#(Trying something new here)

[claiborneart]

Kind Friends, let's tell a story together.

One day you're walking through the woods.

In front of you is a Door Between Two Trees.

[junranghae]

xoxo gossip girl

[oweltheft]

the chinese spam texts i get -> free reading practice

transcipt + translation:

Hi! Anna, 你近期要来 San Francisco Hi! Anna, you're coming to San Francisco soon

出差一段时间， on a business trip for a while

什么时候出发呢？ When are you setting off?

vocabulary + notes below:

近期 (jìn qí) can mean soon OR recently--the word itself doesn't specify past or future. tread carefully and consider the context!

出差 (chū chāi) just means business trip

San Francisco in chinese is 旧金山 (jiù jīng shān) or 三番 (sān fān) 三番 is casual (slang?), while 旧金山 is the official (and i think ～cooler～) name

[greatbritishsimchallenge]

"Lady Catherine, welcome back to Cavalier Cove Castle. It has been too long," greeted Henry.

"Indeed it has, but it so warms my heart to see how your family has grown since my last visit."

"We have truly been blessed," Edith agreed. "As have you - Lady Margaret and Lady Francis are the epitome of pure virtue."

"Please, come inside," said Henry, standing back for them to pass through. "The nursemaids will take the children. I have a supper laid out for us in the Great Hall."

"I was most sorry to hear of the circumstances that have led to your visit," said Henry.

"As am I, my Lord. You know how I hate to leave Newcrest. If I only had me to think of, I would have remained, but I must consider your sisters' safety too."

"Of course - and it is good to have a chance to see them. I believe the last time I saw Margaret she was still an infant and Francis had not yet been born?"

"Yes - at Lord Cassian's funeral."

"Alas, we must stop meeting under such dark circumstances," Edith remarked.

"Quite," Henry agreed. "Though it is wonderful to see my sisters. I only hope that Lady Edith and I can raise our sons as firmly in the Pure Faith as you have raised my sisters."

"Thank you, Lord Henry. I have been a most careful guardian of my daughters. My lady-in-waiting, Lady Mary, is a great servant of the Pure Faith and excellent governess for them. I, too, add my warnings on the dangers of sin and importance of virtue in a daily lesson with them. And, of course, we visit Church every morning and evening."

"You truly are a great Upholder of the Pure Faith," Edith replied. "Which makes it all the more devastating that these rebels seek to harm you."

"I am not worried, Lady Edith. I have been assured that this is simply a temporary measure, while the heathens are sought. I believe I will be back in Newcrest before the season's end."

"Then let us enjoy the rest of our dinner in the hope and faith that order will soon be restored," proposed Lord Henry.

"Hear hear," agreed Catherine and Edith.

Start (Iron Age) | Start (Roman Britain) | Start (Anglo Saxon) | Start (Medieval) | Start (Tudor) | Start (Stuart)

Previous | Next

[chosetherose]

Analysis:

(Very) Initial thoughts on Slut! as commentary on fame and bearding

I don’t reach any conclusions on how I interpret this song in this post but I thought you all might be interested to see the thoughts pinging around in my brain.

Here, I’m exploring about how the song could relate to fame and bearding. Taylor said this is like Blank Space in that it plays with discussions on her dating life. There’s a couple touches on Kaylor but I’ve seen others write more about this angle so I’m not exploring it much here.

Flamingo pink, Sunrise Boulevard/ Clink, clink, being this young is art/ Aquamarine, moonlit swimmin' pool/ What if all I need is you?

On the surface, this verse to me gives me vibes of young love, popping champagne, nights out. But I think there could potentially be more to explore. Here are some themes I’m thinking about.

Sunrise vs. Sunset

It’s pretty obvious that Sunrise Boulevard is a play on LA’s famous Sunset Boulevard that is synonymous with with Hollywood. Fitting for a song about fame. But why change the lyric to “sunrise”?

Thinking of this through a satirical lens, maybe the switch is a nod to the sun is rising on Taylor’s career instead of setting. We know her fame shot to the highest levels ever (at the time) in the 1989 era.

Further, maybe the sunrise imagery can also be thought of as an upside down sunset and vice versa. It reminds me of the upside down room in the Lover house. Which happens to be yellow/orange/sun colored with a bright light like the sun. Notably, there are blue accents in the room including what looks like a blue record player on the bench and blue vinyls on the wall.

Other interpretations: Maybe there is a sunrise with the beginnings of Kaylor despite the world thinking Taylor is Slut! Or, it’s a play on Sunrise Boulevard in Florida where the Stonewall National Museum is located.

Flamingo Pink

Something else I find curious is that flamingos eat upside down.

Also, there are flamingos in Florida so if Sunrise Boulevard really is a nod to Stonewall, this makes sense.

Sunset Boulevard (the film)

Now back to the Sunset Boulevard connection, did you know there is a film called “Sunset Boulevard”? It’s considered by many to be one of the “greatest films of all time.” The gist of the movie is:

“An aging silent film queen (Norma) refuses to accept that her stardom has ended. She hires a young screenwriter (Joe) to help set up her movie comeback. The screenwriter believes he can manipulate her, but he soon finds out he is wrong. The screenwriters ambivalence about their relationship and her unwillingness to let go leads to a situation of violence, madness, and death.”

The screenshot below is from the movie. Looks like a moonlight swimming pool, right? Norma kills Joe for betrayal including moonlighting a secret side project under her nose. (Someone who knows this movie better than me might bring more insight on all this).

Got love-struck, went straight to my head/ Got lovesick all over my bed/ Love to think you'll never forget/ Handprints in wet cement/ Adorned with smoke on my clothes/ Lovelorn and nobody knows/ Love thorns all over this rose/ I'll pay the price, you won't

My first thoughts on this are Taylor’s fame went “straight to her head” leading her to go on with the bearding which she hopes will keep her in the GP’s heads or make them “never forget”.

Notably, handprints in wet cement are synonymous with Hollywood. Aligns with the fame angle.

“Adorned with smoke on my clothes” makes me think about her being in the press all the time with these beards and people loving her for it but she can’t get the stink of it off her either.

Lovelorn and nobody knows - no one knows about her real, secret relationship. But they know about all about her bearding “love thorns all over this rose”, even though her beards don’t get the same negative attention she does “I’ll pay the price you won’t”.

But if I'm all dressed up/ They might as well be lookin' at us/ And if they call me a slut/ You know it might be worth it for once/ And if I'm gonna be drunk/ I might as well be drunk in love

Send the code, he's waitin' there/ The sticks and stones they throw froze mid-air/ Everyone wants him, that was my crime/ The wrong place at the right time/ And I break down, then he's pullin' me in/ In a world of boys, he's a gentleman

“Send the code he’s waiting there” sounds like meeting up with a beard. Lover in the foyer doesn’t even know you vibes.

“The sticks and stones they throw froze mid air” reminds me of how a pap photo is a shot of a singular moment in time.

“Everyone wants him that was my crime” maybe her famous beards bring too much attention.

Got love-struck, went straight to my head (Straight to my head)/ Got lovesick all over my bed (Over my bed)/ Love to think you'll never forget/ We'll pay the price, I guess

The switch to we’ll pay the price sounds like a switch to talking about her real lover.

Half asleep, takin' your time/ In the tangerine, neon light, this is luxury/ You're not sayin' you're in love with me/ But you're going to/ Half awake, takin' your chances/ It's a big mistake, I said, "It might blow up in your pretty face"/ I'm not saying, "Do it anyway" (Do it anyway)/ But you're going to

My gut tells me the tangerine neon light is connected to the orange stunting warnings. Taylor uses orange as a prison/stunting color.

[every-dayiwakeup]

Max, Wake Up

Tw: heavy on the angst, THAT lumax scene rewritten

"Get your fucking hands off my sister, Carver!" a large bloody blur appears out of thin air, launching itself at a bewildered Jason.

"Billy? How-" Lucas starts, his throbbing head trying to process what he's seeing.

Billy Hargrove is in one piece, and he's angry- this resurrected embodiment of nothing but pure rage makes prior images of him at the Byers house look like child's play.

A wild animal has been unleashed, and by the grace of God, he's not even remotely interested in focusing any of that on Lucas.

He's never seen anyone fight with their entire body. Billy is pounding his fists into Jason, and his boots make squelched sounds as he stomps Carver's flesh like a Halloween pumpkin.

Crack.

Oh shit. Max.

His fiery soulmate is still suspended in mid air, and to Lucas's horror, her limbs are starting to contort into opposite positions.

Billy must see it, too, because he drops Carver, and grabs at Max's sneakers. "Shitbird, snap out of it! Sinclair, where's her damn walkman?" he snaps, urgency in his tone.

Lucas points to the damage on the floor beside Carver, and Billy shakes his head, his matted hair slapping his face.

Max's vibrant blue eyes are squirting out blood, and another agonizing crack fills the air.

"MAXINE! YOU LITTLE BITCH, WAKE UP!" Billy roars, and suddenly Max's crumbled body falls into her brother's arms.

Lucas's mouth is open but no words are coming out. He reaches for Max and Billy actually growls at him.

He's about to give Hargrove a piece of his damn mind, but then he notices how Billy is holding her. He's cradling her in his arms, shaking her gently, his shoulders moving up and down.

He's crying.

"B-billy?" Max gasps out.

"It's me, Shit Bird," Billy says, voice cracking.

"Billy, I-I can't f-feel or-or s-see anything."

"You're gonna be fine, Max, you hear me?"

"I don't.. I don't wanna die..."

"You're not gonna! I'm not gonna let you!" He cups Max's ears, and yells, "SOMEONE GET A FUCKING AMBULANCE! PLEASE!"

"D-don't cry, Billy..."

"ERICA! ERICA, HELP!" Lucas shouts for his little sister, tears streaming down his face.

"Don't... be mad, I'm going... to the movies with... Lucas..."

"I'm not mad, Shit Bird, I'm not. You're gonna be fine- SINCLAIR WHERE'S THE GODDAMN AMBULANCE!"

"ERICA!"

"Big... bro..." Max struggles to speak, her sightless eyes unfocused.

"I'm here, Maxine. Keep talking to me," Billy pleads, sniffling.

"Wish..."

She goes still, and Billy starts to shake her again. "No, no, Shit Bird, don't die! DON'T YOU DARE...Max?"

His voice sounds so small, a grieving mouse in a lion's body.

Lucas is watching one of the big bads of his childhood come undone before him.

But Billy Hargrove isn't a villain at this moment. Maybe he never was.

Right now, he's just a little boy, trying to wake up his sister.

+++++++

Tags:

@emeraldwitches

@namorian

@theabyssofdeathandexistence

@cherry-sorry

@spaceboxkitty

@shipworm

@flayedintheusa

@talesfrom-theupsidedown

@harringroveho

@magellan-88

@m0isttoenails

@suspiciouslackofclowns

@wixterirox

@phishyie

@ouizzyharringrove

@harringrovetrashh

@thatawkwardlittlefangirl

@justan-0-t-h-3-r

@polaris-ursae

@skyesayshi

[signedjehanne]

being insane about joan of arc song lyric compilation

1. it’s not a fashion statement, it’s a deathwish - my chemical romance | 2. lolo 13 - laura jane grace | 3. ptolemaea - ethel cain | 4. & 5. tomorrow i’ll be you - thursday | 6. vampires will never hurt you - my chemical romance | 7. el reino olvidado - rata blanca | 8. action cat - gerard way | 9. virginia woolf - indigo girls | 10. oh! my thousand mothers! - the reverent marigold

[thecoffeelorian]

A few late recs...

Ok folks...since I was still getting over a bad illness as of yesterday, today I'd like to toss a few (late) recs into the webisphere based on what I've seen this week:

Fanfictions

"You can have it" by @wolverina2002

A little one-shot inspired by the leak by @cuddles-with-dragons

Fan Art

Vagabonds by @skellymom

[cozy-rose]

🌸 Summer Cold Moodboard / Scenario🌸

She thought the unnatural heat of her skin was the sunburn, her aching body the result of too much beach volleyball. Her chills were because the air conditioner was too high, right? And that persistent sniffle? Well, she must of inhaled some saltwater yesterday.

She was due to go to the beach again this afternoon, not wanting to waste one juicy minute of the summer. Not knowing that she would be exhausted by the time she was halfway to the shoreline, her hair wet and sticking to her neck before she even got a chance to swim. She'd fall asleep on her towel, unable to keep her eyes open to read the book that she'd brought.

She couldn't decide if the sun was soothingly warm, or burning her alive. She popped an ice cube in her mouth in an attempt to calm her sore and swollen throat. Wrapping her towel around her shoulders, she walked to the waters edge, hoping that the obvious wasn't true- she couldn't be sick. It was the summer.

She had almost convinced herself, that was until the mist from the crashing ocean waves aggravated her sensitive nose.

Heh…h'eish'iew! Hesshh’IEEWW!!

[sunshinycc]

Maria Martins. (1949). Oitavo Véu (Eight Veil). [Bronze]. Geneviève and Jean Boghici Collection, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

[artsandstories]

"He was the most beautiful creature I ever laid eyes upon. His skin was blue, but in the sunshine it glittered with all the colours of the rainbow. His eyes, a piercing yellow that made me think of the sun itself, and hair so fluffy and pink I could die. He swam around me, wondering why I was flailing and panicking, as the oxygen left slowly from my lungs."

[planetariumthottie]

do you still want me, huh?

do you still want me?

do you still want me, huh?

do you still want me, huh?

do you still want me, huh?

do you still want me, huh?

do you still want?

do y o u s t i l l?

[ganyfreak]

Gany's book review of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Where to start? I'm a jumbled up wreck after I finished this book. There was a discussion questionnaire at the end of the book for people in book clubs which was very helpful.

I love this book. I love how complicated the characters are and I love the world building of old Hollywood and Evelyn Hugo's life, and Monique Grant's.

I saw Evelyn's decision of wanting to end her life after she mentioned the article on dying with dignity to Monique. I love the twist about Monique's father cause I was at a lost on why, of all people, does Evelyn want Monique to write her biography.

I love the twist but I still don't know what to feel about Evelyn's decision after the car crash. Seems like everyone involved was a car crash after the accident.

What Evelyn did was so stupid and frankly, evil and selfish. It's crazy to me that Monique seemed to brush that off and only got outraged after learning her father was framed. Or am I just being too morally uptight about it?

If Harry survived that accident, would he have understood Evelyn? Would he have forgiven her? I don't know.

I guess up to that point, I was rooting for Evelyn through and through and I continued reading for the payoff of it all, not necessarily for Evelyn herself. I understand Monique's misgivings when she learned it was her father and understood the resulting jumbled complicated feelings she had for Evelyn.

There are times Evelyn does come off as unlikeable and so does Monique and it makes for a beautiful depiction of the human psyche. The narration is beautifully human. We all have inherent bias to ourselves, even when the things we do or think are objectively wrong, we only perceive it as such because we are the ones living in that reality. This book captures that tug-of-war in our brains beautifully.

I want to go into the seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo because that was a fun part of the book. There was a question at the end on who was your favorite husband. Of course it was Harry Cameron, what is this question?

The next one is Don at the start of his chapters but I was devastated for Evelyn with how it turned out. Evelyn getting hurt by Don's kiss with teeth was a great foreshadow of the events to come.

Rex comes in close after Don. Evelyn's relationship with him was black and white, purely business. He's almost like a male version of Evelyn and I love their potential. I wish there was more development for them and their relationship. It's so wonderfully trope-y but I get that it doesn't fit the themes of the book.

Now Celia. Oh Celia, the love of Evelyn's life. Another complicated soul. She hates Evelyn's actions even when it benefits them both, even when doing it her way will lead then both to ruin. Celia was selfish like everyone in this book and the author did a great job in capturing her struggles with being in the closet and sharing Evelyn with other people. She wants something that's very risky and both of them never really took that risk and Evelyn only told the truth after her death.

Lastly, Monique. Despite being the other narrator of the book, she's really just a side character where things happen around her which forced her to react. If not for Evelyn's influence, she wouldn't have character development. I think she was being selfish with David, her husband. She practically settled on him which led to their divorce. There was a part when she got introspective, saying her fundamental flaw was always underestimating herself and not living up to her full potential, and I understood her at that moment.

I love her oh so complicated relationship with Evelyn, how she hate her and respect her.

One flaw I think this book has is Evelyn's decision to frame Monique's father during the accident. I had to do mental gymnastics to believe that she got away with that but I forced myself to look past that. I almost didn't, but the writing was still so good after that one literal car crash.

There's plenty more to discuss about this book but essentially, I love how the author captured the humanity of everyone in this world. There is something selfish and sometimes bad parts in everyone and it shows through their actions, even if they have good intentions. The author did an amazing job in writing humans that are relatable.

I would highly recommend this to everyone. On top the greatly written characters, the world building is immersive, it's set in Old Hollywood, and the relationships are beautiful.

4.5 stars

[painterly-sims]

it’s been nothing but a waiting game since i planted that fruit. i can’t do much to distract myself tonight. i think i heard some rustling outside my trailer the other night, too.

i won’t be able to defend myself in this weakened state. ordinary people would go to the gym to remedy this, but i am not ordinary people.

still, some ‘exercise wouldn’t hurt. and a movie, when the power comes back on.

[gibbearish]

love when ppl defend the aggressive monetization of the internet with "what, do you just expect it to be free and them not make a profit???" like. yeah that would be really nice actually i would love that:)! thanks for asking

[unlearninglove]

Don't panic

All these feelings are organic

Boneless scraps of empty promises

Free-range thoughts nobody misses

Meat from a happy cow

As I am now

Fully content with the illusion of life