#1940's britain

[aemonds-wifey]

Navy Blue Barmaid

Chapter 2 

Summary: A few more nights have passed since your first meeting with the mysterious Tom Bennett  

Authors Note: Age Gap-Reader is in early 20’s- Tom is in early 30’s.

Bold= Tom Bennett POV

“Oh come on Lois I was joking!” You said as your sister picked up her youngest child and held the young boy closer to her chest.

“My son is not dumpy Tom that’s awful...Poor Neville” she protested

“Lois I’m kidding…just having fun with my favourite nephew!”  Tom giggled at the boy clinging onto Lois’ shoulders. His fingers drummed on the folded piece of paper that lay before him, next to the empty cup of coffee.

“Your funny Tom.” She huffed as she took him to the next room, putting him down next to his older sister as they played with wooden toys on the floor by the couch. As You watched them he sighed quietly, you adored his niece and nephew so much-yet you sometimes got lost in your own thoughts about being a father and if you was missing out.

Lois was a great mother and you could not be happier for her and Vern, her dutiful husband, but there was an element missing from your life, something that during the war you were so vigilant to get if you made it back alive…and so far you had not come close.

Lois and Vern were so happy together, ever since they married you had been supportive as you can to make sure Lois was looked after. Even though you had spent the afternoon here and played little games with your niece and nephew, you occasionally thought of the barmaid at the Green Dragon-how she smiled differently at you, with intrigue and genuine warmth.

Since you first met her you had been in a few times, but you wanted to talk to her more...sure she was young but the way she spoke and the way she shook your hand, there was more to her than what was on the surface.

Lois came back sitting opposite you, noticing you checking your watch “Best be off.”

“Hot date?” Lois joked as she took a sip of tea. You got to your feet and got your jacket on “No. just off for a quick one at the pub. You seeing Dad tomorrow?”

She nodded putting the cup down on the table “Yeah me and Vern were gonna pop round about three- ish with the kids- you joining us like?”

He nodded “Maybe. Been a while since I’ve seen him so…”

“He misses you Tom…he just wants you to be happy.” Lois said

“He doesn’t think I’m happy?” You questioned with a furrowed eyebrow

“No…he just…” Lois paused

You placed your hands on the back of the chair, eagerly awaiting her response. Lois looked at you slowly “I think…like how I’m happy Tom…that’s all…”

Tom nodded “Yeah well…who would want daft old me eh?” he chuckled “old washed up navy vet.”

Lois folded her arms and spoke gently “You will find someone Tom… “

You only nodded “See ya later Lois.” You managed to smile a little before stepping out the front door. As you placed your hands in the upper pockets of your blue jacket you walked in the direction of the Green Dragon.

As you walked down the street your memories flooded back, how you tried to resume some form of normality after you made it home from Dunkirk-but the trauma of what happened on the beach, loosing your friends was something you never got over and when you tried to talk to any potential dates they lost interest and had nothing to say to you, they did not take an interest in your service in the navy and you needed to talk about it.

*

“There is your change Bill.” You said handing over some pennies to the elderly man standing at the bar.

“Thank you sweetheart.” He said smiling before returning to his table by the wall. You checked your watch and your eyes went up to the table where Tom Bennett usually sits, it was vacant and you were wondering you would see him again.

He had been back in a few times since your first encounter, he spoke with you every time-even if it was just a few kind words and exchange of pleasantries. In truth you were curious about his time in the navy, you had never been outside of Manchester and you wanted to hear him talk about the world he had sailed around, but at the same time you knew there would be experiences he would rather not discuss-some horrors that befell the men who served was something you could not imagine, your own experience of loss during the war was hard enough-you couldn't imagine how grim it was fighting on the front lines and witnessing such carnage.

The daylight was fading as the time approached 6pm, you decided to wipe the tables, ridding them of the rings left by the pint glasses and the ash that had fallen from the cigarettes and missed the ash trays. Your back was turned and you faced away from the front door, but when the bell rang as the door swung open you turned around and there he was.

He smiled slowly, and you found yourself smiling lightly too.

“Back again?” you asked scrunching the damp cloth in your hands behind your waist.

Tom smiled “Yeah…I erm.” He lifted up a folded piece of paper “Got stuck again, wondered if you fancied helping an old man out?”

“Not that old surely.” You said.

He dipped his head for a moment , grinning like a fool. “Your too sweet.” He said as he walked past you, his shoulder lightly brushed yours -you briefly closed your eyes before swirling around and watching him walk to his corner table. He sat himself down, and you stood by him “What will it be?” you asked.

He smiled up at you as he put the folded piece of paper down “Surprise me…” he said with such a delightfully cheeky smile you were sure your knees would buckle.

“Sure that’s wise Tom?” you asked.

“I trust ya love.” He said leaning back against the wall again, you slowly turned around and walked to the bar-you could feel his eyes on you as you made him a drink . As you looked up at him whilst pouring from the tap he quickly glanced down at the paper he was unfolding, hiding a light smirk-you felt yourself smiling too as you approached him.

You put the pint down in front of him, he looked at the drink and then at you “A pint of Guinness…” he was intrigued by your choice.  “Interesting pick…”

“Gotta mix it up a few times right?” you asked playfully

He raised an eyebrow with that smirk you fund so dashing “oh is that so?”                                                     

“Variety is the spice of life Tom…” you said with a smile as you folded your arms.

His eyes never left yours as he picked up the cool pint glass, he pursed his lips and took a drink-he did not blink once, your smile only grew into a short giggle when he put the glass down to reveal a frothy moustache under his nose. You wiggled your finger under your own nose , he laughed as he used the back of his hand to wipe away the froth from the drink. He turned his head from side to side “Did I get it all?”

You nodded “You did.”

As your smile stayed on your lips you were both silently looking at each other, he too still wore a charming smile that could thaw any glacier-for a moment you were lost in his eyes, he too could not break away from the way your eyes glossed open at his-they were a window into his soul and you felt so much from just one look. For a moment his face turned serious, as if he was about to speak but you cleared your throat

"…enjoy your drink Tom…” you said turning on your heel to resume your work. He watched you as you worked the rest of the night, occasionally you brought him another Guinness -he must have had three, but he drank them slowly. As you passed through to the bar and served, you and Tom at several times caught each other’s gaze-only to look away in  haste like a love struck teenager , you were thankful to escape to the cellar every once in a while as the cool air helped calm the redness from your face-you had to deeply exhale as you kept thinking about Tom's hands, his lips, the way his jaw clicked when he was reading, your chest heaved as you tried to calm yourself-this feeling was overwhelming and it would not stop. couple of times even Otto noticed and asked if you were feeling unwell.

You felt a twinge of nerve as you emerged from the cellar, only to find that Tom was no longer sitting at his table, the glass was empty and there was no sign of him. You sighed in disappointment. The bar quickly emptied after your realised Tom had gone. As you helped clear up nearly an hour had passed, Otto noticed the time “You can go early if you want I’ll lock up.” He offered

“You sure?” you asked

“Yeah get yourself away. I’ll see you tomorrow at four.” He said with a kind smile

"Thanks. I'll see you tomorrow." you said.

You moved through the door to the back of the bar, grabbed your coat, wrapping it round you and moved through to the front of the bar and opened the large door to leave, stepping out of the front doors-as you lifted your foot to go over the pavement, you stopped at the sound of a familiar voice

“Another word for King in Ancient Egypt…”

You turned around to see Tom leaning against the lamppost, holding the folded piece of paper and the pencil balancing on his ear-he was grinning at you with a cigarette loosely hanging from his lips, effortlessly he smoked and you had never been so enticed by something so simple-he made it look attractive and you automatically bowed your head briefly before smiling back at him “Pharoah.” You said.

He winked “Smart lass aren’t ya…” he stood up straight and approached you, removing the cigarette and flinging it with his fingers out of sight into the darkness against the wall of the pub. “Want some company to walk you home ? lovely girl like you shouldn’t be walking home alone at this time…”

You smiled “Thank but I’m alright…honestly I do it most nights….” You answer, looking up into his deep blue eyes yet again.

“Not got some fella to walk you home?” he asked

You shook your head “Nope…nobody.”

He looked at you almost in awe “That’s criminal…” he said quietly.

For a moment you thought he was going to lean in and kiss you, but he simply swirled on his heel so he was standing next to you and offered his arm “Allow me.”

You took his arm wordlessly.

Chapter 3

TAGS

@chainsawsangel @schniiipsel @moonchildrenandflowercrowns @happilyhertale @mischiefmanaged71 @namoreno @nolongereviliwantlove @talesofoldandnew @yentroucnagol @arcielee @babyblue711 @bbyaemond @bcon24 @lauraneedstochill @polkadotsocks1993 @motley-baby @sscreamingbanshee @tssf-imagines @actualhawkesworld @jessssica1234 @bellaisasleep @drinking-tea-and-be-obsessed @greenowlfactif @vhagars-dementia

[carbone14]

Tombe du Hauptmann Erwin Aichele, pilote de chasse au sein du Stab I./JG 51 – Bataille d'Angleterre – France – 1940's

Le Capitaine Erwin Aichele du Stab I. Gruppe. Jagdgeschwader 51 (JG 51) est mort le 20 juillet 1940 à l'âge de 39 ans après une mission au-dessus de La manche. Son Messerschmitt Bf-109 E4 endommagé s'est retourné lors de l'atterrissage dans la région de Calais.

[pastdaily]

Cold War: "This Is Moscow Calling . . ." - March 7, 1947

https://pastdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/news-from-moscow-march-7-1947.mp3 – Radio Moscow – News from Moscow to America – March 7, 1947 – One of the constants during the Cold War period was the War of Words waged between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. This broadcast, from Radio Moscow on March 7, 1947 is no different. Featuring news of the day, there are no shortage of barbs directed at…

[so-weird-world]

Royal Navy disarming a German mine that washed up on Britain's coast in 1940

[vox-anglosphere]

Wartime

HM King George VI in cheerful mood despite the weather as he watched a practice anti aircraft barrage from the bridge of the battleship HMS Duke of York.

[girlactionfigure]

THURSDAY HERO: Ernst Leitz II

German businessman Ernst Leitz II, owner of the Leica camera company, saved hundreds of Jews from the Nazis by “transferring” them to Leica offices around the world. Ernst inherited the Leica camera company from his father in 1920. It was founded as Leitz Camera in 1869 and later took on the name Leica: Lei for Leitz + ca for camera. From the beginning the company stood out for the compassionate way they treated their employees, many of whom were Jewish. Leica provided health insurance, sick leave and retirement pensions.

After Hitler became Chancellor in 1933, the Nuremberg laws were enacted, depriving German Jews of the rights of citizenship. They were banned from schools professions, and lost many of their most basic freedoms. Ernst Leitz began receiving desperate calls from his Jewish employees, begging him to help them escape.

Leitz hatched a brilliant plan. He began “transferring” his Jewish employees, along with their extended families, to Leica sales offices in France, Britain, Hong Kong and the United States. After Kristallnacht, when hundreds of Jewish businesses and synagogues were destroyed throughout Germany, Leitz’ rescue efforts kicked into high gear. At this point, all of the refugees were being sent to America by ocean liner. Once they arrived in New York they were instructed to go to Leica’s office in Manhattan, where they received a Leica camera and a weekly stipend until they were employed. The Jewish refugees went on to careers in photography, camera repair, sales and marketing.

To save Jews, Ernst Leitz risked the company he and his father had lovingly built over 70 year. Indeed, he risked his entire life.

The Leica Freedom Train operated until September 1, 1939, when Germany closed its borders. The Nazis suspected that the Leica company had been illegally helping Jews escape, but they were unable to pin anything on Ernst Leitz, and instead arrested his top executive, Alfred Turk, who was imprisoned until his boss paid a huge bribe for his safe release.

Even after the borders were closed, Leitz’s daughter Elsie Kuehn-Leitz continued helping Jews escape from Germany. Elsie was captured by the Gestapo while smuggling Jewish women into Switzerland, and thrown into prison, where she endured harsh interrogation and frequent beatings before being released in the early 1940’s. By that point, the Nazis had forced the Leica plant to hire 800 Ukrainian women as slave laborers. Elsie spent the rest of the war advocating for these women and working to ensure they had acceptable working and living conditions, and were treated humanely.

Later to be known as the “Leica Freedom Train”, Ernst Leitz’ bold plan saved the lives of 200-300 Jews.

A rare light in a sea of darkness, the Leitz family never wanted publicity for their heroism. The story of the Leica Freedom Train only came out after the last immediate Ernst Leitz family member was dead.

For their courage and sacrifice, we honor Ernst Leitz and his daughter Elsie as this week’s Thursday Heroes.

[k-s-morgan]

"many people insist he was in the Blitz ( I don't mean fics, I don't mind that, I mean in canon discussions) so my post was specifically for the Blitz. For the 40's bomb, that you brought up, not my post, Tom left soon after, 7 days after. And as for the '44 bombings- Tom has already killed 4 people by that time- FOUR. I think it's safe to say death and suffering of the people around him wasn't one of his concerns.

Tom's fear of death doesn't have to come from bombing. Plenty of people fear death that had never been bombed. It is stated that his fear of death is because he thinks himself above all humans, it's in relation to his power, he says this to Dumbledore at 11 BEFORE ww2 started. He already said 'mom can't have been a witch because she died'. But yes, this post was about Dumbledore not sending Tom into the Blitz, like many people say, as if Dumbledore personally delivered Tom to the Nazis."

What do you think about this argument? I've written fics of Tom witnessing the Blitz. I thought that it was canon but I have had people argue that it is not. What do you think?

Hi! That's a really interesting topic, but one I came to dislike because it feels like most people have very black-and-white takes on it. I actually got involved in one of such conversations just recently. Maybe even the one you quoted from? I don't recall at this point.

Since I prepared a lot of materials for ATLWETD before writing it, I can give you a full answer supported by the research and some news clippings. It's going to get long, though!

So, first - the Blitz. Indeed, Tom never had to face it. It lasted from September 7, 1940 to May 11, 1941, and Tom spent this period at Hogwarts. However, the Blitz was neither the start nor the end of London bombings - and bombings of the surrounding areas and UK in general.

Citing from Mark Clapson, "Air Raids in Britain, 1940–45":

"A common misconception of the Blitz in the United Kingdom is that London was the only city under attack from September 1940 until the Nazis also turned their fire on other cities and towns in mid-November. Yet even before the Blitz on London began, other urban areas in the UK had been attacked from the air.

As the Battle of Britain drew towards a defeat for Germany, the first significant raid on a major British city took place in Cardiff and Newport on 10 July when over seventy German planes attacked the South Wales docks. In July and August, Birmingham, Coventry, Hastings, Liverpool, Newcastle and Southampton were all subject to air raids, signifying that when the main Blitz on the provinces began, industrial and coastal towns and cities were going to be key targets for the Luftwaffe … As Tony Mason shows, the first raid on Coventry had been on 18 August 1940, when both industry and housing were bombed."

Most of these locations are within the 200-300 km of London. Hastings is less than a 2-hour drive away. People don't live in a bubble, so hearing and reading about the bombings getting closer had to be terrifying for a child-Tom.

Now, getting even closer to London. The timeline taken from this website:

"16 AUGUST 1940

A series of raids were leveled against Norfolk, Kent and the Greater London area with airfields as the main targets, including Manston.

London suburbs were bombed, including Wimbledon and Esher, where shops and houses were hit. Bombs on Maiden, Surrey, railway station killed staff and passengers and put both lines out of operation. To the north, Gravesend and Tilbury were attacked, and bombs fell on Harwell and Farnborough aerodromes."

Tom would have definitely experienced the impacts of these bombings at least in some ways because the sound of explosions travels miles ahead. People would be in an increased state of panic, not knowing if London was going to be the next target any other second now.

A photo of the news clipping from August 17, 1940, titled: Germans Bomb London Suburbs:

From this website:

"A still earlier, and better recorded, raid took place the night before, on 15 August. 30 bombers targeted RAF Croydon aerodrome, which was then considered part of Surrey rather than London. Several people were killed, with damage to the aerodrome and nearby housing."

The distance between Croydon aerodrome and London is just 10 miles. Again, this is something the impact of which Tom would have very likely heard personally - add to this the feeling of fear and uncertainty over when and where the next attack is coming, and you get a recipe for a serious psychological trauma. Tom was only 13 at this time.

From the same website:

"Many sources state that the first bombs to drop on London landed in the early hours of 22 August 1940, affecting Harrow and Wealdstone (technically not then in London, but within the London Civil Defence Area). These caused damage to two cinemas, a dance hall, bank and houses, but nobody was killed. A further strike on 24 August [in London] killed nine people, and prompted retaliatory attacks on Berlin."

So, by these accounts, Tom experienced the bombing of his city directly at least once and likely heard the impact of bombings from the suburbs at least twice. Could be more - there were several bombings close, and we have no idea where Tom was in those specific moments. He could be taking a walk to the West End, going to the suburbs with his orphanage, and so on.

He was lucky to miss the bombings that followed (until 1944), including the Blitz, but I really hate when people dismiss the psychological impact of seeing your city in ruins, witnessing the massive destruction, and not knowing whether the bombs are going to drop again today. It's not like the Germans announced, "Hey, the Blitz is over, you're safe now!" Of course Tom thought he might experience another bombing, and of course this thought scared him.

The summer of 1944 was terrible for London because that's when the V1 were dropped. Quoting from The Blitz Companion by Mark Clapson again:

"Yet during the summer of 1944 worse was to come, and it would manifest itself in a frightening new weapon. For some months rumours had been circulating in Britain about a flying bomb that had no pilot and which could be guided almost mysteriously through the air at great speed to attack the capital city. This was the V1, the ‘V’ standing for vengeance … The V1s killed over 5,000 people and injured 15,000."

The timeline for these attacks is here.

This one is trickier, though, because based on Harry's era, by 1944, Tom already came of age by wizarding standards. So there is an argument that he could finally use his magic and leave London. On the other hand, he was still a minor by Muggle standards, and we have no idea what Hogwarts rules and laws of his era stated - meaning that it can all be up to interpretation.

For those who prefer to imagine that Tom was there: maybe back in 1944, a wizard had to be 18 to be considered an adult, and the limit was dropped closer to Harry's era. Or there was a rule stating that Hogwarts students must continue to live in their assigned places up until they graduate, especially in a Muggle world - because if a minor disappears from Muggle care when they are still enrolled in a magical school, it could trigger the involvement of authorities, which might be something Hogwarts would want to avoid.

We can't make strong arguments here because the canon says nothing about these details. So, if someone wants to imagine that Tom missed the bombings in 1944, there are very logical reasons to support such a view, but if someone wants him to have experienced it, it's also easy to imagine.

Either way, whether Tom lived only through the bombings of 1940 or both 1940 and 1944, to deny that he was affected by the war is to reject the most basic human psychology, in my opinion. Anyone would be terrified when they are surrounded by destruction and death, when they are confronted with the idea of their own mortality and when they feel helplessly trapped. And Tom saw the war horrors every summer even when there were no bombings.

I'm a war victim myself, and I don't feel safe on the days my city is not attacked. Because I know that the situation can change every other second. The psychological effect of bombings is devastating even when you aren't physically affected.

Does Tom's trauma justify his canon actions in any way, though? Of course not. Did his war trauma cause his fear of death? I think it was definitely at least some part of it. How couldn't it be? It's exactly because he considered himself above others is that his fear could be this amplified. He probably hated sitting stuck in a dangerous zone with the people he despised, threatened by the beings he didn't consider proper humans.

Maybe the war didn't give birth to Tom's fear of death, but I think it obviously contributed to it heavily since, again, he was living in one of the very targeted places, and he lived through at least one London bombing.

Also, yes, I do think Dumbledore and Dippet were absolutely abhorrent for sending an orphan child to a war zone when it was so easy to give him shelter. They were responsible for Tom's well-fare, and this responsibility shouldn't disappear in the summer. Tom could have easily been killed - again, it's not like the Germans announced when they were going to bomb or not bomb London and other areas. Letting him stay at Hogwarts or finding some family to take him in - or an inn! - would have been beyond simple.

Dumbledore also definitely knew Tom is related to a Slytherin bloodline, so there had to be families willing to take him in for this alone. Sure, it could be dangerous in other ways for a child as self-focused as Tom, but he was still a child, and his safety had to come first.

Finally, there is an argument that Tom was moved along with other children from London since it was supposed to be mandatory. This is also something that can be looked at from different angles. The reality of people following a law always differs from the theory of it. There were many issues with evacuations at that time. About 7,736 children died in London from the Blitz alone - not everyone could evacuate, especially the poor. Maybe the Wool's lucked out, maybe not. There are claims that only children within the ages of 5 to 14 were evacuated. But also, if Tom was moved, then there is no telling if he was more or less safe there since the location is unknown. It once again depends on what a specific person wants to imagine as a part of his life.

Now, anon, as for your fics in particular: if you wrote about Tom witnessing the Blitz, it's all right - I mean, the entire universe of Harry Potter is made up. Maybe, in a world where these characters might exist, the Blitz could have happened differently - why not? We have no idea about the dates of HP canon-Blitz. The events there don't have to take place in our specific world.

So, strictly speaking - yes, it's not canon, but more in relation to our world than to the world of HP.

[aethon-recs]

Hullo!!

Thank you for all the great tomarry fic recs you have given to us!! Your recs are always the best and I love them all..🩷🩷

Do you have any Tomarry fics where Harry somehow time travels to the past where Tom is still in his Hogwarts years ?? And Harry becomes the transfer/new student and gets sorted into Slytherin??

I hope I'm not being too specific.. honestly, just any fic where Harry and Tom both go to Hogwarts!!

Thank you🩷🩷

- rioo xxx

Hi there! Thank you for your kind words 🤍

Here's a selection of fics featuring Harry and Tom attending Hogwarts together in the 1940s.

There's 23 fics in the list below, covering 1.7 million words, so hopefully there's some fics in here you haven't come across before! Happy reading!

*

Hogwarts 1940s-era Tomarrymort Recs

A Future Without a Face by @dividawrites (E, 115k, complete)

Tom Riddle is a gifted teen with a personality disorder. He’s going to rule the world one day. Harry Potter is an extremely angry transfer student, or at least that’s what Tom believes.

And the Living Will Envy the Dead by @k-s-morgan (M, 81k, WIP)

When Harry looks at Tom, he feels overwhelmed. There is a spark that makes him hopeful, the fear that nothing he does will save Tom from himself, and the horror at what his lies might lead to. When Tom looks at Harry, he feels nothing. Until he does, and then Harry’s world starts drowning in blood.

At the end of every road by @sass-y-squatch (M, 90k, complete)

In which Harry is determined to prevent Voldemort's rise, even if he has to stalk, bribe, threaten, and marry Tom Riddle to do it.

But For You, I Did by @duplicitywrites (M, 21k, complete)

When 11-year-old Tom Riddle finally arrives at Platform 9 and ¾, he meets fifth-year Prefect Harry Evans, a Muggleborn Slytherin at the top of his year. Harry is everything that Tom wants to be—Harry knows exactly what it’s like to be special, intelligent, and have no one understand you. 

Custodarium by Tina48 (E, 73k, complete)

The war is over, and the Wizarding Britain has been slowly rising from the ashes. Harry just wishes none of it ever happened – what will he do when he’s given a chance to change the past? Was Dumbledore right about “the power he knows not” after all?

Devil's Hour by @exarite (E, 3k, complete)

Harry traveled back to Riddle's time with the intention to kill him, but it's been months and he's done nothing. Instead, night after night, Tom visits him in his bed. Harry lets him.

Embryo by @cannibalinc (NR, 28k, WIP)

While others only gossip about Grindelwald and dutifully prepare for their NEWTs, Tom is building an empire. He has painstakingly clawed his way to the top of his generation’s elite, and now he wants more—more power, more delights, more magic than has ever been explored before. That is Tom’s destiny, a King among men. No—a god. He need only rise to that which is his for the taking… if only one strange boy weren’t so determined to get in his way.

Enoument by @accipitae (M, 22k, complete)

Call if fate, call it destiny, call it getting hit by a car at five years old and flung into the past to land naked and bruised on the steps of Wool's Orphanage in 1931. Whatever it is, Harry grows up not in a cupboard under the stairs but in a small room shared with another strange boy.

Fate Granted by Flipdarkchill (M, 60k, WIP)

When a young Tom Riddle demands a friend in the middle of the night, he did not truly expect anything to happen. At least, not right away...

Game On, Your Move by @perhaps-sunlight (T, 75k, complete)

Be on guard, my Lord, writes Abraxas Malfoy, the new transfer student intends to kill you. Except Abraxas has terrible penmanship, and 'kill' and 'kiss' look awfully similar in shoddy cursive. Naturally, things escalate. A lot.

good night, darling by @purplemineralwater (E, 141k, WIP)

Harry's breath faltered. It was all so confusing... Harry had died. He had died and spoken to Death and suddenly he was standing in Hogwarts, in 1942, and the Sorting Hat had just pronounced him Slytherin.

Holly & Yew by @lovely-lotus (M, 236k, WIP)

After a bout of accidental magic when Harry is six, Vernon goes too far. When Harry wakes up, he is gravely wounded and more than fifty years in the past in another world. After some shuffling, Harry ends up at Wool's. There, he meets Tom Riddle, his mysterious roommate, eventual best friend, and the love of his life.

Infinite by @duplicitywrites (E, 8k, complete)

Harry and his twin brother Tom have the same mark. The same soulmate. Whoever their soulmate is, wherever they may be, they will go to Tom. Tom, however, has other plans.

nothing left to lose by @cindle-writes (E, 11k, complete)

Harry got to have Tom’s cock inside him anytime he wanted, but all he really wanted was Tom’s soul back inside of him.

Of Monsters, Of Men by @ca-xan-dra (M, 144k, WIP)

Harry’s first memory at Wool’s Orphanage is of Tom Riddle. He thinks Tom Riddle makes many exceptions for him. (He’s right.)

Promises, Promises by @mosiva (E, 72k, complete)

Harry, stuck in the past and trying to navigate Slytherin House with Tom Riddle at its head, is hit with a memory-loss spell. An unhappy accident, as the ever-friendly Tom Riddle is on hand to tell him.

Reckless Cartography by @meles-merrivale (M, 9k, WIP)

Just because someone is the love of your life doesn’t mean they’re good for you. And just because someone’s bad for you doesn’t mean you get to walk away. Featuring Harry and Tom attending Hogwarts together and slowly ruining each other’s lives.

Stab Right Through by @the-wig-is-a-metaphor (M, 82k, WIP)

Getting lost in old memories is a dangerous thing for anyone, but in Harry's case the whole situation is slightly more literal than usual, and—as it always tends to be—much, much worse.

Subjective by IceLynx (G, 1.5k, complete)

While Harry thinks Tom is extremely handsome, nobody else does. Most think Tom is rather average. Harry refuses to admit it and is forced to defend his opinion.

tautological by @cindle-writes (E, 7k, complete)

It had taken Tom quite a bit of trial and error to figure out how, but he had finally worked out how to exploit their shared horcrux connection and send Harry false visions and dreams. For a few weeks now, Harry had been waking up every morning to a rush of pleasure, soaked pajama bottoms, and Tom’s name a broken moan on his lips.

Terrible, But Great by @isalisewrites (M, 143k, WIP)

When Death gives Harry a third option, one that can save everyone he ever cared about, he takes it unflinchingly. Even when that means doing the impossible: falling in love with the enemy, Tom Riddle.

Vespertine by @itsevanffs (E, 24k, WIP)

Harry only blooms at night; Tom can see this much.

What Souls Are Made Of by Emeralds_and_Lilies (E, 278k, complete)

A mysterious object in Bellatrix's vault sends Harry, Ron and Hermione spinning into the past and to a Hogwarts like none they know. Posing as students, Harry catches the eye of the Head Boy, Tom Riddle, who is nothing like the Voldemort of the future. He's charming and sly and manipulative; both brilliant and deadly.

*

[olderthannetfic]

Did Americans really not know smoking caused lung damage until the 1980's? I've gotten several comments to that effect on a fic of mine, but, um. While the story is set in 1940's USA, over here in Britain we've had doctors linking smoking cigarettes to lung cancer as far back as the 1690's that I could find (albeit they don't say 'cancer', but describe cancer symptoms). It was never a totally foreign, unknown idea no one could ever have imagined. And I love dunking on the US as much as anyone, but... it's just so obvious I can't imagine no one in the US ever put two and two together? Even when I was 4, I understood the reason my mum's father was out of breath and coughed all the time was that he smoked because I understood, without being told, that inhaling something yucky yucked you up inside.

I'm aware you as a nation have some dumbasses amongst you but surely the majority were not so stupid that it took until the 1980's for anyone to go, "I think inhaling smoke is bad for you"?

--

My grandmother forced my grandfather to give up his pipe decades before the general public had their faces rubbed in news stories about the dangers. My mom's not around anymore to ask, but I think this must have been either in the 50s when the definitive study came out or in the 60s when the surgeon general wrote about it.

It's not that the info wasn't out there so much as that US tobacco companies spent millions running propaganda campaigns to confuse and delude the public. By the 1980s, people managed to debunk these. In the mid-century, they were heavily muddying the waters.

Here's the first reasonable-looking link I found with some info about this kind of thing: The history of the discovery of the cigarette–lung cancer link: evidentiary traditions, corporate denial, global toll.

I gather this is the Tobacco Control journal, which seems like a reputable source.

The broad strokes seem to be that few people, including in the UK, would have known anything until the late 19thC. From there to the 1930s, evidence was growing steadily as scientists researched a possible link. In the 40s and 50s pretty definitive evidence came out in multiple countries. In the 50s-70s, US companies did junk science as propaganda. In the 80s and 90s, the US swung hard towards seeing cigarettes as dangerous, dirty, and gross.

I remember this cultural change during my childhood. It was massive.

So yes, unfortunately, your 1940s American characters probably wouldn't know that smoking caused lung cancer. Lung damage? Maybe. Like you say, a lot of people could just apply basic logic and observation for that one.

I'm not sure whether they'd be more likely to have no clue or whether they'd know that someone thought it was bad, but they'd think those people were paranoid.

So yes, someone put two and two together, but it could still be OOC for your particular characters. I think it very much depends who they are and exactly how you presented things in your fic.

[scotianostra]

9th October 1900 saw the birth in Edinburgh of Alastair Sim, the actor best known for his character and comedy roles.

He was the youngest of Alexander and Isabella Sim's four children. His father was a tailor who owned his own shop on Lothian Road, it is still a shop selling running gear nowadays.To use a suitable phrase for his father, I like the jib of the man, Alexander was one of a group of professional people in Edinburgh who noted the plight of wounded Veterans returning from the front who had little or no prospects of suitable accommodation or employment ahead of them. They founded the Scottish Veterans Garden City Association during the 1st World War and, under the chairmanship of Lord Salvesen, paid for the construction of houses for the use of returning servicemen.

Alexander Sim was offered, but refused, a knighthood.

For a time, the family lived above the shop, but as Alastair entered school, the business picked up enough that they were able to move to a house in Craigleith. Young Alistair was educated at Bruntsfield Primary, James Gillespie's High School and George Heriot's School. He worked for his father then another Edinburgh tailor but showed little aptitude and decided to enter Edinburgh University, studying analytical chemistry, but his further education was cut short when he was called up to the army. After the war he returned home and announced to his parents he was going to take up acting, this wnet down like a lead balloon and there was a falling out, Alistair left the family home and spent a year in the Scottish Highlands with a group of jobbing workers.

On returning to Edinburgh Sim took post in the burgh assessor's office. In his spare time, he entered poetry reading classes, winning the gold medal for verse speaking at the Edinburgh Music Festival.This led to him taking a job as a Fulton lecturer in elocution at New College, part of the University of Edinburgh.

Alastair Sim began working as a stage actor in 1930, taking on minor roles. His deep talent was soon discovered, and he was cast as Othello that same year. In 1932, he met and married Naomi Plaskill, his muse and wife for life. The couple had one child, a daughter named Merlith. It wasn't long before Sim moved to films in supporting roles. One of his more memorable characters was that of Detective Sergeant Bingham in the film series Inspector Hornleigh. His on-screen presence was so dominant that he has often been credited with "stealing the scene" from the film's star actors.

Throughout the 1940s, Sim was cast in several lead roles; he starred in the thriller Green for Danger, the comedy The Happiest Days of Your Life and Alfred Hitchcock's Stage Fright, among other major films. One of Sim's better-known portrayals was that of Captain Hook in the production of Peter Pan, a role he reprised six times during his career. In a national cinema poll in 1950, Sim was voted the most popular film actor in Britain.

I think quite a few of us will remember Alastair Sim in a slightly different role to those I have already pointed out, growing up before we had all the TV channels we have now and watching the old black & white films and the classic Belles of St Trinians where he played headmistress Millicent Fritton.

Looking through his other roles, I spotted he played the notorious Dr Knox, not once-but twice. For those who don't know, the doctor of note was a professor of Anatomy at Edinburgh University, he paid Messrs Burke & Hare for fresh cadavers to demonstrate the human anatomy at the University.

I mentioned Alistair's father refusing a knighthood, and it pleases me to tell you he too refused the offer of becoming Sir Alistair Sim in the early 70's.

He died of cancer in August 1976, insisting that his body be used for medical research - and that there should be no memorial service for him. His widow lived until 1999; she published a memoir, Dance and Skylark: Fifty Years with Alastair Sim in 1987. There is a plaque, commemorating Sim's birth, outside the Filmhouse Cinema in Lothian Road, Edinburgh, only a short distance from where he was born above his father's shop.

[deacblues]

mr. blues, how would you rip off a superhero? I really like speedster-type characters and love the design of golden-age flash, but I want to do my own thing instead of fanfic and avoid all the issues that come with using a pre-established character

I come to you since I believe you have a really good understanding superhero designs and would be able to give advice on how to get that kinda vibe right

You're in luck, because plenty of artists and writers have wanted to do this exact thing! Greats like Alan Moore, Rick Veitch, and Kurt Busiek have put out great Superman comics, each featuring a legally distinct man of tomorrow.

Their costumes are cut from the same cloth as Superman's (full-body tights, regal cape, chest-emblem), but use new details. A new reader might see True-Man and think "oh, he looks like Superman," which is probably just what Rick Veitch wanted. So, if you want to make a Flash story without using The Flash, that could be the way to go.

Or maybe you're just trying to make your own original speedster, and The Flash is just one of your inspirations. How could your design allude to the scarlet speedster without just copying him?

You could look at the inspiration behind The Flash! Jay Garrick, the golden age flash, sports the same helmet as Mercury. You could try borrowing different elements from Mercury, like his staff, or his flowing robe (I bet that would look great flowing behind him, mid-sprint).

And, while not as explicit, Garrick's costume (tights, sweater, helmet) isn't too far from what a college athlete in the 1940's might've worn. Remember, Garrick was introduced as "a scrub on the football team".

You can really wear your influences on your sleeve too! When designing Robin, Jerry Robinson drew heavily from N.C. Wyeth's Robin Hood:

Or you can let those influences filter naturally through your own sensibilities. Captain Britain and Jack Staff are both symbols of Britain, but they don't look very alike!

Inspiration could be anywhere, so look everywhere! Fairy tales, ancient myth, modern sportswear, high fashion and beyond—it's all up for grabs! Just keep it bright, keep it simple, and keep it fun!

[theoutcastrogue]

8 Fancy Pocket Knives

Etched pocket knife from Eskilstuna, Sweden

Silver / mother of pearl Victorian fruit knife, England

Damascene Toledo knife, Spain

Inlaid Toledo knife, Germany

Silver-plated fruit knife, USA

Damascene Toledo knife, Spain

Etched pocket knife from Eskilstuna, Sweden

Mother of pearl pocket knife from Eskilstuna, Sweden

@victoriansword [details after the cut]

1) Swedish pocket knife by EKA (Eskilstuna Kniffabriks AB), c. 1980-2000. Model 6 GS (1967-2010), with main blade, bottle opener/screwdriver, pen blade, and nail file. Tang stamp "EKA / SWEDEN" (from 1967), etched handle, 7 cm closed.

These were very popular in the 2nd half of the 20th century as gift knives or advertising knives. They were manufactured by many cutlers in Eskilstuna, and widely exported. The decorative pattern appears, with variations, on Swedish knives from at least the 19th century, and is inspired by Norse / Viking art, which often features twisted serpents/dragons. The interlacing perhaps also borrows from Celtic knots.

2) English fruit knife by Martin Bros & Co, 1848. Silver blade with 4 hallmarks (for Queen Victoria, the year, sterling silver, and Sheffield) and maker's mark, mother of pearl scales, 9.5 cm closed.

This is the posh version of what used to be an incredibly useful tool, a knife (and sometimes a multi-tool knife and fork) for eating on the road. The fancier ones were also status symbols, and very popular gifts – millions of silver fruit knives were manufactured in Britain from the 18th to the 20th century, mostly in Sheffield, Birmingham, and Edinburgh.

3) Spanish Toledo knife, as it's sometimes called, a damascened penknife of recent manufacture. Two pen blades, tang stamp "TOLEDO", 6.7 cm closed.

Not to be confused with Damascus blades! The handle is damascened – decorated with gold inlaid into oxidized steel (see here for details). Reminder that gold is a highly ductile metal (you can stretch it real thin before it breaks), so that impressive aesthetic result comes from a tiny amount of gold. It's a cheap knife, is what I'm saying, for tourists basically.

4) German pocket knife, confusingly also called Toledo, by Hartkopf. With main blade, pen blade and nail file. Brass handle inlaid with oxidised steel. Tang stamp "Hartkopf&Co / Solingen", 8cm closed.

It's "damascened" in the broad sense of inlaying, hence the name "Toledo": it supposedly emulates the Spanish style, and perhaps pretends to be Spanish, but both the metals and the geometric patterns are different. Knives of this type were popular in Germany all through the 20th century as gifts and advertising knives.

5) American fruit knife by William Rogers Mfg, made in Hartford, Connecticut c.1865-1898. Main blade, seedpick [also called nut-pick or nut-picker *snickers*], silver-plated nickel silver, decorated with flowers and apples. Tang stamp: an anchor logo and "Wm ROGERS & SON AA", 8.2 cm closed.

Sometimes fruit knives like this were bought by fruit shops/groceries (relatively fancy ones, presumably) in bulk, and sold or given to customers as gifts.

6) Spanish Toledo penknife (another one). With pen blade and damascened handle, different pattern, probably a bit older. Tang stamp again "TOLEDO", 6.8 cm closed.

7) Swedish pocket knife by Emil Olsson, c. 1920-1950. Blade, pen blade and corkscrew. Tang stamp "EMIL OLSSON / [star logo] / ESKILSTUNA", 9.2 cm closed.

Another etched serpent pattern on the handle, though by now you have to squint to see it. This knife has seen some shit. Until ~1940, pocket knives were widely sold and used in Sweden because they came with corkscrews, and all the bottles had corks, and everyone needed to open bottles. After the war, bottle caps replaced corks for everything except wine, and the pocket knife's utility plummeted, and cutleries started closing. There used to be hundreds, and by now only EKA's left. So statistically, if it's from before ~1950 it saw a lot of use, and if it's after ~1950 it did not, it was a gift or something.

8) Swedish pocket knife by EKA, c.1935-1965. Model 38 PB, with blade, pen blade, flat screwdriver, and corkscrew. Handle with mother of pearl scales and nickel silver bolsters, tang stamp "E.K.A. / ESKILSTUNA / SWEDEN", 8.3 cm closed.

The corkscrew is a quirky one, known as Gottlieb Hammesfahr patent: it pivots on the pin and opens perpendicular to the handle, not pulled downwards as in most pocket knives.

[carbone14]

Deux jeunes anglaises – Côte sud de l'Angleterre – 1940's

[pastdaily]

Blitz Over London - Hitler: Confident Contemptuousness - January 31, 1941

Become a Subscriber: Become a Patron! https://pastdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/news-for-january-31-1941.mp3 – News For January 31, 1941 – News for this last day of January in 1941 was a continuation of The Blitz which had begun months earlier. Continued daylight air raids over London and other industrial cities in Britain grew more vicious, but didn’t seem to daunt the resilience of the…

[importantwomensbirthdays]

Marianne Straub

Textile designer Marianne Straub was born in 1909 in Amriswil, Switzerland. Straub moved to Britain in the 1930s, and became one of the country's leading textile designers from the 1940s to the 1960s. In 1964, she designed the moquette for London tubes and buses that remained in use until 2000. Straub's fabrics were also used in airplanes, hospitals, ships, and government buildings. She was also an accomplished art educator who taught at the Central School of Art, Hornsey College of Art, and the Royal College of Art. In 1972, Straub was named a Royal Designer for Industry, the highest honor for designers in the UK. In 1993, she won the Sir Misha Black Medal.

Marianne Straub died in 1994 at the age of 85.

Image: DCA-30-1-POR-S-87-1. Design Council Archive, University of Brighton Design Archives

[minkhollow42]

Warehouse 13's timeline of locations

I have no idea if it's still up anymore, but Syfy's official W13 website had, at one point, a little timeline of various Warehouse locations and some of what went down at those places. I didn't write down everything, but I did at least make a note of the dates, and I recently found that record.

So, for whoever else is still tooling around in this fandom, I give to you the dates, and what I can remember of what was mentioned.

Warehouse 1: 336 BCE-323 BCE, Macedonia (founded by Alexander the Great; his death may or may not have had something to do with living next door to his pile of supernatural tchotchkes)

Warehouse 2: 323 BCE - 30 AD, Ptolemaic Egypt (Regents entered the picture, primarily acting as the modern agents do)

Warehouse 3: 30 - 434, Rome (longest time the Warehouse has lingered in any one location)

Warehouse 4: 434 - 453, Hunnic Empire (shortest time the Warehouse was under anyone's aegis; my personal bet is that attaching a secure collection of stuff to a nomadic empire did them no favors; seem to recall the site said Warehouse 4 lost A Lot of Artifacts in its brief tenure)

Warehouse 5: 453 - 813, Byzantine Empire (Constantinople)

Warehouse 6: 813 - 1219, Khmer Empire (Cambodia)

Warehouse 7: 1219 - 1260, Mongolian Empire (my personal headcanon is that the Mongols' sacking of Baghdad in 1259, which Baghdad STILL HAS NOT RECOVERED FROM, was a factor in the decision to move away)

Warehouse 8: 1260 - 1517, Holy Roman Empire (the site noted that this was the point the Regents got tired of waiting for the final collapse of its host country before bailing)

Warehouse 9: 1517 - 1566, Ottoman Empire

Warehouse 10: 1566 - 1725, Mughal Empire (India)

Warehouse 11: 1725 - 1830, Russia (the first one to use modern agents)

Warehouse 12: 1830 - 1914, Britain

Warehouse 13: 1914 - present, United States (the first Warehouse NOT located in the host country's seat of power; one version of the site mentioned a brief flirtation with moving to Germany in the 1940s that was swiftly discarded)