history meme | ten moments ∙ the salem witch trials of 1692-1693
The Salem witch trials occurred in colonial Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693. More than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft—the Devil’s magic—and 20 were executed by: hanging, being pressed to death under heavy stones, or torture. Hundreds of others faced accusations of witchcraft. Dozens languished in jail for months without trials. Then, almost as soon as it had begun, the hysteria that swept through Puritan Massachusetts ended. Eventually, the colony admitted the trials were a mistake and compensated the families of those convicted. Since then, the story of the trials has become synonymous with paranoia and injustice, and it continues to beguile the popular imagination more than 300 years later. [x]
game of thrones fancast: oded fehr as oberyn martell, the red viper of dorne
“I will hear you say her name, Ser, or I will chase you through all seven hells.”
literature meme | characters 1/7
Marya Morevna was just a young girl in St. Petersburg when a bird outside her window fell from a tree, turned into a soldier of the Tsar, and married her oldest sister. That was her first glimpse of the magic of Russia, but by the time her third sister had been married off to a third bird-turned-soldier, “the face of the world had changed,” and the magic with it: the soldier-bird was in the Red Army, and the eleven other families who lived communally in her great house had all brought their house spirits (a whole committee of domoviye!) with them. And still she hoped for a bird to come and marry her, but she also grew tired of watching—so when Koschei the Deathless, the Tsar of Life himself came to marry her, she never saw what other form he took. Marya Morevna transformed from a clever child of the revolution, to Koschei’s beautiful bride, to his eventual undoing.
so i cross my heart, and i hope to die,
that i’ll only stay with you one more night
and i know i’ve said it a million times,
but i’ll only stay with you one more night
Witchcraft in Sleepy Hollow
history meme - ten moments - Ivan the Terrible kills his son
Ivan the Terrible, the first tsar of Russia in the 16th century, was prone to paranoia and fits of rage. One day, he accused his son - also named Ivan - of inciting rebellion, which the younger Ivan denied. Ivan’s father struck him on the head with his scepter. The younger Ivan fell, barely conscious and with a bleeding wound on his temple. The elder Ivan immediately threw himself at his son, kissing his face and trying to stop the bleeding, whilst repeatedly crying, “May I be damned! I’ve killed my son! I’ve killed my son!”
For the next few days, the elder Ivan prayed incessantly for a miracle, but to no avail. The Tsarevich died on 19 November 1581.
Natalie is extraordinary. She’s such a technician, as an actress. Natalie trained. She’s the epitome of when training meets talent in the best way possible. She’s naturally gifted and comes alive on camera. It’s a fantastic mixture. - Jonathan Rhys Meyers
