#s*x lives of medieval women

[trulymedievalstuff]

The other day, I had the pleasure of listening to the audiobook version of Rosalie Gilbert's "The Very Secret Sex Lives of Medieval Women." I found Gilbert's writing style to be very humorous, especially for the subject material. Now, I'll be honest, much of what was written I guessed or already knew about as somebody who does quite a bit of research on the time period but the information was presented in an entertaining manner with jokes, quips, and story-telling here and there. The book highlighted the experiences of cisgender women mostly and touched upon intersex folk and lesbians towards the end. Much of what the author wrote in regards to sex crimes and rape against women felt very much tale as old as time, unfortunately. This isn't a dig at the author, but rather a familiar feeling of what it is like living in an era in which men commit the worst crimes against women and get away with it. This book is a bit of lighter reading than some others, but I'd still recommend it.

#medieval #medieval women #s*x lives of medieval women #medieval history #light reading #The Very Secret S*x Lives of Medieval Women by Rosalie Gilbert #book rec #book recommendations #audiobook #non-fiction

[forgaeven1]

GENERAL HIGH FANTASY VERSE *based on httyd setting

berk is a thriving viking village whose main professions are dragon-hunting, among other things.

ruffnut was born ranveig thorstondotter, the older twin sister to tuffnut. they are mainly called by their childhood nickname, which ruffnut prefers anyhow.

ruffnut is hailed from one of the first founding clan which discovered and built berk — they are responsible for scavenging and maintaining the availability of resources across generations — with the twins intending to one day inherit their father’s seat.

though women are held marginally higher in berk than the usual medieval tradition, allowing them to be warriors and upholding positions of power, ruff is still expected to marry as early as fourteen years old, and thus, all expectations of inheritance fell on tuffnut.

this does not deter ruff though, for she loves her brother, and knew that they would carry their family’s name as equal anyhow, even if she were one day to be wed to another.

ruffnut's first betrothed had been to hiccup* at the age of fourteen, on the account that they were the few eligible young people who were available at that time and house hofferson had refused the match between the son of the chief ( hiccup ) to their daughter, astrid, the only other young lady available on berk.

the engagement, of course, fell through — or rather, was never mentioned again, at the wake of hiccup's effort to integrate dragons into the daily lives of berk and his romantic entanglement with astrid later on.*

ruffnut will be one of the few to initially oppose hiccup’s revolutionary mission to bond with dragons, though she and her brother eventually quickly agrees, deeming the challenge to exciting to ignore.

ruffnut and her brother were eventually bonded with a hideous zippleback ( can be conjoined as per in the original franchise or a separate dragon altogether ) — with her own, named lovingly as barf, can breathe a large amount of green gas. this gas tends to confuse and disorient people [ with which the zippleback's other half, tuffnut's belch in this case, can ignite explosives with ], though the thorston twins eventually built a resistance towards the gas.

ruffnut then became apart of the first generation to study, explore, teach, and assist in the integration of dragon within berk, and on dragon's edge. she, alongside tuffnut, quickly rose to become one of the more important members of hiccup's councilmen as he rose as their chief. she will also hold a prominent role in the newly established league of dragon warriors of berk.

how to interact: in an effort to expand their influences and establish berk as a rising and powerful kingdom whose alliances can be useful, ruffnut ( along with others ) were often sent as a representative.

personality: ruffnut could be described as foul-mouthed, crass, mischievous but sharp-witted and far clever than she lets on. she is extremely protective of her brother, her dragon, and her clan, and incredibly proud of the skillset she's acquired regardless of the reputation people usually saddled her with. she will grow to be loyal to hiccup, though she maintains her harsh honesty and confrontational values even with berk's chief.

* indicates that details are not set in stone and can be adapted with respective writing partner(s).

ASOIAF AU * with more details possibly incoming / thanking dorian a ton as i haphazardly shape this au with the grace of a flightless pigeon

a blood of the old valyria, the thorstons was one of the more powerful family of dragonriders. their house sigil are two warhammer slung in the shape of an X, slithered around the hilt is the familiar shapes of a zippleback’s (a type of dragon species) head, with rich green and yellow being their main combination of colour.

during the doom of valyria, magmar thorston, his wife, and a brother, was in asshai conducting a trade. the destruction had led the remaining thorstons to eventually resettle on the hills of norvos, where they eventually establish a small clan in the mountainside.

sometime after the conquest, a hagelin thorston would come to re-establish a connection once more with the remaining descendants of old valyria, that being the targaryens, velaryons, and the celtigars. when the member of the thorston family refuses to kneel to a targaryen nor agree to marry one of their members into the house, the two houses eventually amicably part - though not without hagelin establishing a small seat in the mountains near deep den.

ranveig 'ruffnut' thorston is born in berk, on the mountains of norvos. she is a skilled warrior, a fearsome dragonrider ( the few in her clan who are left ), and a mischievous, but intuitive young lady. at the age of fifteen, ruffnut and her brother chose to leave their village in pursue of accumulating more knowledge to sate their never-ending curiosity.

her dragon is a narrow, long-necked dragon with green-scales of the zippleback species whom of which she named barf. this version of the zippleback is independent-bodied rather than conjoined, though it is always born in set of twos. instead of breathing fire, a zippleback makes explosions. ruff's own breathes a poisonous gas, while tuff ignites it with sparks, eventually producing the explosion it is famous for.

people who have interacted with the thorston twins would often describe them to be blundering and ill-mannered, though both possessing a keen intelligence rarely seen in an average person, let alone a mountain clansmen.

other details can / will be elaborated depending in which timeline ( whether got or hotd ) ruffnut will be thrown in.

#>:) #yes its messy. no i dont care #yaaay!! at least its slightly more coherent than before <333 #ruffnut. #ruffnut; verses.

[procrastinatingsoicanreadfanfics]

Searching home

Summary: When you stumble upon the ancient Spanish city of Algeciras, it takes you some time to realize that you’ve traveled through time. While that is terrible luck, a merchant couple takes you in. But your peace only lasts so long.

Pairing: adoptivemom!Helga x reader; adoptivesibling!Tanaruz x reader; (skeptic) adoptivedad!Floki x reader; Ivar x reader, Hvitserk x reader; Tanaruz’ family and reader

Notes: tw: mentions/attempts of s/a (this includes a raid so…) back on my time traveler shit rn, the reader is a slight OC (in a sense that she has similar outer characteristics as Angrboda)

inspired by a gifset from @ivarthebadbitch​ that i can’t find rn

My Norse translator: https://lingojam.com/OldNorsetoEnglishTranslator

tagged: @alicedopey | Masterlist | Part 2 | Part 3 requests are OPEN!

 The only words you could say when the merchants guided you to their townhouse were “Salam aleikum.”

 They seemed to understand that but smiled at your pronunciation. In time, you learned more of the language of course, which meant that you could hold short conversations with the couple and their daughter, Tanaruz.

 Tanaruz took to you quickly, introducing you to her friends and pulling you along during the day to show you all nooks and crannies of Algeciras. You drew eyes to you, with your height and paleness, together with light eyes and long, blond hair that was almost white.

 In turn, you tried your best to learn the language and culture and entertain Tanaruz, who found you extremely funny for some reason (you suspected it was your terrible Arabic).

 While you never thought that you’d enjoy living in an early medieval civilization, Algeciras was much better than anticipated. It was clean, the people were kind and the weather warm. Your days were much simpler, with a lot of free time when everyone else prayed in the mosques.

 Somehow, they respected you not wanting to go with them.

 Tanaruz’ parents, Aamir and Zoha sold oranges and other citrus fruits on the market, along with chai. In the evenings, the four of you would meet at their stall to eat and close it up. It was simple, a nice reprieve from modern life. Tonight was no different.

 Until it was.

 Suddenly, the quiet night air was filled with screams. Panicked, you looked around until you saw them.

 Men and women armed to the teeth slaughtering everything in their way. You scrambled to get up, ready to run when two reached your stall. Their faces were heavily tattooed and one of them gave you a hungry look.

 Then, he turned away and stabbed Aamir. You clapped your hand over your mouth to stop yourself from screaming. Zoha’s eyes were wide with terror, searching for Tanaruz, who was crouched under the stall.

 She looked over to you, a sort of beg in her eyes and you understood, diving towards Tanaruz, and grabbing her by the arm roughly.

 As the two of you began running, you heard Zoha scream Tanaruz’ name, before choking on her own blood. You couldn’t look back, Aamir’s death had been bad enough.

 You’d never seen anyone die, much less in front of you, and now, two people that had taken care of you out of the goodness of their hearts had been brutally murdered. Trying not to let your tears blind you, you pulled Tanaruz, who was still frozen in shock into the heart of the city.

 Eventually, she seemed to regain her senses and led you to a wide, blue doorway. When you turned, a light-haired woman was following the two of you.

 She followed you inside the maze of mirrors too.

 Somehow, you lost Tanaruz and froze in place, not wanting to stumble into someone. You were forced to move when another one of the warriors appeared at the end of the tunnel.

 He was tall and lean, maybe two years older than you with light hair and a giddy smile that looked out of place in midst of all the blood that spattered across his face.

 Abruptly, you turned and ran. You could hear him laugh, before taking up the chase. But you knew the mirrors and the way you had come.

 It was incredibly stupid, but you ran outside again, into the maze of the city. The mirrors were a thing of luck, but this city, this was a place where you could actually outrun him.

 You weaved through alleys and larger streets, barely avoiding these men that attacked and slaughtered a peaceful people and suddenly found yourself standing in the middle of a large piazza with a tiled mosaic floor.

 You recognized this place, because it was the first place in the city Tanaruz took you to play with her friends. The man appeared behind you, and you knew you were in deep trouble.

 Unsure of which road to take and caught up in memories, you’d stalled, but you were determined to not let him get you. You started running again, towards one of the alleys leading out of the piazza. When you turn around, you saw him lift his axe, ready to throw it and threw yourself on the ground.

 The axe whizzed past you as you felt the metallic taste of blood in your mouth and realized that you’d bitten down on the inside of your cheek too hard.

 Still, you scrambled to get up and ran into one of the alleys but the men with tattooed faces cut off your escape. You turned, but the blond was standing in front of you.

 Already in pain, you decided that one was better than eight and ran straight at him, breath leaving your body as you impacted with his. You landed on top of him, and he had the audacity to smirk at you, but you didn’t care, heaving yourself up again.

 One of them said something in an unfamiliar tongue, but you were already running again, turning around a corner. You felt your heart sink as another barrage of warriors was in that ally and backed out of it again.

 As you walked onto the piazza, you realized that you were surrounded.

 “þú skulu eigletr mik takþúr, smár kat.” The blonde said, beginning to circle you like prey.

 Suddenly, the blond woman rushed into the square, dragging Tanaruz behind her. She stood in front of you. You couldn’t see her face, but Tanaruz was shaking with her entire body.

 “Nei! hon's minn dóttir, Angrboda!“ she shouted, before wrapping an arm around you. Unsure of what to do, you let her. You were tempted to show the blonde man the finger and couldn’t stop yourself from giving him a small, sassy nod with your head, telling him that he’d lost.

 ***

 You didn’t expect to stay alive for long after that, but the woman seemed insistent on taking you both in. Tanaruz was silent, not eating or speaking and eyed you with something you couldn’t place when you tried to learn their language.

 The woman was kind, but her insistent need to call you Angrboda confused you. Many times, you’d pointed at yourself and told her your real name, even saying it in their language but she never listened.

 Hvitserk, that was what the blond man was called, looked at you like a kicked puppy every time you sneered. You would’ve felt guilty if you didn’t know that he was about to rape you.

 One night, Tanaruz was crying. You tried to comfort her, but she pointed towards the woman called Helga and then her eyes. It took you a while, but you eventually understood what she meant.

 Tanaruz thought that Helga had the evil eye. A charm with Fatima’s hand had been given to you by Zoha after you yourself had gotten fearsome looks, but with the liner Helga was wearing, the resemblance was even more prominent.

 Quietly, you lifted the necklace from your neck and pressed it into Tanaruz’ hand.

 “Fatima.” You explained, “From Zoha.” Then, in very rocky Arabic, you gently added, “I be sorry.”

 Tanaruz looked at you, her mouth slightly curving upwards. “I am sorry.” She corrected, but cuddled into your arms nonetheless.

 ***

 Kattegat was the hell you’d imagined from being a time traveler, but at least you weren’t one of the women being sold as slaves.

 Instead, Helga dragged you and Tanaruz into a small house. Floki began to make something out of wood while Helga cooked a stew. You looked over to Tanaruz, feeling a deep worry. She hadn’t eaten since that night, and even then, a few slices of orange didn’t count.

 Helga began to attempt to feed Tanaruz, but she wouldn’t budge.

 “You need eat.” You urged her, still using your terrible Arabic. “If you leave me alone, I know won’t what to do.”

 Tanaruz didn’t even correct you and that worried you even more. You crouched down before her, staring into her deep brown eyes.

 “Please. You need to stay alive. When we alone, we run home.” You promised. It was unlikely, but Tanaruz needed something to hold on to.

 “My home was burnt by the --------.” She said. Still, she slowly took the spoon from Helga and began eating.

 Just in that moment, the door sprang open. No one stood in the doorway, but a noise made you look down. A guy that had to be your age was pulling himself over the ground.

 Fascinated, you looked down at him, while Tanaruz scrambled away. She was afraid of all of them, except maybe Floki.

 While Ivar looked confused, he began a quick conversation with Floki that you couldn’t follow. Then he turned to look at you, asking for your name. That you understood.

 “Angrboda.” Helga said quickly.

 “Y/N.” you corrected firmly. Something seemed to click in Ivar’s head by your name, but you knew him from hearsay too.

 In your terrible, terrible Norse, you attempted to make conversation with him. “You Ivar. Hvitserk and Bjorn talk.” You managed. Ivar nodded.

 Not really caring about whether or not your clothes got dirty, you sat down on the dusty floor and handed him a cup. Ivar glanced at Floki, as if he wasn’t sure what to think about your actions, but the man only shrugged.

 “Hon's stranger mær.” Floki said. You had an idea, suddenly. You liked Ivar and wanted to show him something you’d seen in Kattegat. He looked like he didn’t have many friends his age.

 Glancing over to Tanaruz, you saw that she’d curled up in a corner and fallen asleep. You looked at Helga. “I trust you to take care of her.” You said quietly in your own tongue, but she seemed to understand.

 Then you turned back to Ivar. “Come.” You said, motioning with your hand to follow you. A dragging sound behind you let you know that he was coming along. The sun was already setting when you walked into the small alcove and sat down, patting the space next to you.

 Here, in this alcove where it looked like the sun set the water aflame, you felt like you were at peace.

 Ivar stared at you, confused but you simply pointed at the sunset. Taking off you boots and rucking your skirt up to your calves, you let the waves splash around your legs. The cool water was the only thing keeping you awake, a sudden exhaustion seeping in due to your constant awake state.

 As you leaned your head on the rocks, you realized that Ivar had closed his eyes and was smiling slightly.

 ***

 Two weeks passed, and slowly, Tanaruz was coming out of her shell. Your promise of home seemed to keep her going, but she was still cold towards most people.

 She seemed to like Floki, who showed her magic tricks and let her carve with wood. He taught her Norse in turn, and she assured you that you could leave her alone sometimes. Tanaruz also liked to play chess with Ivar sometimes, to your great surprise.

 Though she always lost, she seemed determined to beat him one day.

 Both you and Tanaruz were relieved when Helga insisted on coming on the raid to England. The two of you only talked to Floki, Hvitserk, Ivar and sometimes Helga, all of which would be leaving.

 On the last day in Kattegat, Ivar showed you his new chariot. Tanaruz and Floki came too, and you laughed as Ivar drove past, while Tanaruz gave a shy smile.

 Together, the four of you walked back towards Kattegat, where a feast would see off the Great Heathen army. You were uncomfortable with taking Tanaruz, since Harald and Halfdan would be there, but Helga insisted.

 The feast was loud, and the Great Hall filled as people danced and drank. Almost immediately, Tanaruz spotted Harald and Halfdan and you quickly pulled her away, into a quiet corner.

 She was silent now, and you knew it was going to take her days until she would speak again. Your own hand was tightly wrapped around a cup you were holding.

 A clear voice ripped you from your dark thoughts. “Angrboda.” The woman said, standing in front of you. Her name was Lagertha, and she was the queen of Kattegat.

 “Y/N.” Ivar corrected, sitting down at your side. You nodded in agreement.

 “You were taken on my son’s raid.” She began, slowly enough for you to understand. “But Helga decided to take you and this girl in.”

 You nodded, unsure where this was going. Ignoring Ivar, she stared at you intensely. “I hope you know who you owe allegiance to.”

 She intimidated you, but you didn’t let that show. “I don’t owe allegiance to any of you.”

 It was probably not the best idea to butt heads with a monarch like Lagertha, but Tanaruz was shaking like a leaf next to you, and you still hated them for transforming her into a ghost of her former self.

 Lagertha looked like she wanted to say something, but another brother, Ubbe, called for her.

 After a while, Hvitserk sat down next to Ivar, completely ignoring you and Tanaruz. No one was watching, and you took your chance to pull her away, outside.

 The cold night air was harsh on your skin, and Tanaruz began to shiver as you wrapped her furs tighter. The new clothes as well as your jewelry had been gifts from Ivar, and a few from Hvitserk, who still seemed insistent on flirting with you.

 All in all, the two of you looked much more regal than two kidnapped people should. But the clothes felt like a metaphor for your gilded cage.

 Tanaruz pulled you to the beach and you sat down on the cold sand. A few meters away, a foreign merchant had lit a fire, looking out into the ocean alone. Ignoring him, you laid back, trying to explain all the different stars to Tanaruz. The girl’s eyes began to close, and you picked her up. She was too heavy to carry, but you could give her a piggyback ride home.

 When you’d settled Tanaruz into her bed, you walked back out towards the beach. Suddenly, you stopped feeling uneasy. When you looked behind you, a tall man was at the other end of the alley.

 You’d seen him around, and he’d always filled you with unease. He was a creep, invading the personal space of slaves that couldn’t say anything about it. Speeding up, you began to walk away, but he matched your pace.

 When you began to jog towards the Great Hall, he picked up his pace. Realizing that this guy wasn’t going to let off, you bolted towards the Hall, but he caught you around your waist and threw you to the ground.

 Before you could scream, he clapped a hand over your mouth. You searched for something to protect yourself, finding a small rock on the muddy ground and brought it against his temple, hard.

 He stumbled backwards and you got up, but there was a house behind you. He began to run towards you when suddenly, he gurgled and fell to the ground. An axe was sticking out of the back of his head.

 Hvitserk stood right behind him, chest still heaving from an adrenaline rush. You felt queasy at the gory sight in front of you.

 “Hello little cat.” He smirked.

 You wanted to insult him, say something, but your mouth felt dry. Reaching up, your fingers felt blood trickling from a cut on your forehead you didn’t realize you had.

 “Ouch.” You complained, wiping the blood off.

 Hvitserk said something about Helga, and you wanted to stop him, knowing that she would be a little overbearing, but he already walked away. Then, Hvitserk turned back and pressed a knife into your hand, before disappearing again.

  You sank down on the ground, still scared from prior events. A few minutes later, Helga ran into the alley, visibly shaken. Behind her, Floki, Ivar and Hvitserk followed. Ivar looked positively furious, staring at the dead body next to you with an expression of anger while Hvitserk seemed almost proud of himself for saving you.

  Helga seemed unsure what to do, but Floki stepped forward and pulled you up. Only then did you notice how shaky your legs actually were. Hvitserk stepped forward to support you, oblivious of how his own actions might be uncomfortable to you now. Together, they brought you to the longhouse.

  Tanaruz was still sleeping as Helga began to fuss over the cut on your forehead, just as you'd anticipated.

  "Who sent him?" Ivar asked you. "Was it Lagertha?"

  You shook your head. "I've seen him around. I think he mistook me for a slave."

  Hvitserk snorted. "You don't look like a slave." he said. "He just couldn't control himself."

  "Like you?" you shot back. He had the grace to look away.

   ***

  Tanaruz was finally beginning to learn to speak Norse.

  She was sitting with Helga, trying to copy her stitches as the woman fixed a sail. You were a little off to the side. Ivar had stubbornly put his head on your lap, silently asking him to play with your hair.

  You didn't mind, watching as the other brothers loaded up crates on longships.

  Suddenly, Ivar sat up. He stared at you with a suspicious expression.

  “You’re not a spy. Right?” he asked.

  You had to laugh. “What makes you think that?”

  “The way you treat me.” Ivar mumbled. You felt your heart break for him.

  “Don’t you think I’d be a terrible spy. I could barely speak Norse when I came here!” you giggled, smiling at Ivar brightly.

  Ivar was still looking at you with a hint of unsurety. “What can I do to prove you wrong?” you asked, throwing your hands up in mock surrender.

  He stayed silent, but a blush appearing on his cheeks told you that his thoughts were running wild. Well, if that was what he wanted…

  You placed a soft kiss on Ivar’s lips, hoping that he wouldn’t immediately kill you, before turning away. “That enough proof?” you muttered, already regretting the action.

  “Do it again.” Ivar commanded. Ignoring the butterflies in your stomach, you turned around and kissed Ivar, your heart fluttering at the innocence of the kiss.

  “Brother we’re-“ Hvitserk began, suddenly standing in front of you. Slightly annoyed, you let go off Ivar. He let out a huff, staring at his brother angrily.

  “What?” he snapped.

  “Nevermind.” Hvitserk said. Was that jealousy in his voice?

  You patted the free spot next to you. “Come on, tell us what you wanted to say!” you commanded.

  “We’re ready to go. Everyone’s already on the ship.” He replied.

  Nodding, you got up and climbed into the longship, where Tanaruz was already waiting for you. This time, she looked excited rather than scared, looking out to the sea as another passage began for her.

  The peace of it all was suspicious, but you were glad that Tanaruz was adapting. She’d told you she wanted to try, if only it meant that she’d be able to go back home. You didn’t have the heart to tell her that it probably wouldn’t work.

  Almost immediately after leaving, a soft rain began to patter down. Quickly, Helga gave you and Tanaruz a few furs while warriors and slaves began to cover the ship.

  Under the plane of fabric, it was dark, but peacefully. Tanaruz burrowed into your side and the rocking of the ship quickly made your eyes droop with tiredness. You let yourself fall asleep, the darkness and warmth of the fur giving you a feeling of security.

  Hvitserk’s POV:

 He sat at the other end of the boat as he watched Tanaruz crawl into her lap and fall asleep. He still wasn’t sure what to call her, Angrboda or her actual name. He still remembered the old Angrboda. They had nothing in common but Helga’s features. Pale hair and blue eyes.

  Truth be told, Hvitserk was jealous of his little brother. He was the one who discovered her. Why couldn’t he have her?

  Yet she’d kissed Ivar.

  Speaking of him, the nuisance his brother was now sitting next to him.

  “You still want her.” Ivar observed. Hvitserk nodded before he could stop himself.

Ivar was wearing that smug grin when he turned to look at him. One that Hvitserk would’ve wiped off of him with a punch if he was Sigurd.

  “You can’t keep her to yourself, brother.” Hvitserk mumbled. “She has a mind of her own.”

  “Whatever you say, Hvitty.” Ivar teased cruelly. He was wearing that shiteating grin of his again. Hvitserk looked away, back to her. She shifted in her sleep, mumbling something unintelligibly as she rolled over. The cut on her forehead was barely visible anymore.

  He’d saved her. Hvitserk knew why she stayed away from him, but still, hadn’t that been enough to get her to trust him.

  Unlike Margrethe, he couldn’t read her.

  “She’ll come around.” Hvitserk replied, settling down to sleep. He’d had enough of Ivar’s ramblings for the night. Of course, Ivar would keep on talking for the next few hours, but as long as Hvitserk nodded form time to time, he’d be left alone.

  Unbeknownst to both, she was half-awake, hearing their argument through the fog of her dreams.

#tanaruz #helga #floki #hvitserk #ivar #hvitserk lothbrok #hvitserk ragnarsson #ivar the boneless #ivar lothbrok #lagertha #ubbe #ivar x you #ivar x reader #hvitserk x reader #floki x reader #ivar x y/n #hvitserk x y/n #hvitty #fluff #angst #adoption #found family #vikings #history vikings

[lilikags]

₊ Book 2 ✦˚｡･ ⁝  ⊹ Pairing: S. Kenjirou x fem!reader ⁝  ⊹ Tags: reincarnation, medieval!AU ⁝  ⊹ Warnings: strict double social standards ⁝  ⊹ Word Count: 1368 ⁝  ⊹ Chapter: 3-  Gossiping with a Teacher ⁝  ⊹ Quick Links: Masterlist | Previous | Next

You missed F/N. You never thought you could sate your loneliness with a version of yourself, but it really happened. Perhaps you just needed someone or something to talk to, bonus points if they talked to you back. It had been almost three years since she disappeared, ever since that night you decided you were going to take over the house, for real. 

Becoming the head of the House Pollaine was an incredibly big deal, especially because it was a house of noble history and power. This family was quite close to the Royal Family, and any little mistake was chastised by the public, nobility and common folk alike creating rumor after rumor. High society was a battle ground, not something to dream of if you’d prefer a quiet and comfortable life. 

One had to be just about perfect, and if you displayed any flaws, the press would instantly pounce on it, and such things would spread like wildfire. You were a public figure, being born in such a family. There was just about everything you weren’t allowed to do. Society was hard to change, even bending one practice or two required an extremely credible and powerful reputation. Even noblewomen had limited power in such a setting, always looked down upon when trying to take a job beneficial to society, other than charity events. The social construct said, “Women are to manage and take care of the home, and they are not to do other activities than socializing.” It’s what you read in a book explaining society, part of one of your mannerisms classes. It made zero sense to you, and honestly, society was losing half of its workforce, just because of some stupid tradition. There were women out there, capable of fixing problems and creating innovations, however society barred that from them- and you were going to open that gate. 

It was a lofty goal, and you were going to do it. Well, at least try. Maybe you’d be written down in the history books in the future, who knows. Life plan B, if this whole “make women powerful plan A” didn’t work out, would be to find “Kenjirou”. The woman gave you full detail of her memories the next night, and you were absolutely astonished by what she had experienced. It was its own type of tough, but it was something you would rather live instead. 

Well, there wasn’t much you could do about which kind of world you lived in anyways. You started to make your way to your study, where you met with your tutors for your classes and studied in the afternoon. Your books were usually stored there, as it was sort of a mini-library. There was a library on the other side of the estate, but having a personal study filled with books was a thing nobles liked. You couldn’t blame them though; having all the information nearby was extremely convenient. The internet sadly wasn’t available at such a time. 

All you carried were a couple of books you had brought to your room yesterday, to study late at night. There was way too much to do, and you were surprised you were still fired up to work on your dreams. Maybe it was the repulsiveness of this place that made it so. Perhaps one constant reminder was that you were always expected to wear something frilly and still oddly heavy, despite having to wear similar clothes every day- especially when they had corsets.. The nightgowns were better, but what you really wanted to wear was modern clothes. If you had enough guts, you could totally wear it, but you’d probably get canceled- worse than getting canceled. Not just other people, but the press would be in on it too, which would make it so much worse. 

In any case, you just had to be better than your brother- by a longshot. It couldn’t even be a competition anymore. That’s what you were going to do. In any case, you had to make a good impression on your tutor. Good words spread quickly, just as bad words do as well. 

“Good morning, Sir Montgomery,” you greeted him, bowing lightly, exactly as your etiquette tutor had taught you. There were to be no mistakes. This was a man who could raise your reputation as a bright child with potential, even more than your brother.

“Good morning, Young Lady Pollaine,” he greeted you back, and you sat in your chair. You set the books down on the table, taking out a piece of paper. You took out a brand new binder, which you had custom ordered a couple of weeks ago. Binders were something you had missed dearly, surprisingly; you never thought that binders would be something you felt you needed. So, you invented it. Well, not really, because you didn’t think of it, but you would get the credit for “inventing” it. That was already a wow factor, though it had nothing to do with inheriting a dukedom. 

Hole punchers were just cylinders sharpened at the top to punch a hole, though it seemed as if it were revolutionary. It was just a first generation product, so it was a bit wonky at times, but it was still a binder nonetheless. 

“I heard that you invented the binder,” Sir Montgomery started off. Perhaps he just wanted to talk about it, or he wanted to get to know you a bit better. In any case, he probably thought you were interesting- a girl who was interested in studying anything scholarly was already rare, especially one who had already made a name for herself by inventing something extremely beneficial for those who dealt with lots of papers. After all, it was an efficient way to keep papers organized and an easy way to carry them around. The triangle shape was an added way to save space, and lots of scholars already use them. 

“Yes, I did. I needed a way to organize and carry around my notes, and I didn’t want to rewrite them into a notebook,” you smiled humbly.

“Brilliant idea, I’m impressed. Now, shall we start on the lesson?” he made his way to his reference book. You nodded and he started speaking, and you started to take your notes. You didn’t pay full attention; a lot of it went into the notes instead. You had already studied it a bit beforehand last night and a bit in the modern world, so you’d be more than fine for this first lesson. 

“That is all for the lesson, do you have any questions?” he asked as he closed his book, putting the bookmark in the place he left off at.

You shook your head. “No, Sir, your lesson was excellent.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” his eyes shifted to your notes. “Your notes are very organized and neat, did you come up with the format yourself?” 

“Ah, it just comes naturally like this,” you softly laughed, as expected of a lady of a noble house. 

“It’s very impressive; you never fail to inspire, Lady Pollaine.” 

“Oh, it’s nothing, really.”

“Oh, have you heard about a new student in the academy? He’s quite talented, I heard.”

“I haven’t, would you mind telling me about him?”

“Of course. I am not aware of all the details, however he’s from House Vasser.” 

House Vasser? They’re known for producing great generals… yet one of them wants to study medicine? It was odd, most definitely. House Pollaine and Vasser had been at odds for many generations, though still both loyal to the crown, and there had yet to be one with any affinity to anything that involved the other house. The Vasser house reminded you of Shiratorizawa, a school of natural talent and strength. 

“Really? I doubt that any Vasser would be interested in medicine, though I do not doubt your word…” 

“I was shocked as well, when I first heard about it. It seems he’s a genius in medicine though; he has advanced extremely quickly in the field.” 

“Interesting… I’ll be sure to meet him when I get to the academy myself. Thank you, and have a wonderful day, Sir Montgomery.”

“You as well, Young Lady Pollaine.” 

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[jjyusmile]

the life i once had | ljy

PROMPT #11, Day 26: [Vampire]

pairing: vampire!juyeon x reader!

words: 2k

notes: for @deobiwritersnet​ ‘the magic begins’ event!

warning: intense intense i n t e n s e !

my writing

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ ☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

Your family has been coming to this seaside town since you were a little girl. As you strolled along the beachfront, inhaling the last of the summer air. Smoothing down your auburn brown curls and the flowing, floral summer outfit that breached its boundaries as the wind picked up. Glancing around at the crashing waves, you were mesmerised by the aggression of their nature. The sand wasn’t paradisiac, it was unpleasant. It spanned the entire shore of this coastal town, the shallow shores coated with surfer dudes and families with picnics. The town held huddles of smiling families, children playing on hundreds of penny machines that chime loudly at a win, which muffled the sound of the wind.

Your father suggested this place for old times’ sake; you had travelled the coast for the last two weeks -- saving the best for last. The town held a special place in your heart… stepping out and feeling the breeze that was mixed with the sea air. Your whole life was planned: graduate next July, move in with your partner, be engaged by next December. Your father jumped at the chance to take you on a family getaway one final time. Countless memories wandered this beach. As you looked out at the harbour boats, you noticed fisherman returning from their day at sea, reigning in their nets. Yet, your drifting gaze wandered, almost automatically. A slight crick in your neck began to twinge as was craned your gaze upwards. The daunting steps to the ruins of the town’s abbey made the whole scenario worse the longer you looked at it. What was left of the abbey were the tall, medieval monastic walls surrounding the abbey itself and an astounding house. 

When you were younger, your father used to make you all climb the steps two at a time, “two, four, six, eight… the last one to the top is the beast’s dinner!” In the end, he carried you all the way to the top, “one hundred and eighty-eight, one hundred and ninety…” The abbey blocked the sun in a blinding manner, masses of people squinting and cupping their hands over their eyes to get a small glimpse at the towering wrecks of the walls. You were struck with awe once you faced the unnerving steps to the castle, looking out onto the shore. This place felt familiar every time you climbed the steps. One year, you were reading the old folklores of the abbey, once known as Streoneshalh, on signposts stating its history when your older sisters decided to recite facts about the abbey and its owner competitively; who could name more facts about how a famous writer used these ruins to inspire the scariest creature to roam the Earth. You were captivated, but you knew in yourself that vampires were not real. They were cruel, emotionless, and vicious myths.

“He doesn’t have a pulse.”

“He doesn’t age.”

Fascinated, yet bored, it had taken your Father thirty minutes to find you; the tall, aging zinc gravestone hid you well from the reality of it all. You felt a sense of comfort next to the gravestone; it wasn’t as daunting as the high-rise walls of the abbey. 

Looking at it now, age twenty-one, you could never dream of how naïve you were as a young child. You had excused myself from your early reservation at the hotel restaurant to clear your head. Kicking the sand with your scuffed boot to regain you train of thought; your neck had begun to throb. This getaway was to spend some time with your family, yet, here you were strolling the beachfront alone. 

“Time to head back to reality” you muttered to yourself, rubbing your neck through the thick, woolen jumper you had thrown on to keep warm. As you turned to mount the steep slant to head up to the pier, the air became suffocating. Subconsciously, you craned your aching neck to gaze upon the cliff once more. You began to feel emotions you hadn’t experienced in a long time: want, need, desire, familiarity. There was another feeling that was on the tip of your tongue, but you couldn’t bring yourself to admit it. Feet began to drift through the narrow, cobbled streets, you could have been walking for five minutes, twenty, an hour. The Bookshop, The Black Horse pub, Justin’s Chocolatiers. Your attention was no longer on the places that used to draw you in; you were being compelled by the daunting steps to the rest of your life “two, four, six, eight…”

You slowly approached the first steps when a low hum sounded… a ringing that would force anyone to find the source. Twenty-six, twenty-eight. It was inviting, blinding and staggering all in one. You could not shake the feeling that you were subconsciously drawn to this cliff. Seventy-four, seventy-six. Half way up and walking to the next set of steps that led to the abbey, the scenery behind you began to morph into a darker, gloomier sight. You caught a glimpse of flickering fire in your peripheral vision, and wooden boats wobbling in the harbor. You began to race up the steps to get a better look. One hundred and sixty-two, one hundred and sixty-four. You stood behind a familiar gravestone and gazed out at the completely different shore. Jaw slack and knuckles white, you tried to steady your mind by gripping the rough stone. Pulling your hands away, you noticed the grazes from the rough stone were slowly fading.

The shore was not only coated in dried up seaweed and flyaway branches but wooden canoes and fallen weapons that had been abandoned on the muddy sand. The tourist attraction that had protruded the tip of the bay was replaced by dark, wooden huts that you would assume were people’s homes by the clothing hanging up outside. You looked down to catch the flowing water that flooded the bottom of the cliff, as if surrounding it, with a small, aged bridge that led to the staggered steps. Small children playing in rags with bare feet in the dirt. Young men clinking stone steins together in celebration and chanting about a battle just won. Men and women were huddled around a fire, murmuring stories to one another, cheering and laughing as if they had no care in the world. How wonderful.

“Our Kingdom is wonderful, isn’t it?” 

A pair of black eyes almost hidden by wavy, brown locks gazed down on your small figure. Your gaze flicked across the figures face, focusing on the deep, faded scar that lined the right side of his face. The stranger’s hand was caressing your lower back affectionately. His eyes penetrated your soul as if asking for permission to grasp it into his cold, possessive clutch. But he already has. 

“It is incredible how the wind feels when you are no longer startled by the cold. It is refreshing, don’t you agree?” The stranger asked, his head tilted to the side as he gazes out with deep fondness onto the village.

His mouth, stained scarlet, morphed into a grin; his incisors stood out from the rest. Fangs. You should have been scared, but it felt familiar. His pointed nose arched delicately framing his face under the shadows. His tainted, ruby waistcoat contrasted the abundance of charcoal that coated his skin elegantly, all the way down to his pointed dress shoes. His skin was pale, but it was glowing with glimmers of silver and crimson, reflecting from the raging fires below. 

“Where am I?” you whispered. Your teeth began to ache.

“My love, you act as though you have never laid eyes upon Streoneshalh before?” he cocked his head to the side, analysing every flicker of your eyes and every bump that rose upon your smooth skin. His voice was like velvet. A name came to mind as you gazed upon his adoring face.

Juyeon. 

You looked down to find my woollen jumper had been replaced with a burgundy corset with overhanging silver chains and a dark, flowing cloak. “Our kingdom.” You murmured to myself, slicing your lip on the exposed teeth that had grown through. Pulling your hand away from the swollen graze, you noticed opaque blood, almost black, was dripping from your lip.

Bringing your finger to prod at the pointed teeth, you came to the realisation that you were supposed to be here. You were destined to have climbed those steps. Our Kingdom. A small man, much older than yourself, appeared in the doorway with a strikingly golden cane in his right hand. He grinned at you both with the same adoration as a father has in another life. Caedmon.

“The abbey truly is beautiful. The excellent detail that shapes its walls is a sight to behold. The glimmering light from those fires below accentuate the detail extraordinarily. Never has there been a sight like this.” You gawped. “I cannot believe that we live here…” Trailing off questioningly, unsure of the true reality of your life at this moment. 

You turned my gaze back to the striking man beside you. King Juyeon, Ruler of Streoneshalh. He smiled at you, adoringly. You felt safe, comfortable, familiar. His cool, enormous hands enclosed your small ones as he intertwined your fingers. At that moment, you looked up to the scar gashing of his face. A flash of lightning passed your eyes as the scene around you changed. You saw the life you used to have before you ruled over your Kingdom. 

Loud cheers surrounded your small tribe fighting to protect our coast. Flashes of silver like lightning. Swords were clashing against one another in aggression that you had never witnessed before. Your short, choppy locks were coated in sweat and dirt. Your tunic sliced in more places than one. You knew you were not meant to be in battle, but you had to find Juyeon. Your heart stopped once you noticed him lying on the floor, blood splattered his right cheek with glimpses of flesh oozing out of his skin. You ran to him faster than your legs could take you. “Please, please, please” you repeated, like. a mantra. Taking his paling face into your hands, wiping coated crimson locks from his broken skin. You sobbed until you could not shed a tear anymore. You looked up in time to see a small man with a gold cane with his gaze secured on your two figures. You took Juyeon’s hands in your own with affection, love, and hope. The battle had carried further along the shore, leaving Juyeon’s tiresome body and yourself alone with the stranger. His smile was alluring, welcoming. The light of the setting sun disappeared with a glimmer that was quicker than the lethal swords of battle.

“I owe my life to Caedmon for protecting you, giving us a life of eternity. I will never forgive you for being on that battlefield that day. The gruesome sight of slashing swords still haunts our nightmares. It was no place for someone so beautiful, so ravishing. Yet, he gave us our Kingdom to rule over and has taught us skills we could never have learned down there.” Juyeon’s gaze drifted to the small man that remained planted in the doorway watching over you, and then down towards your old home amongst the sea of cheering Saxons.  

“Come, my love. The sun will begin to rise soon; we must get to our chambers. Caedmon has collected one of the dying soldiers from the battle for us. We have not fed in weeks.” He gestured toward the towering double doors that led into the abbey. You had forgotten what had ensued before you reached the steps. You wanted to follow Juyeon wherever he went. You had eternity to look after your kingdom, after all.

Caedmon reached your side, using his cane to aid his stride: “your love for one another never fails to astound me, my dear.” His grin is taken up by his protruding fangs. You witnessed a fatherly love gleaming through his eyes, despite their hollow depths. You nodded in appreciation, grinning, drawn once more by the allure of Juyeon and the abbey.

Before you entered our domain, grasping my fingers along the hem of lengthy cloak and striding confidently behind Juyeon and Caedmon, you felt an urge to turn and gaze out over the cliffs. You caught sight of a familiar gravestone; its silhouette cast a contrast against the flickers of copper that gleamed from the fire pits below in the village. Walking across the gravel path towards the cemetery, you noticed a grave marker by the same stone. Your velvet cloak flapped in the wind, stark against your auburn curls. You were surrounded by the lingering smell of burnt out fires and beef stews that you used to long for. The moment you felt fingers wrap around your waist, you were overwhelmed by his comforting scent. Inhaling deeply, your gaze wandered down to the cursive letters on the gravestone.

It read: 

Here lies Juyeon and ---. Brave warriors of our unforgotten War. May their Souls Rest in Peace.

#deobiwritersnet #deobihalloween2020 #tbznetwork #lee juyeon #juyeon #the boyz juyeon #tbz juyeon #vampire juyeon #juyeon angst #the boyz fics #the boyz scenario #the boyz angst #tbz fics #tbz scenario #tbz angst

[romantic-barnes]

strawberry & tape | part one

| part one - the beginning or the end? |

Pairings: dark!biker!bucky x reader 

Summary: Bucky Barnes has the town in his hands and a lot of blood. All you have is a cafe your mother left you after her passing. But as Bucky’s attention moves to you, do you have the strength to pay revenge for his wrongdoings? Does your push into the dark paradise end in love or blood? 

Warnings: mention of non-con, possessiveness, mention of suicide, humiliation, animal cruelty. This is dark bucky! please don’t read if you are uncomfortable with any of the topics mentioned above!  

A/N: Please don’t read if you are under 18! This series is inspired by This Is What Makes Us Girls by Lana Del Rey. Or just the whole album let’s be honest here. This is my first time uploading my dark fics so yeah, I love this, I loved writing this. 

I’m just gonna tag some of my faves, you are under no obligation to read this! @imanuglywombat​ @mariessecretfantasies​ @sinner-as-saint​ @nsfwsebbie​

There she stood, your best friend. A light Autumn breeze waving through the early spring trees, shivering the grass alive with it. Her shoulders shaking with the leaves, mumbling through her pink painted lips, whimpering and sobbing between words. 

There wasn’t a word needed to express what happened, the petite girls’ tears flowing down her pretty face, carrying all the information with them. 

She bunched up the skirt of her dress, fumbling with the seam before lifting it slowly and carefully. Her blood shot eyes watching you carefully as her lip trembles, fresh tears flowing.

Your eyes wandered down to the seam of her dress, slowly revealing the bruises on both her thighs. A hand covering your mouth, careful to not upset her, shake her, make her run. But there was little to hide, the agonising and painful pull at your heart. 

She let the skirt fall, covering her thighs. 

There was something you wanted to say, something reassuring, but the words could not slip past your lips. A simple ‘what happened’, a question reasonable.

“He- he touched me, and I said- I said n-no.” A string of sobs left her lips, closing her eyes. “He didn’t s-stop.” 

You reached out to her, laying your hand on her shoulder, a light and careful pull. She stumbled towards you, laying her head on your shoulder. A thousand thoughts, but none delicate enough to say. You knew what happened as soon as she came walking up the street. A bittersweet romance turned poisonous. A possibility you saw coming. 

The town doesn’t have a lot left for girls falling for the leather clothed men chasing them all over town. They turn their face away from them, whispering profanities. A lot of ‘told you so’, a lot of hot air from the people living in Dawn.

A lot of people think the town is possessed, cursed by witches from medieval times.

The smell of blood always wavers through the air as soon as you enter Dawn. Scientists say it’s chemicals, but none of that stays in the heads of the residents. 

The old tale says that women used their period blood to seduce men, covering their desired man’s house in symbols to pull them into an everlasting love. 

The town is built like a circle, a church in the middle, a poor attempt to rid Dawn of it’s evil. Before the church there was a town house, owned by the wealthiest man there was. Red scull, they called him, the origin story of the men in leather. 

After him, the townhouse was torn down and a church was built, but not long after not even god was safe from Red Sculls son. The offspring who would bring the gang back to life. 

They showed everyone who was in charge, blood was shed from anyone daring to refuse their power, deny them of what is theirs and so, the smell of blood never left. Always lingering in the air.

Generation after generation attracting folks who were looking for more control, but end up with blood on their hands, guilt on their faces. Only a few make it, with promises they couldn’t keep.

A town build on tales and make-believe.

You sat across the table from Lana, the girls’ hands wrapped around a mug, tears staining her pale complexion. He bottom lip trembled as she raised the mug to her lips.

“He needs to pay for this.” You said confidently.

Lana shook her head, her Bambi eyes wide with terror. “You’ll get yourself in trouble, you know what they can do, what they’re capable of. I shouldn’t have gotten involved with them.” A whimper escaped her lips.

You hung your head, defeated. There is truth to her words, but someone has to put an end to this. Another girl left on the curb, used and abused by the head of the clan. Another girls’ innocence stolen by force, without so much as a glance from the townsfolk. 

An eerie silence fell, the presence of someone evil lingered around her. 

Barnes.

A name no one who isn’t looking for trouble ever dared speak. Afraid it would somehow summon him, like a spell. A man as dangerous as his name, but just as beautiful as the devil created him. A curse not meant for the faint hearted. 

His words are the national anthem here. 

No matter if it’s a curse, spell or an enchantment, you’re not falling for it. Determined to defy the cliché of the weak woman falling for the devil’s son. A cliché in itself. A dangerous game to play, but a game, nonetheless. 

You weren’t scared of a man trying to find a moment of thrill from an innocent soul. 

-

The small cafe was empty, like every day it dawned on you day after day. Maybe that’s why your mother did what she did. A failure of a dream she had. Turn the family business into a cosy place, but the money stopped flowing slowly and steadily. 

Standing at the counter with your apron, sundress adding to the sweetness of the aura your mother created. A place for the people who didn’t know of the more popular diner in the centre of town. 

Your life threatened to become just like your mothers. No steady relationship, money slipping through your fingers, mundane days dripping with boredom. Your end was destined to end like your mothers, a sting of rope, swinging without life. 

The pastries fresh from the oven, buttered and sprinkled with powdered sugar. A recipe your mother created. You set one down in front of you, a cup of coffee in your hand. 

A break you didn’t really need, but took advantage of, nonetheless. 

The bell above the door chimed, surprise overtaking you, but a look over your shoulder killed it instantly. Lana entered the cafe, still pale as ever. Her eyes shallow since that fateful day. 

She sat across from you and you slid the plate over to her. Her small hands took the pastry, taking a bite. She loves your mom’s baking. “Can you pack up some of the strawberry ones for me?” A smile that didn’t reach her eyes stretched her lips. 

A simple nod and you were about to stand when the bell over the door chimed once more and the look on Lana haltered you. The sound of heavy boots on the tiled floor.

The air filled with fuel and leather. You didn’t dare to look, in fact, you’ve never seen them other than when they rode their bikes through the streets, passing you. 

“I think you forgot this.” One of them said, undoubtedly Barnes. A low and dangerous laugh echoed through the room, cutting through the tension.

A pair of panties hit Lana right on her chest, short breaths escaped her lips and you knew what this meant. Not much longer and the faucet would be running. 

Anger bubbled inside you at the sight of her clutching the pair of pink lace panties. No matter how much danger radiated off from the man behind you, everything you knew about him was thrown out of the window.

You gripped the cup with your hand, an electricity searching its way through your veins. With the turn of your torso, not even sitting up from the chair you aimed the brown, hot liquid in his direction. 

The cafe fell silent, all tension hit the floor as you met the eyes of the man stood in the middle of the room. Rage, that’s all you could read in his blue eyes. The two men standing behind him tightened their fists.

Time stood still, all eyes on you.

The only pair of eyes that you could focus on were the ocean blue ones staring right into yours. A death threat. Nothing but crime in his eyes and you right in his point of view. The shiver running down your spine left you cold. A single breath felt like a thousand daggers through your chest. 

He moved, slow. Without a single second to react, his hand wrapped around your throat. “You little bitch.” He spat.

His voice ringed in your ears, but the rage bubbled back up, a stern look on your face. “How could you mock her after what you’ve done?” 

You expected a lot of things. Maybe his hand tightening around your throat, or spitting on your face, but he retracted his hand. 

A low chuckle from his lips and your face dropped, unconsciously softening. He studied you. Eyes moving from yours, to your cheeks, lips and raked over your body, stopping right on your cleavage. 

“You’re going to pay for this, dollface.” he shoved his hands into his pockets. “You’re gonna wish you stayed in the shadows.” His smirk made you feel smaller than you wished it did.

Barnes and his entourage walked through the door, but he turned once more. “See you, y/n.” 

-

It was difficult to decide whether the spotlight drawn to you by Barnes was worse than the fact that he already knew who you are. You relished in the fact that you never made direct contact with the Howling Commandos. 

But now that comfort was stolen from you and you wondered what exactly they knew about you. It makes sense to you that they know the residents of their town. 

A week passed. A week of anxiety. You tried to push away the thought of him, but each day you set foot into the cafe a flash of what happened passed before your eyes. Another memory added to the dread of this place, another one added to the one of your mother lifeless, swinging side to side.

Your fate isn’t as unusual as it may seem. No one truly gets out of Dawn, always bound to come back to take over the family business. Anyone stupid enough to move here sees the horror not long after, but it’s too late. Bound to the town and the town bound to them. 

You breathed in and out, but the sound of motorcycles couldn’t find their way out of your ears. Was is a coincident that you heard the roar of their bikes more often this past week, or just your imagination.

Along with fear, a sense of responsibility and purpose raged within you. Somewhere in you. A purpose to teach him just how cruel the devil can be. What you have can be taken away from you. 

Revenge is as sweet as strawberry jam. 

-

Fun isn’t written very big in Dawn and unfortunately the only place to get wasted is the club house on the outskirts of town. A place full of the Howling Commandos, their wife’s, claimed women and men with a death wish written on their throat. 

You let Lana in, leading her to the living room. A modest house, but a house, nonetheless. She sat next to you; her legs crossed. Two glasses were filled with red wine.

You handed Lana a glass, taking a big gulp of your own, eyes studying your friend with caution. It became harder to read her emotion, her face tainted by the horrors pushed upon her. 

“How’s peter?” You asked between sips. A question to steer away from the million questions you had in your head instead.

“Oh, yeah he’s doing ok. He’s finally learned how to make a Bouquet.” 

Peter started working at the flower shop a few weeks ago, revealing himself to be skilled in the field, a true eye for the delicate petals. A young man you wished she would’ve caught an interest in.

“But he’s been getting a little too nosy about the bikers,” her eyes watered, a sigh escaping your lungs. “he asked about him today.”

“Oh, Lana.” You pulled her side towards you, encasing her with your arms. 

A knock on the door interrupted her quiet sobs, her big brown eyes staring into yours, a glimmer of fear hidden behind the glassy tears. Your feet carried you towards the door, hands shaking slightly as you turned the doorknob.

A man you recognise only by the patch on the shoulder of his leather jacket. A stern look mixed with boredom. A glance down to his hand and you saw the small brown package. 

“For you.” A wicked smile spread on his grey bearded face.

You slowly reached your hand out to take the package away from him. The small bundle of brown paper rested in your hands. The man turned his back to you waling off to his motorcycle. 

You stared at the package, backing away from the door after closing it. A twist in your stomach and you knew this wasn’t good, not in the slightest. 

Lana walked over to you; questions written on her face. 

Your senses kicked in, only now realising that the package is warm. A warmth spreading over your hands, but a cold shiver running down your spine.

You set the package down on the counter of the small kitchen. A look over to Lana and you untied the bow with caution. The brown paper loosened itself and from it oozed a stench of blood. As the layers were pulled away from the mysterious item, the brown turned red. 

A gag from Lana and a shrill scream from you as the paper was pushed away. A heart revealed itself, bloody and fresh. 

Lana looked to you teary eyed, a hand covering her mouth. You swallowed stepping away from the heart. 

“You know what this means, right?” Lana whispered, barely audible enough to bounce off the walls. A shake from your head and Lana removed her hand from her face. “When one of- one of them sends you the heart of a deer- it uh- it’s kind of like a claim of the woman’s heart.” 

If you weren’t so disgusted by the sight of the object and the stench of blood filling up the kitchen, you would have laughed at the ridiculousness. You lifted the corners of the paper, heart pounding, hoping to find the name. 

Bucky Barnes.

There it stood in tar black ink. You didn’t know what you expected, but you hoped it would be any other name. But the gift is his’, a claim on your heart and your name. 

-

[ part two ]

[ taglist open ]

#dark!bucky barnes #dark!bucky #biker!bucky #biker!bucky barnes #dark!bucky x you #biker!bucky x reader #dark!bucky x y/n #dark!bucky x reader #bucky barnes #bucky barnes smut #bucky x you #bucky x reader #strawberry & tape #clair writes

[tarithenurse]

Stolen - 19

Pairing: Loki Laufeyson &/x fem!gifted!reader Content: Frigga <3 Some angsting and feels and pining. A/N: So apparently visits by relatives to patients are going to be unrestricted from now on (government’s decision) which means one of the most important ways to control the risk of Corona within the health care system is gonna be flushed down the drain. If a second wave is gonna hit in my country, it’ll start now...and I’m still wiped out after the last 6 months of strain/stress/etc.

19. Strange Same Dogma

...  Loki   ...

He’s at [Y/N]’s side when she approaches the gates to Valhalla the next day. Disguised as her servant, Loki’s role is mute whenever others are nearby (unless addressed directly) though he is prepared to whisper advice discreetly if the guards prove difficult.

Two golden-armoured einherjar are in their usual spots, blocking the way, but neither are given a chance to speak before the Midgardian embraces her role. “My name is [Y/N] and I have come to seek audience with queen Frigga. I know you must confer with her majesty, however my travels have led me far since I left Alfheim and the gracious hospitality of the High Priestess.” With the Älfir garb and the impeccable posture, she looks the part. “I presume temporary accommodations can be arranged.”

The last bit carries the tiniest hint of a question’s intonation, precisely enough to prevent coming over as either rude or begging, and as one einherjar ensures the message of the visitor is relayed the other calls for a servant to arrange (and escort the duo to) a waiting chamber.

It takes a moment before Loki is alone with the mortal again and he knows the peace will be short lived.

“I’m impressed, my pet.” He adores the way [Y/N] beams with pride. “Anyone would assume you are of royal heritage.”

Any other words dry up in his throat and the former prince allows himself to fall silent, eyes seemingly studying the familiar stones beneath his feet while in reality gazing unseeingly.

He’s home. Frigga’s lullabies ghost these halls at the edge of hearing, calling for the lost child to retrace the paths from years ago even now as time and fate have warped him into the grown man he is today. How long has it been? Surely, not long enough that he cannot find the way around the palace blindfolded if need be. And, oh, to revisits the favourite nooks and best reading spots or to climb the spires only to greet the first stars even before they have dared look above the horizon. Loki’s heart clenches at the madman’s hope of strolling through his mother’s garden which smells of herbs and safety.

...  Reader  ...

The place is much grander than your wildest imaginations had prepared you for. Gold, rich stones and woods, precious stones, all coming together in sharp lines reaching high above you. The place does not hold the natural flow of Alfheim’s temple – there, Art Nouveau from Earth had been the closest resemblance – rather favouring something akin to Art Deco. Still, neither style truly encompasses what you see or have seen and if given the freedom, you’d easily spend hours studying the palace.

But, sitting in silence, all the decadence of the room loses the welcoming glamour as a chill saturates the air. You instinctively move to sit next to Loki on the pillow-covered bench. He doesn’t blink. Doesn’t seem to notice your closeness. Leaning in slightly, you don’t see tears in those emerald eyes of his but are met with a pained emptiness. It’s haunting.

What can I do? Nervous of potential violent reactions, you don’t exactly feel like shaking him out of the stupor – whatever you decide to do must be subtle. Your gaze falls to where he has drawn his lips into a thin line and of course you wonder how it would feel if to have his mouth respond if you were to kiss him. Don’t be an idiot! No, the man might have taken a liking to teasing you but while it’d doesn’t make sense why, you know it can’t be from wanting you.

So, you do the only thing you can think of and slip your fingers in between his, squeezing the cool hand gently in the same rhythm of your breathing.

Time pass. The wintry bite in the air softens. Loki’s breathing slowly adapts to match the speed indicated with each careful nudge of your fingers. Eventually, his hand curls to return the gesture, and now the lack of words is peaceful, a sacred promise of a haven for all that remains unspoken.

One final squeeze, then Loki disentangles from the hold to shrug. “We must uphold the charade of Lady and servant, my dear.”

You know he’s right...but it your heart still objects to the distance when you return to the previous seat. You’re glad when, just as expected, it doesn’t take long before a guard arrives with an update.

“Queen Frigga has accepted the request for an audience.” Both of you get up. “Only you, lady [Y/N].”

This isn’t part of the plan and you can’t help glancing to Loki who nods imperceptibly as he sits back down. There’s a calm in his eyes that soothes you. The man might have gotten you wrapped up in his messy life, but you have no doubt anymore: he’ll see you through it too.

Turning to face the guard, you straighten up. “Of course.”

...

The queen of Asgard is not alone when you’re shown into the grand room. A host of other women, presumably a mix of servants and nobles, are gathered around her like a space posse with snacks, drinks, and gossip which continues uninterrupted as you enter. Stopping just past the door, forlorn at the sight of the gorgeousness of it all, the guard pushes you gently towards a woman at the centre.

Frigga is sitting on a couch, deeply engrossed in conversation with a couple of the other ladies. Her blond hair is done up elaborately with the exception of a few long ringlets and the dress is the most heavenly sky-blue, flowy thing – the kind you’ve only seen in fantasy books or medieval images.

“Your highness,” your escort announces, “lady [Y/N] of...” his voice trails off, unsure how to finish as you never told him where you’re from.

Managing an awkward bow, nothing has prepared you for Loki’s mother swooping over to grasp both your hands.

“Lady [Y/N]! I’m delighted to meet you!” The wholehearted smile dazzles you as some of her son is evident in the gleam of her eye. “Rumour of your prowess precedes you. Come, sit with me.”

Frigga doesn’t have to say anything for the two conversational ex-partners to get up with delicate nods. Even with the purple, Älfir dress you’re wearing, you feel out of place – a commoner pretending to be royal. That’s exactly what I’m doing. And you’re glad to have your hands back as your palms start to get sweaty.

“Forgive the informal welcome, we were not aware of your arrival.”

Frowning slightly, you can’t detect the sarcasm Loki has introduced to your daily life. “My travels have held several surprises even for me.” Please don’t dig in it.

The smirk familiar despite the shimmer of something unidentifiable. “I know the Älfir were saddened when you took your leave. How did you find your stay there?”

“Oh, the planet is breathtaking and they are very kind and generous!” At least this isn’t a lie.

“The first is indisputable, though I dare say not many will agree on the latter...however,” the queen reconsiders, “I suppose you are special to them as you have saved their High Priestess.”

They’re not friendly normally? “I...I guess...” A nagging in the back of your mind has been activated and you know it won’t stop until you’ve asked Loki about a couple of things.

“No need for modesty, lady [Y/N].” Again, Frigga looks genuinely delighted. “A mortal, but with the magic of old Alfheim running through the veins...it is no wonder they welcomed you as they did.” Oh? “Please indulge me: how has this come to be? Who has trained you in the arts of magic?”

And there it is: the gaping hole surrounding the ability you’ve grown up with.

For years, you felt like a freak. No one were like you or could tell you why songs with strange words would well out of your mouth. It had isolated you more often than not, forcing you to start over when people who didn’t understand started to fear you instead. I did no harm. But that had never mattered. It was enough to simply be different.

Pushing the memories aside, you look down at your hands that are wringing the sleeves. “I don’t know.” Ugh, don’t sound so pathetic! “It has always just been me, trying to figure out these things on my own, your highness.”

“Hm.” Frigga’s palms are soft when she plies your fingers from the stretched hem. “I see why he brought you here, then.”

“Who?” With all that has happened, you should be used to fear clawing inside your chest like now.

Rather than answer you, the queen merely announces the room at large, “Leave us. All of you.” The last bit is addressed to the guard that you only now notice has stayed by the door. “And see to it that the chambers have been prepared.”

They must know the drill, these fancy women, because no one complains or looks surprised as they file out. Even if you had felt out of place with all of them around, the sense of foreboding and displacement doesn’t lessen, and you try to avoid meeting the piercing gaze of the queen in the hopes of keeping up the charade – a near impossible endeavour as she studies you in silence until the door clicks shut.

“Let us abandon pretense, me dear,” Frigga sighs before urgency takes over. “How is my son? How is Loki?”

Fuck. She can’t...can she? Like mother like son? Oh, crap. “I don’t know wha-”

“Tish-tosh. It is hard for me – and Heimdal – to track him. My boy has always been intelligent and...well, sneaky. But a mother knows her child, and when we learned someone with such a gift had been abducted from Midgard? Well, I had my suspicions as to his plans.” It’s impossible to tell if the proud smirk is due to her own success in figuring out what was going on or Loki’s accomplishments. “He learned nigh everything he knows from me, and despite the turmoil in his heart there is reason behind his madness.”

“Don’t call him mad!” It pops out of your mouth before you can think and your heart almost follows, getting stuck in the throat on the way and blocking any intake of air.

Frigga’s hands are warm, unlike the man in question’s. Tenderly, they cup your cheeks, rubbing circles on the skin until the rhythm echoes in your body and breathing becomes possible once more.

“Do not fret,” the queen and mother instructs. “I shall not ask where he is or if they two of you are colluding. All I wish is that he is...is...” Wetness wells in her eyes, briefly but long enough for you to recognize it. “He has been struggling and so I hope he has found a gentler path to tread on the way to redemption. Any proper mother would feel assured knowing that their son does not walk alone.”

This is his home. Sure, Asgard itself has been where Loki grew up, the place he still belongs to despite what he has said about Jotunheim and Odin’s rejection. But you begin to suspect that the real reason for the strong attachment is sitting right before you. So much of Frigga’s small mannerisms have been passed on to her adoptive son though her pride has been tempered by a wisdom your companion hasn’t gained yet.

“Worry not, dear,” the queen interrupts you thought, “all will fall into place in time and until then, I may be able to teach you more about your gift and how to hone it. You shall be my guest in Valhalla. Welcome to Asgard.”

#Loki #loki fanfic #Loki MCU #Loki x reader #post-Battle of New York #Timeline spawned in Endgame #Loki x you #Loki Laufeyson #Loki Laufeyson x reader #Loki Laufeyson x you #MCU #marvel cinematic universe #mcu Fanfiction #MCU Fanfic #Loki Fanfiction #Loki Friggasson #Loki slow burn #Slow burn #Loki enemies to lovers #enemies to lovers #from enemies to lovers #Loki from enemies to lovers #Asgard #Loki Pining #Pining #idiots in love #Loki series #Loki feels

[gaasaku-fanfests]

The Blacksmith’s Daughter

Title: The Blacksmith’s Daughter Author: gaarasgoddess Rating: T Word Count: 2,906 words Summary: What happens when a fallen daughter meets a rising son? What happens when they discover that fate had more in store for them than the lives they’d planned? Japan’s medieval, Edo Period is the background as Gaara and Sakura miss each other in a series of missed connections only to fall into each other hard. Warnings: Mentions of blood and murder. Author’s Note(s): Definition from google: “Medieval Japan is characterised by a decentralised government, warfare, and the rise of a powerful warrior class. Fighting was a way of life for the men and women and politics was as changing as a fire’s breath.” Trope: Medieval Japan AU

.

Her parentage was never in question. Sakura was the fifteenth daughter born to the Emperor of Japan. She was the only daughter of a noblewoman who had been sold to the Emperor when her father couldn’t pay his debt. A woman who had failed to produce any more offspring since.

It was a fact. That was who she was. Who she was told never to forget.

And so she believed for eighteen years of being prepped for a marriage to some unknown man, whichever suitor her father decided brought him the most money or power. She learned her kanji, her cursive, her history, her airs and pomp, and her manners. Anything that would be needed to attract a high placed family to want to welcome her into theirs, was taught to her.

She said “yes” to a stranger. To a man she would spend her life with. A man that refused to meet her until then. But she would do her duty. She would wait for him.

In the meantime, her father saw fit to send her to the allied camps to learn to heal. To learn to take care of people. She already knew how to serve her future husband and what to expect when she moved to his land to begin her new life. For now her present was spent tending to the injuries of soldiers who fought and died to keep her father’s control of this land in his own hands. She got a taste of what life was supposed to be about.

With war and death rampant in the country, the shoguns fought over who had dominion where and who deserved to. The Emperor was just a figure head but he was an important one. He spent his days in meetings and adding this pomp and stature in the eyes of the lowly, commoners, and his nights whoring - with whores and wives. Sakura had so many siblings she didn’t think it meant anything who she was, really. Or him. The father who didn’t care about appearances.

And who had no control over what was coming.

.x.

He was the son of a whore. The devil didn’t care about gender. His father was a whore. It didn’t matter that he carried the title of shogun. It didn’t matter that he was well respected. It only mattered that the man deserved to die.

Gaara caught him fucking the servant girls on a weekly basis and a noblewoman’s daughter - or two - every other week. Rasa didn’t bother to hide it anymore. His wife was expected to not care. But his children hated him for it.

Gaara grew up respecting this man; he wanted to be just like him and signed up to become a samurai, as his father had done in his youth, without a second thought. He wanted to get married once he turned eighteen, like his father did, and carry on the tradition of moving into politics and teaching everything he’d learnt to his children. He wanted to matter.

But on the eve of his sixteenth birthday he’d had enough. Gaara packed his bags and enlisted with the regular army and didn’t look back. His father didn’t bother trying to stop him but said he had to return to marry some rich man’s wife in two years.

Not happening.

He never bothered to ask what the girl’s name was. Nor to attend the meetings that had been organised between them. He should get to know her, his mother said, and he almost yelled back “like father is getting to know the servants?”. Almost. She was to be pitied and he did. His father was a whore and a cunt.

But he couldn’t bare to watch her suffer Rasa’s indiscretions. So he left and didn’t look back. His siblings went their own way too, also disgusted.

That was a decision he’d never regretted. Until the day he met the blacksmith’s daughter and decided fate was indeed a fickle bitch.

.x.

Sakura wiped her forehead with the back of her hand before standing and stretching. The last group of soldiers had been hit by enemy arrows in a final attempt to rule the battlefield and were full of holes for their troubles. She’d been on her feet all night.

After years of tutelage, she was almost ready to be allowed to return home. She enjoyed healing people and was not looking forward to returning to the noble court. Her mother’s latest letter had her afraid of what awaited her. She wasn’t ill but talked as though her days were numbered. It made her want to rush to her side but it also left her fearful for her own well being.

Mebuki spoke of assassination attempts and having betrayed her Emperor. That she was going to hell for what she’d done. The raving comments also told Sakura that she was in danger.

‘Don’t come here.’ She wrote. But it made no sense.

“Lady Sakura?”

She started before smiling at her newest patient. Sakura smiled widely at him. “Lord Kankuro, you need to rest.”

He scoffed, failing to sit up in his cot. “I’m fine.”

“Your arm was infected and you’ve been unconscious for days,“ she said, fussing over his bandages.

“You sound like my mother,” he mummbled. And she tutted at him. “Are you busy after this?”

“Huh?” She frowned at him, confused.

“Uh,” he rubbed the back of his head. “I’m not coming onto you, I promise. It’s just, I asked out a cute nurse and she turned me down but if she thought it was a group thing... never mind forget I asked.”

Sakura glanced at the nurse in question when Kankuro looked over at her. She was one of the new recruits who barely knew anything about medicine. Called Matsuri, or something. Sakura also knew that Matsuri was crushing on some other soldier who apparently refused to give her the time of day and had transferred out of this med-tent when the brunette girl wouldn’t stop following him around. Kankuro might be just what she needed, since the rejection from the other soldier had affected her performance in surgery.

Sakura sighed. “I’ll get her in the mess tent and you can bump into us.”

“Thanks, Saku-chan.” He grinned.

She shook her head. “And don’t call me that.”

“Okay, Saks.”

She poked him.

“Okay, okay.”

.x.

Gaara left the tent for two reasons. One: that Matsuri chick was getting on his nerves. Two: the flush of embarrassment he felt when he spotted his brother. He was talking to some pink haired physician and the brothers had not spoken for years. He knew Kankuro had enlisted but didn’t give it much thought, since he kept to himself and took on the more dangerous missions. And he remembered his brother as hating conflict. But so much seemed to have changed.

Pink hair.

Something stirred in his memory but he brushed it aside.

“We’re heading out.” Baki, his commanding officer, hollered at him.

Gaara took a last look at the laughing man he’d once called brother (his eyes drifting over the pretty physician) before following Baki. The redhead had risen in the ranks so fast because of his power and prowess that even the General had stood to attention. The strange man that had connections to nobles and warriors alike.

The Emperor’s favoured mass killer.

.x.

A month of blood stuck to his skin. Gaara didn’t wash except to trek through streams. He smelled like the country side. It made for decent cover as he slinked into the shadows and pounced from bushes and hovels to kill his targets.

He’d become an assassin. After Baki’s death and word spreading of the decimation of his entire platoon, he was reassigned to the darker, specialised killers. He wasn’t a ninja. He wasn’t one of them. But he drew as much blood as they did. He killed like he’d been born to it. Gone were the concerns over the brother and sister he’d left behind. The mother who had passed to illness in the last winter.

Six months ago he’d avoided Kankuro in a medical tent and now he stood, face-to-face with the man, unable to hide his true intentions. He’d been sent here to assist with a platoon that was trying to take out a rival shogun’s family. They needed this family dead. They needed someone who could disappear into the shoin-zukuri in shadow and slit those throats without raising any alarms.

His father needed to appear to have clean hands in their deaths.

Times were changing and the old man was losing control. These enemies needed to die. And so they did. Gaara emerged from their home, covered in blood. He faced down his brother - the man who greeted him and thanked him for his service as though they hadn’t once occupied the same womb.

Gaara’s grip on his sword was tenuous even as he gripped it tighter. How he wanted to just charge the stranger in front of him. To show him who it was that deserved to be in the light and put the dark behind him. But then a mousy girl came out of the tent behind Kankuro.

His wife.

Matsuri had given into him after all. And her belly was full of his brother’s child. She watched on at the silent exchange as though she had never followed Gaara around hoping to be the one to carry his children.

Who cares?

But it made him wonder if someone could. If the monster he’d become could have that. So his hand slacked and he lowered his weapon. This was not worth the aching in his heart. It was time to choose his fate and he refused to die here.

Gaara turned and fled back to the dark. Back into the pain of his life.

.x.

Her return home had not been the horror story Sakura had feared. Though she wished she’d not returned at all. She’d stood at the walls and contemplated fleeing her future. The man who’d been her betrothed had been killed in battle, she said. He was a stain on the memory of her family, so she was to pretend he’d never existed.

But she’d also heard rumours he’d simply defected. A runaway and potentially a traitor. The son rose high and she’d been falling from herself so far. Sakura could not climb the wall in front of her. So she let the guards usher her inside. To see her mother’s corpse. The accident had been tragic they said. The poor woman died so suddenly they claimed. How sad.

Sakura did not spend much time in the presence of the body but even she had seen how only poison could make those pink lips turn so blood red. But what was she to do? She questioned the mortician. She asked to see the autopsy report. But nothing came of it. At last, her father sent an official to inform her she was being sent out again.

Where you’ll cause less fuss.

And this was how she descended into infamy.

.x.

Sakura did not correspond with Kankuro and Matsuri after that first time they’d spent together. She helped him woo the girl and got out of there. Apparently, the man the brunette had liked was determined to ignore her and had gained a reputation for being blood thirsty, which was unbecoming of his noble status. No good was going to come of it.

She wasn’t even invited to the wedding.

But she didn’t care. Sakura returned to the medical tents and threw herself into the work. But she knew she couldn’t keep this up for long. Soldiers would give her strange looks. Shogun under her knife would not call her Lady anymore when she visited them in recovery. And every night she sensed the hidden follower when she returned to her tent. Someone had decided she was trouble. What she could have done, other than question the healers back home, she didn’t know.

But time was getting short as she started to get called into the med tent less and less. She was not as needed as before. She was getting a bad feeling. Rumours of how the war was turning away from her Shogun had her worried. Perhaps the children of the Emperor were being watched more closely? But nobody here should know who she was. She was just supposed to be another noble, not royalty.

Her surgery talents were being wasted.

After overhearing her superior talking to a soldier about transferring her to the front line to get rid of her, Sakura had had enough. She decided to take things into her own hands.

.x.

He followed the girl as she began packing and making her excuses to the soldiers that she was going for a run to get rid of hospital scrubs. He watched as she stole a horse and rode away as though the devil were on her tail. He was tempted to follow. So desperately so, that Gaara didn’t bother questioning that urge. He took his horse and rode into the darkness of the night that surrounded the camp.

Pink hair.

She was the same healer who had helped his brother. The one who’d given Kankuro his happy ending with Matsuri. It had to mean something that he’d been assigned to watch her, and kill her if she tried to flee.

.x.

They did not get far. Sakura and the horse she’d dubbed Shugo. A dark brown pedigree that she’d pushed to its limits in the span of the night. The devil was on her tail. But a day had passed and already she had to sell it for supplies. She needed to go incognito and figure out her next move. Sakura had no idea how to live as a peasant but she’d dealt with harsh circumstances before. Living as a physician in the middle of a war was not the lap of luxury of her former home of course.

And still she felt the weight of eyes on her like that shadow from the camp would not leave her alone. Something or someone was following her and she needed to get out of the open. Dyeing her hair and offering her services as a weaver seemed the sensible thing to do. Nobody noticed the dark haired girl walking among a crowd of similarly dark haired girls.

A month later she was still being hounded by the darkness of her shadow and no amount of companionship from those she met and dallied with could throw off her feeling of being hunted. But the hunter did nothing. And she was letting everything go.

One day, her lowered guard would be the best of her.

.x.

He enjoyed watching her. She was his target but her desire to run from the same life he abhorred kept his knife in its sheathe. It kept his eyes feasting on her flesh instead of tearing into it with a weapon that he still wanted to use.

Gaara did not need to kill to survive. He was beginning to realise that. So he decided to take her lead and ingratiate himself into this new world. He found a dwelling and scrubbed the smell of the land from his body. It seemed to take months to finally be free of the blood. But nobody knew how much was still on him more than he did. It would be there forever.

But he finally looked like he belonged the day he purposefully, accidentally ran into her, knocking her groceries to the ground.

This was how the woman came to know him. She had been going by the name Amaya but introduced herself as Sakura the moment he asked. They both looked surprised at this and she realised who he was the moment he smirked, his canines almost looking like they were dripping in blood.

Her heart beat raced. Her palms were sweaty. Her eyes were wide.

But all he did was bow to her and offer his help in picking up her dropped supplies. All he did was ask her to allow him to pay for her dinner. All he did was touch her softly, carefully, to make sure she knew what he wanted from her.

And Sakura had no idea why she gave it to him. Waves of blinding light and rocking motions and crashing against each other; humming and moaning and joining and she was his. They came together in so many perfect ways. She didn’t question why her shadow decided to love her instead of kill her. She was lost to the pleasure and the touches that gave her reason to let go.

To just let go.

.x.

News of her father’s death and his father’s brutal murder did nothing to stir them.

Sakura just smiled as the local gossip spread the news and the official reports came in. As though she were just another citizen. A dark haired girl who used to be pink.

Gaara helped her to her feet and they wandered out of the temple where they’d finally made their life official. Nothing else mattered. Their pasts were fake and they had their eyes on the future, instead.

That’s how he became just some random farmer travelling into the area with his pregnant wife. And that’s how she became the Blacksmith’s Daughter travelling into the new area, pregnant and looking to start a fresh life with her new husband.

.x.

#GaaSaku #gaasaku-fanfests #2020 GaaSaku Free-for-All #fanfic #gaarasgoddess

[pemdasblog]

PEMDAS - Special Year-End Edition - Albums

I love end of year lists because I like consensus, rankings and numbers. But consensus is all based on who gets to rank, and the people who get the most access to major publication rankings are white men, so the numbers are tainted by white supremacy, misogyny, and many other forms of bigotry.

Which makes it even more interesting to see what gets ranked where.

Here’s a Google Sheet I made of all the lists and I created a formula that basically measures how many times an album placed on a list as well as how high it placed on that list. I’m going to keep updating this list as it’s not done, but it’s fun to play around with right now!

According to my formula and the critics, the top 10 albums of 2020 (in order) are: 

#1: Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple

#2: RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels

#3: folklore •• Taylor Swift

#4: Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa

#5: Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers

#6: Set My Heart on Fire Immediately •• Perfume Genius

#7: Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee

#8: Heaven to a Tortured Mind •• Yves Tumor

#9: Women in Music Pt. III •• HAIM

#10: Rough and Rowdy Ways •• Bob Dylan

I also have a fun, unranked albums list brewing. I’ll release that at the very end of the year.

Click below for all of the publication lists!

The 50 best albums of 2020 •• ABC | Double J

Dan Condon

RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels

Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple

Crossover •• Emma Donovan & The Putbacks

The Slow Rush •• Tame Impala

UNTITLED (Rise) •• SAULT

Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee

Song for Our Daughter •• Laura Marling

What’s Your Pleasure? •• Jessie Ware

The Sharecropper’s Daughter •• Sa-Roc

Sideways to New Italy •• Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever

Sixteen Oceans •• Four Tet

Chose Line •• Benny the Walker

South West •• L-FRESH the LION

Far Enough •• Cable Ties

Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers

Nyaaringu •• Miiesha

You Be the Lightning •• Tracy McNeil & The GoodLife

Mordechai •• Khruangbin

Suddenly •• Caribou

Our Two Skins •• Gordi

Down In the Weeds, Where the World Once Was •• Bright Eyes

græ •• Moses Sumney

Distance •• Jess Cornelius

King’s Disease •• Nas

Shore •• Fleet Foxes

Batflowers •• Washington

It Is What It Is •• Thundercat

That’s How Rumors Get Started •• Margo Price

ENERGY •• Disclosure

The Ascension •• Sufjan Stevens

Reunions •• Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit

Paid Salvation •• A Swayze & The Ghosts

songs •• Adrianne Lenker

Ohms •• Deftones

Unity •• Gordon Koang

A Hero’s Death •• Fontaines D.C.

Child in Reverse •• Kate Miller-Heidke

K.G. •• King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard

Aloha •• Son Little

The Modern Medieval •• Something for Kate

II: The Next Wave •• Quakers

Rome •• Josh Pyke

Fallow •• Fanny Lumsden

Optimisme •• Songhoy Blues

Original Cast Recording •• Braille Face

Colour by Number •• Leah Flanagan

Ultra Mono •• IDLES

What You Gonna Do When the Grid Goes Down? •• Public Enemy

Feral •• RVG

Róisín Machine •• Róisín Murphy

The best albums and songs of 2020 •• BBC Culture

Nick Levine

  Best albums of 2020

Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple

Ungodly Hour •• Chloe x Halle

Rough and Rowdy Ways •• Bob Dylan

Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa

Róisín Machine •• Róisín Murphy

Set My Heart on Fire Immediately •• Perfume Genius

RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels

SAWAYAMA •• Rina Sawayama

Kitchen Sink •• Nadine Shah

folklore •• Taylor Swift

6 Music Recommends Albums of the Year 2020 •• BBC Radio - 6 Music

BBC Radio - 6 Music Staff

UNTITLED (Black Is) •• SAULT

A Hero’s Death •• Fontaines D.C.

Shore •• Fleet Foxes

Shortly After Takeoff •• BC Camplight

Rough and Rowdy Ways •• Bob Dylan

Kitchen Sink •• Nadine Shah

England Is a Garden •• Cornershop

RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels

The Universal Want •• Doves

Deep Down Happy •• Sports Team

The 50 Best Albums of 2020: Staff Picks •• Billboard

Billboard Staff

folklore •• Taylor Swift

Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa

After Hours •• The Weeknd

YHLQMDLG •• Bad Bunny

Chromatica •• Lady Gaga

My Turn •• Lil Baby

Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple

Gaslighter •• The Chicks

Meet the Woo 2 •• Pop Smoke

Women in Music Pt. III •• HAIM

Positions •• Ariana Grande

Good News •• Megan Thee Stallion

Starting Over •• Chris Stapleton

RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels

Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers

Circles •• Mac Miller

Ungodly Hour •• Chloe x Halle

Manic •• Halsey

Tickets to My Downfall •• Machine Gun Kelly

SAWAYAMA •• Rina Sawayama

Miss Anthropocene •• Grimes

Rare •• Selena Gomez

Eternal Atake •• Lil Uzi Vert

Colores •• J Balvin

The Album •• BLACKPINK

Set My Heart on Fire Immediately •• Perfume Genius

The Slow Rush •• Tame Impala

Before Love Came To Kill Us •• Jessie Reyez

Notes on a Conditional Form •• The 1975

Reunions •• Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit

Fake It Flowers •• beabadoobee

It Was Good Until It Wasn’t •• Kehlani

Map of the Soul: 7 •• BTS

Letter to You •• Bruce Springsteen

Atrapado en un Sueño •• Junior H

The Album •• Teyana Taylor

Ho, why is you here? •• Flo Milli

Emmanuel •• Anuel AA

Love Goes •• Sam Smith

Suddenly •• Caribou

Petals for Armor •• Hayley Williams

B7 •• Brandy

Southside •• Sam Hunt

Mesa Para Dos •• Kany García

Savage Mode II •• 21 Savage & Metro Boomin

Good Souls Better Angels •• Lucinda Williams

Kid Krow •• Conan Gray

Hecho en Mexico •• Alejandro Fernández

A Written Testimony •• Jay Electronica

Blame It on Baby •• DaBaby

Top 10 Albums of the Year 2020 •• Bleep

KiCk i •• Arca

Magic Oneohtrix Point Never •• Oneohtrix Point Never

Phoenix: Flames Are Dew Upon My Skin •• Eartheater

Cape Cira •• K-LONE

Fountain •• Lyra Pramuk

Black Nationalist Sonic Weaponry •• Speaker Music

Help •• Duval Timothy

Karma & Desire •• Actress

Shadow of Fear •• Cabaret Voltaire

Tara Clerkin Trio •• Tara Clerkin Trio

The Best Albums of 2020 •• Complex

Jessica McKinney, Andre Gee, Eric Skelton, Edwin Ortiz, Khal, Angel Diaz, Will Schube, Shawn Setaro, Lucas Wisenthel

After Hours •• The Weeknd

My Turn •• Lil Baby

Eternal Atake •• Lil Uzi Vert

Alfredo •• Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist

Burden of Proof •• Benny the Butcher

Savage Mode II •• 21 Savage & Metro Boomin

The Slow Rush •• Tame Impala

Circles •• Mac Miller

Pray for Paris •• Westside Gunn

Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon •• Pop Smoke

The GOAT •• Polo G

From King to a GOD •• Conway the Machine

folklore •• Taylor Swift

Wunna •• Gunna

Ungodly Hour •• Chloe x Halle

YHLQMDLG •• Bad Bunny

A Muse In Her Feelings •• dvsn

A Written Testimony •• Jay Electronica

Meet the Woo 2 •• Pop Smoke

Ho, why is you here? •• Flo Milli

So Help Me God! •• 2 Chainz

Angelic Hoodrat •• Kenny Mason

It Was Good Until It Wasn’t •• Kehlani

The Price of Tea in China •• Boldy James

RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels

Fuck the World •• Brent Faiyaz

Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple

Dark Lane Demo Tapes •• Drake

Young & Turnt 2 •• 42 Dugg

Good News •• Megan Thee Stallion

Top •• YoungBoy Never Broke Again

Mt. Marci •• Roc Marciano

Notes on a Conditional Form •• The 1975

Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa

One and Only •• Sheff G

Positions •• Ariana Grande

Limbo •• Aminé

UNLOCKED •• Denzel Curry & Kenny Beats

Anyways •• Young Nudy

Legends Never Die •• Juice WRLD

Industry Games •• CHIKA

Reasonable Drought •• Stove God Cooks

Spilligion •• Spillage Village

King’s Disease •• Nas

While the World Was Burning •• SAINt JHN

Only for Dolphins •• Action Bronson

Just Cause Y’all Waited 2 •• Lil Durk

Featuring Ty Dolla Sign •• Ty Dolla Sign

Detroit 2 •• Big Sean

Forever, Ya Girl •• KeiyaA

Top 50 Albums of 2020 •• Consequence of Sound

CoS Staff

Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple

RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels

Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers

Set My Heart on Fire Immediately •• Perfume Genius

Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa

Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee

Ohms •• Deftones

Chromatica •• Lady Gaga

Alfredo •• Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist

Gigaton •• Pearl Jam

Reunions •• Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit

Map of the Soul: 7 •• BTS

SAWAYAMA •• Rina Sawayama

It Is What It Is •• Thundercat

After Hours •• The Weeknd

YHLQMDLG •• Bad Bunny

Heaven to a Tortured Mind •• Yves Tumor

how i’m feeling now •• Charli XCX

The Ascension •• Sufjan Stevens

Eternal Atake •• Lil Uzi Vert

Petals for Armor •• Hayley Williams

A Written Testimony •• Jay Electronica

Fake It Flowers •• beabadoobee

Likewise •• Frances Quinlan

Ultra Mono •• IDLES

Forgotten Days •• Pallbearer

folklore •• Taylor Swift

Suddenly •• Caribou

Everything Is Beautiful •• Princess Nokia

As Long as You Are •• Future Islands

Magic Oneohtrix Point Never •• Oneohtrix Point Never

Shore •• Fleet Foxes

Letter to You •• Bruce Springsteen

The Price of Tea in China •• Boldy James & The Alchemist

That’s How Rumors Get Started •• Margo Price

Giver Taker •• Anjimile

Twice as Tall •• Burna Boy

Gaslighter •• The Chicks

Shamir •• Shamir

Lamb of God •• Lamb of God

Pray for Paris •• Westside Gunn

Live Forever •• Bartees Strange

The Greatest Part •• Becca Mancari

Power Up •• AC/DC

The Liz •• Armani Caesar

Miss Anthropocene •• Grimes

American Head •• The Flaming Lips

The Neon Skyline •• Andy Shauf

Good News •• Megan Thee Stallion

Honeymoon •• Beach Bunny

The Top 50 Albums of 2020 •• Crack Magazine

Help •• Duval Timothy

Indigo Dream •• E.M.M.A.

Mas Amable •• DJ Python

Heaven to a Tortured Mind •• Yves Tumor

Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa

Big Conspiracy •• J Hus

Duma •• Duma

Alfredo •• Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist

how i’m feeling now •• Charli XCX

Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers

Metal Preyers •• Metal Preyers

From Avoca Hills to the World •• Citizen Boy & Mafia Boyz

Miss Colombia •• Lido Pimienta

Ungodly Hour •• Chloe x Halle

To Feel Embraced •• Sparkle Division

Workaround •• Beatrice Dillon

Set My Heart on Fire Immediately •• Perfume Genius

Miss Anthropocene •• Grimes

YHLQMDLG •• Bad Bunny

A Written Testimony •• Jay Electronica

Man Alive! •• King Krule

Healing Is a Miracle •• Julianna Barwick

Snoopy •• CS + Kreme

Dark Matter •• Moses Boyd

Pain Olympics •• Crack Cloud

Ho, why is you here? •• Flo Milli

Cape Circa •• K-Lone

Róisín Machine •• Róisín Murphy

Eternal Atake •• Lil Uzi Vert

Microphones in 2020 •• The Microphones

UNTITLED (Black Is) •• SAULT

Chromatica •• Lady Gaga

Modern Bliss •• Roza Terenzi

Ten Billion Angels •• Zora Jones

Pray 4 Love •• Rod Wave

Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee

Modus Vivendi •• 070 Shake

Cenizas •• Nicolás Jaar

Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple

Black Nationalist Sonic Weaponry •• Speaker Music

Pray for Paris •• Westside Gunn

Second Language •• Minor Science

Forever, Ya Girl •• KeiyaA

Crabs in a Bucket •• Nines

Deep Technik •• MoMA Ready

Live Forever •• Bartees Strange

Send Them to Coventry •• Pa Salieu

Pillowland •• Jam City

Phoenix: Flames Are Dew Upon My Skin •• Eartheater

Every Bad •• Porridge Radio

The 15 best albums of 2020 •• Entertainment Weekly

Leah Greenblatt, Sarah Rodman & Alex Suskind

Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple

After Hours •• The Weeknd

RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels

Rough and Rowdy Ways •• Bob Dylan

folklore •• Taylor Swift

Gaslighter •• The Chicks

Women in Music Pt. III •• HAIM

A Written Testimony •• Jay Electronica

YHLQMDLG •• Bad Bunny

UNTITLED (Black Is) •• SAULT

Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa

American Love Story •• Butch Walker

Set My Heart On Fire Immediately •• Perfume Genius

Your Life Is a Record •• Brandy Clark

Petals for Armor •• Hayley Williams

Exclaim!’s 50 Best Albums of 2020 •• Exclaim!

Exclaim! Staff

God Has Nothing to Do with This Leave Him Out of It •• Backxwash

Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple

Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers

RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels

Suddenly •• Caribou

Women in Music Pt. III •• HAIM

Miss Colombia •• Lido Pimienta

Heaven to a Tortured Mind •• Yves Tumor

Rough and Rowdy Ways •• Bob Dylan

Pantayo •• Pantayo

Heavy Light •• U.S. Girls

It Is What It Is •• Thundercat

The Neon Skyline •• Andy Shauf

Miss Anthropocene •• Grimes

Alfredo •• Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist

græ •• Moses Sumney

Have We Met •• Destroyer

Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee

Ohms •• Deftones

The Ascension •• Sufjan Stevens

Legacy •• Aquakultre

folklore •• Taylor Swift

Devouring Ruin •• Wake

How Ill Thy World Is Ordered •• Daniel Romano’s Outfit

Microphones in 2020 •• The Microphones

After Hours •• The Weeknd

Burden of Proof •• Benny the Butcher

What’s Your Pleasure? •• Jessie Ware

DNA Activation •• Witch Prophet

Peaceful as Hell •• Black Dresses

Where Only Gods May Tread •• Ingested

Circles •• Mac Miller

2017-2019 •• Against All Logic

Lianne La Havas •• Lianne La Havas

Stygian •• Atramentus

ELEMENTS Vol. 1 •• TOBi

Reliever •• William Prince

Every Bad •• Porridge Radio

Someone New •• Helena Deland

Pray 4 Love •• Rod Wave

color theory •• Soccer Mommy

Sundry Rock Song Stock •• Yves Jarvis

Finds You Well •• Khotin

Underneath •• Code Orange

songs •• Adrianne Lenker

Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa

Visions of Bodies Being Burned •• clipping.

Total Freedom •• Kathleen Edwards

Shore •• Fleet Foxes

Free I.H.: This Is Not the One You’ve Been Waiting For •• Illuminati Hotties

The Best Albums of 2020 •• FLOOD

FLOOD Staff

RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels

Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple

græ •• Moses Sumney

Set My Heart on Fire Immediately •• Perfume Genius

Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers

color theory •• Soccer Mommy

Magic Oneohtrix Point Never •• Oneohtrix Point Never

Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee

After Hours •• The Weeknd

Ungodly Hour •• Chloe x Halle

Women in Music Pt. III •• Haim

Visions of Bodies Being Burned •• clipping.

SAWAYAMA •• Rina Sawayama

What’s Your Pleasure? •• Jessie Ware

Alfredo •• Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist

My Agenda •• Dorian Electra

Live Forever •• Bartees Strange

Phoenix: Flames Are Dew Upon My Skin •• Eartheater

Shrines •• Armand Hammer

That’s How Rumors Get Started •• Margo Price

It Is What It Is •• Thundercat

American Head •• The Flaming Lips

Si Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios) ∞ •• Kali Uchis

Song Machine: Season 1 - Strange Timez •• Gorillaz

Moveys •• Slow Pulp

The Gigwise 51 Best Albums of 2020 •• Gigwise

Gigwise Staff

SAWAYAMA •• Rina Sawayama

Set My Heart On Fire Immediately •• Perfume Genius

folklore •• Taylor Swift

UNTITLED (Black Is) •• SAULT

RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels

Good News •• Megan Thee Stallion

Women in Music Pt. III •• HAIM

Ohms •• Deftones

Circles •• Mac Miller

The Night Chancers •• Baxter Dury

Sex, Death & The Infinite Void •• Creeper

What’s Your Pleasure? •• Jessie Ware

The Archer •• Alexandra Savior

Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa

Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers

color theory •• Soccer Mommy

Mordechai •• Khruangbin

Heaven to a Tortured Mind •• Yves Tumor

Night Network •• The Cribs

I Disagree •• Poppy

Introduction, Presence •• Nation of Language

Modern Dread •• Denai Moore

K.G. •• King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard

To Love Is to Live •• Jehnny Beth

A Hero’s Death •• Fontaines D.C.

Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee

Working Men’s Club •• Working Men’s Club

We Live Here •• Bob Vylan

Song for Our Daughter •• Laura Marling

how i’m feeling now •• Charli XCX

I Grow Tired But Dare Not Fall Asleep •• Ghostpoet

925 •• Sorry

Got To Be Tough •• Toots & The Maytals

græ •• Moses Sumney

Viscerals •• Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs

Three Mile Ditch •• The Wytches

England Is a Garden •• Cornershop

It Is What It Is •• Thundercat

In This House •• Lewsberg

Optimisme •• Songhoy Blues

songs •• Adrianne Lenker

Letter to You •• Bruce Springsteen

Big Conspiracy •• J Hus

Every Bad •• Porridge Radio

Monument •• Keaton Henson

Seeking Thrills •• Georgia

Hyper Romance •• Jadu Heart

Container •• The Wants

The Prettiest Curse •• Hinds

In Waiting •• Pillow Queens

The Reson for Hardcore Vibes •• Joe & The Shitboys

Gorilla vs. Bear’s Albums of 2020 •• Gorilla vs. Bear

Chris

Someone New •• Helena Deland

Untitled (Black Is) •• SAULT || Untitled (Rise) •• SAULT

Send Them to Coventry •• Pa Salieu

Weaving a Basket •• Sea Oleena

Modus Vivendi •• 070 Shake

Fires in Heaven •• Salem

Galore •• Oklou

What’s Tonight to Eternity •• Cindy Lee || Cat O’Nine Tails •• Cindy Lee

Miss Anthropocene •• Grimes

Taken Away •• Moodymann

All the Time •• Jessy Lanza

Alletiders •• Alle

WHAT WE DREW 우리가 그려왔던 •• Yaeji

Because of a Flower •• Ana Roxanne

How Much Works •• Sweet Whirl

songs •• Adrianne Lenker || instrumentals •• Adrianne Lenker

The Don of Diamond Dreams •• Shabazz Palaces

Magic Oneohtrix Point Never •• Oneohtrix Point Never

Hunger for a Way Out •• Sweeping Promises

Your Hero Is Not Dead •• Westerman

Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa

Alfredo •• Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist

Remote Control •• Discovery Zone

how i’m feeling now •• Charli XCX

Help •• Duval Timothy

Yes •• Shinichi Atobe

What’s Your Pleasure? •• Jessie Ware

I Was Born Swimming •• Squirrel Flower

Healing Is a Miracle •• Julianna Barwick

Mia Gargaret •• Gia Margaret

I Feel Alive •• Tops

Karma & Desire •• Actress

Crooner qui coule sous les clous •• Oï Les Ox

Bobby Joe Hope •• Jon McKiel

Motherhood •• No Joy

Land of No Junction •• Aoife Nessa Frances

acts of rebellion •• Ela Minus

Cave Vaults on the Moon •• Tan Cologne

Sundry Rock Song Stock •• Yves Jarvis

A Mythology of Circles •• Faten Kanaan

Man Alive! •• King Krule

Inner Song •• Kelly Lee Owens

Good Songs for Bad People •• Drab City

Roped In •• North Americans

Sorceress •• Jess Williamson

Phoenix: Flames are Dew Upon My Skin •• Eartheater

Fantasy Chapel •• Riches

Ride Lonesome •• Young Ejecta

Shimmering Basset •• The Green Child

Silver Ladders •• Mary Lattimore

The 50 best albums of 2020 •• The Guardian

Ben Beaumont-Thomas & Laura Snapes

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?

?

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?

?

Big Conspiracy •• J Hus

folklore •• Taylor Swift

græ •• Moses Sumney

Róisín Machine •• Róisín Murphy

Ungodly Hour •• Chloe x Halle

Rough and Rowdy Ways •• Bob Dylan

What’s Your Pleasure? •• Jessie Ware

A Written Testimony •• Jay Electronica

Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers

A Hero’s Death •• Fontaines D.C.

RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels

Chromatica •• Lady Gaga

Miss Anthropocene •• Grimes

Heaven to a Tortured Mind •• Yves Tumor

Workaround •• Beatrice Dillon

Suddenly •• Caribou

Inner Song •• Kelly Lee Owens

UNTITLED (Rise) •• SAULT

Gold Record •• Bill Callahan

Song for Our Daughter •• Laura Marling

It Is What It Is •• Thundercat

Circles •• Mac Miller

Shore •• Fleet Foxes

Heavy Light •• U.S. Girls

Forever, Ya Girl •• KeiyaA

how i’m feeling now •• Charli XCX

Alfredo •• Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist

Working Men’s Club •• Working Men’s Club

Notes on a Conditional Form •• The 1975

Savage Mode II •• 21 Savage & Metro Boomin

I Think I’m Good •• Kassa Overall

Suite for Max Brown •• Jeff Parker

Positions •• Ariana Grande

Karma & Desire •• Actress

DISCO •• Kylie Minogue

Made in Lagos •• Wizkid

All the Time •• Jessy Lanza

Rare •• Selena Gomez

Three •• The Necks

The Album •• Teyana Taylor

color theory •• Soccer Mommy

Have We Met •• Destroyer

Visions of Bodies Being Burned •• clipping.

The Best Albums of 2020 Ranked •• The Line of Best Fit

The Line of Best Fit Staff

SAWAYAMA •• Rina Sawayama

The Baby •• Samia

how i’m feeling now •• Charli XCX

Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers

græ •• Moses Sumney

Rough and Rowdy Ways •• Bob Dylan

Set My Heart On Fire Immediately •• Perfume Genius

Heaven to a Tortured Mind •• Yves Tumor

Ungodly Hour •• Chloe x Halle

RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels

Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple

Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee

The Worst Generation •• Che Lingo

Healing Is a Miracle •• Julianna Barwick

Big Conspiracy •• J Hus

I’m Your Empress Of •• Empress Of

We’re New Again: A Reimagining •• Makaya McCraven

Visions of Bodies Being Burned •• clipping.

Anime, Trauma and Divorce •• Open Mike Eagle

Beginners •• Christian Lee Hutson

Good News •• Megan Thee Stallion

Show Pony •• Orville Peck

The Angel You Don’t Know •• Amaarae

Inner Song •• Kelly Lee Owens

A Hero’s Death •• Fontaines D.C.

The Amanda Tape •• THEY.

songs •• Adrianne Lenker

JAGUAR •• Victoria Monét

Shore •• Fleet Foxes

Someone New •• Helena Deland

Whatever, Man •• BLACKSTARKIDS

folklore •• Taylor Swift

SOURCE •• Nubya Garcia

Without People •• Donovan Woods

What’s Your Pleasure? •• Jessie Ware

Petals for Armor •• Hayley Williams

Debris •• Keeley Forsyth

Warnings •• I Break Horses

So When You Gonna... •• Dream Wife

Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa

Twice as Tall •• Burna Boy

Now or Never •• Giggs

SISTER •• Mina Tindle

Circles •• Mac Miller

Mordechai •• Khruangbin

The Prettiest Curse •• Hinds

Chromatica •• Lady Gaga

Women in Music Pt. III •• HAIM

EDNA •• Headie One

Dark Hearts •• Annie

Best Albums of 2020 •• The New York Times

Jon Pareles, Jon Caramanica, and Lindsay Zoladz

  Simmering Emotions, Louder Explosions   Jon Pareles

The Ascension •• Sufjan Stevens

Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple

græ •• Moses Sumney

folklore •• Taylor Swift

Rough and Rowdy Ways •• Bob Dylan

Lianne La Havas •• Lianne La Havas

Twice as Tall •• Burna Boy

RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels

Mama, You Can Bet! •• Jyoti

SIGN •• Autechre

  The Art of Taking One’s Time   Jon Caramanica

Southside •• Sam Hunt

SAWAYAMA •• Rina Sawayama

Pray 4 Love •• Rod Wave

A Written Testimony •• Jay Electronica

RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels

Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple

Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon •• Pop Smoke

Ho, why is you here? •• Flo Milli

Poems of the Past •• Powfu

Changes •• Justin Bieber

Starting Over •• Chris Stapleton

YHLQMDLG •• Bad Bunny

Honeymoon •• Beach Bunny

    and 27 more for a chaotic year...

Savage Mode II •• 21 Savage & Metro Boomin

Burden of Proof •• Benny the Butcher

Trap Tumbado •• Natanael Cano

Gaslighter •• The Chicks

City on Lock •• City Girls

Underneath •• Code Orange

From King to a GOD •• Conway the Machine

Dark Lane Demo Tapes •• Drake

Alfredo •• Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist

Positions •• Ariana Grande

A Rock •• Hardy

Violence in a Quiet Mind •• Haux

AUNTIE •• Ian Isiah

Atrapado en un Sueño •• Junior H

Levon James •• King Von

Just Cause Y’all Waited 2 •• Lil Durk

God Made a Woman •• Lauren Mascitti

LP5 •• John Moreland

Before Love Came to Kill Us •• Jessie Reyez

Rosetta •• Dua Saleh

Jesus Is Born •• Sunday Service Choir

Easy Money Baby •• Myke Towers

What’s Your Pleasure? •• Jessie Ware

Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee

After Hours •• The Weeknd

The Dream •• Hailey Whitters

Top •• YoungBoy Never Broke Again

  Rebel Yells, of Passion and Fury   Lindsay Zoladz

Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple

Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers

Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee

Women in Music Pt. III •• HAIM

Heaven to a Tortured Mind •• Yves Tumor

how i’m feeling now •• Charli XCX

What’s Your Pleasure? •• Jessie Ware

Eternal Atake •• Lil Uzi Vert

No Dream •• Jeff Rosenstock

Set My Heart on Fire Immediately •• Perfume Genius

folklore •• Taylor Swift

The Best Music of 2020 •• The New Yorker

Amanda Petrusich

No. 1 •• Etran de l’Aïr

songs •• Adrianne Lenker || instrumentals •• Adrianne Lenker

Silver Ladders •• Mary Lattimore

Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa

Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple

Mama, You Can Bet! •• Jyoti

Rough and Rowdy Ways •• Bob Dylan

Shore •• Fleet Foxes

Alfredo •• Freddie Gibbs & the Alchemist

Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers

    Honorable Mentions:

folklore •• Taylor Swift

Good News •• Megan Thee Stallion

Un Canto por México Vol. 1 •• Natalia Lafourcade

It Was Good Until It Wasn’t •• Kehlani

A Written Testimony •• Jay Electronica

The New Abnormal •• The Strokes

Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee

Sheldon Pearce

Microphones in 2020 •• The Microphones

Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple

Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers

græ •• Moses Sumney

Rough and Rowdy Ways •• Bob Dylan

Act II: The Patents of Nobility (The Turn) •• Jay Electronica

YHLQMDLG •• Bad Bunny

Mama, You Can Bet! •• Jyoti

Set My Heart on Fire Immediately •• Perfume Genius

songs •• Adrianne Lenker || instrumentals •• Adrianne Lenker

color theory •• Soccer Mommy

SAWAYAMA •• Rina Sawayama

Thank You For Using GTL •• Drakeo the Ruler

Shore •• Fleet Foxes

Anime, Trauma and Divorce •• Open Mike Eagle

WHAT WE DREW 우리가 그려왔던 •• Yaeji

Miss Anthropocene •• Grimes

Mutable Set •• Blake Mills

RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels

APOLLO •• Fireboy DML

Couldn’t Wait to Tell You... •• Liv.e

Live Forever •• Bartees Strange

Ho, why is you here? •• Flo Milli

UNTITLED (Black Is) •• SAULT

Every Bad •• Porridge Radio

Descendants of Cain •• Ka

folklore •• Taylor Swift

Big Conspiracy •• J Hus

Heaven to a Tortured Mind •• Yves Tumor

Healing Is a Miracle •• Julianna Barwick

The 100 Best Albums of 2020 •• Noisey (Vice)

Noisey Staff

UNTITLED (Black Is) •• SAULT || UNTITLED (Rise) •• SAULT

Ho, why is you here? •• Flo Milli

It Is What It Is •• Thundercat

EDNA •• Headie One

Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple

Bartees Strange •• Live Forever

My Turn (Deluxe) •• Lil Baby

Heaven to a Tortured Mind •• Yves Tumor

Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee

JAGUAR •• Victoria Monét

Meet the Woo 2 •• Pop Smoke

BRAT •• NNAMDÏ

Shame •• Uniform

YHLQMDLG •• Bad Bunny

Send Them to Coventry •• Pa Salieu

Full Wack No Brakes •• Bad Boy Chiller Crew

Shore •• Fleet Foxes

how i’m feeling now •• Charli XCX

Fuck the World •• Brent Faiyaz

Cruisin’ with Junior H •• Junior H

Twice as Tall •• Burna Boy

Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers

SAWAYAMA •• Rina Sawayama

Inlet •• Hum

Alfredo •• Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist

Forever, Ya Girl •• KeiyaA

Eternal Atake (Deluxe) •• Lil Uzi Vert

Lament •• Touché Amoré

A Written Testimony •• Jay Electronica

Set My Heart On Fire Immediately •• Perfume Genius

color theory •• Soccer Mommy

Rich Slave •• Young Dolph

Fires in Heaven •• SALEM

Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa

City On Lock •• City Girls

Big Conspiracy •• J Hus

The Great Dismal •• Nothing

Welcome to O’Block •• King Von

songs •• Adrianne Lenker

Thank You for Using GTL •• Drakeo the Ruler

Àdá Irin •• Navy Blue

Featuring Ty Dolla $ign •• Ty Dolla $ign

Scacco Matto •• Lorenzo Senni

Grime MC •• Jme

Viva el Perreo •• Jowell & Randy

Phoenix: Flames Are Dew Upon My Skin •• Eartheater

The Goat •• Polo G

Speed Kills •• Chubby and the Gang

Common Prayers •• Walter Martin

Petals for Armor •• Hayley Williams

Burden of Proof •• Benny the Butcher

Eternity of Shaog •• Esoctrilihum

Magic Oneohtrix Point Never •• Oneohtrix Point Never

Corridos Tumbados •• Natanael Cano

The Prince of Tea in China •• Boldy James & The Alchemist

A Muse in Her Feelings •• dvsn

KiCk i •• Arca

Circles •• Mac Miller

Rise Above Hate •• Unknown T

I Love You 2 •• Hook

WHAT WE DREW 우리가 그려왔던 •• Yaeji

Every Bad •• Porridge Radio

From a King to a GOD •• Conway the Machine

Chromatica •• Lady Gaga

Healing Is a Miracle •• Julianna Barwick

12th House Rock •• Narrow Head

Watch This Liquid Pour Itself •• Okay Kaya

Growth & Development •• 22Gz

Miss Anthropocene •• Grimes

Weight of the World •• MIKE

Auto-Pain •• Deeper

Bino Rideaux •• Outside

Tearless •• Amnesia Scanner

Made in Lagos •• Wizkid

U-Void Synthesizer •• Machine Girl

Take Time •• Giveon

Pure X •• Pure X

Last Year Was Weird, Vol. 2 •• Tkay Maidza

Women in Music Pt. III •• HAIM

Starmaker •• Honey Harper

So Help Me God! •• 2 Chainz

Crabs in a Bucket •• Nines

Descendants of Cain •• Ka

Good News •• Megan Thee Stallion

Blue Eyes, The Harlot, The Queer, The Pusher & Me •• Waylon Payne

Have You Lost Your Mind Yet? •• Fantastic Negrito

Just Look at That Sky •• Ganser

7G •• A. G. Cook

Vibras de Noche •• Eslabon Armado

Immersion •• Primitive Man

Supergood •• Duckwrth

The Weather Up There •• Jeremy Cunningham

Underneath •• Code Orange

El Androide •• El Alfa

Lianne La Havas •• Lianne La Havas

SIGN •• Autechre

folklore •• Taylor Swift

Occupational Hazard •• Mozzy

The Freelancer’s Blues •• Dougie Poole

4 Da 304′s •• KentheMan

Best Music of 2020 •• NPR

NPR Music Staff

UNTITLED (Black Is) •• SAULT

Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple

Miss Colombia •• Lido Pimienta

Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers

Spilligion •• Spillage Village

Adès Conducts Adès •• Thomas Adès

YHLQMDLG •• Bad Bunny

Source •• Nubya Garcia

Eternal Atake •• Lil Uzi Vert

Blue Eyes, The Harlot, The Queer, The Pusher & Me •• Waylon Payne

Women in Music Pt. III •• HAIM

Lianne La Havas •• Lianne La Havas

Ho, why is you here? •• Flo Milli

Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa

RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels

Expectations •• Katie Pruitt

Data Lords •• Maria Schneider Orchestra

Underneath •• Code Orange

on the tender spot of every calloused moment •• Ambrose Akinmusire

JAGUAR •• Victoria Monét

Regresa •• Buscabulla

Dawson: Negro Folk Symphony •• ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra

Ungodly Hour •• Chloe x Halle

The Slow Rush •• Tame Impala

A Small Death •• Samantha Crain

Pauline •• Ashley Ray

Mama, You Can Bet! •• Jyoti

Siti of Unguja (Romance Revolution on Zanzibar) •• Siti Muharam

songs •• Adrianne Lenker

My Turn •• Lil Baby

It Is What It Is •• Thundercat

Live Forever •• Bartees Strange

Spider Tales •• Jake Blount

Silver Ladders •• Mary Lattimore

Set My Heart on Fire Immediately •• Perfume Genius

Fuck the World •• Brent Faiyaz

Debussy • Rameau •• Víkingur Ólafsson

Muthaland •• Bbymutha

SAWAYAMA •• Rina Sawayama

En Español •• The Mavericks

Thank You For Using GTL •• Drakeo the Ruler

The experience of repetition as death •• Clarice Jensen

Inside •• X Alfonso

Total Freedom •• Kathleen Edwards

Savage Mode II •• 21 Savage / Metro Boomin

some kind of peace •• Ólafur Arnalds

Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee

Giver Taker •• Anjimile

Don’t Feed the Monster •• Homeboy Sandman

how i’m feeling now •• Charli XCX

The 50 Best Albums of 2020 •• Paste

Paste Staff

Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple

Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee

RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels

Untitled (Rise) •• SAULT

Set My Heart on Fire Immediately •• Perfume Genius

Every Bad •• Porridge Radio

color theory •• Soccer Mommy

SAWAYAMA •• Rina Sawayama

songs •• Adrianne Lenker

græ •• Moses Sumney

Suddenly •• Caribou

Reunions •• Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

Alfredo •• Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist

Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers

It Is What It Is •• Thundercat

God Has Nothing to Do With This Leave Him Out of It •• Backxwash

Untitled (Black Is) •• SAULT

Inner Song •• Kelly Lee Owens

Heavy Light •• U.S. Girls

Heaven to a Tortured Mind •• Yves Tumor

The Great Dismal •• Nothing

Welcome to Conceptual Beach •• Young Jesus

Rough and Rowdy Ways •• Bob Dylan

Healing Is A Miracle •• Julianna Barwick

Youth Pastoral •• Ben Seretan

Microphones in 2020 •• The Microphones

Shore •• Fleet Foxes

Inlet •• Hum

KIND •• Thanya Iyer

Miss Colombia •• Lido Pimienta

acts of rebellion •• Ela Minus

Ultimate Success Today •• Protomartyr

Anime, Trauma and Divorce •• Open Mike Eagle

Bonny Light Horseman •• Bonny Light Horseman

Speed Kills •• Chubby and the Gang

Live Forever •• Bartees Strange

Shadow Talk •• Cafe Racer

Source •• Nubya Garcia

What’s Your Pleasure? •• Jessie Ware

A Hero’s Death •• Fontaines D.C.

Introduction, Presence •• Nation of Language

Women in Music Pt. III •• HAIM

The Baby •• Samia

Forever, Ya Girl •• KeiyaA

Free I.H.: This Is Not the One You’ve Been Waiting For •• Illuminati Hotties

Celebrated By Strangers •• Catholic Action

Lianne La Havas •• Lianne La Havas

Flower of Devotion •• Dehd

Just Look at That Sky •• Ganser

Somewhere •• Gum Country

The 50 Best Albums of 2020 •• Pitchfork

Pitchfork Staff

Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple

Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee

græ •• Moses Sumney

Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers

Set My Heart on Fire Immediately •• Perfume Genius

Rough and Rowdy Ways •• Bob Dylan

Heaven to a Tortured Mind •• Yves Tumor

Women in Music Pt. III •• HAIM

What’s Your Pleasure? •• Jessie Ware

YHLQMDLG •• Bad Bunny

songs •• Adrianne Lenker || instrumentals •• Adrianne Lenker

Eternal Atake •• Lil Uzi Vert

Microphones in 2020 •• The Microphones

Act II: The Patents of Nobility (The Turn) •• Jay Electronica

Heavy Light •• U.S. Girls

RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels

Róisín Machine •• Róisín Murphy

Have We Met •• Destroyer

The Angel You Don’t Know •• Amaarae

Shore •• Fleet Foxes

Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa

Forever, Ya Girl •• KeiyaA

Every Bad •• Porridge Radio

Miss Anthropocene •• Grimes

SOURCE •• Nubya Garcia

color theory •• Soccer Mommy

Inner Song •• Kelly Lee Owens

Ungodly Hour •• Chloe x Halle

folklore •• Taylor Swift

Live Forever •• Bartees Strange

Shall We Go On Sinning So That Grace May Increase? •• The Soft Pink Truth

Thank You for Using GTL •• Drakeo the Ruler

Workaround •• Beatrice Dillon

Melee •• Dogleg

Descendants of Cain •• Ka

The Passion Of •• Special Interest

Hannah •• Lomelda

Help •• Duval Timohy

Flower of Devotion •• Dehd

KiCk i •• Arca

SAWAYAMA •• Rina Sawayama

Room for the Moon •• Kate NV

Good News •• Megan Thee Stallion

Alfredo •• Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist

Fountain •• Lyra Pramuk

Twice as Tall •• Burna Boy

My Turn (Deluxe) •• Lil Baby

how i’m feeilng now •• Charli XCX

WHAT WE DREW 우리가 그려왔던 •• Yaeji

Silver Ladders •• Mary Lattimore

The 60 Best Albums of 2020 •• Pop Matters

Pop Matters Staff

Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers

Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple

What’s Your Pleasure? •• Jessie Ware

Women in Music Pt. III •• HAIM

Heaven to a Tortured Mind •• Yves Tumor

RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels

Outland •• Ital Tek

UNTITLED (Black Is) •• SAULT

Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee

A Hero’s Death •• Fontaines D.C.

Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa

It Is What It Is •• Thundercat

A Written Testimony •• Jay Electronica

3.15.20 •• Childish Gambino

YHLQMDLG •• Bad Bunny

Rough and Rowdy Ways •• Bob Dylan

folklore •• Taylor Swift

Set My Heart on Fire Immediately •• Perfume Genius

songs •• Adrianne Lenker || instrumentals •• Adrianne Lenker

Ohms •• Deftones

Gaslighter •• The Chicks

Workaround •• Beatrice Dillon

Shore •• Fleet Foxes

Good Souls Better Angels •• Lucinda Williams

Reunions •• Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit

Inner Song •• Kelly Lee Owens

Private Lives •• Low Cut Connie

Suddenly •• Caribou

Song Machine: Season 1 - Strange Timez •• Gorillaz

Keleketla! •• Keleketla!

Seeking Thrills •• Georgia

Every Bad •• Porridge Radio

I’m Your Empress Of •• Empress Of

Before Love Come To Kill Us •• Jessie Reyez

Róisín Machine •• Róisín Murphy

The Cycle •• Mourning [A] BLKstar

Microphones in 2020 •• The Microphones

Notes on a Conditional Form •• The 1975

The Universal Want •• Doves

We’ve Landed •• Tony Allen & Hugh Masekela

Mama, You Can Bet! •• Jyoti

Eno Axis •• HC McEntire

color theory •• Soccer Mommy

Visions of Bodies Being Burned •• clipping.

Ultrasonic •• Field Works

Sixteen Oceans •• Four Tet

VOICES •• Max Richter

on the tender spot of every calloused moment •• Ambrose Akinmusire

Neon Cross •• Jaime Wyatt

Cenizas •• Nicolás Jaar

To Love Is to Live •• Jehnny Beth

Amazones Power •• Les Amazones d’Afrique

Shall We Go On Sinning So That Grace May Increase? •• The Soft Pink Truth

The Piano Equation •• Matthew Shipp

Making a Door Less Open •• Car Seat Headrest

Silver Tongue •• TORRES

BRAT •• NNAMDÏ

The Night Chancers •• Baxter Dury

Blue Eyes, The Harlot, The Queer, The Pusher & Me •• Waylon Payne

Wooden Cave •• Thin Lear

Quietus Albums Of The Year 2020 •• The Quietus

The Quietus Staff

Dances/Curses •• Hey Colossus

Shall We Go On Sinning So That Grace May Increase? •• The Soft Pink Truth

The Passion Of •• Special Interest

Fountain •• Lyra Pramuk

Energy Is Forever •• UKAEA

Help •• Duval Timothy

Be Up A Hello •• Squarepusher

Kitchen Sink •• Nadine Shah

Send Them to Coventry •• Pa Salieu

Guerilla •• Nazar

Only Darkness Now •• Alison Cotton

Alles in Allem •• Einstürzende Neubauten

SIGN •• Autechre

First Seance •• Land Trance

Duma •• Duma

These Charms May Be Sung Over a Wound •• Richard Skelton

Untitled (Rise) •• SAULT

Debris •• Keeley Forsyth

Type II •• Sex Swing

Dark Hearts •• Annie

Set My Heart on Fire Immediately •• Perfume Genius

The Common Task •• Horse Lords

Workaround •• Beatrice Dillon

7 Weapons Series •• Howie Lee

Zoom •• Upsammy

Free Humans •• Hen Ogledd

Suite for Max Brown •• Jeff Parker & The New Breed

Cumbia Siglo XXI •• Meridian Brothers

Serpent •• MXLX

Because Of A Flower •• Ana Roxanne

Forever Underground •• Phantom Posse

There Is No Year •• Algiers

Heart’s Ease •• Shirley Collins

Mestarin Kynsi •• Oranssi Pazuzu

Silver Ladders •• Mary Lattimore

DISCO •• Kylie Minogue

Edna •• Headie One

Mas Amable •• DJ Python

Have We Met •• Destroyer

Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa

Glory Days •• Heather Leigh

Blues •• Lamin Fofana

Gold Record •• Bill Callahan

To Kiss Earth Goodbye •• Teleplasmiste

The Night Chancers •• Baxter Dury

Barbarians •• Young Knives

Fast Edit •• Still House Plants

Jp4 •• Junglepussy

Loom •• Katie Gately

Flower Violence •• Blóm

A Late Anthology Of Early Music Vol. 1: Ancient To Renaissance •• Jennifer Walshe

Cantus, Descant •• Sarah Davachi

Big Conspiracy •• J Hus

Endless Wound •• Black Curse

if i don't let myself be happy now then when? •• More Eaze & Claire Rousay

Seven Storey Mountain VI •• Nate Wooley

L’Inattingible •• Delphine Dora

Rock Sutra •• Sun Araw

Róisín Machine •• Róisín Murphy

Heaven To A Tortured Mind •• Yves Tumor

The Ascension •• Sufjan Stevens

Visions Of Bodies Being Burned •• clipping.

Returner •• Closed Circuits

Scacco Matto •• Lorenzo Senni

Lamunan •• Antonina Nowacka

Future Teenage Cave Artists •• Deerhoof

Não Fales Nela Que A Mentes •• Nídia

SKEEN •• Mariam Rezaei

Winterreise •• Jerskin Fendrix

May Our Chambers Be Full •• Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou

how i'm feeling now •• Charli XCX

Superstar •• Harry Pussy

The End Of Their World Is Coming •• Dead Meat

Viscerals •• Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs

KiCK i •• Arca

World Serpent •• Memnon Sa

Pedernal •• Susan Alcorn

Cwm Gwagle •• Datblygu

Beyond The Floor •• Geld

Trinity •• Laylow

The Big Exercise •• The Homesick

Malibu Liquor Store •• Shit And Shine

Couldn't Wait To Tell You... •• Liv.e

No Era Sólida •• Lucrecia Dalt

Abscess Time •• Pyrrhon

Thug Ambient •• Dale Cornish

Pillowland •• Jam City

Crabs In A Bucket •• Nines

Hidden In This Is The Light That You Miss •• Regis

Prole Art Threat •• East Man

Evil Spirits Who Prowl About The World Seeking The Ruin Of Souls •• Haq123

Toutes Ces Horreurs •• Satan

Figures •• Aksak Maboul

Mind Hive •• Wire

2020 •• Magik Markers

Training Day 3 •• Potter Payper

Swirling •• Sun Ra Arkestra

Nah Nah Nah Yeh Yeh Yeh •• Luminous Bodies

Aux Pieds De La Nuit •• Nyx Nótt

6 •• Pharaoh Overlord

The 50 Best Albums of 2020 •• Rolling Stone

Jonathan Bernstein, Emily Blake, Jon Blistein, Jon Dolan, Patrick Doyle, Brenna Ehrlich, Jon Freeman, Kory Grow, Christian Hoard, Joseph Hudak, Elias Leight, Angie Martoccio, Claire Shaffer, Rob Sheffield, Hank Shteamer, Simon Vozick-Levinson

folklore •• Taylor Swift

Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple

YHLQMDLG •• Bad Bunny

Rough and Rowdy Ways •• Bob Dylan

Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa

RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels

Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee

Eternal Atake •• Lil Uzi Vert

What’s Your Pleasure? •• Jessie Ware

Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers

Chromatica •• Lady Gaga

Letter to You •• Bruce Springsteen

City on Lock •• City Girls

Women in Music Pt. III •• HAIM

Ho, why is you here? •• Flo Milli

Map of the Soul: 7 •• BTS

Shore •• Fleet Foxes

græ •• Moses Sumney

Ungodly Hour •• Chloe x Halle

Never Will •• Ashley McBryde

Honeymoon •• Beach Bunny

Positions •• Ariana Grande

Plastic Hearts •• Miley Cyrus

Rare •• Selena Gomez

Manic •• Halsey

To Love Is to Live •• Jehnny Beth

Good News •• Megan Thee Stallion

Reunions •• Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit

Shamir •• Shamir

Sixteen Oceans •• Four Tet

Petals for Armor •• Hayley Williams

After Hours •• The Weeknd

A Hero’s Death •• Fontaines D.C.

Private Lives •• Low Cut Connie

Got to Be Tough •• Toots and the Maytals

Traditional Techniques •• Stephen Malkmus

color theory •• Soccer Mommy

Inner Song •• Kelly Lee Owens

Fake It Flowers •• beabadoobee

McCartney III •• Paul McCartney

Haunted Painting •• Sad13

Alphabetland •• X

Aftermath •• Elizabeth Cook

Starting Over •• Chris Stapleton

Power Up •• AC/DC

The Price of Tea in China •• Boldy James & The Alchemist

Good Souls Better Angels •• Lucinda Williams

Growth •• Kareem Ali

Love Is The King •• Jeff Tweedy

Live Forever •• Bartees Strange

Albums of the Year 2020 •• Rough Trade

Rough Trade Staff

Untitled (Black Is) •• SAULT

Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers

SAWAYAMA •• Rina Sawayama

Song For Our Daughter •• Laura Marling

Beyond the Pale •• Jarv Is

So When You Gonna •• Dream Wife

Viscerals •• Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs

Bedroom •• bdrmm

Every Bad •• Porridge Radio

Sideways to New Italy •• Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever

England Is A Garden •• Cornershop

Galore •• Oklou

Protean Threat •• Osees

Ultra Mono •• Idles

Suddenly •• Caribou

What Kinda Music •• Tom Misch + Yussef Dayes

By The Fire •• Thurston Moore

Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee

Wu Hen •• Kamaal Williams

Wake Up! •• Hazel English

Heaven to a Tortured Mind •• Yves Tumor

Jump Rope Gazers •• Beths

A Hero’s Death •• Fontaines D.C.

Seeking Thrills •• Georgia

RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels

There Is No Other •• Isobel Campbell

Head Above Water •• Brigid Mae Power

Inner Song •• Kelly Lee Owens

Old Flowers •• Courtney Marie Andrews

Sixteen Oceans •• Four Tet

Loco •• A Certain Ratio

Ummon •• Slift

Coriky •• Coriky

Keleketla! •• Keleketla!

That’s How Rumours Get Started •• Margo Price

Introduction, Presence •• Nation Of Language

some kind of peace •• Olafur Arnalds

Walking Like We Do •• Big Moon

Bug On Yonkers •• Damaged Bug

WHAT WE DREW 우리가 그려왔던 •• Yaeji

Home •• Romare

Infinity of Now •• Heliocentrics

3D Routine •• Mush

All or Nothing •• Shopping

Fading •• Pole

Flower of Devotion •• Dehd

Heritage of the Invisible II •• Aqulies Navarro + Tcheser Holmes

Blue Hearts •• Bob Mould

All the Time •• Jessy Lanza

WILL THIS MAKE ME GOOD •• Nick Hakim

Alfredo •• Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist

Myopia •• Agnes Obel

Anywhere But Here •• Habibi

Man Alive! •• King Krule

Invisible People •• Chicano Batman

It Is What It Is •• Thundercat

I Grow Tired But Dare Not Fall Asleep •• Ghostpoet

Cenizás •• Nicolas Jaar

Straight Songs of Sorrow •• Mark Lanegan

Friday Forever •• Everything Is Recorded

Pleasure Line •• Video Age

Happy Birthday •• Sneaks

Shortly After Takeoff •• BC Camplight

Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple

Voices •• Max Richter

Even in Exile •• James Dean Bradfield

The True Story Of •• Bananagun

Making a New World •• Field Music

Only for Dolphins •• Action Bronson

Midnight Manor •• The Nude Party

The Juice That’s Worth the Squeeze •• Cherry Pickles

The Long Goodbye •• Riz Ahmed

Colourfield •• Dan Michaelson

Stray •• Bambara

Collector •• Disq

Gentle Grip •• Public Practice

Miss Anthropocene •• Grimes

Reunions •• Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

Tender Epoch •• Rudy De Anda

Bonny Light Horseman •• Bonny Light Horseman

Moveys •• Slow Pulp

Alphabetland •• X

The Land that Time Forgot •• Chuck Prophet

Up in the Air •• Bent

Mind Hive •• Wire

UNLOCKED •• Denzel Curry x Kenny Beats

Rough and Rowdy Ways •• Bob Dylan

High Risk Behaviour •• Chats

songs •• Adrianne Lenker || instrumentals •• Adrianne Lenker

Have We Met •• Destroyer

The Ascension •• Sufjan Stevens

Visions of Bodies Being Burned •• clipping.

Articulation •• Rival Consoles

Mordechai •• Khruangbin

Marigold •• Pinegrove

It’s Only Us •• Monophonics

Debris •• Keeley Forsyth

Superstar •• Caroline Rose

Truth or Consequences •• Yumi Zouma

Mother Stone •• Caleb Landry Jones

The Best Albums of 2020 •• Slate

Carl Wilson

  ALBUMS

Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers

Likewise •• Frances Quinlan

Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee

color theory •• Soccer Mommy

Diet Cig, Bully, The Beths, beabadoobee, Beach Bunny, Mitski, Torres, Down Time, and Emily Brown

Beginners •• Christian Lee Huston

Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was •• Bright Eyes

Artlessly Falling •• Mary Halvorson’s Code Girl

Pedernal •• Susan Alcorn

Zurich Concert •• Jaimie Branch & The Dave Gisler Trio

Beverly Glenn-Copeland

Here It Comes Again [EP] •• Cate Le Bon & Group Listening

L’inattingible •• Delphine Dora

Solar Wind •• Joëlle Leandre, Robert Dick, and Miya Masaoka

Memory Game •• Meredith Monk & The Bang On a Can All-Stars

Fra Det Onde •• Fra Det Onde & Emil Nikolaisen

What’s Your Pleasure? •• Jessie Ware

Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa

DISCO •• Kylie Minogue

Chromatica •• Lady Gaga

Positions •• Ariana Grande

The Album •• Teyana Taylor

It Was Good Until It Wasn’t •• Kehlani

After Hours •• The Weeknd

Modus Vivendi •• 070 Shake

Songs for Pierre Chuvin •• The Mountain Goats

Getting Into Knives •• The Mountain Goats

Day of the Tiles [EP] •• Human Hearts

Island •• Owen Pallett

Microphones in 2020 •• The Microphones

Gold Record •• Bill Callahan

Home Time •• Darren Hayman

Alphabetland •• X

Untitled (Rise) •• SAULT || Untitled (Black Is) •• SAULT

We Are Sent Here by History •• Shabaka and the Ancestors

Dark Matter •• Moses Boyd

Source •• Nubya Garcia

Universal Beings E & F Sides •• Makaya McCraven

Swirling •• Sun Ra Arkestra

To Know Without Knowing •• Mulatu Astatke & Black Jesus Experience

Dutch from the 5th •• Dutchavelli

Send Them to Coventry •• Pa Salieu

Stormzy & Skepta

Crabs in a Bucket •• Nines

J Hus, Headie One, Tion Wayne, D Double E, Blanco, Young T & Bugsey, Kojey Radical, AJ Tracey, and Ghetts

on the tender spot of every calloused moment •• Ambrose Akinmusire

Suite for Max Brown •• Jeff Parker

America the Beautiful •• Kahil El’Zabar

Omega •• Immanuel Wilkins

Good Days •• Chicago Underground Quartet

8: Kindred Spirits •• Charles Lloyd

Your Life Is a Record •• Brandy Clark

Blue Eyes, The Harlot, The Queer, The Pusher & Me •• Waylon Payne

Gaslighter •• The Chicks

Southside •• Sam Hunt

Never Will •• Ashley McBryde

Starting Over •• Chris Stapleton

Reunions •• Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit

The Way It Feels •• Maddie & Tae

But I’d Rather Be With You •• Molly Tuttle

Bridges [EP] •• Mickey Guyton

Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple

My Turn (Deluxe) •• Lil Baby

RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels

Mt. Marci •• Roc Marciano

Alfredo •• Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist

High Off Life •• Future

A Written Testimony •• Jay Electronica

Good News •• Megan Thee Stallion

Ho, why is you here? •• Flo Milli

Meet the Woo 2 •• Pop Smoke || Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon •• Pop Smoke

Savage Mode II •• 21 Savage & Metro Boomin

Descendants of Cain •• KA

Eternal Atake •• Lil Uzi Vert

folklore •• Taylor Swift

Heart’s Ease •• Shirley Collins

Fretted & Indebted •• Alasdair Roberts || The Songs of My Boyhood •• Alasdair Roberts

Mama, You Can Bet! •• Jyoti

Rejoice •• Tony Allen & Hugh Masekela

Forever, Ya Girl •• KeiyaA

I Think I’m Good •• Kassa Overall

Love-Lore •• Deerhoof

Future Teenage Cave Artists •• Deerhoof || To Be Surrounded by Beautiful, Curious, Breathing, Laughing Flesh Is Enough •• Deerhoof & Wadada Leo Smith || Surprise Symphonies •• Deerhoof

The 50 Best Albums of 2020 •• Stereogum

Stereogum Staff

Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple

Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee

RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels

Women in Music Pt. III •• HAIM

folklore •• Taylor Swift

Manger on McNichols •• Boldy James & Sterling Toles

Magic Oneohtrix Point Never •• Oneohtrix Point Never

Lament •• Touché Amoré

Untitled (Rise) •• SAULT

color theory •• Soccer Mommy

Inlet •• Hum

Hannah •• Lomelda

Heaven to a Tortured Mind •• Yves Tumor

Shore •• Fleet Foxes

Set My Heart on Fire Immediately •• Perfume Genius

Live Forever •• Bartees Strange

Notes on a Conditional Form •• The 1975

Alfredo •• Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist

how i’m feeling now •• Charli XCX

925 •• Sorry

Inner Song •• Kelly Lee Owens

Rough and Rowdy Ways •• Bob Dylan

World House •• Mil-Spec

No Dream •• Jeff Rosenstock

Song for Our Daughter •• Laura Marling

What’s Your Pleasure? •• Jessie Ware

It Is What It Is •• Thundercat

Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers

Viewing •• Stay Inside

Impenetrable Cerebral Fortress •• Gulch

Microphones in 2020 •• The Microphones

KiCk i •• Arca

2017-2019 •• Against All Logic

The Neon Skyline •• Andy Shauf

The Price of Tea in China •• Boldy James & The Alchemist

Suddenly •• Caribou

Reunions •• Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit

SIGN •• Autechre

Every Bad •• Porridge Radio

græ •• Moses Sumney

Southside •• Sam Hunt

Descendants of Cain •• Ka

Introduction, Presence •• Nation of Language

A Hero’s Death •• Fontaines D.C.

FREE I.H.: This Is Not the One You’ve Been Waiting For •• Illuminati Hotties

Take a Chance on Rock ‘n’ Roll •• Couch Slut

May Our Chambers Be Full •• Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou

It Was Good Until It Wasn’t •• Kehlani

As We Suffer from Memory and Imagination •• Nuvolascura

Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa

Best Albums of 2020 •• TIME

Raisa Bruner & Andrew R. Chow

folklore •• Taylor Swift

Ungodly Hour •• Chloe x Halle

Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple

Gaslighter •• The Chicks

Eternal Atake •• Lil Uzi Vert

Set My Heart on Fire Immediately •• Perfume Genius

Agüita •• Gabriel Garzón-Montano

We’re New Again - A Reimagining •• Makaya McCraven

Miss Anthropecene •• Grimes

Celia •• Tiwa Savage

The Best Albums of 2020 •• Uproxx

Uproxx Staff

folklore •• Taylor Swift

Fetch the Bolt Cutters •• Fiona Apple

Spilligion •• Spillage Village

Eternal Atake •• Lil Uzi Vert

Future Nostalgia •• Dua Lipa

Circles •• Mac Miller

Saint Cloud •• Waxahatchee

Women in Music Pt. III •• HAIM

Ungodly Hour •• Chloe x Halle

After Hours •• The Weeknd

Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial •• Roddy Ricch

Shore •• Fleet Foxes

RTJ4 •• Run the Jewels

My Turn •• Lil Baby

Punisher •• Phoebe Bridgers

Ho, why is you here? •• Flo Milli

Heaven to a Tortured Mind •• Yves Tumor

Cuttin’ Grass - Vol. 1 (Butcher Shoppe Sessions) •• Sturgill Simpson

Fine Line •• Harry Styles

Positions •• Ariana Grande

Black Habits •• D Smoke

What We Drew 우리가 그려왔던 •• Yaeji

how i’m feeling now •• Charli XCX

color theory •• Soccer Mommy

Live Forever •• Bartees Strange

Set My Heart On Fire Immediately •• Perfume Genius

Limbo •• Aminé

YHLQMDLG •• Bad Bunny

The GOAT •• Polo G

Rare •• Selena Gomez

Talk About It •• Blimes and Gab

Everything •• Kota the Friend

Good News •• Megan Thee Stallion

Wunna •• Gunna

SAWAYAMA •• Rina Sawayama

Mordechai •• Khruangbin

It Was Good Until It Wasn’t •• Kehlani

Imploding the Mirage •• The Killers

songs •• Adrianne Lenker || instrumentals •• Adrianne Lenker

Pray for Paris •• Westside Gunn

The Album •• BLACKPINK

Better •• Deanté Hitchcock

Queen of Da Souf •• Mulatto

Twice as Tall •• Burna Boy

The Slow Rush •• Tame Impala

A Written Testimony •• Jay Electronica

Fake It Flowers •• beabadoobee

My Agenda •• Dorian Electra

Heaven or Hell •• Don Toliver

The New Abnormal •• The Strokes

Behind-the-Paywall Lists:

LA Times

The Economist

[brooklynmuseum]

Join us as we take you on a tour of African Arts—Global Conversations. Curated by Kristen Windmuller-Luna and presented by Bank of America. 

African Arts—Global Conversations puts African arts where they rightfully belong: within the global art historical canon. This exhibition pairs diverse African works with objects from around the world in groupings throughout the Museum.

These groupings explore how shared themes such as portraiture, faith, modernism, and origins developed independently in different parts of the globe and fill in the blanks of decades of art history teaching.

Beginning in our introductory gallery, two idealized portraits of African rulers made centuries apart greet visitors.

These portraits respect cultural norms about how a ruler is expected to look, often combining distinctive individual features with visual concepts such as divinity or rulership.

Kuba artist (Bushoong clan). Ndop figure depicting Nyim Mbó Mbóosh (reigned circa 1650), Nyim Mishé miShyááng máMbúl (reigned circa 1710), or Nyim Kot áNée (reigned circa 1740), circa 1760–80. Mushenge (Nsheng), Kasai Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Wood, tukula, 19 1/2 x 7 5/8 x 8 5/8 in. (49.5 x 19.4 x 21.9 cm). Purchased with funds given by Mr. and Mrs. Alastair B. Martin, Mrs. Donald M. Oenslager, Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Blum, and the Mrs. Florence A. Blum Fund, 61.33.

Kuba ndop (commissioned royal portraits) represent the concept of leadership and contain a ruler’s life essence.The hand on this drum identifies this ruler as one of three Kuba nyim (kings): Mbó Mbóosh, Mishé miShyááng máMbúl, and Kot áNée.

Other royal indicators include his long-brimmed headdress, cowrie belt and armbands, and calm expression.

Egyptian artist. Ptolemaic Prince, 51–30 B.C.E. Egypt. Quartzite, 12 1/2 x 5 5/16 x 3 3/8 in. (31.8 x 13.5 x 8.5 cm). Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 54.117.

Ancient Egyptian sculptures use hieroglyphic text to identify subjects by name, but a blank back pillar suggests this sculpture is unfinished. 

Although this figure is unidentified, his youth, crown, and Hellenistic hair and face suggest that he is Caesarion, son of Cleopatra VII and Julius Caesar.

Warriors hold a valued place in many societies across time and place. Warriors’ memorials reflect what societies think these figures “should” look like, often representing ideals rather than individuals.

Huastec artist. Warrior Figure, circa 1440–1521. Xico Viejo, Veracruz, Mexico. Sandstone, 65 3/16 x 14 3/4 x 7 1/2 in. (165.6 x 37.5 x 19.1 cm). Frank L. Babbott Fund, 39.371.

Wooden stelae (left/middle) memorializing powerful Konso warriors in Ethiopia were grouped with additional sculptures of weapons, slain animals, and defeated foes. The stelae memorialize specific male Konso ancestors, emphasizing his individual deeds as well as his connection to shared experiences and values.

The stone Huastec warrior figure (right) from Mexico is adorned with fearsome symbols of death such as the human skulls on his skirt and bead-and-human-heart necklace. Huastec viewers who saw these elements knew he was likely Micoatl-Camaxtle, the god of hunting and warfare.

Nestled amongst our European paintings and sculpture collection are three Ethiopian processional crosses. 

Beginning in the medieval period, the Christian Ethiopian Kingdom and numerous Italian states enjoyed a lively relationship that included travel and exchange of religious art and ideas between the two regions.

Ethiopian Orthodox priests carried these copper alloy crosses atop staffs (right).

just as their Italian Catholic counterparts carried wooden ones like this (left).

Amhara artist. Processional Cross (qäqwami mäsqäl), late 15th or early 16th century. Possibly Lalibela, Ethiopia. Copper alloy, 11 1/2 x 7 3/16 in. (29.0 x 18.3 cm). Gift of George V. Corinaldi, Jr., 81.163.2.

An Ethiopian artist incised Mary holding the Christ child, archangels, and saints on this fifteenth- or sixteenth century cross.

Master of Monte del Lago (Italian, School of Umbria, second quarter of the 14th century). Double-Sided Processional Cross, second quarter of the 14th century. Umbria, Italy. Tempera and gold on panel, 39 1/16 x 16 9/16 x 4 5/8 in. (99.2 x 42.1 x 11.7 cm). Gift of Mary Babbott Ladd, Lydia Babbott Stokes, and Frank L. Babbott, Jr., in memory of their father, Frank L. Babbott, 34.845.

While the Master of Monte del Lago painted Crucifixion scenes on this fourteenth-century gilded Italian cross.

A trio of ceramics made by living artists born in Kenya, Korea, and Nigeria shows the ways that modern ceramicists can choose to draw inspiration from their own regional heritage, or not.

Magdalene Anyango N. Odundo DBE (British, born 1950, Kenya). Symmetrical Reduced Black Narrow-Necked Tall Piece, 1990. Farnham, Surrey, England. Terracotta, 16 x 10 x 10 in. (40.6 x 25.4 x 25.4 cm). Purchased with funds given by Dr. and Mrs. Sidney Clyman and the Frank L. Babbott Fund, 1991.26. © Magdalene Anyango N. Odundo

Dame Magdalene Anyango N. Odundo fires her dramatic pots multiple times to create glossy, iridescent surfaces. 

Born in Kenya, she learned ceramics in Britain (where she lives today), citing pottery traditions from multiple other countries as her primary influences, drawing ideas from Nigerian Gwari ceramics, Native American Pueblo pottery, European Modernism, and even ancient Cycladic art.

Kang Suk Young (Korean, born 1949). Untitled, 1992. Korea. Unglazed porcelain, 24 13/16 x 6 x 6 in. (63 x 15.3 x 15.3 cm). Purchased with funds given by Dr. and Mrs. Richard Dickes, 2006.20. © Kang Suk Young

Kang Suk Young uses porcelain, a medium that is traditional in his home country of Korea, but he creates forms using slip casting, a method he learned in France. He pulls the porcelain from its mold when it is still somewhat soft and twists and bends it to create something that is lively and anthropomorphic.

Ranti Bam (Nigerian, born 1982). Antafi, 2019. London, England. Terracotta, 15 3/8 × 8 1/4 × 8 1/4 in. (39 × 21 × 21 cm). Gift of Anne Goldrach in honor of Anne Pasternak, 2019.25. © Ranti Bam

Ranti Bam has created a very complex object, contrasting a heavy clay slab with delicate painting, and a rough surface with areas of shiny glaze. 

The painted surface references woodgrain, but in an unlikely color of dark pink that gives the vessel its name, Antafi, a word that the artist derived from the Greek word for “rose” (triantafyllo).

Although these artists participate in the multinational field of contemporary ceramics, their work has until now been categorized by the museum according to their place of birth.

Grouping these ceramics highlights how museums (including Brooklyn!) tend to leave artists  born outside of Europe and the U.S. out of conversations about contemporary art.

Kongo (Yombe subgroup) artist. Power Figure (nkisi): Woman and Child, 19th century. Lower Congo Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Wood, glass, upholstery studs, metal, metal and glass buttons, resin, 11 x 5 x 4 1/2 in. (27.9 x 12.7 x 11.4 cm). Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 22.1138.

This sculpture is linked to a Kongo fertility-focused women’s cult that flourished during the height of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. During this period, women both raised children and took on customarily male agricultural roles. Made into an nkisi (power figure), it underscores how Kongo women supported future generations during a time of widespread social upheaval and trauma.

Louis Rémy Mignot (American, 1831-1870). Niagara, 1866. Oil on canvas, 61 1/2 × 104 1/4 × 4 1/2 in. (156.2 × 264.8 × 11.4 cm). Gift of Arthur S. Fairchild, 1993.118.

Displayed in a gallery devoted to Civil War and Reconstruction-era (1861–1877) American art, this sculpture provides a poignant Central African perspective on the widespread repercussions of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

On the fifth floor, you’ll find a pairing of two great leaders: Wóót and George Washington. Artist-made images created before the invention of photography, they show how two artists represented their society’s founding fathers.

Kuba artist. Mask (Mwaash aMbooy), late 19th or early 20th century. Kasaï Province (former Kasaï-Occidental Province), Democratic Republic of the Congo. Rawhide, paint, plant fibers, textile, cowrie shells, glass, wood, monkey pelt, and feathers, 22 x 20 x 18 in. (55.9 x 50.8 x 45.7 cm). Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 22.1582.

The Mwaash aMbooy mask personifies Wóót, mythical ancestor of the D.R. Congo’s Kuba peoples. Kings performed this mask during initiations and funerals. One performance tells the story of Wóót’s role in the Kuba kingdom's founding and his ties to its first ruler.

Gilbert Stuart (American, 1755–1828). George Washington, 1796. Oil on canvas, 96 1/4 x 60 1/4 in. (244.5 x 153 cm). Dick S. Ramsay Fund and Museum Purchase Fund, 45.179.

Gilbert Stuart’s larger-than-lifesize portrait of George Washington reminds a young republic of the soldier who led them to victory and the statesman who stepped down from power for the country to flourish for some.

Both works rely on extensive symbolism and create enduring images of “founding fathers.” 

While Stuart’s portrait turned an individual into an icon, the Kuba artist’s Wóót mask connected a current ruler to his dynastic past.

Beauford Delaney began including African artworks in a series of compositions from the 1940s as he deepened his engagement with the African American cultural movement called the Harlem Renaissance.

Beauford Delaney (American, 1901-1979). Untitled (Fang Sculpture, Crow and Fruit), 1945. Oil on canvas, 25 x 30 in. (63.5 x 76.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Museum Fund for African American Art in honor of Arnold Lehman, A. Augustus Healy Fund and Ella C. Woodward Memorial Fund, 2014.73. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2014.73_PS9.jpg)

In this dynamic and brightly colored still life, a bird of spirit figure hovers over a bowl of lemons, presenting them as an offering to Fang ancestors represented by the reliquary sculpture seen at right.

An Ntem River Valley Master. Reliquary Guardian Figure (Eyema-o-Byeri), mid-18th to mid-19th century. Wood, iron, 23 × 5 3/4 × 5 in. (58.4 × 14.6 × 12.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Frank L. Babbott Fund, 51.3. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , 51.3_overall_PS9.jpg)

By showing this painting alongside its specific source and acknowledging the contributions of Fang master artists, this grouping brings to life a transatlantic cultural dialogue and exchange.

This is just a small glimpse of the works on view in this groundbreaking exhibition. Come see for yourself as soon as we reopen our galleries!

Thank you for joining us on our tour of African Arts—Global Conversations. Join us next Sunday for another tour of our galleries!

Installation views of African Arts—Global Conversations by Jonathon Dorado. 

#Virtual tour #virtual #virtual programming #Brooklyn #Brooklyn Museum #arthistory #bkmafricanarts #global conversations #african art

[virtual-bunny]

Prince Ackerman

Pairings: Medieval Levi x Medieval Female Reader

WARNINGS: sexy Levi

Y/n smoothed her long sleeve medieval purple dress as she walked up the concrete stairs of the grey castle, her heart pounding from nervousness. Many horses came to a stop as they arrived at the front steps of the Ackerman’s castle. Y/n let a blonde man help her in, thanking him afterwards. Citizens chatted as the band played, kids running around like this was their playground. Y/n helped herself into a table, sitting down and taking a cracker from the silver plate. She hated parties, her parents had made her go all alone, just in case the Ackerman’s prince took an interest in her. Of course, she thought this was stupid, but her parents had gone through all this trouble for this itchy dress, so she felt obligated to go.

Many drunken men had gone up to her, drunk words leaving their mouths. Y/n just smiled and ignored, not interested in any of them. A particular boy came up to her though, giggling and rambling about how pretty her dress was. He said his name, Eren, but again, Y/n was not interested. She got up from her seat, walking towards the children who were playing on the ground. She invited herself to play with, eventually becoming one of them. The children pulled her, laughed with her, sat on her lap as she sang to them. She eventually left them, going back to her seat. She sighed as she watched the many men and women dancing. Y/n tapped her foot lightly to the beat of the band, debating if she should go dance or not.

Levi sighed as he fed the sheep, shoving one of them away from his legs. He hated when his parents had big events, especially ones like these. He saw no point in them, it was just drunk people dancing, hoping they would get noticed by someone. He wiped his pants, going into the barn where his horses were. He patted all five of them and started to give them food. He thought about getting on one and getting the hell out of here. He hated being royalty, made him feel like people only liked him for his bloodline and not because of who he is. That’s why he has never found someone. Everytime his parents had events like these, it’s just full of girls who throw themselves at him without even saying a “hi”. He hated having to talk to so many people, made him feel like an animal.

Y/n might have had too many drinks after her dance with the sweet old man that went by the name “Erwin”, she thanked him for the dance and left the castle, wandering to god knows where. She giggled and mumbled to herself as she took off her shoes, letting her feet touch the wet green grass. She gasped softly as she heard the sound of sheep near her. She ran towards the sound and laughed as she saw the white fluffy sheep staring at her. She went up to them, petting one. She could still hear the band playing, making her dance with the sheep. She swayed and moved to the sound, getting off balance every now and then.

Levi looked at the barn entrance as he heard someone laugh. He hid behind the door, watching as a young woman patted his sheep. He grunted, who does she think she is to just come in and ruin his privacy? He was about to scowl at her, but stopped when she started to dance, clearly drunk, but god, did she look beautiful. Her hair moving side to side, her humming to the music sounded like an angel from above. Levi stared at the woman in awe, watching her every move. He smiled, clearing his throat.

Y/n gasped as she turned around and saw a young man walk from the barn towards her. Oh god, she’s in trouble. Y/n stopped her movements and ran towards a tree, hiding behind it.

“W-wait!” The man yelled. Y/n looked at him, not daring to leave the tree.

“I-I’m not here to hurt you!” The man said. Y/n peeked at him from the tree, the moonlight hitting his face. He was very pale, black hair covering his forehead. He had tired eyes, but they looked kind. Y/n stepped away from the tree and looked down.

“S-sorry, i’ll get going-”

“Wait!” The man yelled at her. Y/n let out a sound of confusion. He jogged up to her and sighed, looking down a ther. “I couldn’t help but watch you dance,” he smiled. Y/n opened her mouth but no words left. The man grabbed her hand, bringing it up to his lips and softly kissed it.

“I’m Prince Levi.” He said. Y/n’s eyes widened. No way this man was the Ackerman prince? Why was he here? In a farm? “I would like to invite you to dance.” He said as he put his arm out so she could grab onto it. Y/n did, still in shock. They walked in silence to the castle, but as they did, people stared at them, whispering and pointing at them. The band stopped for a moment, staring at prince Levi just like everyone else in the castle. Levi led Y/n to where everyone was dancing, grabbing onto her hips, smiling down at her. But then his face went to no expression when he looked at the band and nodded at them. The band quickly started to play, not wasting a moment. Levi led first, moving his feet and not daring to look anywhere else but at Y/n. (SONG THAT THEY’RE DANCING TO) 

Y/n looked right back at him, staring into his mesmerizing eyes. She felt her heart pounding as she danced with him, feeling like they were the only ones in the castle right now. Levi let out a whistle, making Y/n smile lightly. “Never thought i’d be dancing with a prince if I’m honest.” Y/n spoke. Levi chuckled, his eyes crinkling. “Many people don’t.” He answered back. They continued to dance, eventually getting lost in the crowd of drunk dancers. They danced, suddenly Y/n wasn’t drunk anymore or tired. Dancing with Levi made her feel… alive.

Levi could say the same thing. His eyes couldn’t leave her. He was so drawn to her, it felt like he was the drunk one. Y/n eventually started to get tired, so Levi led her to a table and sat next to her, grabbing her hand. They looked at each other for a moment, Levi grabbing her cheek and smiling. “Where can i find you?” He asked her. Y/n was taken aback. He asks for her residence but not name? She scoffed, moving her head away from his cold hands. Levi furrowed his eyebrows. “What?” He asked. Y/n looked back at him. “Not even gonna ask for my name but you will ask where I live?”

Levi blushed with embarrassment. “Sorry, what is your name?” He asked. Y/n chuckled. “Y/n Y/l.” Levi smiled at her. “You have a nice name, mind me taking you home? It’s pretty late I believe.” Y/n agreed. Levi called a horse, getting himself on it first, then helping Y/n up. She grabbed onto his hips, her cheek pressed against his back.

“Ready?” He asked as he turned around lighty to look at her. Y/n hummed, Levi taking that as a ‘yes’. He hit the horse and started to ride into town. They didn’t talk all the way to her home, they just enjoyed the moment together.

They eventually got to her house, the townsfolk gasping and murmuring when they saw Levi help Y/n out the horse. They walked together to her small house, stopping outside the door.

“It was a pleasure to meet you.” Levi spoke, grabbing Y/n’s hand. Y/n smiled, “it was a pleasure to meet you to your highness.” Levi smiled. He turned to look at the flower, ripping it from the pot and handing it to Y/n. she blushed, smelling the flower. “I will be coming back, until I win your heart, you know?” Levi said. Y/n’s eyes widen, looking up at him. Levi smiled at her, grabbing her hand and kissing it. He let go of it and walked back to his horse.

“See you tomorrow then.” He shouted, and rode his horse back to the farm.

#Levi Ackerman #Levi x reader #Attack on Titan #aot #attack on titan #levi ackerman #levi x reader

[spawnofdeath]

I just remembered that I once read a book series in which the basic premise was that in the not so distant future, men and women all absolutely despise each other and live almost entirely seperate.

Many women live in big communities in the woods, amazon style, only meeting with men occasionally for what I'm going to generously call "mating purposes" (it was portrayed to be consensual out of the necessity for offspring).

Many men live still in the big cities, although they've returned to a medieval lifestyle, and many of them have women as s*x sl*ves (this was a series for young teens and should probably not have contained such rather dark themes). On the other hand, there are also large groups of men living in monasteries.

Now my point that I'm trying to make is, that in this entire three book series, which is entirely based on the premise that men and women hate each other and live entirely seperate, there was not one single same sex couple. Not one. And I find that baffling. If I wasn't so weirded out, I'd be impressed. Straight people's ability to keep things straight under any circumstances never fails to amaze me. Admittedly, when I read this, I was still myself deeply entangled in heteronormativity, and I'm honestly not sure I was even yet entirely consciously aware gay people existed, but thinking back now I am flabbergasted. That in such a scenario there would be not a single same sex couple, or at least not one the author thought important enough to mention, nor even a general mention of the existence of same sex couples in this world. The Straights are truly something else, and it's fascinating. Deeply disturbing, but fascinating.

Also, if anyone knows what series I'm talking about, please, because I only read it in german and I can't remember the title. Something with eden, but it might not be the same in english. It was romance though. But it was straight romance. In a world where men and women hate each other. Which is utterly baffling. The Straights are truly something else.

#human trafficking tw #sex trafficking tw #sex slavery tw #rape tw #the straights are not okay

[thesunnyshow]

Name: hi, i am nyx  Age: 20 years old Writing Blog URL(s): jungcity.tumblr.com | v-asl.tumblr.com 

Nationality: filipino Languages: english, filipino Star Sign: pisces! MBTI: infp-t Favorite color: white accentuated by silver Favorite food: it’s sweet and spicy chicken garlic!! Favorite movie: hmmm, it’s prolly flipped because that movie was so cute :,)  Favorite ice cream flavor: rocky road!! Favorite animal: it’s gonna be cats!! although i love lions so much because of narnia :,( Coffee or tea? What are you ordering? coffee :,) Go-to karaoke song: i don’t sing agskh the world would end if i would 

What has been one of the biggest factors of your success (of any size)? i think it’s me writing about jaehyun??? since he’s the king of fanfiction, especially in ncity nowadays. 

What fandom(s) do you write for?  nct + wayv

When did you post your first piece? three days ago!! that would be august 4 i guess???

Do you write fluff/angst/crack/general/smut, combo, etc? Why? i don’t really much write fluff since i don’t have any idea how to write a good fluff!! :( this has been an issue every time i write some au’s. so im always ending up writing and focusing more on angst. it’s the genre i know best. well, crack… it’s hard to make the readers laugh when you can’t even make their tooth ache from sweetness with your fluffy writings. :( smut… i don’t write smut explicitly any more. i’m more on the suggestive side rn. 

Do you write OCs, X Readers, Ships...etc  i write OC’s especially when im writing a series!! to diversify my writing. but i usually am on the x reader side. ships? not that much. 

Why did you decide to write for Tumblr? uhm, back in 2017, i was searching for some website where i could publish my works. ive always been a tumblr-girl since i am that wanna-be-aesthetic kinda person :D then i had found that i could write and publish on tumblr so yeah that’s pretty much why i am on this app rn

What inspires you to write?  ooh, music has been a great help for sure!! whenever i don’t feel like writing something, i always listen to music and the idea would flow like a river. classic poems helps, too. :)

What genres/AUs do you enjoy writing the most?  supernatural!au’s, fantasy!au, medieval!au. i feel like it’s easier to write something out of pure fantasy. i have a hard time writing modern!au’s since i lack the humor and the knowledge for modern slangs. 

What do you hope your readers take away from your work?  ooh, i always always always am careful with the way that i craft all my works. i try to feel what my characters feel to give them a certain validation. i put my shoes on the scenarios i have in mind even though i haven’t yet experienced everything ive written. and i do love writing strong female characters, whether it’s oc’s or female readers. that’s my main priority whenever i write. and i want them to know that girls could do just as much everything boys could. women are powerful. 

What do you do when you hit a rough spot creatively?  i read a lot to get back on my foot. i also try to re-read my past works so i’d be inspired to better my writing on my current draft.

What is your favorite work and why? Your most successful?  my favorite work is the one i’m still writing rn, which is entitled 505. it’s a hendery fic in which he is a bandit and the female reader is a sacristan. it’s my fave since i relate myself so much to the female reader. :) my most successful one is the childhood best friends!au taeyong x female reader. it’s about to reach 600+ notes i guess? and im so grateful of all the feedbacks i got from it. 

Who is your favorite person to write about?  it’s jaehyun and hendery :) 

Do you think there’s a difference between writing fanfiction vs. completely original prose?  character wise, perhaps. since you already have a face value in fanfiction, but in an original prose, you would have to craft everything from 0. 

What do you think makes a good story?  a good story is something that doesn’t romanticize the bad things going on in the world. a good story is something that is emphatic to the hardships of others. a good story is something that gives comfort to those who are in the dark. a good story is something that boosts the hearts of the readers and makes them feel things!! 

What is your writing process like?  first, i think of a plot! (this happens oftentimes when im washing the dishes) when i have the plot, i think of the ending. when i have the ending, it’s time for me to device a fitting title. and the plot would develop from then on. 

Would you ever repurpose a fic into a completely original story?  i don’t think so… this is scary. since some people think of fanfics as delusional works from delusional authors. it’s kinda sad. 

What tropes do you love, and what tropes can’t you stand?  i love love love enemies-to-lovers trope!! one that i couldn’t stand and do my best to not read is probably… hmm… no, i love all tropes!! i just love e-t-l most!

How much would you say audience feedback/engagement means to you?  it means a ton. since it could really boosts me up. heavy sigh. it’s the best thing when you write something— the feedbacks. even though it’s a simple reblog with the ‘#ATKSHSKSHSKAHAKSGAHGEGSJA’ or ‘#myfave’. i would smile like an idiot whenever i read it.

Dream job (whether you have a job or not)? i want to be a successful writer someday!

If you could have one superpower, what would you choose? teleportation!! 

If you could visit a historical era, which would you choose?  ancient greek + victorian era

If you could restart your life, knowing what you do now, would you?  yes!! im so hell deep in indecision right now so i want to restart to make everything right

Would you rather fight 100 chicken-sized horses or one horse-sized chicken?  100 chicken-sized horses!!

If you were a trope in a teen high school movie, what would you have been?  enemies-to-lovers trope agsksj LOL

Do you believe in aliens/supernatural creatures?  YES!!! perhaps they are lurking somewhere here on earth and we don’t know it yet ;)

Fun fact about yourself that not everyone would know?  oh… i don’t really know what to write. i don’t give much attention to my personal details agsksj

Do you think fanfic writers get unfairly judged?  yes!! ugh, there’s this recent issue wherein stan twt called fanfic writers as freaks. and it broke my heart. i mean, most fanfic writers get inspirations from their idols and that shouldn’t be a bad thing. we aren’t delusionals as one might think. we are simply doing our craft. 

Do you think art can be a medium for change?  yes!! our country’s hero ‘jose rizal’ had somehow stirred the nationality of the people back in the old days because of his writings. i do believe that art changes things!! it has the ability to pierce the heart of the people.  

Do you ever feel there are times when you’re writing for others, rather than yourself?  yes. i feel this whenever im writing smut. i mean, let’s be real, your works would do better once you’ve included some steamy smut scenes in it. when i was writing my first fanfic after three years, i didn’t think that i’d ever include smut. but the fear of not getting feedbacks crept up in me, so i forced myself to write some sexy scenes. i know that’s like… weird. but i’m trying not to dwell on feedbacks any longer. and i also have decided not to write explicit smut anymore. honestly, i feel better now that i don’t force myself to do something that i think would please others rather than me.

Do you ever feel like people have misunderstood you or your writing at times?  uhm, as far as i can remember, nope— still hasn’t felt that way. :)

Do your offline friends/loved ones know you write for Tumblr?  yes!! my best friends irl knows about it. my sister knows. my parents are also aware of my passion in writing, and they do know that i write. but where and what, that remains obscured from them :D 

What is one thing you wish you could tell your followers?  that it’s okay to be vulnerable. it’s okay to make mistakes. it’s okay to fail sometimes. it’s okay to feel things. because like a good book, there is always a character development and you have the pen to write your own version of happy endings. 

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers who might be too scared to put themselves out there?  i’ve been there: the scared and conscious part. but one thing i would say is, you have to dare yourself!! you won’t know how your writing would have impacted so many lives and touch the hearts of people if you won’t grab your pen or your gadget and start your draft. 

Are there any times when you regret joining Tumblr?  nope, there aren’t. the community has been lovely to me ever since i started writing. :,)

Do you have any mutuals who have been particularly formative/supportive in your Tumblr journey? yes!! oh my god. i’d like to take this opportunity to thank my mutuals who’s done me nothing but kindness— @legendnct (hannah), whoo!! you know how much i love you, right? thank you for always being there to listen to me. :) @cloudysuh des, since day one you’ve supported me. i couldn’t ask for more. thank you for the never-ending praises, keyboard smashes, for the tags, and for always boosting me up. @bohoes georgie, you know i love you. since 2017 you’ve been with me— praising my works and supporting me. thank you. @cherr-e cherry!! thank you!! for teaching me how to better my writing. i hope endless happiness for u and please take care. @writermoon hello my babe!! thank you so much for reading my works with such vivid imaginations. i love you. @jaeyongf amy!! the bestest person :,) thank you for always leaving me feedbacks!! thank you for being kind to me. thank you for always supporting me. i love you guys so much and let’s be mutuals for a long time!! 

Pick a quote to end your interview with: 

“If the world hated you, and believed you wicked, while your own conscience approved you, and absolved you from guilt, you would not be without friends.” — Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë

#@jungcity #@v-asl #thesunnyshow #featuredauthor #episode 22 #nct #wayv

[sciencespies]

Civil Rights Icons' Mothers, Lost Ancient Cities and Other New Books to Read

https://sciencespies.com/history/civil-rights-icons-mothers-lost-ancient-cities-and-other-new-books-to-read/

Civil Rights Icons' Mothers, Lost Ancient Cities and Other New Books to Read

Anna Malaika Tubbs has never liked the old adage of “behind every great man is a great woman.” As the author and advocate points out in an interview with Women’s Foundation California, in most cases, the “woman is right beside the man, if not leading him.” To “think about things differently,” Tubbs adds, she decided to “introduce the woman before the man”—an approach she took in her debut book, which spotlights the mothers of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and James Baldwin.

“I am tired of Black women being hidden,” writes Tubbs in The Three Mothers. “I am tired of us not being recognized, I am tired of being erased. In this book, I have tried my best to change this for three women in history whose spotlight is long overdue, because the erasure of them is an erasure of all of us.”

The latest installment in our series highlighting new book releases, which launched last year to support authors whose works have been overshadowed amid the Covid-19 pandemic, explores the lives of the women who raised civil rights leaders, the story behind a harrowing photograph of a Holocaust massacre, the secret histories of four abandoned ancient cities, humans’ evolving relationship with food, and black churches’ significance as centers of community.

Representing the fields of history, science, arts and culture, innovation, and travel, selections represent texts that piqued our curiosity with their new approaches to oft-discussed topics, elevation of overlooked stories and artful prose. We’ve linked to Amazon for your convenience, but be sure to check with your local bookstore to see if it supports social distancing–appropriate delivery or pickup measures, too.

The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation by Anna Malaika Tubbs

Ebenezer Baptist Church is perhaps best known for its ties to King, who preached there alongside his father, Martin Luther King Sr., between 1947 and 1968. The Atlanta house of worship proudly hails its ties to the Kings, but as Tubbs writes for Time magazine, one member of the family is largely left out of the narrative: King’s mother, Alberta.

The author adds, “Despite the fact that this church had been led by her parents, that she had re-established the church choir, that she played the church organ, that she was the adored Mama King who led the church alongside her husband, that she was assassinated in the very same building, she had been reduced to an asterisk in the church’s overall importance.”

In The Three Mothers, Tubbs details the manifest ways in which Alberta, Louise Little and Berdis Baldwin shaped their sons’ history-making activism. Born within six years of each other around the turn of the 20th century, the three women shared a fundamental belief in the “worth of Black people, … even when these beliefs flew in the face of America’s racist practices,” per the book’s description.

Alberta—an educator and musician who believed social justice “needed to be a crucial part of any faith organization,” as Tubbs tells Religion News Service—instilled those same beliefs in her son, supporting his efforts to effect change even as the threat of assassination loomed large. Grenada-born Louise, meanwhile, immigrated to Canada, where she joined Marcus Garvey’s black nationalist Universal Negro Improvement Association and met her future husband, a fellow activist; Louise’s approach to religion later inspired her son Malcolm to convert to the Nation of Islam. Berdis raised James as a single parent in the three years between his birth and her marriage to Baptist preacher David Baldwin. Later, when James showed a penchant for pen and paper, she encouraged him to express his frustrations with the world through writing.

All three men, notes Tubbs in the book, “carried their mothers with them in everything they did.”

The Ravine: A Family, a Photograph, a Holocaust Massacre Revealed by Wendy Lower

Few photographs of the Holocaust depict the actual moment of victims’ deaths. Instead, visual documentation tends to focus on the events surrounding acts of mass murder: lines of unsuspecting men and women awaiting deportation, piles of emaciated corpses on the grounds of Nazi concentration camps. In total, writes historian Wendy Lower in The Ravine, “not many more than a dozen” extant images actually capture the killers in the act.

Twelve years ago, Lower, also the author of Hitler’s Furies: German Women in the Nazi Killing Fields, chanced upon one such rare photograph while conducting research at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Taken in Miropol, Ukraine, on October 13, 1941, the photo shows Nazis and local collaborators in the middle of a massacre. Struck by a bullet to the head, a Jewish woman topples forward into a ravine, pulling two still-living children down with her. Robbed of a quick death by shooting, the youngsters were “left to be crushed by the weight of their kin and suffocated in blood and the soil heaped over the bodies,” according to The Ravine.

Lower spent the better part of the next decade researching the image’s story, drawing on archival records, oral histories and “every possible remnant of evidence” to piece together the circumstances surrounding its creation. Through her investigations of the photographer, a Slovakian resistance fighter who was haunted by the scene until his death in 2005; the police officers who participated in their neighbors’ extermination; and the victims themselves, she set out to hold the perpetrators accountable while restoring the deceased’s dignity and humanity—a feat she accomplished despite being unable to identify the family by name.

“[Genocide’s] perpetrators not only kill but also seek to erase the victims from written records, and even from memory,” Lower explains in the book’s opening chapter. “When we find one trace, we must pursue it, to prevent the intended extinction by countering it with research, education, and memorialization.”

Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age by Annalee Newitz

Sooner or later, all great cities fall. Çatalhöyük, a Neolithic settlement in southern Anatolia; Pompeii, the Roman city razed by Mount Vesuvius’ eruption in 79 A.D.; Angkor, the medieval Cambodian capital of the Khmer Empire; and Cahokia, a pre-Hispanic metropolis in what is now Illinois, were no exception. United by their pioneering approaches to urban planning, the four cities boasted sophisticated infrastructures and feats of engineering—accomplishments largely overlooked by Western scholars, who tend to paint their stories in broad, reductive strokes, as Publishers Weekly notes in its review of science journalist Annalee Newitz’s latest book.

Consider, for instance, Çatalhöyük, which was home to some of the first people to settle down permanently after millennia of nomadic living. The prehistoric city’s inhabitants “farmed, made bricks from mud, crafted weapons, and created incredible art” without the benefit of extensive trade networks, per Newitz. They also adorned their dwellings with abstract designs and used plaster to transform their ancestors’ skulls into ritualistic artworks passed down across generations. Angkor, on the other hand, became an economic powerhouse in large part thanks to its complex network of canals and reservoirs.

Despite their demonstrations of ingenuity, all four cities eventually succumbed to what Newitz describes as “prolonged periods of political instability”—often precipitated by poor leadership and unjust hierarchies—“coupled with environmental collapse.” The parallels between these conditions and “the global-warming present” are unmistakable, but as Kirkus points out, the author’s deeply researched survey is more hopeful than dystopian. Drawing on the past to offer advice for the future, Four Lost Cities calls on those in power to embrace “resilient infrastructure, … public plazas, domestic spaces for everyone, social mobility, and leaders who treat the city’s workers with dignity.”

Animal, Vegetable, Junk: A History of Food, From Sustainable to Suicidal by Mark Bittman

Humans’ hunger for food has a dark side, writes Mark Bittman in Animal, Vegetable, Junk. Over the millennia, the food journalist and cookbook author argues, “It’s sparked disputes over landownership, water use, and the extraction of resources. It’s driven exploitation and injustice, slavery and war. It’s even, paradoxically enough, created disease and famine.” (A prime example of these consequences is colonial powers’ exploitation of Indigenous peoples in the production of cash crops, notes Kirkus.) Today, Bittman says, processed foods wreak havoc on diets and overall health, while industrialized agriculture strips the land of its resources and drives climate change through the production of greenhouse gases.

Dire as it may seem, the situation is still salvageable. Though the author dedicates much of his book to an overview of how humans’ relationship with food has changed for the worse, Animal, Vegetable, Junk’s final chapter adopts a more optimistic outlook, calling on readers to embrace agroecology—“an autonomous, pluralist, multicultural movement, political in its demand for social justice.” Adherents of agroecology support replacing chemical fertilizers, pesticides and other toxic tools with organic techniques like composting and encouraging pollinators, in addition to cutting out the middleman between “growers and eaters” and ensuring that the food production system is “sustainable and equitable for all,” according to Bittman.

“Agroecology aims to right social wrongs,” he explains. “… [It] regenerates the ecology of the soil instead of depleting it, reduces carbon emissions, and sustains local food cultures, businesses, farms, jobs, seeds, and people instead of diminishing or destroying them.”

The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song by Henry Louis Gates Jr.

The companion book to an upcoming PBS documentary of the same name, Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s latest scholarly survey traces the black church’s role as both a source of solace and a nexus for social justice efforts. As Publishers Weekly notes in its review of The Black Church, enslaved individuals in the antebellum South drew strength from Christianity’s rituals and music, defying slaveholders’ hopes that practicing the religion would render them “docile and compliant.” More than a century later, as black Americans fought to ensure their civil rights, white supremacists targeted black churches with similar goals in mind, wielding violence to (unsuccessfully) intimidate activists into accepting the status quo.

Gates’ book details the accomplishments of religious leaders within the black community, from Martin Luther King Jr. to Malcolm X, Nat Turner and newly elected senator Reverend Raphael G. Warnock. (The Black Churches’ televised counterpart features insights from similarly prominent individuals, including Oprah Winfrey, Reverend Al Sharpton and John Legend.) But even as the historian celebrates these individuals, he acknowledges the black church’s “struggles and failings” in its “treatment of women and the LGBTQ+ community and its dismal response to the 1980s AIDS epidemic,” per Kirkus. Now, amid a pandemic that’s taken a disproportionate toll on black Americans and an ongoing reckoning with systemic racism in the U.S., black churches’ varying approaches to activism and political engagement are at the forefront once again.

As Gates says in a PBS statement. “No social institution in the Black community is more central and important than the Black church.”

#History

#History

[the-fae-folk]

Leaf: I would like to learn more about the fae, could you tell me where a good place to start would be? maybe book recommendations? or specific fairy tales to look into? thank you so much

Ah, welcome. It is always good to see those who wish to broaden their knowledge of the old stories.As to the Fae, it depends on what you’re looking for. You see, the Folk did not arise from a singular instance of Mythology, but from an amalgamation of many cultural traditions and stories. For Ireland we have the Tuatha de Danann and their battles against the Fir Bolg and eventually become the Aos Sidhe. There are the Welsh Tylwyth Teg who steal fair haired children from their beds and leave changelings in their place.The Scottish hold great pride in their Seelie and Unseelie courts, while the Scandinavian people whisper fearfully of Trolls, Gnomes, Shapeshifters, Wights, and Werewolves.Will you look to the Norse for stories of Light Elfs, Dwarfs, and Disir? Or to the Germanic Wichtlein who aided miners, and are one of the distant precursors to both the Goblins and Dwarfs we imagine today?Or would you prefer to move forward to the Victorian age where Fae were brought together to diminutive sprites and fanciful little magics that you might find in Peter Pan, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, or the Faerie Queene?It really depends on what you’re trying to find. The Lore of the Fae is vast and encompasses the traditions of many different European cultures, each unique and important in its own way. I can include below a full list of all the sources I happen to possess at this time. Hopefully they will grant your desire of providing an excellent place with which to begin your research.

Kirk, Robert. The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns, and Fairies. 1691. Reprint, London: D. Nutt, 1893.

Wilby, Emma. “The Witch's Familiar and the Fairy in Early Modern England and Scotland.” Folklore, vol. 111, no. 2, 2000, pp. 283–305. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1260607.

Vejvoda, Kathleen. “‘Too Much Knowledge of the Other World’: Women and Nineteenth-Century Irish Folktales.” Victorian Literature and Culture, vol. 32, no. 1, 2004, pp. 41–61. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25058651.

Nutt, Alfred. “Presidential Address. Britain and Folklore.” Folklore, vol. 10, no. 1, 1899, pp. 71–86. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1253611.

Goodare, Julian. “The Cult of the Seely Wights in Scotland.” Folklore, vol. 123, no. 2, 2012, pp. 198–219., www.jstor.org/stable/41721541.

Briggs, Katharine Mary (1976). "Euphemistic names for fairies". An Encyclopedia of Fairies. New York: Pantheon Books. p. 127. ISBN 0-394-73467-X.

Rossetti, Christina G, and Martin Ware. Goblin Market. London: V. Gollancz, 1980. Print.

Braddon, M. E. (Mary Elizabeth), 1835-1915. Lady Audley's Secret. New York :Federal Book Company, 18ADAD. Print.

Frazer J.G. (1983) Sympathetic Magic. In: The Golden Bough. Palgrave Macmillan, London.

Yeats, William Butler. “The Stolen Child.” Collected Classic Poems, Stevenson to Yeats, Jan. 2012, pp. 1–2. EBSCOhost, ezproxy.uvu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=prf&AN=76614684&site=eds-live.

Spenser, Edmund, Thomas P. Roche, and C P. O'Donnell. The Faerie Queene. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1978. Print. 

Gregory, Lady, and Finn MacCumhaill. Gods and Fighting Men: The Story of Tuatha de Danann and of the Fianna of Ireland. John Murray, 1905.

Howard, Marvin ElRoy. "" See ya na yon narrow road?": the search for Elfland in folklore of the Scottish border." (1996).

Campbell, John Gregorson. Superstitions of the Highlands & Islands of Scotland. J. MacLehose and sons, 1900.

Diane Purkiss, At The Bottom Of The Garden: A Dark History of Fairies, Hobgoblins, and Other Troublesome Things (2000)

Kready, Laura (1916). A Study of Fairy Tales. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. 

“Trees in Mythology”. Mythencyclopedia.com. 2007-02-19. Retrieved 2014-05-11. 

“‘The king o fairy with his rout’: Fairy Magic in the Literature of Late Medieval Britain–By Hannah Priest”. September 8, 2011. 

Lenihan, Eddie and Green, Carolyn Eve (2004) Meeting The Other Crowd: The Fairy Stories of Hidden Ireland. pp. 146–7 ISBN 1-58542-206-1. 

https://tam-lin.org/stories/Thomas_the_Rhymer.html

Evans Wentz, W. Y. (1966, 1990) The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries. Gerrards Cross, Colin Smythe Humanities Press ISBN 0-901072-51-6

De Jubainville, M. H. D'Arbois and Richard Irvine Best (1903). The Irish Mythological Cycle and Celtic Mythology. Dublin Hodges, Figgis, and Company.

Keightley, Thomas. (1892) Fairy Mythology. London: George Bell & Sons, Retrieved from Project Gutenberg 15 October 2017

King James. Daemonologie. A Critical Edition. In Modern English. 2016. ISBN 1-5329-6891-4.

Williams, Noel. “The semantics of the word fairy: making meaning out of thin air.” The Good People: new fairylore essays (1991): 457-78. 

https://britishfairies.wordpress.com/

Wakefield, Sarah R. Folklore in British Literature: Naming and Narrating in Women’s Fiction, 1750-1880. Vol. 80. Peter Lang, 2006.

Laviolette, Patrick, and Alastair McIntosh. “Fairy hills: merging heritage and conservation.” Ecos 18.¾ (1997): 2-8. 

Owen, Alex. “'Borderland Forms’: Arthur Conan Doyle, Albion’s Daughters, and the Politics of the Cottingley Fairies.” History Workshop, no. 38, 1994, pp. 48–85.

Zipes, Jack. Victorian Fairy Tales: The Revolt of the Fairies and Elves. Routledge, 2016. 

Silver, Carole. “On the Origin of Fairies: Victorians, Romantics, and Folk Belief.” Victorian Literature and Culture 14 (1986): 141-156.

Harms, Daniel M. “Hell and Fairy: The Differentiation of Fairies and Demons Within British Ritual Magic of the Early Modern Period.” Knowing Demons, Knowing Spirits in the Early Modern Period. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2018. 55-77. 

Sikes, Wirt. British goblins: Welsh folk-lore, fairy mythology, legends and traditions. S. Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington, 1880. 

Loponen, Mika. “Faerie Folklore in Medieval Tales-An Introduction.” (2006). 

Lindow, John. Norse mythology: a guide to gods, heroes, rituals, and beliefs. Oxford University Press, 2002. 

Gimbel, Jared Joseph. “Spiritual Descent: A Study of Semi-Divine Beings and Non-Human Species in European Mythologies.” (2011).

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/41006/41006-h/41006-h.htm

John Bauers Bästa: Ett Urval Sagor Ur "bland Tomtar Och Troll" Åren 1907-1915. Stockholm: Åhlén & Åkerlund, 1951. Print.

#fae #faerie #sidhe #otherfolk #leaf #root #sources #fairy tales

[hellreads]

Do you know any really good Yoongi fics with good (explicit/ filthy) smut but also with a good plot? (Wow I said good so many times in that one sentence)

hi there bub, it’s okay I often repeat words too hjghjghjfghf anyway this ask made me realize I need to read more yoongi-centric fics in the future (and i’ll work on that so I could share more stories to everyone!) anyway, here are my favorite Yoongi fics with amazing plots and gratuitous explicit filthy smut! let’s get it! | 🍒

❥ Dead Leaves by wrienne➴ Detective!AU | Yoongi x Reader x Jimin | Series➴ In which you (reader) are a homicide detective about to face the biggest hurdle both of your career and life. Married to probably the kindest but most boring man you’ve ever met and living in a town where nothing ever seems to happen means life for you is dull. Dull enough to drive you crazy with boredom and dissatisfaction. However, life changes abruptly when your old boss retires and a new man takes his place - a man you used to love (and sleep very regularly with) more than a decade ago. Especially when your husband comes home smelling of perfume, you’re unable to resist your more carnal urges and dead women start showing up across the city with unnerving frequency.

❥ Please Be Naked by @floralseokjin➴ Rebound!AU | Yoongi x Reader x Namjoon | Series➴ You find it’s easy to become addicted to a distraction…

❥ The Hills by @minflix​➴ Ski-Trip/Vacation!AU | Yoongi x Reader x Hoseok | Series➴ A ski trip with old friends sounds like a fun time, right?when your ex-boyfriend (who you hate but somehow always end up in bed with) and your stepbrother (who you are harboring not-so-secret feelings for) tag along at the last minute, you have a feeling it won’t be an uneventful weekend.but fun? debatable. that remains to be seen.

❥ What You Did Last Summer by @winetae ➴ Trophy Wife!AU | Yoongi x Reader | One-Shot➴ Yoongi was fine with a lot of things—you maxing out his credit cards to buy ridiculously expensive items of clothing that you never wore more than once, you taking out his newest ride for a spin without permission, you spending an extra thirty minutes on your hair and makeup when he was running late for a dinner function. What he was not okay with, however, was you sharing your pussy with barely-out-of-college boys who were incapable of going five seconds without creaming their pants. No, that was where he drew the line.

❥ Carpe Diem by fringesofsanity➴ Idol/Lovers!AU | Yoongi x Reader | Series➴ Working for the UN, you are tasked to handle the poverty reduction campaign of a certain boy band. A certain rapper from the group however decides to mix business with pleasure.

❥ Cheating by @jhspetitegf / bluesxde (ao3)➴ Married!AU | Yoongi x Reader x Jimin | Series➴ Married too young, too fast, the temptation is too great when an alluring stranger shows you the attention you crave.

❥ Wildest Moments by @joonbird➴ Infidelity/F2L!AU | Yoongi x Reader | Series➴ “Min Yoongi is forbidden territory. And although you both know better, the two of you just can’t seem to stay apart.”

❥ Primae Noctis by @jimlingss​➴ Medieval!AU | Yoongi x Reader | One-Shot➴ Marrying Jungkook is your greatest fortune, but before you can leave the land forever, you owe one last favour towards Lord Min. As the lord of the land, he has the right to deflower you and you will happily allow him to do so.

❥ Fortuitous by @underthejoon​➴ Arranged Marriage!AU | Yoongi x Reader | One-Shot➴ Your fates were sealed long before your paths crossed. Get your diploma and get married. You were similar in that way – both bound by outdated customs. Falling in love was never something either of you dared to dream about. Until it happened.

❥ Love is a Dog From Hell by firecracker_chalk ➴ FWB/Lovers!AU | Yoongi x Reader x Jungkook | Series ➴ You and Yoongi agreed to being friends with benefits, vowed never to catch feelings for each other, swore to end everything when one of you starts to feel something more.Enter, Jeon Jungkook.Enter, accidental feelings.

❥ King Cobra by @joonbird​➴ Hybrid!AU | Yoongi x Reader x Taehyung | Series➴ “Yoongi, the zodiac snake hybrid, requests an evening with you - and asks dog hybrid Taehyung to join.”

❥ Babydoll by @jungcock​➴ Actor/First-Time!AU | Yoongi x Reader | Two-Shot➴ Your childhood crush, now famous and successful, comes to visit you while you’re drunk and have a lot to prove.

B O N U S (because I love Min Yoonji with all my heart *insert heart eyes emoji*)

❥ A Decade in Bloom by @johobi​➴ Bloom (m) | Snared➴ Mafia/Lovers!AU | Yoonji x Reader | Drabbles | Series➴ The 80s. Power suits, perms, and peril. Because peril is all that can follow when you involve yourself with the Mafia capo in charge of extorting your hard-of-hearing employer for protection money.13 snapshots charting your doomed descent into law-breaking love.

#answered #tete-a-tete #anon #recs from hell #rfh:myg #rfh:knj #rfh:jhs #rfh:pjm #rfh:kth #rfh:jjk #some stories here state they're pwp but I enjoyed the story through and through ~ #i need to go through my to-read list for yoongi T_T #I hope you enjoy reading these stories and if you already read them then maybe I can recommend more (in the future tho hasjdfghjsagfk)