#it's usually mexicans or indian ones

[laugtherhyena]

Man this last class i had today really made me think about how devalued brazilian culture is by it's own people, like here at college whenever i talk to my classmates about things they like or what they've been watching is always some western show or asian series, i haven't seen a single person around my age list some Brazilian telenovela/soap opera as something they actively watch or enjoy and that's just really sad to me because i think those are a staple of our culture and nowadays it really feels like it's something only the older generation cares about because it's so hard to find younger people who watch these.

I feel embarrassed saying i watch telenovelas every day to people because they just look at me like "woah, you watch those things?", is it that weird to watch something produced in the country you live in and by the people of our culture instead of something from the other side of the world?? And i shouldn't feel embarrassed to talk about how i love those shows but i just do because this stuff makes me feel like I'm detached from my own age group.

And I'm not saying it's wrong to enjoy things from other nations/cultures, if i did i would be a fucking hypocrite cuz a lot of the things i enjoy come from outside too, it's just that it really saddens me to see how many people here just don't care about the things produced in our own country or see them as lesser than outside ones because of the whole “The grass is greener on the other side” thing a majority of our population has.

[manda-kat]

I watch a lot of travel videos and one thing I've noticed is that there are a lot of disclaimers put on historical American locations that almost never appear on videos for other places.

Like, a video about Jamestown, or Williamsburg or any American history museum/attraction always has a speil at the beginning about the atrocities done during that time specifically by the American people who lived there. But there never seem to be any disclaimers for videos about Middle Eastern historical sites. Or Chinese sites. Korean, Japanese, Indian, Mexican, Polynesian, South American- sometimes European cultures get these, but often times even if past atrocities are mentioned, they're usually in passing and never as a big disclaimer at the start of the video, begging the viewers not to see the innocent blogger as a secret bigot.

American history is rich and beautiful. We have a lot of depth, innovation and countless brilliant souls in our past. So do all countries! But somehow when we have the same evils haunting our past as every other people group, we (and England) are blamed for it in its entirety.

We should never ignore the negative parts of our past, but it should be assumed by everyone involved that if you're watching a video where someone visits a historical park, the historical people who once lived there were probably up to shady stuff. Just like all people have done thoughought all history and are still doing today.

American's (or white Americans specifically) aren't a special brand of evil that you have to apologize for visiting the cultural sites of.

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

María Félix (Doña Barbara, La Mujer sin Alma, Rio Escondido, La Cucaracha)—Maria Felix is still possibly the most well-known Mexican film actress. She turned down multiple-roles in Hollywood and a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer in order to take roles in Mexico, France, and Argentine throughout the 1940s, 50s, 60s. She was so famous and so respected as a dramatic actress that she inspired painters, novelists and poets in their own art--she was painted by Diego Rivera, Jose Orozco, Bridget Tichenor. The novelist Carlos Fuentes used her as inspiration for his protagonist in Zona Sagrada. She inspired an entire collection by Hermes. In the late 1960s Cartier made her a custom collection of reptile themed jewels. She considered herself to be powerful challenger of morality and femininity in Mexico & worldwide--she routinely played powerful women in roles with challenging moral choices and free sexuality. But even still, years after he death, she is celebrated with Google Doodles, and appearances in the movie Coco, and holidays for the anniversary of her death.

Vyjayanthimala (Madhumati, Amrapali, Sangam, Devdas)—Strong contender for /the/ OG queen of Indian cinema for over 2 straight decades. Her Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award came not a moment too soon with 62 movies under her belt. Singer, dancer, actor, and also has the most expressive set of eyes known to man

This is round 5 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Vyjayanthimala:

Linked gifset

Linked gifset 2

Linked gifset 3

Linked gifset 4

Linked gifset 5

Linked gifset 6

María Félix:

She's Thee Hot Vintage Movie Woman of México. She's absolutely gorgeous and always looks like she's about to step on you. you WILL be thankful if she does.

"María Félix is a woman -- such a woman -- with the audacity to defy the ideas machos have constructed of what a woman should be. She's free like the wind, she disperses the clouds, or illuminates them with the lightning flash of her gaze." - Octavio Paz

María Félix is one of the most iconic actresses of the Golden Era of Mexican Cinema. La Doña, as she was lovingly nicknamed, only had one son, and when her first marriage ended in divorce her ex-husband stole her only child, so she vowed that one day she’d be more influential than her ex and she’d get her son back. AND SHE DID! María Félix rejected a Hollywood acting role to start her acting career in Mexico on her own terms with El Peñón de las Ánimas (The Rock of Souls) starring alongside actor, and future third husband, Jorge Negrete. She quickly rose to incredible heights both in Mexico and abroad, later on rejecting a Hollywood starring role (Duel in the Sun) as she was already committed to the movie Enamorada at the planned filming time. Of this snubbing she said, quote: “I will never regret saying no to Hollywood, because my career in Europe was focused in [high] quality cinema. [My] india* roles are made in my country, and [my] queen roles are abroad.” (Translator notes: here the “india” role means interpreting a lower-class Mexican woman, usually thought of indigenous/native/mixed descent —which she had interpreted and reinvented throughout her acting career in Mexico— and what abroad was typically considered the Mexican woman stereotype, with the braids, long simple skirts, and sandals. This also references the expectation of her possibly helping Hollywood in perpetuating this stereotype for American audiences that lack the cultural and historical contexts of this type of role which would undermine her own efforts against this type of Mexican stereotypes while working in Europe) She was considered one of the most beautiful women in the world of her time by international magazines like Life, París Match, and Esquire, and was a muse to a vast number of songwriters (including her second husband Agustin Lara,), artists, designers, and writers. Muralist Diego Rivera described her as “a monstrously perfect being. She’s an exemplary being that drives all other human beings to put as much effort as possible to be like her”. Playwriter Jean Cocteau, who worked with her in the Spanish film La Corona Negra (The Black Crown) said the following about her, “María, that woman is so beautiful it hurts”. Haute Couture houses like Dior, Givenchy, Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, Hérmes, among others, designed and dressed her throughout her life. She died on her birthday, April 8, 2002, at 88 years old, in Mexico City. She was celebrated by a parade from her home to the Fine Arts Palace in the the city’s Historic Downtown, where a multitude of people paid tribute to her. Her filmography includes 47 movies from 1942 until 1970, and only two television acting roles in 1970. She has 2 music albums, one recorded with her second husband, Agustín Lara, in 1964 titled La Voz de María y la inspiración de Agustín «The voice of María and the inspiration of Augustín», and her solo album Enamorada «In Love» in 1998. Her bespoke Cartier jewelry is exhibited alongside Elizabeth Taylor’s, Grace Kelly’s and Gloria Swanson’s. In 2018, Film Director Martin Scorsese presented a restored and remastered version of her film Enamorada in the Cannes Classics section of the Cannes Festival and Google dedicated a doodle for her 104th birthday. On august 2023 Barbie added her doll to the Tribute Collection.

[valentine-cafe]

. ˚◞♡ 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒓𝒂 209 — mutant-monster mad scientist◞ ₊˚

⊹ ۪ ࣪ ᥫ᭡ “ eyes on me, mi cielo. . . those pretty eyes are just for me, huh? all mine. even when you have long since passed, I shall hold your heart within my hands ” ꒱

. ˚◞꒰verse꒱ 209

. ˚◞꒰face claim refs꒱ ( x ) ( x ) ( x ) ( x ) ( x )

. ˚◞꒰species꒱ spider, mantis and moth mutate 

. ˚◞꒰ethnicity꒱ mexican-indian ( awadhi-tamil )

. ˚◞꒰age꒱ 38

. ˚◞꒰gender꒱ typically genderfluid but male-presenting ( sometimes works on the way people perceive him on different days )

. ˚◞꒰mbti꒱ istj

. ˚◞꒰aliases꒱ red widow ( heroes ), the mad scientist ( the resistance ), the lunatic ( the resistance ), the scarlet plague ( mutants/resistance )

. ˚◞꒰appearance꒱

𖹭. maroon eyes, with slitted pupils ( wears contacts to hide his pupils ). typically uses winged eyeliner and sometimes red eyeshadow. he can have multiple pairs of eyes if his mutation is showing; his sclera and pupils might disappear completely in this case

𖹭. mid-length, layered, fluffy and slightly curly very dark brown hair that trickles down his shoulders

𖹭. very androgynous face, with sharp and soft features combined. has a bronze skin tone

𖹭. slender physique, stands at the height of 6’2” ( 187cm ). can appear a bit feminine

𖹭. typically dresses in reds and blacks. ranging from a classy style that can bleed into vintage. very genderfluid in his way of dressing

𖹭. beauty spots: scattered on the right side of his face with one at the left corner of his lips

𖹭. lips usually painted shades of red depending on his mood

𖹭. retractable fangs with venom and claws

𖹭. elongated tongue

𖹭. fingers/hands covered with rings and chains, with long, red painted fingernails

𖹭. ear piercings: a pair of standard lobe and industrial piercings — his right ear dons a transverse lobe, rook, orbital and snug piercing while his left ear holds a daith, stacked helix and forward helix piercing.

𖹭. piercings: venom tongue piercings, septum piercing and nose ring, nipple piercings, navel piercing

𖹭. can extend strong, flexible, scarlet and black tendrils from his back and arms

𖹭. four spider legs that tear out of his back but he can retract

𖹭. overall, if his mutation is having a bad day or he is going feral, he may display spider features such as multiple eyes, pincers, mouth glands that can secrete acid and so on

. ˚◞꒰personality꒱

𖹭. oh so deceptive, in his smile, his voice and overall appearance. charming, sickeningly sweet with a faux amiability

𖹭. even when he is hands-deep into an experiment, he keeps false kindness and friendly façade. gives off an eerie vibe to those with a good intuition

𖹭. morally evil with a chilling lack of ethics. extremely cunning and two-faced

𖹭. silver-tongued and charismatic

𖹭. so effortless on everything that he does, exuding a cool confidence

𖹭. intelligent and quick-witted. loves playing mind games on people and getting into their psyche

𖹭. certain that whatever he is doing is for the betterment of humanity, beyond self-righteous

𖹭. quite stubborn and makes sure to see his projects through, as a result has a tendency of overworking

𖹭. may appear serene but is quite temperamental, displays his anger and bitterness in a scarily calm way with a charming smile and smooth words in spite of his horrific actions

𖹭. yandere esque

. ˚◞꒰with a lover꒱

𖹭. that charming personality does not fade with a lover, rishen is often quite flirty and all sorts of teasing with his beloved.

𖹭. loves flustering you — it is a part of his favorite pass-times. fluster you and then grab you by the waist, only to tease you further.

𖹭. affection is mainly displayed in a physical manner. he will touch anything and everything on you that you allow him to touch and kiss, all so that he can worship you and make you feel good.

𖹭. another form of his affection is through gifts. he adores spoiling you with a wide variety of whatever it is you either need or want.

𖹭. very verbal in his love for you and shameless in every way; his tongue holds no filter.

𖹭. late night dances in his office, bringing you coffees or teas through the day, and finding you in the middle of the day simply to pour his affection out on you.

𖹭. he is a very passionate and dedicated lover — however, there is a darker side to it. rishen grows obsessive and quite possessive, his nature that of a yandere.

𖹭. and yes he takes it to the extremes. . .

𖹭. should someone merely look at you in a way he deems wrong, it is their funeral.

𖹭. do not fight him on this, he’ll lock you away for his eyes only.

. ˚◞꒰strengths꒱

𖹭. intelligence: highly intelligent from a young age, resulting in advanced, prodigal level of skill in science and technological fields.

𖹭. increased bodily function: advanced strength, speed, agility and durability.

𖹭. heightened senses: advanced sight, smell, hearing, taste and awareness of surroundings.

𖹭. healing factor: an average healing factor that heals his injuries far quicker than an average human

𖹭. tendrils: strong, resilient, red and black tendril-like appendages that can be produced from his back and extend from his hands

𖹭. spider legs: large spider legs that tear through his back at times, it is extremely painful for him but are very useful in combat.

𖹭. fangs & claws: retractable fangs that secrete paralyzing venom at will along with retractable claws from the pads of his fingers that can tear through a variety of materials.

. ˚◞꒰weaknesses꒱

𖹭. mutation: his mutation as a whole, while it does grant him a wide variety of abilities is also his greatest weakness.

𖹭. metabolism: has an extremely fast metabolism that requires him eating a lot through the day.

𖹭. abandonment issues: he suffers from horrible abandonment issues, which can cause him to get erratic and panicked whenever someone he loves does leave him on purpose after arguments, tiffs, etc.

𖹭. heart condition: suffers from a heart condition that requires him taking medication in order to make sure his heart stays stable.

𖹭. stabilisers: in order to control his mutation, he is required to inject himself with stabilisers on an alternating daily basis.

. ˚◞꒰relationships꒱

𖹭. jìngyí herrera: husband, best friend, business partner

𖹭. javier herrera: father, deceased

𖹭. rishima singhania: mother, deceased

𖹭. alessio agresta arias: best friend, deceased

𖹭. wèi lìxuě: enemey

𖹭. liú tàishī: enemy

𖹭. zhào haitāo: enemy

𖹭. lorenzo agresta arias: enemy

𖹭. park tae-hyun: enemy

. ˚◞꒰story꒱

after undergoing experimentation, rishen emerges with a spider mutation and a hatred for his fellow enigma. inheriting the mega science company, valence, after his father’s sudden death, he aims to lead the world with knowledge and science. while also working his way to top as a seemingly benevolent businessman and world renowned scientist.

behind the scenes is where the mask falls. rishen has no issue with the mass experimentation on the enigma. being a driving factor of the enigma genocide across his world.

alongside his mad doctor partner in crime and husband, jingyi herrera, the two become an unstoppable and dangerous couple. committing atrocities and puppetting world order behind the scenes. deeming the control of enigma necessary in their self-righteous mission.

. ˚◞꒰extra꒱

𖹭. he is the ceo of valence and practically runs the city of nueva york

𖹭. speaks spanish ( latin american ), speaks mandarin, speaks hindi, speaks tamil.

𖹭. he knows asl.

𖹭. has a cat named beauregard. ( his and his husband’s “son” )

𖹭. he has four dobbermen: cupcake, cinnamon bun, horchata, strawberry

𖹭. he sometimes smokes

[tavi-the-rat]

MLP HEADCANONS TIME

ok since im back to my childhood hyperfixation im gonna make a rundowns of my headcanons for my equestria girls college au :3

its gonna get long so ill put it under a read more

Twilight Sparkle:

-indian+canadian

-average height (about 1,7m or so), very lean, probably the skinniest one of the group

-shoulder length hair, oftentimes just forgets to brush it

-technology major

-considered going into physics but inventions are her special interest

-autism goes hard baybee

-her hobby is mechanical engineering so she picks apart vechicles in her free time

-one time sunset allowed her to work on her motorbike and she went INSANE

-has microdontia, very insecure about it, is considering getting braces

-radiohead listener

-as bisexual as she can get

Fluttershy:

-pakistani

-muslim, hijabi

-second tallest of the group (1,85m), shaped like a walking stick

-often styles her hijab with hairpins and earrings

-veterinary medicine major

-when she was a kid her and rainbow dash would put bugs in jars to take care of them, that's when her love of animals started

-pets stray cats on the street

-crochet girlie

-if you're friends with her you'll likely end up with a custom crochet cardigan from her

-cane user, struggles with chronic pain

-kpop stan

-oriented aroace and happy about it

Applejack:

-usamerican, specifically from southwestern missouri

-tallest one of the group (im talking 1,9m she's TALL), buff as hell

-long hair always braided

-agriculture major, but also a biotechnology fan

-she doesn't even need to hit the gym she got all her muscles from working on the farm

-will ask you if you're hungry & offer food regardless of the answer

-likes urban exploring & urban legends

-probably seen mothman at least once

-listens to indie bands and im talking real indie like those kind of bands that perform exclusively in basements and like 3 people heard of them

-lesbian with hella play like cmon she pulled both rarity and rainbow dash

Rarity:

-mexican+russian

-reformed jewish, wears her star of david necklace all the time

-third tallest of the group (1,8m), fat and curvy

-fashion major, but already has her own boutique

-lush locks, she has a strict 10 step routine to maintain them

-started designing clothes at 16 but has had a lot of experience with sewing since she had to repair her clothes as a kid bc she grew up poor

-classic lit fan

-will go on a tangent how underappreciated and misunderstood sonya marmeladova is

-its an unskippable cutscene btw you have to listen throughout all of it

-twilight convinced her to read sci-fi as well and she's a huge fan of it

has a lot of stretch marks and cellulite and she's very proud of it

-same goes for her moles and tooth gap, she tends to compliment people on things that are usually considered insecurities

-very sensitive to heat & prone to sunburn

-classical music all the way, her favourite composer is chopin

-lesbian, in a polyamorous relationship with rainbow dash and applejack

Rainbow Dash:

-welsh

-shortest one of the group (1,6m) and salty about it, very muscular but not as much as applejack, hits the gym 4 times a week

-wants to be able to lift applejack, currently to no avail

-mullet haver, cuts his own hair

-aviation major, is training to become a pilot

-adhd and dyslexic, struggled a lot in classes and at one point in life was convinced she's dumb but turns out he just needed accomodations

-has always been keen on flying, loved watching birds and dragonflies with fluttershy

-all spare money goes to piercings, currently has snake bites and an industrial

-vape girlie im so sorry but he would vape

-her pilot jacket literally never comes off

-morning person. he'll literally wake up at crack of dawn and ask you if you want to go on a jog with her

-punk rock fan, his favourite bands are dead kennedys, sex pistols and misfits

-bigender (he/she), lesbian, in a polyam relationship with rarity and applejack

-atp she started carrying around a stool to be able to kiss his girlfriends

-constantly has purple lipstick stains on his cheeks from rarity giving her kisses, not bothered enough to wipe them off

Pinkie Pie:

-creole

-second shortest after rainbow dash (1,65m), chubby

-has vitiligo

-dyed her hair many different colours before ultimately settling on pink

-LOVES trying different hairstyles, she loves having an afro but her second favourite hairstyle are bantu knots

-culinary major, dreaming of opening her own bakery

-works part-time as a kid entertainer, children absolutely love to be around her

-accesorizes every item of clothing she owns, there are more pins and patches than there is material

-pro gamer girl, has her own youtube channel

-plays minecraft with sunset shimmer

-adhd girlie

-fan of hyperpop and pixel, but listens to pink metal as well

-pansexual :3

Sunset Shimmer:

-argentinian

-about the same height as twilight (1,75m), fit but not exactly muscular

-has medium length hair but definitely buzzed it once or twice in their life

-ethnology/anthropology major

-really keen on historical cosplay

-rarity helps her with period-accurate costumes

-wears pressure gloves both to help with her arthritis and because they look cool

-owns a motorbike and they're very cool for it

-diy enthusiast, made her spiky choker themselves

-decorates her battle jacket along with pinkie pie

-goth & metal enthusiast, loves type o negative and scary bitches

-bisexual & nonbinary (they/she)

[myveryownfanfiction]

18+ MINORS AND THOSE WITHOUT AGE IN BIO DNI

tags: @eclecticwildflowers, @illiana-mystery

warnings: mention of menstruation, swearing

“What do you want to eat?” Ray asked as soon as he walked in the door. I looked up from my spot on the couch as he came over to kiss me. “Anything in particular?” I shook my head.

“Not really hungry.” I said with a sad smile. “Cramps been killing me all day. Finally got them to subside a little.” Ray nodded as he put his hand on my abdomen and gently rubbed circles where he knew the pain would be.

“I’ll order for delivery.” Ray said as he pulled me into him. “Eat what you want and I’ll pack the rest away for leftovers.” I nodded as I laid my head on his chest. “What sounds better Chinese or pizza?” I made a noise and Ray chewed his lip. “Ok. Uh…hold on. You need to get off me a second.” I pulled away as he stood up to grab the take out menus from the kitchen. He grabbed the phone after pausing and sat back down next to me. “Ok. Get back here.” Ray held his arms out for me and I happily took my spot again. Rubbing my arm absently as he looked through the menus, Ray hummed quietly. “Mexican or Indian?”

“tacos.” I agreed, sneaking a peek at the menu in his hand. Ray nodded and dialed the number to order our usual. He absentmindedly played with my hair as he ordered, chin propped on my head as I burrowed deeper into his chest. I squeezed him around his middle and angled my hips to press against his stomach. Ray looked down to see what I was doing, smiling softly at me as I tried to get closer to his warmth. Ray shifted so I could lay on him, making sure that I got what I needed. I hummed appreciatively and pressed a kiss to his neck. Ray wrapped an arm around my back to keep me in place and hung up.

“they’ll be here in twenty minutes.” He whispered. I nodded. “I’ll pay this time.” Ray dug his fingers into the small of my back and I breathed out in relief. “Feeling better?” I pulled back to look at him.

“a bit yeah.” I agreed. “Sorry about the wiggling and repositioning and everything.” Ray laughed and pulled me in for a kiss.

“sweetheart, you do what you need to.” He assured me, rubbing his thumb over my cheek. “If I’m the heating pad you need then use me.” I laughed and let my head fall on his shoulder. Ray hugged me tightly and we both groaned when the door bell rang. “Fuck. I’ll get it.” Ray gently shifted me off him and went to answer the door.

“oh shit! You’re one of the ghostbusters aren’t you?” Ray smiled at the kid and gave him an autograph. He took the bag of food and paid the kid. When he finally closed the door, I gave him a smile.

“a ghostbuster? You’re my hero!” I teased as I held my hand out for my order. Ray rolled his eyes and put the bag on the coffee table. Digging through it, we split the food. Ray eyed the small amount I took before starting on his own. After a while, I grimaced and put the leftovers back in the bag.

“You ok?” Ray asked quietly. I shook my head and he balanced his food on the arm of the couch. “Come here.” Ray let me climb back into his lap and curl up against him. Ray grabbed his food again and continued eating as I started to drift off. I woke up again in his arms, being carried to the bedroom. “Shh. It’s ok. Just taking you to bed.” I nodded and leaned my head against his shoulder.

“take a bath with me?” I asked sleepily. “Been on the couch all day.” Ray paused for a second. “It’ll help with the cramps.” Ray nodded and started walking again. Setting me down on the counter, he drew the bath and put everything I normally put in. He helped me strip and gently put me in the tub. I curled around myself and watched as Ray got undressed. He carefully climbed in behind me and pulled me back against him. I turned to give him a kiss and he hummed against my lips. “Thank you.”

“anything for you.” He smiled at me. “Anything for you.”

[noneedtoamputate]

Flyboys and Flirting

I had a chat with @shoshiwrites earlier this week after seeing this photo of Callum Turner in a turtleneck (thanks @hogans-heroes for doing God's work.) I blame her entirely for my Bucky Egan obsession. Like Ellen, I am not one to like the bad boys, but there is something about him and his character development during Masters of the Air that got to me. I tagged the photo with something like Chuck wouldn't mind Ellen taking off her sunglasses to check Bucky out, and Shoshi said no one deserves to look that good in a turtleneck. Based on our chat, here's a little fun one-off I wrote about Colonel Egan stopping by the tobacco store.

San Francisco

October 1957

Afternoons were usually quiet in the shop, a good chance to catch up on pesky tasks like organizing receipts for the accountant. He called Chuck last week, and Ellen saw the headache start behind Chuck’s eyes. Chuck hated anything to do with taxes.

She decided to get a babysitter for Friday and come into the shop for the day. They’d get everything sorted and then go out for dinner, just the two of them, as a reward for a solid day’s work.

They were in the back room, Chuck at the desk and Ellen perched on the counter next to the sink going over August’s purchases, when the bell above the front door rang.

Chuck sighed and rubbed his temple.

“You keep working. I’ll go out front,” she said as she hopped down, giving his shoulder a squeeze before walking out into the store.

Her eyes widened at what she saw. She forced her mouth to remain closed though her jaw wanted to drop to the floor. 

A curly-haired man with a mustache, aviators, and a bomber jacket, looking better in a turtleneck than any man had a right to, stood in front of the high-end cigars. He must have heard her footsteps, because he looked her way, took off the sunglasses, and flashed her a smile, a smile she knew he put on for everyone and had nothing to do with her.

This was a Bad Boy.

Ellen never had gone for the Bad Boys. She’d always liked the honor roll students, the boys next door. She suspected Chuck had gone through a Bad Boy stage, but by the time she met him, he owned the store and shaved every morning and parted his hair just so and was always on time to everything. 

Every once in a while, she wondered what it would have been like to be with a Bad Boy, the boy who kept her out past curfew or had a motorcycle or had a mustache that normally didn’t do anything for her but made her hot and bothered. 

She congratulated herself on wearing a pencil skirt and heels today instead of her usual shirtwaist dress and flats. 

“Can I help you?” she asked calmly as she walked toward him. 

“Yes, I think you can,” he said slowly, still smiling. “I should introduce myself. Colonel John Egan, United States Air Force.”

“Ellen Grant, co-owner of this store,” she said, shaking his hand. “Cigars, I see. What flavor are you looking for today?”

“Perhaps you can explain my options,” he said. 

Despite whatever game they were in the middle of, she wouldn’t play dumb. She went through what made each cigar different, whether they were flavored with sweet Mexican vanilla or spicy Indian pepper, how each one was rolled slightly differently and had different shapes and filters, affecting their taste. 

“Which one is calling you? Sweet or spicy?” she asked coyly, barely believing those words came out of her mouth.

“A little bit of both, I would say.” He lifted his eyebrows just a bit. “Let’s take a box of each.”

They walked over to the counter.

“I just flew into Hamilton Air Force Base last night for meetings. I’m sure my colleagues will enjoy these tonight,” he said. 

“I’m sure they will,” Ellen agreed. “Any cigarettes? Luckies or Chesterfields?”

He looked at her quizzically. “Luckies. How did you know?”

She laughed. “It’s my business. But for most officers, it’s one or the other.” She rang up two packs. 

They made small talk for a few minutes, about the store and his Pentagon desk job, but mostly about flying.

“You seem to know a lot about planes,” he said. He looked down at her finger, the one with the diamond ring on it. “Is your … co-owner a pilot?”

“Well, he was in planes, but he didn’t fly them. A paratrooper,” she explained.

He looked impressed. “The 82nd?” he asked. 

“No!” Ellen almost shouted. “The 101st.”

“Sorry,” John apologized.

“You should be. Those guys in the 82nd were a bunch of amateurs.” She grinned as she handed him the bag.

“Well,” he said, a little deflated at the prospect of leaving, “This has been a delight. Thank you, Mrs. Grant.”

And with that, the spell was over.

“Likewise, Colonel Egan. Enjoy your cigars and the rest of your trip.”

He smiled, nodded, and walked out the door without a second glance. 

Ellen turned around to walk into the back room when she saw Chuck, leaning against the wall, arms folded on his chest with an amused look on his face.

“What?” she innocently asked as she walked past him.

“You were flirting with that flyboy,” Chuck pointed out. 

“I was not!” Ellen could barely keep a straight face.

Chuck couldn’t, and he laughed out loud. “I heard the whole thing. God, it’s so predictable. All it takes is a pair of fancy sunglasses and a leather jacket and all the girls fall for it.” He shook his head. “Here I was thinking my wife would be better than that.”

“Oh,” she said, closing the gap between them and putting her hands on his shoulders. “Are you jealous?”

“Of that guy?” he asked incredulously. “Please.” 

Ellen tilted her head. 

“I’m not jealous, but nobody should look that good in a turtleneck,” he conceded.

She playfully hit him on the arm. “That’s what I thought!” she said.

“I’m not jealous,” he said again, grabbing her by her hips. “I’m the one who gets to do taxes with you and go out to dinner with you and go home with you,” He gave her a slow, sultry kiss. “When is the babysitter off duty?” he asked

“Nine o’clock. The kids should be asleep,” she sighed as he found the spot on her collarbone that she liked. 

“I hope so.” His hands left her hips and roamed lower. “No, I’m not jealous of that guy who is going to be smoking cigars with the brass tonight while I get to be with you.”

“You know, you can be bad, when you want to be,” Ellen remarked. 

“Very bad,” he agreed.

Ellen didn’t want a bad boy. She didn’t want a hotshot pilot with a mustache. But she liked knowing her clean cut, responsible husband who didn’t own a turtleneck could be bad if he wanted to be. That was enough for her. 

[hollowtones]

I've been dying to try making new food but I'm usually too paranoid to go outside of my comfort zone of Mexican or Italian, what's something you'd suggest to someone that would be a gateway to making other types of food?

Do you like "beans with a bunch of spices / other seasonings on 'em" kind of meals. Mexican & Italian both got meals like this. Put a can of chickpeas in a pan with some oil and some garlic, add whatever spices you like that you're familiar with, and fry 'em until they're golden and a little crisp on the outside. I like to eat it with rice or flatbread, and a simple salad, and sometimes a bit of feta or cotija or similar texture cheese. If you eat this and think "oh that's good" go look up & try chana masala. Then open your world to other Indian food and / or other curries.

There's a decent amount of overlap between Italian and Greek flavour profiles and ingredients.

You probably already like pasta or rice dishes. Good news: there's noodle and rice dishes all over the world. (Spaghetti's usually cooked to a different level of doneness than other noodles in other dishes, so the texture's not going to be exactly one-to-one here, but it's still an awesome wet long bread.) You don't even gotta make anything complex. Fried rice can be as simple as "day-or-two old white rice, an egg, soy sauce, and whatever veggies I have lying around".

Sometimes just forcing yourself out of your comfort zone at a restaurant is the move. Go to a place you don't normally go or get a thing you don't normally get. And then if you like it you can look into how to make it yourself, or try to look up things similar to it.

There's a million other things you can do, and these aren't the End All Be All of how to make and eat food (frankly that'd just be "make and eat food"), but I could be here all day and throw too many ideas out and it'd probably be overwhelming. So here's a few. Maybe they work out for you or maybe they don't. I wish you success in finding other cool meals to try all the same.

[magicturtle]

Can I ask your opinion of a RPG writing trope? I listen to a podcast “System Mastery”, that reviews old RPGs that are no longer in print or first editions of RPGs that are on new editions now. One of the things they can’t stand is the trope of American Indians and Mexicans reverting to horse back, tepees, human sacrifice, worshipping spirits, building pyramids, and etc…. after some kind of apocalypse happens or they go out into the stars or different dimension. Something happens to separate them from the “white men .” They find the idea preposterous and pretty cringey because these books are written by white men usually and show an idolized version of the “noble savage”. They feel, why would natives give up cars, modern medicine, houses, roads, and bunch of other modern things just because there has been some kind of reset.

I can see that point. And I can think of all the games I have seen that trope, Shadowrun and Gamma World are good examples. I have also seen it in some other sci fi games. Interestingly White Wolf has a version of this in the world of darkness setting. The supernatural creatures are worshipped as gods or spirits by the natives. Werewolves by shamans and vampires as descendants of the bloody gods of the Aztecs. On the surface this all does seem ridiculous and can be dismissed as all just being fiction.

However, there is a lot of resentment by natives of having their culture, beliefs, language and so much more being stripped away by people that are invaders. Would they gladly undo the negatives and positives that were introduced by these invading cultures if given the chance? Would they rebuild what they lost just as it once was? I have read some articles and seen some videos about Latin American gangs worshiping their version of the old Aztec gods. And new gods that they have invented for the current times. There are also less violent new gods that have been invented. I saw how some of the old Mayan shamans are keeping the old beliefs alive in the rural parts of central America. And how there is still a lot of blending of native beliefs and Catholic beliefs throughout Latin America.

What do you think? Is there a long simmering longing for the old ways just below the surface just waiting to be released by some sort of catastrophic event?

To this day colonized peoples either maintain their old beliefs or hold some syncretized version. All you have to do is look at the way the Loa or the Orishas survived in the Caribbean, the supplicants of heretical saints like Santa Muerte, or culturally negotiated holidays like Carnaval or Dia de Muertos. Often white people in the US don’t know much about these current practices because A) they don’t care and B) many are private or even secret. Instead our cool, white dude writers and game designers focus on what they DO know, the ancient history of these groups. This is why white coded populations evolve, but non-white coded ones “revert”. It would be nice to see someone who actually knows these groups extrapolate current cultures into futurism, post apocalypse or “returned magic”. I haven’t read Coyote and Crow, but I hear that’s what they’re going for.

I will say that even in the defense of marginalizes groups being “reverted” there is a clear bias. Why would a community give up cars? …Are cars good? Can we honestly look at our communities, our cities, our environment, and unequivocally say, “this is clearly a net good for the world”? Traditional medicine is also frequently shot down by “logical people” until decades in, scientists “discover” analgesic or antibiotic properties. Isn’t it great that we’ve started unlocking the potential of cannabis only 1000 years after the Nahua were using it medicinally?

Hope this addresses your question.

Thanks for writing in!

[recentadultburnout]

Info for writer in Thai series fandom: Random food

I added some pictures on AO3 but not here, but I tried searching in English, and it did show the correct item, so if you want to know what it looks like, you can look it up.

Breakfast

Actually, anything can be breakfast, but this is some of what is frequently viewed as breakfast.

Khao Tom (Boiled rice/Rice porridge)

Joke (Rice porridge/Congee)

Tom lueatmu (Pork Blood Soup)

Khaoniao mu ping (Grilled Pork Sticky Rice)

Khaoniao mufoi (Glutinous Rice with Shredded Pork)

Khai kratha (Pan egg)

Namtaohu songkhrueang (soy milk with topping)

Sandwich boran (thai style sandwich)

and everything westerners consider breakfast.

Northern food

Namphriknum (young chili paste)

Namphrik-Ong (Ong Chili Paste)

Khaepmu (Crispy Fried Pork Rinds)

Sai-Ua (a type of sausages)

Kaengho

Kaenghangle (Hung Lay Curry)

Khanomchinnamngiao

Khaosoi 

Central food

Nam phrik long ruea

Nam phrik kapi

Homok (steamed fish with curry paste)

Thotman (a type of fish ball)

Pucha (deep-fried crab meat and minced pork in crab shell )

Kaengchuet

Kaengphet

Kaengsom

Khaophat (Fried rice)

Yam

Northeastern food (E-san food)

Soup nomai (bamboo shoot soup)

Tomsom (fish soup with ginger)

Kaeng Om

Kaeng Proe (Bamboo Shoot and Yanang Soup)

Kaeng Het (Mushroom Soup)

Kaeng Khai Motdaeng (Red ant egg soup)

Somtam 

Southern food

Kaeng Taipla

Kaengsom

*Kaengsom in the central and southern regions have some differences. Recently, there was even a debate online about whose Kaengsom is superior.

Kaenglueang

Kai Tom Khamin

Khua Kling

Phatsato

Phat Phet Kop

Yam Nam Budu 

Nowadays, every part of Thailand eats everything I mention here, but its origin is still very obvious, and the origin can give some impression about what it will taste like for people who try it for the first time.

Popular Foreign food

Chinese food (some kinda Thai-Chinese more than actual Chinese)

Japanese food

Korean food

Mexican food

Indian food

Vietnamese food

Westerner food (Farang food)

Drink

Green Tea

Iced Tea/Thai Tea

Lemon Tea

Cocoa

Nom yen/Nom chomphu (Pink milk)

Oliang

Yok lor

Coffee boran

Butterfly pea juice

Lemongrass and Pandan Juice

Nam daeng (Red drink) (Hale's blue boy sala flavor)

Nam khiao (Green drink) (Hale's blue boy cream soda flavor)

Bubble tea

Chain Restaurants  

Sizzler

KFC

McDonald’s

Burger King

Starbucks

Subway

Taco Bell 

MK Suki

S&P

Barbecue Plaza

Yum Saap

Fuji restaurants 

Katsuya

Yayoi

Ootoya

Chester’s Grill

Pizza Hut

Pizza Company

Narai pizzeria

Hachiban

Mos Burger

Dairy Queen

Swensen

Easy to find dish

There a type of restuarant call ran-ahan tam sang (ร้านอาหารตามสั่ง) (Cooked to order resturant?) which is basically everywhere and this is a basic almost every those restuarant will have.  

Rice top with fried basil

Fried rice

Stir Fried Vegetables with Rice

Garlic Pork with Rice

Stir Fried Chili Paste

Suki->Thai Styled Sukiyaki (water/dry)  

You can select the type of meat yourself, even if the name includes the word "pork," (it's just a place holder) and you can add extra meat (more of the one you select or something else) or eggs if desired.

Eating utensils

The most common choice are just a spoon and fork. In places like noodle shops, it usually has chopsticks as well. and for steak, a knife.

List of online supermarket site

Index

[sydneyofalltrades]

Have some random RTC headcanons while I wonder why I’m up so early

Penny sits in chairs backwards. She finds that much more comfy than sitting normally, and she does it in class so much her teachers just gave up

Constance adores spicy food. She just loves anything spicy, could be Mexican, could be Indian, could just be chicken wings slathered in Buffalo sauce, she loves it

Ocean, despite claiming to be as religious as possible, always has a temporarily tattoo of Saturn on her arm. It’s usually covered by her uniform, and she wanted to get it permanently done when she was old enough… that never happened

Ricky enjoys watching cartoons for little children, they stimulate his brain and they’re his comfort zone. He has forced the choir to watch every single episode of Bluey ‘till they all could recite half of them on a whim

Noel and horror movies go together like PB&J. He watches them whenever and usually gets Mischa to watch them with him on date nights. If he wasn’t so engrossed in his French cinema he would’ve definitely become a horror fanatic

Mischa doesn’t like strawberries. He just doesn’t. No one knows why, or if he has an allergy or anything, they just know he despises strawberries. Only Mischa knows that strawberries were his mother’s favorite, and now that she’s gone he hates eating them without her

[beardedmrbean]

Oh sorry, I not raise a fan of ATLA anymore

But y’all get ready for the shitstorm,

I’m the villain in a robe in a background evil smiling as everything get burn down

MUHAHAHAHA!

But also this

https://x.com/esemicolonr/status/1779206669207056485?s=46

Also one thing, just because you’re a child of immigrants DOESN’T MEAN YOU KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT YOUR PARENTS CULTURES!

Long vid but this apu shitshow started with this idiot

https://youtu.be/9XLVvQAgiFE?si=dirkSMtJCnCRB_dO

Yes better rep…but the problem is those dispora people overlook how Americanized as hell they truly are

Like I learn that Mexicans and Indians can tell a Chicano or Indian American a mile away

Fuck i thought Nikki Haley was a white southern chick until I learn she Indian

Ugh I hate identity politics, hmm sorry, another one points out a huge issue soon

Browser crashed so I'm going short version instead of writing everything again

But y’all get ready for the shitstorm, I’m the villain in a robe in a background evil smiling as everything get burn down

This would be beyond hilarous, also I posted it by itself so it's easier for people to crack jokes on

Also one thing, just because you’re a child of immigrants DOESN’T MEAN YOU KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT YOUR PARENTS CULTURES! Long vid but this apu shitshow started with this idiot

Yay @jlongbone I do miss seeing vince vaugn all the time, lol

Guy isn't popular even in some Indian circles for screwing over Apu like that iirc.

Yes better rep…but the problem is those dispora people overlook how Americanized as hell they truly are Like I learn that Mexicans and Indians can tell a Chicano or Indian American a mile away

Latinos do it by who's wearing the DBZ shirt usually, lol.

Fuck i thought Nikki Haley was a white southern chick until I learn she Indian

Extra shock Nikki is a Indian name

Ugh I hate identity politics, hmm sorry, another one points out a huge issue soon

We've been at a stage for a while now where people see fit to tell people of a particular culture that they're wrong about how their culture should be handled and such.

One of my fav examples.

Then we get.

Stupid question really, we all know why and it's not the bullshit "appreciation" some people tried to claim, not with everything else that's been called out over the cultural appropriation nonsense.

Double standard is pretty consistent, it's how trudeau managed to keep his job after all his blackface and weird dress up stuff.

Short answer yes, the Japanese love seeing it so unless you want to talk over the people you claim to be protecting shut up.

Also I traced the kimono back across time and continents and amazingly enough it's a item of clothing that's evolved and been adapted by different people and cultures all over the world and they all have their own take on it.

Nobody owns it

[myhauntedsalem]

Big Nose Kate, The Shady Ladies and The 1880’s Bordellos

In 1881, Tombstone, population of around 5000 inhabitants, supported 110 saloons and fourteen 24 hour gambling halls. It is no wonder that “the red light women” or The Shady Ladies (Big Nose Kate pictured at left, seated, and sister, standing. Older Kate right, below.) practicing the world’s oldest profession, were among the first to arrive, and the most welcomed, in the mining camp.

Some of the women were part-time entertainers, hoping to strike it rich; some enjoyed their work, while others did it just for the money. For most, it was the only avenue to survival. The more acceptable trades for women, such as seamstress, cook or laundress, paid only the lowest of wages. Without a man to take care of her, a woman’s choice was often that of scandal or suicide. Though considered by most to be sinful, these women chose survival and were proud, rugged, and independent.

An attractive, pleasant woman soon learned that she could name her price. Some worked at local theatres and dance halls. The older and less attractive women worked on the street, in the saloons where they were paid a percentage for caging drinks from the customers, or in the cribs.

Prostitution was legal in Tombstone as long as the proper city license for the business of “House of Ill Fame” was purchased. Revenue collected from the sale of these licenses was, for many years, the sole source of financial support for Tombstone’s schools. Although considered to be a profession of sin, large contributions helped to build area churches, and during times of illness, the parlor houses not only housed the sick, but the girls provided their care. (Madame Blonde Marie at left)

A crib, consisting of one room, approximately 10×8, constructed from rough lumber with a tin roof, was the worst place to work. To ensure that her customers could find her, the woman’s name was painted on the door. The cribs were rented to prostitutes at a price of $3 per day, payable in advance. The rooms were sparsely furnished and arranged for a quick turnover. The customer removed only his hat! The customers were miners, laborers, soldiers, and a very few cowboys, as Tombstone was a mining camp. On payday it was not unusual for a girl to entertain as many as 70 men. Disease, alcoholism and drug addiction were her destiny. The fees were typically: Chinese, Negro, Indian 25 cents Mexican 50 cents French 75 cents American $1.00.

The parlor houses were of various designs, however, all required PAYMENT IN ADVANCE and posted the sign SATISFACTION GUARANTEED OR MONEY REFUNDED. Due to local restrictions, the parlor houses were located in the same area as the cribs. In sharp contrast, the parlor houses were furnished with carved furniture, red velvet drapes, full length mirrors, exotic paintings, and deep soft rugs. Most were two stories.

The first floor was usually a saloon where drinking, dancing, and gambling took place. These customers were served by young, attractive maids and a uniformed butler. The girls would line up for the customer to make his choice. The madam was paid and the man escorted upstairs to one of the elaborately and lavishly decorated private rooms. The standard fee was $10; overnight cost up to $30. Young women of exceptional beauty and older women with special skills or well known passionate ability demanded higher prices. The madam took half of the girls’ fees as well as $5-$20 room and board per week depending on the times.

During the California gold rush, the brass or bronze check for the house came into use. It was the standard token. The check was purchased from the madam and presented to the girl who would cash in the checks for payment. Each house accommodated between 5 and 30 girls who could make up to $150 per week. In comparison, miners made only $3 for a 12 hour shift!

The hours of operation were noon to daybreak, and the girls got 1 day a week off. Huge profits were made from the sale of beer, whiskey, wine, and champagne. The competition was fierce. Most madams allowed their girls to pass out business cards with the girl’s name and the house’s address. Others were allowed to sell nude photos of themselves in unusual poses. Most were known only by nickname, both to protect their families and in the hopes of marrying respectably in the future.

[melanielocke]

Book recommendations - Queer POC books

Some more book recommendations, this time I'm focusing on Queer PoC books, all by authors of color. All the books shown in the picture are UK editions. I generally like it when books have a UK paperback edition because they're a lot cheaper than US hardcovers, usually also cheaper than US paperbacks, and release the same week as the US hardcover. I don't think these editions are always available if you live in North America, but to those living in Europe, buying UK editions can save you a lot of money. Other parts of the world I honestly don't know which editions are easiest to come by. Only downside for UK editions is that sometimes there are some with a redesigned cover that is very ugly. Of the books shown here, only the Witchery has a different cover than the US edition but in this case I like both.

Starting with this Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron

This is a duology, the second and last book was released last June and so this is a complete series. It is inspired by Greek mythology, and specifically, the myth of Medea, and follows Briseis, who was adopted and inherits an estate from her aunt whom she never met. Briseis has always been able to make plants grow, and is immune to poisonous plants, and at the estate she discovers her birth family had these same gifts, and they keep a garden with some of the most poisonous plants in the world. This book has some great characters, and Briseis was adopted and raised by two sapphic Black mothers, who also play a big role in this series. This series has also served as inspiration for the Lightwood's magic garden in Flowers Bloom

Also by this author: Cinderella is Dead, which I'd also recommend, the Vanquishers, a MG which I did not read

Upcoming books: My Dear Henry, a Jekyll & Hide retelling (3-2023); You're not Supposed to Die Tonight, a slasher horror (6-2023)

Next up is Afterlove by Tanya Byrne

This is a sapphic love story with a MC of Indian decent. At New Years's Eve, just before midnight, Ash is hit by a car and dies instantly. She gets the offer to become a reaper, who guide the city's dead to their afterlife. But Ash can't forget Poppy, her girlfriend, and will do anything to get to see her again.

I haven't seen a lot of people talk about this book, but I really enjoyed it. The main focus is the romance here, and it's more romance with a fantasy aspect to it than fantasy.

Other books by this author: there are several other older books, none of which I've read

Upcoming books: The Mermaid of Black Rock (9-2023), a sapphic book about a girl with no memory found in the sea and a girl who falls in love with her

The Jasmine Throne is the only adult series I put in this list (the rest is YA), and is a fantasy trilogy set in an India inspired world. Book 1 and 2 are out now.

Malini is a princess who is imprisoned in an old temple by her dictator brother, an emperor obsessed with religious ideas revolving women gaining purity and immortality by being burnt alive. Malini refused to burn for his sake.

Priya is a maidservant who travels to the temple every night to clean Malini's chambers. Before her land was conquered by Malini's family, Priya was a temple child, and she had passed through the magical deathless waters once, but all the temple children were murdered except a few who survived and she has to hide her past.

Malini and Priya eventually start working together, with the goal of restoring the throne to Malini's other, oldest brother who'd abandoned the throne to become a priest.

Other books by this author: The Books of Ambha duology, adult fantasy, and What Souls are Made of, a YA Wuthering Heights retelling

Upcoming books: Book 3 of the series, scheduled for 2023, currently no release date known

The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas is one of my personal favorites of this year. It's the first book in a YA fantasy duology set in a world inspired by Mexican culture. In this world, the sunbearer trials are held every ten years to replenish the energy of the sol stones and keep the sun alive and evil gods at bay. Ten demigods (called semidioses) are chosen by Sol to compete in a set of trials. The winner becomes the Sunbearer and gets to replenish the sol stones. The loser becomes a human sacrifice that is necessary to replenish said stones.

Semidioses are divided in gold and jade categories, depending on if their parent is a gold or jade god. Gold gods are the most powerful gods, ruling over things like the earth, the seas, fire etc, while jade gods are considered less powerful and their children too. There haven't been any jade competitors in the Sunbearer trials in over a century, but that year, two are chosen.

Teo is the transgender son of Quetzal, the goddess of birds, and he never expected to be chosen for the trials. The other jade is Xio, the son of Mala Suerte, god of bad luck. The other 8 competitors are all gold semidioses, including Teo's best friend Niya, daughter of Tierra, god of the Earth and the twin children of the fire goddess, Aurelio and Auristela. Compared to many of the others, Teo does not have a lot of powers and will have to fight with everything he has to survive.

The fantasy world in this book is modern second world, so while everything is different from this world, there are equivalents of instagram and tiktok for example, and they have trading cards featuring different semidiose heroes.

Other books by the author: Cemetery Boys, Lost in the Never Woods, I've read both and they're very good

Upcoming books: book 2 of the sunbearer trials (expected in 2023), companion/sequel to Cemetery Boys (fall 2024), untitled book pitched as gay titanic in space (2024), Just Max (a contemporary set in college, 2024).

I don't think it's likely there'll be 3 books coming out in 2024 but that's the information I currently have

The last book in the picture is the Witchery by S. Isabelle

This book features four witches and two human boys. Logan only recently found out she's a witch and transferred to a school for witches, and so far she's no good at it. But she's taken under the wing by the Red Three, three Black witches and the most powerful witches at the school. Thalia, a greenwitch, Iris, a deathwitch and Jailah, the most powerful witch at school, want to end the curse that's plaguing their town, and want Logan's help to do it.

Every year, there's a Haunting Season during which wolves come out of the swamp and kill people. The witches can protect people, to some extent, but the Red Three want to end the Haunting Season once and for all.

This book has a total of 6 POV's, which can make it confusing but I think it worked well. All the characters were interesting, but there wasn't enough space to flesh them all out as much as I would have liked. Still, I think the story was great, and would recommend it. There's not much focus on romance, but Jailah is a lesbian which is why I included it on this list.

Other books by this author: The Witchery is her first book

Upcoming books: another book is expected to be released in 2023. I have no idea what this book is about

Let me know if there are specific recommendations you'd like me to cover next time, I think I'll make more posts like these because it's lots of fun. Also, if you've read any of the books I recommend and want to talk about it, let me know, because I don't have a lot of people to talk about my favorite books with

@alastaircarstairsdefenselawyer @life-through-the-eyes-of @astriefer @justanormaldemon @ipromiseiwillwrite @a-dream-dirty-and-bruised @amchara @all-for-the-fanfiction @imsoftforthomastair @ddepressedbookworm @queenlilith43 @wagner-fell @cant-think-of-anything @laylax13s @tessherongraystairs @boredfangirl16 @artist-in-soul @bottomdelioncourt @ikissedsmithparker

[teeswrites]

LN- all roads lead to you

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Masterlist

---------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 3: São Paulo

The clock sound burned her ears. If there was something in life that she loved was to sleep. She turned to the left side where Giaro's body slept the night before. He wasn't there anymore, maybe because he knew how to respect the hour of his appointments. Not that he needed to. With that face of his, everyone could tolerate him being late. She stretched her arm, reaching for her iPhone to finally stop that damn sound. Finally. She took a deep breath and exhaled in relief. Her messages app was full of texts: people from the photograph studio, a few friends, clients, her brothers, Giaro:

'Have a meeting today. Had to leave earlier to wash my hair. Call you later, xx'

She smiled, if he said he would call, he would. She continued to scroll: Martin was composing a new song, Louis invited her to ski, Daniel made a strawberry pie... An unknown number sent her a file. Weird. It could be a virus or a scam, but she opened it anyway.

'Hope we can see each other again soon ;)' 

Was written with a linked file of tickets for São Paulo along with one for Brazilian GP. "What the heck..." she mumbled clicking on the file to see if that was real. "So he thinks that he can buy my attention with first class flights for a tropical country and a VIP pass to formula 1?" she thought. That was a silly thing for him to think. But also meant Lando wanted to see her again. But not in Mexico.

'Don't want your other ladies to see me with you in Mexico? Lol

She replied, already ignoring the invitation in her mind. Nobody could buy her attention. She placed her phone on the mattress and went to a calming morning bubble tub bath.

She prepared the tub for her bath with Indian jasmine bath salt, Victoria's Secret honey & lavender body scrub, and added some petals for finishing, then went back to the room to have a book when her phone started to ring. Lando. Her heart stopped for 3 seconds then started to beat like crazy. She grabbed the phone and picked it up. "You know you should be flattered. I rescheduled all of them for next year only to see you in Brazil" "I... them?" "the hypothetical 'other ladies' you mentioned" She took a deep breath "This is very comforting" she said ironically and he pictured her rolling her eyes. He chuckled "I'm just kidding. Daniel told me you are in Amsterdam till next week. But if you can make it I will be happy to welcome you at the paddock in Mexican lands. Just let me know". She arched an eyebrow, it was too much kindness coming from him. She didn't forget about Austin yet "He's right. I'm stuck here with work. But I don't know...." "Why not?" "Don't you think Brazil is a little too far?" "But it will be my birthday!" He pouted "I'm pouting right now" she giggled, how good it was to hear her giggle "I will think about it" "You have the VIP pass, use it with wisdom" "I will". They kept in silence, just listening to each other's breath sound "You know..." He started "It's..." He cleaned his throat "It's good to listen to your voice again" She smiled "Okay" she said almost inaudible "Okay? That's all?" "Yes" "Oh... You're so cold sometimes" He wasn't used to that. Usually, girls would say the same and more for him but she didn't. "Anyhow, will I see you soon?" "2 minutes isn't enough time for thinking" "Right" "Maybe" he grinned "Okay. And I actually meant that" "What?" "Your voice. I really like to listen your voice" she almost could feel the honesty in his tone "thanks Lando. It's nice to hear you think I have a nice-hearable voice. Now I have to go, a warm bubble bath waits for me. Bye bye" "By..." Then she hung up. Again. He used to be the one hanging the phone on other people's faces. He could tell she didn't believe him. The bitterness in her 'thank you' was almost tastable. He didn't like that. Which made him want her even more. Was that her game? Play hard for having him hypnotized on her? If it was, it was working well. The poison ran into his bloodstream once and he was asking for more.

//

São Paulo, Brazil:

November, 10th

In the end, she decided to go. She did some research about Brazil and she ended up curious and passionate about the country, she even learned a few words in Portuguese. She was in the fancy hotel room Lewis booked for her, wearing a white robe and thinking about which movie she would watch. She heard good things about 'Minha mãe é uma peça' and she was interested in practicing the language. She stood up to grab a coconut water box on the minibar when her phone rang. A FaceTime call. "Do you guess every time I'm with nothing but a towel?" "No. But I wish I could" he smirked, she rolled her eyes "What do you want?" "Rude" "I was just about to start relaxing" "Relax? I can help you with that" she blushed "LANDO!" What?" he laughed "Did I say something wrong?" "What do you want??" I heard you decided to come, huh?" "Yeah. Lewis asked me to" "No fucking way you just said that! I can't believe you!" "But it's the truth" "Next time you ask him to pay for your flight and f1 VIP pass" "Did you call for being rude?" "No. I called because I am heading to a football game" "Really?! I love football." He knew, her Instagram was filled with pictures of her in different stadiums and he spent a lot of time on her Instagram page. "Do you?" "Yes! You're lucky, Brazilian football is pretty good" "I've heard. Do you want to join me?" "Two foreigners in a football game?" "I have a local friend with me" "Hum" "Come on! I am wearing my green trainers. I look good in them. You should come and take a look yourself". She smiled, then looked at her bag "What's the team's colors" "Green and..." he asked for someone "White. Green and white" "Are you talking about Palmeiras?" "Yeah! Do you know them?" "Are you kidding me?! They're the Italian team in Brazil! I'm joining you, text me the address" he smiled "I can pick you" "You don't have to, we can meet there" he sighed "I won't change your mind, will I?" "Nope" she said while opening her bag with one hand only "okay, see you there, then" "bye" she hung up again. At least she was coming.

//

Later that day:

The game was insane. Palmeiras scored 4 goals on Atletico GO. 4. Lando's number. It was a perfect night for him: the game was good, he gave luck to the team, won a jersey, met the players, they signed his new jersey, he also met the coach, invited him to Interlagos... almost perfect, cause he didn't see her. Such a liar! Probably said she was going for him to stop bothering her. Why does she have to be like that?! Unbelievable. But it was not going to stay like that. He was planning already: he would go to her hotel room and stay outside till she finally decided to go out, then he... A light touch took him off his evil thoughts. He turned around and his eyes were filled with a Heavenly vision: she was actually there, wearing a white delicate blouse, military green cargo pants, a white leather bag, and green Vans trainers, she had white glitter on her face and smelled like a flower. She smiled "Nice jersey. Can I also have one?" "S-sure! I buy you one" "Cute" "When did you get here?" "End of first time" "Why you didn't text me?" "I got tickets for a nice place. And you said you were with a friend, didn't want to disturb" "Stop! I invited you which means I wanted to have you here with me" "I am here now" "Yes. You look beautiful by the way" "Thanks! You too" "So, how about the game?" "Amazing! They are incredible" "You saw? 4 points. I'm also 4" "OMG, that's true!" "yeah" she looked at him, then poked his shoulder "You gave them luck" "Yes, I did" she giggled "Wanna walk?" "Sure". They went out of the Allianz Park "So, what happened to you?" "What do you mean?" "You were all grumpy earlier. Now you're giggly. What happened?" "I just did something I enjoy doing" "So that's the trick?" "yes" "I have to learn what more you enjoy doing. What's it?" "There are tones of things" "Come on, name at least three" "Fine. I like photographing, being in the water and fine dinners with nice people" "Do you prefer beach or pool?" "Beach" "you know how to spend your time" "My time is valuable. I really choose how and with who I spend my time carefully" "You're spending your time with me right now" "I know" "So I'm worthy, huh?" "Shut up!" "There's the grumpy you again" "she rolled her eyes "By the way, thanks for invinting me. I really enjoyed the game" "Thanks for coming. Even though we didn't watch it together" she stopped walking "I am here right now" he turned to face her "Yes..." he mumbled, then leaned to kiss her. Fuck. She shouldn't be kissing him. She should be putting a limit on the whole damn thing. Making a line and telling him to not cross it in any circumstances. But, shit, Lando was so charming and was such a good kisser. And worst, she liked him so she couldn't help herself. That way, she kissed him back, grabbed his neck, and pulled the hair on his nape. His hand traveled from her back, to her waist to her hips. Their kiss felt like Heaven, so soft but still intense. When they parted, he smirked and she giggled "I would like to take you out," he said against her lips "What?" "Fine dinner with a nice person" "So you're not coming" "Haha very funny" "It's funny to me" "So, what do you say?" "Will think about it" "Okay... hum, shall we go?" "Sure" they walked back to the stadium in silence, then each of them followed their separate ways.

//

November, 13th: Lando's bday

Lando's phone rang unstoppably. He tried to ignore it, but the person on the other line persisted. He grumbled, turned to the left, and tried to reach his phone with his eyes still closed. He picked up without even seeing who it was "Good morning, birthday boy" Was he too sleepy or was it her voice? "Am I dreaming or is it really your voice?" "It's actually me. Can we meet?" he took his phone away from his ear: 6:12AM. She had disappeared for the past 2 days and now was calling him at 6:12AM "You know it's only 6:12, right?" "Yes" "6:12! In the morning!" "So?" he pulled his blanket to the side, getting up already "Couldn't you call me an hour later?" "Are you complaining? I can cancel" "No. I'm going, just tell me where" "The lobby" "The lobby?" "Yes" "Of the hotel I'm staying? Or yours?" "Yours" "Okay. Will be there in 20" "20? The princess is going to the spa? Just dress up and come down" "You're delusional if you think I won't shower for seeing you" "Be here in 10" "But..." "Figure it out", then she hung up "That's because it's my birthday, imagine if it wasn't" he complained about her rudeness to himself. 

...

6:25 AM:

"It passed 13 minutes!" "I get ready on my time" she chuckled "Happy birthday, Lando!" she showed her hands which were hidden behind her back "You bought me a cake?" "I did. Open it" he opened the white box. It was a beautiful strawberry cake. It had white coating and strawberries at the top in the place of candles. Seems delicious. Thank you" "It was nothing" "Want to share it with me?" "Sure" "Let's go" he offered his hand which she grabbed. He guided them to the elevator "Where are we going?" "Rooftop"'. They were sitting at the hotel's rooftop eating together "São Paulo has a nice view" "Agree" "Aren't you sad for spending your birthday away from your family and friends?" "Nah. I mean, there's not much I can do about it. Also, I'm happy to be here. And for having you by my side" she blushed "I just don't get why you woke me up so early" "You have appointments later. Didn't want our meeting to be rushed" he smiled "Where have you been these last 2 days?" "Touring. Meet up with Lewis too. Why?" "Missed you" "Cute" "Will I see you later?" "Not today" "When, then?" "Tomorrow" he looked at her "I can live with that" she took a small package from her hoodie's pocket "Here. Is a small thing, but hope you like it" he opened it: a Palmeiras keychain. "I adore it. Thank you" she smiled and then laid her head on his shoulder "Did you think about that thing I asked you the other night?" "I am thinking still" "How's it going? How are my chances?" "Very very low" "Damn. Can I do something to try to get my chances higher?" "You can try" he touched her face and pulled it for him, leaving a breathtaking kiss on her lips "So?" "Score for Lando" he laughed and she laid on his shoulder again while they kept looking at the view in a comfortable silence.

//

November, 14th: Autódromo de Interlagos, São Paulo, Brazil.

"I absolutely love race day" Lewis stated "The energy, especially from Brazilian people, just makes me feel energized" she giggled "You're so cute" he smiled "I will find a bathroom" "Need help?" "No, I'm fine" "Alright. If you need me, give me a call" "Okay". She went out of the bathroom and saw Lando walking alone somewhere. She smiled and decided to follow him. "Hey!" She shouted. Lando turned around "Heya!" She jogged to him and gave him a hug. He pressed her against his body in a tight hug. "So happy to see you. Thought you were runaway again" "Well" she separated from him "I am here, right?" "Thank God" she smiled "I've thought about that invitation" "Which?" "The one you made outside Allianz Park the other day" "About asking you out?" "Yes" "Hum, what about that?" "Guess I'll accept it" he smiled, fully "Really?" "Yes" " Then I'm the happiest man in the world right now" "Stop" she poked his chest lightly. She had her cheeks redder than Ferrari's suit "Someone is blushing" "Oh, God" he chuckled "You look adorable" "Thanks... by the way, what are you doing around here? Shouldn't be getting ready for the race?". He swallowed, then cleaned his throat "I... I was calling Max" "Verstappen?" "Fewtrell" "Oh! Is he okay?" "Yeah, hum... It's just a domestic thing" "Got it" "But it's solved now. Shall we go?" "Sure" and they started to walk together "So... Where are you taking me?" "Where do you want to go?" "Back in the UK?" He nodded "Nobu?" "Aaargh" "What?" "I hate sushi" "What about pasta?" "Yeah, that's better. Also it sounds more you" "So we're having pasta" "Great. Know exactly where to take you" "Good!" "Hey" "Hum" "Meet me later?" "For what?" "I just want to say goodbye. I'm flying to Doha today, so won't see you for a week" "Okay" "Alright. See you later, then"

....

4 hours later: autodrome's exit

She was waiting for him to finish dressing. His phone, watch and wallet were with her. Lando's phone buzzed. She didn't mean to look at it, but the message popped up in front of her eyes. It was from Max Fewtrell:

'How was with the girl?'

Did he talk about her to his best mate? It was very thoughtful of him. When Lando came back she smiled "I'm back "Here's your stuff" "Thanks " he kissed her "Have a great fly" "Thank you. You too" "See you in London, then" "I text you" "Okay" he kissed her forehead and made his way to the vehicle which was transporting him to the airport.

'I can't believe this actually is going to work' she said to herself, daydreaming. 

While Lando texted Max back:

'Good. She couldn't even speak English, tho'

'Did you make out by mimics???' ~Max

'Somehow, yes' ~Lando

'LMAO. See you next week, bro' ~Max

'See you' ~Lando

Then, he blocked his phone and laid his head on the seat. "If she finds out, she kills me" he thought.

[mexicanwanderingsoul]

A Napoleon wannabe: Agustín I of México

At the end of its war of independece Mexico declared its independence froms Spain and its desire to be a monarchy through the treaties of Córdoba. The crown of this new Mexican monarchy was offered to Ferdinand VII of Spain. The Spanish refused to accept ruling Mexico as an independent country, since they still considered it a colony.

A clause had been added to the treaties, however, that stated that in case neither Ferdinand VII or his descendants accepted the crown, the Mexican counsil would be free to choose its own monarch. This paved the way for General Agustín de Iturbide’s eventual coronation as emperor.

The Spanish monarchs are not crowned; it’s not a tradition they have, since they don't believe they were chosen by God to rule, but that they were born to do it. So if Iturbide wasn't following a presedent set by the Spanish monarchy, why was he crowned? Who’s example was he following? You see... According to historian Manuel Villalpando, Iturbide was inspired by Napoleon Bonaparte’s coronation, so much that writer José Joaquín Fernández de Lizardi (one of Itrubide's critics, who would eventually end up in jail) wrote on the newspaper:

“So it’s being debated how our Agustín must dress on the day of his coronation? So no expenses have been spared to make him look oh, so magnificent? All this care seems just and fair for the hero of Iguala, but what I fear is that they’ll make him look ridiculous by adorning him with novelty.

I’ve heard that some what to dress him in the European style; others, in the Mexican style; yet others want a mix of them both. Some want to dress him like the German emperors; others, like the Romans; and not few want to dress him like the Napoleons.

[After describing tentative styles for Iturbide’s robes] That is designed to make him look more as a true Indian huehuenche [person who organizes the local festivities of small towns or villages, usually of indigenous origin].”

Villalpando lists other ways with which Iturbide sought to make his coronation look like Napoleon's:

Instead of Marshals, there were the Generals of the Empire;

Instead of the Legion of Honor, there was the Imperial Order of Guadalupe;

Instead of Notre Dame, there was the Metropolitan Cathedral of Mexico;

Iturbide's coronation robes were even similar to Napoleon's

His fall:

Iturbide would make several political mistakes. Foreign freemasons, i.e. American special envoy Joel Roberts Poinsett and Colombian ambassador Miguel Santa María, would conspire against him... And Iturbide was not the only ambitious man with a hunger for power.

Encouraged by Poinsett and Santa María, General Antonio López de Santa Anna (one of the most fascinating and hated characters in Mexican history) proclaimed the Plan of Veracruz in 1832, taking arms against Iturbide. The empire began to crumble, and the news of the Santa Anna plan arrived to the ears of a man in hiding in the caves of Veracruz, a former insurgent leader, a man that never accepted the Viceroy's pardon in a time when most of the independentists leaders had taken it or had been excecuted. This man was Guadalupe Victoria, a friend of Santa Anna’s and the man who would become the face of the Plan of Veracruz, and also the future first president of Mexico. They were joined by Vicente Guerrero and Nicolás Bravo. The old insurgents were back after being cast aside by Iturbide’s empire, and they were determined to ensure his fall.