#arty-e

Edward - The Boy King

Jane - Nine Days’ Queen

Mary - Bloody Mary

Mezza - Queen of Scots

Elizabeth - Good Queen Bess

The point of using “Divorced, beheaded, died…” was to highlight that the six wives’ fates in relation to their time with Henry, and an oversimplification of the reasons behind them, is all the general public really knows of them. But besides Edward and Jane because their deaths were so tragic and premature, we don’t really remember the ‘kids’ by how they died or who they married. Instead these titles nicely sum up our perception of them: precious smol bby Edward; Jane a weird detour who showed up out of nowhere and then died (at best precious smol bby #2); evil, murderous fanatic Mary (at best with a sympathetic backstory); well, I’m afraid Mezza’s is pretty vague, but it’s the only nickname of hers I could find and marks her as an outsider to the English; and virtuous, badass icon Elizabeth. The chant sounds weird in my head because it doesn’t have that symmetrical rhythm, so I tried to make a rhythm of ‘3 syllables/3 syllables/4 syllables/3 syllables/3 syllables’. 

Some character introduction verse ideas! Edward.

Edward: I’m Edward VI, forever -

Ensemble: The Boy King

Edward: Pulled around like a toy on a string

The anticipated heir

Call the weight I bear unfair

But ruling is no harder than (clears throat) breathing air

Jane.

Ensemble: Nine Days’ Queen

Jane: Shortest reign in British history 

Not much cause to gloat

I’m Lady Jane Grey, the footnote

When I got crowned, I thought nothing else could shock

But move over, K Howard, there’s a new kid on the block

Mary.

Ensemble: Bloody Mary

Mary: The Church of England had it in for me

Well, can’t say I didn’t earn my infamy

My siblings and I didn’t see eye-to-eye

But now the stakes aren’t so high

Might I just earn some sympathy?

Elizabeth.

Ensemble: Good Queen Bess

Elizabeth: Last Tudor standing, you all know my name

(coyly stage whispering) Elizabeth

(normal) My golden age is my claim to fame

It wasn’t easy, one big uphill climb

But life is a game and I win every time

Edward VI’s song.

Lady Jane Grey’s song.

Mary I’s song.

Commission of EB I got from the lovely @arty-e

I watched Good omens and the movie Mary Queen of Scots, where David Tennant played Crowley in Good Omens and John Knox in MQoS ... And after watching a video about @arty-e Six Kids, I had a Brainstorm!

I tried to list in order, but in my head everything was mixed up:

1. John Knox is a big fan of Queen and Freddie Mercury.

2. Carries a flamethrower with which he fights against Mezza.

3. John is the leader, showraner, and vocalist for Reformation Wall (along with William Farel, John Calvin and Theodore Beza) .

4. Bentley drives and each time arriving to visit Six, Queen’s song “Don’t stop me now” is heard from the car.

5. Each time Mezza attacks Elizabeth, Anne Boleyn threatens to first invite Johnny N. (as he calls him) to visit.

6. He plays the guitar, piano and saxophone.

7. The funniest fact is that the original John died on the same day (November 24) as Freddie Mercury.

8. Freddie Mercury and Crowley - the basis of inspiration for John from AU.

9. In past, in my AU, John was bisexual, he treasured his friend, George Wishart, and was sad and angry after his death. It was his death that became one of reasons for his fierce resistance to Catholicism.

10. John was twice married and has 5 children (2 sons from his first marriage and 3 daughters from his second), with the second wife, Margaret Stewart, a relative of Mezza Scots.

11. John believed that his second wife was the reincarnation of George (she was born a year after his execution) and therefore he did not care that she was related to the Catholic Queen who hated him.

12. Mary I, like Catherine of Aragon and Jane Seymour, are afraid of John Knox and always try to prevent him from coming to "visit".

13. John despised women on the throne, but he spoke of Mary I, Mezza Scots, and her mother. Not of Elizabeth I.

15. John Theme Song: Queen - The Show Must Go On.

14. He respects and admires Anna Boleyn and Elizabeth I (but she still feels hostility and hatred towards him, even if he saved her several times from Mezza) and warmly, in a fashionable way, refers to James I Stewart, Jane Grey and Edward VI.

Also Queen songs:

* All Dead, All Dead - describes John's feelings after the death of his first wife, Margery Bowes.

* Rain Must Fall and Love of my life - his attitude towards George Wishart and his death.

* Seven Seas of Rhye and One Vision - in second and third place, after TSMGO, which describes John.

* White Queen - John's feelings for his second wife, Margaret Stewart.

Mezza of Scots

(designed by @arty-e)

When I first saw her design for her, I absolutely fell in love for the color scheme and immediately wanted to draw something with her design. Hope you dont mind! ✌

Mary I’s song that I wrote for @arty-e’s SIX: The Kids. To be clear: Mary is earnestly remorseful about her death count of 283 and isn’t trying to downplay her faults. She just thinks that the psychological effects of her troubled backstory; monarchs of the time being very liberal with executions, particularly her father; and the fact that she believed she was doing the right thing, bringing her nation back to God and out of damnation, should be taken into account for a fairer perspective. Was she bad? A ruthless dictator by the end? Yes. Was that an inherent fault of her mind or soul, rather something placed in her by her environment and experience? No. All Tudor monarchs were dictators, and most pretty damn ruthless. She’s deeply hurt that her most shameful period is all most people know her by, and indeed she’s famous as a murderous tyrant. It stings even more since she used to be popular. At the least, Elizabeth should be held accountable the same way.

I took inspiration from the ‘Mary, Mary, quite contrary’ nursery rhyme, which may be about her or other Marys (including Mary Queen of Scots, interestingly). Also the ‘Bloody Mary’ chanting ritual in front of a mirror to summon her ghost (though many versions of that have the spirit be another Bloody Mary, unrelated to this one). I also threw in a reference to “No Way” because in “No Way” Catherine of Aragon’s devotion to her faith and being queen of a Catholic England is portrayed sympathetically, with her the wronged, yet nobly persevering victim to Anne’s unjust usurper. It shows that Mary is trying to honour her late mother and that her and Catherine’s goals were essentially the same. She saw herself as the heroic victim. And at that point in her life, she kinda was. Elizabeth was her Anne, taking her throne and leading England astray. It creates a cognitive dissonance in the audience: “Mary is evil... but she has the same beliefs as her mother... but her mother was good?” The final “Yet you call me…” is a desperate, epic belt, contrasting the softness of the last line.

Edward VI’s song.

Lady Jane Grey’s song.

Elizabeth I’s song.

Elizabeth I’s song that I wrote for @arty-e’s SIX: The Kids. My idea for Elizabeth in the musical is that she’s, true to her shrewdness and pragmatism in reality, focused on the present and not that invested in the competition. Like Anne of Cleves in Six - “I probably won’t win then. Oh, well... back to the palace!” The others all have widespread misconceptions they want to correct, but Elizabeth did great and everyone knows it. If anything, she’s glorified and put on a pedestal. That’s fine by her. You don’t have to introspect on a pedestal. You don’t have to admit you’re hurting and hurt people and don’t know how to trust anyone anymore on a pedestal. She uses her accomplishments as an excuse to not dwell on her miseries and heartache for most of the play. She’s charismatic and lighthearted. When not casually reminding people how cool she is, she’s trying to mediate between the Catholics (Mary and Mezza, who bond over their fierce attitudes and dislike of her) and Protestants (Edward and Jane, who bond over being BABIES thrust into power TOO YOUNG and puppet rulers who TRAGICALLY DIED).

She does tease and compete with her siblings, but she wouldn’t be a middle child otherwise. She’s never serious about it the way the rest are. She made the “Bloody Mary” comment without realizing it touched a real nerve in Mary. Her goals are the peace and happiness of her family and love of the audience. Every word and action before this is deliberate to that end.

So her breakdown here is huge. We finally see her be truly vulnerable and genuine and human. It’s an audience gut punch, the way the end of “All You Wanna Do” is. The breakdown occurring prior to the song emphasizes that Liz survived all of that to rule, and frees up the song to be one giant boast. This is also the last solo of the play before the resolution song, so the Tudor siblings are trying to be more openly caring after hearing from each other’s perspectives and joking and reminiscing together.

Inspirations for the lyrics are the “God Save the Queen” and various quotes of Elizabeth I. “I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman” and “I myself will take up arms” from her famous Tilbury speech and “I have no desire to make windows into men’s souls” about her stance on religion. The snippet of “Don’t Lose Ur Head”, like Mary’s “No way!”, is meant to pay respects to her late mother and contrast the (very disproportionately, Anne deserves better) reviled, disgraced Anne Boleyn with the celebrated, admired Elizabeth I. It’s kind of a diss at Henry and the others who blamed/blame Anne. “You hate her but you love me? She’s my role model! Strong, outspoken, intelligent... but I’m not gonna let you behead me for that.” Semper vester regina is Latin for ‘always your queen’. She gives an exaggerated shudder when she says, “Childbirth”.

Elizabeth was not at all perfect, but she is nonetheless an icon. Discuss.

Edward VI’s song.

Lady Jane Grey’s song.

Mary I’s song.

Abc Challenge day 4: Dylan Espadas

@arty-e

I love Arty-e's works, especially the Cards series. Her stuff has inspired me to create entire worlds of original characters.

(one being based off of tarot cards)

She is amazing and I recommend that you check her stuff out

https://arty-e.tumblr.com/post/688330572660195328/just-a-serial-killer-and-a-god-trying-to-stop-a

Here is a post btw. Follow her please.

I also have some cards ocs that I might introduce later but they are all just some stupid kids trying to drag the fae of Spades, Itzcoatl, into degeneracy and Imara (the fae of Jokers)is involved with the plan. Itzcoatl actually likes the kids but he doesn't want anyone to know. And all of that takes place long after the comic series that Arty-e is currently working on.

And if Ella is seeing this: Your work is amazing and I love your stuff...

Y̶o̶u̶ r̶e̶m̶i̶n̶d̶ m̶e̶ o̶f̶ M̶u̶m̶b̶o̶ J̶u̶m̶b̶o̶ b̶t̶w̶