#Nehs the Catholic

[escapaldi]

Re, the latest US Supreme Court idiocy: I wish that every time a Bible-twisting cosplayer was handed the right to deny others theirs that the word Christian was not used to describe them. They are frankly incapable of even attempting to follow one of the most basic rules of Christianity (love thy neighbor) and are honestly just using the intangibility of faith to lie their way into the ability to be an asshole without repercussions. Not only that, but they are extremely un-American for wanting to enshrine these false beliefs into law and the Constitution, which increasingly blurs the line between Church and State that they only seem to bring up when they’re upset that they need to meet on Zoom or else they’re at significantly higher risk of catching a plague they refuse to be vaccinated against as though someone did not make that vaccine with their God-given talents. The Lord gave us people of all walks of life so that we may truly understand Him and instead people spit on it. Why would He give us LGBT+ folks if we weren’t meant to strive to figure out how to care for them and let them thrive in a society of love? They can love God just as much as any cishet person--possibly even more than, if you’ll allow--and to theoretically deny someone something as inconsequential as a wedding website? For being gay? It makes me want to SCREAM.

The fact this is coming on the tail end of Pride is not lost on anyone. I’m sure there’s plenty in my archdiocese who would call me a bad or cafeteria Catholic for thinking that LGBT+ folks shouldn’t be denied service based on “freedom of religion” or “freedom of speech”. Well, guess what? Not only is the Lord disappointed in how you treat other humans He made in His image, but the Founding Fathers are spinning in their graves because of how severely you misinterpreted those freedoms. It means the State can’t throw you in jail for being a Christian or a communist dissenter, ya fuckwit, not that you have free reign to be an asshole and not get called on it. And you refer to yourself as an Originalist? Ha! If you were an Originalist, then you’d know that the “Men” in “all Men are created equal” means “people” and that you’d have to acknowledge that women are part of “Men”. Because it’s capitalized. Like the difference between God and god. LGBT+ people are part of the race of Men. So are our Jewish and Islamic cousins in Abrahamic faith. So are our neighbors of varying other faiths and traditions. People who look different, talk different, experience things different, they are still Men. As in the synonym for human. And they’re all equal in their pursuit for Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, which is something some people like to deny. A lot. Because they’re libertarian and hands-off-government unless it’s about people who don’t look and act and sound like them being given the same rights and treatment. They claim to be about defending families and traditional values and it’s, like, you’re pissing on real families. A family can be anything. By claiming to defend families and traditional values, what is being offered? Safe places and nurturing environments? No--it’s hate, pure and simple, against anything that doesn’t look like Leave It to Beaver and Father Knows Best.

So please, when reading the headlines today and in the future about the latest travesty that was allowed to happen because a sycophant stacked the court, remember that the greatest lie that mainstream media is knowingly spreading right now--and I’m a huge believer in mainstream press integrity--is that these people are Christians. Because they’re not. Jesus was a cool cat and this was not what He would have wanted. People doing bad shit in His name did not stop at the Crusades, but is a real and genuine problem within the Church and outside of it. If we can see it in sex abuse scandals and money laundering, then we should be able to see it when it comes to people denying the humanity and existence of their fellow Man. It’s there whenever people laud the denial of health care, the denial of legal rights, the denial of history... those are not Christians. Those are little more than weird LARPers attracted to power and the ability to say their word is God’s. Well, guess now’s the time to say that even the famous “papal infallibility” clause of Catholicism has loopholes, because as much as I like the Pope in general, he’s still a weird little old dude. He might have the clearest picture from the Lord, but he’s still human, and therefore is still capable of fcking shit up with a bad turn of phrase or reluctance to go all the way (and honestly, I’m not entirely unconvinced that he’s been avoiding an anti-pope all this time, because I feel like he’s been toeing that line from Day One and am surprised nothing’s been triggered yet). That’s why the conservative rightwing Catholics at least think they’re in the clear despite the fact that even with all his shortcomings, the current Pope sort of has one of the clearest heads in a long while, so oops too bad now stop shitting on the Pope.

In related news, Frankie’s supposed to be due to replace my archbishop sooner rather than later due to an age cap and I hope he can get one not as... tolerant of Christian nationalism and hate towards Men in there. That’d be nice to have, you know, LGBT+ outreach that isn’t underground.

[escapaldi]

The funniest part about this is, functionally-speaking, you can have a lot of Catholics who don't agree with the Pope. They always have and sure as fuck don't now. It's part of why many conservative Catholics (esp. where I am in the US) have gone off the deep end. They don't like Frank and never will and probably will pitch a fit if his successor is anything like him as well.

So yeah. You don't need to confirm your headcanons with creators any more than a homophobic Catholic needs to check in with Pope Francis about how to "love thy neighbor".

[nehswritesstuffs]

Inherited Will, Destiny of the Age, Graveyard of Ambition and Dreams - Part 6

Huh, could’ve sworn this was posted already. Oh well. I have plenty of notes at the end of this one, so please be sure to check them out!

Part 1 on [tumblr] - [FFN] - [AO3] 

Prior chapter on [tumblr] - [FFN] - [AO3]

Priorities; a crew meeting and a potentially close call [bad future!One Piece AU]

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

It had been a full day since the Straw Hat Pirates had put the Conomi Islands to their backs. The entire crew was above deck and enjoying the weather, the peaceful atmosphere cut short by Kappa loudly clapping his hands from his position over by the mast.

“Alright!” he shouted, getting everyone else’s attention. “We need to have a crew meeting!”

“What do you mean?” Rika asked. She bounced her way over to where Kappa was standing with a chalkboard—where in the hell did he get that?—and sat down on the deck. The others cautiously edged their way over, not entirely sure where the navigator was going with this.

“Recruitment,” he stated.

“There’s six of us and this ship is small,” Tamanegi noted. “Shouldn’t we worry about that later, when we have a proper ship?”

“Wrong: we need to figure out now what we need to be looking for in the future as far as people to stay away from, as well as people we need to recruit,” Kappa explained. “We already have some good core components of a crew, but we’re missing some key elements if we want to survive on the Grand Line.”

“Such as…?” Piiman asked. He and Tamanegi quickly shared a look—shouldn’t a crew meeting be something called by the captain…?

“We need a dedicated cook, for one, because if last night is any indication of where we’re at, then I am not choking down more of your lethal cooking than should be necessary,” Kappa replied, not even looking from where he was writing on the chalkboard. Piiman shrugged at that—couldn’t argue there.

“Well, what else…?”

“Only the coolest will do,” Rika insisted, “like someone on the run from a powerful pirate crew! Or someone who can predict my every move in a fight! Or an aloof swordsman with a mysterious past!”

“Will you hold on for just one minute?!” Kappa griped. He turned around and showed the list he had written. “Okay, so far, we’ve got some roles already filled. We’ve got a captain, while I’m a navigator and helmsman, Manni’s a decent shot, Kalyv is the lookout, Nin is a decent combatant for when things get rough, a wall of meat at the very least…” He stared at Tamanegi and furrowed his brow. “What the fuck do you do again?”

“I’m the chronicler. The records-keeper.”

“Bozorge Sandora, you are fucking useless, aren’t you?” Kappa and Tamanegi exchanged death glares before the former continued. “Anyhow, any decent crew needs to have a couple things that we don’t: a cook, a doctor, and probably a shipwright… or at least someone who can do some repair work around the place…”

“I want a mascot,” Rika stated. Her eyes then went wide. “Can we get a pet?!”

“No,” the other crew members said in unison.

“Anyhow,” Kappa continued, “we need to recruit at least a few very specific people if we’re going to make this grand-scale venture work.”

“I can do repairs around the ship for now,” Piiman offered. “My uncle was a carpenter and I learned a bit from him before he died. Soon as someone better comes along, I don’t mind giving it up.”

“See…?” Kappa told Rika, gesturing towards Piiman. “He’s sensible.” He looked at the others and cold realization washed over him. “I’m the oldest one here, aren’t I?”

“I guess…?” Ninjin shrugged. “Why does that matter?” Kappa smacked his forehead.

“How in the hell did I turn into the responsible older one yet again?” he grumbled.

“Would you rather the one who wants a mascot be the responsible eldest crewmate?” Tamanegi deadpanned.

“The one who wants the mascot is the captain, which is a fact I’m learning to ignore the further we get away from that part of the conversation.” He rubbed his forehead, knowing that there was a headache coming on—it was all his fault for calling the meeting to order. “No animals unless they pull their weight somehow, no kids.”

“You can’t say that,” Rika said. “You don’t know what’s out there.”

“We can’t go picking up every single stray,” he pointed out. “We need to be reasonable about this.”

“I am being reasonable—you’re being a spoil-sport.”

“What’s being reasonable is asking: do any of you four know a language other than Eastern?”

The rest of the ship aside from Chabo and Tamanegi blinked at him.

“I was in a position to learn the rest of the Blue Languages, Ryugua, and Celestial,” Tamanegi bragged. Chabo and Kappa looked at him with raised eyebrows.

»Why didn’t you tell us earlier?« Chabo asked in the Ryugua language.

»We might have a better shot if you know those, plus Celestial, of all things.« Kappa looked at Tamanegi and frowned. »Are we speaking too fast? Are you a bit rusty?«

Tamanegi grinned and replied, »Yes give goo ma.«

The other two glanced at one another, then both stared at him.

<Then how is your Paradi?> Kappa asked, switching languages again. Tamanegi looked blankly at him. <If you know the Blue Languages as you claim, then Paradi should be simpler to say and understand.>

“Go easy on him, Kakkun,” Chabo smirked in Eastern. “He’s a multilingual mute.”

“Hey!” Tamanegi protested.

⌠⌠He’s a pain in my side,⌡⌡ Kappa scowled, switching languages for a third time. ⌠⌠He can’t say shit. Probably semi-learned to read off a novel he had copies of in multiple languages and nothing practical…⌡⌡

“You said Paradi,” Piiman noted. “Nin knows some Paradi. His sister taught him.” Now that caught Kappa’s attention.

“Your sister used to sail the Grand Line?” he asked.

“My sister was a Marine cadet when she was alive,” Ninjin admitted with a shrug. “We used it when she was home to talk without our parents knowing. It’s been a long time. I don’t remember much.”

“You’ll all eventually catch at least a little Paradi while you’re traveling, since it’s just a spoken creole, or mix, of the Blue Languages,” Chabo assured, “but I think branching out our language capabilities will need to be a priority. We can pick up some texts and phrasebooks in Logue Town to read on our downtime.”

“Most people on the Grand Line will speak Paradi, but we’ll need to get a head start on a few others if we want to land on islands and not make a fuss and drag unwanted attention to ourselves,” Kappa stated. “We’ll need some knowledge of possibly Dressrosan, Tottoese, Scorchistani, Faldese, Morgaro, Guanha, more of you to learn Ryugua…”

“That’s a lot,” Rika huffed. “They wanted us to learn Celestial in school, but it was hard. No one ever got far unless they were weird eggheads.”

“When it comes to Celestial, I don’t blame you,” Kappa deadpanned. “Still… we’re seafaring folk who are comically under-prepared. The only reason I’ve got much of our course is because we stole it from Arlong Park; not having more than Ryugua, a single Blue, and a minor Paradise language firmly under our belts is reckless. Interpreters aren’t cheap and we’ve got… how much again…?”

“In beri or in lint balls?” Tamanegi quipped.

⌠⌠We are the poorest fucking pirates to ever sail these seas,⌡⌡ Kappa realized aloud. He stared at Chabo, almost in shock. ⌠⌠It’s a goddamned pleasure cruise to them.⌡⌡

⌠⌠It’s not…⌡⌡

⌠⌠We’re in over our fucking heads.⌡⌡

“…and what language is that?” Tamanegi asked. “You never told us.” Kappa exhaled heavily—of course.

“Alabastian—it’s what I grew up speaking until I was about eleven.”

“Where’s that? Alabastia?” Ninjin wondered.

“Alabasta—it’s about halfway through the first part of the Grand Line. My guess is that Guanha is the main language right now. Possibly Western. Depends on what’s going on there at the moment.”

“Why would it change like that? Why don’t you know?”

“Do you know what a ‘prestige language’ is? No, you don’t—basically, a lot of upper class and city people were not using Alabastian in their daily lives by the time I left, most using Western and some Guanha. The royal family knew the native language and used it frequently, though. Actually, the princess’s Alabastian was one of the most lovely and assuring tones I can remember having ever heard.”

“How do you know all this?” Tamanegi asked, brow furrowing. “This isn’t the kind of thing you just know about while hiding in a shack in the East.”

“My 'amú taught me a lot while we were traveling together,” Kappa frowned. “He… he and I loved Alabasta, just in different ways. I didn’t know both of our emotions came from the same place until after we had to leave.”

“Why did you leave?”

“Tam, enough,” Rika warned. “I don’t care about where we’ve all been—all I care about is that we’re going forward, together. Kappa’s part of that now.”

“You only wanted him because he’s been on the Grand Line.”

“Yeah, and I said enough.” She glanced over at Kappa, who seemed to be observing the situation more than anything. “I still want a pet and a mascot, you know.”

“We’re not getting either.”

“Can’t blame me for trying.”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

The meeting had ended soon after, with the crew dispersing to their varying preferred posts. Chabo climbed up the rigging and settled himself in the crow’s nest. He was prepared to be up there for a few hours at the very least, watching the horizon for anything that might be a threat, a welcome change, worth investigating, or anything in between.

“Hey, think this thing can handle one more?” He glanced over his shoulder and saw that Piiman was hanging half in the crow’s nest, looking as though he desperately needed to hide. Chabo nodded, gesturing with his head for the other man to complete the climb. “Thanks—I don’t know what I’d do if I got caught in Tam’s crosshairs right now.”

“He and Kakkun are not going to get on very well, are they?” Chabo chuckled.

“That’s an understatement.”

“If it helps: Kakkun is a good guy once he’s comfortable with you. It just… takes a bit. I get the feeling Tam’s the same way; that he only is nice to you because you’ve known one another long enough.”

“Tam… he, Nin, and I are brothers. Not blood brothers, but still brothers… and even I’m not entirely immune to his moods all the time.”

“Then I guess we should probably make ourselves at home up here.”

“At least until they realize where we’re both hiding,” Piiman smirked. He and Chabo nodded at one another and began their watch.

Cowards had to stick together, after all.

Thus, they continued their watch, keeping an eye on the decks below as well as the horizon. They waited and waited, watching carefully. An outcropping of rocks was soon visible, which they relayed the position of to Kappa, not hearing anything else from their crewmates until Rika appeared over the side of the crow’s nest with a basket in her hand.

“Nin’s turn to cook tonight,” she said cheerily. She remained draped over the short wall while she put down the basket and uncovered it—two bowls filled with a simple meal of noodles and sauce. “It’s good enough that even Kappa likes it.”

“When we were kids, Nin wanted to open a tavern, so he was the only one of us to get any instruction in a kitchen,” Piiman said. He took his bowl out and began slurping up the noodles. “It wasn’t a lot, but it was enough to make him better than Tam and I, anyhow.”

“Kappa wants to make it so the two of them cook until we’ve got a real one handy,” Rika said. She then noticed that Chabo was staring over her shoulder, noodles half-hanging out from his mouth. “What’s wrong…?” He inhaled the rest of his noodles, placing the bowl in the basket.

“There’s a ship,” he said warily. He accepted a spyglass from Piiman and made a low, disapproving noise. “Krieg.”

“Oh…” The other two looked in the same direction and saw that the ship was much bigger than theirs, if perspective wasn’t throwing them off, not to mention was well-populated and armed to the masts. Piiman swallowed hard, almost choking on his noodles.

“I’m gonna see if Kappa can get us to those rocks so we can hide there,” Rika decided. “They don’t seem to have seen us yet.”

“That’s the advantage of them being so much bigger,” Piiman shivered. He and Chabo watched as Rika dropped back down to the main deck and pointed out the ship on the horizon to Kappa and Ninjin. Soon as the navigator saw the hulking behemoth, he silently gestured for all hands on deck…

…and if they weren’t quiet about it, he was going to wring their necks.

Quickly, everyone got going and they hurried the ship over to the rocks, hiding behind them the best they could. Soon as they were out of sight, they dropped anchor and pulled up the sail, securing it in the rigging.

“So, what, are we just going to try to look abandoned?” Piiman asked as they all went underdeck. “They might still want to see what’s leftover.”

“We’re too small for them to want to bother with us unless they think there’s still people here,” Kappa frowned. “They’d have to be very desperate to want to do that.”

“How desperate?” Tamanegi wondered.

“Sail-into-Cocoyasi-to-treatise-with-Arlong levels,” Chabo replied. Kappa nodded for confirmation. “I’ll go back into the crow’s nest and keep watch until they’ve passed.”

“Be careful, and that’s an order,” Rika said firmly. He gave her a nod before going back up to the deck, leaving his crewmates out of sight. Everyone below deck huddled quietly, waiting for Chabo to return. Instead, after some tense waiting, they heard him shout in Alabastian.

“Khvahsh myknm!”

“What’d he say?” Ninjin wondered. Kappa shrugged.

“‘No problem’—it’s the first thing he picked up in Alabastian, so it’s our code for when the coast is clear.” He climbed the ladder to go above deck again and saw Chabo climbing down from the crow’s nest. “Didn’t come after us?”

“Either they didn’t see us or they didn’t think us worth it—no matter what, we’re good.”

“No, we’re not good,” Rika frowned. She climbed a bit of the rigging and looked out over the water, trying to see where the ship was, if it was still within sight at all. “We don’t need Krieg ruining our chances before we even get to Logue Town.”

“I thought his waters were more towards the north,” Tamanegi frowned. “That ship had to cross Buggy’s territory to get here.” His face blanched in horror. “You don’t think they’re trying to move around in the void left by Arlong and Morgan do you?”

“Oh, I can guarantee it,” Kappa said. “The sooner I can get this pile of firewood to Logue Town, the better off we’ll be in the long-run. We don’t need to attract the attention of all the remaining Bosses.”

“That would be very bad,” Ninjin agreed.

“Let them go to war,” Rika scoffed. “We have better things to do than get caught up in whatever they’re gearing up for—the Grand Line makes them look like nothing, right Kappa?”

“Ha, yeah, it’d be a shame to let ourselves die here because of one of those morons.” Kappa looked in the direction of Logue Town, checking the position with his compass. “It’s so close I can almost taste it.”

“Then bring us there,” Rika grinned, “and let’s put this shitty Sea behind us.”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

A/N: Okay, so here’s where I start explaining myself as far as which languages are which. We’ve established that Eastern is English, but what about some of the others I’ve been throwing around? Kappa’s native Alabastian is being represented with transliterated Persian! I am 1000% relying on a translation site for that and am open to any input more experienced than mine. Ryugua, or the indigenous tongue of Fishfolk and Merfolk both is represented by Scots Gaelic, which is one of the languages I actually do have a passing knowledge of, and I’m actively trying to get better in. Remember that, now. We’ll get into many of the other languages mentioned much later, but for the time being, I’ll at least give up that Western/Algharbii is Arabic, Northern/Nord is French, and Southern/Dakshin is Hindi-Urdu (which, for the purpose of what I need for this fic, is being treated as one large unit instead of what essentially is two sociopolitical-religious-cultural-dependent linguistic fractions of the same base, because I am not going to even pretend I have a stake in that fight). This means that Paradi/Paradis, the piratical creole of these four, is a goddamned fucking mess. *sobs quietly, becomes puddle* I run so much through translators while still trying to make educated guesses best I can, especially for the things I do have some recognition in (to whatever degree that might be). Most of the languages will in-fic share writing systems--more on that later.

Also, the only real new translation I have in this chapter is Bozorge Sandora, which is roughly “Great/Mighty Sandora”, mostly because Kappa needs to swear more.

[afxckingsensitivebxcth]

AU:Liu, Jeff, and Jane as Filipino Headcanons

(+𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐟𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬)

Today is my Country's Independence day so what better way to celebrate it than by making headcanons of my Top 3 Creepypastas? Without furtherado, LEZZGOO!

(Ps: This is Before The Incident)

⚠️TRIGGER WARNING: Might Contain Toxic Mindsets, that others might find Offensive, Pls read on your own discretion.

• Jeff and Liu's Names are Jefferson Ferrer Cruz, and Alexus Louies Cruz IV. Lou (Liu) got his name from their ancestors of the first generation and he's the 4th to earn the name. whilst Jeff's name came from his father's name variant. Jane's full name is Janeanne Rivera. (Janeanne's name is pronounced as "Ja•neh•yan" Instead of the Common "Jeyn•An") Jane got her name from her father's name and Mother's name combined.

(🇵🇭 Funfact #1: Filipinos often gets creative when naming their children. sometimes, they follow a Name heirloom or combine each others name to form a new one.)

• Jeff and Liu are Catholics. They came from a strict Catholic Household. They were baptized, and became sacristans [church servers] at the age of 8. However, the two are NOT devoted. they were forced to join a ministry ever since young, as a form of Disciplining them and molding them to be religious at a young age.

(🇵🇭 Funfact #2: In the Philippines, Some Filipino parents WILL force their religions on their children, and will NOT allow them to change religions, or else they'll be 'disowned'. this is a form of discipline, to easily convince, and mold them to their respective beliefs.)

• Jane on the other hand, came from a strict Christian household. there were barely no difference, other than the fact that her family doesn't believe in saints and don't own any. Nonetheless, she's raised as a "Little Miss Perfect" by her parents, and Can NEVER disobey the rules. If she did, She is punished both Verbally and Physically.

(🇵🇭 Funfact #3: Most punishments for disobedience in the Philippines are brutal. Some examples are; Kneeling in Salt for hours, Whipping your back with a piece of woods, or worse, a stingray's tail, melting candle wax in your legs, and many more. it may sound funny when explained, but in reality, it's very painful, especially for those who still experience it.)

• Jeff's Personality is Loud and Extroverted but very friendly. He has more friends than Lou (Liu) and Jane combined, but He's not afraid too bruise his knuckles for a few punches. Lou (Liu) on the other hand, is Quiet, Shy, but Intimidating. Although he looks scary, he's a peace maker and would avoid trouble as much as possible. Jane is Soft spoken, Loving, and Calm. She's often taken advantage because of this, but she knows how to take petty revenge without her identity exposed. So she barely gets angry.

• Because of Jeff being Extroverted and Adventurous, he has a naturally tanner skin than Liu as he's more exposed to the sun. Lou's (Liu) Skin is as Pale as snow, and so does Jane because of the two being an inside *introverted* person.

(🇵🇭 Funfact #4: Unlike Americans, Filipinos have a natural Tan when exposed to the sun. A Filipino's Skin can adapt to their whether. On summer, most filipinos are Tan because of their skin being exposed to the sun. On Low temperatured wheather however, they turn pale. this also have the same effect when a person goes out more or not. Liu and Jane stayed inside their house more, and because they don't get enough sunlight, they are naturally pale.)

• Because they're close neighbors, the 3 became great friends, and so does their Families. Because of the Strict household the 3 grew up in, they were all secretive and rebellious towards their parents. Jane's Parents trust both Jeff and Lou (Liu) around Jane because other than being neighbors, the Twins knew how to talk their way out of anything. (Lou *Liu* can Manipulate his way out of any given trouble, while Jeff's Good at Sweet-Talking.) The Cruz (Woods) Family also very much LOVES Jane because of how "perfect" she is. and so, the 3 uses each other as excuses to leave their toxic households at any Given time.

(🇵🇭 Funfact #5: Filipino Teens, especially those that are raised strictly, are naturally good at keeping secrets and analyzing their sorroundings. *Not just teens actually, almost All asians out there.)

(🇵🇭 Funfact #6: Filipino neighbors are naturally friendly with eachother. You can easily befriend them by approaching them and talking to them. Or just a small nod as a way of greeting a neighbor can easily gain trust to both sides. HOWEVER, when Religions are involved, Especifically between Lovers, A Catholic and a Christian are NOT allowed to be Lovers. And Arguments might occured.)

[nightsidewrestling]

D.U.D.E Bios: Wyn Rhydderch

The Clurichaun Prince of C.R.C Wyn Rhydderch (2020)

Kirby's cousin, Hywel's nephew, and Uinseann's son, Wyn. An Irish-Catholic living in Wales and a caring, loving and protective father. He takes romancing his wife more seriously than wrestling.

"Date night, me and my wife, none of you are invited."

Name

Full Legal Name: Wyn Eoin Uthyr Nechtan Rhydderch

First Name: Wyn

Meaning: Derived from Welsh 'Gwyn' meaning 'White, Blessed'

Pronunciation: WIN

Origin: Welsh

Middle Name(s): Eoin, Uthyr, Nechtan

Meaning(s): Eoin: Irish form of 'Iohannes', the Latin form of the Greek name 'Ioannes', itself derived from the Hebrew name 'Yochanan' meaning 'Yahweh is gracious', from the roots 'Yo' referring to the Hebrew God and 'Chanan' meaning 'To be gracious'. Uthyr: Welsh form of 'Uther', derived from Welsh 'Uthr' meaning 'Terrible'. Nechtan: Irish name of uncertain meaning, possibly from a Celtic root meaning 'Damp'

Pronunciation: ON, YOO-thuh. NEH-ch-taen

Origin(s): Irish. Welsh Mythology, Arthurian Romance. Irish Mythology, Old Irish

Surname: Rhydderch

Meaning: From the given name 'Rhydderch' from the Old Welsh name 'Riderch', derived from 'Ri' 'King' and 'Derch''Exalted'

Pronunciation: HRUDH-ehrkh

Origin: Welsh

Alias: Clurichaun Prince, Wyn Rhydderch

Reason: This is Wyn's ring name

Nicknames: N/A

Titles: Mr

Characteristics

Age: 38

Gender: Male. He/Him Pronouns

Race: Human

Nationality: Welsh. Irish-Welsh Mix. Dual Citizenship ROI-UK

Ethnicity: White

Birth Date: October 31st 1982

Symbols: Clurichauns, Alcohol, Crowns

Sexuality: Heterosexual

Religion: Irish-Catholic

Native Language: Welsh

Spoken Languages: Welsh, Irish, Scottish (Scots Gaelic), English

Relationship Status: Married

Astrological Sign: Scorpio

Theme Song: 'Love You To Death' - Type O Negative (2000-)

Voice Actor: Emmett J. Scanlan

Geographical Characteristics

Birthplace: Tullahought, Kilkenny, Ireland

Current Location: Llanfaethlu, Anglesey, Wales

Hometown: Llanfaethlu, Anglesey, Wales

Appearance

Height: 6'3" / 190 cm

Weight: 200 lbs / 90 kg

Eye Colour: Brown

Hair Colour: Blond

Hair Dye: None

Body Hair: Hairy

Facial Hair: Full Beard

Tattoos: (As of Jan 2020) 10

Piercings: Navel, Ear Lobes (Double, Both)

Scars: None

Health and Fitness

Allergies: None

Alcoholic, Smoker, Drug User: Smoker, Social Drinker

Illnesses/Disorders: None Diagnosed

Medications: None

Any Specific Diet: None

Relationships

Allies: (As of Jan 2020) The Rhydderch Clan

Enemies: (As of Jan 2020) None

Friends: Jarlath Rhydderch, Patrick Rhydderch, Lochlainn Rhydderch, Fionn Rhydderch, Uilliam Rhydderch, Ivor Rhydderch, Sean Rhydderch, Vaughan Rhydderch, Neifion Rhydderch, Mostyn Rhydderch, Darach Rhydderch, Roderick Rhydderch, Fergus Rhydderch, Flann Rhydderch, Ulysses May, Vasco Romero, Desmond Grady

Colleagues: The C.R.C Locker Rooms / Too Many To List

Rivals: None

Closest Confidant: Ragnhild Rhydderch

Mentor: Uinseann Rhydderch

Significant Other: Ragnhild Rhydderch (39, Wife, Née Perreault)

Previous Partners: None of Note

Parents: Uinseann Rhydderch (74, Father), Odharnait Rhydderch (75, Mother, Née MacCarthy)

Parents-In-Law: Fionnlagh Perreault (69, Father-In-Law), Airi Perreault (70, Mother-In-Law, Née Paisley)

Siblings: Kathleen Mulrennan (44, Sister, Née Rhydderch), Sean Rhydderch (41, Brother), Haf McFarlane (35, Sister, Née Rhydderch), Tydfil McFarland (32, Sister, Née Rhydderch)

Siblings-In-Law: Fachtna Mulrennan (45, Kathleen's Husband), Yvette Rhydderch (42, Sean's Wife, Née Plamondon), Keaton McFarlane (36, Haf's Husband), Keith McFarland (33, Tydfil's Husband), Cyrano Perreault (36, Ragnhild's Brother), Velvet Perreault (37, Cyrano's Wife, Née Norup), Velda Olsen (33, Ragnhild's Sister, Née Perreault), Faust Olsen (34, Velda's Husband), D'Artagnan Perreault (30, Ragnhild's Brother), Wendy Perreault (31, D'Artagnan's Wife, Née Olson), Verity Riber (27, Ragnhild's Sister, Née Perreault), Gandalf Riber (28, Ragnhild's Husband), Fingal Perreault (24, Ragnhild's Brother), Winter Perreault (25, Fingal's Wife, Née Thorn), Wilda Dahl (21, Ragnhild's Sister), Rumpelstiltskin Dahl (22, Wilda's Husband), Huckleberry Perreault (18, Ragnhild's Brother), Wisteria Perreault (15, Ragnhild's Sister), Lestat Perreault (12, Ragnhild's Brother), 'Abla Perreault (9, Ragnhild's Sister)

Nieces & Nephews: Eachann Mulrennan (24, Nephew), Aurora Mulrennan (25, Eachann's Wife, Née MacDonald), Daffodil MacDaniel (21, Niece, Née Mulrennan), Grant MacDaniel (22, Daffodil's Husband), Calanthe Mulrennan (18, Niece), Baggi Mulrennan (15, Nephew), Abel Mulrennan (12, Nephew), Zinnia Mulrennan (9, Niece), Yolanda Mulrennan (6, Niece), Xerxes Mulrennan (3, Nephew), Walker Rhydderch (21, Nephew), Henriika Rhydderch (22, Walker's Wife, Née MacColuim), Velvet Rhydderch (18, Niece), Unni Rhydderch (15, Niece), Talfryn Rhydderch (12, Nephew), Ragna Rhydderch (9, Niece), Queenie Rhydderch (6, Niece), Samson Rhydderch (3, Nephew), Jane McFarlane (15, Niece), Idalia McFarlane (12, Niece), Hall McFarlane (9, Nephew), Gael McFarlane (6, Nephew), Fallon McFarlane (3, Niece), Easter McFarland (12, Niece), Dalton McFarland (9, Nephew), Cadell McFarland (6, Nephew), Barbara McFarland (3, Niece), Violet Perreault (16, Niece), Hamlet Perreault (13, Nephew), Willow Perreault (10, Niece), Jorah Perreault (7, Nephew), Zella Perreault (4, Niece), Legolas Perreault (1, Nephew), Zola Olsen (13, Niece), Leir Olsen (10, Nephew), Zula Olsen (7, Niece), Malvolio Olsen (4, Nephew), Abrar Olsen (1, Niece), Merry Perreault (10, Nephew), Afaf Perreault (7, Niece), Mowgli Perreault (4, Nephew), 'Aisha Perreault (1, Niece), Nemo Riber (7, Nephew), A'isha Riber (4, Niece), Pinnocchio Riber (1, Nephew), Aisha Perreault (4, Niece), Pippin Perreault (1, Nephew), Alia Dahl (1, Niece)

Children: Pacey Rhydderch (18, Son), Ogden Rhydderch (15, Son), Naomi Rhydderch (12, Daughter), Madonna Rhydderch (9, Daughter), Lachtna Rhydderch (6, Son), Kal-El Rhydderch (3, Son)

Children-In-Law: None

Grandkids: None

Great Grandkids: None

Wrestling

Billed From: Kilkenny, Ireland

Trainer: The C.R.C Wrestling School, Uinseann Rhydderch

Managers: Ragnhild Rhydderch

Wrestlers Managed: Ragnhild Rhydderch

Debut: 2000

Debut Match: Wyn Rhydderch VS Uinseann Rhydderch. Wyn won via pinfall

Retired: N/A

Retirement Match: N/A

Wrestling Style: Technician / Powerhouse

Stables: The Rhydderch Clan (2000-)

Teams: No Team Names

Regular Moves: Back Body Drop, Bearhug, Bearhug Into A Thrust Spinebuster To The Ring Post, Big Boot, Chokehold, Corner Clothesline, Flying Clothesline, Rebound Clothesline, Arm Twist Ropewalk Chop, Over The Top Rope Suicide Dive, Reverse STO, Running DDT, Running Elbow Drop, Running Leg Drop, Running Leg Drop To An Apron-Hung Opponent, Sidewalk Slam, Snake Eyes, Standing Dragon Sleeper, Arm Drag, Dropkick, Headscissors Takedown, Knee Lift, Running Crossbody

Finishers: Ropewalk Diving Elbow Chop, Heart Punch, One-Handed Clawhold, Elevated Powerbomb, Triangle Choke, Chokeslam, Tombstone Piledriver, Figure-Four Leglock, Flying Forearm Smash

Refers To Fans As: The Fans, The Family

Extras

Backstory: Wyn Rhydderch of the C.R.C (Welsh Wrestling League / Cynghrair Reslo Cymru) owning Rhydderch Family. When Uinseann dies Wyn will have a 1/40th ownership of the promotion. Wyn is a 'Clurichaun Style' (Technician mixed with Powerhouse) trainer. He's a quarter-Welsh and three quarters-Irish

Trivia: Nothing of Note

[nevalizona]

Ivy Nicole and Victor have a chat.

Pardon any errors.

Ivy Nicole sat in Victor's garage. He was working on his car with the help of Lincoln, who stepped out to use the restroom for a moment, leaving her alone with Victor. Ivy Nicole is never shy, even now.

"So you were dating Lincoln’s brother, huh?" Victor asked, wiping his hands on a ratty rag he had tucked through a belt loop. He looked over at her, hand reaching for a beer that was next to her.

"Uh huh. Ellis. Lincoln tell you much about him?" Ivy Nicole asked, handing him the beer.

He shrugged as he took a sip.

"Some. With Clay... it depended on how he felt, ya know? Did he trust you? Did he want to open up? Some days, he talked. Some days, he didn't. Not about himself, at least.' Victor shrugged, taking another drink. 'Let's not... we don't have to talk about that. Tell me about you." Victor wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, setting the beer next to him on his work bench.

"Not much to say. I'm just me. Goin' with the flow, where the wind takes me or whatever." Ivy Nicole shrugged, kicking her feet softly.

"I get that. You don't got that twange in your voice the way Clay does. Where you from?" A smile spread across his face, big and wide. Ivy Nicole likes how friendly he feels. It's almost like she's known him for a while, despite only meeting him an hour ago.

"Nevada."

"Ah, you say it like that, huh? Neh-vawe-duh. Does it bother you when people say it like Neh-vah-duh."

"Sometimes. You ever been there?"

"Nah. Maybe one day. Where at in Nevada?"

"Las Vegas."

"Shit. That must've been crazy."

Ivy Nicole snorted and shook her head.

"Not really. Well, maybe. I spent most of my time in Catholic school."

Victor nodded his head knowingly. He reached into his shirt and pulled out a rosary from his collar.

"Should've known. Same here. 'Cept I didn't spend most of my time there. Was getting myself into too much trouble." Victor wiggled his eyebrows playfully.

"Good thing you weren't in Vegas."

"Good thing. Got myself into plenty enough trouble as it is."

"Is Alvarez boring you?" Lincoln asked. Walking back into his garage, a smile sat on his face.

"Nah. He's fun to talk to. He went to Catholic school, too."

"Alvarez is far from a good Catholic, Ivy Nicole." Lincoln teased, grabbing a beer of his own.

"Hey now, I do my part. I may not be the best at it, but shit, give me some credit."

"At least you're trying. That means something to God, ya know?" Ivy Nicole squeaked, trying to be reassuring the way no one has ever been for her.

Lincoln and Victor both looked at each other and burst out laughing. Ivy Nicole smiled at them. It was great seeing Lincoln like this. At first, she was nervous about Lincoln seeing Victor. She was worried it was going to bring up bad memories. But Lincoln seems happy, and that is a relief to her.

[theoldmagoobaddee]

SNOW SNOW ❄️ GO AWAY! COME AGAIN, ANOTHER DAY! 🙆‍♀️🙆‍♂️🧝‍♂️🧝‍♀️🧞‍♂️🧞‍♀️🤺🤹‍♀️🤹‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♀️

So, I+I dunno if anyone noticed all these end of the world type-of meteorological events happening lately or am I just a hypa-armageadiac?

So, one of the happenings I found particularly disturbing was the SNOW-like stuff falling from the sky. It seemed like it was concentrated in the Deep South area or, I apologize, the New South; though it was recorded in farflung (and highly, unlikely to snow. Like. Ever. Noba how the variables were varying) places like Lebanon.

Check out what I mean...

As a Green Peace, useless hippy, a neurotic Rave Safe buddy on the lookout for sharp objects, seizures, dehydration and Black Holes appearing and as a person who suddenly has a little bit of money, I was finding my rather Look-For-The-Bear-Neccessities current viewpoint harsh and I have yet to shake that feeling of sinking disappointment because the End of the World is nigh. Is naai. Is a NAAI-YAAAAH.... *performs.screamsnshoutz.in public.especially in public.actually meant for the public* oh, and *doesn't care*

Think of me as your loser, just-starting-out-in-the-ways-of-the-Lord Ghetto Gospel Train Evangelie and as a former Pretori (few days) visitor, God forbid, resident, not gesluip in The-being-funny-elitist-ways-of-train-dependent-Capetonians.

I mean, we can do a demonic eviction right here, right? In a packed, 3rd class (it's a whole 0.90c cheaper than 1st class. I understand now why Africans hate us. Whites. ) carriage; Sacremental Drinky Drink "Converted" Supermarket Trolleys toll the Ecclesiastical Cannons of the Roman Catholic Order - the Coke's can opening stub, like a prayer Rosary or a Countenance Pendant of Saint Christopher, the patron saint of travel and protection and the Archangel MiKyle, the halo, aurelio, prodigies, mystics, psychics, THEE-MONSTERTH!, lagoons, rescued slaves, after their martyrdom was rejected by the High Seas and the Makhosiesa (the Ghost Whale, the Blue, the Southern Right,

🔪2K!ll@7🔪 and the Chieftain of the Sea - the SwordFishes. Es.

The bewildered Sea Animals, the Congregants of the Most Hated Institution in Cape Town cultural taboos and don'ts; the impromptu, unwelcome, loud, attention-to-self grabbing pastoral pastures (you'll see) of 3rd Class Metro rail, the most anger-inducing, torturous, inner-groan type unwelcome experience ever. And we're talking about a church-going, God-fearing, morally fibrous community type. Who fucking hate, I mean HATE, MetroChurch. Grudgingly dubbed.

'Vi' hoekom moet hulle elke kee' vi ons ko terrorize?'

Trying to decide to take this train, upon hearing "...die evagelie.."

'Ag jirre, nie die kak alwee nie!'

'My broe, elke oggen is die doominee jitz vi' my, ampe' soo hy soek n vrou, die nwata.... Dan Wil hy elke kee' vi' my ko' accuse, ek het die sonde die naweek gedala en ek het hie' nou wee' kort gekom en ek moet belei, ek moet belei... '

Os het belei. Os het afgeklim. 😄

'Ek gat hom in sy poes in slat as hy eendag by Mennaburk stasie moet afklim. Ek laita vi' hom hospital toe, dakan ek n biechie vi' hom staan en preek heel dag en nag. Hy bly op die trein, op die route, in die kerritch, is hy mal?'

'Die hon' het seke' nie vrou, daais vi' hoekom en waarom... Annes het hy eide sy vrou se lyf gat dop hou, of sy baas se vrou, ons broeskap, Jeezy the Creezy, sien djy? Haha! Hy's mos n bit of a jas naai then, actually. Sy baas se vrou! JAS! Daais mos os, sienniemanou? Hehe, hy wil he, se hy, hy wil alles he.... '

'Neh.. Daas niks van allies hie ko soeki. Wat? Lyk Ek tjeap? Ek wil n Benediction he, ek soek gou Angels on my left and on my right...'

Angels on my left. And on my right.

'Godt. Djy weetdan. Ek? Ek is n fokken kulit, sienie man nou hoe? Ek vreetie n ande' frustrated outjie, se poging tot dames bowl, oppie trein en veda al sy kak en moods opvreet. Rerig. Ek is nou dik al.'

'Yoh. Djy klink nou soos die mochi, daa by die huis. Hoe laat kannit nou wees?'

'Wan' ek gat nog kamadela vi' n poging tot moot oppie 0925. (0925?). The Takings of PelaHom 1-2-shotgun. Snotgun!? Hehe... Hoo' gou hie .. Snotgun...hehe...kak snaaks. Snotgun.'

'Ek wil mossie oppie phone sit en n bloue kyk of n girlie byel en die varkie maak sy rounds met die keys. En dan is net SKANDAAL oppie trein, my broe. Ek jintu al heel naweek en ek naai seke mans en los kinnes. En djy? Meneer? Djy skinne en skyel nes n vrou. Hoe gaadaai nou lyk? Netou dinkie gurlie Ek is n bunny en dies MY gurty wat soo raas. Wat vi' my soo skyel? Dan is Ek innie kak meddie kek, die gurlie, die jirre, wie will ook he? Daa' is, ladies, come to da bek for pray.'

'Vi' pre, nie pray. Djy klink asof djy n dwankie is watti ingils kan prati...'

Pre, at da bek.

'Ampe' soo, hulle ko' soek vi' Mennabuk se mense op. Hulle weet. Ons is KAK mosig met ons bek... Ons gooi vi' jou met n sak KAK van hie die trein af. Ja, die doominee get mos gese, hy weet van os, ons moet belei, ons moet belei...'

'My chips, my nips, my panty and my klips. my sips, my kryps, my uithou en nou my niks...' My priorities.

DRINKIE DRINK!? DRINKY DRINK!?

'Uh, Doomineer, hies n Coke vi' jou..., nuh, moenie se Ek gee jou nooit niksi. Net vi' 2 jaa' geraas maak. Godt. Bid vi' ons sondenaas, nuh? Wat ek try se is : we appreciate! Nuh? Got you, my broe, but you preaching to the Converted and the Embraced, so, maybe next time, skarrebol, nuh? '

How quickly one can empty a third class carriage, in rush hour traffic

'Baai, my man, ons sien vi' jou wee vanaan. '

'Ek gat jou vrou se van hiedie kak..'

'Yoh! Djy'sou n kwaai vrou gemaakit. Ennie tjipz? Dj't nogal nooit vimy n dringy dring gekoopi...'

'Gaan, man. Klim djy nou ook op my nuhves? Die drink gat vi hom gelukkig maak. Hy gat chaisana aai' beleierigr pessinjuh wadhy soo skyel-skyel kosoek. Vandag nog. Ons gat hommie wee' vaanaan sieni....Djy gaanet djek... Eens more oggen wee'..'

Even Metro security were DIK already.

To be continued...

PART II: THE TAKING OF PELA-RING OPPI METROMALL SE DOOP WINKEL

[mimmiroxie]

...And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.

Neh 8:10

When life gives you lemons, remember the Lord is your lemonade.

Shared from the Archdiocese of Bombay App

=5/10 2023

#archdioceseofbombay #bibleword #bibleverse #catholic

[escapaldi]

Here's a reminder that "Christian nationalism" and its supporters are not Christians! Just like how Zionism is not indicative of Judiasm, what is touted as Christian nationalism is not Christian in the slightest. Literally nothing about them is Christian except the name they co-opted. These are precisely the sort of people who would have mistreated Jesus during his life and also the ones he would have been preaching against. All they do is twist His words and teachings for their own purpose until there's none of the love and compassion.

...because you want to know what political ideology really, genuinely jives with Christianity? Socialism.

Vote these people down. Their politics need to stay out of the government any more than their twisted views on religion need to be on the pulpit.

Do not let them fool you.

Reminder that Project 2025 is a thing; basically, if a Republican presidential candidate is elected next year, they have every intention of instating a full-on fascist government. Among many other horrible things, Project 2025 intends to criminalize anything trans-related as pornographic, and imprison anyone putting out such "pornography."

We really, really gotta do whatever we can to make sure a Republican candidate isn't elected. I know we're probably gonna be faced with shitty choices yet again (and how I wish it wasn't so), but we cannot afford to let this happen.

[escapaldi]

it's been weeks now and this is still in my brain so I have to share bc this is one of the funniest things i've seen in church in a long time

church??? you ask. funny??? well you've never seen the most hilarious version of despair on a priest's face until all that's needed to cover the end of Communion cleanup is just 45-90 seconds of the music minister freeforming on the piano (most have that just fucking ready to go) and yet the young-Boomer hippie we got starts into something and they're almost done w/cleanup when she begins to sing...

"...hello darkness my old friend..."

considering the priest is at the right age (like me) for his first/most thought-of exposure to The Sound of Silence possibly being the Disturbed cover, the look on his face was fucking priceless

and she sang the whole damn song too

ALL SHE NEEDED WAS ABOUT A MINUTE OF TIME AND SHE SANG THE WHOLE DAMN SONG. AT THE END OF MASS. WHEN WE ALL ARE ANTSY TO GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE. AND IT'S SUMMER TOO, SO WE'RE EXTRA-UNCOMFORTABLE DUE TO NO A/C. AND SHE'S HOLDING US ALL CAPTIVE. WITH A SONG OUT OF THE FUCKING GRADUATE SOUNDTRACK.

I'm still laughing all this time later bc there are very few struggles at the local parish level quite like priest vs music minister even if everyone is chill with everyone else and seeing his mortification fucking sent me.

[scienceandstarlight]

Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day My great grandfather was born in Jedwabne. Jedwabne, pronounced yed-vob-neh, is a town in north-east Poland. Its population was more than half Jewish, according to censuses from the 1920s. My great grandfather was one of those Jewish residents, along with his family. In 1938, my great grandfather emigrated to the United States, joining his brother who was already there. His parents, grandparents, and extended family remained in Jedwabne. In July of 1941, the Polish people of the town rounded up some forty Jews, including the rabbi of the congregation, and forced them to the center of the town. There, they beat them, forced them into humiliating tasks, and then when they tired of that, they led the Jews to an empty barn. The Polish gentiles killed the Polish Jews in the barn. Later that day, they gathered the rest of the Jews in Jedwabne, led them to the same barn, locked them in, and burned the barn down, burning the Jews alive. Nazi Germany was occupying Poland at the time. They had distributed propaganda blaming Jews for atrocities committed by Soviet Russia. They encouraged "self-cleansing" - pogroms enacted by Poles. They suggested or stated that Poles could rob and kill Jews with impunity. Some Poles may have thought that killing Jews would convince the Nazis to leave those Poles alone. Some or all of these factors worked. Nazi officers were present at the pogrom in Jedwabne. But they weren't the ones who did it. Polish neighbors tortured and killed their Jewish neighbors, people they had lived alongside for years. For many years, historians debated who had killed Jedwabne's Jews. Historian Jan T. Gross published a book called Neighbours in the year 2000 which stated that the Polish gentile citizens of Jedwabne were the ones who murdered the Polish Jewish citizens of Jedwabne. While he was far from the first historian to make this claim, his book garnered enough fame that the Polish parliament decided to reopen the investigation. The Polish Institute of National Remembrance, the IPN, spent roughly two years investigating. They interviewed my great grandfather and 110 others, and partially exhumed the two mass graves that had once been a barn. In 2002, the IPN announced their findings. The Polish citizens of Jedwabne murdered the Jewish citizens of Jedwabne. This conclusion was controversial. There wasn't much evidence to disprove it, but many Polish citizens were reluctant to accept it as truth. They placed the blame solely on the German Nazis who were in Jedwabne. There's no real reason to believe that, though, unless you're Polish and don't want to admit that your nation did wrong. In July 2001, on the 60th anniversary of the pogrom, Polish president Aleksander Kwaśniewski attended a ceremony at Jedwabne memorializing the pogrom. There, he made a speech stating the murderers were Poles whose crime was both against the Jewish nation and against Poland. He said the murderers had been incited by German occupiers, but they alone carried the burden of guilt for their crimes. The ceremony was attended by Catholic and Jewish religious leaders, including my great grandfather, and by survivors of the pogrom. Most of the locals of Jedwabne boycotted the ceremony. Before the 2001 ceremony, the memorial at Jedwabne read "Site of the Suffering of the Jewish Population. The Gestapo and the Nazi Gendarmerie Burned Alive 1600 People July 10, 1941.” In 2001, this was replaced by a memorial that read "To the Memory of Jews from Jedwabne and the Surrounding Area, Men, Women, and Children, Co-inhabitants of this Land, Who Were Murdered and Burned Alive on This Spot on July 10, 1941." Even this memorial, which places no direct blame on Poles, has been graffitied and damaged multiple times. In 2018, Poland enacted a law about the Holocaust. The legislation criminalizes any mention of Poles “being responsible or complicit in the Nazi crimes committed by the Third German Reich.” Breaches of the law are punishable by a fine or up to three years in prison. The law was casually

called Gross's Law, referring to Jan T. Gross's book about what happened in Jedwabne. Many saw the law as a direct response to Jedwabne. Publically reading this post out loud is illegal in Poland today.

[tinyshe]

The Secret of Fasting

by Fr Richard Heilman

Fasting is limiting our intake of food in response to God’s call and for the building of His kingdom. Almost all the great men and women of God throughout history have known a secret, the secret of fasting. They have understood the power and the privilege of fasting. We cannot fast unless we have God’s permission. But when God permits us to fast, we have the opportunity to be in the forefront of His work. We are honored to be chosen to have such an important part in the Spirit’s movement. Fasting is a power, privilege, opportunity, and honor. But only those who know the secret recognize this.

Old And New Testament Fasting

Throughout much of the Old Testament, there was only one fast day, the Day of Atonement (Lev 16:29). Later, other fasts were called for either because of a state of emergency or on the anniversary of a national tragedy (Zech 7:3-4). Fasting was an attempt to end a terrible circumstance.

In the new covenant, we fast in a different way, as after the wedding feast (Mk 2:20). We fast not only to end tragedy but to begin ministry. Jesus fasted for 40 days to begin His public ministry (Mt 4:2). The church of Antioch fasted to begin the first missionary journey (Acts 13:2). We fast not so much because of destruction and tragedy as because of construction and fulfillment.

Fasting And Deliverance

Pope John Paul II has taught: “Jesus Himself has shown us by His own example that prayer and fasting are the first and most effective weapons against the forces of evil (cf. Mt 4:1-11). As He taught His disciples, some demons cannot be driven out except in this way (cf. Mk 9:29)” (Gospel of Life, 100). Fasting sets us free (Is 58:6). Even Ahab, the worst sinner in the world, was temporarily freed from destruction by turning to fasting (1 Kg 21:25-29). The Ninevites were also freed from imminent destruction through fasting (Jon 3:5-10). Esther’s fasting helped free the Jewish nation from extermination (Est 4:16). Joel announced the same call (Jl 2:15). All these people knew the secret. Fasting frees us from the most impossible circumstances, even from Satan.

For example, in our fight for life and against abortion, we are in humanly impossible circumstances. The pro-death forces dominate the government, business, entertainment, education, and mass media. We are like David fighting the Goliath of Planned Parenthood. However, “it is easy for many to be overcome by a few; in the sight of Heaven there is no difference between deliverance by many or by a few; for victory in war does not depend upon the size of the army, but on strength that comes from Heaven” (1 Mc 3:18-19); see also 2 Chr 20:3; Est 4:16). Fasting is one of the main ways the Lord gives us strength for victory and freedom from the evil one (Mt 4:1ff). Fasting is a way in which the Lord gives the underdog victory.

The Chain Reaction Of Fasting

Fasting is often the fastest way to accomplish anything. When God calls us to fast, more can be done in a short time than in years. Fasting starts a chain-reaction that begins with freedom and then results in compassion, enlightenment, healing, prayer-power, guidance, and strength (Is 58:6-11). Ultimately, fasting results in renewal (see Neh 4:1). “The ancient ruins shall be rebuilt for your sake, and the foundations from ages past you will raise up; ‘Repairer of the breach,’ they shall call you, ‘Restorer of ruined homesteads’ ” (Is 58:12).

God’s Will For Your Fasting

God is giving the privilege to fast possibly daily or frequently before receiving Holy Communion, at least weekly throughout the year, and annually during Lent. The Church calls us to imitate Jesus by fasting forty days during Lent (excluding Sundays and feast days). As the Church has traditionally practiced, we should only eat one meal each day of Lent unless the Lord has given us another way to fast. During the rest of the year, the Lord will call you to fast at least once a week, usually on Friday. You may be called to a total fast in which you eat nothing or to a partial fast in which you limit your intake of food. Seek the Lord’s will concerning what day (or days) and what way you are to fast each week. Finally, the Lord calls us to fast daily or at least frequently before receiving Communion. We should fast in a way that we are conscious of it. For example, if we go to Mass early in the morning and don’t customarily eat before Mass, we should fast the night before by not eating after supper or doing some other fast.

Possibly the Lord will tell you to fast for a special intention. Because fasting can make an average person more powerful spiritually than religious leaders, political figures, and billionaires are, Satan will make fasting as difficult as possible. However, the Lord’s grace will give you victory. Fasting can break you free from the lethargy of spiritual anorexia and give you a hearty appetite for feasting spiritually on God’s word, the Eucharist, and communal prayer.

Pope John Paul II has taught: “Let us therefore discover anew the humility and the courage to pray and fast so that power from on high will break down the walls of lies and deceit” (Gospel of Life, 100). Jesus is telling you the secret of fasting. Listen to Him.

Nihil obstat: Reverend Robert L. Hagedorn, February 22, 2001

Imprimatur: † Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, February 26, 2001

The Nihil obstat and Imprimatur are a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free from doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil obstat and Imprimatur agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.

(Article reprinted from Presentation Ministries)

and I snipped it from Roman Catholic Man web page

[escapaldi]

#everyday i unwillingly learn something abt law that makes me kin him more

you can't hide in the tags what everyone's thinking

One lighthearted note of Law's backstory is that he was raised Catholic. Which means that Oda made catholicism Canon in his wacky pirate adventure. And I think that's hilarious.

I thought about the fact Law was raised catholic and went to a catholic school (as someone who did the same) but just now i realise that fucking makes Jesus canon in the One Piece universe

[amphtaminedreams]

Filling the Met Shaped Hole (No, Not Like That): The Best Red Carpet Looks of Awards Season 2020

Hi to anyone reading,

I want to jump straight into things and ask a question. Which is the best Met Gala theme of the last 5 years and why is it Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination?

Seriously though, despite the fact that I’m not sure anything will top Heavenly Bodies with the preceding and succeeding Met Galas being relatively disappointing (the camp theme definitely could have been taken further and lets not even talk about the Comme Des Garcons disaster), I still get excited for the gala every year, staying up til whatever hour of the morning so I can see all the fashion live. Of course, it makes complete sense that this year’s event has been postponed until October given the circumstances but the chosen theme of Fashion and Duration had the potential to be quite interesting, so I hope we do eventually get to see it; whilst I don’t miss endlessly scrolling through photos of every white male celebrity wearing the exact same suit and tie to the point where fangirls claim Harry Styles to be a pioneer of breaking gender norms because he wore a pink top, I long for the days where we could all temporarily coexist in peace and harmony thanks to the internet’s collective dragging of the Kardashians for paying no attention to the theme whatsoever. We should’ve guessed life as we know it was about to be flipped on its head when they actually turned up in something interesting last year.

What I’m trying to say is that I would love nothing more than to jump back in time to when tomorrow morning’s top Google search would be best Met Gala looks, and not how many lives did Boris Johnson’s fuckery cost us today. So in honour of the lack of trivial content, I thought I’d fill the Met shaped hole in our lives (amongst many other unfilled holes; today the freezer door at work hit me on the ass whilst I was putting ice cubes out and I think for a split second I got all flushed) by putting together a collection of my personal favourite red carpet looks from this year’s awards season and their respective afterparties: the BAFTAs, Brits, Critic’s Choice Awards, Golden Globes, Oscars, SAG Awards, and the Grammys to finish with.

Enjoy!

British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award (yes, that’s the BAFTAs but I needed a longer title)

(L-R: Zoe Kravitz in Dior, Rooney Mara in Givenchy, and Scarlett Johansson in Versace)

I am a British fan of television and arts but I will gladly say it: of all the awards ceremonies, the BAFTAs is hardly the most exciting, and the red carpet even less so. As I said, lots of boring men in boring suits and middle aged women being dressed by stylists who seem to think we’re dead from the neck down by the time we hit 40 and dress us accordingly so. Any hint of a décolletage explicitly forbidden.

There were a few good looks, however. From left to right, above we have Zoe Kravitz in Dior, Rooney Mara in Givenchy and Scarlett Johansson in Versace, who looks so amazing I almost forget that 1). Versace is going down the drain and 2). Scarlett Johansson would stand in front of a forest and take the role of a tree if she could. Which, along with her whole defence of Woody Allen, is really shit-she’s genuinely great in Marriage Story and an otherwise talented actress. As for Zoe Kravitz, she is up there with Robert Pattison as one of my biggest crushes right now and looks amazing in literally everything she wears, and Rooney Mara is consistently low-key yet elegantly dressed. 

(L-R: Greta Gerwig in Gucci, Florence Pugh in Dries Van Noten, Renee Zellweger in Prada)

Renee Zellweger proved an exception to the rule when it came to women over the age of 40 generally having clueless stylists-her dress is beautiful, very reminiscent of the delicate, demure beauty of 50s icons such as Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn. Florence’s dress, I actually really loved. It didn’t seem to go down all too well with actual Florence Pugh fans but red and pink together is an elite combo; I’m still firmly on the “surprised that it works but I’m into it” train. I mainly included Greta’s dress for the green velvet, to be honest; it’s disappointingly low-key for Gucci but nice enough all the same.

(L-R: Andrew Scott in Paul Smith, Charlize Theron in Dior, Daisy Ridley in Oscar de la Renta, and Emilia Clarke in Schiaparelli)

I was particularly excited to see Emilia Clarke in Schiaparelli-yes, I adore her because she played Daenerys Targaryen and I was ride or die for that bitch but also whenever I see her interviewed she has the most exuberant energy and honestly I want to be best friends. It’s not the most interesting dress Schiaparelli has ever put out there, but I like the fact that she went for something unique all the same.

Forest green is a colour I find hard to resist which is why I included Andrew Scott’s otherwise kinda basic suit (points for it being velvet) and Daisy Ridley in Oscar de la Renta. As elegant as the dress is, I would love for her stylist to have really leaned into the forest nymph vibes I’m getting and do something a bit less uptight with the hair and makeup; like imagine loose curls with tiny braids and hair rings and a dark lip and a slight smoke around the eye and...yes, I have very specific visions, I know. As for Charlize Theron, her work with Dior is the only reason I care about the brand; there’s definitely a case to be made here for giving Maria Grazia the benefit of the doubt, assuming that she tries all the prototypes on women who look like Charlize and that that’s why she’s happy to send dresses that are otherwise relatively underwhelming down the runway. 

The Brit Awards

(L-R: Charli XCX in Fendi, Ellie Goulding in Koche, Hailee Steinfeld in Fendi, and Harry Styles in Gucci)

In my opinion a much better reflection of quintessential British style than the BAFTAs, I originally ruled out including any music award ceremony red carpets in this post until I saw Maya Jama and Charli XCX’s looks. Consider me pleasantly surprised by Hailee Steinfeld’s cobalt blue burnout dress, a classic incarnation of the regal bohemian aesthetic Fendi channelled in their 2019 haute couture show. Plus Charli’s emo take on Glinda the Good Witch is also Fendi, driving home for me just how much I love their collections. I don’t know if I’d be sure about Ellie Goulding’s dress on the rack but the simple styling makes it work and she looks gorgeous, and Harry Styles looks just as pretty in a Gucci look that is MADE for him.

(L-R: Adwoah Aboah in Vivienne Westwood, Celeste in Gucci on the far right! I’m not sure who the guy in the middle is, I’m sorry and if anybody knows drop me a message and I will correct this immediately!)

Unfortunately, Harry Styles and Celeste didn’t get to pose together because this is really a perfect his and hers Gucci look; I feel like seeing one outfit next to the other would really highlight the quirky elegance of each. That being said, it feels criminal to talk about elegance without including Adwoah Aboah in Vivienne Westwood in the sentence; the dress is obviously stunning quality on its own merit, but Adwoah is what elevates it from unremarkable to ethereal. Fuck the weird ass knight figure that’s currently on top of the Brit Award, this woman is the definition of statuesque! Put her on top of the trophy you cowards!

And just to get it out of the way, when it comes to the guy in the middle, to quote Keke Palmer:

Sorry to this man.

Honestly, I saved all the red carpet photos from a Nylon (I think it was Nylon?) article back when the awards aired and towards the end of the photos they stopped including names-this happened a few times when I was looking through red carpet galleries. I reverse image searched where I could but not every photo turned anything up. If anyone does know who this man is, message me so I can include his name. He looks sick, and as far as suits go, this one is built upon and accessorised enough that it’s actually a look rather than the same old variation of a suit we’ve seen a million times before that may as well be the straight man’s designated red carpet uniform. 

(L-R: Maya Jama, Neh Neh Cherry in Bottega Veneta, Laura Whitmore)

And now the woman that forced me to include the Brits red carpet in this post in the first place: Maya Jama. Don’t get me wrong, my mind isn’t blown by this dress on its own, I probably prefer Laura Whitmore’s (Jaded do a similar newspaper dress and I’ve resisted adding it to my basket for 6 months now, this is the ultimate test of whether or not I finally cave), but Maya looks fucking MAGNIFICENT. The fit, the gloves, the confidence with which she carries it, it’s all SO good. Considering the timing, this is basically her Princess Diana revenge dress levelled up, 2020′s Jessica Rabbit moment. 

(L-R: Maya Jama, Ellie Goulding, Kendall Jenner)

Obviously anything is gonna be a step down from the red carpet look but Maya’s Brits afterparty outfit was cute too, if a tad Pretty Little Thing. 

Don’t ask me what Kendall Jenner was doing at the Brits afterparty btw, because I have no idea. We live in a world where the Kardashian-Jenners just seem to occupy every public space possible and I’ve begrudgingly accepted it at this point. I don’t have the energy to question it-and it helps that green catsuit is actually Very Cool™. 

For the last of my favourite Brit Awards looks, we have a few more afterparty photos-from left to right we have Charli XCX again, Lizzo, and Anne Marie. It was Charli posting her dress on Instagram that sent me searching for afterparty looks in the first place; apparently wearing nothing but feathers and crystals is something that appeals to me, and the more I read that statement, the more it sounds spot-on. I’d categorise it as gothic glamour hoe, and slot it in with the rest of the night-out clothes in my wardrobe that I think I’ll finally have the balls to wear out of sheer desperation once this lockdown is over. The Blossom to Charli XCX’s Buttercup here, we’ve also got Anne Marie looking extra AF and I loveeeee it; it’s an ensemble somewhere between a high-end version of Alaska Thunderfuck’s candyfloss Sugar Ball dress from season 5 of Drag Race (Alaska DID deserve to win AS2 nation, rise up) and a low-key version of a Katy Perry California Dreams Tour costume. I don’t call it low-key as a drag, just a regretful admission of the fact that maybe wearing a cupcake bra which squirts whipped cream out of the boobs is a bit too much for most of us. 

Critic’s Choice Awards

(L-R: Alison Brie in Brandon Maxwell, Chloe Bridges in Azeeza, Cynthia Erivo in Fendi, Florence Pugh in Prada)

I was going to say the Critic’s Choice Awards is kind of America’s version of the BAFTAs but then I remembered that the BAFTAs is really the only big TV and film awards ceremony we have here in the UK and that it’s kind of sad that I have to compare our most high-profile red carpet of the year to L.A’s most low-key one. Getting Cynthia Erivo and Florence Pugh to infiltrate is the best we can do. 

THAT BEING SAID! 

They both look amazing. This is Florence’s best red carpet look of this year, imo (she the prettiest icicle I’ve ever seen), and Cynthia Erivo’s arm must ache from serving the entire awards season. And in Fendi! Taste!

Side note before we move onto the next set of looks: has anybody else watched Alison Brie in Mad Men and Community simultaneously and experienced the extreme cognitive dissonance that comes from watching her play a tragically nerdy (relatable tbh) 18 year old and an overly-sophisticated 30 something married to an ad man in the 60s at the same time? Weird, but anyway! The orange dress with the red lipstick is channelling Marina Diamandis’ Froot era style subtle sex appeal and is a timeless, playful combo. Put the hair up into a beehive and it’s Megan Draper on a date in Cabo-don’t know much about the place but I know the sea is aqua and the sun seekers are blindingly white and the cocktails are plentiful (and whatever colour you want them to be), and all that together is a juicy palette if we’re talking cinematography. The Mad Men directors are out there somewhere shaking their fists at the sky that they never got to consult me on that, I’m sure. 

(L-R: Phoebe Waller-Bridge in Dior, Saoirse Ronan in Erdem and Zendaya in Tom Ford)

Zendaya’s red carpet look was the stand out of the Critic’s Choice Awards for sure; the skirt I can do without but I hope that hot pink metal breastplate ends up on display somewhere because that is ART, and she is the perfect person to wear it. The Tiffany Pollard “she's so powerful” meme was made for this moment. 

Also, can we talk about Phoebe Waller-Bridge backing up my Dior 2019 Haute Couture wasn’t *that* bad hypothesis? Because unless I’m mistaken this is one of the dresses from that collection and it is quite beautiful. Yeah, black mesh isn’t going to start a revolution or anything but it’s so delicate looking it almost seems out of place on a red carpet-I don’t know if it’s the structure of the bodice or the tulle but I can totally see this in a gothic ballet, whether that’s sensible in theory or not. Probably not. But then again I did quit ballet when I was 10 after months of getting people to near poke me in the eye on the way out of class so it would look like I’d been crying and I didn’t have to go to my lessons after school. So what do I know? Fuck all, in case that wasn’t clear. I also feel a little vindicated by Saoirse wearing one of the Erdem dresses I loved from last year’s collection-if multi-award winning actress Saoirse Ronan’s probably ridiculously well-paid stylist liked it enough to pick it out for her then I guess I’m doing okay in terms of taste levels.

(L-R: Olivia Wilde in Valentino, Lucy Hale in Miu Miu, Mandy Moore in Elie Saab, and Margaret Qualley in Chanel)

The last few Critics Choice Awards looks I picked out above aren’t thrilling or anything but they’re cute enough to include-from left to right we have Olivia Wilde in Valentino, Lucy Hale in Miu Miu, Mandy Moore in Elie Saab and Margaret Qualley in Chanel. It’s kind of besides the point, but Margaret worked with Chanel throughout awards season and I just wanted to add my two cents in here and say that I think she’s the perfect person to collaborate with (also think Laura Harrier would be a good match, anyone agree?) and that in a similar vein, I urge Miu Miu, the creative directors of which I’m sure are eagerly awaiting the opinion of irrelevant Tumblr user amphtaminedreams, to work with Lucy Hale more often. I feel like if girl stopped starring in those shitty Blumhouse horrors and did something a bit more sophisticated she’d fit the brand right down to a T.

The Golden Globes

(L-R: Cynthia Erivo in Thom Browne, Dakota Fanning in Dior, Jane Levy in Steven Khalil, and Janina Gavankar in Georges Chakra)

Finally! I hear you cry! A more exciting red carpet! It’s not the Oscars, but celebrity stylists still pulled the big guns for this one, the Golden Globes probably being considered the second most prestigious American awards ceremony of the year. Plus Dakota Fanning was there! Big yay for me! She and Elle can practically do no wrong in my eyes and are probably the only 2 women that could take on Dakota Johnson and Jennifer Lawrence when it comes to established red carpet style. 

Cynthia Erivo did it again, of course, as slick, as dignified and as regal as she was at the Critic’s Choice. The woman really has got this power stance thing locked down; she always seems so cool and confident in everything she wears that the whole getting dressed up to go out out out (we call going to the club going “out out”, but I’d say a red carpet is a slightly bigger deal than my local club with the sticky floors hence the 3rd out) thing looks like second nature.

(L-R: Zoey Deutch in Fendi, Karamo Brown in Grayscale, Lucy Boynton in Louis Vuitton and Kat Graham in Georges Hobeika)

Lucy Boynton was another of my Golden Globes stand outs, and in general is someone who I really look forward to seeing at red carpet events. She (or her stylist, I don’t know how much of a role she plays!) always seems to commit fully to an outfit and sees it as part of a whole concept where the makeup, hair and accessories are equally as important and that is a girl after my own heart. 60s space age empress is the theme here and I’m all about it-well, either that or a feminine editorial take on the tinman from the Wizard of Oz but the former sounds a bit cooler and does way more justice to how good she looks so we’ll go with that. Quick shoutout to Kat Graham too because she looked absolutely radiant. 

(L-R: Shailene Woodley in Balmain, Winnie Harlow in Laquan Smith, and Zoe Kravitz in Saint Laurent)

The trio above I really couldn’t skim over, Winnie Harlow especially; my America’s Next Top Model grudges aside, she consistently turns it out at every event she’s invited to. She’s another woman that wears pieces with such confidence that they look like they were actually made on her body-even if the garment itself isn’t the most breathtaking in the room, she’s the one that draws my attention. Though she’s got these dainty, other-worldly qualities about her, what you’d expect to be a gentle presence is firm and commanding and whilst the sharp drama and glitz of the dress probably helps, that’s just the way Winnie Harlow is naturally, based on her other red carpet appearances. 

Zoe Kravitz is an interesting one because, on the one hand, her looking amazing with that bone structure (I would trade a vital organ to look like that any day) is a given, but it does also seem like she went out of her way to do something a bit different this past awards season. I have always loved her street style for its trademark edge and the androgynous, oversized silhouettes that she leans towards, and the overt femininity of her red carpet dresses is that grungy, skater girl aesthetic completely flipped on its head. It’s cute, and if anyone can pull a dress as kitschy as this off, it’s Zoe. She’s got that just rolled out of bed look we all dream of that screams “I’m over this shit” whereas the rest of us have to rely on dark circles to get the message across. It’s very weird to think that she and Shailene Woodley were in Divergent together, especially since Zoe in particular has changed so much since. 

My main note with Shailene was just that I got excited to see that Balmain dress off the runway-it was one of my favourites from the S/S 2020 collection (IIRC, mostly on the basis that I’m pretty sure it wan’t haute couture), and it looks good! Not wildly good because I’m not sure the fit of the dress is inherently all that flattering, but still good-she makes it work.

(L-R: Taylor Swift in Etro, Sofia Carson in Giambattista Valli and Scarlett Johansson in Vera Wang)

I know a lot of people online didn’t seem to like Taylor Swift’s dress, but she looks cute, imo. I will say that I’m surprised it’s Etro! At first glance I would’ve thought Carolina Herrera or Oscar de la Renta or something along those lines. And predictably, I think Sofia Carson looks flawless. If you’ve read any of my other posts you’re probably sick of hearing it but I really can’t resist anything that is this modern Disney princess, like powder pink layered tulle? Feathers? What did you expect me to say, ew? I think deep down my clothing preferences will always be that of a 9 year old girl and you know what, that’s okay. Sometimes. Well, when it comes to red carpets. That’s when you can kinda get away with it.

(L-R: Bell Powley in Miu Miu, Billy Porter in Alex Vinash, and Charlize Theron in Dior)

There’s a few things worth mentioning when it comes to the above outfits. Firstly, and most importantly, I need to proclaim my love for Billy Porter. No man is doing it like him, honestly. To compare Harry Styles in his pink suits is unfair. The drama and the beauty and the flair that Billy brings every awards ceremony is on another level and that’s all I have to say about that. If you disagree, I’m gonna need a bullet pointed essay-I am that firm in my opinion.

Second, Bell Powley in Miu Miu semi confirms the direction their PR team tend to head in when choosing women to work with. I might be totally alone here but I feel like she and Lucy Hale both have one of those porcelain doll faces which work really well with Miu Miu’s signature girlish silhouettes and overly-ornate details. 

And thirdly, just to restate my earlier point: someone give Charlize Theron a pat on the back for bringing some life to a Dior design. That is all.

(L-R: Jodie Comer in Mary Katrantzou, Joey King in Schiaparelli and Kaitlyn Dever in Valentino)

All the newcomers really turned it out too, which is a sentence I type through gritted teeth; to call Jodie Comer of My Mad Fat Diary origins a newcomer pains the former depressing 2013 black and white Tumblr user in me, though I suppose to the US audiences uncultured in the ways of British teenage angst Vilanelle is her breakthrough role. And how Vilanelle is this dress too!? It’s bold and it’s attention-grabbing and it’s fun and it is definitely very theatrical female fictional villain that you were inexplicably drawn to as a child before you realised why as an adult-”oh, it’s because she was hot”. 

Joey King in Iris van Herpen was a pleasant surprise too considering that when I first looked through the red carpet photos I only knew her as the girl who was in that shitty Netflix original-having watched her in The Act, I apologise for the dismissal! And I admire the sartorial choice! I adore Iris van Herpen designs but as a short girl, wearing one of her dresses to a red carpet event is a risky decision-I hate to admit it because casting a diverse range of people for shows is something I have come to expect of my favourite brands, but the appeal of a lot of IvH pieces comes from the movement of the garments on standard willowy runway models. Fortunately, the styling is really complementary here, and whilst it can’t be denied that the dress itself does swamp her a bit, I liked that she and her stylist stepped out of the box. 

Kaitlyn Dever’s red carpet look is obviously a lot more typical, but you can't go wrong with a Valentino dress, and this one in particular is so suited to the aura she gives off-it’s young and it’s fun and it’s fresh and the intricate floral print, otherwise muted if not for the spring influenced pops of pink and red, is timelessly pretty.

(L-R: Akwafina in Dior, Saoirse Ronan in Celine, Beanie Feldstein in Oscar de la Renta, and Renee Zellweger in Armani)

Lastly, there was Saoirse Ronan in Celine-one of my highlights of the night; she looked phenomenal, a glacial toned dream, and it was pretty different to what I generally expect to see her in. I might be way off base and in need of a bit of a review of her red carpet style, but I feel like she usually leans more towards pretty than edgy with regards to her styling at these kinds of events and a loose fitting, gun metal glittered slip dress is, imo, the perfect way to hit that previously uncharted midway point between the two.

(L-R: Kate Bosworth in Prabal Gurung, Kathryn Newton in Valentino and Sarah Hyland)

Now onto the afterparty looks, and I’m not gonna lie, they’re usually the highlight of the ceremonies for me; I feel like the initial ceremony is all about looking respectful and maintaining that whole dedicated actor image, whereas it seems the literal point of these showbiz parties is a competition to be the best dressed person in the room. Competition really makes people step their game up, and we always get to see more young talent whose style tends to be more current than that of the people we see on the red carpet. 

I’ve got to say, as annoying as I found her character in The Society, I have to overlook that gut instinct of irritation when I see Kathryn Newton and accept how stunning everything going on here is; honestly, she looks like an angel, and I feel like the team at Valentino must reeeeally like her to put her in that dress.

(L-R: Alexa Demie, Ashley Benson in Georges Hobeika, Maude Apatow and Barbie Ferreira)

Obviously I was super excited to see the Euphoria girls on the red carpet, especially Alexa Demie-she does 90s/early noughties inspired glamour better than anyone else on the young actor scene right now and her personal style and the sass she does so well as Maddy Perez shines through every time. Whilst Barbie Ferreira’s look is more casual and achievable for the rest of us in terms of wearability, it’s just as interesting a take on the same period; the delicate pink makeup, hair and jewellery with the 90s inspired slip dress in light teal is a red carpet take on soft grunge for the ages. As for Ashley Benson, she always looks gorgeous and that’s all I’m gonna say before I get emotional and start going into a rant about how her and Cara Delevigne’s relationship was one of the only good things about this shitshow of a year and how now that they’ve broken up the single flame of hope inside me has been extinguished and how their sex swing is gonna get so lonely with them caught in the middle of an ugly custody battle and-

You get the idea.

(L-R: Storm Reid, Sophia Bush in John Paul Ataker, and Sydney Sweeney)

(L-R: Billie Lourd, Paris Hilton, and Camila Morrone)

The Oscars

(L-R: Charlize Theron in Dior, Cynthia Erivo, and Florence Pugh in Louis Vuitton)

Ah, the Oscars. This is where the big money is really spent, and bad decisions are made-in fairness, this year’s winners were a lot more satisfying than usual and I think all of us felt that Parasite was a well-deserved win. I really thought it was gonna be Once Upon a Time in Hollywood just as a bit of a token gesture to Tarantino considering it’s his 9th film, though undoubtedly his worst of the ones I’ve seen, so I was relieved that this wasn’t the case. That being said, it still pains me to see the horror genre being ignored by the academy-in my mind, Florence is here for her performance in Midsommar just as much as Little Women. 

At the risk of getting repetitive, just assume my opinions on Charlize Theron in Dior here are the same again, that Cynthia Erivo is still bringing goddess energy (this is probably my favourite of her looks), and that against the opinion of the masses, Florence looks divine in this colour. I mean, when I say the masses I just mean the people I follow on Twitter, but still, I just wanted be an excuse to be dramatic so that I could insert a meme.

(L-R: Natalie Portman in Dior, Regina King in Versace, Scarlett Johansson in Oscar de la Renta, and Sandra Oh in Elie Saab)

Once again, Scarlett Johansson’s stylist is doing God’s work; this outfit is everythingggg-the Oscar de la Renta dress is probably my favourite thus far. Like we’re talking angel, but make it fitted and sexy, and I hope you read that in the Tyra Banks voice I intended because 2 memes in a row would rob me of any credibility I’m building as a fashion account and I’m not ready to trash that for bad memes just yet; give it a couple of mental breakdowns and I’ll be there. Natalie Portman’s look was a favourite of mine too, with the cape over the top adding a sophisticated touch to the celestial, slightly bohemian feel of the dress. I initially found the detail of the names embroidered into said cape to be quite moving-in a dream world, directing would be my career of choice and so I really admired the statement-but finding out that Portman herself is the only director hired by her own production company ruined that for me a little bit. Then again, multi-millionaire celebrities making performative gestures for good publicity and not doing all that much to make any real change? Colour me shocked.

(L-R: Beanie Feldstein in Miu Miu, Brie Larson in Celine and Billie Eilish in Chanel)

Now, of all the Miu Miu looks so far, I think Beanie Feldstein definitely got the best one. The intricacy of the embroidery, the silhouette, the old Hollywood stye curls-it’s all so graceful. I’d say this is probably her best look of awards season and she and her stylist did a really great job.

And as for Billie Eilish...Guys...do you think she might be wearing...Chanel...by any chance? I’m not sure.

Seriously though, as far as an oversized tweed suit with the brand’s logo emblazoned all over it goes, I like this look. The acid green roots and the jewellery are what make it for me, adding to the grunginess of the outfit which is interesting against Chanel’s prim and proper aesthetic of the last few years. I know she has good reason for the way she dresses, but I’ve never quite been able to appreciate it-this outfit proves to me that her style doesn't automatically equal ugly and occasionally, she can make it work.

(L-R: Leona Lewis, Colton Haynes, Dita von Teese)

Elton John’s Oscars afterparty being the less exciting of the two big ones in terms of fashion-the other being the Vanity Fair afterparty which I’ll cover in a moment-I thought I’d whizz through it (posturing aside though, I bet Sir Elton’s party was a lot more fun).

(L-R: Chiara Ferragni, Donatella Versace, Bella Thorne)

This is a big statement considering Alexa Demie attended, but I think Chiara’s outfit and overall styling might be my favourite of the partygoers; if they decided to do a live action Barbie film in 2020 minus the PG ratio-because lets be real, she’d be a noughties Paris Hilton type and get up to some SHENANIGANS-this is the look that would become iconic. 

(L-R: Ashley Greene in Off-White, Alexa Demie, Sydney Sweeney, Annalynne McCord)

It was a hard decision to make though: I’m just as into Sydney Sweeney’s interpretation of burlesque come 1950s red carpet Barbie, Ashley Greene’s surprisingly delicate Off-White number, and Alexa’s dress and (as always) impeccable styling. That being said, Chiara’s clearest contender here for the best dressed of the night is Annalynne McCord. I know I'm one to throw similes around but she looks like an ACTUAL Disney princess-the dress is magical and an absolutely flawless fit. She carries it with such grace. I'm truly in love.

(L-R: Tessa Thompson in Versace, Vanessa Hudgens in Vera Wang, SZA)

As for the Vanity Fair Oscars afterparty, there were SO many iconic moments this year. SZA was the definition of the fire emoji, Tessa Thompson’s throwback Versace was the mermaid’s take on BDSM fashion I never knew I need to see, and I’d die to turn up to my graduation ceremony (here’s hoping for a successful attempt at the old uni shebang this time, lol) looking as elegant and simultaneously extra as Vanessa Hudgens did in Vera Wang. I mean, this was before Vanessa went on her dumb Instagram live corona rant because she was upset she couldn’t go to Coachella and I still kinda lived for her, mostly because of moments like this. She’s always been the queen of channelling a more hedonistic, carefree era and this dress is the most refined example of that boho decadence yet. It sounds dramatic to say but the rich purple is such a bold choice considering it’s a a colour we rarely see on the red carpet but now I’ve seen eggplant coloured silk I need it, lol. 

(L-R: Suki Waterhouse in Fendi, Lili Reinhart in Marc Jacobs, Lucy Boynton and Margaret Qualley in Chanel)

Then there was Suki, Lilly, Lucy and Margaret as well who all went full angel mode in some of my favourite runway looks of last summer’s haute couture week; Suki’s Fendi dress and Lili’s Marc Jacobs number were highlights of both their shows and there’s something even more magical about them both when the uniformity of the runway is removed. I also would go on about how much I love Lucy Boynton’s style for the millionth time but I think you get my point.

(L-R: Nicole Richie, Cynthia Erivo, Hunter Schafer, Billie Porter)

The more I look at the photos I saved from the Vanity Fair “red” carpet, the more I come to the firm conclusion that these looks are my favourite as a collective. Along with the elegance and sex appeal of the outfits above, we’ve got all these looks too which are so VIBRANT and fun and experimental. Billie Porter is absolutely majestic and continues his reign as the king of in-your-face, theatrical red carpet style, and Hunter and Cynthia look so radiant. Whilst Nicole’s look isn’t as colourful, she still brought drama with the satin gloves and the smoke lined eyes, and she is definitely ready to step on someone’s neck here.

(L-R: Halima Aden, Ella Balinska in Schiaparelli, Emma Roberts, Ciara)

(L-R: Kiki Layne in Michael Kors, Kim Kardashian in Alexander McQueen, Kylie Jenner in Ralph and Russo, Lashana Lynch in Michael Kors)

(L-R: Rowan Blanchard in Iris van Herpen, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Stella Maxwell, and Sarah Paulson with Holland Taylor)

I’ve got to say, it’s really cool to see Rowan Blanchard in Iris van Herpen too; it’s interesting that as far as I know, she and Joey King were the only ones to wear her this awards season, both being up and coming actresses. It would be a good choice for the brand, probably best known for its futuristic, conceptual aesthetic, to also focus its PR efforts on the young potential inheriting that future. Orrrr it could just be that Rowan, Joey and I have the same (good, lol) taste-not gonna lie, from my experience of stalking her instagram Rowan Blanchard does make some unique fashion choices and her feed is full of bold outfit inspiration.

(L-R: Adriana Lima in Ralph and Russo, Alessandra Ambrosio in Armani, Billie Eilish in Gucci, and Donatella Versace in Versace)

Then there’s Billie Eilish, who is really on another level. This is her second custom made baggy suit of the night, this time Gucci. IMAGINE. Chanel and Gucci making custom pieces to suit your very specific style. Again, though, I really like this; whilst it’s very clearly a Billie outfit, it’s got a level of sophistication, cohesiveness and glamour to it that takes it to that I can admire. 

(L-R: Camila Mendes in Moschino, Barbara Palvin and Dylan Sprouse, and Chiara Ferragni)

Honestly, the Vanity Fair red carpet really belonged to young talent this year, and Camila Mendes in one of my favourite Moschino looks from the Picasso collection really seals it. She could’ve just gone for a basic pretty dress-this isn’t a natural choice-but she really does have the proud, regal look of a woman who knows some man is gonna paint her a portrait that will end up in a famous gallery one day. 

One last thing before I move on, though. How the fuck does Chiara Ferragni get everywhere?! And by that I don’t mean how does she get invited, I had the shock of finding out this woman I followed on Instagram because I liked her outfits and thought she was pretty is a hugely successful businesswoman in Italy long ago. Power to her. She’s a big deal! I get it! I just mean, physically HOW? How do you hit Elton John’s party AND the Vanity Fair party in one night and look this good? God really does have favourites, huh. Well, I guess in this hypothetical scenario where I believe in him anyway. 

The SAG Awards

(L-R: Dakota Fanning in Valentino, Kaitlyn Dever in Ralph Lauren, Scarlett Johansson in Armani, and Zoe Kravitz in Oscar de la Renta)

So, I kinda forgot the SAG awards existed and thought that my post was basically finished before I looked in my folder and saw the one dedicated to this ceremony. My initial reaction was like “oh, this is the shitty Oscars, right?” and I assumed the red carpet would be shit and that I could call it a night-it’s 3:30am, I wish I was calling it a night-but then I looked and saw that I had even more outfit photos saved in that folder than I did for my Oscar dedicated one. Because fuck, I want to to sleep, but the SAG awards had a surprisingly good turn out?! So maybe not as irrelevant a ceremony as I thought? Because Dakota Fanning turned up looking like some divine mythical being again, Scarlett Johansson pulled another incredible look out the bag, Zoe Kravitz was a modernised Audrey Hepburn, and Kaitlyn Dever read my comments about her dress being “timelessly pretty” and said “bitch, you really thought” before showing up looking hot as fuck. Truth be told, I think the SAG awards were first but in this universe where Kaitlyn Dever would pay any attention to my opinion of her outfit do we really care? 

(L-R: America Ferrera, Andrew Scott in Azzaro Couture, Camila Mendes in Ralph and Russo, Caleb McLaughlin )

(L-R: Lupita Nyongo in Louis Vuitton, Lily Allen, Nathalie Emmanuel in Miu Miu, Cynthia Erivo in Schiaparelli)

See, I was going to make a comment above how I took back what I said about Camila Mendes not just going for pretty dresses (which I guess I just did here instead-JUST TO BE CLEAR SHE STILL LOOKS STUNNING) and then I uploaded the next photo set and got distracted by 2 things:

1. How weird it is that British legend Lily Allen, who does not get NEAR enough credit for her smart her songs were might I add, is dating David Harbour AKA. Hopper off Stranger Things!?

2. How mad I still am about Game of Thrones and how dirty the writers did Nathalie Emmanuel (and Emilia Clarke and Lena Heady and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and basically everyone else on that show but that’s another story).

In this same universe where Kaitlyn Dever cares about my opinion can we make the issues I have in the last bullet point not exist? Please?

(L-R: Sophie Turner in Louis Vuitton, Renee Zellweger in Maison Margiela, Phoebe Waller-Bridge in Armani, and Renee Bargh)

(L-R: Gwendoline Christie in Rick Owens, Madeline Brewer in Monique Lhuillier, Kathryn Newton in Valentino, and Lili Reinhart in Miu Miu)

Finishing off the SAG looks, we’ve got the four above. 

Once again, Kathryn Newton was Valentino’s blushing crown jewell; Allie Pressman hate aside, she really is the perfect dressing up doll for the brand. Fresh faced and poised, she has all the elegance and gentle femininity necessary to make floating down the runway as Valentino models do look natural, and Lili Reinhart did an equally good job being a Miu Miu girl. She makes that idiosyncratic cutesy-ness work, all the frills and fragility of a china tea set look easy where I’d just look like I’d been consumed by a charity shop doily. Madeline Brewer did a good job too, helping a Monique Lhuillier design pop in a way that it doesn’t usually. When your hair is bright red and your dress cerulean blue, coral tinted lipstick is a *ahem* choice, buuut in this case it paid off because the result is a look which demanded my attention-ML dresses are reliably pretty, however, they tend to be predictable. Madeline and her styling did a good job subverting that formula. To end the section, though, I feel it’s only fair to save my fave woman til last-probably one of the few people in the world that isn’t a Rick Owens model that can pull off his designs. Ofc, I’m talking about the queen that is Gwendoline Christie. If we’re talking embodying brands, she did justice like nobody else could to the spectacle of Owens’ formidable, out-of-this-world aesthetic. This is her version of the princess moment, and when you’re as striking as she is, nothing less would do. 

At least my girl Brienne of Tarth is thriving<3

The Grammys

(L-R: Ariana Grande in Giambattista Valli, Cardi B in Mugler, and Pia Mia in Julien Macdonald)

TBH, like I said with the Brits, I never planned to do any music award ceremony red carpets, just because I feel like the fashion tends to be more geared towards a younger audience buuuut I’m kinda glad I changed because Ariana looks INCREDIBLE. MESMERISING. TRANSCENDENT. JFC. There’s a reason the photo of her on her Wiki page has been changed to one from this night and it’s because she looks absolutely exquisite, like some kind of moon goddess with an R&B touch which I suppose is kind of her brand? Sometimes I go kind of lukewarm on Giambattista Valli and forget how mystical but at the same time frothy and indulgent and all around luxurious the pieces can be. This is a cupcake of a dress and I want to eat it. Cardi B has become a bit of an unexpected fashion icon and Pia Mia looks as hot-party-girl as ever but I feel to put anyone next to Ariana in this dress seems harsh because she just completely stole the show and I don’t even know if she won any Grammys.

(L-R: Josephine Relli, Gwen Stefani, Jameela Jamil in Georges Chakra, and Chrissy Teigen in Yanina Couture)

Other than Ariana, I’m not gonna lie, there was nothing wildly exciting, BUT I did think there were some beautiful colours out on the runway-plus for all her occasionally bad takes I really like what Jameela Jamil stands for and her style has always been very quirky cool. The electric blue tiled effect with the black mesh underneath kinda reminds me of a peacock, and contrasts wonderfully with the carpet-it’s very reminiscent of her T4 days. She’s one of those people that seems to get aggression directed at her that’s completely disproportionate to whatever it is she’s supposed to have done; sometimes the way she goes about saying things is wrong but the intention behind what she’s saying is usually good. Then again, the internet still despises Chrissy Teigen (in a way that’s kind of excessive considering what we seem to collectively let some people get away with) for a dumb AirPods tweet and I’ve included her too. THIS IS NOT A POLITICAL STATEMENT, this time anyway. I just think she looks good!

If I’m going to get controversial about anything, it’ll be Gwen Stefani. She looks stunning, the dress is stunning, and the boots are stunning. The outfit is not my problem! My problem is how she seems not to have aged at all. This woman is 50 years old! That she drank the blood of her Harajuku girls is the only explanation here. Can you imagine if she tried to pull that shit today? She’d get rightly accused of being a culturally appropriating weeb in about 10 seconds flat and we’d have to pretend to stop liking Cool and Hollaback Girl. 

(L-R: Finneas O’Connell in Gucci, Lucky Daye, and Shaun Ross)

(L-R: Tess Holliday, Dua Lipa in Alexander Wang, Tyler the Creator, and Grace Elizabeth in Giuseppe di Morabito)

Back to what I’m supposed to be talking about in this blog post: the fashion. And here, most importantly, Tyler the Creator looking like a cast member of the Grand Budapest Hotel. IDK why. But I love this man.

(L-R: Lil Nas X in Versace, Lizzo in Versace, and Shawn Mendes in Louis Vuitton)

(L-R: Billie Porter, FKA Twigs in Ed Marler, and Swae Lee in Giuseppe Zanotti)

See in general, the men were a lot more interesting on the Grammys red carpet. With the exception of Twigs, Dua and obviously Ariana, the men’s outfits are a lot more memorable; Billie Porter became the most fashionable meme on the internet, for god’s sake. And even when their outfits weren’t extravagant, they were just more interesting, imo, which is a rare occurrence. I didn’t expect Finneas O’Connell to be the writing half of Billie Eilish (the other half being Billie herself) I cared about and yet, in that Gucci blazer, here we are. 

(L-R: Jessie J, Hailee Steinfeld, and Madison Beer)

(L-R: H.E.R, Usher, FKA Twigs, and Matt Shultz)

Of the afterparty looks, my favourites are what we can see of these more casual outfits-I love what F.K.A Twigs and H.E.R are wearing, the headscarf with the leatherjacket on top is in particular very throwback rockabilly, and I’m even into whatever it is Usher’s got on.

(L-R: Olivia O’Brien, Amine, and Alrissa)

(L-R: Salem Mitchell, Machine Gun Kelly, and Sydney Sweeney)

Now, how to round this all up!? How to relate the confusingly persistent but very welcome presence of Sydney Sweeney on, like, ALL these red carpets back to the MET!?

IDEK. It’s been a long year. 

The Met Gala has usually come and gone before we know it, but with everything going on, it’s been the longest January-May I think most of us have ever known. I keep going on about COVID-19 in all my posts now but I have almost forgotten how to write an intro and outro because the pandemic is pretty much consistently on the brain and unless I have something right in front of me to use as a distraction, my mind tends to wander off into a very anxious place. I think, like many others, I feel frustrated and disappointed and angry with the way the situation is being handled by the people who are supposed to protect their citizens, and by how much of a fight some are putting up against measures that are in place to try and save lives. The point of this ramble, I guess, is that whilst we should never forget what’s going on and do the best we can to help prevent the spread of the virus, it’s okay to still care about mundane shit. Was this post one big long distraction for me? Probably. But if there’s something harmless you can do to keep your anxiety at bay, don’t feel bad for doing it. Contrary to popular belief, you can care about more than one thing at once. You can be sad that something you were looking forward to has been cancelled whilst still being sad for the people who are suffering because they’ve lost love ones or who have been forced into precarious living conditions. If talking about clothes on the internet is going to help you get through this pandemic, power to you.

If anyone has read til the end, thank you! I hope you are well! As always, feel free to reply to the post or inbox me with your thoughts! It doesn’t even have to be related to this post. If you’re struggling with everything going on, feel free to reach out too. I spend too much time on the internet anyway, lol! My plans are to finish my fashion week reviews and then I have a Lana Del Rey albums inspired lookbook which I pinched off the stans on Twitter (who I will of course credit when I write it!). For the time being, look after yourselves!

Lauren x

[solohqrry]

get to know me uncomfortably well

@eatmyshiftsticky tagged me, this was a long one mama i ain’t gonna lie but ily

What is your middle name?

selene (pronounced like seh-leh-neh).

How old are you?

18

When is your birthday?

January 31st

What is your zodiac sign?

aquarius sun :-)

What is your favourite colour?

yellow!!!! and pink

What’s your lucky number?

i don’t think i have one to be honest

Do you have any pets?

i have two cats, sesame and sage, and two dogs, thor and ginger

Where are you from?

texas yeehaw

How tall are you?

5′7″ (i’m the shortest in m family but apparently i’m tall to other people)

What shoe size are you?

US 7 1/2 or 8

How many pairs of shoes do you own?

i wanna say like 20 pairs, but i haven’t worn like half of them in ages

What was your last dream about?

i have wild, inexplicable dreams i couldn’t even begin to explain what i dream about but last night i vaguely remember there was something about the holocaust involved which is pretty dark, who dreams about that

What talents do you have?

absolutely none, i am talentless my only talent is being a whore, and i’m not even good at that sometimes 

Are you psychic in any way?

i definitely feel like i am, it’s a little mexican thing where we think we have this gut feeling that lets us know when something bad is about to happen, 8 times out of 10 the gut feeling is right

Favourite song?

ugh so many some of my all time favorites are robbers by the 1975, yes i’m changing by tame impala, sign of the times by harry styles, don’t cry by guns n roses, and kashmir by led zepplin 

Favourite movie?

Napoleon Dynamite or Moana

Who would be your ideal partner?

god, i really wouldn’t tell you without sounding like a shallow bitvh. i just want a guy that looks like he hasn’t slept in 6 years, is tall, skinny, has long hair, makes me laugh and loves to kiss and cuddle, maybe a dreamy boy that will write poems about my loving stare and soft kisses who will take me on roadtrips that go anywhere, or maybe a jerk that’s rude and rides a motorcycle and never smiles unless he’s around me, i don’t know though 

Do you want children?

god no

Do you want a church wedding?

no, i want an outdoor wedding during the fall time, in a nice forest with family and friends

Are you religious?

i was raised catholic and go to church but i don’t know if i believe in everything i have been taught. 

Have you ever been to the hospital?

yes i want to say like twice in the past four years

Have you ever got in trouble with the law?

yes :/

Have you ever met any celebrities?

no :(

Baths or showers?

showers

What color socks are you wearing?

pink

Have you ever been famous?

i wish

Would you like to be a big celebrity?

only for the money and to have a bigger platform

What type of music do you like?

indie, rock, punk, rap, spanish music pretty much anything except country, i loathe country music no one can change my mind

Have you ever been skinny dipping?

nope

How many pillows do you sleep with?

four, two under my head, one under my legs, and one to hold onto at night (i’m v lonely)

What position do you usually sleep in?

on my side with one leg hike up and the other stretched out one arm under my pillow under my head the other holding another pillow, or in fetal position

How big is your house?

one story, 3 bedroom 2 bath house, i have a huge front and back yard, i love my house

What do you typically have for breakfast?

a granola bar

Have you ever fired a gun?

never

Have you ever tried archery?

in middle school, i was pretty shit at it

Favourite clean word?

i say heck a lot

Favorite swear word?

bitch!

What’s the longest you’ve ever gone without sleep?

2 and a half days

Do you have any scars?

i have a lot i was a clumsy kid that got into places i shouldn’t have. my most gnarly scars are on my elbows, knees, and one on my hip where a shard of glass stabbed me.

Have you ever had a secret admirer?

i think maybe as a joke 

Are you a good liar?

i am a great liar, i think i could be an actress because i lie so well

Are you a good judge of character?

i am a bit naive if im being honest, it clouds my judgement

Can you do any other accents other than your own?

my british accent is top notch, i can do a super exaggerated cockney accent, and a somewhat good australian accent (don’t quote me on that @eatmyshiftsticky)

Do you have a strong accent?

i don’t think i do, i grew up in a predominantly mexican city so compared to most people here i don’t have an accent but when people from out of town meet me (white people) they say i have an accent, i hear it sometimes in some words but idk 

What is your favourite accent?

i love a french, australian, and spanish accents 

What is your personality type?

neutral chaotic edgy thot, typical aquarius, peace and love, treat people with kindness type bitch

What is your most expensive piece of clothing?

my platform doc martens which cost me a whopping $180, i am very frugal with everything basically so this was a big spend to me

Can you curl your tongue?

if you mean can i make a taco with my tongue, yes!

Are you an innie or an outie?

innie.

Left or right-handed?

right-handed

Are you scared of spiders?

yes i absolutely hate spiders, if i see a spider i am either swatting that thing or running away

Favourite food?

mexican food specifically nachos and enchiladas, and chinese food

Favourite foreign food?

i like italian food 

Are you a clean or messy person?

i’m a tidy person, like i’m messy but not to an extreme my room looks clean at first glance but then you notice little things that make it look messy

Most used phrase?

“on god?” or “no mames” or “mamadas”

Most used word?

i don’t know, i think i say sis and dude a lot.

How long does it take for you to get ready?

ugh makeup and hair and outfit is like a good hour and half, i need time or else i get crabby the rest of the day.

Do you have much of an ego?

not at all

Do you suck or bite lollipops?

suck??? if you bite into your lollipop without sucking it you’re a psychopath

Do you talk to yourself?

all the time, literally i talk more to myself than i do to my family, i’m thinking i should just start a youtube channel so i could talk to myself but with a purpose

Do you sing to yourself?

very badly but yes.

Are you a good singer?

not at all, and i was in choir for two years where did my talent go i wish i knew.

Biggest Fear?

losing my parents 

Are you a gossip?

not really unless it’s like good gossip in spanish it’s called chisme and if someone is a gossip they’re a chismosa, sometimes i’m a chismosa i like drama.

Best dramatic movie you’ve seen?

Gone Girl

Do you like long or short hair?

on boys long hair is my absolute weakness, on myself i prefer my long hair

Can you name all 50 states of America?

i think i can name a solid 30

Favourite school subject?

english or history

Extrovert or Introvert?

i’m very introverted 

Have you ever been scuba diving?

no way being in the open ocean terrifies me

What makes you nervous?

driving, talking to people, ordering my food at a restaurant, school, big crowds, literally everything because i have a generalized anxiety disorder.

Are you scared of the dark?

mmm when it’s outside yes, but not inside my house or room or whatever

Do you correct people when they make mistakes?

idk if it’s my business or affects me than yes

Are you ticklish?

YES the sides of my tummy are my tickle spot and i HATE when people tickle me there

Have you ever started a rumour?

no i would never

Have you ever been in a position of authority?

no, too much pressure is not good for me

Have you ever drank underage?

i was given tequila as a toddler by my grandpa so yes i have had my fair share  of alcohol in my 18 years

Have you ever done drugs?

i have had edibles, i have smoked weed, and i have taken molly (please don’t do that it’s only fun while you’re on it).

Who was your first real crush?

i was in love with this boy named alejandro from like 7th grade to 10th i kissed him once, he was a complete ass and broke my heart.

How many piercings do you have?

my ears, my septum and two secret ones.

Can you roll your R’s?

of course i can.

How fast can you type?

on my phone i type pretty fast on a computer i am very slow

How fast can you run?

not fast at all, i can’t run for shit i have baby lungs

What colour is your hair?

dark brown

What color is your eyes?

dark drown

What are you allergic to?

cats :( and grass :( and pollen :(

Do you keep a journal?

no, my therapist always says i should start one but i just get bored or forget about it.

What do your parents do?

my mom is an elementary teacher and my dad is disabled.

Do you like your age?

i’d say 18 is a pretty solid age

What makes you angry?

the world, america mostly.

Do you like your own name?

mmm yeah, i forget i have a name because no one really says it, is that weird? 

Have you already thought of baby names, and if so what are they?

i know i said i didn’t want kids but i know if i do have them i am going to name them after planets.

Do you want a boy a girl for a child?

a girl

What are you strengths?

i’m free-spirited and intellectual and loving

What are your weaknesses?

i can be mean, i can take out my anger on people who don’t deserve it, i want comfort but push people away

How did you get your name?

my mom named me after the movie with audrey hepburn

Were your ancestors royalty?

no lol

Do you have any scars?

battle scars dude

Colour of your bedspread?

a nice cream color

Colour of your room?

pastel yellow!

i tag @malibubarbievince @kountessbathory @guns-n-crue and whoever wants to do this, this was fun because y’all get to know more about me so thanks for the tag addy baby!!

[lawrenceop]

HOMILY for the 3rd Sunday [C]

Neh 8:2-6, 8-10; Ps 18; 1 Cor 12:12-30; Luke 1:1-4, 4:14-21

This year I started a new job: for the last few weeks, I have been teaching once a week in our Dominican house of studies in Oxford, called Blackfriars, and every week I give a lecture in ‘Apologetics’ to seven men training for the priesthood. In the first week’s lecture, I quoted from the opening of St Luke’s Gospel which you’ve just heard. And I did this to show that the Gospels are pieces of apologetic writing. Indeed, any time we speak about our Christian faith and tell the story of our vocation, or our conversion, or why we believe in Jesus, or why we still go to church, we are involved in an apologetic. 

Now, don’t confuse the meaning of the word – an apologetic has very little to do with apologising. It’s not about saying we’re sorry at all. Rather, it comes from the Greek word for ‘defence’, giving a rational account of things. An apologetic is a defence or a justification for our faith – it’s giving the reasons for what we believe about Jesus and what he’s done for us. And our faith is not about feelings, or emotions, or whatever we want. No. The Christian faith is firmly grounded in history, and our faith is placed in a real living person who acted in a certain time and a certain place, Jesus Christ, the living Word of God.  

The opening verses of St Luke’s Gospel, therefore, locate us in this history, and they place us in a relationship with Jesus. Luke writes in a good sophisticated Greek, in the style of a historian or even a legal professional. And so St Luke says, he’s consulted “eyewitnesses” who were with Jesus “from the beginning”, and he has written an “ordered account”, in the manner of a history, so that Theophilus, a Roman official of some stature, might “know the truth” concerning the life of Jesus. Perhaps someone had spread rumours about the early Christians, or reported them to this Theophilus. So, now St Luke wants to set the story straight, to provide the facts based on real historical testimonies from people who were there: his Gospel is a defence and an orderly presentation of the factual truth of the Good News concerning Jesus Christ. So that all of us who hear it today can come to believe in Jesus.

Now, St Luke’s Gospel was written around 80-100 AD; we have the oldest complete copy of it , in beautiful handwritten Greek, in the British Library. But we shouldn’t make the very modern mistake of thinking that just because something is ancient it is not relevant or doesn’t matter to us today. This might be the case if the Gospel was a tablet. Yes, a 1900-year-old tablet of stone is not as useful as a digital tablet, like an iPad, today. But the Gospel is truth. And truth, facts, history, is never out-of-date; we’re never too modern to not need the truth. Because human beings are rational creatures, intelligent creatures, and what the thinking, reasoning mind desires is truth – this never changes. There is a lot of fake news in our world today, and even in Luke’s time, which is why he says that he “carefully” went over the whole story “from the beginning”, and spoke to eyewitnesses: his Gospel – like the other three Gospels approved by the Church – presents the full truth.

The truth, then, affects us today. We see this in the first reading. At the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, the people of Israel had been deported to Babylon, the Temple in Jerusalem was in ruins, and their civilization was shattered. But they return to Jerusalem, and they begin to rebuild the Temple. Searching amidst the rubble and the overturned stones, they find a “Book of the Law”, and Ezra reads it. The eternal truth of God’s Word speaks to him, even though he had never been taught this truth. But the mind is made for truth, and a pure heart, which is not troubled by sin or the preoccupations of the world, can easily recognise divine truth. And so, Ezra reads the Law of God – this contains the eternal Wisdom of God – to the people of Israel. And so the people realise that it’s not enough to rebuild buildings. They need to rebuild their whole civilization beginning with a foundation of truth; they need to return to God and listen to his teaching. This moment of realisation, a moment of repentance, is a beautiful and joyful moment. Hence Nehemiah says, “do not be sad: the joy of the Lord is your stronghold”.

Here in the Western world today, in our post-Christian societies, we too are standing among the ruins and in the rubble of our formerly Christian civilization. Last week, the State of New York passed a law allowing abortion right up to birth, and the people cheered, the tallest building in New York City was lit up in celebration, and the Governor who signed this law into existence claimed to be a Catholic. When supposedly rational people behave like this, celebrating the potential murder of innocents in the womb, we know that they are no longer being led by God’s Word, or Christ’s truth, or even the light of natural human reason. Unfortunately, when Christianity is thrown down, human beings and societies crumble too because they are profoundly vulnerable to the lies and attacks and confusions of Satan. 

For we human beings, in every place, in every age, and in every culture are always in need of Jesus Christ; we are made for truth. This isn’t ancient history, but is a reality, especially for us here today. And so, when Jesus goes to the synagogue, he reads the ancient scrolls of Isaiah, from Isaiah 61. These were written at least 600 years before Jesus read them that day, standing in the synagogue, in Nazara. And he said, “This text is being fulfilled today even as you listen.” To you and to me today, he says: “This text is being fulfilled today even as you listen.” If we listen to the Word of God, then God’s wonders and marvels will be fulfilled in our lives, in our society, in our world today. For God’s Word is not dead history, but it is the living truth that is always relevant, always necessary. 

So, what does Jesus say that God will fulfill today, if we listen? He says he brings “good news to the poor,… liberty to captives, and to the blind new sight, to set the downtrodden free”. Now, we would be mistaken if we think that Jesus’s proclamation refers mainly to physical things. But we know he’s not because Luke tells us that “all eyes in the synagogue were fixed on” Jesus. Clearly, there were no blind people present, so when Jesus says he gives new sight to the blind, we realise he’s not speaking about actual bodily sight, or actually opening up all the prisons and setting dangerous criminals free, or giving winning lottery tickets to the poor! No, because these earthly circumstances change, they come and go. But Jesus’s word is eternal, always relevant, and they are always necessary for all people, in every place, and in every time. Thus, Jesus is talking about spiritual realities that affect us all even today. Jesus is referring to sin, which makes us poor and pitiful; sinful addictions and relationships which we cannot escape; Satan’s lies, which blind us and keep us in the dark; evil in our culture and society, which oppresses us. 

All these evils and sins, Jesus comes to set us free from them today, now, “even as we listen” to God’s Word. For only the truth will set us free from the deceptions and illusions of a world that has fallen away from God. Only listening to the Gospel; only obeying the teachings of Jesus and his Church, and allowing the Word of God to speak to transform our minds and hearts, will set us free, and save our world. So today, Christ invites you to make his story of salvation part of your story. He invites you to stand on the right side of history, the side of truth and of genuine love. Christ asks you to listen to him, and so to enjoy God’s favour. There’s no need to apologise – let’s just listen, and say ’Yes’, and rejoice in the truth.