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saelterlude · 1 year

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I really want Doctor Who to bring back companions’ title/aliases. Especially since Doctor Who is a long running show with a rolling cast. They just make the companions and their story arcs a lot more memorable and distinguishable.

For example,

When someone says Rose Tyler, I think oh “Bad Wolf” the ordinary girl who loves the Doctor so much that she stared into the TARDIS and spread her warning across time. The name showed her stubbornness to be with the Doctor, even when he has send her away and she’s stuck in an alternate dimension.

Jack Harkness technically doesn’t have a title but something feels wrong when you just say his name because he’s “Captain Jack Harkness”. Which really exemplifies his charisma and self confidence. Emphasizing his name using ‘Captain’ also shows how he’s more knowledgeable on time travel and aliens than most companions the Doctor have.

Martha Jones, “The Woman Who Walked The Earth” literally describes what she did. She walked the Earth and spread word of the Doctor to save the world. When you hear that title you know that she’s brave and she’s strong, THIS is what she’s capable of doing.

Donna Noble can be “The Most Important Woman in The Whole of Creation” or “Best Temp in Chiswick” but she’s also, as the fandom seems to agree, “The Doctor’s Best Friend”. Personally I always remember the last one because the Doctor and Donna duo are so iconic and fun, but that’s more in relation to the Doctor instead of on her own. I’m not a big fan of the first one because it’s a bit too mouthy. The second one describes Donna best as an individual as it’s both put emphasis on how great she is with best ‘best’ followed by how she see’s herself as nothing special as a “temp in Chiswick”.

Special mention to Wilfred Mott who doesn’t actually have a title but we all know he’s “The Doctor’s Dad”. He’s caring and he took care of the Doctor when he’s vulnerable. I love Wilf. We all love Wilf.

Amy Pond is “The Girl Who Waited”. It tells us of her faith to the Doctor, that she would wait for him for 12 years, followed by another 2 years. It tells us the damage those 12 years of waiting did to her, unlike Donna and Martha she’s “The Girl” who has yet to grow up. It also tells us how the Doctor sees her as a girl, someone he’s responsible for, and her future character arc of eventually growing out of this adventure with the Doctor.

Rory Williams, “The Last/Lone Centurion” is someone who spend 2000 years guarding a box out of love and dedication. Literally the reason my brother told me he isn’t worried about whoever I date since watching Rory means I have high standards of men. Rory is also known as “The Boy Who Waited”, a title which I really like since it ties in nicely with Amy’s.

Amy and Rory is also known as “The Ponds”, which other than being “the girl/boy who waited” really establish that these two are a unit. That they are meant to be together and that their story arc is about that. Yes, Amy can’t resist the adventure and Rory will always follow Amy, but Amy will also always choose Rory time and time again until the very end, even if it means the end of the adventure.

River Song is both “The Woman Who Killed The Doctor” and “The Woman Who Marries The Doctor”, both of them together sums up her (linear) story arc. Being someone raised out of fear of the Doctor to loving him and sacrificing her life for the Doctor. The two titles defies one another but are both her, which kind of shows how unpredictable she is, to us viewers and the Doctor.

And last we have Clara Oswin Oswald’s “The Impossible Girl”. Clara’s first story arc is literally “she keeps showing up and dying and she’s the same person but she’s not immortal or a time traveler (yet) so how is she here?”. The title drives home the mystery of Clara Oswald before its resolved and, like Bad Wolf, reminds us of what she’s willing to do for the Doctor, setting up her next arc.

Believe it or not, I know of “Bad Wolf” before I watched series 1 and 2 and I also know “The Ponds” before I watched series 5. (Series 4 being the first one I watched, followed by 3, 1, 2, 5, and mostly linearly since). I already knew that Rose was going to do something extreme for the Doctor since the first episode and I knew Rory and Amy’s relationship is going to be important before I even knew their names. And those things stick with me. It leaves a lasting impression that makes me want to rewatch those series because they’re them.

I simply cant say the same for Bill Potts, Nardole, and The Fam. Bill is a student, but I don’t remember how that plays in the overall story. Nardole is a funny alien servant, cool. The Fam is well friends of the Doctor I guess, but I don’t remember what makes them special or different from every other companion the Doctor ever have.

Hell even the “Paternoster Gang” is more memorable than “The Fam”. The lizard warrior lady, her human maid/wife, and a baked potato nurse solve crime, inspire Sherlock Holmes, and kick ass in Victorian London. And they didn’t show up much.

See this is why Doctor Who needs to bring back the companion titles. I know some hated how it make it seem like every companion have to be someone important to the world and/or the Doctor’s life but it adds so much to each character that they should do it anyway. Besides, Captain Jack Harkness, The Ponds, and The Paternoster Gang have titles that aren’t important to the world so clearly they can do it.

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lokittystuckinatree · 4 months

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NuWho Series Four Finale Live Frey Reaction:

Ep 11:

ROOOOOOOOOSE!!! is Loki series style time slipping?

Donna caused the apocalypse by taking a wrong turn so she jumped in front of a truck. yasss slay yourself queen girlboss icon behavior (I love worship adore Donna freaking Noble so freaking much 😭)

*hyperventilates* bad wolf bAd wOLf BAD WOLF BAD WOLF

Literally just the Ep 12 teaser:

TORCHWOOD TEAM MY DARLINGS! SARAH JANE! Funny seeing you here MARTHA! COMPANIONS ASSEMBLEEE!!!

Actual ep 12:

I dedicate this to Harriet Jones Best Worst Prime Minister I will miss you my queen

COMPANIONS ASSEMBLED except Rose because her WiFi wouldn’t connect her to the interstellar Zoom call but she made it and she and the Doctor ran to eachother and I screamed and THAT FUCKING DALEK AGGHH. Now 10’s dying in her arms to mirror how she met 10 in the first place IM NOT OK

Imagine how fucked up it would be if David Tennant became Matt Smith right now lmaoooo ahahah *panics even though I know he survives a few more episodes*

I can’t freaking believe they managed to pull in everything from the disappearing ALIEN? Bees to the Lost Moon of Poosh and frick knows what else into a vainly cohesive narrative I -

Yeep since I’m a new Who fan, I’ve never seen the creator of the Daleks before and YIKE

I’m so fucking glad I watched Torchwood and Sara Jane in proper order for this crossover to hit right omgggg

Ps. The sheer number of Actors names that flashed across the title sequence cracked me up for no reason and I spent the whole episode bouncing up and down on the couch like a madman

Episode 13: oh I have thoughts

(Spoilers for recent 14th Doctor specials)

I’ve started calling MetaRose TenRose Ex Machina (affectionate)

As someone on discord said, I’m deep into the “What makes a Loki a Loki?” debate. What makes the Tenth Doctor the Tenth Doctor? I almost liken Metacrisis Doctor to TVA Loki in the way he’s the same person on a diverged path.

Anyways, I’m taking a break after Ten regenerates because I have other fandoms to follow. Once I recover from Tenrose, I’ll be back to lose my shit over DoctorMaster and DoctorSong soon enough, so do not fear…

#I’ve decided to be SUPER annoying about this #Frey’s timey wimey Whovian era #which is my Doctor Who reaction tag #btw I have a Tenrose and DoctorSong playlist already in the works with a DoctorMaster and DoctorDonna (platonic) planned #aka I’ve lost my actual fucking MIND over this show #glad I didn’t watch it a few years earlier I might not have survived it #I cannot understate or stress enough just how fucking apeshit feral rabid HARD I’m going for doctor who #help #doctor who spoilers

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nhlovesadri3 · 1 year

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ADRIANA LIMA MAKES A TRIUMPHANT RETURN AS THE FACE OF VICTORIA'S SECRET'S SIGNATURE FRAGRANCE

IN AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH CR, THE BRAZILIAN SUPERMODEL OPENS UP ABOUT HER EXPERIENCES WITH MOTHERHOOD, MODELING, AND HER HIGHLY-ANTICIPATED COMEBACK TO THE ICONIC LINGERIE GIANT.

BY MAIA TORRES APRIL 4, 2023

Adriana Lima is a name in the modeling industry that needs no formal introduction. Having her career propel to the limelight in 1999 as a Victoria’s Secret angel, the Brazilian runway star quickly rose to become one of the most identifiable faces in the world, and has now made a comeback with the launch of her campaign for one of the brand’s signature scent Heavenly. Throughout her career, Lima has explored uncharted territory by trying her hand at acting, appearing in films such as The Follow and Ocean’s 8, and serving as a spokesperson for numerous charities and philanthropic causes. Lima also demonstrates a profound commitment to leveraging her role in the industry to create meaningful change, utilizing her platform to advance noble causes and positively impact those who are marginalized and underserved.

CR Fashion Book: You first joined Victoria’s Secret in 1999 and went on to become one of the brand’s most iconic models. What inspired you to return to the brand after several years away?

Adriana Lima: It’s been so inspiring to see how much the brand has evolved and how it celebrates all women for exactly who they are. To me, that is what is important—women being able to define beauty on their own terms and celebrate feeling beautiful in their own skin. Coming back having experienced so many new milestones throughout my career, I feel so excited to join my VS family again during this new phase of my life.

CR: Can you talk about some of the highlights of your career with Victoria’s Secret, and how you’ve seen the brand evolve over the years?

CR: Tell us about the new fragrance release, Heavenly, how would you describe it? What was it like shooting the campaign?

AL: This fragrance is classic to me. The warm and vibrant notes of the scent immediately make me feel luminous. I believe this is what makes a fragrance timeless—when it can evoke a beautiful feeling. I felt that we captured this sentiment during the campaign shoot. From the light and airy setting to the amazing, positive energy of the VS team, I felt as if I was glowing, comfortable, and radiating excitement.

CR: You’ve also had a successful career in other areas, including acting and hosting. How do you balance these different pursuits and maintain a sense of creative fulfillment?

AL: I ground myself in the present moment. When everything is going on, it’s important to focus on one’s sense of self and current surroundings. I take each new opportunity as a new adventure, and I make sure I stay present for whatever I am learning or working on. It keeps me grateful and open to always learning, as that is how we grow as creators and as people.

CR: Can you talk about what specifically draws you to working with Victoria’s Secret, and what you love most about working with them?

AL: I love that they have always been like family to me. The brand has been such a special part of my life and career because of the beautiful energy and comfort I feel while working with them, and that is something that I truly cherish. Victoria’s Secret has such an iconic heritage that I will always be proud of, and watching its evolution in championing women is just as powerful and exciting.

CR: What advice would you give to aspiring models who want to succeed in the industry?

AL: Some girls start very young in our industry, so here’s my advice for them: It’s important to continue your studies and get an education while working. They’ll travel around the world, meet important people, and interact with them. They will be able to hold a conversation and make a great impression with the knowledge acquired through their education—and one more thing! They have to understand they are unique and their uniqueness won’t please everybody, and that’s okay.

CR: As a mom of three, how has motherhood affected your approach to your career and your life in general?

AL: My children are my first priority. There is nothing like spending time with them and seeing them grow up. That said, organization is what helps me balance motherhood and work.

CR: What are some of your goals for the future, both professionally and personally?

AL: It was very inspiring to meet children in Lebanon last year whose schools had been rebuilt and young refugees who were given college scholarships. Education is so important. I am planning to be part of more initiatives like these in the very near future. I am blessed to have a healthy family, and I plan to do my best as a mom. Professionally, modeling, walking runways, shooting magazine covers and campaigns are part of what I do, and I will continue doing them for some time. We are also exploring some business ventures, but I will keep you posted when the time is right.

CR: What can fans expect from your latest comeback with Victoria’s Secret, and how does it feel to be returning to the brand after some time away?

AL: It feels like coming home being back with Victoria’s Secret. It has been such an important and impactful part of my life, and I’m excited for everyone to see the campaign. Heavenly is so special to me—it launched the same year I started my career with VS, so this being a moment that I get to be a part of is a dream. Excited to share what else we have in store!

#Adriana Lima #link #interview #vs #eavenly #heavenly eau de parfume #fragrance #goddess #angel #gorgeous #2023

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aegis-of-corin · 2 years

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i'm not sure if this is a popular opinion or an unpopular opinion, but i'm not really a big fan of the doctor and yaz. not that i don't want to love them because i do. i really want there to be a good female doctor x female companion relationship and i'm ecstatic that it's canon that yaz and the doctor love each other... but i just don't feel yaz and the doctor's connection.

and this isn't because of the acting. the few real moments we did get, jodie and mandip acted the shit out of. those lingering glances, the hologram scene, the scene where dan tells the doctor that yaz has feelings for her? *chef's kiss*

BUT

the writing for all three of thirteen's seasons has not done the characters or the relationship justice.

(SLIGHT SPOILER FOR "LEGEND OF THE SEA DEVILS")

it blew my mind in this episode when the doctor said that yaz was the most incredible person she'd ever met including her wife (which is most likely referring to river song.) i couldn't believe it - because we haven't seen that.

sadly yaz has been a fairly average companion because we honestly haven't gotten to see that much of who yaz is or what she's really like or capable of. what has she done that makes her so incredible?

for example:

rose tyler became the bad wolf and incinerated an entire dalek fleet.

martha jones walked the earth and saved the world from the master in the year that never was.

donna noble was the first time lord/human metacrisis.

amy pond was the girl who waited, who fought the silence - who brought back the doctor when he was erased.

river song was a human time lord who was a badass time-traveling archeologist.

clara oswald survived going into the doctor's time stream and lived hundred of lives saving the doctor.

bill potts saved the doctor when she sacrificed herself to the monks and once as a freaking cyberman.

so what have we honestly seen yaz do?

we saw bill do more in one season than yaz has done in three, so comparing her to river song - who is unarguably one of doctor who's more complex, interesting characters is quite laughable. (and this is coming from someone who was a big tenrose shipper.)

we had three seasons and three additional episodes to fall in love with the doctor and river song's relationship - which also spanned three doctors - while chibnall is trying to cram this big "incredible" relationship between the doctor and yaz as the tiniest of subplots in the six episodes of series 13 and the current specials while also attempting to convince us that the doctor cares about yaz as much or possibly more than river?

i just don't buy it and maybe it's just me.

i just wish that chibnall had actually taken the time through his three seasons to properly flesh out their relationship so we could get the proper lgbtq+ representation we wanted. hopefully we'll get an actually well-written wlw couple next series with russell t davies returning to doctor who

(who, let's not forget, gave us iconic couples like madam vastra/jenny and jack/ianto.)

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youarejesting · 4 years

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[Masterlist] Please tag me in your work if you use my prompts. I want to see your work. Ever your Jester.

Tell me your birthday and I will tag you on your special day!

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April 2nd - 8th

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Kim Seokjin: Party

As the son of a noble family and an eligible bachelor Kim Seokjin was betrothed at a young age. Jin remembers crying almost every night because his future wife looked like a pig. He hated every new year celebration where he had to see her and take a photo. She had started making fun of his gorgeous face when they were teens.

“Father I don’t want to marry her she is a pig” He stomped his foot upset “Can’t I choose someone I actually love, just keep your mouth shut and take the photo with her”

“Mother he looks like an alpaca and he is mean, he has been oinking behind my back” You begged. Your mother didn’t say a word and pushed you in front of the cameraman.

“Now stay still for at least thirty seconds” the man called ducking under the curtain.

“Why do they make me do this with you?” Slapping him across the face the flash went off and you both froze confused before you ran off.

You hadn’t gone back to a new years party since that is until you turned twenty, your parents and his were outraged that their children were not already married. You sat in the chair as your mother wrapped you in a dark rose coloured skirt and helped you into a navy blue jegori that was tied around your chest with a ribbon. Your hair was twisted into a braid and makeup looking very alluring.

Over the years you had grown into your body, you weren’t very thin but your proportions were much more mature. Walking slowly across the hall you, politely greeting other families and your mother smiled. “Wow Kim Seokjin looks Handsome today, I am so glad we decided to have your outfits match you will look so good together, come let’s get a photo”

You didn’t fight it, just wanting it to be over before it had even begun, you stood in front of the cameraman your arms crossed.

“You haven’t gotten any taller since I last met you” Seokjin smirked as he was now towering over you. “Not even a hello, are your manners still as poor as the last time we met, should I protect my face”

“Listen, I don’t like this as much as you do, so just shut up and smile” you hissed looking up at him, cursing your heart for racing at the sight of him. His eyes seemed to soften and explore your face, you were both frozen long enough for the flash of the camera, your cheeks grew hot as you turned away.

Min Yoongi: Lie

“The Tooth fairy isn’t real mummy,” your daughter said to you with a smile

“What do you mean?” You were horrified your daughter’s childhood wonder and innocence had been corrupted. “Of course the tooth fairy is real who told you that?”

“Daddy said, the tooth fairy, Santa and the Easter bunny are just Mummy and Daddy giving me secret gifts” She smiled “So thank you for the train set mummy I loved it, and the archery set, and the book of robin hood”

You sent her off to play with her toys in the room, making a direct route to Yoongi’s office where he was writing an important email. You were furious. “You told our daughter that the easter bunny, Santa and the tooth fairy weren’t real. What is wrong with you she is 4 years old, and you just” You were crying “she was my little girl”

“She is still your little girl, but she asked me why Santa only brought her one present last year and why the tooth fairy takes a week to arrive. Look I told her in a way that was gentle and she wasn’t upset, she said that she is thankful that we buy her the presents and that Santa shouldn’t get the credit for our hard work trying to make money for gifts. She said that it was weird thinking some man would come into our house at night to leave presents.”

Jung Hoseok: Maps

“Map of the souls” you read the icon confused having no memory of downloading the app. Opening it curiously. Music began playing it looked pretty fancy, you watched as it showed you a map of the world.

-Click To Begin-

You clicked and it zoomed in exactly where your finger had pressed, “what is happening?” You tapped the screen some more wanting the introduction video to whatever game this was to be over.

You saw a few dots on the screen moving around in a town, “you hummed and clicked on a barely-there dot and it smiled showing you a profile, you were so confused what was this game. And who was Jung Hoseok?

Jung Hoseok is upset. Try to cheer him up.

-Send Gift-

-Send Message-

-Call-

You decided to send a gift, hoping this wouldn’t cost you money but what came up were real-life places. “This is Hoseok's favourite restaurant would you like to order his favourites and have them delivered, what the hell is this game?”

You ordered the food and sent it to his location. And added a message. “Hey try to cheer up, friend” you closed the app confused when a short time later you got a notification of a video. It was real footage of Hoseok receiving your gift. He got so excited. Cute.

Kim Namjoon: First Contact

Namjoon paced back and forth, what was it going to be like, this would change his world forever. He was scared this alien thing was going to take over everything he could hardly breathe. All he saw was white coats passing the halls and the god awful noises inside.

“We are ready for you now?” A white coat peeked their head through the door their voice muffled by the mask they were wearing. He nodded, following their orders. Being lead deeper into the foreign space.

He heard the cries and saw you looking absolutely exhausted from the torture this alien brought. He walked over giving you a kiss before looking down into your arms to see the being responsible.

His heart melted, it was his baby. He finally accepted everything, when the tiny fist caught his finger he swore he would protect his son with his life.

Park Jimin: Grow

You were travelling through a black market website, there was something slightly illegal you wanted to buy but the seller was currently out of stock, you hummed ignoring the human trafficking and organs for transplant you scrolled past a picture of seeds, you looked. “Grow your own boyfriend”

You laughed and bought the product for fun. Not expecting anything to come in the mail you were surprised when there was a small package. Opening the package you found a packet of seeds, you read these instructions and planted watered it over time a flower started to grow, it was an odd plant so you weren’t too worried.

The plant was growing a large pumpkin. You watched it everyday growing bigger and bigger until you had reached the supposed harvest day you heard a noise from inside singing.

“Hello?” You asked

“Hello” a voice called back “what’s your name?”

“Uh y/n”

“My names Jimin”

“Would you like to come out now?” You asked cracking open a little, inside of the pumpkin he was sitting cross-legged and naked looking at the light you had made.

Kim Taehyung: Sheets

Taehyung didn’t want to get out of bed, so in a moment of brilliance he was struck with an idea, he ripped the sheets from the bed. Running through the house to the living room, he began hanging the sheet and frowned.

This wouldn’t work, he grabbed more sheets from the linen cupboard and started hanging them here and there. Even grabbing the beach umbrella from the garage door a roof. He kept working until he made a fort, he took some old Christmas lights and hung them inside. He went in and sat inside but it was kind of boring.

Back to the cupboard he grabbed more sheets and extended his house around the television. He sat inside watching television but he grew quite warm. He wheeled the portable air cooler from the spare room and wheeled it into the space the tube of hot air he placed it out a nearby window.

The door opened and he giggled silently in his extravagant hut. “Taehyung honey are these out good sheets”

“Uh no,” you climbed inside and he gave a sheepish smile “I love you”

Jeon Jungkook: Sorry

“I am sorry, I am so sorry. This is all my fault forgive me” He was clutching you to his chest crying harder than you were.

“One more push Mrs Jeon” You tried to muster up as much strength as you could breathing deeply and pushing like your life depended on it because at this moment it sure did feel like it did.

“Congratulations, it’s a baby boy” Jungkook kissed you brushing your damp hair off your face, the baby was crying as he cut the cord and it only made him cry harder at the sound.

“Where are they taking him?” Jungkook was trying to follow the bundle. He watched as they did a heel prick the baby was crying tears pouring down Jungkook’s face, it took a few scared nurses to hold him back.

“Kookie I don’t feel so good, can you get the nurse?” he grabbed your hand and called the nurse over and she checked

“Uh Mr and Mrs Jeon Congratulations, you have twins, you have to push again for me, okay?”

“Kookie, it hurts, please I can’t do this again”

“I am sorry, I am right here. I love you. Your my wife, you aren’t weak. Your a badass bitch come on baby, kick births ass” Though he said the words so unconvincingly through tears had given you the strength to keep going.

“Congratulations it’s a girl!

These are prompts feel free to use them just tag me as I want to read what people create.

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scvereignty · 5 years

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introduction i.

A D E L A I D E W I N D S O R ( p r i n c e s s o f e n g l a n d )

bespoke houndstooth blazers, watching your mare come second place, exposed lace garters, sipping from a bottle of warm champagne, grey skies, french erotica, a wet slip dress with nothing underneath, white roses, reciting passages by heart at parties, mascara-stained sheets, sitting by open windows despite the cold, black velvet, heavy books by pretentious authors, jewels at the breakfast table, the dirty hem of a long dress, hidden gardens, purple hickeys on pale thigh, smoking in secret, sleeping naked, perfect tennis whites & an immaculate backhand, bows in tangled hair, audrey hepburn films & grace kelly sensibility, placing their hand over your neck mid-kiss and squeezing hard, oversized sunglasses paired with red eyes and dark circles, never wearing the same coat twice, the weight of history, the shot that puts down a lame horse, perfect posture, lingerie and silk in the library, sucking whip cream off of strawberries, making love in the stable, watching the sunrise from the garden in an evening gown.

age: twenty-one

nicknames: di, rosie, little princess

sexuality: heterosexual ( publicly ) / bisexual ( private, exploring )

gender: cisgender female

title: her royal highness

( + ) elegant, graceful, intelligent, clever, intuitive, adaptable, creative, impulsive, sensual, motivated, self-confident, hard-working, mature, modest, reliable, outspoken ( - ) pretentious, aloof, melancholy, judgemental, private, elusive, deceptive, guarded, secretive, unforgiving, sensitive, affected, mistrusting, self-destructive, changeable, indecipherable

UNDER THE CUT : HISTORY, TRIVIA, & CONNECTIONS !

A BRIEF HISTORY ;

the youngest windsor & only princess of england!

i’m currently keeping her actual childhood/family background undecided until i get the chance to plot with her brother(s), but as per the connection description: the siblings were initially v close while their parents were rather absent

notably, adelaide & her brother james had an extremely special relationship. as the eldest and youngest of the brood, from the time adelaide was born, james’s affection for her was almost paternal in many ways — and she loved him to pieces.

literally, like, there are shots of james walking adelaide hand-in-hand into her primary school, and even as they got older, she considered him her best friend and biggest protector. this is highkey inspired by my own grandmother & how she describes her relationship w her own late brother uwu

a charming, odd child, who was labelled as an old soul very early in life. very well mannered and mature, but prone to somewhat unusual flights of fancy

a lowkey trouble maker -- or rather, incredible adept at being subtle. with at least one wild elder brother, it was both easy to learn from their mistakes and appear innocent in comparison

as adelaide got older, that old soul developed some of the troubles they’re ought to. she craved art, passion, love, justice, intense emotion, experience. she engaged in these behaviours moderately and with subtlety, particularly in comparison to silas. she was/is less about wild partying and more about deep experiences, and as such there have rarely been any stories about the little princess and drinking/inappropriate behaviour

she had always had a changeable nature and was susceptible to bouts of depression, but the death of james hit her in a way she has yet to recover from. while the whole family was devastated, no one took it harder than adelaide, who to this day calls him the love of her life

for the two years since his murder, adelaide has been in a poor mental and emotional place. unable to fully move on despite the time that has passed, she has both retreated further into herself and sought out unhealthy methods of coping ( ie. the usual -- alcohol, travel, and occasionally drugs )

hence she’s chosen to come to genovia, a decision that surprised even her parents. remaining in london has kept her in the throes of mourning, so she hopes to let go of some of her grief by arriving somewhere new and attempting self care

reputation & aesthetics tend to be very immaculate and proper, so it’s often a surprise to those that find out the young princess has that darker, troubled, sensual side to her - that she can drink gin straight without wincing, or has bruises and hickeys beneath her silk blouse

has never had any desire to rule/never considered it an option, but instead focuses her life on the betterment of people but domestic to the uk and worldwide through charity & philanthropy

TRIVIA ;

the nickname for her in the uk is “the english rose,” or several variants (“the little rose,” etc) due to her fair complexion & nature. her reputation is very princess diana-esque: a modern, classy woman who devotes her time to philanthropy & charity

considered a fashion icon!

an extremely accomplished horse rider, considered one of the best competitors in britain despite not actively competing in years. she’s down showmanship, jumping, dressage, & eventing. yes, she is the horse girl

despite her tiny height, form, and general fairylike facial features, this girl can drink a surprising amount of people under the table. is this a sign of a Problem? CERTAINLY

if you think you are the most beautiful and/or incredible thing to walk this earth, she thinks you are incredibly stupid. she’ll name 14 pieces of art right NOW that are more interesting than ur looks

makes a habit of calling out those that are arrogant/rude

she started smoking when she was fourteen. her parents still don’t know.

camilla macaulay, grace kelly, and princess diana are probably her biggest inspos

very accomplished liar - she has an incredible poker face

she wears a locket james gave her every day. he had it specially made with an inscription (either a quote from a little princess or the secret garden, i haven’t decided), but since then she’s had the other side inlaid with a photo of him :c

her favourite disney movie is alice in wonderland, which is also one of her favourite novels

PLOTS & CONNECTIONS ;

the best friend: self explanatory! very open to how their friendship came about and when, but someone who knows adelaide intimately, and one of the few that can still read her even when she’s putting on her otherwise immaculate facade

the no-good: someone that would have been her corrupter, perhaps, or thought to be -- until they realized she was not the delicate thing one would seem. could be friends with benefits, drinking buddies, someone who encourages self-destructive behaviours, or any combination of this.

the counsel: young as she is, adelaide knows herself intimately, and as such knows a great deal about women in general -- this muse is coming to her for advice on how to court mignonette (or another lady)!

the lionheart: a dear friend, and someone similar to adelaide insomuch as her old soul, maturity, devotion to philanthropy, etc. someone to either decry or poke fun at the triviality of so much around them

the skinny love: it’s been the wrong time since childhood. but it’s always been the right time to hold terrible affection for each other. how heartbreaking, to keep on watching but never kissing.

the charged: inspired by this gif set. the true terrible influence, unhealthy relationship, disaster in a glass bottle. they infuriate each other, say the worst things that can be said. then they let it out in bed -- or almost go. getting closer every time

the antagonist: preferably a princess or someone of noble enough birth that they could have attended the same academy in their teen years. alternatively, could just be a pair that runs into each other frequently at those fancy aristocratic events. ( x ) is someone that leans into that queen B(itch) trope, or otherwise is confident to the point of arrogance/is unphased by potentially offending others by saying what they want, when they want. adelaide, blank-faced over her glass, calls this person out for their behaviour. as such, an intense dislike starts to brood between the two

the affair: we talking sex, we talking scandal, we talking familial outrage. we can talk more about specific circumstances, but i am very solid on the aesthetic of That Scene in atonement: aka green dress, up against the library walls during a dinner party, walked in on at the perfectly terrible moment. my initial thought was that these two met for the first time when the windsor’s were hosting a dinner/ball/celebration or something in honour of this royal/important family, and adelaide and ( x ) had incredible chemistry -- or at least sexual attraction. it only takes a few hours and several glasses of champagne for them to end up in the library in an entirely compromising position before someone walks in on them and snitches to the family. the whole evening is absolutely ruined, both sets of parents in disarray, and while the press never hear why the night was the fiasco, there are now rumours of tension between the two families/nations. alternatively, this could have been started some time long ago and wasn’t 100% a one-off

the young love: adelaide’s longest relationship, which began sometime in late high school or early college and lasted several years. preferably someone of royal blood, because this was in many ways - especially aesthetically - the Perfect Relationship. not only was adelaide wildly in love with them, but their relationship was public, and the press considered it an incredible feat that a prince and princess would naturally begin dating. this kind of aesthetic, ja feel? everyone that knew them felt they would get married, including adelaide. but for whatever reasons you like, this little prince broke up with her, and subsequently broke her heart & dashed her dreams. prior to james’s death, this was the greatest pain she ever endured. still do this day if she references “my ex,” or compares a man to someone, it’s this guy. despite whatever time has passed between break-up and now, adelaide still treats him with some disdain -- she’s both still hurt, and still harbouring lingering affection for him.

the exploration: the first woman that made adelaide question her sexuality !! i’m open as to what this is, how it happened etc; whether anything physical occurred or they were merely flirtatious and physically close; if it was one-sided or reciprocated, etc.

#genoviaintro #phew ok we done #allp.a

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amandajoyce118 · 5 years

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Friday Five: Women In History

Think of this Friday Five as a list of five women I wish Timeless had the chance to do episodes about. Why? Because it’s the last Friday of Women’s History Month. In honor of all the women who made history, I’m spotlighting five who often get overlooked this week. These are women who don’t get taught about in schools because, instead, we learn about their male counterparts. Or, these are women who had a big influence on a particular market, but few people know their story.

Five: Zelda Fitzgerald

I thought I’d start off with a woman that people are probably slightly familiar with, but maybe don’t know her full story. If her name sounds familiar, but you can’t place where you know her, that’s because she’s the wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald. If you went to high school in the U.S., or studied American Lit at all, you probably read at least one of his books, like The Great Gatsby. What you might not know is that Zelda was as good as, if not a better writer than, her husband.

Her husband regularly wrote down things she said when recounting stories to friends, stole her journal, and all around copied her work. She “inspired” all of his heroines. So, if you actually like his writing, chances are, you really like Zelda’s. She was trapped in a loveless marriage. He cheated on her, but wouldn’t allow her to have relationships with other men. He also attempted to drive her to a nervous breakdown so he could have her institutionalized. All around, not a great guy there.

Zelda actually got an offer to have her journals published at one point, but because of her husband, she couldn’t. She retaliated by publicly reviewing his writing, penning, “plagiarism begins at home.”

Four: Andree Borrel

A lot of posts have gone around tumblr about the women who acted as spies and assassins during World War II lately. Andree Borrel didn’t go that route, but in her twenties, she was recruited to train members of the French resistance.

She actually started off trying to help in the war efforts on her own. She traveled from France to Spain to fight against Nazi work, but thought her efforts were meaningless, and made her way back to France. There, she took a nursing course offered by the Red Cross and became field certified to help in the hospitals. Since she was under 21 when she did it, the hospitals wouldn’t allow her to stay and volunteer. That is when she started working for the underground.

She started safehouses that helped British soldiers who were shot down, escaping Jews, and spies. Eventually, she and her friends had to leave France when their safehouses were compromised. They made their way to England where they gave full reports to MI5 and began working for the Special Operations Executive to help the French resistance.

Not only was she recruited for the French resistance, but when they sent her back to France to start her work, she was parachuted into the area. She (and her partner for the mission, of course) was the world’s first female paratrooper. She was excellent at her job, but she was eventually captured. Andree was executed in a French concentration camp in 1944.

Three: Willie Mae Thornton

Everybody remembers the names of the singers. The songwriters don’t get as much credit. Today, they get a little more because so many singers like to write (or assist in writing) their own music. In the day of Willie Mae Thornton though, she was the Big Mama (yes, that was her actual nickname) behind the curtain.

She first started singing in church, like so many people from the south. When her mom died, she had to drop out of school and get a job to help support her five siblings. Eventually, she left home to pursue a career in music. While she could supposedly “sing pretty,” if she wanted to, she preferred to make her voice “big” instead. In other words, she didn’t conform to what men in the music industry thought of as a feminine sound. She belted.

Willie Mae wrote and recorded music that other people made into hits. “Hound Dog,” made famous by Elvis Presley? She sang it first and it spent a few weeks at the top of the charts, but she didn’t see any real profit from it. Her record sold about 500,000 copies, which was big for its time. Elvis’ version became the hit, selling 10 million copies just a few years later. Likewise, she wrote “Ball n Chain,” which Janis Joplin made famous. She also didn’t get the profits from that because the record company owned the song, not her. Joplin, however, hired her to open for her as a way to give back what the record company took from her. (I feel like she should have split profits with her, but that’s just me.)

(Side note: I almost wrote about Rose Marie McCoy here instead. Like Willie Mae, she was a black woman who wrote hits for other artists. She also wrote songs for Elvis. By the end of her songwriting career, she wrote more than 800 songs, including commercial jingles. I think she’s a little bit more well known since NPR has featured specials on her in the past, but probably not by much.)

Two: Hypatia

Since the other three lived and worked in relatively recent history, it seems prudent to go back a little farther - like way back. I’m talking fourth century. Hypatia was from Alexandria, you know, where the ancient library was that we all wish had survived disaster?

Hypatia was a scholar in the time that women weren’t really allowed to be scholars. All of the stories and historical accounts of the era paint men as the heroes in Greece and Rome, with women as the people on the sidelines being fought over or worshiping deities in temples. Hypatia’s father, Theon (not a Greyjoy, Game of Thrones fans) wanted her to have the same opportunities as men in their community, so he made sure she was educated in science, math, and astronomy. Eventually, Hypatia became a teacher.

Unfortunately for her, Hypatia lived at a time when Christianity was spreading throughout the ancient empires. Though she didn’t seem to subscribe to one religion over another, historians seem to consider her a pagan. She was tolerant of other religions, and was one of the people outraged when Jewish residents were ousted from Alexandria and Christians began targeting pagans. She was murdered by a group of angry Christians during Lent. She wasn’t just murdered either. She was stripped, had her eyes removed, and then pieces of her body were taken throughout the town and burned. For no reason other than she was seen as an enemy of the political leaders at the time.

I’ll admit that the first time I ever learned about her was a result of doing my own research after “Hypatia’s chariot” was an artifact in Warehouse 13. Despite the few things I’ve read recently calling her a famous ancient scholar, or a feminist icon, I doubt most people know her name.

One: Sayyida al-Hurra

For a time when I was a teenager, I was fascinated by the life of pirates. Not in the romance novel way, but more in the what-drove-a-person-to-piracy kind of way. I think most people, primarily as a result of Hollywood, become passingly familiar with pirates like Blackbeard and Anne Bonny. Glossed over is the Pirate Queen Sayyida al-Hurra, who actually held a long standing alliance with Blackbeard.

She was actually born into a wealthy Moroccan family and married a much older business man. She continued to run his business after his death. Her family, however, was forced to flee from Morocco when the Spanish declared themselves rules and Christianity started spreading through the region. (She was Muslim.) Eventually, she became the political leader of Tetouan and married a king. She didn’t even travel to marry, but instead, made him come to her, which was unheard of.

Holding onto her grudge against the Spanish empire for what they did to her people, she used her political standing to slowly build her pirate army and take on their ships. She made her little country rich with stolen merchandise and selling the Christians she captured into slavery in place of her people. She was also the foremost negotiator when it came to releasing Christian captives. She was the person European nations contacted to offer up ransoms, so she only sold people into slavery if the European nobles weren’t willing to pay. Sayyida ruled the western Mediterranean while Blackbeard ruled the east.

Sadly, history doesn’t know what happened to her. Though she remained queen after the death of her husband, her son in law overthrew her, and then… nothing. I’d love to see a movie speculating about her fate.

Obviously, there are thousands of women who were important to history. I picked five that I have found interesting, and ones who aren’t usually present in more mainstream pop culture (like the ladies of Hidden Figures, for example) for this list.

That’s it for this week! Tell me about a woman in history you think everyone should know about!

#zelda fitzgerald #andree borrel #willie mae thornton #hypatia #sayyida al-hurra #friday five #women in history

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acepalindrome · 5 years

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I got tagged by @brightandshinynewstories!

Name ten favorite characters from ten different things (books, tv, film, etc.) then tag ten people.

These are not in any particular order, because I love all my favs in their own special ways.

1. Caduceus Clay (Critical Role.) My very special cow boy. I love his chill, I love how he takes on the caretaker role for his messy little found family, I love his 9 intelligence and getting distracted by moss in a life and death situation, I love his faith and belief in destiny, but possibly what I love the most is his views on nature that align so much with my own.

2. Oscar François de Jarjayes (Rose of Versailles.) Listen, Oscar spends all her time fucking with gender roles in 18th century France, fighting injustice, getting on board with the revolution and flirting with every woman in a 50 mile radius up to and including Marie Antoinette. She’s a big wlw icon and I long for a reboot where she ends up with Rosalie instead of fucking Andre.

3. Brienne of Tarth (ASOIAF.) Isn’t it a shame GOT ended after season 6, Gwendoline Christie is so gorgeous. Anyway, I was definitely too young to be reading these books in high school but I did anyway and Brienne was both my hero and fictional crush. She’s so strong and brave and more noble than any ‘true knight!’ I love Brienne with my whole damn heart.

[[MORE]]

4. Auron (FFX) God I love this bitter disillusioned undead ronin who’s consumed with guilt and self loathing because God Lied and he was fooled just like everyone else and he wasn’t able to save his lord who he was definitely in love with!! He literally fucking dies in a tragic desperate attempt to avenge Braska and the. decides that no, fuck this, he’s failed everyone else (in his mind) and he’s gonna keep one last promise to his friend and being dead is not gonna stop him!! He hates himself so much but he’s so goddamn loyal even death doesn’t stop him.

5. Sophie Hatter (Howl’s Moving Castle.) Book version, because Miyazaki did my girl wrong. Sophie’s whole story is about her assuming that she’s doomed to failure in everything so she never tries for a better life and just expects that her life is never going to amount to much of anything. And then she gets cursed and it ends up helping her realize how stupid a lot of her fears and insecurities were and she’s finally able to discover that all that shit about failure was just in her head! The only thing holding her back was herself!! Also she has really powerful magic in her own right and later gets to consult with kings and do important work and why did the movie take away all the best things about her!!!

6. Dr. Kenzo Tenma (Monster.) The poster child for ‘No Good Deed Goes Unpunished.’ Risks his whole successful career as a brain surgeon to save the life of a child and he’s rewarded for his altruism by getting sucked into the middle of a brutal murder mystery that paints him as the prime suspect. The thing that makes Tenma so special is that he starts off believing that all lives are equal, and after going through absolute hell and seeing the worst of humanity...HE STILL BELIEVES IN IT. It would be so easy to have him become disillusioned and abandon his ideals, but no! They’re challenged in the worst possible way, but at the very bitter end, he doesn’t lose his belief in the inherent value of all human life.

7. Granny Weatherwax (Discworld.) I want to be half as fierce and strong as Granny when I’m old. She’s not nice and she’s tremendously stubborn but she’s a DAMN good person who won’t let anyone take away another person’s free will and steps up to do the right thing when no one else will because she’s GOOD. Even when she doesn’t want to be. She’s powerful and proud and knows exactly who she is. She’s amazing.

8. Samwise Gamgee (LOTR.) FRODO WOULD NEVER HAVE GOTTEN FAR WITHOUT HIS SAM. God, Sam is so full of love and strength and courage. He follows Frodo literally to the end of the damn world and when Frodo can go no further, Sam carries him on. I can’t think about Sam too long without crying. He’s so very good.

9. Zuko (Avatar: The Last Airbender.) So we all agree Zuko got the best redemption story of all time, right? It’s so, so good watching this angry mess of a kid grow and heal from his trauma and learn to open his heart and love and finally have the courage to confront his abusive father and tell him to his face that what he did was wrong! After spending so long trying to prove himself and win his father’s love on an impossible quest! Zuko’s growth is just the best. And he’s such a lovable awkward goof. That’s rough, buddy.

10. Beatrix (FFIX.) Did Beatrix make me gay as a wee innocent baby child? Probably. I fell in love pretty much the minute she shows up, calls you insects and completely destroys your party without breaking a sweat. She starts out as a villain but everything she does is out of misguided loyalty to her queen, and once she finally realizes how wrong she was she busts her ass to try to redeem herself! She loves Alexandria so much and she’s 100% willing to fight to the death when the city is attacked. She’s honorable and loyal to a fault and she’s absolutely the reason I’m weak for lady knights.

Tagging: @maeofthedead, @youngsterhammy, @saint-tibbles, @quarterpasttired, @disasterhumans, @skygemspeaks, @megneato, @kimabutch, @pastellieria, @fwishbone

If I didn’t tag you and you wanna do it, consider yourself tagged!

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wlwkiryuu · 6 years

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nanami is a closeted lesbian

this was a theory of mine i used to have just minor evidence for, but after i tried to search up that evidence to compile i realized i actually have a LOT more than i bargained for! so heres ALL the evidence i have so far under the cut :’)

(also please note that i am adding my own personal experiences as a lesbian to this to derive this headcanon, so as they say: your mileage may vary! this is just for fun although i certainly wouldn’t put it past ikuhara + the producers of the show to hint that nanami isn’t straight.)

OK first off nanami seems to have a crush on miki waaayyy back in the sunlit garden prelude, when he's first introduced. but then she gets jealous when it turns out he’s too busy crushing on anthy.

she then decides to do everything she can in that one episode (snails. garter snake. octopus. you know the one) to get anthy out of the picture,

but then eventually it turns into her getting obsessed with utena and anthy themselves rather than getting them out of the way between her and miki.

compare nanami trying to humiliate anthy in front of miki vs her trying to ardently spy on utena and anthy to the point where she knows their schedules in order to sneak that curry into their class. it’s because of her own personal vendetta against them at this point. and THEN compare THAT to nanami trying to warn utena about akio in season 3 near the series finale even though there was literally nothing that required her to do that.

what's even more interesting is that nanami’s repeatedly been said to be one who never gets her own hands dirty when she’s up to no good; and yet in regards to utena and anthy?

she’s DEFINITELY more than willing to get her hands dirty. these two are just that special enough for her to be worthy of her attention.

(and even after touga is out of the picture—that is, once he’s basically revealed himself as the manipulative asshole that he was towards his sister all along—utena’s still deemed worthy of attention by nanami, who goes so far as to warn her about akio, which is...hmm! interesting!)

and what's even more worth mentioning on top of this is that whenever nanami humiliates someone? she usually succeeds in it! a prime example would be keiko in her black rose episode. even at the end, she just comes crawling back to nanami. but utena and anthy...they really end up testing nanami to the bone. and of course, that’s what makes their dynamics with nanami so interesting!

but more on that later. the main point here is that this is one of the first (if not the first) times nanami’s bullying has ended up hurting her rather than her victims. and it consequently opens up nanami’s eyes. she begins to regard these girls in a whole other way, on her own footing. which is kind of a major step in her making tensions with her brother reach a peak, until the season 3 arc comes crashing down on her. this makes her eventually realize she will never be able to see touga in/be with touga in the same way ever again, causing her to resolve to cut ties with one of the only men she has a eminent relationship with.

buuut back to the miki episode. notice nanami’s word choice when she praises miki! pride of the school. almost like she's inclined to like/settle for miki because of this, because she considers herself a pride of the school as well. she focuses more on his status and supposed superiority than anything; that’s the kind of thing nanami’s after/the kind of status she thinks makes her better than others as well. and you know who else she/the rest of the student body considers a pride of the school...?

yep! this asshole! and obviously she can't fulfill being loved that way with her brother bc a) she’s explicitly screamed and shoved him away when he tried to make an advance on her because she knows that kind of relationship is not right and b) her devotion to him to the point where she completely ignores other guys is a product of her idealization of men + compulsory heterosexuality.

(for clarification: touga is saying the top half after nanami pushes him away when he tries to advance on her, and nanami is saying the bottom half).

and here we have obvious proof that nanami does NOT want him as a partner and NEVER wanted him like that all along. so what am i trying to get at here? that she KNOWS touga kiryuu is unattainable. a significant aspect of compulsory heterosexuality is getting crushes on/idolizing guys who are idealized/unattainable. you can't get the guy anyways, so it's both “proof” that you're straight, and no one can say you never acted on that “crush” because getting that guy is impossible anyways.

this matches the theme in revolutionary girl utena surrounding the generalization/idealization of men by women forced into compulsory hetereosexuality perfectly (i mean miki’s literally called a “prince” because he has all these “ideal” noble qualities: rich, kind, good-looking, honest, talented, good grades/prodigy) and honestly provides a great parallel to utena and her “prince” (i say “prince” and not simply akio because touga toys with this idea as well in order to make utena lose her duel with him in episode 11!)

you know that scene where anthy’s wearing the dress nanami gave her and she watches it get wet and tear away at anthy’s clothes? you know, the classic introductory oh shit, nanami’s actually a huge asshole moment?

yeah, so upon rewatching that scene i realized the entire scene PLUS the part where utena rescues anthy and starts dancing with her is cut in between in various places by nanami’s commentary:

so its safe to say this whole scene is from nanami’s point of view.

...yeah. NANAMI’S point of view. and its ALSO worth mentioning that this is the first time nanami’s ever seen or heard of utena at all. thus begins our closeted disaster femme icon’s first taste of lesbianism.

oh and of course, the iconic scene from nanami’s egg where this happens.

ok WOW lots of good stuff here. yes, on the surface level, of course, the specific moment in context is where nanami confuses preferring to have a girl as a child to preferring girls romantically. but then again, it’s not like nanami actually laid an egg. revolutionary girl utena’s metaphor soup! there’s more to things than just face value.

what i’ve seen as the most universally accepted interpretation of this episode is that it’s about puberty, and specifically, the taboos involving menstruation. and of course, this completely makes sense! egg motif? check. tsuwabuki literally mentioning that nanami has to attend a health class? check. the episode starting out with a dream where nanami is a child, then paralleled throughout the rest of the episode with current, teenager nanami? check. touga talking about “eggs” disparagingly? check. the episode is about puberty, maturation of feelings, and adolescence, meaning that discussing sexuality is really not too far of a stretch in an episode that pretty much covers puberty in general! it totally matches the whole “coming of age” theme in both this episode AND the series (albeit it’s done in more serious undertones in the non-nanami bits of the show).

and you know what’s even more interesting? when touga hints that nanami liking girls is wrong, she doesn’t immediately jump to the fact that she likes guys as her defense. rather, she jumps to her specifically loving touga as her defense. and as i pointed out earlier, she knows she doesn’t want touga romantically. miki whom?

not to mention this gem:

...yeah. nanami’s first time seeing the “eggs” in question being put to use is by guys, and she’s visibly disgusted/horrified by it. not subtle at ALL, ikuhara.

and what’s MORE that i realized just from this one iconic episode? the alien motif.

ah, nanami’s incredibly absurd imagine spots. gotta love those! and they all fit a particular theme: alienation. and it’s honestly really odd to think about how nanami has this constant fear of alienation throughout this episode (and arguably throughout the series); she’s rich, popular, and consequently has the whole student body in the palm of her hand. and yet she STILL believes she’s not normal. really kind of parallels being closeted/”hiding something,” doesn’t it? and it’s cleverly referred to again upon nanami’s big arc in season 3, when her entire world comes crashing down as she believes her and touga aren’t actually siblings.

(the scene in question is right when keiko slaps nanami because she tells touga that “he shouldn’t go out with a girl like her [keiko].”)

ostracism/fear of ostracism seems to be a popular theme for nanami throughout the series.

so in this episode, nanami soon transitions from imagining being alienated to being behind her peers instead.

it’s constantly established that nanami only has eyes for her brother; the “only one she loves” is him. she’s never shown interest for any other guy, which is paralleled especially well in keiko’s black rose episode; nanami’s vicious attitude towards keiko manifests because keiko turns out to have eyes for the only one nanami has eyes for.

keiko’s the one acting “normally”; nanami’s the one seen as overtly possessive.

and, of course, knowing the nature of nanami’s character, her idolization of her brother is painted to such absurd extremes that she essentially shows she absolutely refuses to find another relationship. she’s in a “fairy-tale world”; she refuses to grow up, which even her brother admits at times.

another common aspect among closeted lesbians is the feeling that we’re “late bloomers” for failing to find any sort of interest in men. and so, thus, the line mentioned earlier that describes nanami’s fear, “being late compared to most people,” could very easily fit into this context.

and regarding tsuwabuki? yeah, this just sums it up perfectly.

miki’s so brutal in this episode, i love him. brutal but accurate!

and then, of course, we get that sweet, sweet confirmation again:

immediately followed by miki spitting out the truth yet again.

oh and interestingly enough, even with tsuwabuki, where she blatantly treats him like her personal servant, she still doesn’t want to let him go; particularly, she doesn’t want to let him go to other girls.

even with a (give or take) 10/11 year old child, nanami refuses to acknowledge him interacting with another girl. simply because he’s a guy.

an extremely common and integral part of nanami’s character is her constant desire for acceptance (lots of episodes showcase this! namely nanami’s egg and cowbell of happiness). she’s a “late bloomer” who shows no romantic desire for men whatsoever; therefore, she fulfills this criteria for “normalcy” by having literally every other relationship with guys except for romantic, as shown with touga, tsuwabuki, and even saionji and miki to some extent. but for the most part —it’s shown with touga and tsuwabuki, simply because they’re the most obvious examples of non-romantic relationships: siblings and a literal elementary schooler. it’s kind of funny, almost; it’s like nanami thinks “having relationships with guys” is just one of many things she’s obligated to cross off on her checklist for societal acceptance, and literally goes in the most roundabout way to achieve it without realizing what it even means (i.e., romantic relationships with a guy, not just a relationship in general), and completely failing.

and all of this leads me, of course, to the final aspect to analyze: nanami’s relationship with utena.

yeah, it’s pretty safe to say they don’t get along on the best of terms at first. nanami even tried to kill utena during their first duel!

so it’s incredibly interesting to see their relationship evolve after the events of that skirmish.

regarding their first duel in particular, the duel lyrics have a LOT in them to unpack.

My eternal self The eternal stranger Two relations Two births Scales of mystery Human constellation

“my eternal self” versus “the eternal stranger” brings up some interesting parallels. touga seems to be the eternal stranger, with whom nanami believes she is closer to than anyone else, and yet she seems completely unable to figure out his inner workings and who he really is as a person. no matter what she’d like to or not like to admit, touga is and always has been a complete mystery to her. this “human constellation” can thus never be truly connected. but you know who else is a mystery to nanami?

yep! the boy-girl of ohtori herself. you have to consider this isn’t only a duel provoked by touga; it’s a duel with utena. a duel between nanami and utena. their relationship is bound to be mentioned in the song as well. which is exactly why i believe nanami says this right after utena technically “wins” the duel by slicing nanami’s rose off.

nanami’s essentially setting herself up for a long, long rivalry spanning the rest of the series with those five words. it seems like nanami’s more interested in seeing what makes utena tick than her own brother, whom she claims to be the “only one she loves.” simply challenging utena isn’t enough; she has to understand her in order to defeat her. and this ideology is called back to later in nanami’s second duel with utena!

nanami ends up giving one hell of a fight the second time around. despite only fighting her once prior, she ends up knowing all of utena’s moves beforehand and dodging them. that’s how well she knows utena’s fighting techniques.

now lets look at the nature of the duel itself. what exactly makes nanami want to challenge utena a second time?

individuality! distinction! that’s what nanami wants. she dreads the thought of being “one more fly in the swarm.” now that she’s discovered her relationship with touga’s been lying on top of a foundation of lies the whole time, her world comes crashing down. she doesn’t want to adore her brother anymore. she wants to surpass him, and so, essentially, escape her problems. and so, in a sort of roundabout way since utena was the reason behind nanami’s meddling and tensions with her brother, she believes defeating utena will be the key to defeating all of her problems.

and, spoiler alert: it isn’t. the fact that nanami isn’t able to win this duel is especially important. even after she’s able to jump the hurdle of her brother, she fails to jump the hurdle of utena. she wants to “surpass everything,” that is, leave the old her behind. and at first it seems like she’s succeeding to leave everything behind...except for utena.

touga serves as the last link nanami has towards any sort of affection towards a guy. and in this duel, she straight up BREAKS it by admitting there was nothing between them at all.

and THEN utena asks if nanami feels better. even though she, like...literally just lost the duel. given utena’s character it’s probably just her naivete showing through, but given the underlying messages this series is ridden with, it probably refers to how nanami “defeating” touga was FAR more important than her actually defeating utena—that is, she never needed to defeat utena in the first place to feel better.

so, what we get from this is: a) nanami succeeds in breaking her bond towards touga, but b) fails to break that bond with utena.

🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔

and of course the lyrics here in this dueling song as well:

You, me, our nature Our nature, our nature Free will and existence

who’s it about? the nature of the kiryuu siblings? the nature of nanami and utena as they act as foils? the ambiguity of the song is what really makes it interesting. not to mention—free will and existence. nanami wants out of this oppressive system. and she believes utena is the key to it (and, well, she’s not wrong!). take of that what you will symbolically, metaphorically, ikuharaesquely, etc.

and that free will and existence line just leads me to believe that nanami’s a foil to anthy in regards to utena, since free will and existence is essentially what utena fights for anthy to achieve in the end, and what anthy desperately desires: autonomy. and, so, given that these two are foils in regards to utena...well, we all know what anthy is in regards to utena.

...yeah. exactly. imagery/parallelism they didn’t absolutely HAVE to do, but did regardless.

and, so, by the end, even nanami’s seemed to have caught that inescapable sense of fondness for utena. she comes entirely out of good will on her own accord to warn utena of akio, and doesn’t even consider giving up when utena brushes her advice aside.

she’s insistent on drilling into utena’s head that she should get out of that house—even though doing so wouldn’t benefit nanami at all. utena promptly points out how uncharacteristic of nanami this is:

to which nanami immediately snaps back with:

nanami’s essentially admitting that utena’s the one who’s permanently altered her character and made her much less of a selfish brat (although she still has a loooonnggg way to go, obviously) than she was prior to the series canon. utena’s the cause for everything, direct or indirect: clashing with touga, getting over her brief crush on miki, developing a sense of empathy while transitioning from a desire for social acceptance to a desire for social independence...it’s all been catalyzed by utena at some point.

so, in brief?

utena revolutionized nanami’s world (see, i can’t even look at that sentence without thinking about how gay it sounds).

OKAY, so first off: thank you so so much for reading this far! i want to get into my last point of contention now, which is a super subtle conversation between utena and nanami near the end of the series but speaks VOLUMES, but before i do, i just wanna show two marginally interesting screencaps that fit this theory suspiciously well because i really want to save the best part for last.

exhibit a:

nanami + physical contact’s only ever been shown in regards to her brother. and yet the second utena comes into the mix...well, despite how trivial this scene is, the reaction is pretty satisfying.

exhibit b: nanami’s reaction to juri in the video game.

just tattoo i love women onto your forehead next time, nanami.

now on to what is possibly my favorite exchange in the entire series—that’s how much i love the underlying subtleties in this scene. utena brings up having “blood type-B” when talking to nanami in said scene. why? because just a few episodes earlier...

nanami finds out touga’s blood type never correlated genetically with her family’s.

which, later on in the episode, she ends up telling utena (and the fact that at this point she’s trusting utena enough to even marginally tell her what this whole mess is about is gratifying in itself).

so basically, the importance of this conversation?

(for clarification: utena’s saying the first half, and nanami’s saying the dialogue on the bottom-most screencap).

it shows the COMPLETE 180 nanami and utena’s relationship has gone through. misunderstandings and petty arguments and hostilities into something that’s blossomed through adversity to a relationship of mutual understanding. and, it feels like, for the first time in either of their lives, they’re actually in the loop on something, rather than being hopelessly confused in a maze of the bells and whistles of student council, the mystery behind the eternity duelists seek at the arena, the end of the world, the complete enigma that is touga kiryuu, and can finally just interact in this sort of liberating way that shows both of them at their best with one another.

and what i love about this is that nanami doesn’t get mad at utena. she doesn’t snap about how she spoke too soon about the whole incident. it’s questionable if she even cares about the whole incident now, considering the ties she broke off with touga at the climax of her second duel. rather, she knows what utena’s jokingly pointing at, and the two are in a mutual understanding of how much they’ve been through together in the hellscape that is ohtori academy.

but, the BEST part of this entire exchange? the part that shows probably the first time nanami’s ever gotten actual happiness from someone, something that shows that she’s finally past the superficial happiness from her unwitting adoration of touga that’s essentially been crumbled to dust by the end of her character arc, allowing her to finally set aside pleasing others and end up potentially discovering herself, far from when she first met utena?

nanami’s final reaction to her.

#revolutionary girl utena #nanami kiryuu #utena #rgu #let nanami...........have a gf..........2k17 to forever...........#meta #my meta

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polis-fandom · 6 years

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The Last Jedi thoughts

It’s been a week and I’m still on the fence with this movie. Everytime I think I’m getting over the disappointment and starting to enjoy what was good there, I come across some review that’s like “THIS IS THE GREATEST STAR WARS MOVIE EVERRRR!!! ABSOLUTELY BREATHTAKING!” and it flares up again. I feel like I’m in the Gombrowicz’s tale, “how is it breathtaking, when it’s not breathtaking?! how is it beautiful, when it’s not beautiful? how is Rian Johnson a great director, when he’s the worst one since George Lucas?”. I need to get away from any discourse about this movie, or I’ll end up hating it. And it doesn’t deserve my hatred, because it’s not really a bad movie.

Bitter Me: *whispers* Luke Skywalker.

Me:

So I’ll just put my feelings here and move on. Under the cut, ‘cause lots of spoilers and overhelming bitterness, tho nothing new, others said all that already, so ignore as you wish.

“Star Wars: A New Hope” was the first movie I watched in cinema. No, I mean the remastered version from 1997, I’m not that old. But, yeah, Star Wars were the movies of my childhood, and are still among my favourite stories ever. After surviving the rocky Prequel Trilogy during my teenage years, I was excited to be brought back to the universe, and while The Force Awakens was redundant as far as the storyline goes, it won me over with the visuals. I made a conscious decision not to get attached to any of the new characters, because I felt there wasn’t enough to know about them. Besides, in the past Luke Skywalker didn’t became my favourite character until the second movie, so I figured I had the time to fall in love with them until I saw more.

Nice Me: Look at this one, he’s played by your favourite actor.

Bitter Me: That one is garbage.

Bitter Me: I’ll just wait to see the whole story. Maybe others will do something extra.

Nice Me: Like what? Blow up the Starkiller Base? Risk their life to save friends? Talk to Darth Vader’s helmet?

Bitter Me: Lose a limb.

(Btw, did you notice the advancement of the medical treatment in Last Jedi? The guy gets slashed through the back and wakes up mere days later just fine, other barely gets a scar…

Bitter Me: at least they are consistent with that.)

So, going in to see the Last Jedi, I had open mind, no expectations for the story, because Star Wars - aka the series that always makes it to the top of the lists of biggest plot twists ever - and I knew nothing besides what was shown in the trailer. And yet, I made one mistake. I saw someone’s tweet about how it’s the best Star Wars movie since the Empire…

Bitter Me: …and then I spent first hour trying to understand, where did this guy saw that greatness, because it just wasn’t there.

I’ve got the biggest gripes with the editing, cinematography, and directing in general. You see, this series, however bad the movies were, they at least were visually stunning. They had certain style and flow - despite all the action, there were always slower scenes, a bit more nostalgic, giving you time to soak up the visuals and feel the emotion. Johnson fails at that repeatedly. The edit at the beging is very rushed, the scenes chopped, and set-up of some could’ve been better. Even Ahch-too, which was amazingly shot in previous film, here becomes a more of clustered and claustrophobic set.

Nice Me: But there are some magnificient shots. The admiral Holdo launching into hyperspace - absolutely beautiful. The pretorian guards fight - one of the best lightsabers fights. The Crait scenes with crystals and everything.

Bitter Me: which just angers me more, because if he’s capable of pulling of shots like that, why the whole movie isn’t equally beautiful???

Nice Me: But the Leia in vacuum scene starts beautiful too. I’m ecstatic that we finally have an undisputed proof that Leia is not only force sensitive, but she actually mastered the use of it. It would have been really interesting to see more of her in the next movie, might she have become a teacher Rey needs...

Nice Me:…but then the latter half of that scene is shot in such a way, it comes of as silly and utterly dumb. The guy is just bad at showing visions.

Nice Me: Breath. Just breath.

Bitter Me: …that one was horribly edited.

Nice Me: But the scene at dark place at AhchToo was impressive…

Bitter Me: …as a trick shot with no substance that leads to nowhere. He could have used some of that creative visuals for the Force Skype scenes, they were edited in such bland manner…

Nice Me: …you’re complaining about that because it reminded you of Alina and Darkling having identical force bond in Grisha, down to the shirtless scene…

Bitter Me:… as bad as that was, Bardugo at least gave a good explanation of how it was possible.

Nice Me: Snoke did it.

Bitter Me: I recognize the narrative need to create such connection between them, I just think it could have been done in a more artistic way visually.

Bitter Me: Rian is praised for the daring and innovative writing of this movie. And yet the main plot can be summed as: they are evacuating the rebel resistance base, escape - but not far, cause they can’t enter hyperspace, so they sneak into evil ship and try to turn off tracking beam, and then seek hidding on a nearby planet. Yep, I’ve never seen a star wars movie with a plot like that.

Bitter Me: So what’s so daring here? destroying all the symbols of the star wars franchise? Making Luke grumpy and acting against his very core?

Bitter Me: Look, I’m not so much against making Luke a space hobo hermit, who no longer wants to train Jedi, it‘s possible to have such turn after you tried and failed. But I have everything against Luke trying to murder Ben, because he’s too powerful and tempted to the dark side. Luke did everything he could to save his father, who was far deeper on the Dark side. Luke was himself tempted by it, and resisted it. Luke would have done everything to save Ben, but he would not draw a lightsaber on him…

Nice Me: But he says it was a flitting feeling, just a moment of weakness, he regrets deeply…

Bitter Me: What exactly young Ben Solo had done to lead Luke to even consider such an act? We are only told the dark side was rising in him, and that’s sounds vague as hell.

Look, The Star Wars at it’s core were a story about hope - that there’s good even in a bad person, about redemption, and unwavering familial love. Luke was the embodiment of that, and that scene goes directly against it.

If he so insist on having such a drastic turn for Luke, he should’ve made us understand, how did it happen. We should’ve seen more of young Ben Solo, and their dynamic prior to the break. It would serve both their characters and story overall better than this cheap shot for the shock value, so we, like Rey, would cry: You have created Kylo Ren???

But, honestly, if Rian is oh-so-clever and daring writer, he could’ve come up with a better, more complex backstory for Luke and Ben’s breakdown.

Bitter Me: and besides Luke’s arc here? The big lesson he learns? „the real great master let’s his students grow beyond him.” That’s such a simple one, so obvious, it’s dumb and annoying, not worthy to be Luke’s final arc. He was wiser than that. Luke was never about being great and powerful, he rejected offers to became such through dark side, he left his jedi training because his friends were more important to him. Why would he be afraid of his student becoming more powerful than him?

Nice Me: But Luke is great. Like when he says „what do you expect me to do? show up and wave my lightsaber, and they will all run off scared?”, he might be mocking the heroic ways and everyone’s expectations, but if you look back, he achieved his biggest win in the Original Trilogy by tossing asside the lightsaber and refusing to fight.

Bitter Me: …and then he goes and does excatly, what he mocked: shows up, wave the lightsaber and scare off the pesky First Order.

Nice Me: And it was EPIC! And the shoulder brush! hilarious!

Bitter Me: yeah, yeah. Btw, was that their first meeting since Luke tried to murder Ben? so he just like that, shows up, mocks Kylo’s powerlessness, fights him and then promises to forceghost hunt him for eternity?

Nice Me: What do you want him to do?

Bitter Me: …I don’t know, APOLOGIZE for trying to murder him?

Nice Me: fine, but this is still about redemption and love and hope. Rose says: That’s how we’re gonna win. Not fighting what we hate, saving what we love. It’s a great quote.

Bitter Me: Then who is saving Kylo? whose there left to love him? Rey, walking off on him, closing door on him? Leia, giving up on him, saying we need to kill him? What mother would say something like that? Leia would say something like that? The princess who was always compassionate, and hugging everyone around? Who spent all the previous film insisting on bringing Ben back?

Nice Me: She says it in a tone that suggests she’s not believing it herself. like she’s trying to convince herself, because others expect that of her, because he’s a threat to them all. And Luke counters it immedietly.

Bitter Me: …It’s still there.

Nice Me: …and there’s still third movie. The story is in progress.

Nice Me: At least Snoke is dead. That was GREAT. He always felt like this unnecessary ouside evil force, that people can conveniently blame for all the bad things done, just kill him and everythings gonna be bright and shiny again. By removing him so early, they made way and time to explore more complex evil inside us, err, characters, or harder to spot like the riches benefiting from the ongoing war. That’s a nice storytelling turn.

Nice Me: And Rey as a random nobody is a joy for my heart, because I’m a bit done with Chosen One trope, where hero’s been destinated for heroics on the qualms of being born a prince or noble or someone powerful. I’ve had hard times connecting with such characters, because I myself never felt born special.

(Bitter Me: Then how did you end up liking Luke, the very icon of Chosen One trope?

Nice Me: Loss of the limb.)

Bitter Me: okay, but that was only told to us, just like Rey’s vision of Kylo’s future. Told, not shown. I mean, given how bad Rian is at visions, it would be cringey, but still it’s a movie, use the visuals to convey the information. Not everything needs to be telegraphed, did we really need that guy liking the rocks on Crait to know it’s salt? Who cares it’s salt? That was distracting.

Nice Me: …that was to bring the attention to the footprint…

Bitter Me: …the big zoom on it did that just fine. The joke was unnecesary.

Bitter Me: Actually half the jokes were unnecessary. The humour was crude, often misplaced and under cutting the drama of the scenes. They say it was needed to balance out the dark themes this movie deals with, but in my opinion the previous movies dealt with the same dark drama, and yet used humour in a less forced nor cynical way. Some say it felt more like a Marvel movie, and true, that’s how it felt.

Nice Me:…but you loved Thor Ragnarok - for it’s humour exactly.

Bitter Me: one, Thor used humour with better placement and sense of purpose, didn’t try to undercut the emotional impact of the scenes with it. Two, it was a Marvel movie - you expect such humour, because that’s their style. Going to the Star Wars you expect Star Wars - great visuals, action scenes, emotions, feelings, not disgusting alien cow. It’s anti-climatic.

Besides, why are we so ashemed of pure emotions and drama, that we need to undercut it with gags and jokes? why there must be a wink, „yeah, we did this serious scene, but we’re not sure we got it good enough, people might mock us for it, better mock ourselves first.” For gods sake, dare to be honest. If it’s serious, heroic, epic, let it be such!

Nice Me: The latter half of the movie was great, tho. Rey using force in non-combat way to move rocks and save friends, nice way to turn joke around into something beautiful. All of them coming together on Millenium Falcon board. Luke’s death with the suns setting, making nice parallel to the sunset at Tatooine long ago at the begining of his journey. That last scene about the power of storytelling, I cried a little, it was so moving…

Bitter Me: … the storytelling about what? Self-righteous jedi deciding who is worthy of forgivness or chance for redemption, and who to finish off while they’re still a kid and asleep? About mothers giving up on their sons? About destroying everything that once was sacred, stripping it of the value? It’s all clever writting, but without understanding the soul of the Star Wars, without keeping it’s core sacred, it came of shallow.

Nice Me: shhh, calm down. It’s just a movie.

Bitter Me: How did we come to the Star Wars being just a movie? just a story? quite ironic, in the context of that ending scene.

Magic is gone.

Nice Me: Come on, Let’s watch it again, maybe you’ll like it better. There’s a cute orange murderball...

Bitter Me: …and my fave actor gets trashed around. Fine, let’s watch it again.

#ps star wars #star wars: the last jedi #tlj spoilers #star wars spoilers #spoilers

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denimbex1986 · 6 months

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'Doctor Who actor Yasmin Finney explains the importance of her character’s story for representation in the series. Finney plays Rose Noble in the Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials, who is Donna Noble’s daughter and a new companion. Rose’s character, like Finney herself, is a transgender woman, marking a landmark casting decision for the show.

Speaking with BBC, Finney talked about the importance of this trans story to Doctor Who. According to Finney, Rose is a character that she would have loved to see “growing up,” as she thinks “representation is what we need and what the younger generation needs to feel like they can do it too.” Check out the full quote from Finney below:

It was so surreal to me, because obviously Doctor Who is huge, and I remember watching Doctor Who when I was growing up years ago, especially the bride episode, David Tennant and Catherine Tate. And I just felt, like, lucky enough to be seen as a trans person in something so huge as Doctor Who, and I just felt lucky that like, I would be Catherine Tate’s daughter. In a way, that’s just insane, I mean, she’s an icon, and I love her. I think representation is so important, and if I had Rose growing up, it would be a completely different story, I think. I think representation is what we need and what the younger generation needs to feel like they can do it to. You know?

Rose Noble Is Part Of Doctor Who’s Ongoing Representation Effort

Historically, Doctor Who has been a very homogeneous show in terms of identity. The first 12 Time Lords were all played by white, predominantly middle-aged men, and the vast majority of the Doctor Who's original companions were also played by white actors. This has meant that during the revival era, Doctor Who has been under pressure to change their ways for the better to create a more inclusive and diverse cast.

And change they have in recent years, as Doctor Who has worked to be a more racially – and gender-diverse series. The Thirteenth Doctor marked the first time that the Time Lord was played by a woman, in Jodie Whittaker, and Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor will be the first Black actor to portray The Doctor. Additionally, Doctor Who will skew younger in the casting of both Gatwa and companion actor co-star Millie Gibson.

Finney is a part of this ongoing effort by BBC to make Doctor Who a more inclusive series that will hopefully continue to act as a beacon of hope for the younger generation. As Finney notes, her being “seen as a trans person in something so huge as Doctor Who” is a massively important casting decision in an industry where roles for transgender actors are still lacking. As Doctor Who enters its new era, further inclusive casting choices will hopefully follow suit.'

#Doctor Who #60th Anniversary #Rose Noble #Yasmin Finney #David Tennant #Catherine Tate #The Runaway Bride #Donna Noble #Ncuti Gatwa #Jodie Whittaker #Millie Gibson

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lexacourtney · 4 years

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Hi Sarah!

It’s been four days since I finished House of Earth and Blood and since I do not have the time at this very moment to reread it, I thought I’d do something else instead. Still tied to my love of SJM and her books, in the hopes that it would satisfy me for now.

I’ve been a SJM fan ever since 2012, when I first saw Throne of Glass on shelves in Borders…well, I think it was Borders. I don’t remember when they closed and became Books-A-Million. Neither of those stores are in the location they used to be, but I can still remember that the YA section was straight back, at the back of the store, and Throne of Glass was sitting on the top right side of the shelf. I picked it up because of the title, probably because of the cover, and then left that day with it after reading the synopsis.

Then I read it and fell in love.

Then the tedious waits began.

Waiting for each new book was always torture.

2013 gave me Crown of Midnight and a chance to meet Sarah for the first time. I think I’ve briefly talked about this signing in a NaNoWriMo post, or a Writing Journey Post, which one, I don’t remember. But in 2013 my friend and I heard about a writing workshop/signing that Sarah, Susan Dennard, Erin Bowman, Kat Zhang and Jodi Meadows were doing. By 2013 my friend and I had graduated High School and while this workshop/signing was primarily meant for high schoolers, we met the age requirement so of course we went. It was such a fun event, we’re we basically got to hang out with the authors. I even came up with my 2013 NaNoWriMo idea at that event!

It ended up running long, and we were kicked out of the library. Most of the teens had left at this point, parents needing to drive them home. We ended up taking photos outside of the library, and overall the event was a blast.

Then in 2014 I was able to meet Sarah again, and get more of my books signed! Now I had The Assassin’s Blade, Throne of Glass, Crown of Midnight and Heir of Fire signed. I even have a picture of when SJM’s books only took up a small space on my shelves…those days are long over, and I can’t be more excited about it.

I’ve tried over the years to document each new release – I’ve not always been successful, and I blame my excitement. I get too excited for the new book, so the moment I get it, I sit and read it, photos be damned.

While I’m sad that the TOG series is now over – though, I could and would totally read any book that was just them living their lives happily in the aftermath of Kingdom of Ash. It doesn’t even need to have a plot. Just give me a book full of random scenes. But as I was saying, while I’m sad that the TOG series is over, SJM is continuing to put out freaking stellar content. The A Court of Thorns and Roses series is another favorite. I love Rhys and Feyre and the Inner Circle. Legit the moment after I finished A Court of Wings and Ruin for the first time, I started the series over. She just makes you fall in love with these characters, and you care so much and so deeply. Sarah is amazing at portraying emotions and tough situations, and she does it so well that they feel like they’re your emotions. At least, that’s how I feel when I read her books.

Most recently we have House of Earth and Blood, which is fucking fantastic. Like, I cannot express it enough that you need to go pick this book up. It’s instantly a favorite and definitely on my list of favorite books of 2020.

I’ve had the chance to meet Sarah a few other times over the years, mainly at various Apollycon’s, so I have a few of her books signed. My collection of SJM doesn’t rival Brigid or Jen, I wish it did. Trading for arcs of Sarah’s books is nearly impossible, and I would need more shelf space to have every copy of her books…one day. One day I’ll have all the copies.

I’ve told you all about my history with Sarah and her books, and you’ve seen bits and pieces of that history, so now I’m going to show you my little collection. I almost hesitated to post this, because comparably to my Brigid and JLA collections, this one appears…lacking. But then I thought about it, 1) I didn’t really start collection multiple copies of books until early 2019, and 2) I guess quantity isn’t what’s the most important thing about collecting. It’s about loving a series so much you do posts like this, or you just own one set.

I will obviously continue to buy Sarah’s books and I will always be a fan. I’m currently contemplating buying another copy of House of Earth and Blood…because I totally need another one? Right?

I sound a bit like a hypocrite, oh well!

So, let’s jump into this, shall we?

Quick rundown of Sarah’s Titles (even though we all know them):

Throne of Glass Series:

The Assassins Blade

Throne of Glass

Crown of Midnight

Heir of Fire

Queen of Shadows

Empire of Storms

Tower of Dawn

Kingdom of Ash

A Court of Thorns and Roses Series:

A Court of Thorns and Roses

A Court of Mist and Fury

A Court of Wings and Ruin

A Court of Frost and Starlight

DC Icons:

Catwoman: Soul Stealer

Crescent City Series:

House of Earth and Blood

Here’s my entire collection of SJM books. They take up quite a bit of room on my shelf, and due to space constraints, i can’t really display them as I would really like to. After all, they’re all pretty large books. Kingdom of Ash x3 takes up a lot of shelf space…and yes, I need all of them. I obviously don’t have every copy, ever created of these books, but I love my little collection. They’re all well loved.

On top of US standard editions, and various exclusive editions (Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million/Target) I also have a few UK copies, as well as all of the Special Collector Editions that were printed.

Here are some links you can check out!

TOG / ACOTAR / Catwoman / CC

Let’s start with the Throne of Glass series:

I have the standard US Hardcover illustrated cover editions, minus Throne of Glass which has the original cover. I have a two copies of Tower of Dawn – one’s a standard hardcover, and one is a B&N Signed Edition. I have three copies of Kingdom of Ash – one’s a B&N edition, one is the BAM edition, one is the Target edition.

I know I’m missing a few exclusive editions here and there, and maybe one day I’ll get them, but I’m happy with this little collection.

There are quite a few books here. Tell me I don’t need more. They take up enough room as it is (lol).

Links:

TAB/TOG/COM/HOF/QOS/EOS/TOD/KOA

Pictured (top to bottom): US HC The Assassins Blade / US OG Cover Throne of Glass / US HC Crown of Midnight / US HC Heir of Fire / US HC Queen of Shadows / B&N HC Empire of Storms / US HC Tower of Dawn / B&N HC Tower of Dawn / B&N HC Kingdom of Ash / BAM HC Kingdom of Ash / Target HC Kingdom of Ash

To stay in theme, let’s look at the UK Covers:

Now, I don’t have all of them…yet. I need to place a Book Depository order. Or, I just need to go back to the UK. I *might* be going back to Scotland next year, so…we’ll see. I only have the UK paperbacks of the first three books. I actually love the fact that they’re white. It’s such a contrast to the US covers. Since I don’t currently have the US paperbacks, it was really nice being able to not have to carry around massive books during my reread.

I can’t wait until I have the whole set…though I will need another shelf for them.

Here are some links:

TOG/COM/HOF

Pictured (top to bottom): UK PB Throne of Glass / UK PB Crown of Midnight / UK PB Heir of Fire

Next, we have the Special Collector Editions.

I heard the words “Special Collector Editions” and I knew I’d need them. I hope that one day they do all the books in the series to match. These are gorgeous dust jacket-less, hardcovers with embossed gold foiling. The US Editions come with protective sleeves.

The UK Edition didn’t come in a sleeve, and I’m kind of bummed there wasn’t a UK edition of A Court of Thorns and Roses. These books are stunning, and I really need enough shelf space to truly show them off. Also I’m kind of bummed that my US Throne of Glass edition came slightly banged up in the corner. I unfortunately and annoyingly didn’t notice until I’d opened it up and pulled it out of the sleeve. It was a Christmas gift from my brother (I told him to buy it for me) and by the time I received it, I couldn’t return or exchange it. I still love it, flaw and all.

Here are some links:

UK TOG / US TOG / ACOTAR

Pictured (top to bottom): UK SE Throne of Glass / US SE Throne of Glass / US SE A Court of Thorns and Roses

And then, the A Court of Thorns and Roses Series:

I love these books. For a long while I thought I loved them more than TOG…but then I binge re-read that whole series in two month (I highly recommend reading all those books right after one another, but be prepared to be in a massive slump, and now I question everything I once thought.

Like most people, my favorite book is A Court of Mist and Fury. It’s so good and the character arcs…*chef’s kiss*. There are perfect moments in all of these books, and I’m excited for the next one set to come out…I guess next year. I am kind of bummed that the covers won’t match (tbh, not the biggest fan of the cover changes, but will undoubtedly end up buying them).

I only have the standard US hardcover editions for this series. I have a standard ACOWAR plus the BAM Edition. For ACOFAS, I have a signed copy I got through a Virtual Signing, and the BAM Edition.

Here are some links:

ACOTAR / ACOMAF / ACOWAR / ACOFAS

Pictured (top to bottom): US HC A Court of Thorns and Roses / US HC A Court of Mist and Fury / US HC A Court of Wings and Ruin / BAM HC A Court of Wings and Ruin / BAM HC A Court of Frost and Starlight / US HC A Court of Frost and Starlight.

And finally, Sarah’s latest release, the first book in the Crescent City series:

I do have a full review for this book, as I just recently read it. If you’re interested, you can check it out – here – I loved it. There were scenes that were purely cinematic. There were moments that made me cry; made me laugh; made me feel everything. I loved Bryce, Hunt, Lehabah and Syrinx. I just loved this book, and I’m dying for book 2.

It felt like SJM, but it also felt completely different. I mean that as a compliment. Like, if I didn’t already know it was written by her, and I just started reading it, I would know immediately who wrote it. Maybe it’s because it’s an urban fantasy, and not jut fantasy, or maybe it’s because there’s a crime they’re trying to solve, something about this book just felt fresh and new and wholly amazing. It deserves all the praise. This book is fantastic, and I can’t wait to add editions to my collection. I’m already contemplating getting another copy.

Here’s a link:

HOEAB

Pictured: US HC House of Earth and Blood

To close this very long post off – who knew that this Book Collection post would rival my other ones – I thought I’d just share some up close pictures of my signed copies. I don’t have every book in my collection signed, though I wish I did. I try to get at least one signed by Sarah every time I see her.

Above: US Hardcover The Assassin’s Blade

Above: US Original Hardcover Throne of Glass

Above: US Hardcover Crown of Midnight

Above: US Hardcover Heir of Fire

(I have no idea why this is signed twice – honestly. It’s not a second hand copy, it was brand new when I bought it, but I guess I must’ve taken it to an event not realizing it was signed. I guess Sarah quickly signed it again. I have no recollection of this. It’s not double signed in the picture at the top of this post, which was taken in 2014, so sometime between then and now, it got signed again.)

Above: US Hardcover Tower of Dawn

Above: US Hardcover Kingdom of Ash

Above: US Hardcover A Court of Thorns and Roses

Above: US Hardcover A Court of Frost and Starlight

And that’s it! This post is much long than I anticipated, and took a lot long to format that I thought it would! I figured it would be 1500 words tops. I guess I underestimated just how much I had to say…though to be fair, I didn’t plan on doing that whole long intro before jumping into the actual collection.

I was scrolling back through my Instagram feed (as one occasionally does, or I do) and kind of forgot that I had some of these pictures from throughout the last decade. Oh wow, it’s been almost a decade since I discovered Sarah’s books…granted I need to wait like 2 more years, give or take, but damn.

Anyways, I digress as always. I hope you enjoyed this very long post (I’m sorry!) and let me know which author you collect!

Book Collection: Sarah J. Maas (@SJMaas) A post dedicated to 8 years of reading and loving Sarah's books. #newpost #blogpost #bookpost #bookblog #books #blog #blogger #bloggerswanted #bloggerstribe #bloggingcommunity #bookish Hi Sarah! It’s been four days since I finished House of Earth and Blood and since I do not have the time at this very moment to reread it, I thought I’d do something else instead.

#Book Blog #Book Collection #Book Post #book review #Bookish #books #New Post #Reading

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