#San Juan Commission

[goodgarbs]

Cars| A Custom 1991 Porsche 911 Makes Headlines At Upcoming Auction

Being auctioned off at yet another RM Sotheby‘s experience, is a customized 1991 Porsche 911 which has been reimagined by Singer Vehicle Design. A part of the restomods group dubbed “Classic Study“, this 1991 Porsche 911 is the result of an age-old question of “What if the DNA of this iconic sports car was reimagined for the twenty-first century?”. Craftsman of Singer make their creative and…

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#1991 Porsche 911 #Auction #Cars #Classic Study #Design #ModaMiami #Porsche 911 #Puerto Rico #restomods #RM Sotheby #San Juan Commission #Singer Vehicle Design

[hopefulkidshark]

Basílica de San Juan de Dios, Granada, Spain: The Basilica of San Juan de Dios is a basilica in the Spanish city of Granada in Andalusia. Commissioned by Prior Fray Alonso de Jesús Ortega to house the remains of the founder of the Hospitaller Order of St. John of God, it was built between 1737 and 1759, financed by the Order. The building is in the Baroque style, made of stone and brick. The main chapel has an altar, in which the solid silver urn containing the relics of St. John of God is kept. The various chapels house important sculptural and pictorial works, as well as frescoes. Wikipedia,

#Basílica de San Juan de Dios #Granada #Andalusia #Spain

[memecucker]

The relationship between colonialism and religion is more complicated than the Civilization game where you’re trying to score a religious victory and it’s easier to convert places you conquer.

It’s not a matter of religion being imposed purely for the purpose of religion being imposed even if that may have been the personal motives of individual colonizers because even if there was a truly missionary motive these missions could only exist insofar as it was economically sustainable and oftentimes this takes the form of exploitation of the indigenous population.

Also the flat conception of religious colonialism overlooks how as colonialism progressed as a type of “social technology” there was in many places a shift away from seeking to replace indigenous organized religions (if they were present in the first place) towards recruiting the indigenous religious authorities to the colonial side.

Like for example with the colonies of the Iberian powers there was no separation of church and state and I don’t just mean in the sense of “the state imposed religious dogma and the church officially endorsed the state” I mean basic everyday functions of the state relied upon services of the church. Eg; If a colonial Governor wanted to say, requisition corvee labor from villages for a building project and he wished to know the populations of these villages in order to decide which to pull laborers he wouldn’t be looking at any state mandated census but instead would rely upon the archives and records of the Catholic Church because records would be kept of church attendance. If the governor wanted to hunt some rebel named “Diego of San Juan” he’d look at baptismal records to find examples of people named “Diego” and who they’re related to.

This meant that Spanish and Portuguese colonialism had an actual material interest in enforcing religious homogeneity and Catholic supremacy because that’s how their colonial states functioned. The colonial bureaucracy was in fact synonymous with the Church’s bureaucracy and so if some people weren’t Catholic they existed outside the Church which meant they existed (at least partially) outside the State. One example that’s a bit relevant is the original version the “National Commission on Indigenous Peoples” in the Philippines was set up during the American occupation and was called “Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes” because the groups in question are largely people who existed outside of direct Spanish colonial control (and wouldve been labeled “savages” in the 19th century) and hence “non-Christian”.

Anyway in the case of the Portuguese colonial empire in Asia this wound up being part of the reason for its collapse. By making their state function in the requirement that it’s subjects be observant Catholics the Portuguese had a lot of trouble making allies because if indigenous elites could be persuaded to convert then great but if they didn’t then they were gonna get really pissed off especially when they start hearing the Portuguese are torturing people under their rule that feel the same. And so without a network of allies the Portuguese colonial empire in Asia began to fall apart leaving only Goa, Macau and East Timor. Elsewhere the Portuguese had been replaced by the Dutch, English and French all of whom had systems of governance which was not as so dependent on doctrinal supremacy as the Iberians eg; the Dutch agreed to help the Shogunate put down a Christian revolt in 1638 and the East India Company actually banned Christian missionaries from operating in its territories until 1813 when Parliament forced them to allow Christian missionaries to preach.

Now of course the EIC example is in particular interesting because what you’re basically seeing is the colonial state shedding its reliance on the Christian Church in favor of courting the support of indigenous religious leaders and recruiting them into the colonial apparatus but at the same time you have churches seeking to operate whats can be considered a type of “rival” colonial project that would have an almost parasitic relationship in that the churches profited in their own way while also in a way undermining the local legitimacy of the official colonial state.

[seijorhi]

Sea Change

A follow up commission for Settle by the lovely (and very patient) 🐦 anon

Oikawa Tooru x female reader

w.c 5.4k

tw: non/dub-con, pregnancy, breeding kink (kinda), yandere themes, threats of violence, stockholm syndrome, nsfw, smut

When you were younger, you dreamed of a life spent travelling. 

Beautiful sunsets, the melting pot of foreign cities, stretching out on the shores of breathtaking, glittering beaches. Wandering ancient ruins and immersing yourself in the local culture, never growing stagnant, never feeling trapped.

Paradise.

In some way, that lingering desire was what pushed you to go and study in Argentina in the first place. Sure, it wasn’t the carefree, whirlwind adventure you’d imagined as a child, but that didn’t matter. You were leaving home, standing on your own two feet for the first time in your life.

The language was tricky, it took you months before you felt even somewhat confident carrying a conversation. The customs weren’t what you were used to – tiny differences that always left you feeling slightly out of place. Undertaking college in another country brought its own set of challenges, and you were lost and unsure, not knowing whether the course you were on was the right one and terrified of making a mistake.

Still, it was everything. 

Argentina stole your heart. San Juan, with its sleepy, historic atmosphere took root inside of you. It felt like home, almost from the first day you spent there. Even when you were stressed, near broke and drowning under your course work, you were utterly enamoured, enthralled by the vibrant city and its beautiful people. 

You’d joked once on a call back home that it’d take a small miracle to pry you away from Argentina; you loved it here too much. 

Then you met Tooru, and for a while that seemed like a dream come true, too.

It seems cruel, that you’ve been gifted everything you’ve ever dreamed of – and more – with no way of giving it back. Like the universe is laughing at you.

Across the glistening ocean, the sun’s beginning to rise. Perched at the end of the old, wooden pier, your feet dangle off the edge, high tide bringing the ocean up to lap at your ankles. The sky, awash with pink and orange and a smattering of clouds, casts a warm glow over the water, the sea taking on a wine-like hue.

Two seagulls circle overhead, and you smother a bitter laugh, resting a hand atop your swollen belly.

Another beautiful morning in paradise.

A little ways down the shore, the port is already thriving; fisherman returning, others heading out. There’s yachts and whale watching tours and on the far side of the port, a cruise ship, docked for a few days while tourists explore the beaches and the nearby islands, the sight sending an odd pang through your heart.

Here, however, out on the pier in front of the beach villa you’ve made a temporary home, it’s calm. There’s not another soul in sight, no sound but the gentle lapping of waves and the rustle of the breeze blowing through the palm trees. 

You’ll take what peace you can get, even if it is at ridiculous hours of the morning. God knows you’re never blessed with it for long.

Just as you think it, and much like the proverbial devil summoned by a mere thought, an elated cry shatters the morning’s tranquillity. 

“Mama! Mama!!”

You have only moments to brace yourself – the tiny pattering of footsteps quickly approaching – before two little arms are thrown around you and Hatori buries his face against your shoulder. 

You’re supposed to smile. Turn to pull him into your arms, a flurry of sweet kisses while he giggles and kicks in response. 

Instead, you stare at the distant port, the cruise ship with its thousand windows. 

Five more minutes, you want to plead. Just five more minutes. 

But a warm laugh sounds, heavier footsteps following down the pier. “Careful, buddy. You’ve got to be gentle with your mama. You don’t wanna hurt the baby, do you?”

Little Hatori, clutching at your clothes, shakes his head, “Sorry, mama.”

When you can avoid it no longer, you tilt your head towards him, mustering up the required smile. “It’s alright,” you reassure him, smoothing down his windswept locks. “I’m not that fragile.” Though sometimes you feel it; big and bloated, unable to so much as bend over to tie your shoelaces. 

He beams at you, his eyes so much like his father’s.

The same father who leans down to press a lingering kiss to the crown of your head. “We woke up and you weren’t there,” he says, voice deceptively mild as he settles beside you on the edge of the pier, pulling Hatori down to sit on his lap.

“I couldn’t sleep.” 

Which is the truth, technically. Between Tooru’s smothering embrace and the fetus the size of a small pumpkin rolling around and kicking your insides (with an apparent fondness for your bladder) a good night’s sleep has become somewhat of a rarity. 

And, because you feel his stare boring holes into your profile, you feel compelled to add, “It was stuffy inside, I wanted some fresh air.” He can’t fault you for that, can he?

Tooru hums. Uses the arm not holding Hatori to nudge you closer, curling it possessively around your pregnant belly.

“…I don’t like waking up without you.”

To Hatori, barely paying attention as it is, it probably sounds like the halfhearted grumblings of a husband hopelessly in love with his wife. You, who remember all too well the nights spent with the cold bite of metal around your wrist, know better. 

You say nothing, your head falling to rest on his shoulder, watching as the sun continues to rise over the ocean. 

—

“Mama, look! Crab! Crab!” 

Keeping his little hand in yours, Hatori crouches to study the rock pools. Sure enough, scuttling across the rock face a grumpy looking hermit crab avoids the toddler’s pointed finger. 

“It’s a hermit crab, buddy,” Tooru interjects, watching the two of you with what you can only describe as a fond expression. You used to find it endearing, sweet, even. Now, it earns a far less positive response –muscles tensing, discomfort sweeping through every vestige of your body.

But you shove that discomfort aside, doing your best to lean down, mindful of your pregnant belly to talk to the excited boy. 

“Did you know that hermit crabs change their shells? Mhm, when they find a new shell they like, they’ll all come out, line up, try it on and then swap with each other, biggest to smallest.”

Hatori stares up at you, mouth softly parted, eyes wide and wondrous – understanding little, spellbound all the same. 

“Though sometimes they think bottle caps and other rubbish are cool new shells and try to move into those too, which isn’t so good for them.”

Hatori’s a month shy of two and a half, and there’s three things that can hold his attention for hours at a time; the construction site across the street back home, the volleyball Tooru had given him on his first birthday, and the sound of your voice.

Tooru calls him a mama’s boy, looking thoroughly pleased each time he says it, much to your quiet dismay. 

The reality behind his son’s attachment isn’t nearly so touching. 

Hatori clings to you like a mother because you’re the only one he’s ever known. His own abandoned him, and Tooru’s never let anyone else get close. He adores the sound of your voice because there were days where for hours on end, he’d be the only company you had, and talking – even to a babbling infant – was the only thing that kept you from falling to pieces.

You’ve been tempted to resent him for it. 

After all, if you’d never taken that babysitting job, if he hadn’t become so attached – if his father hadn’t been so charming and besotted, and you so naive – perhaps you might’ve walked away. 

Maybe you’d be back home, in the midst of planning your next adventure to escape the boredom of day to day life.  

But Hatori’s innocent in this. 

A baby – well, toddler, now. One day he’ll be older, and perhaps he’ll begin to notice that mommy and daddy’s relationship isn’t like the ones his friends' parents share. That mommy isn’t allowed out of the house and daddy’s affection comes off a little strong. 

Until that day comes, though–

“Your mama’s a clever one, isn’t she, Ha’rii?”

The toddler nods, bright eyed and beaming, and Tooru winks. 

“C’mon, let’s go see the waterfalls.” 

He helps you back to your feet, grinning when you quietly – begrudgingly – murmur your thanks. Not one to let you off the hook so easily, Tooru taps the side of his cheek with a finger, an expectant gleam in those soft, brown eyes.

He wants a kiss.

Won’t move until you comply.

It shouldn’t be a big deal; he’s forced you into far more degrading positions, a simple kiss on the cheek shouldn’t faze you in the slightest. Certainly not when you’re six months pregnant with his kid. 

Such a small, inconsequential act of affection, and yet he takes great pleasure – judging from the wicked delight curling at his lips at your poorly concealed hesitation – in coercing those performances from you, and greedily reaping the rewards. 

Bastard.

Swallowing down the bitter taste in your mouth, you lift yourself up, arms encircling his neck – his own steadying your waist, stroking at your skin – to place a chaste, fleeting peck to his jaw. The bare minimum (you hope) that he’ll accept. 

At the last second, though, his head turns and your mouth instead meets his. His grin widens, smug and satisfied, deepening the kiss the moment you try to pull back.  

– you’ll play along for Hatori’s sake, even if it means losing pieces of yourself along the way. 

—

“I was thinking maybe we could head into town for dinner? I saw a few restaurants on the waterfront when we drove in that looked nice.” 

Back at the villa, Hatori down for his nap, it’s just the two of you alone in your bedroom. 

“O-or maybe tomorrow for brunch? Ha’rii might enjoy seeing all the fisherman and the boats and stuff…” you trail off, trying not to fidget the longer he stares.

Tooru smiles, perhaps a touch indulgently, walking over to where you sit on the edge of the bed. Slowly he drops his knees, presses a soft, languid kiss to each of your knees and one to your stomach – the baby rolling beneath the strangely reverent touch – caressing you like you’re made of glass.

It’s an effort not to shudder, even now. 

For someone in such a public arena, he’s remarkably adept at hiding the depth of his obsession. His sickness. Even around Hatori, he likes to play at being a normal father, a loving husband. 

But there’s no need for masks in the privacy of your bedroom. 

“Mm, but I have something special planned for tonight.”

You swallow, changing tracks, “What about breakfast, then?”

He pauses his ministrations, chin tilting to the side, “Why? You don’t want me to make you breakfast in bed?”

You can’t remember the last time you ate out, the last restaurant, or cafe, or bar that you actually sat down in–

“No! No, it’s not that, I only thought that it might be a nice change. We’re on vacation, right? You deserve a break, too. A-and the walk would be nice, a chance to see the sights and everything.” 

Your smile wavers as the seconds tick by. 

And then, all of a sudden, the tension breaks, Tooru chuckling with a fond shake of his head, 

“Silly girl.” He rises then, tilts your chin up to kiss you again. “Why don’t you lie down for a bit? It’s been a big day, we don’t want you over-exerting yourself. Or the baby.”

It’s never a suggestion with Tooru, and the door shuts with a quiet click that echoes throughout the room.

—

The three of you eat on the balcony overlooking the ocean. The food is amazing, of course. Not the sort of take-out you used to get back when you were living alone, with food piled high into cheap, plastic containers, presentation pushed aside in favour of ease of transport.

No, each plate is as beautiful as it is delicious, with artfully smeared sauces and garnishes arranged just so.

Idly, you wonder which restaurant he had prepare and deliver it, why you couldn’t have just saved them all the effort and gone to eat it in person at the restaurant itself. 

(Not that Tooru would ever allow that. How foolish of you to believe otherwise.)

There’s three courses, four if you include the bowl of bread and dips you’d started the meal with. Champagne (non-alcoholic, of course) and your favourite dessert, which your husband took great pleasure in feeding you while you sat unwittingly on his lap. 

It’s a fancy enough affair that you’d be tempted to believe that this was what Tooru had in mind when he’d told you that he’d had something special lined up for the evening.

You’re proven wrong, however, when you return to the bedroom after settling Hatori down to find a ribbon wrapped box set atop the bed.

“I bought you something,” your husband murmurs, coming up behind you to envelop you in another embrace. His lips ghost along the delicate line of your throat, brushing up against your pulse point. “Try it on for me?”

You force yourself to nod. 

The box itself carries no brand or name, yet the matte finish and flowing gold bow tied perfectly screams opulence. Your fingers tremble as they brush along the lid; it’s beautiful, undoubtedly high quality, but you’d sooner throw the box into the sea than open it.

Your stomach churns. 

“Thank you.”

Funny how such an innocent object can bring about such a visceral reaction. 

You barely register Tooru leaving. He likely wants this particular unveiling to be a surprise – a gift of his own to unwrap and enjoy – but you’re grateful for the privacy nonetheless. 

Slowly, you pull the ribbon loose and lift the lid, setting it aside. Laying carefully folded between layers of black tissue paper is a lingerie set, a blue lace babydoll with matching panties.

What else?

If it were jewellery, Tooru would’ve put it on you himself, taking the opportunity to gush over how beautiful you look, how he loves spoiling you, seeing you draped in precious metals and pretty diamonds.

You would’ve preferred jewellery. You would’ve preferred nothing. 

You’ve heard of husbands losing attraction to their wives during their pregnancy. Pregnancy glow may be a real thing, and your tits have gone up a full cup size, yet with the added weight gain, your baby bump and stretched skin, the puffy ankles and ugly marks around your stomach and breasts, there’s nothing sexy about this.

Far from being disgusted by it – by you – seeing you pregnant and swollen with his kid seems to have unlocked some insatiable desire within your husband. It’s a rare night that he keeps his hands to himself, this– this is just the cherry on top.

Numb fingers work at the buttons of your sundress, the fabric hitting the floor with a quiet thump. Your panties are next, kicked aside after shimmying them off. 

Mindlessly, you dress yourself in the pretty lingerie. 

And it’s fine, it’s fine until you make the mistake of looking in the mirror.

Seeing your reflection, bloated and fat, the grotesque roundness of your stomach, clad in scraps of fucking lace–

You’re hideous. Fat and ugly and hideous and horrifically pregnant. 

A sob claws its way up your throat, your legs giving way beneath you as you sink to the floor. You never wanted this, never asked for it. Kids were a part of the plan, yes – one day, maybe, when you found someone you loved and you were ready to settle down and start a family.

But this has been forced on you, like the ring on your finger, like the sweet boy sleeping down the hallway. You draw in a shuddering breath, curling in on yourself as much as your belly will allow. You’re disgusting. This baby – this innocent creature with no say in its creation – you’d rip it out of your stomach with your bare hands if you could.

You hate it, loathe this soul sucking little parasite feeding off of you, almost as much as you hate Tooru for putting it inside of you. 

Almost as much as you hate yourself, and this gross, jiggling body you had no say in.

Tears fall, anguished and heart-wrenching, the cries muffled by the back of your palm. And still, your cradle that disgusting bump. 

Time passes, you can’t say how much, but enough that Tooru’s impatience wins out. The door to the bedroom creaks open, and you hear the quiet, “Oh, baby,” as his footsteps approach.

You don’t look up as he wraps you in a tender embrace and kisses your hair, don’t acknowledge him all. You hiccup and cry, fat tears rolling down heated cheeks. 

“Stand up for me.”

You hate him, you hate him, you hate him–

“Baby,” a hint of a warning, now. 

Taking the offered arm, you shakily crawl to your feet, refusing to meet his eye. You feel exposed, vulnerable. He’s seen you naked more times than you care to count, but this is different. Every flaw, every ugly part of you on display beneath the ridiculous outfit he’s forced you into.

You’ve never felt less attractive in your life.

You want to curl up and disappear, for the ground to open up and swallow you whole. You don’t want him looking at you as he is, lips softly parted, pupils dilated and simmering with desire. 

“Fuck, you look amazing.”

Even his voice is deeper than usual, thick and heady. You shiver with revulsion, but words are still beyond you. He tilts your chin up, wetness clinging to your lashes, trails of it running down your cheeks. He thumbs at the glistening droplets. Inhales sharply. Unsteadily. 

“So pretty for me,” he breathes. 

He kisses your lips then, surprisingly chaste. Cradles your face like it’s something precious, and that sick, disgusting feeling bubbles away inside of you. You can’t stand it; the feeling of his hands on you, the sickening love in his eyes, the unignorable evidence of his arousal pressing against your swollen middle. 

“Don’t–” your voice wobbles – a pathetic, miserable sound, “don’t touch me.”

He ignores you, as he usually does, reaching down to cup your swollen, tender breasts, squeezing them with an appreciative hum. “They’re getting bigger.”

“Please, Tooru,” you sniffle, hating that he’s brought you to this new low. “Please not tonight.”

You don’t have the energy to explain that it hurts. You’re sore and hormonal and revolted with yourself, and you can’t bear the thought of him touching you. Raping you.

Because that’s what this is, right?

There’s no use sugarcoating the truth. You might not kick and scream every time he fucks you, but that doesn’t make it a consensual act. He drugged you, stole you, raped you, kept you, and now he’s knocked you up and put a ring on your finger and he’s all that you have. Him and Hatori and the unborn, innocent child inside of you – they’re what’s left of your world.

And you can’t stand it.

“Don’t,” you choke out. 

The plea goes unheeded, capturing the hand that weakly swats at him and pressing his lips to your wrist, a heated smile curling at his lips. “Mm, but you look so good like this. Think I wanna keep you in it while I fuck you.”

“Hatori–”

“Is asleep. Now are you gonna lie back and let me take care of my lovely, pregnant wife, or are you going to keep being difficult?” his voice changes then, a hard edge where there wasn’t before. 

He’s never hurt you. Not really, nothing beyond a warning slap – with a fraction of the terrifying strength you know he’s capable of.

There was one night, though, when he’d come home to find Hatori screaming and you in a fit of tears, your nails broken and bloodied, that damnable lock around your ankle without so much as a scratch. He hadn’t hit you then, either, only picked up his son to calm him, his eyes fixed on you as he rocked the boy back to sleep.

It was only when Hatori was down once more, and your tears had dried that he came to sit beside you on the bed. He’d asked to see your ankle – the one you’d been so desperate to free.

The terror that gripped you then, watching as he rolled and flexed the delicate joint in his hands (the same hands you’d seen smash volleyballs with the force of a cannon going off) under the guise of studying your self inflicted damage, humming to himself all the while – it’s seared into you.

All it would take was a sharp twist to snap it, he’d barely break a sweat. As his eyes, a deep, dark brown, had met yours, he’d smiled at you. Like he knew exactly where your mind had jumped to, and wanted you to remember that feeling.

‘Are you going to behave, cutie?’

He wouldn’t dare risk anything that would hurt the baby, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t a thousand other awful ways Tooru can express his dissatisfaction. 

You can’t help it though. Your hormones are swinging wildly out of control, the cracks inside of you fracturing like spiderwebs, and you shake your head, biting down on the pleas that threaten to undo you entirely.

And he sighs. “Baby, c’mon. Work with me here.”

You’re still crying when he ushers you back to lie on the bed, legs parted as he sinks down to his knees between them. 

Tooru’s always held a strange fixation with your thighs, noses lovingly at the smooth expanse of skin.

They’re trembling, goosebumps rising to the surface as the warmth of his breath tickles the plush softness there, and you can’t help the gasping breath you suck in through your teeth when his mouth follows suit, sucking a hot, languorous trail towards your panties. 

You try to dissociate, chest heaving, cheeks still wet from your tears. Your fingers clutch at the soft, white sheets beneath you while you stare at the ceiling fan above, lazily stirring the balmy summer night air. Anywhere but here. You can be anywhere but here if you close your eyes tight–

Tooru’s teeth nip sharply at your skin. Not hard enough to draw blood, mind you, only to pull your attention back where he wants it. That wicked, awful tongue of his is quick to soothe any hurt, though, laving at the abused flesh, a kiss pressed affectionately over the bite. Distracting you – almost – from the way he toys with the scrap of lace barely preserving your modesty. Fingers stroking and teasing at your folds.

He chuckles when you whine, your legs trying half heartedly to push him away. There’s no illusion of control here. Your husband wants, and so he’ll take. 

That’s how it’s always been, from the moment he decided, unbeknownst to you, that he wanted you. It’s the way it’ll always be. 

Tonight is just another reminder, hammering that message home.

“There’s my girl. Let me make you feel nice,” he purrs, squeezing at your hip when you shudder with another choked back sob. “Let me take care of you, hm?”

Nudging the seat of your panties aside, his hot mouth descends on your cunt without waiting for a response.

And you gasp, fingers tightening in the sheets. He’s in no rush, tasting your sex with a languid drag of his tongue. 

If there’s an art to eating you out, it’s one your husband has taken great efforts to master. 

It’s embarrassing how easily you fall apart under his ministrations. How your hips jerk when the pink muscle laps and strokes at your pussy, delving into your core in search of the spots he knows’ll drive you wild. The way your back arches, whole body tensing when he sucks your clit into his mouth and flicks at it with his tongue.

He brings you right to the brink, stroking himself through his shorts as your hips buck to meet his eager mouth. It’s easier to give in, to lose yourself to the pleasure he’s generous enough to bestow. And you feel it building, hot and burning, electric as it surges through your body.

More, more, more.

Every moan is dragged unwittingly from your lips, and they may as well be gold for how Tooru chases them. 

Your hands yearn to shove him off of you, to scrub the memory of his touch from your skin. Your fingers itch to grab him by his stupid hair and hold him in place so you can ride that dizzying pleasure forever. 

The tears fall quicker; you hate him, you hate him, you hate him and you hate yourself even more, but you don’t want him to stop, not when you’re so close. And the moment you begin to tip over the precipice, to hurtle over the edge with him– he pulls back to quickly rid himself of his clothes and wipe off the slick smeared across his jaw. 

It’s unfair, you think, how attractive he is.

Sun kissed, golden skin. Taut, well defined muscles. And that pretty face, so lovely for someone so utterly heartless. 

“Relax,” he laughs, naked now as he climbs onto the bed to settle between your thighs once more, “I said I’d make you feel good, didn’t I?”

Your cheeks burn, and childishly, you turn your face away.

“… I hate you.”

“No,” he denies, kissing your calf as he lifts it to rest upon his shoulder. “You love me. My pretty wife.”

And he fucks you gently, mindful of your swollen belly, and the baby. Takes his time stretching you out on his cock, slowly sinking into your warm, welcoming pussy, filling you to the brim with every roll of his hips.

“You love me,” he repeats, dark eyes greedily drinking down the sight of you in your pretty lingerie, pregnant with his baby.

Wholly his, and falling apart for him once more. 

“You love me,” fingers circling at your clit, the walls of your pussy tightening around his cock. 

You bite down on your bottom lip, desperate to keep yourself from giving him the satisfaction of hearing you cum.

“You love me,” he grunts. 

And you truly think he believes it.

—

Tooru snores lightly beside you, dead to the world.

At the end of the week this little vacation of yours – the babymoon, as your husband had jokingly dubbed it – would end, and you’d go back to San Juan. Life will return to normal; days spent trapped inside the villa, waiting for Tooru to come home from training, from his games, from press conferences and fancy, promotional events.

Maybe this time he’d take you with him. A breath of fresh air, a night out. You could play the role of loving wife well enough, right? For a few hours, at least.

And there’d be Hatori to take care of, and the baby due in a few months. Then Hatori’ll be a big brother. He’s likely too young to truly understand that, but he does perk up when the topic of his soon to be sibling comes up. He likes sitting in your lap and cuddling your middle – a move which admittedly has become slightly more challenging as the baby bump grows. 

You’d love them, love them both despite everything. And you’d be loved in turn. 

That’s the truth, isn’t it? Tooru couldn’t love you more if he tried. Warped and poisonous and all consuming, you’d suffocate under the weight of it, and he’d follow you even then.

There’s nothing for you back home, you haven’t spoken to your family in months. You’d had to beg for that privilege on your knees, the burn in your throat and the bruises on your knees sticking with you for days afterwards.

And he’d stood there while you spoke to them, arms folded across his chest, face pinched and unhappy, the timer on his phone counting down. They don’t know about the baby, and if Tooru has his way they’ll never meet her.

Their granddaughter. Niece. Cousin. You’ll never go home.

And as if he’s cognizant of the ache in your chest, your sleeping husband draws you closer, mumbles softly into the crook of your neck, nuzzling you.  

No, you’ll never have a home that wasn’t carved by his hands.

… But it isn’t just you that that’s true for anymore, is it? 

Tooru’s content with locking you away from the world like a dragon hoarding gold, why should his children be spared that possessive insanity?

Ha’rii’s young, still. So, so young, but it hasn’t slipped your notice that there’s never been any mention of daycare or playdates, you’re hardly able to take him to the park without Tooru getting all huffy. 

And your daughter (a girl, you’re having a baby girl), you can’t imagine he’ll loosen that leash for her. Kids need socialisation. They need friends.

They’ll suffer for it, this love of his. Your family. Your children. 

Rolling over – away from your husband’s oppressive hold – you stare out the window, the glittering lights of the distant port just barely visible. 

It’s so easy to be brave, daring, when you have nothing to lose, and a safety net regardless. Strength was never one of your defining traits to begin with. You broke so easily for him. So quickly. 

You gave up. 

Played with quiet resentment as if it were resistance, and now you’re nothing but a hollow, broken shell of the girl you used to be. 

There’s nothing waiting for you beyond the home he’s built for you. 

Your family haven’t heard from you in months, Tooru says that they’ve moved on. If they truly cared, they would’ve looked for you. Your uni friends have long since forgotten you. You dropped out. Disappeared off the proverbial face of the earth. It happens. 

You have nothing to your name – and even that he’s taken from you.

The crashing of waves outside the window calms your heart. In a few hours, it’ll be dawn. 

In a few days, you’ll return home to San Juan. In a few months, you’ll give birth to Tooru’s daughter, and that little girl will tie you to him for the rest of your lives far better than chains ever could.

Bit by bit, carefully as to not disturb him, you crawl out of bed. A wrinkle appears on your husband’s brow and he shifts with a grumble, subconsciously searching for the warmth you’ve taken with you. But he doesn’t stir, and you breathe a quiet sigh of relief.

Your clothes from yesterday lie forgotten on the floor, numbly, you slip them back on. 

No one else will want you, not now that you’re a mother, pregnant with his child. No one else could ever love you as much as he does. 

And you need him. You think that somewhere deep down, buried beneath the layers of bitterness and self loathing, you might even love him. 

He’s given you no other choice.

A steady inhale, and you glance back at his sleeping form once more. For all his faults – for all that he takes from you, greedy and demanding and wholly unrepentant – he does provide for you. You, Hatori, your daughter, you’d want for nothing.

(Nothing, except your freedom.)

It won’t be long before he notices your absence and wakes to seek you out, and so you silently pad from the room. 

Unlike his father, Hatori stirs when you push the door wide and step inside. “Mama?” his tired voice mumbles, eyes sluggishly blinking open.

You smile for him, reaching out to smooth down those pretty, dark curls of his. “Shh, go back to sleep, sweetheart,” and you kiss his forehead, pulling the blankets up to tuck him back in. “Mama loves you, remember that.”

He’s fast asleep by the time you reach the doorway.

You have nowhere to go. No money. No passport. No way back home and no guarantee that anybody’s waiting for you there, anyway. 

He loves you. More than anyone. More than anything. You’ll never be cared for and adored like you are when you’re with him. 

You need him.

… Your daughter needs you more, and it’s that thought alone that spurs you onwards. 

There’s some cash in Tooru’s wallet that you slip into your bra, a jacket of his that you pull around your shoulders. 

A little ways down the shore, the port is beginning to wake.

#yandere haikyuu #yandere oikawa tooru x reader #yandere oikawa #yandere oikawa x reader #yandere oikawa tooru #tw: noncon #tw: dubcon

[newyorkthegoldenage]

The construction of Lincoln Center required the obliteration of the neighborhood known as San Juan Hill. It was home to a large population of Blacks, Puerto Ricans, and Afro-Caribbeans when Harlem was still White. Also known as "the Jungles," it was the setting for West Side Story, which opened on Broadway in 1957. It also had a lot of middle-class White residents.

As that was happening, residents were fighting the proposal for an arts complex in the Lincoln Square part of the neighborhood. The poster above urged residents to attend a meeting to stop the project on August 28, 1957. Harris L. Present, a lawyer who had long advocated for the rights of minority groups in the city, led the fight. More than 400 residents showed up. Present urged them to march on City Hall on September 11, hoping to overwhelm the City Planning Commission with pickets and testimony.

Check back here on September 11, 2023, for the sequel. (Spoiler: Lincoln Center was built anyway.)

Photo: Lincoln Center/Gothamist

#vintage New York #1950s #Lincoln Center #San Juan Hill #neighborhoods #urban renewal #Robert Moses #Harris L. Present #August 28 #neighborhood destruction #28 August #Aug. 28 #28 Aug. #gentrification #slum clearance

[labuenosairesfrancaise]

Abril country house

According to the story, after the death of Higinio Pereyra Iraola in 1899, the San Juan estate was divided among his six children. Laura, one of the heirs, received 312 hectares of the property, which was named "Abril" in honor of the month of her birth. She commissioned the architect José Mille to build a mansion. The project was completed in 1932, but it is said that it did not respect the modest owner's wishes and instead became an ostentatious palace in the French style.

As a result, Laura never climbed the stairs with wrought-iron railings or walked through the extensive checkered-floor galleries. She never sat in the library lined with wood and windows overlooking the main garden, nor did she enjoy a cup of tea by the warmth of the hand-carved marble fireplaces brought from Europe in this little Versailles that was erected in the southern area of the conurbano.

Instead, Laura left the mansion to her godson, Jorge Pereyra Iraola, who, along with his family and heirs, enjoyed it until its sale.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This works with a 64x64 lot.

As always, you  will need lots of CC for it to work properly, mostly from Felixandre, TheJim, SYB, Aggresivve Kitty, among others.

Please let me know if you like it with a comment and enjoy :)

Download https://www.patreon.com/posts/86365059?pr=true

(early access: 8/22)

#sims 4 architecture #sims 4 build #sims4 #sims4palace #sims 4 screenshots #sims4play #sims 4 historical #sims4building #sims 4 royalty #sims4frencharchitecture

[thequilandpaperwriter]

🇪🇸1955-2023 Borbón’s in the Military

1) Juan Carlos I- He attended the Instituto San Isidro and the Navy Orphans' College, both in Madrid, and the General Military Academy in Zaragoza. He was commissioned a lieutenant in the army in 1957.

2) Felipe VI 1985- In August 1985, a Royal Decree named Felipe as officer at the General Military Academy in Zaragoza. He began his military training there in September. He completed the first phase of his formation in October. In July 1986, he was promoted to Cadet 2nd Lieutenant. And is currently commander in chief of the Spanish Army.

3) Princess Leonor of Asturias 2023- On August 17, 2023, Princess Leonor enrolled at the Academia General Militar de Zaragoza (General Military Academy of Zaragoza) to begin the first of three years of military training.

#spanish royal family #european royals #king felipe of spain #king felipe #king felipe vi #king juan carlos #princess leonor #Princess Leonor of Asturias

[world-of-wales]

─ •✧ WILLIAM'S YEAR IN REVIEW : MARCH ✧• ─

1 March - William and Catherine carried out engagements in Wales to mark St. David's Day. They started their day out by visiting Pant Farm in Llanvetherine before being received by Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant of Gwent (Brigadier Robert Aitken). They later visited Abergavenny Market and Hwb Torfaen in Blaenavon. Subsequently William and Catherine planted a tree for The Queen's Green Canopy at Blaenavon World Heritage Centre.

2 March - William held a Meeting for the Earthshot Prize.

8 March - He received Mr. Alastair Martin (Secretary of the Duchy of Cornwall).

9 March - William and Catherine received the Lord Hague of Richmond (Chairman). Later in the afternoon they visited the Ukrainian Cultural Centre in London where they were recieved by the Ambassador of Ukraine (His Excellency Mr. Vadym Prystaiko).

11 March - William received received the High Commissioners of Belize, Jamaica and the Commonwealth of the Bahamas (Her Excellency Mrs. Therese Rath, His Excellency Mr. Seth George Ramocan, His Excellency Mr. Ellison Greenslade) at Kensington Palace.

14 March - William and Catherine attended the Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey. William later appeared in a video segment during the BAFTA Film Awards.

16 March - William attended a Trustees' Meeting for the Royal Foundation via video link.

17 March - William and Catherine attended the 1st Battalion Irish Guards' St. Patrick's Day Parade in Aldershot.

19 March - William and Catherine kicked off their Platinum Jubilee Tour of the Caribbean as they arrived at the Philip S.W. Goldson International Airport in Belize where they were recieved by the Governor-General of Belize (Her Excellency Ms. Froyla Tzalam). They later met the Hon. Juan Antonio Briceño (Prime Minister of Belize) and Mrs. Rossana Briceño at the Laing Building in Belize City.

20 March - The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited Che'il Mayan Chocolate Factory in Stann Creek. They later attended a festival of Garifuna culture and met marine conservation experts in Hopkins. William and Catherine also spent time diving at South Water Caye above the Belize Barrier Reef.

21 March - They visited Caracol Natural Monument Reservation and attended a training session of the British Army Training Support Unit Belize (BATSUB) in the Chiquibul Forest. Afterwards William held an Investiture at the San Ignacio Hotel. The Duke and Duchess attended a Reception to mark The Queen's Platinum Jubilee at Cahal Pech ruins where they were received by the Governor-General of Belize (Her Excellency Ms. Froyla Tzalam).

22 March - William and Catherine released photographs and videos of them scuba diving over the Belize Barrier Reef before departing Belize. They arrived in Jamaica for the next leg of their tour and were received by the British High Commissioner to Jamaica (Her Excellency Ms. Judith Slater) and Senator the Hon. Kamina Johnson Smith (Representative of the Prime Minister of Jamaica) at Kingston Norman Manley International Airport upon arrival. Afterwards they met Governor-General of Jamaica and Lady Allen at King's House and attended a Sports and Cultural Event at Trench Town Culture Yard.

23 March - The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge met the Hon. Andrew Holness MP (Prime Minister of Jamaica) at 1 Devon Road, Kingston. Afterwards they visited Shortwood Teachers' College and Spanish Town Hospital. Subsequently, Willliam and Catherine visited the Caribbean Military Technical Training Institute before attending a Reception Dinner to mark the Platinum Jubilee hosted by the Governor-General of Jamaica (the Most Hon. Sir Patrick Allen) at King's House.

24 March - William and Catherine attended the Commissioning Parade for the inaugural Initial Officer Training Programme at the Caribbean Military Academy before departing Norman Manley International Airport for the Bahamas where upon arrival at Lynden Pindling International Airport in Belize City they were recieved by the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas (Sir Cornelius Smith). Afterwards The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge met the Rt. Hon. Philip Davis, MP (Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas) and Mrs. Davis at Sir Cecil Wallace Whitfield Centre in Nassau.

25 March - William and Catherine visited Sybil Strachan School and attended a Celebration for key workers for their work during the pandemic, at the Garden of Remembrance. They subsequently visited Parliament Square and took part in a Platinum Jubilee Sailing Regatta at Montagu Beach in the afternoon. Afterwards they attended a Reception at the Baha Mar Hotel hosted by the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas (Sir Cornelius Smith) to mark The Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

26 March - On their final day while on tour of the Caribbean, William and Catherine visited Daystar Church in Abaco. Afterwards they unveiled a Memorial at Memorial Garden, Abaco to commemorate those who lost their lives in Hurricane Dorian before visiting a beach area in Abaco to meet local stall holders. William and Catherine then visited Grand Bahama Children's Home and Coral Vita (Winners, 2021 Earthshot Prize to Preserve our Oceans) in Grand Bahamas for their final two stops on their tour. In the evening they departed Lynden Pindling International Airport for the United Kingdom in the evening.

27 March - William and Catherine arrived at the Royal Air Force Brize Norton from the Bahamas after wrapping up their Caribbean tour.

29 March - William attended the Service of Thanksgiving for The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh at Westminster Abbey along with Catherine and their eldest children Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

#review 2022 #year in review : william #year in review : 2022 #william review : march #british royal family #british royals #british royalty #brf #royalty #royals #royal #prince william #prince of wales #the prince of wales #the duke of cambridge #duke of cambridge #duke and duchess of cambridge #kate middleton #catherine middleton #duchess of cambridge #princess of wales #the princess of wales #princess catherine #prince george of wales #prince george #belize tour 22 #bahamas tour 22 #jamaica tour 22

[kuramirocket]

Huatulco National Park in Oaxaca. Photo courtesy of Conanp.

MEXICO CITY — Officials this week announced the creation of 13 new protected areas across six states in Mexico, putting the country’s list of total federally protected areas at 200.

Mexico introduced six new national parks and seven “flora and fauna protection areas” covering 17,918 hectares (44,276 acres) to be overseen by the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas (Conanp). The commission said it expects to declare three additional protected areas by the end of the month.

“It gives us much pleasure that in this administration…we can leave behind such a grand legacy for the Mexican people,” said secretary of the environment and natural resources María Luisa Albores González at a press conference.

The 85-hectare (210-acre) San Quintin National Park was created in Baja California. The 2,076- hectare (5,129-acre) Nopoló National Park and 6,217-hectare (15,362-acre) Loreto II National Park were created in Baja California Sur.

The 4-hectare (9.8-acre) Playa Delfines Flora and Fauna Protection Area, 16-hectare (39-acre) Jacinto Pat Flora and Fauna Protection Area, 37-hectare (91-acre) San Buenaventura Flora and Fauna Protection Area and 10-hectare (24-acre) Cenote Aerolito Flora and Fauna Protection Area were all created in Quintana Roo.

La Sierra de Guerrero in Guerrero, Mexico. Photo courtesy of Conanp.

The 2,489-hectare (6,150-acre) Juan M. Banderas Flora and Fauna Protection Area was created in Sinaloa.

The 723-hectare (1,786-acre) Vicente Guerrero National Park and 282-hectare (697-acre) Hermenegildo Galeana Flora and Fauna Protection Area were created in Guerrero.

In the state of Oaxaca, three protected areas were created: the 1,923-hectare (4,751-acre) Bajos de Coyula Flora and Fauna Protection Area, the 2,237-hectare (5,527-acre) Huatulco II National Park and 1,812-hectare (4,477-acre) Ricardo Flores Magón National Park.

The wave of new of protected areas came in response to a mandate from President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to establish a conservation status in areas with “high environmental value.” Since taking office in 2018, López Obrador’s administration has protected over 4 million hectares (9.8 million acres) of land and water.

“I want to go down in history as the president with the second-most protected reserves created,” López Obrador said earlier this year. “…Lázaro Cárdenas has the first spot. I want to aspire to that.”

#🇲🇽 #mexico #enviornment #conservation #flora #fauna #National Commission of Protected Natural Areas #Conanp #María Luisa Albores González #AMLO #San Quintin National Park #baja california #Nopoló National Park #Loreto II National Park #baja california sur #Playa Delfines Flora and Fauna Protection Area #Jacinto Pat Flora and Fauna Protection Area #San Buenaventura Flora and Fauna Protection Area #Cenote Aerolito Flora #Fauna Protection Area #Quintana Roo #La Sierra de Guerrero #guerrero mexico #Juan M. Banderas Flora and Fauna Protection Area #sinaloa #Vicente Guerrero National Park #Hermenegildo Galeana Flora and Fauna Protection Area #oaxaca mexico #Bajos de Coyula Flora and Fauna Protection Area #Huatulco II National Park

[felipeandletizia]

Felipe and Letizia retrospective: November 21st

2003: First visit to the Spanish northern Basque city of San Sebastian

2005: Pictures released on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of King Juan Carlos’s reign

2007: Visited the headquarters of the Ibero-American General Secretariat & Francisco Cerecedo Journalism Awards

2011: Visited Chile (1, 2, 3)

2012: Meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Institute of International and Strategic Studies

2013: Visited King Juan Carlos at the Quiron University Hospital before he underwent a new surgery to get a final prosthesis on his left hip in Pozuelo de Alarcon.

2016: “Special Operations Command” (EOM) exercise in Alicante

2017: Wake of José Manuel Maza Martín, Attorney General of the State; ‘Reina Letizia’ Disability 2016 and 2017 awards at El Pardo Palace in Madrid& Closing of the Annual Congress of the Spanish Confederation of Directors and Executives in Alicante

2018: Visited the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force in Mons, Belgium & King Felipe visited the new NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium (1, 2)

2022: 30th meeting of the delegate commission of the Princess of Girona Foundation; Visited King Charles at Clarence House in London & Gala dinner celebrating the 135th anniversary of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in the United Kingdom in London

F&L Through the Years: 1088/??

#King Felipe #Queen Letizia #King Felipe of Spain #Queen Letizia of Spain #King Felipe VI #King Felipe VI of Spain #F&L Through the Years #November21

[gwendolynlerman]

Separatist and irredentist movements in the world

Wallmapu

Proposed state: Wallmapu

Region: Buenos Aires, Chubut, Córdoba, Entre Ríos, La Pampa, Mendoza, Neuquén, San Juan, and Santa Fe Provinces, Argentina; Araucanía, Coquimbo, Libertador General Bernardo O’Higgins, Los Ríos, Los Lagos, Maule, Ñuble, Santiago Metropolitan, Valparíso Regions, Chile

Ethnic group: Mapuches

Goal: independence

Date: 1600s

Political parties: -

Militant organizations/advocacy groups: Coordinadora Arauco-Malleco, Consejo de Todas las Tierras, Resistencia Ancestral Mapuche

Current status: active

History

1502 - Europeans first arrive in Argentina

1520 - the first Europeans arrive in Chile

1540 - beginning of the colonization of Chile

1546-1641 - Arauco War

1810-1818 - Argentine War of Independence

1810-1826 - Chilean War of Independence

1813 - Indigenous Settlement Commission

1825 - Treaty of Tapihue

1861-1883 - occupation of Araucanía

1870-1880 - Indigenous Reservations Law

1962-1973 - Chilean land reform

1990 - creation of the Consejo de Todas las Tierras

1993 - Indigenous Peoples Act

1998 - foundation of Coordinadora Arauco-Malleco

2009 - formation of Resistencia Ancestral Mapuch

2010-2011 - hunger strikes

The colonization of Argentina and Chile began between 1535 and 1540, after which they became part of the Spanish Empire. In the long Arauco War, the Mapuche people fought against the Spaniards for their freedom and lands. They eventually won and reversed Spanish colonization of Araucanía.

After Chile achieved independence in 1844, the peace between the Mapuche and the new government evaporated, since the latter did not recognize the Mapuche as independent. Eventually, the government did so through the Indigenous Settlement Commission and the Treaty of Tapihue, but the Chilean population continued to acquire Mapuche lands.

The passing of the Indigenous Reservations Law led to mass rebellion by the Mapuche people in 1870 and 1880. Subsequently, the Chilean government started the “pacification” of Araucanía, which was essentially an occupation of the region. Salvador Allende’s government restored some Mapuche land, but the situation was reversed under Pinochet’s dictatorship.

When democracy was restored, the Chilean government passed the Indigenous Peoples Act to recognize Mapuche participation and land, cultural, and development rights, but most Mapuches feel disappointed. Since then, numerous incidents have happened in Araucanía, including hunger strikes and attacks against both sides.

Mapuche people

There are around 1,950,000 Mapuches, of which 90% live in Chile. They speak Mapuche, an Araucanian language, and Spanish.

Mapuche people mostly practice Christianity, but also retain some of their traditional beliefs. Their economy is based on agriculture, and they are organized under extended families.

Vocabulary

(Mapudugun - Spanish - English)

Arkentinia - Argentina - Argentina

Aukiñ Wallmapu Ngulam - Consejo de Todas las Tierras - All Lands Council

Chili - Chile - Chile

Mapuche kewan - conflicto mapuche - Mapuche conflict

Mapudungun - Mapuche language

wall mapu - territorio circundante - surrounding area

Wenufoye - canelo del cielo - sky’s canelo (Drimys winteri)

#langblr #mapuche #spanish

[thegreenwallrabbit-blog]

Explaining one of VTMB paintings (pt 10)

Cain and Abel (Spanish: Caín y Abel) oil on canvas (18th century) by José Vergara Gimeno

José Vergara Gimeno ( Valencia , June 2 , 1726 - Ibídem , March 9 , 1799 ),  was the most outstanding Valencian painter of the second half of the 18th century. With an enormous pictorial work, both in fresco and on easel, he evolved from Late Baroque to Neoclassicism . He is the founder of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Carlos in 1768.Despite his great popularity in Valencian lands, since his prolific work is present in a good part of its geography, a certain artistic critic has unfairly underestimated him based on merely subjective prejudices that also extend to a good part of Valencian painting of the seventeenth century. Fortunately, the recent studies of Miguel Ángel Catalá Gorgues and especially David Gimilio Sanz, who dedicated a splendid monographic exhibition to him at the Museum of Fine Arts in Valencia in 2005, have begun the recovery of this painter with a strong personality, without a doubt the greatest exponent of academic sensibility in the Valencia of the Enlightenment. [1] 

The painter José Vergara began his artistic training under the tutelage of his father, the sculptor and architect Francisco Vergara , first by copying the Primer of José de Ribera , and later in the drawing academy of the painter Evaristo Muñoz , which in turn continued from that of Juan Conchillos, a school in which, according to an innovative discipline, students were trained in drawing from life in view of copying male models or statues. According to Orellana, his knowledge, talent and ability were such that at the age of 7 he was already drawing figures copied from life in the aforementioned academy, and at the age of 13 he painted "al fresco an allegory that was in a clock on the corner of a house, in the street of San Vizente in front of San Gregorio”. This work must have had a certain resonance, since, according to the aforementioned manuscript, he was then commissioned two medallions with passages relating to scenes from the life of Santa Catalina martyr, located on both sides of the main altarpiece of the parish church of Santa Catalina, as well as the vault of the lower part of the organ of that same temple. A few years later, around 1744,Collegiate Church of Játiva representing the four Biblical Heroines, a work that disappeared when the dome collapsed in 1866 and for which he received 200 pounds. These were the foundations and the first works on which the progress he made later in his profession was founded, due more to his genius and study than to the teachings received. According to classical historiography, José Vergara did not miss any opportunity to take advantage of his advances, paraphrasing Ceán , he was always painting, drawing and experimenting with different techniques in order to master them, which tells us about a restless and interested in learning. The weight of the Valencian pictorial tradition made him copy certain works by Juan de Juanes , Francisco Ribalta and José de Riberaof enormous iconographic and artistic significance in Valencia, these reproductions, made either by personal admiration of Vergara himself, or by express wish of the client, as is the case of the Juanesque variations of Ecce Homo and the Eucharistic Savior.The fact that José Vergara never left his closest environment (confirmed in the handwritten biography), forces us to specify a type of learning in situ based on the Valencian pictorial tradition; in the prints and engravings that he no doubt used in his compositions; in the art treatises that he consulted and in the examples of the great foreign artists that existed in Valencian lands. All this led to a new way of conceiving painting from a classicist sense that will be the basis of Valencian academicism.[1] 

Below is an explanation of the Cain and Able story from real life and in the context of VTM. This is the same for all the Explained Cain slaying Able paintings in VTMB posts I’ve done so feel free to skip if you’ve already read this as it’s long.

___________________________________________________________

The tale of Cain murdering his brother Able are nearly identical in Jewish, Christian and Islamic texts with the oldest known version coming from the Dead Sea Scroll from the first century BCE. Cain was the the first born son of Adam and Eve and became a Farmer while Able was the second born son and became a shepherd. Both brothers made sacrifices to God, but God favored Abel's sacrifice instead of Cain's. In Islam the reason for their offerings is to decide which brother would marry Adam and Even’s first daughter who was also Cain’s twin sister. Able also had a twin sister and Adam wanted the brothers to marry the others twin. In multiple religions each brother has a twin sister but there is no consistently with the names as Cain’s twin sister being named Aclima, Kalmana, Lusia, Cainan, Luluwa, or Awan, and  Able’s twin sister is named Jumella, Balbira or to make it more confusing Aclima (though even when she is called this Able’s twin sister is never the one the brothers are competing to marry) depending on the source. In the Islamic text Able’s offers his fattest sheep while Cain offered only a bunch of grass and some worthless seeds. In Jewish and Christian texts the reason for the sacrifices and the exact nature of their offerings are merely described as the first born of Ables heard and products from Cain’s fields.[3] The most description we get is in Genesis when God sees that Cain is upset that his offering was not chosen God tells Cain “: Why are you angry? Why are you dejected? If you act rightly, you will be accepted; but if not, sin lies in wait at the door: its urge is for you, yet you can rule over it.”(Genesis 4:6-7)  Cain then told Able to meet him in his fields where he then murdered his brother out of jealousy by hitting Abel in the head with a stone. When God asks Cain where his brother Cain, “I do not know! he answered. Am I my brother’s keeper?”(Genesis 4:9) to which God replies   “What have you done! The voice of your brother’s blood is calling to me from the ground. From now on you’ll get nothing but curses from this ground; you’ll be driven from this ground that has opened its arms to receive the blood of your murdered brother. You’ll farm this ground, but it will no longer give you its best. You’ll be a homeless wanderer on Earth.” (Genesis 4:10-12)  When Cain objects saying the punishment is to great and that whoever finds him wandering shall kill him which then God says “No. Anyone who kills Cain will pay for it seven times over.” God put a mark on Cain to protect him so that no one who met him would kill him.” (Genesis 4:15). Cain then leaves east of Eden to wander in No-Mans-Land with his wife (who is not named in Genesis but is assumed to be his Twin sister in all tellings regardless of what name is given to her). Their first born Child was named Enoch, and Cain named the first city he built after his son. After Abel’s Death Adam and Eve had a Third son named Seth and when eve gave birth to him Eve said “God has given me another child in place of Abel whom Cain killed.”(Genisis 4:25-26). In some texts Seths wife and sister is named Azura. Their son is named Enosh it is through Seth’s line that humanity stems from, though both Cain and Seth had multiple decedents and confusingly used the same names (see family tree below). None of Cain’s decedents suffered the curse of their father Cain but where still seen as sinful and apart from God and where killed in the great flood. How Cain died is not as an agreed upon topic. He was ether crushed to death by the stone house he built, an irony as he used a stone to slay his brother or in some versions part of the Mark of Cain had him grow horns and his descendent Lamech (not to be confused with Lamech who decedent from Seth and was the father of Noah) who was a blacksmith and had two wives(this is viewed as sinful) killed him mistaking him for a wild animal and killed his own son Tubal-cain in the process.

While in the lore of Vampire the Masquerade the tale of Cain killing his brother able as told in the Book of Nod stick to the original tale regarding the murder of Able but starts to differ in God’s punishment. "Father" cursed him with a mark, and cast him out to wander in darkness in the Land of Nod alone. There is no mention of a wife or if he was still cursed to be unable to farm however it is clear that Cain was not  yet cursed to be a vampire by God. The Land of Nod was a place of utter darkness, with no source of light, where Caine was afraid and alone. There he found Lilith where they began a relationship and Cain realized that she possessed magical power and begged her to share them with him. While hesitant Lilith prepares an Awakening ceremony by cutting herself with a knife, bleeding into a bowl, and giving it to him so that he may drink. After Caine partakes of Lilith's blood, he is visited by three angels who are agents of God. Each angel offers Caine a chance to repent for the murder of Abel, but Caine rebuffed them out of pride. Michael, when denied, cursed Caine and his childer to fear his living flame. Raphael cursed Caine and his childer to fear the dawn, as the sun's rays would burn like fire. Uriel then cursed Caine and his childer to cling to Darkness, drink only blood, eat only ashes, and be frozen at the point of death, cursed so all they touch would crumble into nothing. A fourth angel, Gabriel, then appeared to offer the way of Golconda, the only way to "light", by the mercy of God. After the experience, Caine becomes officially "Awakened", possessing the following Disciplines: Celerity, Potence, Fortitude, Obfuscate, Dominate, Presence, Protean, Animalism, and Auspex. Caine then became aware of the Path of Blood, the Final Path from which all paths stem. And with all these powers, but now being cursed to be a vampire he breaks his bond with Lilith and leaves her.[2] While Cain never biologically fathers any children it is clear that their names of those he embraced and their decedents are inspired by the biblical names in his line though with massive changes. For instance the first city is founded by Cain in the land of Nod and and called Ubar and is explicitly stated to be settled by “Children of Seth” with the human king being Enoch at the time Cain settles there. Enoch still becomes his son as he is embraced by Cain. Another example of the reuse of a biblical name of Cain’s line is Zillah (which in Hebrew means shade or protection). In the original story she is one of Lamech(decedent of Cain) two wives( the other named Adah). After both wives discover that Lamech unwittingly kills Tubal-Cain(one of Lamech and Zillah’s sons) they both refuse to have sex with him because of the deaths he caused, on the pretext that they do not desire to give birth to cursed offspring. The three go together to the tribunal of Adam; Adam rules that they must obey their husband since he killed unwittingly. This midrashic tradition portrays Adah and Zillah as respected women, whose position is considered in all seriousness by the court. [3] In VTM Zillah was a human woman who lived in Udar so beautiful, Caine could not resist the Embrace. According to Nosferatu Zillah is the one of Cain’s second generation who sired their Antediluvian. Interestingly, even after the Embrace, Zillah did not desire him. It frustrated Caine to the point that he was ripping his hair out of his head. He did anything and everything to make her desire him. Yet, she would not have him. Finally, Caine sought the Crone's magic, who ultimately tricked him into a blood bond, she forced the First Vampire to Embrace her. The Crone sent her new thrall away, telling him that his blood would have the power to bond others as Caine himself was bonded to the Crone. The discovery of the blood bond was what finally made Zillah agree to marry her sire Caine. [2]

[1] “José Vergara Gimeno.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Apr. 2022, https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Vergara_Gimeno. 

[2] “Caine.” White Wolf Wiki, https://whitewolf.fandom.com/wiki/Caine.

[3] Kadari, Tamar. “Zillah: Midrash and Aggadah .” Jewish Women's Archive, https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/zillah-midrash-and-aggadah#:~:text=Zillah%20was%20a%20wife%20of,he%20unwittingly%20kills%20Tubal%2DCain.

#VTMB #vampire the masqurade bloodlines #cain and abel #josé vergara gimeno #Valencian pictorial tradition #Valencian academicism #Explaining one of VTMB paintings #Four painting for the price of one #book of nod

[publicartfund]

#pafpicoftheweek▪️| Howard Sherman snapped this impressive panoramic shot of @ninachanel’s "San Juan Heal.” Positioned on the 65th street facade of David Geffen Hall, this magnificent artwork, commissioned by @lincolncenter, pays homage to San Juan Hill's rich history. 📷: Howard Sherman (at New York, New York) https://www.instagram.com/p/CpqZxQJvOkn/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#pafpicoftheweek▪️

[beardedmrbean]

WHIDBEY ISLAND, Wash. (AP) — A civil rights activist from Spokane, Washington, a business owner and the founder of a winery and his family were on the floatplane that crashed in the waters of Puget Sound, killing 10.

The U.S. Coast Guard released the names of the victims early Tuesday. The body of one of the dead was recovered by a good Samaritan after Sunday afternoon’s crash. The other nine remain missing despite an extensive search.

The Northwest Seaplanes flight was on its way from Friday Harbor, a popular tourist destination in the San Juan Islands, to a Seattle suburb when it went down without sending out a distress call.

The dead include pilot Jason Winters, activist Sandy Williams, winemaker Ross Andrew Mickel, his pregnant wife Lauren Hilty and their child Remy Mickel. Also killed were passengers Joanne Mera, Patricia Hicks, Luke Ludwig, Rebecca Ludwig and Gabrielle Hanna. The Coast Guard did not provide hometowns.

Mickel was the founder of Woodinville-based Ross Andrew Winery.

“We are deeply saddened and beyond devastated at the loss of our beloved Ross Mickel, Lauren Hilty, Remy and their unborn baby boy, Luca,” the Mickel and Hilty families said in a statement. “Our collective grief is unimaginable. They were a bright and shining light in the lives of everyone who knew them.”

The Washington State Wine Commission said in an email that Ross had “an incredible impact on the Washington wine community” and will be greatly missed.

Williams was a lecturer, filmmaker, founder of the Carl Maxey Center and editor of The Black Lens, an African American-focused newspaper.

“Sandy was a voice for the voiceless, a tireless advocate for marginalized people in Spokane, a journalist unafraid to speak truth to power, a builder of hope in her vision for the Carl Maxey Center, and a beloved friend to countless members of our community,” The Spokane County Human Rights Task Force said on Facebook.

Thayne McCulloh, president of Gonzaga University, said the community lost a leader, teacher, activist and powerful voice.

“I am devastated to learn of Sandy Williams’ passing and we @GonzagaU extend our condolences to her family, many friends and colleagues,” he tweeted. “Sandy: Rest In Peace.”

Joanne Mera was a business owner from San Diego, The Seattle Times reported. Her niece, Sami Sullivan, said she was visiting family in Seattle when the crash occurred. She leaves behind three children and a husband of more than 30 years, Sullivan said.

“Joanne Mera was someone everyone gravitated towards,” Sullivan said in a statement. “She was the life of any party and the soul of our family. She was the best mom, wife, sister and friend.”

The Coast Guard ended the search for survivors Monday afternoon after “saturating an area” of more than 2,100 square nautical miles (nearly 2,800 square miles or 7,250 square kilometers).

“All next of kin have been notified of this decision,” the Coast Guard said on Twitter. “Our hearts go out to the families, loved ones and friends of those who remain missing and the deceased.”

The plane went down in Mutiny Bay off Whidbey Island, roughly 30 miles (50 kilometers) northwest of downtown Seattle and about halfway between Friday Harbor and its destination in Renton, just south of Seattle.

Whidbey Island resident Jeff Brewny and his wife were walking their dog Sunday when they heard a loud boom.

“First thought was thunder. It was that loud,” he said. “There was no flash like you get with lightning. So, you know, I thought it was a boat exploded. It was that devastating. My dog went crazy.”

The owner of the seaplane company was aboard one of two flights that took off on Sunday, Scott Giard, director of the U.S. Coast Guard’s search and rescue for the Pacific Northwest, said at a new conference.

The owner told authorities he saw the other plane divert slightly off course and he tried to make radio contact but was unable to.

“Shortly after that, he noticed on his flight tracker that the flight had stopped tracking and notified authorities,” Giard said.

Officials received reports that “the aircraft dropped suddenly at a fair amount of speed and hit the water,” Giard said. “We don’t have any video or pictures of the incident as of this moment.”

There was no distress call or distress beacon from the crashing plane, he said. The aircraft has an electronic locating transmitter onboard, but they have not received any transmission.

“That is very typical in times where there is either a hard landing or a crash of an aircraft,” he said.

The cause of the crash is unknown, authorities said.

The National Transportation Safety Board said Monday they’re sending a team of seven to investigate the crash of the DHC-3 Turbine Otter.

Coast Guard searchers found “minimal debris,” Giard said. By Monday afternoon, they had only found three to four long and narrow pieces of aluminum, very few personal items, a seat and some small pieces of foam.

Without a clear picture of the actual crash, and not knowing whether it exploded on impact or immediately sank to the sea floor, 150 to 200 feet (45-60 meters) below, it’s difficult to know what happened to the plane, he said.

Northwest Seaplanes is a family owned business founded by Clyde Carlson, according to the company’s website.

The company’s business office next to the seaplane dock at the Renton Municipal Airport remained closed behind fencing Monday. The only visible activity was two people hugging near the front door.

A woman who answered the phone early Monday said they’re waiting to learn more and are devastated by the crash.

“It’s a small crew. Everyone’s close,” said the woman, who would only give her first name, Michelle. She declined to say more.

The company posted a message on Facebook late Monday saying they are heartbroken.

“We don’t know any details yet regarding the cause of the accident,” the post said. “We are working with the FAA, NTSB and Coastguard. We have been in communication with the families. We are praying for the families involved, including our pilot and his family.”

#nunyas news

[kwebtv]

Character Actor

Neil Oliver "Bing" Russell (May 5, 1926 – April 8, 2003) Television and film actor and Class A minor-league baseball club owner. He was the father of Hollywood actor Kurt Russell and grandfather of ex–major league baseball player Matt Franco and actor Wyatt Russell.

Best known as Deputy Clem Foster on Bonanza (1959), he guest-starred in episodes of many television series, including Playhouse 90, Highway Patrol, Wagon Train, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, The Loretta Young Show, Johnny Ringo, Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, The Rifleman, Maverick, Zane Grey Theater, Route 66, Rawhide, Ben Casey, The Untouchables, Hazel, The Andy Griffith Show, The Twilight Zone, The Donna Reed Show, The Munsters, Gunsmoke, Combat!, Branded, The Fugitive, The Monkees, I Dream of Jeannie, Ironside, The Big Valley, Death Valley Days, Adam-12, The Virginian, Alias Smith and Jones, The Mod Squad, Mannix, The Rockford Files, The Streets of San Francisco, Emergency!, and Little House on the Prairie.

In 1963, he was cast as John Quigley, a Chicago mobster, in the episode "Five Tickets to Hell" of Jack Webb's CBS anthology series, GE True. In the storyline, Quigley travels to Chihuahua, Mexico, where he robs the mint of $500,000 and kills seven men in the commission of the crime. Police Lieutenant Juan Garcia (Carlos Romero) tracks down Quigley and his three accomplices. BarBara Luna also appears in the episode.

In another 1963 appearance in the episode "The Measure of a Man" on the syndicated Western series Death Valley Days.   Russell appeared in the original pilot (filmed in November 1965) for The Monkees TV series as Rudy, a record store owner and the group's manager.   Much later he played Vernon Presley to his son Kurt's Elvis Presley in the television movie, Elvis (1979).  (Wikipedia)

#Bing Russell #TV #Character Actor #Bonanza

[tallernepantla]

Jarrón de Coca Cola Pre-Colombina // Pre-Colombine Coca Cola Vase 2017-2021-2022 Ceramic $80-$100 In reference to Ai Wei Wei’s Han Jar Overpainted with Coca-Cola Logo this piece was originally commissioned in 2017 from an artisan friend from the community of San Juan de Oriente in Nicaragua. An earthquake in late 2021 destroyed this piece, transforming it into from an art-object to an  anthropological object.