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witchersmistress · 4 months

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Forbbiden Fruit- Ann's POV

This version wouldnt not stop swimming around in my head so here it is. @livesinfantasyland here is what you were thinking

Trigger warning: public sex, alcohol, a small act of violence. Ire that is going to be directed at me from the real Ann, highly likely

word count: 2.9K

Ann’s POV

I hated political events, especially ones like these. I'd be glued to Julian'side all night. We rode in silence to the event. He was engrossed by his phone and ignoring me as usual. I could not stop thinking about that tall dark stranger whose bed I was in so many nights ago. My toes involuntarily curled at the memory of the earth shattering orgasms that man gave me. He probably has permanent nail marks in his scalp, as I clawed at his head while I rode his face. I could feel a blush making my way up my cheeks, pressing my warm cheek to the glass as I looked out the window. We pulled up to the venue and got out.

Julian escorted me inside, we stopped for pictures and to greet people but I couldn't care less. I'd rather be at home curled up in comfy pjs and watching the Witcher, because have you not seen Henry Cavill 🥵

Snapping drew me back to reality. Julian was snapping his fingers in my face. “ Excuse us for a moment, she isn't feeling well” he yanked me towards him and over to an empty corner, pushing my back into the wall and pinning my wrist to my chest, they would definitely be bruised. “What the fuck do you think you are doing? You embarrassed me, in front of those people, because you couldn't stop day dreaming like a damn child for two minutes?! I ripped my arm out of his grasp and shoved him away. “ You cannot talk to me that way..” he grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him, his soulless eyes boring into mine “ That is where you are wrong. I. OWN. YOU. From the moment your father signed the contract agreeing to our marriage, I've owned you. You are mine to own, fuck, pimp and whore you out as I see fit. You no longer have any control over your life. So here is what you are going to do Anneliese. You are going to stay silent and listen, open those pretty legs when I tell you to and give me a son. After that I’ll decide if it is worth keeping you around if you are going to cause this much trouble '' I could feel the tears pricking at the back of my eyelids but I refused to let them fall. He kissed me angrily and I bit him. “You little bitch” he hissed when he pulled back and wiped away the blood. “ You’ll pay for that, you stupid girl marked my words and he stormed away.

I could taste the copper on my tongue and it was making my stomach churn. I ran to the closet bathroom and heaved till nothing was left. Sinking to the floor, I fished for my clutch with a shaking hand and grabbed my phone, I sent a text off and a few minutes later, the door pushed open and shut with a click of the lock “ Ann? Where are you?” a soft feminine voice call, pushing open the stall door to reveal my mother, she was a short woman. Long black dress, simple diamond bracelet and a stylish updo. “ Mija” she came over and cradled me in her arms. I refused to cry. She held me for a few moments before standing and bringing me to my feet with her, she fussed with my dress “ Come mija, show him you are not a woman easily broken.” looking in the mirror to check my appearance, we made our way down the stairs and into the ballroom, to where my father was waiting. My father looked up in our direction as my mother approached him “ Ahh there she is, my pride and joy, besides my darling wife,” he placed a quick kiss on her cheek as she approached his side “ Director Sloane, Agent Walker, i’d like you to meet my only daughter” they turned to face me and my heart dropped into my vagina. It was him, the dark haired devil I was in bed with, God I'd forgotten how breathtaking he was. Tall with dark hair, cerulean blue eyes, strong jawline covered in scruff and a sleek mustache. His eyes light up with amusement. Extending out a hand to the woman to his right then himself. He raised my knuckles to his mouth and kissed them “ It's a pleasure to meet you” he released my hand and excused himself, his eyes sparkled with mischief as he walked away. I watch him make his way to the bar and then down a hallway. Excusing myself, I followed after him.

“What are you doing Ann?” I scolded myself as I made my way down the hall searching for him “Chasing after a dangerous man” I laughed to myself. Still mumbling to myself “ of course the man i choose to sleep with hand to be the world's most..'' I felt a strong arm reach out and snatch me, pinning me and covering my mouth as I let out a yelp. Bergamot and a blend of honey and brown sugar from the whiskey that is on his lips. It was him. He tested the door before pushing us inside. As the door shut with a soft click and he turned on the light I spun on my heels to look at him.

His cerulean blue eyes focused on me. He looked so calm and collected, I couldn't decide if I wanted to slap him across the face or kiss him like it would be the last time I'd ever see him again. I approached him and went with a gut reaction, slapping him across the face, the slap echoing off the walls. “ How dare you think you can follow me..” he grabbed my face and began to kiss me, i tried to fight him off but i was losing every second, i gave in to the kiss and began to fight him another way. Sucking his lower lip into my mouth I bit down on it. Releasing it with a satisfied smirk, i went to go do it again but he dragged his lips away from mine, placing a kiss on my forehead “ I did not follow you, i didn't know anything about you, except how good you ride my cock and scream my name as you come undone, it’s a beautiful thing to watch” he said with a smirk.

I could feel the heat in my cheeks making its way down my neck and into my chest, as I shoved at him with all my strength but it was like pushing a brick wall. I got nowhere fast. “ You cannot ever do that again'' i hissed at him, i half expected a smart ass remark, but he just looked at me with a wicked grin, pinning my against the wall and began bringing up layers of my tulle skirt “ August, we cannot have sex again, i have a fiance, albeit an arranged marriage, but i just can't. It was a one time thing” this was a losing battle, my false bravado was slipping but i was willing to die on this hill" “ I don't even want to have sex with you again” i babbled on as he continued on his mission.

I felt his rough touch against my panties. Goddammit, why did I have to wear the matching lingerie for this dress?!?! He slipped a finger inside me. We both knew what he had found, the truth to my lies. He found me soaking wet and dripping for him, from the moment my father called me over to introduce us. A shiver ran through my body as he moved his finger around my wet channel. “ Tsk tsk tsk little mouse” he clicked at me as he removed his finger that was glistening with my juices “ I think that you are a liar” he stuck his finger in his mouth as he began to lick it clean and released it with a pop.

“ Fuckkk, you taste just like i remember, fucking nirvana” dropping to his knees, he holds the bunch of my tulle skirt and hands it to me “ Here hold this for me” grabbing the skirts with a shaking hand, i watched as he slid off my panties and pocketed them. Grabbing my left leg he draped it over his shoulder so my pussy was wide open to him. “ You better be a quiet little mouse, so that no one can hear you” I glared at him so hard that bullets could pass through his head with ease. He flicked his tongue out to lick my pulsating clit. I grabbed a handful of his hair trying to get him to stop but it was fruitless.

He nips at my thighs and labia, squeaking as he nips at the tender flesh. I pulled back and locked eyes with him, his eyes dark with lust “What do you want Walker'' i spat at him, as he continued to nipping at my thigh again and pushing two fingers into my weeping cunt, and began to pump them in and out of her as he spoke '' I want you to beg me Ann, to eat you, to devour you, soul and all. Letting you walk out of this room like you just didnt get fucked by the most dangerous man in the room” he picked up his pace, adding pressure to my clit with his thumb rubbing it in tight circles, letting my head fall back against the wall, wanton moans falling from my lips not bothering to try and conceal them “August” i beg breathlessly as i tug on his hair “ Please, please, devour me” “Don't mind if i do” he said as he buries his face in my aching pussy.

A dark chuckle skitters across my core, and I’m ashamed of how my body responds. My hips curve towards his mouth without permission, seeking what it needs. His tongue dives into my pussy, licking inside of me with ravenous strokes. A cry leaves my lips, breathless and embarrassingly loud. The pressure builds as he finally does what I’ve been silently begging for. His tongue swirls up to my clit with the perfect amount of pressure, paying special attention to the abused bud before dipping lower again and spearing the muscle inside of my pussy. Cries of pleasure echo throughout the room. I don’t want him to hear what he’s doing to me, but I can’t seem to contain myself either. I just lose myself. To him and the thrashing of his tongue on my clit. It’s impossible to resist as the coil deep in my stomach curls painfully tight. I can’t stop him from sucking my clit into his mouth any more than I can control the orgasm from reaching its peak. I suck in a sharp breath, a strangled cry escaping as my body falls over the edge. He plunges two fingers inside me just as I do, and the bliss is catastrophic. I no longer care to hold back the sharp screams, nor do I stop my thighs from clamping his head firmly between them. He continues to nibble and suck pussy as I come down from my high.

Slowly opening my thighs to let him escape. He lowered my leg off his shoulder with a kiss to my thigh. He rose to his full height and adjusted my skirts so I was covered. I was struggling to breathe let alone think of the consequences of my actions as he grabbed me by the neck and dragged me to him for a passionate kiss. I can taste a hint of whiskey and the taste of me on his lips and it is intoxicating. Fisting his dress shirt in my hands as I attempted to undress him. He pulled away and rested his forehead against mine. Reaching into his pocket he fished out my panties and kneeled helping me back into them, he then turned me to the door and pointed “ Go I’ll be 10 minutes behind you” nodding quietly, I slipped out the door and down the hall back towards the party.

Making my way back out into the crowd I heard my father yell my name “ Ann my darling girl” I turned and made my way towards him. He was conversing with a group of men, including father in law and the Ambassador. Reaching my father's side, he tucked me into his arm and placed a kiss on my head. My father in law was eyeing me up and down when the band began to play. “Daddy” I said. He looked over at me “ Yes my darling girl?” I suggested going to the dance floor. “Would you like to dance with me?” He smiled at me. “ Excuse me gentlemen, but my daughter would like to dance.” He stepped away and swept me out onto the dance floor. We danced in silence for a few moments before he said “I'm so proud of you, for the young woman you've become” . I smiled softly at him. He took a deep breath and spun us around. My eyes landed on August, relief flashed in his eyes as he looked me up and down before making his way to his boss. “ Sweetheart” my dad drew me back to reality. He was smiling but it did reach his eyes “Qué pasa papá?” what is it papa? even with his eyes trained on me, his thoughts were miles away “ Nada mi querida niña, lo siento mucho, no pude darte la vida que querías.” I’m just so damn sorry that I couldn't give you the life you wanted” he reached up and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear, resting his palm on my face as if he was trying to engrave my face into his memory.

A tap to his shoulder disrupted us. “Excuse me sir, would you mind if I had a dance with your daughter?” August asked, my father nodded,placing a kiss on my cheek before handing me over to him. I watched him walk over to my mother and embrace her, at least they would always have each other.

August spun me around and placed a hand on the back of my waist and drew me close as other couples left us. Holding my hand we waltzed around the ballroom. “Ann…” he spoke in a soft but firm tone. shaking my head and said “No, no more talking, let's just dance” he let out a heavy sigh as he spun me out in a wide circle as the music changed to the haunting melody of Lana Del Ray’s Young and beautiful I watched him as we spun, I closed my eyes and allowed myself to relax into his arms. Some part of me knew that this would be the last time that was ever at peace like this again.

I felt the world melt away around us, we were just him and I again. Me calling him a devil while he had me pinned by my throat and he fucked me ruthlessly. The orgasm that ripped through me as I struggled to breath. It's something I won't ever forget. With one last slow spin the song came to an end and I opened my eyes to look at him, when I saw a hand tap him on the shoulder “ Julian” he growled. He just looked at us before he said “ Walker, I hope you don't mind, but Anneliese and I need to get going” “Ann” we both snapped at him. He just rolled his eyes as I excluded myself and went to grab my things, then Julian was practically dragging me up the stairs, he was seething, August snatched my wrist, stopping me short and almost knocking Julian over. HA that would have been priceless to see. Looking at August i said

“ Déjame ir” Let me go, glancing back at Julian, his brows knitted in confusion.

“Si te dejo ir, ciertamente morirás en su mano.” he spoke in a soft tone If i let you go, you will certainly die by his hand

My heart grew heavier knowing he knew my fate but also that his hands were tied and he couldn't help me, giving him a small but sad smile . “Mi destino fue decidido por mí hace mucho tiempo, no hay escapatoria” she chuckled slightly “Lo más feliz que me sentí fue contigo esas noches atrás, me hiciste sentir viva y por eso siempre te estaré agradecido pero es hora de dejarme ir.” “My fate was decided for me long ago, there is no escape” she chuckled slightly “ the happiest i ever felt was with you those few nights ago, you made me feel alive and for that i will always be grateful but it's time to let me go.

He loosened his grip on my wrist so i could pull my hand away, “ Fairfarren, Alice perhaps I will see you again in another lifetime” i spoke with one final squeeze to my hand before he stepped away and let my hand fall back to my side as i was pulled up the stairs by a monster.

Standing on the steps waiting for the valet to bring the car, Julian was fuming, as the car pulled up, I looked up and saw August standing on the balcony just watching me. Climbing in the car and I looked back one last time as we started to pull away, till he was nothing but white speak in the darkening horizon.

#henry cavill characters #henry cavill imagine #henry cavill x you #august walker #august walker imagines #henrycavill smut

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bittersweetresilience · 28 days

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sunny's favorite asukiess creations

hearth (18,589 words)

Because how do you describe a dream once you wake up, when it’s fleeting and slipping through the cracks in your mind like it’s a sieve? You can barely wrap your lips around the concepts and words before you realize it has slipped through like water, and what lay in your hands is just a pang in your chest? When every moment away from it clouds your mind just a little more, until the memories are threadbare? or: Adrien understands what it means to have a home.

Back when I first met Autumn I was on a reading spree and I saved this fic for last and it just completely stunned me. I remember whipping out a textbox page to annotate for my comment, and that's what kicked off insanely long commenter™ Sunny. No matter what Autumn says! This! Is! My! Favorite! Autumn! Fic! At least until I see the secret one she won't let me see... but no, it will always be special to me.

the secrets we keep (14,661 words)

In the wake of a summer that Adrien never wanted to end, all that he wishes to push away comes back to haunt him when the school years starts again: self-doubt from identities that feel no more real than anything else; ghosts of parents who still talk to him; and most all, a fear that the people he loves will leave him in time, too. however, maybe the person who can relate most to him is the one he's never far from.

The best memories of reading this fic as Autumn wrote it and chatting about it and being teased with every Félix mention and being in love with her mind forever and always... if you've ever liked an asukiess meta post or idea post you'll love this. Combination of all of those beautiful things.

wip i saw as of yesterday

Perhaps premature to put it on this list but I have to include it because it was a taste of AUTUMN ORIGINAL WRITING!!!!!!!! AUTUMN ORIGINAL CHARACTERS!!!!!!!! And theater kid Autumn, too. Autumn could be published... Autumn could do anything... if those fools don't get it I'll start my own Autumn publishing company...

switching shenanigans (1,337 words)

Félix.............. first Autumn Félix.............................

felinette fics

FERAL EXPLODE BOOM DECEASED GRAVE HEADSTONE FIRE HOUSE EMOJIS

The art piece whose WIP inspired a fic out of me which was Autumn and my friendship's origin story... FUCKING NATHALIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I accept this. Such a drop dead gorgeous piece.

The most insane fic ever with the most insane fic art ever... WITNESS!!!!!!!!!!!! THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

EEEEEEEEEMOOOOOOOOOOTIOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love how much Autumn loves this piece, every time she reblogs it it makes me happy. Get some horror in this Felinette tonight.

POLAROIDS I LOVE THEM. LOVEYBUG AU WEEK I LOVE YOU

Can you even function after looking at this. They. Shrimping.

HE'S EVERYTHING TO MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

This is criminally underrated... Look At Him. HIS FUCKING BUNNY

I ran out of link blocks but I also wanted to share Unrequited. HAMBDS.

AND AUTUMN'S SUPER SECRET LOVEYBUG ZINE WIP

AUTUMN AND HER CLASSICS!!!!!!!!!! AUTUMN AND HER HUMONGOUS BRAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I worship this. It's all Autumn, I just helped with images.

Okay, I was slightly more involved with this one, but Autumn's contributions literally made it 1 billion times better and I will forever cherish the memory.

Hnwhnfhwnfjgnhsnghsnhsfshwhgwnhgwghgh... Emilie...

autumn's felinette and adrifelinette thoughts

Just in general. I am so lucky.

autumn's friendship

I scrolled through our pinned messages and almost cried laughing...

#🏮#miraculous ladybug #HAPPY... i love autumn asukiess

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marlagraysonn · 1 year

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suranne_jones The ballad of Anne and Ann released on 16th December ❤️🎩

I had the honour of recording this beautiful song with Heidi and Belinda earlier this year. ( our fantastic friends who sing the title song on GJ🎩!)

I personally wanted to mark the next stage of Anne and Ann’s real life story for the fans and tell the tale of Ann Walker’s strength. This song is beautiful, Written by @ohooleyandtidow ❤️It was very special sharing it with @sophiesophierundle for the 1st time too.

By joining @ohooleyandtidow on this beautiful original track it felt like the perfect way to thank you all for the support you have shown Gentleman Jack and the ongoing love you have for the 2 series we made and these wonderful characters.

My fee went to a charity that supports LGBTQIA people within the community and I’m so thrilled you get to listen and share it now too.

I love how creativity finds a way!

Merry Christmas ❤️🎄🎩

#suranne jones #sophie rundle #ohooley and Tidow #gentleman jack #Ann walker #Anne lister #Ann(e)’s

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yeetlegay · 2 years

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Hey! Any wlw recs? Fics movies shows anything

ANON WHERE TO BEGIN

Some personal favorites off the top of my head:

Movies:

Carol (2015) - Cate Blanchett, period (1950s), absolutely stunning and iconic lesbian cinema

The Handmaiden (2016) - reimagining of Fingersmith by Sarah Waters, set in Japanese-occupied Korea during the 1930s, brilliant and imaginative and lush

Imagine Me and You (2005) - Lena Headey (Cersei from GoT) being a hot florist, love at first sight, cheesy romcom deliciousness, big warning for cheating tho it’s handled very well imo

Rafiki (2018) - coming of age love story, beautiful and ends on a good note but there’s a LOT of homophobia and some violence so be careful, was the first Kenyan film screened at Cannes which is amazing

Vita and Virginia (2018) - based on the real life romance between Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West, the 1920s fashion + delicious sexual tension 🤌🏻🤌🏻 cw for depiction of depression and suicidal ideation

Tv shows:

First Kill (2022) - SUPPORT THIS SHOW, vampire and vampire hunter fall in love, set in one of my fave cities (Savannah), very camp Romeo & Juliet high school romance just with more blood and fangs

Fingersmith (2005) - British miniseries based on the same novel as The Handmaiden but much closer to the source material, Victorian lesbians ft the most magnificently crafted plot and sexual tension galore, holy shit watch it

Killing Eve - okay this one is a little controversial bc of the ending (which I pretend doesn’t exist) but holy fuck if you like VegasPete, Villanelle and Eve are their even more murderous and batshit crazy cousins. Cat and mouse games between a psychopath assassin and a British intelligence officer (altho she’s actually American but whatever) that I was sure would be queerbaiting, but nope they’re in love. Consider looking up how it ends tho if you need HEAs in your stories

Gap the Series - not out yet but when it is, WATCH IT. Currently in production I think, probably out later this year. It’s Thai and will be available on YouTube with subtitles. Office romance, so many lesbians I’ve lost count and like one (1) man total in the cast.

Gentleman Jack - just dropped season 2 unffff. Period British show based on the life of lesbian Anne Lister, who is one half of the first known gay marriage in England. She’s so fucking hot and butch if you’re not in love with her the second she jumps off that carriage in episode 1…and her love story with shy, repressed wallflower Ann Walker is tender and sexy and complex. Cw for depiction of anxiety and suicide attempt in season 1 (lmk if you’d like the exact ep and time stamp)

Portrait of a Marriage (1990) - a little hard to find but worth the hunt. Based on the romance between novelist Vita Sackville-West (yes, who also had an affair with Virginia Woolf) and her socialite lover Violet. I cannot believe more people don’t talk about this miniseries bc holy shit. Vita and Violet are so fucking in love and their chemistry and love scenes had me gripping the edge of my seat despite the abysmal quality of the version I watched on Dailymotion. Cw for a shitload of cheating, some toxic vibes, and an ending that while mostly historically accurate was still a bummer.

Fics:

Obv I will shamelessly plug my Kinnporsche f/f smut bc I love her and also am desperate for more f/f fic in the ao3 tag so I’m not over here by myself anymore lol

I don’t know what fandoms you’re in but if you’ve watched Word of Honor or read 2ha, holy shit is there some good f/f fic in those tags. Sort by kudos and godspeed friend

Books:

You didn’t ask about books lol but here are some faves of mine anyway

Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake - hot tatted bi protagonist, very gender, falls in love with cute single mom in her hometown when she comes back for her stepsister’s wedding

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston - Kate and Leopold but gay and good, butch lesbian from the 1970s gets stuck in time on the subway, grumpy bisexual falls in love with her, makes me reconsider my stance on subway sex bc holy shit.

Dowry of Blood by S. T. Gibson - okay this one is sapphic but in a polyamorous context so if you want, like, zero men then skip this rec. Inspired by the lore around Dracula’s brides, very gothic and queer, Constanta (narrator) is the first bride who’s in love with Dracula but also her fellow brides Magdalena and Alexei. Cw for depictions of emotional abuse and gaslighting, Dracula is a manipulative piece of shit (who would’ve guessed lol)

Hope this helps anon!

#I’m not tagging all that lol but #wlw recs #lesbian recs #book recs #movie recs #tv recs #why don’t queue stay

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cocoabubbelle · 1 year

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Hi again! :) I just started to watch Scooby Doo and Guess Who today, and I love the concept of introducing celebs. I love it because its not new, it's a callback to the og episodes with sonny and Cher, and batman!

If the show hadn't been cancelled, who would you want to guest star? (I watched a clip of the gang meeting their voice actors and it made my day, I was feeling down. I only thought they would meet frank welker too so it was a really nice surprise!)

Hi!

This will be divided between real people and fictional characters.

Real (both living and deceased)

Brendan Fraser

Ke Huy Quan

Rob Paulsen

Dwayne Johnson

Zachary Levi

John Wayne

Pentatonix

Gal Gadot

Henry Cavill

BTS

BLACKPINK

Tom Selleck

Jackie Chan

Chris Tucker (preferably working with Jackie)

Mister Rogers (you can’t convince me that the persona he put for his show wasn’t his real self)

The Kratt Brothers

Steve Irwin

Sandra Bullock

Micheal Jordon

Charlize Theron

Ben Affleck

Anne Hathaway

Margot Robbie

Cate Blanchett

Judi Dench

Julie Andrews

Octavia Spencer

Zendaya

Jessica Alba

Blake Lively

Ryan Reynolds

Lupita Nyong'o

Sandra Oh

Bette Milder

Catherine Zeta Jones

Micheal Peña

Diego Luna

Rita Moreno

Eugenio Derbez

Priyanka Chopra

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

Jet Li

Bruce Lee

Pat Morita

Duck Dynasty

ZZ Top

Spice Girls

ABBA

Liam Neeson

Chuck Norris

Tim Curry

Jon Heder

Honestly the list could go on but I don’t know if tumblr has a word count limit so moving on…

Fictional (individual + cast/duo) (apologies if some of these seem REALLY random; look, if they can meet the Addams Family and Batman, who’s to say what’s impossible?)

Wizard of Oz cast (either original book or MGM’s iconic film)

Willy Wonka/Charlie Bucket

Walker, Texas Ranger

Superman

^ + Bruce Timm’s Justice League

Blue + Steve from Blue’s Clues

Hercules and/or Xena

The Shazamily

The Animaniacs

Freakazoid

TEENAGED MUTANT NINJA TURTLES!!!

Five Nights at Freddy’s

Napoleon Dynamite

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lesbyeen · 2 years

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Season 2 Thinks

Okay so I’m gonna get this out of the way right now: I enjoyed season 2. If you didn’t like it as much as season 1 that's a-ok! I’ve seen a lot of dislike of it on the subreddit, and I think some of it’s warranted but I also think some people are being a little too... not harsh, but I don’t think they’re considering the source materials (those being Anne Lister’s real journals).

Is Anne Lister as charming as she was in season 1? No. But she wasn’t going to be. I see season 1 as Anne trying to charm the audience as much as she’s trying to charm Ann Walker and season 2 Anne is definitely showing some of her true colors. It feels very close to the journals (because it is). Anne was classist, a gold digger, insanely ambitious, and kind of a wench-- but I think she kind of had to be in order to maintain what freedoms she had (not excusing it, but I think that’s part of her reasoning). Her ambition really shows this season though, which is admirable and I really like that about her character in season 2-- we’re seeing a lot more of that side of her.

Yes some of the subplots are getting old. The pig-murder thing doesn’t need to be there and it kind of disappeared after a certain point. I can kind of see it as a young man with no prior education fixing his own problems in the best way he sees fit but it’s also not a great plot line. Some people might be a little bored of the Eugenie’s romance subplot but I actually enjoyed seeing more of Anne’s servants this season-- side characters are important too!

Would I like to have seen more of Ann Walker? Hell yeah, she’s my girl! I love her! I think a lot of things were happening this season, and Sophie Rundle was also out with having her baby and I imagine COVID got in the way of her being able to do as much filming as Suranne or the others. Sophie did a wonderful job in the bits she was in, and I think the quality vs. quantity thing came into play here.

I think some people were expecting another round of Anne being charming as hell with everyone, including the audience, when that wasn’t what was going to happen. Again, she wasn’t the greatest person ever. The primary argument I’ve seen elsewhere is about Anne’s character, but again, Anne is directly based off of what goes on in the real Anne Lister diaries.

Just my two cents on some of the arguments I’ve seen! Feel free to disagree with me, but I’m not going to be arguing with anyone about it since again, just my two cents. Not trying to cause any fights here!

#gentleman jack #gentleman jack s2 #gentleman jack spoilers #anne lister #ann walker

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twdmusicboxmystery · 2 years

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Tales of the Walking Dead 1x01: Joe and Evie

how did everyone like ToTWD 1x01? I actually loved it! I didn’t expect to like it so much. So, let me just put the main reason out there right at the start: Joe and Evie were a retelling of Beth and Daryl in SO many ways. They had a similar dynamic that complimented one another. They had similar conversations. Even similar situations (Joe taking a piss and such.)

Me and my fellow theorists’ thoughts are below. If you didn’t read the episode this way, I think we’re about to change your minds. 😁

@galadrieljones:

I watched the episode! I loved it. Omg, like I knew I’d like it, but it was actually much more entertaining and sharper than I sort of thought it would be. I really like Olivia Munn in her role here. Someone mentioned it above, sort of, but she reminded me of like a quirky, hippie “good” Leah. She’s even wearing a red hat when we first meet her. It took me a long time to get through the episode. I took a lot of notes and a lot of screenshots lol, just as you predicted Ann. I will share those tomorrow. For now, I just want to share one thing that got me most excited, because I have been thinking a lot about the WB coda and what it could mean for Daryl’s spin-off. So, the big thing I was paying attention to in the episode, which had me continuously smiling, was the setting: Ohio. Joe played football at Ohio State, and this wasn’t the end of it. Him and Evie do a full blown road trip through Ohio on the I-75. I loved all the signs and ofc I mapped everything out lol.

They drive through many cities: Hamilton, Dayton, Springfield, Lima, and Bowling Green, and the montages are sure to tell us all of them. These are all real places, most of the Ohio locations along the I-75 or on smaller freeways around it.

Anyway, the most intriguing thing I noticed was where they camp, after their nice little sunset Beth/Daryl conversation about there still being “magic” in the world. They are probably camping very near to Toledo. If you look on the map above, you'll see they pass through Toledo metro between Bowling Green and Ann Arbor, MI. Toledo isn’t mentioned on any of the locations they pass, obviously.

That would be too straightforward lol. Gimple is, like you said, Ann, talking to people who are going to, idk, be obsessive and map the road trip lolol. So, when they stop to camp it’s immediately after the “Greetings from Ohio” sign, but it's BEFORE they see the “Welcome to Michigan” sign, implying that they’re camping between Bowling Green and the Michigan state line. They’re in Toledo! Or right outside it.

This is what really got me: When they camp, they see something very interesting—one of the walkers that attacks them that night has its heart completely, surgically removed from its body. Joe takes notice and says something about it, to which Evie responds that she hopes it happened “after they turned.”

All of this is happening after the Ohio sign, which says, “Greetings from Ohio! The HEART of it all.”

Okay, so I think this is a big nod to the Primrose Team, who is supposedly in Toledo, OH for a conference during the outbreak. I also think it's a nod to Dr. Jenner’s talk about kick-starting the circulatory systems of walkers. The key to the cure is in the heart, not the brain. Ohio is the “heart” of it all, and we have a walker with a missing heart. Ohio is very important, apparently.

Also, Idk if the walker is a pure symbol, or if it’s meant to imply that perhaps the Primrose Team was doing experiments at/for the “conference” in Toledo, or even after the turn, and some of those experiments got loose. Idk the whole thing was very exciting to me. Because the Commonwealth is also in Ohio, ie: Daryl is not in Ohio yet, but he will be in about ten years…what is he about to find there? And ofc who wears hearts? Heart necklace, hearts on her cowboy boots…Can’t be Beth. Anyway. That’s all for tonight. I had lots of other things, ofc, the episode was full of symbols and interesting stuff I loved, and I can’t wait to hear what you all saw, too!!

Oh, also, I'm just going to throw this out there because it occurred to me only just now. The I-75 was familiar, so I went back to my notes. The I-75 is the freeway that goes north out of Atlanta and is part of the original "Green Route," as marked by the Terminus map. It runs basically straight from Macon (Terminus) to Atlanta, and then due north through KNOXVILLE, all the way up to Toledo.

Idk I'm trying to find connections between Ohio and Atlanta, via smart walkers, trying to trace what may have happened at Grady back to T. Brooks Ellis and the Primrose Team. I don't have a ton yet, but this episode really made me feel strongly that whatever happened with Team Primrose, we're going to learn more about that, and it feeds in some way into the Daryl Spin-off...

Oh, here's one more map, of the I-75, just for a visual:

@wdway:

I did assume though that they were going near Toronto. I can help you out on how you can find a connection from Atlanta to Toronto Ohio, this is something I research a couple of years ago but at the time it didn't seem all that important which is laughable now. In s4&5 we saw signs on the back of the railroad sign where Maggie, Sasha and Bob first find out about terminus. A railroad number, it's the same number I believe that is on the sign when Rick and TF come out of terminus. My point is that railroad eventually goes to Toronto Ohio. I would suggest you recheck this because it has been quite a while.

Now I can give y'all part "A" of one of the biggest clues of what happened to Beth after the end of Coda. Part "B" I'll give later on because I don't want it to be overshadowed by "A." @galadriel, I immediately thought of you when I did a related Google search that will be near the end of this ramble. On my first watch of the episode, I thought the little animal that Joe and Evie rescues was a goat. It looked like a little goat to me because of the spots. I thought it was a nod to the goat in Here's Not Here, named Tabitha which was a nod to Resurrection because of the New Testament Bible figure by the name of Tabitha who was risen from the dead by one of Jesus's apostles.

On rewatch of the episode I realized that they kept referring to it as a lamb. So not a goat, but the more I thought about it being a lamb the more excited I got. It was a sacrificial lamb! That lamb was sacrificed in order so that its owner could got away. Are we all hearing in our heads the conversation between Father Gabriel and Sasha about, "leaving one of your own behind."

The other thing is Jesus is often referred to as the Lamb of God. With Beth being a Christ, Jesus type figure then she was team families sacrificial lamb being left behind in order for the family to escape. I'm sure you guys already came to the same conclusion about this lamb but here's something you might not have done that I did first thing this morning, I Google spotted sheep. I'm going to cover my ears now for this part because I know that @galadriel will be screaming when she reads it. They're known as Dutch spotted sheep in Europe but here in America they are better known as..... Jacob's American sheep. They're called that as a nod to the Bible story of Jacob who raised spotted sheep. Are you freaking out Tarah because I know I was when I read that. I cannot wait to read what you have to say about this and how it adds another layer to the ties with Beth and Leah and the story of Jacob that you have already so brilliantly written.

@galadriel, there was something in your initial comment above, far above this point, that I wanted to clear up. Maybe I misunderstood you, but I got the impression that you thought I was referring to Evie as a Leah proxy. I was actually referring to the nut job that Joe was searching for. The lady that went crazy and try to kill both Joe and Evie. Imo Evie is definitely a Beth proxy and to emphasize that and also a tie in to railroad tracks leading to Toronto, here's the shot of the clue that tptb gave us.

Here's Joe and Evie on the railroad tracks that you pointed out must be near Toronto. Evie a proxy to Beth holding the sacrificial lamb, another Beth proxy.

@galadrieljones

Ooh I’m going to look into these more today. The connection between Ohio/Atlanta and the sheep. Jacobs spotted sheep were thought to have been a sign of his favor from God and his prosperity. It took him 7 years to breed his spotted sheep, the seven years he waited to wed Rachel after being tricked into wedding Leah in her place. Very interesting!!

Also I definitely saw Evie as a Beth proxy. I saw her as an inversion of Leah. She’s this hermit woman but she’s a good person. I noticed how she ties up Joe, holds him at gunpoint, all these things reminded me of Find Me, but Evie is ultimately good, and she saves Joe’s life. So I saw her as Beth, but situationally, I saw the writers creating parallels with the Leah arc, almost to cal attention to the fact that Leah and Beth are mirror images, if that makes sense. She reminded me a lot of Beth spiritually. Even her name, Evie, which is very close to “Eve,” made me think of Still as an Eden allegory.

@wdway:

Evie's red hat would definitely fit in with Kari's theory about Beth holding the gate since Evie would be a proxy to Beth.

Joe was fooled by shelter woman (SW) sorry I don't know her name, he thought she was a good person. Whereas Eva he grew to respect and care for because he saw that she was a good person and had all the qualities that he mistakenly put on SW. Then at SW shelter he realizes that she is not what he thought she was and ended up killing her. That is so the story of Daryl and Leah being mistaken for someone good and ultimately realizing that she wasn't and killing her.

@galadrieljones:

I thought of that too, and as the red hat being related to Leah’s red hair in Find Me. Maybe they stand on opposite sides of the gates: Leah ushering Daryl into hell/death, while Beth ushers him back to earth/the living. Just a thought. But I definitely saw the red hat as being a way of thinking about Leah’s red hair as a disguise of some sort. She has blond hair but Daryl remembers it as red. I just thought w Evie it was another way of pointing this out to us. I’m also remember when I went back to “Guts” and “Tell it to the Frogs” earlier this week, there’s this insanely obvious shot of Amy carrying a red bucket. Knowing Amy dies soon, I saw the red imagery as being g a sort of red flag death warning as early as this.

I was just thinking something similar. Shelter woman’s name is Sandra, and her screen name USHLDBSCRD, ie: YOU SHOHLD BE SCARED. She has blond hair, like Leah, but her screen name is this obvious warning, sort of like Leah’s red hair.

Joe is easily swindled by her and drugged. She has gone insane and puts on clown make-up, another aspect of disguise. Only the disguise is the reality. She is insane and lives in a clown reality in which she can’t trust anybody. She collects watches too, which made me think of Terminus but also a little like she’s just collecting time. She’s definitely some sort of underworld creature, akin to Leah.

Then Evie comes with her lamb and pulls him out of hell.

@wdway:

Good points. I was thinking more on the lines that Beth at the end of s3 wear a knit hat look comic book Andrea's. I thought Evie knit hat might be a nod to Beth's.

@galadrieljones:

Yes!! Totally. Beth’s hat is white, I believe.

@wdway:

Joe's screen name was DOTTHEEYES, dot the eyes. A total eye symbol. And another was of saying look closely and read what's your seeing.

@galadrieljones:

I was also kind of struck by Evie’s husbands hate paintings. They reminded me of that horrific painting Carl finds at the house with Michonne in “Claimed.” And the painting Carl finds, if I recall, looks a lot like Mary from Terminus. Same hair. She was a redhead. Just lots of weird parallels. I also liked how Evie was content with learning she was loved. She didn’t need to search for Steven. It was t about getting him back, just acknowledging that she was loved, and she could move on.

@wdway:

Yes! Well said. There were several clues pointing to the house in both s4 episodes e9 &11. Joe said to Eva that she ties a good Clover hitch and that is something that Carl said to Rick when tying up the door in s4e9. Joe also asked if Eva's father was military which brought in the thought of military.

@twdmusicboxmystery:

Loving all of this, too. I’ll start with what you’ve already discussed. I had much the same thought as you about the lamb. I compared it to Tabitha, and thought the lamb would die by the end of the episode, but it didn’t. (Not sad about that; just kinda surprised.) But as you said, it’s not a goat. A slightly different symbol, so it’s even more significant that the lamb lived. I definitely thought of it as Christ the lamb. The other really interesting thing of note (which is why I totally agree it’s symbolic of what happened to Beth after Coda) is that when it was left, it was tied to a concrete block. So, not only left behind, but left behind shackled, or imprisoned.

I haven’t worked out all my thoughts about this yet, but I also think there’s something very significant about Joe’s bike being stolen. We had all the details of Daryl’s bike dying in 10x21, him working on it, finding some way to fix it, etc. And then in 6x06, Sherry and Dwight also stole his bike. Now we have the same thing happening to Joe. I maintain that at least one level of the symbolism is that the bike represents Beth. Something precious, that’s part of who he is, forcibly taken from him.

And after the bike left, Joe went on and on about how the bike was his whole life. Everything that meant anything to him was on it. Sounds like how Daryl felt about Beth to me. Love all your mapping, and the connection to Toledo. Awesome. I definitely noticed the walker with no heart, but didn’t think to link it to the primrose group. That’s genius! On a more abstract, and perhaps more obvious, level, I think it also represents Daryl’s heart (Beth) being taken from him. Here, Evie is Joe’s heart, or will become so eventually, and he saw the heartless walker with her, not Sandra.

In terms of which is which, I think both women represent both Beth and Leah at various times. Which is pretty much what you said above. Overall, clearly Evie is Beth because she’s the good one and probably Joe’s soulmate, and obviously Sandra was coo-coo. But Sandra was wearing bright yellow, which was interesting. I think the thing there is that yellow doesn’t have to be about romance. It definitely can be, but it’s really about reunion, and specifically finding someone you’ve been separated from and are searching for. What happens after the finding and reunion can go any which way. So, the yellow doesn’t specifically symbolize Beth and Daryl’s romantic feelings. There are other symbols for that. It does represent that she’ll live, and he’ll find her again.

I thought of the pre-Terminus paintings as well. That was a really interesting aspect of the show, and one I want to think about more. Of course we had Beth talking to Edwards about art and painting. But I really loved the moment when Evie when through them and was labeling them as “hated” or “loved.” The interesting thing is that all the “hated” ones were clearly gross and sinister looking, which is why we thought of Terminus. But the one of her was lovely and sweet. It made me think of the paintings above Maggie’s desk at Hilltop. Beth, of course, but even Glenn and Hershel, etc. When Evie said, “loved” I thought of all of them. It was just so sweet and compelling. And, though we all already knew this, a good confirmation of the emotions behind paintings we see in the show.

Yeah, her doll/clown make up was something else. I was thinking, okay yes, we definitely have the dark comedy and the obligatory walker gore, but this is also super creepy! I agree that it was a mask she put on, and sometimes, with evil people, the mask reflects the madness within. CREE.PEE.

I also loved that when they finally got out, Joe started laughing. It was clearly a laugh of relief, but like I said before, Terry Crews was just perfect and adorable in this episode.

Let’s talk about Joe’s dog for a minute. First, and most obviously, we have that it’s his companion and the most important relationship in his life, which is taken from him. I don’t know if we should read into the fact that the dog was bitten. It doesn’t mirror how Daryl thinks Beth died or anything, but it’s still a bite/cure theory sort of situation, and the writers could have just had the dog pass away from old age or something. The other thing I thought of—and maybe I’m splitting hairs here—had to do with his pajama bottoms. They made me laugh, because every time he woke up, he was wearing a different shirt, or no shirt, but he always had on the same pajama bottoms, lol. So, his dog was a Doberman, but the dogs on the PJs looked too husky to be Dobermans to me. They honestly looked more like Rottweiler. Same coloring, but different build and different breed. And Emily was seen filming with a Rottweiler during the missing scenes from S5. That’s all.

Okay, I’m going through my notes, now. There was also a dog mailbox, which I want to think about more. We’ve talked about mailboxes being about communication, and how he knew something was wrong was that the mailbox had been knocked over. So, breakdown in communication? Because this is the thing that led to him losing his dog, I want to equate it to when Beth was first taken from Daryl. They didn’t know they were being watched by someone. Or maybe it should even be equated to the loss of the prison. Idk. Like I said, I need to think about it more.

There was also a fallen mailbox in the episode with Connie and Virgil in the creepy house. I need to deep dive and figure out what this symbol means in detail. The dog’s name was Gilligan and at the end, he wanted to name the lamb Skipper. Gilligan’s island is all about being stranded with a limited number of companions, and making the best of it. Similar to Beth and Daryl being thrown together, and then Joe and Evie here.

Oh, I have a note that it was a blond, female walker who bit the dog. The sudoku puzzles reminded me of the mystery/detective symbol. And even here, finding her, figuring out where she was, took some detective work. She never told him directly, though she sent a picture. So he had to do some investigating and deductive reasoning in order to find her. Meanwhile, there’s the Daryl/homicide detective reference.

At one point, he says to himself, “You made it. When everyone else didn’t.” Beth echo. Of course there were cuffs. As you talked about, it mirrored Leah tying Daryl up in her cabin, but with the handcuff theme thrown in. Her talking a lot is what made her a lot like Beth as well. Leah was oddly silent in those early scenes. Which isn’t a bad thing. Daryl is oddly silent most of the time, and on him, it’s endearing. But Beth talked constantly. So, just another way she’s opposite of Leah and why Evie = Beth. (P.S. I thought of the Adam and Eve reference to her name as well.) There were at least 2, possibly 3 “serious/Sirius” references.

One of the red-letter Bethyl scenes for me was when he stopped to pee. Not only did he “take a piss” but he basically told her to stop talking so he could pee in silence. Not exactly how it all went down in Still (the situation, not the pee) but it was just such a Beth and Daryl interaction.

There was also the part where he said something about new age hippie bullshit. Of course, Beth wasn’t actually a hippie, but it just shows their different but complimentary beliefs.

Between that and the scene with the magic-of-the-sunset conversation, it parallels Beth talking about faith and Daryl said “faith ain’t done shit for us.” We even saw Joe feeling sorry for what he said, and apologizing, as Daryl felt bad after saying what he did about Hershel.

And of course their big fight on the train tracks after his bike is taken mirrors Beth and Daryl’s in Still. They both sing. Badly. Which was adorable. But it hearkens back to Daryl’s “I never” about how he’s never sung out in public before. We STILL don’t know how that is going to be fulfilled, but I absolutely loved seeing these two sing together.

Oh! The freaking sloth! What did everyone make of that? We saw that EXACT thing with Eugene at the Sanctuary. We really have to nail down this symbol because it’s driving me bonkers.

Joe taught Evie things, like how to sharpen a blade. Just as Daryl taught Beth how to use a crossbow. Oh, and the quote you said yesterday, Ann. Hope is a thing with feathers. All birds on the show, in some way, represent hope. I think different birds represent different nuances, but none of them represent death or despair. They always represent something hopeful. “Puppies and poetry.” Both houses they were looking for were by the river, so that symbol was present.

Sandra talked about someone getting in, at some point. She killed them, but I couldn’t help but think of Terminus. Maybe she was raped or otherwise brutalized, and it messed her up. Before that, maybe she really was an okay person. We also haven’t mentioned the parallel between Joe and Sandra talking online, and Eugene and Stephanie talking on the radio. Then, much like Eugene meeting Stephony, but it was really a mask and not who he thought she was, Sandra turns out to be crazy and evil. Meanwhile, the real soulmate is around, and he just has to find her again.

There was a big Side A/Side B emphasis, though I didn’t write down the details of that. I’ll have to re-watch (what a shame. ;D).

The watches she had were also very creepy. They smacked of a serial killer collecting trophies. You have to wonder if ever lured men there just to kill them. And maybe a symbolic tie to John Dorie, Sr. and Teddy.

That’s most of what I have in my notes. In terms of templates, here’s what I worked out. The first part between Joe and Evie is clearly a Beth and Daryl template. They meet, are awkward together at first, but come to trust and be comfortable with one another, survive together, get in a fight, later make up. I think Sandra represents Beth as well, but more in terms of her template than her personality. Obviously. She’s the girl he found. She was hidden in a bunker. Wearing yellow. He didn’t know if she was still alive. By all counts, she shouldn’t be, but his heart told him she might be. He searched for her. Etc.

In terms of the lamb, I was thinking that both the bike and the lamb represent Beth in different ways. It’s all about what Daryl understands, perceives, and focuses on. When the bike was taken (Beth being shot) he could only focus on what he’d lost, and he gets very emotional about it, as Joe does here. He doesn’t realize the lamb (also Beth) is still alive and close by. Just imprisoned. He’s not truly seeing that, and what he sees, he discounts, because his grief is too strong. When Joe and Evie walk off together at the end, the lamb is still with them, which symbolizes that Beth is still alive and with Daryl. He just isn’t aware of it, yet. That’s what I have thus far. Might try to rewatch tonight. I’m sure there’s more I can glean, template-wise. Can’t wait to hear more all of your thoughts!

@galadrieljones:

Great comments, @twdmusicboxmystery!! Per the lamb thing. I did think of Officer Lamson, whose death indicates a sorrowful omen in Coda, following the red flag on the car antenna. Lamson’s death screws up the exchange. I have often thought of him as the sacrificial lamb in Coda, as he appears with “Shepherd.” Tho his sacrifice is in vain. I believe his death is engineered to communicate Rick’s migration away from the shepherd role and toward the wolf. He hits and murders Lamson needlessly.

So here I thought, the lamb survives! I don’t know what that means. Lambs are hugely sacred creatures in the Bible and their sacrifice is an act of worship. Christ is also considered the Lamb of God. I see it as a reversal of outcomes in a way. Had Lamson lived, perhaps Beth would have lived. It would have been the “B” scenario, rather than the dreaded “A.” Idk if this makes sense?

Also, per the “hope is a thing with feathers” quote. I actually recognized that right away. It’s from an Emily Dickinson poem:

It reminds me of Beth and Daryl. There are a lot of birds in this episode. Lots of the signs for the cities and the signs for Ohio and Michigan both features state birds

Also, I didn’t think about the bike getting stolen as being related to Always Accountable. They leave the lamb behind, like a trade? It’s tied to a brick. In AA, the sacrifice is Tina, another Beth proxy.

It’s a good connection. I wanna think on it more.

@twdmusicboxmystery:

Makes total sense! I agree about Lambson. I always thought his name was WAY too obvious to be accidental. Not to mention, he was the second Bob in Sasha's life, so we have a dichotomy or dualtiiy pairing there. And maybe we really could equate Skipper the Lamb and Tabitha the goat. Tabitha = scenario A (Beth dies) and Skipper = scenario B (Beth lives.)

I didn't realize this was from a Dickenson poem. Awesome!

@wdway:

This is the huge deer symbol I mentioned yesterday.

It is not a legit John Deere but because of the colors of green and yellow that's what it represents. I'm sure they probably had some legal issues about using the John Deere name logo.

@twdmusicboxmystery:

I totally missed that! But I agree. A generic John Deere tractor, same as in Go Getters with Maggie.

@wdway:

I want to talk about Evie taking Joe with the handcuffs. It didn't feel quite right for Evie to be a Leah proxy although I could see her being a opposite parallel proxy. I felt with crazy Sandra taking Joe captive using zip ties truly was more of a comparison to Leah taking Daryl captive. Other than the pictures of Sandra with the tractor my first impression when I saw her in the shelter was that she was wearing yellow, an important Beth color. She also had on multiple tank tops similar to what Beth wore but remember they did the same thing with Leah just in the opposite colors earlier this season. I feel that the writers wanted us to think of Beth when we saw Sandra and when I say ‘us,’ in this case I mean TD.

She appeared to be so nice, and Joe was blinded (eye reference) by what he wanted to believe Sandra was and didn't recognize the telltale signs that she was giving off that Evie caught right away. Just as the writers in s11A used the yellow house as a decoy for where Maggie was hiding when in fact she was in the green house, in this scenario Sandra's yellow tank top represented her being a decoy, Sandra wasn't a Beth proxy, she was a Leah proxy.

I feel that Evie holding Joe with handcuffs was just an easy way to throw in many Beth symbols. Handcuffs are a Beth symbol that has tie to Daryl. In Alone, Beth hurt her ankle taking down a police walker, Joe also hurt his ankle, both Beth and Joe were helped to walk by their companions. In Alone, we saw in the cemetery that Beth was wearing the police walker’s utility belt which has handcuffs, and we actually see that when Daryl was carrying her. Handcuffs=Beth symbolism tied to Daryl.

Daryl saw handcuffs in the outstation during AOW, where someone had been held. Andrea was held captive with handcuffs in s3, just as Beth was given comic book Andrea symbols like wearing a knit cap. The other big handcuff tie was Daryl's brother Merle being held on a roof with handcuffs. Both Merle and Beth have appeared as hallucinations. @frangipanilove pointed out recently that when the car trunk (tomb) was opened by Beth in Still, we can see behind Daryl the number 3 which look like open handcuffs. This is why I think the handcuffs used on Joe relates to Beth and not Leah.

Now for what the stuffed animal sloth symbolism means.

While Evie and Joe are talking as Joe is sitting in handcuffs Evie is packing a type of what I've known as a carpet bag. The pattern gave me major Daryl feels because it reminds me so much of 2 throws that we see in Daryl’s AZ apartment in s10e21 Diverged. It's not exact but it does have several of the colors and patterns combined that are in the carpet bag.

This in my mind is a symbolic tie to Daryl. Evie packs the Sloth in this bag.

This Sloth is apparently a dear companion to Evie.

Just like you mentioned above @twdmusicboxmystery, it reminded me that we have seen a Sloth in TWD several times. You mentioned Eugene with one at the Sanctuary. I couldn't remember exactly what episode that was so I did not get a shot of it, but I did remember seeing a Sloth in s10e10 Stalker and in Daryl's apartments in Diverged.

In the first shot the Sloth is in the baby's highchair. Look who is in this shot, Rosita and Father Gabriel, the living Sirius symbol and we could say a Beth proxy. We can also include Eugene especially after the time jump as being a Beth proxy. Daryl is not a Beth proxy, he is Daryl the other half of Daryl and Beth (the love story).

Am I trying to say that Sloth=Beth? Yes, I am. Why a Sloth you asked, let’s think about sloths. They are known for living most of their lives in trees. Trees are a crucifixion symbols, Christ was nailed to a tree. That's not much of a connection for calling a Sloth a Beth symbol, you say. I agree totally, so what else is Sloth known for? Being slooow. If you have to used only one word to describe Beth's long-awaited return than Sloth would be the perfect word. It represents the slowest in all the years that has gone by without Beth's. Sloth=Beth. Or Sloth=Beth's slow return.

Now think about the scene in the episode when Joe and Evie see the sacrificial lamb and go to investigate. They see the motorcycle speeding away and Joe desperately runs after it. In this scene Joe is Daryl's proxy chasing after the vehicle carrying away the things most dear to him. It's a strange remix of Alone. The main question regarding Beth after Alone was, what happened, where is Beth, that question was answered in s5.

After Coda, the question was what happened to Beth's body. Looking at the whole scene with Joe as a Daryl's proxy and Evie, the lamb and Sloth are in part acting as a Beth proxy, the lamb Beth is sacrifice in order for the motorcycle owner to get away. Joe chase after it just as Daryl chased after the car for Beth in Alone. What need would there be for the Sloth in the remix story of Beth and Daryl if Beth was dead? We know Beth lives because the Sloth symbolized Beth.

In the next scene of this remix before the Still fight, Joe states that everything he cared about was in that motorcycle and Evie agreed by saying that the Sloth was in it as she is holding the lamb. The Sloth had apparently been placed in the carpet bag. A type of trunk/ tomb. Hope you guys like this.

Really how can we not read into these so innocent focused on items. They had me with the first two books, Green and (Daryl's) the path of Zen.

Love that Joe has a orange/rust colored backpack like the one that Rick, Michonne and Carl took in episode Clear. So much like to backpack Glenn used when the escape the prison. Many important scenes were shared by this orange/rust colored backpack.

A bridge with diamond/X covered sides. I don't see any important symbolism here, not.

Oh, remember I mentioned a red "A."

Her high forehead. It caught my eye in the scene even though it went by very fast. I'm sorry, but to me it's screams "A."

Jo in his doggie PJ's.

Love the X, + cross railing on the porch.

Did anyone get the full lyrics of the song sung by a woman at the beginning of the episode. Caught my attention, certain lines. Find it's me that's your dreaming of. I'm going to take a chance and offer you true romance. You're going to give me that second chance.

Can we talk about the fact that Joe had a black journal with white crisp paper inside. Black and white, Daryl and Beth.

@galadrieljones:

Love all your thoughts! I’ve only ever read the sloth through a more generic Christian lens, re: the cardinal sin and how it relates to Biblical indifference. It tends to show up around characters who are struggling with indifference, choosing a side, choosing God, etc.

But I really love your reading here of how it actually relates to Beth. Super interesting and I’m going to think about it some more… Also, amazing catch on that “A” on Evie’s forehead! It looks super obvious now that I can see it. Does anyone have any takes on that? I know the A/B theory is still pretty fragmented, like I have theories, but they all feel sort of incoherent or incomplete. Also, another great catch with the orange backpack. That is definitely a callback.

@twdmusicboxmystery:

I love the sloth = Beth, too. It makes me want to go rewatch parts of S8 when Eugene is at the Sanctuary. Because that probably means Eugene = Beth in that template/foreshadow. Which I’m pretty sure we’ve theorized before (he used music to try and get the walkers away from the Sanctuary) but this just solidifies it.

Couple of other notes note mentioned above. When they first leave together, Evie starts telling him which way to go, and Joe says, “I’m not deviating from my route.” She responds with, “then you’ll just be heading directly into a trap.” Sounds like a Greenroute/Grady sort of thing to me.

Also, at one point they stop and he offers her alcohol (Bethyl) which she declines. He then says he has orange juice powder. She drinks that. I’m linking that to the orange soda around Denise, who was also a Beth proxy.

That’s it for ep 1x01 of Tales. As you can see, we really loved all the symbolism in it and had...just a few thoughts, lol. How did everyone else like it ?

#beth greene #beth greene lives #beth is alive #beth is coming #td theory #td theories #team delusional #team defiance #beth is almost here #bethyl

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iredreamer · 2 years

Note

How do you feel about Anne not introducing Ann to her London friends? Because I think a lot of people can understand why she didn’t but it’s also sad because Ann sacrificed soo much to move in and be with Anne yet she can’t even introduce her to some friends, so I really can’t find my place on this and would like to know another opinion

I wrote a little bit about why Anne can't introduce Ann to her London friends here – those friends are not just "some friends", they are aristocratic friends.

Matters of introduction were quite delicate, especially between ladies, and a misstep could cost you polite society. Anne really had to follow rules of etiquette in this case because it would have been a social suicide for both the Ann(e)s if she disregarded rules of introduction altogether.

Ann gets mad at Anne because Anne had promised her that she did have the power to introduce her (she gets mad at her in the show but also in real life) but things didn’t go as planned – Ann undersands and knows how rules of introduction work but Anne had promised her that she was in a position to actually introduce her to aristocracy when that was not the case. This tells us that Anne tried to introduce her but really the whole thing didn’t depend on her.

In the 19th century the person of higher rank had to show an interest in knowing someone of lower rank – the other way around was not only not enough, but not important at all. Quoting from “Etiquette: what to do, and how to do it” by Lady Constance Howard (1885):

In making introductions, a previous knowledge should be obtained by those making them, as to whether those persons whom they propose to present to each other would be desirous of, or appreciative of, their good offices; or the reverse might be the case if they had expressed no such wish. (...) The correct etiquette is to consult the wishes of both persons before introducing them to each other, whether one person has expressed a wish for an introduction to another person, and has spoken of their desire to a mutual friend, or whether a hostess has an unpremeditated wish that two of her own friends should suddenly become acquainted through her good offices. This only applies to persons of equal rank; it would be sufficient to ascertain the wishes of the lady of highest rank, where there is an inequality of social position. (...) it is always the lady of lowest rank who is introduced to the lady of highest standing, never is the lady of highest rank introduced to the lady of lowest; this is a very particular point of etiquette, and it must always be very carefully recollected and enforced, as the contrary presentation would be a grave solecism against all the rules of good society.

You can see how very little depended on the Ann(e)s since they were dealing with people of higher rank. After showing interest the meeting had to be arranged and organized, it wouldn’t happen “spontaneously” or by chance.

Things are very different now, and I understand why it’s not easy to grasp the implications of something that is so far away from the way we move in society today, but I personally believe that it is really clear how Anne tried to put herself in a position to – one day – be able to introduce Ann to her aristocratic friends. For example, the fact that she talks about Ann with her aristocratic friends is a way to carefully make her known in that circle, testing the waters and trying to ascertain if anyone wishes to know her, hoping that by and by someone would show interest. This would have given Anne the green light to finally introduce Ann Walker. Point is that the whole thing took time, patience and subtlety. And that ultimately very little of it all depended on Anne.

#ask #anonymous #anne lister: rank #anne lister: aristocracy #real people: anne lister #real people: ann walker #AL and AW: married life #gentleman jack

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ettucamus · 2 years

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if you don’t like mariana lawton literally grow up. anne lister loved her romantically for twenty years and as a friend for her entire life. ann walker became very close with her throughout the mid-late 1830s and after anne lister’s death they continued to share a deep friendship. they were real complex people who were not always charitable to each other but they had an understanding of solidarity as lesbians, as women, living through deeply oppressive times

#th.txt #to a further extent. there are diary entries from codebreakers that were not part of the wealth of info used for the show #that shed a much kinder light on mariana and i think people need to remember that the show is an interpretation of secondary sources #it’s wonderfully skillfully made and hugely elaborate RPF #i get some are not as much into the real history behind the show but idk #it saddens me to see the difficult choices and coerced choices of historical lesbians reduced to shipping wars #i much dislike this concept of endgame loves and otps ESPECIALLY regarding anne lister #that’s just not how she conducted her relationships #every woman in her life she loved and continued to love though the love morphed over time #each of them satisfied what anne needed in that period of her life and in return anne also gave them so so so much #to be a woman in regency times even a straight woman was generally a tragic life filled with absolutely no free will and choices #to be a lesbian was to be isolated from the little society outside of whatever forced marriage you were most likely goaded into #i wish fandom did less arguing over otps and more critical analysis of what it meant to be a lesbian in regency britain #the real magic of GJ is how it manages to portray hope and historical grit through objectively terrible circumstances and make it romantic #if i wanted a nondescript lesbian romance there’s actually a decent amount to choose from now #im obsessed with GJ because of the history and the complexity of real people and real situations endured #but it seems like to some those are the worst parts of the show? which i just simply don’t get

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jessicafurseth · 1 year

Photo

Reading List, Hotter Than Ever edition.

“The question is not who influences you, but which people give you courage.” [Hilary Mantel]

[Image: Linda McCartney]

"I think I’m hotter than I’ve ever been and so is every woman I know. I do not look at one female friend and think they were more physically attractive ten years ago. They know their face and bodies now; what suits them and makes them feel great. They know that thinness doesn’t mean happiness and that the best parties are with the best people, not when you’re wearing the best outfit. They are more likely to go for a swim in their mismatched underwear if they forget their bikini but the water looks beautiful. They are not scared to ask for what they want in bed. They’re hotter than ever." Dolly Alderton has opinions. [The Times - PSA: if you sign up you get one free a week]

Most of us feel about 20% younger than we actually are. But why? [Jennifer Senior, The Atlantic]

How Red Rock Island became the only private island in San Francisco Bay [Tessa McLean, SFGate]

“My perspective has always been that we can out of a sense of hope and not out of a sense of fear. I’m preserving food for another day because I expect to be around to enjoy it.” Canning, a retro hobby for the end times [Anna North, Vox]

The New York Times' 'Letter of Recommendation'series is usually great, but they've been on a proper roll lately:

"And now the Shipping Forecast, issued by the Met Office.” A Secret for Falling Asleep So Good It’s a British National Treasure [Grace Linden]

"I trained my gaze toward my feet [and found] evidence of all kinds of commutes: traces of hopping birds, the soles of humans’ shoes, restless leaves that fell and sank into wet concrete at just the right moment." Why I Hunt for Sidewalk Fossils [Jessica Leigh Hester]

"An unspoken intimacy and solidarity exists among us, the attentive viewers." Why I Watch the Closing Credits of Every Movie I See [Emma Kantor]

“I love being in that place where everything is just coming in, and everything is potentially important, and I’m underlining every great sentence that John McPhee has ever written and then I’m typing it up into this embarrassingly long set of reading notes, documents, organized by books. And then when you sit down with it as a writer who has a job, and his job is to fill a little window of a magazine or website, all of that ecstatic inhaling has to stop. You realize that you’ve collected approximately 900,000% of what you need or could ever use.” Longform Podcast #506: Sam Anderson

My Parents Got Sick. It Changed How I Thought About My Marriage [Mary HK Choi, GQ]

"If you are a fast walker and the person in front of you on the sidewalk is walking slowly, do not walk directly behind them for blocks on end." OMG Etiquette Rules for Tipping, Parenting, Friends, and Work [The Cut]

"It makes me feel ridiculous to acknowledge that cutting those few hours of [weekend] life prep out of my life effectively knee-capped my plans for the week. But I guess I have to feel ridiculous, because it’s true." The Work is Not Enough [Anne Helen Petersen's Culture Study]

Menopausal hormone therapy was once the most commonly prescribed treatment in the US. But one imperfect study in 2002 incorrectly linked it to health risks, and women have been suffering ever since. Women Have Been Misled About Menopause [Susan Dominus, The New York Times]

The Mystery of Teenage Anxiety [Derek Thompson, The Atlantic]

Influencer Is a Real Job. It's Time to Act Like It. [Emily Hund, Wired]

Why on earth does anyone care what Gen Z think of sex scenes in films? [Marie Le Conte, The New Statesman]

Who gets to be messy? [Kathryn Jezer-Morton, The Cut] On restaurants as living rooms [Ruby Tandoh, Vittles]

The case for hanging out [Dan Kois, Slate]

The pandemic changed us, but we still don't know how to talk about it: "[Maybe] when we say the pandemic is over, we are actually seeking permission to act like it never happened — to let ourselves off the hook from having to make sense of it or take seriously its continuing effects. ... Each of us is consciously or subconsciously working through potentially irreconcilable stories about what we lived through — or else, strenuously avoiding that dissonance, insisting there’s no work to be done." I don't think we can fully move forward until we understand what happened - this article helped me do this a little more.[Jon Mooallem, The New York Times - unpaywalled link]

#reading list

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annn-starrr · 2 months

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ann. she/her. eighteen years old. enfp. cancer. hufflepuff. optimistic. old soul. a writer. socially awkward but i speak a lot when I'm meeting new people. i tend to get excited easily, especially when it comes to my comfort tv show/anime/movie/games/book. as you might have noticed from the former statement, I'm multifandom!!! I'm just gonna have fun in this app! and please be kind to yourself and others. this is your first time living a life, it's fine if you make a mistake. personal account

p/s : if you're my mutual, feel free to ask for my discord.

on this account, I'm gonna focus on an interactive game called

Romance Club ! here's everything you need to know about me when it comes to this game.

.・。.・゜✭・. ✫・゜・。.

Top 10 Prettiest Mc in RC (imo)

A Widely Known Man That I'm Feral About

The Day I Went Insane About a MILF

Women in RC That Makes Me Giggle and Tuck My Hair Behind My Ear

(the rest will be updated through time)

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Below is the information about my playthrough in RC stories.

╰┈➤ ❝ [ Legend of the Willow ]

Story status : Completed. Now replaying. Empress ending.

Mc's name : Mei.

Path : Coldness and The Pearl Fox.

Love Interest : Kazu Naito. ♡♡♡

(favourite story on rc & first story)

╰┈➤ ❝ [ Theodora ]

Story status : Completed. Mortal ending. Might replay for Lawrence or John route. Don't know if i can resist Friedrich 🥲.

Mc's name : Season 1 - Theodora Avery.

: Season 2 - Elena Flores.

: Season 3 - Audrey Flemming.

(didn't need to change the default names because it's already perfect)

Path : Cynic.

Love Interest : Season 1 - Friedrich Blumhagen

: Season 2 - Friedrich Blumhagen

: Season 3 - Friedrich Blumhagen

(lmao, I am so okay about him 🤥)

╰┈➤ ❝ [ Song of the Crimson Nile ]

Story status : Waiting for an update. S2 Ep5.

Mc's name : Evthys [ love her full name ]

Path : Honesty and Necromancer.

Love Interest : Main account - Amen.

: Second account - Livius.

(back then, i unknowingly played on both of their romantic routes and i instantly regretted it when i saw livius was hurt at S2 Ep1)

╰┈➤ ❝ [ Soulless ]

Story status : Waiting for an update. S1 Ep5.

Mc's name : Lilinaya.

Path : Lust [ she's so hot in this path 😔 ]

Love Interest : Walter.

╰┈➤ ❝ [ Arcanum ]

Story Status : Completed. Good ending.

Mc's name : Selena.

Path : Emperor and High Redemption.

Love Interest : Season 1 - Liam and Bert.

: Season 2 : Bert.

: Season 3 : Bert.

╰┈➤ ❝ [ Shadows of Saintfour ]

Story status : On going. S1 Ep5

Mc's name : Madonna O'Neill [ so proud of myself for choosing her name ]

Path : Caution

Love Interest : planning to romance Stephanie.

╰┈➤ ❝ [ Heaven's Secret 1 & 2 ]

Story status : HS1 - Completed. Not so good ending because only Lucifer survived T_T.

: HS2 - Completed. I don't know how to feel with the ending. But I don't think that's the real ending.. right?

Mc's name : Annabeth Walker.

Path : HS1 - Angel. High glory.

: HS2 - Composure. High strength.

Love Interest : HS1 - Lucifer.

: HS2 - Lucifer. [ Tempted by Hunger and Malbonte but decided to play on his route after I finished with Lucifer ]

╰┈➤ ❝ [ Time Catcher ]

Story status : Waiting for an update. S1 Ep10.

Mc's name : Nova.

Path : Moon Heiress and High Status.

Love Interest : Main account - Lucien.

: Second account - Shen.

╰┈➤ ❝ [ Rage of the Titans ]

Story status : Ongoing. S1 Ep5.

Mc's name : Vivienne Campbell.

Path : Divinity.

Love Interest : Undecided between Adrian and Murphy.

╰┈➤ ❝ [ Vying for Versailles ]

Story status : Ongoing. S1 Ep3.

Mc's name : Henrietta de Noailles.

Path : Calculation.

Love Interest : Queen Maria Theresa.

╰┈➤ ❝ [ The Desert Rose ]

Story status : Ongoing. S1 Ep7.

Mc's name : Sarin.

Path : Rebellion and The Desert Flower

Love Interest : Undecided between Jack and Adil.

╰┈➤ ❝ [ Love, Sin & Evil ]

Story status : Waiting for an update. S1 Ep8.

Mc's name : Tuesday.

Path : Logic and Light.

Love Interest : Sue.

╰┈➤ ❝ [ Garden of Eden ]

Story status : Waiting for an update. S1 Ep10.

Mc's name : Ann [ not me using my own name ]

Path : Principles and High Reputation.

Love Interest : Main account - Jin Doo-yeong.

: Second account - Seong-hwa.

╰┈➤ ❝ [ Kali: Call of Darkness ]

Story status : Completed. Good ending.

Mc's name : Amala Basu.

Path : Independence and Kindness of Goddess.

Love Interest : Main account - Amrit Doobay.

: Second account - Ratan Vaish.

╰┈➤ ❝ [ Kali: Flame of Samsara ]

Story status : Waiting for an update. S1 Ep9

Mc's name : Deviya Sharma.

Path : Pride and Legacy.

Love Interest : Ram Doobay [ atp, i think I'm a whore for Doobays ]

╰┈➤ ❝ [ Chasing you 1 & 2 ]

Story status : Chasing you 1 - Ongoing. S1 Ep5

: Chasing you 2 - Waiting for an update. S1 Ep10.

Mc's name : Kira Harrington.

Path : Logic and High Authority.

Love Interest : Chasing you 1 - Alexander Nielsen.

: Chasing you 2 - Samuel Makoto.

the rest will be updated (I'm too lazy to continue the rest T_T). anyway, HAPPY GETTING TO KNOW EACH OTHER (it's not a thing, i just made it)

#something about me #romance club #interactive game #romance club game

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thedraught · 6 months

Text

my year in reading | 2020

Marking the passing of the years has a mystical and at the same time mundane quality to me. But time is passing and to reflect upon this linearity we all are bound to does always seem more magical than anything. So, as every year, I am embracing the turning of the years and look forward to a fresh start.

The end of an old year and the beginning of a new one is always an exciting time for someone as keen on semiotics and symbolism as I am. A thin membrane, much as on Halloween, that allows us to pass through to new endeavours, if we wish to see it that way.

And I do. I don’t scoff at New Year’s Resolutions and while I know that one can resolve to change and integrate new habits at any time of the year, any Tuesday in March or Saturday in June, this brief liminal space between two years is a magical one. Anything we ascribe value to automatically becomes valuable, as it is with birthdays, full moons or anniversaries of any kind.

I would rather be someone to see the magic in these things and give them meaning beyond that which is considered “real”, “plausible”, or “rational”, than turn away and let a moment that could be something special slip away unnoticed, without giving it the chance to attach itself to something.

January began atop the Himalayan mountains for me this year, freezing down to the bone in a tent. I did carry a book with me on this trip - The Snow Leopard, quite fittingly - though I did not turn one single page (difficult in 3 pairs of gloves) and have not finished it since. So, as has been my custom these past years, I began 2020 with The Secret History, a book that could never disappoint, unlike The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern, that I had eagerly awaited for more than a year. You win and you lose sometimes.

In February I succumbed to reading two quite popular crime novels - The Woman in the Window and The Girl on the Train - the latter of which was a gift from an Indian friend. Sadly, I wasn’t overly excited about either of them - maybe I have outgrown crime fiction for now? I also read and loved, as always, the fifth book in Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children series - Come Tumbling Down.

My reading month was otherwise also filled with classics such as Animal Farm, The Turn of the Screw and In Cold Blood (I have apparently not lost any interest in true crime fiction), and I also watched the Greta Gerwig adaptation of Little Women twice at the cinema. But February also saw me returning to Germany, leaving my time in India behind, prompting me to read Vivek Shanbagh’s Ghachar Ghochar and Amitav’s Ghosh Gun Island immediately upon my return.

Gun Island especially was a magical book, in some ways reminiscent of A.S. Byatt’s Possession and I absolutely adored it. I listened to Ann Patchett’s The Dutch House while sorting through all my belongings, freshly picked up from Mainz, and I quite enjoyed it. The story itself maybe not so much as the impression left behind by the tangible aliveness of the house itself. With Faber and Faber, finally, I got a sneak preview of the rather unknown Celia Fremlin and her Ghostly Stories, of which I definitely need to read more.

March was the month that would dictate the beginning of the rest of the year, when the first lockdown came upon us. R came back from India, and we managed to see each other before boarders closed. And my cousin A came to stay with us for two weeks from Milan - which would turn into almost 3 months.

Most of the month I spent ploughing through Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker, a truly eye-opening exploration and a gloriously interesting study. Luckily my sleep patterns are already quite healthy but I feel like this book could turn some people’s minds around. I also read Jane Austen’s Emma (amazingly fun and vibrant!) and continued my slow but steady reading of Agatha Christie’s collection with 4:50 from Paddington.

“April is the cruellest month,” as T. S. Eliot teaches us, and fittingly, I read the horrifying A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara, a touching but troublesome book that had me cry a little on the balcony. I also finished three more Agatha Christie novels and started a virtual bookclub with J and C for which I read Dear Mr. M by Herman Koch and Les Fiancés de l’Hiver by Claire Dabos, which I truly loved.

In May I began tutoring, visited R in Leuven and read two disappointments: The Wych Elm by Tana French and The Bass Rock by Evie Wyld.

Even another true crime read in June, His Bloody Project, did not convince me, whereas Anita Brookner’s Look At Me sparked memories of Shirley Jackson and was thoroughly enjoyed. I listened to Frederik Bakman’s Bear Town and Us Against You at breathtaking speed, while embroidering a sweater - my best handiwork project yet. I also finished A.S. Byatt’s beautiful The Children’s Book - a magical tale, and stunningly written. A left me in June, and I missed her companionship dearly.

I worked a lot in July, and finally visited C and J ! Embroidering and just simply seeing each other again. I finished Gillespie and I, which turned out to be different to what I imagined - delightful ! I was disappointed in July by The Essex Serpent, reread A Little Princess, Die Unendliche Geschichte and Digital Minimalism.

I continued with my reading of Austen with Sense and Sensibility and listened to the wonderful The Fellowship of the Ring, which made work hours so much sweeter. Finally, I finished off the month with the final Austen - Mansfield Park, which I loved.

In August, the month of my birth, I finished The Lord of the Rings trilogy once more as well as Mythos by Stephen Fry. But more importantly, August called for freedom from working, finding an apartment in Maastricht and seeing H and J in Berlin to celebrate my birthday - with books of course.

September was a quiet reading month, what with settling in the house, at uni and making new friends. I got a sewing machine, went to Munich for an India reunion and revelled in the beautiful autumn days in the city.

I still read Bunny, The House Without Windows and Hex, amongst various reads for uni. Dinners on the balcony and an exorbitant amount of Federweißer with my roommates rounded off the month, despite the low book count.

The month of Halloween, October, called for a sixth reread of The Secret History, a New Zealand read of The Rehearsal, as well as Rest and be Thankful (disappointing somehow) and The Supper Club (surprisingly delightful). I sewed and knitted and did presentations and wrote paper proposals. I also fell up the stairs and hurt my ankle pretty badly.

The most vivid memory I have of November is that of our silent dinner. I also read two more Agatha Christies, reread Daphne DuMaurier’s classic Rebecca and Ali Smith’s Artful, and loved Public Library, also by Smith. I got tested for Corona (negatively!), began Ashtanga yoga and finished Crossing the Water - a brilliant poetry collection of Sylvia Plath.

December began with a classic, Bonjour Tristesse, and culminated with My Best Friend’s Exorcism, as well as The Stranger Beside Me. Both books I had been meaning to read for years and they exceeded my expectations. Uni stressed me slightly, pending holidays as well and as lockdown 2.0 was announced my reading brain switched itself off.

Christmas was still a joy, with the family (minus Oma) coming together, R. visiting briefly and many a book under the Christmas tree. I started reading Susan Sontag’s journals - but I will carry their brilliance into the New Year. I finished off the year sewing costumes for our medieval-plague themed NYE, J and me celebrating together, since Covid plagued us once more and prevented C from coming. But we will enter the New Year singing Total Eclipse of the Heart as always and I take with me all the positive energy I have been carrying with me for a while now.

This is also the first year that I won’t achieve my reading goal - which I set at 80 books for 2020. Instead I am finishing with a still solid 67. Overall, despite all that has been going on in the world, I cannot complain about my 2020. But let’s still hope for the best (and prepare for the worst).

#year in reading #year in books

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safereturndoubtful · 11 months

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A beach called Sand

29th June 2023

It was to be another rainless day here on Shetland, bits of cloud around, but generally sunny, the temperature sneaking up above the average for the time of year, which is 15C, to even as warm as 18, though with the ever-present breeze stroke wind, and under cloud, it will feel more like 10. The nights drop down to about 10C also, a bit colder maybe under a clear sky.

It’s my sort of climate. The biting flies are kept away. They are here, I am reassured, but around the inland lochs, and emerge in calm conditions, which of course, are very rare.

One can only wonder how the sheep, in the photo below, got onto this outcrop..

My mission today was to get onto the twin peninsula to the one I had hiked yesterday, on West Burra. It starts with Minn Beach, which extends both sides, to the north and to the south, of the many centuries ago man-made isthmus holding it to the mainland. The consequence is that there is a splendid calm sandy beach on the north side, and a more lively one, for surfers, on the south side.

Over the beach and the path traces the perimeter of the peninsula, gaining height immediately on its north side to 50 metre cliffs, and spectacular views down over the rocky outcrops, stacks and arches, with the many sea birds perched on them, or dive-bombing Roja rather than me.

The north side beach was ideal for a swim on return. A real highlight of the trek.

The Burra (Scalloway) played a significant, if little known, role in the Second World War. The crews of small Norwegian fishing boats braved the North Sea between 1941 and 1945, in darkness, so mainly in the winter months, in order to support the resistance against a brutal Nazi occupation. They took in agents and supplies – weapons, ammunition, radios – and brought out refugees and resistance workers whose cover was in danger of being broken. Though the operation began in Lerwick, it was soon moved to the Burra as it was less of an obvious landing point. Many thanks to Hugh and Pauline for the loan of the book, which I read this morning.

Another reason for the Burra to be known as that it is the setting for most of the filming of the TV series Shetland. There’s even a tourist route on the islands called the Perez Trail. I’ve read a couple of the books, by Ann Cleeves, and seen a couple of the TV series (they are currently filming the eighth series), and they are quite good. The difficulty I have with series like this, is they are done to a certain formula that clearly works for many, but they do become very similar. Not long into it and such little brain activity is required to follow the plot that it’s possible to divert attention to the cell phone, which is what a lot of people like about it.

After a lazy afternoon listening to the Lord’s Test Match I drove a bit further round the west coast and found an old ruined chapel on a deserted beach to park up at. The beach of a hamlet, rather fittingly, called Sand. The odd dog walker came and went in the early evening, and a group of ladies came for a social swim at about 8 pm. They were kitted out with the necessary gear, but with an average age of about 50, one can only respect their endeavour. Not every Thursday evening will be as calm as this one. I wonder what a similarly aged visitor from a city would think. They were in the water for about an hour.

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jdgo51 · 2 years

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Pleading with Confidence

Today's inspiration comes from:

Storming the Gates of Heaven

by Anne Graham Lotz

"'Is faith a gift that some people have been given and others have not?

No, faith is a choice. There’s an old story, a favorite of mine, about a veteran tightrope walker who, after demonstrating he could push a wheelbarrow filled with sand across Niagara Falls on a tightrope, asked the applauding crowd for a volunteer. No one moved. Finally, a little old man in the back raised his hand, stepped forward, and offered, “I’ve seen what you’ve done, and I’ve heard what you’ve said. I believe you can push me across, so I’ll do it.”

Everyone in the crowd held their breath and strained to watch as the wheelbarrow was rolled over the falls and back again. On the final return, the roar of the crowd was deafening as the old man emerged from the wheelbarrow. The acrobat gallantly bowed, saluted, smiled broadly, and said, “Thank you, sir, for your faith in me.”

The point of the story, of course, is that while everyone in the crowd had said they believed the tightrope walker could carry a man across the falls in his wheelbarrow, only the little old man demonstrated real faith by climbing into the wheelbarrow.

Real faith is more than just words or rituals or going to church or believing there is a God. Real faith backs up words with actions. (James 2:17) By choice.

Confident Faith Is a Choice

Daniel is Exhibit A of a man who demonstrated real faith in his choices. He not only said he believed, but he backed up his words with death-defying actions. We are not told when he originally chose to believe, but all indications are that it was during his early years growing up in Jerusalem. By the time he walked on the stage of world history as a teenager, his faith seemed remarkably well developed.

Daniel’s first death-defying act recorded in Scripture took place when he arrived in Babylon. In an effort to uproot him from his past and remold him according to Nebuchadnezzar’s pleasure, he was immediately plunged into an intense, three-year brainwashing regimen. Daniel was stripped of his Hebrew name, which meant “God is my judge.” The new name assigned to him, Belteshazzar, was intended to give him a Babylonian identity, one paying tribute to a pagan Babylonian god.

At the same time, more than likely, he was also stripped of his masculinity, since his immediate supervisor was described as the “master of [the] eunuchs,” implying Daniel was one (Daniel 1:3 NKJV). This was surely intended to force Daniel into a subservient position of humiliation, underscoring that he would have no personal life at all; his only purpose was to serve Nebuchadnezzar.

While it was impossible for Daniel to prevent the changing of his name or his emasculation, he drew the line at being forced to eat the king’s food that had first been sacrificed to idols. To do so was an indirect way of giving tribute to them and effectively denying his own God. So he resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. – Daniel 1:8

Although Ashpenaz, the chief eunuch, personally liked Daniel, he reacted strongly, explaining that to reject the food assigned by the king himself was to place all of their lives in grave danger. Daniel could so easily have told God, Well, I tried. You know in my heart I’m not giving tribute to these gods, but I have to survive. But Daniel did not back down. Not even a little. Having made the choice not to defile himself, the only alternative he could think of was to place his life in God’s hands. So Daniel went to his guard and suggested a test: Serve me and my three friends a different diet, free of the association with pagan gods. After ten days, if we are not better off than the other young captives who eat the king’s food, you can do whatever you choose (which implied the guard could execute them all for insubordination).

Ten days later, Daniel and his friends Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego

looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. – Daniel 1:15

They remained on that diet, and three years later, when the king himself gave them their final exams, these young men were found to be ten times better off than all their advisors and professors.

Daniel had put God to the test.

He is the living God and He endures forever God came through for him in such a way that Daniel’s faith surely grew. Which was a very good thing, because his faith was again tested when King Nebuchadnezzar had a series of deeply disturbing dreams. The king threatened to kill every wise man in the kingdom unless someone could both interpret what he’d dreamed and describe what he dreamed.

None of his counselors could do so, but when Daniel learned of the situation, he requested an audience with the king. Surely bolstered by his earlier experience of God’s faithfulness, Daniel once again acted on his faith in the living God. And once again, God came through. By the morning light God had given Daniel the dream and the interpretation. When Daniel went to the king, Nebuchadnezzar’s eyes must have narrowed as he skeptically asked,

Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it? – Daniel 2:26

Daniel’s fearless answer reveals his rocklike confidence in God:

No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, but there is a God in Heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. – Daniel 2:27-28

Then Daniel proceeded to describe the dream and its meaning. The king was astounded! More significantly, God was glorified as Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged that Daniel’s God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings. And Daniel was honored by being made ruler over all of Babylon.

It was during the reign of Darius that Daniel was given perhaps his most dramatic opportunity to climb into the wheelbarrow.

Darius appointed Daniel as one of his three top officials. But Daniel was so exceptional that Darius planned to make him second in command over the entire king- dom. The other rulers were jealous and began a private investigation of Daniel in hopes of finding something they could smear him with in the eyes of the king. They found nothing, except that three times a day Daniel went into his upstairs room, opened his window toward Jerusalem, and prayed.

The rulers went to Darius with flattering words and convinced him to issue a decree that people could only pray to him. Being fed to starving lions would be the penalty for disobedience.

Daniel didn’t flinch. As always, he opened his window toward Jerusalem and continued praying three times a day. Sure enough, his enemies saw this and ran gleefully to report to the king.

Darius was genuinely distressed because Daniel held great favor with him, and yet the law he had signed into effect was irrevocable. So Daniel, the man of God who had served Babylon and Persia with such exceptional distinction, was thrown into the lions’ den as the king himself uttered a type of prayer:

May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you! – Daniel 6:16

The king himself seemed to “catch” Daniel’s bold, confident faith – because faith is contagious, isn’t it?

Confident Faith Is Contagious

Darius tossed and turned all night. He could not eat and he could not sleep. Early the next morning, Darius ran to the lions’ den, calling out,

‘Daniel,… has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?’ Daniel answered, ‘O king, live for- ever! My God sent His angel, and He shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me.’ – Daniel 6:20-22

The overjoyed Darius scooped Daniel up out of the den and immediately executed the men who had hatched the plot. He then proceeded to issue a decree that everyone in his kingdom was to fear and reverence the God of Daniel. Listen to Darius’ testimony:

He is the living God and He endures forever; His kingdom will not be destroyed, His dominion will never end. – Daniel 6:26

God was glorified!

Which makes me wonder what my choices really reveal. When I pray, God, be glorified in my life, do I truly mean it? If you and I rarely exercise our faith, how can we be surprised when it’s too weak to be contagious?"'

Excerpted with permission from Storming the Gates of Heaven by Anne Graham Lotz, copyright Anne Graham Lotz.

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