#1970s Closure

[slots-a-fun]

Overland Hotel and Casino - Reno, Nevada

The Overland Hotel and Casino, a renowned name in Reno’s chip-collecting community, holds a unique place in the history of legalized gaming in Nevada. Established in 1933, it stands as one of the state’s earliest legal gaming establishments, following the legalization of gaming in Nevada in 1931. Under the ownership and vision of Richard “Pick” Hobson, a pioneering figure in Reno’s gaming scene,…

[oxbowreality]

I was designing my own clothing and I was like "woah, weird, this kinda whips" (like a guy who made something for an audience of one). Five seconds later I realized that I had created something so objectively retrofuturist that it causes the viewer to decide that the wearer likely went to steampunk conventions in the past and has niche opinions on mid-century science fiction. This is not true about me, but it is a vibe. I look forwards to getting weird looks in the future.

[drsonnet]

On This Day: Kent State shootings leave 4 students dead!

Four Kent State University students were killed and nine were injured on May 4, 1970, when members of the Ohio National Guard opened fire on a crowd gathered to protest the Vietnam War. The tragedy was a watershed moment for a nation divided by the conflict in Southeast Asia. In its immediate aftermath, a student-led strike forced the temporary closure of colleges and universities across the country. Some political observers believe the events of that day in northeast Ohio tilted public opinion against the war and may have contributed to the downfall of President Richard Nixon.

Students dive to the ground as the National Guard fires on faculty and students May 4, 1970, to protest the war in Vietnam. File Photo courtesy of Kent State University Archives

The Kent State Shootings

“… Give Peace a Chance (iastate.edu)

On This Day, May 4: Kent State shootings leave 4 students dead - UPI.com

[blueiskewl]

Rome’s 'Lost' Imperial Palace 'Domus Tiberiana' Reopens

Until recently a crumbling and off-limits ruin near the famous Colosseum, the Domus Tiberiana palace — built in the first century AD and beloved by Nero — hopes to once again take its place as one of the city’s top tourist attractions.

The ancient palace sits on Palatine Hill — the city’s oldest hill, overhanging Rome —from where imperial dynasties ruled for centuries. But over the years, the site fell into disrepair and in the 1970s, the Domus Tiberiana site was shut due to the structural instability of some of the ruins. The closure left behind what many Romans described as a “black hole” in the capital’s archaeological heart.

Now, after a six-year makeover, the palace has reopened its doors as a “diffuse museum,” with findings and frescoes scattered across the site to provide visitors with an insight into the palace’s ancient grandeur.

And it was grand. The Domus Tiberiana was Rome’s first imperial palace, built by the emperor Tiberius who combined and incorporated the pre-existing noble mansions built on the hill. Occupying over four hectares, the palace featured residences alongside large gardens, places of worship and rooms for the emperor’s Praetorian guard.

As the seat of Rome’s power and politics, Domus Tiberiana held a prime location, high above the Palatine and Roman Forums, offering its occupants a “balcony view of the city.” Over time, the Domus was embellished and enlarged by other emperors including Nero, who was crowned on its steps aged just 16, in 54 AD.

Alfonsina Russo, director of the Colosseum’s archaeological park (in which Domus Tiberiana falls) and lead archaeologist on the renovation, said that ancient antiquities, many exceptionally well-preserved, were unearthed during the project.

The artifacts — bright stuccos, frescoes, amphorae, potteries, looms, terracotta, and divinity statues related to the cults of Isis, Dionysius and Mithras — offer visitors a trip through time, said Russo.

“They make this place — formerly (inhabited) by aristocratic families, then Roman emperors — feel alive again,” she said. “There are seven exhibition rooms full of extraordinary finds, starting with those preceding the original construction of the palace when aristocrats lived in mansions before Tiberius subsumed them into the Domus.”

Among the newly-exposed and frescoes are some of the earliest paintings of lemons (considered an exotic fruit in Ancient Rome, as they hailed from the Far East) and a depiction of a gladiator, proving that the era’s gladiatoral games were appreciated by rich families, explained Russo.

The imperial palace remained in use until the 7th century, when it became the papal residence of John VII. In the mid-16th century, the aristocratic Farnese family — who were powerful local landowners — built the lavish Orti Farnesiani gardens on the site, adorning it with ornaments and sculptures of nymphs, satyrs and fauns.

“This monument speaks of history,” Russo added. “We have restored (Domus Tiberiana) to its past splendor, but more work lies ahead.”

Indeed, painstaking efforts have been made to blend old and new. A series of majestic, reddish-brown vaulted arches that greet visitors having been carefully reconstructed with the same materials as ancient Romans used in the past.

“What makes this revamped Domus unique is the architectural style,” said Russo. “We managed to use original materials to reinforce and strengthen the handmade 15-meter (50ft) tall front arches (which run alongside the palace’s) ancient paving.”

It has certainly caught the public’s attention. Since reopening at the end of September, Domus Tiberiana has attracted some 400,000 visitors, a “huge success,” said Russo, adding that she believes that this incarnation of the Domus Tiberiana offers visitors the most “evocative” visit in generations.

Archaeologist and scholar of ancient Rome Giorgio Franchetti saidN that, in the reopening of the Domus Tiberiana complex, Rome has “recovered a lost jewel.”

“The Palatine Hill has always been the stage of Rome’s power politics,” he said in an interview. “Tiberius likely chose this spot to build the palace as it was where his family residence stood. There aren’t many places like the Domus Tiberiana where you can really breathe the past.”

By Silvia Marchetti.

[phoenixyfriend]

Can you explain the Iran-Israel situation please?

Alright, let's get to it. Please note that I'm writing this on mobile during my lunch break, so I can't include reference/source links as much as I'd like. Thankfully, most of what I'm going to be telling you should be easily located by searching for an article on one of the following: APNews, Reuters, BBC Global News Podcast, Democracy Now!, NPR, or The New York Times. Long-term background is probably best found in videos by the YouTube channels Real Life Lore or tldr global news, or on Wikipedia if you prefer text.

The short version: Israel attacked Iran's consulate in Syria to get at some of the military commanders that were there, which is legally equivalent to attacking Iran itself. Iran responded by sending about 300 bombs at Israel, most of which were shot down in transit. Given that they still called it a success, even though it seems only one person was even hurt, my understanding is that it's very likely that they only intended the rockets to be a show of force, rather than an actual escalation, because Iran can't afford a war right now.

To support my blogging so I can move out of my parents’ house, I do have a ko-fi. Alternately, you can donate to one of the charities I list in this post OR this post.

The long version:

Okay, let's start with some background on Israel, then Iran. This is... a lot, so if you already know the broad strokes skip down to 2023.

Israel was established following WWII by the English and French, following borders the two countries had secretly drawn up decades earlier in the Sykes-Picot agreement. The intent was to give the Jewish people a place to go... or, depending on who you ask, a place to send them. Their ancestral homeland was viewed as the best choice, sort of like a deportation millennia after a diaspora. Given that WWII had just ended by the time Sykes-Picot was actually put into effect, 'getting out of Europe' was something a lot of Jews were given to agree with.

The Arab world was not happy, as that land had belonged to the Ottomans for centuries, and had long since 'naturalized' to being Arab. I'm not going to pretend to know the nuances to when people do or do not consider Palestine to have been its own nation; it was an Ottoman state until WWI, at which point it came under British control for just under three decades, and that period is known as the British Mandate of Palestine; it ended after WWII, with the creation of Israel. Palestine's land and people have sort of just been punted around from one colonizer to another for centuries.

Iran is the current form of what was once Persia. They were an empire for a very long time, and were a unitary monarchy up until the early 20th century; in 1925, Iran elected a Prime Minister who was then declared the monarch. The following several decades had Iran's monarchy slowly weakened, and occasionally beset by foreign interventions, including a covert coup by the US and UK in 1953. The country also became more corrupt throughout the 1970s due to economic policy failing to control inflation in the face of rising oil prices.

In 1979, there was a revolution that overthrew the monarchy and the elected government, replacing the system with a theocracy and declaring Iran to be an Islamic Republic, with the head of state being a religious authority, rather than an elected one. This was not popular with... most countries. 1980 saw the closure of all universities (reopened in 1983 with government-approved curriculums), as well as the taking of over fifty American hostages from the US Embassy in Iran. You may have heard about that in the context of Ronald Reagan encouraging Iran to keep the hostages until the end of Carter's term in order to force the election.

So, the West didn't like having an Islamic state because it claims to like democracy, and also because the Islamic state was explicitly anti-American and this has some Bad Effects on oil prices. The Soviets didn't like having an Islamic State because a theocracy goes directly against a lot of communist values (or at least the values they claim to have), and weakened any influence their supposedly secular union could have on Iran and the wider middle east. The other countries in the Arab world, many of them still monarchies, didn't like the Islamic republic because if the revolution spread, then it was possible their monarchies would be overthrown as well.

(Except Oman, which is not worried, but that's the exception, not the rule.)

This is not a baseless worry, because Iran has stated that this is its goal for the Arab world. Overthrow the monarchies, overthrow the elected governments, Islamic Rule for everyone. That is the purpose of its proxies, like Hezbollah (Lebanon), the Houthis (Yemen), and Hamas (Palestine), along with less well-known groups like the Salafi Jihadists in Mali, who are formally under the umbrella of al-Quaeda, which Iran denies having any relation to but is suspected of funding. In areas where these proxy groups have gained power, they are liable to enact hard Shari'a law such as has happened in Northern Mali and other parts of the Sahel region.

While other conflicts have occurred in these countries, I think the above is most relevant.

Israel has repeatedly attacked, or been attacked by, other nations in the middle east, as they are viewed as having taken over land that is not theirs, and as being a puppet of the US government. The biggest conflicts have been 1947-1948, 1968/1973, and 2014.

And then, of course, 2023.

Now, Iran, more than any other nation in the Middle East, hates Israel. They have for a very long time, viewing them as an affront to the goal of spreading Islam across the whole of the middle east, and as being a front and a staging ground for the United States and other Western powers. Two common refrains in the slogans of Iran and its proxies are "Death to America" and "Death to Israel."

Due to Iran's military power and virulence towards Israel, the United States has been funneling money to Israel for decades. It has more generally been to defend itself against the Arab world at large, but it has narrowed over the decades to being about Iran and its proxies as relations have normalized with other nations like Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Cue October 7th, 2023. Hamas invades Israeli towns, kills some people, and takes others as hostage. Israel retaliates, and the conflict ramps up into what is by now tens of thousands of dead, some half of which are children.

In this time, Hamas's allies are, by definition, Iran and the other proxy forces. Hezbollah, being in Lebanon, share a border with Israel's north. They have been trading rocket fire across the border in waves for most of the past six months. The Houthis, down in Yemen, claim to be attacking the passing cargo ships in order to support Palestine. Given that the attacks often seem indiscriminate, and that the Houthi's control over their portion of Yemen is waning in the face of their poor governance, this is... debatable. It's their official reason, but given that "let's attack passing ships, claiming that we only attack Israeli or American ships and that it is to support Palestine" is rallying support domestically for their regime, it does seem to be more of a political move to garner support at home than about supporting Palestine.

Iran, however, has not attacked Israel. They've spoken out about it, yes, but they haven't done anything because nobody wants a regional war. Nobody can afford it right now. Iran is dealing with a domestic crisis due to oil subsidies bleeding the states' coffers dry, and the aging Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of Iran, refusing to pick a successor. They are looking at both an economic crisis and succession crisis, and a regional war would fuck up both situations further. Iran funds most of its proxies, and they can't do that, and fight a war on top of it, while their economy is in its current state. Pure self preservation says they don't want a war, especially with the ongoing unrest that's been going on for... well, basically since the revolution, but especially since the death of Mahsa Amini.

Meanwhile, in Israel, Netanyahu has been looking at corruption charges and legal issues since before the Hamas attack. It's generally agreed that if Israel were to hold new elections right now, he would lose and be replaced, and also immediately taken to court. Netanyahu wants to stay in power, and as long as the war on Hamas lasts, he is unlikely to get voted out. A change in leadership in the middle of a war is rarely a good idea for any country, and he's banking on that.

However, the war on Hamas rests on the shoulders of American money and supplies. Without that military support, Israel cannot fight this war, and America... is losing patience.

Officially, America and most of the western world have been telling Israel to not fucking escalate for the majority of the war.

There have been implied threats, more or less since Schumer's big speech about how Israel needs a new election, of American legislators putting conditions on any future aid. There have even been rumblings of aid being retracted entirely if Israel follows through on invading Raffah.

So...

American aid to Israel has, for a very long time, been given in the name of defending Israel against Iran and its proxies.

Israel has been fighting this war against Hamas for six months, killing what is by now innumerable civilians, on the power of US military aid.

Netanyahu benefits from the continued war due to domestic troubles.

Iran does not want a regional war, or really any big war, due to its own domestic troubles.

The US is, in theory, losing patience with Israel and threatening to pull the plug on unconditional support. It's very "we gave you this to fight Iran. Stop attacking civilians. If you keep attacking civilians, then you're going to have to rely on what we already gave you to fight off Iran so that you won't keep wasting it on civilians."

Israel... attacks Iran, prompting a response, and is now talking about escalating with Iran.

I am not explicitly saying that it looks to me like Israel, which is already fighting a war on two physical fronts and even more political/economic ones, has picked a fight with Iran so that America feels less like it is able to withdraw support.

I just... am finding it hard to understand why Israel, which is in fact fighting both Hamas and Hezbollah, would attack the Iranian consulate in Syria otherwise. They can't actually afford to fight this war, escalating to a full regional conflict, on a third front.

Not without pressuring American into keeping the faucet of military funding open at full blast.

To support my blogging so I can move out of my parents’ house, I do have a ko-fi. Alternately, you can donate to one of the charities I list in this post OR this post.

[yourdailyqueer]

Vera Lachmann (deceased)

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Lesbian

DOB: 23 June 1904 

DOD: Died 1985

Ethnicity: Ashkenazi Jewish

Nationality: German

Occupation: Poet, teacher, classicist

Note 1: Founded a private school for children of Jewish and Jewish-Christian parents who had been expelled from public schools up until 1938. She then emigrated to United States in 1939.

Note 2: Founded Camp Catawba, a summer camp for boys in North Carolina. She directed the camp until its closure in 1970.

[urbanrelics]

ALIENWORKS

Abandoned steelworks power plant.

This iron and steel factory is a former blast furnace cast iron factory, built in 1890 by a German family business. The factory specialized in the production of pig iron, made from local iron ore.

Thanks to the company's continuous modernization, its ideal location in the French steel basin and the restructuring of the steel industry, the company concentrated its entire production of French cast iron in the mid-1960s.

Despite all these favorable criteria and technical innovations, the company, like all other steel companies, suffered seriously from the crisis in the steel industry in the 1970s. The company managed to survive for a while, but was forced to announce its closure in the early 1990s.

Part of the site, including the blast furnace itself, was preserved as industrial heritage.

In this series of photos you see the power plant that was part of the blast furnace company. It is a classic power plant, with turbines from Brown Boveri and AEG, among others, driven by steam that was produced in the adjacent boiler room.

The site is well secured and difficult to access, which also explains why it has been preserved in its current beautiful state.

[the-time-lord-oracle]

Sonic Screwdriver prop history;

The Classic Series sonic screwdriver prop had it's origins in the 1966 film Thunderbirds are Go as the screwdriver Alan uses to repair the Zero-X escape unit. Following the closure of Century 21 studios in 1970, a number of props, including the screwdriver, were acquired by the BBC and the screwdriver became the Doctor's sonic screwdriver, making it's debut in 1971's Colony in Space.

In fact, the sonic screwdriver's emitter head had it's origins in Century 21 too, originally appearing as part of a radio mic in the Captain Scarlet & the Mysterons episode Model Spy in 1967.

[princess-glassred]

Reddie Corpse Bride AU

It's 1989 and young adults Richie Tozier and Eddie Kaspbrak are arranged to be wed to one another, Eddie's mother has seemingly been able to put her homophobia aside for her sons sake, but still hold the outdated opinion it has to be an arranged marriage so she can make sure it's "the right person". However, what she really means by the right person is just wealthy since they're almost destitute, but of course Sonia would never admit that. That might make her sound like a bad mother who extorts her son, and she would NEVER do that. Never ever.

Richie, despite being overly confident and outspoken most of the time, is nervous as all hell to make a good impression on Eddie and feels like no matter what he does he'll mess up. Miraculously though, they do seem to hit it off when Richie tries to teach Eddie piano since his mom never let him learn it since she thought it'd give him arthritis. Slowly but surely, they start to bond, and even start calling each other by their nicknames instead of edward and richard. But alas, that comes crashing down when their families have a big victorian themed costume ball/rehersal dinner that's so chaotic it ends with Richie accidentally lighting Sonia on fire, and he's so embarrassed he flees to the town's abandoned arcade to hide away. Confused and dejected, he picks up a random token he finds laying around and pretends it's an engagement ring, practicing his vows and even slipping it inside one of the machines to imitated putting it on Eddie's finger. The vows are perfect and he's satisfied, but suddenly the arcade machine starts to rumble and crack, until a lone figure bursts out from inside and destroys the whole thing in a heavenly glow.

The figure reveals itself to be a zombie groom named Connor and he claims Richie and him are now married despite his terror and adamant denial. He takes him away to Derry's underworld and explains his tragic life story to him and why he was in an arcade machine. Appearently he died sometime in the 1970's after he fell in love with a guy but his homophobic cousin Henry disaproved of it. Enraged, Henry sent a fake letter pretending to be Connor's lover, asking for him to the abandoned arcade they met at so they could elope and run away together.

Niave little Connor did as he was asked, but when he showed up to the theatre Henry and his friend jumped him, and when they were done they stuffed his body inside the arcade machine where nobody would ever find it. His cousin went to an asylum after that and his friend went on the run, so even in death Connor never got closure over what happened. So, instead of moving on, Connor vowed that he would wait for his one true love to find him in that machine, marry him, and set him free, and unfortunately for Richie he did just that.

When Eddie inevitably finds out about this and tries to get help nobody believes him, his mother outright demands they take him to juniper hills for psychiatric evaluation IMMEDIATELY, but something quickly changes her mind. Suddenly she finds a new rich guy for Eddie to marry, Patrick Hockstetter, who she takes a liking to because he's quiet and good at manipulating her. Underneath his handsome looks and quiet demeaner though, he's really just a gold digging psychopath that ACTS like a gentleman. So how the hell are Richie and Eddie gonna get outta this one???

This took, i'm not kidding, 30 hours in ibis paint on my phone. 30. Hours.

[only-shadows-dwell-where-we-are]

Redwood Pyschiatric Institute - Part 6

MASTERLIST - PART 1 - PART 2 - PART 3 - PART 4 - PART 5

CWs: mention of ECT, mental hospital whump, mental health gaslighting, force used against patient (electric shock baton), forced psychiatric care

Matthew Cooper pulled up in front of a small house on the end of the street, pulling out his phone to send a quick text that read 'I'm here.'

On the screen were a series of previous, unanswered and unread messages he had sent to his friend Rowan.

'Hey Rowan. Just checking in.'

'Rowan, it's me. What's up bud?'

'Where are you?'

'PICK UP ROWAN'

'Fine. If you won't talk to me, I'm not going to try anymore'

Then, from today. 'Rowan, I'm coming over.'

Matt sighed as he dropped his phone into his pocket and clambered out of the car. He walked up to the front door, and rang the doorbell. He waited a moment, and when there was no answer, he rapped on the door with his knuckles. Still, nothing. The whole house seemed to be silent and still. He pressed his face to the one of the windows, attempting to peer through.

"Rowan!" He called.

No answer.

"Crap." Matt murmured. "Where the hell are you.."

He strode around the back of the house, searching for any signs of life from his friend. Finally, he spotted a back door, slightly ajar. It struck Mathew as strange. Rowan was not a careless person - in fact, quite the opposite, he could be rather paranoid, in Mathew's opinion. So it was completly out of the ordinary for his friend to leave a door unlocked, and Mathew also had no idea how long it had been open or if Rowan was even in the house still.

Cautiously, Matthew entered through the door, calling Rowan's name as he went. There were no traces of recent life - everything was put away neatly as Mathew would expect of Rowan, until he reached his friend's bedroom. This room was a mess - papers were scattered everywhere, on the bed, on the floor, on the desk.. Rowan's laptop was also still there, but Mathew wasn't keen to go trying to break into that. He pick up a paper sitting on the desk, and scanned through it. It was a newspaper article.

'Redwood Asylum patients claim gross mistreatment'.  The headline read. The article was dated 1964. The next article, from 1970, announced the closing-down of the Institute. The outdated facility had claimed around 1000 lives by the time of its closure, almost a hundred years since it opened.

All the other papers and articles were about the institute, why puzzled Mathew further. Why was Rowan so obssessed with this place? And more importantly, where was Rowan?

Mathew did a quick google of the place, finding that it had since been reopened and claimed to now be running as a more modern psychiatric hospital. Matthew was all out of options - his only remaining option was right in front of him. He hit the phone number listed on the web page, drew a deep breath, and hit the call button.

"Hello, you've reached Redwood Psychiatric Institute. You're speaking to Carol, how can I help you?"

"Uh, hi Carol, my name's Mathew Cooper. I was wondering if you recently had a visitor by the name of Rowan Murdock?"

"I'm sorry but we can't disclose information on our visitors. We have, however, got a patient by that name. There's a note on his file saying he can't have visitors, are you family?"

"Oh, uh.. no, I'm a long-time friend of his though. I was just wondering if I could get some more information on what happened." Mathew stammered, shocked at the news. Rowan was a patient?

"I can arrange for you to meet his doctor, in that case. Doctor Wilson. I'm sure he'd be willing to discuss Rowan's - well, yes. Rowan's recent weeks with us."

Mathew arranged a time for the meeting and then hung up the phone. He began to head out the room, when he turned back, picked up one of the articles on the psychiatric institute, and then continued on his way out of the house.

------

"Mathew Cooper, I'm here to talk to Doctor Wilson." Matthew announced to the woman at the front desk.

"Sign here, and then take this visitor pass, and it'll be the third door on your left." She smiled, a friendly but tired, 'I've been here all day and I'm just trying to be friendly to you but I could care less' kind of smile.

"Thanks." Mathew smiled back as he followed her instructions and then headed down the hall.

Inside the office, the doctor sat behind the desk, looking comfortable but composed.

"Hello Mathew, take a seat. My name is Doctor Wilson." The doctor smiled from behind his glasses.

Mathew sat in the chair across from the doctor, and extended his hand to the doctor, who took it and shook it firmly.

"Thank you for coming, Mathew."  Doctor Wilson greeted. "I understand these circumstances must be.. rather confusing, and I appreciate your willingness to discuss this in person."

"Thank you for meeting with me, Doctor Wilson. I understand you must be very busy." Mathew acknowledged.

"Indeed. Now, allow us to get right into it. Now, when did you last see your friend?" The doctor asked.

"Well, I must have seen him last a few weeks ago." Mathew answered.

"I see. Well, he came here as a voluntary self-admission on September 13th. He was incredibly unstable, and we immediately began his treatment. When we admitted him, we looked into his medical records and his personal records. Now, while I'm afraid I have some hard news to digest, there is no other way to say this - his name isn't Rowan Murdock. His real name is James Lawton."

"What- you mean, he's been lying to me this whole time about who he is?"

"No, not at all. James is a very mentally ill young man, not a pathological liar. We discovered symptoms of schizophrenia throughout the last few years of his life, but it was not yet diagnosed or treated. It has just since accumulated and worsened. He has been in dire need of treatment for years, but when he came to us, he was at the height of a schizophrenic breakdown, believing he was Rowan Murdock, a profilic journalist investigating the asylum before deciding to admit himself.  We've been treating him with medications and ECT. He has been doing better the last few weeks, however,  we are worried that a visit with you, an old friend of 'Rowan's may cause another setback." The doctor sighed.

"Oh..." Mathew's heart sank at the explanation. He couldn't comprehend the whole story, it was not anything he could have imagined. Of course, he had accepted there was some horrible series of events that had led to Rowan- or, James - being here, but not like this. "I.. I'll do anything you need, I'll say anything, I just- I need to see him, I need to talk to him."

"Alright, I'll arrange a visit." Doctor Wilson conceded. "But you mustn't encourage any of his delusions relating to 'Rowan Murdock'."

"Understood, Doctor. Thank you very much."

------

"James, I have a visitor for you." Doctor Wilson stood in the doorway, ushering Matt ahead of him.

Matt entered the room hesitantly, his eyes scanning around until they landed on a small figure, hunched up in white in the corner of the small room.

"James?"

The figure Matt had once known as Rowan did not acknowledge the presence of anyone in the room. He simply muttered something under his breath.

"James. I've brought you a visitor." Doctor Wilson repeated, mild annoyance already in his voice as he approached James and bent down, waving at his patient to try and gain his attention.

James blinked, several times, slow and sluggish, as if drawing himself out of a trance. He glanced around the room, eyes landing eventually on Mathew.

"Who.. whoareyouu-" James slurred softly, as Doctor Wilson grasped him by the arm and helped him onto his feet, bringing him over to the small bed in the centre of the room.

"He's on a lot of medication right now. He may be suffering some short-term memory loss right now, so remember that this will pass. Just remind him who you are." Doctor Wilson said to Mathew.

Mathew nodded and approached the bed, kneeling in front of his old friend. Rowa- James, he reminded himself, looked pale, and his usually-thin frame looked even thinner than usual, or maybe that was the ill-fitting hospital gown. The circles under his eyes were dark, and his face was pinched and gaunt.

"Hey, James. It's me, your old friend Mathew." He said softly, reaching out a hand.

James didn't take the hand, instead, he sat there, staring blankly at it as Matt continued talking.

"We've known each other since university. You used to come and 'study' at my house. I'd steal your notes, and then we'd play video games together until 3am, even if we had class the next morning at 9." Mathew chuckled slightly at the memory, his heart aching a little to see his friend of five years in this situation. They'd been very close through university, but in the last two years they'd drifted apart slightly as both adjusted to their adult lives. Still, he cared for his friend.

Matt drew himself out of his own thoughts and looked up to see James staring at him with an.. odd expression.

"James, are you alright?" Matthew asked gently.

"That's.. not my name." James said flatly.

Shit.. He'd triggered James. His friend began to cry - no, more like tears were slipping down from expressionless eyes.

James suddenly stood and lunged at Mathew, knocking him to the ground as he began to scream at Matt.

"HELP!"James screamed as he shook his friend. "THEY'RE TORTURING ME, LET ME OUT YOU HAVE TO LET ME OUTYOUHAVETOYOUHAVETOYOUHAVETO-"

Mathew was so shocked, he couldn't react. James screamed himself hoarse until suddenly, he gave a suprised shout, and collapsed onto his back, convulsing in agony at the hands of orderlies who had appeared in the room.

"Are you alright?" Doctor Wilson asked as he extended a hand and helped Mathew to his feet, pulling him away as the orderlies descended upon James' form, brandishing a syringe. Quickly, Doctor Wilson escorted Mathew out of the room, away from James' dreaful shrieking protests.

They returned to the doctor's office, where Wilson handed Mathew a glass of water. Matt graciously accepted it, ignoring the odd drop spilling out from how badly his hands shook. He downed the glass, wiped his face, and finally spoke. "What- what will happen now?"

"We will have to change his medication, and I'm going to perscribe another course of ECT." The doctor replied, calm but with a hint of frustration.

Mathew realised that clearly, James' treatment had been quite a difficult process that was now far from over.

"Shock therapy?" he asked.

"While that is the outdated term for it.. yes. It is now quite safe, and often used in quite severe cases of mental illness. Clearly, his schizophrenic hallucinations and paranoia are not yet treated. We will have to increase our efforts to stop these delusions that he is being trapped here."

"Will I be able to return and visit him again, Doctor?"

"Maybe after the next round of ECT. Thank you for coming, Mathew."

As Mathew drove away from the Redwood hospital, he wondered what fate he was leaving his friend to.

Tags:

@jazatronasmr @onthishamsterwheel @bumpthumpwhump @bloodsweatandpotato @whatiswhump @jancameforthewhump @dream-whump @ratking-whump @inkstainsonmyhands12 @halstead-shaw13 @sparrowsage @sowhumpful @whatwhumpcomments @caspersdelusion

[two-of-bugs]

hayato ichimonji “steal his fit” masterpost

side note that all of these will be the closest thing i could find/how to get reasonably close, NOT the exact same piece of clothing

https://www.1stdibs.com/fashion/clothing/shirts/1968-yves-saint-laurent-saharienne-safari-tunic/id-v_19274962/

this is the ONLY one i could find that was all the way open in the front

[welldonebeca]

Uncertain Grounds (Epilogue)

Warnings: 1970s, angst. Tension. Pregnancy. Hurt. Closure.

If you like my work, consider buying me a coffee or subscribing to my Patreon. It’s just $2 a month and I promise you won’t regret it.

Masterlist

Abby could barely unpack when she arrived home.

Ben wasn't the only person she had lost in her life, he wasn't the first and wouldn't be the last, probably. But losing him was what had hurt her the most.

She couldn't move, she couldn't leave the house... her things were gathering dust, her food was spoiling.

Abby had to get out, she knew it.

It wasn't safe to stay in her home when they knew where she lived.

There were only so many months she could hide her belly.

Still, when she sat down to pack up, Abby could only stare at the wilting roses.

They were completely dead by then, only one of them still had petals, but she couldn't throw them away.

They were his gift to her, the last one.

Well... second to last, wasn't it?

Still, no one could know.

She had to leave.

She had to get rid of her car, find a new identity, and get the fuck out of this country. Maybe from the continent. 

So why couldn't she move?

When Abby was held by Vought's contract, it explicitly said she couldn't leave the American border.

But she wasn't held by contract anymore.

A knock on her door made her stand up, and Abby hesitated in her spot.

She hadn't shown up in public since the hospital situation. Who would even be interested in what she was doing?

She checked who was outside, finding Crimson waiting, in her civilian clothes, and looking just as bad as Abby imagined she looked herself.

Just then, she opened the door.

"Did they send you to kill me?" Abby sighed.

Crimson scoffed. She was standing far away from her door.

"You think I would knock on your door all nicely if I was?" she asked.

Abby just raised her eyebrows.

"Yes," Crimson confirmed, at last. "But that is tomorrow. Today, I'm here to give you a chance."

"Nice of you to give a day's notice," Abby scoffed.

Crimson pushed her hands into her pockets.

"I'm done killing," Crimson affirmed, looking a little lost. "But if I don't kill, someone else will. If you want to live... well, you won't."

Abby didn't quite answer, watching as she looked around the street.

"You're all taped," she affirmed. "You know that, right? Every room, every phone... your cards, your neighbours, your car... they have access to everything."

Good, now she had to get rid of her car too.

Crimson pulled a card from her pocket, holding it out for Abby.

"I know a guy, I paid him already," she told her. "Abigail... whatever your surname is... she should be dead by tomorrow."

She clenched her fingers around the card, the thought hurting her very being.

Her whole life, all of who she was now.

It was over.

"Tomorrow at 1 pm your house will be on fire," she continued. "You'll have not survived, only your bones will remain. I say take whatever you have in there," she pointed at luggage with her chin. "And leave everything else behind."

She spoke everything quickly, without a care, as if she was talking about the weather.

"Why..." Abby started.

But she remembered the taping, and stepped further away from her house.

"Why are you doing this? Why are you helping me?" she asked. "Is that because of Ben?"

Crimson closed her eyes, shaking her head.

"What happened there, Crimson?" she asked, barely able to speak above a whisper. "How-"

"It doesn't matter," she interrupted her. "Aren't you listening to me? They are going to kill you, burn you down. I'm doing you a favour, just take it. Soldier Boy is dead, and you don't want to follow him."

“Did Vought-“ she pressed, horrified by the thought Vought would do such a thing.

To kill Ben... It meant none of them could be safe. Ever.

But Countess grabbed her, slamming her against the wall, and her eyes were filled with fury.

"Shut up!" she hissed into her face. "Shut. Up!"

Abby gulped, gasping.

"Vought couldn't kill him if they tried," Crimson accused. "But they can kill you. So stop asking so many fucking questions and just save yourself."

She nodded, at last, and Crimson backed off, giving her one last look and leaving Ness to only wonder.

She stared at her, watching her go, and looked at the card as she rested a hand on her flat stomach.

It was time to go.

"Come on, little one," she whispered to herself. "You're my new mission. And I'm not going to fail it."

…

“Uncertain Grounds” was fully posted on my Patreon on 2022. If you like Soldier Boy and other Jensen Ackles characters, and like the idea of having early access to my work, consider checking it out. It’s just $2 a month and I promise you won’t regret it. (link takes you to the public masterlist)

…

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[scotianostra]

On 29th February 1904 the Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow, opened.

Designed by Bertie Crewe for Thomas Barrasford, the Pavilion Theatre opened at the corner of Renfield Street and Renfrew Street, Glasgow on the 29 February, 1904. It was regarded as luxurious for its time with its decor being described by the owners as “pure Louis XV”. An electrically operated sliding roof ensured good ventilation.

Performances in the early days were mainly variety, melodrama and pantomime. Many of the leading music hall artistes of the period appeared at the Pavilion, including Marie Lloyd, Little Tich, Harry Lauder, Florrie Forde, Will Fyffe, Sarah Bernhardt and a then unknown Charlie Chaplin.

Since the 1930s, the Pavilion began to host pantomimes with top name stars of the Scottish variety scene, such as Harry Gordon and Dave Willis. In more recent times it has produced plays, such as ‘The Sash’ and ‘The Steamie’.

The Pavilion Theatre is now the only privately run theatre in Scotland and one of a few unsubsidised independent theatres left in Britain.

“Defying all the odds, Glasgow’s Pavilion regularly purveys variety to this day. All the more remarkable as it is completely unsubsidised and receives no funding from the Scottish Arts Council and kindred bodies whose thoughts and cash are directed at higher cultural activities. It remains the last stronghold of a long music hall tradition in Europe’s City of Culture owing everything to a dedicated staff and patrons and nothing to the public purse.

With its imposing terra cotta facade, the Pavilion Theatre of Varieties was designed by Bertie Crewe in the grand manner for Thomas Barrasford. The domed ceiling was surmounted by an electrically controlled sliding roof for ventilation. Fine Rococo plasterwork on the circle, balcony and box fronts; decoration executed in pure Louis XV; handsome mahogany woodwork and the marble mosaic floor all lent the 1800 seat theatre an aura of splendour.

No less amusing than the dentist advertising in the Pavilion programme “painless extractions with nitrous oxide for 4/- (20p) or cocaine for 1/- (5p)”, were the press observations on the “fashionable company” which attended the Pavilion’s first house on 29th February,1904. We learn that “among the elite there was quite a preponderance of ladies and gentlemen of quality in evening dress”. Alas, class consciousness and respectability were all in Edwardian Britain!

The ‘forties and ‘fifties saw pantomime runs of sixteen weeks, the happy and hilarious summer seasons were emulated during the 1960s and early 1970s by Lex McLean. Another regular crowd puller to Renfield Street was Jack Milroy.

Lulu from Dennistoun (real name Marie Lawrie) broke box office records in 1975, Billy Connolly, Hector Nicol Andy Cameron portrayed their own distinctive brands of humour while Scottish songstresses Lena Zavaroni, , Sheena Easton, Lena Martell and Barbara Dickson also scored heavily with Pavilion audiences.

It was anything but plain sailing for the Pavilion and there was gloomy speculation of closure after incurring heavy financial losses in 1981. Spared the fate which befell the Queens, Metropole, Empire, Alhambra and Empress Theatres, the 80 years old Pavilion was rescued by James Glasgow and transformed into a modest profit maker. Smash-hit shows with Sydney Devine; spells from hypnotist Robert Halpern; pantomime with Denny Willis, and one night gigs from the foremost modern television entertainers have kept the cash tills registering.

The Pavilion also played a major role in the annual Mayfest – Glasgow’s International Festival of popular theatre, music, the arts and community programmes.

Little altered and virtually unspoilt since its inception, the seating capacity of 1449 is made up of 677 stalls, 341 circle, 413 balcony and 18 box seats. While the stiff shirts in chauffeur-driven cabs have given way to coach parties from the rural areas of Strathclyde and beyond, a policy of providing the best in live entertainment has been pursued consistently. The portents look good for the vibrant Pavilion Theatre of Varieties.”

The Pavillion is, in my view a survivor, even over the past few years tragedy has struck the area with a series of fires.

[the-gone-ton]

Pictured: former Maryland Fried Chicken restaurant in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (now a cigarette store) in 2023; and a then-operational Maryland Fried Chicken in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 1969.

Maryland Fried Chicken was an early competitor to KFC that ironically was founded in Florida by Al Constantine, a native of Delaware. Constantine, after noting the success of KFC franchises, experimented with his own fried chicken recipe and handed out samples at the diner he owned in Orlando until he had, as he once said, "the best fried chicken in the world."

Al opened the first "Maryland Fried Chicken" restaurant in Fern Park, Florida, in October of 1961. With help from his parents and two of his brothers, Al oversaw the chain's expansion across Florida as dozens of new MFCs opened under franchise agreements. A deal in 1967 with Georgia businessman J.R. Miller helped take MFC to about 20 US states in the south, midwest, and northeast. The company claimed to be the 3rd-largest and fastest-growing fried chicken take-out chain in the US in 1969. Its first (and likely only) international locations opened in Nassau, Bahamas, in 1970. By the start of 1971, 160 locations were operational.

But both personal and economic struggles began to pressure the company in the 70s. Al's relationship with his brothers began to strain, and his marriage ended in divorce in 1971. Before that year was out, Al resigned as President of Maryland Fried Chicken, Inc., dissatisfied with the direction of the company he had started. The company reported a financial loss for the year 1971 and began a bloodbath of store closures, especially in the south. The company quickly went extinct in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee even as it was making a new push into New York, New England, and the midwest. Reduced to just 102 stores by the end of 1972, the new President of the company then announced that it had returned to profitability.

But the economy only got worse from there, as the 1973 recession set in. Of particular concern was the skyrocketing price of chicken and rising interest rates. It didn't help that the company in 1974 became largely owned by shady investor James Mairs, a disgraced former lawyer who was bisbarred due to a credible accusation that he funneled $500,000 from a client's trust fund into his own pockets. The company was now on a downward spiral with no turning back, and by the late 70s it was bankrupt and out of business.

But that was never the end of the story. Although Maryland Fried Chicken, Inc. no longer existed, the individual franchises remained. Many of them threw in the towel, retired, or started new restaurants. But some decided to try and keep things going like nothing had ever happened. By the time I entered the picture, I was living in a bubble where it was as Al's dream had been realized: the local MFC had outlasted Popeyes and competed favorably with KFC across the street. But of course, this was not how most towns looked in the 2000s. My local MFC franchise of 2 restaurants in Bethlehem and Easton, Pennsylvania, was the last one in the northeast. I hardly imagine any of the patrons knew that MFC ever existed outside the Lehigh Valley.

My local location was opened by Tom Workman in 1968, and he owned it until 2008, when he sold it to longtime employee Paul Matula, who Workman considered to be like a son. Workman passed away in 2011, and shortly thereafter a kitchen fire forced the Bethlehem unit's closure. The smaller branch in Easton, lacking a drive-thru, stuck around until 2014. Though my locations have closed, I'd like to go to a remaining store again someday. They still exist in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and one lone unit in Michigan. For a more comprehensive history with lots of pictures, check out my blogger post.

[shouta-edits]

Heya could i request a fashion kit for PaRappa Rappa (PaRappa the Rapper)?

[loki-cees-all]

Willy Wonka and the God of Mischief sounds like some shenanigans and hijinks are involved and i am intrigued. tell us more, Cee!

rubs hands mischievously

Okay, so I've been working on this for almost a year now. I swear to God, I will finish it eventually! But it's for a series I was posting solely on AO3 (because it was a challenge dedicated to killing one character 12 different ways, and most people don't wanna read that, which is fine!). I've lost motivation to complete the series, and maybe I'll finish it eventually - but this one will definitely be finished, even if it's the last thing I do.

But it's a one-shot with Thor and Loki, taking place before the events of Thor (2011), and between the chocolate factory's mysterious closure and even more mysterious re-opening.

Basically our favorite brothers are on Midgard during the 1970s, and they hear about an abandoned chocolate factory and a "mysterious wizard". Thor, being the lovely older brother that he is, teases Loki about this wizard being a better sorcerer than Loki. This pushes Loki to go see the abandoned factory to prove Thor's claim is false, and then something dark and magical in the factory calls out to Loki and lures him inside.

So they break in to the factory, meet the mysterious wizard, and Loki ignores Wonka's most important rule. It's...going to end poorly for Loki, I'm not going to lie - but I'm really, really proud of what I came up with to lead Loki to his demise. (The jellybeans are not regular jellybeans.)

And if it helps, I've already come up with a longfic idea that starts immediately after this one-shot, involving Loki and Wonka and exploring their similarities and differences, and parallels with certain other Marvel characters, so Loki's not actually done for after this one-shot.