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alicentsgf · 1 year

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Let's talk in depth about book Alicent. because even though i read the book 3 years ago I didn't engage online about it until the show's release and um. wow. some people have a very different interpretation of her to me. and also... some of those interpretations show a fundamental misunderstanding of the text, a tendency toward indulging the misogyny present in Fire and Blood, or both.

People are saying the writers changed a lot about Alicent's story and 'made her a victim'... they didn't. It was always possible to read the book and perceive that she was in many ways a victim. Honestly the biggest thing they changed was her age, probably to assist the interpretation they'd chosen, but the larger elements all stay the same; in both versions she's worked in service of the crown since she was young (as a type of companion either to Jaehaerys or Rhaenyra) and she and Rhaenyra initially have a good relationship (according to one source in F&B - this supposedly changes when Aegon was born and not named heir). So making it Rhaenyra we see her close with just makes the emotional tethers that might have been there anyway more visible. After all, Rhaenyra Does spare Alicent's life in F&B, and whilst she says it's for Viserys sake, Alicent at that point had been at the very least complicit in the deaths of most of Rhaenyra's children. Rhaenyra having such a strong former bond with Alicent is going to give this event in the show a lot more weight. It's not hard to see why they made this change, because it adds to the tragedy of the story immeasurably.

The fact is everything we see of Alicent in F&B is up for debate to some extent. Like, for example, did she seduce Viserys? of course certain sources tell us yes, but Fire and Blood is brimming with asoiaf-typical misogyny; it all reminds me somewhat of the story of Anne Boleyn, her story molded into something unrecognisable by history in order to make her the instigator. In truth, we have no way of knowing if Alicent wanted Viserys or not, but we do know she probably didn't have to seduce him. She was widely regarded as being the most beautiful woman - it wouldn't have taken a lot for Viserys to notice her. People, characters and readers alike, assume that because she wasn't a good political match he must have been persuaded, but Viserys was a selfish man, (that is indisputable, we see it in many of his provable actions), so it fits with his character to choose a slightly unsuitable wife on the basis of his own lust. The age gap in the show only serves to demonstrate visually the power imbalance that was at least somewhat present in the book anyway. And yes, this like most things in the book is up for interpretation, but I will say this: I seriously do not respect people calling her 'evil'.

The text never presents Alicent as evil. Even in the worst of her actions she is never legitimately shown to revel in the pain and suffering of others. At most you could argue she was ambitious, but I don't even believe that on the basis of one specific thing: it was her, not Otto, who asked Viserys to betroth Aegon to Rhaenyra. This was not a crazy suggestion in the book, as it was presented in the show; they were only a decade apart, and it was the Valyrian custom that the eldest son would marry his eldest sister, as Aegon the conqueror married Visenya. Alicent wanted this without stipulating the expectation that Aegon would rule instead of Rhaenyra. Viserys reportedly dismissed Alicent on the basis of believing she only wanted Aegon a step closer to the throne, and it can be read that way, but personally I don't think so. I think she was exhausting options to try to protect him after she realised Viserys was never going to name him heir.

Ultimately, Alicent would have been stupid to ignore that her children's lives were at stake. Especially in Fire and Blood where she was much less familiar with Rhaenyra. Nothing in Rhaenyra's actions suggested she wouldn't be capable. She reportedly had no affection for her brothers where she doted on Helaena, suggesting she already saw them as threats. She had demonstrated herself willing to accept physical harm to them in favour of her own sons. She was later thought to be at least complicit in the death of her husband Laenor, who had by all accounts been a good, kind husband to her… and then she married Daemon. Even before this he had been an obvious threat to Alicent's children; a violent man who'd always lusted after power, with a known hatred for Hightowers and who'd never been kind to his nephews by Alicent. Even if Alicent didn't believe Rhaenyra capable of murdering her sons, she would have been stupid not to believe Daemon able.

The truth is even in the book this crisis was set in motion by Viserys. Once he'd refused to marry Aegon to Rhaenyra the bomb was built and ticking away, it was only a matter of time. Even if Rhaenyra's heirs had been indisputably trueborn, Aegon and his brothers and any descendants they had would have been symbols for those who wanted to oppose the Crown to rally behind as soon as Rhaenyra or Jacaerys disappointed them, no matter if Alicent's sons had personally bent the knee. The situation only became more dire when it was clear that Rhaenyra's heir was not trueborn.

Fire and Blood isn't even really quiet about Rhaenyra's first three sons being bastards. To me it read like Rhaenys' Baratheon blood allowed those who wanted to believe otherwise to delude themselves, as Viserys does in both versions. After all, in the book Laenor being gay is an open secret. But the thing is… it doesn't even really matter if they were or not. With so many people believing they were bastards, they were pretty much as good as. Eventually, and most definitely after Rhaenyra's death, there would have been some form of conflict. Because if Jace, an assumed bastard, ascended the throne it would throw into question the claims of almost every lord in Westeros, many of whom would have older bastard brothers. and if a bastard who didn't even look targaryen could sit the highest seat in the realm over a trueborn silver-haired son of a king like Aegon, what's to stop the bastard brothers of any lord from laying claim to their seat? Aegon would have become a rallying point for that dispute whether he liked it or not, and Jace would have been forced to dispose of him if he wanted to maintain power.

In light of this, it's really no wonder Alicent repeatedly voices her animosity over Rhaenyra's sons questionable births. It's very telling that in F&B every cruel comment she reportedly makes about or to Rhaenyra references it. and I say "reportedly" because one of the worst of her quotes, her saying 'mayhaps the whore will die in childbirth' about Rhaenyra, people quote as fact… if you do this I will laugh in your face and ask if you read the book. because Alicent did not say that. or rather, if she did, Fire and Blood would not be able to tell us either way because the quote is attributed to her by Mushroom, one of Rhaenyra's supporters who (apart from being a famed liar) was with Rhaenyra on Dragonstone at the time.

The other two quotes used to argue her supposed evilness are from slightly less questionable sources, and honestly, yeah, it does seem likely to me Alicent implied to Rhaenyra her bastard sons' blood was worth less than that of her own trueborn sons'… but at that point, with the horror she'd experienced on account of Viserys upholding Rhaenyra and her sons' questionable claims, her reacting in this way is perhaps cruel and prejudiced, but not evil. And almost justifiably cruel in my opinon; for all she knows the woman she's talking to directly ordered for her six-year-old grandson to be brutally murdered in front of her, her daughter, and her other grandchildren, directly leading to her daughter's madness and later suicide. Was she going to be respectful? Is it fair to expect that from her? This focus on the term 'bastard blood' overshadows the rest of the quote: “Bastard blood shed at war. My son’s sons were innocent boys, cruelly murdered. How many more must die to slake your thirst for vengeance?” Why is Alicent being a bit of a bitch treated as a worse sin than Rhaenyra ordering the brutal murder of a toddler, or at the very least excusing it.

The last quote mentioned to back up claims of alicent's 'evilness' is her telling her granddaughter Jaehaera she should slit the throat of her husband Aegon III in his sleep. By this point it seemed to me Alicent was no doubt consumed by bitterness and would have attacked Aegon herself given the chance, but even without condoning her words or actions we can see how she became like that; all of Alicent's sons are dead and she wants all of Rhaenyra's gone too. Wasn't it "an eye for an eye, a son for a son"? - Rhaenyra's side set the precedent, the idea that it is justifiable to take one innocent life in exchange for another, no matter if its the life of a child who just happens to have been born on the other side of a war.

Alicent by the end of her life had certainly been driven to cruelty in her grief, twisted into something ugly by the world and locked away to rot.

And yet her final words weren't steeped in bitterness or violence. When the fever sets in she accepts death, even welcomes it. She speaks of seeing her children again, and King Jaehaerys. So doesn't that say she was never driven by hatred at all? That there was never any kind of innate evil nature? At least that's my interpretation. This is the same girl who spent her youth reading to a dying king for no clear reward, and felt such affection for him that she mentioned him at the end of her own life, perhaps pining for the time before her marriage. (No doubt in the show she will mention Rhaenyra instead). This is the woman whose daughter and grandchildren visited her with such reliable frequency her grandson's killers knew to wait in her rooms for them.

So what was so evil about her? That she quite understandably saw Rhaenyra and her sons as a threat, and preemptively acted to protect her own? As much as people like to project ideologies onto these characters, neither Alicent nor Rhaenyra's motivations were ideological, that much as clear.

I may have many reservations about House of the Dragon's execution of it, but the decision to present Alicent as a victim of the world she inhabits was not only the right choice, but also kind of the only choice. HotD is presented as objective truth, where F&B is a collection of biased accounts dripping in the misogyny of the men relating them, and so HotD had to be a critique of its own source material. I admit to having my own bias, and my analysis is at least slightly skewed in Alicent's favour because I'm responding to the most negative interpretations of her. And they are all just interpretations. But in my opinion, those adapting the text looked at Alicent and saw her, where clearly many readers didn't. They asked "what if this woman is misunderstood?", "what if this woman had no real choice?", "what if the men of this world just chose to ignore her complexity, because she was a woman?" and those were absoutely the questions to ask.

#alicent hightower #book alicent #house targaryen #house hightower #fire and blood #f&b spoilers #pro alicent hightower #hotd #house of the dragon #hotd meta #anti viserys i targaryen #fire and blood meta #alicent apologist til death #yes even book alicent

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welldonebeca · 1 year

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i could have chosen (and yes, I would) - 2

Summary: To form an alliance with another Kingdom, your father arranges a marriage between you and James, the duke of Barnes and best friend of King Steve I of a neighbouring kingdom, and you struggle to make a relationship out of your arranged union. WC: 1.1k words Warnings: Arranged Marriage. Medieval AU. Light angst.

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Masterlist

You stared down at the angular gable hood waiting for as Anne pined your hair back.

“Did you tell her I won’t wear it?” you asked.

Your friend stopped and looked at you through the mirror.

“She says you will,” she pointed out, continuing. “That the round bonnet is…”

Anne’s words stopped, and you turned to her, angry.

Every day, that woman worked hard to make your life worse, as if she had a vendetta against you to make your life miserable.

“Indecent,” she finished, hissing. “To have your hair out and showing like that, like the disgraced Queen.”

You scoffed. Disgraced… the Boleyn queen was unfairly judged and cast aside, so he could marry his third wife. She had done nothing wrong.

“Please, Y/N,” she spoke softly, reaching for you and raising your chin, making you look at your face. “It’s just one more day. Before the mid-day, you’ll be married, and you’ll wear whatever hood you want.”

You looked away, not wanting to fight her in this. It was a nice hope from her, that you would have freedom after this. But would you?

How many words had you exchanged with your husband? Ten would be too many.

James could be even worse than your stepmother. Some men would physically punish their wives whenever they did something they disliked.

Still, you stayed quiet as she pined the squared bonnet on your head, pining and placing it, and you sighed before standing up.

“Alright, then,” you decided. “Let’s go before we are dragged out.”

There were rules about getting married in the church, though they mostly didn’t count with alliances. For three days Holy Days, you were supposed to go and tell the priest that you two agreed that you were going to get married, and he would ask if you had any reasons why you should be married. You didn’t have to do all of that, considering your position, but still, you did. It was to make sure there you hadn’t gotten married in secret to each other or anyone else - something weirdly easily to do.

But you hadn’t gotten married secretly to anyone, nor had he, apparently, if his priest’s letter was to be believed. So there was no reason you two wouldn’t get married.

You rode alone in your carriage up to the church. Your father and his wife were in another one, with your little brothers, and Anne was with the few servants that had been invited to the ceremony. None of your sisters had come with you and you didn’t have any friends to be your company.

Everyone, however, was waiting outside to watch it as your carriage stopped, and you quickly caught sight of your husband-to-be, looking positively bothered as he stepped to the door by your side.

“Your Royal Highness,” he mumbled, not a lot louder than the way your heart was thundering in your ears. “Good morning.”

“Your Serene Highness,” you spoke back. “Good morning.”

James guided you out of the vehicle and guided you to the door of the church, where the local priest was waiting.

“Your Highness,” he looked at you and then at your husband-to-be. “Your highness.”

You grabbed your own hands, squeezing your own fingers tightly as you tried to calm your pumping heart.

“Do you take each other in marriage?” he asked.

You breathed in deep, and before you could say it first, your husband-to-be did.

“I do.”

You turned to him, surprised, and James turned slowly to look at your face, waiting. He was beautiful but so unwelcoming.

“I do,” you answered, at last.

The Priest nodded, and reached for someone at his side, taking a bible, and you watched as James stepped up to him, placing your wedding rings on it, and you all stood quiet as the priest raised his voice in Latin, blessing them, and you turned to your side to face your husband when he picked up the smaller ring.

He raised a single hand, pushing the ring to your fourth finger on your right hand, eyes focused right on your face when you glanced up at his face.

“Now you, your highness,” the priest whispered when you didn’t first move.

You nodded, and grabbed it, propping his right hand with one of yours to keep his hand steady, and shivered at his warmth before pushing the golden ring onto his fourth finger.

The priest blessed you, at last, and raised his voice to the group around you.

“I now declare you married,” he announced loudly. “And must everyone here serve as a witness.”

It sounded more simple than it really was, didn’t it? A few words, and you were married.

You took in a deep breath, trying to relax, and looked at your side when your husband-to… well, your husband now, raised his arm to offer it to you, so you two could step inside.

Everyone followed you as you did, and James guided you to the altar step as the church filled up.

“If I take the wings of the morning and swell in the uttermost parts of the sea, ever there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me,” the priest recited, eyes focused on his book. “If I say ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me and the light about me be night,’ even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness if as light with you. For you formed my inwards part; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works, I know it very well.”

He raised his head from the little book, and then looked at the two of you.

“You may kneel,” he instructed you.

You fell onto your knees quietly and closed your eyes when a veil was slowly placed over your heads, and James looked down at your face, looking a little more relaxed than before.

“Are you alright, my lady?” he whispered.

Your eyes widened in surprised at his questions.

The only time he had even spoken to you after greeting you were to answer the priest.

“Yes, my lord,” you whispered back. “Thank you.”

Your shoulders fell as you relaxed, a little less fearful. At least he cared enough to ask about you, and that was more than you had ever expected of a husband.

The priest stared praying, and you closed your eyes, but looked right down when he reached for your left hand and gave your fingers - so small compared to his - a soft squeeze, almost as if assuring you that the worst was almost over.

You wondered how much of this he even wanted.

Just as soon as he held your hand, he dropped it, and you only realised the prayer was over when the veil was removed from over your head.

Your husband stood up, and offered you a hand to help you do the same, and you faced the priest together once more.

“I now declare you married,” he announced once more to the group. “And must everyone here serve as a witness.”

. . .

"i could have chosen you (and yes, i would)" was posted on my Patreon in October 2022 and is fully posted on my page. To read it before anyone else, consider subscribing! It's just $2 a month and it helps me a lot during these hard times.

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Forever Tags: @emoryhemsworth @amythyststorm33 @shaelyn102 @yknott81 @maximofftrash @kgbrenner @thefridgeismybestie @magpiegirl80 @mogaruke @shadowhunter7 @musicalcoffeebean @megasimpleplan4ever @deemoriarty @05spn18 @malindacath @kdcollinsauthor @random-fandom-fangirl2112 @widowsfics @frozenhuntress67 @averyrogers83 @notyourtypicalrose @nerdypinupcrystal @giruvega Forever SFW tags: @newtospnfandom-blog? @thewinterhunter? @amillionfandoms-onlyoneme? @fandomlover2001? @heartislubbingdubbing Marvel forever tags: @its-daydreamer23 @random-fandom-fangirl2112 @tayrae515imagines? @indecisiondecisions? @afanofmanystuffs? @patzammit? @thevanishedillusion? @widowsfics? @alexisshoto @princess-evans-addict @dreams-of-feysand @xoxabs88xox @dragonqueen0606 @izbelross @isabelle-faith Marvel SFW tags: @daft-not-punk? @chloe-skywalker? @hadesnewpersephone @dpaccione i could have chosen you: open

#i could have chosen you series #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes fic #bucky barnes #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes fluff #bucky barnes royal au #bucky fanfiction #bucky fanfic #bucky fic #bucky x reader #bucky x reader fanfiction #bucky x reader fluff #bucky x you #bucky x reader imagine

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blueshistorysims · 12 days

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October 31st, 1923, London, England

Out of the parties the Porters were known for, it was their Halloween party they were infamous for, and anyone who was anybody was invited, not just friends and acquaintances. Byron thought it amusing, seeing everyone dressed up in elegant costumes that likely cost a pretty penny. They ranged from cute, like Wilhelmina’s ladybug ensemble, to well, his sister’s extremely accurate gown of Empress Elisabeth of Austria she’d made herself. He had not a clue where she’d gotten such a fine wig, nor did he want to know.

Of course, Byron was less focused on the party, but rather the two women who were talking near his sister and her paramour. He’d never seen them before, but the woman dressed as a Greek god looked rather familiar, though he couldn’t place why.

“I wonder who those lovely ladies are.”

Montgomery, who’d been in a sour mood for most of the night, turned his head and looked generally surprised. “Oh, don’t ya even think ‘bout it.”

“What? You know Miss Dionysus?”

“That’s Miss Eleora Balass.”

“...Like the Richer-Than-God Baghdadi Jew Balasses?”

“Aye. I’m her father’s personal physician.”

“You? Salim Balass’ personal doctor? He’s everything you are politically against.”

“I think he likes havin’ someone who isn’t afraid to speak their mind. We get into such arguments, and I’m afraid I’ve pushed too far, and he’ll fire me, but then the next day he’ll invite me to lunch and we’ll laugh over it.”

The Balass family were one of the wealthiest families in the world—Salim Balass being the fourth richest man in Europe, and listed as one of the top twenty wealthiest men in the world. They had made their fortune as merchant and traders, rising to power in the Mughal Empire before moving their base of operations to India after being forced to flee Baghdad in the early 19th century, where they established control over the Indian cotton industry, moving to Great Britain as their home in the late 1880s.

“Well, what’s Miss Balass like?”

Montgomery sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “No.”

Byron couldn’t help but smirk. “Introduce me. I’ll force you if I must.”

Almost on cue, Miss Balass and her friend turned around, her face lighting up upon recognizing the Scotman’s face, and she waved. “Oh, Dr. MacGregor!”

“Well, I suppose you’ll have to introduce us now, Montgomery.”

“Fuck off.”

“You know the Porters, Dr. MacGregor?” Miss Balass asked.

“Aye, Mr. Porter and I were flatmates many years ago.” He sighed, turning to Byron reluctantly. “May I introduce his grace the Duke of Feldsbury?”

Byron smiled and nodded his head. “A pleasure.”

“A duke? My, my, I wasn’t aware you knew such people.”

The other woman turned to her friend. “I thought you said he was socialist.”

“Oh, he is, don’t worry. Dr. MacGregor is my late sister’s widower. We knew each other far before I was even aware of the Feldsbury title.”

“Oh, Feldsbury! You’re the former army captain one who married the Gardenhouse girl… and well, divorced her too.”

The way she said it was so amusing that Byron couldn’t help but laugh. “Yes, I am unwed now.” He turned to Miss Balass’ friend, dressed as Anne Boleyn. “I’m sorry, we haven’t been properly introduced, Miss Boleyn.”

She laughed as Miss Balass blushed.

“This is Miss Samira Patel. Our fathers were business partners when we were in India, and they still are today. Miss Patel is one of my closest friends. Dr. MacGregor you know is my father’s physician.”

Montgomery smiled at Miss Patel. “Lovely to meet ya.”

Once they moved past pleasantries, the conversation grew much more lively, and as Byron grew enamored with Miss Balass, he could tell Montgomery was quickly warming up to Miss Patel.

In fact, when the quartet took their leave, Byron looked over to Montgomery, Miss Patel holding his arm, and said he planned to spend the night with Miss Balass—in Gaelic of course so the women wouldn’t understand.

The doctor smirked and replied in English, “I think so too.”

“You speak Gaelic, duke?”

He smiled at her. “Would you like to find out what else I speak, Miss Balass?”

She rolled her eyes as she waved for a taxi.

#the walshes #the walsh legacy #ts4 #the sims 4 #sims 4 decades #sims 4 historical #sims 4 decades challenge #ts4 story #ts4 historical #sims 4 history challenge #history simblr #ts4 1920s #1920s #byron walsh #montgomery macgregor #samira patel #eleora balass #giselle walsh #francesca pace

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bohemian-nights · 4 months

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can we talk about how it was book daemon that spoke out against just attacking KL with all of their dragons and said that they should fight smart? show!daemon would never and i hate how they ruined him. in the book he's incredibly cruel, yes, but also strategic, intelligent. when he was a young man he was hotheaded and impulsive but by the time of the dance he was in his 50's, more mature and calm. in the show they made him into a bloodthirsty lunatic to make maegora look good. and it's funny considering how in the book it was rhaenyra that was wayyy more vengeful , impulsive and bloodthirsty. they had to ruin every single character in hotd to make maegora look good because in f&b she's literally the worst. like she's the villain of the entire dance she's insane.

i loved book alicent and her anne Boleyn vibes so muchhh ! book alicent actually fit the "girlboss" stereotype so much more than miss maegor so of course they had to ruin her character completely.

and the whole "friendship" plot? what is this bs???? i wanted anne boleyn vs bloody mary! why do people assume that feminism is always about how men are the true villains and women are the hopeless victims? rhaenyra and alicent are not victims, they are overprivileged power-hungry women that hated each other's guts and were the leaders of their factions. they are not friends. they were never friends. there is no need for them to be friends. this is so stupid.

nettles is one of my fav characters and i'm terrified for my girl. they will prob make her a "victim" of daemon or vilify her to make maegora and dumbmyra look good. rhaenyra was always the villain in nettles story, she's racist and tries to kill netty even though she never betrayed her and fought for her cause (while miss maegor sat on her ass in dragonstone).

maegora was so useless during the dance, she did NOTHING. that's prob why i lean towards team green - say what you will about aegon, (i'm not even talking about the show version of him) he fought until the very end.

Everything you said anon x1000 👏🏽This show really has become the how Miss Maegor(and to a slightly lesser extent Alicent) was wronged by the patriarchy show. Everything else has been put on the back burner, storylines, and characterization have been taken away to prop up this racist flop. She is the opposite of a girl boss(yep book!Alicent fits that description better).

I’m not going to get into how other characters have been butchered, had their light dimmed, or look outright idiotic to make Missy Anne look better(Aegon, Laena, Baela, Rhaena, Helaena, hell even some of Corlys and Rhaenys actions don’t make sense). Or how certain characters who show the true nature of her character are nowhere to be found(Nettles; her almost victim).

Daemon wasn’t perfect in the books, but he comes off as almost mentally unstable in the show. At best one can liken him to a spoiled toddler throwing tantrums and lashing out cause his big bro doesn’t love him/ solely focus all his attention on him. They are actively taking away what little redeeming qualities he has(competent military man, loving husband to Laena, Nettles🙃) to turn him into some big baddie.

Alicent has been made into a weak and confused woman when she was a fully functioning capable woman in the books. To be honest, Olivia Cooke’s acting is probably saving this character because her actions from episode 8 on don’t make any sense. (Why the hell would anyone still want to be friends with someone who cared less about their child being maimed)?

Ryan keeps saying Fire & Blood is biased(debatable considering we have three different accounts of events and one of them is from someone who would lick Miss Maegor’s butt free of charge), but the version of the Dance he’s telling definitely isn’t the truth. This is crap borderline fanfiction(I’ve read better fanfiction).

#bnasks #bnask #anti hotd #daemon targeryan #they screwed you over zaddy #and so many others #alicent hightower #anti miss maegor

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annabolinas · 5 months

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Anne of the Thousand Days Review: Part 1

Alright, so I got around to writing this review, and boy do I have some hot takes! Fair warning, though; this is so long I'll need to post this in two parts.

“For six years, this year, and this, and this, and this, I did not love him. And then I did. Then I was his. I can count the days I was his in hundreds … In all one thousand days. Just a thousand. strange. And of those thousand, one when we were both in love, only one, when our loves met and overlapped and were both mine and his. And when I no longer hated him, he began to hate me.”

Where do I even begin with this review? I disliked this movie when I first watched it, and after a rewatch, I still dislike it. Anne of the Thousand Days is a tedious slog of a movie which somehow both has a fundamentally weird premise and forgets its own premise at times, especially in its marketing. The poster for this movie claimed that it showed “the most passionate and shocking love story in history!” As we’ll see, though, it’s hard to claim this depiction of Henry and Anne have a grand love affair when they only mutually love each other, at least in Anne’s telling, for one day.

Anne of the Thousand Days started as a Broadway play in 1948, written by American playwright Maxwell Anderson. With Rex Harrison as Henry VIII and Joyce Redman as Anne Boleyn, the play was a critical and commercial success, running for nearly 300 shows. However, as it dealt with themes of adultery, illegitimacy, and incest, Anne of the Thousand Days ran afoul of the Hays Code, so it took over two decades to be adapted into a movie. Most of the blank verse of the play was removed, many scenes were expanded into two, three, or four, and Anne was given a monologue about Elizabeth’s future greatness to shout at Henry in the Tower. Richard Burton was cast as Henry, and the virtually unknown French-Canadian actress Genevieve Bujold was cast as Anne. Burton’s wife Elizabeth Taylor feared the two were having an affair, so she managed to obtain a cameo to keep an eye on them. Taylor had actually lobbied for the role of Anne, but at 37, she was deemed too old for Anne, who (following the scholarship of the time) aged from 18 to 29 over the course of the film. One can only wonder…

The movie follows the basic outlines of history, with a heavy emphasis on “outlines”. The opening scene is of Henry agonizing whether to sign Anne’s death warrant, as we soon transition into a palace ball where Henry falls for the vivacious and charming Anne as his sober, pious wife Catherine of Aragon despairingly looks on. He orders his chief minister, Cardinal Wolsey, to break up Anne’s relationship with the “Northern clodhopper” Harry Percy, much to her fury. She vigorously resists Henry’s advances, her resolve only strengthened by her pregnant sister Mary, who gave in to Henry and now carries his child. Mary prophetically warns, “The moment you’re conquered, he’ll walk away.” Despite Anne’s utter refusal to return his feelings, Henry continues to “love” (yes, the quotes are necessary) Anne, and eventually proposes divorcing Catherine and making Anne queen. She accepts, but unfortunately, political circumstances abroad combine to make it clear that the Pope will not grant Henry a divorce. Having fired Wolsey for his failure to get the divorce, and encouraged by his new chief minister Thomas Cromwell (and to a lesser extent, Anne) to break with Rome to get his way, Henry does so. After a tense confrontation, Anne finally tells Henry that she loves him, and they sleep together; she soon becomes pregnant and they’re married in a shotgun, bigamous wedding.

Anne is reviled at the coronation, but despite Henry’s hopes and Anne’s promises, she gives birth to a daughter, Elizabeth. Henry is furious and his eye begins to wander towards Anne’s lady-in-waiting Jane Seymour. Anne is furious and demands that Henry make everyone swear an oath recognizing their daughter as his legitimate heir on pain of death, leading to the execution of Sir Thomas More. Anne promptly miscarries a boy and Henry, believing his marriage accursed, orders Cromwell to find a way out. Cromwell soon trumps up charges of adultery with five men, incest with her brother George, and treason, which lead to Anne’s arrest. At her trial, though, Henry suddenly (and ahistorically) bursts in and manages to get the only one of the five who confessed to admit he lied under torture. Henry is still unsure of whether Anne is guilty, and he confronts her in the Tower. Anne utterly refuses to agree to an annulment, even if it means her death, and lies to Henry to hurt his manhood, declaring that she cheated on him with countless men, finding them far better lovers. For good measure, she then proclaims, “Elizabeth shall be a greater queen than any king of yours. She shall rule a greater England than you could ever have built! Yes - my Elizabeth shall be queen. And my blood will have been well-spent.” Henry promptly signs her death warrant and Anne is beheaded by a French swordsman, the movie ending with a shot of the toddler Elizabeth walking towards her destiny.

Incredibly, I did like some stuff about this movie. The costumes, designed by Margaret Furse, are exquisite and mostly accurate; if nothing else, this movie deserved its Best Costume Design Oscar. Even the fact that Genevieve Bujold’s French hoods nearly always lack a proper veil doesn’t matter, in my opinion, since she manages to pull it off. The coronation procession was absolutely stunning, and the recreation of the Tower of London is incredible; they really minimized the distance between Tower Green and St Peter ad Vincula, though. Despite not using surviving Tudor pieces, the score, composed by Georges Delerue, manages to evoke the period really well.

Concerning the performances, I loved Anthony Quayle’s depiction of Cardinal Wolsey, as he goes from a self-assured, powerful man to a broken, fallen minister. His final scene is heartbreaking, and Quayle humanizes him throughout; even when he breaks up Anne and Harry Percy, he doesn’t seem thoughtlessly cruel. John Colicos’ portrayal of Cromwell as “a man without scruple” is a delightfully villainous characterization, a schemer who owns up to his villainy and revels in manipulation.

A review of Anne of the Thousand Days, of course, would be incomplete without a discussion of Genevieve Bujold’s Anne Boleyn. While not one of my top three favorite Anne Boleyn portrayals (for the record, Natalie Dormer, Dorothy Tutin, and Claire Foy), Bujold does a good job with Anne. She compellingly portrays Anne’s growth (and increasing ruthlessness) from a lovestruck teenager to a fiercely protective mother, as you can see her grow and harden over the course of the movie. She also captures Anne’s boldness and vivacity of spirit well, although sometimes to the point of straining credulity. Would the real Anne have maintained Henry’s love if she told him at the start of their relationship, “You’re spoiled and vengeful and bloody. Your poetry is sour and your music worse. You make love as you eat - with a great deal of noise and no subtlety”? It seems very unlikely. Anne’s frank declaration to Harry Percy that she’s not been a virgin for a long time additionally seems very incongruous with the historical Anne. Bujold’s acting, too, sometimes feels not just theatrical, but overly artificial and overdone, particularly when she has to express anger. Still, the fact that it is hard to imagine this Anne captivating Henry for seven years is not Bujold’s fault - she performs well the script as written - but that of the writers.

Unfortunately, this is the part of the review where I must tackle the things I disliked about this film. Equally unfortunately, there are quite a lot of them. The elephant in the room is Richard Burton’s depiction of Henry. In both history and popular depictions, Henry was and is the center of his court, someone who shifted from passionately loving Anne to furiously ordering her death on false charges; in any depiction of Anne, he is the other main character. Put bluntly, Richard Burton gives perhaps one of the creepiest portrayals of Henry VIII I’ve ever seen. While not worse than Ray Winstone’s portrayal of Henry as a marital rapist, Burton portrays Henry as a serial sexual harasser and predator. He combines the real Henry’s unshakeable belief in his own self-righteousness with a seedy lustfulness which will stop at nothing, not even claiming he’s only sexually potent with the woman in question, to get into a woman’s bed. There is little trace in this portrayal of Henry’s intellectual or cultural pursuits, and even the times when he exhibits bonhomie feel forced and fake. Furthermore, at only 5’8, Richard Burton is half a foot shorter than the real Henry, meaning he lacks the physical towering presence of the real man; he thus doesn’t physically stand out from his courtiers. In fact, Anthony Quayle as Wolsey is two inches taller than Burton; a screen Henry ought to tower above his courtiers, not vice versa!

Anne of the Thousand Days also completely misunderstands the history of the period, changing it in ways that not only make no sense plot-wise, but which indicate the writers genuinely did not understand the period. Some inaccuracies stem from changing historiography - despite being named after Anne Boleyn, the movie portrays a less politically active Anne than more recent depictions like The Tudors and Wolf Hall. However, this lack of emphasis was the result of the historiography of the time tending to minimize Anne as a political figure; only in 1986 with Eric Ives’ seminal biography of Anne would attitudes change. The inaccuracies I object to are ones which betray a lack of understanding of the basic nature of the history. I’ve already mentioned one of these inaccuracies (Anne admitting to Harry Percy that she’s not a virgin), but there’s several others. For example, Henry is seriously conflicted about breaking with Rome, stating that it would mean “everlasting damnation” and result in his soul being cast into Hell. However, this fundamentally misunderstands the real Henry’s character. When he decided on a course of action, it was not only incredibly hard to dissuade Henry from it, but he often became increasingly convinced of his own self-righteousness. As a pious early modern king, Henry would not have broken with Rome had he harbored as many doubts about its morality as he does in Anne of the Thousand Days.

Moreover, the Act of Succession in the movie is passed only after Anne agrees to bring Jane Seymour back to court from a (fictional) exile in Northumberland. Henry himself states that “One daughter is much like another. I care not who’s named bastard when I’m dead.” As this Anne points out, this version of Henry is declining to enshrine their daughter’s legitimacy in law so he can sleep with another woman. Unsurprisingly, this did not happen in real life; the real Henry, no matter how much he wanted a son, would not have shot himself in the foot by doing this! To not pass the Act of Succession wouldn’t just harm Elizabeth, but any children, including a son, he had by Anne; Elizabeth, after all, was only heir in lieu of any sons. These are serious departures which go beyond artistic license and veer into a real lack of historical comprehension.

The biggest (and most absurd) inaccuracy, though, comes in Anne’s trial and resulting confrontation with Henry in the Tower. First, Anne is allowed to cross-examine Smeaton, who is brought in, along with her brother George, during the course of the trial. But this greatly downplays just how rigged the real Anne’s trial was, as in real life, no witnesses were called. Even if they had, it is incredibly unlikely Norfolk, who hated his niece in history, would have let her cross-examine them. But then, any semblance of accuracy, realism, or even sense is sacrificed wholly on the altar of drama as Henry himself enters and gets Smeaton to confess that he’s innocent. If this had happened, there would be no reason for Henry to execute him, like Burton’s version promises he’ll do. Moreover, as Smeaton was the only person (both in history and the film) who confessed, retracting his confession would mean there were no witnesses, which would have torpedoed the government’s case against Anne and the men. But Henry does this and then proceeds to mutter, “And yet… it could be true,” which is only explicable in the film if he genuinely thinks Anne is guilty of adultery. The problem is that Anne has never flirted with any of the men on screen; she’s never talked to the ones aside from her brother at all! This means that the accusations of adultery come out of left field, a failure of writing which leaves the viewer wondering where on earth that came from.

PART 2 HERE:

#tudor era #anne boleyn #anne of the thousand days #genevieve bujold #henry viii #richard burton #catherine of aragon #katherine of aragon #jane seymour #elizabeth i #the tudors #I have so much to say about this movie #but it's just not good IMO #Genevieve Bujold Anthony Quayle and John Colicos #as Anne Wolsey and Cromwell #cannot save this movie #tudorerasource #thomas wolsey #thomas cromwell

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period-dramallama · 2 months

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Review: The Concubine by Christopher Bae Rae

TLDR: The first 3 chapters are great, the last third is great, the middle bit is kinda meh. I want to proofread and tweak this book, but overall I could recommend it to someone really into Anne Boleyn.

Overall this is a good depiction of how events evolve, with the delineation of responsibility between King and Cromwell fuzzy. A lot of factors combine to make this storm of disaster.

For @fideidefenswhore xxx many thanks for buying this and The King's Mind for me, I hope the review entertains.

We begin with Anne waiting impatiently for news of the death of 'Aragon' (Chris, please just call her the Princess Dowager. Aragon is not a surname!)

She has chosen Edward for her unborn son's name. A fitting choice, and chock full of dramatic irony, especially as Anne isn't wrong that a king called Edward will 'cleanse England of popery'. Anne's ambition for her son is sad because we know what will happen, but there is an unpleasant streak to Anne who imagines how "sweet" Princess Mary's death would be.

"All is well and all manner of things will be well." It's nice to see Rae has at least a passing knowledge of the Bible- better than most Tudor novelists.

"Her heart was black!"

Anne:

I'm narrowing my eyes at the characterisation of Janes Seymour and Rochford but it's not TOO bad. Could be worse.

Henry examining the heart was a great touch. The tension, the duality of his response: amazement at the human body but also a Christian revulsion/fear/disappointment at its animalness. The tension felt very Tudor, Christian, and (renaissance) humanist all at once.

Also his suspicion at Katherine's death feeds nicely into his paranoia. Will whoever did it stop at Katherine? It's a good moment for his character arc. Anne's laughing at the heart is also in character in a dark-sense-of-humour kind of way.

"Henry does not care to admit it, even to himself, but he sometimes feels a sensation of being overwhelmed by her energy and confidence, an uncomfortable intimation that she does not always quite remember her place. A feeling that she may in some ways be quicker and cleverer than he is."

It would be nice to have some more dialogue. Anne and Henry spend a happy evening together and the narration tells us about it but it would be nice to hear them banter and bounce off each other, especially given what's going to happen.

Henry doesn't seem that enthusiastic about Katherine in his dream but it IS a dream so I wouldn't be surprised if he's got a case of self-serving memory and his brain has retconned any memories of happiness with Katherine.

"The continuance of your house must be seen to be assured, for without that the continuance of their own is in peril." A good point.

Rae handled the yellow-wearing incident well: Anne doesn't want to, but she didn't persuade Henry in time.

"She waves her hand, as if this might be sufficient to consign Mary to some kind of perpetual limbo."

I am very pleased to see an acknowledgement that Anabaptists exist and are persecuted by Protestants, as they're ignored in 99.9% of Tudor novels especially Protestant-leaning novels: "These are madmen, their views are too extreme for any God-fearing Lutheran and they must be suppressed. But such people are a sign of these times." BUT Protestantism is not about going forward, but BACK- back to an ideal golden age late antiquity Christianity of simple purity. Protestantism in this novel comes across like innovation which is certainly not how Protestants like Anne would have seen it. (yes I know the word Protestant itself is anachronistic because it's a 1550s word but bear with me).

Elizabeth Boleyn is well written: blunt, shrewd, loving but not emotive, but also not judged for having a stiff upper lip. "her mother comes and bustles, exuding a strained air of optimism." I like this portrayal of Elizabeth as being strong for other people, it's a nice bit of characterisation for a minor character. There's a good back and forth between Norfolk, Anne and the Boleyn parents.

Fat Wolsey stereotype...did Anne really hate him? Some historians have questioned that. It would have been interesting to see a fresher interpretation of their interactions.

We're leaning hard into the "Thomas More is a sadist torturing people in his house and he loves burning people" myth BUT I will give it half a pass because it's Anne's perspective and it makes sense she'd unquestioningly absorb Protestant gossip. It also leans hard into Fisher and More being personal enemies of Anne, saying they refused the oath to the succession when it was the supremacy More refused to swear to. More was willing to swear to the succession, and it was Anne's own ally Cranmer who suggested a compromise: More swearing to the succession alone.

Opening a chapter with Henry coming to from the jousting accident was very effective because we are like Henry, we don't have the immediate knowledge of what just happened (in theory anyway lol we know the history.)

'Something very bad must have happened to him.' You don't say.

I think Rae's portrayal of Norfolk is a little OTT. Don't get me wrong, I hate Norfolk, I don't give him a nuanced sympathetic portrayal in my own writing- he's ruthless, condescending, materialistic, greedy, and obsessed with hierarchy to the point of comedy- but I think it's OTT to make him literally stinky. Norfolk was a git but he was an aristocratic git, so there's no reason for him not to cover himself in rosewater or musk or civet or rose oil and chew cloves and mint for fresh breath.

"It's not for the first time that she imagines that the duke's death would not cause her any great or lasting sorrow." Spitting facts.

"These men, with their constant needing, wanting, thrusting- can they not ever leave off?" I can see the real Anne thinking this.

Cromwell is called the chancellor, but that was Audley- as Rae says later in the book. What gives? Is this a different chancellorship? Rae really really really wants to keep reminding us that Cromwell is an efficient fixer who knows 'where everything is and who it belongs to.' He is described as having a 'prodigious capacity for work' and I'm pretty sure I've seen that exact phrase in a history book.

Anne's panic and shock written very well: "She stares at the cloth and the stain, as if it is a trick of the light and gazing at it intently enough might cause it to disappear."

Christopher loves adding in definite articles. "The relief floods through her" "the tears staining her pretty cheeks" "a part of" rather than "part of". "Skill at the jousting" "threatened with the torture".

But he also misses out words and letters. I had to silence my inner editor reading this, I was itching to get my red pen, particularly in the middle third of the book. 'You' where it should be 'your', 'away' when it should be 'way' 'when sings' instead of 'when he sings' 'is wife' instead of 'his wife'. 'He is mind is elsewhere'. Sometimes Rae will say the same thing twice but in different words. I'm itching to tidy up some of these sentences.

"Soon enough they are ensconced together in the study very privately and Cromwell can speak his mind having first taken the precaution of having his guest sign a solemn of secrecy."

"Cromwell asks his guest if he would care to view the current progress of the works he is undertaking on the new accommodation and the splendid garden."

"the style favoured by old Granny Beaufort." I'm wincing.

Hire me as a proofreader, Chris!! Let me tidy your sentences!! My rates are super duper reasonable!! ;) xx

"She must be bright and gay" I was surprised to see such an antiquated use of 'gay' in a book published AFTER 2010.

"she must amuse and entertain him as only she can do, she must have faith in their future and give him confidence in it."

The image of their relationship as a sinking ship works particularly well given that ship-jewel she gave him with the self-insert maiden onboard.

If an old woman is talking shit about you why do you eat her gift of pastries?! She's probably spat in them AT LEAST.

Sir 'Nick''s suggestions to Henry are so heavy-handed that the manipulation is almost darkly comedic.

I am narrowing my eyes at Chapuys contemplating 'the austere beauty' of the chapel at Austin Friars. It's just a little early for Protestant whitewash aesthetics to come in. I'll give it a pass.

"The king's amours are not my affair, my dear Eustace."

"I can see that you are unhappy about these arrangements, and of course I sympathise. I do not much like them myself...Seymour having the king's ear, or to dwell on what nonsense he may be pouring into it. But I do not think we should be unduly alarmed about any of this." Cromwell is very clever here, using 'we' and joining their interests together to convincingly sound like he's Anne's ally.

"The ambassador is more than capable of building towering insubstantial castles of speculation in the air; he is also a master of the direct question." Good! But Chapuys would talk of Christendom, not a brotherhood of Catholic nations.

I do think Chris should have read Macculloch on Cromwell, because this Cromwell is too secular. "Survival is in the end his only goal." As Macculloch showed, Cromwell took risks for the sake of the reformation and he also made political errors because he wanted to found a political dynasty through his son Gregory. So Cromwell has multiple motives: yes he wants money, power, prestige, etc., but he is devout too. "not a wit, a raconteur, a teller of tales." It's unfair on Cromwell to portray him as someone who can't amuse highborn ladies: the real Cromwell was an outgoing, hail fellow well met kind of guy.

The Tudor court does feel rather depopulated, Anne is alone with Nan a lot. Where are her other ladies? they tend to vanish.

The king eating partridge with a cherry sauce, a nice detail as IIRC cherries were a favourite of Henry's. "His smile congeals upon his face into a cold mask of reserve."

The memory of being 6 years old and sheltering in the Tower was a good character moment for Henry, especially him recreating the rebellion with his toys. There's a cold pride to Elizabeth of York as well as the typical motherly tenderness, which I like. She was born a Princess after all.

"Do you follow?" He follows. Cromwell has no trouble following." Double meanings! We love double meanings!

Nan Gainsford trying to help Anne by mentioning Mark Smeaton's crush...oh, Nan. A great moment of tragedy. "Cromwell looks at her, quietly recording every word for a remembrance." Later on "Anne nods, as always Nan's good counsel can be relied upon."

I do think this story is missing some key parts, like the scene where Chapuys around Easter 1536 was forced to publicly acknowledge Anne as queen, suggesting the plot to destroy her was rather last minute. Henry orchestrated that little diplomatic trap, and it doesn't really fit Rae's framing of events. Also the countess of Worcester should have been involved in Anne's downfall, but instead it's Jane Rochford.

The meeting with Lady Rochford is enjoyable as fiction but it seems unclear whether she is on Anne's side or not. The real Jane wouldn't want Anne to fall- her fortunes are tied to Anne as history showed: when the Boleyns fell Jane would never be as rich again.

"[Anne] has thought of Cromwell for so long as an ally." Has she??? At the beginning of the book she didn't trust him in the slightest so why is she so taken aback?

"In these times of division and dissent it is so easy to assume that those who share our opinions on matters of faith and religion are somehow bound to be our friends." But she didn't assume!

I like the description of Cromwell being like a bat, it makes a change from comparing him to a pig, which is lazy and boring and unoriginal and uncreative and unfunny.

"Once a single brick is loose, the wall will be brought down quite easily." "this notion, and the twisting, spiralling curlicues of imagined consequence which may issue from it." "the tower of fantasy spirals upwards, out of control."

Henry goes from 'Smeaton won't confess to something that isn't true' to 'I think I've been deceived' back to awareness alarmingly quickly.

"he has endured this kind of assault before, but it was a long time ago, in a blacksmith's yard in Putney, with another man who had absolute power over him". Someone's read Wolf Hall.

Jane Rochford is more malicious here than the evidence suggests.

"She studies Jane's insolent look, and begins to think she might do well to ask George to keep his wife at home in future. If she is allowed to remain at court she will cause trouble somehow. But what ails her? What does she hope to gain from it?"

"he is still a little puzzled by her motivation, because the naïve and trusting might think that her interest lay with the Boleyns since she is married to George, whereas in fact she seems to be determined to do everything in her power to destroy him."

CHRIS. YOU ARE SO CLOSE TO GETTING IT. It's frustrating because Rae is good enough as a fiction writer to spot the obvious holes, but not knowledgeable enough in this history to fix them. Like yes, Anne and George could have sent Jane away if they didn't like her! That suggests they probably DID LIKE HER!

He tries to fix it by having Jane want Anne "disgraced, brought down a peg two, and abandoned by the King...she has done whatever she could think of to help to bring such a conclusion about" that Jane is "nothing more than Anne's lady in waiting." But it doesn't make sense! If Anne were abandoned by the king, this proud and covetous Jane would see her own position decline. She isn't just Anne's lady in waiting- she's her sister in law! She has a fancy bed with Rochford knots and a fancy counterpane! Under Anne's replacement she would just be...another lady in waiting! Also we have Jane's signature and Jane "scratching out her mark" implies she can't write, which is inaccurate.

Smeaton saying "I have risen by my own talents and found favour" is a nice subtle parallel to Cromwell's own rise, which makes Smeaton's fall all the more tragic, as a foil to Cromwell.

Cromwell using the classic 'sign here without seeing the full document because it's hidden by the document above' from I, Claudius.

At Chateau Vert Jane was Constancy IIRC.

"a galliard she knows very well, so beautiful, sad and stately." I think Rae is thinking of a pavane here, a galliard is an upbeat dance.

"although she must suffer patiently the king's delight in revels and pageants, Katherine of Aragon does not care much for this kind of lewd and brazen display, and thinks privately that dancing is a business best left to whores and drunkards." I think this is an unfair portrayal of Katherine. She was pious, but she wasn't a killjoy.

The juxtaposition between Anne falling down into despair next to Henry's mood 'rising' is very effective, like he's draining her like a vampire. Henry believing his own lies and turning his thoughts to "pleasure and pastime with good company". I saw what you did there, Chris.

There are some excellent moments of extreme black comedy in this. "They must believe that there was a conspiracy against myself, not one that has been crudely fashioned against the Queen.' Cromwell winces. Crudely fashioned?"

"It is simple enough, she is to be burned alive, according to the law. This provokes a murmuring from the Lords, and Norfolk looks puzzled until he remembers to add that the king in his great mercy is expected to commute this to beheading."

#historical fiction #book reviews #my reviews

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sixcostumerefs · 11 months

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Hi!! I haven't been keeping up with six as much recently, could you explain the UK standardising covers thing a bit more?

Hey! Yes! However I am going to slightly hijack this ask and give a broader “UK alt system 101” because I’ve been getting a lot of asks about it recently.

First covers (fully standardized) Prior to lockdown and with the first cast returning from lockdown, UK casts of Six would just choose alt covers based on the queens they had and what worked best. Saw combos like A/P, S/H, B/C; A/C, B/H, S/P; A/H, B/C, S/P. Starting in fall 2021, every new UK cast has used an alt system with A/C, B/H, and S/P, and then swing(s).

Second covers (not standardized) Prior to Covid they had used two different second cover systems: #1. What I call the "consistent" cover system, where if someone is first cover B/C then someone else is going to be second cover B/C and someone else third B/C. This was used by the 2019-21 West End cast. Example: Zara MacIntosh: 1st A/H, 2nd B/C, 3rd S/P Cherelle Jay: 1st B/C, 2nd S/P, 3rd A/H Hana Stewart: 1st S/P, 2nd A/H, 3rd B/C #2. What I call the "scrambled" cover system, where if someone is first cover B/C then one of the other alts is second cover B/? and the other is C/?. This one was used by the 2019 West End alts... Courtney Stapleton: 1st A/P, 2nd S/C, 3rd B/H Vicki Manser: 1st B/C, 2nd H/P, 3rd A/S Grace Mouat: 1st S/H, 2nd A/B, 3rd C/P ...and the 2019-22 UK Tour alts: Cassandra Lee: 1st A/C, 2nd S/H, and 3rd B/P Jennifer Caldwell: 1st B/H, 2nd A/P, 3rd S/C Harriet Watson: 1st S/P, 2nd B/C, 3rd A/H This system is generally better from a coverage/management perspective, which I talked about here.

When they came back from lockdown they initially seemed to have standardized to the consistent system. The 21-22 WE followed it: Paisley Billings: A/C, S/P, B/H Danielle Rose: B/H, A/C, S/P Roxanne Couch: S/P, B/H, A/C as did the 22-23 UKT, formally anyway (may have followed a different one informally): Grace Melville: A/C, B/H, S/P Leesa Tulley: B/H, S/P, A/C Natalie Pilkington: S/P, A/C, B/H but the 22-23 WE started following a scrambled again: Monique Ashe-Palmer: A/C, B/P, S/H Danielle Rose: B/H, A/S, C/P Leah Vassell: S/P, C/H, A/B and the 23-23 UKT now is too: Ellie Jane Grant: A/C, P/?, S/? Izi Maxwell: B/H, S/C, A/P Tamara Anne Morgan: S/P, A/?, C/?

I'm guessing they will try to continue using scrambled in the future because of the coverage benefits, but we'll see.

Swings

The West End uses two swings. Each of them have three primary covers, but also cover the other three commonly enough as needed.

The UK Tour just has one swing, who covers all six roles technically equally (but just like with all prior swings there does still seem to be some sort of unofficial priority/preferred roles).

Costumes The alts have principal-style costumes for their first covers. If/when they cover 2nd or 3rd covers, they wear an alt costume:

(Pictured: Paisley Billings, Danielle Rose, Leah Vassell) A/C wears teal, B/H wears orange, and S/P wears pink. There's only one consistent variation: teal is always pants w/ peplum, orange is always pants w/ peplum, and pink is always the standard A/H.

The swings wear regular swing costumes for all six costumes. Those are black and silver:

(Pictured: Rachel Rawlinson, Esme Rothero; Rachel Aragon photo by Pamela Raith)

The single UK Tour swing wears silver. For the West End, the second alt is added in black. They each get multiple variations as pictured, although for the UK Tour the swing does not have a Boleyn skirt. These Cleves costumes also don’t have a reveal.

#six the musical #six alternates #six west end #six uk tour #cover system #alt costumes

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gulnarsultan · 3 months

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Can you please do a Yandere Anne Boleyn with King Reader smut? Where King Reader is prioritizing his other wife than Anne.

You want a sumut between the king and yandere Anne Boleyn. Gives more priority to the king's other wife. This causes a warm moment between Anne and the King. Did I understand correctly?

Anne was very angry. Even though she married the King, the first Queen was always first for the King. Jealousy and possessiveness took over Anne's body. That night, she wore her sexiest nightgown and put on make-up. She entered the king's room suddenly and without permission. The king was sitting on a chair and drinking wine. The sudden raid made the King angry.

"Anne. Such behavior is disrespectful. Go back to your room immediately."

Anne became even more angry. She had climbed over the king.

"No. Take care of me."

"Are you ordering me around? You slut. I'll teach you a lesson."

Without wasting any time, the king bends his wife over his lap. He lifts the skirt of his wife's nightgown.

"You dirty whore. You're already wet."

The King's first spank lands on Anne's bottom. As the spanking continues, Anne does nothing but whimper. When the King finally stopped, Anne's bottom was red.

"So desperate for my cock, whore. Now ride me. Now."

Anne slowly tries to ride the King's cock. Anne's efforts make the King laugh.

"You were so brave just now, whore. What happened? Now ?"

The king grasps his wife's legs. He pulls Anne down quickly. The king's cock enters Anne's pussy without any preparation.

"Ahhh. My king, have mercy."

"There is no mercy for prostitutes, slut. You will be punished."

The King's rapid thrusts make Anne bounce mercilessly. After minutes of fast thrusts, Anne cums. The king's thrusts slow down and he pushes the cock deep into his wife. The King's sperm fills Anne's womb. The king gives his wife a passionate kiss.

"Now go back to your room, whore. Next time, I will punish your disobedience more severely."

"Yes, my King."

#house of tudor #yandere tudors characters #the tudors #yandere the tudors #yandere tudors #yandere anne boleyn #yandere anne boleyn x reader #yandere historical characters #yandere female

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fideidefenswhore · 2 years

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💜 about henry? :)

my most forbidden unpopular opinion is that he probably would have been better off / happier if he hadn't married cathy of the pom.

#cue the screeches and calls for me to be burned as a witch #anyways this isn't me saying i think it was like particularly horrible to be married to her or anything; it's not even speaking to #compatibility; it's not even speaking to 'better of for england' bcus how the hell would i know #(there are actually a surprising number of catholics on the alternate history forum that say they also wish this but because #they think england would be better off if it never went into schism)#(and i don't care about that lol)#it's neither me saying 'and married to anne boleyn instead!!' bcus i don't really think that either #i think quite honestly tho if he had married another princess he would have been better off #even saying the reproductive tragedies / issues were 'his fault' (and they well could be; we just probably will never know)#most other princesses. if the same thing happened . probably would have acceded to an annulment #maybe not right away. but probably eventually?#what henry did was unusual (not the annulment attempt itself. but how far he went to gain one and render it secure / ironclad)#but what catherine did was also unusual...#i would say just looking at similar cases; most royal women would have taken a compromise at least like three years in.#not have just flatout refused for the remainder of their life #and yes; even if they had a daughter by the marriage.#/shrug #unpopular 2dor opinions #falconqueen #i know someone will read this as an indictment on her character #rather than just what it is.#an airing of an unpopular opinion about him #anyway my only qualm about this is that mary would not have existed.#and i love her... so. altho from a cerebral viewpoint that would be interesting #simply because it is like if everything shaped up the same way who then would stuart england vilify as the catholic tyrant.#maybe henry himself? we got a little of that from foxe

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canirove · 1 year

Text

Bluebell | Chapter 13

Author's note: And after Christmas, we are back to our usual schedule! Thank you very much for reading my imagines and for all the likes and reblogs, especially on the one with Mason! Something related to it may be in the works... 👀

Previous chapter | Next chapter

Masterlist

"You are coming. End of the story."

"Lindsey, I thought I was your boss."

"At Daisy's, yes. But when it comes to socializing, I am in charge. And I already rented the costumes, so" she shrugs.

This year the town is throwing a New Year's Eve party for "the younger folk" on the high school's gym, and it is a costumes party. The buzz around town for the past week has been crazy, everyone talking about what they are going to wear so no one repeats an outfit.

"Please tell me they are nice costumes. Nothing like sexy nurse or something like that."

"Nah, I keep those for Halloween. Though these ones are kind of sexy, because we are wearing a corset that will put our boobs on our throats."

"We are supposed to make it to the new year, not die before it even starts" I chuckle.

"We'll be fine. Trust me" Lindsey says with a wink.

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"You look so hot."

"And any minute now, purple. Did you really need to make it so tight?" I say, trying to move the corset so I can breath a bit better.

"It'll start to get loose, you'll see."

"Wow, girls. Wow."

"Hi, Dec."

"You both look stunning!"

"We or our boobs? Because you can't stop looking at them" Lindsey says.

"Both? Or should I say... The four of you? No, wait, six. Math isn't my thing."

"What are you dressed as?" I ask him before Lindsey hits him.

"Real Madrid David Beckham" he says, showing us the back of his shirt.

"Oh, so that's why you are wearing that horrible wig."

"It's not that bad" he says, touching it. "I may let my hair grow like this."

"No! Don't you dare do that to your hair" I say. "You know I am its biggest fan."

"I won't touch it, your majesty" he says with a bow.

"Oh, wow" Ben says behind him. Ben, and Mason.

"What are you two dressed as?" Lindsey asks them, trying not to laugh.

"I've forgotten, I'm too distracted" Ben says, his eyes focused on the same place where Declan's were.

"He is Manchester United Beckham, and I am England National Team Beckham" Mason says. He only has eyes for me, though they are going from head to toe and back again, making me feel goosebumps everywhere.

"Interesting idea" Lindsey says.

"What about you?" Ben asks us.

"Can't you tell, bro? They are Marie Antoinette and Anne Boleyn!" Declan says, pointing first at Lindsey and then at me.

"Oh..." Ben says.

"Really, Benjamin? Declan knows who we are, and you don't?" I say.

"You are... Queens, right?"

"Queens who lost their heads" Lindsey points out.

"You look beautiful" Mason says, still looking just at me.

"Thank you" I reply.

"Anyway, why don't we go find us some drinks, uh? What do their majesties want?" Ben asks.

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"Come, let's dance" Mason says, grabbing my good hand.

"Just don't spin me like crazy like you always do, ok? I don't want to end the year feeling all dizzy."

"I'll try not to" he says with a cheeky smile.

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"Mason! No spinning!" I say again, laughing. I've lost count of how many times I've told him to stop.

"But look at the way your dress moves!"

"Yeah, the same way the contents of my stomach are moving."

"Always complaining" he says, grabbing me by the waist and pulling me closer to him while I put my arms around his neck. We are on the same position we were when we first kissed, that same electricity going through us. "Can I ask you something, your majesty?"

"I like how your majesty sounds. It's a lot better than Miss Daisy."

"Nah... It doesn't feel the same. But can I ask you something or not?"

"Go ahead."

"Can I be your last kiss of the year?"

"Yes" I say, speaking before thinking, and completely ignoring the fact that we are surrounded by people and that anyone could see us.

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"Girl, finally! Where were you?"

"I was with... Rúben, hi."

"Your majesty" he says, doing a big bow.

"Didn't you get the memo that this was a costumes party?"

"What?" he asks with a confused look.

"You are wearing a suit. You wear a suit almost every day."

"That's what I told him too" Lindsey says.

"This is not a suit, it's a tuxedo. I'm James Bond."

"Oh..." I say, trying not to laugh.

"Don't I look good?" he asks, arching an eyebrow.

"You always look good, Rúben."

"That's what I thought" he says with a cheeky smile.

"Anyway," Lindsey says "should we get ourselves some champagne before the countdown starts? Or Mr. Bond prefers a Martini?"

"Champagne will be fine, thank you" he replies.

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"Three... Two... One... Happy new year!"

"Happy new year, boss!" Lindsey screams while hugging me and kissing me on both cheeks.

"Happy new year!" I scream back.

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"I thought she would never leave" Rúben says once Lindsey has gone to talk with some friends.

"Rude" I laugh.

"I just wanted to properly wish you a happy new year with no one bothering us. So happy new year."

"Happy new year, Rúben."

"You have lipstick on your face, I just noticed" he chuckles.

"What?" I say, touching it.

"Let me" he says, licking his thumb and cleaning my face while holding it with the other hand. It's like the first time we kissed, though with lipstick instead of marmalade. And I'm feeling the same, the same warmth going through my body while I pray for my knees to not give up. "Done."

"Really?"

"Really. But can I ask you something?" he says, still holding my face.

"Ok" I whisper.

"Can I be your first kiss of the year?"

I just nod, my ability to speak completely gone.

"You need to talk to me, moving your head isn't enough" he says with a smirk.

"Yes. You can."

"Good girl" he says before leaning forward and kissing me.

#mason mount #ruben dias #mason mount fanfic #ruben dias fanfic #mason mount x reader #ruben dias x reader #mason mount imagine #ruben dias imagine #football fanfic #football imagine

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