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thedisabilitybookarchive · 5 months ago

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Disability in Non-Fiction #1: Plain Text Edition

A plain text version of this post. Here you will find detailed image descriptions and easier-to-read versions of each book summary. If you think that any image descriptions/summaries need to be updated, please let me know!

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‘How to Live Free in a Dangerous World’- Lawson, Shayla

[ID: A book cover. The background is a pale orange colour. In the centre, a large photograph of a person with brown skin standing in front a desert under a blue sky. They have short braided brown hair swept over their left eye, and have their arms crossed over their chest, with one hand resting on the side of their face. The title “How to Live Free in a Dangerous World” is around them in large orange writing that covers the length of the photo. The subtitle “A Decolonial Memoir” is to the right their head in very small white writing. The author’s name “Shayla Lawson” is below the title, at the bottom of the photograph, in smaller yellow writing. Black text at the bottom of the cover reads, under the author’s name, reads “author of ‘this is major’, a national book critics circle award finalist”. /end]

Summary:

Poet and journalist Shayla Lawson follows their National Book Critics Circle finalist This Is Major with these daring and exquisitely crafted essays, where Lawson journeys across the globe, finds beauty in tumultuous times, and powerfully disrupts the constraints of race, gender, and disability.

With their signature prose, at turns bold, muscular, and luminous, Shayla Lawson travels the world to explore deeper meanings held within love, time, and the self.

Through encounters with a gorgeous gondolier in Venice, an ex-husband in the Netherlands, and a lost love on New Year’s Eve in Mexico City, Lawson’s travels bring unexpected wisdom about life in and out of love. They learn the strength of friendships and the dangers of beauty during a narrow escape in Egypt. They examine Blackness in post-dictatorship Zimbabwe, then take us on a secretive tour of Black freedom movements in Portugal.

Through a deeply insightful journey, Lawson leads readers from a castle in France to a hula hoop competition in Jamaica to a traditional theater in Tokyo to a Prince concert in Minnesota and, finally, to finding liberation on a beach in Bermuda, exploring each location—and their deepest emotions—to the fullest. In the end, they discover how the trials of marriage, grief, and missed connections can lead to self-transformation and unimagined new freedoms.

‘Being Seen’- Sjunneson, Elsa

[ID: A book cover. It is a dark black with faint, grey, writing over it. The writing, from top to bottom, reads: “Elsa Sjunneson” “Being Seen” “One Deafblind Woman’s Fight to End Ableism” All in capitals. The “I” in “Being Seen” is designed to look like an opening of sorts, with a ray of light coming through. /end]

Summary:

A deafblind writer and professor explores how the misrepresentation of disability in books, movies, and TV harms both the disabled community and everyone else.

As a deafblind woman with partial vision in one eye and bilateral hearing aids, Elsa Sjunneson lives at the crossroads of blindness and sight, hearing and deafness—much to the confusion of the world around her. While she cannot see well enough to operate without a guide dog or cane, she can see enough to know when someone is reacting to the visible signs of her blindness and can hear when they’re whispering behind her back. And she certainly knows how wrong our one-size-fits-all definitions of disability can be.

As a media studies professor, she’s also seen the full range of blind and deaf portrayals on film, and here she deconstructs their impact, following common tropes through horror, romance, and everything in between. Part memoir, part cultural criticism, part history of the deafblind experience, Being Seen explores how our cultural concept of disability is more myth than fact, and the damage it does to us all.

‘Disability Pride’- Mattlin, Ben

[ID: A book cover. The background is made of simple, colourful red, cream, white, yellow and teal shapes. Large text reads, from top to bottom: “Disability Pride” in large, black capitals, “Dispatches from a Post-ADA World”in smaller, black capitals, “Ben Mattlin”, in slightly bigger red capitals. /end]

Summary:

An eye-opening portrait of the diverse disability community as it is today and how attitudes, activism, and representation have evolved since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

In Disability Pride, disabled journalist Ben Mattlin weaves together interviews and reportage to introduce a cavalcade of individuals, ideas, and events in engaging, fast-paced prose. He traces the generation that came of age after the ADA reshaped America, and how it is influencing the future. He documents how autistic self-advocacy and the neurodiversity movement upended views of those whose brains work differently. He lifts the veil on a thriving disability culture—from social media to high fashion, Hollywood to Broadway—showing how the politics of beauty for those with marginalized body types and facial features is sparking widespread change.

He also explores the movement’s shortcomings, particularly the erasure of nonwhite and LGBTQIA+ people that helped give rise to Disability Justice. He delves into systemic ableism in health care, the right-to-die movement, institutionalization, and the scourge of subminimum-wage labor that some call legalized slavery. And he finds glimmers of hope in how disabled people never give up their fight for parity and fair play.

Beautifully written, without anger or pity, Disability Pride is a revealing account of an often misunderstood movement and identity, an inclusive reexamination of society’s treatment of those it deems different.

‘Crip Kinship’- Kafai, Shayda

[ID: A book cover. The background is light blue, with colourful pictures of butterflies, flowers and a house setting featured in the centre. Lower right centre of the image, a black figure in a long sleeved, billowing dress, holding a curved black walking stick in their right hand. Behind them, a drawing of a room with a table, chair, pink wall with a window, and a blank wall with an orange picture. Text on the book cover, from top to bottom, reads: The title “Crip Kinship” in large black font at the top of the image, The subtitle “The Disability Justice & Art Activism of Sins Invalid” in smaller black capitals, in the upper right corner of the image, The authors name “Shayda Kafai” in medium black capitals in the lower right of the image, partially overlapping the figure in the dress. /end]

Summary:

The remarkable story of Sins Invalid, a performance project that centres queer disability justice.

In recent years, disability activism has come into its own as a vital and necessary means to acknowledge the power and resilience of the disabled community, and to call out ableist culture wherever it appears.

Crip Kinship explores the art activism of Sins Invalid, a San Francisco Bay Area-based performance project, and its radical imaginings of what disabled, queer, trans, and gender-nonconforming bodyminds of colour can do: how they can rewrite oppression, and how they can gift us with transformational lessons for our collective survival.

Grounded in the disability justice framework, Crip Kinship investigates the revolutionary survival teachings that disabled, queer of colour community offers to all our bodyminds. From their focus on crip beauty and sexuality to manifesting digital kinship networks and crip-centric liberated zones, Sins Invalid empowers and moves us toward generating our collective liberation from our bodyminds outward.

‘Sounds Like Home’- Wright, Mary Herring

[ID: A book cover. The background is yellow. A black and white photograph in the centre shows two young black children and a dog in front of a car. The title “Sounds Like Home” is at the tope in large, curvy black writing. The subtitle “Growing Up Black and Deaf in the South” is written in small orange writing, on three black bars on the right side of the cover. The author’s name “Mary Herring Wright” is written in curvy black writing, slightly smaller than the title, at the bottom of the cover. /end]

Summary:

Mary Herring Wright’s memoir adds an important dimension to the current literature in that it is a story by and about an African American deaf child. The author recounts her experiences growing up as a deaf person in Iron Mine, North Carolina, from the 1920s through the 1940s. Her story is unique and historically significant because it provides valuable descriptive information about the faculty and staff of the North Carolina school for Black deaf and blind students from the perspective of a student as well as a student teacher. In addition, this engrossing narrative contains details about the curriculum, which included a week-long Black History celebration where students learned about important Blacks such as Madame Walker, Paul Laurence Dunbar, and George Washington Carver. It also describes the physical facilities as well as the changes in those facilities over the years. In addition, Sounds Like Home occurs over a period of time that covers two major events in American history, the Depression and World War II.

Wright’s account is one of enduring faith, perseverance, and optimism. Her keen observations will serve as a source of inspiration for others who are challenged in their own ways by life’s obstacles.

‘The Right to Maim’- Puar, Jasbir K.

[ID: A book cover. The background is white. A painting stretches from the bottom of the cover to bottom of top quarter. In the upper quarter of the cover, text reads: The author’s name “Jasbir K. Puar” is at the top in black writing. The title “The Right to Maim” is immediately below this in red caps. The subtitle “Debility, Capacity, Disability” is immediately below this in smaller, yellow caps. The painting is immediately below this. The background is a dark cream. It appears to show a humanoid figure climbing a mound. Two other figures appear to be falling off the mound. There are splashes of red paint around the mound and the figure on it. /end]

Summary:

In The Right to Maim Jasbir K. Puar brings her pathbreaking work on the liberal state, sexuality, and biopolitics to bear on our understanding of disability. Drawing on a stunning array of theoretical and methodological frameworks, Puar uses the concept of “debility”—bodily injury and social exclusion brought on by economic and political factors—to disrupt the category of disability. She shows how debility, disability, and capacity together constitute an assemblage that states use to control populations. Puar’s analysis culminates in an interrogation of Israel’s policies toward Palestine, in which she outlines how Israel brings Palestinians into biopolitical being by designating them available for injury. Supplementing its right to kill with what Puar calls the right to maim, the Israeli state relies on liberal frameworks of disability to obscure and enable the mass debilitation of Palestinian bodies. Tracing disability’s interaction with debility and capacity, Puar offers a brilliant rethinking of Foucauldian biopolitics while showing how disability functions at the intersection of imperialism and racialized capital.

‘Uncomfortable Labels’- Dale, Laura Kate

[ID: A book cover. The background is a close photograph of some kind of knitted garment, and its label. The garment is blue. The label is in the centre. Text on the label reads: The title “Uncomfortable Labels” in large black caps The subtitle “My Life as a Gay Autistic Trans Woman” in smaller black caps, lower left of this The author’s name “Laura Kate Dale” at the bottom of the label in black writing. A smaller label attached to the bottom has a single, black capitalised “M” written on it. /end]

Summary:

“So while the assumption when I was born was that I was or would grow up to be a neurotypical heterosexual boy, that whole idea didn’t really pan out long term.”

In this candid, first-of-its-kind memoir, Laura Kate Dale recounts what life is like growing up as a gay trans woman on the autism spectrum. From struggling with sensory processing, managing socially demanding situations and learning social cues and feminine presentation, through to coming out as trans during an autistic meltdown, Laura draws on her personal experiences from life prior to transition and diagnosis, and moving on to the years of self-discovery, to give a unique insight into the nuances of sexuality, gender and autism, and how they intersect.

Charting the ups and downs of being autistic and on the LGBT spectrum with searing honesty and humour, this is an empowering, life-affirming read for anyone who’s felt they don’t fit in.

'Brilliant Imperfections'- Clare, Eli

[ID: A book cover. A photograph of stones can be seen. Over it, a dark box stretching from left to right at the top of the image. Text in the box reads: “Brilliant Imperfection”, in large caps. “Brilliant” is in green, “Imperfection is in white. “Grappling With Cure”, in small, green caps. “Eli Clare”, in white caps. /end]

Summary:

In Brilliant Imperfection Eli Clare uses memoir, history, and critical analysis to explore cure—the deeply held belief that body-minds considered broken need to be fixed.

Cure serves many purposes. It saves lives, manipulates lives, and prioritizes some lives over others. It provides comfort, makes profits, justifies violence, and promises resolution to body-mind loss. Clare grapples with this knot of contradictions, maintaining that neither an anti-cure politics nor a pro-cure worldview can account for the messy, complex relationships we have with our body-minds.

The stories he tells range widely, stretching from disability stereotypes to weight loss surgery, gender transition to skin lightening creams. At each turn, Clare weaves race, disability, sexuality, class, and gender together, insisting on the nonnegotiable value of body-mind difference. Into this mix, he adds environmental politics, thinking about ecosystem loss and restoration as a way of delving more deeply into cure.

Ultimately Brilliant Imperfection reveals cure to be an ideology grounded in the twin notions of normal and natural, slippery and powerful, necessary and damaging all at the same time.

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A short list of 8 non-fiction books featuring and/or discussing disability!

I don't highlight the non-fiction section of the archive enough, so I think this is a perfect opportunity.

A plain text version of this post exists here, featuring more detailed image descriptions of each book cover and easier-to-read versions of every summary.

Books on this list:

‘How to Live Free in a Dangerous World’- Lawson, Shayla

‘Being Seen’- Sjunneson, Elsa

‘Disability Pride’- Mattlin, Ben

‘Crip Kinship’- Kafai, Shayda

‘Sounds Like Home’- Wright, Mary Herring

‘The Right to Maim’- Puar, Jasbir K.

‘Uncomfortable Labels’- Dale, Laura Kate

'Brilliant Imperfections'- Clare, Eli

All of these books and more can be found on the Disability Book Archive.

Happy Disability Pride Month!

#books #disability books #disability #disability representation #the disability book archive #lgbtq books #lgbtq+#lgbtq representation #non fiction #disability pride month #disability pride #disability history #link #images #described #alt text #plain text #disability in non fiction #part 1

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gallifreyanhotfive · 10 months ago

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Random Doctor Who Facts You Might Not Know, Part 14

The Eighth Doctor has described traveling in the TARDIS as "vworp vworp" before.

The Crispy Master was originally not-so-crispy. The Macqueen Maater had created an energy field and electrocuted him several times over until he was quite burnt.

The Doctor once met a Sontaran stand-up comedian.

The Second Doctor once fractured the harmonic resonator on the TARDIS console by hitting it with a football while playing keepy-uppy.

Iris Wildthyme considers the Master to be a "phallocentric dope."

Iris also once proposed to the Doctor in Venice.

And on top of that, Iris once got sick after eating a live Kaled mutant from the shell.

The Hexagora are a race of nomadic insectoids. When an ice age threatened the planet they had settled on, the queen wanted to marry the Fifth Doctor in order to have children that would live long enough to make it out of the ice age.

Chronotis replaced The Worshipful and Ancient Law of Gallifrey with a copy of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in the Panopticon Archive.

Coal Hill School was founded in 1873.

The Blessing Star is a crystal that changes the laws of probability, giving its owner unnaturally good luck. Susan used to take it to school with her in an attempt to make friends.

A regen gun is a Time Lord weapon capable of killing a Time Lord instantly by using up all of their regenerations.

Donna used to receive piano lessons when she was younger, but Sylvia says she was terrible.

The Tenth Doctor likes the movie Splash.

The Second Doctor once took on a cat-like being as a pet. They named the cat Marmaduke, who was an absolute menace.

According to the Eleventh Doctor, the only other dimensionally transcendental vehicle in the universe besides TARDISes are clown cars.

Iris Wildthyme was a member of the Sisterhood of Karn while the Fourth Doctor faced off against Morbius.

The Second Doctor once bought a window that could have "any view" out if it. He chooses a view of his childhood home on Gallifrey. The Seventh Doctor eventually decided that the room the window was in needed to be sealed up.

The Eighth Doctor and Iris Wildthyme once walked together naked in the snow. She used an icicle to slice into his calf, and a baby blue angel was birthed from the Doctor’s leg.

Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28

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lunarubra · 15 days ago

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Hi :) This is the first chapter of the second part! I’ll be publishing more regularly this time since everything is already written.

Pairing: Cillian x OC (Jiyan)

Summary: In this AU set during the summer of 2010, Cillian has just wrapped up the final Inception premieres. Now, he and Jiyan are traveling through Italy, seeking some peaceful downtime together.

Warning: Fluff and Smut.

Words: 2985

Next | Masterlist

Chapter 1 - Venetiis, mea Venetiis

Waking up beside Jiyan had quickly become one of Cillian's favourite moments in recent months, mainly because it was a rare treat. While he loved sleeping in and savouring the peace of lying in bed, Jiyan’s internal clock seemed to be synced with the sun. She would always wake up without an alarm at what, in his opinion, were ungodly early hours. So when he would wake up, she would already have been awake for a couple of hours, being around the house and or heading out for a morning walk enjoying the fresh early hours.

So a smile naturally spread across his face, when he woke up and felt the comforting warmth of her still nestled against him. He glanced lovingly at the woman still sound asleep in his arms, enjoying the rare chance to share this quiet moment with her.

They were staying at her grandmother’s house in Venice, which felt like a little escape into magic. Her grandmother, almost 80 but still fiercely independent, had gone to visit a friend in the mountains for nearly a month. Jiyan had asked if they could house-sit, and her grandmother had happily agreed. The apartment spanned two floors—a rarity in Venice—and was tucked along one of the smaller canals in the older part of the city. It was the perfect, peaceful way to experience the beauty ofVenice, and Cillian found it all the more enchanting with Jiyan showing him around.

They fell into a gentle rhythm together, taking things slow and easy. In the mornings, Cillian would make coffee, and Jiyan showed him how to use a Moka pot to make it the Italian way, though she still preferred her tea. Wandering through Venice with her, especially steering clear of the busy tourist spots, brought him a deep sense of calm. He loved just walking, hearing nothing but the gentle splash of waves against the canals, breathing in the salty air, and catching bits of the locals’ quiet conversations.

Exploring the city with a local opened up a whole new side of Venice. There were no cars, only boats sliding by in the canals. Whole shops of fruits and vegetables floated along the waterways, and even the mail came by boat. The absence of city noise and smog felt like a relief, making it easy to let go of the usual bustle of city life. He laughed at how easily he got lost without Jiyan to guide him—the narrow streets and winding alleys were beautiful, a maze he’d never figure out alone. Venice was vibrant and peaceful all at once, and it felt like a little world all to themselves.

They had arrived in Venice after the Inception premiere in Paris, choosing to take the train. “How do you expect to drive through canals, Cill?” Jiyan had teased him. Since then, their days had been a blur of relaxation, art exhibitions, and long evening walks. For such a small city, Venice was rich in artistic culture, and they explored live music events and galleries whenever they could.

Their favourite activity was exploring the city’s second-hand markets, where it felt like time had stopped. These markets held books, vinyl records, and treasures from decades—sometimes even centuries—past. Jiyan loved telling him how, for centuries, Venice had been one of the world’s most important trade hubs, and that if something could be found anywhere, a copy was almost certainly in Venice too. Cillian treasured this time with her, where it was just about them, getting lost in the moment—whether they were discussing a novel or debating the significance of a book they’d found.

They also often went to open-air cinemas around the city, a tradition Cillian found as magical as it was unbelievable. In Venice, theatres and cinemas weren’t just on land but also on the water. Open-air theatres would have audiences seated in boats, floating along in small gondolas or flatboats as they watched the performance. The open-air cinema worked the same way. They would take Jiyan’s family boat, pack snacks and drinks, and head to where the movie was projected, watching it from their boat. It felt like a Venetian version of an American drive-in, but far more enchanting, with the shimmering water beneath them and the timeless beauty of Venice all around.

One night, as they settled into the boat, the lanterns strung along the canals cast a soft glow on the water, making everything feel dreamlike. Cillian leaned back, gazing at Jiyan as she carefully poured wine into two glasses, her face illuminated in the soft light.

“What are we watching tonight?” he asked, but in truth, it didn’t matter. He was just as captivated by the moment as he would be by any film.

“A classic,” she said with a smile, handing him a glass. “One of those films that feels like a lullaby. But tonight, it’s more about being here, isn’t it?”

He nodded, taking a sip and feeling the warmth spread through him. “I could sit here and do nothing but look at the lights reflected on the water, and I’d still think it was perfect.” He reached for her hand, feeling the gentle sway of the boat beneath them, their little world floating in the heart of Venice.

As the movie began to flicker on the large screen ahead of them, they settled back, surrounded by other boats and quiet whispers. Occasionally, a ripple would pass through the water as a gondola drifted by, casting gentle waves that rocked their boat. Every so often, he’d glance at her, catching her in deep concentration or with a slight smile playing on her lips, absorbed in the story. He couldn’t help but feel a surge of gratitude—for her, for this moment, for the small rituals they’d made their own in this extraordinary city.

Halfway through the film, she leaned over and whispered, “You know, my grandfather used to do this with my grandmother. He’d take her out in this very boat to see these films.”

He felt a rush of tenderness, picturing them here, decades before, floating together under the stars just as he and Jiyan were now. This connection to her family—past and present—felt like an unspoken bond, linking him to their stories, traditions, and memories.

In just a few days, he’d meet Jiyan’s grandmother when she returned from her trip, and soon after, they’d spend their last days in Trieste, at her mother’s home. Her brother, Mikael, and her mother, Solin, had already come by a few times, though their visits were brief. They were eager to catch up with Jiyan after months apart—and, of course, to meet him.

Staying with her family was a mix of beauty, comfort, and a bit of strangeness for him. It was beautiful because he could feel how deeply they loved each other. He saw it in Solin’s proud eyes when she watched her children teasing one another, or when Jiyan spoke passionately about her research at the university. Jiyan and her mother shared an intellectual connection that left him in awe. Most of the time, when she talked to him about her work, he would sit there looking like a baffled fish, fully aware of how important her research was but not quite able to grasp half of it.

It was also comfortable because, even though they were mostly there for Jiyan, they were genuinely curious about him too. They didn’t know him as an actor, which he found refreshing. In fact, he was fairly certain it had been over 20 years since Solin had watched TV or seen a movie. They didn’t care much about his film projects, but they were fascinated by his work in theatre and his travels. Solin, a passionate reader, spent many afternoons with him, sipping tea and discussing their favourite novels, a pastime that led to endless teasing from Jiyan and Mika.

Still, it was a bit strange. He had never felt more out of his depth, more aware of his own ignorance and narrow perspective. It wasn’t just that Jiyan and Solin were both academics who worked at universities; it was the effortless way they—and Mika, too—would slip between multiple languages during conversation. They would start in English to include him, then switch to Italian or Kurdish without even noticing. It was so natural for them, but it made him feel oddly basic, limited to just English and Irish. He almost wanted to call his mum and apologise for all the times she’d tried to teach him French without success.

They weren’t intentionally excluding him, and they always apologise when they realised they’d switched languages, quickly translating whatever had been said. Still, if he were honest, he felt incredibly lucky to experience such a rich blend of languages and cultures firsthand.

His thoughts were interrupted when Jiyan stirred beside him, mumbling something in her sleep. Smiling, he turned slightly and began to leave gentle butterfly kisses along the side of her neck, slowly making his way to that spot that always made her squirm. Her hand moved instinctively toward him, and he couldn’t help but smile at the simple sweetness of the moment.

She still had on his shirt from the previous night, the buttons mismatched. They had returned home late after an exhilarating time at the concert, both drenched in sweat from their dancing and filled with the buzzing energy that only a live music session could provide. It didn't take them long to undress - his clothes falling off and her summer dress being discarded quickly - before he showed her just how deeply he loved her. She had teased him throughout the entire night, her carefree dancing in that dress driving him wild. Later, after they were both exhausted and satisfied, she slipped on his shirt and they cuddled up together, drifting off into sleep almost instantly.

Her skin seemed to tan almost immediately under the radiant Italian sun, while he had to protect himself from turning into a ripe tomato if he didn't want to be burned. She basked in the sunlight, allowing her already olive complexion to deepen and glow. It was as if the summer season itself made her radiate with beauty and intensified any allure she already possessed. He found it nearly impossible to leave her alone or not touching her for even a moment.

As he continued to kiss her neck, Jiyan began to stir more, her eyes fluttering open. She turned to face him, a sleepy smile spreading across her face. "Good morning," she murmured, her voice still thick with sleep.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," he replied, brushing a strand of hair from her face. The sunlight streaming through the window highlighted the golden flecks in her eyes, making them shine like amber.

Jiyan stretched languidly, the shirt riding up to reveal a tantalising glimpse of her thigh. He couldn't resist running his hand along the smooth skin, marvelling at how soft it felt beneath his touch.

“S’fuckin’ sexy,” he murmurs, meeting her eyes again. “You in my clothes.” His hands span her waist, thumbs tracing lazy circles against the soft fabric, warming her skin beneath.

She giggled and playfully swatted his hand away. "What time is it?" she asked, propping herself up on one elbow.

“I don’t know, but there is enough time for this,” he said, stealing a kiss, distracting her completely.

The kiss was hard and deep and messy, waking her up and getting rid of the last traces of sleep. And god, he was so good at this. They were so good together. She thought she could probably spend hours just kissing him and be totally content.

Jiyan melted into him, her body instinctively pressing closer to his. The world outside their little bubble ceased to exist as they lost themselves in each other once again. His hand traced the curve of her waist, fingers slipping beneath the hem of the shirt of his that she was wearing. She shivered at his touch, a soft moan escaping her lips.

The kiss deepened, becoming more urgent, more passionate. Jiyan's fingers tangled in his hair, pulling him closer as if she couldn't get enough. He revelled in the taste of her, the softness of her lips, the warmth of her body against his. It was intoxicating, addictive.

He broke away from the kiss and hurriedly took off that last layer tha was still covering her, letting out a breath as she layed naked in front of him, nipples high up in the air.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered, throat bobbing as he crawled down, bowing his head and kissing the inside of her thigh, licking a tortuously slow line up her centre with the flat of his tongue.

“Fuck, Cill!” Jiyan screeched, her hips involuntarily moved, bringing her pussy further against his hungry mouth.

Cillian sucked her clit into his mouth, humming against her and the vibration sent a jolt of pleasure up her spine. Another groan escaped her lips and her fingers tangled in his hair. Her vision started to blur while he worked her with his tongue, alternately swirling and flicking against her folds and nerves. She watched him beneath lowered lashes, the pupils of his eyes dark and trained on her face; then he smirked against her before going back to work.

He rolled his tongue around Jiyan’s clit, eliciting a long, drawn out moan from her. She was so wet, and he easily slid in one, two fingers inside her tight passage. He added a third, which made her whole body shake with another moan, and he pumped into her, feeling her warm, slippery walls contract around his digits.

He could not wait to feel once again her tightness around his dick, and he had to hold himself back from thrusting in her before she could orgasm. It didn’t take long for her to reach that peak, and she screamed as she convulsed around his fingers, her slick running down slowly into the mattress.

Licking the wetness left off his lips, he crawled up on top of her and rubbed his cock over pussy to gather more before brushing the underside of his dick over her clit as he did, his cock nudging at her slippery entrance.

“I’m going to…” he started, but was cut off by a voice from downstairs that made him freeze instantly, forgetting for a moment that he was about to have sex with his gorgeous girlfriend.

“Jiyan siè tu? Sito casa?” the new voice called from the floor below.

(“Jiyan is it you? Are you home?”)

“Cazzo! Fuck!” Jiyan swore, her face turning pale as she froze, still trying to catch her breath from the orgasm she’d just had.

“What? Who?” he asked frantically, propping himself up on one arm, while Jiyan pushed him aside and tossed him his shirt.

“It’s my grandma,” she whispered urgently.

“What?” he almost shouted. “How? Wasn’t she supposed to be here in three days?”

“Jiyan, benon?” her grandmother called again, footsteps now audible on the stairs.

(“Jiyan, is everything alright?”)

“Si, nonna, venemo sùvito! Cinque minuti!” Jiyan called out, trying to buy them some time.

("Yes, Grandma, we’re coming right away! Five minutes!")

“You have to get dressed,” she whispered, frantically searching the room for clothes. She turned around to see Cillian still completely naked, his shirt draped half over him, barely covering his still half-hard cock.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” he muttered.

“Cill, come on!”

“Your grandma just interrupted us… mid-sex.”

“Cillian! Focus!” she hissed, trying to suppress her own panic.

“I can’t…” he replied petulantly, glancing down at himself. “What did you say to her?”

“I told her we were coming downstairs in five minutes,” she said, realising he still understood little Italian.

“What? No way. I can’t go down like this,” he said, sitting up and gesturing toward his lap. “Literally.”

“Very funny, Murphy,” she shot back, rolling her eyes. “Best joke ever. I’ll just tell her you’re in the shower.” She still hadn’t found anything to wear, so in desperation, she yanked his shirt back off him, leaving him fully exposed, and pulled on a pair of jogging shorts from the floor.

She paused for a moment, realising just how absurd the whole situation was. A slow smile crept across her face before she suddenly burst into laughter, sitting down on the bed beside him, hiding her face into his neck while Cillian that was also trying to catch his breath. He smiled and hold her closer, holding back a chuckle.

“My grandma interrupted us while we were having sex,” she said, looking back at him and laughing so hard that tears formed in her eyes.

“It’s not funny, Aji,” Cillian said, though a grin tugged at his lips despite himself. “Jesus, I can't believe that just happened.”

“I’m sorry,” she murmured, gently brushing his hair back. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Just… a bit shell-shocked. Talk about terrible timing.” He took her hand and kissed it lightly. “I’m going to take that shower now—try to distract her,” he added, giving her a quick kiss before standing up and heading toward the ensuite bathroom.

“You know they’re never going to let this go, right? She’s probably already on the phone with half the family. We’ll be teased about this forever,” Jiyan called out as he closed the bathroom door.

“At least I won’t understand the teasing,” he shouted back, laughing as he stepped into the shower.

Jiyan shook her head with a sigh, slipping on her sandals before heading downstairs.

As she entered the kitchen, she found her grandmother sitting at the table, calmly stirring sugar into her coffee, a sly smile on her face like the cat that got the cream.

“Quindi, posso spetarme dei neodin présto, Aji?” her grandmother asked, barely suppressing a grin.

("So, can I expect great-grandchildren soon, Aji?")

Jiyan groaned inwardly. Nope, they definitely weren’t going to let this go anytime soon.

Next | Masterlist

Thank you so much for taking the time to read. Your feedback, in any form, makes me happy. See you at the next one :)

amazing dividers from cafekitsune

#shadows of the sea #cillian murphy #cillian murphy fanfic #cillian murphy fanfiction #cillian murphy x oc #cillian murphy imagine #cillian x fem!reader #ari's little corner #cillianmurphy #cillian x reader #cillian fic #cillian fanfic #cillian murphy smut

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sashi-ya · 10 months ago

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a valentine's mini story 𝑩𝑬𝑳𝑳𝑨 𝑵𝑶𝑻𝑻𝑬 Kuchiki Byakuya x F! Reader

🩰 tw: sfw. beware of spoilers, if you haven't read tybw and don't wish to be spoiled, please do not read. ShunUki mentioned. I suggest you read it with this song. Happy Valentines! 💕 🦢 wc: 579

Slowly dancing, like drifting away with your feet on top of his. His hand, so delicate, grazes your palm and squeezes it tightly. Everything feel so light, so weightless, like being guided by an angel to heaven.

The sharp side of his mandible, his eyes closed with long eyelashes casting little shadows on porcelain cheeks…

So, this is love?

Yes, and it’s always been. There, when his blade protected you. There, when he scolded you for putting yourself at risk. And also, there, and now, on a terrace of Venice. Looking right at the Bridge of Sighs, dancing the night away to the soft melody of Bella Notte.

“Byakuya-sama, thank you for this night” you murmur, placing your ear on his chest. Your cheek receives the expensive brush of a pure silk tie; never once you’ve seen his hair down, completely free from his noble garments.

“It wasn’t me, but I promise this won’t be the last… this is just the start” he answers back, for the first time with a trembling voice full of, perhaps, shyness.

Traveling to Venice had been a wonderful idea that none of you had planned. In fact, wearing Gigai for so many hours felt -almost- like torture. Why two creatures from other dimension wander the world of the living as humans?

“This is a mission, a special mission” the head captain of the Gotei 13 assured. The tickets were bought. The hotel, booked.

“Kyoraku Taicho, but this… it says your and Jushiro’s name on it” you sighed, right next to a much more mature -and now captain- Rukia.

The head captain painfully smiled. Valentine’s after the war with the Quincy had changed. Jushiro… he couldn’t make it.

“Take Nii-sama! He loves Venice!” Rukia intercepted, to somehow dissipate the gloomy cloud of sadness that had fallen upon Shunsui’s office.

You stayed silent… was it that noticeable?

“He didn’t tell me, we saw you with Renji…” she continued, giggling and tracing circles over her incipient pregnant belly...

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ ...

Your eyes blur, as sprouting wetness pools in your lower eyelids. Never, have you ever, been treated this way; the things you thought only happened in the movies were now happening to you.

The night ahead, barely starting, takes over the sky of orangey tints. The canal right by your room seemed as peaceful as ever, and the little Gondolas slide their romantic ways through it. As if Venice knew, today, the humid fog didn’t appear.

“I’m so in love with you, Byakuya-sama” you murmured, still pressing your cheek against his chest. His heart, raising the beat of it, complimented yours in such exquisite way… in such peaceful but intense way.

But, even if his heart wouldn’t stop beating faster and faster, Byakuya couldn’t keep breathing… He let go of your hand, and his arms surrounded you so tightly, as if he couldn’t let you go for the rest of eternity. His chin, rested on top of your head. And for some moments silence reigned the place.

“I am not exactly sure how to call what my heart feels, it’s been long enough that I have neglected it… but my soul won’t ever let you go, (Name)” he whispers, visibly affected. His cheeks, in pure red shades, invite you to kiss them ever so softly.

You place a peck on his warm skin, being so sure that names aren’t needed to give such a deep feeling a meaning, but still whispering back a simple word…

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ “Amore”

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ “Amore mio”

#byakuya kuchiki x reader #kuchiki byakuya x reader #byakuya x reader #byakuya kuchiki imagine #byakuya x you #kuchiki byakuya #byakuya kuchiki x you #kuchiki byakuya x you #byakuya #kuchiki byakuya imagine #byakuya kuchiki #bleach #bleach headcanons #bleach imagines #bleach byakuya #bleach x reader #bleach anime #bleach fanart #valentines day

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natsuki-bakery · 5 months ago

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⁎˚ ఎ Gerita Headcanons ໒ ˚⁎

Aph Gerita oneshots/headcanons? (only bc i saw you take ship reqs :3)^_^

•Cooking Together : Italy loves cooking for Germany, and although Germany is initially hesitant about trying some of Italy's more exotic dishes, he secretly loves the homemade pasta and pizza

•"Ludwig, vieni a mangiare! Ho preparato la tua pasta preferita!"

•Over time, Germany learns to cook Italian dishes and surprises Italy with his culinary skills

•"Feliciano, your pasta is amazing as always. Danke."

•Germany takes it upon himself to learn Italian to better communicate with Italy, who often switches to his native language when he's excited or upset

•Italy, in turn, tries to learn German but ends up mixing German and Italian words in a cute and endearing way

•Italy loves drawing and painting, and Germany supports this passion by creating a small art studio in their home

•"Oh no, I spilled paint on your uniform again! Mi dispiace!"

•Germany often poses as a model for Italy's sketches, though he gets embarrassed when Italy insists on drawing him in romantic settings

•They enjoy sharing their cultures with each other. Germany teaches Italy about his country's history and traditions, while Italy introduces Germany to Renaissance art, opera, and Italian holidays

•Italy, while sometimes appearing carefree, deeply appreciates Germany's care and often does small things to show his gratitude, like making Germany's favorite meals or drawing pictures of them together

•"I drew this picture of us! Do you like it?"

•"You have a talent for making me smile, Feliciano"

•They love traveling together, especially around Europe. Italy is an enthusiastic tour guide, showing Germany the beauty of his homeland, from the vineyards of Tuscany to the canals of Venice

•Their daily routine is a mix of Germany’s punctuality and Italy’s more laid-back attitude

•Mornings start with Germany’s precise schedule, but Italy’s spontaneous nature often leads to unexpected, fun detours throughout the day !

•They find common ground in shared hobbies like gardening. Italy brings vibrant flowers and herbs, while Germany focuses on maintaining a neat and organized garden

•Feliciano, with his playful and mischievous nature, often starts lighthearted prank wars with Ludwig

•Despite the initial surprise, Germany secretly enjoys these pranks as they add a playful element to their relationship

DNI: basic criteria, DSMP, vivziepop/h4zbin h0tel/h3lluva b0ss fans, Owl h0use fans, St4r butterfly fans, Ghibli fans, ddlg/abdl, nsfw/k!nk, anti-agere, anti Christians blogs

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palmtreepalmtree · 6 months ago

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My mom and I have taken two tour-group style outings for day trips outside of Amsterdam. I haven't loved either of them, but there were still things to enjoy about each. They both reminded me of that quote from A Room With a View:

We residents sometimes pity you poor tourists not a little - handed about like a parcel of goods from Venice to Florence, from Florence to Rome, living herded together in pensions or hotels, quite unconscious of anything that is outside Baedeker, their one anxiety to get 'done' and 'through' and go somewhere else. The result is they mix up towns, rivers, palaces in one inextricable whirl.

As hard as we tried to select options with plenty of free time to explore on our own, the logistics of a group tour feel very impersonal and almost time squandering. And the tour groups by design take you to the most touristy places. Theoretically, tour guide help make the experience more interesting, but most of the information is very superficial, nothing a quick internet search wouldn't tell you.

The above photo is from our day trip to Bruges. The tourists (ourselves included) were like ants crawling all over the city. It felt like Disneyland rather than a medieval Belgian city. Hard to appreciate what a special place it is.

On both of our tours, we befriended a solo traveler. I mentioned to mom that as a person who really enjoys solo travel, I don't think I would ever go on one of these excursions alone. I was having a really hard time explaining why.

It's not like these places aren't beautiful or worthy of seeing just because you're traveling alone. And surely there is a convenience in having someone arrange all the transportation for you. But for me the joy of solo travel is the insane amount of freedom I have to do and see whatever I want. And you just don't have that kind of freedom on these tours.

I like taking in a city by wandering around on my own, stopping when I see something interesting and looking it up online. Or following a walking tour at my own pace. Stopping for coffee and just people watching for a while. Learning the neighborhoods and enjoying them. This is a particularly nice thing to do in cities with good public transit or small city centers where I can really roam safely at my own leisure. I like starting in the tourist centers and radiating out. Going to a park or a botanical garden, hitting the museums.

I'm glad I got to see Bruges and Giethoorn, but I probably would never travel this way again.

#drunken musings on travel #missives from abroad

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nothwell · 1 year ago

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FIORENZO is a queer fantasy-of-manners romance featuring hurt/comfort, swordplay, and a happily-ever-after. And it’s finally out in paperback! Shown here with some of the books that inspired it.

The World of the Castrati by Patrick Barbier Not just a thorough examination of individual castrati lives but also the operatic world that created them. Highly recommended, even (or especially) if you know nothing of opera.

Nicoletto Giganti’s The School of the Sword A swordfighting guide by a fencing master of Renaissance Venice. This book, combined with As You Wish (see below) and Vico Ortiz’s Fencing 101 class proved absolutely essential to making the fight scenes in Fiorenzo possible.

M: The Man Who Became Caravaggio by Peter Robb Come for the art history lesson about a queer Renaissance painter, stay for the tennis court castration duel.

Art and Life in Renaissance Venice and Private Lives in Renaissance Venice by Patricia Fortini Brown While the general history of Venice was necessary (see below), the more specific focus of Brown’s books provided absolutely invaluable insight into the the day-to-day habits of Venice’s historical citizens.

John Singer Sargent: Venetian Figures and Landscapes, 1898-1913 Sargent’s mind-blowing skill with oil portraits is well known, but his watercolour sketches of cityscapes and Venice architecture are truly astounding in their mastery of light and form. Seeing the city through his eyes over a hundred years ago was wildly inspiring.

Sargent, Whistler & Venetian Glass This was an incredible traveling exhibit of Venetian glassware, lace, and other amazing examples of skilled craft alongside paintings by American artists who drew inspiration from Venice in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. I had the good fortune to catch it as it came through Mystic Seaport in Connecticut. It also included an actual Venetian gondola (dry-docked, no felze) which gave me an invaluable sense of just how absolutely huge those things are.

As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes and Joe Layden Invaluable insight into the training, choreography, and filming process for one of the greatest swordfighting scenes in cinematic history.

The Princess Bride by William Goldman It’s a swordfighting romance. Enough said.

Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner It’s a queer swordfighting romance. Enough said. (Although I have said far more.)

Ruskin’s Venice: The Stones Revisited by Sarah Quill Venice through the eyes of a Victorian.

Venice: A New History by Thomas F. Madden A general history of Venice was essential in creating Halcyon.

FIORENZO is a queer fantasy-of-manners romance featuring hurt/comfort, swordplay, and a happily-ever-after. Available now wherever fine books are found!

Amazon • Apple Books • Barnes & Noble • Bookshop.org • Kobo • Smashwords

#fantasy of manners #john singer sargent #caravaggio #venice #fiorenzo #mannerpunk #swordspoint #the princess bride #queer romance #mm romance #gay romance #historical romance #historical fantasy #romantasy #sebastian nothwell

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princesssarisa · 1 year ago

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The Top 40 Most Popular Operas, Part 3 (#21 through #30)

A quick guide for newcomers to the genre, with links to online video recordings of complete performances, with English subtitles whenever possible.

Verdi's Il Trovatore

The second of Verdi's three great "middle period" tragedies (the other two being Rigoletto and La Traviata): a grand melodrama filled with famous melodies.

Studio film, 1957 (Mario del Monaco, Leyla Gencer, Ettore Bastianini, Fedora Barbieri; conducted by Fernando Previtali) (no subtitles; read the libretto in English translation here)

Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor

The most famous tragic opera in the bel canto style, based on Sir Walter Scott's novel The Bride of Lammermoor, and featuring opera's most famous "mad scene."

Studio film, 1971 (Anna Moffo, Lajos Kozma, Giulio Fioravanti, Paolo Washington; conducted by Carlo Felice Cillario)

Leoncavallo's Pagliacci

The most famous example of verismo opera: brutal Italian realism from the turn of the 20th century. Jealousy, adultery, and violence among a troupe of traveling clowns.

Feature film, 1983 (Plácido Domingo, Teresa Stratas, Juan Pons, Alberto Rinaldi; conducted by Georges Prêtre)

Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI

Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio)

Mozart's comic Singspiel (German opera with spoken dialogue) set amid a Turkish harem. What it lacks in political correctness it makes up for in outstanding music.

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, 1988 (Deon van der Walt, Inga Nielsen, Lillian Watson, Lars Magnusson, Kurt Moll, Oliver Tobias; conducted by Georg Solti) (click CC for subtitles)

Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera

A Verdi tragedy of forbidden love and political intrigue, inspired by the assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden.

Leipzig Opera House, 2006 (Massimiliano Pisapia, Chiara Taigi, Franco Vassallo, Annamaria Chiuri, Eun Yee You; conducted by Riccardo Chailly) (click CC for subtitles)

Part I, Part II

Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann)

A half-comic, half-tragic fantasy opera based on the writings of E.T.A. Hoffmann, in which the author becomes the protagonist of his own stories of ill-fated love.

Opéra de Monte-Carlo, 2018 (Juan Diego Flórez, Olga Peretyatko, Nicolas Courjal, Sophie Marilley; conducted by Jacques Lacombe) (click CC and choose English in "Auto-translate" under "Settings" for subtitles)

Wagner's Der Fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman)

An early and particularly accessible work of Wagner, based on the legend of a phantom ship doomed to sail the seas until its captain finds a faithful bride.

Savolinna Opera, 1989 (Franz Grundheber, Hildegard Behrens, Ramiro Sirkiä, Matti Salminen; conducted by Leif Segerstam) (click CC for subtitles)

Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana

A one-act drama of adultery and scorned love among Sicilian peasants, second only to Pagliacci (with which it's often paired in a double bill) as the most famous verismo opera.

St. Petersburg Opera, 2012 (Fyodor Ataskevich, Iréne Theorin, Nikolay Kopylov, Ekaterina Egorova, Nina Romanova; conducted by Mikhail Tatarnikov)

Verdi's Falstaff

Verdi's final opera, a "mighty burst of laughter" based on Shakespeare's comedy The Merry Wives of Windsor.

Studio film, 1979 (Gabriel Bacquier, Karan Armstrong, Richard Stilwell, Marta Szirmay, Jutta Renate Ihloff, Max René Cosotti; conducted by Georg Solti) (click CC for subtitles)

Verdi's Otello (Othello)

Verdi's second-to-last great Shakespearean opera, based on the tragedy of the Moor of Venice.

Teatro alla Scala, 2001 (Plácido Domingo, Leo Nucci, Barbara Frittoli; conducted by Riccardo Muti)

#opera #top 40 #21 through 30 #video #complete performances #english subtitles #il trovatore #lucia di lammermoor #pagliacci #die entfuhrung aus dem serail #the abduction from the seraglio #un ballo in maschera #les contes d'hoffmann #the tales of hoffmann #der fliegende holländer #the flying dutchman #cavalleria rusticana #falstaff #otello

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