#it solution provider Ireland

[lucawrites11]

the lionesses biggest problems against france and my solutions

keira walsh unable to lose her marker

the lack of a left footed centreback

poor defending of corners especially from hampton

terrible substitutions

a lack of speed and players in the box

a lack of creativity in line-ups making us completely predictable

okay, let's look at these problems in depth:

sarina loves a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 looking something like this:

however this line-up has multiple problems. the first is that it's predictable, it is a slight modification of the same line-up with the same people that has been used since the euros except it no longer has the same level of success because the opposition has figured out it's weaknesses.

the first major risk is the reliance of Keira Walsh. Germany had figured this out by the Euros Final. as one of the best holding midfielder in the world, she's absolutely crucial in terms of the passes she provides forward and her ball recovery but if you just put one player on her all game (in France's case it was Kenza Dali) you can mark her out and remove England's ball recovery ability and ensure that they struggle to get the ball forward.

Another weakness is that if Sarina choses to start Greenwood, as she did yesterday, there is no defender with a good left foot and that leaves the defence vulnerable and also limits the connection that Hemp can have with her full-back down the left. Furthermore, without Lauren James, Ella Toone doesn't provide the same speed running in behind in the 10 role and that switch with Russo to allow Russo to overload the midfield and start goal scoring play. It was something that she did multiple times against France but Toone didn't make her way into the box like James and there is no finishing. English is struggling without that out and out striker, and Lauren James compensated for that gap. Without James, speed in the frontline is also lost, leaving Hemp the fastest forward player and no one chasing after her to get into the box with her.

Also loosing Earps meant that Hampton was shaky and thrown off coming on and she has never been as strong at set piece defending. Khiara may be a better option to defend set pieces where France are deadly but that's too much pressure for a debut game almost. I would like to see Khiara get her first England cap in the next Ireland match to allow be more of an option for Sarina as competition for Earps and Hampton. Sarina also failed in terms of not making a subsitution until the seventieth minute and bringing on experience where England clearly needed more speed and fresh legs. Leaving Jess Naz, Grace Clinton and Jess Park's speed on the bench was criminal.

what's the solution?

in my opinion, sarina has to use an entirely new line-up that does a few things:

either takes Walsh off the pitch or uses a midifeld overload that allows her more freedom

brings more speed into the attacking line

places a winger or ten behind Russo with the ability to get into the box

makes space for a left-footed centreback

there are a few options:

3-4-3

this is my least favourite option. it solves the keira walsh problem by taking her off the pitch but that leaves stanway as the sole holding midfielder. furthermore, it gives space for a left footed centreback in alex greenwood but it means bronze is pushed into the midfield which she can play effectively and would allow for speed in the attack but can leave a defensive hole on the wings. also without a clear left midfielder (carter could maybe play where i've place clinton and if she does, clinton should replace kirby). however clinton has speed to get into the box and as does kirby. this is also tiring for the midfield however england does have the midfield depth to bring on in park.

4-4-2 (diamond)

4-4-2 is on the left and the diamond option is on the right

both are strong choices for this england side and i think that hemp can also play up front next to russo with mead on the right with bronze and clinton or stanway on the left. two centre-forwards in russo and mead/hemp allows the centrebacks to be occupied and for a high press which can interfere with the french attempt to play out from the back that they love. clinton allows has the pace to run in behind when russo or mead manage to steal the ball allowing for a quick counter attack. four in the midfield can also overload the three that the french place in the there and challenge their ability to mark keira walsh out of the game. furthermore, a strong press in russo and hemp/mead allows the midfield be bypassed because the four doesn't always provide a full overload. two upfront can also compensate for when russo drops into the midfield and to hold up the ball, this also allows for the full overload with five in the midfield to pull markers off keira. with a strong left back in greenwood who can play centreback, williamson can also drop into the midfield for an overload. a four at the back with the left-footed defender allows for a deep block if the ball is lost, something that is likely to happen if france play in the midfield again.

3-5-2

this is my favourite line-up

the five in the midfield allows for a complete overload that can release walsh and give her the freedom to pass forward. furthermore, there is the left-footed centreback in greenwood. bronze and hemp playing as wing-backs also allows for a deep block when they drop back and they are both fast at getting both back and forward on the defense and attack which can be the main weakness of this line-up however bronze and hemp can play well as wing-backs. furthermore, bronze, hemp and clinton can overload the final third to support the high press of russo and mead that ensures players in the box and speed on a break to that can work quickly to throw off a french defense and a build up of play from the back

i think this will solve a lot of england's problems going forward and back and release keira walsh in the midfield as well as throwing france off with a new line-up that they wouldn't be expecting

i would also like to see jess park and aggie beever-jones up front to provide support as a striker for alessia russo or speed in behind replacing grace clinton

[eretzyisrael]

by Rachel O'Donoghue

“Why hasn’t there been a Palestinian state?” was the question posed in a recent segment on NPR’s flagship news show “All Things Considered.”

Tasked with answering one of the thorniest questions in the Israel-Palestinian conflict was veteran journalist and NPR’s International Affairs Correspondent, Jackie Northam.

Northam’s opening statement served as a harbinger of the historical revisionism to come. “In mid-May, three European leaders took to the podium in a stand for Palestinians,” she said.

It’s mind-boggling that a respected veteran reporter could attempt to pass off such a contentious statement as journalistic observation. Is the “recognition” of a Palestinian state truly a “stand for Palestinians,” as countless other partisan hacks would have us believe?

Anyone with a basic understanding of geopolitics can see that last month’s stunt by the leaders of Spain, Ireland, and Norway is anything but a genuine effort toward peace.

First, it’s important to note that these countries haven’t so much as recognized a Palestinian state as they have conjured one.

Little thought has been given to the geographical boundaries of this new state, which, given the territorial disputes with Israel, is a rather critical point to have agreed upon.

And what about this new state’s governance? Will Hamas or the Palestinian Authority be in charge? Will there even be elections?

Second, was this a stand for Palestinians or for Hamas? It’s curious that Spain, Norway, and Ireland decided to recognize Palestinian statehood after the October 7 Hamas attacks, not before. If it looks like a reward for the October 7 massacre, it’s because it is.

Northam then describes how the Palestinian fight for statehood dates back over 75 years, mentioning the Palestinian rejection and Jewish acceptance of the UN Partition Plan that would have created an independent Palestinian state alongside a Jewish one.

But what follows is a masterclass in historical fiction, rewriting facts to promote a completely false narrative.

She claims “fighting began in 1947 and again the following year,” before “Arab states came to the Palestinians’ aid.”

So, according to NPR, a coalition of surrounding Arab states attempting to use their superior military might to annihilate the fledgling Jewish state is “coming to the Palestinians’ aid.”

She then fast-forwards to immediately after the 1967 war, suggesting it was almost used as a pretext for an Israeli land grab, because “settlers snatched more land, and for decades, the effort to create a Palestinian homeland faded.”

According to Northam, this bleak situation persisted until the 1990s when the Oslo Accords brought a “glimmer of hope.” To provide his “expert” opinion on this chapter of Israeli-Palestinian history, NPR invites Yousef Munayyer, the Executive Director of the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, who has previously advocated for the dissolution of the Jewish state as a solution to the conflict (not that NPR listeners would ever be clued into that little detail).

Munayyer dismisses the statehood proposals by the government under former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin as nothing more than “glorified autonomy for the Palestinians.”

It’s an act of journalistic malfeasance to mention both Yasser Arafat and the Oslo Accords without informing listeners about the Second Intifada or, indeed, Palestinian terrorism altogether.

Arafat turned down the plan that would have established a Palestinian state and instead launched a campaign of suicide bombings, stabbings, and rock attacks. This was a campaign of terrorism by Palestinians aimed at ordinary Israelis—men, women, and children—much like the October 7 massacre.

NPR’s coverage of the Israel-Hamas war has, as we have previously highlighted, plumbed new depths of bias and journalistic ineptitude. NPR’s latest offering on the elusiveness of Palestinian statehood is, unfortunately, no different.

[ingek73]

Meghan: I’m airing my struggle with suicidal thoughts to help others

Duke and Duchess of Sussex appear on US television to publicise project to tackle child safety online

Caroline Davies

Sun 4 Aug 2024 18.41 CEST

The Duchess of Sussex has spoken about her struggles with mental health and suicidal thoughts as she and her husband launched an initiative to tackle child safety online.

Meghan, who revealed in an interview with Oprah Winfrey three years ago that she thought of taking her own life while a working royal, said she hoped by speaking out she could help others.

“When you’ve been through any level of pain or trauma, I believe part of our healing journey – certainly part of mine – is being able to be really open about it,” she said on Sunday in a joint interview with Prince Harry on the US network CBS.

“And you know, I haven’t really scraped the surface on my experience. But I do think that I would never want someone else to feel that way. And I would never want someone else to be making those sort of plans. And I would never want someone else to not be believed.

“So, if me voicing what I have overcome will save someone, or encourage someone in their life to really genuinely check in on them and not assume that the appearance is good, so everything’s OK, then that’s worth it. I’ll take a hit for that.”

The duchess, 43, was speaking as the couple, parents to Prince Archie, five, and Princess Lilibet, three, launched the Parents’ Network, in association with their Archewell Foundation, to provide an online community and resources to help combat social media harm. The No Child Lost to Social Media campaign was set up after a two-year pilot programme with families whose children had felt the harmful effects of social media.

Prince Harry said the grief these families had suffered could happen to anyone. “We always talk about in the olden days if your kids were under your roof, you knew what they were up to. At least they were safe, right? And now, they could be in the next-door room on a tablet or on a phone and can be going down these rabbit holes. And before you know it, within 24 hours, they could be taking their life.”

In the couple’s 2021 interview with Winfrey, Meghan told the chatshow host: “Look, I was really ashamed to say it at the time, and ashamed to have to admit it to Harry especially, because I know how much loss he suffered. But I knew that if I didn’t say it, that I would do it … and I just didn’t want to be alive any more. That was a clear, real, frightening and constant thought.”

Speaking of the Parents’ Network, she told CBS on Sunday: “I think you have to start somewhere, to look at it through the lens of, ‘What if it was my daughter? What if it was my son? My son, or my daughter who comes home, who are joyful, who I love, and one day, right under my roof, our entire lives change because of something that was completely out of our control?’” She said that, for a parent, the only way to look at the problem was to try to find a solution.

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org

interview:

[nellasbookplanet]

Book recs: fairies

Fey, fae, fairies, faeries - pick your spelling, the fair folk are an undeniably popular trope in fantasy, and can be portrayed in wildly different ways, from cute pixies, to terrifying creatures of lore, to handsome and romantic beings of fairy tales. This list is a wild mix, all of them featuring fae or fae-like beings as central characters.

For more details on the books, continue under the readmore. Titles marked with * are my personal favorites. And as always, feel free to share your own recs in the notes!

If you want more book recs, check out my masterpost of rec lists!

Borderline (The Arcadia Project trilogy) by Mishell Baker*

Urban fantasy mystery. A year after a failed suicide attempt that cost her both her legs and her film-making career, Millie is recruited by a secretive organisation that works to control traffic to and from Arcadia, the land of faries, and given the assignment of tracking down a missing nobleman of the Seelie Court in Hollywood. Bisexual main character, excellent if you like me enjoy reading about deeply messy women.

Phaeton by Rachel Sharp*

Jack and Rosie, couple and hackers, just got their hands on a brand new device: the phaeton, a phone which, despite its crappy parts, is seemingly capable of doing the impossible. Utilizing their skills, they quickly realize it works not through technology, but by being remotely controlled by a living creature - a fae. This revelation throws them into a war between the fae of old and a new type of fae, able to withstand iron and looking to exploit their fellows through this advantage.

Rosemary and Rue (October Daye series) by Seanan Mcguire

Urban fantasy mystery. October "Toby" Daye is a changeling, half human and half fae, who, after having been burned by both sides of her heritage, has retreated to a "normal" life, away from the faerie world. But the murder of Countess Evening Winterrose pulls Toby back in, a curse forcing her to take on the mystery and find the murderer. While I found the first book a bit weak, the series does get better from there on, with engaging characters and interesting mysteries.

Knife (Faerie Rebels trilogy) by R.J. Anderson

Young adult. Young Knife is a Hunter, providing for a group of faeries living inside an oak, their population slowly dying. Long ago, their people lost almost all their magic, and without it they are doomed. But Knife isn't one to give up; recruiting the help of Paul, a human boy living nearby the faery oak, she is set on discovering the secret of - and solution to - her people's missing magic.

Among Others by Jo Walton

Magical realism. Growing up with a half-crazed mother, Morwenna found solace in two places: reading science fiction novels, and playing with the spirits of Wales alongside her twin sister. But after their mother tried to twist the spirits to her own whims with deadly consequences, Mori is sent off alone to private school, where she attempts to come to terms with what happened. This is less "teen girl on big adventure" and more "what happens after the trauma of adventure", with it being partly left up to the reader whether the fantastical elements are read as real or not.

Gossamer Axe by Gael Baudino

Centuries ago in Ireland, Chairiste Ní Cummen was trained in the secrets of music and magic. But her pride was her downfall, trapping her and her lover in the land of the Sidh. Only Chairiste escaped, hoping to one day win her lover's freedom in musical battle with the fairy that holds her captive. Now she is Christa Cruitare, harp teacher in the modern world and all but resigned to her loss. Until she comes across a great new music: heavy metal. Taking one last chance to win her lover's freedom, Christa sets out to gather other skilled musicians and bring them with her in her final battle.

In the Jaded Grove by Anela Deen

After years of war, pixie soldier Simith is tired of bloodshed and secretly sets up a meeting to discuss peace. But he’s betrayed and forced on the run - right through a door to another world. Meanwhile, Jessa is on her way home when she encounters a man about to be killed, and intervenes to save his life. With that simple act, the fate of the two - and that of the war - become interlinked. While I found the general execution of this one a bit weak, the concept and characters are interesting, and it’s a fun take on the portal fantasy genre.

Under the Pendulum Sun by Jeannette Ng

Catherine Helstone's brother Laon has traveled to Arcadia, the dangerous land of the Fae, and has since lost contact with her. Worried sick and desperate for news, Catherine embarks on the perilous journey herself, but on arrival she fins herself isolated and in danger of the Queen of the Fae, who is hard on her brother's heel.

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett*

Historical fantasy. Emily Wilde is a professor who prefers the company of faeries, dangerous but bound to rules she can understand, to that of humans, who she finds inexplicable. Working on her faerie encyclopedia, she travels on a research expedition to the faraway Hrafnsvik, hoping for some solitary months of study. Her hopes are dashed when Wendell Bambleby, rival scholar and possible faerie in hiding, arrives on her doorstep. But Wendell's aggravating presence is far from Emily's only problem, as the Hidden Folk of Hrafnsvik turns out to be far more dangerous than expected.

The Watchers by A.M. Shine

Horror. When her car breaks down, Mina tries crossing a forest by foot. As the sun goes down she finds herself lost with something dangerous closing in; at the last second, a woman appears and urges her into a bunker. Inside is a room with a mirrored wall, in which a group of strangers, stranded just like Mina, huddles through the night. Outside in the dark, something malevolent watches them through the glass. Will the group ever be able to escape the forest? While I found the characters somewhat unconvincing, this is a spooky story with fascinating lore.

The Call (Grey Land duology) by Peadar Ó'Guilín

Young adult horror. After having scorned the fae, Nessa's nation has been cursed: every teenager will, at some point, be called into the Grey Land for 3 minutes and 4 seconds before being returned. 9 out of 10 are returned dead. Trying to keep their country alive, children are sent off to training schools to prepare them and better their chances of survival. Her legs having been twisted by polio at a young age, Nessa's chances are worse than most, but she is determined to make it through her call alive.

The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher*

Horror. When her grandmother dies, Mouse takes on the task of clearing out the old woman's home. But as she arrives at her grandmother's home she realizes her mistake: her grandmother was a hoarder, and Mouse has her work cut out for her. As if this wasn't bad enough, among the things left behind Mouse finds her step-grandfather's journal, describing various horrifying encounters. All nonsense, Mouse, assumes - until she starts making her own encounters in the dark forest surrounding the house.

Faebound (Faebound series) by Saara El-Arifi

Elven sisters Yeeren and Lettle have grown up in the shadow of a forever war, one as a soldier and the other as a diviner and teller of prophecy. But when Yeeren makes a fatal mistake and is exiled, the two leave their familiar world for the first time - and end up with the mythical, and believed extinct, fae. Here they must juggle their own loyalties and hearts with political intrigue as they try to find a way to survive and return to their home. While I didn’t personally dig the romantasy vibes of this and found the elves and fae could’ve been more interesting, if you like epic fantasy with heavy romance, both f/f and f/m, you will probably enjoy it.

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik*

Historical fantasy with strong fairytale vibes. Miryem's father is a moneylender, but his inability to collect on debts has left his family on the brink of ruin. Desperate and ruthless, Miryem steps in to take his place, and suddenly the family's luck has turned. But Miryem's reputation of being able to turned silver to gold catches the attention of the Staryk King - dangerous creatures who seem made of ice body, mind and heart. In her schemes to survive the King's demands, Miryem's actions ensnare a local farmer's daughter as well as the new wife of the tsar. As their fates are bound together, the three girls may change their land forever, for better or for worse.

An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

Young adult romance. Isobel is an artist with a particular and dangerous set of clients in the fair folk. The fairies cannot create art on their own, and her portraits are highly coveted. But as she paints a portrait for the autumn prince, Rook, Isobel makes a mistake: she paints human emotion into his eyes. This weakens Rook before the fairy court, and in his fury he spirits Isobel away to stand trial for her crime.

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

In a desperate attempt to win the heart of the beautiful Victoria, Tristran Thorn makes her a promise to fetch the falling star they both saw crash one night. But to do so, he must enter the land of Faerie, where nothing is as it seems, least of all the fallen star, who isn't very keen on being given away as a gift.

Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey*

Young adult. Ellie cares mostly about hanging out with her friend Kevin and pining after her crush Mark, but when a string of grisly murders - all the victims missing their eyes - starts taking place in her town, it’s the start of something ancient and dangerous, as vengeful fairies battle for immortality. Set in New Zeeland and based on Māori mythology.

Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower by Tamsyn Muir

Novella. When Floralinda was first locked in a tower by a witch, princes kept coming to try and save her. But none of them made it past the dragon on the first floor, let alone the monsters after it, and now the supply of willing princes seems to have dried up. Starting to grow desperate, Floralinda captures and makes a deal with a small fairy for it to assist her in escaping the tower.

A note: all these Holly Black books are set in the same universe and do on occasion cross over, but can be read independently.

Tithe (Modern Faerie Tales trilogy) by Holly Black

Young adult. Sixteen-year-old Kade, used to traveling around with her mother's rock band, has just found herself back in her childhood home town. Here she meets up with old acquaintances - not all of them human. For Kade has always been able to see the faeries invisible to most humans. Among them is a handsome faerie knight she finds injured in the woods and chooses to help. In doing this, she becomes embroiled in a struggle between two rivaling and highly dangerous faerie courts.

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

Young adult. Siblings Hazel and Ben live in Fairfold, a strange town where people leave out milk for the fairies and tourists come to look at a fairy prince locked in an enchanted sleep in a glass coffin in the woods. But things have been getting even stranger in Fairfold; the fair folk are getting more agressive, and the glass coffin in the woods gets shattered. As unrest spreads throughout the town, Hazel keeps a secret that may unravel it all.

The Cruel Prince (The Folk of The Air trilogy) by Holly Black

Young adult. When Jude was seven, her parent's were murdered by a spurned faerie lover of her mother's, while she and her sisters were stolen away to be raised at the High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong in this dangerous land. Her struggle is made all the harder by Cardan, handsome faerie prince with a knack for pestering her. As she strives for some semblance of power in this dangerous realm, Jude gets involved with a conspiracy that may change Faerie forever.

Bonus AKA I haven't read these yet but they seem really cool

Sinners (The Fae Feast series) by Eka Waterfield

Niavin isn't just a sidh Lord, he's also a drug lord, providing the fae's drug of choice: toxic human pollution.

Lore of the Wilds by Analeigh Sbrana

Romantasy. Lore Alemeyu's village is under ruthless Fae rule, trapped within a forested prison. To protect her village, Lore makes a deal with a Fae lord to organize an enchanted library which only a human can enter.

Black Sun Rising (The Coldfire trilogy) by C.S. Friedman

On a planet far away, a priest, an adept, a sorcerer, and an apprentice are drawn together to fight against the evil fae which preys upon humanity.

That Self-Same Metal (Forge & Fracture Saga) by Brittany N. Williams

Young adult historical fantasy. Joan Sands works as a stagehand for William Shakespeare's acting company. Secretly, she’s also blessed by the Orisha with magical powers, and the ability to see Fae. And lately, the Fae are up to something...

Euphoria Kids by Alison Evans

Three teens - one cursed to sometimes be invisible, one who grew from a seed in the ground, and one who has yet to find his real name - find themselves sharing magic and the ability to speak with dryads and fae.

The Wind City by Simmer Wigmore

Old forces are gathering in Wellington, as the displaced iwi atua of legend reappear and decide to make the city their home, and not all of them mean well.

Honorary mentions AKA these didn't really work for me but maybe you guys will like them: Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr, A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas, Faerie Tale by Raymond E. Feist, Malice by Heather Walter, Poison Kiss by Ana Mardoll, Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones

[transthadymacdermot]

WIP intro: Brave Boys of Renown

Genre: horror, political fiction, kind of histfic but idk if you would really classify it as that lmao

Setting: Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1974

Warnings: this is, at its core, an extremely dark and pessimistic story about paramilitaries cannibalising people. if this puts you off in any way block the tag. it is also about child abuse, classism, colonialism, and the top ten most unsanitary commercial kitchens + none of the characters are in any way good or even mostly tolerable people. once again this is mostly just a personal catharsis story for me so I will be writing whatever I want and if it isn't for you then settings > account > filtered tags > "wip: bbor"

Synopsis

Lazarus McClure's day is already going pretty badly, but even after everything that's already happened accidentally hitting and killing someone with his car represents a serious escalation. Faced with the prospect of years spent in prison for what looks like yet another contribution to Northern Ireland's already years-long civil war, he makes what is of course the only logical decision available to him: forcing the only witness, a bystander by the name of Brendan Breen, into the car with him, and driving him and the body back to the chip shop which represents Lazarus' livelihood -- a place where, shall we say, no one will notice another body. But Lazarus has no idea how to dispose of it in a way that definitely won't trace back to him. He even considers turning himself in. And then Brendan, who works part-time as a butcher, cleverly noticing that they are currently in a room full of meat mincers and fryers, offers, in exchange for his freedom, to provide a solution...

Inspired in many ways by my own family history (NOT INCLUDING THE EATING PEOPLE. LET ME CLEAR THAT UP NOW) and an inability to stop thinking about politics ever. I will say rn that the cannibalism present in the story is used almost wholly as a horror aspect and is. how do I say this. basically if you're looking for cannibalism-as-desire this piece will disappoint you. however, if you're looking for cannibalism as a metaphor for colonialism, capitalism, the British aristocracy, power imbalance within relationships, and [insane person voice] the underrepresentation of any non-England place within the UK parliament, this will likely appeal to you slightly more <3

[girlactionfigure]

🇮🇱 ISRAEL REALTIME - Connecting to Israel in Realtime

Morning Report - Wednesday

▪️WAR SIGNS.. British Foreign Ministry has now asked its citizens to leave Lebanon as soon as possible. This joins instructions from: Canada, Kuwait, Germany, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Russia, USA, Ireland, Jordan, Australia and Spain.

▪️FRENCH PRESIDENT ASKS.. asked Netanyahu to avoid starting the fire with Hezbollah in Lebanon. Macron also asked all parties involved to move quickly towards a diplomatic solution to the disputes in order to establish stability in the region.

▪️BIDEN.. Barring a surprising last-minute change, Biden will meet with Netanyahu during Netanyahu's upcoming visit to Washington ahead of his speech to Congress.

▪️PROVING BIDEN’S FITNESS - SEE, HE STOPPED ISRAEL.. (N12 quoting NY Times) Biden told Netanyahu in a phone call after the huge Iranian attack on April 14: "Let me be very clear, if you carry out a large-scale attack against Iran - you are left alone." Netanyahu tried to say that a strong response was necessary to prevent future attacks, but Biden said: "If you do that, I'm out," according to the New York Times.

The publication comes as part of an attempt by Biden's associates to provide evidence of the moments when he acted with clarity, sharpness and composure - against the background of the presidential debate.

▪️POLITICS.. Senior member of coalition member United Torah Judaism party meets with opposition leader National Unity party MK Gantz at his home.

▪️UGLY POLITICS.. The state attorney wants to open a criminal investigation against National Security Minister Ben Gvir for making statements against the citizens of Gaza.

.. Statement from the Minister: "Unbelievable! The state attorney is trying to prosecute an Israeli minister, for "incitement" against the citizens of an enemy country who danced on the blood of our soldiers in the streets of Gaza on Oct. 7.”

▪️UGLY “JUSTICE”.. MK Gottlieb: “We have gone off the rails! A country trying to suicide! A soldier who went south on Oct. 7 and fought fiercely against Nuchba terrorists who murdered and raped our sons and daughters, was arrested because in that event, in which he fought with other fighters by his side in fierce battles against brutal terrorists, he courageously eliminated a violent terrorist in the process.

The claim: that the elimination was unnecessary.

We pressed the self-destruct button. Someone is trying very hard to hurt the spirit of our soldiers during combat.”

▪️SAMARIA - 3 TERRORISTS ARRESTED.. 3 armed terrorists arrested in their vehicle by IDF forces near Shevai Shomron.

▪️AFTER RELEASING TERRORISTS.. including the head of Shifa hospital, Honeni notes the Shin Bet today is opposing the release of a Jewish security prisoner convicted of a racially motivated attack on an Arab. One of the reasons is the "explosive situation in light of the war". Multiple channels are commenting: “Releasing terrorists in war is important for stability. Releasing Jews is dangerous and explosive.”

▪️CRITICAL AID DEMANDED - SODA AND CIGS.. According to Palestinian reports, Israel has decided to prevent the entry of fizzy drinks into Gaza. A Gazan journalist: We call on the international organizations to negotiate with Netanyahu so that he will bring cleaning materials, fizzy drinks and cigarettes into Gaza.

▪️ROUTE 1 OVERNIGHT ROAD WORK - AIRPORT IMPACT.. Starting tonight at 10:00 p.m.: Route 1 from the Ganot interchange to the exit from Ben Gurion will be blocked until 5:00 a.m. Entry to Ben Gurion from Tel Aviv will be possible via Route 40 and the Lod interchange only.

���️IDF watches terrorists plant another road mine (bomb) in Nur Shams, eliminates from the air. 4 terrorists killed. Islamic Jihad claims them.

⭕ HAMAS ROCKETS at Sufa, Holit, near south-Gaza towns.

[irelandseyeonmythology]

So I’ve been getting more into broader brehon law, not just marriage law, and is it true they had laws about how many different colors you could wear? I can’t find any sources about it but maybe I’m just not looking hard enough

That comes from one kind of famous (ish?) passage from the Annals, that reads as follows (from the O'Donovan translation):

Do I think it was something people followed? ...probably not, honestly. We don't see much reference to it elsewhere. Not to say there were NO restrictions, but it's to say that I think it's often taken 100% uncritically and you'd think we'd see more reference to it elsewhere, in the actual lawbooks, if that was the case. (Though, naturally, some of it's practical, in the sense that...would a slave be able to have more than one color? Being a slave? Very likely not.) It's the issue with all sumptuary laws, which is "to what extent were these things widely being used?"

To quote from Sparky Booker's "Moustaches, Mantles, and Saffron Shirts: What Motivated Sumptuary Law in Medieval English Ireland?": "In terms of implementation, the success of enforcement of sumptuary laws varied.11 Indeed, historians disagree about whether these laws were intended to be enforced fully, or whether they were 'primarily symbolic,' a method of 'affirm[ing] values' and even actively shaping the social world by enshrining socio-economic divisions in law."

We know that medieval Ireland had a number of colors associated with the aristocracy: purple (like with the rest of Europe) seems to be common, white, red, like in this description from the Táin (Recension 1, O'Rahilly's translation): "He held a light sharp spear which shimmered. He was wrapped in a purple, fringed mantle, with a silver brooch in the mantle over his breast. He wore a white hooded tunic with red insertion and carried outside his garments a golden-hilted sword."

Likewise, the famous description of Etáin in Togail Bruidne Da Derga (Stokes' translation):

"A mantle she had, curly and purple, a beautiful cloak, and in the mantle silvery fringes arranged, and a brooch of fairest gold. A kirtle she wore, long, hooded, hard-smooth, of green silk, with red embroidery of gold. Marvellous clasps of gold and silver in the kirtle on her breasts and her shoulders and spaulds on every side. The sun kept shining upon her, so that the glistening of the gold against the sun from the green silk was manifest to men."

For more on this, see Niamh Whitfield, "Aristocratic Display in Early Medieval Ireland in Fiction and in Fact: The Dazzling White Tunic and Purple Cloak", which she's generously put on Academia.

After the English colonization of Ireland, you have new sumptuary laws being put into place -- Booker discusses the earliest case we have, from 1297, when a hairstyle known as the "cúlán" was banned for Englishmen, with the enactment complaining that the Englishmen were taking it up to such an extent that they were getting killed after being mistaken for Irishmen. (I feel like there is a solution to this that does not involve banning the hairstyle, let me think...)

You had similar fines being imposed on saffron sleeves or kerchiefs for women, or wearing a mantle in general for men, as of 1466 in Dublin -- these aren't as a matter of maintaining social class so much as preserving a distinction between the English and the Irish (what's interesting, of course, is that the English had to have been adopting these fashions to some extent for the law to be needed.) And we see them routinely going back to this aversion towards saffron colors, since it was associated extensively with Ireland and Irishness, and a particularly high value one at that.

So: Eochaidh Eadghaghach -- that section in the annals provides the quote that says that this is a thing that happened -- I leave it to you to decide whether it was ever practiced or even in place in the first place. I think it might have, if only as a societal ideal, but I'm incredibly doubtful. We know that colors often ARE used as a way of marking social standing in the literature, but I don't think it was as regimented as that quote suggests. Sumptuary laws ARE better recorded in a post-Norman invasion context, usually (though not ALWAYS) as a means of marking out the Irish from the English populations (even though we know, both from this and other evidence, that these lines weren't always as firm as the authorities might have liked.)

I know that Kelly also goes into a lot of details re: colors and dyes in his "Early Irish Farming" -- if you're looking to get into the world of day to day life in Ireland, there isn't a better source.

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

please support this blog

🦇 Morbidly Yours Book Review 🦇

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

❓ #QOTD What do you want people to remember you for? ❓ ⚠ Trigger Warnings: Grief, Death, Car Accident, Ableism, Bullying, Body Horror, Child Death

🦇 Painfully shy Callum Flannelly would rather dive into an open grave than take a stranger to dinner. But he can only inherit the family undertaking business under one condition: He must marry before his 35th birthday. Texan animator Lark Thompson moved to Galway, Ireland, to restart her life and career, not be reminded of losing her husband by moving in next to a funeral home. Can Lark help Callum find The One, or has she been standing right in front of him all along?

💜 Ivy Fairbanks has done a wonderful job at developing vibrant, realistic characters who will, no doubt, steal your heart. Despite the grief and guilt weighing on her, Lark is a ray of sunshine, and there's no discounting the charm Callum is hiding behind his seemingly dark exterior. Initially, I worried they were TOO different for chemistry to spark between them, but the progression is easy and natural, the two of them bringing light to one another despite coming from very different, dark places. The little moments between them truly build into romance, making their friends-to-lovers progression both realistic and raw. You'll fall in love as they fall in love, feel your heart ache as their hearts ache, and watch both characters grow with every page. Beyond that, Fairbanks directs readers directly into Ireland, the setting's natural beauty and rich history seeping out of the page until you can't help but breathe in the scent of flowers blooming after a heavy rain. This book is a journey, both through Galway and its intense character growth. Callum's stutter is well-represented, as is his ace/demisexual orientation. As someone who is in love with a demi-goddess (hehe), I was glad to see it depicted so richly and honestly. Lark researching to understand Callum better was all too sweet.

💙 Normally, I have limited interest in a marriage of convenience plot, but it really works well here. You feel the pressure Callum is experiencing without it seeming like a hokey plot device. I also appreciate that both characters have both internal and external conflicts they need to resolve. That being said, I do think Lark's enemy comes off as a one-dimensional villain, when so many other characters live off the page. I've encountered coworkers who are willing to take credit for another person's work, throw someone under the bus, and bully to feel powerful, but honestly, there's usually a deeper reason motivating them. I also think we should have experienced more panic from Lark when she realized how Callum planned to fix the marriage problem. Instead we skip that scene and go straight into her finding a solution.

🦇 Recommended for fans of Tessa Bailey, Hanna Bonam-Young, and Tara DeWitt.

✨ The Vibes ✨ 🪦 Dual POV 🌻 Contemporary Romance/Romantic Dramedy 🪦 Marriage of Convenience 🌻 Set in Ireland 🪦 Opposites Attract 🌻 Ace/Demisexual MMC (w/ a Stutter) 🪦 Forced Proximity/Neighbors 🌻 Friends-to-Lovers 🪦 Open Door Spice 🌻 First in a Series 🪦 Debut Novel

🦇 Major thanks to the author @IvyFairbanksBooks and publisher @putnambooks for providing an ARC of this book via Netgalley. 🥰 This does not affect my opinion regarding the book. #MorbidlyYours

💬 Quotes ❝ Lark’s vibrance made me fall for her. Stifling it would be akin to plucking a wild, rare bloom, only to watch it wither under a bell jar. ❞ ❝ To love was to accept risk. In all honesty, the half-century old scooter was a thousand times safer than giving anyone my heart—and I’d done that months ago. ❞ ❝ My heart thumps like a drum, with the taste of your lips, the sweet breath in your lungs. I tried not to fall, but I had to succumb. ❞ ❝ Swear on this life, beside you I’ll stand. ❞ ❝ “Mo chuisle? It means ‘my pulse.’ I never quite understood it before, what it meant to have another person be the d-driving force behind the pump of your blood, but it’s true. Lark, your smile saved me like an emergency transfusion. Your laugh is the song my every blood cell dances to. Your touch revived me from darkness. You are my pulse. You make me feel alive even when I’m surrounded by death.” ❞ ❝ “I can’t b-b-believe you named my character Plague Rat.” “What can I say? You inspire me.” She shrugged. ❞ ❝ “Illusions aren’t lies. They’re gifts. They give the audience something to believe in,” she replied. “Help me put a little magic in the world.” ❞ ❝ “You’re absolutely gorgeous,” he murmured. “You say that after I take your glasses off?” I smiled. “I don’t need them to see you.” My heart swelled. He did see me, and it felt so right. ❞ ❝ In an interview, my animation hero Hayao Miyazaki once said that he strived to portray love as a relationship where two people mutually inspire each other to live. ❞ ❝ We would cherish the light and honor the darkness, together. ❞

[thekenobee]

Coming back to Ireland tomorrow!!

It's always great to see my lil brother and my two baby boys 🐱 but the longer I stay in Poland the more my parents behave as they did in the ol days.

What can I say, Ireland is a truly breathtaking place and I cherish the freedom and various possibilities that my university provides me, finally I can say that I study and rejoice in doing so. Not to mention that there are so many friendly and kind people there, strangers who would simply smile at you in the streets- not a chance seeing that phenomenon in Poland.

However, it's not perfect - my room is freezing most of the time, and whenever the temperature is below zero, I can see my breath in my room! But what really gets my goat is that even the laundry room is warmer than mine and I KNOW that my hosts are simply saving up. Their solution was to provide me with more blankets, so you know.. And what goes with that is the MOULD

Apart from that everything is SOOOO expensive and I don't need to mention that polish currency is approximately 4,5 times weaker/less than euro *sobs hard*

Hopefully I'll find a better place to stay next semester BC YES, I'll be staying in Dublin to finish my BA there<3

[felixcloud6288]

Higurashi: Festival Accompanying Chapter 1

We know all the secrets surrounding June 1983, but we don't know everything leading up to that month.

Everything begins at some point likely around the mid 1950s. Before she was Miyo Takano, she was Miyoko Tanashi. She was scared of horror stories, loved collecting the flags that came with her kids meals, and loved her parents very much.

S-Save me r/vexillology!! I'm trying to identify all 19 of the flags Miyoko has collected.

The flags I can identify for sure:

Brazil: near the bottom center

Canada: near the center to the right of Brazil

China: in the top right corner

Denmark: In the top left, above South Korea and partially buried under two other flags

Finland: Above Denmark and slightly covering it up

France: The flag covering up Denmark

Germany: bottom left corner

Greece: Center far right

Japan: Near the center

South Korea: Center far left. Partially covered by the drawer wall

Switzerland: Bottom center, next to Brazil

Turkey: Bottom right corner

United Kingdom: Top Center

United States: Top center. Right above Canada

Meanwhile I think these are also in the pile:

Argentina or Austria: The flag under the Swiss and Brazilian flags. I'm leaning toward Argentina because red is drawn in darker shades

India: The flag at the top right above the US flag and partially covered by the drawer

Italy or Ireland: Flag to the right of Switzerland and above Turkey. I'm leaning more toward it being Italy.

I cannot figure out what the flag between Canada and Greece is. At first, I thought it was the Czech Republic, but the shading on this image doesn't match the Czech colors at all. And it's backward too. There's also a flag in the top right corner that is very hidden. All I can tell is it has white on the bottom. My guess is it might be Indonesia. I was also considering Estonia, but Estonia was under Soviet rule at this time and it was illegal to fly the Estonian flag.

I was really hoping the Mexican and South African flags might be in here.

You're placing a curse on your kid if you tell them god will give them happiness if they're good. You're telling them it is their fault when life happens and things fall apart. And almost as if on cue, Miyoko's life falls apart on the same day her father told her that. The only thing you could say she did wrong was she didn't hear her father when he called out to her.

Mr Tanashi losing his right hand in the train derailment is just twisting the knife. It's not enough that Miyoko's mother died in the accident and that she saw her father die. She's also denied one final headpat before he dies.

I want to try being fair to the social workers working on Miyoko's case. This is the mid 1950s. World War II ended at most a decade ago. Around 4% of Japan's population was killed in the war. Two cities were utterly destroyed, and there's the general economic collapse that comes from long-term military action.

No matter how much they may want to help, resources in this environment are stretched thin. Trying to find and contact a single person with no leads would likely be difficult today. It would be a herculean task in the 1950s.

And it's also this kind of scenario that lets an institution like the one Miyoko was sent to to exist. Those social workers were genuinely clueless about how that orphanage mistreats the children brought to it. They genuinely think they're providing the best possible solution given the situation, and the head of the orphanage knows how to put on a kindly face in front of them.

I genuinely don't know if the panel of the man patting Miyoko's head is real or her imagination. Him giving her even the slightest kindness is so out of character. And Miyoko grew up in the exact opposite of an abusive home. Her instinct when seeing someone raise their hand to her is expecting kindness and being utterly confused when she's hit instead.

I love and hate how that first slap to Miyoko is so perfectly executed. A full page image on the right half of the page spread. You just turn the page and see Miyoko violently slapped across the face. It's as sudden to us as it is to her. And right before it happens, the chapter implied that there is hope for her despite everything that's happened. But that one slap knocks the hope out of her and us.

back

[scotianostra]

On December 17th 1907 William Thomson, Lord Kelvin died.

Kelvin was outstanding in theory as well as practice. His nephew died at sea and caused him to work for safety at sea; his compass was adopted worldwide; his tide gauge was in use for many years. He provided solutions for the laying of the first transatlantic telegraph cables. A system of temperature and make of refrigerator are named after him.

Although born in Northern Ireland, at 21-25 College Square East in Belfast in 1824, William Thomson spent most of his life in Scotland after his father became Professor of Mathematics at Glasgow University. Kelvin attended university classes from the age of 10. He wrote his first scientific paper, under the pseudonym 'PQR', aged only 16.

In his teens he learned French well enough to read the work of eminent French mathematician Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier. Philip Kelland, Professor of Mathematics at Edinburgh University, had criticised Fourier's work on the theory of heat. Kelvin boldly stated that Kelland was wrong – and later scientists agreed with him.

From 1841 to 1845 Kelvin attended Cambridge University. He was an excellent student – although he shocked his father by spending his allowance on a boat, so it was not all work for the young scholar!

After graduating, Kelvin worked in a Paris laboratory with physics professor Victor Regnault.

Kelvin was influenced by the mathematical ideas of George Green, a self-taught miller's son from Nottingham.

He later brought an essay of Green's to the attention of fellow mathematicians and physicists by republishing it in a respected scientific journal. Until then the essay on mathematical analysis, electricity and magnetism had gone largely unnoticed.

In 1846, aged only 22, Kelvin returned to Glasgow to become Professor of Natural Philosophy. He remained in this post for 53 years. Keen to see students involved in practical experiment, he established what became the first university physics laboratory.

Kelvin continued to study the nature of heat. He realised that it would be useful to be able to define extremely low temperatures precisely. In 1848, he proposed an absolute temperature scale, now called 'the Kelvin scale'.

After further research, he formulated the second law of thermodynamics. This states that heat will not flow from a colder to a hotter body.

His interest in the transmission of electricity prompted his appointment as Director of the Atlantic Telegraph Company in 1856. The company was to install a telegraph cable under the Atlantic Ocean. Atlantic Cable Expeditions in 1857, 1858 and 1865 failed, but communication by cable finally succeeded in 1866.

From 1870 onwards, Kelvin spent many summers on his yacht 'Lalla Rookh', and invented several marine instruments to improve navigation and safety. He introduced a mariner's compass more accurate than any other in existence, and a machine to predict tide levels worldwide.

In 1884 Kelvin travelled to the United States to give a series of lectures. These were enthusiastically received, and were published in 1904 as the 'Baltimore Lectures'. He became a Lord in 1892 and took the name Kelvin because of his Glasgow connections. By the time of his death in 1907, he was an international celebrity, widely respected and honoured.

[gatheringbones]

[“By the time of the famine that began in 1845, impoverished and colonized Ireland had already been bleeding its population through emigration, mostly to the United States. By the 1830s, Irish Catholics outnumbered Scots Irish Protestants in the United States. By 1840, Irish Catholic immigrants constituted a third of the immigrant population, which increased to half the immigrant population with the arrival of the famine refugees after 1845. Many well-off Irish Catholics as well as Scots Irish Protestants immigrated to the United States both before and after US independence, but poverty was the rule for the famine refugees, and anti-Catholicism in the United States was virulent.

Irish American historian Patrick Higgins points out that early on in their North American and Caribbean colonies, the British exported colonized Irish as a surplus population, creating a kind of “pressure valve.” As Cecil B. Rhodes famously said in the late nineteenth century:

I was in the East End of London (a working-class quarter) yesterday and attended a meeting of the unemployed. I listened to the wild speeches, which were just a cry for ‘bread! bread!’ and on my way home I pondered over the scene and I became more than ever convinced of the importance of imperialism. . . . My cherished idea is a solution for the social problem, i.e., in order to save the forty million inhabitants of the United Kingdom from a bloody civil war, we colonial statesmen must acquire new lands to settle the surplus population, to provide new markets for the goods produced in the factories and mines. The Empire, as I have always said, is a bread and butter question. If you want to avoid civil war, you must become imperialists.”.]

roxanne dunbar-ortiz, from not a nation of immigrants: settler colonialism, white supremacy, and a history of erasure and exclusion, 2021

[dougielombax]

Non irish Jew here

What do you make of those comparing irish/english conflict to palestinian/israeli conflict and what might i be able to point to to counter such comparisons when speaking to irish?

Idk how to counter such comparisons but I can say this much.

This is gonna be a bit long but I hope it provides some clarity.

Well.

I can understand why they’d make such comparisons but it’s never that simple.

For one thing, equating Irish republicanism with Palestinian militant activity risks linking it to Hamas, and by extension to Islamist activity as a whole, which I don’t like.

(I’m aware there are also non-Islamist groups in Palestine too but still)

(Now it is true that the PIRA had relations with the PLO, but they didn’t work with Hamas or PIJ or any other such groups. (They also had relations with ETA in the Basque Country and the ANC in South Africa.))

Because this in turn can feed into the myth of Ireland being an antisemitic country. Which it isn’t, the British will tell you otherwise because of decades worth of propaganda bullshit.

Fwiw I support peace and a two-state solution. But many idiots have called me naive and stupid for doing so.

All I can say is that Irish republicanism operates on its own terms, while Palestinians have repeatedly been used and exploited by the likes of Syria and Iran. Sickeningly so.

Irish Republican violence has also never been motivated by any desire for ethnic cleansing or religious motivations. (I’m aware that non-Islamist Palestinian political groups also exist and that many are happy to coexist with Israel but still)

Many people in Ireland don’t like what Israel is doing to the Palestinians, but it doesn’t mean we support Hamas. Because we don’t.

As I’ve said many of us just want peace and a two-state solution.

And the Irish government doesn’t support Hamas either. No Irish political party does. (You might find the odd crank who says they do but they’re morons)

Sorry if it sounds like I’m repeating myself a lot here btw.

I just needed to clarify my stance on a few things.

I can say this much.

All also say one must never use one people’s fight for freedom or independence to put down that of another.

[anniekoh]

multiculturalism vs multiracial organizing & solidarity

Two from Novara Media

We Can’t Dismantle Capitalism Without Antiracist Solidarity: Cross-community organising is key.

by Sonali Bhattacharyya, Novara Media (9 August 2021)

My dad was a lecturer and a trade unionist, my mum a social worker, both from India via what is now Bangladesh. They saw no distinction between the racist abuse they experienced and that experienced by their colleagues who originated from Pakistan or the Caribbean. In their eyes, they were all being exploited under the same unjust system.

If you look at photos of iconic acts of resistance from that era – protests against the violent racism that led to the murder of Altab Ali, the police brutality faced by visitors to the Mangrove, or the picket lines in support of the strikers at Grunwick – you’ll see the working class in all its diversity.

How State-Sanctioned Multiculturalism Killed Radical Anti-Racism in Britain: Enter the rainbow nation.

by Ilyas Nagdee & Azfar Shafi, Novara Media (21 June 2022)

In this way, antiracism from above became entangled with the British state rather than presenting an opposition to it. Multiculturalism served as a means for the state to manage the contradictions of governing a racist society without meaningfully addressing them – instead enveloping them a dense vocabulary of ‘culture’, ‘ethnicity’, ‘diversity’, ‘identity’ and so on.

At worst, multiculturalism provided an alibi for racist state agencies. This contradiction was laid bare in a pamphlet by the National Convention of Black Teachers on policing and race training, highlighting how between 1981 and 1984: “[The] police training establishment implemented a number of new programmes. So that cadets, recruits and officers may now be taught multi-agency policing methods in the morning and commando work in the afternoon: multiculturalism in one course and the use of plastic bullets in the next: concepts of American-imported racism-awareness on the one hand and Northern Ireland style repression on the other.”

As multiculturalism was elevated to an ideology of governance, racism itself was emptied of its ideological substance. This was underlined by the response to policing following the 1981 uprisings, whereby the question of state racism which the police were enforcing became recast as a matter of racial attitudes among the police. More broadly, structural racism was refashioned as an issue of managing racist attitudes and interpersonal hostility. This in turn held the door open for apolitical and procedural ‘solutions’ to racism – such as the new racism awareness trainings prescribed by professional antiracists.

After the 1981 uprisings, such professionals were drawn from the ranks of organisations like the Racism Awareness Programme Unit (RAPU) to help in smoothing out the hard edges of the police force. Nearly 40 years later, their US counterparts were soothing the hearts of white America, as Robin DiAngelo’s White Fragility shot to the top of bestseller lists at the height of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. Labour leader Keir Starmer’s warmest gesture towards the protests was to prescribe unconscious bias training for his MPs. And before the dust had settled, race consultants on both sides of the Atlantic were polishing up their portfolios and waxing lyrical about their ‘anti-oppression workshops’ and ‘antiracist dinner parties’, like shameless antiracist ambulance chasers.

[smartfixcastleblayney0]

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[theboarsbride]

Hi again! Just wanna recommend you some really good stories with fairy lore and Celtic/Brythonic mythology after my long ass rant about ACOTAR. To take a break from the negativity. So I already recommended Sargentum and Mias and Elle on Tapastic and I really do highly recommend you read them. Sargentum is about a boy who makes a deal with a witch for powers of destruction while Mias and Elle is a Hades and Persephone inspired story set in a pagan Tudor England where a wizard goes through a portal to the modern day and kidnaps a woman into his fantasy world for his nefarious deeds. However, because it is a Hades and Persephone inspired story, it has its issues when it comes with the romance between the two leads but it is a very healthy one (very low bar to pass considering the Stockholm Syndrome debate and countless other toxic, shitty retellings, I know, but I promise, they are good for each other) where the female lead absolutely takes no shit while the story actually punishes the male lead for his terrible and awful behavior (the author does encourage that we hate him in the early chapters it's very funny the comments are filled with stuff like "KICK HIS ASS"). Tread lightly though, it gets very heavy and violent pretty fast. Another recommendation is a middle grade fantasy series called 13 Treasures by Michelle Harrison which is about a girl who can see fairies and it basically introduced preteen me to real life fairy lore in Britain and Ireland. It's also fairly dark for a middle grade book series too but then again, the fae folk are actually dangerous trickster entities in this one because they literally kidnap babies and replace them with changelings. There are a couple of instances where the characters used their wit to outsmart the fae folk and the solutions are very clever so stick around for those. For movies, I recommend the Cartoon Saloon movies: Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea, and Wolfwalkers, all of which are inspired by real life Irish folklore.

!!!! YES!!! THANK YOU FOR THESE RECS!!!!!! 💛💛💛

I will provide links to both of these stories in this post! Thank you, again, for providing these titles, they all sound so good!! puts them in my TBR because both sound so good!!

Also Cartoon Saloon films are SO GOOD!!!!!!!! I definitely recommend those over indulging SJM's vaguely- and poorly-rendered retelling of Celtic myth!

Sargentum by popsiclestick on Tapas (I'm already in LOVE with the art style!!)

13 Treasures Trilogy by Michelle Harrison

Mias and Elle by stressedjenny

As always, feel free to drop story, book, movie, etc. recommendations into my ask box!! I really love sharing about these underappreciated stories, and indie and self published authors!!!!🥺