are you reacting so poorly to this song?"

"It's about a rich bitch, Ruby!" JJ yelled, getting in her face. "A rich bitch who won't give any love to a guy who lives with his mom, who doesn't have money, and doesn't have a goddamn car! And I don't have any of those things, so why the hell would you give me love? I'm just a fucking scrub!"

Ruby let out an incredulous laugh. "JJ! Come on! I meant--"

"It doesn't matter what you meant," JJ says as it starts to rain. "It matters what you said. And you said, and I quote, 'this song is literally my life.'" He wipes his face, black and white makeup smudging with the water.

"I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, JJ, okay? I'm really sorry," Ruby said, taking a small step forward. "I just meant that it's funny, okay? That I have this gorgeous scrub all to myself, JJ, because I wouldn't have it any other way. Come back inside, okay? Please, for me? You can pick a terrible song about women and say it's about me."

JJ made a face, "Sure. Fine."

"I really am sorry, JJ," Ruby said, pushing JJ's hair back and leaning up to kiss his makeup-ruined face. "I love you..."

"Okay, okay," JJ said wish a small laugh, pushing Ruby away so he could properly kiss her lips, I love you, too. And I'm sorry I overreacted."

"It's okay. Hey, what song are you gonna pick?"

"Lights Down Low," JJ smirked, "By Bei Maejor."

"JJ!"

[pier-carlo-universe]

Intelligenza artificiale e oftalmologia: un manifesto per il futuro della salute visiva. Arezzo

Oculisti e innovazione: le nuove frontiere dell'AI nello screening della retinopatia diabetica e nelle diagnosi oftalmologiche.

Oculisti e innovazione: le nuove frontiere dell’AI nello screening della retinopatia diabetica e nelle diagnosi oftalmologiche. Arezzo, 26 novembre 2024 – Nel corso del 19º Forum Risk Management di Arezzo, gli oculisti di AIMO (Associazione Italiana Medici Oculisti) hanno presentato un importante manifesto sull’utilizzo dell’intelligenza artificiale (AI) in oftalmologia, con un focus specifico…

[wytchisle]

House Baratheon and Stormlands Aesthetic

Samuel John Carter - Legend of St. Hubert Jean Clouet - Francis I, King of France, ca. 1527 - 30 Knud Baade - The Ship "Fortuna". 1870 François Gérard - Portrait of Mary Nisbet. 1803 Unknown Master - White Hart from ‘ The Wilton Diptych’ ca. 1395-99 Domenico Brusasorzi - Portrait of Pase Guarienti. ca. 16th cen Unknown artist Edmund Leighton - Stitching the Standard. 1911 Georges Frédéric Rotig - Fighting Stags by Moonlight. 1900 Orazio Gentileschi - The Lute Player. ca. 1612-15 Thomas Hill - Deer Watering. ca. 1872 Jules Salles-Wagner - Romeo and Juliet. by 1898 Ivan Aivazovsky - Storm at Sea Eduard Theodor Ritter von Grützner - Three Monks Drinking Beer. 1885 Caravaggio - The Cardsharps. ca. 1594 Salomon de Bray - Judith with the Head of Holofernes. 1636 Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez - Head of a Buck. 1634 Michael Handt - Study on Ivan Sishkin 'Tickets' 1881 Artist unknown Carolina Carlesimo - Angelica. 1891 French School - Equestrian Portrait of Marie de Medici Diego Velázquez - Three Musicians. 1618 Justus Sustermans - Portrait of Prince Valdemar Christian of Denmark. ca. 1600s Jules Adolphe Goupil - An Admiring Glance. before 1883

[facts-i-just-made-up]

Who was Paracelsus?

Paracelsus was the screen name of Philippus Bombastus Romastus Fantastus Supercalafragalisticexpialadastus von South-Stuttgart-Next-To-The-University-Cafeteria-With-The-Zig-Zag-Roof. His name Paracelsus literally means "Better than Celsus." We do not know who Celsus may have been, but the name is likely a reference to St. Jerome Para-Ezra of Baton Rouge, who was known in his time to have been far better than Ezra.

Paracelsus invented many of the medical techniques used from medieval times to the modern medical revolution, including bleeding, leeching, exsanguination, draining blood from the patient, and ultra-hemorrhagic-cleansing. He also coined the phrase "Only the dose determines the poison," as well as its corollary, "You can eat anything, just some things you can only eat once," and the less impressive but better known, "He who smelt it, dealt it." This was all considered an advancement over the old theory of bodily humors, which is why Paracelsus's friends all said he was a humorless bastard, or so he kept claiming.

Paracelsus was married in a Rosicrucian ceremony based on the Chemical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz, which was of course preceded by Chemical Engagement and a Chemical Romance involving a black parade, the theatrical faking of several deaths, and a great deal of sodium (a mass scientifically abbreviated as Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na). To whom he was married is a matter of much debate, with potential spouses speculated to include Shakespeare, Queen Elizabeth I, Queen Elizabeth II, Martin Luther, Galileo, Ivan the Terrible, Thomas Hobbes, John Calvin, Catherine Di Medici, the Popes Alexander V-VIII, or possibly all at once.

Paracelsus died in the 1540s after suffering a minor splinter which he treated with his own experimental technique known as "setting the patient on fire and stabbing him with a fork in his balls until he barfs then laughing at him." He was then cremated with his urn displayed at the University of Hohenheim for several centuries, until he was accidentally misplaced during an American tour and is presumed to have been used as ash in some Humboldt Fog Cheese, which was considered an affront to his Swiss heritage.

Also he apparently invented Zinc. Good job.

[kevinationnto]

The Red Queen's Request

"Your Majesties." the Mad Monk began. "May I know the reason you have sent for me?" he said, as he stood before the Red Rulers. The Red Queen, though she had her usual glare on, was pleased to recieve a devout loyalist. The Red Prince, who never was interested in the running of the kingdom, looked on, bored. The Red King could only sigh sadly and stare at the floor for the entire duration of the exchange, still despondent over the loss of Eggbert and his very good advice.

"Very well." The Red Queen replied. "Now that that NO-GOOD, TREASONOUS EGG-" she nearly yelled, before instantly regaining her composure, "-is gone from our court, we are in desperate need of an adviser who will help us keep our court, and our kingdom, in line. I have not forgotten your words to us."

The Mad Monk answered her, "Your Majesties, I have told you a million times. The kingdom is all well and good, and your court will remain loyal to you. They won't ever revolt, they all want to keep their heads. But..." the Mad Monk continued, "... since I see that your request is a most urgent matter, I would be foolish to refuse. I have no love for that egg, and I have what we need to keep everyone in line."

The Mad Monk, you see, cared nothing for the Red Royal Court or Wonderland, or her people. He especially despised Eggbert- him and his soft-heartedness. The Red Rulers had every right to be strict and stern with their courtiers and their people. Who was Eggbert to interfere? Eggbert cared nothing about climbing the ranks. He was only dedicated to peace, service and very good advice. The Mad Monk only wanted more and more power, and to watch Wonderland burn with chaos and disorder. And although he had nothing to do with Eggbert's banishment, the Mad Monk was only too happy to fill in the power vacuum he'd left.

Then, he said the words the Red Queen wanted to hear- "Therefore... I will be humbled and honored to assist you, as your most trusted adviser, and confidant."

"Good." the Red Queen said ominously. "With you by our side, I do not doubt that all of Wonderland shall kneel before us!"

Some Proposed Headcanons of Mine

When I saw the Mad Monk, I was immediately wowed. @thealmightyfruitcake is a genius. The perfect villain to be beside the Red Rulers! As I read his character card, ideas flared up in my head. Ideas that fit perfectly with the story of Eggbert, my own OC.

I then came up with a headcanon- the Mad Monk, upon becoming the Red Rulers' top guy, would undo everything Eggbert did. The Red Rulers' abuses against their courtiers, including Ragthy Ann, would increase tenfold, he'd steadily increase his power and influence over the Red Royals, and Eggbert would not be there to stop it. However, being the tricky trickster he is, the Mad Monk would secretly defect to the White Queen before the Red Queen's defeat. After the Red Rulers' exile, he bitterly watched Eggbert assist the White Rulers in reforming and ruling benevolently over Wonderland. But when Eggbert eventually left to spread reformist ideas to other lands, he hatched a plot to rescue the Red Rulers from the Nothing Atoll. He unfortunately succeeded, setting the stage for...

... the War of the Looking Glass.

But it'll be some time before my next comics arrive.

My mind immediately highlighted parallels with the sacking of Dr. Dillamond and his replacement by Dr. Nikidik, (Wicked) and the histories of the following countries:

🇬🇧: The Good Parliament of 1376 did its best to reduce corruption in the Royal Council, but John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster, had the Bad Parliament, which undid what the Good Parliament did, convene the next year.

🇮🇹: Supporters of Girolamo Savonarola, the Mad Monk of Florence and a fierce critic of the Medici, burned thousands of artworks and other objects in the Bonfire of the Vanities of 1497.

🇵🇭: In 1871, Carlos Maria dela Torre, the beloved Spanish Governor-General of the Philippines, was replaced by the tyrannical Rafael Izquierdo, who reversed the reforms dela Torre had instituted. This led to the Cavite Mutiny and the execution of the GomBurZa.

🇷🇺: After the Russian Revolution of 1905, Prime Minister Pyotr Stolypin enacted a series of reforms but continued repressing would-be revolutionaries.

Sorry I bored you, but I have an uncontrollable love of history!

I hope you like the comic I spent a couple of hours on. And as always, feel free to ask me questions about Eggbert and anything related to him!

Wonderland AU and Red Prince belong to @endomentendo

The Mad Monk belongs to @thealmightyfruitcake

[juby06]

[cristina-t]

Chapter 2

There was a hurricane coming in. Hurricane Agatha is what they're calling it. And Sage is absolutely terrified. Yea, she loves the rain and storms but a hurricane? It's an unknown thing to her, that's what's scary about it. 

"I have to head out before the hurricane gets worse. I don't want to get stuck in it." Sage looks over at John B as he starts to laugh at that. To them hurricanes are normal, especially type 1's. But he's not one to make fun of fears, knowing his are equally, if not more stupid. 

"I'll drive you, it's already raining and the kook castles are far." Secretly, he was actually pretty happy to drive her. He'll never admit it to any of the pogues, especially JJ, but he loves her company. It's like the absence of chaos. Little did he know, she had the same feeling whenever they were together. 

The ride to her house was peaceful. Serene, The only sound being the rain hitting against the top of the Twinkie. There wasn't much talking but that's normal, they can talk to each other normally in groups but as soon as they're alone it gets hard. Both always afraid of saying the wrong thing and ruining the peace.

"Thanks for the ride, don't do anything stupid while I'm gone." He reaches over and ruffles her hair with his hands, causing her to immediately smile, all of the worry washing away. 

"I'll see you tomorrow Sage." At that, she gets out of the van and runs up to the front door to avoid the rain, now pouring down. As soon as she gets inside, the tension feels off. Dirty shoes being by the entryway, mud being tracked up the stairs, lamps on even though no one's in the room. 

Her families not at the dining room table, even though they always have dinner at exactly 6 o'clock. The tables not set, dead petals from the sunflowers resting next to the vase. It's messy. Her house is never messy, not with her mom around. It's like she can sense a mess, a single speck of dirt on the floor and it's gone in a second. Normally.

She goes up to the second floor, her eyes stuck on the mud tracks. The mud in the carpet, the way sections of it has already hardened showing it's been there for a while. 

It's abnormally quiet. The only light being on upstairs being the one all the way down the hall. The light from the all too familiar dinosaur lamp from her 6 year old brothers room. 

The house has never really been unique. It feels more like a museum than a house. Rich paintings that any normal person wouldn't buy hanging on the walls where most families would have family pictures. 

She goes into his room, Reagan being curled up in a tight ball on his bed with a bag of chips. Foods never allowed in any of their rooms. Especially chips.

"Reagan where is everyone?" She sits down next to him on his bed as he turns over, his eyes red and tears stained on his puffed up cheeks. 

"Mommy and daddy started fighting, they both left." That wasn't very surprising to her, the fight at least, that's normal. If there isn't a fight between any of them it isn't a normal day. But, throughout all this time they've never left him home alone. 

She ended up falling asleep in his room, knowing that as soon as she left he'd wake back up, neither of the parents getting home throughout the entire night. 

[tiny-librarian]

Royal Birthdays for today, April 13th:

Louis II, Duke of Bavaria, 1229

Margaret III, Countess of Flanders, 1350

Catherine de Medici, Queen of France, 1519

Christina of Holstein-Gottorp, Queen of Sweden, 1573

Leopold John, Austrian Archduke, 1716

Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, 1747

Gennaro, Prince of Naples and Sicily, 1780

[nemonoonesuch]

Ergo Proxy Opening: In search for the artwork's source

Ergo Proxy's Opening is a fascinating piece of artwork characterized by it's kaleidoscopic mix of scenery, images from the series and subtle references to pieces of art and literature. The whole design reminds me a bit of the style of Kyle Cooper in intro sequences like Se7en . Some are very clear while others are quite cryptic and frankly unreadable. This post will summarize a few of those references and their sources:

Holy Images

First we have the apparition of some glass panels and a statue in a column, and the image of some industrial complex. The statue have a chalice and appears to be a young man, and an eagle at his feet. Those are the attributes of Saint John the Younger. With that in mind, the search was easier... and after almost 14 hours of reading and searching, I found two of the three artworks.

Both the statue and the stained glass comes from the The Cathédrale Saints-Michel-et-Gudule at Brussels.

Stained Glass, probably made by Jean-Baptiste Capronnier (c. 1870):

Another decorated window appears, this time with a more modern artwork. The decorated window was designed by Alfons Mucha, c. 1930, for the reconstruction work for St. Vitas Cathedral in Prague.

The Power of Seven and the Lapis Philosoficus

The occasional image of complex astrological or alchemical heptagrams flashes many times during the opening, being this one the most clear snap I could get. The text in the center of it reads "Ma Te Ri A Pri Ma *" that confirms the alchemical nature of the illustration.

After many attempts to find the source of the illustration i had to dive into my older alchemy notes. Suddenly I remember the works of a notorious alchemist obsessed with number seven, none other than Sir Isaac Newton. And Eureka!

the image comes from a set of notes on the processes behind the achievement of the philosopher's stone, titled "Lapis Philosophicus cum suis rotis elementaribus" and dated to c. 1690

Landnámabók

Some of the decorations that appears on the opening comes directly from the icelandic text of settlers, a medieval Icelandic written work which describes in considerable detail the settlement (landnám) of Iceland by the Norse in the 9th and 10th centuries CE.

La Glorification de l'Art

This one was relatively easy to find. It is a quite common allegorical representation.

The building housing the Royal Museum of Ancient Art in Brussels is a masterpiece designed by Alphonse Balat, the Court's favorite architect, the sculpture flanking the main entrance is the work of Paul de Vigne, and was made around 1885. La Glorification de l'Art depicts Art as a winged youth, accompanied by Glory and Fame. It also appears on the opening. Art, represented by a winged man, receives from the hand of Glory a palm and a crown; while the Fame, with trumpet and bumper, publishes her exploits.

Rhyme 247

notice the words on the right side of the screenshot: "e vero", "Non Veder" "Gran Ventura"

Michelangelo Buonarroti was an exceptionally good artist, and a passionate poet too, even when he preferred to keep most of his literary production quite obscure. One of his works for the Sagrestía Nuova at the Medici Chapel in Florence was a representation of the Night, placed over the tomb of Giuliano di Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Nemours. Night was singularly praised by his contemporaries, especially Giovanni Strozzi, who dedicated an epigram on 1544:

La Notte che tu vedi in sì dolci attidormire, fu da un Angelo scolpitain questo sasso e, perché dorme, ha vita:destala, se nol credi, e parleratti.

Michelangelo responded in another epigram, today known as Rhyme 247:

Caro m'è 'l sonno, e più l'esser di sasso,mentre che 'l danno e la vergogna dura;non veder, non sentir m'è gran ventura; però non mi destar, deh, parla basso

This Rhyme appears on Ergo Proxy in another occasion:

The poem as appears on the beginning of the first episode

NIGHT DAWN DAY DUSK

Donov Mayer's Collective Entourage are embodied by the four sculptures from the allegorical monument (Sagrestía Nuova) of Michellangelo. A pair of the statues were located over the sarcophagus of Giuliano de' Medici, (Day and the Night) and Lorenzo de' Medici (Dusk (or Twilight) and the Dawn) respectively. On the series, each have the name of one prominent occidental philosopher:

Lacan: as Night, Voiced by: Atsuko Tanaka (Japanese), Barbara Goodson (English)

Derrida: as Dawn, Voiced by: Yōko Sōmi (Japanese), Melodee Spevack (English)

Husserl: as Day, Voiced by: Hidekatsu Shibata (Japanese), Michael McConnohie(English)

Berkeley: as Dusk, Voiced by: Yuu Shimaka (Japanese), Doug Stone(English)

[Unknown]

Some artworks or pieces of literature used are still unknown (for me)

The industrial landscape

The cursive text

And this arabic/persian texts

Thank you so much for reading so far

[monokuromuheaven]

After taking online courses, Mexican Carlos Diehz cast the multi-award-winning film Cónclave.

“I've always been inclined to the arts, and as a kid I wanted to be a singer, producer, whatever, but when I learned what it was to be an actor, I said, 'I want to be an actor', but I was always shy, I grew up with attention deficit, always dreaming.  In middle school* I started to open up, in high school I wanted to enter the acting workshop but it wasn't for me.”

After being accepted in the casting, Carlos was initially hesitant about the subject, but his vocation was priority, “now as an actor, you serve a story, so you shouldn’t judge it, nor the character, if one begins to have prejudices, then you better not take the project, because you will not be able to convey it in a real way. I liked the story, but what excited me was seeing Ralph Fiennes as the lead artist.”

He added, “I studied the story, which can be controversial, one realizes that this can be a political thriller, since the author of the book writes political, history and spy stories and he thought of writing something about the Vatican, it is interesting to imagine or see what happens behind the election of a Pope. What caught my attention was that practically every one of his characters has existed in the history of the church, there have been popes with families, sometimes hidden, sometimes not so blatantly as Borgia, others who give more value to money and wealthy families, like the Medici, if you do not know the history of the Catholic Church, it may even sound like a scandalous plot”.

“When you see the story of 400, 500 years ago, it is not so far from reality, it is rather an experiment to see what would happen if this happened today, what would it be like? That's why he brings this character that I play, Cardinal Benitez, a missionary, but also a leader, who speaks when he has to speak and the things he says have been meditated on before. There have been popes, cardinals and saints like St. Francis of Assisi and St. Ignatius of Loyola, the spiritual one, the one who is all love and the other focused on leadership. That's what made me fall in love with the role.”

For a supporting actor, to be in the middle of a cast like that, can be a lot of pressure, but Diehz assured that thanks to the help of a colleague he was able to do the project, “yes, it is a lot of pressure, fortunately I had a secret coach during the filming, very close to me, John Lithgow, we talked during the week of preparation, and since then we have a very good friendship.  He told me the second day ‘I'll be your secret coach, anything you need ask me’”.

He also confirmed that he lived an atmosphere of companionship on the set, “I had a great emotional support and affection with Isabella Rosellini, I even introduce her as my aunt, I think that was fundamental to achieve it”.

Although now his agenda has red carpets, interviews and awards, Carlos confesses, “my life has not changed much, I still work in architecture in some projects here in Canada, the rhythm is different than in Mexico. My boss cheers me on, both in acting and in my work, I also saw him in Rome with my colleagues, they have a normal life as far as it goes. They are more like normal people, doing extraordinary things.

Source

I choose “middle school” because I think is the closest thing to “secundaria” 

[is-the-battlemech-cool-or-not]

Excerpts from Faith Among the Stars: A History of the New Avalon Catholic Church

By Father Benedict Lucien, Archivist of the Curia, New Avalon Catholic College of Theology Published in the Year of Our Lord 3098

The New Avalon Catholic Church (NACC) was not born of careful reform, nor of theological dispute, but of necessity. Separated from Terra by war and distance, the faithful of the Federated Suns found themselves without a shepherd, abandoned not by malice but by the sheer devastation of the Inner Sphere’s greatest conflict. Though its founding was born of crisis, the NACC has since become one of the most influential religious institutions in the Federated Suns, an independent faith molded by war, exile, and the unshakable belief that no matter how far humanity has traveled among the stars, the light of God will always follow.

Now, nearly three hundred and fifty years since its foundation, the Church stands not merely as a remnant of old Terra’s Catholicism but as a distinct, evolving force, shaped by the unique realities of the Inner Sphere.

Even in this era of unprecedented peace, the Church remains firm in its purpose: to guide the lost, to shield the faithful, and to wield its strength in the service of justice.

Origins: The Schism of the Star League Era

The New Avalon Catholic Church was founded in one of the darkest chapters of human history—the fall of the Terran Hegemony. When Stefan Amaris launched his coup in 2766, Terra was severed from the rest of the Star League, and with it, the central authority of the Roman Catholic Church. In response, after Amaris began a campaign of terror in 2770, Pope Clement XXVII issued emergency directives to senior clergy across the Star League member states, granting them extraordinary authority to maintain the faith in his absence - an absence that would be rendered permanent within the week.

Among the clergy who received the message was Cardinal Kinsey de Medici, the highest-ranking prelate in the Federated Suns. Misunderstanding the garbled transmission he received, and faced with the collapse of interstellar communication and the seeming destruction of the Vatican itself, de Medici saw no path forward except self-reliance. By 2774, he declared that the Church in the Federated Suns would no longer be bound by Rome and proclaimed himself Pope Thomas X, establishing New Avalon as the new seat of Catholic authority in the region.

By the time interstellar communication was restored five years later, in 2779, and news arrived that John Paul V had been elected as Pope in Rome, the divide had already solidified. Thomas X and his successors refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of the Terran papacy, arguing that the Vatican had lost touch with the needs of its people. Thus, the schism between Rome and New Avalon became permanent. House Davion, recognizing the influence of the Church, gave its quiet support, ensuring that the NACC would become deeply ingrained in the cultural and spiritual fabric of the Federate Suns.

Reform and Inclusion: A Church That Evolves

While the New Avalon Catholic Church preserved many of the theological principles of its Roman predecessor, it quickly distinguished itself through its willingness to adapt. Unlike the Vatican, which often resisted social and technological change, the NACC embraced the belief that faith must evolve to meet the needs of its people.

The first major departure from Roman Catholic tradition came in 2815, when the NACC formally abolished clerical celibacy, arguing that priests and bishops could better guide the faithful if they understood the challenges of family life firsthand. Less than two decades later, in 2827, the ordination of women was formally recognized, with the first female bishops taking office by the end of the decade.

By the time of Pope Juliana III’s election in 2897, she was not the first woman to hold the papacy—she was the third. However, she was unique in another way: she was the first openly transgender Supreme Pontiff. To this day, Juliana III is remembered for her wisdom, diplomacy, and unwavering commitment to social justice, guiding the Church through the political upheavals of the early 30th century and ensuring that it remained independent of House Davion’s direct influence. Juliana III’s reign solidified many of the progressive stances that define the Church today. By the end of the second decade of the 30th century, the NACC had fully embraced gender equality, same-sex marriage, and personal conscience in matters of family planning and reproductive rights. The Church continued to hold the sanctity of life as a core principle, but it prioritized compassion, education, and social support over rigid legalism.

In keeping with its willingness to reform in matters of social doctrine, the New Avalon Catholic Church has maintained a accepting stance on technological advancements concerning the human body. Unlike some religious movements that viewed such modifications as unnatural or an affront to divine design, the NACC framed its position through the lens of stewardship, arguing that just as medicine and surgery were gifts that allowed humanity to heal, so too were the innovations that could replace a lost limb, correct failing organs, or even enhance cognitive faculties when necessary. The same principle was applied to biotechnology, including the widespread use of cloned body parts and cultivated organ replacements, which the Church ruled were ethically indistinguishable from traditional transplants. Even during the Word of Blake Jihad, when cybernetic enhancements became associated with the fanatical Manei Domini, the Church never wavered in its support for responsible augmentation, refusing to allow the corruption of one sect to taint an entire field of scientific advancement. Today, the NACC remains one of the more technologically progressive religious institutions in the Inner Sphere, fully embracing the ethical application of cybernetics and bioengineering in the service of human dignity.

Alongside its acceptance of medical advancements, the NACC has also long pursued a mission of reconciliation and interfaith outreach, recognizing that faith among the stars could never be bound to a single tradition. For centuries, the Church has maintained cordial, if distant, relations with its Roman Catholic counterpart on Terra, though true reunification remains unlikely. Of greater significance, however, have been the Church’s efforts to welcome converts from outside traditional Catholic communities. The greatest test of their inclusivity came with the arrival of the Clans in 3050. While the Clans themselves had few formal religious institutions save the The Way espoused by the ever-distant Clan Cloud Cobra, some of their warriors—particularly those who had been captured, exiled, or defected—began to seek a new sense of spiritual belonging after being severed from their former caste-based society. This presented an unprecedented theological challenge, as Clan culture held no belief in an afterlife, no organized system of worship, and little respect for the concept of faith as an institution. Many among the faithful viewed Clan eugenics and warrior caste ideology as fundamentally irreconcilable with Catholic teaching. The Church’s initial attempts at evangelization were met with indifference at best, open scorn at worst, but over time, some Clan-born individuals found solace in the principles of sacrifice, duty, and redemption that the NACC espoused. While these converts remained a minority, their presence forced the Church to engage in deep theological reflection on what it meant to offer salvation to those who had never sought it. The first Clan-born individual to seek entry into the church, the now Abbess Anya Bekker, formerly of Clan Ghost Bear, was met with fierce resistance from within. The debate reached the highest levels of the Church, culminating in Pope Pius XXI’s historic ruling in 3072:

"Faith is not a matter of blood or birth, but of the choices we make and the burdens we take upon ourselves. If an individual of the Clans renounces the cruelty of their past and chooses the path of righteousness, who are we to deny them?"

With those words, the gates of the Church were opened to Clan-born converts, provided they rejected the ideals of genetic supremacy and the rigid hierarchy of the caste system. By the 3080s, the NACC had fully embraced the idea that faith is not simply inherited, but chosen, and that those willing to walk the path of righteousness—regardless of their origins—could find a home within the Church’s embrace. Today, many former Clansfolk are part of the Church, and many former warriors serve as full-fledged Knights Defensor, proving that faith, like honor, is something that must be chosen rather than inherited.

The Knights Defensor: The Sword and Shield of the Faithful

For much of its early history, the New Avalon Catholic Church had no formal military order. Though some individual bishops maintained private security forces on particularly volatile worlds, there was no centralized institution akin to the Teutonic Knights or Swiss Guard of old.

That changed in 3084, when Pope Beneficent XV established the Knights Defensor, a holy order dedicated to protecting the faithful and upholding the Church’s moral authority.

The Knights quickly became more than just a military arm of the Church. They took on a broader role as warriors, peacekeepers, and champions of the oppressed, often operating beyond the borders of the Federated Suns. Though many House Lords viewed them as aligned with the Davion state, the reality was far more complex—the Knights answered only to the Supreme Pontiff, and on more than one occasion, they had openly challenged corrupt or unjust rulers, even within the Federated Suns itself.

Faith in the Era of the Republic

As the 31st century gave way to the 32nd, the New Avalon Catholic Church remained a pillar of stability within the Federated Suns. Though closely tied to House Davion, it has never been a mere extension of state power, and more than once, it has stood in opposition to rulers who strayed too far into tyranny.

Now, in this new age of the Republic of the Sphere, the Church faces new challenges. Will it align with this new order, lending its moral authority to a cause that claims to unify humanity? Or will it remain independent, as it has since its founding? Regardless of the answer, one truth remains certain: The New Avalon Catholic Church is no longer a relic of ancient Terra. It is a faith born in exile, tempered by war, and shaped by the stars. And wherever humanity’s future leads, it will be there to guide them.