#For whom the church bells toll

[meeks-just-wants-to-scroll]

Art dump 😵‍💫 Amos, Micah, Bill…

[falling-down-the-scroll-hole]

[allaroundnerd]

Sometimes I remember I have this blog and type out stuff that's been rolling around in my mind without really worrying about people I know IRL seeing this. Pardon my rambling but here I go:

Black people who are anti-LGBT confound me. I know it's for various reasons, maybe religious or cultural, but it doesn't change one simple fact: The same people who are coming for them are coming for us too. If you aren't white, cis-gendered, heterosexual, male, and Christian, odds are your rights may be on the line. As for me, I'm literally all those things except white but I can still see the writing on the wall. The rise of Christo-fascism/Seven Mountain Mandate/etc is a threat to anyone not in all five of those circles. It makes no sense to me to seek to toss LGBT people under the bus knowing full well that bus is gonna keep on rolling over me when they are done. Not to mention LGBT people are just that first, people, deserving of joy and happiness in life.

I'm far from a perfect person, shouldering my own regrets and sins, so I have absolutely NO grounds to throw stones at anyone else. For those who are black and anti-LGBT, you have to look at who you align yourself with to that end. The self-same people who are championing "Don't Say Gay" bills and trying to throw anyone in drag into prison are the same ones who are anti-CRT and proponents of dialing back civil liberties for children, women, and minorities. If, in your mind, you are convinced that either my previous statement is false, that they are NOT doing that, or that your own rights are worth this cost, then I don't think I or anyone else can convince you otherwise. That being said, my purpose here isn't to convince, but to vent.

It's been a struggle mentally and spiritually to consider these things, but not completely unfruitful. At the end of the day, I genuinely want the best for as many people as possible. I've seen far too many people who have dealt with, or are still dealing with, issues regarding their sexuality. Some of which, to what should be our shame, went to religion for help and were harassed and shunned. If you believe that judgment awaits them, then what more judgment awaits those who turned them away? I'm losing the plot, I think I said most of what I wanted on the topic.

[wyrmrynd]

⟟⟟⟟⟟⟟⟟⟟⟟⟟⟟⟟⟟ ⟟⟟⟟⟟⟟⟟⟟⟟⟟⟟⟟⟟ ICE TOAD, BELL FROG ●●●●❍❍❍⧳⦲⦲⦲⧳⦵⦵⦵⧳⦲⦲⦲⧳❍❍❍●●●● HE IS RISEN INDEED ⫱⫱⫱⫱⫱⫱⫱⫱⫱⫱⫱⫱ ⫱⫱⫱⫱⫱⫱⫱⫱⫱⫱⫱⫱

It's 3am and the bell tolls for the bell frog on the first day of his terminal life.

The terminal toad of ice, eye black as bio-nihili, lips hard and waxy ready to receive your blood, the benediction. His bed of ice and moss ready to receive his corpse so cold, to become food for worms of old.

Nothing as free as a toad who doesn't want to live forever. The mountains set his mood with the peaks of his enemies.

He has burned the church of his lord, oh the beauty of that blue flame.

The grey smoke billows with no shame. His heart yearns for feasting and fucking.

Power for the taking the world his for the raping.

[call-sign-shark]

Heaven In Your Eyes || Masterlist

Pairing: Arthur Shelby x Reader!OC (Heaven Lavey Shelby)

Additional content/Info: CLICK HERE

Fic Summary: He meets her at church one dreary night, guided by her singing. Her name? Heaven Lavey. White ivory hair, fair porcelain skin, and petite shape, this almost ethereal creature is Arthur's strict opposite. Yet, all it took was one dive into her heavenly eyes for him to be convinced God has sent His sweetest angel to save his bastard soul. The two lovebirds, obsessed with each other, are determined to live their love no matter people's judgments and no matter the dangers of a Peaky Blinder's life. They are together through the best and through the worst.

But behind her holy appearance and sweet facade, Heaven Lavey is dangerous. With rumors of witchcraft and murder, her shady past weighs on her shoulders. And if she is a blessing for Arthur Shelby, she will soon prove to be a curse for those who dare to stand in her and her husband's way. Even Thomas Shelby himself.

She is Arthur’s Angel, but don't get fooled by her doe eyes: for the rest of us, she is the White Devil.

And by extend, you are too.

Why? Because Heaven Lavey… It’s you.

TW: Major character death, explicit sexual content, canonical violence, graphic description of violence, blasphemy, witch trials and burning of innocent women, dependent relationship (if Arthur and Heaven are happy in their relationship, they are obsessed and possessive, which leads to bursts of violence and deifying from Arthur. By no means I am claiming their relationship is healthy, but it is what works for them)

ACT I.

♢ Ch. 1 || Heaven in Your Eyes

♢ Ch. 2 || Never Did, Never Dared

♢ Ch. 3 || Something Wicked This Way Comes 🔞

♢ Ch. 4 || Dead Bird at Witchin Hour

♢ Ch. 5 || The Hell in His Eyes

♢ Ch. 6 || The One They Should Have Burned

♢ Ch. 7 || Of Matches and Gasoline 🔞

♢ Ch. 8 || Tango on Broken Dreams

ACT II.

♢ Ch. 9 || For Whom the Bells Toll

♢ Ch. 10 || Closer to Heaven or Closer to Hell? 🔞

♢ Ch. 11 || When The Bridges Burn

♢ Ch. 12 || As They Always Did

♢ Ch. 13 || Cross My Heart and Hope to Die

♢ Ch. 14 || Pure As a Lamb 🔞

♢ Ch. 15 || Women Like Me in a Men's World

♢ Ch. 16 || Après Moi le Déluge ( c o m i n g . . .)

♢ Ch. 17 || ( Il Diàvulu Biancu)

♢ Ch. 18 ||

ACT III.

♢ Ch. 18 ||

♢ Ch. 19 ||

♢ Ch. 20 ||

♢ Ch. 21 ||

♢ Ch. 22 ||

♢ Ch. 23 ||

♢ Ch. 24 ||

♢ Ch. 25 ||

♢ The series can be longer.

Some events from the show are taken and obviously reworked. Yet, except for a few quotes and scenes, everything else is imagined by the author.

Related works - in chronological order-

♢ From Blood We Will Grow

♢ To Bark and Bite

♢ Kaiser Meeting Cyril (requested)

♢ A Bone to Pick With It (requested)

♢ Perfect Lines

♢ Savage Daughter

♢ A Slice of Us (Modern!HYE)

♢ Love Ritual (@zablife's celebration)

♢ The Woods Whisper 1, 2 (Halloween Horror)

♢Little Lamb 1, 2, 3 (Yandere!AU)

Moodboards and other content

♢ Playlist

♢ Moodboard Aesthetic

♢ Moodboard Chapter 6

♢Heaven In your Eyes Act II trailer

♢ Moodboard Chapter 12

♢ Heaven in your Eyes chapter 16 trailer

Looking for more? Check out Heaven's masterlist I and II.

Taglist: @adaydreamaway08 @theshelbyclan @jomarch-wannabe @esposadomd @zablife @woofgocows @anathemasworld @anastasia000 @kate654 @kxnnxy @babayaga67 @meowtastick @shelbyssins @sarai-ibn-la-ahad @bluevenus19 @raincoffeeandfandoms @kishie8 @zablife @alexandra-001 @dearshelby @alexizodd @helen06dreamer @kmc1989 @emotionalcadaver @peakyswritings @peakyltd @chaosinkest1996 @vanhelsingsbigtoe @cherubswhispers @he6rtshaker @bemyqueenofdarkness @cljordan-imperium @cjarbo @red-riding-wood @rysko @lokigirlszendaya

[blockgamepirate]

Bolas Rojas Playlist

And the Hero Will Drown : Story Of The Year

Evil People : Set It Of

Twist : Korn

It's Been So Long : The Living Tombstone

Breaking Me Down : Soil

Rules of Nature - Platinum Mix : Jason Charles Miller

Unsainted : Slipknot

oops! : Yung Gravy

Break Stuff : Limp Bizkit

Friday Night Fire Fight : Aligns, Rubicones

BlastZone (ЗонаПоражения) : BONES

SugarCrash! : ElyOtto

Aerials : System Of A Down

King For A Day : Pierce The Veil, Kellin Quinn

Down with the Sickness : Disturbed

Witness : Mindless Self Indulgence

Throne : Bring Me The Horizon

Numb : Linkin Park

Freak On a Leash : Korn

BREAK LAW : Dog Blood, Skrillex, Boys Noize

When It Cuts : Ill Niño

GAS GAS GAS - EXTENDED MIX : Manuel

Becoming Insane : Infected Mushroom

Bricolen : Copain du web

Duality : Slipknot

Waltz of the Meatball Man : Gooseworx

I'm Not Okay (I Promise) : My Chemical Romance

Ani Mevushal : Infected Mushroom, Bliss

Laid to Rest : Lamb of God

Before I Forget : Slipknot

Renegades Of Funk : Rage Against The Machine

Downfall : TRUSTcompany

Hate Crew Deathroll : Children Of Bodom

Savior : Rise Against

Given Up : Linkin Park

Falling Apart : zebrahead

B.Y.O.B. : System Of A Down

Wait and Bleed : Slipknot

The Hand That Feeds : Nine Inch Nails

Stricken : Disturbed

Toxicity : System Of A Down

People = Shitm : Slipknot

In the End : Linkin Park

The Government Knows : KNOWER

We're Beautiful : ABSRDST, Diveo

Ponyboy : SOPHIE

Dumbest Girl Alive : 100 gecs

GOTTASADAE : BewhY

NIGHTMARES : Alice Glass

Can You Feel My Heart : Bring Me The Horizon

Kingslayer (feat. BABYMETAL) : Bring Me The Horizon, BABYMETAL

Goat Type Beat : harvoYT

Du hast : Rammstein

Zombie : The Cranberries

Squishy Caterpillars Riding On Bullets : Istasha

Captions Are Automatically Generated . Istasha

Rédeas : Project46

Wherever I May Roam : Metallica

For Whom The Bell Tolls - Remastered : Metallica

Path Vol. 2 : Apocalyptica, Sandra Nasic

White Rabbit : Jefferson Airplane

Animals : Architects

Tokyo Drift (Fast & Furious) - From "The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift" Soundtrack : Teriyaki Boyz

Roots Bloody Roots : Sepultura

Tenebre Rosso Sangue (ULTRAKILL Original Game Soundtrack) : Keygen Church

Parasite Eve : Bring Me The Horizon

We Got the Moves . Electric Callboy

EXILADA : NIKKO, Istasha

BRAZILIAN DANÇA PHONK : 6YNTHMANE, RXDXVIL

Flashback : MIYAVI, Ken Ken

Get Got . Death Grips

Controllah (feat. MC Bin Laden) : Gorillaz, MC Bin Laden

Hayloft II : Mother Mother

Automotivo Bibi Fogosa : Bibi Babydoll, Dj Brunin XM, KZA Produções

ワ���ルドイズマイン-初音ミク「マジカルミライ 2021」Live- (feat. 初音ミク) : ryo (supercell), Hatsune Miku

Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na) : My Chemical Romance

BxMxC : BABYMETAL

Not Gonna Get Us : t.A.T.u.

Pleasure Model : Noisia, Former

Volcano : Woodkid

Misfit Toys (from the series Arcane League of Legends) : Pusha T, Mako

Snakes (from the series Arcane League of Legends) : PVRIS, MIYAVI

Idiots Are Taking Over : NOFX

Dead Limit : Noisia, The Upbeats

Sober : TOOL

The Pot : TOOL

All Falls Apart : Polyphia

How I Feel : La Dispute

Given Up : Linkin Park

Run : Bring Me The Horizon

Still Waiting : Sum 41

Bodies : Drowning Pool

Side by Side : BewhY

Falling Away from Me . Korn

One Step Closer : Linkin Park

Your Betrayal : Bullet For My Valentine

Tears Don't Fall : Bullet For My Valentine

Vicinity Of Obscenity : System Of A Down

Papercut . Linkin Par

The Diary of Jane - Single Version : Breaking Benjamin

[vorbarrsultana]

Lestat & books (TVL edition)

Featuring all works of literature mentioned in the text of The Vampire Lestat.

Mark Twain, mentioned without any specific works of his;

William Shakespeare, with "Macbet" being a particular favorite. "Tommorow, and tommorow, and tommorow" is also Lestat's favorite monologue to perform;

Henry Rider Haggard, a British novelist who wrote "King Solomon's Mines' and "Cleopatra";

Dashiell Hammet, "The Maltese Falcon" about the adventures of Sam Spades;

Poets of the Italian Renaissance: Francis Petrarch, Giovanni Boccaccio and Dante Alighieri are the most famous;

Charles Dickens ("A Tale of Two Cities", I imagine, or "Great Expectations". Post-trial Lestat might also like "A Christmas Carol")

Ernest Hemingway post-1930, possibly "For Whom the Bell Tolls", which seems to be his novel most in line with Lestat's taste in literature;

Denis Diderot, the Enlightenment philosopher and writer, co-creator & chief editor of The Encyclopédie, also wrote La Religieuse, a novel that featured very outspoken critique of the Catholic Church;

Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who famously wrote "The Social Contract, or Principles of Political Right" & "Discorse on the Origin and Basis of Inequality Among Men", and was the main inspiration of the Jacobins during the French Revolution;

Voltaire, both as philosopher ("Letters concerning the English Nation", "Idées républicaines", etc.) and playwright ("Oedipus", "Iréne", "Socrate", etc.);

Pierre Corneille (a playwright: "Le Cid", "Horace", "Cinna" and "Polyeucte");

Jean-Baptiste Racine (another Classicist French playwright, author of "Alexandre le Grand", "Andromaque" & "Iphigénie");

Molière, yet another French playwright ("Don Juan, or, The Stone Banquet", "L'Amour médecin", "Psyché");

Whatever classics Lestat has read in Latin during his & Gabrielle's stay in Venice. She specifically mentioned Plutarch, Egyptian and Greek myths;

John Polidori, "The Vampyre";

Sheridan Le Fanu, "Carmilla";

And, with great distaste, Bram Stoker's "Dracula"

[pancake-breakfast]

Aight, I'm seeing a few people confused by the text on the final panel of the final chapter of TriMax Volume 9, so I'm gonna elaborate a bit. If anyone is working off the actual Japanese (@trigun-manga-overhaul, tagging you guys in case there's more adaptation going into this than I'm aware of), feel free to correct me and/or add additional insight.

If you struggled a bit with this panel yourself, you might benefit from reading this before (or ASAP after) diving into Volume 10, as it definitely sets a tone.

This is probably referring to funeral tolling or death knells, which is the very, very old practice of ringing a bell to signal someone's death. Usually, the bell in question would be the iron bell in a church tower.

More specifically, given Nightow's clear knowledge of Western media, it's probably referring to the well-known and oft-referenced line from a John Donne essay that goes like this:

And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee

Doesn't quite sound familiar? That's because in modern English, we usually say the following instead:

Ask not for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

Even if Nightow isn't referencing Donne specifically, this phrase has been referenced everywhere from Hemingway to Metallica, and while individual interpretations vary, it's very frequently used as memento mori, something meant to remind the hearer and/or the audience of impending mortality and inevitable demise.

For Wolfwood to think he should be hearing this implies he's either at death's door, or thinks he's at death's door.

For him to say he can't hear the bells even though he (thinks he) should hear them implies he's either not as close to death as he appears to be, or he's actively choosing to ignore the signs of his death.

Or perhaps, given how often we've seen him driven by fear of his own death throughout the story, it means that even if his death knell is currently ringing, its sound no longer has any meaningful effect on him.

But which exactly of those you choose to think is intended, I must leave to you... and to volume 10.

Good luck to us all.

[wellisntthistouching]

Summary:

Draco Malfoy married a monster masquerading as Hermione Granger. She was determined to love him. He was determined to remove her mask. Then there was the peculiar ringing of a church bell that went off even if it wasn't the top of the hour. He might be losing his mind.

“Draco, who do you think I am?” Hermione asked, lifting her head from his chest. Draco pet her pretty little head, wondering what was going on inside it. He let his hand travel down her hairline and dragged his fingers down the side of her face and down her neck. He wondered what it would be like to grasp her there and tighten his grip until she couldn’t breathe-

He gasped at his own thoughts and met his wife's questioning gaze.

“I think you’re an angel come to take me home”

He was definitely losing his mind.

[wonder-worker]

Elizabeth Woodville and Elizabeth of York: Queenship

"As an English queen consort, Elizabeth of York, like her mother, had a web of family connections that became the focus of her major patronage activities" - Michelle L. Beer

"After the safe delivery of their eldest sons, both queens Elizabeth gave thanks by founding chapels. Elizabeth Woodville's was in fact eight years after the event and probably as much a thanksgiving to Westminster Abbey for sanctuary as to God for her son. The chapel was attached to the old Lady Chapel of the abbey and dedicated to St Erasmus, a saint invoked against birth pains as well as patron of sailors which made him an unusually apt dedicatee given the king's absence abroad at the time of Prince Edward's birth. Elizabeth of York's foundation was more immediately linked to the birth of Arthur at Winchester, a site chosen for her lying-in by Henry to associate his first-born with the legendary king after whom he was to be named. Here Elizabeth founded a chapel dedicated to Our Lady." - J.L. Laynesmith

"In 1499 Elizabeth of York wrote to the prior of Christ Church, Canterbury, asking for a literal carte blanche of presentation to the highly desirable, centrally located living of All Hallows, Gracechurch Street, London, for which Elizabeth Woodville and her husband had also wanted preferment" - Derek Neal

"Both queens were granted rights of presentation to canonries and prebends in the royal chapel of St. Stephen, Westminster." - Derek Neal.

"Most of the border patterns (of The Fifteen Os, printed by William Caxton and co-sponsored by Elizabeth of York and Margaret Beaufort) are of stylized flowers, mythical beasts, and semi human creatures, quite possibly reused from other books, but one is of a vase of gillyflowers, the emblem of Elizabeth Woodville, whose family had been such important patrons of Caxton, and just over half-way up the margin these flowers lead into a rose branch, crowned with the emblem of her daughter's marriage, the Tudor rose, as if in reference to Elizabeth of York's adoption of her mother's patronage." - J.L. Laynesmith

"In 1480 she (Elizabeth Woodville) petitioned Pope Sixtus IV to allow her subjects to enjoy the indulgences attached to the newly re-established feast of the Visitation, even if the office was recited in private. She also expressed to the Pope her desire for the 'devotion of the faithful of the realm for the [Ave Maria] to be increased more and more'. The Pope obliged by attaching indulgences to the use of the Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary and to the recitation of the Ave Maria at each Angelus bell. He also dictated that copies of the letter granting these indulgences be exhibited across the country, thereby ensuring that everyone knew not only of the opportunities to gain indulgences but also of the queen's intercessory role in their spiritual welfare. … Elizabeth's daughter, who of course shared her name saint, was apparently inspired by her mother to develop the devotions still further. Following her petition in 1492, the Pope granted 300 days of pardon to anyone reciting the salutation three times at each tolling of the Angelus bell.” - J.L. Laynesmith

"Elizabeth Darcy, the lady mistress of the nursery for Elizabeth Woodville's children, was appointed to the same post for Elizabeth of York's children, probably as a result of the younger queen's childhood affection for Darcy." - J.L Laynesmith

A couple of reasons why this interests me:

- Elizabeth Woodville was the first English queen since Philippa of Hainault to raise royal daughters, with almost a century and five other queens in between them. I don't think there's ever been such a huge gap in that regard before, which means that Elizabeth would not really had any direct precedent or source of inspiration to follow beyond what was ideally, conventionally expected. Clearly, judging by the fact that her daughter was widely considered a successful queen and emulated several of her mother's own activities, Elizabeth did her job well.

- There's a strange, persistently recurring trend in historical fiction and general histories that tends to make the relationship between the two Elizabeths contentious and/or distant, or tends to emphasize their polarity in whatever capacity, or tends to prioritize Elizabeth of York's relationship with her uncle Richard III and his wife Anne Neville than her own mother (and her own father, tbh). This speaks volumes of the vilification and negative depictions of Elizabeth Woodville in contemporary media, but also the tendency to use Elizabeth of York as a cipher for historians' own thoughts about historical figures rather than a historical figure in her own right. This is particularly prevalent in Ricardian and Ricardian-leaning media, the latest shining example being Alison Weir's "The Last White Rose". On the other hand, a few sympathetic Tudor analyses tend to (understandably) focus on re-evaluating Elizabeth's relationship with Margaret Beaufort and debunking the irritating misconception that they didn't get along. But in the process, Elizabeth of York's relationship and inspiration from her own mother gets lost and forgotten in the mix, when it should in fact be highlighted the most. It's frustrating, because Elizabeth Woodville was evidently her daughter's most important role model: Elizabeth of York was regularly at her mother's side during her childhood, observed her successful queenship for 17 years, and, as we can see, directly mirrored several of her mother's activities during her own tenure as queen. Interestingly, as the 5th quote shows, even when she co-sponsored a book by William Caxton with Margaret, Caxton himself clearly associated Elizabeth of York's patronage to her mother's influence. It's a shame that only a few specific historians tend to focus on the connection between mother and daughter, as I think there's a wealth of analyses to be made on it.

- While both Elizabeths were English queens, with a web of family connections that they used to their and the crown's benefit, their situations were definitely not the same and should not be treated as such. Their different status prior to their marriage meant that their respective families and actions were always going to be viewed and treated differently, for one. More importantly, though, Elizabeth Woodville was the first Englishwoman to be crowned queen. Her English family's advancement and involvement in national and local politics was to be expected, but it's important to keep in mind that it was not precedented. It simply hadn't happened before, and it wasn't expected to happen again. Elizabeth Woodville was very much a novel queen in that regard; certain aspects of her queenship were very unique and unprecedented for that time, and she was the one who established the precedent of using her homeborn family as a network of politics and patronage that all later English consorts followed. In contrast, by the time Elizabeth of York became queen, this was a comparatively more established and familiar practice, followed by two former consorts, her mother and Anne Neville. So, even apart from their differing status and the propaganda against them, it makes sense that their activities were regarded differently, both by contemporary detractors and subsequent historians. There's also the fact that Elizabeth Woodville and her relatives had far more direct power and involvement with the Crown Prince's council, household and administration than Elizabeth of York and her relatives did, which we know massively contributed to the commentary and/or criticism the former received.

Sources:

Michelle L. Beer, "Queenship at the Renaissance Courts of Britain: Catherine of Aragon and Margaret Tudor, 1503-1533"

J.L. Laynesmith, "The Medieval Queens: English Queenship 1445-1503"

Derek Neal, "The Queen's Grace: English Queenship 1464-1503"

[randgugotur-6]

NOVEMBER 08 2023

This Day in Metal: November 8th 1986 JASON NEWSTED played his first show with METALLICA

It was on this day in metal November 8th, 1986 that former Flotsam & Jetsam bassist Jason Newsted played his first show with Metallica.

The band opened the show for headliner Metal Church at the Country Club in Reseda, California.

"Welcome to the very, very secret Metallica gig that every fucker knows about!” says James Hetfield after the quartet perform Master Of Puppets together in public for the first time. “Here’s the new fucker right over here man, this is the guy… Jason Newsted, we fucking love him, man, so make him feel at home, alright? I want to have some fun tonight.”

SETLIST:

Battery

Master of Puppets

For Whom the Bell Tolls

Welcome Home (Sanitarium)

Ride the Lightning

Guitar Solo

Whiplash

Seek & Destroy

Creeping Death

Encore:

The Four Horsemen

Fade to Black

Am I Evil?(Diamond Head cover) (half)

Damage, Inc.

Encore 2:

Fight Fire With Fire

[meeks-just-wants-to-scroll]

Art dump because.

1,2,3: Doodles of Mabel, Amos’s wife and the protag of For Whom The Church Bells Toll.

4: goat Micah and Amos doodles

5: Midwestern Murder Micah AU

[theyungihven]

Misunderstood 😈

day 2 of the @underworldnet writing event

writing prompt : sacrifice

pairing : San, the fertility demon; Human Female Reader

genre : mystery, fantasy, horror

word count : 1.7k+

warnings : mentions of blood, sacrifice, death and themes of faith and religion

synopsis : as per the head of the church, you're to be crucified on the full moon night to the lord for your sins, about whom he is aware of and shall not be disclosed. But turns out, you're sacrificed to a demon who can save your town from the famine.

As the hour of midnight advances and the church, bell strikes 4 big strong tolls, which echo in the barren streets of the town. The fog encloses the land beneath your feet, which are hung in the air while your drooly eyes find it hard to stay open due to lethargy from being tied to a board of wood severely feet in the air. 

Your clothes are merely a thin fabric, now translucent as the wet cloth sticks to your body, tracing its curves. You are sure it is the moisture from the cooking storm in the sea but could it be so? Or did the lord decide to lay mercy on his poor devotee?

Pain surges through your body as your skin aches under the tight grip of the ropes which hold you intact against the upside-down cross.

The full moon glimmers on the horizon, as the dark waters reflecting its light make the night romantic for the lovely-dovely couples to feast upon its glamorous view. You notice the giant orb in the sky is husky, comically similar to orange as if made out of the very dirt under your feet. 

A strange warmth creeps under your skin, as a touch very foreign graces the supple skin of your waist. It advances, tracing the curve of your spine and you gasp when it presses down a certain spot on your neck. There is something in the stranger's touch, which excites your body as heat coils in the pit of your stomach and your core clenches against nothing. 

His faint breathing is louder and more mesmerising against the tide crashing up on the shore, as he curls his arm around your waist. Meanwhile something thick and wet, his tongue perhaps, stripes up against your neck as it bathes in the very essence of you. 

"I've been granted a beauty this time." The stranger whispers in a low growl as his warm breath tickles your neck while his touch still lingers on it. "How desperate are your people, to sacrifice their finest sheep?" He says and his hoarse voice echoes in the quiet of the night. You fail to sight a single one of your folk as if they know what will happen tonight and went early to their peaceful slumbers. 

You come to reflect on the stranger's word and think how desperate your people are or perhaps were to sacrifice their own blood, to a deity linked with evil and destruction. Yet your heart years to save them from the misery caused by the curse because for how harsh it may be, one's family is always dear to them.

Nevertheless here you are, bound to a cross on the edge of the cliff you once looked down in the years of pure joy and took in the breathtaking view of the shore below it.

The stranger decides to grace you with his face and he hovers in the air in front of you as he arches his eyebrows, mimicking a thinking face the Townheads make when trying to understand an abstract piece of art. 

You take in his peculiar features which consist of two goat-like horns which start on his forehead and curl slightly above the tip of his ears. His nose and facial structure are sharp like those men of the French colonies whom your mother considers to be well-bred and brought up. 

Certainly, if your mother would have gotten sight of him, her condition might have been less distraught.

"Do you hate them?" He asks in a much heavy tone as if your next word decides whether your town burns down or not.

"Who?" You ask with concern laced in your voice as you find yourself in confusion about whom he is asking you for. 

"Your people." He mutters rolling his eyes as if your people burned his entire family alive.

"Kind of" you pull your lips into a thin line and he nears your face to proximity enough to consider you both passionate lovers.

"Why?" He says with something in his voice that you cannot quite understand. 

"They call me the devil's child." You scoff, lowering your eyes because you were unable to look into his hazy ones for too long. 

"I do not see why though." His whisper is low, cold and almost inaudible but you hear him as if you're obliged to. 

"It is because I think differently and go against their ideas." You answer, raising your gaze and attempting to meet his dark one again.

"I see a wild one. I like that. You are to come with me." He traces his index fingers against your cheeks as he draws a straight line with his sharpened nail and it draws blood at which he mumbles a little oops. 

"Where?" You whimper out as panic laces your being in sheer terror of the creature in front of you and the unholy things he might do to you. "I want to go back." You attempt to shout with all of your willpower but all that comes out is a tiny voice.

"Don't they hate you? You're dead anyway." He turns away, facing the dark waters and talking in the cold breeze brushing against his half-naked body. 

It takes a few minutes for his words to make sense and the dam bursts. "This cannot be...I cannot be dead. I'm alive in my flesh and body." You shake your head frantically in disbelief.

"That is because I forbade you to see your dead body."

"But..." you are left speechless at his words.

" I hear no buts." He turns around and decides to share a glare which sends shivers down your spine. "Oh dear savoir, lucifer! Why do you have to give me this headache?" The demon presses his forehead in distress as he walks around the place. 

"Excuse me, sir! Or whatever you creatures use, I don't wish to be with you." You scream at him and he cares to spare you a glance. There is rage burning inside you as its warmth spread all over your body. 

"It is not your choice anymore. You're tied to me now and I must take you with me in an exchange for whatever they ask me for." He says roughly, working on the ropes tied across your wrist to bind you with the upside-down cross. "After all, they framed you as a sinner."

"Bastards. Hope the great Lord punishes them." You curse under your breath and you sense him shivering against your skin for a second. Is he scared of the lord or is it you?

"Yes he will" he mumbles softly, with his breath hitching, "and he shall because they killed a young girl instead of keeping patience and begging the Lord for mercy." His tone makes you gulp hardly as the anger in his tone resonates in your body. 

"Do you think, it is their fault?" You whisper still afraid of his tone a few minutes ago. 

"The head of the church, he has sinned, in the eye of the lord and he is very angry with him." He says, without any emotions but with a subtle vengeance and unties the last strand of the rope. You are free now, from the hold of your accusations and your family. But, it feels so strange. Perhaps, it is true, freedom indeed makes you feel awry and discontent. 

"You cannot help my people?" You plead with him and he does nothing but returns a stern glare as you tug on his hand.

"What am I? Your chaperone?" He yells, drawing back his hand from your hold and starts walking away.

"Aren't you supposed to take care of me?" Your words stop him in his tracks and he turns back to give your a confusing look. 

"And that includes, saving your dumb folk?" He chuckles as if mocking your innocence or your whole being. 

"Yes, I suppose." You blurt out, concerned about your people's lives that you are arrogant enough to avoid your well-being. 

"Listen, my dear" He leans in, caressing your cheeks as a ghostly whisper leaves his lips, "you should be grateful they didn't burn you alive and left you untouched for me. For I can take pleasure in ruining your innocence." His mere presence captivates your essence and you are lost staring at him as if he's one of the wonders of the world, stunned and speechless. 

"I asked them to!" Your head falls in dismay as guilt stings in your heart, aching it oh so badly. 

"Come at me again?" He questions you as if he didn't receive the invitation yet. 

"I asked them." Your voice breaks as your legs give up and you fall on your knees in front of him, "to be the bait, for I am the sinner." Tears spill out your eyes, running down your chin as if the walls of a dam have been opened and the water trapped for a century has been let out to flow on its own will. 

"Oh dearest, I assure you. You are pure as the forbidden fruit, which had been touched before. Before...someone was tempted to touch it." He comforts you in his arms, rubbing your back like a mother caresses her child with love and lulls him to a peaceful slumber. 

"Am I tempting you, sir?" Your voice is frail, as frail as a young calf at birth which shivers and fails to stand on its own feet. 

"Yes, my darling! You are tempting me to live up to my folk's reputation, but for the time being, I shall not give into it. As I want you to watch that sinner burn on the land, where your body lays. Then worship your holy being under the very moonlight your soul was bound to mine."

[warrioreowynofrohan]

Noticing a few things on my latest reread of Jane Eyre that I hadn’t before.

Here is how the book starts, on a day in late autumn:

There was no possibility of taking a walk that day [due to the badness of the weather]…I was glad of it. I never liked long walks, especially on chilly afternoons; dreadful to me was the coming home in the raw twilight, with nipped fingers and toes, and a heart saddened by the chidings of Bessie, the nurse, and humbled by the consciousness of my physical inferiority to Eliza, John, and Georgiana Reed.

When we skip ahead to a pivotal moment in the book, that of Jane’s first meeting with Mr. Rochester, her sentiments are precisely the opposite. It is a chilly day in January:

It was a fine, calm day, though very cold; I was tired of sitting still in thevlibrary through a whole long morning; Mrs. Fairfax had just written a letter which was waiting to be posted, so I put on my bonnet and cloak and volunteered to carry it to Hay; the distance, two miles, would be a pleasant winter afternoon walk…I walked fast till I got warm, and then I walked slowly to appreciate the species of pleasure brooding for me in the hour and situation. It was three o’clock; the church bell tolled as I passed under the belfry; the charm of the hour lay in its approaching dimness, in the low-gliding and pale-beaming sun…I lingered till the sun went down among the trees, and sank crimson and clear behind them.

I wouldn’t have thought much of this, except that the prominent positioning of the two moments - on at the beginning, the other at a key inflection point - and the preciseness of the contrast, the first wuth Jane specifically saying she disliked walks on cold days and coming home in the twilight, the other with ger specifically relishing and seeking out a walk at twilight on a cold day - makes the contrast seem intentional.

And there is another specifuc contrast between Jane’s childhood and later life that I never noticed before. In childhood, she is terrified to the point of panicking and fainting by being shut up (as punishment for her older cousin having bullied her) in the ‘red room’, a spare bedroom room filled with red curtains, draperies, carpets, other furnishings, and walks, and mahogany furniture, where her uncle died some years ago.

Later, when she has come into a fortune and is decorating Moor House to welcome her cousins Diana and Mary (hmm, the Riverses, whom she likes and whom she has tastes and enjoyments in accordance with, seem set up like a purposeful contrast to the Reeds - two sisters and an older brother), there is a brief mention:

A spare parlor and bedroom I refurnished entirely, with old mahogany and crimson upholstery

This seems too concordant with the description of the ‘red room’ to be unintentional. Is Jane exorcising an old ghost? But she gives every indication of being very happy with her redecorating and finding it very pleasant, and Diana and Mary feel likewise.

There are no shortage in Jane Eyre of contrasts between Jane’s younger self and her adult self. The strongest is her overwhelming hunger for approval, acceptance and friendship in childhood (I know I should think well of myself; but that is not enough: if other’s don’t love me I would rather die that live) contrasted with her determined assertion of emotional and moral self-reliance at the moment she refuses the stay with Mr. Rochester as his mistress (I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself.) This does not mean she does not still desire companionship, affection, and love - she does, passionately - but she will not sell her soul to get it.

But the two contrasts above are new to me. Do they have specific meanings? If I tried to apply meanings, I think that the first, with long walks on cold days, relates to Jane’s confidence in her abilities. In her childhood at Gateshead, she cannot please anyone, no matter how she tries, and her physical capacities (‘a heart…humbled by the consciousness of my physical inferiority to Eliza, John, and Georgiana Reed’) are similarly limited. At Thornfield, she has already gained Mrs. Fairfax’s apprival of her as a governess, and Adèle’s affection; and at the moment of the walk she finds herself in a position of being useful to Mr. Rochester when his horse slips on the ice. Jane enjoys being useful and helpful, especially to people she likes or loves; she is more confident in herself and her abilities, and thus less timid, than she was as a child.

For the red room…the red symbolism tempts one to think of passion, but I do not think that is it; neithe scene has any connection with romantic love. Rather, the red room at Gateshead is the central instance showing the complete lack of familial love Jane has at Gateshead; her decorating at Moor House to welcome her cousins is an expression of the familial love she has found there.

[checkmatehq]

wait till you hear about this next nominee: KANG JUYEONG, born on the 13th of AUGUST, 1993 and bears a striking resemblance to LEE SUNGKYUNG. they’re a FOURTH year BACHELOR OF FINANCE student and RAISED FUNDS TO BUILD THE UNIVERSITY'S FIRST CHAPEL — impressed yet? rumor has it they’re hoping to be the FINANCE DIRECTOR IN MBC, but personally, i think they should aim a little higher — something like the king’s club, for one. now, that suits them a little more, don’t you think? guess we’ll just have to see if they’ve got the talent for it in our upcoming recruitment round.

KANG JUYEONG IS THE KING'S CLUB'S 2016 BLACK BISHOP.

in jesus’s name: they say that the church bells tolled and the sun shone the day kang juyeong was born. her grandfather swears that at her first cry, the saints themselves bestowed their blessing and the heavens whispered her name, and that was enough for him to crown her as his celestial child. 

growing up, she was always his favourite, a divine prophecy to uphold the sanctity of their family's faith.

he doted on her, each wish a request swiftly fulfilled. she never had to lift a finger, merely tug on the silken threads of a well-connected web spun with the elite. they say money talks, but wealth whispers— and within their rarefied circle, whispers carry the weight of favors effortlessly granted

(juyeong learns that respect is a currency reserved for those within the circle - generational riches, though, and most definitely not for those who’ve merely earned their share in recent decades. she also discovers that with enough power and wealth, one can transcend any boundary, bending rules to their will.)

yet, the question lingers in the air: was she truly the chosen one, or rather just the last left untainted? the sole sacred heir by default — since her older cousins were either disbelievers of the patriarch's doctrines, or too vocal to embody their family's ideals

her elder sister — the worst of them all, with the loudest voice that resounded through the silent pews of their church. dared to probe at the loopholes of one too many articles of faith and defied one too many commandments, and eventually, committed the greatest act of blasphemy (cursed her grandfather on live television and renounced the family’s megachurch) at sixteen, which led to her being disowned. 

juyeong has never—and would never—attempt to understand her sister’s mortifying act of abnegation. why give up a realm of opulence and privilege to embrace suffering and mediocrity? fuck that. and so, her sister becomes the very image of what she will never let herself descend to (not that her grandfather would ever allow it, either.) 

securing a place in the king's club was like every other step in her meticulously crafted existence. her network of high-placed allies abetted her entry, orchestrating invites and smoothening her passage through the rituals (she’d do the same for anyone in the same upper-crust echelon.) honestly, it was less an achievement for people like her, and more a formality - after all, her place was inevitable.

to be frank, the king's club had somehow managed to both exceed and fall short of her expectations. she’d envisioned a society of kindred individuals reveling in debauchery and luxury; sure, she did have moments of unbridled revelry and intoxicating euphoria, with the help of illicit substances but yet, there were also incongruous individuals that lurked among them whom she would never have admitted, had the choice been hers

(noh hyungseo was a problem, but not her worst one. obviously, she didn’t cry when he died.) 

post graduation, her life remains unchanged—an unbroken continuum of splendor and tradition. continues to navigate the same elite circle, indulging in the same luxuries, ever devoted to her grandfather’s exalted command like a word of gospel. her being, a seamless extension of the divine decree, but it’s not like she ever had a problem with it. 

amen. 

[odinsson2021]

Here's the Playlist of my Tonight's Show!

I hope you liked it!

Stormwitch-Rondo ala Turca Alice Cooper-Poison Arc Angel-Sidelines Autograph-Turn up the Radio Balance-In for the Count Cannata-Fortune Teller Tyketto-Forever Young A Neverending John’s Dream-Coming back to Paradise – Coming back to Paradise 19.04.24 Russ Ballard-The Fire still burns China-In the Middle of the Night Alicate-Heaven Tonight – Heaven Tonight 19.04.24 FireHouse-Don't treat me Bad Domain-I don’t wanna die Zombeast-Red Ripper-Heart of Darkness 17.05.24 Danzig-Mother Van Halen-Can't stop loving you Chris Rea-The Road to Hell (Long Version) Pete Wyoming Bender-Born to be Indian Steve Earle-Copperhead Road Cinderella-Nobody's Fool Hammer King-The Devil will I do - König und Kaiser 22.03.24 Helloween-Future World Annihilator-Alison Hell Leaves’ Eyes-In Eternity – Myths of Fate 22.03.24 Manowar-Hail to England Majesty-March for Victory Balance of Power-Abyss – Fresh from the Abyss 19.04.24 Overkill-In Union we stand Judas Priest-Take on the World Accept-Humanoid – Humanoid 26.04.24 Keel-The Final Frontier# Black sabbath-Headless Cross Savatage-Edge of Thorns Saxon-Requiem (We will Remember) Dio-Rainbow in the Dark Anthrax-I am the Law Megadeth-Peace sells Metallica-For whom the Bell tolls Metal Church-Beyond the Black Blind Guardian-Mister Sandman