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guspartenza · 6 months

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THE SUPERWOMAN FROM KRYPTON, FANART+FANFIC INTRODUCTION

art by https://www.deviantart.com/gabrielrb91

What would you think about an alternate universe with a female-Clark as Superwoman in the golden age?

Is the only main change in the classic canon together with her love interest, is not Earth-11, let's say is Eart-19...meet Clara Kent/Superwoman!

It's 1948, in Metropolis!

Up in the sky! Look! It's a bird? It's a plane? No! It's Superwoman!

Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, this amazing stranger from the planet Krypton, The Woman of Steel: Superwoman!

Empowered with X-ray vision, possessing remarkable physical strength, Superwoman fights a never-ending battle for love, truth, and justice, disguised as a mild-mannered newspaper reporter, Clara Kent!

In a world plagued by the Cold War and mistrust, can Superwoman bring peace to the world while fighting for love, truth, justice, and the American way? Can she finally find a happy life with Louis Lane, the love of her life? Can she defeat Lex Luthor and the terrible ancient evil he is about to awaken?

You can download full free illustrated fanfic in pdf here! SUPERWOMAN FROM KRYPTON-FREE ILLUSTRATED FANFIC by lordmallory on DeviantArt or here https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XPh48B9_giTgDpnBXjRP-4Z4ksUU-WzR/view?usp=drive_link

Art by https://www.deviantart.com/letoart

KALA-EL/CLARA JOSEPHINE KENT/SUPERWOMAN

BORN: Krypton, a moon in a distant galaxy. Formally 28/02/1918, SMALLVILLE, KANSAS

PROFESSION: ASSISTANT REPORTER

YEAR: 1948

PLACE: METROPOLIS (METROPOLIS COUNTY, NEW YORK)

art by https://www.deviantart.com/wagemagegames

-Farmgirl, born Kansas 1918. No sisters nor brothers.

-Nicest girl in the office but very unfunny.

-Disappears without reason very often.

-Lives alone in a little flat and has a golden retriever dog called Krypto.

-Daddy issues. Her father didn't let her pursue a career as ballet dancer or swimmer (he didn't want her to take advantage of her powers) and died when she was 18.

-Former nurse during the war in the Pacific Ocean and in the Philippines.

-Loves children and dogs

-Tomboyish trails. Not quite elegant.

-Music-Hall fan, Katherine Hepburn and James Stewart fan

-Favorite books: Scarlet Pimpernel adventures, Jane Austen, Upton Sinclair and Virginia Wolf, somewhat eclectic.

-Amateur writer of children's stories, with characters such as DeeDog and the Komfy Dragon.

-She greatly admires her boss, Perry Weiss. A 1940s very liberal Republican style journalist, chief editor of the Daily Planet. She despises her deputy boss Cat Grant.

-Ambiguous relationship with her other boss Louis Lane. Clara has a good friendship with Louis and hides that she is very much in love with him. At the same time, she competes a lot with Mr. Lane and is annoyed by his political ideas and his paternalism.

-Strange friendship with young millionaire Bruce Wayne, something that is very surprising for the people in the Daily Planet newsroom.

-Always good scoops but never appears in the front line and too stubborn and independent to grow fast in the newspaper.

-Progressive quaker like her fathers.

-Civil rights supporter.

-Dislikes General McArthur, dislikes even more Lex Luthor

-Loves Eleanor Roosevelt but also Governor Dewey.

-Hates guns

-Supports unions, splits ticket between Metropolis Liberal Party and the two main parties. Politicians must be kind.

art by https://www.tumblr.com/bobbinalong

SUPERHEROINE LIFE

-Superpowers: Flight, Super-Strength, Super-Speed, X-Ray Vision, Heat Vision, Enhanced Vision, Super-Hearing, Super-Breath, Freeze-Breath, High Invulnerability, Super-Stamina

-Can fly to a Mach 100 speed.

-Acts as Superwoman since October 1945.

-Defeated Zod invasion in July1946.

-Initial bad relationship with Batman but now close friends and allies. Together with Flash they conform the Justice League.

-Didn't act as Superwoman during the World War II because she was afraid of her powers. After the discovery of the Holocaust and the atomic bombs she decided to step in and showed herself to the world on autumn 1945.

-Worst enemy: Lex Luthor, heir of Nikola Tesla, rocket engineer & CEO of TELCORP (Tesla-Luthor Co.)

-Deeply in love with Louis Lane, who strongly rejects the superheroine.

-She hides her supersuit and cape under her normal clothes. The material is extraordinarily thin, flexible and resistant, and very easy to wear under normal clothing. Whenever someone needs Superwoman, she just needs to find an inconspicuous place, rip her shirt, unfold her cape and fly away at full speed.

-Widely admired.

art by https://www.deviantart.com/bluerollerball

art by Gabriel Larragan (Ko-Fi)

FAMILY & ORIGINS

The El family & Krypton

Krypton was a decadent civilization located on a moon near a large gaseous planet in the Orion belt, next to a green sun. In the past they had visited Earth and other planets expanding civilization, but their penchant for slavery, war, resource extraction and violence caused many of these projects to fail. Even in 10,500 BC the Kryptonians almost caused the terraforming of the Earth, melting the poles and destroying Atlantis and other civilizations, causing among other things the end of the Ice Age. Nearly 99% of humanity perished during that Kryptonian attack.

Over the centuries the Kryptonians lost the fuel necessary to travel across space and ended up confined to their planet, dedicated to warfare, genetic engineering-creating clones whose organs they needed to extend their lives-to pleasure and to exploiting the subsoil of their planet. The Kryptonians also established a dictatorship with a caste system based on genetic engineering and prohibited natural reproduction.

Jor-El and Lara were a couple of scientists critical of the system and supporters of the abolition of the caste system. They also fought against genetic engineering, violent repression, and the permanent destruction of the ecosystem. After a series of terrible earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and gas outbursts, it became clear that Krypton's core was collapsing, due to the energetic drilling and magnetic energy used in Krypton's industry. The Planet was doomed but the ruling caste ignored it. Jor-El and Lara had a daughter, Kala-El in a natural way against all the rules of Krypton. Lara managed to manufacture a small ship capable of making a space jump to save her daughter from the end of Krypton. General Zod stole her design and managed to build a larger fleet of ships but Jor-El managed to sabotage them and send the fleet to the Phantom Zone, a black hole near Krypton.

Lara decided to send Kala to Earth, confident that the culture of this planet was much more hopeful and kinder, and less prone to the mistakes of Krypton than other distant inhabited planets closer to them. Jor-El preferred to send her to New Genesis, another distant inhabited planet, because there Kala would receive less radiation and develop less extraordinary abilities that would allow her to live a normal life, but eventually Lara convinced him. During her journey to Earth and her growing period under a yellow sun, Kala would develop wonderful powers and could live a long life in the service of mankind, rehabilitating Krypton's legacy.

Within hours of Kala's birth, she was placed in the small ship, accompanied by the robot guide Kelex, whose memory was imprinted with the consciousness of Jor-El and Lara, as well as nearly all of Krypton's cultural heritage. They included several Kryptonian artifacts inside, such as a nearly indestructible ceremonial female ancestral caped suit with the crest of the House of El on its chest.

The ship was launched just hours before Krypton's demise and travelled through space for thirty years...

art by https://www.tumblr.com/bobbinalong

Joe&Martha Kent, Kansas life

Joe and Martha Kent were a Quaker farming couple whose farm was struck by the pod carrying Kala-El the 28th of February of 1918. Although owners of substantial property they were a very humble, cooperative, austere, devout, and civil rights-minded people. Martha Kent was a descendant of Kansas abolitionist guerrilla fighter John Brown. They both raised Clara very lovingly and unwilling to ask too many questions about the baby's origin. Clara was a very sickly child as her body did not adapt to the Earth. She was an affectionate and obedient girl and devoured books. The Kent family were avowed supporters of the New Deal and Joe Kent was a member of the local farmers union.

With puberty Clara developed very fast, and her superpowers began to appear. She soon began to excel in swimming and ballet, while still questioning her origins, but Joe forbade her to pursue a professional career to prevent her from taking advantage of her powers, and moreover he forbade her to use her superpowers to help others, fearful of humanity's reaction and wary of savior messiahs in the era of interwar dictators.

Clara rebelled against her father but eventually gave in, fearful of her own abilities and understanding her parents' position. During these years, Clara didn't fit in very well, but she had two best friends, Pete Ross, with whom she was secretly in love, and Lana Lang. Pete didn't know about her superpowers, but Lana did. In 1936 Joe Kent died of a heart attack, devastating her daughter. Clara was unable to go to college after her father's death and worked as a teacher and nurse's aide in Smallville. Her engagement to Pete Ross, her teenage sweetheart failed in 1939 when she revealed her powers to Pete and he panicked, although he later promised to keep the secret. In those times of sadness, Kelex, the Kryptonian robot, was activated, explaining to Clara her true origins, which filled her with confusion.

Between 1939 and 1941 Clara lived in Canada and Alaska searching for the Fortress of Solitude, a strange place Kelex was pointing, but with the outbreak of World War II she decided to enlist as a nurse in the Pacific, refusing to use her powers except to help the wounded, fearing to cause more harm than good. In late 1944, the hospital ship on which he was traveling, the USS Shuster, was torpedoed by the Japanese. Clara jumped into the water and managed to keep the ship afloat with her super strength until she managed to beach it. No one understood how miraculously the ship had stayed afloat and even levitated. The incident was kept secret. Clara got a permit to return home and she revisited Alaska where she found the Fortress of Solitude with the help of Kelex. There she was able to better understand her origins and began to train her superpowers.

After learning about the Holocaust first and the atomic bombs later, Clara decided to become Superwoman and help others with her superpowers dressed in the ceremonial Kryptonian costume of her ancestors. Her mother Martha supported her decision. She relocated to Metropolis, where in September 1945 she was hired as an assistant reporter by Major Louis Lane, who had just returned from Europe.

art by LuisF47 - Hobbyist, Digital Artist | DeviantArt

On October 1, 1945, Superwoman unveiled herself to the world and caused a huge sensation. The world was changed forever. Superwoman introduced herself to the newly formed United Nations, explaining her origins and her desire to help others and to stay out of political conflicts except to protect civilians.

Clara Kent began her double life as a journalist and as Superwoman. In July 1946, she defeated the invasion of General Zod and the survivors of Krypton. She also had to face other enemies such as the Intergang - an alliance of all organized crime in Metropolis and Gotham, Atomic Skull - an ex-Nazi agent with terrifying technology, Lex Luthor who began to develop his hatred and paranoia towards the superheroine, and his creations such as Metallo.

art by https://www.deviantart.com/xtophe

DAILY PLANET CHARACTERS

Perry Weiss, a major shareholder and editor in chief of the Daily Planet. Born in Odessa in 1886. Jewish immigrant from humble origins who became a skilled journalist and founded the Daily Planet as a tool of the liberal wing of the Metropolis Republican Party to unseat the city bosses of the time. Still a staunch liberal, he supported Roosevelt in 1932 and 1936, is an ally of Mayor LaGuardia. He won the Pulitzer Prize in the 1920s for defending the innocence of Sacco and Vanzetti. Friend and ally of Louis Lane's father. He is very demanding with his employees but is very fond of Clara. He admires and defends Superwoman despite Louis Lane's distrust. Best friend of Cat Grant.

Cat Grant, Co-chair of Perry Weiss, Pulitzer winner, closeted lesbian, and Ayn Rand Fan. Born 1901, she comes from a fine family of Metropolis Knickerbockers. She is like Louis the least liberal element of the newspaper. To protect herself she married a very old friend of her father who helped her lead a double life. For twenty years she lived with a painter named Margaret Ivy. Considered the best writer of the Daily Planet, in addition to being a journalist she has published two novels. Very elegant and popular in intellectual circles. She is tremendously authoritarian. She mistreats Clara a lot because she does not respect her authority and because of her different political ideas, but as Clara grows as a journalist and Cat Grant suspects that she is Superwoman, she will protect her and push her forward without Clara knowing it. Best friend of Perry Weiss

Jimmy Olsen and Lucy Weiss, best friends of Clara.

Jimmy is a junior urban photographer. He comes from a town in Massachusetts. He is 7 years younger than Clara. He is a party animal, friendly, generous, and somewhat naive. Yet he is a skilled photographer who has been able to capture the worst of the night and day of Metropolis. Miraculously he always gets the best pictures of Superwoman (Clara helps him a little). Very democratic and complains about working for a newspaper that is too conservative for his taste. Adores Clara whom he treats as his big sister. It doesn't even cross his mind that she is Superwoman. Jimmy thinks that Louis is a snob and a bigot.

Lucy is a senior political photographer and the only woman on photo reporting on the Daily Planet who works outside the fashion department. She is the eldest daughter of Perry Weiss. She is an intrepid photojournalist who gets overseas passes and has been to several military conflicts. A loyal friend of Clara, and a very serious and professional woman. She is suspicious of Clara's double identity but would never say anything. She is the same age as Clara and a lover of jazz and the more alternative circuits of Metropolis.

art by https://www.deviantart.com/milkydraws8/gallery

art by https://www.artstation.com/pabloalcalde

LOUIS LANE, SUPERWOMAN'S WEAKNESS?

NAME: LOUIS LANE

BORN: 08/02/1912, METROPOLIS (NEW YORK)

PROFESSION: SENIOR REPORTER

YEAR: 1948

PLACE: METROPOLIS (NYC)

art by https://www.deviantart.com/rickcelis/gallery

-Rich family, born in 1912, first of 6 brothers.

-Caustic, cynical, ironic but somewhat kind.

-Commanding.

-Lives in Park Avenue with his 6-year-old daughter and his rich unfaithful wife, fashion reporter Pat Lane (neé Kelly). Very unhappy marriage.

-Major rank during the war in the US army. He also worked with the OSS.

-Elegant, sportsman, plays violin.

-Teaches music lessons in an orphan house in secret.

-Not that snobbish nor Wasp, new rich family traits.

-Arkham University alumni.

-Classic music and literature lover.

-Heavy drinker.

-Does not enjoy journalism, thinking of quitting to politics or teaching literature.

-Jewish father (Lane surname is a change from Lantzman), Irish catholic mother, raised catholic and religious, but not extremely orthodox.

-His father is a self-made tycoon who started as democrat in the Tammany Hall and then switched to republican. Close ally of Mayor LaGuardia.

-Fought in the European theater during World War II.

-Conservative republican opposed to his father liberal republican views, loves McArthur, who he thinks should be the next President.

-In the past he had a good opinion of Lex Luthor. He saw him as an innovator and freedom fighter, but his opinion changed when Luthor kidnapped him to set a trap for Superwoman.

-Perry Weiss favorite reporter.

-Won the Pulitzer Prize in 1941, for his articles about the first defeat of the Intergang.

-First person to interview Superwoman.

-Very nice and paternalistic to Clara. Louis pushes Clara's career forward despite Cat Grant's opposition. He is also secretly in love with Clara. Although he rejects Superwoman and suspects she is the same person as Clara, he deludes himself and rejects these suspicions.

-Tired of New Deal Politics, anticommunist.

-"a brilliant and kind man" for most of the Daily Planet staff, a "terrible asshole" for many others like Jimmy Olsen.

-Strongly rejects Superwoman and other heroes.

-Sometimes Clara really hates him.

-Famous line "Neither reds nor capes".

-He lives a bizarre love triangle with Clara Kent and Superwoman. Although he publicly rejects the superheroine, he also desires her and he and Superwoman have had moments of passion, which Louis feels guilty about because he is married and because of his religion. On the other hand, he is in love with Clara Kent as much as he rejects the figure of Superwoman. He deludes himself about the identity of both. A bit James Stewart in Vertigo, which destabilizes and infuriates Clara.

art by https://www.deviantart.com/guinnessyde

art by https://akiko02.carrd.co/

CURRENT AND PAST ENEMIES

Lex Luthor

Rocket engineer, CEO of TELCORP and Heir of Nikola Tesla. A Brilliant scientist who defines himself as a "radical humanist"...but in the early 30s supported closely fascism to stop "imperialism" and "usury" but later changed his mind and move closer to the USSR to fight "predatory western capitalism". Publicly, he is a tycoon and scientist loyal to the United States and works closely with the government. The world's greatest philanthropist. Loving father and husband. Hates Superwoman to death and believes she spells the end of humanity. Paranoid and ruthless but convinced that he does everything for the greater good.

art by https://www.deviantart.com/gus-art

General Zod & Faora

Political dissidents like the El on Krypton on the other hand believed that Krypton's only salvation lay in emigrating and invading, terraforming, and exterminating other planets. They almost succeeded in a coup d'état but after their failure they and their henchmen tried to flee by space jumping their ships, Jor-El managed to sabotage the launch and send them to the Phantom Zone. Over the years they managed to escape and arrived on Earth in 1946, shortly after Clara showed herself to the world as Superwoman. They tried to exterminate all humanity, but Superwoman and the armies of Earth managed to defeat them. Their invasion caused 5,000 human casualties but could have caused complete extermination. The experience was traumatic for Clara because she had to send Zod and Faora back to the Phantom Zone where they would surely die. Zod, Faora and their henchmen had not yet developed the full powers of a yellow sun like Earth's and so several of them were killed by human bombs and missiles. Their remains were stored by Russians and Americans. Superwoman managed to expel all Kryptonian technology and weaponry into space so that humans would not use it for warfare.

Doomsday

A truly near-indestructible abomination.

Perhaps from Krypton's past? Perhaps created by mistake by human scientists?

art by https://www.deviantart.com/fernando-damasio & https://www.deviantart.com/kristherion

The Toyman

Winslow Schott, former entrepreneur, and inventor of the 1920s toy business who was ruined in the Great Depression by banks and various betrayals. After a crime spree he was imprisoned in 1933 but escaped from prison recently completely crazed and ready to take revenge on the whole city using his inventions.

Brainiac "The Eternal Traveller"

An android resulting from the abhorrent merger of a famous astronaut and artificial intelligence, which was used by the first civilization of Krypton to collect information from other worlds. It is more than 100,000 years old. With the passage of time, he revealed against the Kryptonians, became evil and phobic to any form of life that he considered imperfect or inferior. It caused the destruction of many cultures. He wanders through space visiting planets and analyzing life forms. He probably has no enthusiasm for humans, much less for a descendant of the House of El.

art by https://www.instagram.com/estefaniaart_/

art by https://www.deviantart.com/midnightowl07

art by https://www.deviantart.com/artsandar

art by https://akiko02.carrd.co/

art by https://www.deviantart.com/son-neko

art by https://www.deviantart.com/dommnics

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weirdowithaquill · 8 months

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Traintober 2023: Day 1 - Free Day

Preservation on Sodor:

Sodor must be one of the most interesting places to look at when it comes to railway preservation, if not also road, sea and air preservation. For starters, the island’s railways are all still primarily run by vintage steam traction – but there’s also Harold, who is in his 60s or 70s at this point, Bertie the bus (who is nearing 100), Trevor and Terrence and George – not to mention the fact that the island seems to continue to have antique ships within its waters, including steam ships and fishing trawlers.

But of course, I want to focus on the railways – and in particular how Sodor must be the British hub for heritage railways, museums and other attractions. For starters, Sodor has by far the largest heritage railway system in the world for its size, with over 80 miles of mainline, several branchlines, a narrow-gauge railway, a mountain railway and a miniature gauge railway. It also has a massive fleet of engines – 80 by the Reverend’s count on the NWR alone – making it possibly the single largest working heritage railway in the UK, if not Europe. This would instantly attract many preservationists wishing to run their locomotives, meaning that mainline excursions and visitors would be a frequent sight on the island. This in turn would bring in tourists, who would make money for the NWR and the railway the engines belong to, as well as helping the Fat Controller if one of his enignes is unable to work. It would also give us as railfans the chance to see unique motive power on a variety of trains - like a Coronation Class pulling a slow goods, or a Hughes Crab on a China Clay train - things we don't get to see anymore.

Furthermore, Sodor is home to Crovan’s Gate Works, the largest steamworks of its kind in Britain. For its influence, I am going to turn to 60163 Tornado. When Tornado was built, her boiler had to be manufactured in Germany because there was just no one in the UK able to produce a boiler of the type, while the superheater header needed to be attempted by three foundries before it was assembled correctly. Crovan’s Gate Works, which is able to maintain a full fleet of engines including Gordon – who is also an A1 with many similarities – would have been able to do both in a far timelier manner. The same would go for all locomotive repair programs in the UK. Crovan’s Gate would either host locomotives or manufacture parts for them, becoming a hub for preservation across the country. Engines like Stepney or Green Arrow would be able to be overhauled at the Works, rather than be taken out of service. This would effect how many steam engines are in working order in Britain, if not Europe, as the refurbishment time would be significantly shortened - something that is compounded if said locomotive shares any components with a Sodor engine - like Talyllyn, Dolgoch, Flying Scotsman or any of the Black 5s, Panniers or Autotanks in preservation.

This brings me on to the last point: International Tourism. Sodor must be one of the most visited locations in Britain in this universe. For starters, there’s all the fans of the book and TV series (which are both canon and referenced in the books). This means that Sodor would have tens of thousands of families coming to the island from around the world annually to see the ‘Eight Famous Engines’ or the ‘Steam Team’, bringing in a massive amount of revenue for hotels, local businesses and the railways themselves. But there would also be the railfans who come with the aforementioned railtours, as well as international railfans who want to see steam in action in a mainline setting – something nearly impossible anywhere on the planet. Sodor has at least one airport (and probably two, considering in real life there is an airport on Walney Island near the real-life Vickerstown), six ports connected to the NWR, and a rail and road link to the UK. The island has the infrastructure to handle the flocks of tourists, and this would in turn benefit much of the rest of Northern England. This would majorly benefit the preservation world by bringing in funding for Sodor, which is in turn able to fund things like track upgrades, or overhauls for engines beyond their own railway. It also gives other railways a good place to promote themselves, as Sodor has a guaranteed market for tourists who may travel to these other railways.

You cannot understate how much these books have done for Sodor, and for railway preservation as a whole.

So, Sodor is at the very least a centre for preservation in the UK, with railtours, overhauls and masses of international tourists – but it’s also where a lot of engines were likely rescued from. We see it in Oliver and Douglas, but engines know of Sodor and its safety. I can imagine an alternate universe in which engines keep turning up throughout the 1960s, being brought to safety on Sodor and then sold to heritage railways, being overhauled at Crovan’s Gate before moving to their new homes. Sodor would act as an intermediate in this era, being able to do the paperwork to preserve engines due to its position in the national network while also being aligned with the cause of the heritage railways. Sodor is a safe haven for steam, and this would have a significant impact on its position as a preservation hub for the UK.

Back to the Master Post

#railway series #weirdowithaquill #thomas the tank engine #railways #traintober 2023 #railway preservation #rambles

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ye-olde-sodor · 2 months

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Dream Canon Mallard Headcanons!

Mallard is an LNER Class A4 built in 1938, making him one of the youngest members of the Gresley Family. (Aged 62 in this au)

He holds the world record for the Fastest Steam Locomotive in the world. On July 3rd, 1938, he reached 126 mph at just a few months old!

Mallard can be arrogant and mean, but he’s generally well mannered and generous with humans and engines alike…unless an engine dares to defy the hierarchy, then it’s an entirely different case. He's also quite the Optimist, which plays into how he views serious situations.

No one tell him that Henry "Stanier" was built with stolen Gresley blueprints, he'll have a stroke. A merge of the two families would create a nation wide scandal!

He’s in charge of his own Engine Correctional Facility on the Mainland, and has 17 other facilities just like it across the UK!

This idea of correctional facilities came to him sometime after he learned of the scrapping of most of his siblings (save for Spencer and a few others). He was grief stricken, and clung to the first thing that brought him any feelings that weren’t grief and dread.

He noticed that him and a select few of his siblings were preserved because they either performed better than the rest, broke a record, had some major historic significance, or were purchased by foreign railways. It’s the first example that became Mallard’s obsession.

He wanted to give all engines another chance at life. He wanted to see if he could mold an engine to be better than their other siblings, and have them preserved. When the trial of this idea succeeded with Ryan (who was unaware of the trial and assumed he was preserved due to his ties with the other Gresleys), Mallard found his new purpose in life, his spiritual awakening one might say. He’s been operating his correctional facilities ever since.

While he has the best intentions in mind, he’s oblivious to the harm his methods of teaching may cause. He can also be full of himself when he’s convicted he’s right.

His main goal is to expand his facilities to Sodor, the bane of British Rail and to the Engine Hierarchy. He wishes to purchase it and reshape it in his own image. Mallard won’t modernize it, but he wants to bring order and essentially remove what makes Sodor stand out from other heritage lines…it’s numerous accidents and ties to the Reverend Awdry.

He's extremely close to Ryan, who he views as a son. Spencer is a close second, however. While he cares for Scott and Gordon as well, he can't let Scott's "death" get in the way of progress. He'll mourn in secret, not in public. It's the professional way to do it.

As one can probably tell, Mallard sees opportunity in everything, even in death and depression. He's an optimist by nature, and always tries to see the good in everything. Case in point, now that Mallard has part of Scott's inheritance and Gordon doesn't want to work anymore, Mallard has the perfect opportunity to go through with his Sodor Renovation plan!

When Mallard learned that Gordon was struggling to cope with the loss, he offered to take him to the Mainland to get him closer to professionals who can help him.

Spencer became roped into Mallard's scheme, but Spencer isn't too keen on the idea just like everyone else.

Thomas quickly became Mallard's "moral enemy" due to his Anti-hierarchy views. Once Mallard has control over the island's engines, Thomas will be the first one admitted to Mallard's Correctional facility. He's hoping that Ryan can whip him into shape, as he plans to have Ryan run the Sodor facility in the future.

Quotes:

Mallard: "Gordon, my dear brother-"

Gordon: "We're cousins."

Mallard: "Gordon, my dear cousin-" ____________________________________________

Mallard: "So Spencer, how's the island?"

Spencer: "Depressed, demoralized...on the brink of collapse now that Gordon got replaced by those three diesels!"

Mallard: "Oh is it now?~"

Spencer: "Please don't talk like that again-"

Mallard: "Do tell me more about Sodor's, eh...run of bad luck."

____________________________________________

Mallard: “Well look on the bright side…once you feel ready, we can return to Sodor and I get to introduce you to all the new changes I’ve made! :)”

Gordon, half listening: I suppose you’re right-wait WHAT ALL DID YOU CHANGE???”

Mallard: “Secret :3”

____________________________________________

Mallard: "So we're going to put the new Correction Facility over...Oh I don't know where to place it! Spencer, you know the island well, where would be the most optimal location for it?"

Spencer: "I wouldn't say I know it well...but if you're serious about this facility of yours, I'd place it somewhere along the Express route. There's some land near Vicarstown that's unoccupied. It'll be right next to a large yard and station for engines to train. Plus it'll be in close proximity to the Dieselworks."

Mallard: "There's a Dieselworks?! On Sodor?"

Spencer: "Calling it a Works is a bit of a stretch but yes, there is one. It's in complete disrepair though. It's any wonder those diesels despise Topham and our fellow steam engines"

Mallard: "Hmm. Good to know..."

____________________________________________

Mallard: "Y'know, I've been digging into your class lately in order to-"

Thomas: "The Hell?! What are you doing that for, you creep!"

Mallard: "...To better accommodate my courses and lessons to your class, since I've been told you're quite the water hog."

Thomas: "Oh you miserable-"

Mallard: "I'M TRYING TO HELP YOU, YOU TWIT."

____________________________________________

Edward: "We'll lose everything! Sodor's culture, it's heritage, and it's railways. You'll destroy everything that Sodor stands for if you go through with your plan!"

Mallard: "Ah, so my plan will work! What wonderful news! Now we can get started on making a new Sodor!"

Edward: ಠ_ಠ

Mallard: "One with our beloved hierarchy, no confusion or delay, and more attention to the poor and neglected diesels!"

Diesel 10: "Hell yeah! Finally, a Steamer who gets it!"

Edward: "He's using you to push his own agenda you twit! He'll forget about you once he-"

Mallard: "Step right up then, my fellow machine! Show me around the Diesel Works so I can make arrangements to give it a complete overhaul!"

Diesel 10: "Gladly Mr. eh...Mallard was it?"

Edward, under his breath: "Oh you can fuck right off..."

#ttte #ttte au #ttte dc au #ttte mallard #ttte diesel 10 #ttte edward #ttte thomas #ttte spencer #ttte ryan #ttte scotsman #ttte gordon

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artbyblastweave · 2 years

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Because I’ve never seen this spelt out or said out loud, I’m gonna voice my pet take that Taylor Hebert reads like an examination of the Spider-Man Archetype.

Seriously, there are a shitload of parallels, from powers, to personality, to life circumstances.

They both are:

superpeople with a bug motif (duh)

fifteen-year-old scrawny, Gangly, Nerdy, glasses-wearing brunettes from blue-collar liberal backgrounds with grossly judgmental running commentary on everyone around them

relentlessly bullied by their more popular peers, with their costumed identity acting as a release valve where they get to be powerful

Are mourning the death of a beloved, idealized parental figure that they posthumously outsource a lot of their moral reasoning to

Are keeping their living parental figure in the dark about their costumed career to “protect” them (and because said parental figure finds their costumed alter ego objectionable

constantly mistaken for or smeared as malevolent criminals despite their good intentions

conducting themselves in a deeply creepy and borderline inhuman manner, (it’s pretty normalized now, but Spider-Man had extremely unsettling locomotion when he debuted! He was a creepy thing to see on a wall at night!)

motivated in large part by a single “come-to-jesus” moment where they realized the costs of using their powers self-indulgently (Uncle Ben and Dinah)

possessed by enormous Atlas complexes, routinely breaking their own backs to save people who hate and fear them

street-level “friendly neighborhood” heroes, focusing on protecting and servicing a specific locality

fighters with a style built around predicative, extrasensory battlefield awareness, using wits, webs, and on-the-fly deduction of weaknesses to hit well above their weight.

Where it diverges:

For Taylor and Peter, the bullying is presented as the pre-power status quo. For Peter, this fades into the background as his costumed life picks up and as he segues into adult life; for Taylor, it irrevocably fucks up her headstate from the word go and colors how she engages with literally every situation she encounters. Spider-Man is hounded as a criminal because of bad luck and bad marketing; Skitter is hounded as a criminal because she’s actually a criminal, with a lot of her genuinely well-intentioned actions parsing as warlordism and cult-of-personality-building to a reasonable outside observer (because, you know, they are.) Spider-Man hides his life from Aunt May out of a sort of groundless fear she’d stop loving him; Taylor hides her double life because her surviving parent has genuine and reasonable ideological objections to her lifestyle. And, because Worm lets the consequences of the superheroic lifestyle play out without reboots or resets, Taylor’s Atlas Complex takes all of two years to utterly destroy her as a person, which, lets face it, is what would very likely happen to Spidey if there weren’t a metanarrative mandate to keep him alive for further adventures.

There’s too many parallels for this not to be intentional. It’s not as clean a line to draw as what the story does with Armsmaster (what if Batman’s prep time just wasn’t enough to keep him competitive) or Jack Slash (What if Joker’s metanarrative immunity was a codified power) or Scion (what if Superman was an alien alien) but I do like to pitch Taylor as “Peter Parker if the story let him be as fucked up as his traumatic life circumstances indicate he should be.”

#worm #wildbow #parahumans #worm meta #worm thoughts #worm web serial #taylor hebert #skitter #thoughts #meta #worm spoilers

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thegoatsongs · 10 months

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Victorian Trains and Madness

The rapid rise of railway travel and the increased locomotive speeds were blamed for triggering dark desires in Victorian men, driving them to madness.

During the Victorian era, trains were suspected of an outbreak of “railway madmen” attacking fellow passengers. The new technology was thought to cause insanity (like later the radio was thought to encourage indolence). This belief persisted up until the beginning of the 20th century.

Scholars have long pointed to stories of death and disaster on the railways as proof of profound Victorian anxieties about technology.

As Professor Amy-Milne Smith wrote, “not only might you be attacked by a madman on a railway journey—you might become one.” As a result railways became associated with insanity.

[A]ccording to the more fearful Victorians, these technological achievements came at the considerable cost of mental health. As Edwin Fuller Torrey and Judy Miller wrote in The Invisible Plague: The Rise of Mental Illness from 1750 to the Present, trains were believed to “injure the brain.” In particular, the jarring motion of the train was alleged to unhinge the mind and either drive sane people mad or trigger violent outbursts from a latent “lunatic.” Medical journals at the time were very concerned about how railway madmen could be detected when their madness might lie latent. One “American Traveller” spoke of carrying a loaded revolver on trains in England because of the prospect of encounters with a “madman.” The media did its part to whip up a frenzy over railway madness. One 1864 story, starkly titled “A Madman in a Railway Carriage,” gleefully related how a burly sailor became incensed, flailing around in an erratic manner first trying to climb out of the window.... A superhuman strength gripped this aggressor and four people were required to restrain him and he had to be bound to a seat.

The Victorian Belief That a Train Ride Could Cause Instant Insanity

Why Were Railways Unpopular In Victorian Times?

Shattered Minds: Madmen on the Railway

#dracula daily #< because the madness theme and technology and trains are so prominent #victorian history #19th century #dracula #historical context

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uwmspeccoll · 4 months

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Science Saturday

Here are some wood engravings and a chromolithograph from a new addition to our Historical Curriculum Collection, two titles bound in one volume: A Handbook of Natural Philosophy and Elements of Sound, Light, and Heat, both by American educators William James Rolfe (1827-1910) and Joseph Anthony Gillet (1837-1908), published in 1868 as part of the 6-volume Cambridge Course of Physics series by Boston educational publisher Woolworth, Ainsworth, & Co. with the second title also published in New York by A. S. Barnes & Co.

The chromolithograph of the spectrograph was printed by the Boston German-American lithographer Augustus Meisel (1824-1885). The wood engravings (probably metal plates produced from the original blocks) depict, from the top, a hydraulic press, a vacuum jar, a stationary steam engine, and a steam locomotive. The last image depicts the interaction of waves:

It represents the forms produced by the intersection of direct and reflected water-waves in a vessel. The point of disturbance is marked by the smallest circle in the figure, and is midway between the centre and the circumference. . . . In like manner a great variety of sound-waves may exist together in the air. . . . In this way thousands of waves may be transmitted through the air at the same time without losing their individual character. The same case holds good here as in the case of water-waves; namely, that every particle of air is affected by a motion which is the algebraic sum of all the single motions imparted to it.

View more Science Saturday posts.

View more posts with chromolithographs.

View more posts with wood engravings!

#Science Saturday #science #mechanics #sound waves #William James Rolfe #Joseph Anthony Gillet #A Handbook of Natural Philosophy #Elements of Sound Light and Heat #Woolworth Ainsworth &Co.#A. S. Barnes & Co.#Augustus Meisel #chromolithographs #yay chromoliths!#wood engravings #Historical Curriculum Collection

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bodhrancomedy · 1 year

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Tocktick Chapter 1 An Intriguing Proposition

The Sturm Islands, 1880

The gas lamp flickered disconcertingly.

Emmett Askren, captain of The Iris, groaned and rubbed a large, brown hand across his face. The blinking light ignited shards of pain in his retinas, the ebb and pull of the chatter in the tavern threatening to wash him out to the sea of a meltdown.

Carefully, Emmett placed his hands on the table and closed his eyes, pulling all his concentration down through his arms in the half-forgotten method from his childhood. While the Sturm Islands were hardly the seat of Suliland decorum, certain traits were unacceptable anywhere.

Even as the thought passed through his head, guilt flooded him. Tapping unconsciously on the table, swaying just slightly in his seat, he offered up a silent apology to Kizzy. The idea of his daughter being ashamed of something they had no control over froze him to his core. But rules were rules and society was unforgiving – a tocktick child had time. An aeronaut with debts did not.

An aeronaut with debts and no ship had even less. Emmett scowled to himself and opened his eyes again, brushing a strand of greying hair behind his ears and then scratching his stubble. He should shave, he thought helplessly, to make himself seem more trustworthy to potential clients, but the idea of running a razor over his chin made his stomach turn more than the beer behind the counter.

Five pounds… it was an impossible ask and the deadline was approaching at the speed of one of those new-fashioned locomotives which had driven him to this place. And that wasn’t even counting the coin he’d need to spend on the broken ship once he had it back. Emmett swallowed convulsively and glanced up at the clock on the wall, peering past the premature and garishly coloured banners proclaiming loyalties for the upcoming Throgmorton Aeronautical Contest.

Quarter past four.

Li was late, as usual. Later than usual, actually. His heart thudded faster, frissons of anxiety shooting up his spine as he tried to relax back into the chair – feeling every splinter of it – and wait.

Somehow, he doubted she was going to solve all his problems.

But it wasn’t going to stop her from trying.

His hands were still twitching as the tavern’s occupants suddenly increased in volume – one of the local cardsharps was trying, unsuccessfully, to start a game – so he shoved them into his pockets and tried to pretend he wasn’t about to become tonight’s entertainment if one more person bashed their mug into the table –

Paper crinkled against his fingers and he frowned in confusion. Looking around in vain for Li and her infamous cane, Emmett withdrew a folded sheet and realised he was holding Sixsmith’s last letter.

Something heavy settled in his gut and he swallowed. He didn’t remember putting it in his coat, but it’d been a long time of trying to break that habit. The letter stayed with him no matter how many times he told himself it should be stored with the others so it wouldn’t be lost, or stained, or torn. It was the logical thing to do, he thought, but somehow, every time, it was folded up and slipped back into his inner pockets.

Emmett wasn’t sentimental. At all.

With the gentleness of a historian examining a precious relic, Emmett opened the letter and scanned the first few lines.

Dear Emmett,

There might not be any correspondence for a bit. Things have happened here and I’m just not going to be able to write until it’s all over. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine, and it’ll be a funny story when I’m done, but, for now, don’t expect to hear from me for a month or so…

It was dated 1876.

Someone smacked Emmett across the shin. He yelped and shot out of his chair, turning to face his attacker, pain-filled tears blurring his vision.

Captain Li Xiuying looked up at him, arms folded across her chest and her ornate, dolphin-tipped cane dangling from the crook of her cotton-clad elbow.

“Captain Askren,” she said sternly, “Your manners are appalling.”

“Sorry, Captain Li.”

“I said your name three times, Askren.”

Emmett grimaced and then gestured to his right ear. Even after twenty-five years, he couldn’t look his old employer in the eye. “The blast. It…”

“Pity. It could have knocked some sense into you. Now sit down and close your mouth. You look like a cooked carp.”

“Captain Li did you –“

“Manners, Askren? You cannot blame that one on your ear.”

Emmett shut his mouth, feeling his cheeks burning, and offered his hand to Li. She took it, her mottled grip vice-like on his fingers, and let him guide her into the other chair.

Perched on the edge like a queen, Li patted the table and said, “I have to say, I am relieved to see you looking so healthy, Askren. Skinny, but not, well. Still got everything. When I heard the news, I expected…”

Grimacing, Emmett righted his chair and sat down, spreading his fingers wide. “We were lucky. Well, lucky enough. Superficial –“ he saw Li raise her eyebrows and he amended – “light burns only. No one killed. Just destroyed The Iris.”

“But your ear?”

“The shockwave. It’s… it’s going to get better, I’m sure. It’ll be fine. Li, tell me –”

Li arched an eyebrow at that, but asked, “Miss Keziah Nunn?”

She always insisted on that epithet. Emmett privately suspected it was to scare the kid into some semblance of obedience: no one could put more ice into a full name than a former tutor. It sent shivers up his spine and he wasn’t even the one in trouble.

“She’s alright. Wasn’t home. Only time I’ve ever been glad of her…”

“Criminal tendencies?”

“Explorations.”

Sighing, Li flapped her hand dismissively and said, “Not that I want to question yours – or even Sixsmith’s, I suppose – parenting…”

“Speaking of Six,” Emmett interrupted, heart thumping, “Did you go to Erdenbay? Did you find anything? See anything?”

Li sat with her arms folded and puffed out her cheeks in lieu of an answer.

“What does that mean? You did go, didn’t you?”

“Of course I went, Askren. I asked around – even dug out an old lumograph –“

“You’ve got lumographs of him?”

“I’ve known him longer than you have, Askren. And, strangely enough, they were invented back in the days of yore.” Li exhaled heavily. “Are you sure there was a message? That you’re not…?”

Her look laid a knife against the pit of his stomach. Even Emmett could interpret that one.

“I’m not mad.”

Li’s mouth twisted.

“I’m not. Look!”

The paper rattled in his hands as he slid it across the table. Obligingly, Li took her tiny eyeglasses – the lenses alone costing more than the entirety of Emmett’s current capital – and bent over the paper. She didn’t move.

“E-R-D-E-N-B-A-Y. Four. Eleven. The fourth of November. He was trying to send me a code!”

Li buried her face in her hands.

The knife in his stomach punctured his gut. Rocking back and forth, abruptly, painfully aware of the growing clamour of the tavern, Emmett jabbed a finger at the letter. “Don’t you see? Something was happening. He was –“ the words stuck in his throat because he’d never known them to be true – “he was scared, Li. Scared enough that he wanted me to meet him and he couldn’t say it straight. I flew out – diverted a big shipment and –”

“And he never showed.”

“No, but –“

“Why are you still here, Askren? Why didn’t you leave with every other intelligent aeronaut last year? The changeover, the riots, the permits that cost more than you make in a run, why did you not leave?”

Emmett’s jaw worked, but he couldn’t think of a response that didn’t make him sound stupid. The gaslight was flickering faster now, each flash as bright as lightning. Someone was tuning up an instrument. “I…”

“You knew it was happening, Askren,” Li said. The lines at the edges of her eyes were sharp. “I remember you voicing concerns at the time.”

Emmett nodded.

“Why didn’t you leave then? You knew there was going to be a disaster at some point, and these islands are not a good place for a child.” Her voice dropped to being barely audible. “Especially a child like yours.”

Emmett bristled. “There’s nothing wrong with my daughter. What are you trying to get at, Captain? I’m sorry, call me stupid, but you’re not making any sense.”

“How much are you short by?”

“Five pounds, Shades, Li, please just answer me.”

“I have a suggestion, Askren. You will not like it, but listen to me before you get angry.”

“Not until you tell me,” Emmett spat the words around his teeth, panic rising in his throat to thicken his accent, “what the fuck –“

“Sixsmith is dead.”

Her words hit him like a hammer. His lungs splinted under the assault, leaving a black void in his chest. Emmett opened his mouth several times, unable to draw a breath; not quite able to articulate the swirling tempest of terror, rage, and sorrow slamming into his stomach.

So, it was a small, stupid sound that escaped him. “No.”

Li leant forwards and, in an unusual display of sympathy, rested her hand on his. Emmett flinched, her touch burning his skin. “I called on an old friend in Ester –“ that meant nothing because Li counted every person she’d ever met a friend – “who has a ghastly habit of collecting obits.”

It shouldn’t have been possible for his blood to get colder, but Emmett felt ice slip into his veins as Li withdrew a folded sheet from a voluminous pocket of her dress.

“Obituaries of unclaimed bodies.” Li sighed and began to read, “Recovered thirty-first of August. 1876. Taiyeku male. Pale and of between sixty and seventy years of age. Shorter than average, medium build, short grey hair… beaten to death –“

“No!”

“And why not? Grey eyes? Sixty to seventy years of age? Pale? Grey hair –”

“Short hair. He never wore it short.”

“He could have cut it.”

“He wouldn’t. That was part of his – his particular sept. Remember? Even when he got soaked in that mud-oil-stuff in Wulder?” The laugh was an octave higher than he thought was possible, fingers drumming uncontrollably on the table. “Look, there must be – dozens of Taiyeks in Ester. It’s near a port for fuck’s sake!

“Look at the last line, Askren. Three scars on his left hip and brown birthmark below the collarbone. That’s him.”

Nausea rose in Emmett’s throat and he had to swallow, shaking his head. The musician in the corner drew her bow across the strings like some sick celestial underscore to his horror. Eyes burning, he shot to his feet, covering his mouth with his hand. The thud of the chair hitting the ground was gunshot loud, smashing through what little self-control he had left. Steadily, a drumbeat against the rising – rising everything – he began to slam a hand into the back of his neck.

“Askren?”

Too much. Everything. Too much.

Barely aware of the stares and the exclamations, Emmett fled.

The alleyway wasn’t much better. It was dark and dank, reeking of piss and refuse, but that was moderately better than the swirling barrage of humans outside it. At least the setting sun would help with his aching eyes and it wasn’t snowing.

Struggling to slow his breathing, Emmett leant up against the slick stone walls and pulled his shirt up over his nose and mouth. Marketplace chatter was still spiking against his temples and – feeling like a small child – he clamped his hands over his ears. The noise dampened, falling to a manageable ache in his good ear, completely gone in his left.

Dead.

The word looped over and over in his brain as he tried to calm himself.

Dead. Dead. Dead.

“No,” he muttered. Sixsmith wasn’t dead. There had been a mistake or maybe something worse. Maybe it was some kind of trick. Maybe Sixsmith had – had faked his death. Yes, that sounded right. That sounded like something he would do. Or sounded like something Emmett could imagine him doing. Li hadn’t seen the body, right? So it wasn’t official.

Yes. Of course, the man wasn’t dead. The banging in his chest was abating as he seized this new certainty with both hands. He was just – just taking his sweet time getting here. Probably having issues with getting a permit. He’d heard they’d shut down production after the poor little Harvester kid had tried to shank Phineas Gorge on his quarterly annual inspections of his sky factories. Being a Taiyek would only double the difficulty, as unfair as that was.

Abruptly, Emmett’s stomach dropped as another memory forced its way through the throng. The oh-so-small – ha – matter of the arrears.

Dazedly, head still ringing and squinting against the low light, Emmett made his way out of the alleyway and towards Clinker’s Hill. As he began the climb, nervously ignoring the persistent calls of the Long Market which lined the rubble-strewn path, he couldn’t stop himself from glancing up at the silver specks, glittering and grumbling against the ruby-red storm clouds, several miles out into the ocean, suspended on the coasts of the blighted Harvest Isle.

He’d seen the Sky-Harvesters almost every day for five years and he still shivered at the sight. There were six of them, all tethered deep into the ocean, and sometimes he had nightmares if he watched them for too long. Each airship was a behemoth of a machine: the smallest half a mile wide, all engineless, all crammed with more than a hundred workers right in the heart of a never-ending arcane storm. The original workers – certainly all of them dead despite the Islands’ capture being less than thirty years prior – had been the families of the soldiers who had kept attacking the Suliland troops after the surrender, caged on a barren lump of rock. The life expectancy of a Harvester back then had been four years. Now it was barely nine.

So the Empire had needed new workers to reap its volatile lifeblood from the tempests. You never applied for the job. Gorge’s East Empyrean Enterprises had a steady supply of those who escaped the noose. It was the employer of thieves, turncoats…

… and debtors.

Emmett stopped at the crown of the hill, panting hard. He leant against a low brick wall, emblazoned with fresh graffiti foretelling a Miss Devitt as Throgmorton champion of 1880, and tried to get his breath back. Putting The Iris down as collateral had been stupid, he thought, but the alternative – himself or Kizzy – was unthinkable. He’d rather lose his home than his freedom.

Well, he’d rather not lose either, but it was an impossible situation. Today’s earnings (four shillings and ninepence) would barely cover food, let alone a ship, and Kizzy’s wage – while welcome – was a pittance compared to it.

#tocktick #the arcane skies #writing #writeblr #deaf #queer #writer #i'm writing a book #steampunk

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toast-com · 5 months

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Sneak peak of thing I'm working on (two more parts left)!

#toasty's writing #au lore #ttte au #i guess #the mannerisms of locomotives #engremlings #grimmelen #engremlings lore #grimmelen lore #kobonavis #boagoblins #kobonavis lore #boagoblins lore #diabolicarrus #carrumimp #diabolicarrus lore #carrumimp lore #<- all new tags!

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bruhstation · 2 years

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CASA TIDMOUTH’S MOST NORMAL AND RELIABLE RAILWAY WORKERS: THE STEAM TEAM

Thomas Awdry Billington

Age: 23 Occupation: NWR 1's driver

Very cheeky and even nosy at times. Every time someone he dislikes gets into trouble, his immediate response is to make a joke out of their situation. Except when it’s something absolutely serious, which is rare. He always puts his best in anything he does and will excitedly prove himself to be the best person up for any job offered to him… which sometimes results in him getting into accidents and mishaps. Edward took him under his wing ever since he started working in the railways three years ago, making Thomas look up to him fondly and consider him a father figure.

He holds the Golden Whistle that is connected to the Shining Time world and stores golden dusts. It also helps control the usage of gold dusts during Lady’s time in Sodor so it won’t run out. He also runs a bulletin board called Sodor's Rumors where railway workers can write and submit the latest gossip or news to the board, whether it’s signed or anonymous. Ones about the quarry workers usually interest him because he's a curious little guy. He noticed, however, that rumors about spirits and suspicious people started popping up more and more ever since Lady joined Sodor Railways. There’s something else, though. He can’t help but feel that he might have forgotten someone important.

Trivia:

The shortest out of the Steam Team. Gordon sometimes calls him “little Thomas” because of this. Also because of his bed hair.

Huge fan of Depeche Mode. His favorite album is Violator.

He seems to never run out of energy.

The bottom of his huge ass shoes has retractable rollers. 6 on each sole, complete with side rods. Similar to the wheels of his steam engine!

Likes: adventures, tootsie rolls, playing elaborate pranks, locomotive anatomy Dislikes: people who are jerks for no reason, string beans

Percival “Percy” Avonside

Age: 22 Occupation: NWR 6's driver

Thomas’ partner in gold dust hunting. He’s also his best friend even though they have their moments of disagreement. He holds the polaroid camera that can capture pictures of golden dusts and sparkling trails that are invincible to normal eyes in an area. His mail delivery is also part of Sodor’s Postal Service. Being a generally good-natured and obedient person, people who don’t know any better like to mistake his positive traits as naivety.

With his history of being treated as a doormat or stepping stone, whenever he felt like someone is being close to him just to use him for their personal gain, his perception of them can change quickly from trusting and loving to skeptical and critical. Even though he’s a generally polite and well-mannered young man to (almost) everyone, there are several moments where he snaps and just outright calls out said person who wronged or made fun of him. All of these factors result in his actions usually following what he believes can be beneficial to him and is the best for his well-being. Is he really the sweet, pouty, often snarky Percy that everyone knows and recognizes on the surface? Whatever the answer is, does it really matter as long as he’s useful?

Trivia:

Back in high school, he was an ace pitcher for his school team called the Sodor Sobriquets.

His magical polaroid camera works without using any films. He got it inside the wishing well when he accidentally fell inside it during his first day at work.

He gets easily annoyed at people who constantly coddle him.

He collects comic books and magazines as a hobby.

Likes: watching soccer and baseball matches, eggs Benedict Dislikes: being called “Dirty Percy”, not being taken seriously, apricots

[THE REST OF THE STEAM TEAM IS UNDER THE CUT. THIS POST IS GOING TO BE EXTREMELY LONG IF OTHERWISE.]

Edward Pettigrew

Age: 46 Occupation: NWR 2's driver

The old reliable! He’s a generally kind and patient person. He rarely ever takes insults or jokes to heart and just patiently waits for misfortune to befall whoever mocks him. Even enjoys it more whenever he gets to be the one dragging their sorry ass out of trouble. However, those who have known him for a long time know not to mess with him. Despite not submitting things to the Sodor’s Rumours Bulletin Board, he likes to smile and nod while reading the railway workers’ quips and notes. When he was younger, he was bold and brash and can never bow down to authority figures. He was also quite a charmer back in the day, something that his two closest coworkers always tease to him.

Even though he’s now a sagely man with a lot of life experiences, he seems to hide a lot of things and know matters someone like him shouldn’t have…? No need to think much about it, though! Probably nothing important, just wise Edward being wise Edward.

Trivia:

He’s great at ballroom dancing and skateboarding.

He used to get into street fights as a young man.

That long scarf is a gift from Henry back when they were younger.

Something about the smiles he gives whenever he’s made fun of by his friends don’t seem pleasant. Feels quite unnerving, even. What is up with that? Oh well.

Likes: old songs, folk tales, black tea Dislikes: what does he even dislike?

Henry Stanier

Age: 42 Occupation: NWR 3's driver

Used to frown and complain about tough work a lot. He was incredibly protective of his engine and got upset at seeing any stain or dent on it. He’s also extremely worried that heavy workload can put a strain on or even damage it. A long time ago, he hid himself and NWR 3 inside a tunnel to shield from the rain. This and that happened, his engine gets bricked when he went to work the next day, he attended a church sermon for the first and only time to find inner peace, and after he learned his lesson his engine is finally free (to help out Gordon)... but the wildness of his story doesn’t simply end there!

After his first Flying Kipper delivery went horrifyingly wrong and he died in the accident, he got to meet Lady in the Shining Time world who eventually revived him. Since that event, his view on life has never been so offputtingly bright and positive. He lives life cheerfully and is now a much kinder and friendlier person, even though he has his moments of snarkiness (though it’s usually out of saying the truth bluntly instead of being mean). With that amount of epiphanies and one divine intervention, the comparison between his past self and current self can be quite jarring.

Trivia:

He is narcoleptic.

After Lady disguised herself as a regular railway worker and met Henry for the second time, Henry thought that his time is finally up. This is not the case however, which resulted in both of them laughing hysterically after Lady talked with him.

Every time someone mentions “beauty” and “life” in the same sentence within his earshot, he’ll go into an enlightened ramble with a bright, cordial expression.

When he’s stuck in a situation with seemingly no way out, he’ll start writing his will in his cellphone. If there’s moss, he’ll start eating that.

He doesn't remember anything from his childhood before he was adopted by two rich as hell parents. He doesn't have a birth certificate and nobody really knows where he comes from. Either these facts or his encounter with Lady is the reason why his view on life is quite… unique, to say at least.

Likes: nature, apple slices, Desi dishes, shitty reality TV shows Dislikes: people who are annoying, people who don’t do their jobs properly, people who are noisy, people who are just downright pathetic

Gordon Gresley

Age: 41 Occupation: NWR 4's driver

Prideful and can be rude at times. He’s very ambitious and takes his occupation as the driver of the greatest and most beloved express train in all of Sodor seriously. Because of his upbringing, he used to look down on those that he deems weak or is contributing less and less to the railways. He’s also quite competitive and always pushes himself to his limits in order to live up to his (and - when the situation calls for it - his engine’s) reputation and restore any remaining glory of the Gresley name.

A lot of people view the Gresley lineage as suspicious or even cursed because of how easily its members die out under unnatural circumstances (illness, accidents, etc.). The formerly large and respected nuclear family of nine is now reduced to just him, Scott, and his mother. The subject is frequently brought up during Scott’s interviews and reporters who recognize Gordon always try to pry information out of him (the main reason why he moved to Sodor). Even though he loves and lives off attention, the ones that are given by reporters and journalists are always met with scowls and exasperated “go away”s from him.

Despite scoffing at the idea of the Sodor’s Rumours Bulletin Board and thinking that it’s a silly idea, he submits rants whenever his brother finished calling him on the phone. He sometimes gets embarrassed in showing affection or appreciation which made people who don’t know him well assume that he’s distant and unappreciative.

Trivia:

The youngest Gresley. His middle name is Juniperus.

Despite not liking his mother very much, he still maintains a decent (???) relationship with Scott and his cousins just so she would stop getting worried and pestering him.

Even though he has a high image of himself, he gets easily thrown off guard whenever faced with a crowd or confronted directly.

He, Henry, and Edward used to be an incredibly tight-knit trio when they were younger. However, as the years passed, he felt like the three of them don’t have that much in common anymore (Henry slowly turned into someone quieter and more passive, Edward became more calm and less brash). They’re all still… friends, but sometimes Gordon can’t help but feel like things really aren’t the same between them as they used to.

When he smiles, it changes his entire face :]

Likes: orange-scented things, emotional movies Dislikes: being compared to the rest of his family, talking about his late brothers and sisters, admitting his weaknesses

James Augustine Hughes

Age: 35 Occupation: NWR 5's driver

An incredibly pompous person, James thinks highly of himself. VERRRY highly. His entire design and personality just screams “Look at me. Look at how handsome and fabulous I am and praise me!”. He absolutely hates it when he sees other people getting praised or complimented for the things that he has (people who fully dress in reds and golds or wear aviators just like him and get complimented for those). Sometimes he reads complaints and worries submitted by others in the Sodor’s Rumours Bulletin Board to make him feel better about himself.

Due to the events of his childhood and teenage years, he has a habit of wanting to get into popular cliques or feared friend groups, a juxtaposition of his arrogant and self-centered personality. He looks up to people who are respected or even worshiped by their peers and even tries to be just like them. There are certain kinds of people that he believes is worthy of his respect, but he is starting to get more and more unsure of who exactly they are ever since he became proper friends with Thomas and Percy.

Trivia:

When he was in high school, he wanted to become a psychologist. He gave up on pursuing it after he got into a nasty fight with a teacher and got a mean scolding from the principal and his parents. He was also a bit quiet back then.

If he gets ignored a little too much, he starts to panic.

He’s good at reading others and quick to notice change.

He looks up to Gordon and respects him greatly, even going so far as to be just like him for his approval. Though as the story progresses, things really aren’t looking bright for this statement.

He’s fluent in Spanish and French.

Likes: being praised, being wanted, sweet margaritas Dislikes: things that are ugly, pulling trucks, his old self, losing support from the group(s) he’s in

Tobias “Toby” Holden

Age: 56 Occupation: NWR 7's driver

Despite his age and his engine being considered one of the slowest in the railways, he works hard and diligently. He also has a good sense of humor and lends a good ear to anyone with interesting stories and tales. Even though he's a knowledgeable and wise driver that knows how to handle problems slowly, he can be temperamental at times and frowns at the sight of people with unchecked egos and self-righteousness. Due to experiences in the past that also got Henrietta involved, he actually distrusts youth who think they know all and act all mighty because of their new technology, engines, and even actions that have potential to harm others when used carelessly.

At day, Tobias Holden is NWR 7's driver. At night, he reads records and books about Sodor's history with anomalies and significant cultural differences compared to Mainland's. Not originally from Sodor, he is aware of the island's cultural and environmental quirkiness and can't handle the thought of his wife being involved with those sorts of things. Even though he avoids confrontations, he'll do anything to get rid of anything that threatens the harmony of his life - and to an extent - the railways. He’ll make sure ghosts and spirit don’t exist. He’ll make sure the cases of people disappearing and other ones appearing out of nowhere don’t struck him and the people he cares about. There's an itch at the back of his mind that says that a certain driver for the NWR 2 and a lady dressed in magenta aren't really as simple as they look on the surface, and he's not going to keep quiet about it… eventually.

Trivia:

Rumours had it that he once got arrested in his youth because he body-slammed a cop.

He wishes to live a quiet life someday. There must be no other place as pretty as this island.

He likes hearing Thomas' jokes.

He doesn't like the idea of being separated from Henrietta. He'll do anything for her. Anything.

Likes: tiramisu, slow dancing, seeing pompous young people getting into trouble, his wife <3 Dislikes: people in power.

And that’s all for the main cast (save for Lady and D10) of Casa Tidmouth! And while we’re at it: thank you so SO much for 206 followers (during the time I’m writing this)! The support and kind words all of you have provided for me and this story are overwhelming, and I cannot thank you all enough for that. Consider this post a celebration for that milestone, if you will :]

[ The Little Western + Diesel Drivers ]

#thomas the tank engine #thomas and friends #ttte #ttte thomas #ttte percy #ttte edward #ttte henry #ttte gordon #ttte james #ttte toby #casa tidmouth #senjart #human au #CASA LORE!!!!!!#HI BRUHSTATIONERS I LIVED #DESPITE WHAT DORMITORY LIFE WANTS ME TO BE #you guys have NO IDEA how much pain I am taking pictures of the linearts and altering the values so I can color it digitally. WITH MOUSE!!!#main cast intro time. hoooo boy #hope nothing bad happens to them. and they live peacefully and work normally without any disturbances or abnormalities #and this group still maintains a good relationship with each other #some of their designs are a bit different from the poster's #if you are suspicious of certain characters: ;)#because like what the description of this story said: nothing and nobody is truly what they seem on the surface #anyways! don't mind that. enjoy this group of silly billy coworkers ^_^#unrelated but I realized I have anon inbox off so I've now switched the on button #and changed the names of the inbox and submission pages ;)

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archiveikemen · 1 year

Text

Liam Evans Main Story: Chapter 2

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Liam: … The name of tonight’s show is called “Don Quixote”.

Liam: It’s showtime! I’ll make you forget all about those frightening and unpleasant things.

In front of me, Liam acted out different roles and performed a one-man play for me.

Sometimes he was Don Quixote the old man, sometimes he was Sancho Panza the farmer.

And sometimes, he played the role of a prostitute at an inn.

(... He brings all the characters to life with his acting.)

Don Quixote, who continued his pilgrimage at an old age, laughed and said…

Liam: “As long as I’m alive, there is hope.”

Before I knew it, Liam had hopped off my bed and turned on the lights, and he was back to being himself.

Liam: Did you like it, my lovely audience member?

Kate: Yes, I loved it! … Words aren't enough to describe how much I did.

Liam: Haha I’m glad to hear that.

Liam easily took away my anxiety and worries about what I would face the next day.

Still feeling enchanted, I gave him a round of applause.

Liam’s lips relaxed into a smile.

Liam: … You’re smiling. Mmhmm, your smile is genuine this time.

(Oh…)

I was so mesmerised by Liam’s performance that I didn't realise I was smiling.

(However…)

Kate: Why did you decide to show me that play?

Liam: Hm?

Kate: I know you were trying to cheer me up. But why would you do that for me alone…?

Liam: Yesterday, you could recognise who I was, because you remember me. That’s why I thought that you’d like to watch me perform.

== Flashback Start ==

Kate: I think I’ve seen you before… oh!

(This man was at the play I went to last month… he’s a stage actor!)

Liam: You already know me? That’s great. I’m a stage actor on the surface, and a member of Crown behind the scenes. My name is Liam Evans.

Liam: Let’s get along well from now on, cutie Kate.

== Flashback END ==

(… It was such a small thing, and yet he remembers it so clearly.)

Liam crouched down in front of me while I sat on the floor.

Liam: In the future, if there’s anything clouding your mind, I’ll clear it for you.

Liam: Come on, close your eyes. Imagine…

(Like this…?)

I did as he said and closed my eyes.

Liam: How about I invite you to have a first class seat at a play? I can help dress you up for that.

Liam: After that, we’ll go to town together. We can shop at Harrods to our hearts content.

Liam: Ah, I discovered a great gelato shop in the back alley the other day. We can buy some for ourselves and eat there too!

Liam: Harry has a sweet tooth, and even he praised the gelato from that shop. So it’s definitely good!

Liam: We don’t always have to stay in one town. Every once in a while, we can take the locomotive to a far away destination.

Liam: And then—

Something soft touched the back of my hand.

(…!)

(Did he just…)

Liam: And of course, we can do more than this.

Kate: More than this…?

Liam: Yeah. Don’t tell the other guys in Crown, though.

Liam suddenly put one hand on the nape of my neck and pulled my face towards him in a forceful yet gentle manner.

I could see a reflection of my face in his rose coloured eyes.

(...!)

Liam: I’m good at making people feel good. I love playing with them until they turn into a mess.

Liam: I do it alot.

Liam: … Want to do it now?

(Should I…)

The sweet smell of vanilla and his seductive gestures nearly captivated my heart—

(No no no no no! How can it be possible for such a popular guy to be interested in me!?)

Kate: Pfft ahahaha! I almost took your joke seriously for a moment there. Thanks, Liam.

Liam: … That wasn’t a joke.

Liam: But at least it made you laugh.

Liam smiled and sat down next to me, shoulder to shoulder.

In the silence of the night, only our breathing could be heard.

Liam: Hey, Kate.

Kate: …?

Liam: You’re going to be living here for a month.

Liam: During this period of time, it’s inevitable that you’ll encounter more scary and disturbing things. However…

Liam: Make sure that nothing can harm all of you.

Kate: All of me…?

Liam: How should I put this…

Liam: You’re the only one who can know how you truly feel, in the very core of your heart.

I tried to guess what Liam meant.

I’m sure that everyone has something soft and sensitive hidden deep in their hearts.

Liam: Your heart belongs to you, and only you. I hope that you’ll let me help you stay just the way you are.

(My heart belongs to only me…)

Liam’s words gradually softened my heart that was almost turned into stone.

All fear and anxiety started to melt away.

(... I still don’t have my own opinion.)

I won’t look away from anything that happens in front of my eyes, till the day I can form an opinion about them.

I’ll bravely face the members of Crown.

Because this is the only way I can survive, and the only thing I can do for the next month.

Kate: … Alright.

I got up and reached for the cream stew on my table that had already turned cold.

Liam: Is your appetite back?

Kate: … Not really. But I don’t want the food to go to waste, and I have to at least eat something so I’m ready to face tomorrow.

Liam: … Tomorrow?

Kate: Even if today was a bad day, I want to keep going in hopes that tomorrow will be better. Therefore, I need strength to do that.

That was just a show of courage and my true feelings.

Liam: I see. … I’ve never thought that way before.

Kate: …?

Liam: Nothing, I was just saying that it's great that you think that way. Hey, can I stay here for a while longer?

Kate: Of course, if you want to.

Liam: Yay! I'll have something to eat too. I’ll get you something as well.

Liam and I continued chatting about all sorts of things through the night. For the first time in a while, I got a proper sleep…

...

(Mm… so bright…)

I opened my eyes when the sun shone on my eyelids.

Liam: Good morning, Kate.

Kate: …

Kate: WAAAHH…!

Liam: Heh, you’re good at waking up. It’s too bad I didn't get a chance to take advantage of you.

Liam: I’d kiss you to wake you up if you were half asleep and groggy.

Kate: W-Why am I using your arm as a pillow…

Liam: Oh, you fell asleep while we were chatting. So I thought that you’d sleep better this way.

(Right. I fell asleep without realising it…)

I quickly moved away from Liam and bowed my head so much that my forehead grazed against the sheets.

Kate: … Sorry.

Liam: No worries. Actually, I was lucky I could look at your face all night.

(... Maybe I’ve been too wary of him.)

(This feels strange. I’m not usually like this.)

He was like a star I couldn't reach, shining brighter than anyone could ever shine.

And yet, like a stray cat, he wandered into my heart and made me let my guard down around him.

Liam was a very unusual person.

While I was thinking about it, Liam fiddled with my bangs.

Liam: Your bed hair is so cute.

Kate: N-No, it isn’t. Please stop looking at it.

Liam: Eh— I don’t want to. Come on, let me have a better look at it.

Kate: H-Hey…!

Victor: Good morning, Miss Kate! I baked you some muffi—

Kate • Liam: … Ah.

Victor: Wow.

As I stared at Victor’s wide-eyed face, my current situation slowly started to sink in.

(He misunderstood us!)

Kate: Victor, it’s not…

Victor: You and Liam are both adults, so I don't see anything wrong if it was consensual, but…

Liam: Really? Victor, you’re so open-minded.

Victor: But what is this small feeling of desolation sweeping through my heart?

Victor: Ah, I’m so petty…!

Liam: That was loud! Hahaha you’re so energetic early in the morning, Victor.

Victor: Is this what parenting feels like…!? Looks like I’ve entered a new phase in life…

Kate: Um, Victor! Please hear me out…

Harrison: I heard someone yell, did something happ...en…

Ellis: Kate, I heard a… yell…

Harrison • Ellis: …

Harrison: Ohh, I see. Not bad, Liam.

Ellis: As long as Kate is happy, I’m fine…

(This is getting out of control! I have to clarify the situation before more people come over.)

Just as I was about to lose my mind, I made eye contact with Jude who was passing through the hallway.

Jude: …

Jude: Hah. What’s this all about?

Jude: Whore.

Kate: N-No…!

…

(... I feel like what happened this morning really drained my energy.)

After clearing up the misunderstanding, I went into the garden and pulled out my notepad.

I recalled what Victor told me about my work becoming a valuable resource to aid the research being conducted on “curses”, and also act as a report of Crown’s activities to Her Majesty the Queen.

(I want to make sure that the things I write will be useful. But…)

I still didn’t know anything about Crown.

Apart from the part about them fighting evil with evil.

(I need to find out more about everyone here.)

But as someone who just came to this place, it didn’t feel right for me to pry into their business.

It felt as if I was overstepping boundaries. Even though it was part of the task I was entrusted with, I was still hesitant.

I looked up at the sky, pondering about what I should do. That’s when—

Liam: Kate! I finally found you.

Kate: Liam.

Liam squinted his rose coloured eyes happily as he walked up to me with a spring in his steps—

Liam: Hey, Kate. Want to go on a date with me? Right now.

#ikemen villains #ikemen series #cybird ikemen #cybird otome #otome #ikevil main story #liam main story

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