#they always say that all of troy's heirs have died

[gaytrojanshit]

@ 95% of podcasts, books, other media content, etc. he deserves more than the one paragraph in the iliad, man has a whole story with andromache in buthrotum and for what?

[histoireettralala]

Henri III deserves better than his reputation.

@microcosme11​ who was interested in knowing more about Henri III.

                                                 ***

Henri III was the last Valois king of France (19/09/1551-02/08/1589) and certainly among the kings whose reputation was the most tarnished. You could say it was trashed by the black legend his enemies quickly wove around him: weak, effeminate, cowardly, treacherous, immoral... This is how he was depicted for centuries. For decades now, however, historians have worked to rediscover a misjudged king and rehabilitated a complex personality who was at odds, in many ways, with the expectations of his century. Henri III had above all a high idea of royal authority, and a modern conception of the state. In particularly difficult circumstances, he managed to avoid the wreck of the monarchy.

This post will try to be a quick summary of the circumstances of his reign, of his real qualities and personality, of the origin of the "black legend", and of his legacy as a king.

When the future Henri III was born, he wasn't destined for a crown. He was indeed the fourth son of Henri II and Catherine de Medici. Titled Duke of Anjou, he was given a thorough and refined education, as befitted a true prince of the Renaissance. His master Amyot, the most reputed of his time, was able to cultivate qualities that would make Henri a brilliant and eloquent prince " one of the best speakers of his era."

Henri was also Catherine's favorite child. He was good looking, smart, fashionable, an excellent swordsman. Aged only 16, he became Lieutenant General of the Kingdom, and he would soon prove his valor in the battlefield in Jarnac and Moncontour. Elected King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lituania under the name Henryk Walezy, his reign wouldn't last long - his brother Charles IX died without an heir and Henri immediately left Poland for France.

He was crowned on February 13, 1575, and two days later married the beautiful and smart Louise de Vaudémont, a princess of Lorraine, close to the famous and very influent House of Guise.

France was then in a very difficult situation. The Kingdom was divided and devastated by the wars of Religion. The warring parties were backed by foreign powers and France's political and economical condition suffered.

In the late XVIth century, the great lords of the Kingdom still acted like sovereigns of their own in many ways - the feudal order hadn't yet given way to the future absolutism (which would be the later creation of Richelieu and Louis XIII IMHO, in reaction precisely to the Great Lords' excessive capacity for nuisance). Henri III couldn't afford to overtly dismiss or displease them.

He had to stand up to three main parties: the Malcontents, the Protestants (leader: Henri, King of Navarre, his distant cousin), and the Catholics (led by the House of Guise). He knew that the restoration of peace and concord meant he had to get into everybody's good graces- a perilous proposition in such times. His whole life, Henri would have to find a balance. Nobody would be grateful for that. Mindful of his duty and his role as a mediator in the kingdom, he worked to establish the royal authority as effectively sovereign.

He would find enemies everywhere.

He was well spoken, soft spoken, elegant and well mannered: he would be mocked as weak and effeminate. He was clever and always favored diplomacy over shows of brute force: he would be despised for it and depicted as an immoral, cowardly prince. He wasn't as easily accessible as his predecessors: the Great lords didn't like that. When he got closer to the Guise, to appease the most radical Catholics, the Protestants rebelled. When he leaned towards Henri de Navarre, the League reacted violently. The balancing act harmed his reputation.

With the help of his ever present mother Catherine, he initiated a rapprochement with Henri de Navarre while supporting his brother's (François, Duke of Alençon) plans in the Spanish Netherlands: Protestants and Catholics coming together to face a common enemy (the Habsburgs) ? Excellent. That's a lesson Henri IV would remember.

Henri III was, in spite of his rather frail health, a hard worker. In 1584, after seven years of relative peace, strenghtening of the royal authority, and an intense legislative work, he was still childless - and his brother and heir François d'Alençon died of tuberculosis.

This was a great upset in the game.

Because the new heir was Henri de Navarre - leader of the Protestant party. Which of course was unacceptable for the Catholic opinion. Paris, who chose the Ligue, was dangerously agitated.

What a stroke of luck for Henri de Guise!

What was named then "La Guerre des Trois Henri" opposed three parties, not two. Although he was apparently allied to the ultra Catholics Guise, Henri III took care not to burn his bridges with the Protestants. The Habsburg support of Henri de Guise wasn't to his taste, and he didn't like the ambitious Duke. And if Navarre (whom he esteemed) was to lose entirely, Guise would become too powerful.

Guise was the first to move; exasperated by the King's caution, the Duke entered Paris in open defiance of the King, with the population cheering him on. Fearing a coup d'Etat, the King sent his own troops to Paris, and what happened was the famous "Journée des Barricades" (Barricade Day), on 13 May 1588.

What happened next ? Henri III took a terrible decision: for the peace of the Kingdom, for France to subsist as a State, for his authority to be maintained, Henri de Guise was to disappear. And there was a way to lure him: afraid that the King would sign peace with Navarre, Henri de Guise went to negotiate with Henri III in Blois. On December 23, Henri III had Henri de Guise assassinated by his own Guard, as well as his brother the Cardinal de Lorraine.

Was the King's opinion and attitude unclear before ? That's cleared now. But as for peace ? Never. The powerful Ligue lashed out in rage . The hatred was open. There were outloud calls of Death to the Tyrant.

Henri III would never see the Ligue destroyed: on the 1st August 1589, a fanatic monk by the name of Jacques Clément would stab him to death.

"This King was a good prince, if he'd met a better century", would write the chronicler Pierre de l'Estoile upon his death. In spite of his peculiar personality and the outburst of hatred he aroused, Henri also showed his qualities.

He had been raised in a humanist background and would protect the world of literature (Montaigne, Du Perron, Desportes); he was rather to be found working in his office with his ministers rather than on the battlefield. Although, when he had to, he was steadfast and brave in battle.

He was smart and usually able of compassion towards his adversaries.

He had faith, and his misfortunes made him find a refuge there. We know he even went on a spiritual retreat into a monastery for a while.

His contemporaries described him as a man who loved women - which was overlooked because he never granted any of his lovers a title of official mistress. He had for Marie de Clèves, Princess of Condé, a platonic, but deep passion, and the depth of his mourning after she brutally passed away in 1574, stunned the Court.

He married Louise de Vaudémont for her charm and her wit rather than for politics.

But in spite of this, the image we've had of him for centuries is indissociable from his "mignons" - effeminate youths clad in excentric outfits and wasting their time in frivolous games. He was painted as homosexual (and therefore despicable) based on pamphlets written by radical leaguers, radical calvinists, Malcontents. The high nobility didn't appreciate his "new ways", the refining of clothes and manners, the new court practices. The Ligue used against him a virulent propaganda, along with calls to rebellion and real campaigns of calumnies. And when he died, the change of dynasty didn't allow for a better, more impartial image to be offered. Queen Louise and the Duchess of Angoulême tried in vain to dispell this ambiguous image. The real culprits were'nt even be punished (Jacques Clément however perished).

And yet. He was the one who wanted concord and national unity in a country torn by wars of religion (he lived four of them). His long and unthanked political action allowed Henri IV to end half a century of cruel civil war.

Was he weak ? It is true he bowed to the many pressures of the Great lords. But he always took back control.

Cowardly ? He wasn't vainglorious. And he proved his personal courage, in the battlefields of his youth as well as at the time of his death (he fought off his killer).

Frivolous and immoral ? He loved pleasures, arts, and feasts. But he also was anxious about his soul and salute.

In the difficulties he had to face, he managed to rule and to leave France a considerable legislative body of work (Code Henri III).

What are some positive aspects of his reign ?

He launched loans to stabilize finances, he reduced the taille (tax), ensured the protection of cities, created offices, taxed luxury, taxed the clergy, revived the textile industry, revised farm leases, created fines for fraudsters, created a body of health officers and an assistance service for the needy and the orphans; he undertook the administrative reorganization of the kingdom, maintained the unity of France by overcoming the worst of wars, both civil and religious, and retained royal legitimacy through a regular transmission of power to Henri IV.

He held on his principle of royal authority and modern conception of the State. He maintained.

I agree with Pierre de l’Estoile.

“Décrié”: condemned, castigated, reviled.

Sources:

Wikipedia

https///www.histoire-pour-tous.fr/histoire-de-france/1481-henri-iii-le-dernier-des-valois.html

Pierre Chevallier: Henri III, roi shakespearien, 1985

Michel Pernot : Henri III, le roi décrié, 2017

Jean-François Solnon: Henri III: un désir de majesté, 2001

[sourstars]

HELLO BABYDOLL !!! i am requesting the answer to atlas on your greek mythology question list ??? bc i feel like that’s a cool and underrated question

also i love you and i hope you’re having a good day. u mean so much to me !! stay hydrated <3

Atlas: favorite myth?

OH MY GOD WAIT I DIDN’T EVEN SEE THIS ONE??

okay okay wait bc it’s tied between three or four

Orpheus and Eurydice: a tragic love story of to two lovers doomed to be kept apart. they pull on your heart strings whether it be in the original myth form, or even the musical Hadestown.

one of the original versions is that a nymph named eurydice, daughter of apollo, had caught the eye of orpheus, who was considered one of or the greatest lyre player in the world. He had wooed her with song and thus married her, however, tragedy quickly began to take root. on her wedding day, eurydice was bitten by a viper, and died shortly after. overcome by grief, orpheus traveled his way to the Underworld to persuade the hades to return her. the king and queen of the underworld were moved by his song, as were the fates would were described as "unable to keep tears from their eyes", and under one condition, eurydice would be able to return to live again;

she was to follow behind him through a dark path, to eventually reach the light of the sun. but orpheus was told he should not turn to her until she was out into the light. due to this, orpheus' doubt of hades began to grow, and with both belief it was a trick and the inability to hear her voices or steps (she was a shade who would turn back into human once above), orpheus lost faith and turned, thus causing eurydice to fall back to the underworld once more.

The Apple of Discord: the great trojan war was not out of thin air. in fact, it began with an apple.

during the wedding of thetis and peleus, the goddess of discord, eris, was not invited. due to this, she felt offended and arrived the wedding regardless, tossing forth a single golden apple, saying to the fairest and it was claimed by all hera, athena, and aprhodite, igniting a disarray of beliefs among the three. turning to zeus, they asked for his opinion, and shocking all of them, he said a mortal man and the rightful heir prince of troy, paris, should choose.

and paris had grown up as a sheperd, unaware of his royal blood due being abandoned as baby by the oracle’s prophecy of him bringing forth his city's destruction. because of this, the goddesses each offered him a gift to sway his decision. hers offered wealth and power, athena offered wisdom and glory, and aphrodite offered him love from the most beautiful women in the world. he chose aphrodite instantly, handing her the apple, and in turn she began to offer council to paris, leading him back to troy and telling him of his royal blood, which caused the war in the future.

Eros and Psyche: it is another love story, yes, but with a happy ending.

in greek myths, love is held to a great regard, and so psyche was a very astonishing mortal girl. she was claimed to surpassed even aphrodite in beauty and it was so well traveled that it caused men from all over to visit her and to admire. of course, aphrodite was enraged and jealous, and decided to give the girl a punishment. her son, eros, who deals with matters of love and could make a mortal fall into love with a single arrow, was told to make her fall in with the most cruel and horrible being on the earth.

but eros could not, due to him falling for her himself once he laid his eye upon her. due to this, he could not carry out aphrodite's wishes and did not strike her, causing years to go by with psyche still unmarried. eventually, her parents decided it'd be best to ask the god apollo for advice, and the oracle said for her to dress in black, climb the highest mountain and remain until the winds picked her up to carry her off. and when it did in fact happen to her, eros begun the route pf climbing into bed with her into the dark, where she could not see his face, and he would lie beside her every night. psyche beloved to know he was not a monster, but a loving man and the possible husband she';d always seem looking for, but eventually, like orpheus, faith and trust could be crumbled within seconds.

after days and time passing with visiting and seeing her family, psyche’s sisters began to feed her whispers of eros being a beast, the horrible creature, and it overwhelmed the girl so much, that one night, when eros was asleep, she'd kill him if she checked his face and he was indeed a monster. if he was not, she'd go back to sleep. but a drop of the oil of her candle touched his face and he awoke, immediately vanishing off and telling her heartbrokenly love cannot live without trust, and due to her overbearing sadness, she reached out to aphrodite, who sent her off to carry out three impossible tasks, and psyche completed them with the help of the nature around her.

with aphrodite enraged once more, she intended to never let the girl go and the other olympians bore witness to this, sending hermes off to tell eros. eros was touched by her love for him so greatly that he returned and as a wedding fit, zeus allowed psyche a taste of ambrosia, the drink of the gods, and aphrodite was now sated with the truth that men would forget psyche and once again worship her instead.

Narcissus and Echo: another tragedy. at least we know why I love angst so much, right? but truly, this one breaks my heart

echo was a wood nymph, who was cursed by the queen of the gods, Hera, to never be able to speak properly, but instead only ever be able to repeat anyone's last words to her. one day, she saw a handsome young man on the mountains. narcissus was his name, and when her eyes fell upon him she fell in love. but due to her cursed state, she could not speak to him, instead following him from the shadows, silently, loving him greatly from a distance, and lying in wait for the right moment to appear. when narcissus eventually realized she was around, he asked, is anyone here? and echo replied here. the conversations could only go so far with repetition, and when narcissus beckoned her to come out and make love to him, she was revealed as a wood nymph and thus refused to give himself, saying he would rather die.

heartbroken, echo raced off and hid in a cave, losing her appetite and craving for food and water, and eventually she let herself starve until her body disappeared. but the story was not over. when the goddess of revenge, nemesis, had witnessed the treatment of soft echo, she made narcissus fall in love with himself, dooming him to remain at his own reflection and meet the same fate as echo had. and before he withered, he cried out farewell dear boy. beloved in vain, and echo's voice repeated his last words from the cave as he passed. to this day, echo still repeats phrases in caves or labyrinths.

also the myth of Sisyphus is wild too - the man escaped death two to three times and then was made to enterally push a rock up a mountain.

[troybeecham]

Fr. Troy Beecham

Sermon, Proper 22 A 2020

Matthew 21:33-46

The Parable of the Tenants

33 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower.Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place.34 When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.

35 “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37 Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

38 “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ 39 So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

40 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”

41 “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”

42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

“‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this,

and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

43 “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44 Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”

45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them.46 They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.”

When Jesus says these things to the members of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council, they would inevitably recall Isaiah 5:1-7, where God tells what will happen to his unfruitful “vineyard”, “the house of Israel, and the people of Judah”. In this morning’s Gospel, Jesus adapts Isaiah’s prophecy: the landowner plants a vineyard (the people of Israel), leases it out (provides the judges then the kings), and leaves (to see how well they flourish and become the people God desires them to become – a light to the Gentiles).. At harvest time (the end of time), he sends successive sets of slaves (prophets) “to collect his produce”; all are mistreated. When he sends his son, the son is killed. In Jewish law, if a landowner died without an heir, the land passed to the first claimant, whether a relative or the current leaseholder, so by killing the son (presumably the only one), the tenants become landowners. Jesus’ hearers answer his question with the obvious and only answer: the first tenants will suffer “a miserable death” and other tenants will be found who will be faithful stewards of the landowners lands and faithfully yield the produce. What the wicked tenants don’t seem to take into account is that the landowner still lives even though his servants and his son have been murdered, and he is sure to take vengeance upon them, throw them off of his land, and appoint new, faithful tenants.

In the parables of Jesus, the father, master, or landowner do not always represent God. In this parable, it seems clear that the landowner stands for God, the first tenants for the people of Israel and their appointed leaders, and the time the landowner is away for their period of stewardship of their vocation as the people of God and shepherds of God’s chosen people. Following the logic of the parable, Jesus is saying that God will send others who will be faithful to their vocation to be a light to the world, namely those who follow Jesus, Jew and Gentile together as one new people. It seems that Jesus is using a play on words here to make his point memorable: “the son” (v. 38, pronounced ben) and the “stone” (v. 42, pronounced eh-ben). Jesus proclaims the son is the stone, the ben is the eh-ben, who will lead to the breaking of those who oppose the will of God. At some future time, God’s patience will be exhausted and the outcome will be calamitous for many. The leaders of Israel would most certainly have recognized Jesus’ reference to Isaiah, and that they were being shown as those opposing the will of God, and murderers of the prophets of God and ultimately even the Son of God. Had they not accepted that Jesus was widely accepted as God’s prophet, they would have arrested him, but refrained from doing so at the time for fear of an uprising of the people who were still following Jesus in enormous numbers. They did not want to incite an insurrection that could result in their loss of power.

Jesus’ proclamation of the Kingdom of God challenges old assumptions, then and now, as to whom God will welcome. Contrary to the self-righteousness of the leaders of the people and the leaders of Israel, equally true of the Church,Jesus says “ I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth’”.

So where is the good news, the a gospel, in this parable warning of judgement?

The Gosprl shines through the shadow by showing that God is patient and long suffering in waiting for his people to bear the fruit which he expects of them, even when they are repeatedly and overtly hostile in their rebellion against him. And while a day will come when God’s patience will be exhausted and those who have rejected him will experience weeping and gnashing of teeth,. God’s purposes will not ultimately be thwarted. Rather, God is raising up a new people from all the peoples of the earth through his Son, Jesus, who by grace and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit will be a light to all people. And you are invited to be one of them!

Each of us has been one of the tenants from the parable. We’ve all cast others out, or held clubs in our hands. We’ve all wished evil upon another or coveted what was theirs. None of us can earn the salvation that God so freely offers through Jesus to all who will come to him by faith through grace. Don’t let anything in your past, or your present, keep you feeling worthless or unloved. God loves you and is waiting for you with arms wide open. So come today, come to Jesus, and live.

Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire or deserve: Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

[italianoldmasters-jlvieites]

Raphael and Raimondi’s The Judgement of Paris vs Manet’s Déjénenuer sur l’herbe, and Titian’s Pastoral Concert

It might look bizarre at first sight but there is always a link to be followed to understand much better the history of Art throughout time. On this occasion I wish to show what possible links might have ever existed between Rafael's The Judgement of Paris through Marcantonio Raimondi's engraving of the work (c.1510-20) and Édouard Manet’s Déjeneur sur l’herbe (1863), and Titian’s Pastoral Concert (1509).

The great humanist of the Renaissance, Pietro Bembo, was responsible for putting the perfection of Nature and Raphael’s art on the same level; the epitaph in Raphael’s tomb reads something like “Here lies Rafael. While he lived, Nature saw herself defeated. Now that he is dead, she is afraid to die with him."

His genius, indeed, was unique, so much so that many ulterior artists of all centuries strove to imitate or, at least, to be influenced by the artistry of the great old master: The classicist Baroque had him as his guide, from Annibale Carracci to Carlo Maratta and Velázquez, who resided for a time at the Vatican; or the Flemish masters, like Rubens and Van Dyck; and even the great Rembrandt. We could continue with Ingrès (in his portraits) to the compositions of Géricault and Delacroix, and to Édouard Manet, whose Breakfast on the grass was inspired by the stamp of Marcantonio Raimondi depicting the Judgement of Paris (as designed by Raffaello). Well, Rafael was the teacher to whom painters like Goya, or Picasso looked at.

In fact, our great old master, Raphael, was considered for centuries to come as the great teacher everyone studied and whose spatial conquests, grouping of figures and capturing of emotions and characters had to be thoroughly understood in order to achieve success themselves.

At the age of 17 Rafael was already signing as an independent artist, admired for the perfect imitation of his teacher. His painting stood out for the elegance and serenity or the delicacy and sweetness of the figures in the manner of Perugino, as well as for the beauty of the landscape backgrounds inspired by the Umbrian mountains; Rafael also achieved expressive depth and emotional vibration, which would increase in later years.

Being in Florence to learn from the great masters Leonardo and Michelangelo, Rafael, although he leaned towards Leonardo's proposals, since he would be attracted by his technique, color and chiaroscuro, and would not, however, be interested in delving into his sfumato nor did he use Michelangelo's pure white light with a sculptural effect. His command of space was overwhelming, as proved in his work School of Athens.

 Collaboration in Renaissance arts is best seen in this engraving of Marcantonio Raimondi with the design of Raffaello. The Trojan war lies at the centre of this historiated engraving: Paris being forced to decide which goddess—Juno, Minerva, or Venus—was the most beautiful. He chose Venus, seen receiving the golden apple upon promising to help him woo the most beautiful woman alive, Helen of Troy.

It is assumed that Marcantonio’s copperplate is executed from drawings that were produced for a Vatican fresco.

Due to the difficulty of distinguishing between the work of the two artists –Giorgione and Titian– who started to forge a kind of partnership in artistic terms, this painting was first attributed to Giorgone (1671) and then opinions on the author have been changing back and forth many times. Today, it’s commonly assumed to be the work of a young Titian. After the death of Giorgione in Venice because of the plague in 1510, the only true master left was Tiziano Vecellio as, perhaps, Giorgione’s natural heir.  

A most mysterious work in terms of allegorical interpretation (are the female nudes muses, or nymphs? Do they refer to Poetry? Is the composition a sort of Pastoral Poetry in painting?) which, perhaps, lacking in enough referents for the audience of the XXI century, however, there would probably be clues enough to the educated spectators of the Titian’s time to interpret the painting in the context intended by the artist and his time. In this regard, the setting of the whole composition evokes a kind of Arcadian context in which both man and nature lived in perfect harmony (see Theocritus, Virgil, Jacopo Sannazzaro). Thus, the two men figures, sitting on the grass surrounded by a great landscape –a shady hillside overlooking sunny glens and a distant mountain vista–, are accompanied by a couple of nude females who (supposedly) cannot be seen by either of them. And this seems so since the two men are amicably speaking to one another, oblivious to the two female nudes representing the idealized Renaissance beauty. This type of recourse has its origin in classical Roman times where it was a usual artistic tool in that art. Technically, Giorgione’s subject matter and style left his impromptu on Titian’s works; Giorgione would be the first Venetian to put aside Giovanni Bellini’s oil glazes in favour of a straightforward oil painting, that was to be apply with different densities and even allowing for the thick impasto seen in some canvasses, something that was followed suit by Titian.

Titian's poem to rural escape is famous for being parodied by Manet's Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe.

"Insults pour down on me like hail," Manet complained to Baudelaire after seeing the hostile reception of his work at the Salon des Refusés in 1863.

Manet’s painting introduces a motif the impressionists would love – the bourgeois picnic – but with a tough irony all its own. Manet deliberately evokes Renaissance paintings of sensual leisure – Raimondi’s engraving and Titian’s painting – but updates the idyll to show bohemian gents of his own class accompanied by women who may be prostitutes (what is a naked woman doing sitting in the company of two supposedly clothed gentlemen?) It's a scene of the outskirts of Paris daily life disguised as a rustic fantasy. Therefore, what Manet reflects is not any classical myth nor religious topic, just an ordinary scene but with the eyes of a XIXth century artist and a particular social milieu which love such representations.

As was the case at the time, female nudes were highly sought after and really appreciated, as long as they represented mythical personae or just goddesses; many viewers loved to contemplate the paintings that included nudes as if they were voyeurs; the point is, however, that Paris society (or French or European in general!) perceived the public exposure of  the naked body of a known woman (in real life or in canvas) as being a prostitute;  something which our main female character seems not to give importance to the voyeuristic gazes that she might be attracting; her pose is quite natural and she does not seem to be bothered or untroubled by the look of it. Furthermore, both she and the man are looking straightforward to the spectator in a certain nonchalant and confident way. One could even say that the naked woman (one of Manet’s most famous models, by the way, called Victorine Meurent) is nearly challenging the spectator’s gaze with her serene, jolly and carefree manner.

The Judgement of Paris, c. 1510-20. Engraving (29.1 x 43.7 cm). The MET. New York. Marcantonio Raimondi (c.1480-c.1534)

Pastoral Concert or Fête champêtre, c.1508-10. Oil on canvas. 105 x 137 cm.  Musée du Louvre, Paris. Tiziano Vecellio, (Pieve di Cadore, 1488/1490 - Venice, 1576)

 Le Déjenuer sur l’herbe, 1863 Oil on canvas. 208 x 264.5 cm. Musée d’Orsay. Paris. Édouard Manet (1832-1883)

 Jesús Lorenzo Vieites

#titian #tiziano #titien #leconcertcampêtre #fêtechampêtre #pastoralconcert #louvre #art_lovers #museum_lovers #landscape #venetian_school #venetian_painting #peinture_italienne #kunstgeschichte #mount_parnassus #poesie #giorgione #arthistorian #édouard_manet #manet #impressionism #marcantonio_raimondi #engraving #art_history #kunstgeschichte

[afraschatz]

The Children of Atreus

Let's talk a bit about the coolest of the mythological Greeks, the children of Atreus - Agamemnon, Menelaus, and Anaxabia. And let me just name three things about them that are guaranteed to make you fall in love with them.

Before that, here is a quick summary of the things that everyone already knows anyway: Menelaus is the famous king of Sparta whose wife Helen’s disappearance sparked the Trojan War. The Greeks’ troops are led by his brother, Agamemnon, king of mighty Mycenae (who, when returning from the war, gets murdered by his wife Clytemnestra). Anaxabia is their sister, and she is married to Strophius, king of Phocis.

Secondly, here are three of the (many) reasons why they are The Best:

 1 - They are the best of siblings.

Obviously, they are called the Atrides (or Atreides) after their father, Atreus, who is the son of Pelops and grandson of Tantalus. That makes them part of the forever cursed family of the Tantalides. That curse manifests itself in their father’s relationship with his brother, Thyest. Atreus and Thyest come to Mycenae after they get thrown out of Elis, the territory around Olympia, for murdering their half-brother. They then quickly gain power and influence in Mycenae and use the majority of it to stab each other in the back - repeatedly and quite literally, as they both end up dead.

With role models such as these (plus the curse that Tantalus brought on his family for murdering and cooking his own son just to prove a point), it is absolutely amazing and quite heart-warming how close the Atrides are. Despite their family history of betrayal and murder, they always, ALWAYS stand by one another and support each other.

I mean, Agamemnon starts a war to end all wars to get justice for his brother, for fuck’s sake (yeah, yeah, there’s that bit about the oath of Helen; I’ll get to that later), and for that ten-year-long war they are practically joined at the hip.

And it’s not just a matter of obvious power-politics either: Agamemnon sends his son Orestes to his sister and brother-in-law in Phocis when he has to leave for war. To entrust his only male heir to them is massive proof of his trust in them, in her. Anaxabia and Strophius continue to raise Orestes as their own, and Orestes becomes best friends (and quite definitely lovers, according to my man Euripides) with their son, Pylades who supports him through thick and thin.

Pylades ends up marrying Electra, Agamemnon’s daughter, while Orestes gets wed to Hermione, Menelaus’s kid with Helen. While for today’s standards this might be a bit too incestuous for comfort, it is further proof how tightly knit that family now (in contrast to previous generations and their fondness for throwing people down wells / dismemberment) is because of the bond of the three siblings.

 2 - They are strategic and diplomatic masterminds.

Agamemnon and Menelaus are often reduced to being one entitled and power-hungry dick and his arrogant but ultimately impotent little brother. While that makes them the perfect cardboard-cut-villain for everyone in need of one (such as grieving Achilles, for one) and while I enjoy Brian Cox and Brendan Gleeson as “Troy”’s villains as well as Sophocles's characterization of them in "Aias" as much as the next guy, it really doesn’t do them justice.

First of all, as for the notion that they are entitled and/or feeble: Both of them are self-made men. Not only are they (as well as Anaxabia) kids of a refugee / man living in exile, after their uncle Thyest overthrows their father and has him murdered, they have to flee from Mycenae and seek refuge in Sparta, with king Tyndareos, their future father-in-law, (step) father of Clytemnestra and Helen. From there, they not only manage to mobilize enough man power to overthrow Thyest and conquer Mycenae. They also turn Mycenae into the most influential and mightiest of all the Greeks’ kingdoms. And by proving himself over and over again, Menelaus inherits the right to the throne of Sparta from his father-in-law, while Anaxabia marries the king of Phocis, a kingdom North of the gulf of Corinth with influential Delphi right in the center.

The Atrides’s influence is not just gained by clever marriage and perseverance, however. Sure, the famous oath of Helen (in which all the kings that asked for Helen’s hand in marriage swore to protect her and her husband-to-be) is thought up by wily Odysseus. But who makes sure (for all those years before Paris) that it would be upheld? It’s not like alliances between Greek kingdoms are all that stable. And yet, the council of kings - including extremely strong-willed characters such as Achilles, Aias, and Odysseus - WORKS and works well for ten years, even under the pressure of a prolonged war. Why? It’s because Agamemnon knows how to choose advisers (such as wise Nestor), knows how to utilize the human equivalent of an eel (I am looking at you, Odysseus) etc. He is a fucking brilliant politician. (And it was his RIGHT (AND a necessity) to demand Briseis from Achilles, however much the Myrmidon may moan about it; but more about that later).

Simple proof in numbers: Three exiled kids with NOTHING; fast-forward a decade or two and you have this: Agamemnon commands the largest of the Greek fleets (100 ships). If you add to those the number of Spartan (60) and Phocian (40) ships as well, that’s a whooping 200, even if you disregard for instance the huge Cretan fleet (80) which is led by their uncle, Idomeneus. Brilliant strategists and politicians.

 3 - They are so highkey EXTRA when it comes to the love department. (Well, the brothers are. Anaxabia rolls her eyes at them.)

Before I talk about the brothers and their highkey Extra relationships to their wives, let me just again go back to Anaxabia. Her marriage to Strophius is delightfully stable and uneventful and no one ends up dead (which is quite rare in Greek mythology, really). It produces delightfully stable and unproblematic children, such as the original bestest of mates, Pylades. Just think of Anaxabia and her husband just looking at each other silently at a family dinner,when her dramatic brothers and their dramatic wives start throwing food (and possibly knives) across the table. Next year, we’re doing a couple’s retreat in Delphi, my dear. I love her.

But the brothers’ marriages are equally fascinating.

Paris kidnaps Helen while Menelaus is attending his grandfather Catreus’s funeral btw - dick move, prince of Troy -, and for some reason THEIR relationship is the stuff of legends? Well, fuck that. While I have all the love in the world for one (1) flamboyant and canonically cowardly favourite of Aphrodite, let’s not forget how superglue-strong Menelaus’s bond with Helen is.

First of all, out of all the suitors for her hand in marriage, she chooses HIM without hesitation - after they must’ve known each other for years, btw considering Menelaus’s time in exile in Sparta.

And when she is suddenly gone, he mobilizes literally every available man in Greece to get her back.

That’s a matter of pride, you say? That’s because - much like Agamemnon when he demands Achilles’s prize of war, Briseis, because he had to give his own, Chryseis, back to appease Apollo - he would lose face and power (and thus massively endangering the stability of his reign and consequently the safety of his country, btw)? Sure, it’s that as well.

But.

It’s not like other kings haven’t “misplaced” a wife before. It’s not like he couldn’t simply have claimed she died. He could have. And you know what? It would have saved him from being both the laughing stock of all of Greece (“Here comes Menelaus who couldn’t hold on to his wife”) and also everyone’s favourite villain for having to go to war for him.

And later, what does he do when he finds her again - either in the ruins of Troy or in far away Egypt? Does he kill her? Does he demand a divorce?

No. They sail back to Sparta together and - and this is the kicker - rule together for many years, quite happily reunited.

He fucking loves her, and she loves him. (Okay, she might ALSO love Paris and that whole war could’ve been avoided if they just got into a poly relationship. I wouldn’t have been opposed to that either.)

The same goes for Agamemnon and his family.

Iphigenia, you yell at me in outrage? Well, the unquestioned villain in THAT story is so clearly vengeful Artemis for demanding her life in the first place. And yes, you may fight me on this.

And okay, I am having a slightly harder time explaining away Agamemnon murdering Clytemnestra’s first husband as a romantic gesture, fine. But my point is, Agamemnon’s and Clytemnestra’s relationship status throughout is clearly “it’s complicated”, it’s ENDLESSLY fascinating. Plus, Clytemnestra is such a fierce and badass (Spartan) woman who without problem competently takes care of Mycenae during the war. They are SO well suited for one another, and their relationship is brilliant, from a storytelling point of view.

 So, in conclusion: Give me Rufus Sewell as Agamemnon, Dominic West as Menelaus, and Oona Chaplin as Anaxabia, and I’d watch the hell out of twenty plus seasons about the Atrides and how they feel rightfully superior to all those other Peloponnesian peasants .

The Atrides are the best. It’s just a fact.

[acabang]

Nerding out on the Borderlands

I finally got around to playing Borderlands 3 and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Personal order of preference for the franchise: Tales ≥ BL2 > BL3 > BL1 > TPS

Depending on how the DLC goes though, 3 could be just as good as 2 for me. Unlikely but it’s possible.

I really enjoyed playing all the Vault Hunters, Zane in particular, even if it seems like he lags behind the rest of them. And while she’s fun as just a straight up gunner, my only real bummer is Moze. For me when it comes to the playable characters, it’s all about their Action Skills and if I don’t find myself using it regularly then I hope they have something fun in their skill trees to make up for the lack of it other than shooting guns exceptionally well (ie. Gaige with Ricochet-Anarchy stacking abuse, Krieg with Flame of the Firehawk-Raving Retribution Hellborn madness, etc.). The idea of Iron Bear is rad but vehicles have never been useful outside of a means of map traversal, which this mech isn’t for, and if I’m gonna give up the benefits of my gear then it better be fucking OP or at least viable, especially at the highest of difficulties. So far it’s not looking like it is and I don’t expect it ever will get to that level. For the most part though, she’s still a lot of fun to use as a Plain Jane FPS character.

Overall, I actually enjoy all four initial characters pretty much equally which I can’t say about the other games. I still had fun with them but I didn’t like Roland, Salvador and Nisha as much as their fellow Vault Hunters in their respective games. I’m really looking forward to what DLC Vault Hunters they have in store though, they’ve all been pretty solid and just plain fun to play as.

                               -SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT-

I liked the story well enough and felt engaged the entire time. I didn’t really feel bogged down throughout and enjoyed the pace. Even the sidequests I thought played along well with the storyline missions, they didn’t feel as jarring with too much backtracking or as tediously boring as The Pre-Sequel had it. Although, all the games are guilty of this, the Underdome/Circle of Slaughter missions are still lame.

I loved pretty much most of the new NPCs, however major or minor a role they played. Lorelei was interesting and I want to know more about her, the same goes for Clay, who I could both see becoming Vault Hunters themselves (hopefully) in a future game. The Katagawa-Rhys dynamic was fun, as was BALEX and GenIVIV. I loved Wainwright Jakobs and I especially loved Typhon DeLeon, two of the more likable and wholesome characters in the entire franchise. They don’t hold a candle to Loader Bot & Gortys from Tales but still very admirable in a universe full of assholes and psychopaths. Even some of the minor villains were fun, the Traunt Brothers and Pain & Terror specifically.

Now it’s going to be unfair to compare the Twins to Jack but... they still could've been written better. Brats with god complexes and one with an inferiority complex to boot is fine, not the most compelling, but wait! They’re also streamers because *nudge, nudge, wink, wink*. Despite that, the VA performances of what they were given were both still very well done. When they start to actively antagonize each other is when they started to turn around for me, especially with the power corrupting Troy to the point of almost killing off Tyreen. The Twins being the children of Typhon is a neat twist reveal but I feel like if you’ve been discovering his logs throughout the maps you can put two and two together long before they outright state it.

Though I should probably give credit to the Twins for being a part of why I love Typhon so much. With him being revered the way he was, especially by Tannis, as the first Vault Hunter, it’s refreshing to see a fabricated myth actually turn out to be mostly a myth and not a 100% accurate depiction or historic event like most other games usually do. Even the damn posters of Typhon got him all wrong which I loved. He’s endearingly flawed and his admittance to not being the best father to Tyreen & Troy after they lost their mother actually really got to me. He wasn’t around for long but it was smart of Gearbox to have built up his backstory through those logs, it allowed his character to make some sort of impact like it did on me which made his death actually quite poignant.

Thus leading to probably what I can only assume, since I haven’t bothered to read other people’s reaction to it, is the most controversial part of the game. I love character deaths, especially for ones I adore. When done properly it brings more meaning to them and for the character that may have taken their lives. Bloodwing and Roland helped build Jack up to be even more of the villain that most people love (to hate). Hell, even Sasha’s death in Tales actually had me crying... then immediately laughing because I totally got baited by it especially after already losing Scooter.

Now, like I said, I love character deaths and I’m totally fine with Maya being the one we lose but the way she dies was more of a pathetic wail than whatever Gearbox was hoping to achieve. And for what? All I hope for in a character death is to have more meaning to it than a passing of the torch to a cipher of a character that was basically just introduced and I have no real connection towards, good or bad, because going forward from then on certainly isn’t going to be positive at all. Who knows, she could end up being a favourite character of mine in the future as she develops more but as of right now, no, the only reason for her existence in this game world so far was to take the place from two beloved characters that hasn’t been earned yet.

The other character being Lilith as she sacrifices herself to keep Pandora closed. I don’t believe she’s actually dead, gone for now but at least not dead. It’ll probably be the main focus of the next game, if not in a DLC, in figuring out a way to get her back from Elpis, if she’s even stuck up there. It’s sad to lose her immediately after regaining her powers back but at least she went out with Alicia Keys singing her a fire swan song. Unfortunately, before going off to save the day and Gearbox not being entirely satisfied yet with shoving Ava down our throats the first time, Lilith hands over protection of Sanctuary III to her. Hopefully Ava is given an extremely satisfying character arc in the proceeding games because woof, that’s going to be a tough mountain to climb especially if it takes another 2-5 years for the next game to release.

I don’t actually hate Ava, I just don’t care about her. Also our Vault Hunter(s) were right there, technically, and as was Tannis. She may not be able to fight but she’s more than capable of leading the Crimson Raiders. She’s also the most consistently well written character that’s shown growth over the games that she’s been a part of in the franchise, in my opinion.

As for the rest of the characters, I’m good with moving on from Vaughn now. He was unexpectedly funny to okay during Tales but yeah, he’s already worn out his welcome for me. Rhys was fine, not as good as he was in Tales but he wasn’t really even my favourite character from that game anyway. Who I was missing was Fiona, I really wish that she had shown up but hopefully that might still be a possibility in DLC. Maybe she’ll show up alongside Athena & Janey, continuing her VH training somehow saved from wherever she disappeared off to. Preferably with Loader Bot and Gortys as well. It’d also be nice to run into Axton, Sal, Gaige and especially Kreig considering the whole Maya situation and her promising to see him again.

Then there’s also the B-Team, which a part of me wanted to interact with more but another part where I think I’m okay with what we got. I was disappointed in Tina’s development however, I didn’t expect a full maturation of character but I also hoped she wouldn’t be the spaz that she was when she was a young teen. Even in Dragon Keep she showed a little bit of growth with her acceptance of Roland’s death but I guess they wanted to keep her annoying, which was fine back in 2 and TPS when she was basically a kid but I believe she’s supposed to be at least 18 now? I guess it’s fine as long as it fits the dynamic between her, Brick and Mordecai. I will also say that Mordecai’s side quest to attend his protégé’s birthday party was really bittersweet, I loved that brief respite from the chaos that is the rest of the game and a stark reminder that Pandora sucks.

Aside from the actual plot and characters, I thought they did an even better job at world building the rest of the universe. The mega-corporations side of Borderlands has always been fascinating to me and I feel like they often take a backseat by most fans since they’re just these ever present entities in the universe and not actual characters themselves, despite each of them having quite unique “personalities” in the products they manufacture and the individuals that represent them. We had Commandant Steele & General Knoxx show off a militaristic side of the original Atlas as The Crimson Lance, then there was Jack as the face of the Hyperion we knew, and the fallout from his demise during Tales. There’s also Tannis giving us slight tidbits of how Dahl operated on Pandora between the first & second game and, of course, Mr. Torgue with, well, Torgue and I guess now he’s in charge of the battle arenas. Now we get insight on the current incarnation of Atlas with Rhys at the helm, Maliwan with Katagawa Jr. and Wainwright as the heir to Jakobs. It’s just fun to see these corporations steadily being fleshed out with each game and I’m interested to see how Tediore, Vladof and maybe even S&S Munitions, if they ever make a return, will turn out.

On the other end of the spectrum and more of an active danger to the universe are the Vaults, their purpose and the monsters contained within, one of them called the Timekeeper who we have yet to encounter. Also more insight into who the Eridians were, the siren Nyriad’s role with their eradication and warning of a seventh siren who shouldn’t be found. There’s definitely plenty of seeds that were planted, it’s just a shame that it’ll probably be a long time from now before any of them get answered unless they start pumping out these games which I hope they don’t. Oversaturation and fatigue can ruin a franchise.

This has been my TED Talk, thank you for reading.

[rhysand-vs-fenrys]

Myth Anon #3: What's The Aeneid? Never heard of it. How is it a spin off?

The Aeneid is the coolest mythological story that also happens to be SUPER boring to read. Seriously just read the cliffs notes, it’s super dry (but a really cool story).

A “Keep Reading” this time for the sake of mercy. In my Advanced Feature Writing course at Uni I was #1 in my class for my 138 page screenplay of ‘The Aeneid’ (written in 8 hours), covering just the Aeneas/Dido story (which is a teeny part of the book itself).

So basically, I’m mildly obsessed with it and can go on for hours.

Previously on “The Illiad” and “The Odyssey” (kinda):

Troy fell.

And now, the conclusion (Paraphrased to hit the biggest moments):

The Aeneid is the story of Prince Aeneas of Troy, son of King Priam’s brother (so like, a super minor prince as Priam had 50 kids).

Aeneas survives the sack of Troy, partly thanks to the fact that his mother is Venus (Aphrodite) and she helps watch his back. As the ranking Trojan to survive, Aeneas leads the remainder of his people on a 4-6 year journey around the Mediterranean while Juno (Hera) tries desperately to kill him.

“The Aeneid” is a long story, seriously, go read one of the summaries for all the details. There is no way to describe it quickly~ 

These bullet points do not do it justice in any way, they’re just my favorite things…

“The Aeneid” is Roman propaganda against the Greeks, as the Romans have always claimed to be descended from the survivors of Troy.

“I sing of arms (weapons) and of a man, who first from the boundaries of Troy, made fugitive by cruel fate, came to Italy and the Lavinian shores. He was tossed (harassed) much both on land and on sea, by the power of the gods, on account of the mindful anger of savage Juno/Hera. He having suffered much in war, until he could found a city, and bring his gods to Latium, from whence came the race of Latins (a tribal people), and Alban fathers (the city-state Aeneas’ son rules), and the high city walls of Rome.”

Aeneas & Dido was considered an epic love story wherein Aeneas is forced to leave her, the first woman he loved since his beloved wife was killed in the escape from Troy. In her grief, Dido curses the Trojan survivors by saying, “Then do you, Tyrians (Carthaginians), persecute with hate his stock and all the race to come, and to my dust offer this tribute! Let no lover or treaty unite the nations! Arise from my ashes, unknown avenger, to harass the Trojan settlers with fire and sword – today, hereafter, whenever strength be ours!”She then kills herself. The words “prophesied” the three Punic Wars Rome and Carthage would fight for supremacy over the entire Mediterranean. While “The Aeneid” was written during the reign of Emperor Augustus Caesar (therefore hundreds of years after the Punic Wars), there is evidence that the Dido/Aeneas story was also held by Carthaginians as a traditional reason for their conflict, so the story did exist already.

At one point Aeneas loses faith in his mission to find the Trojans a home. The stuff with Dido really broke something in him when he was forced to leave. He goes to the Underworld to seek guidance from his father and the Seer who opens the door for him has my absolute favorite quote in the entire world (I used the poetic translation, not direct one)::It is easy to descend into Hell,all day and all night the dark doors of Hades stand open.But to retrace your path, to emerge once again in the sweet air of heaven-This is your task, that is your burden.When Aeneas enters the underworld he sees everyone he’s loved and lost. Dido (how he finds out she died), Creusa (his first wife he loved so much), and all of his family and friends slaughtered in the Trojan War. He also sees the spirits of future Romans, waiting to enter the world he will help create. Famous generals, Romulus (founder of Rome), and of course Julius Caesar (The book “The Aeneid” was commissioned by Augustus so of course he’s in it).Aeneas’ great burden isn’t entering the Underworld, it’s seeing the people he loves most and yet forcing himself to turn back and return to a world of war and pain so that the Roman Empire can one day rise.

The Trojans eventually land in Italy and fight a great war against a tribe riled up by Juno in a last-ditch attempt to kill him. Aeneas marries a chieftain’s daughter and the Trojans fold into their tribe, bolstering their numbers so they win the final battle.While Aeneas dies from injuries sustained in battle, he does kill Juno’s champion, thus earning the respect of the Gods (I think Jupiter/Zeus stepped in and made her stop trying to kill the Trojans). His son becomes king of the city Alba Longa.

Fast forward 6-7 generations in Alba Longa and the daughter of the King is raped by Mars and gives birth to twin boys, Romulus and Remus. Romulus goes on to found Rome.

Fact Check Because People Fudge This Up: Rome was a Monarchy for the first 7 Kings, then after multiple weak kings in a row (and the rape of a prominent man’s massively popular wife (she committed suicide)) became a Republic with elected officials. Once the senate got too cocky and took too much power for themselves, Julius Caesar rose up as a Dictator. His heir Augustus gave power back to the Senate and elected officials and ruled as Emperor.

[onionjulius]

Since you have been talking about Ned and Catelyn, what do you think about their relationship? Do you think their relationship ever had in passion in it? Do you think they were in love "in love" or just loved each other? (Your thoughts outside of the Jon Snow situation. So, many people define their relationship by Jon, but I want your thoughts on them as couple, romance.)

Hrmm, well, that’s a bit of a rabbit hole as that all kinda depends on what you mean by those words. If passion means physical intensity, then yes I think they had some. If you put two teenagers together who never had much if any sex before and tell them nobody’s stopping them any more, there’s a good chance they’re going to go for it pretty enthusiastically. Just look at Robb and Jeyne. Sex is just a thing that lots of people like to do at some point in their lives. If by passion you mean really strong emotions, then yes I think so also, we can see it pretty clearly IMO from Cat’s viewpoint. We don’t hear as much from Ned so technically you can interpret his side whatever way you want within reason. My only note there is that some people consider love as a reflection of how worthy the beloved is, while other people consider love as an indication of how loving the lover is. Passion also has certain specific connotations though; if you mean something uncontrollable, I don’t think of their feelings for each other exactly as uncontrollable. There wasn’t really any obstacle that would force them to control their emotions overly much. Also, I think they could control themselves insofar as they would keep their feelings pretty private. I don’t see them being excessively emotional or physical in public. They’re controlled people. Even in some AU where Ned survives AGOT and goes to the Wall and they can’t be together any more, I don’t think he would die with grief, and I don’t think she would die with grief, and if Robb told her to I think she would even marry again if she had to (although I don’t think he would make her if she didn’t absolutely have to). Now you can always say that deep inside they could still keep feeling their feelings for each other. But is it passion if it doesn’t light kingdoms on fire? Because I don’t think they’d let the world burn just to be together.

It’s difficult for me to answer questions like this succinctly because IMO it all depends on what you mean by love, or what the difference is supposed to be between “love” and “in love”. People see these things differently. I happen to not believe in the idea of one true love, they are two very compatible people and I don’t think every alternative for either would have worked out just as well. But I can’t say that I am certain that positively nobody could make them just as happy. But I think the history of loving, as a verb, is more important than this idea of finding “the one”. I don’t think of my husband as “the one” and I don’t think he thinks of me that way, so you’re asking someone who comes at it from that perspective. If you ask someone who wants the Helen of Troy feeling, then I imagine they wouldn’t find Ned and Cat fulfilling? Like, by “in love” a lot of people mean infatuation, some degree of obsession, possessiveness, etc. But that stuff doesn’t always last past the first stages of a relationship, and yet there is more out there (although I will say that I happen to think that they both still have an amount of possessiveness in their feelings for each other, I don’t know if they would have eventually outgrown that because, you know, they’re dead). The word I first thought of and still think most of to describe their love is abiding. It’s there when you need it. 

Now, GRRM, is not me, he’s a true romantic (not flowers and candy; rather, longing, melancholy, nostalgia, individualistic heroism, etc). So when you posit “romance” as separate from the Jon Snow situation, I think that means you probably mean romance in a different way than GRRM would. For GRRM (I read this somewhere but I can’t think of the exact quote now, however it’s not an uncommon sentiment from a romantic!), I would bet money that he would say that it’s the sadness in their relationship that helps to shape their romance. In Cat’s second chapter she mentions the shadows that lay between them, her dead fiance and his illegitimate son’s mother. This obstacle gives each of them a reason to pine, even within the confines of a fairly happy marriage. And it makes it of interest to GRRM who, again, is just a melancholy romantic. 

This probably isn’t the answer you were looking for? I don’t mean to evade your questions, and I can say that I think that Ned and Cat are more “in love” than Jorah was with his first wife:

“I suppose I came to love her after a fashion, though our relations were dutiful rather than passionate. Three times she miscarried while trying to give me an heir. The last time she never recovered. She died not long after.”

I don’t think Ned and Cat would ever say “Oh, I suppose I came to love him/her after a fashion.” Although, again, does that say more about how perfect the match was/wasn’t, or how emotionally intelligent and grounded Jorah is? Anyway if I haven’t answered your question well feel free to follow up. It’s just hard for me to give a simple answer because I think love is one of the main themes of the series and I don’t think it’s treated in a simple way there.

[mbtizone]

Madison Clark (Fear the Walking Dead): ESTJ

Dominant Extroverted Thinking [Te]: Madison is all about control and authority. She’s intelligent, domineering, methodical and always has a plan up her sleeve. She does whatever she believes she needs to do, regardless of ethics or morality. Madison’s concern is keeping people alive. She can’t be bothered with their feelings. When Madison first realizes the gravity of the situation they’re in, she is able to shift gears completely and evolves into a fierce leader. She is decisive and wants to get things done. Even though she doesn’t actually know what’s wrong with her yet, Madison is ready to kill her neighbor, Susan, until Travis steps in and tells her that there might be a cure for her ailment. She is intelligent and logical and always prepared to take action. When she decides that she and her family will remain at Broke Jaw Ranch, she tells them that they’ll make that happen by any means necessary, even if they have to take the place over themselves. Madison is a natural when it comes to giving orders and making tough calls, and has a certain level of respect for individuals who have “command.” When Madison begins trying to groom Troy (she can see that Jake isn’t prepared for this role), she tries to inspire him by telling him he has what it takes to be a leader and tries to encourage him to gain control. She tries to make rational decisions, which are often construed as cold and heartless, such as her decision to kill Jeremiah in an attempt to create peace with Walker’s people. Madison wants results. She often charges into situations guns blazing without taking the time to consider all of her options. Sometimes, she takes action without really stopping to ask enough questions about what she’s up against. She just wants to jump right in and get the job done, even if that means getting people hurt or killed in the process.

Auxiliary Introverted Sensing [Si]: It takes Madison a little bit longer to adjust to the new world than her children. In the beginning, she continues to cling to the old ways, and discusses trivial matters, such as painting the house when the world outside has gone to hell. Alicia is unable to understand how she can talk about something so normal with everything that’s going on. Madison acts as though she believes things will return to business as usual, while Alicia has already accepted that there’s no going back. Madison needs to see to believe. When Travis tells her that Nick claimed to see his girlfriend eating someone alive, she passes it off as a drug-induced hallucination. When she sees that Art has turned, she tries to reason with him as though he’s still the person she knew. Madison’s past experiences shape her decisions in the present. She worries about Nick’s fascination with the dead because Nick is a recovering drug addict. Seeing his interest in the dead reminds her of his relationship with drugs and this causes her to see Celia as a pusher, which leads Madison to believe that she must be eliminated for Nick’s own safety. One of the reasons that Madison becomes so hellbent on remaining at the ranch (and taking it for themselves, if necessary) is that it’s a safe place for her family. She wants to give them a solid, steady place to live.

Tertiary Extroverted Intuition [Ne]: When she realizes what’s happening, Madison is capable of adapting in the moment. She can also see what’s really going on in most situations she enters, and manipulates them to her advantage. Madison is able to play Troy and mold him into what she needs him to be as part of her plan. She sees potential in him and she exploits it. Madison is able to use her experiences as a guidance counselor in order to influence Troy (Si-Ne). When she finds out that Troy murdered Vernon’s family, she is able to think of a quick fix in the moment and decides to blame it on Walker and his people in order to get the people at the ranch to focus their anger on them. Madison usually has decent intuition about things and believes it was her family’s fate to get to the ranch. Although she can sometimes come up with creative solutions to her problems, she mostly relies on pragmatism.

Inferior Introverted Feeling [Fi]: Typically, Madison keeps her emotions out of her decisions. While she is usually practical and strategic, she is capable of making shortsighted, emotional choices in order to protect her own family. She turns the lights on at the hotel, hoping that Nick will see and come find them, even though that means she will attract hordes of other people as well. She doesn’t care what she has to do or who she has to hurt to keep her loved ones out of harm’s way. She kills Celia because she believes she’s protecting Nick from being taken in by her ways of thinking. She also decides she has to kick Brandon and Derek out of the hotel in order to keep Travis from discovering the truth about Chris. When she hears that Alicia is with Walker’s people, she decides they need to storm the gate to save her, making tensions between the two groups even worse. She sacrifices anybody she needs to in her ploy to take over the ranch. Madison shot her own father in an effort to rescue her mother from the abuse he inflicted on her.

Note: Madison tries too hard to preserve what she has and hold onto what was for Ni/Se. Her intuition doesn’t come from within. She observes, draws conclusions, and comes up with plans based on the information she takes in. Because she’s a very manipulative person, it’s tempting to stereotype her as xNxJ. However, her past shapes her too much and

Enneagram: 8w9 6w5 3w2 Sp/So

Quotes:

Madison: If I wasn’t busy keeping everyone else alive I would have time for feelings. I’d love that luxury. I’d love to indulge myself, but someone has to be strong. Someone has to keep everyone else together. You have no idea what I carry.

Madison: Say what you want, but the man I saw yesterday was a threat. He had command.

Madison: We’re going to stay here. We’re going to make it a home. Even if we have to take it over. It’s our fate to get here. Travis died getting here. We have to accept it. We have to be stronger.

Madison: You make sure no one else leaves. Save them from the same mistake. I’ll help you.

[Travis wakes up to find Madison next to him] Travis: What are you doing? Madison: Just thinking. Travis: Been here all night? Madison: Pretty much. Travis: That’s a lot of thinking. Madison: I’m just trying to find the words to say what I want, in a way that you’ll hear.

Nick: How do you tell a lie that big and sleep at night? How can you do that? Madison: What I said was true. None of these folks will die. Not tonight, not tomorrow, maybe not for a long time. You and Alicia are safe. I’ll sleep like a baby. Say it was Troy- Nick: It was. Madison: No one would believe us. They’re more afraid of what’s out there than anything he could do. Nick: You should’ve told me first before you did this. Madison: You would’ve said no. Nick: No, I get it. I hate it, but I get it. I would have backed you like I’m backing you now. Just don’t forget what he is.

Madison: You could run this place, Troy. But not if you let things break like that. Last night you had command. I saw that. Your militia saw that and they responded. Your brother doesn’t have what you have. He’s not of this place. You’re the survivor. You’re the heir. So no, the last thing I wanna hear is how you lost control. That can’t happen. I don’t care how you dod it. I don’t care why you did it. All I care about is that you can control it. There’s a fight coming and you have to save us. Can you? Troy: Yes, ma’am.

Madison Clark (Fear the Walking Dead): ESTJ was originally published on MBTI Zone

[vladxmaddie]

Takes place before Phantom Planet ///Jack Fenton comes up dead. Maddie and Danny Fenton zero in on a suspect and plan on the confrontation of a lifetime! However Maddie finds herself confronting more than just Vlad... She’ll have to confront her past... and fate. There had been a lot of unresolved feelings between Maddie and Vlad leading up to this. \\\ Romance/Suspense (VladxMaddie pairing) My husband wrote this and it is sooooo good!! If you are a shipper you’ll love it. It is very deep and intelligent and the characters are well written.  -------------------------------------- Wars have been started over lesser heroines. Helen of Troy was a mere fairy tale by long dead warriors. Juliet was a mere silhouette in romance poetry when compared to the light of my long lost Lenore.  Joan of Arc became a Pop Tart for a shred of my conviction. For me, there is only one name on the Marque -- Maddie.

Please allow me to introduce myself; I am Vlad Masters, also known as an ectoplasmic superhuman, the Plasmius. With an army of both wealth and manifested supernatural underlings, I command an empire... but such a lonely kingdom it is without her. An accident has forever bound the fate of Maddie, and I -- and ... him, and made me what I am today. He is the one I have loathed for longer than a human mind can conceive of time; he is the sole reason why I command a legion of lowly ghosts, hopelessly scrambling to win back Maddie's affections. Jack... Our lives our forever linked by tragedy.

We knew only one of us would come out truly alive... and truly loved. Jack Fenton is dead. You must understand that this is a day I never really imagined would happen.

You must understand what this means... Maddie...

Though you may think of me as the villain of our previous affairs, know that I have my reasons for my crimes. Oh, sure, I've had my fair share of dasdardly doings, malicious schemes, and underhanded dealings towards Jack and his family, but what I've dealt and done, I did for love. Even my minions know this. They often times tire of every tear that shrivels up in my ecto-eyes whenever a cheesy 80's love song blares throughout the castle walls. They tell me that I call her name out in my sleep... and that my snoring sounds like buzz saws cutting through jagged metal. They call it, "Maddie's Song" or, "The Cheese King's Lament" (-- I prefer the former).

They say I also say, "Kill Jack" at least three times a night (four on weekends).

Life has not been easy for this half-ghost super-villain, let me tell you. I have years of occult training under my belt, and a skillset to match that belt with shiny sequins... but nothing can shine like the glow of Maddie's eyes... though often times my glances at her were while she glanzed, doe-eyed and stupidly at Jack.  However... in my newfound understanding, I almost sympathize with my rival, and know that our intentions were more similar in heart than in their eventual actions. We were  two primal beasts beating our chests for the affections of a girl.... but not just any girl. Maddie... the girl he stole from me!

Forgive me, however -- I am getting far ahead of myself; she will be at this castle again in one hour.

My eyes dance in otherworldly flames that twist around the hands of the clock. My devious smirk twists from space and time in the mirror's reflection. Tonight, all the doors are open for my love and I. Tonight, a brave new world has opened itself up to us with loving arms.

Tonight there is a song playing on the radio so oddly reminicent of our plight...

"Take these broken wings and learn to fly again."

Maddie... let me teach you to fly. Let me show you a better world -- a world without Jack Fenton -- a world without Ecno-acne or the obnoxious fundraisers on the TV to cure it (we only raised $200 -- mainly because no one knew what the hell we were talking about--) a world where you and I are finally King and Queen...

Tonight, my minions are restless... Maddie's Song is going viral. Fifty-eight minutes, now... and I'm getting nervous. Tick tock, Maddie...

Words cannot describe the oceans of time that crash from our last true moment together as rightful heirs to this ghost kingdom. The blast of blinding light that overtook my vision as I thought I was surely dead -- the screaming crash that resolved the brooding tension of hearts -- it feels like forever ago, and yet every heart beat now. Jack Fenton had robbed me of my humanity on this day -- an infamous day -- but what no one really understands is that it was one of many days -- lonely days... without Maddie. Had I died that day at the lab, Maddie would have been the last thought on my mind, as she has often been the first, since then. Every wretched morning, I awake in a grave of a bed, and see my ghosts, bedside by her altar. Her face haunts me worse than they ever could.

So many pictures...

You could call me a collector.

For so long, for so many fights, in so many blasts of ectoplasmic energy, and for so many of those lonely nights and mornings, there has been only one thing standing in our way: Jack Fenton. Could a world without such a man even exist?

Well, it does... tonight.

Thirty minutes, Maddie...

With the aforementioned skillset I've boasted, these minutes are able to whip up quite the hardy dinner date, complete with everything from the freshest steaks from the almost freshest cows, their freshest milk and cheese, and the most aged and locked away wine, festering in at least three of my dungeons for at least two decades. The table is set, the finest (and freshest) silverware is laid out. The mirrors are all slightly tilted, so as not to distract my love with too many a horrible scene of my minions ready to kill her son if need be, in case of a backup plan.

The doorbell rings... "Maddie!" my voice confidently addresses, forgetting social cues. "You look so lovely... given such terrible circumstances."

Her eyes tear through me like ghost-obliterating lasers, and her face is pale and puzzled.

"Vlad..."

The moment is stolen by a snot-nosed little shit named Danny. His stare instantly becomes a threat of violence alone. There is a tension between us all that festers like an ever-expanding elephant in the rooms of my castle. I have to tell the truth, instantly.

"I didn't kill your father, Daniel. But please, come in! -- And Maddie, I will have your coat lined up on the finest of coathangers, and--"

"Vlad--" she intercepts like Brett Farve to score a touchdown in my heart. "I--"

"You must be so tired!" I desperately try to persuade her into security of my smile. "Have you ever felt the material of a six hundred thousand dollar expandable bed on your legs before? It's... really quite divine."

"It sounds lovely, Vlad," Maddie admits, delighting me, but likewise she toys with my heart with her every word. "But I really don't know if it's appropriate to be meeting like this so soon.."

"Oh, Maddie," I say, my voice cracking in genuine concern, "Even as a grieving widow, your eyes are still no more nor less haunting than before."

"Cut the shit, Vlad!" her misfit child barks at me. "I know you had something to do with this!"

"Oh, hush, boy," I say, undettered. "As I've been telling your mother for... exactly three hours and twenty eight minutes straight of text messages and Skype calls -- I'm here to help."

"I... want to believe that, Vlad" Maddie whimpers. Such delicate pain -- pain I know all too well, somehow, in longing for her. I have something for her tonight that will change everything we have ever known... my last chance at winning her heart.

"Please come in."

Touchdown, Packers.

The evening dinner goes smoothly enough, with the obvious passive aggression between me and the boy. Maddie even eats like an angel. I hope she doesn't mind me staring, in between the usual condolences and small talk about our favorite wines and cheeses. It's a touchy subject -- the Jack thing, as you can imagine, and she is in a state of grief. I am doing my best to prepare her for this truth that Jack never saw coming.

(Frankly, neither did I!)

What I had not ever truly known in all these years was there was a ghost among the presence of my castle that was not only strong enough to merely kill Jack or Danny -- but one that might resolve the pieces of my heart to repair -- repair in Maddie's arms at last! It was a freak accident that changed my life, but as such, I was not Jack's only mistake in the world of ghostly mischief. Allow me to ellaborate. A chance encounter with another immortal  showed me what I really became on the day that ripped me away from her, and drove her into Fenton's arms. A keeper of time and potential fate, Clockwork, had mumbled to me about ghosts not always being what we think of them to be. Sometimes feelings can be ghosts, too.

(Then he tried to kill me; go figure.)

"Daniel, could you excuse me and your mother for a moment?"

"No way, dude. I am NOT leaving you alone with my mom after what you--"

"Danny, please!" Maddie's voice interrupts us, heavenly and reserved as she is stern, and so the true conversation can begin. Danny slips out of the room, watching me in his every step as he goes to what I hope is the last possible bathroom on the furthest end of the castle.

Minutes tick by, and the conversations do rightfully shift to talk of Jack and Danny, and the wheels of fate that turn for us all now.

"I know your secret, Vlad," Maddie declares. "I know about your life as Plasmius, your countless attempts on Jack's life -- what you've done on your expensive beds -- everything!"

I gasp. "Maddie!  How could you accuse me of such awful and atrocious things? Surely you would not have come all the way out here just to toss around such hurtful accusations!"

"Danny always told me I shouldn't trust you, Vlad..."

"Danny is a fool, Maddie. He has grown up being overshadowed by that big, lumbering wall of a husband of yours. Both of you have been restraining your true potential -- potential that I can--"

"Enough!" she interrupts, glaring at me with hellish eyes that I know are serious... but something behind the fire beckons me still.

"How did you find out?" I prod.

She looks into my eyes and begins our psychological game of musical chairs. Both of us are refusing to stand, now, deadlocked into cemented stance, waiting for each other's move.

"I have my ways, Vlad. I have been onto your true motives for quite some time." "My 'true motives?'" I question. "Why did you come out here if you think I killed him?" Maddie says nothing, her lips devoid of a twitch, and her eyes too vigilant to fall off of me with more than a blink.

"Do you also know about Danny's powers?"

She nods.

This is all going so much better than I had anticipated...

The music has long since died. "Are you and Danny going to try to kill me?" I ask, smirking. "If you're going to take advice from him, you should ask him how many times I've died. It's honestly not many, Maddie... and never for as long as Jack."

Maddie hesitates for a moment, a bit of blood rushing to her head as she lets the wine settle in her stomach.

"I need to know what happened to him. I know that you know... Vlad Plasmius."

Hearing her call me by that name sends a quiver down my spine with the force of ten thousand Fenton-patented spiritual spine beams. I try to maintain my composure, and disicpline.

"If you knew what I knew," I respond, "you'd know I didn't kill him. Jack killed himself... in a way."

"How dare you!" she screeches. "Are you saying that--"

"Maddie -- what I'm saying is, we are on the cusp of something that no one could have truly understood before."

"What are you talking about?" Maddie demands.

"-- What killed Jack -- what gave me and Danny our powers -- what compelled you here, if not to avenge him -- it's all part of the same thing, Maddie. We are all summoning a great supernatural energy -- here, and now. You and I are the rightful owners of this energy -- not you and Jack!"

A part of the truth leaks from my lips like cosmic sludge. I wipe my mouth and wait for her to catch an interest in my information. It's a very curious game.

"You're... not making any sense... " she mumbles. "At least... not much sense. A little, I think."

"Yes," I confirm. "You know it in your heart, don't you? -- On the day of the accident, a terrible crime was committed against fate... a crime that robbed me of my humanity -- and of you! Yet, one was many in a list of crimes that begin and end with the Fenton name! I should be the one taking care of you -- the one honing your crafts with my own. Jack ensured that all I would ever have was a bucket full of extra crispy for a head!"

"And there you go on again," she shoots down, "always the same stories, always the same people to blame. Have you ever EVEN ONCE considered that I chose Jack over you because I genuinely loved him, and NOT because your face was fried chicken?"

"Yes, Maddie," I concede. "I have considered all possible fates since that day, and all foods in which to compare my face to -- hopelessly wandering through space and time to reconcile this matter -- why I feel so alone without you. Why the ghosts around us all are conspiring in such anger; why you ended up with such a ... a bafoon! They say opposites attract, but my--"

"Stop talking about him like that!" she warns. "How can you say such things about my husband -- your former friend -- if you were not the one who killed him! He loved me -- and he loved you! You were like a brother to him!"

"HA!" I deflect. "That oafish fence post couldn't calibrate a calculator! He never truly cared about my talents -- or yours! It was always US, Maddie -- the brains of the team -- the true Masters of the unseen! Jacky-boy was just along for the ride!"

"You're insane," Maddie spits.

"I know," I acknowledge, sipping the wine and building a rather impressive statue to myself out of toothpicks on my dinner plate as we talk (one of my many hidden talents). "You always said that the 'mad scientist' thing was a turn on, didn't you?" I smile.

"Vlad..." Maddie blushes, "That ... was years ago."

"Eternities," I correct. "Each of them spent in my own personal hell without you."

"Me...?"

"You, Maddie..." I call out, declaring my undying devotion. "For all of these days and nights and years and crimes -- it has always been the pain of really losing you that has driven me to these low frequences..."

Maddie looks to the ground, for a second, slightly lost and assessing her thoughts.

"We did have some good times together, didn't we...?"

An unexpected wall has come down in her temperment. I catch her lost in reflections of a life that should have continued on with us together -- days and nights of lab partners and friends and potentially so much more -- Vlad... and Maddie. Unfortunately, connecting the dots reveals that our love story has always been, indeed, a tragedy.

... Until tonight? "Remember  when I won those tickets for that Packers game, for the stadium near our old lab?"

Finally -- a smile comes to the sweet widow's lips and she almost trips into a slight chuckle.

"Of course!" she beams.  "That was crazy!"

"Yes," I agree -- "more than you know, for more reasons than you understand."

Maddie shakes her head.

"'You're looking sharp!'" she quotes herself from the day in question, giggling in slight self-deprecation. "I was such a dork back then!"

"No... you weren't," I reassure her. "You were beautiful then, and you're beautiful now.

"Vlad..." Maddie blushes. She tries to steer my mind towards the events of that fateful day. "You were so excited! You ran to tell me, as I was--"

"You were wearing your labcoat," I begin to effortlessly recall, finishing her thought, "hiding a blue halter top, a studded belt, and a purple skirt with flowing fabric, like ribbons. You were working on an experiment..."

"The Spectral Emotional Ecto Sludge," she correctly remembers. "I forgot all about that nasty, brown goop. It was so ugly... so sticky and slimy, so--"

"So like HIM!" I shout at her, startling even myself, a bit.  Maddie is taken off her guard by my conviction, but that is okay. I have my reasons for making an enemy of the Sludge I met on that day, and they are the same as my vendetta against her late, great Jack: it cost me yet another chance with her!"

-- "Hey Vlad! You're looking sharp!" Maddie called from afar, deep within a memory forcing its way through my powerful brain. "Whatcha' so excited for?"

My eyes soon caught the aforementioned ribbon-like fabric of her unforgettable purple skirt. It flew through the air like angel wings. Those eyes very quickly went to hers, though, as I tried not to stare.

(I may be a villain, but I'm not a creeper.)

Mainly I remember this occurance because it felt like a gust of wind had taken up toward me as I entered the lab through the creaky door, tickets outstretched in excitement with my flailing hands trying to reach for Maddie. It was as if I was having a premonition before I actually had the ability to have them (a prepremonition).

I was so happy. This was finally my chance to win her over -- to ask her out on a date to one of the biggest games in history!

(Okay, it actually wasn't an important game, but free tickets are free tickets, and boy, did I need an excuse to work up the nerve.) "Maddie!" I gleefully called out as a mere mortal man. Up until a certain point, I'd consider these the simpler days. "I have some amazing news!"

"I can tell!" she boasted with a surprised smile. "Your emotions are radiating throughout the Sludge -- which, of course, means the experiment was a resounding success!"

Delighted with her own information first, she beamed.

"What is that?" I asked, puzzled and broken away, too, from my own cause of success. Like a supermodel posing with a product, her hand held a meager tupperware container among the land of test tubes. In it was a sight that scars my eyes to this day.

"Well!" Maddie grinned, seemingly waiting for hours just to be asked -- "This little baby is the magical -- the fantasical -- the -- Spectral Emotional Ecto Sludge!"

I tilted my head slightly to the left, thinking to myself how deeply I was falling in love with her every graceful gesture. I had to keep these feelings to myself, so I resigned to looking rightfully puzzled by her experiment. "Spectral... Emotional ... Sludge?"

"Sort of!" she laughed, and true to its name, there was an emotional reaction to match her own within the brown, toxic slime. It danced to the sound of her voice, highly reactive.

"What does it do?" I pondered to her, intrigued. "Well," -- and Maddie hesitated with a flush upon her face that made my heart skip, here -- "I'm not exactly sure?"

Both Maddie and the slime coyly shrugged.

"It's supposed to read the emotions of the people it comes into contact with," she continued, "and what I was hoping for was that it could help communicate emotional resonance in the supernatiral realms, too... but..."

"But it's dancing." I smiled. "Maddie, you're a genius!"

She took a quick bow, drinking in my admiration, before finally acknowledging what I was holding.

"What are those?" she asked, the slime still hypnotically clinging to her voice in a dance.

"Well!" -- and I tried to use the same inflection as her, to make her laugh (and it worked; yes!). "Do you remember the call-in show from a week ago?"

"Yeah--?"

-- "MADDIE!" -- -- Just then, a second gust of wind generated -- a huge one --  the wind generated by a man wearing tights one-fourths his size, and incredible amount of hot air coming from his own bullshit. Imagine as gorrilla had mated with an ostrich at a superhero convention, and that would only cover his mother's genes -- but I digress. The oafish, walking fencepost returned.

"Jack!"

And as if compelled by the hands of fate, as Maddie's voice rang out in confusion of the three of us all in a state of excitement at once, the slime hopped up from its container, hurling itself in the air like a sentient pile of flying vomit.

(About that premonition...)

"OH NO!" screamed Maddie.

"NO!" Jack screamed like a mentally stunted chimpanzee. "Maddie! Vlad is projectile vomiting  --  QUICK! -- FIND SOMETHING ABSORBANT BEFORE IT STAINS THE LAB!"

"WHAT?!" I tried to scream out in confusion, but it was too late. Like an obliviously charging rhino, Jack began hurling towards me. "JACK, NO!"

"Jack!" Maddie cried out in sincere panic -- "It's -- NO! -- IT'S -- "

The tickets were ripped from my hand before I could say anything else, and I went hurling in the other direction of Jack, and the "puke" for about five feet, before landing on the ground, horrified.

"PAPER SHOULD DO THE JOB! WAY TO ALWAYS BE RESOURSEFUL, VLADDIE! -- EVEN WHEN YOU'RE SICK!"

The sentient Ecto Sludge ate the tickets in the air in an instant, controlled by the will of its stupid and unrightful wielder. It then grew exponentially in size until it covered the walls of the lab... but in an instant, it was gone. In one twist of fate to add to the list of all the ways Jack had robbed me of Maddie -- even in freak accidents no one could have forseen -- another notch was added in the belt. As I told you before, I have begun to better understand Jack in wake of his passing. This day, though I had no true way of knowing, up until tonight, sealed his fate. But I'm getting ahead of myself again. The food is eaten. The drinks are drank. -- "You didn't tell us that those were tickets for weeks!" Maddie recalls, laughing with a snort and reflecting back much differently than me on the memory.  " -- Even up until the day of the game, you just kept sulking and sulking! You didn't even show up for the next couple--"

"-- It's his fault!" I scream, rageful. "It's always been! That should have been OUR game!" "Vlad..." "Maddie -- you don't understand," I plead. "Can you not see that I've waited lifetimes just for a moment like this alone with you again?

"Alone... with me?"

"You're laughing again, Maddie," I remark. "Do you know how long I've waited to hear you laugh or smile and think of me?"

"You..."

Finally, I begin to read a shred sympathy in the voice of my beloved -- one that she has denied for so long, just like Jack has. She has such an innocent coyness to her... behind the makeup, behind the tears. She has spent all of this time untamed. Her powers could have even rivaled mine, in terms of sheer intellect. But like the dulling of a blade, her thoughts and memories and dreams fade away into memories of Jack. "You talk about him like he was just something in your way," she moans, saddened.

I want to blurt out, "he was" -- to sink back into sheer hatred and revenge -- but the game has changed, and I want to return her lowered guard with genuine affection. Both of us are grieving in very different ways. "Maddie," I concede, "Perhaps I was misguided in seeking revenge in the ways I have before. Perhaps, if you were happy with him, I can be happy for you. The main thing that I wanted you to see tonight is that you would have been -- and could still be -- much happier with me." "Vlad..." she sinks, almost recoiling into her seat. "Why have you always been so... interested in me? With all your power and money, you could have anyone in the world -- or ANY world. Why ME?"

"You..." and my voice and heart both skip in tune.

"Think about it," she suggests, like the hushing of the words that I cannot yet follow with. "Get back to me... after you tell me how you killed my husband."

"I -- I ... didn't kill him," I assure her -- and to me, this is still the truth.

"Can you prove that to me tonight?" she sternly asks in the tone of an almost threat or warning.

"If I can..." I begin to bargain " ... will you stay with me tonight?"

"Vlad... I... " -- she turns her head and fades in and out of racing thoughts and priorities, confused about her true feelings. I anticipated this moment. I have been waiting restless eternities -- as I've rambled on about. "Think about it," I smirk.

Maddie is not impressed... just still very lost.

My hands wish to touch her cheek.

My long, expensive overcoats long to keep her body warm.

"I love him, Vlad, living or dead, killed by you or ten thousand grisly ghosts -- I love Jack."

"But you love me, too... don't you, Maddie?"

"I..."

"Isn't that why you came here, Maddie...? Do you not remember the good times with me -- times where Jack would never cease to screw up, and yet you never stopped forgiving him? Why? Why, Maddie?"

She cannot reply, her breath and eyes stolen by an oncoming emotion. Her breath smells of Merlot, and her words are from the heart.

"It wasn't ... exactly a grisly," I begin, drawing her to stay on her guard. She takes the bait, and gives me an angered look. "What was it, Vlad? What happened? What do you know?"

"Maddie," I begin to unravel a bit, again, with the truth. "All I have ever wanted to know in life was your love... not a world of grisly ghosts."

" What kind of ghost have you been hiding from me, Vlad?"

My brow lowers. My body stiffens. One more drink of wine... is drank.

"I know of a ghost more powerful and brutal than those you and your family have struggled to understand," I begin, -- "one that feeds on anger, hate, and pain...  and of that pain, I know a pit so deep and eternal that it could never contain said ghost. It longs forever, wishing to belong to something -- to attach to someone -- and it waits, and festers and and goes insane... like me. With that pain and insanity, festering under the surface of my power and your marriage, we have likewise birthed a rival to Jack much like me, as well."

"This is pointless." Maddie retorts, catching me off my guard. "You're still just rattling off nonsense. Do you still think you are the only one who is in pain, Vlad? Do you have any idea how you and your powers have hurt other people? If there is such a ghost -- such a creature -- such a MONSTER -- how is it not you, yourself -- your ego, your plans -- YOUR cause?"

Now it is my turn to hesitate.

"There are far worse monsters than simply me, Maddie," I begin to my love, still overtaken with the weight of all my devious decisions visa vis her attempted guilt trip.  "Likewise, there are many causes to fight for -- 'the Ecno Acne Supercure Fundraising Agogo-plex,' for one -- but I digress. With absolute power, corruption is absolutely essential, is it not? With all of this power, the temptation to rule the galaxy would be strong for anyone -- even your son -- and even you, Maddie."

"I'm not like you, Vlad," she dismisses. "I don't desire power. I want to make the world a better place -- for me -- for Danny, for everyone--"

"Young Danny has yet to fully grow into his powers," I remind her " -- to realize the potential laid out before us, as demigods. I only wish now to guide him to understand the worlds beyond our own, and yet still -- you -- and he deny me -- empowering a father that has no clue how to handle him, this power, or ... you."

"Yeah?" Maddie shrugs, seeming to tire of the conversation reaching a vague stalemate. "Well, it's too late for that, now," she laments. "Jack's dead... and you're going to tell me what happened to him, and... where's Danny?!"

Oh, great. Now even Jack Fenton's sperm has to interfere with my life in his absence.

"I'm sure he's fine -- probably 'going ghost' or something uninteresting such as --" A large amount of thudding and banging interrupts me -- followed by a voice I wish would dissipate into the brick walls.

"MOM! GET OUT! GET OUT OF HERE! IT'S A--"

"DANNY!"

Maddie topples the wine glass off of the table, and begins to take out of the castle room before I can even stand up. More loud noises echo out of our reach. Something is causing a great havoc all of a sudden... and I know exactly what it is. Damn it. I was expecting showtime to not be so early...

The thudding and banging continue as I chase after her, calling her name in genuine concern, because I know what she is racing towards. She, of course, ignores my pleas, as any mother would, and tries to find her son (whom I assume is righteously getting his ass kicked, as he so often tends to do in my castle).

I knew it was only a matter of time before the boy discovered what truly killed his father. I figured I'd see if I could get a two-for-one kind of deal before I moved in for Maddie. I suppose it's too late now... but no matter.

Let the show begin.

As I chase after her, I remember how long I've been chasing... how long I've been longing. More flashbacks ceaslessly pound against my mind like ping pong, remembering the older days between Maddie and I. I wonder as I follow her racing footsteps if my own seemingly endless corridor is a metaphor of some kind. I've been chasing her for so long, always being pulled away, always being hurled up into the big, stupid arms of the hero. Tonight, she will know her hero isn't dead.

He's me. I feel like my mind is a straight, thin line, like every hallway... an arrow to Maddie's heart.

As she finally opens the door, she gasps loudly enough to count as an explosion. She sees her boy knocked unconscious on the floor, bruised and beaten, as I had anticipated. He is buried underneath dust and rubble, but so far, there is no sign of his attacker. She rushes to his side, and from her position to check his status, she gives me a scowl.

"You!" she screams. "I knew I couldn't trust you! What have you done?!"

"Maddie--" I plead, now realizing that our former game of musical chairs has ended, and both of us are scrambling to find a proper seat in the room, before we get taken out. "This is actually the one time when you NEED to trust me -- or your son, and you, and I -- will --"

Just then, a terribly familiar brown, sluggish goop begins to form all over the walls...

Maddie's expression has turned to shock and panic to horror, and something familiar. It's almost as if the memory has summoned an old foe to the scene, and it reacts with matched hysterics. The walls begin to crumble and tear apart, sinking into the readings of everyone's panic. It's a vicious cycle, as the more Maddie and I become unhinged, so too, does the world around us... literally. The Sludge is rageful... wrathful. It will not stop until the paradox of our emotions is resolved. What Clockwork had revealed to me, after I bested him in battle, was that the Spectral Emotional Ecto Sludge, was in itself, now like a ghost. It had been feeding on all of our collective misery since that day... at least, mine. The tickets were not made of a very absorbant material, to say the least... but when I held them with the intention of winning Maddie over, that intention resonated. Eating the tickets fed the Sludge knowledge of our curious triangle. It had been festering for far too long.

It wanted Fenton.

Perhaps the whole time, fate was trying to rectify what I never could.

Needless to say, I had been attempting to track it down for quite some time since learning of its intention... but it had always eluded me... just like Maddie... until tonight -- also just like Maddie -- it showed up at my door... exactly one hour before she did.

But now, Maddie has finally returned to see the weight of her own grief and mine combined and threatening to kill us both. Now, she is in danger.

I have to show my true form; no need to hide it from her anymore.

("Going Ghost!" is still such a stupid catch phrase, by the way.)

Once transformed again into my Plasmius ways, I try my best to shield her from the oncoming debris, generated by the Sludge. My powers shine in kinetic lightning, phasering rocks and expensive items from other rooms that the monster is summoning with its rampage to fly at us. I shoot many a blast at every slimy, oozing piece of matter I see... but it seems completely unaffected.

"VLAD!" she screams, "GET US OUT OF HERE!"

"I can't!" I shout back, trying to talk over the rumbling bricks and pillars.

"What the hell do you mean you CAN'T?!"

A few more useless blasts at the Sludge dishearten me. I have to admit something to Maddie that normally a man of my status would not let his pride allow... but again, it is the truth.

"Even with all my power," I concede, "I know of no way to stop this thing!"

Maddie is cradling Danny, holed up in storage of the room's corner now that seems shadowed away from the Sludge. I can see in her eyes that even admist the panic, her mind is racing to assess new information. The look she gives me almost continues our conversation in the other room without us having to.

"The... Sludge...!" Maddie calls. "The Sludge killed Jack?!"

The room stabilizes now slightly as if our  goopy enemy wants to answer. My hands tire from wielding my powers.

"Do you remember?" I ask her in the becoming calm of the Sludge's storm. "Do you remember how you felt on that day you say me, before the accident -- before the madness?"

"What?" -- Again, Maddie is confused.

"I was 'looking sharp' -- remember?"

"Vlad -- what --"

"Maddie! You -- me, Jack -- we've all been feeding this thing for years. All of the battles -- all of the madness -- all of the scorn and jealousy and all of your research -- it can wield it all against us! This is more powerful than all of us combined... and we can't all combine anymore!"

"It's..."

-- "It's just you and me now, Maddie..." I finish for her.

"Vlad... what have we done...?"

Maddie's resignation to her fear, like the starting of an engine, roars again the Sludge to rear its ugly head, in its true form, this time, as well. A goop that pours from the walls piles into the corner adjacent to Maddie and Danny.  It begins to grow bigger, and bigger. Ominously, it assembles itself like a creature looking far too big for a human, and far too... solid, for a ghost or goop. It's changing its properties fast, drinking in Maddie's fear and my yearning. The Sludge has grown up into a villainous, vile dasdardly, worthy of my army...

But I would never command anything to hurt Maddie! --  (the boy -- sure -- and often -- but --)

"VLAD!" Remembering that day I first encountered the sludge, I reach into my pocket for my only real idea as to how to combat this perdicament. In my suit pocket, now slightly stained with wine, is a long, yellow envelope.

"What... what is that?" Maddie trembles as the monster moves towards her.

"Well!" I gleefully say, recalling our old life,  "it's an 'ace in the hole' -- a secret weapon I've been saving to wield for a few days, wrestling with this decision. Every tragic love story needs a sacrifice -- right, Maddie?"

"What are you TALKING about?!" she screeches. "Are you going to... mail a letter while this thing kills me?!"

I grimmace. Carefully, my powerful hand opens the envelope, and pulls out an obnoxiously long piece of paper.

"Maddie," I decree, while savoring the mere seconds before the monster finds her. "They finally sold me the team."

"... What?!"

"-- The Packers, Maddie -- they made me an offer. All I have to do is sign it and--"

"VLAD!" Maddie screams, now visibly in tears, "HOW CAN YOU BE SO SELFISH RIGHT NOW?! DO YOU WANT ME TO--" "I WANT YOU TO SEE THIS!" I scream.

"See WHAT!?"

With time running out, I make my move.

"None of this, Maddie --  NONE OF THIS means anything to me anymore -- not the Packers, not this world or the world unseen -- absolutely NOTHING -- if I do not have you. Why you? -- Why YOU? -- I'll tell you why -- because you make me want to be GOOD, Maddie. These ghosts have been restless for so long -- all because of our tragic romance. You know in your heart that I could have given you more than he ever could, and YOU KNOW IT, TOO -- YOU UGLY, BIG PILE OF SHIT!"

Without a single flinch of hesitation, I fling the unsigned contract into the monster.

It sinks like a fish into Jello into its back. The sacrifice has been made.

Maddie screams.

Silence holds for a few seconds now in her echo. The monster stands still.

The monster roars.

"SHIT!"

My mind is racing for a way to kill this thing. If none of the Fentons could do it, it's up to me.

Wait...

None of the Fentons...

"Maddie!"

As the room is engulfed in an ominous gold glow, and the Sludge creature inches towards Maddie, who is too tired to try and fight, time almost stops as it did in all of my terrible encounters with Jack that changed my life. Now it all is starting to make sense.

Maddie hangs her head down, accepting her fate, and Danny's.

"Goodbye, Vlad... I..."

"You..."

The final puzzle piece of the Sludge mystery fits, and as it raises a hand that has hardened from goo to solid stone to crush the love of my life, I cry out to her.

"SAY YOU LOVE ME, MADDIE!"

"What--?"

"SAY YOU LOVE ME!"

"But I --"

"Jack always knew it, Maddie -- he knew that we had something that he could never have with you -- never did. He was his own worst enemy. It was only a matter of time before his own mistakes caught up with him... but you... you're so brilliant, Maddie -- so wonderful and truly good! You don't deserve this! He wouldn't have wanted things to end this way! And it can only end this way if you refuse to see what you and I have been running from for YEARS--"

-- "VLAD! I LOVE YOU!" --

What...?

Hell freezes over.

The monster crumbles into dust.

As the castle starts to further rip itself apart in resolution of the monster's feelings (and ours) I use all of my strength to create a shield around me and Maddie (and begrudgingly, the boy as well). In flashes of light so bright that death itself would lose focus, I nearly pass out from the toll of the ecto-shield.

(Thanks for helping, Danny. Little shit.)

I swear I must be dead. I swear I must be.

Is this Heaven?

Maddie is resting in my arms now as her son had been resting in hers. The castle walls around us have crumbled... and she loves me. "The... experiment..." Maddie groans, groggily struggling to stay awake. "It... was... my fault."

"There is no such thing as fault, my love," I whisper in her ear as I dry her cheeks, "only fate, now."

"... Fate..." Maddie whispers. "Could you... really have been mine... all along?"

Exhausted, she fades away into a sleep that weighs lovingly on me. I am overjoyed.

Wars have been started over lessser heroines. Helen of Troy was a mere fairytale by long dead warriors. Juliet was a mere sillouette in romance poetry when compared to the light of my long lost Lenore.  Joan of Arc became a Pop Tart for a shred of my conviction. For me, there is only one name on the Marque -- Maddie.

I had known for far too long that we had a fire of chemestry. It ignited a passion that Jack wouldn't stand for. Like beasts, we both beat our chests, performing for Maddie's approval. Jack's least impressive stunt, it seems, had finally cost him his life... But I think MY life is finally starting to turn around.

Jack Fenton is dead.

Maddie Fenton is safe, where she belongs... Sometimes, emotions can be ghosts, too -- unresolved feelings so powerful that they may just resolve themselves.

"Take these broken wings and learn to fly again."

Let's fly, Maddie.

[livia-lebeau]

The Welcome Masquerade. A tradition her father started when he married his second wife, a way to placate his young daughter into accepting her unwelcomed step-mother. Two more step-mothers followed in her place. Two dead in total from childbed fever, one living the rest of her days in a convent. No doubt marriage to her father drove her there. Livia was the one of few spared from his wrath.

Livia wore her cousin’s costume of pink and gold, her hair done up in intricate braids and a white and gold mask covering her face. Of course, those in her privy chamber knew exactly who she was, and if any of them dared to reveal her identity, they would be demoted faster than they could say “Your Grace”.

The dance had not changed drastically since Livia last participated, and she was always a quick study. The fanfare would begin, the younger girls would enter first then followed by the older ones. Ribbons and petals thrown about. And finally the lead dancer would place a wreath on the guest of honor’s lap. Livia took this role, of course.

When Livia finally got her first good look at him, her thoughts were confirmed. Oh yes, there was absolutely something devilish in his smile.

Augustus smiled, and played his part well, taking the wreath and holding it up triumphantly.

Livia smiled in return and rejoined the other dancers. When fanfare died down, the ladies scattered amongst the courtiers. Some went right for Augustus, but Livia stayed back for a moment to watch. Would he flirt with them? Invite one lucky girl back to his chambers? She had no doubt half of them would eagerly join the future king’s bed if they were assured Livia would not find out. Her ladies were on their best behavior, though because they knew they were being watched, but Livia was not so interested in their actions but his.

Then a moment later their eyes met. Livia looked away, pretending to be the blushing maiden before making her way closer to him. Mask still on her face, like her other ladies. “Your Majesty,” she said, curtseying the appropriate amount of time before rising. Several of the other ladies dispersed but two remained.

Augustus smiled at her. “Thank you for my gift,” he said, motioning to the wreath.

“I am certain it will pale in comparison to the other gifts you will receive,” she replied with a coy smile.

“Oh, do you know what your queen has planned?” he asked, motioning for her to sit and join him.

Livia did, smoothing her gown once she sat.

One of the younger girls smiled. “Livvy, I mean the Queen, is quite generous,” she said quickly, trying to recover from her initial slip.

It took everything in Livia to keep from kicking her in the shin. Livvy was not a pet name he had any right to use. It was a name only to be used the privacy of her chambers, and certainly not in front of a man none of them knew.

The younger girl avoided Livia’s gaze. “I should join my sister,” she said, standing from her seat and scurrying away as if her skirt were on fire.

Augustus took a sip from his goblet. “Is your queen as beautiful as they say?” he asked. All princesses were beautiful until seen in the harsh light of day - no ambassador would dare not sing their lady’s praises.

Livia glanced from side to side before leaning in close. “You mustn’t repeat what I say. Her temper is unparalleled. I am certain the kind Ambassador told you she has beauty compared to the great Helen of Troy,” she whispered. “But there are far, far greater beauties in this kingdom than she.” Livia paused. “In all honesty, Your Grace, she is rather plain.”

If Augustus looked disappointed, he did not show it.

Maybe a plain wife was not the worst fate in the world.

Augustus glanced down at the wreath still on his lap. He was quiet for a moment. “There are rumors she has lovers.”

It was no easy task to stun Livia into silence, but this did. What exactly had court been whispering about her? “None of any importance,” she finally replied. It was likely the only truthful thing she’d said that night. She hadn’t seen any of her former lovers, except in passing through the corridors, since her betrothal was announced. There could be no doubt in the legitimacy of any heirs she conceived.

He nodded, taking in the information.

Livia could not help but wonder if he was changing his mind about their impending nuptials. There were dozens of eligible princes she could choose from, but none her neighbor. This marriage, much to her disdain, was important. She wanted to ask if he was nervous, but that would reveal her hand more than she wished. The point was not for him to figure out who she was, but for her to figure out who he was. Livia might be the Queen, and certainly, her people were a bit more freethinking than their eastern cousins, but God still dictated her loyalty and reverence to her husband.

She was nervous, and hadn’t realized just how much until this moment. The fun and pageantry over, she could see really see him. And he was just as young as her.

“Dance with me,” he suddenly said, as the music began to start.

Her brow furrowed. “Pardon me?”

“Will you do me the honor of sharing a dance?” he asked, this time pulling out his princely charms. He took another sip of his drink. It was almost empty. Augustus stood and offered her his hand.

Livia waited just a moment, certainly she could not hold against him anything he did before their wedding. Then she took his hand, and smiled a pleasing smile. The one she mastered before she could even read. “Of course, I will, Your Majesty.”

He pulled her to the dance floor, his arm around her waist as he twirled her around twice before they separated. Their hands connected then switched. Either he was a fast learner, or both their instructors were French. She turned to face him, and he placed his hands on her waist, lifting her up in the air. When he put her down again, Livia could not have been more an inch away from his face.

The music stopped. Eyes were on them, and her ladies were whispering. Livia gave Augustus a weak smile. “I must retire. Excuse me, Your Majesty.” She pushed away his hands, and quickly turned on her heels to leave. Luckily, her ladies had enough sense to give her space as not to arouse his suspicion.

But Augustus did not let her leave so freely, following close behind her. “Please, do not leave just yet.”

She stopped, closing her eyes for a moment. The deception now making her weary.

He stepped closer to her.

She turned around. Oh, he was certainly handsome and she could see why any of her ladies might be charmed by his pretty face. Though he was to be her husband, she could not let herself fall prey. The welfare of an entire country sat on her shoulders.

Before Livia even realized it, his hands were on hers and her lips were pressed hard against his. She had not been kissed with such passion in the longest time. A longing down in her core that only men could afford to act upon. “You are to marry my Queen,” Livia whispered between kisses.

Augustus laughed. “I do not care about some spoiled little -”

Livia pushed him away, and it took everything in her not to slap him. But she stood firm before him.. “Goodnight, Your Majesty.” She could marry a lech, but not one who possessed even the tiniest disrespect towards her.

[thegleerealworld-blog]

Welcome to The Real World house, TROY! We are very excited to have OSCAR DELANEY here at the Real World house. Don’t forget to send in your account within 24 hours and make sure to re-read the rules and check out the navigation so you know what tags to track! We can’t wait for you to join us.

BEHIND THE SCENES:

Name: Troy. Age: 25, 26 on the 18th. Timezone: EST. Activity Level: 7. I work 40 hours a week and I have adult duties boo.  Previous Accounts: Removed for privacy. Triggers: Removed for privacy. Anything else?: Removed for privacy.

READY, SET, ACTION:

Character Name: Oscar Delaney. FC: Sam Claflin. Date of Birth: 01/18 (27 yrs). Sexuality: Pansexual. Occupation: Heir. Current Location: New York City, New York Three Positive Traits: Charismatic, adaptable, tactful. Three Negative Traits: Dependent,flippant, solipsistic.

Biography:

Being born with a silver spoon in your mouth may have seemed like a great gig to the general population but if more children experienced it, they may not feel the same way. Oscar’s father was the figurehead of a fortune 500 company and his bank account only solidified that fact. He was all about work so when his wife gave birth to fraternal twins, there was a mix of emotions. Oscar’s mother was a gentle soul and very attentive toward the children and always with them. It was not made to last, a car accident stole his mother away. With his father not being around, Oscar and his sister were left to the care of the help. Nannies and servants were what they knew from the time their mother died when they were around 7 years old until they were old enough to take care of themselves at around age 17.

It was then that Oscar’s father expected things from him. He was the next man of the house and the empire his father had built. Oscar was groomed to take over the company but that wasn’t what he wanted for himself. He wanted to explore the world, experience new things. He was a free spirit, not a corporate suit who followed the rules. He was put in charge of some of the smaller subsidiaries to ease him into the company fold while his sister was left to her own devices. She wasn’t expected to take over the company but she resented that. She was just as capable, maybe even moreso, as Oscar was to run the company.

The twins were as close as any twins could be but his twin thought Oscar was irresponsible and told him so more than once. She was always telling him to straighten out and even scolding him for doing things that were unbecoming of a figurehead. He didn’t care, he didn’t want to be one anyway. His sister knew that but she knew their father would put him in charge regardless. She was furious when he told her that he was ditching his life to be on a reality TV show. She basically felt abandoned, which wasn’t Oscar’s intention but he had to find his own place in the world. The Real World.

Para Sample: Removed for privacy.

YOUR FIRST CONFESSIONAL:

WHY ARE YOU AUDITIONING FOR THE REAL WORLD? I need my own path, you know? I just need to get out of my dad’s little bubble and do my own thing for awhile.

WHAT AND WHO ARE YOU LEAVING BEHIND BACK HOME? My father, my twin sister, and my french bulldog, Tiny.

WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO GAIN IN THE NEXT SIX MONTHS IN SAN FRANCISCO? I wanna have a good time, make some friends. Maybe learn some skills to help me survive and make it on my own without my family money. That sounds really stupid, I can’t believe I said that out loud.

WHILE ON THE REAL WORLD, AMERICA IS WATCHING YOUR EVERY MOVE. WHAT’S THE FIRST THING YOU WANT TO SAY TO THE VIEWERS AT HOME? You don’t know me or where I come from. Even if you know of my family, you never met me or spent time with me.