POINT DIVIDER / january 22nd-february 4th
helen rivers / 150 total (40 points for this week)
ojovivo

oozey mess
One Nice Bug Per Day
Lint Roller? I Barely Know Her
🪼

Kaledo Art
Aqua Utopia|海の底で記憶を紡ぐ

@theartofmadeline
wallacepolsom
No title available
No title available
RMH
Three Goblin Art

★
PUT YOUR BEARD IN MY MOUTH
2025 on Tumblr: Trends That Defined the Year
Stranger Things
trying on a metaphor
occasionally subtle

ellievsbear
seen from Germany
seen from United States

seen from T1
seen from United States

seen from United States
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seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States

seen from United States
seen from United States
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seen from United States
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seen from Greece

seen from Malaysia

seen from Russia
@tfwhelen
POINT DIVIDER / january 22nd-february 4th
helen rivers / 150 total (40 points for this week)
Sashes & Cravats | Ambrose & Helen
“Odd’s fish, my dear aunt, have you read this horrendous article about me?”
The royal breakfast was underway, a large enough affair on those mornings upon which the king managed to rise and join in, but he had made so merry last night, that Arthur had not managed to rise this morning, and Septimus was absent on account of a matter of the realm, which left Ambrose to preside over the event. So it was that he came marching into the breakfast room, waving a pamphlet dramatically over his head, and addressed the first person he clapped his eyes upon, who happened to be the unfortunate Helen.
“Why,” whined the Prince of Arith. “It casts me in the cruelest light – it implies I only spend fifteen minutes on my cravat each morning! Lawd, fifteen minutes! Imagine how ill becoming that would be! What will the people think? This charlatan must be stamped out at once for spreading such horrific falsehoods. ‘Tis treason, I tell you! Treason. I will not stand for this!”
In a pique, he hurled the article upon the table, its leaves scattering out for any members of the royal clan to peruse at will, and revealing that the writer was none other than the infamous “Lady Worthington.”
“Do you know,” mused the Prince. “I’ve met every peer of the realm. I’ve never met any lord or lady by the name of Worthington! To think, there are people who will believe this creature when she is so beastly a speller! After all, Worthington cannot be her name, as I said, so she must have abysmally mispelled it!” He had been told repeatedly that Worthington was doubtless a pseudonym. The concept, evidently, eluded him.
As Helen seemed on the urge of speaking, his eye fell more appraisingly upon her and, interrupting whatever she started to say for the simpl reason that he frankly wasn’t listening, he began to speak again. “My, dear aunt, might I say how well you look?” Ladies, after all, loved compliments, and it was truthfully given, yet he was distracted by a simply fact. “My only complaint might be that you wore that sash a tad too low. Perhaps if you wore it about a quarter of an inch higher it might better suit.” At once, the prince clapped. “You, servant, raise my lady’s sash a quarter of an inch higher.”
Helen had been prepared for an outburst from her nephew: she had been rather direct about his grooming habits in her latest article. It hadn’t meant to be cruel, rather, she hoped that holding up such a mirror to his obsessions with his own appearance might influence him for the better. This had not been the first time she had tried to make him see that there were other things that would be a better use of his time and she had hoped that she wouldn’t have to resort to something quite so drastic, but having exhausted all other avenues, she made a point to feature him in her latest column.
Despite herself, she couldn’t help but find it somewhat amusing when Ambrose was upset (he often was so dramatic about the most ridiculous things that it was hard not to laugh) and Helen did her best to cover her smiles but drinking her tea as soon as he came in.
It turned out to be the wrong choice, for she found herself half choking on it when she realized that her plan had backfired miserably and Ambrose was upset that it had read that he only spent fifteen minutes adorning his cravat!
“Oh, good god!” She cried in a moment of frustration, which drew many towards her (including Ambrose himself) and she realized, suddenly, that her reaction most likely seemed to come from her horror at what was stated in the paper and not Ambrose’s reaction to it.
Being the object of Ambrose’s attentions this morning seemed to make her the victim of his latest makeover and the next moment she found herself subjected to the prince’s servants attempting to "fix” her clothes. “I shall fix it myself. Thank you.” She said, rather abruptly, not wishing to have herself adjusted at the breakfast table like a child. At the moment, it wasn’t worth irritating Ambrose even more just to leave it as it was.
“You are, of course, certainly right about Lady Worthington,” She began, eyeing her nephew for his reaction, “But imagine such a woman who spells her name so abysmally each and every time that no one can imagine who she might be, and yet she’s managed to write and sell so many of her columns.”
She forget as soon as she spoke that her nephew was not fluent in sarcasm and would fail to see how his thoughts about her identity made no sense at all. She wished more than anything that she could tell him that she believed he misunderstood the authoress’s meaning and point him in the right direction, but such hand holding in the company of other, more intelligent witnesses would certainly raise a red flag and she had no desire to be known as Lady Worhtington, just yet.
feast of noros
excerpt from Helen River’s diary (12 years ago)
This diary has always been a place where I might be completely honest with all of my thoughts, desires, and darkest secrets, so it is why I shall confess here, without shame, that I do have a favorite from amongst my nephews. It is a pity that my sister was not allowed to raise them as she wished: they all would have been better for it.
As it is, Arthur is arrogant and spoiled; Ambrose vain and ridiculous. Do not mistake me for loving Aloysius best due to the defects of his brothers alone. He has a myriad of qualities to recommend him, but I have always especially been fond of his wit, his charm, and his mischievous side (which I am afraid is often shameless encouraged by his aunt).
Today he was all excitement: it was to be his first Feast of Noros which he was able to attend properly.
“Your guards won’t know what to do with themselves. This is the first time in six years where they won’t have to chase you down and drag you back.”
You could tell my jest had hurt his pride because the smile on his face began to fade and he rather defensively reminded me that he always managed to outsmart them every year, despite them being prepared for it, and even though he never got to attend the feast as he intended, you had to admit that it was rather impressive.
(I knew better than to remind him that the Turner twins had both managed to attend when they were six, as that was likely most of the reason his failure stung so).
“I almost made it last year, too,” He was quick to remind me, “Still hoped I would have gotten farther with an accomplice to distract the guards.”
(As a royal subject, helping a prince escape the palace alone and go off into the woods to celebrate well into the night with strangers is far from my proudest moment, but as an aunt who felt her nephew was often deprived some life experiences, I was quite pleased with myself).
“Ah, as I recall, the terms of our agreement were that if I were to help you, you were never to speak of it again.”
(He was poised to make a remark, but noting my expression, closed his mouth instead. Good boy).
“That’s better.”
“Did you see any spirits your first time, Aunt Helen?” He asked.
“Oh, yes. Hundreds. And you should have seen me. I was terribly brave.”
“Really?”
“No, not really.
“You were scared?”
“Oh, terrified. And I didn’t even see any spirits to warrant it.”
“Then what scared you?”
(Oh, how to answer such a question?! Everything at the time. Everything except the spirits that might be lurking in the woods. I was more afraid of myself and afraid of other people discovering who and what I really was to be able to be afraid of much else. I spent most of the evening hanging about my sister’s skirts and trying to avoid everyone I didn’t recognize which was, thanks to the disguises everyone wore, most of those in attendance. But none of this would make a fitting answer for Aloysius.)
“The mere thought of running out of Remembrance Cakes.”
“You’re not going to tell me what really scared you?”
“Of course not. Do you think I shall give you an unfair advantage by letting you in on the secret? You will have to figure it out, like everyone else, what happens during your first Feast of Noros.”
POINT DIVIDER / january 15th - january 21st
helen rivers / 110 total (10 points for this week)
Helen, showing Arthur & Ambrose a flash card of a woman screaming: What emotion is this person expressing?
Arthur:
Ambrose:
Arthur: Serenity?
Ambrose: Loyalty to the crown!
Dakota Johnson as Anne Elliot in ‘Persuasion’ (Film, 2022).
helen rivers: a playlist
I. A LITTLE CHAOS / peter gregson
A good song to depict the splendor of court: all beauty and glamor and elegance. Even Helen who has great issue with the way things are done there, can stop to appreciate the beauty around her. (Even on her own way to create “a little chaos” of her own ;D)
II. HARRY IN WINTER / patrick doyle
Helen used to daydream often as a child about myths and fairy tales. She would often be lost in tales of romance and adventure in an attempt to escape where she was and I can imagining Helen being transported to this calming and inspiring tune.
III. THE LATEST WHISTLEDOWN / kris bowers
Self explanatory ;D
IV. LOVE IS A CHOICE / kris bowers
I think Helen has resigned herself to being alone, romantically, at this point. She’s had great loves and fleeting ones, but something has always stood in the way of there being something more and I ultimately think she’s made the choice to pursue the resistance and its cause, whatever the cost, and it is not a particularly ideal situation for a relationship. Not to mention, at the ripe old age of one and thirty, she’s nearly an old maid, anyway.
Anne Elliot- Persuasion 2022
OOC | Cassandra & Helen
I feel like these two could potentially know e/o, given that Cassandra’s friends w her nephew and that they both have courtly/noble connections etc!! If Cass had any earthly idea that Helen was also a rebel at heart, she’d jump at the chance to introduce her to the rebellion!!! but sadly i don’t think she ~is aware of this, presently so she’s just out there tryna find this gossip columnist and wouldn’t begin to imagine that Miss Rivers could be she alkjsdfkjdsjkf
asflkjslfkjaslfj I think it’s so funny that Helen & Cass are looking for each other and have nO idea that they’ve already found one another alsfjlajfljf
okay, so I can see where they would be friends if they actually got to know each other, but I can also see where Helen might have judged Cassandra and the Astley fam too harshly, too? I think Helen hears and sees a lot and possible knows the state that the Astley estate is in, and yet she sees them continuing to spend money as though nothing is wrong ++ she sees Beatrice being open to several different marriage proposals and she seems like she’s leading guys on w/o letting them know that the Astley estate isn’t what they think it is.
I also think that Helen tends to (sometimes) judge people too quickly and is too proud to see that she might have actually been wrong in it, because she’s proved herself right so many times. (I can also see where she might later print somethings about the Astleys that aren’t great which might complicate Cass’s feelings about the gossip columnist????)
IDK about you, but I kinda like enemies to friends for these two??? I feel like, if Helen knew Cass well, she’d love her to pieces but she’d also trust her and would suspect that she had sympathies (if not ties!!) to the resistance and would have already asked her about it.
ldksjfakljsdaklfjlkdsjfk omgggg its trueeeee i love it sm heehee
ommmmggggg helen literally thinking the worst of beatrice’s self sacrifice is so beautiful im ldlskjfakldjsfk bc honestly it makes sense that she’d draw that conclusion!!!!!! esp since i feel like…helen’s defffff been exposed to a lot of the worst court has to offer, what w charlotte having at first been the king’s mistress etc ldksjfajdsfjkakjsdf and i think if cass stopped to consider that, she’d probs understand more, but honestly if helen ever said smth bad about beatrice, cass would be like ‘wow how can anyone be that heartless that’s like saying bambi is evil. bambi.’ laksdjfkljdkjf like cass is v protective of her fam and she things that bea is perfect in every conceivable way and that this world would be better if more ppl were like her (i mean…she’s not wrong) and i feel like ‘beatrice is a bitch’ and ‘kill the fae’ are like the two things you can say to have cass instantly hate you even tho in ~general she tries to see the best in others alksdjfkljdsf
but!!!! im getting ahead of myself bc idk that helen’s said anything at all like that so alsdkjfkljsdf who knows!!!!
omg!!!!! id love it if she printed some things abt the astleys to make cass’s blood boil!!!1 lkajskdlfjsd *intrigueeee* (ironically ppl at court start respecting them more now that they think they’re just players and not actually altruists…jk, jk)
omg emeies to friends yassssss!!!!! that’ll be so much funnnn!!! esp bc, like you said, i also think that cass would absolutely adore helen if she knew her well, but there’s just enough of the superficial and misunderstanding here to create a really interesting dynamic that they’d have to ~find each other in, first!!!!!! and i love that for them both!!!!!! <33333 esp bc they’re so much on e/o’s side in so many ways and they’ve got no clueeee
I don’t think Helen has really voiced too much about how she really feels about them (she tends to be pretty neutral in public settings especially when she doesn’t know everyone super well --- she likes to observe things vs participate in those scenarios). And she doesn’t like to rustle too many feathers, either, because the more disliked she is, the less access she has to things.
That being said, she’s far from perfect and people like the Astleys do frustrate her, so I feel like she’s probably been a little sarcastic/cold around them before, but for the most part I think she’s probably pretty civil/friendly. She also likes to grab as much gossip as possible, so she does tend to be a tad friendlier if she thinks she can get you to open up about stuff.
Anyway, I’m not sure what Cass would think about Helen? She will come to find out what Helen thinks about her through her column but .... not know it’s Helen who thinks that haha! I feel like, of the Astey’s, Cass is probably the one she’d be the friendliest towards, just b/c I feel like Cass is more likely to be chatty than Beatrice or Constance and Helen’s always down to listen, but yeah obliviously they don’t know each other super well, or they would actually be friends <3
DAKOTA JOHNSON as ANNE ELLIOT Persuasion (2022), dir. Carrie Cracknell
OOC | Ambrose & Helen
*ambrose upon reading helen’s article, and really focusing in on the worst parts like: ‘odds fish, my dear aunt, have you read this horrendous article about me? why, it casts me in the cruelest light – it implies i only spend fifteen minutes on my cravat each morning! lawd, fifteen minutes! imagine how ill becoming that would be! what will the people think. this charlatan must be stamped out at once for spreading such horrific falsehoods. tis treason, i tell you! treason. i will not stand for this!’*
Helen: *bob belcher voice* oh my god
Helen: is he really upset I didn’t make more fun of him ???????
alskjflakjflkj honestly I feel like that is their relationship in a nutshell, tbh!!!! Like I feel like Helen wouldn’t give this guy the time of day if he wasn’t both her nephew ++ in a position of power. Like she genuinely wants to help him be better and see how ridiculous he is but literally noTHING works and she thought that maybe writing about him in her column would help but pointing out the ridiculous in him literally only upset him because it wasn’t ridiculous enough aslkjflasfjdlasdfj laskdjflkjdflksjdf
I feel like Helen gets frustrated with him a lot and there’s a lot of ~looks directly into the camera like she’s on the office~ situations b/c she literally cannot believe this guy half the time!!! I think she would have just had more fun with him and messing with him all the time if he wasn’t her beloved sister’s son and so it’s more of just sad than hilarious (but ofc sometimes I think he’s just sO absurd that she can’t help having a little fun with it, too)
I’m not sure what he would think of her tbh?? I see her contradicting him a lot but I can also see where a lot of it would just go over his head b/c she tends to be sarcastic and idk how good he is at picking that up asjdflskadjfl
Little is known about Lady Worthington, herself, from her work. Unless, of course, you knew where to look. More than once she’s poked fun of herself but then only the other contributors to the sensational columns knew her identity. To find out more about the authoress, you would need to read her own diary - one that was filled with even more secrets than she had published. Of course, as distrusting of the world around her as she was, she’d first developed a rather complex coded way of writing so that if it ever fell into the wrong hands, no one but she would be able to decode it.
Excerpt from Helen River’s private diary (decoded):
The pen is mightier than the sword!
Or so they say. I often hope it is true, for if I ever find I must defend justice by my skills in battle, Acela will truly be lost. Not that I would lack in bravery on the battlefield (my pride has is stronger than my cowardice), but I sorely lack the necessary coordination to be a fearsome opponent in battle.
I truly was a cowardly little thing as a child, who would have shrunk from a reprimanding from my father, let alone anything truly dangerous. It is a terrible thing in this country to discover that one is fae when you are told from the cradle that they are inherently evil and must be eliminated. I lived every day in fear of what I might do but (perhaps rather selfishly) I was even more terrified about what would happen to me, should I be discovered.
Helen was born to a merchant, but by the time she was a young girl, her elder sister had been married to the King. His mother was a mere human, a commoner, but their’s was a love match and the King having already produced an heir with his first wife, he felt free to marry where he pleased the second time.
Even as a child, I knew I could not trust my Charlotte’s connection to the royal family would not save me. And once the King died, it became clear that her position at court was in title only and surely any reason to cast her out completely would have been used against her. Discovering that her younger sister was fae would certainly please the courts: she’d be charge with harboring me even if she knew nothing.
So, as a young girl, Helen did her best to keep out of everyone’s way. She found pleasure first, in reading. She would devour any books she could find (particularly those of adventure and far off places) -- reading them tucked away in secret corners of the house or under trees in the gardens. When she was a little older, she started to write and there seemed an undeniable freedom when she first wrote down the words: I am fae.
She quickly burned the paper, knowing how dangerous it would be to everyone if it was found. It was too serious a confession to pass off as a joke.
It wasn’t until she discovered that there were others like her: fae living in constant fear of what would happen if they were discovered -- that she truly realized, for the first time, that she had nothing to fear from herself.
Georgiana Mallerton is one of the kindest and most selfless creatures I’ve ever known and there can be nothing more ridiculous than to think she could willing cause anyone harm! (And I do not state this lightly: I am well versed in the nonsensical! Do not forget that Ambrose Ardenne is my nephew).
This realization helped develop Helen from the shy, secluded young girl she was to the more open, witty, sarcastic, and opinionated young woman she is today. Of course, she knew her own situation was precarious -- the courts had already banished her sister from her own home as much as it would be allowed, so there was much and more she wished to say, but would not.
Still, she was restless.
With so much injustice in the world, she could barely stand to sit and do nothing at all. If she could somehow manage to discover the resistance, that would be something, but she had no connections to it at all. Even with her sister’s unstable position as the Dowager Queen, she was still very much at court and could, perhaps, would eagerly be a spy (she knew, after many years of practice, how best to blend into the background where no one much took notice of her).
It was then, that she sparked the idea of writing a gossip column, while subtly trying to declare her own loyalties, with the hopes that, perhaps, she could potentially find a connection that way. It would certainly reach a broad audience, that she knew, but that tricky part was, at once, hiding her own identity but also finding a way that perhaps she could be found --- if she wanted to. If it caused enough of a stir, she also might be able to work out what sides everyone truly was on, by their reaction to it.
Regardless if my plan works, there is something truly liberating in harshly judging some of the more insufferable members of society.
And who am I, you may well wonder? That, dearest reader, is something you shall not see disclosed in my column. It is, after all, full of gossip and what better way to unearth the most scandalous of secrets than to hide behind a veil of anonymity?
(Excerpt from Lady Worthington’s first issue)
PERSUASION (2022)
masquerade outfit
helen rivers did not ~officially~ attend the masquerade
she had complaints of a headache and said she’d be better served in bed
when everyone had left, she dressed herself up as an old woman -- utilizing a wig and a cane to complete the look
Her gown was black and simple and altogether gave off some ~Mrs Bates vibes~
Instead of a mask, she wore a black hat with a veil (not unlike this but the veil was darker so you couldn’t see her face as well)
honestly masked balls are a great place to overhear all kinds of wonderful gossip and other tidbits of information, especially if people feel that they cannot be recognized
also no one pays much attention to the old widow in the corner who seems to not know where she is
(also as a bonus, she also has an alibi --- not that she needs one yet --- in support of not being the famed columnist!)
ANNE ELLIOT’S OUTFITS in PERSUASION (2022).
OOC | Isabella & Helen
helen once dated a dragon dragoon, so she’s probs not unknown to the others of that status, but how well they know e/o…who knows! we’ve got the whole world open to us!!
I feel like Helen would actually lOVE Isabella!!!!! <333
tbh her relationship with Tom wasn’t very long or involved, and I think she enjoyed the distraction (plus he was handsome, charming, anD had a dragon, so .... yeah). But while I think she enjoyed him on the surface, it didn’t take long before she realized that they had opposing views on things! Also, I can see him complaining about the Turner girls to her (especially Rebecca and Isabella) and Helen finding herself on their side of things and defending them lakjdfljdflj!!!
Anyway, I’m not sure how well they would have gotten to know each other, but Isabella would definitely have Helen’s respect and I don’t think Helen would have quite surmised exactly where Isabella’s loyalties truly are, she knew her well enough to know that her heart is certainly in the right place and she’s not one to blindly follow orders/is out here challenging her captain when he makes questionable decisions and Helen is all about all of that <3)
(As a side note, I’m getting some young!Sysley du Fey vibes from Helen. Like she definitely has more caution than Sysley does, but just the desire to help a resistance she knows is there, but isn’t sure how to reach and voicing her opinions about it in the only way she knows how, while also being both judgemental and fiercely protective of the ones she loves!!! also just unconventional in general and just out here doing her own thing!!!)