#NOUR VERSES: UNKNOWN.

[deadn30n]

         NOUR  THINKS  OF  HIM  AS  NOTHING  MORE  THAN  AN  ANNOYING  NUISANCE.  he  isn't  even  sure  exactly why  he's  allowed  himself  such  companionship   (   there's  so  much  more  he  should  be  doing!  like finding  his  little  brother!   )   but  here  he  is.  here  he is  entertaining  the  whims  of  this  irritating  and vaguely  suicidal  human  who  thinks  sticking  around  him  is  somehow  a great  idea.  while  Nour  has  entertained  the  notion  multiple  times  of  informing  him  that  he's  massacred  over  a hundred  thousand  angels,  for  some  reason  he  just  can't bring  himself  to  do  it.  why  is  that?  what's  wrong  with  him?  the  more  these  thoughts  plague,  the  more irritated  he's  getting.  what's  worse?

         what's  worse  is  he's  having coffee  with  Dazai  like  the  two  of  them  are old  friends   (   how ironic  that  Dazai  should  befriend  the gravedigger  of  heaven  like  it's  entirely  natural   ).  it's  almost  comical,  really,  that  he's  attracted Nour  of  all  people  to  his  side,  but  somehow...  some  way...  he's  managed  it.  and  Nour  is  unusually docile  when  he's  normally  be  chomping  at  the  bit  to  lure  in  some  unsuspecting  human  and devour  them  to  satiate  his  otherwise  insatiable  hunger.  the  flesh  of  humans  has  never  fully  satisfied  him   (   they  don't  come close  in  comparison  to  that  of  angelic  composition   )   but  when  you're  stuck  in  the  human  world  amongst humans,  you  realize  you  just  have  to make  do.     ❝    are  you  done babbling  like  an  idiot?    ❞    he  suddenly  cuts  in  rudely.  his  words  spat  with vitriol  in  Dazai's  general  direction.     ❝    i  didn't  come  here  to  go  on  a  date  with  you,  i  want  you  to  be  honest  with  me  already.  have  you  seen  my  brother  anywhere?  quit  dodging  the  question.    ❞

✧ PLOTTED STARTER : @longerhuman ☽

[orbemnews]

Glimpses of Sudan’s Forgotten Pyramids The site was nearly deserted. A few locals were tidying up after recent restoration work, and young camel drivers were out looking for clients. In the midday heat, the bright glow of the desert helped focus my attention on the pyramids themselves. Situated on the east bank of the Nile, some 150 miles by car northeast of Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, the Meroe pyramids — around 200 in total, many of them in ruins — seemed to be in perfect harmony with the surrounding landscape, as if the wind had smoothed their edges to accommodate them among the dunes. Throughout the 30-year dictatorship of Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who led Sudan through a long series of wars and famines, the pyramids of Meroe saw few international visitors and remained relatively unknown. But among the many consequences of the revolution that led to Mr. al-Bashir’s ouster in 2019 — along with the removal of Sudan in 2020 from the United States’ list of state sponsors of terrorism — was the hope that the country’s archaeological sites might receive broader attention and protections, not simply from researchers and international visitors but also from Sudanese citizens themselves. I traveled to Sudan in February and March of 2020, just a few days before pandemic lockdowns fell into place in my home country of Italy. I was attracted to a nation that had managed — through the strength, creativity and determination of its people — to free itself from a dictatorship. And I was keen to meet and photograph the protagonists and young actors of this historic moment. Late in 2018, Mr. al-Bashir, the former dictator, had ended subsidies on fuel and wheat, leading to a surge in prices. The reaction of the people, exhausted by economic crises, was not long in coming. A wave of demonstrations filled the streets of several towns, far beyond the capital Khartoum. These were Sudanese of all ethnicities, classes and generations — but above all students and young professionals. During my visit, Amr Abdallah and Tawdia Abdalaziz, two young Sudanese doctors in their 20s, led me through the streets of Khartoum to see the symbolic sites of the revolution, showing me mile after mile of public art — graffiti, murals, verses — that marked the sites of the protests. When they told me about Meroe and Ancient Nubia, the name of the region that stretches between Egypt and northern Sudan, I discovered that the majority of Sudanese had never had the opportunity to visit these sites — including the doctors themselves. For me, as an Italian, it equated to never having had the chance to visit the Colosseum in Rome. The ancient city of Meroe — part of a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2011 — is a four-hour drive from Khartoum, northeast along the Nile River. The pyramids here, built between 2,700 and 2,300 years ago, stand as a testament to the grandeur of the Kingdom of Kush, a major power from the eighth century B.C. to the fourth century A.D. Compared to the monumental pyramids in Giza, Egypt, the structures at Meroe are significantly smaller — from around 30 to 100 feet tall, against the 455-foot-tall Great Pyramid — and their slopes steeper. As in Egypt, though, the pyramids serve as royal burial sites. In recent years, the pyramids at Meroe — as well as other Sudanese archaeological sites up and down the Nile, including the pyramids at Nuri, farther north — have been threatened by rising floodwaters, as well as the continuing effects of wind and sand erosion. Plans for new hydroelectric dams also threaten certain archaeological sites in Sudan — as they have in the past, when the construction of the Merowe Dam displaced tens of thousands of residents and led to a frenzied archaeological hunt for artifacts before they were submerged by the dam’s reservoir. Perhaps the most infamous act of destruction at Meroe, however, is attributed to the Italian treasure hunter Giuseppe Ferlini, who in the 1830s destroyed several of the pyramids in a ruthless search for ancient artifacts. With one hand on the steering wheel and the other holding his phone, Nour, our driver, was accustomed to bringing visitors to Meroe. Still, in his four-wheel-drive Toyota, we sometimes lost our way as we moved from one site to another, through vast stretches of deserts. Local tour guides at the entrance to Meroe invited us to take camel rides, eager to remind us that this is a time-tested, if often neglected, tourist site. At the Naqa archaeological site, some 50 miles southwest of Meroe, the atmosphere was very different. We walked alone among the buildings, including a temple devoted to Apedemak, a lion-headed warrior god worshiped in Nubia. On the opposite side of the site, ram-shaped sculptures accompanied us to the entrance of the Amun temple, built around the first century A.D. and considered one the most important archaeological structures and tourist attractions in Sudan. A stone’s throw from the temple of Amun, a golden sunset illuminated a small flock of sheep, which were followed by a young shepherd. Dusk would soon settle in. The drive back to Khartoum was a long one, and our driver warned me to speed up. Back in Khartoum, where the Nile River’s two main tributaries — the White Nile and the Blue Nile — meet, Dr. Amr and Dr. Tawdia, along with their friends, gathered to celebrate a birthday. Amid the songs and dances, Dr. Tawdia approached me to ask what I thought of her country’s archaeological beauties — and to discuss Sudan’s future. “The Sudanese people have the right to reclaim their country,” she said, adding that she and her friends long for a democratic society that can be open and accessible to everyone. And, she added, they want a country that can showcase its treasures to its visitors and its people. Alessio Mamo is an Italian photojournalist based in Catania, Sicily, who focuses on refugee displacement and humanitarian crises in the Middle East and the Balkans. You can follow his work on Instagram and Twitter. Source link Orbem News #forgotten #Glimpses #pyramids #Sudans

[onlyonewoman]

A Family As Weird As Ours

Ficlet I may use later in my ace lowbones verse. This is when Billy and Ned are very new daddies and John and James get to meet little Roisin for the first time. This happens about 3,5 years after “Down Foreverdark Woods Trail” series. *** ”Can I hold her?” John was practically beaming when Ned carefully placed the little bundle in his arms. Roisin looked at the new face like she wasn’t sure wheather to start screaming or not. Ned hoovered over with a smile. ”Gonna say hi to uncle John, Roisin?” ”I’m hardly her uncle, Ned.” John’s protest was not serious and Billy smiled. ”Since I have no siblings and you and James are my closest friends, I think there’s a pretty huge risk you’ll be her uncles of honour. Right, babe?” ”Quite huge.” Billy kissed his husband. They were both a little tired and mostly in awe over their one month old daughter. Mary Read watched them from the carpet and Ned bent down to pet her. ”Hey there, girl. Don’t worry. Haven’t forgotten ’bout ye.” Roisin started protesting and Ned very gently took her back. Billy looked at his husband and daughter with awe. Ned had his hair in a ponytail and wore a Behemoth t-shirt. He held their little girl so carefully in his arms. John looked at her babygro. ”I take it the rule about no band logos on babies got overruled.” Billy snorted. ”You mean I got overruled. Never had a chance to make an actual rule about it.” ”Wanker.” Ned grinned and Billy gave him a soft tug in the hair. Their daughter’s babygro was black with the Bathory goat printed on it. Ned smiled at John. ”Don’t worry. This little bundle has plenty of colorful stuff too.” ”I’m already planning our first uncle and niece of honour clothes shopping… I strongly feel she’ll need me, since you two have no taste what so ever.” ”Hey!” ”Look who’s talking!” John just laughed and let Roisin grab his finger. The human poodle, by the way dressed in a cyan blue v-neck t-shirt and brown slacks and not exactly a fashion oracle, looked a little mesmerized by her. ”How big a risk? For the uncle thing?” Billy exchanged a look with Ned and then cleared his throat. ”Well, you two are family and you, John, are the closest I’ve ever had to a brother so…” John immedately got teary-eyed and James, as always a bit uncomfortable with that, frowned and handed his husband a tissue. Billy patted John’s shoulder and got pulled down for a kiss on cheek. Then the human poodle grinned. ”It just happens that I went on a little shopping trip a while ago and…” The other three men groaned in unison and John’s smile widened. He left the sofa, walked out in the hallway and came back with a bag. James sighed and his husband pinched him. He gave Billy the bag containing a pair of soft ballerina baby slippers in pink satin and small teddy in ballet clothes. Ned almost squeaked. ”God, John, they’re adorable! How did ye even find them?” ”Lets just say an old dancer has his connections.” John practically beamed and James tried to look unaffected but failed. Billy gave them a teasing look. ”Sure you’re not re-thinking this childfree thing, John?” ”No way, mama. I just want to be a very gay uncle who can show this little bundle where to shop, how to dance, which guys and girls to avoid and how to get away with murder.” Billy smiled. He didn’t mean a word about John changing his mind. Roisin yawned and Ned arranged the blue baby sling and rose from the sofa. ”She sleeps faster if ye walk around with’er.” He started walking with the bundle and Billy made more tea. James entangled a hand in his husband’s unruly curls. ”You think that would work with poodles too?” ”Say that again and I’ll send your mother nudes on you.” ”Fucks sake, John!” ”Gross!” The two ace husbands made disgusted faces and James muttered something about giving John a cold bath and follow Billy’s and Ned’s example with separate bedrooms. John looked hurt. ”You don’t love me anymore.” ”Separate bedrooms doesn’t mean you don’t love each other. Just look at Ned and Billy.” Billy refilled the teacups. ”Actually we mostly share beds. Especially now.” Ned, who walked around with their now almost sleeping daughter, rocking her gently, nodded at his husband. ”Hon, can ye get me the pills?” ”Of course, babe.” John looked at Ned, smiling very mild. ”Are you tired, Ned?” ”No more than other new parents, I guess. Don’t worry, John, ti’s me regular afternoon meds.” The reassuring smile that reached Ned’s one seeing eye, was warm. John didn’t let people close easily, but the few he opened up to, he cared deeply for. Billy put the pill in Ned’s mouth and handed over a glass of water. The bundle was now asleep on her da’s chest and James obliviously stroke away one of his husband’s unruly curls. ”What’s she gonna call you?” Billy, who was embracing his husband and daughter from behind, resting his chin on Ned’s hair, looked surprised. ”Daddy and da, of course.” ”And who’s which one?” ”Ned’s Irish, James. Who do you think will be da?” John laughed at them. ”I bet she’ll call you Marky Mark and One-Eye.” ”Oh, piss off, uncle poodle.” There was no heat in Ned’s voice and John beamed again, nudging James who swirled a freckled arm around his human poodle in a, for him, unusually affectionate way around others. ”Are you gonna have a christening?” Ned shook his head. ”We’re not Christian, so that would be a bit hypocritical. And besides, we’d just end up in a fight between me parents. Da hasn’t gotten over our wedding yet, and he’d raise hell if we’d get her baptized in another church than the Catholic. And then he’d start nagging at maw, then me siblings and the rest of our family.” ”But… you’ve been married for almost six years. He’s not over that yet?” ”Of course not. He’s a complete eejit and always has been.” ”Your mother’s happy tho?” James looked concerned and Ned smiled. ”She’s over the moon.” He kissed the tiny, curly head in the baby sling. John nodded at her. ”Where were her biological parents from?” ”Her maw was Lebanese but her da’s unknown.” ”So, half Lebanese with one English and one Irish dad, one Aussie uncle and one English.” James rolled his eyes. ”You sound like a dog breeder. We’re not a fucking pet zoo.” ”You’re the one petting my hair, hon.” James blushed and removed his hand from John’s curls. ”You’ve thought of more names than Roisin yet?” He was trying to change subject and everyone knew that. Billy scratched his head. ”Well, since Roisin is after Ned’s granny, we decided on Nour, after her biological mom and Haley after my dad.” ”Roisin Nour Haley Manderly-Low then. Roisin Nour Haley Manderly-Low, dinner’s on the table. Roisin Nour Haley Manderly-Low, do you take this…” Billy, Ned and James all sighed. ”You think you could let her grow out of the ballet slippers before you start looking for wedding dresses, babe? You’re already harrassing Elle and Charles about Thomas’ wardrobe.” ”But he’s so damn cute in bowtie…” ”He’s two.” ”Oh my God, they grow so fast…” John was teary-eyed again and Ned had a hard time not laughing. ”I promise, that if the bundle would want to start dancing, ye’ll get to pick out the clothes with her on one condition.” ”And that would be?” ”That ye don’t get upset if she quits and becomes a true metal head like her da.” Billy just shook his head. ”I bet she’ll ditch ballet, metal and football completely just because we want her to like it.” Roisin, who still slept in the babysling, made a little sound in her sleep, drooling on her da’s chest and Ned grinned. ”Look, she’s  already drooling over Behemoth. We’re gonna sacrifice so many virgins and goats to Lucifer, aren’t we, duckling? Yeah, yer da’s gonna teach ye all about Asa Bay, the number of the beast, Cliff Burton and how to cook priests…” John crossed his arms and looked at Billy and James. ”That’s it. From now on, I demand to to be erased from your list of people to be used as bad examples.” Billy exchanged an exasperated look with James and then looked at his apparently soon-to-be ballet dancing, goat killing and priest cooking daughter and the man who couldn’t take his one seeing eye off her. ”With a family as weird as ours, I think she’ll turn out just fine.”