#but I had to include the ireland visit of course

[princessanneftw]

The Princess of Wales June 2024 Photo Challenge

Day 18 - Favourite photo(s) of Catherine in 2019 or 2020

[look-at-the-soul]

Vows Renewal

Cillian Murphy x Mexican reader (blurb)

Request by anon; thank you for sending in this lovely idea! I already had a similar idea with a reader from Brazil so I wanted to make this completely different 🤭 Que lo disfrutes! Enjoy

Translation in English will be in italics 😉

Cillian felt like his face had been hurting from smiling so much.

It was a beautiful evening by the beach with his wife by his side and their loved ones.

Skin sun kissed, the smell of the sea, the crash of the waves softly as if it was the music background, happiness to the max. What could he possibly ask for? If he already had it all…

His closest family members and friends traveled all the way from Ireland to one of the most beautiful places in the world, there was no other place with a sight like this Mexican beach. They chose that place to celebrate their vows renewal because it had a special spot in their hearts as it was the very same place where they celebrated a second wedding -to give the family the chance, they made two small weddings back then both in Ireland and Mexico over ten years ago- and now they just needed another excuse to go back.

It had been an incredible ceremony, they exchanged their rings and vows both in English and Spanish in a private resort, after posing for photos and taking a moment to welcome everyone they had the most delicious dinner and dessert. His kids sitting at each side of them at the table, everyone thought having a Mexican buffet was the greatest idea ever, as they requested all kinds of traditional dishes to be served as well as another table for sweets and spicy desserts that included from glazed churros to grilled corn with different toppings. Drinks flowing in every direction, everyone wearing a contagious smile.

He decided to take it slow with the tequila that night, there would be plenty opportunities to get drunk but he got to celebrate ten years of marriage once.

Spotting the beautiful bride among the people around her, he smiled pleased. Her dress had loads of embroidered flowers made by Mexican artisans.

“Señora [Mrs.] Murphy?” He chuckled at her surprise. “May I have a word with the bride?”

“Mum! Can I’ve some cake?” Azul their daughter asked, interrupting the two of them.

Y/N raised an eyebrow towards the girl. She knew her father would say yes, her eyes sparkled and lighted even more the blue/green tones in her eyes.

“Puedo comer otra rebanada de pastel?” She asked in Spanish this time around.

“Una pequeña, corazón.” [A small piece, sweetheart.] Y/N replied.

“Yo también quiero!” [I want some too] Whined Oisin.

“Está bien.” [Alright] She agreed feeling a pair of arms wrapping around her waist from behind.

“Quiero postre también.” [I want dessert too.] Cillian whispered against her ear, giving her goosebumps all over her skin.

“Esta noche.” [Tonight] She promised turning around in his arms, she wouldn’t mind getting lost in his eyes.

Leaning down for a short kiss, he could feel himself getting lost in that smile that made him go back in time to the first moment he saw her.

“What?”

Cillian shook his head. “Visiting some memories.”

“Oh… may I know about what?”

“From the day we met,” her eyes danced towards his lips, and up again taking in the way the sunset reflected beautifully in his eyes.

Planting both hands on his shoulders, she rose to her tiptoes to find his lips, as her heart swelled with love and pride to remember also, of that day they met in that film festival in France. She had been chatting to a director and he suddenly bumped into her back distracted, after an apology and making sure she was alright, he smiled, after that moment, they spent the rest of the night together and from then on they never spent another night apart.

Well, except when he was filming.

“You want to know a secret?” His arm sneaked around her backless dress. “Señora Murphy.” [Mrs. Murphy.]

“Of course.” She beamed, brushing away the fringe from his forehead.

“I didn’t bump into you accidentally… I wanted to, no, I needed to meet you.”

Just as Y/N was about to reply something when suddenly the mariachi interrupted the party and started signing, the group received them with a chorus of chants and clapping. Bringing more happiness than they already felt.

***

Master list

Blurbs

A/N: I hope you like this! The girl’s name Azul means blue (color) in English but it’s a popular name around 💙 thank you for reading I loved writing this piece!! 🇲🇽♥️

Tag list: @lyarr24 @cillmequick @datewithgianni @cloudofdisney @gretelshelby @gypsy-girl-08 @lespendy @onlydeadcells @fastfan @stevie75 @prettylittlehoneyeyesxoxo @esposadomd @forbidden-forest-witch @ange-thoughts @moral-terpitude @moral-terpitude @elenavampire21 @forgottenpeakywriter @thenattitude @winchestergirl22 @elk96 @heidimoreton @imichelle-l-rigby @allie131313 @already-broken144 @peakyscillian @babaohhhriley @mrkdvidal1989 @shelbydelrey @shaddixlife @sloanexx @sydneyyyya @adaydreamaway08 @pono-pura-vida @thomashelbyswife @darleneslane @lauren-raines-x @everythingelseisextra @kmc1989 @rangerelik @lovemissyhoneybee @ironpen @kittycatcait219 @shelundeadxxxx @kathrinemelissa @autumns-apple @lau219

[iplaywithstring]

There's a line of people on my father's side of the family who have been interested in family history and lineage. My daughter and I have taken up the torch and do a lot of looking into things when we can.

We know that sometime before 1826, William moved from Ireland to New Brunswick, because 1826 is the year he married a local girl. There's record of him asking for land to farm. At his death, his wife decided to split the farm between sons - this was a bad idea for lots of reasons, mostly farms need to be of a certain size to be useful. So one of his sons (also William) sold his bit to another, and bought a farm not far away for himself and his wife. His wife then said "I will not sleep one night in Sheffield" and so that farm was sold and a different one was bought.

This happened around 1875, and the family line lived on that farm until it was taken by the government in order to make a military base in 1952. The settlement was small, but big enough for a post office. My grandfather grew up there. When his father died, his mother and brothers kept the farm going. No electricity, some farms had cars, but not theirs. It was a very small, closed community. When they lost the farm, my great grandmother and some of her adult children moved into a house together. Most of them died in that house. My great uncle (by marriage - but his family grew were from the same settlement) still lives there. As far as I know, some of the items from the farm (including tackle for the horses) are still there.

They were a very close family - even though my grandfather moved out, married, and had kids, my dad tells stories of frequent family gatherings and the influence that his grandmother, aunts and uncles had in his life. I only knew two people who had lived there, but I also remember many family dinners and the rules when you visited.

What I'm saying, is that because of circumstances, location, and family quirks, a lot of culture and tradition was passed down.

That side of the family has a strong story telling culture - we talk not to convey information, but to share feeling. Even if everyone acknowledges they've heard the story before, we want to hear it again, because we want to share the feelings it evokes together.

While you'd expect people of a certain generation to have a patriarchal setup, family stories are clear that it was the wives/mothers who ruled, and sons deferred to their mothers even when/if they married (most of the sons did not marry or have children). This also meant a lot of strong, independent daughters who were seen as just as capable as their brothers.

There was also a strong sense of community responsibility, but this is harder to explain/quantify. My grandfather was a right bastard, but he had the tools to help a neighbour and he would. Or he wouldn't and no one else in the family would either. There's a piece of land on an island that is underwater half the year. My dad has the deed right now, but it will likely end up going to one of my children. They have been advised there is a list of families they are never to sell it to.

My daughter took a rural history course this year, and it's been interesting talking to her about it. She's noted a lot of the things that have come up are things she's seen/heard in our family history. Even though I was raised in the city (and she was raised in a bigger one), she still feels a connection to our history, and that makes me happy.

[writ-in-violant]

Detective Kearney goes by a few names. With his complexion, almost nobody believes Blake was the first name he used, but he never answers questions as to what is nobody else's business. The Acrimonious Agent is the term most use -- agent for whom, of course, is the question. The answer, on days when he answers that, is "London, once. Revenge, now." The last name people call him is the Widower-In-All-But-Law. He has been in the Neath for over a year, but never has he strayed from dressing in half-mourning. And in Veilgarden, despite his buttons all being grey, some gossip of seeing a golden wedding band on a chain around his neck. The cats of Spite whisper of documents falsified and dresses bought for a wedding that never happened, of a kind physician lying beneath the ground and his murderer vanishing to the Neath. Nobody asks him questions about it directly. It seems...cruel.

A second entry for the @neathyfashioncoalition -- Blake Kearney, the Acrimonious Agent, dressed in a rather simple day-suit, suitable for any job that likely won't end in him covered in blood. It's a rare occasion that will risk him ruining his mourning-clothes with blood.

This is my most up-to-date Blake image; it's also the first one to include his new eye (he lost one during Horticulture Hell, and used Estival tokens to replace it with a Fourth-City eyeball, which messes with his depth perception but sharpens his already-extant eye for politics). One day I'll figure out how to make slicked-back hair look right, so, expect to get more Blake images as I figure that out.

I'm not sure I've said Blake's backstory directly before so that's below the cut.

Blake was a child adopted by a British spy in the Shanghai International Settlement; he's unsure of his original parentage, only knowing he was on the street for a while, and does see the agent who adopted him as his father despite being treated as somewhere in between an adopted child and a tool of the spy trade.

He trained to take on his father's trade, which was broadly bad (don't raise your kids to be tools of an empire) but had the slight benefit of giving him the resources and training as a transgender man to pass in a world, above-ground, that would not understand him. During the course of a mission he ended up wounded in a small town in Ireland; while most weren't willing to treat a strange foreign-seeming man on the verge of death, the doctor's apprentice -- Liam O'Connell -- stepped in and took care of him. Blake fell in love instantly ("Blake Kearney" is also the fake name he gave Liam that day; he just decided to keep using it forever).

Blake would visit Liam between missions and even was planning to give up the trade he'd been raised in, retiring from the service and finding a way to set up a life with Liam...but after they were engaged but before they were married, with Blake off on what was to be his last mission, Liam was murdered. Blake came back to Liam's distraught sister, a town that had lost its newly-minted doctor, and a mystery pointing below-ground. Furious and heartbroken, Blake cashed in every favor he had ever earned to get himself into the Neath, determined to find whoever did this and make them pay.

[dontforgetoctober3rd]

One Day (A Gilded Age fanfic)

Summary: Bertha's mother, Phoebe, talks with her sister Emma about her goals in life before she marries Bertha's father. Emma tells her she aims too high but Phoebe disagrees.

Author's Note: Since we currently don't know the name of Bertha's mother, I've gone with the name of Alva Vanderbilt's real life mother, since Alva is who Bertha is inspired by. The title is that song from POTC At World's End (I Just thought it was really pretty, perhaps imagine it playing as Phoebe sails away from Ireland).

Face claims: Phoebe will be played by Saoirse Ronan as shown in Little Women. Emma will be played by Florence Pugh as Amy.

---------------------------------

Phoebe had had enough of Emma's meddling, asking her all sorts of questions about her choice to marry Murray O'Brien.

Murray had a different mindset than the rest of the men in Kerry. He was ambitious. He wanted more for himself and for his future family. A better life, which Phoebe intended to be part of.

Emma did not see it as such.

"He has a good life here, Phoebe!" Emma chided. "His family owns their potato farm! Which is more than almost anyone else in this country who isn't nobility can say. Our own family included, mind you."

Phoebe scoffed. "Oh my, he owns it?" She said, with a swat at her sister as they walked the field. "A farm that hardly breaks even? How lucky."

"You needn't sound so ungrateful." Emma grumbled.

"Going to America for a better opportunity is ungrateful...how, exactly?"

"The farm here is a great opportunity!" Emma insisted. "If we all pitch in, certainly we can-"

"I don't want to dig potatoes forever." Phoebe retorted. "Why do you not see my going with him to the states as a good thing? In America, people can move up. Not stay stuck in the same position some rich boy's father keeps them leg-shackled in."

"Good fortune is not a guarantee. Not anywhere." Emma pleaded. "You move to America, you will still both be the same people you were here in Kerry: potato farmers slightly better off than most. You think the rich folk in America are any different than the ones here?"

"Why are you talking to me as if I'm stupid? I know we might have difficulties." Phoebe frowned.

"Might? Might???" Emma said, her words now taking on the tone of a lecture. "'Might' is being generous. You are sure to have problems starting anew in a completely different continent."

Phoebe rolled her eyes. "Murray has family there. An uncle who works in the railroads. I can get work as a governess or even a head housekeeper, if I must."

"What of your future children? What about them?" Emma continued. "What if you have only daughters, with no sons to help supplement the family income?"

"I have dreams for every one of my future children. They will never live as Murray and I do." Phoebe said, with an air of finality. "My daughters won't ever have to worry about work. They'll marry well and run opulent, grand houses. Better, even, than what our landlords have, I promise you."

Emma eyed her sister. She had always suspected that Phoebe didn't belong in Kerry, as a mere potato farmer's daughter. Now she had confirmation.

"Will they, now?" Emma said with a chuckle, giving in to her sister's optimistic (if slightly snobby) attitude about leaving. "I should like to visit those grand houses one day."

Phoebe lit up with joy. "Of course you will! And you will dance at all the magnificent balls we shall throw! We shall take you to the opera with us as well. In our very own box, of course-"

Emma latched on to her sister's arm, as they walked towards their house and Phoebe continued to speak of her vision for the future.

THE END

[georges-chambers]

for the ask game: 10, 11, 12, 14, 23, 24, 28, 29, 30 :)

Thank you so much for all of these, they'll likely be extremely fun and I'm very glad you wanted to know <333

10. "What's something you're excited for?"

Getting to spend more time working on different birth chart analysis' for different people (including you specifically of course) some time today. And getting to wear the new cap my father just sort of discovered he had (was originally gifted from my mom in Ireland to her father, worn by him for a while before he gave it to my brother who then gave it to my father, but it didn't fit him, but Does fit me), it very much goes with my 'not beating the Victorian workhouse ghost' fit.

11. "What's your ideal date?"

Depends what our similar interests are or if we have any, because if so, probably something involving that, but in general. Well again it'd depend on surrounding circumstances, but quite probably going to different places around the coast near me somewhere, probably including nice museums we could visit.

12. "How are you?"

In longterm life things, I think I'm doing very well. In terms of immediate, short-term things. I am. Trying👍 (to Not be very irritated and do rather impulsive things about it.)

14. "Favorite feel-good show?"

This one's a bit hard because there aren't that many TV shows I just rewatch recreationally but I think there are like. 3 different ones of 3 different kinds: The Terror because it's always something I can distract myself with and love rewatching, Magicka Madoka as almost more of a vent thing to feel more towards than anything else (the Terror can also do that), and Aerial America/Antiques Roadshow because both feel like I'm slightly sedated even if I'm not and just being explained oddly specific or completely non-specific, extremely general things very calmly. Like they can be easily hypnotic to me.

23. "Favorite piece of clothing?"

Green wool jacket I'm Currently Wearing <333 it's thickly packed sort of wool but in a way that's very flexible and insulating, the 2 main pockets feel Infinite, the buttons are Probably plastic but look and feel wooden and are Also large and very sturdy. It has lasted so many years and will probably continue to. It is also part of the Victorian workhouse ghost fit. I'm always very glad when it gets slightly cooler so I can wear it again.

24. "What's something you do to de-stress?"

I usually just try to put energy into something else which sometimes works but sometimes does not, but I do have friends i know I can always complain about practically anything to.

28. "Hugs or hand-holding?"

Usually hand-holding, possibly/occasionally hugs.

29. "Morning, afternoon, or night?"

Afternoon <333 I have the most energy and the light is usually most beautiful or useful.

30. "What reminds you of home?"

The sea, little wooden humanoid figure toys, certain kinds of buildings. I'm not that good at describing it. Also of course certain kinds of small houses in the forest. And of course Rocks.

[confetti-cat]

Hi hi! I've never played an ask game before; is there a limit to the number of asks you can send? I'd like to know these: 10, 15, 16, 20, 21. Thank you!

Hello and welcome! I'm honored to be a part of your first ask game! Nope, I've never heard that there's a limit—Tumblr etiquette would suggest that anywhere from 1-6 is a good range so the post doesn't get too long, but that's totally up to the asker. Thanks for sending! 💖

10. name a song with impeccable vibes.

I already used My Love Has Gone Across the Sea for my recommended instrumental track, but I love it a lot and will use it here too. It has some awesome fantasy/"love creates joy amidst sadness" vibes that I think are really cool. Another one—that I'm thinking of after answering the last set of asks—that has absolutely fantastic vibes is the Mithril Disco Phial music from LEGO Lord of the Rings. It's the music that plays when you use the mithril disco phial, the best video game item ever created. It makes everyone around your character dance so hard they can't attack you. 10/10, super great.

15. tell me about a childhood memory you’ll never forget.

When I was younger, my family traveled to Central America and was considering moving there. (We didn't end up doing so, but it was a very cool experience!) While we were there, we visited a small zoo. The regulations for having a zoo there seemed less stringent than they are here in the US—i.e., most of the animals were just in enclosures with one layer of regular wire fence. I saw a tapir browsing for leaves near the front of its pen, so I walked over, crouched down, and held out my hand to see if it would sniff it through the fence. It actually walked up to me, put its huge tapir elephant nose through the fence, and licked my hand a few times. I thought that was so cool.

16. what is the first “big kid book” aka chapter book, that you remember reading after learning how to read?

Answered previously! Another early one I remember was the Henry and Mudge books, about a boy and his mastiff. There was one about "a happy cat that was always purring, whose fur looked like mashed prunes" that stuck with me for how striking that imagery was. 😂

20. if you had to pick a country to live in outside of your own, which would it be?

I've always thought it would be super cool to live in Iceland or New Zealand—they're both beautiful places in environments I haven't experienced before. Pros of Iceland include: volcanoes, glaciers, and the possibility of riding an Icelandic horse at a tölt (a special gait) - pros of New Zealand includes general beautiful farmland, being slightly less rugged, and, of course, Hobbiton! (And at least two mutuals! As opposed to Iceland, which I don't think I know anyone from.) Also up there are Ireland or Israel. Travel has never been something I felt drawn to do much, but I'd like to visit those places at least for a while!

21. tell me about your pet(s)! (if you have one of course. can also be a past pet, or family pet.)

I have two sweet, fluffy Ragdoll cats, many assorted chickens, and a few dairy cows! I've always loved animals and enjoy living on a farm.

[dailyanarchistposts]

The experience of May Day brings up us back to some of the perennial questions thrown up by counter-summits protests: how do we broaden our movement and what role do direct action and confrontational tactics have in that process. These are, of course, the issues that have been mainstay of Red and Black Revolution debates over the past few years but have been usually viewed through the prism of events outside of Ireland. The following article is a personal account of the Dublin Grassroots Network’s approach to such issues in relation to May Day and goes on to argue for increased tactical flexibility from anarchists within the anti-capitalist movement.

DGN and direct action

The two defining, and in Irish politics novel, characteristics of the various Grassroots groups -including DGN — has been the advocacy of non-hierarchical organisation and an insistence on the importance of direct action in protest. This emphasis on direct action has undoubtedly helped libertarians carve out a political space for itself. However, it is clear from May Day and other events that Grassroots groups have planned over the past three years that we are primarily focused on spreading libertarian ideas and regard direct action as only one, albeit vital, element of libertarian struggle. This approach has meant that at least as much time and effort has been spent on making persuasive arguments and distributing leaflets as planning actions.

Furthermore, many of those actions could be characterised as “fluffy”, “moderate” or even simply symbolic. Some of the visiting protestors thought that we should have been much more confrontational. I would argue though, that our approach was principled but pragmatic and that we had to take local sensibility and political experience into account. I think this is why May Day was a relative success. What is important is that we communicated our ideas to a fairly large amount of people and we did so without compromising ourselves. This doesn’t mean I think we did everything perfectly or that the same approach would yield the same results in the future but simply that at that particular time in Ireland these were sensible choices.

To discuss this properly I shall first clarify what sort events DGN envisaged when planning the protests and what level of confrontation we imagined this would entail. The overall strategy and the main aim of the organisers of the No Borders weekend was to plan events that could potentially involve large numbers of people (including any acts of civil disobedience). As street confrontations are, more often than not, determined by the cops it was difficult to know in advance how all this would pan out but the actions were devised to minimise the possibility of arrests and to avoid physical confrontation without giving away our right to protest.

So generally, over the May Day weekend DGN chose to defy rather than confront — more akin to a pink/silver bloc approach than black bloc tactics — and The Critical Mass, the No Borders picnic, the RTS, the Top Oil Action and the Bring the Noise march, and the mass direct action at Fitzwilliam Square are all examples of this. Many of these actions had some element that could have been deemed illegal but the hands-off policing policy employed for most of the weekend meant that this never became an issue.

Early on in the planning process disruption tactics such as blockades were also mooted as was the possibility of direct action at the banquet centre itself but nobody within DGN advocated targeting property or employing militant tactics against the police. Most activists, anarchist and non-anarchist alike, thought that widespread property damage or attacking the cops would be counterproductive and inappropriate in an Irish context. At the same time DGN consistently reaffirmed our support for a “diversity of tactics” in resisting neo-liberalism both at home and abroad. DGN organisers were conscious of how at anti-capitalist events elsewhere divisions and splits had emerged between various alternative globalisation factions over the issue of militant tactics and because of this strived to avoid the terms violent or non-violent to describe the planned protests.

[the12thnightproject]

The Brotherhood of the Travelling Warlords

Thank you everyone who helped send me armchair travelling around the world (and in some cases, into the past as well). It was a lot of fun to research these places and try to figure out what our warlords would want to check out while they were visiting.

Event summary...

Fifteen postcards written, as requested by fourteen people.

Warlords on the move: Mitsuhide (4), Nobunaga (2), Shingen (2), and Masamune (2) win the frequent flier honors, but Sasuke, Yukimura, Keiji, Mitsunari, and Kennyo also got to do some sightseeing as well.

Of all the places requested, I had been to three: Times Square, Washington DC, and Dublin Ireland. I've been to Chicago before, but not during the 1896 World's Fair.

Warlord who gave me travel-envy. I've always wanted to go to Hawaii, New Orleans and Prague, so I would have stowed away in Mitsuhide's suitcase without question.

Places I learned about that I now want to visit: Vigan City and Hoi An Ancient Town.

Place that was a nope... well, we sent Sasuke to an active volcano...

Request that gave me the most difficulty. Rome in 2020, only because I had to do some research to figure out what the COVID restrictions were at that time.

Favorite finished postcard design. I really liked the way Paris France, 1900 turned out. The artwork and graphic design of the era is so very much in my aesthetic sweet spot.

Easter eggs... all of Mitsuhide's postcards have a faint hidden graphic underneath the text of the postcard.

Favorite postcard text - I think I might go with Mitsunari on this one. I figured of all warlords, he'd be the one who started out writing his postcard too big, and be forced to make the lettering get smaller and smaller until he had to write up the side of the card (also he was writing the postcard while on a tour bus for part of the time, so it was a little messy for that reason too). Plus, I just enjoyed thinking of him trapped in Trinity College library and not worried at all about it. Him losing his shoes was a running joke in his longfic, so I stuck that in there too.

Mistakes... I think my biggest planning mistake was not figuring out in advance a couple of the world building issues. Would these warlords be going to a recipient who was currently living in Azuchi (or Kasugayama)? Since some of the requests were anon, or from posters I don't know very well, I made the assumption that the postcard recipient had indeed been previously wormholed into the Sengoku. Also, how would the warlords deal with a language barrier? With that one, I figured that for any warlord travelling to a timeline past (or just around) the 20th century - they could probably find someone who spoke their language (both Kennyo and Masamune went to World's Fairs where there was a Japanese installation). But when Shingen went to Ancient Greece and Mitsuhide went to the Golden Age of India, I figured they would just have to do their best with pointing and making up a sign language as they went along (they're both smart men, they can adapt!). Masamune had less difficulty in medieval Poland, not because he found someone to translate, but because he travelled into a siege situation and I figured he was well enough acquainted with battles that he'd do ok ... I er, quite possibly overthought these.

Along those lines... while I had fun picking out handwriting fonts for the warlords, I made a few mistakes early on... Mitsuhide's for example, took up too much space and I couldn't fit as much content on his cards (and so of course, he was the most requested warlord).

Curious about the handwriting I picked? I was pretty random about it... mostly it was a combination of what felt right to me, plus whether or not it would fit on the postcard. Shingen is more romantic, so his handwriting is flowy, whereas Nobunaga's takes up a lot of space - but I had to balance an authoritative font with being able to include a decent amount of text. I figured that Mitsuhide would think faster than he writes, so his is a little more careless looking, and Sasuke would print, because he's used to writing lab reports. And of course, once I picked a handwriting font for one postcard, I kept it through the rest of them.

Here is everyone in a row, for comparison:

As for the postcards themselves... here they are gathered once more...

Masamune visits Malbork, Poland in 1460

Mitsuhide visits Maui, Hawaii

Keiji visits Times Square, New York, New York

Sasuke visits Koma-ga-take volcano in 1582

Shingen visits Ancient Greece

Yukimura visits Rome, Italy in 2020

Mitsunari visits Dublin, Ireland

Kennyo visits Paris, France, 1900

Mitsuhide visits Pataliputra, India, 300 to 600 CE

Mitsuhide visits New Orleans

Nobunaga visits Washington, DC

Nobunaga visits Vigan City, Philippines

Masamune visits the World's Fair, Chicago, 1893

Shingen visits Hoi An Ancient Town

Mitsuhide visits Prague, Czech Republic

Thank you again to everyone who requested a card. Maybe some day I'll bring this back!

[orangerosebush]

(I am putting this in its own post, as I realize it could be derailing the post I replied to, oops)

When dealing with the "rules" that govern the fairy characters' lives in AF, there are moments where the folklore appears to have some overlap with Christian religious elements, despite the People being tied to Irish folklore. To this I'd say: of course the fairy from book one is hurt by holy water -- because there is no (record of) Irish mythology or folklore that isn't syncretic!

Due to a variety of factors, the records on Irish folklore exist as a melange of the historical, 'pure/unchanged' pagan practices (which is a very fraught idea due to some things in the historical record) of Ireland and the forms of Christianity brought to the area throughout history.

After all, superstitions about the fairy folk being able to be warded off by holy water exist outside of Artemis Fowl lore, as Colfer blends the cultural past of Ireland with his vision of a techno-optimistic future to create the world of the books. But to return to the question in this post: If Irish folklore is Irish folklore, why then are there similarities between quirks of Christian belief and some of the quirks of that folklore? Because Christianity in Ireland (and I will use 'Ireland' to refer to the entirety of the island) exists in both the form of mainstream, codified religion AND in diffused cultural/ folklore forms.

With the Norman Invasion of Ireland in the 12th century, the Anglo-Normans forcibly transformed Ireland into a Christian territory. It is true that Christianity existed in Ireland before the Norman Invasion — the introduction of Christianity to Ireland dates to sometime before the 5th century, presumably in interactions with Roman Britain, and there’s an archeological record of this with sites like the monastery of Skellig Michael. With the Norman Invasion, however, Irish pagan practices were stamped out in the process of securing Anglo-Norman control over the island. In Ireland, many of the Pagan religious practices that existed before the Norman Invasion were kept orally amongst the Irish people, and pre-invasion history was so intertwined with Irish mythology that in the attempt to Christianize the island, history and mythology were lost or edited.

When myths and history were written down by monks who came over from Britain, the mythology underwent deforming edits due to the monks feeling squeamish about transcribing pagan mythology without denouncing it or reframing it within a Christian framework. The written history that has survived from this era is therefore limited, and what does exist, may exist in various forms due to myths being transcribed in various different ways by different monks who chose to include different elements from the same myth. Any history that would’ve survived orally is limited, too, due to the speaking of the Irish language and practicing of pagan religion being criminalized. The Statutes of Kilkenny in 1366 commanded that “if any English, or Irish living among the English, use the Irish language amongst themselves, contrary to this ordinance, and thereof be attainted, his lands and tenements, if he have any, shall be seized into the hands of his immediate lord”.

Thus, Irish mythology and folklore often adopted characteristics of Christian theology and folklore in order to become “acceptable” and to be allowed to survive as cultural forms of thought.

This is how you get things like the following version of the Tír na nÓg, an Irish myth/story. Tír na nÓg is the story of Oisín, a member of the Fianna warrior band from the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology, who falls in love with the otherworldly princess Niamh. The pair elope to the princess’s magical homeland, but eventually Oisín grows homesick and embarks on a journey to visit his loved ones in Ireland. Once he gets there, however, he realizes that the three years which had passed in the fairy world have numbered a devastating 300 in reality. In some versions of Tír na nÓg, Oisín ends up dying from grief, but this version of Tír na nÓg? It has a striking difference in that the Tír na nÓg story explicitly states that not only is Oisín left with an Ireland in which all his friends and family are long dead, but also that Oisín is met with a newly-Christian Ireland. As Oisín himself starts to rapidly age, making up for the 300 years he missed, St. Patrick appears and baptizes him, granting him passage to Heaven.

There’s also the 12th-century text (note: 12th century!! The birth of the text coinciding with a newly post-Invasion Ireland is no coincidence) of Acallam na Senórach, or Tales of the Elders of Ireland, where St. Patrick and various figures from Irish mythology (I think Oisín is included) discuss the importance of successfully melding the old ways of pre-Christian Ireland with the new Christian morals and values brought by missionaries.

It follows, then, that the folklore with which Colfer was working has many ‘Christian’ aspects to it, as that is a feature of Irish mythology itself.

One of the frameworks employed in Irish mythology is that at a certain point, the old gods diminished in power as the island entered the age of Christian belief. These gods became the fairy folk, who retreated underground and who interact with the human world increasingly less frequently with the march of progress. Similarly, I think you can read the People in Artemis Fowl as being a mirror of the historical progression of belief systems and mythology in Ireland.

I mean, Holly mentions being related to Cupid in the first book, and at one point in the historical record, the Greeks and Romans did have contact with the Celtic people! After all, there’s research as well about the similarities across archetypal figures in the pre-Invasion Irish pantheon and in the Roman pantheon, suggesting not only the presence of Christianity within Irish folklore, but also the presence of beliefs from Antiquity.

Tl;dr — Colfer’s worldbuilding of fairy religion Looks Like That because Irish folklore Looks Like That (kind of)

Sources:

Daibhi O Croinin - Early Medieval Ireland 400-1200-Routledge (2016)

Colum, Padraic. A Treasury of Irish Folklore: the Stories, Traditions, Legends, Humor, Wisdom, Ballads and Songs of the Irish People. Wings Books, 1992.

[denimbex1986]

'Dublin-native Andrew Scott is making headlines at the moment after starring in All of Us Strangers with Paul Mescal.

The film, which is inspired by the 1987 novel Strangers by Japanese author Taichi Yamada, explores the queer relationship between Andrew Scott’s character Adam and Paul Mescal’s character Harry.

As Adam and Harry’s relationship intensifies, the former visits his childhood home in Croydon and comes out to his parents, played by Claire Foy and Jamie Belle – the twist is his parents died 30 years earlier.

Speaking exclusively to PinkNews on the red carpet at a UK screening of All of Us Strangers ahead of its release on Friday (26 January), Andrew Scott reflected on the importance of seeing queer sex represented.

As there’s an appetite for all things Andrew Scott at the moment (and rightfully so), we thought it would be a good time to take a look at his LGBTQ+ story so far.

When did Andrew Scott come out?

Scott first commented on his sexuality in 2013 in an interview with The Independent while promoting a BBC Two drama titled Legacy.

“Mercifully, these days people don’t see being gay as a character flaw. But nor is it a virtue, like kindness. Or a talent, like playing the banjo. It’s just a fact. Of course, it’s part of my make-up, but I don’t want to trade on it,” he said.

He recently told GQ that he was “encouraged by people in the industry” to keep his sexuality a secret.

“I understand why they gave that advice but I’m also glad that I eventually ignored it,” Scott said.

Scott started out on stage

Scott was a stage actor in Dublin before moving on to the world of film and TV, making his debut in the Irish drama Korea, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.

He had small roles in Saving Private Ryan, Nora, and Dead Bodies, plus a number of other movies.

Scott became a ‘gay icon’ after appearing as James Moriarty in BBC’s Sherlock, sparking countless memes and fanfiction about the potential queer relationship between his character and the titular character played Benedict Cumberbatch.

In 2014, Scott appeared in Pride, a movie honouring the LGBTQ+ activists that raised money to help families affected by the 1984 miner’s strike.

More recently, many will recognise Scott from appearing as the ‘Hot Priest’ in Fleabag as well as playing Colonel John Parry in His Dark Materials, a BBC adaptation of the popular Phillip Pullman book series.

Scott relied on his own pain when filming All of Us Strangers

Homosexuality was illegal in Ireland until Scott turned 16 and he had to grapple with his sexuality and the fear he had in coming out. Scott’s complicated feelings about being gay was something he brought to set every day when filming All of Us Strangers.

He told GQ that he would walk around director Andrew Haigh’s childhood home, the set for Adam’s parents home in the film, and look at all the magazines that he himself had grown up with. Haigh told GQ that he could see Scott revisiting his past: “It’s so interesting watching someone react to something because you can see on their face they’ve been dragged back. It’s like time travel.”

Scott added: “I think that’s maybe why this feels so gratifying and cathartic. Because I did have to bring so much of my own pain into it.”

Scott and Mescal previously told Pink News that an uptick in the number of queer sex scenes in film and TV, including in All of Us Strangers, is “wonderful”.

Scott said: “What’s going to help bring the world forward is just to have representation in that sense. I always say [that] as a queer person, seeing straight relationships constantly and almost exclusively, it hasn’t made me disgusted to look at them. I just go, ‘there you go’.”

Though Mescal is straight, the two actors have great chemistry according to Haigh.

“It was clear to me that [Scott and Mescal] liked each other liked each other a lot as actors, as people. The characters are falling in love, so the actors know how to generate chemistry.”

“They clearly have amazing chemistry, and they’re really good friends now, and they care and love for each other. So, something magical happened. I’m very grateful for that,” Haigh told Sky News.

What will Scott be seen in next?

Scott will soon be starring in new Netflix thriller Ripley, an eight-part series based on Patricia Highsmith’s best-selling Tom Ripley novels.

The story follows a con artist who is hired by a wealthy man to get the man’s son to return home from Italy, when everything goes wrong and descends into fraud and murder.

Scott plays the titular character Tom Ripley, alongside Johnny Flynn and Dakota Fanning. The series premieres on Netflix on April 4, 2024.

He is also expected to appear in an upcoming action comedy film with Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz titled Back in Action. There is no release date for the film at the time of writing.

Andrew Scott husband?

Many people (probably people who are quite hopeful that Andrew Scott is still on the market) have been Googling whether the Fleabag star has a husband or partner.

While Andrew Scott keeps his personal life very private, according to Hello Magazine– it’s thought that he is currently single after splitting from his long-term partner, writer Stephen Beresford, in 2019.

He’s previously appeared on the How to Fail podcast speaking about relationships in January 2020, and said: “You learn from people. It’s not about the length of time you spend with somebody. My life is different now. I feel like my attitude towards relationships and my attitude towards myself and sexuality and all that stuff has changed, and that came about from having the courage to be on my own for a bit, quite a scary thing to do.'

[umazane-muesli]

Jukebox January: Day 7

I fell off this bandwagon SO fast it's not even funny 😭 like even for a professional quitter and give up-per like me this is kind of impressive. Anyway. I was so excited about this game, I really want to get back into it, so I'll just try to continue and pretend nothing happened. Kind of a shame, I had banging ideas for B and C and E. Maybe I'll make those posts later, or in February or something, I don't know.

Also, rereading this post i realise how incoherent and insane i sound. I'm afraid it's not gonna get better sorry.

Anyway, today's theme is songs beginning with G.

(Edit I forgot to mention what the hell this game/tag was about, here is the post explaining it)

Głośniej - Kwiat Jabłoni:

I found this band completely randomly while searching for good polish music to go with a polish book, and they have low-key become a favourite in the past couple of years. Their new album is fucking good and Głośniej is one of my favourites on it.

Les gens qui doutent - Anne Sylvestre:

I love the lyrics of this song. Kind of sad, kind of comforting.

Garden Flat - Mini Vague

This one is not even on spotify anymore, barely on youtube, I literally bought it on bandcamp to still be able to listen to it, but I had to mention it because it's one of the most surefire way to make me cry instantly like i'm some sort of pavlovian dog lmao. It's not even really a sad song i don't think, but it was used in some fuckass french web series that was my my entire life when i was a teenager (and still has a piece of my heart if we're being honest, the way I came crawling back at the speed of light when they made a movie two years ago) and anyway. Mini Vague slash Mix Bizarre slash whatever other names your band had please come back I miss you i won't even cringe at your french accents i promise.

Go through it - Blondie

I love Blondie, they have such a wide range of genres and I love Debbie Harris' voice. If you've seen me gush about Brass Ona(TM) you've probably guessed I can't resist a song with good old trumpets, like this one or Island of Lost souls.

Galway Girl - Ed Sheeran

Look, yes, Ed Sheeran, I know. But this song (and the album it was on) came out when I was in Ireland, working on a farm that had the radio on all day, and I can promise you the radio DJs were LOSING THEIR MINDS over it. Big "Ireland mention!!!!!" energy, it was kind of cute honestly. They even interviewed the frontwoman of Beoga, the band that made the song that was used as a sample in Galway girl (the song is called Minute 5 btw). This song just brings up memories of vibing with Today FM and shoveling metric tons of cow shit and visiting pretty Irish towns (including Galway, of course). I still kinda like it. But if you're allergic to Ed Sheeran it's okay, i understand, you can go listen to Steve Earle's Galway Girl instead.

Gnossienne No. 5 - Erik Satie

I like this for normal reasons :) don't even worry about it :)

Gianna - Siddharta

You know what, I get why Joker Out are such little Siddharta fanboys. This rules.

Gole sanje - Big Foot Mama

Me, scanning through a bunch of slovenian music and recognising two (2) words: I'm bilingual :)

Gold - Years and Years

I remember so vividly when this album came out, I thought I was so cool and trendy for listening to it lmao. Now he's going to eurovision apparently. Good on him.

Giordano's Dream pt. I and II - Blanco White

This new(ish) album has immaculate vibes throughout, but I particularly like this double song.

Gold Mine - Beatenberg

I've been listening to Beatenberg for ages and I'm so so happy because ALL the new music they've been releasing recently is fucking great. I'm kind of considering going to their concert in Germany please someone stop me I can't go to Germany ONLY for concerts lol

And now a bunch of songs that could be summarized as "iconic, tbh".

- Girls Just Want to Have Fun - Cindy Lauper

- Grace Kelly - Mika

- Girls Like Girls - Hayley Kiyoko

- Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy - Queen

- Go Your Own Way - Fleetwood Mac

- Georgia - Phoebe Bridgers

- Green Light - Lorde

[thorntonkrell-blog-blog]

It's Memorial Day again when we remember the sacrifices made by those who lost their lives in battle in service to their country or whatever.

File my uncle Phil under whatever. He lost his life at the Battle of Little Big Horn. America wasn't really his home. He came from Ireland and got involved in the Civil War without a true dog in the fight. Legend says that he spent time on both sides, recruited with the promise of some boots and some booze. When the going got tough, Phil got going.

Eventually he joined up with Custer. Bad decision.

He was at the Little Big Horn where he was slaughtered and mutilated along with Custer and 278 other guys, not that they didn't ask for it with their own manifest destiny aggression. I imagine he was one of those guys standing near Custer when the arrows started to fall wondering WTF and a half hour later, he was history.

Or was he?

Seems that my father became an expert on Custer. In doing his research, he discovered that a man named Phil Ryan was counted among the losses. My Dad made the great leap of faith and began touting the legend of Uncle Phil. He located a picture of some of the guys under Custer's command and decided that one of the guys looked something like me. That was good enough for him

When my father bought his future gravesite in Lima, New York near the resting place of his mother and father and future resting place of my mother, he thought it would be a nice gesture to add a tribute for "Uncle" Phil. He undertook a campaign to have Phil honored with a grave marker in the family plot. He wrote letters to the War Department, the Department of the Interior, the President, the Congressman and God knows who else.

Somehow, somebody listened.

We were sent a marker commemorating Phil which we placed near the future resting place of my Mom and Dad.

My father got a big kick out of this.

Every time we visit the gravesite of my parents and grandparents, we also visit the Phil Ryan marker and remember how much fun my Dad had procuring it and how proud he was of obtaining it.

Phil has got to be one of the few Last Stand guys commemorated in upstate New York.

If you ever visit the Lima cemetery check 'em out.

The Battle of Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand, took place on June 25 and 26, 1876. The battle lasted for approximately two days. It was a significant conflict between the combined forces of several Native American tribes, primarily the Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne, and the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army led by Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer. The battle ended in a decisive victory for the Native American forces and resulted in the death of Custer and nearly all of his men.

did some surviveChatGPT

Yes, there were a few survivors of the Battle of Little Bighorn. Most famously, Lieutenant Edward S. Godfrey and about 40 soldiers from Captain Frederick Benteen's detachment survived by taking a defensive position on a nearby hill during the battle. They were later rescued by General Terry's relief column. Additionally, a small group of soldiers under the command of Major Marcus Reno also survived the initial attack but suffered heavy casualties. However, the majority of the 7th Cavalry, including Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer and his immediate command, were killed in the battle.

how long did the attack lastChatGPT

The attack during the Battle of Little Bighorn was a complex series of engagements that took place over the course of several hours on June 25, 1876. The initial attack on the 7th Cavalry led by Major Marcus Reno and Captain Frederick Benteen lasted for approximately two to three hours. Reno's forces were initially successful in driving back the Native American warriors but soon came under heavy fire and were forced to retreat to higher ground.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer and his men launched a separate attack on the village of Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne, which was led by Chief Sitting Bull. Custer divided his forces into three groups and engaged in a fierce battle. However, they were quickly overwhelmed by the overwhelming numbers and tactical superiority of the Native American forces.

The exact duration of Custer's part of the battle is uncertain, but it is generally believed to have been relatively short, lasting perhaps around 30 minutes to an hour before Custer and his immediate command were killed. Overall, the battle itself, including the initial engagements and subsequent fighting, lasted for a few hours on that fateful day.

how many men were lostChatGPT

During the Battle of Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand, the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army suffered heavy losses. The exact number of casualties is a matter of historical debate, but it is generally estimated that around 268 to 276 men from the 7th Cavalry were killed during the battle. This included the entire detachment led by Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer, who was among the casualties.

It's important to note that the casualty figures may vary among different sources, and there were conflicting reports and uncertainties surrounding the battle. Some sources indicate slightly higher or lower casualty numbers, but the range mentioned above is commonly accepted in historical accounts.

how many grave markers are in placeChatGPT

As an AI model, I don't have real-time information or access to current data. However, as of my last knowledge update in September 2021, there are multiple grave markers at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in Montana, which commemorates the Battle of Little Bighorn. The markers represent the soldiers and Native American warriors who lost their lives during the battle. The markers include individual headstones for fallen soldiers, as well as collective markers and monuments honoring different units and groups.

It's worth noting that the battlefield has undergone changes and developments over time, and new information or updates may have been made since my last knowledge update. To obtain the most accurate and up-to-date information on the number of grave markers in place, I recommend contacting the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument directly or referring to official sources.

How many Indians were lostChatGPT

The exact number of Native American casualties during the Battle of Little Bighorn is difficult to determine with precision. During the battle, a combined force of Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, and other Native American tribes fought against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army. It's important to note that historical accounts and estimates regarding Native American casualties vary.

While specific figures are not available, it is generally believed that the Native American losses were fewer than those of the 7th Cavalry. Estimates suggest that Native American casualties could range from 30 to 100 warriors killed during the battle. However, it's worth noting that these numbers are approximations and subject to historical debate due to the challenges of accurate record-keeping during the time.

The Battle of Little Bighorn was a significant victory for the Native American forces, but it came at a cost for both sides, resulting in the loss of lives and deepening the historical complexity and impact of the event.

were the bodies mutilatedChatGPT

Yes, there are historical accounts and evidence that suggest that the bodies of some soldiers from the 7th Cavalry were mutilated by Native American warriors after the Battle of Little Bighorn. It is believed that some Native American warriors engaged in acts of mutilation and desecration as a way to demonstrate their prowess in battle, seek revenge, or send a message to the enemy.

Accounts from both Native American and U.S. Army sources describe instances of scalping, dismemberment, and other forms of mutilation being inflicted upon the bodies of fallen soldiers. These acts were not uncommon in conflicts during that era, and they were often driven by cultural and historical factors.

It's important to recognize that war and its aftermath can be brutal and involve acts that are considered disturbing and gruesome. The mutilation of bodies was a regrettable aspect of the Battle of Little Bighorn and is documented in historical records and accounts of the time.

[agirlnamedhagrid]

Get to Know Me Better

Thank you for the tag:  @ereborne! I always appreciate being tagged in these even if it takes me months to get around to filling them out!

Relationship status:  single

Favorite color(s):  Grayish purples and marshy greens and dusty pinks

Favorite food:  so many! But I’ll go with custards because so many of my favorite pastries and desserts are custard-based.

Song stuck in my head:  "Made You Look” by Meghan Trainor. Honorable mentions (because I get a lovely jukebox of snippets of all of them rolling through my brain simultaneously) include: “She Had Me at Heads Carolina” by Cole Swindell, “Thank God” by Kane & Katelyn Brown, “What My World Spins Around” by Jordan Davis, and “Heart Like a Truck” by Laine Wilson. It should be noted that I really resent Heart Like a Truck - I don’t care for it but damn it gets stuck in my head nonetheless.

Last thing you googled:  “Elves in lord of the rings” because I could not for the life of me remember Elrond’s name. I am ashamed.

Time:  11:14 p.m.

Dream trip: I really, really, really want to see Australia (mostly to visit the Australia Zoo) but also I desperately want to run away and spend more time in Ireland and see Scotland. Someday, maybe.

Last thing you read:  I just finished Hail Mary by Kandi Steiner. It’s a ridiculous college sports romance but it was exactly the fluffy break I needed after The Cruel Prince.

Last book you enjoyed reading: I don’t really read books I don’t enjoy to some extent. But the last book that I was gushing over and oh-so-happy about reading was The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling.

Last book you hated reading: Okay, so the last book I really hated reading was a paranormal romance I borrowed off of Kindle Unlimited and it just. . . it was truly let down by terrible editing and a very muddy concept. It was bad. So bad. And marketed so poorly. What was advertised was not in anyway what I read.

Favorite thing to cook/bake: I have been really into entremets lately - little layered domes with a baked element, a mousse, and a fruity center and some sort of glaze or shell. It’s been lots of fun. I also really enjoy baking breads.

Favorite craft to do in your free time: I have been very into crochet lately! I am making lots of little stuffed creatures and truly loving it and I have a very exciting project planned for after my birthday. I am going to be making a snake with rows colored based on the books I finish reading in the course of a year. Like a temperature blanket, except a reading log snake.

Most niche dislike: I hate bananas. Can’t stand ‘em. They are the worst fruit. Also, possibly even weirder, I hate the stupid bandage tape they use with cottonballs whenever you give blood. I am allergic to the medical adhesive used in most of those things. Basically, if it ain’t Band-Aid brand, I don’t want it.

Opinion on circuses:  I went to one when I was younger. It was. . . okay? It was kind of overwhelming for me, even though they didn’t use many of the classic “circus” animals due to welfare concerns (yay! a big win!). I like ren faires, and I like feats of human ingenuity and creativity, but circuses are just a little off for me. And I especially don’t love circuses that don’t understand the ethics/welfare needs for animals they use.

Do you have any sense of direction: sort of? Don’t ask me road names/numbers, but give me landmarks or drop me somewhere and tell me to walk myself back to the car and I should be good.

Tell us about your D&D character: I have not played in years, but I have recently been invited to join an all-bard oneshot in a couple weeks? I’m really tempted but also pretty intimidated because I haven’t played in years and this would be a remote campaign with some potentially weird player dynamics. (The DM is one of my best friends who also happens to be my ex and the other players would be all female -- his girlfriend, his gf’s friend, and one of his old friends I never met. Although I have met his gf and she’s incredibly awesome, so maybe it’s just me seizing an excuse because I don’t know how to RP anymore.) I have to give them my decision by Wednesday and I have a built-in out of work stress, so all opinions and/or advice welcome :P

[localcryptideli]

Oh library comparison talk I love those!

In Germany you have to pay to have a library card, and opening times can really depend on where you are - we are a rural area so the library is only open for a few hours during working hours and closed on the weekends, meaning I haven't been able to visit once so far (plus the bus to reach the town there is six euros one way). Those libraries are not linked to any online service, and we only have two small ones in two bigger towns, so that's about the end of it - I would love to visit but I don't have money to go there and I especially don't have any chance to go because I work. I am sure anyone living in Frankfurt, Berlin, Hamburg, or Munich has a better deal with ranges and community services offered by libraries though. Afaik they are usually state sponsored but from what I was told they don't get paid enough, hence the needto charge for a library card. Not sure if it costs any money to rent books, audiobooks, and dvds. Would love to find out one day.

In Italy on the other hand library cards are completely free, and penalties are often not high. I only have experience with libraries in Rome, so none of this might applie to rural areas, but at least in Rome the interlibrary system is really good, and often they will be able to get you a book if it exists somewhere in the system (all libraries in Rome are connected and since it's the capital we have some big ones so even if the library you have nearby is small, chances are they'll get you the book you want if another bigger library has it). You won't find much in other languages though. Opening times vary from library to library but since it's a big city there are enough libraries that if you really want to go, you can find something somewhere (the bus is 1.50 euros for 90 mins and one subway journey in any direction so usually affordable by most); they also have an (albeit somewhat limited) online system in place.

Ireland (at least when I lived there) has a similar system: free library cards, accessible fees, good opening times, some libraries have online systems - usually university libraries more than the town ones. I had the same experience in Scotland.

Libraries in Italy, Scotland, and Ireland also do workshops, and offer places for people in the community to host classes and courses and evenrs (from what I saw Italy focuses a lot on childcare events while I saw a lot of variety in Scotland, including the chance for a tai chi group to use a room there to give lessons for cheap; there was another library that also rented, for cheap, music rooms to people who wished to practice their instrument but had no chance and/or space to do so at home; one offered space for an art event and did regular seminars).

One fallacy, I think, of anti piracy arguments is that a lot of them seem to assume that if I'm unable to pirate something I'm going to pay for it instead rather than going "oh! that's a terrible shame" and then quickly forgetting about it

[georges-chambers]

Tell me about your least favourite season and why it is your least favourite. Also if you could immediately visit anywhere in the world without repercussions, concern, and wealth to purchase whatever you feel fit to (clothes and food included) whilst also instantly learning the native language spoken by the people that live there, where would you choose to go and why? What would you buy to wear and what would you eat?

I think I'd go with summer, specifically the very middle, when its hottest. All the beauty of spring is starting to leave and turn into something not quite rotting, not dying, just. Worse. There's just too much sun and light, always. But worse is the heat which is practically inescapable here. And it feels like there's so little that can be done. I can open giant windows that take up an entire wall of where I live but all it'll do will make it hotter. And God. The fucking insects. It's nothing personal but god. And of course the heat makes everything smell and just Feel so much worse. (I hauve sensory issues)

That second one had me thinking for kind of a while. I'm actually still not fully sure. I can't really think of many things I want to buy like that or anything. I think what first comes to mind is specific places I've been around Cape Cod, Provincetown specifically, because I dont know how to express that there are so many little restaurants, candy stores, markets, random freezers of deserts in/around museums, and 1 really cheap market that happened to sell me the most amazing pizza I've ever had in my life last year there. And there is never any way I'd ever be able to afford all or most of that in 1 year, at all. And if I could really just wear whatever I'd like I'd wear the stupid things they sell there, too, which I never buy or usually never wear because they are Also overpriced as hell.

But otherwise, maybe. A specific Gaeltach in Ireland. I don't really have anything I'd like to buy there. I don't have anyone I'd actually know there. I'd just like to instantly know the language and get to be there. I don't know why, I just want to feel what everything there is like, and just. Know the language. Even if I don't really use it. I feel like it's sort of a funny paradox that the same family who I technically long for that because of due to their stories of how they loved it, but couldn't stay, is the exact same family that'd ridicule me for being ridiculously sentimental over a people I never knew and a place I've never been and probably will never go.