#czar rose

[ariellewm]

Czar Agskaga - A Random Snippet Story

Warning: Slightly on a steamy side (nothing too crazy, it's on the light side), naga (half human, half snake beings)

The story I wrote was inspired by a question from @wyyvernn . She asked: If my original character played an instrument, what would it be?

I imagine him playing the dudek flute or any sort of flute. Remember the Narnia Lullaby that Mr. Tumnus plays? That's the exact song that came to mind that Czar would play. The dudek flute is also what was used for the recording of the song.

Enjoy the story down below!

**Play the Narnia Lullaby in the link above for added ambience to the story if you wish!**

It was a quiet evening within the Amber Palace. Waves crashing along the shore, the smell of incenses of rose and lavender filling the naga prince's chamber. 

"Your Highness," the maiden called out behind the silken drapes, "I have the fruits you've asked for."

"You may enter." The prince said, inviting her into the chamber.

Walking in, she carried a woven tray. It was filled with all sorts of freshly picked fruit. Apples of jade, violet ripe berries. She made her way to Czar, careful not to step on his glossy onyx, red and gold pattern coils. The tray was placed upon a table beside the prince.

She stepped back, lowering her head, "Is there anything else you need, your highness?" 

His upper tanned body slightly turned. Crimson eyes fell upon the maiden. He notice her shouched shoulders, unbalanced posture. Czar emitted a soft hiss as the end of his black tail reached toward her. Delicately, his tail tilted her head upward to face the handsome prince.

"S-sire?" Shyly she gasped from the cold touch. Her freckled cheeks blushed a delicate shade of plum. 

Oh yes, indeed, her eyes lacked of sparkle. Dark circles beneath those beautiful, soft eyes.

The cool touch of his tail moved away.

Czar's hand reached toward one of the apples on the tray. "I noticcced your a bit exhausssted. Here," he tossed the apple to her, "you dessserve a break."

"But...but your--" 

"Pleassse dear, call me Czar." 

"Czar, what of my duties?" Confusion appeared on her face.

He slithered toward the cozy floor cushions, "Relaxxx my lovely girl. You've been hard at work all day, ssserving me and my uncle." His coils twisted and wrapped around the pillows and low table. He gestured a spot across from the table, "Pleassse, won't you join me?"

I guess it wouldn't hurt to sit for a while, she thought to herself. With a small smile she eased herself onto the large floor pillow. The maiden savored the crisp apple offered by the prince. She relished the taste with every bite. 

"Ssshall I play sssomething for you darling?" His faded inked arm reaches over behind him. A beautifully carved wooden flute appeared. 

"I found thisss the other day. Perhapsss you'd like to hear a sssong or two?"

The maiden swallowed before answering, "I would very much like to hear."

The naga smiled, placing his lips around the mouthpiece. Eyes closed, he began to play.

It was ethereal. Soothing to the ears. His fingers delicately danced upon the holes as he played. Otherworldly, almost as if she was transported back to the ancient city of Draca Isla, the once home of naga's and dragon's. She could smell the earthy damp rock, the sweet fragrance of amber lilies growing in the wild. 

The pillow underneath the maiden began to sink. Or was it just her imagination?

Czar's ruby eyes opened to only darken as he took notice of the maiden's dreamy eyes. The half eaten apple dropped to her side. He smiled as he played, continuing his enchanting melody.

Want to learn more about His Illustrious Eminence?

Here are some links:

Information + Concept Artwork on Czar Agskaga

"Coils of the Naga" & "Coiled by the Naga" Written by Arielle W.M. ( @ariellewm ) & Produced/Voiced by Ycey Narrates

SFW Hypnosis Headcanon Story

[yumeinati]

Do you ever think about how Nastya looked at Briar Rose and probably had flashbacks to Cyberia?

Hear me out. At birth, Cyberians have their interfaces implanted into their nervous system. It is safe to assume from the fiction Cyberian Demons that they were expected to live in that digital world. Even in the song by the same name, Nastya mentions that her father is taking over small networks and her mother is uploading to parties.

Her mother wasn't even conscious during her birth, she was actively plugged into the interface during it. Later on, it's even mentioned that the Czar is using chemicals to keep his brain alive so he can live happily in that virtual world, but he's physically described as having an 'atrophied frame'. This virtual world is so idealized in Cyberia that people will willingly plug themselves in and just leave their physical forms to deteriorate.

Which then brings us back to Nastya seeing Briar plugged into those machines. She may be asleep, but there must be some level of awareness that she still has.

Nastya saw Briar and must have had thoughts of another time, another life where that would have been her, just like her mother. Lying there, plugged into a machine. Whether by her own choice or not, who truly knows?

Anywho, that's my daily Nastya thought, thank you for coming to my TedTalk, I have plenty more of them if anyone ever wants to hear them <3

[satoruhour]

MUTUALS ♡

☆ @jabamin — anya / @kingkonoha — tay / @merakidoll — mirah / @mambalae-s — mamba / @saiki-enthusiast — t / @diorsbrando — sosa / @greycaelum — grey / @happygoluckyalexis — alexis / @peachsayshi — peach / @preciousamethyst — jazz / @moonjella — jella / @papersirens — melk / @kaisensei — pixie / @mysugu — dilly / @multistan-247 — siri / @slttygeto — moon / @keigotakamiz — en / @suguella — bella / @javarium — frellie / @etherealxmaya — maya /@angxlwritez — angel / @marimogf — luna / @suget — venecia / @ilygetou — evelyn

@sugies — juju / @witchyfrankincense — august / @seeingivy — ronnie / @rlvsmegumi — romy / @sluut4toji — madz / @lvmxn — layla / @hyomagiri — ellie / @lov3rbody — snow / @hoshigray — hoshi / @utahimeow — char / @omgeto — empress / @osaemu — hannah / @shotorus — sel / @ihrtlert — czar / @demonwoman — mephisto / @arminsumi — jay / @vagabond-umlaut — kit / @suguruplsr — rubae / @shidouryusm — sami / @archer-fb — archer / @4sat0ruu — gigi / @illogicallyx — rose / @amaderika — rika / @screampied — vegas / @sonarspace — luna ☆

☆ 🔫 anon / 🪻 anon / 🍒 anon / 🎀 anon / ❄️ anon /🥂 anon / 🥯 anon / 🩵 anon ☆

love love love all of u !!! 💟

[mariacallous]

Former U.S. President Donald Trump has unleashed his first major television spot against his new opponent in the 2024 election, Vice President Kamala Harris. The advertisement zeroes in on what he says is her failed record as “border czar.” Drugs, crime, and terrorism are all a result. As viewers see ominous images of migrants crossing the border while Harris dances, the narrator closes by saying: “Failed. Weak. Dangerously Liberal.”

It isn’t a surprise that Trump would start with immigration as his opening salvo. And that’s not because this topic has been important to Trump since he announced his first presidential run in 2015, or because the issue is more pertinent than others in 2024. Rather, going after immigration taps into a set of ideas that has become deeply rooted in the GOP. To understand how anti-immigrant rhetoric became woven into Republican politics, it is necessary to look back to Harris’s home state of California during the 1990s—a time when nativism, law and order, and partisanship all converged as the Cold War came to an end. Rather than boasting about being tough on communists, Republicans since that period have invested much of their political capital in talking about being tough on the border.

The hardening of Republicans on this issue signaled a remarkable shift. For much of the 20th century, nativist factions within the Republican Party had been forced to compete with a formidable pro-immigration tradition. When then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan worked with Democrats in Congress in 1986 to pass sweeping bipartisan reform that imposed stricter penalties on businesses hiring undocumented immigrants, the president also granted amnesty for almost 3 million people and created an agricultural worker program for undocumented immigrants. “Our nation is a nation of immigrants,” Reagan had proclaimed. Business leaders allied to the supply-side revolution staunchly defended liberal immigration policies as something that brought tremendous benefits to the economy.

But following Reagan’s second term, the Republicans started on a different, rightward road. It began in California, and it brought them to today’s ad.

By the early 1990s, Californians were not feeling so golden. Major cities such as Los Angeles struggled with the crack cocaine epidemic as well as gang violence. Urban blight had left many neighborhoods in shambles. The entire state slipped into an economic recession during the 1990s. Boom times went bust as unemployment rose.

More and more white Californians blamed immigrants for the state’s woes. Latinos and Asians had grown into a significant portion of the population following President Lyndon Johnson’s Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. Once welcome as the embodiment of the American dream, during the downturn immigrants were said to be responsible for rampant crime, the rising cost of social services, and the exodus of factories. Critics tapped into old nativist traditions that had flared in different periods such as the 1920s.

Several key players drove the conservative turn. In Los Angeles, Chief of Police Daryl Gates had ruled the city with an iron fist throughout the 1980s, allowing his forces to trample on civil liberties and target minority populations in his ongoing effort to clean up the city. Although Gates instructed police to avoid enforcing immigration laws to obtain cooperation in criminal investigations, his officers were downright brutal in how they treated disadvantaged populations. Under Operation Hammer, which Gates launched in April 1987 and closed down in 1990, the Los Angeles police conducted massive raids that rounded up Hispanic and Black American youth who happened to be in a given vicinity, regardless of how much evidence existed about their being possibly guilty of a crime. Racial profiling and physical harassment were standard. He was Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry come to life. In an era when tough policing was lionized among Republican candidates and valorized in popular culture, Gates emerged as a heroic figure in law and order circles—until the urban unrest in Los Angeles in 1992, following the Rodney King beating, finally led to his downfall.

Gov. Pete Wilson, elected in 1990, was likewise pivotal. Facing a tight reelection race in 1994, Wilson championed Proposition 187, a measure to prevent undocumented immigrants from receiving basic non-emergency social services such as education and health care. His campaign in support of the “Save Our State” initiative broadcast blistering television ads that presented the darkest possible images of immigrants. Although he had rarely talked about these issues as a senator in the 1980s (in fact, he had supported greater access to immigrant labor for the agricultural industry), Wilson now staked much of his political future on the issue. “They keep coming,” warned the narrator in one ad, as viewers saw grainy images of people running through the border security. His bet paid off. On Nov. 8, 1994, California voters passed Proposition 187, 59 percent to 41 percent. Though the measure would become tied up in the courts, its popularity and Wilson’s victory signaled to Republicans all over the country that this was a winning issue.

Conservative grassroots activists kept the issue alive in the 1990s. One of the most important was Barbara Coe, who gained attention through her advocacy for Proposition 187. Coe emerged as one of the state’s fiercest champions of the nativist ethos. She founded the California Coalition for Immigration Reform to support Proposition 187. Often dressed in red, white, and blue garb, Coe, who was in her 60s, became a familiar face on the statewide media circuit, where she could be seen on television making one provocative statement after another about how “illegals” were destroying communities. In 1998, the organization purchased a massive billboard along Interstate 10 that read: “Welcome to California, the Illegal Immigration State: Don’t let this happen to your state.” Coe worked with an energetic network of activists including Ronald Prince, Les Blankhorn, and William King.

National Republicans picked up on the issue. Although many Republicans had initially stayed away from anything that Republican primary candidate Pat Buchanan had to say in 1992, including when he called conditions at the border “a national disgrace,” by the mid-1990s the party was singing a different tune. California was putting the immigration issue on the map. As a top advisor to President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, warned in 1993: “Immigration is emerging as the most powerful political issue in California, and the Administration must begin to deal with it.” On Capitol Hill, House Speaker Newt Gingrich pushed in 1996 for a major bill that ended the welfare system put into place by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935. His efforts gained traction as Clinton agreed to work on this bill, though it was much harsher than the kind of welfare reform the president had initially promoted. The result was the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, which sharply curtailed social safety net benefits for non-citizens. In 1996, Republican presidential candidate Sen. Robert Dole ran an ad on “illegal aliens” that warned of “2 million illegal aliens in California” filling prisons, crowding schools, and costing billions of tax dollars. Clinton, the ad said, “fought California in court, forcing us to support them. Clinton fought Prop. 187, cut border agents, gave citizenship to aliens with criminal records. We pay the taxes. We are the victims. Our children get shortchanged.”

Congress also tightened restrictions on immigrants as part of the counterterrorism legislation passed after the World Trade Center bombing in 1993, the Oklahoma City attack in 1995, and 9/11, including increasing the number of people eligible to be deported and raising the bar for obtaining legal status within the country.

The hard-line Republican immigration agenda focused attention almost exclusively on undocumented immigrants and the dangers they posed, pushing aside discussions of immigrants who arrived legally or undocumented immigrants who ended up naturalizing and becoming upstanding citizens. The rhetoric exaggerated crime, murder, and drugs while shifting attention away from the economic, cultural, and social benefits that social scientists have repeatedly shown were a result of immigration. The stories from the early 20th century of immigrants making America great were replaced with shady images of immigrants undermining our well-being.

The Republican road from California to Trump was not inevitable. President George W. Bush, who expanded the Republican Hispanic vote in 2004 from 1996, pushed for a grand bargain in his second term that would have provided a legal path to citizenship for almost 12 million people in exchange for tougher border control and deportation measures. Congressional Republicans killed his initiative. Republican Party politics, as historian Sarah Coleman has argued in The Walls Within, congealed around a hard-line restrictionist agenda. Democrats, including President Barack Obama, failed in their efforts to obtain legislation providing for a path to citizenship inxchange for their support of tough deportation and border control policies. While Obama was able to put into place the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program through executive action, protecting certain undocumented immigrants who arrived as children

When Trump’s administration imposed a travel ban on several Muslim-majority countries, implemented a policy of separating children from their families at the border, ramped up deportation, spent federal funds on building a massive border wall, ended DACA (though SCOTUS overturned his decision) most Republicans cheered. As a surge of immigrants became a bigger problem in Democratic cities in 2022, Republicans ramped up their attacks. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott bused undocumented immigrants to blue cities across America. Democrats became defensive.

By 2024, Biden pushed for a bipartisan immigration bill that centered entirely on border control and deportation. The liberalization part of the bargain was gone. Yet even as Democrats caved, Trump persuaded congressional Republicans to kill the deal so that he could run on the issue in the fall.

So what should Harris do? It would be a mistake for her to simply play defense. Doing so won’t stop the ferocity of the attacks. As was often the case with national security during the Cold War, responding with claims to be the tougher party only fuels the narrative of opponents.

Harris’s own personal story is a powerful reminder that we are a nation of immigrants and that immigration has been part of the lifeblood of American society. Her father emigrated from Jamaica. Her mother arrived to the United States from India. Harris also understands, as she wrote in The Truths We Hold, that “for as long as ours has been a nation of immigrants, we have been a nation that fears immigrants.”

In fact, this presidential campaign provides an opportunity for a reset. Democrats have been struggling with this issue for years. Harris has an opportunity to fight back against Republican attacks, not by mimicking the GOP message, but by offering a different vision of what immigration means. She can move beyond what she called the “false choices” that have defined the debate. Yes, the nation needs tough border controls and deportation procedures, but it’s time to remember just how vital immigrants, documented and undocumented, have been and remain for us all.

While continually challenging the veracity of the claims that Trump throws out about what previous border policies have done, the vice president can also tether the broader dialogue to a deep appreciation of immigrants as one of the most defining elements of American history. Most of us have immigrant roots; many of us are immigrants. Immigration has made America great.

Hopefully, with a more constructive conversation, we can begin to bring back the vision of a grand bargain that rationalizes our immigrant system, from better border policies to a path to citizenship. And perhaps the candidate from California, where the rightward turn began in the 1990s, can lead the nation in a new direction in 2024.

[elsalouisa]

The 20th of May was my last day in the New Palace, and on the 21st Ernst August arrived. In his last letter he had told me what arrangements he had made to keep our honeymoon location secret from prying eyes. It was planned that we should go first to the hunting lodge at Werbellinsee, then to the Hubertihaus, my father-in-law’s hunting lodge near Gmunden. He made me promise not to tell anyone at all and even in Gmunden itself our plans were kept strictly secret.

The first wedding guests to arrive were the King and Queen of England, and my parents went to the Lehrter Station in Berlin to greet them. George V had put on his Prussian General’s uniform for the occasion and, with an escort of Dragoon Guards and Cuirassiers, the Royal couple drove through Berlin. More than half a century was to pass before an English Head of State was to come to Germany again, when Queen Elizabeth II, George V’s grand-daughter, came in 1965.

Early on the following day my great-aunt Luise, Prince Max of Baden and his wife arrived, then a little later my parents-in-law and my sister-in-law, Olga. The First Guards Regiment of Foot formed the guard of honour, while the Cuirassiers again provided the escort as we travelled to the castle in three carriages. My father sat with the Duke, who wore his Austrian uniform, in the first carriage; my mother with the Duchess Thyra in the next, while Princess Olga, my fiancé and I sat together in the third.

At midday the Czar of Russia arrived and the colourful welcoming ceremonies began all over again. Wearing the uniform of the Alexander Grenadier Guards Regiment and the tall Frederick the Great cap on his head, Nicholas II’s truly imposing appearance drove the waiting Berliners into a frenzy of excitement and wonder... For me, the wedding celebrations began with the reception of deputations who had come bringing gifts. My father’s present to me was a diadem and a pearl necklace, while my mother gave me a diamond tiara. King George and Queen Mary gave me a prodigious gold goblet anda diamond brooch; Ernst August a complete jewellery outfit. The English Queen Mother, Alexandra, gave me an emerald brooch. From the Czar I received an aquamarine and diamond necklace; the Italian King and Queen sent me antique silver vessels and Queen Wilhelmina of Holland an antique pendulum clock. There were presents galore, from the Kings of Denmark and Sweden down to the various cities in Germany, and from Brunswick I received a diadem which had once belonged to the French Empress Josephine. The number of gifts was so great they required several furniture vans to carry them.

The real celebrations began on the evening of the day before the wedding, with a gala opera when the Royal Court Opera put on Richard Wagner’s Lohengrin. The Opera House, when I arrived, was bedecked with my favourite flowers, pink carnations, and as we took our places in the Royal Box with our parents, all those present rose from their seats, and Ernst August and I bowed right, left and centre. As one, the entire audience bowed back. Next day, 24 May, was my wedding day. Early in the afternoon my mother helped me on with my bridal crown and veil. Then we repaired to the Chinese Room, and we found that a unit of soldiers had formed lines throughout the castle and taken up sentry posts everywhere. There was a bodyguard from the rst Guards Regiment, the Castle Guard in their historic Frederick the Great uniforms, the Garde du Corps in ceremonial dress, and the gendarmerie. At 4 p.m. members of the staff of the Royal Privy Purse came by, carrying the bridal crown of the Princess of Prussia. Then the Mistress of the Empress’s Household, Therese, Countess von Brockdorff, picked up the crown and ceremoniously handed it to my mother who carefully placed it on my head. We then proceeded to the chamber deemed the ‘Elector’s Room’ where my father received us, and Count Eulenberg, the Minister for the Royal House, completed the formalities regarding the marriage pact and the official registration of the marriage. As Ernst August and I signed the register, we heard a loud buzzing overhead above the castle. We all rushed to the windows and there above us was the airship Hansa, all gaily decorated with colourful pennants. Suddenly, a large bouquet of flowers came floating down from the airship. It was their way of congratulating us.

After the civil ceremony, the bridal procession, led by the Corps of Pages, wound its way through the Picture Gallery and the White Hall to the castle chapel. Behind the pages walked two Heralds with the Brandenburg and Prussian Coat of Arms, then the Chief Marshal, Prince zu Fiirstenberg with his big Marshal’s staff, and finally Ernst August and me. Behind us were the Kaiser in the uniform of the 1st Guards Regiment, with the Duchess of Cumberland in a lilaccoloured gown, then the Generals and the Admirals, and then the Kaiserin in a light green robe escorted by the Duke of Cumberland in his Austrian uniform. Then the Czar of Russia, in his Hussar uniform, escorted the Queen of England. The King of England, in his Cuirassier uniform, escorted the Crown Princess. Then they were followed by a whole host of Princes, including my brothers, and Princesses, Dukes and Duchesses. It was 5 p.m. by the time we reached the chapel to be greeted by the sound of music from the organ.

Bright sunlight filtered through the chapel cupola as Ernst August and I stepped up to the altar which my mother and Crown Princess Cecilie, my sister-in-law, had decorated with roses, carnations and wreaths. Pastor Dryander then delivered his sermon, earnest and worthy words which warned me about the seriousness of life.

After that came the actual marriage ceremony. Ernst August’s ‘yes’ rang out so loudly and clearly that I had to follow suit and when we joined hands in front of the altar he clasped mine very firmly, insisting that his thumbs were on top of mine. You see, there’s an old folk-tale which says that if the husband does not have his thumbs above those of his bride at the wedding ceremony then he will have no say during his marriage. Pastor Dryander looked slightly shocked at this little demonstration, but Ernst August and I just smiled at each other. Mary, the Queen of England, however, was so overcome by the whole ceremony that she broke into a flood of tears. Later, they used to say that she had sobbed because she had at that moment foreseen the forthcoming disaster of war the following year breaking over us. That is really out of the question. Queen Mary was very attached to the Guelph family and it was understandable that the ceremony should affect her.

As soon as the vows and rings had been exchanged, the battery of the rst Guards Field Artillery Regiment fired a 36-gun salute, the chapel bells rang out in loud peals, and the wedding party made its way to the White Hall again, where we stood under the canopy of the Throne and received congratulations from the guests filing past, as the orchestra played the “Wedding March’ from Midsummer Ni ght’s Dream. My husband and I had my father standing to our ri ght together with my mother-in-law, Queen Mary and the Czar, and on our left my mother, my father-in-law, Crown Princess Cecilie and King George V.

The ceremonial banquet began at 7 p.m. and was attended by one thousand one hundred guests. The remarkable thing about it was that the food was dished up by Lieutenant-General Baron von Siisskind, the Inspector of the Militia, at one end of the table and by LieutenantGeneral von Falk, the Inspector of the War Academy, at the other. They served the food then passed the plates to the lackeys, who handed them to the Court officials, and so on to each guest. As soon as the dinner was over, the White Hall became the setting for the traditional torch-dance, a sort of polonaise which, in earlier times, was danced with senior Court officials carrying big, heavy candles ahead of the procession of dancers. For these elderly gentlemen then it was certainly no easy task, but in my time these duties were taken over by the pages, who were physically better equipped. My father gave the Chief Marshal orders for the torch-dance to begin. Prince zu Fiirstenberg came up to my husband and me, bowed, and invited us to lead the dance. The band of the Guards Cuirassiers struck up a polonaise, the Chief Marshal placed himself at the head of the procession of dancers and, with twelve pages lined up two by two behind him, signalled for Ernst August and me to lead off the dance.

The spectacle of my dancing with the King of England and the Czar of Russia absolutely fascinated everybody present. It wasn’t something that happened every day, of course, but there were the rulers of the two mightiest nations on Earth, with the daughter of the German Kaiser between them, all dancing together. At the end of the dance the Czar turned to me and said: ‘My wish is that you will be as happy as I am.’ I have never forgotten those words: they were the last I was ever to hear from Czar Nicholas. The torch-dance was over. I left the room on my father’s arm, while my husband escorted my mother. The Prussian Princess’s Crown was taken away from me and given back for safe keeping to the officials of the Privy Purse. Then my mother lifted off my bridal wreath. The hour of parting had struck. We changed our clothes and went to the station accompanied by my father and four of my brothers". 

The Kaiser's daughter: Memoirs of H. R. H. Viktoria Luise, Duchess of Brunswick and Lüneburg, Princess of Prussia

[scotianostra]

On March 31st 1635, General Patrick Gordon was born.

Born into a family of minor gentry in Aberdeenshire, Patrick Gordon was typical of many poor Scots gentry who left the country at a relatively young age due to religious oppression.

Patrick Gordon was born at Auchleuchries near Ellon and Cruden Bay, Aberdeenshir. His family were holders of the small estate of Auchleuchries with connections with the house of Haddo. He was educated at the Cruden and Ellon Schools until aged 15 when he entered the Jesuit College at Braunsberg, Prussia.

From there he was to journey back home to Scotland but whilst travelling through what is now Germany he enlisted into the army at Hamburg into the Swedish military in 1655.

Patrick Gordon was a mercenary soldier who was taken prisoner several times and fought for different Countries. He saw action with the Swedish, Polish and then the Imperial Russian army and fought in the wars against Russia, Poland and Sweden from 1655 to 1660.

In 1661 he enlisted with the Russian army under Tsar Aleksei I and he eventually rose to the rank of Major General in 1678 and then Lieutenant-General in 1683.

During his service he went on missions back to Britain between 1686-1687, in campaigns against the Turks and the Tatars in Southern Russia. In 1679 he was appointed to the Chief Command at Kiev. He became a close friend to Czar Peter I who became known as Peter the Great. In 1689 General Patrick Gordon helped Peter by stopping an attempted coup by Peter's half sister the regent tsarevna Sophia Alekseyevna.

General Patrick Gordon died on 29th November 1699 in Moscow.

[capturecharlesau]

Inspired by @howlerlight and her next generation drawings I decided to draw mine! :D

Here’s Toppat Leader Sven Svensson and him dealing with the kids! Haha

Aurelia and Florence belongs to @bluetorchsky

Pepper and Mary Felizima belongs to @jaytoons7

Jack Allwork is Mr. Allwork and Julia’s son!

Annesa Felizima is Luciano and Marietta’s daughter and brother of Danny and Mirage!

Theodore Torgal is Benz Rodriguez and Andy Torgal’s son!

Chris Stickmin is Henry Stickmin and Ellie Rose’s son!

Jorgen Svensson is Sven Svensson and Burt Curtis’s kid! (Jorgen is a they/them :)

Czar Calvin is Charles Calvin, Dave Panpa, and Rupert Price’s son!

Mary Felizima is Danny Felizima and Crusher’s daughter!

[lindseymcdonaldseyelashes]

Spell your URL with Song Names

Tagged by @nival-kenival. Did NOT realize how long my handle just now...

"Lola" - The Kinks "I Will Always Love You" - Dolly Parton "Nobody Does It Better" - Carly Simon "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" - Elton John "Sure Shot" - Beastie Boys "Evergreen" - Mt. Joy "Young Man's Blues" - Mose Allison "My Love" - The Czars "Crazy in Love" - Christian Kane "Dry the Rain" - The Beta Band "Once in a Lifetime" - Talking Heads "North County Boy" - The Charlatans "Aliens Exist" - blink-182 "Lost Cause" - Beck "Down on the Corner" - Creedence Clearwater Revival "Soul to Squeeze" - Red Hot Chili Peppers  "Everything Sux" - Descendents  "You're Dead" - Norma Tanega "Everlong" - Foo Fighters "Lawyers, Guns and Money" - Warren Zevon "Ashamed" - Deer Tick "Sweet Child O' Mine" - Guns N' Roses "Heroes" - David Bowie "El President" - Drugstore "Summertime" - The Zombies

Tagging: @my-beloved-lakes @laser-tripwires @ghostlyarchaeologist @aardvaark and anyone else who's interested!

[fruitchouli]

hey y’all perfumes of the week u know the deal

24, Faubourg de Hermes, princess di wore it purr

Dirty Violet de Heretic, violet chachki perfume purr

Quelques Fleurs Royale de Houbigant, best honey floral🤤

Violettes du Czar de Oriza L. Legrand, so beautiful violet composition

Dom Rosa de Liquides Imaginaires, champagne roses

[darklydeliciousdesires]

Edge of Seventeen - An Angel Reyes/OC Story.

So then, guys! I did promise that if I finished the second chapter, you’d get the first. I did, so here you are! Please do remember to leave that vital feedback and give me a reblog, help your struggling authors as once again, visibility has dipped so low across many of the fandoms, and without your help, our content gets lost in the void. And now, onto the show! 

Words - 3,259

Warnings - 18+ content throughout. Minors DNI!

Song reference - Edge of Seventeen by Lilith Czar. Whenever Bella is performing, Lilith is basically the music and voice claim - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWW7_v8HRYc&list=RDAWW7_v8HRYc&start_radio=1

“Hello, everybody,” the singer began, taking the microphone after she and her band had walked onstage at The Blue Banana, a live music bar in downtown Santo Padre. 

“Hey, that chick sounds weird! Yo, honey! What’s up with that voice, huh?”

Bella raised an eyebrow, shielding her eyes from the bright stage lighting beaming onto her, looking in the direction the drunk heckler from the crowd had hollered from. “I’m British, darling. Ain’t you ever heard a British person before? Silly twat.”  

Bishop and Angel almost choked on their beers, hearing her refer to him as such.  

“Why does swearing always sound so much more effective when British people do it?” Bishop laughed, shaking his head.  

“Right?” Angel agreed, amused.  

“Anyway,” Bella continued, “before the rude, bald fella over yonder interrupted me, I was about to say, we’re Heavenly Creature, and we’re gonna play you a few songs. Enjoy.”

The club then filled with the opening bars of a song Bishop recognised instantly, nodding his head, thinking it was a very, very brave choice to cover something so iconic.  

“I’ll give her props before she’s even started,” he shouted, pointing at the stage. “Not many people out there would have the balls to cover Stevie Nicks.”

“Who?” Angel shouted back, Bishop rolling his eyes, about to chastise him for not knowing who the iconic vocalist originally from Fleetwood Mac was, when up on stage, the girl opened her mouth, drew a breath, and...

“Just like the white winged dove, sings a song, sounds like she’s singing, ooh baby, ooh, said ooh.”

“Jesus fucking Christ!” One line, and he was bowled over by the huge, powerful voice that came from the diminutive blonde.  

“Oh, shit! I know this, man! I just didn’t know the chick’s name who sang it!” Angel piped up, falling silent thereafter, stunned by the power of the vocalist onstage. Her voice was all sultry smoke, and sounded like it belonged to a woman of greater age, Angel thinking that she couldn’t have been much older than twenty. He stood, utterly awestruck at her voice, staring slightly open mouthed as he watched her stalk the stage, exuding confidence, engaging the crowd who all cheered their approval, absolutely fixated on her.  

If Courtney Love and Axl Rose had conceived a bastard lovechild and made Stevie Nicks the godmother, the girl onstage would have been that offspring. She moved in a feline glide, but with attitude, the personification of a boho, rock n’ roll girl, Angel moving through the crowd, past where a few other guys from the club stood, pulled in by her. God, she was stunning.  

Her golden blonde hair fell in waves down her back, a smattering of random tattoos etched across her lithe, lightly tanned skin, green eyes shining out through smudgy eyeliner. The way she was dressed, too, her whole aesthetic screamed effortlessly cool, with her many earrings, feathers, hoops and crucifixes littering her ears, pendants strung around her neck, multiple bracelets and rings, piercings in her septum and nostril, wearing a black silk top that hung off her, revealing a peacock print bra beneath, and a pair of tiny denim shorts.  

Yep. Angel approved. His dick even more so.  

But his ears? Oh. His ears were in love. Her voice was incredible. Like, how was this chick not famous already? In fact, how were the whole band not out there touring, he wondered, rather than playing this tiny little hole in the wall? They were incredibly talented, exuding confidence beyond their tender years, looking more at home up on a stage than some seasoned performers did after decades in the music industry. The girl, though? She stole the show, shined like a supernova, her voice astounding just about every last person in the room.  

“Thank you, you’re very kind,” she spoke softly after the song had finished, smiling widely at the huge round of applause they received. Oh, she was even prettier when she smiled, Angel feeling his heart do a little somersault. He was not leaving that venue without her phone number, he decided right there and then. Despite the words delivered after his brother had moved to his side, attracting his attention with a soft elbow to his arm.  

“She’s too young for you, man.”  

Angel snorted. “Says he who dated an eighteen-year-old how long ago?”

EZ dropped his head, laughing. “We don’t speak of Gaby.”  

“Sorry.” Of course, his brother had been somewhat brooding over his most recent breakup, Gaby moving to Lodi to pursue a nursing career without him the previous year. While mindful, his apology lasted all of five seconds, though. “But for real! She was eighteen, and you were thirty!”

“And that girl up there is probably about her age, and you’re pushing thirty-seven.”

Angel took another swig of beer, trying not to grin so widely. “And what of it?”

“Twelve years is better than an eighteen-year age gap, man,” EZ shrugged, entertained by his brother's tight lipped expression.  

“I’ll let her be the judge of that,” he vouched, gesturing towards the stage, the band playing one of their own songs that he hadn’t caught the name of, but was enjoying immensely. “Besides, ain’t this all a bit premature? I ain’t even met the girl yet and you’re there, yacking on about age gaps.” Angel shook his head, sinking the rest of his beer.  

“Yeah,” EZ began, his grin widening. “She’ll probably take one look at you and tell you to find somebody your own age.” Angel mouthed a few cuss words in his direction, turning his attention back to the stage. 

Sadly, the show was over after another three songs, the next band coming on after a brief pause, Heavenly Creature clearing away their instruments and equipment. The girl then vanished, but Angel kept one eye on the room for the next half hour, waiting for her to surface. When she did, he noticed her over by the bar, excusing himself to his brothers and heading over.  

As he approached, he saw she was standing with a guy, but from her face and her body language, didn’t look like she was at all comfortable with it.  

“Look, I’m not interested, alright?” Angel heard her say when he was within earshot.  

“Oh, come on, darlin’. Just let me get you a drink,” he continued, stepping closer to her, the girl taking a step away to put some distance between them, her eyes peeling through the room, obviously looking for any of the three guys who were in her band to come to her aid, as the man before her certainly wasn’t getting the message. He would, though.  

“Hey, we got a problem here?” Angel asked, moving to her side, giving the guy a look that clearly stated, fuck around and find out.

“Who the fuck are you?” he demanded, Angel turning to the girl and winking in a ‘go along with it’ kind of way before draping an arm around her shoulders.  

“Her boyfriend.”

The guy quickly did the math. Six feet three inches and nearly two hundred pounds of outlaw weren’t worth messing with. “Sorry, dude.”  

“Yeah, you wanna be,” Angel snorted. “If I see you sniffing around my girl again, your bitch ass is gonna need a damned good dentist, homie.” The man retreated at speed, Angel turning to the girl with a smile, stepping back out of her space respectfully.  

“Thank you!” she breathed, relief flooding her. Who’d have thought that it would have been one of the scariest looking guys in the whole bar to be the one with the most chivalry? She then looked up at him properly. Ooooh. Not so scary. In fact, quite the opposite. ‘Blimey, that’s a helluva sexy man!’ she thought, offering her hand forth. “I’m Bella, by the way.”

He took her hand, shaking it, his eyes focusing in on hers. He’d never witnessed a shade of green so pretty before. “Angel.”

“Oh, what a gorgeous name!” she cried. Not many guys were called Angel where she was from. In fact, she could wager that probably none would be found within the London borough of Hammersmith. “Gorgeous name for a gorgeous fella.”  

Her wink had him beaming, dropping his head for a second, having to gather himself. Angel knew he was attractive, his success rate with women was one hundred percent, but god, there she was, the loveliest thing in the entire establishment, and she was flirting with him.  

“Oh, so she’s flirty?” he observed.  

Bella grasped the straws of her drink between her teeth, sipping on it slowly. Just watching that action made something very pleasant run through him. “She is,” she confirmed, placing a hand on his arm. They were like steel. Wow. “When she sees something she likes, she goes right on after it, too.”  

Again, she reduced him to grinning like a simpleton, bowled over at her confidence. “You’ve got some serious game, you know, girl. You’re kinda denting mine a little here, shit!”

Her laugh was raucous, a booming chuckle, like if someone wrote the words ‘ha ha ha ha’ down on a piece of paper and then enchanted them to play aloud. He loved it. “Tell you what, then, shall I shut the fuck up and let you continue?”  

He nodded at her glass. “You want another drink in there?”  

“Thanks, that’d be lovely.” Oh, her accent. Fucking adorable! “Just a Coke too, please. Full disclosure, I’m not old enough to drink yet. I’m only eighteen! That’s not going to be a problem, is it?”  

He looked her up and down a few times, a glimmer of lust running through him. “Absolutely not.” He then winked, Bella feeling her insides soar. He was the hottest guy in there, and he was interested in her. Elated didn’t quite cut it, but she kept her poise, her effortless cool, that very thing that had attracted Angel in the first place. Well, not just that.  

“I gotta say it, your voice is fucking amazing,” he began, before ordering their drinks when the bartender came to a stop in front of him. “How long you been singing for?”

“Since I could speak, pretty much. My mum used to play me music while she was pregnant, and she always said that even my first wails as a newborn were tuneful. I’ve always loved it, found an affinity with it,” she explained, taking the tall glass he passed to her with a smile and a thank you. “I wanna go for a smoke, you coming?”

He quickly paid for the round, following her through the club, going out of the side exit and finding all the tables full, so choosing a space atop the wall bordering the seating section from the parking lot. “So, how long you been living out here for, and what brought you here from the UK? You’re the first British person I’ve ever met. Your accent is amazing.”

She was about to pull her own cigarettes from her bag, Angel there with his first, handing one to her. “Thank you.” He was so attentive, and she really liked that, liked that the space was filled with beautiful women, yet the only person he was looking at was her. “As for how long and why, well, my mum is a botanist, and she got a job as chief researcher at UCSD, so we moved out here six months ago.”

“And you got a band together already?” Angel stated with surprise. “You don’t waste any time, huh?”

“Nah, I don’t. I want something, I got right after it, like I said.” Her eyes gave him another appreciative sweep. “But yeah, the guys are all on my college course. I’m studying for a BA in music, at the same college mum works at.” She lived and breathed her passion; Angel appreciated that very much. “So, how about you? What do you do, apart from being a member of an MC?”  

“I work at a scrap yard about two miles from here, Romero Brothers. I’ve been there for about as long as I’ve been in the club.” Bella didn’t really know much about motorcycle clubs, other than the whispered talk that they were mostly criminals. She set that to the back of her mind, though, instead asking him more questions about his life.  

They were vastly different people, Bella learning that Angel had been born to Marisol and Felipe Reyes, a week early on December 2nd, 1985, surprised that he was thirty-six. She’d thought about twenty-nine or thirty, although their vast age difference didn’t put her off at all. He confessed to being a bit of a tearaway through his adolescent years, which had lead him into somewhat of a bad boy existence (she sensed there was much beneath the surface that he wouldn’t reveal to someone he’d only just met) his life marred with the tragedy of his mother being murdered, and a sometimes rocky relationship with his father, mainly brought on by Angel’s feelings of inadequacy in comparison to his golden child of a younger brother, who he stated was his best friend now, having ironed out his jealousy issues.  

“See, I never had any of that,” Bella began, tucking her hair behind her ear, managing to tangle it in one of her many earrings, Angel assisting unravel it from the lone peacock feather sitting through the same hole as one of her big, silver hoops. Just the feel of his warm hands against her neck gave her a little pleasant tingle, the same thing flowing through Angel, her scent catching under his nose. She smelled like apples, and he couldn’t get enough of it.  

“There, all untangled,” he spoke once he’d finished, letting his hand linger against her neck as they shared a weighted gaze.  

She bit the corner of her lip, looking down for a second, his stare suddenly a little overpowering. He radiated bad boy energy, charm, confidence and something else a little dangerous, and hell, it pulled her in so strongly. Angel, he was the real deal. Bella had never been around men like him before, and she found him extremely intoxicating. She cleared her throat, sipping her drink. “Anyway, as I was saying.” As she was saying, before she felt herself be pulled into the void of dark, delicious energy that was the huge biker sitting beside her. “I didn’t have any of that, because I’m an only child, and it’s been just me and mum for a really long time now.”

Angel managed to pull himself back out of the daze he’d slipped into, wanting nothing more than to lean forward and capture her pretty lips in a kiss. “Your dad not around?”

A little flicker of sadness flashed across her face, her smile bittersweet as she remembered him. Nick Thorpe, aka the best daddy in the world. “Not anymore. He died when I was seven. Brain haemorrhage while he was at work. He was there one minute and gone the next. It was a big shock, especially for my mum. They’d been together since they were fifteen.”

“Shit,” he lamented, reaching to squeeze her hand, her delicate fingers grasping back. “I’m sorry, Bella. Damn, that’s rough.”

She nodded, swallowing back a little lump in her throat. Lord, how she still missed her dad so much. “It is, he was such an amazing person. If he taught me one thing, it was to always live life to the fullest, go after what you want, because tomorrow isn’t promised to any of us. Him passing at just thirty-two years old is testament to that.”

Angel admired that tremendously, loving her zest for life, her determination, how she’d turned something so saddening into the driving force to reach out and take whatever she wanted as hers. He’d been the exact opposite. “So, you take life by the balls then, so to speak?”

Bella couldn’t help herself. “Among other things.” she muttered, sipping her drink, Angel snort laughing.  

“You’re so bad,” he laughed.  

“I am,” she confirmed. “I’m a little bit naughty.”

“A little bit?” he exclaimed, giving her a playful shove. Just the hard bulk of him hitting her slender arm made her quiver. God. ‘I bet he’s so strong. I wonder what he looks like without a shirt on? Bloody hell! I bet he’s even more jacked than he looks’ she thought to herself.  

They sat there talking happily, their flirting playful, until one of the guys from the band called out for her. “B! Come on, we’re heading off.”

“Ahhh, shit,” she lamented, standing up. “I gotta go, or I’ll miss my ride.”  

He couldn’t let that slip by. “You got another one right here, whenever you want it.” The way his eyes flitted down to his crotch and then back at her sparked her laughter, that booming ‘ha ha ha ha’ all over again, Bella feeling herself blush.  

“And you say I’m bad, Angel?” she cried, poking him in the chest with her fingers.

“Yeah, ‘cuz you are,” he attested, taking her hands in his, stepping a little closer to her, feeling that tingly rush of reciprocated attraction as she let go of his grasp, draping her arms around his neck, his hands clutching her narrow waist. “Real bad,” he confirmed, leaning closer. “And I really like it.”  

They fell into a kiss, Bella pressing herself against him, her heart thundering. Oh, how he kissed her, how he smelled, how hard his chest felt against hers. That was it, she was hooked.  

“Bella! Come on, bro! Put the big dude down!”  

“Ian, quit being a fucking impatient wanker!” she broke away to yell at him, Angel laughing, returning his lips to hers. The way she hummed softly as they kissed, even her hums carried a tune, and it pulled him in so much, he didn’t really want to let her go again. God, she was cute.  

“Bella, van is leaving in sixty seconds with or without you. I’m on curfew!” Ian shouted again, Bella rolling her eyes.  

“So, can I get your number before you go?” Angel asked, watching her nod.

“I don’t remember it off by heart yet, hold on.” Pulling her iPhone from her little black suede bag that had multiple long tassels almost trailing to the floor, she scrolled through and found it, Angel copying it down. “So, it was nice meeting you, Angel. I hope you’ll call.”

“I will. You can count on that.” Another quick kiss and she was out of there, running over to the van, her friends exasperated with her tardiness, Angel waving goodbye as they drove past, grinning to himself as he returned his phone to his pocket.  

That night, once he arrived home, he thought about sending her a text, but decided to leave it, not wanting to come off as too eager. Instead, he found her band’s Instagram page, with a link to their Soundcloud account, too. Scrolling through, he clicked play, sitting back on his couch and hearing her voice all over again, singing the first song he’d heard her sing.  

‘Just like the white winged dove, sings a song, sounds like she’s singing, ooh baby, ooh, said ooh.’

Oh yeah. Angel Reyes knew when he’d been seduced by the song of a siren. He played that same track on repeat five times before he went to bed, pulled in a little further by Bella’s voice every time. Edge of Seventeen had suddenly become his new favourite song, but only when she was the one singing it.

[ariellewm]

New Czar Agskaga Art Commission + Small Story

Artwork done by B_Astora

His Illustrious Eminence's chamber was just as serene as the rest of the Amber Palace. There's a sense of warmth, golds and reds filling the room. Silken ruby drapes whisked in the wind, the Lapis Sea right in the prince's backyard. The burning of sandalwood incenses calmed your nerves as you stepped further into the room.

Lying at the center upon a lavish pile of pillows and cushions was the Naga Prince himself. Deep into his reading, Czar's silky coils shifted slightly. He flipped a page from the book he was currently reading. Ancient text from a lost language only few naga understood.

Czar felt your presence, his head rose with that charming smile of his. He greeted you with a pleasant hiss, "Greetingsss, maiden."

Astora did such an amazing job on my boy Czar! And this time he has a background setting, back home at the Amber Palace. It was great seeing its progress and it turned out amazing! I'd even print it to hang in my office because...why not?!

Immerse yourself in The World of Zarth in "Coils of the Naga", a story driven audio roleplay written by @ariellewm & Voiced/Produced by Ycey Narrates!

[theblackbookofarkera]

Machnadebai

Residing in the hinterlands of the Czardom of Vormanska the venerable dragon Machandebai is noted to be one of the more personable of the elder beasts. It is said that he has a great fondness for mortal music and once a century the reigning czar sends the imperial orchestra to play a mighty symphony for him. Machanadebai has lent his might to the czardom on numerous occasions including when he defeated the demon giant Magogryx who rose from a volcano to terrorize the land. His scales and fire are said to be blood red and argent.

[darthkieduss]

Try

Revolution doesn't just happen overnight. It can happen spontaneously, yes, but it builds and builds and builds until it can no longer be contained. The need for freedom, liberty and justice will become a force so massive that the government in Washington DC will not be able to ignore or write off as "tiktok kid activism". It is up to every single one of us to contribute to the revolution.

Oppression is not natural. Freedom is the nature of all life forms, not just us humans. While some animals such as the dog or cat can definitely survive better in a house under control of a human, I've never seen a dog more happy then when you let them outside. To control people, whether it be because of some dumb book written 2,000 years ago (by man not God) or because of some obsession with maintaining "order" is an act of narcissism. To think that one has a right to control what living breathing beings can do with their lives is a blatant act of claiming that they are gods over humanity.

Remember this: It is not natural to be controlled. If you are spiritual or super religious, God (or gods) gave us free will for a reason. If you are an atheist, then free will comes from nature. Governments try to control people because they are afraid. President Thomas Jefferson himself coined the phrase: When the government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. The government tries to control people because like most men, they fear losing their power and wealth. They seek to control to preserve their power. That's why the government will commit atrocities like opening fire on striking workers like the Kent State shootings against students protesting the Vietnam War or the 1927 Columbine Mine massacre against coal miners simply striking for better wages and benefits. It is inhumane to control people. Sure, government has to exist. I'm not an anarchist, but the amount of control the US government has exhibited since 1981 is unconstitutional and must be opposed.

Reform is not the answer. Reform is just a bandage on a wound that needs stitches. Change is needed but change through reform is like a drug addict thinking he's kicking drugs by simply only doing drugs once a week. True Revolution happens when the opium is completely thrown out and destroyed. In order for true change to happen, it must come through sudden revolution. We must uphaul the system and like a phoenix, rebirth this country from its ashes.

It does sometime seem like it's impossible. "What can I do? I'm just one person and the US government has the military." Remember this, we outnumber them. The US military has 1,328,000+ active servicemen, with 800,000+ reserve while the US population is 334,914,895 (2023 concenus). Ordinary peasants took down the Czar's Armies and ruled Russia for 74 years. In many revolutions, those were in the military sided with the people, such as the French and Russian Revolutions. Hell, a vast number of those who swore an allegiance to King George III took off their redcoats and pledged their lives to the cause of the American Revolution. When enough soldiers see what is happening, they will dissent and swell our ranks. The British Empire was the most powerful military in the world at that time and we won, though we would've lost without France's assistance so don't get arrogant.

I know revolution seems impossible especially with all the propaganda that Fox News, CNN, MSNBC etc pop out everyday. Remember the Soviets and the Nazis shoved propaganda throughout their empires and both fell, people in both nations rose up against the far-left communism and far-right fascism. The British government often used propaganda, including religious propaganda, to ensure that their American subjects should be loyal to the King and yet we've been an indepenet country since 1783. The Russian government under Putin commands obedience and tells its people tremendous lies about its illegal war in Ukraine and yet millions of Russian people protest him. The Israelis claim that anyone who opposes Israel or its actions (genocide) against Palestinians in Gaza is Anti-Semitic and yet people all around the world, including here in the US, protest Israel.

It's also quite possible that multiple revolutions must happen in order for the big one to come about. The Soviet Union didn't come about because of one revolution in 1917 but of two. The people rose up against the Czar in February of 1917 only for sadly the extremist Bolsheviks to conquer Russia in the October Revolution of 1917. Our own American Revolution took over 10 years to ignite, starting with the British Parliament passing the Stamp Act in 1765 to the firing of shots at Lexington and Concord in 1775. The American Revolution occurred across thirteen colonies. So really, the American Revolution was about multiple revolutions exploding throughout the Colonies that united to form the United States of America.

This is not a shot at conservatism or leftism. Both the Democrat and Republican Parties have taken rights from Americans, from the Republicans passing the Patriot Act (essentially gutting the Bill of Rights) after 9/11 and Democrats not allowing that proto-fascist act to expire (it's set to expire every five years but the government under both parties keep delaying the expiration). This is an outline on how revolution must happen. Both parties have allowed the wealthy elite to plunder this nation and steal from the working class to ensure they have all the money and power (one is definitely more guilty than the other but I digress) .

Remember this: Revolutions happen because the people demand it. When enough people have tried method after method of chaning the system peacefully, what other alternative do they have left other than Revolution? Every protest, whether it's on the left or right, puts out in front of the people the failures of the government. Millions of women are to this day protesting that the supreme court has stripped them of their constitutional right to bodily autonomy. Millions of people around the world are in the streets protesting the genocidal act of Putin's Russia and Netenyahu's Israel.

Maybe it is hopeless. Maybe I'm just wasting time on this post. Most likely no one will see it. But I have to try. I would rather die on my feet then live on my knees. If I could do this fight against tyranny all over again, the only thing I'd change is the year it happened. Never give up. Even if you don't live to see the results. Even if you fail. Even if the government comes to your house to take you away. Your example will inspire others to rise up. We have to try. Change doesn't happen because we bowed our heads and went along to get along. And sometimes you have to out yourself. Sometimes you have to call out your alcoholic racist uncle at Thanksgiving. Even if your family turns against you.

Remember this: revolutions don't happen because of one person. George Washington didn't defeat the British at Yorktown all himself. It took the courage, bravery and sacrifice of thousands of brave American men and women. Even children, as proven by then 13 year old Andrew Jackson. Napoleon didn't start the French revolution. Vladimir Lenin didn't start the Russian Revolution. It's up to all of us. To lead by example.

We will sacrifice, we will struggle but ultimately we will triumph.

Let me end this with the manifesto of Karis Nemik, a character from the Andor series (a really good Star Wars series despite my preference for Star Wars Legends). Consider these words and take them to heart:

There will be times when the struggle seems impossible. I know this already. Alone, unsure, dwarfed by the scale of the enemy.

Remember this. Freedom is a pure idea. It occurs spontaneously and without instruction. Random acts of insurrection are occurring constantly throughout the galaxy. There are whole armies, battalions that have no idea that they've already enlisted in the cause.

Remember that the frontier of the Rebellion is everywhere. And even the smallest act of insurrection pushes our lines forward. And then remember this. The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear.

Remember that. And know this, the day will come when all these skirmishes and battles, these moments of defiance will have flooded the banks of the Empire's authority and then there will be one too many. One single thing will break the siege.

Remember this: Try.

[forlornmelody]

Pairing Playlist

tagged by @bronzeagelove thank you so much!!

and tagging @geneticgoo and @natsora, if you'd like to play.

So I have sooooo many songs on my JayRose playlist but here's some highlights:

My Strange Addiction by Billie Eilish

So Jason and Rose have a lot of cat and mouse potential, enemies to lovers, what have you. This song is the inspo for my fic Tit For Tat.

2. 100 Little Deaths by Lilith Czar

LISTEN. This is the perfect battle couple theme for them. Both have died and come back (Rose more than once.) Both know what it means to die alone, and they're gonna fight like heck to make sure that never happens again.

3. Make Me Fade by K.Flay

This is my mallverse theme for these nerds. They're both kinda fucked up, but they find comfort in each other. Even if they're terrified to admit it.

[renny33]

Songs I associate with Kaz and inej in honor of season 2

kaz brekker:

me and mine - the brothers bright

get what i came for - the phantoms

your gonna know my name - watt white

dirty hands(gone mad) - kendra dantes

line without a hook - Ricky Montgomery

bottom of the deep blue sea - MISSIO

guillotine - jon bellion

im a wanted man - royal deluxe

friends on the other side - princess and the frog

there's a good reason these tables are numbered - panic at the disco

teenagers - my chemical romance

COPYCAT - billie eilish

dont blame me - taylor swift

choke - i dont know how but they found me

bottom of the river - delta rae

family - mother mother

Blood - in this moment

Blood // water - grandson

inej ghafa:

line without a hook - Ricky Montgomery

million reasons - lady gaga

world away - tonight alive

in the shadows - amy stroup

bird set free - sia

unstoppable - sia

king - lilith czar

seventeen - Heathers

tight rope - the score

my body is a cage - arcade fire

i cant breathe - Bea Miller

body - jordan suaste

big bad wolf - roses and revolutions

the raven - sam tinnesz

you dont own me - lesley gore

a little wicked - valerie broussard

bird - billie marten

...ready for it? - talyor swift

big god - florence + the machine

tightrope - the greatest showman

family - mother mother

buzzkill - MOTHICA

Big bad wolf - in this moment

BLOODMONEY - poppy

[royaletiquette]

About the Writer

Favorite time of year: Spring

Comfort food: ramen? burgers

Favorite desserts: strawberry shortcake. tiramisu.

Things you collect: I shouldn't lie to myself, probably little twin stars shit, kuromi and my melody. anything with roses on it.

Favorite drink: maybe taro boba.

Favorite musical artist: Blondie. Joywave. IDLES.

Last song you listened to: Jungle Man by Viagra Boys

Last movie you watched: excluding work stuff, Mario Bros.

Last series you watched: lmao drag race

Series you’re currently watching: muppets mayhem! been wanting to rewatch the last czars for muse.

Current obsession: looking at rental units. prepping for moving.

Dream place to visit: Russia has sick architecture.

A place you’ve been that you want to go back to: Buenos Aires top of the list. I miss my extended family a lot. I went at a bad time as a shit teenager, I just don't have time a lot of vacation time at my job. Also Berlin and Barcelona eventually.

Something you want: to get my permanent residency so I can freely spend my money, government!

Currently working on: I've been hand sewing a lot instead of using my sewing machine. It's fun in terms of discipline. So a couple costumes.

---

what’s your phone wallpaper : My lockscreen rn is the bf. Wallpaper is gudetama (but what's the difference ba dum tsh)

currently reading : I'm not lol I've been wanting to reread my Shazam comics but who knows if I will

what are you wearing right now : jeans and a jet set radio shirt cause i wasn't even close to trying today ok

piercings / tattoos? : ears pieced. calf, bicep and thigh tattooed.

glasses ? contacts? : nah

last thing you ate? : stuffed peppers, my fucking specialty

favorite color(s) : yellow

do you have a crush right now? : every dog i see

favorite fictional character : lol I dunno, kuromi, my melody. Animal like the muppet.

Tagged by: @mannequinentity and @distopea (Thank you both!)