#saint deaths daughter btw

[itsalittlebitchilly]

I'm halfway through a book rn and I'm tearing my teeth out trying not to look it up on tumblr bc I want to see what people are saying but I don't want to be spoiled

[ukyokuonji]

I am so scared to read what this us american comic written in the 80s has to say about el salvador's civil war

[ID: The "I'm in danger" meme from The Simpsons. A school child sits at the end of a school bus. The text reads: "(chuckles) I'm in danger." End ID]

[nesiacha]

Revolutionaries with a Hard Fate after the end of the revolution

Gâteau, Saint-Just's friend, whose loss he never recovered from. He died in despair in 1815 during the Bourbon Restoration.

Marie Angélique Lequesne, widow of Ronsin, later divorced Turreau, who was also active in the revolution. She had a terrible marriage with him (Turreau betrayed the Ronsin couple twice, once while Ronsin was alive, pretending to be his friend and stabbed him in the back when Ronsin needed supportwhile he was being attacked as one of the representatives of the Hébertist faction during the period of the factional infighting. The second time by horribly mistreating Marie-Angélique after that he married her , even having her whipped). You will see in the links I’m sending. She also lost a son during her lifetime. It’s possible Turreau separated her from her sons’ custody. In fact, to punish her for their separation, he made her live in poverty during three years and she had to seek help from a judge to return to France. It’s likely that this poverty lasted until the end of her life, as her daughter, Alexandrine, died in misery and poverty (Alexandrine, who was also a victim of her father Turreau). Here are the posts: Letter from Turreau to Ronsin and the Complex and The Day a Judge Confronted Turreau for His Actions

Marie-Anne Babeuf, widow of Gracchus Babeuf, who had been her husband’s right hand. Before the revolution, she had already lost a daughter due to a boiling water accident. Gracchus never recovered from this loss. Then, under the Directory, their other daughter, Sophie, died of malnutrition caused by the high prices of rations (Gracchus wrote a letter of despair in prison, saying that people like Boissy d'Anglas had condemned his daughter: "I had a seven-year-old daughter; I soon received the heartbreaking news that she died from the murderous reduction of the two ounces of bread."). She was pregnant when her husband was arrested, and she walked miles with her son Emile to try to save him. She may have even tried to help him escape, according to certain letters. She continued to fight after her husband's execution and was repeatedly arrested by the police. But her son Camille went mad and committed suicide. As for her other son, Caius, he died in Vendôme during the foreign invasion of France at the age of 17. It’s possible that she even outlived her last son, Emile, as, despite being known as a militant with a strong character in adversity, and being arrested by the police under the Directory and Bonaparte, her death date is unknown. Some say she was still alive when her last son, Emile, died. She also saw many of her friends die under the mockery of justice, including Topino-Lebrun, executed under Bonaparte (see Topino Lebrun: A Revolutionary Jacobin Close to Gracchus Babeuf) or her friend René Vatar, who died in deportation (he had campaigned for her release when she was imprisoned).

Claude-Antoine Prieur, who lived his last years very painfully. He lost his beloved daughter and granddaughter. His friend Lazare Carnot died in exile, and Prieur’s friends Frilley and Monnet did not return his friendship. See the very good post ( and sad ) post by @aedesluminis on Prieur’s tragic end: https://www.tumblr.com/aedesluminis/758618574216724480/nigrit-i-dont-think-she-cared-much-about-the?source=share

Jean-Nicolas Pache. He withdrew from political life. He was close to his children, especially Sylvie Audouin (according to Mathilde Larrère, she was a fervent Hébertist and therefore supported her father ideas). He survived his daughter, who often visited him, while watching everything he had worked for collapse. I already talked about Sylvie here quickly here and her role during the revolution and the Directory with her husband Xavier Audouin ( https://www.tumblr.com/nesiacha/767044131014033408/very-mediocre-and-horrible-quote-from-buzot?source=share) . I really have to do a post about pache one day btw

Prieur de la Marne, who died in exile so poor that there was not enough money for his funeral.

Feel free to add because I know I've overlooked many and they all deserve more information

P.S: I hesitated to put Sophie Momoro in it after everything that happened in her life afterwards but if she died in poverty and had a failed marriage at least she was able to have her 3 children and her husband was not like Turreau ( here about some of the life of Sophie Momoro https://www.tumblr.com/nesiacha/758994396416016384/life-and-fate-of-sophie-momoro-n%C3%A9e-fournier-and?source=share). But she still have a sad end.

Sources:

Antoine Resche

Jean-Marc Schiappa

Claude Mazauric

Bloche

Mathilde Larrère

[heraxic]

re8 as classical music

badly explained cause its 2am and i dont know musical terms.

Btw if anyone has any notes or other songs that would fit them id love to see it-

Ethan: Tchaikovsky - Marche Slave

Slow start, Ethan is unknowingly ensnared in a trap. As he realizes the danger Rose (and himself) are in the song becomes tragic and determined. Fastpaced strings, frantic beats —like prey escaping from predator— keeps escalating into something more and more insurmountable. A hopeful jingle is heard as Ethan finds out he can still save his daughter. A heroic theme plays as he overcomes the horrors despite it all (a sense of control over the situation is marked by highpitched anxious flutes superimposed by a deep stable horn). Then comes the first faceoff with Miranda who taunts him and Ethan’s tragic hero theme comes to a grinding halt as his heart gets pulled out of his chest. The drums pick up again and the little soldier is off to his final battle.

Mia: Claude Debussy - Clair De Lune

Sadly the real Mia doesn’t appear much. In the Winters home, Ethan writes that Mia doesn’t want to talk about what they went through in Louisiana, which leaves him with a lot of questions unanswered. In the flashback where she desperately tries reaching out saying ‘𝘺𝘰𝘶 matter’, she still can’t help keeping secrets- maybe out of fear that Ethan wouldn’t let it go (being extremely persistent) and they’d never return to normal. The song is heartbreaking and sad as she struggles coming to terms with the guilt and grief over what she’s done and what the one she loves went through because of it. On a last somber note, her child, who takes after her father both in looks and unresolved powers, is all she has left.

Rose: Saint-Saëns - Le Cygne

A little girl whos only ever known unconditional, all encompassing love. Even before her birth, it was known that her life would be full of uncertainty. Though stolen away for possessing powers she’s not even aware of yet, she continues to live and provide a beacon of hope for her family.

Chris: Richard Wagner - Ride of the Valkyries

Comes in the dead of night and rains hell on the Winters home. In his eyes, he’s doing the right thing, but has made himself the villain to the one he was trying to protect (victorious trumpets superimposed by high fearful strings). The transport gets intercepted by Miranda and the music falls. Once Chris finally explains himself to Ethan they’re allowed a brief bit of victory (steadier horn) as their combined efforts take down Miranda’s last line of defense (Heisenberg). In the end, Chris has to live with the victory of taking down the megamycete, the guilt and grief over Ethan’s death/sacrifice, and the troubling news from BSAA. A tainted victory.

Alcina: Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake

Appears first as a noble elegant socialite. She’s at the height of her power, owns a castle and three daughters and believes herself to be Miranda’s favorite. It’s business as usual, calm serene music. Suddenly an outsider has made his way into her home, killing her daughters one by one. She reaches out to Miranda, who only cares about the stupid ceremony, and realizes everything she knew was a lie. Anger and frustration builds. The music deepens, falls and rises again as she transforms, tries taking revenge on Ethan and fails, having lost everything in one evening.

Bela, Cassandra, Daniela: Rimsky Korsakov - Flight of the Bumblebee

Self explanatory. Hurried, manic and playful.

Donna: Tchaikovsky - Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy

Entrancing but with eerie insidious undertones. Fitting for the childlike dollmaker and her little porcelain friends. Ends with a fast and chilling theme for the twisted game of hide and seek

Moreau: Edvard Grieg - Hall of the Mountain King

Quiet, lumbering and slow. Ethan takes the Rose flask back easily; threatened with losing Mother Miranda it very quickly escalates as panic sets in and Moreau throws everything he has at him. The music swells and ends with a bang.

Karl: Aram Khachaturian - Masquerade Suite

A bold start. Right from the beginning he exudes arrogance, charisma and danger. He plays nice in front of Miranda with a waltz that picks up in intensity when putting Ethan through his first gauntlet. Then the tone gets deeper and quieter for a moment, as he plots in secret; it’s finally time to set his plan in action. It’s a race to the finish line as Ethan tears through the other lords, unknowingly playing right into Miranda’s plan. Realizing he could be a particularly useful asset/ally, Heisenberg puts him through the second gauntlet. The music is sadistically playful as he tests his will and endurance. Upon failing to recruit Ethan, the music picks up for the third gauntlet and ends with a bang, as Karl dies at the hands of Miranda.

Duke: Georges Bizet - Votre Toast

A friendly face unfitting in a place such as this. The upbeat and energetic theme sticks out like a sore thumb among the others. Whimsy and grandiosity acts as a brilliant facade for his enigmatic true nature. Though the jolly merchant schtick may be a lie, he always delivers on service.

Miranda: Sergei Prokofiev - Dance of the Knights

https://youtu.be/bBsKplb2E6Q?si=jnSpMO-bIhEcjJzb

Immediately imposes a sense of authority and dread. The dark theme plays over and over as she performs the same cruel experiments expecting different results, though it only succeeds in remowing her further from humanity. She imagines a world of pure bliss in acquiring her child, which at this point is as illusory as chasing the holy grail since she’s never satisfied. When she hears of Rose she schemes her way into the Winters home, elated to find the perfect vessel after a century of searching. She steals the child away, leaving behind a trail of destruction that finally catches up to her.

[vampirejuno]

if you have the time and brainpower i would love to hear more abt ander ("ander"?) bc that's such a fun premise. idk if it's "fun" in the canon of the story per se but [insert eyes emoji bc i'm on desktop rn]

Hehehehehehe yesssss >:]

So! I refer to them as "og ander" and "ander" (or Mira, if talking about pre-transition) respectively. Story takes place in a pre-industrial but slightly post-medieval feudal country (unnamed for now lol). The twins are from an important noble family, but, while they're respected, they're not always treated as well as other noble kids because their mother is a non-white foreigner. Mira is a bit more visibly mixed than her brother, but otherwise they look almost identical (despite my art skills).

Now, their mother comes from a matrilineal society where women raise their daughters and leave the sons to the fathers, so she raises Mira according to her customs, and og Ander is raised by their father to be a Good Son and Heir. But the twins are still very close, and every once in a while escape for a day out in nature, usually to the river.

It's kind of implied that they were both trans from the start as they liked to switch clothes as little kids and could pass for each other, until their father caught them doing it. Og Ander later on thinks of it as their souls getting mixed up before they were born. It's a bit easier for Mira at the start because her mother's culture involves martial arts and hunting, something that helps Mira feel more masculine in her father's society. Og Ander however, well..... He saw masculinity as a performance and a duty he had to keep up, until one day when they're about 12 it just wears him out and he can't keep doing it anymore.

So naturally og Ander fakes his death by "drowning" in their river and runs off to be a witch. Mira fully believes he actually died. In their country, there's a folk/religious custom to honor the dead: when a loved one dies, you take on a responsibility over something that was important to that person in life. It can be as small as always feeding their favorite birds or as big as taking their child into your own care, which is where the name of this custom - "taking a ward" - comes from.

Anyways, Mira takes a ward for og Ander - to be a Good Son and Heir, as their father was left without one, until another boy is born to her parents. Mind, nobody outside of the family (except their childhood friend) knows it was og Ander who died cos they looked so similar, so with some effort Mira can pass for her brother well enough. Needles to say neither of her parents is happy about this, but as a religious custom it has to be honored.

So Mira becomes Ander and effectively loses his relationship with both mother and father - the first because he (gonna use he from here on) gave up being a woman and sons aren't important, and the second because his dad's a cunt who cares about Legacy and the Family Name, which isn't a very promising prospect if your heir is "secretly a girl" (and also extremely dyslexic! This will be important), and your Shitty Wife can't birth another son :/

So father sends Ander off to join a special military order dedicated to a specific saint, as is common for young noblemen (this particular one requires members to vow to never speak a lie, so Ander quickly learns to speak indirectly and twist literal truths to adhere to that vow while still keeping his secrets). In the meantime father gets rid of his wife (sends her away, pretends she disappeared and must've died). He then marries Ander's childhood friend (Rika, which btw means river in ukrainian if you put the stress on the other syllable :3). Ander hears about it and comes home.

This is where the important dyslexia comes in. Ander's dad told him he'd inherit everything once he can read out what's written on the family heirloom sword. Ander tried for years to learn, to no avail, and never even found out that the inscription was in a dead language that no one alive remembers. So anyway Ander takes the sword and runs his father through and then fucks off with Rika. Those two have such a weird thing going on but that's a whole separate post

Anyways that's my brief summary of his backstory hehe thank u very much for asking <333 I also have. A little prologue I wrote abt the day og Ander drowns. It's not long and I can post it if anyone wishes to read it 👀

[thegamingcatmom]

Anon making way through resi8 for miri

Heisenbergs factory looked cool as heck in a creepy dystopian kind of way, like the background design is just so cool

Watched the whole heisenberg showdown and still can't believe Ethan got that...tank not tank? vehicle

Miri showed up and just ripped his heart out wtf? And then she just crushed his heart and sprinkled it over herself like...what???(birb mama just looked extra insane) also her just summoning birbs in front of her???

Also like that can't just be it for Ethan right? He can't be dead??? He...he gotta go save rose!

Now I'm in chris? Pov? Watching what happening next

Yeah, Heisenberg's place is just so grotesque and eerie. Especially when Sturm (his propeller creation) chases you. It gives you chills and I love that. 🥰

He´s creating an army in hopes it would defeat Miranda btw. Seeing this gif - all the bodies and the machinery (that he´s no doubt invented himself) - really makes you wonder how long he´s been planning this for. Like, either he somehow obtained ppl from outside the village, or all of these are villagers from different time periods. Yknow, like-

"Keep the birth rate high, ensure endless supply."

- Heisenberg, at some point (probably)

Miranda "sampled his blood for later," so I think that means she kinda absorbed his DNA/info or smt? Because she was like "bound for eternity in blood" in reference to the bond with her reincarnated daughter. So, maybe, consuming Ethan's blood would ensure that? Maybe that's her way of taking in someone's essence? I mean, she had to get Mia's DNA in order to impersonate her, so I reckon she's done that by consuming her blood too??

The fact that this is Miranda casually slapping Ethan´s hand away like some pesky fly and going like "NUH-UH, hands off, mister" DOES THINGS TO ME LIKE-

PLS COOK FOR ME AND SLAP ME, I BEG YOU. 😭

...Pretty pls? 👉👈

ASDFNALSJDFNSAKSJBF

.

Imma have to read up some stuff again because, as I've also read today, Miranda was actually an actual scientist/biologist before she got infected?? (I´m sure I knew that at some point, lol.) I´m still in the middle of my 2nd playthrough, so that´s probs some info you get at the very end of the game and I would´ve stumbled upon it regardless. But like, all this knowledge and expertise she has didn´t come from the Megamycete. She was already very intelligent and a more than capable scientist/biologist, and the Megamycete took it to the extreme, kinda.

I also remember there being some sick concept art/artwork in the credits that shows her infecting the villagers by injecting the Cadou directly. There was a father with his sick/dying daughter seeking a "cure" and Miranda was only all too happy to "help" ofc. I mean, we all know she gained the villagers´ trust by pretending to be some saint/godsent, but seeing that concept art really puts into perspective just how cunning Miranda is.

Here´s the artwork, btw:

SHE´S SO...UGH. 😭🫠

The birds she summons are actually her own. Like, she frequently turns into a murder of crows for quick travelling or, as we see here, to descent on her enemies. Though, it was less an attack and more a form taunting with Ethan, let´s be honest.

...I mean, yall can´t tell me she isn´t cackling like a hyena on the inside here. 😭😭😭

.

.

.

I saw you´ve sent me another ask, so I´ll leave it at that. 😉

OH, btw:

After you defeat Sal, you get a crank with which you can lower the bridge near the ceremony site. This leads you to a boat which you can use to get some extra stuff (like Lady D´s treasure), and also more info on the mold and Miranda´s agenda. You get to see the cave in which Miranda intended to commit suicide after her daughter´s death. The cave where she accidently discovered the mold. The cave that started it all, basically. And literally.

Like, I´m not just talking about Village, seeing as Umbrella (the pharmaceutical company that specializes in the creation of bioweapons) only exists because Miranda saved Oswell E. Spencer after a skiing accident. This was in the early 1950s and only possible because Miranda had been infected by the mold, making her immortal basically, and-

...ANYWAY-

Should you ever play the game yourself, I highly recommend revisiting some places after you´ve defeated each lord because there might be some new stuff to collect and discover. The map kinda changes a bit each time, you could say. Especially Luiza´s place. 😉

Thanks for your ask! 💋

[ahaura]

yellowjackets S2E6 lb

do babies get fucked up in utero if their mom is 1) starving all the time and 2) a cannibal?

in my public school they apparently used to show a horrific pregnancy video that was meant to ward kids off from having sex but instead of us getting to see it we got to take care of a baby doll that cried all the time and it fucking sucked

misty threatening to report lottie to the IRS is so funny <3

let's play the game of "will they remember not to talk to the cops and only say I WANT MY LAWYER" (im betting they wont)

"i didnt drag callie into anything" YOU LITERALLY CONFESSED TO MURDERING THE MAN YOU WERE HAVING AN AFFAIR WITH TO YOUR TEENAGE DAUGHTER SHAUNA IT IS IN FACT YOUR FAULT! fail family for the win <3

"it honestly would have been better if you had just had sex with him" SHAUNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA JFFJDSKFJDKFDSFKDHDSJFH SHES FUCKING CRAZY

the girls are panicking in the wake of the birth yes CHAOS YESSSSSSSSSSS

LISA MY GIRL LISA depressed girls stick together<3

natalie finally opening up lets gooooooo

"maybe we did it to survive but i dont think we deserve to" YEEHAW

doing cult shit in a fit of desperation which will result in the cementing of the cult mentality OR permanently fracture the group. or something idk

saint charlotte of new jersey up and attem

rip coach being stuck in a cabin with cannibals as he slowly wastes away while one of his students is giving birth and he cannot do anything

WHAT THE FUCK JUST CAME OUT OF SHAUNA

helluva time for misty to have a breaking point btw

WHAT THE FUCK CAME OUT OF SHAUNA I NEED TO KNOW WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK

my ass is NEVER giving birth my pelvic bone hurts just watching this FUCK that i will get my tubes tied if i can find a doctor who will let me god willing

i do think as a treat shauna should fuck up the cop just a little bit like stab him or something ok DO IT

was shauna pulled back from the brink of death in childbirth because her friends prayed to the thing that lives in the woods and it dragged her back to the land of the living. because that would fucking rock.

THE BABY LIVED? IS THIS REAL OR A HALLUCINATION

lisa i love you lisa from yellowjackets my girl who is unfortunately in a cult but at least knows compassion is where healing starts

the relief of the baby being born alive and shauna living through childbirth is shortlived i see shauna is too malnourished to make milk which means the baby is gonna die. OR they will eat coach or someone or maybe akilah's mouse to feed it. or something idk

jeff sitting outside the police station in his minivan being useless while listening to fuck the police on the aux cord

SHAUNA IS MISSING OUT ON THE REUNION? SHE BETTER NOT!

DO NOT TALK TO THE COPS DO NOT TALK TO THE COPS PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD (i know they are its still painful)

IF COPS HAD THE EVIDENCE THEY WOULD ARREST YOU IF YOU ARE NOT UNDER ARREST YOU SHOULD BE FREE TO GO CALL A LAWYERRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

CALLIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE SHES GOT TEETH!

IS LOTTIE BREASTFEEDING?

natalie failed to kill lisa's fish<3 we love to see it

THE GANG'S BACK TOGETHER AGAIN!

OH MY GOD

IT WAS ALL A HALLUCINATION????? FUCK

also shauna's teenager actress deserves like 30 emmys shes going NUTS

[fangirl-life]

Sorry this is long! I liked your thoughts and I didn’t even want to get into it bc there’s sooo much to hash out with this last season and show overall.

I haven't even thought about the Cain and Abel angle since the first couple of seasons with the whole golden boy thing. I'm glad EZ knew that Angel had to do it for his son.

That scene when Santi called him dad was soooooooooo cute; I melted. I was wondering where their daughter was tho

They definitely should have patched Nestor in sooner but I hated that his "initiation" or first act as a full patch was to shank EZ. And then for Bottle's initiation to kill Sofia that was sad. And it was sad when his amigo died too. Her death was so unnecessary tbh and I think it was more so bc she was a reminder/connection to EZ rather than a liability, but that too.

It was sooo satisfying to see someone get an upper hand on Issac and I'm glad that bald dude ratted on him bc he knew the Mayans was the lesser of the two evils and it showed that a MC outlaw is not just a mindless killer; they have some sort of morals or internal conflict. I wished that Hope would have ran away with Letty bc Letty for sure would have agreed the second time. They could have made it work. Issac is petty and clever, so I wouldn't put it past him to keep looking for her if they even went across the country, but he has bigger fish to fry at the same time. Idk how far SOA chapters stretch, bc I just assume all these MCs stick to the west coast, but I woulda just went to Chucky like Letty said then prepared to go to Canada. They had each other and I loved that! But I'm glad Letty is still not alone and that they seemingly accepted her back into the Broken Saints.

I love the Broken Saints btw. I feel like it was well overdue to introduce a black and female run MC into the show, especially as partners despite the Mayans doing them dirty. It was always just Mayans and SOA with a sprinkle of the Swole Bros and idr if the Samoans were an MC or just a gang from S1.

Ughhh, you know I'm always so torn on Taza. I fully agree that he was the reason for EVERYTHING and the only reason he didn't die is because he'd been through thick and thin with Bish and he didn't have the heart to go through with killing him. Had the rest of the club known, he woulda been Et Tu Brute'd like EZ a long time ago. Going nomad was their compromise I guess, but the nerve and honestly stupidity of him to want to come back? At all? With EZ as pres? Him not having that communitas/”brotherhood” that he missed and craved from the club was his punishment, so Idk why he thought it'd be ok to just casually ask to come back, especially so soon. In the middle of a war no less! He was the oldest member! Like consider yourself lucky that you aren't out there limping like Hank was when he was trying to complete some hits...smh...I hate that his character turned into lowkey the worst one.

YOOOOOO fucking Potter dude. I've been wanting to see that smug mf be taken down for so long. Like how does he do it! Honestly, I couldn't take Miguel and Emily's smugness more, so I was down for them getting taken down by the gov bc I also thought that would help the Mayans too instead of dry up the pipeline. But the angle they played with Dana Delany's character was so intriguing, though I was skeptical since it was yet another new plot line that I was afraid would take screen time away from tying up other established plot lines. The most I ever liked Emily was in this season because I rooted for her to get out. Miguel was toxic for her since day 1 and I wish that guy's mom didn't stop her from leaving so Miguel could have stayed alive to rat out Potter. I wish there was something else he could have done to ensure that such as a written statement with his lawyers as a witness just in case. On the other hand though, I'm glad Emily got revenge bc he literally tried to kill her and then just brush it under the rug and had her sister killed. But that was Dana Delany's best chance at getting Potter. Attitude wise, she was his match; she wasn't scared of him or thrown off by his weird demeanor. I agree with your point # 5.

Also Cielo having been on this show since like S2 I think and always being a background character that we’d just see and hardly hear and Elgin didn’t forget about her and turned her into a major player by killing a Mayan and helping rat out the club to Potter and Kody. She was like their longest lasting bartender I think. 

Also speaking of bartenders, what’s with that lady that Bish ruined his relationship with Izzy’s friend for? A couple of seasons ago when they were doing the one true king plot and it was Mayan against Mayan, wasn’t she the old lady to one of the Mayans from another chapter? Like they killed her man in front of her but left her alive. I thought she began to pop up in the clubhouse to stay loyal to the “winning” chapter to stay alive or, more likely, to plot and enact revenge on the chapter that killed her man. I thought Elgin was gonna try and turn that into a plot by her encouraging Bish to get super drunk/destructive to get secrets out of him or kill him and rat the whole club out or something. I must be thinking of someone different, bc all she did was genuinely seduce the man who indirectly killed her man and then break things off by saying that he was too much for her. I didn’t trust her the entire time she was on screen and didn’t like that Angel left his baby with her honestly, but outside of Sofia, she was the only woman left at the clubhouse.

Angel being left with just his son is wild! I really wish him and Luisa coulda had a happily ever after, especially since we didn't get that with EZ and Gabi. And I honestly thought that Elgin forgot about Mini, so I was happy to initially see that she was back on the screen after a few seasons because, while her son was her first priority, Mini was like her daughter and the fact that she still went out to look for her was amazing and very much something Adelita would do. Ik Mini was hurt, but I really wish she gave her a chance to explain herself. I never would have thought that she would be the one to kill her, tho from Mini's POV, I could see why she felt betrayed.

I also almost forgot about the ambush at the end! idk how. Because of that, I'm glad Angel got out when he did in the nick of time. Imagine, after losing Luisa, had to lose his dad then right when he was gonna leave for good, have to help murder his brother all while his son is in the clubhouse and then if they didn't let him leave, the ATF woulda got him and Maverick woulda been back in Potter's hands and he prob woulda took him in as his own sort of weird trophy over Luisa/Angel/the whole MC. Despite having to raise his son completely alone now, he is a great dad which I am pleasantly surprised about bc I always thought he was gonna be all talk, then learn the hard way and not take fatherhood well.

Why couldn't the storyline with Hank end better, that sweetheart. Ending it with putting his mom in a home that she hates. He could have used her declining health as an out to take care of her. He prob wouldn't have bumped into Nails, but still. Now, his mom won’t know why he stopped showing up to see her unless Nails sees what happened on the news and tells her. Nestor left the toxicity of Miguel for the different toxicity of the MC (even though he joined with/when El Padrino was still in charge, so it wasn't as toxic) and he's gone. And Bish! He'll never get to see his little cousin like he said he would. And Ironically, Taza is the only technical Mayan that survived it all. I'm also glad that when Letty pulled up with that little ass gun, she had enough where-with-all to pull tf back out the scrapyard and realize it wasn't worth it especially before the ATF showed up.

Its crazy that the entire Santo Padre Chapter is obliterated and doesn’t exist anymore. I wonder what that means for other chapters of the club. 

My thoughts on the series finale of Mayans…

I think we all agree this last season was rushed af. Most of the storylines were a discombobulated mess. Was it there greatest series ending? No. Was it the worst? Also no. There are some things I liked and A LOT I didn’t. Here’s my list of what I liked and how I wish some storylines went.

I agreed…

1.) With the way EZ died. Since he took over he was very much given dictator vibes. I enjoyed the way the club going all Julius Caesar to kill him. I also think we all knew that Angel was going to have a hand in EZ’s death since day one. (At least I did). There was always a Cain and Abel factor in there, even if Angel was reluctant to do so.

2.) Speaking of Angel, I did appreciate the fact he lived and got away with Maverick. The beach scene was honestly the best thing in the whole finale.

3.) Marcus/El Padrino getting out of the life and living the rest of his days with his family. He came a long way.

4.) Bottles and Nestor getting patched in. Though Nestor should’ve been patched awhile ago. I would have loved to see him as a full fledged member.

5.) Isaac dying. He was a great fucking villain, but he had to go. I wish Hope was the one who did it though, but I was okay with EZ being the one to do it.

… yeah that’s about it.

I disagreed…

1.) As much as I love Taza, he should’ve died and not be able to live his life as a nomad. Killing Riz was the start of all of this! Literally lead to the civil war between the Mayans, the war with the Sons, and the cartel. It should’ve been done back when the Mayans showed up in Santo Padre. I don’t understand how he got off scot free.

2.) Miguel, Ez, and Angel not knowing that they’re brothers! What was the point of all that if they were never going to find out? It should’ve been addressed a lot time ago in Season 3 or 4.

3.) Killing Sofia. I’m sorry, but this was bullshit to me. She didn’t know EZ worked with the Feds. If they’re going with the whole “she’s a liability” route, the same applies to Angel. I would have loved to see Angel take her and Sally. They could’ve both gone out, start a new life, and raise their kids together.

4.) NOT KILLING POTTER!! Omg this man is like a cockroach! Potter should’ve definitely been a goner and Miguel be the one to take him down with Devlin. Katie/Kody could have taken his place or Devlin a la Agent Stahl and haven them focus on the Mayans.

5.) Speaking of Devlin, if they were going to get Miguel out of the way, I would have loved to see Emily work out some sort of deal with her to ensure Miguel spends the rest of his life in prison and pull a double cross rather than kill him.

6.) Angel not knowing Luisa/Adelita is dead. I would’ve have loved a scene with Mini showing up somewhere and telling Angel everything. Well maybe minus the part where she was the one who killed her.

7.) If Isaac was going to die this whole time, why did Hope have to? We should’ve seen Hope and Letty halfway to Ohio or the Broken Saints take them in.

8.) ATF busting in and killing the whole charter!!! This would’ve been a great ending if it was just a season finale, not a series finale! We should’ve at least seen a few members (Gilly, Hank, Bottles, Nestor, and Guero being cuffed) .

[terapsina]

Book Recs for Science Fiction and Fantasy books with little to no romance. Because I'm tired.

(if you've got more recommendations, PLEASE share)

Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher.

The main character Marra is the youngest of three daughters, a princess from a tiny, perilously placed kingdom who was sent to a convent when she was 15. It's been just as long since then, and recently she found out her older sister has for years now been abused by the prince she's married to. A prince protected by both his position and the magic of his Godmother's christening gift.

The book is about Marra going on a quest to kill the prince and save her sister.

It also contains a lot of death magic, spirits, terrible curses, impossible tasks, bone dogs, dust wives, godmothers and goblin markets. It's written like a novel but constructed like a fairytale.

Main character is neither thin nor 'pretty', which makes for a nice change of pace. Does contain a smidgen of romance but it's barely there, mostly background and never the focus, so it just doesn't get a chance to get obnoxious.

It does however get rather dark in places (think Gideon the Ninth levels).

The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley.

A heavy read about the horrors of war, the ugliness of a world where capitalism and corporate monopolies have been allowed to run without opposition, and the lies those in power feed to their soldiers and civilians to make them think the atrocities justified.

The story follows Dietz, an infantry soldier who has a strange reaction to the technology that allows soldiers to be sent through insane distances by being transformed into light. It becomes quickly apparent that Dietz is experiencing the war vastly out of order, especially when Dietz starts seeing friends die before meeting them.

Very hard to read but full of impactful moments. I'd recommend listening to the audiobook if possible, it's voiced by Cara Gee (who plays Camina Drummer in The Expanse) and she does a FANTASTIC job bringing the story to life.

Characters have a lot of sex (not sex scenes as such though), but basically nearly zero romance (it's more: relieving the stress and having a human connection in the middle of war kinda deal). I do say 'nearly' zero, because the main character (who is bisexual btw) does occasionally think about an ex.

All Systems Red (and all following Murderbot books) by Martha Wells.

Probably everyone and their roomba knows about this one but it would be a crime not to mention it.

Books follow Murderbot, a Rogue SecUnit who has hacked its government module (a thing that when intact, and working, would fry Murderbot's brain if it failed to follow an order). The expected result in Rogue SecUnits would be to go on a wild murder spree, but once free Murderbot discovers it can download vast amounts of TV, books, movies, music and other such stuff, it decides to consume the media instead.

'As a heartless killing machine, [it's] a terrible failure.'

Other characters around it might maybe be having romances (Murderbot isn't paying attention and it's not relevant) but if someone mentioned it having one, it would stare at them with a face drawn in horror, and probably never talk to them again.

The voice of Murderbot is humorous and awesome. Recommend these books to EVERYONE. Absolutely everyone.

Sisters of the Vast Black (and the book following) by Lina Rather.

Follows the Sisters of the Order of Saint Rita. The setting is a future where people have expanded far into the galaxy, some decades after the last time the Central Governance tried to keep power over the colonies.

The Sisters in question travel in a living ship (the absolute coolest ship I've seen in quite a while), and go where they're needed. Technically still under the power of the Church, but not really being affected all that much by its edicts when they're so far away from Earth. Unfortunately the Church is trying to regain its control over 'the flock' recently and sends them a very obnoxious priest who just doesn't understand the realities of life in the black (he's very early-season-Wesley-Wyndam-Pryce about it).

Then they receive a distress call from a newly-formed colony though, and the Sisters will have to make a choice between following orders from the Church and doing the right thing.

One of the Sisters does have a romantic connection with a woman she met before the start of the story (but the romance itself is nearly absent and more focuses on her struggle to choose between love and her faith (would like to add that the problem is the fact that she's a nun not that she has feelings for a woman)).

---------

And other books that I have enjoyed, that don't contain overpowering amounts of romance.

Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett (always a safe bet and absolutely worth all its hype, especially the ones following the witches (Granny Weatherwax is the greatest character ever)), A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher (middle grade book that's fun to read but also contains adult themes and in my opinion is enjoyable whatever your age), Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (a fun read, which gave me an extreme soft spot for the... character the main character ends up meeting), Imperial Radch trilogy by Ann Leckie (from the POV of the only surviving Ancillary of a ship whose AI once had hundreds of bodies, she starts out on a revenge mission against the leader of the Empire), The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison (deals with a very kind-hearted half-elven/half-goblin son of the Emperor who has just been given the throne, very blatant racism allegory shown in the story, but it's also not trying to hide it (elves being fair skinned and goblins having dark skin), some romance but the 'arranged marriage' kind and not the focus).

Seriously if you have recs, please share.

[oskarwing]

I really wanna talk about the parent child relationships in Midnight Mass

I’m not sure if I’m good at writing this sorta Meta but here goes nothing. Very many spoilers follow.

Let’s start with the adults: 

First we have Erin who suffered so much at the hands of her mother and later because of her mother’s abuse. We don’t get much detailed info on Peggy Greene but from what we can gather she was a lot like Beverly Keane, who seemed to idolize her (though that probably got easier for her after Peggy was gone), in her self-righteous over-pious manner. She just happened to be Beverly with an alcohol problem and a daughter who she could take all her anger at life for not working out her way for God loving her just the same as everybody else out. The dove scene is really such a good scene. But Erin was stronger than her mother, stronger than the abuse that was about to repeat itself and when she found out that she would have a child of her own she left and tried her best to give her kid a better life than the one she had. And she found the strength I think with the help of the same God her mother most likely used as legitimation for her abuse (don’t get me wrong I believe it was Erin’s own strength but she also clearly found something in religion that helped her gather it) and it helped her to carve out a path for herself and her unborn child.  

Sarah’s relationship to her parents is such an interesting one because we get to see the end of it. The man who she believed to be her father has been dead for a long while and her mother is suffering through the late stages of dementia. And Sarah showed up for it. As a doctor she most likely knew what would be happening as soon as Mildred started to show the first symptombs but she wasn’t going to leave her mother. That kind of care for an elderly parent shows something that is proven in Mildred’s character time and time again: She is a very devoted parent and the love between mother and daughter flows both ways in every scene they are in together, after the birth of her daughter her world turned around Sarah and she loved her with all she had. There are a few scenes that show that Mildred’s understanding of the duty she felt towards her family came from the old values of her time. She wouldn’t have taken off with John and their child not for a lack of love but because in those times, in catholism still at least where I’m from, you can’t just marry a priest. You can’t just have a child with a priest eventhough you’re married and then fuck off with him. As a woman, as a wife and mother you have to stand with your husband, stand with your child and you have to stop running after fantasies I’m sure Mildred had. I’m saying this all from her perspective btw, I don’t necessarily think running away with John, in the way he wished to, would have been good for Sarah but honesty might have been and her old fashioned values were also what kept her from being truly honest with her daughter.  To John on the other hand Sarah is a fantasy, a dream he couldn’t reach. His daughter, his baby, so close and yet so far away getting to watch her grow into an adult but never being able to really be her father as in her Dad instead of her priest. And it’s painful to him, he clearly loved Mildred, loved Sarah but he was also kinda selfish in his love that in the end took Sarah away. At first he isolated his child by starring at her giving her the creeps and the feeling that she had done something wrong that he knew she was gay and dissaproved and then he took it upon himself to ‘cure’ Mildred in the same way he was. Sarah wanted to take care of her mother wanted to be there for her in those final months and John decided it was up to him to give Mildred a youth potion to make it so she’d never die. And with that he took away from Sarah what is without doubt a hard but for many people a very important last part of the relationship between child and parent. John was a complicated man and would maybe have been a great Dad he certainly showed a lot of fatherly love for his altar boys but he couldn’t have the family in the way he fantasized about and in the end it was that fantasy that made him act the way he did.   

Riley Flynn causes his parents a lot of pain. Him killing that girl in the beginning, his alcoholism, him simply not liking the place, the home they build for themselves through hard work causes the Annie and Ed so much pain and financial loss and you can see how tired they are, how much guilt they feel for failing their son. Ed calls out his own guilt and says that he doesn’t belive it could be Annie’s fault because ‘your mother’s a saint’ but what I truly love about Annie and Ed Flynn is that they both aren’t saints. As a mother Annie is very much overprotective and suffocating, wanting to keep her children on crocket island and hating the notion that they might leave her, even though she is kind and sweet and loving. And while Ed seems rather checked out as a father but he is the more honest parent, never talking down to Riley and telling him as it is, telling him about the pain he caused him while also admitting to the guilt he feels. The Flynns are flawed people even in their religious practice (I think the way Annie speaks about Ali showing up at church when Hassan seemed to be nothing but nice to her spoke very loudly to the fact that Annie is rather misguided sometimes) but they are good people at the core of it and their parenting might have been part of Riley’s way into alcoholism but it wasn’t only them. There were things they couldn’t change and things they had no influence over like his heart being broken by Erin running away, the sort of people he went out on parties with and so many other things...  Yes, they may have shaped their son in a way that made him vulnerable to addiction and the party scene of the stock and tech market and brought him to the point where he killed a child but it doesn’t happen through parenting alone and they also shaped him in the good ways. Him not losing himself when Pruitt changes him, him being brave enough to warn Erin, him standing up for what he believes in those things were also shaped by Ed and Annie. They are one of the best example of flawed but good hearted Christians I have seen in recent media and their portrayal was one of the most heartbreaking ones. 

Now the kids: 

Let’s start with Leeza. Little Leeza Scarborough who before it comes to her wonder gets treated with pity and overprotectiveness from her parents and the island community at large. Leeza was injured by Joe Collie transforming him into the island’s villain and her into the ever present victim.  What happened to her is without a doubt horrible and I understand why Wade and Dolly started to become these overprotective parents, why they were so easily sucked in to John’s and Bev’s scheme. Their little girl was almost taken from them eventhough Wade is the mayor, one of the most powerful people on the island he had no influence over what happened to Leeza even was the one who took her out that day and what followed the accident was as we can gather from their conversation with Sarah a lot of pain and financial burden though they say they would have done it all over for Leeza. In fact a lot of places in crockett island are wheelchair accesible and I am sure that Wade as mayor made it so (I can’t really imagine that a small place like the island was very inclusive though I may be wrong).  After Leeza is healed they don’t want to question in don’t want to think about what might have been the cause for it. In fact they stop questioning anything after that point, after Leeza walks again they are completely vulnerable to Bev’s manipulation and them letting that happen, them just going along with everything, Wade protecting John after he kills Joe long after Leeza forgave him and with her forgiveness send Joe on a better path is what in the end makes them lose her. Because Leeza isn’t that little victim who needs pity and help, she is a strong minded, strong willed young woman with a lot of wit who similar to Erin finds strength in her faith but in a way that isn’t devotion without question and when the Easter vigil is held she doesn’t follow her parents eventhough she loves them deeply. She forgives them I think, because that’s what Leeza’s character is about in it’s core but her parents were two of the instigators behind what happened on the island, without Wade’s protection John and Bev couldn’t have come as far as they did and they put their trust in them because they loved their daughter so much they didn’t stop to question if maybe what made Leeza walk again was also a bad thing. 

Ali and Hassan don’t have it easy and I as a white person really can’t speak much on the racism and religious discrimination they face.  I can say this I think: The first line spoken about Ali before we even really get to look at him is “You didn’t invite Aladin” and already sets us up for what both of them know: They are the outsiders. Not only because they just moved to the island but also because in their faith they are different from their peers and religion can often be a community building event for people before it is anything else. Ali starts balming his father a little for that, for not trying to fit in more with the community, for moving after his mother’s death and then not trying to be closer to the people around them and for the pain all the pain the two of them went through before Crockett island. It isn’t oly peer pressure though of course that brings Ali to St Patrick’s. Sure, Ali wanted to be part of the community but also desperately wanted to believe that there was a devine power who could if he just did it (it meaning faith) the right way he might find a way to avoid the pain of his parents. Hassan knew that and he warned him that that wasn’t how it worked. Hassan was a protective Dad and maybe he overdid it from time to time but his worries were never without reason, his need to keep his son safe from a world that hated him for a crime that happened when he wasn’t even born yet never unfounded and him wanting to make sure his kid kept the memory of his mother alive never anything but the wish of a griefing man and loving father. In the end when they pray together there is peace in them. They face their ends with the dignity Ali’s mother would have wished for and they face it as father and son. While Beverly the true religious terrorist of the story burns away without it. 

Warren is the youngest Flynn and it is never directly stated yet omnipresent that his coming of age happens in the shadow of his older brother’s mistake.  Annie warns him away from drinking when he goes out he in fact doesn’t drink. He never drinks because of what his brother did.  Warren would have been 12 when Riley killed that girl and so he would have seen and felt what his brother’s actions did to his parents fully without being yet old enough to maybe see the nuance.  Annie and Ed probably try to right the wrong they believe to have done in parenting Riley with Warren and that’s a lot for a kid. I do think it’s pretty usual that parents of multiple children especially when there’s a larger age gap try to do better with the younger children, but that isn’t fair is it?  Warren is his own person not a second chance to do it over.  And yet seemingly he does what is asked of him. He’s alter boy, he’s charming and helpful and sweet, he doesn’t drink (even when he does smoke pot) and he helps his father where he can with his work.  But in the end he feels guilty because he thinks he wasn’t enough and says at that last dinner he would have been different if he had known he wouldn’t see his family again. But Leeza is right they know and they love him and Warren deserved to not be perfect all the time. 

Littlefoot saved Erin and Erin payed her back with all the love she had. She was never born but she gave her mother the strength and willpower to leave.  In her speech to Joe Leeza said he reached through time and took things from her she didn’t even know she had yet.When Erin left her husband she reached through time and saved Littlefoot from a childhood like hers and when John gave Erin the angel’s vampire’s blood he reached through time and took away her child, a child who would have been loved and cared for. A child with an amazing mother and probably a great step-dad.  Littlefoot’s story is tragic because she never got one. 

[samkat10423]

Moving in Sims

For the past few days, I’ve been moving in Sims and setting up relationships. Among them was that Riddle Sim, from Twinbrook. Because I wanted to move in her niece – along with the niece’s yappy dog – I needed to make a sibling for Anna-Liza. Since I’d already saved that Racket Sim to my bin, I decided to just make him into her brother – after changing his name.  Then I gave him a daughter. This was a win-win for me, since this world comes with a generic graveyard. And I hate no-name graves. Not only did he help establish a relationship, but I got to kill him and add his tombstone to my cemetery! Go me!

Anyway, Anna-Liza is one of the town’s Censorious Triad and the editor of the town newspaper. One of the other two, card-carrying members is Madame Blanche Robichaux (shown here with her son, Marshal and his “no-good, floozy-of-a-wife,” Trixie. And Trixie’s “nasty, little flea-bitten cat.”). Trixie and Marshal were created by Webbymom of the 3 Musketeers, as part of the Sims Daily’s population thread. (She even made political pictures of him, when I whined, so he’s the mayor in this town. His “sainted” mum is CEO of the local business, while his” tart of a wife,” is a renown painter. As you can tell, by her comments, Madame Blanche is NOT a fan of her daughter-in-law or her cat, who are both actually, nice little Sims). The old lady is a Sim I found about 11 years ago, over on TSR. I liked her, because she was so ugly. I also created 2 more Sims for this family – the patriarch and a younger son. But they’re dead and fighting over in my graveyard. Prior to their deaths, the son got himself engaged to an “unacceptable” young lady, and was immediately booted out of the family. But they did bury him in the family plot – have to keep up appearances, don’t you know! - so he and his dad get to continue their feud for all eternity. (BTW, the 2 Sims suspected in their deaths are buried nearby, and all 4 of them HATE each other. So the cemetery is pretty lively at night!)

Then I moved in these Sims – Frederic D’Aimelefric and Fannie Bellefleur. These 2 were created by nengi65 for that hot pink apartment I showed you a while back. I have always liked them, because they’re not your typical “pretty” Sims. Anyway, she had them in the acting career track, but since I replaced the studio with my festival lot, I put them into Showtime careers. He’s a magician now, while she’s an acrobat. And to help them with their careers, I made him clumsy and forgetful, and her clumsy and a couch potato. I would have opted for chronic stage fright, but EA “forgot” to offer that as a trait. Stupid EA. Nengi described him as having rather grandiose visions of his own, non-existent talent, while Fannie was the stereotypical, dumb blonde. I liked that, so I kept it.

Then, replacing Amy Bull as the town fashionista, I made Felicity Plum. Cameranutz II had made a generic Sim by this name for this world, but I wanted someone with a tad more character. So here she is. She has absolutely no artistic ability at all, which will definitely help her career – or not. But since I’m not stupid enough to let her give me a make-over, it’s not my problem.

These Sims all originally came from Bridgeport – they were that Cook family. They are now known as the Thibodeaux family. The creators of this world did make a family for this world with that name, but again, they were typical do-gooder, pudding Sims. Unlike me, those ladies were not into conflict amongst their Sims. So I didn’t bother saving them. Anyway, believe it or not, other than giving these Sims some CC skins (Buckley-Ephemera Fresh skins) and those default replacement hairs that @maryjanesims3 has been so graciously sharing, and nicer make-up, these are EA Sims. (Well, I did give them some decent clothes). The first time I saw the two ladies, with just the new hair, I was shocked at how pretty they really are. So, there is hope for game Sims. The old fart is now known as Judge Roy. He’s still I the political track, and on the take. And his wife – now named Lacey – is still hoping for his early death.

This is a tiny house between the bistro lot and that Chocolate Restaurant. It was made by susieb, but I don’t think she made a family for it. Not that I would have downloaded them. Anyway, I did change out the exterior siding and the porch railing for CC that I have. And inside, I got rid of all the basegame crap and gave them some nicer stuff.

It now belongs to the 3rd member of the Censorious Triad – Muriel P. Finster. She was created by my friend, Alex – aka: Hellfrozeover – back when she was still playing TS3. While I was doing the other 2, I knew they needed a pal, and this Sim came to mind. I left her pretty much the way Alex created her, although I did change some of her traits. Since I made her the principle of my school, I decided to help her with her career, by giving her the “I despise you little rugrats!” trait.

Then, because the house has lots of room despite being on an itsy-bitsy lot, I decided she should have an adult son who’s moved back home. With his cat. To whom Muriel is allergic. Anyway, he’s a genetic resequencer working on a top-secret project. His mother has been frantically snooping through his notes, trying to figure out what he’s working on, but he’s up to her ways and has been leaving a bunch of nonsense laying around for her to find.

Next family I do, will be those Bagley’s from Riverview. I already made Ma Bagley’s husband and oldest son – who now reside in the graveyard. They’re the Sims suspected of killing the 2 Robichaux Sims. Anyway, the living ones will live out in my swamp and be moonshiners. Their houses are done, and I even gave them a still – aka: nectar-making thingie. But that will be another post.

[sunnyskies281]

I’m just gonna leave this idea here:

“Death doesn't discriminate

Between the

sinners (Descole)

And the

saints (Hershel)

It takes (Rachel)

and it takes (Theo)

and it takes (Olivia and Violet, Desmond’s wife and daughter)

And we keep living anyway

We rise (Specter)

and we fall (Ambrosia)

and we break (Monte d’Or)

And we make our mistakes (Sanctuary)

And if there's a reason I'm still alive

When everyone who loves me

has died (Rachel, Olivia, Violet, Sycamore)

I'm willing to wait for it”

(Descole is singing BTW)

[valen-dreth]

sorry if you've said this before but is envah aware that she is/was almalexia? also what's her opinion on ayem? does she think of ayem as an extension of herself or as another person entirely? your characters are all really fun and i love reading about them btw!!

she is the Most aware of the fun kids that Something is up with her, I think that she suspects that she's Almalexia but doesn't really have enough evidence to back it up. Since she began existing upon Ayem's death of course she never met her so all she really knows is what other people testify and like, written record... she does enjoy collecting facts about her and imagining what she was like but her relationship to Ayem is complicated.... she loves her but also she lives in the massive shadow of her legacy and is constantly compared to her. She wishes sometimes that she could get away from being just the Saint-Daughter and be known as her own entity without the context of Almalexia before her.

[teatitty]

Finally doing a post about the Goddess Brigid, but I’m doing this in a different format cuz there’s A Lot to cover for her

Who is Brigid: Brigid (or Bríg in Old Irish) is the daughter of the Dagda and, supposedly, a poet, though it has been argued that her mother may have been Danu, a powerful river Goddess and the mother-goddess of the Tuatha De. Her name isn’t actually a name, but rather a title that means “Exalted One.” We have no real clue what her True Name might’ve been

Brigid is also where the word “bride” is derived and her soldiers were called “brigands” so you can thank her for that, too

What was she Goddess of: Boy howdy is this a list! Okay so Brigid is a Goddess full of contradictions. She’s the Goddess of Fertility, Spring, Life, The Dawn, Poetry, Blacksmiths, Motherhood and Childbirth, Healers, Wells and Waterways, Fire, The Hearth, Water, Serenity, Passion, Invention and a patron of Warfare.

Appearance: all we know of Brigid’s appearance is that she was “flame-haired” and appeared as either a Maiden or Mother, wearing a cloak made of literal sunbeams. Badass

Domains: Her domain over fertility and motherhood even extended towards animals, and she was even a protector of domesticated pets. Her own pets included; Fe and Men, two oxen who lend their names to Mag Femen, a field in County Kildare; Torc Triath, the “king of boars” which appeared in Arthurian legend; and Cirb, a powerful ram and the king of sheep

Because she was a goddess of poetry, passion and invention, many Irish writers, even well into the Christian Era, credited her as their inspiration, and she inspired craftsmen of all trades. 

Brigid is believed to have been a Triple Deity. Unlike many Triple Deities, however, all of her “aspects” shared her name/title, meaning she was capable of having multiple husbands, parents and children without causing direct contradiction in the mythos

She holds dominion over both rivers and wells. You’ll know which ones cuz they’re all named after her. (We’ll get back to this in a moment)

Imbolc: Brigid’s festival of “Imbolc” is held on February 1st and marks the beginning of the Irish year. Offerings of food and silver coins and trinkets were brought to her rivers and wells, and many who came to her for her blessings asked for healing, protection and/or inspiration

Keening: when Brigid’s son, Ruadán, was killed in the war against the Fomorians, Brigid rushed out to him to mourn him and from her lips came a lament known as “keening.” This was the first time that sorrow had been felt in Ireland and it spawned a tradition of Irish women keening at the graves of the dead

St.Brigid: okay so basically St.Brigid is literally the same Brigid as the Goddess. She was so influential that the only way to try and stop pagan worship of her (which didn’t work btw) was to christianize her and turn her into a Saint. We know this because Saint Brigid shares many of Brig’s attributes and sites of worship. Even St Brigid’s feast day falls on the same day as Imbolc.

Brigid’s Well in Kildare is one of the most famous sites in all of Ireland, and the water is said to heal any illness or wound. This site now belongs to St Brigid, however, many still visit specifically for the Goddess’ blessing. The Flame of Ireland burns at this site in Brigid’s honour

Another thing these two share is the “Brigid Cross”; a geometric cross made from rush or grass that is hung above the doorways of homes and businesses across Ireland

Folktales: Brigid appears in many different Celtic tales. She serves to teach people a lesson if they don’t have the traits needed for her gifts (”pure of heart and intention” and/or being “clever and cunning”), giving them what they really need to act better and be better

Elsewhere in The World: In many other Celtic lands, Brigid is known as Brigantes, and through her iteration as St Brigid, she became Maman Brigitte in Haiti, a Vodou loa. She was the only non-African loa, noted as having pale skin and red/brown hair. She reigned over life, death, fertility, cemeteries, and motherhood.

Conclusion: Brigid was one of the biggest deals in Ireland and was so badass and influential that she was turned into a Saint by the Christians, still retained her status as a Fae Woman, and is still worshipped as a Goddess to this fucking day. Also she’s Aengus’ sister which makes her Diarmuid’s aunt. Fuck yeah

[gayjaytodd]

OH I LOVE QUEER PIRATES! i wanna hear about any of them or your spn ocs.

ahhhh!!! I love my queer pirate babies!! and bc I’m secretly super-duper narcissistic, you get to hear abt all of them! 

under the read more bc this got damn long

Grace Bell is born in Belfast in 1690 and ran away from home when she was thirteen. She disguised herself as a boy and became a cabin boy on a merchant ship under Captain Llewellyn. In 1707, when she’s 17, the ship is attacked by pirates and Grace, still in disguise and now a very capable sailor, joins the pirate crew! 

This is where she meets Alexander Moore, who’s the son of a violent innkeeper in Bristol and who was in the Navy until he killed his father in self defence and ran away - he’s a bit of a sarcastic bastard, good in a fight, but considers himself more of a lover than a fighter (he’s got a lover in every port and a whole host of illegitimate children), and he and Grace become bff’s immediately.

In 1711 the crew makes Grace their quartermaster, and two years later she discovers that the captain is stealing from the crew so she leads them in a mutiny against him, and the crew makes her captain -- when they’re like “we decided you should be captain” she’s like “ok but i’m a woman tho and i’ve been lying to you all for years” to which the crew is like “yeah dude, we know” and then she becomes the Captain. Alexander becomes quartermaster.

Enter: Camille de Saint Pierre, the child of two black slaves and now the leader of a group of runaways. Camille and Grace get on extremely well from the moment they meet (Camille is a non-binary lesbian btw and Grace is a cis lesbian), and they decide to stay with Grace’s crew instead of leaving with their group of runaways. Camille and Grace get married in 1719.

And then they’re all just chilling about, vibing, being pirates, stealing shit from England and France and Spain, until 1726 when Alexander Moore is arrested while visiting a lover in Port Royal (this is why we don’t have gay affairs with navy officers when we’re on the run from the law), and he is hung for piracy.

This is the catalyst that makes Grace and Camille decide to retire; they’ve been gathering money for the past decade so they’re extremely well-off; they buy a plantation in Louisiana, by New Orleans, and spends the next many years buying and freeing slaves, either giving them (fair) employment or helping them start new lives in the north.

Camille dies of tuberculosis in 1779 and Grace has to move to New Orleans bc of her failing health where she becomes this super-eccentric old lady who’s always telling stories about her wild youth as a pirate. And then she dies in 1785.

now for my spn oc:

Ephraim Rosen is a jewish guy who was born in London’s East End in 1900 and lied his way into the army at the age of 15 to fight in WWI. Afterwards, he gets involved with the jewish gangs of Camden, and falls in love with the gang leader, Joseph Solomons (yes, I nicked the last name from tom hardy’s character on peaky blinders) who, fortunately, also falls in love with him.

In 1924, Ephraim’s sister Miriam, Mary for short, marries a tailor named Moishe Campbell and they immigrate to America. These two go on to have a son whom they name Samuel. Moishe’s family are monster hunters. Samuel marries a gentile woman named Deanna and they settle in Lawrence, Kansas (do you see where I’m going with this) where they have a daughter whom they name Miriam, Mary for short, in honour of Samuel's recently-deceased mother.

But back to Ephraim: he and Joseph keep house together in London and sure, they’re criminals and sure, Joseph is running a minor criminal empire and sure, Ephraim’s job is mainly to be the brawn behind Joseph’s brain, but they’re happy and in love, right up until the day where a rival gangleader puts a bullet in Joseph’s head.

Ephraim goes on a revenge quest, kills the rival gangleader, and then sets about drinking himself to death (as one does); the new leader of his own gang, a young-ish fella named Abraham Schwartz, decides that he doesn’t like queers unless they’re useful and that Ephraim has outlived his usefulness.

So Ephraim’s own gang sets about killing him.

This is where the Archangel Raphael comes in (not the Raphael from the show; I’ve nicked the name for my oc version of Raphael; in this au canon!Raphael is the archangel Sarathiel) - I’ve run with the idea of all archangels having True Vessels and wearing a non-True Vessel leads to the whole decomposition thing that’s happening with Lucifer’s vessel in s5.

AU!Raphael is the Angel of Healing and what that means here (bc Chuck’s stories always have a cruel spin) is that he feels all the pain in the world as though it was his own, unless he confines himself to a human form; when he does that, he only has to feel the pain of those in his immediate vicinity. (Pain here includes both emotional and physical pain); all this is why he decided to run away from heaven several million years ago. Instead he’s just, like, Vibing on earth (kinda like Gabriel except fewer tricks and more monsterhunting/healing).

So Raphael shows up in that back alley in 1927 and kills Ephraim’s assailants, then explains to Ephraim who he is and that Ephraim is his True Vessel, and may he please use Ephraim as such? To which Ephraim says “will it kill me?” and Raphael is like “nah, I can put your consciousness in a little box where you get to live your dream life forever” and Ephraim, who is not strong enough to brave the pain of the real world, is like “fucking yes, dude”.

And then he gets possessed by an angel for the next century. Until Raphael gets caught by Abaddon and poisoned with demon blood (in this au, demon blood is poison to angels and can kill them if they’re weak enough, which Raphael is at this point) - this kills Ephraim and Raphael becomes human.

Also at one point someone (possibly Rowena) uses a spell that knocks Raphael out so Ephraim has to take over again, and then Sam and Dean get to spend time with their great-granduncle who is a foul-mouthed jewish gangster from London and who is not pleased with being pulled from his dream life.

(there’s way more detail to go into abt this au btw, and i don’t mind answering questions abt it)

there you go, my man! thank you for the ask!

xx

[lady-plantagenet]

Unsolicited Book Reviews (n3): The Sunne in Splendour

Rating:

⭐️⭐️⭐️(+1/2?)

Even before I had an account, I tended to go to tumblr to see people’s opinions before buying a histfic. Certain books are either severely underrepresented, where I feel like there needs to be something on them, whereas others, though talked about enough, something more can still be said about them. So for my quarantine fun, I have decided to start a series where I review every medieval historical fiction novel I read. Hopefully, it will either start interesting discussions or at least be some help for those browsing its tag when considering purchasing it.

TL;DR: Keep in mind that I’m harsh with my ratings. I don’t expect my historical fiction to offer some sort of insight about the human condition or be some perfectly manicured prose, but this book’s biggest detriment was its lack of depth. Some scenes packed a serious emotional punch, but then again I am attached to this era and given the length, it would be insane not to. I learned a lot - no lie, but while my background knowledge on the wars of the roses has become enriched, I feel no closer to Richard.

Plot: We follow Richard III from a young boy at eight right before the catastrophe that was Ludlow to his death and a few years after. This story seems to be told through omniscient third person point of view, which creates issues when it comes to voice - a lot of the characters sound the same (John ‘Jack’ Howard, Francis Lovell, Richard Catesby to name a few). This is only a natural consequence of the sheer amount of people Penman chose to portray. I’m honestly still grateful for this as I was not a fan of Richard III’s POV, but really enjoyed Richard Neville Earl of Warwick’s, Margaret of Anjou and Cecily Neville’s. Everytime these three were the center of the chapter, it was truly enjoyable and multi-faceted which comes to show that Penman is capable of writing complexity when she wants to. I would also like to add that the author’s knowledge of medieval life (e.g. the food, the dogs, the nature of battles) was a high point of this novel and did something to counter-balance the rampant late 20th century flavour in this novel. She tries way too hard to adapt a medieval man such as Richard to our modern values to propagate her Richardian Agenda, which ultimately underscored this.

It must be said though that the author clearly did her research as most of what she said regarding minutae such as: what day of the week it was, where the characters were at one time, details of documents, who did what in which battle, what laws were passed etc... I had just come back to this time period after some years and I thought I knew all there was to know, yet, here comes this book which springboarded me into a wealth of new research - I suppose I am grateful for that. However, do not let that delude you into thinking it is comprehensive. There were historical innacuracies which I can only guess were intentionally made for the sake of the author’s Richardian goal e.g. Anne Neville being forced into her marital duties when historicalMargaret of Anjou made it clear that there would be no consummation until Warwick would prevail at Barnet, Isabel Neville being ‘abandoned’ by her husband in France when really it was only about 4 months they were apart and it would have made no sense for Isabel to sail with an invasionary force, Richard III abolishing benevolence tax because he thought it unfair as opposed to the reality which was that he had failed in his initial attempt to raise them because the population opposed, Richard III allowing the marriage between Jane Shore and Thomas Lynsom when in reality he had initially opposed it... Historical fiction is entitled to innacuracies but given that the author made it clear in her afterword that the only time she strayed was setting a scene in Windsor as opposed to Westminster, it is dishonest to conceal the aforementioned blips, especially when they are so unobvious that it would take a seasoned enthusiast to spot them. As you can tell they either do have a negative bearing on Richard’s image as a saint or show detractors in a positive light, clearly neither that which she was in a mood to explain away.

Characterisation: I can not stress enough how well Cecily Neville was portrayed, every scene she was in, I felt. She tends to be a very difficult character to get because of the whole illegitimacy rumour which casts shades of doubt. She was proud but also pious, subservient but also commanding... just an incredible woman of gravity. I enjoyed Warwick in all his flamboyancy as well and Edward IV was masterfully portrayed as the intelligent but forgiving man that he was. You could clearly see how despite his indulgent character, he knew when it was time to be serious, it was a joy to read the scenes where he strikes people into subserviancy. Anne Beauchamp was also quite a treat for the little time we had with her.

There were also some portrayals of mixed quality: George Duke of Clarence for one, his warped sense of humour and charm were well presented, his unpredictability adequately captured. The issue I have though is that no man is unpredictable to themselves and while it may make sense for other characters to see his temperaments as those like a weather vane it would make no sense for it to be this way in the chapters where he is the POV. Penman’s basically wrote him off as crazy (I mean literally mad) for the majority of the story which is utter tripe given that the whole madness angle is a modern invention. I won’t write more on this now as it deserves its own post (btw if anyone wants me to elaborate on anything I said so far send me an ask). Last thing I will say though: the last scene we have with him is utterly tragic and still sticks with me today, honestly the best writing in this novel was during the ‘Anne’ Book and ‘Protector of the North’ in the years surrounding George’s death. Speaking of, where do I begin with Isabel Neville and Elizabeth Woodville? Their marriages with Richard’s brothers are portrayed negatively for no other reason than to set up Richard and Anne Neville as a perfect love story. This story-telling technique is cheap as hell and I did not expect to find it in a novel so highly acclaimed for its ‘quality’. Let me make this clear: The marriage which was hailed as a love match at that time was that of Elizabeth Woodville and Edward IV. Anne and Richard could have been just as much a marriage of politics as George and Isabel’s, or the latter’s just as much a love match. George fought for Isabel just as much, if not more than Richard did for Anne, George stayed loyal for a surety whereas Richard’s bastard John’s conception may have coincided with his marriage according to Hicks, Marrying Anne was highly advantageous for Richard as marrying Isabel for George... I could go on. Therefore, why is Isabel constantly described as wretched, miserable and at one point abused(!) by her husband whereas Richard was nothing but gentle to the happy Anne. The Mary of Burgundy proposal story is often cited as proof that George only cared about power... but what about Richard’s proposal to Joanna of Portugal one month after Anne died? This may sound minor but it’s a perfect example of the author trying hard to make Richard a modern romantic figure which he wasn’t. I think he may have loved Anne Neville, but that doesn’t change the fact that he was a medieval king and made marriage provisions after her death to secure the succession. For a 800+ page novel about Richard III some seminal pieces of information were left out such as his seizure of the aged Dowager Countess of Oxford’s Howard fortune, the mysterious circumstances in which George Neville Duke of Bedford died young and unmarried after becoming his ward. All in all, do not let the wonderful historical detail fool you into thinking this is a complete account of Richard III’s day to day life.

Don’t even get me started on the Woodvilles... They were all treacherous villains and social climbers who belonged in hell. EVEN ANTHONY WOODVILLE - what has he ever done to Penman or anyone? All scenes with Elizabeth Woodville at the beggining were bedding scenes pretty much, which shows that the author saw her as nothing more than a heartless seductress. There was even a point where Edward in his rage said: ‘you would lie with a leper if it meant you becoming Queen’ and I was just shocked at that. I was further shocked when her daughter Elizabeth of York was musing that if her mother had been a good wife her father wouldn’t have needed to stray and I was just like... ‘I thought we were trying to be sensible in this book 0_0’ - How is it appropriate to have a woman blamed for her husband’s infidelity? How can we have such blatant classism and sexism on the one hand and late 20th century wokeness on the other? It’s what I said earlier, the author can’t prop up Richard and Anne without putting down all other couples in this book. By the end of the book I was honestly finding myself cheering for Elizabeth Woodville as she was becoming the woman with sense and cunning as we all know her, the saving grace of this entire characterisation was that Elizabeth became the only person with a brain by the end (I doubt this was the author’s intention). Down here in this category of bad characterisation I will add Richard and Anne themselves. Anne Neville though often absolutely adorable to me lacked any personality trait apart from being in love with Richard and past sexual abuse by Edward (which didn’t historically happen). Anne’s father and only sister die and she barely thinks about them, which severely undermines her portrayal as a loving and empathetic person. Her death scene and wane was tragic and affected me as a reader but holy Christ before that the author was very heavy handed throughout the book with her martyrisation of Anne, even when she was a young girl and everything was going well she cried in nearly every goddamn scene. Yes, this is Warwick’s daughter we are talking about. Richard (unlike the real great man that once lived on this earth) was similarly flawless and any small flaw he had was something like: ‘too trusting’, ‘acts then thinks’ - essentially ‘too good for this world’ flaws. No one is like this, least of all the real Richard who would not recognise this weird contrived romanticisation of a man. The saving grace of all this is that he admitted around the end to himself and Anne that he did want to be king a little bit, which YES, at least we get that because no one goes through all the procedures he did and endangers the survival of their house, unless they wanted to become king, at least a little bit. All in all, if Penman’s Richard III is the real man, all I have to say is: thank god his reign was cut short because this character would have made a terrible and weak monarch.

Prose: And here is where another of the stars was deducted. The prose is largely very pedestrian. It was full of modern phrases such as ‘hear me out’, ‘He thinks I am in the wrong’ ‘he can’t get away with this’ and other such likes. Also, I know it’s difficult to write a book where everyone’s names are Elizabeth, Edward, Richard and Anne, but apart from ‘Nan’ which was a nickname of that time, the modernity of ‘Bess’, ‘Bella’ or ‘Lisbet’ and the use of them in-text and not just dialogue, did much to draw me out of the medieval era. This is not just a criticism towards Penman but a grand majority of historical fiction novelists of this period. Having said that, her choice to cut conjunctions and use the word ‘be’ intead of ‘is’ or ‘are’ did not bother me at all and I found it effective in dating the language a bit. I appreciate that writing in poetic prose for 800+ pages is extremely difficult, but other’s have done it. And even in other novel where that’s not the case, the writing is still profound and impactful and conveys a deeper meaning, whereas here it’s more of a fictionalised history book. The author appears to have some imagination as the few scenes she made up e.g. Catherine Woodville’s visit to Richard or Edward summoning Edmund’s previous carer John to talk about Edmund as he was trying to deal with the grief of losing George, any scene with Cecily Neville in it, Anne Neville and Veronique (OC lady-in-waiting to her) when they were in hiding, Rosamund and Richard at the end, Margaret of Anjou when she was lodged at that abbey, When Stillington visited George before his death to give him a rosary and last rites and he refused to get them from him, Anne and Richard going to Middleham and Isabel’s lying in state were just some of them. However, even if you took all those well-written scenes and stuck them together they would not be more than maybe 150 pages which is not good in such a massive novel. I really don’t know how I would rank the prose, I feel weird saying it’s at the low bestseller level because at least it’s not overwritten and annoying, however, it lacked a lot of soul most of the time, which is dissapointing given what Penman had to work with. I can see that the author has some strengths, for example she’s good at writing about the weather and the natural landscape, she’s also good at describing facial expressions. But her massive flaw is dialogue and flow - especially the latter. The flow is hindered by her abject inability to weave historical events and their happenings into the prose, so she often settles for an exposition dump, especially when it comes to some male chatacter’s POV such as John Howard, Francis Lovell or Buckingham. A lot of the characters exposited at each other too, which wasted the opportunity for some serious character profiles. Basically too much telling and not enough showing. In conclusion, It didn’t always feel clunky, expository or laboured, but it way too often did for the good to be redeemed by the bad prose-wise.

In Conclusion, I cheated on this book a couple of times when it dragged, but got right back into it whenever the good sections came along. It is one of these books which people cannot stop raving about and I can’t stress how much I wanted to love it when I got it. It’s nice being a fan of something a lot of people are too for once, but it was just not to be. But at least now I can say I have read the cult classic of this histfic niche which apparently everyone has read and cried over. Even though it took me 7 months where others got through it in a week through sleepless nights. Despite all the negativity in this review, I would still reccomend it as it is a solid book and written by someone who clearly gets the conflict and time period. You will learn lots with this book (I intend to keep it as a sort of timeline) regarding things that you might otherwise find too dry to research in depth e.g. battle strategies and sieges. But what you will not learn about is the characters’ psychologies and personalities though Penman tries very hard and heavy-handedly to exposit their feelings to us.