#it's. let's be clear. it's going to be france or spain

[the-cosmic-cauldron]

Astrology Observation: ✈️🛫🇺🇸🇻🇳🇬🇧😜🫦💋☀️🥇🧘‍♀️🌳Places You Should Visit, Your Flirt Style, How You’ll Find Success & Spirituality That Resonates Based on Your Rising Sign ✈️🛫🇺🇸🇻🇳🇬🇧😜🫦💋☀️🥇🧘‍♀️🌳

Disclaimer: As always, if it doesn’t apply, let it fly. This was fun to make and I enjoyed being random and combining different themes. Happy December, the last month of 2024 & cheers to the holidays approaching 🎉🎊🥳

Aries Rising:

Places You Should Visit: Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, New Zealand, Japan, Canada, Costa Rica, Chile.

Flirt Style: Direct and clear, flirty teasing, compliments, showing off, taking intiative.

How You’ll Find Success: When you understand that your life is not meant for settling, you are the embodiment of constant refinement. If you succumb to pressure and don’t move at your own pace, you risk failure. For you, life is about finding pleasure and enjoyment in every moment.

Spirituality: Advaita Vedanta, Mystical Christianity, Kabbalah, Taoism, Shamanism, Buddhism, New Age Spirituality Animism, Theosophy, Pagnanism and Wicca, Indigenous Spiritualities

Taurus Rising:

Places To Visit: Traveling across the United States, Germany, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, UAE

Flirt Style: Subtle signals, listening, patient flirts, intentional compliments, subtle affirmations, quality time.

How You’ll Find Success: You are such an intellectually sound person who has the ability to change your trajectory at the drop of a hat. If you do not continue to explore your mental complexity and versatility, you will feel stuck. Explore all of your options; you are meant to expand, not limit yourself. Fill your cup up with all your wonderful ideas.

Spirituality: Stoicism, Confucianism, Bhagavad Gita, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Paganism, Theosophy, New Age Spirituality, Indigenous Spirituality

Gemini Rising:

Places To Visit: Iceland, Finland, Netherlands, Sweden, Singapore, Switzerland, Canada, Uruguay, New Zealand.

Flirt Style: Open body language, sweet gestures, humorous, openly sharing, story telling, romantic gestures, casual and flexible.

How You’ll Find Success: Life for you is an intimate experience; the more intimacy you allow into your life, the more connected you will feel to all that is, which will spur much creativity to go after what you want. With support from the right sources, you’ll find that you are ready to kick-start your way to becoming a boss.

Spirituality: Buddhism, Taoism, Shintoism, Sufism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism.

Cancer Rising:

Places To Visit: Italy, France, Ireland, Switzerland, Japan, New Zealand, Greece, Indonesia, Turkey.

Flirt Style: Intense eye contact, calm demeanor, indirect comments, giving hints, subtle touches, deep conversations, giving full attention, engaging in shared interests.

How You’ll Find Success: When you embrace your playful side and allow life to be a mix of a hilarious comedy and a romantic film, you will find success. Instead of pigeonholing yourself to the mundane, express the most beautiful expressions of your mind and heart. When you’re supported by those who admire you and validate you, you will win! When your life is focused more on positivity and adventure, you will thrive!

Spirituality: Humanism, Unitarian Universalism, Rationalist Spirituality, Buddhism, Sufism, Modern Paganism.

Leo Rising:

Places To Visit: Major cities in the USA, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, Iceland, UAE, Thailand, Japan, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Morocco

Flirt Style: Adventurous and spontaneous, playful teasing, asking questions, animated body language, chill, very open, smiles a lot and expressive eyes, playful touching.

How You’ll Find Success: You have to be very clear and intentional about your goals. But you must find routines that work for you—your routine is everything. This includes your health, your presentation, how much you know, and how well you execute tasks. Carefully crafting these aspects helps create a successful person. Neatness, learning to communicate, and being a self-learner—constantly looking for ways to improve—are key to creating success.

Spirituality: Hinduism, Confucianism, Judaism, Shinto, Catholic, Islam, Wicca and Paganism, Tibetan Buddhism, Yoruba Religion, Ingenious Spiritualities

Virgo Rising:

Places To Visit: France, Italy, Switzerland, Greece, Portugal, Japan, Thailand, Bali, Vietnam, traveling across USA, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, New Zealand, Australia

Flirt Style: Cautious, straightforward and intentional, talking about their goals and standards, dressing up, emotionally distant, controlled body language, calm confidence, subtle tease.

How You’ll Find Success: The key for you is to put yourself out there. Once you start hanging around different people and having a great time doing it, you’ll find what really suits you and meet important people in your journey. Falling in love can also help give you purpose and drive. When you find more balance in your personality and life and can feel less driven towards hyperfixation, you will succeed.

Spirituality: Prosperity Gospel, New Thought Movement, Law of Attraction, Hinduism, Sufism, Yoruba, Taoism, Paganism, Buddhism, Kabbalah, Shamanism, Jainism

Libra Rising:

Places To Visit: Traveling throughout the USA, Japan, Germany, Singapore, Sweden, Canada, South Korea, Netherlands, UK, India, Finland, Israel

Flirt Style: Subtle and chill, quirky sense of humor, thoughtful and shares, mystery, hard to get energy, conversational, witty banter, talking about ideas, friendly debates, unique way of complimenting or gifting

How You’ll Find Success: To find success, you need to gain a very acute and keen focus and dedicate yourself to your passion—complete dedication for years and years. This starts with a need to experience change: change where you live, change your appearance. But overall, overcome your shadow side, embrace your darker elements, heal, and get deeply introspective. Through healing and becoming extremely focused and dedicated, you will reach success. Don’t let the past define you.

Spirituality: Buddhism, Jainism, Shinto, Taoism, Ayurveda, Zoroastrianism, Sufism, Christian Mysticism, Sikhism, Hygee, Stoicism, Native Spiritualities

Scorpio Rising:

Places To Visit: Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, travel around the USA, Netherlands, Japan, Italy.

Flirt Style: Expressive through art forms, soft spoken, kind gestures, gentle touch, genuine interactions, calm and serene, understanding and patient.

How You’ll Find Success : To succeed, you have to allow yourself to think outside of the box and give yourself freedom. You need something that allows you to spread your wings and enjoy. Traveling will help you find success, as will moving your body, doing different things, and being explorative. Don’t limit yourself and stay positive—shaping your thoughts positively will help a lot, as well as surrounding yourself with different people, as they will bless you with a lot of support to gain success. Lastly, being authentic is a great way to ensure success.

Spirituality: Taoism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sufism, New Age Spirituality, Progressive Christianity, Animism, Paganism, Humanism, Zen Spirituality.

Sagittarius Rising:

Places To Visit: Traveling around the USA, Spain, Brazil, UAE, Japan, France, Australia, South Africa, Netherlands, Hungary, Portugal, Argentina.

Flirty Style: Initiates conversations, expressive body language, playful and lively, uses compliments and verbal affirmations, playful teasing, direct, confident, engaged, positive vibes, animated.

How You’ll Find Success: The focus here has to be on patience. The key is to be patient so that when you take action, it’s not about instant gratification but about the long gain. Quality over quantity. Look towards what’s going to be lasting. Be discerning about who you let into your life, have discipline with what you do, be ambitious and go full throttle. Get deep into what you want out of life and be loyal to your goals. Grow thick skin and be resilient to any challenges by believing in yourself the most. Watch what you do because you have great positive karma—if you wield it well.

Spirituality: Gnosticism, Taoism, Mysticism, Occultism, Shamanism, Buddhism, Neopaganism, Sufism.

Capricorn Rising:

Places To Visit: Switzerland, Japan, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, New Zealand, Canada, Australia, Netherlands.

Flirt Style: Touchy feely, eye contact, enjoying quality time, bonding over shared activities, consistency, building a foundation, being present, slow and steady.

How You’ll Find Success: Invest in your grand ideas; you have just the right amount of ambition and pragmatism to execute them. Don’t ever feel like you’re the odd one out because your brain is your asset, and it will carry you far. So, allow your vivid mind to be seen. Don’t be afraid because you can make predictions about the future without even knowing how—your intuition will lead you far if you don’t suppress it. Friends are important for your success, as well as being involved in life. Be hands-on, get out there, speak your truth, and share your voice. Show up, socialize, and share your message. A lot of people will be invested in you—don’t back out. Go far and accept the odd and eccentric parts of yourself. Don’t be afraid of giving because you will be blessed tenfold in return.

Spirituality: Taoism, Sufism, Buddhism, Humanism, New Age Spirituality, Paganism, Existentialism.

Aquarius Rising:

Places To Visit: France, Italy, Spain, Greece, around the USA, Australia, Switzerland, Canada, UK, Portugal, Thailand, New Zealand, Japan

Flirt Style: Quick witted, sharing knowledge, switching topics, funny jokes, teasing, switching up moods, constantly desiring stimulation or intrigue, intellectual conversations.

How You’ll Find Success: Look at your emotions and pay attention to them—they have such an impact. Don’t just abandon your feelings or retreat into hermit mode when you experience them; explore the reasons behind the feelings, do art, dance, and allow yourself to think of and imagine the endless possibilities available to you! Embrace your pure heart and connect with people who are calm, artistic, and chill—they will help you pour more into your essence and guide you towards your imagination. In your imagination lies the key to your success. Focus on your dreams, your intuition, those moments you can’t explain, and connect to your ancestors. Truly dive deep into the other world and heal your soul. Connect and find a genuine, loving group of people who will continue to create art, come up with endless imaginative ideas, and nurture you without judgment. This is where you flourish.

Spirituality: Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Taoism, Mormonism, Sikhism, African Religions.

Pisces Rising:

Places To Visit: Italy, France, UK, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Japan, Czech Republic, Russia, India, Peru, Sweden, Mexico, Ireland

Flirt Style: Openly and thoughtfully express feelings, take their time to open up, slow and steady, kind and considerate, moody and can be expressive and then introspective, meaningful conversations.

How You’ll Find Success: Embrace your passions, as they fuel you to take action. Without engaging in things you truly love, you risk stagnation. Allow your passions to move you and get hands-on. Don’t feel forced into a box; allow your passions to change and to shift focus. The bottom line is to go after what ignites a fire in you and what brings peace to your inner child. Take action and don’t hesitate—you have the universe on your side when you make bold decisions. Learn to communicate clearly and don’t be afraid to work on your many ideas and fantasies alone! You shine brightly on your own, and people will be intrigued by you. Hang around people with dynamic, passionate, and assertive energy—they will help you significantly and allow you to take the reins yourself.

Spirituality: Humanism, Paganism, Unitarian Universalism, Sufism, Spiritual Humanism, Buddhism, Daoism, New Age Spirituality, New Thought Movement, Feminist Spirituality.

[phoenixyfriend]

Why I think it's important to understand the geopolitical anxieties of Israelis

Oftentimes, it feels like even recognizing that those anxieties exist is viewed as siding with Israel in the current conflict.

And I think that it's... weird, to do that. Dismissing the anxieties wholesale makes it harder to resolve the situation. Addressing them directly is possibly the only way to resolve the situation, because America.

Let me explain.

This will have three parts:

Why the propaganda works

How it affects current policy

How we can pressure the (mostly US) government about Israel using what we know about propaganda

Why the propaganda works

A lot of it is just propaganda, yes, but a lot of it is based in history, and a lot is also sort of self-fulfilling at this point. They have had reason to believe that some of their neighbors want all Jews dead or gone for a long time (see: Syria, Lebanon, Yemen), so it's not that it comes from nowhere. When over half the population is either Mizrahi Jews who fled from nearby countries that were happy to have a place to kick their Jewish populations out to, or their descendants, it's not hard to see that 'if someone else is in charge, we'll have to flee again.'

You could tell the French in Algeria to go back to France, but are you going to tell Mizrahi Jews to go back to the ME countries that they left? Sure, some left willingly, but that kind of wholesale eradication doesn't happen unless there's some degree of systemic discrimination or threat of violence. You cannot send Yemeni Jews back to Yemen.

The threat is real. It is not as large as the propaganda claims. It does not in any way justify nearly 30,000 deaths, half of them children. But the threat is not just imagined.

The fact of the matter is this: the propaganda is fueled by actual violence and legitimate fears.

And unless those fears are recognized and accounted for, Israel cannot be talked down.

Being told that a threat does not exist when recent history clearly shows otherwise is not going to convince anyone. I cannot emphasize this enough: even if the far-right government is replaced tomorrow, those fears will persist.

Israel's current government is violently and militarily opposed to restructuring itself in a way that allows for either a secular democratic single state, or a truly free and independent Palestine in a two-state solution. Due to mandatory army service and large scale propaganda, many have been taught since early childhood that the only way for Jews to be safe is for Israel to exist and to be so incredibly overpowered for their size that other nations won't invade them. The fact that both distant history and more recent, across the world, is filled with antisemitic discrimination, feeds this paranoia. A lot of people are out to get them, and have been since well before Israel was established. The destruction of Judea, the Edict of Expulsion, the expulsion of Jews from Spain, pogroms, the Holocaust, the near-total eradication in Yemen, Jordan, and Syria, and so on... this shit keeps happening. Some of it long ago, some if it very recent.

But it does keep happening, and that is why the propaganda works. That is why the fearmongering has teeth. It has happened before, over and over and over again, and it is being loudly threatened again. The propaganda works in Israel, and it also works in Jewish communities, and non-Jewish people who just happen to hear it, based elsewhere in the world. Like America. (This is important.)

Before moving forward, I need to make this clear: There are Jewish Israeli activists, both within Israel and without, that are vocally against Israel's actions against Palestine. Some are organized, and some are individuals. Some stories even go viral: Israeli-born Natalie Portman's been criticizing Netanyahu for years and politicians have called for her citizenship to be stripped for it. Tumblr loves the story of the Swiftie Twitter that went to jail for refusing to join the IDF, and that's very common; plenty of young people get months-long prison sentences, sometimes multiple times. Right-wing mobs go after Jewish Israelis who speak in support of Palestine in any way, and these things get violent.

(In that same article, it also talks about how Israeli Palestinians are suffering much, much worse under the government's crackdown on free speech.)

How it affects current policy

The thing is, there are only really four ways for this to resolve:

Israel wins. They succeed in pushing Palestinians out of Gaza by killing anyone who doesn't comply, and take it over for themselves. (This is bad.)

Israel is cut off from any and all support from abroad, both 'here, you can help yourself with these guns' and 'here, we will fight your enemies for you,' and is very suddenly at risk of invasion, mass murder, and removal from the Palestinian Mandate by those groups they fearmonger about, the ones that include slogans like "death to Israel, a curse upon the Jews." (This is also bad.)

Israel is convinced to stop attacking Gaza, possibly through the threat of no more support, and settles in to figure out a solution with Palestine, whether two-state or secular single state or whatever, and normalizes relations with neighbors enough that they can start cutting back on their military. (This is the best option.)

A foreign power or coalition of powers invades and forces Israel to stop, and oversees a transition from military state to peaceful state while protecting from outside attack, like was done to Japan and Germany following WWII. (This one is... interventionism is bad, but also almost 30k people have died with no end in sight, so it's starting to look like a real possibility.)

We can all agree, I hope, that the first option is not an option. That is Bad.

I also hope we can agree that the second option is not an option. A number of Israelis may be settlers in the traditional sense of the word, but a lot of them are refugees from neighboring countries, survivors of the Holocaust, or descendants of such. "Just go back where you came from" doesn't work when many of them came from places that were also saying 'go back where you came from' because Israel now existed to expel them to. It's also been around for 75 years now, and some three-quarters of the population were born in Israel. Expelling them all, even the ones that were there before the early statehood aliyah? It's... I don't know. I understand in theory why some activists push for it, but I do think it is fundamentally different from any comparative colonization or settlement.

(Note: I do not include Israeli colonies in the Palestinian West Bank. Those do need to be returned to their owners. Give people their houses and land back.)

The third option is the one that most people, I think, would like to see happen. However, the Israeli government is clinging to the propaganda that they will be eradicated as a Jewish people if they do not forcibly take power where they can, and they are spreading it out among Israelis. Dissent by Israeli Jews may not be criminalized, but the society around them sure isn't receptive to it. The recent invasion of Gaza has also inflamed tensions across the region, which means that even countries which were slowly normalizing relations, or at least.

Netanyahu has not been convinced, and by all appearances cannot be convinced. The only thing that may force his hand is the threat of no more military aid, so he suddenly has to start conserving what missiles he does have in order to fend off a possible attack instead of continuing to hammer on Gaza.

Sounds great, right? This is why we are all (I hope) calling our senators or representatives or whatever your country has to tell them to stop supporting Israel monetarily or with military aid. This is why I keep giving suggested topics for Americans to call their senators about, even if I'm just one voice, and there are much louder ones saying the same thing, but better.

And yet, the Senate passed the aid bill. They snuck it into a Veteran Affairs thing as a last-minute amendment, but they passed it, and any failure in the House will have little to do with sympathy for Palestine and a lot to do with domestic border policy.

So... Americans are also pretty convinced of the whole 'if we stop supporting Israel, they will be invaded and killed off by the Iran-backed militias' thing. Many do feel sympathy for Palestinians, hence the 'Israel, you need to knock that shit off' comments, but they also are genuinely of a belief that the Israeli propaganda of 'we will be overrun by antisemitic Muslim extremist militias and exterminated like in the Holocaust' is true.

Like. Either they fear for Israelis due to the antagonistic forces in the region, or they belong to Christofascist ideologies about how supporting Israel is the way to avoid suffering in Armageddon.

You can't get to the latter on ethics or morality or whatever. You can only rely on ulterior motives (the border things) or telling them 'your reelection is in jeopardy, change your mind or you're going to be voted out.'

The former, though... you can. They believe the things that Israel claims and has been claiming since 1948, with regards to threats.

And if you acknowledge why the propaganda works, you can address it.

How we can pressure the government about Israel using what we know about propaganda

If you say that there is no threat to Israel from Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, or so on, you will be dismissed as an idealist who hasn't done any research. If you say that Israelis should be left to their own devices, you will be viewed as cruel, and if you say they should be removed and the land given back to Palestinians, you will be laughed away (silently, but it'll happen). You cannot convince the American government with these tactics.

What can you say?

Israel is making things worse for itself in regards to these exact threats. Pushing on Gaza is making neutral and nearly-normalized countries like Egypt and Saudi Arabia less inclined to get in the way of the 'death to Israel' militias. The campaign is creating a whole new generation of extremists who will join the militias out of a desire to prevent more of these deaths by Israeli hands, and that will only increase the threat to Israel.

Destroying Hamas isn't going to do shit if Hezbollah, Iraq, Iran, the Houthis, and so on, invade. Especially if twenty years down the line, all those orphans that Israel just created these past few months start a new Hamas for revenge because, hi, look how many orphans you just created.

Netanyahu is working against the interests of the Israeli people. He is trying to remain in power, and the Gaza war is a distraction from the charges being levied against him.

Netanyahu has a vested interest in seeing that Donald Trump is elected, as they are much closer than the at best strained relationship with Biden. This is very complicated but if your senator or rep is a Democrat, it is relevant.

Israel's continued offensive is leading to the risk of millions of Palestinian refugees entering Egypt and destabilizing them, which, in an already unstable country in an already wobbling region, is going to risk another war across the Middle East. The US still has not pulled out all troops from the last one.

The US cannot afford, monetarily or in terms of foreign relations, to aid in causing a new regional war.

If Israel slows, halts, and withdraws peacefully from Gaza, tensions will settle enough to avoid possible invasion by those hostile forces they're so worried about. The UN can, if necessary, deploy forces to maintain relative stability until peace treaties are worked out. We'd like to avoid option 4 if possible.

The only way I can see to convince the US government to stop supplying weapons to Israel is to push on the fact that continuing to do so will, due to Netanyahu and his party's actions, put Israel in more danger rather than less.

There are other things to say to your senators, and I'll be making a post about that soon (not today, but probably this weekend; stuff like Michigan, UNRWA, international reputation), but in regards to just the geopolitics surrounding the propaganda, this is it. This is why we have to understand it. Because the way we get the United States government to stop giving aid to Israel to defend itself is by telling them 'this is putting them in more danger due to their head of state's aggression.'

This was very long, but I've seen a lot of misinformation and a lot of generalization, and a lot of it is... not great. Well-meant, sometimes, but not great. I felt it necessary to be very clear and very specific. I'm anticipating a lot of comments to the effect of "you forgot about this" and "but that doesn't excuse their actions" and "well, not all activists believe--" and I know.

I know.

But I've had people say "Nobody is advocating for the removal of all Jewish Israelis" to my ask box hours after I was talking about Yemen, a country that enacted a removal of all Jews and largely under the control of a group that has a slogan about doing just that to the Jewish Israelis.

So let me be very clear that I have seen a lot on tumblr recently, a lot of it extremist, and I'm not pulling any of this out of my ass or making up a guy to be mad at. I may not know everything on this topic--I may not even know much at all, given that it covers centuries of conflict due to the Ottomans--but I've been listening to hours upon hours of news from a variety of sources (Al Jazeera, BBC, NPR, and more) every day just to make sure I understand.

Please trust that, even if I get some things wrong, even if I don't cite every detail or generalize just a bit here and there, that I mean well. Please trust that I am making this in good faith and am trusting you to respond to it in kind.

Call your reps. Write them an email. Donate to a Palestinian charity.

It's a slog, but we can make a difference.

[notstardust]

✶WITH ARMS WIDE OPEN || Charles Leclerc

Summary: Three years ago, Amélie Dupont made the hardest decision of her life: to walk away from Charles Leclerc, the man she loved, just after discovering she was pregnant. He had just signed with Ferrari, and she, convinced she shouldn't stand in his way, left for Italy without telling him. Now, fate forces her to return to Monaco with Eliane, her little daughter, and a white lie: that Esteban Ocon is the father. But secrets don't last forever—especially when half the grid is involved and Max Verstappen is determined to uncover the truth.

Pairing: Charles Leclerc x Original Female Character.

Warnings: Unplanned pregnancy. Breakup. Lies. Emotional Manipulation. Internalized Guilt / Regret. Mentions and depictions of panic attacks. Past Relationship / Second Chance Romance. Fake Relationship. Mild smut in some chapters english is not my first language so expect some grammar and spelling mistakes.

Chapters: Intro. Preface. Chapter 1.

♡── AMÉLIE DUPONT played by: camille pidoux

Monaco. 1999. Fashion Designer. "I did it because I know him and because I love him. I couldn't let him ruin his life like that."

• • •

♡──CHARLES LECLERC played by himself

Monaco. 1997. Formula 1 Driver. "I deserved to know; it was my decision to make, Amélie, not yours."

•

• •

♡──ELIANE JULIETTE DUPONT

Italy. 2019. The paddock’s darling.

DON'T FORGET ABOUT THEM! . . .

♡──ARTHUR LECLERC played by himself

Monaco. 2000. Formula 2 Driver. "Sooner or later, he’s going to have to know. Don’t you think he deserves it? Don’t you think she deserves it?"

• • •

♡──OLIVIA MORENO played by:özge yağız

Spain. 1999. Lawyer. "I'm on your side, always, but I think you should give him a chance—it's clear he's trying."

• • •

♡──ESTEBAN OCON played by himself

France. 1996. Formula 1 Driver. "And do you think he's going to buy into the story? Amélie, look at us, we don't look anything alike." • • •

♡──MATTEO DUPONT played by: kit connor

Monaco. 2000. Formula 2 Driver. "Looks like Arthur and I are the only ones who want you two back together!"

. . .

ADDITIONAL CAST!

MICHELLE PFEIFFER as "JOSEPHINE DUPONT"

DANIELBRÜHLas "RAPHAËLDUPONT"

JESSICACHASTAINas "CHARLOTTEDUPONT"

KEREM BURSIN as "ALEXANDRE ROSSI"

PINAR DENIZ as "ELENA MORETTI"

. . .

+The 2022 Formula 1 grid

[cityofmeliora]

Cardi / Papa IV talking about Nihil between "Miasma" and "Mary On A Cross" in Re-Imperatour 2023

i've been meaning to make a compilation post of these speeches for a while. i think the way Cardi talks about Nihil is kinda funny (and sometimes kinda sad). also he was *very clear* about Nihil being his dad long before Rite Here Rite Now, LOL.

i was able to find video of his speeches from 33 of the 58 Re-Imperatour shows. if anyone has better audio for these clips, or clips from the missing shows, please let me know so i can update! i tried to transcribe these as accurately as possible. but the way Cardi talks is kinda weird so there may be some minor errors, haha.

Toulouse, France (May 23, 2023)

"How 'bout this? I can play you a song that my daddy actually used to sing. You like that?"

Milan, Italy (May 29, 2023)

"You saw my, uh, daddy-o over there, right? Yeah… We're gonna sing a song that he used to sing!"

Barcelona, Spain (June 1, 2023)

"Now… You know my dad? He's, uh, he's no longer with us– mentally. But physically, every once in a while, he'll come out with his saxamaphone, and that's what you just saw. But we're now gonna sing a song that my daddy used to sing, once upon a time. You might have heard this one!"

Nantes, France (June 3, 2023)

"Anyway, I'm gonna sing a song now that my daddy–my papa–my father– he used to sing. So let's go!"

Amsterdam, Netherlands (June 4, 2023)

"You saw my daddy-o? My old papa? We're gonna sing a song that he used to sing, actually. Yeah, so you might have heard this one!"

Bochum, Germany (June 13, 2023)

"You saw my old, uh… mein vater, huh? Yeah? He's now a saxophonist– a dead one! But he used to be a singer. And we're gonna sing a song now that he used to sing back in the day… back in the day…"

Neu-Ulm, Germany (June 20, 2023)

"Well, you met my, uh… my dad. Mein vater, huh? Before he started playing the saxamaphone, he was actually a singer. He sang songs. And you know, he begged us before he passed: "Please play our song– my song that I used to do!" So you wanna hear the song that he used to sing? Here it comes!"

Spálené Poříčí, Czechia (June 22, 2023)

"But you know what? Before we leave, we're gonna play you one song that my dad used to sing back in the day."

Oslo, Norway (June 23, 2023)

"So. You saw what my old dad could do. Yeah… blowing that shit. You wish you were the one that he was doing it to, right? Hahahaha. Well, anyway, he used to be a singer, you know! He used to sing songs! They were okay. But we're gonna do one now that he used to sing. I hope you dig it. It's okay!"

Athens, Greece (June 25, 2023)

"You saw what my, uh, my papa… he, uh, he still blows that shit! Well, he's dead, but we roll him out for special occasions. But you know, he used to sing, like I do! And he was an okay singer, actually. I must have got it from somewhere, I guess. But you wanna hear a song that he used to sing? You might like this one."

Concord, USA (August 2, 2023)

"What do you think about Pops over there? You like that? You like when he blows that shit? Yeah. He doesn't suck at it, that's for sure. But anyway, once upon a time, he was actually a singer. Yeah. We're gonna sing a song now that he used to sing back in the day."

Auburn, USA (August 4, 2023)

"How do you like that? My old dad. He wasn't much of a father –he kind of sucked at that– but he sure as shit blows really good. Yeah, no, he– he's fine, he's fine, except for being dead. But y'know, we roll him out for the good occasions, and this is one of them. You know, back in the day, he used to be a singer. I hate to say it, but I think I got it from him. Yeah. He was an okay singer. But do you guys wanna sing a song that he used to sing, together with me? Alright… Go!"

Denver, USA (August 8, 2023)

"You like that blowjob? Yeah, I know. My old man. My old daddy-o. I know he blows. Still. Miraculously. Posthumously. But you know, once upon a time he was not an actual sucky singer. He was actually quite okay. We're gonna play a song now that he used to sing, and I hope you dig it. Alright?"

St. Louis (August 11, 2023)

"Give it up for my old man! Yeah… he still blows! Once upon a time, though, he was actually quite okay a singer. Do you wanna sing a song together now that he used to sing back in the day? Okay, let's do this!"

Milwaukee, USA (August 12, 2023)

"What did you think, huh? My old man… First he was just a fart that I met, and then I got to know that he was my dad. Yeah. He's– he was okay. For a sucker, he blows really good, actually, don't you think? Once upon a time, he was actually a kinda decent singer. Have you heard any of those songs? You wanna sing one now? Alright. Let's go!"

Chicago, USA (August 15, 2023)

"I don't know about your Pops, but mine sure fucking blows. Once upon a time he was actually a not-too-sucky singer, though. Have you heard anything of his stuff? You wanna sing one of his old songs? Alright. Let's do it then– come on!"

Cincinnati (August 16, 2023)

"How did you like that, then? Yeah, I know, my old dad. My old daddy-o. Still blowing that shit. I guess he's fine. Now, I don't know if you knew this but, once upon a time, he was actually a quite okay singer. Have you heard any of his songs? We're gonna honor him now a little and, uh, sing one of his old songs, okay?"

Syracuse, USA (August 18, 2023)

"That's my old man. Or was. Pretty sucky father, but he still can blow. He blew some really good shit there, didn't he? Right through his nose. Anyway, once upon a time, he was actually quite a decent singer. And, uh, y'know, did some tunes. And we're gonna do one now. You wanna? Ohhh!"

Mansfield, USA (August 19, 2023)

"Yeah. My old Pops there. Y'know, for years he didn't do much. Y'know… and uh, because he used to be a singer but now he just, uh, y'know, he does a good– y'know, he does a good blow job. But he used to be a singer. And he sang quite well. And, uh, we're actually gonna commemorate that fact by singing one of his tunes now. And we hope you dig it. Alright?"

Bridgeport, USA (August 20, 2023)

"How 'bout that? My old man. My old man… Well, he's a dead man now. But you know we bring him out for the blow job, and he does okay with that. You know, he was once upon a time a fairly decent singer. And I thought we, uh, might take this opportunity to sing one of his old songs. I think you've heard this one. It's okay."

Burgettstown, USA (August 23, 2023)

"How did you like that, though? My old Pop, with his saxamaphone. Ah, he's okay. Or he was okay. I guess he's not anymore. Anyway, we're gonna sing a song now that he used to sing back in the day, when he was singing. So… Come on!"

Bristow, USA (August 24, 2023)

"You know… my dad… not much of a dad. But he sure blows that good shit, huh? Yeah, yeah, yeah. He has always been an entertainer, I guess… even now, posthumously– Google that. He was, once upon a time, a singer like I am. And he did a few tunes. I don't know if you've heard them. They're okay– they're okay. But we're gonna do one of them now and, uh, you might wanna sing along. Are you ready?"

Camden, USA (August 25, 2023)

"Well, what do you think? My old man– he's a good blower of shit, huh? That would be his, uh, tribe name: "Blower of Tubes". But once upon a time his name could've been "Singer of Songs", because he was– used to be a singer, y'know? And he was a fairly decent one, actually. He was not that bad. They did a few tunes. You wanna sing one of them? Alright, let's do it! Come on!"

Houston, USA (September 2, 2023)

"How did you like that? My old man resurrected to come out and blow shit for you? Nowadays he's a blower, I guess. But once upon a time, he was a not so sucky singer, yeah– let's put it that way. And, uh, he actually did a few tunes. And, uh, we're thinking that maybe you wanna sing one. Are you down with that? Alright, let's get rippin'!

Dallas, USA (September 5, 2023)

"Heh, we even got my old dad sort of erected– resurrected. But yeah, I think he felt it, too. Maybe you saw the sax moving? He was once an okay singer. Did you know that? Yeah, he used to sing songs. Yeah. Would you like to sing a song that he used to sing? Alright, let's do it!"

Albuquerque, USA (September 7, 2023)

"So my old man. The old fart. Yeah, he can make wind move– I can tell you that. Blowing that shit. Once upon a time he was a singer, though. Did you know that? Yeah, he did a few songs. And I was thinking that maybe we should sing one of them. Just for shits and giggles. Are you down with that? Alright, come on!"

Phoenix, USA (September 8, 2023)

"Are you still feeling it? Yeah! I hope you weren't blown away by my… my old man. Yeah I know he blows that shit nowadays. [UNINTELLIGIBLE] But, uh, once upon a time, he was actually a singer. Did you know that? And a fairly decent solo, actually. So we were thinking that maybe you wanna sing one of his old tunes. Are you digging it? Come on!"

Rite Here Rite Now - Los Angeles, USA (September 12, 2023)

"How did you like that, then? That's my old man, actually. You know, we roll him out for the good nights. Once upon a time, he was actually a quite decent singer. Yeah. Did you know that? We're gonna sing a song now that he used to sing and, uh… Come on!"

Mexico City, Mexico (September 18, 2023)

"How do you like that? That was my– my old papa. He's okay. He's not that good. And I guess the apple doesn't fall very far from the tree... so he's okay. Do you guys know that he used to be a singer, once upon a time? Do you guys wanna play a song and sing a song that he used to sing? Let's go then, people!"

São Paulo (September 21, 2023)

"You like that guy? The old guy? He's okay. He's my old papa. Did you know that he was actually a singer back in the day? Do you guys wanna sing a song that he used to sing. Alright, let's do it!"

Buenos Aires, Argentina (September 24, 2023)

"You see– I'm your Papa, but that's my papa. He's an okay papa. Or he was. He's dead now, but we sort of drag him out for the good shows. Nowadays, he's just a saxophone player. But he used to be a singer, did you know that? Do you guys wanna play a– sing a song that he used to sing? Alright, let's go!"

Santiago, Chile (September 27, 2023)

"Anyway, you saw my papa there, right? Yeah. Once upon a time, he was a singer. Did you know that? We were thinking that maybe you wanna sing one of his old songs. Alright, come on!"

Sydney, Australia (October 3, 2023)

"So… how did you like that? That's my old man. Well… He never was much of a papa to me, but… it's okay. He does a good blowjob nowadays. Y'know what? Before he was blowing that shit he was actually not a too sucky singer, did you know that? Yeah! Once upon a time he was actually singing songs. So we thought that maybe you wanna sing one of his old tunes. You wanna do that? Come on!"

[girlactionfigure]

Let me explain something. Maybe it’s because I understand what a miracle Israel is. Maybe it’s because when I look at Israeli see what indigenous people can do when they truly want to return to their ancestral home looks like. I understand that just because the creator helped you regain your land and hold it doesn’t mean that he will do all the work for you. They say Israel is a land where miracles are common place but the Jewish people need to stop relying on that because all it takes is a few terrible things and you could lose everything. You are at war. Your enemy hates you with a hatred you don’t seem to believe. No matter how often they tell you or how clearly they say it. This is a remnant of your western indoctrination that everyone in the end wants the same things. Peace. Prosperity . The ability to raise your kids and give them a better life. The “ Palestinians” dont want any of that. They do not want a state. They want THE state. They want YOUR state. They couldnt care less about dignity. Watch how they waive the bodies of dead around like trophies. Or how they pose with them. Who uses dead children as propaganda ? The morons who are screaming anti Israel anti IDF slogans at their rallies aren’t any better. And don’t try to feed me any bullshit about how their emotions are the reason. They know exactly what they are saying. They know giving Hamas what they want is the reason there are hostages in the first damn place. There are terrorists lighting fires in Israeli forests again. There are terrorists driving cars into crowded bus stops. Stabbings. Rock throwing and shootings. Over 6 thousand of these attacks last year alone. Are those the actions of people who want peace ? Are they condemned or are they celebrated ? You really think you can live with these people next door forever ? There really is only one solution left. And they themselves have made it clear. Population transfer. You can call it ethnic cleansing if you want. I don’t care. But the Palestinians can go be refugees somewhere else. Somewhere far away. Somewhere that they can’t conduct terrorist attacks against Jews on a daily basis. Ask yourselves why nowhere else in the world deals with this. Why is it that only in “ Palestine “ “ oppressed” people are doing what they do constantly for 76 years. Why is it everywhere else terrorism was shut down after a few years. The only countries where terrorism exists for longer than a few years are weak countries that don’t deal with them harshly. It doesn’t matter how fanatical you are when your country drops the hammer. Japan ? Anyone remember the Japanese red army ? Germany? The baader meinhoff gang? Spain the basque eta? France “ the fronte du liberatione “ we can go on. Those groups were all dealt with firmly. And are gone or inactive. Jordan showed you how to deal with the terrorists. They simply killed them and removed anyone affiliated with them. The time to do this is now while you have the support of America and the American population. If you wait and hope that the creator protects you then you are no different that the rabbi who died in the flood waiting for the creator to save him. Remember what the creator said to him when he asked why the creator didn’t save him? “ I sent three boats two helicopters and a raft what the hell else did you expect?”

RM Bellerose

[mariacallous]

In the wake of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, one could be forgiven for believing that the Palestinian issue had finally moved to the top of the international agenda. Much of the support and sympathy for the roughly 1,200 Israelis killed and 251 taken hostage would give way to a rising chorus of anger and outrage, as Israel’s air and ground campaign resulted in more than 52,000 Palestinian deaths and a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. Any doubt that Palestine was now front and center would quickly fade as the Israel-Hamas war threatened to morph into regional confrontation, including strikes by Iran and Israel on each other’s territory. Indeed, by the end of 2023, as the international community found its pro-Palestinian voice and campuses across the United States exploded with protests and demonstrations not seen on any foreign-policy issue since the Vietnam War, it seemed as if the Palestinians’ moment had finally come and that the issue could no longer be denied. How could it?

Looking back, 18 months later—as U.S. President Donald Trump embarks on his first trip to the Middle East—it seems clear that rather than ensuring the centrality of the Palestinian issue, Oct. 7 has produced its eclipse. A combination of factors have pushed the Palestinians and their politics pretty far down the list of regional or international priorities: the fecklessness of the international community, the Biden and now Trump administrations’ preternatural support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, the unwillingness of key Arab states to exact any serious price from Israel (and Washington for its enabling policies), and the utter dysfunction and chaos of the Palestinian national movement. After Oct. 7 and the human misery and suffering it wrought, it’s hard to know precisely what might reenergize the Palestinian issue, let alone create a pathway for a conflict-ending solution. A West Bank intifada? New Israeli and Palestinian leadership? A peace plan from an unpredictable U.S. president looking for a Nobel Peace Prize? Regardless, the paradox of Oct. 7 is clear. On one hand, it demonstrated with a terrifying clarity that the only conceivable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a negotiated separation; on the other, it has made the attainment of anything remotely resembling a two-state outcome galactically more difficult.

In a conflict in which the two combatants—Israel and Hamas—have elevated the stakes to near-existential levels, it should come as no surprise that outside parties (including a divided, preoccupied, and self-interested international community) would be powerless to alter the trajectory of the conflict, let alone end the war. The Middle East is littered with the dreams, schemes, and aspirations of bigger powers that wrongly believed they could impose their will on smaller ones. Israel—long suspicious of outside interveners—batted back external intervention. Influence on Hamas, particularly its internal core leadership operating underground while evading Israeli intelligence and holding hostages, was limited to Qatar and Egypt and was rarely decisive. Tensions between Russia, China, and the United States and inevitable battles over wording virtually guaranteed that the U.N. Security Council would be slow to act, and even when it did, resolutions alone in New York were hardly able to affect Israeli or Hamas’s decision-making. It took six weeks after Oct. 7 for the Security Council to pass its first resolution—one of only four that would come to fruition. Imposing bilateral sanctions on Israel was always an option. But none of the key European powers chose to go down this road, though France and Britain would sanction Israeli settlers. And a number of countries, including Spain, pledged to halt weapons sales to Israel.

Support for the Palestinian cause increased, with Spain, Ireland, and Norway, among others, recognizing Palestinian statehood. A full year and half later, France may do so as well. Perhaps more consequential were the actions of both the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC), whose resolutions and actions delighted Palestinians and the human rights community. The ICJ is weighing Israel’s responsibility for genocide, and the ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and several Hamas officials. But one would be hard-pressed to conclude that they had any impact on Israel’s decision-making when it came to the war in Gaza. In fact, the main impact of this international opprobrium seemed only to drive Israel’s right-wing coalition into a deeper corner and, with the support of the United States, to resist international efforts to impose real-world costs and consequences on Israel.

Clearly no international effort to support the Palestinian cause or to isolate Israel could have been successful without the support of the United States. And, to say the least, that support would not be forthcoming from the Biden or Trump administrations. It would be difficult to identify a set of actions by either administration that could be construed as significant, serious, or sustained pressure.

Under President Joe Biden, we’d describe the approach as passive aggressive: Tremendous anger and frustration over Netanyahu’s policies were far outweighed by a preternaturally pro-Israeli president who had long identified with Israel’s struggle for independence and security and who seemed incapable of imposing significant forms of pressure, especially as the Palestinian civilian death toll rose exponentially. Of the possible levers of pressure—restricting or conditioning U.S. military assistance, refraining from vetoing or voting for resolutions critical of Israel at the U.N. or other international forums, or adopting pro-Palestinian gestures, such as recognizing a Palestinian state—Biden would steer clear of all three. Once the conflict went regional, with Iran supporting Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis, Biden’s defense of Israel increased, and the prospects of pressure diminished, especially as Israel and Iran attacked each other directly. Biden did withhold delivery of rifles out of concern that they might be used by settlers, paused a shipment of heavy bombs, sanctioned Israeli settlers, and would press Israel on facilitating humanitarian assistance into Gaza. Whatever pressure the Biden administration might have deployed against Israel or gestures it might have made toward the Palestinians were clearly constrained by Hamas’s willful and indiscriminate killing of civilians on Oct. 7 and the taking of hostages. There were reports that the U.S. State Department was weighing options, such as recognition of Palestinian statehood. But these remained stillborn, partly out of concern that such an action would be seen as a reward for terrorism.

If pressuring Israel was open to debate internally under the Biden administration, it appears closed for the season under Trump. Not only did the new president reverse Biden’s policies on sanctioning settlers, delivering heavy bombs, and facilitating humanitarian assistance to Gaza, Trump has allowed Israel to control both the tactics and strategy toward Gaza. The president has all but validated the Israeli right’s dream of a Gaza without Palestinians by announcing a plan to turn Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East” and encouraging Palestinians to leave. Still, Trump is nothing if unpredictable, and while we doubt that he’d use any of the levers Biden failed to pull in pressuring Israel, he has demonstrated a rare capacity to act independently: talking to Hamas, negotiating a cease-fire with the Houthis, and starting talks with Iran. Should Trump sense that there are deals to be had to end the war in Gaza or to constrain Iran’s nuclear program, he might turn the heat up. Already, in the days leading up to Trump’s trip to the Middle East—one that will likely skip over Israel—his administration has reportedly negotiated directly with Hamas once again, likely to the ire of Netanyahu. As a result, Hamas announced over the weekend that it would release Israeli American hostage Edan Alexander. As Israel redirects forces from Syria and the West Bank for a major Gaza offensive, Netanyahu might find himself at odds with Trump, who is focused on rebuilding Gaza.

The United States and Israel weren’t the only parties responsible for the diminution of the Palestinian issue. Arab state betrayal of the Palestinian cause has a long history. Key Arab states have championed the Palestinian cause to rally domestic support and to compete with rival regimes. At the same time, these states, especially Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt, have sought to control the Palestinian national movement when it challenged or was in conflict with their goals. Arab state reaction to Oct. 7, however, seemed to represent a new level of indifference and passivity to what constituted the largest loss of Palestinian lives since the Nakba in 1948, in which 15,000 Palestinians were killed and 750,000 were uprooted. It became clear pretty quickly that key Arab states were not going to allow Oct. 7 to undermine their own equities or relations with Israel or the United States.

There was no shortage of Arab summitry and statements condemning Israel and supporting Palestinians. At the Islamic Summit Conference shortly after Oct. 7 and the joint Islamic-Arab summit in Riyadh, participants rejected Israel’s justification for self-defense and called on the ICC to investigate potential war crimes. Publicly, Arab countries have condemned Israel throughout the war, especially as Palestinian deaths have risen and the humanitarian situation has deteriorated. But it would take Trump’s Gaza plan and his implicit pressure on Egypt and Jordan to absorb Palestinians to finally push the Arab states to formulate their own postwar plan for Gaza, which the administration has largely ignored.

In November 2023, Jordan, with anger mounting on the streets, did recall its ambassador to Israel and instructed the Israeli ambassador in Amman not to return until the war had ended. Later that month, Jordan also made clear that it would not sign an energy-for-water agreement with Israel. Egypt, which was playing a key role in hostage negotiations and had a critical security stake in Gaza, exercised greater caution. As for the Abraham Accord countries, only Bahrain seemed to take any concrete step to demonstrate solidarity, with its elected but largely toothless parliament recalling its ambassador and freezing economic relations with Israel. This seemed to be a symbolic gesture more than anything else.

Several countries, including Saudi Arabia, demonstrated support for the Palestinians by assisting the Palestinian Authority with financial aid; the United Arab Emirates, for its part, constructed a field hospital in Gaza. But on balance, it was clear that despite the staggering death toll, no Arab state was prepared to sacrifice its interests for the Palestinian cause in an effort to compel Israel or the United States to alter its policy. Now, as Trump visits the Gulf, he’ll be wooed and flattered by Arab leaders who clearly understand that his administration has gone well beyond Biden in giving Israel a carte blanche to do what it wants in Gaza and the West Bank. One might pose the question, if the Arab states are not prepared to step up for Palestinians, who else would be expected to?

It may be politically inconvenient for many to admit, but Palestinians have played a key role in their current travails. Hamas’s strategic gamble did return the Palestinian issue to center stage for a time. But at what price and for what benefit? The Oct. 7 attack traumatized Israelis, pushing them away from peace with their neighbors. It led Israel to visit death and destruction on an already long-suffering population in Gaza. Arab publics did not rise up against their governments, let alone against Israel, and the region wasn’t plunged into a multifront war. Israel emerged as a quasi-regional hegemon, possessing an escalation dominance that hollowed out the so-called Axis of Resistance, including exposing Iran’s vulnerabilities and decimating its billion-dollar proxy in Lebanon. There was no crisis in U.S.-Israeli relations, and despite Israel’s growing isolation, the Netanyahu government did not become an international pariah. The Palestinian national movement (which never regained even a measure of cohesion after Yasser Arafat’s death) is now more fractious, divided, and dysfunctional than ever.

Desperate for leadership, Palestinians face a cruel choice between Hamas—now an insurgency rather than a coherent military but still retaining significant influence in Gaza and even more in the West Bank—and the Palestinian Authority, led by the aging, authoritarian, and corrupt Mahmoud Abbas, who barely controls 40 percent of the West Bank and has zero credibility with the Palestinians over whom he presides. Indeed, Palestinians don’t face a choice so much as a sclerotic reality. There’s no mechanism to choose: Elections are important but impossible now. Gaza remains an Israeli free-fire zone with little prospect of better governance and security, and the West Bank may be reaching a point where Israel has annexed it in everything but name.

The Palestinian issue won’t disappear. The question is how much resonance it will have in a region and on an international stage beset with so many other challenges and even opportunities. But little in the last 18 months would suggest that traumatized Israelis and Palestinians are any more willing or able to pressure their leaders to find a solution, that lessons will be learned, or that leaders will emerge to rise above the trauma and politics to create a credible pathway toward a solution. And that, in the end, after all the horror and the bloodletting, may well be the biggest tragedy.

[darkmaga-returns]

At 12:33 pm on Monday, a total blackout hit Iberia and bits of southern France and soon became Spain’s worst power outage ever, leaving fifty-five million people in the dark for twelve excruciating hours. Even for emergency rooms running on generators for critical medical work, electricity and phone signal still hadn’t fully returned by midnight. Aside from major road, train, and air-traffic chaos, panic and mischief were limited to the odd supermarket hoarders and marauders on pitch-dark streets. Though fatalities from the blackout remain few, Spaniards are shaken. After such a stint in first-world state failure, it’s clear they will grow upset if the ongoing fact-finding efforts yield lessons that go unlearnt.

But the government so far has ducked out of giving basic answers about what went wrong, let alone answers that reckon with Spain’s energy mix—one of the greenest in Europe, making its power grid woefully weak. Most likely, official inquiries will eventually show that Spain’s misguided energy policies caused or at least contributed to the catastrophe. In the meantime, Western leaders should waste no time drawing lessons from this non-fatal disaster in Spain before the underlying errors beget worse consequences elsewhere. This applies to the European Union (EU), whose net-zero ambitions under the European Green Deal share part of the blame, even as wartime, multipolar competition has lately prompted Brussels into a timid rethink. But it concerns as much Joe Biden’s green-protectionist legacy, which risks being inherited intact by Trump’s Democratic successor—putting America’s left-liberal party on track to surpass even the EU in green zealotry.

[carylerxsecretsanta]

written for: @madwomanlexie

Title:  New Ground Author:  @theresnosafeharbor4myships Rating:  G Summary:  After returning to America, Daryl's worried about Carol, who's been acting distant. A heart-to-heart one night helps clear the air...and offers them an unexpected step forward in their relationship. A/N:  I was so happy to be your Caryl Secret Santa, Lexi! I hope this fic brings a Caryl smile to your face. I know you haven't been watching the Caryl spinoff, so I want to highlight this gif set from the trailer for s3. It's what inspired this fic. Happy Christmas, friend! <3

Daryl watched as the knife sliced across her shoulder blade, and Carol’s cry of pain simultaneously cut through his heart. He’d only had a second to glance toward her and her opponent before his own two combatants rallied and dove for him again.

He took a few hits, grunting at the punch that landed in his side, before the larger of the two men suddenly froze, then crumpled at his feet to reveal Carol, blood streaked down the side of her face, holding a dripping knife, the third enemy lying on the ground behind her. Daryl took the opportunity to knock out the remaining man, and they set to work tying him up.

“You alright?” he asked quietly as he looped rope around the man’s hands, wondering at her wound, at the swipe of blood on her brow, how she’d recovered so quickly from the fray.

“Yeah.”

Something in her tone piqued his concern. Daryl’s gaze darted towards her as she restrained the man’s ankles, but she stayed focused on her task.

“You sure?”

One side of her face tilted up in a reassuring smile before she nodded once. “Let’s get him inside.”

Daryl couldn’t help worrying about her and her unusually stoic demeanor. Their separation had lasted longer than he’d ever intended for it to, and she’d spoken often of home—the kids, their family, how Alexandria and the Commonwealth had changed, what they’d do when they got back inside the gates—as they’d made their way back to America. The blend of nostalgia, worry, fear, and excitement had left her contemplative the past few days, altogether different from the ease he’d felt with her in France and Spain.

And the relief of being on their home shores didn’t mean danger ignored them. The man they’d just tied up was proof things continued on as they ever had. In unison, they lifted and moved him into the barn they’d inhabited when the men had overtaken them.

Together they extinguished the small fire they’d started earlier in the evening, and Carol shrugged on a deep brown sweater, too large for her, but somehow sexy all the same.

“Hey, lemme take a look at your shoulder,” he entreated.

“It’s fine,” she brushed him off. “He barely got me.”

“Carol—”

“We should go. Before he wakes up. Or anyone else comes along.”

He gave her a concerned look, but she didn’t falter in her haste, snatching up the blanket she’d laid out to sleep on and her backpack. Reluctantly, he nodded in acquiescence and gathered his own meager belongings, then barred the barn from the outside. It’d give the bastard a small chance at surviving, which was more than he’d planned to grant them.

“Here,” Daryl tossed one of the men’s bags to Carol, and she rifled through it while he did the same with another pack. They made quick work of the belongings, taking the food, matches, extra knife, and gloves they found.

“Come on,” Daryl said softly, eyeing their surroundings again to be sure they hadn’t left anything of value before leading her into the forest.

They walked for over half an hour in silence, the bright moonlight offering them guidance through the crisp night as they moved farther away from the road they’d traversed the past several days. Their boat had somehow missed all the outer islands of Massachusetts and landed along the coast of Rhode Island—a better situation than he’d figured they’d end up in in the long run, but they still had several hundred miles between them and home. They’d agreed to head south along the coast but eventually cut inland to avoid the major cities as much as possible—New York and Philadelphia posed more danger than the entirety of France in his mind—so now they’d head west.

Daryl noticed Carol slowing down after a while, and he wondered if she merely felt exhausted from their daily treks or if she’d been more seriously injured than she’d let on. He feared the latter, so he began searching for a place to call it a night. Damn those bastards for sneaking up on them and forcing them to leave the warm camp they’d made.

It took another fifteen minutes to find a suitable spot to rest for the evening, an old but solidly built shed in the backyard of a decaying house tucked out in the woods. The workmanship had held all these years, and Daryl felt sure a skilled carpenter had taken the time to build the shed, maybe even after the fall. Regardless, a rickety wire fence encircled the property, and he’d hang the keys and silverware they carried with them along the enclosure to alert them of any intruders this time.

“Start a fire while I prep the perimeter?” he asked Carol after they’d unburdened themselves of their packs.

She nodded and offered him a quiet “sure,” causing his worry to flare up again. He watched her for a few moments as she moved around the yard gathering wood and kindling before setting off for his own task. Though her movements appeared normal, he needed to get a look at her shoulder, make sure she really was okay. And maybe find out why she’d become so closed off the past few days. It wasn’t their style to press each other to talk, but the shift in her had happened so abruptly. He didn’t know what to make of it and couldn’t stop wondering and worrying about her.

By the time he’d finished securing the noisemakers on the fence, Carol had a nice warm fire going, but he slowed as he approached. She’d shrugged her sweater off her wounded shoulder but kept it tucked close around her for warmth. She now struggled to stretch her left arm far enough over her right shoulder to reach and clean the cut with a strip of cloth.

She looked stunning in the flickering light of the fire, warm and soft and inviting and tantalizing. He’d seen her numerous times by both candle and firelight, but he’d never loved her more than this moment. She’d traveled across a damn ocean to find him, alone but hopeful, never losing heart that he was still out there somewhere. The list of what they’d survived together ran longer than the equator but still couldn’t compare to how he felt about her. How much he wanted her. How nervous she made him, looking beautiful and sensual in the glowing light of the fire. His heart skipped fast, and he immediately wanted to kick himself for his wayward thoughts while she was injured.

Daryl swallowed hard before moving closer, ensuring she heard his footsteps. When she did, her eyes darted to him, and she released the tension of her struggle, caught red-handed.

“I can help with that,” he offered quietly, not wanting to scold or show frustration, even as he wished she’d have let him assist when he’d first asked.

Carol merely nodded in defeat, and he knelt on the ground just behind her right shoulder. He took a steadying breath before gently taking the cloth from her hand. God, her skin was soft. He knew that, of course he did, but something about this night, how alluring she looked; her fighting spirit, his equal in every way; how she’d come to his rescue; the way she made him feel things he’d always thought himself incapable of feeling—not to mention all the things they’d seen and experienced together in other countries, the fight to get home, the hours and days and weeks they’d spent alone (a dream if he’d ever had one) getting to know one another in ways they never had before, and now, finally, finally making it back to their home country—left him breathless and wanting her more than any time in recent memory. And that was saying something.

He tried to focus on the task at hand and looked at her fresh wound. The knife had sliced through her clothing and left what looked to be a four-inch cut across her shoulder blade. Though her shirt was ripped, the fact she still wore it made viewing and cleaning the wound difficult.

“Shirt’s ruined, and I need to get a better look,” he told her, relieved he didn’t reveal his desire or nervously trip over his words.

“Just rip it. Or cut it,” she instructed.

He knew it had to be done to help her, so why did it make him so damn nervous? He’d seen her shoulders before. Hell, she walked around in flimsy tank tops every summer trying to beat the oppressive and sweltering air—while causing additional heat for him. This was a piece of cake in comparison. He needed to get himself in check—it was just a shoulder. Carol’s shoulder. In the light of the moon. With the firelight dancing over her silky skin and only the night air between them.

Daryl mentally shook his head to clear his traitorous thoughts, then grabbed the knife from his hip and sliced the shirt the rest of the way to the neckline, the material falling open to reveal most of her injury.

He groaned inwardly. They’d dressed in layers to keep warm, and now somehow her layers were causing an inferno in his blood. The sweater and shirt no longer posed a problem, but one of those blasted tank tops and her bra still did.

He wished he were unaffected by her. Or that Maggie was here to help with this or that he’d been the one who’d gotten cut. Or that she hadn’t been hurt. Yes, that was the better wish. God, he couldn’t even think straight. He needed to clean this cut and be done with it so he could remember how to breathe properly.

Steeling himself, he set his finger along the ridge of her tank top strap.

“I need to…” His voice sounded strained even to his own ears, but either Carol didn’t notice or mind because she nodded and slid her cream tank top and black bra strap—a black bra? Was she trying to kill him?—off her shoulder.

Daryl’s heart thundered against his chest as the final barriers were removed. He wanted to skim her skin with his fingertips, his lips, make her blood sing the way his was, but he’d have to remain satisfied with taking care of her. Focus, he reminded himself.

The cut had stopped bleeding and didn’t appear as bad as he’d envisioned. With shaky hands, he opened the bottle of water she’d set beside her, poured some of it onto the cloth, and gently dabbed the wound clean. She didn’t make a sound, but he saw the muscles in her arm tense.

He swallowed hard again—why was his throat so dry?—before rendering a verdict. “Ain’t too deep and won’t need stitches. It should heal up in a few days.”

“Thanks.” Her voice came quietly, nearly a whisper, and it made his heart ache.

He stared at her in golden silhouette, committing this image to memory, a snapshot to add to the others of moments she’d stolen his breath, that soothed him when the world felt like it was caving in on him.

Carol looked to the night sky, and he knew his gaze must sit heavy on her because she avoided it. “Guess it’s almost Christmas, hmm?” she asked absently. “Temperature’s dropped off, and that storm that nearly took out our boat felt cold enough for December.”

She didn’t expect an answer from him, he knew—she was just avoiding the elephant she’d carried with her the past few days. He wanted to know the reason for it, what had caused the change in her, wanted to ask if he could help, to find out what he could do to lighten whatever darkened her mind. But instead, he simply said her name. “Carol.”

She turned to glance at him over her shoulder, and it took everything he had to stay upright. She looked delectable, despite the scrape on her forehead and its accompanying blood smear. Her eyes sparkled with emotion, a soft expression on her face. The curve of her cheek, her hair long enough for him to run his fingers through, the line of her collarbone, the arch of her lips...every inch of her screamed for his touch.

Daryl didn’t move, merely stared longingly at the woman he’d loved for longer than he’d known the meaning of the word.

“I’m fine, Daryl,” she answered his unasked question quietly, turning back to face the fire instead of him. He didn’t press her, and after several beats, she sighed before continuing. “I’m just...wondering if home will be the same when we get back. Wondering what’s happened since we’ve been gone. And if we’ll be the same with everyone.” She looked vulnerable with her clothes swimming around her for warmth, her arms wrapped around herself. “So much has happened...we’re not the same.”

“We’ve seen things the others haven’t, been places without ‘em, but we’re still here. Still survivin’. Same as we always have.”

Carol glanced at him briefly, and it struck him what a beautiful contrast she was to his dark mop of hair and black clothing: the golden flames dancing over her face, the light shade of her hair, her cream-colored shirt pooling around her shoulder. She was radiant. But something dark threatened to overtake her, and he wanted to chase it away for good.

“I know it ain’t been easy, the grief of Sophia weighin’ on you these past several months.” He nearly tripped over her name, not because she was long gone but because the girl had been like a specter to them, walking alongside them as they’d traipsed through romantic countrysides and European cities. Almost like a family of three. Carol had spoken to him more of Sophia in the past few months than she had since they’d met more than a decade ago. She was a memory they shared, the tie that’d bound them then, forever and inextricably linking them, and even more so now. He felt honored to bear the memories, the grief, the release of the years of silence, and the experience of trauma with Carol.

“And I don’t expect us to ignore her just because we’ll be back with the others,” he continued. “We can talk about her as much or as little as you need to. Whenever you need to. That ain’t gonna change.”

The air sat heavy between them, and he let it, waiting. For what, he didn’t know, but he’d give her the silent space or the conversation she needed to continue on.

“Thank you.” Her voice, barely above a whisper, came to him, and he knew by her tone that something had locked into place for her. An assurance that her healing could continue, regardless of who was around them? The comfort of knowing things didn’t have to change because they were back with their community? The understanding that the space they’d created for the ghost of Sophia wouldn’t be occupied by their family who still lived?

“These past few months…” She paused, and he hung on the silence, wondering what she’d reveal. “I didn’t know how much I needed to...just be away. I’m desperate to get back, but I feel different. Lighter—freer, somehow—even with the ache of seeing her everywhere I go.” She stared into the fire before her. “I don’t think I could’ve gotten through it the same if I’d been with anyone else all this time.”

Her words washed over him like a balm, even as a lump rose in his throat. He was jealous for her, wouldn’t have wanted anyone else to share Sophia and the memory of her with Carol. She was theirs alone. To mourn, to remember, to grieve, to share.

“I’m glad it was with you,” she said, her voice heavy with emotion.

“Me too,” he avowed, the admission nearly a whisper.

“And I know the things you’ve been dealing with and grieving haven’t been easy either.”

Daryl thought back to the miles and days and countries they’d traversed as he’d opened up about Glenn and Abraham, Denise, and even Merle. Like her, he felt freer than he ever had, as if the breaths he’d used to speak about them had lifted him beyond the mire mucking up his soul and washed away the grime.

“I get so tired of fightin’ sometimes, but I’m glad you found me when you did,” he admitted. “Didn’t know it then, but I was ready to give up, thought it was all over.”

He spoke of a thousand moments over the past decade-plus since the Turn and the hundreds since they’d reunited in France. And she knew them all.

Carol nodded in understanding. “You and me both.”

She turned to him again, and he saw something—heat? desire?—flicker in her gaze before she looked away. His own roaring ache for her drowned out any reason or common sense, and he saw his hand, of its own volition, lift to her chin to draw her gaze back to him.

“Carol,” he murmured her name as his eyes flicked to her lips. She stared at him with naked want and acceptance, and he moved—consequences be damned—to kiss her.

She let him, and it was all the inspiration he needed to slowly, tenderly move his lips against hers, the breathy sigh she let out sounding like a quiet mewl that tangled his heart and set him on fire.

She meant everything to him—family, friendship, love, home, comfort, reality, peace—and he imbued every second of this life-altering moment with the passion he felt for her. Carol melted into him, and he wondered why they hadn’t done this before now, why they’d waited all this time to slip the last puzzle piece into the picture of everything they were to each other.

When he finally withdrew, she stared at him with a small, contented smile, a look of love—and dare he say adoration?—on her face, and any remaining doubt he had that she’d wanted this too washed away.

Daryl ran his fingers along her brow before lacing them into her hair and drawing her to him. She came willingly, settling against him as though they’d done this a hundred times before. He welcomed the weight of her, the fit of her in his arms a comfort he’d never thought a possibility.

He’d never intended to end up in Europe, but he could never be sorry for the roads they’d traveled to get to this moment: warm, safe, protected, joined, loved.

Together in easy silence, they stared into the fire, the warmth they offered each other blazing brighter than any flame and heating them from the inside out.

Post

[hetalia-club]

Hetalia characters but it’s what kind of kid in Highschool they would have been. (I’m going off American/Canadian high school types because I am American)((Midwest to be more specific))

America- the jock who took dodge ball way too seriously. Would throw the ball way to hard. He really took all of Gym class way too seriously.

Canada- was the Hockey Meathead. Also took Gym way too seriously. And always had a huge dip in his bottom lip and carried around a clear spit bottle.

England- the “um actually” kid. Would correct the teachers with usually wrong information they learned off of the internet or TV, The teachers hate him.

France- class hottie who always skips class but the teachers have like a weird crush on him so they let him do whatever…

Russia- quiet photography kid spends too much time in the red room some think he’s a serial killer but he just is awkward and shy and doesn’t know how to socialize

China- the kid who draws all day every day. Draws dragons and wolves specifically. Will not pay attention in class. Gets in trouble for drawing all the time. People like him a lot though. He will draw you a sick dragon if you ask nicely.

Italy- similar to France. But he does get in trouble for things because he cannot stop talking to save his life.

Romano- is always in detention for his mouth. Has a reputation as a ‘bad kid’ but it’s actually because he just has no filter. At least twice a week if you are in a class with him you will hear the teacher say “Lovino, go to the principals office” and he’ll be like “the fuck did I do?”

Japan- the foreign exchange student everybody loves. Gets invited to all the parties and has dated most of the popular girls in school.

Prussia- the foreign exchange student nobody likes. Gets no bitches. But does not mind.

Germany- Teachers pet. He is the one who will yell at the class to “stfu! The teacher is talking!” Will remind the teachers there was an assignment due.

Spain- The senior foreign exchange student. One of the most well liked kids in school. New S.O every week. Will most likely be Prom King

Austria- sexual active band kid. (If you know you know)

Norway- the kid who always has his headphones in. Doesn’t want to talk to anyone. will just ignore you if you try.

Finland- major frat boy energy. Goes to every house party and gets trashed. He seems to always know where they are happening even if he wasn’t invited he’s still going to show up.

Sweden- the shy/quiet kid who is friends with the party boy he always gets drug along because Finland says he needs to “socialize more” but he always just sits in the corner and waits for someone he knows who is leaving to take him home.

Denmark- another jock. But he is friends with everybody. Will talk to everyone. Floats around the lunch room and does not have a specific clique.

Iceland- the kid who is always asleep in class. Somehow he is passing everything with straight As but he is never awake. Sometimes he’ll not show up to school for like a week. Straight just vapes in class and somehow never gets caught.

[thebottomfromhell]

hey, i read your upper moons x goth reader headcanon and i was wondering that what if upper moons have female lolita reader ? Like she is wearing cute easthatic clothes

Ngl when I read the word "female lolita" I choked on the air, then I read further and I has like "ahhhhhhh victorian clothes". Anon, you almost gave me an attack (I've read the book).

Friendly reminder this freaks are in Taisho Japan, but most of are from Edo Japan, so they would have their own opinions about a style based on the Rococo French (bruh, France, Portugal, Spain and England colonizing the world is one of the reasons Japan closed their borders in Edo 😭, Japan ALWAYS hated outsiders, it is NOT a WWII thing).

How do the Uppermoon feel about your asthetic? Victorian inspired styled (lolita) Female Reader

Warnings: Slight infantilization (not sexual), Implied xenophobia (these are mostly japanese men from edo, like... c'mon.), Mentioned cross-dressing, Kokushibou being a grampa x2 and Akaza's implied angst (bit of spoilers of his backstory).

Gyutaro:

Ok, here is the thing.... it's too much. He can't even keep out with the amount of details your robes (are those even robes? He can't tell at all) are making him dizzy. Also, it looks expensive... and uncomfortable, even if he knows that is not relevant in the world of beauty. Isn't it a bit too tight on the waist? Why is the skirt so pompous? Is it not hard to walk with those? And don't get him starting with those shoes, he hates them. And it wasn't him... but Gyutaro threw afaw your make up, not feeling confident that it wasn't toxic (Daki's isn't any better, but she can stand it). "You don't like it?" You ask as you spin to show him your newest set of clothing, seeing he is not very enthusiastic about it.

Usually he would like anything that goes against Japan's beauty standard, but this is not too different to like nor similar enough to hate. And he really wants to like it, because you like it and dressing like that makes you happy. He knows that, and really wants to tell you he likes it, that he likes how you look (because he likes how happy you look), but in the end "Ne... fuck it, my taste is shit anyways, ne." Gyutaro is doing no compromises.

Gyokko:

Gyokko straights adores it. De details! The uniqueness! The details! The mix of empowerenment and innocence in the skirt! The tightness is perfect, showing your body shape better than any kimono, making your curves visible. Round and symetric, the perfection of the world in shapes but with way too flashy and uncharacteristic colours, make up to make your skin glow up, he can't help but get into it. He adores the dresses, and sometimes he is tempted in using a female canvas with one of those, it would look beautiful! Kitsch! Definetely the perfect complement for his arts.

"I know that is I give you one I won't be recieving it back, if you are going to wear it or make another girl wear it it's the same." You argue when he asks for some of your materials, the only thing you let him get away with are the hair accesories and jewelry, not because those are easy to find, but because the dress can get to be... too much, even for you, that you won't be missing them as much. Also, you can trust Gyokko to do your hair and make up, so you must be able to give him things that go from your neck to above, He is as supportive as he can be, being Gyokko.

Hantengu:

It's... intimidating, everything put together. The heels make you taller and make too much noise against the wood, the robe (it's... it's a robe, right? What do you mean it's not? Then what is it?) in the skirt takes up a lot of space, more than a kimono, but besides that, it's pretty. And it suits you because of it, since you are pretty. He doesn't know how to voice it, but it's something nice to look, even if it's not easy on the eyes because of the amount of details, it makes him feel tipsy.

Sometimes he halps you with your hair and make-up, he knows how to make ponytails and braids, and besides a clear base your make up it's not so hard to do (when his pulse is not working against him, of course). He is more than supportive, even if he doesn't find the words to describe it.

Sekido:

"So? What do you think?" You ask Sekido and... he just looks at you for 5 minutes straight, a face that clearly says "are you kidding?" as he then proceeds to examine what you wear. A new dress, like the other one, full of details and looking uncomfortable as fuck, besides that too many accesories for his liking, but... you do seem happy, and he knows you like expressing yourself that way. "Looks good." Better than anything Urogi and Karaku can pull, he tells himself, and you do look good.

As long as he doesn't have to wear himsef any of that, the make-up, the produced hair-styles, the gloves, the heels, the skirt... everything is too much. Honestly, if you give him any of those as a gift, or even just lending or trying it on him, then he will give it to Karaku to lose it and Urogi to destroy it. He will support you in whatever you want to wear, it's not his problem, he sees the beauty in it, but it's not for him.

Karaku:

Karaku thinks it's cute. Something about it screams "childish" and "indulging", the feeling of being down below and on top at the same time. He has heard foreign, the ones you buy all this expensive stuff from, the term "kitsch" to describe it, "bad taste". He likes it, so you should not be surprised when he starts stealing these dresses for you, enjoying how... "flashy" it is. The details, the heels, the weird sizes, the tightness in the waist and the curves? What it's not to like? And you look happy in those.

After a while he also starts stealing things for himself, barely using them, but every once in a while he likes to mess around with this type of clothing. It's not the most comfortable, specially since it was desighned to be for women (men's attire is completely different, and he finds it boring compared to the ones you use), it's just to cause trouble. To look pretty and, in his body, like a pervert. These are good laughs, even if you don't feel the sime, but you are glad he is vocal about liking your style.

Urogi:

Urogi adores it, he thinks it's unique. "I have never seen anything like this before." He comments as he takes away a piece of the hair accesories, pulling it and toying with it in his hands, wearong doesn't seem as nice as it would be to make a nest with it. You answer that it's mostly based from an old style from Europe, another continent, a concept you have to explain to him. Urogi gets curious and asks as much as how did you get these things and about the continent they come from, you have never been there so you answer as much as you can.

"It's weird to be able to trade with humans beyond the see, last time I check they were a possible menace and pest. Didn't the borders close in Edo because of them?" He tries to understand, but because he was alive in that time he is the one that should be explaining it to you. He seems more interest in the concept of being from outside than the look itself, but he does steal your things to build nests. Besides that, he is not that interested, and you can't trust him with your stuff (not even the make up, he ate it once).

Aizetsu:

Aizetsu thinks it looks... young... childish sometimes. That is not exactly a good thing. He knows you want to look cute, but... can't you at least wear something less indulgent? It looks expensive, and damn him if he doesn't feel melancholic when he sees the bill of those things you wear. (Leave it to the west, he swears they always battle to make things the most expensive they can, should have kept the borders closed). Also, it doesn't really look comfortable. with everything over it he can't tell you you are reaching to look like yourself or look how you would like to be seen, because it's too much effort to, everyday fix your hair, make up, wear clothes that are hard to walk and run with (and surrounded by demons, no less).

Aizetsu always thought it was sad how it was expected for women to "fix" themselves for their families, for their husbands, for their society, and he doesn't know what to think while seeing you. "So, what do you think?" You show him another set, he has been thinking into asking help from Karaku and Hantengu to get money (stealing it, what else?) so he can at least support you a bit, because no matter his thoughts on the matter, you seem happy in those dresses. "It looks fine." So he plays along (even if he thinks he is cuter when making sad puppy eyes than you with all those things, maybe that is why he doesn't understand the effort. He doesn't need it, why do you?)

Nakime:

"I'm not wearing any of that." Is the only thing Nakime said before leaving with her biwa to another room-dimension-floor-whatever after you came with another one of those dresses of that style you wear. You know, skirt at the lenght of the knee (at most), many details, tight on the waist, socks over the knee, hair accesories and make-up powder, but in black and grey, asking her her to wear it. You thought it would look cute on her, she didn't agree. Nakime... doesn't like it, it feels odd for her, too foreign for her liking, because she does like luxurious items, the hause has them, but she likes traditional luxury. This is... too European.

Also, Nakime feels is a bit... infantilizing in some point, so she would rather avoid the experience of wearing it at all. She has never shown or vocalized her dislike because in her view it has nothing to do with you, she doesn't like it, but you do. You can wear whatever you want, it's not her job to police you, but she is not even going to try it on, no matter how much you ask. Nakime can and will also compliment you from time to time, only to feed you confidence, but she is not more supportive than that.

Akaza:

He... feels weird about it, there is something that he doesn't like and he doesn't know- fuck it, Akaza knows exactly what he doesn't like, the fact that you, as a woman, are trying to dress more like you were younger, the lenght of the skirt is the one you would expect only in young children, he remembers Edo, he used to dress.... forget it , he did, the thing is, you are a young lady, why look like a child with all the pink and details and fragile looks like she had. She was sick, he had to take care of her. Why are you reminding him she was just a girl? A girl who dresses with pink, the patterns were not as flashy as they couldn't afford more, but he would have given her more. "Akaza?"

He looks at you are you where showing him another set and he zoomed out. He looks at you a bit lost before answering quickly "Yeah... yeah, it looks nice. Soft pink... it's nice." He wants to take care of you, but not in the usual way, he wants to fix you beddings and set you there and talk you to sleep, keeping awake as he looks down at you, hopefully soundly sleeping, waking you up from nighmares and comforting you after. To bring you food and check your temperature, not let you up. He doesn't understand it, why would he want to treat you like a child? He can't get it, so he can't like it. "It's nice."

Douma:

Douma likes it, it's knew, foreign. He doesn't have many outsiders as followers, five at most if he is not wrong, but his cult recieves them nonetheless. He must admit, just one had a style any remotely similar to yours, European, and he ended up killing that same follower. It was not personal, they were not liked around in general, carrying too much silly ideas of their own nation to accept the superiority of those in front of him, accusing Douma of being a demon, so he got silenced. Honestly, it's entertaining, the details, the shape, the make-up, the heels... it's all so outstanding.

Douma adores new things, new tastes, anything than can kill monotony and boredom. But besides that? He doesn't care. You can dress whatever you want and he couldn't care less, and once het gets used to this look then he will stop caring. His only interest is to see more of this foreign culture, and take a bite id he can. He will not point your looks out, mostly not wanting you to be berated for them, since it's hard to get along with Europe, it has always been, so you could say he is ignoring it.

Kokushibou:

So.... Kokushibou will not say an opinion... but he will. "It looks inappropriate." Really, the skirt is a bit short, showing from your knees to below or even more... you are a young lady, not a child, you should be covering properly. Women in his times did (we heard you gramps 😅). Also, the details are too much and it gives off the impression that you expend too much money on yourself (the proces really are not at your favor in that argument) and are seeking too much od spotlight, it defies what a proper lady should look like, with simple grace and humble wealth (as if that existed 😒), and he dislikes it. It does follow some of Japan's beauty standars, like the use of clear bases and make-up that doesn't fight your natural skin tone, so he doesn't hate it.

Still, while he has never told you how you should dress, he really doesn't like it. It's clearly a foreign style and, honestly? He is not impressed, it's clearly meant to be for those who lack the discipline of the Japanese traditions, meant to break the links with the ancestors and the values in simplicity. What else could he expect from outsiders? The fact that you use that... clothes only for the sake of indulging proves him right! (Yeah, yeah, go to sleep Kokushibou) So don't you dare including him in... this phase of yours. (... at least he is not fainting of horror 🤣).

[erzherzog-von-edelstein]

//crawls in// please may I ask kindly for 14. things you said after kissing me - SpAus................. The ball is in your court for pre-divorce or post-divorce dynamic....... 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

Of course, how about relatively early in their marriage?

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

Spain crossed the room and wordlessly took Austria’s face in his hands. Austria saw the intensity in his eyes a moment before their lips met.

Spain kissed him firmly, but not hungrily. Austria leaned into it on instinct, ever glad for Spain’s touch. All the thoughts about what he had been doing vanished as the other man cradled his face and deepened the kiss.

He put his hands on Spain’s waist, feeling the velvet of his doublet under his fingers. When they parted, Spain said, “Did you miss me?”

Austria didn’t even need to consider before answering, “Of course. I always do.”

A tantalizing smile curled across Spain’s lips. He looked like he wanted to lean back in for another kiss when the sound of someone else clearing their throat.

The sound snapped Austria back to what he had been doing before Spain’s entrance. He turned his head to look at France, who had a single blonde eyebrow raised in annoyance.

He said, seeing that he had gotten Austria’s attention, said, “Can we return to my offer now?” He shot Spain a withering glare, “In private, preferably.”

Austria guessed how Spain would respond even before he heard the offended huff. Spain said, turning sharply to France, “And why would you want that?”

The venom in his tone gave Austria a moment of pause. He intoned, answering France, “No, you may not.”

He was thinking about how Spain had walked in, certainly registered France’s presence, and intentionally walked past him. Austria would have loved to believe that Spain only had eyes for him, but he knew the man too well for that. The gesture felt distinctly more pointed than loving the more that Austria contemplated it.

Spain all but confirmed his intentions as he said, “It is curious, Francis, that a letter found its way to Vienna, but nothing came to Madrid. Almost like you didn't want me here with my husband.”

France’s blue eyes were full of undisguised disdain. He said, with a sneer, “I assumed that there was no need to talk to the junior partner.”

Austria felt Spain slip an arm around him. He glanced at Spain and saw the way a muscle twitched in his jaw. He knew Spain’s tells enough to know that if the man had a sword on him, he would have grasped it. Austria cautioned, “You should be cautious, Francis.”

Spain let out a sharp exhale through his nose, “Really? I have a different theory.”

His hand tightened and Austria glanced at him to see the clear anger on his face. Spain continued, “I think you are trying to divide the empire by being selective. Or maybe you even think you could get between us.”

Austria could hear what he was not saying: that he thought France was trying to steal from him. He found it strangely charming, though he thought that the jealousy was entirely misplaced. France had not approached him with any friendship or affection, and Austria had not felt even remotely moved.

France rolled his eyes, making clear what he thought of Spain’s bluster, “You find ill intentions everywhere, whether they exist or not.”

Spain countered, “Perhaps I just know you well. You and your wandering eyes.”

Austria contemplated letting them bicker. He did enjoy seeing Spain puff himself up like a territorial rooster. It left little doubt that he valued the marriage. But he decided that it was unnecessary to let them continue. He said, before they could snipe at each other further, “We are unified. You are not going to get a different answer by only talking to me.”

He turned to Spain and put a hand softly to his cheek, reassuring him that he was there, “But, Antonio, I fear you’ve had a wasted trip.” Spain pulled him closer, protectively, “It’s never a wasted trip.”

Austria started to blush, but continued, “I was about to tell Francis that he can go back to Paris empty-handed. I have no interest in a rapprochement.” France’s eyes widened and he said, “Roderich, please consider-“ Spain cut him off, “You heard him. Fuck off back to Paris.”

France sighed and said, before turning on his heel, “You’re both insufferable.”

Once he was gone, Austria looked at Spain, and said, “Did you kiss me just to make a point?”

Spain had not loosened his hold on his waist. He answered, “Just? No, not just for that. I enjoy kissing you too.” He leaned in and whispered, “See, I’ll do it again without anyone looking.”

[alpaca-clouds]

We need to finally decolonize

You know what? Thanks to Castlevania Nocturne I got a chance to talk a bit more about colonialism. So, let me just talk for a while a bit about decolonialization and what would need to happen for that.

Also, if you are one of the white guys, who is going to whine about "Arab colonialisation, boohoo", I am gonna kick you ass off this blog, just so you know.

I think like two months ago I already wrote a bit about how colonialism has never ended. And it hasn't. For the most part a lot of land is still not only settled, but owned by settlers. This is true for the Americas (including the US of course), but also true for Australia, parts of the Pacific and also large chunks of Africa.

Additionally settlers have constructed contries and borders often to serve their needs and to allow them to assert control. This is particularly clear in Africa of course, where those straight line borders ignore both geography and original tribal lands, splitting it up and hence adding to local conflicts.

Then there is of course the general effects of the genocides that have happened through colonialism and are - arguably - still happening, given how underserved Indigenous communities are often in terms of infrastructure, but also access to justice in any way or form.

And of course once more: Slavery is still happening. Partly in mines (and the like) in countries where you do not see it - often for the enrichment of white people - and of course in the US through the prison industrial complex.

I could go on and on. But let me turn this around and talk about what needs to happen instead. How do we decolonize?

Short answer: Land back and reparations.

No, that does not mean that all settlers have to move, but that tribes get to manage and make decisions about their own land. And if they do not want your fucking pipeline on that land, there is not gonna be a fucking pipeline on the land. And if they allow it, they can charge you for the use of the land. It is their land, they get to call the shots!

And that is not only gonna be true for the US and Canada, but for all settled land that is currently held by white people.

It also means paying reparations to everyone who suffered through colonialism. The people whose ancestors got shipped around the world as slaves, but also the people whose families had to suffer through genocide and all of that.

And no, it should not only be the US to pay those reparations, but all the countries that enriched themselves on all the horrors committed. Which would also include Germany, France, the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal first and foremost.

A lot of western countries act like they are lord and saviors when they give "humanitarian aid" to the global south, even though those payments are not even a fraction of the money they made on the backs of the people living in the global south right now.

The argument against this is always: "But we do not have the money" and "it is all gonna be taken by dictators", to which I say: "Tough luck" and "who was it again that put those fucking dictators in power to prevent the spread of communism?"

I just really do not have any chill for white people going all "but the money" again. That money was stolen. So fuck right off.

[togglesbloggle]

I was tagged by @wellmetmat in @perdvivly's ask meme that's going around- thanks for the interest! A few questions, they shall be answered. I won't tag anyone else for now, but anyone who sees this should absolutely respond if they're so inclined.

1. What virtue do you most often see in other people that you feel comparatively deficient in?

Easy one for me: diligence. Consistency, commitment, patient sustained focus on moderate challenges. Being there not on day 1 but on day 1000.

It's a skill I greatly admire in others, and I'm often drawn to those who can practice it successfully and consistently. The virtue of diligence has a way of making the world around oneself a dramatically better place, so being attracted to such people really works out well for me in the long run. Good parenting is perhaps one of the ur-examples here; the stakes of consistency get about as high as they reasonably can, and the rewards are just as clear. I've heard parents say that it's a time of very long days and very short years, and I often strive to give my days and my years the same quality- with not as much success as I'd like.

2. Show us an object in your daily life that you have an emotional attachment to - tell us a little bit about it if you want! (a favourite mug perhaps? socks with a cute pattern? dealers choice)

I actually live more-or-less surrounded by little curios that meet this description, so I had a lot to choose from. It's a lifestyle, or at least a method of interior decorating, that makes me really happy. I grabbed these three more or less at random. From left to right:

Every geologist has a collection of boring-looking rocks with cool science attached; this is the star of my collection. It's a microbialite, meaning roughly that it's a 'fossil' of an ancient microbial mat. This one is from the Buck Reef Chert in South Africa, basically a piece of flint. It's 3.42 billion years old, from the Paleoarchean. It's nearly seven times older than multicellular life, and even predates oxygenic photosynthesis (which is the pattern where plants or green algae uptake CO2 and release oxygen); the organisms that created this fossil breathed iron instead. So it's the sort of organism that was common in the shallower waters of Earth's oceans back in the most primordial ecosystems we have a record of. A relic from an alien world, older than a full third of the stars in the Milky Way galaxy. I find it very beautiful to be biologically related to it, and to be part of the same uninterrupted organic chemical reaction.

In the middle is my orchestrator badge for a university class which conducts an elaborate simulation of the papal election of 1492 and its aftermath, run by a professor in the history department- this is last year's. You may recognize 1492 in the Italian peninsula as 'interesting times'. It's taken for class credit, but the heart of it is a LARP that plays out over the course of about two and a half weeks, with full costuming and set-dressing. Every student is assigned a particular period character; most are voting cardinals, some are monarchs ruling over France or Spain and trying to get a favorable pope for themselves, a few are invented minor roles like vote counters that wouldn't have been recorded by history (so that clever cardinals can bribe them, among other things; we have rules for how much the vote-takers can cheat). After suitable prep, we let them loose, and watch the poor bastards chase incentive gradients far enough to burn Europe to the ground. I myself pretend to be a mere orchestrator for the first three days of the simulation, and act mostly as a custodian for the monarchs, but then I dramatically reveal myself to actually be Sultan Bayezid II, of the Ottoman Empire, and then proceed to menace Europe with my impossible wealth, vast armies, and advanced technologies. It is, without fail, a delight.

The right is a watch given to me as a birthday gift some years ago by my dear sister, one of the marvelous transparent ones where you can see finely made gears and springs all working. It's effective for being taken seriously in Europe; combined with brown leather shoes and a thoughtful choice of shirt, it's enough to elevate you above the 'slobby American tourist' first impressions. The watch's finest hour was when I wore it to the front row of the Penn and Teller production of Shakespeare's Tempest. The show was full of stage magic to supplement the play itself, because of course it was, and this watch was irresistible to them during the audience-participation bits. Ariel the wind spirit made a great show of stealing it off my wrist, and of disappearing it and so on multiple times.

3. If you could choose, what level of fame would you want? How many people would you want to recognise you?

There's a level of demifame that I think is just right: enough respect within a widely-spread subculture to earn a comfortable income from fans, and relative anonymity outside it. Jo Walton is at about that sweet spot, for a concrete example. In practice, I think this translates to a few tens of thousands of people around the world that would recognize you, but the key is that they're not randomly selected: they're the people that you share that subculture with, so there's a baseline of mutual regard and shared values even when you're greeted out of nowhere by a stranger in a strange city.

4. Where do you feel language is least adequate to capture, communicate, or express your experience?

What a mean question to ask by text! Ha.

There's a set of experiences you can reach, which I happened to find both through scientific literacy and mindfulness meditation, involving the conditionality and contingencies of personal identity. You may have felt it a little bit when I was talking about my favorite rock, just now; you might not have. I have a powerful and sustained sense of myself as an expression of natural processes, or perhaps of the role of consciousness in illuminating the full depth of that process. It's quite comforting, I suppose, though even that's not a particularly apt description really. I think I called it being 'deep okay' a while back, though I don't recall where; I don’t think I came up with that label myself though. It was here!

5. If you had to come up with a question with the following criteria:

a) it should disuade knee-jerk reaction answers (i.e. it shouldn't be something people are likely to have spent a lot of time considering before)

b) it shouldn't be too specialised (the audience should be general, don't ask about people's top 3 byzantine spice merchants opperating between 754AD-816AD)

c) it shouldn't be needlessly emotionally charged or divisive

d) it should be a question you expect people to have lots of varied opinions about

What would your question be?

What are the kinds of magic you most wish for, or the laws of reality that you most wish could be overcome? What would this allow you to become?

---

Actually I lied I'm tagging @ritterum @femmenietzsche @eka-mark if they haven't been already.

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

🦇 The Pairing Book Review 🦇

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

❓ #QOTD If you could travel anywhere for the summer, where would you go? ❓ 🦇 Theo and Kit have been a lot of things: childhood best friends, crushes, in love, and now estranged exes. After a brutal breakup on the transatlantic flight to their dream European food and wine tour, they exited each other's lives once and for all. All that remains is the unused voucher for the European tour that never happened, good for 48 months after its original date and about to expire. It's not until they board the tour bus that they discover they've both accidentally had the exact same idea, and now they're trapped with each other for three weeks of stunning views, luscious flavors, and the most romantic cities of France, Spain, and Italy. Will it be too much, or a reminder that a small taste can make you crave what you can't have?

💜 Pairs well with: healing hearts long bottled up but aged well, a decadent glass of light-bodied wine with hints of cherry (memories of sweet syrup spilling down warm wrists on a hot summer's day), and a lover's kiss (their taste stained against your lips). I don't know what I was thinking, reading I Kissed Shara Wheeler, Red, White, & Royal Blue, then The Pairing all back to back in a rushed, heart-aching CMQ marathon for Pride Month, but WOAH does my heart hurt. The Pairing is the perfect rom-com summer read. This story will whisk you away on a tour of Europe, inviting you to feast on local cuisine until adjectives tantalize and taunt your tastebuds, soothing you like a rich glass of red (smooth and velvety, bursting with flavors of ripe plum, black cherry, and toasted cedar, sparking unfamiliar memories). If you adored Red, White, and Royal Blue (namely, the queer references and quotes pulled from history), the exploration of Europe's never-ending artistry and ageless anecdotes will no doubt tug at your heartstrings. Nevermind the detailed descriptors, the pristine explorations of pastries, pasta, wine, and wonder. Let's talk about Kit and Theo.

💜 CMQ does an outstanding job at Show, Don't Tell throughout the entire novel. Too often, there's a moment in second-chance romances, a piece of the past that broke a meant-to-be couple apart, that SO many novels reveal all too quickly. CMQ doesn't hinge the entire story on that reveal, nor is it unveiled too soon. Instead, we're given the chance to understand Theo and Kit's points of view, not about that ONE defining moment, but about everything; how they came to be, what their lives were becoming, the lost possibility. These two characters feel SO much, but those emotions are never defined with clear-cut words, forcing readers to accept those feelings. Emotions aren't so cut and dry, nor singular; they're a tangle, a messy knot of hurt and longing, love and betrayal. Instead, we experience them through glimpses of the past and present. We heal alongside them. I'm grateful the story focused on Theo's POV first, THEN switched to Kit's during a pivotal moment of their present. We experience Theo's still raw pain and self-doubt before delving into Theo's everlasting love and regret.

💜 I just, I CAN'T. I didn't last a single chapter without making a mess of annotations. I've lived a friends-to-lovers-to-enemies-back-to-lovers, second-chance romance. I know that feeling of one person being your everything, regardless of time and distance. CMQ captures it fully.

💙 My only hang-up: this story relies on the miscommunication trope to survive, not only in the present, but the past that broke Theo and Kit apart in the first place. The execution is flawless, though, giving it realistic reasoning instead of simply using it as a plot piece. I'd also like to point out that the description you read online, regarding the hookup competition, is hardly the story's real focus. It's like the garnish for an already sublime cocktail. You can do without.

🦇 Recommended for fans of Jandy Nelson, 13 Little Blue Envelopes, and all things CMQ.

✨ The Vibes ✨ 🍷 Bi4Bi 🥐 Queer Romance 🍷 Europe Tour 🥐 Second Chance Romance 🍷 Friends to Lovers to Enemies to Lovers 🥐 Dual POV 🍷 Food, Wine, History, Art, Culture

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

💬 Quotes ❝ The problem is, we’ve only ever been everything or nothing to each other. I don’t know how to start being something to him. ❞ ❝ It’s not just that I want him. It’s that he taught me what wanting was. ❞ ❝ I wonder if anyone else in the whole blackberry-jam galaxy has ever loved someone so much that it made their soul feel fixed in their body. ❞ ❝ An expression of delighted awe dawns on Theo’s face, and in it I see layer after layer, old self after intermediate self after current self, the Theo I met as a child and the Theo I got to call mine and the Theo who fills her own body. They’re all here, hanging in the air, harmonizing with one another. Maybe they’re always here. Maybe she feels so familiar and so new to me now because I’d heard the beginning note but not the completed chord. I knew her before her arches had points, before the paint to finish her had been invented. What a wonder, what a miracle: somehow, more of her. ❞ ❝ My favorite parts of me are the ones that Theo brings out, the ones that grew to match theirs. ❞ ❝ I could love that ongoing, extant Theo again. There’s so much romance in that, so much beauty in learning how much my heart can endure. Sometimes I think the only way to keep something forever is to lose it and let it haunt you. ❞ ❝ If I can give my whole heart to love without fearing the cost, I will regret nothing. ❞

[cicerenella]

are there any other nations you'd pair feli with besides ludwig? bro has a rich, widely respected cultural history and a friendly easy-going personality to boot- hes definitely getting his pick of the lot!

also i was wondering how you see spamano. is romano prickly and reluctant to openly show he cares too much about antonio like in canon? and does antonio still keep a watchful eye over him?

I do ship him with other nations! the first that comes to my mind is...France, lol. I am a sucker to enemies to rivals to lovers that still kinda despise eachother, and they PERFECTLY embody this kind of dynamic.

Really, I can't even begin to explain all the historical drama that ties these two. I should provably do a separate post about it lol, but just so you know, it's a continuous streak of alliances and wars and occupations and stuff. (And a side note, Italy is almost the same age as France in my canon. There's no chibitalia thing since history wise makes NO SENSE.)

Another ship that I really like with North Italy is with Prussia, although I still need to touch on their relationship on a more historical level. I think they look cute together and their personalities actually match really well! it's even implied slightly in canon? I don't remember well, but anyways it seems feli REALLY likes the germanics since he's always in their business.

Now, onto the spamano stuff. I want to make VEERY clear that I really DO NOT like the idea of chibiromano at all. Romano during the spanish occupation already had 1200 years of history and a culture OF HIS OWN. He was a kingdom, and definitely not a kid! He was roughly around Spain's age.

If you want to know what is their relationship like, it really depends on the time period. Today, their relationship would be great. Romano would still be grouchy towards Antonio, but I don't like how the fandom makes him a complete asshole towards him. It is really inaccurate, because Southern Italians (especially us neapolitans) literally ADORE Spain. Many of us emigrate to Madrid and Barcellona for employment. Romano is a bit rough around the edges, but he isn't afraid to show Antonio that he cares lol.

And I think Antonio does keep an eye on Romano too. although again, it really depends in what time of history we are talking to. Because let's just say that their relationship wasn't always good...and there's a few good reasons for that!

(Side Note: I am currently working on a post explaining the "historical" side of Spamano. Would you guys be interested in a post about it? They had quite the...tumultuous relationship starting from the XIV century, and I would love to share some history about Southern Italy! There's a lot of misconception in hetalia actually-)

[rabbitcruiser]

National Dessert Day

Satisfy your sweet tooth with cakes, pastries, tarts and candies on Dessert Day, have a bake-off with friends or invent a brand-new delicacy of your own.

So, What is more fun than making dinner or lunch? Dessert. It can be made with all things that are sweet and juicy or tart and sour and can come out in ways that are warm and soft, flavorful and crunchy, but it’s always delicious. You can indulge dessert with a range of chocolates, candy, or pastries, cakes, and cupcakes, and what about tarts and pies? Preparing them can make the wait for them all the sweeter, or you can grab a pudding or two on the go just to make the day that much brighter. National Dessert Day is your excuse to indulge in your favorite treats.

Learn about National Dessert Day

Are you a starter or a dessert person? If you fall into the latter category, you are going to love National Dessert Day. This day provides us with the perfect excuse to let our sweet tooth take over. You can indulge in as many desserts as you wish, and no one can tell you to do otherwise! What could be better? From pastries and cakes to chocolates and mousses; there is a dessert for everyone. What’s your favorite?

If you do a little bit of digging online, you will see that there are some interesting facts and statistics about desserts and the most popular choices. Of course, you have probably heard of tiramisu, which is the world’s most famous Italian dessert. What about Sacher cake, from Austria, or Baklava, from Greece and the Middle East? Research different cultures and try new desserts on this day!

History of National Dessert Day

The origin of the word dessert comes from the French “desservir,” a word which here means “to clear the table.” This, of course, referenced the dish that came after the clearing of the main dishes served as part of the meal. The earliest references to the term dessert being used are in the 1600’s and arrived at the same time as the concept of serving a meal in courses, letting each part of the meal be its own experience.

While it may seem like a no-brainer now, the idea of serving a sweet repast following the main meal wasn’t something that was always done. Those masters of decadence, the French, were known to serve a sweet wine as an aperitif, and it didn’t take long before the concept of sweet followings to the main dish became commonplace.

The birth of the sugar and honey trade helped to bolster the idea of dessert as it became easier to obtain sweeteners, though for a long time it was still known as a lush decadence reserved for the wealthy.

National Dessert Day Timeline

1300

Filo dough is first used

This base for all sorts of delicious sweets is recorded as having been filled with different nuts and spices, though they may have been serves as appetizers as well as dessert.

17th Century

First dessert cookbook is made 

As New World plantations lower the price of sugar, more recipes for sweet dishes are explored.

1691

First recipe for crème brûlée is recorded

England, Spain and France all make claims on this delicious dessert, but the first printed recipe with this name is by a cook at the Palace of Versailles, in France.

1847

First edible chocolate bar is created

British company, J.S. Fry & Sons, makes the first chocolate bar from cocoa powder, cocoa butter and sugar.

2007

Guinness World Record set for most expensive dessert 

The famous cafe in New York City, Serendipity 3, sets the record for the most expensive dessert ever: $25,000 for a chocolate ice cream sundae decorated with gold.

How to Celebrate National Dessert Day

National Dessert Day encourages us to celebrate by selecting our favorite delicacies and indulging in them, while also exploring the ever-growing number of options we have to experience in the world of sweets. There are so many to choose from cakes, pies, fried dough, chocolate, tarts, candy, jellied desserts, and pastries; it’s all about choosing how you make them and what to make, and maybe even where to make it?

Dessert can happen at home with family, or you can pick them up from your local store, and there’s always grandma’s house? The only important question on National Dessert Day is “What is your favorite dessert, and how would you like it?” Maybe there’s an old family recipe or something that the bakery down the street made fresh that morning. Whatever you decide, National Dessert Day is your opportunity to indulge in your favorite treats and maybe relive some old memories while doing so.

From rich chocolate to sweet strawberries, there are many desserts you can make on this day. How about Sticky Toffee Pudding? This is a British classic. For those that are unaware, Sticky Toffee Pudding is a delicious moist sponge cake that is made with finely chopped dates. The star of the show is, of course, the toffee sauce that is poured over the top.

If you fancy something a bit more modern, how about Green Tea-Coated Chocolate Mousse? Green tea is a massive hit in desserts at the moment. The Strawberry Cobbler is another dessert worth a mention. For something spectacular, serve it with cream cheese and warm vanilla seed custard. It is warm, comforting, and will melt in your mouth.

Or, what about Sicilian Lemon Tart? The balance between the sweetness and tartness in this dessert is spot on. We could go on, and on, and on, and on… after all, there are so many delicious and mouth-watering desserts out there! All you need to do is a quick search on the Internet and you are going to find plenty of exciting recipes to try on this day.

Another fun way to celebrate National Dessert Day is by watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. When you think of sweet treats and chocolate, this is often the first thing that comes to mind. It is a great film, and it is something that all of the family can watch. So, prepare your dessert, whether it be an ice cream sundae or a comforting apple pie, and get yourself comfortable in front of the television so that you and the family can enjoy a good movie night together. What could be better?

If you are really feeling adventurous, you may want to try making your own dessert invention on National Dessert Day. After all, the best recipes out there usually started as a bit of trial and error. Get plenty of different baking ingredients in and have fun experimenting with different flavors.

You could even turn this into a bit of a bake-off competition with your family or friends. You can all have your own ‘workstation’ and then you can try everyone’s desserts to see who is crowned the winner. It’s always fun to do something a little bit different with your loved ones, isn’t it?

National Dessert Day FAQs

Where did dessert come from? 

Derived from the French word “desservir”, the word dessert means “to clear the table”, which seems fitting for the last course of a large meal.

Are desserts bad for you?

Some desserts that are high in fat, sugar and empty calories can be unhealthy, especially when eaten every day. But in moderation, it’s okay!

Can desserts be healthy?

Sure! Desserts that have a small amount of sugar and lots of fiber, like fresh fruit, applesauce, or frozen fruit pops, can be a healthy end to a meal.

What dessert is Italy famous for?

Most people would say that the most famous Italian dessert is Tiramisu, which is made with coffee, ladyfingers, cinnamon and sweet cream.

Should dessert wine be chilled?

Yes, sweet wines that are meant to be served after a meal should be chilled to between 6-10 degrees C or 45-50 degrees F.

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