#and she made peace with herself

[backjustforberena]

Princess Rhaenys + the positions of power that were never hers and yet...

[callixton]

i think the thing to understand abt martha jones is that even after she leaves she is five seconds away from dropping everything and traveling with the doctor at any given time. bc that itch to blow everything up and damn her personal duty to hell in search of a higher call never leaves her. but martha is smart. and rational. and has spent a long fucking time needing to keep herself safe. (bc he comes when she calls but never before.) and so she has gotten very good at keeping herself on the right side of those five seconds. but i do think if ten was a different person (if he could acknowledge how much he needed her instead of just how much he liked her) (if he didn’t feel this righteous martyrdom when it comes to being left alone) (if he cared enough about her to beg. if he cared enough about himself.) i think that her answer no would come crumbling down pretty quickly is all.

[ijustreallylikecaptainamericaok]

Rewatched Multiverse of Madness earlier and while I've never had the vitriol for it that some Wanda fans do*, the whole "just be happy with what you have" lesson does reek of condescension in this case. Not to mention the callousness it takes to lecture someone who has nothing and no one about how they should just be content with their status quo. Obviously Wanda's actions were wrong, but given all the desperation and grief that fueled them, I get why she wanted out. As far as she knew, there was nothing to keep her there.

And don't even get me started on the film's attempt to put Strange not getting over Christine on the same level as Wanda wanting her kids back after having lost everyone else**. If we were talking about Strange Supreme from What If...? with all his tragedy and guilt then they'd have more of a leg to stand on, but prime!Strange's break up angst? Sorry, but no. Maybe if we were privy to more of Stephen's damage in that arena or why that particular relationship mattered so much it could've worked, but since we're not it doesn't. Not for me, at least.

[wonder-worker]

are there any books you'd recommend for Isabelle of Angouleme?

Hi! I’m really not an expert on Isabella of Angouleme so I'm probably not the best person to ask for recommendations for her. Here are some I've heard of, though I haven't read all of them:

"Isabella of Angouleme: John's Jezebel" by Nicholas Vincent (King John: New Interpretations). I haven't read it myself but I've heard good things!

“Maternal Abandonment and Surrogate Caregivers: Isabella of Angoulême and Her Children by King John” by Louise J. Wilkinson (Virtuous or Villainess? The Image of the Royal Mother from the Early Medieval to the Early Modern Era). It focuses more-so on Isabella's tenure as queen, the period shortly after John's death, and her decision to leave England. Despite what the title may imply, it's sympathetic to Isabella and analyzes her situation in detail.

“Co-Operation, Co-Rulership and Competition: Queenship in the Angevin Domains 1135-1230” by Gabrielle Storey, her PHD thesis which collectively focuses on Isabella of Angouleme along with Empress Matilda, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and Berengaria of Navarre. You can read/download it here, it's an excellent piece for all four women.

Sally Spong has written/is writing:

Isabella of Angouleme: The Vanished Queen (Norman to Early Plantagenet Consorts). You can see her conclusion here. It's nuanced and sympathetic, though not without its issues and pre-conceived notions.

Isabella of Gloucester and Isabella of Angouleme: Female Lordship, Queenship, Power, and Authority 1189-1220 (PHD thesis University of East Anglia).

“Isabelle d’Angouleme, By the Grace of God, Queen” by William Chester Jordan. You can read it online here, though I will say that it's ... very very questionable, accepting the sensational claims of lot of unreliable sources (including the idea of John abducting Isabella in a fit of uncontrollable infatuation) entirely at face-value.

“The Marriage and Coronation of Isabelle of Angouleme” by H.G. Richardson, available here on JSTOR.

Isabella has also been the subject of two complete French biographies till date:

"Isabelle d’Angoulême, reine d’Angleterre" (Aquitaine: 1998) by Sophie Fougere.

"Isabelle d’Angoulême, comtesse-reine et son temps (1186-1246)" [Actes du colloque tenu à Lusignan, 8 au 10 novembre 1996] by Gabriel Biancotto, Robert Favreau and Piotr Skubiszewski.

There are also a few blog posts about her (here and here) which may help if you want a brief overview of her life, though they can get a little sensationalistic sometimes.

Hope this helps! If anyone knows any others, please feel free to add on!

[nadekofannumber1]

Looking back at Nadeko's life, do you think it was a tragedy?

I think that really depends on what defines a tragedy for you.

Some define tragedy by avoidability others by unavoidability of on coming actions that lead to a sort of bad end. I tend to think of tragedy most defined by the concept of an end, whether it’s literal death, a point of no return, irreversible damage, or the worst possible solution. Death itself tends to be a strong signifier of a tragedy, as the dead can no longer change.

If you believe that then I’d say that Nadeko’s life was a tragedy that met a tragic end. In otori she becomes an oddity, something often akin to being dead narratively speaking. (As oddities are often selectively portrayed as unchanging existences with singular fates and by becoming god nadeko is locked into a “dead” existence that can’t change grow up or grow to be the person she wants to.) Yet now, Nadeko is no longer dead but instead undead, and living not waiting for the future ahead. To quote what the conman said “as long as you keep living something good is bound to happen.”

With that said, I’d say that I don’t consider Nadeko’s life of now to be tragic. Her past could be considered tragic in the way nobody ever saw Nadeko and only saw “Nadeko” (and even much more than that), but the past and future are connected so it’s more bumps on the road for Nadeko becoming herself.

Because there’s a bright road ahead it in ways can stop being a tragedy, the past can become her beloved history instead of being forever mired in doom.

[arolesbianism]

Time for more eternal gales isat au, this time featuring Sier as Isabeau, creating a sprite I can never use next to Aris’ because despite my best efforts it would make them look tall

[rozugold]

oh my goodness yess!!! wolf children is such a good movie we watched it so much when we were kids, and fr tho the mum goes through so much. god i need to watch it again soon, i feel like now i would pick up on more nuance than i did when i was a kid lol

Yaaay I watched it once before when I was like 7-10? But I watched it completely mute cuz I didn’t want my mom to know I was watching anime skdhdj

Lo and behold the story makes a lot more sense when you know what they’re saying

[boygirlctommy]

clawing at the walls. everin and kiet fell apart bcus they both refused to think of the others feelings, but also bcus they tried to fix each other

[mariocki]

Infinite list of favourite lyrics: 229/?

Bobbie Gentry - Ode to Billie Joe (1967)

"And Papa said to Mama, as he passed around the black-eyed peas:

'Well, Billie Joe never had a lick of sense; pass the biscuits, please.

There's five more acres in the lower forty I got to plow'

And Mama said it was a shame about Billie Joe, anyhow.

Seems like nothin' ever comes to no good up on Choctaw Ridge

And now Billie Joe McAllister's jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge"

[...]

"Mama said to me, 'Child, what's happened to your appetite?

I've been cookin' all morning, and you haven't touched a single bite.

That nice young preacher, Brother Taylor, dropped by today

Said he'd be pleased to have dinner on Sunday - oh, by the way

He said he saw a girl that looked a lot like you up on Choctaw Ridge

And she and Billie Joe was throwin' something off the Tallahatchie Bridge'"

[clawsextended]

what really breaks me is selina’s sense of shame and the way it’s pervasively constantly eroding her to bits so smooth they’re almost marble. she’s literally trying to constantly be invisible and yet she’s so visible by virtue of looking like she does. so she files herself down. she becomes quiet and pale and empty and almost gossamer and it’s on purpose. she forces herself to shrink like a punishment one can only give themselves properly, and she thinks about how revoltingly catholic her self-harming tendencies can be. maybe she paid more attention than she wanted to, or maybe she’s never learned to forgive the original sin of her own birth.

she hates herself so incredibly much and she is so, so fucking scared of the entire world around her. she’s afraid to put herself out there so she hides and it feels better because she doesn’t feel at all. she tries to keep everything down and away. shadows are her best friends. (she’s always been afraid of the dark. but fear doesn’t matter when you’ve already suffocated. you’re not alive, fear is just fuel.)

she’s afraid of everything and it makes her insist on avoiding it on a personal level. she gives weird little comments, lets out strange information casually if you keep a keen ear out. she’s always letting herself out but it’s a blink and it’s missed. If you don’t read the fortune cookie riddle in her statement, you miss learning she speaks a whole other language.

selina is enigmatic. and she hates it about herself.

[loserboyfriendrjl]

when i die, don't look for me in the sunsets...

sirius — look for me in the sky. i know it's a cliché, but there is where you will see me. am i scared of death? no, of course not. i am endless, i am invincible, i am bright; i am the brightest star, actually. i will reach out for you, and i will light up your way. you will find me.

james — look for me in the sky. you will see the sun, bright and scorching. i will warm you up when you will grieve for me, and i will bring closure to you. i might be gone, but i haven't left you alone. i am here, still. and i always will be.

remus — look for me in the river. see the stones, smooth and cold. look at the water, running. its way is freedom, isn't it? it's all ended; it's over. however, that does not mean you can't go on. fall in love. live. without me. we'll meet again soon.

peter — look for me somewhere quiet. there is beauty in quiet, although some people can't see it. it's peaceful. come sit with me, won't you? death is imminent, of course; however, why won't we make the most of life?

dorcas — look for me in my lover's arms. i have been deceived so many times, death does not scare me anymore; it's the last bit of closure i have. look for me in the little things, where i hide. many do not see me, yet i am here. you just have to look for me.

lily — look for me at home. everything has a start and an ending, and i am always coming back. look for me where i can be myself, where everything is warm. look for me at home. maybe, one day, it will be ours to share.

mary — look for me somewhere bright. the sky, maybe. or somewhere colourful. it helps me forget how alone i am, really. i forget about the loneliness that aches in me. someday, i wish you'd search for me. for now, grieve.

marlene — look for me somewhere loud. it helps me forget. scared of death? of course, so i don't think of it. i let myself be washed away with adrenaline, pumped through my brain, and with a moment of pleasure. life is short, after all.

[ruvviks]

the dobrynins are honestly my finest work they are so. insanely dysfunctional. no one does it like them and we should be glad because otherwise night city would burn down

[llycaons]

'jiang cheng would like a strong woman' have you considered she would probably not like him

[my-thoughts-and-junk]

reading dungeon meshi

[imogenkol]

🐺 The Thatcher Family - original work

[template by the lovely @unholymilf]

[svampira]

no because the latest season of drag race was literally so good how will i carry on when it ends