#sophie - sissi's little sister

[dearstvckyx]

“That when a heart breaks, it ain't broken forever” - MV1

Pairing : Sierra Verstappen x Max Verstappen (Main) , Sierra Verstappen x Victoria Verstappen (Mentioned) , Sierra Verstappem x Blue Jaye Verstappen (Mentioned) , Sierra Verstappen x Sophie Kumpen (Mentioned)

Genre : angst , sad , emotional, just get the tissues okay

Mentions : drg use, addiction, death, character death, oc death

about oc : Sierra Verstappen ~~is~~ was the oldest sibling of the Verstappen Three (Her, Max and Victoria). Was a singer/rapper.

about : After her death due to an OD, Max is cleaning her house out and he finds tucked away in her office and cd holder with unreleased songs, one being Temporary.

Max sits at desk that used to alway occupy his older sister warmth and scent, staring down at the disc with his and Vics name he decides to put it into Sierra’s computer. The video begins with the camera low to the ground filming someone’s feet and Max, being the observer he is, notices it’s Sierra shoes. And as the camera pans up to familiar older girl with dyed dark blue hair and the blue eyes, he starts to get emotional seeing her face once more. And finally, He hears that voice that used to sing him to sleep, that used to stand up for him in school, the voice that would calm his anxiety down after a bad race or a fight with their father.

A lot of people ask me, am I afraid of death? - The truth is, I think what scares me the most - Is not being able to say all the things I wanna say to you - When I'm no longer here - So this song is for Maxie for when that day comes

Hearing not just her voice but calling him Maxie, the one who started that nicknamed, made Max tear up a bit. The video fake glitches, to a video of Sierra and Max when Max was a kid,

Where's Maxie? Where's he at?This ain't Maxie! Who is it? It's a monster (ahh)

Max laughed at the video from childhood, Sierra was the only one who could get Max into a video

I've been waiting all night for the sunrise - To take away the dark sky - You're the dad monster and them are the baby monsters and - I'm the mom monster - Oh - All it takes is a new day sometimes - To get me in a better state of mind - Give me a kiss, monster, give me a kiss - Love you (I love you)

Max takes notice that this part is talking about their family's dynamics and the hope that each new day brings healing. The video glitches once more to Max still pretending to be a “monster”. And hearing that ‘I Love You’ once more broke Max’s heart. Once the chorus is over, Verse 2 begins playing, the video cuts back to Sierra sitting in front of at TV that’s playing all and everything of the Verstappen Three (Sierra, Max & Victoria)

Yeah, so Maxie Emil, I wrote you this song - To help you cope with life now that I'm gone - How should I start? Just wanna say - Look after Vicky, Bluey, and Mommy dear - And, sweetie, be strong, I know I was your rock - And I still am, saying goodbye is just not - Ever easy, but why you crying? Just stop - Max, baby, dry your eye, this is not - Forever

Max hears the chorus began again before hearing,

Sissy - What? - When I used to have this when I was a little kid - Baby, are you okay?

Max was surprised to hear their mother's voice, but he was happy to hear it

Yeah, and you will get over me and move on - You can play me on repeat on a song - But don't you dare shed a tear, what'd I tell you? - "Straighten up, little soldier, " them times when I held you - Emilian, it'll be okay, baby, I'm here, Max - I'm watchin' you right now, baby boy, I vow - I will protect you, your guardian angel - As hard as this may feel, us parting is painful - And, darling, the rain will drive you insane still - You will remain strong, Maxie, just hang on - It won't be too long, I need you to move on - And remember, it will get better - 'Cause times heals and when a

Max realizes that, yes he can listen to her music but he wants to hear it person then a recording. Max remembers his fathers rage after a bad race of Maxs, which resulted in Max running away and sitting somewhere by himself crying before he felt the warmth and inhaled the strawberry scented perfume, he had relized his older sister was hugging him and talking him down from this panic attack. Max remembers the words “straight up little soldier. you did great and im still so proud of you.” That one word was one he really only heard from Sierra.

I know this big boy - And he’s really handsome - You know what his name is? - Maxie! - Maxie, how did you know?

Max laughs at his younger confident self,

Yeah, and if there's days where you wanna lock yourself in your room and cry - Just think about how when you were little, how you and I back and forth to the studio, we used to drive - You strapped in the backseat 'cause you were my little sidekick, yeah, sweetie, I know this hurts - Bean, I'm wishing your pain away - Remember this, Maxie Emil - There’s gonna be rainy days - I promise you'll get through 'em and make it regardless - Fuck it, Emilian, I'll be honest - I knew that you was gonna take this the hardest - Sweetie, get up, I know that is is breaking your heart, it's the hardest thing I ever wrote (daddy)Hailie, sweetheart, it's okay for you to let me go - Baby, I promise you that when a-

Max knows and remembers what his sister is talking about. Growing up if Sierra noticed Max was upset, stressed or tired, or just needing a break from karting or dealing with their father, she would take Max with her to the recording studio, Max was almost nearly the first one to hear her music before it was released.

And hearing that nickname Bean, The one Sierra created because Max hated green beans that he would throw them across the room. This part makes Max laugh once more, something he hasn't done in 3 weeks. And once again his bigger sister was right, Max is taking Sierras death harder then anyone, then their younger siblings, their father, their mother and the world.

What's your favorite song? My favorite song right now - Mine and your favorite song, - but I like this part, that's your favorite part, sis?

You're taping me, bitch - I got you on tape cussin' - Can you hear? -Yeah - No, bitch - No what? - No, I said, I said, no, bitch - Okay, no cussin'

Max laughs at this part, Sierra was more of a parent than Jos was to Max. Making him food before and after school, taking him to school, helping him with school work, going to any parent - teacher conferences. With this parental role Sierra had taken on she made sure Max did have some rules one was: No cussing. And Max remembers faking his sister out by saying words that sound close to the swears.

Max leans back, tears in his, and thinks for a moment before grabbing his sister’s phone and getting her managers number off it. Calling her, Max mentions he found the song and wants to see if they can release it, and they do. Max is happy for once these past couple weeks, he knows that she wanted him to find that song, to listen to it, to fight for it to be released. And Max knows Sierra is standing next to him smiling proud once more.

liked by landonorris everythingsierrav and others

maxverstappen1 i am surprised the new outlet haven’t said it before us, our sister Sierra Eliza Verstappen has passed away, today marks 5 weeks of her being gone and it’s something i’m not used to. i miss hearing her voice and her nicknames for me. i got in touched with her manager and label to release this song i heard when cleaning out her house, it’s called “Temporary” and in the words of my older sister, “i hope you enjoy, this masterpiece.” - Max Maxie

charles_leclerc she was a lovely person max ❤️

landonorris the big sister of the paddock

f1 the verstappen three !

victoriaverstappen she was proud of Max, of everything you have done and will do

sophiekumpen im so glad you fought for them to release this song son, you can tell Sierra meant every word

lewishamilton replaying this so many times

- comments haven’t been limited -

liked by sabrinacarpenter lewishamilton oscarpiastri and others

billboard Temporary by Sierra Verstappen sill stands at number one for the 34 week in a row, looks like being number one is a Verstappen sibling thing - Keep Streaming

- Comments Have Been Turned Off -

[fetishfairytales2]

Happy Birthday Sissy! Pt. 3 (Story)

This was originally written as a continuation of a story by [no longer active] called Besties. ——————————————

I had finished most of Brandi’s makeup while she was cuffed to the chair in front of the vanity. “Just a few more touches girly,” I said into the mirror giggling. I pulled the paci gag from Brandi’s quivering lips and slicked on the bold red lipstick on. "This shade is called 'Fuck Me Red', how perfect!" I sneered, After a few hard slaps and some threatening to let Daddy handle her temper tantrum, the fight had drained out of her and she stopped resisting me.  "Oh, and make sure you don't ruin that mascara with your sad little tears, Sissy. Or whatever else will be dripping down your face later!" I teased.

"Oh Brandi, honey. I can see the excitement in your eyes for your special celebration!” I cooed, staring into her eyes; “Everyone is just dying to see the sissy birthday girl! But before we go over the guest list, I have to give you a little heads up." I crawled into her lap, getting cozy and teasingly rubbing my ass against her caged and diapered cock. I pulled her face close to mine, looking stern and deathly serious. "Just remember, sweetie, if you mess up AT ALL today, don’t do exactly what I ask or don’t behave like the perfect little sissy, I promise I'll make your life even more miserable than it already is. And trust me, I have some creative ways to do that…”

I flashed my sweet Mommy smile and spoke in my sing-song voice again. "Now, let's think about all the friends coming to see Sissy Brandi today, shall we?" I raised all ten fingers in front of her and continued, "Mommy and Daddy Conner will be there, of course." I lowered one finger. "And let's not forget about my sister Maddie,” I put down another finger. “Oh, and Kylie, she just loves seeing Sissy Brandi." I dropped yet another finger. "And her handsome boyfriend, Brad, will probably be joining us too." I pinched her cheeks and cooed. "There's also Ms. Lyndsey, and she's bringing her boyfriend Shawn. Remember him?" I booped Brandi's nose as I lowered another finger. "You weren't very nice to him last time when you got drunk and screamed all those mean things at him. But that was old Brandon, not my sweet mincing Brandi."

"Oh, and how could I forget to mention my girlfriends Rachel and Kelsey?" I cooed, taking out my phone and showing Sissy a photo of the three of us on my Instagram. "They'll be joining us for your little party, too! And don't worry, they know all about your new lifestyle. I made sure to invite their boyfriends as well." 

I scrolled through my phone again, finding a shirtless photo of a man with a sculpted body. "Guess who it is?” I laughed; “I promise, you're going to hate this," I giggled with delight. Without waiting for a response, I zoomed out on the photo. "Remember Marcus? The one you were oh so jealous of when he was my personal trainer? Oh, the silly sissy thought I would cheat on him! No I would never...until you were in diapers, of course. Then I fucked Marcuz and every other man I could! So yeah, he’ll be here too!"

“And him of course,” I smiled wickedly, watching Brandi struggle against the cuffs as I held up my phone in front of her face. "Shh, shh,” I teased. “Don't worry, it was twice…in one night. Oh, and then another two nights after that! He's just too hot, isn't he?" I giggled while scrolling through naked photos of my coworker Grant and I in the same bed I used to share with my cuckold. I reminded her of how jealous she was when she met him at my job’s Christmas party, saying, "I told you not to worry about him then. Nothing would have happened! But no, you just had to go and cheat on me with that slut Sophie..."

I paused, giving a flirty wink and revealing a screenshot I took from someone else's Instagram. "This is her, right?" I teased, showing a picture of the attractive young blonde who worked as Brandi's intern and her colleague, Chloe. The sissy was practically knocked over with shock. "Oooh! Surprised that I found her? I did some digging sweetie. Of course I found the woman you thought was worth throwing our whole relationship away for! And want to know something even more fun? She's coming too! And so is Chloe! But shhh, they think it's just a regular old birthday party. Oh, the fun surprise they're in for! I bet work is going to be interesting on Monday, huh?”

"Oh and sweets? That's not all of the invites for today," I whispered into her ear, removing her handcuffs and helping her up from the chair. "But don't worry, that's a surprise for later!" I grabbed her hand and spun her toward the door, causing her comically short skirt to puff out even more. "Now let's go say hello to our guests," I giggled, giving her a playful spank.

[ejzah]

A/N: There’s the smallest amount of drama, and blood, before things get fluffy again.

***

Weddings, Dresses, and Toddlers, Part 2

“Sophie!” Kensi shouted, reaching her a second after Deeks, Rosa standing completely still in the doorway. He turned her over carefully, pulse pounding in his ears as he anticipated the worst. A two-inch cut sat directly above her left eyebrow and had already swelled considerably, a trickle of blood seeping out.

Sophia stared up at him, blinking slowly, clearly stunned.

“Oh, baby.” He pulled her into his arms while Kensi frantically checked her over for any other injuries.

“Is she ok?” Rosa asked. “I’m so sorry. If I—”

“It’s not your fault,” Deeks assured her, catching her eye long to make sure she knew he meant it.

“I think she only hit her head,” Kensi said, voice shaking as she cupped the back of Sophia’s head.

“Sophie ok?” Caleb asked, leaning on Kensi’s shoulder. The second he caught sight of his sister’s bloody forehead, his face crumpled, and he burst into tears. That seems to break through the shock, and she started crying too.

“Sissy’s ok,” Deeks assured him quickly. “She just has a little boo-boo.” He shot Kensi a mildly frantic look as he tried to appear calm. They’d had their share of bumps and bruises, but nothing quite this intense so far.

“Yeah, Sophie’s going to be just fine. Can you help me get her a bandaid?” Kensi asked, taking both of Caleb’s little hands. His crying slowed a little bit, and he nodded seriously, successfully distracted at the prospect of helping.

Blood had started to well more quickly out of the cut, dripping towards Sophia’s nose.

“What can I do?”

“Uh, can you get some towels?” Deeks replied to Rosa, who immediately ran to fulfill his request.

“I’m going to find a first aid kit.” Kensi rushed off, taking Caleb with her.

“Here,” Rosa said. She offered him a spare hand towel and an entire roll of paper towel.

“It’s ok, sweetie,” Deeks murmured, gently dabbing at the wound while he cradled Sophia closer. She let out a shuddering, gasping sob, blindly reaching for him, her fingers tangling in the ends of his hair.

He continued to make soothing noises, rocking her gently with one arm while he kept the towel pressed over her forehead. Sniffling quietly, Sophia tucked her thumb in her mouth.

Kensi returned a few minutes later, Caleb in one arm and a small first aid kit in the other. He seemed considerably closer with a few minutes of distance.

“This was all I could find,” Kensi said breathlessly, handing Caleb off to Rosa so she could pull out the contents of the kit. She also had a small ice pack. “How does it look?”

Deeks gingerly lifted the cloth, which was now had a pretty large spot of blood staining the middle. The bump had risen to twice its original size, but upon closer inspection, it seemed to be a purely superficial wound. Horrible, yes, but not requiring a trip to the emergency room.

“I think the b-l-o-o-d mostly stopped,” he told Kensi and she nodded, closing her eyes briefly in relief. Rosa murmured something in Spanish under her breath.

“Thank god.”

“Mommy,” Sophia whimpered pitifully, reaching out with one hand.

“Come here, baby,” Kensi said. They switched places, Deeks taking over first aid duties while Kensi held Sophia.

“You ok, Sophie. You all better,” Caleb encouraged her. He watched from Rosa’s arms, diligently observing his mom’s work with a careful eye.

Kensi carefully wiped away the remaining blood and then applied a large bandage that covered most of the bump.

“There, good as new,” she announced.

“I’ll clean this up,” Rosa offered. Deeks stopped her before she could start gathering up the bloody towel and other garbage.

“Hey, we’ll get that. Go sit down; you’re looking a little gray,” he said gently.

“I do feel a tiny bit faint.” She exhaled slowly. “I’ve never seen a toddler bleed that much.”

“Yeah, it was scary,” Deeks agreed. “But head wounds tend to be like that. The good news is it stopped and all her responses are normal.”

“We can take her in for a check up after the wedding, just to be sure,” Kensi added, and Deeks nodded in agreement.

“Kay-Kay, what is going on? Kat said you were running around like a mad woman and asking for a first aid kit or something. Your wedding was great, but I cannot have a weird Russian guy showing up,” Tiffani ranted, barreling into the room so quickly they didn’t have time to clean up any of the blood. “Oh my god! What the hell happened?”

“It’s ok, we just had a little accident,” Kensi said, getting up with Sophia in her arms.

“But her head—”

Kensi shook her head rapidly making a slicing motion with her hand before Tiffani could get fully worked up. The last thing they needed was the twins crying again.

“I know. She’s going to be ok though.”

“You just might have to find a different flower girl. I’m not sure our girl here is up to walking down the aisle,” Deeks added.

“Oh, I don’t care about that,” Tiffani scoffed. “I mean I do care, but I care more about Sophia than I do having the perfect wedding. Does that make sense?”

“Yeah, Tiff is does,” Kensi said with a gentle smile. Sophia tugged at the front of her dress insistently, face screwed up with a serious look.

“Mommy, I fwower giw,” she insisted firmly.

“I know, Sweetie, but you’ve got a bump now and I don’t want you to feel bad.”

“My fwowers, mommy. I fine.” She held up her hand and grinned widely as proof, and Deeks choked back a snort of laughter.

“Sophie all better,” Caleb chimed in helpfully. He looked to Deeks for reinforcements.

“Just like her mother,” he said, tweaking one of Sophia’s curl. “Nobody’s taking her job away.”

“Do we let her?” Kensi asked uncertainly.

“I can walk with her, if that’s alright with Tiffani,” Rosa offered.

“You’re so sweet, Rosa. That would be perfect,” Tiffani agreed. “Just try not to get blood on the dresses, because we have pictures after the ceremony.”

“We’ll do our best.” With the extreme emotions of the last 15 minutes, Deeks found himself fighting back a grin.

“Ok, great. Everyone’s ok. No one’s dying, and I need to get into my dress.”

“I’ll come help you in a couple minutes,” Kensi called as Tiffani hurried back out.

“Well, it wouldn’t be a wedding we’re involved in if there wasn’t at least a little bloodshed and the possibility of a hospital visit,” Deeks summed up.

[archduchessofnowhere]

The duke [Maximilian in Bavaria] preferred to spend time in the private flat on the ground floor of the Palais Max, even in winter. Since the entrance faced the street, he could come and go without being noticed by the family. For example, when young Elisabeth was asked by the housekeeper if she had seen her father, who had just returned from a long journey, she replied: “No, but I heard him whistling”. Their contemporaries reported that Max and Ludovika often lived under the same roof for days without meeting. If the woman and the children wanted to see the duke, they would have to announce themselves to the servants. This distance was common in royal circles – the couple did not enter each other's flats, but had the chamber staff announce themselves. In the duke's case, it was a demonstration of how disruptive meeting his wife and children was to his daily routine.

Max seemed to repeat with his children what he had suffered with his father. He showed no interest in his offspring and with such clarity that his wife's relatives were horrified. Ludovika's sister, Archduchess Sophie, wrote that the fact that her brother-in-law was “not at all occupied with his wonderful treasure”, i.e. their first-born son, was evidence of frivolity and an “almost mute heart”. Elisabeth's brother, Carl Theodor, was no less severe: he called him “egoism made flesh”.

Elisabeth, who as a child was called Elise by her family, grew up under her mother's wing. Ludovika's childhood had been very different from her husband's, and equally different was the attention the two devoted to their children as parents.

The duchess also repeated her childhood experiences: for her, children were the centre of everything. If her parents already considered time spent with them a desirable family happiness, Ludovika also found fulfilment in looking after her offspring. One of her daughters-in-law even described her as “a distinctly maternal being”, seeing in her a woman who lived entirely for her children. Decades later she herself would tell her granddaughter Amalie von Urach that a woman only has her children “when men go their own way”. Despite Max's lack of interest in family life, the question of whether or not to bring offspring into the world was never questioned – as the old duchess put it, “never interfere with God's plans”. Ludovika's great commitment to her children, her passionate devotion to the role of mother at that time unusual for a woman of her status regardless of any maternal feelings, was also a compensation for the lack of attention within the marriage. Max was as disinterested in her as he was in his children, and offered her little more than a few acts of kindness. There was no relationship between the two, said Ludovika's sister Sophie, who protested: “Such indifference cannot even be imagined!”

If one investigates the reasons for Max's indifference not only towards Ludovika and the children, but also towards the judgement of those around him, one must take into account not only his sad childhood, but also the unique position he occupied within the Wittelsbach dynasty. Thanks to his family constellation, he was a very special lord of the majorat: not only did he inherit the entire family fortune, but at a young age he was never subject to any restrictions from the older and higher ranking members. Duke Max could do whatever he wanted, in the true sense of the word. Consequently, as well as displaying a strong individualism from a young age, he also developed a self-centredness that left no room for complacency towards others. Ludovika's family certainly perceived his behaviour as pure disrespect, but who was supposed to tell the duke what to do? The Bavarian king, Ludovika's half-brother, so outraged by Max's behaviour, was often on the verge of lecturing him, but for some reason he always spared him. It was he – and he alone – who was in control of the house, yet he was careful not to intervene.

Winkelhofer, Martina (2022). Sissi. La vera storia. Il camino della giovane imperatrice (Translation done by DeepL. Please keep in mind that in a machine translation a lot of nuance may/will be lost)

[germanperioddramatranslations]

[Series] Sophie - Sissis kleine Schwester (Sophie - Sissi’s little Sister) | with English subtitles

Sophie is the youngest daughter of Duchess Ludovika and Duke Max in Bavaria. Her parents are looking for someone to marry her off well with and believe to have found this man in The King of Portugal. But then King Ludwig II. of Bavaria announces his engagement with Sophie who is a very close friend of his. Everything could be easy but drama and love are just around the corner. The series tells very loosely the story of Sissi's youngest sister and takes some historical liberties.

Episodes

Episode 01: Part 01 | Part 02 | Part 03

Episode 02: Part 01 | Part 02 | Part 03

>>>Playlist of the entire series<<<

Cast

Valerie Koch as Sophie in Bavaria

Steffen Groth as Edgar Hanfstaengl

Fritz Karl as Prince Ferdinand, The Duke of Alençon

Miguel Herz-Kestranek as Max, The Duke in Bavaria

Daniela Ziegler as Princess Ludovika, The Duchess in Bavaria

Marie Lou Sellem as Nadine

Tonio Arango as King Ludwig II of Bavaria

Tatjana Blacher as Irma Butkin

Heinrich Schafmeister as Düfflipp

Franz Buchrieser as Hanfstaengl

Helmfried von Lüttichau as Erwin Ratzki

[a-sexy-asexual-658]

The Twin Sister (Part 3)

Summary : (Y/N) Foster is the twin sister of Sophie foster. She's known as a crack head 'female Keefe Sencen' but what happens when Forkle could only carry two people at a time when the neverseen kidnapped her Sophie and Dex and had to leave her behind? What happens when he went back for her and it was too late? What happens when they raided a neverseen base only to find her bloodied and tortured? What happens when they find out she isn't the (Y/N) they all know and love anymore?

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

"This is Atlantis?" Sophie asked and I heard the disappointment in her voice as she tried not to trip. They started to converse as Alden walked up to a rock and opened it - let me just say COOL! secret compartment- and pulled a bottle out. I started hopping on the rocks one by one like I was playing hopscotch and Sophie stared at me like I was crazy. Hah, wish you didn't change your sneakers out for heels now do ya, sis!

Alden threw the bottle into the water and it turned into a whirlpool. I smiled a big grin as he said "Ladies first."

"I'm sorry - what?"

"Hell yeah!"

You can guess who said what. Sophie looked at me like I have lost my mind and I just gave her the 'girl I don't have self-preservation, are you seriously surprised?" look. I smiled and turned to the edge as I spoke.

"This is going to be fun, two possible results, 1# I travel through a whirlpool, awesome or 2# I die, WHICH IS EVEN BETTER!!" I yelled as ran toward the edge. At the last second, I twisted my body to face them and jumped backward. I folded my legs like I was sitting on the couch and brought my left arm behind my head while I did a mock solute to them with my right. I had a half grin half smirk on my face as I yelled "SEE YOU AT THE BOTTOM SUCKERS!!" And fell, I heard Sophie screech and scream as Alden and Fitz laughed at my enthusiasm.

I fell down and felt like I was falling down a slide upside-down and was soon spat out and landed on a big sponge that sucked all the water from my clothes and then launched me back into the air. The grin fell from my face as I realized I was about to land on the ground head first. Me being well me stayed quiet waiting for impact when I heard a small girly 'eek' and stopped mid-air. I lifted my head slightly to see a man with dirty blonde hair and dark navy blue eyes. He looked around 25 and had a freaked-out expression on his face. He had his hand outstretched clearly the one that stopped my fall with telekinesis, cool.

We just stood there staring at each other for a moment until Alden appeared and grabbed me, turning me right-side-up and placing me on the ground causing the man to let go. Alden patted my now messed-up hair down as he turned to thank the man for catching me. But the man was already gone. Hmm, creepy and mysterious . . . . . . I like it!

Sophie came down next and looked a little freaked but still ran to me and checked me over. Then turned to Alden and asked if I fell or anything, wow sissy can't you trust me? Before Alden replied to her she turned to me with a deadpan and flatly said "No." I pouted she either read my head or knew what I was thinking from experience. Alden then told her how I nearly fell onto my head and about that man, f-ing traitor that could have been your chance to make me change my mind about you.

Anyway, Sophie fussed over me even more as Fitz came. We walked into the city and I was amazed by all of it and was about to run off when I felt something tight around my waist. I looked and saw it was a cloth and turned to see the other end held by Fitz. I gave them all horrified looks as they told me no running off, They. Did. Not. Just. Leash. Me. I started chuckling which soon turned into a which cackle. I looked back at them with a smile and glint in my eye, they all had freaked out and scared looks on their faces. "You think this can hold me? ME?!" I yelled and they realized a moment too late what I was going to do. I ran at full speed and Fitz started to get dragged on the ground. He had little tear drops at the corners of his eyes, which were wide open, and his mouth was open letting out a loud girly scream. he held onto the clothe like his life depended on it.

I laughed, payback for dragging me around yesterday bitch. I kept running and many people stopped to stare, some took out these weird blue squares and clicked them, and I realized they were elves' versions of phones, oh thank whatever god was out there they had phones. Some other people were laughing their asses off and staring. Suddenly I caught sight of a boy, he had messy blonde hair and ice blue eyes. He then started running next to me for some reason. He had a cheeky grin on his face too as he yelled back to the screaming Fitz. "Having fun back there, Fitzy poo!!"

"SERIOUSLY KEEFE!!" Fitz yelled back." STOP HER!!" Keefe just laughed his head off almost falling off his feet.

"Yeah, No!! This is way too much fun!" He then turned to me and shoved his hand in front of me. "Names Keefe Sencen, who are you?" He asked with a grin. I grinned back and grabbed it.

"(Y/N) Foster!" He then said something about me 'knowing how to have fun' and after I told him I also like pranks he said 'prank partner' but the moment was ruined when I was suddenly swinging backward. I landed on Fitz who was pulled up again by Alden and Sophie who finally caught up with us and had pulled the clothe back to stop me.

Before I could speak they pulled me onto some kind of carriage, I pouted as they all glared at me. After we all calmed down out of the corner of my eye I saw Fitz shifting and throwing glances at me. I felt his anger and paled as he jumped up and tried to attack me. I streaked as my sister and Alden stopped him and the driver yelled at us to stop. I looked around then saw what was pulling the carriage, I gasped while no one was paying attention and climbed to the front. The man driving just raised an eyebrow at me, and I gave him an innocent smile.

He sighed "Cause any problems and you're going back to the back." He said flatly. I nodded, surprised he was even letting me stay there. For the rest of the ride, I just stared dreamily at the sea scorpion, although everyone did notice that I moved to the front but being absolutely done with me already just left it alone. Still, Alden did ask if me sitting here was ok with the driver who just nodded. We soon arrived at the destination, and along the way, I realized we had abandoned Keefe. Ehh he'll live, hopefully, anyway we arrived and I got off and went to finally pet the scorpion. It curled its tail and did a weird purring hissing sound which I just adored.

Sophie then pulled me inside by my ear as I whined wanting to continue to pet the sweet animal. She pulled me past the front desk and into the back office. I grumpily crossed my arms and huffed. A man with dark shoulder-length hair and dark skin walked around the desk and bowed which Alden dismissed.

"Please, there's no need for ceremony, my friend," Alden said with a wink. Hmm, I bet they're fucking, hehe ship. Oh, wait that's Fitz's dad which means he has a mom, or these two had some kind of surrogate, well if Fitz has a mom which means Alden has a wife, I feel bad for her. And my hatred for Alden shall grow, cheating on his wife, how dare he. And I bet she's a sweet person, asswhole. But I still ship it. I snapped out of my world when Quinlin spoke. Something about our eyes, ahh more rude people. I feel like there are going to be a lot of rude people here, great.

He then handed me and Sophie a blue cube and they said it needed our DNA. I watched as Sophie licked it and I gave her- ahem them a disgusted look, I swear if we have to lick things on a daily basis I'm going back to living with humans, at least they don't lick random things. So unsanitary.

Sophie just deadpanned at me. "Just lick it," she said I rolled my eyes and found a loophole. I put my thumb to my mouth about to lick when a light bulb lit up in my mind. I devilish smirk crossed my face, they said the cube needed DNA, but never said how right? Let's see how queasy these elves are. I bit my thumb hard drawing blood. The two grownups looked horrified and sick while Fitz just screamed and scrambled back. Sophie deadpanned and did a slow facepalm. What clearly freaked them out, even more, was that I didn't hesitate or wince. I swiped the drops of blood onto the cube and waited as it loaded.

I was looking at the cube waiting for it to do something when my hand was grabbed harshly and I turned to see Quinlin holding it with Alden who held some kind of cream and a bandage. Ok, these people are overreacting, it was just a little bite. I pulled my arm away before they could do anything and rolled my eyes. "You guys are overreacting, it's just I tiny cut." With that, I wiped whatever blood was left on Alden's shirt and sucked my finger. Sucking it always stops the bleeding. Alden stared at the blood I wiped on him and looked like he was going t- nevermind he actually threw up. Why did I wipe it on him you ask? 1# I hate him, and 2# I wasn't staining this beautiful dress.

Suddenly mine and Sophie's cubes lit up and two swirling things appeared above both with the words match underneath. They all looked amazed although Alden was still a little green. From there I just tuned everything out and just daydreamed, for some reason, my mind went to that boy, Jackson. He was really hot. My eyes widened at that thought and I turned red. I shook my head and snapped out of my thoughts as I saw Quinlin touching my sister's face. He let go with a furrowed brow and then looked at me. He raised his hand toward my face and I took a step back.

He froze there and gave me a smile "May I?" He asked and after they explained what was happening I hesitantly nodded. I don't mind him going in my head, Sophie does all the time although there were a few things I didn't want him to see, but anyway I was hesitant because I don't want him touching my face. I mean seriously who wants a complete stranger touching their face, not me. After a few minutes, he pulled away.

They started to talk as Quinlin brought us up a flight of hidden stairs and into a small room. I looked around and saw a bunch of pictures of fires, ahh fire. I love fire, and arson, and anything that has to do with fire. ( . . . . Fintan would love this child) I stared at everything dreamily, especially the ones that had beautiful designs. Fire made weird but beautiful shapes. I then asked them a question interrupting their conversation.

"Do you guys have anyone with the ability to control fire?" Silence. Absolute silence. Silence was my only answer. The three males all stared at me with looks I couldn't quite place.

"Um yes they are called pyrokinetic, but it's a forbidden ability." I blinked once then twice, then after the third time, a pissed look crossed over my face. Before saying anything I'm going to guess they banned the ability because one, ONE, person lost control while trying to learn how to use their ability and the council got sooo scared they banned it for everyone. Also why is it always the people who control fire? Can't it be someone else for once.

"What the hell!? Why the hell would you ban an ability?! Let - oh no you fucking don't Alden!! Don't you dare even think about interrupting me!! Let me guess you banned the whole entire ability because of one slip-up, one mistake, while someone was still learning how to control it right? RIGHT?!" All that was met with my question was silence, called it. I shoved a hand threw my hair tugging it harshly trying to calm down to no avail. Alden was about to speak but I gave him a nasty glare. "Don't. I am not done. What the actual fuck is wrong with you people!?!? You cannot honestly tell me you practice abilities -especially dangerous ones- without expecting some kind of sacrifice or loss! All knowledge comes with a price! You guys are sick, sick people, how could you just ban and ruin so many people's lives who had nothing to do with the accident just because of one person's mistake? IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!!" I took a second to catch my breath and they all stayed silent, Fitz looked conflicted while the two adults were surprised, probably not expecting someone to care so much or take a stand for it-for them- and a little conflicted. I looked at Sophie and by the look in her eyes, I could tell she was with me on this. I let out a dry laugh as I stared at them " Let me guess, next you're going to tell me people with abilities can't marry people without?" I said sarcastically, Quinlin and Fitz shuffled on their feet as Alden looked anywhere but at me. I deadpanned then felt another wave of anger come over me. "Seriously!! What the hell!! You guys shame people for simply loving each other, you people are sick!! Now I'm too afraid to ask your opinion on lgbtq+ people." They all looked confused at that.

"What's lgbtq+?" Fitz asked and I let out an exasperated sigh.

"I can't, I can't" And with that a walked out and to the front of the store. I kept walking out of the alleyway and into the busy streets, I just needed some space. I kept walking not stopping even when I heard people shouting my name. I came across a section where people were in a line in front of a big thing that looked like a chandelier with swirling crystals. I mindlessly stepped into the line, working fully on impulse. I soon got to the front and I tilted my head, I recalled what the person before me did. He called out a word and then walked into the light. Still working on impulse I said the word I heard a few guys before I say. "Mysterium" I walked into the light and only realized when I saw Fitz out of the corner of my eye with a panicked look on his face that I didn't know how to survive a leap alone yet.

I did the best I could to hold myself together threw the leap and thankfully appeared again, I sighed in relief and walked around. It looked like a working class city and I saw no one wearing capes so I took mine off. I saw people giving me worried, scared, and horrified looks but I ignored them and kept walking. I came across a cool colorful-looking store and walked in. I saw a boy at the front looking bored while reading a book, he glanced up at me and then back to his book.

"Welcome t-" He stopped himself short and whipped his head straight back at me. He looked panicked and scrambled to a shelf. I walked up to the counter and soon he pushed a bottle into my face, it had a blue liquid. "Quick drink this." He said and I -although confused- did it. I soon felt a tingling around my body but ignored him.

"I'm sorry but I can't pay for this," I said but he just shrugged and said he didn't care.

"So what brings you here?" He asked and I shrugged and told him a brief of what happened but he stopped me halfway through with a grin on his face. "Wait that sounds like a lot of drama, spill the tea girl. " He said and laughed, I was already liking this boy.

"Sure, but first my name's (Y/N), what's yours?"

"Dex!"

"Ok, so this is what happened-" And with that, I ended up explaining the whole day's events to him, and to say he enjoyed it was an understatement. He grinned every time I showed my hatred for Alden Vacker and laughed at all the roasts I gave people today. But he said he agreed with me and admired me on the pyrokinetic and 'bad match' topics. Apparently not many do and a bad match was what he told me was called when someone married someone who wasn't on their match list, then explained what a match list was. To say I was pissed at the idea of it was another understatement. Literally, the only good thing to come from it was stopping us from marrying our cousins. Anyway, by the time we finished, it was already sunset and I grudgingly said I had to leave.

"Sorry, unfortunately, I have to leave, and even worse I have to go to that golden gated hell hole." He laughed at my name for Everglem and before I could leave he grabbed my arm and pulled me to the back where his older version was working. Kesler his dad, had walked in on us talking and introduced himself earlier.

"Hey, dad! Can (Y/N) come over for dinner then after she can leap over to the Everglem? She already needs to use the leap master minus well feed her she's there." Dex asked and Kesler grinned and said I could, I grinned and helped them close the shop. We soon leaped to Dex's house just in time for dinner and I met his mother, Juline, and three triplet siblings. I smiled as I watched them run around.

"So you have a sister?" Juline asked making conversation with me, I nodded.

"Yup, my twin sister Sophie then a younger sister Amy but Amy is human so not sister? I don't know she's still my sister though." I said and they all smiled as we continued to talk. Yup, I love this family, it's final. As dinner ended I helped Juline with the dishes and Kesler said he would come with me to Everglem to make sure I got there safely, he made a joke of me fading again and I pouted as the others laughed. I sighed dramatically as we approached the leap master.

"Just adopt me, I want to never leave," I said and they laughed as the triplets actually took me seriously and Bex started yelling about wanting a sister and being the only girl.

"We doubt we would even be an option for adopting you, but you can come over whenever you like sweetie." Juline smiled and I grinned as Kesler made a joke.

"Just pray you don't get adopted by the Vackers."

"Oh no the agony! The glitter! Nonono spare me!!" I laughed and then I got an idea, " Hey Kesler you hiring?" They all looked confused except for Dex who grinned at me.

"Of course, you can work at slurps and burps (N/N)!" And after that, we left for Everglem. After a few seconds, Fitz opened the door and his eyes widened at me being there then suddenly an ear-splitting scream filled our ears.

"(Y/N)!!!!!!!!"

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

3390 words

I hope you liked it! Again my wattpad is in my bio.

Goodbye.

Sahiko out.

[erzherzog-von-edelstein]

18: bear hug Bavaria

The sun glinted off the gilding of the carriage as it pulled into the courtyard. Austria could feel his heart beating fast with anticipation. His brother and his guests were late, and it was making him anxious.

It had taken months of planning through letters, and it irked him that all that work had resulted in him checking his watch, waiting for his brother and a princess. A princess who had an important role to play as soon as the formalities were sorted.

It felt wrong to make Franz Joseph spend time away from the work that he valued so highly. But, he had to marry and produce an heir, and this scheme was better than anything else.

Seeing the carriage finally arrive soothed him at least a little. Bavaria emerged first, looking as sunny and carefree as ever. He was dressed lightly for travel, and would need to change before any formal introductions were made.

He opened the door and offered his hand to the women within. Duchess Ludovika, the mastermind behind this whole plan, took his hand and stepped down. Austria noted the black dress, and reminded himself that he should offer his condolences.

He watched as the long awaited princess stepped out. She was beautiful, as all of the Wittelsbachs were, and Franz would be happy if he valued such things. Likely his mother’s approval would matter the most, as it always did. Only a fool would cross Sophie and expect to keep the emperor’s favor. The Archduchess approved of the Wittelsbach princess, and that meant the matter was already settled.

To Austria’s great surprise a second younger woman also emerged from the carriage. The girl looked untidy, which Austria noted with displeasure. No Habsburg princess would be allowed to meet anyone looking as she did.

He knew his role, and stepped toward the group. He said, with the usual formality, “Welcome to Bad Ischl.”

The firm formality didn’t seem to bother Bavaria at all. He smiled back at him and said, “I’m sorry for the delay. I hope we are not too late.”

Austria knew that there was more he wanted to say, but they both knew the rules in front of others. Had they been alone, their greeting would have been more affectionate.

He could have said that the delay was unacceptable, but he didn’t feel like ruining his brother’s good mood. Instead, he said, “The emperor is waiting for you.”

He glanced at the girl with the disorderly dress and said, “Though I suggest you take some time to compose yourself first.” She seemed to shrink under his gaze.

Bavaria said, breaking through any possible tension, “That’s a very good idea.” He gestured to the grooms, who took the women’s luggage while the Duchess escorted her daughters inside.

Once they were out of earshot, Austria added, “And now they get the honor of explaining why they are late to Sophie. God help them.”

The archduchess’ exacting standards were well known, and even her own sister would not escape them. Austria was glad that he didn't have to be present to have that discussion.

Bavaria said, like he was trying to get his attention, “Brother.”

Austria turned to look at him, and was shocked when the other swept him into a hug. He let out an undignified noise as his feet left the ground momentarily as his brother lifted him.

Bavaria spoke, and Austria could hear that he was beaming, “I am so glad to see you.”

The loving manhandling was familiar, but it also threw all formality to the wind. Austria said, half-serious, “Unhand me! This is so undignified.”

He felt so small in his brother’s arms that it almost made him forget that he was an empire. He had never decided whether he enjoyed the feeling or not. But he was certain that he didn't need to try to convince his brother that he was powerful.

Bavaria chuckled and said, “I will give you your dignity back when you hug me back.”

Austria decided it was better not to argue with him, because he was in such an affable mood. After the ever-present tension in Vienna, it felt like a breath of fresh air.

He wrapped his arms around Bavaria’s shoulders as well as he could. The man was much too broad to hug easily. He smiled and said, “I’m glad to see you too, you big idiot.”

Bavaria slowly released him, and Austria could see exactly how broadly he was smiling. He said, “I have been excited all the way from Munich.”

Austria made a show of straightening his jacket to make a point. He tried to keep a straight face as he said, “I can see that.”

He knew that he would only be able to keep the stern tone for so long. Bavaria’s enthusiasm was infectious, and he could already feel the enthusiasm bubbling up in his chest.

Bavaria replied, tapping him lightly on the shoulder with a fist, “Lighten up, Roddy. We’re going to have a royal wedding, and it’s going to be wonderful.”

Austria finally broke into a smile. No amount of courtly dignity could counter Bavaria’s natural charm. It was like resisting a force of nature. He said, “I am glad it is going to be Helene. She’ll make Franz very happy.”

He knew that he also felt much more comfortable forming a stronger bond with his brother than reaching out to a state who might be an uncertain ally. Bavaria said, with his same glowing smile, “I love weddings.” Austria shook his head, “You love any party. I don’t think you’ll like this one nearly as much. There are so many formalities.”

The sun was beginning to dip toward the horizon. Austria added, “Let me show you to your room.”

He turned and Bavaria slipped his arm around his shoulders. He said, “I am looking forward to this. Several days watching young love bloom with my baby brother.”

As they walked towards the palace Austria chuckled and said, “Love in a royal marriage? You are optimistic.” As soon as the words came out of his mouth he realized that it was the first time he had laughed in quite a while. Bavaria replied, “Let’s hope I’m right, for both their sakes.”

Austria decided to change the subject to something he had been wondering, “Who is the other princess? I was only expecting Helene.” Bavaria answered, “Oh, that’s Sissi. Her mother wanted her to come along. I promise she won’t be any trouble.”

[suburbanbeatnik]

The short and very miserable life of Napoleon II, aka the Eaglet, aka Franz, Duke of Reichstadt: PART THREE

So there’s a lot of controversy over the exact nature of Franz and Sophie’s friendship. At the time, it was was rumored they became lovers. Satirical prints of the two were even published. But I’ve browsed a few recent-ish books about the Habsburgs, and they don’t seem to think the idea of a Franz/Sophie affair holds a lot of water. However, Aubry thinks it’s possible— even probable.

He took refuge in his tenderness for his young aunt, Sophie. She was still the woman whom he preferred. Perhaps she was his only love, the one to whom he owed his first embrace and the one who best satisfied him. She had been at first nothing but an elder sister. In his empty boyhood she had given him the only warmth of friendship he had known. Become a man he had asked for more, and Sophie consented, it is said.

They saw each other everyday at the Hofburg, in the little salon belonging to the Archduchess. It was always towards evening when he was tired from his work or his horseback rides and she relaxed from duties of the court. Oftentimes they would be alone, and they would take their tea by lamplight, reading aloud or talking over the happenings of the day. Reichstadt gave Sophie his full confidence. She knew his anxieties and his bitternesses and she gave him back his courage. She would place her fingers on his forehead, and stoke his hair, which shone like silk in the dim light. He would look back at her with quiet happiness, and she would smile back at him as she sat there in a low-cut gown, the coils of her hair caught up in a veil of white lace, and around her throat a ribbon of black velvet with a pendant, which was a miniature of her father, King Maximilian of Bavaria. [Aubry pg 215]

Aubry paints a compelling picture of Sophie’s restless, clear-eyed youth, intelligence, strong will, and free, simple, natural ways, which stood out like a star against the stultifying pomposity of the Habsburg court. Not surprisingly, she hated her husband, a coarse blockhead mainly obsessed with hunting. She spent every hour she could with Franz, driving in the Prater, breakfasting together, or walking in the garden, often accompanied by Sophie’s son Franz Joseph (Sissi’s future husband). Like his father, Franz loved children and was great with them. Add his intelligence, passion, and incredible good looks, I would not blame Sophie one bit if she’d had an affair with Franz.

Aubry also points out that at Schoenbrunn, Franz’s quarters were directly above Sophie’s, and connected through “a little staircase unknown to any chamberlain.” They also spent many afternoons completely alone.

They would venture through the Tyrolian garden to the limits of the vast wooded park and on out into that smiling countryside where vineclad hills gently rise above meadows, patches of woods and cultivated fields. There they spent the most beautiful hours in their lives, talking less of the future and of glory, we may be sure, than of the present and of love. No definite information as to these meetings have survived. All that is known from authentic documents is that they were frequent in the summer of 1831. Nor is there any trace, either, in spite of careful searches, of a correspondence between Reichstadt and Sophie. The Archduchess died at an advanced age, after a checkered career. She must have taken care to leave nothing behind her. The archives of the Hofburg show only the mother, and the princess interested in questions of State. [Aubry pg 217]

Aubry then considers the contention that Sophie’s son Maximilian was actually fathered by Franz. Aubry thinks it’s at least possible, but I don’t think it is. Just look at pictures of the guy— he’s 100% Habsburg. He looks exactly like Franz Karl. The Bonaparte seed is strong; if Napoleon was Maximilian’s grandfather, you’d be able to see it somewhere. But you can’t.

Anyway, after the golden summer of 1831— probably the second happiest period of Franz’s life, after his childhood—it was all downhill from there. Very, very downhill.  

Franz’s lung issues came back with a vengeance. It didn’t help his main doctor at this point was a foppish Italian obsessed with liver ailments— he thought all of Franz’s problems stemmed from— what else?— the liver. That winter Franz became major of an infantry regiment stationed in Vienna, and distinguished himself drilling his men to perfection. Which is kind of sad, really; but that’s all he was allowed to do, be a parade-ground soldier who never got his uniform dirty. He ate little, and slept less, so eager to show that he could be a real soldier, like his father. His health plummeted, and he contracted a catarrhal fever.  The Imperial family gathered around Franz— except for Marie Louise, who was too busy back with her little court at Parma, “nibbling bonbons at the Opera.” Of course she protested her “cruel anxiety” about Franz’s welfare, but she wasn’t about to go anywhere. After all, she couldn’t think of endangering her own “precious health” journeying to Vienna.

Reichstadt must have felt the desertion keenly, but he voiced no bitterness. He had grown accustomed to suffering in silence, and those who forgot him, he tried to forget. [Aubry pg. 224.]

So, once again, Marie Louise disappointed her son. But Franz had Sophie; and he also had Prokesch back, who had happily returned after Metternich forced him to go to Bologna (Metternich didn’t trust Prokesch, and did his best to keep the two friends apart). The two men now knew the full stranglehold that Metternich had on the monarchy. Franz would not even be able to take a single trip away, not even for his health. It was do or die.

The two concocted a plan, and it was a decent one. Once he’d recovered, at winter in Vienna, he would be able to slip away from the secret police, as he had when romancing Naudine Karolyi. “He and Prokesch would reach Styria or the Tyrol in disguise and from there, taking advantage of connections which the major would try to establish in a preliminary reconnoissance, they would reach the Papal States where the Duke would ask asylum of the Pope.” Letizia Bonaparte and Lucien, who lived there comfortably, the Pope deferring to them, had money and connections. “Sheltered by the head of the Church and his grandmother, on a soil not only neutral but sacred, he would be free to complete his novitiate for the throne. Prokesch foresaw that it would be not a very long one. He predicted the fall of Louis-Phillippe in two or three years at most, and after a period of anarchy, the return of Napoleon II by agreement between France and the Powers.” [Aubry pg 232]

Alas! Metternich caught wind of the scheme, and banished Prokesch to Rome in January of 1832. What a blow this was! But the major agreed he could use the circumstances to do the agreed reconnoissance and meet in secret with Madame Mère. The two men parted with great emotion.

But this is the last time they would ever see each other. By the next summer, Franz would be dead.

* * *

After the departure of one of his only friends in the world, depression overwhelmed Franz again. It didn’t help when he received a letter from Napoleon’s last valet, Marchand, who had been trying for years to contact Franz about a few items of “sentimental value” that Napoleon had left for his son. But there was a note from Metternich on the letter, that briskly said “no attention could be paid to Marchand’s request.”

And that was it. Franz knew had no recourse. He wouldn’t even be able to get his father’s coffee service. How petty, how disgusting, how mean Metternich was! Napoleon had been dead for over a decade; why couldn’t he have one single sentimental item left to him in his will? Was it that important? That much of a matter of importance to the State, to the bloody Holy Alliance, that he couldn’t hold the same coffee cup that his father held?

And bitterness ate away at him. He was only 21, but he felt so old. He hated humanity. He hated himself. He wondered why he was still alive. Perhaps he would have been better off if he had died as a child. He had expected so much of the future— but there was nothing but the coldness and emptiness of an eternal prison.  

Despair ate at him like a worm. And he grew sick. And sicker. He coughed and sweated and grew weaker by the day. His doctor’s liver medicines did nothing, and then bleeding did less, and Metternich kept refusing to see Franz moved to a warmer climate.

The Chancellor was pleased by the turn of events, of course.  “He sent world to all the embassies, and Marshal Maison was asked to inform his government, that ‘the condition of the Duke of Reichstadt was so serious that his mother has been informed.’” [Aubry pg 244]

A pregnant Sophie, at last returned from her tour of Hungary, did her best to nurse him. “She sat down at his bedside and hushed him whenever he tried to speak. She would read aloud to him and it was she thereafter who gave him his medicines and guarded his door from any importunate intrusion.” [Aubry pg 245]

Franz still worsened. The Emperor was not present; he was detained in Trieste, and when he returned to Austria, he avoided Vienna, staying at the summer castle of Persenbeug, along with the “ninny” Ferdinand and the blockhead Franz Karl, while Francis’s wife claimed that seeing his dying grandson would have a deleterious effect on his health. Count Dietrichstein also decided to leave, on the excuse of his daughter’s confinement. Aubry says:

He must have known that Reichstadt was lost. Could he just have been an indifferent soul underneath his courtesy and his outward expressions of affectionate anxiety? He may have been. Count Maurice Dietrichstein was born a sensitive man and an artist, but life at Court had dried him up, undoubtedly leaving him in the end with the heart of a chamberlain. He forgot his former pupil at his daughter’s bedside and allowed him to die without a word of friendship. [Aubry pg 250]

For Franz, it was a slow, agonizing death march, punctuated by an an abcess in his lungs rupturing— and a final communion taken with Sophie at his side, in what Aubry compares to a “mystic marriage.” Louise arrived at last, after dithering over her departure, claiming “slight indispositions” as a reason for not leaving sooner, and then coming to Vienna via “easy stages” over the course of a fortnight. Of course, when she saw how badly off her son was, emaciated and hacking up blood, she began to cry.

There with that spectre of the hollow eyes before her she may perhaps have understood at last the true identity of that youth whom she had neglected for two years, and how guilty she had been all along toward him. She alone could have protected her child against Metternich’s policy and against himself. She could have saved him from those years of moral anguish and that tragic solitude which had ruined his health sooner and even more than any disease. That in her weakness she had lost him a throne might be excused, but however cowardly as an Empress, she might have shown herself a good mother. Vienna was her true place but she had preferred Parma with its ease, deserting the son of the greatest man in her age to sate her voluptuousness in the arms of her lover, nibble bonbons and preside over well-served dinners. [Aubry pgs 252-252]

Of course, Metternich made sure to look in on Franz while he was dying.

Through a half-open door however the Chancellor was allowed to see the patient in his bed. He gazed for a moment, then turned and walked away without a tremor, without a word of sympathy for the mother and doubtless without any remorse. [Aubry pg 255]

Franz knew he would die. “Must I end so young,” he said, “A life that is useless and without a name? Ma naissance et ma mort, voilà toute mon histoire. Entre mon berceau et ma tombe, il y a un grand zéro.” He did not quite say that on his deathbed, but it was close. Very, very close.

It took monumental efforts to keep Franz alive at this point. He was a barely breathing corpse. He could not swallow food; his throat had swollen up; his coughing seem to tear his body apart; and he could barely sup barley-water and milk. He had even been given mother’s milk at one point. His legs were swollen, and he was cold as ice. Deprived of his dearest friend Prokesch, who was meeting with Letizia and Lucien in Rome, his fellow captains in his regiment stood by his bedside.

The end came on the morning of July 21st— a thunderstorm brewed in the air, the air damp and thick and charged. He cried out— “death! I want nothing but death!” — and then— “Harness the horses! I must go to meet my father! I must embrace him once more!”

Then he whispered: “How I am suffering! When will this sad existence end?” [Aubry pg 260]

At last, he called, gasping, sweating, for his mother. (Sophie, still recovering from childbirth, was left to sleep, something which she never forgot.) Louise was brought in at the last minute, and managed to faint dead away in the middle of the room, completely prostrate on the floor. I’m imagining the priest having to step over her for his last rites, but apparently she managed to get to her knees by the bed just in time for Franz to look at her. That, one instant, and then he stopped breathing altogether.

Franz’s grandfather, back in Persenbeug, away from any inconveniently dead grandsons, called Franz’s death a possible blessing for Europe.  

As for Sophie, once the news was broken “delicately” to her…

…she lost consciousness for several hours and the attack was followed by a high fever. Her milk dried up. For several days her life was despaired of. She gradually recovered. Those who knew her thereafter no longer found the gay and simple Archduchess. All the gentleness seemed to have left her. There was a sting in everything she said. The truth was that her youth had died with Reichstadt. She was to have intrigues, love affairs, ambitions, cares of State. But she had changed in spirit, or rather she had attained in a few days the mood of her maturity, with, in her heart’s depth, a regret and a bitterness which would endure until her death, five years after the disaster of her son Maximilian. [Aubry pg 265]

* * *

And so ends my recap of Aubry’s King of Rome. Ugh, this could have been more depressing!? Anyway, I’ll write an epilogue soon explaining what happened to everyone after Franz’s death.  

Part One

Part Two 

[chibimyumi]

Art Report - ‘Elisabeth 2019′ TOHO ACT 1

【Click here for Act 2 】

Dear everyone!~~!

Now 3 months late since I promised,  I finally bring you a VERY detailed photo report on ‘Elisabeth’ 2019!

DISCLAIMER:

I am not going to retell the story of ‘Elisabeth’; I will skip quite many scenes. For the full story, please look up a synopsis or something alike.

There is actually quite a lot I am not sure whether I remembered right. And Furukawa always changes his performance every few days, so my report does not cover all of Furutod.

Some of these drawings were made in a rush, while for others I had more time.

Cast - Matinée July 19th, 2019

Elisabeth - Manaki Reika

Der Tod - Furukawa Yuta

Lucheni - Yamazaki Ikusaburo

Franz I - Hirakata Genki

Sophie - Koujun Tatsuki

Rudolf - Miura Ryosuke

Child Rudolf - Jin Yoshiharu

The Descent

The descent has always been one of my favourite scenes. This number is just so great, a mere memory of it is enough to turn me into one giant goosebump. I was especially looking forward to this, because this would be the first time we see Furukawa Yuta as the role of his dreams; Der Tod.

Though I am no fan of the metallic wings, Furutod’s descent was SO MAJESTIC. The theme of Der Tod started, and from the ceiling a pair of boots descended.

Some ankles revealed itself, the calf... more of the calf... and there was more calf... AH finally some knees. Uw, more legs...leeegs...leeeegs... “WHERE DO HIS LEGS STOP!? Oh, there! No wait, those are his upper thighs. Ah, finally, his waist.”

I heard from someone who counted, Furukawa descends one beat earlier than Inoue Yoshio’s Der Tod does, because otherwise by the time Der Tod needs to sing, Furukawa’s face has not shown yet ( ´艸｀)

When Furutod touched ground, his Death Angels undid his wings, and he stepped onto the stage for the first time.

The way Furukawa carries himself as Der Tod is very two-dimensional, in a good way!  When he descended he was like a Greek statue, but when he stepped forward, he gradually came to life. In this photo ⇊ we catch a small glimpse of Furutod’s statue-like face.

Sissi’s Entrance

Manaki’s Sissi was the cutest and most majestic thing I have seen. When she made her appearance as child Sissi, it was very believable that it really was a child standing before me. She was beaming and her eyes were full of dreams. And yet there was this edge in her. It was easy to see how this young girl would grow into a woman who would survive ordeal after ordeal.

Enter the Underworld

During a family meeting, Sissi fell from the tree which wounded her so bad she enters the Underworld. She was escorted by the Death Angels, and at first Furutod did not seem interested at all. “Another mortal who died, nothing new.” When he approached her to take her life, Sissi sought eye-contact with Der Tod, and her eyes were so full of power and life, it was like she - though confused - was daring the lord of the Underworld to end her.

“The Rondo of Love and Death”

The song ‘the Rondo of Love and Death’ began, and I was stunned by how much Furukawa managed to improve his already good singing. He always had trouble with the high notes, and sometimes he would be a bit short of breath. But by ‘Elisabeth’, Furukawa has improved his vocals so much that even the highest notes went as smooth as silk.

♪♬ “The wounds from which my pale blood flows Only you are capable of easing my pain I shall return you your life” ♪♬  - Der Tod

This is the first time when Furutod comes fully to life, and for the first time his eyes showed an emotion that was not utttttter boredom. We learn that Furutod is like a spoiled child who would take any opportunity to play. Despite literally being the personification of Death, the only thing Der Tod seems to want to kill is not the lives of others, but his own boredom. To me, Furutod is the first Der Tod that made me realise what this ‘pain’ in the script really meant to him; a lethal apathy paired with the suffering of not being able to end it.

The other Der Tods I have seen are also good; but especially in the Takarazuka version, this ‘pain’ is strongly hinted to be ‘a loveless existence’. A lethal apathy was a very refreshing take for me to see.

♪♬ “Until the day I win your love I will continue my pursuit... I will pursue your love no matter where you go”　♪♬

The song was meant to be a very romantic one, but once sung by Furutod, this pining lover’s song became that of an entitled stalker’s threat song. In the other versions of ‘Elisabeth’, Der Tod is also a stalker, of course. But the emphasis on the romance is usually laid on so thick, one would have to give the situation some extra thought before acknowledging how creepy it truly is.

Furutod however, only allows you room to either interpret it as a problematic kinky-romance, or sheer threat.

The Imperial Wedding

Franz I and Sissi get married, and Der Tod attends the Imperial wedding as well. I was a very lucky b*tch, I sat only 2 seats away from where Furutod passed us in the aisle.

... he was literally only a meter away from us, and my little dork sister Ò^Ó didn’t see him. Sigh. She was too busy looking at the stage. Which - not gonna lie - was glorious too. But Furutod thoughhhhhhh.

His long cape trailed behind him, the way he walked was so smooth it was like he was floating. We have seen a preview of Furukawa’s float-walk in Kuromyu, where he applied ballet even to walking. I thought that was already the height of Furukawa’s ballet skills; BUT I WAS WRONG! When I saw Furutod’s float-walk from up close, I realised that as Sebas, Furukawa was at least ‘TRYING’ to look human. With Furutod he did not bother.

Speaking of my sister @cutiepeimei , she also sketched the image of Floating!Furutod. He ghost.

The Game is On

After Furutod saw his ‘toy’ become someone else’s, it was like something snapped in his mind. He was very calm at first, solemnly warning Elisabeth that she will be the end of the Habsburg glory.

♪♬ “All misfortune starts here, as of today The demise of the Habsburg glory The downfall of an empire of which no one knows Let me tell you bit by bit, the source of all disaster People are blissfully oblivious of the scent of misfortune The die is cast by your grave mistake Elisabeth!” ♪♬ - Der Tod and Choir

But then after Elisabeth spoke her wedding vow, tears started streaming down Furutod’s cheeks, and suddenly, he broke into hysterical laughter.

He started with a few chuckles under his breath which bled into an uncontrolled laughter. Before we knew, this ominous laughter became a full-out hyena screech, going “iiiiyaaahahahaahahaha!”

The Japanese fandom is rather divided on their opinions on this hyena laughter. I at first didn’t like it either; I found myself pinching my nose willing myself not to laugh in the theatre. Despite it being funny at the time, it was indeed very very chilling. It wasn’t until after I watched other versions of ‘Elisabeth’ (because I just missed Furutod SO MUCH) that I realised I was REALLY missing Hyena!Tod. So I have settled with the opinion of “Hyena!Tod Hell YES!”.

“The Last Dance“

In the interview published in ‘Soen September 2019 Issue’, Furukawa shared with us that he asked costume designer Ikezawa to make this costume military based.

Though all guests attended the Imperial wedding in formal wear, Furutod chose to appear in military uniform because that was the moment he decided to declare war to Elisabeth. Quite a few years had passed between their first encounter and the wedding, and Furutod was done waiting; he was going to conquer his toy actively now.

In the song ‘the Last Dance’, Furutod made his appearance in a cool-headed manner, and he stayed so for... a few seconds. It was like he was trying very hard to remain calm, but his bottled-up impatience just could no longer be suppressed.

As Furukawa said himself before in this interview, “‘the Last Dance’, starts in gentle melody and sets the mood. But then suddenly the rock starts, and both Der Tod and the musical itself transform themselves.”

 Sissi was trying to escape the room, but the Death Angels had already guarded every corner of the room. Whenever Sissi seemed to finally have found a window to escape, a minion would just spin her on her heels and push her back to the boss.

Usually, this scene is one of my least favourites in non-Takarazuka versions, because it is usually performed with too much rape-vibes. Furutod however, was not rape-y at all. In fact, he hardly ever touched more than Sissi’s hands. The scene was devoid of sexual energy - it was just war.

By the end of the song, Furutod saw how Sissi was devastated by him, and seemed to regret for a second that he used the wrong strategy. Had he not scared her, then Sissi might have been less quick to run away from him. It was very refreshing to see a version of this scene wherein Der Tod reflects on how he scared somebody unduly.

Alas, no use crying over spilt milk, Furutod shrugged it off. Before he left Sissi he bowed to her, and with a gentle smile he gestured at the pathway that the Death Angels cleared for her. Furutod reminded Sissi that whether she escapes him or not would be entirely at his mercy, just like now. “Your last dance will belong to me.” ♪♬

“I Belong to Myself”

At the crack of dawn after Sissi’s wedding night, her mother in law Sophie inspects every inch of her, and even blamed her for not having consummated the wedding with her son. Sophie dictates the rules at the Imperial court and strips Sissi of every last bit of her autonomy.

Look, ⇊ it’s Akisono Mio (Frances) on the left!

Franz hears the noise from his bride’s chamber and comes to check on her. Sissi cries out to Franz, begging him to save her from Sophiezilla. Franz - the spineless mama-boy that he is - smiles at Sissi, and has the guts to sing the following:

♪♬ “ You have to learn the duties of being Empress You need to repress yourself, that is your life from now on I am your ally, but all of Mother’s advice is for your sake” ♪♬ - Franz

Sissi will swallow none of this bs, and declares that even though her body might now be the Imperial family’s property, her soul belongs to herself alone.

I have seen a lot of whimpering Sissis who turned this power song into a damsel-in-distress-song. But Manaki Reika was full of determination and spite. It was very empowering to see. She was looking up, of course, and it makes sense because the Imperial Theatre has multiple stories of seats. But because of Manaki’s immense presence, it felt like she was declaring her autonomy to a greater existence.

Hungarian Independence

Sissi’s life was getting harder and harder. First, her husband was very busy, so the couple did not have any time to produce any children. By the second year, Sissi finally gave birth to a baby girl, but the baby was immediately taken away by Sophie. Not only did Sophie go full Disney Villain by stealing a baby, she also took the liberty of naming the child after herself.

The state was in turmoil, and Franz had trouble keeping everything together. He was willing to make a last bet on his wife’s charms, and asked Elisabeth to come with him to Hungary.

Here, Sissi saw her chance to make a move, and demanded that she would only come if Franz made his mother return baby Sophie to her. Defeated, Franz finally made his first move.

Franz was supposed to show himself in a speech wherein he declares Austrian authority over Hungary. Sissi however, showed herself in a dress in the colours of the Hungarian flag, and greeted the Hungarian people in Hungarian language and acknowledges Hungary as an independent nation. Using this political move, she managed to single-handedly win the favours of the Hungarian people who were fighting for self governance.

The Hungarian revolutionaries however, were VERY unhappy with this development. While they would have been seen as ‘heroes who fought for independence’, they would now be reduced to ‘ungrateful rebellions’.

Elemer, played by Uehara Takuya (Grell) made his move to assasinate Sissi, but was stopped by Furutod. Furutod hid Elemer’s hand that was holding a gun with his cape, and showed the revolutionaries that the Imperial guards were very close by.

Furutod gave the revolutionaries an assuring pat on the shoulders and created an opening for them to escape the guards. The revolutionaries thanked him heartily. Furutod scoffed, reminding the audience once more that Sissi’s life and death was entirely in his hands.

Just like Furukawa explained marvelously before in this interview, Furutod is “an entity that represents both life force and death; death has no meaning to human beings if there is no life, after all. Death’s power ultimately, comes from his authority over the termination of someone’s life.”

Sissi seemed to be very full of herself after she won the popularity of the Hungarian people, but Furutod would not allow her this joy. His Death Angels appear with a small coffin and presented it to her like a gift box. They opened the ‘gift’ and revealed the corpse of baby Sophie to her mother.

Sissi screeches in pain and anger, and Furutod wrapped his arms around her, again with tears streaming down his face.

♪♬ “On the eve of your wedding you danced Your eyes shining with love for me But the arms around you were the Emperor’s Do you remember? Now in my eyes too, my love for you shines But in my arms rests another Elisabeth, quickly acknowledge your love for me And realise that you will lead his Empire into ruins” ♪♬ - Der Tod

Furutod is easily the cruelest interpretation of Der Tod I have seen... and I have seen MANY. (Ack, I forgot to draw this scene... might add it later.)

Ultimatum

Sissi’s produced 3 children by now, but all were taken away by Sophie. Her only son Rudolf was but a young child, but he was being literally being whipped into discipline by Sophie. Whenever the boy would say he wanted to see his mother, Sophie would whip him, and tell him his mother is a bad influence.

Sophie did not like Elisabeth’s success in Hungary, so she had been controlling every aspect at the Austrian court.

Sissi’s had enough, and wrote an ultimatum to her husband, demanding that he needed to choose either her, or his mother. If he did not comply, then her legs door would always be closed to him.

Franz takes the letter, but did not know what to do, and left. Sissi did not seem to have a lot of faith in Franz to be able to stand up against Sophiezilla either, and almost crashes.

Then in her lowest moment, Der Tod appeared and showed her the understanding and compassion she could get nowhere else. He sings in a cooing voice:

♪♬ “Elisabeth... cry no more Rest embraced in my chest Now is the time you can finally be free in the eternal world where time never ends” ♪♬ - Der Tod

He touched her very gently, only ever guiding her with his finger tips, never pulling her. Here he respected her bodily autonomy which her husband would not.

♪♬ “Elisabeth... let us go just the two of us...” ♪♬

Sissi seemed to be falling for the temptation, and Furutod got carried away because for the first time in years, he seemed to be a bit more successful. He forgot to maintain his gentle act, and pushed Sissi down a bit too forcibly. Sissi snapped out of the dream, realising her seducer was not unlike her husband who’s been trying to force himself onto her, and pushed Der Tod away.

♪♬ “No, I will not run! It's still too soon to give up! As long as I am alive I can obtain my freedom Get out! I will never rely on you!” ♪♬  - Elisabeth

“MILK!”

‘Milk’ is such a powerful song...! Yamazaki’s powerful and slightly drunk voice is PERFECT for Lucheni... eternal sadness that 2019 is probably his last time as Lucheni...

Austria was suffering from famine, and the price of milk had sky-rocketed. Lucheni here poses as a milk merchant and sells milk to the starving people. There was barely enough milk left for one small jug however, and the people raged even further.

Lucheni then explains that all the milk is gone because it got into the bathtub of the Empress, who was using food to maintain her beauty.

♪♬ “Can the beauty of the Empress really save a nation!? Instead of looking at other countries Have some eyes for your own!” ♪♬ - Lucheni & Choir

After having successfully fueled the anger of the people, Lucheni then ships cans and cans of milk to the Imperial palace, where Sissi was having her beauty routine.

The Mirror Hall

Franz could not really keep it in his pants anymore, and finally decided to confront his mother. He gathered his courage and approached his wife, to tell her that she will have her authority as the children’s mother back, “so please, please sleep with me again.” Though this is exactly what Sissi wanted to hear, Franz started another train of spineless excuses for how he was toootally not a coward for NOT standing up against his mother, but that he merely had to abide his duty as the Emperor.

Sissi makes another power move. She showed herself in the iconic Empress Elisabeth dress, and presented herself so majestically she manages to shut her husband up. (Sorry, my art here cannot quite represent just HOW majestic she was...)

My sister’s self portrait does cover the reaction it demanded though!

When Franz wanted to get close to her, Sissi stopped Franz with but a mere hand-gesture. Though Sissi presented herself as a very elegant and perfect wife, her words carried a very strict warning that Franz should not mistake her as his property just because she’s happy he showed her basic decency.

♪♬ “I am pleased to hear your words I too wish to walk by your side, Your Majesty However, my life belongs to myself!” ♪♬ - Elisabeth

Franz was not the only one who was impressed, Furutod too had to begrudgingly admit he was one-upped by Sissi. Now that Sissi had determined to live on regardless of the hardships, Der Tod was forced to literally stay in the background, watching Elisabeth reconquering everything that was stripped away from her bit by bit.

♪♬ “Because I've permitted you another chance to live you ended up finding the purpose of life!” ♪♬ - Der Tod

The platform on which Furukawa stood rose up, and he pressed a hand onto his heart, raising his head to the sky.

Herewith, the curtains of the first Act fell (and while applauding, everybody shot up from the seats and bolted for the toilets.)

【Click here for Act 2 】

[mercutiomaggie]

Maybe if i speak it into existence it’ll happen

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith is one of my favorite books. It’s got such depth in it as we experience Francie grow up in the poverty of Brooklyn in 1912.  While I’m aware there is a movie for it from 1945 but I feel it is time for a remake. As far as I am concerned there’s one person who I believe could do it justice. Greta Gerwig. 

With how well put together and all-around amazing remake of Little Women, which made me fall in love with the March sister's story all over again. I can only imagine what an adaption of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn would look like.

Possibly an ideal dream cast - 

Katie Nolan - personally, I would love to see Florence Pugh as Katie Nolan after seeing her performance in Little Women. (though the I do have others I have been imagining as well including Saoirse Ronan, Hayley Attwell, Emila Clarke, Keira Knightley,  Mandy Moore, and Sophie Turner who would also be fantastic options.)

Francie Nolan -  I think it would be great to see possibly an unknown actor for older  Francie, and possibly for child Francie: Mckenna Grace? ( though an unknown actor for her as well would be great!)

Johnny Nolan -  George Mackay or possibly Glen Powell

Neely Nolan - Again an unknown actor for both child and older Neely

Evy Rommely Flitman - Emilia Clarke, Hayley Atwell, Mandy Moore

Sissy Rommely - Carey Mulligan or maybe Amanda Seyfried.

Does anyone else have a movie dream cast for A Tree Grows in Brooklyn?

[moonfairydraws]

Lost on Danny Street

In honor of International day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, thought I’d bring you a little story about a girl who got lost and ended up on a very special street.

A/N: in this story, my character Zophie is about 5 or 6. When I was a little older than her age, I got lost in a Disney world resort. It was thanks to cast members and some wonderful guests that I got reunited with my family. While I myself am cisgender, I tried to write it from my experience getting lost back then, as well as my experience working in a toy store where ladies like a certain one in the story existed. Although, we both get lost for very different reasons and the item I was left with was a hotel key. But that’s for another day. Enjoy

Words: 962

This happened a little bit ago. Back then, her family still called her by that name. She remembered that day, even the outfit she was wearing.

A blue striped shirt and overalls with a red car on the front. She’d protested the outfit, but all her other clothes had been dirty from an earlier tantrum.

It had actually been so bad, her older sister Lani had lamented and given her her phone to watch the little mermaid. But of course, she’d gotten bored and put it in her little pink purse.

They’d gone to get her new shoes and she’d desperately wanted a pair of sneakers with pink sequins and baby blue laces and a little mermaid on the side. But when she went to put them on the counter with her money a lady had put another pair in front of her.

“Wouldn’t you prefer these instead? They have sharks on them.”

“No. I don’t like sharks. I like mermaids. See, I got one on my purse.” She showed the lady

“Don’t be silly. Purses are for girls, not boys.” This made her cry. Why couldn’t she have the sneakers that she wanted? Why couldn’t she have a purse?

She’d run out of the small store. Run as fast as her little legs could take her. She’d probably run two blocks before she’d realized it.

“Papa? Sissy? Gracie? Where are you?” She was lost. Lost on an unfamiliar street. That’s when Lani’s phone had sung some Jonas Brothers song. “Sissy’s phone.”

“Oh thank the universe.” Her dad had been crying. “Son, where are you?”

She’d looked up at the nearest green street sign. “The green sign says D...”

“Sound it out sweetie.” Lani had said over the phone. “Like the lions do on the tv.”

“Dah....nn...why. Sh..tah.ree...t. Oh! Danny Street.” Thats when the phone had beeped. “Sissy! The screen is black! Fix it!”

But her sister wasn’t there to plug the phone in. She’d lost her connection to her family. It just made her cry more.

That’s when words appeared on the pavement in front of her. “Wh...ah...t...s... What’s....wah...rr...on....gah...waronga? I don’t know.”

“Danny baby, I don’t think he’s that advanced of a reader.” A voice came from behind her. It was a nice lady, with really nice hair and pretty makeup. Like....

“Ursula!” She loved Ursula, so her little brain had told her to run up and hug this lady. “Can your eel friends bring back my papa and sissies. I’ll give you my favorite dolly.” She’d pulled it out of her bag and given it to the woman.

The look on her face was sad before she realized what she’d meant, handing back her toy. “Oh you don’t need to give Miss Maura your dolly. Why don’t we get that phone of yours working again and get you all cheered up. Do you like ice cream?”

“Uh Huh. My favorite is chocolate with rainbow sprinkles and star sprinkles and blueberries.”

“Well, what a coincidence.” Maura had smiled and pointed at a counter, where a beautiful ice cream dish sat, overfilling with blueberries and rainbow and shiny star sprinkles.

While she’d gobbled up the treat, Maura had wiped off the gooey mess along with her tears. “Now, Sugar, you have to tell me what I can call you.”

“Well, it’s Teddy, but I don’t like it.” She frowned, letting ice cream drip on to her overalls. “I thought Sophie could be my name, but there’s a Sophia in my class at school and she’s really mean. I don’t want to be mean. Then I thought maybe Zoo, but that’s not right either. I can’t be a Zoo.”

Maura giggled. What was weird was that it also felt like the street was giggling too, but streets don’t giggle. “What about Zophie? It’s a little combo, spelled Z-o-p-h-i-e.”

“I like that.” She smiled. “Just call me Zophie Jones.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you Zophie Jones.” Maura shook her hand.

“Aww, I want ice cream too!” Zophie heard Gracie’s voice behind her. “Papa! Can I get some ice cream too?”

“Sure.” There was her Papa. “Theo, I’m really sorry. I turned my back for one second and that lady hurt your feelings. But you can’t just run away like that.”

“Not Theo. Zophie.” She’d corrected him as Grace had gobbled up a magically poofed strawberry sorbet. It would be the first of many, but this was the most important thing to her. More important than some sparkly pink shoes.

“Zophie. Okay.” He’d hugged her close. “Promise me though, you come to me if that happens again.”

“Yes, Papa.”

“Well, after Miss Maura called, I did make a stop.” He pulled out a familiar box.

“My dolphin shoes! Can I wear them now?”

“First we should probably get you a bath and a nice nap. Does that sound good, little prince?”

“No Papa, she’s a little princess!” Gracie corrected.

“Right.”

“Okay Papa.” Zophie had climbed into her Papa’s arms. “Bye Ursula.”

“Bye Zophie.” Maura had ruffled her hair. “And remember, Danny The Street and me will just be a phone call away if you need somewhere to go.” Maura slipped Lani’s phone in Zophie’s purse.

That’s when she saw two words on the ground. Bye Zophie.

“Bye Danny.”

She hadn’t known it, but she’d find herself on that street many times after that. Whenever she’d needed a safe haven or somewhere to just have a friendly talk, she’d turn the corner and it always seemed to say Danny Street. The ice cream counter isn’t there anymore, but what was always had a flair about it. But hey, even a sentient street knows that sometimes all you need is a friend. And maybe something more filling than chocolate ice cream with rainbow and star sprinkles.

[germanaustriannoblesandroyals]

Hello u have a Beautiful Blog, I have a question about one of your Posts the one called : Siblings (03/?): The Daughters of Princess Ludovika of Bavaria, The Duchess in Bavaria Form which shows or movies did you get your GIFs especially the 7th gif the one next to Mathilde's name they are beautiful are these shows &movies available online Thank you for your time & stunning Blog (sorry if you get this message twice sometimes my messages don't go through so I have to send it twice to be sure

First of all thank you very much.

Helene and Elisabeth are from Sisi (2009), which I translated for my other blog/channel @germanperioddramatranslations. Might be blocked in your country on youtube but you can also find it on WLEXT.net

Sophie is from Ludwig II (2012). So is Marie who is actually Elisabeth in the movie.

For Mathilde I chose the two part movie/series Sophie - Sissis kleine Schwester [Sophie - Sissi’s little sister] which I’m currently translating. In the movie, she is actually the character of Nadine, the lady-in-waiting of Sophie.

So you can watch Sisi and Ludwig already on either youtube or WLEXT but the other one will still take some time.

[sissiofaustria]

@https://timeewaitsfornone.tumblr.com/

Prince Ferdinand, Duke of Alençon

He married Sophie Charlotte Augustine, Duchess in Bavaria the sister of Empress Elisabeth(Sissi)of Austria.

The Duke and Duchess of Alençon had two children:

    Louise d'Orléans (1869-1952) who married Prince Alphonse of Bavaria (1862-1933), infant of Spain.     Emmanuel d'Orléans (1872-1931) "Duke of Vendôme" who, after an affair with Miss Louise de Maillé and the birth of a natural child, married Princess Henriette of Belgium (1870-1948), sister of King Albert I of Belgium.

The Duke d'Alençon's childhood is particularly austere. His father, Louis of Orleans, Duke of Nemours shows little tenderness to his children and roughs them, thinking thus to harden them. Despite everything, the Duke of Alençon remains very close to his father and he enjoys a great influence on him all his life. His mother, the Duchess Victoire, died in childbirth in 1857, when he was only 13 years old. Her grandmother, Queen Marie-Amélie cares with great tenderness for the education of her "little sonnet" and her brothers and sisters.

  In 1861, after two years of public school in Edinburgh, "Alençon" studied the profession of arms at the military school of Segovia and, being forbidden to stay in France like all members of his family, he commits himself as a an officer in the Spanish army (of which his uncle, the Duke of Montpensier, is a part). 

In 1866 Ferdinand and his cousin Louis of Orleans, Prince of Conde, embarked at Southampton on the Mongolia, a ship of the British shipowner P & O bound for Egypt. They land at Alexandria where Ferdinand let his cousin continue his journey, to visit the country. In the meantime, his grandmother died in England in 1866 at the age of 84. 

Faithful to her sovereign, Isabel II of Spain, the prince participates in an expeditionary force tasked with suppressing an insurrection in the Philippines. His bravery earned him the rank of captain but he resigned when the queen was deposed in 1868.

When the Franco-Prussian war broke out in 1870, the Duke of Alençon informed the government of Napoleon III that he was eager to participate in the fighting, even as a second-class soldier. But the French army rejects the prince's request (like those of all his Orleans relatives), as ordered by the government of Napoleon III.

In 1868, the prince married Duchess Sophie-Charlotte de Wittelsbach, sister of the Empress of Austria and the former Queen of the Two Sicilies. The young couple Alençon lives happily, in Sicily then in Rome, at the King of the Two Sicilies, to cure the health of the Duchess, greatly weakened by a first childbirth. Falsely suspected of preparing with the two ex-sovereigns for the re-establishment of the Bourbons on the throne of the Two Sicilies, the "Duke and Duchess of Alençon", so as not to cause embarrassment to their parents, leave Italy and Italy. settled in Meran and Mentelberg, in the Austrian Tyrol (currently in Italy). The duchess gives birth to her second and last child, Emmanuel, while the duke is in Paris with his father preparing for the arrival of his family in his homeland.

  Returning to France after the fall of the Second Empire, Ferdinand d'Orléans can finally become an officer in the army of this country he venerates without knowing him really since he left at the age of 4 years. The couple moved to Vincennes with his two children. Appreciated by his soldiers but abused by some of his superiors because of his royal birth, Ferdinand of Orleans is however again removed from military life by the 1886 law of exile, which excludes the Orleans and Bonaparte from France. and condemns the pretenders to the French throne to a new exile. Ferdinand however chooses not to accompany his cousin, the Count of Paris, in exile and remains live in the French capital by patriotism.

Like his wife, who became a Dominican Tertiary in 1876, the Duke of Alençon became a member of the Franciscan Third Order and devoted much of his time to good works. After the tragic death in 1886 of her first betrothed, Ludwig II of Bavaria, the Duchess of Alençon compulsively takes refuge in an adulterous love story. Ferdinand then had her cared for in a clinic near her family in Austria, under the benevolent care of her brother-in-law, Duke Charles Theodore in Bavaria, a soldier who became a doctor and then a well-known ophthalmologist. In 1891, his daughter Louise married a German cousin, Prince Alphonse of Bavaria. Five years later, the Duc de Vendôme married Princess Henriette of Belgium. If the "Bavaria" must wait many years before having their first child, very quickly the "Vendome" make Ferdinand grandfather. In 1897, the Duchess of Alençon perished in the fire of the Bazaar of Charity. The duke, broken and now in his fifties, tries to take the habit. This desire is not granted however, despite an appeal to Pope Pius X. Deceiving his boredom, the prince begins to travel across Europe, using his family relationships to defend the political positions of France while leading a life more and more evangelical. The "Duke of Alençon" died in 1910. His body and that of his wife are now gathered in the Royal Chapel of Orleans, Dreux.

[archduchessofnowhere]

Greetings! Maybe it's a strange question, but could you please recommend the most stereotypical and cliche Sissi film/novel? Like a cottage core poor wild Sissy, her sister was training for the emperor for the whole of her life but Sissy still won, cruel mother-in-law, etc, etc? ;-)

Hi! I don't think it's a strange question. My first answer is the Sissi Trilogy, since it's the footprint for later adaptations. A while I don't think it created many of the myths around Elisabeth that exist as if often claimed, it did popularize them.

My second answer is a novelized biography I came across some time ago, A Caged Bird by Maureen Fleming, published in 1933. I haven't properly read it but just taking a peak at some fragments told me this was THE Sisi cottage core princess tortured by her mother-in-law book:

Upon hearing from her son his intention to marry Sisi the Archduchess Sophie in turn became furious, outraged and tearful.

“I won't have it,” she fumed. “ That little chit of sixteen—that little minx! She's a Wittelsbach through and through. Can’t you see that? Helene is like me, a fine, God-fearing girl who would make a splendid mother! Come now, Franz, listen to your mother and don’t be foolish—why, I’m surprised at you! ”

This book sounds like an absolute mess, and I totally want to read it one day because I have the feeling that this is the real culprit of originating a lot of false stories about Elisabeth. You can read it for free here.

[germanperioddramatranslations]

Sophie - Sissis kleine Schwester (Sophie - Sissi’s Little Sister) | Episode 01 - Part 03 | with English subtitles

>>>To the series master post<<<

Sophie is the youngest daughter of Duchess Ludovika and Duke Max in Bavaria. Her parents are looking for someone to marry her off well with and believe to have found this man in The King of Portugal. But then King Ludwig II. of Bavaria announces his engagement with Sophie who is a very close friend of his. Everything could be easy but drama and love are just around the corner. The series tells very loosely the story of Sissi’s youngest sister and takes some historical liberties.

Cast

Valerie Koch as Sophie in Bavaria

Steffen Groth as Edgar Hanfstaengl

Fritz Karl as Prince Ferdinand, The Duke of Alençon

Miguel Herz-Kestranek as Max, The Duke in Bavaria

Daniela Ziegler as Princess Ludovika, The Duchess in Bavaria

Marie Lou Sellem as Nadine

Tonio Arango as King Ludwig II of Bavaria

Tatjana Blacher as Irma Butkin

Heinrich Schafmeister as Düfflipp

Franz Buchrieser as Hanfstaengl

Helmfried von Lüttichau as Erwin Ratzki

[boiledleather]

16 Years of Unpopular Pop

from Matthew Perpetua’s fluxblog.org:

This is a collection of the finest non-hit pop songs from the 16 year history of this site. (Well, actually, one legit hit made it through because it fit in nicely.) It’s basically nothing but world-class bangers.

You can experience it as an Apple Music playlist, a Spotify playlist, or as an expanded download version featuring 16 extra songs that are not available on streaming platforms. I’ve marked the bonus songs in the track listing for the download set below.

DOWNLOAD PART 1

Scissor Sisters “Paul McCartney” / In Flagranti “Genital Blue Room” / Spektrum “Don’t Be Shy” / Goldfrapp “Ride A White Horse” / The Silures “21 Ghosts” / Basement Jaxx “Cish Cash” / Rachel Stevens “Some Girls” / Klanguage “Never Over” / Kylie Minogue “Sweet Music” / Annie “Chewing Gum” / Pleasure “Out of Love” * / Architecture in Helsinki “That Beep” / Out Hud “It’s For You” * / Matthew Dear “Don and Sherri” / Bossanova “Rare Brazil” / Enon “Daughter in the House of Fools” / Katy Rose “Rosemary” * / Fox N’ Wolf “Youth Alcoholic” / The Knife “Heartbeats” / Revl9n “Walking Machine” / AG Cook feat. Hannah Diamond “Keri Baby” / GFOTY “Don’t Wanna/Let’s Do It” / Poppy “My Style” / Grimes “Artangels” / White Hinterland “Chill and Natural” / Von Sudenfed “Fledermaus Can’t Get It” / Björk “Innocence” / Justice “DVNO” / Kate Nash “Pumpkin Soup” / Yelle “Tristesse/Joie” / Girls Aloud “Black Jacks” / Veronica Maggio “Gammal Sång” * / Kimbra “Madhouse” / Hemme Fatale “Animal Lover” * / Alphabeat “Heatwave” / Ellie Goulding “Anything Could Happen” / Sissy Wish “Float” / Fight Like Apes “Pop Itch” / Carly Rae Jepsen “Tiny Little Bows” / Brown Eyed Girls “날아갈래” / Junior Senior “We R the Handclaps” / Gameboy/Gamegirl “Sweaty Wet/Dirty Damp” / Muscles “Chocolate, Raspberry, Lemon, and Lime” / Crossover “Extensive Care”

DOWNLOAD PART 2

Sleigh Bells “Crown on the Ground” / Maria Magdalena “CVMC (Cada Vez Mas Cerca)” / Friendly Fires “Hurting” / The Rapture “Whoo! Alright – Yeah… Uh-Huh” / M.I.A. “URAQT” / Ce’cile “Rude Bwoy Thug Life” / Redinho “Playing with Fire” / CSS “Let’s Make Love and Listen to Death From Above” / Spank Rock “Sweet Talk” / Stazi “Love Is Lethal” * / Yellow Note vs. Pukka “Naked, Drunk, and Horny” / Armand Van Helden feat. Spalding Rockwell “Hear My Name” / Cut Copy “Saturdays” / Quarks “I Walk” + / QT “Hey QT” / Peaches “Dumb Fuck” / Heloise and the Savoir Faire Dancers “Odyle” / Tracy and the Plastics “Henrietta” * / Junesex “Gets Close to Mine” / Mouse on Mars “Mine Is In Yours” / LCD Soundsystem “Yeah (Crass Version)” / Ladytron “Destroy Everything You Touch” / Of Montreal “The Party’s Crashing Us (I Am the World Trade Center Remix)” / Futon “Gay Boy” + / Dog Ruff “Jon E Storm” * / Chicks on Speed “Shick Shaving” * / Avenue D feat. Cazwell “The Sex That I Need” / Gene Serene “Electric Dreams” / Vanessinha & Alessandra “Gira” * / United State of Electronica “La Discoteca” * / Planningtorock “I Wanna Bite Ya” / Nouveau Riche “Take Me Home” * / Hilary Duff “Danger” / SEVENTEEN “Change Up” / Britney Spears “How I Roll” / MNDR “Cut Me Out” / Skrillex “Stranger” / Sophie “Lemonade” / Saint Pepsi “Better” / Sky Ferreira “I Blame Myself” / Lolita Storm “Dancing with the Ibiza Dogs” * / Chairlift “I Belong In Your Arms” / Au Revoir Simone “Through the Backyards” / La Big Vic “All That Heaven Allows” / Rework “Not Quite Like Any Other”

* = Not on either Spotify or Apple + = On Apple, but not Spotify

My friend Matthew pioneered music blogging waaaaaaaaay back when, and for over a decade and a half he’s brought his vision of pop music to the masses. This two-disc retrospective is Matthew’s Mirror Mirror II, basically — it sums up the Fluxblog aesthetic and declares it worthy of consideration the same way me and Julia’s anthology did for our aesthetic. I think you’re going to see more and more of these kinds of efforts from people with singular visions (or double visions in our case, I guess), as a combination of factors — media contraction, layoffs and job insecurity, and the ongoing transformation of entertainment journalism and criticism into boosterism for the products of the world’s largest corporations — drives veteran critics and writers toward the same kinds of independent expression that helped them get their start in the first place. It’s a bit like what our mutual friend Chris Ott encouraged in one of his very earliest Shallow Rewards video podcasts/jeremiads: “Declare victory and leave the playing field.” When the work you value can’t find purchase, be confident in what it and you have to offer and plant your flag on your own.

(FWIW those playlists really are full of bangers. That opening run on Disc 1 will kick your ass)