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Black Gold Tea Set // Angioletti Designs

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~ Cosplay: Sarah Lynn ~

Sarah Lynn is a former child star turned popstar from the Netflix Show „Bojack Horseman“. Originally very passionated about architecture, she was pushed by a very demanding mother to instead pursue a career in Hollywood.

This series of 6 photos tried to capture the essence of a few of Sarah’s most iconic quotes while emphasizing that what you see in the media or on the internet might in no way portrait the reality behind the pictures. Foto 1: „I am Sarah freaking Lynn. I’m gonna be sexy forever!“ Foto 2: „"Life is a never ending show, old sports, except the minor detail that it ends,[...] don't stop dancing till the curtain falls!" Foto 3+4: “I don’t like anything about me. […] Nothing of this is me. The only reason I wear this shirt is because some company paid me $8000 to wear it. I don’t even need the money. I just like that someone still wanted me to wear their shirt. What am I supposed to do? I don’t know what to do. Am I doomed? Are we all doomed?!” Foto 5: „That’s too much man!“ Foto 6: "It's a giant dome! Domes are so cool! I wanna be an architect..." In the series, Sarah Lynn dies tragically young, as she herself predicted, aged only 31, suffocating due to an overdose of H. Being 31 myself I kind of felt the urge to try and breath some life in this really sad story of a person living & suffering in plain sight & yet in the end noone lend her a helping hand. Things like this happen. I guess all I want to express is: Please, take care of one another. - Model: Mircalla Tepez Foto+Edit: _soulcatcher_photography_

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~Iris and Olgierd von Everec~

"All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way" - and sadly not many pairings incorporate this quote by Tolstoy better than Olgierd and Iris...

Hope you enjoy our little tribute towards the much loved The Witcher 3: Heart of Stone DLC. 🖤 _ Iris von Everec: mircalla_tepez Olgierd von Everec: der.daenzel Gaunter O'Dimm: gaunterodamn Photographer+Edit: nanni_heuchemer_design Location: burg_hermannstein_1377

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Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) directed by Francis Ford Coppola

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s/o to this skeleton babe from 1936

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~Asenath Waite: Cult of Dagon~

Inspired by H.P. Lovecraft's work we tried to go for a Cthulhu cultist themed session. Based on the only really remarkable (at least seemingly) female character by Lovecraft, Asenath Waite, I wanted to create a glamorous look with only one single detail that would seem rather offputing. To emphasize with the fish people theme, I dropped Asenath's huge, fishlike eyes and rather went for gills - except for the one picture where I tried to make my eyes pop as much as humanly possible... ^^° _ Model+MuA: Mircalla Tepez Foto+Edit: _soulcatcher_photography_ Neronomicon: Naruvien

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Hey, may I ask a quick question regarding character building in my fics? - Do you think Geralt’s comments about Anna Henrietta is just? Like he told Dandelion “your duchess is no more than an innocent child” or something like that? I mean, yeah, she’s kinda spoiled and perverse, believing she could stop the war with a letter to Emhyr, issuing a death sentence to Dandelion because she caught him cheating on her, etc, etc. But how could she be so widely respected and loved if she’s just a spoiled child? Yes she’s generous (offer the Hansa her protection) but I think only generous and kind won’t win you so much love and support?? Is there anything else about her that make her survived the crude game of throne and win everybody’s love? Is there something I’ve missed? 🤔

Ps. If you’re interested in the fic I’m talking about… https://archiveofourown.org/series/2783617 it’s 100% book Gerlion. I haven’t watched twn.

Thank you! 😃

hi hi thank you for the ask!

fickleness

although geralt's comments were motivated by jealousy, he was accurate in his observations that anna henrietta is a spoiled princess duchess. his comment that she is fickle is spot-on:

A znacz ty – przerwał Geralt – takie powiedzenie: łaska księżnych na pstrym koniu jeździ? Nawet jeśli ta twoja Anarietta nie jest płocha, a na płochą mi ona, wybacz szczerość, wygląda, to…

And have you heard, interrupted Geralt, such a saying: the favour of duchesses rides on a motley horse. Even if your Anarietta isn't fickle, and fickle she, forgive [my honesty, looks, then...

(thank you @karanfile​ for the translation help, because the offical translaions changed it to “the favors of duchesses are uncertain” and the fan translation, which i remembered, was “princesses leap after love like hares”)

he’s absolutely correct about this, because anna henrietta’s help is defined by whims and desires, initially her love for dandelion, goodwill towards ciri who she knew, and sympathy for the company (and later, as you noted, executing kicking dandelion out due to his offense). she has the capacity for real goodwill towards people, but is, at the end of the day, unpredictable in her favor, which she might take away. 

she does this a couple of times, first when geralt meets her, as you noted about the letter:

"What?” The duchess’s nose, it appeared, became even pointier, and a nasty, grindingly snarling note sounded in her voice. “Did I hear right? The war is still raging? Why wasn’t I informed of this? Minister Tremblay?”

“Your Grace, I …” mumbled one of the golden chains, genuflecting. “I didn’t want to … concern … worry … Your Grace …”

“Guard!” Her Majesty howled. “To the tower with him! You are in disfavour, Lord Tremblay! In disfavour! Lord Chamberlain! Mister Secretary!”

"At your service, Your Enlightened Ladyship …”

“Have the chancellery immediately issue a severe note to our cousin, the Emperor of Nilfgaard. We demand that he immediately, and I mean immediately, stops warring and makes peace. For war and discord are evil things! Discord ruins and accord builds!”

“Your Grace,” mumbled the chamberlain-confectioner, as white as castor sugar, ‘is absolutely right.”

and a second time at the banquet:

The pointy-nosed duchess suddenly fell into a fury, and one of the barons fell out of favour and was escorted to the tower for some imprudent word. Few–apart from those directly involved–seemed bothered by the matter.

similarities with dandelion

i think a really defining feature of anna henrietta is how geralt describes her:

"The duchess listened to my tale, seldom interrupting, fortunately. When, however, I briefly related the results of the conversations with the druidesses, she wrung her hands, in a gesture suggesting worry as sincere as it was exaggerated. I know that sounds like some sort of bloody oxymoron, but believe me, Reynart, in her case that’s how it was.”

i think the widespread public support for anna henrietta is a different kettle of fish, because public figures often have different external lives than internal lives. anna henrietta is comparable to dandelion - who is famous and renowed as a brilliant poet (more or less), and one who doesn’t know him might think him a romantic soul, but those who know him (including us as the readers, seeing him from geralt’s pov) know that he’s pretty... hmmm ... good-for-nothing philanderer, who, similarly to geralt’s statement above concerning anna henrietta, plays with love, and in doing so, people.

she is known as kind and golden-hearted, but has the capacity for selfishness and acting spoiled in her personal life. which, like dandelion, doesn’t immediately make her a rotten person, it’s just that appearances deceive, and she has an external persona that represents only half of her entire personhood and truth. 

it is interesting because they are similar - one might even compare them to how geralt and yennefer are similar- but - unlike geralt and yennefer, who fell in love with each other’s depth - are doomed to fail because they both fell in love with each other’s external personas instead of the depth of who they really, truly are - which is also how geralt knows dandelion, which is why he’s upset that dandelion thinks anna henrietta loves him fully, he knows it will end poorly because she doesn’t know him like geralt knows him.

(and as an unrelated point i don’t have anywhere else to put, i think she is beloved throughout toussaint because everyone loathed her late husband duke rajmund, so she was pretty lovely in comparison!)

representation of toussaint

Angoulême was speaking.

“There’s something bewitched about this place, this fucking Toussaint. Some kind of charm hangs over the whole valley. Especially over the palace. I was surprised at Dandelion, I was surprised at the Witcher, but now I’m nauseous and I’ve got a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. Shit, I even caught myself … Eh, I’m not going to tell you that. Seriously, let’s get out of here. Let’s get out of here as fast as possible.”

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“(...) But the Witcher shall stay here. In Toussaint! With me!”

“I think,” the vampire said calmly, ‘that you are wrong, Madam Vigo. The dream that the Witcher is dreaming, I humbly submit with respect, is an enchanting and beautiful one. But every dream, if dreamed too long, turns into a nightmare. And we awake from such dreams screaming.”

-

“(...) Why do the merchants stay here, in the middle of nowhere, and not in Beauclair? Isn’t the duchess keen on putting them up? Perhaps she disdains merchants?”

“Not at all,” answered Fierabras. “The Lady Duchess always invites them, while they graciously decline. And stay among the vineyards.”

“Why?”

“Beauclair, they say, is naught but feasts, balls, junkets, boozing and amour. A fellow, they say, only grows idle and stupid, and wastes time, instead of thinking about trade. And one should think about what’s really important. About the goal guiding us. Without let up. Not distract your thinking on mere bagatelles. Then, and only then, is the intended goal achieved.”

apologies for quote spam, but from these excerpts we can glean that toussaint is a fairytale valley amidst a war-torn continent, an island of the lotus-eaters, a pleasant dream that one never wants to wake up from. (no wonder it’s a wine valley, because there’s something to be said about blissful drunken stupor and pleasant dreams being the same thing... it is no wonder that regis is the one to deny to fringilla that the dream can last forever)

as the monarch of toussaint, anna henrietta perfectly represents it. she, unlike most of the rulers of the continent, is NOT strategic or war-minded, because she does not have to be, is honestly kind of empty-headed, she has no dark secrets, she’s just... a blissful dream. just like toussaint. and of course, as it would be in perfect toussaint, just like in a storybook with a wonderful beloved princess, everybody loves their duchess. 

however, as regis notes, a dream dreamed too long turns into a nightmare, from which we awake screaming. the dream is toussaint, anna henrietta is toussaint. the concept of a benevolent and goodhearted ruler ruling in a perfect land happily ever after is wonderful - but to outsiders from beyond toussaint, that is, our company, who are imperfect and do not belong in this fairytale land - she cannot be “dreamed for too long” because the dream will begin to turn in on itself, and that benevolent goodwill is now fickle favor...

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~The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine: The End~

From The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine DLC. 

Duchess Anna Henrietta: Mircalla Tepez (me) ( www.instagram.com/mircalla_tepez )  Syanna: Lissa_Cos ( https://www.instagram.com/lissa_cos/ ) Captain Damien de la Tour: Vetrous40k ( https://www.instagram.com/vetrous40k/ ) Dandelion: Fiendfyre Cosplay ( https://www.instagram.com/fiendfyrecosplay ) Fringilla Vigo: Othilias Creations ( https://www.instagram.com/othilias_creations/ ) Noblewoman: Layrena ( https://www.instagram.com/layrena_/ ) LARPer: for_du_lac ( https://www.instagram.com/for_du_lac/ )

Foto 1+2: OTR.Photo ( https://www.instagram.com/otr.photo/ ) Foto 3-5: Pixelrabe ( https://www.instagram.com/pixelrabe ) Location: Schloss Arenfels

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"The best thing we can do with power is give it away" - On the leftist critique of superhero narratives as authoritarian power fantasies:

The ongoing "Jason Todd is a cop" debate has reminded me of a brilliant brief image essay by Joey deVilla. So here it is, images first and the full essay text below:

"A common leftist critique of superhero comics is that they are inherently anti-collectivist, being about small groups of individuals who hold all the power, and the wisdom to wield that power. I don’t disagree with this reading. I don’t think it’s inaccurate. Superheroes are their own ruling class, the concept of the übermensch writ large. But it’s a sterile reading. It examines superhero comics as a cold text, and ignores something that I believe in fundamental, especially to superhero storytelling: the way people engage with text. Not what it says, but how it is read. The average comic reader doesn’t fantasize about being a civilian in a world of superheroes, they fantasize about being a superhero. One could charitably chalk this up to a lust for power, except for one fact… The fantasy is almost always the act of helping people. Helping the vulnerable, with no reward promised in return. Being a century into the genre, we’ve seen countless subversions and deconstructions of the story. But at its core, the superhero myth is about using the gifts you’ve been given to enrich the people around you, never asking for payment, never advancing an ulterior motive. We should (and do) spend time nitpicking these fantasies, examining their unintended consequences, their hypocrisies. But it’s worth acknowledging that the most eduring childhood fantasy of the last hundred years hasn’t been to become rich. Superheroes come from every class (don’t let the MCU fool you). The most enduring fantasy is to become powerful enough to take the weak under your own wing. To give, without needing to take. So yes, the superhero myth, as a text, isn’t collectivist. But that’s not why we keep coming back to it. That’s not why children read it. We keep coming back to it to learn one simple lesson… The best thing we can do with power IS GIVE IT AWAY." - Joey deVilla, 2021 https://www.joeydevilla.com/2021/07/04/happy-independence-day-superhero-style/

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The three Stages of being in Love with a Bard. A Dandelion and Anna Henrietta story. :'D Hope you enjoy! I am very happy with how it turned out, especially since the Dandelion Cosplayer and I met at the Convention for the first time in real life after getting in touch online due to mutuals... only about a week before the event.^^'' Dandelion: Fiendfyrecosplay https://www.instagram.com/fiendfyrecosplay/ Duchess Anna Henrietta: Mircalla Tepez (me) https://www.instagram.com/mircalla_tepez/ Photographer: NinaE Portraits  https://www.instagram.com/ninae_portraits/ Featuring Layrena as Triss and Vetrous40k as Damien de la Tour My Dress: The Flying Dutchwoman My Jewelry: Naruvien

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~Cosplay: Iris von Everec~

"We should get a dog... or a dog and a cat, even better! When the rain comes, the dog will warm my feet and the cat wil play wih a ball of yarn by the fire. What do you think?" - Iris to Olgierd

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Model+MuA: Mircalla Tepez

Photographer+Edit: Photodesign Josef Kristof

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Do you ever sometimes feel like you reached post game years ago and somehow the sidequests are running thin and it's not really much left to solve or discover with this game of your life? And so you feel a certaine unexplainable longing to just press the X-button and close the game tab to try and go and look for something else to experience? But since it's real life, not a video game, there is no such thing as a X-button, or even a game menue to choose a new game? Or is that just me?

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~Duchess Anna Henrietta of Toussaint~

 A few weeks ago I had the uttermost honour to participate in a German The Witcher LARP event, portraying no other than Her Grace, Duchess Anna Henrietta herself!

"Eine Frage der Ehre" revolves around a tourney in Toussaint, honouring the heron. It is unheard of to have canonical characters appearing at LARPs here, but for a few hours (in a 3 days long event) the orga had me there as the Duchess, without any former announcements, catching all the players rather off guard. :')

Model/Wig/Makeup: me ( www.instagram.com/mircalla_tepez ) 

Foto: Hannah Gritsch

Event: Frage der Ehre 2

Dress: The flying Dutchwoman 

Jewelry: Naruvien - Einzigartige Requisiten