#lydia ruling 2022

[llycaons]

:} i read pride & prejudice earlier this year (ADORED it.) and im about 2/3rds through emma. ive been slower to read this one for a bunch of personal & narrative reasons (the prose likes to show you that these ppl are a bit stupid by inserting a full page of diatribe sometimes) but its fascinating. i want to make more people read pride & prejudice

HI CJ :D pride and prejudice is like my number one romance book of all time I just LOVE it and this is coming from someone who doesn't like romances but it just makes me giggle and kick my feet and the ending is so so happy (with. exceptions lord poor lydia 😭) but I'm so excited for you what a wonderful discovery!!! like obviously it's a product of its time - emma is extremely socially conservative in ways I can't really overlook anymore in response to things like the french revolution to the extent where it rly impacts my enjoyment of it - but just as romances they're SO good. emma does have a lot of long tangents haha...it's incredibly well-written tho the language is just beautiful

personally I really love most of the other austen novels and I definitely recommend them too - sense and sensibility's one romance is extremely weird and creepy from a modern perspective, but I love the other one's restraint and tragedy and final burst of a happy ending at the end so much that I can overlook it. the loyalty to the theme was so impressive! northanger abbey is genuinely quite a funny parody of gothic novels with a fun and adventurous young heroine, tho I think the romance, while sweet, is one of the more generic and forgettable of austen's. persuasion is about an older woman whose looks have faded (27!) but the character arc of her and her love interest being reunited as settled and emotionally mature adults after being separated in their youth is SO satisfying...the characters are a little bit dull imo but the story itself is enthralling. (this is why I like persuasion AUs. theoretically. lmao)

meanwhile mansfield park is 800 pages of slogging prudishness and with almost no humor to break it up. she marries her first cousin. one of the women is presented as a scandalous ne'er-do-well because she likes riding horses. the family's wealth comes from a plantation in the caribbean. all of these books have some interaction with the ruling forces of british colonial empire (wentworth from persuasion is a naval officer) and most of the love interests are wealthy landowners, but mansfield park is the only one where the family literally owns slaves. it's a dreadful book and I hate it and I do not recommend it

but as a whole I do love so much of her work and I hope you enjoy it too!! there are a ton of adaptations too - my favorite for pride and prejudice is the bbc one but a lot of ppl like the movie too. I haven't seen many other adaptations but I do think the 2022 persuasion movie is really funny bc it's so utterly at odds with the actual story and characters of the book.

happy reading!!

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Lydia O'Connor at HuffPost:

A week after a judge struck down Georgia’s six-week abortion ban, the state’s Supreme Court announced Monday that it’s reinstating the ban while it weighs Georgia officials’ appeal of the lower court’s ruling. Following the high court’s 6-1 vote, the near-total ban on abortions will go back into effect at 5 p.m. local time on Monday, upending a major win for reproductive rights advocates. “It is cruel that our patients’ ability to access the reproductive health care they need has been taken away yet again,” Kwajelyn Jackson, executive director at Atlanta’s Feminist Women’s Health Center, said following the ruling. “Once again, we are being forced to turn away those in need of abortion care beyond six weeks of pregnancy and deny them care that we are fully capable of providing to change their lives.” Justice John Ellington, the ruling’s sole dissenter, wrote in his dissent that the state should “not be in the business of enforcing laws that have been determined to violate fundamental rights guaranteed to millions of individuals under the Georgia Constitution.” Georgia’s six-week ban went into effect in July 2022, a month after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade.

When Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney struck down that ban last week, he determined that the law treated women like “some piece of collectively owned community property” and that until a fetus reaches viability at around 22-24 weeks, such a ban was a violation of Georgians’ constitutional rights.

The Georgia Supreme Court saw fit to reinstate the state’s 6-week abortion ban while the appeals process is underway.

[taiturner]

NEW YEARS CLEAN-UP 🎊

rules: unburden yourself from the abandoned WIPS collecting dust in your folder and share 5 gifs, then tag five people. (tagged by @yenvengerberg, thank you i feel like i can do something useful with these things now 💖)

tagging with no pressure of course: @wyllhalsin, @capinejghafa, @cardvngreenbriar, @seance, @ayoedebiris, @ughmerlin, @craintheodora, @lottiemilfews, @natscatorrcio (yeah miles i'm tagging you to be funny i know what you did with those psds)

these are all from projects that i have in a folder titled "on the bench" that i want to pretend i'll come back to, but.... some of these have been benched for so long and they're no longer fresh in my head so i fear they'll be abandoned forever. should also be mentioned that a lot of projects on the bench are literally just me making all the typography first and then losing inspo when i actually wanted to gif things.... usually by the time i do start, i change my mind about the type anyway. i also have so many abandoned gifs from other gifsets i've already posted but i'm not even sure where to begin searching so... here are some things!

one of the many gifs i already created for a prompt from @yellowjacketsoctober to put the show in a different genre. ironically, a prompt that i came up with for the event specifically to make this gifset but didn't even complete. i spent so many hours and so many days trying to gif this entire arc for these three with the intent to make it a heist drama set but after so long i realized i was just giffing exactly what happened in the show and it started to feel pointless. but at least here's a preview of something that i'll never finish. my trio of all time, can they commit more crimes together please! (should also be said that this folder is 44gb because i already saved all the caps + because these psds are so heavy... new years clean up for real)

i don't know what it is about lydia that makes it so hard for me to finish any set for her, but every time i try i seem to always lose the drive eventually (probably because twd in general just feels really uninteresting for me to blend, for some reason). from a 2022 spotify wrapped meme, i'm pretty sure i restarted this specific gifset so many different times, unhappy with the colors and the blends and the text and everything -- which is why there are two very different examples here. my girl of all time though i will finish something for her eventually (and maybe even this one, because this song is still so good for her).

one of the many gifs that were abandoned by my scream vi set for favorite slasher in october. when tumblr first changed the image upload limit to 30, i promised myself to never take advantage of that too much, but i severely underestimated how many moments i would want to include for this movie and i made so many other gifs for this set but ultimately cut them so i could try to tone it down - 18 gifs in this set still feels like a lot but i spent so much time on this set that it was hard to part with many more. anyway here's sam being the hottest final girl in the world and correct about everything.

i don't know how long this has been on the bench but it was definitely a project i started way before season 2 even aired. i think i just got stuck and wasn't sure where to go with it, but anyway her!

extra spoiler for @wyllhalsin but this was supposed to be a pride edit in june for one of my favorite lgbt characters of all time. this show's camera movements nearly makes it impossible to blend anything so i lost the drive, but i will come back for felix someday (and for coty, obviously this set was for him).

[wipbigbang]

WIPBB 2023 - Fic & Art Master List (M - R)

Below is the master list of all the bragging rights/posts that were posted to Tumblr and Dreamwidth, organized alphabetically by fandom from M to R. Please go show these people some love for all the hard work they did!

Marvel Cinematic Universe

Captain America

A Future Golden with Promise: Art On Dreamwidth | Art On Tumblr (Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers)

Contact High, Middle Earth, and Laying Low: Fic | Art On Dreamwidth | Art On Tumblr (Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers)

Letters From Under The Bed: Fic/Art (Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers)

Litter Mates: Fic | Art On Dreamwidth | Art On Tumblr (Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers)

When The Pool Closes: Fic | Art On Dreamwidth | Art On Tumblr (Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers)

Captain America/Iron Man

From A to B: Fic (Rebecca Barnes Proctor/Howard Stark)

Captain America/Iron Man/Spiderman

Peter Parker's Guide to Romance: Fic | Art On Dreamwidth | Art On Tumblr (Bucky Barnes/Tony Stark, Michelle Jones/Peter Parker)

Moon Knight

And You Can Follow Me: Fic | Art (Marc Spector/Layla El-Faouly)

Wandavision

the season of the witch: Fic | Art (Agatha Harkness/Wanda Maximoff)

Mass Effect

Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Fic (Original Characters)

MDZS/The Untamed

A Thousand Ways To Say I Love You: Fic/Art (Nie Huaisang/Nie Mingjue)

An Old Cardboard Produce Box for a Cradle: Fic (Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian)

Bright The Hawk's Flight: Fic/Art (Lan Wangji/ Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng & Jiang Yanli & Wei Wuxian)

Bring Me Tomorrow/Stay With Me: Fic | Art (Wei Wuxian/Lan Wangji, Jin Guangyao/Lan Xichen, Jin Guangyao/Nie Mingjue, Implied Xicheng)

Consequences: Fic (Wei Wuxian/Lan Wangji, Jiang Yanli/Jin Zixuan, Lan Xichen/Jin Guangyao/Nie Mingjue)

Hit Me With Your Best Shot: Fic/Art (Wei Wuxian/Lan Wangji)

Knit Witted Wei Ying: Art (Wei Wuxian/Lan Wangji, Xiao Xingchen/Song Zichen)

Love in Bloom: Fic (Wei Wuxian/Lan Wangji, Lan Xichen/Nie Mingjue)

Pas de Deux: Fic (Lan Zhan/Wei Ying, background Mo Xuanyu/Xiao Xingchen/Song Zichen)

Platonic Romances, Emotional Affairs, and Other Remedies: Art (Qin Su/Wen Qing, Wei Wuxian/Lan Wangji, Lan Wangji & Qin Su, Lan Jingyi & Lan Sizhui & Lan Wangji, Wei Wuxian & Wen Ning & Wen Qing)

Show & Tell: Fic (Wei Wuxian/Lan Wangji, Jiang Cheng/Lan Wangji, Lan Wangji/Nie Huaisang)

Til Death Do Us Part: Fic | Art (Jin Ling/Jiang Cheng/Jin Guangyao)

Trials and Tribulations: Fic | Art (Lan Zhan/Wei Ying)

Men's Hockey RPF

Sunstruck: Fic | Art (Jamie Drysdale/Trevor Zegras)

try to catch the sun: Fic (Patrick Kane/Jonathan Toews)

Merlin

A Matchmaker of Two Fools: Fic | Art (Merlin Emrys/Arthur Pendragon, Gwen/Morgana Pendragon)

Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries

Warmth in the Coldest Places: Fic | Art (Elizabeth MacMillan/Rosie Sanderson)

Nope (2022)

The Inter(Viewers): Art (N/A)

Old Nine Gates (TV) | 老九门

Mission Creep: Fic (Art On AO3) (Qi Tie Zui/Zhang Rishan)

One Piece

Caught in the Web: Fic (Monkey D. Luffy & Everyone)

Only Murders In The Building

holding hands & twisting knives: Fic | Art (Daniel Kreps/Poppy White)

Original Works

Horseplay and Roughhousing: Fic On Dreamwidth | Fic On Tumblr (Original Characters)

Rules of Engagement/Teen Wolf

A Tale of Two Timmies: Fic (Russell Dunbar/Timmy Patel, Simran Patel & Timmy Patel, Lydia Martin/Stiles Stilinski)

RWBY

Revealed by Mirrored Eyes: Fic | Art (Ruby Rose, Taiyang Xiao Long, Qrow Branwen, Yang Xiao Long, Blake Belladonna, Weiss Schnee, Penny Polendina, James Ironwood, Ozpin, Salem, Raven Branwen, Summer Rose)

[just0nemorepage]

On the Subject of Unmentionable Things || Julia Walton || 320 pages Top 3 Genres: Young Adult / Contemporary / Romance

Synopsis: Phoebe Townsend is a rule follower . . . or so everyone thinks. She’s an A student who writes for her small-town school newspaper. But what no one knows is that Phoebe is also Pom—the anonymous teen who’s rewriting sex education on her blog and social media.

Phoebe is not a pervert. No, really. Her unconventional hobby is just a research obsession. And sex should not be a secret. As long as Phoebe stays undercover, she’s sure she’ll fly through junior year unnoticed. . . .

That is, until Pom goes viral, courtesy of mayoral candidate Lydia Brookhurst. The former beauty queen labels Phoebe’s work an “assault on morality,” riling up her supporters and calling on Pom to reveal her identity. But Phoebe is not backing down. With her anonymity on the line, is it all worth the fight?

Publication Date: August 2022. / Average Rating: 4.07. / Number of Ratings: ~850.

[theculturedmarxist]

Yves here. One asset America has that most anti-globalists overlook is our legal and court system. The value of foreign exchange transactions due to investment flows was estimated by the Bank of International Settlements at 60 times that of transactions related to trade, although cross border capital flows collapse during financial crises.

Investors greatly prefer transacting though US institutions due to our well-settled precedents. Recall that multinationals investing in Russia as well as some Russian corporations, were often loath to invest directly. They would would go through Cyprus to be subject to English law and a court system run on UK lines. I’ve belatedly come to the view that the reason Cyprus banks blew up in 2013 and were not rescued was the power that be wanted to impede foreign investment in Russia.

That is not to say that US hegemony isn’t past its sell-by date, but that the idea that a new system will come into being soon is way way overdone. I’m of the Gramsci view:

The crisis consists precisely in the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum a great variety of morbid symptoms appear.

By Michael Hudson, a research professor of Economics at University of Missouri, Kansas City, and a research associate at the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College. His latest book is The Destiny of Civilization.

Herodotus (History, Book 1.53) tells the story of Croesus, king of Lydia c. 585-546 BC in what is now Western Turkey and the Ionian shore of the Mediterranean. Croesus conquered Ephesus, Miletus and neighboring Greek-speaking realms, obtaining tribute and booty that made him one of the richest rulers of his time. But these victories and wealth led to arrogance and hubris. Croesus turned his eyes eastward, ambitious to conquer Persia, ruled by Cyrus the Great.

            Having endowed the region’s cosmopolitan Temple of Delphi with substantial silver and gold, Croesus asked its Oracle whether he would be successful in the conquest that he had planned. The Pythia priestess answered: “If you go to war against Persia, you will destroy a great empire.”

            Croesus therefore set out to attack Persia c. 547 BC. Marching eastward, he attacked Persia’s vassal-state Phrygia. Cyrus mounted a Special Military Operation to drive Croesus back, defeating Croesus’s army, capturing him and taking the opportunity to seize Lydia’s gold to introduce his own Persian gold coinage. So Croesus did indeed destroy a great empire, but it was his own.

            Fast-forward to today’s drive by the Biden administration to extend American military power against Russia and, behind it, China. The president asked for advice from today’s analogue to antiquity’s Delphi oracle: the CIA and its allied think tanks. Instead of warning against hubris, they encouraged the neocon dream that attacking Russia and China would consolidate its control of the world economy, achieving the End of History.

            Having organized a coup d’état in Ukraine in 2014, the United States sent its NATO proxy army eastward, giving weapons to Ukraine to fight an ethnic war against its Russian-speaking population and turn Russia’s Crimean naval base into a NATO fortress. This Croesus-level ambition aimed at drawing Russia into combat and depleting its ability to defend itself, wrecking its economy in the process and destroying its ability to provide military support to China and other countries targeted as rivals by U.S. hegemony.

            After eight years of provocation, a new military attack on Russian-speaking Ukrainians was conspicuously prepared to drive toward the Russian border in February 2022. Russia protected its fellow Russian-speakers from further ethnic violence by mounting its own Special Military Operation. The United States and its NATO allies immediately seized Russia’s foreign-exchange reserves held in Europe and North America, and demanded that all countries impose sanctions against importing Russian energy and grain, hoping that this would crash the ruble’s exchange rate. The Delphic State Department expected that this would cause Russian consumers to revolt and overthrow Vladimir Putin’s government, enabling U.S. maneuvering to install a client oligarchy like the one it had nurtured in the 1990s under President Yeltsin.

            A byproduct of this confrontation with Russia was to lock in control over America’s Western European satellites. The aim of this intra-NATO jockeying was to foreclose Europe’s dream of profiting from closer trade and investment relations with Russia by exchanging its industrial manufactures for Russian raw materials. The United States derailed that prospect by blowing up the Nord Stream gas pipeline, cutting off Germany and other countries from access to low-priced Russian gas. That left Europe’s leading economy dependent on higher-cost U.S. Liquified Natural Gas (LNG).

            In addition to having to subsidize domestic European gas to prevent widespread insolvency, a large proportion of German Leopard tanks, U.S. Patriot missiles and other NATO “wonder weapons” were destroyed in combat against the Russian army. It became clear that the U.S. strategy was not simply to “fight to the last Ukrainian,” but to fight to the last tank, missile and other weapon being deleted from NATO stocks.

            This depletion of NATO’s arms was expected to create a vast replacement market to enrich America’s military-industrial complex. Its NATO customers are being told to increase their military spending to 3 or even 4 percent of GDP. But the weak performance of U.S. and German arms may have crashed this dream, along with Europe’s economies sinking into depression. And with German ‘s industrial economy deranged by the severing of its trade with Russia, German Finance Minister Christian Lindner told the Die Welt newspaper on June 16, 2023 that his country cannot afford to pay more money into the European Union budget, to which it has long been the largest contributor.

            Without German exports supporting the euro’s exchange rate, the currency will come under pressure against the dollar as Europe buys LNG and NATO replenishes its depleted weaponry stocks by buying new arms from America. A lower exchange rate will squeeze the purchasing power of European labor, while lower social spending to pay for rearmament and provide gas subsidies threatens to plunge the continent into a depression.

            A nationalist reaction against U.S. dominance is rising throughout European politics, and instead of America locking in its control over European policy, the United States may end up losing – not only in Europe but throughout the Global South. Instead of turning Russia’s “ruble to rubble” as President Biden promised, Russia’s balance of trade has soared and its gold supply has increased. So have the gold holdings of other countries whose governments are now aiming to de-dollarize their economies.

            It is American diplomacy that is driving Eurasia and the Global South out of the U.S. orbit. America’s hubristic drive for unipolar world dominance could only have been dismantled so rapidly from within. The Biden-Blinken-Nuland administration has done what neither Vladimir Putin nor Chinese President Xi could have hoped to achieve in so short a period. Neither was prepared to throw down the gauntlet and create an alternative to the U.S.-centered world order. But U.S. sanctions against Russia, Iran, Venezuela and China have had the effect of protective tariff barriers to force self-sufficiency in what EU diplomat Josep Borrell calls the world “jungle” outside of the US/NATO “garden.”

            Although the Global South and other countries have been complaining ever since the Bandung Conference of Non-Aligned Nations in 1955, they have lacked a critical mass to create a viable alternative. But their attention has now been focused by the U.S. confiscation of Russia’s official dollar reserves in NATO countries. That dispelled the thought of the dollar as a safe vehicle in which to hold international savings. The Bank of England’s earlier seizure of Venezuela’s gold reserves kept in London – promising to donate it to whatever unelected opponents of its socialist regime U.S. diplomats designate – shows how the euro as well as the dollar have been weaponized. And by the way, what ever happened to Libya’s gold reserves?

            American diplomats avoid thinking about this scenario. They rely to the one unique advantage the United States has to offer. It may refrain from bombing them, from staging a color revolution to “Pinochet” them by the National Endowment for Democracy, or install a new “Yeltsin” giving the economy away to a client oligarchy.

            But refraining from such behavior is all that America can offer. It has de-industrialized its own economy, and its idea of foreign investment is to carve out monopoly-rent seeking opportunities by concentrating technological monopolies and control of oil and grain trade in U.S. hands, as if this is economic efficiency, not rent-seeking.

            What has occurred is a change in consciousness. We are seeing the Global Majority trying to create an independent and peacefully negotiated choice as to just what kind of an international order they want. Their aim is not merely to create alternatives to the use of dollars, but an entire new set of institutional alternatives to the IMF and World Bank, the SWIFT bank clearing system, the International Criminal Court and the entire array of institutions that U.S. diplomats have hijacked from the United Nations.

            The upshot will be civilizational in scope. We are seeing not the End of History but a fresh alternative to neoliberal finance capitalism and its junk economics of privatization, class war against labor, and the idea that money and credit should be privatized in the hands of a narrow financial class instead of being a public utility to finance economic needs and rising living standards..

[grandhotelabyss]

—Anton Jäger, "Plenipotentiary"

Good comparison: Der Todd in Venedig, as it were, my emphasis. See also my essay from last year on Mann's great and troubling novella. I didn't care for Visctonti's film; exteriorized as cinema, rather than playing in Aschenbach's interior, the action loses plausibility, becomes something happening to someone else, easy to dismiss. Film adaptations of Lolita and Disgrace suffer similarly; Field handles similar subject matter onscreen more persuasively by not dramatizing the whole of her transgression as such, leaving the relationship with Krista largely in dream space. This passage from Jäger, immediately preceding the one I've screenshotted, is also important, if not the story of my life (for the adolescent literatus, replace Bernstein with Bloom):

When she was a child, it was Bernstein who inspired her to embark on the musical career that lifted her out of her modest circumstances. At that time, the subaltern classes could still look up to the most ennobling elements in Western culture. Highbrow composers were writing popular musicals and introducing TV-viewers to Wagner. Harold Rosenberg famously derided Bernstein as an embodiment of the kitsch implicit in all pop culture – yet, in a typically contemporary reversal, the kitsch of 1958 has morphed into the haute culture of 2022. Today’s bourgeoisie has not only shut its gates but dynamited the fortress itself. The students in Lydia’s Julliard class represent a ruling caste that grew up watching Marvel movies and Disney Plus: a cohort that can no longer honour the supposed ideals of their social stratum. To them, Beethoven is a dead white man; Bach a misogynist. In this new conjuncture, Bernstein represents a lost world – a fusion of high and low that was fleetingly possible in the post-war period and has now vanished forever.

[mysongs]

Hi

A small writer here

This is a story of Ava and her group of six friends decide to take on an escape room challenge. However, they soon realize that the events they are experiencing are not just part of the game. Their survival becomes their top priority as they are faced with a life-threatening situation. As the members of the group become more and more suspicious of each other, they start pointing fingers at Lydia, the one who brought them to this place. They must uncover the true culprit before it is too late, as one of them is dying stage by stage. Who will be the last one standing to tell the tale?

Hope you like it

"you wore your mask , a master of disguise “

screams echoed through the dark, abandoned warehouse, her voice growing hoarse as the icy water rose higher around her. Panic gripped her as she thrashed, desperately trying to stay afloat. Shadows loomed over the monitors, where a twisted reality show played out before their eyes.

"Those dumb human beings, how happy they look not knowing what is about to happen to them," murmured someone, narrating the scene.

Summer, 2022

In a dimly lit room filled with glowing screens, shadows lurked over monitors, observing the group of unsuspecting friends. The scene unfolded on the screens like a twisted reality show.

Those dumb human beings , how happy they look not knowing what is about to happen to them ," murmured Draven, narrating the scene. They watched as a group of friends sat on a bench—two girls and a boy. The camera zoomed in on the boy, Jack, with his dazzling eyes, blond hair, and pale skin, sporting an emerald green jacket over a white undershirt and beige cargo pants. He had an arm around one of the girls' waists.

"Sarah, the girl in his arms, looks like a goddess," another watcher, Malachi, commented, observing her jet-black hair, honey-brown eyes, and high cheekbones. She wore a matching outfit with Jack, making them look like the power couple everyone adored.

"Such a perfect couple," Draven sneered, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I wonder how perfect they'll be when the real fun starts."

"Yes," Malachi added, his tone darkening. "Such a shame to ruin that pretty little face. Imagine the look on Jack's face when he can't recognize his precious goddess."

The camera panned to the girl sitting across from them, Lydia, with her curly black hair and matching eyes framed by eyeglasses. She wore a pencil skirt and a pink blouse—an unusual combination that suited her perfectly. Lydia waved at someone off-screen, causing the lovey-dovey couple to turn their heads, small smiles forming on their faces.

"Ava! Over here!" Lydia's cheerful squeak was amplified through the speakers.

The watchers leaned in as a girl walked confidently towards the group, as if she ruled the world. Ava, with her midnight-black hair reaching her waist, full pink lips, and soul-piercing blue eyes, captured the watchers' attention. A boy with a lean figure shadowed her, holding a flower. He swept his dark auburn hair from his ocean-blue eyes, came from behind her, covered her eyes, and placed the rose on her ear.

"Guess who I am?" said the boy, stopping her from reaching the trio.

"You better be Adam, or you are losing a limb tonight," Ava said seriously, her voice echoing in the dark room.

"Oh, we can arrange that," Malachi chuckled darkly. "How about we play a little game of our own?"

Adam's playful expression changed as if he was scared. "Damn, baby, that's harsh," he said.

The watchers chuckled as they saw Ava remove Adam's hand, turning around to hug him with a smile from ear to ear. "Adam! I missed you, love," she said.

"A flower for the prettiest lady who stole my heart without my consent," Adam said, his eyes filled with love, rivaling Romeo's.

"Stole his heart? How quaint. Let's see her reaction when we steal his heart, cut his rib cage open. Hmm, the perfect way," Draven hissed.

"Thank you, lover boy," Ava said, her heart eyes reflecting on the screen. "Let's go to our friends before they start shouting at us," she added, laughing.

"Well, shit, right. Let's not keep the audience waiting. That's very rude," Adam replied with a smirk. As they turned around, the first thing they saw was Lydia clapping and the power couple rolling their eyes—though one was done playfully.

"Lydia, you won't believe what happened," Ava greeted.

"Lemme guess. No more room for the flowers you get every day?" Sarah grumbled, rolling her eyes, but it wasn't entirely friendly.

"Jealousy isn't a good color on you, Sarah," Ava replied sassily, with a smirk.

Sensing the tension, Jack, who had his arms around Sarah, interrupted the staring contest. "Okay, ladies, time out. Now, without further ado, the main reason for this meetup—what will we do this weekend? I am bored."

"I have an idea. What about an escape room?" Lydia suggested. "Like the one in the movies?"

"Heck yeah, let's do that," Adam remarked.

"What about no? Those things are really scary," Ava interjected hurriedly.

"Aww, is the cat scared of a little game? Don't worry, you can just not come and be a good little stay-at-home boring-ass," Sarah barely finished speaking before Ava glared at her with killer eyes and lunged forward.

"You little bitch—" she collided with Adam's chest as he tried to prevent her from pulling Sarah off her makeshift seat.

"Oooh, look Draven, hot and feisty just how I like it," said Malachi.

"Excuse us for a second," Adam said, taking Ava's hand and moving away from the table.

"Look, I know you both hate each other, so why not prove her wrong and come with us? It will be fun. Plus, think of it as a date of some sort. For me? Please?" Adam pleaded with puppy eyes that could put a real puppy to shame.

"Okay, only for you," Ava said, kissing Adam on the cheek. Intertwining their hands, they walked back to their friends.

"Okay, I am only going to prove you wrong," Ava announced.

"Finally. So, where did you find out about this escape room, buttercup?" Jack asked Lydia with a kind look in his eyes, like a big brother talking to his little sister. "I saw lots of ads about that place on the internet," Lydia replied with a gentle smile that melted away the group's tension. She retrieved a poster from her backpack. "Now we know where we’re going to spend our weekend. Who votes for this Saturday?" Jack asked. A chorus of 'Count me in's echoed around the table.

In the dark room:

"They fell into the trap. Be ready with Room 1 for our special guests, and let's take it easy on them," Draven said, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.

"Let's see how long their loyalty lasts. My bets are on them turning on each other after the first room," Malachi chimed in, his tone sickeningly cheerful.

"And when they do, we'll be here, watching every delicious moment," Draven added, a twisted smile evident in his tone.

[whatsonmedia]

Wednesday Wisdom: Authors Share Compelling Life Narratives

“Explore captivating life tales in this week’s Wednesday Wisdom! Lydia Millet’s ‘We Loved It All’ delves into human-animal detachment, critiquing corporate greed. Salman Rushdie’s ‘Knife’ recounts his harrowing stabbing incident, while Lauren Roberts’ ‘Powerful’ and Shilpi Somaya Gowda’s ‘A Great Country’ offer gripping narratives. Annie Jacobsen’s ‘Nuclear War: A Scenario’ presents a chillingly realistic account, urging reflection on global peace.”

We Loved It All by Lydia Millet

Lydia Millet’s debut into nonfiction, “We Loved It All: A Memory of Life,” probes the consequences of human detachment from the animal realm. Through fervor and outrage, the celebrated author of 2022’s “Dinosaurs” targets corporate greed imperiling global wildlife. She critiques the 1970s “Crying Indian” campaign for shifting responsibility onto consumers for environmental damage caused mainly by big business.

Millet intertwines personal anecdotes from her upbringing and parenthood to illustrate how compassion for all creatures correlates with global economic justice. Her poignant yet optimistic reflection on our present condition underscores our interconnections in the world.

Knife by Salman Rushdie

In August 12, 2022, Salman Rushdie endured nearly ten stabbings during a speaking event in western New York. In his latest memoir, “Knife,” Rushdie recounts the brutal assault, detailing its aftermath: PTSD, diminished left-hand mobility, and right-eye blindness. The narrative delves intimately into the event’s horrors and its enduring impact on his life. Notably, the book’s release has delayed the trial of Rushdie’s alleged assailant, charged with attempted murder, as it holds potential evidential value.

Rushdie views “Knife” as a vital component of his healing journey, stating, “This book was imperative—a means to reclaim agency amidst violence, answering it with art.”

Powerful by Lauren Roberts

Powerful, a novella by Lauren Roberts, dives into the world of her New York Times bestseller, Powerless. This companion story centers on Adena, a fan favorite from the original novel, and her struggles in the harsh city of Loot.

The narrative follows Adena as she fights to survive on the streets. A stark contrast to the lives of the privileged Elites who rule the land. As the story unfolds, Adena encounters a mysterious and dangerous Elite. It raising questions about loyalty, survival, and the complexities of love in a stratified society.

A Great Country by Shilpi Somaya Gowda

In “A Great Country,” Shilpi Somaya Gowda navigates the intricate tapestry of the immigrant journey in America. The Shah family, emblematic of the American dream in their affluent California enclave, faces upheaval when their son’s arrest exposes underlying tensions. Gowda skillfully intertwines diverse perspectives, from immigrant parents grappling with sacrifice to their American-born children navigating cultural dualities.

Through the lens of a detective and lawyer, the novel delves into racial biases in the justice system. Themes of generational conflict and the immigrant experience prompt profound reflection, lingering beyond the final page. Gowda’s evocative storytelling prompts introspection on identity and belonging in modern America.

Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen

Annie Jacobsen’s “Nuclear War: A Scenario” diverges from typical war narratives, eschewing heroism for chilling realism. With meticulous research, Jacobsen crafts a harrowing tale of a nuclear first strike, drawing on interviews and expertise to paint a hauntingly believable picture. The narrative unfolds with urgency, capturing the chaos and desperation of imminent destruction. While not for the faint-hearted, the book serves as a stark reminder of the horrors of nuclear conflict. It urging readers towards disarmament and sanity in a perilous world.

[annarellix]

Murder in the Scottish Hills by Lydia Travers (The Scottish Ladies' Detective Agency #2)

When Maud McIntyre and her lady’s maid Daisy travel into the Scottish Highlands, the last thing they expect to find is a body on the train… Will these keen amateur sleuths stop a murderer in his tracks?

Edinburgh, 1911: When Maud McIntyre receives a letter from a maid called Rose, sharing her suspicions that something strange is happening in the house where she works, she and her assistant Daisy immediately travel to the Highlands to investigate. But as they are changing trains, the body of a man falls from the carriage right in front of them, a bullet in his head. Maud and Daisy can’t believe it – they’ve waited ages for a new case, and now one has literally landed in front of them! And when the local police rule the death as a tragic accident, the pair have no choice but to investigate what they believe is a murder… Arriving in the Scottish village, Maud and Daisy go undercover to begin their hunt for the murderer, while also investigating the strange behaviour of Rose’s employer, a local art dealer. As they begin to piece together the chain of events, Maud and Daisy wonder whether the cases might be linked. Is it possible the man on the train was killed to cover up something in the village? And, if so, who would do such a thing? When a local artist is found murdered, Maud and Daisy become convinced the two cases are connected. Searching for the link between the deaths, will Maud and Daisy solve the case before another mysterious murder takes place?

My Review: Maud and Daisy are back with a new investigation and another compelling story that kept me reading and have a lot of fun. They started collaborating to a newspaper as an agony aunt and a maid wrote a letter to the column talking about some mysterious situation. They are intrigued and decide to learn more. This is the start of a new adventure full of twists, turns and surprises. I think this is going to be one of those series that improves with each new story as this one is faster and more complex than the first. Maud and Daisy are getting more skilled in investigating and the banters are as fun as they were in the first story. The historical background is well researched and vivid, You can visualize the social manners, the clothes and the food. It's fascinating but sometimes the mystery and the plot takes the backseat to descriptions and historical facts. The mystery is a bit slow at the beginning but when it takes speed is tightly knitted and kept me guessing. I didn’t guess the solution and liked it. I can’t wait to read the next story as I’m wondering what will happen in Maud and Daisy life. I would advise to read the book in this series in order as there’s some references to the previous story and it would help to understand how the investigation agency started. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Bookouture for this arc, all opinions are mine

The Author: Lydia Travers was born in London.  She moved progressively north until settling with her husband in a village on the edge of the Scottish Highlands. She has raised children, bred dogs and kept chickens; and for as long as she can remember has written for pleasure. A former legal academic and practitioner with a PhD in criminology, she now runs self-catering holiday accommodation, sings in a local choir and is walked daily by the family dog. Lydia also writes as Linda Tyler and her first novel under that name, Revenge of the Spanish Princess, won a 2018 Romance Writers of America competition for the beginning of an historical romance. Her second novel The Laird's Secret was Commended in the 2021 Scottish Association of Writers' Pitlochry Quaich competition for the beginning of a romantic novel. Mischief in Midlothian won the 2022 Scottish Association of Writers' Constable Silver Stag trophy. She has had a number of short stories published in magazines, journals and anthologies in the UK, the USA and Australia.

https://www.facebook.com/LindaTylerAuthorScotland https://twitter.com/LindaTyler100

Sign up to be the first to hear about new releases from Lydia Travers here: https://www.bookouture.com/subscribe/lydia-travers

Buy Link: Amazon: https://geni.us/B0BWNHR79Nsocial

You can sign up for all the best Bookouture deals you'll love at: http://ow.ly/Fkiz30lnzdo

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Lydia O'Connor at HuffPost:

The Republican vice presidential nominee, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, falsely and brazenly claimed that Donald Trump won the 2020 election in a newly resurfaced exchange from two years ago. Trump’s running mate, who has repeatedly propped up the GOP presidential nominee’s election conspiracy theories, was asked by Jason Selvig of The Good Liars, a political comedy duo, if he believed Trump’s repeatedly disproved claims that President Joe Biden stole the election from him. The clip was posted online by Selvig on Thursday. “Did Donald Trump win the 2020 election?” Selvig asked Vance. “Yes,” Vance replied. When Selvig repeated the question, Vance gave an affirmative “yep.”

Selvig then asked Vance whether he’d concede if his opponent won more votes. Vance then refused to answer. “I really feel bad for you, man,” Vance said to Selvig after he repeated the question. Vance has been facing pressure to address where he stands on Trump’s election conspiracy theories since his debate Tuesday against Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz. On stage, Walz asked Vance if he believes Trump won the 2020 election, alluding to comments Vance made earlier this year questioning the election’s results and saying Trump should ignore “illegitimate” U.S. Supreme Court rulings on the matter.

JD Vance, who cowardly dodged the question about who rightfully won the 2020 Presidential election on the debate stage Tuesday, revealed his true self to Jason Selvig of The Good Liars in a 2022 clip while running for Senate by stating that Donald Trump “won” the election when responding to Selvig’s questioning.

See Also:

The Daily Beast: Video Shows JD Vance Saying Trump Won the 2020 Election

[lovelydialeonard]

#teamMariana 🤣♥️

[kateswainconnor]

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL LEGS IN THE WORLD

❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

[lovelydialeonard]

Gifs 5 and 6: ARM P*RN 🚨

REBECCA and MARGAUX

Ten Percent Season 1

[lovelydialeonard]

2022: what a year for our lovely Lydia Leonard! ✨

Happy New Year, everyone! 🍾

[kateswainconnor]

Instagram story