#teamduchess

[halewynslady]

Are we keeping Tumblr Tremontaine s4 spoilerfree or will we indulge in the Fanning of Diane♡? 

Furthermore, the feathered one in this episode is my new hero.

[bedeliainwonderland]

Tremonteam Challenge #7

Duchess Vacation. Make it a splendid affair.

We already gave Diane a fun Disneyland trip and a romantic getaway, so now it’s time for a little City break (literally haha). The Duchess is going to Venezia, I mean, Serenissima. And who is she taking? No one. The affairs have been rather hectic recently and the Duchess needs a place and some time to clear her mind, sort her feelings and decide the best course of action against her enemies. Her own sanctuary at the Hill had been violated and, although, she is certain her home is secure now, she finds it difficult to relax as she once did. She had considered having Micah accompany her, but knows the new place and crowd would make the girl anxious. She discussed her plans with her and Micah concluded that she would rather stay here as she was in a middle of an important calculations. The guards had been doubled for the time of Diane’s absence, ensuring Micah’s safety and fresh tomato pies were to be baked daily. 

Before her departure, she spoke to Esha; it was not like Diane to look to other people for opinion or approval, but there she was, making sure Esha wasn’t hurt by her leaving, even if it was for a short while. She wasn’t, of course, understanding better than anyone the need to find inner peace. With a heartful kiss, she wished her a good journey and said she would be waiting for her. The comment made Diane’s heart skip a beat like it hadn’t ever before.

Diane had her doubts about leaving the City, but once she wakes up to a stunning view of the Grand Canal and a waiter, ready for her every wish, serving her fresh fruits and pastries, she knows she made a right decision. Amongst the stunning palazzos, she flourishes, nourished by the beauty and splendour. She even allows herself to sample gelato; a bit too cold for her taste, but she thinks Micah would enjoy it. She takes a mental note to obtain the recipe.

Plans slowly fall into place in her mind and, by the end of her trip, she is ready to face her opponents with an unclouded mind and fresh energy. And at her next summer soirees she will be serving Spritz. But, first, she needs to visit Esha.

[artsy-alice]

TREMONTAINE Season 3, Episode 2 Reaction + Review

Episode 2 gives us a new outlook on Riverside and its denizens, seen through the interesting perspectives of two very different characters. There’s a siege - and what a fitting word, because this episode did succeed in delivering the feel of tension and confinement, while still having a very emotional focus.

Oh, and the Duchess continues to be delightfully cunning in her side of things, of course. 

Tremontaine S3 E2 is out NOW in the Serial Box website! New to the series? The pilot episode is available online for free!

I’m adjusting to extra hours at work and commute so my TremonTEAM stuff got delayed :\ Will finish up on this week’s challenge soon!

Rest of the reaction/review under the cut - spoilers abound.

BOY. You guys know I’m a sucker for found families, right? So daaaamn this episode made me feel for Riverside and its sense of community hard. And then on top of that, Reza. Reza is making me cry. Maybe I cried. A bit. Sssshhhh.

Okay, let’s get to it. Woo boy. This is just gonna be a long vent about my feels for Reza though???

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REZA, the crazy rich dramatic magical unicorn long-haired swordsman prince boyfriend of ur dreams the Ambassador from Chartil.

So, okay, Reza spent this episode alternating between mourning-ex-boyfriend and murder-avenger. Because apparently some people??? Kill other people??? To cope??? (jfc is this my contribution to this fandom. memes?)

But man, memes aside, I wanted to bundle him up and tell him it’s fine, Vincent just decided to fake his death and run off to God-knows-where. Vincent is fine. Vincent is being... Vincent, just without a sword and so he’s probably a lot more broody, away from Riverside. Dammit, Vincent.

Reza’s grief and anguish really set the tone for the episode. Here was this man, who basically admitted he followed his old lover in this foreign land. He just lost that lover, and was told that the way the man died wasn’t even the way he must have wanted to go.

He chose to die, over me. He chose to die. Why hadn’t Vincent come to Ambassador House? Why hadn’t he come for a real doctor, or just for help and succor? Why hadn’t he— 

The thing is though, Vincent chose to ‘die’ because he lost his sword arm. Tess was the one who called the shots then, to have the arm removed so he could survive the blood poison. But like the others said when it was happening, Vincent would rather have died than live without his sword arm. Yes, maybe Vincent didn’t have a choice in the matter to even consider going to Ambassador house for help, but really - this is Vincent - if he had a choice then, would he have gone to Reza or at least instructed Tess and the others to bring him there for aid? I doubt it.

And then he started walking around Riverside and thought of the what-if’s.

He had never been free to join at Vincent’s side, not in Chartil. [...] Here, in the fiery night, men and women in every configuration of couple and trio danced together, shared wine and cakes, and ducked into alleys to kiss and make merry. If Vincent were alive, would Reza have been brave enough to do the same with him, in Riverside?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Vincent/Reza is my ship, okay. The first time I read about these two I already thought “Don’t get attached, they’ll end in tragedy and you know it” and whoops there it is there’s my heart on the floor broken and shattered haha. Leave me alone with my painful feels.

Okay, venting aside, I loved his interactions with the rest of the characters, namely Tess and the Riversiders. Gosh, I didn’t realize how interesting he and Tess together could be until it happened. The guy is properly moping around the place but still trailed after Tess and the other ladies like a big sad bodyguard.

He saw that they were indeed in trouble, and then decided he should do something, or at least stay and help, in this place Vincent called home. Him going back to military commander mode might do him some good after all. His suggestions might have been pointless so far but it’s good to keep occupied, right?

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TESS, my queen + The Riversiders

AFJLAHASFGKA TESS THE HAND !!!!! TESSIE!!! BABY QUEEN!

The image of fierce Tess the Hand, “fat and beautiful” walking through the streets with purpose, drawing a knife from her thigh as she approached a corner? YES. ALL THE YESES. We need a movie or a series just so I can see this visualized because I loved that little scene so much.

She found Reza, was unfazed by the fact that she arrived to a murder scene, took him in, and her heart broke to keep the truth from him. She hates that Vincent was making her keep up with the lie, but she refused to break a promise. I love her.

Tess has properly risen to be somewhat like a leader figure in this community this season. Of course, Riverside claims it has no leader, but they do have people who are looked up to and respected more than the others, I guess.

And in this invasion of her home, Tess is simply unyielding. No, they are not giving up one of their own, no matter how much they might hate him too. No, they are not going to surrender. What should they do? SIEGE PARTY. They should fucking party and show those City folks that Riverside doesn’t give a fuck.

“But bring us together. Remind Riverside what we are. Show them bastards they can’t put us down. We’ll fire up all the hearts, play music in the streets, drink what we like. Screw them.”

YES, MADELINE. TELL ‘EM.

According to Reza’s analysis, they should give a fuck real soon, but not right now, the ladies said. Party first, apparently.

Reza asked that they explain how Riverside functioned, if there was no leader; the women stared at him. Did Riverside have no mayor or representative to the City?

No, Riverside did not.

It was anarchy, Reza had realized with dawning horror. 

Haha, oh Reza. Yes it is anarchy. But there’s some semblance of order there, I promise. Riverside is still a community and they didn’t even need a leader to organize the siege party. It’s one woman’s idea, a few others agreed, and they were able to get the word out and everyone contributed and they had their own little festival in the island. Instant potluck.

Riverside might be a dangerous, dreary place but damn the people know how to party.

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DIANE and ESHA

*fans self* Can they. Stop this. Flirting. Oh gosh. I can’t.

Actually no, I can. Please proceed. Keep it up. These interactions are giving me life, clearing my skin, paying my bills, watering my crops, etc.

This episode, Diane gave Esha a little warning about Davenant possibly being on the hunt for her. Diane asked if she could protect herself, and Esha assured that yes, she does.

So-

PLEASE TELL ME WE’LL GET MORE ESHA+SWORDS???? If there is an Esha ship I love more than Dianesha, it’s Swordsesha.

PLEASE.

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GREGORY, LORD DAVENANT

I only have this to say:

I want Diane to fuck him up.

Well. We all want Diane to fuck him up... and we all know Diane will fuck him up so. *shrugs* I’ll just wait. Let’s believe. #TeamDuchess is ride or die, guys.

Oh yeah, there’s also Florian and Rafe. Florian is really upset. Like, ‘I will fuck Rafe Fenton in all corners and surfaces of the City to forget my ex’ type of upset. Let’s see where he goes this season, I guess? Hey, at least my boy Rafe is getting some quality time for the meantime. I’m still more invested in the Rafe-and-The-School thing than with the Florian thing for now.

Up Next: Diane has a new paramour

OHHHH YEEEEAAAAAH GET IT GIRL

[regardstosoulandromance]

A huge THANK YOU to @halewynslady for sending me this card signed by Ellen Kushner! It matches the colors of my copy of Tremontaine quite nicely ❤️

[halewynslady]

Looks like this one did not post, trying again.

I wonder what our three queens will get up to. Picture: grasses of a thousand colours.

[bedeliainwonderland]

“He’d (…) tried to suggest they send a man to begin negotiations. Firstly, Tess the Hand and all the women had been offended that he assumed a man should do it.” -  everyone should be reading Tremontaine where men despair and women get things done.

[bedeliainwonderland]

Why Diane is the best character (and always right):

"But there--men so rarely knew what was best for them."

“Diane dipped her wine and smiled benignly. How foolish they were, after all, these prancing, posturing men.” 

(From Tremontaine, s3ep7, Into The Woods by Liz Duffy Adams & Delia Sherman)

[bedeliainwonderland]

Tremonteam Challenge #1: A Dinner for Diane

In episode 1 of season 3 Duchess Diane de Tremontaine is now a Duchess by right and a dinner is served in her honour.

                                                ~Menu~

Slab Tomato Pie with Parmesan cheese and fresh basil leaves

When Micah heard there would be a party in Diane’s honour, she wanted to make sure her, ehem she meant Diane’s, favourite dish was served. We added a bit of flare to the dish to make it suitable for the high tastes of the elite. Micah did not understand why we tempered with perfection.

Venison with chocolate, fig, turnip and Brussels sprouts

Dark, bitter chocolate and gamey venison made an unusual but perfect match, with the sweet figs and earthy Brussels sprouts. Diane would appreciate finding a new use for her favourite cacao powder, as she loved to start new trends. Micah made sure we included turnips.

And for dessert, assorted macaroons

The next big thing to take the social circles by storm in all flavours and colours. Micah supervised our arrangements; all macaroons were to be the exact same size and laid out in perfect symmetry.