#yes this is about george blagden in versailles

[girlinthebrightbluejeans]

When I see an actor that has long gorgeous hair in a historical show without their wig on it causes me physical pain.

[mermaidsirennikita]

I need to start new period dramas. Can you list your favs like which you recommend most? (Ive seen Reign) Thanks!

Sure!

Spartacus--set in Ancient Rome, obvious during the Third Servile War.  This is actually one of my top... five?  three? favorite shows of all time.  It deserves INTENSE trigger warnings for basically everything--gore, sexual violence, torture.  I will say that a lot of the general gladiatorial violence is purposefully over the top--originally because the show couldn’t afford realistic effects and they were like “fuck it, let’s go OTT and embrace it” and later because it basically was the Aesthetic.  Lots of slo mo and AAAARGGGGGHHHHs!!!!  Also a surprising amount of sensitivity towards the trauma the characters endure.  Like.  This is one of the only shows that I feel deals with trauma correctly for the majority of the characters.  They never really... “heal” in that unrealistic soft way.  But they do live.  It’s also surprisingly diverse, and the female characters are EXCELLENT, both the heroines and the villains.  The villains are so well-done too.  Well-developed without being portrayed as justified or excused.

Rome--set during the rules of the First and Second Triumvirates.  Definitely a “must watch” period piece.  It really set the tone for many that have followed, and few have matched or surpassed it.  It’s great drama, has one of the best female villains on TV of all time. I do really, really dislike its version of Cleopatra.  As a whole.  But I loooove its portrayal of Octavian and Antony, so--what’re you gonna do?

Vikings (season 1-2............................................ maybe season 3 in some spots though that’s still gotta fuck ton of issues)--set in early medieval Scandinavia.  Not a good show now, but I really loved it for the first couple of seasons and I think that those seasons, especially the first two, are still worth watching. Really, the ending of season 2 is quite final in a lot of ways.  So you could watch it like that?  Vikings was an extremely odd and trippy show in the first couple of seasons as well, which I enjoy seeing blended with its period piece setting.  It also has some really cool fight scenes and music.

Medici: The Magnificent--set in early-to-high Renaissance Florence.  Okay, so technically this is season 2 of Medici (the first season is called Medici: Masters of Florence) but season 1 frankly... sucks.  And season 2 has only one or two hold-over actors, and it’s set a couple of decades after season 1 ends.  It is, for all intents and purposes, a whole new show.  I love it.  This is a soapy show, and not every actor is greeeeat but Daniel Sharman is FANTASTIC in it, and so are the villains.  I really can’t emphasize how much I love Daniel Sharman in this role--and not just because he’s hot.  It’s also lovely to look at for the most part.  I really love the men’s costumes on this show too?  And the Pazzi Conspiracy is pretty well done.

The Borgias--set in High Renaissance Rome.  Oh, this show.  I loved it SO HARD once.  And I don’t anymore.  It’s very flawed.  But it’s fucking BEAUTIFUL in some scenes, and while it’s not the way I want the story of the Borgia family to be told, it does have some great moments, and some great performances for that matter.  (They should have let Francois Arnaud go Full Evil with Cesare, but whatever.)  It’s soapy.  There is an actual canonical incest pairing, and it’s played as totally romantic.  So heads up on that.  But this show did shape a part of me, so I can’t totally complain.

The Tudors--set in Renaissance/Reformation/post-Reformation England.  This show is so bad in some parts?  I still refuse to say that Jonathan Rhys Myers is putting on a good performance as Henry VIII. Because I don’t think it’s good acting.  But it’s like.  Entertaining.  There’s a scene where he’s like, trying to pole vault over a pond or something and he’s like “watch me lads this’ll be rad” and he just... ends up in the pond.  I think he gets sick and ends up screaming.  He does a lot of screaming.  But the women are very good in this!!!  Maria Doyle Kennedy and Natalie Dormer kill it in the first two seasons, and Tamzin Merchant is so good at playing up more than just the sexy lil thing role that this show wanted to give Katherine Howard.  She put a lot into fleshing her out.  I would say that the first two seasons are like, fun soapy shenanigans with a few genuinely good beats, and the last two are kinda dull except for when they relate to the downfall of Thomas Cromwell (who is very well played in this show) and Katherine Howard.

The White Queen/The White Princess--set during medieval England.  Do I recommend?  No.  No I do not.  Is it kind of incredibadly watchable at times?  Yes.  These loosely related minseries monstrosities are like, horrible feminism, horrible costuming, and occasionally really fucking good performances.  It’s about the Wars of the Roses (TWQ) and the early reign of Fuckboi In Leather Pants and A Pirate Shirt Henry VII.  Also, Richard III is a goth in this series.  There will be another installment, The Spanish Princess, once again with a whole new cast, very soon.  It will be about Catherine of Aragon.  Supposedly.

Versailles--set in 18th century France.  This does for Louis XIV what The Tudors did for Henry VIII.  But it’s marginally better because George Blagden is a better actor than JRM, and Louis XIV actually seems like he has a brain sometimes, and is generally an evil plotting cocker spaniel with his gay brother.  A typical episode of Versailles is basically Louis XIV having Somewhat Awkward Sexual Tension with said brother as they snipe at each other, until they agree to be friends and rule the French court through psychological manipulation.  Louis gives somewhat an absolutely withering glance.  They commit suicide before him.  Everyone is wearing a mask.  I mean, I have fun with it.  Though there is a VERY CRINGE STORYLINE in the beginning that is based on a VERY CRINGE LEGEND that always makes me hesitate to recommend it.

Alias Grace--set in 19th century Canada.  Essentially, this is a thriller and a period piece.  A doctor learns through a series of interviews about the heinous murders that Grace committed while a servant in a rich man’s house.  I really like this show’s exploration of class divides and women’s relationships with each other.  It’s preeeetty dark.

North and South--set in industrial England.  I always describe this as like...  Pride and Prejudice if Darcy had a more sexual vibe and was more working class, and if Elizabeth was tbh.............................. a bit dumber, if well-intentioned.  I love it.  The smoldering gazes.  The secretive glances.  The classic “woman rejects man’s marriage proposal, man is a broken husk” scene.  It’s great.

The Crown--set in twentieth century England-present.  This is one of the GREATEST DRAMAS EVER, frankly.  Like.  This show takes objectively petty arguments and turns them into something super epic and intense.  It’s all about the strength of the acting and the writing.  There is only one episode in the two (so far) seasons that disappointed me.  Plus, this show looks intensely expensive.  

Peaky Blinders--set in Post WWI Birmingham.  First two seasons ONLY.  But oh, they were great seasons of TV.  This show is about a crime family, and I absolutely love crime family dramas.  It also features Grace Burgess, one of my favorite characters ever.  She is a lady cop who sets out to seduce the main character, head of aforementioned crime family.  For The Law.  That is all.

Hopefully, this is a good starting point--ngl, most period pieces drop in quality after a couple seasons, so it’s hard to give a wholehearted recommendation.  

[keylimecliche]

Versailles AU/Fake Marriage AU

OOF. SO this turned out to be much longer of a babble than I intended :D;; so I put it under Read More so no one’s dash is cluttered.  This is an AU I’ve had in mind for years! But I’ve never made an aesthetic for it until now. I’m such a huge Versailles geek (not only the show but the place itself) and Louis XIV is my favorite monarch so OFC I had to write something about it. I’m also a huge fan of fake marriage AUs and what a better setting than another country to put these two salty squires and make them get along >) ?

True I always did imagine this as a Jane/Louis fic, but my endgame for it was always Janther. I also pictured this being a heavy enemies to friends story with the hint of lovers and not the usual Janther romance. Although I don’t really picture this being a crossover of the two shows, moreover just inspiration taken from Versailles TV, I love the charm, brattiness, and sensuality George Blagden brings to Louis XIV so I had to use him as a face claim and muse. He’s wonderful! c:

The ride to the palace had been a grueling, long journey. One that Jane never cared to repeat again. She’d become so used to blocking off her surroundings, just staring off into the distance imagining herself flying far away on Dragon, free from the form fitting corset around her waist, the strange smell of the carriage’s cushions, and Gunther’s encumbering presence across from her that she didn’t even notice when the carriage stopped. It wasn’t until Gunther cleared his throat that she turned, and from the overbearing brightness outside the door she saw him extend a hand outward to her in waiting.

“Please, lend me the honor of helping you” the words were dull and spilled from his mouth with difficulty “my loving wife.”

Jane swallowed down her frown and took his hand.

--

The outside of Versailles had been far too big for Jane’s liking. Perhaps if it was a proper castle, something made for defense and safety, then she would understand, but this--this was simply an ornament. A grand gesture of pompous propriety that the French were so well known for. She remembered Jester telling her grand tales of the French court; the dazzling women and men who wore dresses bigger than furniture and heavier than armor. He also warned her about the fallacious gossip and wandering eyes among the aristocrats. Stories that went as far back as Catherine de Medici and got no better with time.

Sadly, he was right about it all. Now those big-dressed individuals were all looking right at her as she passed with Gunther in hand. They weren’t saying anything, but she could practically hear their minds buzzing with anticipation to gabble as soon as the knights were out of earshot. She cast Gunther a subtle glance, but his expression was unreadable. His eyes stared forward as they strode, two set stones reflecting the brightness of Versailles like the sun, though the grip of his hand on her arm betrayed him. He was nervous and possibly as disdained as she felt. Her own hand tightened against him until she heard him take in a small breath. His eyes met hers in what she believed was gratitude.

Their footsteps echoed through the parted crowd without rivalry. Behind them the door began to close, and a split second before it met its frame, Jane heard the room erupt into whispers.  

--

The king was everything Jane heard he was--well everything except magnificent. What was supposed to be magnificent came off very clearly as flamboyancy. That was Jane’s first impression, which she tried to keep as best hidden as possible through her tight smile. If they were to asses the full force of the French and bring back a possible treaty to Kippernia, then the last thing she should do was look as disgusted as she felt. And she felt very disgusted. It seemed that both the men and women of the court were either unconditionally loyal, or they had all fallen in love with their king with the way they all swarmed around him like an angel landing from the heavens. 

‘Do not fall in love with him’ Jester’s joke chimed in her memory ‘King Louis XIV is said to gain the heart of any woman he sets his eyes on. Nuptials be damned--even if it is a fake marriage’. She couldn’t tell if the slight worry pulling on the edge of his lips was from Gunther being her supposed husband, or from actual concern that she would fall for the philanderer. Either way, Jane had heartedly laughed back then, and could have done so again now. 

‘That man, thee wooer of women?’ 

Compared to any man in Kippernia, he was barely a man at all. His hair was longer than her own, and there was a frailty to him that made it apparent he had never sweated a day in his life. Yes, Jane could have guffawed as she looked up at him from his perch atop the staircase. 

She didn’t though. Instead she bowed when Gunther did, a few paces behind him. There were no female knights in Versailles, no equal comrade to a man. At least, that the court knew of. Jane smiled despite herself, glad to be momentarily covered by her lowered head. “It is a great honor to meet you King Louis XIV” Gunther began “my wife and I have traveled all the way from Kippernia and I must say I am dumbstruck by Versailles’ beauty.”

Louis’ expression didn’t even flinch. In fact, he looked somewhat displeased with Gunther as he began to make his way down the steps in an agonizingly languid pace. Several men offered their hands to him along the way, but Louis merely brushed them off with a wave. Jane noticed they looked almost humbled by their king’s rudeness. The Sun King they called him. The Sun King indeed. 

When the monarch finally met eye to eye with Gunther, he had to stay a step above him to do so, he patted him on the shoulder like some type of dog who had performed a particularly pleasant trick. Jane could see Gunther’s back stiffen in repressed agitation. 

“And your wife?” Louis XIV finally spoke.

“Excuse me your Highness?”

“And your wife? Is she not impressed by palace?” 

“No--she, of course she is” Gunther struggled to find the correct words.

“She does not seem very impressed at all” Louis’ eyebrows raised as he glanced over at Jane. She found his piercing blue eyes unsettling, almost as if he could unravel her if he stared at her long enough. The dagger hidden away in her skirts felt overwhelming noticeable in that moment. 

“She is merely tired my king” Gunther’s voice was surprisingly steady, and luckily managed to pull the king’s attention back to him. “Forgive her for any face she may be making. I know she can appear a bit...harsh at times. The sight of her is not always gentle on the soul.” That last line was clearly a jab she would have to let go for now.

The king was quiet for a while, then without warning he burst into laughter. He laughed until everyone in the grand hall suddenly started laughing with him, and Jane found herself somewhat awed and afraid of this one man’s control over so many people. She laughed as well for good measure. 

“I love Kippernians” Louis XIV said with a small shake of Gunther’s shoulder. “I have heard you are all very amusing. Come now, let me walk you two to your bedchamber while you continue to humor me with your stories of home. You are popular for your herrings correct?” 

“Yes your Highness” Gunther agreed. Relief was practically spelled on his face. She followed behind the two, feeling oddly uneasy as Louis looked behind his shoulder to cast her one last, lingering glance. 

--

“You spar?” Louis asked with a glint in his eye. He swung his sword gracefully around one hand and spun it to the next.

“No my lord, of course not” she lied, trying to not be enticed by the way the hilt shined against the light of the garden’s candles. It was an enchanting sight. “A lady of the court--” but he didn’t let her finish as he tossed the sword recklessly at her; Jane’s instincts overtook her and she caught the wobbling sword in her hand steadily. Louis laughed; it was a boyish, light thing. Nothing like the fake titters that grated her ears so many times before. 

“Honestly Jane? You expect me to believe that a mere woman of the court would know how to do that?” With an amused smile he grabbed for another sword on the rack. “You cannot fool me. I know a warrior when I see one.” His hand waved the sword in a circular motion and he bowed to her in a quick show of respect.

“I--well I--”

“When?” he asked in a slight huff, flipping his hair to the opposite side of his shoulder. Jane followed the way it draped along the side of his neck and sat on across his shoulders; it too shined rather brilliantly against the dark. “When are you planning to reveal the true you? Not this--this boring Jane you have constructed in order to appease French court, but the actual Jane Breech. Where is she?” He began making his way towards her, and Jane gripped the handle of the sword nervously. Why was he looking at her that way?

“Is she here?” he patted one of her sides with the flat end of his sword, as if searching her. “Or here perhaps?” he raised her opposite arm to peek underneath.

Jane chuckled at his foolishness. “Stop that now, do not be so--”

“Foolish?”

“Yes, exactly.”

“Only fools keep lies Jane�� he teased with a baiting smile. He looked so...human in front of her, dressed in nothing more than a loose white shirt, waistcoat and breeches. Not at all like the haughty peacock he usually resembled. Even his stance was relaxed, natural. Was it because no one was here to observe him except her? 

“Then we are all fools.”

“Touché” he rolled his eyes but his smile stayed. She could tell he was completely amused by her like he had been a day prior at the dinner table. Gunther was still not speaking to her over the incident; a Breech’s bruised ego was a difficult injury to cure. “Do you always have something witty to say? I must admit I rather fancy that.”

“In a woman?” The question came out uninvited and Jane tapped the sword against her ankle punishingly.    

“In anyone” he admitted. “Sometimes even my most trusted confidantes can be a bit boring. A bit too--polite if you will. I feel as if everyone around me walks on egg shells.”

“I wonder why that might be?” ‘Bogweevils Jane, do keep that mouth quiet!‘

Louis’s eyebrows raised with mischievous glee. The blue of his eyes was playful and friendly and not at all like Gunther’s murky, cold tone. “Careful my lady, or I might just imprison you for being too cheeky with the King of France. Or worse” he took a couple steps back and spun the sword in his hand again “give you an embarrassing defeat. One you will have to live with for the rest of your life.” 

She smiled, taking on his playful one--or had she been using it all this time? “I do not think that is very fair. Seeing as a hit against the king is a hit against an entire nation.”

“True” he thought for a moment before proceeding “Well then, do not see me as a king. Merely, see me as a man. As Louis. And I shall see you as Jane. Then when one of us faces sure failure, the other cannot use their title against them. Is that a fair deal?”

Jane hesitated; her heart was beating against her chest. She hadn’t played around like this since she was a child, and in truth she missed it but...

“...Jane?” Louis called after a moment of her reluctant silence, and there that look on his face; the kind he had when readying himself for rejection, one she’d seen on him before in the dance hall, and after speaking in hushed tones with his brother. One that she found she couldn’t take anymore. Her heart pulled even stronger for him now than before. 

“Alright” Jane readied herself, weighing the sword in her hand better until it fit like a glove against her skin. “But do not cry when I best you.”

--

Their animosity towards one another had only heightened within the days. Merely being in the same room was stifling no matter how large it was in size, but both had made a vow to their king, and what were they except failures if they didn’t see that promise through? After their talk yesterday Jane felt more at ease; Gunther genuinely appeared to want to make things right with her from then on and he had fulfilled his side of the bargain thus far. No unnecessary insults were thrown betwixt the two, and despite Gunther’s apparent uneasiness earlier, he was beginning to calm as the night went on. In all honesty, Jane didn’t expect him to dance half as much as he did, especially with her. Perhaps it was his way to make amends? She looked up at the masked man and although she couldn’t actually see his face, it felt as if he were almost smiling at her. She could almost feel his presence radiate through the painted face. It was in the way his hands held her own, in the posture of his shoulders, in the manner in which his body moved with hers like the tides of the ocean’s shore. 

In the recesses of Jane’s mind, where she sometimes--embarrassingly--thought of him as something more than Gunther, she knew she wanted to keep an image of him like this. It was that corner that she held onto all peculiar thoughts and emotions regarding him. It all started on one particular evening when he turned to smile at her, and the sun’s passing light made his features soft and warm. Jane’s heart has skipped a beat then, and for a split moment she had the overwhelming urge to kiss him. To simply hold his face in her hands, reach up, and kiss him. 

The thought was quickly dismissed without notice from her fellow squire, but it took a rather impressionable sucker-punch at her emotions. And all night long she contemplated where it had come from and why it was there until she could make some sense of it. She never did. So she merely kept adding to the mound whenever she found herself thinking of him that way, or more accurately, cramming such nonsense into a small space in the back of her mind as she could fit. Yet this one, this one moment she wanted to keep fondly. Her eyes capturing every twist and turn and subtlety to record into memory.

When the music stopped Gunther gave a small bow and turned to leave. He had left her about a dozen times tonight, coming and going, sometimes complaining about the food or the heat and other times staying completely silent. His behavior had been erratic the entire ball, and while she normally had no objections to him leaving there was just something about him now that made it difficult for her to watch him go. Were they not perfectly in sync with one another just a few moments ago? Did he not feel this energy betwixt them? Was he not having a good time like she was? 

“Wait” she caught him by the wrist. Her cheeks burned as she spoke “Do not go please. I...do not wish to be left alone again.” She must’ve looked like a sad puppy, almost begging him to stay and she found that she could not hold his gaze beyond the mask. When he said nothing she dropped his wrist, ashamed she’d even brought it up. To her surprise, he took her hand and led her through the crowd. He walked on without a word until they had made it to a remote balcony Jane had only seen a few times in passing. Once there he stopped to look at her again. Jane somehow knew he was trying to tell her something, to convey what he was feeling but this time the meaning was lost to her.

“Gunther...”

A gloved hand came up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. She closed her eyes. It stopped at her temple and caressed her cheek. It was the lightest touch Jane had ever felt.  

“No...you are not Gunther” Jane realized. Gunther would never have touched her with such fondness. His touches could be gentle yes, but they were careful not loving. His presence wasn’t so intrinsically radiating, so powerful and self knowing; Gunther could only wish to give such a genuine aura of confidence through his everyday play pretend. No, she should’ve realized it earlier--and maybe on a small scale she had, she just didn’t want to admit it to herself. Perhaps she wanted to believe it was Gunther because it was easier to fall for him this way, to want for their relationship to improve from the mess it had become. She swallowed, feeling lost and afraid and yet so found. “I know who you are.”

“Pity” Louis replied, sounding melancholy even through the muffle of the mask “I almost wished you had not noticed at all.” He took it off with an ease she almost envied, remembering the struggle she’d gone through in failing to take off her own. “You look absolutely charming when you dance.”

The threat of hot tears began to spring into the corners of her eyes. Jane would much rather throw herself from the balcony than let a single tear spill, but it’d been too much. Fighting with Gunther, witnessing the court treating her like family one moment then like she had spit in their pudding another, the secrecy, the plotting, the constant worry of failure and death--Versailles. Versailles was too much for her. Its people and especially its king, was nothing like the honest kin found back home in her humble, little kingdom in the crook of nowhere. This was like a never ending dream and a constant nightmare all at once and she wanted to scream until her lungs gave out. “You make a sport of me? Of my emotions?” her fists clenched and she drew a power she didn’t know she had to stop herself from punching him then and there. “Are you enjoying your little game?”

“Jane” Louis looked horrified, his frown deep with concern “I--I did not mean...” he went to touch her again but she slapped his hand away, politeness be damned. He looked stunned at first, clearly not used to the sting of  physical aggression. Jane waited for him to throw another one of his tantrums, to command her to apologize, or bring her back inside to humiliate her in front of an expecting crowd. To everything she’d expected him to be--but he did not. He looked at her instead, searching her face for some sort of answer; it wasn’t at all demanding, but rather pleading, almost desperate in its sincerity. Jane looked back and in her search tried to find answers of her own. She wanted to know even the smallest trace of who he was, this enigma, and found herself fulfilled by his response. For in Louis’ eyes she found what she had been looking for all along: honesty. Without fail or reservation it was there, open and giving yet waiting for nothing in return. A reprieve of her time spent in a place that had confused her so fully; a safe-haven from everyone, even Gunther. A reminder of home.  

“I am sorry Jane” he said finally “I have no intention of hurting you, you must believe that. I  cherish your company and in truth” not finding a spot to place the mask, he merely let it fall to the floor with a hollow clatter “I did this to be closer to you. All of it. The dressing up, the ball; it is all an excuse for me to spend time with you without prying eyes.” He let out a breathy, sheepish laugh. “I cannot stop thinking about you Jane. My thoughts have been intoxicated, they have completely lost their focus in everything else but you.” 

She desperately wanted to hate those words, to discard them and walk away without a word, but she found herself stuck in place. 

“Please, please I am sorry. I know this sounds like the madness of a rambling king and perhaps--it is, if this feeling is what you call madness then perhaps I am mad, but” he reached out for her more hesitantly, almost expecting a second slap. It did not come, and the warmth his hand brought Jane was a blanket offered in a snowstorm. “I am also utterly and fully enamored by you.” 

The two said nothing, letting the words linger in the air. Slowly, Louis brought himself down closer to her and she could feel his breath brush against her cheek. 

“May I kiss you?”

Jane’s chest constricted. 

“Yes.”

She could hear him hold in a hesitant breath before planting a gentle kiss on her lips, then another, and another until finally she kissed him back. She held him by the shoulder and kissed him like she sometimes thought of doing with Gunther ever since that day, or with some other men she fancied, except she never had the bravery to do so before. In Kippernia she knew better than to facilitate a romance; she was a female knight, and any attempt at love would be seen as a sign of weakness. A moment of distraction that surely everyone knew she would fall into because of her sex, because women one day or another all will come to fall in love and get married and bare children and she was no exception. Jane had steeled herself, away from Jester’s advances, away from anyone’s eyes due to fear that she would lose it all and be proven wrong. Yet here, at Versailles, she was another person entirely. Sure there hadn’t been knights, but she’d seen the power the women here held in their own way; they shifted the pieces in and out of place as if they were bred to do it. Love at Versailles made a woman powerful, and Jane felt powerful in this moment. Each kiss was sure, if not a bit uncoordinated. Louis was a pillar, raising her up so assuredly and encouraging her with every breath and murmur, reminding her she was wanted and in command. 

Gunther would’ve never tasted as sweet or made her feel the way she felt now; she was sure he would’ve never even bothered to ask just like he never bothered with much of anything at all. She kissed him and kissed him until the air in her lungs ran out and the pins from her hair came undone, and all else was around her was but a blur; however, somewhere distantly, perhaps in that corner--Gunther’s corner--she could still hear his words from earlier that day nag away at her mind.

‘Do not trust Louis, Jane. He is dangerous. Trusting him may lead to both of our deaths.’

[rivier]

And while we’re on the subject of fannish media angst...

A Lymond Chronicles TV Series? Ohhh erh mah Gawd I’m so conflicted!  On the one hand, I feel about these books pretty much exactly as Sarah Hughes describes, except I’ve got them all as ebooks now because I got fed up with lending copies to friends & never seeing them again.  Oh, and I kind of (whisper) think that dear darling Francis is about fifty million per cent knob.  

And Hughes’s idea that the novels are brilliant because they are somehow steely and not mired down by sentiment - um, nice try matey, but utter bullshit.  They are solidly trope-tacular with every damn sentimental cliche you can think of, all gelled together by the walking iddy hot-mess that is Francis Crawford and his six-volume frigging martyrdom and a fridge the size of Siberia filled with characters thrown off high towers so Lymond can feel even more guilt he doesn’t really deserve to (clue: yes the fuck he DOES).  Dunnett adores Lymond and no matter how inventive, imaginative and searingly vivid her writing is, her love for him is a big seam of moist sentiment from start to finish. 

Don’t get me wrong I fucking ADORE these books.  Like Hughes, I discovered them as a young teenager (Thank you Miss L, our savvy history teacher who knew how to get a class of all girls totally hooked on 16th-century European social-political everything).  Quick bullet list of my fave scenes, the ones I go back and wallow in no matter I can practically recite half of them:

the hunt in Queen’s Play, and Robin Stewart in the hut in the forest, it was not what I was expecting

EVERYTHING in Disorderly Knights, but possibly the arsenal at Tripoli, and of course that big ending at St Mary’s

EVERYTHING in Pawn in Frankincense, don’t make me pick! OK, the riding display..  No, Philippa’s transformation.  Noooo, Marthe, all things Marthe. NO, the silk merchant’s house - I mean the chess game.  The Dame.  Oonagh!  URGH ALL OF IT.

Everything about the Chancellors in the Ringed Castle.  Guzel.  The eagle hunting.  That last scene at sea, oh.

Checkmate - not saying, all too spoilery.  You get the idea.

Oh look, I love LC and hey if behemoths like GRRM and Poldark can be tolerably got onscreen for a nice ten-part series per book, I’m in.  Not sure what they’l do about the Game of Kings tho, it is a tad boring.

Look, the only thing I really angsted about when I read this was - who’s going to play Jerott? Ohh my heart  I know Jerott is Marmite but haters to the left, I’ll be round to kick you later.  Jerott Blyth is my heart and soul.  I was despairing... until I realised George Blagden would be absolutely perfect!  But he’s probably too tied up in silly Versailles still and they’ll cast some nitwit like half the vapid toyboys in Poldark.  And my grief will be righteous indeed.  But I’ll still watch every minute of it.

[my18thcenturysource]

We all, as the history nerds we are (yes, I’m talking about me and you all dear readers), have thought about what did a moment in time long gone was like, what it looked like, what it sounded like, what was worn and where it happened. Well, someone went a step forward and asked himself what did a moment in a certain time and place smelt like. That man is Carlos Huber and he’s the founder of Arquiste, a perfume brand that create fragrances meticulously researched with historical sources to transport us to another time and place. Each fragrance has its own little story with historical setting and place; so you can find something inspired by and Aztec festival in the 15th century or a night in the Paris Opera in the late 19th century. Sounds awesome, don’t you think?

And it smells even better.

Here are two of my favourite fragrances by Arquiste, both inspired by the wedding of Louis XIV and the Infanta Maria Teresa, and since we’re in a 17th century mood, I thought this was the time to share this with you all (this sounds like a commercial but it is not, this perfumes are just so so SO good that I wish everyone knew about this brand). Imagine this:

It’s June 1660, you are at the Isle of Pheasants in the Basque region of the French-Spanish border. Spain was France’s political enemy, so this marriage would give a new balance of power in Europe. Both royal courts are in a pavilion built for this occasion of pine and cedar wood.

On the French side is a 22-year-old Louis XIV, dubbed the ‘sweetest smelling monarch’, he had a never ending love for orange blossom (he imported a thousand orange trees from Spain and made the largest orangerie) and even had his own fragrance called Acqua Angeli, there he is all starchy and elegantly dressed and totally missing the protocol he presented himself to catch a glimpse of his new bride. His fragrance, Fleur de Louis, has notes of orange blossom, Florentine iris, Jasmine, Rose and cedarwood.

On the Spanish side is the also 22-year-old Infanta Maria Teresa, the Spanish Princess represents the peace between the two nations, perfumed with orange flower water (a quite clean and innocent scent), the rouge smells of roses, the Spanish perfumed leather gloves and the scented fan are there while Louis lays his eyes on her for the first time. Her fragrance, Infanta en Flor, has notes of Orange flower water, Spanish leather, cistus resin and immortelle.

Images from top:

“Portrait of Louis XIV”, 1661, Charles le Brun.

“The infanta Maria Theresa of Spain”, 1653, Diego Velázquez.

Fragrance Fleur de Louis, Arquiste, developed with Rodrigo Flores-Roux.

Fragrance Infanta en Flor, Arquiste, developed with Yann Vasnier.

Fleur de Louis main notes: orange blossom, Florentine iris and jasmine.

Infanta en Flor main notes: Spanish leather (17th century Spanish leather gloves, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston), cistus resin, immortelle.

George Blagden as Louis XIV in Versailles, 2015.

Elisa Lasowski as Marie-Thérèse in Versailles, 2015.

So, if you go to a store that carries this brand (here in Mexico you can only find it at El Palacio de Hierro Polanco), check it out and try one of their perfumes all are genderless, you’ll not be sorry (actually I wear Fleur de Louis, after a LONG time for deciding which one I liked better). Or you can simply go to their website and read about all their fragrances and scented candles (there’s one about a Japanese ship traveling from the New Spain, imagine what that smells like. Hint: strong and delicious.)

[ofodinn]

♣ ━ share five random facts about yourself

Mun Related -- > @miindofeli -- > Accepting!

I bleed Cubbie Blue. I am a fan of the Chicago Cubs Major League Baseball team and not because we won the World Series after 108 years. But because, this team has meant everything to my family. My mother has been a fan for 46 years and it was amazing watching her break down in tears, when we finally broke our curse and won it all. I didn’t start actively watching every game until last summer, when my brother passed. He was her Cub person who watched with her, whereas I just had them give me recaps. But, I got hooked, and it gets me through missing him. We still say the rain delay that helped us win it all, he had something to do with. We just wish every day that he had been here to see it all. This season well, it’s a heart attack a day. But part of being a part of this team for me, is you love them win or lose. Our playoff chances are still great and watching, I discovered baseball players are attractive. This has become a long fact but I am a diehard fan. I’m currently sitting here in my official Cubs nail polish, Anthony Rizzo Cubs t-shirt, rubber ‘Embrace the Suck’ Cubs bracelet, under my Cubs throw blanket, while wearing my replica Cubs World Series Ring. Yes, I have issues and no I am not ashamed of that. This team gives me life and helps me through dark days and I adore them. 

I will be married for 13 years on Saturday, although I also have two other husbands: Charlie Hunnam, who is a fantastic actor who is more than just his face, and honestly a really nice person who takes time out of his day to talk to his fans when he meets them, even if he doesn’t do social media and Anthony Rizzo, who is the First Baseman of the Chicago Cubs. When he is not on the field on his current AMAZING hit streak, showing true humility and sportsmanship and being the new best leadoff hitter of all time, he spends his time working for his cancer foundation, since he survived cancer at 19. He is honestly one of the nicest people ever (UNLESS he gets his third lead off homer in a row and the umps are asses and call it foul after the fact. Then, well that hot blooded Italian temper comes out and well, I heard more uses of the word fuck in 20 seconds than usual.). Close runner ups to husbands are Kris Bryant, third Baseman of the Chicago Cubs, and George Blagden. 

I am massively extroverted, but very shy at the same time. I do not handle not being right well, and just because something is someone else’s opinion does not mean mine is right. I’ll fight to the death for the last word.  I possess no filter. 

I’m a History nerd, who is now been let loose in the Historical RP fandom and I will spend over an hour on a reply if I need to do research, vs hoping it sounds right. I tend to be picky who I write with, because I expect people to know as decent amount of background on their character. 

My favorite show is currently Versailles, I dabble in Vikings (although I’m currently eh about the show in general), but mostly watch baseball.