#Yorkist aesthetic

[henryfitzempress]

Favourite medieval princesses (1/?):

Mary of York, daughter of King Edward of England. (1467-1482)

[bythequeenmargaret]

@wonder-worker This brought something to mind that I had buried away for the longest. I am, unfortunately, quite active in the history community on Instagram, which by all means should not exist. I've described it as being for people who like the aesthetic of being into history, but plug their ears and throw hissy fits when it's actually time to start reading. Anyways, complaining aside, when I first found this letter I showed it off to some friends since, naturally, I was pretty proud of myself for it. In the group chat though there was this really argumentative person who always had to go opposite of everything I said. They claimed to know nothing about the Wars of the Roses, but at the same time called themself a Yorkist and constantly fought me whenever I brought up anything WOTR related, I guess just for the sake of being contrarian ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯.

So I showed the letter, said a few things about how the depiction of Edward as being some sort of "monster" pisses me off, and underlined the "that you may see how good a writer I am" part because that is genuinely heart melting. And of course this person picks a fight with me because why not, and I swear they were doing everything in their power to defend that horrendous misreading of Edward's character while also trying to make me out to be the uneducated one? I don't know that shit was trippy as Hell, and lowkey why I don't fuck with just anyone nowadays.

I found this by complete chance here around a year ago before promptly proceeding to lose it like a dumbass when I got a new phone. I rediscovered it while going through some old messages with a friend, so I'm posting it here for posterity.

"Written at Saint Michael, in bare, with my own hand, that you may see how good a writer I am." is especially adorable.

[testudoaubrei-blog]

TFW one of the scholars whose work most inspires you describes the aesthetic of your DND Oath of the Ancients Paladin perfectly.

"The conceptual apogee of the English Style must be the form it took in the period 1465-1485, under the rule of the Yorkist Kings. During these 20 or so years, we may regard the English style as having reached its idiosyncratic extreme, it's vegetal, organic forms in full bloom, its wearers assuming the appearance almost of 'green men' rendered in steel, or armoured wildmen of the woods, wrapped in vines and roots and wreathed in leaves and flower blossoms." - Dr Tobias Capwell, 2021

[lady-plantagenet]

What hasn’t already been said: The Spanish Princess 2

Episode 2: SOdden (or Sod ‘Em depending on your persuasion)

(Dont know how long I’ll be able to keep these puns up)

Catherine, like this woman, does not really fit into this era. But while this woman seems dropdead cool and at least looks the part, Catherine just...

To all those of you keen enough to have come back for another segment of ‘what hasn’t already been said: TSP’, as opposed to have just been scrolling when you see this - welcome back! (Scrollers you too <3)

To anyone who’s seeing this for the first time: what this is a list of observations, jokes, reactions and criticism which occur to me upon a rewatch. I wait every week until Saturday to do this so that I have had my fill of scrolling through the tag and aggregating what has already been said. I tried doing a whole spoof (here where I gave up 10% in) but tbh a) I don’t know the history well enough b) it’s more time consuming than I thought and c) this series is just not as funny or as crazy as TWQ, so it’s untenable. Having said that: This is not a hatepost. I���m not hatewatching this series and nitpicking on purpose but expressing my honest views and trying to find the good in it as well as the bad.

Without further ado...

First Scenes:

The baby cloth lifting into the ceiling of the chapel had nice ‘myth of the demon countess of Anjou (ancestress of the Plantagenets)’ vibes. I am 100% that was unintentional. I get this impression by the cringiness of the baby’s screams (what’s up with those sound effects? It sounded like a zipper).

Henry gives me such softboi vibes? It’s pleasing to me because it’s making me attracted to him as a viewer, but no good in convincing me this is Henry VIII.

I think Catherine’s exposition about how she feels is pretty ok actually, it’s fitting that she would feel anger.

CHARLES’ FATHER IS NOT MAXIMILIAN, IT’S PHILIP (or rather it was). ~~ A quick wiki search guyz, a quick wiki search. Ughh

Again with the whole everyone acting like Catherine is Queen. Can they cut it out? Also while we’re at it, what was Catherine’s attendance in councils even like?

The music was nice

Post Child announcement phase:

Oof I hate to say it but I lowkey wanted de la Pole back in this mother. Mainly because it would mean more Margaret Pole and by this point I am scared her storyline will fade in prominence now that there’s no longer a Yorkist subplot (showhorned as it was, it was the crowning glory of last season tied with Arthur x Catherine).

More x Maggie Pole and all of it over Seneca and learning :’). I already know this will be the best part of the episode.

‘We certainly know stoicism in our family’ ~ I guess she’s referring to Reggie? Because our boi Clarence was no poster boy for stoicism. Though could she be making an ironic reference to her father~?

Edmund de la Pole Debacle:

Well this convo at least passed the bechdel test.

Maggie and Edmund’s interactions here are touching. I know this plotline was rushed but I think it was just right to bring us back here for 5 min as a mournful throwback to the bygone era to which Maggie Pope belongs to and now continues to do so alone. It is emotionless and you can just feel how the York cause was hanging on by a tired old threat by that point.

Maggie Pole is becoming matronly now and I like this transition.

What bothers me about a lot of fans of Margaret Pole is that what they don’t realise is that she wasn’t all like ‘I want nothing to do with my family I’ll stay low and obscure’. While far more cautious than the likes of her ancestors, she did engage in land disputes with Henry VIII and was an outspoken supporter of Catherine and Catholic. Having her be a woman woth dubious loyalties towards the Tudors is accurate.

Scotland with Meg and Jammes:

LMFAO it’s like they read my mind when I spoke of how much I laughed when Meg was like ‘Alexander Steward you pig!1!!’ last episode.

Nice reference to Aulde Alliance

I like James.

Henry and Catherine on the balcony:

Was she commander of the forces? Was Howard appointed that? Regent she was, ok.

Charlotte Hope’s new hairstyles really suit her!

‘Will you please stop cursing’ agahsjdk ahah

No offence to women (of which I am one) but this comparison between childbirth and war is just... wrong. I know Starz think they are being smart but childbirth is far less impressive than winning or surviving a battle - comparing the two diminishes the bravery of soldiers. YET ,having said that, childbirth is necessary for our society whereas war is almost always futile and by comparing them, it wrongly represents violence as something inherently as natural to us as birth and continuing of civilisation. overall not a smart, respectful or accurate parrallel to make.

Meg and prep for invasion + Catherine in her weird armour:

So Margaret dreams that her husband is dead and bloody in her bed. Ughh show you neeed to get more creative. But I did like the whole ‘dreams are how our ancestors talk to us’ line from Angus Douglas.

Re: Meg in her beret... Why is Meg dressed like me going to the London shops in October? Digging the aesthetic but not sure about the accuracy.

Rich of Catherine to bring up Edmund.

Why is Ursula Pole crying??? What is all this to her really?

Did Howard just call the guard... sonny?? Is this some WW2 crossover?

Catherine - James and the tent parlay:

Did Catherine just insult Meg’s intelligence??

Also lmao I’m going to miss James.

Re: Howard saying ‘I’m not going to get insulted by a man wearing a dress’ .. UMMM Starz, you do know that just thirty years ago men were prancing about in dresses and leggings (essentially). From around the middle of the 14th century to the beggining of 16th century (if not earlier), Englishmen were also essentially prancing about in ‘skirts’.

Am I getting a weird cooperation-partnership vibe between Meg and James?

The Battle:

Charlotte Hope looks so good with the helmet, she’d really suit an english hood! Such a shame they won’t give her one!

Ewwww he’s eating mud, why?

Just standard battle scene. They are all the same to me no matter which movie.

Aftermath:

Jesus, I find the whole Meg crying over James IV so heartfelt ‘you arrogant bastard’ for some reason just came out so full of emotion. Can someone please explain why the hell I ship them more than Henry x Catherine?? Like how ??

Awwww Linna is sooooo adorable ughhh. Also this whole Catherine going into armour among all the women crooning over the children gives this adorable sense of Catherine boyish and bloodying herself out to protect their peace, idk. All I have to say is that these series is less eager to pitt women against each other than the previous. I think that’s a step forwards.

Also, good to see Catherine being modest about her victory so Henry can save face. Finally starting to seem like the real Catherine.

‘Go on you dog’ arghh ahah he sounds like some public school rugby lad egging his mate on.

Re: Wolsey cock-blocker; the real Catherine would know it was uncatholic to have sex when you were pregnant. Also Catherine is not technically speaking in confinement if she’s wandering about.

It’s nice to see Catherine sticking up for Howard, she at least learned to respect him during the battle.

I foresee Oviedo having enough of this Christian stuff and wanting to return to the berber domains (I suppose Spain is out of the question)

Knighting Ceremony:

Apparently Margaret Pole herself was made Countess of Salisbury during this same ceremony... right? @houseofclarence

Also Maggie Pole being like: “being a rebel is in my blood, or so they tell me”... gahhh what’s with these shows and the Clarence erasure? Can’t they make one bloody reference to her dad or grandad Warwick? Ugh. Especially with lines like this. Actually? You know what? Ignore my previous comment about the stoic remark and it being an ironic reference to Clarence. I put such subtlety above this show’s writers.

Catherine has a habit of going to the coldest places possible to lose her children...

Haha @ Henry asking Bessie Blount (of all people) where Catherine is.

Conclusion:

6/10

What I’m happiest about is that Flodden got dealt with in one episode because warrior xena Catherine is not what interests me most about this show. Having said that, it was a true shame that James IV died because his were some of the best scenes. This whole show is starting to feel so historical fantasy-ish because the aesthetics are so confused. Granted it’s still pretty (not eyesore like Reign) but it doesn’t penetrate.

I am as always invested in the Poles (and More) but am also starting to get attached to Princess Mary whose actress exudes plenty of charm. This show remains confused with its feminist message because while it shows women being proactive there is so much emphasis on babies that what remains with the mind after watching is this womanish birthdrama, as opposed to a show about struggles which affect both genders.

You might tut at me and say I’m being ridiculous and that it is historically accurate to put so much emphasis on women’s babies and I say that’s swell. I would happily watch a show where that element is strong (most pre 1995 historical dramas are like that with traditionally feminine characters and I gulp them up like sustenance), but if a show promises feminism and women-men being partners I want it to deliver that properly. As I said in my previous post, why do we keep trying to make women engage in acts like war as if such an abhorrent act is the only way to take them seriously? I await the day where cunning, rationality and cool-headedness will be the traits portrayed as feminist ones.

There is nothing else to really comment on... the only potentially deeper message in this is the gender discourse. I am unsure about the accuracy so I can’t speak of the historical value of the interpretation. But what I will say is that though I remain excited for each new episode... I’m just not as invested as I was in TWQ (rewatch every year dont @ me) or TWP despite their many flaws. Some characters pull me in eg Maggie Pole (Carmichael is a bae), Thomas More etc but not the whole cast like TWQ. Anyway... would be interesting to see if anything happens with Lina and Oviedo tommorow as their storyline is conspicuously slow.

[rainsofcastawere]

THE WHITE PRINCESS: Review

I’ve been waiting forever to made this review about the first and maybe only season of The White Princess and it’s finally time, yaay. Nothing has been confirmed yet, but I don’t think they’ll make another one, guys. Otherwise they wouldn’t have skiped seven years and God forbid that they plan doing a series about The Constant Princess, I don’t wanna see my Henry being even more murdered by this wretched “modern historians”, argh. Anyway, let’s go!

I’m gonna start saying that Emma Frost doesn’t deserve the cast of TWP. I mean... Since the first moment I was stunned by the actors talent and quality the show has, if only fallen in the right hands it could’ve been a great and historic accurate sucess. Dawn you, EF! Although most people may disagree, I like this cast best than the other one from The White Queen, especially for EoY and MB (I will never forgive what was done to her, btw). Jacob Collins-Levy and Jodie Comer, God bless you both!

Moving on... I don't have all the issue great part of the historical fans had with clothes or location. It's really hard if not impossible to things look like they did back then and I kinda liked most of the wardrobe, especially Henry's. My only complain is in the continuous repetition of clothing for Lizzie and Henry. Dear Lord, it had me distressed in the whole season. Why couldn't they just change a little bit? Okay, it was middle age and all, but... Could they just variate a little more? They were King and Queen, after all. Sometimes I just had the impression they did everything in the same day. In episode two Lizze spend months while Henry was on progress with the very same dress, it gave me the chills. Other thing that bothered me was the throne, couldn't they just match when Lizzie's were beside? In this last episode there was a scene where it matched and it was so more pleasing. If they had both thrones why go with all the trouble?

When they announced The White Princess was really coming, I didn't have any expectations bc I've read the books and it was so trash, garbish really. I would only watch for fanmade and fanservice purposes since there's so little on screen things about Henry VII and with the quality of nowadays... Almost none. Happily, they changed a lot from that excuse of a book, but with EF having the power to change SO MUCH I don’t quite understand why she go though with the rape scene (it was a rape scene), it burdens me so much to know it could be so different if she hadn’t lied about the way they filmed. It troubles me to wonder if she does think that wasn’t rape. Instead of change that, she made MB murder Jasper Tudor. Say what you will of PG, but at least she never did that, right? Despite of it, I find myself enjoying the show even if it did made me frinkle and wanting to kill EF and PG sometimes. 

There were priceless moments and I will cherish and rewatch it everyday with all of my heart. Pretty much all the scenes with little Arthur and little Harry, I loved those boys and the fact they give them a little personality, it wasn’t like they were just there. And I have so much fun with the “hints” they give about Henry VIII, lmao. They could’ve shown a little more of Margaret and MARY too! I never forgave The Tudors for “exclude” her, I will do the same to TWP. Henry and Lizzie acting lovey-dovey was soooo *heart eyes emoji*, I really loved it. Essie Davis were also a blessing, so sassy and funny. I also adored that that EoY were a lot more active as a Queen then in the books and even a little more than in real life. The scene when she goes after the army and bring it back to Henry was AMAZING!

Only that in contrast of that they changed Henry too and not in a good way, unfortunately. It made me so angry to see Henry portrayed as a useless King who did pretty much nothing during the entire series politically speaking. It was all his mother and his wife, seriously. It pained my heart because Henry VII were a very smart, cautious, able business man and King. Also, what the hell they did to Cecily? She’s not that boring mean girl even in the books, she’s so friendly to Lizzie. I hated they changed that! And they sold it as a feminist show, lol.

Alright, what really bothered me during the whole show was the Yorkist af thing. It was painful to watch and disgraceful. Henry was paranoid, yes. As he should as the first King of a new dinasty who took place after another very beloved one, but he wasn’t SO HATRED BY EVERYONE nor ALONE IN EUROPE. Some self-pity moments were exagerated and beautifully played, it made me so sad to see it and at the same time so in awe to watch Jacob acting on it. The same is worth for Maggie, my heart ached for her and poor Teddy, so I will pretend she wasn’t in the season finale’s episode. I won’t say a word about Perkin!Richard tho, I don’t have the stomach for it, sorry.

I made a list of the highlights good and bad things on show as well just to make it shorter and don’t prolongue myself even more in the subject:

Aesthetically beautiful even if there were A LOT of dark scenes when it was day, but the lack of light can be ignored with time. The change of scenes was cool for me, but the coronation scenes... It should’ve been more long at least, it were just seconds and I was so disappointed.

The cast is AMAZING, REALLY. No bad things to say about anyone, it’s perfect and highly talented. IF ONLY THEY HAD BEEN IN THE RIGHT HANDS!

Some hypocritical moments and complete change of personality got me really annoyed in some moments. Like Margaret in the last episode and Lizzie with the whole “hidden and patient” thing, it didn’t go for very long and became a lost plot.

It’s a good distraction for period dramas fans, the inaccuracy can be laughable or disgusting, but if you chose to close your eyes and pretend you’re in a nightmare and create a fanfic in your head to change that, it will do.

The kids! They were so cute and I loved every scene with them, I only regret they skipped 7 years and didn’t show anything about Elizabeth or Mary. 

They left the Henry/Catty Gordon thing open to interpretation, they should’ve done that with Perkin and instead they confirmed he was really Richard.

Jasper Tudor was a delight, I loved his scenes on episode 3 when he goes to Burgundy, the development of his character there was very nice, the end of that scene and the waste of it afterwords... Not so much.

Portrayal of Henry VII by Jacob Collins-Levy. The mix and complexity presented was just the way I imagined, he didn’t had to say a word for you to understand what was going on, his eyes talked for him. But the lack of Kingly!Henry... No, they made him weak and violent (?) in it’s place, the writers fault, of course.

Elizabeth Woodville was really fun in her quarells with Margaret, but the fact that she defied Henry in open court and nothing really happened to her was so unrealistic and dumb for a clever woman like her.

The relationship between Lizzie and Henry did save the episodes, it was the best thing of the show and Jacob and Jodie have a lot of chemistry. But even book!Lizzie said “I love you” to Henry once, and this one didn’t.

Okay, guys. I will bid my farewell here or it will be too long and boring to read, sorry. I had a really great fun watching it, fulfill the ache I had for more Tudor stuff (even if it was a Yorkist show most of the time) and period dramas. I recommend it as a good pastime and i’ll give and 7,5 for the whole tv show in general. What are your thoughts? My inbox are always open to discuss about it as well, bye!

[autodidact-adventures]

Olympic History (Part 1): Europe and the Ancient Olympics

Baron de Coubertin's 1892 speech was what led to the establishment of the modern Olympic Games, beginning in 1896.  But it wasn't the first time someone had suggested it.  In 1833, Panagiotis Soutsos, a Greek nationalist, published Dialogues of the Dead, in which the ghost of Plato spoke to the Greek nation, which had recently gained its independence from the Ottoman Empire.

Where are all your theatres and marble statues?

Where are your Olympic Games?

Soutsos wrote to the Minister of the Interior, suggesting that they revive the ancient Olympics and hold them every four years, with four rotating host cities – Athens (the new capital), Tripoli (in the heart of the Peloponnese), Messolongi (a resistance stronghold during the war), and the island of Hydra (which had provided naval forces that had been essential in fighting the Turks).  Olympia was not an option – it was a ruin, with only a few walls and columns left, and covered up in silt.

For the last three centuries, European had been reinterpreting and reimaging the ancient Olympics, in various forms and for various causes, using its imagery and language and even staging their own Olympic Games.  Soutsos' idea was tied to the Greek nationalist cause, but there were many others.  Soutsos, however, was the first to call for an actual revival of the games, and Coubertin was the one who made it happen.

The usual history of the Games says that the Roman Emperor Theodosius I banned the games in 392 AD by an edict.  Over the next two centuries, Olympia was destroyed by fire and neglect.  In the 400's and 500's, earthquakes and river flooding broke down most of the site, and buried it deep in alluvial silt.  The remains of the buildings were scavenged for stone, and the metal braces & dowels that held the columns together.

However, Theodosius' real target was pagan practices, in particular Rome's old polytheistic state religion, with its temples, sanctuaries and oracles, and its offerings & sacrifices to the gods.  His edict was not fully enforced, as the army was dealing with a civil war, and also a border war with the Goths.

So the Games probably continued on a lower level, and gradually petered out, due to the hostility to its religious practices & associations.  A Byzantine historian called Lucian (date unknown) wrote, “The Olympic Games...existed for a long time until Theodosius the younger, who was the son of Arcadius.”  This suggests that the Olympics finally ceased under Theodosius II, around 436 AD.

George Kedrenos (1000's Byzantine chronicler) says that the huge gold & ivory statue of Zeus had been taken from its temple at Olympia to the palace of Lausas (in Constantinople), and was destroyed in a huge urban fire around 475 AD.  By then, the Olympian cult was already dead.  Lucian continued, “After the temple of Olympian Zeus had been burnt down, the festival of the Eleans and Olympic contest were abandoned.”

Earthquakes and river flooding in the mid-500's finished it off. However, recent analysis of sediments suggests that tsunamis sent massive waves up the Kladeos River (which runs past the sanctuary). The silts are too thick to have been caused by the river alone, and marine micro-organisms have been found in them.

In the 1500's AD, translations and editions of Greek & Roman texts began to become more widely available in Europe.  For example, in England, in the last quarter of the century, translations of Homer's Iliad, Plutarch's Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans, and Herodotus' Histories were made.

The Iliad gave an account of Patroclus' funeral games at the wall of Troy, showing that athletics could be a sacred rite.  Plutarch's Lives told of Alexander the Great's Olympic career.  Herodotus wrote in his Histories that Olympic champions received glory, but not cash prizes: the Persians cry: “Mardonius, what kind of men are these that you have pitted us against?  It is not for money they content but for glory of achievement!”

Later on, Pausanias' Description of Greece gave detailed first-hand accounts of Olympia and the Olympic Games.  (Pausanias was a geographer during the 100's BC.)  “Many are the sights to bee seen in Greece, and many are the wonders to be heard; but on nothing does Heaven bestow more care than on the Eleusinian rites and the Olympic games.”  Europeans at this time didn't quite know why the Olympic Games were held, or exactly why there so important, but they did know that they were extremely important.

This is shown in two of Shakespeare's plays.  In Henry VI, Part 3 (1591/1592), Prince George is trying to rally his Yorkist troops:

And, if we thrive, promise them such rewards

As victors wear at the Olympian games.

In Troilus and Cressida (1602), the elderly Greek Prince Nestor is describing his Trojan rival Hector in battle:

And I have seen thee pause, and take thy breath,

When that a ring of Greeks have hemm'd thee in,

Like an Olympian wrestling.

Michael Drayton (1563-1631) was one of 33 contributors to Anallia Dubrensia (published 1636), a collection celebrating Robert Dover's Cotswold Games.  He hailed Dover as the “great inventor and champion of the English olimpicks.”

Dover was born in Norfolk in 1582, as part of the Catholic gentry.  England was under the rule of the Protestant Elizabeth I (died 1603).  He was educated at Cambridge, and practised law at Gray's Inn at London for a while.  Then he retreated to his small country estate.

He began the Cotswold Games in 1612. They were held in the natural amphitheatre formed by Dover Hill in Chipping Camden (west England), as an act of local patronage and national politics.  Although rural contests & fairs were very common at the time, with local patrons quietly supporting them, the Cotsworld Games were much larger.

There were sports and contests with cash prizes, but also feasting, dancing, games and gambling.  A fake castle was set up on the hill, where a large crowd would gather to watch horse-racing, hare-coursing, wresting & shin-kicking, stick-fighting, and hammer-throwing.

A woodcut of the Cotswold Olimpick Games, originally published on the cover of Anallia Dubrensia (Annals of Dover).  Dover is on horseback, holding a wand.

Dover would introduce the games dressed in the cast-off clothes of King James I (reigned 1603-25), as a deliberate celebration of his rule, and his attitudes towards popular pastimes and games.  This was a very political act, as puritanical, harsh forms of Protestantism were steadily rising, and they opposed this sort of thing.  By the 1630's, puritan landlords & gentry were banning fairs and games on their lands, and closing down rural fairs.

In 1642, the English Civil War broke out, and in 1645 the Puritan Roundheads defeated the Royalists. Dover died in 1652, and the Cotswold Games stopped.  When the monarchy was restored in 1660, they were revived, but the olympick reference was gone, and they were “just another country drunken festival”, even though they remained popular and enthusiastic.

Olympia still had a place in Europe's literary imagination and popular culture.  In 1667, John Milton published the first edition of Paradise Lost, in which he described the flight of Satan's hordes as:

Part on the plain, or in the air sublime,

Upon the wing, or in swift race contend,

As at th' Olympian games on Pythian fields...

The French philosopher Voltaire visited England for a short time in the early 1700's.  He wrote about a sporting festival on the banks of the Thames, “I fancied that I had been transported to the Olympic games.”

Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805) was a German polymath during the Enlightenment era.  In his Aesthetic Essays, he used the ancient Olympics as an example of “play as an element of the beautiful”.

In 1786, a “burlesque imitation” of the Olympic Games was held, with women competing to have the ugliest smile.  They were “placed on a platform, with horses' collars to exhibit through”, and over their heads was painted: “The uglies grinner shall be the winner.”  The prize was a “gold-laced hat”.

In 1794, The Times reported a chariot race at Newmarket (Suffolk), between Nanny Hodges and Lady Lads, with a prize of 500 guineas.  It was described as “something like a revival of the Olympic Games to supply the turf gentry and the rapid decay of horse-racing.”

Of course, these last two examples were nothing like the ancient Olympics, and there was more information about them by this time.  Gilbert West's Dissertation on the Olympick Games (1749) and Jean-Jacques Barthélemy's Traels of Anacharsis the younger in Greece (1778) were the two best accounts, and were based on a far more scholarly reading of the ancient sources.  But popular usage & culture didn't care much about that.

For the next half-century, popular knowledge of the Olympics came more from the circus than ancient sources.  Even into the 1850's, Olympic spectaculars and re-creations on horseback were performed – Pablo Fanque's travelling Circus Royal (Britain), Madam Macarte's Magic Ring and Grand Equestrian Establishment (Edinburgh), and Franconni's Hippodrome (New York), for example.

Pablo Fanque was the first black British circus-owner.  His “unrivalled equestrian troupe” offered “new and novel features in the Olympian Games.”  Posters for Madam Macarte's circus stated that “the Extraordinary Evolutions of the Gymnastic Professors will forcibly recall to the Classical mind the old Olympian Games.”

Pablo Fanque (born William Darby).

Pablo Fanque at Astley’s Amphitheatre (1847).

The most ambitious Olympic revivalist was Colonel Charles Random, but he was also the least successful.  He came from uncertain social origins, and had an even more uncertain military career.  He bought the extensive grounds of Cremorne House in Chelsea (western London), and in 1831 created “the stadium” – its full title was “The British National Arena for Manly and Defensive Exercises, Equestrian, Chivalric, and Aquatic Games, and Skilful Amusing Pastimes.”

In 1832, he proposed the staging of his own Olympic Games, and again in 1838 (to celebrate Queen Victoria's coronation).  But nothing came of it.  For the next few decades, the stadium was used for the fairs and spectaculars which were the norm for a slightly risqué Victorian pleasure garden.

[heartofstanding]

LOL. I suspect that if Catherine was pregnant with Edmund Beaufort’s baby, Humphrey Duke of Gloucester and a few others might hit the roof but it’d probably end up OK because Edmund would be protected by his powerful family and they wouldn’t want a huge, public scandal getting out. I’ve notice that a lot of the more deluded Ricardians/Yorkists get really focused on elitism and descent - they’re obsessed with proving that Edward IV wasn’t really married to Elizabeth Woodville therefore their children are illegitimate or that Edmund Tudor was actually a Beaufort and Margaret Beaufort a Swynford so they’re not really legitimate either. And then there’s the obsession with how the descendants of Lionel, Duke of Clarence outrank the descendants of John of Gaunt and how Henry IV was a filthy usurper (and, yeah, he was, but he had almost unanimous  support when he claimed the throne and no one wanted a child-king after Richard II). While this would be important to a medieval person, we shouldn’t rely on blood as the most important factor in picking a king.

I really don’t get it either. Like, generally when I read bad historical fiction there’s something I can get out of it and this was just... dull. I suspect some people will like the treatment of Philippa of Lancaster and Catherine de Valois for their 1 minute of combined screentime but, like, even taking into consideration that Henry V did not have a great many relationships with women, I can name eight extra women, both from history and the plays, he would have interacted with that were alive during this time? Although, to be fair, most of them are older women so I guess they don’t exist and their stories aren’t worth telling. And also, how come everyone except Henry V and the bishops looked like they were rolling around in shit? 

(I found an article about the hair-styles and God, kill me: “ In the Middle Ages, the hair designer explains, concepts of beauty and vanity didn’t exist; men and women followed the aesthetic lead of the church. A bowl cut was noble insomuch as it was expected, traditional attire.” Are they really this fucking stupid?)

@nuingiliath​

Seriously?! Jesus Christ. At least if O’Brien had paired it with Catherine’s neglect-filled, trauma-filled childhood (which probably wasn’t that bad in reality), it would’ve made sense in a “well, they barely remembered to feed her, why would they educate her?” way. But nope, for some reason, they just didn’t care that Catherine de Valois, likely future queen of England, didn’t know how to read because she was a girl. LOLWUT. Eleanor Cobham very likely could read (possibly not in French or Latin, but still) and she was well below Catherine’s status.

Honestly, it’s all so stupid. Catherine gets told as a child that Englishmen have tails because they’re evil (by a nun in the convent she’s raised in, no less) and then she’s so stupidly innocent on her wedding night she just straight out asks Henry V if he has a tail. I’ll never know why he doesn’t immediately the marriage annulled because she’s clearly an idiot and not suited to be queen at all? Most Catherine novels seem to be leaning heavily towards the romance novel so I think that’s something to do with it too? They go hard on how tragic Catherine is - she’s got a tragic childhood, she’s got her evil mother pimping her out and then she marries Henry V (who may or may not be a decent husband), then he dies and Catherine is immediately forcibly separated from her son (I think she was with him until he was about 8? So normal medieval procedure, then) and no one lets her get involved in politics or shag Edmund Beaufort… so Owen turns up not so much to be a character but her reward for suffering so much. So he ends up being anything you’d want in a romantic hero except interesting.

Maybe Edward IV was the original Weird Pasty English Guy That Women Go Nuts Over? (Now it’s Richard III). I watched a clip they did of the history behind The King (I’m still yet to watch the movie itself) and they talked about the arrow-wound and it’s not even in the film? WHAT. Honestly, I’m forever disappointed that we never get any actual arrow-wound in any Shakespeare adaptations. And how the fuck can you do Agincourt without any arrows?! What is the fucking point.

I finally decided to transfer our convo to new post to avoid eye torture lol.

It’s only part of her “trauma-filled childhood” insofar as her mother neglects to educate her because she is neglectful in general. I actually scrolled through The Forbidden Queen ebook again to see if I remembered it correctly and while Catherine isn’t 100% illiterate, she “struggles” to read and write. Then there’s this passage:

“Does she read? Write?” “Not that I am aware.” “She must be taught.” “Is it necessary? Such skills are irrelevant for her future role, and I doubt she has the mental capacity to learn. Look at her.” The Queen was cruel in her contempt as I snivelled in terror, wiping my face on my sleeve. “She will be wed for her blood, not for her ability to wield a pen.”

BAHAHAHA. A lot of these novels go so overboard on the pathos too. I’ve lost track of how many novels have Catherine starving and wandering around in rags, being ignored by Henry V, having Henry VI ripped out of her arms by his evil guardians etc. Like, is it really so hard to feel sorry for someone who had an insane father, was widowed at 21 and legally prevented from remarrying? And Owen Tudor is literally just a plot device half the time and any semblance of personality he’s given is pretty repulsive (Jarman pls).

The King is alright as a movie but it is an absolute HISTORICAL CLUSTERFUCK. It might as well have been a straight-up fantasy movie about High King Frodo, Fifth of his Name because that’s how little it resembles history or Henry V or the Shakespeare plays, for that matter. I don’t know if I should recommend it to you because you might lose your shit (I know I did). SPOILERS obviously but don’t say I didn’t try to warn you.

Keep reading

[mikeswheeler]

I was tagged by the lovely @finnxwheeler​ and @jewishstanuris​ ♡

Okay so answer the questions and then tag 8 people!

What made you sign up to Tumblr? HOOO BOI well i’ve been on this site for,,, a long time lmao i signed up with my first account aka my main, personal one in around early 2011 ??? and it was honestly just bc i wanted to see what this site was all about bc i kept hearing ppl talk about it on other sites and reference it and i was like ???? what is Tumblr anyways ?? (like it was all bc of that “What is air?” stuff that was happening and i was so confused bc i was like why is everyone asking about air and then my older brother was like oh it’s a Tumblr thing so i was like what’s that and well,, the rest is history)

What did your blog start off as being? WELL my first account was basically cringe-central, like this was in 2011 so my content was basically Memes and Tumblr-esque inspirational quotes and cheesy, basic lookin’ photography (i was also really into anime and Harry Potter at the time so that was another thing) (oh and for some reason i had a Lolita phase where i was super into that style of fashion) (i was a weeb as a child)

Have you ever received any creepy asks, and if so, what did they say? Ehhhhhh,,, kind of ??? like i’ve definitely gotten a couple that i either wanted to deflect or i just kind of conveniently deleted it from my inbox and pretended it never happened lmao 

Have you ever had a bad experience on Tumblr? All the pornbots like it’S SO ANNOYING ??? AND GROSS ?? it’s especially apparent on my personal blog idk why but i have to block so many at a time smh 

If you had to pick a favourite English monarch, who would you pick? This is like a question i’ve never had to think about so I’m not really sure what to answer... 

Do you prefer hot or cold? COLD COLD COLD i’m also in California though so our cold isn’t like...... unbearable ya know ??? but i can’t stand being super hot and sweaty, it’s so uncomfortable !!! 

Do you have a special skill or talent? UHM I GUESS ACTING ????????? idk i kinda don’t wanna say that bc that’s implying i’m like ‘good’ at or whatever, but i have been in multiple plays/musicals before and even gotten an award for one of my roles so i guess that counts for something !!! 

Do you have a phobia of anything? Tight spaces, spiders (or just bugs in general), the dark, heights, anything medical related so blood and needles and hospitals and what not, aliens/the paranormal/supernatural (it’s not such a wild concept ok like it’s all totally plausible)... uHM yah i’m a big baby about a lot of things 

If you had to pick a favourite real life villain from history, who would you pick? Again, never had to consider this question before in my life so i’m not really sure !!!

Do you have any dark traits?

There are times where i’m pretty withdrawn and moody and easily irritated 

If you could do anything, literally anything, like fly on a unicorn or something, what would it be? 

Is it weird if it’d be something like,,, be cast on Stranger Things ??? like i think i fantasize about being on that show ten times a day, i just...... i really wanna be on Stranger Things gOD IMAGINE HOW AMAZING THAT WOULD BE 

What is the scale of the worst argument you’ve ever had? Slamming doors, raised voices, lots of crying...... fun times !!!

What is your favourite slush flavour? Not really into slushies tbh 

If you could bring back any food or drink from your childhood that has been discontinued, what would it be? DUNKAROOS ????? i feel like any snack from the 90s tho like we just don’t have anything as fun as what we had back then 

What is your favourite and most vivid childhood memory? Nothing specific but i remember playing outdoors with my siblings A LOT like we had a pretty big backyard so we’d constantly be out there, being imaginative and coming up with fake scenarios and acting them out, or like playing with the hose in the summertime or THE POOL omg we had this pool and we’d be in it so much...... also video game battles with my older brother ! my childhood was kinda shitty but at least i have those moments to reflect back on 

If you could bring anyone back from the dead who would it be? My first theatre teacher from high school... he passed away due to cancer around my sophomore year... he was really inspiring to me, i mean he’s kinda the reason why i stuck with that class and didn’t totally give up (thus resulting in me finding out that i love acting and that’s what i wanted to do with my life) 

If you could go back to any time period and live there for a week, which period would it be and why? GIVE ME THE 80′S OH MY GOD my mom grew up in the 80′s as a teenager so i always hear all the stories from her about what it was like and it seemed like ??? so cool ?? especially if you were a teen like what a dream ! give me my 80′s teen movie memories !!!

If you could visit any abandoned place to take pictures, where would it be?

Wow, this is actually a good question....... maybe like a retro arcade or art museum or amusement park ???? i feel like those could make for some Neat Photos (the aesthetic tho)

Do you have any particular, peculiar interests? Hmmmmm psychology interests me ?? i took a psychology class my junior year of high school and it was really fascinating, learning about human behavior and those stories of old psychology experiments (so Wild too like damn, i can’t believe they got away with so much shit back then)

Do you have a creepy/scary experience that has happened to you, and what was it? Not necessarily to me personally like, i’ve heard things before but idk to what extent that could mean so i never really looked Too Much into it bUT UHM i know my family has, especially in my childhood home (that place was straight up haunted like i swear) ALTHOUGHHHHH one night my mom was talking to us about something she saw in her room and all of a sudden a bunch of weird shit started going on in our apartment like our printer kept turning on and off and noises came from the kitchen like a cabinet shutting and things like that IT WAS CREEPY OK 

Do you like/read creepypasta stories? If so, what’s your favourite story? Don’t really have a favorite, but i have read creepypasta stories in the past before - they’re pretty intriguing ! (i’m a total wuss tho!!!! which is why i don’t read enough to have a personal favorite)

If you were in the Wars of the Roses, would you be a Lancastrian, or a Yorkist? Haven’t given this any thought before to decide so I DON’T KNOW !

What is your recurring nightmare? Don’t really have any ????? 

Have you ever had a lucid dream? Nah, because the moment i become aware i’m dreaming and i can do whatever i want, i wake up !!! it’s so frustrating lmao 

If you could go to another planet, which would it be? UHM i just really like the way Saturn looks lmao also Venus bc it sounds Nice but in terms of living conditions, i’m sure none of those are suitable  

What is your religion, if any? Don’t really have one !!!! (in the sense of actively practicing) although my mom is Jewish so i have always felt the most connected to that one 

Have you ever got so drunk, that you did something really embarrassing, and if so, what did you do? i’ve never gotten drunk before so lmao 

Mike, Dustin, Lucas, or Will? THIS IS ???? NOT FAIR ??? THEY’RE ALL MY SONS HOW DARE YOU MAKE ME CHOOSE JUST ONE but fine, i pick Mike just bc i feel the most related to him in the sense of personality traits 

Do you like Marina and the Diamonds? SURE ??? she’s got some good stuff 

Charli XCX? YAH SURE WHY NOT i like some of her stuff !!

Tag a blog that you’ve seen, and you love their posts, but have never told them, and would like to talk to them. @miliebobbybrown HER EDITS ARE ALWAYS SO ??? GOOD ???? her whole blog is total #goals just bc of how Nice everything is like wow i am,,, Intimidated but in the best way possible

Pick one thing you like/love from the 80s. The pop culture :^) (movies, music, fashion...... like wow, i just love it all so much)

What year were you born, and name something cool from that year. 1998 and Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets was published 

What was your blog name originally? (If you had another blog name) This one was originally lifeisdefinitelystrange (rip) 

Do you follow any blogs that you know the user in real life? KIND OF ?? I JUST MET @telekineticeggos FOR THE FIRST TIME IN REAL LIFE LAST NIGHT SO LMAO but we’re also planning on doing more things together in real life in the next few months so YEET 

If you are in the ST fandom, which is your favourite song off the ST soundtrack? Africa by Toto (duh), Atmosphere by Joy Division, Heroes by Peter Gabriel, and When It’s Cold I’d Like To Die by Moby (those last two songs were too emotionally impacting to not name) and from the score itself i LOVE KIDS THAT ONE IS SO GOOD TO ME LMAO but tbh i love the entire score and soundtrack ???? it’s so hard to pick just One Favorite

Finally, give your opinion on the person who tagged you! @finnxwheeler - YOUR WRITING NEVER FAILS TO AMAZE ME WOW ??? i’m always in tears over how flawless your fics are like Whiskey and Broken Hearts destroyed me my dude like oh my goddddd i love your characterization of Mike and Will in all your fics :’) one of my favorite byeler blogs ♡ (also you’re super cool in general like wow what a Neat Person)

@jewishstanuris - I LOVE TALKING TO YOU !!! you’re so nice to me and understanding when i take ten years to reply LMAO also your writing is also super good ??? you should do it more often tbh like i swear you don’t do it enough bc i remember only seeing a few things written by you on here in the fandom buT LIKE THEY WERE SO GOOD AND LIKE ???? DO MORE OF THAT MAYBE ??? another rlly good blog apart of the byeler ship ♡ :’) 

OK SO I’M GONNA TAG THESE GOOFS - @telekineticeggos, @dadharbour, @baileytsample, @elevenknope, @nessa007, @theamiableanachronism, @eggo-my-leggo, and @ghost-grantaire ♡ (obviously you don’t have to do it if you’re not interested or if you’ve done it already!)

[waffles-isa]

I was tagged by @baileytsample​ and @strangerhypnosis​, thank you so much!!!!

Okay so answer the questions and then tag 8 people!

What made you sign up to Tumblr? I signed up for the 1st time in 2010, giving this “new internet thing” a try, but I had a Percy Jackson blog, a aesthetic one and this one. In all of those times I was having a bad time in real life and Tumblr saved me.

What did your blog start off as being? 100% of stranger things but now I reblog some personal and funny textposts as well!

Have you ever received any creepy asks, and if so, what did they say? Yes, they said horrible things about me and it was awful, I don’t know why.

Have you ever had a bad experience on tumblr? Just pornbots following me. Hello @staff​, please do something.

If you had to pick a favourite English monarch, who would you pick? I have no idea, Anne Boleyn maybe.

Do you prefer hot or cold? If we’re talking about weather, hot. But anything else, cold.

Do you have a special skill or talent? I do not think so but some will say my ability with languages is one. (omg, @baileytsample​, same!!!)

Do you have a phobia of anything? No, thankfully!!!

If you had to pick a favourite real life villain from history, who would pick? Napoleon, definitely!!!!! (he was funny!!!)

Do you have any dark traits? Yes, I can l can lie really really well. I swear I don’t use it in most of the time but it’s a dark hability I have. 

If you could do anything, literally anything, like fly on a unicorn or something, what would it be? I wish I could teleport or something, I wish I could travel all around the world!!!

What is the scale of the worst argument you’ve ever had? I don’t have much arguments, I’m a fan of sitting and talking about what is going on and find a way to get things better!

What is your favourite slush flavour? I’ve never had it!

If you could bring back any food or drink from your childhood that has been discontinued, what would it be? Those chocolate umbrella-shaped thing with soup taste (idk if they still sell it but I haven’t seen it in a while!)

What is your favourite and most vivid childhood memory? My grandpa trying to buy my cheap coin holder (that costs less than 1 dollar) by giving me 50 dollars and I was crying because “it was too pretty and I didn’t want to sell it!”

If you could bring anyone back from the dead who would it be? No one... From everybody that passed away and I really loved, all of them were in a lot of pain and struggling a lot, so I really hope they’re all in peace.

If you could go back to any time period and live there for a week, which period would it be and why? Probably 1920, sounds an interesting time period for me!

If you could visit any abandoned place to take pictures, where would it be? Pripyat, Ucrânia, Chernobyl, for obvious reasons.

Do you have any particular, peculiar interests? I don’t know if it’s peculiar but I love those hard-to-deal movies... I ove watching a thing and then having to reconsider my whole life. Or maybe watching a movie and feeling awful later, just because the movies was really hard to feel or watch.

Do you have a creepy/scary experience that has happened to you, and what was it? Yes, I’m really used to seeing things no one’s seeing and hearing things. Just living my life trying not to go insane.

Do you like/read creepypasta stories? If so, what’s your favourite story? I love creepypasta BUT it has to be with a cup of holy water and I have to be on holidays when my mom is at home and the sun has to be raising ahahhaha

If you were in the Wars of the Roses, would you be a Lancastrian, or a Yorkist? I have no idea.

What is your recurring nightmare? With my ex and a lot of awful things that I can’t runaway.

Have you ever had a lucid dream? Yes, a lot of them!

If you could go to another planet, which would it be? Pluto!

What is your religion, if any? Catholic.

Have you ever got so drunk, that you did something really embarrassing, and if so, what did you do? No, I don’t like drinking at all.

Mike, Dustin, Lucas, or Will? Will! He’s my babyyy!

Do you like Marina and the Diamonds? I used to listen a lot to her music! She’s great!!

Charli XCX? Not much.

Tag a blog that you’ve seen, and you love their posts, but have never told them, and would like to talk to them. @upsidedownwaffle​, Rachel is an awesome person and the first I could think of when I saw this! I love your blog, I love you, keep up being the fantastic human being you are <3 but there’s a huge list including @holy-winona, @bigbadlittlered (it was because of you that I started shipping Stonathan and I love your headcanons!!!)

Pick one thing you like/love from the 80s. Music.

What year were you born, and name something cool from that year. 1998. José Saramago won the Nobel Prize of literature!!!!

What was your blog name originally? (If you had another blog name) It has always been what it is now.

Do you follow any blogs that you know the user in real life? yo @livingwithoutdirections hahahha <3

If you are in the ST fandom, which is your favourite song off the ST soundtrack? Should I stay or should I go, definitely!!!! (or Waiting for a girl like you)

Finally, give your opinion on the person who tagged you! ✨ @baileytsample is an awesome person and lights up my day just by showing up in my notifications! @strangerhypnosis, I love talking to you and you’re an incredible person!!!

I’m tagging everyone I’ve already tagged in this post, also @tinyryder, @demogaga and @strawberryscoundrel!!!! <3

[bookedandbusythough]

Answer the questions and then tag 8 people!

-thanks to my love @house-arya for tagging me! Tumblr would be nothing without you! <3 <3 - tagging all my boos: @padmesgreene @jewishstarks @gendryatrash @miladyaryastark @valiantnedspreciouslittlegirl @hunterthewriterworld <3 @insomniarama @asongoftarthandlannister @buttercuparry @eggo-my-leggo @furious-winter  and of course whoever else wants to do this!

-> What made you sign up to Tumblr? Definitely JUST to siphon up all the GENDRYA content! 

-> What did your blog start off as being? idk basically what it is now, except I didn’t have all you fabulous darlings as friends! and also it was mainly arya x gendry week stuff, can’t wait for it to be all that again!

-> Have you ever received any creepy asks, and if so, what did they say? no, is that a thing? -> Have you ever had a bad experience on tumblr? not yet! someone rated my aesthetic low, but i was asking for it since i don’t have the energy to make my blog as pretty as all you have yours!

-> If you had to pick a favourite English monarch, who would you pick? omg idk enough about them all, but i’m going to cheat and say Elizabeth II just because I’m watching The Crown right now and Matt Smith is hot af and the Queen is a badass. Also Queen Elizabeth I from what I do know about her. But mainly does Princess Diana count? -> Do you prefer hot or cold? COLD -> Do you have a special skill or talent? Writing??? At least I like to think so... -> Do you have a phobia of anything? Those I love dying

-> If you had to pick a favourite real life villain from history, who would you pick? ummmm, i wish there was a list, give me a list. @house-arya ‘s answer Rasputin was pretty interesting. I cheated and googled a list and then laughed out loud when I saw Scalia was on there. So I guess him. Even though I hated his policy views, his writing left nothing to be desired, except maybe less. lmao -> Do you have any dark traits? I don’t know. I’m horrible at breaking up with people. Once I’m done with someone, I’m absolutely done. I can like go from being in love with them one day to a complete lack of feeling for them the next. Once I’m done. I think that’s pretty dark. -> If you could do anything, literally anything, like fly on a unicorn or something, what would it be? probably go back in time. which is sad. but it’s fine. not sad, probably have like a TARDIS so I could go on doctor who-like adventures but still get all my shit done -> What is the scale of the worst argument you’ve ever had? omg pick one. I’m crazy so all my arguments are over the top. My poor boo thang...but probably any fight with him. We’re both way too extra soooo -> What is your favourite slush flavour? that light white cherry one at the target cafe... -> If you could bring back any food or drink from your childhood that has been discontinued, what would it be? Trix yogurt, do they still sell that??? -> What is your favourite and most vivid childhood memory? When my siblings and I used to play pretend, from Power Rangers to Jurassic Park, even made up our own TV shows and acted them out, so mainly that -> If you could bring anyone back from the dead who would it be? I shouldn’t, but my friend who died 12 years ago. I would.

-> If you could go back to any time period and live there for a week, which period would it be and why? Renaissance? Just when Paris first became THE capital maybe. I’m not really sure. I’m not being very creative with my answers. But like Paris for sure some time way back in time. -> If you could visit any abandoned place to take pictures, where would it be? Titanic? Or any castle. -> Do you have any particular, peculiar interests? ummmm i’d like to say i had any interests outside of the fandoms I blog about but that would not, strictly speaking, be true. :/ -> Do you have a creepy/scary experience that has happened to you, and what was it? when i was like 10 or 11 years old, my family and i all lived in this one story house in san diego. it was like midnight, and everyone was asleep except for my older brother. he was reading one of those x-files books when he suddenly heard a noise like scratching/knocking on his room window. he was freaked out and ran to wake my parents out. my dad went outside with a flashlight and baseball bat screaming to scare whoever was out there and actually saw someone running away. they called the police but never caught who it was. we all slept in my parents room for the next like 2 months after that. i mean, there was someone staring in at my brother through the window and touching the window while he was reading x-files. is there anything creepier?

-> Do you like/read creepypasta stories? If so, what’s your favourite story? what is that?? -> If you were in the Wars of the Roses, would you be a Lancastrian, or a Yorkist? only because my friend @house-arya said a York, so am I! -> What is your recurring nightmare? i keep having recurring dream...well they’re not all the same dream, but it’s like my latest one takes place where my last one left off where i’m still in school and i either keep missing class or assignments and there’s a constant feeling i’m going to fail the entire semester. since i haven’t been in school for way more than a year now, i don’t understand why this is still happening. -> Have you ever had a lucid dream? i don’t think so, but i wouldn’t mind one. -> If you could go to another planet, which would it be? Venus. Or the moon.  ->What is your religion, if any? Baptized Catholic, but I don’t practice anymore for various reasons. -> Have you ever got so drunk, that you did something really embarrassing, and if so, what did you do? omg we did trivia at a a brewery last night, then went to in n out and my friend and I wanted to get into a fight with this group of obnoxious teenagers sitting nearby who were totally judging us for being loud. but i almost always do something embarrassing when i drink because i’m such a lightweight. -> Mike, Dustin, Lucas, or Will? LUCAS FOR LIFE <3 <3 <3

-> Do you like Marina and the Diamonds? i think i’ve heard of them? but can’t think of any one song? -> Charli XCX? there was that one popular catchy song i liked, but i don’t remember the name, but yes? -> Tag a blog that you’ve seen, and you love their posts, but have never told them, and would like to talk to them. i would say @valiantnedspreciouslittlegirl but i think i’ve already sufficiently embarrassed myself enough telling her basically what a goddess she is, especially in terms of her stories. but there’s also @gendrie who just writes the best analysis/meta (are those the rights words?) about gendrya. i literally end up smiling like an idiot every time I read a @gendrie post about gendrya. <3 <3 <3 to the 2 of you! -> Pick one thing you like/love from the 80s. the movie Psycho II. is that weird? -> What year were you born, and name something cool from that year. I’m going with @house-arya on this one and am going to say “me” too!

-> What was your blog name originally? (If you had another blog name) that was you?! @house-arya omg! that’s cray, i never realized! but i’ve never changed mine! -> Do you follow any blogs that you know the user in real life? Haha, no. No wait. My sister. She’s a bitch though, so it’s fine. @crimsonramirez -> If you are in the ST fandom, which is your favourite song off the ST soundtrack? omg i thought that stood for star trek until I saw @house-arya‘s answer (sorry to keep tagging you). but same answer as her, should i stay or should i go. -> Finally, give your opinion on the person who tagged you! ✨ I KNOW I GUSH ABOUT YOU ALL THE TIME BUT LITERALLY TUMBLR WOULD BE NOTHING WITHOUT YOU AND I DON’T KNOW WHAT MY LIFE WOULD HAVE BEEN WITHOUT ARYAXGENDRY WEEK BUT OMG YOUR BLOG IS LITERALLY MY FAVORITE AND YOU KNOW THAT BUT SOMEHOW I CAN’T STOP TELLING YOU! <3 <3 <3

[house-arya]

Answer the questions and then tag 8 people! 

- props to @atimeofwhichwehavenoknowledge for making all of these and tagging me :) they’re so cool! - also, @rhaellas just so you don’t have to go through this entire thing, I tagged you for ”a blog that you’ve seen, and you love their posts, but have never told them, and would like to talk to them.” because I love your memes byE - tagging @padmesgreene @gendryxaryatrash @jewishstarks @gendryatrash @wixxard  @renly @thestagthatlovedthewolf & @ashaeradayne

-> What made you sign up to Tumblr? wanting to see more gendrya lol -> What did your blog start off as being? blogging about anything I liked. made one RA post that got about 200 notes, made an oboe post that got 2,000 and still brings up some notifications every now and then. -> Have you ever received any creepy asks, and if so, what did they say? nope! -> Have you ever had a bad experience on tumblr? someone called me a pedophile for shipping gendrya once!

-> If you had to pick a favourite English monarch, who would you pick? henry viii because he’s basically like that one annoying kid from grade school that didn’t like how you played wall ball, so he got his own court and made up a “new” set of rules in which the exact same game was played. -> Do you prefer hot or cold? beverages? both. weather? cold. -> Do you have a special skill or talent? I mean, I play the oboe??? (probably too much) -> Do you have a phobia of anything? failure

-> If you had to pick a favourite real life villain from history, who would you pick? RASPUTIN because the man did NOT die easily. don’t know if he counts as a villain, but many associated him with magic and said he was a warlock. -> Do you have any dark traits? I hope not...? -> If you could do anything, literally anything, like fly on a unicorn or something, what would it be? be an oboist in a major symphony or philharmonic. or make good reeds consistently, since that’s more wildly unrealistic LOL -> What is the scale of the worst argument you’ve ever had? I don’t know; I don’t argue very often and always make up with the person if I do. -> What is your favourite slush flavour? not a fan, but if I had to pick, blue raspberry @atimeofwhichwehavenoknowledge ;) -> If you could bring back any food or drink from your childhood that has been discontinued, what would it be? I don’t think anything has been discontinued, so I’ll elect to have a lifetime supply of trader joe’s dark chocolate -> What is your favourite and most vivid childhood memory? anytime we played dodgeball, man. what a game. -> If you could bring anyone back from the dead who would it be? I wouldn’t, because that’d only make things more painful.

-> If you could go back to any time period and live there for a week, which period would it be and why? the early 1800′s because I love colonial times and the French revolution.  -> If you could visit any abandoned place to take pictures, where would it be? probably an abandoned concert hall. that’d be really cool. -> Do you have any particular, peculiar interests? making oboe reeds? -> Do you have a creepy/scary experience that has happened to you, and what was it? probably the scariest thing I’ve ever seen was the family dog getting attacked by two coyotes. I think I was 11? all I remember was seeing her looking terrified and her fur unusually dark. I then realized that was blood, I was bawling, my grandma was desperately trying to get her inside, you get the picture. by some miracle, she ended up living! (she was barely a year old at the time and was a toy poodle, lol)

-> Do you like/read creepypasta stories? If so, what’s your favourite story? I do not read them. -> If you were in the Wars of the Roses, would you be a Lancastrian, or a Yorkist? probably a York. -> What is your recurring nightmare? I can never remember dreams. -> Have you ever had a lucid dream? nope -> If you could go to another planet, which would it be? mars ->What is your religion, if any? Christianity, just started going to church a little over a year ago. I love it. -> Have you ever got so drunk, that you did something really embarrassing, and if so, what did you do? don’t drink and probably never will because of bad genes and a heart problem! -> Mike, Dustin, Lucas, or Will? DUSTIN I SWEAR WE’RE ACTUALLY THE SAME PERSON

-> Do you like Marina and the Diamonds? don’t think I’ve heard of them? -> Charli XCX? ditto -> Tag a blog that you’ve seen, and you love their posts, but have never told them, and would like to talk to them. agh @rhaellas I love your memes bye -> Pick one thing you like/love from the 80s. Queen, need I say more? -> What year were you born, and name something cool from that year. me

-> What was your blog name originally? (If you had another blog name) pretty sure tcxaikwarrior?  -> Do you follow any blogs that you know the user in real life? I most certainly do, but they’re both aesthetic blogs. We don’t talk about them. (kidding, I love it) -> If you are in the ST fandom, which is your favourite song off the ST soundtrack? so cliché, but should I stay or should I go -> Finally, give your opinion on the person who tagged you! ✨ MEL, YOU’RE SO AMAZING EVEN THOUGH I HAVEN’T KNOWN YOU FOR A LONG TIME OK NEVER DOUBT THIS MY BLUE RASPBERRY PIANO PLAYIN’ SOULMATE