#Voyage Real Estate

[bkenber]

The Scene at the SAG/AFTRA and WGA Picket Line Outside of Netflix

After joining the union members of SAG/AFTRA and WGA, still on strike for a fair contract from producers, in front of Paramount Studios, I joined them again outside of Netflix, Sunset Bronson Studios and KTLA Channel 5 studios on July 27, 2023. It was a scorcher of a day as the temperature got up to ninety degrees, but the union members remained determined to march on, and the strike captains did…

[holydivers]

i kinda want to try star trek again but i felt a little underwhelmed by the idea of returning to tos (i don't dislike it but it's. y'know) and i was like what if i skipped to ds9

and immediately it's like hi picard's a borg and we're firing at a cube and i go ok maybe i need to go back and get some context for this

[bumblingbabooshka]

It’s a bunch of T’Pels!

[nettoyagemgsworld]

Article: Ireland will pay you $90,000 to move to a beautiful island home

Ireland will pay you $90,000 to move to a beautiful island home

[i-only-ever-asked-questions]

Good Omens Through the Decades

UPDATED!

This is a timeline of all the events that have happened related to Good Omens, from its inception to its publication to its future plans; editions, adaptations, failed adaptations and the like.

I originally wanted to have this post ready for the anniversary in May, that didn't work, it just kept getting larger. Then I wanted to do it for the anniversary of Season 2 in July, that didn't work either, for the same reason. So I am just going to post it now, a random date and hope for the best LOL. And guess what? After a fun and fruitful chat with another fan who prefers to remain anonymous, I added a couple of events a few trivia here and there (thank you!). So, a little bit of warning: it is loooong, lots of things have happened in 34 years. At the beginning I was going to put all the references at the end of the post, but they are a lot, so I put them in a document instead.

*Yes, of course I am aware of the allegations. But this is about the history and the world of Good Omens which is so much bigger than one person, even if that person started the whole thing. It is ours now. It is Terry's and Rob's. It is David and Michael's, Douglas McKinnon's, David Arnold's and the rest of the cast and crew. It is Colleen Doran's, Dirk Maggs's, Terry Gilliam's, Vicki Larnach, Jim Hare and Jay James Moody's. It is Stephen Brigg's and Martin Jarvis's. And so many other people who have brought or will bring its many iterations to life. It is the fans'.

1985-1990 - The Book

1985, Jan - Terry and Neil met for the first time when Neil interviewed Terry for Space Voyager magazine after "The Colour of Magic" was published [1,2] *For years they both wholeheartedly believed it had been at a Chinese Restaurant during February. Some time after Terry passed away Neil found his diary for 1985 where the entry said it had been in January at an Italian Restaurant [3]

1987, summer - Neil wrote the first 5000 words of a story and sent it to a few friends, including Terry; "An exchange in Marlowe’s The Jew of Malta, combined with a late night viewing of The Omen and a love of Richmal Compton’s immortal Just William stories, had put a story into my head, about a demonic baby-swap that goes wrong, in which the Antichrist grows up to be a nice kid, with a dog and a gang" [1,4]

1987, Oct - Sandman began and William the Antichrist went into the back back back burner [1]

1988, spring? summer? - Terry called Neil and offered to either buy the idea or write it together; "About a year later I took it out of the drawer and did see what happened next, even if I couldn’t see how it all ended yet" [5]

1988, summer - They wrote it together (do you really need a reference? 😉)

1988-1989 - First draft took about nine weeks. After Richmal Compton's estate did not reply to the request of using William Brown and his world, William became Adam, Pepper and War became female and the book got a new title (Good Omens by Neil) and subtitle (The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry). The second draft took about four months. There were still about five more months of polishing and editing and auctioning and more editing [4,6] *Good Omens was the first Terry book that ever went to auction. It ended up going for £150,000 [7]

1989, Halloween - During the World Fantasy Convention in Seattle, Terry and Neil started plotting what could become the sequel to Good Omens and called it "668 The Neighbor of the Beast" [6,8] *The real-life experience of trying to piece together the plot of a soft porn movie using little free increments from hotels' pay-per-view over time probably made it into the sequel around here [7]

1990, May 10. Book published in the UK - Hardback published in the UK by Victor Gollancz (with whom Terry had already been working) to be followed by paperback by Corgi on May 23, 1991 [8,9] *After the first UK edition was published (Gollancz), several changes were made to the text to make it easier on US readers and to polish it a bit. The new text was used by both the US publishers (Workman) and the UK publishers of the paperback (Corgi). Gollancz was unaware of this alternate text until about 2009. They started using the Workman/Corgi text starting with their next edition in 2014 [9]

1990, Sep. Book published in the US - Hardback published in the US by Workman to be followed by paperback by Berkley on March 1992 [9,10] *UK editions list Terry's name first and US editions list Neil's name first. This was done because Terry was more known in the UK and Neil was more known in the US [7]

1991-2004 - The Movies

1991, Feb - Hollywood Studio Sovereign Pictures hired Terry and Neil to write an adaptation of the book for a movie. The studio had some specific requirements such as Crowley owning a night club, Aziraphale working as a curator for the British Museum, Tadfield with an abandoned pier and a miniature town in it and Satan. They ended up rejecting the script anyway [11] *It was at this point that Terry suggested Buddy Holly's "Every Day" as the theme for Good Omens. In this script some of the angels used for the series got started like Gabriel and Sandalphon and a big sequence had them use their haloes like frisbees inside the British Museum [11,12,13]

1992, Jan. Movie Script - Terry declined to write a second script, but Neil stayed and wrote one. In October the company got taken over and all dreams of a movie died [11,14] *In this script Crowley tries to run away to Alpha Centauri

2001-2002. Terry Gilliam Movie deal - Since about 1999, when he obtained the rights, and throughout the 00's Terry Gilliam tried hard to make a movie. The closest he came to it was in 2001-2002 when he got as far as casting the parts (Johnny Depp as Crowley, Robin Williams as Aziraphale, Mme. Tracey and Hastur, and Kirsten Dunst). But he couldn't get a US studio to invest the last $15M and the movie project collapsed [13,15,16] *Terry had received, back in 1989, a copy of the book asking for a blurb. The letter got lost and he thought the book had been sent as a pitch for a movie [16,17]

2004, Jun 20th - Hill House Publishers created the "Neil Gaiman's Preferred Edition Series" with limited editions of American Gods, Anansi Boys and Neverwhere. As a bonus for the subcribers, Hill House printed the 1992 movie script under the name "A Screenplay." Only 500 numbered and 52 lettered copies were ever made [11,18]

2005-2010 - The Sequel (and the Audiobooks)

2005, Jun - Terry and Neil met at the Audie Awards in New York and plotted a little more of the sequel. This was when the South Downs bit was thought up [19,20]

2005, Dec. Crowley and Aziraphale's New Year's resolutions - The list of resolutions came out sometime between Christmas and New Year's at Harper Collins' website [7] *The well-known idea of Crowley gluing coins to the sidewalk is not in the book at all, it came from this list

2006, Feb 28. New edition - The book was reissued in the US as a hardcover in two different versions. The text is the same but one version has a white cover with Crowley and Neil's name listed first, and a second version has a black cover with Aziraphale and Terry's name listed first [7,21] *This time the explanation for the authors' name order was to make sure the book could be found both under "G" and also under "P"

2006, Jul. Briggs Audiobook - ISIS released in the UK an unabridged audiobook read by Stephen Briggs in CD, MP3CD and cassette (it won the 2008 Audiobook Download of the Year by audible.co.uk) [22,23]

2009, Nov 10. Jarvis Audiobook - HarperAudio released in the US an unabridged audiobook read by Martin Jarvis in CD [24] *Martin Jarvis is the same narrator who recorded the Just William audiobooks, a nice Easter egg related to the origins of the book

2010, Sep 23 - Terry and Neil had dinner at a sushi restaurant in Cardiff and decided that the book should be adapted as a TV series and not a movie anymore (as per Terry Gilliam's advice). And if it goes well, the rest of the story, the unwritten sequel, should be adapted too [8,13,15] *It was around here that the idea of the sushi restaurant cameo with both of them being patrons started

2011-2013 - The Stage (and a failed TV series)

2011, Feb. Terry Jones TV series - Terry and Neil agreed to a deal to adapt the book into a four-part TV series made by Terry Jones and Gavin Scott. At the end they didn't quite like the script though [13,25,26]

2012, Jun - Amy Hoff's The Cult Classic Theatre was granted permission to adapt the book to a stage play [27] *One of the conditions was that no footage would be taken/made available and the script would not be shared/sold

2012, Aug- Narrativia was established as the production company that would handle all of Terry's work adaptations. The production of the TV series and of The Watch were then transferred from Prime Focus [28,29] *Narrativia was first revealed at "The Watch Team Interview" panel during the Discworld 2012 convention on Aug, 26th [28]

2013, Mar. Stage Play - Amy Hoff's play was presented on March 20-23 and 27-30 at the Cottiers Theatre in Glasgow [30]

2013, Apr - BBC drama producer Heather Larmour pitched a radio drama adaptation to the BBC [31]

2013, sometime. The Musical - Vicki Larnarch and Jim Hare, "two hippies from Sydney", had met with Terry and Rob about six months prior. Terry's interest had gotten piqued when they showed him The Chattering Order Nuns song and he asked them to come back with a showstopper and a few more songs. They came back with "All Living Things" and they got the green light to go forward with the adaptation [32]

2013, Dec 11 - In a meeting at The Groucho Club, Terry and Neil enter into talks with the BBC to adapt GO to TV [33]

2014-2015 - The Radio Drama

2014, summer - Dirk Maggs adapted the book into a Radio Drama and gave Terry and Neil a cameo as police officers pursuing Crowley [31,34] *In July, Neil advised Dirk to get Terry's recording asap, before he couldn't do it anymore. They did it in the summer and that day ended up being the last day Neil and Terry saw each other [35]. The rest of the recording happened during autumn [13]

2014, Aug - Terry asked Neil to make the TV adaptation of Good Omens, "I know, Neil, that you are very, very busy, but no one else could ever do it with the passion that we share for the old girl. I wish I could be more involved, and I will help in any way I can" [12] Neil, of course, said yes

2014, Dec. BBC Radio 4 Dramatisation - The six episodes aired between December 22nd and December 27th, 2014 on BBC Radio 4 [36]

2015, Jan 15 - Random House UK released the BBC Radio 4 Dramatisation in CD [37]

2015-2019 - The TV series (and some luxury limited editions)

2015, Mar 12 - Terry passed away 😢

2015, Mar 25 - Terry's funeral. As soon as Neil got back home, he started writing the script for the TV series [12] *Sometimes signed copies of the third draft of the pilot (dated 25 July 2015) appear in eBay

2015 - Jay James-Moody joined the team to produce the musical [32]

2016, Aug 1 - First read-through of the series script [38] *The scripts were finalized right before SDCC 2016 which was held July 21st-24th [39]. Both Maggie Service and Tim Downie were present in this read-through [40]

2017, Sep 18 - 2018, Mar 10. Season 1 shooting - Season 1 started shooting at St. James' park (with the 11 years ago scene) and ended in Cape Town, South Africa [13,41,42] *The read-through before shooting occurred on Sept 13, 2017 [43]

2017, Nov 13 - Full development reading of the musical at the York Theatre in Chippendale, Sydney, Australia [32,44]

2019, Feb 8 - The social media campaign to promote Season 1 started with a tour of the Chattering Order of St. Beryl, an acapella choir that traveled to different cities for events and TV shows [45,46]

2019, Apr 25. The Chattering Order of St. Beryl's video - The video "That Brand New Baby Smell" was released in YouTube [47]

2019, May 3 and 4 - Workshop production of the musical at IPAC in Wollongong, Australia. About ten days before the series premiere Vicki, Jim and Jay showed Neil and Rob a recording of this show [32,44,48] *Although a full recording of the workshop exists, they are not allowed to share it until it is finished

2019, May 21. Companion Book - A companion book to the TV series with interviews and behind the scenes photographs written by Matt Whyman was published by William Morrow [49]

2019, May 21. The Script Book - Headline Publishing Group released a script book in both hardback and paperback (The US edition by William Morrow followed on Jun 11th). All editions of the script book include an "Other Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" deleted scene. An exclusive edition for Waterstones included an additional deleted scene (Aziraphale in the 1800). A hardback edition limited to 1000 copies with white cover included four different deleted scenes (thugs visiting the bookshop, Leonardo DaVinci, the televangelist and Crowley clothes shopping) and a series of sketches made on set by Lorna May Wadsworth. On Jan 15th of 2020, a paperback edition with the white cover was released; it contained all five deleted scenes from the other editions and a sixth one (Aziraphale trying to sell a book); this edition does not include the sketches however. [9,50] *The script book was created so the production could pay for the death of Agnes Nutter, a scene (and a character) originally written by Terry which was too expensive to film [3]

2019, May 23. The Illustrated Edition - The Pratchett Estate and Neil agreed on a revised definitive text. It was published in five versions collectively called the Definitive Edition. Two versions were published by Gollancz which they called the Illustrated Edition; a standard hardback with black cover and a limited edition in a slipcase with white cover signed by Paul Kidby, the illustrator [51,52]

2019, May 30. "Unholy Night" - The Chattering Order of St. Beryl's released their album "Unholy Night" on Amazon Music and other digital platforms [53]

2019, May 31. TV Series - Season 1 premiered in Prime Video 😊

2019, May 31. Soundtrack - Silva Screen Records released the soundtrack in CD, vinyl and mp3/wav download [54]

2019, Jul. The Definitive Edition - The other three versions of the revised text were published by Dunmanifestin, the company established by the Pratchett Estate to handle Terry's intellectual property. All editions were limited: The Occult Edition (July 1st) with only 1655 copies in a black clamshell box, the Ineffable Edition (July 4th) with 666 copies in a deluxe box including ephemera, and the Celestial Edition, made to order with only 24 copies [52,55]

2019, Aug 2. The BBC Radio Drama Collectors Edition - A vinyl box set by Demon Records included four LPs printed in black and white in illustrated wallets, commentaries by Neil and Dirk and a set of tarot cards. An Amazon exclusive limited edition of 500 sets also included a print signed by Neil [56]

2019, Aug - Neil pitched Season 2 to Amazon [57]

2019, Oct 28. Blu-ray and DVD - Amazon released the series in DVD, Blu-ray and steelbook limited edition Blu-ray (PAL) for the UK. The US version (NSTC) followed on November 5th in both DVD and Blu-ray, there was no steelbook edition for the US market [58]

2019, Dec - John Finnemore joined as co-writer of Season 2 [57] *In this meeting, John stated that he needed to know the ending before he could write so Neil came up with the ending of Season 2 in about 5 minutes right there and then

2020-2025 - TV Series Season 2, a new Audiobook and some other adjacent projects

2020, May 1st. Lockdown Video - A short video about a phonecall between Crowley and Aziraphale was created by Narrativia and The Blank Corporation for the 30th anniversary of the book. It was released in the the official YouTube account of the Terry Pratchett Estate (@terrypratchett6025) [59]

2020, summer - Neil started writing the script for Season 2 beginning with the opening scene for episode 1 [57] *The last scene written was Gabriel organizing the books by first letter of first line. It was planned as the last scene for Episode 2 but at the end got moved to another place [60]

2020, Sep 16 - Season 2 was officially greenlit (along with Anansi Boys) [61]

2021, Mar 26 - The Hillywood Show announced the Good Omens parody project [62]

2021, Jun 29 - Amazon announced Season 2 in a press release [63]

2021, Oct 18 - 2022, Mar 1. Season 2 shooting - Season 2 started shooting in the Bathgate studio. Some scenes were shot on location in different parts of Edinburgh and other areas [64,65] *The read-through happened over October 14th and 15th, three episodes per day [66], David had to attend via zoom since he was still in isolation from Georgia's covid [67]. On the other hand, Michel McKean (Shadwell in Season 1) was present for that zoom read-through but had to be drop out also for covid reasons [68]. Peter Davison (David's-father-in law) was asked to play Job's part after shooting had started (possibly replacing Michael McKean?) and Ty Tennant (David's son) was cast too after shooting had started but through audition [69]. Maggie Service was in the very first shot of the season and also in the last day, first one in last one out as she said [70]

2021, Nov 2. Full Cast Audiobook - HarperAudio released in the US a full cast audiobook with Michael Sheen as Aziraphale and David Tennant as Crowley. The audiobook was later released in the UK on January 14th, 2022 [71,72] *The original cover for the audiobook was designed by Henry Sene Yee; a lavender background with drawings of Crowley and Aziraphale facing away from each other. After Season 2 was released, the cover changed to one of the promotional posters [73]

2023, Mar 15. Good Omens HQ - The Terry Pratchett Estate and Neil Gaiman created Good Omens Headquarters. The headquarters launched official accounts in several social media platforms and a website that keeps track of collector's items as they are being revealed [74]

2023, May 10. Good Omens Parody - The Hillywood Show's parody premiered in their YouTube channel (thehillywoodshow) [75] *Amazon Video partnered with Hillywood to announce the premiere date for Season 2 within their parody video. Neil, Maggie Service and Daniel Mays appeared as guests

2023, Jul 28. TV Series Season 2 - Season 2 premiered in Prime Video 😊 *As part of the promo campaign two days before the premiere, Amazon screened the first two episodes in cinemas in several cities free for Amazon Prime members

2023-2024 - The Graphic Novel

2023, Aug 1. Graphic Novel - The Kickstarter campaign to fund the graphic novel adaptation with Colleen Doran as illustrator launched [76] *At its closure, 36,867 backers had pledged £2,419,973 (notice it is pounds, not dollars)

2023, Aug 25. Season 2 Soundtrack - Silva Screen Records released the soundtrack for season 2 in CD, vinyl and mp3/wav download [54]

2023, Dec 14 - Season 3 was officially greenlit [77]

2024, Apr 18 - The Graphic Novel Pledgemanager site launches for people who missed the Kickstarter campaign or to add extras to an already existing pledge [78]

2024, Jul 13 - Vicki Larnach, Jim Hare and Jay James Moody appeared as virtual guests at Nullus Anxietas 9, the Australian Discworld Convention 2024 held in Adelaide, to talk about recent push for the musical [79]

2025 - The Future

2025, January - Season 3 is scheduled to begin filming [80]

2025, Spring - Graphic novel is scheduled to be released [76] *The original release date was in July of 2024, however in April of 2024 it was announced that it would need to be pushed to the Spring of 2025 (Update #20)

There should be a special mention of a fan created musical parody for YouTube that was in development in Russia by 62Media. This was completely fan made and not connected to the Pratchett Estate, Neil, the BBC or Amazon (which is why it is not in the list). Unfortunately it had to shut down due to COVID [81]

Fun fact: During the tour to promote the book, back in 1989-1990 the song "Shoehorn With Teeth" by They Might Be Giants became the unofficial anthem of the tour since that is what they always ended up singing when things went too crazy [82]

[night-unfurls-its-splendour]

Susan Kay's 'Phantom' Read: Part IV (Nadir)

I always knew I'd have mixed feelings about this chunk of the book.

I feel like the issues with the rampant Orientalism and just generally how very wrong Kay is about so much of this have been sufficiently commented on by others, so I'm not going to spend a lot of real estate on that. I'm mainly going to focus on what bugs me personally.

Which is... well, several things

Where do I start?

I guess with "Nadir" himself. I don't know who "Nadir" is, but he's #NotMyDaroga. 'Why's that?' You may ask? Well because, in my opinion, he's only tangentially related to his source material. There's a lot here that checks the boxes: Daroga of Mazanderan, reluctant with many of his duties, simultaneously in awe of and terrified of Erik’s genius all of that's in there. Buuuuut

First of all, Kay took the most practical, likeable character in Leroux's work and made him whiny and annoying. All he does for the first five pages is complain. Within those five pages he also refers to himself as "regrettably squeamish". Nothing happens in the course of this episode to show him growing out of that, so how we get the, pragmatic badass who haunts the Paris opera house keeping Erik in check I have no idea (I also have no idea how this is gonna go later in the book).

Not only that but this in particular stuck out to me:

Some of the illusions were positively supernatural, and long before the show was at an end, I was quietly convinced that I stood in the presence of a genie, created from fire more than two thousand years before Adam. I noted uneasily that he was left handed. Every Moslem knows that the devil is left handed--it is for this reason that we always take care to spit to the left. My fingers felt instinctively for the amulets that hung at my neck, an outstretched hand made in silver and the dried eye of a sheep, killed at Mecca on the great day of sacrifice. Both were powerful protective agencies, and I had never felt more in need of their protection. I took care not to meet his gaze, for I already feared his evil eye.

This stands in sharp contrast to the Persian of Leroux:

If I had been a superstitious man or easily susceptible to weakness, I could not have failed to think that I had to do with a siren of some sort whose task was to trouble the voyager bold enough to travel on the waters of the lakeside house; but, thank God, I come from a country where the fantastic is so cherished that we know it to its depths, and in times past I myself have studied it extensively. Anyone who knows the magicians trade can excite the human imagination with a few simple tricks.

Of course you can make the argument that the Persian speaking here has known Erik for years now and is wise to his tricks, whereas Kay's "Nadir" is seeing them for the first time. But I'm sorry. I don't buy it. Leroux's Daroga, though amazed and awestruck by Erik's skills at illusion, never indicates that he has even been so fooled by them as to actually mistake him for more than what he is: a genius, certainly, but no genie.

Which leads me to wonder if Erik's magic tricks in this book aren't a little too fantastic. Granted Kay never leads us to believe that they really are supernatural, but she uses Erik's degree of genius as a bit of a shield to get away with not revealing the secrets to some truly fantastic tricks, while Leroux nearly always explains Erik's mechanisms (whether they would work to the level of efficacy Leroux describes its up for debate, but he at least does have explanations for them all.

I think it's hilarious and contemptible that Kay has, at numerous times in this book, dropped incredibly clunky and gratuitous clusters of architectural technical terms, just lists of them for no apparent reason except, I can only assume, to show off how much research she did on the subject; and then makes it so patently obvious that her cultural research is dubious, negligible, or entirely non-existent.

She goes to great lengths to paint Nadir as a devout Muslim, which is not something Leroux ever did, now that I think about it. I don't doubt that the Persian is, at least culturally, be he seems quite ambivalent to his religion, as a rule. It quite literally (as far as I can recall) never comes up. But Nadir is. Several times she has him exclaim "Allah" much in the way a Westerner would use "God" as an expletive. Not "Wallah" not even "By Allah" just "Allah".

"Allah, how I hated cats!"

And it's not only the things he says but the things he doesn't say that annoy me (though I'm a layman, and very much open to correction). Common Islamic phrases that could easily be used in any of the situations Nadir finds himself in are completely left by the wayside. There isn't even a single "Inshallah" in his entire narrative.

Another problem I have is that Kay's Daroga is a widower with a sick son. A very complex emotional relationship develops among Erik, Nadir, and Nadir's son, Reza, to whom Erik feels an affinity, as the boy is slowly crippled by a debilitating congenital disease. I have a problem with this because its all very... I call it the Michael Burnham effect. That is to say this is a very important and big emotional thing in The Persian's relationship with Erik and I don't believe that this wouldn't have come up in any of the Persian's narrative if it was actually the case. This is a liberty which Kay, in my opinion, shouldn't have taken. It affects Erik's entire relationship with The Persian in ways that strain my credulity. And it's part of the reason that Erik's character here is fully beginning to stray deeper into a musical-based version than the Leroux-version (which I have a problem with, as this book is ostensibly following Leroux's outline). She even goes to far as to have Erik acknowledge Nadir, with complete (if reluctant) sincerity, as his friend. And this pretty much confirms my suspicions of where "Erik and Daroga are friends" comes from. Whatever Erik and The Persian's odd relationship in the book is, I can't call it friendship with how frequently The Persian calls him "the monster".

Note don't get me wrong Erik and Daroga do definitely have a bizarre bond that is, I think, a kind of friendship. Daroga feels sympathy for Erik, and also responsibility for him. He is, in many, ways, more like an older brother than a friend. I could say so much on this subject but that's for another post.

But what I find really baffling and annoying about Erik and Nadir's "friendship" in this book is the drugs.

I can't express how repugnant I find this. I think it's an insult to both Erik and the Persian, the fact that Nadir HIMSELF GETS ERIK HOOKED ON OPIUM. WHY. And then she has the fucking nerve to lampshade with all the "Oh yes Opium's a terrible horrible deadly habit" Only to have Nadir turn right around and give Erik his fix. What the actual fuck.

But setting aside that Susan Kay actually said "I'm not just going to make Nadir annoying, I'm also going to make him an enabler!" Is the fact that... I just don't buy Erik doing drugs.

I know Erik is an artist, and artists throughout the ages have been associated with decadent habits like drugs and alcohol to soothe their tortured souls or broaden their minds to ever more fantastic plains blah blah blah.

But Erik is not an every day kind of character. Erik is notable in how uniquely he glories in his tribulations. Erik's music in particular is a manifestation of his pure emotions both good and bad, and I think for him to alter his moods with substances, to him, would sully the purity of his art, which he always characterizes as a spiritual, almost holy thing.

And here's another thing. Part of the reason Erik is doing opium in this book is, yes the horrors of his past, but also the terrible things he's doing in the present... which I do think Erik of Leroux did grow sick of what was demanded of him in Persia (he explicitly says he wanted to put it all behind him), but I don't think he probably felt... that bad about it? I dunno maybe that's just me.

Moving on.

I'll pause here to say that while I think Kay is a bit guilty of "de-fanging" Erik in this book, I genuinely do appreciate her emphasis on his affinity for the weak and broken, and his knack with animals.

So now I come to one of the things that made me look most askance at this section. Again, the conceit of this book (or at least what I was given to understand the conceit was) is that its filling in the blanks that Leroux left vague. And I don't really know if that was Susan Kay's intention, but it's certainly how the Phandom took it. Which is why it bugs me when there are things in here that either don't quite jive with canon or straight up contradict it.

Now in terms of the canon of Leroux's actual book, we're not sure exactly which Shah employed Erik. Leonard Wolf point out that Leroux mentions Erik "[fighting] the Emir" and posits that he is referring to the Afghani-Persian war of 1837. This would put Erik’s age in PotO at about 60, assuming he was very young at the time (in his teens). That would make Erik's patron Mohammad Shah Qajar.

However M. Grant Kellermeyer (and most others writing about this period in Erik’s life, including Susan Kay) favour the idea that Erik’s patron was Mohammed's son, Nasser al din Shah Qajar.

When Erik and the Persian talk about the "Rosy Hours of Mazanderan" they both make mention of the "Little Sultana", who is described by Leroux's narrator in the epilogue as "the Shah-in-Shah's favourite", whose boredom was the Shah's impetus for sending the Persian to find Erik in the first place, and whose delight in bloodthirsty spectacles of torture and execution allowed Erik's talents in those areas to develop into a finely honed art.

Now I would take "the Little Sultana" to mean one of the Shah's wives, concubines, daughters, or even a sister.

But Kay, for some inexplicable reason, chooses to interpret this capricious (and bloodthirsty) female figure--the Shah's favourite--as his... mother.

Now Nasser al din Shah's mother was Malek Jahan Khanom, who, true to Kay's portrayal was Regent of Persia for one month (September 5th - October 5th) in 1848. Also like Kay's "Khanum", Malek was a formidable and politically savvy woman, and definitely not an individual you would want to cross.

I can't dispute the idea of the Khanom being an incredibly powerful figure, and the type you would need and want to keep appeased (she is described by Kay as keeping her son firmly under her thumb), but I have to look at the fact that Kay read "The Little Sultana, the Shah's Favourite" and really said, "Right. That'll be his mom" and squint a little bit.

On top of this, the Khanum is characterized as having a sexual obsession with Erik, very similar to the way Duchess Josiana is aroused by Gwynplaine's facial deformity in Victor Hugo's The Man Who Laughs, and is first irritated, then enraged by Erik's constant indifference. This fact is not lost on the Shah.

I just don't know ya'll. It's...I just... I don't know about this.

M. Grant Kellermeyer speculates that the "Little Sultana" Leroux refers to, to be the seventh wife of Nasser al din Shah, Jeyran, whom he first took as a mistress in around 1850 following a chance encounter during which he apparently fell in love with her on sight. One story of their meeting even asserts that she was one of his mother's servants.

If that is the case it would be one reason why Malek and Jeyran stood locked for years in stark political opposition to each other.

Jeyran was herself formidable and enjoyed many masculine pursuits including hunting and shooting, and not even the Khanom was able to dissuade Nasser from conferring her the title of Forough ol-Saltaneh, or from naming her son the crown prince (though this decision was stuck in political hell for years because of Jeyran's lack of influential blood-lines).

She was his favourite wife until her early death in 1860 at the age of 29.

It's my opinion that Leroux's "Little Sultana" is a composite of Jeyran and her successor as the Shah's favourite, Anis al-Dalweh, who was even more formidable and politically savvy than Jeyran. She was the only one of the Shah's wives known to share his meals and the only one he suffered to publicly criticize him, and she took over Malek's duties as the head of the harem upon her death in 1873.

Masterpost

[cityof2morrow]

Bella Brand: Intro + Mesh Set 001

Published: 11-6-2023 | Updated: 11-20-2023 (collection file) SUMMARY “Apart from being the most famous alien abductee in the simsverse, Bella Goth (nee’ Bachelor) is a big name in residential, commercial, and industrial real estate. She even has a history in television—or was that a clone? The Bella Brand Series brings some of these stories to life in the Sims 2 via new downloadable content.” I had the pleasure of learning and creating alongside several talented gamers/artists for this installment of the Bella Brand Series. Inspired by the wealth of Bella Goth lore from the Sims/SimCity franchises (aka the “simsverse”), it includes more than a dozen sets and 230+ new business-themed items. Lore suggests that the wealth/influence of the Gilman, Crumplebottom, Bachelor, and Goth families increases considerably under Mortimer and Bella Goth, especially the latter. So, this series imagines what a prestigious Bella-based brand might look like…

DETAILS Requires ALL EPs/SPs. Mesh Set 001 (2023) contains essential items/recolors for all upcoming sets in this installment of the series. You need this set and the Display Counter (BellasSecret_Counter_Somedaythesun)from TS2 Maxis Match Lingerie Store Set (SomedayTheSun, 2023) for all textures to display correctly in-game. The counter uses recolors from the Bosenklavier Model B grand piano (Bon Voyage EP). Find recolors for the counter interior in the Bella Brand: Retail Floor Set (Simmons, 2023).

Recolors may include swatches for items in other Bella Brand sets such as signs, packages, cosmetics, etc. Objects in Sims 2 are limited to two recolorable parts, so not all items are recolorable in the same way. Find additional recolors for Bella Brand sets on this site under #ts2recolors, #co2recolors, and #co2bellabrand.

ITEMS Almost all items in this series will have a relatively low poly count, but a few objects are MID/HIGH poly. Avoid placing too many of these items on a busy lot at once if you need to conserve memory, or if your game is vulnerable to pink flashing. None of the high-poly items are essential. Bella Fantasy Column (696 poly) Bella’s Secret Sign Stand (244 poly) Bella Intellawear: The Singlet (1144 poly) Blackfyre: A Simple Bust in Glass (608 poly) Bella Park Mannequin 001 (560 poly) Bella’s Cosmetic Deco 001-002 (440 poly)

DOWNLOAD (choose one) MESH PACK from SFS | from MEGA COLLECTION FILE from MEGA *A known game bug may disable some shelf slots. If you cannot access more than 2 slots on the hosiery/lingerie racks (the ones with 4 or 6 bars), download ONE these fixes: MORE_Custom-objects-placeable-on-shelves (Numenor, 2006) MORE_Custom-objects-placeable-on-shelves+LOCKEDTILES (Numenor, 2006) Object Freedom 1.02 (Fway, 2023)

CREDITS No copyright infringement intended. All trademarks belong to their respective owners. CCA = Creative Commons Attribution. Thanks: @catherinetcjd, @gayars, @gummilutt, @haziewhims, @kashmiresims (Rach’), @somedaythesun, whoward, Easy Shine Removal Kit (PF Forest, 2023), Reducing GUIDs/OBJs Tutorial (HugeLunatic, 2022), Sketchfab and Blender Communities. Sources: SEE CREDITS (ALT).

[forasecondtherewedwon]

remember it once - chapter two

Fandom: The Artful Dodger Pairing: Jack x Belle Rating: T (will change) Chapter: 2 / 7 Word Count: 2894

For today's @dodgerfoxweek prompt: family/fighting

read on tumblr: one

She’s been told she’s going to England, which is obviously unacceptable, but without a husband it’s her father who has the final say, and with how her particular father cedes to her mother on all things… Well. Belle’s going to England.

This will be a trip of months, possibly a year. The sea voyage alone will fill most of that time, and who knows what excuses to extend their stay her mother may come up with once there? Of course, she’s sworn they won’t be away any longer than is completely necessary, as she meets with officials on her husband’s behalf (she is certain to be underestimated, Belle knows, and therefore all the more likely to succeed in her aims). Belle is aware of the dual forces tugging at her mother: what she could accomplish if she went and what mess she would prevent her husband from making of the colony if she stayed. For Belle, it is all loss; the thought of being without Jack, especially now they are engaged (secretly), is intolerable.

But her mother requires a companion, and Fanny is awful on boats.

If Belle does this with her mother, she will not be trotted around to society events when they arrive. Not made to sit in airless parlours with the dry mothers of eligible men. Not trussed into elaborate gowns and wedged into tight shoes for balls where she won’t know the steps to any of the dances. Nothing like flirting or courting or coy blushes behind a feathered fan. Her mother will spare her these things, if she goes. She even implies that Belle will be allowed to have a say in her own future when they return. The sourness around her mouth implies more: that her mother thinks of her marriage—that her mother thinks of Jack. She won’t go so far as to give her blessing to the match now, instead emphasizing that Belle will be permitted to make up her own mind when the time comes. No fool, Belle would bet their estate that her mother is simply hoping she’ll see and do enough to change her mind about Jack, to forget the unrefined surgeon from the colony when she finds herself deposited on the streets of London. When she has her head turned, not by a dashing young gentleman or a fashionable dress in a shop window, but by access to the hospitals her mother has promised to secure her entry to.

Belle feels guilty about this. She struggles with the selfishness, but it will not only be her mind she’ll be broadening; she will learn things she can bring back here. Doesn’t all of the medical literature she reads come from abroad, mainly from England? Isn’t that where the surgeries she longs to replicate are being performed? She imagines being able to actually observe a groundbreaking procedure as it happens rather than reading about it months or years later in a publication whose pages will always be slightly swollen from the dampness of being transported by ship. To be able to help people with what she discovers. To be able to tell Jack—

It's difficult. She knows his protestations, no need for him to voice them. Setting sentiment to one side, he will argue that she’s still recovering, could experience unforeseen complications, should remain where he can care for her. She will counter that it is not his job to be her constant caregiver, and with his responsibilities at the hospital, who is the next best person to monitor her? Herself. She will have herself to attend to herself all that time. Once in England, there will be other doctors. None of them will be Jack, but Belle doesn’t plan to fall ill anyway, so it’s inconsequential!

She still needs to inform him though. Without any real choice, her mind is made up for her; all she’s doing is seeking out the bright spots in the coming year, like studying the night sky, so much blackness between stars.

“What is it?” Jack asks again.

He is far too observant, eyes scanning Belle’s face as though for signs of disease.

“Awh, she’ll tell you in her own time,” Fagin assures him, directing a kindly, oddly paternal smile Belle’s way. “No secrets betwixt the two of you, eh? Not once you’ve seen someone’s gushing innards.”

“I don’t believe I asked for your opinion.”

“That’s alright, Dodge. I don’t mind givin’ it.”

Their bickering soothes her. Though her relationship with the people who raised her is significantly less complex than Jack’s is with Fagin, she’s jealous of their undisguised messiness. What must it be like to talk? To openly contradict one another? To recognize each other’s strengths as vocally as their flaws?

“And here you are, my dear,” Fagin says. With a little bow, he presents the sword he’s brought for her to practice with. “Nice, eh? Lovely balance.”

Belle eyes him shrewdly, but slides her fingers around the handle, feeling the weight.

“Where did you get it?” she inquires.

“No,” Jack cuts in, pointing a finger in Fagin’s face. “You will not tell Lady Belle about how you stole this sword off some navy vessel while its owner was sleeping or some nonsense.”

“Now you’ve let the bees out of the bag!” Fagin admonishes. “Spoiled the story completely. No flair, no details. Try tendin’ to your imagination, Doctor, lest it wither and die. Anyway,” he says, turning to Belle, “never mind that. I bought it fair as you please with me hard-earned gains.”

“A blatant lie then, is it?” Belle checks dryly. “I think I would’ve preferred no answer at all.”

“Forgive me, milady, but that does smart. I think you are aware that I recently… came into a modest fortune.”

Belle has to smile.

“Yes, and I don’t believe you’d spend a shilling of it on something you could steal instead.”

Fagin smiles back proudly.

“Like a daughter to me, she is, Dodge,” he announces.

She doesn’t know why she’s blushing, because she and Jack actually are betrothed, but it feels so indecorous to be teased. A sideways glance at her fiancé reveals him to be equally flustered, going pink along the top of his ears.

“Thank you for the sword, Fagin,” Jack says—a clear dismissal.

“Fine, Dodge, fine. Nighty-night, Fancy Skirt.”

Resting the point of the blade on the floorboards, Belle watches Fagin amble out of the operating theatre. Aside from the overfamiliar nickname (not that she minds), it’s a fitting farewell. It is nearly three o’clock in the morning.

Belle chose this place for its spaciousness, having seen Jack practice his swordsmanship in here before the ill-conceived duel with Sneed. The time was Jack’s insistence. Apparently, the smaller the hours, the fewer the emergencies. Anyone ill prefers to see how they fare in their own bed, anyone prone to taking dangerous chances usually does so during daylight, anyone drunk will already have suffered their foolish, preventable accident by this time of night. Belle hasn’t had a guard watching her staircase since the surgery, so it was quite easy to slip away—just as easy as keeping herself awake, with the news she hasn’t yet gathered the courage to impart jerking her heart on puppet’s strings.

“Just like I showed you without the sword,” Jack counsels.

Belle raises the weapon and he motions her forward and back, watching the sway of her skirt to interpret her footwork.

“Good, yes, more bend at the elbow.”

She adjusts, and he nods.

“It’s beginning to feel almost natural,” she notes.

“That’s good, Belle.”

Amazing how easy it is to feel perfectly comfortable with a weapon in one’s hand, Belle thinks. Also, how convenient it would be at dinner to impale a bit of roast or a piece of cheese off a tray at the far end of the table. If men hadn’t been hogging the sword for purposes martial and ceremonial, they might have been put to various domestic uses ages ago.

“When might I get to stab you?” He’s standing off to the side of her path, so when she lunges, thrusting the sword into empty air, he’s in no danger. She straightens and beams at him. “Not in earnest, of course.”

Jack gives her an extremely cautious, assessing look.

“Not yet, as I’m confident you’re at a stage to do me far more damage by accident than you might on purpose.”

“That’s not very generous of you,” she protests. “I’m sure I was much more encouraging towards your efforts at archery.”

“Crushingly truthful, in fact.”

“Ah. Yes, I do recall that now, actually,” Belle allows. She gives the sword a low swish that just misses her skirt. Woops.

“You will progress,” Jack promises, offering a reassuring smile even as he approaches and takes the sword from her hand. “We’ll keep practicing. I have ten years on you, remember? You have time to improve, and I’ll help you, if you really wish to learn. Maybe we can spar with broomsticks or something. And, naturally, once you’re healed, you’ll have more energy to—”

“I’m going away,” she blurts, before he can say anymore. His relaxed expression stiffens. “B-but maybe another time or two before I go?”

“Where are you going?”

“Certainly when I return we’ll resume,” Belle presses on, ignoring his question. “On the bright side, if I don’t learn much before I go, there won’t be much for me to—”

The sword clangs against the operating table as Jack sets it aside. Her face is suddenly in his hands and he’s forcing her to look at him.

“Where, Belle?”

Her eyes flood until she blinks out tears that Jack’s clutching fingers prevent from rolling down her cheeks.

“England.”

Jack’s shaking his head, frowning.

“But that’s… and both ways? Belle, that’s months—that could be years! Why—”

“It wasn’t my decision! My mother…”

“And you couldn’t have bloody fought her on it?” he demands, throwing his hands up. “You tell me I’m wrong every single day!”

She rolls her lips together, dabs the bottom of her nose with the back of her hand.

“I know it feels like this is the end of the world—”

“No. No. No, Belle, it doesn’t.” Jack, hands on his hips, shakes his head once more. “I know the end of the world. This colony feels like it’s at the very end of the world, and you know what? I like it here. I get to be who I want to be here. That made me happy enough, but then we met, and you’ve let me promise myself to you.”

“I know. I know.” Belle’s weeping now, almost trembling because she can tell Jack isn’t angry—he’s desperately hurt. There’s a glisten in his dark eyes like stars reflecting in a pail of water. The fact that he’s letting her see it is proof of how much he loves her, what she’ll be leaving at the dock when she boards the ship for England.

“You’ll—”

“No.”

“Someone else—”

“No.” She shakes her head hard, gripping his arms, gripping his hands, gripping his waistcoat as she pushes up, kissing him hard with closed lips. Against her will, her mouth opens to free a sob, and then Jack’s kissing her back, wet with thick throats and slick tongues and tears that fall from two sets of eyes. It’s a mess.

Jack grabs her wrists, transferring her hold to the back of his neck and taking her waist in his hands as he walks her back into the wall of the operating theatre. Not a shove, not a slam, nothing in his actions that forgets that she has been fragile, that caring for her is paramount, and still, there is his candid need.

“I love you, Belle Fox,” he gasps between kisses.

“All of England could not amount to what you are worth to me,” she says urgently, truthfully.

And then she stops trying to prove anything with words. She draws Jack as close as she can, contending with the curve of her skirt. His fingers plunge into her hair; she wore it half-down, but his nimble fingers ferret out the pins that hold the rest and it’s suddenly heavier on her shoulders, thicker where it falls around her face, until Jack scrapes through it, clutching her hair in his hands. A slight tug where he bunches her hair at the nape of her neck has her chin tilting up into his. His tongue is in her mouth, his body crowding as close as he can get, and she needs, she needs…

Belle’s fingers tear blindly at his scarf, already loose. The buttons of Jack’s waistcoat obey even her fumbling hands, and then his fingers join hers on the buttons of his shirt. A rapid, twisting dance, like a pollen-drunk bee on a cluster of flowers. They barely finish before he’s reaching for her, and Belle’s breath catches because she’s never seen this haste in him. When they… that morning… against the sheets that had held them through the night… Jack was keen but patient, certain but savouring. He undressed her by centimeters, moved so slowly she felt she might cry with the sensation of experiencing his every intention as it flowed from his mind into the fingers that trailed along her skin. The way he now wrenches the tucked blouse from the waist of her skirt and unfastens it like someone’s timing him is wholly different. And delicious. Belle’s head falls back against the wall. She’s panting, heart thumping joyously, lungs expanding, and Jack’s mouth drops to the swell of her breasts above her corset and chemise. She moans.

She puts a hand on his bare chest and feels his own galloping heart. She knows he will worry, that he will suffer because of the severe intervention he had to take to save her life, and she’s grateful to be leaving a healthy man behind her. He could still die. He could engage in more ill-advised gambling. Drown in the harbour. Get bitten by something venomous. Anger any one of numerous people in this colony who seem perfectly capable of and interested in doing him harm. Belle tries to refocus. Jack’s kissing up her neck, his hands where his mouth has recently been. He is so obviously a doctor; his touch betrays a love of the human body. Hers. Her.

“Don’t leave,” he requests dangerously, lips persuasive beneath her jaw. Belle’s eyelids flutter with the pleasure.

“Nothing will change.”

“I won’t be able to do this.” Jack kisses her throat some more, slips his hand inside her blouse to caress her waist over her corset. Promising more. Always promising her more.

“What I meant is that I will love you just as much,” she says. “I will think of you just as often. When we are next together, we will be married. Is that not worth waiting for?”

Jack lifts his head, smooths her hair back from her face.

“The wait’s just so much easier to bear when I know you’ll be by the hospital to bother me twenty times a day.”

“Is that what I do?”

“You are a complete nuisance.” He sighs, smiling sadly. “And I don’t know how I’m going to get a damn thing done without you.”

“Take comfort in the knowledge that you were competent before I ever interfered.”

“Merely competent?”

“That assessment shouldn’t wound you too much,” Belle points out, “coming from a common nuisance.”

Jack holds up a finger.

“Now, I never said common.” She gives him a look that says this is not good enough, that she’s waiting. “You are so beautiful,” he says, softly, the humour leaving his expression and tone, “that I would sail to England to bring you back.”

“Because I am beautiful?” Belle asks doubtfully. “That seems rather extreme.”

“Ever heard of Helen of Troy?” He makes a face like he is irrefutably correct, and, god, will she miss him.

So she doesn’t start crying again, Belle clears her throat, glances down at his open shirt.

“We can’t, um, go any further.”

He follows her gaze.

“I believe this was largely your handiwork.”

“If I’m to go… when I go, there can’t be any chance that…” Belle’s eyes drop to her own torso, the flat stomach concealed by her clothing.

“It’s quite enough to lose you to England,” he says in acquiescence.

“I’m coming back,” she says, as he begins to right her garments first.

“I know you are”—his eyes are on her placket, slipping small white buttons back through their holes—“because I’m coming to retrieve you if you don’t, as I said.”

“Don’t even say that in jest.”

He doesn’t respond.

“Jack,” Belle says, firmer. “I will return to Australia. You can’t come to England; you’re a wanted man.”

“It wouldn’t be thoughtless, but I would if I had to. If you needed me to. I would get on a ship for you.” He meets her gaze. “You’ve seen what I would risk for you. That I would get arrested for you. That I would be imprisoned for you. It can hardly be a surprise that I would die for you as well.”

Her heart gives a kangaroo’s hop.

“I don’t know that I can just accept that.”

Jack grins.

“Take all the time you need. It’s a long way to England.”

[petalsmooth]

I DID like the Featherington's and Bridgerton's all grouped together at the Featherington house at the end though. For all the problems I had with the last two episodes it wasn't all bad. They actually did sort of redeem Portia for me. It's the one redemption plot they got right for me. Because I love Polly but I never liked Portia. But I did end up liking Portia. So I give them credit for the writing for HER and how they sort of settled the feud within the families. And I did like all well the families mixed it up together and that it wasn't just Colin over there but Benedict was even comfortable there. And I DO like it was Polin that actually seemed to make Portia grow and actually fall in love with the idea of love. Example the way she looked at them at the church. And I LIKE that we finally got insight into Portia when she said her husband was a cruel man. She didn't make excuses, didn't demand sympathy, but I felt more for Portia in that statement than in anything they did with Cressida to try to force empathy. THAT is good writing and acting. The kind there should have been more of in part 2.

And as an aside I also like Kanthony fans were silenced because not only is Colin the only Bridgerton who did something that makes money without relying on taking money from farmers and the poor (after they kept on about no job) but he's now essentially handling the estates just like Anthony because his newborn won't be doing those ledgers. ANd let's be real...Anthony isn't even doing that because they sent him away AGAIN.

Oh! on that....yet another point against the writing team thinking they are so clever and being the opposite. Wanting to know Kate's culture is all well and good, but taking your PREGNANT WIFE on a rough voyage that takes months is NOT a win. I swear they should just have him renounce his title given how more ridiculous these excuses are becoming for Jonny not being available to film.

[ilaw-at-panitik]

THE EARLIEST VOYAGERS had this insight: to keep Manila, all they needed was to gain its harbor. Historical demons knew that—all the Manila characters. Indentured sailors and boatbuilding men. Jesuit priests and Muslim sultans. Impecunious, cunning Miguel López de Legazpi, the first Spanish governor-general of Manila. Basque adventurers. Chinese pirates. Devilish, blue-eyed Dutch smugglers. Everyone took the harbor as prize. Otherwise the city is a disaster. It is muggy, its humidity is disorienting, it is susceptible to nervous illnesses, swamp fever, and dengue. A refuge of rascals. Prime real estate for amoks as well as prostitutes, scavengers and social climbers. Not too different, I guess, from the Hudson’s ancient Mannahatta, lusty grave of the Algonquin nations. Like any old city, Manila has attracted a host of dissolutes and dreamers, with its old harbor and its sinking palisade, easily defended and easily betrayed.

Gina Apostol, from "Gun Dealers' Daughter: A Novel" (W.W. Norton, 2012)

[nanshe-of-nina]

I remember reading a really snotty negative review of Titanic on Salon, years ago, that was super outraged that movie wasn't sufficiently respectful to the memory of John Jacob Astor because it introduced him in a "gossipy" way.

I remember thinking, "Cry moar" even at the time. Later, I found out the following about the Astors, which just solidified that feeling:

Much of the resentment toward the Astors in New York was driven by the fact that they were, in effect, the city’s biggest slumlords. The first John Jacob Astor, a butcher’s son from Baden who landed in New York in 1784, had left behind on his death in 1848 the largest fortune in the United States. Astor began as a fur trader but cashed in his fur company in the 1830s to buy up large parcels of New York real estate. “If I could live all over again,” he once said, “I would buy every square inch of Manhattan.” He very nearly succeeded—his son William would be known as “the landlord of New York” for his vast holdings in the city. The Astors preferred to lease out their land to others who would then return the improved real estate once the lease was up. This also spared the family the unpleasant business of collecting rents from the tenements that occupied many of their properties. Astor-owned hotels like the Waldorf-Astoria and the St. Regis put an elegant gloss on the hard fact that three-quarters of the family’s income came from rents derived from New York’s poorest neighborhoods. In this, the Astors and the White Star Line had something in common; the Olympic and the Titanic would never have been built without the lucrative transatlantic immigrant trade to fill their lower decks. The accommodations the Titanic offered its poorer passengers, however, bore no resemblance to the squalid, disease-ridden warrens that stood on Astor-owned properties. Descriptions of these by the crusading writer and photographer Jacob Riis in the 1890s had caused Colonel Astor to unload some of the worst of his holdings by 1900. (from Gilded Lives: Fatal Voyage by Hugh Brewster)

In any case, the Salon film critic's belief that the male passengers on Titanic all nobly and willingly sacrificed themselves for the lives of women and children is probably not completely true. One survivor (who's name I can't recall at the moment) seemed to think that many of the male passengers on the ship did not fully realize what kind of danger they were in until relatively late in the sinking, by which time most of the lifeboats were already gone.

And in any case, the fact is that the "women and children first/only" rule had to be enforced by the Titanic's officers at gunpoint. And there's a reason for that: a 2012 study that looked into shipwrecks since 1852 found that, with the exception of the Titanic, men are much more likely to survive them than either women or especially children.

[ineachretelling]

Shami and Jas are short on novel to read and ideas on how to break the time loop this week, so we decided to discuss all of the varying adaptations of Dracula in these unprecedented times. We've got Moffat being on his bullshit, lady vampires that are tired of the Count's shit, a surprising amount of ballet, and a couple of adaptations that technically never were. This podcast contains swearing, and mentions of racism, misogyny, abusive relationships, and animal cruelty.

Trailers for all Dracula media mentioned in the episode are under the cut below for you to sink your teeth into:

Dracula (TV Mini Series 2020)

Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors Podcast

The Brides

A Dowry of Blood

The Invitation (2022)

The Dark Legion: House of Dracula (Are You Afraid of the Dark Universe Podcast)

Reluctant Immortals

Renfield

The Last Voyage of the Demeter

Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors (Off-Broadway Production)

Mina and Lucy's Guide to Slaying Dracula

Dracula (Finnish National Ballet)

Abigail

Lucy Undying

Blacula (2024)

Nosferatu (2024)

Dracula: A Love Tale (2025)

[spacebeyonce]

📚dom's library: may wrap up📚

alright! wrap up for all the books I've read (or tried to read) in may. I was able to read soooo many books (13!!! 13 books!!!) thanks to the libby app and my job letting us listen to stuff through our headphones. I haven't read this many books since high school!

this will be a bit long, because I'm not going to be short about these books, so. bear with me! june's will probably be a smaller list lmao. and I will try my best to be spoiler free in my reviews!

anyway! let's get into it.

5 - 4 ⭐:

👻 how to sell a haunted house by grady hendrix (5⭐)

after the sudden death of her parents, louise has to return to charleston to deal with her parents' estate and her insufferable younger brother mark, who she's been estranged from for years. as they sift through their childhood home, laden with memories and puppets, mark and louise discover that this house has more than the puppets and dolls for them to handle.

lord, this book. I've liked most of grady hendrix's books so far, but this one really got me. I loved this! I had so much fun listening to it! it was giving goosebumps energy and I LOVED that, I was LIVING.

it was funny, it was scary, and it was horribly sad when I didn't expect it to be. when I tell you that I finished this audiobook quietly sobbing at my work desk I am not bullshitting you. how to sell a haunted house is a reminder for why I do not fuck with puppets or dolls.

🌆 if beale street could talk by james baldwin (5⭐)

nineteen years old, clementine (mainly known as tish) is in love with her childhood friend alfonzo (mainly known as fonny), and has recently discovered that she is pregnant with his child. they plan to marry, but then fonny is imprisoned for a crime that he did not commit. with the clock ticking down until the birth of their child, tish and her family work in an effort to clear fonny's name and get him out of jail.

AAAAH!!! this BOOK!!! I had borrowed it on a whim 'cause I'm interested in watching the movie adaptation, but was curious to see how the book went before that. and jesus christ.

this was so.....like when I reached the end, I felt very.....incomplete?? the open ending jarred me a little, but I definitely didn't hate it! I would have liked a concrete ending, a true conclusion, but the uncertainty the book ended on...it felt real. realistic. it stung a bit.

I loved reading tish and fonny fall in love, and my GOD did they fall - they love each other so ardently, so completely!! the devotion they have for each other, my goodness. it definitely stole my breath a few times.

and their families!!! the way most of them went above and beyond to do what they can and get fonny out of jail!! the full, open support they have for tish and her pregancy!! the absolute love and joy her family has at welcoming a new life into the world oh my goddddd. I believe in love y'all, I truly do.

🚢 into the raging sea by rachel slade (5⭐)

on october 1st, 2015, hurricain joaquin struck the bahamas and sank the cargo ship el faro, taking all thirty three lives on board. after interviews with family of the crew, maritime experts, and using the last twenty six hours of audio captured on the el faro's last voyage, rachel slade recounts the final hours of the crew of the el faro and casts a critical light on the maritime shipping industry, and how lives were sacrificed for profit.

okaaaaay, so I mentioned a while back that I get really focused on a certain shipwreck every now and then. for the last couple months, thanks to the well there's your problem podcast, I've been ridiculously fixated on the sinking of the s.s. el faro back in 2015 - a cargo ship that sailed directly into the eye of a cat 3 hurricane and got its shit rocked. when I heard this book mentioned, I had to see if it was available to listen to. and it was!!!

I'm embarrassed to admit it, but it takes a lot for me to get into a non-fiction book - and this one had me riveted. this disaster really was just one little mistake after another, until it became a domino effect that they couldn't escape. I think this has gripped me so because it was so preventable. this didn't have to happen! if the ship was in a better state, if the captain pulled his head out of his ass and listened to his crew, if tote maritime company wasn't so fixated on profit that the people working on these ships become collateral, like....!! 🗣️EL PROBLEMA ES CAPITALISMO!!! and fuck climate change!!!

⛪ transcendent kingdom by yaa gyasi (5⭐)

gifty, a sixth year phd student, is taking on the care of her mother, who is so depressed she can't get out of bed. gifty is studying neuroscience, trying to understand how the brain is affected by depression and addiction - for her mother, and for her brother, nana, who died of an overdose after becoming addicted to pain medication. while dealing with this loss and the decline of her mother, gifty is also grappling with her faith, raised in an evangelical household and trying to reconcile all the pain she has lived through with the peace and salvation she was promised through the church.

my review for this book was simply that I felt flayed open. that this book carved my chest open, cracked apart my ribs and peered inside. gifty's thoughts and struggles when it came to christianity were so like my own that I was genuinely shaken. her questions, her doubts, her feelings and hoping and wanting - I've felt all of that, too. all of it!

in gifty I truly see so much of myself. her struggles with religion and faith, and especially the loss of faith in the face of loss. of praying so much, praying so hard for a loved one to get well, to live on, and then it just...not happening. nothing can cut your faith quicker than that.

her relationship with her mother as well like goddamn godDAMN....that same kind of tough love. that same wild devotion to god. that same ability to just say the most cutting, out of pocket shit about you out of NOWHERE....gifty you are stronger than the us marines. doubly so because she also had to deal with ALABAMA. ALABAMA!!! AND A WHITE ASS TOWN TOO!!! STRENGTH!!!!

🦢 the beautiful ones by silvia moreno-garcia (5⭐)

a regency-esque story based in fantasy france with a sprinkle of magic, we follow the stories of antonina beaulieu, hector auvray, and valerie beaulieu as they deal with the grand season and all that entails. antonina, hoping to find love like the ones she's read in stories - and also hoping to outrun the rumors about her due to her telekinetic powers. hector, a telekinetic preformer that has returned to loisail after ten years with one goal in mind: to win back the heart of his first love - the crown jewel of loisail, valerie beaulieu.

when I tell you that this book had me KICKING MY FEET and GIGGLING!!! I AM A HECTOR/NINA TRUTHER, I BELIEVE!! it was so sweet?? and romantic?? and I love a good second chance romance, though it doesn't fall under what that trope usually means. but it was so sweet!! that's all I can say over and over and over, I just. it was love prevailing despite the odds. nina was so bright and earnest and true to herself, and hector had such a quiet sweetness beneath all that melancholy.

and valerie. bro she is so cersei-core I am SICK. the desire to have the power that your name once held, the resentment of having to follow the whims of what's expected of you and not what you want, looking down on other women and holding yourself above them, loving someone so fiercely and madly that it kind of twists into hate like!!! cersei lannister core!!! this woman was NASTY work and I LOVED her.

I do wish that hector and nina's powers were explored a little more? like....what's the magic system. how did these powers happen. are there other people with powers. but it didn't bring down the story for me! I really loved this, I was swooning.

🌊 river woman, river demon by jennifer givhan (4.75⭐)

eva santos moon is a wife, mother, artist - and witch, practicing brujeria and curanderisma in honor of her late mother. eva has hit a low point in her life - inspiration has left her, she's suffering from blackouts and memory issues, and her connection to her magic feels distant. on top of all this, she is haunted by the death of a beloved childhood friend that happened many years ago, and memories of her are stirring when her husband is incarcerated as a suspect for the murder of their friend, eva must do her best to hold her family together and free her husband - even though she doesn't believe he's as innocent as he claims...

this book bro.....this fuckin' book. it was - I loved the mystery! the connection between the death of her friends, past and present. but the main character?? eva??? she drove me up the fucking wall.

she was so deep in her goddamn head it was genuinely wild as a mf. like, when her husband says something that read SO CLEARLY to me that he wanted his wife to BELIEVE IN HIM she's just like 'oh is he accusing me, is he saying I'm the bad guy here' like my sister in christ!!! pull your head out of your ass for five seconds and trust in your man!!! and oh my GOD her man.

jericho is a fine fine fine slice of chocolate cake. he is steady, he is warm and inspiring, hardworking and devoted. he is ten toes DOWN for eva, he is UNSHAKEABLE for her. and she just doubts and doubts and doubts. and I KNOW it's for the character journey. but like bitch if you're gonna mistrust your husband like this then I'LL take him, shit!!

aside from that, this book was SO good. I really enjoyed the mystery plot throughout, and when everything started coming together I was literally screaming in the car at every twist and reveal like broooooo. excellent book. but get your shit together eva.

3 - 2 ⭐:

🎸 we sold our souls by grady hendrix (3.25⭐)

twenty years after the end of metal band durt wurk, former guitarist kris polaski is miserable. her job is terrible, she has no money, no friends, and no music in her. on top of all that, kris gets news that chills her to the bone - terry hunt, her old bandmate and the man who cast his bandmates off to go solo is going on a farewell tour and bringing his band koffin to a close. pushed to finally confront terry and demand answers for his abandonment, kris decides to try and reunite her bandmates, knowing the risk - knowing that they might still hate her, for what she did. but on the way, kris finds out that terry might have given away more than just durt wurk's sucess in his effort to rise to the top.

okay so like most of the grady hendrix books I've read so far, this was good! but it definitely wasn't the best of his books for me. that crown is deserved for how to sell a haunted house. but we sold our souls is a pretty fun romp, that definitely had some chilling moments that made you paranoid right along with kris. you couldn't trust the people around you. you never knew who - or what - might be watching.

and there was a part 68% in that was so upsetting that I just closed the audiobook and hopped out the libby app. like I was done for the day, shit was rough.

but at the end of the day, this did end up being pretty mid for me. I also did not appreciate all the microagressions made about black artists and black music. could have done without that!

🌱 parable of the sower by octavia butler (3.25⭐)

in the distant future of 2024, the united states has crumbled due to climate change. resources are scarce, good water is hard to find, and people are willing to do anything and everything to make sure they can survive. at fifteen, lauren olamina lives in a community with her family, gated off and secluded from the outside dangers. lauren also struggles with hyperempathy, taking on the pain of others to a debilitating degree, and though their community is surviving, lauren knows that the security they have made for themselves won't last, and that their community needs to be ready for when that day comes. and in her efforts to find hope in such a hopeless world, lauren tries to figure out god - and creates a new faith that she believes will one day lead them to the stars.

this book was fucking ROUGH bro like.....truly on some mad max shit where it's every man for themselves. honestly I got a little tired of it a little over halfway 'cause like. idk I just can't believe that people would inherently fall back to violence in these conditions. that we'd all do what we can to help each other...I dunno. but shit was bleak! and there was a lot of sexual assault of women and girls, which I didn't appreciate. once again, probably because I cannot believe that humanity as a whole would just be so violent. but hey!

also - that relationship that happened at the end?? you know the one. what the hell was that. what is it with octavia butler and these damn age gaps jesus christ.

all in all, it was a solid middle of the road read for me. it was a little disorienting to read this in 2024, but still enlightening somewhat. idk if I'll read the next book any time soon though.

🍎 ripe by sarah rose etter (2.5⭐)

one year into her job at a startup in silicone valley, cassie is struggling; work eats away at her, long hours surrounded by coworkers and supervisors that look down and disrespect her. she barely has friends and she's making it by the skin of her teeth in an expensive city that she hates. she's lonely - but never alone, her constant, unending companion a black hole that's been with her since childhood, ebbing and flowing depending on her anxiety and depression. when her job starts demanding actions of the dubiously ethical variety and she suddenly finds herself in the family way, cassie has to decide if a life in san francisco is truly what she wants.

besties I fucking hated this book. it was literally just seven hours of this woman bitching and moaning and woe is me-ing but not really making any changes until the last fucking second. she thinks she's better than the people she works with, but still marches to their drum, pulling some pretty sketch shit against a rival startup and bringing a pakistani man into this bullshit company, knowing that he's going to get screwed, all while playing the world's smallest goddamn violin for herself. ain't that just like a white woman, smh.

and I'm sure that's the point of this book. I understand! this is supposed to be a critique on capitalism, on hustle culture, on work and how it drains the life out of you and demands so much of you only to give so little in return. I get it! truly!

but baby I am not connecting with this white woman languishing in silicon valley, throwing a whole pity party for herself but doing nothing to better her situation. I am a firm believer of hitting the fucking bricks when a situation is ass. there are better jobs out there with better coworkers in more affordable places. these people don't care about you. Real Winners Quit.

the ending was also ambiguous as a mf and I don't care enough about cassie to feel a type of way about it. my good sis, go to therapy. you can't cocaine your way out of everything.

....now I feel like even two stars is generous. hm.

0️⃣ unrated:

⛵ deep as the sky, red as the sea by rita chang-eppig

after the death of her pirate husband by portuguese sailors, shek yeung has to act fast in order to retain her power over the red pirate fleet. agreeing to marry her late husband's second in command and bear a child, shek yeung also has to contend with greater threats as china's emperor increases efforts to remove pirates entirely from the south china seas.

this book is p much based on the life of ching shih, one of the baddest female pirates to ever do it. the story was tense, with a lot of political intrigue when it came to the pirates and the different colored fleets. shek yeung is a boss ass protagonist, a woman that was made hard because of the bullshit life threw at her, but she kept her wits about her and made the best decisions she could to come out on top - and alive.

I think if I would rate this after the fact I'd give it a solid 4.75⭐! a very easy read, but tw for sexual assault - that is a big part of some of the main characters' backstories (shek yeung and the second in command specifically). the ending was a little sad, but all in all an enjoyable book.

🍄 sorrowland by rivers solomon

vern is fifteen and seven months pregnant when she escapes from the religious compound she was made to call home, fleeing deep into the woods for safety. she births her children there, and plans to raise them wild and free - but there are changes happening to her body. changes that she can't explain. and to understand the changes and protect her children, vern will have to return to the one place that she had desperately wanted to escape.

this one, oh man. what a fuckin' ride it was. vern is one of those characters that are very...prickly. she's always got her defenses up and is ready to snap at you quick fast in a hurry, and I love her. she was wild, and her twin babies are adorable - and their names are very interesting haha!

there's also a sapphic romance, which was really sweet! I was concerned for a while that I had run into another couple with a huge age gap, but it wasn't! thank fuck. parable of the sower was enough.

the story has a lot going on - examination of religion and how it can be used to exploit people that have been left behind by the world, a bit of supernatural scifi, human experimentation, and finding love and community and connection despite it all, despite trying so damn hard to make yourself an island. if I rated it now....4.25⭐

🌕 daughter of the moon goddess by sue lynn tan

all her life, xingyin has been raised in secret; living on the moon with her mother, the goddess chang'e, who was exiled to the moon for stealing an elixir of immortality, her existence has been hidden from the celestial emperor - but one can't stay hidden forever. when her existence is discovered, xingyin is forced to leave behind the only home she has ever known, and ends up in the celestial kingdom. alone and afraid, xingyin decides that she will do whatever it takes to return home - and to free her mother from her lunar prison.

I read this book because I am a sucker for pretty covers and BOY does this one deliver. I had a fun time with this book, though the prose did get a little heavy at times. but I think this is the author's first book ever? so I gave a little grace. it wasn't crazy distracting or anything lmao.

but whew! this book had a lot going on. the magic system of this world was pretty fuckin' neat, and it was cool to see xingyin find her footing in this new world and do her best to achieve her goals! I was rooting for her. there is, unfortunately, a love triangle, and it was annoying, but mostly because I am too old for that shit lmao. I was also ridiculously annoyed at how she spend like 20% of the book being a hardass to one of the love interests because of something that happened OUT OF HIS CONTROL and is kinda connected to HIS JOB but whatever. whatever!

I'll probably read the sequel as well, but not anytime soon! until then, my rating now would be....4⭐

🌿 the daughters of temperance hobbs by katherine howe

connie goodwin is a professor at a university in boston, specializing in america's history with witchcraft. a successful scholar, connie is more connected to the history of witchcraft in america than she'd like to admit - a direct descendant of a woman that was tried as a witch during the trials in salem. a series of events force connie to realize that her partner's life may be in danger, a curse tracing through her bloodline, killing any man that falls in love with a woman in her family. with time slowly running out, connie must confront her family's past, and solve the mystery behind the curse that has plagued her family for generations.

oh this one was FUN, y'all. I ate this book up quick! and apparently it's the second book in a series?? I had no idea! it stands well enough on its own that honestly I don't think I need to read the first one to understand what's going on. the main character, connie, tried my goddamn patience lmao. she is the prime example of people that are so deep in academia that their relationships kinda suffer for it. like talk to your man girl!! talk to him about this damn curse!!! and the [redacted]!!! you can't just think that he can READ YOUR MIND and just KNOW like GIRRLLLLLL.

speaking of her man, sam is just a delight. truly a darling. by the end of the book I was just like god when will it be my turn. WHEN WILL IT BE MY TURN??? GOD

I also really liked the flashbacks to women in connie's family line, they were all cool as hell - especially temperance! she was neat.

and zazie.....the only woman of color in a sea of white nonsense. she is stronger than any us marine because she is a woman of color doing grad school in a predominantly white college. I know she has been through things that would make connie's hair turn white. you deserve everything you want sis, you truly do.

and I thiiiink.....4.5⭐, if I rated this book now.

🕯️ black candle women by diane marie brown

the montrose women have been living contentedly in a california bungalow for years, keeping mostly to themselves. their lives have been calm - until the youngest montrose, nickie, brings home a boy and throws their world into disarray. because the boy is a reminder. a reminder of a secret that they have kept from nickie for years - a curse. a curse that if a man falls in love with a montrose woman, then they're destined to die.

this is basically in the same vein as the daughters of temperance hobbs but with black women and black magical culture. and I LOVED it. all of the women in the montrose family - augusta, victoria, willow, and nickie - are so vibrant. they all butt heads, of course, but at the end of the day there's still love.

victoria was a little triggering at times lmao mostly because she really reminded me of my own mom at times, and LORD do we butt heads. it was worse when I was a teenager, so I really felt for nickie when her mother started tightening that leash. and willowwwww oh my god I loved herrrr. she was so chill and so full of love. and augusta! she may not be able to physically speak, but that doesn't stop her from speaking her mind!

I absolutely recommend this - if you want a story about generations of black women working through misunderstandings, beating a curse that has dogged their heels for years, and loving each other despite the bumps along the way, then read this!! read it!! if I rated this now, I think I'm giving it a solid 5⭐

❌ DNF:

💀 gideon the ninth by tamsyn muir

reason for DNF: the writing made me wanna die a little? it was very like.....if you like homestuck and think it's still funny, then this book will work for you. it did not work for me. also, all the fucking names were so hard to keep track of. but mostly it was just the writing - all those quips! I am not a teenager, this shit isn't funny to me anymore please relax.

🏡 the haunting of hill house by shirley jackson

reason for DNF: I just didn't like the audiobook 😭, I'm gonna try and check out a physical copy when I can...I think I'll like it more if I'm actually READING it.

and that's it! that's my may wrapup! this was more work than I expected, whew. but! if anyone gives these books a read, or has read them before, let me know your thoughts!

[365proservices]

Unlocking the UAE's Golden Visa Maze: Insider Tips for Success

Welcome, aspiring adventurers, to the exciting world of Golden Visas Services in the UAE! If you've ever dreamt of unlocking new opportunities, exploring vibrant cultures, or building a brighter future in one of the world's most dynamic hubs, then you're in the right place. In this guide, we'll be your compass, navigating the Golden Visa maze with insider tips and expert advice to ensure your journey is not just successful but also fulfilling. So, grab your map, pack your enthusiasm, and let's set sail on this exhilarating voyage towards your Golden Visa dream!

1. Understanding Golden Visa Eligibility Criteria

Before setting sail, ensure you're eligible. The UAE offers Golden Visas to investors, entrepreneurs, talented professionals, and retirees. Each category has specific criteria, like investment thresholds or retirement fund requirements. Check your eligibility based on your profile and aspirations.

2. Gathering the Required Documents

Assemble your crew of documents for the journey. Common documents include passport copies, proof of investment, bank statements, and a clean criminal record certificate. For investors, additional documents like business plans, trade licenses, and property ownership deeds may be required. Double-check the specific document checklist based on your chosen Golden Visa category.

3. Plotting Your Investment Strategy

Choosing the right investment is crucial. Opt for real estate, business ventures, or innovation projects that align with UAE regulations and contribute to the economy. Research thriving industries, consult with financial advisors, and consider long-term sustainability when crafting your investment strategy.

4. Crafting a Stellar Business Plan

A well-crafted business plan is your treasure map to Golden Visa approval. Highlight your business concept, market analysis, financial projections, and growth strategies. Emphasize how your venture will create jobs, drive innovation, or enhance the UAE's economic landscape. Tailor your business plan to showcase value, feasibility, and alignment with UAE's vision for growth and development.

5. Navigating the Golden Visa Application Process

Embark on your Golden Visa application journey through the relevant government authority, such as the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (ICA), the Ministry of Economy, or local immigration departments. Follow the online application portal or engage with authorized representatives for a smooth submission process. Timing, transparency, and professional assistance are key for success.

6. Insider Tips for Smooth Sailing

Apply During Economic Stability: Submit your application during periods of economic growth and stability for higher chances of approval.

Engage Legal or Immigration Consultants: Consider hiring legal or immigration consultants for expert guidance and assistance throughout the application process.

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As we reach the shores of our Golden Visa adventure, it's time to reflect on the invaluable insights and strategies we've uncovered. From understanding eligibility criteria to crafting stellar business plans and navigating the application process, you've gained the tools and knowledge needed to steer your course towards success.

Remember, patience and preparation are your steadfast companions in this journey. Keep abreast of UAE's visa policies, adapt your strategies as needed, and stay committed to your long-term goals. Whether you're an investor, entrepreneur, or talented professional, the UAE's Golden Visa offers a gateway to new horizons and endless possibilities.

[lynettew]

je suis devenue accro aux annonces de colocs/locations sur facebook. ça fait six mois que j'ai rejoint le groupe bxl à louer - bouche à oreille (ll) et j'habite toujours pas à bruxelles (mais est-ce que j'ai vraiment l'intention d'aller vivre là-bas?) mais à l'heure qu'il est je dois connaitre au moins 45% des apparts de la ville. j'ai crée un dossier où j'enregistre les photos de mes apparts préférés. j'ai aussi un dossier d'apparts berlinois et un dossier de maisons à vendre dans des banlieues américaines. probablement parce que j'ai beaucoup regardé desperate housewives (lynette n'est pas mon deuxième prénom mais un hommage à lynette scavo de desperate housewives, maintenant vous savez). quand j'avais quatorze quinze ans je rentrais souvent à la maison pour échapper aux cours de maths et je regardais desperate housewives sur m6, comme une mise en abîme. je rentrais à la maison pour regarder une série sur des femmes qui restent à la maison. je crois que je m'en foutais des intrigues, tout ce qui m'intéressait c'était de voir les maisons et les personnages faire des trucs dans leurs maisons.

c'est pour ça que j'adore lire deborah levy aussi, elle parle beaucoup de ce qu'elle fait quand elle est chez elle. dans son appart moisi sur la colline au nord de londres, dans la cabane au fond du jardin de son amie dans laquelle elle écrit ses livres, dans l'appart de montmartre qu'elle loue pour une résidence, dans la maison blanche à hydra qu'elle loue pour les vacances. vers la fin de real estate elle achète douze oranges qu'elle presse à la main pour faire du jus pour ses filles qui viennent lui rendre visite, elle le verse dans une grande carafe en y ajoutant des glaçons et puis ses filles arrivent et lui disent qu'elles préfèrent aller boire une bière, ungrateful bitches. le lendemain je me suis levée avec une très forte envie de jus d'orange et je me suis pressé deux oranges avec un presse-jus électrique et pensant aux poignets de deborah levy. vendredi matin (à dix heures) j'ai fait un curry de butternut avec des lentilles en pensant à son dhal et à son voyage en inde. j'écoutais la radio et il faisait soleil et je me disais que c'était exactement la vie que j'étais censée mener.

quand je regarde les photos d'appart sur facebook parfois je les imagine nus, sans meubles, sans déco, et j'essaie de m'imaginer ce que je mettrais dedans. en restant réaliste. je serais très minimale. par flemme, pour faire des économies, mais aussi pour l'esthétique. je mettrais un matelas par terre (avec un sommier parce que je suis vieille maintenant), un bureau pour écrire, même si j'écris jamais à mon bureau, j'écris sur le canapé, mais peut être que je pourrais changer mes habitudes. est-ce que je pourrais vivre sans canapé? le canapé fait pratiquement partie de mon corps. je crois que je mettrai pas de canapé. pour marquer un changement radical. si le sol est moche je mettrai le grand tapis rayé noir et blanc d'ikea, mais je préfèrerais que le sol soit beau (vieux parquet). je rangerai ma collection de vaisselle bien à la vue sur des étagères parce que ça fait dix ans qu'elle dort dans un carton derrière mon armoire, toutes mes jolies assiettes dépareillées de toutes les couleurs, mon bol rouge à marguerites, je sais même plus ce qu'y a. je pourrais m'en servir ici, mais non, c'est ma vaisselle, donc j'attends d'avoir mon appart pour m'en servir.

dans les commentaires je croise régulièrement la fille avec qui j'avais suivi un stage de respiration/méditation/yoga y a quelques années. j'ai reconnu son nom parce que je le trouve très beau. ça fait six mois qu'elle cherche, comme moi, sauf qu'elle elle cherche pour de vrai, et elle a toujours rien trouvé visiblement. généralement les commentaires c'est que des gens qui mettent suis intéressé ou mp envoyé avec un smiley qui sourit, mais elle elle a toujours une question incongrue à poser, des précisions à demander, parfois elle met un petit mot gentil avec un émoji fleur, parfois elle fait remarquer qu'il aurait mieux fallu prendre les photos de jour pour qu'on puisse se rendre compte de la luminosité de la pièce (elle a pas tort). à son stage elle nous avait servi des dattes comme snack en nous disant d'en prendre qu'une et de la manger les yeux fermés en la faisant durer le plus longtemps possible. y avait aussi des graines de tournesol marinées dans du tamari revenues à la poêle mélangées avec des raisins secs. le dernier jour on avait fait un exercice où il fallait se raconter sa vie en 5 minutes par petits groupes de trois. une femme qui faisait du théâtre d'impro et un argentin qui travaillait chez cargolux m'avaient dit your life is very interesting. ça fait longtemps qu'on me l'a plus dit ça. à ce moment-là ça faisait quatre ans que ma collection de vaisselle était dans le carton.

[brotherhoodoftheblade]

Still rereading Voyager, and this description of Claire’s eyes has me thinking again what a missed opportunity it was for Percy not to have turned out to be her ancestor. *sigh*

I mean, what was even the real narrative purpose of having him marry into the Beauchamp family in particular otherwise?? He could’ve just married into any random French noble family. *shrug* The only thing we’ve gotten out of the storyline thus far is the implication that Fergus, at least, is Claire’s ancestor.

Even though everyone - including John - has spent years presuming Percy must be lying about it without even stopping to ask why he would waste at least FIVE YEARS of his life pursuing the same objective, despite repeatedly receiving such rude treatment from almost everyone on top of it all.

Honestly, if the marriage license is forgery and the whole thing is actually a scam then why waste so many years beating his head against the brick wall that is Fergus and rest of the Fraser clan?? If you’ve - hypothetically - already created forged documents to support a fraudulent legal claim, then why waste so many years in pursuit of an stubbornly uncooperative dead end?

If it’s indeed a scam then why stop with just a forged marriage license? Just bloody well hire someone to make the claim to the Comte’s estate as Amelie Beauchamp’s son already!! After all, where’s the logic in only doing something half wrong? lol Why continue to bother with Fergus at all...unless Percy really believes him to be who he says he is?

Of course, there’s the far more nebulous question of who Percy’s “connections” are, on just whose behalf he’s been working all these years. His work as a French agent is on behalf of Secret du Roi and then the Marquis de Lafayette, but the matter of gaining control of the Comte’s land in North America would be of great benefit to whomever it’s new owner choses to support: the French/Americans or the British.

But Percy had already been pursuing the Fergus business for a few years before he even discovered that Ezekiel Richardson was acting as a double agent, so in the years prior Richardson would’ve been the enemy as far as he knew and therefore not an ally. (Not to mention he specifically sought John out to warn him about Richardson’s schemes after learning of them...for all use that John put that warning to in the years following. *rolls eyes*)

Although, Percy was also noted to be in somewhat intimate acquaintance (because, uh, what the hell else do you call paying for your fellow male friend’s visit to a whore while you sit and watch? lmao) with Denys Randall-Isaacs, a British officer. Though this was still a few years before France officially joined the war, so they weren’t technically enemies yet. Pretty weird that two fellow intelligence agents of rival governments were hanging out socially though - were they exchanging info or what? 

And, of course, the larger question is whether Percy was playing both sides even back then, or only doing it to gather intel for the French. Certainly, by Bees, we know for a fact that he has connections among the English and plans to turn his coat once he’s gotten his ducks lined up. But at which point did this occur and WHY, when the stakes were literally his life if he was caught and hung for a  double agent??? Especially when, according to John, Percy is too much of an afraid-of-the-entire-world, lily-livered coward to so boldly - and needlessly! - risk his own self-preservation like that. Especially when he’s already so well-established in French high society, and a return to England would result in execution if his true identity were ever exposed. 💀

But Percy has already shown himself to be, at heart, the sort of person who would readily sacrifice both status and wealth in return for even the hope of love. Or maybe even the chance just to go home after having been unfairly exiled from the country of his birth for over twenty years. Many a person might risk the same - especially someone as sentimental Percy Wainwright. ~