#verse: historical.

[charmantevamp]

( trace )     for the sender to trace their finger of the receiver’s body. - @ofravensandseas

"You're a tease," Audrey observed with a false calm. It was calm before a storm. Her mouth clashes with his and she pulls him closer, pressing her body against his.

"So stop teasing."

[melpomeneprose]

Continued from here ~ @audaciiae

The Major sighed -- sadly -- defeated, trying and ultimately failing to repress his emotions for P.eggy S.hippen, John said finally, "Well besides driving my mind to fits of lust and love that drives Eros to shame, I am afraid... I am vexed, of course, I also care for Madam Cheer, I do regret hurting her, making her something she is not, but... there is a botomless pit in me that is empty without Madam S.hippen, but she is not mine to lose anymore... I'm afraid. In losing the woman I've gained the man, I did this for you, you know, my dear," a sigh. "My love is to be Mrs. Arnold within a week, and there is nothing I can do. But, as I've said, in losing the woman I've gained the man, A.rnold will bring our E.ngland victory, still... this wound is a dugout and I wish I could crawl out, but I can't."

[lvciddreamt]

@gcldensnflwr​

the feast was magnificent; the entire hall lit by what must be nearly a thousand candles, the largest quantity of food charles had ever seen laid out on the tables, and the kingdom’s finest musicians playing a lively reel on gleaming instruments. if it weren’t for the reason they were all gathered there, charles might have even been able to enjoy it. as it was, he was miserable — picking listlessly at his food and downing wine like it was water and he was dying of thirst. the prince was surrounded by admirers, unsurprisingly, but today charles couldn’t bear to look at him. it was like looking directly into the sun, luca’s usual shine turned practically blinding. he couldn’t stand it for long — soon he slipped away to a quiet alcove with pitcher of wine stolen from the tray of an unsuspecting maid. he hadn’t realized he was being followed until he turned and saw the very last person he wanted to see. “oh. it’s you.” he cleared his throat, cheeks flushing. “y-your highness.” 

[sharmawit]

"that is obvious, Kate. everything i do is a blessing."

@smiletimeisrunningout

Kathani chuckles, innocently enough -- at first. It is not bitterness nor malice towards Princess Emma. The truth, rather is it is complicated. Often, despite her best efforts Miss Sharma feels unwanted... a burden. It isn't an often occurrence, nevertheless -- it sometimes strikes her. The melancholia time and again. It always leaves, but this morning it has decided to strike.

Kathani truthfully spends so little time considering herself that it rarely is a problem. But, despite the laugh sweeping her brown-coloured sharp lips, there's a mild look of pain in her eyes. Perhaps the worst part is -- she blames herself for Edwina's current troubles, isn't it? "Well, that makes you the exception, my friend, Emma. I am not sure such a notion applies to me... after all, what do sharp-tongued spinsters contribute to society? After all, aren't we women... aiding dear Edwina, supposed to be soft-spoken and seldom seen?"

[melpomeneprose]

"Why ever not? -- I am a loyalist, not a monster. I may find you beastly rebels to be ignorant and fighting a fool's errand, but that doesn't mean I wish you all dead. At the end of the day, we all want the same things, do we not? The success and safety of this nation?"

Benjamin didn't know what to say, too much pain, so much he has unknowingly caused and enabled. If anyone's the beast here-- it is me. He wished to say, but he did not. He wasn't sure what was restraining him. So far, he'd shown so little. "I never said you were a monster," Tallmadge managed gently. You are quite the opposite.

"War makes wretches of us all," he added, praying she understood.

"You don't know that -- you do not know whom you will and will not hurt, so such promises are cruel and faulty. Perhaps your staying will be the worst mistake of your life."

What do you want from me? His eyes said, but he could not muster the words. He was too afraid, to afraid of himself.

"I imagine if I blamed our king for the death of a loved one, I would wish to fight too. But perhaps it isn't our king who's at fault. Perhaps it's Washington's pride for thinking we can win this war in the first place."

"I will not trouble you with the numbers, Madam," Benjamin sighed sadly. "To the best side then I suppose. Though, G.od has not left us yet."

Clara blinked at Benjamin's response, a nettled heat burning beneath her fichu. "Why ever not?" she coolly asked. "I am a loyalist, not a monster. I may find you beastly rebels to be ignorant and fighting a fool's errand, but that doesn't mean I wish you all dead. At the end of the day, we all want the same things, do we not? The success and safety of this nation?"

When Benjamin reached for her hands, she jerked, startled by his sudden touch. "Do not shush me," she warned, agitation welling within her eyes. "I am just some ignorant, hysterical woman to you, is that it? Perhaps you do not wish to hear my words, because you know them to be true!"

He fetched a handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes, and despite the almost infantile sensation of being cared for -- she doubted that even her own nursemaid had cared for her in infancy -- she remained skeptical as her eyes appraised his face.

"You don't know that," she whispered. "You do not know whom you will and will not hurt, so such promises are cruel and faulty. Perhaps your staying will be the worst mistake of your life."

A brother... It didn't take unveiled words to know he was yet another victim of this hellish war. Mouth curling, Clara looked away, worrying her fingers over the fabric of her neckline. "I've never known anyone killed in this conflict," she confessed. "Our friends and family...they are not serving. But I do love, and quite fiercely, so I couldn't even begin to fathom the hurt and ache that must cause...and yet here you still stand. And here you still fight." Chewing her lip, she raised her eyes again. "I imagine if I blamed our king for the death of a loved one, I would wish to fight too. But perhaps it isn't our king who's at fault. Perhaps it's Washington's pride for thinking we can win this war in the first place."

[thevamplelio]

A happiest of birthdays to @gentlejack.

[charmantevamp]

( gentle )     for the sender to kiss the receiver’s hand. - @ofravensandseas

Audrey laughed, it was an airy coquettish laugh. Still, there is an underlying bitterness about it. Still, like the lady she is most certainly not, she accepts.

"You must be looking for the wrong lass," she replied, coolly.

"I am hardly a lady," at least not in any way that matters and father figures be damned.

"I'd offer you a seat at the table but that'd be as good as highway robbery, if I wanted to steal from you I'd simply let you bend me over a bed and take me til I cannot walk."

[melpomeneprose]

send me  ‘🃏 !’  and i’ll write you a starter using a tarot card as the inspiration

Anne Boleyn for visiting v: phoenix queen Relta?

From here. / @joyfulmagic

The Magician - Upright: power, influence, resourcefulness, intellect, and skill. Reversed: a warning to be careful and 'mind where you step or step on.'

Admittedly Lady Anne B.oleyn hadn't been in England long, still, somehow she got H.enry the E.ighth's attention. Almost without saying a word. It would be tedious if it didn't benefit her and her family. She's made her way to court with her sister, Mary. Hoping at least one B.oleyn girl would have some staying power. Silently, Anne thinks, 'Is it not enough? The man is married, I bear Catherine of Aragon no ill will, I am merely a reformed P.rotestant, and he does have my sister and several others already.' but Anne doesn't voice such words, it would only get her in more trouble with her father.

She was new at court, as new as one educated keenly at French Court could be and already Catalina saw her as a challenge. Was her summons so much to bear? Well, she's determined to make this difficult. She will be no mistress.

Anne had almost gotten lost in her train of thought when I bright haired woman approached, she seemed respectable enough, though really -- respectability be damned. At French court she was taught to be memorable.

"Bonsoir, Madam, I am Lady Anne B.oleyn, at your service, a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

[melpomeneprose]

"Yes, a house," the green witch replied, coldly. If she could forget all she's lost she would, it is why she longed for the water to drown, to fade to become nothing... she could not even save her Fiyero and her one goal, gain Sarima's forgiveness for being the... other woman was stopped dead in its tracks by his vile Ozness, of course, she started well-intentioned, and much more capable of love than this world she is in or Oz deserved, still. If Elphaba could weep and not burn herself... she would. But, she cannot so she bites down and swallows her pain, as she did when Glinda gave Nessarose's shoes to the D.orothy child and as she did when she found Fiyero dead in her hideout, yes, the day her Fiyero had been murdered she too had tried to join him, it hadn't worked then... no, she merely became another person entirely, not Elphaba, not Fae, and not Elphie. Sister Saint Ælphaba, sainthood hadn't taken kindly to the witch, still... she tried.

"You've certainly led an eventful life."

"You could say that," they reply. "Most in possession of sense would simply call it a tragedy, a series of mishaps and disasters, and it is all on me. But, I doubt you wish to hear how my first lover and roommate betrayed me, the second was murdered for my inability to act and even then... I could never apologize to his widow," Elphaba attempts callousness, but the hurt in her eyes, the desire to burst into tears or, better yet, turn back the clock and let the water do as it will with her say quite contrary.

"A house?" Nicolas repeated, looking up at her as if to check he hadn't misheard. The sights he had seen of her world were plenty unusual. But a house falling on someone was still a bit out of the norm. "You've certainly led an eventful life."

A regime change? Well yes, there had been plenty of that. "Feudalism is dead, the church belongs to the state, and blood flows everywhere. The King still lives, for now, but that won't last. Is your world turning everything upside-down as well? Were you outcast, or fleeing?" But no, she had said she was like him, seeking death. "What drove you to destruction?"

[lvciddreamt]

@citrusfield​

no one ever ate the food at parties like this one. it was mainly decorative, all colorful canapés and miniscule vol-au-vents. nothing resembling a real meal. silas’s own stomach would have been cramping with hunger if he hadn’t made sure to eat beforehand. he always pitied the guests who seemed unsatisfied with the spread — hadn’t they known it was a garden party, not a dinner? he stiffened, straightening up even more, hands still tightly folded behind his back. “i didn’t say i was happy, but i’m willing to do my duty. i don’t see why you shouldn’t be. this is a favorable arrangement for you, seeing as you stand to inherit so little from your own family. and after all the unpleasantness with my own elder brother, i will be the one able to provide for mine — and for you. is that not an agreeable situation?” his nostrils flared slightly at the mention of a ‘simple-minded, pushover of a woman’ — maybe because she wasn’t too far off. “simple-mindedness is hardly a desirable trait in a partner, but someone more amiable, perhaps.” i fear hearing the activities i take pleasure in would turn you into a true shrinking violet. “i will not humor you,” silas snapped, patience now running thin. “i know you are not a woman of ill repute, and if this is simply a tactic to repel me, it will not work.” she played piano. now, there was something they had in common. maybe even something they could bond over. “i enjoy the piano myself. i’m sure i am less adept at it than you are, but perhaps we could try a duet sometime.”

[sharmawit]

[Skates] for sender and receiver to get ice skating

From here. / @apurekindness

Riding out to meet the blonde, the Sharma 'spinster' wasn't sure what to make of her. Though, Kathani was by far the last person to throw stones or accuse without evidence. 'A witch' some said, 'a healer and medic,' said others. Still, the truly observant ones said the blonde was a 'doctor' and 'nurse.' She didn't know what to make of it, and Kathani was not entirely certain that she cared. She grabbed her ice skates-- something rather new to the coffee-coloured, raven-haired 'spinster'.

"I do hope, I'm not terribly late," she said as a footman took her horse and she got down with ease. "I also don't believe I've done this before."

[charmantevamp]

“Audrey, Please.. He’s coming.. The Captain..”

— @ofravensandseas

@ofravensandseas / unprompted.

Audrey merely whined softly, then purred like a cat, pleased with herself for making such a scene. "By which you mean... yourself? Monsieur?" she asked.

"If you're a Captain, well then, I want you my corsair to take me and make me cry out for you, I want to claim me, I want you to drown me in your ocean til I feel nothing else."

[melpomeneprose]

Banastre just grinned smugly, oh Tallmadge you golden-haired summer child, how little you truly know.

"I have -- for starters, of those deserving pardons. It was never a gentleman's war. Because Marion is no gentleman clever Fox though he is. I hardly claim propriety or moral upstanding-ness, I know how my father accumulated his means, however, I am not the one violating those beneath me on a whim, nor am I butchering my sides C.herokee allies -- or any man of such variety at all."

"You likewise wouldn't like J.efferson if you heard the word in V.irginia at all! He barely sent your side aid, and do not get me started on Ms. H.emmings who is all of 14, and for fucks sake Tallmadge, don't feign innocence... it doesn't work on snakes. I know what happened to André everyone knows, and you are a soldier -- or have you forgotten by now? For one who claims G.od in heaven and morality akin to his cleverness, you're awfully windy and a dark lantern yourself."

"Properly educated?" Benjamin echoed, laughing. "If you're truly the world's greatest army, you should be able to adapt without issue. Whether or not we adhere to a gentleman's war is beside the point -- if you actually expect people to obey rules whenever pushed into poverty and subjugation, you're far more of a fool than I thought."

Tarleton waved a hand. "Besides, I've bigger fish to fry. Charleston fell with minimal blood spilt and -- I nearly caught the foppish bastard Jefferson."

Benjamin snorted. "If you truly believed that, you wouldn't keep bringing up Marion at every waking turn." With a sarcastic bob of his head, he added, "And really? You almost caught Jefferson? Well, now, that is big news! I suppose the next time I almost achieve my goals, I should write to the Rivington Gazette and herald my almost good fortune!"

What an overblown arsehole.

Tarleton spoke of amnesty and yet more rules, and with a scoff, Benjamin fired back, "Tell that to the women and children you're all too happy to slaughter. There are rules, and then there's banding together to defeat a common evil -- I see no issue with what's occurred." Curling his lip, he added, "Perhaps if you actually pardoned people, we would be inclined to believe it."

[melpomeneprose]

“you clearly needed help.”

henry tudor, duke of cornwall for anne of cleves

@officerwaltons

Anna thought for a moment. Were she permitted a policy of truth, as her Christianity so often demanded. She’d question why she was here. What with Henry VIII’s four children. Two sons. Two daughters. Elizabeth, Mary, Edward and Henry Tudor. All of whom had taken her as a stepmother so well. She only prayed the King’s firstborn legitimate son didn’t know that she was soon to be but a ‘beloved sister’ to his majesty, Henry VIII.

Still, she had indeed needed help. It’d be wrong to deny as much. She knew, of course, why she was here at all. At least initially. She was to bare the King more sons. Secure the Tudor line. After all, the War of the Roses had happened a mere fifty years before. All because the English royals couldn’t act accordingly and the line of succession was unclear. That and some unlucky children died young. It was a fact of life. Anna had survived to 24. But her mother had lost at least two babies before her and Amelia, and her brother, the now Duke of Cleves.

“I… thank you, my Lord,” Anna managed awkwardly.

She had no interest in baring sons and the acts it required and she much preferred the soft touch of women. An aunt perhaps, but not a mother. A flirt, in words, but not a lady of Greensleeves.

“Should you and your siblings need anything, I am here, you know. I don’t intend to leave England. Despite the ‘divorce’, I should know. I won’t be denied my dues and payment. I love your father, as a sister protects her brother. But as marriages go. Declare me but a well-to-do titled spinster! I fancy myself a Pallas Athena, or better still, Artemis of the hunt!”

[sharmawit]

"let us take a turn about the room." Finally Emma meeting Kate

@smiletimeisrunningout

Somehow Kathani— Kate, still manages to be a bit taken aback by such attention. Never mind that her sweet and most suitable sister, Edwina Sharma, the diamond was elevated in the eyes of the public by Queen Charlotte herself. To say nothing of her own efforts, and माँ— mata—mother Mary's efforts and Kate’s own.

She was ‘the spinster’, unconcerned with propriety or vanity, as some philosophers might insist. Still, praise from a royal, even a not native Briton, was nothing to scoff at or minimize. Of course! Maharashtra had its own long history of royals, warrior Rani’s—Queen’s rather, saints and her home was the ‘gateway to the subcontinent of India’ at least, if you believed the scandalous Lord Byron, or the erudite John Keats. Emma and Kate were alike in that way… ‘foreigners.’ As though William the Conqueror’s line wasn’t still going in King George III. But she need not point out the problems present in their world, not right now, anyway. Not when Kate had just been extended a friend’s hand, metaphorically.

“But of course,” Kathani said, placing Newton down on the couch and rising to walk with the Princess Emma.

[ask-nyc-boroughs]

Early Appalachian frontiersman Alfred in buckskin circa 1790- 1810s. I’m trying to figure out how to paint like NC Wyeth digitally (so lol the background is Wyeth’s).

Gonna ramble a bit about my nor’easter au and Alfred below the cut

Following the American Revolution, Alfred is immediately sent out to squash any rebellions (like whiskey rebellion) and to partake in wars against Indigenous nations like the Cherokee. I’ll save a discussion about the Cherokee wars for another time because that’ll take a long time to explain + I’m still working on my Cherokee oc and I need to understand Cherokee history and perspective more before I go forward with talking about this topic.

Now the many of the east coast states are older than Alfred, and they mostly supported him during the revolution because they thought he’d be easy to control given at the time of the revolution he wasn’t tied down as any colony or city. However, he was a New Englander and very obviously so

He was once Plymouth colony and he grew up alongside his cousin Henry/Massachusetts, but by the time the revolution occurred, his status was unclear and he was simply living with his cousin (who’s his earliest and most fierce supporter) .

These states operated like countries and part of why the had the revolution was to continue to self-govern and maintain their regional cultures. It’s also part of why the federal government initially was rather weak. Given Alfred’s closeness to his cousin, and his very staunch New England identity, I think the states would be hesitant over a strong New England national control. And so I think they especially Jennie/NY & Rich/Virginia encouraged Alfred to leave his cousin for a while, and partake in military campaigns (+ he was good at battle).

Also Alfred was like 14, and I don’t think he’s ever been the type to sit down and do paperwork. Honestly he was always a bad student, who was far more interested in the outdoors, horses, sailing and hunting. While he won the war, and he was fine with being head of state, he still didn’t 1) have confidence in himself to make non-military related decisions 2) he just wasn’t mentally ready to take on the responsibilities and was fine deferring it to his states like Jennie, Rich, or Henry to figure out matters that weren’t military related. He was irresponsible and it would come back to bite him in the ass during the Civil War.

Alfred on a personal level it was probably good for him to get away from his overly critical cousin who can be overbearing, but also so he would get more experience to deeply get to know his states.

Also Alfred, growing up in New England, he was a little ball of rage as a kid and he has a difficult time managing his emotions. He wasn’t exactly the personable seemingly fun loving Alfred of the present. Not that he couldn’t crack a joke, but ok I’m not from New England, but in the northeast I find we’re rather cynical, un-filtered and sarcastic and tbh kind of asssholes in the way we have fun and in our humor. That’s how he was, which is like fine unless you’re trying to appeal to the rest of the nation lol which he would have to

I think his time spent in Appalachia and the south did help him learn more about his other states especially Maisie/ North Carolina. But also helped him learn more how to let go some of this intense New England rage, and how to better control his emotions. But also let loose in a way that isn’t so dark and cynical. Also I think this helped him slowly learn how to speak with less of a New England specific accent

He was also able to observe states like Rich and Carl/ South Carolina and gain an understanding of how being able to control your emotions, can help control your image and how others perceive you. So these are the origins of how he slowly began to shape and become at least in public this overly friendly happy go lucky Alfred.

I’ll save a discussion about his interactions with the Appalachian states more explicitly another time I’m just tired😴 fr rn