#shakespearean heroines

[creatediana]

A half-assed whiteboard imitation of Frederick Sandys’ Perdita (1866), done in a few minutes in Expo marker on 2/14/2023

[a-a-a-anon]

absolutely fascinated by young dee who is criminally under-discussed so here is my dissertation on what happened in her college years (ft. dr. gainer, setting her roommate on fire, being institutionalized)/my idea for a fic that I will almost certainly never write/my way too serious take on a few throwaway dee lore lines

timeline background: we know that dee majored in psychology ('charlie got molested') and got "three fourths" of the way in (meanwhile dennis finished his psych minor.) assuming this was a four year program, I'm gonna guess that in her third year she got institutionalized and most likely had to drop out ('gun fever too: still hot'.) we also know that she had her back brace until she was twenty ('underage drinking'), so I'm guessing that means she got her back brace off in her third year.

we know that dennis fancied himself a psychologist since he was young, but I think dee did too. in particular I think she was wary and interested in her brother's psychology; she seems very aware of his psychopathy and bpd in 'making dennis reynolds a murderer' and 'psycho pete returns.' in my head she's been interested in dennis' psychology since they were kids and she saw him snapping crows necks. so instead of forcing her way into acting school, she studied psychology to better understand her brother (and also deep down, herself, who is very much the other side of the same fucked up coin.) it also meant she could tell herself she could study her characters even better when she became an actress.

i think she put in (her version of) genuine academic effort to get in, fuelled kind of by spite (remember the way she studied that thick medical book in 'hero or hate crime' or her very quick math in 'boggs: ladies reboot'). she studies books and gets cricket to quiz her and she still fails to get into penn. but frank always pitied her (i think she was his favorite of the twins-remember "let your sister into the gang", "that's my girl!", "i'm sorry the grift didn't work out, sweetie") so he shells out cash to get her in, but also to get her away from home so he has to deal with her even less.

dennis wants to do anything dee does but better and he wants to keep her close by (to watch her crash and burn, and also because he's weirdly possessive-see 'the gang broke dee' "i'm your select!"). and obviously he's barbara's favorite. so barbara gives him money to get in too. she also gets him into a frat and pays for his classes and his rent and everything he needs. dee has to live in a dumpy dorm with a female roommate.

but college presents dee a chance to moult her previous place in life where she was known as a monster (remember how insistent she was that "people can change!" in 'franks pretty woman'. I think dees always wanted to believe she can shed that feeling she's inferior, but she never has). in my head her female roommate is basically normal-has real friends of her own, mentally stable, attractive-which is exactly what dee craves. dee wants to be popular and well liked and she wants to infiltrate her roommates life, imitate her, be in the Cool group. and she places all her hopes on a friendship with the roommate but dee has never navigated real female friendships before, not with someone like her. deep down she also wishes she found what dennis found in mac, whatever it was, because ever since dennis met mac he's never been as close to her. and i do think dee is some flavor of queer. and the roommate is well liked in the way that dee admires and envies. so there is that blurriness between wanting to be her and wanting to be with her. in my head her roommate looks like the woman from dee's fantasy in 'the gang saves the day' (and they both represent that promise of escape from dee's shitty life).

dee is so desperate for the roommates approval and her love and her life that she goes insane, copying and flattering and competing with her. ever the shitty actress, she tries to emulate her, but comes off as manic and creepy. and maybe her roommate is nice enough to not completely shun her, recognizing that she's struggling. maybe in dees mind they actually are becoming friends when her roommate asks things like "are you okay?"

and dee has to talk about her plan with dennis because he's the only person who would Get It. and she makes it sound like it's almost working. dennis feels jealous and worried and threatened that maybe dee might actually be seen as normal, especially when she gets her back brace off in the third year. so dennis fucks her roommate, more of a show that he owns and controls each and every pathetic part of dee’s life than anything else. and so that dee knows she'll never be as good as him, she'll never as easily charm people as dennis does. (or at least he tells her he does).

to prove that To Someone dee is Good Enough, and so desperate for attention, dee (who's been groomed all this time) enters a sexual relationship with her professor dr. gainer. she tells herself she has the power in it, that she seduced him ("he didn't molest me. i had sex with him 'cause i wanted to.") and she has a mental break, because the thing she told herself held her back from being loved (her back brace) is finally gone by now and yet she still feels like a monster, and the only scrap of "love" she can get is from her professor.

and then she can't take the fact that she can steal her roommates clothes, can emulate her sexual prowess (in dee's own fucked up, delusional way), and still neither be well liked like her nor be loved by her. so maybe dee will always be a monster. so dee tried to burn her roommate in her bed, because she represented the promise of change and popularity, and that promise was a lie and dee's effort was for nothing. and she's institutionalized.

and i think there was kind of a falling out between the twins and their parents, because barbara wants to abandon dee but dennis can't help but visit her. and frank doesn't even step foot in a place that reminds him of his traumatic childhood, and avoids dee even more than he used to because she is his childhood mirror image. so the family becomes even more fractured and estranged.

and maybe dee becomes medicated and slowly crawls her way halfway to normal by the first season (her acting classes are so well-adjusted, taking part in healthy hobbies of her!). until her father comes back into her life and everything falls apart <3

side note, even though dee is crushingly lonely-"I just got a cat 'cause I wanted something to hang out with. I don't have, you know, a roommate or anything, and I don't really have anyone to talk to..."-AND she struggles to pay rent whenever frank cuts her off, i hc that she refused to ever get a roommate in particular female roommate again after this because both her internalized misogyny got worse and she was afraid of what would happen (what she would do) again.

[britneyshakespeare]

The gaslighting Duke of Vienna

[cleverclove-arts]

Withered lilacs

[Image ID: Digital art piece of Ophelia from Hamlet. Her hair is cropped short and she is carrying a burning lilac with a smile on her face. One eyebrow is raised. /End ID.]

[lessonincanvases]

proud product of the default male character casting at an all girls school to masc lesbian pipeline

[orphic222]

Desdemona by Alexandre Cabanel, 1871. This is an oil painting done in the style of Academicism. This is most likely a portrait of Desdemona, a tragic Shakespearean heroine from Othello, who represents honor, faithfulness and beauty. It currently resides in a private collection.

[michele-apricity]

𝓭��𝓻𝓴 𝓪𝓬𝓪𝓭𝓮𝓶𝓲𝓪 ˙⟡🪶─

𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔

Dark academia is rooted in a love for philosophy, history and literature... so here are some recommendations for books that fit the dark academia aesthetic and you should definitely read

𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒄𝒔

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

The cornerstone of dark academia literature. A group of elite classics students is drawn into a web of obsession, betrayal, and murder.

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

A dark exploration of beauty, morality, and corruption in Victorian England.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

A Gothic classic delving into the pursuit of forbidden knowledge, ambition, and the consequences of creation.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

A story of love, mystery, and self-discovery, set against the brooding backdrop of Thornfield Hall.

Dracula by Bram Stoker

A Gothic masterpiece full of eerie atmospheres, academic investigation, and the dark allure of the unknown.

𝒎𝒐𝒅𝒆𝒓���� 𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒔

If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

A Shakespearean tragedy set in an elite performing arts college, where students’ lives unravel after a murder.

Vita Nostra by Marina & Sergey Dyachenko

A surreal and unsettling novel about a young woman attending a mysterious school where reality bends under the weight of knowledge.

Bunny by Mona Awad

A darkly humorous and sinister look at creativity, academia, and a cult-like clique in a prestigious MFA program.

The Atlas Six trilogy by Olivie Blake

A magical dark academia tale about six exceptionally talented magicians competing for a place in a secret society that guards knowledge.

In The Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

A memoir with Gothic undertones that explores trauma, storytelling, and academic reflection.

𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒚/𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒓 𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒔

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

A mysterious and haunting tale of a young boy discovering a forgotten book and its dark history.

The Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

A supernatural dark academia story set in Yale’s secret societies, where magic and danger collide.

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

A chilling Gothic mystery set in a decaying mansion, with a protagonist investigating her cousin's eerie marriage.

The Lying Game by Ruth Ware

A tale of friendship, deceit, and secrets in the shadow of a Gothic boarding school.

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth

A queer, layered story blending Gothic horror and academic intrigue across timelines.

𝒑𝒐𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒚 & 𝒑𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒔

The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson

Dickinson’s introspective and haunting poetry complements the aesthetic’s love of literature and existential reflection.

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

For the intellectual side of dark academia, this stoic philosophical work is a guide to self-reflection and understanding.

Paradise Lost by John Milton

An epic poem exploring rebellion, ambition, and the fall from grace, perfect for the themes of the aesthetic.

Songs of Innocence and Experience by William Blake

Poetry reflecting duality, beauty, and the darker aspects of human nature.

𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒕

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

A magical school where survival is key, blending dark academia with fantasy and wit.

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Noell by Susanna Clarke

A dense, Gothic tale of magic, rivalry, and ambition in 19th-century England.

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

A modern, darker take on a magical academy, filled with existential musings and flawed characters.

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

A historical and fantastical romance steeped in academia, libraries, and ancient mysteries.

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

A haunting, introspective story set in an otherworldly labyrinth that plays with memory, knowledge, and solitude.

𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒅𝒖𝒍𝒕

Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

A suspenseful story of privilege, power, and systemic secrets in an elite private school.

Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas

A slow-burning, atmospheric novel about an experimental university and the price of knowledge.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

A tale of mystery, tragedy, and privilege among a wealthy, secluded family.

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater

A series rich with mysticism, academic undertones, and a search for ancient knowledge.

An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

A romantic and artistic dark fantasy set in a world of fae and forbidden craft.

Did you read any of the books mentioned here? And if so what was your favorite/your opinion on them?

I personally read most of the books here and loved every single one.

-michala♡

[myclutteredbookshelf]

Let's save a doomed Shakespearean heroine from the narrative!

Please reblog for a greater sample size.

[likeniobe]

Juliet’s artfulness is often ignored. It is common to cast her as a girlish victim of desires beyond her control, and the long tradition of playing her as wide-eyed and naive prevents us from seeing her any other way. Nonetheless, Shakespeare’s first great heroine is an extravagant foreign prodigy with a wider emotive range than that of passion-torn heroines in classical and Renaissance tragedy, while her Italianate theatricality and poetic brilliance set her apart from the more prosaic Juliets of his sources. To pull off this feat, he deftly deployed theatergrams shaped by the great Italian divas abroad and the appeal of the skilled boy player at home. 

Like the ardent innamorata of the Italians, Juliet is self-aware, hyper-literary, and charged with erotic will. […] To her first spectators Juliet’s amorous precocity was an index of her Italianness. The English stereotyped Italian girls as prematurely lusty in comparison to English girls, and Italian women as prone to romantic melodrama and tragedies of passion. […] Shakespeare makes Juliet’s ardor hot-blooded and violent, and thus disturbingly foreign. No mere name change [from Giulietta to the Anglicized Juliet] could translate this tragic prodigy into a sweet and star-crossed English girl. It took an Anglocentric critical tradition and centuries of naive Juliets to domesticate the Italian innamorata accesa.

from pamela allen brown, the diva's gift to the shakespearean stage: agency, theatricality, and the innamorata

[shakespearenews]

King Lear Alotting His Kingdom to His Three Daughters, by Julia Margaret Cameron, 1872. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, bequest of Maurice B. Sendak, 2012.

---

The Liddells never returned to be photographed by Carroll, but the sisters reappeared a decade later before Julia Cameron’s camera. Alice, Ina, and Edith posed for Cameron’s complicated tableaux vivants as Roman goddesses, literary heroines, and Shakespearean stories. In one photograph that typifies Cameron’s work, Alice and her sisters pose with her husband, Charles Hay Cameron, enacting a scene from King Lear. Charles plays the role of King Lear while the Liddells pose as his three ill-fated daughters, Ina’s index finger poignantly laid on his shoulder while Alice, hair down, fixes her gaze outside of the photograph’s frame, a look echoed by her younger sister Edith.

[blacknedsoul-blog]

The master post of my Nevermore analysis

This post has links to all the extensive reviews I've written about Nevermore (webtoon) so it doesn't get lost in the depths of the internet. I'll update it as I write more and I'm going to try to maintain some degree of order in this mess.

Another detail: if you see that some of these reviews contradict each other or are not entirely consistent with each other, it is because I write them as the comic progresses, so it is very possible that one or more of them end up being outdated, but anyway I think it's worth keeping them.

An unnecessarily detailed analysis

These are practically vignette by vignette revisions of certain scenes or moments of the comic.

An incessantly detailed analysis of the (re)encounter between Annabel and "Leo"

An unnecessarily detailed analysis of the (re)encounter between Annabel and "Leo" (part II)

An unnecessarily detailed analysis of Lenore's face when she realizes how gay she is

Literary analysis

Reviews of Nevermore from the perspective of literary theory.

Nevermore is a gothic tragedy. Part I: Classical and Shakespearean Tragedy

Nevermore is a gothic tragedy. Part II: Supernatural Brides

Character Study

These are character analyses. Some of them could fit in the previous category, but I decided to leave them aside because they are much more specific.

Annabel Lee Whitlock: The Hypocrite, the Vampire and the Femme Fatale. A review of archetypes

Lenore Vandernatch: the rogue, the gothic heroine and the courtly knight. A review of archetypes

Montresor is the Bad Ending of White Raven

Montresor is the Bad Ending of White Raven II: Electric Bogaloo

Montresor (and Willtresor) is the Bad Ending of White Raven III: now it is personal

I think the Deans are fucking Lovecraftian gods

Nevermore themed cocktails

Fun fact: I'm a cocktail/mixology aficionado, here are some cocktail recipes based on Nevermore.

Note: the knowledge required for the preparation of mocktails is very different from the knowledge required for the preparation of cocktails. Therefore, while I may occasionally upload non-alcoholic versions of these cocktails, I may not always have the skills to make the transfer from one to the other.

Harlequin

Posh Besties

Stolen Moments

Stolen Moments (mocktail version)

The box of cookies (which has no cookies)

Here's basically whatever nonsense I've burned more time on than I should and don't want it to go to waste.

A detailed explanation from my headcanon that Annabel has ADHD

[purplestrap]

The Course of Love: Professor D./Reader (Resident Lover) [Snippet]

When one misstep from Cassandra leads to her opting out of the school play to you preforming as the lover for the world of theatre, you find yourself dressed beside Professor Dimitrescu, awaiting the curtains to reveal the light. OR: You are Romeo. She is Juliet—and your professor.

You know all too well that Cassandra, daughter of the Professor Dimitrescu and star of Mother Miranda All Girls' University, can be quite the—

"Yea, noise? Then I'll be brief. O happy dagger!" Juliet's finger curls over the pommel, releasing the weapon from the deceased Romeo's belt; the first for a fair girl. "This is thy sheath;" She lifts the dagger and points the blade to her chest, thrusting in with the carry of a sharp gasp. "there rust, and let me die." She mutters her final words to the audience, dramatically so for the effect, before joining the body that lays beside her. The death marks the end of a young love that how so appealing, would so too be pronounced guilty on six charges (With one manslaughter.) of murder.

Woe, Juliet, by a miracle come true, walks the day once more and converses with Romeo on stage, rolling up his sleeve to write her phone number on.

"ENOUGH!"

—clutter, one you cannot pinpoint a singular word to ascribe to it.

Cassandra, the actress posing as Juliet, sheepishly winks at the director before bringing herself up, dusting off her dress as the backstage crew steps in, beginning to re-arrange the equipment for a restart of the scene.

"The rest is silence, as Hamlet said. I advise the same to you all." Cassandra declares elegantly, holding up a hand in honour.

She stretches her arms out, standing tall for her upcoming soliloquy, that of which is but a ramble. She has always been one to become her character in act.

"We all know he's the best Shakespearean hero to take advice from." Estera reacts scornfully, mocking Cassandra, who discards her response nonetheless.

"Well, the play should have ended here, the perfect moment. People come to watch Romeo and Juliet for Romeo and Juliet. I bet you no one buying our tickets knows any of the other characters' names or even the plot itself." Cassandra raises fair points, receiving differing answers to her words, with a 'Don't steal my thunder after stealing the whole show.' from Prince Escalus and two 'The final lines have meaning even if they're not said by you, attention whore.' from Lord Montague and Lord Capulet, respectively. 

With a quick turn of her heel, Cassandra shifts to face your classmates and instead, shamelessly so, falls behind and into the Capulet tomb, pushing it against Romeo, injuring the actress (You wonder how the poor thing could deserve such luck?).

'A minor sprain', they said, would not mean a new rehearsal nor a hundred so students aligned politely at 8 in the morning with playbooks and mugs in hand, determined to prove themselves a candidate, a suitor even, fit to be the new Juliet's new Romeo. 

Most shocking of all, you had not pictured a goddess ascending down on a rainy Monday of exam week to throw a dice and gamble her chance for a role—Oh, wait, now, that hat does seem most familiar...

"Professor Dimitrescu? What are you doing here?!" A wave of students exclaim at the sight of Cassandra's own mother, here to replace her daughter as the tale's heroine; a dispute between family, to be called the classical soap opera trope you were but swoon over with as a teenager. 'O, traitorous villainy!' shouts the audience, yet in your love would this woman be cherished.

Suddenly, Romeo seems a fate for you to play.

Ignore the low-quality edit. It has become a ritual for me.

The full work will be posted later on ao3. When? Great question...

[luminouslywriting]

Chapter 2—State of Grace (MOTA Fic)

A/N: If you celebrate Christmas, I hope you had a wonderful holiday! Enjoy the meeting of Grace and Brady as a post-Christmas treat. Grace is a menace and a problem-child, but I adore her in a love-hate sort of way! As always, let me know what you think!

Spring, 1943

A few months of college had done Gracie Spaatz a world of good. Though it hadn’t improved her girlish tendencies or ability to focus on important things, Gracie felt that she had a good understanding of what adulthood was meant to be.  Well—adulthood in the sense of girlhood, that is. 

To be fair though, Gracie didn’t think that life was meant to be all serious nature and hard situations or emotions.  Life was meant to be a romance—meant to be a tale of epic proportions.  She wasn’t doomed by the narrative like those women in Victorian literature, she certainly was no Shakespearean heroine—she was just Gracie Spaatz—and damn it, she was going to make her life worth living. 

She wanted to live a life that you made movies about, that stories were always being told about—that your children would be scandalized by and your grandchildren would find absolutely fascinating.  Otherwise, what was the damn point? 

Although she had a whole pack of homework in her bags, it was now spring break for her college.  And that meant getting to go to Thorpe Abbotts to visit her sister Tatty—and that meant, also getting to see her father temporarily.  And though she’d be parted from her dearest friends and roommates, Gracie was more than excited to see them. 

Unfortunately, it also meant that because she was just watching out the window and looking at the clouds like she was in some sort of dream, she was not working on her homework assignment.  There was just one, in particular—but Gracie could not even begin to do it. 

Math was a weakness like none other for this particular young lady.  And the fact of the matter was that she found the entire thing rather pointless.  Why should she care about an integer or the area of a triangle?  It was just ridiculous!  She guaranteed that actresses like Vivan Leigh didn’t have to do this sort of math.  Why would she ever need it?

It was pointless. 

It wasn’t pretty, like poetry or English or music or art.  It just existed and it made her brain hurt—so why would she worry about something like that? 

The ride to Royal Air Base Thorpe Abbotts passed by quickly, though Gracie was more concerned about counting clouds, looking at pretty flowers, and pointing out patterns to herself than she was about anything else.  

As they passed by a blooming tree, a grin spread across her features. Pretty tree.  She was a simple woman, really—beauty above all else and that was it.  

To Gracie, who had spent most of her time in the city, at least somewhat, Thorpe Abbotts seemed to be out in the middle of godforsaken nowhere.  How the hell had Tatty even survived here?  Gracie didn’t have long to wonder, because the moment that the car pulled up and she had gotten out, she was being tackled in a tight hug by her older sister. 

“Oh my sweet thing!” Tatty mumbled, peppering a kiss onto her forehead. 

Gracie melted into the affection, allowing her older sister to dote on her, and she gave Tatty a squeeze before pulling away.  “How the hell do you even live out here? It’s in the middle of nowhere!” Gracie exclaimed. 

Tatty just pinched one of her cheeks.  “I knew it would take less than thirty seconds for you to say that,” she said affectionately.  She linked her arm with Gracie’s.  “Now come on, I want to introduce you to a few people.” 

“Boys?” 

“God, no,” Tatty deadpanned.  “My friend Helen,” she insisted, gesturing up ahead.  

And there stood Helen, practically looking like the woman of Troy herself.  Gracie beamed as they approached her.  Helen started to extend a hand and Gracie just hugged her instead.  “You’re a practical vision!” Gracie exclaimed. 

Tatty just rolled her eyes as Helen’s cheeks tinged pink. “Oh, thank you!” Helen beamed at her.  “And so are you, Grace—” 

“Oh call me Gracie, everyone does!” Grace insisted.  “And if I’m being totally honest with you, I finally understand why the Trojan War was fought—” 

Tatty just flicked her little sister on the head.  “You are a total menace.  Worse than Nurse Poppy, you know that?” 

“Who?” 

“She’d be a horrible influence on you,” Helen deadpanned. 

“Why?” Gracie asked curiously, glancing between Helen and Tatty. 

“Because daddy doesn’t want you ending up pregnant,” Tatty said pointedly.  “Now come on, we’ll set your things down in our barracks.” 

At that, Gracie gave a shrug and began to follow after the two women.  She followed them down the dirt path, only struggling ever so slightly in her heels (which had been a mistake to wear on a rural base).  “You know, flat shoes would mean you would trip less,” Helen pointed out, glancing at the younger girl. 

“But then I’d be criminally short,” Gracie replied pointedly.  

“At least you wouldn’t have a twisted ankle,” Tatty chided as they reached the barracks. 

For a moment, Gracie just stared at the place, an obvious look of displeasure on her face.  “It needs more flowers.  And pink.” 

“You would die in the military,” Tatty deadpanned, setting her bag down on one of the cots for her sister. 

“Probably,” Gracie agreed.  

“So tell us about college!” Helen encouraged, taking a seat on the bed and bringing her knees up to her chest with a grin. 

Gracie beamed.  “Oh it’s just wonderful!  There’s a play in May—Twelfth Night, you know—and I’m going to be Countess Olivia!” 

“Are they just filling in the male parts for women?” Tatty questioned curiously. 

“That’s right!” Gracie exclaimed with a nod.  “And our director is my Shakespeare professor—John Paige!  He’s just wonderful at everything he does and I actually pay attention in his class.” 

“You do have a habit of tending not to listen in most of your classes,” Tatty stated dryly. 

“Only the boring ones like math or science!” Gracie insisted. 

“You know,” Helen said carefully, glancing at the younger girl.  “Math and science are used for all sorts of important things like medicine, architecture, building things, and saving lives.” 

Grace just stared at her for a minute, soaking in Helen’s words.  There was a certain sort of truth to them, she was well aware of that.  But Grace just gave a shrug, flouncing her soft blonde curls as she did so.  “Yes, but I don’t need any of that to be an actress.” 

“You’ve got high aspirations there, darling,” Tatty said, rolling her eyes. 

“Of course I do!” Grace exclaimed.  “I wanna be great!  I wanna be someone’s wife and I wanna dazzle the whole world!  Simple as that!” 

“You are truly something else,” Helen said, though there was a hint of affection in the words.  

“Why thank you!” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Unfortunately for Gracie Spaatz, being something else did not exempt her from needing to get her math done.  So while everyone else was celebrating the new recruits joining Royal Air Base Thorpe Abbotts, she was sitting in her nicest lavender dress and makeup outside, staring helplessly at the math equations in front of her. 

It wasn’t that she was dumb—it’s that truly—why should she have to do math why Tatty was dancing with the men and drinking?  It was unfair. 

So she could hardly help herself when her bottom lip began to tremble, red lipstick refusing to be smeared even though she was biting down on her lip.  And she could hardly help herself when a few tears began to slip from her eyes. She was too pretty to be stuck out here and in her best dress doing math of all things. 

Fortunately for Grace Spaatz, she was not the only person who was having a rather poor day.  For one Captain John Brady, the day had not gone according to plan at all.  It was true, some of that had to do with Harry Crosby’s abysmal navigational skills that nearly landed them in damn occupied France of all places.  But it also had to do with the fact that the plane itself had issues and he had been thoroughly chewed out. 

It wasn’t that he disliked Bucky Egan.  Not at all.  In fact, he quite respected him.  It was the fact that he had to be chewed out in the first place at all.  

John Brady was not one to sulk.  He was a grown man after all—despite whatever his mother insisted.  He was not a little boy and he was a few years out of High School, after all.  He had gone to college, he was the oldest of the Brady family, he was the most responsible person that he knew—

And so yes, he was taking a walk.  It was not sulking.  

He just needed some time to clear his head, needed some time to figure out how the hell he was going to cope with Crosby’s air sickness that nearly got them all killed, needed some time on his own and away from the hustle and bustle of the military for just a moment.  He wasn’t even going to smoke, he just needed some time to himself. 

Well, time for himself and the good Lord, that is. 

He had no sooner been walking for a few moments when the sound of crying caught his ears.  Now if he had been really unfocused, he might have thought that it was one of the younger boys or one of the men that had gone up in the skies and survived something real awful.  But the crying sounded feminine. 

So there he stood, completely frozen, having just turned the corner.  His gaze immediately fell upon a young woman.  She was something straight out of a modeling agency, this much he was sure.  With her soft features and blonde curls, curves accentuated by a soft lavender color—

There was no way in hell that she was a nurse. 

Just who was she and why was she crying like she had just lost the damn love of her life or something? 

“Uh—are you alright?” He couldn’t help himself from asking. 

Almost immediately, Grace’s gaze shot upwards and locked onto him.  And god, for a moment there, she forgot how to even speak.  Because the man in front of her was no boy—he was a real man.  God himself must have sculpted that beautiful jaw.  Michelangelo’s David had nothing on this man, with his angelic cherubic eyes and dark tousled hair.  

“No,” Grace blurted out.  “The math is just too hard and Tatty says that I can’t go into the party until it’s done!” 

For a moment, the two of them just stared at each other.  It wasn’t awkward, it was just a look of…appraising. 

“Uh—what kind of math is it?” Brady asked somewhat awkwardly. 

“I don’t know!  They added letters and it’s total bullshit!” Grace exclaimed. 

At that, Brady gave a half-smile and he crossed over to where she was sitting.  “Do you mind if I take a look at it?” 

Grace just looked at him with big doe eyes, blue eyes that were just as pretty as the sky.  “Yes, please,” she said in a delicate voice.  She very carefully handed him over her math papers, stained with just a little bit of her tears and mascara.  

Almost immediately, Brady understood the math in front of him.  It wasn’t that hard, but clearly she didn’t know what she was doing.  “You just made a mistake here.  You substitute the letter over here,” he explained, showing her how to do the math correctly.  

Grace’s eyes were wide as she stared at it.  “Is it that easy?” She asked in surprise. 

He smiled at her words.  “You don’t like math much, do you?” 

“No, but you don’t need it to be an actress!” Grace exclaimed.  Her features softened ever so slightly.  “Thank you though.  Gracie Spaatz,” she said, extending her hand.  

“Spaatz?  Like the General?” 

“He’s my father.” 

All at once, Brady seemed to be putting the pieces of the puzzle together.  “Oh I see,” he said, shaking her hand with a grin.  “John Brady.” 

“Well John Brady, you’re my hero.  I hate math and you’ve just saved me from hours of horror,” Grace said in a very matter-of-fact tone.  

“It was no problem,” Brady reassured her, handing her back the math assignment.  “Are you going to be alright now?” 

“I’m not going to burst into tears again, if that’s what you’re asking.” 

“Oh good,” he stated dryly, a grin tugging on his lips.  “A crying girl around here won’t do.  There’s entirely too many men that are good at math here, for the record.” 

“Well I’ll be sure to keep that in mind,” Grace said with a grin. “I might just have to ask for your help again, if the math proves to be too difficult.” 

“College math is no fun, I get it,” Brady said, glancing back at the party.  “Do you want my help with the other questions?” 

“That would be greatly appreciated!” Grace chirped. 

“Well alright,” he said, glancing at the math again.  

And so there the two of them sat, him pouring over her math and her just staring at him with a dreamy look in her eyes.  Because for at least one person out of the two of them, it was love at first sight. And for Grace Spaatz, she got what she wanted.  And she decided that she wanted John Brady. 

[elkieselkiewrites]

Intros and such

Hi! I'm Jasper, in the mire of my 30s, I use they/them, and this is my new writeblr!

I mainly write fantasy and gothic fiction but I also dip my toe into science-fantasy every now and again.

My main WIPs are:

The Postmaster's Apprentice

A high fantasy tale of a postie trying desperately to deliver a letter, but forced to have adventures along the way. It has tree nymph elves, stone folk made of real stone, trolls with trade unions, mushroom forests, mountain vampires, giant ghosts, shipwrecks, and more!

The Playwright King

A low fantasy story about a terrible playwright, but excellent actor, who finds himself playing the role of monarch to save the Queen Consort after the real king dies. There are plots and shenanigans, silly Shakespearean identity hijinks, and sentient talking swords.

Tupper's Tale

A low fantasy tale about Hob Tupper, a monk-in-training, scribe's apprentice, and (secretly) not really a boy. The story follows Hob as they learn their trade, uncover monastic secrets, solve murders and scandals, fall in love, and change the destiny of a kingdom or two.

Burning Branches, Golden Trees

A science-fantasy, espionage space opera loosely based on the fairy tale Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree, wherein our heroine Belin enters an arranged marriage, tasked by her boss to discover whether or not her new husband is a traitor, and if not, to uncover the truth of the strange happenings on Palatinate-709. It has far-off planets, space KGB, telepathic eugenicists, spycraft, giant snails, queer polyamory, and more!

You can also find my fantasy maps here

My askbox is always open for questions, and I'm happy to take part in tag games too!

[ladyjaneasherr]

April 5th 2024, happy beloved 78th birthday to the one and only Jane! She’s been my inspiration for around 12 years since I first discovered about her. It’s been a wonderful journey getting to share new pictures I find, my scans, colourisations and accurate information in regards of the pictures I found. May I be able to meet her one day. 🤍

This post will be divided in two, as the picture shown was used for two different newspapers that I scanned therefore the subtle mark on the photos. And you might have seen the photos with my old username so I am sharing them with the new one!

Jane Asher and Gawn Grainger as Juliet Capulet and Romeo in “Romeo and Juliet” presentation while being on tour in the USA, 1967.

First picture is my edition and enhancement from historical picture auction scan, second one is my scan from the newspaper, and third one is the scan of the newspaper.

Jane Asher-More Than a Beatle's Bird

In cities all across the U.S. this spring Beatle fans are swarming to a touring production of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet staged by the Bristol Old Vic Company. When Juliet appears on stage for the first time the reaction is almost always the same. Applause thunders through the theater. Flash bulbs pop—electrifying the scene like summer lightning. At the end of the play young girls scream the name of the actress who plays Juliet: "Jane Asher! Jane Asher!" This is the girl they have come to see. To a Beatle fan Jane Asher's romance is even more exciting than the story of Romeo and Juliet. Jane Asher, in case you haven't heard, is the girl friend of Paul McCartney-the last unmarried Beatle.

An Interview With Jane

To find out what kind of girl dates a Beatle and also has enough talent to

perform in one of England's most respected theatre groups, CURRENT EVENTS Editor Nancy Malone talked to Jane Asher in New York City. The 20-year-old actress seemed puzzled when asked why teen-age girls scream for her. "I don't really know," she said “and I don’t think they’re quite sure themselves. Once they’re with me, they seem a little lost and aren’t sure what to do or say”.

Miss Asher, in contrast to her fans, is not at all confused. She is looking the forward to a successful career in the theatre—on her own merit, not because of her friendship with a Beatle. The actress with the golden-red hair is well on her way to stardom. Her portrayal of Juliet with England’s Bristol Old Vic company has been highly praised. The company is nearing the end of 16-city american tour, which began in Boston last January. After appearances next month in Bloomington, Ind., Detroit, and Cleveland, the company will perform at expo 67 in Montreal. Then the actors and actresses will retur to England.

Does Jane Asher hope to do more Shakespeare? "Oh, yes." she said, “I'd like to do all the Shakespearean heroines-especially Lady Macbeth. But I'd also like to do modern comedy. I wouldn't like ever to stick to just one thing. For example, I don't want to do all movies or all stage. Though if I had to choose, I'd choose stage. I like having a live audience.

Movie Fame Unimportant

"I know you can become more famous by being in movies,", Jane said. "but I've had a taste of that kind of glamor, and I know I don't want it. I want to be a good actress." Jane, who has been acting since she was five years old, comes from a show business family. Her brother, Peter Asher, has toured the U.S. several times. He makes up one-half of the popular singing duo Peter and Gordon.

But Jane hesitates to encourage outer young people to become entertainers. "It's really not the glamorous life people imagine. It's hard work with rehearsals all day and shows every night. And when you come right down to it, acting is really only pretending you're something else on stage." Although Jane made several films during her childhood, she attended regular m schools—not acting schools for m professionals. "I'm glad I got a normal education," she said. "I think it gave me a more balanced view of life. In addition to several Shakespearean roles, Jane has played Alice in Alice in Wonderland, Wendy in Peter Pan, and Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion. Juliet, however, is the highlight of her career.

Jane and the Bard

She is particularly delighted that she is helping to acquaint American teenagers with Shakespeare. She commented on her own attitude as a 13-year-old: "I suppose I felt as all English schoolchildren do-that Shakespeare was pretty dull stuff with lots of language I didn't understand. I know I wasn't mad about it." Now, at 20, she believes that Shakespeare wrote "the greatest roles in the world." She added: "On this tour, I've gotten a lot of mail and it has meant a great deal to me. Some of the letters from kids say “We came to see you. We were so surprised. We really liked the play.” “That’s great. That’s a real accomplishment to me —as an actress”.

[hauntedwizardmoment]

PLEASE talk more about the clones' various genres and the points of friction and overlap with that, I'm so here for this (I famously can't hear the words "Shakespearean tragedy" without going absolutely nuts, so seeing that for j3.....ough)

!!! YAY there's SO much drama here

so like. with jace and j2, because jace is in a horror movie vs. j2 who is in a bodice ripper. jace is constantly saying creepy ominous shit about how porter doesnt really care about j2 and like, vaguely implying that porter's gonna kill him the same way he killed jace. and j2 is like. not heeding these warnings at all. j2 is able to put jace in the category of a bodice ripper heroine's well-meaning yet extremely wrong friend who is telling her to NOT follow her heart and instead settle for safety and comfort. and to jace, j2's unwavering, almost naive love of porter makes him read as the ditzy cheerleader who dies first in a slasher.

and j2 and j3 have a similar level of conflict bc j3 is like rosencrantz from rosencrantz and guildenstern are dead. he's a bit character who's become aware that he's a bit character and is trying to eke out any semblance of joy and meaning with his small role in life. and j2 is ophelia, and he can't save j2 from his tragic fate, he can't save anyone, not even himself. meanwhile to j2 (bodice ripper) j3 is literally a side character who's like, technically important, but come on. he's not worried about j3, why would he bother? j3 is like the legislative assembly in all of those romance novels about royalty. taxation rates? public infrastructure? foreign policy??? who fucking cares about all of that. porter got j2 flowers, thats whats REALLy important.

and jace and j3 are like. theyre both genre-aware. they both know how terrible things are. but jace is surviving the horror movie (or at least dying last) and j3's suffering and death is a foregone conclusion that gets ramped over on the way to the main storyline. and j3 is somehow both thankful he doesnt have that spotlight on him but also eternally vying for it and trying to prove himself worthy of it.

j4 and jace are in SEVERE conflict because j4 is like "you know the torment nexus wouldnt exist if it wasnt for you, right? you realize it's your fault we're all stuck like this?" because she's the audience in the horror movie thats like "why the fuck did you idiots go into the woods where the serial killer's cabin is??" and jace is like "yes but i'm winning the torment nexus, or if i don't win, at least all of you lose" which j4 views as so insanely petty and cruel that she honestly doesnt even want to waste her breath on it

but i think the worst conflict is j4 and j2 because j4 is like. j2. you do not need or want a booktok boyfriend. you DO NOT. that is BAD. porter is BAD. and j2 is like "you dont get him like i do" and is convinced j4 is just jealous or bitter that she can't get porter's attention like he can. j2 was written by a lonely, angry man whose wish fulfillment fantasy is that a guy like j2 might be charmed by him and date him (porter).

lastly j3 and j4... i cant even look directly at this. j4 sees how lovely and important j3 is when even the text itself doesnt. j3 is the only one able to break the fourth wall and see j4. despite everything, they found each other. oh god theyre in love...