#underground railroad house

[detroitlib]

View of bronze tablet marking the site of Detroit's Underground Railroad station. Installed on Detroit Bank building at the northeast corner of Griswold and State Streets. Inscription reads: "This tablet marks the site of Detroit's 'Underground Railway Station.' A large brick building known as 'The Finney House Barn," was located here, and used as a depot for helping slaves gain freedom into Canada from 1833 until the Civil War. Detroit was one of the important 'stations,' on the route to Canada and the Anti-Slavery Society organized in 1837, aided in the liberation of thousands of slaves. Presented to the city of Detroit in the month of September, 1926."

Burton Historical Collection, Detroit Public Library

#underground railroad #detroit #detroit history #slavery #finney house barn #anti slavery #plaque #detroit public library

[moonshynecybin]

do you have any books recommendations? 🙏

okay usually i like to know a general vibe for recommendations bc this is INTIMATE!!! and im actually in a weird place in my reading journey where im trying to branch out and try a bunch of different books in a bunch of different genres bc i got lowkey sick of what i was reading all the time so this is all over the place. whatever fuck it. here are some recent ones in no particular order that ive enjoyed OR at the very least found interesting. most of these are pretty famous i'll be real im not breaking the wheel here. under the cut bc she is long

our wives under the sea by julia armfield. was this book good hmm i dont know. was it kind of fucked up and interesting. YES. some of the prose is legitimately sooo gorgeous and the portrait it paints of the central relationship is intimate and oftentimes heartrending i still think about it which is kind of what you want from a story tbh... a really slow plot (kind of nonexistent) thats frankly more about grief than anything. theres some spooky body horror here so beware

slaughterhouse five by kurt vonnegut. shes a classic for a REASON. do you ever pick up a book that is very beloved and famous. and then get genuinely and pleasantly surprised that it actually rules. happened to me. legit kind of life changing and also made me laugh out loud. if you havent read it get on it

the kingdoms by natasha pulley. read this over the summer and i vividly remember sitting in the basement at my job hiding so i could read one more page i was RIVETED!!! its historical fantasy its time travel its amnesia it is. on a boat. basically like what if fucked up gay love and also magic made france win the napoleonic wars would that be crazy or what!!! and it was!! also read some of her other stuff which is VERY similar and it was like. fine to good. but i LOVED this one

carrie by stephen king. read it around halloween and i enjoyed it more than i thought i would ! some category 5 stephen king sexism but its an interesting 200 page scifi novel with epistolary elements and some great characters i can see how it launched his career into the stratosphere... really good one to start off with reading stephen king if you wanna dip a toe in but are wary of the 1000 page doorstop novels. i say give it a try !

demon copperhead by barbara kingsolver. recent pulitzer prize winner. its a retelling of david copperfield with a distinctly southern appalachian lens which im always interested in because i am from southern appalachia and frankly the way we get treated in fiction is wild. like hillbilly cannibals who are illiterate coalminers wild. if i ever catch the guy that wrote hillbilly elegy we are throwing hands. but i liked this ! the region does have a long history of poverty and it was interesting to think about that in conversation to the social commentary with a victorian vibe from david copperfield. i mean this is decidedly unvictorian but that was floating in the back of my head at all times reading it so it made me THINK.

giovanni's room by james baldwin. another one where i was like do you see this shit?? this shit is crazy. and the shit in question is one of the most acclaimed and beloved novels of all time. anyways another life changer get on it.

even as we breathe by annette saunooke clapsaddle. another southern appalachia moment ! this one rings VERY true for me actually, despite being a historical novel... written with a lot of love for the area and made me cry a bit cause i was homesick at the time... great mystery and cool local history. also! one of the better representations of the cherokee people ive seen in fiction. which usually im hesitant to like. pin that as a THE major reason you should read it bc the story is ALSO very good but its a central theme of the novel so i thought i should mention it. plus the author is cherokee so she's coming at it with knowledge and care

in memoriam by alice winn. recommendation from a tumblr mutual so i thought id continue the tradition! read it in literally a day so im fuzzy on the details but its about rich eton style english schoolboys getting their spirits basically destroyed in the trenches of ww1... also a gay love story... lots of poetry very tragic but not overly so and certainly very readable... a competent historical gay romance if thats ur thing youll probably enjoy it

the poppy war by r f kuang. interesting bc it initially feels like a historical fantasy novel with a young protagonist going to a magic school and overcoming the odds slash beating the evil enemy story thats been done one billion times. but it is DEEPLY not that. takes the conventions of the genre and kind of refuses to make them reducible or easy to package. deals with war (read the warnings etc). deals with genocide. deals with race. wrestles with the ethics of all of its characters and comes down with some nuance. kind of a slay

and then here's some all time faves that are just GOOD and im reasonably sure anyone would have a good time with:

jane eyre. i have quoted this enough on this blog cmon. also if youre following me youre probably a fan of fucked up relationships so you should go. be with the OG. fly. like its foundational to the GENRE babyyyy

dracula. yayyyyy epistolary novelssss... another "fun" classic along with dorian gray... read em both they slap

the book thief. took me a year to read. made me cry lots.

daisy jones and the six. look at me look AWAYYY from the amazon series look at ME. this is a fun book. and if you are in a reading slump i frankly HIGHLY recommend it bc it is done in the style of like. a documentary autopsy on a fleetwood mac esque band implosion so its told in 100% dialogue as if they are being interviewed. you can read it in a DAY and its FUN and sometimes they CONTRADICT each other which i LOVE

the queens thief by meghan whalen turner. GOD!!!!! all time. all time. straight relationships in fiction that make you crazyyyyyyy and also genuinely delightful twists at the end of each book i LOVED them. i read them all in the pandemic they slayyyy

howl's moving castle. delightful. if you like a silly time in a fantasy world that makes you laugh a lot i would recommend. also the sequel its fun

any terry pratchet novel thank you goodnight

#rapid fire ones: circe by madeline miller. piranesi by susanna clarke. the underground railroad by colson whitehead. the things they carried #also and i am beign so serious. if you have never read ella enchanted you should. it is fun. #callie speaks #asks #staring down my tbr and waiting for my brain to get better. torture. #next up is house of leaves. lfg. #the tonal whiplash on this list is so funny im realizing. 50% fun fantasy and 50% THE HORRORS OF WAR.

[stpuaafamg]

I Present to You Various Abortion Laws Throughout The South.

Basic Overview:

-TN has a trigger law from 2019 for abortion that is enacted 30 days after Roe v Wade is overturned.

-This Trigger law makes abortion a Class C felony, which can lead to jail time up to 15 years for getting an abortion.

-This law bans abortion at fertilization.

-TN also has another trigger law created in 2020 that “ban abortion after fetal cardiac activity is detected, which can be as early as six weeks into pregnancy.”

https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article262453742.html

(Apologies this link wouldn’t embed properly)

Basic Overview

-Nearly all abortions are banned in Kentucky including those pertaining to cases of rape, incest, and minors. This is because KY “defines a fetus and embryo as an “unborn human being.””

-Getting a abortion in KY is a Class D felony.

-Abortions in KY are only permitted if “if an abortion is necessary to “prevent the death or substantial risk of death . . . or to prevent the serious, permanent impairment of a life-sustaining organ of a pregnant women.”

Basic Overview

-“The law permits abortions only when the mother’s life is at risk or when the pregnancy resulted from a rape that has been reported to law enforcement.”

-“In 2019, the state passed a law banning abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, usually around six weeks of pregnancy… That law contains no exception for people who have been raped, meaning victims would have an extremely narrow window during which they could obtain an abortion.”

- “The trigger law and fetal heartbeat ban apply to all forms of abortion, including medication abortions that the World Health Organization says can safely end a pregnany up to 12 weeks.”

-“But reproductive rights advocates and many legal experts say it will be nearly impossible to keep medication abortion out of the state, given that state police can’t search people’s mail. Local abortion rights activists vow to help maintain access to the pills.”

-Multiple abortion funds are set up to help people travel out of state to receive a abortion (consider donating).

-The current governor said he’s ““not interested in banning contraceptives” but refused to answer a question from Mississippi Today about what, exactly, he considers to be a contraceptive.”

Basic Overview

-Abortion in Alabama is a Class A Felony.

-“Except in cases where abortion is necessary in order to save the life of the mother or to prevent a serious health risk to her, which is closely defined, it bans all abortions. There are no exceptions for rape or incest.”

-For a abortion to be considered such in this state, the “fertilized egg has to implant in the uterine wall.” (Please note that it takes roughly 6-10 days for a egg to implant in the uterine wall.)

-Strangely, a mother would not be penalized for seeking an abortion. However, those who provide the means will. If a mother chooses to self abort then she will not be penalized (FOLKS DO NOT PLEASE THAT IS DANGEROUS! Please try to be as safe as possible when seeking abortion.).

-Miscarriage does not fall under this law.

-Plan B will not be removed from the State because it “does not remove a fertilized egg and implanted egg, it keeps it from implantation so it’s not an abortion under the definition.”

-Those providing back alley abortions will be penalized with prison for life because it’s considered a Class A Felony.

Basic Overview

-This abortion ban does not make exceptions for cases of rape or incest.

-Morning After pills will be legal in the State of Louisiana.

-“The new law allows for legal abortion in the case of an ectopic pregnancy, a rare event in which the fertilized egg implants outside the uterus and cannot survive. It also allows an exception for any pregnancy in which two doctors conclude that the fetus would not be able to survive after birth.”

-“Senate Bill 342 has harsher penalties for anyone who "commits the crime of abortion," imposing up to 10 years imprisonment and $100,000 in fines. Under the new law, a physician who performs a late term abortion, which is defined as when the gestational age of the fetus is 15 weeks or more, is subject to up to 15 years in prison and fined up to $200,000.”

-“The law directs the closure of abortion facilities if Roe v. Wade is overturned and abortion is prohibited in the state.”

-A bill has been signed into law“that bans the sale or distribution of drugs used in a medication abortion without a prescription and creates criminal penalties for doing so. The bipartisan bill also blocks drugs used in medication abortions to be delivered to Louisianians via mail. Under the bill, women would not be subject to criminal penalties for having or taking the drugs.” It goes in affect August 1st 2022.

Basic Overview

-According to Act 180 abortions are only allowed in events involving the health of the mother. No exceptions are made for cases of rape and incest.

-“Performing or attempting to perform an abortion is an unclassified felony with a fine not to exceed $100,000 or imprisonment not to exceed 10 years or both under Act 180.”

-“The act states that it does not authorize the charging or conviction of a woman with any criminal offense in the death of her own unborn child.”

-“At the news conference in the attorney general's office, Hutchinson said he doesn't plan to ask the Legislature in a special session to change Act 180 to provide exemptions to allow abortions in cases of rape or incest.”

-The Legislature provided $1 million to pregnancy resource centers across the state in the fiscal year starting July 1 and enacted the Every Mom Matters Act -- Act 90 of 2021 -- that will allow pregnant women to call a hotline to get information and assistance, he said. (This sounds sus not gonna lie. If you use this ask if calls are recorded first and foremost and if they are immediately hang up. Especially if you end up deciding you want a abortion.)

-Whether the state Medical Board will need to update its rules for doctors is also a "legal question,"”.

-“Kansas is the only state within the region overseen by Planned Parenthood Great Plains that is still offering abortions. Providers there are already struggling to meet the demand for in-state patients, Wales said. Four facilities in Kansas are offering abortion services – two in Wichita and two in the Kansas City area.”

-“At this point, Cox said he does not expect the Family Council to push for legislation that might restrict a woman's ability to go to another state to get an abortion.” (Please note that this is the most Pro-Life state in the country and that this is subject to change.)

This is all I have for you now folks. Once again I would like to remind everyone to stop using period tracking apps. I would also like to remind everyone to use a secured browser if they are searching anything about abortions online (I personally recommend DuckDuck Go). My next reminder is that you have cookies disabled because they can track you across multiple websites and sell your search history (and it’s all completely legal). My final reminder is for you to never discuss getting an abortion over text or phone if at all possible and if you do so to ensure that you have the proper precautions set in place to prohibit law enforcement from reading or listening in to said texts and calls.

Below is a list of recommended apps & a phone number you can dial to ensure your calls aren’t being listened to:

#roe v wade #roe v casey #abortion ban #right to abortion #abortion laws #tennessee #louisiana #Kentucky #mississippi #Alabama #Arkansas #stay safe kids #help others stay safe too #all in favor of starting a underground railroad for people to get access to safe and legal abortions say aye #abortion rights #use a protected browser #remember that in the state of Mississippi law enforcement cannot legally search your mail #so if you order some abortion medication via mail they literally cannot stop you or check it #do consider that that I’m unsure if they can search your house after you’ve already received and opened said mail #remember that Arkansas sounds sus with their Every Mom Matters Hotline and be sure that if you use it that the call is not being recorder #would also recommend that you borrow some strangers phone to call them in case they try to save your number #just saying #stay safe everyone #remember that bans off our bodies will most likely be hosting another round of protest soon

[don-lichterman]

Lessons on the Underground Railroad at unique summer camp

Lessons on the Underground Railroad at unique summer camp

Lessons on the Underground Railroad at unique summer camp

View On WordPress

#history #Jacqueline Miller-Bentley #Lawnside #Lawnside Historical Society #Peter Mott House Museum #Summer Camp #Underground Railroad

[seat-safety-switch]

You might think that buying a train is expensive. They're made of a lot of metal, after all, and scrap prices are quite healthy at the moment. Not only that, but the railroads own all the rails, and those greedy monopolists don't want you to bring your free-enterprise, private individual train on them. There is another option.

You see, railways have these special little trucks, called hi-rails. They're basically strangely narrow pickup trucks, with a little train part on their front and rear, used to maintain the railway (trains are too bourgeois to do their own maintenance, and leave it to "lesser" vehicles.) When these hi-rails get on the tracks, they can turn into trains. Rail cops hassling you? Pop off and drive away like a regular old pickup truck.

Here's the real secret: these things are super cheap at auction. And why wouldn't they be? The only folks who can use them are railways, who already have trucks of their own. Sure, they take the train parts off the truck to make sure you don't do exactly what I'm doing, but any idiot can take a tape measure to some train tracks, and figure out how to cut through the fence at the locomotive maintenance yard to get some wheels. Now, I'm commuting to work using efficient public transit – but doing so with heated seats, cupholders, and satellite radio.

Sure, there are some downsides. Most of my city's transit network is underground, so I spend a lot of time reversing really fast out of tunnels. Years of railway maintenance engineers jumping in and out of it have worn the seat bolsters down quite a bit. And it doesn't go "choo-choo," or even feature a train horn, which was a major disappointment the first time I got on it. Overall, though, I can strongly recommend picking up disused rail-maintenance equipment and committing several federal crimes. Getting to skip the long red light between the Home Depot and my house by jumping into a subway tunnel has paid for itself in, like, a weekend.

[alacetor-the-duckies-deer]

This probably isn't new but it just occurred to me that if sinners can't leave the pride ring, and the exterminator can't kill hellborns, then like 86% of hell has probably never even SEEN the carnage of the extermination.

We don't know how long the extermination go on for, but I feel like the way Adam is, that they're probably pretty quick, like legit a full day if not just one night.

And I can't imagine they BOTHER checking the other rings for escapees, if we're assuming there's nothing but the law stopping sinners from leaving, and THEY assume that's enough.

So there's like, probably a legit underground railroad of sinners trying to get out of pride, like probably at all times, but especially the days and weeks leading up to the extermination.

And I could see so many hellborns taking advantage of that, like life as a sinner cannot be safe or good in the other rings when you have to keep you head down and try to blend in. They're probably like, legit selling their souls for it. Which is what makes me think sinner can physically leave. (Or, can sinners tell their souls to hellborns or only other sinners?)

It's trading one hell for another. Literally.

And they're immortal. They'd get noticed if they didn't stay hidden, if they're contract wasn't like, passed down parent to child in a same house hold told to keep it quiet, because rtheye equally not auposed to have a sinner in their hosue. They couldn't lead any better of an immortal life.

Could you then imagine them trying to get back to pride just to be their own person again even if it means they might get murdered every year.

And getting back to 86% of hell's residence that have never seen it up close.

They've got to be buying into some kind of propaganda about it.

"Oh sinners are immortal and more powerful than us. They should be thinnes out or theyre rise up and take over hell" kinda thing, like the legit same argument heaven has for the genocide.

and since most of them never MEET sinners to empathize with, and the way they're encouraged to put down imps as children, they'd be it easy to convince.

But I feel like some Hellhounds and Imps would DEFINITELY be helping sinners escape pride.

I bet they help hide the ones who couldn't get out because I can't imagine sinners just go about their business as the extermination starts.

The days leading up there'd be so much going on as sinners try to get somewhere safe, in their own city, or places outside it or in other cities. The hours leading up to it, the streets have to be so quiet you'd think it already happened.

And because the sinners HIDE, the angels MUST be knocking down doors and raiding basement in house and business across pride.

I wouldn't be surprised if hellhounds and imps get killed, and the angels just don't see consequences because it's hellhounds and imps.

Like it's really actually that horrible.

Very very glad the shows plot is ending it.

[Continuation here]

#hazbin hotel meta #hazbin hotel theory #hellava boss #hellava boss meta #hellava boss theory #charlie hazbin hotel #blitzo helluva boss #blitzo #moxie helluva boss #loona helluva boss #lucifer magne #beelzebub helluva boss #vox hazbin hotel #adam hazbin hotel #sera hazbin hotel #lilith hazbin hotel #vaggie hazbin hotel #lute hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel #husker hazbin hotel #angel dust hazbin hotel

[purpleyoonn]

Dance of Time 1

D A N C E   O F   T I M E

“A love like that was a serious illness, an illness from which you never entirely recover.” -Bukowski

Summary: You were finally back in the hometown you left right after graduation, researching the mysterious manor that laid outside of the town limits. Your family was acting weird, and the owner of the manor seemed to know more about you than he should. Everything changed when you entered the manor, and you weren’t sure your dance with time was going to last very long.

Pairing: Vampire BTS x Human Reincarnated Reader

Status: Ongoing (random updates)

Genre: soulmate au, reincarnation, yandere themes, possessive boys, angst, fluff, poly au, vampire au, 

Warnings: smut, violence, tempers, mentions of death, murder, some explicit descriptions of violence, blood,

Chapter Warnings: stalking, small town legends, death, violence, mentions of stabbing and blood, slight yandere behavior, 

Masterlist // Chapter 2

Taglist: @psychosupernatural​ @carolinexkpop​ @strxwbloody​ @strawberry-moonpies​​ @dustyinkpages​​ @iamkookiesforyou​​ @anaspectoflife​​ @btsw1fe​​ @yoongisgirl69​ @toughbook​ @yoongibabs​

--------------------------------------------------

Insanity

Albert Einstein once said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Following the same routine and believing things would change, would move how you wanted them to.

Through studying history, you found this phenomenon to be accurate. So many events in history could have been prevented if they only looked back and did something different. Followed a different course. Chose a different path.

You were reminded of this every day, as you stared at your research, wondering why nothing was changing in your life. You were coming up on 27, the past six years of your life spent doing research and visiting historical sites. You were a historian, your passion for learning turned into a love for digging deeper into different events.

Your last project saw you crawling through underground tunnels in Edinburgh, writing about the day to day lives of the people living there when they were built. Your specialty, however, was the small-town ghost stories that seemed legend. You loved trying to find facts over rumors with regards to each town’s Boo Radley. And now, it seemed like it was time to discover the truth about your very own Boo Radley.

You had been missing home lately, and had been planning a visit to the small town you had grown up in. You left as soon as you graduated high school, wanting to get away from the people who had made your life mundane, all whilst making something of your life. You had decided, during your trip home, that you would do a story on the Weeping Manor, the large home that stood on the outskirts of your hometown.

It was, according to the older generation, originally a boarding house for miners that would travel to the area. Sometimes railroad workers would stay there, but it was mostly people looking to get rich quick on the gold nuggets found within the area.

Everyone had grown up with the stories, how the original owners had come home to find their lover dead at the bottom of the grand staircase, or how they killed her themselves when she could not choose between them. Your personal favorite, the one your grandmother told you, was that they were demons who had thrown their life away to be with their love, and how the angels had killed her in retaliation.

As a child, your romantic heart had loved the story of forbidden lovers and had requested the tale every night you stayed with your grandmother. She would always smile at you, a twinkle to her eye as she spoke. She would speak with such conviction that you never would have realized the story wasn’t true if you didn’t share tales with the other kids at school.

“All stories hold truth, it’s all about whether you are brave enough to find it or not.” Those were the words she always told you when you confronted her about her “lies”. They are also the words you live by, constantly searching for the truth in every story you hear.

You were currently on a plane home to Sacramento, the nearest airport to your hometown at least two hours north of the bustling state capitol. You were lucky enough to get the window seat, and no one else in your aisle. The empty wine glass sat on the table in front of you, your notebook in hand as you tried to write out everything you knew or could remember about the Weeping Manor. You also tried to plan what your next steps would be.

Primary sources would be on the list first, hoping your town’s library still held any firsthand accounts of when it was a boarding house. Then, you would need to find the current owners of the manor and hope they would allow you to tour the building or see any of their handed down documents that might not be already within the library’s records.

It was a long process to endure, but you loved it. You loved doing research and digging into records. It was like having history underneath your own fingertips. It was an honor for you.

“Miss, can I get you another glass?” You were startled out of your thoughts, turning to the curious stewardess as she glanced at your open notebook.

“Oh uh, no thank you.” You smiled politely, not liking when anyone tried to glance over your shoulder. You closed your notebook before she could question anymore and watched as she nodded and continued down the aisle.

You had about three hours left of your flight, and knew your uncle was probably already at the airport waiting for you. Your uncle was the only family left in the state, everyone moving on and away from the small mountain town.

“Better opportunities” they claimed, as if they never wanted to leave in the first place.

It’s not like you were any different though, but you appreciated your uncle and how he stayed to take care of your grandmother. You helped out whenever you could, sending money for food or heat, or even helping to buy your uncle a new car to better help your grandma get around in.

You uncle was a stout man in his late forties, your dad’s younger brother who loved to joke around and helped you play pranks on your family when you were younger. He was known as the ‘fun uncle’ and raised his two children the same. You loved when you got to spend time with them, but now, your cousins had their own families and lived in separate states. Your uncle visits them twice a year, spending a couple weeks with each child when he can.

He was the man you wish your father could have become, had he not passed when you were a baby. You grew up with your single mother, doing her damned best to take care of and raise you. She worked multiple jobs for as long as you could remember, and always did her best to attend every single one of your school’s award ceremonies.

Exhaustion

That was what the doctor ultimately decided for her cause of death. You had tried to wake her up, thankful she had finally gotten some rest; she wouldn’t wake up.

It took a long time for you to even think about your mom after she passed, instead pushing yourself into your work to make sure your family would be taken care of and would never have to worry about working again. Even now, your family tried to get you to rest, to take a vacation of sorts, but you just couldn’t.

Your aunts and cousins always asked when you would be having your own children, when they would meet your significant other. You just laughed, knowing it wasn’t going to happen. Your grandmother would always just tell you that your fate was written in the stars, mimicking something your mother told you.

You just never realized the old bat knew the truth. That she knew more than she was letting on.

-*-*-

“Get your ass over here and give me a damn hug!” You didn’t hold back a grin as you watched your frail grandma run down her front steps and practically jump into your arms, ignoring her own words.

You squeezed her as tight as you could without hurting her, pouring all your love for her into the small show of affection. She squeezed you back twice as hard, her hands rubbing up and down your back as she got on her tip toes and kissed you on the cheek. You could feel a slap to your back before she pulled away, a grin on her lips.

“You are getting too old. You need to give me some grandbabies.” She offhandedly states, not waiting for a reply as she walks slowly back into the house. You stare at her wide eyed, not expecting those words to come out of her mouth.

You and your uncle look at each other, a laugh bubbling from your throat as he rolls his eyes and mocks her. “I saw that, William!” Her yell sounds from the kitchen, shocking you both and making you move as quickly as you can to grab your bags and go into the house.

You make your way to the room you grew up in, the walls a light shade of purple with the same fairy lights your mother said would make the monsters stay away hung from the bed frame. She gave you those after your father passed away, claiming they would keep you safe.

“I told you that old bat didn’t change anything.” You uncle’s voice came from behind you, moving around you to put your suitcase on the bed for you to deal with later.

“You were always her favorite. The second I moved out she turned my room into a library.” He scoffed, a hidden laugh under his breath. “When your aunt moved out, she threw a party.” That had you laughing, imagining the look on your aunt’s face as she left.

“Yeah, well aunty Laura was always the one that everyone claimed would send grandma into an early grave.” Your aunt Laura was the baby and was about 7 years younger than your uncles, and about twice as rebellious. She now lives in LA and has her own record label, according to your cousin.

“That’s for sure…” He paused, looking around the room until he landed on the stuffed animals in the center of your pillows. “She’s worried about you, you know. She keeps talking about something coming, that you need to be told.” You narrow your eyebrows at his words, wondering what the heck your grandma was so worried about. 

“The doctors say she is in the beginning stages of dementia, but she swears up and down she is as sane as God. Don’t know how that is supposed to calm me down.” Your uncle rolls his eyes again, before making a swirling motion above his head, causing a large grin to grow on your lips.

“Anyways, I’ll let you get settled. Mama’s in there cooking up some deer meat Peter brought over.” You nodded, your uncle not wasting another second before leaving your room, closing the door behind him.

You turn back around, not wasting a second before sitting on the middle of your bed and pulling your laptop out of your carry on. Now that you were home, you could start writing your research notes. You grabbed your small, leather notebook out of your bag as well, pulling out your to do list as well as the list of things you remember or already know about the manor.

You had two pages already filled out, mainly just what legends you remember along with facts about the manor, like the address and any known affiliates associated with the upkeep of the “historical landmark”. The first name that popped up was a Jim Kelly, the assistant to the owner of the property, who is the main person everyone goes through with regards to the manor.

According to the emails you’ve been sending back and forth, the building and surrounding property is owned by the Kim family and has been under their possession since it was built. It is inherited by the first-born son in each generation, and his current employer is the most recent owner.

You had been trying for a week now to make an appointment to talk to Mr. Kim, but he seems to be almost unreachable to the public. He handles all business through Mr. Kelly, giving the man almost full control of the property.

Scratching that off your list for now, you decide you are going to go to the library first thing in the morning, see what information or records you could find there. Who knows, maybe Mrs. Shay is still the librarian and will let you into the back room where the closed off records are located.

You sit on your bed thinking and planning until your grandma comes knocking on your door, claiming she’ll have your behind if you don’t come and eat dinner right now. Which leads you to where you are now, sitting across from your grandma as you ask her about the legends again.

“Why do you want to hear that story again? You haven’t wanted to hear it in years.” She had her eyes narrowed, your lips turned down as she watches your face, looking for any tell you could give.

“Please grandma. I—” You close your eyes as you are interrupted, your grandmother apparently not done with her scolding.

“Don’t give me that. You haven’t been having any dreams, have you? Don’t you lie to me Y/n.” Your brows knitted in confusion, wondering what she meant by having dreams.

Your grandma froze, your uncle bringing his head to rest in the palms of his hands, a small groan leaving his lips. A slap from your grandma has him straightening, moving to grab your plates and bring them into the kitchen.

“I’m sorry. I don’t remember much about that house. Just that it still exists and that the building is getting slowly renovated.” With that, you watch your grandma stalk back to her room down the hallway, slamming her door as she closes it.

“Did I ask something wrong?” You ask yourself, not knowing what made your grandma so upset that she walked away and slammed her door. She’s never done that, not even when your aunt Laura lived at home. Moving to get up, you are stopped by a hand on your shoulder, your uncle looking at you with a glint of worry and…something else in his eye.

“Sit.” You nod, sitting back down as he moves to sit in the seat your grandma was previously occupying.

“Listen, I don’t know what is truth and what is fiction.” Your uncle started, looking even more worn down than when his youngest moved out of the home.

“Stories about Weepin’ have been goin’ around longer than even mama’s been around. The most common legend is the one mama’ told us and you guys when we were all younger.” You nod, remembering the time you and your cousins all sat around grandma as she sat in her chair and captured our attention with the stories.

“Apparently, seven men moved down here during the miner movement, and fell in love with one of the town’s few single women. A nurse who worked in the tents helping injuries that came from the mines. It was love at first sight, some even called them soulmates. However, not everyone minded. A lot of the men were jealous and the few other women were envious of her for nabbing the seven men.” You don’t remember this from grandma’s story and wonder where he heard this part.

“A couple months into the relationship, the men struck gold, literally, even helping to build most of the older buildings in town. They built Weepin’ Manor with her in mind, tons of rooms and even a library. During this time, unfortunately, a lot of bodies were turning up, some saying drained of blood, others saying their bodies were torn apart. No one really knows. But the blame was put on the seven men.”

“People claimed they were working with the devil, Demons come to take advantage of the sin of gold. Tales of screams heard from inside the manor. Well, one day, someone claimed they saw one of the men feeding from a traveler in the woods behind the mine’s entrance. The town grew outraged,” Your eyes were wide as you listened to the story your uncle was telling. He seemed serious as he spoke, his eyebrows furrowed as he looked at you.

“When the men left town for the day, some of the townsmen stormed the manor, not thinking they would have left their woman behind. When they returned, she was found dead, her throat slit and her stomach stabbed through into the mattress. The found her with the knife still lodged in her abdomen.” You moved your hand to cover your mouth in shock, hearing this version for the first time. You couldn’t believe the whole town would turn against this family like that. That they could kill one of their own so violently just for being there.

It made you unbelievably angry.

“The seven men were so distraught, they are said to have burnt the entire town to the ground, the only buildings left somewhat unscathed were the library and the old apothecary, buildings which their lover helped build. After the town was burnt, the men are said to have killed themselves, unable to take the grief of their loss.”  You take notes in your mind, trying everything you could to remember the entirety of the story, swearing to yourself you would write it down as soon as you got to your notebook.

“It was dubbed Weepin’ manor by the locals around 1880, some…. Forty years after the town was rebuilt. Folks said they heard people crying in there, even claimed they saw the spirits of the men. But nothing was ever proven.” Your uncle stopped, looking at you with something you didn’t recognize… guilt maybe? It was completely unlike him, so out of character you were becoming increasingly worried.

Before you could ask if he was alright, your uncle was shooting up and out of his seat, exclaiming that he was beat and he was going to bed. He came over and kissed your forehead, before walking down the same hallway your grandmother’s room is on.

Your head was hurting, everything happening so quickly you were now in the dining room alone, stuck with your thoughts. You had never heard that version of the legends before, and with the way your uncle was talking, it seemed as if he knew the truth. Like he actually believed in what he was telling you.

Getting up from your seat, you slowly made your way to your room, despite the urgency you felt, and opened your notebook again to write down everything your uncle told you. It took you over an hour, making sure you wrote down every single detail, no matter how important it seemed. It took over 12 pages in your notebook, and a couple things underlined to look for in the records tomorrow.

You spent the entire night going over the story, trying to pick out anything that seemed off, or didn’t match the research you had already done prior to coming home. Something about the story was pulling at your insides, like it wasn’t the entire story. You could feel your heart clawing at your chest, the pain making you pause in your thoughts.

It was like something was stabbing you, the pain making its way into your back and having you bite your tongue to prevent crying out and possibly waking your family.

You were frantic in trying to close the curtains, praying to the gods that they would leave your family alone. You had done everything you could, helped so many of your neighbors. You tried to move forward to the staircase, but the corner of the door caught the bottom of your dress, making you pause to remove the cloth.

“Come now, Ellie. You will be safe if you come with us.” You heard the mayor, Michael, say through the front door. Your movements became even more frantic, choosing to rip the cloth instead of trying to fight the door.

You raced up the steps and into the guest bedroom, shutting the door behind you right as you heard the front door being broken down. Yelling tore through the bottom floor, glasses being smashed, a particular vase you loved, as it was a gift from…being thrown to the ground, causing a sob to leave your lips.

“Ellie darling. They can’t mind control you any longer.” The footsteps moved up the stairs as you hid under the bed, hand over your mouth to she couldn’t hear you cry. A whimper tore through your lips as the door was thrown open, a laugh sounding throughout the room.

The pain in your chest was gone, your heart beating fast as you tried to breathe through the onslaught of tears. You were overcome with emotions: fear, pain, agony, and love. Like they were your own emotions, but you had no reason to feel this way. The… vision you had was just that, a vision. You were probably so sleep deprived that you had a hallucination of some sort.

The only thing that was weird was that it was like you were there, experiencing everything as if it was going on now. You could still hear the echoes of the things smashing from below you. Could hear the laughter of that man in your ears as the fear filled your lungs. Ellie. You wonder if it was short for something, maybe Elizabeth?

Another note made in your notebook, writing down the description of your hallucination. Another 5 pages written down. You felt that your hallucination was somehow connected to the manor, even if it didn’t make any sense.

Deciding it was a good time to sleep, you put your notebook down. You didn’t want another lifelike hallucination, and if sleeping kept them away, you would sleep. You took your suitcase and bag off your bed, placing them at the edge, and climbed under your covers, before turning your bedside lamp off and trying to sleep.

-*-*-

“She’s finally back.” The man spoke, his body stood in the trees behind the small house. His view was of your sleeping body, rested against your pillows and the stuffed animal he sent your mother when you were little.

A smile was rested on his lips as he watched you sleep; his protective instincts finally being soothed after having you in his sights after so long.

“I was surprised when Jimmy told us she had messaged him, asking about the manor. I wonder if the dreams have started back up again?” The first man turned his head, smirking at the younger who approached from behind, intertwining their hands together.

“They don’t seem to be dreams this time around. She thinks she is hallucinating.” A click to his tongue sounds out as you shift in your sleep, clutching at the teddy bear making his undead heart warm.

“Joon says he is going to have Jimmy email her tomorrow about a meeting. He doesn’t want to waste any time in having her again. That old bat already kept her from us once, he doesn’t want it to happen again.” The older man quirks his head, listening to the bitter tone his younger mate held. The contempt for the old women palpable as he looks at his mate.

“We won’t have to worry about her, or him this time. They know what will happen if she is kept from us again.” Both men’s eyes flash red, their reflection against your window showing the veins creeping up their eyes at the remembrance of you leaving town the first time.

“She won’t be able to hide from us again.” Turning around and back into the tree line, the younger steals once last glance at your sleeping form before letting himself be dragged into the trees, food being the only thing on his mind once again as he let the feeling of the hunt take over once more.

Next Chapter

#bts #bts au #bts vampire #bts vampire au #bts slight yandere #historian mc #reincarnated mc #bts reincarnation #bts historical au #bts polyamory #bts poly #bts poly!au #bts poly au #bts poly! #bts x reader #poly!bts x reader #vampiretan sonyeondan #dance of time #purpleyoonn

[froody]

One time my parents and I toured a house and it was a completely normal slightly ostentatious pre-2008 McMansion except it had a dungeon tunnel in the basement connecting it to the house next door. Strange tunnels connecting cellars isn’t completely unheard of in older houses in Virginia because of the Underground Railroad, I’ve seen one before and it was incredibly cool. This wasn’t that. This was a large, dark prison-like concrete hallway with metal doors connecting two ugly early 2000s suburban houses. Bizarre shit.

[akajustmerry]

What's an obscure piece of media you wish more people knew about?

hi! I'm honestly so bad at judging what's obscure and what's not. In high school, I genuinely thought my music taste was alternative because I was the only person in my group of friends who listened to the Jonas Brothers. so idk if this is obscure media but it's media I love that I wish I could talk to people more about:

Some Girls (2012-14) - this sitcom series about 4 high school besties who live around the same housing estate was EVERYTHING to me. think Derry Girls/Sex Education but in the early 2010s with working class poc. I still quote this show at least once a week and miss it dearly even tho it ended exactly as it should!!

While The Men Are Away (2023-?) - lesbian period drama comedy about a bunch of Australian lesbians on the WW2 homefront in regional Australia. Beautifully horny show that also has STUNNING representation of immigrant and Indigenous experiences of the time.

Clarice (2020) - silence of the lambs sequel series that follows Clarice Sterling on a case 2 years after her encounter with Hannibal Lector. so sad this was cancelled but it's still a great season of tv!

The Underground Railroad (2021) - limited series on Amazon Prime about the Underground Railroad. Tw for literally everything, BUT it's directed by Moonlight director Barry Jenkins and his hands down some of the most beautiful TV I've ever seen.

The Silent Sea (2020) - limited series on Netflix about some astronauts sent to a mining station on the moon where something has infected all the crew.

The OA (2016-18) - difficult to describe this show but it's everything to me. theeeeee show about multiverses. Ahead of its time, gone too soon 💔

But 2 genuinely obscure pieces of media I think people should watch, especially rn, are Salt of this Sea (a film about a Palestinian-American woman heisting an Israeli bank to get her grandfather's money back) and the 2019 sci-fi short film In Vitro about an elderly Palestinian woman in an underground bunker trying to pass on why she's here to another Palestinian woman but neither can remember.

#anon

[acerdime]

Riordanverse: Demigod Parent Support Group 🤝

Sally Jackson, Frederick Chase, & Mrs. Chase start an online support group/blog for mortal parents/relatives of demigods

It ends up becoming a kind of underground railroad to freedom, with parents stocking up on weapons of godly metals and offering their homes as safe-houses for demigods making their way to Camp Halfblood or New Rome! This greatly reduces demigod fatalities, homelessness, & malnourishment

But Sally and the other parents want more than that for their kids, they want to be there for them. Parents and demigods with mortal kids/siblings to look after may not want to take the risk of monster attacks killing them, forcing the demigod to stay at camp year-round, growing up without any parental guidance or protection. Parents like Sally may get their kids back during the school year, only to have them ripped away for quests, wars, and other dangers.

Sally and the other parents are a force to be reckoned with though and together they manage to convince the Olympians to expand CHB’s borders and build family housing!

The mortal use their professions to fund, maintain, and build up the camp (see my post “Camp Halfblood Funding”).

Inspired by what I thought this fic was going to be: https://archiveofourown.org/works/36131326/chapters/90067192

#pjo #pjo fandom #pjo hoo toa #percy jackson #sally jackson #frederick chase #demigods #percy jackson and the heroes of olympus #percy jackon and the olympians #camp halfblood #chb #new rome #fic ideas #fic prompt #fic inspo #fic inspiration

[hometoursandotherstuff]

Oh, this is one is very different. See that mound of dirt? That's 80% of the house underground. The 4bd, 3.5ba home in Gilbert, Arizona needs a lot of work, but has a sale pending for $695K. Property also includes a guest house.

Here's the front entrance. Bad thing about blue carpet is that it fades, so that has to go.

The living room has a brick fireplace.

I don't know what's happening with the ceiling in here, but it looks like they opened it to repair something.

The kitchen is underground and feels a little claustrophobic.

I'm guessing this is the dining room. (Why did they carpet this home?)

All of the bedrooms are in the basement. Maybe that's a fake window?

The baths are pretty nice- look at the size of this shower.

This looks like it might be the primary bedroom. Is this the blue rug? It looks gray, it's so dirty. Looks like there may have been a wood stove on the left.

Here's a small home office.

This is the guest house.

The guest house is nice.

There's a playground on the property.

This is a large area for chickens.

Raised planting beds.

The property measures 1.01 acres. Notice the railroad track behind the property.

#unique homes #unusual homes #underground homes #houses #house tours #home tour

[aperiodofhistory]

Books to read in autumn

Historical novels

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel: England in the 1520s

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett: Building the most splendid Gothic cathedral the world has ever known

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon: A back-in-time Scottish romance

Company of Liars by Karen Maitland: A novel of the plague in the year 1348

The underground railroad by Colson Whitehead: Enslavement of African Americans through escape and flight

The God of small things by Arundhati Roy: A family drama in the 60s located in India

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank: A powerful reminder of the horrors of world war II

Fantasy

A Game of thrones by George R. R. Martin: A Fantasy epic run by politics, strong families, dragons

Red rising by Pierce Brown: A dystopian science fiction novel set in a future colony on Mars

Babel by R.F. Kuang: Student revolutions, colonial resistance, and the use of language and translation as the dominating tool of the British empire

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree: A fresh take on fantasy staring an orc and a mercenary

Jade City by Fonda Lee: A gripping Godfather-esque saga of intergenerational blood feuds, vicious politics, magic, and kungfu

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik: A tale of hope and magic, with brave maidens and scary monsters

The Atlas six by Olivie Blake: A dark academic sensation following six magicians

Mysteries & Horror

The Gathering Dark: An Anthology of Folk Horror by various authors: Short stories perfect for the Halloween mood

Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon: The story of Vern, a pregnant teenager who escapes the cult Cainland

The Weird and the Eerie by Mark Fisher: A noted cultural critic unearths the weird, the eerie, and the horrific in 20th-century culture through a wide range of literature, film, and music

Holly by Stephen King: Disappearances in a midwestern town

Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas: Supernatural western

The good house by Tananarive Due: A classic New England tale that lays bare the secrets of one little town

Nonfiction

Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places by Colin Dickey: The trail of America's ghosts

What moves the dead by T. Kingfisher: A gripping and atmospheric retelling of Edgar Allan Poe's classic "The Fall of the House of Usher

South to America: A Journey Below the Mason Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation by Imani Perry: A journey through the history, rituals, and landscapes of the American South—and a revelatory argument for why you must understand the South in order to understand America

All the living and the dead by Hayley Campbell: An exploration of the death industry and the people―morticians, detectives, crime scene cleaners, embalmers, executioners―who work in it and what led them there

Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas R. Hofstadter: Gödel, Escher, Bach is a wonderful exploration of fascinating ideas at the heart of cognitive science: meaning, reduction, recursion, and much more

#autumn mood #writing #inspiration #history #autumn #fall season #autumn leaves #autumn aesthetic #dark fantasy #dark academia #books and reading #books #books & libraries #bookstagram #currently reading #booklr #reading #book recommendations #writingcommunity #creative writing #writeblr #fall vibes #october #autumn vibes #historical novel #fantasy #fairy tale #fantasy reader #nonfiction #mystery

[ratsoh-writes]

Hey y’all! Say hello to

Ebott~

Or at least the first wip of the ebott map! I have all the main (above ground) locations so far!

For those who are wondering, dark brown is rocky hilly land/cliff sides, rusty brown is mountain ranges, khaki is grassland, green is forest, and light tan is beaches obviously lol. I don’t think I need to say what the blue areas represent.

I’ll add descriptions of each landmark below the next picture.

Alright starting from left to right:

Atlantis: home of the hadal monsters, the majority of this city is underwater, but some of it is accessible through the cliffs of bluefin island as well as floating buildings anchored to the shallower ocean around the island. The majority of Atlantis city houses its people in the curved section of the ocean trench by bluefin island. The buildings are carved into the rock.

Seashore: ebotts second largest beach town, seashore is a beautiful place where the majority of ebotts fishing trade takes place. It’s a popular vacation spot more for ebotts residents, but it does get some tourism too during holiday season.

Echo hills: the southernmost city of ebott, echo hills is a small city surrounded by grassy farmland. Due to the location, the place is raining more than not, and is perfect for crops that need lots of water! Echo hills is best known for its rice, producing just enough to sustain ebott.

Remembrance: located to the west on wells island, remembrance town houses one of the maintained entrances to the connected underground’s. It is also the point where the famine monsters were found and rescued. Here the royals placed the memorial of those left behind. Massive stone statues carved all over with the names of family who died underground or were left behind in the crash surround the caves entrance. A small town of monsters maintain the area, and some livestock are raised there as well.

The great dam: exactly what the name suggests, it’s just ebotts biggest dam. It’s part of the national forest so only a handful of maintenance workers and rangers actually live there. The dam is connected to waterfall lake.

The national forest entrance: this is the official way to see the national park, and access the maintained trails. Most of the park rangers live near here as well. There’s a small tourist trap too selling gift items, and farther up is a hunting lodge that opens during open season.

The Temple: located right in the middle of ebott, the actual temple building sits on top of three large mountains near kidney lake. The temple houses ebotts history and is a popular tourist spot. It also houses one of the maintained entrances to the underground, connected to some of the upper levels of waterfall.

NEW EBOTT: the largest city of ebott, and the capital of the county. New ebott has it all! The education, entertainment, shopping and jobs! And of course all the important big government buildings are here as well as most of the royals! New ebott is the only city connected to all the railroads and has the largest airport.

Rails Way: a city surrounding an important train stop, rails way is the in between rest stop between Portland and new ebott. Besides the trains passing through, it also is where trucks in ebott are made and fixed for the most part. There’s a few other factories in the city as well, like a few metal processing plants.

Metta Land: north to new ebott, this is basically a theme park, mega mall, and Hollywood all rolled into one spot. Metta land is so big that there’s even a few villages around it where its employees live. It also houses the only man/monster made entrance to the underground, going straight to hotland of course. What happens in metta land stays in metta land

Portland: this is the second biggest city of ebott located on the east. Almost all trade ships stop here. Portland is a bustling business city full of factories, and has a few houses of education too! It also houses most of ebotts navy and has the second largest airport.

Cape resort: located on the southern rocky cliffs, cape resort is in fact not a resort. It’s rocky, cold and generally horrible to live in if you’re not an aquatic monster lol. However it has an oil rig. Lots of hadal and sea monsters live there maintaining that oil rig.

New hope: new hope is a beautiful mountain town housing the entrance to snowdin, the largest entrance to the underground. It gets the largest amount of tourists year round and is a popular ski location during the winters as well. The parts of new hope that aren’t for tourists are mostly farmland or forests put aside for logging. Plenty of vineyards are in this area

Ridgeside factory: Ridgeside factory is ebotts main power plant and is directly connected to the core in hotland as well. It’s surrounded by a few villages too where more outdoorsy monsters live. Those who don’t work at the factory are either from hotland or are miners. The mountains in the area are littered with natural caverns being used as mine entrances

Golden valley city: the golden valley refers to the surrounding farmland, but in the very middle of it is the golden valley city. It is a rural type of place, is where the majority of ebotts produce passes through before being sold, and is a huge art center of the country. Just about everything above ground is grown in the valley surrounding the city.

Steeler city, the third largest city of ebott, steeler is where golden valley ships their produce to be preserved and spread around the rest of the country. Steeler is full of factories and restaurants. The most famous eating places of ebott are located here!

Crimson gate bridge: it’s a massive bridge named after the Golden Gate Bridge in California. This bridge is actually a sunny gold color, but they named it crimson in fear of being called copycats

Corncopia: a third farming community located between the split between white water river, ebotts biggest river. Corncopia is absolutely gorgeous but space is limited so it’s a fight to get any land there. The prime spots are taken by the rich for their homes or by the big wig farmers who cemented their place when the country was first forming

Not listed on the map is the underground! Ebott still has all the underground chambers from when the monsters were sealed away. New entrances to the underground are being discovered each day, and still plenty of monsters live there, preferring the comfort of a home they knew from before. Since there no longer trapped inside, the underground has become pretty comfortable. At least the discovered parts are ;)

I’ll describe the three main areas from smallest to largest

Hotland: hotland is really only a small thin chunk of the underground. A long but thin lake of lava surrounded by rocky chambers makes up the areas of hotland. The most popular spot of course is hotland city, connected to metta land, it’s pretty much the Vegas of ebott these days. The less visited spot, core, is a small town housing the core, connected to Ridgeside factory, and housing several research centers.

Snowdin. Snowdin is actual just the name of the small quaint town close to the underground entrance in new hope. They have year round skiing, and a pretty boat ride through waterfall straight to hotland for tourists. The outskirts of snowdin however have several villages filled with farmers growing magical crops that thrive in the cold temperatures.

Waterfall: it’s estimated that nearly 80% of the underground chambers are waterfall lands. Humid, cool but not frigid, and filled with varying levels of fresh and salt water, waterfall is underneath the majority of ebott, and even extends into the ocean some. Almost all of ebotts magical crops are grown down in the lived in parts of waterfall. It’s because of this area that ebott is self sufficient in feeding its people. Waterfall also houses the fourth and fifth largest cities of ebott; New Shell and Lily pad Fields.

Whew! That was a lot! I’ll probably add more to the map later on, but I think this is good for now

#undertale imagines #undertale headcanons #worldbuilding #ratsohart

[revasserium]

the unofficial ultimate bungo stray dogs reading list

this is mainly for myself bc i rly do want to read most if not all of these and i'm sure it's already been done by someone somewhere. but, i thought why not post it lmao; most if not all of these can be found on anna's archive, z-library, or project gutenberg! (also, consider buying from your local bookstore!) for those that are a bit harder to find, i've included links, though some are from j-stor and would require login to access.

detective agency:

osamu dazai:

no longer human (novel)

the setting sun (novel)

nakajima atsushi:

the moon over the mountain: stories (short story collection)

light, wind and dreams (short story)

fukuzawa yukichi:

an encouragement of learning (17 volume collections of writings)

all the countries of the world, for children written in verse (textbook)

yosano akiko:

kimi shinitamou koto nakare (poem)

midaregami (poetry collection)

edogawa ranpo:

the boy detectives club (book series)

japanese tales of mystery and imagination (short story collection)

the early cases of akechi kogoro (novel)

kunikida doppo:

river mist and other stories (short story collection)

izumi kyouka:

demon lake (play)

spirits of another sort: the plays of izumi kyoka (play collection)

tanizaki junichirou:

the makioka sisters (novel)

the red roof and other stories (short story collection)

miyazawa kenji:

ame ni mo makezu; be not defeated by the rain (poem)

night on the galactic railroad (novel)

strong in the rain (poetry collection)

port mafia:

mori ougai:

vita sexualis (novel)

the dancing girl (novel)

nakahara chuuya:

poems of nakahara chuya (poetry collection)

akutagawa ryuunosuke:

rashoumon (short story)

the spider's thread (short story)

rashoumon and other stories (short story collection)

ozaki kyouyou:

the gold demon (novel)

higuchi ichiyou:

in the shade of spring leaves (biography and short stories)

hirotsu ryuurou:

falling camellia (novel)

tachihara michizou:

in mourning for the summer (poem)

midwinter momento (poem)

from the country of eight islands: an anthology of japanese poetry (poetry collection)

kajii motojirou:

lemon (short story)

yumeno kyuusaku:

dogra magra (novel)

oda sakunosuke:

flawless/immaculate (short story)

sakaguchi ango:

darakuron (essay)

the guild:

f. scott fitzgerald:

the great gatsby (novel)

the beautiful and the damned (novel)

edgar allen poe:

the raven (poem)

the black cat (short story)

the murders in the rue morgue (short story)

herman melville:

moby dick (novel)

h.p. lovecraft:

the call of cthulhu (short story)

the shadow out of time (novella)

john steinbeck:

the grapes of wrath (novel)

of mice and men (novel)

lucy maud montgomery:

anne of green gables (novel)

the blue castle (novel)

chronicles of avonlea (short story collection)

louisa may alcott:

little women (novel)

the brownie and the princess (short story collection)

margaret mitchell:

gone with the wind (novel)

mark twain:

the adventures of tom sawyer (novel)

adventures of huckleberry finn (novel)

nathaniel hawthorn:

the scarlet letter (novel)

rats in the house of the dead:

fyodor dostoevsky:

crime and punishment (novel)

the brothers karamozov (novel)

notes from the underground (short story collection)

alexander pushkin:

eugene onegin (novel)

a feast in time of plague (play)

ivan goncharov:

the precipice (novel)

oguri mushitarou:

the perfect crime (novel)

decay of the angel:

fukuchi ouchi:

the mirror lion, a spring diversion (kabuki play)

bram stoker:

dracula (novel)

dracula's guest and other weird stories (short story collection)

nikolai gogol:

the overcoat (short story)

dead souls (novel)

hunting dogs: (i must caveat here that the hunting dogs are named after much more comparatively obscure jpn writers/playwrights so i was unable to find a lot of the specific pieces actually mentioned; but i still wanted to include them on the list because well -- it wouldn't be a bsd list without them)

okura teruko:

gasp of the soul (short story; i wasn't able to find an english translation)

devil woman (short story)

jouno saigiku:

priceless tears (kabuki play; no translation but at least we have a summary)

suehiro tetchou:

setchuubai/a political novel: plum blossoms in snow (novel)

division for unusual powers:

taneda santouka:

the santoka: versions by scott watson (poetry collection)

tsujimura mizuki:

lonely castle in the mirror (novel)

yesterday's shadow tag (short story collection; i was unable to find a translation)

order of the clock tower:

agatha christie:

and then there were none (novel)

murder on the orient express (novel)

she is the best selling fiction writer of all time there's too much to list here

mimic:

andre gide:

strait is the gate (novel)

trascendents:

arthur rimbaud:

illuminations (poetry collection)

the drunken boat (poem)

a season in hell (prose poem)

johann von goethe:

faust

the sorrows of young werther

paul verlaine:

clair de lune (poem, yes it did inspire the debussy piece, yes)

poems under saturn (poetry collection)

victor hugo:

the hunchback of notre-dame (novel)

les miserables (novel)

william shakespeare:

romeo and juliet (play)

a midsummer nights' dream (play)

sonnets (poetry collection)

the seven traitors:

jules verne:

around the world in 80 days (novel)

journey to the center of the earth (novel)

twenty thousand leagues under the seas (novel)

other:

natsume souseki:

i am a cat (novel)

kokoro (novel)

botchan (novel)

h.g. wells:

the time machine (novella)

the invisible man (novel)

the war of the worlds (novel)

shibusawa tatsuhiko:

the travels of prince takaoka (novel; unable to find translation)

dr. mary wollstonecraft godwin shelley

frankenstein (novel)

#bungo stray dogs #bsd #literature #dark academia #reading list #academia #i'm sure there's people i've missed but i did my best LOL #this also really throws into a stark contrast how relatively un-worldly american literary curriculums really are #obviously; it makes vague sense to focus american literary schooling on the western 'canon' bc so much of the english language #is influenced by it and the 'culture' is more touched by it but HOLY SHIT does it just... astound me #how uneducated i am on even east asian literature (from wheremst i technically hail!!!) #i know like.... maybe 3?? 4??? chinese writers off cuff??? #like the only reason i even know anything about jpn literature is i got my minor in jpn so i read some stuff but WOWWWWW there's a wORLD. #the fact that i knew not a SINGLE work by most of these jpn writers but as soon as we got to the guild members #i didn't even have to fucking google/wiki -- i just KNEW off the top of my head #kinda fucked up tbh;;;; #anyway this list is massive but i think at least dipping my foot into some of the poems/short stories will be fun

[nnobodoodles]

Just posting some fancy 1920s characters I made to mess around with ☕✨

(aka things that happen when I read Wodehouse, Lackadaisy and binge Downton Abbey)

From left to right: Priya, Freddie, Matthew, Arthur & Marion

1928

Lord Dalham's son has succumbed to illness and the next heir to his title, his nephew Frederick Barlow, a solicitor, is to return to England after spending the last two years in India.

"Freddie", isn't quite the reserved, serious man that everyone remembered upon return; because they are in fact, Frederick's unruly twin that was travelling by his side to be engaged to an English officer.

After their brother's unexpected death, Freddie assumed his identity, recruiting the help of Frederick's former valet, one Matthew Halkett.

Through gentlemen's clubs, fancy country houses, speakeasies and gambling pits, dog shows and county fairs, Freddie discovers alarming and conflicting information regarding their twin, as well as people who seem to have curious ties to him.

Freddie Barlow (28)

Despite being born in the upper classes and having the privileges that come with this, Freddie never quite found their calling in life, nor were they considered a particularly graceful aristocrat; not being the one for sports like tennis, or the arts, desperately failing at music and painting.

They would have liked to pursue acting, but that option was of course, off the table. They were supposed to be a socialite like their mother, and their acting skills were required to put on a mask and pull on strings. That seemed to keep everyone pleased until in an effort to protect their best friend from a predatory suitor, Freddie allowed scandal to soil their name and was sent to India to get married, accompanied by their twin, Frederick.

After Frederick's death in a railroad "accident", Freddie discovers a plot against their family, and assumes his identity upon arriving in England, after a 2-year absence. Their alter ego is assumed to still be in India and married to an English officer.

Freddie is constantly discovering alarming and conflicting information regarding their twin and bears guilt, doubt, and identity issues over their actions.

(Freddie is afab & non-binary/genderfluid by today's standards, all pronouns apply but in the context of the story, Freddie leans towards masculine terms)

Matthew Halkett (30)

Matthew Halkett was Frederick's former valet, who was let go before the twins' trip to India.

Halkett grew up into poverty and was a thief and an underground boxer as a youth, before turning his life around in his teens. He dedicated his life to service, when his uncle, butler at Lord Dalham's big estate, helped him get into service as a footman. He soon found he has a particularly keen eye for detail, and a strong work ethic that made him shine amongst staff. He also served in the Great War before his employment at the Barlow household.

Upon receiving news of his potential title as heir to his uncle, Frederick required a valet, and when the two met at Lord Dalham's estate the offer was made.

As Frederick's valet Halkett knew most of the secrets of the household, including Freddie's. Due to an unjustly blamed incident of theft, Frederick fired him with no reference which left him in a rather unsatisfactory position, under the employment of an old bubbling arrogant Colonel.

His previous position also makes him a target of Frederick's enemies after his death. He is the first ally Freddie seeks out upon returning to England, and is offered, once again, the position of the valet on their side instead.

Priya Curtis (21)

The youngest daughter of middle class merchants, Priya Curtis is an sweet and elegant young lady of British-Indian heritage who seems to have followed Freddie all the way on his trip back to England. Or more like, she seems to think she's following Frederick.

The reason? Why, revenge, of course.

If they get past that misunderstanding, Priya and Freddie might discover they are connected by something of a familial nature.

Arthur Pennington (28)

Arthur Pennington is the son of an English earl & an American heiress, and Frederick's friend from their university days in Oxford. Despite his wealth, he also studied law but remains rather unworldly and naive due to a rather sheltered lifestyle. He makes up with his infectious energy, friendliness, and unending loyalty, and he's eager to recount old stories to Freddie, initially not realizing he's not talking to their twin.

Marion Ellis (36)

A Renaissance lady; writer, poet, and predominantly a journalist, she spent many good years in Paris and Montmartre, where her fiancé, John, awaits her return. An extremely romantic soul with a love for the arts and a social butterfly, Marion is well aware of the ins and outs of high society and has written under a nickname for ladies' magazines. She is an acquaintance of Freddie's lord-uncle, and apparently, had some mysterious ties to Frederick.

#original characters #ocs #character lineup #1920s characters #my week's been hellish and this has been in my drafts for 2 weeks #will report as soon as I get 50 hours of sleep #i have so much trouble just being indulgent and ranting about ocs but I also want to sorry #nnobodiusart

[mogai-sunflowers]

MOGAI BHM- Belated Day 17!

happy BHM! today i’m going to be talking about Black influences on various genres of music! obviously i won’t be able to cover every music genre in this post so im just going to do the ones i know most about!

Spirituals-

[Image ID: A black-and-white drawing of a gathering of Black people in a small, crowded room. At the front of the room, a man dressed in a tuxedo is gesturing grandly at a podium with two other men standing beside him. The rest of the people in the room are all dressed formally and in various positions- some sitting, some bowing, some kneeling, and some standing with their arms raised in the air. End ID.]

Cultures from across the continent of Africa placed huge emphasis on music. Music in many African cultures was very rhythmic, enthusiastic, and depended on participation from entire gatherings of people, not just one person. When people began to be kidnapped for the slave trade, that connection to their specific culture was often lost- but spirituals became a way of reviving that.

Derived from the term ‘spiritual song’ from the Bible, a spiritual is a religious folksong that expressed deep religious themes, and usually themes of resisting oppression in the context of slavery. In the decades leading up to the abolition of slavery in America, spirituals became a very popular musical form amongst slaves at plantations. While their white masters and white populations in general hated the music form because it represented Black freedom and resistance, and therefore gatherings to sing this kind of music were banned, many slaves found ways to still sing spirituals. Spirituals involved call-and-response singing, clapping, and stopping amongst an audience.

Starting in the 1700s, slaves began to gather informally in what were known as “praise houses”. They also held outdoor meetings called ‘brush arbor meetings’. In these gatherings, they would dance, sing, and play music together, as well as pray. At these meetings, they sang ‘corn ditties’, which developed into spirituals. Spirituals developed as a way of maintaining African musical culture in America, uniting against oppression, building hope for a better future, singing praise in a uniquely Black Christian way- and of actually building roads to freedom.

Spirituals were not just used as a way show praise- they were often codes in relation to methods of escaping slavery like the Underground Railroad. Harriet Tubman herself used spirituals like “Go down, Moses” and probably “I got my ticket” to identify herself to slaves seeking escape. Spirituals and their lyrics were often codes of escape for slaves- in this way, spirituals were not just an outlet of rage and pain over oppression, they were a way to actually physically escape it. Other spirituals like “Wade in the Water”, “Swing Low Sweet Chariot”, and “The Gospel Train” spoke about and directly referred to escape methods of the Underground Railroad.

In the 1860s and 1870s, two groups formed- first the Fisk Jubilee Singers (from Fisk University, an HBCU), and then the Hampton Singers, both of whom gained international following for their singing and performing of spirituals. Since then, spirituals have grown as a genre, and have played a part in the development of another major music genre- gospel.

Gospel-

[Image ID: A black-and-white photograph of a group of six Black women. They are standing in two rows of three. Most are wearing fancy white blouses and a wide-brimmed hat, but one is wearing a plaid shirt. They are all holding books and looking at them as they sing. End ID.]

Although early gospel music centered mainly around white churches, it has an undeniably rich place in Black musical and religious history. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, it began to be sung and used more in Black churches. Gospel music as a form, developed from hymns, sacred songs, and other religious musical genres, including spirituals, and was a form of religious music that had one key distinguishing component- church choirs.

Church choirs had long been staples across churches, but especially Black Churches. In Black Churches, choirs were opportunities for people to express their pain through movement and song, as was typical for Black church services at the time. Church choirs were a perfect avenue for the spread and popularization of gospel music within Black Churches.

In the 1930s, a man named Thomas A. Dorsey became known as “the Father of Gospel Music” when he founded a publishing house for Black gospel musicians. He helped push Black gospel music into the American mainstream, and since then, gospel has become a wildly popular musical genre, especially within Black communities.

Hip Hop and Rap-

[Image ID: A black-and-white photograph of people in an outdoor area enclosed by a tall chain-link fence. There are groups of people wandering in the background, and in the foreground, five Black men are gathered around a cluster of tables that are cluttered with musical turntables, fans, papers, wires, and other various objects. One man is crouched in front of the tables and the other four are standing around them. End ID.]

Hip Hop music and rap music developed simultaneously during the 1970s in the Bronx, part of New York City. Black, Latino, and Caribbean communities would hold events known as ‘block parties’, where people gathered as a DJ played music like soul and funk. These events were collaborations between Black and Latino people living in New York City.

At these block parties, some people began to experiment with different types of rhythms and beats. It was common for DJs and performers to play around with various techniques like beatboxing, beat breaks, percussive sounds, scratching, and turntable techniques. This experimentation led to the developing sounds of hip hop and rap. The two genres, characterized by strong rhythmic beats and rapping tracks, began to take hold. A decade later, hip hop was a thriving musical genre.

The first hip hop record released was “Rapper’s Delight” by the Sugarhill Gang in 1979. Since then, hip hop and rap have become some of the dominant musical genres in America. They have produced many, many sub-genres, like trap, nu metal, and grime. These genres have expanded to include different lyrical styles, drum kits, and lyrical contents- all owing to the collaboration between Black and Latino musical artists in the 1970s.

Hip hop and rap have had a huge impact on American, especially Black American, culture. They have helped popularize different combinations of jazz, soul, and hip hop, breakdancing, beatboxing, and other musical styles and techniques. Many hip hop and rap artists have deepened the meaning of the genre by using their lyrics as an expression of yearning for societal liberation, and challenging the systems that be with raw, honest lyrics has become a staple of many areas of rap and hip hop.

Black Influence on Rock’N’Roll-

[Image ID: A black-and-white photograph of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, a heavier Black woman with short hair. In the photo, she is wearing a large fancy dress with very puffy sleeves and a tiny bow, and is smiling widely as she plays guitar at a microphone on stage. End ID.]

Although the development and popularization of rock’n’roll is usually attributed to Elvis Presley, that is simply not historically accurate. Rock’n’roll began to develop in the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s- and it developed out of southern Black musical genres, namely blues music, which proliferated during the Harlem Renaissance and spread from the South. Blues evolved into the famous R&B (rhythm and blues) genre, which evolved into rock’n’roll. A lot of rock’n’roll’s sound also owes itself to the rhythmic patterns of much West African music.

In the 1940s and 50s, blues artists began experimenting and developing the blues sound into what we now know as rock’n’roll. Taking inspiration from other musical genres like country (which has also been heavily influenced by Black people). Sister Rosetta Tharpe was a Black woman who started out as a blues singer. She was a self-taught guitarist, and through her work on developing the sounds of the guitar she played, she pretty much singlehandedly set the tone for the guitar sounds that defined rock’n’roll- her style and influence directly inspired and impacted Elvis Presley.

When rock’n’roll first developed, the genre was pretty much exclusively occupied by Black artists from the likes of Ike Turner and Bo Diddley to Little Richard and Chuck Berry. Black women have also had a huge impact on the genre of rock’n’roll. From Sister Rosetta Tharpe herself, to the all-Black girl group “The Shirelles”, Merry Clayton, and Tina Turner herself. Rock’n’roll has from its birth been built and defined by Black artists, and Black rock’n’roll has heavily influenced music by some of the most famous rock’n’roll groups of all time, like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

Odetta, Jimi Hendrix, Prince, all Black rock’n’roll artists who have left an invaluable footprint on music and history. Other incredible Black artists who shaped the genre include Odetta, a Black woman who experimented mixing blues, jazz, and folk music and sang with Martin Luther King Jr. at the famous 1963 March on Washington, Martha and the Vandellas, whose music was a call for solidarity, and the Supremes, arguably one of the most iconic, influential all-female musical groups not just of rock’n’roll, but of all time.

Black Influence on Country Music-

[Image ID: A black-and-white photograph of Charley Pride. He is a Black man with a small afro, and he’s wearing a patterned suit jacket over a white collared shirt and strumming the guitar as he stands by a microphone, smiling. End ID.]

Country music is one of the most popular, well-known musical genres of all time- and it developed in the 1920s as a blend from several other genres- the two main ones being blues and folk songs, both of which originated as Black musical genres. Spirituals were the first folk songs of America, and they defined the roots of the folk musical genre. Blues music developed on Deep South plantations and was a popular musical genre amongst enslaved populations in the South.

Jimmie Rodgers is a white man who is often hailed as the “Father of Country Music”- but he learned everything he knew from Black workers with whom he worked at a railroad track. They taught him how to play guitar and banjo, influenced the musical style of yodeling which he popularized, and taught him falsetto notes and styles. Hank Williams, another white figure hailed as a key builder and trailblazer in country music, also learned his musical style from another Black musician named Rufus “Tee Tot” Payne.

DeFord Bailey was a Black man who popularized the usage of the harmonica in blues and country music. He was the first country artist to be recorded in Nashville, and one of the most popular regular performers at the Grande Ole Opry, part of a popular Nashville radio station.

Two of the most defining instruments of the country genre are the banjo and the “Euphonica” (large acoustic guitar). Both of these instruments were invented by Black people. The banjo was invented by enslaved Black people in the South, inspired by some West African musical traditions, and the “Euphonica” as it was called, was developed by a Black man named Robert Flemming, Jr. Early Black artists like Charley Pride were Black staples of the genre.

Today, country music is filled with Black artists making a difference- from Kane Brown and Jimmie Allen, to Darius Rucker and Mickey Guyton, to BRELAND and Tiera Kennedy- country as a musical genre has always had strong roots in Black music, Black resistance, and Black pride.

Black Influence on Alternative/Grunge Music-

[Image ID: A color photograph of Tina Bell. She is a Black woman who is wearing a messily tousled blonde wig and a black leather jacket. She is smiling widely as she writes on poster boards with a black permanent marker. End ID.]

Alternative and grunge music developed as a blend of various rock genres, like punk. The distinct sound of grunge music has been called “The Seattle Sound”, as it developed in the Seattle music scene. Known as the “godmother of grunge”, Tina Bell was a Black woman who, with her husband, started Bam Bam, the band that pioneered the genre of grunge, in 1983. Tina and her band were the first to record at the studio that would eventually sign and record such famous grunge bands as Nirvana and Pearl Jam.

Since Tina’s success with Bam Bam and the boom of the Seattle music scene, Black bands have helped define the alternative music genre- from groups like Meet Me At The Altar and Pulses, to One Life To Lead and Big Joannie, Black alternative and Black grunge music has remained an integral part of the genre.

Summary-

Spirituals are a rhythmic form of call-and-response singing which developed during slavery in America and are the earliest of American folk songs

Gospel music developed from spirituals, hymn songs, and other religious songs, and became a staple of both Black religious and Black secular music

Hip Hop and rap both developed together at block parties in the 1970s as a collaboration between Black and Latino DJs and other artists in the Bronx

Rock’n’roll developed out of blues music, a Black musical genre, and its sound was developed and pioneered by Black artists like Little Richard and Sister Rosetta Tharpe, who directly inspired the biggest rock’n’roll names of all time

The banjo and the larger acoustic guitar, staples of country (which developed out of Black musical genres like folk songs, or early spirituals, and blues), were both developed by Black people

Alternative music was pioneered by a Black woman named Tina Bell and her band, Bam Bam

tagging @metalheadsforblacklivesmatter​ @intersexfairy​ @cistematicchaos​ 

Sources-

https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200197495/#:~:text=A%20spiritual%20is%20a%20type,legalized%20slavery%20in%20the%201860s.

https://www.negrospirituals.com/history.htm

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/hip-hop-guide

https://www.npr.org/2007/02/22/7550286/the-birth-of-rap-a-look-back#:~:text=Rap%20as%20a%20genre%20began,generally%20interacting%20with%20the%20audience.

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/gospel-music-guide

https://zora.medium.com/the-black-mother-of-grunge-who-inspired-nirvana-95886f21eccc

https://distortedsoundmag.com/black-musicians-in-alternative-music-that-you-absolutely-should-be-listening-to/

https://www.altpress.com/upcoming-black-alternative-bands-artists/

https://www.mic.com/articles/136969/who-invented-rock-n-roll-these-are-the-black-pioneers-who-laid-the-genre-s-foundations

https://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2020/november/the-black-women-behind-rock-and-roll-.html

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-pictures/black-women-who-shaped-rock-1122749/sister-rosetta/

https://theboot.com/black-country-music-history/#:~:text=Negro%20spirituals%20sung%20by%20enslaved,the%20genre's%20established%201920s%20roots.

https://baytownsun.com/local/article_754833c2-838a-11ec-8466-efc641316abb.html#:~:text=Robert%20F.,patent%20on%20April%205%2C%201887.

https://music.si.edu/spotlight/banjos-smithsonian#:~:text=The%20banjo%20was%20created%20by,of%20rural%20and%20urban%20settings.

https://time.com/5673476/ken-burns-country-music-black-artists/

#mogai bhm #mogai #mogai community #bhm #black history month #blm #black lives matter