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shouts-into-the-void · 1 year

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Dear Endless Expanse of Space,

Just finished These Fleeting Shadows by Kate Alice Marshall and I was pleasantly surprised. The ending left a bit to be desired and I found the main character a bit melodramatic at times, but Marshall really nailed the horror elements and the plot twist hit me like a truck. The main themes are eat the rich, fuck the patriarchy, and the all-consuming power of love, which it deals with pretty well even if it becomes a little heavy handed towards the latter half of the book. If you're not a fan of body horror, I might sit this one out though.

*Spoilers/Plot*

The story surrounds Helen Vaughn as she, her mother Rachel Vaughn, and her mother's boyfriend Simon reconnect with Rachel's estranged family for her father, Leopold's, funeral. We're told that he died of heart problems, which was unusual as "The Masters of Harrow" (the significance of which I will explain in a minute) tend to live a long time.

So they go through the funeral proceedings, the family is rich and snobby with the few exceptions of Helen's uncle Caleb and cousins Desmond and Celia, aaaaand then Helen sees some foxglove in Leopold's corpse's ribcage and hears him telling her to "Find the center of the spiral" because, oh yeah, the house is modeled after a labyrinth, and she understandably freaks out.

After the funeral, Caleb, Leopold's widow Iris, and his brother Eli, pull Rachel and Helen aside to inform them that Grandpa Mansplain Manipulate Manslaughter has left all of Harrowstone Hall and $40 million to Helen if she stays on the grounds for one year and if she says no then everyone else in the family except Iris also loses their inheritance. Apparently the will was mysteriously changed shortly before his death and everyone agrees this was to punish Rachel for abandoning the family, as she is pretty much terrified by Harrow for reasons she can't remember.

She initially refuses, but the car breaks down at the end of the driveway and while waiting for Rachel and Simon to go back and fetch help, Helen wanders into the woods in pursuit of a little girl with an obscured face who randomly appears asking her for help. The girl leads her to a cemetery, where Helen meets The Harrow Witch, who just so happens to be a really cute girl named Bryony who absolutely hates her and her family, but is the only person to tell her the truth about anything. Helen is obviously in love immediately, and goes back to the house. Far what are actually really unclear reasons, Helen decides to stay after all.

She begins to try and find answers as to what happened during Nicholas' experiments, who killed Leopold and Caleb's daughter Jessamine (both whom The Other takes the form of in order to speak, called Figments), why local girls with the family eyes are going missing, and how to survvie the year as Helen becomes increasingly more sick. While Helen and the Vaughns believe The Other is a monster that needs to be contained, Bryony believes it's simply misunderstood and wants to free it.

Helen slowly gleans that Harrow is actually a cage built for a creature called "The Other" that seems to be a god from another world that founder of Harrow Nicholas Vaughn, his wife Annelise, and friend Dr. Raymond accidentally set loose in our world after their experiments trying to make the human mind able to comprehend The Other (in which they lobotomize Dr. Raymond's ward Mary Beaumont and open her up to it, causing her to go insane) accidentally binds it to a child which Nicholas claims appeared when she saw The Other, but is suggested to actually be his due to some...interesting journal entries.

Throughout the book, Helen develops a romantic relationship with Bryony and becomes close with Desmond and Celia, the only Vaughns outside Rachel who don't suck, likely because they also have no idea what's going on.

Eventually, after months of sleepwalking, being attacked by The Other's monstrous creations, Celia's father dying, Helen slowly dying and nearly contorting into one of the monsters, and everyone being shady af; Helen, Bryony, Desmond, and Celia translate the last of Nicholas' diary and discover he killed the child bound to The Other and dismembered her in order to keep it confused/use its powers for himself, and the family is a pretty much a murderous cult that repeatedly binds The Other to an illegitimate Vaughn child and repeats the process every time it starts to heal. The four decide to dig up the girls' bones and put them back together so they can talk to The Other, but Desmond and Celia leave because Desmond knows information the reader doesn't.

So they go into the murder chamber and arrange the bones and ask it what's up.

Helen is The Other.

Um. What.

In a twist of events that hit me over the head with a hammer, it turns out that Helen is actually a piece of The Other that it split off itself so that at least some of it could be free, and then changed Rachel's memories so that she'd believe Helen was her daughter and escape with her. We did see throughout the story that a lot of Helen's personality was similar to The Other, in that she could see inside of people (ie. The foxglove in Leopold's chest because he was poisoned with Foxglove) and has an unavoidable need to create things (using animal bones). Also Simon is one of The Other's creations. Helen then erased her own memories so she could live a normal life, although people were afraid of her because they could tell she wasn't normal and was altering their minds.In another twist, Bryony knows this already because she can't be fooled by The Other and so does Desmond because Helen told him while she was sick and then forgot.

And so does Caleb! And everyone else...in the family...and Celia just told them that Helen remembers to try and help...

They kill Helen.

She doesn't stay dead, and they just keep killing her every time she tries to escape. Eventually they trap her in an endless loop in which she wanders the halls in a trance because it's "more humane" and the rest of the year passes as they prepare to sacrifice her and make Caleb Master of Harrow. Caleb has also told everyone that Helen killed Jessamine, even though it turns out to be him after they tried to kill Celia and it failed because Eli and Victoria whisked her off to London.

Desmond, Celia, and Bryony try to devise a way to break the loop, but Rachel ends up doing it by accident when she demands Helen to tell her why she made her think she loved her, slaps her in the face when she calls her mom, and then starts crying in the hallway. Helen runs away, pursued by Caleb, when Eli shoves her in the library and clears her way to the door. She sees Rachel again and stops, Caleb catches up and shoots her but Rachel jumps in the way and nearly dies, so Helen just reshapes reality so the bullet doesn't exist. They will still proceed to try and shoot her, btw.

Helen flees, finds Bryony, and hides in a derelict cabin. Eli finds them and reveals that the last child to be murdered was Leopold's, and Eli had formed a bond with her after seeing how his brother used and abandoned her mother. In revenge, Leopold had made him be the one to dismember her, but Eli had instead given her a proper burial which allowed The Other to heal enough to form Helen. Eli has been on Helen's side the entire time, because two years ago she got sick and remembered again, and the two made a plan that involved Eli poisoning his brother, changing the will, and also cutting off Helen's hand at one point.

To conclude the plan, Helen turns herself in and goes through with the ceremony, before refusing the poison Caleb gives her and proclaiming herself Mistress of Harrow with Caleb as her sacrifice, as she had previously carried out the necessary components for the ritual and Desmond, Celia, and Bryony all recognise her as the rightful heir. Caleb gets stabby, so Helen fully sheds her flesh-suit and kills him and Iris, sparing Victoria. Eli makes the decision to remain in the chamber while The Other demolishes Harrow and the others flee, and so she turns herself into his niece and alters his mind so he believes he's spending one last day at the park with her while he dies.

Fully The Other now, they remain at the ruins of Harrow and creates, up until Bryony returns (presumably a few years later as she mentions her father wouldn't let her live on the grounds) and refuses to leave until they decide who to be, promising to love them no matter what they decide and revealing the others haven't returned because they believe Helen is dead. The Other decides to be Helen again, and live together with Bryony in a cottage on the grounds, promising to one day leave and see the world.

...

So that was a very long synopsis, but I like explaining things so this is what you get. There were a lot of little details I left out, so definitely give it a read yourself.

#I think my favorite part was Eli basically telling everyone to go fuck themselves as his secret. I love him #I hope he and Mary are talking shit about the Vaughns in the afterlife.#these fleeting shadows #kate alice marshall #plot summary #do you think Bryony spent the time Helen was bedridden googling “cute things to call your omnipotent god girlfriend”#blog #letters #horror #tw body horror #body horrow cw #mystery #sapphic #lesbian #lesbians #sapphic horror #does a genderless primordial god in the body of a girl count as a demigirl?

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lucifer-kane · 2 years

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Bryony Halbech might have shot two people before making her swift exit from Red Valley but here’s the thing. Unethical science woman is such a good genre of character. She gives no fucks and it slaps so hard

#i know i always talk about how gay for gordon i am but GOD am i so gay for bryony and aubrey #runner up is aubrey literally blowing up various places. and making home made bombs. i love it when women #red valley

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ackerslut · 2 years

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bryony hot unhinged woman

bryony is incredible. when i was on my first listen through i was like "hmm idk about this person. the name karen doesn't really fit her." AND THEN the bryony reveal happened and i was like OHHHH now she feels like a real character.

anyway i just want to thank red valley for giving us a literal gaslight gatekeep girlboss in bryony. we need more deranged women out there.

#honestly as long as i'm talking about women characters in this podcast #aubrey was hands down my blorbette #i need to burrito blanket and give her everything she wants #but bryony is Such a good antagonist #hoping she comes back in s3 #red valley #red valley podcast

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mrdraws · 9 months

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🍐🍓🍑

🍐 [PEAR] What is their current social standing? If they could change it, would they, and to what? EVE: Eve would be considered slightly above the dregs of society. She's essentially a walking corpse and a mercenary. If she could change her status? She probably would; she'd want a decent pay raise, given it would provide more stable housing and such, but nothing crazy.

🍓 [STRAWBERRY] How do they feel about 'cute' things?

BRYONY: Bryony has a warped idea of what's considered cute... Think ugly baby birds, little fleshy monstrosities, and cat skulls instead of, like, kittens and puppies. She's weird.

🍑 [PEACH] How do they show their kindness? How kind are they truly?

BOOKER: Booker's a pretty kind gal, when it comes down to it. He may be cranky and sarcastic, but he's definitely got a good heart, and he shows it by being cordial; asking how your day was, offering to buy you a coffee, providing an ear when you're down, etc.

#wow it's been a hot sec since i talked about booker lol #THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTIONS!!#asks #headcanons #ocs #bryony sinclair #booker mcbride #eve #rookie009

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adventuresofthebryonyfairy · 11 months

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just saw Groundhog Day the musical for the second time and oh my god it’s better every time

Andy Karl is a delight and I met him at the stage door !!!!! There were a few of us waiting and he thanked US for coming !!!!!!!!!!!! I love him and I love this musical thank you

#Groundhog Day the musical #bryony talks about herself too much

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cxrsedsouls · 2 years

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“Ah, so the little runaway returns. For good this time, yes?”

Haru says nothing, merely grit his teeth as lavender irises remain glued to the floor.

“Amazing how many of you are so quick to run when not long ago you all were so willing to fight for these clans.”

“This is not what we were fighting for.”

“Then what we’re you fighting for?”

“Freedom. Choice. Certainly not you.” He was still pissed that they’d even thought of involving Bryony let alone actually allowing all of this to happen. What happened to their mission? To Kyoko’s words? He couldn’t believe his cousin was sitting back allowing this to happen.

Laughter rang out from the queens lips. “You are free enough. But you couldn’t continue without help. What, did you really expect to be able to maintain the clans in such a state of disorganization? With so many dead? The clans will have died away if not for me. You should be grateful.”

A low growl rumbled in his throat. “This is no different than before. The only thing you allow different is for people to leave rather than die. If they stay all remains the same. Even dragging in innocent people all for what? Power? Wealth? We are already one of the most power and wealthy species-“

“One of them. But not the most powerful or wealthy. Not anymore. I will not stand to watch my creation fall like those pathetic lycanthropes. We are better than that and I will reclaim our position at the top of the food chain whether you are there to live it or not. But no matter where you choose to be, you will not be able to save your little friend. They’ve made their choice, she belongs to Yiannis now.”

“She’s not some possession!”

“Bite your tongue boy, or you won’t be around at all. And little Haru won’t be missed. What, with how often you disappear, they’ll just assume you ran away. Again.”

#Haru ( drabble )#Bryony ( drabble )#thewolfisawake #Kirika ( thewolfisawake )#since they are talking about her too #( Drabble )#a quick thing I wrote up while at work #hahahaha #What do you think #will he end up disappearing again #or manage to actually have some self control

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trulybetty · 4 months

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WIP Game The Best

Pedro tax for your troubles

Um, 1. I love that gif, and 2. you're going to see how appropriate it is in a moment... 😋

I found this hanging around in my folder when I was looking for WIP's for the list. I don't know if this is Diexter x Bryony, Dieter x Reader or if it'll become someone else - but this is one of my favourite songs ever and this came after my own impromptu karaoke with Mr. Truly. He wasn't as enthusiastic as Dieter though... 😒

#betty talks #rhoorl #wip wednesday #dieter x bryony #dieter x reader

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eartheats · 1 year

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...go into the guest room to check my bag for berries and they're. gone???

well what the heck. i already checked with lulu to see if he'd swiped 'em or somethin' but he didn't, like the good boy he is. i gotta see if i can find 'em, i do need to give lulu his meds soon...and i wanted to give soliel a tasty treat too

#ren talks #pokemon irl #pkmn irl #pokeblogging #bryony's house arc

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rhoorl · 26 days

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March Fic Rec Madness Masterlist

I was so excited to see the March Fic Madness challenge by @the-blind-assassin-12! I was a bit out of practice saving my links since I haven’t been doing my weekly updates for a few months now, but I think I captured everything! I feel a bit short of the target of 63, but I came in around 40. But given the month I’ve had, I’m pretty proud of it.

Here are my recs from March organized by characters with one-shots/drabbles first, followed by series/collections. (Please check individual warnings). Enjoy!

Dieter Bravo

Easy Like Sunday Morning by @gnpwdrnwhiskey

The Lovesick Lines by @sinpathyforthedevilish

Frankie Morales

A Debt to Pay by @undercoverpena

Imbued by @morallyinept

In the Locker Room by @undercoverpena

Nights Out by @frenchiereading

Right on Cue by @ramblers-lets-get-ramblin

What Have I Done by @trulybetty

Jack ‘Whiskey’ Daniels

Losin’ You by @wildemaven

Javi Gutierrez

Door Number Three by @morallyinept

Joel Miller

Breakfast is Served by @maggiemayhemnj

Clothing Optional by @pimosworld

Touch by @morallyinept

He Sees You by @maggiemayhemnj

Honey, I Won’t Be Home by @trulybetty

Lucien Flores

Azalea by @morallyinept

Chained by @5oh5

Nicotine Kiss by @maggiemayhemnj

Not Without You by @musings-of-a-rose

Two Pack Habit & A Motel Tan by @trulybetty

Lucien Flores x Dieter Bravo x Reader

On the Verge of a Usual Mistake by @gasolinerainbowpuddles

Clint from Freaky Tales

A New Life by @musings-of-a-rose

Series / Collections

Dieter Bravo x OFC Bryony Chiffon by @trulybetty Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Closed Sets

Dieter Bravo x OFC Natalia: Destiny & Deliverance by @mysterious-moonstruck-musings Chapter 29, Chapter 30, Epilogue

Dieter Bravo x OFC Emily: Late Night Talking by @all-the-things-2020 Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11

Frankie Morales x f!Reader: Do Me Yourself by @undercoverpena 4. Green Smoke, 5. Pepper Red, 6. Morning Coffee, 7. Honey Cream

Frankie Morales x OFC Jude: Adrift With You by @morallyinept Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11

Quiet Moments by @secretelephanttattoo Mine (Joel Miller), Southern Nights (Jack ‘Whiskey’ Daniels)

x29 Valentines by @trulybetty Love Languages (Frankie Morales) Pink Cadillac (Jack ‘Whiskey’ Daniels)

#marchficmadness24 #pedro pascal characters #dieter bravo #lucien flores #joel miller #frankie morales

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brf-rumortrackinganon · 2 months

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How do you know from whose PR articles are coming from? Can’t it be that the publications are just writing them themselves?

Recently, there have been articles about how Kate feels lonely without Meghan. It’s clickbait obviously. The article just talks about how they could’ve been like Diana and Sarah, but then continues to says that Kate has been successful in the rf because of her inner circle. Where do you think this is from?

Also, during the BAFTAs, William asked one of the nominees about her experience filming, saying they must have had fun. It was completely innocent and was said in a politely engaging in a casual conversation kind of way, but the Daily Mail spun it to look like a “gaffe” because the film was about a girl who was raped. I stumbled upon a sussex squaddie’s tiktok talking about it and although the account acknowledges it was a spin, he also says “William must have made some enemies” meaning there must be someone trying to make him look bad. Do you think that’s true? I thought maybe it’s just the dailymail stirring stuff to punish William for keeping himself and Kate away from public eye these days.

Honestly, this is the thing that drives me insane with royal watching. It causes paranoia. And most royal watchers begin to hate on certain royals just because they assume certain narratives are coming from that royal’s pr even though we have no proof.

You sound like you might be new to the analytical side of royal watching. That's okay!

The only reason I mention that is because if you've been a royal-watcher since before Meghan, you would have noticed a very distinct, very obvious shift in how the royals are covered and discussed in the media after Meghan came in (2016/2017). This happened because Meghan had her own PR, strategy, and comms people, Sunshine Sachs and Gina Nelthorpe-Crowne among them, promoting and marketing instead of relying on the BRF or just doing it herself personally as all the other royal girlfriends/married-ins did. And we know Meghan kept her LA team even after moving to London and getting married; it was confirmed in one of the royal books. I think it was Bower's Revenge.

How do you know from whose PR articles are coming from? Can’t it be that the publications are just writing them themselves?

It's in the details. Here are a few.

If the article is talking about apologies or olive branches, it's from the Sussexes. They're the only ones who've demanded apologies and olive branches, ever since the Oprah interview and including in Harry's Spare interviews.

If the article is discussing several members of the royal family but Meghan is listed first, it's her PR. If the article uses titles, it's from the BRF. If the article uses their first names but William and Kate are first, it's just the publication writing.

If the article is about Meghan and it's on a random topic (like that beauty article the other day about her magical hair) or it appears randomly (like when she otherwise hasn't been in the news), it's her PR. Publications aren't going to randomly write about someone unless there's cause, and cause is usually a pay incentive.

Now, People will also take stories from the BRF too, especially and mostly about Kate. Usually any long-form article about Kate that includes "close sources" or "palace insiders" quotes, it's from Kensington Palace/William's PR.

People and US tabloids also regurgitate stories from other media. If you see similar articles with near-identical quotes, that's their own writers, not usually sourced from someone's office.

Everyone also has preferred journalists that they give info to and will seek out for stories. For Meghan, it's Scobie (though she doesn't seem to be talking to her anymore, probably because she's pissed about the Dutch Endgame leaking the names) and Gayle King. For Harry, it's Bryony Gordon. For the BRF, it's usually one of the Richards, sometimes Rebecca English. For Camilla, it's Piers Morgan. (I track some of this in my Timeline series.)

If an article is about Charles and talks about a new idea or a new initiative, it's from his PR. We call them trial balloons - Charles is notorious for using the public reaction to these ideas to decide what to do.

If the piece is overly critical of Kate in comparison to Meghan, it's usually from Meghan's PR. If Meghan's name is listed first, then it's definitely from her PR. If it's bashing the Waleses children or criticizing Kate's parenting, it's from Meghan's side (though she's been very careful lately not to have her name directly connected to those stories).

If the piece is overly critical of the Waleses/Cambridges while simultaneously full of gushing praise for the Sussexes, it's usually Sussex PR.

I don't believe that William/KP briefs against the Sussexes anymore but back when they used to in late 2018/early 2019, you could tell when it was KP speaking versus the publications reporting - e.g., stories about concern for Harry's mental health were William and KP.

There are also key phrases that each principal royal like to use. Like you'll hear "keen" a lot with Kate - that's Kensington Palace speaking. "Olive branch" is Meghan.

There's also a very specific way that the writers refer to insiders/close sources, especially for William/Kensington Palace, but I'm totally blanking on that right now.

There are other ways to tell whose PR has sourced a story. These are just the ones off the top of my head. If anyone else can think of others, please share them!

Kate feeling lonely without Meghan is from Meghan-friendly associates. Meghan might be shit when it comes to public service, but she really knows her shit when it comes to PR and media. She knows that for maximum effect, she needs an affiliation to Kate. That's why she wears outfits similar to Kate's. That's why she styles her hair in big bouncy Chelsea blowouts. That's why she tries to be kid-friendly like Kate. She needs Kate for the attention she can't get on her own. Meghan needs Kate. Kate doesn't need Meghan - she's shown us that over and over again.

Anything that connects Meghan to Diana is also from Meghan. There was a whole PR campaign back in 2017/2018 when she was trying to convince Harry's world that she was royal material about how she was just like Diana. So Meghan (and Harry) also uses Diana for the attention boost.

However, anything that mentions Diana and Sarah together, that's not Meghan. Those are from the reporters themselves. Meghan so obsessively wants to be Diana that Sarah is the last person she wants to be associated with or compared to. Meghan thinks she's better than Sarah.

Kate being successful because of her inner circle is KP. Kate herself rarely speaks through PR - she's content to let William and their comms team speak for her. (Which I suspect is one of the reasons why Meghan immediately disliked her; Kate has no interest in using all this fame she has for her personal benefit where you know it's Meghan's dream to be that famous.)

Nah, it's just the Daily Mail stirring shit up. It goes back to the old adage "if you won't give me the news, you'll be the news." It's not really punishing William so much as using William for clicks, attention, and traffic, which is how digital media makes their money. Everyone does it and everyone understands that to keep their media coverage positive, they need to give the reporters something to write about. It's an unofficial pact that the palace has with the media.

William and Kate do understand this but it's not their priority to do something just for the optics and media coverage. I suspect this approach largely comes from how they were both treated by the media and paparazzi - they both understand that the interest in them is organic due to their positions. It's very 'if you build it they will come' so they don't necessarily worry about media and press coverage the way others in the BRF might.

(I do think they're a little too extreme with how media-averse they are. On the one hand I understand it because maybe they do have legitimate PTSD from how they were treated by the media and they seem to be closer to the Elizabeth/Philip style of monarchy with royal mystique and palace intrigue than the Charles/Diana/Camilla style of royalty and monarchy with transparency and open coverage. But on the other hand, they're public servants living in publicly-funded and publicly-subsidized estates; they need to be pulling their share of the weight and that means needing to be seen by the public on a regular consistent basis doing regular, consistent service. This is a lifetime commitment, not a "in 20 years when I'm King" commitment. Obviously exceptions apply when there are health concerns at hand, like there are now, but they can't alawys lean back on health concerns - not when Charles has cancer and is still seen regularly by the public.)

And that's fine! I don't think it's paranoia though - it's more stan culture to me, where the more consumed you are by your favorites, the more obsessive you become about how they're treated by others and covered in the media. At the end of the day, it's all parasocial relationships. The celebrities we favor, pay attention to, follow - they have no idea we exist and they have no idea how consumed by their life we are. Collectively, sure, they get it but individually? No. They have better things to do and they think we have better things to do.

That's why I think it's healthy to take a few steps back, look at everything more objectively, and ask exactly the kind of questions that you're asking.

As for not having proof about certain narratives, to an extent you're correct - no one is going to explicitly come out and take responsibility for saying certain things or causing certain drama. But they have subtle ways of showing their hand and giving us the proof. You just have to know what to look for and, barring that, just wait for the royal books. The books fall on a spectrum with deeply researched and investigated (like Tom Bower) on one side and biased reporting (like Scobie) on the other. If you read more of the 'biased reporter' books, those authors are falling over themselves to defend their sources and when they do that, they throw everyone else under the bus and end up confirming rumors or spoiling someone's PR game.

#ask #brf #in this essay i will

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