#one thing about monarchs all over the world they would sell their country to save their own skin and more money

[isekai-ed]

Loved how the paintings of royals in the vip room were ruined by the blood splatters of the modern day aristocrats killed

#monkey man #poetic #i want the director's cut #one thing about monarchs all over the world they would sell their country to save their own skin and more money

[zmediaoutlet]

in support of wildfire relief, @theactualpiemaker donated $50, and requested Laurent/Damen, with sub!Damen. Thank you for donating!

to get your own personalized fic, please see this post. 

A month before Laurent’s official coronation, there is a brief but bloody revolt in Barbin, and Damen thinks for a brutal and world-greying hour that he’s lost him.

The Veretian contingent, with a full complement of an Akielon ambassadorial party, had sailed from Ios many weeks before. Ios was more-or-less stable; the kyroi had reassembled, under Damen’s kingship and Nikandros’ steady honesty, and the seeds had begun to be sown. A peace, made between two kings. An alliance, forged from trust and the love-story that couldn’t be kept quiet, considering how many had been witness to Laurent’s trial, and to how Damen had rather aggressively ignored sense to try to save him. To try to save them both. In meetings of their very small private council—Vannes and Laurent for Vere, Damen and Nikandros for Akielos—Nikandros had despaired. No one, he said, will trust now that it is a true alliance. Gossip, he said, and stories that grew bigger with the telling. Like Laurent somehow besting forty men alone on a mountainside, except that now it was somewhat to do with how Damianos’s cock must be mighty enough to win over a frigid northern princeling.

Vannes had laughed, at that. Laurent had looked as cool and remote as a mountain peak. Let them tell it, he’d said, while Damen had his face in his hands. But let’s give them a few more details, to tell.

In every situation, Laurent found an advantage. There were whispers—from Pallas, from Lazar. To Akielons: the blond prince smiled for Damianos when he would not smile for another. To Veretians: the barbarian king protected Prince Laurent with his life, even with his own kingdom on the line. The long enmity between one country and another dissolved, in their two heads bent close together, in the gentle words they exchanged. To the smallfolk, and the servants, and the soldiers low in rank—was it not something to hope for? Love, they said it was. Love that could stop a war.

Not as easy to sell a love-match to the lords of Vere, to the kyroi of Akielos. That had to be done with diplomacy, with displays of advantage. Look what we gain by having the barbarians on our side. Most of Damen’s conversations became about trade routes. Wiser heads understood there was more to be gained from diplomacy than from war. A whisper, passed from servants to Vannes to Laurent, who lay half-dressed in Damen’s great bed at Ios and whose mouth curled, recounting it: if wheat tariffs will go down as Damianos goes down, then all hail the ice-cock of the Prince of Vere.

The Council of Vere had returned home after a chilling and deliberate series of meetings, in which they were closeted with Laurent and Laurent alone. Laurent said little of them, except that he had made his points clear. Damen kissed his jaw, when he said it, and didn’t ask. When Laurent left later with the Veretian ship Damen held him, on the harbor, in front of anyone who cared to look, and Laurent gave him that small unexpected smile and touched his cheek, and when the ship left his bright head was visible for a long time, glinting gold in the sunlight.

Damen’s ship followed, after a month. Time for each of them to rule, for a little while. To be seen as competent, apart. An official invitation was extended for the King of Akielos to attend the coronation of the King of Vere, and it was all the excuse he needed to get Laurent back in his arms. It was also a very public journey, with public stops publically planned, and they were—Damen can’t believe it—too confident.

In the spirit of that first allied campaign, they were to meet on neutral ground. Barbin, with its rolling hills, its farmland, the orchards heavy with apples. A festival in the Veretian style, to greet a visiting monarch, but away from the shadow of the looming castle at Arles. Damen moved more slowly, as king. His entourage was small, but he’d brought advisors, diplomats. Guards, and he never knew relief as he did when he remembered the decision to ride ahead with half of them, to get to the meeting grounds early. That they were there when the fighting started. If they’d been later—if they’d stopped—

The melee wasn’t brief. A planned attack, in three stages. Damen understands the details later, through a fog. What’s stuck in his mind, the detail that matters, is the way he’d seen Laurent’s pennant, the starburst on blue, stagger in the distance and then fall. He’d stood in his stirrups and shaded his eyes, and when he realized—when it was happening—

He’s told that he killed—many. Many. He stands in a tent, one of the brightly pennanted gaudy Veretian things that hadn’t been destroyed in the fighting. He’s attended by a low-ranked soldier who’d been a servant, he said, before he joined the army. He lets the boy remove his armor, carefully, and lets the boy wash the blood from his hands and arms and face, and he stands with his eyes pinned to the blue-silk wall and thinks of Laurent. Riders have spread throughout Barbin and the second there’s word he will be told. He knows this and can’t think past it. He’s waiting, to receive word, that after all their trials and the cruelties of the last year, that here in this godforsaken stretch of muddy farmland, the prince—his prince—

A noise, at the tent-flap. A muffled discussion. The boy-soldier disappears, reappears. “Exalted,” he says, softly, and Damen closes his eyes.

He can’t make the words come out of his mouth. The boy seems to understand—he’s clever, Damen thinks, the thought very distant as though it is all the way back in Ios, and when they finish here he will recommend that the boy be promoted—and there’s a pause, while Damen stands with his clean empty hands, half-stripped to his leather skirt, waiting to be told that Laurent is dead.

“Not how I wanted our reunion to go,” he hears.

His heart’s cracking, in his chest. He sways and there are cool fingers on his wrists, a strong grip, keeping him upright. Blue eyes, above a half-scarf of rough grey wool, and a wink of gold, on the hand matched with his.

“Steady,” Laurent says, his voice gentler, and Damen grabs him, crushes him close. His name is on Damen’s lips but he can’t say it. It’s—it was too close. The pennant falls, behind his eyes.

“I thought,” Damen says, finally, and Laurent says, “I know,” very softly. His fingers curl against Damen’s throat and Damen presses his lips to Laurent’s hair, the foolish disguise of the scarf pulled away. Damen says, “I can’t leave you again,” and Laurent’s slower, that time, to respond, and Damen pulls away to find Laurent’s eyes somber, and he says, “No,” but of course Laurent says, “Yes, you must.”

A plot, he explains. He’d seen shifts. A lord, loyal to the Regent. Whether because he believed the lies the Regent had told or had helped to sow them, Laurent doesn’t yet know. The love-stories and the wisdom of the alliance hadn’t swayed him and he’d thought to lop the head from Vere, to blame the visiting barbarian king. The timing of the attack was a surprise but the fact of it wasn’t, and he’d hoped they would have more time. Still, it could be fixed. But: “This time,” Laurent says, and Damen’s chest aches to hear how carefully he says it, “I really must go alone. I must. You’re too important now to scramble under the trees with me. If the King goes missing, at the same time that the Prince is dead—”

It’s logical. Damen hates it. “Take a guard,” he says, and Laurent shakes his head. “Please—please, for me. I can’t—”

“You can,” Laurent says, with a ruthless sort of compassion. “And you will trust me, and I will be back. Two hours. I swear it.”

It is a genuine, physical pain to end their embrace. Laurent’s hair is mussed from where Damen had gripped it, too tight. Longer, now—to his shoulders, nearly. He tucks it behind his ears, pulls the scarf again over his head. He’s in stolen clothes, somehow—grey woollens, like a farmhand. The jacket makes him shapeless. He lifts the scarf over his face, and then pauses, and lifts on his toes to grip Damen’s hair and pull him into a kiss—a kiss, their first kiss in more than a month, and it’s hard with Laurent’s teeth behind it but Damen clutches him, breathes him, before Laurent wrenches away and turns his face to the side, breathing out, the air shaking. “Two hours,” he says, after a moment, and tucks the scarf over his face again, tucking it back so the only way to recognize him are those remote, cold-sky eyes. Damen clenches his jaw, and lifts the tent flap for him. He watches Laurent disappear between the soldiers trying to organize themselves in the churned-mud battlefield that had been a parade ground, and then closes the flap, and settles to wait.

*

It rains. Damen listens to the patter on the tent, watches the brazier with its dark orange coals. He has left Meniados and Lycaeus to manage the camp. Everything is paused. The only order he gave was that no one was allowed to leave—no riders for distant forts, no word sent back to Arles. He lies on the pallet made for him in the tent and is alone, to think. To hope.

When he comes it isn't through the flap. There's a rustle, against the other side of the tent, and when Damen turns his head he sees a knife slice through the thick silk, a slice carving through just enough to admit a slim body. Damen sits up, heart in his throat. Laurent slips through and in an instant pins the flap of fabric back into the earth with his knife, and crouches there on the far side of the tent, just for a second, breathing hard.

"Is it done?" Damen says.

His voice sounds strange, thick. Laurent looks at him, sharply, and there's a pause while he pulls the scarf from his head, his hair tumbling out pale and shining in the glow from the brazier. "Yes," he says, simply, but he's frowning.

Damen has one foot on the bare earth but can't seem to stand. Laurent drops the scarf to the ground, slips off his wet shapeless jacket, and comes across the tent to him, and puts his fingertips to Damen's jaw. His eyes searching, his brow furrowed. "Damen," he says, and it's soft, and Damen turns his face into Laurent's palm, hiding himself. Behind his eyes the pennant falls and it isn't enough, that Laurent's here in front of him. These two hours—three, nearly, because Laurent is a liar—they haven't—he's trying to drag up words, but he—

Laurent's other hand touches his hair. "Quiet, now," he says. Calm, but firm. That tone, when he's giving orders and is confident they'll be obeyed. Damen sits, quiet, and Laurent drags his fingers through Damen's hair, gently untangling the curls. "Let me," he says, and Damen nods, his eyes closing. He'd agree to anything, if Laurent's hands stay on his skin. If he just stays and doesn't leave, again.

Laurent unpins the chiton Damen had half put on as a ward against the Veretian chill. The cloth slips away, to lie with Laurent's jacket. He unbuckles the leather skirt and Damen lifts his hips just enough that it can be dragged away, too. He's left naked, other than his golden cuff, and Laurent urges him down to his back with soft touches, and when he's flat on the pallet Laurent sits beside him, and leans over, and kisses him on the mouth, very gently.

Nothing like their kiss, before. He opens his mouth and Laurent licks inside, his hand on Damen's jaw, but when Damen lifts a hand to touch Laurent's hair it's stopped, and pressed slowly but firmly back against the pallet. He's left to lie there, to be kissed. Laurent kisses as he always has, with simple affection, and it's making the heat rise behind Damen's eyes, his chest slowly turning into a complicated, sore tangle.

A shift of weight, a slide. Laurent straddles Damen's hips, still wearing his damp trousers. His thumbs drag over Damen's cheekbones and Damen's fingers curl against Laurent's thighs, holding. He's allowed that, at least. The warmth of Laurent, through the damp wool. The flex of the slim muscle, the confident seat of a rider, as he leans over, carefully shielding Damen from anything outside the heat he's so-slowly stoking between them, here on their shared pallet.

The rain beats hard, above. He can still hear Laurent's breath. A slow touch, over his shoulders, his chest. Massage, he realizes after a moment, his brain working at some lower speed. Laurent carefully working the muscle, gentle circles. His hands frame Damen's ribcage, his thumbs smearing slow over Damen's nipples, which were half-budded but tighten further at the touch. Not as sensitive as Laurent's, not nearly, but he breathes out heat at the tent's canopy when Laurent's mouth touches one, liquid furl, and then the other. His abdomen, then. His hip. Laurent's weight and touch shifts, easy, and when he moves away enough that Damen can no longer hold his thighs his hands curl empty on the pallet, waiting. He feels—drugged. His heart thuds slow and heavy in his ears as a drumbeat.

Laurent's mouth, on his cock. His thighs are spread, easy confident hands on his knees. He drags in air and somehow it isn't even a surprise, when always before Laurent had approached this act as a challenge. Damen had been honored by it, before. Now he melts, into the thin down pad, his mind swirling away. His cock had been half-roused, just by Laurent's presence and the fact of his touch; he rises fully, now, and Laurent's easy, meeting it. Not teasing, not the practiced skill of before. He licks into the slit at Damen's cockhead and then sinks down immediately, sucking steadily, his head bobbing. Damen's thighs flex and his hips lift, thoughtless reaction, and instead of pushing him back down Laurent allows it. Encourages it, one hand under Damen's arse and the other holding his balls, rolling them soft and warm, the touch tender. Damen's fingers curl against the mattress and his hips lift, and again, and Laurent makes the smallest sound, some chest-noise, and stays still while Damen fucks helplessly upward, fucking into the wet liquid heat of him, his mind drained away and all that's left this simple physical pleasure, this knowing that Laurent is here with him, has worked him to this place, has opened himself so that Damen's cock smears the back of his throat. Laurent doesn't choke, doesn't move, only holds Damen's hips in the lightest grip and makes himself soft, and when Damen comes he doesn't expect it. His balls clutch, his heart thudding. He grips the mattress and makes some sound, says something he hardly hears. Laurent's mouth holds him, through it, suckling softly to prolong the pleasure, and prolongs it far enough that Damen's cock hardly softens, just pulsing gently against Laurent's tongue, in his throat. A minute—longer—Damen doesn't know. Time is something outside of him. He drags in air and it feels cold, inside his overheated body. He pools empty, on the pallet.

When Laurent finally pulls his mouth away Damen's heart has slowed, quiet as a sprawling sluggish river. A kiss, to his hip, to the stretch of stomach under his navel. He feels the sensation of Laurent crawling upward, his body stretching out over Damen's, and he expects to be kissed but instead Laurent lies on him, and draws his fingers through Damen's hair, and tucks his face in close, by Damen's ear. He's talking, Damen realizes, after too long. Very quietly, but he's talking.

"You did so well," he's saying, when Damen finally hears him. "You did just as I wanted. You're perfect. I'm so glad of you."

He's speaking Akielon. His accent better, but still with that exotic lilt of Vere. Damen never wants him to smooth it away. "I," Damen says, and feels Laurent's attention sharpen, his body shifting. Damen licks his lips and yet no more words come.

Laurent lifts up, enough that they can see each other. His hair falls over one shoulder. In the low light from the fading brazier his eyes are very dark, enough that Damen can hardly see the blue. "You're here," Laurent says. Damen blinks at him. "Damianos. Here, with me. We're safe. The danger has passed."

Damen comes back to himself in stages. Laurent waits with him, patient. He lifts a hand, at last, and brushes his knuckles against Laurent's fine ivory jaw. "I saw the pennant fall," he says. His voice sounds as rough as if he hadn't spoken in days. "I thought…"

Laurent doesn't answer. His eyes are enough. He holds Damen's neck, his throat, very gently. Damen could lie here for a week, just like this. With the fact of Laurent's heart, beating in his chest. With the body-warm press of the gold they share against his skin.

The rain slackens, against the roof of the tent. The world turns. Damen licks his lips and tries to be a king, and not just a man whose world nearly ended. "What happened?" he says. There are dead to deal with. Orders to be given. He touches Laurent's chin. "Can we—"

"Later." Damen's mouth shuts. Laurent's mouth curls, just a little, at how quickly Damen obeys. He slips slightly to Damen's side. Damen immediately misses his weight. "There's—half an hour, perhaps. We have time, for this."

Damen turns his head and Laurent's looking at him with a tenderness he can hardly bear. He knew that Laurent could hold his heart. He hadn't known, until that moment when Laurent ordered him so gently to be quiet, that Laurent held his body, too. His mind. Every part of him, surrendered. It will be a joint kingdom, he thinks, but really, there will be only one ruler. It is calming, to think it. He bows his head, when Laurent touches his jaw, and lets his forehead settle against the soft rain-smell of Laurent's hair, and sighs. Laurent says they have time. They have time.

#fffr #theactualpiemaker #captive prince #damen/laurent #spent a little longer with this one since it's my first fic for this fandom #and since it was a request from such a steady kind reader :) #my writing

[ask-iamnotanalicorn]

Previous: The Discord Timeline

The Industrial Devolution Timeline:

The road to economic domination was creeping and insidious.

First, Nightmare Moon returned. Celestia and Cadance were able to subdue her, locking her in a (very comfortable) prison while Celestia sought a way to free her sister of the evil influence warping her mind. With the monarch so distracted and Princess Cadance struggling to take up the slack, a few opportunistic entrepreneurs began getting their roots into the market.

Then the Crystal War began, dividing Celestia’s and Cadance’s attention even further. The Changelings attacked, sowing destruction and distrust until Cadance defeated their queen. Tirek cut a swath through the countryside before being stopped, increasing the economic struggles. It was as if a domino of assaults on the Equestrian daily life had started, with none able to stop the ever-larger dominoes from toppling.

Celestia was terribly injured during the final fight that destroyed King Sombra. Luna finally overcame her rage and the parasitic magic fueling it, but went into seclusion out of shame and a desire to tend to her wounded sister. Cadance’s focus was split between post-war rebuilding in Equestria, assisting the confused, freed, and much-distrusted crystal ponies with stabilizing their crippled city, and tending to her own first child. With their leaders so distracted and the country still reeling from so many attacks, ponies desperately reached out for any kind of financial and necessities stability. 

Perfectly fertile soil for the country’s most hostile economic takeover in its history.

Flim and Flam’s tactics were simple yet effective: move in wherever large numbers of companies had collapsed and fill the void with simple, cheap necessities that anypony could afford. As their finances grew, they began to expand, beating out surrounding competition with their rock-bottom prices until they could either buy out or crush their competitors. They continued this strategy further and further out, their influence spreading like hives across Equestria until hardly any retailers of food, drinks, household goods, small machine parts, and pretty much every other goods reseller below industrial level still operated. (Although who knew what the future might hold for FlimFlam Industries?) Once competition decreased to almost nill, they raised their prices to just barely affordable, swelling their already full pockets.

By the end of the Crystal War, they had such a grip, so much financial and political power, that even if the princesses should realize the toxic hold this company has on the market, it will be a long road back to rebalancing the economy. The country has, regrettably, come to rely on Flim Flam Industries, and their stranglehold would not be easily broken.

Sales always dreamed of being a traveling salespony. He’d even gotten a taste of it before the war. But now... well, there was no one to sell for. Companies kept dying out from under him. And if it weren’t bad enough that FFI already sold cheap, unexciting product options, the further lack of competition gave them even less incentive to TRY. They could cut costs on everything from packaging to flavor to color options; there was absolutely no consideration for variety or improvement or innovation. Soon everything in those blasted pop-up depots came in bland, uniformly labeled containers, with names like FLOUR and SOAP and TOWELS. There was no ART to it, and worst of all, no heart. And certainly no need for a door-to-door sales technique - not when F&F Depots were on every corner and people already had little choice but to get their goods from them.

So that’s how Sales ended up here, running one of those blasted depots. It is barely salesponyship, but it was still the closest thing he could find to his special talent. Meanwhile pollution and unchecked labor laws are creeping out from the cities, and farms are being consumed for their timber and factory locations. Quills & Sofas went under, leaving Sales’ father without a job and one more worry for Salespitch. Everypony prays that Celestia would heal, that Cadance would realize the depths of what was happening and make some move to stop it, that even the once-evil Princess Luna rumored to be tending her sister in the castle would take a stand. But for now, FFI is taking full advantage of the rulers’ distraction and obliviousness to tighten their hold on the country’s economy. Sales works and keeps his head down; it’s too great an issue for one pony to tackle, especially a pony whose only real talent is talking.

He tries to remind himself that things could be worse. Despite crummy wages and the soul-deadening monotony of just grabbing standard crap off a shelf when asked, Sales IS making a living. He makes an effort to keep his depot looking like the pony who works there actually cares (a façade FFI has long since abandoned.) Black took up work as a stocker in the store, so at least they get to hang out. Pollution isn’t as bad in Featherhorn (yet), although the deforestation and smog have been spreading nearer. But Sales just can’t get around the fact that there’s a briefcase-shaped hole in his soul where good, honest, smart salesponyship was meant to be. It’s hard not to be bitter and miserable when your purpose has been almost completely taken away from you.  Still... if Sales can find a way to get a new company going without being ground under Flim and Flam’s hooves... maybe he can go back to doing what he loves, and the world will feel a little more right again. Fun Facts About The Flim Flam Timeline:

- I got my idea for a total economic takeover from a book 6 of the Pendragon series, “The Quillen Games” by D.J. MacHale. Its setting is a world where a single corporation has such control that they even own the people to an extent, but I didn’t want to go THAT dark (although this is still darker than my initial draft), so I stopped at just owning all of the selling outlets. Lack of competition in capitalism breeds complacency, leading to high prices with minimal improvement or variety. (That book may have also stuck in my mind because it was the first time an author so thoroughly pulled the rug out from under me that I was too depressed to finish the series. I can’t HANDLE that kind of catastrophic reversal, MacHale!!!)

- Sales’s dad, Sales Patter, lost his job as Head of Sales at Quills & Sofas after the company was eaten by FlimFlam Industries. He currently lives at home taking care of Pitch Perfect while Pitch Forward does her best to bring in funding through her competitive high-diving sponsorships. Sales and Black contribute money as well, although Black has a surprisingly well-stocked savings account that he refuses to explain to anyone.

- Flim and Flam offered Sales a job as their company spokespony, mainly because they loved the idea of having an ‘alicorn’ as their mascot. Obviously he turned them down, but he did still grudgingly accept a position at the Featherhorn depot since it’s the closest thing he can find to what he’s good at. (Flim and Flam do still like to give people a show, especially when it comes to the smoke and mirrors they must use to keep the wealthier populace and government from paying too much attention to some of the ways FFI cuts their spending - at the expense of their workers, mostly.)

- I’ve seen others do this timeline harsher; there’s a fimfiction that had an interesting take on Celestia being injured in her fight with Nightmare Moon and then IMPRISONED by Flim and Flam’s company so it could take over, which led to an ever-rising problem with pollution, underage workers, poor labor laws, and backhoof politics. Some of that does exist in this timeline, but I went with a severe injury and seclusion in the palace. The Princesses are still AROUND, but being carefully shielded from the truly dark nature of some of Flim and Flam’s machinations. It may just take someone getting their attention drawn to the right things to start the ball rolling...

- Sales and Patter do team up to create a small startup company, selling goods made by Featherhorn’s citizens to the local area. Black uses his connections as a Royal Service agent to sneak them into the palace, where they get an uber-rare meeting with Princess Celestia, who is blessedly awake enough to recognize the little AI and hear their plight. She convinces Luna, who has been taking care of her this whole time, that something needs to be done. Luna is grossly undereducated about modern economics and business practices, but she pulls Cadance in, and while Cadance works on investigating these horrible labor practices they’ve reported, Luna begins brushing up on her education and offers some protection to Sales’ little company. She does, in fact, find some obscure ancient laws that give them a leg up in the fight against FFI when they inevitably try to buy out, sue, and/or bankrupt Sales’ and Patter’s company into the ground. But they start making some headway. 

- It’s a long road back to a balanced market, and much of the work will be done by the Princesses. But the inspiration ponies draw from the changes they see starts the dominoes again - this time, in the direction of positive change.

Next Week: The Wasteland Timeline (finale!)

#mlp ask blog #pony ask blog #my little pony #flim flam brothers #IANAA #salespitch #celestia #cadance #luna

[aph-honk-kong]

Passing Seasons

Harald gets a taste of opulence the moment he touches down on Hong Kong. [A continuation of this.] [Written for @aphasiaweek with a focus on Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong.]

  He probably should’ve noticed the moment they got on the plane.

  Even though Harald and his brother have had the privilege of travelling to a different country once a year since they were young, all of their flights have been spent taking the economy class. But on the flight to Hong Kong, he and Leon were accosted by a smiling flight attendant right at Heathrow Airport and lead to the very front of their plane, where they have their own private suite.

  He’s in said suite now, the divider up between him and his boyfriend while he calls Stellan before takeoff.

  “This flight probably costs more than what I make in a year!” He exclaims. “Leon said the tickets probably got mixed up or something, but in that case it’s the luckiest damn mixup ever. Look at this place!” Harald moves his phone around to display his surroundings. “The seats are so soft I could melt into them.”

  On his phone, Stellan’s eyes widen at the sight of the cabin. “My goodness, I’ve lived in college dorms smaller than that.”

  “I know, right? Leon’s on the other side of this divider, having a pre-flight cocktail. I didn’t even know that was a thing, for fuck’s sake! Imagine getting drunk before you’re even in the air.”

  “Did Leon tell you where the two of you will be staying, by the way?”

  “I think we’re staying in a hotel,” he replies. “He’s been really secretive about this trip, even though it’s so important.”

  Stellan frowns. “Oh, that’s not good. Has he been acting differently lately?”

  “No, not really. But I’m a little nervous, going so far away while knowing so little.”

  “That’s natural. Remember to look out for yourself, especially since you don’t know much about Leon’s family and friends in Hong Kong.”

  The intercom crackles above. “Cabin crew, prepare for takeoff.”

  “Take care.” Stellan’s eyes crinkle as he gives a rare smile. “Call me if anything happens, okay? Even if it’s three in the morning for me I’ll get up to listen.”

  “Thanks, Stell. I have to go now, but I’ll call again when I get to Hong Kong. See you.”

  “Bye.”

  He lowers the divider in the cabin after he’s hung up. “I’m still in shock,” Harald tells Leon. “How on earth did the airline mess up this much to our favour?”

  “We’re just lucky, I guess.” Leon slides him a flute of champagne, eyes already slightly-glazed over. “It’s a good start to our trip. You nervous?”

  “A little,” he admits. “It’ll be my first time to Asia, for one, and I’ll be meeting all your old friends and your family. What if they don’t like me?”

  Leon cups his cheek, smiling tipsily. “They’re all going to love you, I promise.”

  The aircraft rumbles and begins to move. He leans over to nuzzle his neck. “If you say so.”

...

  Thirteen hours later, a very disoriented Harald clings on to Leon’s arm while they stumble through the Hong Kong International Airport. Groups of people are milling around, searching for the washroom, baggage pickup or both. Despite not having been back in years, Leon seems to know his way around perfectly and manages to get the two of them out of the airport without a hitch.

  A neatly-dressed lady is waiting for them outside the airport, standing by a limousine with a pleasant smile. “Welcome to Hong Kong, Mr. Wang and Mr. Grieg,” she greets. “We are here to take you to the Four Seasons Hotel. Would you like us to help you with your luggage?”

  “Wait, wh - “

  “Yes, please.” Leon nods to their cart of suitcases, and a group of workers immediately exit the limousine to pick them up. “Thank you very much.”

  “Leon, what the hell is going on?” He hisses. “Isn’t the Four Seasons one of Hong Kong’s most expensive - “

  “Just relax, babe.” He pecks Harald on the forehead. “I know what I’m doing.”

  He leads him into the limousine and sits him down on the plush velvet seat. Harald stares out the window, as though about to try and escape any moment. “Is this another mixup?”

  “I hope not.” Leon places his hand over his and smiles. “I just wanted you to be able to stay at the best place possible while here.”

  He gapes at the limousine, at the people still carrying their suitcases and stowing them in the trunk. “How much did all this cost?”

  Leon fidgets, suddenly looking down. “Uh...” he mumbles, “thirteen thousand six hundred pounds - “

  “What - “

  “ - per night.”

  “WHAT?” He nearly leaps out of his seat. “We can’t afford this! How long did you save up for the stay? Did you have to sell anything? How deep in debt are we? What the flying, soaring, somersaulting shit - “

  “Harald!” Leon wraps an arm around him. “I promise we’re not bankrupt or anything like that. I just happen to be friends with some people who work at the hotel, and they managed to get us a special discount. Really, you don’t have to worry about it.”

  “You could’ve at least warned me. If I’d known we’d be picked up in a limo, I wouldn’t have boarded the plane looking like a hungover college kid.”

  “I think you look as cute as ever.”

  “Shut up.”

  They begin to drive away from the airport. Harald can’t help perking up to look out the window, staring in awe at the massive white bridge they leave Lantau Island on, then the rolling countryside mingling with the occasional building. 

  They pass schools, shipping ports, shopping malls galore, but the most stunning sight is that of Hong Kong Island. Soaring skyscrapers are a massive contrast to the few colonial buildings left, and everywhere, pedestrians of all kinds mill around. 

  Leon snuggles into him, squashing him against the window. “So what do you think?”

  “It’s beautiful.” They pass a mall that looks like a miniature version of New York’s Times Square. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

  “Wait ‘til you see our hotel.”

  The limo pulls up in front of the Four Seasons and Harald’s jaw drops. This can’t be their hotel, it just can’t. The representative opens the door for them and leads them into the grand, gleaming building while their luggage is being taken care of. Still in shock, Harald steps into the stunning lobby and looks around. Not even the W Hotel, reputed as one of London’s best hotels, is this extravagant.

  The elevator is transparent, letting them look out onto the busy streets of Wan Chai. He can’t stop pinching himself, for this breathtaking building can’t be where he’s staying.

  The biggest shock comes when they open the door to their suite.

  “What is this?” Harald can’t even bring himself to step inside. The suite looks more like the living apartments of some Western monarch of old, with plush, elegantly-carved furniture, floor-to-ceiling windows showing the view and an actual chandelier hanging from the painted ceiling. Their suitcases are already there, opened up in their bedroom and waiting to be unpacked. 

  Leon is already making himself comfortable, pulling his clothes out of his suitcase and picking some out to wear after his shower. He looks at Harald, who’s still partially in shock. “What’re you waiting for?”

  He gingerly enters the suite, eyes wide. He can’t even speak.

  While Leon busies himself with showering, Harald takes out his phone and calls his brother. 

  “How was your flight?” Is the first thing Stellan asks after picking up.

  “It was amazing. The food was great, for one, and in the middle of the flight the attendants flattened my seat into a bed. But that’s not the point.” Harald flips his phone’s camera around and moves it around his room. “This is the hotel suite Leon booked for us!”

  He sits in silence for a while, quietly observing the room. “Well,” he finally says, “that’s certainly... something.”

  “It’s a lot.”

  “How much did this cost?”

  “Too much, that’s for sure.” Harald glances at the bathroom. He’ll have to shower after Leon. “Thankfully Leon has friends here and pulled some strings so we can stay here cheaper.”

  Stellan glances at something out of the camera - probably his husband - and waves him away. “It should be about three in the afternoon in Hong Kong right now. What do you have planned for the rest of the day?”

  “I’m going to shower first. How ‘bout you?”

  “I have an interview this afternoon, but that’s about it,” he says. “Have fun in Hong Kong, okay?”

  “I will. Good luck in your interview.”

  They chat for a while more before Leon is finally done with his shower and it’s his turn to freshen up. Even the bathroom is fancy - everything’s made of marble, the towels are still-warm and the soap fragrant. He almost wants to stay in there forever until he remembers he has a city to explore.

  Leon is on his phone, sitting on their massive bed when he comes out. “My brother and a friend of mine are meeting us at the hotel lobby in five minutes.”

  “Your friend?”

  “Her name’s Ling,” he explains. “She’s from Taiwan and pretty famous in the fashion world - her store opened a branch in Milan just last month.”

  “Ooh.” Harald flops down next to him. The sheets are impossibly soft. “Woah, this is the best bed I’ve ever slept in.”

  “Don’t get too comfortable,” Leon jokes. “We have go to down to the lobby.”

  He reluctantly gets up from the bed and follows him out of the suite.

 ...

  Vicente and Ling are waiting for them at the doors of the hotel. Leon waves at them, hand in hand with his boyfriend, and power-walks towards them as fast as he can without looking like he’s running. 

  “Jia Lin!” Ling rushes forward and envelopes him in a hug, laughing, “it’s been too long! You’re way taller now and your hair’s no longer a disaster but I see you still have shit fashion sense!”

  His brother ruffles his hair. “Well, you can’t blame him. Londoners are even worse.”

  Leon squirms out of Ling’s arms. “Why is it that the first thing you two do after seeing me is to roast me?”

  “Is that your boyfriend?” She abandons Leon to approach Harald. “Hello there! Welcome to Hong Kong!”

  With a skittish glance at him, Harald manages a smile. “Hi. My name’s Harald, and it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  “No need to be so formal lah, just saying ‘hi’ is enough.” Ling stops in front of him, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “I’m Yue Ling, but people always manage to mess up ‘Yue’ despite it being a three-letter word so just call me Ling.”

  “Uh, sure.”

  Vicente gives Leon another slap on the shoulder before going to greet Harald. “Hi again. I don’t think you forgot who I am, right?”

  “No, who are you?”

  “Shut up.” 

  “So!” Leon interrupts. “Where do you want to go?”

  Ling turns to him. “Shouldn’t you be the one deciding that? You’re the one who hasn’t been back for a while.” 

  Where to go first? There are so many old spots he simply has to revisit, but what sort of place will give Harald a good impression of his home city? Then his stomach growls. “I say we go eat something first.”

  “Why don’t we go to Chu’s, then?” Vicente suggests.

  “It’s still up?”

  “Of course. I don’t think anyone would have the heart to close that place down.”

  “Hell yeah.” Leon goes to take Harald’s hand, lacing their fingers together. “I haven’t had their milk tea in, like, forever.”

  Fifteen minutes later, the four of them are seated on rickety plastic chairs around a table, surrounded by shouting customers and waiters alike. He stares at the menu flattened to the table by the pane of glass and tries to decide exactly what he should order. These are foods he won’t be able to find anywhere outside Hong Kong, from garlic-fried noodles to fresh fishballs to egg custard that’s actually good, and every one of them gives him a pang of nostalgia.

  Harald is pressed up next to him, squinting at the characters. “I understand all these words separately.”

  He points at one of the dishes. “That one’s Hong Kong-style French toast. The one next to it is a, uh...” How do you translate this into English? “A toasted bun with condensed milk.”

  They place their orders soon after. It feels amazing to be able to speak Cantonese again, to be surrounded by his mother tongue like a warm blanket. The chatter of the restaurant makes him feel like a secondary school student again, having afternoon tea after a long day of class. Leon takes a sip of his creamy milk tea and indulges himself with the memories for a while. 

  His phone rings in the middle of one of Vicente’s story. He looks at his screen, rolling his eyes when he realises it’s Yao. “Hello?”

  “Ka Long! You’re back in Hong Kong now, right?”

  “Yeah. I’m coming over for dinner tonight in case you forgot.”

  “I know, I know. Did you bring that boyfriend of yours along?”

  How did Yao know he brought Harald over? Better not to question. Leon sighs. “Yes.”

  “What’s his full name?”

  “Harald Grieg.”

  “Aiyah, you brought a gwai zai home?”

  He grits his teeth. “Why does it matter if he’s a Westerner or not?”

  “No, no, it doesn’t. I’m just surprised, that’s all. What does he do for a living?”

  “He’s the head chef at the Dragon Room.”

  “Really now?” Yao says incredulously. “Very impressive. Educational background?”

  “He didn’t go to university - “

  “HE DROPPED OUT!?”

  “No, he made the decision not to go.” Leon shoots his boyfriend an apologetic look even though he knows he can’t understand the conversation. “He went to culinary school and got a diploma.”

  “Which culinary school?”

  “No clue.”

  “Okay, sure. What’s his net worth? If you don’t know, what’s his family’s?”

  “I don’t know that either.”

  “How many houses does he own?”

  Leon blinks. Only his brother would want to know his partners’ property statistics. He prods Harald. “This is a stupid question, but how many houses does your family own?”

  “There’s the house in Trondheim, which is the one my brother’s living in, and we have a summer home in Akureyri. Why do you ask?”

  “Nothing, nothing.” He parrots that information to Yao. 

  “Only two houses?” Yao repeats, disappointed. Leon resists the urge to throw his phone. “How many cars, then?”

  “One.”

  “Ugh, of course. Boats?”

  He pokes Harald again. “Another stupid question, but do you have any boats?”

  “Stellan and I have a motorboat we used to go out to sea with,” he replies. “What’s with you suddenly taking interest in the stuff I own?”

  “It’s nothing, really.” Leon pecks him on the forehead. Across the table, Ling makes a face. He tells Yao over the phone, “he has a motorboat.”

  “No yachts?”

  “No yachts,” Leon confirms. 

  There’s silence on the other side for a long time. Then Yao finally asks quietly, “so you’re dating someone with no university education, two houses, one car and only one boat?”

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake!” He half-shouts in English. Some people from other tables turn to stare at him. “Who cares if Harald’s not a multibillionaire? I love him, and that’s that!”

  “He doesn’t even have a yacht!”

  One more comment on Harald’s lack of yachts and I will throw this phone across the room, Leon seethes internally. “Quit your judging for now. You can make up your mind when Harald comes over for dinner tonight.”

#aph hongice #aph sar brothers #aph chinese trio #aph hong kong #aph iceland #aph macau #aph taiwan #aph china #aph fanfiction #my writing #aphasiaweek #crazy rich asians parody #spoiler alert: i've never been to the four seasons hotel here so idk how accurate the room is #i'm a Commoner don't expect my rich people bs to be accurate #also the original crazy rich asians had a bit of angst but i don't want to write any so this lineup of fics is just going to be ridiculous #china be like (shrek meme) 'he doesn't even have a yacht'

[haleysspanishlitblog]

Ten Interesting Spanish Fiction Novels

1. The Prince of Mist: by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

“1943. As war sweeps across Europe, Max Carver's father moves his family away from the city, to an old wooden house on the coast. But as soon as they arrive, strange things begin to happen: Max discovers a garden filled with eerie statues; his sisters are plagued by unsettling dreams and voices; a box of old films opens a window to the past.Most unsettling of all are rumours about the previous owners and the mysterious disappearance of their son. As Max delves into the past, he encounters the terrifying story of the Prince of Mist, a sinister shadow who emerges from the night to settle old scores, then disappears with the first mists of dawn . . .Originally published in Spain as a young adult novel, THE PRINCE OF MIST is a mesmerising tale of mystery, romance and adventure.” (Amazon.com)

2. The Queen's Vow: A Novel of Isabella of Castile by C.W. Gortner

“Isabella is barely a teenager when she becomes an unwitting pawn in a plot to dethrone her half brother, King Enrique. Suspected of treason and held captive, she treads a perilous path, torn between loyalties, until at age seventeen she suddenly finds herself heiress of Castile, the largest kingdom in Spain. Plunged into a deadly conflict to secure her crown, she is determined to wed the one man she loves yet who is forbidden to her—Fernando, prince of Aragón. As they unite their two realms under “one crown, one country, one faith,” Isabella and Fernando face an impoverished Spain beset by enemies. With the future of her throne at stake, Isabella resists the zealous demands of the inquisitor Torquemada even as she is seduced by the dreams of an enigmatic navigator named Columbus. But when the Moors of the southern domain of Granada declare war, a violent, treacherous battle against an ancient adversary erupts, one that will test all of Isabella’s resolve, her courage, and her tenacious belief in her destiny.” (Amazon.com)

3. The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys

“Madrid, 1957. Under the fascist dictatorship of General Francisco Franco, Spain is hiding a dark secret. Meanwhile, tourists and foreign businessmen flood into Spain under the welcoming promise of sunshine and wine. Among them is eighteen-year-old Daniel Matheson, the son of an oil tycoon, who arrives in Madrid with his parents hoping to connect with the country of his mother's birth through the lens of his camera. Photography--and fate--introduce him to Ana, whose family's interweaving obstacles reveal the lingering grasp of the Spanish Civil War--as well as chilling definitions of fortune and fear. Daniel's photographs leave him with uncomfortable questions amidst shadows of danger. He is backed into a corner of difficult decisions to protect those he loves. Lives and hearts collide, revealing an incredibly dark side to the sunny Spanish city.” (goodreads.com). 

4. The Last Queen: A Novel by C.W. Gortner

“In this stunning novel, C. W. Gortner brings to life Juana of Castile, the third child of Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand of Spain, who would become the last queen of Spanish blood to inherit her country’s throne. Along the way, Gortner takes the reader from the somber majesty of Spain to the glittering and lethal courts of Flanders, France, and Tudor England. Born amid her parents’ ruthless struggle to unify and strengthen their kingdom, Juana, at the age of sixteen, is sent to wed Philip, heir to the Habsburg Empire. Juana finds unexpected love and passion with her dashing young husband, and at first she is content with her children and her married life. But when tragedy strikes and she becomes heir to the Spanish throne, Juana finds herself plunged into a battle for power against her husband that grows to involve the major monarchs of Europe. Besieged by foes on all sides, Juana vows to secure her crown and save Spain from ruin, even if it costs her everything.” (Amazon.com). 

5. The Island Villa: The perfect feel good summer read by Lily Graham 

“When Charlotte’s husband James tragically dies, he leaves her an unexpected gift – her grandmother’s beautiful villa, Marisal, on the Spanish island of Formentera.As she begins to explore her new home, and heal her broken heart in the warm golden sunshine, Charlotte discovers that her grandmother Alba has been keeping secrets about her life on the island. Intrigued by her family’s hidden history, Charlotte uncovers a devastating love affair that put many lives at risk and two sisters torn apart by loss.Can the heart-breaking truth of the island’s dark history finally be laid to rest? Or will the secrets of the past shake the new life and love that Charlotte is close to finding?” (Amazon.com). 

6.  The Queen's Prophet by Dawn Patitucci

“When the Countess of Walther dies at her German estate, her loyal dwarfess Maria-Barbara is forced to work as a prophet for a traveling magician, who betrays her by selling her to the Queen of Spain. At the royal court in Madrid, Mari finds herself in a bizarre, enchanted world, a society culturally splendid but intellectually isolated. There she becomes Maribarbola, prophet to the Queen, and, her survival at stake, endeavors to outsmart the Spaniards. Mari's wits and loyalties are tested as she becomes embroiled in palace intrigue alongside the politically embattled Queen. When Mari's carefully schemed prophecies dazzle all of Spain, she and the Queen climb to dizzying heights of power, a place as intoxicating as it is dangerous. But even as Mari survives and thrives at the Spanish court, the loss of identity she suffers from living a lie makes her question whether she is really surviving at all.” (Amazon.com) 

7.  The Yellow Rain Hardcover by  Julio Llamazares

“Ainielle is a village high in the Spanish Pyrenees. Its houses are mostly deserted ruins and have been for years. Ainielle's last surviving inhabitant, an old man at death's door, lingers on, and as the "yellow rain" of leaves flutters around him and the first snows of the year fall, he recalls the life he lived and the ghosts-once his friends and neighbors-who have taken possession of his solitude.Hailed on first publication and continuously reprinted in Spain, The Yellow Rain is a haunting ode to the power of memory, an elegy for a landscape and a way of life.” (Amzon.com). 

8.  Tarnished Beauty: A Novel by Cecilia Samartin 

“Jamilet is a beautiful young woman marred by a shockingly gruesome birthmark. It spills over her back and down her legs, twisting and writhing like a hideous cape of blood, causing her to be shunned by the villagers of her rural Mexican town. In search of medical salvation, this angel with the devil's mark is finally driven to escape north and cross the border illegally to Los Angeles. After acquiring false documents, Jamilet finds work at a mental hospital, where she is assigned to look after Señor Peregrino, an elderly man from Spain who is as disagreeable as he is mysterious. Jamilet is given strict orders to keep her distance, but when he cleverly snags possession of her papers, he bargains to return them upon the condition that she listen to his story. Jamilet begrudgingly agrees, and Señor Peregrino takes her back to the days of his youth, when he embarked upon a mystical and romantic journey along the legendary Road to Santiago in Spain.Jamilet and Señor Peregrino forge a spiritual bond that is more healing to them both than modern medicine could ever be. In an inspiring story of redemption, faith and the enduring power of love, Samartin offers an enlightening perspective on the true meaning of beauty.” (Amazon.com). 

9.  The Angel's Game: A Psychological Thriller by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

“In this powerful, labyrinthian thriller, David Martín is a pulp fiction writer struggling to stay afloat. Holed up in a haunting abandoned mansion in the heart of Barcelona, he furiously taps out story after story, becoming increasingly desperate and frustrated. Thus, when he is approached by a mysterious publisher offering a book deal that seems almost too good to be real, David leaps at the chance. But as he begins the work, and after a visit to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, he realizes that there is a connection between his book and the shadows that surround his dilapidated home and that the publisher may be hiding a few troubling secrets of his own. Once again, Ruiz Zafón takes us into a dark, gothic Barcelona and creates a breathtaking tale of intrigue, romance, and tragedy” (Amazon.com) 

10.  All This I Will Give to You by Dolores Redondo 

“When novelist Manuel Ortigosa learns that his husband, Álvaro, has been killed in a car crash, it comes as a devastating shock. It won’t be the last. He’s now arrived in Galicia. It’s where Álvaro died. It’s where the case has already been quickly closed as a tragic accident. It’s also where Álvaro hid his secrets.The man to whom Manuel was married for fifteen years was not the unassuming man he knew. Álvaro’s trail leads Manuel deep into one of Spain’s most powerful and guarded families. Behind the walls of their forbidding estate, Manuel is nothing but an unwelcome and dangerous intruder. Then he finds two allies: a stubbornly suspicious police lieutenant and Álvaro’s old friend—and private confessor—from seminary school. Together they’re collecting the pieces of Álvaro’s past, his double life, and his mysterious death. But in the shadows of nobility and privilege, Manuel is about to unravel a web of corruption and deception that could be as fatal a trap for him as it was for the man he loved.” (Amzon.com). 

[pacack]

Smash Bros. and Politics

So, I was seeing an argument on twitter that claimed that games have become steeped in politics to the detriment of consumers.

I thought to myself, “Alright, I know a game that spans game history from 1980 to now that we can look at to determine whether games have really gotten more political with time.”

Spoiler: Only 9.375% of the franchises represented by characters in Smash Bros. avoid political themes. Games are intensely political and always have been.

Actual spoiler warning: This includes spoilers for the general plot and themes of basically every game franchise included in Smash Bros.

Trigger warning: The following essay contains references to violence, death, war, emotional abuse, racism, racial and cultural stereotyping, sexism, minority oppression, poverty, gangs, animal cruelty, religious hypocrisy, pollution, and climate change.

Mario: Traditionally avoids complex plotlines entirely (though some games break that tradition,) but even the most barebones plots have “ruler who thirsts for power is a bad person, while ruler who does not is a good person.”

Donkey Kong: The themes are all blatantly environmental. The main characters are heavily intertwined with nature, while the big bad steals natural resources, uses technology that pollutes and disturbs the local area, and evolves over time from a corrupt monarch to a gun-touting pirate to a mad scientist. The evolution of the villain’s technology in the first trilogy is sending the message that oppression evolves over time to become more sophisticated.

Zelda: Varies from game to game but ranges from “bad guy literally is transformed into a pig because he desires power” to “crisis brings grief and makes us contemplate our morality, but that should make us value the connections we have more.”

Metroid: Game revolves around a skilled and wholly independent soldier/mercenary/bounty hunter that happens to be a woman. Laced with themes of “a person who is profoundly and intentionally alone does not need to be dependent on others to define herself” and “scientific progress that is intended for the betterment of mankind can and will be used to wage war by those who seek to do harm.”

Yoshi: “Communities should help and protect even complete strangers from those who would do them harm.”

Kirby: Themes range from “greed of a ruler leaves kingdom in poverty” to “people who band together in friendship can overthrow those who possess power.”

Star Fox: Tyrannical mad scientist plans to form an oppressive empire by using technology. Do I need to explain that?

Pokémon: Treat animals as partners and friends and marvel at the wonders of the natural world. Bad guys include:

an organization that abuses animals

an organization who aims to destroy the environment

an organization that doesn’t appreciate the current world and plans to reshape it into one where emotional attachment doesn’t exist

an organization that criticizes the current state of affairs in legitimate ways to hide their real intentions of stripping the common man from their power to resist their planned dictatorship

an organization that values beauty and power above all else (criticizing the French elite specifically)

A gang that recruits desperate people who feel they don’t have a family

A supposedly humanitarian organization that is headed by a possessive and emotionally abusive mother who is obsessed with owning things, people, and animals rather than loving them.

Earthbound/Mother: Discusses complex themes about love of family, pain of loss of and rejection from that family, the trauma one suffers because of that pain, and the importance of people learning form that pain rather than using it as justification for hurting others.

F-Zero: People meet one-another and trade, develop new social ties, have intellectual exchanges, and share technology, but some begin to abuse the framework of the system that brought everyone together to make themselves lavishly wealthy. These elites then develop dangerous sports for their own entertainment that the common man is enticed to compete in to improve their societal standing.

Ice Climber: Two characters that are coded as Inuit-Yupik enjoy themselves by cooperating and competing with one another in nature. While simple, the theme of connection between people over a shared activity can’t be recognized as completely apolitical when they’re in a minority group.

Fire Emblem: A just ruler is forced into conflict with a neighboring despotic country and must balance their duty to defend their people with their understanding that it is the innocent common folk of the other country that will suffer in place of the unjust rulers who began the conflicts. The game centers around meeting new people, many of them from the other side, who themselves are multi-layered and kind, but who live difficult lives. The unjust rulers are defeated, but a greater threat then brings all the people together, despite their differences, for the common good.

Game and Watch: Man juggles, cooks, and plays games with his friends :)

Kid Icarus: An angel who has a disability that prevents him from flying must save the world when circumstances leave him as the only person capable of resisting. He succeeds and is recognized by being promoted captain of the guard for his ability, courage, and tenacity. From that point on, the support of others allows him to live his life without his mobility defining what he can and cannot do.

WarioWare: The main character (who was conceptualized because artists’ freedom to create was limited by corporate greed and its insistence on maintaining the status quo) is a greedy man who plans on creating a poor, easily made product to sell to people as a get-rich-quick scheme with complete disregard for artistic integrity.

Metal Gear: The entire series began as a political commentary on the manipulation of soldiers by politicians in the Cold War. The series delves deeply into the morality of war and the negative impact that it has on a person, as well as discussing peace, revenge, racial violence, genetic engineering, censorship, societal loss of a person’s knowledge when they die, misrepresentation of history, and generational knowledge and bias. The main character, Solid Snake, is a critical analysis of the action hero trope, and the deconstruction of his character archetype reveals his increasingly broken spirit as he comes to see his life as unavoidably entwined with conflicts and war.

Sonic: Evil scientist destroys and pollutes the environment and abuses animals in his scheme to gain power, leading to the animals themselves revolting and overthrowing him for his actions.

Pikmin: A middle-class working man who cares only about supporting his family is made to work in dangerous conditions and suffers hardships because of his company’s desire to maximize profits.

Animal Crossing: A kind community of people welcomes a stranger and helps them to build a new life with them, teaching them how to survive and thrive on their own.

Mega Man: Society has advanced to the point that robots are used in day to day jobs, and an ambitious scientist hacks into them and uses the technology to throw society into disarray, with hopes of establishing a dictatorship.

Wii Fit: Fitness trainer teaches you how to exercise and become healthier :)

Punch-Out: A poor kid from the Bronx has dreams of becoming a star athlete, and his trainer, a kind, retired black boxer, trains and inspires him to achieve his dreams of having a better life. The international opponents in the game embody both harmless and harmful societal stereotypes of their cultures. The more ridiculous the stereotypes surrounding the group, the more ridiculous the opponent becomes. Ultimately the protagonist, a multiracial kid from one of the most diverse cities in the world, achieves his dreams and is respected globally for his skill and perseverance, reflecting the ideal of cultural harmony.

Mii: Customizable avatar characters play games :)

Pac-Man: Happy man eats food as cute monsters chase him around a maze :)…in a dramatic departure from the norms of the time in the industry, making the uncommon move of advertising to women by using cute, whimsical designs and appealing to and encouraging everyone’s common experience of eating. Avoided common themes of the time like violent space shooters, racing games, and sports titles, which were meant to appeal to young men.

Xenoblade: The plot revolves around predicting where the path you’re on leads you in the future and emphasizes heavily that there is nothing in life that decides your fate for you. Aims to explain that, while hardships in life can lead you to do the wrong thing, you always have the power to change that which seems destined in your life. It condemns those who use the hardships they’ve experienced to excuse wrongdoing and explains that a person has the power to learn and grow from those hardships instead.

Duck Hunt: You’re a duck hunter shooting down ducks with your trusty companion dog :)

Street Fighter: The continuity is a mess, but basically it boils down to an evil man being defeated by the honorable and pure philosophy of the protagonist. It involves different spiritualities that are a part of different martial arts and I’m not going to pretend to be qualified to talk about the cultural implications of them, but it generally discusses the morality of violence.

Final Fantasy VII: A soldier who lost his best friend in a battle long ago joins an ecoterrorist rebellion against a corporation that is draining the life force from the planet at the expense of energy. If I have to spell out the environmental themes there any more clearly you’re a moron.

Bayonetta: Sexual witch with guns sold her soul to demons and literally makes a living killing angels that are obsessed with the impending resurrection of God, the creation of a new world, and the destruction of the current one. Heavily inspired by and critical of Christianity, with the angels being named after virtues that they lack. The five main bosses in the game are the four Cardinal Virtues of Catholicism – Courage, Temperance, Justice, and Prudence – and the final boss is God herself, a self-centered and spoiled character that demands adoration from all. Contrasts the hypocritical, power-hungry, and overzealous forces of religion with the Bayonetta’s honest and unapologetic appreciation for worldly pleasures, her confidence in her autonomy, and her quest to understand her individuality.

Splatoon: Squid kids play paintball :)…except it’s actually a post-apocalyptic world where humanity died off due to climate change and cephalopods became the dominant intelligent life on Earth.

Castlevania: Heavy religious themes debating the worth of humanity as a man treks through a haunted castle to fight Dracula, a vampiric demon who keeps reincarnating and who occasionally quotes the Bible verbatim. Most games in the series center around the theme that, even though human life is fleeting, it is precious.

Persona: High school student goes into alternate world where his darkest subconscious thoughts manifest into a “persona” tied to him. Debates philosophical topics very, very heavily and questions the meaning of identity.

#politics #video games #war #death #emotional abuse #abuse #racism #oppression #poverty #gangs #animal cruelty #religion #religious hypocrisy #climate #pollution #climate change #long post #trigger #trigger warning #tw #cw #content warning #smash bros #ssb #smash #discourse

[silviasutton1989]

T.T.K. Chapter 17 “Stormholt”

A/N: Hey guys so first I’m not feeling that great today. I have had a headache all day and nothing has even lessened it in the slightest. But on another note I have don’t a new outline for this story and I am seeing the end to this tunnel in 10 to 12 more chapters (maybe...) I honestly did not think it was going to take me this long but I promise I will stick to my outline this time (will you all stick with me till the end??) One more thing this chapter explain who Olivia is and her mother’s motives for her actions. Now if I have some readers who were devoted TC&TF readers please don’t get mad at me if my history on Kenna isn’t canon (I really tried my best. As always I love you all and am so thankful for each comment like and reblog.

Word Count: 2200

Rating: Teen

Catch up: Chapter 1  1.2  2  3  4  5  6  7 8  9  9.2  9.25   10   11   12.1 12.2     13  14  15  16

Summary: Olivia learns about her history, Riley comes to a realization.

“Excuse me? What did you say?” Riley’s attention went directly to the reporter. She tried to keep a calm smile on her face, but as the cameras flashed

“Yes ma’am. We received a statement yesterday. Mister Drake announced a postponement of your nuptials due to unforeseen delays. Do you care to comment on that?”

Riley was never one to be afraid. She blindly left with men she had never known to go to a country she had never heard of on a whim. She had had a gun pointed at her face; heard the gun shot go off and her only thought was if everyone else was ok. The riots were frightful but if there was one thing Riley could handle it was fear. But hearing those words: “Your wedding had been postponed” petrified her.

She stood in front of the crowd a breakfast plate in her hand, her mouth unable to close.  

“Duchess Riley…do you care to comment.”

“I…I…”

“Today we are here to serve these citizens. The duchess will make a full statement when she is able. “ Liam gives her a reassuring look “I do have an announcement that I would like to personally tell the protestors.” Liam walks away from the table clearing his throat before blaring his voice so that the crowd could hear.

 “Everyone, if I may have your attention. I have heard your troubles and I must say that as your king I have failed you. If even one of my people are suffering then my reign is futile. But…I’m going to make this right. When we return to the palace there will be an auction. I will be selling my own valuables to support those in Portovia whose homes and jobs were lost in the constant floods. And I will give it all to you…if it takes everything I own.  I was born to serve my country and until I have nothing else to give I will give it to you all.”

The crowd cheers. A woman, with tears flowing down her check pulls him into a hug thanking him. An older man, who looked somewhat familiar came up to him, his face filled with shame, he takes his king’s hands bowing his head.

“Thank you your highness…I’m so sorry. I just…we needed help here.”

Liam assures him there’s no need to apologize but as the man walks away he feels the chain in his hand. He opens it to see the pearl necklace he had given to Riley.

“This is going to work.” Liam mutters proudly looking around to find Riley but she was rushing through the door of the estate.

“Take a deep breath. In…..Out”

Olivia followed dutifully, not because she believed in this inward spiritual cleansing crap but that during her stay with her aunt she learned that obedience was key to getting any answers from Lucretia. And since Olivia was as stubborn as a mule, she spent most of her 2 weeks there defying her aunt at every turn, meaning she knew no more about her mother than when she got there.

“Now repeat after me: I change my thoughts, I change my world”

“I change my thoughts, I change my world.”

“I want you to believe it. Say it again.”

With a humph Olivia repeats “I change my thoughts, I change my world”

“Good girl…now do you believe it?”

“Sure why not…” Olivia rolls her eyes. She sees Lucretia’s frustrated sigh and quickly straightens her spine. “I believe I can change my world. I hold that power, that it isn’t about who doesn’t love me, but if I love myself.  If I change my perception I can change my whole world….I got it. Now as lovely as slumming it with you and these hippie hobos for 2 weeks have been I would like to be done with this….please just tell me. What do I not know about my mother?”

Lucretia rubs her lips studying her niece. “Ok Olivia. But first there’s something I have been meaning to tell you. Things haven’t been going so great for Liam since you left….There has been… riots.”

Olivia let out a breath but still keeps her posture strong. “any attacks?”

“No he’s fine but the people are protesting against him, and if you ask me it’s pretty well needed. I mean, who does a unity tour after an assassination attempt? Almost half his country was under water last year and he’s going through the towns inviting people to a wedding!” Lucretia laughs but still watches Olivia very carefully. “So….are you going to go save him?”

“No. He is king, he can handle this. My thoughts are on my own world, not his.”

“Your world could be his…” She gives her niece a hard look.

“What does that even mean?”

“Olivia, do you know who Kenna Rhys was?”

“Uh yeah I took Cordonian History like every other grade schooler.”

“Kenna was the Queen to merge all 5 kingdoms. But have you ever wondered why she and any other sovergn had control of all the other kingdoms… but Lythikos?”

Olivia stirs in her seat and shakes her head.

“There’s been some debate over who Kenna married.  Many believed she married Dominic Hunter, a Stormont solider, and one of her oldest friends. And if history is true, after the death of Kenna and Dominic’s only child, there was no direct heir.  Kenna’s relatives had died so the throne went to Dominic’s family, who were nobles of Fydoria.  If that is true then Liam is the true heir to the throne because he is Dominic’s direct descendant…”

“Uh-huh” Olivia nods trying to follow along.

“But your mother believed that Kenna did not marry Dominic, she married Diavolos Nevarkis. And that would mean…” Lucritia waits for her niece to answer.

“That would mean that I am the heir to the throne?”  Her brows furrow as she sees the smile spread across her aunt’s face. “But wait, that doesn’t make any since. If she married Diavolos we would have had the throne centuries ago.”

“The only records we have of Kenna and her marriage was at least 100 years after her death. Kenna only had one child. When he died Stormholt was going through one of its biggest wars. Kingdoms all around knew that the country had lost their only surviving monarch decided to take it over. The Nevarkis’ and Dominic’s family from Fydoria and many other leaders form the 5 kingdoms were working together to keep the country intact. While our ancestors were in the battlefield fighting for our country, Constantine’s ancestors stayed at the capitol building alliances, gaining more territory, they even changed the name from Stormholt to Cordonia. The war lasted for decades and when our ancestors came back from war to rule the land they had risked their lives for, the Hunters who by then went by the name Rhys’ had enough support from the other five kingdoms to send us back to Lythikos. They changed the whole story claiming that Diavolos was simply one of Kanna’s many consorts and all it took was power and time before that lie to become Cordonia’s history.”

Olivia blankly stares at her aunt giving her brow a troubled rub. “Ok Aunt Lucy you made me meditate for 2 weeks so that you could tell me that a million years ago my thousands of great uncle married the queen of Cordonia, so by proxy it belongs to me.” She shakes her head and laughs. “This happened centuries ago, by now it doesn’t matter who she married Liam has the throne. What am I supposed to do with this? Take over the country? Even with proof, if the country had to choose me over him, I’m sure it wouldn’t be too hard of a choice.”

“Stop selling yourself short Olivia. I may have been living in No man’s Land but the press has been praising you for weeks, the people are rioting against Liam. You can take your throne and be the queen your mother died for you to be!”

“How am I supposed to do that? Even if this whole story is actually true, I have no proof, I have no support. I have no one!”

“Your mother had proof. I don’t know what it was or where it is now. But I know a few people who may be able to help you.”

Lucretia took a step towards Olivia whose bottom lip was lodged between her teeth, her thoughts clearly spinning in her head. She spoke carefully, “Persephone was one woman, who created her own army, and Kenna was one woman who claimed her country back. Your mother didn’t just wake up and decided she wanted to be queen she found out she truly was one and refused to be told anything different. I think that once you realize it too, once you realize that there’s a crown on your head even though you can’t see it you will change your world just like she tried to.”

“My mom had an army?” she couldn’t hide the prideful smile appearing on her face.

“Yes she did...and you know who they are."

There was a not in Hana’s stomach that wouldn’t go away. She went to the palace to give Riley peace of mind, to bring Drake back to her friend. But yesterday did not go as plan, when Drake left the ball room he never came back.

She saw Riley bounding down the hallway and gave her best smile. “Hey Riley I’m back from….” Riley walks right past her. “Riley are you ok?”

Her friend turns the corner and doesn’t give an answer. Not too far behind her Maxwell and Liam  are following her trail.

“He Hana Banana! Have you seen Riley?”

“Yeah she just walked right past me. Is she ok?”

“No Drake suspended the wedding.” Liam responds through clenched teeth.

“He did what!” The trio reaches Riley’s door slowly opening it unsure of what they would find. There running back and forth through her room was their friend, throwing every bit of clothing she could get her hand on into her luggage.

“I’m leaving.” She said plainly, marching to her closet, flinging the clothes with the hangers still attached onto her bed. “He doesn’t want to marry me. Fine I’m going home.”

“Riley he didn’t say the wedding was off just that it is postponed. Maybe the dates for the caterers are conflicting. You should talk to him before jumping to…” Liam takes a step towards her but she pushes past him to her suitcase stuffing more clothes into it.

“He won’t talk to me! I have called and texted him every night. He doesn’t respond. I don’t get it I did what he wanted me to do. I too our time apart seriously and then out of the blue he just does something like this….What did I do so bad?” She stops for a moment looking at her friends hoping they would give her an answer.

Hana speaks with clenched eyes “Riley. It’s my fault. I went to go see him yesterday and…well you and Liam were getting close and I got scared. I told him to come back with me…to come and get you before you two did something you would regret later. I was trying to help. I’m sorry I didn’t think he would do this I’m so sorry.”

Before Riley could say anything Hana began to sob, Maxwell quickly taking her into his arms to console her.

“It’s not your fault, it’s mine. I didn’t appreciate Drake. I knew I loved him more than Liam months ago, I didn’t need this break to figure that out and I should have told him that instead of playing along.”  She looks at her discarded clothes splayed over her bed. One of Drake’s white T’s lays in front of  her, it was one of the only things he left behind and she never wore it, too afraid his scent would fade away.

“I’m going to get him back.”

254 candles. 

Riley beamed as she basked in her work. A candle for each day she had known Drake. She was convinced this would work, as she lit the very last one. 

She spent her last week on tour getting ready for tonight. She found the perfect lingerie - a black lace holster set (Drake had always loved her in black). She had her nails done waxed and even straightened her hair. Tonight needed to be a fantasy he needed to remember why he loved her.

She could hear the sound of heavy footsteps approaching the door and her nerves began to heighten.

Is the bath water hot enough?

Do I have enough condoms?

She scurried around the room making sure everything was in its place, before stopping at a mirror.

Is this enough? Am I really enough?

She didn't have time to answer as the door swings open, Drakes large body taking u the space of the door frame. She quickly lifts her chest and splays her best sultry smile.

His eyes widen,"Surprise! I came back early.....Did you miss me?"

Her smile was weakening as she waited for him to answer. But he didn't speak, only scanning her body and all the candles lit around them. She waited for a smile, a smirk, just the tiniest hint that he was happy to see her. But there wasn't any.

Tag List:  If you want to be on the tag list permanently (this one is randomly selected with some permanent in as well)  let me know. If you DO NOT want to be tagged ever just send me a message I will not be upset.

@walkerismychoice@darley1101@speedyoperarascalparty@mfackenthal @jadedpixiescribbles@boneandfur @andy-loves-corgis   @blackcatkita@missevabean@snyggflicka@stopforamoment @agent-bossypants@endlessly-searching-for-you @indiacater@tmarie82 @umccall71@hopefulmoonobject @choices97 @blubutterflyy @fluffy-marshmallow-heart @itsmychoicebih @kinkykingliam

@liam-rhys     @blznbaby  @viktoriapetit@alicars@mrsdrakewalkerblog@walkerisbae@butindeed@greyeyedsmile14@gingerjane15@barbaravalentino@mymandrake @client327@choicesbyjade@drakesfianceee @caroolhr@drakelover78@drakewalkerrosenberg@youwontlikewherewewillgo @grumpycommoner @drakewalkerfics

#the royal romance #chapter 17 #choices fanfiction #choices drake #trr fanfic #choices trr #trr liam #trr olivia

[frowzyspeaks]

Dear White People

Dear White People,

As much as I’d love to sit here and inform you that at the end of this we will be able to all come to an understanding of one another—I cannot. As a white individual, you will never fully understand the struggles of being black in today's society. The factors contributing towards the struggle of being seen and treated different are beyond our control. The most you can do as a white individual is try your best to understand how your actions affect our struggle. There are some things that are done in complete oblivion, however, when an issue is presented, you cannot choose to be ignorant of it.

Our culture cannot be appreciated and glorified only when it is convenient for you, nor can you take credit for styles we created. For centuries, our ‘nappy’ hair, flat noses, big lips, wide hips, and dark skin were ridiculed. In order to assimilate to our surroundings, we convinced ourselves that our features were undesirable since they were seen as eye sores to our oppressors. Our indigenous features and styles were a symbol of strength, beauty, and pride back in the Motherland, and they were robbed of us for the sake of comfort and conformity. Quite frankly, there is nothing that you can do today to apologize for this rift that occurred centuries ago—it is not today’s generation of white people’s fault or problem to deal with. It does become a problem when the very features and culture you were disgusted with become the next trendy thing in white America. Our culture is not your latest trend; it is our roots; the roots your ancestors tore from underneath us. The cornrows that we wore in the fields to save us from heat stroke, the cornrows that we wore as children when our mothers need a break from stressing over our appearance, the cornrows that were seen as ‘ghetto’ somehow became the latest fall trend. The same full lips that we were born with and ridiculed for the majority of our lives, should not be the same lips that get surgically attached to white girls, nor should they suddenly become aesthetic and add sex appeal. Our big ‘nappy’ afros that you tried to convince us were unprofessional and dirty are imitated and should not have become a ‘new’ hairstyle that our white peers can wear. When we embrace our own culture, it becomes a problem, but when white people steal it from us and wear it without fear of negative comments it is extolled. Our culture is not for the white population to alter to their needs, as it is based on our natural state and how we adapted to our environment. It is not your job, nor your right to flaunt our features as your ‘style’- it is for you to allow us to keep for ourselves and do with as we please. Our culture was the only thing we had when we came into the new world, now alongside our dignity and freedom, it has become another thing we cannot have.

If you choose to use our culture for the sake of aesthetics, take all that comes with our blackness. In the words of Paul Mooney, “everybody wanna be black, but don’t nobody wanna be black.” It ultimately becomes a slap in the face to see white and white passing celebrities use our blackness as a way to appeal to other non-people of color. Yet they refuse to take a position when it comes to racial matters. The celebrities that choose to appropriate our culture more often than not, use blackness to sell an image. Yet they rarely choose to acknowledge the trials and tribulations that come with being a black person in America. It is completely disrespectful to only use this image for the sake of beauty if you cannot deal with the ugliness behind it.

We are not black when it is convenient for us to be black. Many white people naively attempt to ‘compliment’ their black peers by telling them that they do not see them as black. The problem with a statement such as this one is that regardless of how you may view us, we will always be black. Being black has shaped us from the very moment we were kidnapped and brought into this country and we take pride in the fact that we are indeed black. Blacks who are “not seen as black” are usually labeled that way because white people feel comfortable around them and do not view them as a threat to their privilege and power. The underlying issue within this is that black people are not obligated to hide our blackness in order for you to accept us and for once “not see color.” Our blackness is utilized when a white person is being dubbed as a racist. In this moment of time, the same friend that you label as colorless becomes your “black friend” to prove that they are in fact not a racist. This may be true, but the fact that you unknowingly only have this black friend because they conform to your standards of blackness is a racist principle in itself. The only way we seem to get positive recognition for being black is if it is beneficial to our white peers.

When blacks are murdered in cold blood by the cops, we take action and are seen as animals for doing so. This in itself is a hypocritical act because our methods stem from your ancestors in colonial America. During the American Revolution, wealthy white merchants committed treason by revolting against their monarch simply because they did not want to pay taxes. They overturned loads of British tea, smuggled, and even lynched to get their point across. The white faces of the revolution are revered in modern textbooks and their acts are seen as the epitome of liberty. In today’s society, black people are murdered by cops in exponential rates. When we protest, our acts are labeled as criminal behavior and are often seen as a pest to society. This hypocritical view that is imposed on us leads us to follow movements such as ‘Black Lives Matter’ because our rights are being altered. We enforce this statement because when we protest over a wrongful death of one our brothers and sisters, we are not taken as serious. Not as seriously as we would be if we were wealthy white men complaining about paying taxes-- a duty almost as inevitable as death itself. In addition, the black people that are murdered are often painted as criminals to provide a basis for their deaths. 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was armed with a bag of skittles, a can of Arizona tea, and a hoodie on his head and the media began to arm him with another deadly weapon-- his blackness. They depicted him as a ‘super predator’ due to the color of his skin and the way he carried himself. When the media attempts to twist images based on prejudices in order to justify murder, it showcases just how corrupt American society is. When a police officer murders another human being in cold blood, they are not aware of the victim's criminal background beforehand-- they are the only aware of what they can see, which is the epitome of prejudice. Prejudice directed towards the color of our skin should not be the basis of murder.

I do not expect you to alter the views that have been etched into your mind your entire life after being informed on why African-Americans are upset. I do not expect you to fully understand the anger and how deeply-rooted it is, or the extent of the effects of your actions has on black people. To do that you would have to be able to feel the full effect of being black by either being black or harvesting love for a black individual such as a child or spouse. And even then, you will never be able to relate to the struggle as it was never directly inflicted upon yourself. All we can expect from you is to accept that there is a problem. When you are informed, there is no way that you can argue that you were unaware of the issue at hand. If you still cannot identify with our struggle, ask yourself a simple question: if you could come back as any race, would I come back as black?

Sincerely,

Black People

#blog

[bodashiri]

The King in Love (2017) - History

Historical background to help understand The King in Love (2017 MBC)

Yes, I did write it as I promised a few days ago. (LOL)

First of all, this drama’s protagonist Wang Won (왕원 王謜) / King Chungseon (충선왕 忠宣王, 1275~1325), is the first ever half-blood prince/king in the history of Korea. His maternal grandfather is Kublai Khan, the famous Mongol emperor and the founder of Yuan Dynasty of China.

* Kublai Khan (played by Benedict Wong) from Netflix original drama Marco Polo. Venetian merchant traveler Marco Polo (1254~1324) served the Mongol emperor for many years.   → Wikipedia Kublai Khan (1215~1294) 

Then, I need to talk about why the Goryeo king got married with Kublai Khan's daughter in the first place. The story throws back to the Mongol invasion of Goryeo (1231~1259), about 40~50 years before this drama’s period.

After the death of Genghis Khan (1162-1227), his successors continued to conquer an immense territory and built the largest empire in the world. Like many other countries, Goryeo couldn't avoid their invasion. The Mongol’s Great Khans had frequently sent their troops to Goryeo for about 30 years but had failed to conquer it because of the strong resistance from Goryeo's common people. Despite Goryeo’s military regime, the puppet king, and incompetent nobles abandoned them and evacuated to the safer Gangwha island by themselves, the commoners desperately fought to the end against Mongols to save their own family. However, the long-time Mongol invasions devastated the whole country, and Goryeo's military regime was still on its way down due to chaotic internal strife.

* If you want to know about this chaotic period, go watch God of War 무신 武神 (2012 MBC historical drama). → Wikipedia 

In 1259, King Gojong (고종 高宗, 1192-1259), the 23rd ruler of Goryeo Dynasty, made a secret decision to send his Crown prince to the Mongol emperor in order to negotiate a ceasefire agreement between the two countries, without notifying Goryeo's military regime. It was intended to end the war as well as to take back the royal authority from the military regime.

However, on the way to Karakorum (the capital city of Mongol empire), the Crown prince of Goryeo (Later known as King Wonjong 원종 元宗, 1219~1274) heard about the sudden death of Monke Khan (1209~1259) during the expedition to Southern Song Dynasty of China. He also got to know about an impending civil war over who should be the next Mongol emperor between Monke Khan's two younger brothers : Kublai and Arik Bukha.

Arik Bukha (1219~1266) had procedural legitimacy by claiming the throne in Karakorum first, but Kublai (1215~1294) had military advantages with powerful troops and abundant supplies. Which would be a sure bet? The Crown prince was in a muddled situation to choose between the two Khans with limited information. If he makes a bad choice, Goryeo will be over. He was bearing the destiny of the whole nation on his shoulders. After much consideration, he chose Kublai and started off on a transcontinental journey to meet him. It was a defining moment to change the history of Korea.

Kublai was so surprised and pleased that Goryeo's Crown Prince traveled all the way to meet him, even though Kublai was in a relatively disadvantageous position compared to his younger brother Arik Bukha. He considered it very auspicious, saying that even the previous Great Khans couldn't conquer Goryeo but now Goryeo’s Crown prince came to meet him voluntarily. The peace treaty with Goryeo would raise his authority and help him beat Arik Bukha when claiming the throne. That is how the truce between Goryeo and Mongols was concluded in 30 years after the war broke out.

Kublai guaranteed Goryeo's political autonomy and preservation of its tradition and cultural customs. But every king of Goryeo had to marry a Mongolian princess and be subordinate to the Mongolian Khans.

Their meeting broke up in a very friendly atmosphere. The crown prince had to go back to Goryeo after hearing the news of his father's sudden death and ascended the throne. (King Wonjong of Goryeo) A few years later, Kublai won the civil war against his younger brother and became the 5th Mongol emperor. He brought Song Dynasty of China to the ground and founded Yuan Dynasty.

Meanwhile, the peace treaty led by King Wonjong sparked Goryeo military regime's strong opposition. Blaming the royal family for selling the country out to Mongols, the remnants of military leaders called Sam-byeol-cho (삼별초 三別抄) protested against the decision and continued their resistance fights against Mongols for another 10 year. However, as the last resistance army was defeated in 1270, the war against Mongols had ended officially in 40 years.

In 1274, Kublai Khan's 16-year-old daughter Qutlugh Kelmysh (쿠툴룩 케르미시 忽都魯揭里迷失 1259~1297), also known as Princess Wonseong (원성공주 元成公主) or Princess Jeguk (제국대장공주 齊國大長公主) in Korean, married 39-year-old Crown prince of Goryeo (Later, King Chungnyeol 충렬왕 忠烈王 1236~1308) as their fathers promised to each other in the peace treaty.

However, this international marriage was the beginning of the couple's extremely unhappy married life. To say nothing of a language barrier and their age gap (he was 23 years older than her), the bridegroom already had 3 children of pure royal blood from his lawful wife, Lady Wang / Consort Junghwa (정화궁주 貞和宮主 ?~1319). She was also of royal blood.

Goryeo's royal family (Wang clan) believed that they were descendants from Dragon god, so incestuous marriages between half-siblings, cousins, uncle / niece, aunt / nephew were commonplace to keep their pure blood as well as to strengthen royal authority. (* If you watch Moon Lovers : Scarlet Heart : Ryeo (2016 SBS) and Shine or Go Crazy (2015 MBC), you can understand what I mean.) In such a mindset, it is safe to say that most Goryeo people didn't want their sacred future monarch would have the hateful enemy's blood in his vein, because it really hurt their national pride.

Goryeo people looked down on Mongols as uncivilized nomad barbarians but at the same time they were afraid of Mongol empire's power. In such a hostile atmosphere far away from her hometown, the newlywed Mongolian princess carelessly abused her authority and wielded her power to survive in the Goryeo palace. 

For example, she took a golden pagoda from a famous Buddhist temple by force just because it looked good, even though the temple's monks desperately stopped her, saying that the pagoda was a national treasure for people to pray for health and peace in the country. She didn’t care about critical opinion at all. 

In addition, after she gave birth to a son, she kicked Consort Junghwa (the king's first wife with royal blood) out of the palace and confined her in a remote house for over 20 years not to meet her husband again. Consort Junghwa's eldest son Lord Gangyang (강양공 江陽公) was also forced to become a Buddhist monk to get out of the new-born crown prince's way. (But he returned from the Buddhist priesthood to civil life after 4 years and lived his entire life as quietly as possible. )

All of these things made the king estranged from the princess and indulge in hunting and sex with other women, which in turn led to her resentment against her husband. In such a vicious cycle of marital discord, their only son Crown prince Wang Won grew up as one of Kublai Khan's favorite grandsons with genius brain and artistic talents. 

The first scene where the little Crown Prince desperately tried to stop his father from going out to hunt is really recorded in the history. But the king's insult to his half-blood son is a fiction of this drama.

Among the 3 main characters of this drama, Warrior Wang Rin and Lady Eun San are fictional characters. But Wang Rin's family members -- his father (Wang Young), his aunt (Consort Junghwa), his elder brother (Wang Jeon / Lord Seoheung), and his younger sister (Wang Dan / Consort Jeongbi) -- are real historical figures. They are direct descendants of King Shinjong (신종 神宗, 1144~1204, the 20th ruler of Goryeo dynasty) and the ancestor of King Gongyang (공양왕 恭讓王, 1345~1394) who is the last monarch of Goryeo in Six Flying Dragons 육룡이 나르샤 (2015 SBS).

OK. This is the beginning of The King in Love 왕은 사랑한다 (2017 MBC). I hope it will help you understand the context of the drama.  After this, Empress Ki 기황후 奇皇后 (2013 MBC) starring Ha Ji-Won, Joo Jin-Mo, and Ji Chang-Wook  will be a good sequel because it deals with the next period.

#the king loves #the king in love #goryeo #historical background #god of war #moon lovers scarlet heart ryeo #shine or go crazy #empress ki #marco polo #kublai khan #six flying dragons #wang won

[luckygirl-blog1]

memories of 1977

1977 The first Apple Computer goes on sale. Quebec adopts French as the official language. Jimmy Carter is elected as the President of United States and the first oil flows through the Trans Alaskan Oil Pipeline. The precursor to the GPS system in use today is started by US Department of defense. Elvis Presley Dies from a heart attack aged 42.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZ-k3oblIM8

British Public sector trade unions including Firefighters strike for wage increases over the 10% ceiling imposed by the British government. The first ever Quadraphonic concert in London by Pink Floyd. The first commercial flight Concord London to New York. NASA space shuttle makes its first test flight off the back of a jetliner. Voyager I and Voyager II are launched unmanned to explore the outer solar system.

When Britain’s fire crews walked out on national strike, members of the public were advised to take matters into their own hands. Although the armed services, with their so-called "Green Goddess" fire engines, were drafted in, they were seen by many as a last line of defence.

As the strike took hold in the encroaching winter of November 1977, people were encouraged to keep buckets of sand and water at home. And at a time when many still relied on open fires for heating, householders were advised to have their chimneys cleaned. The London Fire Brigade issued its own 11-point safety guide, advising checking for smouldering cigarettes and leaving only essential electrical appliances like fridges plugged in. The strike began on 14 November and lasted for nine weeks, running through to the New Year. At the time fire fighters worked a basic 48-hour week, for which they were paid an average of £71.10, which amounted to £3,700 a year.

The fire fighters finally agreed to settle for a 10% pay rise with guarantees of future increases and they went back to work on 16 January.

Silver Jubilee of 1977

The Queen’s first biggie was the Silver Jubilee of 1977. The two previous monarchs had not reached this milestone; the Queen’s father King George VI died after only 15 years and two months on the throne and her uncle Edward VIII did not even make it to a year.

Britain in 1977 had recently experienced power cuts, a forerunner of the Winter of Discontent.

No wonder the country was in the mood for a party. But celebrations were different then. Children’s parties used to consist of jelly and ice-cream and Pass The Parcel; now they want a cabaret show and expensive goody bags. Similarly, the Diamond Jubilee involves a cast of thousands and many hours of airtime each day over the better part of a week. The Silver Jubilee coverage consisted of less than seven hours in total, mostly on Jubilee day itself, with not a single celebrity in sight – unless you count Margot (actress Penelope Keith) from The Good Life presenting Jubilee Jackanory.

The Royal Family was smaller 35 years ago so the Queen had to carry out all her own Jubilee engagements.

She went on a royal progress through Britain, much of it by car, so that she could be seen by as many people as possible, even if time did not allow for a walkabout in every town. Late in Jubilee year, a newspaper published a picture of her looking weary, with the comment “Well she IS 51.” And now here she is doing just as much at 86.

The tide was already turning in 1977 as that was the first year when foreign cars outsold British ones.

In Silver Jubilee year leisure for most people meant watching your newly-acquired (but in many cases rented) colour TV. There were only three channels – BBC1, BBC2 and ITV – but somehow there was always something worth watching. The Professionals was a favourite, starring Martin Shaw (sporting a bubble perm) and Lewis Collins and their Ford Capri, as was The New Avengers, a revival of the Sixties series, starring Joanna Lumley and her Purdey hairdo, a modern take on the pudding bowl. Roots, the ground-breaking mini-series tracing a black man’s family history from capture in West Africa, was broadcast in April 1977. Morecambe and Wise ruled the comedy roost. A staggering 28million – half the population at the time – watched their 1977 Christmas show, a figure unlikely to be exceeded.

Sadly the same might be said of Britain’s Wimbledon hopes. No one has really come close since Virginia Wade won in Silver Jubilee year in front of the Queen.

Before videos and DVDs, people still went to the cinema and in December 1977 everyone wanted to see Star Wars, a new kind of fantasy film about “a galaxy far, far away”, that spawned the genre that now includes The Lord Of The Rings and even Harry Potter. Meanwhile the pop world was fragmenting. On one side there was glam rock and disco; on the other, punk. The Sex Pistols’ snarling version of God Save The Queen was released in Jubilee week and their manager Malcolm McLaren said it was proof that there were “barbarians at the gate”.

They never made it through. The popularity of the Royal Family surged in Silver Jubilee year just as it had in Diamond Jubilee year.

We are not the same country we were in 1977. But perhaps we are not entirely different either.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV3hC1-JVbg

Cost of Living

In 1977, 56 per cent of Britons owned one car or more, 74 per cent owned a washing machine. 50 per cent of people had central heating in their homes. Computers, DVD and CD players were non-existent. A couple with two children had an average net income of £363 a week. A single pensioner received an income of £180 a week. We spent 25 per cent of our income on food. We spent 10 per cent of our income on leisure and holidays. In 1977, 93 per cent of men aged 25-54 were in work. However female employment in the same age group was 59 per cent. 26 per cent of jobs were in manufacturing.

Despite the vast majority of adults thinking that things were better in the 1970s, figures from that era suggest that life was not easy.

1977: Star Wars fever hits Britain

Thousands of people were flocking to cinemas in the UK to watch the long-awaited blockbuster, Star Wars – a movie which is already setting US box offices alight. Bracing the cold weather, young and old queued from 0700 GMT in London at the Dominion, and Leicester Square cinemas, to snatch up non-reserved tickets which were otherwise booked until March.

Star Wars, which was first released in America seven months ago, has taken audiences by storm and outstripped last year’s blockbuster Jaws to gross $156m (£108m) at the box office. Carrie Fisher, Sir Alec Guiness and little known Harrison Ford star in this fairytale set in space. Produced by Gary Kurtz, written and directed by George Lucas who directed American Graffitti, the U-classified sci-fi film is a classic epic of good versus evil. It has enthralled audiences under a dazzle of special effects with wizards, heroes, monsters in "a galaxy far, far away".

The 900 people involved in the film included giants, dwarfs, artists and the man who built machines for James Bond. Many of the optical special effects were developed in California by Industrial Light and Magic, a George Lucas company. The on-stage special effects were put together at Elstree studios in Britain. Filming took the cast to Tunisia, Death Valley California, Guatemala and the EMI soundstage at Elstree.

The build-up and hype has led to store wars over Star Wars with products including T-shirts, sweets, jig-saw puzzle, watches and food to name but a few. Mr Lucas has published a paperback version and Marvel comics have produced a special edition to meet the thirst for Star Wars’ merchandise. But for those queuing today nothing will satisfy them but a chance to see the film itself – easy targets for touts trying to sell £2.20 tickets for £30.

1977 The Murders of the Yorkshire Ripper

5 February – 28-year-old homeless woman Irene Richardson is murdered in Leeds, at almost the exact location where prostitute Marcella Claxton was badly injured nine months ago. Police believe that this murder and attempted murder may be connected, along with the murders of Wilma McCann, Emily Jackson and the attempted murders of at least three other women.

Near the body, the police discovered an important clue. The killer had driven his car onto the soft ground of Soldiers Field. The police were able to determine the tire marks as being two India Autoway tires, a Pneumant, and an Esso 110, all cross-ply. With a rear track width of between 4′ 1 1/2" and 4′ 2 1/2", the number of vehicles that it could apply to was twenty-six, including Ford Corsairs. A staggering 100,000 vehicles in West Yorkshire would have to be checked, and before the killer changed any of his tires.

23 April – Prostitute Patricia Atkinson is murdered in Bradford; she is believed to be the fourth woman to die at the hands of the mysterious Yorkshire Ripper.

Patricia Atkinson, aged 32, a prostitute, was the second murder victim in 1977 by Peter Sutcliffe. To the police, the Leeds killer had now expanded his territory to include Bradford. A blood sample showed that Patricia Atkinson had consumed about twenty measures of spirits. The police also found a bloody foot print on a bottom bed sheet from a size seven Dunlop Warwick wellington boot, which matched the foot prints found at the Emily Jackson murder scene. It was clear, from this, and from the injuries sustained, that the Yorkshire Ripper had now expanded his territory to include Bradford. As well, for what would be the only time, he had committed a murder indoors.

26 June – 16-year-old shop assistant Jayne McDonald is found battered and stabbed to death in Chapeltown, Leeds; police believe she is the fifth person to be murdered by the Yorkshire Ripper. About 30 yards into Reginald Street, near an adventure playground, Sutcliffe struck Jayne MacDonald with the hammer on the back of the head. After she fell down, he then dragged her, face down, about 20 yards into the corner of the play area. Her shoes made a "horrible scraping noise" along the ground as he dragged her. He hit her again with the hammer and then pulled her clothes up and stabbed her several times in the chest and in the back.

The slaying of a young girl, not connected to the prostitute trade, an "innocent", brought not only national attention to the case, and outrage from the public not seen in the earlier murder cases, but also caused Chief Constable Ronald Gregory to appoint his most senior detective, Assistant Chief Constable George Oldfield to be in overall charge of the escalating Ripper murder investigations. Peter Sutcliffe claims to have been shocked when he saw the newspaper headlines that Jayne MacDonald had not been a prostitute as he had assumed.

Jayne’s father, Wilf MacDonald, a former railwayman, was to die two years after her murder, never having recovered from the ordeal of her murder.

10 July – Bradford woman Maureen Long, 42 is injured in an attack believed to have been committed by the Yorkshire Ripper in the West Yorkshire city.

Maureen Long had remembered going to the cloak room at the club, and walking towards the city centre. She also remembered his white Ford with the black roof. But the description of her attacker that she was able to provide – white, well-built man, aged 36 or 37, about 6ft. 1in. tall, puffy cheeks, thickish eyebrows, collar-length wiry blond hair, with noticeably large hands – relieved Peter Sutcliffe of some of his worries about being caught. His only concern was the description of his car by the nightwatchman. In August he sold the white Ford Corsair to Ronnie Barker. When it broke down, Sutcliffe reluctantly took it back, stripped the car down, and redistributed the spare parts around the replacement car he had bought in September 1977, a red Ford Corsair.

10 October – Missing 20-year-old prostitute Jean Jordan is found dead in Chorlton, Manchester, nine days after she was last seen alive. Police believe that the Yorkshire Ripper may have killed her; the first crime outside Yorkshire which the killer has been suspected of.

Jean Jordan, also known as Jean Royle, and a prostitute, was killed on October 1 1977 as the Yorkshire Ripper expanded his territory to include Manchester. The events of the murder resulted in the Yorkshire Ripper leaving a clue that could be (and was) directly traced to him. Sutcliffe would also return to the body nine days later to try and recover the incriminating £5 pound note evidence, and when he failed, would carry out the worst attack and mutilations on any of his victims.

The handbag had not been found on October 10th, as it was just outside the police search area. The £5 note, which Peter Sutcliffe had been searching for on his return visit to Manchester, had finally been found. The incriminating note, the police discovered, had been from a batch issued in pay packets days before the murder.

Unfortunately, the five day delay in its discovery, coupled with the delay caused by the fact the body had not been discovered before Sutcliffe returned to it, and other factors, such as the delay by the police it announcing its discovery and the serial number, meant that too much time had passed to further narrow the search for its owner by any public input (see £5 Note Clue for information about the hunt for the owner of the note).

28 October – Police in Yorkshire appeal for help in finding the Yorkshire Ripper, who is believed to be responsible for a series of murders and attacks on women across the county during the last two years.

14 December – 25-year-old Leeds prostitute Marilyn Moore is injured in an attack believed to have been committed by the Yorkshire Ripper.

Marilyn Moore, a 25-year-old prostitute, survived an attack by Peter Sutcliffe, and provided one of the best photofits of the suspect from a known Ripper victim. As well, a clue found at the scene tied this attack to the Irene Richardson murder. Her description of the car was that is was a dark coloured or maroon vehicle, about the size of a Morris Oxford. Sutcliffe was, in fact, driving his red Ford Corsair. The police found an important clue in the tire track evidence that they found at the scene of the attack on Marilyn Moore. The tire tracks where consistent with the tire track evidence found at the Irene Richardson murder scene, the same India Autoway cross-ply tires were on the front wheels. There was no doubt that the Yorkshire Ripper had been the one who had attacked Marilyn Moore.

1977 Timeline

January–June – The United Knigdom holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the first time.

January – The Ford Fiesta goes on sale in the UK.

1 January – The Clash headline the gala opening of the London music club, The Roxy.

3 January – Roy Jenkins, the Home Secretary, announces he is leaving the House of Commons to become President of the European Commission.

6 January – Record company EMI sacks the controversial British punk rock group the Sex Pistols for their behaviour on ITV’s Today Show, whose presenter Bill Grundy was also dismissed by his employers for inciting them.

10 January – Clive Sinclair introduces his new two-inch screen television set, which retails at £175.

29 January – Seven Provisional Irish Republican Army bombs explode in the West End of London, but there are no fatalities or serious injuries.

4 February – Fleetwood Mac’s Grammy-winning album Rumours is released, featuring songs that include "The Chain", "Don’t Stop", and "Go Your Own Way".

Police discover an IRA bomb factory in Liverpool.

5 February – 28-year-old homeless woman Irene Richardson is murdered in Leeds, at almost the exact location where prostitute Marcella Claxton was badly injured nine months ago. Police believe that this murder and attempted murder may be connected, along with the murders of Wilma McCann, Emily Jackson and the attempted murders of at least three other women.

10 February – Elizabeth II visits American Samoa.

The three IRA terrorists involved in the 1975 Balcombe Street Siege in London are sentenced to life imprisonment on six charges of murder.

11 February – Elizabeth II visits Western Samoa.

13 February – Anthony Crosland, Foreign Secretary, is seriously ill in hospital after suffering a stroke.

14 February – Elizabeth II visits Tonga.

16–17 February – Elizabeth II visits Fiji.

17 February – George Newman, chairman of Staffordshire County Council, is sentenced to 15 months in prison for corruption.

22 February – David Owen, 38, becomes the youngest post-Second World War Foreign Secretary, succeeding the late Anthony Crosland, who died 3 days earlier.

22 February – 7 March – Elizabeth II visits New Zealand.

28 February – State Opening of the Parliament of New Zealand, by Elizabeth II.

1 March – James Callaghan threatens to withdraw state aid to British Leyland unless it puts an end to strikes.

7–30 March – Elizabeth II visits Australia.

8 March – State Opening of the Australian Parliament, Canberra by Elizabeth II.

12 March – The Centenary Test between Australia and England begins at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

14 March – The government reveals that inflation has pushed prices up by nearly 70% within three years.

15 March – British Leyland managers announce intention to dismiss 40,000 toolmakers who have gone on strike at the company’s Longbridge plant in Birmingham, action which is costing the state-owned carmaker more than £10million a week.

17–23 March – The Prince of Wales visits Ghana.

19 March – The last Rover P6 rolls off the production line after 14 years.

23 March – Government wins a vote of no confidence in the House of Commons after James Callaghan strikes a deal with the leader of the Liberal Party, David Steel.

23–25 March – Elizabeth II visits Papua New Guinea.

29 March – Income tax is slashed to 33p in the pound from 35p in the budget.

31 March – Elizabeth II visits Muscat.

April – Mike Leigh’s comedy of manners Abigail’s Party opens at the Hampstead Theatre, starring Alison Steadman.

2 April – Red Rum wins the Grand National for the third time.

8 April – Punk band The Clash’s debut album The Clash is released in the UK through CBS Records.

11 April – London Transport’s Silver Jubilee buses are launched.

18–30 April – The Embassy World Snooker Championship moves to the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, and attracts television coverage for the first time.

23 April – National Front marchers clash with anti-Nazi protesters in London.

Prostitute Patricia Atkinson is murdered in Bradford; she is believed to be the fourth woman to die at the hands of the mysterious Yorkshire Ripper.

29 April – British Aerospace is formed to run the nationalised aviation industry.

30 April – Mid Hants Railway reopened.

3 May – HMS Invincible is launched at Barrow-in-Furness by Elizabeth II.

5 May – Silver Jubilee review of the Police at Hendon by Elizabeth II.

Conservatives make gains in local council elections, including winning the Greater London Council from Labour.

7 May – 3rd G7 summit held in London.

Prime Minister of Canada Pierre Elliot Trudeau does a pirouette behind the back of Elizabeth II.

The 22nd Eurovision Song Contest is held in London. With Angela Rippon as the presenter, the contest is won by Marie Myriam representing France, with her song "L’oiseau et l’enfant" ("The Bird and the Child").

13 May – The Silver Jubilee Air Fair is held at Biggin Hill.

15 May – Liverpool F.C. are English league champions for the tenth time.

17 May – Elizabeth II commences her Jubilee tour in Glasgow.

18 May – The UK is among 29 signatories of a Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques.

Elizabeth II visits Cumbernauld and Stirling.

19 May – Elizabeth II visits Perth and Dundee.

21 May – Manchester United win the FA Cup for the fourth time by defeating Liverpool 2-1 at Wembley Stadium in the final. It is their first major trophy since they won the European Cup in 1968.

23–27 May – Elizabeth II visits Edinburgh.

25 May – Liverpool win their first European Cup by defeating the West German league champions Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-1 in the final in Rome.

27 May – Elizabeth II opens the new Air Terminal Building at Edinburgh Airport.

Prime Minister James Callaghan officially opens the M5 motorway, which is now complete with the opening of the final stretch around Exeter, 15 years after the first stretch of the motorway (beginning near Birmingham) was opened.

28 May – Climax of Windsor Silver Jubilee celebrations: Elizabeth II visits the town on her Jubilee tour.

30 May – A gala performance for the Silver Jubilee is held at the Royal Opera House, London.

6–9 June – Jubilee celebrations are held in the United Kingdom to celebrate twenty-five years of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign, with a public holiday on 7 June.

17 June – Wimbledon F.C., champions of the Isthmian League, are elected to the Football League in place of Workington in the Fourth Division.

20 June – Anglia Television broadcasts the fake documentary "Alternative 3". It enters into the conspiracy theory canon.

Seventeen people are arrested during clashes between pickets and police at the Grunwick film processing laboratory.

26 June – 16-year-old shop assistant Jayne McDonald is found battered and stabbed to death in Chapeltown, Leeds; police believe she is the fifth person to be murdered by the Yorkshire Ripper.

4 July – Manchester United manager Tommy Docherty is sensationally dismissed by the club’s directors due to his affair with the wife of the club’s physiotherapist.

7 July – The first episode of the BBC documentary series Brass Tacks is aired, featuring a debate as to whether Myra Hindley should be considered for parole from the life sentence she received for her role in the Moors Murders in 1966.

10 July – Bradford woman Maureen Long, 42 is injured in an attack believed to have been committed by the Yorkshire Ripper in the West Yorkshire city.

11 July – Gay News found guilty of blasphemous libel in a case (Whitehouse v. Lemon) brought by Mary Whitehouse’s National Viewers and Listeners Association.

Don Revie announces his resignation after three years as manager of the England national football team.

12 July – Within 24 hours of resigning as manager of the England national football team, Don Revie accepts an offer to become the highest paid football manager in the world when he is appointed manager of the United Arab Emirates national football team on a four-year contract worth £340,000.

14 July – Manchester United appoint Dave Sexton, manager of Queen’s Park Rangers and previously Chelsea, as their new manager.

23 July – Chrysler Europe launched the Sunbeam, a three-door rear-wheel drive small hatchback similar in concept to the Ford Fiesta and Vauxhall Chevette.

29 July – Finance Act abolishes the collection of tithes.

August – Government introduces voluntary Stage III one-year pay restraint.

10 August – The Queen visits Northern Ireland as part of her Jubilee celebrations under tight security.

Kenny Dalglish, 26-year-old Scotland striker, becomes Britain’s most expensive footballer in a £440,000 transfer from Glasgow Celtic to Liverpool.

11 August – Cricketer Geoff Boycott scores the 100th century of his career for England against Australia at Headingley, Leeds.

12 August – 19 September – Union-Castle Line RMS Windsor Castle (1959) makes the line’s last passenger mail voyage out of Southampton for Cape Town, the last major British ship to operate in the regular ocean liner trade.

13 August – Battle of Lewisham: an attempt by the far-right National Front to march from New Cross to Lewisham in southeast London leads to counter-demonstrations and violent clashes.

15 August – Rioting breaks out in Birmingham during demonstrations against the National Front.

17 August – Ron Greenwood, general manager of West Ham United, who guided the East London club to FA Cup and European Cup Winners’ Cup glory as their team manager during the 1960s, accepts an offer from the Football Association to manage the England team on a temporary basis until December.

23 August – A new, smaller, £1 note is introduced.

September – Ford launches the second generation of its popular Granada model.

6 September – Car industry figures show that foreign cars are outselling British-built ones for the first time. Japanese built Datsuns, German Volkswagens and French Renaults are proving particularly popular with buyers, although British-built products from Ford, British Leyland, Vauxhall and Chrysler UK are still the most popular.

16 September – Rock star Marc Bolan, pioneer of the glam rock movement at the start of the 1970s with T. Rex, is killed in a car crash in Barnes, London, two weeks before his 30th birthday. His girlfriend Gloria Jones, the driver of the car, is seriously injured.

19 September – Manchester United, the English FA Cup holders, are expelled from the European Cup Winners’ Cup after their fans rioted in France during a first round first leg game with AS Saint-Etienne (which ended in a 1-1 draw) five days ago.

26 September – Freddie Laker launches his new budget Skytrain airline, with the first single fare from Gatwick to New York costing £59 compared to the normal price of £186.

UEFA reinstates Manchester United to the European Cup Winners’ Cup on appeal. However, they are ordered to play their return leg against AS Saint-Etienne at least 120 miles away from their Old Trafford stadium.

3 October – Undertakers go on strike in London, leaving more than 800 corpses unburied.

10 October – Missing 20-year-old prostitute Jean Jordan is found dead in Chorlton, Manchester, nine days after she was last seen alive. Police believe that the Yorkshire Ripper may have killed her; the first crime outside Yorkshire which the killer has been suspected of.

14 October – Fourteen people are injured in a bomb explosion at a London pub.

25 October – Michael Edwardes succeeds Richard Dobson as chief of British Leyland.

27 October – Former Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe denies allegations of attempted murder of and having a relationship with male model Norman Scott.

Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols is released in the United Kingdom, and the Sex Pistols perform on a boat on the River Thames shortly afterwards, only for the police to wait for them and several arrests occurred, including that of Malcolm McLaren, the band’s manager at the time.

28 October – Police in Yorkshire appeal for help in finding the Yorkshire Ripper, who is believed to be responsible for a series of murders and attacks on women across the county during the last two years.

14 November – Firefighters go on their first ever national strike, in hope of getting a 30% wage increase.

15 November – The Queen becomes a grandmother for the first time when Princess Anne gives birth to a son.

The first SavaCentre hypermarket, a venture between J Sainsbury and British Home Stores, opens at Washington, Tyne and Wear.

22 November – British Airways inaugurates regular London to New York City supersonic Concorde service.

3 December – The England football team fails to achieve World Cup qualification for the second tournament in succession.

10 December – James Meade wins the 1977 Nobel Prize in Economics jointly with the Norwegian Bertil Ohlin for their "Pathbreaking contribution to the theory of international trade and international capital movements."

Nevill Francis Mott wins the Nobel Prize in Physics jointly with Philip Warren Anderson and John Hasbrouck van Vleck "for their fundamental theoretical investigations of the electronic structure of magnetic and disordered systems".

12 December – Chrysler Europe announces its new Horizon range of five-door front-wheel drive hatchbacks, which will be built in Britain as a Chrysler and France as a Simca. It will give buyers a more modern alternative to the Avenger range of rear-wheel drive saloons and estates.

Ron Greenwood signs a permanent contract as England manager, despite England’s failure to qualify for next summer’s World Cup. The appointment is controversial, as there had been widespread support for Brian Clough of Nottingham Forest to be appointed.

14 December – 25-year-old Leeds prostitute Marilyn Moore is injured in an attack believed to have been committed by the Yorkshire Ripper.

16 December – The Queen opens a £71million extension to the London Underground which runs to Heathrow Airport.

21 December – Four children die at a house fire in Wednesbury, West Midlands, as Green Goddess fire appliances crewed by hastily-trained troops are sent to deal with the blaze while firefighters are still on strike. 119 people have now died as a result of fires since the strike began, but this is the first fire during the strike which has resulted in more than two deaths.

22 December – The Queen’s first grandchild is christened Peter Mark Andrew Phillips.

25 December – The Morecambe & Wise Christmas Show on BBC 1 television attracts an audience of more than 28 million viewers, one of the highest ever in U.K. television history.

27 December – The much-acclaimed Star Wars film, which has been a massive hit in the United States, is screened in British cinemas for the first time.

Inflation has fallen slightly this year to 15.8%, but it is the fourth successive year that has seen double digit inflation.

Colour television licences exceed black and white licences for the first time in the U.K.

Lynsey De Paul teamed up with Mike Moran as the UK entry for Eurovision in 1977, staged at Wembley Conference Centre, and finished in second place with Rock Bottom.

Music Events

1 January – The Clash headline the gala opening of the London music club, The Roxy.

22 January – Maria Kliegel makes her London début at the Wigmore Hall, with a programme of Bach, Kodály, and Franck.

26 January – Fleetwood Mac’s original lead guitarist, Peter Green, is committed to a mental hospital in England after firing a pistol at a delivery boy bringing him a royalties check.

27 January – After releasing only one single for the band, EMI Records terminates its contract with the Sex Pistols.

4 February – Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours is released; it goes on to become one of the best-selling albums of all time.

15 February – Sid Vicious replaces Glen Matlock as the bassist of the Sex Pistols.

10 March – A&M Records signs the Sex Pistols in a ceremony in front of Buckingham Palace. The contract is terminated on 16 March as a result of the band vandalizing property and verbally abusing employees during a visit to the record company’s office.

2 May – Elton John performs the first of six consecutive nights at London’s Rainbow Theatre, his first concert in eight months. John keeps a low profile in 1977, not releasing any new music for the first year since his recording career began eight years previously.

7 May – Having been postponed from 2 April because of a BBC technicians’ strike, the 22nd Eurovision Song Contest finally goes ahead in London’s Wembley Conference Centre.

11 May – The Stranglers and support band London start a 10-week national tour.

12 May – Virgin Records announces that they have signed the Sex Pistols.

7 June – The Sex Pistols attempt to interrupt Silver Jubilee celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II by performing "God Save the Queen" from a boat on the River Thames. Police force the boat to dock and several arrests are made following a scuffle.

12 June – Guitarist Michael Schenker vanishes after a UFO concert at The Roundhouse in London. He is replaced for several months by Paul Chapman until he appears again to rejoin the group in October.

15 June – The Snape Maltings Training Orchestra makes its London debut at St John’s, Smith Square.

25 June – The Young Musicians’ Symphony Orchestra of London, conducted by James Blair, gives the belated première of William Walton’s 1962 composition Prelude for Orchestra.

6 July – During a Pink Floyd concert before a crowd of 80,000 at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Bassist Roger Waters having become increasingly irritated by a fan until he exerts his frustration by spitting on him. The incident becomes the catalyst for the group’s next album, The Wall.

22 July – The first night of The Proms is broadcast by BBC Radio 3 for the first time in quadraphonic sound.

26 July – Led Zeppelin cancels the last seven dates of their American tour after lead singer Robert Plant learns that his six-year-old son Karac has died of a respiratory virus. The show two days before in Oakland proves to be the band’s last ever in the United States.

1 September – World première at the Royal Albert Hall in London of the expanded version of Luciano Berio’s Coro.

16 September – T.Rex frontman Marc Bolan is killed in an automobile accident.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgCNm6eNLAw

27 October – The Sex Pistols release their controversial album Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols, which would be their only studio album.

Number-one singles

Wings – Mull Of Kintyre Abba – Name Of The Game Baccara – Yes Sir I Can Boogie David Soul – Silver Lady Elvis Presley – Way Down The Floaters – Float On Brotherhood Of Man – Angelo Donna Summer – I Feel Love Hot Chocolate – So You Win Again The Jacksons – Show You The Way To Go Kenny Rogers – Lucille Rod Stewart – I Dont Want To Talk About It Deniece Williams – Free Abba – Knowing Me Knowing You Abba – The Name of the Game Manhattan Transfer – Chanson DAmour Leo Sayer – When I Need You Julie Covington – Dont Cry For Me Argentina Johnny Mathis – When a Child is Born David Soul – Dont Give Up On Us

www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYwR7_EHPA0

Television

Mike Yarwood’s 1977 Christmas Show tops the list of most-watched Christmas programmes.

27 March – Jesus of Nazareth, a British-Italian television miniseries dramatizing the birth, life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus based on the accounts in the four New Testament Gospels debuts on British television, starring Robert Powell as Jesus.

28 March – Yorkshire Television and Tyne Tees Television launch a nine-week breakfast television experiment. It is credited as being the United Kingdom’s first breakfast television programme, six years before the launch of TV-am and the BBC’s Breakfast Time. Both programmes run at the same time, with Tyne Tees, Good Morning North, and Yorkshire’s Good Morning Calendar. Both programmes finish on Friday 27 May.

22 April – The original series of motoring programme Top Gear begins as a local magazine format produced by BBC Midlands from its Pebble Mill Studios in Birmingham, presented by Angela Rippon and Tom Coyne. In 1978 it is offered to BBC2 where it airs until 2001. In 2002 the series is relaunched in a new format.

7 May – The 22nd Eurovision Song Contest is held in London. With Angela Rippon as the presenter, the contest is won by Marie Myriam representing France, with her song "L’oiseau et l’enfant" ("The Bird and the Child").

6 June-9 June – Television viewers in Britain and around the world watch live coverage of the celebrations of the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II, while the soap opera Coronation Street features an elaborate Jubilee parade in the storyline, having Rovers’ Return Inn manageress Annie Walker dress up in elaborate costume as Queen Elizabeth I. Ken Barlow and "Uncle Albert" play Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing respectively.

20 June – Anglia Television broadcasts the fake documentary "Alternative 3". It enters into the conspiracy theory canon.

7 July – The first episode of the BBC documentary series Brass Tacks is aired, featuring a debate as to whether Myra Hindley should be considered for parole from the life sentence she received for her role in the Moors Murders in 1966.

7 September – The Krypton Factor makes its debut on ITV.

18 September – The occasional ITV bloopers programme It’ll be Alright on the Night is first aired.

1 October – Ian Trethowan succeeds Charles Curran as Director-General of the BBC.

26 November – Southern Television broadcast interruption: Just after 5.10pm in the Southern Television ITV region, a hoaxer hijacks the sound of Independent Television News from the IBA transmitter at Hannington, Hampshire, and broadcasts a message claiming to be Asteron of the Ashtar Galactic Command. Thousands of viewers ring STV, ITN or the police for an explanation; the identity of the intruder was never confirmed.

25 December – Both the Mike Yarwood Christmas Show and The Morecambe & Wise Christmas Show on BBC 1 attracts an audience of more than 28 million, one of the highest ever in U.K. television history.

Scum, an entry in BBC1’s Play for Today anthology strand, is pulled from transmission due to controversy over its depiction of life in a Young Offenders’ Institution (at this time known in the U.K. as a borstal). Two years later the director Alan Clarke makes a film version with most of the same cast, and the original play itself is eventually transmitted on Channel Four in 1991.

Colour television licenses exceed black and white licenses for the first time in the U.K.

First edition of BBC Top Gear

www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-y-FgOikNQ

BBC1

2 January – Wings (1977–1978) 15 February – Take Hart (1977–1983) 12 April – Citizen Smith (1977–1980) 7 July – Brass Tacks (1977–1988) 7 September – Secret Army (1977–1979) 17 October – Des O’Connor Tonight (1977–2002)

ITV

11 January – Robin’s Nest (1977–1981) 8 May – King of the Castle (1977) 18 May – A Bunch of Fives (1977–1978) 6 September – You’re Only Young Twice (1977–1981) 7 September – The Krypton Factor (1977–1995, 2009–2010) 18 September – It’ll Be Alright On The Night (1977–present) 30 December – The Professionals (1977–1983)

Posted by brizzle born and bred on 2017-11-23 09:32:34

Tagged: , memories of 1977 , 1977

The post memories of 1977 appeared first on Good Info.

[gamerszone2019-blog]

Our Favorite Dumb (But Awesome) Games

New Post has been published on https://gamerszone.tn/our-favorite-dumb-but-awesome-games/

Our Favorite Dumb (But Awesome) Games

At some point in the past few weeks, some of us at the office were spitballing about when we thought the ludicrous new crustacean-themed battle game Fight Crab might come out.While we don’t know for sure (though their website alleges it will be some time by the end of the month), it got us thinking: this game, while undeniably awesome, is also undeniably silly and sort of dumb. But that’s not a bad thing – in fact, it reminded us that some of our favorite games aren’t much smarter.

IGN’s Favorite Dumb-But-Awesome Games

Check out the slideshow above for some of our favorite dumb-but-awesome games, or scroll through the entire list below.

I Am Bread

In I Am Bread, you are bread, and your mission is to become toast. Literally – it’s all about traversing a hazardous kitchen, apartment, or other mundane room as a slice of bread to get to a toaster and cook yourself.

The premise is silly as hell and it’s frustratingly, stupidly hard, but it also had me laughing so hard I teared up. Funny, because I had the same exact reaction to Bossa Studios’ other wacky game, Surgeon Simulator.

– Casey DeFreitas, Editor

This game was an absolute turd, so bad in fact that it was one of the first games to be approved for the PS Classic, the first mini-console desgined to showcase all of the worst titles in the history of an otherwise beloved system.

It was also the first and only 3D fighting game available for the system at launch (a couple months before Tekken and a couple years before Soul Blade would be released), so you better believe there were quite a few of us early adopters out there wasting hours mastering a game that would never really achieve widespread popularity. Even though I definitely know better in retrospect, I still can’t help but to remember my time with BAT fondly.

– Jeremy Azevedo, Head of Gaming Video

Blitzball

Final Fantasy X was a game about love, parenthood, responsibility, adulthood, and playing underwater basket-rugby with lots of dudes in big shorts. At least, it was for me. I am acutely aware that Blitzball, X’s take on the traditional all-consuming Final Fantasy side-game, is objectively bad. It’s slow, predictable and has, generously, about 4 animations in total. And I played it for dozens of hours, sculpting the perfect team of dudes in big shorts and winning everything I could. It was a chance for a distraction from the sad fact that Tidus’ dad had become an apocalyptic whale, and by god, I took that chance. I love it.

– Joe Skrebels, UK Deputy Editor

Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold

In my house, my dad didn’t let me play Doom. He let me play Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold while he played Doom. Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold is kind of like Doom, but it’s also not Doom. Doom came out the week after this game and ruined my life. Thanks, Doom.

– Ronny Barrier, Video Producer

Sneak King

Who’d have thought that one of the most memorable games of the last generation would have been a marketing stunt? Sneak King took my love of stealth games, and slapped it on the grill with my love of burgers to make a delicious, greasy, surprisingly unbroken adventure starring America’s only acceptable monarch, the Burger King. May his charbroiled reign last a thousand sneaky, greasy years.

– Jon Ryan, Senior Editor

Uno (Xbox Live Arcade)

When this game came out, I got way too into becoming the greatest Uno player of all time. I will never forget the lack of moderation on the pictures for my competitors leading each game of Uno to basically become a proxy for chat roulette. A unique time in gaming.

– Tate Fiebing, Product Manager

Roundabout

Expecting an FMV comedy romp, I was not expecting to be dumped into what is arguably the most absurd puzzle/platformer/racing game I’ve ever played. Yes, it also has FMV. Beginning with frustration and utter confusion as I tried to learn how to control my continually-rotating cab quickly gave way to howls of laughter as I crashed and exploded again and again, and I became obsessed with trying to top my previous high scores for each level. If I’d been playing by myself, I might not have found it quite as funny – but with friends, this game is comedic gold.

– Ginger Smith, Product Manager

Almost every single licensed NES game (not made by Capcom)

If it existed in the 80s, there was an NES game based on it. It didn’t matter if the underlying IP was rated R, or what the story might be, or if the developers had ever seen the movie or show it was based on.

This was before the internet and by the time you were suckered into buying the game, that was it, you were stuck with it. Rambo, Total Recall, TMNT, Bart vs The Space Mutants, A Nightmare on Elm Street, X-Men, Goonies, Karate Kid, Terminator 2, Friday the 13th, Night Rider, Airwolf, Bill & Ted, if you can remember it, there was probably an NES game based on it and it was almost definitely shit. But you’d play the hell out of it because you wanted to believe it was like the thing you loved, and because you had to justify the expense of a new game tape to yourself and your family. Unless it was made by Capcom (like Ducktails or Little Nemo), in which case it was, of course, bitchin’.

– Jeremy Azevedo

You Have To Burn The Rope

YHTBTR is a 30sec game with a great 2min end credits song. It’s not very difficult. The game literally tells you what to do right in the title. You could argue this isn’t even a game and instead is more of a music player with an interactive play button. No matter how you look at it, YHTBTR is definitely a “dumb” game but to this day is still one of my favorite time-wasters.

– Isaiah Smith, Software Engineer

50 Cent: Blood on the Sand

After G-Unit performs a sold-out show in an ambiguous Middle Eastern country, they’re outraged to learn the concert promoter can’t pay them in cash. Instead, he offers them a jewel-encrusted skull, which is immediately stolen by a beautiful ninja woman. 50 Cent, Tony Yayo, Lloyd Banks, and DJ Whoo Kid chase after her, which proves easier said than done because there are terrorists everywhere and they have to fight the terrorists.

Because this is a video game, new weapons and skills can be unlocked, but because this a 50 Cent video game, so can new swearwords. 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand is dumb as all hell, and way better that is has any right to be. It is a tragedy and an atrocity that it never got a follow-up where G-Unit goes to outer space or back in time.

– Max Scoville, Executive Mailroom Clerk

Chrome Dino

When you go offline…and you’re really bored…watchu gonna play? Chrome Dino! No, but seriously, Chrome Dino has saved me from complete boredom so many times over the years. From dodging pterodactyl and cacti to watching the world change from day to night and back again, Chrome Dino is a surprisingly addictive game that lives in the most unlikely of places. I still play it sometimes to this day when the internet goes out…

– Isaiah Smith

Cool Spot

A video game tie-in to promote Sprite’s bastard stepchild 7-Up, Cool Spot is profoundly dumb in theory, but actually quite fun to play. You play as the eponymous spot – 7-Up’s mascot in the United States – as he traverses through various generic ‘90s platforming levels, rescuing other Spots and collecting points. Strangely competent despite the relentless product placement.

– Lucy O’Brien, Executive Editor

Get On Top (Sportsfriends)

The awkard wrestling game where rounds last 2 or 3 seconds. Many laughs were had and bets decided from wierd round boys slamming eachothers heads into the ground by wiggling around in QWOP-like motions. Existed as a hidden mini game in Sportsfriends and on the best selling console of all time: Ouya.

– Drake Wempe Software Engineer

Dong Dong Never Die

One of the weirdest fighting games ever made, DDND is a Doujin (Fan-Made Indie Game) game from China made in Fighter Maker. It plays a little bit like the old King of Fighters series, but the game looks like you took the weirdest characters out of Kung Fu Hustle and put them in a digitized 2d fighter. You’ll laugh at how absurd each character and their attacks are, but actually get a kick out of the fighting engine too. The game is free on PC, so you can take a shot of using your Mian Hua Tang against Super Mario without spending a penny.

– Aaron Smith Sr. Mgr.of AdOps

Metal Arms: Glitch In The System

A long-forgotten game for GameCube that was in many ways ahead of it’s time. Quirky storytelling that reminds me of borderlands. A bunch of bizzare weapons that could be upgraded and customized.

A final boss fight that was utter insanity as you’re almost literally fighting a building. A ton of fun to play and even gave itself an arena to do PvP with. Sadly in spite of having all of the elements of other great games it never really caught on.

– Eric Becking Lead Engineer

What are some of your favorite games that make you go “this sucks, I love it?” Let us know in the comments!

Source : IGN

#Game News #Game Reviews

[djrelentless]

“2013 REWIND: DJ Relenless Talks Music, Politics, Life And The Future”

December 26, 2013 at 4:29pm

What can I say about the year that gave us "twerking" and the "Gay Lumberjack meetsHillbilly Chic" beard? The year that blatant abuse of power with a side order of racism and homophobia was the order of the day. Where Pop Divas battled for the top of the charts, but were side swiped by a smarter girl from Houston.

Yes, 2013 was a quite a year in news and for me personally.

It seems like every year Reality TV gets more and more out of control. We went from a sassy toddler beauty pageant contestant to a backwoods redneck duck calling family and suddenly became surprised that the monarch of it was homophobic and racist. And not wanting to be outdone….the Kardsahians pulled every trick out of their Prada bags to stay relevant. Too bad that not even marrying Kanye West could keep them afloat on the internet. Kanye had a moment of truth on Jimmy Kimmel when he went on to address the parody of his BBC interview. For just a second, I understood his point of view, but then he just kept on talkin'! His mouth is gonna be his biggest downfall. He has some clever twists of phrases in his lyrics, but his idea of being a super genius is what keeps everyone from taking him seriously. Poor Paris Hilton…..she's no longer  the "rotten spoiled whore darling" of media. Instead of releasing that horrible song with Lil' Wayne she should have done a sex tape with him. That would have kept her in the news for at least a month. We were continuously being bombarded with information everyday. How could anyone keep up or pay attention?

Musically, we started out the year doing the "Harlem Shake". This really funky dance featured in many Hip Hop videos got appropriated and transformed into convulsions of the masses. Great beat, but no one I saw online was doing it right. This was kinda the "Year of Appropriation" (folks basically stealing other things from other cultures…..some for music, some to shock and some just to get a laugh). Even my alter-ego, Jade Elektra found herself being appropriated by Circuit DJ/Producers who years ago would never play or admit they liked tracks like "Bitch You Look Fierce" or "Why Are You Gaggin'?", but now are stealing riffs and lyrics to make these outdated tribal tracks for shirtless steroid boys to throw their hands in the air while their drugs kick in. That's so 1998!

The word "twerk" was on everyone's lips after the 2013 MTV Music Video Awardsbecause little Hannah Montana decided that once and for all she was no longer going to be a Disney Princess. So, when Miley Cyrus bent over in front of Canada's Marvin Gaye,Robin Thicke during a mash-up of "We Can't Stop" and "Blurred Lines" the course of Pop Music history was changed forever. Online and in the media, Lady GaGa and Katy Perrywere slated to duke it out for the top of the charts by September. After that moment, no one was even thinking about an "Applause" or a "Roar". But no one could have predictedBeyonce coming around the corner in at the last moment in December with her brilliantly unannounced CD and Visual album. Finally….an artist got it right. Release more than a bunch of songs. Give your fans a complete package and they will go out and buy it in droves.

Rivalries between Chris Brown and Drake or Azealia Banks and Iggy Azalea seem to cool by summer. I think a few people found out that the internet could be a dangerous place for their careers. Bad publicity is still bad publicity. And when you are trying to sell records in this economy…..it would behoove you to sit down and shut the fuck up! I didn't get the apology that I wanted from Eminem, but I did get to hear him say that he is not a role model and that he did a lot of his early 2000's antics for publicity. But like Andrew "Dice" Clay andLisa Lampanelli, you can only go so far shocking people before it turns into hate. On top and everyone's talking about you and then poof…..you're gone. The next obnoxious thing comes along. So, I lifted my ban on him just in time for his well crafted album, "The Mashall Mathers LP 2" (produced by the legendary Rick Ruben).

Idiots like Justin Bieber and Rob Ford really found out how bad publicity travels around the world in a second. These fools spent the year just writing jokes about themselves with every move. And it's sad that the City Government in Toronto has nothing place to remove Fordfrom office after admitting he lied about smoking crack, got caught on video with some shady dealings, possible murder suspect and told a room full of reporters that he has more than enough "pussy" to eat at home. Bieber just really needs a good ass-whippin'. Punk ass bitches like him are always super tough behind bodyguards when he would bust a grape in a fruit fight (to quote Jay Z). God….please make his announcement about retiring TRUE!

It was quite the year for Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. These two have played their hand very well. I just wish that they would give thanks to Ellen DeGeneres for really launching their success by having them on to perform "Same Love" in October of 2012. And speaking of lesbians on daytime television……it has been great to see the void of Oprah filled with two dykes competing for ratings every weekday. Queen Latifah & Ellen seem to be fighting over guests and who's funnier. The only thing is one is completely out and the other dances around the subject.

But we did have some new entries into the game. The LaToya Jackson of the Braxton family, Tamar Braxton really stretched her 15 minutes into 20. Kendrick Lamar shook things up on the Hip Hop scene by just being raw on his lyrics. And thank God that damn "Royals" song by Lorde seems to be dying down! I love when they hype a new artist that they think is the next big thing. She should take a look back at Nora Jones. Praised and revered….now no one knows where she is (taco stand, maybe). At least with Macklemore & Ryan Lewis they had a few years under their belts to find their sound and message. This kid's album sounds like one song. No variations and nothing interesting. I don't wanna hear another teenage girl who sounds like the voice of a baby doll programed with the latest catch phrases…..just tired! But we'll see what happens at the Grammys.

And speaking of the Grammys…..I definitely think it's gonna be a Justin Timberlake year. I think the lawsuit by the Gaye family will hurt Robin Thicke's chances. But Pharrell Williamsshould snatch a couple awards for producing and singing the track "Happy" for "Despicable Me 2". Let's just hope there won't be any awkward performances like Lady GaGa & R. Kelly's "Do What U Want" on SNL or Miley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball" on theAmerican Music Awards even though they both made for good television.

Apparently some other "good television" in 2013 was "Breaking Bad". Who would have thought a show about dealing meth would be one of the highest rated show? Perhaps with the state of the U.S. it's not that surprising at all. From the blatant sabotage of the government by the arrogant and racist Republicans to the dumbing down of TV programing, many didn't have much to turn o except drugs to cope. Medical marijuana has legalized pot in certain areas of the country and many are trying to find doctors who will give them a prescription for any ailment.

And the Reality TV shows just keep on a comin'! My favorite new title coming from the states is "Sex Sent Me To The E.R." (probably because I could have been on this show….but we'll save that story for my book). As a member of the Screen Actors Guild, it saddens me that good actors can't get work today while simple and common people can allow cameras to follow them around and makes millions. And talking with one of my good friends who is an excellent director, I realized that this Reality Crap has effected our actual actors in America. Now perfectly good actors are "acting" like Reality Stars to get work. This is why Australians and Brits are playing Americans better than Americans. It reminds me of when I was applying for a job at Gym Bar in Chelsea, NY back in 2009 and the owner actually asked me to not mix my sets. Mainly because the norm in the bars in Manhattan these days at some gay hangouts is a DJ who cannot mix. That is killing the art of DJ-ing and definitely killing the art of acting!

But never fear….Kevin Hart came up with one of the most brilliant ideas. "The Real Husbands Of Hollywood" has flipped the script. It's a fake reality show with real celebrities. Very funny stuff! I predict that Mr. Hart will take the place of Dave Chapelle in 2014. God knows, he's about to drop several movies at once to start the New Year off. Let's just hope he doesn't implode like Dave did.

The other disturbing trend I watched in 2013 was the Conservative Party of Canada's government borrowing pages from the U.S. Republicans' playbook. Not many realized thatFOX News opened an office in Montreal this year. That means that the Republicans have raised enough money off the puppet shows like "Family Guy", "American Idol" and "The Simpsons" to expand to another country. The very things that the Republicans hate and want to fight to keep down like gay rights, immigration, poor people's dreams, etc…are the very things they sell us on their shows to make money to continue their agenda. Their remarking of voting zones and opposing Obama tooth and nail is part of their plan to take back the White House in 2016. And don't think for a moment that the Obamacare website debacle was not a scheme by the Republicans. It's just too bad that him being the first African-American President has left him in a position where he can't call them out without them saying he's playing the "race card". These days everyone is holding their breath hoping that Hillary Clinton will run in the next election. At this moment and time, she seems to be the only threat to the Republicans. But a lot can change over the next year couple of years. Remember back in 2008 when we all thought she was a shoe-in?

But I guess the most frustrating thing to watch this year was the acts of racism and homophobia. The George Zimmerman Verdict in the murder case of Trayvon Martin really sent a message about America that polarized race relations. It gave us the new and improved "Jim Crow". It raised the question "Have we really evolved at all?" People likePaula Deen and Phil Robertson are great example of the rebranding of "Jim Crow". Celebrities like Julianna Hough dressing in "blackface" for Halloween, Steve Martintweeting a racist jokes, the attacks on Nina Davuluri for being crowned the first Miss America of Indian decent….all tell a different story about "the land of the free." Some tried to apologize while others just "stood their ground" and let their racist thoughts flow like theRiver Jordan. And even though Elisabeth Hasslebeck was finally asked to leave "The View", I think it was a little too late.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/09/16/miss-america-2013-nina-davuluri_n_3933666.html

But I guess the most ridiculous thing I just read about recently is the "National Chick-Phil-A Day" coming up on January 21st, 2014. Supporters of Phil Robertson are planning to converge on all Chick-fil-A restaurants to show their support for him and freedom of speech. Hey…it worked when the company came out against gay rights! But in a strange move the fast food chain has quickly denounced any involvement with the movement. Probably because Robertson is not only a homophobe but also a racist. So, the company has had to pick and choose their hate. Yes…we hate homosexuals, but we love our black customers who eat chicken!

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/12/26/have-you-heard-about-the-national-chick-phil-a-day-to-support-suspended-duck-dynast-star/

http://www.tmz.com/2013/12/25/chick-fil-a-phil-robertson-facebook-group-statement/

But as for me, 2013 taught me a lot about myself and where my life is going. With the help of my husband (John Allan), Todd Klinck, Phillip Fournier and the owners of Crews & Tangos I successfully maintained a monthly fundraiser for one of the charities that is dear to my heart…..Toronto's People With AIDS Foundation. Probably because I have witnessed first hand the good work they do for people living with HIV/AIDS. I don't think that everyone realizes that all it takes is one person to start a movement or to take a stand. I hope that I have inspired a few people to live in their truth. It's the only way to live….for me at least. I've learned that it is never too late to right a wrong (especially when it comes to your family).

2013 also taught me to always stand up for what you believe in (even when it is the unpopular thing to do). Pride week in Toronto showed me how some people only see what they want to see. Supporting your friend when they have done something that is wrong or controversial does not make their actions right. It only makes you look uneducated. Opening a conversation and dialogue about different view points should not turn into a "Twlight" movie with Team This and Team That. If you don't know what it is to be discriminated against or degraded because of who or what you are, then of course you will not have the same view point as of someone who has. Social Media has turn everyone into their own little islands. And our youth suffer the most because they actually believe the hype of entitlement. A few likes or quick comments posted on a page makes them believe that they are that important when there are much bigger issues at hand.

So, even though I have lost a few friends and acquaintances behind standing up against a racist act, I have gained a few a long the way and remain proud that I said something when most didn't see what was wrong in the first place.

It weird thinking back at the movie version of George Orwell's "1984". "Big Brother" was a real threat to our lives (or at least we thought back then). The idea that someone was watching us 24/7 without our control or consent was a scary concept. Now "Big Brother" is a reality show and everyone is clammering to post their most intimate details online. I love seeing photos of people behaving badly, smoking joints and almost naked in their bathrooms. And then they wonder why they can't get a job! It would seem that "Big Brother" has figured out how to watch us with our permission and no one is the wiser.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vq-_7F9asjo

For 2014….I pray for clarity. I pray for continued good health. I pray for a common ground where we all can be heard and still respect each other. I don't have to agree with you, but that does not mean we cannot work together to make a better place for all of us.