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tossawary · 5 months

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One of my personal nitpicks for historical fantasy is a lack of servants, staff, subordinates, and... idk... subjects? Like, their absence is not... a total dealbreaker for me, depending on the situations the characters are in and whether or not I can just assume that other people are there in the background... but so many of the protagonists in historical fantasy stuff are higher-ranking (very often royalty), and/or have busy jobs, and/or have enormous houses that would necessitate having at least part-time staff.

Like, girl, you should have a maid! WHERE is your chaperone?! WHO is driving this carriage?! Where are your footmen? Are you trying to imply that a WEALTHY DUCHESS is taking a CAB?! You know that you probably have tenants, right? Where is your steward?! Where is your lawyer? Your accountant?! (Like, yeah, you're not going to have your lawyer living in your house, but you HAVE one, right???)

Or, man, you're supposed to be a military commander and you don't even have a single secretary?! Where is your SQUIRE?! (In the spirit of historical fiction, I am jumping wildly across time periods with every sentence here.) Man, I know you aren't looking after your own boots. Where are your GUARDS?! Who set up this tent for you?! Who is looking after your horse?! Who is making and carrying the incredibly valuable maps people are recklessly stabbing daggers into?!

SOMEONE has to be scrubbing these floors and delivering the mail and cooking the meals and doing laundry, and they're probably all DIFFERENT people! My dentist has at least three different receptionists and we can't even get ONE for our court wizard here? A sorcerer's apprentice to take notes? Someone like Sherlock Holmes could get away with just having a housekeeper and taking taxis, sure, but your character is supposed to be a KING?! Why is he answering his own front door? He's going to get assassinated. His SERVANTS should have SERVANTS.

Like, yes, I understand that a lot of servants in certain places at certain times were supposed to make their labor invisible, but there have always been servants who still had to interact directly with the masters of the house?! Yeah, there are potentially really messy ethics here, class divisions are bullshit, but I don't think that completely ignoring the reality that humans have ALWAYS been doing work for other humans is better than just including some well-paid and well-treated servants and employees? Because a complete absence of them, especially where logically for the worldbuilding there MUST be servants (and probably exploited servants, or worse, for some particular worldbuilds to work), often makes me think that your main characters just don't care enough to notice the "lower class" people or know their names.

Also, even Frodo Baggins had a gardener and Samwise Gamgee might be the best damn character in the story?! Sam saved the world?! Servants are PEOPLE. Servants are often the funniest and most interesting characters, tbh, with the most to say about a society and its workings (yes, Discworld is a very good book series, highly recommend), and also the joke of some romantic scene being carefully orchestrated by a stage crew of servants frantically diving into bushes to stay out of sight never gets old to me. Teamwork makes the dream work!

I don't want to gatekeep historical fiction, especially not historical fantasy, because the worlds don't necessarily have to conform to our own and may have magic and characters are often in very unique circumstances, but... sometimes I pick up a story and it's like... "Author, please tell me that you know there is a difference between a butler and a valet?!"

#tossawary reading #tossawary watching #I don't know what to tag this as #tossawary fandom #long post #where are your servants

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grits-galraisedinthesouth · 18 days

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Sponsored by Archewell of Course

Finally we learn the true purpose of this fake royal inGRIFTus visit: MEgain's dream to purcha$e (not earn) a political appointment as an Ambassador for the perks: IPP status, a NYC apartment, luxurious international travel, power, stardom, etc.

In 2021 in the name of vaccine equity (and netflix), The Meghans secured a meeting with several WHO representatives involved w/The Clinton Global Initiative including the UN Under-Secretary General Winnie Byanyima.¹

MEgain replied "It's wonderful to be back..." just to make it clear that THIS trip is all about HER not him.

It seems that identifying as Misan Harriman's Nigerian cousin might be her golden ticket to the UN.

Meghan Markle was the most unaccomplished woman in that room of so-called Nigerian women leaders and certainly the least deserving of any political appointments or elected positions. She's treated women and men like TRASH. Hissing and harassing them to such lengths that they require therapy and seek new employment.

Sparry is absolutely complicit in their drive to give his wife undeserved power and authority over institutions and human beings. He'll assist her with love bombing Ngozi even just save what little hair remains on his head. He's a Eunuch.

From the Nigerian Defense Staff Visitor Book of General Christopher Musa

Sparry: "Thank you for welcoming us to your beautiful country. Together we will heal our troops. -Harry

MEgain: "With gratitude for the support of the Invictus community. And for welcoming me home." -M??

Did these female leaders discuss the women who have been raped and violated in the African Parks Scandal?

What about hundreds of abducted Nigerian children, most recently in broad daylight on March 7, 2024?

Look at this lovely room and compare it to the spaces The Meghans publicized to the mainstream media on their tour. Spot the difference. Who do you think matters most, the wounded or the powerful?

The good news is that The MEghans have a very long history of lying, cheating, mistreating innocent people, and even mocking God.

No matter what doors 43% of bull chite will open, God will not be mocked. Sparry had the temerity to walk into Saint Paul's and read from the holy scriptures as if he's some authority on serving God while he nails his bloodline to the media's cross.

Cry out for mercy, Harry!

God will not be mocked, whatever a man sows that will he also reap.

MEgain thinks she can rebrand her ancestry and whore her way into achieving all her personal & professional goals.

Whatever she has sown, she will reap.

"An afternoon of joy, love and sharing of experiences with leading Nigerian women from across the spectrum- Public Sector, Private Sector, Civil Society, a mixture of young and old. Co hosted by Meghan the Duchess of Sussex and myself, and moderated by @MoAbudu

Talking about what it means to be a woman leader, how difficult it is to get there, and the sisterhood and brotherhood that is needed to help make leadership work. Also had a fantastic panel made up of Dr @OmobolaJohnsonHon Minister @DrDorisAnite @achenyoio@miss_asagba Dr. Mairo Mandara and CNN’s @StephanieBusari who all shared their special experiences.

Sponsored by "Archewell Women in Leadership"

Soho House's Misan Harriman but not Sparry🤔

She never cared about those less fortunate people The #Kigali of Today is the African Parks Rapes

She adored Elizabeth until she refused to place her in the Ambassador position with Emma Watson. When she had the opportunity for REVENGE she took it out on all the women waiting to meet her at the Fiji Market which included the UN Women and the Royal Tour Staff.

The Malta Ancestry Lie: "oh I do sort of blend in, and it's the loveliest feeling." Unfortunately for the Maltese tourist authority, Meghan's published article made NO MENTION MALTA!!!

"Meghan identifies 1st and foremost as the business woman. Money is Meghan's priority." P77

Numerous Bridges Burned. She has markled herself.

WTO | 2021 News items - History is made: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala chosen as Director-General

She'sa globalist WEFer: "The General Council decision follows months of uncertainty which arose when the United States initially refused to join the consensus around Dr Okonjo-Iweala and threw its support behind Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee of the Republic of Korea. But following Ms Yoo's decision on 5 February to withdraw her candidacy, the administration of newly elected US President Joseph R. Biden Jr. dropped the US objection and announced instead that Washington extends its “strong support” to the candidacy of Dr Okonjo-Iweala."

History is made: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala chosen as Director-General

WTO members made history today (15 February) when the General Council agreed by consensus to select Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria as the organization’s seventh Director-General.

When she takes office on 1 March, Dr Okonjo-Iweala will become the first woman and the first African to be chosen as Director-General. Her term, renewable, will expire on 31 August 2025.

“This is a very significant moment for the WTO. On behalf of the General Council, I extend our warmest congratulations to Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on her appointment as the WTO's next Director-General and formally welcome her to this General Council meeting,” said General Council Chair David Walker of New Zealand who, together with co-facilitators Amb. Dacio Castillo (Honduras) and Amb. Harald Aspelund (Iceland) led the nine-month DG selection process.

“Dr Ngozi, on behalf of all members I wish to sincerely thank you for your graciousness in these exceptional months, and for your patience. We look forward to collaborating closely with you, Dr Ngozi, and I am certain that all members will work with you constructively during your tenure as Director-General to shape the future of this organization,” he added.

Dr Okonjo-Iweala said a key priority for her would be to work with members to quickly address the economic and health consequences brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I am honoured to have been selected by WTO members as WTO Director-General,” said Dr Okonjo-Iweala. “A strong WTO is vital if we are to recover fully and rapidly from the devastation wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic. I look forward to working with members to shape and implement the policy responses we need to get the global economy going again. Our organization faces a great many challenges but working together we can collectively make the WTO stronger, more agile and better adapted to the realities of today.” Her full statement is available here.

The General Council decision follows months of uncertainty which arose when the United States initially refused to join the consensus around Dr Okonjo-Iweala and threw its support behind Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee of the Republic of Korea. But following Ms Yoo's decision on 5 February to withdraw her candidacy, the administration of newly elected US President Joseph R. Biden Jr. dropped the US objection and announced instead that Washington extends its “strong support” to the candidacy of Dr Okonjo-Iweala.

Amb. Walker extended his thanks to all eight of the candidates who participated in the selection process and particularly to Ms Yoo “for her ongoing commitment to and support for the multilateral trading system and for the WTO”. His full statement is available here.

The General Council agreed on 31 July that there would be three stages of consultations held over a two-month period commencing 7 September. During these confidential consultations, the field of candidates was narrowed from eight to five and then two. On 28 October, General Council Chair David Walker of New Zealand had informed members that based on consultations with all delegations Dr Okonjo-Iweala was best poised to attain consensus of the 164 WTO members and that she had the deepest and the broadest support among the membership. At that meeting, the United States was the only WTO member which said it could not join the consensus.

The consultation process undertaken by the chair and facilitators was established through guidelines agreed by all WTO members in a 2002 General Council decision. These guidelines spelled out the key criteria in determining the candidate best positioned to gain consensus is the “breadth of support” each candidate receives from the members. During the DG selection processes of 2005 and 2013, breadth of support was defined as “the distribution of preferences across geographic regions and among the categories of members generally recognized in WTO provisions: that is (Least developed countries), developing countries and developed countries”. This same process, agreed by all members in the General Council in 2020, was strictly followed by Chair Walker and his colleagues throughout the 2020-21 DG selection process.

The process for selecting a new Director-General was triggered on 14 May when former Director-General Mr Roberto Azevêdo informed WTO members he would be stepping down from his post one year before the expiry of his mandate. He subsequently left office on 31 August.

¹Winnie Byanyima UN Under-Secretary Gen & ED of UNAIDS since 2019: "Byanyima was appointed as the executive director of UNAIDS in August 2019, by the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, following a comprehensive selection process that involved a search committee constituted by members of the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board. In her new position she concurrently serves as a United Nations Under-Secretary-General. In addition to her role at UNAIDS, Byanyima also serves a two-year term as a member of the World Bank Group’s (WBG) Advisory Council on Gender and Development. Since 2022, she has been a member of the Commission for Universal Health convened by Chatham House and co-chaired by Helen Clark and Jakaya Kikwete."

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opencommunion · 16 days

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"Throughout much of the nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth centuries the terms Zionist ‘colonisation’ and Jewish ‘colonies’ in Palestine were proudly proclaimed and universally used by Zionist leaders and writers. Benjamin Lee Gordon’s New Judea: Jewish Life in Modern Palestine and Egypt, published in Philadelphia in 1919, a typical Zionist publication of the period, uses terms such as ‘Jewish colonies’ and ‘Jewish colonists’ in Palestine dozens of times throughout the book, systematically and as a term of endearment. The same colonialist methodology and terminology are found in the 1950s in the publications of Israeli diplomat Yaakov Morris — the father of Israeli historian Benny Morris — including his 1953 book Pioneers from the West: History of Colonization in Israel by Settlers from the English-speaking Countries, just one example of this proudly colonialist Zionist tradition. In Zionist writings the Hebrew words for Moshava and (plural) Moshavot were synonymous with Jewish ‘colony’/‘colonies’ and Jewish colonists. Indeed ‘Moshava’ and ‘Moshavot’ were coined as a literal translation of the English terms ‘colony’ and ‘colonies’. This proudly trumpeted colonial legacy of early Zionist colonists and pioneers has been suppressed or deleted from memory in recent Zionist historiography, including the writings of the Israeli revisionist historians.

... The first Zionist colonies ... were universally described as ‘colonies’ in both Zionist and professional literature of the time. Their economy was based on agriculture, and, like all European colonies, they exploited cheap indigenous labour. ... Also, crucially, these early Jewish colonies were preceded by and modelled on the German Christian Templer colonies established in Palestine in the middle to late nineteenth century — with farmhouses of one or two storeys and with slanting tiled roofs and shuttered windows. Interestingly even today the ‘German Colony’ south-west of the Old City of Jerusalem, established in 1878 by members of the German Templer Society (Tempelgesellschaft), is known in Hebrew as Hamoshava Hagermanit. Earlier in 1868 the ‘German Colony’ in Haifa was set up by the Templers. This was followed by another six German colonies. ... For the Templers colonising Palestine was part of their faith: the Holy Land had to be prepared for the Second Coming of Christ. Secular Zionist historiography depicts mid-nineteenth-century German colonists as forerunners of the Zionist movement, and early Zionists themselves adopted them as a ‘model to be emulated.’ In Zionist writings the Templers were considered to be responsible for bringing technology to Palestine, in architecture, agriculture and industry, and as a symbol of progress and modernity. In Yehuda ve-Yerushalayim, the newspaper of Yoel Moshe Salomon, he himself wrote about the Templer colonies:

‘We have also noticed the colonies established over the past few years by the Germans from Wittenburg (not of our people) and their homes are built in good order, as in all the cities of Europe, with wide streets and magnificent buildings, so that anyone who walks along their streets will forget that he is walking in the country of the soul, and will feel as though he is in one of the populated cities of Europe.’

... Following in the footsteps of the German Templer colonists, the ‘American Colony’ was established in Jerusalem in 1881 by members of a Christian messianic society. A neighbourhood and a famous hotel in East Jerusalem are still known by that name. Today the side streets of the former ‘German Colony’ are named by Israel after Christian Zionists and European imperialists, including South African prime minister Jan Smuts, British prime minister David Lloyd George, British Labour Party leader Josiah Wedgewood, and Sir Wyndham Henry Deedes, a Christian Zionist British general, who was also the chief secretary to British High Commissioner of Palestine Sir Herbert Samuel from 1920 to 1922. Deedes represented a British Christian Zionism which was deeply entwined with Western Christian imperialism in the Middle East. This Christian Zionism, represented then by the British Empire and now by the American empire, is deeply rooted in the politics of uniqueness and exceptionalism and the supremacist biblical theology of the people of God, ‘elect nations’ and ‘chosen peoples’, nations which are the heirs of God’s election of the biblical Israelites. This Christian Zionist imperialist mission includes a duty to patronise the ‘Jewish people’ by ‘restoring’ them to their ‘ancestral homeland’ in Palestine, backed by a global Christian empire, then British and now American."

Nur Masalha, The Palestine Nakba: Decolonising History, Narrating the Subaltern, Reclaiming Memory (2012)

#palestine #zionism #colonialism #imperialism #history #library

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kaguyass-houraisan · 1 month

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do u have any huntake headcanons 😁😁

Sorry this is such a late response I had a very busy day and then had a beach day today so yayyyyy

Which actually got me to think about one thing I thought of and that's that Huntake would love beach dates like

- Beach Dates 🏖 🌊

I really take the greetings to heart and in one greeting Jake spoke about his dream date I believe ? (Correct me if I'm wrong) and how it was at the beach and I know they'd end up there on a date...

Like Hunter needs 84 pounds of sunscreen on him and I know Jake would gladly apply sunscreen on him, which probably makes me think Hunter would like to play beach games like volleyball with Jake, but probably has to be under the shade for a bit watching Jake run around and in Hunters head its all in slow motion to take in all the glory

I think of simple things, them on a blanket preferably a magenta one... eating sandwiches they packed with small laughs since there's definitely some sand in the sandwiches from all the shit they got up to... THE SUNSETS... WATCHING THE SUNSET W SMALL SMILES WHEN THEY TURN TO FACE EACH OTHER

- Jake is more cleanly 🧹🧺

What I mean is this:

I like to think Hunters a bit more messier... probably sleeps on an air mattress or a mattress with no bed frame and shirts lying around.. and I think Jake would tweak out if he saw a roach living there and need to clean everything somehow... there's only so much mess he can tolerate the mess, but it makes for cleaning days and excuses for Jake to come over often to see him

- Jobless Brokeass (me) Hunter, Employed Jake 👔📋

Hunter gives off employed, like he went to college w no job just vibes and I always hced as Jake coming from a family with a businessman father or something like that, a more stern family that doesn't tend to understand his emotions and paranoia, so I think Jake is more likely to pick up jobs to make money and to feel fulfilled in someway despite Miriam having the damn mil...

Things like Hunter getting bored of being at home and watching movies and he gets up and goes to wherever Jake works to bother him and ask about his day, sweet things that show to Jake that Hunter cares in his own way

But like also the thought of Jake doing professional only fans or mlm schemes appeals to me so Hunter is probably behind the camera recording and taking photos bc at the end of the day the money means Jake will buy Hunter a new album or plushie

But also ALSO I do like the idea of Jake in a corporate job and starting off as a secretary that sees way too much and is on the phone with Hunter a lot to someone working higher up later... I can forsee Jake in his office and Hunter coming in for his lunch break to eat with him

- (controversial) Big Spoon Jake, Little Spoon Hunter 🥄 💕

This might be controversial to some in our unruly society, but I don't think muscular or buff or taller = top... I really think Hunter would enjoy being snuggled and being treated sweetly and enjoy just. No arguing and no bickering... no problems... just the sweet, tender embrace of the person he loves... and I know Jake ass probably possessive asf and would provide that sweet, strong hug or cuddle to make Hunter feel at home with him... the love Jake can provide with his sweetness is not just verbal or mental, but can be physical. We've seen how sweet Jake can be in canon with Tom and I know he wouldn't leave Hunter feeling any worse

- (more in line w my hcs) Jake helps Hunter with fashion and sewing 🛍🪡

I have a hc of Hunter doing drag so naturally he'd need certain outfits made and I think he isn't rich soooo he probably complained about having no resources and in my eyes Jake probably has experience with sewing and is good at it OR he isn't that good but TRIES to learn more for Hunter... I really like the idea of Hunter wanting to perform something but thinking he can't due to having no outfit and at the last minute Jake surprises him with the custom outfit... you can't tell me Jake wouldn't be that mf dedicated to some shit... he's really intense as is

Like imagine him hand beading an outfit, purposely remeasuring Hunter often just to feel him again... like I know they'd end up having matching outfits at some point...

- Hunter loves to do karaoke 🎤 🎶

Why his ass always singing Lady Gaga songs in greetings. I know his ass wants to sing the entirety of Artpop and will 💯% make Jake watch him and sometimes participate in duets... this also ties into my drag hc thing because Jake getting to remake certain Gaga outfits for Hunter is real...

- SPORTS OR FUN DAYS 🥊🎳

Hunter is muscular SOMEHOW and Jake appears to be athletic in some way and his fit kind of suggests it unless he fucking robbed someone which I wouldn't put past him... anyways

Hunter getting Jake into new sports and activities !! Imagine them trying out things like frisbee or soccer, dates at parks avidly being an annoying gay couple... if they took on boxing I can imagine Jake getting too intense and accidentally clobbering him or the coach... one punch = k.o. type shit 😭 but them trying tennis too or some other crap and if they suck ass at it they say oh well and get some food...

E yeah I think that's all I can think of FOR NOW bc my mind is kinda empty but TRUST I thought of more before

I would've added a Miriam hc in here but I have a tough time deciding if she'd like Hunter or want him dead

#disventure camp #campamento desventura #disventure camp jake #disventure camp hunter #huntake #dc huntake #hunter x jake #ask #i have things to say i love gay people yupppppp

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beardedmrbean · 6 months

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Muslim pupils who expressed outrage after their teacher presented a Renaissance painting of nude women in class will be disciplined, France’s education minister has said.

A French teacher at the multicultural Jacques-Cartier college showed students the painting Diana and Actaeon by the Italian artist Giuseppe Cesari, which portrays a Greek mythology story in which the hunter Actaeon sees the goddess Diana and her nymphs bathing.

The work, which depicts a naked Diana and four female companions, is held at the Louvre museum in Paris.

Sophie Vénétitay, secretary general of the Snes-FSU secondary school teachers’ union, said: “During a French class, a colleague showed a 17th-century painting that showed naked women.”

“Some students averted their gaze, felt offended, said they were shocked,” said Ms Vénétitay, adding that “some also alleged the teacher made racist comments” during a class discussion.

A pupil’s parent sent an email to the school director saying that his son was prevented from speaking during that discussion and that he would file a complaint.

“We know well that methods like that can lead to a tragedy,” Ms Vénétitay told BFMTV news. “We saw it in the murder of Samuel Paty. Our colleagues feel threatened and in danger.” Teachers at the Issou school said that pupils admitted lying about events in their art class but that the damage had been done. “We’re dealing with vindictive parents who prefer to believe their children than us,” they said. Gabriel Attal, the education minister, visited the school in person on Monday and later said that a disciplinary procedure would be launched “against the students who are responsible for this situation and who have also admitted the facts”.

A team would also be deployed to the school to ensure it adhered to the “values of the republic”, he said.

Staff at the Jacques-Cartier middle school in Issou, west of Paris, refused to work on Monday, saying they feared for their safety given the recent murders of two teachers by jihadi terrorists.

Dominique Bernard was stabbed to death by a Muslim man in his school’s playground in the northern town of Arras in October.

In 2020 a civics teacher, Samuel Paty was stabbed and beheaded by a terrorist in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, 12 miles from Issou, after he showed his pupils a caricature of Mohammed in a class on free speech.

In an email sent to parents on Friday, teachers said they were exercising their right to stay away from classrooms over the “particularly difficult situation” and “an increase in cases of violence” as their daily reality.

Deteriorating discipline at the school

The school’s head teacher recently asked the education ministry for more staff and resources to deal with deteriorating discipline at the school, saying that fights and death threats and threats of rape had become common among pupils.

“We feel we are clearly in danger. We are supported by our direct superiors but not from higher up. This is a real call for help,” said one teacher.

Last week a Paris court convicted six teenagers over their role in events that led to the beheading of Mr Paty, who was their teacher at the middle school in Conflans when he was killed by Abdoullakh Anzorov, an 18-year-old of Chechen origin.

In another sign of school-religion tensions, the state this week said it would withdraw funding for the country’s biggest state-subsidised Muslim high school. In its teaching of Muslim ethics, the Averroes school, in Lille, was found to be violating French republican values.

On Tuesday, Jordan Bardella, leader of the hard-Right National Rally party, warned that “freedom of expression is under threat in France from an all-conquering political Islam that is imposing on our society its laws, its way of life and its prohibitions”.

#nunyas news #good

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knoxious-overstreet · 18 days

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hey there knoxious~ figured out might as well send you a question and in this case i have two!

1.) what is like being a lawyer's son

2.) indoor vs outdoor wedding

no correlation between the questions, just curious what you think of it esp the second one

Hi there!

Being a lawyer’s son is pretty boring honestly. He is usually working long hours. I don’t see him much and when I do we usually can’t talk much about the case until it’s over.

I do want to be a lawyer l when I get done with school though. When I was a kid I loved going to the office and talking to the secretary, but the actual cases are hard to follow and pretty boring until you’re older.

Best thing about growing up in a lawyer family is that you quickly learn how to always win an argument, and also to never argue with my dad because you will lose.

For your second question I definitely would love to have an outdoor wedding. I imagine a setting near the edge of a forest, with my partner standing at the edge of the trees, especially if it were fall and all the leaves were colorful and some had fallen. Somewhere with a stone pathway leading up to the altar.

I also just thought, how cool would it be to get married in the cave we have our meetings at? That would have to be a small ceremony, but all of my closest friends would fit. Of course that would only be reserved for if I were to marry someone in The Dead Poets Society…so my partner would either have to be in already or join later. If we were going to get married I would absolutely want to share the magic of DPS with them, so I’m sure that wouldn’t be a problem.

#thank you for the ask!#dps roleplay #knox overstreet #dead poets society rp #dead poets society #dps roleplay blog #dps ask blog #knox answers

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mermaidsirennikita · 4 months

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Any HR with gothic vibes you would recommend?

Yes!

Anne Stuart is known for writing darker, more gothic-y historicals. I've only read A Rose at Midnight so far, but I know her Rohan series is recommended for this a lot. I loved A Rose at Midnight. It's set shortly after the French Revolution (set in England, largely) and the heroine literally begins the book wanting to kill the hero. She does poison him! He just survives lmao. But yeah, the beef is real, it's pretty dark (TW for noncon, dubcon, forced sex work, general Reign of Terror violence) and there's a general sense of violence and mystery and secrets.

Elizabeth Hoyt plays with the Gothic a lot. I'd recommend:

The Raven Prince. Really a sexy Jane Eyre, the heroine is the hero's secretary and ends up putting on a mask and pretending to be a sex worker at a brothel he frequents in order to sleep with him. (To be very fair to her, he was only visiting the brothel because he was avoiding their intense sexual tension.) But yeah, he sweeping around his manor, he's doing the high drama. it's GREAT.

The Leopard Prince. This is more "we're out on the moors, the natural world is here, the are murders and mysterious sheep kilings" Gothic. The heroine inherits an estate and moves there, only to begin an affair with her gruff steward, who's basically on the brink of being framed for murder. It's HOOOOOT.

All of the Dolphin Sex Cult books in Maiden Lane kinda have this vibe, but TW because the cult is heavily involved in pedophilia. The heroes and heroines are trying to stop it. These books consist of:

Duke of Sin. Insane villainous hero, hides in his walls watching the heroine (who's his housekeeper and has been planted in his house in order to steal blackmail material he owns from him) for like... 3-4 months. She doesn't even know he's there. He's truly wild. But he is trying to... avenge his sister... because their father was in the Dolphin Sex Cult? It's complex.

Duke of Pleasure. In this one, the hero is a king's bastard, actively trying to take down the Dolphin Sex Cult. The heroine is a street urchin who's often dressed as a boy in order to stay safe; she's also a vigilante. He recruits her to help him, while also teaching her to pass as a lady. This one involves the infamous "ummmm people are about to catch us, quick suck my dick for cover" and she just doesn't stop when the people go away and swallows.

Duke of Desire. This one is really intense and dark. The hero kidnaps the heroine to prevent her from falling prey to the villains, and forces her to marry him for the same reasons. She's like "I can deal with this, but I want a baby" which he refuses because he has a lot of sexual trauma related to the cult (TW for childhood SA).

The Ghost of St. Giles arc in Maiden Lane is also on that wavelength--it's all about this masked vigilante who skulks the night. Turns out the identity is shared by several different guys!

Thief of Shadows. The Winter Makepeace book. Our hero is a schoolmaster/orphanage master guy, and he runs around as the Ghost, while by day a rich society widow tutors him on how to solicit donations from patrons and do polite society right. Said widow catches on to his game, and they begin this intense passionate secret affair while he's also dealing with Ghost stuff.

Lord of Darkness. The next Ghost is a quiet widower who married again a few years ago in order to save a young woman he barely knew from ruin when she got pregnant out of wedlock and her lover died before they could make it legal. She miscarried right after the wedding, and wants a baby now, so she's back in town wanting to finally consummate the marriage. He agrees, but he's withholding the Secret while they try for a baby.

Duke of Midnight. Georgian Batman with heavy Gothic tones. Our hero is a tortured duke whose parents were killed in front of him, and ever since he's desired REVENGE. The heroine is a lady's companion with a dark past who's trying to regain her former station and free her imprisoned brother, and she catches on to his vigilante activities and is like "mmm you're gonna help me or I'm gonna tell everyone thaaanks".

If you want something on the kinkier side, Sierra Simone's Ivy Leavold trilogy (which must be read in order) is a kinky Jane Eyre, basically, with very Gothic overtones. Sierra looooves the Gothic. It's super hot and really fun.

Scarlett Peckham's The Duke I Tempted has a Gothic "I married a mysterious man and he has secrets I must discover" vibe. Of course, his secret is that he's submissive in bed, but there are other things too! The Earl I Ruined has similar vibes, but less so.

#romance novel blogging #romance novels #book recs

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mariacallous · 9 months

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Turkey’s National Education Minister Yusuf Tekin said in a TV interview on Monday that the authorities have a responsibility to “fight” homosexuality and that a new optional course called ‘The Family in Turkish Society’ has been added to the school curriculum.

“In our new curriculum, the family is a priority topic,” Tekin told 24 TV.

The optional course will be studied in the new school year that began in Turkey on Monday. The minister did not specify which ages of pupils could study the course.

“We want to raise a generation that can reflect the values and independence of this country to future generations. We are obliged to fight in our own way,” he said.

He also argued that universal human rights declarations should be re-evaluated and possibly amended because they protect LGBT rights.

“If you ask me, we need to look at this problem by discussing the basic human rights texts that we claim to be universal,” he said.

Under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey has been increasing pressure on LGBT groups and banning Pride events.

After his election victory in May, Erdogan gave signals that he might step up the pressure during his next five years in office.

“We will do what we promised our nation in the coming period. The family is sacred to us,” Erdogan said. He accused opposition parties of being pro-LGBT.

Islamist and conservative groups have announced that they will hold an anti-LGBT rally called ‘The Great Family Gathering Against Perversion’ on Sunday.

More than 200 NGOs will attend the rally in Istanbul, organisers said.

“We are against LGBT propaganda and the imposition [of homosexuality],” Serdar Eryilmaz, general secretary of the Great Family Platform, said in an interview on TVNet on Monday.

#well this isn't reassuring

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msbhagirathi · 2 months

Text

IPKKND LIVE BLOG SEASON - 1 [EPI - 3]

Cooommmeee onnnnn. Let'zzz beegggiiiinnnn.

Satvik Mishthaann Bhandaar. Khushi opens the cylinder's regulator's knob. Picks up the oil cannister, with tears glistening in her eyes.

Khushi's flashbacks of the lines that broke her heart :

i) "Mat kaho hume Amma." (Don't call me your mom.)

ii) "Payal iski sagi behen hoti tabahu aisi harkat karat?" (Had Payal been her real (blood-related) sister then would she do something like that ?")

iii) "Aaj tum saabit kar dee ho ki tum humra khoon naahi ho." (Today you have proved that you don't consider us as your own.)

iv) "Tum jaisi ladkiyon ka kya hai, ek jayega dusra phasaa lena." (This should not be a problem for girls like you, if one slips away then trap another.)

3. ANDDDDD- she lights the gas and makes jalebis. As we all get to know that stress eating and stress cooking are her outlets.

4. Sun comes up and we are in the next day. Hii Bitwa. Good morning.

5. We see Arnav, again, drowned in the horrors of his past. The head of his PR team comes and informs about the damage control but also tells his boss about his suspicions that some media people might still have managed to get hold on a few photos and videos.

6. But Bitwa is in no mood to listen. He gives him a threat, straight, of getting black-listed from the corporate market and having to spend the rest of his life in a 'kiraane ki dukan' (General store). Calm down angry young man, it's not good for your health.

7. He asks about his schedule to Rajesh (his secretary? then who was Aman? Lol. Whatever.)

8. Oh. So Bitwa eats oats(or toasts? Whatever.) for breakfast everyday. He is surprised to see channe ki roti, (orange-?) juice and fruits. He asks about the change and-

9. There comes his Di. "Hum jaante the, ki tum hume miss kar rahe hoge, chhotte." Look at his face. It's like 'not again'. Lol. Just sibling things.

10. So, Di wants her chhotte to complete her mannat and Our Bitwa has a very valid question, "Di mannat aapne maangi hai toh mujhe kyun puri karni padegi?" (Di, if you had asked for the wish then why do I have to complete it?) Lol. Just some Bitwa things.

11. I agree with Bitwa, here, Di. Why does he have to- OH OH OH I FORGOT- HE HAS TO MEET HIS WIFE THERE. HOW STUPID OF ME TO FORGET. Lol.

12. On a serious note, I hope you know the symbolization, here, Anjali, herself, called Khushi into Arnav's life, as his mannat.

13. Arnav, begrudgingly, accepts to go to the dargah for completing the wish. But. Of course. Without having the channe ki rotis, his Di made.

14. Excuse? Me? Khushi? Is? Still? Making? Jalebis? Like? What the-?

15. HAhahahahahisddifvoaidawdw. Jalebiyan ka mount everest. I am wheezing. (Jalebis' mount everest)

16. Lol. In an interview, Sanaya had mentioned that she likes all type of sweets except jalebis. I cannot help myself but focus on that thing. Babuji offers her a jalebi and Khushi is shown taking a bite, only that Sanaya did not take a bite, she just pretended to. I just cannot overlook it. Ok back to the serious-ness. Stop distracting me, okay?

17. I want to say something. I- it's so beautiful and heart touching, a father consoling his daughter but making her understand her mistake but also making her feel that whatever she did, that is to stand up against dowry system, is also A VERY RIGHT DECISION, but her way of taking matters into her hand, was also very wrong, she should have talked about this to her father. I felt so at peace. The father-daughter duo give off such a beautiful, soft and touching vibe.

18. He also consoles her for the things that Buaji said to her last night. In fact, he started the conversation with those words. Coz he knows and understands how gut wrenching it might have been to listen those harsh words.

19. The society people gather up and show their support and understanding towards Shashi babu and his family.

20. Stop making those annoying faces, Buaji.

21. Bitwa is on his way to the dargah. He asks his manager not to cancel his meeting but says will get delayed by 10-15 minutes.

22. They have reached the dargah. Khushi's first ever 'Laad Governor' makes an appearance. She talks of giving him a mouthful if she sees him ever again.

23. Did you notice this too? Arnav has changed his suit. Earlier, this morning he was wearing a grey? suit, i think and now there's a shiny black suit, with black aviators.

24. He starts walking and guess what, the cravat is back. *heart eyes*

25. Bitwa is well, Bitwa. Someone comes and tries to ward off evil eye with those peacock feathers and the way he dodges it off with making that face. Lol.

26. Payal tells Khushi to cover her head and Arnav, being an obedient jethji/jijaji, covers his head as well.

27. Is it coincidental that the first syllable of Arziyaan song starts just as Arnav enters the frame? And also the fact that the song is addressed in first person pronoun so it seems like it's been sung on Arnav's behalf.

28. "Tere derr pe jhuka hun, mitta hun, bana hun." (I have been destroyed and re-made myself (by hardships of life?) and I am bowing down at your doorstep.) This line, in fact, this whole song is made for our dear broken Arnav baby only, and only for him. I got emotional. Wow. Back to the epi.

29. Payal goes to take the niyaaz and Khushi crosses Arnav's way and her dupatta wraps up around his head. I think, he is kind of intrigued by it, coz he keeps looking at the back of that girl, in all white. Also, maybe tries to -identify?- her-what's with that unreadable expression Bitwa?

30. "Pyaas le ke aaya tha, dariya woh bhar laaya,

noor ki barish mein, beeghta-sa tar aaya."

How beautifully these lines along with Arnav entering the main entrance of the dargah, have been synced together. I mean. Wow. (Click the lines to read the translation.)

31. Inside the mazhaar. Khushi, what is this behaviour? Wait for your husband.

32. I really got a few second goosebumps here. The fact that they are just a mere inches away, separated by that-wall?- tying the sacred threads, praying for their loved ones.

(Arnav, I hope so you are praying and not thinking that you are the mighty ASR and you don't need all that blessings and shit, just pray. For yourself. For your mental health, my boy. You need it. Believe me. You really do.)

33. "O ek khushboo aati thi,

mein bhatakta jata tha,reshm-si maya thi,

aur main takta jata tha."

Are they hinting at the telepathy that Arnav will start experiencing after a few days? Uhhuhh, foreshadowing, I see. Writers are very clever.

34. Khushi is complaining, to Khwajaji, about her meeting with 'woh'. Lol. Tell me Khushi. Who is this 'woh' here? I did not understand.

Also, Khushi says that, for the first time, she had to hide something from her babuji which means no one knows about their first meeting yet.

Khushi and her 'woh' sitting opposite to each other. One complaining while the other listening looking around with a frown in his face.

35. Do you know this fact that girls in India, after getting married, address their husband as 'woh' to every one else and even if they have to take their name, they add an extra 'ji' after it.

Did you see what I did there? Heh. I iz veri kelever.

Bitwa is looking at his wife leaving, after ranting about him.

36. Are you following her Bitwa? Do you love her already? So. Both are there, to tie their 'mannat ka tala'. Khushi prays to Khwajaji, to get her sister married to a good man, as she cannot bear to see her sad. On the contrary, look at Bitwa's face. He is doing 'all this' just for 'his Di's happiness.' And careless bitwa, instead of keeping the key in his pocket, lets it slip away from his hands. I realized that I loved the BG score here.

But, his wife Khushi will make sure he rightfully gets back his mannat ki chabi. Look at Arnav's face, when she calls out, to hand him the key. He already knows it's the same girl (the girl from that previous night).

37. He does not turn immediately. Look closely, he turns as if to gauge her reaction. Her polite-slight- smile drops as she realizes that it's her 'woh'. Khushi, still very much affected by last night's harassment, clutches her neck-line, in fear. Arnav looks at her face, already smitten tells her to 'phek do' it. (Throw away)

Turns back and leaves. Khushi realizes that he 'phir suna diya' to her. (He, again, had the last word.)

38. The BG score, that is playing, here, is basically played for Khushi every time whenever she has an idea for some thing in general or is talking to devi maiyya (i think?) or is talking to herself or is ranting about her LG or has a 'brilliant' idea to exasperate her LG and here, is giving a pep talk to herself.

39. Arnav is doing his ASR walk without disturbing anyone and Khushi is doing her 'Hum Khushi Kumari Gupta' style running, skidding, jumping and scaring everyone around her, with her chaotic run.

40. Khushi comes to a stop. Arnav notices her and stops as well. My God. How is it possible that I can literally feel her, being out of breath and not being able to get out a single word from her mouth, without breathing loudly, just after running a -what-few meters-? Lol. I love Sanaya.

41. Bitwa is like 'calm down babe, have some water and sit down first.' So, Arnav is staring at her and walking towards her, with slow and careful steps. Khushi, obviously afraid, steps away from him, trying to maintain a safe distance.

42. Screen freezes at Khushi's face and starts to fade out. *quickly pauses it* Precap. Don't like spoilers.

P.S. : I thought their argument over god and their beliefs would be in this one only. Btw, I loved Khushi's look and hair as well. Arnav's was fine. I loved loved loved babuji's scene with Khushi in the morning. I loved it. It was so soothing for Khushi, as well as, for all of us viewers too. Also, all the 'wife' and 'woh' jokes that I made for Khushi and Arnav are still not relevant, here, because of the harassment that was shown in the last one, so please don't take it seriously, I just did it to add some humor to it. Please don't take it the wrong way. Ok, bye. Have a great day/night ahead. God bless you.

Previous Next Episode!

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thedeathlysallows · 4 months

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Ch.12: Mars

“She’s what?!”

The secretary- what’s her name again? Gianna? Is that the one we’re on?- shakes so violently she drops whatever stack of papers she had been clutching to her chest when she approached me.

“She’s gone.” Gianna won’t meet my eyes. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened. I was just asked to tell you-”

“Who told you to tell me?!”

“R-Roseanna. She said to let you know she was leaving.”

“Fuck!” I slam my fist into the stone wall, bits of dust falling to the floor. ��She walked out the front fucking door?”

“Y-yes.”

Kit rolls her eyes. “Christ, Felix, you’re scaring the poor girl.” She swiftly gathers the scattered papers and puts them back in Gianna’s hands. “Here. Go back to your desk and don’t worry about this. You aren’t in trouble. Felix is just a drama queen.”

Gianna looks like she’s about to argue, but scurries out the door when I throw another punch. This time at Demetri.

“You helped her,” I yell.

Demetri’s eyes darken. “You would accuse me of helping Roseanna escape when we both know damn well Aro has been keeping a close eye on her. Especially after you showed a complete lack of self-control by changing her in the first place.”

“The same lack of self-control you showed when you kidnapped Kit?”

Kit snaps her fingers, glaring between me and her husband. “Both of you stop. You’re being idiots. There’s no need for any of this.”

“I disagree. Clearly, the two of you aren’t to be trusted. You’re the only two who even knew she was down there. Who else could it have been?” I look over at Kit and see the answer in her eyes, but she doesn’t dare say it. “No… she wouldn’t…”

Kit sighs. “We all know how she gets when she wants something, Felix. Anne’s seen her opportunity for revenge against The Society and she’ll use Roseanna to get it. My advice? Just let it happen. Roseanna will come back after it’s done.”

I narrow my eyes at the small girl, but she doesn’t shirk from my gaze. “You sound so certain. What are you not telling me?”

“What I told her,” a lilting soprano voice calls out. Anne appears not a moment later, red hair falling down her back in shiny, springy curls. She smiles kindly if a little sadly. “Felix, Roseanna needs to do this. I freed her so she can fulfill her destiny. The Society needs to fall and she needs to be the one to bring it to its knees. I’ve seen it. Fire never lies.”

My reputation may be that of a dumb brute amongst lesser vampires, but I know when to keep my mouth shut.

Anne tilts her head and regards me with her eerily deep eyes. “She was never meant to be one of us so soon. You’ve altered her future in a dangerous way, Felix… yet… there’s not a path where she doesn’t return to you.”

Of course she’ll return to me, I want to say. I’ll make her return. I’ll play cat and mouse forever if I fucking have to because she’s mine.

But instead of actually saying any of that I simply incline my head. “Yes, of course.”

“You have my permission to go after her if you so desire.” Anne checks her nails before adding, “Aro, I’m sure, would also appreciate an update on my brother and his family.”

Her eyes briefly glisten with unshed tears before she sniffs and walks away. Presumably back to the tower. None of us know exactly how deep the fracture between Anne and Carlisle went after Edward came to us wishing for death.

“Speaking of brothers,” Kit says. “Tell mine he’s an idiot and an asshole for not inviting me. He was invited to ours.”

“That was before, Catherine.” Demetri’s voice is quiet as he speaks. “Too much has changed in less than a year.”

Kit nods. “Right.”

The somber mood change leaves me feeling antsy and awkward. Despite my annoyances with her, I do in fact consider Kit a friend. Maybe even a little sister. I don’t like how her former family treats her after defecting to the Volturi for Demetri, but I also know better than to bring it up. Demetri is her rock, her comfort, not me. Quite frankly I don’t want to be either. Roseanna and her mood swings are more than enough.

“I’ll send your regards,” I tell her. “Try not to destroy the castle while I’m gone.”

Her lips quirk up in a dejected smile. “I’ll try. Good luck, Felix.”

Poison Ivy

The contacts are irritating and make me want to claw my eyes out, but I resist the urge, and ignore the glares from Edward and Alice while mom chatters relentlessly at me. Phil and dad both give me pitiful looks, dad going to for as to switch my water with champagne while mom isn’t looking.

“You’ve gotten so pretty since the last time I saw you,” mom says as she twirls a strand of my hair around her finger.

“She’s always been pretty,” dad interjects. “You just forget between visits.”

Mom pouts. “No, this is something else. Have you had work done, sweetie?”

“Oh my god, mom!” I shove her hand away, careful to reign in my strength so I don’t actually hurt her and walk off to the other side of the table setup. I notice Mike Newton and his friend Eric eyeing me from their table and groan internally. I hadn’t meant to show up and cause a scene, but it was just one problem after another on the way here. I had to stop and feed I don’t even know how many times, surely leaving a pile of bodies in my wake. Then, I had to get a dress, but every shop I went to only seemed to carry the most expensive, ostentatious dresses imaginable. The one I managed to find was on the tamer side of things, but still way too much for a wedding in Forks of all places. With the split up the thigh and the off the shoulder sleeves and the color I’m sure to be a topic of gossip for a month minimum.

Did you see Sherriff Swan’s daughter? No, the older one. In the red dress? At her own sister’s wedding of all things! And the glitter on it!

But…

At least I won’t be around for that.

And dad will be okay. He only cares about gossip when it’s beneficial to work.

I’m broken from my thoughts by Edward and Bella walking up to me. Bella gives me an awkward smile, but Edward is stone faced.

“I heard Alice threw all this together,” I say. “She did a good job.”

Bella nods. “Yeah, it’s nice.”

“Mom’s speech was… something else.”

She laughs and lets out a breath. “I wanted to die.”

“I’m glad it happened to you and not me.”

Edward scoffs. “I’m sure Felix isn’t the marrying type.”

“Excuse me?” I feel white hot rage surge through my veins. Even with being locked in a fucking dungeon for months by the very man we’re talking about, I still feel protective. Of him. Of our bond. Of all of it.

And the newborn mood swings aren’t helpful either.

Bella looks up at Edward. “Not here. Not in front of everyone.” She gives me a pleading look, her doe eyes so familiar.

“Lead the way,” I tell them.

We walk a short distance into the trees, away from prying human eyes and ears. Maybe the other vampires in attendance can hear us, but I’m not worried about it. Let them.

“Alice saw you,” Edward says as if that’s some damning accusation.

“Oh, Alice saw me? Oh no! How horrible! Get the fuck off your high horse,” I tell him. “I’ve get no clue what you’re being so nasty about. I came here to watch my little sister get married, maybe hook up with a cute guy, and I’m gone. I’ve got more important things to do than worry about what you think of me, Cullen.”

Bella shakes her head in confusion. “So you aren’t part of the Volturi? You aren’t with Felix?”

“No and no.” The half lie tastes acrid in my mouth, but I swallow it down. “I’ll even beat the two of you to the punch: Felix did turn me into a vampire, but he locked me in a dungeon for months after. Does that sound like I’m beloved by him or any of the others?”

I don’t bring up Anne (or even Kit who I barely know). It feels like a weird betrayal to mention either of them. I don’t take time to examine the feeling, pressing it down until it’s buried beneath my rage.

“But my how poison ivy lies,” a deep voice rumbles in the trees.

Felix steps forward, anger evident on his face.

Something inside me settles at his sudden appearance and all I can think about is slamming my lips against his.

Bella looks briefly terrified. “Maybe now isn’t the best time to give you a surprise.”

She glances up at Edward who grimaces.

Felix ignores both of them. Eyes never straying from me. I see the lust flashing in them as he takes in the low cut of my dress and my exposed thigh.

Mars

"You thought you could get away, hmm?" I grip her waist, pulling her closer to my body. "Haven't you learned by now that we belong together? You're mine."

"Last I checked, Rosie was a person. Doesn't she get a say?" A tall man with brown skin steps into our little meeting area, nodding at Bella and Edward to leave.

They do so gratefully. Likely ready to warn the other vampires in attendance.

Roseanna's eyes widen and she shoves me away. "Paul? What are you doing here? I thought you and the Cullens..." She trails off thoughtfully, a smile growing on her face. "Never mind. It's nice to see you."

Paul observes Roseanna warily. "Yeah, you too, babe."

Babe?

Babe.

Oh.

I'll kill him.

Here and now, I'll fucking do it.

Roseanna moves as if to embrace him and I find myself wrapping a hand around her wrist to keep her in place. "Don't fucking touch him."

Paul scoffs at me. "Dude, I don't know who you think you are, but you must not know Rosie very well if-"

"Don't call her that." I shove my way between the two of them, more than happy to end this little reunion.

"Or what?"

"Or it will be the last thing you do."

Paul puffs his chest out. "Tough guy, huh? I bet you were some loser jacking off in his mom's basement before some vamp stuck his fangs in you."

"Watch how you speak to me, boy."

Roseanna groans behind me. "Oh my God, I attract the worst men. Stop it! Both of you! If you ruin my sister's wedding I'll never hear the end of it from my mom."

"Your human sister's wedding," I point out. Caius will not be happy when I report the news to Anne.

"You say that like I have anything to do with her species status."

Paul takes a step back and looks between the two of us. There must be more than one brain cell between his ears because he says, "Woah, are you two together or something?"

"Yes," I say.

"No," Roseanna says at the same time. She sighs, shoulders sagging. "It's complicated."

Complicated?

I don’t find it very complicated that we belong to one another fully and completely. I don’t find it complicated that I would burn the world to the ground if she ever thought of leaving my side. In fact, from where I stand, this Paul character is the only complicated thing.

I look down at Roseanna. “I don’t find it very complicated.”

“Can we not do this here-“

“You’re the one who ran off, my lovely poison ivy. You’re the one adding any sort of complications.” I drop a hand to her waist and pull her close, watching the way her throat bobs as she swallows. Her eyes darken with lust and I know I could take her right here if I wanted.

“Felix…” Roseanna tries to move my hand. “Not here. Not now.”

“Then where? When? If you keep running, I’ll simply keep chasing. How have you not learned your fucking lesson, you stupid, stupid girl?”

Paul emits a low growl that seems quite pathetic to me. “Don’t talk to her like that.”

Roseanna’s eyes snap to him and she bares her teeth. “Don’t forget your place in my life. You don’t get to play white knight after you fucking ditched me in a phone call for Jacob’s sister. My life isn’t yours to worry about anymore.”

“Well maybe if someone worried you wouldn’t be…” Paul gestures to her body and I find myself holding her tighter. “…that.”

Roseanna laughs humorlessly. “Say it, Paul. Say what I am.”

“A bloodsucker. One of them.” He inclines his head towards the Cullen family.

“Oh, Paul, I’m not one of them. I’m worse. And you and your little friends just made my shit list, so run and tell Sam about how evil and bad I am now. I’ll be sure to let the Cullens know the same.”

Paul scoffs. “You’ve always been a fucking bitch, Roseanna. Someone tries to help you and you bite their hand off. I should’ve dumped you sooner.”

He leaves after that and I watch him go, tugging at the bond between Roseanna and I to gauge her feelings. She’s distraught. Utterly and completely overwhelmed with despair.

“I can kill him,” I tell her.

Roseanna nods. “I know. But leave it. The party’s over and I’m leaving anyway.”

“I should kill him. No one should ever speak to you like that.”

A small snort escapes her. “Then you’d hate to know what my mother asked me.”

“Most likely. These people here don’t treat you well.”

“My dad is great.”

I look down at her as she moves through the trees to the edge of the driveway. Bella and Edward are making their departure, people cheering and clapping for the happy couple. Roseanna watches them sadly.

“I know I’ve done it to myself,” she says after a moment. “I’ve made all of them hate me.”

“No.”

She rolls her eyes and sighs, leaning against me as I approach her. It feels right to hold her in my arms. It feels like she belongs.

“I did. Felix, we both know what an abrasive asshole I can be. Of course I made them hate me. But… it’s okay, I think. It’s… a relief to know the only thing I have here is my dad, and I can keep him safest by staying away. As long as he’s okay, I’m okay.”

I consider her words while reminiscing on our first meeting. When we met I wanted nothing more than to break her, bend her to my will. It never occurred to me until now that she was broken long before we met.

#felix volturi #felix volturi imagine #volturi fanfiction #felix volturi x oc

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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 5 months

Text

R.Pitt ::

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

December 21, 2023

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

DEC 22, 2023

The Washington Post editorial board today wrote that “the battle for democracy will be fought—and won” by “explaining to the world why freedom matters to everyone, every day.” So, on an evening when our power has finally been restored, but too late for me to do a deep dive on anything, let’s see what that might look like from today’s news:

For years now, the U.S. right wing has admired Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orbán, who has overturned his nation’s democracy. Orbán claims that democracy weakens a nation because it allows immigration—which he calls “a poison” to a nation and says “poses a public security and terror risk”—and requires equal rights for women and LGBTQ+ individuals. The U.S. right wing claims to admire Orbán for what they see as a defense of traditional society.

But the logical evolution of Orbán’s “illiberal” society became clear last week, when the Hungarian parliament approved a new law designed to punish Hungarians who oppose the government. A new “sovereignty protection office” will intimidate and punish those who do not share the views of the ruling party, claiming that they are working for western governments and entities. The U.S. ambassador in Budapest, David Pressman, explained: “This new state body has unfettered powers to interrogate Hungarians, demand their private documents, and utilize the services of Hungary’s intelligence apparatus—all without any judicial oversight or judicial recourse for its targets.”

The U.S. State Department said yesterday: “This new law is inconsistent with our shared values of democracy, individual liberty, and the rule of law.”

Also today, House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who has said that immigration is such a national crisis that House Republicans will not pass a bill providing supplemental funding for Ukraine to help it fight off Russia’s invasion without significant changes to the nation’s border policy, wrote a letter to President Joe Biden asking him to make those changes himself through executive action.

Biden has asked Congress for new legislation to address migration at the border since his first week in office, but Trump and his loyalists have demanded extreme measures that Democrats have, in the past, refused. With Republican refusal to fund Ukraine, Biden has said he is eager enough to get funding to Ukraine that he is willing to negotiate, but Johnson sent the House home until January 9 without a deal.

Now it seems Republicans don’t want their own names on any such deal, likely recognizing that such an outcome would take away an issue they hope to exploit in 2024. They want Biden’s name alone on any new policies or, failing that, to be able to blame him for not taking unilateral action.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre today reminded reporters that the White House has been negotiating with senators to come up with a bipartisan deal despite the absence of House members, and that Biden has been negotiating with the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, to address the border situation.

In the next few days, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, and White House Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall will all travel to Mexico to meet with President López Obrador to discuss border challenges, all in the spirit of the 2022 Los Angeles Declaration for Migration and Protection, an agreement between 21 Caribbean and Latin American nations, including the United States, to strengthen international frameworks to make migration safe, orderly, and humane.

Also today, Craig Mauger of The Detroit News reported that on November 17, 2020, on a phone call with Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel, Trump personally pressured two Republican members of the Wayne County, Michigan, Board of Canvassers not to sign the papers certifying the 2020 presidential election in order to overturn the election’s lawful results.

Trump told Monica Palmer and William Hartmann that they would look “terrible” if they signed the documents. “We've got to fight for our country,” Trump said. “We can't let these people take our country away from us.” McDaniel, too, urged the pair not to sign and promised, “We will get you attorneys.”

Palmer and Hartmann did not sign the papers, and the next day they tried to take back their votes in favor of certifying, filing legal affidavits saying “intense bullying and coercion” had led them to vote as they did.

Lawyer Chris Thomas, Michigan’s elections director for more than 30 years, told Mauger it was unfortunate that Republican leaders offered to give the two legal protection for not doing their jobs. "Offering something of value to a public official to not perform a required duty may raise legal issues for a person doing so," Thomas noted. Legal analyst Joyce White Vance pointed out that “[o]ffering an official something of value (services of a lawyer) in exchange for withholding official action (certifying the Wayne County vote) sounds like a classic case of bribery under Michigan State law.”

Trump is currently facing four criminal counts for his attempt to overturn the lawful results of the 2020 presidential election. His attempts to stop Michigan from certifying Biden’s victory are part of those charges.

After the story dropped, Jocelyn Benson, Michigan’s secretary of state, wrote that for her, “the absolute lowest moment in the post election battle we endured to protect Michigan’s accurate and legitimate election results in 2020 was not when armed protestors stormed my home. It was the night of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers meeting.”

Benson said the board knew about the pressure not to certify and were prepared to fight in the courts, but also knew that such a delay would “create enough doubt and uncertainty to enable the Trump campaign to push Pennsylvania, which was certifying the next week, to delay as well. And we knew other dominos would fall after that. How could we overcome the pressure of the then–President of the United States on local and state officials? Were the facts and law not enough?”

“Well,” she wrote, “then something I’ll never forget happened.

“Hundreds—hundreds (!)—of citizens showed up to the meeting of the Wayne County Canvassing Board to remind them of their duty under the law to ensure their votes counted. Their voices mattered. Their votes mattered.

“In my view that turned the tide. Citizens and election officials in Wayne County and statewide didn’t flinch, stood firm, and demanded their votes be certified as required under the law.

“And in the end, the Wayne County Canvassing board fulfilled their legal duty, followed the law and certified the election.

“What started as the lowest moment of the post election melee became the most inspiring.

“The voters won. Facts and the rule of law carried the day.

“Democracy prevailed.”

Finally, tonight, former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani has filed for bankruptcy less than a week after a jury awarded election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss more than $145 million for defaming them by accusing them of election fraud as part of his attempt to overthrow the country’s democratic system.

The Washington Post’s editorial board wrote that “the world’s democracies should create a system to fight back that can speak plainly and consistently about the inherent advantages of democratic systems, while admitting the imperfections, and use creative ways to illuminate the flaws and depredations of authoritarian regimes.”

To be honest, it doesn’t seem that hard.

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

#Letters from An American #Heather Cox Richardson #democracy #TFG #House Speaker do your job #Election 2020 #Election 2024 #R Pitt

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pugzman3 · 2 years

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The Luciferian United Nations

Starting with Helena Blavatsky.

“Lucifer represents... Life... Thought... Progress... Civilization... Liberty... Independence... Lucifer is the Logos... the Serpent, the Savior.”(‘The Secret Doctrine’ by Helena Blavatsky pages. 171, 225, 255, Volume II

)“It is Satan who is God of our planet and the only God” pages 215, 216, 220, 245, 255, 533, (VI)

“The Celestial Virgin which thus becomes the Mother of Gods and Devils at one and the same time: for she is the ever-loving beneficent Deity…but in antiquity and reality Lucifer or Luciferous is the same, lucifer is divine and terrestrial Light, ‘the Holy Ghost’ and “Satan” at one and the same time.” Page 539

Blavatsky was the founder of the Theosophical Society and was a major influencer of Alice A. Bailey.

Bailey, with her husband Foster started an official NGO within the UN called World Goodwill whose goal is to “cooperate in the world of preparation for the reappearance of Christ”. Bailey claims: “Evidence of the growth of the human intellect along the needed receptive lines [for the preparation of the New Age] can be seen in the 'planning' of various nations and in the efforts of the United Nations to formulate a world plan... From the very start of this unfoldment, three occult factors have governed the development of all these plans.” SOURCE: [Alice B. Bailey, Discipleship in the New Age (Lucis Press, 1955), Vol. II, p.35.]

“Within the United Nations is the germ and seed of a great international and meditating, reflective group - a group of thinking and informed men and women in whose hands lies the destiny of humanity. This is largely under the control of many fourth ray disciples, if you could but realize it, and their point of meditative focus is the intuitional or Buddhic plane - the plane upon which all hierarchical activity is today to be found.” [Ibid. p.220.]

Robert Muller, was an international civil servant with the United Nations. Serving with the UN for 40 years and rising to the rank of Assistant Secretary-General, his ideas about world government, world peace and spirituality led to the increased representation of religions in the UN, especially of New Age Movement. He was known by some as "the philosopher of the United Nations". He created at least 29 schools around the world earning him the UNESCO Peace and Education Prize in 1989. He is also known as the “father of global education.”

“The underlying philosophy upon which the Robert muller school is based will be found in the teachings set forth in the books of Alice A. Bailey (Lucis Trust is the Publishing House which prints and disseminates United Nations (UN) material. Lucis Trust was established in 1922 as Lucifer Trust by Alice Bailey as the publishing company to disseminate the books of Bailey and Madame Blavatsky and the Theosophical Society. Due to public outrage over the creepy name of the publishing company, it was changed one year later to Lucis Trust.)…The school is now certified as a United Nations Associated School providing for international cooperation and peace.” – Muller, R. World Core Curriculum (Preface)

“A world core curriculum might seem utopian today. By the end of the year 2000 it will be a down-to-earth, daily, reality in all the schools around the world.” R. Muller, A World Core Curriculum (n.p., n.d.), p. 13.

The Muller school is the education program for the world as will be enforced by the United Nations. He created the World Core Curriculum that is being seeped into education systems around the world by UNESCO, (search ibe.unesco.org) UNESCO’s vision from their page is “develops educational tools to help people live as global citizens free of hate and intolerance”. (in other words, one world education but through in the terms “hate and intolerance” to make it sound positive).

It’s first Director was Julian Huxley. Huxley was a member of the Communistic Colonial Bureau of the British Fabian Society, signer of the Humanist Manifesto II. An Evolutionist, and member/vice-president (1937-44)/president (59-62) of the British Eugenics Society, and not only a transhumanist but coined the phrase transhumanism.

Under Huxley’s guidance the UN created a “guidebook” for teachers. Within this guidebook the teachers are reminded that the first step to educating a child to be a World Citizen, is the DESTRUCTION of a child’s love of country and patriotism. (John A Stormer, None Dare Call It Treason, Florissant, Missouri: Liberty Bell Press, 1964 p.112)

In Volume V it reads, “In the classroom children under thirteen years of age: Before the child enters school, his mind has already been profoundly marked and often INJURIOUSLY, by earlier influences…first gained, however dimly, in the home.”

Also, “the kindergarten or infant school has a significant part to play in the child’s education. Not only can it correct many errors of home training, but it can prepare the child for membership, at about age seven, in a group pd his own age and habits – the first of many such social identifications that he must achieve on his way to membership in the World Society.”

(HEY, REMEMBER THAT TIME BIDEN SAID THAT WE HAD TO START SENDING OUR KIDS TO SCHOOL AT AN EARLIER AGE?)

-“As we have pointed out, it is the family that INFECTS the child with EXTREME NATIONALISM. The school should therefore use the means described earlier to COMBAT FAMILY ATTITUDES”

.-“In our view, history and geography should be taught at this age as UNIVERSAL history and geography… The study of history… raises problems of value which are better POSTPONED UNTIL the pupil is FREED FROM THE NATIONAL PREJUDICES which at present surround the teaching of history”.

UNESCO’s Constitution was written by Archibald MacLeish, a Skull and Bones member.

One of many organizations under UNESCO is SIECUS.

Within the SIECUS positions was this, “it is the position of SIECUS that contraceptive services should be available to all- including minors who should enjoy the same rights of free and independent access to…contraceptive care as do others…It is the position of SIECUS that the use of explicit materials (sometimes referred to as pornography) can serve a variety of important needs in the lives of countless individuals”. (Chronology of Education Quotable Quotes 1994 p.37.

(YOU SEE HOW THEY STARTED WITH SEX ED, THEN EVOLVED OVER TIME INTO GAY PORN AND TRANSKIDS WITH JACKED UP SENSE OF PRONOUNS?)

Now you may think this is ALL about a SECULAR N.O.W., you would be wrong.

In 1973, the UN Secretary U Thant formed the organization Planetary Citizens with NEW Activist Donald Keys. An NGO within the UN specifically “devoted to preparing people for the coming of the new culture”.

Donald Keys was actively involved with the Findhorn Community in Scotland. He writes, “The New Age groups are focusing and enter a new stage- a world related stage. They are becoming mature enough to begin to shoulder some of the load of humanities burdens… The spread of the New Age values as a unifying “yeast” in the human loaf may be the critical ingredient for successful emergence from the 1980’s onward.”

Findhorn books are slam full of New Age occultic speech, doctrine, and symbols.

Their spokesman was once David Spangler, (I say once because Spangler seems to be scrubbed from their works along with ties to the UN, and he wasn’t the only on I found like this).David Spangler is quoted, “The true light of Lucifer cannot be seen though sorrow, through darkness, through rejection. The true light of this great being can only be recognized when one’s own eye in the inner sun. Lucifer works within each of us to bring us wholeness, and as we move into a New Age, which is the age of man’s wholeness, each of us in some way is brought to that point which I term the LUCIFERIAN INITIATION, the particular doorway, through which the individual must pass if he is to come “fully” into the presence of light and his wholeness…Lucifer comes to give us the final gift of wholeness”. David Spangler, Reflections on the Christ (Scotland, Findhorn Publications 1977 p.43-44). (THAT SOUNDS A LOT LIKE ALBERT PIKE AND MANLY P HALL)

This was almost a week worth of research, just in order to whittle it down to this short post. The amount of info, ties, and connections between occultism, nations, Rome, and politics, secret societies, and more was exhausting. There is so much more, going on for so long, and nothing is going to stop this. So wherever you are when it comes to God, this is where we are being led. Wherever you are when it comes to a political candidate, remember these things next time you hear them going on about the “issues Americans care about”. Because the whole time they have distracted us with borders, taxes, inflation, scandals, the size of a candidates hands, and on and on, this shit right here...has kept growing and growing like cancer. No one side talks about it because they all know. They are all a part of it, playing a role to distract each of us.

#united nations #lucifer #donald trump #joe biden #new world order #new age #spiritualism #jesussaves #jesus christ #freemasons #secret society #american politics #politics

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t0rturedangel · 1 year

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: ̗̀➛ ⚝ Ꞌꞌ : Яₑdₑₘₚₜᵢₒₙ ━━ ; THE PPROLOGUE

━━ WARNINGS ; swearing, interpolations of hell / heaven, kinda shit, so is the pacing but that's only BC I had a very limited time 🖤

Sitting at your desk you typed away at the laptop you were provided for so you could do your job. While it was boring to be the devil's personal secretary you did manage to get all the juicy details a normal devil or a high ranking demon could only dream of knowing and also, since SATAN was having extreme trouble with his relationships - or better known as sulking because he doesn't have a boyfriend - you were given the responsibilities of attending all of his meetings, and those meetings included meeting GOD, yes that same entity that billions devoted their lives for.

When you first started this job you honestly didnt expect any of the things that did happen to you. For one you were given your own rank within the demon society, leading the hierarchy to go like this : ADAM & EVE - the original sinners, the rulers of the underworld, feared and loved by all the miserable and dammed souls of hell, notably Eve has much more power and status over Adam, since after all it was her who took the bite from the apple, once they died due to their new morality they were sent to a place under the the land they lived on, quickly they claimed it as their own and swore for revenge against god. SATAN & DAMIEN - the son and grandson of the original sinners, though adam and eve have the most power they are barely ever seen, if not they are NEVER seen thus leading satan (their son) to take over the place, but due to his lack of responsibility and want for a relationship he created Damien though he also sucked at the job causing the need for you. [ NAME ] - yes you get your own little rank? aren't you lucky? though you dont have much power and your rank is barely even acknowledged by other demons its still there, making you much much more important than other demons. DEMONS - demons are low ranking, most of them barely even have any powers and they are forced to work, though not as much as devils do. Many demons are rich and boast about it. DEVILS - devils are the lowest of the low, no devil has any powers, they are forced to labour and never catch a break.

You were honestly so happy you had your own rank, it meant that you were something, not an ordinary sinner or hell-born like all the rest. Though now, you couldnt focus on that, instead you tired to type away- trying to plan another meeting with the royal family of the southern rings to discuss their want for more land. Key word "tried", your attention was drawn to a blinding light that shown through your office, a small white letter with a golden wax stamp of angel wings, leading you to immediately register that it was indeed from heaven. You left your email half-way done, crimson red hands holding the letter. You scoffed, heaven was so under-developed, they practically all refused to develop heaven and introduce technology, wonder what this remind you of. Opening your letters, your jet black eyes scanned over it's contents

' DEAR SATAN'S REPROSENTITIVE

Our god wishes to speak to your sinner self, you must arrive at 7:33am exactly for the two of you to speak.

If you arrive late, as your kind tend to do, you will not be let into heaven

Kind regards, THE SAINTS FROM ABOVE `

You rolled your eyes at the language used by the angels, while they loved to preach about how wonderful they are, they hated anything that wasnt them, degrading them silently as to not fall from grace if god hears them. Though after some thinking, you rose a brow- what did god want to talk to you about? All of your meetings with it was completed and done exactly on schedule ( as you tended to have a hate for showing up late ) , werent they? Perhaps it just wanted to have a normal chat with you, the two of you have done that previously as it had gained a 'fondness' of you - its words, not yours - and enjoyed your presence. Deciding to just stop thinking about it you looked at the time, ' 7:30 ' , great you had three minutes.

Standing up you fixed your outfit (which consisted of an overly large beige turtle neck and a long lack skirt that clung to your fiery red skin) and made your way up to heaven via the Latin based spell that you memorized just for these occasions " Peto ut anima mea, licet peccatis mortalibus infecta, ad portas terrae sanctorum perducatur, deus caelorum ingrediendi coelorum potestatem mihi concessit. "

Within seconds you were at the golden gates of heaven, two faceless angels guarding it, wearing normal ancient roman like armor, glass spears in their stiff hands, silver rings acting as helmets . Upon noticing your arrival, though not having faces you knew they scowled and yet still they let you in. It didnt take long for you to find the palace of god, entering it you were greeted with the figure of it. God wasn't a large white man, with a long beard and white robes, God wasnt a reptilian monster who was the same height of a ten year old. God was a voice, a feelings, a thought, it wasnt physical but for the sake of it's subjects it forced itself to have a physical form one that consisted of a tall lanky person ( no one could tell if it was a male or female thus leading people to refer to it as well . . . 'it' ) with long white hair that stretched out like branches that belonged to a tree, long lanky limps and most noticeably it had no face, only a body.

" my friend " it refered to you making you bow out of respect, though many sinners hated god as they thought it was the reason for all the angel's bitchy attitudes it had no control over what it's 'children' did. God always referred to saints as ' my children ' and sinners as ' My lost followers ' hell it even refers to adam and eve, satan and Damien as ' My opposites ' but he always called you ' my friend ' it made you wonder.

" Yes, holy monarch ? " you raised you head, making 'eye contact' with it. " My friend, due to your respect for me and all angels, your sinless actions towards everyone. I have granted you the gift of redemption " it spoke gently yet firmly, not caring to call you out on your shock at the words that felt its mouth " what ?! " you yelped, wondering if this was some type of trick " You heard me, friend, i'm giving you a chance to redeem yourself and join me withing the heavenly walls of peace. The question is, will you take this chance ? " you answered it's quetion with a breathy 'yes' still quite shocked with it's random and sudden proposal " That is most wondeful, my friend. Though you cannot simply be granted redemption just for your acts here, you must prove yourself even more to me. " " How, holy monarch ? " " I will send you to a mortal town, by the name of south park. You are to go there and preform acts of purity " it stated calmly " But. " of course there was a but " You must. MUST. " it's voice boomed, showing how serious it gotten " Follow two rules, understand? " " Yes . . . " " One, you are not to tell anyone what you are or speak in your tounge, their mortal brains will not be able to handle such information and will be forced to end their own lives " though the rule sounded extremally over dramaticated you nodded " and Two, you are not to fall in love with any mortal. Breaking these two rules will never grant you a place in heaven. You will be chained to hell forever. Am i clear? " You nodded, those rules were simple. Simple enough for you to follow and never break, while you were a 'demon' from hell you liked to think you were different from Adam and Eve, they broke god's rule, you will not.

" I will grant you the knowledge of mortals and send you to their land " God's boney hand reached out to you, once making contact with your forehead you felt a rush of adrenaline fill you, your impish body not being able to handle the contact from a god fell onto the cold, damp cloudy ground, everything going black.

" do not disappoint me. my child "

An extremely strange and new hotness engulfed the town of south park as the earth's crust burst opened, the screams of the damned filled the town's silent atmosphere and a figure of a girl landed on the ground, the snow crunched under her weight, the moonlight shown on her face making her look almost angelic if anyone was there to see her, though due to nights reign over south park no one was there to see how she rose up groggily, looking around.

TAG LIST ; @ky-uwu @mishstuff

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female-malice · 3 months

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ik you're not our secretary but to make myself clear: i am not stating Spain didn't influence latino colorism and racism. It is obvious they did, 500 years of colonization are no joke. I'm saying that the USA also influences how we view race due to its closeness and its pervasiveness. Both systems are anti-black and discriminatory towards indigenous people but who gets to be "white" differs. I'm saying that nowadays who gets to be "white" is dictated by usian standards, not by spanish ones.

The spanish caste system wasnt based on genetics or our modern view of race, they thought you could change color depending on what you ate. The modern category of race was invented somewhere in the XIX Century and the categorization of race based on heritage (genetics) "how many parents and grandparents are white/black" was invented by usians. This is more or less the current view we also have of race as latinos too. Before there wasn't a clear cut link between genetics and physionomy because those didnt exist, and nowadays those concepts are key when discussing race.

Which actually gives you a point: Spain and LatAm aren't interchangeable and "hispanic" is a dumb category. Brazilians and Colombians have more in common than Colombians and Spaniards.

"The modern category of race was invented somewhere in the XIX Century and the categorization of race based on heritage (genetics) "how many parents and grandparents are white/black" was invented by usians"

The US did not invent casta. That entire thing was based on "how many parents and grandparents are white/black."

Spanish/Portuguese colonial status quo was defined by strictly controlled racial integration. English/Dutch colonial status quo was defined by strictly controlled racial segregation. Interracial sex was taboo in English/Dutch colonies but widespread in Spanish/Portuguese colonies. This is the main difference in historical race relations.

In the 20th century, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay had open immigration policies that attracted Europeans. Most white Latinos are descendants of 20th century European immigrants. Most white people in the US and Canada are descendants of European settlers who came here in the 1700s. While Southern European colonists were intermarrying, Northern European colonists were mostly inbreeding the entire time.

20th century US conceptions of race were not defined by TV executives or modeling agencies. They were defined by Teddy Roosevelt, the most influential macho figure in US culture. He did not invent US imperialism of Latin America for economic reasons. He invented it for race reasons. Teddy could've economically exploited Canada. But according to Teddy, it isn't right for white people to exploit each other. And Teddy believed Latin America needed to have a white overlord. It didn't matter how Spanish or indigenous anyone was because in Teddy's worldview, Spaniards were not white.

Teddy's racial pseudoscience is influential but not eternal. Italian Americans managed to change their racial social status from brown to white. Maybe US Latinos want to be like Italian Americans and break out of the racial category Teddy assigned them. But I don't think that's politically possible at the moment. Race is not how you identify. Race is how society identifies you. It's about creating an other in order to define who belongs in society and who doesn't. Southern Europeans were able to become white in the US because the Cold War ended. Americans no longer needed to define themselves in opposition to the peasants that introduced unions to the US. Now, US society defines itself in opposition to Latino immigrants. Every piece of US policy comes back to that from housing and infrastructure to the war in Ukraine.

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