#but so is the stupidity of the British aristocracy

[venusdamenace]

Okay. So the funniest thing about this whole British people feel like good food is a fantasy thing is it comes from  the class structure in their country. So, It used to be that spices were incredibly rare to the point that it's half The reason the British Empire colonised half the world. It was to get their hands on spices. They were purely for the upper class used by the upper class. Now, the problem with colonising half the world to get your hands on spices is that eventually when you get your hands on enough spices the price of spices come down, you also eventually become a multicultural empire and you're inherently not only making the resources more wide spread but also the subjugated workers. So they would ship the subjugated Indian workers to other British colonies, the subjugated African workers to other British colonies, the subjugated Native American  workers to other colonies and so on and so forth. So you start spreading a bunch different ethnicities around and having them intermingle, and bring their staple cooking styles with them. And that creates a very unique food culture, where the lower class, who now comprise not just lower class British people but the Indians, Chinese, Africans, Arabs, ect, have access to cheap spices and new cooking techniques because the price of spices is drastically reduced and everyone who isn't aristocracy is kind of merging and intermingling.

So Spices become the thing of the Common Man. spice becomes available to the working masses. Suddenly salt and pepper aren't a luxury. They are a goddamn Necessity. cinnamon, cumin, everything becomes a goddamn necessity and you get people spreading spicy flavorful food amongst the working class. So when the British upper crust, especially during the Georgian and Victorian era saw that this was happening. They were like,” oh, oh God. I don't want to eat spices anymore because the working poor man is eating spices. So instead We're going to focus on traditional British only meals from now on”. Now the funny thing about traditional British only meals is that they're very fucking plain because for the majority of their history as a fucking island nation, the people who really dictate a national identity, the working class, haven't had access to the resources that make food flavorful.

So they've been relying on very meaty plan, flavours,  oniony kind of flavours ect. The kind you get out of boiling , mashing, stewing and reducing the shit out of your ingredients. Maybe they would have salt maybe. But mostly it's  The flavours that you get out of the actual food itself instead of the things like spices and herbs that you add to food to make it flavorful. So the upper crust played themselves, started eating very Bland, very flavorless food, and insisted that this was the real traditional British cuisine ,and that created the idea that British cooking is Boring, right?

And then you add on to that World War II, where everyone else is now forced to eat. Bland flavorless food because of rationing and Suddenly you've got an entire fucking culture, whose food has had to take a massive back seat, but we're also talking about the same culture that when it rebounded because where things like… I think it's tikka masala and a bunch of other like Multicultural style dishes originate. And that comes from its multicultural background. so British cooking can be quite flavorful. It can be quite good but the British Aristocracy, of which Tolkien was a part of, Viewed food with flavour as being of the lower class and it's fucking hilarious. So that's why the hobbits and dwarves, who are written as lower class allegories, have amazing flavourful food, because for the most part so did the British lower class. And its why the elves have this bland shit like … nimbus bread? That tastes like sawdust but can keep you fed for an entire day on a single bite.

[communist-manifesto-daily]

Socialism: Utopian and Scientific - Part 4

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Thus Karl Marx wrote about the British origin of modern materialism. If Englishmen nowadays do not exactly relish the compliment he paid their ancestors, more's the pity. It is none the less undeniable that Bacon, Hobbes, and Locke are the fathers of that brilliant school of French materialism which made the 18th century, in spite of all battles on land and sea won over Frenchmen by Germans and Englishmen, a pre-eminently French century, even before that crowning French Revolution, the results of which we outsiders, in England as well as Germany, are still trying to acclimatize.

There is no denying it. About the middle of this century, what struck every cultivated foreigner who set up his residence in England, was what he was then bound to consider the religious bigotry and stupidity of the English respectable middle-class. We, at that time, were all materialists, or, at least, very advanced free-thinkers, and to us it appeared inconceivable that almost all educated people in England should believe in all sorts of impossible miracles, and that even geologists like Buckland and Mantell should contort the facts of their science so as not to clash too much with the myths of the book of Genesis; while, in order to find people who dared to use their own intellectual faculties with regard to religious matters, you had to go amongst the uneducated, the "great unwashed", as they were then called, the working people, especially the Owenite Socialists.

But England has been "civilized" since then. The exhibition of 1851 sounded the knell of English insular exclusiveness. England became gradually internationalized, in diet, in manners, in ideas; so much so that I begin to wish that some English manners and customs had made as much headway on the Continent as other Continental habits have made here. Anyhow, the introduction and spread of salad-oil (before 1851 known only to the aristocracy) has been accompanied by a fatal spread of Continental scepticism in matters religious, and it has come to this, that agnosticism, though not yet considered "the thing" quite as much as the Church of England, is yet very nearly on a par, as far as respectability goes, with Baptism, and decidedly ranks above the Salvation Army. And I cannot help believing that under those circumstances it will be consoling to many who sincerely regret and condemn this progress of infidelity to learn that these "new-fangled notions" are not of foreign origin, are not "made in Germany", like so many other articles of daily use, but are undoubtedly Old English, and that their British originators 200 years ago went a good deal further than their descendants now dare to venture.

What, indeed, is agnosticism but, to use an expressive Lancashire term, "shamefaced" materialism? The agnostic's conception of Nature is materialistic throughout. The entire natural world is governed by law, and absolutely excludes the intervention of action from without. But, he adds, we have no means either of ascertaining or of disproving the existence of some Supreme Being beyond the known universe. Now, this might hold good at the time when Laplace, to Napoleon's question, why, in the great astronomer's Treatise on Celestial Mechanics, the Creator was not even mentioned, proudly replied: "I had no need of this hypothesis." But, nowadays, in our evolutionary conception of the universe, there is absolutely no room for either a Creator or a Ruler; and to talk of a Supreme Being shut out from the whole existing world, implies a contradiction in terms, and, as it seems to me, a gratuitous insult to the feelings of religious people.

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[eco-lite]

Finally finished volume 4! Here are my many, many thoughts:

“???”

* Holy shit, Seigi, you have got it so bad for Richard. I’m begging you, please do some self-analysis!

* Noooo not the pomegranate tree that represents Seigi and Richard’s relationshippp. 😫😫😫

* I feel like Richard’s last advice to Seigi was actually for himself.

* Seigi refusing to drink tea with Saul from the cups he and Richard would use. 😢 The pining is so strong.

* HE SAID IT. 👁️

* “Just because I spend every waking moment thinking about him, just because my heart skips a beat every time I lay eyes on his face, just because I’m having dreams about him kissing me every night, it doesn’t mean I’m in love with him” (21). JESUS FUCKING CHRIST.

* “‘Now, tell me, what happens to a young man flying on the wings of romantic dreams when he slams into the cold hard wall of reality? His delicate shell smashes into a million little pieces, scattering his contents every which way, just like an egg thrown against concrete!’” (22). I think Saul is talking about both Seigi and Richard here.

* “Was I being an emotional two-timing bastard without even realizing it?” (33). Lol kinda.

* Badass!Seigi let’s gooooo!

* You are absolutely not giving up, Seigi! Now is the time to take Richard’s advice that was so bad about Tanimoto but so good in this situation. Go to him!

* Tanimoto is actually really emotionally intelligent. I adore this scene between her and Seigi. Seigi really just needed to talk through his feelings, huh?

* So Seigi can admit to Saul that he loves Richard, but can’t admit to himself that it’s in a romantic way. I agree that the lines between friendship and romance can get blurry—I’ve experienced it myself—but everything Seigi is saying about his feelings since Richard left him are so romance coded. Like, clearly Tsujimura wants us to think Seigi is in love with him.

* Please please can Seigi call Richard an idiot to his face? I need to see his expression.

“The Secret of Alexandrite”

* I don’t trust anyone who uses the word “brouhaha” unironically… Or who talks and talks and talks without letting the other person say more than a single sentence. Or calls England the land of Harry Potter. 🤮

* Richard’s father is an entomologist. 🙂 Let’s go bugs! 🙂

* I’m pretty surprised that Seigi explains his Richard kissing dream so plainly to Jeffrey.

* “Was even death not enough to quell the fury of the xenophobic seventh Earl of Claremont?” (103). Oh Seigi, my sweet naïve child. Nobody is as xenophobic as the British aristocracy. “‘It’s an iron-clad wall of bigotry’” (106). HA.

* “It didn’t seem to have occurred to him that the four years Richard had spent ‘running away’ was really just ‘moving’ and ‘having a career’” (115). Idk why I find this so funny. It’s not even sarcastic—it’s just facts.

* Frankly, fuck you, Jeffrey. It’s been a while since I watched the anime, but I remember Jeffrey being a lot more goofy and sympathetic than this. Either they toned him down for the show or I had severe fandom brain. (Okay, I forgot he was just trying to protect Henry, but he’s still an ass!)

* “He was looking at me with an expression of pure joy. It was the same look you’d give a beloved pet when you’re thinking, ‘Man, what a stupid little guy you are’” (130). Lol I have made this face many times at my dog. Love her so much!

“Follow the Lapis Lazuli”

* Richard leaving secret notes and showing up at the museum in drag is so iconic. What a drama queen.

* Me whenever Richard calls Seigi “my knight in shining armor”: 😳😳😳

* Nurse!Richard unlocked

* Richard hugging Seigi and squeezing him till it hurts 🥲

* “Richard enunciated the two-word idiom with the precision of a vocabulary exercise. I don’t think I’d ever heard someone say ‘Eat shit,’ with such clear and perfect intonation. He put his whole body into that one” (161). Richard, I love you so much for this. The way this paragraph was translated too, is just so hilarious.

* Wow, I’m getting really emotional about Richard taking care of Seigi like this. Please can somebody do this for me?

* Richard’s violent responses to boys confessing their romantic attraction to him is interesting. Although Richard never directly says that he’s bi, he doesn’t shut down the idea that he could be attracted to a man. But I feel like that conclusion has come after a lot of struggle with internalized homophobia. The British aristocracy is not known for being accepting of queerness, and since we know what a racist shit bag Richard’s great-grandfather was, I doubt his family had a history of accepting other forms of difference. Richard says he’s struggled with the boundaries of friendship. Maybe because he did feel romantic attraction to those friends. But he ended up lashing out once the other boy would acknowledge the romantic nature of his actions, because he couldn’t accept that he was also attracted to these boys. That would be wrong. I think it’s only once he distanced himself from his family that Richard was able to analyze his feelings with a more open minded perspective.

“The Gospel of White Sapphire”

* Even though I know Seigi has a plan, it’s still very unsettling to see him going along with Jeffrey so convincingly. And poor Richard is so confused and betrayed. 😞

* Instead of Seigi’s whole life flashing before his eyes as he prepares to destroy the diamond, it’s just the moments he felt closest to Richard. 🥲

* Okay Seigi wtf? After all this time and everything he’s done for you? Why can you not see that Richard cares about you very much? How the fuck could you possibly think that he could just move on after you got thrown in prison for saving him from the stupid will? Freaking delusional! And giving him the pudding recipe?! I need to shake this man like a rag doll.

* Richard. You cannot say things like “When you threw that stone, it rekindled my love for you,” and then be like “haha just kidding.” No.

* “When Richard finished, he gently raised his right hand and placed it on my cheek. The same hand he so carefully handled gemstones with. It was soft, and cold, and tender” (227). I got fucking chills!

* Pages 224-229. 🥹🥹🥹 Tsujimura’s writing is so beautiful here. They crafted this intimate moment so well.

* This situation where Richard and Seigi both did incomprehensible things in order to protect the other is giving me serious Good Omens vibes. At least Richard and Seigi are a hell of a lot better at communicating than Aziraphale and Crowley!

* Seigi making Richard pudding to cheer him up right after the conversation in which Richard told him not to over exert himself trying to be useful and make others happy. But Seigi himself said that when Richard is happy, Seigi is happy. So I guess there truly aren’t anything lengths Seigi wouldn’t go to to ensure Richard’s happiness. I mean, he was prepared to take on £300 million in debt and go to prison if it meant Richard could be happy with someone else. So…

* It’s good to know that Seigi doesn’t call his mom “Hiromi” because of some falling out they had. They don’t seem particularly close now, but at least they’re on good terms.

* “We talked about the things that scared us—for me, it was my family members’ tears, and for Richard, it was the mirror” (253). Heart crushed at my feet omg Richard 😢

* They literally exchanged rings and are being so sweet I’m dhdjdjdk

* “I shut my mouth and straightened up, and Richard touched my cheek with his hand. At least, I think it was his hand. It was probably his hand. His blond hair tickled my ear and then pulled away again” (262). HAHAHAHHAAAAAA

* For real though, Seigi works so well as an unreliable narrator because he’s not purposedfully misleading the reader. He genuinely is so self-deluded about his relationship with Richard.

* “Honestly, I was pretty sure that what touched my cheek earlier wasn’t his hand. But I decided to pretend that it was. I didn’t think my heart could take the alternative” (263). OH GOD.

* Richard saying “Oh, you sweet summer child,” to Seigi is too good. I’ve said that about Seigi my head so many times.

* After Richard teases Seigi that he and Tanimoto might become a couple if Seigi introduced them: “Richard cocked his head to the side. His seductive gaze was dripping with allure. I never knew he was such a ladykiller” (268). SEIGI. Just who is Richard staring at with that seductive gaze? Certainly not any ladies! 🙄

* Seigi’s subconscious truly knows more than he does. Every time he says something that expresses his true feelings about Richard, or acknowledges Richard’s feelings for him, he suddenly starts thinking about Tanimoto. Hmmm interesting. Seigi knows that he and Richard love each other, but his brain can’t put a label on what kind of love that is. It’s much easier to think about Tanimoto, who Seigi does understand his feelings for.

* God, that chapter was an absolute whirlwind. I can’t believe almost all of that happened in a single day. What a ride!

“The Bicolor Tourmaline Tease”

* First of all, this title is incredible

* Wow, Tsujimura didn’t keep us waiting at all for Richard’s return lol

* This whole volume I thought the stone on the cover was supposed to represent Jeffrey’s color-shifting alexandrite lapel pin, but apparently it’s this metaphor-rich tourmaline!

* Seigi is not into this roleplay lol

* Seigi dishes out compliments and sentimental shit to Richard all the time but he absolutely cannot take them in return. 😂

* This is really too much Richard, omg

* “‘While I can’t understand it myself, you seem to enjoy lavishing me with praise. Consequently, I do not mind you doing so. In much the same way, I would like to indulge in the sweets I love to the greatest extent my health might permit, I implore you to praise me unabashedly to your heart’s content. But in return, I eagerly await the day that praising you will bring me such joy, Seigi’” (288). I’m going fucking feral over this.

* “‘Now, what we’re you talking about, Richard? You had the audacity to call me, the man to whom you owe your life, to Japan, asking me to step in to take care of the Ginza shop ‘indefinitely,’ and what’s the first thing you do when you come back? Flirt with the part-timer?’” (291). GSJDKDK SAUL I LOVE YOU

* DID SAUL AND SEIGI PLAN THIS?? WTF

* I can’t tell if that story took years off my life due to stress, or extended my life due to sheer joy. That was pure chaos and I loved every second of it.

“Overcast Iolite”

* A nice quiet story in which Richard tries to encourage Seigi in his own way. And of course, an interesting history lesson.

“Moonstone’s Affection”

* It makes me very happy that Seigi and Richard have dinner together on Saturdays now.

* NOT “THE MOON IS BEAUTIFUL, ISN’T IT?” 👀👀👀 And Richard brought up Natsume Souseki so he knows.

* Oh god, Richard said it too. Honey…

* WAIT SEIGI KNOWS WHAT IT MEANS

* I don’t think I can handle this new era of Seigi complimenting Richard so freely.

This volume was beautiful but such a fucking whirlwind! Can’t wait to start #5 tomorrow!

[spider-xan]

I also remember the DD fandom trying to do serious research into how the husband of a British lord would be titled and addressed in the Victorian era bc curiously, they couldn't find any information on that, so did anyone happen to know how it works?? - like, are you stupid, male homosexuality was illegal during that time, you think there are official aristocracy rules about how husbands in gay marriages would be titled in the 1800s, that's not even a thing today when gay marriage exists, they just marry women and pop out an heir and then fuck men on the side if they're gay or bisexual, come on.

[juliasdowntonstuff]

19, 23 and 24 :)

19: Fanfic you read again and again

Oh, that's a tough one, because there's a few out there that I find myself gravitating back to time and time again. But if I had to chose, I'd say "Things Given To Tomorrow" by @ohtobealady (this one hurts so good and I am sad it's finished now, because I just went back and read it again whenever new chapters were being published) and "From Paris To Yorkshire" by Countess of Cobert (I don't know their @ on here, of even if they have one). Those two fics are so amazingly well written — don't make me pick one.

23: Age when you started reading fanfic

I believe I was about 13 when I joined Wattpad and read so many (well, few) good and (mostly) bad Harry Potter fanfics, but it is what it is, right? We all have to start somewhere at some point. Having been the fool that I was, I never checked other sites. Like, Fanfic and ao3 have only recently become my best buddies and the difference in quality? Oh myyyy, was I stupid…

24: funniest fandom-related story

Not sure if this is directly fandom-related… But four separate friends of mine who do not know each other have told me years ago to watch Downton Abbey, that I'd enjoy it. I believe this was ca 2015/2016, right when the og series ended. I just didn't think they'd be right. They tried again and again. Why would I ever find myself interested in some soap opera about the British aristocracy? Fast-forward to early 2023 when my mum finally got us Netflix. She binged the show when she was sick and talked about it non-stop, so I caved and watched it finally so that I at least knew what she was talking about. Needless to say… I've been obsessed with it ever since I gave it a shot. My friends have all been right and they do tease me about it very regularly, it's become a running gag for all of us and I am the butt of the joke.

Similarly, my best friend has been nagging me for years to finally join tumblr and I refused every single time. Obviously, I caved at some point last year and I am glad I did. So many lovely people on here!

Moral of the story: I guess I should just start listening to my friends more.

[katatonicimpression]

Bearing in mind that the next week of my life is just going to be me getting increasingly mad about the royals and their stupid events, I'm going to vent about one specific thing I see a lot.

The idea that royalists are often into history. No. Not true. Don't let them tell you that.

Listen to royalists and it becomes very obvious that their historical knowledge is a bunch of whitewashed platitudes. They know very little about the slave trade, about colonialism and the monarch's role in it. They think the "glorious revolution" was exactly that, and not, you know, a coup to keep the Catholics out. Hell, they act like the reformation in England was motivated by theological disputes and not, you know, money and power. They think Charles i was the only one who was ever ousted, and that the line of succession is a straightforward, apolitical thing.

They think that the average British person loving and respecting the monarch is a time old thing, and not an incredibly modern phenomenon. So much of it started with Victoria, and a lot of the really widespread affection and celebrity treatment we see today is really a post-diana thing.

It's just.. monarchists to me are a force that distorts history, lessens peoples understanding of it. There's this veneer of ancient tradition with practices and ceremony that are a hundred years old or less. And the stuff that actually is an ancient tradition, they don't understand and misrepresent. And there's that old pet peeve, acting like the history of the aristocracy and the wealthy in general is the true history of the country.

Knowing the names of all the kings and queens does not mean you know or understand anything meaningful about history.

[hjellacott]

OK So I'm finishing up the spectacle that is the Harry and Meghan documentary purely out of boredom and a need to see with my own eyes that they really are this massively clueless. I won't say stupid, but come on, it's like they don't know anything. Like, I'm not even an expert, but you study history, study the UK, study the monarchy a bit, study the press and the media a bit, and BAM you can make better decisions.

So one thing that has struck me now is that apparently Prince Harry's reasoning was that if he moved out of the UK, if they worked for the royal family for free, with no taxpayer money, then it'd all be OK. The press wouldn't go after them, they wouldn't have a right to put their private lives out there, and they could lead a private life while still do the good work. And he was sincerely baffled when the Royal Family said no, which I truly am stunned about, because OF COURSE THEY SAID NO. Because Harry was, essentially, delluding himself. So let me explain why Harry's plan could NEVER work.

1- Harry is a British Prince, set to one day be the brother of the king, and he's a british citizen. Therefore, when he goes out and about, he's not just representing the sovereign and doing work in her or his name, he's representing THE COUNTRY. He's the face of the UK, people look at him and his family and based on that judge the ENTIRETY of the country they represent. When he goes and does royal duties, it's not Harry doing charitable work, Harry helping the poor, Harry meeting a country leader... IT'S THE UK THAT DOES IT.

2. Therefore, the Commonwealth citizens have every fucking right in the world to know absolutely everything of what their representatives are doing. Think about it. You don't get to choose to be born in a monarchy, you don't get to choose your royal family, so the very least you get is knowing exactly what the leaders are doing in the name of your country, even in their private lives, because their private decisions also affect the way people will perceive your country, such as when Harry decided to dress as a nazi. And when you see your royal prince goes out to basically have all of the pros without none of the cons, to basically say fuck off to your own country, and go elsewhere, how would you feel? I mean, it's as if a member of your parliament or your congress decides to permanently live in another country but still represent yours. So you have to stay and bite the dust, but he can leave because he's rich?

3. And why is he so rich? because he's inheriting money FROM THE ROYAL FAMILY, from titles, from aristocracy, from the taxpayer, from the colonisation. Or where the fuck do you think the millions that Charles, and also Diana, have at times given him, come from? The whole family shares a fortune nobody is too clear where it comes from, part of it from investments, and it dates back to the colonisation of half the world, you don't get to take it, go, and call it your private money and intend to be left alone.

4. The citizens of the UK have a right to information about anybody that wishes to act in representation of them, doesn't matter if they're paid by the taxpayer or not, because at the end of the day, they're the family, and the business, that leads the country. They are called the Duke and Duchess of SUSSEX, for god fucking sakes. The monarchy is a massive institution of the united KINGDOM. It's its essence. It's super important, of course people have the right to be informed about them, after having to stand having a monarchy imposed on them. And Prince Harry's great uncle Edward VIII abdicated and stopped doing royal duties only to then befriend Hitler, which of course you can imagine the dismay this caused in the UK, so of course the country has learned the lesson and now really wants to know what Harry, who has traditionally been quite a rebel and quite impulsive and caused a lot of fuckery in his teens, is exactly up to, and what his children are up to, anywhere and whenever.

5. Besides Prince Harry also represents the entirety of the Commonwealth Realms, as do any of his royal relatives, and since those are many territories spread out around the world it is super important for the press to publish and spread royal news. The day the royal family becomes invisible and irrelevant, the way Harry wants, even if it's just one member of it, the monarchy will begin to die.

6. Therefore, the ONLY way in the world Harry could defend a desire to never be in the press and get everyone to back him and have the press leave him alone and people not have a right any more to ask about his private life, would be to leave the monarchy, leave the country, renounce every title and privilege, no longer represent the country or the royal family, get a normal job and live an entirely private life wherever he wants.

SO UNTIL HARRY AND MEGHAN DO THAT, THEY'RE NEVER GOING TO HAVE A NORMAL LIFE AWAY FROM THE PRESS, AND I DO NOT BELIEVE THEY DON'T KNOW THIS (they're just not willing to do that and happier playing victims).

[myrthing]

This is the stupidest post I have ever seen today. The Attenborough documentary is great and I appreciate that the section about Saami people before he starts talking about the British Isles, but the rest of this post? Garbage. Complete bullshit.

There's an impressive amount of wilful ignorance in the notes of this post, all for an excuse the hate a nebulous "English" enemy. To implicate millennia's worth of people as deliberate environmental criminals to gain an upper hand in an imaginary argument.

(Can I, as a Scandinavian, also say that I find it pretty wild that the US has so many predators that it's something one would have to take in consideration while camping in some places? We do still have apex predators. I have a fear of bears that's mostly only irrational because I don't really leave my flat.)

Lawns were an invention of the aristocracy. Fox hunting: an aristocratic pass time. Heck, the purely ornamental gardens (which I love, by the way) are an aristocratic invention. But England's forests weren't cut down for the fun of it. The forests, many of them not even truly wild anymore when they disappeared, were cut down to make way for farms. The last great deforestation happened because of WWII, because England needed to become self-sustaining in food production.

You bluster about how America has been inhabited for millennia, and still has more biodiversity than England, but it's fundamentally a broken, stupid, idiotic comparison. The difference shouldn't even need to be pointed out, but apparently some of y'all are genuinely so blinded by prejudice common sense won't come near you, so: North America is VAST. England isn't even the entirety of one small heavily populated island.

Okay. I'm using unkind words here, because this kind of attitude, blaming "the English" for deforestation, habit loss, extinctions, misses the bigger picture: That there is no modern human society that can live without affecting the land it is living on. The US isn't exempt. Do you think the enormous farms of the midwest don't affect flora and fauna? Was the Dust Bowl a great environmental success, or did it destroy a vast ecological region?

And who do we blame when these things happen, when wetlands are diked, when the prairie is ploughed, when forests are burned*? Should the blame go to the people doing the diking, the ploughing, the burning? A millennia ago, should those people be blamed? They didn't understand how human intervention could harm the natural world, and we can fault them for that, but blame them? Most were doing it to survive. I am saying this is the reality in most of the world. Before the modern green revolution, agriculture as practiced in Europe required space.

*Referring to slash-and-burn agriculture, just in case anyone thinks I'm defending the burning of the Amazon rain forecast.

This is why England looks like it does today. The elk and the deer and the bears and the wolves weren't hunted to extinction for the fun of it (although I have to point out that hunting big game like deer would have been a royal privilege—this is what I mean when I say English forests weren't truly wild. They were game parks, reserved for royalty). Predators were killed because they were predators. Five hundred years ago, people weren't thinking that wolves play an important role in the ecosystem. Five hundred years ago, they were the enemy.

That's hardly unique to the past. For one, it doesn't take long to find modern day American ranch owners and/or hunters promoting the exact same idea. That wolves are dangerous competitors to human interests. In the modern day, that is no excuse, when we have science to back up the important role wolves play in nature.

I'm not going to judge paleolithic people who hunted bears, or medieval farmers who claimed land for wheat, or even the British state in the 1940s. There was a necessity driving them.

And lastly, don't be so fast to blame an entire people for what their elites have perpetrated. The English are no more maintaining a pheasant population for hunting than Americans are frakking. By all means, blame England for all the evils of the world, however ahistorical that is, if that makes you sleep better at night, but being ignorant of the history that lead us here only makes us blind to our own faults. Every country needs to work to preserve the environment.

And it would be pretty sweet if Americans on this site could get off their high horse sometimes. Just throwing that out there. I don't mind being hated for speaking the truth lmao

Actually your society is the freaks for shooting everything that moves and burning half your "nature reserves" every year so that upperclass dandies can eat leaded pheasant. North Americans are the well adjusted ones here, your country has become a desolate suburban lawn in island form

[sugashook]

thoughts on episode 2 mostly. +some other thoughts as well

(see the man standing above the two idiot whites in a cage. i think its like ed trying to figure out whats the gentleman pirate about who are you. also i think brown peter also represents a new type of piracy shaped by stede and then blackbeard. a new man.)

the indigenous tribe saying " fool me once shame on you fool me 7 times shame on us" a metaphor for how many times a stupid white man broke eds heart and how he's cautious for a reason.

hornigold,izzy,his dad,stede, calico jack. (maybe popop XD hes not white sorry popop im not sure i think ed maybe deserved to get popopped)

So the two bozos like the fake ignorant macho guy, stede who's insane, and their metaphorical hearts (shown through oluwande) got caught in a trap and brought somewhere unfamiliar and put under a trial.

And also Pete and Stede are way more dangerous seemingly in a relationship they're walking red flags. I think that's why they got the smallest cage and that's why Pete went with him cause the other guys would make fine partners.(he also needed to see if softness[shown through lucius] was going to be okay with pete who is like a mini piracy which I think he fails at cause he's easily swayed by softness that's why the pirates keep punching him.) But then they were judged by the show and deemed okay. I think Stede's and Pete's heart (is represented with oluwande) proved they're good boys.

Forwarding to Lucius( softness ) getting hurt, Pete is like 'get a grip you lived, I had a hard time without you as well. Softness survived and stayed with piracy! Don't be hung up on the past. (Obvious parallel to Ed)

Going back, AND THAT is why PIRacy came into contact with stede cause they survived the initial trial. And they split the two guys to stede and ed by aristocracy fooling piracy. Which is very symbolic i think it means many different things.(And how they both got reunited at the end, changed. the british guys :-) )

But also what's amazing is the themes of the whitest characters on the show Stede and Buttons , the swede in a way being the examples of what to do or someone to look up to. Aka flipping the classic trope of indigenous people in white made media. Where indigenous people(and other poc) were the wise, quiet, magical,mystical guides and perfect stepping stones, tools to help the white protagonist on their journey. They also love nature and are deeply in touch with it.

Buttons and Stede both love nature and show indigenous characters the magical new way of life. While Ed hates it( he hates the sea as well). And aunty immediately recognizing the magical sea witch. asfhakjfh.

Ed is the most 'flawed' by the show's standards. He can't cope with everyday life, he's deeply troubled and needs a lot of help, he hates nature and doesn't care about other people(he does but he won't try to show it cause he's afraid). LOL and he's stupid and useless. Just a regular guy! His superpower is murder. angel.

[victorian-nymph]

Dio's plan to kill George is so funny when you know anything about the British aristocracy (which I rather unfortunately do). George is clearly of the titled nobility as he is referred to as "Lord Joestar" by his servants, the police and Dio himself which means he is either a Baron, Viscount or as high as an Earl (not a Marquess or Duke, as that would mean Jonathan would be styled Lord Jonathan Joestar as a courtesy title, which he is not addressed by, also Dukes were not addressed as lord). Titles, the fortune tied to the family and in extension, the country seats (Joestar mansion) that are attached to them were usually not allowed to be transferred to adopted children, that was reserved to "heirs male of the body" meaning only legitimate sons are eligible to inherit under the details of an entailment. There were cases of heiresses to estates that didn't have this attached but considering entailments were basically the norm until the 1920s I'll assume that the Joestar mansion and fortune was limited as being willed to the next eligible heir.

Who is the eligible legitimate son? Jonathan, in the event of George's death he gets the title of Baron/Viscount/Earl Joestar, the huge fucking mansion and a bigger share of the fortune than Dio probably. So like if George did just fucking die of poison Dio's still at the mercy of his brother who's got all the power here and he bURNED HIS DOG when he was a child I wouldn't forgive that bitch. So he would have nerfed himself.

Now you may say "Astrid he planned to kill Jonathan as well" I am aware, but that doesn't mean Dio would get the money if Jonathan died because then the title, fortune and estate would then be willed to the Joestar families next eligible successor, George or Jonathan's distant relative perhaps who likely wouldn't have a wealth of sympathy for Dio and just take all the money, he has even less claim as the fact he still retains his birth last name implies he was never formally adopted by George and simply a ward who was supposed to get a section of the fortune but not much of it. So his plan is stupid, Dio should have just continued on his path to being a lawyer, those bitches made bank. Hell if he's lucky he could even get on the Kings Counsel. Idiot.

[maddie-grove]

Little Book Review: Secrets of a Summer Night

Author: Lisa Kleypas.

Publication Date: 2004.

Genre: Historical romance (Victorian).

Premise: Annabelle Peyton is pretty and genteel, but she and her family are in desperate financial straits. Ignored at social events due to her twice-turned gowns and lack of dowry, she joins forces with three of her fellow "wallflowers" (outspoken American Lillian, her fanciful younger sister Daisy, and rich but debilitatingly shy Evangeline) to improve their collective marital prospects. With luxurious borrowed gowns and devious schemes from her new friends, Annabelle's well on her way to marrying a well-heeled aristocrat...but finds herself thinking of Simon Hunt, a self-made man with little patience for society and no plans to marry.

Thoughts: I passed on Lisa Kleypas for more than ten years because I read two of her contemporary romances and didn't like them very much. Both were part of her Travis series, which focuses on a wealthy Houston family. The better of the two, Blue-Eyed Devil, sensitively portrayed the heroine's abusive marriage, but lost me after a needlessly unpleasant sex scene that prioritized the hero's sexual desires over the heroine's need to heal from her trauma. The inferior novel, Smooth Talking Stranger, has the liberal heroine embrace motherhood, reject vegetarianism, and realize that rich, vaguely conservative people aren't all greedy meanies; the idea is supposed to be that she was only a childfree vegetarian rich-people-criticizer because she was blindly following her boring boyfriend's lead, but what's she doing now? Following the lead of a capitalist who balks at giving a baby boy a stuffed bunny because it's not "masculine" enough?

Anyway, I kind of assumed all her books would be bad, despite the stellar reputation of the Wallflowers quartet. Lately, though, I've been in a romance-reading slump, so I decided I'd give something different a try. I'm glad that I did. Secrets of a Summer Night displays some of the best qualities of 2000s historical romance; it's breezy and witty, but doesn't shy away from being dark or morally complicated. I can see the shared DNA with the Travis series--the novel is a little bit horny for capitalism, in the same way that Emile Zola's The Ladies' Paradise is a little bit horny for capitalism--but it's a lot more tolerable when it's a struggle between two different kinds of rich people who disagree about whether it's rude to talk directly about money. The novel is also very much about economics, with both Annabelle and Simon engaging with society primarily as a way to improve their financial standing, before surprising themselves by acting against that interest.

I also appreciate how much Kleypas commits to the female-friendship-centered premise. Annabelle, Lillian, Daisy, and Evangeline spend a lot of time hanging out together, sometimes hatching plans, sometimes offering comfort, and sometimes having uproarious fun. Annabelle's uneasy relationship with her loving but extremely stressed mother is also well-done.

Hot Goodreads Take: A lot of people are super-mad at Annabelle for wanting to marry someone of her class, when (a) her overestimation of the aristocracy is clearly something she overcomes, (b) she believes (correctly) that she will lose most of her friends if she marries outside her class (and even marrying Simon, who has aristocratic connections despite his background, comes with a social cost that puts a temporary strain on their marriage), and (c) THAT'S WHERE THE PLOT COMES FROM. These little girls would die if they read a Laura Kinsale.

Also, this piece of stupidity: "Technically, Annabelle didn't even need a husband - just money, which she could get from a job. She had the perfect opportunity: she was friends with two filthy rich, extremely open-handed American girls, who desperately needed lessons in manners and British etiquette. She could have tutored the Bowmans for a respectable pay, thus taking care of her solvency problem and buying her more time on the marriage mart." IT'S 1843. JOBS FOR WOMEN ARE VERY BAD. THE BOWMAN SISTERS DON'T CONTROL THEIR OWN MONEY. AND HOW IS A GIG A SUBSTITUTE FOR A FINANCIALLY SOLVENT MAN WHO IS LEGALLY OBLIGATED TO SUPPORT HER FINANCIALLY FOR THE REST OF HER LIFE. MAYBE ANNABELLE SHOULD JUST SELL HER XBOX, YOU REPUBLICAN.

[josefavomjaaga]

Pierre Branda in his book about Napoleon's time on Saint Helena actually argues that the British aristocracy did handpick poor Hudson Lowe for a job that, as they knew well, had a high chance to ruin a reputation forever. But according to Branda, it was less of a personality issue, but a class one. Hudson Lowe did belong to the same conservative party (so he was unlikely to let himself be influenced by his prisoner) but not the same high aristocracy that his superiors in this matter, the ministers and leading members of parliament, belonged to. Lowe was not a member of their "club", but he wanted to be. So Liverpool and whoever else had a say in the matter pretended this was Lowe's chance, in order to get him to agree - and if he would fail, well, better him than one of us, right? - With that in mind, I'm not overly shocked at Wellington badmouthing Lowe.

That being said - I agree that there was little Hudson Lowe could have done to avoid becoming the bad guy of this story.

If I wanted to let imagination run wild... He would have needed to lie and to pretend. From the very start. Admit indirectly - not to Napoleon himself, of course - how ashamed he is to have to play the gaoler for a man such as Napoleon Bonaparte. Maybe even hint at this being some sort of punishment by some enemy in the government. He should tell Napoleon that, as much as he wants to give him all the honors due to him, he is explicitly forbidden to do so by his superiors, that, moreover, he is not a man "of the courts" and as such probably utterly unfit to deal with a monarch in any case. That he knows he will have to play shameful role in this, but that, as a soldier, it is his duty to obey, and that he hopes Napoleon, as a soldier himself, will understand this duty.

Then start to hint at another possible, selfish reason behind his deference: Hudson may very well consider it possible that, a couple of years or even a couple of months from now, with sudden events in France, with a change of government or under a new king in Britain, the former emperor of France might return to Europe. And in this case, Hudson wants to be in Napoleon's good graces as much as this is possible.

Then discuss, possibly with Bertrand or Montholon, if there isn't a way out of the dilemma. Hudson must not allow Napoleon Bonaparte to leave his enclosure unguarded. That is his duty and it cannot be helped. But he of course understands that for somebody like Napoleon Bonaparte it would be dishonourable to admit a British spy into his presence and have a watchdog follow him around on the island. At this point, suggest an incognito. For Napoleon Bonaparte it would be shameful to be adressed as anything as the emperor - except if he deigns to take on another role, as monarchs do when they want to be a bit less official. A mere colonel/count/marquis [insert-name-of-choice-here] could not only allow the company of a British soldier, he could even enjoy it. He could maybe even be invited by the governor of Saint Helena for some wine and dancing? Oh, what an honour that would be for Hudson Lowe...

In short, Hudson Lowe would have needed to worm his way into Napoleon's good graces. To make sure that Napoleon saw him as a quite stupid, pathetic and pitiful, but at least obliging guy, and then try to influence his behaviour indirectly. - I don't think this would have had a big chance for success, frankly. Napoleon was brutally intelligent and most likely would have seen right through him. But maybe, if Hudson Lowe found the right words and hit the right tone, said things that Napoleon wanted to hear...

I don't know. It's the best I could come up with.

This is a genuine question for the Napoleonic Community. I tag @josefavomjaaga in particular, because you always have good takes (tm), but also anyone else who wants to hop in ( @captainknell, @microcosme11, @empirearchives, literally anyone else. If you see this, you can speak up)

But if you were Hudson Lowe…what would you do differently?

Because I always read about how he was overly cruel and overly harsh and “stupid” (in Wellington’s terms) but… okay.

So what would you fix? We know what Hudson Lowe did. What would you do differently to sidestep the reputation?

Keep in mind you also have to not let Napoleon escape. Don’t be cheeky and say, “I charter him a boat,” no. You do have to do the job.

[espeon-master]

Eugenics is as American as Apple Pie

Eugenics is regraded as a mostly Nazi policy, but the uncomfortable truth is that it is as American as apple pie. The ideology derives from British social Darwinism, which in itself is derived from certain views of the British aristocracy.

Uniquely among the aristocrats, the British were concerned with humanity seen as “stock”, that is as livestock. When we say “they’re good American stock”, we are talking about heredity. The idea of the aristocracy was that they were “improving” or “evolving” their personal stock over the course of generations, and their superiority according to this animalistic conception gave them the right to rule. Once Calvanist theology came to the upper class, which said that a precious few people were born to go to Heaven and the majority were born to go to Hell, completely ignoring the Christian idea of choice and free will, the modern elitist view was cemented.

Whether you believe in the soul or not, the fact is that the soul was used as justification for people being treated well in Christendom. It was, oddly enough to some, the Catholic Church that ended slavery after the Roman Empire on the argument that Baptized Christians couldn’t be enslaved. Roman slavery became serfdom, which isn’t quite what we have in modernity, but did at least include essential rights and protections that slaves never could have hoped to enjoy.

 These Anglo-American elites broke away from a long tradition of viewing humanity as sacred in itself, according to the justification that Christ dwells in all men and women, though fallen and IN NEED OF SALVATION, or to put it in modern and secularized terms, “progress” or “improvement”. Instead they began to see the world as a binary division between elites who are worth being, and the majority which is wretched and incapable of salvation, based mostly on ANIMALISTIC conceptions of heredity.

Words like “moron”, “idiot”, and the like, which put people down based on their incompetence in the rationalized modern economy (i.e. “stupidity”) entered the American lexicon and popular imagination at the start of the 20th century, and America collectively began a soft form of social eugenics whereby stupid people are seen as “lesser”. In general the obsession with competence in the rationalized economy as the determinant of human value is so deeply ingrained in society these days that even people who think of themselves as “tolerant” or “progressive” will shamelessly mock people because they don’t fit into the industrial machine.

But to no group of people does this apply to than my own, that is people who are born disabled, particularly those born with a developmental disability like autism or downs syndrome. We were castrated, euthanized, imprisoned in asylums, and even experimented on based on nothing more or less than the conception of animalistic heredity as it met the industrial machine.

These attitudes continue to this day. Though the Nazis put the majority of Americans off more severe treatments like euthanasia (after all, looking into the mirror is hard for a monster), the general attitude persists. Those who fit in as animals working machines are valued, and those who don’t, whether it be because of disability, an artistic disposition, or a deep spiritual or existential life, are viciously mocked, ridiculed, excluded, and ultimately euthanized on the level of emotion and self-conception. We, the people with deepest humanity in a certain sense, are being gaslit by the majority on the basis of a view of human nature that is extraordinarily perverse, not to mention cruel.

In order to move forward, Americans needs to reexamine its beliefs around what determines human value, what life is worth living for, and whether or not this industrial machine is worth keeping up considering the steep human cost that comes with it. Or are we so wedded to material gratification that we will continue to oppress the most vulnerable in our own society, not to mention the poor population of the entire world?

[yuyupowers]

aristocrat!hongjoong

aristocrat!hoongjong x fem!reader headcanon

genre: fluff, angst

trigger warning(s): swearing, brief violence, mentions of unwanted sexual remarks. let me know if there’s anything else!

author’s note: this is the first time in years that i’ve written something omg 😅 😅 lemme know what you guys think!!  💕 💕

none of the pictures are mine!!

for reference, i’m using british peerage (hierarchy). there are five ranks: baron, viscount, earl (count), marquess, and duke - the highest being duke, and the lowest, baron.

second son of an earl

despite being born into wealth and nobility, i think he’d be pretty grounded and level-headed

has to do with the fact that he’s naturally empathetic and curious

leads to a bit of a rebellious streak

more or less acts according to his parents expectations before them

but often does things that would scandalize them behind their backs

one of his favourite things to do is to sneak out during the manor at night dressed in commoner’s clothes

(which are carefully hidden in the music room)

his older brother takes the brunt of parental and societal pressure to act a certain way, but that doesn’t mean joong is off the hook

aristocracy just has so many god-forsake rules and mannerisms that everyone has to follow

unless they want to disgrace their entire family and lineage

yeaaah,,,

the only places he genuinely feels free are: a) in the music room, and b) exploring the city with you

during the third or fourth time he snuck out, he visited a local tavern.

cue you working as a tavern maiden

after serving him one (1) drink, you could tell that joong wasn’t actually a “commoner”

his clothes might have been worn and cheaply made, but his mannerisms,,,just didn’t match up

he was a little too polite; held himself a little too well

not to mention the hungry gleam of curiosity in his eyes

like everything was new and he was trying to absorb as much as he could

unfortunately for him, you weren’t the only one that noticed

after one too many drinks, some brutish fellows swaggered up to him

“‘ey there pal, ya werldn’t mind ‘anding sum coins over, would ya? ‘elp a brotha out”

joong, who had become a little too brazen thanks to the alcohol, told them to fuck off and stumbled to his feet, ready for a fight

except he couldn’t stand straight

and he didn’t have his sword

not good

luckily for joong, these fellows had been pestering you for the longest time

they were unusually rowdy and loud - which was saying something cause this was a tavern for fuck’s sake

and they constantly threw lewd remarks your way

but they didn’t actually do anything or break any of the tavern’s rules, so you had to serve their drinks with your best forced smile

they didn’t even tip well

assholes

anyways, back to the situation at hand

seeing a fight about to break out - which most definitely was against the rules - you hollered for the owner

“OI, A FIGHT���S ‘BOUT TO BREAK OUT!”

cue an angry-looking, burly man (with quite the ginger beard) and a very angry bar maiden (yes, you) tossing their sorry asses out the back door

joong, who by now had stumbled back into his seat, watched the scene with his mouth agape

to be frank, he’d never seen a woman act the way you did

all the women in his life were meek and docile

like a china doll that would break with one wrong move

they needed to be shielded, protected

clearly, you didn’t need protection

not when you hauled a man twice your size out the door, getting a good sucker punch for all the times they talked about your tits and ass

Right. In. Front. Of. Your. Face.

from that day on, joong became a regular at the tavern

he was careful not to drink as much as he did on the first time, at most getting tipsy

always polite and respectful

a bit on the quieter side, but made pleasant small talk whenever you took his order or served him his drinks

several months passed like this, and you’d become quite fond of him.

definitely helped that he was easy on the eyes

then one night, when he felt a little braver than usual, he invited you on a midnight adventure after your shift

you were pretty tired ngl, but you couldn’t turn him down after seeing the hopeful glimmer in his eyes

and boy, were you glad you didn’t

you don’t think you’ve ever felt so carefree in your life

or had so much fun

racing across bridges, exploring the hidden nooks and crannies of the city

much to your chagrin, joong would buy you (expensive) snacks that you just had to try because “he wasn’t gonna let his favourite girl miss out”

you ignored the fluttery feeling in your tummy

quickly, these “midnight adventures” became a frequent thing

he’d have a drink at the tavern, wait for you to finish your shift, and then the two of you would set off

you learned a lot about joong

of course he would have his spoiled rich boy™ moments-

“what do you MEAN you’ve never tried cane sugar?!” 

“joong, not everyone gets it imported to their house”

but he genuinely just has such a good heart

always listens when you need to rant or vent

(and offers surprisingly practical advice)

never once thought of you as lesser than him for being poor or a commoner

quickly learned that you felt uncomfortable when (in your eyes) he spent too much money on you, so he made sure to be more conscientious

(also gave him a reality check. it forced him to acknowledge the things he didn’t even realize he took for granted)

tells you about all the dumb gossip he hears through the noble grapevine

“who CARES if the color of the fabric is slightly off?! i swear park has a rod up his ass-”

especially loves to tell you about the music he’s composed

even if he gets a little shy at times

cute

he just looks so happy when he talks about music. the way his gums would show when he smiles, the crinkles in the corners of his eyes, the way he’d grab a stick and draw different musical notations in the dirt to show you what he meant

happiness looked good on hongjoong

he even went as far to sneak you into his music room, playing the songs he wrote

and god did he look beautiful

the way the moonlight pooled on his fingers and spilled onto the bone-white piano keys

the way he looked so at ease

the way the music breathed, lived,  jumping off the scraggly parchment paper to dance under starlight

(you think that’s the moment you started falling for him)

fast forward and the two of you have been friends for a few years now

you know everything about him, and he knows everything about you

unfortunately, the older he gets, the more responsibilities his parents hand him

meaning he can’t sneak out as often as he’d like

but he still makes sure to see you at least once a week

on one particular night, you notice that hongjoong’s been especially quiet

been particularly insistent on treating you to your favourite snacks

you mention this to him, but he brushes it off by saying he feels bad for not being able to be there for you as much as he’d like

hongjoong was a good liar (even if he didn’t like it), but you knew that he wasn’t telling you the truth

not the whole truth, at least

but you didn’t press it; he’d tell in his own time

so the two of you raced across bridges, laughter bouncing off the walled shops

exploring every nook and cranny of the city even if the two of you knew it like the back of your hands

and eventually, the two of you would lay in your favourite field on the outskirts of the city, staring at the stars in peaceful silence

well, peaceful for you

joong felt hollow

or maybe like someone filled his stomach and chest with stones

hongjoong wasn’t an idiot; he knew you liked him

and he knew he was in love with you

you and your calloused hands

your dress permanently stained with ale

your knot of hair messily pulled back to keep it out of your face as you worked

your boisterous laugh

your bright eyes and smile

how you weren’t afraid to call him out on his rich boy shit™

the way you’d take off your shoes and dance in the field under the night sky

how you were a strong willed and free-spirited woman, but you let him take care of you from time to time

the way his eyes would linger on you when he thought you weren’t looking

the way your eyes would linger on him when you thought he wasn’t looking

“accidental” brushes of the arm, of hands

no, he wasn’t stupid

so how was he supposed to tell you he was getting married?

[heir-less]

What is the tea on Vogue?? Can’t say I’m surprised tho😪

She said that "terrorists" (READ: Muslims) should be placed in an internment camp following the London Bridge stabbing. She stated:

I know it didn't work with the internment of IRA members in Northern Ireland when 2000 alleged paramilitaries were held without trial in makeshift camps [. . .] But in today's case the terrorists cannot be negotiated with.  They want to ruin the western world and they will stop at nothing to do this, so we need to have the same approach with them.

And then this stupid bitch cried about how the harsh reaction she got "didn’t promote debate" GIRL, you just called for the forced imprisonment of an ethnic minority "threathening the West", what is there to debate? She's a literal white supremacist and here is an amazing article ripping her apart. And yet people act surprised at the idea of the British aristocracy being racist.

[celticcrossanon]

I’m so sorry for the rant. I just needed to clear my head and got compelled to do it in your inbox. 🙇🏾‍♀️

Not a question just some thoughts. Sorry I’m spamming you so much. I just read your latest reading about the wanna be“tour” and all I can do is SMH. I think to some extent we saw this coming but they are dialing it up and expanding. Conscious humans would’ve called it quits by now. The Remembrance Day pap walk, Going to elementary schools, “donations”, writing letters like they are world leaders, etc. On one hand I can’t see this becoming much of a “thing”. I don’t think MM and Jarry will go on doing this for long unless they can get some Hollywood to pay attention and acknowledge them. I think another reason with the more public European Royals work so well in their media is because their countries are relatively small, like California and Texas are on the large side in comparison, am I right? So much can happen on one side of the country that I only hear of thanks to friends back in California. I can’t see these two visiting any farm in Montana as “royals” if ever. They got a Clinton and Perhaps more big names and “engagement” is to come (oh god 🤦🏾‍♀️) I’m sure they and the sugars are just loving it but it all looks, sounds and feels so incrediblly STUPID & ABSOLUTELY VAPID AND INSULTING. etc etc. I cannot stand entitled people and the fact that these two cut off, trashed, and demand from their own families for a fleeting moment in the spotlight is unfathomable. That’s a testimony to how strong narcissistic delusions can be. It must be the best high I could ever ask for. 🖤Im new to “Royal Watching” if you can call what I do ‘that’, so I don’t really care about all the other indiscretions. I don’t trust the media and I think it’s just the BRF turn in the hot sun to catch hell. See Andrew, see the Clintons and all the others. Whatever drama is going on with Charles, see the rest of big business. I’m a narcissistic abuse survivor and I still study on the disorder. Now here I am watching these two who make my skin craw, this train needs to SPEED UP . I think I’m just looking for a bit of JUSTICE in the world right now. Between this administration, COVID, my job and all my other drama (I’m sure we all have some, if not BLESS YOU and pass it on 🥺) I’m flabbergasted and a little sick in my stomach at watching yet another set of people be able to walk through life seemingly so unbothered. It’s like the world is closing in and I’m suffocating. 🖤Like, your telling me that just because he was born a Prince and she married him and found a way to have children they get to get away with all of this?. The entitlement, the lies, the forced Wokery, using heavy and important subjects like mental health and racism for a PR boost all just to get a⭐️ on the Hollywood walk of Fame? For a couple of royals they sure know how to dump cold water on ya, they are the epitome of LIFE ISNT FAIR. And I’m sure that all depends on perspective, for example; their sugars who must be going diabetic RN. THEY think they have suffered as well. Look at the Cambridge’s who have not put a foot out of place yet have to deal with these tantrums from all over their family. All families have drama and I can see how the Harkles and the rest could be a payback of the Firm and family as a whole. The Queen covered so much and never really saw that Henry and Andrew and god knows who else were set straight. Look what having so much privilege can do. But is there a limit, anywhere?🖤

🖤Anyways, another thought I had was, this could be the end for any thought of reunion. This Narcissist has worked her magic and this clueless tone deaf fool has really gone and done it. I was driving and I thought of Prince William and the entire remaining Windsors & Mountbatten Windsor’s and the whole Aristocracy cutting the Harkles off entirely because the BRF called a wrap (or had to) and the UK became a Republic after Her Majesty. MM get the privlage in her narcissistic head that she’s the last ever to become a Duchess, Cathrine wouldn’t become the Princess of Wales and it all came down in part because of her and Henry’s actions. Yes Andrew and whoever else aren’t helping but these two made it exceptionally difficult. I think they would take pride in that especially publicly but only when they are praised for it. I think the Cambridge’s would have an easier time with moving on with their family, free to live as they please with no pressure to serve the public. Cathrine can be “lazy”, sleep in, & raise her kids and Wills is free to🖕 the paps who would surely still follow them. A La “where are they now”. The two that would have it the worse are the Harkles as they last bit of what they had to separate them from the rest of Hollywood is gone, no more Royal sheen but they don’t have much now. It would be stupid to use the titles after an abolished monarchy but they’d do it and expose themselves further.🖤 If you made it this far, one last thing. I got cut off while driving. That’s not unusual in this Miami traffic and usually i ignore it but with my mental state I couldn’t help but to compare. it was a packed road and I just really wanted to know where the heck the fire was. Why did this person need to rush so much on a busy road that no one else mattered even though we all have somewhere to go? That’s how I feel about the Harkles. What’s the point, where are they going? They went to New England for Christ sake to play faux royalty, in more trashy outfits might I add. 🤦🏾‍♀️

I guess I do have a question, DOES THE WORLD REALLY BELONG TO THOSE WHO JUST Get UP AND TAKE IT?

Thanks for humoring me and providing this space. ✌🏾

Note: My apologies for this very long post, everyone. I can't put a page break in and the writer needs to let it all out. I am sure a lot of you will be feeling somewhat similar to them.

Reply under the cut, so this is not any longer

Hi april14vc,

You are welcome to rant here.

It sounds like you have a lot going on at the moment and it is all becoming a bit much to handle, as there is no relief anywhere. Is there something fun and relaxing that you can do for you sometime today, just to have a break from it all? I feel like you need to tune out for a bit and do something that is just for you.

I am so sorry that you suffered from narcissistic abuse, and so glad that you survived this. I think the Harkle shenanigans must hurt you in a more personal way than those of us who have never suffered under a narcissist. It is very hard to watch the Harkles seemingly get away with all their entitled abuse without any form of justice coming for them.

I think the Harkles are suffering. They usually are unable to get any sort of attention from the media unless they pay for it, and even then they don't trend - it is a 'blink and you miss it' situation. Look at what happened with Meghan's 40 for 40 program - it was dead in the water before the day was over, and she spent a fortune on PR for that. Compare that to the natural (not paid for) hype that surrounds anything that the BRF does, especially the Cambridges or HMTQ. That hype and attention is what Meghan wants, and she is not getting it.

What the Harkles are getting, and what they hate, is mockery. Look at the response to their Times 100 cover. Look at the comments on this pseudo-royal tour. They are a walking joke, and no narcissist would like that. They tried to cull all negative press while they were members of the BRF, were unsuccessful in stemming all of it, and now have no clout at all to stop any negative media attention. The Harkles may live in a delusion of success, but to the vast majority of people they are no more than very risible z-list celebrities.

The Harkles also have serious money troubles. They may be ignoring them, but those debts will have to be paid, one way or another.

What we are seeing now is the slow slide of the Harkles into obscurity, and their desperate attempts to reverse the process, which never work. They are no more popular and wanted now than they were at the time of Megxit, and in fact their popularity has declined since those days. They may look like they are winning, but it is all an illusion, caused by the amounts of money they are prepared to pay to give the illusion of wealth and star-quality celebrity. The paid for events happen, and then nothing. The paid for PR happens, and then nothing. Their slide downwards continues, and nothing that they do is reversing it.

Yes, at the moment they are on a high and beaming put of every report on their activities. Wait a week and then see where they are. This is like the Oprah interview all over again.

My next reading is going to be on the consequences of this pseudo-royal tour for the Harkles, so maybe there will be some justice for you there.

Edited to add: As for taking down the monarchy, I can't see that happening. For starters, the British government would have to put the matter to the people for a vote, and even if they are insane enough to do that, I can't see the British public voting to remove a beloved Queen because of the antics of two people who are despised that that country. The logistics of replacing the monarchy are also staggering - you have to rework the entire government of not just Great Britain, but of all the commonwealth realms who have HMTQ as Head of State, and that is not an easy task or a light undertaking. In addition, those Commonwealth Realms can keep HM as their head of state even if she is ejected by the British people (which would never happen, but I am stretching the bounds of probability here). After HMTQ comes Charles, who will have a short reign simply because of his age and health, and then William will be king, and he is also loved by the British public. I just can not see all that thrown away for the Harkles, who are rightly hated by the British public.