#Capes - Florence Mary

[windforestsso]

Last update of the OC map.

The english map is bit smaller then the swedish one so that why I include them both. So there is now one everyone can actually read, and one that has the potraits in little better quality.

I might update the map again when more areas get unlock and peoples OCs start to move around again. But for now its closed

Here is the adress book, in location alphabetical order:

Central Jorvik:

Jorvik City: Alexis Cometshield Aspen- Lives right outside of Jorvik City Clementine Campbell - Apartment at Aideen’s Plaza Gun “Glam” Lavashovel

Crater of Jor:

Adelaide “Swift” Swiftheart - with her clan beyond the Icengate Endre - a Kalter that lives in the valley of the hidden dinosaur near Icengate

Firgrove:

Moa Windforest - Hidden shack in the forest

Firgrove Village: Catherine - In one of the house in the back close to the entrance of Wildwoods  Elaina Hawkwatcher Florence - Road leading to the Gate

Starshine Ranch: Aurora Calamity Claymore Rora Dolphinheart

Goldenhills Valley:

Willow “Will” Tree - Lives near Goldenhills Valley

Cape West Fishing Village: Kit Claymore Zoey - The ugliest building

Harvest Counties:

Crescent Moon: Feya Elfchild

Jarlaheim: Everlee Songbird Hazle Underford - Lives with her dad Irene - apartment Johann “The Pirate” - Northern Jarlaheim on the top floor of a fairly unique building Monty Lionheart Riley Yasmine - In the dark narrow allyways Zoey Pineheart - Dumpy little aparment building

New Hillcrest: Lucas Crowsong Max Goldstone

Mistfall:

Allison “Alli” O’Knight - Actual home between Firegrove and Dundull. But spend most time at Ranger outpost. Lucy - Ranger Cabins

Dundull: Azalea ‘Az’ Vysdrak - Cabin outside of Dundull on the Old Jorvik Highway Bodhi Applewright - Dundull Vendela - Dundull Zoe Silverborn - Dundull

Wildwoods:  Carolina “Arrow” Stawberrystream - Redwood Point Nora - Tailtop Village Toby Applewright - Redwood Point  

Silverglade:

Fort Pinta: Alina - Small apartment Avelin Gwendolyn Deerwood - rents a room in Fort Pinta’s Inn Lana

Moorland Stables: Kit   Kit Applecastle - Lives with Mrs. Holdsworth in a spare bedroom Montana - Lives in the attic

Nilmer’s Highland: Altair - Lives currantly at the Cirus but true home is in Pandora Rosie - Lives at the circus Wren - A Psychic that lives at the Circus

Silverglade Village: Adelaide Odenburg - live in Pink house in the circle with two others Alice Friendside Athena Peacecry Ava - In the house with the gargoyle statue Bonnie - In a small apartment Emmy Emberwood Evangeline “Eva” Eveninglove Liz - Rents a room in Daxton’s house. But also live in a demon door at South Hoof Farm. Siri Greenhaven - Live in someones attic

South Hoof Peninsula:

Charlotte Rainford - Near the Lighthouse

South Hoof Rescue Ranch: Charlie Emberwood  Ivanna  Juni

Valedale:

Hollowwoods: Damien “Dami” Darkwalker - in a family home with his sibling

Silversong River: Dakota - In the old water mill along the river. Rowan Riverborn - Silversong River

Valedale Village: Claire - Lives in Elizabeth’s house Corinne Eaglebridge Genevieve Bitterhouse Liv - Rents a cottage Lydia Silvergale Marie - Neighbor to Avalon Rose Riverlee - Lives alone but wander around a lot Sadie Wolfdawn - Shared druid housing

"Homeless”:

Alou - Constantly Traveling Max - Technially homeless, but stays with his twin brother in Silverglade village at times. Ruth “The Mute on a Mule” - Drifter that squats in abandoned storehouses in Jarlahaim’s dank alleys or Greendale Woods. Vivien “Viv” Tennfjord - Travels

[quensty]

tagged by @enterprisery to put my spotify “on repeat” playlist on shuffle and list off the first 10 songs i get.

unfortunately my playlist hasn’t changed much since the last time i did this, so instead, i’m gonna put my “discover weekly” playlist on shuffle and rate the first 10 songs i get. so thank u for the tag babe but i will not be following a single rule.

🪸 erghan diado (song of schopsko) by bulgarian state television choir: we are starting off this list so insanely strong. i have no idea what made spotify assume i would like this but they were 100% correct. apparently this choir performs modern arrangements of traditional bulgarian folk melodies, and this song is from one of their most recognized projects. four stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🪸 choreomania by florence + the machine: i was surprised to see this song was written before the pandemic, but it turns out that welch based this off of the dancing plague of 1518, where 400 women danced themselves to death. what a cool coincidence that she released a song based on a phenomenon ppl theorize occurred as a result of plague-related stress post-covid. obsessed with the behind-the-scenes info, and the song is catchy. four stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🪸 becky by be your own pet: HOLY SHIT. ohhh no. “i heard u talked a lot of shit abt me / to ur new best friend / but it doesn’t matter anyway / cos i’ll find a new best friend / … but, you know, i gotta say / i loved going to your slumber party” this is fucking me up. childhood friends are like runaway cats u keep hanging up missing posters but u’ll never get them back. “he doesn’t miss carol not really or rather he doesn’t miss the woman she’s making herself into. kid carol tho … he misses that version of her sometimes” etc etc. this is reminding me so much of those homoerotic friendships i had at 8 with other girls that always ended in catastrophe, but i still remember their landline numbers. five stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🪸 bury a friend by pomplamoose: i’m pretty positive this was recommended to me based on my obsession with loveless’s version of happier than ever. i love a good cover, and that one is fabulous. it adds a brutal new dimension to an already angry song. they bring a great alt rock/emo pop twist to it that i adore. despite how good a cover this one is, i can’t say i love it—i might be a little biased; eilish’s original is haunting and nightmarish and it puts everything it can into creeping u out. i don’t think this cover adds any new flavor the way loveless’ does. it mostly makes me want to listen to the original again. one star ⭐️

🪸 the ghost of chicago by noah floersch: this song is appealing to my love of the midwest. it wasn’t what i was expecting going in but i like it! it’s cute. i know it’s meant to be a “i like this girl so much that she haunts me” kinda ghost song, but tbh i like the idea of the narrator falling in love w an actual ghost much more. it reminds me of this wip i have where—no. i shan’t say. it’s a secret. three stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️

🪸 old cape cod by patti page: … idek what to say abt this. i’m sure white ppl in the 50s thought this was a bop but i do not. zero stars :(

🪸 dizzy in sunlight by the blasting company, ashley nguyen dewitt: now THAT is how u make a dreamy, sunday-afternoon-esque song. the lyrics remind me of a mary oliver poem. “wade in the water / mud covered feet,” “the wind and my mother / they both hold me upright / …oh what a feeling / as the waters / rush over me,” “my sister riding her bike from the store / my grandfather smoking his pope out on the porch / …this life spills over me / and rocks me to sleep”. completely and utterly lovely. five stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🪸 in dreams by sierra ferrell: i love the country and folk elements in this. i’m currently on a country music fixation and this is right up my alley. such a sweet-sounding love song, i added it to one of my playlists right away. four stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🪸 neutral spirit hotel by local news legend: omg this reminds me so much of some of my favorite penelope scott songs—sweet hibiscus tea comes to mind; both of these songs are folksy and have this self-deprecating element to them. “i think i say i’m quitting drinking every other week / but it’s so hard to stop / when it’s the only thing that let’s me sleep” dean winchester type shit (sorry). three stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

🪸 down in the willow garden by the kossoy sisters: HELL YES a strong finish!! this is a traditional appalachian murder ballad about a guy facing the gallows after poisoning his sweetheart and throwing her body in a river. is me liking this song a loss for feminism? IDK. but i like it </3 four stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

i’m tagging @keepoffthetardis, @cabeswater, @youthbleeding, @minimyz, and anyone else who wants to do this! consider urself tagged

[holidayhunteraust]

Icon of the Coast: Exploring Cape St George Lighthouse

The Cape St George Lighthouse ruins stand as the most significant European site within the park. Today, this lighthouse serves as the prime location for observing the majestic whale migration and return.

 Designed by the esteemed colonial architect, Alexander Dawson, and constructed in 1860, this three-story lighthouse was meticulously built using sandstone blocks sourced from the nearby Jervis Bay village. Soaring to a height of 61 feet (18.5m), the tower boasted eight spacious rooms at ground level. The flooring consisted of timber, while cast iron girders supported a roof adorned with stone flagging, covered in asphalt.

 Transporting supplies to the lighthouse was always a challenging endeavour, with the nearest landing place situated over 4 killometres away at Murrays Beach. Horses were indispensable for delivering mail and provisions, as well as transporting children to and from school. However, maintaining a horse permanently proved arduous due to the scarcity of grass for feed. In contrast, goats thrived in this terrain and were kept for milking, providing a source of meat and bait for catching sharks.

 Between 1860 and 1877, up to 15 individuals, including the lighthouse keeper, two under-keepers, and their families, resided within the confines of this eight-room complex. The lighthouse also served as a storage facility for oil and supplies, resulting in relatively cramped and uncomfortable living conditions. In 1877, recognizing the need for improvement, a seven-room weatherboard cottage was constructed for the head keeper near the stables.

 The kitchen and laundry building, believed to have been erected around 1865, served as a storehouse for provisions, a wash house, and an oven, complete with a boiling copper for the establishment. This addition provided much-needed space, as the original lighthouse building had previously accommodated everything, including living quarters for the three lightkeepers' families.

 Whilst it is a picturesque location today, the lighthouse has a fascinating and grisly history of death and disaster:

·         In 1867, Isabella Jane Lee, the daughter of the principal lightkeeper from 1863 to 1873, died of typhus fever, a rare bacterial infection spread usually by parasites.

 ·         In 1882, another resident, 13-year-old George Gibson, died from pleurisy. Pleurisy results in the inflammation of tissue surrounding the lungs and causes pain when breathing.

 ·         Typhoid struck again in 1885, killing Florence Bailey, the 11-year-old daughter of the third assistant lightkeeper. Her father, Edward Bailey, supplemented his income by fishing for sharks on the rocks below the lighthouse. In 1895, he was washed from the rocks. Entangled in his lines in heavy seas, he was taken by sharks as his son watched in horror.

 ·         Francis Henry Hammer, the son of Mary Hammer (a single woman who lived at the lighthouse) had a habit of pushing large rocks over the cliff edge to amuse himself. However, he tragically met his end when he either toppled over or lost his footing when part of the cliff collapsed. He was only nine or ten years old.

 ·         William Markham, the assistant lightkeeper from about 1878-1883, was kicked in the head by a horse and died before he reached Nowra Hospital.

 ·         In 1887, Kate Gibson (the principal lightkeeper’s teenage daughter), tripped while skylarking with a loaded firearm. The gun discharged, striking her friend Harriet Parker (the assistant lightkeeper’s daughter) in the back of the skull, killing her instantly. Her gravesite can be found in the Green Patch camping area.

[bohoguide]

{ Celebrities who embraced Bohemian aesthetic }

There are many celebrities who have embraced the bohemian aesthetic, both in their fashion choices and in their overall lifestyle. Here are a few examples:

1. Vanessa Hudgens: Vanessa Hudgens is known for her bohemian fashion sense, often wearing flowy maxi dresses, fringe jackets, and layered jewelry.

2. Sienna Miller: Sienna Miller is a fashion icon known for her bohemian-chic style. Her outfits often feature flowy dresses, oversized sunglasses, and statement jewelry.

3. Zoe Kravitz: Zoe Kravitz is known for her edgy and unconventional fashion sense, often incorporating bohemian elements into her outfits. She is a fan of vintage pieces, leather jackets, and bold accessories.

4. Kate Hudson: Kate Hudson is known for her effortless and bohemian style, often wearing flowy maxi dresses, denim jackets, and layered necklaces.

5. Florence Welch: Florence Welch, the lead singer of Florence and the Machine, is known for her ethereal and bohemian style. She often wears flowy dresses, capes, and statement jewelry.

6. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen: The Olsen twins are known for their unique and eclectic fashion sense, often incorporating bohemian elements into their outfits. They are fans of oversized clothing, vintage pieces, and layered jewelry.

These are just a few examples of celebrities who have embraced the bohemian aesthetic. However, many other celebrities have also incorporated bohemian elements into their fashion and lifestyle, making it a popular and enduring trend.

[bubblestheraccoon]

Music Mixes

Lumberjanes “Arts and Crafts” Program Field

Treble Maker Badge

“Some Risks are worth the Reward”

Music fuels the mind and thus fuels creativity. A creative mind has the ability to make discoveries and create innovations. The greatest minds and thinkers like Hildegard von Bingen, Barbra Strozzi, and Florence Mary Taylor all had something in common in that they were constantly exploring their imagination and creativity. As a Lumberjane it will be vital that we not only enrich our minds, but enrich those around us. Music is just one of the many mediums that can create an empowering environment, it is one of the few mediums that can be enjoyed at any time.

Finch’s Notes:

This post is based on a section from the bonus content from Lumberjanes: To The Max Edition Volume One. I did not create these playlist, their titles, or the blurb at the top of the post. If any of the links are wrong or broken, or if I should add any more disclaimers for song content, please feel free to let me know!

*D-Slur Warning.

**Only version of the cover I could find on youtube, here’s a version of song without the extra audio but it’s on a Russian website that overwrote my adblocker a little bit so visit it at your own risk. Here’s the song it was covering if you want that instead.

***Could not find cover on youtube. Link instead goes to band camp.

****F-Slur Warning.

Fox Fight Jams! By April!

Edge of Seventeen by Stevie Nicks

Bad Reputation by Joan Jett

Run the World (Girls) by Beyonce

Northshore be Tegan & Sara

Woo Hoo by The 5 6 7 8s

Wilderness by Sleater-Kinney

Wolf by Now, Now

Spin Around by Josie and the Pussycats

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Theme

Jet Pack by Dog Party

Pirates by Jenny Owen Youngs

Dance Apocalyptic by Janelle Monae

Bamboo Bones by Against Me!

Push It by Salt-n-Pepa

I Knew You Were Trouble by Taylor Swift

Up All Night by One Direction

Roar by Katy Perry

Eye Of The Tiger by Survivor

Say You'll Be There by the Spice Girls

Ribs by Lorde

Edge of Seventeen by Stevie Nicks (”Best Song Ever”-April)

River Adventure Mix of dooooom by Mal

I Was An Island by Allison Weiss

Shark In The Water by V.V. Brown

Let's Submerge by X-Ray Spex

Eyes Open by The Gossip

Rebel Girl by Bikini Kill*

Giant Kitty by Shonen Knife

I Won't Follow by the Secret Someones

4Ever by The Veronicas

Sk8er Boi by Avril Lavigne

Take Me Away by Fefe Dobson

Borne On The FM Waves by Against Me! & Tegan Quinn

Ain't It Fun by Paramore

3 Small Words by Josie and the Pussycats

Anchor by Letters To Cleo

That's Not My Name by The Ting Tings

Independent Woman Part 1 by Destiny's Child

Crush by the Sleigh Bells

Oh! by Sleater-Kinney

Tropical by Plumtree

Rhiannon by Best Coast or Fleetwood Mac 

The Con by Tegan & Sara

The Competition by Kimya Dawson

Cave Tunes by Molly

I Have Confidence by Julie Andrews

Ain’t No Mountain High Enough by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell

Tightrope by Janelle Monae feat Big Boi

Just A Dream by Taylor Swift

Heartbreak Dream by Betty Who

Corner of the Sky by the Jackson 5

Valerie by Amy Winehouse

I Wanna Dance With Somebody by Whitney Houston

Call Your Girlfriend by Robyn

Let It Go by Idina Menzel

Build Me Up Buttercup by The Foundations

Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash

Jolene by Dolly Parton

Rock ‘n Roll High School by Shonen Knife

Don’t Save Me by HAIM

The Cave by Dia Frampton**

She Keeps Me Warm by Mary Lambert

This Is For by Ingrid Michaelson

Cut It Off by Mal Blum

Smash Into You by Beyonce

Jen’s Perfect Camp Mix by Ripley

Gravity Falls Theme Song

Summertime by Audra McDonald

Strong Enough by Kina Grannis

(You’re So Square) Baby, I Don’t Care by Cee Lo Green

Waterfalls - TLC

Just A Girl by No Doubt

Nobody Knows Me At All by The Weepies

I’m Beginning To See The Light by Ella Fitzgerald

Bad Girls by M.I.A.

Spice Up Your Life by the Spice Girls

Magic To Do by Patina Miller & Ensemble

***Flawless by Beyonce

Come On by Josie And The Pussycats

Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey

Here Comes The Sun by The Beatles

Jo’s really rad! Mix by Jo

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Theme

Androgynous(Live) by Joan Jett and Against Me!

Tous Les Memes by Stromae

Sunshine by Rye Rye feat M.I.A.

L.E.S. Artistes by Santigold

What About Your Friends by TLC

Just One Of The Guys by Jenny Lewis

Melody by Kate Earl

Red Cape by Priscilla Ahn

No Wow by The Kills

I Found You by Tilly and the Wall

Do You Remember the Morning by Kid in the Attic***

Cheerleader by St. Vincent

Concrete Wall by Zee Avi

You Can Count On Me by Panda Bear

Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac (”<3″-Jo)

Don’t You (Forget About Me) by Simple Minds

Ziggy Stardust by David Bowie

Oblivion by Grimes

Q.U.E.E.N. by Janelle Monae and Eryka Badu

Rapid Decompression by Against Me!

Roanokes Rule: The Mix[!][!][!] by April

Rattlesnake by Saint Vincent

Transgender Dysphoria Blues by Against Me!****

Amazon by M.I.A.

Another One Bites The Dust by Queen

Art-I-Ficial by X-Ray Spex

Separate Rooms by Now, Now

What’s Mine Is Yours by Sleater-Kinney

Sci-Fi Wasabi by Cibo Matto

Tennis Court by Lorde

Son Of A Preacher Man by Dusty Springfield

Dreams by Fleetwood Mac

Desire Lines by Deerhunter

Hot and Cold by Ex Hex

White Daisy Passing by Rocky Votolato

Misguided Ghosts by Paramore

For The Best by Gregory and the Hawk

The Hymn Of Acxiom by Vienna Teng

Capture The Flag by Broken Social Scene

From A Shell by Lisa Germano

Rosie’s Turn

Feeling Good by Nina Simone

Annabelle Lee by Sarah Jarosz

Terrible Things by April Smith & The Great Picture Show

You Can’t Be Told by Valerie June

Wild Geese Blues by Gladys Bentley

The Day Is Short by Jearlyn Steele

One Dime Blues by Etta Baker

Hard Way Home by Brandi Carlile

The Devil’s Paintbrush Road by The Wailin’ Jennys

To The Bone by Okou

Panic Cord by Gabrielle Aplin

Cups (You’re Gonna Miss Me) by Lulu and the Lampshades

Crayola Doesn’t Make A Color For Your Eyes by Kristin Andreassen

Complimentary Me by Elizabeth & The Catapult

Blue Spotted Tail by Kina Grannis

Sorry About The Doom by Slow Club

You Know I’m No Good by Amy Winehouse

From Texas: Big “D” by Julie Andrews & Carol Burnett

Finch’s Notes Cont:

Hi! I made this post to avoid work. But mostly I made this post because Lumberjanes is something really important to me, and these playlist are a part of my enjoyment of Lumberjanes I don’t see people talking about a lot! So I decided to make a post in order to share them with y’all. I remember hunching over my phone making a spotify playlist (here, though it’s missing a few songs that aren’t on spotify) while on a trip to California in the summer of 2018 when I first got into Lumberjanes. I probably listened to these songs while I made my first ever Lumberjanes fanart. These mixes helped me to discover artist I really love, like Janelle Monae and Mal Blum. I hope you enjoy them as well!

Other notes: Sk8r Boi is crossed out as that is the way it appears on Mal’s playlist. Also, I tend to shy away from music videos as a personal preference, so that’s why there are so few included on this playlist, though I’m sure many of these songs have beautiful music videos. I might reblog this post in the future with some youtube playlists of these mixes, but if you want to find them yourself there are a lot of playlists of these songs made on youtube already! Or you can make your own playlists using this post. 

And, just for fun, have one final Lumberjanes themed music recommendation:

Lumberjanes by Various

[classprojecttransexperience]

James Barry and Trans history

James Barry was not a woman, although he’s remembered as a woman in history. The evidence that Barry was female at all is very, very sketchy, but that’s getting ahead of ourselves. Dr. James Barry was the first man to perform a C-section during the colonial period where both mother and baby survived. Dr. Barry MAY also have been assigned female at birth, although he described himself as a man for most of his adult life, and got into fist fights and duels with people who insulted his meager height.

James Barry was, by all accounts, an asshole to everyone but his patients, although he described himself as a “gentleman” even in private writings, and to people who knew he had been assigned female at birth. He was loud, brash, unafraid of reprimanding people in front of others (rumored to be the cause of his falling out with Florence Nightingale), and his habit of demanding marginalized people, such as the poor, the leprous, the disabled, and Black people, had the same high standard of care afforded to white wealthy patients earned him many enemies, including powerful ones. Barry also had a penchant for dueling, including at least once with a pistol. Throughout all of this, the only accusations he faced were a claim at one point in his schooling that he was too young to continue as he could not grow a beard, although eventually it was conceded that Barry’s age did not matter as much as his ability to defend his thesis.

Barry had a scandalous relationship with the Governor of Cape Town, Lord Charles Somerset. Somerset was called “Dr. Barry’s wife” during the ensuing drama. If Barry had truly been, as he is often assumed to be, a perisex (non intersex) biological female, one would assume Somerset might have tried to save face by exposing this fact; for some reason, he never did, despite the fact that Barry lived with Somerset for some time, was very close to him, and traveled with him often. To have been this close to another man without being found out is a bit unbelievable in an age before gender reassignment surgeries were common. It is possible that the rumors of the relationship were overblown, and/or that Somerset never saw Barry without his clothes, but again, given the amount of time they spent together it seems a stretch to believe that Barry was secretly hiding a female body without ever being found out.

Dr. Barry did, however, ask to be buried in his bedclothes without being examined when he died. This has been taken by many historians to mean that he knew he would be described as a woman after death. That is exactly what happened--here is a letter, from wikipedia, that Barry’s physician wrote upon being questioned about Barry’s sex: “Sir, I had been intimately acquainted with the doctor for good many years, both in London and the West Indies and I never had any suspicion that Dr Barry was a woman. I attended him during his last illness, (previously for bronchitis, and the affection for diarrhoea). On one occasion after Dr Barry’s death at the office of Sir Charles McGregor, there was the woman who performed the last offices for Dr Barry was waiting to speak to me. She wished to obtain some prerequisites [sic in source, but has to be a slip for perquisites, "perks"] of his employment, which the Lady who kept the lodging house in which Dr Barry died had refused to give her. Amongst other things she said that Dr Barry was a female and that I was a pretty doctor not to know this and she would not like to be attended by me. I informed her that it was none of my business whether Dr Barry was a male or a female, and that I thought that she might be neither, viz. an imperfectly developed man. She then said that she had examined the body, and was a perfect female and farther that there were marks of him having had a child when very young. I then enquired how have you formed that conclusion. The woman, pointing to the lower part of her stomach, said ‘from marks here. I am a maried [sic] woman and the mother of nine children and I ought to know.’ The woman seems to think that she had become acquainted with a great secret and wished to be paid for keeping it. I informed her that all Dr Barry’s relatives were dead, and that it was no secret of mine, and that my own impression was that Dr Barry was a Hermaphrodite. But whether Dr Barry was a male, female, or hermaphrodite I do not know, nor had I any purpose in making the discovery as I could positively swear to the identity of the body as being that of a person whom I had been acquainted with as Inspector-General of Hospitals for a period of years. Yours faithfully, D.R. McKinnon “

So to recap: Historians believe that Dr. James Barry was assigned female at birth, although records of his birth do not exist so we cannot be sure that he even WAS assigned female at birth

Despite rumors of being gay at a time that could have gotten him killed, despite his many enemies, Dr. Barry was never accused of secretly being a woman until his death

Dr. Barry identified himself as a man throughout most of his adult life, including to people who would have known that he was assigned female at birth, had that been the case

Dr. Barry asked to be buried in his bedclothes without being examined upon death Barry was short, could not grow facial hair, and displayed some insecurity about this

The woman who identified Barry as a female upon his death asked to be paid money to keep the story secret

The same woman identified Barry as having had a pregnancy, although we can be almost entirely certain that, as Barry was never missing long enough to have gotten pregnant, and pregnancy surely would have outed him as female, Dr. Barry was never pregnant and the woman who identified him as such was mistaking stretch marks or some other scarring, which can have many causes, as being definitely related to pregnancy alone

No one else, including doctors, lovers he may have had sexual relationships with, enemies, patients, ever accused Barry of being a woman, and no one else saw his body after death except for the woman who demanded payment in exchange for not exposing such a “secret”.

And yet Dr. Barry is often included as a part of woman’s history, despite the fact that the historical record alone, poorly sourced biographies notwithstanding, literally gives more evidence to the idea that Dr. Barry was a cisgender man than the idea that he ever identified himself as a woman. His middle name is even disputed--here is a long list of historical examinations into Barry and the many histories of him that are used in his wikipedia article without actually linking to historical documentation https://notesonagentleman.substack.com/ I include his story here as context for the difficulties that arise in examining transgender people in history. When you first look into Dr. Barry’s story, he seems to be the transest trans man to ever trans--but as you dig deeper, evidence that he was even assigned female at birth starts to look more like hearsay. It’s possible that Barry was intersex. But it’s also possible that Barry was a cisgender man who was insecure about his body and was maligned after his death because someone thought they could make a buck, or had never seen a man with stretch marks before, or some other explanation. The majority of historians write about him as a woman, sometimes inventing--with no evidence, the idea that he was forced to pretend to be a man for financial reasons, and was secretly a proud woman despite never once identifying as one, even in his own writings. It’s possible that Dr. Barry was transgender, or that he was intersex, or that he was a cisgender man--however, historians do Dr. Barry a disservice by describing him as a woman, because “woman” is the only identity we can definitively rule out.

[2o2o-kit]

An American’s Thoughts on Horrible Histories Songs

Born 2 Rule: Iconic, really set the stage for Horrible Histories, not my favorite George III song though that prize goes to Hamilton, (also I was always taught George III was mad in an angry way)

Wives of Henry VIII: This song walked so Six can run, still iconic

Making a Mummy: Kind of forgettable, but if we are going by the pattern as seen in the first two, I predict the next big history musical will be about making mummies

The Tudors: I don’t know why but I love this song’s intro, but I find the dance moves cringe worthy

Georgian Lady: It’s great when you can read along to it, but Martha is still iconic

I’m a Knight: I love the whole Monty Python inspiration, this always makes me smile, just pure wholesome knight energy, one of my favorite season 1 songs

Caveman Love: It gets better the more you listen to it

It’s Not True: Probably my least favorite Horrible Histories song, still better than most songs on the radio

The Plague: The plague was made for musical theatre, besides this check out Spamalot and Something Rotten

British Things: Drags on a bit, but haha Britain, you are not perfect, (but America is far from perfect)

We are Greek: It’s king boring, but lyrics are still pretty clever

Burke and Hare: I’m not a fan of this TBH, maybe it’s because I’m not a huge fan of true crime and stuff like that, it’s not that catchy either

Literally: Nothing like an 80s rock parody, it’s also one of the funniest songs

Charles II: This was the first HH song I listened to and I’m glad, because it’s a banger, and this is probably the closest you will get to a kid friendly Eminem

Spartan Musical: This is so camp and just you have to watch to understand

WWII Girls: Katy Wix needs to be in more songs, I love the costumes in this

George IV: I’m obsessed with this one, Jim’s vocals in this are perfection, definitely one of my favorite of the whole series, I wish I could belt like that

Blackbeard: The acting in this is perfection, I still laugh while watching it

Victorian inventions: I’m not a big fan of this type of music, but it’s still funny

Hieroglyphics: Idk why Mat did a Texas accent, and I’m not sure but it’s not bad, but it’s not as great as the other songs

Cowboys: The accents are good but I could go without all the farts

Boudicca: This is an inspiration

Funky Monks: I’m not a big fan of this one, it’s funny but I wish they had more singing in this, but Terry is great as always

Pachacuti: At first I was bit nervous to watch it because of the brown face, and yes it’s in there and I also thought it would be too cheesy but that’s the point and makes it so much fun, also what’s a northern accent

Dick Turpin: For most people it’s the guyliner that makes this a thirst trap, for me it’s all the tricorn hats 😍. When I first watched this video I recently developed my tricorn fetish and this song was just... The music to this is great too, I listen to this daily. And imagine me learning that this thirst trap’s name is Dick

Monarchs: Iconic, super helpful, now I can name all the English monarchs, thanks

William Wallace: Better than Braveheart, seems like a lot of fun to film

Work! Terrible Work: Hey look theatre reference, this so is definitely not a mood booster, but those sideburns (and I’m not really into sideburns)

Ra ra Cleopatra: Martha is killing it, and I love all the Lady Gaga references

Richard III: Thanks for talking about the horrors of Tudor Propaganda and the lyrics in this are amazing

Evil Emperors: If you claim your bad, don’t make such a catchy song that can easily be confused as another thirst trap, love the parody and Caligula and Nero and some of my favorite HH characters

Suffragettes: This song proved how hard these ladies worked, also I want to sing this song with others, who’s in?

Ain’t Stain Alive: Okay just like Pachacuti, I’m sure this song can’t work today, but it’s great, so catchy and the screams, also the behind the scenes of this is iconic

Age of Stone: I like how it explains the time periods but I’m not really a big fan of how it was presented

English Civil War: The choreography is on point, Lawry needed to be in more songs and I love the song they parodied, it’s Cool from West Side Story

Celtic Boast Battle: I don’t know, I find it a bit too much but the ending is perfection

RAF Pilots: Now I’m not big on war history, epically WWII, but song is perfection, I love the coloring used for this, the music is just awesome, and this along with The Captain from Ghosts and Molly McIntire are proving the WWII is gay

Nature Selection: I’ve been using this phrase a lot during the pandemic,

The Thinkers: Alright, no strong opinions

It’s a New World: A jam, love the shade of how the pilgrims treated the natives, and it’s a great parody altogether, also I need a New New Castle now

Mary Seacole: So catchy I love it, and the dancing is great. I wish they didn’t cut out that one lyric about Florence because that’s important

Victoria and Albert: It’s kind of slow, but I can see why others like it, maybe it’s just because I’m alone

Blue Blooded Blues: I don’t really like Blues music, even though I’ve lived in cities known for their blues, but James Cape™️, GAAAYYYY!!!

The Luddites: Definitely one of my favorites, I love the cinematography, the costumes are my type, and nothing like historical heavy metal, ironic right, and Jim has the vocal range

The Borgia Family: I love everything about this, the music, the accents, costumes, this is better than the Showtime series, wish Ben got a solo in this song though, (also is it just me or do the Borgias remind you of the Trumps expect the Borgias are more like able)

Mary I: It’s okay, Sarah in this is great and it’s a great parody but I always thought of Mary having a deeper voice (I know weird)

William Shakespeare and the Quills: I love Shakespeare, but I’m not a big fan of this type of music, also I low key wish Shakespeare was sexy in this one

Georgian Navy: Please forgive my star spangled ass, but I’m not a fan of the British military during the Georgian era, and yes I know Nelson didn’t really fight in the American Revolution, but I’m not a big fan of war history

Flame: Will get stuck in your head, but who cares it’s an awesome parody, Jesse Owens in amazing, we love Jim’s Nero, and Mat you said you were all nude (I feel cheated)

Death’s Favorite Things: Hilarious, and a mood for me

Rosa Parks: Now Rosa’s story is something we get drilled in our heads in America, which is good, this song is so catchy and I love the costumes, but the ending did say ‘segregation was ended in America,’ but technically...

Vikings and Garfunkel: Aww so peaceful,

Charles Dickens: I love the music on this and the cinematograph, but there is something about it that I’m not a big fan of it, but I’m not sure what

Crassus Minted: A freaking underrated banger, just like the real Crassus

Joan of Arc: I’m sorry but this song is a bit cringe worthy but still way better than the new seasons

Alexander the Great: I mean is there any other song that can truly depict Alex

Owain Glynwr: Wish they had more Welsh history on the show but Tom Jones parody I never knew I needed

Transportation: The dancing in this is amaze, and I’m obsessed with Ben’s accent in this, how is his Midwestern accent better than mine, and I have a Midwestern accent, (stop making me like Henry Ford!) and I love whenever they do musical parodies

Henry VII: This song makes me want to be Henry VII, he made the monarchy great again

Matilda Stephen and Henry: There are more ABBA references in this than a production of Mamma Mia, and it’s brilliant,

Australia: I’m surprised they got away with saying Hellhole in this, but still very catchy, low key wish Thomas sang this in Ghosts

Cousins: It’s silly and I like it

Love Rats: Lyrics make me want to remain single, video is having me crush on actors that are old enough to be my parents

Final: Supersweet, but I can only watch it once because it makes me emotional

[yespolkadotkitty]

As your requests are open, can i have a really fluffy os eith Henry who is not quarantining with his wife and 4 kids because of him being on site for witcher season 2. The kids miss Henry so they hsve a zoom call and you are in awe at how Henry interacts with them, listening to their stories. Laugh, joke and even says some of superman's lines because they love the movie. You smile, so proud of him for being a grest husband, father, actor. Then the kids leave and you have a quick chat. Thanks

I’m not sure this went quite the way you wanted, but I hope you like it anyway.

“It’s time to ring Daddy!” you yelled up the stairs, vainly taking a moment to refresh your tinted lip balm and smooth your hair. You were only human, after all, and you didn’t always want Henry to see you with baby sick on your shoulder.

You hadn’t had the chance to zoom chat with Henry for two days now due to you juggling work and homeschooling, and him quarantining on site with some of the Witcher cast who’d been feeling poorly.

You snagged your Samsung tablet from the kitchen and set it in the specially designed holder, then unclipped the twins from their bouncers and set them on your lap. Dexter reached up to grab your hair, always fascinated by it, but Daisy was content to lay back in your arms and stare at your face, blue eyes alert and curious.

Reaching out, you swiped to the app you and Henry used and pressed the picture of his sweet face on the screen. The profile pic was old, Henry at the little party you’d thrown for your baby shower when you’d found out you’d be having twins. In the photo he had your son Cal on his shoulders, offering a bit of cake to the boy.

Thundering on the stairs told you that seven year old Cal was about to make an appearance, followed by the lighter tread of his sister, five year old Florence.

“We’re here,” Cal announced.

You glanced over. “Sit down - why is your hair blue?”

“I dyed it, Mummy,” Florence said, innocently batting her big brown eyes.

You bit back a retort, dreading seeing the bathroom later.

Thankfully Henry picked up just then. “Hello, sweetheart.”

Kal nudged his face into the photo and your heart clenched. You missed them both very much.

“Hi. Babies, say hi,” you prompted, lifting the twins up for their father to see.

Dexter gurgled, continuing to pull your hair. Dairy cooed and then sucked her thumb.

“I miss you all, so much,” Henry’s deep voice came clear over the speaker. “Just a few days left, and then I can travel back.”

“And then you better believe you’ll be on Daddy duty for a while,” you laughed.

Henry chuckled. “I’m ready.”

“Daddy, Daddy,” Florence chimed in, creeping to the screen and touching Henry’s face, “when you come home will you play tea parties with me?”

“Boring,” Cal groaned.

“Of course,” Henry replied. “Have you got the fairy wings ready for me?”

You had a photo of Henry - his broad form ridiculous with fairy wings perched on his shoulders - as your lock screen. In the picture he knelt down and poured “tea” from a plastic cup for Florence, who was delighted.

“Cal, is your hair blue?” Henry asked, brow furrowing.

“Florence dyed it to be like Superman, Daddy!”

Henry arched a brow at you, and you shrugged. “There are four of them and one of me - you do the math.”

He grinned and you smiled back, warmth flooding you. He’d be home soon and you could all hang out together, Henry swinging Cal up in his arms, making the boy scream with delight. Henry helping Florence paint paper fairies and photographing them in the garden. Henry singing Dexter to sleep while you breastfed Daisy through teething pain.

“If you get your cape, you’ll look just like Superman,” Henry said to Cal encouragingly.

“Superheroes are boring, fairies are better,” Florence announced, folding her little arms.

“We need both in the world, though,” Henry said, ever the peacemaker.

Daisy let out a huge burp and you settled Dexter in your lap and propped Daisy on your shoulder. 

“Impressive, little one,” Henry said through the screen.

“Yeah, she takes after her father,”  you teased. 

The six of you chatted for a bit longer, Henry remarking on the ribbons in Florence’s hair which made her beam brightly.

All too soon, you had to say goodbye, but you promised to text Henry later - when you had a whole five minutes to yourself - as Cal and Florence blew kisses at the screen. Henry caught each one, tucking them into his shirt pocket.

Later, when Dexter and Daisy napped, and Cal and Florence ate lunch in the garden, you snagged your phone to see a text from Henry.

HENRY: I miss you, wife.

YOU: I miss you too, Cavill.

HENRY: We’ll have to schedule some Twirlywoos when I’m home.

It was your in-joke. Cal and Florence loved the toddler show Twirlywoos, and had since they were toddlers. It could be relied upon for forty minutes’ peace - which was just enough time.

YOU: Several Twirylwoo sessions.

HENRY: I love you.

YOU: I love you, too. Be safe, see you soon.

Not beta’d - we die like men.

Tagging: @ly--canthrope @agniavateira @littlefreya @luclittlepond @chamomilebottom @dancingwendigo @andahugaroundtheneck @hnryycvll @dr-kayleigh-dh @the-soot-sprite @princess-of-riviaa @geralt-of-baevia @henry-cavill-obsessed @iloveyouyen @ohjules @constip8merm8 @peakygroupie  palaiasaurus64 

 @mary-ann84 @gardensofwhimsy @wolvesandhoundshowltogether @wondersofdreaming @gazzan-a @madbaddic7ed @lilliannaansalla

[windermeresimblr]

Medieval Paper Dolls: Hats and Headgear

Last week, we sent Alun and Joyeuse to Scandinavia. Today, we’re staying in our “costuming trailer” and instead demonstrating medieval (and passes-as-medieval) hats and hairs for your Sims to wear. 

The medieval period, depending on your source, lasted from 476, with the fall of the Western Roman Empire, to 1500; that’s a very long time. So I whittled it down to...sixteen hats! Not bad for a thousand years of people putting new and interesting things on their heads and starting ephemeral fashion trends.

Alun’s Hats

Alun is wearing...

...a coif. Coifs were worn in order to cover the hair, avoid dirtying hats and bedsheets with hair oil, and perhaps to provide a level of padding in case the hat one was wearing was uncomfortable.

...an early medieval or “practical” chaperon. The chaperon was a sort of balaclava/poncho; it had one hole for one’s face, and one hole for one’s neck and shoulders. It was a cross-class headgear (because nobody wants frostbite), but it was not meant for looks. It was also multi-season; if you got too warm, you could push the head portion off, or pile the whole thing on top of your head like a turban.

...a bycocket. Bycockets were popular for over four hundred years, and were also known as “beak” hats. You may recognize them from depictions of Robin Hood. It was a unisex hat, and it was also fashionable to cover it in pins and feathers and all kinds of fun decorations.

...a late medieval, fashionable chaperon. By the later middle ages, it had evolved to the point where the fashionable wrapped the fabric around a padded roll, put their heads through the face hole, and let the remainder swing like a scarf--if they hadn’t sewn shut the neck hole entirely to make it drape properly. Not very warm, but it certainly looked striking.

...a brimless cap. Brimless caps were very popular in the early Renaissance years, especially in Florence. This style was frequently worn by younger men, and a scarlet cap was considered a signifier of youthful style and panache.

another variation on the brimless cap. This is a squarer version, which I simply liked too much in this painting to not try to Simprovise. 

...a sugar-loaf cap. If you’ve watched Blackadder, this is the style of hat Edmund/Rowan Atkinson is wearing in the first episode. It’s one of the numerous brimless, odd-shaped hats of the Renaissance. This one simply is taller than the rest. (The name comes from the resemblance to the old-fashioned sugar loaf, which was how sugar was stored before the modern era.)

...a Tudor bonnet. While it’s not precisely the type Henry VII would have worn, flat caps became increasingly popular in the later part of the medieval period, especially in Northern England. 

Joyeuse’s Hats

Joyeuse is wearing...

...a coif. Women’s coifs had the extra job of covering the hair to meet the era’s modesty standards. Additionally, coifs could be worn under wimples to create a smoother line and provide a base for the fillet (forehead band) and guimpe (chin band). Think of it like putting an irregularly-shaped present in a box before wrapping it; it looks nicer that way.

...a barbette and fillet. This is the beginning of the medieval transition to wide and high hairstyles; although the hair was at the back at the beginning--and I’m astonished to say that this Ambitions hair is actually somewhat artistically accurate--it soon migrated to the sides in the classic crispinette-and-caul hairstyle. The barbette is the pillbox-shaped bit at the top; the fillet is the cloth wrapped around Joyeuse’s head and neck. (TS2 had some marvelous crispinette meshes, which I dream of converting.)

...an escoffion. While this is also called a heart-shaped hennin, it’s actually the hennin’s distant cousin; it took the new emphasis on wide and tall hairstyles (the barbettes, crispinettes and cauls, as well as very early cornette buns) to its logical extreme.

...a divided hennin, which is the middle ground between the sheer vertical emphasis of the steeple hennin and the width and drapery of the escoffion. There were some really nice clam-shaped ones made for TS2, which I covet.

...the traditional steeple hennin, which we all know and love. This one comes with a decorative turban. This is simply because I wanted to imitate a certain portrait of Mary of Burgundy. The drape at the top is called a contoise.

...a truncated or “beehive” hennin. This was more popular in the Low Countries, and certainly was more attainable for the middle-class types than the impractical and expensive steeple hennins. It’s called truncated due to how it’s cut off at the top instead of coming to a point.

...a gable hood. Gable hoods were popular in the last twenty years or so of the medieval period, especially in England. It was something of a reaction to the increasingly impractical hennins.

...a French hood. While the one Joyeuse is wearing is a slightly more modern (c. 1540) version of the French hood, this headgear made its debut in 1500 if not earlier. 

Now, go shopping!

The coifs Alun and Joyeuse are wearing are by me! Be on the lookout for the download post.

Alun’s “sensible” chaperon is actually two accessories; the hood is by Venus Princess and can be found here, and the cape is by HappyLifeSims/lonelyboy and can be found here (the Victorian Male Cape). 

Alun’s bycocket is by The Merrye Makers and can be found here.

Alun’s fancy chaperon is by SilFantasy and can be found here.

Alun’s red Florentine cap is an accessory by Modish Kitten and can be found here, thanks to @sweetdevil-sims. 

Alun’s squared Florentine cap is by Severinka and can be found here.

Alun’s sugar-loaf hat is by from the SimsZoo, and can be found here; you can also use the two similar hat hairs that came from Supernatural for a little variety.

Alun’s Tudor bonnet is a TSM conversion by Ptylo and can be found here (Five TSM Hat Conversions).

Joyeuse’s barbette and fillet are from Ambitions; I dehairified the headgear and will be putting it up for download at some point in time.

Joyeuse’s escoffion is by Ladesire and can be found here.

Joyeuse’s divided hennin is also by Ladesire, and can be found here.

Joyeuse’s conical hennin is by Ladesire (the last one, I promise!) and can be found here, and the turban on top of it is by Ersch and can be found here.

Joyeuse’s truncated hennin is by Venus Princess and is actually a Jacoban priest hat from TSM. It can be found here.

Joyeuse’s gable hood, alas, is still in beta; I need to work up the courage to assign it proper bones. 

Joyeuse’s French Hood is by me and can be found here.

Credits

Facial expression poses by @pixeljackpot.

Conversation poses by @danjaley.

The costume designer is played by @ice-creamforbreakfast‘s Bhavan Singh. 

Joyeuse is wearing the Cloud Nine Afro (small) by Modish Kitten, except when she’s not, and a very cute tunic sweater ensemble by Around the Sims.

Alun is wearing a Generations hair, except when he’s not, and this shirt (no. 1) by Shokoninio.

[fitnesshealthyoga-blog]

New Post has been published on https://fitnesshealthyoga.com/best-all-time-celebrity-met-gala-fashion-outfits/

Best All-Time Celebrity Met Gala Fashion Outfits

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For serious fans of fashion, there’s no bigger red-carpet affair than the annual Costume Institute Benefit—a.k.a. the Metropolitan Museum of Art Gala, or Met Gala for short—where celebrities and high fashion collide in a bonanza of couture gowns that more than rivals the Oscars in unabashed glamour. Part of the evening’s fun—even for us spectators—is seeing what attendees choose to wear on the red carpet at the Gala, which will be held Monday night. Considering attendees’ high-design attire is typically loosely inspired by the exhibition’s theme, we have a feeling this particular red carpet will be one for the record books, and we’ll see some of the best Met Gala dresses yet.

However, before we can look ahead to this year’s extravaganza, we decided to look back at some past memorable Met Gala gowns that we’re still talking about.

From supermodels (Karolina Kurkova in a head-to-toe custom Rachel Zoe creation that resembled liquid gold, Gisele Bündchen’s red-hot Valentino, Anja Rubik’s skin-baring Anthony Vaccarello) and starlets (Beyoncé in showstopping Givenchy, Diane Kruger in Jason Wu) to the fash pack (Alexa Chung in Marc Jacobs, Ashley Olsen in vintage Dior, Zoe Kravitz in Alexander Wang), there’s no denying that everyone who shows up to the year’s most major red carpet does so with a serious fashion moment in mind.

Neilson Barnard/Getty Images.

Rihanna, Met Gala 2017

As an annual Met Gala favorite, Rihanna didn’t disappoint when she wore a Comme des Garçons structured flower-like dress by Rei Kawakubo, a Japanese designer who was honored with that year’s theme. The look, which was straight from Comme des Garçons’s Fall 2016 runway, used floral fabrics, which were layered and pulled apart to look like petals.

Jackson Lee/FilmMagic.

Zendaya, Met Gala 2017

Though Zendaya strayed from 2017’s avant-garde theme, she still shut down the red carpet when she showed up in a colorful Dolce & Gabbana Alta Moda ball gown decorated with vibrant orange and blue parrots. Z complemented her look, which boasted a floor-length train, with a voluminous Afro.

Andrew H Walker/REX/Shutterstock.

Cardi B, Met Gala 2018

Cardi B’s 2018 MOSCHINO Met Gala look (with the theme Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination) was beyond iconic.

Larry Busacca/Getty Images.

Taylor Swift, Met Gala 2016

As 2016’s Met Gala chair, Taylor Swift created chatter on the internet for the metallic minidress she wore in honor of that year’s theme, Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology. The look consisted of a robot-like Louis Vuitton dress with cutouts and a ruffled skirt with knee-high lace-up heels and black lipstick complementing Swift’s electric-blonde hair.

Mike Coppola/Getty Images for People.com.

Solange, Met Gala 2016

Solange didn’t exactly fit 2016’s technology-inspired theme, but many fans considered her lemonade-yellow David Laport dress, which featured accordion-like pleats, to be a nod to her sister Beyoncé’s album Lemonade, which came out a month earlier. Solange completed her look with matching latex leg warmers and clear sandals.

Charles Sykes/Invision/AP/REX/Shutterstock.

Lena Waithe, Met Gala 2018

When Master of None’s Lena Waithe showed up to the 2018 Met Gala in a literal rainbow cape, we knew it was going to be a good night.

Karwai Tang/WireImage.

Lupita Nyong’o, Met Gala 2016

Lupita Nyong’o stunned on the Met Gala red carpet in 2016 when she wore a jade sequined Calvin Klein shift dress with a near-translucent train. But it was her hair that caught the attention of the internet. Shortly after Nyong’o walked the red carpet, Vogue published an article comparing her sky-high bun to Audrey Hepburn’s in a 1963 Vogue photo shoot. The actress later called out the magazine on Instagram, explaining that her hair wasn’t inspired by Hepburn, but by traditional African hairstyles and Nina Simone.

J. Kempin/Getty Images.

Kendall Jenner, Met Gala 2017

Kendall Jenner definitely turned heads in 2017 when she showed up at the Met Gala in a near-naked La Perla dress. The sheer look, which featured a large diagonal cutout on Jenner’s torso, was flecked with glitter and featured a low-scooped open back, revealing Jenner’s derriere.

J. Kempin/Getty Images.

Katy Perry, Met Gala 2017

As one of 2017’s Met Gala chairs, Katy Perry raised the bar when she wore an avant-garde red-tulle dress by John Galliano. The look, which featured a floor-length veil and sleeves embellished with large jewels, also included a crown-like headpiece with the word “Witness,” which would later become the title of Perry’s 2017 album.

Jamie McCarthy/FilmMagic.

Claire Danes, Met Gala 2016

From a first look, Claire Danes’s 2016 sky-blue Cinderella-like Zac Posen ball gown looked like another pretty dress and far from that year’s technology-inspired theme. But in the dark, fans learned that the one-of-a-kind dress was sewn with dozens of fiber optics, allowing it to twinkle with lights when it was pitch-black. Posen revealed the high-tech effect on his Instagram.

Neilson Barnard/Getty Images.

Cara Delevingne, Met Gala 2017

Cara Delevingne took advantage of her freshly shaven head at the 2017 Met Gala by glazing it with slick silver paint. She paired her metallic buzzcut with a sci-fi-inspired pantsuit by Chanel with bold shoulders and a futuristic, star-like pattern.

David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock.

Rihanna, Met Gala 2018

Rihanna really stuck to the 2018 “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination” Met Gala theme when she game dressed as the literal Pope. We’re still screaming about it.

Kevin Mazur/WireImage.

Madonna, Met Gala 2016

Madonna earned mixed reviews when she wore a sheer and skin-baring Givenchy dress to the 2016 Met Gala. The look, which exposed Madonna’s butt and breasts, was criticized by some for being too revealing. Of course, Madonna had the last word. After the controversy, the singer took to her Instagram to explain that her dress was a “political statement” against “an ageist and sexist society.”

Andres Otero/WENN.com.

Kim Kardashian, Met Gala 2013

A pregnant Kim Kardashian didn’t exactly stick to the PUNK: Chaos to Couture theme of 2013’s gala, but her Givenchy dress spawned 10,000 memes—and was of particular significance, given it was the first time Anna Wintour allowed her to attend.

Getty Images.

Diana Ross, Met Gala 1981

Diana Ross’s 1981 Met Gala gown would look right at home on the 2018 red carpet, given fashion’s recent obsession with ruffles and off-the-shoulder cuts.

WENN.com.

Solange, Met Gala 2015

When every other star was tripping over themselves to prove their dresses were the most naked, Solange rolled up to the 2015 Met Gala in this round Giles dress—and killed it.

Mari Sarai/Wireimage.

Amber Valletta, Met Gala 1999

Amber Valletta looked every inch the supermodel in shiny gold at 1999’s “Rock Style” gala.

Andres Otero/WENN.com.

Sarah Jessica Parker, Met Gala 2013

Sarah Jessica Parker, patron saint of the Met Gala, can always be counted on to show up in something fabulously OTT, like this Giles Deacon gown and Philip Treacy Mohawk headpiece in 2013, proving that she truly gets the spirit of the event every year.

Tom Gates/Getty Images.

Diana Vreeland, Met Gala 1981

Legendary fashion editor Diana Vreeland and Bill Blass at the 1981 gala, whose theme was “‘Eighteenth Century Woman.”

Flashpoint / WENN.

Lauren Santo Domingo, Met Gala 2008

In 2008, socialite and fashion It-girl Lauren Santo Domingo wore a silver glittering Nina Ricci gown—created by then-designer Olivier Theyskens—end of story. But it wasn’t, because the dress caused a bit of a scandal when the house dressed SJP in the same exact dress months later for the premiere of the “Sex and the City” movie. The brand responded to the controversy by saying LSD isn’t technically a celebrity, so they didn’t recycle.

Andres Otero/WENN.com.

Lupito Nyong’o, Met Gala 2014

Fresh off her fame-making red-caped-dress moment, Lupita Nyong’o made a dramatic grand entrance at the 2014 gala in flapper-inspired Prada.

Getty Images.

Zoë Kravitz and MIA, Met Gala 2010

The cool crowd—also known as MIA and Zoë Kravitz—arrived on the arm of Alexander Wang at 2010’s “American Women”-themed gala.

WENN.

Florence Welch, Met Gala 2012

Florence Welch brought it to the 2012 gala honoring Miuccia Prada and Elsa Schiaparelli, although she opted to wear a stunning multitiered McQueen dress. She showed up on several “worst-dressed” lists, proving again that the masses just don’t get it.

Toby/WENN.com.

Anja Rubik, Met Gala 2013

Supermodel Anja Rubik rolled up to the 2013 punk-themed gala in a mini red leather Anthony Vaccarello number—and it promptly went down in the annals as one of the coolest, most memorable looks ever.

WENN.com.

Karen Elson, Met Gala 2015

In 2015, supermodel-turned-rocker Karen Elson debuted a jaw-dropping Dolce & Gabbana look on the red carpet. Whether it played into the night’s theme—”China: Through the Looking Glass”—is debatable, but the glamour is not.

Andres Otero/WENN.com.

Anne Hathaway, Met Gala 2013

Anne Hathaway shed her goody-goody image at the 2013 punk-themed gala, replacing her long brown hair with a cropped platinum cut and debuting an on-theme Valentino gown.

Lia Toby/WENN.com.

Miley Cyrus, Met Gala 2013

A logical step in Miley Cyrus’s 2013 emancipation from Hannah Montana? Attending the punk-themed Met Gala on Marc Jacobs’s arm in a  totally sheer dress and with blonde spiky hair.

Evan Agostini/Getty Images.

Diane Kruger, Met Gala 2004

A lot of the looks at 2004’s “Dangerous Liaisons: Fashion and Furniture in the 18th Century” gala look wildly outdated now, but Diane Kruger—in Nicolas Ghesquiere—still looks chic and sexy.

Lia Toby/WENN.com.

Nicole Richie, Met Gala 2013

Nicole Richie stunned due to the simple fact that she made both a Topshop gown and silver hair look ridiculously chic in 2013.

WENN.com.

Kim Kardashian, Met Gala 2015

In 2015, Kim Kardashian caught major flak for wearing a dress nearly identical to the one Beyoncé wore in 2012. Granted, they’re by different designers and were different colors—Beyoncé’s black and purple gown was Givenchy, while Kim’s white dress was part of Peter Dundas’s first collection since returning to Roberto Cavalli, but the similarities were shocking, down to the sheer nakedness, the curve-hugging fit, and—of course—the feathered train that Bey worked like a pro on the Met’s red stairs when she made her dramatic entrance three years ago.

(And let it be known, Kim—who was on the event’s host committee that year—also showed up toward the end of the carpet, just like Ms. Knowles did.)

WENN.com.

Rihanna, Met Gala 2015

Perhaps the most memorable gala gown—and the most memorable example of a star sticking to the theme—was at 2015’s “China: Through the Looking Glass”: Rihanna showed up in an imperial-yellow fur-trimmed caped number with a multifoot-long train created by Chinese couturier Guo Pei. “I was researching Chinese couture on the Internet, and I found it,” she told Vanity Fair.

Getty Images.

Ashley Olsen, Met Gala 2011

Ashley Olsen didn’t wear McQueen to the 2011 gala, whose theme was in his honor, but looked absolutely perfect in a vintage Dior with puffy sleeves.

WENN.com.

Beyoncé, Met Gala 2015

Beyoncé turned heads in revealing Givenchy Couture at 2015’s gala, though some critics slammed the look for being too shameless in its approach to grab headlines. In the year of the “naked dress” on the gala’s carpet—J.Lo and—predictably—Kim K. also showed up in similar styles—we kind of hoped Beyoncé would have risen above the fray and had fun with her look, much like Rihanna did that year.

WENN.

Gisele Bündchen, Met Gala 2011

Part of one of the best-dressed couples of all time, supermodel Gisele Bündchen made jaws drop in 2011 with her dramatic red Alexander McQueen.

Getty Images.

Bianca Brandolini D’Adda, Met Gala 2012

Italian It-girl Bianca Brandolini D’Adda stunned in a serious gold Dolce & Gabbana ensemble in 2012.

Rose Hartman/Archive Photos/Getty Images.

Elizabeth Hurley, Met Gala 1995

Quintessential ’90s couple Elizabeth Hurley—in her signature curve-hugging gown style—and Hugh Grant at 1995’s gala.

Evan Agostini/Getty Images.

Amber Valletta, Met Gala 2004

It’s hard not to applaud Amber Valletta for fully embracing the 2004 “Dangerous Liaisons: Fashion and Furniture in the 18th Century” gala theme.

WENN.

Diane Kruger, Met Gala 2011

In 2011, Diane Kruger was the picture of modernity—instead of an OTT gown, she opted for a sleek black slit-skirt and embellished top by Jason Wu.

Billy Farrell/BFAnyc/Sipa Press.

Rihanna, Met Gala 2011

Been there, done that: Rihanna was doing the naked-dress thing long before Kim, Bey, and J.Lo. Here she is in Stella McCartney in 2011.

Getty Images.

Karolina Kurkova, Met Gala 2012

Karolina Kurkova brought some serious Studio 54 vibes in 2012 with her gold beaded Rachel Zoe number.

Getty Images.

Kirsten Dunst, Met Gala 2012

Kirsten Dunst might have worn prim Rodarte to 2012’s gala, but the look did its part to play into the Prada and Schiappareli theme.

Getty Images.

Alexa Chung, Met Gala 2013

It-girl and style-setter Alexa Chung took the “real fashion” route in a buttoned-up Marc Jacobs look in 2013.

Getty Images.

Nina Dobrev, Met Gala 2012

Actress Nina Dobrev looked glamorous in a serious Donna Karan Atelier gown in 2012.

  A version of this story originally appeared in May 2016.

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[windforestsso]

SSOblr OCs Map 1.2 version.

Well I got in ton of more Ocs after I uploaded the first map. Oh boy..

But now we sees some neighbours!

I tried to make it so every bubble was completly visible but it quickly got impossible to see the map underneath.

Once again if you want to add your own OCs please share it here.

Now for the “adress” list. I even added the comments that was left on few OCs of their living conditions:

Aideen’s Plaza, Jorvik City:

Clementine Campbell - Apartment 

Cape West Fishing Village:

Zoey - The ugliest building

Crescent Moon:

Feya

Firgrove:

Elaina Florence - Road leading to the Gate Moa Windforest - Hidden shack in the forest 

Fort Pinta:

Alina - Small apartment Avelin Lana

Jarlaheim:

Everlee Riley

Moorland Stables:

Kit   Montana - Lives in the attic

Mistfall:

Lucy - Ranger Cabins Zoe - Dundull

Silverglade Village:

Athena Liz - Rents a room in Daxton’s house. But also live in a demon door at South Hoof Farm. *Max - Technially homeless, but stays with his twin brother in Silverglade village at times. Siri Greenhaven - Live in someones attic

South Hoof Rescue Ranch:

Ivanna

Starshine Ranch:

Aurora Rora Dolphinheart

Valedale:

Claire - Lives in Elizabeth’s house Corinne Dakota - In the old water mill along the river. Liv - Rents a cottage Lydia Silvergale  Marie - Neighbor to Avalon  Sadie Wolfdawn - Shared druid housing

Wildwoods:

Nora - Tailtop Village 

Alou - Constantly Traveling

[rejectedprincesses]

Mary Patten (1837-1861): The First American Woman to Command a Ship

The first American woman to command a ship was a pregnant teenager. She did it while fighting off a mutiny, nursing an incapacitated husband, and braving gale-force winds.

She was 19.

Mary Ann Patten (nee Brown) was the type who would’ve volunteered for the distinction, had that been an option. She came from a family of mariners, and, at 16, married into one too. A year into her marriage, she insisted on joining her captain husband Joshua on his his first time captaining the Neptune’s Car. Together, the two went from New York to San Francisco, China, and London, before returning to New York.

Although Western women crewing a ship was rare and generally seen as improper  — ah, the Victorian era! —  Mary determined to make herself useful. She spent her time plowing through the ship’s small library, teaching herself medicine and how to navigate using sextants, compasses, and charts.

This would come in handy.

The Neptune’s Car, you see, was cursed as hell. It had only made one voyage before Joshua Patten coming on board. Why the quick turnover in captains, you may ask? Well, on its maiden voyage, 23 crew members were worked so hard they mutinied. The commander, one Captain Forbes, then threatened to kill all of them, saying “they’ll either work or face being shot”. Upon returning to port, everyone lawyered up and began suing each other. So there was an opening for a captain.

But that maiden voyage doesn’t even scratch the surface of how screwed this ship was. The voyages after Joshua’s tenure on board would feature such highlights as:

The third mate drunkenly killing a sailor before they even set sail, and the second mate getting arrested for covering for him;

Another sailor dying in a freak accident while loading the boat;

A cargo of munitions spilling on board, knocking the crew out with its acidic fumes;

The trip where the financiers tricked a crew of illiterate sailors into a journey twice as long as they’d signed up for;

And of course, pirates, hurricanes, and endless run-ins with the law. As you do.

And all of that still is NOTHING compared to Joshua and Mary’s second voyage on it.

The trouble started during the loading, when Joshua’s trusty first mate broke his leg. The financiers, Foster & Nickerson, eager to not lose time, replaced the first mate with an untested rando, William Keeler. The trouble continued when Joshua began feeling unwell, Foster & Nickerson ignored it, putting him to sea with Keeler and the now-pregnant Mary.

Much of the reason for the hurry is that the financiers had money riding on this, beyond just delivering cargo. The Neptune’s Car was still a relatively new ship, and they wanted to prove it could make good time. They laid down money against four other ships running the same route — New York to San Francisco, via the southern tip of South America —  that Neptune’s Car would beat them to port. In the grand tradition of rich douchebags everywhere, they were gambling the lives of their employees to one-up other rich douchebags.

It was not to be smooth sailing.

Keeler proved an incompetent shitheel in record time. His list of infractions are staggering: he’d sleep through half his shifts; he set course through reef beds; he had to be ordered to do simple tasks; and finally, he just outright refused to do some tasks, like putting out sails. About a month in, Joshua put him in chains and confined him to his cabin.

While he didn’t have many other options, this choice proved deadly for Joshua. He’d relied on Keeler to keep the course while Joshua slept. But with Keeler gone, the ship facing constant gales of snow and sleet, and no other crew members able to handle navigation — the second mate was illiterate, the third an idiot — Joshua had to stay up all day and night.

Increasingly, he relied on Mary to help confirm the position, course, and speed. He recognized she was a better mathematician than he was, even when he wasn’t out of his mind from staying up all day and night.

But by the eighth day of staying up, it became clear Joshua was out of his mind from more than that. After navigating to the Le Maire Strait, he collapsed. He’d developed pneumonia, which only exacerbated the undiagnosed ailment he’d started the voyage with: Tuberculosis meningitis.

Mary took control and, with the second mate’s help, parked the ship south of the deadly storms that had been rocking their boat. There she began looking after her husband. His situation was dire: the infection had reached his brain, and on top of being delirious, he’d become blind and partially deaf.

Compounding matters, Keeler began acting up. Hearing word of the captain’s failing health, he wrote Mary a letter, reminding her how perilous the coast was, and what great responsibility she shouldered. He graciously offered to rid her of the burden, and take control himself. She responded by informing him that since he’d had such trouble being first mate, she couldn’t possibly burden him with an even higher command.

When he heard this, Keeler tried striking up a mutiny to oust Mary from her command. It’s a testament to her ability and to the crew’s general good sense that they stood by her.

With Josh still out of commission, Mary steered the ship through the perilous waters south of the Cape, dodging inclement weather, collapsing glaciers, and mountains of ice. Finally, as they neared the Chilean city of Valparaiso, Joshua’s fever broke and he once again became lucid. However, he was evidently still suffering from brain ailments, as he soon made the executive decision to give command to Keeler.

This is what we in the business call a “boneheaded move.”

If anyone doubted Keeler was mutinous scum, he wasted no time in setting them straight. Refusing to let Mary on deck to take navigation  measurements, Keeler began secretly steering the boat to port at Valparaiso, despite explicit orders to head straight to San Francisco. However, Keeler did not reckon on Mary’s overabundance of competence — despite being largely confined to quarters, she still realized they were going off course. And to prove it? She Macguyvered up her own compass in the captain’s room. Nobody messes with Mary Patten.

And that was it for Keeler. Joshua had him demoted once and for all. He was clapped in chains and kept below deck.

Unfortunately, soon after that, Joshua relapsed, and he suffered 25 days of total blindness and deafness. Mary, by this point six months pregnant, was not about to waste any more time on modesty. She took full control of the ship and steered it straight to San Francisco, without further incident.

On November 15, 1856 — 137 days after they’d set sail — the Neptune’s Car pulled into port in San Francisco. The 19-year-old Mary had captained the boat for 56 of those days, through some of the most severe weather the region had seen. She had not changed clothes in nearly two months prior to arrival.

And she still beat three out of four boats to port.

As for Keeler? He cozied up to one of the ship’s mates, who helped free him once they pulled into the bay. He then jumped overboard at the earliest opportunity, escaping arrest. I am unsure what happened to his crazy ass afterwards.

Upon arrival in San Francisco, Mary became a national sensation, with newspaper after newspaper interviewing her (and usually getting a fair number of basic facts wrong). But despite the media attention, she struggled to pay for Joshua’s care — Foster & Nickerson refused to pay out his wages (in the end, they never would). It was only after public outcry for the insurance company to award Mary $5,000 that the Atlantic Mutual Insurance Company showed their magnanimity by sending Mary $1,000. The cargo she’d saved was worth $350,000.

And because she was a class act, she wrote to sincerely thank them and ask they also give credit to the other sailors.

Unfortunately, the Pattens’ situation never improved. By February 1857, Mary and Joshua made it back to their home in Boston — but Joshua’s condition had only worsened. Shortly after giving birth to their son, Joshua Jr., Mary had Joshua committed to an asylum. By July, her husband was dead. Shortly thereafter, Mary’s father, a sailor himself, was lost at sea. By 1860, Mary herself had contracted tuberculosis, and on March 17 of the following year, she died, just shy of her 24th birthday. She was buried next to Joshua, with nary a mention of her groundbreaking work on her headstone.

However, her deeds are not forgotten. A century after her fateful voyage, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, NY opened a hospital. They named it Patten Hospital, in memory of the “Florence Nightingale of the Ocean,” the woman whose courage they would always seek to emulate.

Full entry with footnotes and citations here

The second RP book is coming out in less than a month now! It’s available for preorder here. Mary’s not in it, although man, she would’ve made a good entry, huh? Maybe for book three.

Art notes and whatnot after the cut!

Art Notes

Mary is here standing on the deck of Neptune’s Car, holding Joshua’s hand as he struggles with his ailments. This wouldn’t be quite accurate – Joshua was in his cabin most of the second half of the journey – but I wanted to visually represent how she helped him, and the adversity she faced in doing so. In the first version of this, I had her holding a sextant in her right hand, but it didn’t really get to the drama of the situation.

In the background, the first mate swears at her, as they’re ravaged by storms. In the far background lurk the glaciers they encountered around Cape Horn.

I had a lot of fun drawing the water flowing in. Reminded me of doing liquid simulation work on animated movies. Ah, memories…!

Shout-outs (guess success rate: 89%)

Well done! The number two guess was Grace O’Malley — whom I’ve already covered! Going a bit harder for the next hint.

rosefeather, Tony, Hacker_Warrior, Gigi Paderes, @envy-eyes, booksandmagic, Rhosyn, @pandoramusicbox09, Rey, youslybadger, @vuvalinikill, Mekaela, Erendis, Crusty the Snowman, Jamie W, Andraya, @mrsslason, @muse2write, krittikae, The Unsexy Librarian, kchandesu, Julian Bernal,  Akadrus, Kaelin King, @coldpapernightmare, Isaac Capistrant, Ebele, cahill455, @per-herbam-ad-astra, Vercingetorix, Belphegor, babsawriter

Next Time on Rejected Princesses (posting around March 21, 2018!)

This WW2 woman could not run as fast as her divine Greek code-namesake, but what she lacked in speed, she made up for with a trusty sidekick of sorts.

(submit guesses here, and if you’re right, I’ll list you under ‘shout-outs’ on the next entry!)

[sunaprincess7]

Isn’t it neat?

Hi everyone,

Another fic here - I know the James/Lily - Eric/Ariel thing has been done before but this is my take on it. Sorry if ‘you're all mermaid-ed out! Very little plot to this thing but I hope you all enjoy anyways :)

Summary: Lily Evans has been playing Ariel the mermaid at Disney World Orlando for six months. She's about to meet her new Prince Eric.

Rated T for language (also so much fluff and cheese you might perish!)

Fanfic link

AO3 link

“Does anyone have any primer?” Lily yelled to the dressing room behind her, “I’m out of my FX.”

“Here,” Mary yelled back amongst the throng of girls, chucking Lily her Smashbox version over the heads of Emmeline and Dorcas who both ducked.

“This’ll work?” Lily confirmed doubtfully, knowing that she didn’t really have any other option as she squirted the clear gel into her palm.

“Nothing is going to work in this heat, Lil,” Mary replied, now slathering her face with foundation. “But it’ll stay on for at least 6 hours. Then you might need to reapply.”

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, I hate this fucking dress,” Marlene, who was by far the most ready of any of them, moaned as she tugged the bright yellow taffeta monstrosity up around her hips.

“Hey, at least yours hasn’t got sleeves,” Dorcas retorted, from next to Lily, still in the process of pinning an auburn wig with pigtails onto her head.

“Oh please, you practically begged McGonagall to give you Anna!” Marlene replied, now pulling the dress up around her arms.

“It was winter then!” Dorcas said miserably, grabbing a matte mauve lipstick out of her makeup bag.

“Can we all just be happy that none of us is Minnie?” Mary inserted, in between violently attacking her face with a beauty blender.

The group of girls murmured in approval.

“Technically, you should be the happiest out of everyone, Lil,” Emmeline said, running a brush through her black wig as she puffed up the bun. “Sometimes they let you go out in a bikini.”

“Hey, none of you have ever worn that tail,” Lily replied, as she leaned into the mirror to draw on her eyebrows. “It’s heavy as hell. It might be worse than the dress. And they haven’t let me wear it in ages.”

“I think they figured out you were making all the dads a little too happy in that purple excuse for a bra,” Mary said lowly, causing their whole dressing room to laugh.

“Men are such trash,” Emmeline added.

“Speaking of trash, aren’t you meeting your new Eric today?” Marlene asked as she pulled white elbow gloves up over her arms.

“Later on tonight,” Lily said, “after the parade. And if he’s anything like the previous one, I think I might quit.”

Lily’s previous Eric had been the epitome of trash and was exactly who Marlene was referring to when she’d asked the question. Dave, or Prince Fuckboy as he was better known to the group, had spent his entire 6 months with the cast showing up late, being rude and, worst of all, sleeping his way through the Princess lineup.

After sleeping with Marlene, he’d made his way around Elsa, Tinkerbell and Jasmine, which was the unfortunate reason Bertha, Florence and Emma no longer sat with the rest of the girls. That drama had continued for at least a month until Prince Fuckboy realised everyone hated him and had quit.

“Apparently he’s a friend of Hook’s,” Dorcas told them.

“Hook?” Emmeline, who was the most recent addition to the cast, asked. “I don’t think I’ve met him.”

“Sirius Black,” Dorcas replied, as Lily smiled to herself, knowing that Dorcas’s usual rant about Sirius was coming. “And you don’t want to meet him. He’s totally method,” she continued, placing an unusual amount of disdain on the word method, “and speaks in a ridiculous English accent the entire time he’s here, even on breaks, and challenges everyone to duels all day. Fucking idiot.”

Lily couldn’t help but giggle. She was actually rather fond of Sirius’s approach to his work and suspected it had nothing to do with his devotion to acting but rather because he loved pretending to be a pirate all day.

“He is a fucking idiot and you know it,” Dorcas said to Lily when she saw her laughing.

“Well, at least he’s not another Prince Fuckboy,” Lily said, adding a slick of bright red lipstick before spritzing her whole face with setting spray. “And you have to admit, he’s a very good Hook.”

“As long as he hasn’t brought us another Dave to be Eric, we’ll be best friends,” Marlene smiled grimly. “How the hell am I the only one ready?” She asked forcefully, gloved hands on her hips.

“Because you don’t have to colour in your eyebrows to match your wig,” Lily replied, grabbing her long, curly ginger hair and twisting it onto her head.

“I can’t believe they still haven’t asked you to be Merida yet,” Mary observed, now pulling on Tiana’s light green velvet dress.

“Yeah, well in the nineties mermaids existed but not actual ginger people, apparently,” Lily said as she positioned the long red wig onto her head with ease. “That mermaid must’ve had some amazing hair dye down in Atlantis.”

“Hey, black people didn’t exist until 2010 apparently,” Mary added, fixing her own wig on. “And now there’s one black princess, there’ll obviously never be another one ever again.”

“Obviously,” Emmeline agreed, rolling her eyes. “Right, time to tie on this fucking awful sash,” she said before standing and moving to the costume rail, leaving Dorcas and Lily sitting at the mirrors.

“I’m still waiting on the animated world to admit lesbians exist,” Dorcas said to Lily with a wry shrug. “And don’t tell the boss, but I play everyday like I’m in love with Emma,” she winked, referring to their cast mate who played Jasmine.

“Amazing,” Lily laughed, looking around the dressing table for her aqua headpiece. “Does Emma know this?”

“Oh, she knows I think she’s hot as hell.”

Finished with her makeup and hair, Lily stood up to go and find her human dress, which was an unsightly aquamarine colour to match her headpiece.

“Are they ever going to let you back in the tail?” Dorcas asked, moving with Lily to grab her purple cape.

“They’re still working on the Grotto since the break-in,” Lily said, shuffling into her dress. “I think it’ll be open again in a few weeks.”

When she had first started at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Lily’s main role had been to sit in Ariel’s grotto and do meet and greets. She had her own float in the daily parade and occasionally appeared as a human walking around the park (when she was told to) or at Cinderella’s restaurant, but for the most part, wearing the tail in the grotto was her main duty. Then, around a month ago, some boys had broken in to the park, and wrecked her grotto, as well as a number of other attractions. Lily had been in human form ever since, which was killing her, because Ariel’s human dress was puffy, heavy and sweltering in the Orlando heat.

Not that she complained too much. She loved being Ariel and was delighted to be cast as her when she’d first started six months ago. A small part of Lily lived in perpetual fear of being recast. Which was ridiculous because it would definitely happen at some point and they were all warned not to get too attached to any particular character.

Lily had done her best to adhere to this warning but she’d adored Ariel as a child and as she’d gotten older, Ariel had remained her favourite Disney princess. And judging by the response she got from the little kids who came to the park, Ariel was still a very popular princess, even eighteen years after she’d first appeared in animated form.

In truth, Lily had loved every minute of working at Disney. The only bad time had been the appearance of Dave.

“I know I hate this dress,” Lily said quietly to Dorcas, “but I can live with it. I’m not sure I could live with another Dave.”

“Look, I know Black is an idiot, but I doubt he’s friends with jerks,” Dorcas reassured her pragmatically, checking her appearance in the mirror. “Are you nervous about meeting him? Don’t be nervous.”

“Well you spend a lot of time with your prince,” Lily observed, fixing the wig down over her dress. “And the kids freak out when they see you together so obviously McGonagall is always sending you out together. It’d be nice to be paired with someone you can stand. I mean, you get on with Dirk, right?”

“Yeah,” Dorcas responded, “I don’t think he knows I’m gay cause he’s always flirting with me, but we get on fine.”

“Poor Dirk.”

“I’ve seen his sister on Facebook, she’s cute” Dorcas said with a grin. “Maybe he’ll introduce us.”

“Girls!” They heard McGonagall call from the hallway, “it’s 8.55”

“Coming!” Lily called back, jumping up and down a few times to settle her skirt.

“Right,” Dorcas said with a swish of her cloak, “Time to be asked if I want to build a snowman ten thousand times.”

Letting her voice drift higher and adding in her signature Ariel warble, Lily followed Dorcas out of the dressing room, “you’re such a guppy, Anna,” she replied, saying goodbye to Lily Evans as she transformed into the little mermaid just as she reached the bright sunshine of the park.  

---------------------------

“I am fucking exhausted,” Marlene breathed, stripping off her gloves as they all trailed into the dressing room at 10pm that night. “And I hate teenaged boys.”

“Yeah, I saw some guys bothering you,” Mary replied, throwing herself down into her dressing room chair.

“Trying to get me to break character. Assholes. They were trying to film the whole thing and put it on Instagram,” Marlene spat.

“What were they doing?”

“Oh, the usual shit. Calling me a furry lover. I ignored them.”

“Good for you,” Lily said, inwardly wondering how soon she could get the metric tonne of foundation she had on off her face.

“At least you didn’t get dole whip spilled all over you,” Emmeline moaned, already taking off Mulan’s dress. “Costume are going to kill me. This is the fourth time in two weeks I’ve needed a new dress.”

“Ariel!” Sounded McGonagall’s voice from outside.

“I think she means me,” Lily whispered to them all with a wink as she slipped off her chair. Wincing as her weary feet touched the floor, Lily made her way to the hall.

When she entered the hallway, Lily saw McGonagall standing with her cherished clipboard and right beside her, a man who was undoubtedly Prince Eric.

All of the guys who played Princes at the park were good looking but Lily felt her stomach clench as she took in her new work husband. She could see why they had cast him as Eric. His black hair was thick and windswept and curled in at the edges of his lightly tanned skin. There was no way he’d be wearing a wig. As his eyes fell on her, he greeted her with a show stopping smile, and Lily couldn’t help but notice his strong jaw and gorgeous hazel eyes.

“James, this is Lily, or Ariel to you,” McGonagall said to the boy, now scribbling on the board. James opened his mouth to say something but their boss got there first, “you can smile, dance, hold hands whilst still and give her a two second hug,” she continued, briskly ticking the board as she listed each item, “but no kissing. At all. Ever.”

“Okay,” James nodded steadily, looking at McGonagall with slight apprehension.

“Make sure he doesn’t get lost,” she said to Lily abruptly before striding away.

“Is she always that scary?” He whispered, leaning into Lily as they both watched Minerva leave.

“I’m afraid so,” Lily told him with a weak smile, “she’s in charge of rules and makes sure we all follow them.”

“And we’re married, right?”

“Yes,” Lily nodded, trying not to stare at him too much.

“Wow. Can’t even kiss my wife. What a bummer,” James said with a deep sigh, causing Lily to laugh.

“Disney is strictly a PG place,” she said, “but waltzing is good fun. The kids love it.”

“They showed me during training,” James replied. “It took me a while to get it but I don’t think I’ll embarrass you.”

Lily laughed again as she leaned against the wall, “I’m a walking, talking fish woman. I doubt you are going to be what embarrasses me,” she smiled, trying not to blush when his eyes did a quick sweep of her outfit. “So, did McGonagall show you around?”

“I came down for the parade,” he responded, pushing his hands into his jeans as Lily noticed his sinewy tanned arms. He was going to look good in Eric’s white shirt. “It was great. You were great.”

“Thanks,” she said, “it’s pretty easy without Eric to be honest. I just sit there and smile and wave.”

“And with Eric?”

“Well, that’s when the hugging and the dancing and the hand-holding comes in,” Lily continued, giving him a little grin. “But it’s a 30 minute parade so trying to keep that going is difficult.”

“Especially when you hate your Eric, right?”

Lily blanched a little as James smiled guilty at her, “Sirius told me about the guy I’m replacing.”

“Yeah, well, he was a jackass,” Lily admitted, swishing her dress about a little. “And what’s worse, he made it really awkward for everyone here. We were all glad when he left.”

“Okay, well I promise to be absolutely nothing like him and then you won’t mind dancing with me for half an hour,” he suggested, his eyes twinkling as Lily’s stomach jumped again.

“Deal,” she agreed, hoping to sound as normal as possible. “So, when do you start?”

“Next week,” James told her happily, “they’re just sorting my contacts and then I’m good to go.”

“Cool,” Lily said, “well, it was really nice meeting you. I’m going to go take off this powder puff before I faint,” she closed, giving him another smile before she turned towards the dressing room door.

“Wait,” James called, stalling her in her step.

“Yeah?”

“You’re my Princess, right?” Lily laughed lightly as James blushed and corrected himself, “I mean, you’re who I’ll be working with? Going forward?”

“Yeah,” She replied, hearing a little shyness creep into her voice, “as long as I don’t get recast, I’m your Princess.”

-----------------------------

James, as it turned out, was an absolute dream to work with.

On Monday morning, he was there waiting for her as soon as she stepped out of the dressing room. In his white flowing shirt, red cumber-band, turned up trousers, boots and blue contacts, he looked both exactly like Eric and unreasonably hot.

They spent the whole day together and as predicted, all the kids adored both of them together. They both signed hundreds of autographs and took hundreds of photos and selfies, and when the parade started at nine o’clock, they had their first dance.

It wasn’t without a hitch, as they both stepped on each other’s toes several times but as long as their smiles stayed on, no one in the audience noticed.

“So, how’d I do?” James asked her, as they moved backstage and walked towards her dressing room.

“Really good,” Lily said a little breathlessly, noticing that they were still walking arm in arm, as though they were out in public.

“Sorry about the feet,” he whispered into her ear as they passed a stream of characters all hurrying to their dressing rooms.

“That’s okay,” she giggled, giving his arm a squeeze, “I stepped on your toes too.”

“Yeah but I’m a lot heavier than you are!”

“We’ll get better with practice,” Lily told him. “Oh and one other thing, next time a kid asks you about Sebastian or Flounder, technically you never met them, so next time just say they’re ‘friends of Ariel’.”

“Right,” James nodded, “and Sebastian is the lobster, yeah?”

Lily stopped walking and her hand fell away from his arm, “crab,” she corrected bluntly. “Sebastian is a crab.”

“Sure,” he smiled uneasily, letting his hands fall to his side. “A crab.”

Feeling very suspicious, Lily eyed James closely.

“They did teach you about Sebastian during training?”

“Yeah, they did, it’s just…”

“It’s just what?” She asked, feeling her eyes narrow.

“Well, it’s kind of hard to remember when…” he trailed off, not really looking at her.

“When?” Lily prompted.

“When you haven’t really seen what he looks like,” James finally said lowly, rubbing at the back of his neck.

“What?” She yelped, so loudly that Donald Duck and Goofy stopped to eye the two of them before moving on. “You haven’t seen The Little Mermaid? James, that’s like day one!”

“It was day five,” he disagreed weakly, obviously nervous due to her reaction. “I was ill so they said I could just watch it at home.”

“And?”

“And…I sort of…never did,” he admitted with a small shrug as Lily cursed him for being so attractive. It would be so much easier to be annoyed with him if she could stop staring at his gorgeous face.

“James, if McGonagall finds out you’ve never seen it, she will lose it!” Lily warned him, not wanting to picture the monumental explosion that would occur if that happened. What was worse: he’d probably get fired and then they’d need another new Eric and Lily couldn’t take the suspense of waiting to meet another new Prince. Plus, she was sort of growing fond of this one.

“Yeah, I got that impression when I met her.”

“I mean, you don’t even know how we met!” She persisted, shoving his shoulder lightly.

“I’m guessing in the sea?” He joked feebly, as Lily rolled her eyes.

“Unacceptable,” Lily said, folding her arms. “I am not letting you get fired over this.”

“Would you miss me, Princess?” James grinned, eyes sparkling.

“If you get fired they might bring Dave back,” Lily observed grimly, ignoring the flutter in her stomach that appeared when he obviously flirted with her, “and then I’d have to quit.”

“Okay, I will watch the movie…” James appeased her, shaking his head.

“Oh, you will watch that movie,” Lily ground out, stepping closer to him. “My number is on the staff call sheet. Text me your address. Next Sunday, I’m coming over and by the end of the day you will know the names, hair and fin colours of all my six sisters!”

------------------------

Of course, Lily hadn’t expected the teasing she ended up receiving from her fellow Princesses when she told them her weekend plans, which was probably quite naïve.

“You’re dating your Prince,” Marlene had giggled, Friday evening as they all de-wigged.

“I am not,” Lily protested ignoring their sceptical smirks. “I’m saving his job. And my sanity. Also, McGonagall changed the rules after Dave. No dating Princes! Remember?”

“Please,” Emmeline interjected dryly, “as if you haven’t noticed how hot he is.”

“Everyone has,” Mary said, saving Lily the trouble of dodging the question. “Did you see Bertha all over him in the canteen this afternoon?” She asked the group, as Lily felt her stomach twist unpleasantly. She hadn’t noticed that, being too preoccupied with the book she usually read at lunch.

“Yup,” Dorcas stated blithely, pulling off her wig to reveal flowing blonde hair with a fuchsia streak through it. “If he’s not careful, this is going to turn out to be another Prince Fuckboy sitch.”

“James is not Dave,” Lily inserted forcefully, taking off Ariel’s necklace and throwing it onto the counter. “He’s not going to behave like that.”

Embarrassed as she saw the girls exchanging knowing looks due to her outburst, Lily fixed an unconvincing smile onto her face. “He knows all about Dave and the drama and he’s aware of how horrible that all was,” she said calmly, “I doubt he’ll put us all through that again.”

Sensing an end to the conversation, Lily continued to unpin her wig, enjoying the wonderful feeling of removing the pins from her head. She undressed quickly and changed into her street uniform, before making her way to the door, saying goodbye to them all as she went.

“Well, we’re all here arguing over him,” she heard Emmeline say lowly to Marlene as she exited, “it sure feels like another Fuckboy situation.”

--------------------------------

Emmeline’s words from Friday night were still ringing in her ears as she walked to James’s apartment on Sunday afternoon. And of course, now she knew about Bertha, she had watched her all day Saturday doing the best she could to get James’s attention.

It shouldn’t have annoyed Lily and it was ridiculous that she felt in any way possessive of James. But watching Bertha flirt, smile and laugh her way through lunch with him stoked an ugly feeling in Lily that she soon recognised as jealousy.

Knowing that she needed to quell this before she herself was the instigator of drama, Lily resolved not to admire James anymore. In fact, as she crossed the street to the grey wooded building that she  thought was where he lived, Lily decided that she would not in any way fancy James and Bertha could have him if she liked.

Climbing the stairs and ringing the bell, Lily was happy in her determination…until James opened the door.

He was wearing glasses.

Fuck.

He had never worn glasses before. A bit like every other piece of clothing he decided to wear, the glasses looked unfairly good on him. She didn’t know what it was about them, but they finished his face beautifully – just in the way that she could picture taking them off to get a better look at his eyes. Maybe during a time when they were standing closer together. With as much energy as she could muster, Lily pushed this thought out of her head. She wasn’t allowed to date her cast mate.

Lily was about to apologise for standing awkwardly in silence in his doorway when she noticed that James seemed to be experiencing the same vocal block too, his eyes fixed on her.

“What?” She asked nervously, knowing that this wasn’t the most polite or graceful way to break the silence but she was desperate so it would have to do.

James swallowed, “oh, um…it’s nothing…it’s just…”

“Just?”

“Eh, your hair…and your, um…eyes,” he proceeded brokenly, his right hand slipping into his hair as Lily wondered what it would be like to run her fingers through it, “I’ve never seen you without…”

He trailed off again, his eyes doing another sweep of her face as Lily reminded herself to breathe.

“I can’t believe they make you wear a wig and contacts,” he finally managed after another swallow.

“Well, you know,” Lily shrugged, feeling her cheeks turn red, “I have to look like her,” she said, holding up the DVD box with Ariel on the front. “Ready for your homework?”

With a jerky smile, James brought her into his flat, closing the door after her.

“You know, I had to borrow a DVD player from my mom,” James said as he followed her into the living room.

“Well that’s your fault for getting rid of an essential piece of technology,” Lily scolded him, dropping her bag beside the couch before sitting down.

“Pfft,” James snorted, taking the DVD off her, “we definitely could’ve just streamed it.”

“My fair merlady,” Lily heard a booming voice echo from behind her, “welcome to our most humble abode.”

“Sirius,” Lily grinned, hoping off the couch and running around to greet him, as Sirius performed a deep bow before grabbing her hand and kissing the back of it.

“Captain Hook, Princess,” Sirius corrected politely in his flawless English accent.

“We spent an hour deciding if he could speak to you normally,” James said from behind them, not sounding impressed.

“You should not complain,” Sirius responded with an edge to his voice, “remember, it was I who provided the popped corn.”

“Are you joining us, Captain?” Lily asked.

“Alas, no,” Sirius replied, as James let out a ‘thank god’ over their shoulders. “I am expecting a duel with that wretched boy Pan this week and so must practice my fencing.”

“He’s going to the gym,” James translated as Lily heard the opening tones of the movie echo from the tv.

“Adieu, my dear,” Sirius called as he strode out of the apartment, gym bag in hand.

“I couldn’t live without him, but if I could, I would’ve killed him by now,” James said without prompting as Lily joined him on the couch.

“Shhhhh,” Lily hissed, poking him in the elbow, as the Disney castle appeared on the screen. “I can promise you there will be a quiz after this.”

James surprised Lily by being fairly quiet throughout the opening scenes of the movie, save for the occasional comment: “her father’s a dick,”… “he definitely looks like a lobster,” and various other observations which made her laugh.

“He’s a crab and you best remember that,” she warned.

“As if it matters…”

“Shhhh,” she quieted him again, knowing what was coming as Ariel swam towards the surface and fireworks exploded from the ship. “Oh my god,” she breathed as Eric came into view, his dog Max bounding around the deck. “This is the best part of the movie.”

“You think he’s attractive?” James asked, sounding unimpressed and she could tell he was watching her.

“Eh…yeah, I’m not blind,” Lily answered emphatically

“I suppose he’s alright…for a cartoon,” James retorted and she couldn’t help but smile at his miffed tone.

“Disney have a really random record of drawing ridiculously hot people,” she told him, still enjoying the view of Eric. “Besides, you should take it as a compliment,” she added thoughtlessly, cringing when she realised what she had said.

“Oh, so, because you think he’s hot that must mean you think I am?” James replied, sounding remarkably happier as he turned his whole body to her.

Trying to regain her composure, Lily shrugged, “Eric is generally regarded as one of the better looking Disney Princes…by everyone.”

With a brief grin, James felt silent and turned back to the movie.

“He’s clearly a shit sailor if his ship is sinking.”

“He’s a Prince and there was a storm…what do you want him to do?”

They watched in silence until the moment when Ariel had rescued Eric and was trying to revive him on the shore. As she sang to him, Lily unconsciously started to sing along quietly, as she had been doing ever since she had first watched the movie.

To her left, she heard a soft noise which broke her out of her daydream.

“Sorry,” she said, looking over to James to see him watching her again. “Old habit.”

“Don’t be,” he replied kindly, a crooked smile about his mouth, “you can sing.”

“Thanks,” she said awkwardly, not really knowing what to say.

“Why don’t you sing at work?”

“We’re not allowed,” Lily advised, “we’re specifically told not to sing. Did you pay attention at all during training?”

With a guilty shrug, James replied, “I still don’t get why you can’t sing.”

“I guess they want the kids to hear the songs the way they remember them,” she went on, “which I understand. I know I play her but Jodi Benson will always be Ariel to me.”

“Oh, she’s going to do something stupid to be with the stupid hot Prince, isn’t she?” James winced now watching the movie again.

“Can you blame her?”

The movie continued and James revelled in his correct prediction, yelling loudly at Ariel not to sign Ursula’s contract much to Lily’s amusement.

“There is no way in hell that would be legally binding!”

Now feeling a bit bolder, Lily sang her way through the rest of the songs with James laughing along until they both fell quiet at ‘Kiss the Girl”.

“Noooooo!” James howled when Flotsam and Jetsam overturned the boat Eric and Ariel were sitting in. “Fuck those eels!”

Nearly crying with laughter, Lily patted him on the arm, “I hate those things,” she consoled.

“I have never been so annoyed,” he announced, glaring at the television screen. “Why didn’t they just kiss?!”

“We’re only just half way through the movie, they couldn’t kiss now.”

James sat and pouted unhappily as the movie went on, only making another noise when Vanessa – Ursula’s human alter ego – appeared, “hello,” he let out lowly, his eyebrows dancing, as she slinked onto the screen.

“Hey!” Lily cried, feeling an unwarranted level of outrage. “Don’t you ‘hello’ her! She’s evil! She’s trying to distract you from Ariel. You can’t find her attractive!”

“Oh, so you can think cartoon Eric is hot but I can’t think evil Ariel is?”

“Eric is hot but he’s not evil! If Eric had an evil twin, I wouldn’t be ‘hello-ing’ all over him!”

“Look, you can’t deny she’s good looking,” James placated her, gesturing to Vanessa on the screen as Lily harrumphed, “but will it make you feel better if I say she’s not a patch on Ariel?”

“All I am asking is that you show a little loyalty to your wife,” Lily said evenly. “That witch has her voice!”

“I cannot believe we are arguing over which cartoon is hotter.”

“Well, you work at Disney now, Potter. Get used to it.”

Again, they fell silent as the movie played on and they watched as Ursula was discovered, defeated and Eric and Ariel married in their happily ever after.

“You know, you’re right. I didn’t like Vanessa so much by the end,” James conceded lowly, stretching out now that the film was over.

“Told you,” Lily gloated. “And at least now, if McGonagall asks, you can honestly say you’ve watched it.”

“Very true,” he agreed, “and I now also know the names of all assorted sentient fish and crustaceans. Thanks for taking the time to make sure I don’t get fired,” he smiled earnestly.

“You’re welcome,” she replied, hoping to sound normal as her heart started to thud against her chest.

“Did you do this with Dave?” He asked, fixing her with a look that wasn’t helping Lily at all.

Lily laughed, “no,” she breathed. “But I’m sure Dave watched the movie during training.”

“Bad luck, Dave.”

Her stomach now tingling, Lily knew she had to remove herself from his couch before she found herself in a tricky position.

“I should go,” she smiled tightly, getting to her feet to remove the DVD.

“Okay,” James said, moving after her. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning?”

“Yeah,” she said, walking towards the door. “As long as you can recognise me.”

“As if I’d forget you, Princess,” he winked, making Lily curse herself for flirting with him when she had promised she wouldn’t. “Unless, Vanessa is there, of course.”

She had just enough time to yelp in outrage before he closed the door cackling.

------------------

Working with James was easy. Working with James whilst trying not to fancy him was not so easy.

“Even with the blue contacts in he looks good,” she overheard Mary observe.

“His real eyes are nicer though,” Emmeline replied and all the girls in their dressing room agreed.

“You’re being awfully quiet, Evans,” Marlene cut in, sweeping past Lily’s dressing space whilst Lily was unbuttoning her gown.

“I’m not being quiet, I’m trying to get out of this stupid dress so I can go home!” Lily stressed, inwardly knowing that the reason she was dying to go home was so she wouldn’t have to hear them talk about James.

“Oh, don’t be in such a huff!” Marlene retorted, turning Lily around to do her buttons for her. “No one here actually fancies him. Except you. And Bertha, of course.”

“I do not fancy him,” Lily replied, despising how childish and ridiculous she sounded. “I agree he has nice eyes, but he’s my cast mate and that’s all.”

“Poor James,” Marlene said, giggling along with the rest of the girls, “he’ll be devastated to hear that.”

“Oh, would you stop?” Lily hissed. “You’re just talking nonsense now!”

“You can’t see the way he looks at you up on that float, I can!”

“I don’t know if you’re aware, but being a good actor is one of the requirements to work here. As is keeping your mitts off your fellow employees!”

“Sorry to interrupt what is clearly an important conversation,” Dorcas cut in dryly, “but has McGonagall spoken to you all about this Buzzfeed thing?”

“Yes,” Mary replied as the rest of the group all echoed her. “It’s this Sunday, we’re bringing our own costumes but there’ll be hair and makeup there.”

“And why are we doing this again?”

“More advertising apparently,” Mary told her as she hung up her costume. “Buzzfeed are obsessed with the Princesses so they want some shoot to show us all off to their readers.”

“Sounds wonderful,” Dorcas droned, rolling her eyes. “All I needed was an excuse to spend another day dressed for the alpines.”

“Are the guys coming?” Emmeline asked, now styling her own hair.

“Yes, we are,” a voice sounded from outset the dressing room as they all jumped, “also, can I come in? I need to speak to Lily.”

Eyes widening when she realised it was James, Lily yelled back, “just a minute,” as she started to undress quickly. “If he heard what any of you said, I will put fairy dust in all of your wig caps,” she hissed quietly, eyeballing them all before pulling on her shorts and t-shirt.

“Drama queen,” Marlene shot back, striding to the dressing room door and pulling it open once Lily was dressed. “Enter at your own peril, Potter,” she greeted James, “everyone is feeling very Princessey today.

Ignoring Marlene, Lily walked towards James. “What?” She asked very abruptly, seizing up inwardly at her rudeness but she could feel the eyes of the rest of the group on them.

James watched her a bit uncertainly before beginning, “so, one day, I will manage this dance without injuring you,” he half-laughed, folding him arms, presumably from her forced coldness.

“It’s fine, James,” she sighed, not at him, but because of the total silence in the dressing room as they talked.

“Maybe you guys should practice,” Emmeline put in cheerfully and Marlene exchanged a grin with her.

Lily shot her a look.

“Actually, that was what I was going to suggest,” James replied awkwardly, hand in his hair. “Unless, you have somewhere to be?”

“She has nowhere to be,” Marlene smiled, walking back to her own table. “I know because we have big plans to go home and watch Queer Eye at mine.”

Knowing that she wasn’t getting out of this without a serious amount of effort and really not wanting to offend James anymore than she probably already had, Lily didn’t bother to object. And they did need to practice.

“Great,” James smiled, still sounding a little uncertain.

Walking towards him, Lily let her hands drift upwards, one to his shoulder and the other into his waiting hand.

“We don’t have to…here,” he said to her quietly, as his arm came around her waist.

“It’s fine,” Lily reassured again, giving him a tight smile. At least this way, her cast mates could see there wasn’t anything there.

But as he pulled her a little closer and their chests met, Lily felt her heart start to beat rapidly. Did he always hold her this closely?

“You move forward first,” she said lowly, stealing herself with the hand on his shoulder.

“Yeah,” he confirmed, equally quiet.

After a short pause, Lily counted them in, her eyes on their feet.

They managed the first set of four…and then the second. And then the third. But then James stopped.

“You can do it fine in here,” she observed, giving him a small smile.

“Well, it’s not exactly parade conditions,” Dorcas pointed out.

“Would you…” James started, before stopping.

“What?”

“I need you to look at me,” he told her with a reluctant smile, “I think I’ve worked out that’s where the problem is.”

Lily felt, rather than saw, their audience exchange looks.

“Okay,” she agreed after a deep breath. And as she counted them in, she raised her eyes to lock on his.

After two moves, James stood on her left foot.

“Try again,” Lily said immediately, not wanting to give anyone a chance to comment.

She counted once more and they moved back, side, forward, side…She raised her eyes to his and immediately, James tripped.

“Shit, sorry,” he breathed, eyes and arms dropping away from her as his face coloured red.

“It’s okay,” Lily said kindly, unable to stop the butterflies swarming in her stomach.

“Evans is known for her amazing eyes,” Dorcas interjected pleasantly, “I wouldn’t beat yourself up, Potter.”

“Then how come it still happens when you’ve got contacts in?” James asked lightly, quietly enough that only he and Lily could hear. And then he gave her one of those smiles that made her all her limbs feel weak.

“I don’t have to look at you,” Lily offered as a solution.

James shook his head, “no, we’re in love,” he replied quickly before realisation crept onto his face and he laughed steadily amongst the titters in the room, “Eric and Ariel are in love,” he clarified modestly, not really looking at her. “When you’re in love, you look at each other.”

Their eyes met again.

“Exactly like that,” Marlene cut through and though Lily kept her eyes on James, she could tell her friend was grinning. “You guys are such great actors.”

Between that remark and the thudding of her heart, Lily had to move away.

“Maybe we can practice at lunch tomorrow,” she suggested, walking away from him.

“Yeah,” he agreed, “that sounds good. I won’t take up more of your time now.”

“Bye James,” Emmeline called and Lily heard the dressing room door close over her shoulder.

“Wow, Lil’,” Marlene started, “practice at lunchtime tomorrow. What a great way to stop Bertha from getting anywhere near him.”

Lily chucked her beauty blender at her.

-----------------------------

As it turned out, Lily did not see James at lunchtime the next day.

She had awoken in the middle of the night with a fever which, at the time she had related to the rather interesting dream he had been having about James. But, by the next morning, she had a permanent lump stuck in her throat, found it hard to swallow and felt weak and cold all over.

After she called in sick to McGonagall, she just about made it to the doctors without fainting. Upon hearing the hoarseness in her voice, it took the doctor all of three minutes to diagnose her with laryngitis.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if your voice goes completely,” was her final word as Lily traipsed out of the office. “Should be over in two weeks. Plenty of bed rest, lots of water and no talking, okay?”

It occurred to Lily as she made her way home that she probably still could go into work if she wanted. That’s what Sirius would do. If she was method, that’s what she’d do too.

Unfortunately, her fever and dizziness overtook her before she was able to even progress that thought and Lily was again lucky to make it to her bed in time to pass out for the rest of the day.

When she woke up again on Tuesday night, she found several messages on her phone from Marlene and Dorcas objecting to her sick day and demanding that she return to work tomorrow. Lily let them know she was ill and probably wouldn’t be in for the rest of the week before promptly falling asleep again.

It wasn’t until Sunday morning, when she had progressed to being able to make herself soup and toast, that Lily was reminded of the Buzzfeed article.

She was busy peering over the toaster wondering when it would pop, when her phone rang.

Answering it before remembering that she couldn’t talk, Lily jumped to hear James’s voice at the end of the line.

“Hello?” His voice echoed down the telephone, “hello? Lily? I’m not sure if this is a voicemail…”

Lily was contemplating hanging up and sending him a text to explain when James continued to talk.

“Marlene said you were sick…I’m sorry for ringing you when you’re not well but…well, we’re down at this Buzzfeed thing and McGonagall has assigned Bertha to be Ariel…”

Lily nearly dropped the phone.

“…and well…this is stupid…but it sort of feels like Vanessa is here instead of Ariel. And I remembered what you said about loyalty to my wife so…so I just wanted to say that. And to say it feels weird doing this without you.”

She held onto the counter, nearly breathless to hear what he would say next.

“Anyway, if you can get here…I know you’re sick so don’t if you can’t…but if you can, we could do the shoot with the real Ariel. So yeah. That’s all I wanted to say. Bye.”

By the time the toast had popped, Lily had brushed her hair, teeth and was downstairs waiting on her uber.

---------------------------------

“I thought you were sick!”

Marlene was the first to greet her after she had made it into the photo shoot.

She’d already had to use her phone to type out her issue for the security guard and doorman and so she just handed it to Marlene, note already open.

“You’ve lost your voice?’’

Lily nodded.

“Brilliant!” Marlene laughed, “do you need me to explain forks too?”

Lily glared at her until Marlene relented and took her by the arm.

“They were going to let Bertha do Ariel – of course she was dying to – but now you’re here, there’s no way they’ll go to the bother of changing her from Elsa to Ariel,” Marlene chatted as she guided Lily through the studio.

As they walked Lily observed Dorcas and Dirk, arm in arm in the setting of a snowy mountain.

“I’ll sort this with McGonagall,” Marlene continued as they walked to the make-up and hair area, “you just get ready. They’re doing you and James after B&B so you still have a while to go.”

Marlene brought her up to a man who was in the middle of styling Mary’s hair.

“This is Lily, Fabian,” she announced.

“Lily!” Mary greeted, sounding a bit giddy.

“She’s Ariel. She’s lost her voice,” Marlene said loudly, as Fabian and Mary regarded her with amazement.

“Oh my God,” Fabian said, his hands falling away from Mary’s hair. “Really?”

Lily nodded exaggeratedly, struggling not to roll her eyes.

“You’re not contagious are you?” Mary asked uncertainty, after her smile had faded.

“Benjy!” Fabian yelled, saving Lily the trouble of telling Mary she might be but she wasn’t going to let an infectious disease stop her from saving Ariel from Bertha. “Get over here!”

A skinny blond man in glasses sauntered over to the group, leaving behind the photographer he had been speaking with.

“Yeah?”

“This is Ariel,” Fabian informed him excitedly, clapping Lily on the shoulder.

“Nice to meet you,” Benjy said pleasantly, holding out his hand. “I’m Buzzfeed’s social editor.”

“Ben, she can’t answer you.”

“Oh yeah?”

“She’s lost her voice,” Fabian managed, practically buzzing with the news.

Suddenly Benji’s whole face changed, from slightly stressed young reporter to the same fevered astounded expression that Fabian was wearing.

“No shit,” he breathed, “really?”

Lily nodded.

“You can’t talk at all?”

Lily shook her head, feeling more and more sympathy with Ariel with each passing minute.

“Fucking brilliant,” Benji celebrated, grabbing her shoulders.

“You should film this,” Fabian announced, moving back to Mary and beginning to work on her hair again. “That would be amazing.”

“Yes, yes, yes,” Benji agreed, “would you mind?”

“You should probably check with McGonagall first,” Marlene suggested, pointing at their manager who was giving directions to the photographer whilst Dorcas fanned herself.

“Sure, sure,” the journalist noted, not sounding too concerned, “will someone get her into her costume,” he called, as he strode back across the room. “I want to do this asap.”

Thinking that she might hurry the process along by putting on her own wig, Lily erased the note on her phone and simply typed out ‘wig?’ before showing it to Marlene.

“What does she want?” Fabian asked absentmindedly.

“She wants to know where her wig is,” Marlene answered, causing Fabian to swivel away from Mary again in outrage.

“They make you wear a wig?!”

After Fabian had recovered from realising Lily wasn’t allowed to have her natural hair, he decided to take matters into his own hands.

“I’m in charge of the shoot styling, and I say, you’re using your own hair.”

Not really in a position to argue, Lily had watched as they transformed her hair from a curly, frizzy nightmare to long, flowing and bouncing waves that fell perfectly around her face and over her shoulders. She’d never seen her hair look so good. And sure, it wasn’t Ariel’s colour, but it was close.

Whilst her hair was being transformed, another stylist had appeared to apply her make up. Lily was used to wearing Ariel’s make up but she wasn’t used to having it tweaked to suit her own eye colour. It was the smallest of changes to the eyeshadow but suddenly, the make up fit her perfectly. As she watched herself in the mirror, it was as though she was somewhere halfway between herself and her cartoon counterpart.

“You look amazing,” Fabian appraised, still playing with the ends of her hair. “I can’t wait to see you in the tail.”

Not having heard this news before, Lily’s whole face lit up – her eyebrows jumping into her hairline.

“She gets the wear the tail?” Dorcas yelped, appearing out of nowhere and into Lily’s mirror.

“Of course!” Fabian said, causing Dorcas to clap. “We’re doing the scene after Ariel rescues Eric and brings him to the beach. You can’t be a mermaid without your tail!”

Finally pleased with her hair, Fabian moved away to Emma with one final squeeze of Lily’s shoulders.

“James Potter is about to lose his damn mind,” Dorcas whispered into Lily’s ear as they both grinned.

With this thought ringing in her ears, Lily made her way to the costume section to look for her tail. Finding Ariel’s costume wasn’t hard and she found putting on the bra and top part of her tail like slipping into an old pair of pyjamas.

“Ariel! We’re ready for you.”

Hearing the photographer calling her, Lily managed to signal to Dorcas (now in her civilian clothes) and hand her the fin.

“Here, I’ll walk with you,” she said, taking Lily’s elbow to help her balance.

They moved slowly and steadily towards the main stage and in the distance, Lily saw James, in full costume, lying down on the set, eyes towards the ceiling.

Her heart gave a quick thump.

“You really like him,” Dorcas observed quietly, squeezing Lily’s arm. “Your whole breathing changed when you saw him,” she explained, after Lily gave her a questioning look.

Ignoring that, and not really caring that Dorcas was right, Lily continued to wiggle her way to the set.

“Ariel has arrived,” Dorcas announced to the room, shocking Lily and causing all the heads in the room to snap to her.

And just as James lifted his head to see her, suddenly Dorcas was nowhere to be found.

“Wow,” she heard him breathe as their eyes met and she saw the look of pure attraction come onto his face.

“She looks good, right Potter?” Dorcas called teasingly, and Lily quickly became aware that not only were they being watched, but Benji was currently filming with a handheld camera.

“I can’t believe I’m getting paid to do this,” James responded softly, his eyes never moving from hers as the room laughed.  

“Oh my god, they’re not together, are they?”she heard Benji say to Dorcas.

“Okay, Ariel, if you could just lie down beside Eric,” the photographer cut in.

Feeling a little ridiculous as she wobbled over to James, Lily just about managed to get to her knees when James’s arms came up to her elbows to steady her. With effort, she placed her body in between his arm and his elbow, head hanging over his. “Hi,” he said lowly to her, in his own sweet tone and Lily could only smile. “Marlene tells me you’ve lost your voice?”

She nodded earnestly and he smiled in response, causing her to blush when he pushed one side of her hair over her shoulder.

“So…was that you on the phone earlier or...?”

Again, Lily nodded.

“Right,” James coughed, “sorry for calling. I just…”

Managing to interrupt him by shaking her head, Lily gave his forearm a quick squeeze.

“Anna, can you attach her tail?” The photographer asked Dorcas.

“I’m on it!”

“Right, so everyone knows the scene. Eric is passed out, Ariel, you’ve just saved him from death. He’s the most beautiful human you’ve ever seen and this is where you decide you’ll do whatever it takes to be with him.”

Lily nodded to acknowledge she’d heard as she held up her feet for Dorcas.

“Just smile, play with his hair…you know – the usual.”

With one final look, James let his head fall backwards and his eyes close.

“Music!” The photographer called and Lily heard the refrain of ‘Part of Your World’ sweep around the room.

Deciding that the only way to do this without her heart beating out of her chest was to be completely method, Lily did her best to pretend that no one else was in the room as her hands moved to James’s hair. The quirk of the left side of his mouth was the only sign on James’s face that she had touched him.

Smiling down at him, Lily flipped her tail and moved her fingers down past his eyebrow, over his cheekbone and down to his jaw, suppressing a full grin when James inhaled deeply.

In the distance, she could hear the sound of the camera clicking furiously.

“Okay, Eric, we’re going to try a few with you awake, so open your eyes.”

Lily’s breathing skipped when her eyes met James’s hazel ones and she almost forgot she was supposed to be acting.

“Heh,” the odd sound he made before swallowing thickly.

Lily looked at him quizzically.

“I’ve just remembered how we get your voice back,” he explained, eyes pouring into hers as the music swelled and his hand drifted into her hair.

She probably should have stopped him, given that they were surrounded by all of their work colleagues, but with absolutely no desire to, Lily’s eyes fluttered closed as their lips met.

He kissed her tenderly and so softly that Lily, wanting more of him, pressed herself down against him as James’s left arm encircled her waist. She revelled in the feeling of his lips against hers, her hair falling down around them and shading them from the eyes of the rest of the room.

It was only after silence rang out around them as the music stopped that they broke apart, eyes meeting each other again. Lily couldn’t help the small smile that crept onto her face when she saw the look James was giving her.

He had just swept her hair behind her ear, when a loud wolf-whistle echoed around the set.

“Well, did it work?” Marlene shrieked, removing her hands from her mouth.

With a quick glance at James, Lily tried to speak…and what came out was a garbled, hoarse cough and the most horrid sound she had ever made.

The entire room exploded in laughter, except for James who was still smiling up at her.

“Oh well,” he said quietly, nudging her nose with his, “guess we’ll just have to keep trying.”

And then Lily remembered that McGonagall was in the room. And oh fuck, James had just kissed her in front of her boss.

Gesturing for someone to come and take the tail and help her up, Lily tried to look everywhere but James whilst also avoiding McGonagall as well.

“I got you,” she heard Marlene say from behind her and soon after her feet were free. “Dressing room?” She asked urgently, as she helped Lily to her feet. “That was the hottest fucking kiss I have ever seen,” Marlene told her quietly, as they stumbled towards the back.

Lily had so many questions running through her head – mainly did McGonagall look like she was going to eat them alive – that she wasn’t able to focus on how great the kiss had been.

When they reached the backstage area, she lowered herself into her seat and tried not to panic.

“Look, don’t freak out,” Marlene reassured her, catching sight of Lily’s expression, “you can say you were just acting.”

Lily was about to respond when she saw James coming after them, jogging lightly.

“On a scale of one to ten, how stupid was that?” He asked, seemingly directing the query at Marlene but looking at Lily.

“Probably a ten,” Marlene answered.

“Can I have a minute to chat with Lily, please?”

“Nope, you’ll need me to translate.”

Lily squeezed her arm and Marlene sighed.

“Okay, fine, but I want all the details later, you hear?”

As Marlene left, Lily felt her heart start to beat rapidly again. Fuck, she liked this boy way too much. Enough that she was endangering her job just to kiss him.

“Okay, it kind of sucks that you can’t talk,” James started, pulling a seat around to face her, “because I can’t tell if you’re mad or not. Are you?”

Not able to stop a smile appearing at his nervous bashfulness, Lily shook her head.

“Good,” he breathed, breaking out into a grin, “because I’ve been thinking about kissing you for three weeks and I really want to do it again.”

Feeling the butterflies swooping around her stomach, Lily’s smile widened.

“I checked the staff rules a couple of weeks ago” James continued, letting his hand come out to fall onto hers, “and apparently, I can’t ask you out.”

Again, Lily nodded.

“So, basically what I wanted to check was if it would be coming on too strong to quit and then ask you out?”

“Yes, it would be, Potter,” a voice said as they both jumped. “I would have at least suggested starting some form of clandestine relationship before resorting to quitting,” Minerva said, glaring down at them both, “or I would have before you kissed Evans in front of the entire cast.”

“Eh, yeah, sorry about that…”

“And stop looking so worried, Evans,” she continued briskly, “no one is going to quit.”

“What?” James asked, his hand still firm on top of hers.

“The rule about dating was put in place after the Dave debacle,” McGonagall explained, “to deter similar behaviour and to prevent us losing half the cast. We’re not going to fire either of you for dating each other. Particularly, when you’ve been driving the entire Park insane with your ridiculous flirting.”

“We weren’t that ridiculous,” James said quietly, looking a bit peeved.

“I’m also assured by Benji that the footage of you both this afternoon is certain to go ‘totally viral’ – it would be illogical for Disney to fire it’s two most popular cast mates.”

“Right,” he noted, his eyes meeting Lily’s. “Does that mean we can kiss in the Park?”

“Not a chance, Potter,” Minerva replied, “you’ll have to help Evans get her voice back on your own time.” And with that, and a wink, she swept away, back towards the set where Jasmine was scolding Aladdin.

“Worth a shot,” James grinned, standing up. Eyes dancing, he leant forward and pressed a quick but meaningful kiss to her lips. “Well that seems to be that sorted,” he said against her lips, pulling back a little to let his forehead fall against hers, “so, what do you think, Evans? Go out with me?”

Still reeling from the surprise kiss, and with her hand clasping his, Lily smiled up at him.

“Yes.”

[monstrousgourmandizingcats]

The always-delightful @itsallwearecalledtodo tagged me to answer these  questions, and then tag some blogs I’d like to know better.

Nickname: Other than one that only a few people are allowed to use and that I don’t want to reveal publicly, I have a friend who calls me “Aneki”, which is a pun on the Japanese pronunciation of my actual first name, and my best friend’s kid sister briefly called me “Monster Mash”.

Star sign: I’m aware that I’m an Aries, and of what some of the Aries stereotypes are, but I don’t actually like. believe in it, at all

Height: 6′3″

Last film I saw: Mary Poppins Returns

Favorite musician: Florence and the Machine, Mark Knopfler, Metric, Loreena McKennitt, Marina and the Diamonds, Taylor Swift, The Oh Hellos, Leonard Cohen, plus a bunch of long-dead traditional pop singers.

Song stuck in my head: "I Can’t Decide” by the Scissor Sisters because I’m edgy 2000s kid trash at heart.

Other blogs I like: I refuse to answer this question, to protect the guilty.

Do I get asks?: From time to time, yeah.

Blogs following?: 1,250

What am I wearing?: A green flannel shirt with an ugly zigzaggy sweater on top and brown slacks.

Dream job: ESL teacher and translator, which I’m in the process of starting to seriously pursue.

Dream trip: From Britain through Europe and the Mediterranean to the Levant, then north into Russia, then along the Trans-Siberian Railroad all the way to Vladivostok, across the Sea of Japan by ferry, and then all over Japan before returning home.

Play any instruments: Piano!

Languages: English, Japanese to an extent, Italian to a much more limited extent.

Favorite food: Currently, spiced Harwich hermits, which are an old-timey bar cookie that Cape Cod sea captains used to eat.

Tagging @missfortune1977, @medeasfleece, @marzipanandminutiae, @lilaccatholic, @paula-of-christ, @spaceageboudicca, and whoever else would like to.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 7.18

477 BC – Battle of the Cremera as part of the Roman–Etruscan Wars. Veii ambushes and defeats the Roman army. 387 BC – Roman-Gaulish Wars: Battle of the Allia: A Roman army is defeated by raiding Gauls, leading to the subsequent sacking of Rome. 362 – Roman–Persian Wars: Emperor Julian arrives at Antioch with a Roman expeditionary force (60,000 men) and stays there for nine months to launch a campaign against the Persian Empire. 452 – Sack of Aquileia: After an earlier defeat on the Catalaunian Plains, Attila lays siege to the metropolis of Aquileia and eventually destroys it. 645 – Chinese forces under general Li Shiji besiege the strategic fortress city of Anshi (Liaoning) during the Goguryeo–Tang War. 1195 – Battle of Alarcos: Almohad forces defeat the Castilian army of Alfonso VIII and force its retreat to Toledo. 1290 – King Edward I of England issues the Edict of Expulsion, banishing all Jews (numbering about 16,000) from England; this was Tisha B'Av on the Hebrew calendar, a day that commemorates many Jewish calamities. 1334 – The bishop of Florence blesses the first foundation stone for the new campanile (bell tower) of the Florence Cathedral, designed by the artist Giotto di Bondone. 1389 – France and England agree to the Truce of Leulinghem, inaugurating a 13-year peace, the longest period of sustained peace during the Hundred Years' War. 1391 – Tokhtamysh–Timur war: Battle of the Kondurcha River: Timur defeats Tokhtamysh of the Golden Horde in present-day southeast Russia. 1507 – In Brussels, Prince Charles I is crowned Duke of Burgundy and Count of Flanders, a year after inheriting the title. 1555 – The College of Arms is reincorporated by Royal charter signed by Queen Mary I of England and King Philip II of Spain. 1806 – A gunpowder magazine explosion in Birgu, Malta, kills around 200 people. 1812 – The Treaties of Orebro end both the Anglo-Russian and Anglo-Swedish Wars. 1841 – Coronation of Emperor Pedro II of Brazil. 1857 – Louis Faidherbe, French governor of Senegal, arrives to relieve French forces at Kayes, effectively ending El Hajj Umar Tall's war against the French. 1862 – First ascent of Dent Blanche, one of the highest summits in the Alps. 1863 – American Civil War: Second Battle of Fort Wagner: One of the first formal African American military units, the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, supported by several white regiments, attempts an unsuccessful assault on Confederate-held Battery Wagner. 1870 – The First Vatican Council decrees the dogma of papal infallibility. 1872 – The Ballot Act 1872 in the United Kingdom introduced the requirement that parliamentary and local government elections be held by secret ballot. 1914 – The U.S. Congress forms the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps, giving official status to aircraft within the U.S. Army for the first time. 1925 – Adolf Hitler publishes Mein Kampf. 1936 – On the Spanish mainland, a faction of the army supported by fascists, rises up against the Second Spanish Republic in a coup d'état starting the 3-year-long Civil War, resulting in the longest dictatorship in modern European history. 1942 – World War II: During the Beisfjord massacre in Norway, 15 Norwegian paramilitary guards help members of the SS to kill 288 political prisoners from Yugoslavia. 1942 – The Germans test fly the Messerschmitt Me 262 using its jet engines for the first time. 1944 – World War II: Hideki Tōjō resigns as Prime Minister of Japan because of numerous setbacks in the war effort. 1966 – Human spaceflight: Gemini 10 is launched from Cape Kennedy on a 70-hour mission that includes docking with an orbiting Agena target vehicle. 1966 – A racially charged incident in a bar sparks the six-day Hough riots in Cleveland, Ohio; 1,700 Ohio National Guard troops intervene to restore order. 1968 – Intel is founded in Mountain View, California. 1976 – Nadia Comăneci becomes the first person in Olympic Games history to score a perfect 10 in gymnastics at the 1976 Summer Olympics. 1982 – Two hundred sixty-eight Guatemalan campesinos ("peasants" or "country people") are slain in the Plan de Sánchez massacre. 1981 – A Canadair CL-44 and Sukhoi Su-15 collide in mid-air near Yerevan, Armenia, killing four. 1984 – McDonald's massacre in San Ysidro, California: In a fast-food restaurant, James Oliver Huberty opens fire, killing 21 people and injuring 19 others before being shot dead by police. 1992 – A picture of Les Horribles Cernettes was taken, which became the first ever photo posted to the World Wide Web. 1994 – The bombing of the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (Argentine Jewish Community Center) in Buenos Aires kills 85 people (mostly Jewish) and injures 300. 1994 – Rwandan genocide: The Rwandan Patriotic Front takes control of Gisenyi and north western Rwanda, forcing the interim government into Zaire and ending the genocide. 1995 – On the Caribbean island of Montserrat, the Soufrière Hills volcano erupts. Over the course of several years, it devastates the island, destroying the capital, forcing most of the population to flee. 1996 – Storms provoke severe flooding on the Saguenay River, beginning one of Quebec's costliest natural disasters ever. 1996 – Battle of Mullaitivu: The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam capture the Sri Lanka Army's base, killing over 1,200 soldiers. 2002 – A Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer crashes near Estes Park, Colorado, killing both crew members. 2012 – At least seven people are killed and 32 others are injured after a bomb explodes on an Israeli tour bus at Burgas Airport, Bulgaria. 2013 – The Government of Detroit, with up to $20 billion in debt, files for the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. 2014 – The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant requires Christians to either accept dhimmi status, emigrate from ISIL lands, or be killed. 2019 – A man sets fire to an anime studio in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Japan, killing at least 35 people and injuring dozens of others.

[papermoonloveslucy]

LUCY: 40 YEARS OF TELEVISION

1974

A big year for Lucille Ball.  After six seasons, “Here’s Lucy” wraps up and Ball returns to movies with “Mame.”  To promote the film, and her first network special, Lucille goes on a publicity tour of talk shows!

"Lucy Is a Bird-Sitter" (HL S6;E15) ~ January 7, 1974

Arte Johnson plays an eccentric ornithologist, but the real star here is a flock of live pigeons, one of which is named Floyd, a rare Tongan Ruby Throated Weewawk.  

"Meanwhile, Back at the Office" (HL S6;E16) ~ January 14, 1974

This was the last episode shot for “Here’s Lucy,” but it was decided not to use it as the series finale. Harry sells the Agency and Kim dresses as a little old lady with a pet lion!  

"Lucy Is N.G. as an R.N." (HL S6;E17) ~ January 21, 1974

When everyone gets sick at the same time, it is up to Lucy to nurse (R.N.) them back to health. Unsurprisingly, she is no good (N.G.) at it!  

"Lucy, the Sheriff" (HL S6;E18) ~ January 28, 1974

This is director Coby Ruskin’s last episode. Lucille takes over as Director during the rehearsal process and fires Ruskin. Lucille Ball’s grandmother’s name, Flora Belle Orcutt, is used as Lucy Carter’s great-grandmother’s name in this episode. “I Love Lucy” cast members Mary Wickes, Florence Halop, and Ross Elliott are in the cast.  

"Milton Berle Is the Life of the Party" (HL S6;E19) ~ February 11, 1974

Lucy’s parties are a bore, so she calls a telethon to make a very low bid on Milton Berle to attend her next soiree. There was no new episode of “Here’s Lucy” on Monday, February 4, 1974. Director Jack Donohue replaces Coby Ruskin. 

"Mary Jane's Boyfriend" (HL S6;E20) ~ February 18, 1974

This is the only episode of this series to feature a story dependent on Mary Jane Croft’s character of Mary Jane Lewis.

"Lucy and Phil Harris Strikes Up the Band" (HL S6;E21) ~ February 25, 1974

Singer / Bandleader Phil Harris plays himself. An ad lib by Harris manages to make Lucille Ball break character on camera. In a musical segment they sing his signature tune “That’s What I Like About the South.” 

"Lucy Carter Meets Lucille Ball" (HL S6;E22) ~ March 4, 1974 

In a memorably meta episode, Lucy meets Lucy. This show was timed to coincide with the opening of Mame.  Lucie Arnaz and Carole Cook also are finalists in the ‘Lucille Ball Look-Alike Contest.’ Gary Morton plays himself. 

“The Dick Cavett Show” ~ March 7, 1974

Ostensibly promoting Mame, this Dick Cavett’s interview turns into a review of Lucille Ball’s career. 

"Where Is My Wandering Mother Tonight?" (HL S6;E23) ~ March 11, 1974

Staying at Kim’s new apartment for the weekend, Lucy discovers she may be mother-smothering her daughter and disappears. Director Jack Donahue and Musical Director Marl Young have cameos. 

“The Phil Donahue Show” ~ March 15, 1974

Lucille Ball embarks on a publicity tour for Mame. This interview took place during the last months that “The Phil Donahue Show” was broadcast from Dayton, Ohio.

“The Bob Braun Show” ~ March 15, 1974

While in Ohio to do “Donahue,” Lucille Ball also appears on “The Bob Braun Show” in Cincinnati to promote Mame.  

"Lucy Fights the System" (HL S6;E24) ~ March 18, 1974

In what turned out to be the series finale, Lucille Ball let’s her daughter Lucie Arnaz have the stage when Kim pretends to be a wacky waitress. The show (and the series) ends with Harry (Gale Gordon) getting a pie in the face and saying: “I knew it would end like this!” 

“The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson” ~ March 22, 1974

More Mame promotion.  Lucille is joined on the coach by Tommy Newsom (guest bandleader), Dom DeLuise, Charleton Heston, Desi Arnaz Jr. (surprise cameo), Ace Trucking Company (musical guest), and Fred Willard (sketch cameo).  

“Dinah’s Place” ~ March 26, 1974

This appearance was part of Lucille’s promotional tour for her new movie Mame.

“Dinah’s Place” ~  June 24, 1974

Mame had been out several months to mixed reviews. Lucille Ball talks about her role as Mame and demonstrates ballet-barre exercises wearing a cape made up of her costumes in the film. 

“Dinah!” ~ November 4 or 6, 1974

Now promoting her first Lucille Ball Special, Lucy returns to Dinah Shore’s show, now revamped and re-titled. 

“The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson” ~ November 15, 1974

Lucille Ball is promoting her upcoming special. The show also features John Byner, John McKay, and The Jackson Five.

“Happy Anniversary and Goodbye” ~ November 19, 1974

The first of Lucille Ball’s scripted specials. Featuring Art Carney, Nanette Fabray, Peter Marshall, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.  Lucille Ball filmed the interiors with a studio audience. It was shot at Paramount (formerly Desilu, formerly RKO) with exterior location footage of a Los Angeles public park and in Las Vegas, Nevada.  

“Bicentennial Minute” ~ November 28, 1974

The “Bicentennial Minute” began in July 1974 and continued well past Independence Day 1976 until the end of the year, making a total of 732 one-minute programs about American history. Lucille Ball’s minute concerned corn husking as a community ritual of the colonists.  

Also in 1974...

“California My Way” - August 9, 1974

This is an ABC TV special hosted by Desi Arnaz Jr. hosts. He is supported in part by his father Desi Arnaz Sr. There is a taped message in tribute to the singer 'Mama' Cass Elliot who died shortly before this show aired in 1974. During this talk show, Paul Williams, Ross Martin, Dena Paul Martin and other celebrities discuss what they like about California, and their future plans within the city. There is footage of places in California where they spent a good amount of time - Malibu Beach, Burbank Studios, Olivera Street and the Beverly Hills nightclub 'Daisy'. Lucille Ball does not appear.