Charles Edward Stewart was born in Palazzo Muti, Rome, Italy, on 31 December 1720, where his father had been given a residence by Pope Clement XI.

I think I have covered enough of Charlies exploits in Scotland during the '45 so today I have just put together a wee bit background up to the time he started getting involved in what he seen as his birthright.

His father, James Francis Edward Stuart, had been brought to Rome as an infant when his deposed father, James VII, received Papal support after fleeing London in 1689. James Francis married Maria Clementina, a Polish princess with a large inheritance, in 1719. After the failures of the second and third Jacobite Risings in Scotland at the beginning of the 18th century, the birth of a Stuart heir was heartening to the Jacobite cause.

Charles was charismatic and sociable from a young age, characteristics that would later compensate for his lack of skill in battle. As a royal heir, he was privileged and well educated, particularly in the arts. He spoke several languages, including enough Gaelic, although those who want to detract from this intelligent young man will tell you couldn't even speak English, this is so untrue, it is also said he could play the bagpipes.

As the son of the claimant and heir apparent to the throne of Great Britain, Charles was raised to believe in his divine right to an absolute monarchy, It was his life’s purpose to ascend to the throne of Scotland, Ireland, and England, and it was this belief that ultimately lead to the so-called Young Pretender’s defeat, as his desire to capture London after securing Edinburgh exhausted his dwindling troops and supplies in the winter of 1745.

In order to reclaim the throne, James and Charles needed support from a powerful ally. After the death of Louis XIV in 1715, France revoked its support of the Jacobite cause for a time but in 1743 they decided to send an invading force to Britain, led by ´the Young Pretender´, as his enemies called him. The scheme fell through due to stormy weather. The Prince decided to go ahead without French assistance, and he set out for Scotland with only a handful of companions, landing in the Outer Hebrides in July 1745.

The Nightmare of Elizabeth I, c 1890, by Pasquale Liotta Cristaldi

Museo Civico al Castello Ursino - Catania, Sicily  

Photos by Charles Reeza

Minor throwaway sentence in a book on corruption I've just finished was talking about 1930s gangsters and about certain organisations in Chicago which the author stated were more ethnically diverse than the Italian mafia, and whose members were said to have included 'Irish, Welsh, Italian, and Jewish' gangsters.

Now call me sheltered but I've seen MANY Italian American gangsters immortalised in film, I've heard of the Jewish mob, and the police Irish American gangs but I have yet to see a movie about the Welsh mob. As a rule I don't go in for gangster movies but I feel there's an unfilled niche here and also I need more info.

locks of hair believed to be from mary queen of scots and lucrezia borgia, respectively

Unfortunately, I don't like beer, so I'll never be able to use this knowledge.

I think that the Swedish one is wrong, it should be "tack", if I'm not mistaken.

(Yesterday someone thought I was Irish because of my English accent. He wasn't a native speaker, though; he was German. I don't know how to feel about it, because I love Irish people but my accent is American 🙃)

The devastating effects that my anxiety-induced ED left on my body and health and me SHing with needles when i was 15 suddenly leaving me because dafne said that my problems weren't as bad as hers because she got diagnosed with depression and i didn't:

Reign 2013-2017/01-13

Adelaide Kane as Mary Stuart

Me: *makes a reference to being Korean in a tiktok comment*

Weirdos: *try to "prove" I'm faking it by pointing out I look white in the 5 videos i have posted*

Me: *confused in Whasian*

𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙛𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩,

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙘𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙖,

𝘽𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙙, 𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮

I think it’s just kinda ironic that Hozier released a song dedicated to the destruction of native culture and language, and most of you seem to be allergic to referring to the Irish language as Irish.

Gaelic is an umbrella term that describes many languages, mainly Irish, Welsh, and Scots Gaelic. Gaelic is not an actual language (or at least not anymore). All three are distinct languages with their own spellings and grammar. In the De Selby bts video Hozier himself refers to it as Irish.

You would not refer to Spanish as romantic when it could also mean French and Italian. Show some respect.

Valvona & Crolla, Elm Row.

Established 1934 most people think Victor (Vittorio) was a migrant but he was born in Edinburgh during WW1 and educated in Holy Cross his brother Alfonso already owned an ice cream parlour in Easter Road when the two decided to open this shop in the thirties.

They had built it up and were enjoying running it when war broke out in 1945, despite being Scots born they were imprisoned, or “ interred ” as they call it during war time, in Isle of Man.

Rather than sit out the war doing nothing he spent the years educating himself, his education originally ended when he turned ,14 so his internment gave him the equivalent of a University education.

The measure of the man and the family is evident as after the war they returned to Edinburgh and continued where they left off.

Valvons & Crolla is now a worldwide wide brand Google them and if you buy from them you are also buying a part of Edinburgh’s heritage.

Me: I'm totally not addicted to learning languages, I'm very normal about it

🦉👀: YOU GONNA KEEP THAT 826 DAY STREAK, NERD? YOU GONNA LEARN ITALIAN TODAY? VAFFANCULO, PUTTANA STUPIDA

I randomly found a 500 page French book on OpenLibrary about the etymology of animal names so here are 10 (ish) fun facts:

the French word for poodle, “caniche” looks like it definitely comes from Latin “canis” (dog) but no! It comes from cane / canard (duck) because it was a waterfowl-hunting dog—and its name in English, Swedish, German, Dutch (poodle, pudel, puedel) also reflects this dog’s affinity with water (from pudeln = to splash about). It’s like otters, whose name come from the same root as water...

the canary on the other hand is named after canis / dog, since it comes from the Canary Islands which, according to Pliny the Elder, were named after the huge dogs that lived there at some point. Some historians think these mysterious big dogs were actually seals or big lizards. Then a bird ended up with the name ‘from the dog place’ though it’s unclear if dogs were ever truly involved. (Meanwhile Spain / Hispania comes from the Phoenician i-shepan-im, the place with rabbits.) I like the idea of ancient humans seeing seals or lizards and going “weird dogs”. Like how ancient Greeks saw hyenas and named them “pigs, I guess?”

the fox has a great diversity of names in Europe: fox / Fuchs, zorro, räv, volpe, raposa, lisu, róka, renard... In French it used to be called ‘goupil’, from the same Latin root as the Italian ‘volpe’, but then the mediaeval cycle of poems known as Le Roman de Renart, about an unprincipled fox named Renart, became so popular that renard became the word for fox and goupil disappeared. It’s like if 500 years from now bears in English were called baloos. (The English and German words for fox come from the indo-european root puk- which means tail, like Hungarian ‘farkas’ (wolf) which means tail-having, or squirrel, from the Greek words for shade + tail, there are actually lots of animals that are just “that one with a tail”...)

French has a word for baby rabbit (lapereau) derived from Latin leporellus (little hare) and we used to have a word for adult rabbit (conin) from Latin cuniculus (rabbit)—related to the German Kaninchen, Italian coniglio, Spanish conejo, etc. But ‘conin’ in Old French also meant pussy (there were mediaeval puns about this in the Roman de Renart) and at some point I guess people were like okay, it was funny at first but we’ve run this joke into the ground, and a new and politically correct word appeared for adult rabbit (lapin) based on the pre-existing word for baby rabbit (lapereau).

The english bear is thought to come from the proto-IE root bher-, for brown—I love how Finnish has so many nicknames and euphemisms for “bear” ranging from “honey palm” to “apple of the forest” and English is like... dude’s brown. Same amount of effort with the Swedish and Danish words for fox, räv / ræv, from a root that means reddish-brown. (And the Hungarian word for lion, oroszlán, along with the Turkish ‘aslan’, comes from proto-Turkic arislan / arsilan which comes from arsil which means brown...) And since brown was already taken, ‘beaver’ (+ German, Dutch, Swedish...: Biber, bever, bäver) has been speculated to come from bhe-bhrus-, a doubling of the original root so... brownbrown.

English foal / German Fohlen / French poulain / Italian puledro all come from the proto-IE root pu- which means small (e.g. Latin puer and Greek pais = child)—then the French ‘poulain’ became ‘poulenet’ with the diminutive -et (so, a smallsmall animal) and poulenet became powny in Scots then pony in English, which was then re-imported by French as ‘poney’. Also the Spanish word for donkey, burro, comes from Latin burricus = small horse, and in French Eeyore is named Bourriquet with the -et diminutive ending, so we just keep taking small horses and turning them into smallsmall horses...

The boa (bo(v)a) shares the same etymology as bovine / bœuf / beef, due to a widespread belief that some snakes suckled milk from cows. Pliny the Elder stated this as fact and (not to bully him but) modern research tells us “there is no empirical basis for saying snakes like mammal milk; experiments, indeed, have shown that captive snakes systematically refuse to drink milk”

I was disappointed to learn that antelope comes from Greek anthólops which referred to a mythical creature, because I grew up convinced the origin of the word (antilope in French) was anti-lupus, as in, the gazelle is the generic prey so as a concept it’s the opposite of the wolf, the generic predator. Wolf and anti-wolf. Though it raised the question of why we don’t have antilions (zebra), anticats (mice) and antibears (salmons)

Many European languages have named kites after some sort of flying animal: in English it comes from the word for owl, in Portuguese from the word for parrot, in Italian from eagle, and in French it’s cerf-volant aka flying-deer. There’s an interesting hypothesis for this! Kites came to Europe from China, where they were often shaped like dragons or snakes, and snake is serpent in French and serpe in Old French, so it’s possible that kites were serpe-volants aka flying-snakes. But the ‘p’ and ‘v’ next to one another were a hassle to pronounce so the p got dropped and it became ser-volant, then ‘ser’ which isn’t a word started being mistaken for ‘cerf’ which is pronounced ‘ser’ but means deer... (We did it again with chauve-souris (bald-mouse = bat), which comes from the Gaulish cawa-sorix aka owl-mouse—which makes more sense as a name for bats! similar to the German Fledermaus, flying-mouse, and Spanish murciélago, blind-mouse. But Gaulish ‘cawa’ was mixed up with Latin ‘calva’ = chauve = bald, so now a French bat is a bald-mouse)

I love etymology, it’s all flying deer and dogs named splash and snakes named cow and ponies named smallsmall and five animals named brown and three named tail—words acquire a veneer of linguistic respectability over the centuries and we forget that fundamentally everyone just says whatever

Periphery, part 1 (ffxiv write: day 4)

Xavery Alexander Hearthome: Warrior of Darkness, Fatewalker, Shepherd to the Stars.

To those that knew the person behind the nomenclature, the famed Warrior was no fighter, but a lover of life walking on the periphery of existence. Xavery had always held a penchant for being present exactly when necessary, but otherwise unseen by the world. A wanderer amongst time and space by trade, they had never been one to remain in one longer than fate allowed; he did not want to imprint his presence more than necessary. 

So… how did this unassuming Viera transcend to become a household name? What follows is a brief account of a peripheral point in their story. 

The Vault, Ishgard. Early afternoon. 

Delicate strings dancing, plucked by timeworn hands. Calloused fingers softly strumming the handheld harp-bow. Xavery continued their commissioned performance for passersby–knights of the Heavensward making rounds–bowing when finished. They had just finished unfolding the harp back into a bow when a small group of people ran past them. Ser Aymeric and Ser Haurchefant were amongst the group… along with a brown-haired Miqo’te. 

“I’ve never seen him before. I hope he’s not here to be the next court musician. But… Why were they all running? And why was that stranger with them?,” he thought to himself. “Hm?”. 

Xavery’s Echo had triggered and he now saw a light blue musical staff, tinted with a faint purple glow, leading to the Miqo’te he had just seen. The music only Xavery could hear was not music at all—in fact, it was the sound of clanking swords, lightning striking and happy laughter. 

“There’s more to him than meets the eye—I’m sure of it. I’ve gotta follow him.” Xavery followed a fair distance behind the group, bow sheathed. 

The small party had run to the bridge leading to an airship landing where King Thordan stood ready to take off. Xavery arrived in time to peer over the shoulders of the small group and witness Haurchefant charge towards the Miqo’te. 

“Wait, what’s he—”

A bolt of pure light struck the Elezen knight’s shield, forcing its way deeper into the metal. The brown-haired boy stood behind Ser Haurchefant, cowering but protected. 

“No… No!,” Xavery thought. “How can I stop this? Is it my place to help? What should I do, Jehantel?!”

The light melted the metal, piercing and knocking Ser Haurchefant to the ground. A gaping hole was left in the shield and in the hearts of the witnesses. Everyone present, minus Xavery, ran to the knight’s side. 

“I–I can’t move. I can’t breathe. Oh no. NO,” Xavery back stepped away from the scene, remaining on the periphery of listening distance. 

The Viera Bard heard the signifying wind chime; Haurchefant’s soul had already left the mortal plane. They turned to view the scene ahead of them: white whole notes and rests danced around the knight who clung to breath. A black musical staff connected Xavery and Haurchefant, but it was melting in the middle; the sound of screaming, gongs and gushing blood rang in their ear. The knight they knew—their friend—had sacrificed himself for another. Xavery’s heart was hurting.

“Make it stop! Just die already! It hurts too much to know you’re gone but physically remain!”

Just as the Viera was about to turn to leave, he heard a familiar voice speak. With his last breath, Haurchefant spoke gently. 

“A smile better suits a hero.” 

Xavery’s Echo–the music–ceased. 

the category is journalists writing the intros to their pieces about their interviews with both nick & taylor:

(text version under the cut)

EW | The Awardist:

Teen Vogue:

GQ:

EW | The Awardist:

From the moment they both enter the virtual video chat to talk about their 2023 smash-hit rom-com Red, White & Royal Blue, Nicholas Galitzine and Taylor Zakhar Perez are roasting each other, throwing out playful jabs.Their friendship and connection are undeniable, and it's immediately evident that the bond they share in Matthew López's movie, based on Casey McQuiston's enormously popular book of the same name, extends off camera as well.

Teen Vogue:

Red, White & Royal Blue stars Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine couldn’t be less serious. In conversation, the banter is endless, the charm off the charts. They’re currently embroiled in a discussion about New Zealand vs. Australia. Zakhar Perez refers to New Zealand in conjunction with the “naur” meme and H2O Just Add Water, famously an Australian show, and it sets Galitzine spinning into laughter — before he schools his costar in the dynamic between the two countries.There’s something of a schoolboy zest, darting wherever their brain cells move them in conversation, that makes you think of the cheeky conversations had over the trash can at school, sharpening pencils over and over again to gossip. They jokingly narrate the opening of our interview, even though we’re on a Zoom: “This is Taylor and I’m done talking,” Zakhar Perez throws down, and Galitzine picks it up, “Hi I’m Nick, I’m about to start speaking.”

GQ:

Afternoon tea requires a level of decorum. But in a South Kensington hotel so posh there’s no sign outside, Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine gleefully ignore the unspoken rules of etiquette when the latter pulls out his phone. “I need to find this video!” Galitzine says, feverishly swiping his screen. “I’m sorry, it’s my favourite video on TikTok.” Given the international nature of the story, we’ve been talking about accents – specifically, about whether Galitzine, who is British, had to adopt a more aristocratic inflection – when he turned the question around. “Are you Scottish?” he asked. (I am.) The revelation ignited something in his brain, and soon he was scouring TikTok. Galitzine is practically vibrating when he finally finds his prized clip. In it, two enraged young Scots lose it when a countryman claims that they pronounce “pie” as “peh.” “SHUT YOUR MOUTH, I HATE YEEEH!” one guy yells, face vermillion. It’s so, so dumb. It’s also hilarious. Zakhar Perez, 31, and Galitzine, 28, fold over and giggle, far too occupied to realise that the phone is on full blast in a tiny room filled with rich tourists. A group of suited Italians not-so-quietly mumble their annoyance from the next table, and Galitzine quickly offers an embarrassed apology.

Ah wait, I've got something for you in relation to white American fetishisation of Scotland and other European countries (because unfortunately it's not just Scottland, it's everyone.)

(And this is just an opinion, I have no science to back this up. That must be stated first and foremost.)

To achieve American Whiteness ment that many Europeans immigrating to the states had to shed their cultures in order to be accepted by Anglo European decendents. If you weren't the 'right' type of white then you weren't good enough and were often pushed out.

As such, these people, too, were forced to shed their cultural identity in order to make a living here.

Now, these diverse cultures are celebrated (to a point.) There's celebrations that come from these iterations of faith, foods and dress that come from these homelands, but they're strange derivatives of themselves. Xerox of a xerox of a xerox, made only by a cultural machine that doesn't really understand or want you, but loves the aesthetic of some small component of you, so it takes that, all while simultaneously craving it could be more.

And so NOW that it is no longer 'bad' to be decended from these places, NOW people try to claw their way back, like they're attempting to undo the damage the previous generations did to themselves in order to fit into White American Society, but they have no idea how and so it becomes a crass and ugly thing, often monetized by the same origional Anglo European sphere of influence that put them in this predicament anyway, and then further pits them against NEW people trying to make it here in the states.

(And to that last point, I have to recommend reading an amazing comic in the Nib by Dawson, Why Did They Come, in order to touch on how fucked up that whole thing is (not that we don't already know.) https://thenib.com/why-did-they-come/

But yeah... to summarize- immigrants now seen as acceptably white in the states originally WASN'T and so these people bleached themselves culturally to achieve the Anglo vibe, and now generations later, their decendents cling to fabrications of a culture they were denied in the most grotesque ways imaginable because they know nothing else.

It's like white bread trying to reintroduce culture to itself to become whole wheat again, only to end up giving itself mold.

Some great points there, particularly around the bastardisation of forgotten traditions etc.

I'd be keen to see some evidence of Scottish immigrants to the US being perceived the same way as, for example, Irish or Italian immigrants who eventually became accepted into 'American Whiteness'. Also while many Scottish immigrants who moved to America were poorer, I've never heard of them facing the same challenges as other European immigrants who were perceived as non-white. I expect a large part of that was being part of the British Empire. There was also a disproportionate number of Scots were plantation owners who owned slaves in the south. And while some historians dispute it's origins, I think it's mostly accepted the KKK was founded by descendants of Scottish immigrants , or at the very least, founded by people who drew heavily on that aesthetic. So even if modern Americans who fetishise Scotland are saying they can finally start celebrating their "native homeland's" traditions again - I think there's an element of 'wanting to be seen as victims with a rich history' about it.