#princess principal eleanor

[kirikomamura]

Princess Principal fans: we can all agree Ange/Princess is extremely real. But what about Dorothy/Eleanor (e10: Comfort Comrade)

[floralifetime]

A fearsome dawn on Avalon

Warnings: Terrible writing, possible grammatical errors (English is not my native language, please be kind), dysfunctional family, favorite children.

⚠️⚠️The sentence is not mine, credits to the owner.⚠️⚠️

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Chapter n.2 A new day.

Those of us who have not appreciated their master or his lesson, will one day be cultured, but will never be wise.

The dawn of the day long awaited by Principal Alden and the school staff had now arrived, and the garden, used as a reception area, was crowded with carriages of all kinds, with all the members of the various royal families. Principal Alden moved with elegance and precision in that crowd of people, kindly greeting the new arrivals and congratulating the veterans on the year previously concluded, wishing them good luck for the one that was to begin.

“Come on Floy, you will be fine. I guarantee it.” Hero stated for the umpteenth time in front of the sulky face of his younger sister. “What if I don’t like my roommate?” the girl asked doubtfully, she had never attended such prestigious Academies and that required being away from home for all that time, all the schools the princess had attended did not require room and board and consequently she was free to return to her castle, in the safety of her home, every day. Something she would no longer be able to do now and she did not hide her anxiety about it. “I think you will get along well.” Miele said, smiling with her innocent manner of the youngest child in the family. “And then, it’s not easy not to love you. You know it too, you’ll do just fine, I’m sure of it!” Her younger sister, Emily, said, smiling sweetly. Flora nodded and turned to look out the window, she wasn’t at all convinced, and the worst thing was that she couldn’t stop thinking about that damned dream, so disturbing…

“We’re here, if you could smile…” Flora’s mother, Eleanor, says as she steps out of the carriage, right before her unsure daughter. Flora nods and shows her best smile, Hero can’t help but roll his eyes, and wraps his younger sister in his arm. “If you want, I’m still in the other tower, in the boys’ quarters, you can come to me for any reason, okay? I’ll put in a good word with the teachers, so they’ll let you pass.” Hero smiles and Flora nods slightly. “You don’t want to corrupt your teachers, Hero!” their father, Eren, exclaims, jokingly astonished. “Oh, no way, Father!” Hero chuckles and holds up his hands, exposing his palms. “I just want to say that I could talk to the teachers about following my sister, and letting her come to me if she feels the need.” Hero finishes with his crooked smile, a smile that everyone likes. “What a caring big brother.” Emily sighs, making the whole family laugh, including Flora, easing the tension.

“Are we there yet? Are we there yet?” Princess Calypso continues to ask her parents and her older brother Morgan, unable to contain the enthusiasm that has been burning in her veins since she woke up, since she left the dream dimension that had not been generous with her. “Yes, we have arrived…At least stop asking!” poor Morgan, bothered by his younger sister throughout the journey, blurted out in exasperation. “Don’t answer your sister like that!” his mother scolded him. “He’s right Calypso, as much as your enthusiasm is appreciated, you are becoming decidedly unbearable.” the father speaks up and, as Calypso lowers her head in displeasure, the discussion ends just as the carriage stops. “Your Highnesses, this way.” the coachman announces, with cold professional kindness, as he opens the carriage door. “Perfect, now let’s get out and you’ll see what a splendid view. You’ll fall in love with it right away, I’m sure of it.” Enea, their father, states as he lets his two children and his wife get out first. “At least you didn’t make us late, you never got up.” Morgan whispers to his younger sister, smiling mockingly. “Hey, I already told you the reason!” Calypso snaps, piqued. “Enough, for both of you! Morgan, stop hogging your sister.” their mother scolds them, as the father gets out. “And you stop always hogging Morgan.” the father joins in the argument. “But that’s not true!” Coral counterattacks, as Enea raises a hand in exasperation. “Yes, it is. There is no point in denying it, no one is blind here.” Enea, replies in a tone that silences everyone instantly. Trying to look around to distract herself, the young Calypso gets lost in observing the coming and going of people and the wonder of the academic building.

“So son, what do you think of the school? Are you convinced to enter and study there?” Esmeralda smiles kindly towards her son, Azure, who looks out the window with his usual thoughtful expression. “I think you have convinced me, both you two and Pearl. I think it will be a fruitful year for me, you will see that I will make you proud.” Azure simply answers, giving a small smile. “I am very happy that you are convinced to come here, my boy, it is the best academy and I only want the best for my children.” Alan replies with his kind smile. “You have always made us proud of you Azure, this year will be no different.” His older sister, Pearl, joins in the discussion with her usual low tone of voice and calm expression, typical of someone who knows exactly what needs to happen and how things need to be done. “Mom, Dad, can I also come to this school when it’s my turn?” Topaz asks, fixing his big green eyes on both parents who are looking at each other in turn. “As far as I’m concerned, you can definitely come here to study, darling.” Esmeralda smiles, but it’s up to her father to bring his lively and not very studious son, back to reality. “But always remember that you have to pass the entrance test to be admitted.” And at that moment Topaz’s shocked expression made the whole family burst out laughing. Too bad Azure’s laugh was much shorter than those of the rest of the people in that carriage, because, without him knowing why, his mind had gone back to wandering towards the memory of that terrible dream.

“Father, are you sure that I will be allowed to attend the gym even outside of class?” Ryuu asks his father about the topic that is closest to his heart, too bad he has asked the same thing a trillion times. “For the last time, Ryuu, of course. Your teachers were notified by me in person, in a letter, and they kindly replied that you will have their personal permission, obviously on the condition that you do not destroy anything.” Shen states with a tired tone and a stern look, he knows his son well, he knows that not destroying anything will not be easy for the boy, he is… Quite clumsy, to be polite. Ryuu flashes a huge smile. “I’ll be very careful and not destroy anything, I promise.” The prince says, with his right hand over his heart. “We’ll see, my boy, we’ll see.” His father says, nodding slightly, obviously neither he nor his wife, Akane, believed their second-born’s promise for a single moment. “This school doesn’t seem bad at all, though, why haven’t I ever managed to get more information out of you, Viserys?” Ryuu turns to his brother, who was reading a book during the ride in their winged carriage pulled by their dragons. “Because I’m a little more reserved than you, Ryuu, and because you’re not interested in anything other than the gym and possibly the woods and animal reserve.” Viserys, the eldest son, replies by closing the book and slamming it, lightly, on his little brother’s head, which made both parents chuckle. “Hey!” Ryuu replies and, just before he can launch himself at his older brother, his mother's peremptory and stern voice resounds in the cabin. "Don't you dare fight your brother in the carriage, Ryuu Torao!" Ryuu smiles guiltily and looks around, the carriage is landing and the new student is lost in looking at the view outside the window.

“Okay, come on guys, get out.” Akane smiles kindly, it is frightening the ability of this woman, in common with Flora’s mother, to go from an annoyed, or even angry, state to a good and happy mood. It is unsettling, and, without even knowing it, on this subject the two royal descendants agree. The entire family exited the vehicle, and Ryuu rushed to the front of the carriage, to be able to pet the dragons that had been chosen and trained to act as aid during a transport, a bit like the current situation. However… As soon as Ryuu’s hand touched the dragon’s smooth, healthy scales, the last image of his dream appeared before his eyes, his kingdom destroyed and surrounded by flames. Ryuu, shocked, quickly withdrew his hand. “Are you okay, little brother?” Viserys had reached him and noticed his younger brother’s peculiar reaction. “Yes…Yes, I’m fine.” Ryuu simply stated. “Boys, come. Pay attention, your headmaster is speaking now!” Akane hissed at both of her sons, to convince them to be quiet.

While the families of the special princes had settled into the garden, along with everyone else, Principal Alden had returned to the dais in the center of the garden. From his elevated position, Principal Alden could see every member of every royal family present and could clearly distinguish the individual specks of color in the eyes of every person present. His mind wandered slightly to the extra task he was supposed to be doing starting today, if that was possible, but then he cleared his throat, smiled, cast a short sound-amplifying spell, and began to speak.

“Welcome, welcome everyone, my name is Alden, and I am the Headmaster of the prestigious academy where your studies will take place for the entire school year. I am very happy to have you all here, and I am honored that your parents have placed their trust in me, in this school complex, for the education of what they have most precious, their children, their future. I want you to know, especially the newcomers, because the veterans are already aware of it, that I will always be available for you in case you need help to adapt to this new situation, certainly destabilizing for some of you. With that said, I wish you all a fresh start, a new school year that can teach you more than the books in our library ever could. Good luck to you all, guys.”

The conclusion of the principal's speech was greeted with ovations from some particularly enthusiastic veterans and with the happy, but not rude, applause of the other personalities that filled this garden. "So Floy, did this speech convince you?" Hero, smiling, wraps an arm around his sister's shoulders, who thanks to the kind speech of the principal, had calmed down a bit. "Yes, it reassured me, I'm glad to know that he will be available, I will probably need it." Flora says, smiling at her brother. "Don't think so dramatically, daughter, you will do great!" Eren smiles, stroking his daughter's head.

“They are opening the doors of the building, you will see what a buffet!” Morgan smiles, Principal Alden, and his figure of calm authority, always reassures him and this time too he has not failed in his task unasked for, but certainly taken to heart. “Do they have cookies with seaweed jam?” Calypso asks smiling, happy that her brother is smiling again. “Sure, there is literally everything!” Morgan says turning to his parents. “Let's go!” Morgan tries to hide it, but there is always a slight spark of resentment towards his mother who, according to him and also according to his father, is always and only on Calypso's side. Coral, of course, notices this note of reproach, reasonable and truthful, even if she doesn't want to admit it out loud, in her son's eyes and can't help but be hurt. Is she really that bad of a parental figure towards her eldest son? Will she ever be able to recover a relationship that is at least cordial, with her much-desired son? Absorbed in these doubts, Coral distractedly follows her husband and children inside the Academy building, now open to new arrivals for the buffet.

“The chandelier in the room where they set up the buffet was built by our best workers and designed by the best designers in the kingdom. You will see Azure, you will like it.” Pearl smiles at her younger brother as the whole family, following the current, enters the large circular room, where the buffet is set up. “Okay, this interests me.” Azure says smiling kindly. “The best designers…Father, did you make it?” Topaz’s question also makes Azure turn to their father, Alan, who can’t help but smile and scratch the back of his neck in an inelegant manner. “Yes, I…” Alan doesn’t even have time to start before he’s interrupted. “Don’t scratch the back of your neck like that, it’s unregal!” The shrill voice of a professor with a face more stern than someone who’s just eaten a lemon peel, forcefully interrupted the conversation. “Yes, of course, Professor Glamour.” Alan replied and, like a well-trained soldier, immediately stopped scratching the back of his neck in that way, while his wife couldn’t help but let out a light giggle, elegantly hidden behind a hand in front of her mouth. The professor looked him up and down with her eyes reduced to slits and her mouth that had transformed into a slightly pink straight line. “I’m keeping an eye on you, King Alan.” she just hissed and then turned her back on everyone and walked away. “Who was that crazy woman?” Topaz blurted out, still not understanding the point of the whole charade. “That’s Professor Rarity Glamour, professor of fashion and etiquette, of good manners if you want to put it more simply.” Pearl nods while Topaz, after thinking for a bit, replies. “Mom, Dad, maybe I don’t want to come and study here anymore.” And, sure enough, the family laughed, all of them politely, of course.

“Now, this is a buffet!” Ryuu smiled enthusiastically as he looked around. “Let’s take a tour… Viserys, are you coming with us?” Shen asked his eldest son. “No thanks, father, but I would like to meet up with some friends before they take everyone to their rooms.” Viserys says, making a light and elegant bow, he certainly hadn’t missed the sight of Professor Glamour scolding a ruler. “Of course, son, go ahead and please don’t embarrass the kingdom.” Akane states sternly, and, as Viserys nods and heads off to find his friends, the queen turns to Ryuu. “What do you want to ask?” The queen asked. “I mean, it’s the rest, when will we explore the rest of the school?” Ryuu asked. “Don’t worry, honey. You’ll explore after you finish the buffet. Or rather, after you finish your time for it, they have a schedule to stick to.” Shen nods, smiling at the school’s typical punctuality. “But… Viserys said we’ll be sent to…” Ryuu points out. “No honey, Viserys meant that after the buffet is over, since the veterans of the school don’t need to explore, they’ll be sent to tidy up their rooms, and then proceed with the activities they’ve been assigned to.” Akane explains. “Do they already have homework?” Ryuu asked shocked. “It’s not homework, it’s volunteer work where they help the teachers and newcomers who have some trouble adjusting.” Shen explains to his son.

After a good hour and a half, entirely dedicated to the buffet and the students, so that they could reunite with the friends they said goodbye to the previous year, Principal Alden, with a spell, drew attention to himself again. “Well, I would say that you have had the opportunity to appreciate the recipes of our chefs, to admire the furniture, fabrics, jewelry and supplies kindly donated to the school by many of your kingdoms, and now I must announce that you will divide into groups. The first group will come with me, and will be composed of the new students, we will visit the rest of the school with more serenity and calm. While the Veterans are allowed to go to their rooms, already communicated to them in advance like the freshmen, and to arrange their luggage, already transported inside their room. After that they are asked to reach the various professors to get precise instructions regarding the orientation activities for which they have kindly offered themselves.” Principal Alden ends the speech and a professor goes to gather all the recruits and accompany them before the principal. For Flora this phase was quite difficult, she did not yet feel ready to separate from her brother, who as a veteran, would head towards his room, and from the rest of the family who would leave to return home.

The exploration of the rest of the school environment was decidedly pleasant, even if Flora did not speak to the princess and the prince who was next to her, too shy to break the ice first, and her shyness and slightly unapproachable air, made the two young people desist from their attempts to start a conversation with the princess of Eldoria. Calypso and Ryuu did not have the same problem, since they were equipped with a personality that made it easier for them to find company or friends in general, while Azure, being reserved but not as much as Flora, had started and carried on a pleasant conversation with the prince who was walking next to him.

Alden, meanwhile, was examining each student, trying to understand if the Guardians could be hiding among the freshmen of the new year, but his kind and inquiring eyes did not detect anything. Except when they arrived at the Greenhouse.

And also the second chapter (definitely long😅), is finished. I hope it was worth the wait and that you enjoyed it✨. If you want, we'll see each other in the next chapter✨👋.

©️FloraLifeTime: December, 25-2024, please do not republish, repost, steal, modify, translate or claim my work as your own. All right reserved.

[forgottenfriendshiprpg]

most wanted characters, please?

Our members have requested for Prince Zuko, Princess Azula, Avatar Aang, Sokka, Ty Lee, Mai, Avatar Korra, Mako, and Bolin from Avatar: The Last Airbender™ / The Legend Of Korra™ ; Sophia Mendoza, Ava Banji, Valentina Furi, Layla Fletcher, Rory Carmichael, Ravenzella, Fernakus, Ash, Crimsette, Lazul, Marco Mendoza, Mr. Miles Mendoza, Mrs. Marta Mendoza, Ms. Evelyn Primrose, Ms. Furi, Ms. Wildwood, Ms. Rosemary, and Mr. Tansy from Unicorn Academy™ ; Imogen Adams, Faran Bryant, Minnie 'Mouse' Honrada, Mrs. Spencer Hastings-Cavanaugh, Mrs. Hanna Marin-Rivers, Mrs. Aria Montgomery-Fitzgerald, Mrs. Emily Fields-DiLaurentis, and Mrs. Alison DiLaurentis-Fields from Pretty Little Liars / Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin / Pretty Little Liars: Summer School ; Jeanette Miller, Simon Seville, Eleanor Miller, Alvin Seville, Brittany Miller, Theodore Seville, and Mr. David 'Dave' Seville from ALVINNN!!! And The Chipmunks™ ; Macie Lightfoot, Miranda Killgallen, Ginger Foutley, Deirdre 'Dodie' Bishop, Darren Patterson, Courtney Gripling, Carl Foutley, and Mrs. Lois 'Lola' Foutley-Dave from As Told By Ginger™ ; Rhonda Wellington-Lloyd, Olga Pataki, Arnold Shortman, Lila Sawyer, Mr. Miles Shortman, and Mrs. Stella Shortman from Hey, Arnold!™ ; Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Rose Lavillant, Sabrina Raincomprix, Kagami Tsurugi, Zoé Lee-Bourgeois, Chloé Bourgeois, Adrien Agreste, Alya Césaire, Nino Lahiffe, 'Lila Rossi' / 'Cerise Bianca' / 'Iris Verdi', Luka Couffaine, and Lê Chiến Kim from Miraculous™: Tales Of Ladybug & Cat Noir™ ; Nicolas 'Nic' Wells, Pierce Pocket, Austin Summers, C.J., Tori, Principal Mondo, Miss Fuss, Mrs. Smith, Margot Monrovia, Ava, Jordan, Frances, Ruth, Ms. Griselle Grande, and Gwen Grande from Polly Pocket™ ; Willa Ward, Lucy, Scout, Wanda, Wilma, Ms. Juniper, Wyatt, Mr. Neil Ward, and Mrs. Willow Ward from Scaredy Cats !! And if you want any specific fandoms, please let us know in a new ask !! Thank you !!

[seanlocked]

”don’t do it, prefect.”

[prof-kenny]

[akuman0mi]

Miss Eleanor, Aka “prefect” & Dorothy | Princess Principal Ep:10

[iconsofanimes]

[idvoteforthatdaddy]

Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) Physique: Average Build Height: 6’2” (1.88 m)

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. The only president elected to the office four times, Roosevelt led the United States through two of the greatest crises of the 20th century: the Great Depression and World War II. In so doing, he greatly expanded the powers of the federal government through a series of programs and reforms known as the New Deal, and he served as the principal architect of the successful effort to rid the world of German National Socialism and Japanese militarism.

With all that being said, I thought he was a handsome man and even with permanent paralysis from Polio, he was still laying bitches. They included his homely wife, Eleanor, the trusted adviser and committed social activist; the devoted personal aide, Missy LeHand; and his great love, Lucy Mercer Rutherfurd, a beautiful and refined woman who served as a secretary to Eleanor. And there was a real possibility that a romantic relationship existed between Roosevelt and Princess Märtha of Sweden, who resided in the White House during part of World War II.

Two women on the side and maybe even a princess. All while mostly being in a wheelchair. Damn he's the man. How could I not admirer FDR. But as much as I admirer the man, I could never do him. Excluding the obvious, him being dead and straight, the paralysis is a killer. I couldn't handle anything below the waist because the atrophy of legs would be a boner killer. So the only way something was going to happen between us is he's all dressed up in a suit and or his legs are covered by a blanket. I know I'm being selfish, but his thin legs creep me out a little. OK, a lot.

[flipomatic]

Dorothy was so happy at the pub

[velteris]

So I rewatched PP episode 10 and I noticed something. In the beginning monologue, it's stated that saying goodbye wasn't a privilege that the spy trainees had. But Prefect's last words? She was at least able to say goodbye to the person she cared about most.

AUGH…

[malkaleh]

Then, is there anything you *want* to tell us about the Tudors OT3 cinematic universe? (And I'm honored you'd let me make my favorite ship(s) canon there <3)

I just wrote up my big post on the Tudor Monarchs/Spouses and what I know so far (which people can absolutely feel free to use for fic etc - also I’m honoured you’d/people would want to <3) so I thought I’d talk about the Restorationists and Lady Anthea Lake-Jones.

(I think I have some restorationist content like this way back in my tumblr but I cannot at this moment find it).

Content Note: racism, human rights abuses, misogyny.

For some of the restorationists the rot really set in when it was decided that Elizabeth of York‘s line counted as the true royal line when she was A Girl and there was her Uncle Georges Male Line Right There (though this is complicated by the fact that it is still, you know through his daughters which is why this fell out of fashion. Along with the fact that their only direct descendant aka Craig From Dundee who @lemonsharks really has credit for has told them all to fuck off). But mostly it came from events around the 14th Baron Wake of Liddell. (There’s some involving the barons in H8 and Tommy and Mihrimah’s reign but that’s minor and a Golden World spoiler).

Their only actual claim to royalty is that the first Barons daughter married a son of Edward I by his second wife but her brother John (the restorationist kings direct ancestor) really rode the coattails of that connection.

Hugh, the restorationist king is married to Lady Eleanor Morris. He deeply loves her and his two children - John aka The Pretender who did not have children of his own and spent the rest of his life post the return of the Tudors in luxurious exile kind of half heartedly but not really trying to mount a counter restoration and Diana, the Princess Royal who had three daughters - Helen, Arabella and Grace. Diana, the Princess of Albion is actually descended from Helen fyi (this is funny/awful because there is actually a direct descendant of the King but because the Restorationists are very strict about it being male line descent they are not eligible for the throne in their own right. More on that one later). Diana really really pushed her brothers right to the crown. Like she was the main person doing so.

Hugh (along with a collection of merchants and nobles etc) started the whole war over several things - some of it was his father, his son and his sons friends facing jail over human rights abuses/attempting to start a colonial enterprise and also the fact that the King was going to leave his oldest child (A GIRL) as heir regardless of any sons born and entrenching the already Far Too Much For Hugh democracy.

He wanted to build an English Empire, expel all the Jewish people, make England an exclusively Christian nation with the King as a head of the church again (Thomas I had done away with that and Jahan/Arthur II had formalised it) and that the ‘natural order of things’ should return (i.e. royalty, nobility etc).

When the restorationist elite realised they were losing they absolutely booked it in large numbers - mostly to Restorationist Monaco but they also founded a Restorationist Principality in Europe somewhere. Some of them hid out on a Channel Island and some of the more middle class ones just stayed in England and kept a very low profile. Diana’s daughters came back after swearing to be good and crossing their fingers.

Their main current conspiracy is basically that the current Prince of Albion Taran is a secret descendant of the True Royal Line (alternately George of Clarence, the restorationist kings son or both) but he was stolen away from his real parents by The Evil Tudors. Edward VI‘s paternal grandparents believed this about him so it changes people.

The other thing to know before I get into Anthea Lake-Jones is that the daughters of Elite Restorationist Families are raised to be hostesses only. They learn how to host tea parties, how to play extremely decorous games of tennis in which they do not sweat or anything, how to dress, how to style their makeup, how to make conversation, how to shop for clothes and jewellery. They have a lady to direct the staff so they don’t have to do that. They might learn about how to host dinner parties but they do not have to deal with the menu. It’s the working class restorationists who do that sort of in house work. Middle class restorationist girls actually honestly learn the same things - it���s expected you’ll have someone else doing domestic tasks for you even if it’s just one person but the middle class girls might actually be allowed a job.

(The boys learn riding and hunting and politics and games).

There’s a group for girls called The Young Ladies Club in which you basically did those activities and then when you get married you join the Ladies Society which is basically just a version in which you get together and do the above and maybe some fundraising parties. You are there to be an sparkling compliment to your husband. Raising your kids yourself is for commoners and non restorationists. People will gossip if you do. There is a series of books called Restoration Girl which come with different dolls and are basically about Restorationist Girls bring civilisation to the masses *puke* in support of some bland restorationist man etc. 

(I think there’s a brownies equivalent for the really little kids but I do not know what it’s called @lemonsharks and I need to brainstorm). 

The thing about Anthea is that she bought into it all but also loathed that she wasn’t allowed to be as powerful as she wanted. And she really wanted to be Queen. Edward was a means to that end but because they were both Actual Incompetents their coup did not work. And she was absolutely horrendous to him for the rest of their lives because she absolutely knew she had married a biracial man and after the coup the scales she had deliberately built around that knowledge Fell Off because she was no longer Queen. 

(Her four children from her first marriage absolutely disowned her which is a whole other story. One of those children’s grandchild is actually on this universes tumblr and I kind of want to feature them one day). 

[dwellordream]

“...Henry unwisely assumed that advance arrangements would forestall quarrels among his sons over their inheritances, unable to grasp that once he gave the boys titles they would expect the power that was associated with them. No doubt he expected his sons to share with him the task of governing his far-flung domains once he grew old, and to continue working together after his death, but the boys were unwilling to wait. Henry II’s tinkering with his succession plans fostered in his sons deeper feelings of insecurity and competition with their siblings than were common in princely families, and Eleanor, like other aristocratic mothers, sympathized with her sons’ frustration. 

Once it became apparent that Henry expected his wife’s duchy to retain some lasting tie to the Plantagenet line, with Richard owing homage to him and eventually to his brother Young Henry, Eleanor became suspicious of her husband’s succession scheme. Henry’s expectation did not accord with her ambition for Richard or for her duchy of Aquitaine. Perhaps Henry’s desire to provide equitably for all four sons was motivated by genuine affection, but it proved to be the root cause of his troubles. Once he became preoccupied with securing lands for his youngest boy John “Lackland,” his changing plans at the expense of his three other sons were bound to rouse them to anger. 

The Plantagenet king ignored the biblical injunction, “Let your life run its full course, and then, at the hour of death, distribute your estate” (Ecclesiastes, 33: 21–23). Primogeniture, the custom that the eldest son inherits all his father’s lands, was gaining ground in twelfth-century aristocratic families as the preferred inheritance pattern, but it was not yet fixed as law by the late 1160s when Henry and Eleanor were pondering the succession to their possessions, and inheritance customs still varied from region to region. Yet great families desired to preserve their estates as single units and to ensure their safe passage from one generation to the next, while at the same time searching for some means of providing for their younger children.

These contradictory feelings explain Henry’s periodic proposals for changing the succession. His own desire to leave all his sons a landed legacy was one that few great aristocrats could fulfill, for they rarely had sufficient holdings to provide for several sons. Frequently younger sons in aristocratic families with multiple male children were left landless, unless arrangements were made for them either to marry a girl who was heir to estates or to find them a rich ecclesiastical living. Henry could not bring himself to follow the early Capetians’ practice of leaving their younger sons landless; nor could he follow a long tradition among the counts of Anjou of preserving the integrity of their lands by leaving younger sons only insignificant landholdings.

Eleanor’s own experience as a young girl matched Capetian and Angevin practice. She had seen her uncle, her father’s younger brother Raymond, forced to leave the Poitevin court and wander far away to seek his fortune first at the English royal court and later in the Holy Land. For the vast territories assembled by Henry Plantagenet, strict primogeniture as practiced by lesser lords appeared unworkable, for it would have placed his eldest son in the impossible position of governing far-flung territories with diverse populations while leaving his younger sons landless and disaffected. Although Henry II never called his conglomeration of lands an “empire,” he had hopes for its survival as a lasting political entity. 

Henry expected common family interest to preserve some cohesion for his lands after his demise, despite their partition. His plan unrealistically assumed that his younger sons would accept Young Henry’s priority with natural family affection, strengthened by ties of homage. The king was to be sorely disappointed, for his arrangements demanded strong fraternal affection, younger brothers’ satisfaction with limited lands, and a willingness to co-operate with their senior brother, all of which were lacking. Shortly before 1170, both Henry and Eleanor became preoccupied with the issue of succession to their territories. Henry faced the problem of the unity of his dual inheritance—his paternal Plantagenet lands in the Loire valley and his maternal legacy, the Anglo-Norman realm. 

Eleanor’s concern was not the integrity of her husband’s possessions, but her own duchy of Aquitaine’s preservation as a distinct political unit. She did not share her husband’s vision of unity for his possessions, especially as the couple drifted apart. She saw her own ancestral line as more ancient and more prestigious than his lineage, and her chief concern was ensuring Richard’s position as the continuator of her lineage. She anticipated that Aquitaine would go its own way after Henry’s death, her ancestral line continuing through Richard’s offspring and ruling unfettered by links to the Plantagenet dynasty. Eleanor had no wish to see her duchy swallowed up and digested in her husband’s empire, reduced to the status of simply another Angevin province. 

A complication for the succession to both Henry’s Continental lands and Eleanor’s duchy was their status as part of the kingdom of France under Louis VII’s lordship, and the couple were not to be left alone to dispose of their possessions. Henry as the crowned and anointed king of England was Louis’s equal, but within his French domains, the Capetian monarch was his lord. Louis did not desire to see his powerful rival’s empire outlive him, and hoped that it would soon break down into its constituent parts even before Henry’s death. He quickly grasped that his lordship over Normandy, Anjou, and Aquitaine afforded him a means of promoting this process, once Henry’s sons had done homage to him for their assigned portions of their parents’ holdings. 

The French king saw an advantage in fomenting strife between the boys and their father, especially the rancor of his son-in-law Young Henry, by pressing for a premature partition of Henry’s lands. Although Louis cultivated the image of a peacemaker, he was willing to stir up discontent among Henry and Eleanor’s sons as a means of embarrassing and weakening his powerful rival at little cost. The question of the Plantagenet succession first arose at conferences between the French and English monarchs in the late 1160s, resulting in a plan adopted at a council in early January 1169 at Montmirail, Maine. Louis VII first proposed that Henry Senior renew his homage for the duchy of Normandy, originally offered on his 1151 visit to the French court with his father, and that his eldest son should do homage for Anjou and Maine. 

The French monarch’s aim was that Young Henry, holding those territories directly of him, should owe nothing to his father or to his brothers, “save what they may deserve, or what natural affection dictates.” Louis also proposed that Richard should hold the duchy of Aquitaine directly of him as lord, and to bind the Poitevin heir further, he pledged to betroth to him his daughter, Alix, younger sister of Young Henry’s bride Margaret. Louis’s proposal shows his grasp of the value of his lordship over Henry’s sons as a weapon for eating away at the English king’s power. The two kings reached agreement on a plan at their 1169 meeting at the castle of Montmirail. 

Henry anticipated that his promise of a future partition would allay the French king’s fears by holding out the prospect of a dispersal of Angevin power on his death. According to a contemporary account, the English king came to Louis VII “as a suppliant,” acknowledging that because of his earlier homage and fealty to Louis, he owed “all the aid and service due from a duke of Normandy to the king of France.” Their agreement specified that the eldest son, Young Henry, was to have all lands that Henry Senior had inherited from his parents: Count Geoffrey’s principalities in the Loire region, Anjou, Maine, and Touraine, together with the Empress Matilda’s AngloNorman heritage. 

Young Henry was to do homage to Louis, acknowledging his lordship over his assigned lands that lay within the French kingdom, as Richard was to do for Aquitaine. Eleanor was absent from the Montmirail conference, doubtless aware that an encounter with her former husband would have been awkward for all parties, but she was doubtless well pleased with the result. For two of her sons—the second-born Richard and Geoffrey, her third—the settlement provided them with lands lying beyond the core Anglo-Norman and Angevin territories. 

Richard was promised his mother’s duchy of Aquitaine in accord with Eleanor and Henry’s previous agreement; also his betrothal to King Louis VII’s daughter Alix was to go forward. The princess was to be handed over to the English king’s custody at once, just as had been her elder sister Margaret at an even younger age. Placing young Alix in Eleanor’s care at Poitiers would have been an embarrassment to Louis; indeed, he had insisted in the terms for Margaret’s betrothal that she was not to be brought up in Eleanor’s household. Instead, Henry decided to place the girl in his own household, a regrettable decision. 

With young Richard’s formal designation as heir to Aquitaine, Eleanor could be confident of his succession to her ancestral lands, whatever the fate of Henry’s other domains. After the queen’s return to Aquitaine in 1168, she concentrated her ambition on Richard, cementing his position with installation ceremonies as count of Poitou and duke of Aquitaine. The third son, Geoffrey, had already been positioned to succeed to Brittany, a county that was traditionally under the lordship of the Norman dukes. After Henry enforced his lordship through conquest of Brittany, he betrothed the count’s daughter and heir to Geoffrey in 1166, holding great courts where the Breton barons acknowledged Geoffrey as their future count.

The Montmirail settlement effectively left two of Henry II’s sons landless: his youngest child, John, and the teenaged Young Henry. John was too young to be given consideration, and Henry refused to give his eldest son lands or responsibilities befitting his status as heir to the Anglo-Norman kings and the Angevin counts. Young Henry was condemned to remain a “youth,” without territories of his own to govern or to yield him an income, and his frustration mounted after his coronation in 1170. Henry Senior had no intention of giving the Young King governing responsibilities to match his status as a crowned and anointed monarch, as the boy’s new seal as English monarch illustrates. 

Young Henry’s seal did not designate him “King by grace of God,” as had all English royal seals since the Norman kings had added it to the royal style; nor did it display his image bearing a sword, as was traditional. Since Henry Senior is known to have supervised the making of his son’s seal, the sword’s absence seems deliberate, a sign that the Young King was “an heir in waiting,” inferior to his father, who was still king “by grace of God.” Young Henry knew that he could have none of the substance of royalty until his father’s incapacity or death handed him power. Eleanor likely shared her eldest son’s disappointment, assuming that he would be assigned lands of his own and some measure of authority over either England or Normandy, diluting her husband’s authority. 

The Young King’s situation grew more vexing when he turned eighteen in 1173 and still had neither lands nor authority, not even estates in the Angevin heartland traditionally handed over to the Plantagenet heir. Young Henry felt his landlessness even more keenly because he had been married to Margaret, daughter of Louis VII of France, since the age of five. Marriage traditionally marked a young noble’s transition to full adulthood and settling down with his bride in his own household on some portion of his family’s patrimony. 

Young Henry’s powerlessness aroused jealousy of his brother Richard, already installed in his Poitevin inheritance and sharing with his mother political responsibilities far different from his illusory authority as his father’s associate ruler. The contrast that Young Henry noted between his lack of power as a crowned and anointed king and Richard’s position in his mother’s county added to the humiliation he suffered at his father’s hands.”

- Ralph V Turner, “A Queen’s Discontent and her Sons’ Thwarted Ambitions, 1173–1174.” in Eleanor of Aquitaine: Queen of France, Queen of England

[papermoonloveslucy]

ZIEGFELD FOLLIES

April 8, 1946

Directors: Lemuel Ayers, Roy Del Ruth. Vincente Minnelli, George Sidney,  Norman Taurog, Charles Walters. Robert Lewis Producer: Arthur Freed for Metro Goldwyn Mayer

The shooting schedule ran between April 10 and August 18, 1944, with retakes plus additional segments filmed on December 22, 1944 and then between January 25 and February 6, 1945. The film was first proposed in 1939. 

Synopsis ~ We meet a grayed, immaculately garbed Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. in Paradise (his diary entry reads "Another heavenly day"), where he looks down upon the world and muses over the sort of show he'd be putting on were he still alive.

PRINCIPAL CAST

Lucille Ball ('Here's to the Ladies') is appearing in her 64th film since coming to Hollywood in 1933. 

Fred Astaire ('Here's to the Ladies' / Raffles in 'This Heart of Mine' / Tai Long in 'Limehouse Blues’ / Gentleman in 'The Babbit and the Bromide') also appeared with Lucille Ball in Roberta (1935), Top Hat (1935), and Follow the Fleet (1936). His name was mentioned twice on “I Love Lucy.”

Lucille Bremer (Princess in 'This Heart of Mine' / Moy Ling in 'Limehouse Blues') 

Fanny Brice (Norma Edelman in 'A Sweepstakes Ticket') appeared in the original stage version of many editions of The Ziegfeld Follies on Broadway.

Judy Garland (The Star in 'A Great Lady Has An Interview') also starred with Lucille Ball in Thousands Cheer (1943). 

Kathryn Grayson (Kathryn Grayson in 'Beauty') also starred with Lucille Ball in Thousands Cheer (1943).

Lena Horne (Lena Horne in 'Love') also starred with Lucille Ball in Thousands Cheer (1943).

Gene Kelly (Gentleman in 'The Babbit and the Bromide') also starred with Lucille Ball in Thousands Cheer (1943),  Du Barry Was A Lady (1943), and A Guide for the Married Man (1967). He made an appearance on the Lucille Ball special “Lucy Moves to NBC” (1980).  

James Melton (Alfredo in 'La Traviata')

Victor Moore (Lawyer's Client in 'Pay the Two Dollars')

Red Skelton (J. Newton Numbskull in 'When Television Comes') also starred with Lucille Ball in Having Wonderful Time (1938), Thousands Cheer (1943),  Du Barry Was A Lady (1943), and The Fuller Brush Girl (1950).  On TV he appeared on “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” in “Lucy Goes To Alaska” (1958). Ball and Skelton appeared in numerous TV specials together. 

Esther Williams (Esther Williams in 'A Water Ballet') also appeared with Lucille Ball in Easy To Wed (1946). 

William Powell (Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.) also played the same character in The Great Ziegfeld (1936). 

Edward Arnold (Lawyer in 'Pay the Two Dollars') appeared with Lucille Ball in Roman Scandals (1933) and Ellis in Freedomland (1952).

Marion Bell (Violetta in 'La Traviata')

Cyd Charisse (Ballerina in 'Beauty') also starred with Lucille Ball in Thousands Cheer (1943).

Hume Cronyn (Monty in 'A Sweepstakes Ticket') was honored by The Kennedy Center in 1986, at the same ceremony as Lucille Ball. 

William Frawley (Martin in 'A Sweepstakes Ticket') played the role of Fred Mertz on “I Love Lucy” and “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour”. He also appeared on “The Lucy Show,” his final screen appearance. 

Robert Lewis (Chinese Gentleman in 'Limehouse Blues' / Telephone Voice in 'Number Please')

Virginia O'Brien (Virginia O'Brien in 'Here's to the Ladies') also starred with Lucille Ball in Thousands Cheer (1943),  Du Barry Was A Lady (1943), and Meet The People (1944). 

Keenan Wynn (Caller in 'Number Please') appeared with Lucille Ball in Easy To Wed (1946), Without Love (1945), and The Long, Long Trailer (1954). 

SUPPORTING CAST

Ziegfeld Girls

Karin Booth  

Lucille Casey  

Aina Constant  

Elizabeth Dailey  

Frances Donelan  

Natalie Draper  

Karen X. Gaylord  

Aileen Haley  

Carol Haney  

Shirlee Howard  

Margaret Laurence  

Helen O'Hara  

Noreen Roth  

Elaine Shepard  

Kay Thompson  

Dorothy Tuttle  

Dorothy Van Nuys  

Eve Whitney - appeared on “I Love Lucy” episode “The Charm School” (ILL S3;E15).

Dancers

Gloria Joy Arden

Jean Ashton  

Irene Austin  

Judi Blacque  

Bonnie Barlowe  

Norman Borine  

Hazel Brooks  

Ed Brown  

Kathleen Cartmill  

Jack Cavan  

Marilyn Christine  

Laura Corbay  

Rita Dunn  

Meredyth Durrell  

Shawn Ferguson  

Jeanne Francis  

Jean French  

Mary Jane French  

David Gray  

Bill Hawley  

Doreen Hayward  

Charlotte Hunter  

Virginia Hunter  

Patricia Jackson

Margaret Kays  

Laura Knight  

Laura Lane  

Dale Lefler  

Melvin Martin  

Diane Meredith  

Lorraine Miller  

Joyce Murray  

Janet Nevis  

Ray Nyles  

Billy O'Shay  

Jane Ray  

Dorothy Raye  

Beth Renner

Melba Snowden  

Walter Stane  

Ivon Starr  

Robert Trout  

Chorus Boys

Rod Alexander

Milton Chisholm  

Dick D'Arcy  

Dante DiPaolo  

Don Hulbert  

Herb Lurie  

Matt Mattox  

Bert May - appeared on “The Lucy Show” in “Lucy and Tennessee Ernie Ford”

Jack Purcell  

Tommy Rall  

Ricky Ricardi (!)

Alex Romero

“LIMEHOUSE BLUES” starring Fred Astaire, Lucille Bremer, and Robert Lewis

Robert Ames (Masked Man)  

James Barron (Couple with Banners)  

Eleanor Bayley (Couple with Branches)  

Mary Jo Ellis (Couple with Banners)  

Sean Francis (Ensemble)  

James King (Rooster)  

Harriet Lee (Bar Singer) 

Eugene Loring (Costermonger)  

Charles Lunard (Masked Man)  

Patricia Lynn (Ensemble)  

Ruth Merman (Ensemble)  

Garry Owen (1st Subway Policeman)  

Ellen Ray (Couple with Parasols)  

Jack Regas (Masked Man)  

Billy Shead (Couple with Parasols)  

Ronald Stanton (Couple with Branches)  

Wanda Stevenson (Ensemble)  

Ray Teal (2nd Subway Policeman)  

“LOVE” starring Lena Horne

Juliette Ball (Club Patron)   

Lennie Bluett (Dancer)   

Suzette Harbin (Flirt)   

Avanelle Harris (Club Patron)  

Maggie Hathaway (Dancer)  

Charles Hawkins (Club Patron)  

Marie Bryant (Woman Getting Her Man Taken)   

Cleo Herndon (Dancer)   

“THIS HEART OF MINE” starring Fred Astaire and Lucille Bremer

Helen Boyce (Countess)   

Feodor Chaliapin Jr. (Lieutenant)

Naomi Childers (Duchess)

Charles Coleman (Majordomo)   

Sam Flint (Majordomo's Assistant)

Sidney Gordon (Masked Man)   

Count Stefenelli (Count)   

Robert Wayne (Dyseptic)   

“PAY THE TWO DOLLARS”  starring Edward Arnold and Victor Moore

William Bailey (Subway Passenger)

Joseph Crehan (1st Judge) - played a Detective on “I Love Lucy” “The Great Train Robbery”

William B. Davidson (2nd Judge)

Eddie Dunn (3rd Subway Policeman)   

Harry Hayden (Warden)   

George Hill (2nd Subway Policeman)   

Wilbur Mack (Subway Passenger)   

Larry Steers (Magistrate)

“NUMBER PLEASE” starring Keenan Wynn

Peter Lawford (Voice of Porky)

Grady Sutton (Texan)

Audrey Totter (Phone Operator Voice)

Kay Williams (Girl)

OTHERS

Bunin's Puppets

Elise Cavanna (Tall Woman)

Jack Deery (Man)

Rex Evans (Butler in "A Great Lady Has An Interview”)

Sam Garrett (Roping / Twirling Act)

Silver (Horse in "Here's to the Ladies') 

Arthur Walsh (Telegraph Boy in "A Sweepstakes Ticket") - appeared on “I Love Lucy” in “Lucy Has Her Eyes Examined” (ILL S3;E11). 

‘FOLLIES’ TRIVIA

Sidney Guilaroff, Lucille Ball’s hair dresser, who takes responsibility for her famous ‘golden red’ for this movie, becoming her trademark color.

Although they appear in different segments, this is the only feature film collaboration between “I Love Lucy co-stars" Lucille Ball and William Frawley. Coincidently, Frawley's character in this film shares a striking similarity with his iconic character of Fred Mertz on “I Love Lucy.” In this film he plays a money-hungry curmudgeon of a landlord, much like the show. In the above photo, he appears with director Minnelli and co-star Brice. 

The horse ridden by Lucille Ball is the Lone Ranger's Silver!

Lucille Ball was actually fired by Ziegfeld from his road company production of Rio Rita in the 1930s.

In February 1956, Lucy and Desi appeared on “MGM Parade” to promote their MGM film Forever Darling. The show also included footage of Lena Horne singing from Ziegfeld Follies. 

Lucy also played a showgirl in pink in “Lucy Gets Into Pictures” (ILL S4;E19) aired on February 21, 1955. The scene was inspired by Ziegfeld’s legendary stage shows featuring beautiful women wearing elaborate costumes navigating long staircases. To solidify the comparison, Ricky says he is going to a meeting with Mr. Minnelli. Vincente Minnelli was one of the directors of Ziegfeld Follies. 

Lucy Ricardo had previously cavorted around in a lampshade in the manner of a Ziegfeld girl in both the unaired pilot and “The Audition” (S1;E6).

Ziegfeld Follies includes a sketch for Red Skelton called “When Television Comes” aka “Guzzler’s Gin” in which a (future) television spokesman gets increasingly sloshed on his product. This sketch was an obvious influence on Lucy’s Vitameatavegamin routine in “Lucy Does a TV Commercial” (ILL S1;E30) aired on May 5, 1952. 

Ziegfeld Girl Eve Whitney appeared on “I Love Lucy” episode “The Charm School” (ILL S3;E15). She used her own name for the character.  

The Telegraph Boy in "A Sweepstakes Ticket" Arthur Walsh - appeared on “I Love Lucy” in “Lucy Has Her Eyes Examined” (ILL S3;E11) as Arthur ‘King Cat’ Walsh. He teaches Lucy how to jitterbug. 

The first Judge in the “Pay the Two Dollars” James Crehan also played the Police Detective on “I Love Lucy in “The Great Train Robbery” (ILL S5;E5) first aired on October 31, 1955.

Porky, a voice on the telephone in “Number Please” Peter Lawford, played “Password” against Lucille Ball on September 24, 1964.  At the time, Lawford was married to President Kennedy’s sister, Patricia. On November 26, 1968, Ball was a guest on “The Tonight Show” when Peter Lawford was sitting in for Johnny Carson.

Chorus Boy Bert May appeared as a solo dancer on “The Lucy Show” in “Lucy and Tennessee Ernie Ford” (TLS S5;E21) in February 1967. 

In the dressing room, Lucy jokes with Fanny Brice, one of the funniest women in showbusiness.  This was the only time Ball and Brice collaborated and was Brice’s last film. 

Ziegfeld’s follies began on Broadway, so it was appropriate that the show featured past and future Broadway musical stars:

Lucille Ball ~ Wildcat (1960)

Carol Haney ~ The Pajama Game (1954)

Tommy Rall ~ Call Me Madame (1950)

Fanny Brice ~ The Ziegfeld Follies 

Marion Bell ~ Brigadoon (1947)

Victor Moore ~ Anything Goes (1934)

There was a lot of material that was not filmed, but written and cast. Some of the original skits would have added “Lucy” performers Mickey Rooney, Ann Sothern, and Van Johnson to the cast.

[lovecanbesostrange]

Oh, The OT4. I love that you put them on a scale of hopefulness and assigned them their traits. I love that for a team. I can never have enough, so:

1) Where are they, on the cinnamon roll/looks like they could kill you alignment?

2) They go on an adventure. Besides fighting, what are their individual, specific One Job to do, to make the plan go accordingly?

3) Now, casually. Assuming they all learned to drive, what are their roles, going on a roadtrip?

4) What's their go-to teambuilding exercise?

One important thing about the OT4 - Dorothy hates it so much that she never met Belle! Once they ran into Anna and even that girl was like “oh, you’re friends of Belle? cool”. And everybody agrees that this Belle person is so terribly smart and good in a crisis and levelheaded and ugh.... she hates her on principal, for reasons, just because, can they ever shut up about her? Nobody can be that endearing!!!!

1) Looks like a cinnamon roll, is actually a cinnamon roll: Ruby Looks like a cinnamon roll, could actually kill you: Merida Looks like they could kill you, could actually kill you: the wolf Looks like they could kill you, is actually a cinnamon roll: Mulan Burnt cinnamon roll, been too long in this world: Dorothy

2) Mulan has the most important job of all - come up with the plan. She is the keeper of the braincell!! Which is also why she is the most stressed, always. (It’s Ruby who manages to check herself enough so she can check in with Mulan.) If it happens to be wolfstime, Ruby is good with gathering intel just sneaking around (see canon for reference). Also good for surprise attacks and diversions. The latter is a go to move as a human even. “So, I have this basket to deliver things...” Merida funds the entire thing, that’s for sure. She can also throw some weight around, because (depending on timeline) Princess/Queen. Surprisingly picked up stuff from her mom and can use etiquette and grace. Dorothy prepares exit strategies, the one double checking Mulan’s threat analysis. (Of course her slippers are of use here to get in and out of places.)

In heist terms - Mulan is the Mastermind, Merida the backer, Dorothy the driver, Ruby the distraction. According to what is happening, they switch up conman, muscle and gadget guy. (Often enough there is “oh, I know a person for this” and some poor unsuspecting soul from Storybrooke gets fetched “hi, David, I need someone who knows his way around sheep” “hey, Snow, I’m getting kidnapped by the you-know-who-squad” “have fun, honey!!”)

3) Drive? YOU WANT THESE WOMEN TO DRIVE CARS???? I mean, Ruby can. Ruby has ~a baby~. Nobody else is allowed behind that wheel!! I mean, sure, Dorothy can drive (she likes pick-ups and tractors, sssshhh), but Emma also took her unofficial-license for endangering everybody out in the street.

But there finally is that pause between action and even Queen Eleanor thinks the girls should take a break and it’s summer in Maine and Ruby wakes them all up screaming ROAD TRIP and that’s it. She does the driving. Mulan has learned the phrase shot-gun from Henry, also she is good with maps and research and finds weird places to go to. Merida gets the snacks. Surprisingly Dorothy turns out to be a good DJ. She has a completely unpredictable taste in music, but it’s like it always aims right at the heart and fits the vibes.

They sleep in motels, quaint B&Bs, under the stars, in a tent... they are at peace.

4) The team building... it’s something that just happens...

Mulan mentored Merida with the whole sword combat and they had this sense of camarederie right away, And Mulan met Ruby and look, a day later they took of to find wolves together. And oh boy, there were campfire talks! It was this unspoken bond of two queer ladies meeting another queer lady for the first time, without knowing. That was on-screen. Ruby and Dorothy fell fast and hard and Mulan was there to witness it and from the get go Dorothy understood Mulan to be someone to trust.

Okay, I have this thing in my head where Mulan is third-wheeling them and starts feeling like maybe this is once again her time to exit, but Ruby sees her retreating and the signs of an approaching goodbye and she keeps holding on. And it’s understood that this is where Mulan belongs. And when they circle back to Merida, Merida is so happy to see how much lighter Mulan seems (unlike when she left confessing about her broken heart). And she sees why and she hangs and she fits and it. Just. Is.

(This is why there is this specific order in the chibi art, you have to read it with Ruby and Mulan in the middle as being that bit more closer than Dorothy and Merida; who totally do form a bond all their own, they are team blue... also one time Toto ran off into a cave and got stuck and Merida jumped in without a second thought)

Sorry, but canonically Ruby already asked Dorothy “do you trust me?” and that is this unspoken thing between all of them in a heartbeat. Love at first sight? Try recognizing the will these women have to fight for you, because you are worth it at first glance. (Not that there isn’t work put in, relationships need maintenance!!!!!!, but it’s work they do with love.)

They push each other a lot. Merida is competitive and it shows, Mulan won’t back down from any challenge. Team-building means communication. That’s hardest for Dorothy. But they find all their boundaries and limits and it’s so good.

[dcbbw]

Six Sentence Sunday

It’s a lazy Sunday and I am writing and working on fics.Which means  am ready and prepared for a Six Sentences post.Here’s what’s being worked on for posting in the very near future:

 Back Roads:

“May I come in?” Liam asked politely. As if they were acquaintances who had met briefly at a party.

Drake nodded, stepping aside to allow Liam entry. Liam walked past Drake, going to the kitchen. A piece of metal glinted from beneath one of the dining chairs. Liam set his bag of purchases on the kitchen counter before removing items: smoked maple whiskey, steaks, fresh haddock filets, potatoes, corn.

Drake looked at Liam in puzzlement. “What’s all this?”

“It was dinner; I wasn’t sure if you would want fish or beef, but thinking you aren’t in the mood for meat today.”

Drake felt a trickle of guilt settle in his stomach. “This is very generous, Li. I know we parted earlier on not the best of terms.”

Liam placed both palms on the counter; he stared at the wall as he spoke.

“I have questions, Drake. And I would appreciate honest answers.”

The guilt was now a river flowing through Drake’s bloodstream. “Of course.”

“The officer who was here … she followed you home to give you a speeding ticket?”

“Yeah.”

“And it was just to issue the citation?”

“What else would it be for?”

Liam turned to face Drake. “Then why are her handcuffs on the dining room floor, and why is your hair wet?”

Guests and Visitors:

Queen Meredith cradled her infant daughter as she looked around the ballroom through narrowed eyes. She took in her friends and guests sipping wine and champagne, dancing under the lights of the crystal chandeliers, and her husband dancing with Queen Isabella.

She rolled her eyes as her arms bounced Ellie. It was bad enough … no, not bad … horrible that the Auvernese leaders were in her country, her home; but they had their army guard and their children with them as well. It was a subtle message that Meredith took as a personal affront.

Actually, Meredith took it as a threat. A blatant one.

The Queen exhaled a noisy breath that blew her bang away from her forehead.

At least this is their last night.

The cooing of her daughter drew her eyes downward and curved her lips upward. Ellie. Named for both Derek’s mother Eleanor, and Meredith’s mother Ellis, the Crown Princess of Cordonia was the only person keeping her sane tonight.

Well, her and Christina and Alex. Meredith looked around for her friends, but all she saw was a sea of bored but familiar nobles. And Bradshaw making his way towards her.

Shit! Shit! Shit!

Her blues eyes darted around, searching for an escape when Christina glided in front of her, a vision in black lace and sequins. Bradshaw came to an abrupt stop at Christina Yang extending her hand. “I am Lady Seattle Grace of Switzerland. And you are?”

New England Blue:

Liam poured her more with a chuckle. “Are you okay, Riley B.?”

Riley waited for Liam to fill and heat his plate before beginning to eat. She frowned across the island at him. “No,” she replied morosely.

“You can say a eulogy for the Panthers if you want.” Liam buttered his French toast.

“No eulogies! They aren’t dead. I’ll probably still watch the Panthers.”

“But Cam? He’s like the Tom Brady of Carolina!”

“With the PATRIOTS?? I … I don’t know if I can do that!”

Liam’s eyes grew wide. “WHAT do you have against my team, Riley B.? I support YOUR teams! I’m not pointing out Cam Newton makes more headlines being a failed fashion icon than he does as a quarterback.”

Riley was sucking a green grape between her lips. The purple of her lipstick against the pale green was … sexy to Liam. His eyes were stuck on her mouth; Riley knew. She deliberately sucked on the grape before it disappeared inside her mouth.

Liam audibly gulped. Riley smirked.

“Is this a tit for tat, Liam? I support you, you support me?”

“Well, isn’t that how relationships work?”

Riley set down her sausage link. “We’re not there yet, Liam.”

“But we’re headed that way! And this is an important issue that needs to be tackled beforehand.”

Riley choked. “With all that’s going on in the world, NFL is what needs to be discussed between us as a potential couple?”

Liam waved a forkful of eggs before shoving them in his mouth and answering. “We have more important things to discuss of course, and we will as we get closer to becoming a true couple; but this is something we can settle right now. And don’t underestimate the adverse effects of sports rivalry in a relationship.”

DC AU, Chapter 5—So Close to Heaven:

Liam made small talk as he and Jill crossed through Franklin Park; Just Jill interrupted him as they passed the statue of General James McPherson.

“Look, I’m only coming along because I’m starving, and steak sounds good. You want to apologize, do so. Don’t try to make it seem like we’re going to form a friendship from this. I wanted one thing from you the other night; you played the game better than I did. I’m a big girl, I can take that; what I’m not expecting is for you to show up at my job and upset my employee.”

Liam turned his head slightly to look at Just Jill’s profile. “I just thought conversation while we walked would be pleasant.”

“And I thought leaving a message with the bartender that something came up would have been an easy enough thing to do but guess not.”

“it was a dick move; I admit that. But Riley, … she needed me.”

Just Jill pressed her lips together. “It’s been a cold, dry winter. I don’t follow sports. I’m from Denver. No, I don’t want to hear how great your wanna-be girlfriend is.”

She looked at Liam. “Enough small talk?”

Apart, Part 2:

Liam set his drink down and hurried from the room. Constantine watched his son leave, and then pulled out his phone. He dialed a number and spoke when the call was picked up.

“Prince Liam has been quite fiscally irresponsible as of late. Please suspend all his financial instruments for thirty days. Checking, credit cards, everything. If he attempts to invoke the Crown to make a purchase, let me know.”

Constantine hung up the phone and rose to refresh his drink. Liam and Drake needed a reminder of their stations in life; the King was doing them both a favor. A summer with Bianca, working with his hands among his own kind would remind young Walker that he didn’t belong in Liam’s world.  

Liam would be spending his summer with the nobles and royals of the European courts; his son needed to remember that he was royalty, and the caliber of associates he surrounded himself with weren’t chosen with his heart. Or his dick.

Constantine picked up his phone again. Whatever plans Liam had for the next month were about to be changed, and that commoner he was so besotted with weren’t part of them.

Ryan Jackson:

The evening was cold and blustery, snow that had fallen earlier already crusted. The boys’ boots crunched through it as they took the shortcut through the park that would get them home a little quicker. They stopped at the sight that greeted them as they approached the gurgling creek.

It was the girl.

Bookbags were dropped as the boys ran to her. Ryan took one look and tore out of his coat to cover her. Then he ran back to the school to get the principal and custodian. And the police.

The girl did not return to school for the remainder of the year. Three weeks after the boys found her, they and their parents were invited to the girl’s house for dinner. She didn’t eat with them. Her parents gave each of the boys a cash reward and a homemade pineapple upside down cake. Ryan asked if they could see the girl.

With sad faces, her parents said it wasn’t a good time, but her girlfriends came over every Wednesday and Friday afternoon to visit; the boys were welcome to come over then.

The woman sipped her Brazilian lemonade wondering just how peeved her husband would be if she drank his as well. His arms were wrapped around her waist, his head laying just above her breast. He snored softly. The woman looked down at him, a wave of love and gratitude washing over her.

He had saved her.

 Not going to tag anyone; thinking folks are making the most of the last of their weekend, and/or recuperating from celebrating America’s birthday. If you come across and want to share your WIPs, please do so! 

[germanaustriannoblesandroyals]

House of Welf & of Habsburg: Princess Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel)

Elisabeth Christine was born as the oldest of four daughters of Louis Rudolph, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Ruling Prince of Wolfenbüttel, and his wife Princess Christine Louise of Oettingen-Oettingen. The principality of Wolfenbüttel would later go to Elisabeth’s youngest sisters husband.

Her engagement to Emperor Charles VI was due to her ambitious grandfather Duke Anthony (Anton) Ulrich of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Braunschweig-Lüneburg) and her future sister-in-law Empress Wilhelmina Amalia, who was through her father also a Princess of Brunswick-Lüneburg. However, Elisabeth Christine, only 13, refused the marriage at first because it would mean that she had to convert from Lutheranism to Catholicism. In the end, she gave in and was tutored by her mother-in-law.

At the time of the wedding, Charles was fighting for his claim to the Spanish throne against the French candidate Philip, so he was living in Barcelona. Elisabeth Christine arrived in Spain in July 1708 and married Charles on August 1st, 1708. As the opponent had already fathered a son, the newly-wed Archduchess was immediately pressured into having children. During her time in Spain, she had a long-term correspondence with her mother, which was reportedly a consolation for the continuous pressure to produce a son.

When her brother-in-law died in 1711, her husband, although not very trusting in her political abilities, made her the General Governess of Catalonia to mark his presence in Spain through her. Elisabeth Christine ruled there for two years. A contemporary even states that her rule was more effectove than her husbands.

Charles VI did not allow her any political influence whatsoever after her arrival in Austria in 1713. However, she was described as intelligent and self-sufficient, and she established political connections among the ministers. In the 1720s, she appeared to have had some influence in the treaty with the Russian Tsar through her family connections in Northern Germany, and she allied herself with the court faction which opposed the plans to marry her daughters to members of the Spanish royal house.

Today, Elisabeth Christine is most well-known for being the mother of The Archduchess Maria Theresia, Holy Roman Empress, and her younger sister Archduchess Maria Anna, but at the time The Emperor and doctors tried the weirdest things to have her produce a male heir after her first born son Leopold Johan died in infancy. They prescribed her liquor and put her on a rich diet which made her so fat that she became unable to walk, experienced breathing problems, insomnia and dropsy and had to be lowered in to her chairs by a specially constructed machine. Though her health was devastated by the different prescriptions as how to make her conceive another son, Charles VI apparently did care for her. He continued to refer to her by her pet name White Liz, expressed sincere concern in his diary about her health and left her an independent income in his will.

Elisabeth Christine got along very well with her mother-in-law Eleonore and her sister-in-law Wilhelmine Amalia, and the three empresses were described as supportive toward each other: Wilhelmine Amalia nursed Elisabeth Christine when she had the smallpox, and Elisabeth Christine nursed Eleanor during her last illness. 

Elisabeth Christine died on December 21st, 1750, in Vienna and became the longest serving Holy Roman Empress.

// Zuzana Stivínová as Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in Maria Theresia (2017)