#walking through south bank

[beta-lactam-allergic]

Pictures of two really tame gungoo I decided to take pictures of in South Bank because I thought showing of an animal I see all the time but are presumably rarely seen outside Australia would make good tumblr photos.

[thethief1996]

I can't stop thinking about the news out of Palestine. Israel is sieging al Shifa hospital. Videos of people's limbs being severed off are haunting (graphic video tw). The hospital has ran out of fuel and 39 babies in incubators are fending for their lives by themselves, because Israel has stationed snipers around the hospital and is shooting all medical crew that walks into their sight.

First, the narrative was Israel would never bomb hospitals. Now, the hospitals are Hamas bases. Then, we respect journalists. Now, we have a fucking kill list of journalists because they are Hamas collaborators. First, we are not letting fuel in until the hostages are released. Now, we are not accepting the hostages back because that would stop our ground invasion and let Hamas win. And I could go on about every single lie they're making up. If you look up "Hamas rape" on google, the first link leads to Times of Israel saying Israel has found no forensic evidence of sexual violence, and only one eyewitness testimony out of 3.5k people attending the rave. If you Google "Hamas beheaded babies" the top links say they have no evidence for the claim besides word of mouth from extremist soldiers. Israeli extremists think about the ugliest goriest scene they can make out in their sick heads, tell that to a international journalist and they run away with it like it's gospel.

And children are being killed in the name of these lies. Thousands are being displaced in images that remind me of the pictures of Tantura 75 years ago, with their hands up so the tanks don't shoot them. Amputees are leaving the hospitals in wheelchairs hours after their surgeries because they are being shot at. Elders who survived the Nakba on 48 are having to walk towards Southern Gaza on foot (imagine walking from one end of your city to the other on foot), displaced again. People are cheering for the haunting images of white phosphorus bombs being dropped over Gaza. Gazan workers who were arrested in the West Bank are being thrust back into the bombings wearing numbered labels.

This is not normal. We are seeing the early stages of the settler colonial genocide of an indigenous population. Native leaders who have visited Gaza say its refugee camps look eerily like reservations. We can stop this. For the first time we are able to see wide scale accounts from the hands of the people suffering the genocide, and Israel is so scared of it they have cut all communications in Gaza.

This is our litmus test. I think we have never seen more clearly, with Palestine, Armenia, Congo and Sudan how colonialism has made our world a rotten place to live in.

The South African apartheid collapsed due to boycotts. We have to do everything in our power to stop Israel's hegemony. Even talking to a group of friends about Palestine changes the status quo. There's no world where we can live peacefully if Israel accomplishes their goals.

Keep yourself updated and share Palestinian voices. Muna El-Kurd said every tweet is like a treasure to them, because their voices are repressed on social media and even on this very app. Make it your action item to share something about the Palestinian plight everyday. Here are some resources:

Al Jazeera, Anadolu Agency, Mondoweiss

Boycott Divest Sanction Movement

Palestinian Youth Movement is organizing protests and direct action against weapons factories across the US

Mohammed El-Kurd (twitter / instagram)

Muhammad Shehada (twitter)

Motaz Azaiza (instagram) - reporting directly from Gaza.

Hind Khudary - reporting directly from Gaza. Her husband and daughter moved South to run from the tanks but she stayed behind to record the genocide. The least we can do is not let her calls fall on deaf ears.

You can participate in boycotts wherever you are in the world, through BDS guidelines. Don't be overwhelmed by gigantic boycott lists. BDS explicitly targets only a few brands which have bigger impact. You can stop consuming from as many brands as you want, though, and by all means feel free to give a 1 star review to McDonalds, Papa John, Pizza Hut, Burger King and Starbucks. Right now, they are focusing on boycotting the following:

Carrefour, HP, Puma, Sabra, Sodastream, Ahava cosmetics, Israeli fruits and vegetables

Push for a cultural boycott - pressure your favorite artist to speak out on Palestine and cancel any upcoming performances on occupied territory (Lorde cancelled her gig in Israel because of this. It works.)

If you can, participate in direct action or donate.

Palestine Action works to shut down Israeli weapons factories in the UK and USA, and have successfully shut down one of their firms in London.Some of the activists are going on trial and are calling for mobilizing on court.

Palestinian Youth Movement is organizing direct actions to stop the shipping of wars to Israel. Follow them.

Educate yourself. Read into Palestinian history and the occupation. You can't common sense people out of decades of propaganda. If your arguments crumble when a zionist brings up the "disengagement of Gaza", you have to learn more.

Read Decolonize Palestine. They have 15 minute reads that concisely explain the occupation (and its colonial roots) and debunk popular myths, including pinkwashing.

Read on Palestine. Here's an amazing masterpost.

Verso Book Club is giving out free books on Palestine (I personally downloaded Ten Myths about Israel by Ilan Pappe. If you still believe in the two states solution, this book by an Israeli professor debunks it).

Call your representatives. The Labour Party in the UK had an emergency meeting after several councilors threatened to resign if they didn't condemn Israeli war crimes. Calling to show your complaints works, even more if you live in a country that funds genocide.

FOR PEOPLE IN THE USA: USCPR has developed this toolkit for calls, here's a document that autosends emails to your representatives and here's a toolkit by Ceasefire in Gaza NOW!

FOR PEOPLE IN EUROPE: Here's a toolkit by Voices in Europe for Peace targeting the European Parliament and one specific for almost all countries in Europe, including Germany, Ireland, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands, Greece, Norway, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Finland, Austria, Belgium Romania and Ukraine

FOR PEOPLE IN THE UK: Friends of Al-Aqsa UK and Palestine Solidarity UK have made toolkits for calls and emails

FOR PEOPLE IN AUSTRALIA: Here's a toolkit by Stand With Palestine

FOR PEOPLE IN CANADA: Here's a toolkit by Indepent Jewish Voices for Canada

Join a protest. Here's a constantly updating list of protests:

Global calendar

Another global calendar (go to the instragram of the organizers to confirm your protest)

USA calendar

Australia calendar

Feel free to add more.

[missempanada]

How to help the people in Spain

As you may have seen online, Spain is going through a flash flood since October 29. It's mainly affected the Community of Valencia but also some parts of the south-west and the cold drop is now moving to the north-east.

95 bodies have been found at the time I'm writing this (edit: 205 now), there's still people missing and entire towns are isolated as they don't have electricity and their roads have been destroyed. A lot of people don't have tap water or any means to cook. If you're wondering why people didn't evacuate beforehand, it's because authorities didn't care enough to warn people so technically everyone had to go to work and school. Though politicians should be held accountable, the most important thing at the moment is to help those in need. So here's some ways you can help both people and animals that have been affected.

NGOs and fundraisers

MOST NEEDED AT THE MOMENT: You can donate to Valencia's food bank by making a transfer to this bank account: ES86 2100 2806 6402 0009 8998.

Horta Sud is a county in Valencia that has been the most affected by the floodings. People are leaving their houses because they're scared of the infrastructure getting damaged and even walking by foot to Valencia capital to get food. You can help those families via this gofundme.

Hambre Cero is a Spanish non-profit that was founded after the earthquakes in Indonesia. They will be giving food to those who need it. Here's different ways you can donate.

This gofundme is joining efforts with the town hall of Valencia to help people who have lost their homes.

Una copa por Valencia ("a drink to Valencia") is a campaign organized by Spanish influencer David Aliagas. The idea behind it is to donate the amount of money you would spend on drinks on a night out. He'll be joining effort with local non-profits. You can help here.

Here's a thread of artists that are accepting commissions in exchange for donations for Valencia.

Spanish Kpop fans are organizing a collective fundraiser.

EDIT: took Cáritas and Spanish Red Cross out of this post after this tiktok made by a volunteer went viral and a lot of people posted their experiences working for these NGOs. Apparently they're not distributing food. Instead they're telling people not to send more food and send money instead so they can keep part of it.

Help people directly

Help Sara, Steven and Bruno rebuild their home in Valencia.

Help this high school teacher buy a new car to get back to work.

Raúl was about to open his barbershop on October 31 but it was destroyed by the flood. Please help him get his dream back.

Help the neighbours of Aldaia (Valencia) rebuild their homes.

This artist has been affected by the floods and lost their car. They've opened emergency commissions.

You can help rebuild the town of Letur (Albacete) by donating to this gofundme that's directly coordinated with the town hall.

Rebeca is a seamstress. Her studio was both her workplace and a place were came together for a sewing club in the afternoons. It was destroyed by the flood. You can help her rebuild it here

Animal shelters

Refugio Minipow was home to 50 rabbits and guinea pigs. Thankfully, the owners were able to move all the animals to their homes and those of their neighbors, though the shelter itself has been destroyed right after recent renovations. There's different ways to donate here.

El Refugio de María a dog shelter in Sueca (Valencia), is completely flooded, leaving the dogs visibly distressed, as shown here. You can donate to PayPal maria.g.may@gmail.com

Modepran is a dog shelter in Campanar (Valencia) where infrastructure damage has left some dogs without a proper sleeping area. You can donate through PayPal here.

Gatos Campo de Gibraltar is a cat shelter in Los Barrios (Cádiz). need of assistance for relocating cats to new homes and rebuilding damaged facilities. You can donate to their PayPal gatoscampodegibraltar@gmail.com

Protectora San Antón is an animal shelter for cats and dogs in Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz). The entire place is flooded and the animals don't have a comfortable place to sleep in. Cats can't even walk on the ground. You can donate to their PayPal protectorasananton@hotmail.com

I'll be adding more as I find them. Thank you everyone for your help.

Edit: adding this because I keep seeing people on Twitter and Tiktok say it makes no sense to give money to people in a "first world" country. I need you people to understand that living in a western country doesn't equal politicians caring about you.

This whole thing started because politicians weren't doing their job and they're still not doing it. People (literal civilians, not firefighters or policemen) are literally pulling bodies from under cars and putting them inside the trunks so children in the affected areas don't see them. There's underground parkings still flooded by water and we don't know how many people may be inside them.

France offered to send us 200 firemen and the Ministry of Interior literally REFUSED. Some of these French firemen came on their own anyway. But that's what our politicians are doing. Negating help and pointing fingers at each other so they don't seem guilty.

[themostefficientwaywithwater]

WHAT'S GOING ON IN SPAIN AND HOW YOU CAN HELP even if you live in a different country

Please read!!

Since October 29, Spain has been going through one of the worst flash floods of this century. The Community of Valencia has been the most affected, but the cold drop also passed through the south-west and is moving now to the north-east.

So far, 211 bodies have been found, and more than 2000 people are still missing. Most fatalities are from Valencia, entire towns are ravaged and isolated as they don't have electricity and the roads have been destroyed. A lot of people has lost their home, more than 15k homes don't have eletricity and they are in need of food, water and hygienic products

The reason Valencia was the most affected is because, despite given a warning 5 days before from the AEMET (Spain's official meteorological agency) of the possible mass floodings due to the cold drop, and the same morning of the catastrophe, it's authorities didn't warn it's people. Valencia's government waited 12h after the last warning from the AEMET (and it's president even said it would subside 2h before the floodings) before declaring the red alert, at 8pm. By then, many people was already caught in the flood while going or coming back from work.

Although politicians must be accountable, our priority is to help those in need, most which have lost their house, belongings and means to live. Because of this, here are some fundraisers and non-profits you can donate to help both people and animals that have been affected (these are from the thread I've just posted, but I'll add more if I find them!):

Horta Sud is a county in Valencia that has been the most affected by the floodings. People are leaving their houses because they're scared of the infrastructure getting damaged and even walking by foot to Valencia capital to get food.

Letur (Albacete) is a town that has been destroyed by the floods. You can help rebuild it by donating to this gofundme that's directly coordinated with the town hall.

Hambre Cero is a Spanish food bank non-profit that was founded after the earthquakes in Indonesia. They're currently active in Palestine and Lebanon but they'll also be giving food to those who need it in Spain.

El Refugio de María a dog shelter in Sueca (Valencia), is completely flooded, leaving the dogs visibly distressed and without a proper place to sleep. You can donate to their PayPal: maria.g.may@gmail.com

Protectora San Antón is a shelter for cats and dogs in Jerez de la Frontera. It's flooded and the animals don't have a comfortable place to sleep in. If you live in Spain you can bizum them @ 635011715 If not, PayPal protectorasananton@hotmail.com

Help Sara and her family rebuild their home in Valencia.

Refugio Minipow was home to 50 rabbits and guinea pigs. Thankfully, the owners were able to move all the animals to their homes and those of their neighbors, though the shelter itself has been destroyed right after recent renovations. They accept help through PayPal, Bizum or a transference to their bank account.

Una copa por Valencia ("a drink to Valencia") is a campaign organized by Spanish influencer David Aliagas. The idea behind it is to donate the amount of money you would spend on drinks on a night out. He'll be joining effort with local non-profits.

Help the people of Mira (Cuenca) rebuild their hometown.

This group of artists is giving away drawings to people who donate at least 5€ to any of the fundraisers listed in the thread!!!

You can donate to Valencia's food bank by making a transfer to this bank account: ES86 2100 2806 6402 0009 8998

Thread of artists that are accepting comissions for Valencia:

This artist has been directed by the floodings. He just opened emergency comissions

I'll add more fundraising campaigns I find on Twitter/Bluesky, but until then, please consider helping in any way you can! Even if it's just by sharing!

[heritageposts]

Ask an older generation of white South Africans when they first felt the bite of anti-apartheid sanctions, and some point to the moment in 1968 when their prime minister, BJ Vorster, banned a tour by the England cricket team because it included a mixed-race player, Basil D’Oliveira. After that, South Africa was excluded from international cricket until Nelson Mandela walked free from prison 22 years later. The D’Oliveira affair, as it became known, proved a watershed in drumming up popular support for the sporting boycott that eventually saw the country excluded from most international competition including rugby, the great passion of the white Afrikaners who were the base of the ruling Nationalist party and who bitterly resented being cast out. For others, the moment of reckoning came years later, in 1985 when foreign banks called in South Africa’s loans. It was a clear sign that the country’s economy was going to pay an ever higher price for apartheid. Neither of those events was decisive in bringing down South Africa’s regime. Far more credit lies with the black schoolchildren who took to the streets of Soweto in 1976 and kicked off years of unrest and civil disobedience that made the country increasingly ungovernable until changing global politics, and the collapse of communism, played its part. But the rise of the popular anti-apartheid boycott over nearly 30 years made its mark on South Africans who were increasingly confronted by a repudiation of their system. Ordinary Europeans pressured supermarkets to stop selling South African products. British students forced Barclays Bank to pull out of the apartheid state. The refusal of a Dublin shop worker to ring up a Cape grapefruit led to a strike and then a total ban on South African imports by the Irish government. By the mid-1980s, one in four Britons said they were boycotting South African goods – a testament to the reach of the anti-apartheid campaign. . . . The musicians union blocked South African artists from playing on the BBC, and the cultural boycott saw most performers refusing to play in the apartheid state, although some, including Elton John and Queen, infamously put on concerts at Sun City in the Bophuthatswana homeland. The US didn’t have the same sporting or cultural ties, and imported far fewer South African products, but the mobilisation against apartheid in universities, churches and through local coalitions in the 1980s was instrumental in forcing the hand of American politicians and big business in favour of financial sanctions and divestment. By the time President FW de Klerk was ready to release Mandela and negotiate an end to apartheid, a big selling point for part of the white population was an end to boycotts and isolation. Twenty-seven years after the end of white rule, some see the boycott campaign against South Africa as a guide to mobilising popular support against what is increasingly condemned as Israel’s own brand of apartheid.

. . . continues at the guardian (21 May, 2021)

[notmuchtofind]

"you're doing a sex scene?!" | d.s

word count: 1.8k

tw: mentions of manipulation and aggressive behaviour

synopsis: drew reveals his role requires a sex scene and this causes explosive disagreements | slight fluff slight aggressive

you place the bag groceries on the kitchen counter and begin a sigh of relief, the lift in your apartment block is broken and climbing 5 flights of stairs with 3 bags of groceries isn't so fun..

As you walk over to your hallway to kick off your shoes you hear a few thuds at the door, in a beat you're so familiar with. You were expecting Drew around 9ish, you quickly check your watch to see it's 8:47pm... you giggle to yourself slightly and grin with excitement "he's early" you mumble to yourself . A wave of eagerness rushes over you as you lean over to grab the door handle and twist the recently locked door. opening the door, you look up to see Drew, all sun kissed and beaming. He's been in South Carolina for a couple months shooting the latest season of obx so it doesn't surprise you to see his slight tan, you'd imagine he's topless half the time, so it explains itself...

"baby!" he exclaimed with a devilish yet blissful look on his face

"I've missed you!" you say whilst being engulfed into a hug by drew, you feel his arms wrap around you, becoming tighter with time as you stand there swaying back and forth for a while... He places his hands on you shoulders and pushes you back slightly so he can begin to look at your face.

He places a kiss on your forehead "i've missed you y/n/n" he mutters, he looks almost taken back by you, as he makes eye contact, forcing nerves into the pit of your stomach.

"trust you to come 5 minutes after I've just had to carry all the groceries up the stairs by myself!" you tease 

"work those muscles baby" he chuckles

After a few long weeks of being away from each other it's nice to be back in each other's company, Drew helps you put the groceries away and you quickly hop in the shower, you change into your trackies and settle on the couch with Drews head in-between your legs. you run your hands over his buzz cut hair, feeling the individual strands poking at your palm whilst you binge watch.

"hey y/n/n" 

"mmhm?" you murmur

"i've been meaning to mention...I think, maybe, like the next season of outer banks; rafe develops a love interest and I... um-" 

you're suddenly all ears "a love interest?" you interrupt, sitting up slightly, causing Drew to sit up so he's now facing you on the couch.

"yeh, I think so?" said with slight tension

" but I think Jonas is wanting a few urm...like, a few" he stutters and your eyes widen "some sex scenes between me and Fiona..." He paused as you gave him a slight glance

"You know Fiona, right? you met her when you came to visit me shooting last month?" he questions

Yes, of course you know Fiona, is he kidding!?? she's gorgeous, she's bubbly and she's funny she's-...

'fuck, am I jealous?' you think too yourself

"umm, yeh Fiona, she was really nice when I met her" you state through gritted teeth

drew chuckles nervously "I just thought I should let you know...I mean obviously it's all professional but you know... I-"

"No, don't be silly, I know drew. It's your job. I expect it...obviously " you say, getting up off the couch and heading over to the open plan kitchen...'did that come off slightly passive aggressive?' you think too yourself.

Drew leans back into the couch, watching you from afar, you can feel his eyes burning into your back as you grab a glass from the cupboard.

you're aware it's his job, but surely anyone in this position would feel slightly jealous, he's going to have to act intimate with someone and it's then going to be seen by the rest of the world, you're unaware of how sex scenes operate...how far will it have to go and how much skin will be seen?! uncontrollable thoughts run through your mind, you find yourself questioning the love Drew has for you. Are you good enough? Will an on screen romance become an off screen one? In all fairness, Drew and the cast spend more time together within the 6 months of filming than you and Drew do within that 6 months alone...you feel yourself snap.

by snap I don't mean scream, nor shout, nor cry. 

However, there is a slightly toxic side to you, one which is created by past relationships, people that have made you feel less than. Before you met drew, you'd been through some shit and it's always been difficult for you to trust...you're subconsciously 'triggered'

" She's pretty right?" you say, turning to Drew and catching his eyes with yours.

you stand there with an empty glass on the counter as you wait for his response.

"umm.." he stutters, taken back by your question

"she's a nice girl y/n/n...why?"

you nod slowly, pouring a drink into the glass..."yeh,she's a nice girl" you repeat, again, through gritted teeth

Drew squints his eyes over at you as he tries to figure out what your trying to do..."listen baby, its professional, you can't-"

"I can't what?" you interrupt with a slightly raised voice 

There was a silence that filled the room.

"I'm going to bed," you murmur as you grab your glass off the counter and take your first step towards your bedroom.

"y/n/n?" drew exclaimes, but you ignore him

"fuck sake" you hear drew mutters under his breath, followed by a sigh as he tilts his head back into the couch. 

Darting your head over to his direction, you interrogate.

"Am I too much for you?" you exclaim 

"what?" drew says confused whilst frowning "no y/n I-"

you interrupted "so why are you making me feel like you dealing with my emotions is a chore?!" 

"Yes, I'm slightly pissed off drew. but there's nothing I can do about it. just let me have some time, don't sigh at me like I'm so difficult for you?" you say, raising your voice slightly more. He stands up and raises his hands slightly in-front of his chest whilst he gestures "are you fucking kidding me?" he chuckles sarcastically. "I've hardly said a word this whole time, you're being manipulative y/n. stop?" he demands 

"manipulative? drew? really?" 

Drew walks over to you, and you can now see slight anger in his eyes, his energy feels cold. 

"yes!" he exclaims, he comes close to your face and continues to gesture "asking me if I think she's pretty? What kind of question is that? you're trying to catch me out y/n?!" he lashes

"I was just asking you a question drew I-"

"are you fucking kidding me!? you want me to turn around and tell you that, yeh! yanno what, I cant wait to fuck her!? is that what you want? please tell me y/n '' drew shouts.

you're taken back by his aggressive body language and his raised voice and the words he's just spoken. you can feel slight tears forming in the back of your retina, the ball in your stomach grows bigger and you can feel your heartbeat in your fingertips. You're not usto arguing with Drew so explosively, you're not used to seeing his aggressive body language and if you're honest, it scared you. you could either lash out, you could scream...but you're suddenly engulfed by a wave of upset.

"I'm going to bed" you state. turning on the balls of your feet to continue to walk down the hall. A single tear escapes your eye but you're waiting to reach the bathroom before you can let all your emotions overwhelm your being. you didn't give yourself time to see the expression on Drews face after he'd stopped shouting but you didn't have to look to tell that he instantly regretted what he said, you could feel his energy change as you walked away.

_________________

you've turned to face the wall, struggling to sleep when...A few thuds at your bedroom door, in the beat you're again, so familiar with. you haven't been able to fall asleep and to be honest you were hoping Drew would knock and come in, he knows you hate sleeping without resolving an argument. it could be the biggest argument or the smallest argument you've ever had but you always make sure to have it somewhat sorted out before either of you say goodnight, whether he's 3000 miles away or just next door.

"hey y/n/n" drew whispers as you heard the door shut quietly behind him but you didn't turn around. "hey...are you sleeping?" he questions before you feel the bed slightly dip and a creak from the headboard.

It takes you a minute  but you eventually turn around, to be greeted by the back of Drew, he looks to have his head in his hands sitting on the edge of the bed. "I'm awake" you mutter.

He turns slightly, greeting you with an apologetic smile, he then goes to grab your exposed arm and rubs it with his thumb. his energy is warm and calm, much different too before. it makes the nerves form again in the pit of your stomach, like butterflies. "Listen baby" he states "I'm sorry about the shit I said and urm... the way I raised my voice. my actions were out of order and for that i'm sorry..." he sighs apologetically 

There was a slight silence whilst you thought of what to say, but before you could speak he began again "you know I love you? right? It upsets me that you worry about my opinions on anyone else because, I'm sorry but, in my mind no one compares to you y/n/n, I honestly do think you are. thé. most." drew emphasises "perfect girl in the world for me" he finishes, looking at you with a devilish grin 

he knows how to capture your heart...you roll your eyes playfully trying to shy away from the fact he's made you weak... whilst a smile creeps upon your face you push his arm and chuckle slightly.

you sigh.

"i'm sorry about my outburst, it was out of order" you admit "I was slightly jealous and I-"

"only slightly?!" drew says with a sarcastic shocked faces as he interrupts you, playfully teasing

"fuck off" you chuckle, pushing his arm

"Yes, it's because everyone wants you...what can I say, it's hard being me!" rolling your eyes, teasing him back

He engulfs you into a hug and plants kisses all over your face and neck, almost like he's attacking you. you giggle and say stop, but really you need him to carry on. 

"fuck! I love you drew" 

"fuck... I love you" he reiterates.

[bsd-bibliophile]

Happy Birthday Miyazawa Kenji-sensei!

To celebrate Miyazawa Kenji’s birthday here are his top three quotes from my blog:

Quote #3:

"That night, when the moon was near to sinking behind the western mountain range, it peeked its face out just enough from the bank of black clouds to fill the field with a last bit of dull, ashen light. The bare winter trees, the railroad ties, and the utility poles were all fast asleep. Only the sound of what could have been either the far-off blowing of the wind or the gurgling of a brook remained."

- Miyazawa Kenji, “Signal and Signal-less” from Night on the Galactic Railroad and Other Stories from Ihatov

Quote #2:

Be not defeated by the rain, Nor let the wind prove your better. Succumb not to the snows of winter. Nor be bested by the heat of summer.

Be strong in body. Unfettered by desire. Not enticed to anger. Cultivate a quiet joy. Count yourself last in everything. Put others before you. Watch well and listen closely. Hold the learned lessons dear.

A thatch-roof house, in a meadow, nestled in a pine grove’s shade.

A handful of rice, some miso, and a few vegetables to suffice for the day.

If, to the East, a child lies sick: Go forth and nurse him to health. If, to the West, an old lady stands exhausted: Go forth, and relieve her of burden. If, to the South, a man lies dying: Go forth with words of courage to dispel his fear. If, to the North, an argument or fight ensues: Go forth and beg them stop such a waste of effort and of spirit.

In times of drought, shed tears of sympathy. In summers cold, walk in concern and empathy.

Stand aloof of the unknowing masses: Better dismissed as useless than flattered as a ��Great Man”.

This is my goal, the person I strive to become.

- Miyazawa Kenji, ”Be not Defeated by the Rain”

Quote #1:

You who go through rice paddies in the rain, you who hurry toward leviathan woods, you who walk into the gloom of clouds and mountains, fasten up your raincoat, damn it.

- Miyazawa Kenji, “Traveler” from Miyazawa Kenji: Selections

[allwaswell16]

A fic rec of One Direction fics that are hidden gems - amazing fics that I LOVE that have been a bit overlooked and have under 100 kudos as of the time I made the rec and as requested in an ask that Tumblr has eaten. You can find a similar rec with hidden gems under 200 kudos here. You can find all my other recs here. If you enjoy the fics, please leave kudos and comments for the writers! Happy reading!

- Louis/Harry -

💎 ghost of you by beckywritesthings / @beckydoesthings

(E, 109k, Star Wars au) a Star Wars AU where Harry is Obi-Wan, Louis is Satine, and somehow there’s a love story between the cracks where there shouldn’t be.

💎 That Smile and That Midnight Laugh by yeah_alright / @uhoh-but-yeah-alright

(T, 50k, girl direction) A Ferris Bueller's Day Off AU that picks up right where the movie leaves off, and imagines what might happen if Ferris' girlfriend and sister become friends. And maybe something more, too.

💎 through walls of trees by @ineverateakiwi

(T, 41k, fantasy) Elesdon is a country divided into five kingdoms and had long been considered peaceful. After a coup in the heart of the country, Lady Sulia ascended to the throne and imprisoned the four courts, stripping them of their powers. With the exception of King Louis Tomlinson, who submitted to her favors.

💎 The Things We Know To Be Wild by harryanthus_annuus / @harryanthus-annuus

(M, 39k, dragons) Louis is a London zoologist sent by the University of Highlands and Islands to assess the safety of the island of Eroda as part of the Wonder Seekers Project for sustainable tourism.

💎 But I know you by Thingssicant / @slowlyseducedbycurls

(NR, 26k, space) Harry is a journalist, Louis is an astronaut, but it's way more complicated than that

💎 Room For One More Troubled Soul by patdkitten / @babyarcanacasey

(M, 25k, supernatural) Louis Tomlinson is the chief medical examiner of the Centre for the Law Enforcement of Supernatural Beings - more commonly referred to as simply "The Centre".

💎 'tis the damn season by YesIsAWorld / @louandhazaf

(E, 22k, girl direction) Harry returns to her small hometown over the holiday season and starts to think about the road not taken.

💎 they say looks can kill (and i might try) by LiveLaughLoveLarry / @loveislarryislove

(M, 18k, superhero au) Now he walks those same streets as Rogue, a vigilante who makes his own justice - and he's making damn sure that justice is coming for CowellCorp too.

💎 In the Strangest of Ways by SunTomato / @sun-tomato

(NR, 17k, ghost au) when the haunting sounds of a melancholy piano piece accompanied by the vague shadow of a beautiful male figure appear, Louis is determined to find out who this beautiful man was and what happened to him…

💎 Ace Drag Queen Louis (series) by @musketrois

(NR, 16k, makeup artist Louis) Louis is a drag queen and Harry is the photographer that wants to be more than friends.

💎 All Shook Up by @littleroverlouis

(T, 9k, rivals) Memphis, Tennessee is looking to crown the Ultimate Elvis Tribute artist. A majority of the contestants are content to shake their hips on stage, but singer-songwriter Harry is taking it more seriously.

💎 defying stars by localopa / @voulezloux

(T, 9k, high school) the marching band au only one person (and that was me) asked for.

💎 The Bandits of Sherwood Forest by foreverfanficaddict / @chaotic-bells

(T, 8k, fairy tale) A Robin Hood AU

💎 Come All Ye by @justanothershadeofblue

(E, 6k, hippies) It's the summer of 1971, and Louis just wants to get out of town for a minute or a day. When his buddy Zayn says they should head down south and check out this radical new music festival

💎 Close Our Eyes (Pretend We're Miles Away) by @haztobegood

(E, 5k, Thelma & Louis au) Just forty eight hours ago, Harry never would have robbed a bank. Hell, she barely would have touched the gun she’d used in the robbery, let alone wave it around to threaten anyone.

💎 Call Me Yours by @maggieisalarrie

(T, 5k, high school) A story about love and lust with some miscommunication and, of course, a happy ending. 

💎 maybe come September by Lake / @alakeeffectgirl

(G, 3k, animal shifter) Louis is a shark, sometimes.

💎 Fingertips Putting on a Show by cherrylarry / @beelou

(E, 2k, girl direction) Harry just wants a relaxing self love session in the bathtub when she gets interrupted by a knock on her door.

💎 Gaydar Lessons by @homosociallyyours

(G, 1k, girl direction) While standing around after softball practice for the company's women's softball team, Harry gets caught (and caught up) in staring at Louis as she eats a ripe, juicy peach. If only she could be certain that Louis was into women.

💎 Are We In the Clear by asphodelknox / @iamasphodelknox

(M, 1k, historical) Louis and Harry meet across a crowded court at a time when falling in love would mean their destruction. With help from a friend, they run for their freedom.

- Rare Pairs -

💎 For Evermore by Layne Faire / @laynefaire

(T, 17k, Zayn/Liam) A Beauty and the Beast AU in which Liam is the Beast, trapped in a world suspended in time, and Zayn is the only one willing to look past the facade of enchantment to find the humanity of the man hidden within.

💎 I Can Only Hold You by @lululawrence

(NR, 8k, Louis/Jordan North) When Louis learns Jordan is close to falling into depri, he rushes over to help. What follows is so much more than either of them planned for.

💎 One Man's Ceiling Is Another Man's Floor by @kingsofeverything

(E, 3k, Niall/Maggie Rogers) Niall and Maggie come up with a way to get revenge on her annoying neighbors.

[jenctrl]

alien✧˖*°

"in the future, they would barely call it a full conversation, however, they had to start somewhere; in other words, that time Y/n and Hanni interacted for the first time"

warning; part of the 4221!Y/n series, the parts don't have to be read in order!

It could be cliché, it could be something unique, it could be nothing or maybe a mix of something. From what Y/n could remember, she had been called special, but that speciality had never served her anything, but agony until she realised what was so special about standing out. 

Y/n stood out, but she was never seen, she never felt seen or understood. Could have been many things, a lot of parts of her life probably played an important factor, but what was the most important was what she could do with what she had in the moment to build towards her goals. 

It was a gift and a curse, to never be seen, but to be able to see. 

If no one could help her, the least she could do was help everyone else to be seen and reach their dreams.

What was Y/n’s biggest dream? She tended to be so busy with helping everyone that she forgot about it. 

“You look like you need to cry–” Y/n stopped as she reached for another box, glancing at Yohan who was swaying back and forth in his seat. Over the past years she’s lived in Seoul, South Korea after coming from Japan, she found two people who became family. She valued them, nothing brought her more joy than the deep connection she had with her two bandmates.

They were her roots, they had started together, basking on the streets and hadn’t stopped even during the monsoon season. No matter how hard it had gotten they stuck together in the pouring rain. They had a dream, Yohan and Eunki had a dream, one that continued to spark Y/n’s dream. She’d give up everything for them, for a lot of people close to her, hard work paid off in the long run no matter the struggles. 

“I just need something to distract myself with,” Y/n hummed, giving a nod, her eyes glued to the two baby pink boxes filled with donuts. There were probably a dozen too many for them and their crew, but Y/n always ordered too much. “I always get nervous before we get on.” The girl was aware, but she also knew that the guy had a hard time as he tended to doubt himself. 

She wouldn’t be afraid to claim that she could read people well and just knew people. 

She picked up both boxes before walking over to Yohan and crouching down in front of him. The guy ran a hand through his blonde hair, brushing it out of his eyes before meeting Y/n’s eyes. “Or you could let out your emotions.” The girl suggested, willing to listen to the guy whenever he needed someone to listen to him. 

“You could also take the donuts,” Y/n added as the two boxes with a dozen of donuts in each rested on her lap as she stood crouched. She opened the box and they both looked down at them, the sweet scent of chocolate and strawberries filled their proximity. 

“Later?” Yohan questioned, seeing that the green room was quite busy and they could talk on their way back from Music Bank. “Anytime you want. Will you hand these out to the staff?” The girl asked, looking up at the guy with a tilt of her head, the stars hanging from the pastel crochet beanie’s cat ears dangled with the movement. 

Yohan blew hair away from his face as he reached into the box and grabbed a donut, taking it between his lips before grabbing the box and standing up together with Y/n. 

“I will find Eunki,” she informed, knowing that the guy tended to be out and about, talking with others and possibly forgetting the time. He gave her a nod and Y/n walked towards the ajar door of their green room.

She pushed it open with her back, stepping out and closing it with her heel, the box of donuts in hand. It was quiet, most groups were busy getting ready or performing, but someone would always mingle around. 

Y/n huffed, letting out a cough at the impact, gripping the box harder to not drop it. She wouldn’t say that she was a friend to all, Y/n would say that she only had a handful of people she would call friends. It wasn’t because she didn’t want friends, it was just hard to let anyone in and simple meaningless friendships never satisfied her. 

However, she was content with the few friends she had as she had created a deep and meaningful bond with them and that was far better than lousy friendships in quantity. 

“Hi, baby.” 

“I almost dropped my donuts.” 

“So that sweet scent wasn’t you?” Y/n laughed at the words and stepped out of the tight embrace before turning around to face Karina. She hummed, the latter's hand coming up to the stars hanging from the crocheted cat ears. 

“Think it’s your aura spreading that scent and not me or the donuts.” The band member mumbled before she poked at the corner of her lip with her tongue as she opened the box while the older girl toyed with the star. 

“Cheesy, I like it when you are though–” Karina let go of the star and Y/n shook her head to get the star out of her face after it got in the way. The Aespa leader reached for a chocolate-covered one. “You know that my members will come running the second I walk back into our green room.” 

Y/n smiled, looking down at the slightly shorter girl, she scrunched her nose with a shake of her head, “I don’t mind, I’m not finishing them all on my own either way.” 

“They will do that for you.” It made the latter chuckle and with minimum struggle let go of the box with one hand to show a thumbs up before they bid each other goodbye.

*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*

It wasn’t long before she ran into other people. 

“Yunjin, you guys are six, that’s seven.” 

“I need one for the walk back. Oh, I also would love it if we could meet up again soon, I wanna hang out…I also need some help.” 

Y/n was swarming with work, she had been feeling a little under the weather lately. Not in a serious way, not how she would describe it. She had been a bit uninspired lately and her company expected a new EP to be ready in a few months. It would become serious at some point, but she was too busy worrying about the people around her. 

She could focus on herself after.

She hummed at that, looking over Yunjin whose hands were occupied with donuts that laid on the lid they had ripped off. Y/n wouldn’t want Yunjin to feel like she didn’t want to hang out with her or think that she had done something for her to deny it even if she would explain the situation. What if Yunjin would get her doubts about it?

“Anytime, just text me whenever you wanna hang out.” 

“You should text me some time too, you know?” Y/n rolled her eyes at the sassy comment, giving Yunjin’s boot a light kick. 

“I don’t wanna steal you away from–”

“Uhm! I am not up for any teasing, I get laughed at by my members enough–look, you have some new company, Komatsu!” Yunjin stuck her tongue out, making Y/n do the same before she walked off, making the latter turn around to be faced by three girls.

“Please tell me there’s something left,” Ningning exclaimed, sounding exhausted.

*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*

By the time everyone around her scattered away, she was left with one donut and no Eunki in sight. Y/n sighed at the outcome of things, looking at the now single donut in the box that had the lid ripped off earlier. 

There was one last place she could check and it was the usual stairs where everyone would film their challenges. Her strides were languid yet long as she hummed a melody under her breath, hoping that somewhere along the way something would spark her world and she would have something to work with. That one of these melodies would find a muse. 

She rounded the corner, but with doubt because it was filled with silence. 

Y/n sucked air through her teeth, it was almost empty aside from one other person who was sitting on the stairs with their face buried in their palms while tapping their feet in rhythm. There was no reason for the frontwoman to waste time and continue looking for someone who didn’t want to be found.

The younger girl looked up at her and Y/n smiled, “hey.” Her greeting seemed to silence the girl sitting on the stairs. Y/n stopped in front of her and tilted her head in confusion, maybe she didn’t recognise her as she looked rather shocked. They had never spoken to each other despite seeing each other around at the company and music shows and whatnot. 

It was odd, it made Y/n frown in thought. She had talked to almost everyone in the company and become extra close with a handful of people. Despite preferring solitude most of the time, she was quite social. 

The girl stood up, giving a small bow, making Y/n do the same. 

“Oh, hi…I just–” Y/n watched the girl who stumbled over her words, she observed her, watching her body language and facial expressions, learning this new person in front of her. She smiled and Hanni stopped talking, pursing her lips and Y/n could tell that the girl probably thought that was the better option than talking without a point. Not that she minded it.

“No need to stand,” She reassured the girl whose cheeks were growing flushed, Hanni nodded and sat back down in a clumsy manner. It let the latter walk closer before carefully taking a seat beside her, releasing a long sigh. Y/n let the box rest atop her lap and leaned back against her elbows on the step behind her. 

“Did you…need anything?”

“I’m sorry for intruding, I wouldn’t, but to be honest this is the only silent place for some odd reason,” Y/n explained. She could tell that much; Hanni was here for some peace, but Y/n needed the same thing. The usually loud spot was now empty and just what they both were looking for. She stared ahead as she got a hum from the girl beside her. They could be silent together, hopefully. 

However, considering the girl was from the same label, she could ask one last time. 

“Actually,” she started and pushed herself up to sit straight and looked at Hanni, the girl looked away. Y/n hadn’t noticed that the girl had been keeping her eyes on her until now. “You know who Eunki is, part of my band…I’ve been looking for him.” 

This time Hanni looked back at her, her eyes scanning Y/n with curiosity and confusion, however, she still answered the question as her eyes at last met Y/n’s. “He’s recording a challenge with Minji and Hyein.” 

“Is it fine if I wait for him here?” She got a nod in return, the girl looked away and Y/n pursed her lips before humming. 

Before she could avert her gaze, Hanni looked back at her, the action caused them both to halt for a second as neither expected eye contact again. The younger gave a half smile, doing a small once over Y/n who waited, seeing that there was something on the girl’s mind.

“You don’t look like a band member,” she pointed out.

There was a certain preconception about their band, and Y/n was aware of it. A rock band had to have a deeper motive, didn’t it? In the public's eye. They have been accused of trying to become a cult-like band with a following of the same type. Not all esoterism had to be bad, Y/n related to her band though; she was just as misunderstood, but it wasn’t something she minded most of the time. 

The negative people who didn’t matter to her wouldn’t get in the way of her or their hard work. She never expected everyone to understand them. 

Aside from that, Y/n’s clothing style differed from her members as they most of the time didn’t have stylists, but wore whatever they wanted on stage. 

This was one of those days. She liked the loose jeans that she had drawn on, the pink bar buckle belt, the white baby tee with doodle-like art on it and the crocheted beanie together with the charms attached to her belt loops. 

She couldn’t tell which one Hanni was referring to. 

“I like to view myself as more than just a band member,” Y/n replied, there was more to her than the surface, but how did she reveal that to someone? It was difficult, especially when she was occupied with everyone else and forgot what was beneath her surface from being so focused on making sure everyone else was achieving their dreams and doing well. 

Her eyes curiously gazed at Hanni, somewhat feeling entranced by the girl who was a bit more awkward than she would have expected her to be. She could see the little regret wash over the girl who failed to mask the way she cringed at her choice of words with a deeper flush on her face now.

“I’m sorry.” She apologised with an awkward smile, her eyes falling to the little space between them. 

Y/n tilted her head, feeling the weight of the beanie whose stars dangled. Her fingers tapped the box with the donut she had been planning to eat, knowing that everything else had been devoured with no trace left behind. 

“No, I’m sorry.” The band member said as she released a small breath, deciding to follow Hanni’s gaze that was on the stairs they were sitting on. She usually didn’t have much trouble with connecting with people, but Hanni was oddly shy even if she usually managed to make people comfortable around her. 

Why was she so awkward and shy; she had no clue.

“Why?”

“It didn’t come out the way I wanted it to, don’t worry about it,” Y/n replied and looked up at the same time as Hanni did, making her smile with a breathless chuckle. The latter diverted her gaze that kept travelling back and forth, between Y/n and any object in sight. 

Y/n kept observing Hanni though, reading her body language; the way she tugged on her sleeves, her feet gently tapping the floor; restless to say the least, nervous. 

She smiled wider when Hanni took a deep breath and looked in front of her, clasping her hands together with pursed lips. “I think I misunderstood you.” It wasn’t the first time someone misunderstood Y/n by her words or by the person that she was or by the thoughts that she carried with so much passion. 

Y/n hummed and looked down at the single donut left; food always lightened up the mood. The frontwoman turned slightly as she lifted the box from her lap: it grabbed Hanni’s attention as she looked at her, blinking her eyes a few times. 

“Do you like chocolate-covered donuts?” She questioned and they both gazed at the one donut. 

Hanni shrugged as her hand came up to her nape, scratching it.

“Here, you can have it.” The older girl offered and the girl beside her looked up, squinting her eyes slightly. 

“What about you?” 

Y/n stopped for a second, she was mostly used to giving, worrying about everyone around her and helping in whatever way she could and rarely did she hear anyone ask ‘what about you’. People probably didn’t do it because they were so used to her being there for them and maybe after a while there was no need for a thank you or question about how she was doing. 

It wasn’t like she often thought of it either, until it hit right to the core, seeing no one appreciate her efforts. 

“I already had one earlier and we have more in the green room.” She shared an innocent lie, offering Hanni a gentle smile. The younger girl reached for it and suddenly Y/n felt a little palpitation of nervousness, somewhat flustered because of the simple question. 

“Thank you,” Hanni timidly thanked her and Y/n gave her a nod of affirmation, the sounds of footsteps made her stand up and she could hear Eunki talking to who she assumed was Hanni’s member. 

She stepped aside, creating some more space between herself and Hanni who also got up. Y/n halted, thinking it over before she turned the box to the side where the order sticker was. The sound of the box tearing startled the girl beside her who looked at the band member with wide and questioning eyes. 

“That’s my manager's number, if you would like to hang out sometime, text his number and I will send my number to you.” Y/n offered, holding out the torn-off piece of the baby pink box. 

Hanni took it and Y/n stepped down the two steps, coming face to face with the shorter girl who was on the steps; donut and paper in hand. 

“It was nice talking to you, I hope we can get to know each other better, Hanni,” Y/n said with a small bow, the ears and stars hanging from them falling forward before coming back, making the girl scramble from her frozen state to reciprocate the gesture. When Hanni looked up, Y/n bowed again, making the girl follow suit.

She glanced one last time at the Newjeans member, “make sure to eat it ‘cause it’s melting, I will see you around.” She bid one last goodbye smiling with a glance at the piece of paper in Hanni’s hand with the number before she walked away and got the guy.

*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*

“Guess what.” Hanni prompted after she had jumped down the stairs and met Minji halfway who had come to get her. Minji frowned, looking over at the flustered girl with confusion, wondering where she got the donut from. 

“No,” Minji deadpanned and Hanni gave her a dirty look. 

“Just guess what, man.” She said with a click of her tongue while they started their walk back to the green room. The girl took the advice, deciding to eat the pastry before it could have the chance to start melting. 

The leader heaved a sigh and let out a lazy, “I don’t know, you realised that you can’t hide your lack of brain cells with a wig.” It made Minji chuckle at what she said to the girl. 

“Only you laugh at your jokes, and no.” 

“Then I don’t know.” The latter replied with a shrug.

Hanni had a smug look on her face as she licked the corner of her lips. “I talked to Y/n,” the smugness on her face was just as present in her voice and it made Minji stop, Hanni following suit as they looked at each other. The older girl stared at Hanni for a few seconds who took another bite of the donut.

“Did you talk to her or did she talk to you while you stared at her like a fool? As far as I remember you’ve been,” Minji raised her hands, doing air quotes as she spoke, “trying to talk to her since they debuted–over a year ago–but each time you’ve chickened out or come up with some lame excuse.” 

The smugness on Hanni’s face disappeared and her hand dropped to the side. Could anyone blame her? She couldn’t help but freeze up while her brain tried to comprehend the situation all while trying to listen to what Y/n was saying to her. It was the whole reason why she blurted out nonsense at some point: she was trying to make conversation but her mind was short-circuiting. 

She remembers the first time she saw the girl before 4221’s debut and there hadn’t been a word about a new group debuting, everyone was surprised when it was a band that debuted. 

Anyway, Hanni had stayed curious about the mysterious girl she had seen walk by a few times before learning who she was when their first EP dropped with music videos, followed by interviews, reality shows and whatnot. 

Ever since Hanni decided to listen to their debut EP–on the same day it dropped–she had grown even more curious about the abstruse band and maybe slightly infatuated by the even more alien frontwoman. Everyone was drawn to mysteries and Y/n was one. 

Hanni had stayed watching her with a desire to approach her, talk to her, befriend her and get to know her, but she was nonetheless a coward. How could she walk up to Y/n when the frontwoman was friends with everyone at the label and always busy with someone? Not only that but aside from having an infatuation with her mystery, their band's concept, music, lyrics and more, she had a small crush on the undeniably pretty yet somewhat odd girl. 

She admired from afar; Y/n was like an alien that accidentally got put in a band and now stayed on Earth and Hanni wanted to hear more about it. It was safe to say that she was somewhat of a fan. 

It wasn’t something she had kept to herself either as her members made fun of her for it. 

 “Well, you didn’t have to go that far you know?” Hanni said with a frown, her lips forming a faint pout while she bitterly stared at Minji who rolled her eyes.

“Okay, but which one is it?”

“Maybe the second, but!” The girl started as they continued with their walk back. She lifted the torn-off piece of box that had the number, waving it in front of Minji. “Bro, she gave me her number–well, her managers, but she would send hers after I text.” Hanni still couldn’t believe it, she had heard that Y/n was friendly, but she hadn’t expected this outcome.

“And what are you going to do? Go out with her and continue staring?”

“Could you be supportive for once and stop roasting me?”

“Fine, but you always fumble,” that was one thing Hanni refused to do with Y/n even if today was a bad start. However, it couldn’t be that bad if they had somewhat of a conversation and she got a number without even asking for it. 

“Says you.” 

“I don’t fumble any women.” Minji proudly stated and Hanni scoffed. 

“That’s because you can’t fumble something you don’t get,” she bit back as they approached their door, already hearing the rest of their group members from the inside.

“Okay, bro.” The leader dismissed with a sour tone as she opened the door, Hanni following after her as she looked down at the number with a giddy feeling on the inside. 

"She even knows my name."

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Glynis Johns (Mary Poppins, The Court Jester)—LISTEN, I'd let that woman's voice with all its gravely hoarseness (positive) wash over me all goddamn day, but if that's not enough she managed to play the straight woman to Danny Kaye's jester, all with her cleavage so plunging it might as well have been catapulted into the ocean right after Basil Rathbone

Eartha Kitt (Anna Lucasta, St. Louis Blues)—My friend and I have a saying: NOBODY is Eartha Kitt. A thousand have tried, and they've all come up empty and will continue to do so. Everyone knows her for something: from "Santa Baby" to Yzma in Emperor's New Groove to Catwoman to making Lady Bird Johnson cry for the Vietnam War. She was a master of comedy and sex, an extremely vocal activist, and she aged like fine wine... I honestly don't know what I can say about her that hasn't already been said, so I'll stick to linking all my propaganda. Like what else do you want from me. She was iconic at everything she ever did. Literally name another. How can anyone even think of her and not want to absolutely drown?

This is round 4 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Glynis Johns:

She walks the line between sexy and cute. Her best role for me is in "The Court Jester as Maid Jean. She's fantastic as the soft but tough captain of the outlaw band and she looks stunning in every gown she wears throughout the film. And of course we can't forget her iconic turn as the suffragette mother, Mrs. Banks, in Mary Poppins! Also shoutout to her distinctive and beautiful voice, kind of smoky and husky. Extremely hot and set her apart from many of her peers."

"She was amazing in Mary Poppins (the Suffragette song is severely underrated) and apparently she was Welsh? National pride! And she advocated for arts funding in Wales, which is very cool. Also, she died recently (RIP) making her one of the last survivors of the Golden Age of Hollywood, according to Wikipedia. Also also, she just has a cheeky energy I like? And her eyes are beautiful!"

"She had this wonderful wit and charm to her no matter the role and the most distinctive, striking voice!"

"I mean, incredibly beautiful and talented, can do drama can do comedy. And she was a mermaid."

"Like Bette Davis she has eyes to die for. Unlike Bette Davis you felt comforted by them, even when she was batting her eyelashes at you. Would glady go to Downing Street with her and throw things at the Prime minister"

"Listen, listen. I was raised on Mary Poppins and "Votes for women! (step in time)" single-handedly taught me how to be a feminist. Also The Court Jester is one of my favourite movies of all time and she is UNBELIEVABLY gorgeous, charismatic, funny, and clever in it. She knocks several men out. Absolute icon."

"I love Glynis Johns. Most of the reason is The Court Jester where she's a sensible and capable foil to whatever what going on with Danny Kaye at the time. She was also the first star I based an OC on. An OC that I still have to this day! Anyway here have some YouTube links love u bye"

Mermaid clip:

Court Jester (sharing a bed trope):

Court Jester (seducing the king):

"VOTES FOR WOMEN! Well, votes for this woman. Please."

Eartha Kitt:

"A hot vintage woman who was not just known for her voice, beauty, poise, and presence, but also her unapologetic ways of speaking about how she was mistreated in the show business as a girl who grew up on cotton fields in South Carolina in the 1930s through the 1940s coming to Broadway first and then Hollywood."

"Have you watched her sing?? Have you seen her face?? Have you heard her talk?? How could you not fall instantly in love. She makes me incoherent with how hot she is."

"She can ACT she can SING she can speak FOUR LANGUAGES she is a GODDESS!!! Although she is (rightfully) remembered for her singing, TV appearances (Catwoman my beloved), and later film roles, her early appearances in film are no less impressive or noteworthy!! She’s an amazing actress with so much charisma in every role. She was also blacklisted from Hollywood for 10 years for criticizing the Johnson administration/Vietnam War, so. Iconic. Also Orson Welles apparently called her “the most exciting woman in the world.”

"She had such a stunning, remarkable appearance, like she could tear you to shreds with just a glance- but the most undeniable part of her hotness was her voice, and it makes sense that it's what most people nowadays know her for. Nothing encapsulates the sheer magnetism of her singing better than this clip of her and Nat King Cole in St. Louis Blues, she pops in at 2:49. Also I know it's post-1970 but her song that was cut from Emperor's New Groove is likely to make you feel Feelings."

Even with as racist as Hollywood was in the 1950s and 60s, Eartha Kitt STILL managed to have a thriving career. She also once had a threesome with Paul Newman and James Dean, and called out LBJ over the Vietnam War so hard that it made First Lady Johnson cry. Eartha Kitt was talented, sexy, and a total badass activist.

[minefield-of-a-ninja]

*images credited to Kim Kardashian Twitter, and CW photo stills

Anonymous Prompt: I really want demon dean stalking someone but I don’t know how to do that with consent? But guh just the thought of him.

Characters: Knight of Hell/Demon Dean Winchester x unnamed female character

Tags/warnings: 18+ only; this is not your mother’s Dean Winchester; stalking; exhibitionism; voyeurism; mutual masturbation; dirty talk; horny on aisle 3; fuck it, we ball

Words: 2,400

Author’s notes: #Mutual Masturbation for @jacklesversebingo

This did not turn out the way I'd planned, and it's not nearly as dark as I thought it would be. But I still love it! I hope you love it, too.

Thank you @brrose-apothecary @talltalesandbedtimestories @sam-is-my-safe-word @runawaydr3amerao3 @bigmouthlass for idea bouncing, and @stusbunker for the proof read and green light.

ENNUI

For some people, the passage of time is beautiful and magical; the smallest things are to be cherished. For others, time passing reinforces our connection with the world, marking each pulse of the rhythm of life. For her, time measures the loss and emptiness of what isn’t or will ever be again. 

Today is a milestone birthday for her. The days leading up to it have been punctuated by discoveries of new lines, bulges, and other undesirable changes to her body that remind her she’s steadily failing.

Since she had just two appointments this morning, she decided to close her office early and hit the pool shared by her HOA. Her neighbors are mostly professionals without children, and it’s Tuesday; she’s sure she’ll have the pool to herself to languish in the wet heat of July in the Midwest.

That annoying fucking saying ‘it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity’, comes for her breath and doesn’t leave. It seeps into the lining of her lungs, heavy and damp, slowing and weighting each step she takes toward the south-facing bank of chairs. Once she reaches the chair she always uses, she drops her canvas tote to the concrete and shrugs out of the sheer wrap before shuffling out of her sandals.

She bends to rifle through her bag for her tanning oil, and a faint chill begins to weave its way up her spine. 

+

Dean is sitting in the front seat of the Impala, swallowing the last bite of his Biggerson’s double bacon and cheese when she snags his attention. She walks with the measured confidence that speaks more of a dare than of enthusiasm. She’s alone, and everything about her vibe tells Dean that she’s more than comfortable with that. 

She doesn’t miss a beat as she makes her way to a randomly chosen lounger in a line of another dozen exactly like it. She lets her bag slip from her grasp, and her robe floats from her straight shoulders to join it at her feet.

She’s small in stature but she looks strong and fit—thick thighs and sculted arms, a narrow waist, and curves upon curves. Dean's never cared much about short, tall, fat, thin; he likes women and sex, and if he hits it off with someone, he’s down to fuck.

But this woman is a work of art.

He watches her dig through her bag, dragging his gaze from her delicate ankles and smooth calves and thighs to the generous curve of her ass. He imagines wrapping arms around her, lifting her to carry her to... bed, most likely.

He chuckles to himself. 

She takes a seat half-upright with her legs outstretched and applies oil to her bronze skin. He wishes he could rub it in for her. He lets himself believe she can read his mind, that she's doing this for him, putting on a show just for him. 

Why not? 

When she unties her bikini top to expose her full, heavy tits and dusky nipples, he doesn’t think twice about popping the button on his jeans and pulling his hot, persistently hard cock from his boxers.

+

As she had hoped, she’s alone at the pool. The small cluster of townhouses where she lives and the complexes on either side are as quiet as any Tuesday afternoon. Other than the birds and squirrels in the trees, she’s got the place to herself.

Well, and the old black Chevy parked at the Biggerson’s next door and the shadowy figure within. She may be cynical, but she’s self-aware, and she’s going to squeeze every drop of pleasure from this bland existence as possible. 

She’s always been an exhibitionist, definitely a thrill-seeker.  She pulls the tie at her neck until the triangles, scarcely covering her breasts, fall away. Then she splashes oil across her collarbones, letting it heat and drip down and around, and between her breasts. 

She flicks her shaded eyes to the car before hefting and massaging the full mounds of flesh, then sighs and nuzzles into her lounger. She bites her bottom lip hard as she pinches and twists her puckered nipples between her thumbs and forefingers.

She notices the figure shifting in the driver’s seat. They don’t start the engine or exit the vehicle. Instead, they lift a palm to their mouth and, she imagines, they spit before the hand disappears out of her sight once more.

“Fuck,” she whispers with a smile as she settles her head back against the plush headrest, dragging one hand down her torso and pushing it into her bikini bottoms.

+

That smirk.

Dean looks around the parking lot to find no one else around—it’s as empty as her pool area. He looks back to see that she’s planted her feet on the ground on either side of her chair, her legs spread open, and one hand working rough and slow in her bikini bottoms while the other pulls at her nipples.

“Fuck yes, sweetheart. Do it for me,” Dean mutters, twisting and pumping his cock. 

He grunts and groans as she pulls her hand from her bathing suit and lifts it to her mouth. She raises her head, then, and pushes two fingers between her luscious lips. She sucks and licks her fingers, taking her time, and Dean wishes she wasn’t wearing those mirrored sunglasses. He wants to see her eyes.

Are they blue? Green? Brown?

Is she watching him like he’s watching her?

After what feels like the longest and most uncertain staring contest, she pushes her fingers back between her legs. She doesn’t immediately put her head back, though. This time, she licks her lips and grips the edge of her chair with the hand she isn't using to fuck herself.

“That’s right, good girl, show me how you like it.”

He grips the steering wheel as he pumps himself until her mouth drops open and she starts to tremble. Her gorgeous tits bounce and her hips undulate, and, before he knows it, he’s spurting hot over his fist. 

+

She slams her head back against the headrest, sweating and panting even more than she was from the afternoon sun. She feels gooey and giddy, and light. She opens her eyes and heaves a sigh of satisfaction, pitching forward to look across the pool to Biggerson’s parking lot.

A flash inside the car lights a cigarette, and she catches the first glimmer of the dark stranger. He holds her gaze for a beat, the flame’s reflection dancing in eyes so dark they appear black, before throwing the zippo closed and roaring from the empty lot.

She sighs again as she sits up straight and ties her top back in place before standing, stretching, and striding toward the pool to dive in. The water is cool and calm as she strokes from one end of the pool and back again three times before barrel-rolling to her back to aimlessly float. A light breeze ruffles the leaves overhead, making the sunlight flicker like a strobe. 

After a while, she draws a deep breath before tucking into herself to blissfully sink to the bottom of the muted 4-foot depth.

+

“Sure.” Dean nods and rolls his eyes as Crowley nags him on the other end of the line.  

Crowley gave him a job, which is what brought him to her town, and he really should do it—to calm The Mark and keep the peace with the King of Hell—but he’d rather be knocking on her front door. 

Seeing her yesterday has completely derailed his plans. It’s been years since he felt an instant connection with someone like he feels with her. Separated by the green vining through the black chain link and shade inside his car, he felt her. He wants to feel more. 

“I’ll take care of it, OK?”

He isn’t lying, not really; he’ll take the guy out, just not right now. He’s... preoccupied.

“Now, Dean. Not tomorrow, not next week-”

“Yeah. I know. I’ll get it done. Bye.”

Dean cuts the line and tosses his phone to the passenger seat then looks up just in time to see her exiting her townhome. She’s wearing those stretchy kinds of pants women wear to the gym with heeled boots and a leather jacket. Dean has no idea what the fuck that outfit is all about, but her ass looks incredible. She takes even steps with her head held high. The view from behind her is infuriating. With every stride, her ass plumps and sways, and her wide hips tease him relentlessly.

He fires up the engine and puts the car in Drive before carefully pulling away from the curb to follow her. 

He pictures what she’d look like bent over the hood of the Impala. He imagines yanking those stupid fucking pants down to her knees and kicking her heeled feet wide. She’d moan and arch her back, presenting her perfect, bare ass to him. He’d smack it, and she’d yelp, begging for more. 

She’d beg. And he’d grab a fistful of her shiny black hair to twist and squeeze as he slammed inside her over and over.

“Fuck,” he groans, pressing the heel of his palm down onto his ever-present and now throbbing erection.

He watches her toss her hair as she turns into a storefront six blocks from her front door, and Dean slides into another parallel spot and waits.

+

The drugstore door closes behind her, and she’s instantly enveloped by artificially cooled air. One of the many things she despises about midwestern summers is the necessity of air conditioning. She procrastinates turning hers on inside her townhouse every season as long as possible, but when her clients begin to complain, she gives in.  

She doesn’t waste time browsing for anything other than what she came for—eye cream. Yesterday’s existential crisis is a distant memory, surpassed by him. 

She thinks it’s silly that he’s trying to be stealthy, parking a block down the road, like she didn’t see that ridiculous car of his in front of her house before she even opened her door. This game of cat and mouse is fun for her, though. There’s mystery and suspense. It distracts her from the mundane.

She pays for her eye cream and drops it into her handbag before replacing her sunglasses over her eyes. She doesn’t know the rules of this game they’re playing, but she’s never played by anyone’s rules except her own, so it doesn’t really matter.

Back out in the heat, she pauses before heading toward the restaurant to meet a friend for lunch. Sunlight beams off the chrome bumper of his car, making her squint even with her sunglasses on. She shields her eyes and tosses him a smirk, then turns to walk the other direction.

+

She sees him now, and she saw him yesterday.

That fucking smirk of hers is the guarantee he needs. Every step she takes and every move she makes is an invitation, and he has to think long and hard about whether that’s a good thing or not. Because he’s sure that not only does she see that he’s watching her, but that once she sees him up close and personal, she’ll see who he really is.

She’s a kindred spirit. He knows this as well as anyone knows when they find that person, that connection. He doesn’t know what the connection is exactly, but he knows it’s there, and it’s undeniable.

But can she hold her own with him?

He decides to follow her with renewed purpose. 

+

After lunch, she stops at a consignment shop, the florist, and the liquor store. She wanders along the selection of wines, row by row, waiting. She doesn’t have to wait much longer, though.

“Lotta choices, huh?”

The ticking of her heart speeds up from the sound of his thick, masculine voice. It’s only been 24 hours, but she’s been on tenterhooks, willing him to approach her, and it’s finally happening.

Then she turns to face him and gasps.

He’s gorgeous—tall, broad-shouldered, perfectly proportioned, defined, angular jawline, thick eyelashes, and a mouth that has her rapidly dampening her underwear. But it’s his eyes that give her pause. 

Sparkling obsidian. She wasn’t imagining what she witnessed yesterday. Then he blinks to reveal the most exquisite jade. Her skin crackles with anticipation. He’s like no one or thing she’s ever seen before.

She wants to know everything.

“Small talk? After all we’ve been through together?” she murmurs, shifting into him like he’s a black hole that will never let her go. 

She can’t- won’t deny him.

+

He narrows his gaze and slowly tilts his head, studying her face. 

“Honey, we can talk about anything you want.” He scans her bright, whiskey eyes and the straight bridge of her nose leading to the enticing pitch of her top lip. “But I’d rather do something else with my mouth.”

Her eyelids flutter and he chuckles, teasing the backs of his incisors with the tip of his tongue. He reaches for her, tucking one hand under the back of her hair and bringing her the last few inches closer. 

“Like what?” she whispers, and he meets her trembling lips with a firm, insistent kiss. 

“I think you know,” he mutters, turning and pressing her against the selection of Australian whites.

She hums, draping her arms around his neck. “I wanna hear you say it.”

Dean drags her flush against him by her waist and twists his fist in the back of her long, raven hair. And he tells her what she wants to hear.

“I’m gonna taste every inch of you.” He mumbles against her throat and lower. “I’m gonna suck those beautiful tits and bite your tight nipples.” He pushes a knee between her thighs and lifts until his leg meets the hot, damp crotch of her thin, stretchy pants, then scrapes his teeth over the shell of her ear. “And I’m gonna lick and play with your little clit until you're begging me to fuck you. And then I’ll lick you some more.”

She grinds over his thigh. “We gonna do this here?” she breathes. 

Dean huffs a laugh as he steps away, setting her back on her own two feet. He holds her hand and her gaze. “Yeah, I know how much you like an audience. But I want you naked and I don’t wanna share you.”

She swallows and nods. “What’re we waiting for?”

Dean grins and spins toward the door, leading her out into the afternoon sun.

Dean Winchester Masterlist | MJ’s Masterlist

[girlactionfigure]

Worn and weary, balding, with sad eyes, Raoul Wallenberg looked much older than his 31 years of age when in 1944 he was assigned the responsibility of saving Jews in Hungary. The assignment came by way of the War Refugee Board, an American organization formed that same year with the goal of saving Jews from persecution by the Nazis.

Raoul, who had some Jewish lineage but was not considered Jewish, was born in Sweden to a prominent family of bankers, diplomats, and politicians. He was expected to follow in the footsteps of his family, but he decided to become an architect.

He went to study architecture in America, at the University of Michigan. During his time in college, Raoul worked odd jobs despite his family’s wealth, and hitchhiked across the US, Canada, and Mexico during holidays. He continued hitchhiking even after getting robbed and thrown into a ditch by four men who offered him a lift. In a letter to his grandfather, Raoul wrote of his love of hitchhiking, “When you travel like a hobo, everything’s different. You have to be on the alert the whole time. You’re in close contact with new people every day. Hitchhiking gives you training in diplomacy and tact.”

Raoul finished the University of Michigan with honors, even winning a medal for his scholastic achievements. Unable to find architecture work in Sweden after graduation, Raoul briefly lived in South Africa, soon moving to Palestine for a banking apprenticeship. It was in Palestine that Raoul first encountered Jewish refugees from Germany. The refugees made a strong impact on Raoul.

Upon returning to Sweden, Raoul went into the import/export business with a man of Hungarian Jewish decent. Once it became harder for his partner to travel to Hungary due to his being Jewish, Raoul started making the trips himself. He traveled frequently to Budapest, learned Hungarian in addition to his already knowing French, English, German, and Russian, and ultimately went on to head the international arm of the business, soon becoming a joint owner of the company.

In 1944 Germany occupied Hungary. At the time of the occupation, Hungary had close to 700,000 Jewish citizens. By the time Raoul arrived in Hungary on his mission of rescue, over 400,000 of them had been sent to Auschwitz.

Raoul wasted no time. He did everything he could think of to save Jewish people. He bribed, extorted, bluffed, and threatened to achieve his aims of saving as many people as possible.

With a fellow Swedish diplomat he created official looking protective passes to give out to Jews granting them Swedish citizenship and making them exempt from wearing the yellow badge that Nazis required them to wear. Sandor Ardai, one of Raoul’s drivers, recalled a time when Raoul came upon a train full of Jews about to depart to Auschwitz,

“He climbed up on the roof of the train and began handing in protective passes through the doors which were not yet sealed. He ignored orders from the Germans for him to get down, then the Arrow Cross [the Hungarian Nazi party] men began shooting and shouting at him to go away. He ignored them and calmly continued handing out passports to the hands that were reaching out for them. I believe the Arrow Cross men deliberately aimed over his head, as not one shot hit him, which would have been impossible otherwise. I think this is what they did because they were so impressed by his courage. After Wallenberg had handed over the last of the passports he ordered all those who had one to leave the train and walk to the caravan of cars parked nearby, all marked in Swedish colours. I don’t remember exactly how many, but he saved dozens off that train, and the Germans and Arrow Cross were so dumbfounded they let him get away with it!”

In total Raoul gave out tens of thousands of such protective passes, but the German government eventually caught on to the ruse and ruled the passes invalid. When Raoul heard of this, he called on Baroness Elisabeth Kemeny, the wife of the Hungarian Minister for Foreign Affairs in Budapest, for help,

‘’Raoul implored me to help. He was desperate. I talked to my husband and said he must do something. He told me ‘I can’t fight the whole cabinet.’ But after midnight word came that 9,000 passes would be honored. I can still remember Raoul’s elation, his happiness.’’ The baroness had finally persuaded her husband to help by threatening to leave him if he didn’t.

When the Germans abandoned the use of trains to transport Jewish prisoners, instead forming 125 mile death marches toward Auschwitz, Raoul began visiting stopping areas to save people.

“‘You there!’ The Swede pointed to an astonished man, waiting for his turn to be handed over to the executioner. ‘Give me your Swedish passport and get in that line,’ he barked. ‘And you, get behind him. I know I issued you a passport.’ Wallenberg continued, moving fast, talking loud, hoping the authority in his voice would somewhat rub off on these defeated people…The Jews finally caught on. They started groping in pockets for bits of identification. A driver’s license or birth certificate seemed to do the trick. The Swede was grabbing them so fast; the Nazis, who couldn’t read Hungarian anyway, didn’t seem to be checking. Faster, Wallenberg’s eyes urged them, faster, before the game is up. In minutes he had several hundred people in his convoy. International Red Cross trucks, there at Wallenberg’s behest, arrived and the Jews clambered on…”

In one of his final acts of rescue, Raoul intimidated the supreme commander of German forces in Hungary, Major-General Gerhard Schmidthuber, into not blowing up a Jewish ghetto housing 70,000 people. As the war was coming to an end and there was not enough time to send the remaining Jews to Auschwitz, Adolf Eichmann, a major organizer of the Holocaust, ordered the slaughter of all Hungarian Jews in one mass execution. When Raoul found out about this, he sent word to Schmidthuber that if he were to go through with the slaughter, Raoul would personally see that he was hanged for crimes against humanity after the war. Knowing that Hitler was close to defeat, Schmidthuber acquiesced and called off the massacre.

Raoul took such risks because his perspective on the work he was doing was simple, “I will never be able to go back to Sweden without knowing inside myself that I’d done all a man could do to save as many Jews as possible.”

In total Raoul saved close to 100,000 Jews. He himself was captured by the Soviets on suspicion of being a spy and is presumed to have died a Soviet prisoner.

Historical Snapshots

[thethirdromana]

Visiting Whitby with Mina Murray

Last year I illustrated Mina's description of Whitby a selection of modern photos. This year, I thought I might go one better, so here are some views of Whitby as Mina might have seen it in the 1890s*.

[*or as close as I could manage.]

"This is a lovely place. The little river, the Esk, runs through a deep valley, which broadens out as it comes near the harbour."

"A great viaduct runs across, with high piers, through which the view seems somehow further away than it really is."

[I don't actually know the age of this photo, but it looks about right.]

"The valley is beautifully green, and it is so steep that when you are on the high land on either side you look right across it, unless you are near enough to see down."

"The houses of the old town—the side away from us—are all red-roofed, and seem piled up one over the other anyhow..."

"... like the pictures we see of Nuremberg."

[this is Nuremberg sometime between 1890 and 1906]

"Right over the town is the ruin of Whitby Abbey, which was sacked by the Danes, and which is the scene of part of "Marmion," where the girl was built up in the wall."

"It is a most noble ruin, of immense size, and full of beautiful and romantic bits; there is a legend that a white lady is seen in one of the windows."

"Between it and the town there is another church, the parish one, round which is a big graveyard, all full of tombstones."

"This is to my mind the nicest spot in Whitby, for it lies right over the town, and has a full view of the harbour and all up the bay to where the headland called Kettleness stretches out into the sea."

"It descends so steeply over the harbour that part of the bank has fallen away, and some of the graves have been destroyed. In one place part of the stonework of the graves stretches out over the sandy pathway far below. There are walks, with seats beside them, through the churchyard; and people go and sit there all day long looking at the beautiful view and enjoying the breeze."

[this painting by William Lionel Wyllie is from 1922, so a bit later, but I thought it was too pretty not to include. St Mary's and the graveyard are at the top left, and you can see the steep descent below.]

"The harbour lies below me, with, on the far side, one long granite wall stretching out into the sea, with a curve outwards at the end of it, in the middle of which is a lighthouse. A heavy sea-wall runs along outside of it. On the near side, the sea-wall makes an elbow crooked inversely, and its end too has a lighthouse. Between the two piers there is a narrow opening into the harbour, which then suddenly widens."

"It is nice at high water; but when the tide is out it shoals away to nothing, and there is merely the stream of the Esk, running between banks of sand, with rocks here and there."

[from Horne's Guide to Whitby, 1897]

"Outside the harbour on this side there rises for about half a mile a great reef, the sharp edge of which runs straight out from behind the south lighthouse. At the end of it is a buoy with a bell, which swings in bad weather, and sends in a mournful sound on the wind. They have a legend here that when a ship is lost bells are heard out at sea." 

"The steps are a great feature on the place. They lead from the town up to the church, there are hundreds of them—I do not know how many—and they wind up in a delicate curve; the slope is so gentle that a horse could easily walk up and down them."

And a bonus - might Mina have bought one of these postcards for Jonathan?

[they are from 1903, so the answer to this is "no", but again I thought they were too pretty not to include.]

[oldguardleatherdog]

The Night Before the Tribute In Light

September 10, 2003

I.

One month ago today, this long-forgotten photo suddenly popped up in the photo app on my laptop. I took this photo with my Sanyo clamshell phone on September 10, 2003, 21 years ago tonight, from Hudson River Park in Manhattan.

Don't ask me how it survived all these years or where it's been stored all this time or how in the world it could have found its way to me from the long-dead storage servers of a long-defunct cell phone carrier. We're in the penumbra of The Anniversary, and time is out of joint.

I had been back in New York for about a month (after getting violently run out of the place I was staying by a fellow who is now one of my closest friends), homeless and living in that roach-infested HIV crack-house shelter at 96th and Broadway that I describe in "The One Decent Thing I Ever Did" (it’s archived on this blog), and you can imagine my state of head and spirit at this moment, the night before the 2nd anniversary of the terror attacks on the World Trade Center that drove me from my home in Lower Manhattan, four blocks east of the site.

I was sitting on a bench in Hudson River Park on the West Side of Manhattan, somewhere near Houston Street, maybe ten or fifteen blocks north of World Trade. I hadn't noticed these beams of light as I walked, and I think they might have just been activated while I was sitting there. As I recall, it was a full moon in Virgo, and I was positioned just right to snap this shot. I had *no* idea what this was all about, as I recall, but I thought the image was so striking and affecting that I wanted to capture it.

As it turns out, this was the tech run-through for the first September 11th installation of the “Tribute In Light”. Here’s Google’s AI summary of this remarkable memorial:

So there I was, just two years after the blast, stunned by this sudden, mysterious apparition rising from just south of what was still a giant, messy hole in the ground. I was still not fully myself at that time and would not regain my full memory or sense of who I was until the following January (therein lies a tale!), and as I recall I was just numbly stunned, not knowing what to make of it.

As I write, I’m getting the physical sense memory of that moment: the dog in me (my medulla oblongata speaking) feels his hackles rise, it’s not what I expect to see filling the hole in the sky, is it another attack? Do I bark at it, sound an alarm, run towards it, away from it, why is there light there, is this some unholy ruse, another trick being played on me from that big smoky hole where nothing but poison has spilled out for the longest time?

My phone rang. It was a fellow that I had met and hung out with in San Francisco while I was stranded there, and I was stunned to hear from him, especially at that moment. “Hi Dave… well, right now I’m on the riverfront looking at the damnedest thing… [I just wanted to make sure you were ok] hey, thanks for checking in… yeah, take care bud.” I closed the phone and started walking south along the riverfront, toward the light beams.

When I got there, I saw the massive banks of klieg lights assembled in their arrays, a strange and unfamiliar (unwelcome) echo of the shapes and the placement and the footprints of the place I loved so well.

The faces of the artists who surrounded the lights were intense, focused, sober. I still didn’t quite know what was going on, but there was profound reverence in the air, on those faces, at that place, as the beams of pure white light soared upwards, past the point of naked-eye discernment, unending, likely petering out tens of thousands of feet off that spoiled piece of ground, perhaps piercing the ionosphere, did they get clearance from the Federal Aviation Administration for this? Are pilots being disoriented by these columns at 45,000 feet? Do they touch the feet of God?

II.

And I kept walking south, my back to the light,

Down to the oldest part of the civilized island,

Past the Battery, the bronze bull, the buttonwood tree,

The Port of New York dead ahead,

The Staten Island Ferry terminal, ramshackle, ancient,

Entry restricted by terror tape and armed sentinels

No two uniforms alike, a panoply of enforcement,

Heavy weapons at the ready, so jarring in my neighborhood,

And the working dogs with the keen snouts, the trained muzzles,

Jumping up to paw at the brown bag in the soldier’s hand

Is that peanut butter? Apple? Hunk of cheese?

Let’s play! You’ve been so serious, so worried,

You smell sad and scared, are you lost? Let’s play!

Even Cerberus needs break time, belly rubs, treats!

For the first time in weeks, I smile to myself

As I round past the ferry, those strange lights at my back.

Hope I can sneak past the turnstile downstairs,

I won’t have to hike back up three hundred blocks

To that awful low place. Did you know roaches bite?

They shit on you too. Try to sleep, fully dressed,

Watch cap pulled low on my head, long sleeved shirt

Buttoned up to the collar, heavy pants tucked in boots,

Gloves on my hands, one more night without food

Half-bag of speed takes my mind off the pain

Sleep comes in fits if at all. – On the train

Dreading the stop: ninety-sixth street and Broadway.

Tomorrow, this city will jack itself off

In performative weeping and gnashing and cursing

Oh, how we loved them! I snort in derision,

You didn’t lose nothin', you pieces of shit!

Let the dead bury the dead. Beams of light

Don’t feed this refugee reeking of ashes -

What, do I smell bad? So sorry to stink up

The place where you’ve laid out the feast for your friends

Who still have their jobs, their high homes in the towers

Behind the glass doors where your larders are stocked

With the food that you bought with your government money

That flooded your midtown Manhattan apartment

With all the new clothes, electronics, the sausages

Fresh from Enrico’s, Zabar’s, D’agostino’s,

Bought with the Victim’s Fund money you stole

When you filed your claim. “OMG, it was awful!

“I couldn’t get up to the fifty-fourth floor,

“I had to find shelter on Upper Park Avenue.

“Power was out. I was homeless that night!

“So glad that my friend who was shopping in Gramercy

“Gave me the number to call for my claim

“September 11th was horrid! I told them

“I couldn’t go home for two nights! Oh, thank God

“The claim got approved with a wink and a nod

“And no one’s the wiser – I’ve never been south

“Of the Plaza Hotel! That all happened on Wall Street,

“Who goes down there? Jesus Christ, are you kidding?

“That’s four miles away! Christopher, are you coming

“Or what? Reservations at Nobu won’t wait

“For you or for me, so quit primping!”

The pain

In my stomach, relentless. My gorge won’t stop heaving.

Am I gonna make it? Damn, *ouch!* What the fuck…

The tooth that I hoped would hold out just gave way,

Fuck me. Another huge hole in my grille.

When I made six figures and lived in a high-rise,

Fuck buddies laughing on Saturday night,

Nobody told me that one hundred minutes

And two hijacked jet planes would make such a difference.

No one will laugh with me now – my best friends

Are yelling and angry, how dare I show up

Sweaty and toothless, a walking reminder

Of September tenth. No, I’m not gonna feed you.

III.

Now, twenty years later, they’ve retooled their memory:

“Animal! Damn, dog! We’ve missed you, you know,

“Wow, you’re alive! You look fabulous! Listen,

“I never gave up on you. Give a call

“When you come to the City. I want you to meet

“My beautiful husband – he remembers you too!”

IV.

Twin beams of light where the Towers were anchored,

Okay, not exactly precisely those spots,

But who’s gonna criticize? Look and recall

How majestic they were. Yeah, the new One World Trade

Is cool, I suppose – no one mentions the absence

Of Two World Trade Center. Insurance, you know.

Not enough money or civic ambition,

And Bloomberg discouraged it. Why add a target?

“Don’t you think sixty or seventy stories

“Are more than enough? Hell, let’s just get it done.

“The sooner we finish construction, the better.”

V.

*There will never be lumens of adequate volume

Sufficient to seal that hole in the sky,

But the hole in my heart I will finish, I tell you.

Walk with me as I go forward. Tomorrow

I’m back in the studio. Tonight, we can play!

You smell like apples and – damn, is that chocolate?

(our light beams shine upward forever)

"Good boy!"

Animal J. Smith

San Francisco, California

September 10, 2024

[thealogie]

Hello Thea, what’s some stuff you like to do in London? I’m here for Macbeth and I have some stuff I want to see, but I was wondering what all you like to do when you’re here

Hi! These are my favorite London activities:

-going to the free gallery at Somerset House and then walking to Camden Market afterwards to grab a drink and snack on the lower level where there’s usually live music in the afternoons

-going on a long walk through St. James’s park and across one of the bridges and then walking all the way to borough market for a treat at the end of the long walk

-Dishoom

-going browsing/walking/shopping in Camden

-I liked the London Eye and I think it’s the one touristy thing that’s kind of worth doing once. The tickets were expensive if I remember correctly.

-walking along the south bank from the national theatre to the London Eye/Waterloo Pier and then going on the Uber boat for a few stops

-the Tate

[stellarosamarys]

New Writeblr here !

Hi everyone, my name is Stella! I've been on Tumblr for a bit more than ten years now, but never on the writers' side of it. I'm 24, and I write mostly YA Fantasy (though I'm looking to branch into adult at some point as well).

I'd love to meet other writers around here, so please interact if you'd like to be mutuals! I'll leave a bit more about my current WIP under the cut.

TITLE: Vineyard WIP/Winery WIP

GENRE: Young Adult, Contemporary Fantasy

SETTING: A winery in the South of France and its adjacent, weird little village.

COMPS: OUTER BANKS meets STRANGER THINGS, THE RAVEN CYCLE and GRAVITY FALLS

STORY:

17-year-old Nora has had an eventful summer - her sister died, her body maimed beyond recognition by an unidentified beast, and she’s had to take care of her wraith ever since then, for the linden tree by her house has the ability to awake the dead from their slumber. But when her parents announce they’d like to make the winery into a guest house for tourists, Nora will have to fight to keep the dead alive, or risk grieving what she’s never truly lost.

It is easier said than done, especially when the murderer strikes again - and perhaps it was never really a beast, but someone close instead. Alongside Myrtille, an aspiring journalist, Dorian, a boy who can walk through dreams, and Silvan, who got closer to the creature than anyone else, Nora will have to find what exactly killed her sister before moving out of her childhood home once the summer returns.