#jane austen meets outlander

[ladyk23]

List 5 topics you can talk on for an hour without preparing any material.

I’ve been tagged by @imsfire2 to list 5 topics I can talk on for an hour without preparing any material. I don’t know what kind of weird lecture she needs speakers for, but here goes:

1) Outlander. How could I not pick this as my first topic? It’s been my utter obsession since 2020. The TV show first, then the books by Diana Gabaldon, the actors - some whom I’ve been lucky enough to meet several times, the locations I’ve been to, the ones I haven’t been to, conventions, premieres, cosplays, you name it, I can probably talk about it, even if you would prefer I didn’t.

2) History. I don’t pretend to be an expert. Ims never said your talk had to be accurate. But I am definitely passionate about it, or at least parts of it. Obviously I said Outlander as my first topic, and that is historical fiction, but a lot of it is based around real events that happened, such as the Jacobite rising of 1745, the battle of Culloden, the American revolutionary war etc. Before Outlander (and still now) I had a big obsession with the Tudor period, so my fascination with history has long been a thing, and Outlander just added fuel to an already raging fire. My secondary school history teacher Mrs Fogg was my favourite teacher for good reason. I often wish I’d continued my education and gone into history more and maybe today I’d be a historian or history teacher myself.

3) Movies. That’s very general, again I don’t know ALL movies, but I could certainly talk for an hour about some of my favourites. I could also throw in stories about movie premieres I’ve been to, actors I’ve met, actors I wish I’d met, which ones I would invite to my imaginary dinner party where you can have anyone alive or dead. How River Phoenix’s death affected teenage me, my crushes from my earliest to my latest, great movie soundtracks, how one person can be a horror fan and love Disney movies too, Jane Austen adaptations, Marvel movies, yep I can talk at length about movies.

4) Writing. Again, I’m no expert. This won’t be a talk about how to get published. But I can talk about my process - how to write a thing and not finish it - or I can talk about my other process - how to write a thing and not finish editing it. I can talk about blogging, writing fan fiction, short stories, and yes, novels, even if I probably won’t ever publish mine. I can talk about the importance of having a writing community to keep you going even when writing is the last thing you want to be doing. I can also talk about how bad grammar and spelling really ruins a novel. My grasp of both of those things leaves a lot to be desired (which is why I clearly need Ims’ proofreading skills), but even I can be taken out of the moment of reading and enjoying a novel, if the writer misspells their main character’s name. 🤦🏻‍♀️

5) I was going to lump this in with Outlander, but honestly I could easily talk for a separate hour about my AMAZING Outlander book club. Established in 2021 by a woman who just wanted a group to keep her accountable in her attempt to read all eight books in the Outlander series. That was it. What actually happened is an incredible community formed, where women support each other and are there for each other in every aspect of life. We became so much more than a book club. We still ARE a book club though. We read all of the eight books we set out to read, then we read the ninth one that was published while we were in the process of reading the eight. Then we started a chronological read of ALL of the books in the Outlander universe, as there are spin off books and novellas too, and we’re currently reading one of the spin off novels as our book this month. We have been on two retreats to the smoky mountains of Tennessee, 30 women in a castle sized cabin for 4 days, and there are no fights, no disagreements, no arguments, no cat fights, just 30 women getting along, laughing together, working together to cook and clean, we tell each other deep important stuff, and get nothing but support back. We’re a family at this point. I love every one of those women and never thought I’d ever find a group like this that has come to mean so much to me, just from joining a book club.

Thank you so much for the tag Ims. I nominate @arms-and-arrows, @littleblueartist, @fishyandclintbarton, @katsdisturbed and @uuuhshiny but only if you feel so inclined.

[hiddenbysuccubi]

I watch things a normal amount

(Mostly) Adventure Romance (Syfy or Fantasy):

Labyrinth Willow Legend Dark Crystal Pan’s Labyrinth NeverEnding Story Princess Bride Zorro The Mummy

Ever After Ladyhawke Stardust The Princess Bride Inkheart Australia La La Land Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris Lost in Austen The Fall Mirrormask Alice Syfy Beetlejuice (& x2) Drop Dead Fred Sleepy Hollow HEX, Buffy, Supernatural, MIB Fifth Element Serenity Tank Girl Mad Max (Fury Road) Waterworld My Demon Lover Your Monster Dinotopia Argyle The Company of Wolves Valerie and her week of Wonders The Lure Love Witch Edward Scissorhands Blue Lagoon Pirates, Indiana Jones, Librarians, Firefly The Imaginarium of Dr. Pernassus (Yes you watched this you were just high on mushrooms) 10th Kingdom Slumberland Interstellar 5555

Fun Romps/Romance:

Decoy Bride Happy Ever Afters The Holiday Holiday in Handcuffs Hot Frosty The Abduction Club A Knight’s Tale Wild Child You Instead 27 Dresses Leap Year Robin Hood: Men in Tights Once Upon a Mattress

Old Flicks: I Was a Male War Bride Some Like it Hot Calamity Jane M.A.S.H

Pregnancy movies: For Keeps Mrs. Winterbourne Making Mr. Right

Revenge fun: First Wives Club Legally Blonde Down With Love

Psychotic Teenage Movies: Drop Dead Gorgeous Heathers Saved! Insatiable (not a movie)

Bad comedy: Out Cold Euro Trip Captain Ron Sundown Dirty Love Romancing the Stone Exit to Eden

Gay romps: The Gay Pretenders The Curious Female But I’m a Cheerleader

British comedy: Black Books Fawlty Towers Over The Top Jeeves and Wooster Miranda Red Dwarf Seize Them!

Dark:

Abigail Interview With the Vampire Daybreakers I, Robot Red Kingdom Rising Perfume Let The Right One In Obscure Animated: Sita Sings The Blues Fantastic Planet Paprika Persepolis Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs Wild Robot The Good Dinosaur (I will only ever rewatch this high with company wtf) I mean obviously Secret of Nimh and all the classics here too. Don Bluth, Disney, Pixar, Ghibli, but those aren't obscure

Dramas:

Pride and Prejudice Kate & Leopold North & South Bridgerton The Buccaneers Outlander (sort of) Poldark Sanditon Aschenputtel 2010 Der Froschkönig 2008 Die Salzprinzessin 2015 Die kleine Meerjungfrau 2013 Das Märchen von der Prinzessin, die unbedingt in einem Märchen vorkommen wollte 2013 Rusalochka 1976 Malá Morská Víla 1976 Ruslan and Ludmila 1972 (Does My Crazy Ex Girlfriend count? Fuck it it's on the list) Shows that might as well be movies now that we only get 6-8 episode series:

Anthracite The Artful Dodger Lessons in Chemistry Renegade Nell Dick Turpin Vampire Academy Emerald City The Decameron

Cult/Comedy: What We Do In The Shadows Clue Shaun of the Dead Lost Boys Beetlejuice My Demon Lover Frogs Dead Before Dawn Death Becomes Her Dance of the Vampires Cabin in the Woods The Babysitter Heathers Drop Dead Gorgeous Saved! Totally Killer

For the more scared-prone crowd I have :

Less Scare more Fun: Matilda Buffy (the movie) Teen Witch Casper Book of Life Nightmare Before Christmas Alvin and the Chipmunks: Meet the Wolfman Hotel Transylvania Addams Family Practical Magic Warm Bodies Monster House Corpse Bride Halloweentown Sleepy Hollow CoCo

More plot-based I’ve got:

More Scare, More Plot: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Interview With the Vampire Babadook Crimson Peak The Craft Daybreakers Let The Right One In Perfume The Skeleton Key

More Classic Horror: The Thing (1982) The Fly (1986) Poltergeist (1982) The Man Who Laughs (1928) Alien (1979) It Follows (2014) The Ritual (2017)

And for a good old musical romp there’s always: Musical Horror: Rocky Horror Repo! The Genetic Opera Evil Dead: The Musical Little Shop Of Horrors Heathers: The Musical. Reefer Madness the Musical Beetlejuice the Musical Sweeney Todd Tanz der Vampire

[contemplatingoutlander]

OUTLANDER EPISODE 508: “For there is nothing lost, that may be found if sought.”

As I watched Episode 508, the thought kept coming to me of Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility reading a line from Edmund Spenser’s, The Faerie Queene to Marianne Dashwood: 

So much of the story in Episode 508 was about how when the Frasers and the MacKenzies “lost” something of great value, the universe had a way of helping them to “find” something else of significant worth.

Jamie had lost his kinsman and godfather Murtagh.

But Jamie was given the opportunity to begin the journey of “finding” his kinsman and godson Ian--again.

Roger lost his voice, his identity, and his sense of purpose when he became the “hanged man.”

But Roger found his voice in helping Ian and found his purpose again when he remembered that Bree was the last thing he thought of when he believed he was dying.

Ian lost the woman he loved and his Mohawk family.

But Ian found a brother in Roger and started the journey to re-bond with his Scottish family.

Brianna lost the Roger she knew when he became the “hanged man.”

But  once Roger found his voice and purpose again, Brianna found a “new” Roger who would always love her.

_______________

Photo sources (before edits): 01, 02 (aa + bb), 03-05, 06 (cc + dd), 07--09

[iamspaceyprincess]

I’ve been having a lot of thoughts about LGBTQIA+ representation in media since the release of Heartstopper on Netflix and trying to put into words just what it means to us queer people.

I was 20 when I realised I was queer. It wasn’t because I kissed some girl at a party, it wasn’t because I fell in love with a friend, and it wasn’t because I’d always known and was hiding it.

I genuinely didn’t know.

I genuinely had NO IDEA.

At 20 years old a YouTuber I was watching (and was in hindsight, far too obsessed with for a straight girl), uploaded a video discussing her sexuality and came out to the world. My whole world changed.

I had known less than 5 out gay or bisexual people throughout my teens, but never really had much in common with them, and definitely never thought I was anything like them. I had barely seen any queer people on TV, YouTube, in a movie or in a book, and the ones I had seen were straight people playing some cliche gay stereotype for jokes, or straight people playing queer people going through horrific trauma. And I had definitely never met or seen a single out queer person above the age of 40, ever.

But here was this girl, my age, into the same sort of feminine fashion, music, internet humor, and generally very similar to me, who was queer, and she was proud of it! She wasn’t hooking up with strangers, doing hard drugs in clubs, going off the rails. She just uploaded wholesome little videos of herself playing ukulele and hanging out with her friends, she was just like me, and she was queer.

At 24 I read my first book with a female protagonist falling in love with another woman, written by a queer author. And I cried, for HOURS, even at the happy scenes. It made me feel seen in ways I had never felt! (One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston, highly reccomend!)

I love reading, I’ve always been a reader, even when it got me in trouble in school.

I love a good gooey romance novel, my bookshelf is full of Bridgerton, John Green, Jane Austen, Outlander, you name a book with a good romance plot and I’ve read it.

Yet I’d never read a single book with a love story I could relate to. I’d read books with a queer side character, I’d read books which alluded to the queer character meeting someone in the future, but I’d never read a book centred around a wholesome happy woman loving woman romance (especially not one written by a queer author who actually knows what it’s like! And no, it’s not enough for a straight author to write a straight love story and change some pronouns to make it queer).

A few months ago, I saw my first queer character in a musical and cried. I couldn’t stop crying, when everyone else was cheering and laughing, there were tears streaming down my face. Representation, in a real life stage show, a thing I never even noticed I’d been missing.

I am 25 and Heartstopper is the first TV show I’ve ever seen with a genuinely happy and wholesome queer love story. No one is going through horrific trauma because they’re queer, no one’s parents are abandoning them because they’re gay, no one’s getting groomed by someone older than them, no one’s hiding their true selves from the world and hating themselves for it. It’s just happy. It’s just two kids learning how to love and having their first romance. It’s kids learning who they are, finding strength and community in their friends, and love and acceptance in their families.

So often, we are left out of media like we don’t exist. And when we are included, it’s in storyline’s involving drugs, heavy drinking, anonymous sex, abuse, suicide or murder.

So when we get mad about a lack of representation, the response we get is “well LGBT issues aren’t family friendly” or “there was just a show about the HIV-AIDS epidemic on Netflix, you have representation”. It’s not good enough.

If the only time we see ourselves in media is surrounded by pain and hurt and suffering, how do you think that affects how we see ourselves? How do you think that affects those who haven’t come out yet, or don’t realise they’re queer?

In 2018, the FIRST film by a major Hollywood studio to focus on a gay romance was released. In 2018!

This movie was something, it was representation, even if the main character was played by a straight actor, even if the main plot involved him getting blackmailed about being gay and then publicly and traumatically outed, it was something! However, many queer film critics disliked it, because they felt like much of the queer plot was watered down to make the film more palatable to straight audiences. It feels like a film written by and for straight people, to say “hey, we can be inclusive, as long as it’s not an inconvenience!”

But hey, maybe we shouldn’t be so picky, representation is something, right?

Representation matters.

Good representation matters more.

After Heartstopper was released, I talked to many of my queer friends and the resounding feeling amongst us in our 20-30’s was that it was so unbelievably bittersweet.

We were so happy to see a beautiful wholesome queer romance (with a predominantly queer cast and crew!), but heartbroken that this didn’t exist when we were children or teenagers. If I had seen this show, this sort of representation when I was a child, or a teenager, I wouldn’t have spent so many years confused and trying to fit into some mold, ending up feeling broken, used, and lost.

We need queer characters in children’s TV shows and movies, we need queer characters in books in public and school libraries. Queer does not automatically equal sexualisation, queer does not automatically equal risk taking behaviour, and it doesn’t have to equal pain.

You can’t turn someone queer, if someone is trans, or gay, or asexual, it’s who they are, how young they are when they discover that, and what they have around them to model themselves after, that’s what prevents harm.

You cannot be something if you never see it. Do you know how confusing it is to be growing up as a queer person and have absolutely no idea what a queer 60 year old woman looks like? I have no idea what that life involves, no idea what future me will be like at all!

When we have absolutely no one to model ourselves after, we feel lost and alone and if we can’t even see that representation in the media we consume, how on earth are we supposed to figure out who we are?

So I’m excited about Heartstopper, I recommend it to every single person I can (no matter how young, old, or straight), and I will continue to do so.

I’m making an effort to read queer books, watch queer movies and TV shows, support queer musicians, and be out and proud and queer in my job working in healthcare.

Because representation matters, it matters more than you realise. 🏳️‍🌈

[hiswhiteknight]

Unbelievably Outlandish– Part 1

Summary:  Before starting down a new crossroads, the Reader goes onto an adventure of literary traveling. Suddenly tossed into an unbelievable story that has swept the world, The Outlander Series itself. How will a twenty first century woman survive?

Note: I own no characters, except reader, clearly this is based off the lovely book series Outlander by Diana Gabaldon and tv show. This follows more the tv show, but it’s far from accurate. I’m going to try to get better with using less proper English, but who knows maybe I’ll get into Scottish slang.

Pairing: Jamie Fraser x Female Reader

Words: 1900

Warning: Angst, playfulness, cursing, slow start

It has been a long time coming, you haven’t been on a real vacation since you graduated high school. You joined the Marines immediately, went into training and university. With you, it was always work, work, work. For you, it made sense since your brother was a Navy Seal and you both didn’t really have family. And you didn’t stay anywhere long enough to make super close friends to vacation with. But this trip, this was for you and only you.

               You got your degrees in psychology, battle strategies, and world cultures, but your true love was literature. You made it this far living a pretty isolated life because of your brother and your books. You generally just loved to read, so after leaving the Marines, before you started to find your new pathway you said you were going to take this vacation around Europe stopping in different places described or lived in by some of your favorite authors. Jane Austen, Shakespeare, Sir Doyle, Thomas Malory, etc. And it’s been amazing seeing all these places that inspired your idols, imagining how your favorite fictional characters lived.

               And here, alas you were in Scotland. Not necessarily because one of your favorite fictional characters lived here or your favorite author grew up near here, but because of your brother.  He wanted you to explore where you both came from, he felt it would help understand life before you both lost your parents. Plus, he was a huge history buff – it was his hobby outside the Seals.

               He told you all about the battles and culture amongst the decades before us. He told you about our Irish and Scottish ancestors. He’d tell you, you can’t have a name like Y/N O’Mulligain and not think of the Irish.

               There was this nearby village you were passing through. An author named Diana Gabaldon wrote a romance novel based on this rock formation. Your old college roommate wrote a thesis paper about historically accurate romance novels and pop culture. You thought, what the hell, since your here minus well check it out.

               It was strange at first, wondering through this supposed magical place. People clearly flocked here for Outlander’s popularity. You more enjoyed watching the people. You sat against a tree, pulled out a sandwich from your bag, and watched the middle age woman touch these rocks like they were the rock hard abs of a character from Outlander. It was quite amusing. You liked to think your mother would be doing the same thing if she were still alive.

               “You must not be a fan, girly,” you look up to an older woman, clearly Scottish from her accent.

               Shaking your head, standing up to shake her hand, “Is it that obvious,” you laugh, “I’m Y/N. Just a tourist, watching other tourist. That obvious hugh?”

               “Mary, deary,” she grinned answering you with her name while look up at you. You were about five three, but this woman had to be four feet something tall because she was tiny, “Just by the way you’re gazing all around, a girl looking for her own adventure, not through someone else’s eyes or story, but of your own.”

               “You get all that from just looking at me,” you laughed, looking at her curiously. You loved people like this, authentic and wily – it was usually the case with old people.

               “It’s the glimmer in your eye,” she gripped your chin softly, shaking it.

               You laughed, smiling down at her, “May I ask you a question? Do you believe the tales of this place? I know the Scottish culture has a lot of tall tales and superstitions, but a story like that?”

               “Aaa,” she nodded her head, “A skeptic,” she nodded, “These people wandering about, they don’t really believe in the tale. But I believe in the magic of this place, it just doesn’t work from anyone. It’s for the special.”

               Watching her with amusement and skepticism, you laugh nodding your head, “I hope I didn’t offend you with my question.”

               “No, of course not dear – though I believe in the magic of this place. I mostly come to watch these woman fawning over these rocks. I like to bet on which woman will kiss one of those moldy old things.” You laughed so loud, she grinned up at you, “I am about to go home to my hunny Wallace, but you stay here for me? Those three woman over there,” you looked in the direction she was pointing, “I believe they are each going to lick one of these things.”

               Laughing again, you nodded, “I’ll keep a close eye on them. It was an absolute pleasure, ma’am,” she gripped your hand tightly for a second before releasing.

               You sat back, glancing at those women laughing, “And dear,” you look back up to her, “Most people will be leaving to their beds or finding a pub, but you should stay. While the sun is setting – this place will give you the most magical sights.”

               She truly intrigued you, “Of course ma’am, thank you again.”

               “Enjoy your adventure lass,” she grinned once more, walking off down the path.

                 She was right, people started to trickle out. Husbands getting annoyed or bored, ladies feeling exhausted, or people just fearsome of loss of light – they just left group by group. You were left alone eventually, starring at the sun sinking into the horizon. She was right again, Scotland was magical with sights. You took a mental picture of this moment – the smooth silence, the color the sky made, and just being one with this experience. Your life was never slow, silent, or peaceful. You had always lived in the rush of things. But here, you sat taking in this moment. You felt like you could stay in this moment forever.

               The sun eventually went down and you were met with near darkness – which exception of the full moon. You collected your things and got ready to leave. And it dawned on you – you came all this way and have never even touched these rocks. The book aside, these rocks have had legends and tales for centuries. You should respect the stories and culture. With one touch, maybe you’ll feel the stories, tales, and people that touched it before you.

               It felt odd to reach out and touch the stone. It was cool and surprising smooth. You laughed at the thought of all the tongues that touched this exact spot. And with a single breathe, everything grew black and all the air punched out of you.

               Next thing you felt was the slam of the ground and your oxygen returning to your lungs. The sun from the tree burned your eyes. And you heard it, gun shots. You thought you were having another Post-Traumatic Stress attack, but the second bang brought you to reality. And you started to run, your bag still on your back, darting through the trees. You heard shouts, but you were not taking the chance. Being in the military, you didn’t stand still to figure it out.

               Someone gripped your arm as you ran past them, pointing a sword right in your face, “Are you for real,” I yell at them.  

He had a musket pointing directly in your face. You stopped breathing; he was dressed like a 18th century soldier. Thoughts sped in your mind, could this be a reenactment? Could this be a sick joke? The bullet sounds shook you out of your thoughts, the man was about to speak. You grabbed his musket, yanking it towards your body. The gun went off as his head smashed into yours. He groaned, tripping backwards, and smashing against a tree. The light from the headbutt blasted on in your head.

The light started to blind through, and the forest became vivid again. The sound of bullet fire caused you jump out of it and look at the man unconscious before you. You had to be dreaming, everything was so real. The sound, the smell, the world around you. Where and when were you exactly? You got drug out of your thoughts as a bullet graved your arm. You gasped in pain and your body took flight again. On the run again, you slide down an embankment, meeting eye to eye with another redcoat.

               You gasped, “Holy hell,” you whispered looking at the man, “Forgive me,” you said out loud, as the man watched you, straightening up. You saw his insignia, “Captain?”

               “Jonathan Randall, Esquire – Eighth Dragoon of your majesty’s army, mistress,” he answered.

               Something inside you reminisced, that name was familiar. Watching him closely, as he made his micromovements - he was also watching you, like some predator to prey, “I seem to be in the wrong time, wrong place,” you awkwardly laughed.

               “It does seem that,” he paused to see if you’d introduce yourself.

               “I had someone taking me to some distant family and they tried to attack and rob me,” you tried to play the damsel in distress, “My brother always told me I was too trusting.”

               “Yes mistress, women are naïve sheep,” he tiptoed towards you, his hand resting on his sword, “Your accent,” he nodded towards you. You slowly started taking steps back, “I’m unfamiliar with it.”

               He didn’t believe you, clearly you were off your game. Maybe it’s because the blast you took a few minutes ago getting you to this point. It could be the fact that this was surreal, “I’m grew up in the colonies,” you shrugged it off, you could only imagine how far away your accent was to actually existing, “But my brother sent me to our parent’s home country after their passing.”

               You forgot the first rule of lying, keep it short with no unneeded details. His uniform was familiar, the military and your brother trained you well. You had inclined the year and it was clear the woods of Scotland were not safe with the Redcoats. This man was an enemy, not a gentleman of the era you’ve heard and learned so much about. You had to get away, find safety, and figure out what exactly is going on.

               You knew self-defense, hell you were trained well at the art of combat, but this man had weapons and the only thing you had was a backpack and no adequate footwear for a run in the woods, “You don’t dress like a lady,” he motioned towards your clothes. You stop breathing at this, “In fact, only traitorous women wear clothes such as this,” your back was against the hill behind you. His breath was on you. He gripped your neck tightly, “There is only one way to deal with a woman like yourself,” he went for his buckle.

               Your brother drilled into you about protection during moments like this. He trained you on what to do, it was natural. Headbutt to the nose, hike up of the knee, a tool – in your case a rock – to the head. And soon you were breathing heavily and looking at the Captain unconscious on the ground.

               The sound of the Redcoats was not far off, “Druid,” you heard. You were surprised that someone could sneak so close and not make any noise. This Scottish looking fellow reached out his hands, “Come now,” he said. Your only instinct was to take it for now. This man pulled you behind a tree.

               “What year is it,” you whispered to him.

               “1743,” he mumbled, trying to shush me, taking the time to give you a questionable look.

               “Pinch me,” you were hoping this to be a dream. It was a final test of your predicament. He looked at you strangely before helping with your request. He did, and you felt it and suddenly everything went black.

PART 2

[felicia-cat-hardy]

20 TV Shows & Movies That Are Almost Too Dirty To Be On Netflix

One of the wonders of Netflix is its expansive content offering. It's a place you can go to relive the joys of your youth, and to find some seriously sexy content (probably not in the same movie or TV show, but you get it). If you’re looking for the latter, sifting through the mass of titles can be a challenge; it’s sometimes easy to get lost in the silly or serious pieces of content without ever discovering the many raunchy movies and shows available — and what a pity that is, because there are plenty of shows and movies that are almost too dirty to be on Netflix out there for you to watch.

The site's dirtier fare ranges from art house foreign films to Netflix-produced shows, and they definitely give a new meaning to "Netflix and chill." Netflix obviously isn't a porn site, but there are a number of movies and shows that will make you wonder how — and why — they passed the site's censors. Actually, on second thought, you probably won't be questioning why so much because, as the old adage goes, it's best to not look a gift horse in the mouth.

Whether you're watching these shows and movies to turn up the heat with your partner, or just to broaden your streaming horizons, these are bound to make you think, "I wonder what this is doing to my algorithm preferences..."

‘Duck Butter’

Two women meet and decide to condense a relationship into 24 hours — by having sex every 60 minutes. The movie creators wanted to show a funny and tender film with “lesbians as far as the eye could see,” and the chemistry between the two women is also on fire.

Watch On Netflix

‘Altered Carbon’

In the future, human consciousness can be transferred to available human bodies, called “sleeves.” And boy do we see a lot of those (very naked) sleeves, as well as a bunch of sex.

Watch On Netflix

'Orange Is The New Black'

The popular Netflix original goes where most network TV's explicitness-parameters cannot. Naturally, if you lock a bunch of people up in an enclosed space with not much to do, naughtiness is gonna ensue.

Watch On Netflix

'Y Tu Mamá También'

This movie has everything. Sex in cars, sex in beds, sex in twos, sex in threes. Everything else in between is pretty great, too. Subtitles optional.

Watch On Netflix

‘Sense8’

The tragically cancelled Sense8 from the Wachowski sisters (The Matrix) introduced a plethora of beautiful, complex LGBTQ characters, and a ton of very sexy sex. Yes, this is the series with that orgy scene you’ve heard so much about.

Watch On Netflix

'Amar'

Amar is a Spanish dramedy all about sex and relationships. Literally everyone is doing it (or talking about it) all the time. And the creators aren’t shy about showing all this sexiness onscreen — a very, very good thing.

Watch On Netflix

‘Ride Or Die’

This edgy Japanese film is about two childhood BFFs: one of them (Rei) is in love with the other (Nanae), who’s stuck in an abusive marriage. Nanae asks Rei to kill her husband — and violence (and sexiness) ensues.

Watch On Netflix

'Newness'

Newness is a serious movie about Tinder and dating apps — which also happens to be quite steamy. Two people meet through a hookup app, and despite the odds, start to fall for one another. But can it last?

Watch On Netflix

‘365 Days’

Caveat: this movie has been widely criticized for depicting what starts out as a non-consensual relationship (a woman is kidnapped and given 365 days to fall in love with her abductor). But it’s still managed to gain notoriety for its sex scenes, which are insanely hot — so if you’re curious about the buzz and haven’t watched yet, consider tuning in for those scenes alone.

Watch On Netflix

‘Outlander’

Before Bridgerton, there was this sex-filled period piece. Still going strong and entering its sixth season, this (sometimes literally) bodice-ripping drama sees a woman on her honeymoon accidentally time travel from 1945 to 1743 — and subsequently meet the love of her life.

Watch On Netflix

‘Bridgerton’

But, while we’re on the subject, why haven’t you watched Bridgerton? Or, if you have, why haven’t you watched it again? This is Jane Austen romance, plus glorious mansions, plus a mountain of sex — and it’s sure to have your television exploding from the hotness.

Watch On Netflix

‘Sex Education’

I mean...the title says it all, doesn’t it? Otis is a shy teenager who just so happens to know a ton about sex (the theory at least, less so the practice), thanks to his sex therapist mom. His crush Maeve uses Otis’ skillset for a brilliant concept: a sex therapy consulting business for high schoolers. Oh, and because they’re all teens, lots of sex is happening.

Watch On Netflix

'Elisa & Marcela'

This drama about forbidden love is set in 1885, making it ideal for those who like corsets with their steamy love scenes. It's about two women who fall in love with each other but have to keep it secret — until one of them poses as a man in order to get married. It's also based on a true story, which makes it educational and hot.

Watch On Netflix

‘MILF’

Again, this one’s pretty self-explanatory: three French women in their 40s are dealing with life and heartbreak. The trio of friends go after — and land — much, much younger guys on vacation. Age-related hilarity (and tons more sex) ensues.

Watch On Netflix

‘Riverdale’

Who knew that a redux of the Archie comic books could be so dark and twisty? Also, so adult: the series is known for its (many) sex scenes involving the characters in a wide variety of couplings. The genius of the show is you’ll end up rooting for certain pairs, but cheering for a lot of the sex.

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'Easy'

Easy features a series of vignettes about various people's sex lives. It's voyeurism at its finest — and it also offers honest insights about how people navigate intimacy.

Watch On Netflix

'Shameless'

Shameless is very NSFW. If you're going to watch TV at work (perhaps not advisable in any scenario, but no judgement), you should probably steer away from Shameless in case a co-worker happens to sneak a peek during one of its many sex scenes. It could cost you a trip to HR.

Watch On Netflix

'Blue Is The Warmest Color'

Its sex scenes have been deemed unrealistic by many LGBTQ viewers, but Blue is the Warmest Color is still pretty steamy, and it also features a sweet story of a woman coming out into the world.

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'Weeds'

I could rave about Weeds for many reasons — its writing, its acting, and its soundtrack — but we're here to talk dirty, so I'll just say this: Weeds has some of the hottest sex scenes ever to grace Netflix. The fact that so much of its plot revolves around taboos and scandals makes for a great deal of naughtiness.

Watch On Netflix

'Concussion'

This is as hot as it gets. Concussion tells the story of a bored suburban housewife who starts seeing female sex workers for pleasure. Eventually, she decides to become one herself.

Watch On Netflix

Get Relationship Advice Here

[fruits-biscuit]

Thanks for the tag girly @merriberri 💕 💕(sorry it took so long to respond)

Answer 30 questions and tag others:

1. Name/Nickname: Therese, Tee, ‘ auntie TT’ (my nieces :)

2. Gender: female

3. Star sign: Cancer

4. Height: 5’5”

5. Time: 8:32pm

6. Birthday: June 26

7. Favorite bands: Lots of 2000 emo/punk bands lol. Also many many different random indie/folk bands: Judah and the Lion, The Head and the Heart, Joseph, The Paper Kites.

8. Solo artists: Sara Bareilles, Gabe Dixon, Vian Izak, Brenden James, Taylor Swift, Matthew Mole, Lauv, Gabrielle Aplin.. to name a few

9. Song stuck in your head: currently it’s the OP from S4 Attack on Titan lol

10. Last movie you watched: Little Women

11. Last show: My 600lb Life

12: When did you create this blog: Last year (for the beginning of S2 Fruits Basket)

13. What do you post about: it changes with the season but Fruits Basket, Aot, Memes, Anime, Art&Fic, inspo, studyspo

14. Last thing googled: “chapter 116 attack on titan”

15. Other blogs: main blog is Anastasia Musical stan account and I’m too lazy to change it (Peony-pastimes)

16. Do you get asks: do those cute chains that go something like: “send this to someone who brightens your day” Or “send to a blog you like” count?

17. Why you chose your url: I wanted it to match my main blog and the word “plums” is in reference to fruits basket HA!

18. Following: fanart blogs, fic, shipper accounts, Levi Ackerman stans

19. Followers: honestly I don’t know why anyone follows me but I’m happy they do.

20. Average hours of sleep: 8-10

21. Instruments: i wish.

22. What are you wearing: my jammies

23. Dream job: Something that keeps me close to my loved ones and keeps me financially stable. Very boring I know. But probably cause I haven’t thought about it too hard.

24. Dream trip: Europe & beautiful beaches literally anywhere cause I’m happy if there’s water. 25. Favorite food: chicken and rice

26. Nationality: American, (italian)

27: Favorite song: will never get sick of any song off of 1989 or Red (Tswift)

28. Last book read: tough one. Probably when I re-read Hunger Games (book one) last fall.

29. Top three fictional universes you’d like to live in: Any Jane Austen universe (for the intrigue), probably Outlander as well so that I could time travel, and also the Last Kingdom so that I could meet Finan and have a deep convo with Father Beocca haha.

30. Tagging: @softestark @rivetraclub @rivetra-files @kyoruforever @love-them-sohmas @brunettebeanz @interstellix @2daisy2 @2000ymirsfromnow @puddingpiepjm98 would love to see your answers 😇🤍🤍

peony-pastimes

[andsoshespins]

Consumed in 2020

Since this was a year I am already tired of describing as or hearing described as “like no other,”  I’ve decided to compile a list of media I have consumed for a different take on the “year in review” idea, roughly in chronological order. 

Most of these--in any category--I ADORED and raved for weeks and months about.  Others were just a time-passer, I would never revisit or even recommend.  I have probably forgotten a few movies here and there.

I think cataloguing in this way helps me to reflect on just how much I consumed and the variety (or maybe lack thereof in some places), contemplate what I was feeling at the time of consumption, what the state of the world was at that moment, why I was drawn to certain storylines and not others, what some of these books, movies, and shows remind me about myself.

Books

The Power by Naomi Alderman

Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery (reread)

Anne of Avonlea by L. M. Montgomery

Anne of the Island by L. M. Montgomery

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Circe by Madeline Miller

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert

Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler

This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald

A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay 

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling

The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd

Harry Potter series (currently rereading)

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (currently)

New-to-Me TV

Anne with an “E” (season 3)

Soundtrack

GLOW (season 3)

Locke and Key

Never Have I Ever

Hollywoodland

Gilmore Girls

Medici: Il Magnifico (season 3)

Outlander

The Magicians (ongoing/hiatus)

Merlin (ongoing/hiatus)

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

The West Wing

Fleabag

The Mindy Project (This was mostly new-to-me.)

Emily in Paris

Grace and Frankie (ongoing)

Girl Meets World (ongoing)

Bunheads (ongoing)

Rewatched TV Series

New Girl (This was half-watched and half-new-to-me.)

Boy Meets World

Lizzie McGuire

Movies

Someone Great

The Danish Girl

Love Wedding Repeat

The Stranger (with Orson Welles to disambiguate)

Sleepless in Seattle

Hamilton (I guess this counts, right?)

Iron Man (1, 2, and 3)

Thor: Thor and The Dark World

Captain America: The First Avenger; The Winter Soldier; and Civil War

The Avengers: The Avengers and Age of Ultron

Ant-Man

Doctor Strange

Guardians of the Galaxy (1 and 2)

an unremarkable handful of Hallmark Christmas-themed movies

[breaniebree]

Hi, this is not about ASC sorry! Can you recommend some good contemporary romance novels and mystery (with romance) novels to read? Coz that's my favourite; if you've read any in the above genres. What's your favourite genre and books??

I have so many favourite books!  Please check out my brie_reads instagram -- I just recommend books on it when i finish a great one!  As to mystery, I recently read two pretty good ones (psychological thriller mysteries). 

1) The Perfect Girlfriend - Karen Hamilton (woman changes her life to be what she thinks her ex-boyfriend wants and lures him back into a frightening world)

2) Dear Wife - Kimberly Belle (woman is on the run, another woman is missing, Beth’s worried her husband will find her and kill her as Jeffrey learns more secrets about his wife’s life)

As to romance novels, I like ones that usually have a bit of a supernatural element to it or a fun rom/com feel.  Most recently, I have read

3) The Bromance Book Club - Lyssa Kay Adams (group of high roller men in the community like professional athletes and club owners read romance novels in a book club to help each other save their love lives)

4) Red, White, and Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston (First son meets the royal prince and they have to learn to get along, only problem is they hate each other but they can deal with it for the public’s sake, right)

Those were both adorably fun.  Supernatural romance novels with a bit of mystery and more smut, I love these series:

5) Dark Hunter Series - Sherrilyn Kenyon (mixes steamy romance with Greek mythology and the supernatural)

6) Wings in the Night Series - Maggie Shayne (vampires are a rare breed where only those with a special blood type can be turned, until the government starts hunting them down and doing experiments)

7) Sign of Seven Trilogy - Nora Roberts (3 best friends are forced to come together every 7 years and deal with an unspeakable evil that comes into their town, but this time, it’s ready to destroy everything and they need to stop it with the help of 3 badass women)

8) In Death Series - JD Robb (pen name for Nora Roberts) (follows life of Eve Dallas NYC police officer in year 2050, mystery and romance)

I also really love historical conspiracy and action books such as

9) Cotton Malone Series - Steve Berry (Cotton is an ex-spy and ex-Navy man who finds himself amidst treasure hunts and discovers some of the world’s greatest mysteries)

10) Strike Series - Robert Galibrath (pen name for JKR) (detective series)

Then just some of my favourite books of all time that I have read over and over and over again and never tire of:

11) Outlander Series - Diana Gabaldon (historical romance, time-travel, mystery, horror, sex, medicine, violence, it has it all)

12) Three Sisters Island Trilogy - Nora Roberts (3 witches descended from the Salem witches have to find love and come together to save the island before it gets thrown into the sea)

13) The Princess Bride - William Goldman (romance, fairy-tale, comedy, satire, what more could you want)

14) The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas (mystery, intrigue, revenge)

15) Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen (classic romance)

16) The Witch of Blackbird Pond - Elizabeth George Speare (girl who grows up wild and free in Barbados is thrust into the life of the Puritans in 17th c. Mass. but she befriends a Quaker and a handsome sailor)

17) The Bronze Horseman Trilogy - Paulina Simmons (history, romance, intrigue, war, violence, sex, death)

18) The Circle Series - Ted Dekker (supernatural, action-thriller, biblical, romance)

19) All Souls Trilogy - Deborah Harkness (historical, supernatural, romance, time-travel)

20) The Historian - Elizabeth Kostova (historical, romance, mystery)

21) Candide - Voltaire (pure incredible satire)

22) Maus - Art Spiegelman (history, true story, told in comic form)

This is just an example.  As to genres, I think I like supernatural/mythologica romances the best, but I honestly read a good mix of everything! Hope it helps!

[greenandbluebubblegum]

Lovely @violeblanche wanted some books to read so I made a list with some you might enjoy!!! <3 <3 

- I gonna start with classic Agatha Christie if you like a crime mystery books. She has plenty but I like “And Then There Were None”  

- This one like the NYTimes said  “Part love story, part workplace drama” is fun and really nice and good.  “ My Not So Perfect Life” by Sophie Kinsella. 

-  One of my fave books, another classic, is about true events in the 50′s, a murdered and all the Investigation and trial. Kiss’s chef “In Cold Blood” by Truman Capote. 

- Another classic, I know people don’t like this book but for me is so funny,  “ The Catcher in the Rye” by  J.D Salinger 

- This one is a trilogy, is a horror young adult novel, “Mist trilogy” by Carlos Ruíz Zafón.  “The Prince of Mist”,  “ The Midnight Palace”  and   “The Watcher in the Shadows” 

- This one is very lovely, one of my teenager fave books,  “ Like Water for Chocolate”  by Laura Esquivel. 

- The classic Hitchcock film  “Rebecca” is based on the amazing book of Daphne du Maurie “Rebecca”. 

- Oh, this one. Is an essay of aphrodisiacs, food and love. It’s sensual, funny, also have good cooking receipts.  Aphrodite: A Memoir of the Senses by Isabell Allende. 

-  This is about four women who meet in an abortion clinic in Madrid. It’s hilarious and light reading. “Afectos Secundarios” by Fatima Casaseca. (sorry can’t find the link in English but sure it is a translation out there). 

- If you like “Outlander” the series you will love the books. A saga of time travelling and romance. Like, what else we need lmao. “Outlander” By Diana Gabaldon. 

- Anne Tyler ‘s “Clock Dance,”  writes about learning and discovering yourself in a bad situation. 

- Short stories, about life. Magnificient told by Lucia Berlin in  “ A Manual for Cleaning Women: Selected Stories” 

- A love story with ‘monsters’ as the protagonists. A good laugh. Lovely. “Geek Love” by Katherine Dunn

- The last one, one author of our generation, about high school transition and university. About women living in these times.  “ Listas, guapas, limpias” By Anna Pacheco.  (Again couldn’t find the English edition but hope you can) 

Hope you like these books. Of course, you also can read classical Jane Austen <3 or The Hunger Games’ saga (really love that one) 

If you want more books rec, let me know!! Take care!! Kisses !! 😘😘💕💕

[ivory-in-rapture]

So while I was making my 2020 reading challenge, I realized I am not excited about any books coming out in 2020 so like a dumbass(because it’s not like I already have too many books on my tbr), I had to fix that. So here’s a list of (too many!) books I’m excited for in 2020!

1. In Five years by Rebecca Serle

The story is about Dannie, who just got a great job and an engagement ring and she has her five-year-plan in the bag, but when she goes to sleep, she wakes up five years later in a completely different life. The day after, she wakes up in her real life and tries to forget about the vision. But four and half years later, she meets the guy she was engaged to in her vision...

This sounds so fun? I always need one of these general-fiction-romances in my yearly read. I hope it’s good!

2.The house in the cerulean sea by T.J. Klune

This book has everything! Magic! The Antichrist! A gay romance! A mansion orphanage! If it’s as good as the summary says, this will be just like my favorite fanfictions! 

3. The Ballad of songbirds and snakes By Suzanne Collins

...I didn’t know this was coming out this year, okay?!

4.Loveless by Alice Oseman

This book will have an aro-ace main character and I am very very excited to see where that goes. 

5. House of Trelawny by Hannah Rothschild

This book could go either way! It sounds like “I capture the castle”. It could end up like The nest; which means I’ll hate it. Or it could be what I hope it is and then I’ll love it! (If I end up reading it, I’ll tell you which it is!)

6.My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

If I can get through this book, it may be good. It follows the trauma of a girl who was in a relationship with a teacher when she was a teenager...it’s a very upsetting subject and I usually hate how they are shown in media (pretty little liars and such) so we’ll see...I’ll probably read it in ten years!

7.A heart of blood and Ashes by Milla Vane

Is this a bodice-reaper?!...it might be a bodice-reaper...or the new Outlander!  I mean one could argue that Outlander was a bodice-reaper...hmmm. This is on this list because I want to what you think?

8.The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

This book sounds like the kind of vampire story I’m interested in reading now!(Yes, this is a jab at a certain YA novel *glares at bookshelf*) Again, not sure how this actually will pan out but it seems like it’ll be a funny story of a women’s book club fighting a vampire in their southern town...we’ll see.

9.Miss Austen: A Novel by Gill Hornby 

This is about Jane and Cassandra Austen and it has a lovely cover so I will want to read it...at some point.

10.Sin Eater by Megan Campisi 

I am absolutely fascinated by the concept of sin-eaters. This book is intriguing so I’d like to check it out.

Aaaand that’s it for now! I’ll probably have to make another list! There’s more. 

[tothemattresses]

2020 Reading Challenge - Bad Blood (And a bonus DNF’d!)

1.      The Deal: Arranged Book One - Stella Gray

Duration: 7 hours an 38 minutes

Review: DNF’d it. First few chapters were pretty tedious. The Audible reviews confirmed it wasn’t worth my time. 

2.      A Song for You: My Life with Whitney Houston - Robyn Crawford

3.      The Player - Claire Contreras

Duration: 8 hours and 37 minutes

Review: Have you ever read (or listened) to a book and immediately after finishing it thought: “Yup. That was a book that was written, and I read it.” and nothing else? If not, meet The Player.

4.      Buried Deep - Margot Hunt

5.      The Christmas Pact - Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward

6.      Shockaholic - Carrie Fisher

Duration: 4 hours and 25 minutes

Review: Carrie Fisher was such a gem, and her second of three memoirs is short, sweet, sassy and classic Carrie. Not as entertaining as Wishful Drinking, but her reflections on death of her father and friend bring a new depth, especially after her own.

7.      Lies - Kyle Scott

8.      She Said - Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey

Duration: 9 hours and 52 minutes

Review: An in-depth insight into breaking the Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment scandal, and in turn kick starting the #MeToo movement, She Said provides pivotal behind-the-scenes action on what the journalists had to do to get the story written. However, I felt that the inclusion of the Kavanaugh confirmation, while insightful as well, seemed tacked on. I wish they would have spent more time discussing consequences of the scandal itself and provided other examples of how it effected the culture.

9.      The Daring Exploits of a Runaway Heiress - Victoria Alezander

10.  Reflected in You - Sylvia Day

11.  The Paper Swan - Leylah Attar

12.  The Bride Test - Helen Hoang

13.  The Princess Diarist - Carrie Fisher

Duration: 5 hours and 10 minutes

Review: Aside from capitalizing on the upcoming release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and romanticizing a meaningless affair (on his side) that occurred over forty years ago, there really was no point to Fisher’s third (and unfortunately last) memoir. Shame that this was her final written piece.

14.  Royally Bad - Nora Flite

15.  The Home Front – Audible Original

16.  The Sisters – Dervla McTiernan

17.  Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Start-Up – John Carreyrou

Duration: 11 hours and 37 minutes

Review: Detailing the spectacular rise and even more spectacular fall of Theranos founder, and certified crazy person, Elizabeth Holmes, Bad Blood dives into the incredibly specific details of how this company began with a heartfelt promise but ended belly up due to her lack of awareness of techniques simply not working. While the story isn’t told as gossip-like as other behind the scenes tales (like Fire and Fury, for instance), Carreyrou does a splendid job of providing so much in-depth information that you’ll find yourself wishing you made a cheat sheet. 

18.  Filthy Beautiful Lies – Kendall Ryan

19.  Wanderlust – Lauren Blakely

20.  The Darkwater Bride – Marty Ross

21.  Elizabeth II: Life of a Monarch – Ruth Cowen

22.  Killer by Nature – Jan Smith

23.  Columbine – Dave Cullen

24.  The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich – William L. Shirer

25.  Unf*ck Yourself – Gary John Bishop

26.  The Demon Next Door – Bryan Burrough

27.  A Mind of Her Own – Paula McClain

28.  Becoming – Michelle Obama

29.  How to Win Friends and Influence People – Dale Carnegie

30.  A Discovery of Witches – Deborah Harkness

31.  Roomies – Christina Lauren

32.  Girl, Wash Your Face – Rachel Hollis

33.  Have a Nice Day – Billy Crystal and Quinton Peeples

34.  Stephen Fry’s Victorian Secrets – Nick Baker and John Woolf

35.  In Pieces – Sally Field

36.  Hi Bob! – Bob Newhart

37.  The Queen: Aretha Franklin – Mikal Gilmore

38.  Girls & Boys – Dennis Kelly

39.  Outlander: Book One – Diana Gabaldon

40.  American Pharaoh – Joe Drape

41.  Mean Streak – Sandra Brown

42.  Emma – Jane Austen

[misscrawfords]

A8, B6, B7, C1, C9, D10 :)

A8: what was your first fandom? Are you still in that fandom now?

I guess my first fandom in terms of reading fanfic was Jane Austen. When I was about 12 I would spend time in the public library reading P&P fanfic on the Derbyshire Writers Guild. And while I don't do that specifically very much any more, it does happen and I guess I am part of the Jane Austen fandom, on and offline!

B6: what is your favourite story trope? Why?

At the moment, social media AU. Twitter fics, meeting online, online identity as a mask, group chat shenanigans, I LOVE IT. Why? I guess a number of reasons. It's something both very modern and very traditional. It's an updating of the epistolary novel and it's a way of doing very common tropes of mistaken identity and separated lovers but it's also using new media in often very original and clever ways. Besides which, it's something very present in my own life and a form of communication I feel comfortable with. I'd be lying if I said I didn't fantasised about meeting someone online in a fandom and falling in love.

B7: which character is your favourite to read about? Why?

Of all fandoms ever?! I honestly have no idea. Whichever characters are involved in whichever ships I'm invested in in any given fandom.

C1: what trope are you tired of reading? Why?

Uh, certain smut tropes make me very tired. Daddy kink, dirty talking and everyone talking about being "wet". Like, even in the most ridiculous of PWPs, I just cannot believe that a near total stranger would say "Oh, little girl, you're so wet for me" and the response is positive and not RUNNING FOR YOUR LIFE or that a pair of nice virgins would completely change personality and start dirty talking about wanting to be spanked in their first (or any) sexual encounter. Is this the influence of hardcore porn or something? I'm not anti-kink in its appropriate place but this seems to be THE way to write smut atm even when it seems wildly OOC and I don't like it. I just don't think most people talk like this??? IDK.

C9: what show did you really try to watch but just couldn't?

Quite a few! Tried both Poldark and Outlander and didn't like either. Also Boys Over Flowers because I'd heard great things but the male lead seemed very abusive and I found the main relationship very distasteful.

D10: what is one story idea you really want to read but no-one has written?

Ooooh! More Reylo social media/online identity AUs. There are some fantastic ones but I want more! Also 50 chapter Tom/Mary or Charles/Mary canon-compliant-but-she-doesn't-marry-Henry fics. I need them. Charles comes back from Poland. Mary goes to Poland. Whatever. I want them!

Thank you!! Anyone else who wants to ask, go for it! :)

[youremymiracleelliot]

It’s 09/13, so I’m finally allowed to share the wonderful cover of Mark Of The Empress! It’s so gorgeous, I have no words for it. Let’s all enter the grand hall of The Empire, maybe we’ll get a chance to meet Empress Alexstrayna, or her predecessor.

Mark Of The Empress is the sequel to Two Thousand Years (The Empire Saga)

Author: M. Dalto

Publisher: The Parliament House Press

To be published on 11/12!

The cover of the prequel was revamped as well to fit the look of its sequel. (To my mind, a very necessary deed because the original book cover didn’t serve the actual charm of the story.) Therefore, here it is:

Two Thousand Years (The Empire Saga #1)

Both covers are so pretty and I love the Jane Austen and Outlander vibes they give off~

[thewanderingace]

What was the best moment of Outlander season four for you?

Ooooh man that is a hard question! But a great one! There were so many moments I loved this season. Instead of picking just one moment, have a list of what I think were some of the best moments of Outlander Season 4:

Jamie and Brianna meeting for the first time:

Roger and Brianna’s Jane Austen style reunion:

Brianna confronting Bonnet:

Lord John Grey’s entrance at Jocasta’s party (come on you know this moment was one of the best things about the season)

Roger singing at the faire

Jamie and Claire building Fraser’s Ridge

Murtaugh’s alive!

The Hand fast

And “Da” (basically all of the Jamie and Bree bonding moments)

It’s so hard to pick the best cause there were a lot tbh!! There were so many others I wanted to include too.

[clairebeauchampfan]

What if Jane Austen was writing Outlander Fanfic today?

I wonder what Jane Austen would have made of the Outlander shenanigans this last year. Here is an excerpt from Pride and Prejudice, the 2018 RPF version, in which Caitriona Bennet, star of Outlander   is apparently engaged  to Tony Bingley rather everyone’s favourite TV star, Sam Darcy, as shippers, indeed the whole of Meryton,  had expected.  

One morning, about a month after Caitriona's engagement with Tony had been formed, as he and the females of the Outlander cast were sitting together over coffee in the craft-service canteen, congratulating him on his good fortune in winning the hand of Caitiona, their attention was suddenly drawn to the window, by the sound of a motor-vehicle; and they perceived a car driving up the road leading to the Meryton studios. It was the wrong morning for visitors from Sony, and besides, the equipage did not answer to that of any of their bosses. It was too early for the postman and neither the car, nor the livery of the chauffeur who drove it, were familiar to them. As it was certain, however, that somebody was coming, Caitriona  instantly prevailed on Laura to help her fiance  avoid perhaps meeting a member of the public, so putting on his dark-glasses, Tony walked away with her into the back lot. They both set off, and the conjectures of the remaining three continued, though with little satisfaction, till the door was thrown open and their visitor entered. It was Lady Catherine de Burgh, Queen of the Extreme Shippers.

They were of course all intending to be surprised; but their astonishment was beyond their expectation; and on the part of Mrs Maril Bennet and Miss Sophie Bennet, though she was perfectly unknown to them, even inferior to what Caitriona felt.

Lady Catherine entered the room with an air more than usually ungracious, made no other reply to Caitriona's salutation than a slight inclination of the head, and sat down without saying a word. Caitriona had mentioned her name to her producer on her ladyship's entrance, though no request of introduction had been made.

Mrs Bennet, all amazement, though flattered by having a guest of such high importance in the Outlander fandom, received her with the utmost politeness. After sitting for a moment in silence, Lady Catherine said very stiffly to Caitriona,

“I hope you are well, Miss Bennet. That lady, I suppose, is your producer.”

Caitriona replied very concisely that she was.

“And that I suppose is one of your co-stars.”

“Yes, madam,” said Mrs Bennet, delighted to speak to Lady Catherine. “She is Miss Sophie Bennet, my youngest star but one. My biggest star, Caitriona Bennet, is lately engaged, and my other leading lady Miss Laura Bennet is somewhere about the grounds, walking with a young man who, I believe, will soon become a part of the Bennet family.”

“You have a very small studio here,” returned Lady Catherine after a short silence.

“It is nothing in comparison of Hollywood, my lady, I dare say; but I assure you it is much larger than Pinewood”

“This must be a most inconvenient canteen for the evening, in summer; the windows are full west.”

Mrs. Bennet assured her that they never sat there after dinner, and then added:

“May I take the liberty of asking your ladyship whether you enjoyed the last season of Outlander?”

“No, not at all. I binge watched it  again on my i-player the night before last. You ruined the photograph scene. The wigs were terrible, and we all hated the character of Geneva.And Frank. I could have done it much better, myself.  Had I ever learned to direct. I would have been a true proficient. ”

Caitriona now expected that Lady Catherine would produce a photograph of her and Sam together,   for her to sign, as it seemed the only probable motive for her calling. But no incriminating photos, or even an album of receipts appeared, and she was completely puzzled.

Mrs Bennet, with great civility, begged her ladyship to take some refreshment; but Lady Catherine very resolutely, and not very politely, declined eating anything; and then, rising up, said to Caitriona,

“Miss Bennet, there seemed to be a prettyish kind of a little wilderness on one side of the studios. I should be glad to take a turn in it, if you will favour me with your company.”

“Go, my dear,” cried her producer, “and show her ladyship about the different walks. I think she will be pleased with the sets for Season 4.”

Caitriona obeyed, and running into dressing- room for her clutch-bag, attended her noble guest downstairs. As they passed through the hall, Lady Catherine opened the doors into the kitchen of Fraser’s Ridge and the drawing-room of Lallybroch, and pronouncing them, after a short survey, to be decent looking sets, walked on.

Her car remained at the door, and Caitriona saw that two other well known  Shippers were waiting in it. They proceeded in silence along the gravel walk that led to the copse; Caitriona was determined to make no effort for conversation with a woman who was now more than usually insolent and disagreeable.

“How could I ever think she once fanned me?” said she, as she looked in her face.

As soon as they entered the copse, Lady Catherine began in the following manner:—

“You can be at no loss, Miss Bennet, to understand the reason of my journey hither. Your own heart, your own conscience, must tell you why I come.”

Caitriona looked with unaffected astonishment.

“Indeed, you are mistaken, Madam. I have not been at all able to account for the honour of seeing you here.”

“Miss Bennet,” replied her ladyship, in an angry tone, “you ought to know, that I am not to be trifled with. But however insincere you may choose to be, you shall not find me so. My character has ever been celebrated for its sincerity and frankness, and in a cause of such moment as this, I shall certainly not depart from it. A report of a most alarming nature reached me two days ago. I was told that not only was that troll, Miss Mackenzie, on the point of being most advantageously married to some British TV star, but that you,   Miss Caitriona Bennet, would, in all likelihood, be soon afterwards united to Mr Anthony Bingley. Though I know it must be a scandalous falsehood, though I would not injure Sam so much as to suppose the truth of it possible, I instantly resolved on setting off for this place, that I might make my sentiments known to you.”

“If you believed it impossible to be true,” said Caitriona, colouring with astonishment and disdain, “I wonder you took the trouble of coming so far. What could your ladyship propose by it?”

“At once to insist upon having such a report universally contradicted.”

“Your coming to Meryton Studios, to see me and my co-stars and producer,” said Caitriona coolly, “will be rather a confirmation of it; if, indeed, such a report is in existence.”

“If! Do you then pretend to be ignorant of it? Has it not been industriously circulated by yourselves on the internet? Do you not know that such a report is spread abroad by that Australian journalist?”

“I never intended that it was.”

“And can you likewise declare, that there is no foundation for it?”

“I do not pretend to possess equal frankness with your ladyship. You may ask questions which I shall not choose to answer.”

“This is not to be borne. Miss Bennet, I insist on being satisfied. Has he, has Tony Bingley, made you an offer of marriage?”

“Your ladyship has declared it to be impossible.”

“It ought to be so; it must be so, while you retain the use of your reason. But his arts and allurements may, in a moment of infatuation, have made you forget what you owe to yourself, to me and to all the Extreme Shippers. He may have drawn you in.”

“If he has, I shall be the last person to confess it.”

“Miss Bennet, do you know who I am? I have not been accustomed to such language as this. I am almost Sam’s greatest fan in the world, and am entitled to know all his dearest concerns.”

“But you are not entitled to know mine; nor will such behaviour as this, ever induce me to be explicit.”

“Let me be rightly understood. This match, to which you have the presumption to aspire, can never take place. No, never. I know Mr. Darcy is so married already  to you. Now what have you to say?”

“Only this; that if that is so, you can have no reason to suppose Tony will have made an offer to me.”

Lady Catherine hesitated for a moment, and then replied:

“The ‘marriage’ between you is of a peculiar kind. From your screen test, you have been intended for each other. It was the favourite wish of mine, as well as of all my fellow Shippers. Whilst you were still shooting Season 1, we planned the union: and now, at the moment when the wishes of all of us would be accomplished in your marriage, to be prevented by a young man of inferior finances, of no importance in the world, and wholly un-allied to Outlander! Do you pay no regard to the wishes of Sam’s fans, to his tacit engagement with you, Miss Bennet? Are you lost to every feeling of propriety and delicacy? Have you not heard me say that almost from the first day, from the moment of your first audition, you were destined for Sam?”

“Yes, and I had heard it before. But what is that to me? If there is no other objection to my marrying Tony, I shall certainly not be kept from it by knowing that you and all the Extreme Shippers wished Sam to marry me. You all did as much as you could in planning the marriage. Its completion depended on others. If Mr. Darcy is neither by honour nor inclination confined to me, why is not he to make another choice? And if I am not that choice, why may not I reject him?”

“Because honour, decorum, prudence, nay, interest, forbid it. Yes, Miss Bennet, interest; for do not expect to be noticed by his fans, if you wilfully act against the inclinations of all. You will be censured, slighted, and despised, by everyone connected with the Outlander fandom. Your alliance will be a disgrace; your name will never even be mentioned by any of us.”

“These are heavy misfortunes,” replied Caitriona. “But the wife of Mr. Bingley must have such extraordinary sources of happiness necessarily attached to her situation, that she could, upon the whole, have no cause to repine.”

“Obstinate, headstrong girl! I am ashamed of you! Is this your gratitude for our attentions to you these last four years? Is nothing due to us on that score? Let us sit down. You are to understand, Miss Bennet, that I came here with the determined resolution of carrying my purpose; nor will I be dissuaded from it. I have not been used to submit to any person's whims. I have not been in the habit of brooking disappointment.”

“That will make your ladyship's situation at present more pitiable; but it will have no effect on me.”

“I will not be interrupted. Hear me in silence. You and Sam Darcy are formed for each other. He is very good looking, physically fit, has very large feet, and is the heart throb of hundreds of thousands of adoring women. You are a handsome woman.  Your fortune on both sides is now splendid. You are destined for each other by the voice of every member of your respective fandoms; and what is to divide you? The upstart pretensions of a young man without family, connections, or fortune. Is this to be endured! But it must not, shall not be. If you were sensible of your own good, you would not wish to quit the sphere in which you now find yourself.”

“In marrying Tony Bingley, I should not consider myself as quitting that sphere. He is a wealthy musical impresario and business man of independent means; I am a TV star; so far we are equal.”

“True. You are a TV star. But who is Tony Bingley? What does he actually do for a living? Do not imagine me ignorant of his condition. I have looked up hios company accounts.”

“Whatever his career prospects may be,” said Caitriona, “if I do not object to them, they can be nothing to you.”

“Tell me once for all, are you engaged to him?”

Though Caitriona would not, for the mere purpose of obliging Lady Catherine, have answered this question, she could not but say, after a moment's deliberation:

“I will neither confirm nor deny the story that appeared on twitter and in People Magazine’s exclusive.”

Lady Catherine seemed happy that Miss Bennet could not bring herself to mention Tony’s name.

And will you promise me, never to enter into such an engagement?”

“I will make no promise of the kind.”

“Miss Bennet I am shocked and astonished. I expected to find a more reasonable young woman. But do not deceive yourself into a belief that I will ever recede. I shall not go away till you have given me the assurance I require.”

“And I certainly never shall give it. I am not to be intimidated into anything so wholly unreasonable. Your ladyship wants me to marry Sam Darcy; but would my giving you the wished-for promise make our marriage at all more probable? Supposing him to be attached to me, would my refusing to accept his hand make him wish to bestow it, for example, on Miss Mackenzie? Allow me to say, Lady Catherine, that the arguments with which you have supported this extraordinary application have been as frivolous as the application was ill-judged. You have widely mistaken my character, if you think I can be worked on by such persuasions as these. How far Mr Darcy  might approve of your interference in his affairs, I cannot tell; but you have certainly no right to concern yourself in mine. I must beg, therefore, to be importuned no farther on the subject.”

“Not so hasty, if you please. I have by no means done. To all the objections I have already urged, I have still another to add. I am no stranger to the particulars of your engagement announcement. I know it all; that the young man's proposal was a patched-up business, at the expense of your global fandom. And is such a man to be married to you? Is such a man to be your husband? Heaven and earth!—of what are you thinking? Are the shades of Lallybroch to be thus polluted?”

“You can now have nothing further to say,” Caitriona resentfully answered. “You have insulted me in every possible method. I must beg to return to the studios.”

And she rose as she spoke. Lady Catherine rose also, and they turned back. Her ladyship was highly incensed.

“You have no regard, then, for the honour and credit of Sam Darcy! Unfeeling, selfish girl! Do you not consider that Tony’s connection with you must disgrace Sam in the eyes of everybody?”

“Lady Catherine, I have nothing further to say. You know my sentiments.”

“You are then resolved to have him?”

“I have said no such thing. I am only resolved to act in that manner, which will, in my own opinion, constitute my happiness, without reference to you, or to any person so wholly unconnected with me.”

“It is well. You refuse, then, to oblige me. You refuse to obey the claims of duty, honour, and gratitude. You are determined to lower Sam in the opinion of all his fans, and make him the contempt of the world.”

“Neither duty, nor honour, nor gratitude,” replied Caitriona, “have any possible claim on me, in the present instance. No principle of either would be violated by my marriage with Mr. Tony Bingley. And with regard to the resentment of the Extreme Shippers, or the indignation of the world, if the former were excited by his marrying me, it would not give me one moment's concern—and the world in general would have too much sense to join in the scorn.”

“And this is your real opinion! This is your final resolve! Very well. I shall now know how to act. Do not imagine, Miss Bennet, that your ambition will ever be gratified. I came to try you. I hoped to find you reasonable; but, depend upon it, I will carry my point.”

In this manner Lady Catherine talked on, till they were at the door of her car, when, turning hastily round, she added, “I take no leave of you, Miss Bennet. I send no compliments to your Producer. You deserve no such attention. I am most seriously displeased.”

Caitriona  made no answer; and without attempting to persuade her ladyship to return into the house, walked quietly into it herself. She heard the carriage drive away as she proceeded up stairs. Maril impatiently met her at the door of her dressing-room, to ask why Lady Catherine would not come in again and rest herself.

“She did not choose it,” said her leading lady, “she would go.”

“She is a very fine-looking woman! and her calling here was prodigiously civil! for she only came, I suppose, to tell us how much she loves Outlander and fans all the cast. She is on her road somewhere, I dare say, and so, passing through Meryton, thought she might as well call on you. I suppose she had nothing particular to say to you, Caitriona?”

Caitriona  was forced to give into a little falsehood here; for to acknowledge the substance of their conversation was impossible.

#JaneAusten Outlander Pride and Prejudice RPF