#and naturally same with lucrezia

[borgialucrezia]

THE BORGIA BROTHERS + putting the family's interest above their sister's concerns

"Everything I do is for the family."

[coeur-de-fruk]

Cardverse: A Case Study (that really isn't one.)

Hello gaymers and happy new year! Today we will be revisiting an old official au called Cardverse. Keep in mind that this is going to be an entirely different version of it rather than canon Cardverse, and 90% of it will be just my sorry behind rambling about the wonders and glories of political relations and why IT SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LETS GO.

🔶Kingdom of Diamonds🔶

Ruler: Our Majesty Francis Bonnefoy, King/Queen of Diamonds; Beside him Prime Minister Erika Vogel and Royal Financial Advisor Vasch Zwingli (spelt his name wrong ik.)

The Kingdom of Diamonds; one of the wealthiest kingdoms in the land with a very turbulent history. Centuries ago, the king and queen upheld the most power (aside from Lords and Aristocrats). This imbalance of power would spark a revolt that would last for decades until a new form of government was put into place. (Not really.)

The Kingdom of Diamonds lies South, known for their very warm climates which contribute to their bountiful crops. They are responsible for 75% of the food distribution to other neighboring kingdoms. They are sometimes subsequently referred to as the "Brighter South" due to the amount of sunshine that contributes to their warm climate. However, they are often hindered by bad storms and monsoons from June until November.

While still under a monarchy, the Diamonds kingdom has it's own prime minister that keeps everything and everyone in check, this includes the king (or queen). Erika and Vasch act as some sort of caretaker for Francis, making sure that he's safe and not frivolously spending his inheritance on useless things such as new land, etc. Some have said that the King/Queen is too incompetent to be ruling a kingdom due to several factors: His emotional sensitivity, him being a people pleaser, and his overly flamboyant nature. Other has praised the king in his efforts in helping improve the lives of his people and his kind nature.

♠️The United Spades♠️

Ruler: Commander in Chief and President Alfred F. Jones; beside him Vice President Arthur Kirkland, and Secretary of State Chun-Yan Wang

From a small monarchy to one of the largest democracies in the land, The United Spades (actual name The United Spades of Aces) holds a lot of power than one may know.

They reside North, having to deal with several harsh winters. The Spades Kingdom has many various industrial sites. Unfortunately because of this, it is said to be the kingdom with the highest recorded rate of pollution.

The birth of the Spade's democracy still remains under debate by some historians. Some may have suggested it had ended after the death of the President's mother, who was said to be the last Queen of what once was the Kingdom of Spades. Others may have concluded that it emerged at the end of some sort of civil war; though these events had coincided with each other. Despite these events, the Spades are relatively young.

While he holds much authority over everyone, Alfred does struggle to keep many things in check; some praise him for his hard work while others criticize him for hurting some aspect of his community.

❤️The Kingdom of Hearts❤️

Ruler: Queen S̶͕̯̳͇̰͉̬̻̈́̃̿̈́͌̎͝ä̵̡̡͉̮̦̼̻̬̦̭́̄̓͝ḱ̸̛̜͉̀͑̆̊̈̚͠ų̵̠̤͚̥̻̀͗̋̌͋̇̌̏͋̍r̷͇̫̱̩̗̥̺̋̀͜͝a̵̢͕̯̙̓͐̔̓ ̶͇̜̯͍͍̥̩̟̹̣͗̀͛̔̍͑̈̕H̵̢͖͖͊͘ö̷̡̤̱̟̬̗̲́̆͂̾̇̊̚͠ń̶̢̧̠̓̂̚͜d̵̘͚̟̲̮͙͚̮͚̃́͛͋͒͐̄a̵̢͕͔̜̙͂̈́͌̅̈́͜ Lucrezia Vargas and King Ludwig Beilschmidt of the Hearts Kingdom.

The Hearts Kingdom resides in the western portion of the lands, also known as the "Western Kingdom" or "The Wild West". Much like the Empire of Clubs, they have a very fair climate. Average to the point where there is not much to comment on.

Not much is known about the Heart's Kingdom or what it's known for. It is rumored that the current queen isn't the real queen, and that something must've happened behind closed doors. Despite Ludwig being king and having the same amount of power, Lucrezia has the most authority over everybody. There is something about her that'll give you an aching feeling in your gut. But who is Sakura?

♣️The Empire of Clubs♣️

Ruler: Emperor Ivan Braginsky and Empress Elizabeta Hedevary and Jack of all trades Clubs Roderich Edelstein

The Empire of Clubs lies just to the east, majority of its territory landlocked by mountains and valleys. It's a place where not much goes on, not even among the monarchs who hold the power of the world within their hands. Some travelers from other kingdoms will return with how reserved most of the people are, giving them this quiet reputation.

Although quiet, they are well known for their clean environment and vast green valleys. Because of this they have a very diverse ecosystem and dedicate their fundings to preserving the homes of many species whether by land or by sea. It is even rumored that Ivan has a giant pet polar that was stolen from a neighboring kingdom elsewhere. Although due to the privacy of the royals, this cannot be confirmed nor denied.

[joyride-time]

Roleswap: Boy Genius AU

I’m not above low-hanging fruit when it comes to titles. Thanks to @annoyinglandmagazine and @grandpuppyalpaca for being interested

The past generation is all the same, and so is the present generation except for Agatha, Gil, and Tarvek. And Moloch, who is now a woman.

What I’ve decided on about the au is:

The Heterodyne son genes were too strong and the Holy Child was born male. Almost all male Sparks the appropriate age mysteriously disappear while the Geisters are looking for the Holy Child, but Anevka is still the one put in the Summoning Engine because, well, Aaronev had no illusions that either of his kids is the Holy Child and was just rolling the dice to get Lucrezia back. Also, I can’t decide what Gil Sturmvoraus is up to, so is he even at Sturmhalten?

Tarvek Clay lives in Beetleburg with his loving family and a job as Beetle’s assistant. People understand why he’s there less because ornamental male assistants aren’t as popular, but it doesn’t become a big problem.

I think OG Tarvek’s legacy obsession is fun, so here he’s half-convinced that his Uncle Barry really is Barry Heterodyne. He lives with the logical and emotional sides of his brain at war and constructs elaborate fantasies about what his parents are up to. I imagine him less laser-focused on making something Sparky than Agatha was… maybe his experiments exploding is a little more private?

Agatha is the Baron’s Beautiful Daughter and can bench press a car, because Klaus did the same improvements to her as he did to Gil. Not sure if she is as explicitly into the heroing hobby as Gil is in Paris, but she probably runs into a lot of trouble she can’t resist solving. Is she still a heartthrob to the ladies of Paris? Flip a coin. Does she have as much of a foot-in-mouth syndrome as Gil? I say no, since Gil’s seems to be his brain working at half power around a girl he likes and Agatha mostly powers through her own “hot boy” moments.

Agatha’s role is easy to leave static at the start of the story and Gil and Agatha are very similar people to me, but… I just have no idea who Gilgamesh Sturmvoraus would be as a person. Nature vs nurture debates whip at me relentlessly, not just because of his new family but because I don’t have a solid idea of how much of his upbringing makes up his canon self.

My only two really solid ideas for him are 1) Klaus decides that Agatha-Gil friendship could be romantic and is partially motivated to separate them by not wanting to be in-laws with the Sturmvorauses. This changes nothing but it’s funny. 2) Agatha goes “why is the only guy I click with fucking Sturmvoraus” and this is part of her designated Wulfenbach “alone forever” angst. Or maybe she does try dating… if that even goes well.

For other things… How much does Gil care about his family? Does he think becoming Storm King is a good idea? Does he manage to save Anevka? I think the bio equivalent to Anevka is probably cloning her… but again, does he even care if Aaronev is stable? Is running away an option? Is whistleblowing, once he discovers the Summoning Engine? Does he try to play incompetent like canon Tarvek or just go with being as powerful and scary as he can manage being? Does he have any self-made friends? Is he obsessed with the Muses? What’d he do with the Violetta situation? Does he like Zulenna? Does he obsess over Agatha's secrets or try to move on? Are he and Zola friends? Did Bang kidnap him with associated sexual harassment vibes? Are either Agatha or Gil library nerds?

He still dislikes Martellus, so there’s that. I like to think Agatha and Zola become friends… Truly the biggest twist of the au.

Back to the other two… Agatha gets called on having Heterodyne style possessiveness in canon, but here she’s not a Heterodyne. And does she hate Gil as long as/the same way that Gilvek hate each other? And if Tarvek’s morals are wibblier than Agatha’s, him having The Voice could be worse. Also, it’s unlikely Dr. R would grope him, but I’m sure he can get pissed off in some other way. I'm swapping Moloch because even if Tarvek is scantily clad, the Spark mix-up relies on gender assumptions.

Also, Gil is exposed to too many giant spiders for his liking. Maybe he'll get less scared of them. Or not.

[zalrb]

Did you notice (or is it just me) that cesera seemed to grab Lucrezia neck more in season 3? Of course she was still his soft spot and his one true love but I do see this change kind of parallel to his character getting darker in that season.

If that makes any sense at all!

Mm, I didn't make that correlation. I actually think season 2 is his darkest season and I just think in season 3 he was freer with the sexual and/or romantic nature of their physicality -- I mean they both were --

and so the way he touches her in season 3 becomes a little different and the moments he grabs her neck are usually moments where there's a rush of emotion.

There's the obvious moment where he at first think she's an intruder until he recognizes it's her so a threat becomes a seduction

and then there's the finale where he brings her closer after she asks him if he'll think of her when he leaves

which is a kind of hold he's always done

kind of like their hug in 3x09, he's so happy to have her in his arms, he also takes a hold of her neck and kind of smashes her into him -- you can't really see his hands because it's dark and they're gloved but one of them as at the side of her neck then at the back of her neck -- which is something he also does in the same episode in season 1 after, again, not seeing her for so long

and then we get the kisses

What I would say the difference is is that in season 3, Cesare is outright claiming Lucrezia with his touches -- whether it's her neck or her chin

whereas the first two seasons there's absolutely an undercurrent but he's not leaning into that so it might appear sweeter or more reverent than possessive (even though I think he is reverent in his possessiveness)

[rhia-the-georgina-enthusiast]

✨AU Headcannons of the Day part 3: Georgina Upperton ✨

Childhood and Teen hood Headcanon

• Georgina was born with white hair. She was the only Upperton Family member who was born with white hair. (she was not born with albinism, but she was born in due to lack of pigment of her hair, or due to various genetic factors)

• During her childhood days, she was always the smartest amongst her siblings, (elders or youngsters).

• Georgina loves reading books, whether it's a historical, some fictional, and more.

• She was always closed to her grandparents, because her parents doesn't have time to spend with her. Her grandparents are very kind hearted to Georgina, and loves to spending some time with her. They always called her "the angel of the family" because of her sweet, kind hearted, humble, and loving girl she is.

• She has a troubled relationship with her mother, she was wondering why her mother doesn't want to spend time, Georgina thinks that she doesn't love her or because of her white hair.... But Georgina doesn't give up on hope, because she hoped that one day, her mother will love her again(why I'm so sad making it)

• Georgina was also the eldest sibling, but not the most senior sibling, she was always being a elder sibling to them because she was very independent, smart, intelligent. She can also helping them solving some problems that they didn't answered too.

• When she was grown up, Georgina decided to dyed her white hair to black. Because she was worried that some nobles of Concordian Nobility would view her as "witch" if she did not dyed her hair.

Adulthood headcanon

• Georgina was a very talented woman. She was really great at drawing arts like sketching and painting, she is also great at embroidery, cross-stitch, and crochet. And she's also great at playing some various instruments like violin, guitar, flute, and piano.

• My AU where Georgina was 27 years old, meeting the little Giulietta Capecchi, she found her at her prospect gardens behind the oak tree crying with bruises in her arms, and her instincts kicked in. Georgina bring Giulietta inside to her mansion and cleaning up her wounds (and this where their mother-daughter figure begins)

• Georgina viewed Giulietta as her "daughter figure", because of how she treated Giulietta as her own daughter and Giulietta also viewed Georgina as her mother figure, because of how she treated her kindly (that I posted on Giulietta's Au headcannons if you remember)

• Georgina loves some fashions, she has many outfits on her wardrobes, and she is really great at choosing the right outfits to wear for attending some parties, events or etc. She's always up-to-date on some latest fashion trends, she is also helps Giulietta to pick the right outfit, to make sure it looks fabulous.

• Even her status, and her wealth. Georgina always wants to be stay humble, kind person, and sweet nature. And it will always be remained in her life as what her grandparents teaches to her. Yes, Georgina was "down to earth" in my AU 🥰

Fun Facts:

• Georgina's birthday was the same as Giulietta's. Yes she's also 2/11

• Georgina's secret talents is dancing and singing.

• Georgina is good at baking. She is really great baking cakes, cupcakes or some other pastries. She's also helps her maids to bake them, and she also teaches Giulietta and Lucrezia how to bake the cake.

• I headcanon Georgina as "Aroace" because she's not interested in romantic or sexual relationships.

• My AU where Georgina and Ernest never met each other.

There we go! My Georgina headcanon is here

Hope you enjoyed 😁✨

[magnificentposting-fabrizioart]

If you had to write a fanfic about Magnificent Century, what would it be about?

The same question for fan art if you can’t answer the above.

Oh boy where do I start.

Well, besides the obvious "What if the show allowed Nigar to be queer as vibes told me she was?", and assuming we preserve the timeline, couple ideas.

-What if Leo and Viktoria realized they were natural allies, tried to plot together, failed, and then escaped together, to Persia and beyond? Honestly I see it as a potential ship but it could be a lot of stuff.

-LOTS of possible Suleyman introspection angles. Maybe reminiscing about HIS childhood while watching Mustafa, and I'd make SURE to highlight the cognitive dissonance that has to be somewhere in there.

-Something about the hilarious correspondence he had w/ a couple of Italian figures begging for him to help/promising to help with an invasion of Italy (The Duke of Mantova, Lucrezia Gonzaga). Somehow I'd find out how the mention that thing I read about parmesan being all the rage in Topkapi too.

-Lots of angles where you could tackle street life in the Empire, Istanbul and beyond.

-50% joking (?) but Biker Gang modern AU titled Sons of Ankara just because the idea is hilarious.

-Inner monologue of Suleyman's reaction to Charles the V abdicating. Actually I think a movie/short show about the two of them in parallel would be fascinating, we have the two biggest egos of the Mediterranean (there might have been fierce competition in Asia) and nominally top figures of their respective worlds that also kinda never had the showdown of the century both were raised and primed to dream of, and I'm morbidly fascinated by that dynamic.

It's also hilarious to imagine show Suleyman's brain smoking by him trying to even CONCEIVE of the concept of abdicating.

[like-sands-of-time]

"The borgias" on showtime went way off the course of recorded history I'm sure and historical events such as these have only one natural conclusion. BUT I am curious what they would have done with a season four, as the events of borgia rule were not over, barely even started.

We're left with vague glimpses but more things could have changed with the politics side, and much more would have changed with lucrezia and cesare and I deeply deeply wish we could have seen their parents come to learn just what is going on between them, hardly even kept secret anymore even if/when she marries a third time.

There's the matter of cesare wanting her to be princess of Naples in Frances name, while he rules forli and rome, further hoping to unite the other states with alliance if not battle. Just saying, the plots with Della Rovere and Sforza may be over but there is other politics, and a change from that could remove the chance of monotony.

Ugh to fanfiction we go I suppose to see if any of the lovely fantasy/history/Renaissance writers out there felt the same 🙏🏻

[rhetoricandlogic]

Blood & Beauty: The Borgias; A Novel

A novel takes another look at the Borgias.

Renaissance popes are famous less for their piety than for their political machinations and opulent monuments. A prime example is Rodrigo Borgia, who became Pope Alexander VI in 1492. He and his two most famous children, Lucrezia and Cesare, are the focus of Sarah Dunant’s new novel, Blood & Beauty. Pope Alexander wants to establish dominion over a large area of Italy and wield that power through his children. Although he does not neglect the arts, his family is his favored monument. In addition to Lucrezia and Cesare, he has other children whom he maneuvers into advantageous marriages. Like the paterfamilias of ancient Rome, the Spanish Rodrigo Borgia exercises absolute power over his children, forcing Cesare into the church, for which he is ill-suited; marrying off his 12-year-old son, Jofré, to ensure an alliance; and requiring Lucrezia to perjure herself in order to obtain an annulment because her marriage ceased to benefit him.

As soon as Rodrigo becomes pope, he moves his household to a convenient distance from the papal apartments. And what a household it is! The pope’s distant cousin, Adriana de Mila, presides, since Rodrigo has removed his children from their mother’s home some years ago. By now, the two older sons are not often home — Cesare is in Siena, presumably studying, and Juan, the pope’s self-indulgent, undisciplined favorite, is out in the streets carrying on. In addition to the two younger children, 13-year-old Lucrezia and her younger brother, Jofré, there is Giulia Farnese, the pope’s 18-year-old mistress who is the daughter-in-law of Adriana de Mila. A dysfunctional family? Oh no — it is functioning pretty much as Rodrigo Borgia wishes.

Dunant is ambitious in the scope of her novel, into which, although it spans a decade, she crams a substantial amount of historical detail. Alliances are fleeting and relationships are complicated. Even a reader who is familiar with the period can get bogged down in the details. One has a choice of ignoring all the convoluted genealogies and military ups and downs and just getting on with the story, or diligently attempting to sort things out with the help of the abbreviated genealogical table and map provided, which, of course, interrupts the flow.

Readers who grew up with the image of Lucrezia Borgia as an infamous poisoner, the human embodiment of a black widow, and have not kept up with revisionist historians, will make the acquaintance of a very different person in Dunant’s novel: a genuinely pious young woman whose filial duty requires her to act against her nature. Dunant dismisses rumors of Lucrezia’s licentiousness as slander — her heroine is inclined to virtue and compassion and is forced from that path only by duty to her family. We see her grow from a precocious 13-year-old to a young woman who is determined to make a life for herself away from her father.

Brother Cesare does not get the same sympathetic treatment from the author — he is presented as a ruthless, brilliant schemer, a man who loves his sister, perhaps all too well, but whose political ambitions always take precedence over her happiness. Dunant seems a bit conflicted about whether father Rodrigo is quite as bad as appearances show him. A fat old man (and here, the author is quite specific about his unattractive appearance) and wiser than his impetuous son, he is inclined to attempt diplomacy before resorting to force. Dunant is not quite clear about how mistress Giulia feels about the lover who is old enough to be her grandfather and who keeps her from seeing her husband. Sometimes she is content and sometimes not, but the author does not spend much time letting the reader know what is in Giulia’s mind  — the secondary characters in this novel are not well-developed.

Dunant is at her best when she sets the scene of the action, painting a vivid picture of crowded rooms occupied by sweating cardinals, showing the family together at the table, or Cesare ingratiating himself with his guards while he spies on them to garner information for future action. Her narration has a suitably cynical tone, and she can turn a phrase deftly, although occasionally it seems as if she has tried too hard to do so. To the dismay of grammar mavens, the author considers the subjunctive mood of the English language defunct, providing the phrase “as if he was dancing” to set their teeth on edge. Names are spelled one way on one page, a different way on another, and some are wrong entirely. The blind eye of the former Duke of Urbino is bestowed on his son, the current duke. A fiction writer does have the option of interpreting history as she sees fit, especially when the sources provide some leeway, but a lack of attention to detail should not be part of that choice.

Dunant plans a sequel to this volume, which may explain why some scenes seem to hint at future significance. For example, the novel opens in 1492 with a seven-page dialogue between Rodrigo Borgia, who would like to be pope, and Cardinal Giovanni de’ Medici, who is a teenager at the time. Dunant makes no mention that Giovanni will become Pope Leo X in 1513, so if a reader does not know that bit of history, Giovanni is merely serving to provide a picture of Borgia filtered through the eyes of a young Medici who is trying to follow his famous father Lorenzo’s advice in judging what he encounters. As this is Giovanni’s sole appearance in the novel, a Dunant devotee will have to await the second volume in order to find out more about him.

The Borgias have always fascinated readers, perhaps because one can now contemplate their machinations from a safe distance in time. They have been depicted in novels by Alexandre Dumas and Victor Hugo; a biography by Rafael Sabatini, the swashbuckler specialist; an opera by Donizetti; Prince of Foxes, a Samuel Shellabarger novel developed by Orson Welles into a movie; and a TV series starring Jeremy Irons. If one’s appetite for Renaissance intrigue has not yet been sated, Blood & Beauty may be a tempting morsel.

[lostinfic]

Chapter 7 : Connected

In a bedroom, Cesare finds a porcelain washbasin and a clean cloth. A single candle lights the room. He tips Lucrezia's face up and washes the blood off her cheeks. Were restoring her innocence as easy as erasing the traces of the deaths that occurred around them tonight. 

As he gently wipes her freckled skin, Lucrezia's eyelids flutter shut. It's mesmerizing, the way she responds to his touch, tilting her head back, offering her neck and lips, the instinctual nature of it. She's got him wrapped around her little finger, he has no delusions about that, but she's under his spell too. Water drips from the cloth, slides, pink, down her throat and pools in the hollow of her clavicle. The urge to lick it up makes him tip his head forward. His breath brushes her jawline. She smells of violets and orange blossoms, still wearing the same brand of perfume he gave her years ago...

[silverloreley]

hey if u got any Ivy x Lampwick hc i'd love to hear them! you definately got me invested in ur ship!

I had some time to think about this more and I have some ideas to share:

They met young, Lucignolo was about ten years old when he died of fatigue after he was turned into a donkey (canon from the book) and he was revived, human, at the same age he got transformed, around 9. Ivy was a tad younger, around 8.

She caught him when he tried to seek shelter in the de Vils garage during a particularly cold night. She was in her angelic phase and let him stay, only to kick him out the next morning in a rather brutal way.

He thought she was crazy (and was pretty much right) and avoided her for months afterward. They met by chance again and Ivy kept her ambivalent behavior. By the time they were teens, he had gotten used to it.

Being among the very few kids on the Isle from the start, it was inevitable for them (and Hunter, plus a handful of pirate kids, and a few more) to seek each other's company. Even after more kids were born, they were still in a category of their own.

They spent the childhood bickering, with her chastizing him for his lack of effort in any field and mocking his ignorance (he hated going to school and never studied, while she was a top student). She ended up forcing him to learn some stuff, all while mocking and bullying him, of course. He totally let her, the attention made him feel important.

He was the one to fall first, obviously. Despite knowing of her double nature, he found her both gorgeous and intriguing (and it helped she was rich, as he hated the idea of having to work to live). On her side, she was mostly attracted by how well he let her command him and by his open admiration. It appeared as a shallow relationship from the outside, but the truth is that they know each other rather well.

Ivy was among the most well-off families on the Isle, the de Vils had most of their properties (a couple mansions and other belongings) and managed to put their hands on the only electric plant on the Isle, other than there being a lot of them. Lucignolo had nothing of the sort. Naturally, the de Vils were against their relationship: Lucignolo was a no one, son of no ones, without anything in or out the Isle, while Ivy was a born noble, rich, and with a solid social standing. When they decided to get engaged, Ivy threw a tantrum and forced the family to accept her choice. She won.

They got married as soon as they could, which on the Isle meant as soon as the families allowed. Ivy's parents warmed up to him, eventually, especially once their daughter, Luciana Romina de Vil, was born.

Their daughter's name was the result of a big dispute between them. He wanted to call the child like his mother, Ivy wanted an original name. They compromised he could pick the name as long as he gave up on giving the kid his surname and letting the child be a de Vil only.

Their second daughter was named Lucrezia Imogen de Vil, like Lucrezia Borgia, this time Ivy chose and Lucignolo let her because he liked the name too.

By the time of D1, their eldest Luciana "Lucia" is around 11, Lucrezia "Lulu" is about 8-9 and they just had a boy, Irvyn.

They were not the best parents, to be honest. Well, Ivy could be, when in the right mood, Lucignolo was a bit neglectful at best, he thought raising kids was too much work and let his in-laws do most of the caring. It changed when he realized he was becoming too much like his own father (and after Cecil took him aside and scolded him) and his daughters were distancing themselves from him. He didn't do a 180 degrees change but, from there on, he at least tried.

He also tried to send a letter to Pinocchio, once or twice, as a teen, not much to get help but to see what he was doing. Scoundrel as he was, he was also a decent friend and was very hurt when he never got answers. Ivy told him to get over it, but he never lost hope to someday reconnect. Secretly, she sort of wished she had a friend out on the Isle to send letters to.

In the time of the Isle, Lucignolo's father had died and his mother had remarried, although she had had hopes to find him ever since he left home. Pinocchio had been the one who told her of his sad fate (donkeyfied and died) so it was a huge surprise to her, after the Barrier was opened in D3, to find that he was alive and with children of his own. Signora Luciana instantly loved her grandkids as soon as she met them and accepted Ivy too without thinking twice.

[lucreziasredwyne]

who: @illyaoakheart​ where: the maze within the gardens of highgarden, following the rumours of ‘the watchers’ regarding the nature of cedric tyrell and lucrezia redwyne’s relationship

Highgarden's seemingly endless maze was once a place of good memories, a place where it felt as though the beginning of her place and her association with those in the realm had quietly begun; with the sound of her footsteps breaking twigs, and being utterly lost after wandering away from the Great Hall her mother and father were within. Hazel hues moved quietly to the sight of an overhanging tree, in which she had once seen two nine year old boys hanging upon it; one of fox thorn and one of the Goldengrove's oldest way.

Her eyes now looked upon the very same tree, and it were almost as though she could sense the silhouette of him remaining within it; how he had been the one to drop seamlessly down from the tree, whilst striking blue eyes continued to look upon her from above with curious, amused eyes. Different to warm ones. Seven Hells, it's a girl Mathis. Yeah, I can see that Ced.

There was a familiar, quiet sting that seemed to come from the very back of her eyes as she felt her throat close up around her; when the Lady of Old Oak had wished to tour the grounds of Highgarden's endless mass of gardens, considering she would someday soon preside over them all, the Lady of the Arbor was happy to accept. They needed some air, and she wished for some time alone with the woman considering the recent bump they had worked to communicate through. 

Society pages continued to whisper, and yet, Lucrezia did not wish to speak on such rumours; and did not wish to speak on the idea of her reputation being tainted.

Nor did she wish to speak on what horrible things had been said about the woman she deemed her sister. There would always be those who wished to undermine and see them fall, for their positions were so powerful in court. Lucrezia understood that, however needed to remain patient whilst others got accustomed to learning it too. They had gone around in circles countless times now, and were lost; still, they were within Highgarden's grounds.

She quietly realised the beginning of this maze was where Helena Tyrell had been murdered on her wedding day. To him. This maze was full of ghosts, and worked to ignore the feeling of the hedges closing around her. "At least in here, there are no eyes looking at us with taints of scandal and shame." The Lady of the Arbor spoke, wondering whether she could hear the sound of twigs snapping, or whether she were caught in history. 

"We'll have to go around a few times, and we'll get out eventually. How embarrassing - imagine should the guards notice we have not emerged and have to come looking."

[borgialucrezia]

okay so personally, I think cesare definitely knew he was having some sexual thoughts about lucrezia pre-canon, but do not think he thought his desire to keep her unmarried was anything more than him just being a good, perhaps overprotective, but well-meaning, older brother until he was standing there performing the wedding ceremony and she said "I do" and looked to him for reassurance and he felt himself sick with the realization that there was some other reason he didn't like the idea of her married beside keeping her innocence intact as long as possible (because he understood what men could be like & how unpleasant his sister's experience in marriage might be), but was wondering if you had a different interpretation? like, that maybe it was later after he'd began crushing on ursula due to obvious similarities in their appearance and situations? or were those feelings so different from what he felt for lucrezia that he didn't even connect them and lived in denial a while longer until lucrezia accepted the bloodied knife without hesitation unlike ursula who ran from him when he did the same thing for her? because I could see the argument for that being the moment things shift in his brain, but also I could see it being the season 1 moment. idk.

cesare is well aware of his incestuous feelings for lucrezia which is why he sought out the nearest blonde beautiful damsel in distress with an abusive husband to project onto and save!! considering he had failed to rescue his own sister...but he also allowed his narcissism and obsession with ursula to overwhelm him and led him to assaulting her when she asserted her independence. eventually he lost her after subjecting her to a tormenting existence with his stalking when she simply asked him to leave her alone.

the contrast between cesare killing lucrezia's husband and ursula's husband was quite interesting! ursula was terrified of cesare's murderous tendencies while lucrezia embraced him like no one else outside his family did. lucrezia loved cesare unconditionally, accepting all his imperfections and darker nature until a breaking point as seen in the 'borgia apocalypse' script where she'd abandon him and even trying to poison him upon distrust and disrespect. cesare's lack of respect towards ursula stemmed from her fear and escape, a reaction similiar to what lucrezia have done after alfonso's death.

[tiredoftime]

Language Resources I've been using (late 2024)

I've been in a slump (aka mental breakdown) for a bit now, but I'm starting to get back into language learning bit by bit. For context, in order of priority, I'm learning Spanish (C1), Russian (B1), French (B1/2), Japanese (N4/3) and Italian (B1/2), and mainly just immersing and using Anki for vocab reviews. I also am lucky enough to be allowed to listen to podcasts or whatever at work, which I sometimes do, but not often enough tbh.

First, I want to highlight this video by Iclal, which sort of got me back into my studies. Probably the most inspirational video I've watched in a while, especially because it's not about starting new languages, but about getting to advanced levels in the languages you're already learning, which is my main goal. I don't plan on taking any C1/2 exams anytime soon, but the idea has been planted in the back of my mind.

My "routine" is pretty simple. Make sure I review my sentence cards everyday, and add new cards when I feel like it or when I run out. I just make new cards from whatever resource I feel like on that day.

Language Transfer

I actually used this to refresh my Italian grammar, listening at work when things were quiet. Most of it was stuff I already knew, but it was probably good for me to actually re-learn how to form a sentence in Italian, even if the sentences were pretty basic. I might also check out the Spanish course, as a refresher, but unfortunately, the French course wasn't for me - the instructor has a really bad French accent that just kept grating on me.

YouTube Vlogs / Podcasts

All I do is watch the videos and make an Anki sentence card when I don't know a word, making sure I understand the whole sentence. I have more channels in my lineup for when I exhaust/get bored of the ones below

Piece of French - I just go through her videos chronologically. Probably a little below my level if I'm being honest, but my main focus is vocab, which this resource helps a lot with. She speaks a little slow for me, but other than that, she speaks very naturally, so I don't feel like I'm being talked down to.

Italian with Lucrezia - Right now, I'm just going through her vlogs or "chattier" videos. Maybe I'll use her grammar vids to brush up on grammar later, but I like the chill pace of following her around Rome and picking up new words as I do.

Russian Progress - Okay, my Russian is pretty weak, so going through one of his podcast episodes is a multi-hour commitment (especially the interviews with other native speakers), but it's worth it to finally understand a full episode. I just use the episodes in this playlist, but I might go through some other eps once I finish this.

Easy Languages - I study these videos when I'm feeling lazier, because the videos are shorter and sometimes pretty simple in topic. I still learn more casual language from them though, something which I'm lacking in basically all of my languages. I don't watch any of the "Super Easy" videos though.

Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus

The autism special interest hit me in full force, so I started re-listening to the audio books (in English :/) at work. Then I thought, I'm enjoying this so much, why not bring that enjoyment to my language studies? So I started reading 4 of the books in 4 languages.

Russian -The Lightning Thief : The PJO book I'm most familiar with plot-wise, so I thought I'd read it in my weakest language.

Italian - Sea of Monsters : Tbh I kind of just wanted to read Titan's Curse (yes bc of Nico) in Italian, but I also wanted to go at least semi in order, so at least I know the next book I can get to is TC.

Spanish - The Lost Hero : Kind of embarrassing to admit, but when I was 14, I read TLH, loved Leo's character, and it genuinely made me want to get my Spanish grade up, so I studied a lot of Spanish. That's why I picked TLH for Spanish haha.

French - Son of Neptune : I wanted to do two PJO, two HoO books at the same time, which sort of left French with SoN by default (since I couldn't get my hands on a Japanese translation of any Riordan books :/). Also, apparently Hazel speaks a bit of Louisiana French, and Frank a bit of Quebec French, so it's sort of on brand?? (although I'm learning France-French, bc heritage language lol)

I'm genuinely considering saving up money to get the audio books in my target languages to listen to at work as a form of revision, and for my own enjoyment haha. My current plan is to cycle through the books, so eventually (in theory), I will have read all ten books of the two series in four languages. I also want to do this with Harry Potter one day, Japanese included.

TV and Movies

I actually don't watch much TV, but I want to get back into it, because it's amazingly helpful for my studies, and is why my Japanese used to be at quite a high level (before I took a long break for uni and forgot a lot of it).

Лето (Summer), 2018 - A film about Soviet rock music. Picked it up because it was mentioned in the YT vid by Iclal I linked at the top of this post. Also I love Kino and Viktor Tsoi so it was a natural choice. I just study about 10-20 minutes of the film at a time, and then I'll probably re-watch it when I'm done. The whole thing is available on YT, and I found an extension that lets me add the subs in manually.

ダンジョン飯 (Dungeon Meshi) - Way above my level, but I'll watch basically anything that has good but subtle autism rep (even if unintentional), and I've heard good things about this show in that regard. I'm still on the first episode right now, but I basically do the same as above, study about 5-10 minutes at a time.

Cure Dolly Japanese Structure

Because my Japanese is so rusty, I keep running into that problem where I know all the words in a sentence, but have a hard time parsing the meaning. So, I thought I'd review the resource that taught me the vast majority of my Japanese grammar, making "Structure flashcards" for anything that's hazy in my mind. This helped me where even Tae Kim and Imabi couldn't (though I might go back to them once I've exhausted Cure Dolly, to see if there's any gaps in my knowledge).

逆転裁判 - Ace Attorney

Again, autism special interest is hitting full force as a coping mechanism, but at least it gives me something to do for my Japanese. I have all 6 main games, plus the 2 Investigations games on Steam, so now it's just a matter of persevering. I'm currently about 1h30mins into this video, which basically spoon feeds you the vocab and grammar of the first case, which facilitates my flashcard making and understanding. After I finish this, I'm gonna go in the old fashioned way, with just my game and a dictionary. I might get around to playing the main six games in French one day, but for now, I'm focusing on getting through the series in Japanese.

[jasmineleeplays]

Duchess Matilda gains enough gold to create the Kingdom of Italy, and her first business as Queen of Italy was to hold court and hear the petitions brought forth by her subjects. The first petition was about whether to disallow or encourage a female preacher named Lucrezia. Given that Queen Matilda is a woman herself and is Zealous by nature, this issue hit close to home and she decides to endorse the female preacher and encourage more people to spread the word of God.

On the 7th of July 1072, at the age of 26, Queen Matilda of Italy formed Italy. At the same time, she gave away one of her titles - the Duchy of Spoleto - to her Chancellor and largest vassal, Count Vitale of Fermo, and elevated him to become Duke Vitale of Spoleto.

Meanwhile, Queen Matilda managed to secure a marriage betrothal between her son Prince Goffredo of Italy and Tatyana Rurikid who is a Genius and Prince Vsevolod's granddaughter. Although it says the match will not result in an alliance for now, Tatyana's father is next in-line to inherit from her grandfather Prince Vsevolod, so it should result in an alliance when Prince Vsevolod dies.

[zalrb]

I'm rewatching The Borgias, about to finish s2, and I'm curious.

About what point do you think Cesare and Lucrezia realized their affection went deeper than sibling love? from the very beginning they were touchy and romantic in a way, visibly more than familiar love, the kiss in s2 came so natural, but at the same time, it might've been normal for them to display affection like that, since we see Rodrigo kiss Lucrezia in the mouth as well (in the spanish movie about them they're also seen kissing in front of their father and others, but there were just a few disgusted reactions and others, specially Rodrigo, didn't seem to think much of it, so perhaps those kisses were common between family at the time?)

So what do you think was the moment that made them think "I love you like a man and a woman love each other, not just like a brother and sister"?

I chart out my thoughts on their realization in my posts, which can be found in the general tv master list or in the borgias or cesare x lucrezia tag.

[opera-ghosts]

Remembering Lilli Lehmann on her birthday:

b. November 24, 1848, Würzburg, Germany d. May 17, 1929, Berlin, Germany

Mozart - Die Entführung aus dem Serail - Martern aller Arten - Lilli Lehmann (1907)

"Yes, I am quite tired," was her first remark as she seated herself at a little writing-desk and her visitor near by. " The opera lasted so late ; I did not get to bed until two o'clock. But I was waiting for you this morning, and had just prepared to write down some items you might wish to know."

Then she took a pencil and paper, — and what do you suppose she wrote first? These are the exact words, and she read them aloud as she wrote:

"Born — Wiirzburg, November 24, 1848."

I could not conceal some surprise, and was obliged to explain: "The American ladies so seldom give their age that your frankness is a revelation."

"The Lilli Lehmann " smiled and said:

"Why not? One is thereby no younger,"

She turned again to the desk, and went on with the "interview," using her pencil with great firmness and rapidity as she wrote in German, and with all possible abbreviations :

"I was brought up in Prague, where I made my debut when eighteen years of age. My mother was my first teacher and constant companion. She was herself a dramatic soprano, well known as Maria Low, and my father, too, was a singer."

" In what opera did you first appear? "

" It was the ' Magic Flute, ' and I appeared in one of the lighter roles ; but two weeks later, during the performance, the dramatic soprano was taken ill, and I then and there went on with her role, trusting to my memory after hearing it so often. My mother, who was in the audience and knew I had never studied the part, nearly fainted when she saw me come on the stage as Pamina."

Madame Lehmann's feats of memory have more than once created a sensation. We remember the astonishment aroused in New York music circles five years ago when she mastered the Italian text of " Lucrezia Borgia " in three days.

Recurring to her life in Prague, Madame Lehmann further said:

" I appeared not only in many operas, but also as an actress in many plays. In those days opera singers were expected to be as proficient in the dramatic side of their art as the musical, and we were called upon to perform in all the great tragedies. But nowadays this would be impossible, since the operatic repertoire has become so tremendous"

People seldom consider how much larger is the present list of famous operas than formerly. All the Wagnerian works, many of Verdi's, and most of the French have taken their places in comparatively recent years, and yet there is still a demand for all the old operas too. The singer who attains Wagner must at the same time keep up her Mozart, Beethoven, Gliick, Rossini, Meyerbeer, and Bellini.

As the visitor mentioned Bellini, Madame Lehmann assented. " Yes, we are to give 'Norma* here next month. " "Norma," abounding in melody and florid fancies, is as different from Wagner as a cloudless sky from a thunder-storm.

The divine art, like nature, has its various moods, and Wagner and Bellini represent two extremes.

Among Wagner's works, " Isolde" is one character to which Madame Lehmann's temperament and physique are strikingly fitted. Throughout the long first act, wherein she is almost constantly singing, she imparts a glorious impression of one who thinks in music. The fearless, impassioned Isolde thinks bitter, rancorous thoughts of Tristan, whom she abhors, until with fierce resolve she hands him the fatal drink which, unknown to herself, is a love-potion. The previous dearth of action has created a ready mood for us to thrill and respond at the love-frenzy, the delirium which now animates the scene as these unwitting love suddenly find all hatred and other memories gone from their hearts.

It may be mentioned here that Wagner firmly believed in the power of contrast, and he purposely preceded his greatest climaxes by what many would deem an unwonted length of inaction.

In 1870 Lilli Lehmann was engaged for the Berlin Opera- House.

Americans can hardly appreciate the significance of this fact; but it means much. The opera in Berlin is supported by the government and directly under the supervision of the emperor. The singers are not engaged for a season, but for life, being entitled to an annuity after they retire from the stage. Lilli Lehmann' s contract was signed by the kaiser during the FrancoPrussian war.

When asked if the old Emperor Wilhelm was musical, Madame Lehmann smiled, and there was a gleam of humor in her eyes:

" No, I can not truthfully say that he was

at all musical, tho he was wonderfully kind and good to all artists."

For fifteen years Lilli Lehmann sang in Berlin with an occasional flight to Baireuth under the kaiser* s permission, where she sang for Wagner himself.

" I was one of the Rhine daughters, and also the first Forest Bird in ' Siegfried "

Wagners own Forest Bird! It is a thrilling and poetic statement that would be hard to equal. Of all this great masters characters, including gods and demi-gods, knights and shepherds, dwarfs and giants, his most original, and perhaps for this reason his best-loved children of the brain, were, we believe, his Rhine daughters and his Forest Bird. The former sing under the water laughing strains of mystical import and unearthly sweetness, while the Forest Bird sings in the air — always unseen, but more impressive than the greatest presence.

This bird-music is not very long, but it is of unsurpassed beauty, and the most memorable theme in the opera. The scene too is

exceptional and powerful in its simplicity — only one person on the stage. Siegfried, the inspired youth, who knows the speech of bird and beast, is alone in the forest when he hears a bird sing. He pauses to listen, as you in the audience do too, for the song is not a meaningless mocking-bird array of trills and cadences, but a tender strain that bespeaks the bird as a prophet. Siegfried tries to catch the message, tries to see the bird, and tries, too, to imitate its tones. He cuts him a reed from the water-banks, and shapes it and tests it until he can play upon it the music he hears. Ah, we should like to have been in that audience at Baireuth when this Forest Bird took its first flight into the world !

It is a great thing to create a role, to set the standard by which all later performances shall be modeled. If the new opera proves to be a great and lasting work, the singers who created the important roles are always credited therewith and mentioned.

They usually have been selected by the composer, and their performance is the result of his best instruction as well as their own inspiration. Madame Lehmann has "created " many roles, but the most poetic, we deem, is the Forest Bird.

After writing with characteristic abbreviation the foregoing fact — " f 7S~7^y Baireuth, Rhine daughter, I Forest Bird" — Madame Lehmann handed over the paper and asked " Is there anything more I can tell you?"

Her bright eyes, clear complexion, and magnificent figure prompted a personal question :

" How do you keep your splendid health, and the strength to work so much? "

For this she had a ready answer :

" I have been a vegetarian for the past five years."

In reply to one more parting question, Lilli Lehmann spoke words of wisdom that are worthy of reflection :

" Yes, I still practise and study more than ever. At the end one is just beginning."

From

Stars of the opera, a description of operas & a series of personal interviews with Marcella Sembrich, Emma Eames, Emma Calve, Lillian Nordica, Lilli Lehmann, Geraldine Farrar & Nellie Melba