#the best part: they’re actually 1880s

[gogandmagog]

On the subject of Gog and Magog.

No, because I’m actually peeing. Look what came today. Live from 1880, a non-reproduction original set of… well, Gog and Magog’s.

Some (most? many?) AoGG book readers will remember Gog and Magog, two of my especial favorite (okay, obviously) characters (and they are characters) from the series, first appearing in Anne of the Island.

“(…) and just behind each sat a large white china dog, with round green spots all over it, a green nose and green ears.”

—Anne of the Island, by LM Montgomery

Anne regards them as the ‘twin deities of Patty’s Place,’ and Miss Patty Spofford mentions in the retelling of their history that they are over 100 years old. Anne takes such a fancy to them that Miss Patty eventually parts with Gog and Magog, and gives them to Anne as a wedding gift. (Let’s remember here one of Ms Patty’s most iconic lines, “We send you our best wishes. Maria and I have never married, but we have no objection to other people doing so.”) Thereafter they haunt the House of Dreams mantle, and make dozens of appearances throughout the series. Anne speaks to them like they’re living creatures when she’s alone, Captain Jim calls them the “cutest little cusses” and bows goodnight, and Leslie, in her hours of discontent, fantasizes about ‘banging their noses together.’

Gog and Magog are Staffordshire dogs that were wildly popular in the Victorian era (the first pair were fashioned after Queen Victoria’s beloved spaniels), amongst the upper middle class, as both window and mantle decorations. They come in a variety of colors and sizes, there’s literally a Staffordshire set for all tastes. The spicier girlies that put theirs in their home windows would even change the dogs’ positions to indicate to their sneaky links that their husband wasn’t at home.

Gog and Magog were also impossibly dear and nostalgic to the author L.M. Montgomery. Her grandfather owned the original Gog and Magog (LMM was “enthralled” with them as a child), and Montgomery’s father often made up stories about them to amuse her. The most frequent legend had it that Gog and Magog came alive at the stroke of midnight, and that they’d jump down from the mantle and run the room. Having always “hankered to possess a similar pair,” on her honeymoon in England (where the dogs all originate), Montgomery sought a pair of green spotted dogs, like those her family had owned; she wrote in her journal that “the race of dogs with green spots seems to have become extinct,” (I had Google, so my efforts were all the easier) so she ‘settled’ for white and gold pair, as pictured below.

These two of Montgomery’s are now housed at the University of Guelph, in the Archival & Special Collections Department. They are on display! The original gangster Gog of Montgomery’s childhood met an accident long ago and is no longer with us, but the original Magog is still owned by Montgomery descendants.

“You will not have forgotten that Gog looks to the right and Magog to the left.”

—Anne’s House of Dreams, by LM Montgomery

#will let you guys know if they do in fact come alive at midnight #to be fair they are way cuter in person too #like the opposite of catfish #gog and magog #anne of green gables #Staffordshire dogs #lucy maud montgomery

[sunriseverse]

I hear oc talk 👀❣? Tell is about them

AH hello hi hello thank you for indulging me in this topic i. have so many thoughts about them right now. so i actually was thinking about a couple different ones, and they’re from different “verses” (the term doesn’t fit perfectly but whatever you get what i’m going for).

first is bricriu and ignace, they’re a middle-aged couple who live in wellington (in aotearoa/nz) and they’re. well they’re like literally the most mundanely awful people you can imagine. like the twits from the roald dahl book but as normal human people. bricriu is a tesco general manager and he’s super like. you know those ones who try and sell you the “we’re just a big happy family!” shit while working to actively undermine everyone around them. he’s incredibly gossipy but like gossip (derogatory) and probably commits HR violations with scheduling. also he literally kicks dogs for fun. ignace is a corporate lawyer which i think is explanation enough of how evil he is but he’s also a passive-aggression enthusiast and he loves to lie and manipulate. him and bricriu are in Evil Love which is to say they’re married and constantly doing things to make each other’s lives harder but sometimes one of them will do something particularly awful and the other will go oh i can’t NOT fuck him. they have a great sex life at least??? also bricriu’s name means “poison-tongued”. in my oc lore document i wrote down that ignace probably did a stint as a hollywood lawyer, likes to take cruises, and is nouveau rich but pretends he’s old money so do with that what you will (also the name ignace is associated with fire which can be complimentary but in this case it’s not. like not at all this man is terrible).

the other ocs i was thinking about are less fleshed out, but they’re from my most recent novel concept which i’m really thrilled about and hopefully will find the motivation to work on soon. it’s an urban-supernatural mystery novel set in some hand-wavy location. the ocs are khatije and nur, and khatije is a vampire and the dracula of her hunt (basically an elected position that involves protecting the hunt and doing your best to solve the problems the hunt and the individuals that make up your hunt face). she’s pretty young relatively speaking in pure age terms, but she looks the oldest since she was turned in her mid forties (she was turned in the 1880s) which is part of why she was elected since outsiders tend to take her more seriously. she would rather just be a normal vampire but she cares a lot about her hunt and so she does her best to do her job well. she does miss some aspects of being human, like being able to see sunrises and sunsets, but modern technology means that she’s able to at least look at photos of them. she also has a few tespih/prayer bead sets that she inherited from her mother that she keeps in a jewellery box because she can’t touch them directly but they’re very important to her. nur is a werewolf from a pack in the same region as khatije’s hunt and she’s very social, and she’s friends with or at least acquainted with a lot of the supernatural population in the area, and she puts moon imagery in the form of stickers and sketches etc all over her belongings because she used to be really ashamed of being a lycanthrope (she was bitten in her twenties and spent about two decades trying to repress that part of herself) but now she’s trying to change her internalised beliefs about it and be proud of the things it allows her to experience. Her sociability is also what causes her and khatije to finally get more acquainted because she knows all of the people who khatije solves cases for and the last case (a murder) they wind up solving together and after that they go for a date

#thank you again for letting me ramble!!!!!!!! it was very fun #ask #my ocs #bricriu #ignace #khatije merak #nur ahmed

[marzipanandminutiae]

MY LUCILLE EARRINGS ARE HERE

I adore them. And I can’t wait to see how they look with the Doom Pleats dress

#antiques #operation doom pleats #the best part: they’re actually 1880s #(not real gold of course but STILL)

[ehmuhlee13]

For Naming Your Sims...

Outside of trying to find accurate-ish CC (in relation to time-period and culture) and all that jazz for my Sims games, I take great care to try and find appropriate names as well. I'm sort of a self-proclaimed namenerd. If I'm not doing something Sims-related you can find me looking up things about names, naming fake families, etc...

That sorta leads me to the point of this post: RESOURCES so you don't have to keep naming your Sims the same 5 common names everyone else is using for their games! I notice a lot of name overlap for various gameplays I follow, especially the historical ones. There are so many unique options and variety when it comes to choosing an historically accurate name. (This may not matter to a lot of you, but I figured if I cared about it someone else out there might too. So, if that person is you, I hope you find this helpful!!)  Also, if anyone else knows of any sources for time-periods/cultures that I didn't include please let me know!!

Disclaimer: Majority of these are European based, because that is the easiest to find. I have searched for reliable, extensive sources of names from underrepresented cultures/ethnic groups/countries, but I don't always know the best way to search for accurate information, especially regarding something I'm not as familiar with.

A couple of good sites to start with are nameberry.com and behindthename.com. Nameberry is not always as accurate with meaning and origin, and it is lacking in tons of cultural diversity. (This is, thankfully, slowly changing). It can, however, be a good starting point, especially if you take the time to go through some of the forums on the site! The forums there are my favorite part of the site overall. There are also links to other name sites in various blog posts on the site. I believe I actually found my way onto most of the other sites I've linked here through various posts on Nameberry! Behind the name is more accurate when it comes to meaning and origin, and has a much wider range of cultures represented. There are, however, some user-submitted aspects, so always take those with a grain of salt. There are also pages related to different naming customs from around the world on the site as well.

British: British Baby Names has a pretty good collection of names from various time-periods. The blog has lists for Romans, Medieval, Tudor, Georgians, etc... plus a slew of various surnames! She also has posts on other European countries as well.

Medieval: Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources - the medieval name source of my dreams! They aim to provide the most accurate list of names that were actually used in medieval Europe. No made up names from stories here! Some of my personal faves: 

Altabella(f.) 

Blanchefleur(f.) 

Cadwobri(m.) 

Dulcibelle(f.) 

Erchamfred(m.) 

Framengilde(f.) 

Knightwine(m.) 

... I could do a whole post of the names to be honest. Anyways, also check out their blog, it's super cool history, namenerd stuff!

Anytime in recent-ish history: Newspapers, court documents, birth certificates...the list is long! Basically, in most western countries, you can find public access to a lot of documents, or an archive of newspapers to pull names from. This one does take a lot more dedication on each person's part as to how long one wants to spend searching for a name they like! (I spend, arguably, too much time doing this). If you're focusing on the Sims 4 Decades Challenge starting in the 1890's, then the SSA website will be a good bet, as it has records going back to 1880 for the USA. Unfortunately, majority of this stuff that is easy to find is going to be very western, very european, very white. 

Japanese: Beyond Sakura and Hiroshi - Super cool blog with a lot of cool names. Also, some of my favorite features a good name site should have--pronunciation guides, etymology, history, and popularity. 

Ritsuka (りつか)

Katsumi (かつみ)

Emi (えみ)

Saori (さおり)

Ryūya (りゅうや)

Yohē (よへえ)

The Sims 4 team has been upping the Asian representation in the game lately and it is great to see. (There are still so many underrepresented cultures in the game, but anytime I see something added that is not white and/or European at its core my heart gets so happy!) So I want my sims to have appropriate names that can fit the culture and aren't just a sad 'sounds like', made up attempt at being culturally correct. (Not that that's a pet-peeve of mine or anything)

West African: So, one of my favorites, because it can be very difficult to track down a source like this, at least in my limited experience, is The Yorùbá Name blog. The Yorùbá are an ethnic group from Western Africa, mainly in the modern countries of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. Just a few examples:

Hárúnà 

Fádáhùnsi 

Ọláọmọ 

Tiwaladé 

Ẹfúnrántí 

Rọ̀mádé

The site is described as "an online intervention to preserve and document all Yorùbá names in a multimedia format. It is part of a long-term project to document all types of African cultural experiences on the internet as a way of ensuring the survival of African identities in their various expressions." I can't even begin to put into words how amazing I think this is and how much more of this sort of thing is needed! So if you know of any similar resources please share! Even if they're not name-related!

And that is the end of my first post...it ended up super long, but I don't know if I could've done it shorter. So if you're still here at this point, thank you! I hope you enjoyed this and can find it useful:) I’d also like to so more specific name lists in the future, so, if I ever remember to do that, hopefully it’ll turn out:))

#sims 4 #sims 4 history challenge #the sims #sims 4 legacy #ts4 #ts4 decades challenge #ts4 history challenge #sims 4 decades challenge #names #name nerd #yoruba #japanese #medieval #british #west african #asian #new simblr #simblr

[nerdygaymormon]

All Truth in One Whole

One of the teachings I love most about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that all truth is part of the gospel. All truth--biological, sociological, religious, and more, all fits together. 

When advances in medicine, psychology or some other field comes along, change is here, but change is hard. It means admitting past leaders were wrong. You’d think a church that claims to have a prophet and believes in on-going revelation would have an easier time with change, but it doesn’t. 

We teach that our church leaders are not infallible, they can make mistakes, but as a church we act as if they never need to be corrected. We should be able to say that now we have more truth, it clarifies past church teachings and illuminates where we were off course. 

It frustrates me, as a gay member of the Church, that this isn’t how things actually work. During most of my lifetime, the Church taught things about being gay that were proved wrong. Even in the 1970′s, the Church refused to accept that being gay isn’t a choice, it isn’t a “disorder,” and can’t be changed by therapy, even though that was the scientific understanding of the time. Several decades would pass before the Church would accept this.  

This Church does say we can look at what teachings & policies produce to determine whether or not they’re good (does it produce good fruit?). The Church’s teachings & policies about queer people produces bad results. Many studies show the best outcomes in the lives of people involve things such as letting trans people transition (transitioning can look like a lot of things), and letting queer people have love, romance & companionship with a significant other. 

Unfortunately, the Church’s leadership seems to believe all people should behave as cis straight people, despite now accepting that being gay or trans is not a choice and not something we can consciously change. 

Another reason change is difficult, especially when it comes to queer people, is some members mock any change or advancement as capitulation. They’d rather this church cling to “truths” from the 1960′s or 1880′s, even if those have been proved false, rather than accept that our understanding has advanced and that light & knowledge can come from multiple sources. 

revelation = change

scientific advancement = change

progress = change

[my-darling-boy]

what about California suits you poorly?

A LOT and I’m so stressed I’m just going to vent about it, I’m sorry I need to let this out:

1. Weather is fucking awful in so many counties, especially where I live. It gets to 110-120F in the summer for 2 months, half the year it’s 90+. We get rain/grey skies MAYBE in total for 2 weeks out of the entire year. I’ve suffered for years from reversed seasonal depression (where you get so much sun you get depressed) which means my mental health is only at it’s best in the cold or with grey skies and gloomy weather, can’t take pills for it because of the side effects. I also have a skin condition that flares up in the heat which means I can’t go outside, at the worst part of the year, for anymore that 30 seconds without stinging horrible pain over my whole body, can’t get the injection to take care of it cos that’s just one more injection I’d have to worry about

2. We’re on constant wildfire watch about half the year, sometimes more. We’ve been at risk of evacuating 3 times but thankfully haven’t had to ever evacuate. However, my grandparents have had to twice and I have family that lost their houses in the Tubbs Fire which also destroyed my home town and so many people are still displaced from the fires. Even counties that don’t have to evacuate suffer from the purple-red zone for air quality due to smoke and I have high sensitivity to smoke which means I have a constant sore throat for all of fire season which is like 7 months out of the year and I would prefer not to look out my window and see a charcoal sky or a burning Star Wars Tattooine red sunset so often that it becomes normal.

3. I dunno what ads are shown in other states about California, but unless you are a millionaire, but I’ve found it’s near impossible to live here without at least two roommates all working a 40 hour week. Everyone my age has roommates or a partner mainly cos it’s so difficult to live on your own. It is in the top 3 most expensive states in the country. Low income housing 2 minutes away from me is priced at $600,000-$700,000 and the homes just next to those in gated communities are $1,000,000+. “”“Affordable””one bedroom flats just near me are $2,500-$3000 a month. And I don’t even live in a major city. If I moved out now, I would be classified as living in poverty with what money I have. For a look at how bad it’s gotten, my dad’s childhood home in the 70s was once $100,000 and it just sold last year for over $1,500,000.

4. There are no outlets for my career or job wants. At all. My main interest/knowledge is in Western Europe around that 1880-1920 period and mainly around WWI, and I reenact a British soldier. I love that history, theatre, art.... but on the off chance I had $60,000 a semester to go to the universities here I wanted to get a degree after transferring from a junior college, I have nowhere to apply that here. There are practically zero WWI events for me to reenact here, minus Newville and a couple others and there is no target audience for all my WWI writing and art because barely anyone gives a damn about WWI here (the Joke I’d always hear in school was “WWI? What even was that?” and we would learn about it for MAYBE two weeks out of 12 years of schooling). There aren’t museums I’d want to work at here, there aren’t shops I’d love to work for, there aren’t historical places I feel attached to to work there. I cannot tell you how fucking ECSTATIC I was to see actual WWI items in museums in England because I’d never seen anything like it here!! Like??? I could’ve fucking cried because I was so happy to be in a place where my interests had meaning to people?? Like last time I was there, literally a man in an elevator got into a Deep conversation with us about how sad WWI was and how it’s still emotional for people which was WILD because here I’m always told to “be smart and get interested in something that actually matters”. Like I’m sorry but it is SO draining to be so passionate about something it feels like no one around you ever cares about

5. The Style I specifically have is SO unnecessarily pricey to have here. California never had an Edwardian Period the way they did in the countries I studied, which means that there are, surprise, pretty much zero places to buy clothing/items from that period and if you do happen to find them, they’re outrageously expensive and the cuts of the garments aren’t even the ones I’m looking for, for instance, because America had slightly different fashion. No one here sells the clothing I dream of having, I have to order a majority of my stuff from England meaning it costs A LOT and I pay like $80+ in shipping for some things. My reenactment gear is so expensive to have shipped here as well!! I’m also so ://// cos I see all my friends from Europe just going out and causally finding items I’d love to have at decent prices cos they’re just staple antique shop items there which would be classified as rarities here. Like...... to know I could just walk into a physical shop somewhere and pay £15 for a collar or something that would’ve cost me $45 to have shipped here is just AAAAAHHHH??? Like the only reason why my dream life Brand isn’t as developed as I would like is because that Brand just doesn’t exist anywhere here and it’s so disappointing

6. Additionally, I plan on going to Europe when it’s much safer to travel anyway throughout my life just to visit all these places I want to, if I don’t end up living there somewhere, but flights from California to these places are so expensive because I’m always traveling so far and my flight is always 11-12 hours straight which would be fine if it wasn’t in cramped quarters filled with strangers

7. Ultimately, I just feel so alone and empty here. I look out around me and see an American capitalist wasteland, Hollywood drama in my backyard, stark blue skies with a blazing unforgiving sun, no places I Vibe with, no place I feel interested to live, no place I feel interested to work at, and nothing to be happy about. My parents are planning to move after my dad retires, my grandparents on both sides are getting quite older now, and my family on both sides I’m not all that close with, I used to see a lot and now I see maybe once every 1-2 years. I’m not a little kid anymore and it’s just time for me to leave and everything just feels so wrong about living here in ways I don’t even have words for

8. Adding: the job situation here has been so bad for a long time and because of that, I’ve reached a point where I’m selling my car to have the money I need to move out! I’m either going to have to find a place to live where I can walk or take the metro or something because I don’t have cash left over to by another car once I sell the one I have so RIP

#AND done Vent Over #asks

[simplysplendidiferous]

The Delights of Poison

Post 1

What’s covered: 3 different types of poisons you can use in your stories to kill off characters, plus what these poisons do and how they can be utilised by your characters. (sources are at the bottom of this post)

Hello fellow writers and welcome to the glorious art of poison, an area of murder I reckon is most overlooked. When you think of murder, you probably imagine guns, knives, axes, etc. The problem with these tools? They’re messy, they’re gory, they’re easily traced. Unlike poison. I personally love writing murder-by-poison just because there are so many different ways you can use them. You want a long-lasting, painful death, to make your characters suffer? Poison’s got your back. You want a slow and quiet death, so you can easily escape the crime scene and be in a different country by the time the victim is even dead? Poison is knocking on your door.

Here is a list of my top three favourite poisons to use in your writing.

First, honourable mentions: Thallium, Polonium-210, Mercury

Coming in at number 3, we have arsenic. Perfect murder weapon if you’re writing a story set sometime in the past (i.e 1880′s) , where detection of arsenic was much harder and slower than it is today with modern technology. If you’re writing a modern-set story, I’d personally stay clear of arsenic. It is too easily detected and isn’t used as often as it was throughout human history. 

Arsenic is a metalloid (Atomic Number 33). When mixed into food or drink, it is colourless, odourless and tasteless. This means characters can easily be tricked into consuming it. Symptoms of a large dose resemble fatal food poisoning, meaning that detection of the poison may be overlooked as a bad serve of chicken at a restaurant. However, given in smaller doses over a large period of time, symptoms of arsenic poisoning are subtle and slow-progressing (perfect if your killer needs a quick getaway- they can be on the other side of the planet before anyone suspects a thing) including confusion, weakness, paralysis and death. 

Arsenic is absorbed through the small intestine. The body mistakenly substitutes arsenic for phosphate. This causes havoc in 200 enzyme-based systems in the body, that are necessary for metabolism to function. 

In second place, we’ve listed Ethylene Glycol. Ethylene Glycol is sweet tasting, (although we would not recommend trying this theory for yourself- it is number 2 on a list of best poisons for a reason). It’s also used as antifreeze in cars which means it’s readily available for most people (well, how convenient). 

Your character’s body will seem fine for a few hours after ingesting this poison, when actually, their body will be breaking down the poison into other toxic substances. Eventually, your character will feel groggy, tired and fatigued, experience abdominal pain and then slip into a coma. 

A by-product that ethylene glycose breaks down into is glycolic acid. This causes a dangerous and fatal condition called metabolic acidosis. This is when someone’s blood becomes too acidic, preventing all chemical reactions that make up their metabolism from functioning as they should. It also creates calcium oxalate crystals in the kidneys, which literally tear up tissues in the kidney. Sounds delightful. 

And finally, cyanide takes first place. Cyanide is often said to be the most deadly poison. It’s incredibly fast acting- a big enough dose in a variety of forms can kill in hours and even minutes. It can be tested for in blood, but the patient would be long dead before lab results were able to come in. Cyanide is any chemical that has a carbon-nitrogen bond, and not all these chemicals are poisonous. In fact, cyanide can be found in foods like almonds and soy, and they are completely safe to consume. It’s also a by-product of metabolism in our human bodies! We exhale it in small amounts when we breathe. However, cyanide does come in deadly forms, including:

Hydrogen cyanide: pale blue or colourless liquid or gas

Sodium cyanide: a white powder

Potassium cyanide: also a white powder

Important note: Cyanide in all forms is said to smell like bitter almonds. 

Teachable Moment: You’re likely to find these poisonous substances in burning buildings/ fires.

Symptoms of cyanide poisoning include weakness and fatigue, difficulty breathing, nausea, seizures, cardiac arrest, headaches and confusion, fainting/ passing out and ultimately, death. A character’s symptoms will vary depending on the size of the dosage, the form of cyanide and the length of their exposure. 

Acute Cyanide Poisoning: Quite rare, and usually from accidental exposure. Symptoms will be sudden and severe, including cardiac arrest, seizures, fainting and breathing difficulties. 

Chronic Cyanide Poisoning: large amounts of exposure to hydrogen cyanide (specifically, 20-40 parts per million) of a long period of time. Symptoms gradually increase in severity over time. Primary symptoms include vertigo, headaches, flushed skin, drowsiness, nausea and vomiting. Secondary symptoms may include dilated pupils, weak and rapid pulse, difficulty breathing (shallow and slow) and clammy skin. Condition left untreated may lead to comatose states, blue lips and skin, irregular heart rate and death. 

Cyanide in small doses may not be deadly, as the body can get rid of the poison by sticking a sulphur ion onto it, converting the cyanide into a chemical called thiocyanate, which can exit the body through urination. However, in large doses, the body gets so overwhelmed it can’t turn all the cyanide into thiocyanate. This starts preventing cells from using oxygen and eventually, these cells begin to die off. Lack of oxygen means that the heart, respiratory system and central nervous system (the spinal cord and brain) can’t function properly. 

Any questions? Anything to add to this post? Message us! We’re happy to help. You can also message us if you have any ideas for future posts (grammar tips, sentence structure, how to write an introduction, how to write an essay, etc)/ need help researching a specific idea (e.g. murder weapons from the Middle Ages, dress from the 1800′s, the life of Henry the 8th, etc.) for your stories and writings. We love to hear from you!

Happy writings,

simplysplendiferous 

sources: Healthline, American Chemistry Council What The Science SciShow

#poison #writing tips #writing #writinghelp #murder #facts #death #novels #narrative #storytelling #authors #authorshelp #how to write murder scenes #gore #blood #teachablemoment #dailydoseofdeath

[stuckylibrary]

Do you know of any AU fics where one of them is the equivalent of like a royal companion/mistress/whore? Like they’re not officially Together for whatever reason but they still love each other despite status/society. I know this is weirdly specific so sorry and thanks in advance y’all r the best

Found you some:

By the nature of this ask, pretty much all of these will feature /others and potential dubcon/noncon!

Collars Of Ardor* by The_Nerd_Alert (WIP | 135,384 | E) *chose not to warn

It is 1880 in London, and Captain Steve Rogers seems to be the ONLY man in the world who has not found his Consort yet. It is a global practice, to own a Consort before the age of 30, or risk paying Taxes into the Consort Union. But... Steve just has not found his One yet. If he is to have a Pet for life, he wants his to be perfect. So after a disheartening birthday party, and urging from his wife Peggy, Steve sets out to spend the evening alone... What he did not expect was to stumble upon his One and fall head over heels in love with the boy. Now, if only he could melt that Winter heart of Buchanan's and make him his...

Only Sunshine* by orphan_account (oneshot | 550 | not rated) *chose not to warn

“Must you be so quick to leave this place?”

“Must I? Yes,” James hums. “Will I? No.”

In which mornings are lazy, James will be late for Kingly things, and Steve is just fine with that.

Part 1 of 500 Words of Stucky

Arabian Nights by cleo4u2, LadyAngelique, xantissa (complete | 37,478 | E)

“Look, we can literally work to get our freedom back. Sometimes all it takes is…the favor of someone influential enough. Marriage also in some cases. Slavery is not always a permanent thing, provided you don’t piss anybody off enough to kill you.”

“You mean have me or Natasha let some rich asshole have their way with us,” Sharon spat.

“No,” Peggy said slowly, “the king was looking at Steve.”

Sam still wasn’t looking at them, his hands wringing. The chill that went down Steve’s spine had him closing his eyes tightly, lips pressed together so he didn’t start shouting at Sam like Sharon.

“Unlike his father, King James doesn’t have a cruel, temperamental reputation. He’s considered a moderate ruler, which means he must be a better man. I imagine being that high up must be lonely and…” Sam trailed off, unwilling to say what he thought out loud.

“And you want to sell Steve to him,” Sharon snarled.

“We’re already sold, Sharon!” Sam shouted. “All of us. Not all of us will have a chance to leave this place alive, okay? Steve has a chance. You and the other girls, too. Me and Clint? Not so much. So if he has a chance? He has to take it.”

An Audience With The King by elisabethjj (WIP | 3,655 | E)

‘Try not to be anxious,’ Peggy says. Her calm gaze is actually pretty reassuring. She gestures again for James to follow her, and this time he moves his butt. ‘Steve is a good alpha, and a good king. All will be well, you’ll see.’

James has only been at the palace for four months, and it hasn’t escaped his notice how efficiently Peggy manages the sizeable harem. As befits the King’s status, the royal harem boasts an impressive fifty-eight omegas. Not that the King sleeps with them all. He’d never get any governing done.

Part 1 of The King's Omega

The Gift of the Geamhradh by Catchclaw (oneshot | 2,507 | T)

It was, without question, the part of being king he resented the most, for summer was the season in which each section of the kingdom sent to him their best and most beautiful, those whom each community had carefully chosen to be their representative in what was still seen as the most sacred and powerful of spaces: the royal harem.

The Grace of the Fire and the Flames by chicklette, cobaltmoony (complete | 31,579 | E)

Since the day Prince Steven drew his first healthy breath, he's been focused on only one thing: destroying the many-headed Hydra that's been haunting their lands for decades. So when he returns from yet another fruitless hunt, the last thing he wants is to discover a new addition to his Royal Harem. But the new man is intriguing, and his scent is achingly familiar. Against his better judgement, Prince Steven wants more.

Winter arrives in Breukelen with no memory of his past, how he lost his arm, or who he really is. When the Wizard Pierce gives him a mission to get the Prince under control, Winter doesn't think twice. He wasn't expecting Prince Steven to be a good man, and Winter has to try to discover whether he should trust the prince - or his programming.

When their worlds start to fall apart around them, will they learn to trust each other and the love they've begun to form? Or will it all crumble to ash?

I'm Thinking it Over, The Way You Make Me Feel all Sexy* by ToastMaloneIII (oneshot | 2,405 |E) *chose not to warn

Steve should know by now what his King demands of him.

#absolutely-xantastic #mod blue #/others for ts

[docholligay]

Chinese Food in The American West

One of the things I frequently come across as a student of the American West* is that people get most of their information from movies and TV and then act like they know things. Wyatt Earp was not a Lawful Good champion who always did his level best even when it was hard to know. (You want Seth Bullock or Bass Reeves). Racism was far more complicated than white vs not white (I’ve talked about this EXTENSIVELY in Strange Empire, so I’m not going to bore you here**). 

And they didn’t just eat steak. In fact, they rarely ate steak. 

Steak as cowboy food isn’t INACCURATE, but it is MODERN. From about the early 1900s on, you had less and less drives and more and more ranchers who were staying put, with less and less hands needed, and so food was grabbed less “on the go.” Cows could be slaughtered and used to feed the family, allowing for more opportunities for things like steak, yes, but also things like chili, a play on sauerbraten, southern-style biscuits. The cattle drives were a real blend of culture and race, and a lot of what we have left as “Western food” owes a great deal to that. 

And if we leave the cattle drives and head into the towns of the American West, as we will today, we find things like oysters, pies, and various things like that. Far more well-heeled than the general expectation. 

I mean, here’s the menu from the Occidental Saloon circa the late 1880s:

Soups

Chicken Giblet and Consumme, with Egg

Fish

Columbia River Salmon, au Beurre Noir

Relieves

Filet a Boeuf, a la Financier

Leg of Lamb, Sauce, Oysters

Cold Meats

Loin of Beef, Loin of Ham, Loin of Pork, Westphalia Ham, Corned Beef, Imported Lunches

Boiled Meats

Leg of Mutton, Ribs of Beef, Corned Beef and Cabbage, Russian River Bacon

Entrees

Pinons a Poulett, aux Champignons

Cream Fricasse of Chicken, Asparagus Points

Lapine Domestique, a la Matire d'Hote

Casserole d'Ritz aux Oeufs, a la Chinoise

Ducks of Mutton, Braze, with Chipoluta Ragout

California Fresh Peach, a la Conde

Roasts

Loin of Beef, Loin of Mutton, Leg of Pork

Apple Sauce, Suckling Pig, with Jelly, Chicken Stuffed Veal

Pastry

Peach, Apple, Plum, and Custard Pies

English Plum Pudding, Hard Sauce, Lemon Flavor

This dinner will be served for 50 cents.

-I got this from the book “Saloons of the Old West” by Erdoes

But none of that is precisely why I’m here, I just can’t stop myself from talking about this, why I’m here is that one of the things I say that often surprises people, is that Chinese food was incredibly common for the, well, common man to eat. There’s very much a conception that we as a non-Chinese American  people did not start eating Chinese food until the 40s and 50s, and its truer that it took longer to catch on in the American East than the West simply as a matter of proximity and choice. 

Not MORE choice but LESS. Part of what made the West so unique, historically, is that the lack of choice and the basic scarcity caused people to work with and patronize people that their general prejudices would have kept them from using back east, because they had CHOICES. But out in the west, less so. There were few choices for a quick, cheap meal on the go. That dinner I just posted above is a lavish affair, and a great deal at approximately $20.00 in today’s money. (Which does not allow for the fact that cost of supplies has gone up and this dinner would most likely be offered for no less than 70 or so today.) 

People desperately wanted something that was cheap and quick, and the other options in the American West were few, far between, and not intensely pleasing. No one had really come up with the sandwich shop as of yet, and in any case, fresh meats and cheeses would have been too difficult for the low-cost supplier. 

ENTER THE CHINESE POPULATION.

If you have read my Strange Empire blogs, I hope you know that Chinese people were a huge presence in the American West, mostly working for the railroad and various mines, but also doing things like laundry, work that was extremely hard but took little in the way of English speaking. They existed in Chinatowns, for a combination of cultural and legal factors, but it’s a misconception that non-Chinese*** people never went to Chinatown. 

People are not new, and it was not unusual for non-Chinese people to use the laundries, tailoring, and other services of Chinatowns while suppressing the rights of Chinese people int he same breath. There were always individual Chinese people any given non-Chinese person liked and did business with. 

In time, they discovered the inherent wisdom of the noodle bowl. 

I don’t mean to suggest that all these early restaurants served was noodle bowls, but that was where it all started. Remember, Italian food had little prominence in America at the this time, as Italian immigration didn’t really get into full swing until the 1870s in America. While there are noodle traditions half of everywhere, and there is nothing new under the sun, what we today would consider a stir-fry bowl was wildly new to most of the non-Chinese folks in the West. That it could be offered up so cheaply, was so filling, and so delicious (more on this later) was a wild revelation. Everyone from simple cowboys (which, fun fact! Was a slur back then!) to mayors were swinging by Chinatowns to try the dishes. 

By the 1920s, chop suey, a fully Chinese American invention derived from the words for “various leftovers” was a hugely popular American food among all sorts. 

Doc, you may ask, was it just that these folks coming through to get medicines or laundry were SO adventurous? Not at all! Chinese restaurants back then actually, in a very short amount of time, realized that their non-Chinese townsfolk were an excellent way to make money as well, and began to adapt and change dishes to better fit the Western palate, leading what we call American Chinese Food today, which is a legitimate foodway I will defend to my death. Unfortunately, none of these menus survive today--the only ones we have are from places in San Francisco, places that were much more posh, and not the subject of this essay. 

There is a scene in Tombstone where Wyatt and his brothers are eating Chinese food, and it’s one of the things people often ask me about, assuming it’s anachronistic. Actually, it isn’t at all--the anachronism is that there’s broccoli in those noodle bowls, which had not yet hit our shores by the time of the OK Corral. Chinese food was a huge hit, Chinese restaurants were doing extremely well, and some Chinese restaurants were even beginning to attempt to print menus in English, with sit down areas, instead of serving simple fare from food carts. 

As the food from these “chow chow houses” grew in popularity, as we can infer from the advertisements of their competitors promising free potatoes with every meal, and other such niceties to entice, there was, as ever there must be, blowback. Anti-Chinese sentiment grew to a fever pitch, and with this came overt pressure for ‘Good Americans” to patronize ‘American restaurants’. The social pressure is actually where we get some of that old racist jargon about Chinese people serving dogs and cats, which people often think was spread by competitors to degrade the Chinese restaurants, which isn’t UNTRUE, but was just as often said sheepishly by someone who couldn’t stop themselves from going and grabbing a noodle bowl or even the American dishes they offered, such as roast chicken or pork chop sandwiches. 

(I won’t comment with anything but an eyeroll on the bullshit of people saying they’re ~allergic to MSG~ okay I’ll believe you when you stop eating processed food, meat, aged cheese) 

It actually kept this type of reputation as being slightly scandalous well into the early 1900s, as being something you ate after the bar, something to be had in the shadows, but it was all for naught, because Chinese food became an important part of American identity. But for all that, no one ever pictures the Lone Ranger chowing down (the American phrase ‘chow’ for food actually comes from these ‘chow chow houses’) on some chop suey, but there’s every reason to believe he would have. American Chinese food is just as American as the Germanically-influenced hamburger. 

(There’s a whole subtopic to go down about Jewish and Chinese communities and Kosher Chinese Food, two marginalized and othered communities coming together, but that’s a WHOLE other topic) 

(Also someone please buy me Chinese food. This shit always makes me so hungry.) 

*The American West is a specific time period, as far as the study of history goes. It covers the period between the end of the Civil War and the New Century, generally, and is, obviously, concerned with the western half of the country. It doesn’t cover stuff like Lewis and Clark (that’s Expansion) or even the Civil War itself, though you cannot possibly hope to study the American West in any level of seriousness without understanding the Civil War. Anyway! I know a lot about America between 1865 and 1900, and am just knowledgeable enough to be dangerous on everything else. Most History nerds are highly specified like this. We’re not as much help to your trivia team as you think.****

**I actually have had little chance to talk about ~European-style xenophobia~ as it played out in the west, because Strange Empire takes a more modern pass at it. But there was a hierarchy of “whiteness” as well, as still largely exists in Europe, land of intentionally clean ethnostates. 

***I use the term “non-Chinese” instead of white because believe it or not, non-white people were not magically free of racism against Chinese people. It was horrific and BASICALLY every non-Chinese person was guilty of it to some level, a wild-ass level of hatred that led to Chinese folks not being able to PURCHASE PROPERTY BY LAW in ENTIRE STATES. Being Chinese or Native in this place and time was your Worst Bet. 

****I actually was on a competitive trivia team, you DO want me.

#That was Oddly Specific #Holligay is 34: The celebration

[astronomical-bagel]

please tell us about this pirate dsmp au you keep talking about. anything. one sentence. i am So Intrigued. (also theres a song i found that makes me think about it--Shackleton in The Endurance album, i don't remember the artist)

Anon anon anon you do NOT know how happy you just made me. I’ve been working on this for MONTHS, ive even gone so far as to write an outline. I’ve NEVER done that before, even with my 100k word fic. This au is my BABY. My CHILD. I‘ve done SO much worldbuilding and you bet your ass I’m working on more.

Here here here, I’ll ramble under the cut, because I’ve got so much to say

Okay, first! im not gonna spoil stuff but I wanna give you the crews!! The first name of each list is the captain, and the second is their first mate!! Also, there are some names that are in more than one list, but that’s just because they decided to switch over to a different one!

The Blade

Techno

Phil

Wilbur

Tommy

Tubbo

Ranboo

Niki

Jack

Quackity

Eret

Sapnap

Karl

Fundy

Fate Fatale

Puffy

Sam

Connor

Callahan

Corpse

Schlatt

Hannah

The Diamond Red Duckling

Bad

Skeppy

Antfrost

Ponk

Hannah

Nightmare

Dream

George

Drista

MD

Mamacita

Ossium

Quackity

Sapnap

Karl

Shitass

Terry the butcher

Charlie Slimecicle

MD

I’m super proud of my crews sjsjs even though some of them are so so short but I don’t have to introduce ever sailor on the ship, so I don’t gotta worry too much lol.

As for the namings, The Blade and Nightmare are pretty obvious, but Fate Fatale was named after Femme fatales, bc Y’know, puffy is a woman and she will kill you, but the first part was change to Fate because it is INEVITABLE that she kills ya, or so they say. Ossium was named after Quackity’s horse (it means bone in Latin). I may or may not change this one, but I like the idea of ppl calling the Bone Ship, and Quackity calling it his Ivory Steed or smth. I would t called it las Nevadas, but that’s still a country here lol.

the plot doesn’t actually line up with cannon chronologically, there is no L’manburg ship that Wilbur and Tommy are on and Wilbur blows up (though his backstory does include that he was the captain of the Symphony before his crew mutinied. I’m rlly proud of that name), there is no ‘Tubbo being the captain’ or whatever, there aren’t even any discs (they weren’t invented until 1880 or smth, and this is set in a vague 1700s time). So, it’s a pretty organic plot line. But! I do keep somethings in! Like exile, for one. It’s not actually exile, but it’s got the ‘Dream manipulating Tommy‘ part in it!

Speaking of Dream!!! There’s magic!! There’s magic in here and my writing teacher helped me write the entire magic system!!! I’m bit gonna put all of it down bc that is LONG and also some of it is spoily, but basically there’s 3 types of magic: Nether, End, and idk Earth magic? Still working on the name of that one. Anyways, the Nether and End are basically the afterlifes, but because of demons there can be travel between. It’s basically unheard of for an Earth person to go through to the other side (or a dead person to come back 👀👀) , but there’s legends. Nether demons are curious and and come over fairly often, therefore there’s more known about the nether.

Each person can be aligned with one of the three magics (more than one will kill you, end of story) and learn them— Earth being the easiest, as it is easily gained naturally (sirens, saytrs, druids) and easily learned. nether is the second easiest, with Nether demons being almost common in some places, and End being the hardest and most dangerous to learn (but the most beneficial!)

If you havent guessed yet, Ranboo is an End demon, and Bad is a nether demon. Tubbo, Puffy, and Schlatt are all saytrs, Sam is a siren, Hannah is a druid. Phil studies End magic, and thats how he gets his wings!! Elytra!!

Okay, since this is getting as long as some essays, I’ll just leave with a few fun facts:

in the Antarctic Empire, it’s an old custom to grow one’s hair out of theyre keeping an important oath, to show their commitment. Their hair is also very commonly a bright red!!

El Rapids, a small island nearby to the badlands, was annexed by Las Nevadas

people from L’Manburg are called L’men. Or British. Lots of people don’t know why they’re called British, but there’s stories about L’Manburg once being a colony of a small country called Britain, but when L’Manburg grew to be bigger than the country, it just kinda... ate it. Like agar.io

despite Britain once existing, the landform is nothing like our Earth’s

All demons have an energy source in the center of their chest that produces their magic. A Nether demons is called their Star, and an End demon’s is called their Pearl!

as a very very last thing, here is a list of swears used in this universe:

Prime

End (by the end, for end’s sake)

Ender

Nether

withering (used in the same way as fing but not as f, usually used for corruption-y things) (These withering vines won’t stop growing)

Mother (usually by Ranboo, its not as common) (Used alone, but also Mother knows, Mother knows best, Mother up above)

“By her scales” (referring to mother)

“By the bell” (Referring to the worship bell used in many religions and cultures, usually less of a curse and more used as a promise

Endermites (mostly used by ranboo but tommy and tubbo pick it up, maybe phil) (used like “fiddlesticks’)

anyways thank you for letting me ramble ehe, please don’t hesitate to ask again, I’ve got so much more to talk about. (also I was listening to the song you recommended on repeat while writing this. It loops so well!!)

#Starry ink #astronomical asks #Astro’s aus #pirate dsmp au

[mean-scarlet-deceiver]

more Annie & Clarabel hc

@galinneall-dearg is to blame credit

Okay I don’t have “too many” I just have “some, and I’m surprised to even have this much.” 

Annie and Clarabel are not actually Stroudley coaches but from a collection of knock-offs (which were the subject of some legal dispute), created in the late 1880s  

Annie had been earmarked to be removed from service in 1914, but the commencement of war gave her a reprieve, and shortly after that she was brought to Sodor

they were part of a very... diversely-sourced collection of coaching stock that the N.W.R. gathered to begin their main line services in 1915

(and then the N.W.R. wound up painting all of them orange, which actually made life for certain boxy blue station pilots pretty difficult, because it obscured distinctions such as whose brake-pipes are actually compatible)

(they also got their wheels switched out for bogies during the war, on the Admiralty’s dime. attaboy, Topham.)

Annie and Clarabel are cousins to begin with but only met up again and became best friends on Sodor

And about two years later they basically became Thomas’s moms when he started his duties at Vicarstown

… which was a tough transition for Thomas for a lot of reasons…

... going, as he did, from being the construction workers’ darling “baby loco” and doted upon by all sorts of human friends at various sites along the line…

... to being stuck in one big bustling place with a ton of borrowed main line engines (with no sense of community, just their clashing and traumatized egos, and a brand-new often-confused “useless” station pilot as an all-too-convenient outlet for their overworked and homesick frustrations) and a rush of war orders (that always came in last-minute and conflicted with the N.W.R.’s basic timetables, not that the N.W.R. had enough stock to efficiently deal with them anyway)

… and learning how to organize trains in that hot mess was A Lot

Annie and Clarabel took him under their wing and helped him and shhhhhhh this is a deep dark secret but sometimes often Thomas had a good cry while they concealed him from view of the rest of the world. If you mention this though he’d kill you. 

But for all they are Mum, they also quickly develop a healthy respect for Thomas in return because he’s such a feisty thing and mouths right back to all the bigger engines who harass him. Annie and Clarabel are painfully shy, and they find their adoptive son’s huge stock of nerve… impressive

Annie’s brand of shyness veers more towards anxiety, and she can fuss quite a lot about the physical safety of those she loves, and is much more prone to complaining

Clarabel’s brand of shyness veers more towards sheer sweetness. She gets super attached to a small select few that she trusts (“I’ve lost my nice guard! I’ve lost my nice guard!”) She is quite attuned to what’s going on with everyone socially and emotionally, and is very accommodating

Both are worriers, though. And both of them have always found themselves rather at the bottom of any coach pecking order, largely due to this shyness

For all they are sensitive, however, they are no cowards, and have a strong sense of duty… and want to do their patriotic part during the war.

This causes some conflict with Thomas, once Thomas starts to get his wheels under him, because they find that he’s avoiding putting them (especially Clarabel, with her luggage compartment) on the “hot” trains… (the military preferred to ship explosives and such materials on passenger instead of goods trains during the war, because they are faster, and what the hell, they’re only civilians)

Clarabel’s like ‘… dear, I haven’t been put on a hot train in three months.’

Thomas: ‘oh well you know there haven’t been a lot lately. not many at all really. in fact i think they declared peace or something? hail britannia.’

Annie: ‘you’re lying’

Thomas: ‘I MIGHT NOT BE’

Annie and Clarabel make it clear that they want to do the same work that all their sisters, cousins, friends (among whom are quite a few of their assorted bitchy tormentors) do…

… wait, Thomas, no, only ever putting us on Edward’s trains doesn’t count either.

… look, are you really going to make us re-negotiate engine by engine? We love you too, dear, but you mustn’t show favoritism. Your duty is to let us do our duty.

Thomas gives in, and starts rotating them like anyone else

Clarabel is in fact involved in an accident on a hot train during the war but is herself all right (for extra irony points, she’s unhurt, because she had just finished convincing Thomas that yes you must even allow me to work with that ridiculous hot-headed idiot engine that you trust the least, but due to a signal mix-up her hot-headed idiot engine rear-ends Edward’s train, and if Thomas hadn’t given in Clarabel would have been the main casualty of the incident. ALWAYS LISTEN TO YOUR MUMS, THOMAS.)

narrator: as a matter of fact, Thomas never listened to his mums again

(narrator: in fact, in my head, Thomas is pretty good at just blacking out traumatizing events, so he definitely blacked this out as soon as the war was over and that’s why he learned nothing from it)

post-war Thomas continues to favor A & C in other ways, both obvious and subtle, and this doesn’t altogether help their iffy social standing at the station. (on the other hand, you can’t complain too much about getting all the nicest weekend/holiday excursions. well, Annie tries, but they both like it really.)

in the years following the war, Thomas’s job remains amazingly difficult due to the instability of the railway—it would get too long if I detail here all the absurd constraints I see Thomas working under as he organizes North Western passenger trains from 1918-1924-ish. Suffice it to say that most of the trains he assembled might well have been a Mensa-level little mental puzzle. So, addition to sentimental protectiveness, I am forced to conclude that the Fat Controller keeps Thomas so closely tied to Vicarstown because his institutional memory is essential during that time. You could magically beam up a (cheap!) engine three times as smart as Thomas, I guess, but they’d still be lost without his hard-won knowledge of how all the pieces go together

most don’t appreciate just how damn clever Thomas is about his work, but Annie and Clarabel do, and are very proud of him…

… as well as worried about how he gets more bored and lonely with each passing year

they also are worried about themselves, because many of the visiting/borrowed/trialed engines during this time pretty frankly raise the issue of how incredibly outdated all of the North Western coaches are to their faces (and sometimes just outright insult them)

Clarabel is almost always in whatever is passing for the North Western’s express rake during this period, it’s sort of her niche, and she knows that when they launch “a proper express” they will also update the express rake before all the rest of the coaches, and she’ll lose her main job. so this period is… fun. i mean, she doesn’t even really like her job. but she doesn’t want to be decommissioned, either.

Annie’s niche, by the way, is that she has been refitted during the early years on Sodor as a first-class coach. she is so temperamentally unsuited to it, it’s hilarious. you know the vibe of “she’s just don’t fit in with the other officers’ wives”? this times 5. first-class coaches are a snobby, classist crowd. Annie is, on her very “best” day, merely judgmental

so the oldest version of the green-and-white apparently-L.N.E.R. coaches arrive in 1923, a little after Gordon does. Clarabel wishes she could join in with everyone else in complaining and gossiping about the how terrible the new coaches are, but, of course, ever fair, she’s just like “… they’re not horrid or ill-bred or irresponsible or anything. they’re perfectly fine. they’re just, you know. new. (i feel bad because i’ve even caught myself wishing to hear them be nasty to dear Thomas, because an excuse to hate them would be a relief. but, of course, they don’t. and i haven’t. le sigh.)”

so yeah, there’s a certain amount of “I never liked having to be on long rakes anyway because I’m an introvert” and also “I’m relieved to not be on high speed trains anymore because I’m too damn old and I FEEL it” and even a dash of “whoa this new Gresley is a bit blunt even by engine standards I’m sort of fine getting to avoid spending all day with him”… but all mixed in with plenty of well-founded insecurity about the future

as the N.W.R. updates their coaching stock, the “orange coaches” get opportunities to move to the branch lines, and it is considered a good opportunity by most, with lots of scrambling and politics to nab the earliest spots. (coaches are amazing at yard politics. you have no idea.)

Annie and Clarabel should have been the most enthused about the prospect, because a quieter life would suit them perfectly.

but they not only don’t volunteer, but they resist efforts to be reassigned.

because Thomas.

they figure that, once they are moved out to branch, they’ll virtually never see him again.

i mean they know the day is inevitable but they care for him way too much to do anything to advance it

so, they stick out the long hard runs and the main line engines and the other coaches (who are all new or who else are also still on the main line because they are the snobbiest and stubbornnest of the lot)… they put up with all this bs purely and 100% for his sake

and you’d better believe that “hey Annie! Clarabel! GUESS WHAT” was a spectacular day that they never saw coming ♥

and yup, pretty much all their happiest and coziest years were ahead of them. the end.

(now that I’ve adopted the headcanon about their presence on the “bootlace” train and Thomas taking revenge on James, that means that Thomas actually spent some time at Ffarquhar, perhaps even just sort of in training?, without them, before being allowed to choose some coaches from the main line to update the Ffarquhar stock. so that adds an extra layer of pathos honestly, with Annie and Clarabel trying to be brave and supportive about him moving on, and then…)

#... i have some headcanon about them and henry too but i'll keep that close to the vest for fic-related purposes #suffice to say henry is probably the last main line engine they are actually fond of #it all kind of... goes downhill from there so far as A & C are concerned! #i know this is kind of thomas-heavy but i actually edited out a lot of the thomas stuff #apparently i find his station pilot years really really interesting idek #ttte coaches #annie and clarabel #ttte thomas #ttte headcanon #ttte #thomas and friends #the railway series

[grayhouse3]

SJTR is my villain origin story

So I finished Stalking Jack the Ripper.

Originally I told myself that I was going to just stick it out and read the next one (“Oh, it’s about vampires and Dracula. It’s probably more fun. You can forget all about the pain this one inflicted on you"). No. I got 12% of the way through and had to DNF. So here are my messily compiled thoughts on the book, basically expanded from the last post. Honestly, kind of feel free knowing I won’t be writing more about this series. (Also I am adding some TWs down below but don't know if I am doing them right!)

More on the exoticism, weirdness with Audrey Rose's Indian mother, and the British Empire:

In chapter 14, we read, "Dark strands of hair were piled atop my head, my eyes more mysterious somehow with the dark liner, and my lips were the bright crimson of freshly spilled blood … I thought of my mother and the saris she’d brought me to wear from Grandmama’s homeland. I felt just as stunning now as I did then, and the memory warmed me.” I am still trying to figure out why Maniscalco made Audrey Rose mixed race. Why is Audrey Rose’s grandmother from India? Literally, what did it add to the story? Was it nothing more than just a cute lil quirky fun character trait to her? I don’t think I missed any key moments where there were important conversations about race, imperialism, British occupation, etc., mostly because Audrey Rose’s father (a big fancy rich lord) is a white man and because Audrey Rose is white-passing. I can’t recall any moments in the book where she faces the realities/consequences of being a socially mobile POC WOMAN in LONDON IN THE 1880s. Honestly, if someone else can point out a passage I glossed over or explain some nuance I missed I would actually really appreciate it, because this drove me CRAZY.

(Audrey Rose and her brother also go visit a circus in town in chapter 15; of course these events existed purely for England/colonizing countries to exercise and display their power and to exoticize/exploit the communities/cultures that they came into contact with. Audrey Rose sees silks, beads, etc. that remind her of her grandmother’s saris, smells the foods of her family’s “homeland,” etc. Also in the same chapter there’s this great scene where her brother is describing their mother and father’s marriage: “Grandmama told me she’d refused him twenty times just for fun,” Nathaniel replied. “Said he squirmed like a cobra in a basket. That’s how she knew he was in love.” Uhhh … Is that supposed to be romantic?)

On the feminism stuff:

I am too *gestures vaguely* to write much more on this. Yeah, it’s heavy-handed. Yeah, it’s cringey. But at the end of the day, it’s not really that harmful, I guess. Here’s just a fun sampling of some of my favorite lines from the book:A few of my favorite bites from the book:

***“close-minded society” (chapter 21) Okay

***"Why turn a murderer of women into front-page news?” (chapter 15) Bro do you know how the media works

***"But what of her [mother’s] insistence that I could be both strong and beautiful? Surely Father had to be wrong.” (chapter 21) Yes girl you are strong and beautiful!

***"There would be no skirts or bustles to wrangle with anymore. I was through with things confining me” (chapter 22) Ugh down with corsets just another tool of the patriarchy amirite

On the violence against women, weird classism, and stuff about prostitution:

I was bound to be uncomfortable about a lot of this because I have weird feelings about true crime stuff, and this is historical fiction set around the Jack the Ripper murders. It was going to go sour somewhere.

Consistently Audrey Rose wants to be sympathetic, but is unable to connect all the parts of this situation together: she struggles to imagine the women (very real-life victims) beyond their lives of prostitution, poverty, squalor. When she does, we see something like this: "The women he murdered did matter ... They were daughters and wives and mothers and sisters” (chapter 28). Oftentimes she wishes she could continue to cut cadavers open in peace (women in science!) without having to think about how those cadavers came to be on her examination table: “I needed to get away from those women and their tragic lives before my emotions got the better of me” (chapter 25). Perhaps Maniscalco deserves more credit here, and perhaps I’m just being a bitch, because Audrey Rose is a very privileged girl and her actions and thoughts make that clear. It’s just that the conclusions she comes to in the name of feminism, justice, etc. weren’t at all satisfying to me.

Also: OH MY GOD. Oh my god. There is this one moment that is BRANDED AGAINST THE GRAY MATTER OF MY BRAIN FOREVER and I will never forget it. At one point, Audrey Rose and love interest Thomas decide the best thing they can do is go out and—yes—stalk Jack the Ripper. To do this, they know they need to “blend in” with the crowds in East End. So … like … cosplaying as poor people? Audrey Rose manages to find and wear the dress of ONE OF THE MURDER VICTIMS (long story short her medical doctor uncle was in a relationship with this woman and when she died he acquired her worldly possessions). It’s like, so fucked up, I can’t even describe my reaction when I read it. In chapter 25 we read, "The dress was a little too old, a little too ragged, a bit too big. If I were to wear this ghastly dress out, I’d look as if I belonged in the East End, begging for work to feed my addictions … It was absolutely perfect.” Oh my god. And THAT’S NOT EVEN THE WORST PART. While they’re “stalking Jack the Ripper” on this incredibly stupid mission, the two main characters just … make out in an alley. Like, okay. People are being murdered and you’re wearing a dead woman’s dress and you suspect your father of being guilty, but yeah, that kind of stuff makes us all a little horny. Super relatable. Absolutely no concept of reality or consequences or anything at all.

Another random note on class: I noticed the only time Maniscalco writes in dialects/accents, she’s writing seedy/working-class characters. Not saying this is a problem unique to Maniscalco’s writing by a longshot, but ... something to think on. (I think it’s ingrained in a lot of author’s writing habits/minds at this point.)

Weird stuff about the dad, the brother, and what justice means to Audrey Rose:

I had to add a whole new highlighting color for this stuff!

Any growth Audrey Rose might’ve shown over the course of the novel—anything about how these women mattered, and how they deserved justice as any “highborn” individual might, simply by dint of being humans—goes away when she and Thomas come to the conclusion that the Ripper murders must have been committed by Audrey Rose’s father. She realizes her moral dilemma when she contends with the harsh reality: if her father is the Ripper, can she turn him into the authorities? Audrey Rose worries how that might impact her own moral virtue: "They’d hang Father. Given who he was, they’d make it as public and brutal as possible. Just because blood might stain his hands did not mean I wanted his on mine. No matter if it was right or wrong” (chapter 24). First of all, BITCH. You have to. You have to report this kind of thing. No ifs, ands, or buts. I HAVE to imagine Maniscalco’s intended audience would feel the same? It’s? Serial murder? Second: Audrey Rose, baby, sweetie, honey. This is just a reminder that ACAB. I actually don’t know a whole lot about how the late Victorian criminal justice system functioned, but something tells me her family's public outlook would’ve been less bleak than she imagines here.

Lucky for Audrey Rose, her dad isn’t guilty in the end—but her brother sure is. He’s a mad scientist, using the brutalized bodies and souvenirs of his victims for Frankenstein-style experiments. Ultimately, he wants to reanimate the corpse of his and Audrey Rose’s long-dead mother, and he believes he can achieve this by transplanting fresh organs into ? Her dead and decomposed body? The thing is that, this moral dilemma persists for Audrey Rose—and her dad, too. He pressures her not to bring the little matter of Nathaniel’s issue—you know, his casual murder of a number of local women—to Scotland Yard: “They’ll have your brother hanged,” he said quietly. “Could you honestly watch that happen? As a family, have we not suffered enough?” (chapter 29). Nathaniel electrocutes himself to evade capture by the authorities, and Audrey Rose and her father feel relief. The book ends by confirming that "Lord Edmund covered up Nathaniel’s involvement, I didn’t ask how. One day I’d let everyone know the truth, but the pain was too raw now” (chapter 30).

((Side note: Listen. I knew Nathaniel had something sinister going on from the GET-GO (I’m not trying to be obnoxious) because he basically started some nighttime vigilante group called the Whitechapel Knights of Justice or whatever bullshit, I don’t know. All I know is that my red flags IMMEDIATELY started going off because that sounds exactly like the terrible and awful Crusader cosplay clubs from my (bad) Catholic childhood, where everyone thinks they’re a knight for Good but really they’re the bad guy.))

Overall, kind of ...

I think one of my biggest issues with this ending was … You have already stepped into a realm of fantastical revisionist history here in writing such a fictionalized version of these real-life events. (I know Maniscalco is far from the first to do it.) That means that the rules you are playing by are essentially your own—evidenced by the liberties she points out in her Author’s/Historical note (dates changed for convenience or storytelling purposes, real-life individuals changed for narrative purposes, etc.). So WHY would you not conclude this fantasy retelling of the Jack the Ripper murders by meting out some form of justice? I hear the counterargument: "Well, because we still don’t know the culprit today. This book would ring hollow if it named someone since historians, forensic scientists, etc. still don’t know who committed these crimes." My question: is that really a problem though? This is a work of fiction. Nothing in history happened the way it is written here. Is it crueler to the women who were murdered and who remain spectacles for true crime junkies and authors like this, less satisfying to readers who want some more concrete kind of closure, to not offer that up? I am asking this in earnest here, because I don’t know. Maybe it is insensitive to make up a murderer, to fill in the gaps in order to make sense of the violence that happened. But in my brain it feels almost like a responsibility at this point, since these murders served as the backdrop for the romance between Audrey Rose and Thomas, for the background to Audrey Rose’s empty feminist diatribes, and as inspiration for a book that went on far longer than it needed to. To me it kind of feels like the least an author could do, but I have no clue.

Anyways, I'm just glad I get to put this series to bed. No more.I truly lost sleep over it this weekend. Onto something better, please, for the love of god.

#mnc reads #mnc writes #stalking jack the ripper #sjtr #I dont know what to tag this as but I dont want to leave anything out! #tw death #tw suicice #body horror #violence #classism #I guess #racism #maybe #I dont know #Im sorry

[topiraaccounts]

What Is A Gold IRA

What Is A Gold IRA Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) can be funded with physical silver and gold, yet really couple of investors are aware of this truth. MINIMAL-STATE LIBERAL: A liberal that does hold to the social Darwinist theory as well as believes there is no duty for federal government to play beyond providing for the typical defense from outside harm. All individuals start out having the very same possibility to be successful in life as well as the government does not have a commitment to keep the having fun field degree. You are then charged resources gains tax obligation You will certainly likewise pay taxes on returns or passion earnings when you offer protections at a revenue. Relying on the type of investments and the size of time they are held, resources gains can be exhausted at varying prices. This is a lot more reliable than paying the income tax obligation price. 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They have a large option of products including but not limited to, precious metals that vary from the popular gold and silver to platinum and also palladium. a) First you assess and also complete the documents for the investment you're dealing with. b) This will require to be sent out to the investment firm and your SDIRA. Discover our wide variety of Silver, platinum, and gold products. The author of this item is the proprietor of a firm that gives solutions associated with chair upholstery in Gold Coastline and also furniture in Brisbane. Gold Backed IRA

#gold

[wishonastarx3]

I saw this coming... I’m so fucking tired of this.

I don’t care who reads this, if you actually know me in real life then you probably know that this is how I feel from my instagram story. I apologize in advance of the language in this post. These are my emotions and thoughts. (And yes I am aware that within the AAPI community there are it's issues, but that's not the point of this post)

I’m SO SICK AND TIRED of this shit. What happened on Tuesday WAS NOT OKAY. EIGHT PEOPLE ARE DEAD and SIX of them were ASIAN WOMEN. Click the hyperlink if you live under a rock or if you just don’t watch the news. I don’t know how you people live. 

The Asian and Asian American community in this country has been saying for the PAST YEAR that we are NOT OKAY and that we NEED HELP. Donald FUCKING Trump REPEATEDLY kept saying pre pandemic, “CHINA! CHINA! THEY’RE STEALING OUR JOBS!!! CHINA IS EVIL!!!” and of course his base bought into that. BUT when the freaking pandemic started it was “THE KUNG FLU” or the “CHINA VIRUS”. So now, let’s make the target on our backs EVEN BIGGER NOW!!! (I still don’t understand HOW there were Asians who voted for him... but that’s beside this point of this) 

This past year has had over 3800 reports of Asian American HATE CRIMES against us. These fucking cowards are going after our ELDERLY COMMUNITY like the BABY BITCHES that they are. WHY?! JUST FUCKING WHY?! What does this do for you? It makes me SO ANGRY to see these videos of the elderly community being ATTACKED and KILLED. I watched on video of a toisan lao (old Chinese Woman) in SF who was being attacked and she fought back against her attacker (AS SHE FUCKING SHOULD. HE ENDED UP IN A STRETCHER). But that really... that one really struck a cord with me as that’s the dialect my family speaks and it made me think “fuck. That could have been my grandmother. That could have been my grandfather.” Going after the community that doesn’t speak english, LITERALLY POWERLESS and that is old like a bunch of COWARDS. I, as a 5′9 Asian American woman from New York City has dealt with my far share of harassment... but the fucking elderly? Really? 

This pandemic has just gave them an EXCUSE to attack us. As if we weren’t already being harassed and marginalized before!!! But of course, one will say “but how can that be? Asians are the model! You guys are the best minority group out there. Everyone loves you!” HAR HAR MOTHER FUCKER

So lets set up some points

The Model Minority Myth - the “idea” that Asians are the smarter minorities who end up becoming the doctors and lawyers who are good at math, science and end up going to Harvard. I’m sorry... what? This is pathetic. AND A FUCKING MYTH  I’ve dealt with these AWFUL cliches and stereotypes. Are they good stereotypes? Sure...? BUT do you understand:

What that does to the individual? What about the Asians who do not want tot be doctors? What about the Asians who then have to deal with the mental illness that goddamn society created for us? (I’m not even going to go into the lack of Asians in entertainment business. That’s a whole separate headache.)

WHY ARE WE IGNORING THAT IT’S ONLY A SMALL GROUP OF ASIANS THAT END UP DOING THAT?! Are we going to IGNORE the Asians who don’t go to Ivy Leagues? Or the ones that are living below the poverty line? 

This literally created the Racial Triangulation between the minorities! White people have put Asians on a pedestal in comparison to the other minorities and YES other minorities HATE us for that reason.By saying that we are the “Model Minority” it LITERALLY creates this thought that we better than the “other minorities” but yet we still ain’t white. So we aren’t a part of the majority therefore putting us in no mans land. 

THE NEGATIVE stereotypes - OH and TRUST ME there are A LOT. These are just the ones at the top of my head. 

The FETISHIZATION  of Asian Women - this shit ain’t new. This is literally what the term “yellow fever” means when referring to MEN who only like Asian women. The fetishization of asian women LITERALLY GOES BACK TO 1890s when the short story “Madame Butterfly” was written when a WHITE MAN was in Japan and fell in love with an Asian girl (WHO WAS 15 BTW). There are literal journal entries of European and American men who were in Asian at the time who said LITERALLY SAY HOW EXOTIC Asian Women are, that apparently our vaginas just “feel different”. I’m sorry... WHAT?! I HATE nothing more than when I have dealt with men saying some bullshit about how “exotic” I am. Also lets not forget how American society has de-masculinate the Asian Man. Saying that have small dicks and that they are skinny and scrawny, therefore aren’t men. So you like only half of us? 

Our Food - WE DO NOT EAT DOG. I grew up being told “YOU EAT DOG! YOU’RE CHINESE!”... fuck you. And now, Asian food is seen as “amazing” I’m happy you like our soup dumplings and bao. But you were the same fucking people who told me I ate dog. So you love our food but not the people? Okay. I see you. Oh and I didn’t forget about the people who have gagged at Asian food. 

Mocking how we look and our language - Am I the only Asian American who had people pulling their eyes and saying CHING CHONG at them? Please, get hit by a bus. And isn’t ironic how now “fox eyes” are a make up trend? funny isn’t it? 

People telling us to “GO BACK TO CHINA!” “GO BACK TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM” 

I’m sorry. Who educated you? Asians have been in this country since the 1850S. WE BUILT THE DAMN RAILROADS. SOME OF US WERE KIDNAPPED HERE TO BUILD THAT SHIT. (Another note is how ASIAN AMERICAN HISTORY IS NOT TAUGHT IN SCHOOLS. This needs to be addressed and changed.) 

Also for MYSELF - my GREAT GRANDFATHER BUILT THE DAMN RAILROAD and SERVED IN THE ARMY in WWI. My Great Uncles were in the Air force in WWII and my GRANDFATHER served in the KOREAN WAR where he was shot in the ear and received a Purple Heart. I FUCKING DARE YOU to tell me to go back to my country. MY FAMILY HAS DONE MORE FOR THIS COUNTRY THAN HALF OF THESE RACIST MOTHER FUCKERS. 

Hate crimes in America have been happening since the 1880s. Yellow Peril goes back to the 1880s when Asian were literally depicted as these murderous group invading from Asia. And of course, they depict us with slanted eyes and with long braided pony tails. THIS SHIT AIN’T NEW. There has also literally been LAWS banning Chinese from coming to America. i.e THE CHINESE EXCLUSION ACT oh and lets not forget Japanese Interment during the 1930s. THIS SHIT AIN’T NEW. ALSO let’s not forget the Vincent Chin Murder in the 1980s when a Chinese American was BEAT TO DEATH because his attackers thought he was Japanese and they were blaming the Japanese for taking their jobs. 

As I sit here, feeling not as angry as at the beginning, if history has taught me anything, fear and anger has been the drive for these crimes. In the 1880s we were thought to be evil and that we were going to take away all of the jobs (but low and behold, some of us were KIDNAPPED here). During WWII it was right after Pearl Harbor after Japan bombed it. Vincent Chin, his attackers were angry at the Japanese. Current day, Donald Fucking Trump decided to put the target on our communities back with both jobs being sent to China and with the Coronavirus being our fault. 

What happened on Tuesday with the Atlanta police officer saying that the 21 year old was “having a bad day” WAS BULL SHIT. I didn’t know killing 8 people was a RATIONALE  RESPONSE. Okay then. Call it what it is, A HATE CRIME. This man was saying he had a “sex addiction” and that he wanted to get rid of the temptation and he associated ASIAN WOMEN and the ASIAN SPA to be that temptation. AND WHY IS THAT?!?!?!? THE FETISHIZATION OF ASIAN WOMEN. 

And before I get off of my soap box, THE MEDIA WAS PRETTY FUCKING LATE TO JOINING THIS, AND CALL IT WHAT IT IS, A HATE CRIME. SO MANY of the crimes against the Asian elderly go unreported or are not deemed hate crimes WHEN THEY ARE. SO MANY of them do not know English or enough English and can not report what was said to them. And what sucks too, my dad even said it, I think your grandparents would just take it because they would see this as “I immigrated here, I have to take this shit”. WELL THAT TRAIN STOPS HERE. WE WILL NOT BE SILENCED. WE WILL NOT SHY AWAY. WE ARE TAKING OUR SPACE THAT IS RIGHTFULLY OURS. I fucking PROMISE you that if you try to do so, you will have hell to deal with. 

I’m not going to get into the subject of the people who are SILENT during this but were ALL OVER social media for their BLM support. I’m just going to leave it at we are asking for your help and to amplify this. Please. 

To my non Asian friends who have reached out to me, I do appreciate it. I really do. But please rather than telling me you are here for me if I want to talk, I BEG of you, please read and learn about the history as well as the Asian/Asian American experience in America. It’s really not as rainbows and butterflies people have been thinking. Hate against Asian and Asian Americans started before 2020. 

To my Asian brothers, sisters, aunties and uncles PLEASE stay safe.

#stopasianhate #stopaapihate

[lexaprodaydreams]

Random Trivia About S-Class Heroes. Part 1

Tatsumaki

Tatsumaki has a cameo appearance in Chapter 8 of Mob Psycho 100 when describing what espers are.

What she likes are her sister and training in spacious areas.

What she dislikes are male heroes who think they're strong and being seen and called a little girl.

Despite this, she shows King respect on numerous occasions

ONE has said that Tatsumaki is usually stronger than Mob, the protagonist of ONE's other work, Mob Psycho 100, but if he gets serious, he is not sure.

Tatsumaki is obsessed with candy apples and goes to festivals just to buy them and has a fear of ghosts because of an incident with Saitama.

Murata stated that Geryuganshoop's ability to control flying objects should be above Tatsumaki, because he can eliminate the friction between rocks and air. If Tatsumaki throws rocks as he does, her output will be too powerful, the temperature will increase due to friction and pressure, and evaporate the rocks in an instant. Geryuganshoop's psychokinesis can eliminate the friction between objects and air, the rocks will fly at sub-light speed. Tatsumaki can throw very large objects, but there's a limit to how fast she can throw them.

During a stream when Murata was describing what ethnicity the characters would be in the real world, Murata stated the Psychic sisters look French.

The animation team misinterpreted ONE's intentions when animating the Ancient King fight. ONE only wanted Tatsumaki to drop a big boulder on Ancient King, prompting the Ancient King to have a flashback of the meteor that destroyed his race eons ago and start to scream. The meteor falling was meant to occur in the flashback, not be a feat of Tatsumaki. According to Murata, if Tatsumaki were able to pull the meteor from space, she would have been able to bring down Boros' ship without difficulty.

ONE stated that Tatsumaki in her best shape could have beaten Golden Sperm. 

Bang (Silverfang)

Bang is either left-handed or ambidextrous as he is shown to use chopsticks in his left hand.

What he likes are Panulirus japonicus (Japanese spiny lobster), his dojo, good prospects, his older brother, and youngsters.

What he dislikes are Dojo Hunters, Rookie crushers, and Chinese cabbage.

His hobbies are toughening his body, Spiritual Training, the Board game "Go", and devoting himself to refining his art

Bang's hero name, Silver Fang, is from the union of silver, due to his age, and fang because of the sharpness of his technique

The Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist is a technique invented by Bang himself when he was studying with his brother Bomb. All of his scars are the proof of his training trying to master it

Kamikaze (Atomic Samurai)

What he likes are his disciples, worthy opponents, people with great strength, and washed fundoshi (Japanese-style loincloth).

What he dislikes are weaklings, being called a weakling, interviews, and bothersome things

His hobbies are practicing his swordsmanship and traveling with his disciples.

When he is furious, he transforms into a demon that emits a powerful fighting spirit.

Kamikaze only allows his best disciples to join the Hero Association with him.

Murata modeled Atomic Samurai after Kyuzo from "Seven Samurai."

Child Emperor

In Japanese, Child Emperor's hero title is homophonous with "male virgin."

Child Emperor is a teacher and teaches after school.

Okame-chan's estimate of Child Emperor's strength is 1880. 

Child Emperor is very popular among his classmates and receives invitations to multiple Christmas parties. (awww)

Bofoi (Metal Knight)

What he likes is collecting tokusatsu retro toys. He is confirmed to have at least 100 fighting robots.

Bofoi was named "Metal Knight" after a direct request from himself with the possible reasoning that a steel robot silently engages in peace activities like a knight.

He is rumored to have an immense arsenal of weapons and a robotic army, to the point where the Hero Associaton fears the idea of him going rogue; Gyoro Gyoro says that he is one of the few heroes capable of defeating Elder Centipede because of this. Drive Knight later confirms this fact.

Bofoi is confirmed to have taken possession of Boros' ship's wrecks and he has moved them to a secret location. He is now trying to develop new technology.

According to Drive Knight, he intends to achieve world domination with his robot army and in order to do that he has to find a way to weaken the Hero Association.

His hero name is rather ironic as when looked at from a medieval standpoint, a Knight is supposed to be the paragon of chivalry and virtue, while Bofoi has been shown to be highly pragmatic and cold, the very antithesis of what his hero name means.

King

What he likes are silence and peace

What he dislikes are crowds and noises

His hobby is "training" in isolated and quiet places. It is commonly believed that he fortifies his body and soul while training

The origin of his hero name comes from his strength to effortlessly defeat a monster of the disaster level "Demon", thus he was named the king of heroes.

The King Engine is actually King’s VA’s voice, not a sound effect.

In Murata's stream he describes King as a westerner, even more so than Genos.

King is the only hero so far who has been able to kill a monster through sheer intimidation alone.

According to ONE, King will remain who he is and not suddenly gain powers.

Rumor has it that King got his scar in a fight to the death against a Disaster Level God monster, but this is proven false in a flashback, where King was scarred by a Tiger level monster called Octopus Claw Man.

King recommended a book titled How I Developed Indomitable Will, written by ONE and illustrated by Yusuke Murata as an Easter egg. 

#opm facts #one punch man facts #tatsumaki #silverfang #bang #atomic samurai #child emperor #bofoi #metal knight #king #source: one punch man wiki

[the-fiction-witch]

NSFW Alphabet: Whitey Winn

A= Aftercare (what they're like after sex)

unfortunately whitey Isn't much of a cuddler after sex, he tends to just lays there getting his breath back and holding your hand asking you little things like 'Ya okay darlin'' and 'Did I do okay?" until such time as you can both be bothered to move.

B= Body Part (their favourite body part of their partners)

Whitey's favourite Part of you is your tits! he is fascinated by them even before you where together he had a habit of looking at them a bit too often and getting caught, but since you got together he can't keep his eyes and hands off them or anything else of them for that matter. 

Your Favourite part of whitey is definitely his legs which sounds strange but the long skinny lanky legs leading up to his cute butt and the bulge that is always there when your around

C= Cum (anything to do with cum basically... I'm a disgusting person)

He has to cum either inside or on your stomach, he doesn't like the idea of cumming anywhere else the only time he does on your stomach is if you tell him too because if you don't tell him too he will finish hilt deep inside making sure every drop of his seed is inside you [because he secretly wants to get you pregant] 

D= Dirty Secret (pretty self explanatory)

Whitey's dirty little secret is that before you were dating he used to sneak up the back alley to your house and spy on you threw the windows while you were changing or having a bath and jerking off while he watched you, but he won't ever tell you unless he had no choice but to tell you

E= Experience (how experienced are they?)

when you first got together with whitey, of course, he was the sweet little new deputy with no experience at all, all he knew was the very very basics his dad told him before he passed away and the little things he had picked up from Maggie and Callie given that Callie used to be a whore and all but You pretty much had to turn him into what he is now

F= Favorite Position

Reverse Cowgirl! come on its whitey winn a literal cowboy, of course, he wants you to ride his cock reverse Cowgirl, he loves giving you lots of kisses before you turn around to start your riding 

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous, etc.)

serious in the moment, there is no joking around when whitey gets into the mood

H = Hair (gow well groomed are they, does the carpet match the drapes, etc.)

of course, whitey has his little facial hair and his messy dirty mop of hair but.... well the carpet matches the drapes lets say. unkept and as untidy as whitey is in general.

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment, romantic aspect)

whitey is a sweet thing very kind and sweet, however, the adorable romantic boy goes out the window when whitey gets a bonner 

J = Jack Off (masturbation headcanon)

Before you got together whitey was doing it four times a day Minium, especially when you have a bath or go down to the river for a swim, but since you where together its rare he ever has to because if he gets hard he just picks you up and takes you to the office or home whichever is closer at the time.

K= Kink (one of more of their kinks)

all of the kinks! When you and whitey got together he made a list. I will repeat that he made a list of all the things he wanted to do and all the kinky stuff he wanted to try everything is on that list everything you could imagine and the two of you are going down the list ticking and crossing off if you like it or you don't 

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

Whitey likes doing it on Bills desk in the office especially when one of you is in the really dominate mood he'll either force you down o the desk on your stomach or you'll push him down on his back and handcuff his wrist to the desk draw 

M = Motivation (what turns them on/gets them going)

Flashing! its the 1880's boy gets turned on if you flash him some ankle, but whenever you hitch your skirt a little higher then normal flashing your undergarments or your breasts threaten to jump free from your dress and he's hard as a rock and it won't be long before he's got you over his shoulder and onto the nearest flat privet surface 

N = NO (something they wouldn't do/turn offs)

hitting you or making you upset

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

he would rather receive, often sneaking you under his desk in the office however he has a lot of skills at giving  even if he needs a little convincing that he's good at it because he never believes he's any good 

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual?)

depends what you're both in the mood for

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex, how often, etc.)

he would rather have full-on proper sex, but if a quickie is all you have time for whitey will happily take it whatever way he can get his orgasm as often as possible  

R = Risk (are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc)

he rather likes to take a risk in the office trying to see how much you can do it before bill or maggie catches you two humping on the desk

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for, how long do they last)

his limit is three, but he does try his best. and how long? that depends on what mood and where you are.

T = Toy (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

No toys at all, just yourselves 

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

whitey isn't much of a tease, he's a good boy

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make)

whitey is very very loud, you had to actually start gaging him because if not half way through your sessions maggie, Bill and half of LaBelle would be outside our door complaining they couldn't sleep because of whitey's noise

W = Wild Card (get a random headcanon for the character of your choice)

Whitey has a very secret desire he hasn't told you about that he desperately wants to get you pregnant because, of course, he would want a little boy and he has a theory the idea of you growing a human inside you would be... kinda hot and he would love having pregnant sex with you.

X = X-Ray (let's see what's going on in those pants, picture or words)

Whitey winn has a long cock often having to pull his belt higher so his head wouldn't be spotted when he was hard as almost nothing can conceal him

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

high! boy would fuck a watermelon! 

Z = ZZZ (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

depends on the strength, a weaker one and he'll wait a while maybe cuddle up a bit but a really strong one you get maybe five minutes of sweaty gaspy cuddles before he's sleeping like a rock

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