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useless-catalanfacts · 6 months

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La Pedrera. Photos from Ajuntament de Barcelona and La Pedrera.

Nowadays, la Pedrera is one of the most famous building in Barcelona, Catalonia. It's one of the most emblematic buildings in the Catalan Modernism style, and has been declared part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Works of Antoni Gaudí".

But it hasn't always been recognised as good architecture, all the opposite! In fact, take a look at its name: it's technically called Casa Milà (house of the Milà family), but locals always call it "la Pedrera", which means "the quarry" in the Catalan language. When it was built, in 1910, Barcelonians thought it looked like an ugly piece of stone-y quarry mountain in the middle of the city.

But that's not the only thing that they thought it looked like. Let's see some parodies that were published at the time:

In 1909, the popular magazine Cu-Cut! published this vignette of a mother and a son walking in front of the house, when the child asks his mom "was there also an earthquake here?". This is a reference to an earthquake that happened in Sicily the previous month, and to the house's bendy shapes that look like it was shaken.

In 1925, the children's magazine En Patufet also joined in, with a vignette where the owner realises he can't hang up curtains* on this windows.

*Note: I'm using the translation "curtains" as a simplification so that English speakers without a detailed knowledge of Catalan culture can understand the joke. The vignette actually uses the word "domàs", meaning a decorative textile that is hanged from balconies during holidays.

In 1910, Cu-cut! compared it to a mona, the cake that Catalans eat on Easter Monday, by drawing a vignette where a child says "Daddy, daddy, I want a mona as big as this one!".

Three times did the magazine El Diluvio mock this building.

First, in 1910, they called it a "Medieval architecture model, between burrow and burial, that I don't quite dislike". It described its future in the following way: "the round gaps in the façade have become dark holes where all kinds of vermin come in and out: crocodiles and rats, but also snakes, hedgehogs, owls, sea monsters... Two undulating lines wrap up the building, which stands in front of an absolutely black sky. Above it, in the rooftop, the chimneys, the air vents and the stairs' endings have stopped being whipped cream mountains to become sinister piles of skulls."

In 1911, El Diluvio striked again, comparing the building's cast iron handrails to a fish stand. Their illustration had Casa Milà with a sign saying "cod entrails sold here!".

And lastly, it made fun of the controversial statue of Our Lady of the Rosary that was supposed to go on top. The Milà family in the end decided not to place the statue (some say because they didn't like how the sculptor made it, some say it's because they were scared of having a religious symbol after the 1909 anti-clerical riots) but the architect Gaudí, who was a very religious man, insisted on having it. This caused the Milàs and Gaudí to argue, which the magazine represents with a caricature of Mr. Milà wearing a Tarzan-like loincloth and branding a whip fighting against Gaudí wearing a pith helmet, grabbing him by the hair and hitting him with a hammer. The text under the image translates to "Will the Virgin Mary stand on top of the peculiar monument? Who will win, Gaudí or Milà?".

In 1912, the popular magazine L'Esquella de la Torratxa imagined that this extravagant futuristic building could only be a garage for parking airship and air-planes. This satirical drawing is titled "Future Barcelona. The true destiny of the Milà and Pi house". (Milà and Pi were the owners of this building).

The text that accompanied this illustration wondered if this building is the Wagnerian Valhalla, an anti-aircraft defense for the Moroccan War, or a hangar for zeppelins.

What do you think? Was the banter justified?

#la pedrera #casa milà #barcelona #catalunya #història #arquitectura #arts #history #architecture #antoni gaudí #gaudí #unesco world heritage #world heritage #historical #history tag #art history #art #modernisme #travel

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marlinspirkhall · 9 months

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I watched the unaired Selection pilots so you don't have to

But, if you want to, you can do so here, and here (password: “selection”), credit to Media Garage on YouTube

Edit: links no longer active

The Selection (2012)

Strong Hunger Games vibes throughout, the plain-text opening screen isn't helping

Stock-footage of rolling hills gets replayed way too much

ETHAN PECK?

Unlike in the books, America only finds out she's been entered into The Selection after she gets selected, so the plot point about the photoshoot & her radiant smile being the thing which gets her selected no longer applies, I guess

Everyone in the YouTube comments was saying that Aspen and Maxon were miscast & the actors' roles should have been swapped (... No comment. I believe in you, Mr Peck)

This castle is looks too small to fit 24 TV show contestants in it

Fiona, unprompted: “Can you keep a secret, America?”

America: “I have been known to”

Fiona: “I play the violin”

Okay? (This is actually a very sweet moment and, again, Fiona may be the best actress in this)

This episode covered a significant portion of the first book, out of order, which makes me wonder if the intention was to cover all 3 books in one series.

This almost feels like half of a film, making me wonder if someone adapted a film spec script into a tv show spec script

Apparently, Fiona has a secret child and Celeste knows about it, causing Fiona to drop out on day one and tearfully warn America to “trust no one, there's no such thing as friends here”- which is a fucking wild thing to say when she's probably the only contestant who's been nice to America so far & Celeste didn't even need to get to know her to know her secrets because she has spies anyway 😭

It's worth reminding you that they have been at the palace for one entire day total

You think Queen Amberly is being fleshed out in this version but... Hmm

Amberly appears to be the one pulling the strings from behind the scenes (she confronts Celeste about extorting Fiona, tells her "she would have gone home in due time" and to "leave America to me. Anything we do to try and separate them [her and Maxom] will only make him want her more")

Again: IT HAS BEEN A DAY

America sees her servant gathering all her dresses (none of which she has used yet, bar the yellow and green ones) including the iconic blue one from the book cover. America asks what's happening and the servant replies: “Prince Maxom's orders”

Cut to America's family. They open a box with a glittering pair of high heels inside. I guess this is supposed to mirror the part of the book where Maxom cuts off the stipend for 2's and 3's who are in the selection?

If you think this version feels unfaithful to the book, just wait until you see The CW's pilot

IT HAS BEEN ONE DAY

Runtime: one day 45 minutes

Final rating: 5/10, kinda long and stiff in places and the set design was all over the place. Felt like a Hallmark movie (the set design didn't help). Probably would watch another episode of this if it was a full series or a limited series of 3-6 episodes. A little script-doctoring and a better set would work wonders.

The Selection (2013)

I cannot stress enough: this version begins with a sex scene between Maxom and a servant

Okay, I got ahead of myself; it actually begins with another hunger-games-esque black screen with text on it, text which reads “Someday, in the future”, which is read aloud by a woman's voice.

We zoom in on a much roomier-looking castle on a hill, as a random whip sound effect plays (leading into the sex scene, in which no whips are present)

All the female servants in the palace are dressed in sexy maid costumes and I wish I was kidding

The world map explaining the history of Illea is CONFUSING AS HELL, but maybe they hadn't nailed down all the details yet. I'm genuinely not sure

ANTONY HEAD?

Aspen is introduced tied to a St Andrew's cross and being watched over by a guard. America asks the guard to free him, he chases her through the streets, she circles back and cuts Aspen down

America's selection is similar to the 2012 pilot, except Aspen is present. America asks her mom why she'd enter her into the selection when “You know I'm with Aspen”, so uh, I guess they're not keeping it a secret here.

There's also no mention of Aspen being of a lower caste than her, nor of America having a job other than the vague title of "laboring class" which hangs over them all, vaguely

This is a masterclass in editing and pacing. The dialogue is okay, but the added geopolitics make no sense. Any issues with this are smoothed over by the fact that the plot keeps moving forwards at a breakneck pace to keep you distracted.

The lack of breathing room would probably be too confusing for an audience who wasn't already familiar with The Selection

The set here is absolutely beautiful but unfortunately it gives me Merlin vibes, and casting Antony Head as the king does not help with this.

Maxon attempts to pull a Mr Darcy. He then tells America that if she runs away with Aspen, the guards will beat him to a pulp and they'll both spend the rest of their lives in prison. America suggests that she make the monarchy look good so the working class don't side with the rebels. Looks like we're going full Hunger Games.

Celeste's handmaiden seems way too devoted to her; they turn out to be lovers

Just when you think Maxon might start redeeming himself, we see the palace guards swarm Aspen and kicking him. Maxom stands nearby on his horse overseeing this so there's no question of whether he did it or not

Final rating: 6/10, I would absolutely watch another episode of this. It was an absolute mess, but I've seen teen wolf, so I'm not gonna pretend I'm above it.

This feels like the kind of pilot which would get greenlit just to attract hateviewers.

Summary:

Neither protagonist had red hair and neither adaptation was trying particularly hard to give it to her (2012: dark red box dye. 2013: blonde!)

These actors are doing their best and some of them even seem to be having fun (good for them)

In the 2013 pilot, the writers lampshade America running around “like an action hero”, but she promptly forgets how to do that by the midpoint of the episode, so w/e

It feels like the 2013 pilot was a reworking of the 2012 pilot, because there were too many similarities carried over from one script to another which weren't present in the original book, like Fiona having a secret relationship.

I forgot to mention that Aspen has a brother in the 2013 pilot. He seems to be adapted from the palace guard who has a relationship with one of the contestants in a later book.

I can't get over how fucking weird of a decision it is to make the kind and likeable love interest into a power-corrupt despot, but it does feel more true to an actual monarchy. I assume they were trying to give Maxon a bad-boy vibe, which doesn't make much sense because that's supposed to be Aspen's whole deal.

There was a whole subplot in both pilots where an advisor character is revealed to be working with the rebels at the end of the episode

Extremely funny to me that the 2012 pilot makes a point of mentioning that sex before marriage is illegal and the 2013 pilot opens with premarital sex with the prince regent

#The Selection series #The Selection #Kiera Cass #Anthony Head #Ethan Peck #dystopian fiction #YA fiction #undescribed #America Singer #Prince Maxon #long post

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ashintheairlikesnow · 1 month

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ash i love vince so much he is my number 2 babygirl (antoni number 1 babygirl forever)

i would like to formally request some vince having a Bad Time, either past stuff with owen or present with recovery being a bitch

because there is nothing better than lovely characters having bad times that they absolutely do not deserve

CW: Alcoholism, withdrawal/cravings, alcoholic anger, Vince and Jameson both PTSD-ing all over the place, guilt

Oh, poor Vince. Takes place post-the Same Bed Arc, after Vince is living with Nat and Jameson.

Vince doesn't even look up when he hears Jameson stop in the doorway. He just pours a few shots worth of the gin into the glass, staring fixedly down at it. The liquid, clear as water but with the herbal scent washing over him like a welcome spring rain, spreads over the ice with those gentle cracks he knows better than his own heartbeat.

God, it looks good.

His hands don't shake, now. His heart doesn't race. He doesn't feel sweaty, or upset, or like he'll be sick.

He just feels like he's staring at the solution to all his problems, and all he has to do is swallow it down.

This should feel awful - he knows it should. It should taste awful, there should be something to remind him of the damage he does to himself every time he drinks again. He should hear his sponsor speaking in the back of his mind, he should hear the voices of the others at the meetings he goes to - one for alcoholism, one for survivors of sexual assault, twice a week there's movie star Vincent goddamn Shield among the normal people and admitting he's barely human, just a wreck that only survived Owen Grant because Nat decided she gave a fuck about him for reasons Vince still doesn't understand.

Here he stands, a hollow shell wearing a nice face who let someone else suffer in his place and was grateful for it for far too long.

Kauri hates him but it's nothing compared to how much he hates himself.

Vince lifts the glass, hesitating at the last second with the cool rim just touching his lower lip. Gin smells like blacking out and right now he could use the blessed darkness, hangover be damned.

He can worry about that when the headache kicks in tomorrow morning.

He realizes he's waiting for the sickening crawl of guilt at letting Nat down, at-... at letting himself down. Maybe that will come later, but right now... He feels goddamn good. Settled. Calm.

He and Jameson meet eyes just as he tosses the drink back, three large swallows of juniper-scented gin down his throat like water, leaving only the ice cubes behind.

The burn is perfect.

He pours himself another drink, feeling the warmth slowly spread through his chest to his shoulders, eyes briefly closing. God, it feels like goddamn heaven.

He looks up.

Jameson is still standing there in the doorway, looking oddly soft in a loose sweater that's far too big for him and a pair of old jeans that probably cost a dollar at a yard sale and even that was too much. Vince has jeans that distressed, somewhere.

His cost more than five hundred dollars.

He chokes on the next drink from trying not to laugh.

Jameson's eyes narrow. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Vince takes another sip, eyes half-closed, letting himself take it slow this time and really enjoy the taste.

He'd honestly been surprised the little liquor store down the block even carried this brand of gin. Not that he wouldn't have bought whatever he could get, when he stood there feeling like he would die if he had to go another day, but still. It's nice to have seen his favorite stuff, top shelf, pricier than it had any right to be. It's not even that good, but it's still his favorite. It still tastes, to him, like the nights he sleeps without nightmares, few and far between.

Gin tastes like those nights he gets to sleep at all.

The cashier had looked surprised as she wiped off the dust and rang it up for him. Then, with a shy smile, she'd asked him if anyone ever told him he looked a lot like Vincent Shield. He'd been kind of sad she didn't card him - it would have been nice to see the look on her face when she saw his name.

Instead, he paid in cash, laughed, and told her the standard I get that a lot, actually.

Jameson doesn't move closer, or leave. "It looks like you're fucking yourself up," He says, lingering in the doorway. "You can't just start drinking again. You know that, right?"

"Oh, I sure as hell can." Vince laughs, but it's a bitter sound. He licks the gin lingering on his lips, then gestures at the bottle. "Have some with me."

He's caught, for just a moment, when he sees Jameson wearing an expression Vince has never seen on him before. He looks... nervous. Afraid, almost, instead of angry.

"I-I don't want to," Jameson says, but there's a way he says it that makes Vince think he'd drink if he offers again. Maybe he wants to, or maybe he just doesn't want to make Vince mad.

If he commanded it, if he gave an order... Jameson would be as he's told, wouldn't he? Damn, that would be some power to have over someone.

This must be why Owen liked it so much.

No.

He won't think about Owen right now.

Vince gulps down liquid until he's breathless, almost panting. The warmth is like the familiar cradle of a softer reality settling in. He makes himself slow down this time, picking up an ice cube and sucking the juniper taste right off it before crunching it with his teeth.

"Vince." Jameson's voice gets harsher, and something seems to break his brief paralysis. He moves closer, grabbing the bottle and pulling it away when Vince puts a hand out to pour the third drink. "Fucking... look at me. What the fuck?"

Vince's hand just... hangs out there, reaching for a bottle that isn't where it was. He stares at the empty space, and feels that dark inside of him threaten to well up yet again. "What?"

Jameson swallows, his eyes moving to the glass, back to Vince's face. He steps backwards, and Vince watches the bottle go with him with a piercing need that could easily knock him off his feet if he weren't holding onto the back of a chair. Jameson clears his throat. "Aren't you... like, sober now?"

"Mmmn. Was. Got the like... three month chip thing and everything." He's gotten thoroughly wasted so many times in his life. Nothing relaxes him better than enough alcohol to force his body to stop living in constant, unending fear of who might hurt him next. "Right now, I am tipsy instead. In about an hour, I'm going to be absolutely fucked up. Give me back my gin."

Jameson's hand moves - then he jerks it back, taking a few steps backwards until he's back in the doorway. His eyes are on Vince's face, watching him with a total focus that Vince recognizes from the others he's worked with over the years - Jameson's just a trained pet, in this moment, watching to see if the master will be angry.

It makes him laugh again, more bitterly this time. Is he the master? Has he ever been his own master, let alone anyone else's?

"I... I can't do that," Jameson says, and Vince hears that he doesn't say no. When Vince moves towards him, he backs up a little more, and Vince comes to a stop just a foot or so away.

"Am... am I scaring you?" He asks, suddenly.

It wasn't what he meant to say, he meant to demand his drink again. Instead, this question that... that just sort of falls out of him like a waterfall.

Jameson's jaw sets and his eyes narrow. "You're not doing shit to me," He snaps, but Vince knows he's really saying yes.

Is this why people buy pets? So they can see something pretend not to be scared, and know they're the monster not just under the bed, but in it?

"Oh," He whispers. "What is it? Why are you scared? I'm just a drunk asshole, why are you scared of me?"

Jameson bristles, but then he offers - as if it's pulled out of him against his will - the softest explanation. "Brute and Robert got drunk all the time. I know what happens when-... when people get this kind of drunk."

There's a look in his eyes Vince has seen before in Kauri's. Not fear of him, not directly, but fear of someone like him, maybe. Fear of having demands made that can't be denied.

Is this how Owen felt, every time Kauri had to playact the loving boyfriend with bruises on his wrists and terror making his heart race? Is this how it feels to have power over somebody else when you can't even control yourself?

It's... it's good, almost.

It feels better than he thought it would.

"Back up, Shield," Jameson hisses, like a cat spitting and arching its back, ready to attack with claws and sharp teeth not because it's confident in victory but because it's so small it has to fight to have even the slightest chance to survive.

Vince looks him over, reading with an actor's expertise how he's projecting a confident swagger he never feels, how the irritation layers itself so carefully over a vulnerability that he sees as weakness. Vince has lived that way, too, since he was twenty-one, since his best friend turned out to be a rapist who wanted Vince to himself, since he started drinking to forget every single night and putting on the perfect face during his days.

They both survived, didn't they?

Jameson just did it by fighting his way out, and Vince by pretending to be someone he wasn't until nobody knew who he actually was, and that's a way of surviving, too. Wear another face, and make sure no one sees the fear in your real one, so they can't refuse to help you... because you've never asked.

"No." At least one of them can say it. Although that makes Vince's heart twist with ugly guilt, the petty cruelty of the thought. "Give me my gin," Vince says, pitching his voice low, and holds out his hand. "Now, Jameson. Give it to me."

"I can't." The strength is gone from Jameson's voice, and he looks at Vince with those dark eyes searching his own, trying to make himself understood. "If you drink, your-... your body's not used to it anymore, if you drink the same amount you'll fucking kill your stupid liver."

"What do you care about my liver?" Vince's voice drops low, almost a whisper. "What do you care about me, about my goddamn joke of a life, huh? What the fuck do you care? Why should anyone care?"

There's a flicker of something in Jameson's eyes - recognition, maybe. Something that lights up, just for a second, before the other man shoves Vince to the side with sudden violent strength and stalks to the sink, turning the bottle over and pouring that expensive artisan gin right down the drain.

"No!" Vince's voice is a ragged shout as he lunges after him, but it's too little too late.

Jameson's foot kicks out and slams into Vince's calf, sending him stumbling, clawing desperately as the gin is gone, glug glug glug, down into the pipes, disappearing towards the ocean.

Rage and terror fight in Vince's mind in a sudden white noise and he gets to his feet, grabbing Jameson by the arms and squeezing as hard as he can, shoving him back across the room. He hears Jameson hit one of the chairs, the clatter of wood and Jameson's grunt of pain as both hit the ground hard. The bottle is in the sink, and even when Vince scrambles to pick it back up, there's less than an inch of gin left.

He sucks it down, and only once he's gotten that final drop does he suddenly go still.

Oh.

There's the guilt and the horror and feeling sick at himself, just... twenty minutes too late. He sets the empty bottle carefully down, and then turns slowly around to look at Jameson.

Jameson sits on the kitchen floor, staring up at him with wide eyes. His face is pale, making the scar that twists the corner of his mouth stand out even more. His hair is nearly grown back in now, the bald patches hidden by the rest.

Vince exhales in a rush. "Oh, hell. Jameson-" He holds out a hand.

Jameson flinches.

Vince pulls his hand back, backing up until his back hits the edge of the sink. "Right. Okay. I'm-... I'm sorry Jameson-"

"Yeah." Jameson's voice is gruff, all the vulnerability and fear wiped away as soon as he realizes it's showing. He gets to his feet, shoulders protectively hunched, arms crossed in front of himself defensively. "Whatever. Sure you are. Drink yourself to death, shitbag, if that's what you want."

"I'm so sorry."

Jameson's jaw works. "... Everybody's always sorry. Then I get fucking hit again." Then he turns and walks - limps, really, his knees threatening to give out with every step - away. Vince stands there, frozen, listening as he makes his slow, painful way up the stairs.

Vince stares at the place he was for a while - he isn't sure how long. The gin is sinking its velvet claws into his mind, and he's drunker than he should be after only two drinks.

But then, it's been months.

Months, he made it without taking even a sip.

He swallows, again and again, and then pulls his cell phone out of his pocket, finds a contact, and presses the button to make the call.

The phone rings until he's certain it'll go to voicemail, before a voice he knows as well as his own is in his ear.

"What the hell do you want?"

"I-I need to talk to you," He stammers, his heart cold. "Please. Please. I-I've been drinking. I need... I need help."

There's a pause.

"From... me?"

"Yeah... yeah. You'll-... I need somebody who won't be nice to me-"

"Oh, well, if there's anything I love it's the chance to be mean to you, let me drop my entire life to come listen to you whine about yours."

"Please."

An exhale. "Whatever. Yeah, okay. I'll be over there in like... half an hour? An hour, maybe. Drink some water and I'll be there as soon as I can. Don't leave the house."

"Thanks... thank you, Kauri."

Kauri hangs up.

Vince pours himself a glass of water over the leftover gin-soaked ice, sipping it, barely flavored with a hint of the liquor he wants so badly. He rights the chair he'd accidentally shoved Jameson into, and listens to the creaking floorboards and muffled cursing above him as Jameson makes his halting painful way from stairway to his room, a couple thumps when he clearly falls and had to force himself back upright, until the pacing abruptly stops when he must have collapsed into his bed.

He hears the gentle patting of Trash Cat's paws as she leaves her place on the living room couch and follows him, too, her soft meowing until Jameson opens his door to let her come in after him. Then silence again.

Vince sits back down at the table, leaning over with his head in his hand, staring as the ice slowly melts, cooling the water around it.

He should have called his sponsor instead.

Whatever Kauri is about to say can only make this worse.

But he deserves it, anyway.

Vince doesn't move a muscle until he hears the sound of Jake's truck pulling into the driveway, crunching briefly over gravel before it's on the pavement again, when he raises his head.

Kauri walks in without knocking, stops in the doorway to the kitchen, and looks at him like his younger self ashamed of what he's grown into. Vince knows Jake must have driven him, but he's nowhere to be seen - maybe just staying outside, for now. He's clearly dressed for bed in a matching navy blue silk button-up and pajama pants, barefoot even.

"Hey," Vince says, weakly. The alcohol feels like poison now, not the soothing warmth it had been before. "I... I fucked up, Kauri."

"Yeah, I can tell just by looking at you, you're a goddamn mess." Kauri looks at Vince head-on, even though it still hurts him to do it, and Vince can see the flinch he suppresses as the headache kicks in. His blue eyes are identical to Vince's in nearly every way, except that Kauri's gaze has always been stronger. "What the hell did you do?"

"I got... I drank."

"Yep. I can see the gin bottle. Did you drink all of it?" Kauri's voice is flat and businesslike. It's like having his own younger self dressing him down, and somehow that feels... really good. Better than he thought it would.

"... No. Just a couple drinks. Jameson poured the rest out."

"Good for him." Kauri flickers a smile. "Where is he?"

"I-... I scared him."

"... you scared him?"

"Yeah. I was-... I wasn't-... I didn't mean to, but-"

"Shut up. All right. Tell me what you did. I'll fix it. This time, taking your place so I suffer for years while you run off and become obscenely wealthy is off the table, got it?"

Vince looks at him in horror only to see a surprising warmth in Kauri's smile. Not... not affection, but something like it. A wry compassion, maybe. Something else he doesn't deserve. "I don't know. I don't know if I can fix this, Kauri. I don't know."

"Well... I happen to the resident expert in trying to avoid dealing with your problems while making them all worse, so talk to me. Tell me what you did, start to finish. We'll figure out what comes next."

Vince lowers his head into his arms.

"Thank you," He says, muffled.

"Not enough thanks in the world, dumbass. Lucky for you I'm an amazing person who just happens to have spent most of my twenties making stupid drunk mistakes. So stop stalling and start talking."

@finder-of-rings @endless-whump @arlin-always-writing @newandfiguringitout @doveotions @pretty-face-breaker @gonna-feel-that-tomorrow @boxboysandotherwhump @oops-its-whump @whumpyourdamnpears @cubeswhump @whump-tr0pes @whumptywhumpdump @whumpiary @orchidscript @outofangband @hackles-up @grizzlie70 @mylifeisonthebookshelf @keeper-of-all-the-random-things @autophagay

#whump #ptsd tw #alcholism tw #withdrawal tw #alcoholic whumpee #recovering whumpee #recovery whump #vincent shield is not a hero #erase to control #since kauri makes an appearance #jameson bb #box boy universe #drunk whumpee #whumpee turned whumper #briefly and not on purpose

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earlgrey24 · 1 month

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Some Julius Caesar x The Danton Case Parallels to Celebrate the Ides of March, Frev Style 🔪🥳

Firstly, both Przybyszewska’s Danton Case and Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar are obviously (excellent!) tragedies that are set in a dying republic on the brink of collapse.

Here are some other interesting parallels I was able to trace:

1. Brutus and Robespierre:

Both of them are driven to execute an important figure even though they initially do not want to do it. They are both conflicted but feel like they have no other choice and have to commit the violent act for the good of the republic.

They are also arguably quite alike in terms of character: you have the „noble Brutus“ and then Robespierre, who is consistently referred to as „the Incorruptible“. Both are seen by others as selfless and committed to the good of the state (the people in the crowd very much emphasise this fact in both of the plays, I do have the receipts)

There is even the scene in which Brutus chastises Cassius for taking bribes, which plays into the idea of him as being (literally) “incorruptible” as well. And vice versa, traces of Brutus’ famed stoicism can then certainly be found in Maximilien.

2. Cassius and Saint-Just:

Both are characters who convince the protagonists (Brutus/Robespierre) to go along the violent act while not necessarily being portrayed as antagonists (at least Saint-Just definitely can't be seen as one in Przybyszewska’s play).

There are also parallels in the close relationship between Brutus and Cassius and Robespierre and Saint-Just, where they are very much portrayed as each other’s closest confidants. Of course, this idea can easily be pushed even further if one wishes to read between the lines. (There is no Camille Desmoulins in Shakespeare though)

3. Manipulating the Crowd:

I'm perhaps the most fascinated by how both Brutus and Mark Antony as well as Robespierre and Danton have the necessary rhetorical skills to manipulate the crowd of commoners (Robespierre being able to “play the crowd like an organ” very much came to my mind when I was reading Act 3 Scene 2 of the Shakespeare’s play).

Both Shakespeare and Przybyszewska portray “the court of public opinion” and how it can easily be manipulated - how opinions can be changed in the matter of minutes - in a way that is genuinely fascinating.

Specifically, the similarity between A3S2 in which people first listen to Brutus only to be immediately swayed by Mark Antony’s speech shortly after and the scene in the court in which Danton manipulates the crowd were in fact so similar in some respects that it was borderline uncanny.

The problem arises when looking for a mirror to Danton’s character in Shakespeare’s play.

4. The Case for Danton x Caesar:

It is Caesar who gets killed for being perceived as a danger to the republic

Both Caesar and Danton are portrayed as being very much beloved by the common people

Also, the idea of Danton being immortal is expressed at the end of Przybyszewka’s play, and while he does not come back literally as a ghost like Ceasar does, Robespierre nonetheless explains to Saint-Just that Danton’s spirit never truly dies.

5. The Case for Danton x Mark Antony:

If we see Danton and Robespierre as foils, Mark Antony makes more sense as a parallel to Danton (even though he does not die), since both Robespierre and Brutus as the classic ascetic/stoic archetype while Danton and Mark Antony’s are well-known for their appetite for drinking, women (or, you know, people, in the case of Mark Antony) , and the pleasures of life overall.

Both are also severely underestimated by their enemies at first, yet they prove to be quite cunning and are able to use their words skilfully to win over the public

Overall, reading both of the plays – especially the parts about manipulating the Roman public and the citizens of Paris just with the power of words – really makes me wonder if Przybyszewska read Shakespeare’s play and used it as a source of inspiration. It would make sense, especially given how the parallel between the French Republic and the Roman Republic was well-established long before her time (even, somewhat tragically, by the revolutionaries themselves).

I promise I think about Przybyszewska's and Shakespeare’s play and the Roman Republic along with the French Revolution a totally normal amount of time & that it definitely does not consume my every waking thought that should be very much going towards the exam preparation.

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penny-anna · 3 months

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Good evening good evening tonight I am making compost cookies!!

Here is my cookie dough. I'm using my go-to cookie recipe which is Antony Worrall Thompson's recipe on BBC Good Food. if you're making compost cookies you can & should use whatever your fav is!!

& here is the Compost!! compost cookies are also called 'kitchen sink cookies'. The idea is to use up everything cookie-suitable you have in your pantry all at once. there ALSO exists what I can only describe as a gentrified version popularised by Milk Bar that's a set recipe w mixed chocolate chips, oats, coffee grounds, pretzels & potato chips.

but personally im legit just here to use some stuff up!! so we got: the end of a bag of porridge oats, end of a bag of dried apricots (cut up small) annd about half a bag of walnuts (pro tip: if you don't feel like chopping nuts and don't have (or don't want to wash lol) a food processor, put ur nuts (NOT THAT KIND!!) in a freezer bag and bash w a rolling pin till they are your desired level of Mushed.)

AND a chocolate chip cookie would be nothing without chocolate. shop only had milk chocolate chips which i consider Inferior in cookies and dark chocolate options were baking chocolate or eating chocolate so i opted for fancy salted dark chocolate.

in it all goes!! i forgot to take another picture after mixing it all up. very high ratio of compost:dough which imo is what you want in a compost cookie. it's gone in the fridge to chill until after i'm done w my dinner 👍

#food cw

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libraryofloveletters · 4 months

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Glue Sticks and Pom Poms

Antonie Griezmann x Fem!Reader

Warnings: so much glitter, girl dad anto, your daughter is lowkey a menace, the team loves your kid like their own, family sweetness.

Word Count: 505

Author's Note: idk if any of you even read for anto but he's pookie so here you go.

Every year since moving to Atletico, his girls have helped him to make Christmas cards for his teammates; this year was no different. The three of them covered in glitter, glue and pom poms.

The giggles filled the house, your daughter and her father shared everything; smile, eyes, nose, giggles. They were twins in every way possible.

Now their love for art was exactly the same, to appreciate and to make were one in the some. Now no one ever said they were good at it but alas to be good, you need practice.

Your daughter gets a pass, seeing that she's only 6 but Anto was 32, he really has no excuse.

You had returned from the store to see them at the dining room table. The glitter, paper, glue and markers were all over the table, Anto and your daughter, Amelia, sat next to each other. Your husband cut out little shapes, giving it to her to stick only the cards they were making.

Every year since she was born, Anto and Amelia have made Christmas cards to his teammates. It was important to him to make them feel as homemade as possible but it was also nice for him to have some time with Amelia, something the two of them could do despite all the hectic-ness of the season.

your arms rest over your husband's shoulder, startling the man momentarily. "When'd you get back ? I didn't hear you come in." He says, pressing a kiss to your hand.

"Just a minute ago, came to see what all the giggling was about."

"Look!" Amelia shows you her card; a poorly drawn reindeer on it with a small red pom pom on the nose, clearly meant to be Rudolph and there's a man next to the reindeer, short blonde hair with a big nose with squiggles all over his arms.

"Very nice, baby. Who's that supposed to be?" You asked her, pointing to the man. You assumed it was her father, seeing that his hair was blonde more often than not and he too had tattoos but her answer made you giggle.

"Uncle Rodri!" She says proudly, meaning Rodrigo. You nodded, "I'm sure he'll love it babe."

Anto shows you a few of her other creations for the team, all of them Christmas related but none of them the same.

You told your husband as much. "I know," he nods, "there's no theme this year."

"Pom poms!" Amelia sticks her hand out, waiting for her father to pass them to her. "What colour?" He asks her.

"I'm gonna get some water," you tell him, kissing his head before walking to the kitchen. In the two minutes you were gone, you hear Antonie shout which was followed my Amelia's giggles

When you returned, you see Antonie's got a red pom pom stuck to his nose. Your lips pressed together, biting back a smile. "It's not funny." He tells you, a finger pointed at you.

Nodding, you snicker. "It's a little funny."

He picks up your daughter, the little girl now sitting on her father's lap as he smothers her cheek in kisses. You smile, taking a photo of them.

It was moments like this that you knew she'd remember.

#holiday extravaganza blurbs 23 #antoine griezmann #antoine griezmann x reader #antoine griezmann x you #antoine griezmann x y/n #football x reader #football x you #football x y/n #football imagine #football blurb

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just-late-roman-republic-things · 6 months

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I sometimes hear Octavian, especially young Octavian, described as like sickly, thin, on the shorter end, and blonde-haired. So I was wondering, do we have any reliable/contemporary physical descriptions of Augustus? And how do they compare to Agrippa, who I kind of imagine as taller/broader and more muscular (at least, based on the statues I’ve seen)?

When they stood next to each other, I wonder of the impression people got 😭

The only contemporary description I know comes from Nicolaus of Damascus, who personally knew Augustus, Agrippa and Mark Antony. He describes Augustus as very handsome as a young man, easygoing and a bit shy, and prone to getting sick.

Nicolaus is biased in Augustus' favor, and is clearly exaggerating how charming and attractive he must've been. But Augustus does seem to have been a bit of a prettyboy, based on Mark Antony's mocking insults. Cicero's letters support the image of Augustus as generally polite and friendly, though later events suggest Augustus was also a hell of a good liar...Many sources corroborate Augustus' poor health.

A few fragments of Augustus' letters have been preserved. From those, we know that he tended to skip meals, didn't enjoy rich food or a lot of wine, exercised often and walked most places, and was something of a workaholic. So he was probably on the slender side all his life.

Augustus' statues and coins are notoriously idealized; the man would've been all over Botox if it'd been invented. But even on the coins sharing his image with Mark Antony or Agrippa, he has more delicate features, so the statues probably do reflect how he looked as a young man.

Antony (left) and Augustus

Augustus (left) and Agrippa

A rare portrait of Augustus with visible wrinkles, ca. 20-30 CE, Louvre

Augustus probably had light brown/dark blond hair, and brown eyes, based on pigment fragments found on his statues. Suetonius calls his hair subflavum, "blond-ish" or "dark blond." Here's a reconstruction of the Prima Porta that makes the hair a bit too dark, in my opinion:

Suetonius gives us the most extensive description of Augustus about 100 years later. He agrees with the points stated above, and adds that Augustus was short (under 170cm) and had "a complexion between dark and fair." He also talks about what Augustus looked like as an older man (blemished teeth, thick eyebrows, a weak left leg). And Suetonius claims Augustus had a birthmark shaped like the Big Dipper...which should remind you that this is the same biographer who thinks one of Julius Caesar's trumpets got stolen by a ghost. Yeah.

Agrippa's portraits are more realistic than those of Augustus, and show noticeable aging over time. He does seem to have had a more square jaw and stockier build.

Agrippa probably was taller and stronger than Augustus - but then, most dudes are. Hell, I'm pretty sure my Pomeranian could take Augustus in a fight.

That said, Agrippa may have had a disability of his own. Pliny the Elder alludes to a limp (or other weakness in his legs) in childhood, and it's not clear whether Agrippa grew out of it or not. Agrippa also had a lot of pain in his feet later in life. Pliny the Elder has a lot of errors, but his notes on Agrippa's life are usually reliable, since he had access to Agrippa's memoirs. That's all I know about Agrippa's appearance.

I think a lot of our mental images of Augustus, Agrippa and Antony come from how Augustus and Antony played up their contrasts. Augustus modeled his image after Apollo, and thus with the arts, knowledge, law and civilization. Antony likened himself to Dionysus: loud, joyous, gregarious, irrepressible, emotional. Agrippa's story in turn is often contrasted with Augustus again, to the point that people sometimes diminish Augustus' abilities. Even I call him a sun-sensitive twink in platform shoes - which he was.

Real people are more complex than archetypes, though. Antony happily joined philosophy classes in Greece; Augustus slowly got better at managing military campaigns on his own; Agrippa really was brilliant and loyal, but he also benefited from the proscriptions and was buddies with Herod. I love it when stories embrace historical figures' complexity, and let us grapple with messy feelings about them.

#just roman asks #marcus agrippa #octavian #mark antony #jlrrt essays

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brother-emperors · 6 months

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i think you said in response to a previous ask that octavian and antony are a Worse version of the brutus and cassius gladiator-statesman dynamic, and that octavian and agrippa are a different thing that wasn't relevant at the moment. i was wondering if you meant that octavian and agrippa are a thing outside the gladiator statesman dynamic (and if so, any ideas on why that is?) or that they were a different version of that dynamic?

also, this is the same anon who asked about using some of your quotes in a presentation! it ended up going pretty well considering most people there weren't unwell about dead romans!

octavian and agrippa are thing outside of that dynamic! this is, ofc, a YMMV type of thing, this is very much getting into creative/thematic nonsense that I like to play with as someone who makes comics

but basically the cut off for the statesman-gladiator/politician-warrior dynamic is philippi. things get hazy leading up to philippi because julius caesar has already eroded a core element to rome's structure, which is that it's made HIM the focus point of politics. there is no longer room for horizontal alliances of power amongst men vying for prestige, there is only room for vertical loyalty (so like, a more extreme version of patronage and bossism politics) (and disloyalty! because you get stabbed if you make people unhappy!! you make your body one with the state and people will let you know what they think of you. and the state.)

Antony, Fulvia, and the Ghost of Clodius in 47 BC, Kathryn E Welch

so by the time octavian wins, standing on top of everyone else, the general power structure of rome has changed and it's not going back. it looks the same, and people are going 'nooooo it's still a republic, LOOKS like the republic!' while dragging around decayed corpse, but it's different.

Caligula, Aloys Winterling

octavian and agrippa are co regents, with octavian as the clear head of state and agrippa, who is borderline unwell in his devotion to octavian, and somehow it worked for them. like, for them specifically it balanced out into a partnership.

Ancestor Masks and Aristocratic Power in Roman Culture, Harriet I Flower

in theory, this kind of dynamic (with a domestic politician and a general to enact imperialist policy) would be the blue print that would continue down, and boy did they try. tiberius and sejanus. caligula and macro. good grief. the system of relationships and obligations that allowed this kind of dynamic to show up frequently in the republic falls apart here because power corrupts, baby, and with a state assuming a body, there's no way that power is going distribute itself. everyone is going to want to be that body. except agrippa, who was devoted to octavian, but you can't. replicate that kind of intimacy even if you want to.

so it LOOKS like a statesman-gladiator dynamic, but they're really just co regents in practice, but the actual framework is closer to a king and his knight. they are also. incest adjacent. ground zero for the incest circus that happens later? or maybe something else.

basically the logic for that is the way that octavian kept trying to get agrippa into the family tree to make agrippa his heir prompted this kind of. increasingly more insular behavior. AND THIS TOO

Ancestor Masks and Aristocratic Power in Roman Culture, Harriet I Flower

additionally, I think proximity to octavian-imperial rome dooms a lot of people. agrippa dies before octavian, tiberius' character goes on a definitive downward arc. brother-pairs as rulers, caligula's hellenistic tendencies and the incest allegations with his sisters, the twin-ification of pairs--

Tiberius and the Heavenly Twins, Edward Champlin

--agrippina and nero. Everything Nero Was Doing With Masks And Theater Sure Was Weird. there's a kind of house dynamic going on with imperial rome, but the whole thing is a mouth eating itself. rot. pater patriae. in a permanent state of digestion. etc/

that last one is a thought I'm work shopping, but basically to me all of this is a worse version of the statesman/gladiator dynamic because of the concentration of power.

#like. octavian augustus is this awful vulture that steals from everything and then gnaws away at it #like. taking the vulture accusations away from pompey. octavian augustus outran ALL of you in the Theft Department #ALSO IM GLAD THAT YOUR PRESENTATION WENT WELL! hell yeah!!!#ask tag #(squints at this) i think i got off track. but my thoughts are rarely linear. so. i tried my best. hopefully it is coherent

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angelwhowasfound · 7 months

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What is a queen without a crown? A rebel.

Both exalted and reviled, Rosalyn Morrigan's life has never been simple. She was born both the daughter of an Arch-general of the Empire and a hostage of a conquered nation hated for its ties to a magic that once corrupted the world. Rose joins five other hostages in navigating a dangerous life as an uncrowned sovereign. She acts like the perfect Imperial Court lady by the light of day. In the shadows, she works with an infamous figure called Foxglove and their organization, the Garden, aiming to free the five conquered lands from the Empire of Eladon.

During high-stakes heists, rescue missions, and strange celestial events, Rose and her fellow hostage Antony travel across the Empire. Whispers of magic returning follow at their heels as it is clear that more is happening in the Empire than just political intrigue. Rose must take on the responsibility of her title, Queen Aspirant of Aspara, and the strange power within her that allows her to manipulate time. Juggling the light and the shadows, as well as the past, present, and future, Rose hopes her efforts will be enough to free her mother's ancestral home from the grips of Eladon. What can one hostage do in a world boiling over with political intrigue, murderous cultists, awakening magic, and cryptic gods? Only time will tell.

Available through this link! The current price is 3.99!

AHHHH! I finally published my novel yesterday! I fought back and forth about traditional versus self-publishing for a long time. I resisted self-publishing for vain reasons, but honestly, I am tired of waiting for acknowledgment from gatekeepers when I have a story I want to share. I'm taking a chance, and if nothing comes of it, at least I got the opportunity to share it at all! If you want a little more information about the story, it is an epic fantasy novel with multiple queer folks and a large focus on women within the story. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask! Thank you for even reading this bit :) AHHHHHHHHH, here I go!!!

*Edit ugh, as much as you can try to look over everything, it is very possible to accidentally use the wrong cover. Well, it has been updated, and thanks to the person who pointed it out! Jeez so embarrassing

#Queen Aspirant #Mariah Galamore #debut novel #self publication #self-publishing #Jardine

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runawaymun · 4 months

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End of Year Fic Recs <3

Happy New Year y'all!!!! I got tagged by both @deadqueernoldor & @camille-lachenille for this and what better day to fill it out than December 31st.

I must confess I haven't had the time or energy to read a lot of fics this year, but this is a great excuse to look back on the ones I have read and sort through my bookmarks!!!! I am going to cheat for some of these, purely because I'm very behind on fic reading. So not all of these will be fics that were posted this year, but they're fics that I read this year and loved.

So here we go with some recs:

Recommend up to 5 series or multi-chapter fics from 2023 that everyone should read (multi-year WIPs count, if the last update was in 2023).

Prefacing this by saying that I have not kept up with a lot of multichaptered fics this year 😭 but I will try to rec some that I have been religiously reading!

1. Sacrifice - Sekikaru (unsure if the author is on tumblr, nothing comes up for the tag!) [Original Fiction]

Hanyu is a human who has been delivered as a sacrifice to one of the powerful seafaring beings his people worship as gods. Antony is a bored vampire looking forward to a simple meal and a quiet new servant. Neither gets quite what he is expecting. But as old enemies resurface and the old order proves unsustainable, they might just find in each other exactly what they need.

Listennnn I read this on a whim while sick one day and it gripped me instantly. Every OC is fantastic. It's outstandingly queer. The author explores a lot of really difficult topics with incredible depth and care, and there have been points at the plot where I have yelled out loud or fist pumped. It's insane. It is so, so, so good. Rated E, though, and not just for smut. It can get very intense at some points. It is so, so so good. I've been meaning to do art for it one of these days.

2. The Secret of Formenos House - @jaz-the-bard

Once, Maedhros and Fingon were engaged to be married, before Maedhros broke it off for reasons unknown, and with his family took to the secluded manor of Formenos House. After their departure, only Maedhros ever came to Lindon to speak with his other kin again. The truth was that in the isolation of Formenos House a curse came upon Fëanor and his children, killing nearly all of them and leaving Formenos widely considered to be haunted. But when the curse abates from Maglor unexpectedly, he and Maedhros discover that they are now the guardians of two very sick children whose parents were lost at sea. Maedhros and Maglor might not be the caretakers Elrond and Elros need, unable to give them the spotless reputations they need to make their way in Society as orphans, but once the twins recover, they refuse to be sent to anyone else. It's up to the last remaining lords of Formenos House to turn the manor into a home.

I'm behind on this but it's Jaz, it's a Victorian AU, it's a kidnap fam. WHAT'S NOT TO LOVE. It's so good.

3. Aemond, First of His Name - @ellrond

Aegon Targaryen was never fit for rule. He begged with his brother to let him disappear, and his brother helped him. Said brother took the burden upon his shoulders to rule as king, and to crush the threat of Rhaenyra Targaryen. Canon divergence, Aemond is king and Aegon, not allowed to disappear for fear of inciting rebellion, has been sworn to his brother’s Kingsguard. Heavy Aemond/Helaena. Chapters with smut will be described as such.

EXCELLENT. STELLAR. OUTSTANDING. Prose, at times, feels just like GRRM's. The characterization is perfect. It's so delicious. I love it so much and the plot bunny is so intriguing!

4. We Will Make This Place Our Home - @leucisticpuffin

Elrond and Elros are sent to live with their distant cousins in a house that is crumbling slowly to pieces. They aren't especially happy about this. For Maedhros and Maglor, the twins are a rare chance to start living again. It will take a lot of work to turn a house full of ghosts into anything resembling a home.

Once again, a kidnap fam AU that I'm terribly behind on but enjoying nonetheless!!!! Excellent characterization and writing. I know I keep saying that, but that's what's really important to me in fics -- so naturally I love this one!

5. Vincarna - morgana-deryn (unsure if author is on Tumblr, if anyone knows lmk so I can tag them!)

When her life went from bad, to worse, to unbearable, she prayed for change. She could never have expected the answer she got. It came in the form of creatures that shouldn't exist, in a city too beautiful for words, in a heart that no longer beat. It should have been impossible, and yet there she was, living a life she wouldn't have been able to dream for herself. Elrond/OFC slowburn friends to lovers

Another one of those fics I picked up while sick and then really, really loved. The OC is a really well fleshed out human, with lots of wants, needs, trauma, and skills - and the Elrond characterization is perfect! I also really enjoyed the language barrier. It's something that gets ignored in a lot of these kinds of fics, but it's handled really well here!

Recommend up to 5 single chapter fics/one-shots (long or short) from 2023 that everyone should read.

Without the Leave of Thee - @jaz-the-bard

Celebrían is hosting a fairy revel, and she's determined to impress Elrond, who's promised to be in attendance. It's hard to hold herself back from stealing him away as the fae do to their lovers, but she knows it'd be a bad idea. But what is she supposed to do, when Elrond goes and eats from the basket of magic pears from her garden?

What can I say? This was a gift for me and it's Celrond + Fae elves it's like a no brainer. Jaz is a genius and the prose is so damn pretty & the characterization is PERFECT.

2. The First Water - @ellrond

“How did we first meet?” “You gave me water.” The first meeting of Galadriel and Elrond as a child is mentioned in Rings of Power. This is an incorporation of the kidnapping of Elrond and Elros by Maedhros and Maglor with that story. Not very happy.

Amazing fic based on one of my favorite moments in the show, and one of the moments I found most intriguing. The prose is really vivid and I just loved the portrayals of both Galadriel and Elwing in this.

3. Stirring - @slightnettles

Just a mostly sappy vignette for Rings of Power Valentine's Week. (Day 1: OTP)

Brimbrond is my other Elrond otp, and @slightnettles writes them perfectly. I adore this fic & come back to it often.

4. I Promise You You're Not Broken (I Promise You There's More) - @maglor-my-beloved

It is late in the evening when Celebrimbor is informed of the Elf who had arrived at the gates of Ost-in-Edhil and yielded to the guards, pleading to be brought to the realm's Lord. A strange Elf comes to Eregion. Celebrimbor meets a long-lost cousin.

So many pretty turns of phrase!!! So many incredible descriptions!!! I am just obsessed with the idea of Celebrimbor taking Maeglin in. AAA.

5. Braided - @glorf1ndel

Artanis and Celeborn are fascinated by each other's braids.

Hair customs among the elves!!!!!!!! Celeborn x Galadriel!!!! EVERYTHING I LOVE. Plus it is so well written!!!!

6. (I know, I'm cheating. I love this fic though!) A Million Miles Apart (I hold you close) - @raointean

"Elrond took a sharp breath in surprise. Eärendil’s fëa was not white-hot and blindingly bright like he had imagined the soul of a star to be. It was instead vibrantly colorful and full of life." OR Elrond speaks to his father for the first time since he left.

Listen. If you've followed me for some time you know I'm very iffy on my feelings about Eärendil. This fic made me like him.

Recommend up to 5 fics NOT from 2023 that everyone should read (oldies but goodies.)

Sugar and Diamonds - @nocompromise-noregrets

Celebrían, visiting Imladris for Midwinter with her mother, has a very important conversation with Elrond.

This was a gift for me and I'm obsessed with it. Celrond getting together!!!!! <3 <3 <3

2. bijebtorv’afâh - @arofili

Fíli comes to terms with his identity.

When I say this fic lives RENT FREE in my brain!!! The worldbuilding, the bead-making, Fili...everything is so good. Read it read it read it.

3. All The Ways to Love - @thatfeanorian

When Fingon is forced into an arranged marriage with a cousin he has never met before, he expects the worst. Soon, however, he will realize that Maedhros is not at all what he expected and might in fact be exactly what he has been looking for his whole life. featuring Mae's terrible mental health, Fingon's stubborn determination to make Mae love himself, and Feanor who naturally tries to ruin everything.

I know I recommend this fic regularly but it just hits all my buttons, okay? It's formative Russingon for me. I love it to death & reread whenever I'm sad!

4. All That Is Left - @tuuliii

When Nerdanel has finished the face of Fëanor she looks him in the eye, satisfied. "Some of my best work", she says and strokes his cheek. A tear glides down her own and falls to the while marble floor. "You left me. You left me and now all that is left of you are statues…” A story about Nerdanel and her family in five parts.

My favorite Nerdanel character study. It's so fucking good.

5. Under Strange Stars - @idrilsscribe

Barely a long-year after the Last Alliance all is not well in Imladris. Elrond's household has been dealt a crippling blow: a very young Elrohir has disappeared. After decades of false leads he is found in the Far South of Middle-Earth. Can Glorfindel rescue the House of Earendil once more? His task is not an easy one: Elrohir has no memory of who he was, and little interest in leaving his people's fight against the Black Númenóreans of Umbar ...

One of the first LOTR fics I ever read, and it's a favorite. I recommend this one a lot, too, but for good reason!!! The whole series is excellent and honestly just peerless.

Recommend up to 5 of your own fics (completed or WIP) from 2023 that everyone should read.

I actually haven't done a lot this year. Here's what I've been working on:

Beneath a Boundless Sky (WIP)

Set directly after the events of And the Stars Shine the Same -- Elrond’s two new wards both struggle to feel at home in Rivendell. The wounds from their slavery in King Frumgar’s court are still fresh, and the scars are deep -- and they’re not the only ones. Maglor is home at last, but each day he lives he is haunted by guilt and grief. Elrond is nothing if not patient, and he is certain that given enough time in Rivendell, all three will heal. Meanwhile, the twins set out to join Legolas and investigate the source of the mysterious Shadow which attacked Rivendell, but are held up in Rhovanion. In Greenwood, something evil festers beneath the trees. Only Lothlorien, protected by Nenya, seems to be safe...but for how long? Rhovanion stands on the brink of political catastrophe. Sickness spreads through the Misty Mountains, and to make matters worse...something is wrong with the children. A story about dysfunction and trauma, healing, the breaking of trust and of regaining it, and also the birth of the Kingdom of Rohan, redemption, and hope...if I can pull it off. No graphic depictions, some dark content ahead, mature themes.

This one is a continuation of the And the Stars Shine the Same series! Elrond centric, focusing mostly on the Peredhil fam -- but there are a lot of OCs and sideplots, too :)

To Partake (WIP, rated E.)

Even if it takes until the breaking of the world, Celebrimbor is determined to help Elrond feel comfortable in his own bones. He is too precious a creature to hate himself so much. (Or, the one where shortly before the scheduled mission to Khazad-dûm, Gil-Galad offers Celebrimbor a taste of his herald. Celebrimbor accepts, and regrets it.)

Based on the characterizations in Rings of Power, because I wanted to put the relationship between Elrond and Gil-Galad in the first season of the show under a microscope, but it isn't necessary to have seen the show to read this fic. I veer completely off of the canon events of the show after episode 5, and simply never return to the show's plot -- sticking a lot closer to the Silm.

There are several really difficult scenes in the fic, but I have tried to be very thorough in warning readers at the start of the associated chapters. If you really love Gil though this might not be a fic for you. He is uhhhhh--- well I am trying to fix him, but he remains a very large looming antagonist so far.

Really, it's an Elrond character study (exploring how his childhood trauma affects his current relationships with everyone in the second age, and how he grows into the strong leader we all know and love) disguised as shipfic porn. It's got me in an absolute vice rn. I've had such a blast working on it.

#fic recs #happy new year!

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crossbowandwitches · 7 months

Text

What Should I Say? (Fred Weasley x OC)

A/N: Hi there, this is my first piece which I'll be working on and continuing when I can. I'd appreciate ALL and every bit of feedback and hope you enjoy :)

Summary: In the bustling streets of Muggle London, Fred Weasley, known for his mischievous charm and quick wit, stumbles into an unexpected encounter that will turn his world upside down. At an ordinary acting class, he finds himself face to face with the enigmatic Delphine Howard, a woman who seems to have stepped right out of his dreams. However, he soon comes to a heart-wrenching realization: the love he's found in Delphine is a love he can never truly have.

Warnings: None for this chapter, but there will be eventual smut, angst, stress, swearing, use of alcohol & smoking, you name it.

Word Count: 1241 words.

Chapter 1: Delphine’s POV

The room exuded a chilly ambience as I entered, an emotion so palpable it seemed to engulf the darkness completely. Not a word had passed between us, yet the unspoken connection between us carried more weight than any conversation ever could. Who could have predicted that I would discover someone who shared my passion for acting?

He stood tall and lanky, his dark ginger hair cascading over his eyes. His nervousness manifested in subtle fidgets - the way he absentmindedly twirled his fingers while seated. Despite his evident apprehension, I could sense his potential, even if he hadn't yet recognised it in himself.

Breaking the uneasy silence, I decided to take charge, "Who would like to take on the role of Cleopatra?" The room fell into a palpable hush as I scanned for a willing participant. To my surprise, there were no volunteers among my male students. It was a scene from Antony & Cleopatra, and none of them seemed eager to portray the Egyptian queen's part. Suppressing a chuckle, my gaze locked onto my scene partner, the anxious ginger in the corner - 'You.' I beckoned him with a nod and extended my arm, "Come here," I invited, guiding him toward the centre of the room. "You'll be reading Mark Antony's lines."

He took hesitant steps closer, his trepidation evident. It was his first time presenting to such a class. I decided to ease his nerves by giving him his cue, "I am sick and sullen." As my eyes met him, I noticed his grip on the script tighten as though it might crumble in his hands at any moment.

"I am sorry… to, sorry to give breathing to my purpose–" He stammered, his words hanging in the air, and I promptly responded, "Help me away, dear Charmian! I shall fall! It cannot be thus long; the sides of nature will not sustain it." Just as we were getting into the scene, the building manager knocked to signal that we had only five minutes left before closing, causing a flurry of activity as everyone began packing up.

"Excellent work, everyone! Don't be anxious; this is only our second session, and I look forward to witnessing your progress." I turned to my scene partner, who was already gathering his belongings. "Hi there! Do you mind if I have a moment of your time?" He greeted me with a friendly smile and a nod.

"My apologies, but I'm afraid I can't recall all the names in the class. What should I call you?" I chuckled nervously, which was echoed by a small chuckle from him. "Fred Weasley, but just Fred will do," he added, extending his hand for a handshake, which I gladly accepted.

I warmly welcomed him and praised his immense talent, then suggested, "Why don't you practice this scene for me? We can work on it together next week." He seemed taken aback but ultimately nodded in agreement. "Absolutely, I'd be delighted!" Before he could respond further, I reached into my bag and retrieved a business card.

"Here's my number. If you have any questions or if something about the scene strikes you, don't hesitate to reach out," I said as he accepted the card. He thanked me and made his way out of the room slowly, pausing once or twice to give an awkward wave before disappearing.

Chapter 2: Fred’s POV

"Wake up! I'm trying to talk to you!" George shouted before delivering a playful slap to my head. "Ouch! What's gotten into you, George?" I exclaimed, taken by surprise, as I had been lost in my thoughts.

"What's on your mind?" He probed, responding to my sigh. "Nothing," I replied, "just been a long day." I slouched onto the sofa in our London flat, a stone's throw away from Diagon Alley in the Muggle world. "Hand me those cigarettes." He tossed me the packet, and I flicked open my lighter, igniting one for myself before taking a long drag. "How was your day? I didn't see you after we handled that lunchtime rush." I handed the pack back to him, listening as he lit his own cigarette.

"Well, if you were paying attention…" He shot me an irritated look before continuing, "Two candidates showed up for the interviews, quite an interesting experience." I chuckled at his response but realized that I had drifted off while reminiscing about the evening's acting lesson.

She had mentioned preferring to go by the shortened name Delphi instead of Delphine, which was listed on her website. She claimed it made her appear more professional to potential students. Her choice of name intrigued me; it wasn't one you'd typically encounter in the Muggle world. But beyond that, I found myself captivated by her ability to capture a character's essence in just a few words - a talent that utterly fascinated me.

"Did you manage to hire anyone?" I hastily asked to prove I had been attentive, taking a long puff from my cigarette. "Heavens, no! They had no idea what they were doing - just came for the free candy." I laughed at his reply.

"How about the acting class? Will you give it another shot?" He took a drag from his cigarette and awaited my response. I shifted in my seat before answering, "The teacher thinks I have a knack for this drama stuff, so I suppose I will." George's mouth hung open in disbelief at my response. "Come on, George… I know what you're thinking." My cheeks flushed with embarrassment; George had never taken the idea of the acting class seriously.

"It's pretty clear you have a thing for the teacher, don't you? She's cast a spell on you, and now you can't get her out of your head. I know that feeling, Fred Weasley. So, spill the beans - what's she like?" George inquired, his brows arched, eager to hear more.

I couldn't deny that I had developed a soft spot for her. Her quirkiness and cleverness, coupled with a hint of sassiness, endeared her to me. Moreover, she had an irresistibly petite and cute charm. "George, I—I don't know her that well," I began, pausing as I remembered she was my teacher. "She's really great and good-looking, but I can't ask her out. She's a teacher, my teacher." With that, I stubbed out my cigarette and stood up to leave.

"All talk, no action, Freddie! You've lost your nerve," George teased, a mischievous grin on his face. I spun around to face him as he flashed an evil smile, "Since when did Fred Weasley become a coward? You used to sweep girls off their feet in school, and now you can barely hold a conversation with one. That's not like you."

The realisation that he was right made me feel queasy; somehow, I had lost confidence in myself when it came to pursuing romantic interests. Was it just this one person, or had I lost my touch entirely?

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