#welcome to western europe

[upmala]

i miss having fiber optic internet. now i have to deal with a stupid 4G home router that can’t even handle two videocalls at the same time. streaming is absolutely out of the question.

[just-in-cays]

.

[booasaur]

I mean, what more is there to say?

What company we're keeping.

[talisidekick]

I don't care what nationality you are. US, UK, French, German, anyone in Europe, please do me the grandest of favours and spread this around. Steal the link, make your own post, I don't care; just get it to the eyes of your viewers because if they're Canadian, I need your help.

This petition ends May 26th 2023:

What is this about?

"Whereas:

The world is becoming increasingly hostile to transgender and nonbinary individuals;

Transgender and nonbinary people's rights to live as themselves are being restricted and removed in many places;

This includes the so-called "Western democracies" which have historically been presumed safe;

More than a dozen American states have enacted or are considering legislation eliminating or criminalizing gender-affirming care; and

Canada has prided itself on being an inclusive, tolerant, and welcoming society for everyone regardless of gender identity or gender expression.

We, the undersigned, residents of Canada, call upon the House of Commons to extend to transgender and nonbinary people the right to claim asylum in Canada by reason of eliminationist laws in their home countries, whatever country that may be."

It's better to give people an exit plan, and just hope they won't need it, then to do nothing and assume they'll be fine. Help us keep making Canada a positive place for everyone. I hope you'll sign if you're Canadian, and if you're not, I hope you'll help us make some positivity by sharing this around.

(Edit: A bullet point in the petitions description has been removed from this post, but remains on the petition. It's removal is due to misinformation around the UK's Equality Act 2010 only providing protection for those seeking sexual reassignment surgery. And while the Equality Act 2010 does explicitly state this, the Equality and Human Rights Commission has released an Equality Act 2019 Code of Practice document that specifies all transgender people are protected under the protected characteristic of "gender reassignment" regardless of desire to undergo the specific surgery initially identified in the Equality Act 2010 document. There has been, as of this editation, no direct quote or statement of plans to remove these protections from discrimination to the public.

I'd also like to add that there do exist protections already for 2SLGBTQIA+ folk to seek asylum in Canada, and the MP who made this petition has apparently been made aware of this, however, due to certain restrictions on that act, Canada currently lists the US as a safe country for 2SLGBTQIA+ folk because as long as there is one safe place(state, province, or territory) in the country for queer folk, the ability to seek asylum is denied. This petition clearly states a need to make a more specific clarification regarding this and open up assylum if any discriminatory laws pop up at all within a country, no matter if it's regional laws, or country wide. Specifying this because there's been a reblog or two calling this petition pointless and because I'm already clarifying UK law misinformation, might as well tackle misinformation from my own country as well. ♡)

[ind1g3n0us-lev1t3]

@elenajones23 first of all, who are you, a non Jew to lecture me about what my religion does or doesn’t allow? Who are you to tell me, as someone who doesn't practice the same religion, that I can or cannot do things?

The Torah isn’t a simple set of guidelines and commands, it’s far more complex than that. It has different interpritations, so saying the torah doesn't allow it is blatantly false. The name "Zion" (Promised land) is mentioned 154 times.

“It isn’t your land and it never was your land” bullshit.

We absolutely do have a land, if we don't, then why do we have holy sights in Jerusalem? Why are names like "Jaffa" and "Haifa" Hebrew?

The land of Israel is where my ancestors came from, it is where they lived, it is where they had a connection to, and it is where they suffered under the romans and were exiled.

We were never welcomed in Europe, we were never welcomed in the rest of the middle east.

These are ancient scrolls called the "Dead sea scrolls" which are a set of ancient Jewish writings dating from the 3rd century BCE.

This is all of what remains of our ancient temple, this is what it once was:

The first temple is Solomon's temple, the second one is Herod's temple, which was destroyed in 70CE by the romans. centuries later, the Muslim caliphates built the Al Aqsa mosque which was built on top of our temple mount. Today, the west wall is all we have left of this historic holy place.

The name "Palestine" was given to the land of Israel by roman colonisers who exiled most of us from the land of Israel, took many of us slaves, and scattered everyone else through western Europe (Some moved further east).

Now about the Nazis = Zionist argument. The Nazis originally made a deal with German Zionist Jews (The Haavara agreement) to bring about a mass migration from Germany to Israel, it should be mentioned that this was because Hitler and the Nazis wanted a Jew-Free Europe, not because the Nazis supported Zionism.

This deal was criticized by both Nazis and Zionists. Zionist criticised it because it made a deal with the devil, and the Nazis criticised it because it went against their philosophy.

The Nazis were extremely antizionist, the belief that they were Zionists is soviet cold war propaganda to demonise the state of Israel and the broader Jewish community. They believed that Jews were biologically incapable of running their own state and were too inferior. Hitler had a "Palestinian" friend (Amin al-Husseini) who campaigned in Berlin, fought for a Palestinian state, and even CONTRIBUTED TO THE HOLOCAUST. They also lead a boycott of Jewish businesses in "Palestine".

So, you're wrong. So very very wrong. You can try to lecture me about the history of my own people and religion all you want, but you're wrong.

Please, kindly fuck off and read a history book. Please attend a Synagogue service and learn more about our religion before you come spewing false bullshit about it.

[stormbornwitch]

Connecting with the Land ~ Australia

Most of the folklore about witches and the practice of witchcraft originates from Europe.

The idea of 'witchcraft' wasn't a thing here in Australia until Europeans brought it with them. However, Indigenous Australians (as far as my research and interviews with elders have gone) follow what Western society would describe as 'animist beliefs' and 'magic rituals' were common practices.

Modern perceptions of animism, particularly in the Western World, are quite negative and viewed as "something hippies believe in." This perception is primarily caused by ingrained racist ideologies stemming from a colonial past (i.e., in order to justify subjugating people, you have to believe you're better than them) which perpetuated beliefs in colonised countries of the "primitive savage" and the "enlightened colonist." That's also not even mentioning the demonising of indigenous beliefs by missionaries of Christianity...

I find it ironic that in Eastern countries like Japan, where Christianity was not historically allowed to spread (banned in 1580s and hundreds of Christians were cruicified), animist beliefs like Shinto are now seen (in the Western world) as cool and mystical, and all the tourists want to visit the shrines of local spirits when they visit...

I'm getting off track, but hopefully you see my point: it is really hard to connect with a land on a spiritual level that is not yours, and was stolen from its traditional custodians on both a physical and spiritual level. I was born here in Australia, and so were my parents, but my ancestry is Scottish and British. I feel torn between two worlds that are so dichotomous from one another...

So, how do I connect with the spirits of the land?

Slowly, and with permission and guidance from local elders because there is a disconnect. I don't speak the language of the land and The Dreaming or 'spirit world' that accompanies our physical one. It doesn't help that much of the local language of the Gubbi Gubbi was lost due to the Stolen Generations, but there are general rules of thumb to follow when working with the Land:

We are a part of the land, and the land is a part of us. We are born from it, and so like our mother, we must care for and protect it. If you take care of the land, the land will take care of you.

Everything is about balance - never take more than you need and always give back what you can to ensure that the land is cared for for the next generation.

Ask first. Everything has a spirit, and you must ask before you take anything (I.e. like a branch from a tree). Thank the spirit for its gift / sacrifice (especially important if you have killed something).

Our ancestors watch over us our whole lives both from The Dreaming and in the physical world in the form of a totem (normally a whole family is represented by one animal). They are our guide, and your family must never hunt/eat your family's totem animal. It is your job to protect that species.

Many of the local landmasses and animals are represented by powerful ancestor spirits or creator spirits. Mooroo-kutchi (meaning red-bill, the name of the spirit of the black swan and an aboriginal girl from The Dreaming who transformed into a black swan searching for the spirit of her beloved Coolum who was killed by Ninderry.)

Smoking ceremonies are usually conducted as part of a 'Welcome to Country'. Each mob has their own traditional plant they use for cleansing the area of bad spirits and promoting healing and protection of visitors, but most use a species of eucalyptus or gum. The ceremony invites you onto the physical land as a guest and asks the ancestor spirits of that mob to watch over and protect you while you're there.

Corroboree (storytelling gathering) ~ knowledge of the land and its spirits are told through song lines and dances, and using the traditional language helps to connect better with these spirits.

Thank you to the local Aunties and Uncles for teaching me these and so much more over the years!

*'Uncle' or 'Aunty' does not mean we're related. Here, it is used as a sign of respect that recognises the age, wisdom, and knowledge of aboriginal elders. Though it's recommended that non-Aboriginal people ask the elder how they would like to be referred to as normally, it's not considered appropriate to refer to them as such unless a strong relationship has been established.

[deliciousangelfestival]

His Silly Princess | Bucky (Oneshot)

Character: Bodyguard!Bucky Barnes x Princess!Reader

Words Count: 1,671

Summary: A modern royal love story. A naive princess who wants to get away from an arranged marriage. She never knew that her guard had loved her since the beginning. 

Main Masterlist || support me: Ko-fi

Thank you to anyone who gave a like, reblog, and left a comment. It motivated me to write more. 

Zylovia is a country where monarchy still exists. It’s a developed country located near Western Europe. 

It’s a prosperous country, and the number of unemployed is also the lowest. Tourists love coming here for the casino, race car, and music festival. 

But this country has one outdated rule. It didn’t apply to the citizens. Only for the royal family. 

“If the female royal member marries a commoner, she will lose her status."

You learned that rule when you were 12 years old as the youngest siblings and Princess Zylovia. You didn't put a deep thought into it. 

But now, when you are almost 30 years old, and your older siblings are already married, you think this is good for you.

Because you realize you’re not fit to do the duty as a princess. 

Your oldest brother has prepared since he was a kid to be the king. When he reaches the age of 40, he will be crowned as the king. Your second brother will be the second commander in the military. 

While you have a job as a painting conservator at the museum, your duty as a princess is to welcome the official foreign guest at the castle. You learned some languages, but you’re not allowed to give any opinion on politics.

You don’t hate being a royal, but sometimes you feel like living in a golden cage. 

And finally, you had enough because, on your recent birthday, your parents talked to you about marriage. 

The king and queen don’t want to be separated from their youngest daughter, but they hint that they wish for her future husband from the royal circle. In other words: arranged marriage. 

You clenched your jaw while smiling at your parents. If the man from the royal circle is a real gentleman, you wouldn’t mind. 

But the problem is, please pardon the harsh language; none of the men from the royal family are your type. 

Your type of man must have a stable job, look good in suits, and have a nice body. 

That’s why, for a couple of days, you’ve made a list of potential future husbands. After you write it, you realize most of the men are from the knights. Perhaps because you always went to meet your second brother at the military training ground, so you know some people. 

Steve Rogers

[Friendly, not married, nerd, loves to paint like me]

Ari Levinson 

[Funny, beautiful hair, handsome]

‘Knock, knock!’ Suddenly, someone knocked on your door.

“Come in.”

You didn’t have to turn around to see who it was. You have known him for years, and your ears are familiar with the sound of his footsteps. 

The person who walked into your room has been your exclusive bodyguard for years - James Barnes, but you always call him Bucky his nickname. 

Bucky is a commoner and an elite soldier. If there’s a shooting competition, he will be in the top three. Your second brother always hates him. 

He has received many medals of honors, but he rejects a knight title from your father. You don’t understand why he declined the offer. If he received it, he could enter politics, and he doesn’t have to follow her around anymore. 

He’s tall, handsome, with perfect blue eyes and has fine muscles on his body. Bucky also has a primarily female fanbase when he wears the military uniform and rides a horse at the independence ceremony. 

He became a celebrity overnight.

But you have never seen or heard any rumor about him with a woman. 

“Your highness, in two hours you are going to attend the tennis tournament.” 

You dropped the pen and dropped your head to the table. “Urgh. Do I have to?”

Bucky chuckled when he saw you unwilling to go. One thing you hate about your duty is to be the guest at the tennis game. You prefer to watch the race car, but it's reserved for your brother's. 

Even though you didn’t want to go, you still dragged your feet to the dressing room to grab your coat. 

When you were searching for the right outfit, you suddenly remembered. “Oh no!” You didn’t hide the potential list that you just wrote. You wish you could dig your own grave and disappear. 

And you were right; Bucky saw your writing. He furrowed his eyebrows while he read your paper. “What’s this? Potential man for marriage?”

You stand beside him; you don’t know why you feel scared. This is the first time you have seen him like this. 

His slender, pointed fingers scratched the two names with his nails. There’s a big X on your paper. 

“Don’t marry any of those men.”

“Why?”

A small smile appeared on his lips, along with a soft voice, “Steve hasn’t moved on from his last girlfriend, and Ari, he loves to drink alcohol. I know you hate the smell of alcohol.”

You felt disappointed; you crumpled the paper and threw it into the trash.

“Marriage? Why all of a sudden?” There's an annoyed tone in his voice.

You rubbed your head and muttered, “I need to get married sooner, or my parents will arrange marriage for me, their friend's kid. And you know the truth, I had enough of being a princess.”

Bucky crossed his arms. “But, why them?”

“What?”

He clenched his fist; Bucky stared at her with an annoyed expression. “Why didn't you put me on the list?”

“....”

You waved your hand. “It doesn’t matter, as long as I got married.”

“So, would you like to marry me?”

Are you having hallucinations? Did Bucky just propose to you?

Bucky got on his knees. “Let’s get married.”

You still haven’t come to your senses. Bucky started talking again. “Think about it. Both of us have known each other for a long time. We’ve known each other's likes and dislikes. We’ve been through many things together.”

He’s right. He’s the safest choice if you want to marry someone. You shrugged your shoulders and accepted his hand. “Alright.”

Bucky's beautiful smile appeared on his face. Before he shook your hand, he felt you slightly pull his hand. When you saw him smile, your heart raced. “But, if in the end, we don’t like each other, please wait after three years, then we could get a divorce.”

Bucky chuckled; his attractiveness is not just in his physical appearance but also in his ability to manage his emotions gracefully and restraintfully. He leaned closer to you, and his hands gently grabbed your chin. 

As his calloused hand touched your skin, a subtle warmth spread on your cheeks. You could feel you're blushing. “Silly girl, it will never happen.”

#######

[Bucky P.O.V]

Then he rests your arms on his. “Then you have the excuse to skip the tournament.”

“Hmm?”

“We should inform this first to His Majesty and Her Majesty.”

“Oh, right.” You nodded, then looked straight into his blue eyes again. “This soon?”

********

When both of you walk through the hallway to meet the King and Queen, Bucky tries his best to calm down. He almost lost his common sense when he saw you write another man's name, and there’s a word of ‘potential husband.’

He looks at you and thinks ‘his silly princesses didn’t realize his feelings for her.’ 

Didn’t she know he declined the offer to be a knight so he could be her guard?

If he became a knight, he would work with her second brother. That’s the last thing he wants to do. 

“So, Bucky, don’t worry about money. When I resign as a princess, the kingdom will give us money.”

Bucky chuckled, seeing his sweet princess worried about their future, “That’s so sweet of you. But you don’t need to worry about that.” He gently patted her arms. He wants to tell you that he owns the famous casino in this kingdom and 5-star hotel chains in a few countries.

When both of you are married, Bucky will ensure you don’t have to work anymore. He is pretty sure that her parents will give their blessings even though he’s a commoner (and he’s super rich). The royal family has outdated rules, but because of it, he could marry you. 

Both of you arrived at the king's office room. The guards bowed their heads to greet you. Then you said, “Princesses Y/N and her guard. Wait… and her future husband, James Barnes wants to meet the king.”

The guards and the butler who opened the door lost their composure. They should have known from your body language walking here together hand in hand when usually Bucky always stands behind you. 

This news is shocking compared to the crown prince, who got caught partying too hard and the second prince, who had a messy love life before he got married. 

It seems like your father, the King, hears your voice. Before the castle butler tells him, you hear the gentle voice, “Come in.”

########

[2 years later]

<Former Princess of Zylovia Y/N, blessed with male twins>

It's the biggest headline in the country after you gave birth. You feel overwhelmed; you can't believe that you're parents now. 

The King and Queen hold your oldest son, while Bucky has the youngest son in his arms. 

Bucky's eyes are full of love, looking both at his sons. He was almost scared to death since you gave birth one month early. But the doctor assured both of you this is normal since you're pregnant with twins. 

Even though you're not a princess, you're still surrounded by your family. 

And Bucky still treats you like a princess. You almost lost your mind when he told you his business, which turned into your parents, and your brothers already know it, too. 

You want to knock your head; you didn't even know Bucky's business helped increase the country's GDP. 

Everyone said Bucky was the lucky guy to marry the former princess, but they were wrong. It's you who is lucky to marry him.

-End-

Join Taglist? ❤️❤️❤️

@magnificentsaladllama, @esotericgalaxy, @xcaptain-winterx, @buckysteveloki-me, @cherrybubblebullet, @bagoffeelings, @darkofimagination, @starsofcloud @shamrockqueen, @shinytreefire, @thezombieprostitute, @mrvlxgrl , @lassie-bird , @cookingdancingchick , @ordelixx , @scott-loki-barnes

[nieves-de-sugui]

A Quick History of BL

As someone who wrote a thesis on this very subject a few years ago, here is the short version of how BL has evolved throughout the years. For the new comers ❤ 

a minute of silence for the original form of this post that tumblr decied to not save right after I saved it

I am going to go with a chronological approach. Unfortunately, I cannot put everything in one post so if there’s any questions about this or that aspect of the history of BL that you want to know and it’s not talked about here, you are welcome to ask me directly :)

Context and influences - Japan in the 60′s

Before the US forced Japan to open its borders to the outside world in the 1800s, homosexual practices were common place between budist monks, samurais and kabuki actors. During the Edo period (1600s to 1800s) there was a very rich amount of poetry, art, books (such as Nanshoku Okagami (The Great Mirror of Male Love) by Ihara Saikaku) and codes of conduct about how to have a good master/aprentice relationship, kinda like the greeks if you know what I mean. However, with the arrival of western influences, in order to become a more “civilized” country, it was all put in the closet. 

Yet, in the 60′s Japan started to pick it up again through literature about young androginous beautiful boys (aka bishounen). On one hand, in 1961, the novel Koibitotachi no Mori (A Lover’s Forest) by Mari Mori was published. It tells the story of a young and beautiful 19 year old worker and a half french half japanese aristocrat, and their tragic romance. On the other hand, Taruho Inagaki wrote Shounen ai no Bigaku (The esthetics of boy-love), an essay on aesthetic eroticism (of which he wrote a lot of). All this was know as Tanbi (lit. aesthetic) literature. It generally refered to literature with implied homosexuality and homoeroticism such as works by Oscar Wilde, Jean Cocteau, etc. And of course, Mori and Inagaki. 

In chinese tanbi is read as danmei (term used to refer to BL novels in china today, ie: The Untamed it’s all connected friends).

From the birth of Shonen Ai  to Yaoi - 70′s to the late 80′s

Around the beginning of the 70′s, shoujo was being revolutionized by the Year 24 Group, a generation of women manga authors (mangaka) who started to explore new themes. Among them, their interest in tanbi gave birth to a new subgenre: Shounen ai. 

Their most known manga were:

Kaze to Ki no Uta (The Ballad of the Wind and Trees) by Keiko Takemiya, and Toma no Shinzo (The Heart of Thomas) by Moto Hagio

Their stories are characterized by having suffering eurpoean bishounen in boarding schools, living an idealized perfect love (meaning passionate) that, despite the tragic end of one of them, lives forever in the other. 

As this genre starts getting popular, more and more fans of these stories start making their own self published manga, aka doujinshi, of the genre. It is around this time that the term Yaoi is coined. Meaning “YAma nashi, Ochi nashi, Imi nashi” (no climax, no fall, no meaning). Basically PWP fanfiction, for the most part. Doujinshis could be considered an equivalent of fanfiction in manga form.  It is also here that the term Fujoshi (aka Rotten Girl, for liking rotten things) starts being used to refer to women readers of yaoi. 

With this rise in popularity come the start of the commercialization of the genre. Which meant the publication of magazines dedicated solely to yaoi/shonen ai/BL. The most popular yaoi manga magazine at the time was June. The common trait of their stories being the therapeutic power of the love between the mains. The traumatized character would heal throught this newfound love.

Most of the stories at this time happened in the West (Europe or the States) as the exploration of these dark themes intertwined with homosexual romance and homoeroticism still feel safer to explore as a foreign concept. One example would be Banana Fish (1985).

Commercialization and Yaoi Ronso -  90′s 

As more publishing houses pick the genre up, the term Boys Love is used to include every type of manga about homosexuality made for women. 

The increasing amount of BL series sees a changes in its themes: 

the start of the “gay for you” trope where one mantains their heterosexuality despite being in a homsexual relationship, 

the uke/seme dynamic (mirroring hetero realtionships) also relating to physical appearence (one being more feminine, the other being more masculine), 

the use of rape as an act love (sexual violence has always been present but here it becomes a staple),

anal sex as the only type of sex, 

older and more masculine men start to appear 

they now happen in Japan

Good examples of the presence of these themes in manga are Gravitation (1996) or Yatteranneeze (1995).

However in 1992, Masaki Sato (a gay activist/drag queen) wrote a letter in a small scale feminist magazine attacking yaoi and pointing out how it “represented a kind of misappropriation or distortion of gay life that impacted negatively upon Japanese gay men”. The female readers of yaoi responded, defending the genre as a means to escape gender roles and explore sexual themes that was never meant to represent the realities of gay men. This is know as the Yaoi Ronso (Yaoi Debates).

The debate ended with both sides understanding more of each other, with mangakas starting to include queer views in their works. It also started the academic reasearch of BL. 

Yet, it is a debate that has been restarted more than once, as it is still relevant despite the evolution of the genre.

more on this on another post

Globalization and coining of BL - 2000′s 

By the beginning of the 2000s BL is being sold all over the world (like all manga), and has become a stable industry. We could say it has finally become it’s own genre. 

Some of the most well known manga series, to us (in the west), of the time are:

Junjou Romantica 2002 Koi Suru Boukun 2004 Love Pistols 2004 Haru wo Daiteita 1999

all of these have anime adaptations for the curious ones

We also start seeing short anime adaptations or special episodes of the most popular series, with questionable themes, such as: adoptive father x adoptive son  (Papa to Kiss in the Dark 2005), father x son’s friend (Kirepapa 2008), etc... 

However the themes remain more or less the same. Junjou Romantica’s love story starts with a non-con sex scene by the older one (masc, seme) to the younger one (more feminine, uke) addressed years later in the manga btw. Koi Suru Boukun’s love story is triggered by aphrodisiacs and rape. They’re still very present in the stories but slowly going away. A mangaka that represents this era could be Natsume Isaku (Candy Color Paradox 2010).

Change is slow in Japan. Even though the voices of LGBT+ people started to be taken into account in the genre it is not until later that we see it reflect in the mangas themselves. However, we can already see the start of this in Doukyusei (Classmates) (2006) by Asumiko Nakamura. Also Kinou Nani Tabeta? (2007) which is actually part of a more mature genre: Seinen.

It is my personal (subjective) theory that the BL of this era was the one that got popular outside of Japan, which is why we see lots of references to the themes, tropes and dynamics of this time in today’s BL series. 

The LGBTzation of BL and the rise of webtoons - 2010′s to 2020′s

Slowly but surely LGBT characters and themes enter the scene of BL. Existing simultaneously with the previous tropes and themes, we start seeing a shift in these stories. We now see:

characters that identify as gay or some type of queer

discussions about homophobia

more mature themes about life and romance

At the same time as we get the usual love stories with the usual themes, a new trend starts to take over. And we get simultaneously, cute, sometimes questionable but light love stories:

Love Stage 2010 Ashita wa Docchi da! 2011 Kieta Hatsukoi 2019

More profound stories and darker or more complex themes:

Blue Sky Complex 2013  Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai 2011 (mafias) Given 2013 (suicide) Hidamari ga Kikoeru 2013 (deafness)

And others that adress the queer experience in a more mature way (which might actually fall into the Seinen genre)

Itoshi no Nekokke 2010 (slice of life, queer characters) Smells like Green Spirit 2011 (two ways to deal with a homphobic society) Strange 2014 (relationships between men) Shimanami Tasogare 2015 (an LGBT group helps a closeted gay) Old Fashioned Cupcake 2019 (you know this one 😉) Bokura no Micro na Shuumatsu 2020 (the end of the world)

As queer stories are explored, BL mangakas and mangakas from other genres start to consider more stories about queer people such as the Josei Genderless Danshi ni Aisaretemasu (My Androgynous Boyfriend) (2018) by Tamekou, or the Shoujo Goukon ni Itarra Onna ga Inakatta Hanashi (The story of when I went to a mixer and there were no women) (2021) by Nana Aokawa. 

Still, we can see two realities live side by side. Doukyuusei gets adapted into an impactful animated movie in 2016, meanwhile Banana Fish gets an anime adaptation that keeps the homoeroticism but not the homosexuality.  

For those who might be interested. Here are some of the authors that represent the first half of this era, where they start to include newer points of view:

Scarlet Beriko, HAYAKAWA Nojiko, KURAHASHI Tomo, OGERETSU Tanaka, Harada, KII Kanna (Stranger by the Sea), etc...

And authors that while keeping classical themes break the stereotypes in a subtle manner:

CTK, ZAKK, Jyanome, Cocomi, Hidebu Takahashi, SUZUMARU Minta, etc...

Mangakas also no longer stick to one genre only. They explore whichever of them they want, from BL to Seinen to others. 

ie: Tamekou, 

or Asumiko Nakamura

The curious case of Webtoons

With the digitalization of mangas, throught Renta and Lehzin, it has become easier (and more expensive) to access these stories. Korea makes and appearence with their webtoons. Through the lack of piracy protections and the majority of them being digital, manhwa (korean webtoons) sees a rise in popularity. Through the digital medium the influencee can be the influencer.

However, like many other East Asian countries they have consumed BL, without hearing about the conversations about BL. So they end up mantaining the older themes and stereotypes that newer BL is trying to leave behind. Therefore, we end up with a mix of old and new, ie:

Killing Stalking 2016 Cherry Blossoms After Winter 2017 Painter of The Night 2019

Additionally, it is also thanks to the easy access to internet that Omegaverse, with its higher dramatic stakes (that parallel hetero dynamics), enters the mangasphere in 2016. It has grown in popularity ever since.

With the Thai BL Boom of 2020, Japan rediscovers its own BL market and starts investing in it more. Which is why we get live action adaptations of BL manga that was popular years ago (Candy Color Paradox was a manga from 2010), the more recent ones (The End of the World With You) or new anime adaptations (Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai in 2020). 

more on this in my japanese live action BL post

What has it become now? is it BL? ML? or Seinen? Or is it all just gay manga?

It is clear that Shoujo manga (with BL, Josei and Seinen) is exploring queer themes such as gender and sexuality more and more. Japan is interested in this conversation, not only in manga (Genderless fashion). Which brings up the current question in BL studies: Does it make sense to keep these categories?

As a response to BL, ML (Male Love), which is made by gay men for gay men, started happening (around the 70s too). And Bara (gay manga porn) in response to Yaoi. However both gay men and women read BL and ML. We also see other themes being explored through BL, such as friendship (in BL Metamorphose), food (in Kinou Nani Tabeta), male relationships of all kinds (in Strange), and different queer views on life and its challenges (in Shimanami Tasogare). More and more what is LGBT and what is BL is merging, the line is blurred. 

Conclusion

BL has been in my life for longer than it hasn't. It is through shoujo and BL that I have come to understand people and romance.

It is flawed, like everything else this life, but it's flourishing in many ways.

The genre feels old and new at the same time. 

We can still find shounen ai/tanbi elements in more modern manga (All About J). Or the gay for you in a new light (Itoshi no Nekkoke). Or more educational manga on queer issues (My Brother’s Husband by Gengoroh Tagame). BL has around 50 years of existence but it is also being born anew in Thailand and Korea. 

BL manga will continue to evolve in acordance to Japanese tastes, as it is still a local market. Hopefully the korean webtoons that get popular will be the more daring ones in their themes. Who knows where it will go from here? The only thing we know for sure is that it will continue to change. Isn't it exciting?

A post on the evolution of live action BL in Japan is coming, to complement this post.  As well as a more detailed explanation of the Yaoi Debates and gay manga.

[thedeviltohisangel]

All The Things I Did

a/n: welp i'm in over my head. accepting prompts.

Every time a plane landed from Greenland, she watched and assessed those who departed from afar. They were always flush with the cold of flying and the excitement of arriving. Chest filled with the pride of reaching the front and the longing to taste the adrenaline of flying in unfriendly skies. She hated watching them deteriorate the longer they were in the English countryside. Hated that no matter how many times she laced up her boots and tread into the darkness and came back with a map or a plan or a snippet of a conversation in Berlin that it was never enough. She chose, deliberately and emphatically, to not try and get to know them.

But then, one day, Major John Egan got off that plane. And he was loud and ever present. He made jokes and sang in the officer’s club and spent days asking around about the Lieutenant that read at the bar and wrote notes in the corner of the interrogation room.

Spook. That is what the men called her. The Colonel had introduced her as an intelligence officer to someone once but no one had been there to verify the designation now. But she fit the bill. Steady demeanor. Whip smart on the off chance she was asked to answer a question before a mission. Quietly discerning even when ordering a Coca-Cola. 

She wanted to blend in but Bucky wouldn’t let her. He picked her out almost instantly upon his arrival. Saw her head flitting between buildings and caught her gaze for a moment on his way to Colonel Huglin’s office. A big red folder with SECRET emblazoned across the front. 

“Major,” she spoke with a polite nod. She didn’t wait for him to respond in kind before she was off and around the corner like she had never actually been there. He welcomed the challenge.

----

He saw her again that night, sitting at the bar with a half-drank Coke collecting condensation and her nose buried in a book of maps of Western Europe. Music was playing and people were dancing and John was wondering why it felt so normal. Maybe he’d be able to get Buck to loosen up a little once he got here. 

“It’s good to see you again, Lieutenant.” But for now, John would settle for learning her name. She curled an eyebrow and cast him a sideways glance, John noticing the red pen in her hand for the first time. “I’ve heard great things about the work you do here.” He leant his elbow on the bar and took her in for the first time. Her uniform was pressed immaculately and fit her like it had been tailored by a professional yet she seemed uncomfortable in it. Hair curled perfectly with not a strand out of place and a dusting of pink powder across her cheeks.

“Well, Major, those kinds of discussions would fly in the face of my exact line of work, wouldn’t they?” She faced him fully and he swallowed thickly. She could probably read him just as well as she could that book in front of her.

“Still. You’ve got a good reputation for the crumbs you give these boys.” She looked around and took note of the stares. 

“They’re only boys until they go up for the first time.” She turned back to her work. He wasn’t giving up. She wasn’t quite sure what they were when they came back but it was something different. 

“No one will tell me about it. What to expect when I go up there in a couple days.” With a sigh, she closed the book in defeat and faced the Major, crossing her legs professionally.

“I can only assume it's because there are no words for them to describe it. And if they tried, pilots such as yourself may not be eager to join up.” He smirked.

“Such as myself? I promise the stories do me no justice.” It was her turn to roll her eyes.

“You’re the air exec for the 100th who arranged to be a part of a different company’s missions.”

“And?”

“Do you fancy yourself a hotshot, Major Egan?” John almost choked on the sip of his drink that went down his throat. She was studying him. Analyzing his reactions to her words like they were a math problem. Picking her conversational path accordingly. Instead of replying, he flagged down the man behind the bar.

“Can we get the Lieutenant something a little stiffer?” 

“I don’t drink,” she deadpanned as whatever Major Egan was drinking was placed in front of her.

“You dance?” The rest of his glass went down easily. 

“With the right partner.” She knew what he was really asking. Answered ambivalently anyways. And carefully considered his hand when he offered it. “You’ve known me less than a day, Major. You haven’t even asked my name.” She stood from the chair she had been occupying, pushing the Major’s hand into his chest and holding hers on top of it for a beat.

“Not the right partner?” he mumbled as she looked up at him with the clearest eyes he had ever seen.

“Not yet. Enjoy the rest of your night, Major. I’m sure I’ll see you at breakfast.” John wanted to do something to leave an impression. Maybe kiss her hand. Spin her around and coax her into joining him on the dance floor. Chase whatever was gnawing inside of him to figure out more about her. Instead he let their hands drop and watched her grab her things from the bar top and walk out of the party. He didn’t notice that they had had an audience the entire time they were talking. Didn’t notice the way she took a deep, steadying breath once she was out of the room. Didn’t know, may never know, that she wanted to dance. Wanted to smile and get to know people and experience everything this life had to offer her. But if one more airmen went up and didn’t come back down, especially one like Major John Egan, she doesn’t think she could handle it.

----

“This seat taken?” This time it was John’s turn to be surprised. He looked up from the morning paper to see Lieutenant…Cooper is what her name plate said, holding her cap and gesturing towards the chair across from him in the mess hall.

“All yours.” She sat quickly and thanked the attendant when he placed a cup of coffee and a plate of food in front of her, her napkin placed delicately across her lap. “You learn that in debutante school?” He meant it as a joke but she froze.

“Maybe.” He hid a triumphant grin behind his own mug. “But I also learned that the way I behaved last night was not appropriate and I wanted to apologize.” John leaned forward, snatching a ration of bacon from her plate. 

“I’ll accept your apology when you give me that dance you owe me.” The look behind his eyes was wicked. She hates that she enjoyed it.

“I’ll tell you what, Major Egan, come find me after your first mission and you can have your dance.”

“John.”

“Your oak cluster outranks my bar, Major-”

“We’re gonna ease you into calling me Bucky.” She giggled and John beamed.

“Bucky?”

“I’ll tell you while we dance…” He left the sentence hanging, silently asking for her to provide her name in turn.

“People who aren’t my mother call me Cass.” He whispered it, enjoying the way it rolled off his tongue. 

“Suits you,” he shrugged, leaning back in his chair. 

“I’m glad you think so.”

----

Cass did her best to keep her eyes off of him during the brief of his first mission. Did her best to keep busy with cables and news from Washington in the few hours it took to complete the mission. Did her best to keep her wits about her when the first plane landed back on the runway. She watched from afar, as she had been accustomed to, as Major Egan got out of his plane. He was flushed with flecks of blood across his face. There was less behind his eyes than there had been the morning they ate breakfast together. Disappointed, her eyes dropped to her shoes. No one was safe from this war.

She skipped listening in on interrogation, securing a copy of the notes instead, and retired to her billet without any interruption. Sleep eluded her, sheets tangled around her legs as she tossed and turned. Giving up, she headed out in her robe and slippers to the airfield. The cool air soothed her instantly and made her smile as she breathed deeply. 

“Didn’t think I’d cash in on my dance out here.” She nearly jumped out of her skin, spinning around to see Major Egan leaning against his plane. His curls were loose and he was wearing his sheepskin instead of his blazer. 

“I’m sorry to intrude, Major-” she fumbled over her words as she tugged the robe tighter around her body.

“You told me there would be no words to describe it. I don’t have the tools to think about it, let alone talk about it.” His voice was strained under the weight of what he had just experienced. She approached him cautiously. “What do I tell my boys when they get here?”

“Nothing. The same way you went up there and followed your instinct and it brought you back here, it will for them too.” She was close enough to rest her hands on his chest, the way she had that first night by the bar, and he didn’t think twice as he twisted a lock of her hair around his finger. The light of the moon kissed an ethereal glow to her. One more intoxicating than the bottle of whiskey he had brought out with him.

“Dance with me,” he whispered, melting under her gaze and giving himself permission to stroke his fingertips across her jaw. She obliged, unable to deny him anything after he had learned the horrible truth that everyone who came here eventually did, her head resting against his heart and his arm tucking securely around her waist.

“Tell me more about you, John Egan.” It was best he remembered who he was, where he came from and what had originally inspired him to come here. To fight this fight. 

“I’m from a little place in Wisconsin,” he murmured as he rested his cheek on top of her head and his eyes drifted shut, lulled into peace from their gentle swaying. “Joined up even before Pearl.” She smiled. Almost everyone in her town had joined up after Pearl, including her.

“I’ve never been to Wisconsin. Didn’t leave South Carolina until they sent me to training in DC.” John hummed.

“So I was right about debutante school.”

“Next time, I’ll teach you a proper waltz.”

“Gotta have something down here to get me through being up there,” he mused, his eyes opening to look down and enjoy the tranquil look on her face.

“Don’t get used to it. My next trip across the channel got approved while you were gone this morning.” John stopped abruptly and looked at her quizzically.

“Across the channel is a warzone. Occupied territory.” 

“I know you know what they call me. Spook. How do you think you get your images of bombing sites and civilian population density and everything else? Someone has to go and get it.”

“Colonel said intelligence officer, not spy.” Her eyes twinkled with mischief. He felt a twinge at the thought of her in danger but couldn’t help but feel the kindred spirit of someone chasing danger.

“I never said anything about spying. Just procuring.” His smile broadened and he swore he was going to kiss her if the sound of a wrench being dropped onto pavement didn’t startle them apart. Lemmons ducked back under the plane as soon as he saw the moment he had interrupted, Cass already retreated back into herself and shaking the fog of John Egan from her head. “I should go try and get some sleep before…” He nodded in agreement, clearing his throat and straightening his tie.

“That’s a good idea. I’ll walk you back.” He did so in silence, neither of them sure how to get back to where they had been. Not sure if they should go back to that dangerous of a place. “I can pick you up for breakfast in a few hours,” he offered slowly as they arrived at her door.

“I’d like that.” 

“Good. So I’ll see you then.”

“Sweet dreams, Major.”

“You too, Lieutenant.” She threw him one last smile over her shoulder, John not leaving until she disappeared from his view. If only Gale could see him now.

[whencyclopedia]

The Civilian View of D-Day

The Normandy landings in France, which began on D-Day, 6 June 1944, involved the largest troop movement in history, but in this article, we focus on the view from civilians directly involved in that momentous day when the Allies sought to liberate Western Europe from occupation by Nazi Germany and end the Second World War (1939-45).

D-Day Preparations

As the Allies built up their troops and resources for D-Day in the south of England, to maintain secrecy and provide areas where training exercises for the landings could be conducted, some civilians were required to temporarily move from their homes and such buildings as churches were locked and surrounded by barbed wire. Betty Tab from Slapton in Devon remembers telling her mother of the rumours about this:

My sister heard the rumour in the shop when she went to get some groceries and she said to Mum that we were all going to have to move and of course Mum says, 'That's nonsense talking like that. Where we going to go?' And she says she heard in the shop. There was a meeting called then in the village hall and that confirmed that there was going to be an evacuation of the area for the American training.

My parents just couldn't believe it. I mean, Mum just said, 'Well, no, it's not going to happen because it can't. What are we going to do? Where are we going to go?' But it had to be so. So, of course, everybody had to get their thinking caps on and think, 'Well, where are we going to go?' If you couldn't get anything yourself the authorities would help but they did want you to try and get yourself fixed up, if possible, because, as you can imagine, there were hundreds trying to move. Thousands, I suppose, really. Quite an area it was.

(Bailey, 44)

Desmond O'Neill, an official cameraman for the British Army, describes his visit to a camp of troops readying themselves for the invasion:

I remember going to one unit, I think it was the South Lancashire Regiment, and taking some film of their final preparations for D-Day…they were laagered down near Roland's Castle in Hampshire, in woods there, and I went into the camp – the whole area was actually one huge camp. Very strict all the way round.

There was certainly a very excitable, tense atmosphere amongst those chaps. They'd been training presumably for a couple of years and they knew full well that they were going to be the spearhead troops and they knew therefore that there was a good chance of them getting shot. The atmosphere there was totally different to any other unit I'd ever been to. Discipline was strict but absolutely on a hairline. A very peculiar atmosphere. I know that the casualty figures had been given to them, the presumed casualty figures.

We photographed the chaps being instructed as to what was going to happen on the morning of D-Day, where they were going in and the rest. It was all mocked up. I didn't do very much filming apart from taking pictures of these chaps in the camp. They liked it. First of all they'd never seen a cameraman before. Secondly, it was a great divertissement. You know, 'The Mrs is going to see me back in Wigan,' all this kind of thing. I think it was a welcome diversion.

(Bailey, 66-7)

Continue reading...

[useless-catalanfacts]

Frequently Asked Questions

This post answers the following questions:

Who are the Catalans? Where are they?

Which are the Catalan Countries? (each Catalan country)

Where can I learn the Catalan language? (free online resources and where to find classes)

What social media accounts can I follow that post in Catalan?

Other Tumblr blogs similar to this one but for other cultures of the world.

If your question isn't answered here, you're more than welcome to send me an ask!

1. Who are the Catalans? Where are they?

Catalan people are a cultural group who come from the area known as the Catalan Countries. We speak the Catalan language (a language that descends from Latin) and have a distinct culture (cuisine, traditions, holidays, dances, music, literature, etc) and history since the Middle Ages.

Our nation is the Catalan Countries, located in the coast of the Mediterranean sea, in South-Western Europe.

As a result of past wars and invasions, most of the Catalan Countries are under Spanish rule and a part of it is under French rule (+1 city in Italy). In fact, Spain and France have harshly persecuted, illegalized and tried to exterminate the Catalan language and culture for a long time, well into the 20th century. But Catalan people have survived the ethnocide and we still exist, even though we continue to face discrimination and there are some settings where it's still not legal to speak Catalan (for example, public schools in the French-controlled part, or European Union ambits, among some others).

There is also Catalan diaspora around the world.

We are not a closed culture, we are very open to foreigners learning our language and culture, and the Catalan diaspora often organizes celebrations for our holidays or groups to do traditional activities (most famously the castellers, aka human towers) that everyone can join.

2. Which are the Catalan Countries?

We say the Catalan Countries in plural because it's made of different areas for historical reasons. The Catalan Countries are all the areas where Catalan is the native language, which have historically been part of a whole, and which share a common culture (with local variants, of course). Here they are:

From North to South:

Northern Catalonia. Capital city: Perpinyà. It's under French administration (part of the region Occitanie in the new French regions system, used to be Languedoc-Roussillon in the old one).

Andorra. Capital city: Andorra la Vella. It's an independent microstate.

Catalonia. Capital city: Barcelona. It's under Spanish administration (it's the Catalonia region in the Spanish regions system).

Eastern Strip, also called Aragon Strip. It's under Spanish administration (it's part of the region of Aragon in the Spanish regions system).

Balearic Islands, including Mallorca, Menorca, Eivissa (in English also known as Ibiza) and Formentera. Capital city: Palma. Under Spanish administration (Balearics region in the Spanish regions system).

Valencian Country. Capital city: València. Under Spanish administration (called Valencian Community in the Spanish regions system).

El Carxe. Tiny rural area. Under Spanish administration (part of the Region of Murcia in the Spanish regions system).

L'Alguer. One city in the island of Sardinia. Under Italian administration (part of the region of Sardinia in the Italian regions system).

3. Where can I learn the Catalan language?

We are thrilled that you want to learn our language. Catalan people love it when others learn our language. Here I'll link you to classes and free online resources.

If you want face-to-face classes outside of the Catalan Countries, you can check this website to find if there's a university that offers Catalan classes near you. There are 101 around Europe, 25 in North America and Cuba, 5 in Asia, and 4 in South America. Students from these courses can also participate in language stays and internships in the Catalan Countries.

If you're already in the Catalan Countries, you will easily find courses for foreigners which the government offers for free or for a cheap price (depending on the level and each person's economic situation). Check out your local CPNL (Consorci per la Normalització Lingüística).

If you want to learn independently on the internet, there are two resources I recommend the most, both are available online for free.

One is the book "Life in Catalonia. Learn Catalan from..." that you can find in various languages. Here I add the link to the official government page where you can legally download the PDFs for free, you only have to scroll down and click under where it says "text complet". You can find the book Learn Catalan from English, from Spanish, from Arabic, from Tamazight, from French, from Hindi, from Urdu, from Punjabi, from Romanian, from Russian, and from Chinese.

The other resource I recommend the most is the online course Parla.cat. It has different levels for beginners or advanced learners. You have to create an account (it asks for an official document number, don't worry about it, it's not a sketchy site, it's because it's an official course paid by the government of Catalonia and if you immigrated to Catalonia having taken this course would officially count as a language course and can give you some benefits). You can either use it for free (all the learning material is available in the free version) or you can use the paying version. In the paid version, you will get assigned a language teacher from Catalonia who can help you and correct you.

There are many more resources. You can find more free resources in this post, this post, or in this link.

Here you have some recommendations to start practising. And remember that you can watch Catalonia's public TV streaming service 3Cat for free from anywhere in the world!

4. I want to follow social media accounts that post in Catalan. Can you tell me some?

Of course! According to the WWW Consortium, Catalan is the 35th most used language on the Internet, out of the more than 7,000 languages in the world.

Here's some lists with recommendations by topic:

Anime and manga

Cooking

Travel accounts

Videogames

Fashion and lifestyle

More lists will be coming soon

If your question wasn't answered, you can send me a question clicking here. 🙂 You can also browse this blog by topics here.

5. Can you recommend other blogs like this one but for other cultures of the world?

Yes, I made a list of recommendations in this post.

[ladylooch]

Bones - Part 13 [Mack x David]

A/N: *happy sigh* I'm so glad we have made it to this point in the series because I love how these two shift as characters here. How much deeper their relationship gets as they navigate this huge life change they are embarking down... and on a much less serious, sappy note... The breeding kink was activated in this one 🤣

You're welcome or I'm sorry 😆

Word Count: 6.7k

12 months later ; October

It’s been a year.

A sexy, exciting, whirlwind of a year. Mack feels like the previous one flew by in a blink. She can’t believe they have already touched down in New York for another hockey season. They celebrated their second anniversary. The Rangers made it to the playoffs again, continuing to build towards their ultimate goal despite the disappointment of not getting to the Cup Finals. This summer was better than last. The one year anniversary of Tommy’s death passed. David got quiet like he does. He worked hard out in the field, came in and showered, then took care of his wife as a way of appreciating the things he still has. Mack traveled for work a lot more this summer, but always came back to her farmer husband the moment she could.

They traveled together too, back to Switzerland and then all over western Europe for almost six whole weeks. They ate way too much food, drank a lot of cocktails, and had incredible sex all over the continent.

Life was so good to them.

And yet… in a summer they got to fully embrace their DINK dreams, Mack started to feel like something was missing. 

She first felt it at home in Switzerland, watching David with their nieces. Winnie is still in love with David and always needs to be in his arms. She can’t possibly be expected to walk when Uncle David is around. Mack waved her thoughts off because her nieces are so damn cute; it’s impossible to not feel something. But then Mack felt it again when he was playing peek-a-boo with a baby in Norway. When they returned to Iowa, she felt physically uncomfortable watching him hold Trevor’s new baby boy, Declan.

“Look at this tank!” David had yelled to her, holding up the chunky newborn like Simba. “That’s how we grown ‘em around here, babe. Future farmer, for sure!” David was proud as hell of that baby and it wasn’t even his.

Her discomfort expanded when two other women in the friend group announced their pregnancies and grew before Mack’s eyes the rest of the summer. It all boiled over one Saturday at Hy-vee as Mack listened to Hannah, David’s high school sweetheart, gush over her third pregnancy to them.

“Another girl!” Hannah had practically swooned off her swollen ankles. A familiar discomfort had settled into Mack’s chest, and if she didn’t know any better it seemed to have a green haze to it that had nothing to do with David and Hannah or their history. Mack choked so hard on her own breath when she realized she was jealous that Hannah was pregnant with baby number three. Then a fierce, knee knocking want spread through her body like an electric shock that still has her buzzing.

This isn’t right, Mack had grappled internally when she couldn’t stop making faces at the laughing baby in front of them at the check out line.

Mackenzie Hischier does not want babies. 

Something was clearly wrong with her.

So when she got back to New York, she scheduled a doctor’s appointment. 

Everything came back normal. Mack is perfectly healthy with no concerns. 

New York had no relief for Mack’s newfound want, especially not when they spent time with Lucie and Connor. She watched David with Winnie, carting her everywhere, looking like a damn snack most of the time. Mack found herself trailing into Winnie’s room to watch David put her to bed in the doorway- her new favorite night time activity.

Then one night, as David laid Winnie on her bed, Mack imagined it was him with their baby. She could see it clearly, dark brown almost black hair, big ears, her lips, David’s green eyes, all in a child that she brought into this world for them. Mack had paused, frozen in place in the doorway. She snapped her gaze away, then looked back and the child was Winnie again. David caught Mack’s look and gave her a reassuring smile.

“You okay?”

“Yeah.” Mack had breathed out like she was in pain. She ached for that image. Ached for that life. The undeniableness of her shifting mind annihilated the future she always envisioned for them.

Suddenly the statement of not having kids with him seemed unauthentic.

How could she not have babies with this perfect man? He is an incredible partner. Mack knows he would be just as good of a co-parent. He would take care of them- be strong and protective and empathetic like the man who raised her. Raising babies and potentially fucking it up along the way, but being able to share something so permanent with him. Something that would outlast their days on this earth too. A legacy, a purpose bigger than the two of them. 

Soon, she found herself craving that experience with him.

Now, every night for the last month, she has dreamt about life with him and their babies. She sees their bare feet getting black from the farm dirt. Red popsicles dripping onto their American flag t-shirts on the Fourth of July. Running around with Winnie and Stella at Rangers games with Carlson on their backs. Learning how to skate, and farm, and read and becoming adorable humans that add so much purpose and glow into their family. Half him, half her, completely theirs.

But David doesn’t want babies and she doubts the rippled effects of his brother’s death has changed that for him.

As they ride through the congested streets of New York, Mack can’t help but feel like this may be selfish of her. This is a change in something so fundamental. Something she had dutifully repeated she did not want after David had proposed to her years ago. Mack worries about approaching the subject with him now. If he still doesn’t want to, Mack would understand. Completely. But she can’t keep this from him. She can’t pretend this ache doesn’t fill her waking thoughts and tired dreams.

That’s not how they do life together.

“Honey?” David calls next to her from the driver’s seat. 

“Hm?” Mack asks, snapping her gaze away from the windshield. Behind him, she sees more cars and concrete. The New York street has disappeared and their SUV is tucked into it’s parking spot at their building.

“We are home.”

“Oh.” She nods, unclicking her seatbelt. She runs her hand through her hair then opens her door to step out.

“What are you doing? Is this your first day being married to me? Shut that door.” David scolds her. Mack shuts the door again, then rubs at her face. 

She needs to get it together here.

David opens her door and Mack turns to jump out. David blocks her progress, puckering his lips at her.

“Are you okay?” 

“Yes.”

“I think I had an entire conversation with myself on the way home.” He rubs his hands up the tops of her thighs, stopping when his thumbs rest on her hips.

“Sorry.” She shakes her head. “I’m in my own world.”

“What’s happening in there?” He asks her, kissing the tip of her nose. Mack’s eyes close as he makes his way across her cheek. He nibbles her ear lobe, then gets her neck a few times as she drops her forehead to his shoulder. 

“It’s the Fourth of July and cherry popsicles are dripping everywhere.” He pauses his kisses, then pulls away to look at her.

“Is that a euphemism?” He tilts his head. 

“Sure.” She shrugs. 

After a chuckle, he grabs her hand, then helps her jump down. Mack wiggles her jeans back up and they walk hand in hand to the elevator. 

“Are you going to head to bed right away?” David asks her, jiggling their entwined hands by his thigh.

“No, I’m not tired.”

“Cool. I gotta ice my shoulder.” He informs her. “It’s a little nagging today. You wanna watch something?”

“No, I am going to read.” 

“By me?” He pouts.

“Yes.” She chuckles.

“Sweet. I’ll rub your feet, eh?”

Like Mack would ever say no to that.

The two of them head into their place. They go to the closet together, changing out of their game day attire. Mack pulls on clean pajamas and David opts to stay in only his boxer briefs. Mack maneuvers to the bathroom to wash her make up off while David goes to the kitchen to grab his now familiar ice pack. 

As she dots her moisturizer around her face, Mack’s mind drifts to what a game night might look like with a baby. Maybe she wouldn’t have been there tonight, opting to stay home for a normal bed time like Lucie did. Maybe David would be rocking their baby to sleep in their room right now instead of icing his shoulder in the living room. Mack slowly screws the top of her moisturizer back on. She looks at herself in the mirror and can see the obvious, fresh yearn. It seems to be re-born brighter and lighter every day.

She needs to tell her husband what she is feeling. 

Mack flips the bathroom light off, then works her way to the living room where David sits. He has a West Coast NHL game on, alternating between watching TV and flipping through emails on his phone.

“Ugh. Fuck.” David shakes his head. “We got issues on the farm I gotta deal with tomorrow. I’ll have to call Felix before morning skate.” He tosses his phone. He brings a hand up to scratch at his stubble, clearly annoyed. His eyes slide off the TV to where Mack is standing awkwardly by the hallway. He cocks an eyebrow at her. 

“Trying to decide if I want something to drink or not.” She offers. Really, she’s trying to decide if she should save this conversation for another day because suddenly with the farm issues, maybe now isn’t a good time? Cause farm issues usually mean money and so do babies, so… She glowers at her internal dialogue. It is a pathetic excuse considering money is no issue for her or him and definitely not them. Mack forces herself to walk into the kitchen. She grabs a water bottle then goes to join him on the couch. 

Mack places her feet into David’s lap as requested. He immediately begins rubbing circles into her skin with his thumb. Mack picks up her Kindle, swiping to unlock it. She begins to read a few sentences, but stops when she realizes she has no idea what the words are actually saying. She moves her gaze over to her husband, drinking in how sexy he looks. The lights and shadows of the room highlight his muscular body and dark tattoos. She drags her gaze across the tattoo he got for their wedding. 

“Do you think you’ll fill out your other sleeve?” She asks him. He takes his gaze off the TV to glance at her.

“Probably.” He tilts his arm up, looking over the details of it. “A full arm of you would make sense, eh?” She smiles. “Balance it all out.”

“Gotta save room for your next Stanley Cup tho.” She murmurs, reaching across his body to stroke the skin, both filled and not. She scoots across the leather couch to slide her butt next to his thigh.

“True. I could go onto my back tho.” He pauses, looking his skin over. “I am going to get a humming bird though. Probably on my forearm so I can see it every day.” Mack giggles. 

“I would like that.” She drifts her fingers over his forearm, then slowly raises her gaze to his eyes. Her brown orbs hold his green ones. She swallows hard, taking in a shaky breath. “Um, maybe I could share that arm with someone else.” 

“It would have to be someone pretty special.”

“Yeah. For sure… I was thinking maybe, like, our baby?”

David’s eyebrows shoot up. His fingers still. His shoulders rise and fall as he breathes but that is the only thing that moves temporarily. Then his green eyes search hers earnestly. 

“Our baby?” He eventually repeats back to her. Mack swallows nervously.

“What if I’ve changed my mind?” She whispers, unsure tone to her words.

“We should probably talk about it then.” His voice is low and tight, eyes a piercing green that cling to her face.

“Okay. I-I want babies with you.”

David doesn’t move. She is pretty sure neither of them are breathing now. When he doesn’t answer, Mack starts to fill the silence.

"If you don't, that's okay. But I just, I really want to have babies with you. I keep dreaming about it.” She swallows hard as David closes his eyes, hiding the bright green from her. “Day and night. Its like a sickness that’s come over me demanding I have your baby. But I want it. Like I actually want to be a mom to your babies. And I'll figure out how to get over that if you don't want to-“ She grabs his forearm again in assurance.

"Mack. Honey.” His voice is tight as he cuts off her rambling. ”You better not be joking with me right now."

"Why would I joke about this?" 

"Oh my god." He moans. He rubs a hand over his face then rips the ice pack off his shoulder. He whips it onto the coffee table and climbs on top of her, forcing her back to hit the cool, leather cushions. Her hair splays out behind her head as he cups her cheek gently. 

"Mackenzie Hischier, I would die a happy man if you had my baby." 

"Really?" Mack practically whimpers. Her eyes search his face hurriedly, desperately, needing to see the truth. 

"Fuck yes. You want to start now?” He cups her cheeks with both hands, kissing her lips quickly. 

"I still have my IUD.” She says.

"I can call Doc?” He jerks a thumb over his shoulder.

"Oh god." She laughs. He takes the opportunity to kiss along her neck, up to her ear lobe. Then he nuzzles his nose into her hair. Mack presses her face into the side of his head, gasping for breath to try and calm down.

“Really? Honey, I never thought… This is big.”

“I just want to do this with you. No need. I think I need to do this with you.”

“Okay.” His shocked but grateful smile makes tears form in Mack’s eyes.

“If you want to talk about this more before we make any final decisions we can.”

“Mack, I trust you. I trust your judgement. If you say this is what you want, I’m all in.”

Something is missing here- his desire for this too. Mack needs to know he isn’t pacifying her right now.

“You want this too though? It’s not just me?”

“Of course, I want this. Of course, I want to bring life into this world with you.” He leans forward to kiss her. “Something about you and me is special, honey. Bringing that together to make a baby. Gives me chills.” Mack sees the goosebumps broken out on his arms. She folds her lip into her mouth, then runs her fingers along his bumps.

“That’s what I think too. But… I have to ask. You said you never saw yourself having kids?”

“I didn’t.” David clears his throat. “Until I met you.” 

“What?”

“I mean, it was hard not to with all the time we spent with Stell and Win. You’re so good with Stell. The perfect balance of sweet, caring, and stern. She listens to you, and she doesn’t listen to many people. You have this way about you, honey. You’ve taken care of me over the years. I liked the idea of sharing a kid with you. Knew you would love our baby so completely, and the worries I had about my short comings, or my family history, went away. Cause it would be us doing that together and there isn’t anything this team here can’t do. But we got engaged and you reiterated your choice; I wasn’t going to fight that. Who would I be to do that when you’re the one who has to be pregnant? I was completely okay with us never doing that. We could fill our lives loving each other and that would be plenty.”

“I was so worried to tell you this. Like, I was going to be forcing you into wanting this, but you wanted it first.”

“That’s kinda how we roll.” He smiles. Mack laughs, then slowly her smile falls off her face, a more pensive and appreciative look on it now.

“So… I guess I’ll make an appointment.” Mack’s eyes widen as she bursts into excited giggles.

“You know…” David trails off. He hooks a finger in the collar of her t-shirt moving it to the side. His lips kiss along there as he continues. “We never thought we would be making babies together. We probably need to practice some before we really try…” 

“Mhm.” Mack moans as David lifts her hips up to meet his, then grinds his erection into the apex of her thighs. 

“We’re probably bad at it. We should practice a lot.” Mack grins into his lips when they fall on hers again. Her stomach flips at his all consuming kiss, claiming her mouth in a different way than he has before. 

This is gonna be hot as fuck.

Mack can barely wait.

- - - & - - -

The day Mack and David decide to make a baby is a Thursday. David has a night off. Mack is feeling relaxed and ready after her IUD removal a few weeks prior. They know it might not work tonight, but not having sex for weeks has them both wound tight. They need a release. 

Mack got home first from her day. She went right to the bathroom to take an everything shower. She shaved, exfoliated, scrubbed, then lathered herself up in the lotion David likes best. She did her every day make up, blow dried her hair, then put on comfortable clothing. After, she crawled onto the couch, ignoring the temptation to Google ‘baby making sex positions’. 

They don’t need that. They’re gonna wing it. 

When David comes home from practice, he smiles at her sitting on the couch watching TV. Mack clicks it off as he sets his stuff down, then kicks his shoes off.

“Any big plans tonight?” He asks her.

“Yeah, you’re gonna fill me up.”

“Fucccck yes I am.” He nods as he says it. “When do you wanna start?” He asks, heading into the kitchen to wash his hands. Mack takes in the tightening and flexing of his back muscles under his white Rangers shirt. 

“I’m not doing anything right now…” She trails off, shrugging slightly. He soaks her in from across the room as he dries his hands. 

“You freaking out at all?”

“I’m kinda nervous.” Mack admits, smiling at him. “But also really excited.” She can feel bubbles of anticipation building below the surface but she shoves them down with a big inhale.

“Me too, honey.” David responds as he comes to stand in front of her. He brushes her hair behind her ear, then cups her cheek. His lips brush hers, making Mack’s eyes close. Her hands go around his back, gripping his muscles as he works his mouth over hers. Slowly, he pulls back. “I want to make love, okay? Nothing rough or hard. I want it to be all about you.”

Mack nods. That is exactly what she wants too. David grabs her hand and leads her down to their bedroom. Mack’s heart starts to pound loudly in her ears. David brings her to the bed, then turns her hips, pressing her down to sit. 

“I love you.” He says from above her. His fingers stroke her throat, thumb on her chin to keep her face looking up at him. 

“I love you.” Mack repeats, wrapping her arms around his shoulders as he leans down to kiss her.

Sparks fly between them. The way his lips move over hers rushes the nerves away from Mack, welcoming in a river of desire. Her fingers thread through his hair, pulling him in closer. She gasps for breath around his lips, then dives back into his mouth. Gently, David works Mack onto her back. His hands go to her sides, working her shirt up and over her body. Her bare, pink nipples await him there. His lips wrap around one, stroking it to life with his mouth. Mack squeezes her thighs together at the rush of wetness that pools in her panties.

Sensing her need, David runs a hand back down her stomach, dipping into her pants and panties. He strokes her clit with smooth finger tips, then glides two fingers further down to tease her entrance. He sucks her other nipple into his mouth, then works his thumb and two fingers into a teasing frenzy.

Mack gasps then sighs out a sexy moan. She nibbles on her bottom lip, opening her eyes to watch David play with her. The view is gorgeous and he makes it better by kissing his way down from her chest. He tugs her bottoms off, then tosses them to the side. His arms hook under her thighs then he lifts her slightly up, bringing her pussy to his mouth. Their eyes stay on each other as his lips part. His tongue laps at her clit teasingly, then down her slit. He places an open mouthed kiss there, a string of saliva connecting them even as he pulls away.

Two fingers come to spread her swollen lips open, then he takes a direct path to her clit. Mack’s toes curl. Her eyes squeeze and she throws her head back as he goes in for another stroke. He teases her this way until she pulses beneath his mouth. Then he drives his tongue down to her entrance, creating and building a new, more intense friction. He moves his face to push two fingers into her core, circling it then gliding in. He curls them up at the same time he sucks her clit into his mouth. Mack’s eyes roll back into her head as she begins to pant. Softly at first, then harder, then longer, then louder, then she’s gasping and coming all over his face. 

Mack’s abdomen rolls and seizes with her intense orgasm. David guides her through it, keeping his tempo perfect for her, like he always does. Mack melts into the mattress beneath her body. Her head sways lazily to the side, shoulders rising and falling heavily. She hears David move, watching as he stands back up to his full height. Their eyes meet. Emotion swells in Mack’s chest as he slides his pants to the ground. Then he bunches his shirt into a fist, tugging it off him. The fabric falls away from his body and Mack could weep at the image of her fully naked husband. His muscles scrunch and relax as he holds a hand out for her.

“Want you on top.” He requests. Mack slides her hand in his, then lets him pull her to stand. They switch positions- David sitting on the bed and Mack standing. He holds her steady with his hands on her rib cage, then he kisses all over her abdomen. Shivers of pleasure and expectation scorch across Mack’s skin. She shakes in his arms for a few moments. He rubs his thumbs across her ribs, then pulls her forward until she lifts her legs one at a time to straddle him. 

She grips his shaft in her hand, ready to sink down when David covers her hand for a moment, knuckles pressing into her folds.

“You’re sure, honey? Completely sure?” David looks into her eyes, searching her face. Mack doesn’t hesitate.

“Yes. Put a baby in me, David.” Mack responds. He exhales with ecstasy then moves her hand away for him to take control. 

Mack drops her forehead to his. David strokes his head through her folds before finally plunging in. They savor that moment of connection with a long kiss, tongues lightly connecting. Mack glides her hips forward and back, encouraging her wet heat to mold around him. 

“How good are you going to look with my baby in you?” He drawls, watching her rise up and down on his cock with attentive eyes.

“Oh yeah, that’s gonna work for me today.” She chuckles, holding her heavy breasts in her hands.

“So good.” He murmurs back to her. “You’re gonna be such a good mama.” Mack whimpers. Damn, she is into this. “Can’t wait to see these fill up even more.” He moves her hands away to wrap his around her breasts. His tongue plays with her nipple, then he sucks it into his mouth, rolling it and slowly releasing it back into place with a quiet pop. 

His hands then move to her waist, thumbs pressing into her stomach while his tongue continues his assault. His gaze meets hers and he softens. Mack bites her lip, then stops bouncing.

“Oh..” She closes her eyes. “When you look at me like that…” She shakes her head. It makes her emotional to see that much love and adoration being focused on her.

“Sorry. I’ll make it sexy again.” He assures her. 

“No, I love it. It’s so you. So us. That’s how I want to make our baby.” David presses his cheeks into her breasts and kisses them each once more. He pulls back, then wraps his hands under her thighs. They move together in sync, chests pressed together, lips touching with every press Mack has down on his cock.

“Can’t stop thinking about your belly. What it’s going to be like to know you’re carrying a piece of me for this long. Bringing life into this world for us. Connecting us forever. Fuck.” He groans. David starts losing it first. He breathes heavily, cheeks turning slightly pink at the exertion of holding back. Mack bites her lip, then bounces harder on him.  Mack feels his cock spasm inside of her, but he holds back still, not letting himself come until she does again. 

“Come on, honey.” He begs her. His fingers find her clit. He gently rubs it. “Need your help to put our baby in you.”

“Oh. That… mhm.” She moans. “I want you to fill me up. Please. Be the only man to give me a baby.”  Mack leans into his possessiveness. David is strangled by a groan as he pushes back just a little bit longer. 

“You gonna fucking take it all? Hmmm? Be a good girl and give me a baby?” He hisses through clenched teeth then he leans forward to tease a stiff pink peak with his mustache.

His words make her come. He sucks her nipple into his mouth, making her shudder and grip the back of his neck tightly. She screws her eyes shut, feeling herself release creamy spits onto his cock.

David grinds Mack into his thrusts a few more times. Then his hand on her lower back forces her all the way down until her clit smears against his abdomen. She feels him spasm inside of her, painting her cervix. A warm heat spreads out from her core, setting her on fire in the best way. Goosebumps dance down her limbs; her stomach drops with excitement and pleasure. He’s come inside of her plenty of times, but never quite like this. Mack tilts her head back to the ceiling, moaning in ecstasy as he rolls her clit into him, making her walls spasm.

“Pull it all deep, honey.” He demands. Mack’s head falls back forward to take in his gaze. It’s primal and greedy, filling with an ownership of her Mack has never seen on his face before. She rolls her bottom lip into her mouth and whimpers as he rolls her hips again. Her walls collapse, tugging more of his cum deeper. David stands with himself still inside of her, then he turns, laying her on her back. Slowly, he drags his cock out of her. Mack sighs at the emptiness when he is gone. 

David leans over her, kissing her deeply, yearning. Mack can feel it in his lips how much he loves her and wants to raise babies with her. Or maybe she is recognizing that same need in herself. 

David grabs her a few pillows, putting them under her knees. 

“I don’t know if this works, but I read about it.” He tells her. Mack chuckles, finding it endearing that he researched this before they started while she resisted the urge this morning. 

“I’ll try it.” She shrugs, then settles in deeper to the position.

“Can I get you anything?”

“No, just stay with me.” She reaches for his hand. David laces their fingers together, then looks over the position she is in. 

“Next round, you can lay right there. I’m gonna put a pillow under your hips too.” He thinks aloud. “No need for you to move. I can do it all.” Mack starts to giggle. Once they begin, she can’t stop them. She is full on laughing until she is crying, naked on her back, with her knees up in the air and her husband’s hand in hers.

“Why is this so funny?” She wheezes. “Like look at me right now!?” David’s laughter joins hers. When it dies down, he contemplates seriously.

“Because we are happy. And we want this.” He murmurs, sliding a hand across her lower abdomen. He cups her there. Mack puts her hand over his and nods. 

“I really want this with you.”

“Only you.” He agrees.

Mack hopes she can give this to them sooner rather than later.

- - - & - - -

It’s a Thursday in the middle of the day, weeks later, when Mack decides to take a pregnancy test. She is close to a week late, unheard of for her. Then this morning, her breasts felt heavy when she rolled out of bed, still utterly exhausted despite sleeping for almost 10 hours. David had gone off to practice none the wiser. Mack wants to be sure. And she wants this moment alone. Maybe that is self-serving of her, but it’s her body. She wants to be the first to know it’s carrying their child.

Mack clips the pink cap back into place, then sets the stick down on the counter in front of her. She inhales heavily, setting a timer even though it seems pointless. She can see the oval begging to fill. The test line comes in and she looks away. She walks over to the closed door, biting on her thumb nail as the seconds pass like hours. 

It will be okay if it’s negative. They will keep trying. Honestly, trying has been really fun. David takes amazing care of her and there has been something incredibly addicting about such a primal purpose. She’s had the best orgasms of her life during the last few weeks. It will be hard to replicate when they aren’t doing this for a baby.

Mack leans her head back into the door, looking up at the ceiling, thinking about how surreal this moment is. She never thought she would be here. Okay, maybe she could see her self being here, but not hoping to see two pink lines in that oval. Her brown eyes drift to the test, but she is too far away to see it. Mack’s mind wanders back to bare feet and dripping popsicles. Maybe grape ones? She hated cherry as a kid. Or those American flag popsicles. Bomb-pops, she thinks that’s what they’re call. 

When her phone illuminates, Mack lets the sound ring through the room. It bounces off the tile with an exhilarating thrill that has her throat thickening with nerves. She inhales heavily, then pushes off from the wood, socked feet quiet across the bathroom. She focuses on her phone screen, turning it off. Then she picks up the test. She holds it in front of her, but looks at herself in the mirror.

“No matter what, it’s okay.” She reminds herself. 

Then she dares to look.

Two pink lines greet her. The second line is obvious enough that there is no question. 

She is pregnant.

A heavy inhale brings her shoulders to her ears. Mack immediately becomes overcome with emotion. Her face collapses into her hands as she sobs quietly. 

“Oh my god.” She murmurs. “Oh my god.” Part of Mack was convinced before this moment that maybe the universe would punish her for changing her mind. Like she was unworthy of this gift after saying for so long that she didn’t want it. Not when people like Savannah have always craved to hold a baby in her arms. Mack’s hands shake as she brings the test back in front of her face. No, that is not the case for her.

Mack stays sitting on the bathroom floor for awhile. Part of it is spent staring at the test, the other part is dreaming about everything that is to come. She types in a tentative date to see when she may be due. It looks likely the middle to end of July. A summer baby in Iowa. She giggles. How adorable will it be to have a baby at the same hospital David was born at? He will love that. 

Mack’s mind begins to churn on a way to tell him. She wants it to be fun and creative, more than handing him the test and calling it good. Of course she could go buy a Rangers onesie, but she doesn’t. Instead, she grabs her keys and heads down to a baby shop she’s frequented with her sister for Rangers’ baby showers. Inside, she is able to find what she remembers seeing, a onesie that says: Farmer On The Way! with a green tractor on the belly. Mack giggles, then dips into a craft store to grab a sign she can manipulate with magnetic letters.

David needs to stay at the rink later than normal for team obligations. By the time he is home, Mack is on pins and needles waiting for him in the living room. There is no way she couldn’t tell him about this today. She sits on the couch, legs folded with her hands clasped in her lap. He opens the door with a folder and a paper bag in his hand. He sees her on the couch immediately, smiling at her.

“What are you doing in here?” He asks, noting she doesn’t seem to be doing much of anything. The TV is off. There is no book in her hand and she stares at the door expectantly.

“Waiting for you.” She responds happily.

“Oooh, lucky me.” He drops his stuff on the entry way table, then comes over to kiss her. “Mmm you smell good, babe.” 

“It’s my lotion.”

“I like it. Are you done with work for the day?”

“Yeah.” She had told Sonja she wasn’t feeling well and needed the afternoon off.

“Do you want to do anything?” He asks almost regretfully.

“No.” She shakes her head, looking around him to the kitchen counter where he has yet to notice the sign and onesie. 

“Good, I wanna go take a long ass nap.” He reaches for her hand.

“Okay, but can you get me some water?” She blurts out. Of course her sweet man doesn’t balk at that. 

“Yeah, you want the blue bottle or… the…” He trails off as he gets closer to the counter. “The crops aren’t the only thing growing this summer…” He reads the sign aloud, then grabs the test off the counter. He stares at it, then snaps his gaze to her. “No…. Are you serious? You’re pregnant?” He turns fully to her with the test in his hand. She nods her head. “Fuck yes!” He yells. “Fuck yes, baby!” He runs back across the room and lifts her into his arms. He twirls them around, then brings her down so she can wrap her limbs around his body.

“We are having a baby.” She whispers to him, resting their foreheads together. “I love you.” She smooshes his cheeks in her hands earnestly.

“I love you. I love you. I LOVE YOU! I’m so excited, honey.” 

“Me too! I can’t believe it happened so fast.”

“You did a good job pulling me deep.” He smirks. “Holy shit, we are having a kid… There’s a baby in there.” He pats her stomach lovingly.

“Oh my god, I’m pregnant.” She says to him, eyes widening as the reality actually hits her. “I have to give birth…” She trails off, looking concerned. “Fuck.” 

“Oh… Are we gonna have a little moment here?”

“Yeah. Oh shit.” 

“Okay.” David puts her back on her feet, keeping ahold of her hips. Mack starts waving her hand at her face, lifting her hair up because she is suddenly extremely hot.

“I’m having a hot flash. Or a panic attack. There is other ways the baby can come out right?”

“Ah… I… no.” He finally settles on. He gives a little chuckle. “We are far away from that right now, though.” He reminds her. His hands collect hers by her thighs. “One day at at time.” He nods. Suddenly, Mack starts to cry.

“Oh my god, you’re going to be the best dad!” She exclaims. “I’m so lucky I get to have your baby. You’re perfect. You love me. You already love this little bean too.”

“Bean?” David chuckles.

“Yeah, it’s tiny right now. Like a bean.” She sniffs, holding up two tightly compressed finger tips.

“Okay, then yeah I really, really love our little bean.” He murmurs. David moves his head down to her belly button. He kisses right under it and like usual, his lips soothe her. Her fingers thread through his hair as she sighs away the rest of her worries for now. “Wait.. it’s not a kidney bean right? Those are gross.” He mumbles against her warm skin.

“No, it’s a pinto bean.” She laughs, covering her mouth with her hand. Her shoulders start to shake too and soon they’re both laughing, holding each other close while they do. Mack covers her belly button when she pulls away. “Why do I feel like a teen mom?”

“We wanted this.” He reminds her, running an index finger down her nose comfortingly. “We are two old married people, ready for this next step.”

“You’re old. I’m not.” Mack scoffs. David snorts, then tilts his head back to the ceiling. He covers his face with his hands and starts shaking from silent laughter.

“You can never resist that, huh?”

“Nope.” She chuckles. “Okay, so what I’m supposed to go about my day now? Like… nothing is different? Wait, what can I eat?” She asks him.

“I don’t know. How about we go find that out together? Maybe make an appointment for you?” Mack suddenly gasps, clasping her hands over her mouth.

“I don’t want to go alone!” She squeaks. David is heading out of town for two games tomorrow after practice. There isn’t time to get to the doctor before then.

“You don’t have to. I’m gone for barely three days. The games are back to back. Let’s try to get an appointment for that next day.” He rubs at her shoulders. “You don’t have to do any of this alone. Me and you.” He reminds her. Mack nods and sniffs. Somehow she started crying again and didn’t notice. She wipes her nose with the back of her hand then raises her gaze to her husband.

“Do you regret getting me pregnant yet? Like what is all this…” She trials off at herself.

“This is our pregnancy journey, baby. And I’m right here. Step for step with ya.” He pulls her into his arms again, rocking them gently back and forth. One of his hands slides over to cup her stomach. Mack closes her eyes, feeling the weight of what’s happening between them right now.

She may be emotional and admittedly a little scared. 

But pregnant, Mackenzie Hischier has never been happier in her entire life. 

Read more Mack and David here.

[girlactionfigure]

THURSDAY HERO: Clement and Andrey Sheptytsky

Clement and Andrey Sheptytsky were leaders of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church who spoke out against the Nazis and saved dozens of Jews after the Nazi takeover of Ukraine.

The brothers were born in a small village called Prylbychi to an aristocratic family featuring many prominent leaders of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Andrey, the oldest, was born in 1865 with the title “Count.” Clement was born four years later. The boys received their primary education at home, and then went to high school in Krakow.

Young Andrey, already 6’10”, got to know some Jews while attending school in Krakow, and became interested in their religion. He learned Hebrew, and maintained his close ties with the Jewish community over the ensuing decades.

After graduating from high school, Andrey joined the Austro-Hungarian army, but got sick soon after and had to return home. As his health improved, Andrey attended law school and received his doctorate in 1888. During that time he traveled throughout Europe, and was granted an audience with Pope Leo XIII at the Vatican.

Despite his promising law career, Andrey felt a vocation to serve God and, despite fierce opposition from his father, he entered the Jesuit Seminary in Krakow. He was ordained as a priest in 1892 and over the ensuing years rose to increasing prominence in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. In 1899, Andrey was nominated by Emperor Franz Joseph as a Bishop, and the nomination was approved by the Pope. Andrey was consecrated as a bishop, and a year later, at the age of 36, he became Metropolitan Archbishop of Lviv, the largest city in western Ukraine. Andrey traveled throughout the country making pastoral visits, and was welcomed warmly by local Jews. Sometimes they would even greet him with a Torah scroll.

Meanwhile, younger brother Clement was following a similar career path, but on a different timeline. Clement also went to law school, but instead of practicing law he returned home to take care of his aging parents, and manage the family’s vast real estate holdings.

In 1911, almost twenty years after his older brother became a priest, Clement also chose a life of religious devotion. He enrolled in theological seminary and was ordained a priest in 1915. He entered the Holy Dormition monastery, and became its prior in 1926. The brothers remained very close, and in 1937 when Andrey became sick, Clement left his monastery and moved to Lviv to care for him.

As the Nazi party rose to power in the 1930’s, Andrey was the first (and sadly, one of the only) European church leaders to speak out forcefully against persecution of the Jews. He issued an important pastoral letter, “Thou Shalt Not Kill” to protest Nazi violence. As First Bishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church he sent a letter to Hitler and Himmler protesting their treatment of Jews. His letter was ignored, so Andrey took action. He directed his clergy and lay leaders to save Jews by hiding them in churches, providing for their basic needs, and helping them escape to safety.

In addition to hiding Jews in Ukrainian Greek Catholic churches, Andrey and Clement took 16 Jews into their own home and cared for them until the area was liberated by the Red Army in 1944. One of those Jews was David Kahane, who became chief rabbi of the Israeli air force and later chief rabbi of Argentina. Rabbi Kahane said, “Andrey Sheptytsky deserves the undying gratitude of the Jews and the honorific title ‘Prince of the Righteous.”

Andrey, who had been in poor health for many years, died in 1944 and is buried in St. George’s Cathedral in Lviv. Church historian Jaroslav Pelikan wrote, “Arguably, Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky was the most influential figure… in the entire history of the Ukrainian Church in the twentieth century.”

After the war, Clement was arrested by  Soviet authorities and pressured to renounce his faith. He refused to do so, and was sentenced to eight years in prison, which amounted to a death sentence for the frail, 74 year old man. While incarcerated, he ministered to other inmates, cared for those who were sick, and shared his food with the weakest among them. He died in Vladimir Central Prison in 1951, at age 81.

The brave brothers received many posthumous honors. Clement was beatified in 2001 by Pope John Paul II, and was honored as Righteous Among the Nations by Israeli Holocaust Memorial Yad Vashem. Andrey received the honorific “Venerable” for his life of heroic virtue by Pope Francis in 2015. In their home town of Prylbychi, a monument to the Sheptytsky brothers was erected in 2011.

For bravely saving Jews from the Nazi death machine, and ordering their flock to do the same, we honor the holy Sheptytsky brothers as this week’s Thursday Heroes.

[proton-wobbler]

Great Backyard Bird Off - Schedule & Info

Round One Schedule

Cosmopolitan - posted February 1st & 2nd - 14 polls

Europe - posted February 11th - 9 polls

Africa - posted February 20th - 9 polls

Australia - posted March 1st & 2nd - 20 polls

New Zealand - posted March 11th - 7 polls

Asia - posted March 20th & 21st - 14 polls

the Americas - posted March 29th & 30th - 16 polls

Eurasia - posted April 8th & 9th - 14 polls

Poll Info

There are 8 brackets, with 208 species featured! Ranges were determined either using the self-report feature added to the submission box or with eBird sightings. "Cosmopolitan" is a bracket involving species of birds which were found on at least three continents, regardless of which they were submitted for. "Eurasia" are birds which seem to appear equally between Europe and Asia (majority of the continent, not just Middle East). "the Americas" includes all of the Americas, with US birds removed- granted, some Canadian or Mexican birds can show up in the US, but they're not common enough backyard birds (imo) to have been disqualified.

Please-- feel free to advocate for whichever bird you vote for! I would love to get some more participation with this tournament, especially since this is a poll with popular bird species.

Polls will be a week long, and are tagged #Great Backyard Bird Off. All subsequent reblogs are tagged as #poll reblog. Be sure to block this tag if you want to avoid me spamming your dash. Any reblogs containing support for a species will be tagged #[species] support. Results will be tagged #poll results.

Bird Support Google Form

vvv Participant List under the Read More vvv

Cosmopolitan (28 species)

Black kite, Black-headed gull, Bohemian waxwing, Canada goose, Common buzzard, C. Chiffchaff, C. Kingfisher, C. Loon, C. Myna, C. Nightingale, C. Swift, Eurasian Collared-dove, Eurasian Hoopoe, Eurasian (Common) Kestrel, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, European bee-eater, European (common) starling, Great crested grebe, Great gray owl, Grey wagtail, Little grebe, Ring-necked pheasant, Red-backed Shrike, Rock Pigeon, Rose-ringed Parakeet, Western barn owl, Western cattle egret, White (pied) wagtail

Europe (18 species)

Tawny Owl, Spotless Starling, Red kite, Middle spotted woodpecker, Great spotted woodpecker, Fieldfare, European Stonechat, E. Robin, E. Herring Gull, E. Goldfinch, Eurasian Green Woodpecker, Eurasian Golden Oriole, Eurasian blackcap, Eurasian (Common) Blackbird, Dunnock, Crested tit, Common wood-pigeon, Eurasian Blue tit

Africa (18 species)

African Harrier-hawk, Bearded barbet, Blacksmith lapwing, Bokmakierie, Cape starling, Cape white-eye, Dark-capped bulbul, Hadada ibis, House bunting, Klaas' Cuckoo, Kwevoel (Grey go-away-bird), Nile valley sunbird, Purple-crested turaco, Red-winged starling, Southern double-collared sunbird, Southern masked weaver, Spotted eagle-owl, White-backed mousebird

Australia (41 species)

Yellow Wattlebird, Willie-wagtail, White-faced Heron, Welcome Swallow, Weebill, Tawny Frogmouth, Tasmanian Nativehen, Superb Fairywren, Sulfur-crested Cockatoo, Splendid Fairywren, Sooty Owl, Red-browed Firetail, Red wattlebird, Rainbow lorikeet, Peid currawong, Pheasant coucal, Pacific koel, Noisy miner, Masked lapwing, Magpie-lark, Little corella, Lewin's honeyeater, Laughing kookaburra, Grey fantail, Grey butcherbird, Gang Gang cockatoo, Galah, Eastern spinebill, Eastern rosella, Crimson rosella, Crested pigeon, Crescent honeyeater, Bush stone curlew (thick-knee), Brown thornbill, Black swan, Bell miner, Austarlian ringneck, Australian magpie, Australian Ibis (Bin Chicken), Australasian Swamphen (Pukeko)

New Zealand (14 species)

Kaka, Kakaruwai (South Island robin), Karearea (NZ falcon), Kereru, Koekoea (Long-tailed Koel), Korimako (NZ bellbird), Yellowhead, Piwakawaka (NZ Fantail), Riroriro (Grey Gerygone), Satin Bowerbird, Silvereye (Tahou), Titipounamu (Rifleman), Tomtit, Tui

Asia (28 species)

Asian Koel, Azure-winged Magpie, Black-collared Starling, Brown-eared Bulbul, Colombo (House) Crow, Common Hill-myna, Eastern Buzzard, Japanese Robin, Light-vented Bulbul, Mandarin Duck, Masked Laughingthrush, Olive-backed Sunbird, Oriental Magpie-robin, Oriental Pied Hornbill, Palau Fruit dove, Palla's Gull, Purple-rumped Sunbird, Red-billed Blue magpie, Red Junglefowl, Red-whiskered bulbul, Ruppell's Weaver, Southern Hill-myna, Spotted dove, Swinhoe's White-eye, Whistling Green-pigeon, White-rumped munia, White-spectacled bulbul, Yellow bittern

The Americas (33 species)

Austral Thrush, Bananaquit, Blue-and-white Swallow, Blue-and-yellow Macaw, Bushy-crested Jay, Canada Jay, Chalk-browed Mockingbird, Chimango, Clay-colored Thrush, Common Potoo, Crimson-fronted Parakeet, Eared Dove, Great Kiskadee, Great Thrush, Green-backed Firecrown, Green-headed Tanager, Hoatzin, Lesson's Motmot, Masked Water Tyrant, Pacific Hornero, Pale-breasted Thrush, Plain Parakeet, Red-rumped Cacique, Ruddy Ground Dove, Rufous Hornero, Rufous-bellied Thrush, Rufous-collared Sparrow, Russet-naped Wood rail, Sayaca Tanager, Southern House Wren, Southern Lapwing, White Bellbird, White-crested Elaenia

Eurasia (28 Species)

Black Redstart, Blue Rock thrush, Carrion Crow, Coal Tit, Common Chaffinch, Eurasian Bullfinch, Eurasian Bittern, Eurasian Jackdaw, Eurasian Jay, Eurasian Magpie, Eurasian Nuthatch, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Eurasian Siskin, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Eurasian Treecreeper, Eurasian Wren, European Greenfinch, Goldcrest, Great Tit, Hawfinch, Hooded Crow, Long-tailed Tit, Mistle Thrush, Northern Lapwing, Rook, Song Thrush, Spanish Sparrow, Yellowhammer

[susanthepan]

Calling all Thai BL fans from Europe and North America!

I'm currently a student in Chiang Mai University and writing a paper on how Thai BL has affected the perception of Thailand and LGBT+ community/movement among the western audiences. Sooo if you feel like you would qualify and would like to share your experiences and thoughts, you are more than welcome to participate in this short questionnaire. You can reach the survey through this link :)) Thank you so much xx

[mariacallous]

A decade ago, the U.S. Congress was on the cusp of passing a bill that would have legalized most of the nearly 11 million unauthorized migrants living in the United States and put them on a path to citizenship. Now, come Jan. 20, the country is set to launch what will likely be the largest mass deportation effort in its history.

“We know who you are, and we’re going to come and find you,” said Thomas Homan one day after President-elect Donald Trump named him as the incoming administration’s “border czar,” responsible for border security and the removal of unauthorized migrants. Homan has promised to carry out “the biggest deportation operation this country’s ever seen.”

If he succeeds, it will reshape migration for a generation or longer—not just in the United States but in much of the world.

This moment has been building slowly. Since roughly the 1960s, most of the advanced economies—with the notable exception of Japan—gradually opened themselves to larger flows of migrants. In the United States, the foreign-born share of the population rose from less than 5 percent in 1970 to nearly 15 percent today; in Britain, that share rose from a little more than 6 percent to more than 16 percent.

Most Western countries saw immigration as an economic winner, bringing talent and ambition and helping fill labor shortages in occupations from farm work to health care. There was a strong humanitarian impulse as well: Horrified by the refusal of most countries to admit European Jews fleeing Nazi persecution before and during the Second World War, Western countries adopted generous refugee and asylum laws obligating them to admit many of those escaping persecution, torture, or death threats around the world.

But in the 21st century, that welcoming spirit has crumbled. In the 2000s, Congress tried several times to pass legislation to legalize unauthorized migrants who were longtime U.S. residents, as it had done during the administration of President Ronald Reagan in 1986. The most recent effort failed in the House of Representatives in 2014, despite support from more than two-thirds of senators, including 14 Republicans.

Then over the past decade, both the United States and Europe faced a series of migration crises, with displaced people arriving at their borders in far larger numbers than governments could handle or their populations were willing to accept. Tinkering with asylum processing and enlisting help from neighboring states such as Mexico or Turkey bought occasional breathing room—until the number of arrivals would inevitably soar again, creating a fresh crisis.

With the growing number of migrants fleeing conflict, violence, or economic collapse—the number of displaced persons worldwide has doubled over the past decade, to nearly 120 million today—immigration has become more politically charged across the world. In Europe, populist parties running on anti-immigrant platforms have made widespread gains. Even countries that have historically welcomed large numbers of migrants, such as Canada and Australia, have become warier and are reducing immigration quotas.

But no country faces an about-face as stark as that in the United States. Trump returns to the White House with what he believes is a mandate to sweep the country of unauthorized migrants, including millions who have been in the United States for decades and millions more who have arrived in the past four years and enjoy temporary legal status under the Biden administration’s more generous schemes.

Trump’s first appointments attest to his seriousness. Homan has four decades of experience on migration issues; as the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during Trump’s first term, he was the architect of the controversial policy of separating migrant parents from their children when they crossed the border from Mexico illegally.

Trump’s new deputy chief of staff for policy, Stephen Miller, has spent the last 15 years schooling himself in the intricacies of U.S. immigration laws to wield them in the service of a xenophobic agenda. At Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally in late October, Miller told the cheering crowd that “America is for Americans and Americans only.”

And the president-elect’s nominee to head the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Gov. Kristi Noem, deployed National Guard troops from her state of South Dakota to help stop migrants at the Texas-Mexico border.

It is not at all clear, however, that Americans actually voted for this agenda. Immigration was a big issue in the campaign, but surveys indicate that it ran well behind the state of the economy and was a second-tier issue alongside health care, national security, the Supreme Court, and the future of democracy.

Polls on immigration are also all over the map. A September Pew Research poll found that nearly 9 in 10 Trump supporters, and 56 percent of registered voters overall, said that they favor “mass deportations of immigrants living in the country illegally,” suggesting strong support for the Trump agenda. But 58 percent also favor allowing undocumented immigrants to remain in the country if they are married to a U.S. citizen. And considerably higher majorities—including half or more of Trump supporters—want to admit more refugees, foreign college graduates, and immigrants who can fill labor shortages.

The new administration’s actions will be a test of which of these competing priorities Americans will actually support. In his first term, Trump did not push very hard. While he all but shut down refugee admissions from overseas, took steps to curb legal migration, and tightened the U.S. border with Mexico during the COVID-19 pandemic, his administration did little to remove migrants already present in the country. The total number of deportations during his first four years was 1.5 million—half as many as President Barack Obama’s first term and similar to the number in Obama’s second term and outgoing President Joe Biden’s four years.

Trump was more successful in reducing legal migration. Immigrant arrivals slowed significantly under Trump, though much of that came from the almost complete shutdown of U.S. borders and immigration processing during the pandemic year of 2020, the final year of his first term. What would a mass deportation look like? Unless Congress changes them, U.S. laws make a huge increase in removals unlikely.

Migrants targeted for deportation are permitted to appeal their removal to U.S. immigration courts, an arm of the Justice Department. The backlog in those courts is more than 3 million cases, a sixfold increase since 2016; wait times for hearings can stretch to two years or longer. U.S. detention capacity for all migrants—either recent arrivals or those awaiting removal—is roughly 40,000.

Miller has pushed for the government to create tent cities along the border to expand that capacity, but the costs would be high. The American Immigration Council has estimated that it would cost $88 billion annually to detain and deport 1 million migrants per year, which is nearly nine-tenths of the entire current DHS budget. And many countries are reluctant to take their own citizens back. Venezuela has at times refused entirely, and others, including Cuba and China, are considered “recalcitrant.”

Homan promised in a Nov. 8 interview with Fox News to start by focusing on “public security threats and national security threats,” which is pretty much what the Biden administration and others have done; more than 40 percent of those arrested and targeted for removal by ICE in 2023 had some sort of criminal conviction or pending charge.

Beyond that, things get harder. Homan has promised to revive “worksite enforcement” in which ICE targets workplaces such as slaughterhouses and farms that are suspected of employing large numbers of undocumented migrants. The history of such raids suggests that they will be difficult.

Only one large-scale raid—against chicken processing plants in Mississippi—was conducted during Trump’s first term. Some 700 migrants were arrested and some deported, but the employers got off with a slap on the wrist. The Mississippi plants continue to face large labor shortages and continue to hire unauthorized migrants.

Many of Trump’s wealthy donors rely on foreign workers, including unauthorized migrants, and are likely to push back against the resumption of workplace raids.

Reaching deep into American communities will be harder still. To start, it is challenging simply to find undocumented migrants; unlike some countries, U.S. residents are not required to carry documents that prove their right to be in the country. Many states, including California, Oregon, and Washington, as well as cities such as New York, Boston, and Philadelphia, also have “sanctuary” laws that prevent local law enforcement from cooperating with ICE agents, making arrests and detentions more difficult.

Homan has promised to ignore such obstacles in deploying ICE agents: “If sanctuary cities don’t want to help us, then get out of the way, because we’re coming,” he said on Fox & Friends. Miller has also talked about getting friendly red states to call up state-level National Guard forces and sending them to assist ICE agents in blue states. This could set up unprecedented clashes across state borders.

The public reaction is hard to predict. Most immigration enforcement takes place near the border or quietly, when unauthorized migrants are detained on criminal charges and turned over to ICE. Sending agents into neighborhoods to arrest individual migrants will be far more explosive; nearly 14 million U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents live in households where are least one member is unauthorized. Nearly 1 in 3 Latino families—a group that voted  more strongly for Trump in this election than in the previous two—is faced with the threat of removal or family separation in the event of a mass deportation.

All of this assumes, of course, that the new administration chooses to be constrained by existing laws and norms. But other options may exist. With Republican control of both the House and the Senate, Trump may be able to push through laws not only to boost funding for removal operations, but also to weaken legal protections for unauthorized migrants.

His officials are likely to expand the use of expedited removal—a provision that permits removal without a court hearing for recent arrivals. Previous administrations have used the power almost exclusively to remove unauthorized border crossers shortly after their arrival, but Trump tried late in his first term to extend that power to migrants who had lived anywhere in the country for less than two years. The increasingly pro-Trump courts may help such an effort pass muster.

This week, Trump suggested he may go farther still and declare a national emergency—using broad powers granted by Congress to the president—in order to deploy the U.S. military to expedite deportations.

Even if his deportation plans fall short, a large-scale attempt of the sort being promised will mark a revolution in the U.S. approach to migration. Until now, conservative critics of immigration, including Trump himself during his first term, have focused largely on securing borders and reducing new arrivals. Right-wing parties in Europe, too, have focused on tightening borders.

But if the United States starts mass removal, populist governments in other parts of the world will likely be emboldened to take more draconian measures as well. Despite the political controversies, the United States has long been something of a model for embracing immigration—more than one-fifth of all the world’s migrants reside in the United States. Mass deportation will send a far uglier message.

If the effort proves too difficult, and Trump buckles to the inevitable backlash, the political debate in the United States may revert to where it has been for decades: how to provide a reasonable level of security at the border while continuing to admit new immigrants who benefit the economy—and looking the other way at the millions of unauthorized migrants who have settled and built lives in the country.

For decades now, that has been a messy and uncomfortable compromise. But the alternative promises to be much worse.