#Miss Ellen Terry
Photo
John Singer Sargent (American,1856-1925)
Miss Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth, 1889
Oil on canvas
351 notes
·
View notes
Text
Ellen Terry as Olivia AND as Viola in Twelfth Night!
#if only there was an orsino too!#i love how these call her Miss Ellen Terry always#shakespeare#william shakespeare#twelfth night#ellen terry
93 notes
·
View notes
Text
Guide to Penalty Box: Sissy Lore, Character Relationships, Bits, History
i reread all of penalty box so you don’t have to! this post is mainly for my benefit, but also for anyone new to the series <3
General Masterlist — 22-23 Season — 23-24 Season
Sissy
Basic Things About Her:
She is NOT legally a Hughes! She grew up with them and they took her in when they moved to Michigan for Jack when he went to USNTDP. They call her their sister, she calls them her brothers, and calls Jim and Ellen mom and dad
Her birth parents were neglectful and mentally abusive. She often stayed at the Hughes house even in elementary school. They put a bed in their game room for her before the move where she got her own room
She is an event planner and has her own business!
Very, very obsessed with The Hunger Games series
She will quote it, reference it, and force everyone to watch it any chance she gets
She's a runner when she's drunk!
The whole group has air tags they use for parties because of this, and even then someone is normally physically attached to her
A story of her running away is in Cruel Weather (Part Two)
She '146' tattooed on her wrist. The 1 is for Trevor, the 4 is for Quinn and Luke, and the 6 is for Jack (and later, Jamie)
She'll joke around with Jack if he gets her on her nerves that the 6 is only for Jamie now
She has the date she moved in with the Hughes's on her collar bone in Roman numerals
She's a sleepy girl! Can't get ahold of her? She's most likely sleeping
She has many sons. Most of the UMich team 101 is a fatherless child, but some have fathers!
Fatherless children: Dylan, Mark, Adam, Luca, Seamus, and Rutger (Fathered children are listed under their father)
She's a bitter! Everyone is used to it, but any time it happens for the first time with someone new, someone has to explain that it's her little deranged way of showing love. Ethan will stick his arm out if she bites Luke (or anyone) to demand love
She goes under people's shirts when she's overwhelmed with emotions. When she does it, you know she trusts you
Sissy & Co are big fans of game nights and she is very, very competitive! They have monthly game nights in whatever way can
Every teammate, on all the teams, adore her and she loves them so much
She gives the teams (mainly the Ducks, obviously) good bags after each game! The more she learns at each player, the more personal the bags
She calls Troy and Dani Terry mom and dad, and she also calls Shatty mom
She's a huge Dallas Stars fan! Her favorite is Robo, and she always (with slim exceptions like if Quinn and Trevor etc play each other) flies to see any of her friends play against them.
She will drop everything if anyone, anyone needs her
She's terrified of storms
She's picky about who gets to call her Sissy and will fight over it.
Sissy exceptions: Dylan because he's known her so long, Cole gets a once a month pass, and Spencer Knight can anytime
Gives creative insults and has no filter
She's a Pink Whitney girly
She has weekly face times with Petey and Matty
She's so clumsy. Extremely so. She is frequently bruised because of it
She's really touchy and will cuddle and fall asleep on anyone
She's a Slytherin
She keeps scrapbooks! For literally anything and everything!
She loves poetry, and frequently uses Atticus poems
Random Lore:
She will leave at any given moment and tell no one. And not just to go out, she'll hop on a plane to see any of her boys. She won't even tell the person she's coming to see. She'll just show up. None of this out of spite, she's just forgetful
Once, she missed Quinn and spontaneously got on a plane to go see him while Trevor was gone without telling anyone. Not Trevor, not Quinn, no one. There was a big freak out. (This was not the first time)
She rented a minivan out of spite during the 2023 development camp so that she could take some of the Ducks boys out after it to get them know them better (it did not take long for the under 20s to call her mom)
In high school, she made her own NTDP hoodie with Jack's, Trevor's, Cole's, and Alex's numbers on the back and wore it every game
She'll occasionally give out gold star stickers (she's basically pavloving them) and once Jack annoyed her and she took his back
She gets her boys a trophy for their first goals of the season
There's a yearly tradition where the day before training camp begins for everyone, Sissy and the Hughes boys (and whoever wants to join) get together to work out together. Sissy is forced to participate but she does not do it for long before she taps out
Brock calls her Princess Hughes and she calls him her Blonde Princess
Frequent Gags:
She gives, and receives, penalties of various minutes for random things. It started from the Shoulder Check Showcase where Trevor did not get a tripping penalty (when he def should have)
Putting someone on probation
Telling someone they aren't friends/sons/etc for a random amount of minutes
Teasing between anyone is done if a "big" word is used. College dropout jokes are made
Random hashtags
Sap is said a lot. At any given opportunity. No one can stay serious for long. Also Simp, but less frequently
"Who's Sissy's least favorite Hughes" "Quinn" (this a gag with random commenters)
Various contracts will be mentioned. Mainly the Best Friend Contract and the Princess Treaty. I have no real explanations or full components of said contracts
Trevor protesting not being able to call her Sissy
Any mentions about high school or senior year. It's all a mystery. It is frequently said that she was crazier.
Most common insult is human dildo
She'll occasionally create the comment section herself and tell the boys to say nice things or specific things
What Jerseys She Wears:
Ducks: She rotates between Trevor's and Jamie's
Ducks vs Canucks: Trevor, Quinn, and Jamie have to play air hockey to decide. If there's no time before, they play iMessage games
Ducks/Canucks vs Habs/Kings: Trevor's or Quinn's
Devils vs Canucks/Ducks: Quinn's or Trevor's
Devils vs. Habs/Kings: Jack and Luke play rock, paper, scissors
Habs vs Kings: Alex and Cole play iMessage games
Panthers vs Anyone: Matty and Spencer play rock, paper, scissors when Spencer is playing. Otherwise, she wears Matty's (except for Canucks and Ducks)
Anyone vs Stars: Jason Robertson's (Robo)
Trevor
Nicknames: Z-Baby, Sweet Boy
He had a crush on Sissy since the moment her saw her
First Date: March 16, 2018 (Junior Year)
They also say their first real kiss was that day, since the other two were practically forced by their friends
Officially Dating: March 22, 2018
First time they said I love you: July 18, 2018
Engagement Date: April 14, 2023
They'll cuddle in any way possible (post on gen. masterlist)
Sissy will "train" with him. And by train I mean she's more like his personal cheerleader, but she'll do some things with him on a lower level
Big PDA couple
They'll sleep anywhere when they're drunk. Counters, tables, closets, horizontally on the bed, anywhere. It phases no one anymore
Sissy will take any and all of his clothes, so all of their clothes are mixed together in their closet. She'll steal clothes from anybody, so sometimes he's accidentally put on someone else's hoodie with their perspective team on it
There's a tradition on his birthday where everyone (that can be there) has a sleepover in the living room. They make a giant fort and watch movies and it's pure chaos
They have matching tattoos of otters on their hands so that when they hold hands, it looks like the otters are
They call each other sweet girl and sweet boy
He kisses her to wake her up. She calls it "Disney Princess style"
Leo is their first and only adopted son
More headcanons are listed on the general masterlist!
Quinn
Nicknames: Quinny Baby, Quinny, Huggy, Quinnjamin
He's not only her big brother, but he's also Sissy's best friend in the entire world
They have a Best Friend Contract
There is a rule that everyone knows that they do not let go of each other until they're both ready. No one else is allowed to touch her, and no one can take her away from him. Not even Trevor
Her going under shirts started with him (blurb: here)
Her and Quinn's son is Cole McWard! (blurb: here)
Trevor asked him for permission before he asked Sissy out. He's officiating their wedding, so it's like it has come full circle. (Fic: here)
She cries every time he leaves, especially after games when she barely gets to see him
He is a professional "Sissy catcher" because she will stand on surfaces that are not meant for standing on
He's the one that bought her Robo jersey
She gave him a "Best Big Brother In The Universe" trophy when they were kids and he still has it
He has a list of random things Sissy says when she's lovey clingy drunk
They officially became best friends when she was in 4th grade
Before Trevor, she had a boyfriend in freshman year. The breakup was hard for her because it was her first one, so Quinn drove down from UMich to be with her for a couple of days
She’ll call him anything under the sun, but she often uses Quintin when she’s upset or in pain (sometimes randomly). She used it a lot in middle school
Jack
Nicknames: Jacky Boy, Soulmate, Howdy Rowdy, Twin
She met everyone through him. They were in kindergarten together and were thrilled to live near each other
They have the same birthday (hence twins)
Jack often jokes he's older than her because he was born 4 hours and 36 minutes before her
They tend to make bets. Everyone had an "intervention" to stop them and limit to Ducks vs Canucks games, but they do not listen
They spontaneously went to Vegas in the peak of the bets starting. Only Trevor knew.
They have a special connection. They know what the other is saying with just a look. They call it "Hugheslepathy"
Sons: Luke and Ethan (He's her first officially adopted son)
Luke is a son because he accidentally called Sissy mom during the one month her and Jack dated (they decided it was too weird and broke up) (it was before the move)
She gives him a painted puck every year on their birthday, and he gives her a charm for her charm bracelet. When he knows it's full, he gets her a new one. (Full imagine: Sweet Sixteen)
She's changing her middle name to Rowden after her and Trevor get married to match him
They will wrestle each other, but he's always careful to make sure she doesn't hit her head on anything with how clumsy she is
They are THE unhinged duo
Sissy cried and slept in Jack's bed for weeks after Quinn left for USNTDP
Luke
Nicknames: Lukey Moosey, Moose, her son
He was the one that first called her Sissy
She's very protective of him and always feels the need to stay strong around him. When they were younger, she'd hold it together if she was upset or hurt in front of him. She also did it in the hospital after the car crash.
Just like with Quinn, if he needs her physical touch, she doesn't let go until he's ready. It's just a rarity.
Cute childhood Luke story in his Debut post!
Luke walked in on Sissy and Trevor making out during the spring break they first got together. He had a talk with Trevor alone warning him not to hurt his sister, despite him being so young at the time
Jamie
Nicknames: Jamie Baby, Ex Husband
Him and Sissy are very close and very supportive of each other
When he got hurt, she left the stands to be with him. She stayed home from games while with him to take care of him when it was the roughest
They used to be "husband and wife" and she calls him her favorite ex-husband
They had silicone rings and everything
They used to joke that Trevor was their kid (he hated it) until they got engaged
It took him a while to fully warm up to her because he's so quiet, but they easily became as close as she is to the other guys when he did
When Sissy and Trevor fall asleep on the couch, he'll carry her up to bed and then wake up Trevor so he can go to bed himself
When he learned why she goes under people's shirts, she made sure to tell her that it was okay for her to do it to him
He sat on the floor and held her hand while she did an online interview to work an important event because she was anxious about it
It was her idea for Jamie to move in with her and Trevor
Cole
Nicknames: Coley Woley
Known as Best Friend Number Two (fic: here)
She'll call him Best Friend Number One to mess with Quinn sometimes
Sissy's man of honor for the wedding
Has a once a month pass to call her Sissy
They've kissed, but it was more of as a joke. Full story on the Engagement post
Sissy, Cole, and Alex have a yearly "Best Friend's Weekend" with no boyfriends/girlfriends or brothers. It started in high school
In high school, Sissy would often go to Cole and Alex's room to smoke, vent, etc
Him and Alex 100% knew Sissy liked Trevor before she really knew herself
Sissy is the nicest to him at all times. He hardly gets the aggressive but loving teasing and belittling (also out of love)
Just she like was there for Jamie, she flew out to see Cole and help out after his surgery in the 22-23 season
Alex
Nicknames: Turc, Turcs, Lexi
Her main smoking partner after high school (especially since he lives so close)
He stole her bong and will not give it back
Sissy, Alex, and Cole have weekly movie nights where they facetime and use watch parties
Once when she fell asleep on him, Quinn threatened him to not move even though he had to pee until Alex was "about to pee on her"
He calls her Girly Hughes
Matthew Tkachuk
Nicknames: My Rat, Matty Ratty, Matty, Rathew (rare)
Sissy had the biggest crush on him in middle and high school and talked about him all of the time
She'll often joke to Trevor that she'll him for Matty when he's on her nerves (lovingly)
She begged Quinn to invite him to her sixteenth birthday party and she got so excited she fell over the couch (fic: here)
He calls her Little Mouse (occasionally sissy)
They have adopted Mackie as their son! It happened when the team went to Universal Studios (Oct. 4, 2023) when Sissy flew out to them without telling anyone (again)
She facetimed him angry when she found out through twitter he played with a broken sternum (and also cried. she's a crier)
She flew out there after and yelled at Brady in person
Spencer Knight
Note: he has not been in the series until the summer before and preseason of 23-24
Nickname: Spency
He had a big part in the egging on for Trevor and Sissy to have their first kiss at a party (full story: Knight in Shining Armor)
He has Sissy pass, and it's not limited. There's not really an explanation for it, but he wasn't as close in the group like the others, so she let him as a way for them to be closer
She was THRILLED when he got drafted to the Panthers, and called him when Matty got traded saying that he was going to love "Her Rat"
She flew to Boston without telling anyone for his first game during Trevor’s rookie year. That’s what started her thing of randomly going to see someone without telling anybody
Hughes Childhood/HS Things
When Quinn first went to USNTDP, they all would have facetime sleepovers. Quinn built his own fort in his dorm, and Jack, Luke, and Sissy built their own. This is still done today, but anyone can be involved
Forts are a big thing for them. They built a fort at any given opportunity (and still do)
They have a yearly "Brothers Weekend" with Sissy where it's just them four
Quinn walked her to class in elementary school. He always made sure her hair was how she wanted before he left to his own class
He gave her hoodie when he left while she was in middle school so he was still "walking her to class"
There's a yearly twister game at the Lake House every summer and has been since they first started spending summers together
"Hugheslepathy" isn't just for Jack and Sissy, theirs is just the strongest. They can all practically read each other's minds
Quinn officiated a wedding between Sissy and a poster of Finnick Odair. Everyone was forced to attend. Luke was the flower boy.
---
more will be added as the series develops!
143 notes
·
View notes
Text
Cold Feet
AO3
Rating: G
Word Count: 2216
Tags: Davenport Homestead, Assassin's Creed III, American Revolution, Canon Compliant, Happy Ending, Light Angst, Mild Hurt/Comfort, "The Wedding" Mission
Summary: Connor convinces Myriam to start her new life with Norris. Set during "The Wedding" Homestead mission between the chase sequence and the wedding scene. Hope you guys enjoy!
Connor would be the first to admit that he knew little to nothing about colonial wedding customs. Aside from a few comprehensive history and culture lessons from his teen years when he first traveled to Achilles, Connor knew nothing about the complexities of colonial weddings. Father Timothy had been kind enough to explain a few key details, such as “giving” Myriam away at the altar (which Connor was more than happy to do for his old friend), but details slipped Connor’s mind from time to time over the next several days of intense planning and preparation.
But there was one thing that Connor was sure they did not include: chasing the bride in question through the snow-covered trees minutes before her wedding.
The day began with as much chaos as one would expect. Before the roosters began to crow, nearly every member of the Homestead bustled about preparing for the joyous celebration. Oliver and Corrine worked hard preparing their finest wines for the occasion while preparing the livestock meat and crops gathered by Warren and Prudence – and of course, little baby Hunter, who cooed excitedly against his mother’s back. Once finished organizing the food, Prudence and Corrine joined the ladies in adorning Myriam in fine, comfortable fabrics suitable for the huntress. Ellen poked needles into the sides to ensure the stitching was up to par, while Diana and Catherine squawked at Connor and Norris for accidentally stepping near the bride’s suite (which Connor did not dare remind the ladies was his home).
In the meantime, Big Dave and Lance worked tirelessly to adorn both the inn and the church with banners and decor fit for the Homestead’s very first wedding. Big Dave lifted the chubby woodworker up to pin the wooden posts on the side of the inn, waving to Terry and Godfrey as the lumberers warned Norris of the horrors of marriage to come.
“You’ll ne’er be right ‘bout anythin’ again, ya hear me, boy?” Godfrey teased as he slapped his palm against Norris’s back.
“Aye, and forget about havin’ the covers to yerself! You’ll be shiverin’ like a leaf!” Terry explained. Norris merely laughed and shook his head.
In the church, Dr. White and Achilles aided Father Timothy in preparing his short sermon, arranging the pews, and finishing the final touches hours before the wedding. Even the Assassin recruits were more than happy to help with the preparations. Stephane set to work in the kitchen alongside Oliver to cater the large meal ahead. Duncan, ever the Catholic, assisted Father Timothy in rehearsing his sermon. Jacob offered his wisdom for marriage while he straightened Norris’s hair, while Dobby stood guard outside Myriam’s dressing room in case of wandering eyes from stray men. Clipper and Jamie helped Mr. Faulkner and the crew of the Aquila find their drunken ways to the church, all while Connor wandered about and assisted where he could.
So, given the day’s chaotic events, it was not surprising to Connor as he announced happily to the pacing Norris that all was in order that Myriam was “missing.” After all, the ladies had only just left her room. How much trouble could the huntress find herself in?
Apparently, thought Connor as he raced through the trees and leapt through the branches, quite a lot.
“Leave me be!” Myriam shouted as she jumped to the next branch, a stray branch slowing her down as it caught on her white dress. It was not enough to stop her, but it was enough for Connor to come within speaking distance.
“Why do you run?!” Connor replied, his voice echoing through the forest with concern lacing his tone. He swung to the next branch, careful not to slip and even more careful to ensure Myriam did not.
“Leave me be!” Myriam exclaimed. She crossed over to the next tree in an attempt to throw Connor off her trail. “I’m no housewife!”
Connor’s brow furrowed. While he could not necessarily speak for the entire Homestead, “housewife” would be one of the last descriptors attributed to Myriam. She was a huntress, and a respectable one at that. Through his confusion, Connor quickly ducked through another tree and sprinted across the large, sturdy branch. “No one thinks you are one!”
Myriam slid down a fallen tree, stumbling into the snow before whirling around to face Connor. “That’s what all of this means!”
A silence passed between the two as flurries of snow cascaded around them. Myriam sighed, grabbing her crown of flowers and tossing it to the ground. She sunk to the snowy ground and hid her face in her knees.
Quietly, Connor knelt beside Myriam. Lifting the flower crown into his hands, he joined her in the blanket of snow. He said nothing, only silently thumbing the daffodils adorning her crown. The two sat for a moment while gazing over the rushing river, watching as it cascaded over weathered rocks. Myriam reached forward and threw one into the water. When it sank to the bottom of the river, she huffed angrily through her nose.
“I don’t want to be some housewife that sits around waiting for her husband to come home,” she explained, tossing her hands into the air in frustration. “That’s not who I am. I’m not… I’m not some lady wanting to be kept pregnant and barefoot!”
“No one thinks you are one,” Connor repeated gently. Myriam shot a glare at the hulking man, Connor shrinking in on himself in response despite his size.
“That’s what this means! This whole wedding! Shoving me into this stuffy dress, preparing me to take vows, giving me away!” She stood, pacing by the riverside. She gave Connor an apologetic look. “No offense. If I want anyone to give me away, it would be you.”
Connor rose and nodded his head. “None taken. But what is it that causes you to believe that you will become a housewife?”
Rubbing the bridge of her nose, Myriam groaned before settling her hands on her hips and staring out into the river. “I… I don’t know!” She tossed her hands in the air again, rustling her hair and pacing back and forth. “I don’t belong inside a house cooking and cleaning and caring for a husband and an entire brood of children. I belong in the open air, in my hunting blinds, with my rifle in my hands!” Her hands formed the gesture of her weapon in question. Then, they fell to her sides. “If I marry Norris… I’ll be leaving behind all of my freedom that I worked so hard to gain.”
Stepping closer, Connor laid a hand on Myriam’s back. “That is not true,” he murmured quietly. “You know that better than I. Norris wants only for you to be happy.”
“Do I?” Myriam asked. Her voice faltered and she turned her nose to the rushing river. “What if, when we get married, all he wants is for me to sit at home and… I don’t know, wash his feet?”
Connor unintentionally wrinkled his nose. At the very least, the gesture provided a quick laugh for the two hunters. The uncomfortable silence returned soon after, broken only by the sounds of quiet chirping and rustling bushes.
“Norris did not fall in love with a housewife,” Connor finally spoke up. He met Myriam’s gaze with his own, gentle eyes. “Why would he expect such?”
“All men do,” Myriam sighed.
“I do not.”
“You are not all men.”
Connor glanced down at the flower crown in his hands, thumbing over the white petals. “Perhaps I am not.”
Myriam pinched her nose again. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to offend–”
“No, it is alright,” Connor assured her. His brows furrowed in thought while Myriam squinted into the horizon. Then, a candle sparked in his mind. “How much do you know of my people, Myriam?”
“I don’t see the point of your question,” Myriam remarked tersely. When Connor gave a serious expression, she sighed. “But to answer it, not much.”
He moved in front of Myriam. “I think you would like it very much. For my people, it is the women who lead. We may have chiefs and war councils, but these men are voted upon by our women. Clan Mothers lead the village. We trace our ancestry through our mothers. For women, marriage is not just a union of the husband and wife, but of the village to the couple.”
Myriam raised a brow. “Your point?”
Placing the flower crown upon her head, Connor continued. “You are not a housewife, but even if you were, it would not change who you are. You are a skillful leader and hunter. Norris knows this. He marries you because of it, not in spite of it. He admires you for who you are. You need be nothing else. And by marrying Norris, you unite our friends as a whole, too.”
Silently, Myriam adjusted the crown and tucked stray strands of hair behind her ears. “Do you really think so?”
“I know so.” He cracked a rare smile. “Besides, you are a better shot than Norris. If anyone will be the housewife, it will be him.”
Myriam snorted. “The bad part is that I think he would enjoy being a housewife.” Her shoulders shook as she began to laugh. “Could you imagine? Me, coming home with a pipe of tobacco sticking out of my mouth, my rifle on my back, and hares in my hands while Norris cooks and cleans?”
Connor chuckled, then gently led Myriam towards the path leading to the church. “But you cannot imagine such a fate until you are wed.”
“No,” Myriam smiled, “I suppose I can’t.” As they reached the church, Myriam turned to Connor with a mixture of fear and excitement.
“I’m scared.”
Connor nodded. “I know.”
“What do I do?”
“What do you do when you face a cougar?”
“I shoot it. Are you suggesting I shoot Norris?”
“No, but I am suggesting that you face him like you would any animal.” He laid his hands on her shoulders, squeezing gently. “You are a strong, cunning woman, Myriam. He loves you deeply. He would not be marrying you if he had no intention of respecting you.”
Myriam inhaled sharply. “How do I get over it?”
“The fear?”
“No, the weather – what else would there be?”
“You won’t,” chimed a gentle, soft voice. Prudence and Ellen emerged from behind the church. Ellen offered Myriam her bouquet of flowers while Prudence wrapped a white shawl around her shivering shoulders. Prudence patted her cheek. “When I married Warren years ago, I was terrified of our future. But you learn, in marriage, that you are both equally frightened.” She giggled along with Ellen and Myriam.
Ellen took Myriam’s hands in her own. “My marriage was an unhappy one,” she confessed. Connor looked on solemnly, catching Ellen’s somber gaze for a mere second before Ellen mustered a smile. “But I can offer this wisdom: a good husband will cherish his wife for her talents, her wit, her love, her devotion, and her faith. Norris practically worships the ground you walk on. He will make a fine husband.”
Myriam sniffled. “Fuck,” she cursed. “I can’t believe I’m crying like some… some old hag!” Prudence and Ellen laughed, rubbing Myriam’s shoulders before holding her tightly.
“Besides,” Prudence cooed, staring over Myriam’s shoulder into Connor’s watchful gaze, “once we have you and Norris married, we can finally focus our attention on finding Connor a wife.”
Cheeks flushing, Connor brought his fist to his mouth and cleared his throat. “That will not be necessary.”
“Oh, hush, Prudence,” Ellen giggled. “We mustn't scare him from the prospect yet.” She turned back to Myriam, kissing her cheek. “We have to go back inside, but we will support you no matter what.” Prudence nodded in agreement before waving goodbye, giggling alongside Ellen as they hurried into the church.
Myriam rubbed her arms and faced Connor, walking with him up the steps. “You will be there every step of the way?”
“Every step,” Connor assured.
“Okay.”
“How do you feel?”
“Terrified. Like I want to run away again,” Myriam chuckled breathlessly. Connor hummed and looped his arm with hers.
“I will be there regardless. I am sure Norris will be as well.”
Myriam smiled. “Thank you, Connor.”
“You do not need to thank me. You are my friend.”
She stood on her tiptoes, pressing her frigid lips to Connor’s freckled cheek. “No, but I will. Thank you.”
Blushing, Connor cleared his throat and led Myriam to the entrance of the church, where the guests began to rise as they spotted the bridge.
“Prudence and Ellen are right, though. We must find you a bride,” she whispered, doing her best to ignore the endless amount of eyes upon her and Connor.
Connor chuckled, patting her hand. “I can only hope she is not as fast nor agile as you.”
“Ha, ha. Who knew you had such a sense of humor?”
Years later, when Connor would find himself fidgeting in front of his betrothed’s longhouse, Myriam would loop her arm with his, kiss his flustered cheek, and walk him into the longhouse with the same kindness he had shown her before.
Luckily for Connor, his wife did not run into the trees. How fortunate he was indeed.
#assassin’s creed#ac3#connor kenway#ratohnhaké:ton#fanfiction#my fanfic#assassin's creed fanfic#davenport homestead#myriam#norris#prudence#ellen#terry#godfrey#pretty much everybody in the damn homestead#that random cut from the chase sequence to the wedding bothers me so fucking much#so I simply decided to fill in the blanks#I hope you guys enjoy!#I love Connor sm he's a good friend
81 notes
·
View notes
Text
I am no Mother, I am no Bride, I am King
King by Florence + The Machine / Miss Ellen Terry As Lady Macbeth by John Singer Sargent ♕
#king#florence welch#florence and the machine#happy florence day#dance fever#art#lady macbeth#ellen terry#john singer sargent#macbeth#shakespeare
574 notes
·
View notes
Text
oh! just in case anyone was missing the context for the Joe Hills Lady Macbeth thing, it's drawn from a very early season nine stream where Joe was doing server mapping. we'd been through which hermit was which muppet (very important) (Cleo and Joe are the old men that heckle) and then we got on to who's who in a hermitcraft Shakespeare play. many options were thrown up, but the pinnacle of it all was Hermacbeth.
we have Joe as lady Macbeth and Cleo as lord Macbeth (Joe reasoned that their personalities would put them the other way round so he'd like a chance at whispering Cleo into regicide, for once). and we have the soup group as the weird sisters (boil boil toil and trouble), stirring the pot of fate between them.
this was all before the king arc, so you can imagine the excitement when a king presented himself to be macbethed by Joe and Cleo (and then Cleo placed on the throne). the brainrot, it's immense.
Macbeth is still swirling in the consciousness, though - Pearl collected a shulker called 'lady Macbeth's laundry' from Joe, and Cleo added Lady Macbeth the axolotl to their museum from the Empires village (probably also from Joe)
The tiny crown and the crastle are cleo's, but lady Macbeth is still there, a power behind the throne - royal letterer with an envenomed quill
(in other fun facts: the most famous lady Macbeth costume is Ellen Terry's (second best paid woman in Victorian Britain (after the Queen)). And the theatre manager for the lyceum theatre (where she worked) was Bram Stoker (Dracula author) (she called him 'ma' and she loved cats). Her costar was Henry Irving (first actor to ever be knighted), likely the guy that Stoker based Dracula off of. Oscar Wilde (of the very famous trial) once sent Ellen Terry a flower crown to make it less weird that he was also sending one to Florence Lemon Anne Balcombe Stoker (Author's wife) (who he'd also courted) (his courting gift was a gold crucifix) (visible in Dracula)). This doesn't really tie in. I just like that it links to the Dracula streams too
47 notes
·
View notes
Text
B.C. Cliver Wins Daddy Dyke Title
If you missed the First Annual Daddy Dyke Contest last Saturday night, Nov. 23, at the Eagle, you missed one of the funniest and best efforts for a first-time-out event. Ms. SF Leather J.C. Collins and Jenny Blake proved masters at the art of emceeing as they quipped and ad-libbed their way through the event that produced six contestants and went along at a rapid pace even with three intermissions, warbling sensation Terry Foster, the incomparable dance-strip routine by the delightful Rainbeau and Shan Carr giving the audience a “wet” spot (by special request) as well as some very funny dialogue. Joe Shore, who signed the entire show, admitted he had a somewhat difficult time translating the “wet spot” during Shan’s routine !
The judges were picked by drawing lottery tickets and included one man, Brian (a musician/student studying sociological anthropology!); Ms. South Bay Leather Beth Key; “Tas” Davis (formerly Corky Davis); redheaded Ellen; and Lisa, a daddy’s girl from the South Bay. Lots of South Bay women were there.
The contestants: Sharon Cornielson, Sita, B.C. Cliver, Donna Shrout, Jackie Hanson and Blair were obliged to perform “scenarios” — not fantasies — and the emcees as well as audience were often confused by the gender aspect. We all know that gay men often refer to each other as “she” or “her” — no different from the women who often refer to each other as “he” and “him.” Hence, when the “scenario” explanations were read, “he” meant girl and “him” meant the same, or was it the reverse? Somehow, “boy” kept popping up!
When all was said and done, the judges picked Sita second runner-up, Blair first runner-up and B.C. Cliver SF Daddy Dyke I. In the process, almost $1,000 was raised for the HIV Women’s Support Group and the Women’s Cancer Resource Center. A lot of people were thanked for their help, donations and support.
Sponsored by the Outcasts, Rena Davis, current co-chair of the SFBA National Leather Association, was the catalyst for the event. She kissed so many women during the evening that her lipstick was gone by 2200. Great fun, great show, and if you missed it, shame, shame on you!
Daddy Dyke I, B.C. Cliver, flexes her biceps after winning the title last Saturday night. She was chosen by judges selected from a lottery drawing. (Photo: Mr. Marcus)
Daddy Dyke Winners (I. to r.): second runner-up Sita; B.C. Cliver, Daddy Dyke I; and Blair, first runner-up at the Daddy Dyke contest last Saturday night, Nov. 23. (Photo: Mr. Marcus)
BAY AREA REPORTER NOVEMBER 27, 1991 PAGE 50
117 notes
·
View notes
Text
2023 Fanfic Wrapped
Thank you @onthewaytosomewhere for the tag! :)
Sooo this year has been a wild ride fandomly for me... to say the least.
(we're gonna go ahead and add a cut cause she's gonna get long)
It started with a few prompt fics in January
Feel The Rain On Your Skin Destiel(SPN)663 words
Tumblr Prompt Game
“We’re in the middle of a thunderstorm, and you want to stop and feel the rain?”
overtime - Steddie(Stranger Things)1305 words
Fic prompt game “we’re you ever going to tell me?”
I worked on some WIPs I wont include because they were started in 2022 through February . Then in March I started three new fics (because I am insane) that are all still on going WIPs as well, but the first two that I share were left on a good stopping point; so you're not left with that bitterness once you see they haven't been updated in a long time. The last one... we won't talk about her(I swear it's not abandoned I just have been hyperfixated elsewhere and life has been messy)
It Takes Two - Starsky & Hutch 8746 words
Nothing more than a box that had fallen over. He laughed at himself and relaxed for a brief moment — since at least there was no rat — but it was short-lived as he turned the box to reveal the writing on the side.
Give to Dave
It was written in big red letters in Terry’s handwriting; Starsky felt like he might be sick. Her parents had brought it after… said it was in her apartment. He didn’t even know about it, and he had not yet found the strength to open it. So it was hidden away in his closet where he could forget about it, and he had. Go figure, he thought.
Interdit - Portamis(The Three Musketeers)8241 words
It happens while Aramis is hunched over Porthos, stitching — or rather trying to stitch, as Porthos repeatedly flails and hisses and snatches away from Aramis’ needle — the slash across his left eye.
just a little while - Gallavich(Shameless)12,725 words
Mickey will be a shit dad. He will. He knows he will. It’s fucking encoded in his DNA… or some shit. Except, how come every time he’s stuck with one the Gallagher kids, it feels like the exact opposite…
Which brings us to August, when everything changed... drastically. I was introduced to RWRB and although I started getting ideas for fics and even started writing one I still haven't finished prior to seeing the movie, just a few days after it released I went on a spiral of writing i have NEVER gone on before... and it doesn't seem to be stopping anytime soon.
August - December every fic I wrote has been FirstPrince
August
Zahra Deserves A Raise 5091 words
or Five times Zahra has to put up with Alex and Henry's shit... and definitely didn't get paid enough for it... plus one time she was happy to.
A Summer Scandal 6123 words
It’s next summer and they made it back to the lake house…
but let’s make it angstier than last time. :)
we're gonna need some pizza 1017 words
Missing scene from when Alex comes out to Ellen.
or What happens between Ellen ordering the pizza and her asking Alex what he identifies as.
Home 2675 words
Just my take on Movie Henry getting into the brownstone :)
September
Sometimes 2638 words
Alex helps Henry through a difficult time regarding his father.
what's not to like 1096 words
It’s been four days since Oscar looked at his son and said, “Sometimes you just gotta jump… and hope you’re not standing on a cliff.”
Or...
Missing scenes after Henry leaves from Oscar’s POV
What If 5817 words
Alex called all day, everyday, for a week after Henry left the lake house. Each time Henry wished it would be the last; that Alex would take the hint, and let it go. Each time there was another call.
Until there wasn’t.
or...
What if Alex never stormed the castle to win Henry back?!
tell me more, tell me more 2981 words
What are best friends for if not to go gush about the person you are secretly in love with after each (totally not but totally IS) date.
or...
The missing scenes of Nora and Percy finding out the story behind each time Alex and Henry get together.
The Royal American Wedding Planner 9371 words
It’s going to be the wedding of the century!
But more importantly it’s going to be the wedding of their dreams.
Zahra is going to make sure of it.
ORRR
5 weeks of problems with the FirstPrince wedding and 1 perfect day!
October
Three Days 29,542 words
He looks down at Henry’s body, steps closer. He’s right beside the bed and lays a hand on the top of Henry’s head. “Say you could go back three days; back to before all the missed plans, before all of the arguments, before the promotion… before the accident. Would you?”
“Of course I would…”
ooorrr
I decided to write an angsty little Christmas fic in October based off an equally angsty movie I use to love back in the day
one thousand four hundred and sixty four hours 926 words
Alex has always made a habit of obsessively remembering certain days. Important days, of course. Ones that leave a special mark on his memory. Ones that he never wants to forget.
eight legged freaks 895 words
henry pulls a prank on alex
based on a picture of a spider earring i saw on facebook
cake-gate, baby gates, and a mess Henry could have avoided 1655 words
Henry and Alex agree on a lot when it comes to parenting. They also disagree on a lot; that's just par the course with parenting, though… right?
One thing they both sway on the fence about is baby restraints… or whatever the technical terms for them are.
and so the story goes 2068 words
Henry suggested Alex try his routine on the days he would have been putting her to sleep, to keep her nights as close to normal as possible. But Alex’s eyes went crossed trying to understand which concoctions (and the correct amounts) Henry uses for bath time. He knew he wouldn’t be able to sit still long enough to brush through her hair more than just the amount of times it took to detangle it. Most importantly though, he absolutely sucks at bedtime stories… which have always been her favorite part of Henry’s routine.
let me hear you SCREAM 2789 words
Then Henry looks up from his writing desk, through the front window of the Brownstone, and sees a ghost face mask staring back at him from across the street.
He certainly didn’t expect Alex’s idea of getting him back to involve… well that. The cloaked figure doesn’t move, save for a slow rise of his hand to give Henry a slight wave. It’s extremely creepy and Henry has to push back from his desk and get away from the window.
November
proud to be yours 4086 words
“Made me very proud to be your boyfriend,” Henry had said.
And Alex replied; “I’m always proud to be your boyfriend.”
Henry made his little snide upperclass joke and Alex grinned and laughed as if he had just heard the most hilarious thing in the world. Then the moment was interrupted and quickly forgotten as they readied themselves to meet with the King.
And it probably should have been the end of the topic — for Alex, perhaps it truly was. But for Henry, who tends to overthink things for the worse, he just can’t forget about it.
or...
Five times Alex was introduced as Henry's boyfriend, and one time he was introduced as his husband.
ten seconds 'til 3544 words
Five New Years showing the reasons that brought Henry to hate the holiday… and the one that changes his mind
so says social media 606 words
Alex shrugs and turns his phone off, sliding it into his pocket to resume watching TV. “Who knows, people just love to stir up drama.”
Or...
I have watched people micro analyze TZP and (especially) NG on social media so much I wrote a FirstPrince fic about it.
December (I have only posted one this month, because I was feeling the pressure of giving myself a timeline on a fic, and also joining the gift exchange... that being said I am going to add the gift fic to this list on the first.)
i saw papa kissing santa claus 3483 words
“O- Oh, hello there young lady,” Henry says, swapping back to the deep American accent he’s been using as Santa, and Alex looks past him. There is a little girl storming towards the cottage; their little girl.
There you have it! My insane list of fics I've published in 2023, totalling up to 118,000+ words!
I honestly don't know anyone to tag who hasn't probably already been tagged, so I will leave it open to anyone who wants to join it! It's really fun to go back and actually see what you have accomplished in a year. Here's to 2024! :)
#fanfic wrapped#my writing#fanfic writer#spn fic#destiel fic#steddie fic#starsky and hutch#the musketeers#portamis#gallavich fic#red white and royal blue#rwrb movie#rwrb fic#firstprince fic#this year has been a lot#but i hope yall enjoy these
9 notes
·
View notes
Text
Today would have been Terry Pratchett's 75th Birthday. Now that would have been an epic party!
We miss him every day and you'll be able to hear us talk about him on BBC Radio Five on Monday night from midnight.
Image by Laura Ellen Anderson
#speakhisname #GNUTerryPratchett #Discworld #TerryPratchett
17 notes
·
View notes
Photo
Milestone Monday
On this day, February 27 in 1847, heralded English actress Ellen Terry was born in Coventry, England, the third surviving child born into a theatrical family. Terry began performing as a child, and in 1878 she joined Henry Irving's company as his leading lady. For more than the next twenty years she was considered Britain’s leading actress. Irving and Terry had several highly successful tours in Britain and America. Terry made her American debut in 1883 followed by seven separate tours, including in Milwaukee on her sixth tour, where she played in The Merchant of Venice, Nance Oldfield, and The Bells, May 6-8, 1900 at the Davidson Theatre. In 1925, three years before her death at 81, she was appointed Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire by King George V, only the second actress to be created a dame for her professional achievements.
These images by British artist and illustrator Pamela Colman Smith are from Sir Henry Irving and Miss Ellen Terry, in Robespierre, Merchant of Venice, The Bells, Nance Oldfield, The Amber Heart, Waterloo, etc., published in New York by Doubleday & McClure Co. in 1899. The text is by Bram Stoker, the renowned author of Dracula. During his lifetime, however, he was better known as the personal assistant of Henry Irving and business manager of the Lyceum Theatre, which Irving owned.
View more Milestone Monday posts.
#Milestone Monday#milestones#birthdays#Ellen Terry#Henry Irving#actresses#English actress#Dame Grand Cross#Pamela Colman Smith#illustrations#Bram Stoker#Doubleday & McClure Co.#Lyceum Theatre
23 notes
·
View notes
Text
June was the beginning of summer reading and man did I come out swinging. If you've been following me for a while, you know that summer reading is a BFD at my work and we have a competition between departments to see who can read the most. The winning department is awarded a 3D printed trophy of a pineapple to store in their office for the rest of the year. My department hasn't won since I switched roles in the library, but really that does not do anything to hurt my competitive nature. I'm a little bit behind where I want to be in my goal towards a specific point total, but it won't be hard to catch up. Gotta give Youth Services a run for their money.
Total Books Reads: 14
Total Pages Read: 5,608
Books Read:
The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich by Deya Muniz (4/5) - An undeniably sweet, charming, hilarious love story that really puts you in the mood for a toasty grilled cheese. Seriously, I must have had three separate cravings while reading this comic. Each character has such a lovable personality, from Camembert's at times clueless, yet endearing nature, to Brie's sweetness and passion for her causes. They work well as a duo, their personalities a true compliment to each other.
The artwork is absolutely stunning, especially when to comes to the outfits. It gave me flashbacks to The Prince and the Dressmaker in how articulate and gorgeous they could be. Brie's commitment to pink really makes each one of her wardrobes leap off the page, and, again, brings a great balance when seen with Cam's deeper palettes.
I somewhat like the anachronistic aspect of the story, that you have traditional depictions of the monarchy with lavish balls and opulence that you would expect out of a fairy tale, and then someone would literally be playing with a Nintendo Switch in the next scene. It plays with the theme of steering away from tradition, depicting more contemporary, progressive-minded characters in a world that still holds onto the aesthetics of the past.
The Bloody Chamber: And Other Stories by Angela Carter (4.5/5) - Review
The Coyote Road: Trickster Tales edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling (3.5/5) - Trickster tales are my bread and butter: Coyote, Hermes, Loki, Crow, Anansi, each one so varied in their mischief but share a great chaotic force. This archetype has always fascinated me, particularly in how involved they are in humanity, whether that means taking an active role in a creation myth or imparting some wisdom that helps humankind develop in a world that is always in flux. This anthology sports many of these figures, as well as some original ones, and mostly gets its job done of portraying various tricksy individuals.
Like any anthology, it had its hits and its misses. My favorite was "The Fiddler of Bayou Teche" by Delia Sherman. The atmosphere of this particular story really stood out amongst the rest, as well as the voice of the narrator, who has a Cajun vernacular that sucks you even more into the setting. The inclusion of the loup garou also is a massive plus for me. Always a sucker for werewolves am I.
Other stories I enjoyed were "One Odd Shoe," "The Listeners," "Crow Roads," "A Reversal of Fortune," and "Black Rock Blues." Probably a bit of a sign that, out of 26 stories, I only resonated with a small fraction of them, but that's just how it goes. I was definitely thinking by the end that the anthology felt a bit too weighty, or perhaps I was trying to read too much in one go. A lot of the more middling stories were unfortunately stuck in the second half, so by the end it felt a little bit more of a chore to get through.
Burning Down the Haus: Punk Rock, Revolution and the Fall of the Berlin Wall by Tim Mohr (3/5) - An interesting snapshot in history of the punk movement during the time of the Berlin Wall. The author makes the bold claim that the punk presence was a cause for the fall of the wall when he doesn't really say anything to back that information up. The book mainly talks about specific people within the punk community and the challenge of trying to live a subversive lifestyle when going against the status quo could get you arrested. The journeys of some of the people were very engaging, though some did seem more fleshed out than others and many didn't get much of a resolution. I would have loved to have read some retrospectives from some of the people in the community, as it seemed that the author was in contact with them, just to get a wider scope of their stories.
Squire and Knight Vol. 1 by Scott Chantler (4/5) - A charming, funny graphic novel that champions the thought of books over brawn, shown through a young squire saving the day by using his intelligence and reason to get to the bottom of a cursed town. The art of the comic is wonderfully fall-like, the author sticking to a palette of muted oranges, yellows, blacks, and greys that also give it a distinct medieval vibe. Definitely a worthwhile quick read if you like a bit of mystery and humor with your quest narratives.
Also there's a cool looking dragon in it, which should be enough for anyone to read anything really.
Spindle's End by Robin McKinley (4/5) - Robin McKinley has such a fine way of transforming ages old stories and making them more vibrant and engaging for a modern audience. Given how passive Sleeping Beauty is in her own fairy tale at times, McKinley does a phenomenal job of making Rosie a very active agent in her own story in this retelling. Her stubborn, determined, and no nonsense attitude had an odd way of making her endlessly endearing and her rise to action in the climax, as well as her sacrifices, solidified her as a strong, layered character.
The world is so mischievously magical, to the point where fish are a myth and, if you let your kettles unattended, the magic dust settling over them may lead to a surprise of snakes in the pot. McKinley's descriptive style only adds to the mysterious wonder of this land, not making it too difficult to feel yourself instantly transported within its pages.
Since I am a big fan of female friendships that are polar opposites, like the rough and tumble Rosie and the beautiful, princess-like Peony, it's always a shame when those relationships fall second place behind the romantic interests that have all the appeal of drying plaster. Also, how old exactly is Narl? He's already a smith by the time Rosie is a baby and she develops feelings for him by the time she's 16 having known him her whole life. I have no idea why large age gap romances with emotionally distant men are such a trend in fantasy but I really I think we've had enough of them.
Other than that, this was a stand out read for me, which is a welcome surprise since I found her other work, like Beauty and The Outlaws of Sherwood to be a bit middling.
Violet and Jobie in the Wild by Lynne Rae Perkins (3/5) - Read this book as it is my library's book of the summer for this year. It's a simple, sweet story that deals with adapting to new situations shown through two house mice suddenly finding themselves living in the wild. Since the story stuck mostly to lighthearted adventure, I was surprised by its somewhat bittersweet ending. It was a little more mature that what I usually expect out of stories like this, saying that sometimes people drift away from who they love to get where they need to be, and that's all right. The memory of them is what keeps that love alive and I thought that was a sweet sentiment to end on.
The Secrets of Chocolate: A Gourmand's Trip through a Top Chef's Atelier by Franckie Alarcon (2.5/5) - Has some great insight into the process of chocolate making, as well as some scrumptious illustrations that really had me craving some chocolate afterwards. It was a so so reading experience and I mainly read it to fill a category for summer reading, so I can't really give it too high a rating.
The Sandman: Act III by Neil Gaiman (5/5) - Another gorgeous installment in the Sandman Audible series. Seeing as this one collections the Orpheus story, it has some wonderful, beautiful, and melancholic music to it. The full cast brings each character to life and I continue to be impressed at how truly immersive this series is as an audiobook.
The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston (4/5) - Romances aren't usually my kind of thing, but when you mix in the qualms of a struggling author with ghostly shenanigans, then that makes a title a little more enticing. It also helps that the story focuses on the vulnerabilities surrounding grief as well as love. Florence's emotional journey was such a compelling element, especially when she holds so many fears, aspirations, and insecurities that seeing her come to terms with them feels like more of a triumph.
Though there was plenty of raw emotions in this book, it never turned morose. There is something comforting about seeing Florence rekindle her love for her hometown and finding refuge in her family. Tensions run high at times, but ultimately they're there for each other and somehow make a funeral home feel like a lively place. It's an oddly cozy book at times, full of reflection and soft moments.
Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley (4/5) - Firekeeper's Daughter is such a powerful, heartbreaking, but necessary book. Boulley takes the complicated life of Daunis, full of grief and pain. but also an unwavering love and devotion to her family and community. I love how the author speaks of Daunis in relation to her community, that she finds solidarity, wisdom, and support in the Elders that hold the traditions and knowledge of her heritage. Daunis comes from a mixed background, but being Ojibwe is a fundamental part of her character and how she views herself. I loved that she always felt confident in who she was, even when so many refused to recognize her place in the tribe.
I have to say, this book was hard to read at times. Daunis faces so many betrayals and moments where people try and succeed to take advantage of her. It's difficult to see a community in danger because of people who only want to use it for their own selfish desires. The stakes are what make Daunis' every move so important and, even when some decisions don't seem so smart in the moment, you know she's doing everything she can to make sure the people that she loves stay safe.
Her relationship with Jaimie I felt was handled very maturely. It feels like a natural parallel to Travis' and Lily's, one that knows and respects the aspects of love and what comes with it and one that doesn't. Boulley makes it abundantly clear through so many plotlines that self serving actions are what truly destroy a community and harmony with its members.
Definitely worthy of its many accolades and a great conversation starter for many of the issues it discusses.
Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall (3/5) - Review
Spider-verse by Dan Slott (4/5) - An epic Spidey tale for the ages. Though there were SEVERAL Spider people that I was not familiar with, I felt like the story handled/balanced them well enough with the more recognizable ones so it never felt too confusing. I'm sure many of them were introduced in this event series (I definitely tracked this story down solely for reading anything that involved Spiderpunk) so I didn't feel outrageously out of the loop.
While I felt that the story dragged on and off, I never got too bored with it. I wish that the omnibus I read had organized the comics so that certain character-specific issues were included at the time they happened within the overall story. Scarlet Spider, Spiderwoman, and Spiderman 2099 have separate issues that tie directly to the overall plot and are collected after its end, which make them feel like a pointless bit of catch up. They are exciting and important issues, but they could have been integrated a little more coherently.
Definitely going to see if I can track down some more Spiderverse event comics.
Edge of Spider-Geddon by Gerardo Sandoval, Jason Latour, Zac Thompson, et al. (3.5/5) - Sort of a setup for a larger event comic, but gave great introductions/reintroductions to more Spideys across the multiverse. Also, I am a simple creature, and when I see Spiderpunk on the cover, you can bet that I am going to read it in a heartbeat.
Average Rating: 3.71
#robin's book log#reading wrap up#monthly wrap up#the princess and the grilled cheese sandwich#the bloody chamber#the coyote road#burning down the haus#squire and knight#spindle's end#violet and jobie in the wild#secrets of chocolate#the dead romantics#firekeeper's daughter#mortal follies#spider verse#edge of spider-geddon
8 notes
·
View notes
Text
Dracula Daily Liveblog: Sept. 25 - Bloofer Lady
Does anybody know if this is in reference to a real murder? A quick google search led me to a reddit thread asking the same question, which had a link to a copy of an old newspaper that could be about the same thing, here, but I don't know how accurate it is.
My copy of Dracula says that "bloofer" is baby-talk for "beautiful," which would be kind of cute if it weren't from children who went missing at night.
My copy of Dracula also informs me that Ellen Terry was widely considered one of the greatest actresses of the Victorian era, as well as a friend and colleague to both Henry Irving and Stoker himself, which makes this reference seem much more affectionate.
What horrifying implications. And I think we all know it's not the Count attacking these kids.
49 notes
·
View notes
Text
Top 22 Books (and series) of 2022
This was a pretty good reading year! Once again I couldn't choose a top 10 so I cheated and did 22 plus some honourable mentions.
In no particular order:
The Mirror Visitor series - Christelle Dabos
Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism - Amanda Montell
The Hollow Places - T. Kingfisher
Borne - Jeff Vandermeer
Siren Queen - Nghi Vo
Juniper & Thorn - Ava Reid
The Nova Vita Protocol series - Kristyn Merbeth
Nona the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir
Shit Cassandra Saw - Gwen E. Kirby
A Strange and Stubborn Endurance - Foz Meadows
A Marvellous Light - Freya Marske
Just Like Home - Sarah Gailey
Jackalope Wives and Other Stories - T. Kingfisher
Widdershins - Charles de Lint
The Dreamer Trilogy - Maggie Stiefvater
The Galaxy, and the Ground Within - Becky Chambers
Book of Night - Holly Black
The Traitor Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson
Small Sacrifices - Ann Rule
The Unidentified: Mythical Monsters, Alien Encounters, and Our Obsession with the Unexplained - Colin Dickey
Let Me Tell You: New Stories, Essays, and Other Writings - Shirley Jackson
Briar Rose - Jane Yolen
Honourable Mentions:
The Twisted Ones - T. Kingfisher
Nettle & Bone - T. Kingfisher
The Cold Vanish: Seeking the Missing in North America's Wildlands - Jon Billman
The Green Man: Tales from the Mythic Forest - edited by Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling
Barbary Station - R. E. Stearns
Light from Uncommon Stars - Ryka Aoki
The Bone Orchard - Sarah Mueller
What Moves the Dead - T. Kingfisher
Comfort Me with Apples - Catherynne M. Valente
The Enchanted Forest Chronicles - Patricia C. Wrede
Slenderman: Online Obsession, Mental Illness, and the Violent Crime of Two Midwestern Girls - Kathleen Hale
9 notes
·
View notes
Text
In Progress:
An introduction to the Three Volumes of Marx's Capital, Heinrich
Sanctions, Nicholas Mulder
Completed
Non Fiction
- Marxism and Politics, Ralph Milliband
- An unquiet mind, Kay Redfield
- Seeing Like a Feminist, Nivedita Menon
- Anatomy of Fascism, Robert Paxton
- Russia in Revolution, Stephen Smith
- What is History, E.H Carr
- Will To Change, bell hooks
- Transgender Liberation, Leslie Feinberg
- The Right to Be Greedy, For Ourselves, anarchist library
- State and Revolution, Lenin
- The Origin of Capitalism, Ellen Wood
- Beyond Caste, Sunit Guha
- The Argumentative Indian, Amartya Sen
- 11 Walks Through Expert Eyes
- Missing Out, Adam Phillips
Fiction
- The Witcher #1-3, Andrej Sapokowski
- His footsteps, through darkness and light, Mimi Mondal
- Attack Surface, Cory Doctorow
- Unauthorised Bread, Cory Doctorow
- On a Sunbeam, Graphic Novel
- The Viscount who Loved Me
- Think of England, KJ Charles
- reread: City Watch #1 to 6, Terry Pratchett
- The Vagabonds, Hao Jingfang
- Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, Olga Tokarczuk
- The Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Doestoevsky
- High as the Waters Rise, Anja Kapmann
- The Horizon, Gautam Bhatia
- The Expanse #1-2, James Corey
- The Vegetarian, Han Kang
- The Cipher, Kathe Koja
- Roadside Picnic, Boris and Arkady Strugatsky
- Earthsea #1-3, Ursula k. Le Guin
- The Pull of The Stars, Emma Donoghue
- The Sparrow, Mary Doria Rusell
- My Brilliant Friend, Elena Ferrante
#books#my problem with non fiction is that everyone is bad at writing the middle parts#i feel like i grasp enough of the book halfway through to not want to finish it fr#2022 readings
6 notes
·
View notes
Text
For once I'm cross-posting a Dreamwidth post here lol. I wrote way too much about the one and only book I finished so far this year, so tossing it into the reading log tag.
CW: non-descript discussions of sexual assault and antisemitism (both separate from one another)
The last book I finished was an anthology of fairy-tell reimaginings: Black Heart, Ivory Bones, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling (Avon Books, 2000). This was actually a random used bookstore find- I was once again looking for anthologies with Tanith Lee short stories, and there happened to be three different ones edited by these two authors- this book; another book in the same series called Black Swan, White Raven, and an anthology of fantasy erotica titled Sirens and Other Daemon Lovers. I really lucked out in all of these having Tanith Lee in them, and some other authors I'm interested in. I haven't started the other two yet, though. (I also just a few days ago found ANOTHER book in this fairy tale series, Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears at the same bookstore... would have missed it if I hadn't asked the clerk to check their Tanith Lee stock lmao.)
So, about this anthology:
The Tanith Lee short story in Black Heart, Ivory Bones is the first story in the anthology, and a reimagining of Rapunzel- a prince, who is putting off returning from campaign, because he does not want to return to his father who is coping with grief by obsessively fixating on heroic tales and legends, meets a girl living at the foot of a ruined tower in the middle of the woods. I didn't like this very much at all, to be honest, though there's one passage from the king I like. But one thing that stood out to me is another example of a pattern I've noticed in Lee's books: women- usually women who have already been raped- being able to just tell if a man is a potential rapist or not; men asking women if they aren't worried he's a rapist, only for the woman to tell him they would know and he doesn't have the look of one.
It's a trend I've seen throughout multiple of her novels and short stories at this point. The idea that all women can tell, based on a man's appearance and the way he carries himself and speaks, whether he will rape her. Even her most aggressive or stoic heroes have some innate quality of their being or their appearance that tells women he's safe, as far as sexual assault goes. And there's a lot to unpack there, a lot of long-existing societal biases that it just kind of reaffirms (because certainly there is a very long history of people thinking rapists and other sexually violent individuals have a certain "look" to them.) But I was also thinking about what a power fantasy this is, in a way- to be able to look at a man and know at a glance that he is safe, trustworthy, that you can desire him and know him desiring you back is not a risk. Especially as a survivor of sexual assault! What a superpower that would be.
But yeah, so that's the Tanith Lee story, mostly unremarkable. A lot of this anthology didn't stand out to me, tbh. Neil Gaiman has a short poem in it that I thought was pretty awful lmao. There's a lesbian retelling of the Red Dancing Shoes fairy tale, "The Red Boots" by Leah Cutter, that I liked- the prose is snappy and I thought the author used it to get across the energy of country dancing very well! I liked that there's no Happily Ever After resolution either- despite all the possibilities the protagonist has at her fingertips, with this dance-loving woman who is like her and mutually into her, in a place so hostile and lonely for women like them, she still can't stop treating dance as a competition she has to win. And so she will never be free of her shoes, and she'll never be able to settle down into a life of shared peace, bliss and love.
The last story that stood out to me was "The Golem" by Severna Park. The book opens to a pogrom decimating a shtetl in historical Poland, and the main character, an older woman named Judith, watching her husband Motle, the rabbi of the village, be gunned down by Christians. The shtetl is massacred, and Judith escapes into the woods with two other older women, Nekomeh and Moireh. They're reeling from the trauma they just witnessed, the grief, and the danger of being caught and killed, so decide to band together to try to make it to Leva, another much larger Jewish village outside Cracow. Judith has a dream the first time she sleeps following the massacre, where her husband tells her to make a golem to keep herself safe. What she forms out of the mud is a golem that takes on the exact appearance of her and Motle's long-dead daughter, Reva.
This is a short story but it packs in so much- surviving great violence and loss and yet not being allowed any reprieve before you're go go going to avoid even more violence and loss; the bonds between women who face misogyny, patriarchyt and violence both from within and without their communities and culture; the grief of a wife and of a mother who needs to learn to embrace and let go; the need for violence in defense vs violence as revenge and whether it would really make you better, improve your situation. I thought this was a very good piece of writing.
I really liked the ending:
"With her thumb Judith drew a trembling diagonal next to the Met and added short vertical strokes at the top and at the bottom.
Aleph. Mem. Tav.
She took a step and stumbled where the bank went soft. She fell to her hands and knees where the golem had vanished, tried to get up and stopped.
Spring flowers burst from the fertile dirt between her fingers. They pressed themselves up in green buds from under her knees. They sprouted around her feet, blooming in the sunset, dense and fragrant, trembling in the evening breeze.
Judith made herself stand. If the very earth had risen for her against its will, perhaps there was a place in the shadow of Cracow's walls where an old woman could seed the ground with new things. Not revenge. Not fear. Maybe not even peace, but she could do something.
And this time, she could not find it in herself to be afraid."
So that's the only book I've finished since 2024 started, and even then I kind of skimmed short stories that I knew I wouldn't be into. I'm still working through Lee's Kill The Dead (more like still working through health problems that have made doing anything very difficult), and I also started Kristine Kathryn Rusch's Heart Reader a day ago- I'm already halfway through, it's a very fast read, and I have a lot of thoughts about it that I've kinda posted elsewhere lol.
I've also been speeding through Final Fantasy IV DS. I keep meaning to post about it here but then I forget, I'm just so exhausted. I haven't played it in a couple days actually. It's one of those games I never had the patience to play as a kid, the SNES version at least. If we ever had the DS version I don't remember it, but I remember thinking the SNES version was suuuuuper frustrating to play lol so I didn't bother... But I'm enjoying the DS version a lot! It's definitely very frustrating with the boss battles, that octomammoth fucked me up. I'm enjoying Cecil's character arc, and I'm eagerly awaiting Rydia, Rosa and Edward coming back to my party. I'm enjoying the homoeroticism of Cecil and Kain's friendship turning into a horrific violent antagonistic mess- Kain going from standing up for Cecil and risking angering the Baron to argue for Cecil's sake, to Kain fighting with Golbez to be the one to kill Cecil... Also the whole mind control thing with Golbez is super hot, though I wonder how much of it is totally mind control and how much of it is Kain willingly going along with Golbez because of Rosa, it feels kinda unclear in latter cutscenes. But yes, the characters are fun, the localization script is very fun, the art style is endearing, and the game play is fun once you get into the rhythm of it. (I am also hardcore following this guide to make things much easier on myself lmao.)
Maybe I'll try to put down my impressions when it is not 12am and I'm not running on extremely little sleep.
#reading log#oh theres also some ff4 thoughts at the end there but barely i just dump all my ff4 thoughts on discord tbh#mine poste
0 notes
Text
Runaway Bride|1| Supernatural Mafia AU
@ohnoitsthebat
masterlist coming soon
Prologue
“I promise Jo, it’s just a quick trip to New York and back.” Ellie Scott said as she put a few more things into her suitcase, her cousin Jo Harevelle was sitting on the neatly made bed glaring and folding her arms under her chest.
“With your mother, it's never a quick trip.” “I know but you know how she has been since Dad has been gone and Terry has been locked up.” “She has gone insane? This is the 4th time in 6 months that she has called and has expected you to drop everything and get on a plane.’
Ellie pursued her lips together tightly, at first she had been thrilled that her mother had started to be involved in her life more often but when it was trips to New York or Chicago to meet the sons of upper members of the crime family they belonged to. She wasn’t sure she wanted to be involved.
Angela desperately wanted her oldest daughter to solidify their spot in the family that had been floundering since her second husband had ended up in prison and they started losing clout. Her best hope lay with Ellie, a daughter that she sent to live with her former sister-in-law and her husband in South Dakota because she wanted to start fresh, and having Ellie there wasn’t the fresh start she wanted or needed.
“You know she is just doing this because you are a young single female that can marry up in the family.” Jo started but she was cut off by Ellie waving her hand in the air, “I know Jo, just let me enjoy this pretend time right now. Okay? You have your mom and Bobby. I don’t have that.”
“What are you going to do about Dean if this ends up being a marriage scheme?” Jo interrupted, she wasn’t going to have the same fight she always had with Ellie about Ellen and Bobby being Ellie’s parents too. The only thing that had been missing was Angela’s signature on the paperwork, fully signing over custody.
Dean Winchester was the man that Ellie had been in love with since she was 16 and they had an intense relationship to say the least. One minute it was hot and then it was ice cold. He said he loved her and then slept with another girl. She would get mad and sleep with Sam, his younger brother, or Cas, his best friend. “I don’t know Jo, maybe it’s time I move on and stop being Dean Winchester’s plaything.” She said as she put a jacket on top of the clothes that she had just put in her suitcase. Jo couldn’t help it, she started laughing, “Honey, you two are in love. A fucked up love but still love.” “Don’t use that word. That word is evil.” Still laughing, the younger cousin got off of the bed and hugged her, “Come on, I will drive you to the airport. The sooner you get there, the sooner you can get back and you can help me talk mom into letting me skip this upcoming school semester.” “Yeah, that would be the day.” Ellie teased before pulling away, “Come on before the boys get back from Vegas and I can’t leave for another week.” Jo was right the sooner she left the sooner she could get back and have her life back to normal.
1 note
·
View note
Last Seen Blogs
peritwenty
My 2020 💜
gremena
~How we quit the forest 🍄
firenationgurl
zuko's girl🖤
sincitytattooshop
Sin City Tattoo Shop
ask-lola-cloudmaker
Ask Lola Cloudmaker!