#national heroes and heroines day

[subby-sab]

Today is 19th of December.

Today is National Hard Candy Day, National Oatmeal Muffin Day, Look For An Evergreen Day, National Heroes and Heroines Day.

[girlactionfigure]

THURSDAY HERO: Barney Ross

Dov-Ber Rosovsky was a world-champion boxer and injured World War II hero whose fierce Jewish pride made him an icon to American Jews.

Dov-Ber was born in New York in 1909, the son of a Talmudic scholar who fled to America after surviving a pogrom in Belarus. Dov-Ber grew up in Chicago, helping out in his father’s small grocery store in a poor neighborhood and studying to be a rabbi.

His life was changed forever when his father was shot dead resisting a robbery at his store. Dov-Ber’s mother suffered a nervous breakdown and the kids were farmed out to foster homes.

Dov-Ber became bitter and angry. He turned his back on religion, changed his name to Barney Ross, and took a job working for Al Capone. Barney’s goal was to make enough money to buy a house and reunite his family. He soon became such an effective street fighter, however, that he gave professional boxing a try. Strong, fast, and determined, “Barney” became a world champion in the three different weight classes. He was known for his exceptional stamina and his street smarts.

In the 1930’s, when Hitler was rising to power, Barney Ross became a hero to American Jews by showing pride in his heritage and taking a public stand against Nazi Germany.  He was determined to end each fight on his feet to show that Jews fight and don’t go down. In Barney’s final fight, he defended his title against fellow three-division world champion Henry Armstrong. Barney got brutally pummeled and his trainers begged him to let them stop the fight, but he was determined to stay on his feet. He’d never been knocked out in his career and wasn’t going to start now. He retired from boxing in his early 30’s with a record of 72 wins, 4 loses, 3 draws, and two no decisions, with 22 wins by knockout. He achieved his goal of having no career knockouts.

After retiring from the ring, Barney/Dov-Ber enlisted in the US Marine Corps to fight in World War II. The Marines wanted to keep him stateside as a celebrity morale-booster, but Barney insisted on fighting for his country. He was sent to Guadalcanal in the South Pacific. During his time in Guadalcanal, Barney became friends with Chaplain Frederic Gehrig. Father Gehrig found an old pump organ on the island, and Barney was the only one who could play it. On Christmas Eve, before Barney and his fellow Marines were to go to battle, Gehrig asked him to play “Silent Night” and other Christmas songs for the troops. Barney happily obliged, finishing off the concert with “My Yiddishe Momma,” the song he used to play when he entered the boxing ring. Father Gehrig would later describe Barney Ross as a “national treasure.”

One night, Barney and three other soldiers were trapped under enemy fire. All four were wounded but Barney was the only one able to continue fighting. He gathered his comrades’ weapons and fought 22 Japanese soldiers, killing them all. Two of the American soldiers died, but Barney carried the third man to safety, even though the soldier weighed 230 pounds, while the wounded Barney weighed only 140! For his courage, Barney Ross was awarded a Silver Star and a citation from President Roosevelt.

Barney was hospitalized for his battle injuries, and the pain was so bad that he became dependent on morphine. After the war, he returned to America and opened a bar lounge. However, his drug addiction intensified as he turned to heroin, which was easier to obtain than morphine. Barney became hooked on heroin, an addiction that cost him $500 a day, as well as his marriage, his business and his life savings. Finally he hit rock bottom, and checked into a veteran’s recovery facility. He kicked his habit once and for all, and became a public speaker who educated high school students about the danger of drugs.

In the 1960’s, Barney made his living as a celebrity spokesman. After a brutal struggle with throat cancer, Barney Ross died in 1967 at age 57.

For his wartime heroism and for modeling Jewish strength and pride, we honor Dov-Ber “Barney Ross” Rosovsky as this week’s Thursday Hero.

[an1tak]

recommendations of books! by ana

I read until I fall asleep

ʚ- All books im looking foward to read this summer! some non fic and fic hope you find something that interests you. its kinda long

ʚ- Almost all of them are tiktok recs the user of where i find the book will be in pink.

Book's:

Memoirs / essays

Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture : Cultural critic and bestselling author Roxane Gay has edited a collection of essays that explore what it means to live in a world where women are frequently belittled and harassed due to their gender, and offers a call to arms insisting that "not that bad" must no longer be good enough.

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone : From a psychotherapist, and national advice columnist comes a thought-provoking new book that takes us behind the scenes of a therapist's world -- where her patients are looking for answers (and so is she).

Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism : The author of the widely praised Wordslut analyzes the social science of cult influence: how cultish groups from Jonestown and Scientology to SoulCycle and social media gurus use language as the ultimate form of power.

Romance

Book Lovers : If Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again—in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow—what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves.

Seven Days in June : Brooklynite Eva Mercy is a single mom and bestselling erotica writer, who is feeling pressed from all sides. Shane Hall is a reclusive, enigmatic, award-winning literary author who, to everyone's surprise, shows up in New York.

science / philosophy

When god was a woman ; Here, archaeologically documented, is the story of the religion of the Goddess. Under her, women's roles were far more prominent than in patriarchal Judeo-Christian cultures. Stone describes this ancient system and, with its disintegration, the decline in women's status. Index; maps and illustrations.

It Didn't Start with You: How Inherited Family Trauma Shapes Who We Are and How to End the Cycle : A groundbreaking approach to transforming traumatic legacies passed down in families over generations, by an acclaimed expert in the field

Written in Bone: Hidden Stories in What We Leave Behind : Drawing upon her years of research and a wealth of remarkable experience, the world-renowned forensic anthropologist Professor Dame Sue Black takes us on a journey of revelation. From skull to feet, via the face, spine, chest, arms, hands, pelvis and legs, she shows that each part of us has a tale to tell. What we eat, where we go, everything we do leaves a trace, a message that waits patiently for months, years, sometimes centuries, until a forensic anthropologist is called upon to decipher it.

Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents: How to Heal from Distant, Rejecting, or Self-Involved Parents : If you grew up with an emotionally immature, unavailable, or selfish parent, you may have lingering feelings of anger, loneliness, betrayal, or abandonment. You may recall your childhood as a time when your emotional needs were not met, when your feelings were dismissed, or when you took on adult levels of responsibility in an effort to compensate for your parent’s behavior. These wounds can be healed, and you can move forward in your life.

feminism / law

Justice and the Politics of Difference : This book challenges the prevailing philosophical reduction of social justice to distributive justice. It critically analyzes basic concepts underlying most theories of justice, including impartiality, formal equality, and the unitary moral subjectivity. Starting from claims of excluded groups about decision making, cultural expression, and division of labor, Iris Young defines concepts of domination and oppression to cover issues eluding the distributive model.

The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler-Colonial Conquest and Resistance, 1917-2017 : Original, engaging and striking, Palestine – A Biography crosses historical events, never-before-explored archival materials and accounts of generations, dealing in a simultaneously sober and emotional way with the facts of a tragic confrontation between two peoples who claim the same territory.

Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny : Misogyny is a hot topic, yet it's often misunderstood. What is misogyny, exactly? Who deserves to be called a misogynist? How does misogyny contrast with sexism, and why is it prone to persist--or increase--even when sexist gender roles are waning? This book is an exploration of misogyny in public life and politics, by the moral philosopher and writer Kate Manne.

Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity : Since its publication in 1990, Gender Trouble has become one of the key works of contemporary feminist theory, and an essential work for anyone interested in the study of gender, queer theory, or the politics of sexuality in culture. This is the text where Judith Butler began to advance the ideas that would go on to take life as "performativity theory," as well as some of the first articulations of the possibility for subversive gender practices

Bodies That Matter: On the Discursive Limits of "Sex" : In Bodies That Matter, renowned theorist and philosopher Judith Butler argues that theories of gender need to return to the most material dimension of sex and sexuality: the body. Butler offers a brilliant reworking of the body, examining how the power of heterosexual hegemony forms the "matter" of bodies, sex, and gender. Butler argues that power operates to constrain sex from the start, delimiting what counts as a viable sex.

Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot : oday's feminist movement has a glaring blind spot, and paradoxically, it is women. Mainstream feminists rarely talk about meeting basic needs as a feminist issue, argues Mikki Kendall, but food insecurity, access to quality education, safe neighborhoods, a living wage, and medical care are all feminist issues. All too often, however, the focus is not on basic survival for the many, but on increasing privilege for the few.

Aquí no ha habido muertos : El ciclo de terror, corrupción y tragedia impulsado por las drogas en Colombia no terminó con la muerte de Pablo Escobar en 1993. Justo cuando los colombianos estaban listos para dejar atrás el legado asesino de los cárteles del país, se desarrolló un nuevo y sangriento capítulo. A fines de la década de 1990, los grupos paramilitares de derecha con estrechos vínculos con el negocio de la cocaína llevaron a cabo una campaña de expansión violenta, masacrando, violando y torturando a miles de personas.

Poem

Good Grief : When Brianna Pastor released her self-published poetry collection, Good Grief, she was blown away by the outpouring of support from people who reached out and said, “Yes. Me too.” For anyone who has struggled with questions of identity or coped with serious emotional issues, including grief, trauma, anxiety, and depression, this collection will help you find hope on the other side.

Instructions for Traveling West: Poems ; A vivid and inspiring poetry collection about what’s possible when we heed our instincts and honor our intuition, allowing ourselves to strike out for new territories of love, pleasure, and peace.

omg i just ove books xoxo ana

reading playlist +

[b-else-writes]

The Great CLAMP Re-Read Part 8: Legend of Chunhyang

Part 1 (RG Veda) | Part 2 (Man of Many Faces) | Part 3 (Tokyo Babylon) | Part 4 (Duklyon) | Part 5 (Clamp Detectives)| Part 6 (Shirahime)| Part 7 (X)| Part 9 (Miyuki-chan)| Part 10 (Rayearth)

The RG Veda historical epic that never was, or better off cancelled? While X is widely cited as CLAMP's first unfinished work, there is actually another 1992 stillborn CLAMP work, before we can finally move onto 1993 in the CLAMP timeline. To be a broken record, I had no idea this existed! It’s unsurprising: only 3 chapters were ever published (plus 1 drama CD), before the magazine folded and CLAMP decided to cancel the project (yeah yeah they said they’d love to finish it. They’re liars).

Unlike many of their other discontinued early works, this one actually got a tankoban release, and Tokyopop did the now out-of-print English translation in a single volume with no extra art. Plus, I was hesitant about approaching a work of Korean folklore written by 4 Japanese women, given the history, and my fears were not unfounded. So I’m content that I put off getting the physical release for my collection. Spoilers (?) ahead.

Synopsis: In Ancient Korea, a brave young maiden called Chunhyang, opposes the injustices of the corrupt governing Yangbans. When her mother, a magic-wielding mudang, is kidnapped by their town's Yangban, Chunhyang is aided by the lecherous Mongryong, the Amhaeng’eosa, a secret government agent. Together, the two set off on adventure that will take them across Korea to liberate towns and discover the truth of Chunhyang's father.

The Story: I wrote all of that out, but the reality is what actually exists of Legend of Chunhyang is two chapters and a flashback. It's very hard to judge a story that hasn't settled in or moved further than the set up for the adventure. What we got is entertaining enough - chapter 1 is the inciting incident where Chunhyang’s mother dies and she teams up with Mongryong, 2 has them liberate a mystical flower village with the help of a rain god and twin mudang, and 3 is a flashback that reveals Chunhyang’s dead father was important and killed for defying the Yangban. It’s very Robin Hood, and moves at a good pace despite being pretty standard YA fantasy. Speaking of, I don’t think CLAMP realises most Korean towns back then would have been agricultural. Why does Chunhyang live in a huge villa doing nothing all day? I want my peasant hero, not a disgruntled pseudo noble.

The skeleton for the entire story is pretty obvious (bring revolution to Korea) and I’d definitely be curious to see more of it. But I’m also not sad we got nothing more. It’s a pleasant afternoon distraction.

The Themes: Don’t be a bully and tyrannical governments are bad and must be resisted - as long as they’re Korean (side-eyes that Rising Sun flag in CLAMP Campus Detectives. Ah, Japanese nationalism). It’s 3 chapters, that’s all I can glean.

The Characters: Chunhyang fits heavily into the CLAMP stock heroine: young, spunky, strong, pure-hearted, and athletic, shojo ingenue. Still, while she’s nothing new, I enjoyed Chunhyang. CLAMP has the formula for the fun, palatable heroine we love to see win, and I’m hardly immune. Mongryong was more bland to me, falling hard into that 90s era shojo hero who gets comically beaten up by his love interest, but always suavely swoops in to save her. It’s nostalgic, he’s hot, but that’s it. Maybe with time they would have defined themselves like RG Veda’s cast did (also archetypes), but there’s just so little!

The crumbs of minor characters are equally stock - one dimensional cackling villains, and pure beyond belief good guys. Mongryong’s tiger spirit was my favourite because I love all cats. It’s really the charm of Chunhyang that carries us above - she’s a good balance of fierce and endearing.

The Art: Legend of Chunhyang is interesting in that chapter 1 was brush inked due to their experience on Shirahime, but the remaining art was done with marker pen. The result is chapter 1 feels a bit unpolished, with backgrounds being mostly chunky blobs and quick lines in a way I found distracting. 2 and 3 work much better, with thick swirls of soft magic and flowers, giving Chunhyang a slight distinction from their other early 90s work. The panel work is quite conservative unlike RG Veda, very rarely having dynamic spreads, but satisfactory and readable. Chapter 2 is a standout of circling dragons and flowers. Everyone is gorgeously dressed and pretty. It’s not the best of CLAMP, but it’s nice and elevates the material.

Questionable Elements: While certain CLAMP podcasts have praised CLAMP for essentially rewriting the folktale to make Chunhyang more active - why would you even choose to adapt that Korean folklore then, if your intention is to make a generic Robin Hood sword and fantasy series that has zero to do with the original culture? You could just set it in feudal Japan! It feels very distasteful to deliberately choose Korea as a setting of barbaric unending tyranny that needs correcting. Especially given Japan’s history in “modernising” Korea.

On top of that, there’s a clear lack of research done - a lot of the outfits and hair accessories are inaccurate. Chunhyang’s mother’s decision to kill herself than risk dishonour is also incredibly Japanese (and notably doesn’t exist in the original). I have to cry foul because if you’re going to actually set this in a real ancient Korea, you should do your research. I’m not saying CLAMP are anti-Korean but they show a disappointing lack of care and bias.

Also. How old is Mongryong if Chunhyang is 14. Answer quickly, CLAMP.

Overall: Listen, RG Veda 2.0 this is not. Rather than an imaginative, fantastical, sweeping epic, Legend of Chunhyang is built on very familiar tropes and stock characters with a dose of cultural insensitivity and bias. It doesn’t even have a proper narrative arc, existing more as a “what if” than an almost masterpiece. It’s alleviated by the sheer charm of Chunhyang herself, its brisk, entertaining pace, and the enjoyable art. But it’s no great literary tragedy that it was never finished, and I’d really only recommend it to diehard CLAMP fans who want a quick, pleasant escape on a fantasy adventure.

[redrikki]

Avatar-Fic Masterpost

Gather Up Every Wayward Lock - The girls do their hair, now with 100% more character development. (Katara, Azula, Toph)

Seven Stories of Uncles and Nephews - Zuko couldn’t ask for a better father than his uncle and Iroh loves the boy like a second son.  7 very short stories written for Irko Week 2009. (Zuko, Iroh)

The Last Cheese Bender - It was amazing just how much of Air Nomad cuisine had survived, but none of the other nations ate cheese. Aang was going to change that. (Aang, the Gaang)

Playing With Fire (The Dubiously Consensual Remix) - People didn’t tell Azula no. (Azula/Ty Lee)

The Thing With Wings -  Aang had a son.  He would teach him airbending and never be alone again. (Aang, Bumi II)

Chips and Blocks - Lin called Toph ‘Chif’ for years before some well-meaning busybody taught her to say 'Mom’ instead.  Toph isn’t sure what kind of mom she is, but she knows which kind she doesn’t want to be. (Toph, Lin)

Half a Phoenix (The Out of the Past and Into the Future Remix) - Everyone has a lesson to teach.  Ozai and his granddaughter learn a lot from each other. (Ozai, Zuko, Zuko’s daughter)

Conversations on the Road to Splitsville - Tenzin and Lin were never going to work, it just took him a long time to realize that. (Lin/Tenzin, Pema/Tenzin)

Sweep, Stir, Sew - When your daughter is the Avatar, motherhood is an exercise in letting go. (Senna/Tonraq, Korra)

Ten-Thousand Words (Which Wont See The Light of Day) - A series of short stories about the ladies of the Legend of Korra. (Asami, Pema, Ikki, Lin, Ginger, Senna, Katara)

People Skills - Bolin’s not too smart but he’s good with people and he’s okay with that. (Bolin)

Element of Freedom - Opal knows what she wants, she just needs to be convinced to go for it. (Opal, Korra)

Girl, Gotten (The Heroine After Remix) - As long as Asami’s the hero, Korra’s okay being the love interest. (Korra/Asami)

Leaves on the Wind - What comes next? Two short stories about the next Avatar. (Korra, Asami, OCs)

Crossovers

Tales of Albuquerque - A car bombing in San Francisco lands Marshall Mary Shannon in a whole lot of hot tea or Zuko and Iroh hide out from the Flame Triad in witness protection. AtLA/In Plain Sight (Zuko, Iroh, Mary Shannon)

The Start of a Long Summer - Azula steps through a wardrobe to find a kidnapping faun and a wintry kingdom ripe for regime change. AtLA/Chronicles of Narnia (Azula, Tumnus)

[luminouslumity]

If you're still unfamiliar with the Cait Corrain situation, this video explains it! Under the cut are the blurbs for books of the authors Corrain targeted.

VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED by FRANCES WHITE

For a thousand years, Concordia has maintained peace between its provinces. To mark this incredible feat, the emperor's ship embarks upon a twelve-day voyage to the sacred Goddess's Mountain.

Aboard are the heirs of the twelve provinces of Concordia, each graced with a unique and secret magical ability known as a Blessing.

Except one: Ganymedes Piscero - class clown, slacker, and all-round disappointment.

When a beloved heir is murdered, everyone is a suspect. Stuck at sea and surrounded by powerful people without a Blessing to protect him, odds of survival are slim.

But as the bodies pile higher, Ganymedes must become the hero he was not born to be. Can he unmask the killer and their blessing before this bloody crusade reaches the shores of Concordia?

Or will the empire as he knows it fall?

MISTRESS OF LIES by K.M. ENRIGHT

FATE IS A CRUEL MISTRESS

The daughter of a powerful but disgraced Blood Worker, Shan LeClaire has spent her entire life perfecting her blood magic, building her network of spies, and gathering every scrap of power she could. Now, to protect her brother, she assassinates their father and takes her place at the head of the family. And that is only the start of her revenge.

Samuel Hutchinson is a bastard with a terrible gift. When he stumbles upon the first victim of a magical serial killer, he's drawn into the world of magic and intrigue he's worked so hard to avoid - and is pulled deeply into the ravenous and bloodthirsty court of the vampire king.

Tasked by the Eternal King to discover the identity of the killer cutting a bloody swath through the city, Samuel, Shan and mysterious Royal Bloodworker Isaac find themselves growing ever closer to each other. But Shan's plans are treacherous, and as she lures Samuel into her complicated web of desire, treason and vengeance, he must decide if the good of their nation is worth the cost of his soul.

TO GAZE UPON WICKED GODS by MOLLY X. CHANG

In this magical epic fantasy, a young woman cursed with the power of death must decide if saving her family is worth betraying her country—the first installation of a gripping new series.

Heroes die, cowards live. Daughter of a conquered world, Ruying hates the invaders who descended from the heavens long before she was born and defeated the magic of her people with technologies unlike anything her world had ever seen.

Blessed by Death, born with the ability to pull the life right out of mortal bodies, Ruying shouldn’t have to fear these foreign invaders, but she does. Especially because she wants to keep herself and her family safe.

When Ruying’s Gift is discovered by an enemy prince, he offers her an impossible deal: If she becomes his private assassin and eliminates his political rivals—whose deaths he swears would be for the good of both their worlds and would protect her people from further brutalization—her family will never starve or suffer harm again. But to accept this bargain, she must use the powers she has always feared, powers that will shave years off her own existence.

Can Ruying trust this prince, whose promises of a better world make her heart ache and whose smiles make her pulse beat faster? Are the evils of this agreement really in the service of a much greater good? Or will she betray her entire nation by protecting those she loves the most?

SO LET THEM BURN by KAMILAH COLE

Whip-smart and immersive, this Jamaican-inspired fantasy follows a gods-blessed heroine who’s forced to choose between saving her sister or protecting her homeland.

Faron Vincent can channel the power of the gods. Five years ago, she used her divine magic to liberate her island from its enemies, the dragon-riding Langley Empire. But now, at seventeen, Faron is all powered up with no wars to fight. She’s a legend to her people and a nuisance to her neighbors.

When she’s forced to attend an international peace summit, Faron expects that she will perform tricks like a trained pet and then go home. She doesn’t expect her older sister, Elara, forming an unprecedented bond with an enemy dragon—or the gods claiming the only way to break that bond is to kill her sister.

As Faron’s desperation to find another solution takes her down a dark path, and Elara discovers the shocking secrets at the heart of the Langley Empire, both must make difficult choices that will shape each other’s lives, as well as the fate of their world.

"By turns hopeful and devastating, So Let Them Burn is a masterful debut with a blazing heart. I was captivated from beginning to end by Cole’s sharp, clever prose and by her protagonists—two remarkable sisters with an unforgettable bond." — Chelsea Abdullah, author of The Stardust Thief

THE POISONS WE DRINK by BETHANY BAPTISTE

In a country divided between humans and witchers, Venus Stoneheart hustles as a brewer making illegal love potions to support her family.

Love potions is a dangerous business. Brewing has painful, debilitating side effects, and getting caught means death or a prison sentence. But what Venus is most afraid of is the dark, sentient magic within her.

Then an enemy's iron bullet kills her mother, Venus’s life implodes. Keeping her reckless little sister Janus safe is now her responsibility. When the powerful Grand Witcher, the ruthless head of her coven, offers Venus the chance to punish her mother's killer, she has to pay a steep price for revenge. The cost? Brew poisonous potions to enslave D.C.'s most influential politicians.

As Venus crawls deeper into the corrupt underbelly of her city, the line between magic and power blurs, and it's hard to tell who to trust… Herself included.

And because Corrain went after him as well...

DRAG ME UP

They say he’s a myth...

And Hades prefers it that way. He may do all the work, and Zeus may get all the credit, but at least it allows Hades to preserve the one thing he truly cares to have: his solitude. The mere mention of the Wraith of Khaos Falls is enough to keep order, and he is rarely forced to leave the shadows of Casino Asphodel.

She belongs in the spotlight...

And Persephone clawed her way out of Demeter’s shadow to reach it. Now she’s lead in Calliope’s Cirque production but not without great cost, and there is not enough money in the world to pay off the debt accrued for the simple mistake of trusting Zeus. Though it’s easier to ignore the bars when she still has room to fly.

Landing a residency at the legendary Casino Asphodel is everything she trained for. Meeting a man she’d been convinced didn’t exist? She could never be prepared for that. Hades isn’t prepared for her either, but it’s soon evident they’re a force when together. He gives her a soft place to land, and she makes him want to reach for the stars. But when Zeus ups the stakes, they must be willing to go all in, even if it means coming down from the sky. Or stepping into the light.

KEEP ME CLOSE

She is the closest thing Khaos Falls has to a goddess…

And Aphrodite is feared and worshipped in equal measure. She has dedicated her life to being a savior for the lost regardless of the risk, but when unknown enemies nearly assassinate her in her own club, she realizes her reckless vigilante tactics won’t cut it anymore.

He is the furthest thing Khaos Falls has from a hero…

In fact, Hephaestus is who you call when all the heroes have fallen. Still, he is the best at what he does, strengthening the city’s weaknesses and keeping his feelings out of it. When tasked with Aphrodite’s personal security, it’s easy for him to detach himself from their mutual disdain. Until disdain is no longer the only thing he feels for her.

With their enemies elusive and snakes in their midst, good hearts and sharp wit may not be enough. But he made a vow, and he will keep it. Even if it means turning newfound feelings into newfound strengths and using them as a weapon to protect her.

LET ME IN

She never cared about being perfect.

Raised under Zeus’s self-serving influence, Athena only ever cared about being right. But with Zeus gone and everything changing, it’s been difficult trying to break free of the chains he so expertly secured her in as a girl. Especially when constantly worrying about Dionysos.

And he never cared much about saving himself.

Raised under Hades’ self-sacrificing influence, Dionysos only ever cared about pleasing everybody else. But when the opportunity to prove he’s more than a winemaker presents itself —with the promise of spending more time with Athena— he has no choice but to take it.

In a bid for peace, Athena and Dionysos are sent to an ailing Thassos City to try and strike a treaty. But with war within reach and rules rearranged, wit and charisma may just fall short. But they’ve long since decided that to protect each other, blood is a small price to pay. Even their own.

LOVE ME NOW

Achilles loved playing the hero…

Being a mere man had never been enough for him. He wanted to be a great one. And when he finds out that Helen, his childhood best friend, has gone missing, taking the mission is instinct. Even if it meant returning to the place he was born and raised, a place he swore never to return to—Heraklion. But he goes nowhere without Patroclus.

Patroclus loved being one…

But being a hero was nothing like playing one. It was a senseless sequence of pyrrhic victories he'd carry forever. Yet when Achilles needs him to return to Heraklion and the arena he had been forced to claw his way out of, he says yes because… well, of course he does. He would follow Achilles anywhere.

Yet both had left more of themselves in Heraklion's notorious arena than they'd taken. So returning would not require heroes but something else, something worse, especially when Helen is not the only one in need of rescue. They both must determine not only what it means to be a man, but what it means to be a good one.

[mermaidsirennikita]

I've recently read a book where the point was to have an heir and the hero is becoming more and more obssesed with the heroine and won't admitted bc IM DOING THIS FOR THE SAKE OF HAVING AND HEIR AND NOTHING MORE lol, do yoi have more books like that to recommend?

I appreciated the reviews you do ☺️ more than usual people get waaaay to serious about a book and it gets tiring to read their thoughts after a while

Hi! Thank you lol, I think people need to read romance novels for fun and it's a little irritating for me when they get like... guilty? About liking what they like. I think romance novels can definitely be emotionally deep and compelling, but the main point is fun.

Soooo I think some breeding kink or breeding kink adjacent vibes will give you these vibes!

Historical:

The Duchess in His Bed by Lorraine Heath--In this one, the heroine is the one that propositions the hero to put a baby in her because she needs a baby in order to secure her safety right after her husband dies. She spends a good chunk of the book showing him the kind of life his baby will have because he was a bastard and is worried about the kid having a good home, etc. But once they do get to babymaking, it's like feeeelings.

Waking Up with the Duke by Lorraine Heath--This is the ideal book for this setup, except a) they're making an heir on behalf of her husband, who's impotent after a carriage accident and pressures the hero to get his wife pregnant b) the hero isn't TOTALLY detached, even though he puts on a good front, because he has carried a torch for the heroine. However, the babymaking process is when he REALLY starts falling and it's delicious and one of my favorite books of all time. AINSLEY!!!!

Private Arrangements by Sherry Thomas--These two are married, and had feelings, but he left her the day after the wedding and they've been separated for like a decade. She wants a divorce so she can marry her lover, and he's like "fine"--if you give me an heir first. So it's really like... a reawakening via babymaking. I shall always remember the first sex scene when he like, bends her over a desk to KEEP IT PROFESH.

Lord of Darkness by Elizabeth Hoyt--This is the one where they got married because she was pregnant with another guy's baby and and the guy died before they could marry. Then she lost the baby and they separated without consummating the marriage. A few years later, she returns to town like "I want a baby, put it in me" and they start having sex... During which he gets FEELINGS.

The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare--The hero is a super scarred duke whose fiancee leaves him right before the wedding, and the heroine is the seamstress who made the wedding dress and shows up on his doorstep wearing it all "PAY UP". He realizes he has a ready-made bride, and he just needs an heir, so... they've got a deal. Obvi, he begins falling for her as they start working on the baby.

The Duke I Tempted by Scarlet Peckham--This is another "duke marries local woman for an heir" book, with the twist that his secret is... He's sexually submissive and likes to be dominated and whipped during sex.

Contemporary(ish):

Lush Money by Angelina M. Lopez--This is the crazy one wherein the heroine is like, a billionaire, the hero is the prince of a tiny nation with a genius IQ. She wants a smart royal baby, so she offers to bail out his nation financially if he marries her and gets her pregnant. He actually hates her, but he's a man of his word, so he starts workin' on it. Workin' REAL hard.

Mafia Virgin by Mila Finelli--In this one, a mob boss and a mafia princess (who wants to be a doctor lmao) are forced to marry, and then the boss is blackmailed.... he has to get her pregnant within six months, or Something Bad Will Happen. However, it turns out that they both have a breeding kink, so they get SUPER into it and feelings start to develop. This is the one where he makes her kiss his balls and thank them for all the cum they're about to give her (she's about it).

Fantasy:

The Winter King by C.L. Wilson--The hero conquers the heroine's kingdom, and part of the treaty is her being forced to marry him and give him an heir within a year. VERY hot.

[asordinaryppl]

A3! Main Story: Part 4 - Act 14: DREAM CATCHER - Episode 6: Researching As We Take A Breather

Kazunari: Yes, yes… Ah, I see~ Got it. I’ll make the approps changes and send it again~...

Kazunari: Yes, thank you for your time.

[Kazunari hangs up]

Kazunari: *exhales*...

Kazunari: (Another flop~... This is the 5th time.)

Kazunari: (I get that it’s different from when I was a student, but if this keeps going, my self-confidence is gonna take a nose dive~)

Kazunari: (I did go to an art uni, but I majored in Japanese painting, so all my design knowledge is self-taught.)

Kazunari: (I’m starting to feel like my lack of basic knowledge is the problem here.)

Kazunari: (I’ve been pulling through till now because my acquaintances have been asking for things I’m good at…)

Kazunari: (But my old way of doing things probably won’t help me with the wide range of demands from my current clientele.)

Kazunari: (Maybe I should study the basics of designing again~)

Kazunari: Design… course… with experience…

Kazunari: (“Online course”, “Study design abroad”... There’s a lot of stuff here~)

[Door opens]

Muku: I’m back.

Kazunari: Welcome baack~

Muku: Ah, sorry, are you working?

Kazunari: It’s okie. You’re back early today, Mukkun.

Muku: I was thinking of going for a walk through Veludo Way.

Muku: A lot of theater companies have been doing Street ACTS lately, so I thought seeing a few might help me out.

Kazunari: I see~ Maybe I should come along and take a breather!

-

Muku: There’s a lot of new and different theater companies. But they’ve all chosen different approaches.

Muku: There’s those that specialize in theatrical performances, and those that specialize in dancing and facial expressions. And also those that specialize in musicals…

Muku: And there are also the stranger ones. Like the one that mixes acting with cooking, or the other one that mixes acting with muscle training…

Kazunari: They may just be trying to make their companies stand out, but all these new things are super exciting~

Kasumi: Oh? Muku-kun and Kazunari-kun?

Muku: Hello!

Kazunari: Kasumi~nu, you’re out shopping?

Kasumi: Yeah.. I went to the bookstore. “The Saint is Omitted” was released today. Do you read it too, Muku-kun?

Muku:  Ah! It slipped my mind! Of course, I read it!

Muku: While it seems like your typical saint story, there are some interesting plot twists.

Muku: I’ve been loving it so far because the heroine is charming like a hero!

Muku: I can’t believe I forgot its release day… I wonder why…

Muku:  My memory is like the dust an eraser leaves behind…

Kazunari: A lot has been happening lately~ Don’t sweat it.

Kasumi: How’s everyone in the company doing? You must be having it rough with the New Fleur Award going on.

Kazunari: We’re all working hard and coming up with fighting strategies~ The Spring Troupe’s performance was well-received, and our ranking went up.

Muku: We’re a bit anxious, but the Summer Troupe is also going to give it our all!

Kasumi: I see. I’m sure if it’s you guys, all will be fine.

Kasumi: Oh, right. There’s something I wanted to give you, Muku-kun.

Muku: ?

Kasumi: This. It’s a flyer for an upcoming play. The protagonist is a prince, so I thought of you.

Kasumi: It’s a play with a lot of history, and it’s performed with a different cast each year at the National Theater.

Kasumi: I might be jumping the gun here, but I thought it’d be wonderful to see you play a prince on such a big stage.

Muku: N-No, I still have a long way to go before I can perform such an important role…!

Kasumi: That’s not true. I believe you’ve got what it takes to perform there.

Kazunari: You’re saying this cause you know how much experience Muku-kun has gained up till now, right, Kasumi~nu~?

Muku: T-Thank you very much. When you put it like that, it makes me feel a little more confident in myself.

Muku: I’ll check the play out.

Kasumi: Okay. Well then, see you.

[Kasumi walks away]

Muku: …

Muku: (“Audition notice”... I wonder if I’ll also get to perform on such a big stage one day.)

Muku: (But, right now, I’m…)

previous episode | masterpost | next episode

[scotianostra]

Marion Patterson nee Chalmers, was born on August 26th 1911 in Aberdeen.

Marions parents emigrated to canade in 1919, where she lived for 20 years, in August 1939, she, her husband Guthrie Patterson, (who hailed from Dundee,) and their son Douglas moved back to Aberdeen.

War broke out shortly after moving back to Aberdeen, Scotland in 1939, and Marion enlisted as an ambulance driver. She really enjoyed her job and attended classes when not on duty to become more proficient in her work. She became a lifetime member of the Order of the Eastern Star and belonged to the White Shrine. Marion was Queen in the order of the White Shrine for two years and was also Prelate in the Order of the Amaranth for a number of years. In the summer of 1942, an emergency bulletin was issued, "All Canadian children and parents wishing to return to Canada, should apply to a steamship office in Glasgow." Marion did not think the War would last very long, but, the thought of taking Douglas to the shelter every night, effects on his schooling and his health, made her decide to send him to her mother in Toronto. She wanted to stay with the ambulance service until the War was over so that she and her husband could return to Toronto together. The next day, two Red Cross ships carrying Canadian children and 200 wounded, were torpedoed in the Glasgow harbour. Her son Douglas was not injured. The damaged ships returned to Glasgow for 10 days for repair and eventually made their way safely to Toronto.

The War raged on, the damage to Aberdeen was indescribable and times were bleak. Marion decided to open her own Hairdressing salon, which had been a dream of hers for many years. She did this with enthusiasm and was very happy to be working at hairdressing again after such a long while. Marion wanted to contribute in some way and in October of 1942, became a Senior Fire Guard for the Civil Defence in Aberdeen, Scotland. One day, while on duty, Marion was using a stirrup pump to extinguish a burning building on South Market Street, when she heard cries for help coming from the building. With stirrup pump in hand, she could see a way to start burrowing under some walls that had collapsed. It took quite some time, but she managed to get to the sailor who was trapped below. Unfortunately, his legs were trapped under some timber beams and Marion could not free him. He was too weak to help. She looked around and found some loose pieces of wood and by pushing on the loose pieces, had enough leverage to partially lift the timber. At that point, the sailor was able to wiggle himself loose. Marion kept calling above for help and finally a rope was lowered through the damaged walls. She was able to tie the rope around the sailor's waist and with help got him out of the burning building. They were both exhausted, but safe. One minute after escaping from the building, it collapsed.

The incident was written up in the London Gazzette on December 4, 1942. Marion was invited to attend at Buckingham Palace on the 12th of February 1943 to receive a presentation of the George Medal by King George VI. During the presentation, it was announced that Marion was the first street Fire Guard to win a medal while engaged in fire duties. As part of the award, Marion was also selected for portraiture in a special section of the National Gallery of England set aside for heroes and heroines of the blitz. She was also invited to be a guest at Balmoral Castle so as to be able to visit at any time she wished, for the remainder of her life. The famous Scots Artist, Mr. Robert Sivell, R.S.A. had been commissioned by King George VI to paint Marion's portrait. Mr. Sivell worked at the Aberdeen College of Art and Marion was scheduled to meet with him for several sittings.

Marion kept the portrait a secret from her family because it came as such a surprise to her; she wanted it to be a big surprise to them too. She was able to dash away from her hairdressing shop to attend special sittings for the portrait. When it was finally completed, Marion again attended Buckingham Place for the presentation. The original painting was hung in the National Gallery, London, England and was shown in a Special Wing for Heroes and Heroines of the 1939-1945 War. Her portrait had the honour of hanging between General Eisenhower and General Montgomery. Two replicas were also created and a sketch in black and white. One replica is in the Ottawa, Ontario War Museum in Canada and was part of the Women at War Display in 1985. The black and white sketch was sent to the Gallery in Aberdeen, Scotland. Just under 40 women in UK were awarded the UK George Medal. Marion was awarded another 5 medals during WWII for her actions as a Civil Defence Senior Fire Guard. Her medals are on display at the Aberdeen Art Gallery having been purchased in 2005 by the Aberdeen City Council and the Friends of Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums. They form part of the Artists at War display.

Marion moved back to Toronto after the war where she worked as a hairdresser and lived with her family until her death. She enjoyed traveling and was able to make many trips to Scotland and England. She faced many challenges throughout her life during and after the war, including breast cancer in 1975, which she also battled and conquered. She had three grandchildren, five great grandchildren, and four great-great grandchildren. She is shown below in August of 1982 with husband Guthrie and great grandson Darryl James Wannamaker.

[pcttrailsidereader]

Fire Updates and Impacts

In a previous post a description of the fires plaguing the western U.S. right now was laid out. How the fire closures are impacting the PCT was also described. That prior post spoke of the Easy Fire near Rainy Pass. It is not being easy at all but takes its name from nearby Easy Pass. In what is described as steep terrain a fire line as been established on the south/east side of Washington State Highway 20 otherwise known as the North Cross Highway. The hope that this firebreak will slow the advance of the fire is what fire bosses are betting on. Firefighters are currently hiking over 3,400 feet of elevation gain to access areas of the Easy Fire and establish helicopter landing pads.

Meanwhile another even bigger fire is threatening the PCT along the shores of Lake Chelan and the popular PCT resupply point in the village of Stehekin that is only accessible by foot, boat, or floatplane. This fire is dubbed the Pioneer Fire. A short change in the weather helped firefighters at both the Easy and Pioneer Fires with a little light rain and temporarily cooler temperatures. The Pioneer Fire has so far devoured just over 33,000 acres according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

Compared to the apparently human caused Park Fire in California this seems so much smaller but no less significant. The hot and dry conditions will return to the western U.S. over the course of the next several days. How this affects fire behavior is fairly predictable in that more acres will go up in flames due to lower humidity and higher temperatures. The temporary break in the weather has helped firefighters on the Easy and Piorneer Fires a short but important opportunity to strengthen fire lines and take down snags and clear easily ignitable undergrowth.

What this all means to hikers walking the PCT is difficult to determine. With a variety of closures in all three states the PCT stretches through people are forced to be creative as well as prudent in their pursuit of thru hiking this season. As in years passed hikers are forced to 'leapfrog' portions of the trail in order to continue to make any kind of progress while staying safe and achieve their PCT completion goal. For places like Stehekin (near High Bridge Camp) and Rainy Pass (along Highway 20) the impact of the trail closures may be somewhat diminished as hikers don't typically get to northwest Washington until mid August and through September. Only time and weather conditions will tell.

Aerial picture of the Pioneer Fire near Stehekin

We will continue to monitor these fires and many of the others threatening the Pacific Crest Trail. Fires have always been a factor when considering a hike on the PCT but this factor has grown exponentially over the past fifteen years or so. Part of anyone's PCT hiking experience nowadays includes walking through long gray stretches of burned out forests. For me hiking through some of these areas was when I fully comprehended the scope of these fires that seem to break out every year. My appreciation for the work of the firefighters who work so hard to control and contain these natural and not so natural disasters also have found new clarity for me. These are the heroes and heroines of the drama we are witnessing every summer and autumn throughout the west and specifically up and down the PCT.

View from the Stehekin ferry landing of the encroaching Pioneer Fire

[ausetkmt]

A More Beautiful and Terrible History: The Uses and Misuses of Civil Rights History

A More Beautiful and Terrible History: The Uses and Misuses of Civil Rights History

Explodes the fables that have been created about the civil rights movement

The civil rights movement has become national legend, lauded by presidents from Reagan to Obama to Trump, as proof of the power of American democracy. This fable, featuring dreamy heroes and accidental heroines, has shuttered the movement firmly in the past, whitewashed the forces that stood in its way, and diminished its scope. And it is used perniciously in our own times to chastise present-day movements and obscure contemporary injustice.

In A More Beautiful and Terrible History award-winning historian Jeanne Theoharis dissects this national myth-making, teasing apart the accepted stories to show them in a strikingly different light. We see Rosa Parks not simply as a bus lady but a lifelong criminal justice activist and radical; Martin Luther King, Jr. as not only challenging Southern sheriffs but Northern liberals, too; and Coretta Scott King not only as a "helpmate" but a lifelong economic justice and peace activist who pushed her husband's activism in these directions.

Moving from "the histories we get" to "the histories we need," Theoharis challenges nine key aspects of the fable to reveal the diversity of people, especially women and young people, who led the movement; the work and disruption it took; the role of the media and "polite racism" in maintaining injustice; and the immense barriers and repression activists faced.

Theoharis makes us reckon with the fact that far from being acceptable, passive or unified, the civil rights movement was unpopular, disruptive, and courageously persevering. Activists embraced an expansive vision of justice--which a majority of Americans opposed and which the federal government feared.

By showing us the complex reality of the movement, the power of its organizing, and the beauty and scope of the vision, Theoharis proves that there was nothing natural or inevitable about the progress that occurred. A More Beautiful and Terrible History will change our historical frame, revealing the richness of our civil rights legacy, the uncomfortable mirror it holds to the nation, and the crucial work that remains to be done.

“A bracing corrective to a national mythology that renders figures like King ‘meek and dreamy, not angry, intrepid and relentless’…It’s clarifying to read a history that shows us how little we remember, and how much more there is to understand.” —New York Times

[atrayo]

Channeled Angelic Wisdom of the Jewels of Truth Series on Social Pedestals and National Exceptionalism

Hello All,

This week's freshly minted (i.e. channeled via Inspirational psychic automatic writing.) of the Jewels of Truth series is on the dual topics of Social Pedestals and National Exceptionalism. I always try to share these unique topics on a similar theme, sometimes I may have to stretch it a bit for it to fit in, lol. Today is no exception in the sense one is for the Individual in terms of exalting another person and the other topic is with the National State.

As always these are Inspired channeled statements from the angels who without ego go nameless for the most part. On my end, it feels like a hive mind mentality where I listen deeply on an Intuitive telepathic uplink with them. One that has been cultivated for now over 29+ plus years as a Journeyman specialist of sorts. 

May you each come away curious if not Intrigued by the heavenly stance of the Divine sharing their discourse with the world at large. Many Blessings. 

Social Pedestals:

3341) Be not intimidated by the actions of the once cherished person(s) as friends, loved ones, and esteemed strangers who are now failing you morally. They are allowed these missteps, however, not to the point that it becomes a wholesale gross injustice at large. Where gaps in Interpersonal relations become wholly abusive when such a beloved fall short in your objective/subjective mind's eye. 

Many people in your network of contacts are approachable and some even moreso are trusted dearly. As worthy examples of the salt of the earth to be leaned on during times of distress. Over time it is natural to become enmeshed and over-rely on such individuals as a form of cherished endearment. Whereas you'll begin to unconsciously place them on a personal psychological pedestal of your own native making. 

This can easily become a dysfunctional fallacy in the making to perhaps Lionize any such persons to such a degree of overt belovedness. Everyone is fallible as a human and equally error-prone in life some may be gifted with strengths and distinct charismatic personalities. By a rule of thumb, it is best in life to never put anyone or an organization on such a cherished stance just beyond the reach of the ordinary world. 

There are also times when those you despise with all your heart and mind are akin to loathing. An individual and/or a political organization and equally celebrate them with bravado and/or hold them with contempt. That too is the folly of the human experience to have destructive heroes and heroines whether from this contemperious age or from the distant past. Sometimes those who instill the greatest terror in us are also placed on an impossible pedestal of our own making. 

The passions of love and fear are great motivations to pique the sensibilities to exalt what we most cherish and despise in life. Human psychology isn't truly underpinned alone by logic and common sense it can and does spread by non-sequiturs of human-animal emotions of the ego-centric mindset. 

To be subjected to the leadership whims of another trusted friend who is having an off day and soon chooses to exploit your kindness. Spells an inadequacy that can lead to a moral dilemma do you brush aside with excuses such as poor conduct by having rose-colored glasses of such an individual? To enable them to the point that you become less than upon your associated presence around them. Just to avoid provoking a tyrant in the making. 

Fear-based exaltations can often be seen in domestic abuse cases where the victim claims fault finding within themselves to a ridiculous degree of the fallacy of the self. They are trapped in a destructive master and slave negative loop of social standings with a loved one gone rogue in life. A broken trust with petty often cowardly tyrants abusing loved ones as family and lovers alike. Only a call for help outside of your normal circle of contacts can begin to heal such an abysmal Pedestal of a fearmonger. 

Dismantling a social pedestal of your once making can be as simple as changing not just your mind mentally but also emotionally with your heart as well. It takes concentrated efforts to break up old habits and replace them not with another erroneous pedestal of a new person thus repeating a dysfunctional unconscious pattern by mistake. 

Many a time groupies as fans and followers get caught up in the nostalgia of fandom of the celebrity personality. This can be a benign process by the general populace for an artist, athlete, political, and religious figure to become exalted by the masses likewise. These can be harmless unless of course an unhinged obsessive personality seeking escapism latches onto them creating a litany of delusions just to feel affirmed and have a renewed purpose for living. This is an extreme example but nonetheless pertinent to such a role-making for Social Pedestals at large amongst society. 

To punish socially a bad actor is one thing oftentimes as such impractical motivations do exist. A broken trust whether from a celebrity or a dear person personally if not a despised and feared abuser. Is a hard circle to square completely in living upon the world. With or without the associated endearments that arise from such projections we thrust upon those we place on Social Pedestals. 

It would be far better if we held no one in such esteems whether they are familiar to us or not they currently live upon the world. The only ones that often end up on such pedestals of reverence are those that are worshipped upon the afterlife. That is the nature of religion and spiritual traditions that is to be expected as we are groomed by our families and society for such endeavors as sociologists would remark. 

Aside from such holier individuals as the saints and minor deities as the angels and archangels. To be held in great almost impossible reverence as ascended masters without the chance for sin to taint their truths. There is the ultimate perfect Pedestal we hold dearly for God him/her/itself hopefully forever by an unconditional faith in its/his/her own native Holy Spirit. Amen. ---Ivan Pozo-Illas / Atrayo.

National Exceptionalism:

3342) When a country practices the State Craft of Exceptionalism it can be a boon to the National Pride of its citizenry. However, that identical stance of exceptionalism if taken to the point of no return to abuse those within another country and/or foreign peoples as a raison d'etre. That too can become a slippery slope to demonize foreigners and shove an unwanted agenda down everyone's throat whether it is deserved or not. 

By espousing one set of National Principles over another set of moral ethics by excusing them just because it has become a national and/or a so-called traditional cultural practice of the State. Spells a schism in the making creating one class of leaders over everyone else that doesn't share that belief system. Exceptionalism was never meant to be used as a cudgel weapon against others. Whether this was for domestic political talking points espoused or as a set of policy papers to be held diplomatically abroad as the agenda of the day. 

Exceptionalism at its best is meant to educate the masses whether citizens, foreign guests, dignitaries, and all others as to the values of the State. To promote National Civic Pride as a form of living Patriotism that pulls the populace of a nation together with stronger bonds of the demos of the plurality. To celebrate national holidays and to reflect upon national tragedies together as we remember collectively with Thanksgiving to God himself. 

The second breath of a nation is the fervor of its citizens to relish its national treasures holistically. To pull together the disparate parts that need to heal with social welfare be it by civic pride and collective volunteerism. To strengthen its national politics without demonizing those with contrary opinions and/or passions from the zeitgeist of the whole populace. 

Exceptionalism at its best is National Idealism coming alive. At its worst it becomes the battle cry of the masses to wage Hell on Earth to persecute the Innocent and the guilty alike without humane regard to righteousness in God. Democracies the world over are fragile creations of Institutions that are suggested to work in harmony with other State bodies be they civilian in orientation, paramilitary as the police, and the military apparatus of the Nation.

Autocratic and Theocratic States also have their own hypocritical forms of Exceptionalism. Where the citizen masses are expected to turn out in public whether by voluntary means or impelled force to fly the colors of the National tribal flag. To paint a fantasy mirage for the world that is watching that we are better no matter that the truth is the casualty in our collective happenings. We are special and distinct and let all others be damned whether we are free or not to practice what we preach. 

When warfare erupts between nations then the National Propagandists are at their loudest to dispel fears and tow the political party line of arguments. The hypocrisy is at its most fierce when the Name of God is Invoked to banish all doubt that theirs is the moral high ground. No matter if foreign civilians are being slaughtered by the masses it is out of sight and thus it is usually out of mind as a rule of thumb. 

This is never the Will of God to have its holy perfect namesake corrupted by horrible violence cultivating Hell on Earth instead. Humanity at its worst tendencies can excuse almost any nonsensical crime to its own animalistic advantage in order to save their way of life. To thump their primate chests they are superior to the conventions of Life on Earth the truth and compassion are the first casualties to suffer the thursts of propagandists. 

Oppression could be withstood for up to two or three generations of people of a State. This soon becomes the insidious norm within Dictatorships and other atrocious autocratic rule by the political elites. When religious Institutions are corrupted in tandem by the dictatorial State then God in Heaven isn't to be found in such palatial grounds. He is living amongst the impoverished, the oppressed by the fallen State, and so forth. 

Brainwashing by Exceptionalism is a Propagandist's Wetdream in the making as the spin doctors of the political party line. The Rhetoric is already damned since deceivers are speaking in half-truths just to win the talking points of the masses. 

Do not be afraid to challenge authorities just do so with throngs of mutual supporters. Otherwise, martyrdom is for certain to be pursued without the numbers in your favor. In order to anchor your arguments as grievances with hopeful moderation when you petition the State by lobbying for Just Cause. 

Righteousness demands living proof examples to be held up high for all to see and cherish with Thanksgiving to God himself. Short of this the people become demoralized and lose sight of the importance of engaged civics and the responsibility of an active citizenry. Without an active and attentive citizenry then the political leaders soon run amok pushing for ideologies they only share and other forms of corrupt cynical favoritism amongst themselves. 

Many a false prophet rises upon the ranks of elected and appointed political leadership upon the world. Not to strictly disparage the nobleman and woman as yeoman servant leaders who also rise to the political hierarchies. Engagement is a fickle trick when sought from the masses in order to educate them about the machinations of the Nation without boring them outright. Common sense and righteous indignation can only go so far especially when it is linked with political fearmongering as a social tactic of manipulation. 

Populists are the most favored to stir up the masses and to lead them as a human sacrifice right off the cliffs of blaming the other political party. Fearmongering is their forte since emotion when it is passionate burns the fastest and stirs up new victims regardless of the premium truths in jeopardy. Exceptionalism is a two-edge broad sword that can cleave a Nation in half or save it from itself in times of public turmoil by leaving no man, woman, or child behind in despair. Amen. ---Ivan Pozo-Illas / Atrayo.

Ivan "Atrayo" Pozo-Illas, has devoted 29 plus years of his life to the pursuit of clairaudient-inspired automatic writing channeling the Angelic Heavenly host. Ivan is the author of the spiritual wisdom series "Jewels of Truth" consisting of 3 volumes published to date. He also utilizes a unique channeled angelic divination method called the Multi-Deck Divination System. Numerous examples of his work are available at "Atrayo's Oracle" blog site of 19 years plus online. You're welcome to visit his website "Jewelsoftruth.us" for further information or to contact Atrayo directly.

[gemsofgreece]

Which greek hero (or heroine) of the Greek War of Independence you find underrated, in a sense we don't hear about them as often as some other familiar names, like Kolokotronis, Karaiskakis, Androutsos, Mavrogenou, Bouboulina and countless others I don't have the patience to list?

Ypsilantis, but I mean Demetrios, not Alexander. Demetrios is not well known or he is only known as the little brother of Alexander and for his engagement to Manto Mavrogenous, but he was far more than that. In my opinion, he is way more significant than his brother or at least more successful at what he set out to do.

Demetrios Ypsilantis (1793 - 1832) was a Greek prince, born in Constantinople, and serving as a military officer in the Imperial Russian Army. Ypsilantis was trained in the military schools of France.

After his brother Alexander became the leader of the Filiki Eteria (Society of Friends), the organisation of Greek expats who was conspiring for the Greek Revolution, and made some wrong choices and the rebellion in the Danubian Prinicipalities failed, he was held confined for several years and couldn't come to Greece to join the cause he was the leader of. Hence he sent Demetrios in his place, under full secrecy. Demetrios had to escape many witnesses, obstacles and dangers in order to arrive to Greece. He also went to Odessa first, gathering money from Greek expats there for the cause. He also mortgaged a lot of his own fortune and heirlooms for the cause.

As soon as he arrived to the Peloponnese, he assumed the role of the leader of the revolution and he befriended Kolokotronis, Papaflessas and Anagnostarás. Other war captains weren't very appreciative of him but with his peaceful and reconciling spirit, he managed to be accepted by most. Demetrios didn't have the image of a leader or military officer, he was only 27 year old, balding and of a small and fragile stature.

Demetrios was actually in charge of the Siege of Tripolitsá. However he had to leave as the Turkish army was attempting to reach the Corinthian Gulf and he had to confront them, so the massacre in Tripolitsá broke out in his absence. As soon as he learnt of the bloodshed, he quickly returned to Tripolitsá, ended the atrocities and actually provided refuge to Turkish or other Muslim civilians in danger.

He defended Nafplion against the huge forces of Dramali Mahmud Pasha (~30,000 men) with a tiny garrison of 700 men! Demetrios lasted for 12 days and then the garrison was dissolved. However, these 12 invaluable days gave Kolokotronis the opportunity to prepare his army, take hold of critical positions in the Peloponnese and of course burn the crops. This led to the Battle of Dervenakia against Kolokotronis, in which Dramali lost ~24,000 of his men.

While he was elected leader of the National Assembly, Demetrios refused to take sides in the infighting between the war captains and the intellectuals - this made him less powerful but also earned everyone's respect. He was adamant that all Greeks should fight united.

His biggest success was his second defense of Nafplion alongside General Yannis Makriyannis in the Battle of the Lerna Mills, this time against Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt. Here are the stats in wiki:

Once Greece became an independent state, Governor Ioannis Kapodistrias appointed Demetrios as the General Commader of the troops in Eastern Greece. In this position, he gave several victorious battles against the Turks in Boeotia, most notably including the Battle of Petra, on 25 September 1829, which was the official ending of the active operations of the Greek War of Independence. So, Demetrios completed the war his brother started!

Demetrios was in love and engaged with fellow heroine Mantó Mavrogenous. Ioannis Kolettis, a politician and the forefather of corruption in Greek politics already, fearing that such a marriage between two wealthy heroes could have enormous influence over the Greek populace, defamed Mantó relentlessly to Demetrios. Demetrios was swayed and broke up with her, breaking her heart.

Again, despite his bravery, Yspilantis was frail and prone to illnesses. He died young, at the age of 39, due to illness. Some speculate it might have been some form of muscular dystrophy but nothing is certain. In his funeral, Georgios Tertsetis said "He chose to sacrifice everything for his country, without ever allowing hatred to cast a shadow in his soul". Historian Konstantinos Vaskalopoulos called Ypsilantis as "the potentially purest and most selfless of the captains of the Greek War of Independence".

[insomniac-jay]

GV | Kiko Morijunin

Full Name: Kiko Morijunin

Hero Alias: Vulpine Heroine: Kyubi

Age: 19

Gender: Female (Cis)

Nationality: Japan

Occupation: Student, Hero

Affiliation: Templar University

Design Notes:

Her ears are the same color as her hair. And I know the ears are incorrect but shush

Can def see the Shingen in her design

Messy hair queen

Description

Kiko is a young adult woman of average height with fair skin, orange hair, and bright yellow eyes. Much like Trickster (Shingen Itazura), Kiko has fox features such as ears, a tail, and claws. She has a fairly skinny build with more muscle on her arms and legs due to being a volleyball player.

Personality

Kiko is a bright, upbeat woman who likes to see the sunnier side of things. Full of high confidence and positivity, she's out to make a name for herself. Her positive attitude and outlook on things is good for heroics, especially since some of her peers have become disillusioned.

Given her nature as a fox, she's very active and playful-- her favorite activity being agility. Kiko herself seems to be very sporty and enjoys volleyball a lot. It's actually the only sport she likes.

Kiko doesn't like when people say she's more well behaved than her older brother Shingen when she's just as, if not more, chaotic than him. It makes her feel separated from him.

History

Kiko was born in Shirakawa, Japan 9 years after Shingen. Because their parents were already married by the time she was born, she got the last name Morijunin.

Kiko showed a strong desire to become a Hero at a young age and this desire grew even stronger after her and Shingen were rescued by one on their way back home from running errands. Her and Shingen came up with their own superhero duo Trickster and Foxy (she later changed it to Kyubi after her mom told her it sounded cooler) for each other to play with.

The siblings made a promise to one day make that duo a reality.

Kiko never gave up on her dream as she got older and Shingen left home-- even with people telling her that she could never be a Hero because of her status as a Mutant. She practiced her Gift tirelessly until she could fully master it.

At the end of her senior year of high school, Kiko applied for Templar University and was accepted after completing their entrance exams.

Gift(s)

Primary: Yoko's Flame - Kiko's primary Gift gives her the power to produce fire that can possess people and objects as well as shapeshift. These powers are similar in nature to Trickster's Fox Fire Gift.

Secondary: Fox - Kiko has all the abilities of a fox including enhanced speed, stamina, and more.

Relationships

Family:

Mr. & Mrs. Morijunin (nee Itazura) - Parents

Shingen Itazura | Trickster - Older brother

Hisaya Itazura (nee Kaiiu) | Phantomage - Sister-in-law

Asuka Itazura - Niece

@floof-ghostie @calciumcryptid @beyonettta @opalofoctober @elflynns-horde-of-stuff @pizzolisnacks @peachyblkdemonslayer @milf-percy

[moonlightchess]

Please forgive the writing rant, but god, I'm about ready to give up entirely. Sent in my latest chapter block to my editor, my current WIP is a commissioned romance novella that is quickly stretching into a full work. In it, my heroine Sara, a struggling sculptor/3D artist in her early 30s, hears a knock on her door early one evening. It turns out to be a very well-mannered young British man, a butler in fact, hand-delivering an invitation to her per the instructions of his employer. His employer turns out to be a man named Julian, who has been masquerading as a woman named "Paula Germaine" on paper for several years, in the interest of purchasing many of Sara's pieces without her knowing the real identity of her most prolific benefactor.

Julian's proposal is fairly simple: he grew up in hiding, the lost prince of a tiny Franco-Germanic nation that was absorbed fully into Switzerland in the 90s after their military was all but destroyed in a war with a bordering nation. To avoid total ruin, they denounced their queen, Julian's mother, and pled allegiance to Switzerland. Julian's mother fled to America with her small son to avoid assassination, and hid her son from potential kidnappers or murderers for over a decade. He rarely left his home as a child, but grew into an adult who is fluent in nine languages, has more than one doctorate, and after the death of his mother and his reluctant emergence into public life, the Swiss government allocated to him the royal inheritance that they'd been holding as no one knew where the lost prince of Valdoria had been for decades.

Before her death, Julian's mother had married an extremely wealthy day trader in New York, further supplementing the family's income and leaving Julian well beyond a millionaire when all was said and done. Now he's approaching 40, and while he's generally awkward and reserved socially, he also laughs uncontrollably at the faces barn owls make - nearly his entire TikTok FYP is owls, for some reason. He trips over everything, is self-conscious about his glasses, and he desperately wants to take care of Sara professionally. For him, this means financial support in every way she could possibly want or need - he proves his intent by opening an unlimited credit account in her name, directly connected to his own so that she has full access to his money. He expects literally nothing in return, has been terribly alone all his life and he fell in love with Sara's work long before he saw her face. He only wants to give her the world. A dream, right? And of course they're being stalked by some unhinged murderers because everyone loves a conflict.

My editor's thoughts:

1: "Sara's too old though, if he's only 40 she should be closer to 22 - 25."

2: "You described her hair as being short, you'll need to 86 that. No one's going to buy a book about a girl with a buzz cut being romanced."

3: "Also Julian's not intimidating enough, he should throw her around a little. Make a few demands for all the money he's offering to spend on her, you know? Cut out some of the quirks too, him being physically clumsy isn't attractive."

4: "He needs to be less shy too, basically just make him more aggressive and dominant. Looking forward to the next block!"

Me, having literally taken on this project in the sole interest of doing the exact opposite of everything she requested and writing a romantic hero who is vulnerable and gentle and emotionally wounded in ways that literally do not require him to force a woman to "save" or "fix" him:

[magicalgirlagency]

*Quielty manifesting from your shadow* Hey, can I ask you a question?

How would you rewrite the YuYuYu series (main story + spinoffs)? There aren't much fix-it fanfic for it, and the ones that do exist are all dead fics by now. I'm intending on writing a fix-it au myself, taking main inspiration from pretty cure and random Rival's songs. However, as I don't have much skills in writing and I don't have time either (my country schools is a bunch of monster honestly), I was hoping to find some way to cope with my pain after watching all of the yuyuyu seasons (even the horrid 3rd season).

Since you've already save the Hero Club and some of the other Heroes from the show... How about rewriting the series as a whole? To channel all your spite at how shitty the Taisha and the God tree of pedophiles *Shinju-sama* are?

Thanks for listening to/reading my questions. Here's you shadow back

*Return back into my Void to give back your shadow*

Oh, boy... it's been a while. I may be a little rusty, so I apologize in advance if anything's off...

Alright, before we get started, I'd like to point out some things about this reboot:

NO post-apocalyptic world. It'll be set in the present day, with all of the other countries and continent still intact;

NO ableism. The other heroines won't lose their body parts while fighting;

NO magically-healing disabilities. Tougo will be a wheelchair user from beginning to end, and her magic will properly accomodate her disability;

NO nationalism/militarism. The themes in this reboot will be environmental/ecological;

NO sexualization of minors. 'Nuff said.

With that out of the way, let's get this show on the road:

The Shinju/Divine Tree is an ancient mystic tree of unfathomable power that sustains the whole world. Unfortunately, due to humanity's carelessness, it's defenses have been weakened, giving the Taisha an opportunity to strike.

The Taisha are an evil cult; the very personification of humanity's greatest sins (greed, industrialization, deflorestation, etc...). Their goal is to seize the Shinju and its powers all to themselves, so they can bring forth a New World Order.

And to ensure that no one dares to stop their plans of conquest, they create the monstruous Vertexes, kaiju-sized beasts that were concieved through dark magic to cleanse the world of its impurities. In desperation, the Shinju spreads its magic seeds throughout the world, in search of young pure-hearted and well-intentioned humans to make them bloom.

In Japan, lives a young girl named Yuuki Yuuna. Lively, energetic a little bit scatterbrained, she inspires herself in the ideals of heroes, so she joins an after-school club called the Hero Club with other four girls, dedicating themselves to do community services for their beloved town.

Until one day, she stumbles accross a goofy and chunky cow-looking creature that introduces themselves as Fairy/Spirit born from the Shinju. They alert Yuuna of the Taisha's schemes and gift her with a compact mirror known as a Terminal, that allows her to transform and communicate with other Guardians.

The plot twist is that the other members of the Hero Club were already granted with their own Fairies and Terminals, and they were eagerly waiting for the newbie Yuuna to be blessed with her own powers so they could explain to her the whole story to her.

And so, the whole story is about Yuuna meeting several other Guardians and going on a journey learning what it really means to be a hero.

I was personally inspired by Puella Magi Magia Record, HeartCatch PreCure and Healin' Good PreCure when I wrote this draft. You may as use this as a base for your concept, if you please!