#ultimately defends the Irish!!!!!

[blackrebelphotographyclub]

Haaretz readers have never heard of France

(This is the piece in question)

[yeeterthek33per]

Loved and Landed (Steph Catley x Reader)

A/n Requested

-------

Steph lives a busy life.

There's her football life. Obviously.

There's her schooling life.

There's the life she lives with her friends and family.

And then there's the life with-

"Steeeeeph, come on, I wanna get there early, I'm not dealing with Katie leaving something for me to find, again."

There's incessant tugging at the sleeve of her red Arsenal hoodie.

Of course, her football life keeps her the most busy.

Especially when she has to drive it to and from home all of the time now that Kyra's living in the house as well.

It had been a hectic process, but the young midfielder had settled in quickly, taking in the familiarity of the Aussie herself and her club teammates' closeness around them.

Quickly becoming a child amongst the older girls on the team, much like a sibling to them, within but a few months.

That being said.

Kyra was a little shit.

And she knew it too.

A demanding one at that.

Hence why Katie had taken to knocking the young brunette down a few pegs.

Her cockiness was starting to show under the protection of the older girls, so the Irish captain had been messing with her enough to take the invincible mindset away from her.

Leaving her ultimately latched onto Steph now.

A lot.

"Seriously, Steph, please, I can't deal with her leaving shaving foam in my boots again."

The older woman raises an eyebrow at the pleading look on Kyra's face.

"You did this to yourself, Ky. Katie's only retaliating because you decided you were king shit enough to put hair dye in her shampoo."

The younger girl whines.

"Don't you think she's retaliated enough? I've had my shoes violated, my shin guards replaced with slightly smaller ones. I mean, the other day, my water bottle was filled with pickle juice. Pickle Juice! For gods sake."

Steph sighs, rolling her eyes slightly, grabbing the last of her stuff to shove into her pack, she gestures to the front door, to which the midfielder eagerly hurries out of and towards the car, waiting impatiently for the defender to unlock it.

"You've seriously gotta apologise to Katie or something. The girl has ten siblings, I can't imagine she hasn't spent her whole life dealing with bratty behaviour from little shits like you."

Kyra scoffs as she hurriedly buckles herself in.

"Rude."

"The truth."

Steph smirks at the small pout that forms on the other girls lips.

"Hurry up and drive."

"So bossy."

-------

As expected, they arrive with hardly any other people around, decidedly much earlier than any of the other girls. Katie wasn't the earliest of player's anyway, so Kyra really shouldn't be worried about her beating them there.

Still, the youngin looks exceptionally nervous as she peaks into the changing room and gingerly makes her way over to her cubby, scanning it with a ridiculous level of detail.

Steph can only shake her head, watching the young girl sheepishly wander around the room, checking for what may well be hidden traps.

Maybe she should talk with Katie about getting her to take it down a notch.

The Irish woman was nothing if not relentless when it came to getting back at someone.

The last thing the team needed was a midfielder with serious trust issues stemming from their infamous yellow card magnet of a winger.

"Ky, relax. She's not even here yet."

"Yeah, but you never know."

"Seriously, it's game day, relax, she won't-"

"Oh, hello, you two. Stephy. Kyra."

The ever so loud and joyful Katie enters the changing room with a bang of the door as it slams open and hits the wall.

Her smirk quirks up a little wider at the sight of the midfielder, who's looking rather sheepishly around her rather than at the Irish woman herself.

"You two extra early today, eh?"

"Ha, something like that."

Steph gives her a look as she nods in Kyra's direction.

"Give the poor girl a break, would ya? I think she's been thoroughly humbled."

Katie snorts in amusement, eyeing her up.

"Eh, she’s fine. I wasn't gonna do anything."

Steph raises a brow at that.

"....Yet."

There it is.

"Of course. Don't mess around too much, though. We still have a game to play, McCabe."

She lets out an unconvincing hum in response, right as some of the other girls start to filter in, Caitlin one of the ones to settle into her cubby beside the defender.

"What's up with the kid?"

Steph snorts.

"Ask your girlfriend. She's been torturing the poor girl."

Caitlin rolls her eyes, turning to Katie, who's now got a cheeky glint in her as she eyes up the younger of the three.

"Katie."

"What? I didn't do any-"

She stops at the look she gets from the Australian, grumbling as she relents and turns back to her cubby.

-------

Kyra's finally able to escape the locker room out of sight of the defender the moment the Irish woman is distracted.

Heading down the hall towards the physio room, she ends up coming face to face with and bumping face first into someone.

She groans when she rubs at her face and her backside from where she landed on it as she stands up again with the help of her assailant.

The person is stood in a royal navy uniform, a patch on her shoulder with three horizontal gold stripes and a small circled loop on the top, hair slicked back and tight into a bun behind her head.

'L/n-Catley' the name badge reads.

Confusion crosses her face which you quickly notice.

"You're Steph's teammate right?"

"Uh yeeaah? Who are you?"

"It's a long story and sorry about the bump there. I uh, I don't know if y'all know yet but I might need your help. The staff were nice enough to let me in but I need an escort here."

"Where are you going?"

"I got told to wait for one of the trainers in the staff room?"

"Can I ask what you're doing?"

"Waiting to see Steph, but don't tell her, it's supposed to be a surprise."

Kyra is extremely sceptical, but she leads you down the hall to where the trainers are situated and one of them recognises you immediately, hugging you and dragging you into the room.

She's even more confused when the staff member is nearly in tears.

Wait.

Navy uniform.

Here to see Steph.

L/n-Catley on the name badge.

There's no way.

"Are you... Are you married to Steph?"

You chuckle softly, rubbing the back of your neck.

"Yes I am. If you can't tell it's been a little while since we've seen each other."

"Yeah, I can tell, her house is far too empty for the size of it."

"Ah, so you're the new roommate. Kyra, right?"

"She's been talking about me?"

You nod.

"We would call every two weeks. When she found out you were moving to Arsenal, I couldn't tell if she was happy or mad because you'd already trashed her white towels."

"Hey! That was not my fault, the wine just fell... on it's own."

There's a sheepish look on her face.

You chuckle softly.

"She'll be fine, the pattern was ugly anyway, we needed new towels... Don't tell her I said that."

Kyra smiles at that.

"It's great to meet you, then... How are we planning this out?"

"I'll have my sister here sneak me somewhere I can wait and surprise her at the end of the game."

She nods.

"Alright, I better get going then before the girls come looking for me for pitch inspection."

You nod back and give her a warm smile.

"Oh, I'm Y/n, by the way, Lieutenant Commander Y/n L/n-Catley."

-------

The roar of the almost entirely red and white crowd as the girls enter the pitch is as usual, deafeningly loud.

Home games are always the most adrenaline instilling games, ones where their fans are always the loudest, chanting and screaming every time one of their own touches the ball.

Steph can still hardly believe it.

The growth in the game. Breaking records every single home match so far.

The FA Cup semi-final was no different it seems.

Her eyes subtly scan the crowd as she jogs out behind the others, shifting from clapping fan to clapping fan. There's an air about the crowd.

A massively high inducing air, one that she can feel in every nerve ending in her body as she practically bounces around the pitch in warmups.

She brushes it off as it being a semi final type of high.

Aston Villa would be a difficult opponent and she assumed that was the reasoning.

-------

It seems she's proven wrong in the first ten minutes.

It doesn't take long for Stina to score, the home crowd immediately losing their minds, and they barely have time to recover just two minutes later when the Swede swoops in for the double.

By the fourty-fifth minute, they know they have the game. Four to nil over the Villans thanks to a Stina hattrick and a goal from Frida. Her heartbeat is thumping in her ears as they approach the final minute.

This is the part they're in the dark. How many minutes left of stoppage? How much longer does she have to defend?

The players are taught not to worry about that. To just play until the whistle blows. And she does.

But she can't help the nagging awaiting of the whistle, wondering when it will go.

The moment it does, there's celebration, relief, and a lot of cheering and screams and congratulation from the air around.

A pair of arms and legs wrap around her from behind as Kyra jumps on her back, the young Australian whooping into her ear.

"Onto the finals, Stephy!"

The defender chuckles and celebrates with the team, the announcer shouting out the home teams win to wind up the crowd once more.

As they do the celebration walk around the pitch, the announcer announces player of the match, and then one more announcement catches her ear.

Her head snaps toward the tunnel the moment she hears it, heart stopping at the words of the female announcer.

"And finally, one last round of applause. Let us congratulate and welcome back someone very special to one of our own. Lieutenant Commander Y/N L/n-Catley returning from fifteen months of duty at sea with the Royal Navy."

And truly, there you are, her wife.

Dressed to the nines in your Black, long sleeved uniform, hands clasped behind you, standing with a wide, almost teary smile as you watch Steph bolt across the pitch towards you, catching her with little effort as she jumps into your arms, knocking the cap off your head with the force.

The rest of the Arsenal girls stand shocked, looking between themselves and their left back at the sudden appearance of a totally new member of the Catley family.

Before they can even try to work out who you might be to Steph, the defender has her lips pressed to yours tightly, tears streaming down your face.

The sensation of finally being able to kiss you, her wife. HER wife, has her trembling against you, her stomach twisting and curling as you hold her tight against you, your own hands shaking as they rest on her back.

It had been the longest stint you'd gone without seeing each other, having been on a cramped ship for the majority of that time.

Even having been used to long times apart, the immense relief of being able to hold your person, your love, YOUR wife, after so long. was like nothing else you'd ever experienced.

And you were glad you had all the time in the world to experience it now.

When Steph's finally able to pull back and look you in the eye, hands holding your face, eyes scanning your features, noting a small scar under your right brow, and then returning to make eye contact again with you, albeit very tearily, much like yourself.

Lifting your own hands, your thumbs swipe away the tears on her cheeks, leaning down once more to kiss her, forehead leaning against hers.

You take in the immensity of the screams of the crowd all of a sudden, especially the crowd around the players' tunnel.

With that, she buries herself back into your hold, her nose buried into the crook of your neck.

Your eyes scan the pitch, watching the applauding or shocked expressions of the players.

You'd already known her teammates didn't know she was married, however their shocked expressions still have you chuckling.

All except Kyra's wide smile as she watches the two of you and you give the girl a wink.

"I can't believe it. You're here."

It's half whimpered into your shoulder, and you just barely hear it over the crowd.

"I'm here. I'm home."

"They finally let you on leave?"

She's using a half joking tone beneath the watery chokes and sobs.

"Better than that, Love."

She pulls away shocked.

"You mean.."

You smile down at her teary eyed.

"I'm home for good, not retired but they're giving me an office in London. Full time hours still but I won't be needed for duty anymore."

She frowns softly after a second.

She knew you'd always hated the idea of an office job.

Catching the look on her face, you knew what she'd be thinking about.

"I don't care where it is, or what I'm doing. I'm just glad I'm home, with you. I've had my fill of travelling and front line work for a lifetime."

Leaning your forehead back against hers, you let the moment sink in.

You'd known it was coming for months now, haven spoken to your superiors, and them letting you know there was a position available remotely, you'd taken it in a heartbeat.

If it meant coming home to your girl, you'd have done anything.

A small throat clearing a couple feet from you, the team had moved to stand around the pair of you, eager to ask questions of the brunette in your arms.

You nudge her softly with a small giggle in her ear.

"Babe, I think they have questions."

"They can wait a little longer."

You don't fight her on it just letting her settle into you again, holding you tightly.

The moment she does let go, she's grabbed by the shoulders and interrogated by the team rather swiftly.

Leah stands arms crossed.

"Now Stephy, when did this occur?"

Steph sheepishly smiles around her at her.

"Alright alright, Gunners, meet my beautiful wife, Y/n. She's been in the navy since she turned eighteen, we met five years ago when she was on leave in Australia. We started dating less than a month later and she left on duty about four months later. We got married after three years, bought a house right before she left a year and a bit ago. We haven't seen each other in person since then. Until now, that is."

And just like that, you're immediately dragged into the group rather swiftly, squished into several hugs.

A firm handshake and then a tight hug from their captain, especially. The Scot making firm well you know how quickly she'd bury you should you hurt their defender, despite the fact you'd known Steph longer and you chuckle, nodding in agreement at the stern look turned cracked smile she lets go.

When you're finally free, Steph takes no time tucking herself under your arm and wrapping hers around you, looking up at you slightly with a proud, elated smile, eyes still slightly teary.

Returning the expression, you press a small kiss to her nose.

"Welcome home, Baby."

You shake your head.

"Congrats on the win, Baby, this is your moment right now. Go celebrate for a bit, we've got all the time in the world now."

She pouts but relents with a small peck and nudge.

"KYRA, YOU KNEW?!"

The shouts of the Irish captain make her jump but chuckle a little as a gloating midfielder teases the rest of the girls.

Yeah. She was in for it.

-------

[blackownersseekingsuccess]

Remembering Bayard Rustin: The Unsung Hero of the Civil Rights Movement

written by Levi Wise Kenneth Catoe Jr.

August 1, 2024 - Growing up as a Black boy in Paterson, NJ, and attending Roman and Irish Catholic Parochial schools, Black history was not very familiar to me. I grew up in a religious Southern Baptist family and participated in the church choir. In this context, Martin Luther King, Jr., was all that I knew about Black history until I became a teenage Madonna fanatic. Ironically, Madonna made me aware of Black activists and radicals such as Nina Simone, Jean-Michel Basquiat, James Baldwin, and Bayard Rustin. Bayard Rustin was an African American activist who believed in civil disobedience. Rustin felt that Black people should deliberately break unjust laws but do it non-violently to bring about change and this would play a key role in the Civil Rights movement. He also advocated for LGBTQ rights. Rustin moved to Harlem in 1937 and began studying at City College of New York. It’s interesting to note that at the time CCNY was an all-male college once regarded as ‘Jewish Harvard’ which did not accept Black men—Rustin was an unusual exception. While Rustin was at CCNY he became involved in efforts to defend and free the Scottsboro Boys, nine young black men in Alabama who were accused of raping two white women. Activism for Rustin was something that came naturally. He later became a mentor to Martin Luther King.

Rustin is one of my all-time idols. I have been enamored of him since I learned about him, so I was excited to attend an event dedicated to his life and legacy at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, “Between the Lines: Bayard Rustin, A Legacy of Protest and Politics.” The event was a conversation between Michael G. Long and Jafari Allen, who edited the book of the same name. Their exchange sparked many revelations and I left the event more aware than when I entered. I felt so much pity for the life that Rustin had to live, including the attack on his character that was rallied against him by other Black people and the distance that Martin Luther King placed between himself and Rustin out of fear of people assuming that he was also gay. I also learned that it was Coretta Scott King who introduced King to Rustin. Scott-King met Rustin during her college years as a fellow activist who practiced civil disobedience. She would ultimately introduce her husband King to civil disobedience tactics. Rustin recalled that his first time meeting King he was strapped with a handgun and that he never traveled without his gun. It was Rustin who told King that if he represented civil disobedience he would have to be willing to put away his firearm, which eventually he did. Nevertheless, this raises the question, who was King really? The “I Have A Dream” pacifist or the “Beyond Vietnam” radical? We will never truly know.

All in all what I did learn was that according to Rustin, King had no idea how to organize an event. Instead, it was Rustin who developed the blueprint for King’s early Civil Rights movement, at least until the day that King removed Rustin from his inner circle.

Nevertheless, Rustin returned to organize the March on Washington, despite everything leveled against him by Adam Clayton Powel and Roy Wilkins. Someone noted during the discussion that “it’s funny how karma works given the fact that nobody remembers Wilkins's legacy in comparison to the sudden interest in Rustin.'' If I remember correctly, the comment was made by the moderator, NYU professor Dr. Jarafi Allen, based on the fact that the venue was standing room only, or that the Hollywood lens is now fixated on Rustin’s story, with an Academy Award-nominated movie based upon his life currently in theaters. Wilkins has not received the same interest from Hollywood, perhaps indicating that he is less marketable in the mainstream. Meanwhile, Rustin’s role as an activist for the LGTBQ community is also important for newer generations. Until recently, this legacy and all that he accomplished was invisible, but he has since become a symbol of the “others” and most notably the “forgotten others”. While in his lifetime he was shunned, rallied against, and betrayed by those that he benefitted, history has allowed his legacy the final word.

[fernhelm]

opinions on the black sister relationships? i love your character posts sm!

i’m blowing you a kiss!

i love thinking about them…sorry this took so long, i was busy lounging and watching killing eve. i might type up something about the dynamic between the three of them, but i broke them down into pairs here.

bella & cissa ♛

i made a webweave here that basically sums up my thoughts on bellacissa. i do think cissa thinks she’s a fanatic and completely bonkers, but she’d defend her anyway. narcissa appreciates that in their patriarchal fucked up family, bella is carving her own path—she isn’t docile or ladylike at all. so cissa takes some vicious pleasure in how unleashed bella is. conversely, bellatrix has a deep-seeded jealousy FOR narcissa, who is at least able to play the part of the perfect pure blood woman in a way bellatrix never could. my vision is that druella has contempt for bella but pays a lot of attention to narcissa. once druella is dead, bella sees narcissa as both her baby and her mother in a way, and she resents both. but i won’t get into bella here she deserves her own post.

bella & andy ♞

the hardest relationship for me is bella and andy. my belief is that these two are one year apart in age, like irish twins. we know from dh that they’re basically identical. I think they were pitted against each other a lot. they both end up teaching each other how conditional someone caring for you can be. it’s obvious that andy leaving really wounds bella (as evidenced by the ferocity with which she wants to kill ted and tonks), so there is a degree of power andy hold over her emotionally. bella is both the terrorist and the protector in the home. she goes after both her sisters, but it’s with the ultimate goal of making them strong enough to face anything that’s thrown at them…andy doesn’t want to change her or save her—she knows all the dark, evil parts of her and grapples with all the times bella showed her tenderness or turned her rage against someone else for her sake. i think they can read each other’s body language perfectly, but don’t understand each other’s minds at all. once they’re older they fight all the time, verbally if not with magic, and it would start with bella making some pointed jabs to get her attention and andy curating a biting response without looking up from her magazine and just like that they’re dueling. but once it’s over and they’re panting on the floor, bella would kick her leg and they’d smirk at each other a bit. or one of them would storm out. i do think that andy did bella’s hair for every event they attended between the ages of 8 and 16. huh, i guess i have more to say about them than i thought i did.

andy & cissa ♝

narcissa spends years stepping in the footprints andy has left behind. before she figures out who she is, she’s just a ghost of andy. she learns all her best defenses from her. i don’t think andy feels very bad about leaving her behind. i don’t think she’d try to convince narcissa to go with her either. she would miss her so much, but she’d grieve her like she’s dead. i don’t see her as a person who holds on to a lot of regrets. and she’s in love! she wants to run away and forget every bad thing that ever happened to her! is that a crime? narcissa thinks it is. growing up andy was her strongest ally, and she takes it as the ultimate betrayal when she leaves. similarly to regulus, she looks down on andy and maligns her whenever her name comes up, but it’s a cover up for how hurt she is. andy knows all the reasons that narcissa thinks she’s trapped in the life she leads, but she still thinks ‘if you want out, get out.’

daughters 1, 2, 3 ♙

fairy tales often follow a 1 2 3 format because it’s easy to remember a moral lesson tied up with a bow when it comes in a set of three (three billy goats, beauty and the beast, the peverell brothers). it goes bad bad good. so it’s super interesting that the ostensibly “good” one, andy, is the middle child. she is bookended by two death eater sisters. which raises the question: what went wrong (or right) with her? and for the others too—narcissa in canon is primarily draco’s mother, but giving her andromeda AND bellatrix as sisters raises all kinds of questions about her upbringing and interpersonal relationships. bellatrix chases and scolds narcissa at the beginning of half-blood prince, and she’s not particularly scary at all. the terrifying evil bitch who killed sirius calls her sister cissy? three sisters who mean vastly different things to harry, but we never get the three of them in a room, so so much is left to the imagination. lots to play with. good things come in threes!

[sourcreammachine]

fuck it, let’s die on this hill

FAIRYTALE OF NEW YORK IS THE ULTIMATE QUEER YULETIDE SONG

the straights have been getting increasingly uncomfortable with it in the last few years. you’re going to see a big resurgence of the censored version this year because Shane MacGowan died last week, but it has been well on the decline - meaning a wide open gulf is forming to allow the cheap, lousy faggots to swoop in and continue colonising it. here’s why we should

firstly it’s an absolute banger. traditional irish music combined with modern drums into a sound that fits the yule aesthetic perfectly whilst bringing drama and emotion. it’s cozied up by the fire, but alive and dramatic

the biggest source of discomfort for most people is that it’s MacGowan and MacColl aggressively arguing at each other, rattling off textbook sexist vitriol. and MacColl calls MacGowan a faggot, with total sincere usage of the slur, hatred and all. putting the slur aside, the nastiness of the song gets people’s ire. it’s a couple having a stereotypical domestic and they seem to kiss and make up in the final act, all unacceptable behaviour forgiven. it’s everything modern straights want to put in the past. so let them. it’s a het couple being toxic, cool. queer celebration has attached the bandwagon to worse things and it’s always taking up the castoffs of heteronormative society. queer love can be made of FONY all the same:

MacGowan’s first verse stings, does it not? sadness, desperation, and longing. in queer society, we have all been MacGowan’s character and we have all been the Old Man, even if it’s not the bottle and the drunk tank. we’re survivors, we’re bloodied and bruised, we refuse to go away no matter how many AIDS-genocides, moral panics, and hate-murders they do to us. there are nights where we think by all mercy we Won’t See Another One, and we turn our face away and Dream About You. there’s always hope. there’s always reasons to continue the fight, and they don’t have to be abstract

when the sobbing’s over, the Pogues immediately come to life for the main body. we go up and down the rollercoaster of emotions while the band keeps playing, while the air is always jubilant. the wonder, the delight, the hope, the madlove, the melodrama, the bile, the hatred. for a song making allusions of broadway, it sounds fresh from broadway - our story is painted through feelings, not words. and when it’s over, MacColl’s character (seems to, judging by the tonal finality of MacGowan’s lines and her participation in the final chorus) forgives her abusive partner and reattaches her hopes to him, her drunkard patriarch. but we’re queer, remember - we’re not celebrating these straggot pieces of shit. we find identity in the feelings. we have all been MacColl’s character, finding wonder and hope and the chance to become who we want to be, and being given false promises by false starts. and if you’ll forgive me for entertaining MacGowan’s character’s bastard misogynist perspective for a second, we’ve all found ourselves having to defend our queer communities, having to stand by our old sluts on junk, even as doing so takes its toll and sometimes feels like a burden. those feelings happen. they are irrational, they are bad, and they happen. and a new day comes and we’re thankful we stood by. it’s a melodramatic broadway banger - we can find meaning in all places, even the ‘b*tch-wife’ slurrings of a misogynist

it’s that power that lets a queer reading of FONY stick the fucking landing. again i repeat myself, from a surface reading the ending is toxic as shit. but queer reading is in the feeling. this lament, this mournful lament, of misplaced hopes, of lost dreams, and a commitment to what we have, and looking forward despite unbearable challenge. you’d scream ‘leave him!’ to every straight MacColl in the world, that’s like, feminism 101 - but queer life is nothing if not complicated. the queer-read MacGowan isn’t a toxic gay lover. he is queer life itself. he took our dreams from us when we first found him, so it may appear. the hatred we feel inside, the emptiness, the pain, it’s all there with the phantasmic joy, the discovery, the love, the everything. and the band always keeps playing. straight MacColls returning to their straight MacGowans is stupid, but we don’t have a choice. our community is everything, our support is everything. it’s rough. it can almost kill you. but would any of us trade it for anything else? we are MacColls and MacGowans all at once - we are the ones with fragile hopes, we are the ones who damage it, and shepherd it still. we’re our own worst enemy and we’re all we have

when Shane MacGowan adapted the original lyrics of a lonely seafarer, he did not turn it into a queer song. in fact, he wrote a character yelling the f-slur. there is not a gramme of queercoding here. but exactly what is the difference between the actual faggots finding commonality in the villain songs penned to mock us, or old broadway songs that have nothing to do with us, and the yuletide song that actively hates us? fucking little, i would argue. queer celebration’s power is its ability to reconstrue. they call us faggot every month of the year with nary a second thought, and we spit it right back at them with reclamation and solidarity. we should do the same in december. we dance to the tune of their bigotry and we sing along at the top of our lungs. they are quietening down out of embarrassment - long may our party reign. FONY, a bigoted song, is a queer anthem because it has been made so. the madness. the love. the sadness. the dreams. that is queerness. and queer revolution is not giving one single, solitary shite about straight people’s discomfort about what the cheap, lousy faggots choose to celebrate. the way the ending instrumental tapers off into beautiful emotion - the straights have abandoned it: that feeling of love, that feeling of joy, that feeling belongs to us now

sing it like you would all queer songs. hold your friends close and celebrate them. love everyone around you. and when the naughty word comes around, scream it

[mermaidsirennikita]

need your expertise, there's dark romance discourse on twitter (again) and someone commented how a lot of popular dark romance props up existing patriarchal structures and i'm v curious what you think?

I'll say this: I kind of feel like you can absolutely say that of virtually every subgenre of m/f romance (and queer romance can do this too, but it's just a different game re: the patriarchy... and I sometimes feel like romance convos are so heteronormative and so dominated by cishet female readers that we forget this).

Like, I often think that, as someone whose favorite subgenre is probably still historicals (but I began my romance reawakening reading ONLY historicals, and expanded from there), we historical defenders are sometimes SO exuberant in our preaching that we sort of go "actually, historicals are often more feminist than those other subgenres because the patriarchy is the legally reigning structure that the heroine must fight against". But like. There are a lot of historicals, some written more recently some not, that absolutely reinforce a pretty patriarchal system. I mean, in a very strict straightforward sense so many interclass "heroine from outside upper class hero's set marries into the family" reinforce the power of white patriarchy (the happy ending is the heroine succeeded in joining the hero's set). The nuance of the story is where you get interesting.

Take The Duke Gets Even. On paper, Nellie, who is a) American b) from new money c) subversive in her sex life and her politics marries the Duke of Lockwood. She is becoming a duchess; she is joining this incredibly patriarchal, imperialist system, and the book kind of doesn't exist without her doing that.

However, the nuance gives us something a little different--Lockwood has to accept Nellie's politics (he had zero issue with accepting her sex life lol so I won't go there), he has to accept her flaws (which are, for people who read a lot of romance, very classical hero flaws--she's damaged, she can't love, she doesn't want to talk about her feelings) and he has to accept her MONEY. Because he is BROKE. By centering his lack of money and making Nellie the one who financially "saves" him, Joanna plays with his title and class quite a bit and reexamines it. She can't divorce him from the fact that he's a duke, and to me, the story kind of loses a lot of tension if he isn't one anyway. But does the book reinforce Lockwood's dukedom (and therefore the duke's place in the patriarchy) as the thing that should rule and should be obtained above all else? I'd say no, especially when every power he has as a duke, in the end, only exists because of his new money, lower class (and Irish on her mother's side), subversive wife's money. And he's SUUUUPER good with it. Because he also learns throughout the book that being a duke kinda ain't shit and is all a pretend thing that he was raised to be and shouldn't matter (and doesn't matter, in a big way, when it comes to his physical health).

In comparison, I would take a book like An Offer from A Gentleman and say that it does very little to deconstruct this idea that the patriarchal upper class isn't the goal. Which many romances do, yes, but this one came to my mind especially BECAUSE Sophie is put through so much as a lower class woman, at points at the hands of her hero, and the ultimate deliverance and happy ending really does come in being with this upper class man. It's a very straightforward Cinderella story. And I love a Cinderella story; but that book doesn't play with it quite enough to subvert the issues inherent to a Cinderella narrative. The "sacrifice" the hero makes involves him living out in the country, still very much connected to a family that loves him and probably financially supports him to an extent, doing the thing he loves for a job.

ALL THAT TO SAY. Dark romance functions similarly, to me. I'm not as widely read in dark romance as I am with historicals, but I think the genre is very much what every writer makes of it.

One reason why I compared it to historicals specifically, though, is that I think both of those subgenres appeal to people in either the "endangered heroine/powerful man and the narrative upholds the patriarchy" journey, or the "endangered heroine/powerful man but she takes control of the narrative and he has to learn" journey. While, yeah, there are a lot of dark romance writers who basically write torture porn that I have no interest in reading myself... There are also writers who choose to have the heroine grapple with the hero, to take control and to make him submit, for want of a better word (if not physically, then emotionally). In a dark romance, I think the question isn't really "can I redeem him", but "can I make him MINE".

In some dark romances, he never becomes hers, to me. He maintains all the power. In others, he does, and in becoming hers, I think he sort of becomes what I would call like... her metaphorical pet wolf. He's not domesticated; he's not any less dangerous; but he will come to heel for HER and perhaps her alone. That is what I want to see. I think that when the heroine harnesses his power, there's some potential nuance re: harnessing the patriarchal power, etc.

(And yeah, we could say "but what about power she has alone" I am also super down for that but I am talking about dark romance novels here and we do kind of have to get into some metaphors and implications.)

I mean, I also, as someone who doesn't like the "he owns her and she doesn't own him" narrative, have to ask myself why other people who are victimized by the patriarchy in real life... Like it? I know I like to see the heroine win; but what's the appeal in the other thing? And I do feel like there's probably some heightened degree of "safely experiencing the dark" there. When I'm on a roller coaster, I'm basically getting as close to falling off a cliff as I'll hopefully ever experience, but I don't actually fall off the cliff. I imagine there may be something like that to the torture porn dark romance readers.

And some readers are simply really conservative and like to see those conservative, patriarchal values upheld. Some writers write to that. But I think you can argue that for literally any romance subgenre! Contemporary is hard for me, right? Because so many contemporary romance novels set in MY world and very much out of any kind of fantasy mafia or fantasy Regency or fantasy fantasy realm, have these incredibly misogynistic inner monologues. These NLOG plots, these stories wherein you accidentally get knocked up and even though you never thought about having a baby and the dad is out of the picture, abortion is never mentioned or is outright condemned, and there's no real concern about what having a baby you never thought about having MEANS, emotionally or practically. And then your best friend's brother is there and all is fine.

I PERSONALLY find those books a bit more disturbing, because there is no fantasy lens. There's no "yeah, this is bad, but so is getting locked in a dungeon by my fiancee, and neither of those things are happening so". I don't see the therapy or processing in it. Maybe it's there and I just can't get it, but that's where I am.

I do think that a good bit of popular dark romance does uphold the patriarchy, but I'm gonna be honest.... I'm not really concerned about that from a genre perspective. I would say: look to the readers and why they want that.

Are a lot of dark romance readers probably conservative white women? Yeah, that's definitely a possible part of this. But I suppose I'm not really SUPER concerned with them pushing these books, because--if you know where you stand on the issues, you can either enjoy those books as something entirely separate from your personal beliefs, or you (as I often do) don't like it and don't continue to read it. I don't know that the books are really... damaging people who wouldn't have been damaged by some other types of content, if they're that susceptible.

[omg-im-such-a-masochist]

Hello! I don't know if you take requests at the moment and I don't remember if you have ever written something inspired by this song, but I have just heard "Take me to church" on the radio and I think you are the perfect person to write something about this song and our favorite Christian brothers!

Hi, baby 🫂 Okay, okay 😮‍💨. Hear me out: I LOVE Hozier! That man - and whatever Irish magic runs through his blood - has me on chokehold and I simply love everything he does. He’s a true talent and it’s a shame he’s so underappreciated, but it’s okay, because we love him in this household 😌. I was inspired to use the lyrics casually in the middle of the story - instead of letting it guide the scene as I usually do - and I enjoyed the outcome very much. Also, this little drabble holds a special place in my heart (for personal reasons) so I hope you’ll love it as much as I do 🌹

Editor: @thenightmareismyreality

Tag: @theworldofotps , @writtingrose , @letsgivethisonemoreshot , @aerynscrichton , @daddyhausen , @melissahausen , @unoficialy-married-to-ace-austin , @sophiewolfheart-blog , @sultryfandoms , @new-zealand-chic , @crowleysqueenofhell , @thealliasylum , @legit9thlunaticwarrior , @baysexuality , @josiewrites , @seeingstarks , @irish-newzealand-idian-dutch , @whenimakeitshine1234 , @moxkindagirl , @tahiri-veyla, @sunshinevirus

Nick watched her from across the street as she knelt on the grass, pouring an unknown red liquid into the soil as her lips moved with words he could not hear. There was certainly something humorous about her, perhaps it was the way she giggled at most of the gossip people spread about her - which they all claimed to be the ultimate truth. Or perhaps it was the way she casually mocked the neighborhood by attending the sermon dressed all in red and barefoot. “The Devil and his offspring can’t step into the church barefoot, because if so, they’ll burst into flames” They said, and she was more than happy to prove their theory wrong every sermon day.

The church that was becoming more bleak with each passing week, only feeling full of life and truth the moment she stepped inside.

“We’re born from sin” The reverend began to preach, and from beside him, Nick heard her whispering “And we live in sin our whole life, no? Everything we do is a sin. From shitting to fucking so c’mon, tell me something I don’t know yet, man of god”. Which instantly made Nick giggle inappropriately. She cast a quick look in Nick’s direction before winking, and grabbed the paper hand fan from the bench to fan herself as the reverend continued to preach.

“Where do you worship god?” Nick caught himself asking her once the sermon was over,

“In the bedroom” She smirked.

“Where else should I worship him? Inside these walls? I think that here” She pointed at the church’s door once they were outside “Is the last place on earth God will ever step foot in, blue eyes”. She lit up her cigarette before looking at Nick over her shoulder “Feel free to join me in my worship if you’d like. I can guarantee you’ll not only see your god there but you’ll also be sent to heaven, christian boy” She said, and chuckled when Nick followed her back home.

“What are you doing?” Matt asked from behind him, quickly pulling Nick away from his thoughts.

“Nothing” He quickly responded as he continued to hammer the fence on the lawn.

Matt stopped by his side and turned his gaze towards the woman across the street, “I can’t believe you’re checking out the devil worshiper”

“Why is she a devil worshiper? Just because her faith is different from ours?” Nick quickly defended her.

“Her faith is wrong, Nick! It’s forbidden, you know that!”

“Forbidden by whom, Matt?! The reverend? And how is it wrong?”

“God doesn’t like it!”

“And how do you know that?” Nick tossed the hammer on the floor, before turning around to look at his older brother “Did God tell you that himself? I thought Jesus said we were supposed to love and respect one another”

“But not her kind!”

“Her kind?” Nick scoffed “Jesus, Matt. Do we judge people like that now? Label them as good or evil merely based on their faith and belief? My goodness, apparently God is indeed very far away from church”. With a small shake of his head, Nick walked to the garage to retrieve the last few remaining boards for the fence.

Now alone, Matt allowed his eyes to roam her figure. She was lying on the grass, eyes closed as the warmth of the sun caressed her face and hair. Her palms were dug into the soil, feeling the earth between her fingers. And just like that, Matt’s mind replayed that day perfectly.

“Why don’t you just put them in the dryer?” Matt asked with curiosity. He was coming back from the grocery store by the corner and suddenly felt drawn to the woman who hung up her clothes to dry in the garden. She smiled fondly before looking at him “Air dried clothes feel different, I don’t know how to explain. They have a particular scent that’s somewhat nostalgic to humans. You should try it out sometime”

“Nostalgic how?” He frowned

Her hands stopped on the clothesline, as if she was considering his question “Nostalgic because our ancestors did it too. You know, when technology wasn’t a thing” She giggled “So I feel like this is something that makes our souls remember better times. When things were simpler, happier, truer”

Matt nodded softly and gathered up the courage to ask “Do you have a religious leader or something like that?”. He saw the shadow of an amused smile as she finished hanging the last piece of clothing before turning around to face him.

“No. No master or king, no one to tell me what I’m allowed to or not allowed to do, feel, or even experience”

“Sounds like chaos to me” He whispered

A loud and truthful laugh escaped her lips “Sounds like freedom. But I’m afraid you’re not familiar with that word” She teased “Well, to me yours sounds like a palace of lies, illusions, coercion, hate and ignorance. A place to go if you want to be punished for being human. So I think we’re even, chestnut hair” She smirked before picking up a red apple from the tree and sitting down on the ground to eat.

“How is it there? Where you go, I mean”

“Beautiful” She smiled “There are no walls, no sadness, no guilt, no hurt, and above all: no sin”

“No sin?” Matt’s voice was filled with hope “How?”

She slowly crawled to him, the apple secured between her teeth. And when she stood before him, she knelt at his feet. *Like Mary Magdalene at the feet of Jesus* Matt thought to himself as she took the apple in her hand and placed the fruit against his lips.

“There’s no sweeter innocence than being sinful, Matt. In the midst of the madness of being who they expect you to be, who they tell you to be, you can find refuge with me. Only then you’ll be human” She placed her hands on his shirtless torso, “Only then you’ll be truly clean” And placed a chaste kiss below his navel.

“Why are you staring at her like that?” Nick asked, instantly pulling Matt away from his memories.

“Like what?” He quickly questioned the meaning behind his brother’s words.

Nick placed the boards on the floor as Matt took the hammer and began to place them side by side.

“Like you want to drag her behind the closest bush to do things the reverend would not approve” Nick mocked as he pulled a fruit from his shorts pocket.

“Shut up” Matt spat “Why would I want that?” He looked up at his brother and Matt’s mouth suddenly went dry at the sight of the fruit in Nick’s hand.

“I don’t know” Nick cleaned the shiny, crimson apple against his tank top, taking a loud bite of the fruit before raising one of his eyebrows and giving one of his famous high pitched chuckles “You tell me, Matt”.

“I don’t know” Nick cleaned the shiny, crimson apple against his tank top, taking a loud bite of the fruit before raising one of his eyebrows and giving one of his famous high pitched chuckles “You tell me, Matt”.

[drawing-way-outside-the-lines]

Fendinn McKinney*Supporting Character

Partner(s): None Parents: Alasdair McKinney & Éabha McKinney Kids: Aoibheann McKinney Siblings: Age: Immortal but translates into start-mid 40's Birthday: 13th of August. Height: 188 cm (6.1ft) Body type: Slim but toned Eye color: White/gray/wine Classification: Immortal/demon Known powers: Shapeshifting/Falcon, posession, Darkness Consumption (The user can consume and digest darkness/shadow to sustain themselves and their powers.) Darkness Aura (The user can release and surround themselves in/with darkness/shadow for defensive and/or offensive purposes, possibly becoming almost untouchable. The aura may also give the user enhanced physical capabilities such as speed, strength and durability.) Darkness Dimension (The ability to access a dimension of nothingness, Instead of beating bad guys into submission, you can toss them into the darkness dimension where they're faced with their own mortality and ultimate nothingness.) About: ~ Scottish/Irish. ~ Keeps to himself, even when he's around others. ~ Doesn't talk much. ~ Not asocial, just don't care much about anything or anyone. ~ Not to be rude, he just lacks the care gene. ~ Strolls through life unbothered. ~ His hair always falls perfectly in place. ~ One of the older McKinney's though you wouldn't expect. ~ His name has several meanings, such as 'he who tempts', 'enemy' or 'the devil'. ~ Hates stepping in sticky things! ~ Doesn't believe in holding back, regarding anything. ~ Can't stand the smell of lavender. ~ Has a daughter he will defend for anything, though she wants nothing to do with him (he may have eaten her hamster or fiance or something like that) ~ Will pay the highest price to never let anyone close. Ever. ~ Extremely private. ~ Likes to play with his food. ~ Ignore ignore ignore. ~ You are possible less. ~ Loves; Brandy, sex, blood, striking matches, clementines, violin music, sweet tobacco, pumpkin soup and darkness. ~ Dresses in the same leather pants and the same sleeveless turtleneck sweater. ~ Smells like pine cones and gunpowder. Fendinn's tag Fendinn's house/home Fendinns's moodboard Ask/answer pic:

One song to describe him: Simon & Garfunkel - I am a rock.

                                                       

Personal play list: Just Paganini

[fallstreakfeathers]

(Info needs updated!)

Name:

 Charlotte Lee Ainsley (later, Ainsley-Kanda)

Nicknames:

“Charlie”(most people), ‘the Silver Phoenix’ (because her glaive is silver, and she sometimes appears to rise from fire like the phoenix does), “gift from the sea” (Akihiko only!!), “brat”, “devil/demon” (derogatory), ‘foreigner/outlander’, 'pretty/little demon killer' (Urogi)

Ethnicity:

Irish/European-American

Age: 

Physical Age: 24

Personality:

Strong-willed, childish, fancies herself a comedian, a bit of a brat. Snarky. Quick to forgive, and rarely means ill towards anyone. Gets attached to people easily- even those she really shouldn’t! A bit of a dumbass. Will say offensive/out of pocket things when the opportunity arises because it is funny.

Though she tries, she never really seems to be able to fit in with Japanese society. She always feels a bit outcast, even among friends.

Low physical self-esteem, because people tend to call her unattractive or think she’s dirty because of her freckles. Always scrubs herself real hard in the bath, hoping one day they’ll disappear.

Relies on her heart, except in battle where she thinks logically and quickly, and has a strong sense of honor taught by Akihiko. Would never attack an opponent’s back or betray an ally.

Shockingly wise at times.

Frequently cooks her friends' favorite meals.

Was a hell-raiser when brought to the Corps before she settled in.

She’s a guardian at heart, and won’t ever hesitate to help someone in need, even those who are prejudiced towards her.

History:

A foreigner from North America, Charlotte arrived in Japan at 13 years old purely by misfortune.

In a bout of mischief, she became a stowaway on a cargo ship and unintentionally fell asleep. Hours later, she found herself alone in the middle of the ocean with nobody except the crew that she continued to hide from in fear.

When she was eventually discovered, the ship was too far out to return to port.

A freak storm blew the ship far off course, before an underwater demon attacked, sinking the ship and leaving Charlotte floating on the wreckage only because the sun had begun to shine through the waters.

Shortly after surviving the shipwreck, she is attacked yet again by another yokai whilst stranded on the mainland. She is saved by Akihiko Kanda, the demon who eats demons. While she initially was very frightened by him, and even raised a makeshift weapon in defense, she quickly came to like the man.

Akihiko takes young Charlie under his wing, stating that “if she’s going to do stupid things, she may as well know how to defend herself properly.”

This set her on the path of becoming a strong warrior, though she used two makeshift spears (sticks, really, with broken nichirin blades attached to the ends).

She eventually comes to befriend two yokai who further her abilities- a kappa under the command of Akihiko, who teaches her how to slip around land as easily as in water, and an old Inugami who imparts various knowledge and wisdoms to her.

Several years in the future, but before the canon storyline, Akihiko and Charlie are found by members of the Demon Slayer Corp. Akihiko flees, unwilling to kill humans, and he leaves Charlie in their care.

Charlie is brought, against her will, to the Butterfly Mansion where she is interrogated as a potential spy for Muzan. She fights ferally to attempt an escape but is ultimately captured again.

Sanemi, who wants to simply kill her, is stopped by Giyu who offers Charlie a choice: spar with him, and if Charlie wins then she can go. If Giyu wins, then Charlie must join the corps.

After a fierce battle, where Charlie’s initial skill is clear, she is defeated by the Water Hashira, who then helps her to her feet (both earning her respect and friendship).

Charlotte has frequent interactions with most Hashira due to her unique circumstances but is not anyone's Tsuguko. 

Rank:

Charlie was assigned Kanoto rank shortly after her acceptance into the corps, along with special permission to skip Final Selection due to her circumstances, as she had proven her ability to survive and had slain several demons already.

This, however, means that some slayers in the corps don’t consider Charlie a true member…

Breath Style: Oil Breathing

Originally mistaken as an offset of Water Breathing before it was quickly discovered as a breath derived from Flame.

Charlotte Ainsley-Kanda is its creator, having seen a man using Flame breathing to kill a demon at a young age. She had difficulty replicating Flame breathing itself and created a new style.

Oil breathing can be used with a standard Nichirin Katana, but was created with Charlie’s two glaives in mind and therefore is best suited to a polearm, or two weapons.

Oil Breathing is a dance filled with not only movement, but power. It requires a lithe, flexible user to be able to reach its full potential.

Users of Oil Breathing can largely benefit from learning swordsmanship from Water Breathing users.

Charlie also is adept with a slingshot and will use it to fling wisteria-filled smoke bombs across the battlefield.

Hobbies:

Bird-watching

Cooking

Collects trophies from demons she slays, as a memorial more than anything else. Akihiko thinks this habit is barbaric and frequently chides her for it.

Often plays the shinobue flute Akihiko gifted her years ago.

Irritating Sanemi

Can frequently be seen dancing in her spare time. If she sees a close friend, they might be dragged into it. She’s made Giyu dance with her several times, in private for his sake.

Mitsuri is also a frequent dance partner.

Special Skills

Having been trained by an Oni from a teen, Charlotte does have several abilities not seen by most other humans.

- Immunity to nightshade.

Akihiko was adamant that Charlie grow resistant to this popular poison, knowing how dangerous the world is and also that associating herself with him would make her a target. 

- Muscle Density

Like Mitsuri, Charlie has a shocking amount of muscle- though hers is from physically sparring with a demon.

- Breath Expulsion

Charlie has extraordinarily powerful lungs, and so is able to (aside from holding her breath for 15 minutes) briefly inhale her wisteria incense and shoot a blast of wisteria-infused smoke from her mouth as a poisonous cloud.

Usually used in dire circumstances to give herself an edge, or to save an ally.

She tends to wheeze for a while afterward.

- Walking demon deterrent

Charlie’s room is covered in wisteria incense cones, and she’s usually seen hanging around inside the wisteria trees that surround the Butterfly Estate. Therefore, the scent of wisteria is usually quite heavy on her, and she can be used as a natural deterrent against low-level oni and yokai.

- Flame Cloak

Charlie has been able to learn how to use her oil breathing to coat herself in the liquid, and then ignite it, covering herself in fire. The oil protects her flesh and clothes until it burns out, and the fire dissipates with it.

This ability is psychologically effective to most opponents, demon and human alike.

Other Trivia:

Much more fluent in Japanese than English, but she cannot read well in either language. Akihiko was much more concerned with making sure Charlie could understand what people were saying than what they wrote.

Tends to openly state her emotions, as a habit from when Akihiko first began teaching her to speak Japanese- when she’s overwhelmed with positive feelings, she sometimes forgets the correct words, so she’ll shorten it to “happy!” with a big smile.

Charlie’s crow assigned himself to her by immediately landing on her head after Giyu and Charlie’s sparring.

Charlie willingly gave her blood to Akihiko on a regular basis, extracting it with fresh syringes. She had no qualms about it, and Akihiko always made sure she only gave him a small amount.

Giyu gifted her blue hair pins a year after they met, and she always wears them or keeps them with her. Also keeps several gifts from her friends on her (earrings from Tengen, a good luck charm from Mitsuri), but secretly values the hairpins more due to her relationship with Giyu

Due to frequent nightmares, Charlie keeps a small Baku totem under her pillow at all times.

Charlie's relationship with Urogi was entirely an accident.

Has a large burn scar covering her back from when she was starting to learn how to cloak herself in flame. It was a valuable lesson, and one she wears without shame.

Does not hate Sanemi, but thinks it’s funny to anger him and also thinks he deserves it after he tried to kill her

Always greets her friends when they return home.

Her physical flexibility rivals Inosuke’s

Charlie has a burning anger toward infidelity- anyone who she knows to be cheating on their partner

Because she has low physical self esteem, she’s easily attached to anyone who genuinely compliments her appearance

She was stillborn

Theme Songs:

Forokururu (Monster Hunter) *

Kulve Taroth (Monster Hunter) *

What Do You Know (Annihilation)

Rowdy Rumble (Kingdom Hearts)

Empty Crown (Yas)

[teecupangel]

TOP 5 “EZIO’S FAMILY” VERSIONS + TOP 5 TRACKS

Tagged by @peridot-tears

I will say... that I'm not good at explaining music in general (I barely pass my music classes as I'm apparently tonedeaf to high waters)

Ezio's Family

I didn't get any notes that the Ezio's Family that are only qualified for this list are the ones that are in AC games so...

Earth (Assassin's Creed 2)

I love how this starts slow then goes deep before going fast. I knew I had to pick an Ezio Family version from AC2 and it was either the OG Ezio's Family, Venice Rooftops or Earth and I chose Earth because it's the middle ground of the three. It has the fast pace style of Venice and the slow beginning of Ezio's Family. Plus, I like the vocals of this one and the way the music ends feels... uncertain which I think shows the uncertainty of Desmond's future in the present and the mystery that persists in AC2 concerning the 'Prophet' talked about in the Codex.

2. Main Theme/Ezio's Family (AC Identity)

I might have never played the game but goddamn this theme. When the beat drops and it gives a more hard rock version of Ezio's Family theme? I'm sold. I love rock versions of non-rock music and there's just this hint of isolation in this theme that works well with AC Identity's story.

3. Main Theme (AC Rogue)

This just hits differently (which is to be expected for an Assassin's Creed game with a protagonist Assassin turned Templar) and you can feel Shay's Irish roots as well as this feeling of adventure and freedom that has an underlying sadness to it (especially in the vocals).

4. Family (AC Syndicate)

Gonna be honest... it's the violins. I'm a sucker for violins and the violin of this one really hammers in how the title Family isn't meant to be joyful. It's meant to be a prelude to how Evie and Jacob's relationship would end in Syndicate's main story.

5. Venice Rooftop Soul Caliber V Remix

It's a faster version of Venice Rooftop and has that Soul Caliber music-esque addition to it that I just love. Soul Caliber is one of my favorite childhood games and hearing an Ezio Family official remix of a similar vein as the other Soul Caliber stage music? I can't help but love this. (Is this cheating? Probably but... oh well... XD)

Honorable Mention: Odyssey's "Ezio's Family", Russia's Main Theme and Origin's "Main Theme".

Additional Favorite Tracks (in no particular order other than no 1):

Flight Through Jerusalem (Assassin's Creed)

You know it was going to be the top one. It's my most played music in Spotify when I was still using Spotify and it will forever take that spot because I stopped using Spotify (other than podcasts). Why is it my top one? Well, here's my exact reasoning from that Spotify callout post I made last year: Flight Through Jerusalem is a track that manages to show the conflict of Jerusalem during the 3rd Crusades by mixing Gregorian-like chants with a kind of traditional Middle incoherent sounds trying to defend music choices

2. Underground (Assassin's Creed Syndicate)

This one is super specific. I think this could be a really great MV for Assassin's Creed especially the lines of "Loved ones taken long before their work was done" would certainly be about Desmond because fuck Ubisoft, where's our modern day setting Assassin's Creed where Desmond showed he's the ultimate Assassin and successor to his ancestors' wishes and will?

3. Fight Club (Assassin's Creed III)

This is, hands down, my most favorite music in ACIII and it's one that really makes me go "Okay! Let's go do something!". I don't know how else to explain this one other than it's a really fun and motivating song.

4. Masyaf Village (Assassin's Creed)

Okay, this one is more of a personal favorite of mine because it's creepy. There's this just feeling of being unsettled that does not go away the entire song and it's a great music to represent the mystery surrounding the Brotherhood itself. I just love the female vocals of this track. (Sidebar, this can be heard in ACR when Altaïr places the Apple in the library)

5. Altaïr and Darim + Requiescat in Pace (Assassin's Creed Revelations)

Apparently Tumblr has a 10 videos max so here's Requiescat in Pace

Mostly if you listen to "Altaïr and Darim", you would automatically hear Ezio's "Dear Claudia..." and yeah, that's one reason why I picked this one. But the reason why I picked this over AC Revelation's Main Theme? Because this is the music that plays when Darim and Altaïr have their last talk. When Darim tells Altaïr "All that's good in me began with you, father", I lost it. I was just crying. And "Requiescat in Pace"? That's the song that plays when Altaïr takes his final rest and I'm just gone. I'm out for the count. I don't care if it's cheating that I picked two for one spot, I can't separate the two because of the emotions both tracks give me in succession.

Honorable Mention: The High Seas from Black Flag, Fish in the Sea Sea Shanty(which didn't make the cut because it's not an AC original music), When Horns Resound from Valhalla and Rather Death Than Slavery from Unity

Tagging... uuuhh... I guess @saberamane and @fanworldbuildingfun if they'd like to do this XD

[justinssportscorner]

Noah Dowe at MMFA:

Right-wing media have amplified conspiracy theories and bigotry from Ultimate Fighting Championship figures including UFC President Dana White and a number of high-profile fighters.  In doing so, these media platforms have mirrored former President Donald Trump's efforts to use the prizefighting league to boost his 2024 campaign. They’ve also provided a megaphone for White and his current and former fighters — some of whom have expressed support for QAnon and claimed the U.S. government orchestrates mass shootings — to espouse racism, anti-LGBTQ bigotry, false claims of election fraud, and a claim that Pfizer-sponsored athletes are “taking handouts from the devil.” 

UFC fighters have delved into right-wing politics and fringe conspiracy theories like QAnon, finding allies in conservative media

An MMA journalist noted that a number of UFC fighters have repeatedly used their public platforms to court conservative fans and endorse extreme right-wing conspiracy theories, including QAnon. MMA journalist Karim Zidan has reported that dozens of MMA figures have embraced fringe beliefs like QAnon, COVID-19 conspiracy theories, mass shooting denialism, and even 9/11 trutherism. He has written: “MMA's embrace of outsider sports fans and right-wing politicians has helped create a wave of athletes activating around extremist causes and conspiracies.” [Bloody Elbow, 9/15/20; Global Sport Matters, 10/20/22]

Former President Donald Trump employed endorsements from UFC fighters in the 2020 election and now sees the organization as a major component of his 2024 campaign, as his team hopes to target “young male audiences with little interest in politics.” During the 2020 election cycle, a number of fighters endorsed Trump and joined campaign events like the Trump Jr.-led “Fighters Against Socialism” bus tour; the former president’s 2024 campaign is now doubling down on this strategy, which Trump aides say “puts him in front of potential voters who may not closely follow politics or engage with traditional news sources.” [Politico, 10/29/20; The Guardian, 8/5/23; The Associated Press, 12/15/23]

Right-wing media have previously defended bigoted commentary from UFC fighters, even backing middleweight Sean Strickland after he described being transgender as “a mental fucking illness” and suggested he would have “failed as a man” if he reared a gay son. A number of right-wing figures, including podcaster Steve Bannon and white nationalist Nick Fuentes, also championed UFC star Conor McGregor after his anti-immigrant commentary came under investigation by Irish authorities last year; Fuentes notably told McGregor to “rise up” because “it’s either going to be the Irish or it’s going to be the blacks. Only one side is going to come out of this alive.” [Media Matters, 11/30/23, 1/31/24; Sports Politika, 11/30/23]  

Outside of direct interviews with these fighters and figures, some right-wing media have attempted to harness what Bannon’s War Room called “one of the last patriotic sports left” for political gain. Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, for example, has advocated for the Republican Party to embrace “the alpha male culture of Joe Rogan, Dana White, and the UFC” in order to “win over millions of other voters,” even suggesting he would contact White in an effort to “get voter registration and ballot chasing at every one of these UFC fights.” [Bloody Elbow, 4/14/21; Real America’s Voice, The Charlie Kirk Show, 7/10/23, 6/3/24]

Dana White

UFC President Dana White is a Trump ally and donor who has repeatedly used the organization to benefit the former president’s political ambitions. Besides directly endorsing Trump at the 2020 Republican National Convention, Karim Zidan reported in September 2020 that “White, along with a select group of UFC fighter[s],” had “spent the last few months advocating for the incumbent president in an attempt to ensure his re-election. From campaign rallies and bus tours, to TV appearances and ad spots, the UFC went to great lengths to campaign for Trump.” [The Guardian, 8/23/20; Bloody Elbow, 11/11/20; The New York Times, 5/12/20]

The UFC continues to be a bastion of right-wing extremism, conspiracy theories, and bigotry. Dana White, Joe Rogan, and co. set the tone for that style.

[turtlemagnum]

i feel like "terrorist" as a label is just what any given government calls a sufficiently active opposition. i've seen everyone from suicide bombers to peaceful protestors "terrorists", and while i obviously don't condone literally every person labeled as a terrorist, i feel like it's a term that's essentially become governmental shorthand for pretty much any dissident regardless of what they're actually working towards

now, for legal reasons, i'm not condoning terrorism, nor recommending it. i would never tell you to send pipe bombs to government officials, for legal reasons. i am not condoning that, for legal reasons. but historically, i think it's interesting that pretty much every civil rights movement i'm aware of has had actors that worked towards their freedoms with political violence.

did you know that there were suffragettes who bombed places in the name civil rights, back in the day? nowadays we commonly recognize the suffragette movement as ultimately a good thing in favor of the civil rights of women. the IRA went to what some would consider extreme lengths in order to obtain irish independence, and were considered terrorists by the british government at the time, but these days we mostly recognize that they were freedom fighters doing the right thing for their homeland, no? during the holocaust, there were a decent amount of jews and poles who made homemade guns to defend themselves from nazis. surely there's not a fair minded person amongst us who'd call dissidents resisting genocide from the god damn nazis a bad thing, right?

now, by the timing of this post, you can probably guess the series of events that inspired my writing this. and again, due to purposes of legality, i do not openly condone terrorism. but i think that 20, 50, 100 years from now, when certain groups are finally free, those among them who resisted said oppression might not be remembered as terrorists, and i'd argue that they shouldn't be

[leonsliga]

The tea is a lot sis but i will try to explain:

There is an ig account that has so much info about them. Its seems that is someone really close bc they always knows EVERYTHING like they leak were leon was on vacation and were they stay, the direection of his new home TOO MUCH prívate info 😭 This account says that they are really monotonous and they still together just for the years that the relationship is (it also confirms the person that is close to them) They also post a lot of photos of mathea and information about how distance they are and mathea and her sister also ask her to stop (not in a nice way obvi) The account throws so much shade to her thats horrible but in some things seems to be true.

Ofcourse is their relationship 🤍 We dont know what really happends but he seems to be so lovely and his love lenguage is definitely physical touch like why Does he keep her so away when they are together and he never defended her from the crazy fanatics?

Oh my god anon, thank you for the explanation!! We’re really out here just having ourselves a little tea party, aren’t we? Whatcha drinkin’? I’m having Irish breakfast myself 😌 cheers!

Seriously tho, this is wild! I had no idea this ig account existed 😱 I don’t know about you, but this is why I’m convinced I would never make it in the public eye lmao. The idea of people watching you and knowing your every move like this, of not knowing who you can really trust…I would never sleep again 😵 I’m inclined to believe (and I’m hoping) the shade isn’t true. I’d like to think that both of them know what they’re doing, and ultimately, if they’re happy together, that’s what really matters! At the end of the day, Leon and Mathea are just people, like all of us, and they value their privacy just as much as we all do. I wish accounts like the one you mentioned understood this.

I totally agree! Leon seems like a total sweetheart—a cuddly teddy bear (albeit a very muscular one hahaha). I can’t speak to why he hasn’t publicly defended her, but I do know what we see in public is never the full story. As a professional footballer at one of the most famous and watched clubs in the world, Leon’s almost certainly dealt with his share of hate and shade. I know it’s often recommended that when you encounter internet hate, it’s best to ignore it, because the people responsible want to make you angry, to bring out the worst in you and drag you down to their level. It sort of makes me wonder what would happen if he did defend Mathea to someone like this. If this Instagram account is anything like you say it is, I have no doubt they would post about whatever Leon said in her defense and find a way to twist it to make him (and Mathea) the villains. Ofc tho, this is just speculation. We can only guess at what’s going on amidst the chaos that is Leon’s head, after all 🤣

[3d10fire-damage]

Colors That  Run Highlights 44

quack

After a nice mini-vacation, the party officially reconvened after their respective pirate lore-dumps. Light discussion of those few days took place before they left for Guild City.

(funny because Valor was also right)

In Guild City, Slim purchased a large amount of ginger tea to help with his current physical Predicament. Calypso revealed to the party (to Fea) that she had put in an order for a stained glass window to be installed in the cabin’s sleeping quarters, and the window was now done. It depicted a scene of the party camping out under a sunset. She did this because stained glass is the one type of art Fea can really see. (Also, the back of Calypso’s threatening note from the door had been used as a note for the window by Marlie at the Crafters’ Guild, so Calypso made a new note for the door.)

Valor went to the Hunters’ Guild to learn what it’s all about and ultimately join. Kattie played some music to pass the time, while Slim, Fea, and Calypso prepared some rations for the road, namely buns. Or rather, Slim and Fea prepared buns, and Calypso was a nuisance, as she was put into the world to do.

On the road to Norsom, Valor got distracted during her watch by her hundreds of skin care goos. Calypso slept with her tail curled around Fea’s arm. Shortly after Slim got up for third watch, Fea (gently) got up and informed him that she was feeling strange. Like she was... tired? Sleepy? Slim suggested she try to just sleep, and so she settled in next to her tiefling and... went to sleep. For the first time.

During Fea’s conversation with God, where the rest of the group was in a separate voice call, the joys of Discord’s new soundboard feature were discovered. There were many... many ducks in chat. It was unreasonably funny.

(She did, in fact, come back to ducks. The soundboard was then disabled for the rest of the session. This was probably for the best.)

Fea awoke with a jolt, startling Calypso awake also. She said that she had dreamed and spoke to Thedda (or someone like her), and she was told she could help usher people to peace with her blade. There was someone watching over her-- the gods had finally heard her. Calypso agreed that gods can take a while to get back to you.

ALSO, Fea had somehow produced a DOG made of shadows-- from behind her mask. The dog, named Augustus, would help her usher souls to the afterlife. Augustus can shift to different sizes but generally takes the shape of an Irish wolfhound. As one might expect, Calypso was Hyped.

Soon everyone was awake for breakfast. Calypso tried feeding some bacon to Augustus, and while it didn’t seem to actually work, the good boy seemed to appreciate it anyway. He also can’t speak like Egg can, but he can give kisses, which is just about as good. Fea was able to call him back into the space behind her mask once travel resumed.

In Norsom, the party’s Professional Door Knocker initiated contact with their... contact for the mission. After Calypso fumbled her intro (should’ve said something different from what she actually said), a seamstress named Serena invited them all inside and explained that they need to fight off some groups of bandits that kept harassing the town’s undead population. (Luckily, none of these bandits were associated with Daniel.)

Casvir had apparently gotten hurt during the last raid, so he was resting at his house. Slim went to talk to him (to tell him to stay out of the fighting, dammit) and Eve seemed excited by the prospect of defending the town with the rest of the party. Kattie however told her to stay out of the fighting as well, and it was noted that Eve’s time with the group was probably coming to an end soon, since this was the last settlement receiving a teleportation circle.

Eve wasn’t deterred, however, as she secured rooms at the tavern and then, with the aim of protection (and silliness) refused to let Kattie into the tavern because hey, she could’ve been suspicious, dangerous even! But then Calypso walked up and asked to go in, and Eve let her in without any fuss. Sucks to suck, Kattie

Also, Slim noticeably kept his distance from Casvir, who was smoking a cigarette as usual. Being polite, Cas put out the cigarette, but then Calypso, being a dumbass, lit her own cigarette. Slim scoffed and moved away from her, prompting her to wonder what was his deal. Fea gestured at her abdomen, indicating the gregnancy, and Calypso was like “ohhh, right.” And then kept on smoking.

During the night, the group took on the bandits and defeated them handily (though Kattie was a little distracted by Eve cheering from the tavern). In combat, only Fea could see Augustus (very much in the fashion of a dog) urging the souls from their bodies and off to the afterlife. Despite not seeing what he was actually doing, Calypso told him was such a good boy. Slim shot a bit more accurately than usual, since Casvir was in attendance.

The party let a handful of the bandits get away, with Calypso telling them to “tell their friends” so they’d know not to mess with Norsom anymore (the DM described it almost exactly as I would’ve). After the group had received their pay for the mission, Fea scooped up Calypso so she could go rest in the tavern, even though Calypso wasn’t even tired. Slim told Cas about the pregnancy, and Valor did a little exploring and found some ducks.

With a little bit of time to kill in Norsom, Kattie hung out with Eve while she worked on the teleportation circle. Fea interacted with Norsom’s undead citizens while Calypso, up on a roof, looked on. But eventually, the group went back to Guild City, finally completing the fast travel side quest.

The group vibed at home for a while, doing their usual things. Slim took up his position in the kitchen with his tea, and due to some joke about scissoring (it’s crossed over into the game world...), Calypso took a walk with Fea to explain scissoring to her. Also Kattie and Eve joked about getting a third gnomio for the yard to harass Slim further. 👀

Eve left to pick up the group’s payment for escorting her all around Ibera, and came back with a letter for Calypso as well. Calypso read through the letter, growing concerned, before giving it to Slim. Slim, also very concerned, then read it for the group. Andraya, who had previously been warned, wrote that an acquaintance in Magnin spotted Daniel at the casinos, along with a little girl... with an eye patch. Daniel was seen with a metallic horse and mechanical bulls as well, suggesting he may have paid a visit to Lavolis.

Slim went to tell Thedda about this development, telling her that group did plan on going after Daniel. After scoring some spare metal armor from her (to make more shotgun shells), he also wrote a letter informing the Rangers’ Cavalry about Daniel’s activity. Meanwhile, Kattie Sent a message to Corrin about the situation, since he did say he wanted in on it when the group confronted Daniel. Corrin beefed his replies though.

Slim reviewed bullet wound-treating, and taught it for the first time to Valor and Eve (who Insisted on joining the Breakfast Club for this, no matter how against the risk Kattie was. But hey, she does have high level spells). Fea wondered if Slim could somehow incorporate glass into his gunshots, though ultimately the mad science was vetoed. Calypso wrote a letter to Andraya, telling her that they’d be going after Daniel (but she insisted no one was going to die. For sure.)

That night, Fea offered to stay with Slim while he slept, since he was (understandably) really worked up. Calypso was annoyed (and plainly jealous) about this. No giant skeletal teddy bear for her that night 😔

In the morning, there was pounding at the door. Both Fea and Calypso rose to answer it. Thedda had run over, having just received word that Arepal had been attacked. Once everyone had been told this, they packed their things at the speed of sound and headed out. Slim was silent and grim. (Also I’m pretty sure Kattie kissed Eve “for luck”.)

Arepal did appear a bit worse for wear, though it could’ve been worse as well. There were a handful of covered bodies on the ground, and damaged buildings, though the remaining townspeople were in the process of cleaning up and preparing to rebuild. The group beelined for Maria’s house, where Maria greeted them gratefully. She took the group down into her shelter under a house, and recounted her encounter with Daniel.

Daniel appeared to be resistant to Maria’s bullets, and of course he also had his own guns. The mechanical bulls destroyed part of Maria’s home. Maria also said... that Teresa now appeared very young. She had her old doll with her and she was sitting in front of Daniel on his horse. Daniel had a lot of people backing him up, and when they left Arepal they were heading west. Maria did point out that some of the dead outside were Daniel’s men, not townspeople. 👊

During Maria’s spiel, Calypso grew anxious, and went back upstairs to keep an eye out the windows-- thinking that this might have been a trap. Hit Slim’s hometown, fake like they left, then jump back in when the guard is down. Luckily, Daniel did not make a reappearance.

Given that Daniel and his group were last seen going west, the party’s best guess was that he would be heading for Camon. Assuming that, the party tossed around ideas for how to handle this situation. The general idea was to teleport to Camon, getting there before Daniel, and set up some kind of ambush for him there. Evacuate civilians, prepare the fighters, maybe set up some spells or something.

Perhaps the trickiest part of the whole thing is the prospect of getting Teresa away from the fighting. It’s likely Daniel will try to use her as a meat shield, a hostage. Plus with her in the middle of everything, the party’s AOE attacks present the risk of harming her. But even the best laid plans can be disrupted or ruined entirely, so it was also suggested not to bother with the nitty gritty.

God I hope we don’t die.

[perfect-homemade-chili]

361 “Leavening the Pot.”

…for every 10, 100, 1000 honest capable statesmen, we are lucky to find a single sage… I mean lumberjack. Historically, they’ve always operated behind the scenes, a godsend to every prince and every abled king—as a Socrates to Alcibiades, an Anaxagoras to Pericles, an Aristotle to Alexander, a Merlin to King Arthur. Kings are, ultimately, still made of blood and bone—but someone truly virtuous, to the point of exerting supernatural force (the long forgotten reason why sainthood in the Christian tradition once required proof of miraculous ability), is crystallized spirit. But it is neither the place, nor within the scope of this food-blog to entertain such fanciful notions as the mysticism behind statecraft and realpolitik. (Though, we highly recommend the former Czechoslovakian president Vaclav Havel’s 1990 New Years Address, as a particularly moving and heartfelt speech to churn blood to chili.) Actually, according to the wisdom of ancient philosophy, (in particular Daoism and Confucianism) people should strive for office and honor only when society is not fundamentally corrupt—in turbulent unruly confused ages, it is better to retreat and cultivate individually, lest one gets swept up in the shitstorm and deform their best nature. I don’t want to be a pessimist (really, I don’t), so while there is a lot that can be said about the state of things, I think it is fair to just point out that when commerce has overtaken the legislative sphere to the extent that corporations make liars of us all—for example, how many people actually read every terms and conditions that ask to be read before they sign?—it is time we question whether the law in place is really sufficient to defend the best interests of its people, or even to uphold basic decency or conscience. What do John Adams (founding father of US), Adam Smith (founder of capitalism), and Confucius have in common? Answer: they each specifically believed and stated that the law and their contributing frameworks (constitution, capitalism) only function properly, and were meant and designed for a ‘faithful and virtuous’ people, and none other. Confucius elaborates further that ‘to attempt to govern people by law entices them to swerve or bend it to their own crookedness; rather, reform them by ritual…’ —as the extremely witty Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw once joked in a toast to Einstein, “(Newton) …knew the one thing you cannot do to anything whatsoever is make it move in a straight line.” (For some reason this toast is hard to find in print, which is a huge shame. I will for the sake of chili transcribe it in the next post.)

—dessert#001—spaceage brownies. Every chili needs an rival, so we’ve decided chocolate is its archenemy. The history of chocolate proves itself worthy to this title, rich in lore, fascinating in trivia, and most importantly, for the sake of contrast to chili, there is no shortage of spaceage innovation when it comes to this delectable treat. Our recent favorite is the ‘mochi brownie’—it is like egg custard turned into a brownie, it is unbelievable. You can find it in Crumbs nyc. They have perfected the art of the brownie into venerable rocket-science—their reinvented squares, btw, have literally the perfect thickness to size, crunch to moist-fudge ratios… they are a blast. More chocolate? Yes please. From Fresh and Co, a cacao pudding with—get this—chia seeds!—a most unusual but perfect contrast of texture, the rich chocolate and tapioca-like beads. Maybe I should write a blog about chocolate. If I ever give up being an artist I’d like to be a paranoid king like Mithridates, except I’d inculcate myself daily with chocolates instead of poison.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 8.25 (before 1940)

766 – Emperor Constantine V humiliates nineteen high-ranking officials, after discovering a plot against him. He executes the leaders, Constantine Podopagouros and his brother Strategios. 1248 – The Dutch city of Ommen receives city rights and fortification rights from Otto III, the Archbishop of Utrecht. 1258 – Regent George Mouzalon and his brothers are killed during a coup headed by the aristocratic faction under Michael VIII Palaiologos, paving the way for its leader to ultimately usurp the throne of the Empire of Nicaea. 1270 – Philip III, although suffering from dysentery, becomes King of France following the death of his father Louis IX, during the Eighth Crusade. His uncle, Charles I of Naples, is forced to begin peace negotiations with Muhammad I al-Mustansir, Hafsid Sultan of Tunis. 1537 – The Honourable Artillery Company, the oldest surviving regiment in the British Army, and the second most senior, is formed. 1543 – António Mota and a few companions become the first Europeans to visit Japan. 1580 – War of the Portuguese Succession: Spanish victory at the Battle of Alcântara brings about the Iberian Union. 1609 – Galileo Galilei demonstrates his first telescope to Venetian lawmakers. 1630 – Portuguese forces are defeated by the Kingdom of Kandy at the Battle of Randeniwela in Sri Lanka. 1758 – Seven Years' War: Frederick II of Prussia defeats the Russian army at the Battle of Zorndorf. 1814 – War of 1812: On the second day of the Burning of Washington, British troops torch the Library of Congress, United States Treasury, Department of War, and other public buildings. 1823 – American fur trapper Hugh Glass is mauled by a grizzly bear while on an expedition in South Dakota. 1825 – The Thirty-Three Orientals declare the independence of Uruguay from Brazil. 1830 – The Belgian Revolution begins. 1835 – The first Great Moon Hoax article is published in The New York Sun, announcing the discovery of life and civilization on the Moon. 1875 – Captain Matthew Webb becomes the first person to swim across the English Channel, traveling from Dover, England, to Calais, France, in 21 hours and 45 minutes. 1883 – France and Viet Nam sign the Treaty of Huế, recognizing a French protectorate over Annam and Tonkin. 1894 – Kitasato Shibasaburō discovers the infectious agent of the bubonic plague and publishes his findings in The Lancet. 1904 – Russo-Japanese War: The Battle of Liaoyang begins. 1912 – The Kuomintang is founded for the first time in Peking. 1914 – World War I: Japan declares war on Austria-Hungary. 1914 – World War I: The library of the Catholic University of Leuven is deliberately destroyed by the German Army. Hundreds of thousands of irreplaceable volumes and Gothic and Renaissance manuscripts are lost. 1916 – The United States National Park Service is created. 1920 – Polish–Soviet War: Battle of Warsaw, which began on August 13, ends with the Red Army's defeat. 1933 – The Diexi earthquake strikes Mao County, Sichuan, China and kills 9,000 people. 1933 – Nazi Germany and the Zionist Federation of Germany signed the Haavara Agreement. The agreement was a major factor in breaking the anti-Nazi boycott of 1933 and facilitated Jewish emigration from Germany and into Palestine. 1939 – The Irish Republican Army carries out the 1939 Coventry bombing in which five civilians were killed. 1939 – The United Kingdom and Poland form a military alliance in which the UK promises to defend Poland in case of invasion by a foreign power.