#and every woman Margaret or Anne

[therainbowwillow]

Fantasy novel but all the characters are named “James” and “John” and “Mary” and “Elizabeth” and the names get repeated so there are like four guys named John and they’re all indistinguishable.

[fideidefenswhore]

@boleynism replied to your post:

It's a great summary, although I'm not sure 'bullying' is the best word choice (...hectoring?); unless, of course we're taking Chapuys at 100% face value (which...off the dome, incorrect report of the name of Anne's first child, incorrect report that Mary was going to be sent to serve Anne as maid in waiting, report that there were no bonfires celebrating Elizabeth's christening was contradicted by two other sources...only the first of which he ever admitted the error, which he would never have gotten away with doing otherwise, as she was a significant child, the second of which he still claimed was true but that Anne had changed her mind and decided to send her to Elizabeth's household instead). And it's the reality of power, really...gaining power, securing power, maintaining power (or, as Thomas has argued here, safety) can be very ugly. These were not Disney princesses we're talking about. But there's a certain Janus face to all this, also: in all likelihood, Anne completely believed that everything she did was justified, because she wanted to use that power for good ("pardon me from your hearts [...] that I have not done all the good that was in my power to do.”  ), for causes she believed in, that's all tied up in that fierce maternal instinct (""A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path.") as well.

[make-friends-with-the-rats]

can i hear more about why you think the bowery beauties were brought in "to retain vaudeville/burlesque elements while desexualizing Medda?" :0

But of course!

Allow me to set the stage...

Vaudeville and burlesque were both popular forms of variety shows in the 19th century. The first vaudeville show in America can be traced to 1816. A vaudeville show might have acts ranging from singing and comedy to acrobatics and ventriloquism [source]. Burlesque was introduced to theaters in New York as early as the 1840s and often were composed of comedic skits, satire, songs, and women dancers in rather provocative costumes [source].

As I touched upon in my previous post, Medda Larkin, in her stage musical iteration, is inspired by the vaudeville star Aida Overton Walker.

Born in 1880, Aida Overton Walker was arguably the most famous and influential African-American star of her generation. She was as progressive as she was talented. She refused to conform with black stereotypes on the stage and devoted much work to helping young African-American artists [source]. With her as inspiration, Medda becomes bold, comedic, and confident, every bit the vaudeville star.

As a result, in nearly every Newsies the Musical character description or script you can find, Medda is described as a vaudeville performer. But before the rewrite, this wasn't strictly the case. Of course, Newsies is a Disney musical at the end of the day, so you would never have found an overtly burlesque performer in the story. But in the original movie, the line between vaudeville and burlesque is blurred.

What I mean, to put it plainly, is that Medda Larkson in the film was sexualized. (The actress Ann-Margaret herself had been a popular pin-up star in the 1960s and 70s.) Although she is portrayed as a caring adult figure and a successful actress, several characters all but drool over her and we hear catcalls in the background of both of her songs. Not to mention her first song, My Lovey-Dovey Baby is very suggestive. The overall atmosphere that is created around Medda in the film is highly reminiscent of burlesque rather than purely vaudeville.

In the musical adaptation, that burlesque energy is redirected away from Medda and towards the Bowery Beauties. This is particularly obvious in the way the song Don't Come a-Knocking was presented in the Broadway show/proshot in comparison to Medda's solo, That's Rich. While Medda commands the stage with confidence and comedy, the Bowery Beauties are shown obscured behind a male audience or are viewed literally from the male gaze.

The Newsies musical adaption took Medda Larkson and created a separation between the vaudeville and the burlesque. Or: it made Medda purely a vaudeville actress and created the Bowery Beauties. In doing so, Medda was desexualized. There are two major reasons for this. First, because of the vaudeville inspiration taken from Aida Overton Walker herself. And second, to have Medda be portrayed as a more maternal figure.

But should Medda have been completely un-burlesqued? Here's the part where I take advantage of this ask to yap about something you didn't ask for. Enjoy!

While burlesque shows did tend to attract a largely male audience, there is another aspect of burlesque that is largely overlooked.

Burlesque and vaudeville not only gave women a chance to join the stage, but gave them the freedom to be loud and self-aware when society called for women to be soft-spoken and modest. But burlesque took it a step further in the costumes female performers wore. Not only were the costumes in direct contrast (and perhaps defiance) to the Victorian image of a woman...

"A woman onstage, displaying her body, speaking freely, and challenging her audience, was a strange and shocking sight in the nineteenth century, when female performers of any kind were still conventionally equated with prostitutes." [source <- highly recommend checking this one out]

Burlesque performances at it's best gave women a unique outlet for self expression as well as confidence in her body. It was much more forward thinking and feminist than you might think.

"Men loved to watch burlesque performers, but at the same time, they were afraid that her feminine power was too dynamic to stay safely confined to the stage." [source <- same as above, literally such an interesting read]

Now, keeping this perspective in mind, the original Newsies film had the right idea in giving Medda more burlesque elements, they were just going about it wrong. And rather than fixing the problem of sexualization with a complete separation between Medda and the Bowery Beauties, Medda and the Bowery Beauties should be building off of each other.

Personally, I think that Newsies UK did it best. In the West End production of Newsies, there isn't much difference between Medda and the Bowery Beauties. They share the same costume and they share the stage during That's Rich. Medda is still commanding the audience, but the addition of the Bowery Beauties here lends new meaning. Medda has remained the vaudeville star, but the Bowery Beauties have broken out of the male gaze and joined Medda in challenging 19th century society.

[whatstruthgottodowithit]

Elvis Presley Fics Masterlist

Promise Me? Pairing: Elvis Presley x Female Reader Word Count: 2622 Rating: Explicit

The Way I Loved You Pairing: Elvis Presley x Reader, Austin Butler x Reader Word Count: 4348 Rating: Mature

Treat Me Like A Fool Pairing: Elvis Presley x  Female Reader Word Count: 7950 [2 Parts] Rating: Teen

He’ll Have To Go Pairing: Elvis Presley x Female Reader Word Count: 2555 Rating: Mature

Better Man Pairing: Elvis Presley x Female Reader Word Count: 2717 Rating: Teen & Up

Trading One Heartbreak For Another Pairing: Elvis Presley x Female Reader Word Count: 3192 Rating: Teen & Up

Trying To Get To You Pairing: Elvis Presley x Female Reader Word Count: 2464 Rating: Explicit

Lonely In a Crowded Room Pairing: Elvis Presley x Female Reader Word Count: 11279 [3 Parts] Rating: Mature

Santa Bring My Baby Back To Me Pairing: Elvis Presley x Female Reader Word Count: 3208 Rating: Mature

Wrapped Around My Finger Pairing: Elvis Presley x Female Reader Word Count: 3492 Rating: Teen

Made For Each Other Pairing: Elvis Presley x Female Reader Word Count: 2982 Rating: Explicit

Late Birthday Present Pairing: Elvis Presley x Female Reader Word Count: 3197 Rating: Explicit

Last Past The Post Pairing: Elvis Presley x Female Reader x Memphis Mafia Word Count: 3951   Rating: Explicit

Hide and Seek [Requested] Pairing: Elvis Presley x Reader Word Count: 3170 Rating: Explicit

The Needs of a Man [Requested] Pairing: Elvis Presley x  Female Reader Word Count: 1776 Rating: Mature

Details [Requested] Pairing:  Elvis Presley x Reader Word Count: 1466 Rating: Gen

A Girl Like That [Requested] Pairing: Elvis Presley x Female Reader Word Count: 1986 Rating: Explicit

Every Step of the Way [Requested] Pairing: Elvis Presley x Female Reader Word Count: 3227 Rating: Mature

It’ll All Come Out in the Wash [Requested] Pairing: Elvis Presley x Female Reader Word Count: 1765 Rating: Mature

The Best Place To Be [Requested] Pairing: Elvis Presley x Female Reader Word Count: 2660 Rating: Mature

Ever Since Germany [Requested] Pairing: Elvis Presley x Female Reader Word Count: 4029 Rating: Explicit

A Few Good Men Pairing: Elvis Presley x Female Reader Word Count: 10735 [3 Parts] Rating: Mature

Elvis Fuckin’ Presley Pairing: Elvis Presley x Female Reader Word Count: 3509 Rating: Explicit

Does He Love You? [Requested] Pairing: Elvis Presley x Female Reader, Elvis Presley x Ann Margaret Word Count: 3225 Rating: Explicit

Helping [Requested] Pairing: Elvis Presley x Female Reader Word Count: 2435 Rating: Gen

In Your Arms [Requested] Pairing: Elvis Presley x Female Reader Word Count: 1024 Rating: Explicit

The Art of Gift Giving [Requested] Pairing: Elvis Presley x Reader Word Count: 2110 Rating: Mature

The Price of Loving Elvis Presley [Requested] Pairing: Elvis Presley x Reader Word Count: 2256 Rating: Mature

Shut Up and Kiss Me [Requested] Pairing: Elvis Presley x Reader Word Count: 3400 Rating: Teen

Made For The Mafia [Series of Fics] Pairing: Elvis Presley x Reader x Memphis Mafia Word Count: 34,000 [In 8 Parts] Rating: Explicit

His Bird With The Broken Wing Pairing: Elvis Presley x Original Female Character Rating: Teen Word Count: 5128

Tennessee Orange Pairing: Elvis Presley x Reader Word Count: 2407 Rating: Teen

Die From A Broken Heart Pairing: Elvis Presley x Reader Word Count: 1837 Rating: Teen

You Ain’t Woman Enough [To Take My Man] Pairing: Elvis Presley x Reader Word Count: 4107 Rating: Mature

It Hurts Me Pairing: Elvis Presley x Reader, Reader x Jerry Schilling Word Count: 7849 Rating: Teen

I’m Not Going Anywhere Pairing: Elvis Presley x Reader Word Count: 6734 Rating: Mature

Don’t Ask Pairing: Elvis Presley x Reader Word Count: 4483 Rating: Teen

Birthday Boy Pairing: Elvis Presley x Reader Word Count: 1248 Rating: Teen

Love In Trouble Pairing: Elvis Presley x Original Female Character, Austin Butler x OFC Word Count: Ongoing Rating: Mature

Elvis & Addison

The Girl He Left Behind Pairing: Elvis Presley x Original Female Character Word Count: 126,532 Rating: Mature/Explicit

Here You Come Again [Sequel To The Girl He Left Behind] Pairing: Elvis Presley x Original Female Character Word Count: 127699 Rating: Mature/Explicit

Untethered  Pairing: Elvis Presley x Original Female Character Rating: Mature Word Count: 4319

Little Bird Pairing: Elvis Presley x Original Female Character Rating: Mature Word Count: 4553

Fractured  Pairing: Elvis Presley x Original Female Character Rating: Mature Word Count: 15430 [In 2 Parts]

Our Little Secret Pairing: Elvis Presley x Original Female Character Rating: Teen Word Count: 5012

Closure Pairing: Elvis Presley x Original Female Character Rating: Mature Word Count: 7145

Top of the List Pairing: Elvis Presley x Original Female Character Rating: Mature Word Count: 9639

Meant To Be Pairing: Elvis Presley x Original Female Character Rating: Mature Word Count: 3120

[birgittesilverbae]

Shannon & Bea + dinner

love you so much I'll write babea au for u

//

The bedsheets have been worn rough with repeated washings, but they're still a comfort to Shannon. It's what she deserves, that abrasion against her skin, pulling and catching, a friction that keeps her awake long into the night even with the painkillers dulling her nerves. 

It's worse now that Mary's been called back to Cat's Cradle, now that Shannon's been left to wonder if this is the very sickroom Suzanne had convalesced in all those years before, when she'd left the Cradle broken and returned hard and cold as ice. It shouldn't be much longer, the sisters tell her, the younger faces among them painfully familiar, the elder few and far between. She feels just as much a remnant as they must, these women used up by the OCS and then cast aside when they had nothing left to give but their lives, when their fingers could no longer grip a hilt or pull a trigger, when the slightest sound sent them ducking for cover. 

Sister Rachel, glimpsed briefly in the haze of those first few days when Shannon had yo-yoed in and out of consciousness, who'd almost lost a leg to compartment syndrome during Shannon's first month with the Order. Sister Anne, who'd screamed herself and everyone along her hallway into wakefulness night after night until being whisked away early one morning. Sister Margaret, her lumbar spine crushed beneath the rubble of a collapsing building. The cast-offs of decades of Order work, squirrelled away in a convent near Madrid. And for what?

A knock stirs Shannon from her reverie, and she lifts a heavy hand to wave them in, barely wincing any longer at the drag of muscle against the half-healed wound in her back. A familiar smell accompanies a familiar tread, and her teeth grind together as her jaw tightens.

She forces her muscles to relax, twists her mouth into a mockery of a smile. It's still Beatrice, no matter the– It's still– "Hey, Bea," she manages finally, before the dregs of the smile slide right back off of her face.

"Shannon." Her voice is stiff. Formal. It's an uncomfortable task, Shannon recalls in vivid detail, to put yourself face to face with a woman who failed to carry the burden you now found placed on your own shoulders. But Shannon had never quite taken to it with the alacrity Mary had said Beatrice has shown. "I brought dinner."

"Thought I smelled Mary's cooking." She props herself up on an elbow as Beatrice rounds the bed. Beatrice busies herself unpacking containers from her tote bag, and Shannon takes the opportunity to take stock of her.

It's the first she's seen her since the mission, since she'd taken one look at the hell they were about to step into and turned to handcuff Beatrice in the back of the van without a moment's hesitation before diving into the fray. There's a rigidity to her posture that hadn't been there before, steel replacing that whipcord looseness that she'd come to associate with Beatrice, the way she'd grown into draping herself easily across every surface, into perching readily on chair backs and countertops. This Beatrice sits stiffly in the ladder-backed chair she drags to the bedside, her shoulders drawn back as though to shield the Halo in the concavities of her scapulae.

There's a curl to her lip when she forces her gaze to meet Shannon's, and the hint of the tip of her tongue pressing at the corner of her mouth is the only thing in her that still feels wholly Bea.

"I'd have thought you'd be on assignment with Mary," Shannon ventures after the silence has stretched thin between them. 

"Father Vincent sent her on a solo run up north to meet a contact who's not exactly fond of the Church."

Shannon's blood runs cold and she starts up with such rapidity that Beatrice shoves her chair back a foot. There's warmth slipping down her back, skin torn apart by the abruptness of the movement, but she doesn't pay it any heed. Can't. Not when– "Was she sent on his orders alone?"

Beatrice's brows arch. "I wasn't aware that was something I needed to keep track of."

"It's not–" Shannon presses the heel of her palm to her forehead, tries desperately to piece together a way to present this that doesn't sound like she's– But maybe she is losing her mind. Maybe her loss of the Halo is just further testament to that. How else is she meant to explain the dreams, the visions, the reality in which she's found herself. "Don't trust him, Beatrice," she says finally, desperately. "Please."

"Don't trust Vincent?" Beatrice's laugh is harsh, cuts straight to the bone. "How am I meant to trust you, Shannon?" There's an edge of warning to her voice. "In what world do you deserve to have any more say about who I put my trust in? You betrayed me, you betrayed the Order, and you betrayed the Halo. No wonder it rejected you." 

"Beatrice–"

She rises sharply, tips her head towards the door. "I will be back in half an hour for the dishes. Have a good meal." Beatrice strides from the room, leaving Shannon reeling in her wake.

[rahabs]

I think my main problem with Wolf Hall is that, and I hate to have to borrow this phrase, "it insists upon itself". And historical memeology aside, he phrase has entered public thought as meaning something akin to, "[something] most think is profound but in reality is pretentious and ostentatious," but I would specify that it also often means something that the actual media creators themselves think is profound, but in reality comes across as pretentious ans ostentatious.

That's where I'm at with Wolf Hall. For years I've sat and listened to people extol the supposed virtues of the book (which I have read), and now it continues with the television show, but on a larger scale.

"The costumes are so accurate! Oh, it's so unique, writing from Cromwell's perspective and delivering unto us a new take on this oft-covered period of history! Look at it, Cheyenne, the production design and costuming and ~historical accuracy~ set it so far above other pieces of Tudor media!"

Except when you really look into it what, exactly, is so unique and special about it? What actually makes it better? Sure, it's from Cromwell's point of view, but all Cromwell's point of view serves to do is peddle the same stereotypes historians have been trying to move away from. It's the same portrayals of Anne Boleyn as a cruel, cold, jealous, flat, oft-unkind and vicious, unpleasant, and calculating woman, conveniently ignoring how vivacious she was said to have been in real life, "more French than English", and her real instances of kindness she displayed; the same overall despotic tyrant portrayal of Henry (much as I love Damian Lewis in general); the same humourless, fanatical portrayal of Thomas More; Cromwell himself is basically every stereotype I've ever heard about the historical figure conveniently stuffed under a round cap, despite Rylance's attempts to the contrary; Jane's bland as ever; etc.

These aren't "new" or "deep" portrayals. The only things she really changed from the tried-and-true script is that suddenly Thomas and George Boleyn have taken some classes at the University of Gobdaws and instead of the usual portrayal of Thomas as some evil Machiavellian prince he's just... sort of an idiot, while George is a violent and angry man with little to no talent, in direct contrast with what we know of the historical George.

The Tudors did a lot wrong and gets a lot of flack, but I stand by the fact that the Tudors was one of the first mainstream attempts at focusing on characters outside of just Henry and his wives, while also managing to give nuanced portrayals of characters like Anne and Cromwell that felt new and fresh while also accurate to the reports we have. I also felt The Tudors better portrayed the relationships between Cromwell and the Boleyn family as a whole, despite having less screentime dedicated to it, especially Cromwell and Anne. I am not a fan of Mantel's "nerr nerr Cromwell hates u evil bitch Anne >:P" take, and there's so much with Cromwell that's just straight made-up that Mantel claims as fact and it sours the character. The Tudors portrayal of Anne in general was also much more nuanced, and there's a reason it still sits with so many today.

I also love how The Tudors really tried to tackle the religious politics and the people surrounding Henry as the show went on. Does it mess up? Of course. Norfolk and Cranmer inexplicably vanishing was pretty eyebrow-raising, as was the decision to combine Mary and Margaret Tudor into one character, and there are some truly questionable costumes (shouting to Anne's purple Boob Dress and H&M Trenchcoat in particular, as well as to that one extra not wearing a hose and dancing around in bare legs that I always notice in the background) but what they did well they did very well. I enjoyed the portrayals of Mary Tudor/Mary I, I enjoyed the portrayal of Edward Seymour, I enjoyed seeing these all these people come and go from Henry's orbit.

And as for the accuracy claims, yet again we have another author suffering from Phillipa Gregory Disease going around crowing about how "everything in [her] books is 100% accurate bye!" even when it's not. Mantel's series is a perfectly adequate work of fiction, but it is fiction. Yes, the costumes in the miniseries are far more accurate, but so many of the characters onscreen are just so unpleasant and pretentious, and honestly, so is the overall flavour of the production surrounding this show.

And don't even get me started on how the show was crowing about "period-accurate lighting" when it first came out as though period accurate lighting and relatively accurate costuming is any sort of substitute for the bland, tired stereotypes it insists on preaching.

At times there really is this sense that the show is trying to tell us, "wow, we are so deep, so amazing, so accurate, so much better than The Tudors", and I do say it feels as though it's aimed specifically at The Tudors (as opposed to, say, The Spanish Princess, about Catherine, or that incredibly questionable adaptation staring Jodie Turner-Smith) because The Tudors, for many, was their first major mainstream introduction to the time period, and so The Tudors, for many people, has become the defining zeitgeist, inspiring new generations of historians, researches, etc. Wolf Hall therefore competes directly with The Tudors in a way that, when combined with their own comportment, suggests that supplementation rather than coexistence is the goal. It does this in a way that condescends to the audience, the way Mantel herself seems to condescend to her readers both in her insistence that her way is the "correct" way and in the general insistence that this series is somehow new or fresh or inherently more accurate because it's told from Cromwell's perspective, even though it, again, is merely peddling the same tired tropes we historians have been fighting against for decades and even centuries.

Further, this series is somehow hailed by the press, the media, the creators, the fans, etc, as this bastion or scion of historical accuracy, but the fact of the matter is it makes up just as much stuff as the Tudors while being overall more inaccurate to the period, even if that's hidden in the television show behind a veil of "period-accurate" costuming.

And I say this with all due respect as a historian and as someone who wrote her postgraduate thesis on Mary I of England: there's just something so overwhelmingly mean-spirited about all of Mantel's takes and portrayals that leaks into the entire series and the television adaptation as a whole. It makes it incredibly unpleasant to watch and I just do not any aspect of this series' existence as a result. It's not new, it's not fresh, and that's fine, it doesn't have to be, but it constantly insists that it is and constantly tries to act like it's somehow more grand and profound and intelligent than what is actually presented, and I'm just tired of it.

(Just a note, as well: what I'm saying here does not reflect on or necessarily apply to any of the actors/actresses involved in the show, either. They are given a script and work with what they have. I may disagree with some of the casting, but the actors, to my knowledge, have only ever comported themselves respectfully.)

And finally, I want to leave this post with this quote here, which I think further illustrates some of the problems I have with Mantel and Wolf Hall:

"[Michael] Hirst, in his interview with me, pointed out with some justice that while The Tudors got slammed for its gaps and inventions, Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall gets nothing but praise for its liberties with history. Wolf Hall, he says, is “complete fiction. But nobody says that. They all say: ‘What a wonderful book, what insights it brings to the Tudors.’ Isn’t that bizarre?” Mantel’s quirky, magisterial portrait of Thomas Cromwell is a wonderful book … yet Hirst is right, it doesn’t shy away from tweaking the facts. Ignoring the fact that Cromwell and Anne had many of the same religious commitments for most of Anne’s reign, Mantel paints Anne through Cromwell’s eyes as a predatory calculator, brittle, anxious, and cold- a view that Cromwell is unlikely to have held during the period that Wolf Hall takes place. [...] Although historians complain about the distortions of history in The Tudors, the show actually sticks much more closely and in greater detail to the historical record than any other production. … And despite the condescending remarks of the British press, the show is actually intellectually far more demanding than The Six Wives of Henry VIII. Perhaps its chief offense is being “pop” rather than “literary”.”

-Susan Bordo, The Creation of Anne Boleyn

[awynter]

CHARACTER SHEET

FULL NAME. annelise sophronia shawcross (later, smythe-smith) NICKNAME. annie (by family only) ALIASES. anne wynter, mary philpott, lady winstead PRONOUNS. she/her. HEIGHT. 5'1" AGE. 27 (default), 25-30 (verse dependent) ZODIAC. scorpio SPOKEN LANGUAGES. english, minimal latin, conversational gaelic

𝐏𝐇𝐘𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐒 ―

HAIR. long, raven dark, wavy. often swept back into a neat bun EYES. 'dark ocean-blue' SKIN TONE. fair complexion, pale skin BODY TYPE. petite, slim VOICE. soft, but stern. very much the vocal tones of a teacher. she adores music, and she often hums or sings to herself in a very disney-esque type of way. DOMINANT HAND. right POSTURE. she was raised as a lady in society before she worked in service for over ten years, so her posture is typically straight and ladylike. when she's stressed or tired, she tends to slump, but most of the time she remains upright and poised SCARS. tba. BIRTHMARKS. n/a MOST NOTABLE FEATURES. long, dark hair that reaches the middle of her back when down & dark ocean-blue eyes that 'pierce the soul.'

𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐃𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐃 ―

PLACE OF BIRTH. northumberland, england, uk. SIBLINGS. marabeth & charlotte. PARENTS. edmund & margaret shawcross. ENEMIES. george chervil.

𝐀𝐃𝐔𝐋𝐓 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 ―

OCCUPATION. governess; countess (verse dependent). CURRENT RESIDENCE. partially in london, partially at whipple hill in the english countryside CLOSE FRIENDS. her sister, charlotte, is one of her closest confidantes. she also eventually grows close to her sister-in-law, honoria. other than that the people she is closest with are the three girls under her care, which she is hesitant to call 'friends' FINANCIAL STATUS. raised in high society, but lowered to middle working class when she was exiled. after marrying daniel, she becomes the new countess of winstead and she helps run the estate with her husband. CRIMINAL RECORD. anne wynter has none. annelise shawcross was exiled for assault (self defense) and defamation (literally and figuratively). because of george, she was also considered 'tarnished' and 'soiled' and wouldn't be thought of highly in society. VICES. anne is very much a self-saboteur. when things seem to be going too well, she checks out or purposefully ruins it to save herself the prolonged pain of it possibly going wrong. she is also prone to running from her problems, having done so numerous times and taking on new lives each time. she is also a firm believer in the 'i can fix him' trope and such a belief can lead to troubles her relationships.

𝐒𝐄𝐗 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 ―

SEXUAL ORIENTATION. pansexual with a preference towards men. she finds all genders attractive, but she is less open with her attraction towards women. PREFERRED EMOTIONAL ROLE. versatile, she's a shapeshifter by trade and she can be whatever the mood calls for. in general, she likes others taking the lead but she doesn't mind being dominant every once in a while. PREFERRED SEXUAL ROLE. submissive. TURN OFFS. cocky personalities, degradation/humiliation, fin/d.om; womanizing & using women as sexual objects is her biggest ick. TURN ON'S. praise, romance & chivalry, intellect and wit are big turn on's. anne's biggest desire is to be wanted and to feel secure, so she is often drawn to people of power, either physically or socially. LOVE LANGUAGE. acts of service, quality time, physical touch. RELATIONSHIP TENDENCIES. hopeless romantic with trauma-based detachments. she doesn't trust easily, especially when it comes to men, but once you've earned her heart, you have it forever--even if you break it in the process. she is protective but not obsessive. she's caring and nurturing, but can often forget to care for herself. she's flight versus fight whenever anything seems too good to be true. within a happy relationship, however, she is attentive and considerate, she loves romantic gestures and doing things with her partner, whether its reading, walking, or just talking.

𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐄𝐎𝐔𝐒 ―

CHARACTER'S THEME TUNE.  power of love by gabrielle aplin HOBBIES TO PASS THE TIME.  reading, playing the pianoforte LEFT OR RIGHT BRAINED.  right-brained SELF-CONFIDENCE LEVEL. mild to moderate, depending on present company

[natequarter]

thoughts on the production of richard iii i watched on saturday:

elizabeth woodville. in sunglasses. you agree.

their richard was great. the bleach blonde look was a bit jarring, but great! honestly he looked a little bit like the victorian portrait of the princes in the tower

no idea what was going on with the outfits, but it worked. basically about half of it was traditional elizabethany (that's a word now) and the other half was modern. it worked really well on richard and richard, but occasionally it was slightly odd

the actor playing george was great!

i was fine with the choice to have an abled actor play richard. i seriously do not care. after all, they cast a disabled actor to play anne! what did annoy me far more was the choice to strip references to his disability from their script. it's one thing to play around with casting (awesome), but another thing to handle it by shying away from the actual content of the play. shakespeare's plays are complicated and, in this case, profoundly ableist. to me it feels worse to shy away from engaging with the nuance of his legacy than to simply cast abled actor (especially since this is hardly the first time it's happened!)

there was a skit where a pigeon kept on flying onto the stage and richard kept pointing at it, which is exactly what he should do because i firmly believe shakespeare's richard is, at heart, a massive troll

the play was, well, played less as a tragic history and more as a wacky comedy, which made it fun but a little bit jarring, since richard in a fake plastic six pack and a shiny green jacket is not quite as intimidating as a moody man dressed all in black

having watched a macbeth production last year which did something similar with how it was staged, it was strangely reminiscent of the scottish play; there were very strong echoes of the structure of that version of macbeth, especially in how the murder of the princes (contrasted with the murder of macduff's children) and the murder of george (contrasted with the murder of banquo) played out. macbeth also showed up half-naked (HOT) in that play, which i don't think helped! then again they are loosely similar plays even without the similarities in staging, so...

margaret of anjou is real and she can hurt you. i say this because when they brought out henry vi's body it was cartoonishly unrealistic and i laughed when they dumped it down the trapdoor in the middle of the stage

the actor who played elizabeth woodville (marianne oldham) was so hot oh my god your hand in marriage please ma'am. still thinking about her

on the other hand elizabeth of york was doubled with the (clearly preteen) edward v, which was. creepy. arguably it works but i really wish they'd just doubled her with anne instead

they cut out (young) richard being an incredibly creepy child and making his grandmother go "wtf" :(

richmond was, as per usual, incredibly boring, buuut he had a jacket with lots of patches/colourful bits of sewing! on the back of it he had the red rose, the white rose and a golden rose, which was fun!

he was also basically the only man in the play, in the sense that the rest of the actors were either women or nonbinary (the actor playing rivers)

beautiful butch buckingham. no really he was in a waistcoat the whole time. it was great. AND he and richard (the elder) slow danced at one point! fun plotting with your lesbian murder boyfriend

the gender going on was great fun. also they put edward iv in roman armour. that happened.

seriously elizabeth was gorgeous stunning beautiful pretty every word under the sun for the most beautiful woman ever. look at her. send tweet

[the-lancasters]

Outside of Windenburg

Previous| Beginning  | Next

Transcript under the cut

Ginny - You have been cooped up in that room with Marcus for hours. I would have thought you would have expired with all that hot air by now

Sarah - Usually that would be a reasonable assumption. But no -we are just working together on going through the tour programme with a fine tooth comb.

Ginny - So the advance went….. well then?

Sarah - Actually - yeah. I got Marcus to see my point of view at least. The next challenge is what to actually do about it.

Ginny - What can you realistically do? Against the king of all people?

Sarah - Well - I think I know where we can start

--

Marcus - Where on earth are we going? Oh my god have you brought me all the way out here to kill me? Finally get the upper hand?

Sarah - Honestly the whole ‘house in the middle of nowhere”  thing is so not my style

Marcus - Good. Wait - what?

Marcus - Sarah. Please tell me what we are doing here or I will get into the car and leave you here

Sarah - I never knew you were so dramatic Marcus. We are here to seek some advice.

Marcus - Advice?? Advice from who??

?? - Sarah. Marcus. Welcome, come on in. I hear you have a problem.

Yvonne Markson, Deputy Private Secretary to HM King George

Emma Sewell, Private Secretary to HRH Prince Robert

Anne Roberts, Private Secretary to HM Queen Elizabeth

Katherine Wells, Private Secretary to HRH Princess Margaret

Yvonne - You need to make every opportunity into a positive no matter how small.

Ann - One way is using Victoria.

Katherine - Yes Victoria can be your secret weapon.

Ann - The King underestimates the power of women within the Monarchy, otherwise Elizabeth would not be in the background so much.

Emma - Men. Always wanting it to be all about them.

Sarah - How can Victoria change things?

Emma - Use the interest in her clothes to your advantage. Use it to change the narrative - local designers, tell a story etc

Marcus - Your advice is to put Victoria in a local skirt and everyone ignores any issues?

Emma - As a part of a wider plan Marcus - of which you both play a crucial part.

Marcus - Us? We are not the focus

Emma  - Of course not. But you both have your own talents - use them!

Yvonne - I should not be telling you this but there is one event that the King has had a particular interest in

Sarah - Oh?

Yvonne - Yes. He has taken an unusual interest in the speech being written for Charles for the state dinner, wanting to read each draft as they are finished

Marcus - What are you saying?

Yvonne - That it would be prudent to do your own reading of the speech

Sarah - If the King is taking as much of an interest as you say, then surely he would notice edits?

Yvonne - Not if they happen a matter of hours before the speech is delivered.

--

Marcus - I’ve never heard of such an alliance between households - It's unbelievable! Usually its every man - or woman- for themselves.

Sarah - Maybe no one ever told you because of a certain reputation as a giant prick. Just guessing

Marcus - Well you can stop guessing thank you very much

Sarah -  I believe it was started by Yvonne a few years ago. A support network for women who work for the Royal Family. I’ve found it very useful every once and awhile

Marcus - So that’s how you got that reception at Goldsborough to go ahead! You had inside help!

Sarah - I'll use whatever means I have available for Victoria. You would do exactly the same!

[iirulancorrino]

Best books I’ve read this year: end of year edition

I read a lot of great books this year so it’s really hard to narrow down my favorites, but here are some I read during the past six months that I most enjoyed. (You can read part one here).

Best new releases: fiction

Not a ton of novels I loved but I thought Afghan American author Jamil Jan Kochai’s short story collection The Haunting of Hajji Hotak was absolutely stellar.

Honorable mentions: Flight by Lynn Steger Strong and Small Game by Blair Braverman.

Best new releases: nonfiction

Partisans by Nicole Hemmer - argues convincingly that Trump was the natural evolution of decades of reactionary GOP politics, not an abberration.

Ducks by Kate Beaton - amazing graphic memoir by the Hark, A Vagrant writer about working in the Alberta oil sands to pay off her student debt. An incredible portrait both of what it’s like growing up working class in a small town and the sacrifices that entails and the trauma of being one of the few women in a very harsh working environment.

Strangers to Ourselves by Rachel Aviv - fascinating series of vignettes by one of my favorite New Yorker writers exploring different people’s perceptions of mental illness and how we can become trapped in our own narratives.

By Hands Now Known: Jim Crow’s Legal Executioners by Margaret A. Burnham - this was hard to stomach because of the depth of cruelty it described but is well worth reading to understand just how all-encompassing a reign of terror Jim Crow was for black Southerners.

Getting Me Cheap: How Low Wage Work Traps Women and Girls in Poverty by Amanda Freeman and Lisa Dodson - Damning Indictment of how this country treats poor people and how women and girls, particularly single mothers, bear the worst burden.

We Need to Build: Field Notes for a Diverse Democracy by Eboo Patel - I would get every left-of-center person to read this if I could.

Honorable mentions: His Name Is George Floyd by Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa and Bad Jews by Emily Tamkin.

Best fiction (non new)

I ended up reading a lot of fiction by 20th century European authors, and particularly loved The Radetzky March by Joseph Roth, The Post-Office Girl by Stefan Zweig, Everything Flows by Vassily Grossman and The Years by Annie Ernaux. Reading these felt like getting a little tour of the century, particularly of how radically modern Europe was shaped by WWI and WWII.

Boy Parts by Eliza Clark and In a Lonely Place by Dorothy Hughes were my two other favorites, and are of a pair in that they’re refreshing (despite being over 60 years old in one case) takes by woman writers on a specific style of novel and make incredible use of an unreliable narrator.

Best nonfiction (non new)

I continued to read a lot of nonfiction about abortion and most appreciated The Girls Who Went Away by Ann Fessler, which details the human cost of the “baby scoop” era and Beggars and Choosers by Rickie Solinger, which criticizes the shift from rights to choice-based language in discussions of reproductive politics.

I also really enjoyed Mark Lilla’s The Shipwrecked Mind about reactionary politics, which honestly felt like a better version of The Decadent Society and Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong, which was written before the pandemic and felt extremely prescient about a lot of the discourse of the past few years.

Best poetry

I didn’t read a ton of poetry that really grabbed me but I enjoyed Sherry Shenoda’s The Mummy Eaters, which explores the author’s Coptic Egyptian heritage. From previous years, I enjoyed Philip Metres’ Shrapnel Maps and Richie Hofmann’s Second Empire.

[jxrm]

book log - 2024 (so far)

diva by daisy goodwin

the heiress by rachel hawkins

only if you’re lucky by stacy willingham

the chateau by jaclyn goldis

just stay away by tony wirt

the other mothers by katherine faulker

middle of the night by riley sager

the disappearance of astrid bricard by natasha lester

every time i go in vacation, someone dies by catherine mack

the last caretaker by jessica strawser

just for the summer by abby jimenez

house of glass by sarah pekkanen

the mayor of maxwell street by avery cunningham

first lie wins by ashley elston

the phoenix crown by kate quinn

murder road by simone st. james

the fury by alex michaelides

happiness falls by angie kim

the house of last resort by christopher golden

run rose run by dolly parton

the chalice of the gods by rick riordan

there should have been right by nalini singh

the mysterious case of the alperton angels by janice hallet

darling girls by sally hepworth

the pieces around us by leigh fields

love, theoretically by ali hazelwood

the teacher by frieda mcfadden

x by jack croxell

iron flame by rebecca yarros

the only suspect by louise candlish

throwback by maurene goo

the housemaid is watching by frieda mcfadden

zara hossain is here by sabina khan

slice by angie caedis

the ways of the dead by neely tucker

orphan train by christina baker

a court of silver flames by sarah j. mass

come and get it by kiley reid

the drowning woman by robyn harding

when i bleed: poems about endometriosis by maggie bowyer

the house in the pines by ana reyes

only say good things by crystal hefner

the mother-in-law by sally hepworth

daughter of mine by megan miranda

lore olympus: volume four by rachel smythe

this time it’s real by ann liang

anna o by matthew blake

the girl with the louding voice by abi dare

where the forest meets the stars by glendy vanderah

a friend in the dark by samantha m. bailey

the wife app by carolyn mackler

howl’s moving castle by diana wynne jones

the spanish love deception by elena armas

divide by jessa russo

lies and weddings by kevin kwan

the foxhole victory tour by amy lynn green

dying to tell by keri beevis

my father, the panda killer by jamie jo hoang

the wedding party by l.r. jones

girl gone mad by avery bishop

starter wife by bethany lopez

the queens of new york by e.l. shen

theater lovers by ciara blume

once upon a broken heart by stephanie garber

the surrogate mother by frieda mcfadden

crying in h mart by michelle zauner

don’t forget to write by sara goldman confino

the next girl by carla kovach

the paradise problem by christina lauren

ivy league liars by grace costello

every summer after by carley fortune

the ballad of never after by stephanie garber

a curse of true love by stephanie garber

the devil’s storybooks by natalie babbit

expiration dates by rebecca serle

the murmur of bees by sofia segovia

growing up hadley by dana harp

the vacation by john marrs

rum punch regrets by anna kemp

the five-star weekend by elin hilderbrand

people to follow by olivia worley

the treasure hunters club by tom ryan

you shouldn’t be here by lauren thoman

trophy wife by bethany lopez

seven summers by paige toon

veridian sterling fakes it by jennifer gooch

the friendship club by robyn carr

women of good fortune by sophie wan

the smuggler’s apprentice of guatemala by lachlan page

this summer will be different by carley fortune

natural selection by elin hilderbrand

the passengers by john marrs

asap by axie oh

island of shadows by christopher kvintus

swan song by elin hilderbrand

lore olympus: volume five by rachel smythe

blue hawaiian by carla luna

the villain edit by laurie devore

hermione granger and the order of the phoenix by sara baines-miller

the hotel nantucket by elin hilderbrand

bummer camp by ann garvin

pink glass houses by asha elias

cut and thirst by margaret atwood

the exception to the rule by christina lauren

#crimetime by jeneva rose

incidents around the house by josh malerman

the mistress by valerie keogh

kiki’s delivery service by eiko kadono

when we were friends by jane green

the honey-don’t list by christina lauren

worst wingman ever by abby jimenez

the perfect couple by elin hilderbrand

home is where the bodies are by jeneva rose

the only good indians by stephen graham jones

roar by cecelia ahern

the wedding people by alison espach

look in the mirror by catherine steadman

fit to die by daniel kalla

uglies by scott westerfield

hideaway by nicole lundrigan

the fortune teller by natasha boydell

crazy rich asians by kevin kwan

the wish by nicholas sparks

how the penguins saved veronica by hazel prior

the plus one by s. c. lalli

the haters by robyn harding

china rich girlfriend by kevin kwan

rich people problems by kevin kwan

the haunting of moscow house by olesya salnikova gilmore

the lonely hearts book club by lucy gilmore

the measure by nikki erlick

somewhere beyond the sea by tj klume

adam and evie’s matchmaking tour by nora nguyen

i was a teenage slasher by stephen graham jones

here one moment by liane moriarity

badass bonita by kim guerra

zetas till we die by amber and danielle brown

shred sisters by betsy learner

one of the girls by lucy clarke

society of lies by lauren ling brown

the radius of us by marie marquardt

fantasticland by mike bockoven

sheets by brenna thummler

the boyfriend by frieda mcfadden

delicates by brenna thummler

no one will know by rose carlyle

lights by brenna thummler

counting miracles by nicholas sparks

the night we lost him by laura dave

ghost stories by ron ripley

the hitchcock hotel by stephanie wrobel

for better or cursed by kate williams

the last one at the wedding by jason rekulak

creation lake by rachel kushner

like mother, like daughter by kimberly mccreight

libby lost and found by stephanie booth

the nosy neighbour by nita prose

needy little things by channelle desamours

the reappearance of rachel price by holly jackson

not another love song by julie soto

we used to live here by marcus kliewer

the stillwater girls by minka kent

yours for the taking by gabrielle korn

52 weeks and a party of one by bianca pensy aba

youthjuice by e.k. sathue

the manicurist’s daughter by susan lieu

the invisible life of addie larue by victoria e. schwab

the housekeeper’s wedding by frieda mcfadden

[astralmarionette]

THIUGHTS ON THE GUILD GO! I loved them sm they were my fav faction and all the characters make me deeply insane I am WAITING for them to come back they have to asagiri set up too many plot points not to bring them back. Sigh. my favs r lucy n poe n mitchell n hawthorne n steinbeck but I like all of them

Omg omg okay i LOVE thr Guild I spent like 30 minutes last night trying to predict the different Guild members because Autism. (I FUCKING LOOKED UP MARk TWAIN BC I WAS LIKE U CANT HAVE AMRRICAN AUTHORS AN NOT HAVE MARKY YKW??? LIKE HES LItERALLY BROUGHT UP IN EVERY SINGLE LIT CLASS IN AMERICA BRO and nothing came up OU IM SO MAD)

BTW, I tend to use a first name basis with authors btw theyre actually all my best friends i know them on a deeper level (my mom said that i need to seek help today, this is what happens when all yr friendships are superficial as a kid methinks)

anyways. here are my thoughts:

Mr Francy Pants (Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald): i wasn't too opinionated on him til I learned his ability (like i said we need to stop letting white ppl get rich bro...) and then i was like i need this guy dead and then i learned his motive and i was like oh my god hes literally just a guy he wants nothing but to mAKE HIS WIFE HAPPY OUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH so he slays actaully i hope hes alive :((

Louisa May Alcott: LOMLLLLLLLL i love little women so im extremely bias towards her but wtv when Francis was going on his lil rant abt owning her and everything i was like woah now careful abt how you speak to my girl

Nathaniel: Lord....forgive me...... HES SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO FINE OH my GODDDD Nathaniel was made for the girlies with complicated relationships with religion i fear (ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME )

Margaret: love me a woman who dresses like that okay but im fairly certain the actual woman was racist soooo kinda mixed feelings?? but the character is amazing and perfect (ignoring the restoring her family's honor.........) and i actually loved her accent lol it was southern enough to be southern but not too southern to be fake lol southern accents actaully arent always there for my area lol they come and go and are stronger when angry/ come out stronger on certain words or phrases loll

Lucy: OUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH seeing that she got caught PAINED ME LIKE NOOOO ATSU WAS SUPPOSED TO BE ABLE TO GO AND SAVE HER BUT NOW I FEAR HES FORGOTTEN IN ALL THE EVERYTHING GOIONG ON OUGHHHHHHHHHH

Anne is SOOO Cutie Pie too btw and I love that one she looks like Anne of Green Gables (obvi) BUT ALSO Raggedy Anns!!!!!

Marky Mark: HES SO CUTE ACTUALLY ???? I love his "im just here for the fun of it" attitude that was rlly nice AND HUCK AND TOM ARE SOOOO CUTE and i love the fact that hes a gunsmith despite im pretty sure the book characters he brought to life and real life author being like these scrappy lil southern boys lolll i like that they didnt go the kenji route with him and have him be like a (read this in a southern accent btw) lil farmer boy with good intentions for everyone :D type character !!!!!! love him 10/10 scrunkly

John Steinbeck: his grape thing freaked me the fuck out the first time he did it i was so thoroughly gagged like...... hes cute but in term of design he and Francy look soo similar I got tired of these basic ass white men sorry TvT (looking at them made me feel like i was watching hetalia again LMAOOO) hes scrunkly poo too tho and i love his quirk (mha gagged with quirk im sooo sorry)

Lovecraft: He rlly puts the love in Lovecr....Im gonna stop there sorry :( that sounded jsut as bad in my head LMAO I LVOE HIM i love the fact that him turning into Kraken is just. smth he can do. not his quirk hes jsut like that. (okay actually he didnt write Kraken so idk what the fuck he turns into but he just like me fr) i love his absolute apathy to everything he rlly is sucha girl like he just wants to sleep fr !!!! he had empty eyes and long lucious hair and thats enough to make me love you so i literally DONT CARE bout NOTHIGN ELSE !!!! 10000/10 hes so fine omg....

Melville: hes actually so chill. i like him! he had honor and standards that he upheld himself and i heavy respect that! going down w yr ship is like the easiest way to gain my respect cuz that troupe >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

AND LAST BUT ABSOLUTELY DEFINETELY NOT LEAST:

Edgar Allan Poe:

do I, Dorian Nico di Marionette (my legal Tumblr name), even need to say anything about how much I love this man. I'm not even just talking about the bsd character. I'm talking about the actual author too. He's literally so cool. Like so cool. He came, he lived, he fucked around and found out, and he died!!! He is literally everything I wish to be. Cool, Autistic, Mysterious, Silly. And now specifically the character: I love his need for praise bc ME tOO. I love that he had given himself ONE PURPOSE and that purpose was to beat Ranpo and give him the mystery of his life like yes girl devote your entire being and existence to that ONE (1) man !!!!!! (me) (we need help)

i love that he has a pet Raccoon esp since the general agreement is that he died of rabies like...... ( i personally think he was murdered but idk... ijust feel like someone didnt like him bc he accomplished alot and they probably couldn)

he and ranpos lil friendhsip warms my lil heart to like................... like i said in my tags they remind me of Hikaru and Kaoru in a way where their world was "us" and "not us" and like they are the only ones who can keep each other on each others toes and constantly getting better and giving the ultimate form of praise (theres nothing like getting praise from someone in your field of work, esp someone that you regard as "better than you") and thats so.......... (and if i say codependcy (I WILL PUSH CODEPENDCY ON EVERYTHING BRO I NEED TO SEEK HELP))

anyways these are my excessive thoughts i need help lol

[listieshadows]

A couple of weeks ago at Walmart I bought this collection of seven Elvis movies that I'd seen a few nights earlier. It was one of those big collection Warner released for their 100th anniversary—so, yes, I physically own something with that laughably ironic "celebrate every story" tagline on it—and of all of the ones I'd seen get rotated out, I don't know why this one stood out to me enough to want to buy it? Maybe it's lingering affection I have for Baz Luhrmann's Elvis biopic that finally got me curious enough to check a few of Presley's flick out and see if they live up to the hype/anti-hype I'd heard about them.

So... I may as well take a hot second here to say a few words about the four narrative features that were in the collection (the other two were concert films and a documentary from, like, 1980). Get something else other than satisfying my curiosity out of these movies.

Jailhouse Rock

This was the only pre-army Elvis film in the set, and maybe it was the best one? Like, if you wanna pretend objectivity is a thing, then this was "objectively" the best one.

Honestly, though, I kinda spent the entire film stuck on the fact that Elvis's character ends up in jail because he beats a man to death with his bare fists. Like, what? What? In an Elvis movie? This is absolutely the kind of thing that the Colonel wouldn't've let fly in the post-G.I. Blues/Blue Hawaii world. And the fact that Elvis's character is kind of an ass up until the final scene, where after the mind kind of abruptly ends...! It was absolutely a running joke for me throughout the other three films I watched.

But, yeah, cool dance sequence. I kinda wish that "Rock! Rock!" chant was included in the song proper and wasn't exclusive to the film.

Viva Las Vegas

The only thoughts I have about this movie revolve around Ann-Margaret. She is, without a doubt, the star of this movie. I could barely keep my eyes off her every time she was on screen.

I read that the Colonel was worried about Ann overshadowing Elvis in the films, only one of three duets they recorded ended up on screen, and, gawd, he was right to worry, because even with just the one...!

And it's like, in the talent show scene, you're really gonna tell me that Ann's performance of "Appreciation", with the costume changes and her dancing and singing her ass off, would only tie with Elvis's one-take run-through of "Viva Las Vegas"? Even if that song is one of the best and most iconic of all his movie songs...!

But, yeah, all my babbling about this one woman aside, it's a fun lil' flick. It's not as good as Jailhouse Rock, really, but Viva Las Vegas is for sure the one I'd return to the most out of any of these.

Girl Happy

I'm sure if I were watching all of Elvis's movies, this one, his twenty-second I believe, would've been an absolute slog. Like, imagine—twenty-two movies in, and how many after Blue Hawaii where it's the same damn thing over and over and over again. I would've gone mad. But as only the third narrative film out of four in a seven flick box set, it's fine. Serviceable if you wanna see a generic Elvis flick, I guess.

I don't really have any deep thoughts about this, honestly, except that... I don't know. Seeing Elvis in drag is amusing? And this is the only movie I've ever seen to have a song about the Fort Lauderdale Chamber Of Commerce. I mean, Citizen Kane or The Shawshank Redemption don't have one of those.

Spinout

While I was watching the movie, I read a Letterboxd review where someone compared the female drummer in Elvis's band in this movie, Les, to Kim Pines from Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, and while I don't think the comparison is exactly 1:1, she was my favorite character in the film, so... I mean, it's a shame she marries a cop, but other than that...

I don't know. As with Girl Happy, I don't really have any big thoughts about this film. Like, when I was mentally dividing these movies up into categories, I slot this and Girl Happy as the two "generic later-period Elvis movies" after Jailhouse Rock and Viva Las Vegas stood in for the "good and iconic" films.

I guess I like this movie better than Girl Happy, 'cuz there was a silly energy to the movie that I liked, and it's interesting that Elvis's character remains single by the end, and, again, there is Les, but... I don't know. The soundtrack's got a cover of "Tomorrow Is A Long Time" as a bonus track and that's neat?

Also, this is the second movie where Elvis's character is a race car driver (after Viva Las Vegas, which I should've mentioned, but of course I was too busy talking about...), and I hear that's a common trend throughout this movies, and, gawd, every time, I could only think of Eddie Murphy's bit about Elvis movies: "We gotta win this race..."

[rockislandadultreads]

Book Recommendations: Victorian Era Historical Fiction

Above the Bay of Angels by Rhys Bowen

Isabella Waverly only means to comfort the woman felled on a London street. In her final dying moments, she thrusts a letter into Bella’s hand. It’s an offer of employment in the kitchens of Buckingham Palace, and everything the budding young chef desperately wants: an escape from the constrictions of her life as a lowly servant. In the stranger’s stead, Bella can spread her wings.

Arriving as Helen Barton from Yorkshire, she pursues her passion for creating culinary delights, served to the delighted Queen Victoria herself. Best of all, she’s been chosen to accompany the queen to Nice. What fortune! Until the threat of blackmail shadows Bella to the Riviera, and a member of the queen’s retinue falls ill and dies.

Having prepared the royal guest’s last meal, Bella is suspected of the poisonous crime. An investigation is sure to follow. Her charade will be over. And her new life will come crashing down—if it doesn’t send her to the gallows.

Circus of Wonders by Elizabeth Macneal

1866. In a coastal village in southern England, Nell picks violets for a living. Set apart by her community because of the birthmarks that speckle her skin, Nell’s world is her beloved brother and devotion to the sea.

But when Jasper Jupiter’s Circus of Wonders arrives in the village, Nell is kidnapped. Her father has sold her, promising Jasper Jupiter his very own leopard girl. It is the greatest betrayal of Nell's life, but as her fame grows, and she finds friendship with the other performers and Jasper’s gentle brother Toby, she begins to wonder if joining the show is the best thing that has ever happened to her.

In London, newspapers describe Nell as the eighth wonder of the world. Figurines are cast in her image, and crowds rush to watch her soar through the air. But who gets to tell Nell’s story? What happens when her fame threatens to eclipse that of the showman who bought her? And as she falls in love with Toby, can he detach himself from his past and the terrible secret that binds him to his brother?

Brontë’s Mistress by Finola Austin

Yorkshire, 1843: Lydia Robinson—mistress of Thorp Green Hall—has lost her precious young daughter and her mother within the same year. She returns to her bleak home, grief-stricken and unmoored. With her teenage daughters rebelling, her testy mother-in-law scrutinizing her every move, and her marriage grown cold, Lydia is restless and yearning for something more.

All of that changes with the arrival of her son’s tutor, Branwell Brontë, brother of her daughters’ governess, Miss Anne Brontë and those other writerly sisters, Charlotte and Emily. Branwell has his own demons to contend with—including living up to the ideals of his intelligent family—but his presence is a breath of fresh air for Lydia. Handsome, passionate, and uninhibited by social conventions, he’s also twenty-five to her forty-three. A love of poetry, music, and theatre bring mistress and tutor together, and Branwell’s colorful tales of his sisters’ elaborate play-acting and made-up worlds form the backdrop for seduction.

But Lydia’s new taste of passion comes with consequences. As Branwell’s inner turmoil rises to the surface, his behavior grows erratic and dangerous, and whispers of their passionate relationship spout from her servants’ lips, reaching all three protective Brontë sisters. Soon, it falls on Lydia to save not just her reputation, but her way of life, before those clever girls reveal all her secrets in their novels. Unfortunately, she might be too late.

An Indiscreet Princess by Georgie Blalock

Before Princes Margaret, before Duchess Meghan, there was Princess Louise: royal rebel.

As the fourth daughter of the perpetually in-mourning Queen Victoria, Princess Louise’s life is more a gilded prison than a fairy tale. Expected to sit quietly next to her mother with downcast eyes, Louise vows to escape the stultifying royal court. Blessed with beauty, artistic talent, and a common touch, she creates a life outside the walled-in existence of the palace grounds by attending the National Art Training School—where she shockingly learns to sculpt nude models while falling passionately in love with famed sculptor Joseph Edgar Boehm.

Although Louise cultivates artist friends, artistic success, and a life outside the palace, she quickly learns that even royal rebels must heed the call of duty. For twenty years, Louise fights to maintain her relationship with Joseph and what freedom she can glean within the strict requirements of Queen Victoria’s court. When a near fatal accident forces her back under Queen Victoria’s iron rule, Louise must choose between surrendering to the all-consuming grief of lost love and dreams that plagued her mother or finding the strength to keep fighting for her unconventional life.

[themidnightcircusshow]

So I’m going to start with the bad first, because the bad is bad in a way that kind of hovers over the entire series. This series really struggles in its portrayal of gender and sex in spite of it being one of the most prominent themes in the series, and it really holds it back. It's something the feels very 'progressive for its day', except its day was last year and not 2006.

(The manga began in 2013, so I have to admit I struggle to give it much leniency).

All sex is portrayed as varying levels of sinful, and is portrayed more as a weapon for people to use against each other than anything. Men want it because they are sinful, women want to use it to manipulate men because they are sinful, and there is no room for sex to just be. When the main couple of the back half of the show consummates their relationship, it is intensely dubious consensual because even in a couple who loves each other, sex is this wicked thing (Buckingham specifically says that it is an evil act that will eternally bind them together, and believes that he is outright raping Richard). Ironically, it is one of the most poignant explorations of the ‘rape is love’ trope I’ve seen. Because the show creates a world where sex is so demonic, it doesn’t create a space for truly consensual sex, and you can understand why this almost becomes their only option. 

The same can’t be said for the use of sexual assault throughout the rest of the show, though. Richard gets sexually assaulted so many times in the first few episodes that it genuinely becomes comical (my friend and I said we could make a drinking game out of it). It is also very heavily implied (and I think confirmed outright in the manga) that Margaret rapes Henry, contributing to Henry’s trauma around sex, which runs so deep that he has a mental health crisis when trying to have a consensual sexual encounter. Like the scene with Richard and Buckingham, that specific scene is done extremely well, and is a good exploration of the conflict around sexuality, but the build up to it is so absurd that it weakens its power a little. 

As part of the rampant demonisation of sex, there is a very unfortunate and frankly overdone demonisation of women. Every woman who is introduced above the age of sexual maturity is evil and using her sexuality as a way of manipulating men for her evil aims. Every. Single. One. As mentioned before, Margaret of Anjou rapes her husband, and brags about having sex with other men (I really wish this wasn’t par for the course for portrayals of Margaret). Elizabeth Woodville marries Edward solely so she can eventually lead him and his brothers to ruin for killing her first husband. Jane is a literal witch. Richard’s mother abuses him because he is the product of her evil sexuality. We get a flashback to Catherine de Valois solely so we can have her traumatising her son because he walks in on her having sex with Owen Tudor (leading to him believing all sex is demonic and all women are sinful). The only female characters not shown this way are Anne, Isobel, and Elizabeth of York, and only because they are introduced first as children. It’s a bad trope regardless, but the fact that is every single female character just becomes laughable. The show does still give the women some sympathetic moments that almost feels like depth, but it still could have done a lot more. 

Richard’s intersexuality is where these two problems converge. Richard is frequently referred to as a demon because of his body, warring with his better half, but as the series goes on it gains an implication that the ‘demonic’ half is his womanhood, while his ‘angelic’ half is his manhood. The second opening even has a shot where Richard’s body is divided in two, with one half being white roses and the other red thorns. The demonic half, naturally, covers his one breast and his genitals. Women are frequently referred to as demons throughout the show: the most pertinent case being Catherine refers to herself as a demon during sex, so Henry internalises sexuality as being demonic, and calls Richard a demon when they try to have sex. This takes place in the first instance where we see Richard actively choose to present as a woman. There is eventually an added layer that suggests masculinity is Richard’s duty and femininity would be his freedom, but it doesn’t really go anywhere. 

It's a shame, because the premise is great. And even if she too is demonised, the idea of an intersex person relating to Jeanne d'arc and hallucinating her as a symbol of his struggles is amazing. The problem is they just didn't explore it with all the depth they could have.

[albionscastle]

Bosworth

Elizabeth had once travelled in time, back to the Wars of the Roses and tried to change the history of Richard III, to no avail. She eventually lives out her life in the present day and this is her last day on Earth. In the bigger story she falls in love with him and he marries her instead of Anne Neville.

*I am a giant history nerd and the Wars of the Roses is one of my favorite periods. I've always thought Richard III was maligned and honestly I'm quite salty at Shakespere, Thomas Moore, and all the Tudors. When Phillipa Langley and her team announced the discovery of his body I ate it up. It was an obsession to the point where I own 20 books on the subject. I started writing a larger work as a historical what if but eventually abandoned it because real life sucks. I was reading an interview with Richard Armitage the other day where he said that Richard III was his dream role to play and I got inspired to face claim him as my Richard. (Keeping in mind that Aneurin Barnard's performance in the White Queen was phenomenal). Honestly I would love to have him play an AU Richard who got to live after Bosworth. This scene is meant to be the epilogue for the story I was writing that I hope I can get back to...I still have all my notes and research and I hope that this will get me inspired enough to complete it.

Trigger warning for death, violence, blood and gore.

Fic Masterlist 

EPILOGUE BOSWORTH

It has become hard to walk now, but I do it anyway. My bones and body are frail and withering with age and I honestly don’t know how I’ve lived so long. My son is grandfather himself now and he helps me across the uneven ground toward the tree line. I see in him what his father could have become, I see a man whose life he would have been proud of, he has dedicated his life to preserving places like this, places sacred to a man he will never know. He knows who his father is, I never lied to my son and he accepted it as fact, for sixty long years he is the only person to know the truth.

I never left Leicestershire again. Not for good. The items I had with me on my return had served me well and sustained me all these years, providing a trust for my grandchildren should they need it. I still wear Richard’s ring, the one thing I could not bear to be parted from. I feel his heart beating through the smooth gold and I know he is still with me somehow. Every week since they finally laid him to rest I have gone into the Cathedral and sat beside him for hours, telling him of his son, his grandchildren and now great-grandchildren. I think I’ve become as infamous as the tomb I sit beside, I am even part of the tour some days, the mysterious woman who holds vigil and brings a white rose to the grave of a long dead king.

But never once in all that time have I set foot here. Until today. It’s August 22nd and exactly 600 years since the day he died.

The voices of the dead have always haunted me, Anne telling me stories of her vicious lost prince, Margaret and her pious nonsense. I hear George begging for his life, treacherous till his last breath. I wake at night shaking for two lost boys that I couldn’t save. Then, in all this noise I close my eyes and I can hear his voice whispering his love. I hear Richard laugh in my dreams and I can still feel his lips against my cheek as I drift off to sleep. My Richard. I’ve loved no other, content in the raising of our family. I have known all the joy I needed. I know loss and my heart still aches for him with every breath that I take.

He was the other half of my soul, who's leaving tore me apart and left a wound that has never healed.

For the past few days those haunting voices have grown louder and more insistent. They are calling me home and it’s time to answer. Which is why I have come here.

I think that my son understands, in his heart he knows and he has brought me anyway. He stands beside me, tears in his eyes as he surveys the land. For a moment I see him once more as a young man, a carbon copy of his father and my breath catches. I kept him safe, he never knew the horror of battle or the politics of Kings, he has lived the life that Richard never could.

Stepping forward a strange electric sensation assaulting me through the sole of my foot. I am overwhelmed with dizziness and clutch at Rick’s arm.

“This is it.” I whisper. “It was here.”

He nods and kisses my cheek, we have discussed what happens here today.

“I love you mum.” he holds me close and I allow myself to grieve my loss of him for a moment.

“I love you too, and I’ll be watching over you always.”

My strong son, with his father’s courage walks away from me with his head held high.

I am alone on the battlefield.

I feel the energy of the place seeping into my bones from the soil. This fertile field, rich with the blood of the slain. A chill washes over me and I shudder, a great evil was done here and it has haunted the place ever since.

With a deep breath I close my eyes and simply feel. Like the voices of my ghosts I hear the whispering of men, the jingling of armor and the snorts of horses. The air around me charges with energy, the tension and fear thickening the atmosphere. The ground rumbles beneath me and the thunderous battle cry of 1600 men shakes me to the core. I can feel the battle beginning through the earth, the pain and fear of those who fall, I smell sweat, metal, blood and dirt.

I know what I will see when I open my eyes so I try to hold them closed, but I can’t escape what is meant. I must stand here, on this ground and live this moment. A moment lost in time for half a millenia. I have to because he is waiting.

I force my eyes open to see a changed world, there is no peaceful green field, but rather a boggy mess of mud and blood and men as far as I can see. I’m surrounded by the unimaginable horror of medieval battle and I stand frozen in fear as it unfolds around me.

Men fall, screaming into the dirt as their bodies are violently cleaved by swinging swords and axes. The roar of bloodlust mingles with the pitiful cries of the dying. Brave soldiers called out for their mothers even as their insides spilled out into the earth. Sunlight glinted off armor and weapons as the terrible and final battle of the Wars of the Roses played out. I gasped as I saw men I had known, boys who I had coddled, all loyal friends of Richard’s. I called their names, but they could not hear me.

Then, from behind me I heard a call to charge and spinning around my blood jumped in my veins as I watched  Richard cutting a swathe with his sword toward where I stood. My magnificent warrior king, his golden crown upon his armored head, pushed through the battle on the horse I had given him. His teeth were bared and his eyes alight with fire as he fought his way bravely toward Henry Tudor. He was merciless in his battle rage and tears filled my eyes at this awful vision of my gentle love.

Go back! I wanted to scream it at the top of my lungs. Turn around and live! I couldn’t bear to see this happen to him. I reached out helplessly, screaming as the sword slice toppled his beloved Storm, sending Richard tumbling into the mud.

“Get up!” I cried, as he struggled to his feet, sword in hand and the enemy surrounding him.

Then I heard it. The rumble of horses and the cries of a new charge. My heart broke at the hope dying in Richard’s eyes as Lord Stanley cried out for Tudor and defeat was etched clearly on my king’s face.

“Treason! Treachery!” he yelled, bringing up his bloodied sword for battle.

Time seemed to stand still as he turned in a circle, surrounded by his bloodthirsty enemy. I saw his pain as he watched his friends cut down and the steely determination in his eyes. He wasn’t going to go down easily.

I wept in great gasping gulps as his sword sliced through the air, he was surrounded as the wolves closed in on him, fighting valiantly for his life. He took down so many that for a moment I thought perhaps there was a chance.

The blow to his head came from nowhere, the weapon, I couldn’t even see what it was, slammed into his skull with such force I could hear his helmet ringing. The metal guard sliced into his jaw, cutting him open to the bone as his helmet went flying away from him, kicked into the mud. A king without his crown.

I stood helpless, screaming as they came at him with daggers, slipping past his battling sword and stabbing at his face. Blood poured down the front of his armor as he fought on. The owner of the dagger that stabbed into his ribs received a slashed torso for his trouble and he fell into the mire, blood bubbling from his mouth to die a slow and agonizing death.

Still they kept coming and still Richard fought on valiantly, my warrior husband and tragic king.

He cried out as a dagger dug into the top of his head, fracturing his skull and, falling to his knees he roared like a caged lion, his face covered in blood and filth. I leapt toward him as though I could spare him this pain and death by shielding him with my own body. I would have died in his place if I could have, anything to spare him from this horror. He was kneeling in the mud searching for his sword as the blow came from behind, he never even saw it coming as the sword sliced over the back of his head. Blood and hair flew in an arc as he slumped forward.

“Richard!” I ran through the ghosts of the battlefield, throwing myself into the dirt.

He still drew breath, his eyes open and dull with pain, tears streaking down his cheeks.

“Elizabeth.” he whispered as the killing blow finally came, the spike of the halbert drilling into his brain with a dull thud.

Richard’s body spasmed but he never gave them the satisfaction of hearing him cry out.

It took only seconds for him to die, for the promise of his life to drain out of his eyes. The Tudor vultures wasted no time in stripping him of anything that might have value. All I could do was cry as they laughed at his naked body, making sport of his curved back.

They took his crown and gave it to the vile Tudor boy but I didn’t move, I had no desire to see them cheer for their murderous new king. I cared for nothing but Richard and the swelling, burning agony of my own heart. The world seemed to spin, tilting and whirling around me as I lost my breath, my sense and my conscious thought. I tried to cling to his body, to touch him and to let his soul know he wasn’t alone, but even this was denied me.

“Elizabeth.”

My eyes opened, blinking in the sunlight, the sounds of battle gone, as was the smell of death. I lay on my back in the green grass of Bosworth with the sky blue overhead and the sun warm on my face. I felt heavy with Grief, my heart aching for Richard’s final moments, the memory of his voice a whisper in the wind.

“Elizabeth.” I saw a figure standing over me, silhouetted in the bright sun. A hand reached down to me.

“It’s time, Elizabeth.”

Tears slid down my cheeks as I reached out for his hand and as he pulled me to my feet I felt the endless sadness peel away and I saw my hand in his, no longer wrinkled and frail but smooth with youth once more.

“I’ve waited so long for you, my love.” his voice breaks as his fingers run over my cheek.

I step away from my mortal body and into Richard’s arms

“I missed you so much.” I sob into his chest, my arms wrapped around his waist.

“I never left you, Elizabeth. I was always here with you.”

He places his hand over my heart. I see the blur of our son as he rushes past us and Richard’s eyes fill with tears. “I wish he could have known me, that I could have held him.”

“He did know you Richard, I made sure of that.”

He nods and leans down to where his namesake and heir kneels beside my lifeless body. Richard whispers something in his son’s ear and I know he hears it. His eyes dart around but he hears no more. Richard is beside me once more and takes my hand.

“Shall we?”

I nod and lean into him, my lips brushing against his as tenderly as the first time he kissed me. We cling to one another as we fade away into forever, the words my son repeats sending us on our way.

“Loyalty Binds Me.”