#elizabeth and mary were okay

[fideidefenswhore]

what's your opinion on Henry's "other" illegitimate children? not fitzroy or the careys, but fitzroy's sister and stukeley?

I don't think Stukley was, Elizabeth Norton, however, has made salient arguments for Elizabeth Tailboys being the second child of Henry and Bessie Blount. I won't repeat her points, but anyone that is curious can read that article here.

[whenthegoldrays]

🌙

[incorrectbatfam]

Batfam at the dentist HCs/incorrect quotes, please?? 🤲 I have a big surgery coming up and I'm terrified

Dick: What's up, doc?

Leslie: What are you doing?

Dick: Daffy Duck. I'm thinking of a new career as a voice actor.

Leslie: Okay but can you not do it with a mouthful of sharp objects?

———————

Cass: *brings a punch card and a knocked-out tooth*

Leslie, sighing: Here we go again.

Leslie: *stamps the card*

Leslie: Your next one is free.

———————

Leslie: *in the middle of the checkup*

Steph, getting up: Hang on, my Uber Eats is here.

Leslie: You ordered takeout to a dental appointment?

Steph: Efficiency.

———————

Leslie: You have a helmet. How did you still break your tooth?

Jason: *flashback to throwing his helmet at Dick, missing, and it bouncing back*

Jason: Enough with the questions, okay?

———————

Leslie: Ever consider braces?

Kate: I don't want any part of me to be straight.

———————

Leslie: Oh, you're early! Just check in with the receptionist and take a seat until I call you.

Bette: *goes up to the receptionist*

Bette: Checking in for Bette Kane.

The receptionist: Sorry, I don't have you down here.

Bette: Maybe try my full name? Mary Elizabeth Kane?

The receptionist: Still don't see you.

Bette: I should have an appointment for 2:00 today.

The receptionist: *typing*

The receptionist: I see you now. The doctor's right, you are early. Your appointment is tomorrow.

———————

Selina: *using cat claws as a toothpick*

Leslie: This might be an issue.

———————

Leslie: Say "ahh."

Tim: *screams*

———————

Leslie: You're bleeding because you don't floss.

Harper, who came in after a mission: ...

———————

Leslie: —but I cannot stress this enough, it's important to wear a mouthguard for all contact sports. And some non-contact sports. And training. And patrol. And walking through Gotham. And whenever you're around the Waynes. Actually, I'm just gonna give you the box. Take your time. Pick whatever colors you want. If you need me, I'm gonna be in my office questioning my life choices.

Luke:

Luke: ...I just asked how her day was.

———————

Bruce: Are you sure there's no tooth fairy? Because the Justice League has state-of-the-art tracking system that can locate them. I really think we can form a contract to expand social programs for children.

Leslie: Just shut up and let me do my job.

———————

Leslie: Everything's looking good except for a few minor spots.

Barbara: Yeah, well, call me when they invent stainless coffee.

———————

Leslie: I recommend removing your wisdom teeth.

Alfred: But that's where I keep my wisdom.

———————

Leslie: I see you still have one last baby tooth. It should've come out by now.

Damian: Father said to keep it in.

Leslie: Why?

Damian: He wants me to stay a baby.

———————

Leslie: Cullen, you're next.

Cullen: *climbing out the skylight*

Leslie: Wow.

Leslie: That's actually impressive for a non-vigilante.

———————

Leslie: Hey, Helena. I thought you were off duty this week. How'd you knock a molar loose?

[earlier]

Students: *fighting in the hall*

Helena: Break it up! All of you go to the office! And delete that video!

[present]

Helena: I need a raise.

———————

Carrie: I don't get it. I brush twice a day AND floss. How do I still have cavities?

Leslie: What do you brush with?

Carrie: Toothpaste, obviously.

Leslie: And what do you floss with?

Carrie:

Leslie: Carrie...

Carrie: The British call it candy floss for a reason, don't they?

———————

Leslie: Well done today, Duke. Have a sticker.

Duke: Why are they all the Justice League?

Leslie: Funding comes with a catch.

Duke:

Duke: *picks the Flash*

[misscrawfords]

I was listening to Pride and Prejudice on my drive back from my mother's today and it's been so long since I've actually read the novel as opposed to engaged with one or other adaptation...

Goodness, it's good, isn't it? And Elizabeth is so much more complex a character than she is often presented in adaptations.

The thing that was standing out to me today - I was listening to from when Mr. Collins proposes to Charlotte and I stopped just when Elizabeth was talking to Colonel Fitzwilliam at Rosings - was the chapter which is just Jane and Elizabeth talking about Bingley. This gets cut from adaptations or so condensed to be meaningless, but it's incredible. It's just a whole chapter of the sisters chewing over why Bingley ghosted Jane (for lack of a better term) and what Caroline's motivations were and the thing that gets me is that they're both right. Jane is right that Bingley can't be blamed for being a friendly young man and that he had no malicious intentions but Elizabeth is also right that young men can be thoughtless in their dealings with women who have less freedom than them and their thoughtlessness can do real hurt. (She's also right about Caroline, of course.) It struck me as such a modern issue. Maybe I've just been thinking about the unwitting hurt that thoughtless young men can cause recently, but everything is so complicated. Bingley is a flake who makes a mistake with regards to Jane but he's also a genuinely lovely young man who makes it right in the end - he's still on his own journey through life which he will continue with Jane. Jane herself lets her desire to see the best in others cause her to see friendship where it isn't, but being deceived in a friend is not so uncommon, is it? And she's not stupid or weak. Heck, she endures her heartbreak being talked about openly by her mother in public for months silently and without rancour. And she does it all without ever resenting Bingley! Jane's the strongest character in the whole novel and an inspiration to the rest of us - FIGHT ME on this!

The other thing I really picked up on was what an important moment in Elizabeth's character development Charlotte's engagement is. It actually kind of breaks my heart - her best friend makes a life choice that she can't support but has to and nothing will ever be the same again between them. It's the first dent into Elizabeth's world view that forces her to see that people are different from her and can make different decisions and this is okay and not just something she can laugh at. It's so relatable in terms of life events - when a close friend marries and then when they have a baby, these things absolutely still do alter friendships. Elizabeth gets over it and even enjoys seeing Charlotte in Hunsford but we are frequently reminded by the narrator that the previous confidences they enjoyed will never be the same again. It's a really big moment for Elizabeth and really the first event in the novel to start to shake her foundations of her comfortable existence. The other two are Bingley's desertion of Jane and Wickham's decision to pursue Mary King over her. By the time she goes to Hunsford, she is prepared in a way for the final massive shock to the foundations of The World According to Lizzy Bennet, not that she knows it. Such is growing up.

And OMG Lady Catherine is SO vulgar and inappropriate! She is a direct parallel to Mrs. Bennet and the rest of the Bennets. Just as Elizabeth feels accute embarrassment at the Netherfield Ball, Mr. Darcy is feeling exactly the same at Rosings. Beautifully done. But their awareness of what is appropriate behaviour is something that unifies Darcy and Elizabeth even if Darcy massively fails to behave like a human around Elizabeth. Pride and Prejudice is such an expose and examination of "how to behave in social situations". There is nobody who doesn't come under scrutiny and pretty much every type of behaviour is gone over with a fine tooth comb.

Sometimes I feel almost ashamed when people ask me what my favourite novel is and I say "Pride and Prejudice" because it's such a damn cliche. I should say something heavier or more obscure or at least I should say it's Persuasion, the "thinking girl"'s favourite Austen. But P&P is so special to me on so many levels and you know what? It is a MASTERFULLY written book.

[bethanydelleman]

I was listening to the Emma audiobook again and during the scene when Emma, her brother in law and Mr. Elton are on their way to the Westons, Mr. Elton mentions how one time he was visiting a friend for a day then got snowed in for a week.

I know clothing worked differently back then, but how did they manage without any clothing to change into? At least the shift (the long innermost layer they wore, idr if the name changed) had to be washed quite regularly. Sure, you can sleep in it (i think that was normal at one point in time but I forgot if it was normal during the regency period) and keep wearing it the following day, but there's a limit on how long you can keep that up.

Would his friend have given him a new shift until his own had been laundered? Would he just have to suck it up? Or would it have been more of a "oh no, 10 cm of snow how inconvenient for me. Servant, go out and fetch me fresh clothes from home while I sit comfortably in front of the fire" situation?

So... I'm not a Regency fashion expert but here are my ideas:

Outer clothes were tailored, but I believe that some gowns and underclothes were more adjustable. A shift or undershirt may be able to be shared, and that's what you need anyway.

Yes, servants would probably be asked to go out when it was too difficult for the gentry. They are built different and can take it, okay? I remember a scene in one novel where the gentry stayed home from church because of the rain but their servants still went and trudged back in the wet (Wives & Daughters, Elizabeth Gaskell)

Mary shares a gown with Fanny in Mansfield Park after she gets rained on, but they are both smaller women so they may be around the same size.

I have heard that fabric was very expensive in this era and gowns would be turned and remade etc. Therefore, clothing that no longer fit may also be stored for later use and could be given to guests

If the host can provide something to sleep in, the underclothes could be washed in the early morning. The hours of the gentry were rather late, so you could stay in your room for a while after the servants were awake

Anyway, these are my intuitions, but any historical fashion experts feel free to tell me I am wrong or add to this!

[queen-of-the-avengers]

His Healer

Pairing: Mob!Loki Laufeyson x Nurse!Reader

Word Count: ~1.7k

Warnings: fixing an injured loki, mentions of al capone, fluff mostly

Summary: Your paying job is working as a nurse in a local hospital. Your side hustle is being a doctor for the mob boss, Loki.

Squares Filled: 1920s au (2021) for @lokibingo

Author’s Note: any and all comments are appreciated <3

x

“Alright, Mr. Sanchez. How do you feel this morning?” you ask as you pull back the hospital curtain.

“Better now that I get to see you.”

“Keep talking like this and your wife is gonna think you have a girlfriend,” you say.

“We wouldn’t want that, would we?” he chuckles.

You grab your stethoscope and place it over his heart to listen to it. Next, you check his pulse and blood pressure. His pulse is a bit high but with the medication he’s taking, it’s not surprising. His vitals are looking strong for someone who had hip surgery, and you write them on the paper chart you have hanging off the end of his bed.

“Keep this up, Mr. Sanchez. You’ll be running marathons in no time.”

“I hope so, dear,” he smiles.

“Okay, time to get those muscles moving. I’d like to see you make it to the couch this time.”

“I’ll try.”

You help the older man sit up in his bed when your coworker comes into the room.

“Y/N? There’s a call for you. I can take over.”

“Okay, Mr. Sanchez. Elizabeth is the best besides me, of course,” you wink playfully. “You’re in good hands.” You leave Elizabeth and Mr. Sanchez alone while you head to the phone that’s on the wall. There is a receiver and a transmitter connected to the base of the phone. Both ends are on tubes that you can move around so you’re not stuck to the wall. You place the receiver to your mouth and the transmitter to your ear. “This is Y/N.”

“899 E Logan Boulevard. The boss needs you.”

“I’m at work. You can’t just--”

“The boss needs you.”

“Repeat the address, please,” you sigh. You set the receiver down and keep the transmitter to your ear while you write down the address. You pick up the receiver when you want to talk to him. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

You hang up both ends of the phone and find your boss who is filling out paperwork at the desk.

“Mary, I have a private client who news me right now. Elizabeth is covering for my patients. May I leave? I’ll come back once I’m done.”

“Yes. Make sure you follow up with Elizabeth about your patients.”

“Of course.”

You leave the hospital and to the car that the boss gifted you. He’s always giving you presents for your services on top of the money he pays you. You’re not sure where he’s staying, so you grab your navigation watch to put in the address you were given. This watch has saved you in more ways than one when you’ve gotten lost in the bustling city of Chicago.

The map is where the face of the watch would normally be found. The direction of the maps is wound around small wooden pegs like scrolls that could be switched out of the wristband depending on the route needed to go. You take out the map you were using before and put in the new one. Once you’re ready to go, you head toward the house.

Well, mansion is a more accurate description. Take away the hedges and big trees, this place looks like half the size of the hospital you work at. There is a steel gate at the front of the property with two armed guards standing outside of it. They’re immediately put on alert as soon as you pull up but you’re not afraid of their big guns.

“State your business,” one of the guards says in a deep voice.

“I’m the doctor for the boss.”

He nods to the other guard who opens the gate for you. You drive down the long driveway to the front of the house where half a dozen guards with guns are posted outside of it. Even if you’ve never been here before, you’ve always had to have a guard lead you through whatever place the boss is staying in. You get out and grab your medical bag from the back.

“Right this way, ma’am,” one of the guards says.

If you thought the outside was heavily guarded, then the inside is just ridiculous. More than two dozen guards are keeping watch or just wandering around protecting the place. You should get used to this because you get dozens of calls a week from the boss. This place is just beautiful and you’d love to live here if it were crawling with guards.

The floor is marble, the walls are dark grey, there are lights on the black walls that give them some kind of light, the archways are high with chandeliers coming down from the high ceiling, and the windows stretch higher than you can reach. It makes sense why the boss would live in a mansion like this. The guard takes you to a room with two guards posted outside of it, and one of them opens the door for you.

There on the bed lies the boss, Loki Laufeyson. The blankets have been stripped from the bed so he’s only lying on the black sheets that are stained with his blood for sure. He has an enormous gash starting from the top of his chest down to his hip. There is a towel covering the area that is dark red, and you don’t think it was that color when he placed it there.

Loki is well known across all of Chicago as one do the deadliest mafia bosses. He works very closely with Al Capone which is why he gets injured all the damn time. Loki found you in a bar one time with a deep cut on his cheek. You told him how to best take care of it without scarring since he has such a pretty face.

If you knew who he was before you talked to him, you wouldn’t have done it.

He took a liking to you and always came to you whenever he had even the smallest of injuries. You’re the only one who caught his attention so he wanted you around him as much as possible no matter the reason. The more you took care of him, the more your feelings for him grew. You’re not going to tell him that, of course. It would only go to his head.

Seeing him in so much pain breaks your heart.

“What did I tell you about getting into fights?” you ask and approach the side of the bed.

“I need to take care of business, love,” he laughs but groans in pain.

The bed is low enough to the ground so that when you pull up a chair next to it and sit down, you’re at the perfect height to fix his wound. You peel back the towel to see what you’re working with and more blood comes rushing out.

“It would be better if you were in a hospital with equipment and blood.”

“You know why I can’t go there.”

“You’re bleeding all over your bed.”

“I’ll get a new one,” he shrugs.

This isn’t going to be pleasant but the wound needs to be cleaned. You have a water bottle that will be used to flush out the wound while gauze will be used to clean the edges. You gently pat the area around the wound to clean the blood up and Loki closes his eyes in pain. Once you’re satisfied, you take the water bottle and begin flushing the wound.

“Fuck!” Loki shouts.

“If you can handle getting a wound like this, you can handle a bit of water. Stay still.”

When you’re done with that, you grab new gauze and pack it inside the wound so blood doesn’t spill over. There is a numbing cream that you use to spread on the outside of the wound because you need to stitch the wound so it can have a chance to heal.

“This is gonna hurt,” you state. “Even with the cream.”

“As you said, I can handle it,” he chuckles.

You take the needle and stick it through one side of the wound and thread it to the other side of the wound. You pull it close and tie it multiple times before cutting it. One down, many more to go.

“You know, this is gonna scar.”

“Good. It’ll give me some character when I’m handling business.”

As you’re stitching the wound closed, you notice his bare skin on display for you to see. It’s so pale. It’s like he hates going outside and getting some sun.

“You’re so pale. Getting some sun every once in a while isn’t gonna kill you.”

“Yes ma’am,” he drawls. A blush makes it way up your neck and to your cheeks at his accent. “I’ll go outside if you come with me.”

“I’ve already told you why I can’t,” you whisper.

Loki turns his head away from you and coughs causing more blood to rush out of his wound. When he turns his head back, his hair has fallen over his eyes. You reach up and move his hair away without touching his skin.

“I’ll change for you.”

“Al Capone will let no one go. You know this.”

It doesn’t take long for you to stitch the whole wound shut, and you use your water bottle to clean the site from his blood. You grab some more gauze and lay it over the entire wound and a big bandage that you lay over it to give it another layer of protection.

“I hate seeing you like this, Loki,” you sigh.

“I’ll try better next time,” he promises. “Thank you for being such a great doctor.”

A smile breaks through which makes him smile.

“I took time out of my very busy day to be here. How will you ever compensate me?”

Loki reaches up and grabs your neck gently and pulls you down to him. He slants his lips against yours and gives you a kiss that takes your breath away. This isn’t the first kiss you’ve shared with him and it certainly won’t be the last.

“I’ll have one of my men pay you most graciously, love,” Loki whispers against your lips.

You have to get back to the hospital so you pull away from him and gather your medical supplies. You put your hand on the doorknob but don’t turn it yet.

“Don’t get into any more fights, Loki.”

“How will I ever see you if I’m not injured?”

“You know where I live,” you smile. “All you need to do is knock.”

x

Follow my library blog @aqueenslibrary​​​​ where I reblog all my stories, so you can put notifications on there without the extra stuff :)

[charmac]

I don’t want to spam my blog, so if you’re interested in videos from the show tonight, check out my Twitter!

That being said CHARLIE REMEMBERED ME AGAIN. At stage doors he came right to me to see my tattoo and he was like ‘that’s awesome’ and then oomfs got photos with him and I showed it to Mary Elizabeth and she was like ‘oh yeah Charlie told me about you’ I almost YELPED. And she signed my Playbill. Then Charlie had walked away and I yelled out ‘dude I promise you want to see what I want you to sign’ and. He definitely did LOL.

His face when he saw it I wish I had a video but I had so much crap in my hands and he was like ‘okay you’re definitely my biggest fan’

Then Meg and Glenn came out and. guys. Glenn was so drunk and happy to see everyone he did a little dance when he came out of the doors and he stopped for like. every. damn. person. and he recognised me and I totally brushed past it to ask him if Frank vs. Russia was originally a seperate episode from The S.I.N.N.E.D. System. I think he was a little too drunk to answer properly, ngl…but I’ll post the video…

Interpret that for how you will…

And Meg and Glenn also signed my Playbill :)

I also met Humphrey Ker and had a long convo with him, that was really cool (and he told me something about the live show tomorrow…lol). Here’s a photo of our height difference, if you were wondering:

Anyway, crazy fucking night the show was great, when MEE came out I think I broke a vocal chord screaming and she talked to us for so long outside she’s so nice!!

(Rob was sick and stuck in a box the whole time on stage, he and Kaitlin didn’t stop for any photos or signings)

[menlove]

SILLY ASK. if the beatles were girls what do you think their names would've been

MAN okay so when it comes to fanfic i am a firm "i'm just keeping their names" when i do genderbends bc it's sooo dear to my heart to have genderfucky names (like a girl named "john"? stunning. no notes.) but! in actuality ...

paul was named after his father (james). so i think Girl Paul would probably be named mary, and the name "james" would've gone to mike. maybe mary pauline mccartney? and then she could still get called paul/paulie

john was named after his grandfather john "jack" lennon & winston churchill. so going with that, i'm proposing jacquelyn "jackie" elizabeth lennon- after the queen (who at the time of his birth would've just been the princess, but still a pretty popular name for girls at the time if i'm remembering another research dive i did for a different character) & after her grandfather still. that way, it keeps the j sound in her name! a lot of people like joan and i think that's cute too! but i think jackie works better To Me

can't find out why george was named george rip. but i'll propose georgie/georgina- simple enough! he doesn't seem to be named after anyone in his family, so there's that. however, to make things fun, i did look up the popularity of the name "george" in 1943 in the uk- 14th most popular! and the 14th most popular girl name was margaret. so for shit's and giggles, i'm actually going margaret. & this would be hysterical in comparison to "jackie" elizabeth lennon bc they'd have the names of the royal sisters and i think this would tickle them

ringo was also named after his father, so like paul, i'm saying she'd be named after her mother! so elsie starkey :) since ringo is a stage name based off his rings though, i think her stage name/nickname would still be ringo!

[thediamondarcher]

what is an interesting fact about the tudor dynasty?

omg okay I don't have anyone to talk about this irl so i have a lot to say

Catherine Parr married Thomas Seymour (Jane's brother) and he started to sxually abuse Queen Elizabeth I while Catherine was pregnant with her first and only child

Henry spent more than 4 years trying to divorce Catherine Of Aragon to marry Anne Boleyn and they were only married for 3 years until Henry basically charged her with crimes she hadn't committed (like adultery and conspiracy against the king)

the only two wives of Henry that Mary I (Catherine Of Aragon's daughter) liked/respected were Anne Of Cleves and Catherine Parr

Margaret Beaufort (Henry VII mother) was 13 years old when she gave birth to him, her only child

Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, the "beheaded queens" were actually cousins

Queen Elizabeth I (Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII daughter) is Queen Elizabeth II first cousin

Elizabeth I is considered to be one of the best queens in England to this day, she had a reign of 45 years until she died at the age of 69 (that was obviously something practically abnormal at that time since she had almost no teeth and no hair left) She was also the last monarch of The House Of Tudor

[verdemoun]

*holding up a bowl like olliver twist* please can we have some molly and her wife/partner/girlfriend idfk their status

come get y'all lesbians

molly is bi but had the classic bi experience of just thinking everyone was attracted to women until karen heard her say something about wanting to be stepped on by pretty girl and fucking asked 'yo would you fuck a woman??' 'oh boi i wish i could'

karen proceeded to take her to a sex toy shop and molly lost her mind and her wallet and left with a shit eating grin and an embarrassingly large black garbage bag full of things she was eager to try

karen was also technically molly's first wlw kiss when they both decided to numb their inhibition with alcohol to celebrate molly discovering the fact women could like women. karen revels in the knowledge she is apparently a better kisser than dutch.

being a high society girlie molly knew men could like men but genuinely believed women just weren't meant to enjoy or want sex because female sexuality wasn't discussed ever, which was really reinforced by the fact most of the women she knew in canon era had some level of sexual trauma. also dutch didn't know the first thing about a woman's needs iykyk

molly became really close with sadie in modern era, in another classic 'do i want to be her or be with her'. molly was busy teaching sadie about the modern wonder of erotica and getting the latest reprint of mary-beth's works with a horse on the cover for kieran when she saw the one. dear future wife,

sadie had to hype her up just to talk to her. molly immediately fumbled by bringing up her ex in the first five mines of talking to mystery girl but still managed to get her number.

spins roulette wheel her name is elizabeth carew shelley she goes by lucy instead of eliza just for convenience. she was already a fan of molly's instagram and becomes a mod/manager as they start going out because poor molly does not know how to deal with haters or fame.

lucy has no idea about timewarp, and just finds her wife sometimes adorably naive or sometimes unaware of modern era. molly has told her the gang were all raised in a cult, which makes a little too much sense.

in lesbian fashion they know each other for less than a year before they get married. they had a courthouse wedding (to hosea's dismay, he loves weddings) but he was invited as their witness and still cried. she gets along with most of the gang and kieran adores her so much she even managed to teach him to read a few words

the only problem is lucy wants to kill dutch as much as molly and is a true crime girlie (her and hosea love talking mystery novels together) but she is convinced she could help molly hide a body. if the o'shelley household is attending an event dutch is banned for his own safety.

admittedly sometimes lucy just stand there and watches the gang interact and forget she doesn't know about timewarp and say very 19th century specific things and she just. thinks she could fix them all please let her sit them down with a blanket and cup of soup and tell them things are going to be okay.

[nihilnovisubsole]

the writer interview game

tagged by no one, but i saw @arthoure doing it, so that's as good an excuse as any

when did you start writing?

when didn't i?

are there different themes or genres you enjoy reading than what you write?

i mainly read nonfiction, because i'm always getting myself into some mess where i have a cool idea that i can't execute properly without research. i just finished mary beard's twelve caesars, which is about how roman emperors have become the blueprint for how the west depicts power in art. you know, AK-brand stuff.

if i'm reading fiction and i like the genre, i always want to write it myself at some point. reading and writing are kind of an audience-participation thing for me. i'd love to do more spy stories, or something like elizabeth peters' egypt mysteries, or some sea-soaked victorian intrigue. it's all a love letter to something i read or watched or played.

is there a writer you want to emulate or get compared to often?

i'm alone in the middle of the ocean in the splintered fishing boat of third-person objective that hemingway left behind, and that's where i'll stay. nobody's been wild enough to actually compare me to him, because i'm not one-fiftieth as skilled, but i'll always wish i were. in brief, he gets to the point. he tells you what happened, because his stories are about humans doing things that result in consequences, which is basically, to my mind, how the world works. i simply believe that if i'm not able to convey how a character feels without dipping into internal POV, i'm not doing a good enough job. movies only have a script and music and visuals and the body language of the actors, and they pull it off all the time.

i mean, okay, i'm being dramatic. i don't hate internal POV. use it! be excellent at it! i want to see how far i can get without it. let me do my one-armed push-ups here.

can you tell me a bit about your writing space?

it's my white wood childhood desk in my tiny bedroom with my 11-year-old desktop on it. very romantic, i know. my work-from-home machine is in the dining room. i fantasize about having one of those book-lined studies one day, but i have to be able to afford a house in the place where i want to live first!

what’s your most effective way to muster up a muse?

i've been telling the same old joke about my method for years: "i don't have a muse, i have a hundred sooty workers in a coal mine." writing for money as an adult has not given me the luxury of waiting until i get inspired or feel like doing it. inspiration is one percent. the other 99 is knuckle-down discipline. anything i've ever finished, i only finished because i grit my teeth through it.

for work writing, it's easy. "they're paying you for the privilege of contributing to this project." for personal writing, it's more existential. "what will you have to show for yourself?"

are there any recurring themes in your writing? do they surprise you?

here's another, fresher joke that i told a teammate yesterday: my method for creating characters is to take some deep, personal neurosis or question, then give it a hairstyle and outfit. make of that what you will!

what is your reason for writing?

when it comes down to it, i just think it'd be a shame if i didn't. i'll be 32 next month. i have probably 27 years of ideas kicking around, and i would be disappointed if all of them died with me. in that respect, it's really childlike. i want to be heard. if somebody hears my voice through my writing, i'm less lonely. i feel connected to them.

i wish i could tell deep truths about humankind, but maybe that'll come later. it'll have to come later if i want my work to mean anything, right?

what do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

i don't know! if nothing else, i have a lot of fun carving out characters with fully-formed, distinct identities. of course they have things in common, because my taste leads me to certain places, but i want them to stand apart from each other. they should have their own discrete atmospheres and themes.

how do you feel about your own writing?

no time to dwell on that. if i start thinking about whether i'm good or bad, i'll get too self-conscious to continue, and what am i gonna do? not write? back to it!!

also if you see this ur tagged, sorry i don't make the rules

[pxperplxnets]

meetings and blushes

summary: amelie goes to visit arthur in prema and meets a handsome boy named kimi.

pairing: kimi antonelli x amelie leclerc

kimi and amelie character descriptions

word count: 595

warnings: none

lowercase intended!

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

everytime amelie had the chance to go to one of her brother's races, she was the happiest person ever. she rarely got to go because of school or different issues, but now that she was on summer break, she would be stuck to the hip of whichever one of her brothers was willing to take her with him.

 this weekend, the lucky guy was none other than arthur leclerc. she packed her stuff and took a plane to italy, where she would be staying for a while.

  after a very emotive airport pick up -note the sarcasm- , arthur notified her that they would be going to prema to spend the day, as it was media day and he had to be there “because if not the video wouldn't be funny.” 

when they arrived at prema, everyone greeted her rather enthusiastically, except this one particular boy who she had never met before.

 he was handsome, almost dreamy. he had very smooth, pale skin and messy brown hair. he wasn't tall, but she was pretty short so he was fairly taller than her.  

“uhm, hi, im kimi antonelli'' he introduced himself shyly, and she thought she was going to melt in the spot at the sound of his italian accent. “amelie leclerc, nice to meet you” she smiled brightly, trying to get him to loosen up a little. of course, the moment had to be ruined by arthur, who loudly awed and basically screamed “look at the children having crushes” before running away from a very embarrassed amelie.

  later that day, amelie found herself in a random room, watching the guys -and hamda- record what seemed to be a truth or dare challenge. arthur had already filmed his part but decided to leave her there while he went to do some “grown up thing” that she knew was calling his girlfriend for his free hour. 

kimi and paul were answering questions and fulfilling dares, and she didn't miss the way kimi would look at her every time he had to do something embarrassing. 

“truth or dare?” paul asked the younger boy “truth” he answered “who in this room would you kiss and why?” kimi looked like he had just been asked the worst question in the universe “no, another one” he was looking everywhere but amelie and was red as a tomato “mate, you have to answer” paul was enjoying that way too much. 

“uhm, i- i don't know, there is only one girl my age” kimis voice was barely audible, so paul made him repeat it “sorry? i didn't hear you” kimi rolled his eyes, took a deep breath and decided to show confidence, even if it was fake. “amelie, because she is very pretty.” and that, ladies and gentlemen, is how amelie marie elizabeth leclerc died.

  they continued the challenge as if nothing had happened, because nothing had really happened. 

at the end of the challenge, kimi went straight over to amelie “i'm sorry if that was weird” he apologised, and it sounded so sincere amelie almost hugged him “hey, that's all right, i would have said the same thing” that took the boy completely by surprise, as his cheeks went bright red “oh, okay” she chuckled before hearing her brother calling her name “seems like i have to go, i really hope to see you around, kimi” she pecked his cheek before walking away, leaving avery flustered kimi who was most of all surprised at how good his name sounded when she said it.

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

authors note:

i love kimi sm, the amount of fanfiction for him is none existent.

also i feel like this is very short, but i didnt know what else to write im sorryyyy.

REUPLOAD

[londonfoginacup]

An Essay about Carolina, the classic song by Harry Styles, that becomes slightly unhinged as it goes along

Harry Styles has long been known for his incredibly nonsensical lyrics. By now he features a three-album catalogue of songs that the average listener thinks, “I might know what this is about”. The more advanced listener, who has then looked up the lyrics, follows that thought up with, “Actually I have no clue what he’s talking about.” This has long been a problem for Styles’ fans, who love to extract knowledge from his lyrical essays. I, personally, have spent hours pouring over lyrics in order to bring you, dear reader, the truth. 

In this essay, I will show how the classic Harry Styles song Carolina is, in fact, a song about the Queen of England.

Now the first thing to remember while deep diving on this topic is that Harry is British. This may be a difficult thing to remember, because his accent has only become more and more transatlantic nonsense over the years, but is very important to the context of this song. 

Now, to take a look at the first set of lyrics;

She's got a family in Carolina

So far away, but she says I remind her of home

The Queen could, of course, have any number of family members in Carolina, as North and South Carolina, as the combined populations of the two states amount to over 15 million. However, I believe he’s referring to Sir Walter Raleigh, the founder of North Carolina, who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I. Sir Walter married one of her ladies-in-waiting, which the Queen at the time did not appreciate, but that does make him an in-law of sorts. 

Now, it is pertinent to point out that the first American football that the Queen ever watched was a Maryland v UNC (University of North Carolina) match, so she could be referring here to her family-on-the-field, as it were. Regardless, while attending a football game, the Queen would think that Harry, with his British sensibilities of preferring to watch men in shorts running around, would remind her of home. 

Feelin' oh-so far from home

She never saw herself as a west-coaster

Moved all the way 'cause her grandma told her

"Townes, better swim before you drown"

The Queen’s grandmother was Mary of Teck, a woman who didn’t look particularly like a queen when I looked her up just now on Wikipedia. Mary of Teck died when Queen Elizabeth was reigning, although she had not yet been crowned. We can see how the phrase “better swim before you drown” would be used here, as the Queen was in her mid-twenties at the time and, as they say in the hit musical 1776, there was “a war on.”

(Okay there wasn’t actually, but I had read the year as 1925 instead of 1952, and had already written that stellar line, so we’re keeping it).

Regardless, the Queen obviously never saw herself as a west-coaster because she lives in England, not North or South Carolina. 

She's got a book for every situation

Gets into parties without invitations

How could you ever turn her down?

There's not a drink that I think could sink her

Now this may seem obvious, but one would never turn down the Queen if she were requesting to get into one’s party. Can you imagine turning her away from a rager? From a kegerater? Obviously you cannot. She is the Queen, and probably had very large bodyguards who would be more than willing to force their way in so that she could daintily sip her lukewarm post-beerpong-beer. 

Now, on the subject of books, a quick google search will come up with article after article. “4 Fascinating Books About Queen Elizabeth II”, “8 Best Queen Elizabeth II Biographies to Get”, “The 20 Best Books About Queen Elizabeth II”. I think we do not need to name every book about her to be sure that there is a biography for every situation. My personal favourite is an odd comic book I found where a younger version of herself seems to be crowning an older version of herself. Very mysterious. 

How would I tell her that she's all I think about?Well, I guess she just found out

Obviously, we can know this song is about the Queen because Harry has put so many references to the Queen in it, and she is a wise woman who listens to all of his albums on release day, because he is a British icon.

I met her once and wrote a song about her

I wanna scream, yeah, I wanna shout it out

And I hope she hears me now

I do not know whether the Queen ever heard him, although I assume she did, as I stated above.

Now, dear reader, this concludes my deep dive into Carolina, but this does not conclude Harry’s tributes to the Queen. Just two albums later, he followed this clear Queen-love-letter up with a second, just-as-obvious love letter.

Love of My Life.

Harry has stated in interviews that this song is about England. And it clearly is, but it is moreso about the ruler of England, the woman who made England what it is (or something. She sold some plates with her face on them at least, that wouldn’t be there otherwise).

I take you with me every time I go away

In a hotel, usin' someone else's name

I remember back at Jonny's place, it's not the same anymore

This song is a crooning sigh of longing for Harry’s good old friend the Queen. Clearly he uses the name Elizabeth in hotels. Someone should check on that.

Baby, you were the love of my life, woah

Maybe you don't know what's lost 'til you find it

It's not what I wanted, to leave you behind

He lost the Queen, likely while they were playing hide and seek. But then he had to leave on a plane for a show, and it seems as though he never found her again.

Don't know where you'll land when you fly

You usually do, actually.

It's unfortunate, ooh

Just coordinates, ooh

Maybe Harry doesn’t know how to read a map.

I don't know you half as well as all my friends

I won't pretend that I've been doin' everything I can

To get to know your creases and your ends

Are they the same?

This is a complaint that, after Styles started his many world tours, the Queen began going to parties without him. Which is fair, because she can’t just be sitting reading books about herself waiting for him to come around.

But, baby, you were the love of my lifeNote the use of the past tense here. This album came out in spring, and the Queen passed in the fall (I think. I’m not looking anything up anymore). Could this be… premonition? Planning? Another vehicular manslaughter crime under Harry’s belt? Who’s to say? Certainly not the Queen…

[bethanydelleman]

Do you have any theories as to why Jane and Elizabeth Bennet ended up more refined than their three younger sisters (either supported by the text or just your own imaginings)? Could Mr Bennet have been more interested in their development, but grew tired of the effort by daughter no. 3? Or could they have had the influence of others outside the immediate family? It seems a fairly common trope in JAFF that it is Mrs Gardiner's influence.

Short Answer: I don’t give Mr. Bennet credit for doing anything.

Okay, this is going to start strangely, but did you know that if a parent tries to learn sign language for their profoundly deaf child, and they get a lot of their grammar wrong, the kids will actually get more grammar right then their parents? Children's brains seem to be able to focus on things that are consistent in language and filter out the noise and mistakes.

In a similar manner, I think Jane and Elizabeth are just better at filtering the information given to them. They understand that their mother is vulgar and don't take her manners as a model of behaviour. Mr. Bennet is fairly reliable, Mrs. and Mr. Gardiner are even better. We don't know everyone in the neighbourhood around Meryton, but there are probably a few other sensible examples. Charlotte Lucas seems fairly well mannered too. 

So no, I don’t find the idea that Mrs. Gardiner influenced Jane and Elizabeth that off, it seems likely. But it is also probable that Mrs. Gardiner invites Jane and Elizabeth over because they are the only two who aren’t embarrassing in company. Which is a chicken/egg conundrum.

The other three sisters have issues, Mary cannot read a room and speaks above her company, and it seems that Kitty and Lydia have taken their mother as a model for proper behaviour and refuse to listen to any correction.

As for if Mr. Bennet ever tried, I kind of doubt it. He's very indolent and doesn't seem to care about correcting his daughters at all. Elizabeth reflects that he could have helped Lydia and Kitty but he just laughs at them instead. Even with his "favourite" daughter, he more or less treats her like a loveable pet and he still calls her silly.

I really tend to favour the theory that neither parent taught much of anything beyond basic reading and writing, hopefully household management from Mrs. Bennet and how to keep accounts. Then they were basically left to their own devices. Clearly a dancing master was hired, as all the girls can dance. And it seems that at some point someone taught Elizabeth and Mary how to play piano and sing. Mrs. Bennet also probably taught her daughters how to sew, net, and trim hats etc. Mr. Bennet provides books.

Now the real mystery to me is why Jane has no accomplishments. Elizabeth indicates that they could have learned if they wanted. However given both parent’s personalities, I will venture a guess that after teaching Jane and Elizabeth how to read, Mrs. Bennet got bred and left the three younger children to Jane’s care.

[anghraine]

Do you have any book recommendations for the Jane Austen fan who's read every one of her books?

DO I EVER.

Okay, it really depends on your preferences and what you're looking for. If you want to read things that were part of the background noise when Austen started writing and have similar concerns, you might look at things like Frances Burney's Evelina, Charlotte Lennox's The Female Quixote, The Italian or (more famously) The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe, or going a little further afield, William Godwin's Caleb Williams, Mary Wollstonecraft's Maria (or, for non-fiction, "Vindication of the Rights of Woman"), Sarah Scott's Millenium Hall, or various novels of Henry Fielding (I like Jonathan Wild, though it's quite different).

If you want to go nineteenth rather than eighteenth century, you can look at someone like Maria Edgeworth (also mentioned in NA!). Jumping ahead, Emily Eden is clearly an Austen fan (she gives P&P a shout-out in The Semi-Attached Couple, which is significantly different but obviously influenced by Austen). Frances Trollope's One Fault gives a very clear idea of why Elizabeth Bennet was so concerned about good nature as well as basic virtue (it's essentially about psychological abuse). There are the big names like George Eliot and the Brontës (Anne Brontë's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is my personal favorite and probably the most akin to Austen of any of them).

If you want to read on Jane Austen, some faves:

Jane Austen and the Fabric of Dialogue by Howard S. Babb is from the 60s, so you may want to take some of it with a grain of salt, but I've always found it really interesting and engaging.

Even earlier, there's Fields of Light by Reuben A. Brower (1951), which I had to save to track down years ago, but which apparently has been republished since. There's a chapter on Austen that's really good IMO.

I like most of Julia Prewitt Brown's work on Austen, though I have a particular fondness for "The Feminist Depreciation of Jane Austen," which is basically a 90s-era guided tour through (and breakdown of) bad takes that had been filtered through a narrow sort of feminism.

I'm really fond of some of John Wiltshire's interpretations in Recreating Jane Austen. This is also from the 90s, iirc, so it doesn't address later adaptations, but he also was a co-author of the later (2009) The Cinematic Jane Austen, in which he expanded his essay on Darcy's smile and its minimization in adaptations (not where I got my gripe over it, but validating to see someone talk about it!).

Persuasions (Jane Austen literary journal): it's a bit hit and miss, but there are some very good articles that can only really be found there. I own a few volumes of it and have used them repeatedly.

The Gentleman's Daughter by Amanda Vickery: this gives more of a historical context leading up to Austen's time that periodically references Austen, but can be useful!

[mihrsuri]

So @boleynecklace asked what Elizabeth (1998) and The White Princess might look like in the Tudors OT3 universe and okay, THOUGHTS (please bear in mind I haven’t actually seen The White Princess or read it but I have vibes from gifs)

So the White Princess is kind of completely flipped on it’s head because I don’t know if this universes PGreggs can hate The Tudors so much here (although I don’t know, she might manage it! I think her Anne Boleyn hate might be transferred to Bessie Blount?) just because uh, yeah.

But also women in Philippa Gregory novels cannot be friends ever so unfortunately the Ultimate Evil is still Margaret Beaufort :sighs: because she manipulated and murdered when EOY/Henry VII/Richard III were in a very happy triad and she actually murdered her grandchildren! And also got Richard killed because she wanted to be the Power Behind The Throne. But it’s okay because it turns out Elizabeth Woodville and EOY saved Richard with their magic powers and so actually, Henry was a pure beautiful York Child and unfortunately Arthur died because Cursed Tudor Blood or something.

(Also Anne Neville is obviously an evil bitch as well).

Elizabeth (1998) is such a different movie though. I think it might start with Elizabeth being appointed as her brothers advisor (official) after her fathers unofficial abdication in 1556 - at this point she and Robert are married and have a four year old daughter Anne (Nanette).

Francis Walsingham, determined to make England Protestant and Mary of Guise who is determined to make sure her daughter marries Prince Thomas both agree that assassinating Princess Mihrimah is the best idea and Walsingham persuades Robert of this. (This did not happen in universe historically Robert Dudley is screaming from the afterlife at this movie).

This attempt does not work. Robert, frustrated at not having a son and feeling as though he should have more power, throws himself into an attempt to undermine Elizabeth and get her removed from the privy council (this is also wrong because Robert was also on the privy council and also I AM SUPPORTING MY WIFE he yells). It does not work and the movie ends with Elizabeth telling Robert that he will never see their children or her again when she presents him with their twin sons (we will ignore that they have two more children)

The general consensus is that the chemistry is incredible/the performances are amazing but we are ignoring the second half of the movie.

Send me a piece of Tudor Era Media (or Period Drama in general) (TV show/book/movie)) and I’ll talk about what I think it might be like in The Tudors OT3 verse