#WHAT IS THIS A VICTORIAN CHRISTMAS CAROL??????????

[anambermusicbox]

im sorry but WHY IS THE DA YU TRANSLATION AT THE UN EVENT SO CRINGE

[vixx-ari]

Am I really making incorrect quotes for A Christmas Carol? Yes, yes I am

Scrooge: I've only known Timothy Cratchit for a day and a half but if anything were to happen to him I'd kill myself

Fred: (amused) And everyone else right??

Scrooge: ...

Fred: (concerned) a-and everyone else, right??

-----

(Younger) Scrooge: No I can't do that, Belle doesn't like that

Jacob Marley: If Belle jumped off London bridge would you?

Scrooge: ...Well, unless she did not want me to-

Jacob Marley: DONT JUMP OFF A BRIDGE EBENEZER

Scrooge: I NEVER SAID IT WAS GUARENTEED

-----

Belle: This is my partner Ebenezer, and this is his partner, Jacob

----

[Tim crying]

Bob Cratchit: Tim?! What happend, what's wrong?

Tim: oh it's nothing father, it's just these onions I was helping to cut

Bob: ...

[he walk over to the onions]

Bob: Now listen here you little shits-

----

Scrooge: wow, that's the best meal i've ever had!

Fred: All you had was broth and dry bread-

Scrooge: Exactly!

----

Mrs. Cratchit: Did you go out with Mr. Scrooge the other night?

Bob Cratchit: Well, yes infact I did

Mrs. Cratchit: oh, I love Mr. Scrooge!

Bob Cratchit: but you hate Mr. Scrooge-

Mrs. Cartchit: YEAH NO SHIT HONEY

----

Fred: A chance to do the right thing

Scrooge: Oh I love those moments...I like to wave at them as they pass by

---

Ghost of Christmas Past: What is your most significant flaw?

Scrooge: I can be very uncooperative

Ghost of Christmas Past: Could you give me an example?

Scrooge: No.

----

Scrooge: Who the fuck?!

Fred: Uncle, mind your language!

Scrooge: whom the fuck, then?

Fred: NO!

----

Scrooge (from the original text): who are you?

Scrooge 2022: I'm you but with maidens

Scrooge (from the original text): ...I beg your pardon?

[stargirl-and-potts]

I watched the last ep. I’m fascinated how, with all of the places Ruby travels to taking on fictional vibes (a space station nursery story, a Beatles musical, a Welsh folktale, an Austenian LARP), they point out the circumstances of her being found (falling snow, Christmas Eve, Victorian carol singers) are “Dickensian.” And even the ep itself is called a legend, the legend of Ruby Sunday (and if that isn’t a storybook name!). It’s like she’s creating a story around herself wherever she goes. And the Doctor met her after he “invoked a superstition at the edge of the universe” and was haunted by the thought of what out-of-bounds magic he might have let in to the prosaic world.

[vermilionsun]

This post translates directly to @musas-sideblog's about how Touchstarved ties with Victorian horror and implicit/metaphorical sex, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it, so here is a lengthy theory. Enjoy :)

Note 1: Victorian era authors used an unholy amount of ways to imply sexual feelings/acts etc, so I here I will include only the ones that are of interest. Note 2: I've highlighted the "most important" parts. Note 3: I'm not an expert at this, so please bear with me and feel free to correct me. Note 4: Do I need to add a TW? I think it's obvious-

Overview: What is Victorian Horror?

Victorian horror refers to the genre of horror literature, art, and culture that flourished during the Victorian era, roughly from the mid-19th century to the early 20th century, coinciding with Queen Victoria's reign from 1837 to 1901. This period was marked by a fascination with the macabre, the supernatural, and the dark aspects of human nature, reflecting the anxieties and societal changes of the time. 

Key Themes and Characteristics

Supernatural Elements:

Ghosts and Spirits: Tales of haunted houses and spectral apparitions were central to Victorian horror. Charles Dickens's "A Christmas Carol" (1843) and Henry James's "The Turn of the Screw" (1898) are notable examples.

Monsters and the Gothic: The era's literature is filled with monstrous creations and gothic settings, such as in Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" (1818), Bram Stoker's "Dracula" (1897), and Robert Louis Stevenson's "Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" (1886).

Science and the Unknown:

The Victorian period was a time of great scientific advancement, but also of fear about the implications of these discoveries. This is evident in works that explore the dangers of unchecked scientific experimentation, like "Frankenstein" and H.G. Wells's "The Island of Doctor Moreau" (1896).

Exploration of the Human Psyche:

Victorian horror often delved into the darker aspects of the human mind, including themes of duality, madness, and the hidden, sinister side of human nature. This is seen in "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" and Edgar Allan Poe’s works, such as "The Tell-Tale Heart" (1843).

Social and Moral Anxieties:

The literature frequently reflected Victorian society's fears and anxieties, including issues related to sexuality, class, and the role of women. Gothic novels often contained subtexts about societal norms and the consequences of transgressing them.

Urban Fear and Isolation:

The rapid urbanisation of the Victorian era contributed to themes of isolation, alienation, and fear of the crowded yet lonely cityscape. This is evident in the settings of many horror stories, such as Arthur Machen's "The Great God Pan" (1894).

Sexual Content: Victorian literature is renowned for its strict moral codes and conservative views on sexuality. Explicit depictions of sexual activity were considered taboo and were subject to censorship. Consequently, authors developed subtle and nuanced methods to imply sexual scenes or themes.

Literary Techniques for Implying Sexual Scenes

✧ Symbolism and Imagery:

Sexuality was often conveyed through symbolic imagery. Objects, actions, or natural phenomena could serve as metaphors for sexual activity or desire. For example, in "Dracula" by Bram Stoker, blood and biting symbolise sexual penetration and the exchange of bodily fluids, infusing the act with a sense of forbidden desire and eroticism.

Clothing and Undress:

Gloves: In Victorian culture, gloves were highly symbolic. The act of a woman removing her gloves in the presence of a man, or a man assisting her in this act, could signify a moment of intimacy or vulnerability. Similarly, a man giving a woman his gloves could be a sign of affection or a deeper connection.

Hats and Bonnets:

Corsets

Objects and Personal Items:

Locks of Hair

Jewellery

Books and Letters

Touch and Physical Contact:

Kissing Hands

Hand-Holding

Food and Drink:

Wine: Sharing wine or a meal in an intimate setting often suggested a prelude to deeper connection. Descriptions of characters drinking wine together in private could imply a romantic or sexual undertone.

Fruit: Certain fruits, like apples, grapes, or peaches, were laden with sexual symbolism. Eating or sharing fruit could represent temptation or indulgence. For instance, in Christina Rossetti’s poem "Goblin Market", the act of eating the goblin fruit is rich with sexual symbolism.

Flora and Fauna

Flowers and Gardens:

Roses: Roses were often used to symbolise love and passion. A red rose might suggest romantic or sexual attraction, while a wilted rose could imply lost innocence or sexual ruin.

Lilies: Lilies, especially white ones, represented purity but could also suggest a contrasting theme when associated with a fallen or tarnished character.

Garden Settings: Scenes set in secluded gardens or amongst lush, overgrown vegetation often hinted at secret or forbidden encounters. Descriptions of characters wandering through or tending to gardens could imply sexual exploration or awakening.

Flowers Blooming or Opening:  The blooming of flowers often represented sexual awakening or the act of losing one's virginity.

Nature Imagery:

Rivers and Water: Flowing water and rivers often symbolised sexual desire and the act of lovemaking. For instance, in "Tess of the d'Urbervilles" by Thomas Hardy, Tess's encounter with Alec d'Urberville is often described with metaphors of nature and fluidity.

Storms and Weather: Storms, with their intense energy and sudden outbursts, were frequently used to symbolise sexual passion or climactic moments.

Birds and Beasts:

Animals, especially those that are wild or predatory, often symbolised primal sexual instincts and desires. The taming or interaction with these animals could imply a character’s grappling with their own sexuality.

Fire and Heat

✧ Phrases and Sayings

Euphemistic Language

Descriptive Phrasing

Dialogue and Confessions

Private Spaces:

Secluded or Dimly Lit Rooms: Scenes set in private, darkened rooms often suggested clandestine sexual encounters. The privacy of the setting allows authors to imply what could not be explicitly stated. In Wilkie Collins’s "The Woman in White", many key interactions happen in secluded spaces, hinting at secrets and hidden desires.

Dreams and Fantasies:

Dream Sequences:

Dreams and fantasies were used to explore a character’s subconscious desires and fears, often revealing their suppressed sexual longings. These sequences provided a socially acceptable way to delve into erotic themes.

Hallucinations and Madness:

Moments of madness or hallucination could serve as a metaphor for overwhelming passion or uncontrollable sexual desire. These states allowed characters to express forbidden feelings in a way that was metaphorically safe.

Physical Interactions and Horror

Touch and Proximity as Menace:

Unwanted or Forced Touch: In horror, touch that is typically a sign of affection or intimacy becomes a source of fear.

Physical Closeness in Horror Settings: Close proximity in dark, secluded places amplifies the sense of claustrophobia and vulnerability, turning what could be an intimate setting into one fraught with terror.

Undress and Exposure in Horror:

Loosening Corsets and Vulnerability: The act of undressing or loosening clothing, which can be a prelude to intimacy, in horror often leaves characters vulnerable to attack or exposure of their deepest fears.

Food and Consumption in Horror

Cannibalism and Vampirism:

Blood as Sexual and Vital Fluid: The act of consuming blood, as in vampirism, blends the themes of sustenance and sexual exchange. The vampire's bite becomes a metaphor for both sexual penetration and the transfer of life force.

Example: "Dracula" is a prime example where blood consumption is deeply eroticized, with Dracula’s victims often portrayed in a state of ecstatic submission as he drains their blood.

Food as a Lure: Food and feasting, typically symbols of pleasure and indulgence, in horror contexts can be used to lure victims into dangerous situations.

Example: In "Goblin Market" by Christina Rossetti, the goblins’ fruit is both irresistibly tempting and dangerous, representing a forbidden and potentially fatal indulgence.

Plot and Character Dynamics in Horror

Power and Domination:

Common Dynamics with a Dark Twist

Predators and Victims: Characters who prey on others are often literal monsters in horror, representing the loss of control or innocence.

Secrecy and Concealment:

Hidden Desires and Monstrous Revelations: Characters who conceal their true identities or desires often find these hidden aspects manifesting as monstrous or terrifying in horror narratives, suggesting that repression can lead to dire consequences.

Clandestine Meetings and Forbidden Encounters: Secret meetings and forbidden relationships, often tinged with sexual implications, add an element of danger and fear, suggesting that transgressing social norms leads to horror.

Common Themes in Victorian Horror

Duality and the Doppelgänger:

Theme: The concept of duality, where a character has a hidden, darker side, or encounters a double (doppelgänger), often symbolises the internal conflict between good and evil within individuals.

Connection: This theme reflects Victorian anxieties about identity, morality, and the consequences of repressing one’s darker impulses.

Gothic and Supernatural Elements:

Theme: Victorian horror is rich with Gothic elements such as haunted houses, dark landscapes, and supernatural beings. These elements create a sense of dread and evoke the mysteries of the unknown.

Connection: The Gothic setting often serves as a backdrop for exploring human fears, isolation, and the impact of the supernatural on everyday life.

Decay and Degeneration:

Theme: The fear of decay and degeneration, both physical and moral, is a recurring motif. This theme often examines the decline of individuals, families, or societies and the consequences of corruption and vice.

Connection: This theme mirrors Victorian concerns about the erosion of social and moral values amidst rapid industrial and social changes.

Madness and Psychological Horror:

Theme: The exploration of madness and psychological horror delves into the fragility of the human mind and the terror of losing one's sanity. This often includes hallucinations, obsessions, and the thin line between reality and delusion.

Connection: This theme resonates with Victorian fears of mental illness, the limitations of medical knowledge, and the impact of societal pressures on mental health.

Forbidden Knowledge and the Faustian Bargain:

Theme: The pursuit of forbidden knowledge and the resulting consequences is a central theme. Characters who seek power, immortality, or forbidden truths often pay a heavy price, reminiscent of the Faustian bargain.

Connection: This theme highlights Victorian anxieties about scientific progress, moral boundaries, and the potential hubris of human ambition.

The Uncanny and the Unknown:

Theme: The uncanny involves the strange and unfamiliar becoming eerily familiar, often unsettling the reader and characters. It blurs the lines between reality and the supernatural, invoking fear and discomfort.

Connection: This theme taps into Victorian fears of the unknown, the foreign, and the otherworldly, reflecting broader anxieties about social and cultural boundaries.

Death and the Afterlife:

Theme: Victorian horror frequently grapples with themes of death and the afterlife, exploring the fear of mortality, the possibility of an afterlife, and encounters with the dead or undead.

Connection: These themes reflect Victorian preoccupations with death, the spiritual realm, and the possibility of life beyond death, often intensified by the era's high mortality rates and interest in spiritualism.

Isolation and Alienation:

Theme: Isolation and alienation are prevalent themes, often highlighting characters who are physically or emotionally detached from society, leading to their vulnerability and descent into despair or madness.

Connection: This theme resonates with the Victorian experience of industrialization and urbanization, which often led to feelings of disconnection and loneliness.

Class and Social Anxiety:

Theme: Victorian horror often explores themes of class and social anxiety, including the fear of losing social status, the consequences of poverty, and the tension between different social classes.

Connection: This theme reflects the rigid class structures of Victorian society and the fears and tensions that arose from social mobility and economic disparity.

Moral Corruption and Hypocrisy:

Theme: Victorian horror frequently critiques the era’s moral standards and exposes the hypocrisy of societal norms. Characters who appear virtuous often harbor dark secrets or engage in morally dubious activities.

Connection: This theme mirrors the Victorian concern with appearances and the underlying tension between public propriety and private desires.

The Five Pillars of Victorian Horror & The Five Love Interests

The Supernatural and the Gothic (Ais)

Essence: Victorian horror often revolves around the supernatural, blending Gothic elements to evoke a sense of dread and otherworldly terror. This includes ghosts, vampires, haunted houses, and curses, which create an atmosphere where the boundaries between the natural and the supernatural blur.

Impact: The use of Gothic settings and supernatural phenomena provides a backdrop for exploring deeper themes of fear, mortality, and the unknown.

Psychological Depth and Madness (Vere)

Essence: Victorian horror delves into the complexities of the human mind, exploring themes of madness, obsession, and the psychological effects of fear and trauma. Characters often grapple with their sanity, facing inner demons as terrifying as any external threat.

Impact: This focus on psychological horror allows for a deeper exploration of character motivations and the impact of societal pressures.

Moral Corruption and the Double Life (Leander)

Essence: Themes of moral corruption and the duality of human nature are central to Victorian horror. Characters often lead double lives, presenting a veneer of respectability while concealing dark, sinful secrets. This tension between outward appearances and hidden truths reflects the era’s social hypocrisy and fear of scandal.

Impact: These themes critique Victorian society’s emphasis on propriety and the dangerous consequences of repressing one’s true nature. The idea of a double life or hidden self adds to the horror by suggesting that evil can reside within anyone, masked by a facade of normalcy.

Decay, Degeneration, and Disease (Kuras)

Essence: The themes of physical and moral decay, societal degeneration, and disease permeate Victorian horror. These motifs symbolise the fragility of human life and the inevitability of decline, reflecting the anxieties of a society grappling with rapid change and uncertain futures.

Impact: By focusing on decay and degeneration, Victorian horror underscores the transient nature of life and the ever-present threat of corruption and decline, whether through ageing, moral compromise, or societal breakdown.

Isolation and Alienation (Mhin)

Essence: Isolation and alienation are pervasive themes in Victorian horror, often depicted through characters who are physically or emotionally cut off from society. This separation heightens their vulnerability to external threats and internal fears.

Impact: Isolation serves to intensify the psychological tension and sense of dread, as characters confront their fears alone. It also reflects the era’s social and existential anxieties, including the fear of being disconnected or outcast from society.

Generally, I believe each LI connects with a pillair (as seen above). Perhaps by looking at the archetypes we could deduce propable endings and route elements.

Forgive me, for the following part is MESSY;

Ais

Vere

Leander

Kuras

Mhin

[dragon-chica]

Wednesday Holiday Preference

Fandom: Wednesday

To everyone who does or does not celebrate, may you have a gentle holiday. And happy Yule ;)

Wednesday Addams: She fondly regales childhood christmases of pouring water on relentless carolers and stoking the fireplace with Pugsley to surely burn 'Old Saint Nick.', Wednesday also enjoys Old World christmas tales, specifically Krampus but tells you about many of the 'lesser known' stories and beings. Her family keeps up with the Victorian tradition of ghost stories for the holiday too.

Enid Sinclair: Super excited! She loves how pretty everything looks and all the beautiful lights! The winter months and all the cute dates to go on, such aesthetic cozy hot chocolate cafe dates watching the snow fall, ice skating, walking by the frozen lake, decorating and festive candles! So many 'cute' "ugly sweaters". She loves all of it and her instagram shows. It's also the best weather for cuddling up with you to stay warm and watch the snow fall.

Ajax Petropolus: He got you a gift months in advance when he was out with you and found the perfect thing, brags to Xavier for weeks how good he is at gift giving. You're gonna love it. 3 days before it occurs to him that he had no gift for you. PANICS texting Xavier that he forgot and is fully bundled about to trek to Jericho on foot in the snow before Xav (a real bro) walks into his closet and brings out the gift,

Xavier Thorpe: Holiday break has always been extra depressing for Xavier, a big empty house and not even an apology in the text that his father wont make it. The thought of being able to spend a time that everyone says is so filled with warmth and joy with you, has him giddier than he knows what to do with.

He really likes going for walks and is captivating staring at you in light snow. Pull him into the snow and get him to make snow angels, he hasn't done that since he was small and is in a fit of joy. Stick a snowball down his jacket After you've both been chilled to the bone go inside to watch some christmas movies, any you want (like Krampus or Elf) and snuggle under a blanket with some hot chocolate. You like baking sugar cookies and having him The Artist decorate them all.

Kent the Siren: Snowball fights! As soon as the first snow starts to cover the ground, Kent has dug out his winter gear and shows up at your dorm with and extra scarf and hat ready to drag you outside. He will not hold back either, but if you act hurt or sad he will come to apologize for the snowball and you ambush him. Never sees it coming. Also snowmen!

Bianca Barclay: She is one of those people that goes berserk buying presents, will have a list of what to get everyone in advance, "You don't even really like Wednesday though?" Bianca, checking her list: "So?" She will weather the worst holiday shopping rush and come out on top (will Siren Song someone into dropping the item she wants or throw hands if needed), somehow she never loses you in the stores even when you're lost, and you go out to a warm cafe afterwards like she didn't have a military scale gift operation before.

Tyler Galpin: Between his job and his dad's tight leash, he doesn't have much free time for cute winter dates, but after work he likes to look at the decorations and shop displays while he walks you home. (If something catches your eye he comes back to buy it as soon as he can.) Weathervane doesn't have a lot of Holiday Specials but he gives you 'complimentary' ones to try and experiments trying to make you little festive drinks when it's slow.

[warrioreowynofrohan]

Elizabeth Gaskell - Mary Barton, North and South, and Wives and Daughters

Over the past year I’ve read Elizabeth Gaskell’s Mary Barton, North and South, and Wives and Daughters, and I wanted to try to pull together some of my thoughts about these books and how they relate to each other.

Elizabeth Gaskell was a rough contemporary of the Brontës (and a friend and biographer of Charlotte Brontë), but outlived them all. These three novels were published in 1848, 1855, and 1866 respectively; Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre were published in 1847.

The three novels follow, in my opinion, a rough trajectory of decreasing radicalism, but (in some respects) increasing skill as a writer. Mary Barton is the most intensely socially conscious, and in my opinion Gaskell does a better job of writing a engaging novel on the behalf of the working class than Dickens often does - the writing is tighter and more engaging, and the working-class characters more nuanced and textured. (For context, all the Dickens I’ve read is A Christmas Carol, A Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist, and Great Expectations.) The book is scattered throughout with caveats - for example, that factory-owners feasting while workers starve may not be a fact, but that it is something workers can understandably feel to be true - that show how aware Gaskell was that it would be controversial. It was written before - but published during - the Revolutions of 1848 in Europe, and Gaskell even goes so far as the reference the revolutions in her preface to the book:

“To myself the idea which I have formed of the state of feeling among too many of the factory-people in Manchester, and which I endeavoured to represent in this tale (completed above a year ago), has received some confirmation from the events which have so recently occurred among a similar class on the Continent.

OCTOBER, 1848

(Charlotte Brontë appears to have been affected by the revolutions of 1848 in a very different way; her novel Shirley, published in 1849, is fairly strongly anti-worker and pro-factory-owner, portraying anyone who protests against the treatment of workers as a drunk or a troublemaker.)

While it has its meldoramatic elements, Mary Barton is on the whole a sympathetic depiction of a Manchester working-class family and their friends. In the opening chapters, some of the arguments of conservatives are dealt with deftly rather than by direct assault. The depiction of the two central families in comparatively better times shows what ‘luxuries’ were to working-class people - some slices of ham, a bit of butter, a bit of sugar, a dinner-party between friends, a handful of pretty objects around the house - in a way that undermines conservative claims that poverty was due to overspending in good times rather than saving for bad. There’s a varied cast of characters - some more idealized or archetypal in typical Victorian style, but most of them three-dimensional, human, and engaging. (Some of them - including both developed ones and archetypal ones - made me wonder if Gaskell ever read Les Misérables, and if so what she thought of it.)

This makes some elements of North and South frustrating by comparison. While working-class women in Mary Barton (at least some of them) are living, breathing people, the sole working-class woman in North and South is a Victorian archetype, a chronically ill girl who speaks in Bible verses and dies to prompt the redemption arcs of other characters. It’s evident that Gaskell got blowback for Mary Barton and was pressured to provide a more ‘balanced’ perspective in North and South - it’s telling that being ‘balanced’ meant reducing the humanity and complexity of working-class characters.

I will be blunt: I do not like John Thornton. He talks too much like a Calgary oilman resenting big government for daring to impose basic environmental and working standards. He makes a template of conservative arguments that endure to this day - that he’s a self-made-man and any working-class person could do what he did, if they had the grit and gumption. He’d rather go bankrupt than allow his workers to unionize. And he does not undergo a ‘redemption arc’ or change of heart on this - rather, the worker who supports unionization undergoes a ‘redemption arc’ to realize that unions are bad! What John Thornton does learn is that 1) using inexperienced imported scab workers rather than experienced and knowledgeable workers gets you a crappy product and 2) he can talk to his workers and plan out some basic reforms to improve their lives a little.

That said, one major improvement in North and South is that the relationship between Margaret Hale and John Thornton is much better written than the relationship of the title character in Mary Barton. Mary’s involves her abruptly (and unconvincingly) realizing she’s in love with a man who has been pursuing her throughout the book and whom she has been doing her utmost to discourage, and has never shown any interest in. Margaret and John’s is developed over time and with more complexity, and in a way that is far more compelling and convincing - probably what makes North and South more popular than the others.

Wives and Daughters is another sort of book entirely - gentler and less melodramatic (and with fewer major character deaths - though there’s a notable death toll among side characters), set in the countryside and in the past, and more a social comedy/dramedy with a side of romance. The class commentary as regards the working class is almost gone - the main characters are a combi ation of middle-class people and lower-level gentry. It is, in a sense, more Austenian in its gentle satire of the foibles of its cast of characters, interspersed with some more dramatic moments; or more like some of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s books that combine romance with poking gentle fun at the various characters of small-town life. But the characters are more nuanced and less archetypal, and the moral lessons mostly less pointed, than in the two previous books, and the main character’s challenges and struggles are of a more grounded nature. (There’s a side character, Cynthia, who particularly interests me and whom I might do a separate post on.) You can see the improvement in Gaskell’s writing; you can also see that she’s stepped away from politics. (The romance isn’t as good as North and South though.) The main theme that could be considered political is that good, solid, practical knowledge, hard work, courage, and honesty are preferable to any amount of upper-class ‘refinement’. The worst crime any major character commits is to be shallow and annoying.

Here’s one interesting case of a contrast between Wives and Daughters and Gaskell’s earlier work. In Mary Barton, Mary is pursued by - and actively interested in - a factory-owner’s son, a man outside of her own social class, and this is portrayed as a serious moral fault that precipitates some of the book’s major events. In Wives and Daughters, there is a much more socially unequal marriage between two side characters, and the lower-class woman is not treated as bad or faulty for it, but the plot gets into some of the complications of the match (the husband is afraid of disinheritance if he reveals the marriage to his father, and in that case would have no ability to support his wife abd child due to being gentry with no useful skills; the husband dies; there’s some personality and culture clash between the wife and his family in the aftermath, but ultimately it works out). In the more melodramatic Mary Barton, a woman accepting attentions from a mich higher-ranking man is a major issue of moral character; in the more grounded Wives and Daughters, it’s a matter of practical challenges entailed by the match.

(Gaskell died before finishing Wives and Daughters, but it’s close enough to finished that you can easily see the briad strokes of how everything’s going to wrap up.)

I’d recommend all the of the books; they’re all worth reading if you like 1800s literature. Though, being from the 1800s, they do all have some moments and sentiments that are jarring to the 21st-century reader.

[fictionadventurer]

Rewatching The Muppet Christmas Carol after rereading the book has me wishing we could have seen Michael Caine play Scrooge in a more detailed and book-accurate version of the story. He's got the perfect face and demeanor for Scrooge as Dickens wrote him. There's a fierceness on the surface, and an underlying good nature that's just waiting to be let out. You can believe he was the young clerk who delighted in a good Christmas party, and believe that he's become the cold, hard, grasping miser who won't even spend money to give himself a good fire, and whose humor comes out in cruel witticisms. He would totally be the Scrooge who gets caught up in the the childish delight of watching past Christmas parties and playing along with the games at the present one.

Unfortunately, the condensed story takes the angle of "Scrooge has never liked Christmas". It makes young Scrooge someone who's worrying over what his employer spends to throw a Christmas party (rather than delighting in a simple affair that only costs a few pounds). Caine's Scrooge shows moments of childish delight, but he doesn't really understand the spirit of Christmas until the very end of his time with the Ghost of Christmas Present. And it's fine. Turning a Victorian book into a ninety-minute Muppet musical for children is going to involve significant changes. Caine did excellently with the material he had. I just wish he'd had the chance to do more.

[devouringyourson]

anyway now I'm going to talk about doctor who for a few hours: single episodes people should watch if they only watched 10 and wanna try some newnewwho

5x7 Amy's Choice: standalone where the doctor and his companions have to choose between reality and a dream world but which is which? peak whimsical 11 era if you like this give the 11th doctor a go

5x10 Vincent and the Doctor: everyone everywhere has suggested this and im sure you've already seen it beautiful beautiful standalone

5x14 (Christmas Special) sci-fi version of A Christmas Carol with flying sharks and opera

6x4 The Doctor's Wife: weird, dark and wonderful standalone penned by Neil Gaiman where the tardis get sucked into a junkyard outside of the universe and weird gaimany shit ensues

6x11 The God Complex: doctor who does the shining with a big religious metaphor and a space minotaur. low budget underrated ep which delves into the flaws of 11th doctor and his choice of a young facade

Series 7 is honestly a bit messy and all requires pre knowledge to understand wtf is going on but 7x12 The Crimson Horror is a campy mark gatiss penned horror romp if you fancy some silly victorian gothic

8x4 Listen: doctor who's most philosophical ep with very few answers, don't watch for the plot watch for the tension and metaphors on fear itself. Odd, ambitious and strange. 12 is abrasive and flawed but if you dig the darker tone s8 is a go to

8x8 The Mummy on the Orient Express. literally an egyptian mummy haunting the orient express IN SPACE. Oddly despite the fantasical premise it's also a great episode to get to grips with this harsher, darker doctor and the complicated relationship he has with Clara. The most 12 of episodes

8x13 Christmas Special: Last Christmas. Great big sci-fi christmas mind fuck that's weirdly emotional and stars nick frost as seemingly... actual santa??

Series 9 is a heavily interlinked series with mainly all double parters so hard to recommend a standalon but...

9x11 Heaven Sent is a masterpiece a single ep starring only Peter Capaldi in mainly monologue as we explore an existential eternal prison. Experimental and strange and deeply rewarding.

10x11 World Enough and Time: The Tardis lands on a huge ship with hundreds of floors. A nearby black hole distorts time so that the lower levels are experiencing centuries of civilisation while the upper floors pass mere seconds. You may struggle to understand what's going on in the wider series plot but this one is gloriously bleak body horror and industrial sci-fi. If you enjoy this go back and watch the season

11x6 Demons of the Punjab: the era of 13 has its issues but god did they go hard on the historicals and politics. A beautiful story about family, identity, loss and the horrors of the partition of India during colonial rule

12x8 The Haunting of Villa Diodati. Again with the historicals. So what really went down during that dreadful summer of 1816 where Mary Shelly writes Frankenstein

The 13th season I.... ??? yeah so anyway

[docholligay]

What was your favorite thing you did in the UK/Germany?

That's such a hard thing for me to say on these sorts of trips, because there are so many things that go into "favorite." Apologies that this won’t be very poetically written, I’m sitll musing on my thoughts about it. 

The event I loved the most: Dickens Christmas Feast

We all know I love Charles Dickens, and even more so, we all know I love A Christmas Carol. I have seen so many versions of it, I will continue to watch versions of it, it is the best thing about Christmas, I think. So, on the one hand, very low bar to entry foe me.

On the other hand, I cannot recommend it enough to people. I would see anything this theater company did. They did such a wonderful job of building tone as you walked to where the theater was, you get this sense that you’ve about to hear something no one has ever heard before, even though this is probably one of the best known stories in the Western world. They even had a map of London from the late 1800s. I genuinely told people to just go past us in line (We had Royal Circle tickets--everything else had been sold out--so it didn’t matter if we were first or last) because they had a magnifying glass to look at the city map. It was so interesting to me to see the ways its different, but also the way its the same. What parts of the city cropped up, where were the nice areas, all of that. 

I loved dressing up. I love dressing up anyhow, but it was so much fun to do it for a Victorian themed event, and people reacted so positively to the handful of us who dressed up. There was one gal who stood by us in line, turned to her mom, and said, “I told you people would dress up! We could have dressed up! I love your costumes.” and then when we thanked her and said we loved to take an opportunity, she said, “Did you bring all that from America?” and upon confirmation, she turned to her mom again and said, “They brought it from America!” I loved her, I hope next time she dresses up. 

The food was shockingly good. I don’t put a lot of faith in dinner theater, foodwise, but the duck was well cooked, I love the potted cheese, and the cocktails were flat out incredible. I had smoking bishop, which I liked so much I think I’m going to try and make it at home this winter. Also, in the Royal Circle the service was incredible. Our gal Lily was so very attentive and wonderful, and she let us know that she couldn’t come out during the three acts, but in the meal breaks, she would. I let her know I was going to want to put a cocktail order in about ten minutes before each act began, and she was SO on it, like CLOCKWORK, asking me what I’d like for the next act and having hit the table RIGHT before the lights dimmed again. She was amazing. 

And the play. Again, I love A Christmas Carol and I acknowledge that fully, but I never imagined that one of my favorite reworkings of it would be a one man show that is represented as Charles Dickens acting it all out of you in his deeply involved, hyperactive, scattered way. I ADORED IT. I cannot express to you how well the guy did, and how much, in moments, it really felt to me like the feeling of being a writer--especially in the earlier parts of the play--with him saying a line “wrong” and then going, “No, I don’t like that” taking up the exact same position, and redoing it. It was very much the feeling of me pacing around the office in the old days writing something. At the end of the second act, when they had this huge clap of thunder roll, lights flashing, the actor as Scrooge in this moment crying out in fear over the approach of the third ghost, and then the whole room goes pitch black and silent. It’s SO tense. The lights come up, he smiles and goes, “Pretty good, right?” ANd it just captured, for me, that feeling of knowing you’ver written something that’s going to get to your reader, and it is this MOMENT in the writing, but you’re sitting there grinning like an idiot over your desk, chuckling. 

The only other players in the work, actually, were the musicians, who were live, and walked around playing the violin and little drums and other instruments, it was such an excellent way to really loop in the music aspect and give this so much more of a live feel. 

The whole thing is done as a theater in the round style, and there really isn’t a bad seat in the house. I was in the royal circle, but mostly what we had was more attentive service and much more comfortable seating (They were these sumptuous plush banquettes. So nice. Everyone else was on a regular chair) because the seating was so good for the play itself. And because of how it was done, it had to have sparse staging, but what they did have was wonderful. In the center stage, especially, they had a doorframe that popped up, and when they lowered it, they couldn’t do it without a light slam, so they worked it into the play SO WELL, at one point one of the musicians was holding it for the perfect dramatic moment to hear that slam, and it was such a clever way to work in something that could have been annoying into being absolutely perfect. 

It was so cleverly done, I would go see it again despite the cost of it, absolutely, if I were in London at the time. 

Thing I think everyone should go see in London: Westminster Abbey. 

A lot of the things I recommend are ‘use cases’ because there’s very little int his world that is uniformly bad or uniformly good, there are just good and bad use cases. I think the London Eye would be a fucking horrfying waste of time and money, but if I were bringing beeb, she might love it, as she loves to be up high. When i went with my wife one of my favorite days was when i took the train out to the shitty OW office and walked back to Mile End at the route I think Lena would take, and basically just bopped around the East End.  Many people would find that boring or too much walking. I thought the British Museum was an annoying waste of my life. Many of you are audibly gasping at that statement. Use cases. 

ANYHOW, Westminster Abbey is one of the only things I can think of in London that everyone she go see. I am not a big historic church person, so please trust me when I say its a very beautiful church, but it’s much more than that. I’m not sure if I just wrote this in my diary or said it here, but it feels like the collective hopes of a nation, and what it makes itself to be. What do we hold dear? What do we call ours? This is even more striking with seeing the scientists, and poets’ corner, the RAF chapel. It’s about what the UK thinks of itself as, what it hopes it is, as much as it is anything else, and I think you get a fantastic sense of that HOPE going through there. There’s a reason Oliver Crowmwell was there, and then wasn’t. Its striking for me in a way churches rarely are. I love that aspect of it, my wife loved the straight history aspects of it, the craftsmanship of the building itself and the graves are absolutely worth study, if you’re a royals person, that’s where the coronation is, if you just want to hit the tourist highlights, it is a major one. I cannot recommend it highly enough. 

Thing I didn’t expect to love: The Christmas Garden Path at Blenheim Palace. 

I cannot express to you what a tonally bizarre journey the Blenheim path was. It was as if they asked several different people to come together and make this, but refused to allow them to speak to each other, so you jump from moment to moment and it has absolutely no unity whatsoever. You begin in a very boring “Nice lights set to Pentatonix” Christmas display that in no way prespares you for what is about to happen. At one point, in what I called, “The Annual Tory Salute to the Blitz” it is literally the glowering face of Winston Churchill, illuminated, against a backdrop of flames. If you do not believe me ask @morkaischosen who was there with me. Then we went into the “Christmas Rave” where there was, I am not joking, pulsing lights as you walk in a circle around them to techno music. Is this related to Christmas? Who knows? WHo cares! There are dancing fountains! There’s a love tunnel! One of the areas I just called “A Eurovision entry from Eastern Europe” and I was completely right. It was bonkers. It was jarring. I loved it. 10/10. Also, whoever planned it out had amazing wisdom with the drink stops, I am so serious. I never had to chug nor wait, they were spaced PERFECTLY for finishing one drink and wanting another. 

But one of my actual favorite times, that I will look on with extreme fondness, is something that I think most people would have found boring to hear about: Sitting on the living room floor with @verbforverb while @tallangrycockatiel sat there and knitted, sampling whiskeys. It was not anything you’d find in a travel guide but in many ways was what I came there to do and will be one of my favorite memories (also verb trying to fucking murder me during a monring run)

[seaweedstarshine]

*Poll inspired by typical ambiguity in the new audio story Victory of the Doctor, which on an unrelated note is amazing!

Evidence for each argument beneath the cut!

Open marriage

The Doctor's wedding to Marilyn Monroe occurs in A Christmas Carol, when he storms off to a chapel with lipstick marks on his face. “I’ll just go and get married then, shall I? See how you like that. Marilyn? Get your coat!”

While he wasn't yet with River then, he maintains this relationship afterwards, apparently with River involved. In the mini-episode Good Night, the Doctor enters the TARDIS with a euphonium, calling over his shoulder, “River! I’ll see you later! Tell Marilyn she’s too late, she’ll have to use the biplane. Take care!”

Another piece of evidence comes from The Wedding of River Song, when they're passive-aggressively flirting.

“Hallucinogenic lipstick. Works wonders on President Kennedy. And Cleopatra was a real pushover.” “I always thought so.” “She mentioned you.” “What did she say?” “Put down that gun.” “Did you?” “Eventually.” “Oh, they're flirting. Do I have to watch this?” (from Kovarian)

I've never understood the innuendo (please tell me what I'm missing), but Kovarian does, and as we know from The Husbands of River Song, the Doctor and River are both married to Cleopatra, so… it's definitely something.

There's also that diary page in The Eternity Clock game that suggests the Doctor, River, and Jim the Fish got blackout drunk at karaoke night and started “some sort of religion of love” which went on to last for centuries.

Serial cheaters

“How can you be engaged, in a manner of speaking?” The Doctor is jealous in Flesh and Stone before he's even kissed her, which doesn't set him up as a person who'd be interested in an open marriage.

“No, wait. That's your husband? That's who you're married to? Not anybody else?” In The Husbands of River Song, the Doctor is clearly not expecting the other husbands. Culminating in the same episode…

“So, King Hydroflax?” “Oh, how many times? I married the diamond!” “So you say.” “Elizabeth the First!” “Ramone!” “Marilyn Monroe!” “Stephen Fry!” “Cleopatra!” “Same thing!”

It appears he is well aware of her other spouses (and that she's aware of his); so perhaps his surprise was more that didn't expect her to be so flagrant about them. It makes him insecure (“I posed as his nurse. Took me a week.” “To fall in love?” “It's the easiest lie you can tell a man. They'll automatically believe any story they're the hero of.”) enough to start an argument about it.

River also expresses her jealousy as an obvious fact, as seen in The Day of the Doctor Novelization (written by Moffat who (along with Alex!!) knows the character best):

“Ow!” “Madame de Pompadour?” “Jealous?” “Of course I’m jealous. Keep your hands off her.”

In The Name of the Doctor, we learn that the Doctor, who has had a number of... sexually-charged moments with Clara (including, but not limited to, Victorian Clara), has avoided telling her that River is his wife. Vastra is uncomfortable with having to introduce them, having “gone a darker shade of green.”

“The Doctor might have mentioned me?” “Oh, yeah. Oh yeah, of course he has. Professor Song! Sorry, it's just I never realized you were a woman.” (from Clara)

Actually both

This could mean many things (i.e. open marriage with boundaries which are violated), but potentially, all the same evidence from prior arguments! With a shade of “Our lives are back to front.”

In the mini-episodes First Night/Last Night, when River, having burst into the TARDIS and pretended to faint, mistakes her past self for another woman the Doctor's hiding from her, she openly expresses jealousy.

“Doctor. Have you brought someone else here? Does anyone agree to wear that dress? Where is she!” “River, think it through!” “This happened the last time we were here. You brought someone else!” “No I didn’t!” “Yes you did, I heard you talking to her!”

However, when a third and significantly older version of River makes the same mistake, she no longer expresses jealousy, but rather curiosity, which could at least signal a shift in how she sees their marriage.

Maybe there was a conversation that happened. Maybe it slipped the Doctor's mind when he forgot Clara.

Actually neither

This could also mean multiple things, but one of those things is this. The Doctor is a widower from the start. Likewise, River is well aware of Doctor's death on Trenzalore, “of course River would know, she's always known,” having been raised to prevent those events, and having refused to be bound by that destiny.

How can fidelity be defined the same way for time travelers? Everyone's spouses are dead somewhen. River understands the paradox of her husband's existence better than anyone. To quote The Day of the Doctor Novelization yet again…

‘Because you live in a time machine. All of history is still happening outside those doors. On a good night that means everyone you ever met is still alive and you can’t wait to see them again. On a bad night, it means everyone’s dead, and you want to charge around the universe, pretending you can do something about that.’ She looked up at me. ‘I know which version of you I prefer.’ 

And there she was, so alive again. I remembered her, twisted, burnt and dead, in the depths of The Library. ‘What if there are people who died because of me?’ I asked. ‘What if there are people I should have saved?’

‘People die. All people, everywhere. We grieve and we move on. That is how we respect the dead. That is how we forgive ourselves in their presence and their absence.’

Please feel free to add anything I missed!

[lifeontoast]

A Christmas Carol

9th Doctor x reader

SUMMARY: For day 1 of Advent, here’s something for my Whovians… hope you enjoy. 9 and the reader travel back in time for a very Dickensian Christmas…

Trigger warnings: none, I don’t think.

…

That oh-so-familiar thworp of the TARDIS told you that you had arrived. Christmas 1843. The Doctor had chosen it after your previous adventure in the year 5487 - you wouldn’t be going back there in a hurry. He wanted something a bit… calmer for once. Not that he didn't love adventure, of course.

‘Okay, Y/N. It’s the 20th December 1843. Now tell me, what is special about this day?’ he quizzed you.

‘It’s… the day after A Christmas Carol was published!’ you loved that book a lot, and you knew that the Doctor did too. Where he was planning to take you, you couldn’t guess, but you were glad he’d chosen this date for your next little adventure.

‘And change out of those clothes please, you’ll show me up.’ he added with a sarky look in your direction. You rolled your eyes, but made your way to the huge wardrobe in the TARDIS to oblige. He held back a laugh as you left, and hearing this, you couldn’t help but smile. You never knew what you might find in there, it truly was an amalgamation of every type of clothing you could possibly imagine… mini-dresses, togas, suits and ties, and that one really weird fashion trend from the 7140s where everyone wore Scooby Doo onesies. However, you looked past all this to unearth exactly what you needed to find. You see, that was the thing about the TARDIS. She always knew just what you needed. You changed out of the clothes that had offended the Doctor so, and into these new ones. Looking in the mirror, you were pleasantly surprised. Never before had you thought it possible to look so good whilst wearing Victorian clothes. Still, everyday is a school day.

Making your way back to the main console, you found the Doctor wearing exactly the same outfit, except he had changed his jumper. You rolled your eyes, this was so typical of him! Oh well. It was always fun to play dress up with the Doctor, even if he always declined to participate. You’d get him out of that leather jacket one day if it killed you.

You’d brought yourself a scarf from the wardrobe, but decided that he was clearly more in need of it than you were. You walked up to him and carefully put the soft wool around his neck. He feigned annoyance but you could tell he was pleased that you’d been thinking about him again, something he was convinced you did far too much of. He gave you a genuine smile, which you reciprocated gladly.

On the cobbled streets of Victorian London, the snow was falling. Already there was a carpet of white on the stones, and it glowed under the light of the street lamps which lit your way. The sky was steel grey, polluted with the industrial smog of hellish factories lining the roads not far from here. Trying desperately to ignore the lingering, acrid smell of the blacksmiths next to where you had landed, you and the Doctor stepped out smartly, marvelling at every person who walked past. How little they knew of the future, that those factories that were the very lifeblood of the city would soon be nothing but a whisper sometimes talked about in history lessons.

You were confused about your destination, but the Doctor seemed to know where he was going. There was little decoration around the streets or in shop windows, but you remembered that people only started celebrating Christmas again because of A Christmas Carol, and that had only been published the day before. One shop stood out to you though; you saw it on the corner just ahead. It was decked out, even by modern standards. Golden and scarlet ribbons hung on every surface, and there was even a tree outside. Candles lit up the windows, revealing the large number of customers inside. The Doctor gave you a knowing look, and then you realised. That was your destination.

Inside the shop, there were what felt like thousands of people milling about everywhere, books in hand. Even though the shop was actually quite large, there was hardly room to breathe. However, no history lesson could have prepared you for what, or rather who, you were about to see. Coming into the main area of the shop, you saw Charles Dickens, sat at a table, talking to a lady in the most fabulous hat you’d ever seen. You felt your jaw drop in shock, whilst the Doctor just looked at you, laughing to himself. You turned to him and smiled. He was so clever, and he very well knew it.

He made his way to the front of the queue, much to the chagrin of everyone else, and proudly introduced you to Dickens. Apparently, Dickens and the Doctor were “very dear friends”! Well, trust him to hide a secret like that from you. A book had somehow found its way into your hands, and you gave it to Dickens to sign. He wrote this message inside it:

Dear Y/N,

Any friend of the Doctor is a friend of mine! I do hope you enjoy my little book.

Charles Dickens, Christmas 1843

You couldn’t believe it. A first edition of A Christmas Carol, signed by Charles Dickens? Now that was something you’d treasure forever.

Outside the bookshop, it has just started to snow. As the delicate flakes flew down from the sky, the Doctor offered you his arm, and you slowly wound your way down the cobbled street, amazed at all that was happening around you. You had a tremendous sense of foreboding, feeling satisfied that these people would very soon be rediscovering the joy of Christmas, and you were so glad to be able to share it with the Doctor.

This would be an adventure you wouldn’t forget any time soon.

…

Hope you enjoyed :)

[topsyturvy-turtely]

What is your favorite winter holiday decoration? If you feel comfortable can you post a picture and explain why. Do you think your favorite characters have favorite decorations?

hey there! (what nickname do you have? ... or do i have to make one up? 😜)

iiii... have no idea? i'm not big on decorating tbh. i like nature stuff and candles. so probably a traditional advent wreath and stuff like that. as long as it isn't angels or anything else tacky 🤢

oooh wait! i also fucking love my little incense bowl!!! i got it from a very sweet lady when i worked in her pottery shop in my high school years for my mandatory internship. it is my favorite color and the incense mixes smell AMAZING. so yeah. i'll go with that!

here is a picture (that you asked for otherwise i would have posted this ask earlier)

my favourite characters' favourite christmas decorations and traditions (headcanons)

my guess is john watson really likes decorations. obviously he is the one getting decorations for christmas and any other holiday for the 221b flat. he keeps it simple and traditional. he likes mistletoes (remind him of his mother), simple red christmas bulbs (shiny but no fancy drawing on it or sth), he loves stockings and he LOVES wearing his Christmas sweater. he got it from either his mom or harry, his sister (he forgot, and honestly he doesn't care)

sherlock's favorite christmas decoration is john in his christmas sweater of course ;)

otherwise sherlock ignores christmas and EVERY ANNOYING LITTE THING that comes along with it. (except of course john humming Christmas carols, john smiling when receiving a gift, john making a fire, john making horrible cinnamon tea... anything john)

harry watson fucking loves making christmas tea; she craves for some amaretto in it but she had sobered up and sure as hell won't get down that path again! instead she swears on christmas cookies and makes hundreds of them. she is not the one who got john his cute christmas sweater because she is all in for ugly Christmas sweaters. harry also loves the lights on christmas trees.

molly hooper loves christmas with all of her. she is excited for it all year. she loves stockings and gifting almost everyone she knows something. in november she already got all christmas presents wrapped up with cute little cards hanging from them. her favourite decoration is the mistletoe and whenever she is invited to a christmas party she scans the room for it. and at some point she'll stand "accidentally" underneath it. secretly she hopes to find the love of her life that way. (in reality she doesn't even get one kiss...) (oh wait so she stops at some point in her early 20s with this "silly dream" of hers and then some magical night when she is in her 30s/40s the most handsome man she has ever seen (it is not sherlock) sees her underneath a mistletoe and kisses her... they fall in love and live happily ever after :D) (do not disagree with me molly deserves the whole world and more)

mrs. hudson loves ALL the lights! on the houses on the trees... everywhere! but! she doesn't like it when people overdo it. (she herself totally overdoes it completely though). she loves all the sweets and she loves christmas movies (especially the ones with "those handsome actors"). cinnamon is not only her favorite thing to bake with but also her favorite decoration. she loves her christmas bulbs she was gifted from her nieces and nephews. and their kids' Christmas bulbs. (they look kind of ugly but... she doesn't care)

should i do other fandoms as well? good omens? skulduggery pleasant? wednesday?

what do you turtles think? do you agree? disagree? what would say is different? any ideas for other characters? @helloliriels @safedistancefrombeingsmart @a-victorian-girl @gregorovitchworld @totallysilvergirl?

[sixminutestoriesblog]

Christmas ghost stories

I hope that you are, each and every one of you, having a special day today, whether you celebrate anything or not. I hope that you get to spend today with people you care about, doing things that make you happy. I hope you get what you need, whether it can be wrapped or not and I hope that when the night falls, it falls with peace for you. If I was a magical saint I would make sure those were the gifts I gave today.

But, since I'm not a magical saint, just a blog on tumblr, I'll give you a small thing instead and hope for the bigger ones.

We all know the Victorians had some weird ways of celebrating things, from spending parties setting up macabre scenes for a photo shoot to trying to talk to the dead complete with slime trails to adults playing hide and seek so well that they'd got a story about a bride getting locked and lost in a storage trunk, the Victorians certainly had a Halloween kind of bent to a lot of their celebrations. And Christmas is no different. Sure, Christmas trees were coming into vogue thanks to Queen Victoria's German husband and, by now, we've seen what they considered festive holiday cards but there were still a lot of traditions they celebrated back then that didn't make it into modern day holiday traditions. And while I am very glad that we don't regularly participate in putting flaming raisins in our mouths anymore as a party game, I do miss one of the 'round out the night' traditions most Christmas gatherings had way back in the when of Victorian times.

"There'll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago."

One thing the Victorians did that we do not was to end Christmas eve with a proper ghost story. After the festivals had slowed down, and everyone that had needed medical care was treated, it was time to gather around the fireplace in comfortable chairs and settle in for a story designed to set your hair on end. We think Dicken's A Christmas Carol is a Christmas story that happens to have ghosts in it but originally, it was a ghost story that happened to be a Christmas one. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James even prefaces the actual ghost part of the story by starting things off as a tale told between friends on Christmas eve. Telling stories around the fire, surrounded by the cold dark, has to be one of the oldest human traditions and it certainly was a part of any truly memorable Victorian holiday gathering.

So.

Merry Christmas eve if you celebrate it and merry greeting in the dead of winter if you don't. Let's gather around a fireplace together, with out tasty cups warm in our hands, the thick blankets tucked in soft around us, the steady back of a cushioned chair to keep up safe and someone's familiar, welcome voice in our ears. My Halloween ghost story is here

but maybe we also want to hear our story tonight.

From a familiar voice on this darkest of nights.

[quill-pen]

Blessing (Married!EbenezerXReader)

Hi. I'm new here. Nice to meet you. Oooohhhhh, boy I can't believe I've done this. Can't believe I've joined Tumblr; can't believe I've written this and have an idea for a whole story to go with it. I just cannot believe any of this.

To be honest, I knew it would happen. Once I heard that song and saw the animation and found out Luke Evans was going to play Scrooge, I knew if I watched the movie, something like this was bound to happen--especially when Scrooge sings and looks like that. I mean GOOD. NIGHT. (You cannot tell me this was not a deliberate decision. These people knew exactly what they were doing.) But how could I not watch it because: A) IT'S 'A CHRISTMAS CAROL' AND I LOVE 'A CHRISTMAS CAROL'--of course I had to watch it and see how it measured up to other versions. B) LUKE FRICKING EVANS. C) LUKE FRICKING EVANS SINGING. D) SILVER FOX SCROOGE VOICED BY LUKE EVANS. SINGING.

I knew what I was getting into--I knew it was dangerous. ... And I went for it. And I tried to stop the inevitable afterward, but it's the inevitable. There's no fighting it--there's only assimilate. So I assimilated. And here we are.

So, basically, overall, just really consider this like a teaser, I guess. Because the truth is I have a whole idea for a story behind this thing and after this thing, and this was just something that popped into my head that I had to get out and share to see what people thought. And, according to AO3, I won't get my invite until the 7th and I just can't wait that long. I'm so pathetic.

Basic synopsis for the story I'm planning: Reader insert, obviously. Takes place at least 6 months after the events of 'A Christmas Carol'. Jacob Marley actually had a daughter. (He married only to have an heir, never really felt anything for his wife, took a long time to have a kid, and, when they finally do, it's a girl--so he's not involved. [Because this Marley in particular seems like that type.]) Because her family is quite harsh, the mother flees to America with her daughter, and years later, early 20-something reader-daughter returns to London with a dead mother to bury in tow, meets and befriends Scrooge, and is pulled into her mother's very hoity-toity aristocratic family and everything that comes with that life. Reader, ultimately, can't go back to America (things...), but the only way she will be allowed to stay in the care of her mother's family (and presumably get whatever she might have inherited from her mother because no way Marley left her anything) she has to marry. Cue the gallant and handsome Ebenezer Scrooge to the rescue. (He's not what the family was thinking, but Reader is also not a high priority and Scrooge does have money and is of decent enough birth, so, eh, he'll do.) Yada, yada, yada, a marriage of convenience, slow-burn, friends-to-lovers romance, domestic fluff, and drama, a little spiciness, some heartbreak, and heart-mending, etc. Isabel at some point does make a return (whether she's widowed or still married, idk right now) hence the exchange we have in this thing. Let me know what you think. I'd be very interested in knowing if anyone would be interested in reading a story like this. In the meantime, enjoy this tiny little snippet of an idea.

Oh, yeah, btw, if I do this thing, and I put this back into the story, it will be much sadder. For reasons. I won't go into it now, but you can probably guess.

Pairing: Ebenezer Scrooge x F!Reader (married)

Warnings: FEELINGS, tears, declarations of love, fear of losing someone--just feelings. Oh, also kissing after influenza in Victorian London I guess? *shrugs* Probably not the wisest decision for a few reasons. Isabel may also not be shown in the best light here because of Reader's POV, but I assure you we do not hate Isabel here. She is so sweet and lovely, and I hope she really ended up as happy as she looked in that picture.

Summary: You have been extremely sick with influenza for a time. Finally, you come 'round. When you do, you are greeted by an overjoyed and emotional husband. Some romantic and fluffy sweetness ensues.

A/N: Lots of inspiration from Poldark here. I'd be lying if I said I'm not going to take lots more inspiration from it with the actual story if/when I write it. Also did not put Prudence in this in order to strictly focus on the main relationship, but you bet your bottom dollar she's going to be in the story. I love that mastiff. One of the best things they added to the movie, even though it doesn't actually make sense for Scrooge's character to have a pet.

Oh, and first-ever reader insert. Wish me luck!

Blessing

The mist was beginning to clear, the weights that pulled you down into the darkness becoming lighter and breaking away.  You were coming fully into the light now--awakening, though you hadn’t truly been slumbering.  After an eternity of unknowing, you were becoming aware again.  Aware of the world; of the air you sucked into your aching windpipe and lungs; of the accursed dryness of your throat; of the dampness of sweat coating your body; of the weakness of your body and the heavy and hot softness that surrounded it.  It was stuffy and uncomfortable.

With a groan, you tried to open your eyes just to see exactly what made you uncomfortable.  You’d never known trying to open eyes could be so hard or make one so very tired.  Eventually, you prevailed: And when you did, you found yourself blearily gazing out into a bright, blurry world.  You groaned and squinted against the light, then slowly tried again.  After a period, things became clearer and the light became less blinding, and you were able to finally look around.

You found yourself tucked deeply into your bed, covered by several blankets along with the heavy comforter.  No wonder you were so hot.  You tried to shift the blankets a bit, but they were quite heavy, and you still felt so weak, so you simply resigned yourself to their near-suffocating embrace for the moment.  At least until you could find somebody to help you move them.  

Your eyes slowly traveled around the room, taking things in, until they finally came to rest on a familiar figure at your bedside.    

Ebenezer sat in a chair but was slumped over, half-laying on the mattress with his arms folded beneath his head.  He was sleeping--snoring ever so slightly.  He looked something of a mess; his steely hair mussed and muttonchops unkempt, his shirt collar askew, sleeves undid, and messily pushed and rolled up his arms.  You could see prominent stubble on his chin and around his lips--too prominent for it to be his typical morning shadow.  

You opened your mouth to speak, but found yourself unable to make any sound beyond a whisper of a croak.  You licked your dry lips with an even dryer tongue and tried to swallow before attempting to speak again.  A bit more of a crackle came out that time, but nothing loud enough to gain attention.  Oh, bloody hell and vexation!  Slowly, having to summon up what seemed all of your strength to do so, you slid a trembling hand across the mattress and reached out to thread shaking fingers into your husband’s hair.  You ignored the greasy sensation of it.  Ebenezer unshaven and unwashed?  Just how much time had passed?

You gently began to stroke the man’s scalp and tug his hair, all the while still trying to speak his name.  Each attempt earned you more of a sound coming from your throat.  “Ebenezer…” you rasped, fighting to keep your eyes open.  These little efforts put together were all wearing you out so quickly.  “Ebenezer….”

The man stirred, snorting softly and groaning.  Slowly he raised his head and blinked the sleep from his eyes before looking up at you.  His sleep-blurred gaze lasted for a mere second before he came fully awake, slate-blue eyes widening in alarm.  He stood up from his chair and moved to sit at the edge of the bed, leaning over to you, taking your hand that had been in his hair into one of his as he did so.  With the other hand, he reached out and touched your sweaty brow then your cheek.  “Y/N?” he murmured in some disbelief.  “Y/N, darling, you’re awake!”  His lips were pulling into an overjoyed, open-mouthed grin, his bushy, gray eyebrows crinkling his forehead as they shot toward the sky.  Turning his head slightly, but never taking his gaze off you, he called over his shoulder.  “Ida!  Ida!”

It was mere seconds before your lady’s maid was rushing through the bedroom door, looking greatly concerned.  “Yes, Mr. Scrooge?”

“Send for the Doctor!” your husband ordered, still gazing at you.  “Quick as you can!  She’s awake!”

“Right away, Sir!”  With that, Ida vanished just as quickly as she’d arrived.

Focused solely on you now, Ebenezer scooted closer to you, cupping your cheek in his hand as he gazed into your face with such relief and joy you could see a thin sheen of tears in his eyes.  He kissed the hand of yours he held.  “Oh, my darling,” he crooned softly, stroking your cheekbone with a thumb.  “Oh, my dearest, dearest darling!”  He then leaned in and planted a kiss on your brow (obviously not caring about the sweat and whatever other disgustingness covered your skin) and kept up a frenzied shower of them all over your face before finally catching up your lips.  

He immediately pulled away.  “Water!” he exclaimed.  “You’ll want water!”  He let go of your hand and pulled away only long enough to reach over to the bedside table where a pitcher and glass sat.  The man poured you a generous helping.  “Here,” he said.  “Drink.  Slowly.”  He helped you to sit up and lift the glass to your parched lips as he noticed how shaky your hands were.  Ebenezer watched carefully as you gulped the liquid down.  “That’s it, my love.  Drink.”

It seemed to take forever to finish the glass, but you were so savagely thirsty you couldn’t bear the thought of stopping until the water was gone.  When it was, you pushed the glass back to your husband.  “More please,” you croaked, the water having loosened your voice.

Ebenezer did as you wished, filling the glass and helping you hold it yet again as you drank deeply that delicious, revitalizing fluid.  There was about a quarter of a glass left when you finally felt you’d had your fill.  “Thank you,” you gasped, allowing the man to take the glass away. 

“Of course.”  Once storing the glass, your husband turned back to you again, eyes gazing deeply into yours, concern mixing with the joy that sparkled there.  Taking both of your small hands into one of his, he reached up with the other to brush the hair from your face and caress your cheek.  “How are you feeling, my dear?”  His eyes pulled from yours for a brief second to look you over, as if he’d be able to see anything that might be wrong or afflicting you.

The corners of your mouth twitched a bit, but you were simply too exhausted to smile.  “Tired,” you sighed.  “In need of a good bath.  And a bit suffocated.”  You looked pointedly at the mound of blankets atop you.  

Easily picking up the message, your husband set about clearing off everything down to the comforter.  “Better?”

“Much.”  You leaned heavily back against the pillows and gazed wearily up at the man, who was back to holding your hands and stroking your hair.  Now that he was awake and leaning over you, you could get a much better look at just how bedraggled the poor fellow was.  Not only was he unwashed and unshaven, but his face also seemed to be much more lined than usual, making him look much more like the old man he claimed himself to be.  His cheeks were more sunken in, and there were bags under his eyes and dark circles around them: He looked as if he hadn’t properly slept or eaten in weeks, never mind days!  “Ebenezer…” you trailed off, not quite sure what to ask.

But your husband knew what you were wanting to know.  He always knew.  “You’ve been ill for quite some time, my love,” he answered quietly, smoothing back some flyaways from your forehead.  

“How long?”

“Two weeks.”  He smiled thinly, pain tinging his gaze.  “You were touch and go there for a long stint.”  His lips trembled and a tear crept past his long lashes to his cheek.  He paid it no heed but blinked back against the sting of its siblings.  “My worst nightmare--I was so afraid I would lose you.  A time or two I thought I had.”

Your memory of the time he spoke of was all a blur; a blizzard of flashes of light and darkness; numbing mist and painful sharpness; muddled voices and snippets of conversation that were sometimes too soft to register and other times so loud your head had pounded.  You couldn’t decipher what had been real and what had been hallucination.  Your head had been swimming then, and as you thought back through it all, it wasn’t much better now.  You could remember one thing though.  One extremely painful thing:  “I saw her,” you whispered.

Your husband gave an inquiring look.  “You saw whom, Y/N?”

You gazed deep into his eyes as you felt an ache rise in your chest and tears prick at your eyes.  “Her,” you repeated meaningfully.  “Isabel.  I saw her.  And you…” your voice broke off.  You swallowed hard and wrenched your gaze from his, finding it too painful to look at him as you continued.  “She’d come to take you with her.  And you went.”  You took a shuddering breath, trying to control yourself.  “I wanted to die, the pain hurt so.”

Ebenezer’s gaze softened in empathy.  “Oh, darling,” he murmured.  He squeezed your hands.

You looked back at him, vision swimming and tears beginning to trickle down your cheeks.  Pulling one hand free of his grip, you wiped at them.  “She wasn’t here, was she?  Truly?” you quivered, sounding pathetically meek.  “You didn’t go with her?  She didn’t take you from me?

The man shook his head firmly.  “No,” he stated.  “No, Isabel wasn’t here.  It was just a dream.  Isabel didn’t take me.”  He leaned in and pressed his forehead to yours, gazing into your e/c-hued eyes with all the sincerity and adoration in the world, and added with gentle finality, “And she never, ever will.  I’m so, so, so sorry I ever made you feel you had to worry about such a thing, Dearest.  You are, without a doubt, my greatest blessing, and the absolute love and light of my life, Y/N.  I am yours and yours alone, mind, body, and soul, in this world and the next should I be granted the choice.”

Those words, that declaration of complete and utter love from the man you loved more than you thought any human being could love another human being, made your heart swell and fill your chest to the point you feared it might explode.  You were most definitely crying now as you gazed up into those beloved slate-blue eyes.  “I love you, Ebenezer Scrooge.”  The words seemed feeble, far too feeble after the eloquent, soul-deep statements your husband had just made, but there was simply nothing else you could think of to say to explain your feelings.

Despite your insecurities over them, the words seemed to be more than enough for Ebenezer, for the man smiled lovingly and returned, “And I love you, Y/N Scrooge.”  He brought up your left hand that he was holding and kissed the delicate and simple gold band on your finger before pressing your hand to his breast over his heart.  “With my entire being.”  With that, he leaned in and captured your lips in a kiss--a real, tender, lingering, devoted kiss.

You closed your eyes and melted into it.  Slithering your free hand up, you slipped it around the nape of Ebenezer’s neck and loosely tangled it into his steel-toned locks, gently tugging him deeper into the kiss.  He gratefully obliged.  It was evident you’d both missed each other’s affections.  That would have to be remedied in its entirety sometime soon, but not now.  Not just yet.  (Truly, you had no strength for such activities right now!)  Right now it was more than enough for you to know that your husband was yours: “Yours and yours alone--mind body and soul,” as he’d stated.  For to have a heart such as Ebenezer Scrooge’s for your very own--a scarred but beautiful heart that was so full of love and kindness and care and joy and passion--was truly the greatest blessing anyone could ever be given.

[dramatisperscnae]

What are your favorite hobbies besides roleplaying/writing?

[Munday Questions || accepting]

Acting, singing, and chainmail. Which, I mean, technically acting is just live-action roleplaying with an occasional script and some additional rules, but shhh XD

I actually work at my local renaissance faire every spring, and at the haunted park it turns into in October for spooky season, as well as being on-cast for a steampunk festival nearby and being a part of a Victorian caroling group every December [rehearsals for that started yesterday so any of y'all bitching about early Christmas stuff can bite me XD] I have also been known to cosplay >w>

The chainmail is equal parts hobby and side hustle tbh >w> I absolutely take commissions [pls commission me!] and my favorite thing to make is fandom-inspired stuff that - because I cannot pass up a good pun - I have dubbed 'Fanmaille' >w>

Photos of my hobbies under the cut bc I want to show off >w>

[fictionadventurer]

the animation style isn't for everyone, but my family typically watches the 2009 Christmas Carol with Jim Carrey - if you're up to try another adaptation I wonder what you'd think of it! It does include both the scene of the ghosts and of Ignorance and Want, and iirc a pretty big percentage of the dialogue is straight out of the original book.

I'm actually watching it right now, and I've been checking patches of the dialogue against Gutenberg. Aside from cutting out some lines from conversations, the dialogue is pretty much word-for-word from the book. In the scene with Marley, Scrooge even says, "Thank'ee," where it would have been easy to substitute, "Thank you." Unfortunately, some of the lines they've cut are the religious ones, but I guess we can't have everything.

I was going to wait to give thoughts until I could give a full review, but I'm actually watching this version because I was so impressed by the patches of it I caught on TV, and this gives me a chance to talk about some of the things I've liked.

Jim Carrey as Scrooge works shockingly well. He really throws himself into the part. All the weird little gremliny body language makes him this loathsome creature, but in a comic way that feels very Dickens.

Starting with Scrooge signing Marley's death certificate was such a smart choice. They managed to work in the "dead as a doornail" line without narration!

I had been hoping for Scrooge to steal something from Marley's body during his death scene in the Sim version, and was disappointed they didn't go that route. But this version does! It's such a good choice.

This might be the first Bob Crachit I haven't loved--he looks too ratlike and henchman-y. But he's growing on me a bit, and I love that they include the scene of him sliding on the ice with the boys.

This version seems to overexaggerate the horror and nightmare elements of the story. Not a huge fan of that, but it could be worse.

I adore how they capture Scrooge's joy in the Christmas Past scenes. I was disappointed we didn't get him going into raptures over his childhood reading, but I've liked everything else I've seen so far of that portion.

Seeing young Jim Carrey in Victorian garb as young Scrooge was...an odd experience.

This version's Belle absolutely blew me away. Every other version of her I've seen makes her just Scrooge's girlfriend. She's there to be a sweet and sentimental lost love. But this Belle is a mature, responsible woman, who knows her own mind and heart and can make good choices for her life. This is a woman who could have captured Scrooge's heart and would have made an excellent wife. Astounding performance on every level.

Want and Ignorance were the only parts of the Christmas Present scene I've caught so far. Loved that they were included, didn't like the expansion into much weirder nightmare imagery.

I'm obsessed with how Carrey keeps Scrooge's gremliny body language even after he reforms. So it plays as "Mwahaha, I've trapped you in my evil plan to...give your family a comfortable life!" Not how I would have envisioned his post-reform behavior, but a believable and very fun choice.