#frontcover

[takethatgirlsblog]

#dougietuesday #Tuesday #timeoutmagazine #takethat

#howarddonald #garybarlow #markowen

📣🌟🌟

[longdogspottings]

Alright here’s the 115th Tennis Ball I have spotted on a Minisode called “Burger Dog ” on Bluey. If anyone wants to have a look.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C8REHU1SKV9/?img_index=1

[dimalink]

Sarah Brightman in red

Pixel art about music theme. Miss Sarah Brightman. From a cover of album Symphony. So, it is now starting autumn. It is age of rains, gloomy weather. And colorful leaves. So, I think, this album is suit good for autumn. It has such songs as Running, Fleurs Du Mal. There is a song with a singer from Kiss Paul Stanley. Album it is pop music, and gothic and, as it is a rule, for miss Brightman in style of musicals and classic too.

And, I am, also, like a lot visual look for this tour, in red dress. So, it catches me a lot. It is very colorful and beautiful. Some kind, Alice in wonderland. But, I can also say the same about another albums. But this time with elements, of some gothic. Gargoyles there are a the cover.

And this is my picture the theme. So, I redraw cover, just like this.  But in my style. In style of MS DOS, retro, 16 bits, 8 bits. So, I can say, it is first pictures of this kind. I start from this interesting artist.

So, this art can be a part of some text story. Text quest. But it requires to draw a lot and write a lot. And, also, I can remember someway intro to Prince of Persia 2 for system PC MS DOS. It has a very interesting intro at the start. Like a story. It I something like this, but style is another. Alice in Wonderland, of course, also. But, a little more gothic. It a world of big mushrooms. And dusty abandoned places. Maybe, a little of gothic architecture and surrealism someway. Or at some sci fi planet of a strange civilization. In a videogame Torment Tides Of Numenera there is something like this.

[gabrielleguy]

A book I did last year, finally arrived. The printing on the linen cover looks really great.

[aaliyahunleashed]

Aaliyah (Upper Left) with actress, Lisa Raye (as the main headliner) for the UPSCALE Magazine's MAY 2000 issue.

Aaliyah's portion was in promotion of her debut film "Romeo Must Die".

[codebluecomic]

[aograi]

THE INFORMANT... by AOGRAI

[cgoodin]

Dasher - Issue 6 - front covers

In the story of issue 6, dasher will go down to the sewers of Blackpool to face of against a terrifying creature that threatens the lives of not just the residents of Blackpool, but the entire world too.

Currently, I have made 3 different versions of the front cover based of the story line of issue 6. Right now, I've focusing on which of the 3 is best suited for it.

Once I make my choice, my next task will be to upload it onto the last page of issue 5 to tease issue 6 to the readers for when they finish the current issue.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Premature Internet Activists

I'm on a 20+ city book tour for my new novel PICKS AND SHOVELS. Catch me TOMORROW (Feb 14) in BOSTON for FREE at BOSKONE , and SATURDAY (Feb 15) for a virtual event with YANIS VAROUFAKIS. More tour dates here.

"Premature antifacist" was a sarcastic term used by leftists caught up in the Red Scare to describe themselves, as they came under ideological suspicion for having traveled to Spain to fight against Franco's fascists before the US entered WWII and declared war against the business-friendly, anticommunist fascist Axis powers of Italy, Spain, and, of course, Germany:

https://www.google.com/books/edition/In_Denial/fBSbKS1FlegC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22premature+anti-fascist%22&pg=PA277&printsec=frontcover

The joke was that opposing fascism made you an enemy of America – unless you did so after the rest of America had woken up to the existential threat of a global fascist takeover. What's more, if you were a "premature antifascist," you got no credit for fighting fascism early on. Quite the contrary: fighting fascism before the rest of the US caught up with you didn't make you prescient – it made you a pariah.

I've been thinking a lot about premature antifascism these days, as literal fascists use the internet to coordinate a global authoritarian takeover that represents an existential threat to a habitable planet and human thriving. In light of that, it's hard to argue that the internet is politically irrelevant, and that fights over the regulation, governance, and structure of the internet are somehow unserious.

And yet, it wasn't very long ago that tech policy was widely derided as a frivolous pursuit, and that tech organizing was dismissed as "slacktivism":

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/10/04/small-change-malcolm-gladwell

Elevating concerns about the internet's destiny to the level of human rights struggle was delusional, a glorified argument about the rules for forums where sad nerds argued about Star Trek. If you worried that Napster-era copyright battles would make it easy to remove online content by claiming that it infringed copyright, you were just carrying water for music pirates. If you thought that legalizing and universalizing encryption technology would safeguard human rights, you were a fool who had no idea that real human rights battles involved confronting Bull Connor in the streets, not suing the NSA in a federal courtroom.

And now here we are. Congress has failed to update consumer privacy law since 1988 (when they banned video store clerks from blabbing about your VHS rentals). Mass surveillance enables everything from ransomware, pig butchering and identity theft to state surveillance of "domestic enemies," from trans people to immigrants. What's more, the commercial and state surveillance apparatus are, in fact, as single institution: states protect corporations from privacy law so that corporations can create and maintain population-scale nonconsensual dossiers on all the intimate facts of our lives, which governments raid at will, treating them as an off-the-books surveillance dragnet:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/16/the-second-best-time-is-now/#the-point-of-a-system-is-what-it-does

Our speech forums have been captured by billionaires who censor anti-oligarchic political speech, and who spy on dissident users in order to aid in political repression. Bogus copyright claims are used to remove or suppress disfavorable news reports of elite rapists, thieves, war criminals and murderers:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/06/27/nuke-first/#ask-questions-never

You'd be hard pressed to find someone who'd describe the fights over tech governance in 2025 as frivolous or disconnected from "real politics"

This is where the premature antifascist stuff comes in. An emerging revisionist history of internet activism would have you believe that the first generation of tech liberation activists weren't fighting for a free, open internet – we were just shilling for tech companies. The P2P wars weren't about speech, privacy and decentralization – they were just a way to help the tech sector fight the entertainment industry. DRM fights weren't about preserving your right to repair, to privacy, and to accessibility – they were just about making it easy to upload movies to Kazaa. Fighting for universal access to encryption wasn't about defending everyday people from corporate and state surveillance – it was just a way to help terrorists and child abusers stay out of sight of cops.

Of course, now these fights are all about real things. Now we need to worry about centralization, interoperability, lock-in, surveillance, speech, and repair. But the people – like me – who've been fighting over this stuff for a quarter-century? We've gone from "unserious fools who mistook tech battles for human rights fights" to "useful idiots for tech companies" in an eyeblink.

"Premature Internet Activists," in other words.

This isn't merely ironic or frustrating – it's dangerous. Approaching tech activism without a historical foundation can lead people badly astray. For example, many modern tech critics think that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (which makes internet users liable for illegal speech acts, while immunizing entities that host that speech) is a "giveaway to Big Tech" and want to see it abolished.

Boy is this dangerous. CDA 230 is necessary for anyone who wants to offer a place for people to meet and discuss anything. Without CDA 230, no one could safely host a Mastodon server, or set up the long-elusive federated Bluesky servers. Hell, you couldn't even host a group-chat or message board:

https://www.techdirt.com/2020/06/23/hello-youve-been-referred-here-because-youre-wrong-about-section-230-communications-decency-act/

Getting rid of CDA 230 won't get rid of Facebook or make it clean up its act. It will just make it impossible for anyone to offer an alternative to Facebook, permanently enshrining Zuck's dominance over our digital future. That's why Mark Zuckerberg wants to kill Section 230:

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/zuckerberg-calls-changes-techs-section-230-protections-rcna486

Defending policies that make it easier to host speech isn't the same thing as defending tech companies' profits, though these do sometimes overlap. When tech platforms have their users' back – even for self-serving reasons – they create legal precedents and strong norms that protect everyone. Like when Apple stood up to the FBI on refusing to break its encryption:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple%E2%80%93FBI_encryption_dispute

If Apple had caved on that one, it would be far harder for, say, Signal to stand up to demands that it weaken its privacy guarantees. I'm no fan of Apple, and I would never mistake Tim Cook – who owes his CEOhood to his role in moving Apple production to Chinese sweatshops that are so brutal they had to install suicide nets – for a human rights defender. But I cheered on Apple in its fight against the FBI, and I will cheer them again, if they stand up to the UK government's demand to break their encryption:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20g288yldko

This doesn't make me a shill for Apple. I don't care if Apple makes or loses another dime. I care about Apple's users and their privacy. That's why I criticize Apple when they compromise their users' privacy for profit:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/12/youre-holding-it-wrong/#if-dishwashers-were-iphones

The same goes for fights over scraping. I hate AI companies as much as anyone, but boy is it a mistake to support calls to ban scraping in the name of fighting AI:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/17/how-to-think-about-scraping/

It's scraping that lets us track paid political disinformation on Facebook (Facebook isn't going to tell us about it):

https://pluralistic.net/2021/08/05/comprehensive-sex-ed/#quis-custodiet-ipsos-zuck

And it's scraping that let us rescue all the CDC and NIH data that Musk's broccoli-hair brownshirts deleted on behalf of DOGE:

https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/how-to-access-important-health-info-thats-been-scrubbed-from-the-cdc-site/

It's such a huge mistake to assume that anything corporations want is bad for the internet. There are many times when commercial interests dovetail with online human rights. That's not a defense of capitalism, it's a critique of capitalism that acknowledges that profits do sometimes coincide with the public interest, an argument that Marx and Engels devote Chapter One of The Communist Manifesto to:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/31/books/review/a-spectre-haunting-china-mieville.html

In the early 1990s, Al Gore led the "National Information Infrastructure" hearings, better known as the "Information Superhighway" hearings. Gore's objective was to transfer control over the internet from the military to civilian institutions. It's true that these institutions were largely (but not exclusively) commercial entities seeking to make a buck on the internet. It's also true that much of that transfer could have been to public institutions rather than private hands.

But I've lately – and repeatedly – heard this moment described (by my fellow leftists) as the "privatization" of the internet. This is strictly true, but it's even more true to say that it was the demilitarization of the internet. In other words, corporations didn't take over functions performed by, say, the FCC – they took over from the Pentagon. Leftists have no business pining for the days when the internet was controlled by the Department of Defense.

Caring about the technological dimension of human rights 30 years ago – or hell, 40 years ago – doesn't make you a corporate stooge who wanted to launch a thousand investment bubbles. It makes you someone who understood, from the start, that digital rights are human rights, that cyberspace would inevitably evert into meatspace, and that the rules, norms and infrastructure we built for the net would someday be as consequential as any other political decision.

I'm proud to be a Premature Internet Activist. I just celebrated my 23rd year with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and yesterday, we sued Elon Musk and DOGE:

https://www.eff.org/press/releases/eff-sues-opm-doge-and-musk-endangering-privacy-millions

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2025/02/13/digital-rights/#are-human-rights

Image: Felix Winkelnkemper (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Acoustic_Coupler.jpg

CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en

[nkp1981]

New "Radio Times" Frontcover

[longdogspottings]

Alright, here’s the 162nd Long Dog I have spotted on the episode called “Hospital” on Bluey. If anyone wants to have a look.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C8CEz3Vyhia/

[dimalink]

Hearts in Beta - Overnight (2023, EP) – into the night city, into the city of future

Night. Again, night. City. It is around you, it is so mysterious ocean. Seaside. Such a picture for a frontcover. Future. Or, in a car during the road to some place, at the day or evening. Maybe, at night. I listen retrowave during the road from the countryside, or to the countryside.

So, this way, I open, again, the genre for myself. At home, I listen during weekends. This is one more open of the genre for me. Again, EP. Extended Play. And let`s take a ride. By the way, here – five tracks. I notice, that by five tracks EP`s. Well, maybe, it is just coincidence. Allright, let`s go, that`s for sure, right now!

We are diving here in a rhythmic electronic music. Drums. But, not evil. And, straight, and rhythmical. New side of drums tech. Drum machine, maybe. And synthesizers. Whole avalanche of synthesizers. Rhythmical and interesting. It draws in a new universe. 80s and retro future. Just like retro, and, at the same time, it is a future. As 80s, but, at the same time, a future too.

First track. Escape The Night. Slow track. But, at the same time, with some drive. And, with a style, that’s for sure. All night long, you can listen this track. There is a melody. With the high notes it goes. Sounds beautiful! It is a beautiful night in the city, what a night, anyway! Night city. A little of mysterious and something mystical. We try to escape the night. And, our adventure into the world of music just begins! Straight drums will help us with this point. And synthesizers will charm us. This is a sorcery!  Such a mystery of sound! Melody, by the way, it is beautiful here. It sounds, the way like you are home, or sounds from a home town. And, so, well known, melody. And synthesizers. It is a cool theme!

Hearts in Beta - Overnight (2023, EP)

Some Kind of a City. Wow! We reach some place, so we ride, and find out ourselves in a city! In a new place! Signals something at the start goes. We receive a broadcast. Will you go with me? Voice, we hear a voice. Maybe, it is, some, fragment from a movie. And, here, also, there is more voice. A fragments with the voice. Interesting solution. And, such a signals, something like, funny sounds. Looks like, some mechanism. And rhythmics. So cool rhythm part! With synthesizers. They are not evil, and most interesting. And not fast. Rhythm here plays a big role! It does not goes for a second plan. And, it goes with the melody, together. Sounds, some sounds like echo.  They are on repeat. Some city. New adventure! Night and adventure in a world of music! Maybe, in universe, even, in universe. In space. But we are yet in city. Beautiful night environment. Good night! Even, so, dreamway and, so, long. And, so, rhythmical.

Early Hours. 03. Early Hours (ft. Lisa Marie Perkins). This is early hours. Early hour. Looks like, it is night. Deep night. 1 am. Or 2 am. Early hours. And, maybe, it is, already, everything is going to sunrise. 4 or 6 morning. Yes, no one interrupt you, or say, that it is wrong, if you will listen during the day with most good and positive summer day. It is, also, goes cool!

Rhythmics. Rhythm is so straight here. Yes, this is something about 80s. Such type of a rhythm. Wow, cool! Melody is so inconspicuous. When it starts – I do not remember. But, I catch some idea, that I, already, listening this melody for some time. Early hours.  I, already, relaxed enough. And, swim, dive. In the city. For a certain reason, not in vain, - front cover with the ocean picture. And a futuristic boat. Or car.

Wow! And, this is a song! Unexpected! Night surprise! This is a song! Good retro wave in a song. Thoughtful. Dream way. Slow tempo rhythm. Wow! I, always, know, that to be slow – it is so cool. So, everything is so slowed and not fast. But, with some rhythm, at the same time. It does not give you to fall asleep. Atmosphere of the night.

To the end, again, it goes melodies, melodies. Retrowave has some cool this kind melodies! And, at the very end – it is, again, almost silence. Synthesizer`s single keys. Yes, it was cool. Fabulous hours!

04. Memory – Waves.  These words, a voice speaks with us. It is beautiful. Drum rhythm changing. It is, also, straight. It is, also, not fast. But it is new. And, a new melody. This time, it is, that’s for sure, it is dream way and cosmic one. But, we are in a night city. No need to have such a hurry to move in space. But, this is, also, possible with this music.

Wave style, maybe, a kind of melody. Like you are moving by waves. Not in vain, front cover has like ocean picture and you swim or ride by it. Beautiful melody! Breathtaking melody. With a slow tempo. And, so, super exciting. Enchanting. And, so, positive! So, this is a cool melody with slow tempo. It was exciting! A thing you really need! Memory. Night. Waves. Melodies. And a rhythm – helps you not to fall asleep. And to move forward.

To the end, again, cool kind of drums. Excellent record! This is a thing, I want to say!

Arrival. 05. Arrival 2085. Looks like, every travel has its own destination, its own end. Or night is going to the end. Sunrise. So, reddish, it is, already. Or, maybe, you, already, get to place, and road is behind. Or, well, it is just a final track. Arrival. We are moving to some point. So, here it is a movement. Future. Maybe. Super-techno computer future. Last track for this night. Rhythm is goes rather normal. And, once again, you don’t take it, but, melody is going too. Unnoticed way, melody is going here. And, next point, you listen this melody, not a rhythm. Well, say it - it is made very exciting way. And, rhythm, you can hear good, and, there is a melody. And, there is something saxophone here. So, now, that’s for sure, we reach the destination point with a positive!

There are here a photos from end of summer season. From countryside season. It is, already, dark, when you go to the city. Everything is so colorful. And dark. And lots of colors in a night city. Almost, like front cover. Countryside season 2024 was excellent. And, road to the city, it is, so, fantastic, in the end of countryside season, when it is, already, dark in the evening.

[gabrielleguy]

It’s here. And it’s really great.

[sexyirish7]

The Irish Rebellion of 1798 Set

This set includes 11 portraits related to the Irish Rebellion of 1798. A companion release to this set is my Irish Pike Set. You may pick and choose which items you would like within the zip file.

DOWNLOAD for FREE: SFS

OR at Patreon*

*You must be over 18 to access my Patreon page.

The Irish Rebellion of 1798 (23 May to 8 September 1798)

This rebellion was led by the underground republican group the Society of United Irishmen, inspired by the French Revolution of 1789 and the American Revolution (1775-1783) and promoting the ideals of democracy, civil rights, preservation and practice of Irish culture, and abolition of slavery.

While ultimately a failure that led to deeper sectarian divide and punitive measures by the British government, the ideals that inspired this revolution continued to percolate among the Irish and continued to inspire future revolutionary movements in the name of gaining independence of Ireland.

“To unite Protestant, Catholic and Dissenter under the common name of Irishmen in order to break the connection with England, the never failing source of all our political evils, that was my aim.” Theobald Wolfe Tone

Creations by SexyIrish7

This cc object was produced as a selective clone using Sims 4 Studio.

Set contains the following:

United Irishmen of 1798: The Society of United Irishmen was founded in Belfast in 1791. Its aim was to unite Irishmen, regardless of religion, in pursuit of political reform. It was initially an open and constitutional society but in the backlash against Radicalism that followed the French Revolution, it was formally suppressed in 1794. This provoked a more militant republicanism which began to ally itself with growing rural unrest. A rebellion erupted in the summer of 1798, timed to coincide with a French invasion on the west coast, but it was unsuccessful. Many of the patriots pictured here, including the Romantic hero Robert Emmett, were found guilty of treason or forced to flee abroad.

Pictured from Left to Right: Samuel Neilson, Michael Dwyer, John Sheares, William Corbet, Arthur O'Connor, Archibald Hamilton Rowan, William Jackson, William James Macneven, Matthew Teeling, Robert Emmet, Henry Sheares, Theobald Wolfe Tone, James Napper Tandy, Thomas Addis Emmet, James Hope, Henry Joy MacCracken, Thomas Russell, Lord Edward Fitzgerald

Bastille Day Parade in Belfast: Reproduction of early nineteenth print depicting the 1791 Bastille Day celebration in Belfast, discussed in the entry for "Society of United Irishmen" (1803)

Vinegar Hill in Wexford: Etching from History of the Irish Rebellion in 1798 by W.H. Maxwell.

Drawn by George Cruikshank, 1854. This Sketch depicts Catholic Priest Father John Murphy rallying United Irishmen rebels on 21 June 1798 at Vinegar Hill, Enniscorthy, County Wexford. Approximately 10,000 Irishmen fought approximately 16,000 British troops in one of the final battles of the 1798 rebellion. The Irishmen were armed with mostly pikes. Father Murphy was executed by the British on 2 July 1798.

Polygon count: 494

An Argument for Catholics: In "An Argument on Behalf of the Catholics of Ireland," Theobald Wolfe Tone argued that Catholics deserved representation and right to vote. At that time, of the 4 million population of Ireland, 3 million were Catholic and not represented politically, nor were they entitled to the same rights that the Protestants had. This pamphlet was published in 1791. Link to book: https://books.google.ie/books?id=7dY9AAAAcAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

Polygon count: 50

Seal of the United Irishmen: The Seal of the United Irishmen, designed by Robert Emmet. The seal reads: Equality It is new strung and shall be heard"

Polygon count: 62

Henry Joy McCracken: Henry Joy McCracken was one of the founding members of the United Irishmen. McCracken led the rebels in the north of Ireland. McCracken was captured and executed by hanging on 17 July 1798.

James Napper Tandy: James Napper Tandy was one of the founding leaders of the United Irishmen. Tandy traveled to America and France, ultimately recruiting a small French force to assist in the 1798 rebellion. However, upon arrival in Donegal, Tandy learned of the rebellion's failure and retreated to France.

Samuel Neilson: Samuel Neilson was one of the founding leaders of the United Irishmen. He was the founder of the Belfast newspaper the "Northern Star" in 1792. This was the newspaper of the Society of United Irishmen where the ideals of democracy and civil rights were published. He was subsequently arrested in 1797 and the newspaper was suppressed by authorities. He was in jail at the time of the rebellion and was exiled at the time of his release. He moved to the United States where he died in 1803.

Thomas Russell: Thomas Paliser Russell was one of the founding members of the United Irishmen. He was active in recruitment and organization ahead of the 1798 rebellion. He was arrested before the rebellion began and executed in 1803.

William Drennan: Dr. William Drennan was one of the founding members of the United Irishmen in Belfast and Dublin. A physician and writer, he authored the "test" (oath) for the United Irishmen. Following the 1798 rebellion, Drennan continued to write and advocate for the ideals of the rebellion, mainly equality, democracy, and civil rights. He died in 1820.

Theobald Wolfe Tone: Wolfe Tone is perhaps the most commonly known leader of the United Irishmen. Not only one of the founding leaders, he was a driving force behind the rebellion. He led French forces in County Donegal during the 1798 rebellion. Following his capture, Wolfe Tone committed suicide hours before his scheduled execution.

Polygon Count: 94

All CC have:

*Ability to search catalog using search terms: sexyirish7 and si7

*Customized thumbnail

*******

CREDITS:

Software credits:

Sims 4 Studio v. 3.2.3.5 (Star): https://sims4studio.com

GIMP v. 2.10.34: https://www.gimp.org/

Inkscape v. 1.2: https://inkscape.org/

Thank you to the creators and moderators producing tutorials and answering questions!

*******

Image Credits:

United Irishmen of 1798: Artist: Selig Lipschitz (1834-1894) chromolithograph with additional hand-colouring, late 19th century, National Portrait Gallery, London

https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw17139/The-United-Irish-Patriots-of-1798

Bastille Day Parade in Belfast Image credits: John Carey, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bastille-day-belfast-1791.jpg

Vinegar Hill in Wexford Image credit: https://www.amrevmuseum.org/virtualexhibits/cost-of-revolution/pages/united-irishmen-father-michael-murphy 

An Argument for Catholics Image Credits:

Picture of Theobald Wolfe Tone: https://www.theirishstory.com/2017/10/28/the-1798-rebellion-a-brief-overview/theobald_wolfe_tone_projectgutenberg_13112/

Original booklet cover of An Argument on Behalf of the Catholics of Ireland: https://www.whytes.ie/art/tone-theobald-wolfe-an-argument-on-behalf-of-the-catholics-of-ireland/149157/

Seal of the United Irishmen Image Credit: https://irishpubemporium.com/product/the-united-irishmen-of-1798-copy/

Henry Joy McCracken: Painted by Sarah Cecilia Harrison 1926

Oil on Canvas © National Museums NI Collection Ulster Museum

https://www.amrevmuseum.org/virtualexhibits/cost-of-revolution/pages/united-irishmen-henry-joy-mccracken

James Napper Tandy: Oil on Canvas Painting by unidentified artist in late 1700s.

National Gallery of Ireland, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Napper_Tandy

Samuel Neilson: Reproduction of a work by Charles Byrne. The reproducing artist is unknown., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Neilson

Thomas Russell: Drawing of Thomas Paliser Russell. Artist Unknown.

Image credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Russell_(rebel)

William Drennan: Portrait of Dr. William Drennan painted by Robert Hope in 1790.

Image credits: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Drennan

Theobald Wolfe Tone: Artist Unknown. Oil on canvas. National Gallery of Ireland

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Portrait_of_Theobald_Wolfe_Tone.PNG

*******

TOU:

Do not re-upload and claim as your own

Do not re-upload and hide behind a paywall

[b3b3s-3]

A prophecy- chapter 2

Benjicot Blackwood x ofc

Chapter 1:

-4K words

At supper, the queen requested that her children and Vikenja accompany her so that they could spend time together, like the family she yearned for, except for her husband, who was still nowhere to be found.

Vikenja sat to her right, along with Rhaena next to her. Jacaerys sat on the Queen's left side, and Baela was seated next to him, to the opposite of her sister. Once the dish was placed in front of her, she began to mutter a prayer, one that she was taught to always do before eating her meal. The four Targaryens stared at her while Rhaenyra assured the girl that she didn't need to practice the religion anymore. Vikenja nodded reluctingly, feeling embarrassed. Through the entire meal, Vikenja felt Jacaery's burning gaze on her whenever his mother spoke to her.

Was it jealousy? She didn’t know.

Baela smiled at Vikenja when her gaze wandered around the table. She didn´t feel comfortable enough to sit so close to people she did not know. It felt as if she was intruding on the moments of a family she did not belong to. As Vikenja met the curlyheads gaze, she softly smiled back and quickly averted her gaze to the food displayed on her plate.

Rhaena shifted her attention towards the girl sitting next to her, seemingly interested in her new dragon. "How did you claim the grey ghost?" she asked, turning to Vikenja's side. Since Rhaena was the only one left without a fiery beast by her side, she wanted to find out more about their whereabouts. Her being a dragonless Targaryen was her biggest insecurity since she couldn´t hatch an egg or claim her dead mother's dragon.

Vikenja began to pick at her fingernails, feeling everyone's attention was now on her. "I also wonder how you accomplished that. The Grey Ghost is very shy after all, isn't he?" Jace bitterly added.

Rhaenyra subconciously took the girl's hand in her own, caressing her delicate fingers. The Queen's touch immediately calmed the girl. "It did take me long to get near him," she answered stoic, meeting Jaces gaze. ´But he noticed the similarity between us; he finally felt understood and saw the connection between us. Two lone creatures, bonded to each other.´ the voice in her head elaborated.

Baela tried to lighten up the mood by complimenting Vikenja: "Truly impressive of you." The corners of Vikenja's lips twitched into a slight smile, and then she muttered a low ´thank you´.

The rest of the dinner was hed in utter silence; no one dared to say another word for the last twenty minutes. As the servants began to clear the table, Vikenja quickly dissmissed herself to leave the akwardness that was engulfing her. She quickly went to the library, searching for a book that contained more information about dragons. She found a red hardcover, which was the size of her head, with the Targaryens house sigil on the frontcover.

As soon as she left the library—the book being firmly placed between her chest and her arm—she ran into a grumpy Jace, followed by Baela. Jace wished to train outside with his sword to get rid of his anger, though it was raining heavily outside. Baela advised him to rather spend his time studying valyrian, to which he reluctingly walked to the library, where he stumbled upon the last person he now wished to see. Her book fell to the ground, to which she quickly kneeled to retrieve it.

"God, I´m truly sorry. I haven´t seen you coming, my prince," she quickly apologized, standing back up and nodding towards Baela. "Princess," she acknowledged her presence, along with a shy smile. Jace grunted and replied with a huff, entering the library without another word. "The stress has got to him; I apologize for his behavior," she smiled sadly and quickly followed her betrothed.

Vikenja stood dumbfounded in the hall, needing a moment before regaining her composure.

----

"What is the matter with you?" Baela asked while walking towards the comforter Jace was sitting on. She crossed her arms and sat next to him, eagerly awaiting his answer. When he didn´t reply, she then began to slowly massage his shoulders, trying to ease the pain from his tense muscles. "You´re not very nice to her, you know..."

Jace shook his head and relaxed under her touch. "My mother was gone the day before yesterday. She left for an entire week because of Luke, and now..." he stopped mid-sentence, closing his eyes for a moment. Baela patiently waited for him to continue, kissing him softly on his neck.

"Since Vikenja is here, my mother has almost forgotten about Luke. It´s like shes his replacement," his voice cracked. Baela placed her hand on his cheek, turning his head to face her own. "Everyone copes differently with such things. While you might pile up all of your grief and turn it into anger, your mother tries to distract herself with other things."

Baela then kissed his other cheek and softly caressed his hair, calming his nerves. "Do not turn your anger on someone who has no fault at this. Try to be understanding for your mother, Jace."

Jace bit his lip, refraining from saying what he was about to say. He then turned his gaze down to his feet, taking a deep breath. Baela gave a peck to his cheek before standing up, on her way to leave the library. "Be more open to her; you might find similarities," she added before leaving him alone with his thoughts.

----

The next morning was spent flying through the skies with her dragon, Grey Ghost. Vikenja loved being above the ground, away from the commotion that´d be awaiting her on land. It was still early, with the servants being the only ones awake, preparing the breakfast for the royalty. Vikenja's night was sleepless. Due to the stormy weather at night, she couldn´t find comfort in her bed and instead used her free time to read the book she found. With the book only consisting of eight chapters, Vikenja quickly read all three hundred pages. But now she was able to use her knowledge of theory, trying multiple tricks on her dragon.

"Dracarys, Grey Ghost!" she yelled. The pale dragon screeched and spit a cloud of fire into the air. Vikenja chuckled as she flew with her dragon downward, narrowly missing the fire. Then her vision suddenly darkened; the scenery was changed once again, and she was now in the riverlands once again. It was the same dream as yesterday: corpses of warriors lying across the Meadow, except for a couple of young men who were lucky enough to be found and medically treated by each of their respective houses.

Grey Ghost soon noticed the change in her behavior and quickly flew back on land, waiting for his rider to dismount him. When he noticed she was still absent, he shrieked loudly enough for the guards to hear. When Ser Lares noticed, he then proceeded to run towards the dragon, trying to get the girl off. Vikenja fainted as she lay in the knight's arms, falling unconscious.

The knight carried the lady in bridal style into the castle, yelling as he walked, "Fetch the maester!"

Vikenja was then brought to a room where the maester awaited her, hastily examining her current state. He then put ice into a cloth of fabric and held it to her forehead. "Has the queen been alarmed yet?" the maester asked the knight, to which he nodded. The man then stood up and began to brew tea for the lady, waiting for her to wake up.

The scent of herbs filled Vikenja's nostrils, interrupting her peaceful sleep. She slowly opened her eyes and found the culprit: a cup of tea standing on a nightstand next to her. She looked to her right and saw the maester, who watched intently. He was about to ask her something along the lines of "How do you feel?" when the door suddenly opened.

"What happened?" the queen demanded to know. She seemed to be distraught; her face still looked sour from the midnight rest. Her eyes landed on the girl who lay on a bed, trying to grab the tea next to her. "Sweet child," Rhaenyra muttered as she kneeled next to the bed, caressing the girl's forehead. "The girl was found mentally absent from her dragon, your grace. When she was fetched, she then fell unconscious," Ser Lares explained. "Did you have a vision again, sweetling?"

Vikenja coughed heavily as she reached for the cup, accidentally pushing the hot liquid to the ground. "I´m sorry," she muttered to the maester, who then cleaned the floor, picking up the porcellain shards on the ground. "It was the same vision. I saw the aftermath of it; some survived the battle." Her voice was raspy, and she struggled to form sentences, taking long pauses between each word.

The queen stood up, requesting that water be brought to the lady. Rhaenyra didn´t understand the meaning behind her vision repeating over and over again. Was it meant as a warning or something else entirely?

The maester gave the girl a cup of water, to which she thanked him and began to drown the containing liquid. She then stood up and flattened down her disheveled hair. "Have I missed breakfast already, your grace?"

The woman chuckled and shook her head. "Breakfast should be soon."

--------

"A raven has arrived from the riverlands, your grace," the maester spoke, interrupting the family´s breakfast. Vikenja felt herself tense at the name, immediately thinking back to her vision. Rhaenyra noticed the visible disdain on the girls faces, quickly realizing why. The queen took the letter from the maester and began to read it in silence. The queen then dropped the letter on the floor and alarmed her children and the knights:The council needs to be summoned at once."

When the knights quickly left the dining hall to fetch each lord, Vikenja gave the queen a subtle look, to which Rhaenyra replied with a nod only, her eyes tired and droopy. Vikenja felt the tears form in her eyes, threatening to fall on her face. Her breathing became irregular, and she felt her hands trembling. Baela noticed her behavior, though she did not understand what was happening. Rhaenyra continued to guide the four adolescents to the hall where the council would be held. Minute by minute, each member was gathered around the table, patiently waiting for the council to be convened.

When all members were at their respective seats, the queen began to speak. "The reason as to why I summoned you all so early lies in the reasoning of a raven that I have received," the queen said with a firm voice. "The Lord Blackwood sadly passed away at the battle of the Burning Mill, a fight held between House Blackwood and House Bracken. Both houses suffered under the deaths of multiple men, with only a few surviving. Including the son of Samwell, who is now Lord Benjicot Blackwood."

Gasps were heard, and whispers were shared between the council members. "Have we lost an ally then?" Lord Staunton asked. "House Blackwood's loyalty lies in our rightful queen," Lord Bartimos answered, huffing in response. "The Lord Benjicot is only fifteen; we do not know where his loyalty lies." Ser Lorent dismissed both of the men.

"So we need to form a new alliance with the house of Blackwood to gain their loyalty," Lord Corlys elaborated. He stood next to his wife, the queen, who never was.

"And how do we do that, mylord?" Rhaenyra questioned. Jace looked at Vikenja, who stood to his opposite, his mother in between them. The boy seemed to be in thought before a brilliant idea crossed his mind. "We propose a marriage. Vikenja should be betrothed to the Lord," he suggested, smiling smugly. Baela then turned to him, visibly shocked by his proposition. Of course, she was aware of the fact that he offered to wed her off not just for political gain but also out of spite.

"Why would a lord want to marry a bastard?" one of the men chuckled. Rhaenyra felt the need to deny Vikenja's bastardy to protect her image. In that moment, she noticed how much she projected Lucery on the girl, surprised by herself.

"The Lady is a dragonrider, and they are both almost the same age, are they not?" Lord Staunton inquired, silencing the man.

Vikenja looked at Rhaenyra with a pleading look, begging her not to marry her off. The girl never bothered to think about a marriage; as a Septa, she would have vowed to never marry nor to ever bear any children. But now she was in a different position, used as a bargaining chip.

The queen stayed still, thinking about her options. The idea was a good one at that; it was unlikely that the Young Lord would decline a wedding proposal with a dragonrider. But she would then need to let go of the girl, and Rhaenyra was not ready to be faced with the loss of her son again.

"Have you flowered yet, sweet child?" the queen whispered into the girls ear, hoping for a ´no´. The wedding could be moved into the future this way, and she could then spend more time with the girl.

"Yes, I have, your grace." Vikenja saw no use in lying. The servants would notice the dirtied bedsheets if she tried to keep up a lie. The girl began to pick at her fingernails again, her habit worsening over the time spent in the castle on dragonstone.

"Send a raven to the Lord Benjicot; propose a marriage between him and Lady Vikenja Waters," Rhaenyra deliberately answered. The girl felt betrayed, but for the short time she was with the queen, she truly trusted her, even seeing her as somewhat of a mother figure. The trust was now all gone; she felt used by her.

"Could I please be dismissed, your grace?" Vikenja knew she had no say in this. She could only try to accept her fate. Rhaenyra watched her with sad eyes, nodding quickly as her eyes followed the girls silhouette leaving the grand hall.

Vikenja had no idea where to go. She needed to clear her mind, but if she went to her dragon, she would then feel like a coward, trying to flee away from her problems. Instead, she tried to face them; the best place for that would be the sept. There, she could be left alone with her thoughts and try to get a better understanding of herself by reflecting on herself.

Vikenja then spun on her heel and walked to the Septa, subconciously wishing to meet the Septa Margareth.

The woman always spoke the truth, often being harsh. But Vikenja much prefers that instead of it being suggested or lied to. As she reached the steps that led to the gates of the sept, she paused. She wanted to leave this religious path in her life behind, closing the barricades to her beliefs. She felt conflicted, trying to break the religious habits that plagued her life.

´What am I doing?´, it felt like she was being controlled by the role models in her life.

Like she didn't, she didn´t have her own voice anymore. A tear slipped her eye, and then even more began to fall, streaming down her face. Her cheeks were coated with salty water, and she sniffed her nose. She shared one last glance towards the tall building before finally walking back towards the castle.

-----

When Vikenja returned to the castle, she went into the library to look for new books to read. As her eyes trailed over different bookshelves, she heard someone weeping. ´Is someone crying?´, she thought. Vikenja quickly searched for the source of the noises, finding a crying Baela sitting in the corner. Vikenja continued to march her way over to the princess, not wanting to see the girl sad.

The Targaryen princess noticed the footsteps and tried to convey her sniffles, deeply inhaling. "Baela." Vikenja whispered and sat next to her. The girls were not close, barely even knowing each other. But Vikenja knew that when being sad, comfort from another person was greatly needed and appreciated. Especially since she never had any, she knew what it felt like to be left alone with her own sorrow.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" she softly asked while taking the girl's hand in hers. It´s what Rhaenyra always did to comfort her, so Vikenja has now tried her best to copy her.

Baela exhaled deeply and turned to meet the girls gaze. "The queen sent Rhaena away to Pentos to take care of the Queen's young children and the few dragon eggs that were left."

´At least I am not the only one being shipped away´, Vikenja thought bitterly. "Pentos is far from here," Vikenja said, more to herself than to Baela. The princess nodded and stared at the ceiling. "Rhaena and I grew up in Pentos; my mother wished to go back to Driftmark, but she died at that place," she muttered. Silence engulfed the two girls, who sat next to each other.

"Today was most likely the last time I will ever see her."

"Why was she chosen for this task?" Vikenja questioned. Her eyes followed the flickering of the candles, which stood on a table in front of them, watching the silhouette of the fire dance around. Such a useful yet dangerous thing is the reason why the house of Targaryen would soon or later fall.

"She´s the only one without a dragon; the queen doesn´t need her for the battle." Vikenja nodded while standing up. If she spent any more time in this depressing silence, then she would start to think back to her future betrothal and her own personal demise.

"Do you want to do something else, princess?"

Baela raised a brow, now also standing up. "Do what?"

Vikenja smirked at the girl and suggested, "Let's ride our dragons; see who is quicker." Her proposition quickly lightened the mood. Baela chuckled and smeared the tears off of her face. "Are you asking this to distract me from my sorrow or from your own?" Baela turned away from her on her way to leave the tall building. "Does it matter?" Vikenja asked.

Baela continued to walk down the halls from the castle as she answered, "It does not."

Vikenja gulped down the feeling of anxiety; her betrothal was constantly occupying her mind. "Wait for me!" the girl exclaimed while running down the hall to meet the princess. "You are betrothed to Jace, correct?"

Baela linked their arms, continuing to walk together to the beach. "Yes, indeed. Why do you ask?" Vikenja felt warm at the sudden movement of the girl. Could this blossom into her first friendship? "How was it for you?" she spoke slowly, carefully choosing her words.

"Jace and I were betrothed since we were children; I don´t think I´m able to give you advice. It´s not like I´m promised to someone called Bloody Ben," Baela chuckled at the end of her sentence. When Vikenja heard the new nickname, she abruptly stopped walking. "He´s called the bloody ben?" She felt her blood run cold. It's quite ironic, isn´t it? The taunting bloody ben makes Vikenjas blood freeze. Baela turned to her, grabbing her shoulder in a calming manner. Similar to Jace before. "People say he is a shy boy but a beast on the battlefield. It might all just be rumors, though," the princess explained.

Vikenja scoffed, not pleased by Baela's words. "And then I must live in the Riverlands, where the air is moist and weird religion is being practiced," she whined. When Vikenja began to complain about the beliefs of the men in the riverlands, Baela stared sceptically at her. Baela rolled her eyes as she replied, "She says you."

Vikenja then shook her head at the Targaryen princess, dismissing her snarky remark. "I hope that he will decline the Queen's proposition," she quickly switched the topic, not feeling the need to discuss religion with Baela.

"Why would he?" Baela questioned as she called her dragon, Moondancer. "I´m a bastard," the girl replied while calling her own dragon. Baela began to laugh as both of them mounted their dragons. "You underestimate yourself. You are a dragonrider; every man in the seven realms would wed you in a second. No matter your parentage."

"And here you are, stealing the last bit of hope I had," Vikenja jested as the Grey Ghost took off into the sky, with Moondancer quickly following after him. "Be realistic, Vik!" Baela laughed loudly. The lady blushed in return, feeling herself flustered at the affectionate name-calling.

The two dragons then started a race to see who could fly around the entirety of Dragonstone in a shorter time. Moondancer was smaller and quicker, but Grey Ghost was much more thin and lankier. Vikenja would occasionally appear out of the clouds, startling the princess, who did not see the pale dragon coming, which Vikenja would always laugh at in return.

When Baela saw no dragon in sight, she then flew back to where they had begun the race, to which a grey ghost quickly appeared out of the cloud, landing on the ground before Baela herself.

Vikenja then chuckled at the princess, who huffed, jokingly punching the lady's shoulder after they dismounted their dragons. Moondancer then immerged into the skies, whereas the pale dragon surprisingly followed. "I think he likes Moondancer," Vikenja giggled as she watched the two dragons dance together. Baela smiled and then guided the girl back to the castle, where they continued to walk together.

"So, when will you two be wed?" Vikenja questioned. Baela seemed to be in thought for a short moment before replying, "II do not know, most likely when the war is over. Hopefully, I will see my sister then." The lady analyzed Baela's facial expression, noticing a hint of sadness. "Do you love him?"

Baela smiled sadly as she thought of an answer. "I think I can grow to love him." Vikenja then nodded, refraining from questioning the princess any more. As they arrived at the castle, the queen saw the two girls coming her way. Rhaenyra greeted them softly, to which the girls bowed. "Vikenja, do you still have your clothes from the sept?"

Vikenja looked at her, and confusion was written all over her face. "Yes, I do, your grace."

Rhaenyra smiled, clapping her hands together while nervously playing with her golden ring. "Could I borrow them?"

-------

"A raven has arrived from Dragonstone, my lord," the maester said. Benjicot nodded towards him, motioning for the man to bring the letter to him. "Is it from the queen?" Alysanne asked. Benjicot nodded as he read the long text, written in cursive. A surprised look was seen on his face, with a blush conveying his cheeks.

Alysanne chuckled, seeing his mood be more positive for a change. The battle at the burning mill took a toll on the young lord, with the death of his father and his men paining the boy, along with his newfound duties.

"What is it?" His aunt giggled, a smirk evident on her face. Benjicot looked towards his kin, averting his gaze to the ground as he spoke. "My hand is being asked for in marriage. The queen proposed a betrothal between me and the lady Vikenja Waters."

Alys raised a brow. "A bastard?" Benjicot flinched at the harsh description. "She rides a dragon," he added. Alysanne then walked over to the table he sat at, watching him intently. "A dragonrider on our side would be a great asset for us, to protect us from the greens," she hummed.

"She is a year younger than me," he thought while picturing what she may look like. "Well, what are you waiting for?" his aunt replied, to which he looked at her confused. "Send a raven; write to the queen that you will accept the betrothal and will soon visit Dragonstone to have a look at the lady Vikenja yourself," she elaborated while patting the boy on the shoulder.

"Okay, I will write to her grace right now," he stumbled over his words, quickly standing up to go to his study.

------

[desire-mona]

hi mona :3 in case u didn't know (im guessing??? that u do), in the gloaming is based off a short story! u can read it for free on google if u want (i haven't fully read it, but there r some interesting differences. it keeps the same last line, tho 😭😭😭😭)

https://books.google.com/books/about/In_The_Gloaming.html?id=trptEAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&gboemv=1&ovdme=1#v=onepage&q&f=false

YOU FUCKING FOUND IT FOR ME I DIDNT KMOW THERE WAS A WAY TO READ IT FOR FREE I POSTED A COUPLE DAYS AGO THAT I FOUND AN ARTICLE ABOUT IT IN THE NEW YORKER CUZ I WAS READING THE WIKI AND IT WAS PAYWALLED OH MY GOD MATTHEW GIVES YOU SHAKEN BABY SYNDROME