#abbey bartlett

[twwpress]

Creator Spotlight #14: fleurfemme

Welcome back to the TWW Author Spotlight! For every spotlight, we’ll ask each featured author the same ten questions (as well as questions you submitted on Twitter!). This week we’re pleased to be chatting with abby (@jenniferjolie on Twitter and fleurfemme on AO3)!

1) What are your top 5 desert island fics by other authors? 

1) kiss me and crucify me (by crossingdelancey)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/32800243 

I feel like I have this fic permanently open in a tab on my phone's browser. Cjtoby hate sex — hot and passionate and angsty.

 2) Salomé (by crossingdelancey) 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/41530527 

Another fic by my fave author :') This cjandy hate sex fic was a gift for me. It's a little more intense; I love when CJ gets to be fiery ♥️

 3) Lather. Rinse. Repeat. (by Michelle K.)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/37590034  

This Donna-centric fic has a little of everything. It's a wonderful taste of early-2000s charm that only fics of the time can capture. So many layers, so many women.

 4) Stuck in the Middle with You (by JediAnnieScrambler)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/34346431 

A cjtobyandy kinktober oneshot ♥️

 5) something else (by jazzjo)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43045845 

A sweet little CjDonna fic Eli gifted me after I made a CjDonna tropes edit ♥️♥️ so cute 

 2) Do you have a favorite character to write? Favorite ship(s) to write? Are there characters or ships you'd like to write more of? 

I think Margaret might be be my favorite character to write. I don't write Margaret centric stories, but the second I bring her in to any scene, I can't stop giggling. Jed and Donna are also really fun to write dialogue for.

So far, when it comes to ships, I've had the most fun writing Ellie Bartlet x Sidney Prescott in my crossover fics. Also AmyDonna! Donna is just the sweetest woman and she deserves all the love in the world.

I plan to write more CJ fics in the future and look forward to it!

 3) Tell us about your writing process (setup/location? Night or day? Snacks/beverages? Computer/phone/notebook? Music or silence? Anything else you want to share is welcome!) 

I’ll write on my phone on the train at 6:30am or on my laptop while lying in bed at 2am. I’m very chill when it comes to a routine; I like to keep it loose so I can get into a good creative flow. 

 4) What writing advice do you have for others who may be reading this? 

Don't be afraid to write outside of what's popular! Don't create pointless rules for yourself as a way to stop yourself from writing.

 5) From where do you usually draw your inspiration? (Other forms of media, music, tropes, etc?) 

My ideas are most often based on what area of a given relationship (romantic or platonic) I'm interested in exploring.

 6) What is the fic you've written that you're most proud of and why? 

Probably Red, White, and Boo! (https://archiveofourown.org/works/41606586/chapters/104361426) Completed for Halloween, it’s a campy horror-comedy/whodunnit, and a crossover with the Scream trilogy. Combining the worlds of some of my all time favorite characters (in a way that made sense for folks who've never seen Scream), two styles of humor, and the stakes of a horror with TWW's dramedy tone was a huge challenge, but I'm so proud looking back at it. I had a blast writing it and getting to hear reactions to the drama and elements of the mystery has been so rewarding.

 7) What's the fic trope/concept/AU you'd read 1000 of? What's the fic trope/concept/AU you'd write 1000 of? 

I love reading fics about hotel room hook-ups during the campaign.

I'll write a thousand soft and awkward and giggly smut fics ♥️♥️ I also never get tired of using scars during intimacy scenes 

 8) Is there anything you'd like to try writing-wise that you haven't yet? 

I've never written an au for tww, but I've been thinking about a girl band au! CJ on bass, Andy lead vocals, Amy on drums, Abbey as the band's manager. We'll see if I get around to it!

 9) What's your go-to Starbucks/coffee shop/other drink order? 

I don’t drink coffee but I do enjoy a double chocolate chip frap from Starbucks!

 10) Do you have any current projects you'd like to promote or anything upcoming you'd like to tell us about?

My first CJ x Joey Lucas fic is currently in progress, so stay tuned for that!

Submitted questions: 

From @S4MWILS0N:

fave season & ep? season 3, Dead Irish Writers!

fave character and ship? Characters: Toby, CJ, Amy, Abbey Ships: AndyToby as an endgame ship, but I love CJToby, AmyDonna, and CJDonna

most underrated character and ship? CJDonna!!! Also JoshJoey - not as an endgame thing, just a little treat

what was ur fave part of writing rwb? the humor and the girl bossery

two ships to have a double date? AndyToby and CJDonna

fave and least fave plot arc? I looove CJ’s season one arc of being treated like shit to being respected. Also love her arc at the end of s3! I hate the leak arc but I’ve only watched 80% of seasons 6-7 because I’m not really a fan of the election plots in general

funniest canon one liner? everything Toby Ziegler has ever said tbh

fave detail in one of ur fics? in RWB when Margaret says she can't count sheep before bed because her dreams take place prior to the domestication of sheep

draft snippet that never became anything? a JoshDonna fic based on the line about him looking good in a collar. Maybe I'll finish it... we shall see

From @claudiasjeans: ABBY MY LOVE what is your favorite ship that you’ve never written? what got you into tww?

cjtobyandy probably! I started watching TWW when I was like 14 because I was a huge Kristin Chenoweth fan!!

 From @kennysroys: What inspired you to take the risk of writing Red, White and Boo? What was your favorite part? The hardest part? What motivated you to write this AU?

A joke Alyssa (@abbeybartlet) made about Danny and Will being Ghostface inspired RWB! I'd also already written a 20k+ word tww/scream crossover, so I knew how well the characters worked together. My favorite part was having the girlies from both canons interact... CJ/Gale is such an interesting dynamic, Amy/Jennifer are chaotic bffs, and Ellie/Sidney make such a good couple. I love them sm.

The hardest part was balancing such a large ensemble. While the story focuses largely on the story of CJ, Donna, and Gale Weathers as their support, I wrote scenes centered on Mandy, Zoey, Ainsley, Josh, Ellie, Amy, and more. Such a whirlwind, but I had a great time.

I stayed motivated thanks to the handful of readers leaving encouraging comments after every chapter. Couldn't have done it without that ♥️

 From @kennysroys: Since you’re such a big Amy fan what would you ask or say to Mary Louise Parker about her if given the chance?

I'd love to ask her about Amy's dynamic with various characters—specifically Abbey and Donna. I'd also be curious to hear her perspective on playing a supporting character who represents such a large group's voice on the show... How did she approach the responsibility? Also, how did she shape her performance to fit into a show that was already on its third season? Things like that ♥️

 From @kennysroys: Favorite TWW fan content to consume (fancams, edits, fics)?

I love gifs and silly screenshots

From @donnamossburner: If you could rewrite an episode - what episode would you write and what would you change?

I would add Ellie to Dead Irish Writers. Let her drink on the couch with Abbey and Amy and drunkenly ramble about her mother as a Doctor and call her father a jackass <3

 From @donnamossburner: What is your present day head canon for the characters?

TobyAndy endgame, Andy runs for President, CJ becomes a professor and marries a beautiful and charming woman, Donna works for a non-profit with Amy.

 From @sameschtick:

Which minor character(s) do you wish we got to see more of and why? On my knees begging for more Andy Wyatt.

Favourite post-canon hcs? CJ (and Donna) take a six-month long trip to Europe for a tour of hot romantic conquests. 

One detail of canon you’d like scrubbed from the record? Ellie's marriage... They truly set her up as a relatable sad lesbian and then 5 seasons later made a joke about how she's actually not a lesbian and made her marry a man... 0/10 stars

Thanks again to abby for participating in the spotlight, and thanks to everyone who contributed questions! If you’d like to be featured in a future spotlight, drop us a DM here or on Twitter (@twwpress), or email us at weeklypressbriefing@gmail.com.

xx, What’s next?

[ladyredsclassroom]

It annoys me that DR. Abigail Bartlett is addressed as Mrs. Bartlett in the first season.

Literally a doctor.

[faithandlove-knightfall]

Grail hunting with Mr Carson's ancestor...

[yannaryartside]

Claire and her patients

And why I think she may harm Carmen

It’s incredible how many stories told by Claire about her interactions with injured people are disturbing in close up. I honestly need someone to put a name to it (like clinical one) because so far, it's just disturbing.

In S3, I thought the show was doing a number that made me see her process the pain after the breakup and work helping others through it. I cared about that; I did. It is difficult not to root for someone in pain. But then it got bizarre the more medical scenes we had. Mainly the one where she committed malpractice

The lacking

When she was telling the story about the girl with a million cuts, you know, a kid she almost killed because of a medical error (one that was actually totally preventable) there are so many things wrong with it. Some audience members have stated that scene was to show that “Claire is not perfect,” but that shit didn’t have that effect on me at all. It was a relief to see other people felt this way, some in this fandom even said it was so unnatural it made them laugh. And I am curious about why that is.

From the beginning, the lack of guilt surrounding the incident has been glaring for me. It's not like we see her break down crying or be afraid of what Carmy is going to think of her as a doctor. She committed malpractice, mistake or not. Doctors go out of business for things that they cannot prevent. They are not ashamed of their work; they are ashamed of the result. That harmed somebody.

I watched a lot of medical-related shit (as I assume most people do). The character Joan Watson in Elementary stopped working as a doctor thoroughly after losing one (1) patient over something she could not predict or prevent. A medical board gave her permission to work, but it was still not enough. She was so afraid of hurting someone else and was so ashamed that she was manipulated by the son of his deceased patient to give him money. In “The West Wing,” Abbey Bartlett was a doctor before being the First Lady, and she had an incident in an operation that resulted in the death of her patient (an infection that got complicated). She defended her work, she is possitive she didn’t make a mistake and we are inclined to believe that because we have seen her character admit to her faults before.

There was no shame in Claire. You can process your emotions however you want, but it would make more sense even if you were defensive. Why did she tell that story…as she was also the victim? Maybe the fact that the story relates to malpractice makes it difficult to say it without sounding bad, but there were better ways to make her empathetic than suspicious.

“I was slammed,” as she could ever justify a mistake as stupid as the one she made. I know understaffing hospitals is a serious issue, and overworked doctors can make stupid mistakes, but she didn’t say things like “I should have seen it” or “I have nightmares about it.” And she told it in a way that seemed like she was expecting Carmy to understand it wasn’t her fault. Even if it wasn’t, doctors would carry guilt about malpractice and the harm they were accomplices of, even if literally no divine intervention could have made a difference. By not allowing Claire this very normal emotion, you are setting her apart to the audience members who are paying attention.

The warning

And then, somehow, the story is more about how young and beautiful her patient was…I am sorry, but that almost felt… fetishizing? It reminded me of those poems people made online about having a story of self-harming: “She was so beautiful in her scars.” Maybe that’s me stretching it.

She also keeps telling the stories of what caused the injuries in the first place, and not ironically, is always people doing something risky/stupid in the first place. She is never seen taking care of a bullet wound or a severe illness suddenly worsening. It’s always people putting their lives at risk.

And that’s an element that terrifies me, thinking of who Carmy is and his gif above. He has self-harming hallucinations, sometimes in the middle of dangerous situations, and his mental condition prevents him from reacting accordingly. He is absent as if he was hight/drunk, but it is his mental illness. It may even be tied to a suicidal underline.

And then you hear this story about a girl that got almost killed by Claire’s negligence; in that moment, she needed help getting better because she had an accident. She was not able to prevent her injury. She was also drunk when it happened, so she had no equipment to react accordingly. She is the equivalent of Carmen.

I need help thinking it is supposed to be a coincidence. These writers are not stupid, even if you could justify how Claire is written as saying, “Carmy is supposed to be in love with the simple” (which is such a lame excuse. People can be simple and interesting).

Wouldn’t it be cruel in hindsight to make Carmy’s true love the one person who also has a story of harming people in similar conditions of danger that he had?

I would like to quote something I read about the scene that introduces us to Claire, the story of “why” she wanted to be a doctor. In most medical-related media, these events tend to be very traumatic to the character, “I lost my mother to cancer and wanted to prevent other people from feeling that pain” “I had to watch my friend dying because she was bleeding and I couldn’t do nothing” is always about preventing someone’s harm, because of empathy. Then you have Claire’s story, quoting This fucking excellent post by

@habaritess

“The graphic injury made her want to understand it. Let that sink in. The other kids were disturbed by the injury and, no doubt, also by the cries of the injured girl. Claire wasn’t. She was mentally disconnected from the scene because her empathy wasn't activated.”(...) She looks at people as a thing to analyze, and she does so in order to get what she wants from them"

I firmly believe this. Shout out to this post by @gingergofastboatsmojito talking about Claire being a benign narcissist. She has created a narrative about herself, and that's why she seems too eager to help people who cannot fend for themselves, people who are sad, lost, and hurt, because she feels her value in it. Heartbreak doesn't make it look cute. That's just another magic trick.

And the worst part, she may be a good doctor 80% of the time, but if you have this incident, there is the possibility that it has happened more than once. Like wtf, she said she was good at “taking care of sad drunk people,” but the moment she had a drunk patient, she actually was unable to provide good care for her. She actively made the situation worse. Her mistake could have been fatal. And she related the whole thing, mentioning how beautiful she was before her accident and how it was so amusing she laughed after because she couldn’t feel the pain. She told that shit like it was amusing. Idk, I have never heard a doctor talking like that.

And now we have a whole season of Carmy thinking Claire is the solution for his happiness, the missing piece, and whatnot. This is unnerving. He will run for her at full speed, call her in a time of need/crisis, and then what? Would Claire's interest/lack of empathy would be finally revealed? Will she steer Carmy in an ever worse direction?

[doyouknowthisactor]

By "roles" I mean playing a different character, and in a different piece of media; someone playing one character across a franchise only counts as one thing for the purposes of this poll, as does playing multiple characters in one franchise/piece of media

Below are some of this actor's roles. Please only check after voting!

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie as Jean Brodie (Oscar win)

Gosford Park as Constance Trentham (Oscar nomination)

A Room with a View as Charlotte Bartlett (Oscar nomination)

Downton Abbey as Violet Crawley (3 Emmy wins + 2 nominations)

Smith has won 1 and been nominated for 2 additional Oscars, won 1 and been nominated for 3 additional Emmys, and won 1 and been nominated for 2 Tonys.

Her sons Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin are both actors.

More roles

[im-not-batman]

Okay i am SO excited that people were interested so here it is. I need to preface this with the fact that it won't be totally 1-to-1.

9-1-1/The West Wing Fusion crossover AU thing

SO, i already said Bobby is the President. Not only does it make sense for his relationships with everyone else, but he is also very similar to Bartlett in a lot of ways: the Catholicism, the hidden illness (Jed's MS and Bobby's Alcoholism and PTSD), the strong moral compass and the way they are always everyone's go-to for advice. Also the way they deal with problems and conflict.

Athena is obviously FLOTUS. Unfortunately i suffer with Can't-Stand-Athena Disease, so i'm leaning on my love of Abbey for this one. But they're both very capable, intelligent women who can't be told what to do. Both are completely devoted to their families and are even self-destructive with that love sometimes. (Athena going after Amir (DONT EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THAT - FUCKING ACAB) and Abby secretly treating Jed's MS and putting her lisence in question).

May and Harry should take on the roles of Zoey and Ellie respectively. May still being the older sibling, i just think they fit the personalities of the siblings better that way. Harry being distant and aloof until they have a breakthrough, May being close to the family and friendly with the other staffers. Also the Charlie/Zoey of it all.

Hen (my beloved) is Chief of Staff. This feels obvious. She's already Bobby's second in command, she's got the instict for it, and the respect of all the others. I also think she would still have a fire fighting background and she got into politics later. I just think that experience would be vital for her as COS, similar to Leo's military service. I also think a professional history like that would also commmand respect from strangers.

For Deputy Chief of Staff I'm (perhaps predictably) going with Eddie. I was toying with the idea of it being Chim but you'll see why i didn't got there when i explain his role. But yeah, Eddie's perfect for this one. Both he and Josh are dramatic about everything, they both have well-meaning hearts that sometimes results in them doing or saying stupid shit, they have deepseated issues that cause them to push people away. Also, need i say it? SHOOTING ARC! This also (again predictably i fear) allows for the EPIC ROMANCE of Josh and Donna to be mapped onto Buddie.

Which brings me of course to Buck. He's gotta be Donna. They've got the shared history of failed relationships with some not great people (but remain hopeless romantics anyway), Buck flitting from job to job and Donna not having much work experience go hand on hand too. Also they're both very capable and intelligent but hide it/don't realise that fully. I like to think that Maddie qas the one to get him his job amd Eddie was just a bit too scared to question her.

Now Maddie. This might be an unpopular decision because on the surface they are nothing alike, but I'm putting Maddie in Toby's spot. Not only does she suit Director of Communications perfectly – Maddie is the fucking QUEEN of coomunication (season 5 notwithstanding lol) but she and Toby share a lot of their values. Sure, Toby's a miserable, pessimistic asshole about it, but they both believe in a very black and white definition right and wrong. They are both loyal to a fault (even Toby's treason was an act of loyalty you can fight me on this but you will LOSE) and do everything they can to protect the people they love. Also i just love them both so much i want to fuse them into one because it makes me feel like a mad scientist in a lab trying to create the perfect character out of goo and slime and glitter.

Anyway! For Maddie's second, I'm really not sure. I was thinking maybe Linda or Josh but neither fit particularly well to me. Idk, let me know what you guys think.

Okay. Chim. Think how perfect he'd be as Press Sec. Please. That man is BORN to be on camera. He's charismatic and friendly and relatable, he comes across as approachable but fr who would cross him if he put his foot down? No one! Also. I IMPLORE you to please imagine him doing the Jackal. It was so hard to figure out who i'd trust to take up the mantel of CJ "baddest bitch around" Cregg because i love her so much but when i started to consider Chimney it felt obvious 😅 i also just think he'd love to have the opportunity to evicerate an asshole on live television, and he DESERVES that opportunity too. And if you were wondering: Yes I DO ship CJ and Toby. Hence Madney being their counterparts.

Now for my boy Charlie!!! It of course HAS to be Ravi!! Those boys are the sweetest loveliest boys on the planet! They pair up so well! I also have a headcanon that, similar to Charlie, Ravi has younger siblings he's always had to take care of because their mum died and their dad worked too much. So. Yeah. Also lowkey May x Ravi nation where are you please accept me into your ranks.

Anyway, i hope this is acceotable to everyone who was interested. I might write something in this AU one day but if you have ever interacted with me before you should know not to hold your breath lmao

Tagging @pangrams-n-palindromes from my other post so they see this, I hope that's okay!

[justforbooks]

Maggie Smith, the prolific, multi-award-winning actor whose work ranged from The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie to Harry Potter to Downton Abbey, has died aged 89.

The news was confirmed by her sons Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens in a statement. They said: “She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning, Friday 27 September.

“An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end. She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother.

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful staff at the Chelsea and Westminster hospital for their care and unstinting kindness during her final days.

“We thank you for all your kind messages and support and ask that you respect our privacy at this time.”

Smith’s gift for acid-tongued comedy was arguably the source of her greatest achievements: the waspish teacher Jean Brodie, for which she won an Oscar, prim period yarns such as A Room With a View and Gosford Park, and a series of collaborations on stage and screen with Alan Bennett including The Lady in the Van. “My career is chequered,” she told the Guardian in 2004. “I think I got pigeonholed in humour … If you do comedy, you kind of don’t count. Comedy is never considered the real thing.” However, Smith also excelled in non-comedic dramatic roles, performing opposite Laurence Olivier for the National Theatre, winning a best actress Bafta for The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne, and playing the title role in Ingmar Bergman’s 1970 production of Hedda Gabler.

Born in 1934, Smith grew up in Oxford and began acting at the city’s Playhouse theatre as a teenager. While appearing in a string of stage shows, including Bamber Gascoigne’s 1957 musical comedy Share My Lettuce opposite Kenneth Williams, Smith also made inroads on film, with her first substantial impact in the 1958 Seth Holt thriller Nowhere to Go, for which she was nominated for a best supporting actress Bafta. After starring in Peter Shaffer’s stage double bill The Private Ear and The Public Eye, Smith was invited by Olivier to join the nascent National Theatre company in 1962, for whom she appeared in a string of productions, including as Desdemona to Olivier’s Othello in his notorious blackface production in 1964. (Smith repeated the role in Olivier’s film version the following year, for which they were both Oscar-nominated.)

In 1969 she was cast in the lead role of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, the adaptation of the Muriel Spark novel about the Edinburgh schoolteacher with an admiration for Mussolini; Smith went on to win the best actress Oscar in 1970. Later the same year she starred in Ingmar Bergman’s production of Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler for the National Theatre in London’s West End; the Evening Standard’s Milton Shulman described her as “haunt[ing] the stage like some giant portrait by Modigliani, her alabaster skin stretched tight with hidden anguish.” Another Oscar nomination for best actress came her way in 1973 for the Graham Greene adaptation Travels with My Aunt, and an Oscar win (for best supporting actress) in 1979 for California Suite, the Neil Simon-scripted anthology piece in which she played an Oscar-nominated film star.

Smith continued her successful parallel film and stage careers in the 1980s. She starred opposite Michael Palin in A Private Function, the wartime-set comedy about food rationing, co-scripted by Alan Bennett, and had a colourful supporting role as gossipy cousin Charlotte Bartlett in Merchant Ivory’s A Room With a View, for which she was nominated for yet another Oscar. She followed it up with The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne, a character study in which Smith played the unmarried, frustrated woman of the title. On stage she played Virginia Woolf in Edna O’Brien’s 1980 play at the Stratford Festival theatre in Canada, and in 1987 starred as tour guide Lettice Douffet in Peter Shaffer’s Lettice and Lovage. She also reunited with Bennett for his Talking Heads series on both radio and TV, playing a vicar’s wife having an affair.

Film roles continued to roll in: she starred alongside Joan Plowright and Cher in Franco Zeffirelli’s loosely autobiographical Tea With Mussolini, a dowager countess in Robert Altman’s country-house murder mystery Gosford Park, and opposite Judi Dench in Ladies in Lavender, written and directed by Charles Dance. She also accepted the prominent role of Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter film series, appearing between 2001 and 2011 in every instalment apart from Deathly Hallows Part 1. Meanwhile she achieved arguably her most impactful TV role as the countess of Grantham in Downton Abbey, created by Gosford Park writer Julian Fellowes – reprising the role in two standalone cinema films, released in 2019 and 2022. Having played the role on stage in 1999, Smith enjoyed a late career triumph in The Lady in the Van, Alan Bennett’s memoir about the woman who lived on his driveway.

Smith was married twice: to fellow actor Robert Stephens between 1967 and 1975, and Beverley Cross between 1975 and his death in 1998.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[aimeedaisies]

The Princess Royal’s Official Engagements in July 2023

01/07 Princess Anne accompanied by Sir Tim, opened the 30th Scottish Traditional Boat Festival at Portsoy Harbour. ⛴️

03/07 As Chancellor of Harper Adams University, visited the University’s Future Farm, Edgmond and met the 2023 Marshal Papworth Foundation Scholars. 👩‍🎓

As Patron, Scottish Fisheries Museum’s Reaper Appeal visited the Scottish Fisheries Museum in St. Ayles, Anstruther. 🎣

04/07 Visited Strathcarron Hospice, Denny. 👩‍⚕️

As Colonel-in-Chief of the Intelligence Corps, attended a 5 Military Intelligence Battalion Training Night at the Army Reserve Centre, Edinburgh. 💂

05/07 As part of Holyrood week in Edinburgh, Princess Anne carried out the following engagements;

Opened the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People and the Department of Clinical Neurosciences, at NHS Lothian as part of #NHS75 celebrations. 🧸

Opened King’s Buildings Nucleus Building at the University of Edinburgh. 👩‍🎓

Launched WETWHEELS EDINBURGH Accessible Boat at Port Edgar Marina. 🦽🛥️

Attended a Dinner at the Waldorf Astoria for Eric Liddell 100 programme. 🍽️

06/07 As President of the UK Fashion and Textile Association, attended the Textile Institute World Conference at the University of Huddersfield. 🪡

Opened Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s Maternity Theatre at Bradford Royal Infirmary.🤰

As Colonel of The Blues and Royals, with Sir Tim, took the salute at the Household Division Beating Retreat on Horse Guards Parade. 🫡

07/07 Attended a Charity Polo Day at Cirencester Park Polo Club for the Spinal Injuries Association 🐎

11/07 Visited Flintshire Adult Day Care Centre, Hwb Cyfle in Queensferry, Wales. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

HRH, as the new Patron of BASC (British Association for Shooting and Conservation) visited their Headquarters at Marford Mill, Wrexham, Wales. 🦡

12/07 Visited St Helena’s Nursing Campus at the University of Derby in Chesterfield. 👩‍⚕️

Opened Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust’s new Urgent and Emergency Care Department. 🏥

Attended a Reception at Rolls-Royce Learning and Development Centre for the Motor Neurone Association. 🚘

13/07 Sir Tim represented the Princess Royal at a service of thanksgiving for the life of Admiral of the Fleet Lord Boyce at Westminster Abbey. ⚓️

Princess Anne opened the King’s Arch at Government House, visited the Tortoise Takeover Trail at Gorey Castle and subsequently opened the Tortoise Tunnel at Jersey Zoo. 🇯🇪🐢

Princess Anne with Sir Tim, later attended the Royal Academy of Engineering Annual Awards Dinner at the Londoner Hotel in Leicester Square, London. 🏆

14/07 Opened the new Southampton Citizens Advice Bureau and visited DP World Shipping Container Terminal. ⛴️

15/07 As Colonel-in-Chief of the Intelligence Corps, attended their Annual Corps Day at Chicksands. 🪖

18/07 Princess Anne and Sir Tim carried out the following engagements in Kent;

Opened a new affordable housing development at Bartlett Close, Staple, Canterbury, followed by a Reception at Staple Village Hall. 🏡

Visited St James’s Cemetery in Dover in her role as Patron of the Remembrance Trust 🫡

Visited Folkestone National Coastguard Institution Station in Folkestone to mark its 25th Anniversary, followed by a Reception at Folkestone Yacht and Motorboat Club. 🚨

19/07 In South Wales, visited Barry Citizens Advice Bureaux in her role of Patron of the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux and later visited HM Prison Cardiff in her role of Patron of the Butler Trust. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

20/07 Joined the ship’s company of HMS Albion and visited Clyde Marina near Glasgow, Scotland. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

21/07 Princess Anne and Sir Tim attended a Dinner at the Royal Ocean Racing Club Clubhouse, to celebrate the 50th Edition of the Fastnet Race in Cowes, Isle of Wight. 🛥️

27/07 Attended the Tall Ships Races Captains’ Dinner at Lerwick Town Hall, Lerwick, Shetland Islands. 👨‍✈️🍽️

28/07 Visited ships in Lerwick Harbour taking part in the Tall Ships Races. 🚢🏁

29/07 With Sir Tim, attended the King George Day at Ascot Racecourse. 🏆🐎

30/07 Princess Anne and Sir Tim visited Cowes, Isle of Wight for Cowes Week and carried out the following engagements;

Viewed Cowes Week Racing and met Squadron Staff at the Royal Yacht Squadron. 🛥️

Visited HMS Tyne and The Royal Navy Stand. ⛴️

Attended a Church Service at Holy Trinity Church. ⛪️

Attended a Reception for Members, Racing Crews, Flag Officers and Sailing Associates at the Royal Yacht Squadron. 🥂

Total official engagements for Anne in July: 42

2023 total so far: 304

Total official engagements accompanied by Tim in July: 14

2023 total so far: 70

[bestmothertournament]

Abbey Bartlett (Mother of Elizabeth, Ellie + Zoe Bartlett) - Recommended by unseenacademic who said "a badass, mom, grandma and first lady".

Wanda Maximoff (Mother of Billy and Tommy) - Recommended by evie7common. Badass mom willing to do anything to protect/get her children back.

[alldancersaretalented]

List of previous Studios of Project 21 Dancers

For the dancers with multiple studios, I have clarified that in brackets.

*have graduated

Above the Barre Dance Company -> P21

Bella Puskar (-> The Space)

Academy of Ballet Arts -> P21

Jadyn Dumond (->?)

Allegro Performing Arts Academy

Grace Wilson (->?)

Artistic Motion -> P21

Esme Chou (The Company -> Club -> Artistic Motion -> P21 -> WDP)

Avanti Dance -> P21

Hadley Schulz (-> Mather)

Avis Dance -> P21

Kalea Hidalgo (-> Yorba Linda -> The Space)

Capistrano Dance Academy -> P21

Richie Granese

Center Stage Dance Academy -> P21

Kelly Sweeney (-> Stopped Competing)*

Chavarria Institute of the Arts -> P21

Isabella Kouznetsova (-> WDP)

Diana Kouznetsova (-> WDP)

Club Dance Studio -> P21

Elsie Check (-> Club Dance)

Brooklyn Cooley (-> Club Dance)

Daylyn Lucky (-> Club Dance)

Kelsey Millar (-> Club Dance -> Studio of Arizona)*

Addison Moffett*

Cami Ritzler (-> Club Dance)

Dance Connection 2 -> P21

Davyd Williams*

DanceLova Dance Academy -> P21

Makeila Bartlett

Madison Ng (-> N10)

Dance Precision -> P21

Dyllan Blackburn (-> Mather)

Jordyn Blackburn*

Kaelyn Choe (-> Dance Precision)

Abbey Choi*

Gwen Choi*

Nina Choi*

Isabella Dimopolous (-> Innovative Dance Studios)

Malia Gardner (->?)

Selena Hamilton (The Dance Spot -> Dance Precision -> P21)

Brooklyn Jara (-> Dance Precision)

Brooklyn Ladia

Melia Mariano*

Sara Najm (->Chavarria Institute of the Arts)

Alexis Ramirez (->?)*

Zoe Rossi (-> Dance Connection 2?)

Ava Sinchinalchi (->OCPAA)*

Brooklyn Stafford

Kimberly Tobias (->?)*

Reggie Valdez (-> Launch Brea Space)

Lauren Wallingford*

Dellos Dance -> P21

Brooklyn Jones (Dellos -> P21 -> Dellos)

Chloe Jones (Dellos -> P21 -> Dellos)

Isabella Rivera (-> K2)

Fusion Studios -> P21

Aura Dela Cruz

Haus of Royals -> P21

Kaitlyn Ortega (->Mather)

Maddie Ortega (->Mather)

Impact Dance Center

Shane Higa (Stopped Competing)

Juliana's School of Dance -> P21

Katie Couch (-> WDP -> P21)

Kami Couch (-> WDP -> P21)

Kenzie Couch (-> WDP -> P21)

Just Plain Dancin' -> P21

Danie Riveroy (-> OCPAA)

K2 Studios -> P21

Zeke Lindsey (OCPAA -> K2 -> P21)

Leilani Lawlor

KBM Talent -> P21

Ava Woinarowicz (-> DKCBA -> P21 -> Stopped Competing)

Mather Dance Company -> P21

Taytem Bisono (Adage -> Mather -> P21 ->?)

Bella Machado (P21 -> OCPAA)

Jillian Mahan (OCPAA -> Mather -> P21 ->?)

Haley Messick*

Madelyn Nasu (OCPAA -> Mather -> P21)

McCoy Rigby Conservatory of the Arts-> P21

Regan Gerena

Move Dance Academy -> P21

Gracyn French (On Pointe Dance Studio -> Move -> P21)

Murrieta Dance Project -> P21

Jaidyn Dumond (->?)

N10 -> P21

Kira Lieberman (Pacific -> N10 -> P21)

Notion Dance -> P21

Sienna Carlston*

OCPAA -> P21

Raven Alanes (->Studio Fusion)

Olivia Armstrong

Aleena Aoun (-> WDP)*

Mackenzie Auger (-> WDP)*

Madi Beerer (Talent Factory -> OCPAA -> P21)

Lexie Cavanaugh (-> Chavarria Institute)*

CeCe Chung

Sammi Chung

Jamieson Deacy (Stopped Competing)

Kendyl Fay (-> High School Dance)

Nyla McCarthy (-> Mather)

Audrina Mossembecker (->?)

Avery Olsen (-> OCPAA)

Chloe Solinger (-> CHs Dance Company)

Haley Stoico (Stopped Competing)

Laci Stoico (-> The Space)

Sara Von Rotz

Charlotte Watters (-> RockStar)

Leighton Werner

Rylee Young (Stopped Competing)

Onstage Dance Centre -> P21

Liliana Barajas (Elite Artist Dance Company -> Ostage Dance Centre -> P21)

Pave School of the Arts -> P21

Delaney Anbarden

Elliana Anbarden

Mady Kim

Elle O'Donnell*

Avery Reyes

Pacific Dance -> P21

Kai Armitage (->?)

Jenna Koblin (Stopped Competing)

Brielle Lieberman

Brooklyn Lieberman

Katie Nguyen (->?)

Kelly Nguyen*

Loila Rhee

Dawson Walker*

Perception Dance Company -> P21

Berkeley Scifres

Brystin Scifres

Performing Arts Academy of Marin -> P21

Zuzu Duchon*

Premier Youth Dance Company

Allison Choi

Richter Dance Company -> P21

Dillon Barron

Peyton Barron (Richter -> Variant -> P21 -> The Space)

Rhythm Dance Center -> P21

Lexi Blanchard

South Coast Conservatory -> P21

Cali Cassidy (P21 -> OCSA Ballroom)

Studio 1 Dance Academy -> P21

Emma Rose Crawford (-> IAF Studios -> Southland Ballet Academy -> Amirian Ballet Academy)

Studio Fusion -> P21

Tiana Heaton (->?)

Studio X -> P21

Chloe Mirabal

Savanna Musman

Demi Ulloa

Aliya Yen

The Company -> P21

Stella Ebert

Winter Ebert (-> Company -> Mather)

Imogene Elias (-> Company)

The Dance Spot -> P21

Isabella Warfield (-> Mather)

The Difference Dance Company

JoJo Jessen (Premier Dance -> Difference -> P21)*

The Industry Dance Academy -> P21

Anya Inger (The Rage -> Art Code -> Industry Dance -> P21 -> Stopped Competing)

The Rage -> P21

Delilah Hewitt (->The Space)

The Royal Underground -> P21

Milan Furtado (Stopped Competing)

The Talent Factory -> P21

Brooke Masters (->?)

Perris Amento*

Vision Dance Company

Kaitlyn Yi (-> WDP)*

WSCA -> P21

Tatum Brady (-> Studio Fusion -> WDP)

Maya Loureiro (->OCSA focused)

Tyra Polke (->The Rock Center For Dance)

Honestly no clue:

Bella Garcia*

Brooklyn Vara (->Define Dance Space)

Faith Montoya

Haley Reeder

Isha Das*

Jacqueline David*

Janae Holster (-> Movement Studios)

Kalea Hidalgo (-> Yorba Linda -> The Space)

Katelin McDermott*

[loubagoob]

I have a hankering for some mature love fanfiction, i.e.: Ted/Rebecca, Gerri Kellman/Roman Roy, Kathryn Janeway/Chakotay, Grace/Frankie, Danny Williams/Steve McGarrett, Abbey Bartlett/Jed Bartlett, Serena Campbell/Bernie Wolfe, Sharon Raydor/Andy Flynn, Zelda Spellman/Lilith, Ice/Maverick, Emily Gilmore/Richard Gilmore, Melinda May/Phil Coulson...

What are everyone’s favorite mature ships???

[downton-tourney]

S2, E4:

Ethel flirts with Bryant, is caught with him, is fired. She later comes back to reveal she's pregnant. Branson asks Sybil to run away with him. Matthew and William, who were missing in action, return to the Abbey just in time for the concert.

S3, E6:

Violet pressures Dr Clarkson to lie to Cora and Robert in order to repair their couple. Tom announces Sybbie will be baptised in the catholic church, and is supported by Mary. Audrey Bartlett holds the final proof of Bates' innocence and refuse to give it. Mr Mason asks Daisy to become his sole heiress. There's a luncheon given at Isobel's to the ladies of the house, cooked and served by Ethel.

[litcityblues]

The West Wing Re-Watch, Seasons 1 & 2

You couldn't possibly reboot The West Wing today. I know there's been chatter about it now and again and they did that dramatic presentation of an episode ("Hartsfield's Landing" from Season 3) a couple of years back to benefit 'When We All Vote' featuring the original cast and key recurring cast from the episode in their original roles. (With Sterling K. Brown stepping in for the deceased John Spencer to play Leo McGarry.)

But you couldn't possibly reboot it today. It would be dismissed as cringe centrist fanfiction almost immediately. The past is another country and The West Wing proves it conclusively. You watch the show and it's like staring back into an America that doesn't exist anymore. The politics seem positively quaint compared with today's noxious environment.

*deep sigh*

All that being said, as we all sit here, on our little rock, falling through the Universe, I'm left with the inescapable conclusion that our festering, fetid Culture War is a cul-de-sac we're all trapped in together. Both sides seem to want to keep us on the never-ending hamster wheel of outrage and ideology and it's mentally exhausting. Various horrible bills are currently working their way through our state legislature in Des Moines. I've written on vouchers, but there are parents that seem convinced now that if schools don't teach social and emotional learning, they won't discover their sexual identities. There are parents that think if kids don't hear the word 'transgender' they won't be transgender. (Whether or not these parents allow their children cell phones with access to the internet is a question nobody wants to ask because guess what? If they have the phones with the TikToks and the Snapchats and the social media, they're going to be finding out about all the shit you hate... on their own. So, game over either way.)

Our current time of nonsense is exhausting and even if The West Wing represents a politics and an America that no longer exists, it sure is nice to remember when it wasn't a toxic waste dump, so there's some nice escapism you can wallow in if that's your thing.

*ok, tangent over.*

The First Season of The West Wing is... well, you can tell it's a first season. Sorkin is, of course, infamous for using the same phrases over and over again and I'm pretty sure parts of 'A Proportional Response' show up in 'The American President' and of course, every show he's ever done has the inevitable first season finale of 'What Kind Of Day Has It Been' (and I don't know why, either. If there's an explanation for that, I've never seen it.)

But, mixed in with the inevitable 'finding of the sea legs' that every show seems to go through, you've got some really excellent episodes that peek through. 'The State Dinner' introduces Abbey Bartlett (Stockard Channing), 'Take This Sabbath Day' is a really excellent look at the politics of the death penalty (another issue that's just a non-issue in today's political discourse, but very much a cogent issue in the 90s.)

I know everyone likes to cite 'Let Bartlet Be Bartlet' for this season and it's a good episode, a nice hinge episode that sets up the last few episodes leading up to the season finale, but the one that really stands out to me is 'Six Meetings Before Lunch.'

In general, it's not a particularly memorable episode, but one subplot between Josh (Bradley Whitford) and a nominee for the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, Jeff Breckenridge (Carl Lumbly) stands out because there's a bit of a kerfuffle about Jeff because he commented on a dust cover for a book advocating reparations for slavery. This episode aired in the year 2000. And I don't know if people would call it a comprehensive discussion of reparations, but it seems like a pretty balanced one to me- well ahead of its time.

The West Wing has a few moments like that- in general, it's fairly straightforward 90s liberalism, heavily influenced by the late 60s progressivism (obviously, because people in the 90s couldn't shut about the 60s). But on occasion, some prescience peeks out.

Mandy (Moira Kelly) departs the scene after the first season and I always thought it was a shame they never managed to bring her back in some capacity- and whether that was because of hard feelings or just general luck I don't know. But to be fair to her, it seemed like Mandy was a character they didn't really know what to do with, so if the break-up was mutual, I think it made a lot of sense.

The second season is probably one of my favorites. (In fact, you could sell me on Seasons 2-4 as being The West Wing at the peak of its Sorkin-powers quite easily.) The season picks up in the aftermath of the shooting in Rosslyn and the fallout that followed. The introduction of Ainsley Hayes (Emily Proctor) as a Republican Lawyer hired as Associate White House Counsel early on in the season features one of the best encapsulations of the gun control debate that I have ever seen and one that still holds up today and explains why we can't get anywhere on that issue. (The workplace harassment subplot seems very jarring back then, but the tribalistic behavior the two disgruntled staffers display fits the politics of today lamentably well.)

'Shibboleth' is a standout episode in the early going- but really, it's 'Noel' that just about steals the whole season in many respects. But there are so many great episodes to choose from in this season! 'Ellie', 'Somebody's Going To Emergency, Somebody's Going To Jail' (which features a nicely Sorkin-esque critique of performative leftism that holds up today.) 'The Stackhouse Filibuster' is undoubtedly still used in high school government classes to teach about the concept of a filibuster even though the actual filibuster hasn't worked like that for years now.

The slide down to the season finale is just a run of episodes that do not miss. The last six episodes are building towards something and with the season finale of 'Two Cathedrals', the payoff is sublime. It's perfect. Even now over two decades later, I defy anyone to find me a show outside of like 'The Wire' that has had a seven-episode run leading into a season finale like The West Wing does here.

You can love Sorkin or you can hate Sorkin but right here, the man was at the height of his powers in a way that I don't think I saw again until possibly The Social Network or Molly's Game.

Even after all these years, 'Two Cathedrals' still SLAPS. Just fucking perfect. Fight me in the comments if you disagree.

Apparently, this is the year when I rewatch old shows, so welcome? Come along for the ride?

[lafcadiosadventures]

Madame Putiphar Readalong. Book One, Chapter Four:

Tinterne Abbey Doorway leading into the Sacristy. W. H. Bartlett. E. J. Roberts.

This week’s chapter was especially good. We get to see Borel at the top of his eclcectic writing genre-spanning game. There’s theatrical dialogue, impressionistic descriptions in broad brush strokes, carefully minute scenic descriptions lovingly painted with a fine brush, the succinct epigram of the 1700’s and the verbal overload of the baroque, a convincing portrayal of domestic violence immediately followed by farce, proto-surrealism... The splendid polyphony of the Romantic orchestra, unbridled.

I strongly reccomend reading it for yourselves. Text in English here!

We begin with Debby looking at herself in the mirror. She has to make sure there’s no trace of tears or pain in her expression before she is seen by her father at lunch.

It’s true that she has to hide her pain like her mother has begged of her. It’s best if Lord Cockermouth is left in the dark about their prior meeting.

But on another level we are seeing a woman having to hide unpalatable emotions under a socially acceptable mask. I find the whole image of Debby scrutinizing her face and dress, making futile attempts to suppress visible signs of the pain she’s feeling to be extremely eloquent. It’s very Romantic too, the duel of the instinctual/emotional versus social conventions.

Borel in his iconoclastic tale Passereau has his narrator exclaim “this is not a Rousseau story!”. But he seems to share with him a concern about the social constraints imposed on our natural, spontaneous reactions. (remember the also iconic paragraph in The Werewolf depicting the tight menswear of the day as a prison for the body) Emotions, if one looks beyond the very pragmatic reasons Debby and Lady Cockermouth have for masking and concealing, giving free reign to emotions is not socially acceptable. We will see later on how there is a double standard at work here, since Lord Cockermouth in one of my favorite passages in an overall very well written chapter, is completely allowed to just. Combust with rage.

Debby finally feels ready to face her parents, and arrives at the dinning room, where it’s her mother, her ambivalent ally who casts doubt on her, remarking on the lateness of her arrival. Her Father speaks in her mother’s ear about how bad Debby looks, how she seems like an insomniac. How she will break from too much exertion-he of course means, excessive sexual escapades with Patrick. Debby knows her parents well, and with just one look she

“(...) sensed the tempest; and shaking like a bird surprised by a storm, she went and curled up in a chair.”

The chapter is full of perfectly succinct lines such as this which paint the scene perfectly without need of long winded descriptions. It’s poetic while also very visual. We can picture her attitude: swift, shrinking herself, bringing all eyes on her from trying too hard to be unnoticed. His father pierces with his relentless, invasive gaze.

Borel employs for Cockermouth’s lines theatrical asides. He says one thing aloud for Debby to hear, and something else in a lower tone, into his wife’s ear that reveals his true intentions. His asides are usually derisive comments implying how his daughter is a nymphomaniac. He asks about what he perceives is a symptom: her red eyes, her lack of sleep, her lack of appetite, and diagnosticates her: the cause of the symptoms is constantly deemed to be excessive sexual appetite and activity. And the cure? Well, he would crush her, if it weren’t for his hability to show restraint (we will see about this restraint soon enough).

He finally stops with the pretence and calls her a prostitute to her face. He vanishes her from the dinning room. Debby cries, her mother defends her, the verbal abuse turns physical. Lord Cockermouth throws a pewter cup at Debby’s shoulder. She cries out, which enrages him. (this is also perfect psychology, the abuser angered at the expression of his victim’s pain, a mirror painfully reflecting his brutality back at him. It also follows the theme of the social etiquette of women hiding their discomfort we saw earlier. It would perhaps be preferable if Debby would just take the abuse without complaining, avoiding her abuser any discomfort)

What follows is a very visual, almost farcical description of Cockermouth anger. Again, it’s just a single line, but you can see it all: a blurry red mass of a man raising himself from the table, toppling it over with his massive belly, breaking everything in his way while storming out like a hurricane, shouting out insults, slamming the door of his room, making it all about himself. He is, evidently, the wronged party.

Debby flees to her room as well. Her brian shuts down from the trauma. She falls asleep, completely drained. This type of scene is not new for her, since she has, from the days of her childhood, seen her father abuse her mother, the narrator tells us. But for the first time she was more than a supernumerary, she was pushed center stage to perform a leading role in the theatre of domestic violence, and feared it’s final act.  

A servant finds her asleep when bringing her dinner. He has a note from her mother. She begs her not to meet Patrick that night.

The request triggers an inner monologue. Debby’s exhausted brain rebels not at her mother’s plea, but at the mere idea of breaking up with Patrick. We get poetic repetitions: (Oh! c’est là de ces choses auxquelles mon esprit se refuse! Oh! c’est là de ces pensées dont mon intelligence bornée s’effarouche?—Moi! te donner congé, Patrick! comprends-tu?) She calls her love for Patrick the vulture that grasps her in its claws, a jailer that piles her up with chains. And the imagery grows more and more surreal. “L’enfant peut briser son jouet, mais le jouet peut-il briser l’enfant?... Eh! que suis-je!...—Une meule peut-elle se broyer elle-même? Un arbre peut-il se déraciner? Une vallée peut-elle dominer le mont qui la domine?... Et moi! puis-je engouffrer l’abyme qui m’engouffre?...” We cannot easily picture the action of a molar grinding itself, a tree uprooting itself, the imagery is not rooted in logic. It’s a challenge to the reader. The images undoubtedly remit to the idea of self destruction. Turning Patrick away would amount to self amputation. That uncontrollable force which dominates her is also what is keeping her alive.

After a few bites of a piece of bread, Debby mechanically puts on a cape and leaves her room. 

We get some very precise architectonic terminology to describe Cockermouth Castle. If the raging lunch was all Goya’s rage and fury in broad brush strokes, here we get really close to the canvas for a minute description of the gothic fortress. (Borel was an architect, and he had a special spot for gothic architecture in his heart, so we get a detailed description of the evolution of the styles currently surrounding Debby)(the functional military crenels had given way to a rich baluster in a neoclassical belvedere style, designed for strolls and contemplation -erasing the gothic, thought of at the time as a barbaric style is one of Borel’s pet peeves as seen in his essay The Luxor Obelisk-)(which shows us that times of war have given way to times of peace at least for the Lords of the land. The growing power of the Cockermouths, of England in the area, makes them confident enough not to expect attacks any time soon)

The castle dominates over a barren red and black plain. There’s peripheral poverty, as seen by the very precarious little cottages half buried by the soil. We seem to be now in a Caspar Friedrich painting, or a Piranesi wasteland. Desolation, deserted land, ruins of ancient towers, churches, monasteries.... The viewer, we are told, -to a surprising effect-finds solace in this vision, the double edged blade of the sublime. The gaze is enchanted, and the mind is transported to the past.

We get a wonderful description of a cascade called The Devil’s Throat and its lore. The water flows cold in summer, warm in winter, and all kinds of miraculous cures have been attributed to it. But, the narrator bitterly adds, its most irrefutable property is that of curing anyone foolish enough to bathe in it of the illness of life.

The narrator is made aware of the limit of his art while trying to describe the vision of the sunset seen from behind the cascade, enhanced by seeing it from that long and sombre balustrade gallery ending in a gothic rosette which has nothing to envy from the sun. (architecture and nature perfectly mirror one another, they are both equally sublime and enhance each other’s sublimity)

Debby sees these wonders and remembers all the times she has endlessly, insatiably gazed at them with Patrick. Debby finds their initials and dates significant to them, engraved by Patrick on the rocks of the tower, in those meetings where only the heavens, which aren���t mocking or perfidious could hear them.

Debby could also see, from this privileged crow’s nest, while a thousand golden threads sprung from her eyes like a spider’s web, all their favorite spots where they had shared a favorite book, or had “herborized” together. (@sainteverge called our attention to the word: herboriser used to carry the meaning of ivy growing over rocks or statues, tangling and entwining until it’s impossible to tell where one begins and the other ends)

The chapter ends with Debby’s threads of gold scanning the cartography of her love. Even if she does not own the fortress, these oasis have been claimed by her and her Patrick’s herborizing.

[carnelian-pimpernel]

I'm binge watching the west wing and I can't keep bothering my mom with my thoughts so I'm keeping them safe here.

(it's mostly just my reactions to certain quotes)

(ik some things before I should bc my mom showed me like ten minutes of a season 6 ep before just telling me to start from the beginning)

I wasn't expecting them to pull the MS card this quickly. Sobbing crying throwing up

Oh my god THE HOTEL DOOR

The bit about how Donna has to open Josh's hotel door for him transitioning into her seeing him do it on his own WHEN THEY'RE ESTRANGED

The DRAMA

THE JACKAL 😂😂😂

NOT ZOE KISSING CHARLIE IN THE BULLPEN

Wait. Why does CJ end up as the chief of staff

WHAT HAPPENS TO LEO

Let Bartlett Be Bartlett

Fucking. King SHIT.

I love Josh so much

Josh and Charlie make my soul happy

Joey Lucas can bite me

"I'm not sleeping with Al Keefer anymore" GIRL OH MY GOD. JUST OUT THERE IN PUBLIC ?!?!

"are you mad I went on a date or are you mad it was with someone from the same division as the Yankees"

"...honest to God I'm not sure"

COMEDY

ZOE'S AGENT IS LOOKING NERVOUS WHATS GOING DOWN

I love the president trolling CJ so much

Josh falling out of seat .5 seconds after Charlie calls him one of the smartest people in the world? *Chef's kiss*

The president's secretary is my favorite character

IS ZOE ABOUT TO GET SHOT BY A NAZI AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD

WHERE IS JOSH

NOT MY BABY NOOOOOO

The president, josh, oh my god

Love that this flashback just, COMES UP with a sudden random ex-fiance for Sam

Josh laying there dying

The Outro: 😄😃🎺🎶😁

Sam quit his high paying job bc JOSH SMILED AT HIM I AM. GOING. TO. CRY.

I don't like Danny rn and I am PREEMPTIVELY upset that she doesn't get to stay with Mark Harmon's character.

Like dude. SHE JUST GOT SHOT AT. SHE HAS A CONCUSSION. maybe cut her a little slack?!?!

CJ falling into the pool I am screaming 😂😂😂

CJ is a better person than me bc idk if I could go from 500k a year to 600/week

They were aiming for Charlie?!?!!

SAM SAVED HER LIFE OH MY GOD

Two of you shooting two guns and you couldn't hit one guy???? Were you firing blindfolded????

Y'all's aim fuckin SUCKS

Love that Donna got her job by just. Showing up and starting

"I may have been overstating a little" MOOD

He gave her his lanyard 😭🥹😭🥹

SAM SAVED CJ'S LIFE OH MY GOD

I am sobbing

"why not I saved your life?" askehdjidbdidbdjdhisi

Toby thinking it was his fault and Secret Service Ron reassuring him I'm 😭😭😭

"your husband is a real son of a bitch Mrs. Bartlet" lmfaooooo

Why is this show so good at EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTERS

The scene where Josh wakes up in the hospital 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 Jed patting his head :(((

Love that this show was like HEY. when people get shot at, there are PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES.

GO JOSIAH GO !!!! WHAT A KING!!!! INCREDIBLE

CJ bought Josh pajamas 🥹🥹🥹

I really hope this Ainsley chick puts her shitty misogynist boss in his place

Even if it would most likely involve embarrassing Sam

"Please, Please, God let them not be watching"

"Toby come quick, Sam's getting his ass beat by a girl"

LMFAO

I just saw a minor spoiler. Does Josh die?!?! If Josh dies I will murder someone

HER FULL NAME IS DONNATELLA?!? incredible

Cj being punished for making fun of Notre Dame is so good

Josh is JEALOUS and he's being a DICK about it

The Reverend is an.... interesting character

Mrs. Landingham ROASTING the president, I love

🥹😭😭🥹🥹😭🥹 the president giving Charlie his heirloom kniiiiife

These two idiots are about to light a fire in a decorative fireplace aren't they

LMFAO forgetting the president in a seating chart. Classic

These idiots lit a fire in a decorative fireplace

LEON VANCE ?????

One of these times when they say "they'll know what it means" I really want the person on the other end of the message to be like "??? No?? I don't???"

If Jed and Abbey get divorced I am OUT

"all you ever had to do to make me happy, was come home at the end of the day" *tearing up.jpg*

Welp, that's my thoughts for now. There will be more and that is a threat.

[thegreenwallrabbit-blog]

Explaining one of VTMB paintings (pt 12)

The Tomb of Washington, Mount Vernon Ink on paper; steel plate engraving, etching (1840) by William Henry Bartlett (artist), John Cousen(engraver) and Virtue & Co. Publishing Company 

This print shows the tomb of Founding Father and First U.S. President George Washington( February 22, 1732- December 14, 1799) who died in his bed at his family home at Mount Vernon, Virginia and is the location where he is laid to rest in accordance with his last wishes. Before his death he had made provisions for this new brick tomb to be built for him and his wife, the first First Lady of the United States, Martha Dandridge Custis Washington (June 2, 1731 — May 22, 1802). This was necessary because despite the Washingtons best efforts, their original family vault on the property was rapidly deteriorating beyond repair. [1]

William Henry Bartlett (March 26, 1809 – September 13, 1854) was a British artist known for his steel engravings. Born in Kentish Town, London he became one of the foremost illustrators of topography of his generation and traveled the world including vast parts of Europe, the Middle East and North America. In 1835, Bartlett first visited the United States to draw the buildings, towns and scenery of the northeastern states. The finely detailed steel engravings Bartlett produced were published uncolored with a text by Nathaniel Parker Willis as American Scenery; or Land, Lake, and River: Illustrations of Transatlantic Nature. American Scenery was published by George Virtue in London in 30 monthly installments from 1837 to 1839. Bound editions of the work were published from 1840 onward. Bartlett made sepia wash drawings the exact size to be engraved. His engraved views were widely copied by artists, but no signed oil painting by his hand is known. Engravings based on Bartlett's views were later used in his posthumous History of the United States of North America, continued by Bernard Bolingbroke Woodward and published around 1856.Bartlett's primary concern was to render "lively impressions of actual sights", as he wrote in the preface to The Nile Boat (London, 1849). Many views contain some ruin or element of the past including many scenes of churches, abbeys, cathedrals and castles, and Nathaniel Parker Willis described Bartlett's talent thus: "Bartlett could select his point of view so as to bring prominently into his sketch the castle or the cathedral, which history or antiquity had allowed".[2]

John Cousen (1804–1880) born in Yorkshire England he was a British landscape engraver, painter and print maker who apprenticed under the respected animal engraver John Scott. Cousen's involvement with the Art Journal( which was part of Virtue & Co. Publishing Company) , the leading and most popular fine art publication during the nineteenth century, which he worked almost exclusively for as an engraver and print master. From 1849 to 1866 he supplied thirty-two plates, most after works by his contemporaries. The journal provided surveys of important collections to which Cousen contributed; these included paintings in the Royal Collection and the National Gallery. It was while working for the Art Journal that he produced his only known works after Old Masters, including Hobbema's The Old Mill and Berchem's Crossing the Ford. [3]

Virtue & Co. publishing company was a major book and print publishing firm founded by George Virtue in 1820. The success of Virtue & Co was built off George Virtue choice in selecting only the most accomplished artists such as William Henry Bartlett, and employing the best engravers such as John Cousen, to produced books that were rarely surpassed in elegance and correctness for the period. Virtue created a prodigious business, issuing upwards of twenty thousand copper and steel engravings through his career.[4]  In 1848 the company acquired 'The Art Union' which became 'The Art Journal' (1839-1912; for a run of impressions in series order from this journal for 1844 to 1870. In 1855 George’s son, James Sprent Virtue, took over his father's business which he had been working at in the New York branch since 1848 and initiated the series of prints after great 'galleries' of pictures including the Royal Collection, Vernon Collection(which this print is a part of) and the Turner Collection. [5] 

 Citations:

[1]“Tombs.” George Washington's Mount Vernon, Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, https://www.mountvernon.org/the-estate-gardens/the-tombs/.

[2]“William Henry Bartlett .” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 11 Mar. 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Henry_Bartlett. 

[3] “Collections Online: British Museum.” Collections Online | British Museum, British Museum, https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG23833. 

[4] “George Virtue .” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 15 Feb. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Virtue. 

[5]“William Henry Bartlett .” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 11 Mar. 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Henry_Bartlett.