#turn:washington's spies

[writer-reader-skater]

Washington: If somebody slaps you what do you say?

Lafayette: Sorry.

Washington: No.

Ben: You missed.

Washington: Don’t be smart with me.

Caleb: Simcoe’s torture hit harder.

Washington: Therapy, please.

Abe: Can’t fix a bitch.

Washington: Points for the pun.

Bradford: I’ll report-

Washington: Wrong.

Hamilton: Now my abs.

Washington: No.

Lafayette: This will only make me stronger.

Washington: You already went.

[tolstoyamericanrevolution]

robert townsend; as songs

ready, able by grizzly bear

there is a soft optimism in this song which candidly reveals robert’s heart. the opening line of “i'm gonna take a stab at this”  relates to his focused and ambitious youth, prior to the war. despite the stabbing metaphor it actually gives a sense of finally making a decision, a jab or giving it ago over immediately jumping into an issue like abe or caleb. the rhythm of the song is what keeps it in character it is not upbeat nor drawl its instead soft, withdrawn and keen. the line “baby I have false spite” also reflects his forgiveness and despite his logical mind he has a introspective heart. beyond these opening lines the themes in the song match his mind questions like “would it fall?” or checking off lists and distancing from violence through gun fights. most importantly, the 

“five years cast once and far alone hope I'm ready, able to make my own goodbye”

which gives such a sense of him hanging up his mantle as he appeared to do with his life after the war. the lines “I want you to know what I did” may seem contradictory but thinking back on his annotated books, historically, there is this idea that at the end his life was vacuumed by meaningless and one has to wonder, if there was a lonely urge to be remembered. 

lavender blood by fox academy 

the withdrawn, melancholic nature of robert is embodied in this song. perhaps not through direct association but through the tone and implied metaphors. the opening ‘nervous demeanour’ can relate to his constant self questioning. considering he is viewed as the quiet serious one in both new york and amongst his family, against the extroverted crowds he indeed carries a nervous, outsiders demeanour of someone always observing but not quite present. 

“lavender is always running through my blood I've had enough I'm cold and it is dusk turn into dust, it's dripping from my gums It's not enough”

lavender as a flower actually suites the man. representing purity, silence and devotion it retains the positive characteristics that come with a melancholic disposition. the term lavender blood and it always running could be the intensity of these withdrawn emotions or realistically a colour metaphor of his veins being filled with dark blue-purple symbolising sadness over royalty. the cold is often associated with his character and the time of dusk, when the day ends and turns cold further matches his character. lastly the idea of dripping from my gums is a very vulnerable and uncomfortable place and by being associated with the mouth its like always having his mouth full of not quite completing potential. 

good luck by broken bells 

this song perfectly captures the political and spiritual outlook of the quaker. the constant questioning, about if the evil experienced now in his life is anything different to what came before? that search for understanding of the morality around him. “have all the colours turned to black and white” demonstrate how he observes the divide in his society, especially as a man who sees things as being more complicated than his fellow spies. knowing that there is more beneath the surface. take the section of “I had another dream, I had another life” reflects his “what if?” mind even if it waffles. it also addresses his curiosity about if he was somehow different, somehow more motivated. all linking, in the song’s context, about how the political world- in his case the revolution- works. 

“after the twilight, always a sunrise but the blood of morning comes when small arms fire ignore the deadline, there's no divine right enter the gods and all the sacred signs at the end of your line”

the section here is most suitable. its the contradiction of after the early hours comes the day but that also comes with more meaningless bloodshed. its also talks of no divine right, there being no divine right of kings, of rank or even of money that we simply exist as components of g-d, as in robert’s quakerism. all the sacred signs combined with the end of the line really talks about the path of life and the idea of finding signs to justify or confirm what you are doing his right- something he morally questions constantly.

finally, this line below could be translated as sarcastic or genuine but carries this idea of seeing this broken world through, that peace eventually comes. a peace he fought for via the culper ring.

“good luck, my friend, in time it ends”

[tolstoyamericanrevolution]

Turn Ocs as variations of Fuck before they make a rash decision:

Adrienne Fairfax; Luck Be A Lady by @ms-march: 

“No actually, Fuck You!”

If anyone remembers the fight between her and Hamilton in the first chapter- this will make sense. Adrienne often is about to accept something before deciding that you know what Fuck You! [name of the poor bastard in question...most likely Hamilton or Laurens]. The no actually is that bit of class to show that she has rethought her decision and you are all, collectively, screwed in the eyes of the 5ft2 blonde murder lady. We love her so much here. 

Elizabeth Walker; Summer Solider & Sunshine Patriot by @tallmadgeandtea:

“Fuck me”

our hard working Liz, constantly dealing with unnecessary shit managing the entire valley forge- of course she has a moment of swearing. If anything I imagine Elizabeth to be like a pressure cooker, she could go off at any moment but instead of it being at other people- years of loneliness become self manifesting so “fuck me” is a healthy balance of exhaustion and irritation. 

Levi Tallmadge; Band of Brothers by @culper-spymaster

“Fuck Yeah!”

its full of energy, its vibrant and it gives that swinging by the fly of his pants energy that Levi Tallmadge is the brand ambassador for. My boy has two modes of pester & pester. Now a fuck off or a fuck it could apply but consider his brain ticking over- attack a British solider? now that sounds like a fucking good idea its a Fuck Yeah from the youngest Tallmadge. I also think it would correspond very nicely with a “oh fuck no” from Charlie, so pls consider the ability for the ship to sail in multiply ways- including profanity. 

Arielle Nathan; Eye for an Eye by me because I am a self inserting person.

“Fuck it”

As you will all see, Arielle will think of a million consequences to one thing particularly religious and yet it is all resolved by a “fuck it” this why not, might go fight G-d attitude is what we love about her or at least I do. So do keep an eye open for the fuck it moments throughout the story.

[culper-spymaster]

Courtesy of @tallmadgeandtea and god bless her.

[culper-spymaster]

Band of Brothers:Season 1-Zipporah Strong

Catch up on Band of Brothers here

[oohlalafayette]

Here’s a doodle page that has also served as my warm up day for XXX Day of Quarantine.

[oohlalafayette]

So like... Nathan Hale / Benjamin Tallmadge tho...

[oohlalafayette]

Turn as classic vines!! Some quick doodles with lots of laughs.