#mary russell again

[whiskeywithrayna]

I can’t believe Hello, Dolly! is closing tonight and we’ll never have a cast album of one of the greatest things to happen in the West End this century.

[emiliosandozsequence]

the sparrow, mary doria russell

[fideidefenswhore]

Part of what I find... ironic, if I may say so: Henry VIII's contemporaries praised how Jane Seymour was more discreet and submissive (obviously comparing Anne), but that's what makes her such a mystery today. No one knows what she was really like as a person, because she had to play all this role to keep herself as queen. This is why she is considered the least favorite of wives (and don't help some works try sell her as a sweet angel).

Well, that praise has been translated very much at face-value, very literally, so many would argue that there's no enigma. Jane was not so much a constant as a new constant and an unknown quantity; and the sense of stability was to some extent merely this extension of the former status quo (Princess Mary was not reinstated, in contrast to the usual narrative, it's Jane's ascendancy that sees Mary's supporters interrogated and/or arrested, and even soon after, sees Mary's chamberlain executed, this is the second marriage in as many years whose legitimacy and issue is affirmed by Parliament, without sanction, nor even this time, dispensations from the Pope); but the very nature of the praise (Jane as anodyne, Jane as gentle and sweet) is testament to the toothlessness of her tenure.

Measured approaches are going to help with that (people don't like being spoon-fed, nor about-faces, The Tudors actually does give us the blueprint of her usual historical narrative) but unfortunately there aren't many. So like, Retha Warnicke is one of the only historians to mention the dissonance of the report of her plea for the restoration of the abbeys versus the evidence that Jane and her family owned properties of the Dissolution. Unfortunately, she also just completely discredits that report, claiming that it was from Chapuys and thus cannot be trusted (it's definitely not, he never in his life referred to Mary as anything other than 'the princess', not 'Madame Marie'), despite that it turns up twice by two different sources; so actually what she does there is deny any dissonance when it's dissonance that makes historic people compelling (I usually just see the reverse of this from fandom, Jane was an angel without agency nor autonomy and thus every single thing she did or accepted she was 'forced' to do by Henry, including her own inventory inclusive of the above, including marrying him, etc...)

[hotvintagepoll]

this is a poll for a movie that doesn't exist.

It is vintage times. The powers that be have decided to again remake the classic vampire novel Dracula for the screen. in an amazing show of inter-studio solidarity, Hollywood’s most elite hotties are up for the starring roles. the producers know whoever they cast will greatly impact the genre, quality, and tone of the finished film, so they are turning to their wisest voices for guidance.

you are the new casting director for this star-studded epic. choose your players wisely.

Previously cast:

Jonathan Harker—Jimmy Stewart

The Old Woman—Martita Hunt

Count Dracula—Gloria Holden

Mina Murray—Setsuko Hara

Lucy Westenra—Judy Garland (rip)

The Three Voluptuous Women—Betty Grable, Marilyn Monroe, and Lauren Bacall

The Agonized Mother—Mary Philbin (rip)

Dr. Jack Seward—Vincent Price

Quincey P. Morris—Toshiro Mifune

Arthur Holmwood—Sidney Poitier

R.M. Renfield—Conrad Veidt

The Captain of the Demeter—Omar Sharif (rip)

The First Mate of the Demeter—Leonard Nimoy (rip)

Mr. Swales—Ed Wynn (rip)

The Correspondent for The Daily Graph—Ethel Waters

Dracula in dog form—Frank Oz with a puppet

Sister Agatha—Angela Lansbury

Mrs. Westenra—Gladys Cooper (rip)

Dracula's solicitors—Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee

Dr. Van Helsing—Orson Welles

Thomas Bilder, zookeeper—Lon Chaney Jr.

Thomas Bilder's wife—Elsa Lanchester

The Reporter from the Pall Mall Gazette—Hattie McDaniel

The carriers are working class men dropping off some heavy boxes of dirt who get berated and then attacked by Renfield outside the asylum. They then successfully talk Dr. Hennessey into buying them several rounds at the pub as payback. Today's Dracula Daily episode can be found here.

[djloveyou3000]

Christmas special

Suddenly, two strong arms wrapped around their waist, pulling them close. Bell gasped softly in surprise, then felt the warmth of Russell’s lips pressing a gentle kiss to the top of their head. His lips moved down, brushing against their temple, then their cheek, and finally trailing along their jawline.

“Russell!” Bell squealed, giggling at the sudden onslaught of affection.

Russell didn’t stop. He kissed the tip of their nose, their forehead, and finally captured their lips in a tender, lingering kiss. Bell couldn’t help but giggle again, melting into his embrace as their cheeks flushed.

“Merry Christmas, baby,” Russell murmured against their lips, his voice soft but filled with affection.

“Merry Christmas, родной,” Bell replied, their voice just as warm.

Pulling back slightly, Russell grinned. “Come on, get dressed. I put your clothes on the bed—we’re going out.” He leaned down to kiss them again, this time deeper, letting his lips linger.

Bell cupped his face, their fingers lightly brushing over the scar on his cheek. “Are we matching?” they asked with a playful glint in their eyes.

“What do you think?” Russell smirked, his hands slipping down to rest on their hips.

Bell rolled their eyes with a smile. “I guess I’ll find out.” They gave him a quick peck on the lips before heading upstairs to change.

By the time Bell came back downstairs, dressed and ready, they found Russell still fixing his hair in the mirror. They crossed their arms and leaned against the doorway, a teasing smile on their lips. “I still don’t understand how it takes you so long to do your hair,” they quipped. “It’s so short!”

Russell turned, raising an eyebrow. “Funny,” he muttered, walking over to them. He pulled them close, placing a soft kiss on their lips.

But then, his expression shifted to a disapproving one. “You’re not dressed properly.”

“What are you talking about? I’m fine!” Bell protested, but Russell was already grabbing their gloves and slipping them onto their hands.

“You’re not fine,” he grumbled, adjusting their earmuffs, hat, scarf, and coat. “I don’t care if you’re Russian and used to the cold—you’re bundling up.”

Bell giggled as Russell finally wrapped their scarf snugly around their mouth—playfully tight at first—making them mumble a muffled complaint. Smirking, he adjusted it properly, his chuckle warm and low.

“Happy now?” Bell asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah. Let’s go, kid,” Russell replied, taking their hand and leading them out to the car.

As they arrived at Sims’ house, the warm glow of Christmas lights greeted them. Bell and Russell carried the brightly wrapped presents to the door and rang the bell. Sims opened it almost immediately, his face lighting up with a broad smile.

“There they are! Come in, come in!” he exclaimed, stepping aside to let them in.

As soon as they entered, Sims’ kids came rushing forward. One clung to Russell’s leg, while the other leaped into Bell’s arms. The kids adored Bell, who quickly set the presents down to hold them and coo over how much they’d grown.

Russell, watching this scene, felt something tug at his heart. Bell was so natural with kids, their smile bright and genuine as they laughed and played with them. For a moment, he found himself imagining what it would be like to have kids of their own—little ones with Bell’s laugh, their warmth, and their sharp wit.

“Thinking about starting a family?” Sims’ voice broke through Russell’s thoughts, making him blink and look over. Sims was smirking, clearly amused.

“Shut up,” Russell muttered, though the faintest hint of a smile lingered on his lips.

Meanwhile, Bell was in the kitchen helping Mary, Sims’ wife, with the food. The two were laughing and cracking jokes as Bell expertly juggled tasks, even taking a moment to coo at the baby in Mary’s arms.

Russell leaned against the doorway, watching them with soft eyes. His heart felt full as he took in the sight of Bell, so effortlessly charming and caring.

Later, as everyone gathered around the Christmas tree, presents were exchanged. Bell handed Russell a carefully wrapped box, watching with anticipation as he opened it. Inside were new aviators, a sleek leather jacket, and matching gloves.

Russell grinned, clearly pleased. “You spoil me,” he said, pulling Bell in for a kiss.

“I think you deserve it,” Bell replied, smiling against his lips.

After a while, the kids, curious as ever, tugged on Bell’s sleeve. “Why is Uncle Russell so white?” one of them asked, tilting their head in confusion.

Bell bit their lip to keep from laughing, then crouched down to their level. “When Uncle Russell was young, he was really, really bad,” they said with a straight face. “And his mama smacked the black off him.”

The kids’ eyes went wide in shock, while the adults burst into uncontrollable laughter. Sims nearly fell off his chair, and Russell rolled his eyes, muttering while laughing , “You’re a menace.”

Bell grinned innocently. “Just telling the truth.”

As the night wore on and the kids fell asleep, Russell and Bell said their goodbyes and headed home.

When they stepped inside, Bell pointed to the mistletoe hanging by the door. Russell followed their gaze, smirked, and pulled them close.

“Merry Christmas, Bell,” he said softly before kissing them deeply, sealing the perfect end to a perfect day.

[marie444girlblogger]

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Here is a little about me!!

(I yapped a lot)

My name is Marie😝😝

I’m Mary Lisbon’s age and I’m from the Netherlands.

My favorite artist is Lana Del Rey and my top albums are Ultraviolence, Honeymoon, and Blue Banisters (Ultraviolence is always no.1 but the rest usually changes) !! My fav Lana unreleased songs are Your girl, put me in a movie, raise me up, children of the bad revolution, live or die, moi je joue (but again, it always changes)

I also love Mazzy star, Ethel Cain, Fiona Apple, Jeff Buckley, Hole, Deftones, Mitski, etc.

I LOVE Letterboxd and anything movie related. My fav movies are Black swan, La La Land, Amelie, Coraline, Priscilla, Mr Fantastic Fox, Corpse Bride, Palo Alto (the list is endless)

My fav books are the book theif, my year of rest and relaxation, Emma, animal farm, twilight, and the shatter me series!!

My icons are LANA DEL REY, ANNA KARINA, Alana Champion, Lily Rose Depp, Taylor Russell, Anya Taylor Joy, Sharon Tate, Natalie Portman, Brittany Murphy, Cindy Kimberly.

I love fashion!! My dream is to be a fashion journalist. My fav models are Tanya Dziahileva, Snejana Onopka, Kate Moss, Ruslana Korshunova (rip), Anok Yai.

My celeb crushes: LORENZO ZURZOLO, Hayden Christensen, Christian Bale, Cillian Murphy, and James Franco!!

My favorite season is Autumn and Winter (winter has my heart) and my favorite colors are light pink and dark red

I will post lots of random things onto this account such as girlblogs, random thoughts, poetry, etc!!

Also if I don't follow back you can message me privately and ask to be mutuals!!

Please be kind

Thank you🤭💗💗

────୨ৎ────

[dalesramblingsblog]

I know we've been commenting since The Star Beast on the irony of Russell T. Davies taking Disney money and using it to say trans/gay rights as part of one of the biggest British television events of 2023/2024, but I think Dot and Bubble fully opened my eyes to something I've been quietly contemplating since at least the time of The Giggle.

I am genuinely convinced, knowing everything I know about Davies' comments on the state of the BBC and the kinds of art he's been making of late, that Series 14 is a brilliant and purposeful piece of artistic subversion that has taken Disney's money to not just say trans rights, but to actively comment upon the cold, empty yawning abyss that is modern MCU franchisecrafting.

Time and time again, the show has returned to the idea that that sort of "artistry" is completely anathema in a cosmic horror sense to the very fabric of Doctor Who. The Toymaker is an arbiter of rules and continuity, who threatens to turn Doctor Who into a knock-off of The Avengers before everything collapses back into a game of catch with the Doctor in his underwear.

73 Yards is quite explicitly about the loneliness, emptiness and futility that accompanies human beings trying to impose rational, ordered frameworks and narratives on a fundamentally chaotic and strange universe. The very fact that the episode exists in a media ecosystem where hackish YouTubers will be falling over themselves to make "Ending Explained" videos for it *is part of the point*.

And then we have Dot and Bubble, where the modern glut of franchisal/social media (and the two are often close to interchangeable, as proven by this very blog post) is explicitly shown to have an anaesthetising effect that insulates people from real-world suffering. But it's more than that, because that same anaesthesia ties into expressions of actual, direct racism that are so baked into the foundations of that media and who it tends to uplift (white, conventionally attractive and implicitly straight people) that they become indistinguishable from said suffering.

After years of Doctor Who trying its hand at being a generic MCU-esque property and fans creating mockups of Phase-esque release timelines with a million spin-offs focusing on the Wacky Adventures of Miss Evangelista or whatever other bullshit fandom constantly clamours for, here is an era that puts its foot down and says "Actually, the foundational elements of that brand of media consumption are materially connected to the constant racist or sexist backlash you see against the casting of Ncuti Gatwa or Jodie Whittaker or Kelly Marie Tran."

And it is absolutely, positively, 100% correct.

How, then, does Doctor Who resist the creeping power of this monolithic cultural entity? In a world where studios seriously try to argue for the artistic worth of tripe like Morbius or Madame Web or Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, what is the appropriate response?

The same response that it's always had, the thing that it's been doing for sixty years. Getting people to learn how to run down corridors from hokey aliens, hoping against hope that those people don't turn out to be massive fucking racists and telling them exactly where they can shove it if they are, and instilling the children of the world with a healthy dose of fear and light-hearted humour.

Welcome back, Doctor Who. God, I have missed you.

[weirdly-specific-but-ok]

pt II our flag means death but I've never watched it

HELLO OFMD FANDOM! It's the Good Omens Mascot and Resident Dumbass, back again for part II. First, let's clear the air of all controversy!

Some of you lovely maggots were kind enough to warn me about certain discourse about a salad spoon and also about a certain gentleman named Izzy. I was warned not to make assumptions and not to take sides, and I hear some members had to leave the fandom for a while because it got toxic. Maggots. All the rest of you. Worry not about me. I'm here to unite the OFMD fandom! How, you ask? By being so undeniably stupid in my own opinions that you all will have to unite to disagree with me. You underestimate the power of my dumbassery. Well, let's not dilly dally and dawdle, here's the updated summary:

I have been informed there is cannibalism on this ship but it is not real. Someone pretends to eat someone and then their wife helps them fake their death while they run away from the ship though their lover wanted them to run to China.

There are BDSM lesbians, which is honestly such a slay, Pinterest has let me down by not informing me of that when I made Part I. I will no longer be using Pinterest a reliable source in future academic essays.

Mermaid Stede performs necromancy while a song called Kate Bush plays (I don't know who this is, a politician? Idk whether of US or UK).

Gravy Basket is a destination and Buttons is a sea witch and there is educational stabbing. Buttons is then a bird because of the BDSM lesbians.

There is a lady who is extremely beautiful and intimidating and powerful and she has twenty husbands and I assumed incorrectly that you were all talking about a Jack Russel terrier.

Let's start with the controversy! Izzy. Secondary protagonist or antagonist? Good or bad? Kindly father figure or homoerotically charged friend? Necessary death or not? No no no. Behold:

I present a new question, a hot take sizzling from the pan: Did Izzy really exist?

Personally, I firmly believe that no, he did not. I believe that the rum on the ship was spiked with hallucinogens.

Izzy was simply the manifestation of Ed's Freudian subconscious, taking the shape of a human being, vaguely resembling a humanoid potato Ed was forced to boil as a kid. I was a psychology student with a final grade of 99% and I accept only destructive criticism on my posts thank you. Feel free to discuss whether he boiled the potato in a fit of rage or whether he was forced to.

There are assorted Ned's, Mary's and an uncertain number of Jeff's on ship.

One of the Jeff's is an accountant, and there is a nonbinary talking sword named Jim. Actually I'm not sure if they talk.

Love you all, rooting for the show to be renewed.

REMINDERS. Be polite to each other in the reblogs, on tumblr reblogs spread posts and not likes (which don't do anything for visibility) unlike other social media sites, but MOST IMPORTANTLY.

I ACCEPT ONLY DESTRUCTIVE CRITICISM, THIS BLOG IS A GODLESS, LAWLESS LAND, AND ALL RAGE AT EACH OTHER MUST BE REDIRECTED AT ME. UNDERSTOOD? YAY.

[godidontgaf]

RDR2 characters as dog breeds because they’re two of my special interests rn

Arthur - Kelpie. Always running around and chasing sheep (or in Arthurs case- people) so I think it’s fitting, also the pointy ears just fit Arthurs vibe so well

John - Okay don’t kill me but chihuahua. He’s tiny but he’s so snarky!!!

Dutch - He’s real serious and gets things done, so I’d say doberman. Kinda looks like him too if you squint

Hosea - Weimaraner, they’re sleek and look old. Like Hosea

Micah - Miniature schnauzer. I don’t think I need to explain this one

Kieran - Whippet, they’re super skinny and shake a lot, plus they kinda look like horses so it’s perfect for Kieran

Bill - Saint bernard. Fat, hairy, same face if you look hard enough

Charles - he’s buff as shit so American bully

Javier - Saluki, the long flowy hair on their ears kinda mimics Javiers curtain bangs (can I call them that???)

Sadie - Jack russel. They’re hunting dogs, they’re fast and they both have the same golden hair

Lenny - Golden retriever because he’s our golden boy and he is just so so cute and so happy <3

Karen - German shepherd cause she gets shit done amen

Swanson - Oh god. Irish wolfhound because 1. their hair is equally as messy 2. they’re both surpisingly big (I swear everytime swanson comes up to Arthur he’s the same height WHILE SLOUCHING) and 3. I had one knock me over at a dog park once because it wasn’t walking straight

Tilly - Teacup poodle because she’s insanely adorable and poodles often have that golden colour that reminds me of her dress

Sean - Shiba inu because they both got orange hair, they both have adorable smiles but oh my god the second they open their mouths you’ll never wanna have ears again

Strauss - Borzoi. Elegant but funny looking

Mary-beth - Cocker spaniel, they’re just pretty and have the same hair

Pearson - Pug. He’s ugly and is always breathing down my neck (yes I know we need food SHUT UP)

Trelawny - Maltese, specifically those ones with the insanely long, silky hair. Just so fancy

Eagle - Pharaoh hound? In every photo I see of them they look so serious and heroic. Also described as “elegant but rugged” which I think fits eagle perfectly

[insert-stupid-username]

Ranking drivers based on how funny I think they would be on drunk history.

-would like everyone to know if charles and max were sharing a story and like saying it the same room they woud be top of my list cause they are just so unhinged when together... I would pay to see that-

Fernando Alonso: He is SO unhinged I feel like the one liners would be hilarious. I dont think he would act super drunk which I think would make it SO much funnier.

Yuki Tsunoda: I feel like he would act drunk and just keep swearing. To me he would be the one that keeps parafrasing what people say in funny ways ie: marie antonet "let them eat cake" to like "then she was all go eat the cake *pantomime shoving cake in someones face*"

Checo: Once he is let loose I think it would dbe hilarius. Also think about how much he would try and relate the historical thing to his current life

Daniel Ricciardo: Dude I think it would be a blast he just has a lot of natural charisma also think about all the things he would blurt out with less of a filer

Valtteri Bottas: I am of the opinion that the quite people have the funniest thoughts

Max Verstappen: dude people with that much trama are the funniest ever. But he is drunk so its a toss up if hes louder or quiter

Nico Hulkenberg: I stand by the fact that Dads are inherently funny in the formate of drunk history. there is something about dads that leads to very badly told history lessions that get funny once you add alcohol

Charles Leclerc: dude would just go on so many tangents I want to ee what the skits would turn into cause how the hell would they work a freaking dog and max verstappen into something like the french revolution (side note if it was anything french this man would 100% clarify a LOT that he is not french even if he is covering french history)

Kevin Magnussen: again Dad engery is hilarius

Franco Colapinto: THe fact that he wouldnt be able to keep on track would be funny, also think about him randomly slipping into spanish when telling a story thats like based on somewhere nowhere near a spanish speaking country

Pierre Gasly: dude would spend like half the episode speaking in french. Also think about all the times hed be like "yeah and that was a lot like the time x driver and x driver"

Carlos Sainz: He just doesnt strike me as funny drunk. though I do think his acting would be funny

Alex Albon: he would stick mostly to the script but the like 4 or 5 times he divates is funny enough to get this high

Logan Sargeant: I just want to see him fumble really long names. It would be a funny one where he would try like twice and than go lafieate is now going to be known as dave cause thats a hard name to say.

Liam Lawson: I feel like the guy would get so into it esspecially if its a war based episode. but like into it in a weird way that makes people go huh

Oscar Piastri: I dont think he would stray to far from the history itself

Zhou Guanyu: I dont htink there would be much straying from the script

Esteban Ocon: unless it was soemthing he generally liked it would be so very bland, and even then I dont think he would be drunk history funny

Lando Norris: I honestly think he would be more annoying than funny, and try to fource a joke but itll not work at all

Lance Stroll: I just dont think he can make funny jokes. If he has Ive never seen nor laughed at them.

Lewis Hamilton: He would be giggling and then the story would be kinda similar to brocedies so he would shut down fast.

George Russell: I think he just straight up wouldnt make sense or he would just straight faced tell the story with very little embeleshments.

[wastelandmoony]

Déjà Vécu: Cough Syrup

Chapter Thirty-Six : Cough Syrup

Characters: Remus Lupin/Reader, Sirius Black/Reader (no use of y/n), James Potter, Petter Pettigrew, Regulus Black, Marlene McKinnon, Mary MacDonald, Lily Evans

Warnings: 18+ Only, Minors DNI.

TW for this chapter: mentions of abuse, mentions of SA, use of the word r*pe.

Déjà Vécu Masterlist

Companion Playlist

Read on AO3

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The sound of muffled voices buzzed close-by, along with the smell of Earl Grey and laundry soap. She groaned softly as one of the voices drew closer. 

“Shhh…it’s okay.”

A gentle hand ran over the top of her head. Eyelids cracking open, the blurry image of Remus came into view. She lifted her head and tried to gaze around; the mismatched furniture paired with the homey smell signaled they were at Molly and Arthur’s house. “Relax, we’re safe.”

Groggily, she blinked at him, “W-what happened?”

“You were stupefied.”

She groaned again, shutting her eyes, “Fuckin’ Barty…”

Remus let out an exasperated chuckle, “You also got a nasty slice on your arm thanks to one of ‘em, but Molly was able to patch it up as best she could.”

Moving slightly, the pain in her arm had definitely dulled, though she now sported a large bandage wrapped around her bicep. “How’d we get back here?”

Remus sighed; he looked so tired. “I caught you before you fell, and just apparated to the first place I thought of.”

She raised an eyebrow, “Which happened to be Molly’s house?”

He shook his head, “Great Russell Street.”

“…The British Museum?”

Remus nodded sheepishly, “You love it there…anyway, it’s not important. Once I saw no one had followed, I brought us here. You were bleeding pretty badly, and I just knew Molly’d be the best that could help on such short notice…”

She took his hand and squeezed it, watching the tension in his shoulders ease. Sitting up slowly, the room spun only slightly as Remus held her shoulders steady.

“I’ll go grab Molly, she’d want to know you were awake. Prongs is here too, he’s standing watch outside—”

“—he should be at home with Lily! The baby could come any day—“ Her feeble protest was silenced by a commotion in the next room over. 

“—get the fuck off me, James—“

A dull thump, followed by footsteps.

“Where is she?”

“Calm down, mate. She’s fine, you can’t go in there acting like—“

“Where is she?!”

Sirius flew around the corner looking livid. The moment his wild eyes landed on her, every feature in his face softened. 

“I’m sorry…“ she started, as he kneeled before the small couch and cupped her face. His grey-blue eyes searched for any and all injuries, falling on the bandage covering the better part of her left arm. Sirius’ voice was soft as he brushed her hair back, “We’ll talk about it later…” 

As quickly as he’d arrived at her side, he was standing, turning to Remus. “You knew what the mission was, and you let her go?” Sirius’ voice began to take on a sharp edge, “You promised to keep her safe. We agreed.”

Remus visibly deflated a bit, mouth opening to speak before she intervened.

“He did keep me safe, he’s the one that brought us back here. Remus got us out—”

“You let her walk into a den of fucking wolves as bait!” Sirius shouted at his friend, not even acknowledging her statement. 

“She wasn’t bait, she had a cover—“

Sirius let out a bitter laugh, “As what? A little werewolf-sympathizer, there to support her poor, bitten friend?” 

“I work for the Ministry you fucking asshole,” she spat, blood beginning to boil at the minimization of her efforts, “Or have you forgotten? Too busy trying to play the fucking rogue hero all the time.”

Sirius’ eyes were blazing as he glanced over a shoulder, “Better than playing a faux savior.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“At least I’m not pretending to be making a difference.”

A sucker punch to the gut. All air had been sucked from her lungs as she stared at Sirius, the love of her life, suddenly a stranger. She knew how he got when he was this angry; the words just spewing out of him with no filter and no remorse until after-the-fact. It was a trauma response, one that was built over years and years of abuse growing up. She knew that, she’d accepted it and vowed to help him work on it. She’d just never been on the receiving end before.

“Don’t fucking talk to her like that,” Remus stepped closer, fists clenched at his side, “Just because she’s not going around blasting apart Death Eater strongholds, doesn’t mean she’s not helping. This mission gave us a lot of valuable intel, and it wouldn’t have been possible without her.”

Sirius continued to glare at him, “You let her walk into a fucking ambush!”

Remus shook his head, “It wasn’t an ambush, everything was fine and under control—“

 “Under control?!” She could hear the panic in Sirius’s voice, the shrill tone echoing throughout the room. For a split second, Walburga’s face flashed in her mind; a memory from years ago in Diagon Alley. The same tone Sirius’s mother had used to chastise her in the street was almost identical to the one he shouted at Remus with. The thought caused a shiver to creep up her spine.

“You let her walk into a room full of Death Eaters and fucking werewolves, without backup, and you want me to consider that ‘under fucking control’?”

She crossed her arms defiantly, “We’re fine. We just…had a little hiccup, but it all worked out.”

Remus nodded fondly, “Her quick thinking got us out of it. Everything would’ve gone smoothly if it wasn’t for Rosier and Crouch—“

Immediately, she felt the blood drain from her face.

Sirius slowly turned to look at her, and suddenly they were back in the Forbidden Forest, his wand at Evan’s throat. “Rosier did this to you?” He whispered. 

Uttering those two names was like tossing gasoline onto an already blazing fire.

He snapped his attention back to Remus, shoving him back into the wall, “Evan fucking Rosier?!”

Remus stared like he’d lost his mind. “Barty is the one that hit her. Both of them are working with the Death Eaters.” For a moment, they were silent, the only sound being the clock ticking softly in the back of the room. It happened almost in slow motion (at least from her still-mildly-dazed state) but before anyone could react, Sirius had launched himself at Remus, pinning him against the wall. He grabbed him by the shirt and they both began to grapple with each other.

Surging forward, she ripped at Sirius’s arm, trying to separate them. “Stop, it’s over!” 

Hearing the commotion, James rushed in and pulled his best friend away, not without some thrashing and empty threats. Sirius continued to glare at Remus from where he was being held across the room. The latter stared back, in a state somewhere between rage and confusion and hurt. 

She didn’t move, just watching as Sirius’s began to burn from the inside. A muscle ticked in his jaw as he inhaled a deep breath.

“They still don’t know, do they? Just another one of your little secrets you seem so keen on keeping…” He was going for blood, something she should’ve expected; Sirius always bit back.

“Stop…” the plea came out as a whimper, tears beginning to fill her vision. Remus shifted beside her.

“Why don’t you tell them? Tell them what happened in the forest—“ Sirius cocked his head, taunting her. There was a sheen of cruelty in his eyes, one that had become more frequent as the war raged on. It was the same one she had always seen in Regulus.

“Tell us what?” Remus looked between the two of them, the tension in the air close to catastrophic levels. She shook her head slowly, eyes shooting daggers at Sirius.

He held her gaze as he fired the killing blow, “About how Rosier tried to rape her during 6th year.”

“You’re a fucking bastard,” she hissed, fists clenched as she tried to not wrap both hands around his throat. 

Sirius ignored her, “Rosier, Crouch, and Mulciber lured her into the forest and held her down—” Remus had gone pale. “—and you let her walk into an unsupervised, unarmed, unprotected meeting with two of them. Way to go, Moony.”

She couldn’t stand being in the room anymore, not as Sirius spewed his venom, not as Remus and James looked at her with such pity that she wanted to throw up. Pushing past them, she fled toward the front door and out into the night, breath coming in giant heaving gasps as she spiraled into a panic. 

———

August 1st, 1980

The morning after the mission, she woke up in Remus’ bed, her best friend sprawled beside her with his arm wrapped protectively around her body. After apparating back to the flat the night prior, she’d fallen asleep curled on the floor of his bedroom, having cried so hard it was surprising she hadn’t vomited. Barely lucid, she vaguely remembered him entering the room quietly and carrying her to his bed. She’d been staying in there ever since, barely leaving out of fear of seeing Sirius.

Slipping out of his bed a few days later, she grabbed one of Remus’ sweaters from the floor and threw it over her t-shirt to ward off the morning chill (or was that a side-effect of the numbness she felt in her bones). The flat was quiet as she padded down towards the kitchen, desperate for a coffee. Her bedroom door was open, the bed vacant as she cautioned a glance inside; the covers were rumpled, and she didn’t miss the almost-empty bottle of firewhisky on the bedside table. The living room was empty as well. Sirius wasn’t here. She didn’t care, nor did she want to waste the energy trying to worry about it. 

The nutty-rich smell of coffee filled the small space as she leaned against the kitchen counter, trying to quiet the buzzing in her head. The scent must have reached the back bedrooms, because no sooner than she’d poured a cup, Remus trudged in, rubbing his eyes and yawning widely. He placed a gentle kiss to her head, pulling another mug out of the cabinet and helping himself. They sipped in comfortable silence on opposite sides of the kitchen, a lot left unsaid from the other night, neither wanting to touch it with a 200-meter pole at the moment. 

“He went to Peter’s,” Remus muttered.

“I don’t care, Moons,” she sighed. 

He hummed, “Yes, you do.” She shot him a glare as the mug was brought to her lips. 

“Lily had the baby last night,” changing the subject, he set his cup down on the counter, a tiny bit of hope gleaming in his eyes. 

She almost dropped her mug, “What?! Why didn’t you tell me?”

He shrugged, and she caught the pity in his expression briefly, something that hadn’t been there until recently. She hated it.

“You were sleeping when James sent word, I didn’t want to wake you.”

He’d been doing that a lot the past few days, letting her sleep for hours upon hours, knowing she was doing it to escape. She swallowed and avoided his eyes.

“Prongs is a dad,” he said in whispered disbelief, shaking his head slightly.

“Jesus, that’s terrifying,” she laughed, eliciting a grin from Remus. 

“We’re going over today to see them…all of us,” he said quietly.

“Bold of you to assume I’m joining.”

He gave her a sidelong glance, “We both know you’d never miss the opportunity to meet Lily’s and James’s baby.”

One eye roll later, they finished their liquid breakfast and began to prepare for the day, her ears constantly searching for the sound of a distant motorbike engine.

———

Later that day, her and Remus apparated to the Potter’s in silence, Sirius and Peter traveling separately. The second they arrived on the doorstep, she ran inside without so much as a knock. James was waiting in the entryway.

“Hiya,” he grinned. She’d never seen him glow like this, light practically radiated out of every pore of his body. 

She threw both arms around his neck, “Congratulations Jamie!” He hugged her back, swaying them both. 

“Thank you, he’s…he’s perfect,” he had tears in his eyes as she pulled away. 

“Where’s Lils?” She was anxious to see her friend, and the newest little addition to their band of marauders. James motioned up the stairs, and she quickly bounded up to the second floor as quietly as possible to not wake the baby. Soft voices could be heard coming from the last room at the end of the hallway, and she followed the sound to find her friend reclining on a large four poster bed, a small bundle cradled in her arms. As she pushed the door open wider, she recognized the familiar scent of smoke and spice, goosebumps cascading up her arms as she tried to ignore it. Sirius sat in an armchair near the top of the bed, eyes shooting to her as she entered. 

Lily looked up, “Hi,” she smiled. Remus and James entered the bedroom quietly, while she moved to sit beside her friend on the bed. 

Lily moved the blanket to show off the baby’s chubby little face and unruly dark hair atop his tiny head.

“Oh my god,” she whispered, “Lily…he’s gorgeous…” Tears welled as her friend beamed, the baby stirring in her arms.

“Want to hold him? He’s very calm, I’m almost worried that he’s not James’—“ Lily shifted to place the baby into her waiting arms, “—I’m joking darling, relax.” James was giving her a non-amused glare from across the room. Lily sat back against the headboard, watching as her friend held her son. 

“Meet Harry James Potter,” Lily smiled at her. Baby Harry nuzzled into the blankets, and she leaned down to kiss his forehead. 

“Hi Harry,” she cooed, running a finger over his soft black hair, “Welcome to this truly bizarre, but incredibly loving family.”

Remus chuckled from the foot of the bed, shifting closer to get a look at their friend’s new baby. Sirius moved to sit beside her (a bold choice if she was honest), peering at the little boy held in her arms. She could feel his body heat like a homing beacon calling to her. 

“I think he looks like you Prongs,” Sirius brushed a gentle hand over Harry’s head, “…how unfortunate.” 

Lily giggled.

“I swear Pads,” James said with barely restrained annoyance, “if you weren’t inches away from my son right now…”

Sirius smirked, focus turned back to the baby. Harry yawned, opening his little eyes to reveal twin versions of Lily’s exact emerald coloring. He reached out a chubby hand and latched onto her finger, simultaneously gripping her heartstrings as well. Everything terrible was forgotten; the war, the fighting, the deaths, the uncertainty. All of it melted away as she stared at this new little life, the perfect combination of her two best friends. Sirius must have felt it too, because he bent down and placed a soft kiss to her shoulder, never saying a word as he ran another hand over Harry’s tiny head. 

———

They apparated back home just before dinner to let their friends relax with their new baby. The mood between the three of them was still tense, but seeing Harry seemed to alleviate some of the animosity. Remus ushered her inside the house with a gentle hand on her lower back, Sirius following closely behind. 

“Chinese for dinner?” Remus asked to no one in particular. Sirius made a grunt of approval.

“Get whatever, I’m going to shower and probably go to bed early,” she was exhausted from the past few days, hell, from the past few weeks if she was being honest. Remus didn’t press as she left them both in the living room to meander down the hall towards the small bathroom. 

She let the water heat to near boiling before stepping under the stream, releasing an audible sigh as the scalding droplets washed away the leftover emotions. As she stood under the shower-head and inhaled the steam, the bathroom door opened.

“What happened to knocking?”

No response.

The door shut, and she continued her aquatic dissociation. The sound of shuffling beyond the shower curtain made her roll her eyes.

“Jesus Christ,” she groaned, “does nobody in this house respect boundaries?!” 

Fully expecting the person standing against the counter to be Remus, she froze when she ripped open the curtain to see Sirius staring back. He didn’t say a word as he stripped off his clothes and stepped into the shower. She glared at him, annoyed at his audacity. His face resembled nothing of the toxic person that had appeared a few nights ago, returning to the Sirius she fell in love with, the one that would do anything for her. He said her name as barely a whisper, the sound of which cracked her bitter shell.

“What are you doing?” She asked, voice still grasping at the remaining rage she harbored.

He moved closer, hand itching to touch her, “Apologizing…”

“Doesn’t sound like it to me,” she stared up at him, the spray of water warming her shoulders. 

He sighed, “Can I touch you?” There was an undertone of pain in his voice as he searched her face for an answer.

“No.”

“Then can I at least stand under the water with you, it’s fucking cold over here.”

“Also no.”

Sirius rolled his eyes and groaned, “Fine, I deserve that.” She hummed in agreement. 

“I’m sorry,” he said, “I didn’t mean for everything to escalate like that, I just…I was so afraid, I had no idea where you were—“

She cut him off with a hand, “Being afraid is not an excuse for the way you acted, the way you spoke to me. You don’t treat the person you love like that, Sirius.”

His dark hair fell over his eyes as he bowed his head in shame.

“I joined the Order just like you did, we took the same oath. I wanted to go on that mission, no one else could’ve gone with Remus and I wasn’t about to let him face it alone. You of all people should understand that—”

“I know, I’m sorry—“

“I only lied to you because I was sworn to not say a word of it to anyone other than the people directly involved. God, it was eating me alive, Sirius.” She dipped her head back into the stream of water to center herself again. “We both knew the risks when joining the Order, we knew that we’d be under a constant threat of danger and need to make sacrifices—“

“What if i’m not willing to make some sacrifices?” Sirius dared to run a hand along her arm, ending with a gentle grasp of her wrist. The touch sent shockwaves rolling through her body.

“I’m not sure if we have a choice in the end,” she whispered, reaching out to trace her fingertips up his side. It was pathetic how much she needed him. It had only been a few days and she was practically gnawing at the bit to touch him, hold him, just be near him. 

Sirius threw caution to the wind and pulled her into his chest gently, allowing her to melt against his body. She almost moaned at the contact, but kept her voice in check as she savored his warmth. 

“I’ll always choose you,” he murmured into the top of her head. 

She hummed in question. 

He tipped her chin back to look him in the eye, “Out of any choice I’m given, it will always be for you.” He kissed her deeply, the rest of her anger instantly swirling down the drain. 

Afterwards, as they laid in bed, tangled with each other, Sirius traced patterns on her back with his hand. 

“I liked seeing you with Harry earlier,” he mused, eyes bright in the darkness of their bedroom. 

She smiled at the thought of the little baby boy, “He’s quite possibly the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.”

He was quiet for longer than a few heartbeats, brows furrow slightly in thought. “Have you ever thought about having children?” He asked cautiously. 

The thought of bringing a child into the world at the present moment was absolutely insane to her; how Lily and James were doing it was beyond comprehension. She exhaled slowly, “I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t ever thought about it. What about you?”

Sirius would be an excellent father, growing up with a family like his had shown him precisely what not to do, so she had no doubt he’d love his own children with every atom in his being. The thought made her heart swell.

Sirius’s mouth lifted at the corner, “I’ve toyed with it.”

She matched his smile, “A tiny version of you, with the same big blue eyes running around causing mayhem?”

Sirius’s grin widened, “I’d teach them how to fly as fast as her mum used to on the quidditch pitch.”

The image made her tear up a little. She’d never given serious thought to children and the future until more recently. War did that. The uncertainty of each day, never knowing if your friends and partners would come back home after a mission. Too many of them had been lost, too many of them had plans that were snuffed out. She didn’t want to feel sad anymore, didn’t want to worry if today would be the last day she made coffee for Remus, or the last time she spoke to Lily and James. More than anything, she just wanted the chance at a future, a future with Sirius. 

She brushed his hair back from his beautiful face,”Let’s get through the war first, love. We’ve got time.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Taglist (Message me to be added!):

@otterlockholmes

@sofacover

[moetrash]

Other RSV Spirit's Eve costumes ideas

Since it's October, and just over a year since the RSV seasonal outfits mod was released, I thought it'd be fun to share some of the costume ideas we didn't end up going with from our brainstorming doc. These ideas were ultimately passed over for a variety of reasons (already worn by a different npc, too real world-specific, liked a different option better, etc.), but still would've been great to see... soooo here you go!

(If a character isn't listed, that's just bc we didn't have any extra ideas for them. Also, in case you wanted a refresher, here's a list of the costumes we did end up going with! Also also, bc I can't help myself, I added in some ideas as I was making this post - those ones are in [brackets].)

aguar: doc brown/mad scientist

anton: running forrest gump, the dude, jack sparrow, [flynn rider]

ariah: wendy darling, elle woods, ruth bader ginsburg

bryle: peaky blinders gangster, aaron burr from hamilton, [top gun maverick]

carmen: cat in the hat, mike wazowski, oompa loompa, sasquatch

corine: lara croft

daia: [chun li]

faye: anything heidi klum has done for halloween bc she's extra like that

flor: gwen from ben10, human ariel (in the "kiss the girl" outfit)

ian: scottish highlander (a la jamie from outlander)

irene: retro carhop, carmen sandiego, bo peep, the house from up, coraline

jeric: [ups delivery man (but the sexy kind, a la legally blonde)]

june: roronoa zoro, kaneki ken/sasaki haise, [prince zuko], [jack skellington (but with makeup, not a mask)]

keahi: [sonic the hedgehog]

kiarra: ghostbuster (the kate mckinnon one), prince charming

kiwi: kutie krab from spongebob

lenny: beetlejuice, inflatable dinosaur, macho man randy savage

louie: prairie king, [buzz lightyear], [minecraft diamond armor]

maddie: handmaid's tale uniform, marie curie (then proceeds to get mad at everyone for not recognizing her costume)

maive: queen of hearts

pika: jason momoa's aquaman, sinbad (from the 2003 movie)

sean: the local ridgeside legend of the local kiwi fruit, [car dealership dancing air tube]

sonny: charlie chaplin, vincent van gogh

torts: stegosaurus

ysabelle: britney spears from "hit me baby one more time" or "oops i did it again"

anton and paula: [victor van dort and the corpse bride], [woody & jessie]

ariah and louie: [baseball uniforms from a league of their own]

corine and ysa: kim possible and shego, dionne and cher from clueless, [elphaba and glinda], [storm and mystique]

bryle and faye: captain america and black widow, [bonnie & clyde]

bryle and jeric: super troopers cop and reno! 911 lt. dangle cop (without a wig, so just slutty, basically)

faye and ysa: [anna and elsa], [poison ivy and harley quinn (from the animated series)]

freddie and lola: quasimodo and esmeralda

ian and sean: [shrek and donkey]

keahi and trinnie: sharkboy and lava girl, pokemon to match blair and sean (probably meowth and jigglypuff (trinnie insisted on being a cute pokemon even though jigglypuff's not part of team rocket))

kimpoi and malaya: easter bunny and tooth fairy, popeye and olive oyl

maddie, corine, and ysa: [sanderson sisters], [totally spies]

philip and shiro: [mario and luigi], [purple cobra and average joe uniforms (from dodgeball)], [dug and russell (from up)]

sean and blair: rock'em sock'em robots and they just beat each other up the whole time, [chuck and tiffany], [bluey and bingo], [thing 1 and thing 2]

sonny and irene: lumiere and mrs. potts (bc they're the help)

yuuma and naomi: [minions], [ash ketchum and a low-effort pikachu]

I'm curious to hear others' ideas too, so if you have any, feel free to share in the reblogs/replies! ^^

[emiliosandozsequence]

seriously might change my icon to erik instead of christine for a bit bc this book is Doing something to me

[coimbrabertone]

Why George Russell's Disqualification is Really Napoleon's Fault

Alright motorsports fans, with the end of the Belgian Grand Prix (held before the summer break this year because the F1 calendar is becoming increasingly cursed year after year) F1 enters its summer break. NASCAR and Indycar are on an Olympic break thanks to both series currently being on NBC (who is the US broadcaster of the 2024 Paris Olympics), and MotoGP doesn't come back from its second summer break until next week.

So what the hell am I going to talk about in this blog.

Well, George Russell won the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix until he got disqualified for having an underweight car. Some people have theorized that Mercedes made a mistake and underfueled him, others have said that George switching to a one-stop meant he lost out of valuable pitlane speed time, using up more fuel, still others have theorized it's down to the unique procedures at Spa - where drivers turn around after turn one and drive the wrong way into pit exit - that meant Russell didn't have the chance to pick up rubber and thus increase the weight of his tyres.

I, meanwhile, have a different theory.

George Russell could only have been disqualified from the Belgian Grand Prix because of Napoleon!

Yes, really.

How, you may ask? Well, the Napoleonic Wars created the conditions that ultimately allowed for the the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps to exist. Thus, the long lap that causes F1 cars to deliberately underfuel for the race, the unique post-race procedures due to track length, and choice of this area as the venue for the Belgian Grand Prix...none of that would've been possible with Napoleon.

Our story, as all good motor racing stories do, begins in 651 when the Benedictine Monk, Saint Remaclus of Stavelot founded the dual Abbeys of Stavelot and Malmedy (which you may recognize from corner names of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, as these are neighboring villages).

These abbeys wound gain more territory in 747 when Carloman, the Majordomo of the Franks and uncle of Charlemagne, abdicated and became a monk himself.

They would be enlarged again in 882 by Charles the Fat, Holy Roman Emperor, in compensation for the Normans raiding and burning down both abbeys the previous year.

Thus, the Princely Abbey of Stavelot-Malmedy became one of the many mosaic pieces of the complex historical mindscrew that is the Holy Roman Empire, holding territories along what is now the Belgian-Germany border. Back then though, they were a rather significant ecclesiastical territory, holding land where Lothringia met the Low Countries.

This was the exact region where, in the late 15th and early 16th century, the Dukes of Burgundy attempted to create their own sovereign territory, using the chaos of the Hundred Years War in France to become lords over Luxembourg, Hainaut, Flanders, Brabant, and Holland. Soon enough, the Princely Abbey of Stavelot-Malmedy was one of only three independent states remaining in the region.

It was Stavelot-Malmedy, an ecclesiastical state which thus couldn't easily be absorbed into secular Burgundy.

Then the Prince-Bishopric of Liege, which again, was an ecclesiastical state which meant it would be a tricky proposition for a Catholic Duke of Burgundy to try and conquer.

And finally the Duchy of Bouillon, which was a downright weird state in that the title was a secular Duchy that was sold to the Prince-Bishopric of Liege, and in the late 17th century became a sovereign possession of the La Tour d'Auvergne, a French noble family.

In any case, upon the death of the Burgundian line, their territories were divided between France, the feudal overlord of Burgundy, and Philip the Handsome (the son of Mary the Rich, the last Duchess of Burgundy, and Maximilian von Habsburg, an Austrian Prince).

Philip the Handsome was in turn married to Joanna the Mad (we should bring back the random ass nicknames people used to get in the past btw), the Queen of Castile and Aragon. Their son, Charles, would thus inherit Spain, the Burgundian possessions in the Low Countries, and, eventually, Austria and the title of Holy Roman Emperor. Yeah.

So thanks to Charles V rolling a natural 20 in his birth dice roll, Stavelot-Malmedy was suddenly one small little ecclesiastical holding squeezed between the two halves of what would eventually become known as the Spanish Netherlands.

Then, the northern half of the Spanish Netherlands decided they didn't want to be Catholic anymore. This ushered in the Dutch Revolt of the 17th century, a bloody religious struggle concurrent with the Thirty Years War and the Portuguese War of Independence that marked the end of the golden age of Spanish power.

Come 1700 and Charles II of Spain (Charles V was Charles I in Spain, regnal numbers get weird when you rule over half of Europe), the last Habsburg King of Spain, dies an inbred and infertile mess. The Low Countries become a battleground in the War of the Spanish Succession.

On one side, France and Spain, as Charles II had declared his grandnephew, the French Prince Philip of Anjou, threatened to tip the scales of western Europe towards the Bourbon dynasty.

On the other side, a grand coalition of Austria, England, the Dutch Republic, Prussia, Portugal, and Savoy aimed to contain French power.

This was the War of the Spanish Succession, and the war would be transformative for the southern Low Countries. The Spanish Netherlands went back to Habsburg hands and became the Austrian Netherlands, meanwhile, the Duchy of Cleves, just to the east, was returned to Prussia following a French occupation.

The Dutch Republic in the north was Protestant, the Austrian Netherlands were Catholic, and Protestant Prussia was emerging on the scene as well. This would more or less lay the stage for the Napoleonic Wars, where the armies of the French Republic and later the French Empire would occupy all of this land. Gone were the Austrian Netherlands, gone was Stavelot-Malmedy, Liege, and Bouillon, and gone was Prussian Cleves.

Instead, the land surrounding Spa-Francorchamps would became part of the French Department of Ourthe, named for one of the principal rivers of the region.

However, much like the War of the Spanish Succession, numerous grand coalitions would rise up against Napoleon, the primary participants being Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, the Dutch, and Russia. In 1815, they would finally defeat Napoleon once and for all, and the Peace of Vienna would shape the new postwar Europe.

Of the old Princely Abbey of Stavelot-Malmedy, Stavelot would go to the United Kingdom of the Netherlands (the new kingdom combining the modern-day Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg), while Malmedy would go to the Kingdom of Prussia.

The border would be a minor tributary of the River Ambieve known for its reddish water. The name? Eau Rouge.

Fast forward to 1830 and the largely Catholic southern Netherlands revolt from their Protestant overlords in the north and demand the creation of a Kingdom of Belgium. Following a great power conference in London, the Belgians would get their wish, and in 1831, the Kingdom of Belgium was born, including Stavelot.

The Dutch would recognize Belgium Independence in 1839.

Eau Rouge was now the Belgian-Prussian border.

Come 1871, and Prussia becomes the German Empire.

Come 1914, and this border region is amongst the first overrun by the Germans in World War I. Spa becomes a major German field hospital from the get-go, and by 1918, Spa is the German military headquarters and the primary residence of Kaiser Wilhelm II.

Upon the German surrender in 1918, Kaiser Wilhelm would abdicate and leave for the Netherlands, meanwhile, France and Belgium - the countries that wore the greatest scars from World War I - would demand harsh reparations from Germany. For Belgium, this would include Eupen-Malmedy.

Thus, the great majority of the old Princely Abbey of Stavelot-Malmedy was now within Belgian borders.

Jules de Thier, owner of the La Meuse newspaper in Liege, found this new territory to be the perfect site for a high-speed triangular race track in 1921. The race would begin in old Belgium, with a run to the old border - originally they would veer right, pass through Ancienne Douane - the old customs office on the Belgian-Prussian border - then back left to rejoin the track on the other side of what is now the Eau Rouge corner - then run through the German territories.

Burnenville and Malmedy were in old Germany, then swing back at the bottom of the track, crossing back into pre-war Belgian territory in time for the Masta kink, then Stavelot, Blanchimont, and La Source would all be in pre-war Belgium as well. Cross the start-finish line after La Source (as it was back then) and then cross into former Germany again on the next lap.

Thus, the Belgian Grand Prix was born in a region that had only just been annexed from Germany.

This led to Spa again becoming a battlefield during World War II, but with the borders restored after the war, Spa would again be in Belgium and, from 1950, the Belgian Grand Prix would become a traditional staple on the Formula One calendar.

Spa-Francorchamps would be transformed a couple of times over, not assuming its current form until 2007, but it was born from the great Napoleonic shakeup in European politics.

The ancient double abbeys of Stavelot-Malmedy were separated for the first time in 1200 years, and it would take another century for them to be reunited in modern Belgium.

So yeah, if you're mad that George Russell was disqualified, blame Napoleon...or Kaiser Wilhelm II I suppose, whichever one fits your fancy.

Oh, and by the way, Lewis Hamilton takes a record-extending 105th win following his teammate's disqualification, so I suppose Mercedes still has something to be happy about.

[hotvintagepoll]

which streaming service has the most vintage movies? If you don't know, maybe your followers could answer? 🙏

Ooh hoo hoo you asked and I'll answer!!

I actually made a post like this for the hot men tournament, but I can't find it now so I'll do it again from scratch. The short answer is that I don't know of any one streaming service that has all the old vintage movies—but most streaming services have a "classics" genre category that can get you started. Here's a small selection of what you can find on different streaming services:

TUBI (free):

The Adventures of Robin Hood (Olivia de Havilland)

A Streetcar Named Desire (Vivien Leigh)

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Jane Powell, Julie Newmar)

North by Northwest (Eva Marie Saint)

The Music Man (Shirley Jones)

The Women (Norma Shearer, Rosalind Russell, Joan Crawford, Joan Fontaine, Paulette Goddard, several other hotties in small parts)

The Philadelphia Story (Katharine Hepburn, Ruth Hussey)

Notorious (Ingrid Bergman)

Bell, Book, and Candle (Kim Novak, Elsa Lanchester)

The Talk of the Town (Jean Arthur)

Dark Victory (Bette Davis)

Stray Dog (Keiko Awaji)

Some Like It Hot (Marilyn Monroe)

Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow (Sophia Loren)

Dirty Girtie From Harlem USA (Francine Everett)

Passport (Madhubala)

Dark Passage (Lauren Bacall)

Sepia Cinderella (Sheila Guyse)

On The Town (Ann Miller, Vera-Ellen, Betty Garrett)

The Bandwagon (Cyd Charisse)

Devar (Sharmila Tagore)

Reet-Petite and Gone (June Richmond)

The Postman Always Rings Twice (Lana Turner)

KANOPY (free through some libraries):

Dial M for Murder (Grace Kelly)

His Girl Friday (Rosalind Russell)

Ball of Fire (Barbara Stanwyck)

Black Orpheus (Marpessa Dawn)

Flower Drum Song (Reiko Sato, Nancy Kwan, Miyoshi Umeki)

Marriage Italian Style (Sophia Loren)

The Rose Tattoo (Anna Magnani)

Tokyo Story (Setsuko Hara)

War and Peace (Audrey Hepburn, Anita Ekberg)

Salt of the Earth (Rosaura Revueltas)

Metropolis (Brigitte Helm)

The Red Shoes (Moira Shearer)

HOOPLA (free through some libraries):

The Court Jester (Angela Lansbury, Glynis Johns)

Sunset Boulevard (Gloria Swanson)

A Place in the Sun (Elizabeth Taylor)

Barefoot in the Park (Jane Fonda)

The Barefoot Contessa (Ava Gardner)

Wings (Clara Bow)

YOUTUBE (has a lot of older movies that have slipped through copyright/are still up for some reason):

Charade (Audrey Hepburn)

Story Weather (Lena Horne)

Gilda (Rita Hayworth)

Rebecca (Joan Fontaine)

This entire playlist of Indian cinema that I just found (Madhubala, Waheeda Rehman, Nargis, Meena Kumari, etc.)

And that's just a small sample. There is also always your local library for physical DVDs, the Internet Archive, and....other methods.....if you know exactly what you're looking for.

I haven't seen all of these movies, so don't consider them personal recommendations—these are just famous movies with our hotties in them, so please be careful if you have content warnings. Good luck and have fun!

EDIT 5/16: Added a few more movies to the different sections, but this is still just a small selection of what the different streaming services have. Good luck!

[docholligay]

Books read 2024

~ = denotes reread

 * = denotes A Big Rec of The Year (Nothing I reread was allowed a Rec note. If I’m rereading it, I probably think it’s pretty good)

#–denotes Follower Pitch

^–Denotes Commissioned Read

♪–denotes Pitchless Draw

&– denotes Holligay Book Club Pick

%--denotes Patreon Pick

Affinity by Sarah Waters~

Wintering by Peter Geye

Hood by Emma Donoghue (my wife made me)

The Night Watch by Sarah Waters~

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

Pine by Francine Toon 

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters ~

Burnt Offerings by Robert Marasco~

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters~

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle#

Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir^

The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters~

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch ♪

Redwall by Brian Jacques%

Sing Her Down by Ivy Pochoda#

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte&~  (book club Apr 28th)

Broken Harbor by Tana French%

Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff

The Shootist by Glendon Swartout~

Think Again by Adam Grant*

Mrs. S by K. Patrick

Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky

The Hamburger: A history by Josh Ozersky~

Wicked by Gregory Maguire~

Shattered by Lee Winter#

The Witching Hour by Anne Rice ♪

A Winter Haunting by Dan Simmons 

The Splendid and The Vile by Erik Larson

Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh~&

 A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine% 

Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix#

The Art Thief by Michael Finkel

The Fox and The Hound by Daniel Mannix

Forest Dark by Nicole Strauss* (with caveats)

The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro

The Invited by Jennifer Mcmahon

Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi#

Doc: A Novel by Mary Doria Russel~

Didn’t reach my goal this year because I SUCK, basically. I lost it by two books.