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withhertea · 5 months

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Maisie Peters: coming of age

With heartfelt songs of crushes and overcoming heartbreak on her number one album 'The Good Witch', 23-year-old Maisie Peters deftly captures the agony and ecstasy of youth. Here, she discusses her friendship with Ed Sheeran, the ups and downs of being online, and how she mines her personal life for inspiration.

By Charlotte Manning

It is Halloween when I sit down to chat with Maisie Peters. It almost feels too perfect a time to take a deep dive in and around her summer album release The Good Witch, packed full of spooky connotations and an exploration into, well, witchery. She promises that “some effort” is going into the costumes for tonight’s Bristol gig, teasing: “You’ll have to just wait and see.”

This is a pop star who is used to being very much online. She’s wearing a non-serious T-shirt bearing Robert Pattinson’s face, and one of the first things I’m shown is a cat meme that I — also chronically online — have seen dozens of times before. “It’s been the most mental year of my life,” laughs Peters. “Everyone keeps joking that my eyes are getting smaller and smaller. I’m giving… Have you seen that cat meme? It’s like, ‘I’m awake, but at what cost?’ (She quickly searches for it on her phone.) This is what I’m giving right now. I sit across from people and give this tired cat that says, ‘Awake, but at what cost?’ And that is me.”

The 23-year-old is the recipient of The Breakthrough Award, supported by Volvo, at the first Rolling Stone UK Awards. It’s a category stacked full of young, rapidly emerging talent, including names such as Olivia Dean, Shygirl and Wunderhorse. But it’s Maisie who is this year’s stand-out. She played Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage the day her second album dropped, and when it quickly shot to number one in the UK Official Charts, Peters became the youngest female act to achieve this feat in nearly a decade, plus her UK tour culminated in a sold-out date at Wembley Arena. It doesn’t really get better than that, does it?

“We drove into Glastonbury and listened to the album; it had just come out, it was really cool and special,” she recalls. While her gigs often feel like a party, she had even more to celebrate this time around. Peters and her band stayed in a very apt “fairy-castle hotel” near the world-famous festival and decided to simply spend the album-release weekend living their best lives at Worthy Farm. “We played the show. It was kind of crazy because the new album came out that day. Imagine working on your job, and it’s the biggest weekend of the year? All systems go. This was the biggest week we were going to have.

As I approach the O2 Academy Bristol via a slightly dodgy backstreet later that rainy evening, there are hundreds of buzzing fans queuing, who, like me, are largely girls in their twenties. I end up feeling pretty under-dressed in my reliable straight-cut jeans and ribbed crop-top gig combo. As I enter, it’s clear that under the sea of raincoats and umbrellas, a lot of preparation has gone into these outfits. A mixture of Halloween fancy dress (mainly witch costumes, of course), alongside pleated miniskirts with Y2K-style “baby tees” (concocted by Peters, which she often dons on tour) are there to greet me. This (now very signature) look came “very naturally” to her: “I thought it would be fun if we made little baby tees with lyrics on before the album came out, to tease at the shows. People were like, ‘Oh, my God, Maisie Peters has done another baby tee.’ Then people also started making their own. I thought, ‘Well, this is cute, this is a thing!’ So, I kept doing it. People started making their own, and it became almost like a little uniform for this album. To me, that’s what style is — it should be easy, and you should just feel good.”

At one point, the crowd scream the words to ‘Mr Perfectly Fine’ by Taylor Swift as the excitement builds. I somehow feel I’ve missed the memo on this being a collective anthem among fans, but it makes a lot of sense. Swift, Peters says, is an artist she’s “extremely honoured” to be often compared to as her star only continues to rise. “I love the music that she makes. I love her records; they’re all so important to me. I’m really, really honoured to be compared to her, and to be thought of in the same frame of mind, in anyone’s mind, as her. She’s a big inspiration of mine,” she says.

From seamless guitar changes to refreshingly honest interactions with fans (“There’s nothing scarier than my romantic history… ghosts, demons, clowns. This year, I graduated from clown university”), the singer proves throughout the evening to be an absolute master of the crowd, a skill she’s no doubt developed in spades after spending time on tour with her ‘boss’, Ed Sheeran.

After signing with Sheeran’s Gingerbread Man Records back in 2021, Peters has now released both albums under his label. The pair have a strong friendship, and she recounts an afternoon they spent watching Star Wars movies earlier this year during “the craziest one-day trip of my life” in New York.

“We did America, Australia, New Zealand, UK, Europe… It was crazy,” she says of the experience. “I learned so much. I see videos of myself from the first Irish shows, where we began, and it feels like a different lifetime, a different version of myself. I just felt like a different person before this year. I’m so grateful that he took me around the world and believed in me.”

To nobody’s surprise, she marks her territory as the “number one Ed Sheeran fan in the world”. It would be hard to argue with that claim at this point. “He’s so generous and kind, and he’s really talented, and he’s smart,” she continues. “It’s a privilege to get to tour with somebody like that, someone that’s also just so good as a human being. It’s the easiest and the best thing because he’s so lovely.”

Sheeran would later appear at her Wembley show to perform his own breakthrough hit ‘Lego House’ together in a gorgeous full-circle moment: “He let me play his Wembley, so I figured I should let him play mine,” she tells the crowd on her final night. This is a sentiment she jokes about again during her Rolling Stone UK cover shoot, teasing: “It’s great to be able to support up-and-coming artists.”

At her Rolling Stone UK cover shoot, Peters’ warm persona lights up the room. She takes turns to chat to everyone in between being snapped, and answers questions to camera with ease, often checking the prompting notes she’s made on her phone. The soundtrack of the day is purely Girls Aloud — later that day it’s confirmed the group will be having a revival. How perfectly… witchy.

Speaking of witchiness, sophomore album The Good Witch was written about a surprisingly short period in Peters’ life, and its contents again prove how well she can connect with her audience. “I really do write for the girls,” she observes. “I really made a whole album based on a relationship that lasted for one month and maybe two weeks.” The record is a painfully familiar look into the heartbreak, frustration and unpredictability of a short-lived romance, yet she provides drops of joy and growth in equal measure, meaning a sense of hope always remains at the core, never allowing the sadness to win. “I wrote this album about that time in my life. It depicts the same six months with, give or take, a few different songs.”

But she doesn’t always write that way: “As I get older, I’ve tended to draw on my own life more frequently, but that’s not necessarily always chronologically accurate. I’ll write about something that happened four years ago like it was yesterday — it doesn’t matter to me. I am The Good Witch; I make what I want out of the things that are happening.” Peters has also remained adept at turning fleeting moments into the basis of a whole track. In 2022 fan-favourite release ‘Cate’s Brother’, she recalls meeting her housemate’s brother for the first time and quickly developing a huge crush. This led to intense lyrics, “And my heart went ‘Love him, he’s the one, and we shall wed,’” she sings.

The album and its subsequent deluxe version —released in October — touch on literary inspirations, including influences from the world of Greek mythology and fantasy, alongside a dose of religious imagery too. ‘The History of Man’ is a prime example, dotted with Biblical references: “So Samson blamed Delilah…”. Elsewhere, ‘In Guy on A Horse’, one of the deluxe tracks, Peters compares herself to Joan of Arc, depicting an elevated version of herself, as she criticises an ex-partner’s habit of looking down from his high horse.

“It wasn’t conscious. I wasn’t mood-boarding all my different literary inspirations or anything like that,” she explains, but there is an element to The Good Witch that acts as a conceptual album of sorts. “I got to write in that universe, which I loved. ‘The History of Man’ has some Greek mythology in it, and then ‘Wendy’ is essentially about Peter Pan. I was dancing around these universes.”

Gender is another theme very present throughout much of the record, with Peters viewing her journey between debut You Signed Up for This to The Good Witch as “giving girl-to-woman”, having done a lot of growing in the past two years. “There are a lot of threads and themes that look at gender and in what it is to identify as a woman and what it is to know men, which sounds a bit dramatic,” she says. “It’s funny because if you were to count the most used words in The Good Witch, they are the words ‘obsessed’ and the word ‘man’. I don’t know what that reflects about me, but it’s something to think about…”

The extended album closes with gorgeously nostalgic ‘The Last One’, which very nearly made it into You Signed Up for This. “‘The Last One’, I wrote for my first album, but right at the end, so it didn’t make it. It feels like such a closing track. But ‘Tough Act’ became the closing track on my first album, so that was done [and] dusted.” She believes some songs can have extremely specific destinies in that they must be placed at certain points on a record “or it’s not going to happen”. She continues, “Sometimes I write a song, which I know is either the title track of the album, and it opens the album, or it will just never come out — ‘The Last One’ was one of those songs. But I love that song, and it feels really special it now gets to close The Good Witch.”

Her favourite lyric of the entire album comes from the song ‘Yoko’, dealing with misunderstandings that followed after Peters left a relationship she really hoped would work out, relating this to the common misconception surrounding Yoko Ono’s part in the break-up of The Beatles. “‘Yoko’ is one of my favourites, and I always wanted that to be on the album, but she didn’t quite make it. There’s a lyric in that song that’s my favourite lyric from this whole album: ‘You have a phone, you should have called’.”

While the two LPs in her discography may seem quite different on the surface, she feels there are many similarities. “I always say they are sister records to me,” she explains. “Even the Deluxe really emphasises that because there are songs on there that I wrote for the first album. The Deluxe is a good way to tie up any loose ends, I guess, and to make sure everything I wanted to say from those years, hopefully, is out. I mean, there’s always more things I want to say!”

Elsewhere, Peters’ online persona is generally an incredibly positive one, having created a space in which her fans clearly feel extremely comfortable, seen and safe. However, this hasn’t made her immune to her fair share of negativity on the internet too, something she’s experienced more this year than ever before. Yet she still manages to deliver a witty response to the not-so-nice comments she’s been on the other end of. “You can say with a wry smile, ‘At least I’m relevant,’” she smiles. “It’s really difficult, and you get bitten twice as hard when you’re someone that is online,” she says. “You’re engaging, and giving yourself to people, and then, suddenly, the mood changes, and people don’t like you, or don’t like what you’ve given them. You’re like, ‘But I was just trying to create, or I was just trying to show you this new song!’ It feels very personal, even though you try to turn it off.”

Through any negativity, Peters remains incredibly self-aware, and doesn’t seem to hold any resentment towards those directing the vitriol her way. “These people don’t know you. It’s normally a teenager tweeting, and good for them! I was a teenager tweeting once too. We’ve all done it. As long as I shall live, there will be teenagers tweeting, as they should.” Still, she admits it’s hard to not feel that she’s being “personally attacked”, and the comments have taken their toll at times. “People forget I’m still a person that’s seeing this. I’ve experienced that this year. I’ve found it really difficult. When you’re touring and away from home, and you’re really tired and running on empty, and then you just see X, Y and Z on TikTok or on Twitter about yourself, it really takes it out of you.”

Being present on the internet has been central to Peters’ career — she started out by posting videos of herself singing on YouTube when she was 15. But this year, she reached new peaks of online fame when her ‘There It Goes’ video went viral on TikTok in early autumn, painting a very relatable picture of the aftermath of an intense end-of-summer breakup in a vast city like London. Fans latched onto a couple of specific lines, “I’m doing better / I made it to September / I can finally breathe”, and “The comedown of closure / The girls and I do yoga / I wake up and it’s October / The loss is yours”. Fans started producing their own visuals to the track in cute clips which soon flooded the app.

“Everybody wants something to take off on TikTok or to have a moment, but it was so fun that this moment was so organic,” she reflects. “What started happening was actually just this wonderful, sweet, pure, wholesome thing where people were using the sound, ‘I’m doing better / I made it to September,’ to round up little edits of their life and all the great things in it.” Peters admits she “couldn’t believe it” when she realised the song was going viral. “To see all these videos showcasing love and friendship, healing and growing and people just being themselves, I was like, ‘This is so cool.’ I’m so pleased and happy that was the moment, that’s what took off, because it’s so beautiful and lovely.”

In what Peters calls a “cliche” answer, it’s her parents she immediately shouts out when asked who she wants to dedicate The Breakthrough Award, supported by Volvo, to, as they have been by her side on her incredible journey since she was a teen. “They drove me to pubs to play when I was 15,” recalls Peters. “My dad would come with me when I was busking so that if anything shady happened, he could be there, but he would also pretend not to be my dad, he’d just loiter around. They’ve always just been really supportive, so yeah, I would like to dedicate [this award] to them.”

On what’s next after this whirlwind year, Peters has a clear objective: “I’m going to bed!” she declares, itching to spend some time at home. “I haven’t spent more than two days at home since July. I’m going to be in London, just walking around, so say hi if you see me. God damn, I hope I’m in my rest and relaxation era.” She plans to spend the coming weeks “cooking meals and going to exercise classes” and generally doing very little. “Is it the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory grandparents who are in bed all day? That’s what I’m going to channel. I want to collect my thoughts a little bit. Then in the New Year, that’s when I’ll start making some more music. I have some thoughts and ideas [for the third album], but we’ll have to see what happens. Life takes you in surprising places sometimes.”

Taken from Issue 14 of Rolling Stone UK, our Awards Issue. You can buy it here.

Words: Charlotte Manning Photography: Lewis Vorn Fashion & Creative Director: Joseph Kocharian Styling: Luci Ellis Hair and makeup: Elizabeth Rita Styling assistant: Chessie Lulli

#maisie peters #rolling stone uk

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reachingforthevoid · 1 year

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Doctor Who: Inferno

I rewatched this serial on 3 February 2023. Gosh. Four stories in and we’re at the end of season seven. If watching it on first BBC transmission back in 1970, the seventh episode of this concluding serial aired around the summer solstice. Colour came with a price — fewer episodes per year.

I last rewatched Inferno fairly recently as research for my most recent Lethbridge-Stewart novel, A Most Haunted Man (Candy Jar Books, 2022). If you want to see why, you can order it here.

Anyway, the story builds up quite well. Obstinate leaders of experimental scientific establishments are rapidly becoming a stock villain for Doctor Who. The Doctor and Liz vibe well together, and how wonderful that he trusts her to work on the TARDIS console. At the end of the serial, with the Doctor being pally with the Brigadier after being rude to him, there’s a hint that these four stories are only four of many, many adventures.

In context, I am struck by how many drilling or mining facilities our heroes ended up in during the late 1960s and 1970. At least this rig isn’t at sea. I know these themes are returned to later in the series, but it’s quite a feature of these earlier stories.

And, at last, among the fairly large support cast of extras, there’s a Black man. A technician who is seen a few times throughout the crowd scenes.

UNIT are now wearing fatigues that are more like British Army dress at the time. The Brigadier sticks with his slightly futuristic uniform.

And then we arrive with the Doctor in an alternative universe. Back in 1970, the fascism of Germany, Italy and Spain were in living memory; in Spain, the fascists were still in power. Looking at this now with the resurgence of similar rightwing views in power in the UK, USA, Hungary, Poland… the ideas are the same, but the trappings less so. The serial isn’t subtle with its message that fascism gets you to disaster quicker… It’s also not subtle with the Doctor being a Cassandra character at risk of being ignored yet again about the real dangers of humans interfering with the environment. When did Doctor Who become “woke” again?

#doctor who #inferno #liz shaw #unit #fascism #cassandra #brigadier lethbridge stewart #candy jar books #a most haunted man #alternate universe

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thewales · 2 years

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I’m a different anon who actually agrees with you but I disagree with your first two points:

1. Over the last two years, they’ve worn morning suits and coatdresses to open parliament. Not the usual fancy dress. To keep up with the times and not appear tone deaf.

2. What judges in the U.K. wear to court are in no way the same as what Charles would. Sure, they are both technically robes but they are VERY different robes. Plus nobody cares about judges. Most people care about the monarchy and criticise their every mince so comparing them is not really applicable here.

I agree with your point about them dressing the part just not necessarily your arguments. Plus I get the anon’s points about it potentially causing backlash. I can actually see both sides. They are both risky in the sense that on one hand it could make people turn against Charles at a time when his popularity is fragile but I can also see how we don’t want pomp and pageantry gone from the monarchy. I think they just need to watch and see what public opinion is like. Maybe leak a few stories here and there and then come to a conclusion. It’s still months away so no permanent decisions need to be made just yet.

I guess I should have been more precise in what I said.

When I mentioned parliament I was referring to parliamentarians and not to royals. In the last two years the Queen did not wear full regalia because of the pandemic but Charles this year went in full military uniform. The MPs wore their Santa Claus gowns as usual.

When I mentioned what the judges wear, I did it as a simplistic example, trying to say that already in the UK in everyday life they wear silly outfits. The monarchy will be criticised no matter what, if they remove all that, they will be criticised and if they don't, they will be criticised too.

As I said in a post I made last night, I understand removing a lot of things that were done in the past in such ceremonies that are unnecessary today - they were in those days too but that's not the point - but they shouldn't remove the Core of what one expects to see at a Coronation because then what's the point of having one? Let them have a simple service, Charles signs what he has to sign-if he has to sign anything-and that's it. Everybody goes home after that.

The previous anon mentioned tiaras and coronets and, they already have them, so why not wear them? Not wearing them but still having them won't help anything, it would be different if they didn't wear them because they are going to sell them, that would be helpful. Not using something you already have is… what's the point? and before someone comes and says that's not the point, that looks bad and I don't know what else, look, I totally agree with not using full regalia or part regalia in unnecessary situations, I don't expect Catherine to arrive at the next movie premiere wearing a tiara but I don't think it's wrong to expect her to do it in an event that everyone expects her to do it. These days we can count on one hand the events where we can expect women to wear a tiara and we would have fingers left over after doing so.

Look, a monarchy is not necessary but Royals can be useful, having a monarchy can be useful but a monarchy nowadays is mostly ceremonial and one of the significant ceremonies of a monarchy is a Coronation, in it, you expect to see Royals look like Royals, they have the rest of their lives to "be and look normal". But obviously, that's my opinion, everyone will have a different one and that's fine. At the end of the day, it won't influence anything and they will do what they want to do, whether it's the best thing or not.

#BRF #charles's coronation

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jurassicparkpodcast · 2 years

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Jurassic World The Exhibition Stomps Into London with Roarsome Preview Night

Yesterday, I was lucky enough to be invited to the UK Preview Night for Jurassic World: The Exhibition – which has arrived at the ExCel Centre in London this August. The Exhibition has been doing the rounds since its inception back around the release of Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom, but it has never come to the UK until now.

In this article we’ll take a look at all the Exhibition has to offer to Jurassic fans, so you can plan a dino-sized day out in London this Autumn! Be warned that we will talk about the full walk-through experience – so only read on if you don’t mind spoilers for the experience itself!

The first thing to note with the Exhibition is that it lets you get up-close-and-personal with different dinosaurs from the Jurassic World franchise. There is a good assortment of animals present throughout the Exhibition – with everything from the towering long-neck of the Brachiosaurus, to the more intimidating presence of the Tyrannosaurus Rex. I was really impressed by the quality of the animatronics present within the Exhibition space, which made me feel as if I was visiting one of the Universal Studios resorts. I have to say that the way the designers of the exhibition incorporate light and shadow is second to none – using areas which are less lit to really help to bring home the immersion of the Exhibition. There is an encounter towards the end of the exhibit with the Indominus Rex which makes particularly great use of the shadows in the space – helping to capture the eerie feel which comes from when we first see this Hybrid in the films.

The Exhibition also goes to great lengths to ground you within the world and the lore of Isla Nublar – with all of the staff wearing either InGen Security or Scientist uniforms, and with everyone well versed on their knowledge of the animals present throughout the exhibit. When it comes to any ‘live’ experience like this, the actors really can make or break the immersion, and the people we encountered during our walkthrough were incredibly passionate and enthusiastic – helping to sell this as a real visit to Jurassic World. I also want to shout out a couple of the members of the crew who took the time to chat to us and indulge how excited we were – with one actor even coming back to find out how we found the experience at the end. It was awesome seeing the people involved in the experience just as excited to be a part of it as we were.

No immersion is complete without world building and I was also really impressed by the different locations we got to visit during our time at the Exhibition. I’s clear that a lot of attention has been paid to the architectural style of the franchise, and that is reflected in environments which feel pulled straight from the screen. I was particularly impressed with both the Hammond Creation Lab and also the Raptor Arena where you encounter Blue – as both of these felt like they had clearly pulled a lot of inspiration from the environments seen on the screen. This really is an immersive experience where you can allow yourself to be surrounded by the franchise for a couple of hours – and for me, it felt really special to get a theme-park level experience right here in the heart of London.

I am so impressed by the variety, the attention-to-detail, and the sheer enthusiasm which has gone into bringing Jurassic World The Exhibition to life. As I say – I have wanted to experience this since 2018, and four years later, I was not disappointed by what the final experience had to offer. If you are looking for a fun, dino-fueled day out in London, then I cannot recommend the Exhibition enough.

Huge thanks to the people working behind the scenes on this project for being willing to invite a bunch of us down for a fan preview. We had an awesome time and are so grateful hat we got the chance to experience the Exhibition together. 2022 has been a year filled with memorable moments and highlights, but this definitely tops them as a very special day out for all of us.

To learn more about Jurassic World The Exhibition and to book a ticket for it’s London phase, visit: https://jurassicworldexhibition.com/uk/.

Written by: Tom Jurassic

#article #jurassic world camp cretaceous #camp cretaceous #camp cretaceous season five #camp cretaceous season 5

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purpleyin · 2 years

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Stranger Things 4x01 + 4x02

Here be spoilers behind the read more. I think I’ve limited it to just 4x01 and 4x02 episode stuff (and I don’t know if I’ve mixed up some stuff on which it happens in), unless I’ve confused some stuff that happened in 4x03 too, so you are forewarned if reading.

Most of this was posted on the stoncy server reaction channel for the ep but kinda expanding on some of it a little here too. I like to mull things over and this season really did take over my brain for like the first week after I watched it. And it’s still rattling around too with more half-formed thoughts that might inspire some fic sometime. Some of it is gripes but there’s also just mulling and things I enjoyed mentioned too.

4x01

The Robin & Steve in the car answering the would Robin say boobs/breast discussion from the stoncy server was a fun start to the season.

💕 at Robin having her new crush and Steve trying to be her wingman.

I like that they're actually having mentions of how the town was affected by S3 stuff, but it felt a bit weird to me when they use it in the pep rally talk to be like 'let's win the championship for them'. Others were saying it seems about usual for pep talks and as someone from the UK I don't have any direct experience of those so I assume they're right. Certainly sets up Jason as big on talk.

I do feel it is sad to start the season with the kids group so split up. I was wondering if Lucas wanting an in with the jocks was because he has to put up with more bullying than Mike and Dustin, because racism. The show doesn't really do much on that topic, except with Billy's behaviour and then the whole presume which Ghostbuster Lucas should be bit, but I don't know if I'm reading too much into things there.

Love the whole Robin & Steve bit with looks about the muppet singing of Tammy Thompson. Their friendship is great to see.

Oof at the El being bullied and her poor diorama. But oooh at Will did his report on Alan Turing – the trailers did spoil that fact but I am still very much here for that. It's cute in a way that El very much looks like a Byers now she's her daughter, same haircut as Joyce and also looks like she might be wearing hand-me-down clothes from the boys. It is rather a series theme about her dressing like other people want though (the lab uniform and buzzed hair, the disguise with Nancy's clothes, how Hop dressed her very practically like he wore, the makeover by Kali's group, the Max influenced mall shopping, and now Joyce's efforts) and still I hope she gets to figure out how she really wants to dress at some point.

Eddie was very OTT in his first scene, such a performance of non-conformity, which makes sense with his position in the social hierarchy but kind of got me off on the wrong foot. But the Chrissy and him in the woods scene started to make me like him more, made me want them to have a friendship but of course nope, that hope was foiled by the end of the ep. Might need some Chrissy lives AU fic or something. Though I was briefly wondering if his tattoos could be covering up another tattoo, from the lab – I couldn't remember if we got any good enough arm shots to see if there was anything in the same spot those usually go. And the mention of his buzzed hair also got picked up on in the server, which fueled the idea of Eddie being an escaped lab kid (maybe from with when Kali escaped?).

Well they moved on from killing characters starting with B...I honestly wasn't quite expecting they'd start killing characters so soon and so gruesomely. I feel like technically the S3 flesh monsters were more gruesome but there's just something worse somehow about the eyes and bone stuff.

4x02

😭 at the Benny's coming up. Feel a little bad for Jason this ep but that went away fairly fast once he decides to go making assumptions.

I have to say I found the satanic panic bits with the jocks hard to watch. I knew they'd probably work that into the show at some point, and I understand it as a moral panic subject sociologically but it's still hard to watch for some reason for me personally.

Felt very divided on Murray talking Joyce out of the Hopper is alive theory. Because on one side he sounds like the one making the most sense but on the other side the audience knows Hopper is alive so her stuff does actually make sense. I'm not overly fond of Murray but normally he would be right, he just hasn't accounted for the strange reality they live in, that's regularly full of impossibilities.

So much awkward with Will thirdwheeling at the airport and the rink date. I'm feeling for Will a lot with this ep because while he could have tried harder, it also feels like Mike was continuing with his BS of ignoring friends more now he has a girlfriend and oof at that. I hope maybe they'll be in a better place by the end of the season now they're actually in the same place and interacting.

The bullying is hard to watch too. And also argh no to El lying, because both ‘friends don’t lie’ and that lie can't hold up for long and it really doesn't once Angela gets brought into this ep. People were talking about why El picks Angela as the friend to lie about having and I'm wondering if it's a case of if Angela, who hates her guts, could be her friend then that'd be the biggest turn around. The idea of things being so radically different, of if Angela didn't bully her and was in fact the opposite and on her side being the ultimate fantasy for El of her having friends there. But I may be overthinking that. It's a weird choice from El either way and it would be interesting to know what they intended with that lie she tells.

I'm not liking what they're doing with Jonathan so far. Or with Jonathan/Nancy's rift. Jonathan avoiding conflict makes sense to me, but Nancy I thought would be more direct about problems though she's very far in denial this ep I guess. There's been a good few tiny moments for Jonathan but I do not like stoner!Jonathan generally. I could definitely see it working as him getting stoned to deal with all the trauma from Hawkins but it does not feel like they're using it like that, more like they don't know what to do with him. Yay for him having a friend in Argyle though. I feel like Argyle probably just adopted Jonathan by being relentlessly friendly around him until he decided they must be friends and Jonathan just accepted it, and the accompanying joints.

I was actually surprised El didn't hurt Angela worse, that seemed like it could easily have been a lot more serious than they went with. I thought she smacked her from underneath at first, which seemed like it would be more dangerous for nose cartilage possibly breaking into brain, but on a rewatch she was more hitting directly on the nose I think. Still, it was brutal, even with how horrible Angela was it did scare me for El losing control.

🎊 for Robin being the one with the bright idea to search Rick's on the store records.

I have to say, even though it's sad for not really any Max/Lucas in the first couple of eps, I am liking seeing Max interact with characters she hasn't much before because I love it when shows mix up who is with who.

It's so early in the season for Steve whump, already he has a broken bottle to his throat.

I now know the answer obviously but at the time of first watching this ep did make me wonder if there's something in the water in Hawkins that's making people hallucinate etc (a lasting Upside Down contamination wouldn't be the wildest theory after S2's tunnels under farmland) or if it's just that people somehow more susceptible to Vecna (who've had more trauma or abuse?) are the ones being affected.

They're really not holding back on being brutal this ep. The Hop torture, then that El move and then Freddy. I was really hoping Freddy might make it despite the vivid hallucinations - like that maybe he'd mention something wrong to Nancy and be on the path to getting saved from the same fate - but that was a futile wish. Wth was up with the car accident with him, will we ever get answers. I kinda worried they were gonna play into the has scar = bad trope with that, even if in a mild way. Also Freddy's last name is Benson so we're back to the writers sort of killing people named with B.

It's kind of interesting that with them in 2 locations they've got 3 threads of 'groups' per location so far, compared to their usual 3 they did when just in Hawkins.

#stranger things #stranger things s4 #stranger things season 4 #stranger things 4 #stranger things season 4 volume 1 #strangerthings4 #hans watches stuff

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youngsoutheastasianleaders · 2 years

Text

#YSEALIWLA Alumnae Network: Wonder Women Series — Dialogue 2: Rizka Maulida

“Moving countries, Be a Woman, and Urban Health”

Over 20 women across Southeast Asia participated in the “Wonder Women Series” Session 2 on September 18th, 2022. Rizka Maulida, a Ph.D. student in the MRC Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge, shared her passion and current research on urban health.

What does it feel like to live across multiple countries your whole life? How do you think the experience will influence you?

For Rizka Maulida, who has lived in Indonesia, the USA, Japan, and now the UK, the experience of moving countries since she was growing up opened her curiosity that there are a lot of different things in the world. As a woman, she also experienced various cultures on how the world treats women differently across the world. Therefore, she encourages women to travel if they have the chance and build friendships all over the world. To note, she acknowledged her privileged background to be able to live in different countries since she was in junior high school.

But, how do you adapt physically and mentally to live across countries?

There are some differences, for example when I grew up in Indonesia, I used to wear a uniform when I went to school, but in the US, a school uniform is not required, just a dress code to follow. I also feel like American culture encourages me to speak my mind more, which I really appreciate, especially when I arrived as a young girl from abroad. I had a different experience when I lived in Japan and even in the UK right now.

Talking about academic things in different countries, what kind of challenges do you face?

Impostor syndrome, feeling like I don’t deserve to be here, is something that I continuously struggle with. But I try to see it from a different perspective. If I am here at Cambridge and I don’t deserve it, doesn’t it mean that the selection committee made a mistake by accepting me? I try to not compare my journey with others, because everyone has a different journey, and conversations with peers have been really helpful for me.

Living across countries also led Rizka to have an interest in health, especially urban health. At first, her interest was strongly in physics and astronomy. However, it started to change when she visited Texas Medical Center, which has not only a hospital but also a research center. That experience was eye-opening to her as a girl to learn that health is not merely medicine but so much more than that.

What led you to urban health?

When I was doing my Master’s Degree, I was interested in dietary or nutritional behavior among adolescents. During my study, I was studying Jakarta, and I realized that urban areas have different issues than rural areas. I realized there are complex urban health problems in Jakarta, like air pollution or limited walkable access, especially compared to other big cities like Tokyo. The same problem also applies to other big cities in Southeast Asia, even though we are progressing in the right direction. Therefore, my background growing up in Jakarta led me to study more about urban health. My research is focusing on country policy regarding city development and its relation to the health of the people. Health is intersectoral and all sectors need to be working together.

Based on your discussion with colleagues from various countries, what effort do you think we should prioritize to achieve public health in Southeast Asia?

It may sound very biased, but I think we need to prioritize urban health. I am really concerned about air pollution in Southeast Asia. There are a lot of infrastructure projects happening, but are they concerned about health in the construction process? There are also more children in these countries than people of older ages. More healthy food options must be available to ensure health among the people.

Is there any disinformation about public health that you wish to dispel?

I want to emphasize that your health is partly your government’s responsibility. The government is also responsible for structural support to ensure we have options and access to be healthy. For example, our access to fresh produce in our neighborhood. A community can also factor in your health, but my point is health is never only the individual’s responsibility.

You mentioned the tendency to have fewer children across the region. To counter that trend, more pressure is put on women to give birth, preferably before 35, to ensure the quality of children. What is your take?

While it is not my expertise, I have a special interest in this issue. It takes a village to raise a child, so I believe in a bigger system to provide women with more flexibility. We need everyone to be involved. For example, daycare, more flexible working hours for parents, and maternal and paternal maternity leave, so support is important.

How do you think the world can better collaborate in preparing for future pandemics, including infectious diseases like Covid or Monkeypox?

This is surprising to me how different countries use different approaches to tackle the pandemic. Right now, in the East, people strictly still need to use masks. It is totally different than in the West. First, I think systematic surveillance needs to be in place. Keep discussing or communicating with other countries. It will be different for every country, but don’t ignore the signal. Pay attention to the cases but also your government’s concern about health facilities. Are they able to cope? If not, how should we prevent these cases? Do we have vaccines? And so on.

There is a growing trend in SEA to use natural supplements, also known as functional food. Why do you think this trend exists?

I am not sure why it is becoming a trend, but there is a big part of being healthy, being physically active, minimizing your trash, eating nutritious food, etc. I think if it is harmless, it is okay. As long as it doesn’t substitute the medicine.

Do you think there is any gender disparity in accessing health in Southeast Asia?

I am not sure, but I think in big cities, there are no disparities between genders, but in rural areas where a son is prioritized over a daughter, maybe yes. What I am concerned about is maternal health among women; probably, it counts as gender disparity because the expectation is for every woman to be able to give birth. But how about equal access to the health facility or if they need support? I noticed that it is still an issue. Women also usually are more alert to find help related to health, compared to men who may neglect the need.

How does your learning in Cambridge enrich your knowledge and skills in urban health?

I have a lot of colleagues from all over the world that definitely have diverse perspectives that may or may not be similar to mine. Here I also deeply realize that health needs to have a structural approach like what I mentioned at the beginning.

Lastly, what is your plan for your future and how will you create an impact?

Firstly, I am affiliated with an institution in Indonesia, where I will be contributing via teaching and research. But, I also want to create research that will be beneficial for the policy-making process. Thus, contributing to many issues. My biggest dream for Indonesia is to build some kind of birth cohort. It is very common in the US and UK, where you follow up with someone from clinical to behavior measurement. It is very important because it is not only one or two years, but it can be ten or even seventy-five years. Because you measure someone in many aspects over time, you can take that as a recommendation for the policy.

The dialogue session was moderated by a YSEALI WLA alumna, Nurul Husna Salahuddin, an Indonesian woman pursuing a Ph.D. in Technische Universitat Munchen. The event was organized by the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Women Alumnae network as the second of three dialogue sessions in the Wonder Women Series. The series features prominent women figures who share their experiences and personal insights on breaking gender barriers in their chosen fields.

#yseali ysealiwla ysealialumni

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fific7 · 3 years

Text

Evil Twins - Part 1

Billy Russo & Aleksander Morozova x Reader

Summary: When two worlds which have already collided then collide with yours - that’s an explosive situation.

A/N: This does not follow canon, it’s mainly a mix of fluff and angst with quite a lot of lemon zest 🍋 My Fantasy Punisher/Shadow and Bone crossover AU.

Warnings: 18+ NSFW due to sexual content including oral and unprotected* sex between consenting adults. Some drinking & swearing.

*Irl, please don’t go wild in the country without protection.

(My photo edit)

New York City

Billy Russo awoke with a start, sitting bolt upright in bed and grabbing for his Glock. What the hell? Thunder was rumbling loudly overhead and he sighed, putting the gun back under his pillow and laying his head back down. It was probably the bright flash of the lightning followed by the beginning of the thunderclap that had awakened him.

He was just closing his eyes again when he spotted something, only vaguely visible in the dim light from outside, in the corner of his room. It was…. swirling?

Grabbing his gun again, he sat up and pointed the Glock at the corner. It was getting bigger. “You’ve got two seconds to show yourself before I blow your fucking head off,” he announced, calmly.

He squinted a bit to get a better look but it didn’t make much difference. What the fuck was it?! Smoke? He decided he had no choice and leant over, switching on the wall-mounted bedside light.

The… smoke cloud?… was still increasing, becoming bigger and blacker with every second. Then he saw the vaguest silhouette of a tall figure within it, moving towards him. He leapt out of bed, on the far side of it so it was between him and whatever the fuck this was.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Aleksander Morozova - or General Kirigan, the Darkling, the Black Heretic, the Starless Saint, whichever of his many names he decided to call himself at any given point in time - could see a tall figure brandishing some kind of strange gun at him as he began to emerge from the swirling shadows.

Following certain unfortunate incidents - including a huge and furious argument with his darling mother - he’d decided it would be politic to get out of Ravka for a while, much as he didn’t really want to. But this wasn’t where he should’ve ended up. What was this place?

He emerged completely from the shadows and immediately felt something bounce off his kefta. He heard a ‘ding’ and looked down at the wooden floor at his feet. A bullet.

Looking quickly back up, he saw that the man opposite him was glaring at him, eyes wide and unbelieving, gun still pointing at him. He also realised that looking at this man was like looking in a mirror.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Billy was dumbfounded. He’d just shot the fucker! And the bullet had bounced off him. Fuck. He threw the gun down onto the bed and slid his hand under his other pillow, pulling out his Ka-Bar. No way he’d get past that.

He took a moment to have a good look at the dude opposite him.

Dressed in riding boots and some kinda long black tunic thing, with a black fur-collared full-length cape over it. What a freak! Was he a goth or something? But then he realised something even freakier…. this guy looked exactly like him.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

The two of them were still contemplating each other, when finally Billy spoke. “Who are you? And what are you?”

Aleksander laughed. “Usually it’s me asking those questions.” Billy huffed, “You’re in my fuckin’ apartment, so just answer them!” He saw the guy draw himself up, and he said, “I am Aleksander Morozova, also known as General Kirigan, commander of the Second Army of the Grisha.”

“Means fuck all to me,” grunted Billy. “One name not enough for you? And why do you look like me? Are you some kinda shapeshifter or somethin’?”

“I have many names because I am centuries old. And I don’t know what a… shapeshifter?…is,” said the other, “…but I am the Shadow Summoner. And who are you? Where is this?” he waved a hand round at the apartment.

Billy scoffed, “Centuries old?!! Oh fuck off. You’re the same age as me by the looks of ya! I’m Billy Russo, ex-US Marine Lieutenant and now CEO of Anvil. That’s a security company, mainly staffed by ex-military vets. And this….” he also waved his hand around, “…is my penthouse apartment in New York City.”

Aleksander shook his head, “I have never heard of that place.”

Billy eye-rolled, “How can you not have heard of New York?!” he asked, incredulously. “And what the fuck is a Shadow Summoner?”

“It’s becoming obvious we are from two different worlds. I seem to have been diverted from my intended course, I don’t know why,” shrugged Aleksander. “Well maybe it’s time you took off to wherever it is you were headed for in the first place,” said Billy.

“It seems that I have been brought here for some specific reason,” replied Aleksander, “and it also seems I cannot leave for the moment, I have already tried.” He waved both hands around, firstly extending and then curling up his fingers, watching them closely as he did but it was clear that nothing at all was happening. “You see? Nothing. It is worrying to me. My shadows are no longer obeying my commands at present.”

Billy sighed and perched on the edge of his bed, “Great! Just fuckin’ great! This is just…! So when can you leave?” The other man spread out his arms, “I have no idea.”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Devon, UK

Way across the Atlantic, you were already hard at work in your little bookstore in Appledore, Devon. You had a snug apartment above the store and had filled it with lots of your favourite things. It was a cute little coastal town and you loved living there. The community was small and friendly especially in the winter months, only increasing in summer with all the tourists who came to stay. As long as you made a decent living during the holiday season - which you normally did - then winter was a much calmer, chilled time of year.

You added a final book to the new display in the centre of your store and stepped back to take in how it was looking. Yeah, not bad if you did say so yourself. It was comprised of a fantasy trilogy for young adults about some ancient guy who could summon up shadows, and was a bit of a villain from what you could tell from the story synopsis on the book covers.

Not your cup of tea, to be honest. Generally speaking, all types of action stories were more your thing - something with a bit of ‘va-va-voom’. In fact, you were looking forward to tonight when you’d decided you were going to sit down with a nice tub of ice cream and rewatch one of your favourite series. The one with a relentless avenging ex-Marine whose family had been killed and his psycho ex-Marines buddy. Who happened to be rather hot to your mind.

You sighed a little, heading back behind the counter. That was the only thing about Appledore. It was a lovely place, but there was a distinct lack of hot guys.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

New York City

Billy and Aleksander were sitting on separate sofas in Billy’s living area, eyeing each other warily. Aleksander had been trying to explain to Billy all about his world, the Grisha, the Fold, volcras, Ravka, the Sun Summoner, sand skiffs - as much as he could.

It had blown Billy’s mind, to be honest. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. In turn, he’d explained all about his military career and the shitshow which had eventually developed once he’d come back to New York. Aleksander looked as equally confused as Billy.

Billy sighed, “I mean, what the hell are you gonna do? You don’t belong here. I need to go to work in a couple of hours. I’m not leaving you here so I’d need to take you to Anvil with me, and you sure as hell can’t go out looking like that.”

Aleksander looked down at his kefta which he’d unbuttoned. His cape was draped over the back of the sofa. “What is wrong with the way I look?” he huffed. “S’pose I could always say you were going to a Comic Con,” muttered Billy. “A what?” “A Comic Con. it’s where fans of fantasy comics go to have fun. They dress up as their favourite characters sometimes. I could always say it was cosplay.”

Aleksander shook his head, “I still don’t understand what you’re talking about. Are you saying I’d look out of place in my uniform? All the Grisha wear these,” he pointed at his kefta. “Not what we wear here,” said Billy, “…and I still don’t get why you look so much like me.”

“I have no idea!” said Aleksander, through gritted teeth, “I told you that already!” “Alright, alright! Calm down.” “I AM CALM!!!” roared the other man.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

New York City

Slightly later that morning, Billy was showered, suited and booted and ready for work. He’d persuaded his uninvited visitor to put on a borrowed leather jacket of Billy’s over his kefta as Aleksander refused to take it off. He’d also made him put on a pair of black trainers, which he’d done very reluctantly. These two items had instantly transformed the freaky-looking guy into someone at least a little more acceptable to your average New Yorker.

Aleksander was wriggling around in the jacket, “It’s not very comfortable.” Billy heaved yet another large sigh - he felt like this was all he’d been doing this morning - “Look, just wear it! You’ll get used to it.” He noticed the other guy sniffing at the collar of the jacket, then his eyes lifted to Billy’s, “You wear perfume?!” “Men’s cologne,” snapped Billy, “or aftershave, as it’s also known because - guess what! - you use it after you’ve shaved!”

His fingers stroking his chin, Aleksander nodded, “Okay, that I understand. We do not use this perfume in Ravka.” “Cologne!” yelled Billy. “Fine, cologne then. Why don’t you like it when I call it perfume? That’s what it is, after all.” “Women wear perfume. Men wear cologne. Okay? Now c’mon, I’m gonna be late.”

Billy strode over to his front door and tried to open it. The handle wouldn’t budge. He shook it, rattled it, pulled the door handle back and forward, exerting more and more strength but nothing worked. He stood back from the door. “It won’t open,” he said, rather unnecessarily. He looked at Aleksander, “Is this you? Or something to do with you?” “No!” he protested, “I have nothing to do with this.”

A somewhat raspy female voice spoke from behind them, “No, but I do.”

The two men swung round, both gaping as they saw that there were what could only be described as rippling waves distorting the whole interior of Billy’s flat. The light had also diminished quite drastically and then they both saw a woman’s head and shoulders start to become defined and then fully visible in amongst the ripples. She seemed to float there at head height but she obviously wasn’t physically present.

“Mother!” exclaimed Aleksander.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Devon, UK

You snuggled down amongst the soft cushions on your sofa, tub of ice cream and spoon in hand and scrolled to the series you were looking for. It was quite gory in places but you loved it - except for the bit right at the end where the hot dude got killed. That made you sad although you couldn’t deny he definitely had psychopathic tendencies.

As you were looking for the one you wanted to watch, another series caught your eye in the ‘Suggested for You’ section. Hey, it must be based on that trilogy of books you had in the store right now. Maybe you’d give it a try after you’d finished your current one.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

New York City

“Mother?” echoed Billy, “….what’s going on here?!”

The woman’s head swivelled towards him then back to Aleksander. “My two boys, together again. How sweet.”

“What!?” said the two men in tandem. She gave a bitter laugh, “How I managed to produce two such problematic children, I’ll never know.” “What are you talking about, Baghra?” ground out Aleksander. Billy was just standing there, dumbfounded and looking between the two of them when suddenly her glare focussed in on him.

“Maxim.” Billy returned her stare, “I’m Billy!” he corrected her. She shook her head, “You will forever be Maxim to me. And as I’m your mother, do not argue with me. Now…. no doubt Aleksander has been making a great fuss about how he’s many centuries old, has he?” “He did mention it,” said Billy, begrudgingly. She nodded, “I thought he might have. Listen to me, both of you. You are twins, so obviously you were born within minutes of each other. To me.” The two men exchanged glances, before looking back at her. “It became obvious to me that Aleksander - from a relatively early age - was going to cause himself and everyone around him nothing but trouble and strife, so I took a radical step.” “What did you do, Baghra?” questioned Aleksander.

“If you’d have patience, I’m trying to tell you!” she snapped, before continuing, “I got one of the few Heartrenders in existence at that time to take Maxim out of Ravka to a secret location. There, he placed him in long-term suspended animation. When you…” she pointed an accusatory finger at Aleksander, “….started all that nonsense with the Sun Summoner and hunting for the stag, I travelled with another Heartrender to where Maxim was, and brought him out of his enforced hibernation. I had to protect him as there was no guarantee you’d survive, Aleksander.” She stared at his scowling face and carried on speaking.

“He had no memories remaining of his past life and so I took him into the forest, there is a portal there which only I know of. There used to be more knew about it but I am the only one left now. Other universes can be reached through it. And I decided to send Maxim to another one. This one. It was only three months ago in Ravkan time, but in this universe more than thirty years have passed.”

“Wait… what?!” Billy was pissed. “You… you just threw me into some portal and walked away? Not knowing where I would end up?” “I had to save one of my sons!” she spat out, “…the other one had lost his mind and was on a collision course with disaster!” Billy put his head in his hands, before looking up again and raging at her, “I was abandoned for a second time by the woman I thought was my mother in this universe! She was a drug user, a total mess! I was placed in an orphanage… it was terrible!” He saw a remorseful look pass over her face for a split second, “I am sorry, Maxim! But I had no choice. Then I had to step in again when he…” pointing again at Aleksander, “….was nearly killed by volcras. I managed to get him to the portal before he fully regained consciousness. He thinks it was his idea to leave Ravka after we had an argument, but I managed to plant that idea in his mind before I pushed him into the portal.”

Billy and Aleksander both snorted in unison, then glanced at each other again. Billy looked back at her, “You’re sorry? That doesn’t quite cover it. I went to war! And now I’m in a very bad situation due to things which went down in Afghanistan during that war.” Aleksander chipped in, “And how dare you make a decision like sending me to another universe without consulting me first?”

The sigh Baghra gave echoed round the apartment. “You are a pair of ungrateful whelps! And now it sounds like I have to get you of trouble too!” She pointed at Billy this time. “I firstly had to find some very old documents about it, but I managed to find out how to enter the limbo section of the portal, which this is, because I wished to speak to both of you before I sent you on your next journey.” She lifted her hands and swirled them around in a kind of ritualistic fashion, “Be on your way to the next universe!” she chanted, and suddenly the rippling got even more pronounced.

Billy and Aleksander began feeling overwhelmingly dizzy, feeling as if they were falling but in fact realised they seemed to be rushing through time and space.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Devon, UK

It was Saturday tomorrow so because you could sleep in a bit as you opened later, you finished the first series (but not the second one - it always upset you) of the one you’d originally been watching, and had then moved on to the one based on the trilogy.

You peered more closely at your TV screen - yeah! you were right, the hot bad guy looked so similar to the hot bad dude in the other series they could be twins! Was it the same actor? You’d need to check on the credits but it must be, surely.

No reflection on the series you were watching, but having finished your ice cream you dozed off during episode 6.

You woke up - you had no idea how much later - and as you sat up slightly, realised that you were feeling very strange. Standing up from the sofa, you were so dizzy that you collapsed back down onto it. You tried not to panic, but you’d no clue as to why you felt so unwell all of a sudden.

Then you noticed that your apartment appeared to be rippling. Rippling??!! What the…. The rippling waves began to die down a little and you were suddenly aware of two looming figures standing over you. Their outlines and features slowly became more defined, more solid, and eventually you realised you were looking up at both the hot bad dudes from the TV.

Of course you were.

Okay, your reeling mind said to you, maybe the celestial Powers That Be had been listening when you were complaining about the lack of hot guys in your town.

They were both looking down at you, clear interest in their eyes. Maybe because you were wearing silky shorts with matching tank T. Your sleepwear didn’t leave too much to the imagination.

So you stared at them, and they stared right back at you, although again you were acutely aware of two sets of very dark eyes roaming all over your body.

You wondered if someone had spiked your ice cream.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

#ben barnes #billy russo #billy russo x reader #billy russo fanfiction #billy russo imagine #billy russo fanfic #the darkling #the darkling x reader #shadow and bone #general kirigan #the darkling fanfiction #the darkling imagine #the darkling fanfic

243 notes · View notes

tarosin · 3 years

Text

The great adventures of y/n tommy tubbo and jack - using tanks to battle

requested: yes/no

this is part 11 to the great adventures series

it was now 5 am you had been on facetime with ranboo since he started streaming at 10 pm neither of you was going to sleep anytime soon

“isn’t it like 5 am for you”

“trying to get rid of me then”

“no no no soon enough I’m going to be stuck with you pretty much 24/7”

“heh? aren’t you staying with tubbo when you come to the UK?”

you watched his face turn red thinking that he had said something that he wasn’t supposed to tell you it was only when he looked up to see you with your head tilted he realised you weren’t aware of what was going to happen in the following weeks

“I will tackle you in the middle of the airport if you don’t tell me what you tubbo and lani mean when you all make comments about me constantly being around yous”

“I cannot wait to see you try”

“I'm blocking you”

hours passed and it was now time for you to get ready to go meet the others you left your phone on your bed whilst you went to get ready by the time you returned ranboo had fallen asleep

“goodnight boo not long now till you’re in the UK, you’re asleep I’m talking to myself goodnight”

since your parents had to go to work they offered to drop you off on the way, the journey to meet the others was pretty uneventful you just spent the time talking about how streaming was going and future plans. that was until your parents mentioned ranboo was flying over soon

“your friend is flying over soon right?”

“ranboo oh yeah yeah he gets here on 26th as far as I’m aware i’m going to tackle him in the middle of the airport”

“great great you’re going with tubbo to meet him, do you know how long you’re going to be out”

“..no why? shouldn’t be too long”

“don’t worry about it darling we’re here now oh look here comes tubbo”

as soon as the car stopped you laughed as you noticed in the corner of your eye tubbo running towards the car you said your goodbyes as you got out of the car and was instantly pulled away by tubbo

“oh oh okay tubbo I think I can walk on my own bud”

tubbo completely ignored every word you had just said and continued leading the way to the others where you were met by Tommy shouting about tanks and jack pretending not to know Tommy.

the four of you went to get ready, a simple enough task or so you thought as when you looked up you noticed Tommy was putting the outfit on the wrong way around

“Are you sure it’s safe for Tommy to drive a tank..”

“help me then”

“no”

a few minutes later the four of you were now equipped with your rather baggy army uniform safe to say if it started to rain you'd have to deal with getting wet as if you put the hood up it would cover your eyes taking away your eyesight which is unsurprisingly important since you were about to drive a tank for the first time. as soon as you all thought you were ready to go to the tanks tubbo announced that although it’s a bad time he needs to go to the toilet

“he’s fucking waddling”

“y/n be nice to your best friend”

you stood laughing to yourself as Tommy was arguing with Jack about how he’s your best friend, not tubbo.

“believe it or not I’m their best friend”

“elaborate on that”

“no”

“i’d argue ranboos their best friend”

halfway through their ‘argument’ tubbo came back and rested his head on your shoulder making you jump

“you're so tiny”

“I beg your pardon tubso”

the worker came over taking you all to the tank you would be driving putting Tommy and jacks argument on hold, for the time being, you were honestly so excited to drive a tank but you were also nervous as you weren’t exactly a great driver

“y/n doesn’t have a license can I get out the tank when it’s their turn”

“you crashed your parents' car fuck off”

before you all got in you were informed that the tank wasn’t designed to take you on adventures so you were probably going to get injured

“great cant wait in you go Tommy”

Tommy got in first followed by you then tubbo and jack

“draw me like one of your beautiful tank girls”

“I failed GCSE art”

“HOW”

“that my friend is a story for another night”

now this tank wasn’t designed so three of you could look out from the top of the tank so you did what every sensible person would do in a tank…you sat on the floor next to tubbo whilst he annoyed jack by touching his face

“y/n you okay down there”

“having the time of my life”

you could hear Tommy revving the tank and from then you could just tell you were going to leave the tank covered in bruises. you sat talking to tubbo and jack who were talking louder than usual just so you could join in the conversation. not seeing what was happening made the tank ride interesting, to say the least. one minute you were messing with tubbos shoelaces the next minute you heard three boys yelling that there was a cow in the middle of the road. it was now tubbos turn to drive and rather than letting you stay with the others he dragged you with him

“you’re driving next may as well stay with me”

“Please don’t crash I will get injured”

“to be fair y/n I didn’t plan on it”

you sat near tubbo watching him drive the tank occasionally yelling words of encouragement at him for your own entertainment and totally not to your surprise he was actually doing a decent job, he didn’t crash, the tank was going quicker and the ride wasn’t as bumpy then tubbo stalled, you could hear Tommy and jack yelling at tubbo to do more killing. you laughed as tubbo would look at the worker then at you not knowing what to do

“Are you ready to drive y/n”

“I guess so”

you and tubbo swapped places and you began to drive like your good friend tubbo you were decent at driving as you managed to pick up some speed along with many comments from jack and Tommy about how bumpy the ride was alongside tubbo yelling at you that you were going to be responsible for the bruises on his arms and legs

“tubbo stop being dramatic it’s not my fault the road is bumpy”

“Y/N I'M NOT”

“Okay then you’re responsible for the bruises on my arms and legs because you decided to stall”

It was now jacks turn you sat next to tubbo where you and Tommy argued that you didn’t like how Minecraft split the caves and cliffs update into two parts

“IT SAID CAVES AND CLIFFS UPDATE AND IT DIDN'T ADD CAVES AND CLIFFS UPDATE”

“you're such a tory y/n agrees with me”

“NO I DON'T I WANTED TO EXPLORE PRETTY CAVES NOT GET CHUCKED OFF OF A CLIFF BY A GOAT”

the three of you continued arguing your points before jack interrupted you all

“we’re talking about the new Minecraft update…because it was you we weren’t really paying attention”

“I DROVE BETTER THAN ALL THREE OF YOU”

“but no you didn’t”

“YOU'RE A PRICK MANIFOLD”

before Jack could answer Tommy began ranting about the update again before being once again interrupted by jack telling him you were about to shoot things and then go up against a tank that was miles better than the one you were all in, the one thing they didn’t know is you would be going with the boss against them just so you could actually have a role in the mini battle rather than just sitting there. you stood shaking your head as Tommy and tubbo made jokes about the balls you were all given

“say it”

“I like balls”

“jack they’re talking about balls…again”

Tommy was first to shoot whilst you and tubbo stood telling jack that the two of you would be the reason you win the battle against the boss, jack went up next and you both were telling Tommy that you weren’t scared of the boss after the last bit of practice you all went back to reception with the worker where he announced the roles you were all going to have

“so my aimer loader and driver”

“Are we allowed to ram tanks”

“no”

jack was the first to realise you hadn’t received a role for the fight against the boss and spoke up about it making tubbo and Tommy realise you did in fact not receive a role

“wait what about y/n they didn’t receive a role”

the worker just nodded at the four of you confusing the hell out of the others while you stood looking around the room to avoid laughing, you didn’t want the others to know so said you’d be back later you just needed to go to the bathroom. rather than going to the bathroom you went off to meet the boss before the others and decided what role you were going to have.

after discussing what role you were going to have the pair of you went back to meet the worker to let him know you have a plan

“LOOK ITS THE BOSS”

“…and y/n”

“oh now we’re losing”

the worker went up to their table to create a plan, once you watched the worker walk away you made your way over to the table they moved to where Tommy was having a ‘date’ with a mannequin

“Woah am I interrupting something”

“I'm on a date y/n”

“y/n you really had to leave me with tubbo and Tommy”

you whispered that you were sorry so Tommy and tubbo couldn’t hear then turned your attention back towards Tommy’s date which wasn’t going very well as Tommy accidentally pulled the wig off of one of the mannequins only to find out that his ‘date’ was also wearing a wig.

it was now time for the battle clearly best friends think alike as you and tubbo both had the role of driver. you and the boss made a strong team and you surprisingly got along well with each other which made teamwork easy making you more of a challenge for Tommy’s team

“yooo this is amazing”

“you’re doing great y/n”

as soon as the boss made the final shot you cheered

“do you think we won then y/n”

“I'm not sure they did put up a good fight”

“come on let’s head back so you can be with your friends again”

the pair of you made it back after thanking him you ran to tubbo, who for some reason was on the floor, and tackled him into a hug before sitting next to him

“AH FUCK”

“HI TUBSO WHY ARE YOU IN THE MUD”

“BECAUSE WE WON”

“mhm sure”

“What role did you have y/n”

“driver”

“NO WAY ME TOO”

your celebration was short-lived as Tommy decided to chuck mud at the pair of you yelling catch when it was far too late to react, you both looked at each other nodded at chucked mud back at him and jack

“ayo we hit him”

after playing in the mud with tubbo for a while jack called you both over to hear the scores and find out who won

“Why do you both have smiley faces on your face”

“y/n used mud to draw a smiley face on my cheek so I got revenge”

in the end, Tommy's team got 10 and began celebrating that they had won

“the boss and y/n got 11”

“LETS GOOOOO”

after bragging about your win you and tubbo ran off throwing mud at each other and Tommy whilst Tommy and jack bickered about who made them lose a few moments later you and tubbo looked up to see Tommy running past you both

“I don't think he's taking the news well”

you all made your way back to the car park Tommy and jack left together tubbo stayed with you waiting for your parents to pick you up on their way back home.

“you could just stay the night at mine..we could stream for a little while I’m sure you’ve left something that you can wear for the night and tomorrow and to be fair you stay at mine all the time”

“yeah I probably do I’ll call them on the way back to yours”

“come on let’s go home”

taglist:

@bearytime @milkydisaster @dumb-chaotic-bi-energy @uselesssapphickitten @l0ver0fj0y @etheriaaly @xx-smiley-xx @hawarun @kylobensgirl @cawcaw-pretty-thing @reverse-iak @renleicrashed @augustine-is-joy @c1loudee

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celticcrossanon · 3 years

Text

BRF Reading - 15th of April, 2021

This is speculation only

Card drawn 12th/13th April 2021

Question: Why didn't Meghan attend Prince Philip's funeral?

Interpretation: She is too scared to face the BRF.

Card One: Six of Wands. This card is a card of triumph, of achieving a goal you have worked for, and this is Meghan's immediate reaction to the news of Prince Philip's death - I've won! In the card we see Jason standing on what looks to be a pile of gold, with the golden fleece raised over his head. This is what Meghan expects from the funeral - piles of gold, all hers to do with as she pleases. The image of Jason standing there in triumph, with the crowds applauding him, is how she wants to be treated when she returns to the Uk - as a conquering hero, with parades in her honour and her way made smooth before her, with anyone who says anything negative against her torn apart by the general public, the press, and the BRF. She thought she had this when Piers Morgan was dismissed, but his reinstatement proved otherwise, and she will not return to the UK unless she is guaranteed this treatment by everyone, including the BRF.

Card Two: The Two of Cups. This is a card of committing to a relationship, either business or romantic. The decision for Meghan not to return to the UK was made jointly with Harry. He 'saved' her from the consequences of her return, like Eros is rescuing Psyche in the picture on the card. From a business perspective, the decision was made because they thought they would get more money if Harry went by himself (the Ace of Pentacles, the next card and the gold in the Six of Wands, the last card). I pulled two clarifiers on this card and they were the Ace of Wands and the King of Pentacles.

Clarifier One: The Ace of Wands is the card of a new creative inspiration, and of a new PR idea. It was better PR for Harry to go by himself, while Meghan stayed in California and pursued her new PR narrative from there. The following card of the King of Pentacles tells me that this PR will concern HM the Queen and the funeral of her husband.

Clarifier Two: The King of Pentacles is the card of an earth sign person, particularly a Taurus, and here it stands for HM the Queen. What caught my eye was the large gold coin the King is holding. The decision for Harry to go and Meghan to stay was based on the idea that Harry would get more money from HM the Queen/the BRF if he went alone, and that the presence of him as a royal attending a royal event would translate to more money in terms of job offers (the Two of Cups can be business relationships) when he returned.

Card Three: The Ace of Pentacles. This is a card of new financial opportunities. Not only is Meghan expecting a large payout from the BRF, but she expects that she and Harry will be able to make more money out of business deals once he is seen to still be a member of the BRF. Aces represent new beginnings, which includes pregnancy and children, so it is likely that Meghan told Harry to use the new baby to get more money out of the BRF.

Underlying Energy One: Nine of Swords. The energy from this card was incredibly strong, the strongest I have ever felt from a card. Here, the Nine of Swords stands for fear, the same fear that Orestes must feel when he was pursued by the Furies as shown on the card. There is not guilt, like there is when I get this card from Harry, just overwhelming, gut-churning, frozen-to-the-marrow fear. Meghan is simply too scared to go back and face the BRF after what she has said against them and how she has acted.

Underlying Energy Two: The Moon. This is a card of illusions and deceit, of secrets buried beyond the reach of sunlight. It has appeared before in spreads about Harry, Meghan and Prince Philip's funeral, and here it is again. The only major arcana card in the spread, and hence a very strong energy in the readings, is the card of illusions, distorted truth, and doing things in the shadows. The whole appearance of Meghan not attending the funeral is based on deceit. Whatever she puts out in her PR (I am too pregnant, I wanted to go, the Queen understands etc) is a lie, or at the very least a distortion of the truth. Meghan was simply to petrified with fear to return to the UK.

This underlying energy of deceit applies to all of the cards discussed above - all of the PR actions and requests for money discussed above are underlaid by this strong energy of deceit.

Conclusion: Meghan stayed away from the funeral because she was too scared to face the BRF. That is the strongest energy coming from the cards. She was too scared to attend as she wasn't guaranteed the 'conquering hero' homecoming that is her requirement for returning the the UK. The second strong energy in the spread is that of illusions, half truths, and distortions being used to make people unsure what they should believe.

Meghan's main concern about the funeral is money, and Harry went by himself both to save Meghan from her reception in the UK and as a strategic move to try and get more money from the BRF. He will use his new child as a way of getting more money if it is necessary. Meghan expects to get a lot more money from business deals when Harry returns to California because he will have been seen as a 'fully paid up member' of the BRF at the funeral. The underlying energy of the Moon means that Meghan (as through her influence, Harry) will lie, deceive, distort truth and drive people crazy to achieve her aims of lots of money and for Harry to be seen as a full senior member of the BRF (who just happens to live in another country and do no work).

Note: Having those energies behind Harry going to the funeral and Meghan staying at home, how do you think Harry will react to any suggestion that he appears different from the BRF (such as wearing a suit and not a uniform at the funeral, or not posting a tribute to Prince Philip), or a suggestion that he takes a back seat to the 'Magnificent Seven' (who will be debuting their appearance as a group at Prince Philip's funeral)? Not well at all, in my opinion, as it would destroy Meghan's plans to use the funeral to put Harry firmly back in the ranks of the BRF in the public eye.

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jamie-leah · 3 years

Text

War of Wolves (20)

Season 1

Episode 20- The End Is Nigh

Bucky x Reader

Summary: You have been on the streets for the past two years, ever since your accident that left you with the ability to tell if someone is lying. You work as an informant for the white wolf and his mob but you had never met him…until you overhear a phone call that leads you to saving his life. Now he wants you to work for him. Its an offer you couldn’t refuse…right?

Word Count: 2425

Warnings: Violence, outbursts, mention of weight, vomiting, kidnapping, injuries, hallucinations, swearing

A/N: Okay all you Lovely people, I am hitting you with another episode thick and fast. I love you all for your support and encouragement! Enjoy this one! And come tell me if you would like to see another season of WoW? Because I have a few ideas...

<---Previous Episode Next Episode--->

WoW Masterlist Series Masterlist Oneshot Masterlist

A week later

YOUR POV

You weren’t sure how much time had passed. It felt like a lifetime of Isaac drugging you up, poking and prodding and taking samples.

You had been in and out of consciousness like a yoyo. Your body getting weaker every day. Isaac barely fed you saying some bullshit about experimenting how the stress affected the way your ability grew.

Any food that you did manage to eat it was another story trying to keep it down. You often found yourself dreaming or imagining conversations as if Bucky was here.

You were currently imagining being back at that restaurant with the aquarium as a wall having a meal. You were laughing at him tipping sauce down his suit when the scraping of your cell door cuts through it.

You keep your eyes closed trying to hold onto the dream as Bucky says, “looks like our dinner is about to be rudely interrupted Doll”.

You wave him off, “let him carry me, as long as I get to keep my eyes closed and see you it won’t be interrupted”.

Bucky raises an eyebrow, “and have you stop fighting against them? Come on Doll, you know I’ll be here when you get back”.

The blonde man cuts through the dream, “move”.

You open your eyes suddenly feeling the cold in your bones, “make me you curly headed fuck”.

You knew what was coming, yet you still couldn’t bring yourself to move or stop fighting him all the way to Isaac.

BUCKY’S POV

Night had fallen hours ago but Bucky stayed sitting in his office. He watched the footage again and again of you being shoved into the car and being whisked away from him. He hadn’t slept and only ate and drank out of necessity.

Sam was in the room talking on the phone trying to get information out of more informants when Steve walks into the room.

Bucky rewinds the footage again as Steve approaches, “you need to get some sleep Buck”.

Bucky ignores him, watching the footage again hoping to spot something he missed. Steve waits a few seconds before closing the lid of the laptop.

Bucky stares at where the screen was, the image of you burned into his eyes, for a few seconds. Bucky stares until he shoots up from his chair and sweeps the contents of his desk onto the floor.

“And what the fuck is sleeping gonna do Steve? Nothing! She’s out there now, on her own! Its been a fucking week and we still have nothing!”, Bucky’s chest is heaving, the strain of keeping his emotions in check showing.

Steve speaks normally, not matching Bucky’s raised voice, “and what good is staring at the footage doing? Also, nothing”.

Bucky shakes his head, “I’m not sleeping while she’s still out there going through only the devil knows what”.

Steve sighs, “you need sleep Buck, to think clearly…you know if she were hear now, she’d be saying the same thing”.

Bucky bursts again, “but she’s not Steve! She’s not here”.

Bucky doesn’t wait for empty words from Steve or Sam. Instead he strides from the room and towards the back doors.

He keeps walking until he reaches the door and pulls it open. Winter starts to get up to greet him but Bucky orders him to stay.

Bucky goes over and sits next to him just like you would. Winter sits up facing him as Bucky strokes him. After a few moments Winter whines and Bucky nods, “I miss her too boy”.

Bucky shakes his head, “its my fault she’s gone, I should have done more…she’d probably slap me for even thinking that”.

Bucky smiles at the thought of you being cross with him before saying to Winter, “Steve’s right, isn’t he? She’d tell me to sleep if she were here now”.

Bucky pats his lap and Winter settles next to him laying his head on his leg. Bucky lays his head back and closes his eyes, images of you haunting his dreams.

YOUR POV

You think about two days had passed since Isaac had sent for you. On the one hand you were grateful for the rest, but it was freezing. The only warmth you felt was in that shitty room.

You were in the corner dry heaving for the hundredth time that day. Your body was shaking violently from the cold and strain your body was going through.

Your dreams had spilled out into reality as you now conjured the image of Bucky while you were awake. He was still wearing his black suit leaning against the wall, “that’s the third time today. You need to start keeping your food down if you want to get out of here”.

You spit into the bucket, “you think I don’t know that? It’s the fucking drugs”.

You put the bucket down and go to stand but you fall instead. Bucky goes to help but stops himself, you both know he’s not real and he can’t help.

You finally manage to make it back to the bed before saying to Bucky, “you can’t find me, can you?”.

Bucky pushes off the wall, “you know I’m trying”.

You nod slightly, “I know that. I just don’t know how much longer I can live like this”.

Bucky looks alarmed, “you can’t stop fighting”.

You close your eyes, “but I’m tired Buck”.

Bucky scoffs, “you know there’s things you could be doing to help me find you”.

Your eyes snap open in anger, “yeah? Like what? In case you hadn’t noticed I’m locked in a cell”.

Bucky shrugs, “you know the more people that know you’re here the more likely it is that I can find you. Everyone has a price for information and everyone knows I’d pay anything”.

You lift your head up to look at him. He looks exactly like your Bucky but there’s something off and you’re well aware that he’s not real and none of this is healthy.

You stare at him a little longer and you realise what’s off, it’s the eyes. His eyes aren’t the same colour blue as your Bucky, “did you have something in mind?”.

You waited another day before the blonde guy came to get you again. You had gathered your strength for what you had planned.

It was the same story of the door scrapping open and his voice seconds later, “move”.

You don’t even waste energy on a reply. You just count his steps so that you can time it all perfectly. When you know he’s a step away from pulling you off the bed you twist from your foetal position and smack him in the face.

You know he’ll only be shocked for a second, so you get up and knee him in the balls to keep him down longer. You hear him grunt before falling to one knee.

You don’t wait to see if he recovers, you run. You ignore the shaking in your legs and the way your feet thud against the stone.

You run as fast as your heart would allow down the narrow corridor and passed the door that leads to Isaac. That’s when you hear the guy shout for you to stop and you nearly laugh at the absurdity of it.

You near the end of the corridor and take a sharp left down another corridor. Its just as narrow but you see a set of double doors at the end of it, the only double doors you’ve ever seen in these corridors.

Your body is screaming at the exertion, but you keep going, the image of Bucky popping up by the doors pointing to them.

You feel like you’ve been running for hours but you don’t stop as you approach the doors. You brace for the impact as your body slams into the wooden doors.

They give way followed by a loud crash of metal hitting a wooden floor. You fall and realise that a knight uniform was in front of the doors to make it look like they weren’t useable doors.

You look behind you and see the blonde guy halfway down the hall and gaining fast. You look forward and see some stunned men and maids.

You scramble to your feet and step over the metal, realising you’re in the foyer and the front doors are right there.

Hope blossoms in your chest at actually having a chance of getting out of here as you sprint towards the doors.

Bucky is standing by them and you smile at him. You skid to a halt to open the door. Your shaking hands taking a few seconds to turn the door knob. Valuable seconds.

Just as you push the door open arms grab you around the waist. You scream and struggle as hard as you can as you watch the door swing open.

Sunlight floods the entryway and hits your skin, the only real warmth you’ve felt in what feels like eternity. Bucky stands passed the threshold looking at you as you get dragged back through the double doors.

The sunlight gives an aura around him that makes him look like an angel and as you lose sight of Bucky, the door and hope, you can’t help but call out his name.

BUCKY’S POV

Bucky was in the office with Sam, Steve and Darren. Darren had come over to say that he hadn’t found anything out but wanted to help any way he could.

They had been talking for the past hour about what else they could do. Bucky could barely concentrate on what was being said as he looked out the window thinking of you.

“I know we looked into Harry, but he could be worth checking again. He may have estates we don’t know about”, that was Steve.

Bucky heard Sam next, “but if we don’t know about them how are we meant to find out?”.

Steve again, “I don’t know, but Harry’s organisation isn’t big, he wouldn’t have anything outside of the UK”.

Darren this time, “but the UK is still a big place if we don’t know where we’re looking”.

A few seconds of silence and then a buzzing. Bucky was trying to ignore it as he thought about you. He was quite successful in ignoring it until one of his spare phones gets shoved into his face by Steve, “Bucky! You’ve got a call”.

Bucky quickly snatches it from Steve and gets up from the chair before answering, “hello?”.

A whispered voice comes out, “Bucky is that you? Its me, Noah”.

Bucky nods as if he can see, “yeah, its me. Tell me you got something Noah”.

Noah continues to whisper, “she’s here”.

It was only two words, but it was enough to leave him feel like he had been suckered punched, “you saw her? Where are you exactly?”.

Bucky turns to see everyone standing now, “yeah I saw her. He was keeping her in a place I didn’t even know existed. After this conversation I’ll text you the exact location”.

Bucky had too many questions he wanted to ask, “how did you find out where she was?”.

Noah was silent for a few seconds before whispering, “she made a break for it. I was just about to leave when she came crashing through a set of doors and ran to the front door. Someone got her before she could make it passed the door and took her down corridors I never even knew existed…you know I couldn’t help her as much as I-“.

Bucky cuts him off, “I know. You did the right thing…how was she?”.

Noah was silent, and Bucky clenched his jaw, “just tell me Noah”.

Noah sighs, “she didn’t look great. She was skinny and had bruises, was wearing a hospital gown. She screamed your name before they took her away”.

Bucky closed his eyes, he didn’t know why he was asking he was only torturing himself. Bucky managed to speak, “thanks Noah. Send over the details and be prepared for contact from me soon”.

They both hang up after that and Bucky relays everything Noah had just told him as he texts through the details. Bucky finishes with, “so let’s go. I’m not waiting any longer”.

Steve blocks his path, “hold on Buck. You and I both know that we need to plan this properly. We can’t fuck this up”.

Sam nods, “Steve is right, but we can plan as we make our way over. If we do both at the same time, then we don’t waste as much time”.

Darren also chips in, “I’m coming too”.

Bucky looks at all of them before nodding, “lets get everything in place then”.

YOUR POV

Isaac was furious with you and you took great satisfaction in it. Not even him slapping you across the face could wipe the smile you gave him as you said, “you can’t break me”.

He ordered the blonde guy to take you back to the cell and you fought with what little energy you had left.

You were now on the bed trying to sleep, but it just wouldn’t come. You open your eyes to see Bucky leaning against the far wall again smiling, “you did great. I’m thinking we could do that again and even get out this time”.

You scoff, “you think I’ll be able to do that again? You’re delusional”.

Bucky laughs, “actually I think you’re the delusional one. I’m thinking if you get the keys off blondie and lock him in next time you’ll be able to do it-“.

“Shut up”, you murmur.

He ignores you, “you may have to wait a day or two because he’ll be jumpy-“.

“Shut up”, you try again.

He still talks, “come on Y/N! We can’t give up now, we’re so close-“.

You lose it as you shoot up from the bed, the anger giving temporary life to your bones, “shut up! Shut up! Shut up! I hate you!”.

You stand there, chest heaving, as Bucky looks hurt, “I thought you loved me?”.

You huff in frustration, “you? No. Bucky? Yes. You’re not him, you’re not even real! I imagined you as a way to make myself feel better but all you’re doing is making me feel worse. You’re just a reminder that Bucky, MY Bucky, is out there and I can’t touch him or see him…I need my Bucky, not whatever you are. So just go away”.

You sink back down on the bed and turn your back on him, your heart breaking in the silence of the cold room.

WoW Taglist: @a-really-bi-girl @crazyblonde124 @summerwelsh @scuzmunkie @loving-life-my-way @pequenaguaxinim @paranoid-borderline-insane @lilsonbucky @somanyfandomsblog @broco8 @inquisitor-selvala @mad-red @k-n-e @rinkashirikitateku @duhh-danielly @boundtomyfate @kalesrebellion @booktease21 @whatinthyworld @flyingbabyunicornnamedangel @asapkyndall @yaszx @amoredashley @aveatquevale- @putinovertime @melimelbean @valsworldofcreativity @lokilokilokilokilokilokilo-blog1 @vesper852 @littlenerdgirl16 @wiccanmetallicrose

#bucky barnes #bucky x reader #bucky #bucky fanfic #bucky x you #bucky fandom #bucky series #bucky fic #bucky x y/n #james buchanan barnes #mob!bucky

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alwaysahiccupandastrid · 3 years

Text

This Sarah Everard case is so terrifying for women. But not only am I terrified - I am furious.

⚠️ tw for mentions of r*pe, sexual assault, violence against women, murder etc. ⚠️

She was just walking, including walking by busy roads and not dark alleyways. She was dressed in winter clothes. Even if she HAD walked down a dark alleyway or been wearing something short or “revealing”, she still wasn’t doing anything wrong - she was just walking somewhere.

Her murderer - a police officer named Wayne Couzens - plotted to murder a woman to live out his perverse fantasy. He didn’t plot to kill a specific woman - he knew he would murder a woman, any woman he thought he could abduct, any woman who would be out at night on her own. Sarah was just there.

Not only did he drive miles and hours to kill a woman, not only was he a police officer… he used his badge, police belt, handcuffs and credentials to fake arrest her to get her into his car. If a police officer tells you to go with them, we’re told to not resist, to be obedient or we will be in even more trouble. Even if she HAD done what the MET have just said women should do - “question non uniformed officers!” - it wouldn’t have helped her because he was a police officer. He had the credentials. Why would she run away and resist a police officer? And if women do resist, the police commit violence against them (like at the Clapham Common vigil for Sarah).

He handcuffed her, drove her for hours, then raped and murdered her. This fucking monster strangled her with his fucking police belt. He burnt her body and disposed of her in a pond.

A police officer did this - a fucking police officer, a MET officer, the MET we’re supposed to trust. And you want women to trust them?!!

And I don’t want to hear that “don’t judge the whole profession based on one bad apple”, because guess what? This is not the first time a police officer has harmed a woman. There is misogyny rooted deep in the MET that needs to be addressed. Wayne Couzens was literally nicknamed “The Rapist” by other police officers and had offended in the past by flashing people, and that’s just what we know of - and yet not a single person did anything. The police joked about it. Several officers gave character references supportive of Couzens during the hearings for his sentencing, and female officers told the press that they did not feel as if they could report concerning behaviour by male colleagues.

It’s thought that at LEAST 15 serving or former police officers have killed women in UK since 2009, and HUNDREDS of UK police officers have convictions for crimes, including assault. There are many cases that do not go reported, and so it’s likely the numbers on both counts are actually higher. Why are they still allowed to serve? Why is our government giving them more power and freedom to arrest whoever they please? “It’s not that many” - IT SHOULD NOT BE ANY.

If you can’t see why there’s a huge problem with our police force and why we say “fuck the police”, you’re part of the problem.

And the fear and anger we feel isn’t new - this has been a problem for literally all of our lives.

At 11, I learnt to come home before dark, and if it was dark in the winter on my way home (meaning: every night in winter), I was taught to not go down any dark lanes, and if I was walking the dark lane I had to go down if I got the bus home, I was to walk as fast as I could and to not have earphones in because i wouldn’t hear attackers. Every day from September 2009 to July 2014, coming home from secondary school, I was told to either wait for my dad or grandad to pick me up or to walk down the busiest road that ran near my house and had constant cars on it. I couldn’t take the shortcut down the public footpath on my way home from sixth form college because it was too dark and isolated - I had to go around it and through the village instead, which took more time but was vaguely safer. Since university, I’ve made a point of waiting for the hourly bus that stops just round the corner from my home and on the busiest road, even though I have to wait up to an hour for it usually, because getting the bus that comes every 15 minutes means walking up the dark quiet lane.

At age 13, I learnt not to talk to even very friendly men, even not in broad daylight, even with a female friend, when some old man approached us and started complimenting us, telling us we had “nice smiles” and “I can hook you up with someone who can help you get into acting” and “here’s £10, you go down to the garage down the road and get whatever you girls want”.

At 14, I learnt not to sit in trees in the park by the gate, not even during the day when it’s sunny, when an old man entered the park, took one look at me, and said “you’ve got a nice arse”. I couldn’t prove he had said anything, and I would see him on my way to school sometimes and panic.

At 19, I learnt that I could not trust friendly men online. Apologies to any decent men I have spoken to online - there’s a few who are nice and not weird, I’m not talking about them. I learnt this when a guy I was speaking to on my old blog - who had for weeks just been generally nice and checking in on me - started to send intimate and sexual messages that started with “*hugs you*” and became “*spanks your ass*”, “takes your clothes off”, “f*cks you hard”, just to name a few (and these were the milder ones). When I asked his age, he merely said “older” than me - “more than twice as old as you”, actually. I learnt to not talk to men online, and if I did then I had to set very clear boundaries in a way that wasn’t too obvious - not say it outright but make it clear I am “unavailable”.

I have to carry a rape alarm on my keys, just in case. I could go out to bars if I wanted to, I could have at university when all my peers were - but doing it meant risking the chance of being harmed while intoxicated or on my way home. I have to send my location to my mother if I get any Ubers, if I go out to theatres or cinemas in the evening I have to text my mum to say I’ve arrived safe. I only feel safe out at night if I’m with a man that I trust like my dad or grandad - I got very lucky at Uni because not only did one girl make sure I got home safely at 1 in the morning by calling me a cab, but one boy even stayed with me on another night until my dad arrived to pick me up, because he knew leaving me intoxicated at 2:30 in the morning was dangerous. I have even phoned my grandmother while walking home in the dark because being on the phone to someone means you’re less of a target to an attacker.

Men do not have this experience - or, if they do, it’s nowhere near the fear and worry women feel every day. Women can’t even walk somewhere without being worried of being attacked - we cannot go anywhere without asking ourselves “am I safe?”. Are we wearing the “correct” clothing, so as to not give off the wrong idea? Are we walking down the well lit roads where it’s busy? Are we aware of our surroundings, of every single person nearby? Do I have my keys in my hand, ready to defend myself if I’m attacked? Women are blamed if we are attacked - not men, but women. “She was dressed slutty” “she was passed out drunk” “she was walking down a dark lane” “she was out late”.

When doing safe guarding training at my current TA job, I came across this phrase: “always think it can and will happen”. Just as a teacher or TA should not think “none of my students will be victims of abuse”, women should not for one second believe that they are safe and “it will never happen to me” - every day we have to think of how to prevent our own assault or murder, just in case.

Every time I’m walking home in the dark, I have the fleeting wonder of “what picture(s) of me will they use if I’m attacked or go missing?”. I was not really surprised when I saw that other women said the same thing. Women wonder it so often it’s almost a joke, an absent minded thought. But it’s not a joke - it’s real life for us, every single day.

Sarah Everard is not a one off case. Sabina Nessa, a 28 year old primary school teacher, was murdered on 18th September this year, her body discovered the next day by a dog walker. So far in 2021, 110 women have been murdered in the UK by men (or men are the prime suspects). Only a handful get national attention because at this point, violence and murder against women have become normalised in this country.

I am not only heartbroken for all of these women and their families - I am scared for my own safety; I am scared for the safety of my mother, my grandmother, my aunts. I am scared for the safety of my 20 year old sister, the safety of my 17 and 14 year old cousins, for the safety of my older male cousin’s two daughters who are only 4 and 1. I am scared for the safety of every single girl and woman I have worked with, the safety of every woman I have ever spoken to.

But I am also furious and filled with rage. Women should not be scared to go out or have fun, we should not have to take such precautions or measures that still won’t completely prevent our assaults or murders. I am sick and tired of the victim blaming when a woman is murdered, of the indifference of “oh another woman”, of this being how women are expected to live their lives.

I’m tired of this problem being ignored by our government, tired of no one giving a shit about us or our safety.

#sarah everard #wayne couzens #tw violence against women #tw rape discussion #tw crime #tw murder #tw assault #tw rape #tw police murder #tw police brutality

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zahut · 3 years

Text

I can’t ignore the fact that there’s a strong presence of antisemitism in the Scandinavian countries today but before continuing I also need to familiarize you with the fact, all too often overlooked, that there are not only different degrees of antisemitism in different countries and historical epochs, but also that we can and ought to speak of and analyse different kinds of antisemitism. Antisemitism is always a matter of prejudices about and animosity towards Jews, however, antisemitism is still not a coherent and stable body of attitudes. Reviewing the history of antisemitism in Europe we find that antisemitism in some epochs was mainly based on religious ideas, with Jews being seen as traitors who did not believe in Jesus as the Messiah and who should be blamed for having killed him; in other epochs antisemitism was instead fed by political ideas, with Jews being seen as strangers who did not belong to the people with a birthright in their nation state; we also have epochs when the idea of Jews as controllers, abusers, and exploiters of the economy surfaced as the predominant form of antisemitism; the Shoah that destroyed European Jewry in the first part of the twentieth century was, however, mainly based on racist biological ideas of Jews as a degenerate people whose very existence constituted a disease within the human body. Accordingly, this racist idea commanded the Jew be extinguished—both individually and as a people.

Behind these diverse aspects of antisemitism there usually lies a mental construction of a Jewish conspiracy of some kind. Even if it may not be quite obvious to the antisemite what Jews are really up to, how we actually killed the xian Messiah, infiltrated the nations of the world, run the world economy, or are in fact a racially degenerate people, etc.—just this, the very fact that this is obscure, makes the antisemite even more convinced that somehow there must be some kind of a secret (world) conspiracy behind it all. Here are two background examples of what is the predominant image of a secret Jewish world conspiracy in the Scandinavian countries today:

Late at night on February 15, 2015, a Bat Mitzvah party took place in the Jewish cultural centre where the main synagogue is also located in Copenhagen. About eighty people, most of them teenage girls, were celebrating that one of their friends had passed the symbolic threshold to become a fully independent and responsible member of the Jewish community. As part of what are now considered necessary regular security measures whenever a Jewish event takes place, thirty-seven-year Dan Uzan was acting as a volunteer guard outside the buildings where the festivities took place. Omar Abdel Hamid El-Hussein, a twenty-two-year Danish citizen with Palestinian parents, suddenly appeared and tried to get into the Jewish cultural centre behind the synagogue. Dan Uzan, unarmed but responsible for security at the entrance, blocked his path. The attacker, armed with loaded guns, shot him in the head at close range. Dan Uzan died. A few hours later El-Hussein was shot dead by a Danish police tactical unit.

On the evening of December 9, 2017, in Gothenburg, a Jewish youth organization held a Chanukah party. About forty persons were in a building adjacent to the synagogue when twelve masked men threw Molotov cocktails into the synagogue courtyard and ran away. By chance, the fire was noticed and put out before anyone was injured. Some time later the police succeeded in arresting three men: a twenty-two-year Palestinian from Gaza; a twenty-four-year Palestinian, and a nineteen-year Syrian. They were asylum seekers in Sweden: the latter two had been granted permanent residency status as refugees, while the man from Gaza had had his application for asylum rejected. In court they were all subsequently convicted of comitting a hate crime.

Before continuing I need to clarify some demographic factors. One relevant figure in this context is the absolute and relative number of Jews in the populations in question: The number of Jews living in Finland, with a population of 5.5 million, and in Norway, with a population of 5.3 million, is today considerably lower than in Denmark and Sweden. There are slightly more than a thousand people in each of these countries who could be regarded as belonging to a core Jewish population. The proportion of Jews as part of the population of the Nordic countries is very small. In Denmark and Sweden it is about the same as in today’s Germany, lower than in France, Hungary, the UK, Belgium, and the Netherlands, but higher than in Poland, Spain, Italy, and Austria. The Scandinavian countries, although similar in some significant respects, nonetheless followed very different trajectories through the Shoah. In Norway close to 40 per cent of the two thousand one hundred Jews living in the country at the time perished under the rule of the Nazi-collaborator Vidkun Quisling. At the end of September 1943, the Danish Jews learned that they too would be persecuted. In an unprecedented and unique rescue operation, almost all of them, slightly more than seven thousand, managed to escape to Sweden where they were then well received. In the 1930s until the outbreak of the Second World War, Sweden’s immigration policy was very restrictive—just under three thousand Jews out of the many hundreds of thousands trying to escape Nazi persecution in Europe were permitted entry, most of them as “political refugees.” After the war, about thirteen thousand Jews were brought to Sweden from concentration camps and other places in Europe. This lay the ground for the fact that Sweden is the only country in Europe that today harbours a considerably larger Jewish population than before the Shoah. At the beginning of the 1930s there were slightly more than six thousand Jews in Sweden—today there are more than three times as many Jews in Sweden compared to when the Nazis took power in Germany.

In a previous study, based on data collected in 2012 in several European countries, among them Sweden, scholars were able to distinguish between three different kinds of antisemitism: classic antisemitism, Aufklärungsantisemitismus, and Israel-derived antisemitism.

Classic antisemitism is based on classic antisemitic stereotypes such as “Jews have too much control over global affairs” and “Jews are responsible for most of the world’s wars.” The proportion of persons within the national populations who hold such attitudes to an extent that warrants labelling them “antisemites” is continually being measured in many countries around the world by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). We refer to this as Classic antisemitism. In Denmark since around the turn of the millennium there has been an active neo-Nazi group that runs a local radio station (Radio Oasen) and at times organizes public demonstrations flying the swastika. It has also formed a political party, Danmarks Nationalsocialistiske Bevægelse (DNSB, National Socialist Movement of Denmark), and has participated in local elections in Greve, a municipality south of Copenhagen. In the 2005 municipal elections it received 73 votes, corresponding to 0.3 per cent of votes cast, and in the elections to the regional council they received 611 votes, corresponding to 0.1 per cent of votes cast. It has been estimated that in the whole country there might be around 1,000 passive and 150 active members of the DNSB. The largest and most active neo-Nazi organization in Scandinavia at present is the so-called Nordiska Motståndsrörelsen (NMR, Nordic Resistance Movement). It attempts to be a pan-Nordic neo-Nazi movement and in Sweden is also a political party. It was established in Sweden and claims to be active in Norway, Finland, and Denmark, and also to have members in Iceland. The NMR has been described as a terrorist organization due to their aim of abolishing democracy along with their paramilitary activities and stockpiling of weapons. One of the NMR’s favourite activities is to organize public marches and other kinds of collective demonstrations wearing uniform-style outfits, flying Nazi-inspired flags, and so on in connection with various large public cultural and political events. These have included the annual bookfair in Gothenburg and the all-inclusive political summer-rally in Almedalen on Gotland, where members of the group assaulted two pro-Israel activists on 6 July 2018. On special occasions they manage to bring out a few hundred sympathizers, but generally they seem unable to muster more than a few dozen. At times they appear threatening and resort to violent forms of action. Some of them have participated in general and local elections, but normally without gaining enough support to be represented in any government body.

In the 2018 general elections in Sweden, NMR received a total of 20,106 votes, which corresponds to 0.03 per cent of the votes cast in the country. Even if the NMR and other similar groups are very small in terms of numbers, they are still quite visible in the public sphere. This fact in itself causes definite alarm.

Add to this the fact that since the 2018 general elections the third largest party in the Swedish parliament (based on slightly less than 18 per cent of the vote in the national elections) is the Sverigedemokraterna (Sweden Democrats). This party has actually grown from the same ideological roots that nourish the aforementioned Nazi-affiliated groups. However, since its creation in 1988, in parallel with its rapidly growing popular support—mainly due to its strong anti-immigration and by implication also anti-Muslim positions—it has moderated these positions and now prefers to present itself as a socially conservative and nationalist party. With its 2010 entry into the Swedish parliament, it has tried to distance itself from its white supremacist and Nazi-influenced background. As part of its attempt to pursue this transformation, several party officials have been excluded because of their either bluntly racist or antisemitic statements. Nonetheless, this did not stop one of their representatives and former second deputy speaker of the Swedish parliament, Björn Söder, from suggesting in a 2014 interview with the leading Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter, that since Sámi and Jews (for example) have dual identities, they would have to adapt and be assimilated in order to be considered Swedish in the cultural sense. This was interpreted to mean that Jews cannot be Swedish—unless we abandon our Jewish identity.

In 2016, another leading representative of Sverigedemokraterna, its then parliamentary group leader and now economic-political spokesman, Oscar Sjöstedt, jokingly recounted how he and some colleagues, German slaughterhouse workers in Iceland, would kick sheep, pretending they were Jews, while shouting “die Juden!” The fact that the leadership of Sverigedemokraterna did not find this reason enough to sanction their representative might be an indication of the party’s tacit acceptance of antisemitism.

To sum up on this point: There appears today to be a smaller proportion of the population in the Scandinavian countries who have classic stereotypes and negative attitudes about Jews than among the general population in other comparable countries in the world. In Sweden the proportion of classic antisemites in the general population is lower than anywhere in the Western world. Still, there are neo-Nazi groups in the Scandinavian countries. This is particularly so in Sweden where, although small in terms of membership and very weak in attracting popular support, they have succeeded in attracting attention through their public demonstrations and actions.

Another kind of what actually might be perceived as antisemitism are attempts at prohibiting core Jewish practices such as Brit Milah (the circumcision of newborn male babies) and Shechitah (the slaughter of animals according to ritual prescriptions). The 2018 FRA survey asked respondents about the extent to which they had heard it suggested that circumcision and/or slaughter according to traditional religious rules should be banned in their country. Almost all respondents in Denmark (98 per cent) said they had heard non-Jewish persons suggesting that circumcision or slaughter according to Jewish tradition, or both, should be prohibited. In Sweden, 77 per cent of respondents were also aware of non Jewish people suggesting this for their country. Since slaughter according to Jewish tradition is already forbidden in Sweden since 1937 and Denmark since 2014—the suggestions heard in both of these secular-Lutheran countries primarily concern circumcision. In none of the other ten participating EU countries are Jews confronted by such suggestions to the same extent. Suggestions of this kind were more rarely heard in Catholic countries like Hungary, Spain, and Italy.

In 2012, no EU member state other than Sweden had a law in effect prohibiting Shechitah. Since 2012, however, legal prohibition of Shechitah has also been introduced in the Netherlands, in the province of Wallonia in Belgium, and in Denmark. At the time that Denmark ratified the law in February 2014, the minister of agriculture, Social Democrat Dan Jørgensen, proclaimed that “animal rights weigh heavier than respect for religious considerations.” In this context it should be mentioned that in recent years there has raged an intense and widespread public debate in Denmark on the circumcision of infant boys. A Danish medical doctor, Morten Frisch, launched a branch of the Intact America organization, called it Intact Denmark, and succeeded in making it into a popular movement. A journalistic internet survey indicated that slightly more than 80 per cent of the Danish population would like circumcision of infant boys to be prohibited in Denmark. A petition to the same end collected the fifty thousand signatures required to have the issue raised in the Danish Parliament. However, the government-appointed Ethics Council (Det Etiske Råd) had already been asked by parliament to examine the issue. On June 28, 2018, they recommended that religiously motivated ritual circumcision of boys in Denmark not be prohibited. On the seventy-fifth anniversary of the rescue of the Danish Jews from Nazi-occupied Denmark to Sweden, October 11, 2018, in the fully packed Copenhagen synagogue, Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen stood in front of the Torah ark and faced the assembled dignitaries and members of the Jewish community, promising not to allow any religious rights or traditions to be taken away from the Danish Jews. In spite of the strong popular movement to legally prohibit Brit Milah, this practice has not been banned in Denmark, nor has it been in Iceland, where a similarly popular initiative to do so had been raised at the same time. In Sweden, too, calls have recently been made to prohibit Brit Milah. For example, in 2011 the former chairman of the Liberal Party and minister of social affairs, Bengt Westerberg, headed a motion to legally prohibit the circumcision of infant boys. Still, in spite of strong popular opposition to the practice, neither in Denmark nor in Sweden is Brit Milah legally prohibited—yet. The reason for this is probably that a majority of parliamentary politicians in these countries recognize how, all things considered, it would tarnish their country’s image and risk having them labelled “anti-Jewish” for being the first country in the world today to prohibit this core Jewish practice.

It should be understood that behind the strong efforts in the Scandinavian countries today to ban Brit Milah and Shechitah are mainly humanitarian, liberal ideas about individual free choice, and ideas about what constitute “humane” animal rights. This corresponds to the priority given to rationalist reasoning and the parallel secularist disrespect for religiously-based convictions that characterize much of modern Scandinavia. In relation to what we are discussing here we use the term Aufklärungsantisemitismus—a notion coined by the French-Italian historian Diana Pinto—to refer to this.

However, the remarkable support for the Intact Denmark movement and many of the other rather aggressive efforts to stop the practices discussed here, cannot be attributed solely to a preference for rationalist attitudes and humanitarian concerns. Rather, much of the support for these attempts also—and this is particularly so in Denmark��stems from mainly blatant anti-Muslim but also (albeit not so outspokenly) anti-Jewish sentiments. Even if it is true that the campaigns against Brit Milah in Denmark and Sweden build upon strong Enlightenment-based convictions (however often mixed up with misunderstood and wildly exaggerated notions about how circumcision actually affects the baby boy), and even if it is also true that this form of antisemitism—to the extent that it should even be labelled antisemitism—is not life-threatening to individual Jews, several Jewish community leaders and members do regard it as threatening the future of Jewish life in the country.

A third form antisemitism consists in accusing and attacking Jews and Jewish institutions in the country, referring in one’s actions to what one thinks the State of Israel has or is supposed to have done. We label this kind of antisemitism Israel-derived antisemitism.

A measure of Israel-derived antisemitism might be the degree to which Jews in Europe feel safe or unsafe because they are Jewish, due to the impact of the Arab–Israeli conflict. To the question “To what extent does the Israeli-Arab conflict impact on how safe you feel as a Jewish person in your country?” the poll received the following answers: in Sweden: a great deal (40 per cent); a fair amount (27 per cent); a little (28 per cent); not at all (5 per cent), in Denmark: a great deal (35 per cent); a fair amount (35 per cent); a little (26 per cent); not at all (4 per cent).

This shows that approximately two thirds of the Jewish respondents in both Sweden and Denmark appear to perceive their security in their respective countries as being strongly affected by the ongoing Arab–Israeli conflict. Among the twelve EU states investigated, the Jews in Belgium, France, Spain, and Germany—those countries hit most severely by terrorism—perceived the impact of the Arab–Israeli conflict on their sense of security as Jews even more strongly, whereas Jews in the former communist and currently immigrant-rejecting countries Poland and Hungary did so to a considerably lesser extent. Another indication of Israel-derived antisemitism might be found in the answers to the question “How often do you feel that people in your country accuse or blame you for anything done by the Israeli government because you are Jewish?” To this question the poll received the following answers: in Sweden: all the time (14 per cent); frequently (20 per cent); occasionally (42 per cent); never (26 per cent), in Denmark: all the time (9 per cent); frequently (28 per cent); occasionally (44 per cent); never (19 per cent).

Here too, Jews living in Poland and Hungary, where according to the ADL index there is a considerably higher proportion of antisemites in the population than in the other twelve countries included in the FRA survey, experience being blamed for what the Israeli government is doing to a considerably lesser extent than do Jews in Sweden, with its remarkably smaller number of classic antisemites in the general population.

Meanwhile, in 2018, Jews in all other participating countries except for the UK felt blamed as Jews for what the Israeli government was doing to a larger extent than Jews in the Scandinavian countries. To explore the animosity against Israel further and, if possible, also to get an idea of the extent to which such attitudes spill over onto Jews living in each of these countries, they also asked to what extent the Jewish respondents had heard non-Jewish persons in the country state, “The world would be a better place without Israel.” This is reported to have been heard within the last twelve months by about one third of the respondents in all countries involved; in Denmark, 34 per cent report having heard it, in Sweden the number is 26 per cent.

A comparison between the proportion of respondents who say they have experienced antisemitic harassment in 2012 and 2018 conveys that this has on the whole remained the same over the years. However, with respect to having experienced offensive or threatening comments in person, this is reported to have increased in two of the countries, Germany and Sweden.

Even if it is true that only a small proportion of the persons who participated in the survey report having been the victim of a violent physical attack because they are Jewish, and even if such attacks and threats do not occur frequently, the fact that they occur at all may cause a higher and more longlasting level of fear among Jews, for instance of being identified as such because of carrying or wearing something that might help people recognize us as being a Jew. This sense of fear may reach even beyond the localities where the violent antisemitic attacks have occurred, and then have a greater impact than even frequent occurrences of antisemitic comments and widespread antisemitic attitudes about Jews living in the country do. The fact that this kind of attack is today mostly attributed to Muslim extremists and the fact that the reasons the perpetrators give for carrying out these actions are related somehow to Israel, makes Israel-derived antisemitism a major factor in contemporary antisemitism—and this is especially so in Scandinavia.

Both the 2012 and the 2018 survey asked the respondents, “Do you ever avoid wearing, carrying or displaying things that might help people recognize you as a Jew in public, for example wearing a kippah/yarmulke, magen David/Star of David or specific clothing or displaying a mezuzah?” In 2012 they found the level of avoidance of carrying anything that might identify one as a Jew to be higher in Sweden than in the other participating EU counties. In the 2018 survey this question was put only to those respondents who in their answer to a preceding question had indicated that they at least sometimes wear, carry, or display such items. The result with that screening still shows avoidance in the Scandinavian countries to be higher than in most of the twelve participating EU countries. The country with the highest percentage to report avoiding displaying Jewish symbols “all the time” and “frequently,” among those who describe themselves as sometimes carrying such symbols, is Denmark (41 per cent). The corresponding figure in Sweden is 35 per cent. In France and Germany it is almost the same, 36 per cent, whereas the feeling of needing to hide one’s Jewish symbols is lower in all other countries.

Noteworthy in this context are the figures for Hungary. Hungary is the country with the highest proportion of antisemites in the general population, and yet it is the country where the fewest respondents who sometimes carry Jewish symbols feel the need to avoid doing so always or frequently (16 per cent). Is there a paradox in this? Sweden and Denmark are the countries with the lowest, and Hungary is the country with highest proportion of classic antisemites in the general population. Hungary is also the country with the lowest proportion of Jews who feel they always or frequently for security reasons need to avoid carrying anything that might make them recognizable as Jews, whereas Denmark and Sweden have the highest proportion of Jews who avoid carrying symbols that might make them recognizable as Jews.

The analysis concludes that this is not a paradox. The popular idea that it is always “the same old antisemitism” that again and again pops up and “shows its ugly face” does not find support in the study. Of course, there are persons who at the same time, for example, hold classic antisemitic stereotypes, are very hostile towards Israel, and favour prohibiting core Jewish customs such as the circumcision of baby boys and the manufacture of kosher meat products. The data, however, does not suggest that there should be a significant correlation between these—rather, it points to each form of antisemitism being inspired by different underlying “philosophies,” being carried by different social groups, and being manifested in different ways.

Above I have presented to what extent these distinct antisemitisms are manifested today in the Scandinavian welfare states, i.e. Denmark and Sweden. Let me summarize some main features of contemporary antisemitism in Scandinavia:

By European and international standards there are today outstandingly low levels of classic antisemitism in the population. Propositions like “Jews have too much power in the country,” “the interests of Jews in the country differ from the rest of the population,” “Jews are not capable of integrating into society,” and the like are less often heard in either Denmark or Sweden than in any of the other EU states.

By European and international standards there is an outstandingly high level of Aufklärungsantisemitismus, i.e. attacks on and attempts at prohibiting the practice of core Jewish customs. Virtually all Jews in Denmark and more than three quarters in Sweden have recently been confronted with such proposals, in particular about ritual circumcision (Brit Milah). In other EU member states such propositions are heard to a considerably lesser extent. Religious slaughter (shechitah) has already been prohibited in these two countries, unlike most of the other participating EU member states.

Israel-derived antisemitism, i.e. attacks on Jews and Jewish institutions in the country which refer to what the State of Israel is doing, appears to be a major source of unease among Jews in Denmark and Sweden. Two thirds of respondents in these countries report that the Arab–Israeli conflict impacts “a great deal” or “a fair amount” on their feeling of safety in the country. This is the case even though the extent to which they are blamed for what Israel is doing, or confronted with statements such as “the world would be a better place without Israel,” is not any greater than in the other EU member states—rather the opposite in fact. Is there another paradox in this? No, an explanation is to be found in the clear discrepancy that exists in Denmark and Sweden between the general population on the one hand and pockets of individuals on the other. The population on the whole is “politically correct” and quite capable of distinguishing their occasionally very harsh criticism of Israel from their behaviour towards Jews in general and from rejecting Israel’s right to exist, but in the same two countries there are individuals and small groups who share an impression of Jews in general being accomplices to whatever the State of Israel does. Moreover, they are also not adverse to viewing Jews as party to an imagined evil Israel/US plot to exploit, oppress, and destroy the world.

About twice as large a proportion of respondents in Sweden than in Denmark perceive antisemitism to be “a very big problem.” Historical national self-images probably play a role here. In Denmark one proudly recalls the rescue of the country’s Jews in October 1943. Denmark in the eyes of the Danes, and also in the eyes of the Jews living in Denmark, was never an antisemitic country—quite the opposite! In Sweden, on the contrary, there is a certain self-blame for having endorsed a “J” being stamped in the passports of Jews trying to escape Nazi Germany, whereby they could more easily be refused entry into Sweden. This self-blame also results from the fact that Sweden, although neutral during the Second World War, allowed the German Wehrmacht to use its territory for troop transports.

Besides historical facts, more contemporary factors also distinguish the countries. In Sweden, clearly neo-Nazi movements have in recent years been very active and visible on the public scene. This is not the case in Denmark. In Sweden a populist political party with obvious neo-Nazi roots, Sverigedemokraterna, is strongly represented in the Parliament. Members of this party have repeatedly been caught making antisemitic remarks and gestures. In Denmark, a xenophobic populist party, Dansk Folkeparti (Danish People’s Party), has a similarly very strong standing in the parliament, however it is not stained by similar Nazi tendencies. Add to this huge differences between the countries with respect to immigration and immigration policies. Whereas in recent years Denmark, largely under the influence of Dansk Folkeparti, has pursued a very restrictive line regarding immigrants and refugees from the Middle East being able to settle in the country, Sweden has been much more open and generous in this respect. The number of immigrants and refugees from the Arab and the Muslim world in general received in Sweden is much higher than in Denmark. Even if this in itself is not related to acts of antisemitism, the presence in the country of members of these groups may, rightly or wrongly, be perceived as a latent threat to Jews in the country. The magnitude of such a perception may very well be related to the relative size of the groups in question, in particular of young marginalized Arabs and Muslims, living in one’s neighbourhood or the country in general. The infamous events that have taken place in the city of Malmö in recent decades may serve as a case in point illustrating this.

#antisemitism #sweden #jumblr #jewish tag

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echo-three-one · 3 years

Text

Chapter 28

The boys are back... (High School Musical, probably)

THE ROAD SO FAR

Docked and Loaded

Alexander "Alex" Collins

MacTavish Residence, Glasgow Scotland

Alex loved the idea of sleeping beside his significant other. It felt great to be loved, especially after all those months when he couldn't stop thinking of her.

Yet today was different, he woke up alone. He turned to the bathroom door to check whether Samantha took a shower, but it was too quiet. So he decided to put on his grey tank top and sweatpants to go look for her.

He pulled the door open to see Samantha carrying a tray containing two meals, one was a fluffy pancake with maple syrup and the other one was a meaty sandwich.

"Hey, you. Good Morning." She greeted, her voice was always angelic in Alex's ears.

"There you are…" he sighed as he stepped back, letting her in.

"I was only gone for a few minutes. You don't have to worry that much." She grinned, guiding Alex back to the bed, teasingly pushing him as he plopped on the soft mattress bouncing as he slowly backwards crawled until his back hit the headboard.

"I'm just not used to waking up without you in my arms." he grinned as Samantha placed the tray on his lap, grabbing a slice of the sandwich and pointed it at his mouth.

"I thought the pancake was mine." Alex said, looking puzzled.

"No, that's mine. What you're supposed to be eating is this very healthy, dietician prescribed meal." She emphasized. Alex frowned.

"I want the pancake." he complained playfully.

"Too much sugar is bad for you." she teased as Alex finally surrendered and opened his mouth wide. He wasn't a huge fan of the wheat bread.

"Say, aside from Alex. Did you use any other names while undercover?" Samantha slowly plopped herself beside him, locking her hands against his and leaned on his strong biceps.

"Oh hmmm.." he hummed, softly chewing and finishing his sandwich.

"I had a few… like James, Chad, Mike or Michael…" he said.

"Okay. Which was the most sophisticated?" Samantha asked. Alex looked at her in the eyes and saw that she was really interested in his answer.

"Nathaniel." he chuckled and Samantha looked confused.

"What's funny?"

"I don't strike as a 'Nathaniel'. I just used it once." Alex defended despite not being attacked.

"Now that you say it… yeah." she laughed as soon as she realized the content of his words.

"What's the funniest? And why?" her eyes sparkled, or has it always been that way then he looked at her eyes. Alex never knew, but he liked it.

"Ummm.. I once went by 'Ray'. It's funny because… it just is. It's too short and I often mistake someone thinking that they're calling me. It has a lot of rhymes you know…" he answered, her eyes never left her stare.

"Ray's a nice name." Samantha mused, this actually made Alex a little curious.

"You're making me jealous over my previous name." He sneered playfully.

"Oh don't be. Alex is a very perfect name. It sounds... handsome." she said, making Alex smile in excitement. This was it. He was truly madly and deeply in love with this woman.

Alex leaned for a kiss to which Samantha eagerly accepted, but as soon as their hands started to roam around, a knock on the door was heard.

"Oi, Alex! Price wants us for a briefing." Soap's muffled voice roared from behind the door.

"I'm coming!" Alex shouted as she gave Samantha one quick kiss before leaving the bed.

Alex felt underdressed for the briefing as Roach and Soap were wearing collared shirts. So he hid behind them and listened eagerly to Captain Price.

"Alright boys, Laswell left us a gift. There's a port near the English Channel, where a lot of cargo ships are suspected to be operating under Shadow Company's name, and it might lead us to Shepherd.

The plan is simple. Sneak in, gather everything we can using our cameras and sneak out. This place will be swarming with hostiles and all we have are pistols with few ammo. Soap, you take care of our ride and comms. Alex and Roach, you're with me." They all nodded in agreement.

"There are about approximately three ships and the Shadow Company shipment is mixed along with civilian cargo. We have to be there before 3 am tomorrow as it's scheduled to be unloaded that day." Price sprawled printout of the cargo's travel ticket along with other solid intel.

It was official. They're back in the grid, a wave of excitement and fear overwhelmed the former CIA. Excited because they're one step closer to ending this thing and scared because he knew Samantha's going to worry about him.

Port of Dover, London UK

1734HOURS

They were too early for the transfer but as they say, "The early bird gets the worm." The team positioned themselves on a rooftop of a nearby building, Price scanning the area with binoculars.

"Three huge cargo ships and one party packed cruise ship." he muttered. The rest of the team sat patiently waiting for the perfect opening.

"Hm. This is odd." Price added, noticing the convoy of expensive cars slowly parking themselves near the ship.

"It is. There's a party here tonight… and it says here SC Security Services was hired as the events' security team." Gary added, scrolling through his phone.

"SC. Shadow Company. Sneaky Bastards are using the party to cover their real agenda!" Soap pieced the puzzle together.

"And we're here to stop em on their bloody tracks." Price nodded and resumed scanning.

"How are we going to get in?" Alex asked as trucks of Shadow Company troops flooded the area. It looked like they had good reason to swarm the place. It was a sneaky yet effective tactic.

"I got one ticket." Gary raised a QR code from his phone. Price looked at the black and white blotches of squares in question.

"What's that supposed to do?" Price asked.

"It's a digital pass. The DJ performing tonight is a good ol' friend of mine." he said.

"It's going to be a semi-formal party with a masquerade theme." He continued, scrolling through the e-invite.

"Then you're going in there. See what's up. These cargo ships may just be decoys. We take one ship each. Always stay on comms. Once Roach successfully gets in, he'll find a shortcut from the inside." Price planned and everyone had no objections.

"Wait. Maxine told me that she brought something useful." he scoured the contents of the duffle bag.

"Is it food?" Soap asked innocently as everyone looked at him.

"Bingo. Three Shadow Company Uniforms from Russia." Gary grinned and everyone looked delighted.

"Guess we're taking the easy way in." Price muttered as they put their plan to action.

Roach stopped at a local thrift shop for his attire. He wore an awkwardly tight tuxedo with rubber duck printed tie and a magenta masquerade mask. It wasn't too shabby and it did the job, as the rest of the group were already inside the premises.

"Stay on comms, Roach. Keep us posted." Price muttered as the team split to each of their ships. Walking casually like regular guards, except they didn't have guns.

"Aye aye, Captain." Roach muttered as slow booming could be heard from the distance. He was approaching the party.

Alex's ship was the farthest from the cruise ship but that didn't mean it was the least guarded. For a party, the place was overcrowded with security. Alex confidently nodded at every 'ally' he passed along the way, overhearing conversations of a supply drop around 3 am tomorrow, confirming Laswell's speculations.

"Hey!" Someone called from behind and Alex turned cautiously.

"You left your rifle at the office?" he asked and Alex nodded. The man pointed to the cargo ship and it gave Alex the free ticket to investigate it. He was lucky enough for an easy pass.

The cargo ship was indeed large, he didn't know where to start, but as soon as he claimed his issued rifle, he immediately looked for the ship's logs.

"I'm in. Got myself a gun." Alex reported.

"Good. I'm also in. Trying not to get tempted by the buffet." Gary replied.

"They're looking suspiciously at my haircut." Soap muttered, frustrated.

"My ship's empty, but I could feel footsteps. I'm being followed." Price warned.

"Mine's full of stuff. It's impossible to look through these without a shipment log." Alex sighed, opening another door that contained useless stuff.

At the last door of the hallway, Alex heard a bizarre noise, he carefully crouched and checked on the room. A Shadow Company guard was snoring loudly, a computer monitor showing a live feed of the rooms in front of him.

"Ahem! Sir, you are needed on the cruise ship!" Alex roared, surprising the sleeping guard as he quickly got up to his bearings and exited the room.

"Alright guys. I got eyes on the whole thing." He told comms while scanning the thick book of the ship's cargo.

"Good one." Gary said.

"Finally, these muppets stopped talking about my hair. I'm Oscar Mike." Soap muttered while Price's end remained quiet.

"Just what is Shepherd up to…" Alex mused, fingers scrolling through the ship log. He doesn't have all night but he's doing his best to look for it under pressure.

Next Chapter : Docked and Loaded - Part 2

Notification Squad my Beloved

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