#Rose Kell

[jiyura]

[vesper100]

cartoon saloon x the name of the rose because i'm crazy but i'm free

[antaripirate]

another one from the drafts

[verdantmeadows]

Okay if I had to think of a few criticisms of Dungeon Meshi, because I genuinely have no others, it's that I wish there were more black characters and I wish there were more disabled characters (because there absolutely are disabled characters, but it'd be nice to see ones that use something like a mobility aid like a wheelchair). I also wish there was some level of explicit queerness. Because, to be clear, I DO love the way queer characters are written in Dungeon Meshi through showing and metaphor and not saying it directly, but I do wish there was instances of a character mentioning another character (even if they're never seen or it's super unimportant) has a partner of the same gender.

But like, especially for those first two. Ryoko Kui has some of the best character designs I've ever seen and is incredible at diversity both in ethnicity, body type, and more, yet I have barely seen any black characters from her and would love to. Especially since there are many characters that are clearly meant to be/coded to be from certain places (like many characters are intended to be Japanese, Kabru is Indian, etc). And honestly, I think there are a few characters who could be seen as or intended to be black, but they all have very straight hair, which yes, black people can have, and it is of course okay to create all sorts of fantasy races with mixtures of appearances that don't appear in IRL humans commonly if at all. So I would have really liked to see black characters with textured/curly hair and black characters who are coded to have been from a specific country or countries or cultures in Africa or other areas with unique populations of black people.

[adarkrainbow]

I was about to say "I searched everywhere for it and couldn't find it", and then I just return here and saw the release date... Once again my silly brain just flew over the most important info X)

If you want a bit more info, one website specified that it wasn't just a sequel to "Hansel and Gretel" but also a rewrite of Little Snow-White ; and of "Snow-White and Rose-Red". In fact, you can clearly see the presence of these two fairytales in an excerpt that was revealed online and that is, if I am not uncorrect, located around the opening of the book. You can read it here

For even more info and teasing, the author gave a full interview about her upcoming book on Fantasy Hive. You can find the full interview here, but I'll place underneath some of my favorite passages:

Welcome to the Hive, Kell. Congratulations on your debut novel, After the Forest. Can you tell our readers all about it? What can they expect?  Thank you for having me! After the Forest is a historical fantasy for adults set in the seventeenth century Black Forest. It picks up the Hansel & Gretel fairy tale fifteen years after the story ended. Both Hans and Greta are struggling – the brutal Thirty Years’ War has just come to an end, and their childhood experience with the witch in the forest still haunts them. Hans is selfish and reckless, and Greta supports them both by selling her famous – and deliciously addictive – gingerbread, which she bakes with the help of the grimoire she took from the witch’s house years before. However, in a village full of superstition, Greta’s red hair and her intoxicating gingerbread are a source of suspicion and gossip. When dark magic and wild beasts return to the woods, things get even worse. Greta discovers that her own power – magic she is still trying to understand – may be the only thing that can save her.  If it doesn’t kill her first.  Readers can expect history, fairytales, magic and witchery, as well as a love story and a good dash of darkness.    What drew you to writing about Hansel and Gretel from this perspective?  I really love fairy tale retellings set in real places and times. Books like Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier and Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth. Both those authors took fairy tales and fleshed them out, made them whole, in a completely captivating way. I think they were so good because they moved the fairy tale from a land of vague fantasy (somewhere far far away) to one that is more familiar. So when I started thinking about that – about making the fairy tale real – I began to ask myself questions about Hansel and Gretel. What would they be like as adults? Would their childhood experiences have changed them?  Imagine two kids who have recently lost their mother. Then, they’re abandoned in the woods by their father. They roam the forest for three days before a terrifying witch abducts them, locking Hansel up and making it clear that she intends to eat him. To save her brother, Gretel pushes the witch into her own oven, killing her.  This is some seriously dark stuff. And the more I thought about it, the more I wondered how the woodcutter could bring himself to abandon his children. And why the witch chose Hansel, not Gretel, for dinner. And how Gretel would have felt after that push. And whether any of them would have really been capable of living happily ever after.  Speaking of worlds, what kind of world is your story set in? Is it cosy, dark or maybe a blend of both? I think it’s a blend of both. Angela Slatter, one of my favourite writers, described After the Forest as being ‘as sweet as gingerbread and as dark as heart’s blood’. It has a certain domestic cosiness, but also some gory parts as well. Just like a fairy tale!  If you could be transported into any fairy tale, which would it be and why?  Hmmm, maybe ‘The Twelve Dancing Princesses’? There’s something appealing about sneaking out with your sisters at night and flitting through the forest until you come to an enchanted underground castle where you dance for so long you wear your shoes out. That sounds fun. (I imagine the enchanted castle would have some pretty enchanting canapés, too.) Do you have any other fairy tales you’re particularly fond of? Or that you’d write about?  I have a soft spot for Red Riding Hood. The older versions are so scary and dark. And I love The Six Swans. I could never write about that, though, as Juliet Marillier has already done it so perfectly in Daughter of the Forest. 

A very interesting fairytale retelling that focuses on the after story of Hansel and Gretal, now Hans and Greta, Greta begins preparations to bake a special gingerbread that will hopefully sell well. However, many unexpected things begin to happen.

This book is like a rollercoaster. At points, I was enthralled and at others, not so much. But I definitely wound up enjoying this! The creativity and strangeness of this tale won me over.

Out October 3, 2023!

Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher, for this Arc!!

[mightydyke]

I've been really into stories featuring monks as the main character recently. I played Pentiment this year and I'm reading The Name of the Rose. Plus I've loved The Secret of Kells since I was a child. Does anyone have any recommendations of good stories featuring monks, monasteries and/or nuns?

[bluecichlid]

Astrid Dane As the Master of the Veil

This post is putting the evidence together for my personal favorite Shades of Magic theory - that Astrid Dane is back in the new books as the Master of the Veil. It hit me hard on the first read, and on re-reads I've seen more. Nothing is conclusive, but here it is...

As far back as ADSOM, there are suggestions Astrid may come back.  

As much as he wanted to leave her there in the broken garden with her brother’s corpse, he couldn’t.  Magic, like everything, faded.  Spells were broken.  Astrid could be free again, one day.  And he couldn’t let that happen.  

Kell thinks he killed Astrid by shattering the stone statute, but Astrid was possessing someone in Red London when she died.  The first time Kell meets her, she is wearing the red pendant and already possessing Rhy, so we know she can act in White London without breaking the connection.  So when her body dies in White London, her spirit may have lived on in Red.  

Most of what we know about the Master of the Veil points to Oren Rosec as the only real viable candidate from the characters introduced in Threads.  From the White Rose, we know that he’s male, noble, and not Veskan (since the White Rose is Veskan and knows he’s not a native speaker).  He’s also a water magician, since he uses ice.  From Berras, we know he’s male, young, and has a claim to the throne (meaning Vestra). 

The only other young noblemen introduced in Threads are Hok, who is Vestran, and Nero, presumably Lady Nassaro’s missing son from Rhy’s wedding, who is a bone magician.  Oren is a water magician and he was in the brothel right before Alucard met the White Rose, and not long before she meets the Master of the Veil.

But Oren, by himself, is not a very interesting option.  Schwab doesn’t give him any real depth of character.  The only real point of interest in him is the mention of his sister in his conversation with Alucard.  

“Oh, Hanara?”  Oren waved his hand.  “She stayed with the estate.  She was the oldest, after all.”

Alucard’s attention snagged on that word.  Was.

Oren speaks of his sister as if she is dead, and doesn’t seem distressed.  Oren’s father was dying at Rhy’s wedding, five years before.  The Rosecs live in the far north.  So nobody is around and alive who knew the original Oren Rosec.

Then there is the Master’s meeting with the White Rose.  The language Schwab uses parallels the description of Astrid’s first appearance.

Kell’s POV from DSOM:  Astrid had draped herself over one of the two thrones… “  

Ciara’s POV in FTOP: She noticed the way he draped himself across the chair …

Kell in DSOM: ..her hand slid past the paper and closed around his wrist … lightning danced up Kell’s arm, followed almost instantly by pain.  

Ciara in FTOP: ... his hand closed around her wrist, his fingers burning cold.

Kell in DSOM: Kell did not realize she had risen from her seat until he felt her there beside him, running a finger down the silver buttons of his coat.  

Ciara in FTOP: …the Master of the Veil was right there, no longer behind the desk but in front of it, in front of her … [and later] It left an awful, eerie feeling, like his fingers sliding over her skin.

Schwab is too good and too creative a writer for this to be accidental.

Lila and Alucard together come to the conclusion that the Hand is not Arnesian.  

“Do you have no suspicions?”

“I have many-but that is all they are.”

“Care to share your strongest angle?”

“That for all their talk, they’re not Arnesian at all.”

Lila’s steps didn’t slow.  It had occurred to her already, of course.  “You think they’re being funded by a foreign power.”

“The best war is the one your enemy fights with itself.”

The Master relishes physical pleasure.  From Berras’s POV, he appears in the meeting at the Veil having just had sex, and bringing drinks. When Ezril doesn’t want hers, he drinks both.  This could be hedonism, or someone who came from a world of deprivation.

Then, there is a sadistic element to the Master:

Ciara: She flinched, but his grip tightened, seeming to enjoy her discomfort.  She’d handled enough patrons to recognize the ones who took pleasure in another’s pain.

Berras:  “We can say he fled, and left his family to the wolves.”  The humor in his voice was clear.  “I do wish I could be there. It is only so much fun to watch.”  He rolled his empty glass.  “I take it no one should be spared.”

Finally, there is the man at the door of the Veil when Lila, and then later Kell and Alucard, arrive.  

A host stood waiting to greet each guest as they arrived.   He was dressed head to toe in white: a fitted suit beneath a pale, pearl cloak …

White being particularly associated with the Danes.

The man seems to have been the one to have recognized Lila and alerted Berras that she was there.  Nobody else had a good opportunity to see her face because she put the mask on immediately after speaking to him.  Berras says she isn’t as anonymous as she was, so it could have been chance.  

But then man also seems to recognize Kell, and he behaves strangely.  

“Walk away,” said Kell softly, and perhaps the host caught the glint of his black eye, and guessed at the identity of Alucard’s companion, or perhaps he simply did not think it was worth dying for, because as soon as Kell withdrew the point of the knife, the host turned, and strode down the stairs, tearing off his mask and casting it into the bushes as he went.

Kell’s eyes don’t seem visible from the earlier description of his mask.  But Astrid would be able to recognise his voice.  And she’d have reason to avoid Kell, the one person in Red London who knows her well enough to realise it is her.

Finally, and bringing things back to the Doylian rather than Wastonian analysis, there is Holland.  In ACOL, he makes it very clear that he is mad that he does not get to have the chance to take revenge on the Danes.  There is unfinished business there.  Why did Schwab make such a point of it, when she knew Holland was going to die?  Just to rub our noses in the tragedy of Holland’s life?  But she’s said she always planned to come back to the world … if Astrid is still around, and so is Holland, then he has the chance to take her down.  

And Holland deserves nice things. 

[hearrtrender]

the way growing up reading has shaped my entire personality like I will always pick the blue drink or the blue cupcake for Percy, and I will always pick Daisies for Cordelia or think about Jules when I have pancakes or Matthew Fairchild when I read Oscar Wilde or when I see a violin I will always miss Jem Carstairs and when I smell roses I think of Kell Maresh and!!

[viking84chef]

Kedves Csaba!

Amint arról a visszatérítési igénybejelentő lapomból értesülni tetszett, az általam július 28-án igénybe vett 524-es számú vonattal a menetrend szerinti 1 óra 25 perc helyett 3 óra 50 perc alatt jutottam le Budapestről Mezőkövesd állomásra. További félórát töltöttem el az igénybejelentő lappal való baszakodással a máskülönben igen készséges pénztárosnő, H. Mónika társaságában. A vonatom 50 percet a pusztában állt, és ahelyett, hogy előre ment volna, hátrafelé indult tovább. Nem messze Szihalomtól, ahol tüzesen süt le a nyári nap sugára, az Önök édesanyja járt a fejemben. Emiatt szíves elnézését kérem.

Itt szeretném ugyanakkor tájékoztatni arról, hogy a Rose d’Or nevű luxushajó tankjába 130.000 liter gázolaj fér, ami mai áron 81.640.000 forintba kerül. Az én menetjegyem ára 2820 forint volt. Nem kell ahhoz az átalány-kártérítési szabályok nagy ismerőjének lenni, hogy kiszámoljuk, 28.950 db (azaz huszonnyolcezer-kilenszázötven) teljes árú Budapest-Mezőkövesd menetjegy árát tudnák ebből az összegből visszafizetni a károsultaknak.

705 (azaz hétszázöt) ki nem fizethető forint kártérítés jár ma Magyarországon egy 107 perces késésért.

Nem leszek szíves elnézni, hogy lopják az időmet, a pénzemet.

Azt kívánom Önöknek, hogy üljenek az idők végezetéig egy Füzesabony és Szihalom között veszteglő Inter City másodosztályú kocsijában egy nyugdíjas asszonnyal, aki Kassára igyekszik, hogy végre láthassa Rákóczi sírját. Ott rohadjanak meg abban a kocsiban az üzletszabályzatukkal együtt.

Márton

[purplebass]

if you were making birthday cakes for the ADSOM characters, what type would you make for each of them??

(scusa, una domanda davvero casuale, ma ci stavo pensando stamattina hahaha)

(Istg l'altro ieri pensavo ai compleanni di tutti lol perché pensavo come potrebbe festeggiare Kell il suo birthday anche se mancano mesi XD)

Okay, let's go! If you have more questions like this, please send bc I love thinking about this stuff :)

Kell is a summer boy, so I would make him a cake with a fruit from the season: peach. A sponge cake covered with whipped cream with slices of peach in it and all over it. I don't know why but peach makes me think about him because the skin of the peach is a bit rough but the fruit is really sweet and we put peach in white wine here so you also have the drink to go with it! haha Someone would have to help me because I am allergic to peaches unfortunately though aiuto

Lila's cake is a dark chocolate sponge cake with coffee flavored chantilly cream with dark chocolate icing with tiny coffee flavored chocolates on top. Alternatively, I believe she would love the black forest cake (dark chocolate sponge cake filled with cherries and whipped cream, soaked in cherry brandy). I usually pick the first cake for my birthday because I'm a coffee lover

I would make a vanilla cake for Holland. White sponge cake filled with vanilla and lemon with lemon flavored icing. It would probably have some white roses made of sugar pastry on it and some black sprinkles!

Rhy would get a red velvet cake because he would want to match with the cake, even though it's not a "royal" cake. He would want the red to match the one of the royal house. lol. I would also make a millefoglie cake with chantilly cream and strawberries because these colors remind me of the house of Maresh and they are perfect for autumn even though the strawberries would be hard to find 🤔 (o forse per lui no lol)

Alucard would have another cake with season fruit like Kell: plum crumble cake with almonds or nuts because I love plums and they make an excellent cake with short pastry. Berries also make a great alternative to plum

Now I want to eat cake haha also happy Easter if you celebrate!!! <3

[gauntletqueen]

Considering you love wolfwalkers have u seen The Breadwinner? It's made by the same animation studio & it's about the rise of Misogyny when the Taliban rose to power in Afghanistan, its rlly good.

I've had it downloaded for aaages, but keep forgetting to watch it. I've watched The Secret of Kells and Song of The Sea tons of times, which, together with Wolfwalkers, form the Irish Folklore trilogy, and loved those as well, so I really should watch Breadwinner.

[jiyura]

Venturing Graces Chapter preview ! For more go to Webtoon

https://www.webtoons.com/en/canvas/venturing-graces/cabbage-in-the-woods/viewer?title_no=936515&episode_no=5

[throne-for-queens]

Kells messed with a number of women that would be exposed or were already known for their racism, racial discrimination and bigotry. I bet it's small percentage compared to the total but still... Noah Cyrus, Paris Hilton, Camila Cabello, Amber Rose self hating ass, the list goes on. Now I really wanna see if somebody muster the audacity to defend them with all the evidence the public has, cause sometimes some anons on this blog (I think it's just one 2l2x), all they seem to want to do is defend the indefensibles.

I would like to think that no one would go out of their way to defend that, but I guess everyone can have peace in knowing that none of those relationships worked out.

[idolbound]

I think people likely do suspect Meredith might be a little 💅 you know?

Obviously some followers of the Chantry take up vows of chastity, though from what I've been reading, while templars aren't required to take said vows, they do require special permission to marry as they may be required to move to other Circles or to do the Chantry's bidding elsewhere. As it were, if a spouse can provide their own support (e.g., owning land, having a role in another organization like the City Guard [I think of Aveline and Wesley, as he was apparently a former templar]), then permission is granted. This process likely deters most templars from formally marrying, or even maintaining long-term relationships.

That said, it's evident that templars in Kirkwall frequent the Blooming Rose often enough that Meredith eventually orders a raid of the place to find out which of her knights have been paying for sex and 'ruining' the reputation of the Order and its Knight-Commander. Obviously this demonstrates that templars seek and pay for sex without commitment nor worry about an actual relationship.

But, I am also certain that templars do have relationships beyond the Order - and perhaps, also, within it, though this is obviously discouraged and likely to earn reprimand for engaging in activities that could be seen as distracting from their duties (and creating a conflict of interest / tension among the ranks).

Now, with that context in mind, let's get back to Meredith.

Of course, already in Act 1 people are terrified of Meredith, and those who serve her do not want to break rules or cross her. She too wouldn't have any interest in being involved with someone serving under her, though I'm sure there are speculations about her interests. After all, we know from World of Thedas vol 2 that, when she stormed the brothel, she came across a very naked, very erect Jethann and politely and quietly excused herself. I'm sure Jethann has talked about this incident and rumours have spread; either the Knight-Commander is indeed, just a paragon of her faith and upholding a strict vow of chastity, or she isn't interested in men. While not a common assertion, someone, somewhere has probably drunkenly theorized about it. Like all the other rumours about Meredith, I think this one would certainly be among them.

Additionally, and this is in the game itself, but if Hawke is male and 'flirtatiously' compliments Meredith, she shuts him down by saying "I do not wear this armour for how it looks" and all but rolls her eyes at him. If Hawke is female, she simply says nothing (again, likely that they forgot to record a line / chose not to), but sometimes actions speak louder than words!

Now, in my own personal headcanon, I believe that as a Knight-Templar, Meredith had to deal with her templar brothers finding her attractive and desiring her in that way, which in response, she had to assert over and over, her utter disinterest in them. Most of these boys and young men thought they were rejected because Meredith was so focused on her studies, but others really found it hard to believe she would reject them. Obviously, this started the rumour mill about Meredith, both among her own cohort and beyond; after all, she was already a contentious initiate, since she already had an 'in' to doing well in the Order ahead of her peers because she was Knight-Captain Kell's unofficial adoptive daughter. Her blatant rejections towards her fellow knights' advances only added to that, with speculations ranging from the fact she already had a secret lover outside of the Gallows, to the fact she simply preferred the company of the fairer sex.

While it was true that Meredith was intensely focused on her duties and becoming the best Templar she could be, she was well aware of her romantic interest and sexual attraction toward other women early on (likely around age 16-17). I think as a ward of the Chantry that Meredith likely developed some close, possibly homoerotic friendships with other girls who grew up alongside one another, but obviously as Meredith became a templar initiate and stayed in the barracks of the Gallows, some connections may have been lost over time.

As an adult and new Knight-Templar, I believe Meredith - young, tall, and handsome - did have numerous illicit affairs with Chantry Sisters over the years, including when she became Knight-Captain, but stopping when she became Knight-Commander. As I've discussed, Meredith is hypersexual and this affects her relationships, but during this time, because of her duties, she is never able to form a long-term romantic relationship, preferring short-lived and secretive sexual relations, hidden by the cover of nightfall and the shadows in the darkest corners of the Chantry. While she has always been hypervigilant about, well, just about everything (due to her PTSD), there have always been wandering eyes and listening ears that notice such things.

In the timeline of Kirkwall, as mentioned above, I don't think such a rumour would become known by Meredith as most people are frightened of her and wouldn't dare mention it, but I do think the templars who have known her since the beginning, and those who have perhaps seen or heard a little too much, might know about where her preferences lie. In Thedas, for the most part, it would seem that having same-sex attraction is not seen as inherently bad or evil, though according to Brother Gentivi, in some places it is considered a quirk of character or sometimes scandal if done indiscreetly , or it can be accepted provided a noble still contribute to procreation and reproducing heirs for bloodlines.

In this case, given Meredith's position as Knight-Commander, and the other actions (or inaction) she takes regarding the templar-mage conflict and ruling the city, people knowing her sexuality is truly just another piece of gossip shared over ale in Lowtown, though one that may invoke further judgement by some.

[verdantmeadows]

The Peony/Rose and Hop/Leon parallels... the fact that what their relationship was like was just how Leon affected Hop....... the fact that this could have happened to Hop and Leon, or maybe it would, but Hop is too young for us to know yet.... or maybe their relationship is saved from this, because Hop found his calling in Pokemon research.... Fuuuuck man

[heather123fan-blog]

medieval women week day 2: Favorite non-Queen or Queen-adjacent royal woman: Jacquetta of Luxembourg Duchess of Bedford and Mother to Queen Elizabeth Woodville

Jacquetta of Luxembourg was the eldest child of the French Count of St Pol; her family descended from Charlemagne and were cousins to the Holy Roman Emperor. She grew up with war between France and England raging around her.

John, Duke of Bedford was the youngest son of King Henry IV. Having lost his wife to plague in 1432, he arranged to marry the seventeen-year-old Jacquetta, who was his social equal by her birth. Although married for two years they were childless when John died in September 1435. The King instructed Jacquetta to come to England and ordered Sir Richard Woodville, to arrange it.

However, Jacquetta and Richard fell in love, but Richard was a poor knight, far below Jacquetta in social status. Nonetheless, they married secretly thus thwarting any plans King Henry may have had to marry her off to a wealthy English lord. Theirs was a morganatic marriage, where one of the partners, most often the wife, was socially inferior. Henry was enraged and fined the couple £1000. He did however allow their heirs to inherit, which was unusual for morganatic marriages in England.

Being the widow of Henry V’s brother and aunt to the King, royal protocol gave Jacquetta the highest rank at court of any female except Henry’s wife, Margaret of Anjou, to whom Jacquetta was related by marriage. She even ‘outranked’ the King’s mother and was referred to as the ‘Duchess of Bedford,’ retaining the title from her first marriage. Richard and Jacquetta lived in their manor house at Grafton Regis near Northampton producing fourteen children, the eldest, Elizabeth being born in 1437.

In 1448 Richard was created Lord Rivers: his advancement ensured his family supported Henry VI in the dynastic feuding of the Wars of the Roses. The situation changed with the Yorkist victory at the Battle of Towton in 1461 and the seizure of the throne by Edward IV. By the spring of 1464, Jacquetta’s daughter Elizabeth was a widow, her Lancastrian husband having been killed in 1461. Within a few months, Elizabeth was married to the young King Edward IV.

Jacquetta died in 1472 aged 56 and was buried at Grafton, though no record of her tomb survives. Recently, one legacy has come to light. Research by gene specialists indicates that Jacquetta was a carrier of the rare Kell-Antigen-Mcleod syndrome causing impaired fertility and psychotic behavioural changes in the male descendants of the family.

Written by Michael Long. I have over 30 years experience teaching History in schools and examiner History to A level. My specialist area is England in the 15th and 16th centuries. I am now a freelance writer and historian.