#interestinggin

[geeseteefs]

I bought gin a label maker

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[iremainwanderingwitless]

Everyone! It's @interestinggin 's birthday and she has spent the majority of it being slept on by a very poorly child because she's a super mum, so please go and wish her a very happy IWD.

[nettlestonenell]

What does a pineapple have to do with My Gang to Me Day?

Well...absolutely nothing. Nothing at all.

Nope. You’d need to have @interestinggin here to explain it. And though we are not done with each other yet, I’m just gonna post here to say that I miss her. Like, a lot. But never so much as when it’s April 26th, and I don’t get to see how she’s going to work that gif of RA’s bare chest into her next Pulitzer Prize-winning-level meta post for @mygangtome

So, as Harry says...

Let us all take a moment to remember someone who made us smile in this fandom, maybe with a post, or a meta--a fanfic or some art. 

We’re not all still around anymore when it comes time for roll call--but we remember, and we salute you this April 26th!

Once an outlaw, always an outlaw.

[mygangtome]

Five BBCRH Things We Can’t Stop Talking About, and One We’d Really, Really Rather Not Ever Have Mentioned

You Knew This Was Coming

Okay. Okay, dear tumblr user, if I’m going to do this post, I’m going to need a drink [and someone to pay for said drink -Nell]. Hang on.

pictured: @nettlestonenell, left, and the author, right

Okay. Proceed.

There’s a lot to love about this show; the fact that we’re doing this day, thirteen years later, proves that the fans never shut up about it. But there are also things that we don’t talk about, things we deny ever happened, things that are, for whatever reason, collectively retconned. Whether it’s bad writing, or poor decisions, or a good story choice that just bums us out will always be up for debate. But what’s not up for debate is that they are incredibly angsty.

And we all know how Tumblr loves angst. 

[visual representation of the above condition. - Nell]

So hey, maybe this is the thing that’ll spur you to watch it. Maybe you’ve already watched it (in which case, WHY AM I STILL WRITING THESE) and we can all remember and grieve together; a sort of collective catharsis. But let’s take this moment, on the day we remember the outlaws, to remember the ones we lost along the way.

Here be so many, many spoilers. Cue the music.

I’m Not Being Funny, But This Isn’t Funny

pictured: i’m not sure i can do funny captions for this tbh [That’s okay, I’ve stopped reading since my brain fails to recognize this event as ever having happened, and I’ve actually blacked-out -Nell]

Oh, Allan, sweetheart, you deserved better than this.

If I’m being honest, many fans refuse to admit that any part of Season 3 happened - which is a shame, as it means that you miss out on Kate and her exceptional hairstyles, and David Harewood as Tuck, and most important of all, Toby Stephens as the best, hammiest, campest Prince John ever cast - due to What Happened At The End Of Season 2. More on that later. But even those brave folks who do enjoy Season 3 shrink at What Happened To Allan.

ALLAN: None of you? … Not one of you believes me?

A young man trudges through the forest, alone and afraid and abandoned. His friends are convinced he has betrayed them, due to scheming by the new sheriff - and aren’t they quick to jump to conclusions, suddenly? Nobody will take his word that he would die rather than betray them; angry and hurt and unwilling to stay here and be punished for a crime he didn’t commit, he escapes. In his attempt to get somewhere safe, he stumbles across something that could change the course of the battle - something Robin cannot possibly know.

Nobody would blame Allan, here and now, at the end of things, if he just left. Robin doesn’t trust him - why should he help Robin?

But he doesn’t. He turns, and he runs. His first thought is of his friends.

It is also his last thought.

Arrows fly over his head from a force we do not see. One hits him in the calf. He cries out in pain and staggers, but still he runs, desperate to save the gang. Another hits him in the shoulder, and still he runs. Then finally, one final arrow hits him in the small of the back, and he falls to the ground, gasping for air.

And still he tries. He crawls on his hands and knees, dragging his dying body - though he must know it is hopeless now. He is still crawling when a pair of boots step in front of him, and he looks up into the face of his killer.

ALLAN: You?

We do not get to see the moment of his death. He gets no final speech; no chance to say goodbye. We do not even know if is the arrows that kill him, or if it is a blow from Vaisey’s sword, or some other, crueler trick. We know simply that Allan died alone, and he died bravely.

And he died in the penultimate bloody episode. [Pretty sure that’s both a literal and idiomatic use of ‘bloody’, there. - Nell]

Now, this is supposed to be a day for celebrating Robin Hood, so I’ll hold back on my anger. Suffice to say - while his death saddens me, the manner of his death and how it is treated saddens me far more.

We don’t talk about Allan’s death. [Just try making a gifset about it and watch as no one reblogs it. - Nell]

We Were Fighters, And I’m Proud

pictured: i do love this dress [And yet it sends me looking for the lint roller everytime. - Nell]

Marian is, as I’ve said before, a hero. She is as much as a hero as Robin - she has been fighting for the common folk long before Robin even thought of camping in the woods and becoming a nuisance. She is kind and brave and strong, and she is stubborn and hotheaded and reckless. She shows love to everyone, even those who hurt her. And she will never, ever back down from a fight.

It makes sense, then, that she would die the same way she lived - but that doesn’t make us any happier about it.

A man - a king - lies bleeding on the ground in Jerusalem, at the mercy of a man in black, who advances on him with sword drawn. A young woman, clad all in white, her hair loose about her shoulders, screams his name, and stops him in his tracks. She throws herself in front of the king.

MARIAN: Stop! It’s over, Guy!

GUY: Get out of the way.

MARIAN: All of this time, I’ve been fighting for England. Do you think I’m going to let you kill England?

GUY screams in anger and slashes his sword towards her. She steps back, but remains in front of the king.

GUY: GET OUT OF THE WAY.

MARIAN: (defiant) You’ll have to kill me first.

The man bellows at her; he is mad with rage, and he tells her with fire in his eyes that she needs to stand aside so he can do his job, that he’s doing this so they can be together - that she needs to be a good woman, and let the men fight. And Marian - brave, brilliant Marian - laughs. Her face lights up as she thinks of the man she loves.

pictured: i can be your hero, baby

MARIAN: I would rather die than marry you, Guy. I’m going to marry Robin Hood. I love Robin Hood.

MARIAN laughs again, quietly, and looks proud.

I love Robin Hood.

And Guy of Gisborne stabs her in the stomach.

It is not important what Guy does after that, or what happens with the King. We don’t remember that. What we remember is the sound of Robin screaming her name as he watches her fall. We remember that the first thing she says when he cradles her in his arms is ‘Where’s the King?’, because her mission is the most important thing. We remember her realisation that this is a death sentence, and the look in her eyes as she learns that Djaq cannot save her. And we remember that she tells Robin to keep fighting.

The lovers wed, there on the dry earth of that town square with tears in their eyes, and they have their first kiss as man and wife. It’s beautiful, and powerful, and devastating. And Marian pulls out the sword, screams in pain, and she dies.

And for a lot of people, so does the show. [Frankly, Robin would also agree with this sentiment. - Nell]

Again, I’m not here to preach, or to hate on this show that we love so much. But if there’s one thing we’d like to forget, every one of us, it’s that the female lead was killed - and the two male leads got a big load of angst for the next series. Whether they intended it or not, there’s a term for that, and it’s not a complimentary one. And there’s also a fair amount to be said about the fact that the BBC broadcast this pre-watershed at Christmas time, and a lot of children were devastated.

These are not the only deaths in Robin Hood. [But] They are the ones that get ignored the most, because they’re generally considered to be the most unfair - not just upsetting, but genuinely wrong for the show. [It’s a show that] massacres the cast with tremendous enthusiasm - from Roy’s death in the first few episodes to the deaths of virtually everyone* [Dan Scarlett, my Templar husband, Carter - Nell] (Guy, the Sheriff, Isabella, and even Robin himself) in the finale. But as sad as all of those (well, most of those) were, they don’t get us the same way these two do. It certainly doesn’t help that Will and Djaq, two other fan favourites, disappear along with Marian.

There’s a lot of things we’ll never shut up about with Robin Hood. There’s a reason we love it.

But there’s a reason for all the fanfic.

Happy Robin Hood Awareness Day, one and all. May the year be kinder to us all than 1193 was to the outlaws.

I’ll have that drink now. [Oh, I’d started just after reading the header... - Nell]

[alwaysalreadyangry]

question for world poetry day: what poems did you not like on first reading but now love, and who do you like to read talking ABOUT poetry? and what poems are your feelgood read (not happy, necessarily, but are always one you come back to)?

i’m not sure about the first question. i’m not the most patient of readers and maybe don’t stick with poems for a second/third/fourth read as often as i should.

this is how i felt about auden, though. i remember getting into arguments with people about him as a teenager - i much preferred macneice and didn’t really understand what the fuss was with auden. i bought the £30 collected poems by auden with my waterstone’s discount (so it was like £24 or something) to try and convince myself to like him. no dice.

then i read him again at oxford. i was a bit older, and i was reading a lot of stuff that had been excised from his canon by the time they got around to putting out that collected. i read ‘spain’, and loved it. and also i got the point of his rhyming, his jokes, his shorter lyrics which had eluded me before. i spoke to friends about him who pointed out odd moments in his lines that they thought showed that he was a genius. and you know what, i get it. i just needed to find my own way in. and for me, it was the english auden, & listening to other people i trusted talk about him.

The latest ferrule now has tapped the curb And the night's tiny noises everywhere Beat vivid on the owl's developed ear, Vague in the watchman's, and in wards disturb The cases counting sheep. Blessing this moon Like treasures touching sides, how many lie, Successful lovers who were once as I; But in your northern house you sleep alone. All the hot stars beyond me and the sun, Down the great trackways where our tribe is nothing And meaningless a change from love to loathing, Their vast involuntary errands run: And I find nothing sensible to do, But, shivering, look towards the north and you.

as to who i like reading talk about poetry... often it’s people whose poetry i enjoy reading. i got a book of essays by anne boyer in the post today, a handbook of disappointed fate, and she’s probably right at the top of my list. sharp & clever & endlessly capable of making me see things in new ways. i’m not a big fan of reverence and i like people who jump around, who are associative, and who talk about politics and form and delicacy.

who else? bhanu kapil. sophie collins. as an undergrad i liked donald davie, but i haven’t read him in a long time. ditto stephen collis. i like jackie wang a lot. veronica forrest-thomson. other people who i have forgotten, in all likelihood. lisa robertson, maggie nelson.

when it comes to feelgood poems...

definitely cordelia by veronica forrest-thomson. it’s my favourite poem and i read it a lot. it’s such a boost.

frank o’hara in general, but animals is a good one.

nancy freeman’s poem this morning

anne boyer - what resembles the grave but isn’t

miguel james - better days are ahead

[ofgeography]

(public is fine) good thing: don't know if you remember, but a year ago i asked you for recommendations of romantic places to propose in prague. we went, and i was building up to propose and then my girl surprised me by proposing to ME in the rose gardens of the castle! there were anais mitchell references. we both cried. then i had to get her back, so i proposed as planned the next day, with a book of leonard cohen poems and a ring. tl;dr - we're gonna be wives and you helped, mollyhall :)

OHHHHhhhHhHhHhHhHhHhHhHHHHHHHH!!!!! I’M SO HAPPY AND EXCITED FOR BOTH OF YOU I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MY HANDS!!!!!

this story COULD NOT have had a better ending i am SO happy and i WILL be attending your wedding, no need to invite me bc i’ll show up regardless, i’ll be the one in the back with the big #1 TEAM foam finger crying LOUDLY during the entire ceremony and telling everyone that “those are my babies” while refusing to clarify what our actual relationship is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[goodshipophelia]

EXCELLENT MEME CHOICE, pick some or all of the following: 2, 7, 13

2. Name five songs from musicals you find underrated.

confrontation (jekyll & hyde) - i don’t know that i’d call jekyll & hyde underrated as a show because it’s not actually all that great BUT! in the hands of a good performer the flips between jekyll and hyde are fucking eerie

the riddle song (floyd collins) - everybody knows ‘how glory goes’ which is obviously an INCREDIBLE song but the rest of this musical is one of the best chamber musicals ever, imo, and the three collins siblings break my heart like nothing else (please for the love of the art form listen to the whole playlist and fall in love with this musical too)

lost in the wilderness (children of eden) - i legit love children of eden?? 

twelve days to christmas (she loves me) - i guess now after the 2016 revival this show isn’t ‘underrated’ but fuck off, this song is beyond fucking hilarious and also the whole show is so painfully accurate to the disaster that is working in retail

butter outta cream (catch me if you can) - this song is really... sweet? it’s funny and i love the way frank gets this flash of a good relationship with his father that he’s then sort of chasing for the rest of the show

7. Name five songs from musicals that you can't stand.

castle on a cloud (les miserables) - I’M SORRY I SKIP IT EVERY TIME I HAVE HEARD PRECISELY ONE PERFORMANCE OF IT EVER THAT WASN’T GODDAMN EXCRUCIATING most musicals that include children singing that are more than about 10 years old mostly make me want to die sorry

they seek him here (the scarlet pimpernel) - confession: i love two thirds of the scarlet pimpernel. the rest gives me second hand embarrassment so bad i’m surprised i don’t get hives.

literally anything from the wedding singer - sorry i hate this goddamn show i had to sit through the shittiest production ever at a friends’ high school and wanted to die

we love you, conrad (bye bye birdie) - THIS MUSICAL IS INSIPID AND I HATE IT

bless your beautiful hide (seven brides for seven brothers) - how is this show both so sexist and so annoying???

13. Name five lyrics from musicals you'd like to get tattooed.

‘to love another person is to see the face of god’ (finale, les mis) except not, because would i spell it g-d or not??? but like. the sentiment is there.

‘we’re neither pure nor wise nor good/we’ll do the best we know/we’ll build our house and chop our wood/and make our garden grow’ (candide)

‘i could not put down my sword when justice was my right’ OR ‘we have different lives and faces/but our hearts have common places’ (ragtime)

‘we say to the others/who did not follow through/you’re still our brothers/and we will fight for you’ (newsies)

‘order/design/tension/composition/balance/light/harmony’ (sunday in the park with george

[geeseteefs]

Gin and I are moving house! On Wednesday! None of us are thrilled about this! So now it's almost 9pm and I'm stacking books like it's my livelihood!