#Fairfax Fair

[basingstokemercury]

oh. it's going to be one of *those* nights again. not like I cared about sleeping properly or anything.

[eopederson]

Scenes from the Walking Dead, Fair Oaks Maul, Fairfax, 2023.

Shopping mauls have been a central feature of American suburban life since the 1960s but not for much longer. Many of those shopping facilities have closed over the past 20 years, the trend seemingly accelerated by the COVID pandemic. A few, like Fair Oaks, are hanging on for a little while longer. In the Washington, DC metropolitan area a half dozen large mauls have ceased operation, at least two of them already bulldozed for other development. The collapse of department store chains like Lord & Taylor, store closures by ongoing chains, and the consolidation of those remaining into a handful of near monopolies like Macys mean the anchor tenants have been lost, and foot traffic inside the facilities is a small fraction of its peak value a generation ago. The consequence is a non-viable entity.

Fair Oaks was once an upmarket example of a shopping maul aiming at the upper middle income residents of America's second richest county. It is now failing. Its five initial anchor tenants, now down to two, were the corporate failures Lord & Taylor and the shuttered Sears along with the struggling J.C. Penny, and two once local flagships which collapsed into two outlets of Macy's at opposite ends of the facilitiy. The two Macys selling virtually identical merchandise look as if they may be on their last legs, and the whole Penny's chain is expected to collapse soon. Some of the smaller stores have stayed in business, but many others have closed. Even Starbucks has ceased operations. Among the few new business moving into spaces abandoned by outlets of national chains is a "modest boutique" selling chadors to muslim women. When the Sears store which once anchored the western end of the maul closed (the boarded up feature in the final photo), its space was walled off from the maul and converted to a sporting goods store entered from the parking lot. Its main attraction is a live ammunition shooting gallery.

Plans have been floated for conversion of some or all of Fair Oaks and its immense parking area to open air commercial ("town center"), offices, and apartments. Under current conditions, it is not clear if those plans, or even parts of them, will come to fruition.

By the way, as I noted some time ago, I use the term "maul." Like the crude tool used to split wood, the shopping maul was a crude tool trying to split consumers from their money. Until about 15 years ago, it was very successful at doing so.

[novasafehands]

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https://cirandas.net/latestfeeds/the-essential-role-of-child-care-centers-in-today-s-world

[thankyouforthememoriesworld]

Updated Version 2.

They were both overlapped in Minnesota for the North Tartan Summer Jam-June 2016. They had a lot of basketball overlap in June/July 2016 but again, separate age groups, with Azzi playing in a higher age group than Paige.

USA U16 Trials in May 2017 when they met.

Won Gold together with U16 on June 11, 2017.

Flew to Minnesota together where Azzi probably spent the summer doing her camping and State Fair in August 2017. Before this though: they participated in the North Tartan Summer Jam-June 2017 but different groups. I think that first birthday post from Azzi is probably from this tournament. Also, they may have also had an EYBL tournament in Indianapolis in July 2017. This is also when those crush snapchats were most likely sent because the song itself was released July 7, 2017.

Generally, they always have a lot of overlap in the summer because of AAU

Their visit to Maryland, Notre Dame and UConn in Fall 2017. Offered scholarships by UConn at that time.

Azzi and Paige were together at the beginning of Feb, training. Azzi's high school is WCAC Champs at the end of Feb 2018 and Azzi was also player of the year as a Freshman.

Late March 2018, both participated in the 2018 USA Basketball 3x3 U18 National Championship. Paige’s team got first, and Azzi’s got second. Paige’s team went on to rep in the youth Olympics.

April 2, 2018 Paige and her Hopkins teammates watched the UConn Notre Dame 2018 Championship game. Paige apparently watched this match up twice by April 2019 and Azzi watched the 12/3/17 game against ND in Hartford. Maybe overlap?

Paige and Azzi played in the Nike Boo Williams Invitational for their separate AAU teams in Virginia on April 20-22, 2018. Azzi's team (Fairfax Stars 17s EYBL) won platinum undefeated in their division where she stood out as one of the best players at 15 years old. Paige's team (North Tartan 15s EYBL) won platinum undefeated in her division. Geno was apparently at this tournament from what I read.

Paige was in DC to play in the Capitol Classic on April 28, 2018. You can watch the entire game if you want.

Reunited in Colorado May 2018 for USA trials.

The 11th annual North Tartan Summer Jam in Hopkins Minnesota was held June 15-17, 2018, where both Paige and Azzi's AAU teams played against each other. Paige’s team beat Azzi’s team 79-63 but both ended with a 3-1 record with Paige's team getting second place. Azzi watched Paige's final game.

Basically, together all of July because training was July 4-20, with a pre-tournament invitational in Latvia. Afterwards, won Gold with U17 on July 29, 2018.

Azzi attends her first Curry Camp in August 6-7 2018. She blows up after the three point contest. At this point I also assume Minnesota cabin trip and state fair was spent together. Azzi was recognized while on a cruise with Bueckers family after the contest (Date unknown but assuming summer). Azzi also helped with Paige's charity clinic at the end of August in Montana.

Azzi and her family were also in Minnesota for a family wedding in September 2018.

11/2/18 Visit to UConn together. Azzi’s sweet 16 on 11/11/18. We know Paige was there.

March 2019 Azzi is presented Gatorade National Player of the Year for Basketball. Azzi's team is 2nd in the nation.

Paige wins state championship on March 16, 2019. Azzi is there supporting (she's in that day after vlog episode of Paige's teammate wearing her St. Patty's day necklace and referred to as National POY which she just got beforehand).

Both of them flew to Montana and I'm guessing that's when the Yellowstone trip happened. Probably Spring Break.

Buckets with Bueckers camp in Montana - March 25, 2019. Azzi was there.

April 1, 2019, Paige commits to UConn (signs letter of intent in November 2019). I think this is also the day Azzi got her puppy Stewie.

April 4-6, 2019 Azzi’s high school team makes the Geico Nationals final but loses. Not sure if Paige was there.

April 13, 2019 Azzi tears hear ACL/MCL at USA 3x3 championship. Surgery on May 29, 2019 in Indianapolis. Paige was with her before surgery (video proof from Azzi herself).  

April 26-28, 2019 AAU together (Azzi not playing).

June 2019 – Paige participates in Summer Jam 2019 with Metro Stars.

July/August 2019 – After Azzi attends the ESPYS and SC30 Select Camp for both of them, Minnesota tradition (they have tiktoks from that time at the cabin and started their joint account that summer). I also think this is when that one Overtime video was filmed with the competition.

10/10-16/19 – Paige is in Doha Qatar for USA Basketball 3x3 tournament. Then she went to First Night at UConn and I think visited Azzi before she went to LA for ESPNW. Azzi visited UConn the week before First Night supposedly.

Dec 16, 2019: First HUDL recruiting video. End of December 2019, Azzi was presumably training with Mamba family in NYC.

Reunited in January 2020 in DMV. Azzi’s first games back from ACL were around this time and Paige was there (they filmed tiktoks together and there are videos of her in the stands). During her visit, Paige's second HUDL recruiting video for Azzi was published.

Azzi’s high school team wins state championships in early March 2020. Azzi travels to Minnesota in mid-March 2020 for Paige’s final but Covid shutdown occurs.

Paige stays with the Fudds from the end of April until June 2020 where she goes back for her graduation in early June and I think possibly packing up her stuff because I know her family was relocating to DMV at this time. She rejoins the Fudds in late June and stays with them and travels with them for Azzi’s GTS team up until end of July. Paige also gets her Gatorade award presented to her at the Fudd’s house on July 24, 2020.

Azzi is in Minnesota with her GTS in August of 2020 and Paige starts UConn.

Azzi visits Paige on her birthday and I believe tells her she’s committing to UConn in October 2020.

Azzi's Togethxr video of her day in the life with the facetime call was filmed November 5, 2020 (pop quiz had a date).

Azzi commits to UConn in November 11, 2020 and turns 18.

Paige's UConn season starts with her first games being cancelled because everyone is in a 14 day quarantine when one person tests positive. This was the reality of that time - they had to contact tracing and couldn't risk getting Covid during the season. They didn't have anymore cancelled games after the end of January but it certainly was an issue early on. UConn had nearly 75% of their courses online or hybrid for entire Fall 2020. Out of state students enrolled in online courses didn't live on campus. This was the reality of Paige's first year. Most likely not as social as people think and really just FTing Azzi at 1 AM apparently.

Azzi attends UConn-Tennessee game on January 21, 2021 to cheer on Paige.

Azzi attends UConn Final Four on April 2, 2021 and also attends the final (while being on FT with Paige).  

Paige has ankle surgery afterwards and hanging out a lot with the Fudds as she rehabs during April and May 2021.

Azzi has USA U19 Trials in May 2021. Then graduation and prom for high school at the end of May (Paige was present during this time). Then summer session at UConn. Paige has her ESPY award speech in July 2021.

Azzi wins gold with team USA before landing back in Mn in mid August 2021 and reunited with Paige and heading to UConn.

My God, you did it 👑. Here's Pazzi's updated timeline for the people.

[bethanydelleman]

A great part of Emma, when you put these two quotes about Jane Fairfax back to back:

“Ill, very ill—that is, if a young lady can ever be allowed to look ill. But the expression is hardly admissible, Mrs. Weston, is it? Ladies can never look ill. And, seriously, Miss Fairfax is naturally so pale, as almost always to give the appearance of ill health.—A most deplorable want of complexion.” [Frank]

Emma would not agree to this, and began a warm defence of Miss Fairfax’s complexion. “It was certainly never brilliant, but she would not allow it to have a sickly hue in general; and there was a softness and delicacy in her skin which gave peculiar elegance to the character of her face.” He listened with all due deference; acknowledged that he had heard many people say the same—but yet he must confess, that to him nothing could make amends for the want of the fine glow of health. Where features were indifferent, a fine complexion gave beauty to them all; and where they were good, the effect was—fortunately he need not attempt to describe what the effect was.

“Well,” said Emma, “there is no disputing about taste.—At least you admire her except her complexion.”

He shook his head and laughed.—“I cannot separate Miss Fairfax and her complexion.”

And then once we know the truth:

“Did you ever see such a skin?—such smoothness! such delicacy!—and yet without being actually fair.—One cannot call her fair. It is a most uncommon complexion, with her dark eye-lashes and hair—a most distinguishing complexion! So peculiarly the lady in it.—Just colour enough for beauty.” [Frank]

“I have always admired her complexion,” replied Emma, archly; “but do not I remember the time when you found fault with her for being so pale?—When we first began to talk of her.—Have you quite forgotten?”

The whole thing is so funny. Frank thinks he so clever, "I'll make fun of the thing I like best!" Emma is angry that Frank made fun of Jane's best feature. And then it all comes back around.

[dreaminginsteadofsleeping42]

Jane Eyre is so funny because they both have zero chill about how much they like each other and handle it in the stupidest way imaginable. Like, Rochester yeets out of town and returns with a woman whom he acts like he’s going to marry to see if Jane likes him or not, and in response Jane draws a picture of herself and essentially titles it “ugly. bad” and one of his fake gf and titles that “beautiful. perfect” and btw, she does this based on a description the old lady housekeeper gives her, which is like half a page long and detailed as fuck? Mrs. Fairfax is like “she had a fair neck and I remember how the light shined on it and the length of her curls and how they touched her shoulder blades and she wore a silver dress that twinkled just so with embroidery of this and that” and I’m like??? Okay, girl??? and then when the fake gf shows up, Jane Eyre is like “yeah, she looks exactly like my drawing” and EARLIER IN THE BOOK, Jane couldn’t get a description of Rochester out of Fairfax and she was like “she isn’t one for descriptions” BUT SHE HAD MEMORIZED EVERY DETAIL OF THIS RANDO WOMAN AND CASUALLY TOLD JANE ABOUT IT IN PASSING UNPROMPTED but anyways Jane is like “it’s fine. I’m fine. I’m chill about Rochester. Whatever. When he comes back, I’m going to be chill because I don’t care about him.” Then he walks in the room and she’s like “Reader. I love him. He is not of their kind but of mine etc. etc.” like instantly girl didn’t hold up for a single second. THEN Rochester is like hmm, still can’t really tell if Jane likes me or not. I know! I’ll cross-dress AS A FORTUNE TELLER, and wheedle the info out of her that way! And when that doesn’t work and he gets sort of disconcerted because Jane mentions the brother of the secret wife he keeps locked in the attic has rolled up, Jane is like. “Can I get you a glass of water? I would literally die for you btw” and he’s like no it’s fine bby like what stupidity! What mess! What idiots! I love it!

[alex31624]

Duck Comic Reading Club Week 7: Paperinik New Adventures: Earthquake

Ok, let's get to the point, this issue is the best one yet. An amazing story and a gorgeous art combined.

Oh God, the art. The Francesco Guerrini work here is astonishing. The use of the colors is masterful. Brilliant in every aspect.

This week story start with an earthquake on Duckburg. No major disaster occurred, except for good old uncle Scrooge.

Why do you insurance your oil rig with your own insurance company?

I mean, I got that he didn't have to pay himself the quota for the service, but now you have to pay for the damages. So, stop complaining you crazy old bird.

But One found out something fishy about the earthquakes, and is up to Donald to investigate this. Is so funny that Duckburg is Paperopoli in italian. Is better than Patolandia tho.

PK took one of the many vehicles at the Tower, and went for a ride, super hero style.

This page is a piece of beauty.

We got a new character, Mary Ann Flagstarr, a PBI agent. Tough lady.

PK had had encounters with the police, but now, he faced federal agents. My boy is not making any friends.

But, you know? A vigilante, a superhero, can't work with the authority. So, yeah, go get them PK.

Another new character, Professor Morgan Fairfax. What a nice fella, I'm sure he has never done anything wrong in his life.

One knows something is not right, they need to keep investigating. But now, is time to go back to the world of cyber space.

Another beautiful page, this issue can't miss.

But is hard to step into a federal database without anyone noticing, so they got caught. Thankfully, One was one step ahead and got himself a great scapegoat.

Oh, now you don't like spread misinformation, right jerk?

He didn't face any charge, and, to be fair, he was innocent. But, if being ugly was a crime, he would get the chair.

Back to the Professor, and he's making some really evil looking smirks. Could it be that he's not the nice guy that we though?

Also, another banger page.

PK infiltrates in the building, using some advance tech. One is a cheat code, and here's being used at his fullness.

PK had a weird Donald moment, when he stuck in the vent, fall to the ground, and got face to face with the worst security guard ever.

Hey, masked vigilante sneaked in this government facility that I supposed to be looking after. I'm gonna make some lame jokes, and then I'm gonna miss the shots less than a meter away.

Don't come in the morning pal.

You know? I'm starting to think that this guy Fairfax is not that nice.

Yeah, yeah, he's the bad guy. Trying to burn PK alive is in my Being Bad Bingo.

And yet another absolutely gorgeous page. Is amazing.

Thankfully, One and his infinite tech come to the rescue. PK also save the guard, because he's a hero.

Now, this one part was kinda weird. Agent Flagstarr has been shown trough the issue as tough, focus agent, that wants to get the job done. But, a few words of Fairfax and a gift are enough to make her dismiss orders.

Also, that face… you can't trust someone with that face…

Now we found about Fairfax plan. He wants to create a earthquake strong enough that the whole planet would change, and new land would appear.

At the cost of the entire west coast being destroyed.

The worst part? One agrees with him. What the hell man? Not cool One, not cool.

PK got in the plane and try to stop Fairfax, but Flagstarr was in his way. The agent was conflicted on what to do. Madam, help the guy who doesn't want to destroy the whole west coast. Is not that hard.

Man, the art on this issue is out of control.

PK is so cool.

Finally, One got a change of heart, if you can said that, and helped PK to stop this madness. I knew One wasn't a psychopath.

But that last image of the device at the bottom of the sea is quite unsettling.

What can I said? This was awesome. I love all the detective PK stuff, the danger was palpable, One almost got Duckburg destroy. The art was magnificent, the colors were vibrant, it looked beautiful in general.

Hands down, the best one yet.

[somethingvicked]

True love of mine part 5

An Eddie Munson story

Stranger Things AU (no Upside-Down)

warnings: Female reader, slight angst, fluff, flexible time-line

Chapter 4

Now

Y/N

It had been a week since you sent the letter to Eddie. A week since you had sat down and talked to Brent, telling him that your relationship was over and that you couldn’t marry him.

Your ringfinger felt strange and empty after you had taken off the engagement ring, even though you knew it was for the best and that it had felt strange having it on too.

Instead you had looked around in that special box of yours and located another memory you’d saved from your time with Eddie. A ring he had won you at a fair once, shaped like a cat – for his nickname for you; kitten.

You were looking down at the ring when Brent rushed into the living room from your… well, what used to be his and your bedroom, holding something in his hands. Your eyes widened when you realized what it was. Your box with the notebooks, the flower made of steel wire, the notes. It would have held the ring too if you hadn’t put it on so recently.

Brent was breathing heavily. "I found these when I was packing up my stuff and I shuffled through them."

"What?! You had no right to do that…!"

"Shut up," he barked. "It's all... they were all for Eddie? The poems you wrote and the poetry book you published? Love notes for no one? You said it was a bunch of love poems for different guys you were in love with in high school that you had saved? But in here it says they are all for and about Eddie. And not only that, some of them were written just two years ago. I remember - because that's when you downloaded that writing app on your phone and stopped writing them down by hand... are you saying that you were with me... but you wrote all this for this Eddie guy?!"

His eyes widened. "Wait… is that why your pseudonym was E. Fairfax? You said it was from your first fictional crush, Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre – his first and middle name, because Rochester would be to obvious. But the 'E'... is that for 'Eddie'?!"

You didn't even have the energy to reply. Why deny it? You had done that and yes, perhaps that made you a bad person. But that's why you finally had sat down with Brent and given him the ring back and said that it was best if you went your separate ways.

"Yes, I did that,” you admitted with a sigh. “And I'm sorry. It's not like I didn't love you at all, Brent, I did. I just... I don't love you like you love me. I thought I would, if I gave it time. But somehow… no, I have never stopped loving Eddie. Writing those poems was a way for me to get all those words I couldn’t say out. But I realized that it wasn’t fair to you. You are a wonderful guy, you don’t deserve to have a wife that writes love poems to a former lover, that’s why I decided to grow up and set you free. So you find someone that can love you, the way you deserve."

Brent's face softened a little. He was still angry, but he did care about you, that’s what made him such a great guy. Many times you had cursed yourself and your stupid heart for not loving him like you wanted to. "Well, what about you? Will you waste your life for your high school sweetheart that just took off and left? How is that fair to you?"

"I need to be true to my heart," you said, “and you’re right, it’s not fair at all. Sadly I can’t help how I feel. Like I said, the poems were a way for me to talk about it without talking about it. But now… I might need to do something else. Maybe I need therapy, I don’t know. However, it’s not your problem any more, Brent. I appreciate you caring, I do, but this is something I need to handle myself.”

You didn’t want to tell him that you had already started at that. The letter. It might not lead to anything but at least it was a more serious try than just writing poems Eddie would never read.

There was something more about the poems you had published and the pseudonym you used. Yes, it was for Mr. Rochester but… it was also for Eddie. For the little secret he had told you – that his middle name was Francis. And that both of your first loves first initials was E.F. even if they had different surnames.

Your two E.F’s.

You sighed again, rubbing your thumb over the cat ring for comfort, then Brent stroked your cheek before taking the last of his things and leaving, the door closing with a click behind him.

Eddie

Eddie had read Y/N’s letter more times than he he could count over the last two days. The things she told him…

She still loved him, couldn’t get over him, compared every boyfriend she had with him. She had even gotten engaged recently but decided to end it because she realized that she wished she was marrying him, not her fiancée.

Y/N clearly didn’t think he felt the same but she had remarked about him still having the matching tattoo.

Was there a small hope there that he sensed?

She made it clear that she didn’t expect them to start over, she only wished for an explanation. Why he had upped and left so suddenly, why he hadn’t given her some sort of closure.

You didn’t even break up with me in that note – which would have been shitty on its own but at least then I would have known, she had written, now it seemed like you didn’t even think about me at all. Like you were already past everything that had to do with us.

How could he tell her that everything that she had written, every feeling she had described – was like he had written it himself?

When Eddie read that she was engaged it felt like someone had taken the small piece of heart he had that were still intact and crumbled it into nothing but drops of blood. When she added that she had to break it, the relief that filled him made him feel like the relief itself was helium and he was about to fly to the heavens.

What she asked of him, though… how could he tell her the real reason he had bailed back then?

How ashamed he was, how much he still hated himself for it. Would she hate him too?

No, Eddie couldn’t tell her. And he didn’t deserve another chance with her. Not just because of what had happened to make him flee, but because of how much he had hurt her by doing so. He had thought it was for the best back then but… clearly he had fucked up more than one life back then – not even counting his own.

But he did owe to tell her that he didn’t live the happy life she imagined. That she was still the first and last thing on his mind every day.

She hadn’t left a return address but one good thing about being famous like he was, was that pretty much everyone knew everything he did. Y/N would find out, one way or another.

He sat down to write a song. The most important song in his life – except that other one.

Eddie thought back and wondered which moment he would start with. Then a sad smile spread over his face and he started.

When you travelin’ down to the Hawk’s country fair…

Then

Hawkins, 1981.

Eddie

It was the day before Halloween and a fair had come to Hawkins, complete with a Ferris wheel, roller coaster, haunted house and of course all the arcades and games.

Y/N and Eddie were walking arm in arm around on the field where they had set up, both high in spirits and drunk on the beer they had stolen from Wayne before coming here. Eddie loved to hear Y/N’s laughter and see her so excited, even though it was just a small little fair.

Although she wasn’t too happy with the clowns, saying that they should have been forbidden since John Wayne Gacy had been outed.

She insisted that they rode the roller coaster, even though she screamed like a stuck pig, making Eddie laugh so hard he almost choked from loss of breath.

Then Y/N pulled him with her to the Haunted house and when they rode through the dark tunnels, lit up by poison green light and filled with smoke, it was Eddie’s turn to make noise – he yelped when the vision of a ghost came up around a curve, a transparent woman with her head cut off, even though he knew it was just projected in the same way they showed something on the overhead machine in school.

Y/N laughed at his reaction but despite her amusement she pulled Eddie’s face in against her chest, patting his hair for comfort. “Don’t worry, hotshot – I’ll protect you,” she purred, making his nickname for her even more fitting.

He was suddenly hyper aware that his face was pressed in against Y/N’s boobs and that… they were softer than any pillow he had ever laid on. And that his cock had become hard as stone, pressing against the fly of his jeans.

Quickly he pulled back with a choked out laugh, thinking very intensely on the dissection they had made yesterday in biology to make the embarrassing erection go down.

When the two of them came out they went to buy some cotton candy and French fries before Eddie said that he absolutely had to try and win her something at the arcade games.

Y/N insisted that he didn’t need to, but he wanted to. Wanted to give her some little trinket that was just from him.

Y/N had given him his bandana after all, the one he now always kept in his back pocket as a token, like in the medieval times.

When he came upon one of the machines and saw the little cat shaped ring it was like a sign from above.

Concentrating hard, using every dexterous skill he had learned as a guitar player he steered the claw with precision before pressing the button. And he won! He won the ring for her!

“Here,” he told Y/N, holding it out. “Kitten for my kitten.”

“Oh, Eddie!” she had said, eyes misted over as she wrapped her arms around him, once again making him feel that soft bosom pressing against him beneath her denim jacket.

He didn’t have time to ponder much over it though, because Y/N’s eyes lit up and she took his hand and ran toward the Ferris wheel.

“We have to ride the Ferris wheel,” she insisted and as usual, he couldn’t deny her  anything. He would have promised her the Mona Lisa if she had begged for it, no matter the impossibility of getting it.

As they got seated and the guard had placed the bar over them it started and it slowly moved upwards.

“Do you know there’s a legend about the Ferris wheel,” Y/N suddenly said, her cheeks pink.

“Yeah? What’s that?” Eddie wondered.

“That if you kiss when the wheel’s at the top you will live happily ever after,” Y/N  explained, her eyes wide, the lights reflecting in them.

“Really?” Eddie said. “Wow. You believe that?”

She shrugged your shoulders. “I don’t know. It’s a sweet superstition though, unlike many others.”

He had to give her that one.

When the wheel was at the top Eddie turned toward Y/N at the exact same time as she turned toward him, and the next second their lips met, their arms wrapped around each other, even with the bar holding them in place.

Happily ever after, Eddie thought as he tasted the sweet cotton candy on Y/N’s lips and smelled the intoxicating scent of her perfume, while burying his hands in her hair. 

taglist: @ali-r3n @ficsbypix @mewchiili @melodymunson @ches-86 @jenniquinn @eddiemunsonfuxks @stolen-in-moonlight @alastorssimp @pandemoniusstuff

(let me know if you want to be on the taglist!)

please, like, comment and reblog!

Your likes are wonderful but reblogs expand my reading circle.

[thehobbem]

Jane Eyre - Part II

DKZJFBDGHSJAKSJD THIS IS THE WORST MARRIAGE PROPOSAL IN LITERARY HISTORY

*clears throat*

A few days ago I wrote this post about my first thoughts on Jane Eyre. Since people wanted to see my reactions to further events, here I am.

I gotta say: you were all holding out on me, because not only does Jane Eyre have a man more ridiculous than Darcy (by a CLEAR mile), but it also has a clergyman more insufferable than Edmund Bertram, which??? should not be possible???

Okay, so:

I was hoping Rochester would give up on the wedding and confess to Jane about his wife in the attic, but nope! And he would've gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for those meddling solicitor & brother-in-law. Like. This man is so idiotic, and felt so unbelievably sorry for himself, that he said with his full chest "yeah, bigamy is the solution! :D".

...Very uncomfortable how the narrative attributed the lowest possible vices to Bertha Rochester, while calling her "the creole". The vices weren't outright attributed to her being of mixed ancestry, but it felt like that was what was meant. All very uncomfortable. As uncomfortable as when the landed gentry wanted to visit a Romani encampment to see the Romani people (while, ofc, using the g-slur) as if they were animals in a circus? Hmmm, yeah, tough call!

(Look. I'm not gonna go around publicly denouncing books from past centuries for not being politically correct, bc that is an idiotic way to relate to literature from the past. Society was what it was, and not even the authors we admire so much were above that most of the time. But I can, and will!, look at certain things and go "wow, this aged like fucking milk". I think that's fair.)

AND THEN

Rochester, who can't possibly be thinking straight, proposes that Jane become his mistress!!!! Edward Fairfax Rochester, have you ever even MET Jane Eyre?? Do you know her but at all????

And he's like "me, me, me, what's to become of me, am I to be denied love, doesn't the world feel sorry for ME" and I nearly spit on my kindle, I was so mad XD How is this man, pushing fucking FORTY, putting on this preposterous show and leaving this 18-year-old girl to comfort him?????

(To bring up the sad sack that is Edmund Bertram again: it reminded me when Edmund wrote to Fanny: Maria has brought ruin to their name, Tom has nearly died, everyone is in distress, and he's like "But Fanny. Think of ME!!!" ugh)

But yes, honestly, Rochester's not evil, but he's so. goddamn. stupid. And draMATIC. I love him, he's a riot.

...I do not love how he kept blaming others for him marrying Bertha. Like. Sir. You were an adult and you married her of your own volition. "My father" this, and "her family didn't tell me" that, but YOU looked at her, thought she was gorgeous, and agreed to marry her. So fuck you. Hold yourself accountable, for a change. You man child.

So yeah, Jane runs away, which is totally the right decision, and without any money, which is totally the wrong decision, and ends up eating burned porridge again, and I'm like. If I had a nickel for every time Jane Eyre had to eat burned porridge while starving, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.

Jane is then saved by the Rivers siblings: Mary and Diana Rivers, who are absolutely precious, and St. John Rivers, who is absolutely

UNBEARABLE OH MY GOD WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME

Me, every time St. John appeared on the page:

Hey. Charlotte? Charlotte. Was this a ploy? Did you bring St. John into the story to have us like Rochester more? Is St. John your way of going "Yeah, I know, Rochester is deranged, and what he wanted to do was morally and legally and spiritually wrong, but look at how boring righteous people can be!"? Was it? If so, it FUCKING WORKED, BRING EDWARD ROCHESTER BACK RIGHT NOW.

*rubs temples*

Also??? aekjsdzcbvsdjfsk I can't: St. John: "I found you employment." Jane: "Really? Which is it?" St. John: rambles on about the will of God or something, for entire paragraphs. Jane, who patiently waited for him to finish: "So? The job?" St. John: "Right! I don't know if you're gonna like it, but" rambles on again about the will of God or perseverance or something, for entire paragraphs. Jane: "Right. And the job?"

SIR FOR THE LOVE OF GOD PLEASE TELL US WHAT THE FUCKING JOB IS

THIS IS LIKE MR. BROCKLEHURST ALL OVER AGAIN

...Oh. Oh.

That's the point.

St. John really is Brocklehurst again, I love it: both love to talk about how Christian they are, and how it's important to lead a life of humility, etc -- the difference being, ofc, that St. John is not a hypocrite, fat capitalist pig, he's actually leading by (insufferable) example. And they both make Jane feel bad about her true self, just in opposite ways.

And St. John wants to be a missionary, because of course this insufferable man wants to be a missionary and impose his views on nice people who are just living their fucking lives. And he goes on and on about... idk, bringing light to the unenlightened and saving pagans or whatever, and it's SO pedantic, and it's SO patronizing, and it's SO... UGH.

I cannot believe Jane gave this man a quarter of her entire fortune.

AND THEN

HE MAKES THE WORST MARRIAGE PROPOSAL IN THE ENTIRE ENGLISH LITERATURE

No, I have not read the entirety of English literature, but oh boy am I fully confident in my statement. This is the WORST. Like. Mr. Collins' proposal is a shining beacon of unbridled love and romance next to THIS.

Me, reading his proposal:

"Jane, you weren't made for love, you were made for labour. You were made to be a missionary's wife" QEIARKSHV\CZNB;SAEKFJSDVC I'M GONNA GOUGE MY EYES OUT WITH A SPOON

At least Jane, too, was full aware of the insult XD Love that when she told Diana of the proposal, she repeated those exact words, and Diana was like "Girl, what??? Nu-uh!!!".

But it's all great. She refuses him, and he gets all prickly and assholish about it in the most holier-than-thou way possible, I hate him, but then she hears Rochester's voice in the wind crying out for her, and she hurries back to Thornfield. Sure, we've all been there.

Then we find out karma does exist and is the proverbial bitch: Rochester lost an eye, all of his eyesight, a hand, and his manor. Wow.

And then???? They have the CUTEST reunion ever???? And I was so happy for him???? For them??? Charlotte 😭😭😭👌👌👌

Rochester being all jealous of St. John, and I'm like "no, you're safe, he's the worst, he told Jane she wasn't made for love".

He also holds himself accountable at long last (hard not to, after all that), and he thought Jane was deeeeeeaaaad, and he was inconsolable and I'm a MESS

So all is good in the end: they marry -- LEGALLY! :D -- and have a child, and he recovers his eyesight on the eye he still has, and the Rivers siblings marry and are happy, and the book ends... with a letter from St. John saying he's dying??? WHAT

I love all of it. Specially St. John dying. A few stray observations:

The foreshadowing of future events is very well-planted, nicely done, Charlotte. That horse chestnut tree being split in half by lightning after Rochester proposes marriage to Jane? 👌👌👌👌👌 If I ever saw an omen!

And Jane. So smart, so good, so compassionate, so horny on main, so witty, so brave. May God keep St. John Rivers far away from her forever and ever.

LOVE how Jane begins with an aunt (who knows her and hates her) and 3 cousins (a John who torments her trying to diminish her, and two sisters who don't care if she's alive or not) and ends up having an uncle (who doesn't know her but loves her) and 3 cousins (a John who torments her trying to "elevate" her and two sisters who love her and save her life). The story is obviously very cyclical, and I enjoyed that a lot.

Don't know if I love or hate the fact that Charlotte slapped a "St." in front of the name of the John who wants to be a missionary and is the opposite of the first John XD (Yes, I know St. John is a real name, I've seen it many times before, but it's a bit on the nose here!)

...I wonder if Miss Ingram ever found out that Rochester wanted to marry the governess. I would've paid Charlotte Brontë good money to write THAT scene.

And last but not least: Pilot is the goodest boy in the whole wide world.

[bella-rose29]

episode 3 - Doubt Thou the Stars

major spoilers for the show and books, swearing, I go feral on multiple occasions, spent most of this simping for cam/lockwood and I'll apologise now for some of the things I've said (multiverse of George I'm blaming you for a couple)

I would just like to reiterate that this is not a proper analysis of the show, this is my immediate reactions to what happens in the show. barely anything constructive is actually said in here 👍

a ring is what we're looking at

Georgie I love you

hands (oh dear starting early)

hands again

"which you stole illegally" honey-

you have me in a chokehold lockwood

hehehe fairfax

"George, this... negativity, it's why I don't tell you things in advance" first of all I am weirdly obsessed with the way he says that, second of all I wanna give George a hug

hands

ok but who gave cam the right to look that good

"miss Kingston got her hair done special" George I love you

"straight into the office. that's a classy move"

omg I love lucy's jumper

his cheeky smile omg

hands

ring

"you lie like a politician" yeah bc he has to

you can do any job for me lockwood

hands and ring

absolutely we have a deal I'll do anything for you

hands (omg I need to stop)

they're children how did they get alcohol

bottle opener thingy scene

omg Georgie in his apron and gloves 😭

so sad we didn't get the "nice... towel" scene

barnes is so sinister sometimes

I love lockwood and george's friendship, just yelling at each other about cleaning

ooo green lighting when she's taking the keys

tut tut

"I visit my gran in Sidcup" "...sidcup is in London"

"you've got a real hard-on for him, haven't you" "well, if... you wanna put it like that"

"I'm practically a serf" aw lockwood honey

all I can think is the Traitors castle even though I know it's not the same

lockwood's so pretty

oh lord what the hell was that look lockwood don't lower your head with that intense gaze wtf

"apart from anything else, we've got much better flares" 😂

don't you just love it when someone who doesn't have any clue about your job tells you how to do your job

lots of smashing

he's fishing (where tf did he get a fishing rod from)

hands

his grin omg

oh crikey this boy needs sleep I can see his eye bags even though the lighting is dim and my room is bright

"What, and deny us all this... beautiful moment?" you're a beautiful moment- wait that doesn't make sense

his smile I am on the floor

aaa suspense I don't like it

omg we get to see George's Touch again I love that

ew cobwebs

hands

well that was silly

oh no

you can disrespect me anytime woah what is happening to me holy shit

EXTREME CLOSE UP

ewwww cobwebs

I could never be an agent I have arachnophobia

ok those special effects were awesome

"probably wanted to warn us not to go down there" *proceed to go down there*

Lockwood say what's on your mind

ok I get why Ali said that the monks were terrifying that chanting haunts me still

turn your torches off you'll see the ghosts better

ohh I don't like this

Lucy no

LUCY NO

LUCY NOOOOOO

aw the boys saved her

hands

"make a wish" I wish for you to marry me and we live happily ever after

slap

"my cheek hurts"

husband calls out pathetically for wife after waking up, she crawls over and he reaches desperately for her hand

"oi, where's his slap?" fair

hahaha the way they just drop to the floor

you look so silly in those goggles

lockwood's voice is doing Things to me

I love that you can see Ellie rethinking as Fairfax goes on

"we don't travel round with it, we're not insane" *while focused on Lucy*

"you're just a performer too, aren't you?" we love a masking king

MICRO-EXPRESSIONS!!! CAMERON CHAPMAN THE MAN YOU ARE

"She stole it again, Lockwood" yep

I love that you can sort of make out the flowers on her dress

oh christ that was scary

ew old man burning

hands

heavy breathing lockwood (I blame the multiverse of George chat for that)

"I'm working with maniacs" got room for another one?

why did Ellie think it would be a good idea to try and run straight through the middle

"Shut up!" their faces afterwards

kipps pls stop sounding so smug

dw I believe you lockwood

punch me like that wall pls

barnes looks so sad

omg he's being a protective dad

hands

ohhhhh lockwood in a proper suit 🪣 (bad timing for it I know)

"do you know my name?" George I love you

"that's a shame, she was a fool but... she really fitted in there actually" *lockwood nudges him* George I love you even more and I think we would be the bestest of friends

I love the lavender in the pockets of Penelope and Ellie

hands

omg Lucy's drawing! like she said her hobby was in the books!

hand + ring

*George casually pulls out stolen evidence*

I want lucy's jumper

the way lockwood's sat on the chair has me weak

"You belong here" *stares at her with heart eyes*

hehehe

hehehe

oh dear

why does he keep sprawling on the chair

I don't want to talk about the sound I just made at that one frame of lockwood

"She's good, and... she's finally starting to get me" aw Georgie I love you

"she's a lot tougher than you think" *thumps as Lucy passes out*

I DONT WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE SOUND I JUST MADE AT THE OTHER ONE FRAME OF LOCKWOOD (YOU ALL KNOW THE ONE) - "Luce?" shgisuhuigjd

seriously who gave him the right

[racefortheironthrone]

After Oliver Cromwell's death was the Commonwealth doomed, because of structural factors, or a republic like the United Provinces could have survived but it failed because of contingency and individuals' actions? How guilty is Cromwell for not setting solid foundations for the continuity of the Commonwealth?

Yes, the Commonwealth was doomed after Cromwell's death, but the reason why is both structural factors and contingency/agency - because the actions of a few individuals (including but not limited to Cromwell) set those structural factors in motion.

In term's of Cromwell's guilt, I would say that he bears ultimate responsbility for the institutional weaknesses of the Commonwealth. To be totally fair, he did try to fix those weaknesses repeatedly - but because of the actions he took at the beginning that set up the structural factors in question, those efforts came to naught.

That's the TLDR, I'll do the specific explanation below the cut, because it's going to go long.

Background

Just to make sure everyone's on the same page: in 1640, Charles I is forced to call Parliament even though he hates doing it. He dissolves Parliament after three weeks. (Hence why it's called the Short Parliament.) He's then forced to call Parliament again, and this Parliament is the Long Parliament. The Long Parliament enacts a whole series of legislation that Charles I hates, and then in 1642 the conflict between King and Parliament breaks out into the First English Civil War (1642-1646).

During this first phase of the conflict, it takes a while for Parliament and the Parliamentary generals to get their act together. Things begin to turn around in 1644 when the Scottish Covenanters join the war on Parliament's side and they win the Battle of Marston Moor - which gives Parliament control of the North of England and is the first battle where Cromwell plays a major role. The next year, Parliament gets rid of the original Parliamentary generals through the Self-Denying Ordinance, forms the New Model Army under Fairfax and Cromwell (the one guy specifically exempted form the Self-Denying Ordinance), and Fairfax and Cromwell go on to completely destroy the Royalist armies at Nasby and Langport.

Charles hangs on for a bit, but is eventually captured in 1646 and the first Civil War ends. The question is now: what do we do, now that Parliament has won?

The Putney Debates

Once the fighting was over, the political fighting could begin and it was quite complicated. You had the Long Parliament, which was dominated by the moderate "Presbyterian" faction who had been locked out of military power by the Self-Denying Ordinance. You had the New Model Army, which was religiously Puritan but split politically (more on this in a second). You had the Scots, politically constituted by the Scottish Parliament and militarily represented by the Covenanter armies, who wanted Presbyterianism to be extended throughout Britain. And then you had the Royalists and Charles I, who were usually but not always the same faction.

I'm going to focus here on the part of this conflict that involved the Long Parliament and the New Model Army. The Long Parliament wants to do a deal with Charles I - although the problem is that Charles is stretching out negotiations in the hopes that if everything collapses into anarchy he might get himself back on the throne - it wants a unified British Presbyterian Church established (because it had kind of agreed to set one up as the cost of getting Scottish support during the war), and it wants to get rid of the New Model Army which it views as dangerously radical and way too powerful.

The New Model Army isn't sure what it wants, because it's split between the Agitators (i.e, the Levellers) and the Grandees (the senior officers of the Army, led by Cromwell and Fairfax) - although the one thing both sides agree on is that they're not going to accept a single established Presbyterian Church and that they aren't going anywhere until they get their back pay and some sort of reforms happen that justify four years of civil war.

In the mean-time, everyone's getting very testy. First, the Long Parliament orders the New Model Army to disband in early 1647. The New Model Army refuses to disband. Then the New Model Army takes control of the prisoner Charles I in early June. In late June, a pro-Presbyterian mob invades Parliament calling for an established Presbyterian Church and for Charles I to be brought to London, causing all of the Independent (i.e, Puritan) MPs and the Speaker to flee the city and seek the protection of the New Model Army. Then in August, the New Model Army marches on London, and forces Parliament to enact a Null and Void Ordinance undoing everything the Long Parliament had done since June, which causes the Presbyterian MPs to withdraw from Parliament (temporarily), which means the Independents are now in the majority.

All of this is very confusing, and no one in the New Model Army is sure what to do now that they hold all the cards. So the New Model Army decides to have a public debate at Putney in late October in order to hash out what the Army's position is going to be.

At Putney, both sides put forward manifestos for what the Army should stand for. The Agitators put forward the "Agreement of the People," which calls for:

the Long Parliament to be dissolved and elections to be held for a new Parliament.

these elections to be held after a reapportionment of Parliament to establish equal districts on the basis of one-man-one-vote.

elections for a new Parliament every two years.

the electorate to be made up of "all men of the age of one and twenty years and upwards (not being servants, or receiving alms, or having served in the late King in Arms or voluntary Contributions)." (i.e, fairly universal male suffrage).

Parliament is to have full Executive and Legislative authority, except that the people shall have liberty of conscience, freedom from conscription, equality before the law, and there shall be amnesty for anything done or said during the Civil War.

The Grandees, who freaked the fuck out when they heard these terms and started immediately calling the Agitators "Levellers" (i.e, 17th century for "commie bastards"), put forward the "Heads of Proposals," which calls for:

the Long Parliament to be dissolved and elections to be held for a new Parliament.

these elections to be held after Parliament decides on "some rule of equality of proportion...to the respective rates they bear in the common charges and burdens of the kingdom," or on the basis of some other rule that will make the Commons "as near as may be" to equally proportioned.

for the next ten years, Parliament and not the King has authority over the military, finances, and the bureaucracy.

for the next five years, Royalists aren't allowed to run for elected office or hold appointed public offices.

the Church of England will continue to exist, but you don't have to read the Book of Common Prayer if you don't want to, you don't get fined for not going to CoE services or attending other services, and there will be no imposition of a Presbyterian Covenant.

You can see that there are some overlapping areas (no more Long Parliament, elections every two years, some form of reapportionment, some form of liberty of conscience) but there are some really significant differences - a republic versus a constitutional monarchy, a unicameral Parliament versus retaining the House of Lords, and universal suffrage versus property requirements.

During the Putney Debates, Cromwell flatly refuses to accept anything other than a constitutional monarchy, Ireton (Cromwell's son-in-law) refuses to accept universal suffrage, but the two sides agree that a committee will work out a compromise on the basis of everything else from the "Agreement" as long as the Agitators agree to go back to their regiments.

Then the King escapes from captivity and everyone panics. Cromwell and Fairfax scramble a new manifesto together and try to get the New Model Army to approve that manifesto along with everyone taking a loyalty oath to Fairfax and the General Council of the Army, the Agitators see this as a stab in the back and start up a mutiny, and Cromwell and Fairfax crush the mutiny and arrest the Agitator leadership. In late November 1647, Charles I, who has been recaptured by this point, signs a secret agreement with the Scots to invade England and restore Charles to the throne in return for Presbyterianism being established in England.

The Second Civil War

Things slow down for a bit, because the Scots are actually quite divided about this agreement - the Kirk actually condemns it as "sinful" - and it takes until April for the pro-agreement faction (known as the "Engagers") to get a majority in the Scottish Parliament.

In May 1648, Royalist uprisings break out across the kingdom, with South Wales, Kent, Essex, and Cumberland being particular centers of Royalist strength, and the Scottish Covenanter army crosses the border and invades England. Unfortunately for Charles, the Royalists, the English Presbyterians, and the Scots, they completely fail to coordinate their actions and the New Model Army is able to completely crush the uprisings one-by-one and then turns its attention to the Scots.

At the Battle of Preston in August 1648, the New Model Army under Cromwell wins another one of its ridiculously lopsided victories that make his emerging belief that he had been chosen by God somewhat understanable, and the formidable Covenanter army is crushed.

By this point, Cromwell and the rest of the Grandees are convinced of two things: one, no more negotiating with the King. As the Army Council put it rather ominously, it was their duty "to call Charles Stuart, that man of blood, to an account for that blood he had shed, and mischief he had done." Two, the (English) Presbyterians could not be trusted. They had conspired with the King and their Scottish co-religionists to overthrow the government and abolish religious liberty, and thus they had to go.

Thus, in December 1648, Pride's Purge is carried out, in which a detachment of troops acting under orders from Ireton (and thus from Cromwell) bar 140 MPs from taking their seat and arrest 45 of them. This effectively ends the Long Parliament, and the remaining 156 MPs continue to sit as the Rump Parliament. In the New Year, the Rump Parliament then votes to put the King on trial for treason and then afterwards establishes the Commonwealth as a unicameral Republic.

What Comes Next?

You'll note a couple things at this point: first, Cromwell's political positions are fairly fluid and change with events, so that he goes from being a staunch constitutional monarchist in late 1647 to a determined regicide by January 1649. Second, even though it's been a few years since the Putney Debates, Cromwell and the Grandees haven't implemented the "Heads of Proposals" - most crucially, they haven't dissolved Parliament and called for new elections, nor has a new Constitution been established.

Initially, one might say that Cromwell was distracted by his campaign to crush the Confederate-Royalist coalition in Ireland and then to crush the alliance between the Covenanters and Charles II. But by 1651, he's back in England and there's still no election and still no Constitution. Cromwell tries to get the Rump Parliament to call for new elections, establish a new Constitution that incorporates Ireland and Scotland now that they've been conquered, and finds some sort of religious settlement.

For two years, the Rump Parliament deadlocks on practically everything except the religious settlement, where it manages to piss off everyone by keeping the Church of England and its tithes, but also getting rid of the Act of Uniformity and allowing Independents to worship openly, but also passing all kinds of Puritan moral regulations. In April of 1653, Cromwell proposes that the Rump Parliament establish a caretaker government that will deal with the Constitution and new elections, but the Rump deadlocks on that too. This causes Cromwell to completely lose it and dissolve the Rump Parliament by force, culminating in one hell of a speech:

It is high time for me to put an end to your sitting in this place, which you have dishonoured by your contempt of all virtue, and defiled by your practice of every vice; ye are a factious crew, and enemies to all good government; ye are a pack of mercenary wretches, and would like Esau sell your country for a mess of pottage, and like Judas betray your God for a few pieces of money. Is there a single virtue now remaining amongst you? Is there one vice you do not possess? Ye have no more religion than my horse; gold is your God; which of you have not barter'd your conscience for bribes? Is there a man amongst you that has the least care for the good of the Commonwealth? Ye sordid prostitutes have you not defil'd this sacred place, and turn'd the Lord's temple into a den of thieves, by your immoral principles and wicked practices? Ye are grown intolerably odious to the whole nation; you were deputed here by the people to get grievances redress'd, are yourselves gone! So! Take away that shining bauble there, and lock up the doors. In the name of God, go!

Now there's no more Parliament and Cromwell and the Council are running the country on their own, but they don't have a plan for what to do next. A Fifth Monarchist member of the Council proposes appointing a "sanhedrin of saints" on the basis of religious credentials who will set up a godly commonwealth and bring about the imminent return of Christ. That doesn't happen, but the Council does like the idea of an appointed (rather than elected) body called the Nominated Assembly, which becomes known as Barebone's Parliament. This Parliament doesn't make it a year because of how badly it's divided between moderate republicans who want a functioning government and Fifth Monarchists who believe that Jesus Christ is coming back to Earth any day now, so why bother? Ultimately, Barebone's Parliament dissolves itself.

This then leads the Council to pass the Instruments of Government, which was essentially an adapted version of the original "Heads of Proposals." Under the Instrument, Executive power would be held by the Lord Protector who would serve for life, Legislative power would be held by a Parliament elected every three years, and then there would be a Council of State appointed by Parliament which would advise and elect the Lord Protector upon the death of the previous occupant. Thus, the Protectorate is born.

In 1654, Cromwell finally manages to get the First Protectorate Parliament elected...and it only lasts a single term, agrees to none of the 84 bills that Cromwell and the Council of State, and is promptly dissolved as soon as the Instruments would allow. And so on it went through the Second and Third Protectorate Parliaments, and then Cromwell died and the rest is history.

Conclusion

Coming back to what I mentioned at the very beginning about the interplay between structural factors and individual actions, I think we can see a kind of ratchet effect whereby decisions taken early on that foreclosed certain options compound on each other over time, leading to structural factors that weakened the Commonwealth.

The crucial turning point(s) to me are the decision to reject the Agreement of the People in 1647 and then the failure to enact the Heads of Proposals in 1647 after the Putney debates, or in 1648 or 1649 after Pride's Purge.

With the Agreement, you could have had a small-d democratic republic which would have offered ordinary working people new political rights and protections and the opportunity to buy-in to the new regime through an election for a new Parliament. With the Heads of Proposals, you could have had a more conservative republic that would have offered much the same to the traditional landed political class, which would have then granted their consent to the new regime by both standing for election and voting in that election for a new Parliament.

That kind of legitimacy was absolutely necessary in order to ensure the long-term allegiance of the population to the new regime in the face of Royalist revanchism, let alone the kind of radical changes (putting the king on trial, declaring a republic, establishing a religious settlement) that Cromwell and the Grandees saw as essential.

[novasafehands]

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[sillysoraya]

I've been messing around in my Austen sims hood again for the first time in ages, and what a fun group they are! Nothing very serious, realistic, decorated etc. just fun seeing who gets on best.

I dropped out a bunch from uni into houses and apartments in the main hood ,as I didn't think they all suited uni life (Robert Martin on his own farm, Catherine Morland, Fanny Price & Harriet Smith share a house together which I've actually called Mrs Goddard's Parlour House haha, Lydia & Kitty Bennet share an apartment, George Wickham & John Willoughby share an apartment, and Frederick Wentworth is sharing his house with fellow Adventurer James Benwick for now).

Having these sims leave campus might cause some shifts in the relationships that have been developing though, as many of these sims were in raptures with those still at uni! Things haven't developed as much as I'd like in their lives in general as most of the time I load the hood, tweak personalities etc., have a bunch of them mingle on one lot, then save and leave haha.

Here is the beautiful but cruel Caroline Bingley for starters, the rest under the cut.

Henry Tilney and John Willoughby have been all over each other since the beginning, but Willoughby's dropped out, so I'm not sure how that will go over with them both and if they'll stay true or look elsewhere (sweet Henry please don't be attached to him!).

Strangely enough, their girls Catherine Morland and Marianne Dashwood haven't felt particularly bothered by this turn of events...

Frederick Wentworth has been very physical with Mary Crawford, but again, maybe their eyes will wander now Frederick has left campus for life in the main hood.

Edmund Bertram has been very openly affectionate with many of the ladies. With Fanny Price recently moving away, perhaps Mary Bennet or Anne Elliot will take up more of his thoughts now? He has 3 bolts with all of them. But James Benwick (bottom right with goatee) is smitten with Fanny and Anne too.... fight!

Elinor Dashwood has both Edward Ferrars and Christopher Brandon chasing after her, and she has 3 bolts and crushes on both. Who will she choose?

Lizzie Bennet and Charlotte Lucas are still all over each other constantly, and now rolling engagement wants. Maybe they'll stick it out and move in together after graduation?

Augusta Hawkins and Philip Elton are very happy together, which is good as no one else is interested in them! I can see these two becoming a permanent thing.

A cute pairing I didn't anticipate - George Knightley and Jane Bennet! To be fair, Mary Bennet kept rejecting and then bullying him, so I think Jane is a better choice!

Harriet Smith and Robert Martin are both very sweet on each other (Robert was a little obsessed actually), and with both heading back to the main hood, maybe it won't be long before Harriet joins Robert on his farm? He could do with the help at least!

I think giving Jane Fairfax the loner trait was a bad idea - she's constantly picking fights with the cafeteria worker and has minus relationship levels with almost everyone!! Might need to switch that out for shy or something...

[bethanydelleman]

I'm listening to Emma as my falling-asleep audiobook right now and I'm thinking a lot about Harriet. The movie adaptations very often have her remaining friends with Emma after the end, but the book says their relationship sank into mere acquaintances after that. Is that a personality thing, do you think, or is it a class thing? And why the difference in the adaptations? I have my own thoughts but I'd like to hear yours.

It is definitely a class thing.

I think one of the reasons Emma can be unpalatable to modern audiences is because it ends with a restoration of a social order that we find repulsive today. How is it fair that Jane Fairfax, born as lower gentry, gets to marry into Enscombe but Harriet Smith, the natural daughter of a tradesman, 'deserves' only Robert Martin and is basically ejected from membership in Highbury's gentry class? And that's a good thing? The adaptations maintain the Emma and Harriet friendship because the way the book ends really appalls a lot of modern readers.

(Also, never really talking about the age difference between Emma and Knightley was a great choice in Emma 2020 because that is not people's favourite either.)

I think the most charitable way to look at it is that Harriet always wanted Robert Martin. She loved staying there over the summer, the family was extremely kind and loving towards her, and her status as a natural child would be largely ignored. Emma's interference gave her ideas above her station... ug, veering into territory I don't love again... but then again, could Harriet have ever succeeded at marrying into the gentry? Probably not on Emma's sponsorship.

There are only two characters that a member of the gentry tries to move from "middle class" (I know it's not really the middle class) to gentry, George Wickham and Harriet Smith. Both attempts are disasters. Captain Wentworth, Fanny/William Price, and Jane Fairfax are all born into the lower gentry and they climb higher, which seems to be fine. There are a bunch of characters who go from extremely wealthy trade to gentry, the Jennings (Mrs. Jennings, Lady Middleton, and Charlotte Palmer) and the Bingleys. They seem to be fine, Charles Bingley at least is portrayed positively.

I don't know what the message is there. The Gardiners are presented as gentleman-like but have no apparent intentions of jumping class. Does that make them good? As someone raised in Canada whose worldview is rooted in The American Dream Lite, it's hard for me to appreciate the upholding of a classist system. Jane Austen herself was clinging to gentry status by her fingernails, so why does she write a novel that glorifies almost everyone staying exactly where birth placed them? Jane Fairfax can improve herself and be worthy of a rich marriage but not Harriet? I guess Harriet never improves herself much though, but she hasn't had the same opportunities as Jane F...

But then the very next novel, Persuasion, seems very anti-classist!

Something about hubris...

I actually feel sorry for Emma at the end of the book. She got a husband, sure, but she loses a friend. She has Mrs. Weston still, but she'll be busy with her baby, she loses Harriet, Jane Fairfax is gone (again), and she's still stuck in Highbury, which has become worse because Mrs. Elton is there now. She just remains as much trapped and limited as she was before...

Anyway, that is my long and rambling answer. I'm not very happy with the ending of Emma. If someone who does like it wants to defend, you are more than welcome.

(I do think there might be something to like, this is how the class system could work well if everyone actually did their jobs. Knightley is the perfect, model landlord. Cares for the poor, lives at his estate, involved in running it etc. Emma does her duty to the poor, everyone seems to do well under their United management)

[anthroxlove]

AMBER RESTARTS X FROM ITALY After a long silence, Amber Heard returns with a film, presented at the Taormina Film Festival. At the center of the plot is a woman who is not believed. Just as it happened to her, who narrated domestic violence and was the subject of a hate campaign during the trial pitting her against ex Johnny Depp, triumphantly welcomed at Cannes only a short time ago By Enrica Brocardo

A little more than a year after the end of the defamation trial that had seen Amber Heard and ex-husband Johnny Depp confront each other in the courtroom in Fair- fax, Virginia, and ended with the star's victory, the actress chose the Taormina film festival for her first public appearance. Her new film, In the Fire, or In the Fire, premiered June 24, accompanied by Heard, who walked the red carpet that evening. Last May, on the other hand, it had been Johnny Depp's turn to indulge in a crowd at the Cannes Film Festival, where Jeanne du Barry - The King's Favorite, in which he plays France's King Louis XV, had been chosen as the opening film. Awaiting him was a winner-take-all reception, where it was the seven-minute standing ovation at the screening rather than sympathy for Amber that weighed in. Yet this collective takedown somewhat contrasts with the entire court story, which actually ended in a draw of sorts. It is true that, in America, she was found guilty of defamation for an editorial she wrote in 2018 in The Washington Post newspaper in which she spoke about the harassment and violence she had suffered (but never mentioned her ex-husband's name). But it is also true that Depp had lost his previous lawsuit against the British newspaper The Sun, which, again in 2018, called him a "wife beater." Many wondered why two such similar prosecutions could end with two opposing verdicts. One of the reasons, according to an analysis by British lawyer specializing in Media Law Mark Stephens, is that while in Britain the decision was made by a judge, in the United States it was a people's jury that convicted Heard. "It reflected the judgment already made by the public opinion, which, from the very beginning of the trial, had stood up for Depp," the expert explained. Another reason would be that the judge in the trial against the Sun had defused the strategy of the plaintiff's lawyers, namely to prove that Heard had lied on a few occasions in order to undermine his credibility, and had focused rather on the evidence of the incidents of violence against his wife. In Fairfax, conversely, Depp's lawyers had a free hand in discrediting Heard. Moreover, not only in the eyes of the jury, but of the world inter- not because the trial aired live on the web, resulting in a hate campaign against the actress that, a few months later, prompted her to leave Hollywood and move with her 2-year-old daughter Oonagh to live in Spain. Meanwhile, late last year, the two exes reached an agreement whereby she would no longer have to pay over $10 million in compensation, but "only" $1 million, which the actor, in turn, said he would donate to charity. At the same time, alongside the actress, associations against gender violence and feminists lined up with an open letter (see opposite page) also signed a few days ago by French writer Annie Ernaux, who will be awarded the Nobel Prize in 2022. In the Fire, which will hit theaters in the fall, is a supernatural thriller of sorts: the story of a psichiatrist who in the late 1800s is called in to take care of a child that people believe possessed by the devil. She tries to pit science against superstition but, even as a woman, is not believed. A more muted return to the scenes than that of Depp, who also recently signed a contract with a luxury brand. In short, refinding her place in Hollywood, despite the release of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom next December, promises to be more complicated for Heard. [ The open letter supporting Amber can be read here. ]

[bewareofitalics]

I have seen the first act of Jane Eyre! It's... well. Very hard for me to be objective about this show. But I don't like the "improvements" Gordon and Caird have made. I am doomed to be a fan of things created by chronic rewriters. At least Tom Jones never messed with the structure of The Fantasticks. :P

They've gone back to the Toronto opening, with Jane's parents. Does anyone really care about Jane's parents? I like that bit on the Toronto album, but mostly because it means I get to hear Jayne Paterson sing more. Just get to the story! Which now has the red room, so, less time spent with the Reeds, but also not much time with the red room, so it's just kind of diluting things instead of making one strong impression.

Petty complaint, but, they changed Bessie to Aggie. Probably because the musical has a Thornfield servant named Bessie but uh why not change her name to Aggie? (And actually, wait, was Bessie on Broadway? I have the script but it isn't searchable. I think she might have been added later though? Maybe they need her for a rhyme somewhere?)

A lot of the humor is gone. Also "Perfectly Nice," "Galloping Up to the Drive," and "The Finer Things," so it's just a lot of the same tunes over and over again, and it's tonally and melodically dull. ("Galloping" is the same tune as "Perfectly," but still, they break up the more serious stuff.) There are added songs, to the same tune, for Mrs. Fairfax showing off the house and Jane being excited about having her own room. The latter might have been effective if we'd seen anything about her having to share a room before. As it is, it's just time that could have been spent doing something brighter.

I feel like there's less Jane/Rochester interaction, but that might just be because I'm analyzing instead of enjoying. Or because of the lack of humor. :P

All non-Ingram guests have been cut. And I get wanting to make the cast smaller but... sigh.

They switched the places of "Sirens" and "Secret Soul" and I know that's how they were in Toronto and La Jolla but the Broadway spots worked better! "Sirens" makes for a much more exciting Act 1 finale! :(

There are a lot of unnecessary lyric changes throughout. :( Maybe Gordon and Caird think that the material is why the show flopped on Broadway? The Broadway material was good! The problem was The Producers!

And production specific stuff... Jane's dress is just so bad. The color at least makes a little more sense in context - the ensemble is in gray with added accessories as they become characters, with only Jane and Rochester in full color, so I can at least see what they were going for. But putting Jane in black would make her stand out just as much! And there's no reason for it to be that poorly designed. :P The ensemble accessories don't always work for me. Like Blanche just looks like a servant with a shawl on.

Matt Bogart looks too old for Rochester, but to be fair, Julie Benko is too old, too. According to Google they're 53 and 35, so the age difference is approximately the same as canon.

And just a video issue, but sometimes the sound is out of sync, probably because it was filmed over multiple performances and the audio and video aren't always from the same one. So understandable, but annoying.

Well. On to Act 2!