#Gale 1900

[miraplayssims]

The bar owner had agreed to let the theatre group rent the room above his establishment for free, on the condition that they provided musical entertainment for his patrons every other night. Benjamin, who had learned to play the piano from Alice during his childhood, was quickly appointed as Kirsten’s accompanist.

Although Benjamin didn’t mind the work, it wasn’t what he had envisioned. Perhaps he had been naive. He’d dreamt of being on stage, performing as Inspector Javert or King Lear. But the reality of their situation was not lost on him. The group had to finance itself somehow, and playing music in a noisy bar was the price they paid for their passion. The scarce opportunities they had to perform real plays in front of an audience offered only meagre pay.

As Benjamin’s fingers danced across the keys, he couldn’t help but wonder if this was all there would ever be—a life spent in the shadows of a stage, supporting others while his own dreams remained just out of reach.

When Benjamin would arrive home in the wee hours of the night, everyone would already be fast asleep. He’d quickly eat the leftovers from dinner over the kitchen counter before quietly walking up the creaking stairs and slipping into bed.

One night, however, Theodora was still awake when she heard the front door open. She lay in bed, waiting for the familiar sound of the old wooden stairs groaning under his weight. But the minutes passed in silence, and finally she decided to go downstairs. When she entered the kitchen, she found Benjamin deep in thought, so absorbed that he didn’t notice her presence.

She tapped him lightly on the shoulder, causing him to start. “Oh, Theo. Forgive me, did I wake you?”

Theodora shook her head. “No, I was still awake. What are you doing down here? Did everything go well tonight?” She had a feeling something was troubling him.

“It went as it usually does,” he replied, lighting a cigarette. Seeing the worry in her eyes, he forced a smile and added, “It went great.”

“You’d tell me if you weren’t happy, wouldn’t you?”

“Of course, my love,” he said, his tone gentle but unconvincing. Theodora, still certain he was keeping something from her, decided not to press him further for now. Instead, she leaned in and kissed him, hoping that in due time he would tell her.

[cmonbartender]

The Road to Oz (1909) - John R Neill

[unparalleledtomes]

Not With the Eyes, But With the Mind (18+)

Ao3 Link

Pairing: Gale x OC Female Character

Summary: Against his better judgement, Gale's hopeless pining gets the better of him and he finally caves, treating himself to images of Noa and nearly nuking himself in the process.

Warnings: masturbation, smut, nudity, minors dni.

Word Count: 1900

A/N: did it take me over three months to write 1900 words? you betcha. will it take even longer for the next one? you betcha.

Gale lay in his tent next to a toppled stack of books. If he unfocused his eyes, allowed his mind to carry him home, he could almost picture the view from his tower through the canvas. It was the moonlight, the way it barely poked through the blue-green skin of his tent—it reminded him of evenings alone on his balcony just before a storm rolled in, and how the moonlight barely poked through then.

He tried to hold onto that image and the tranquillity it often brought him, but tonight the colour only reminded him of Noa. 

How she poured wine from a bottle that glinted teal in the fire, a glass each for her and Karlach. Astarion nursed his own. But Gale didn’t indulge, too afraid of what might tumble from his mouth in the presence of his new friends, or those he hoped to call friends. The orb, too, clenched inside of him and there was a slight shake in his hands, a heaviness in his chest that felt like a threat. 

“Come on, soldier. You’ve asked everyone for their life stories and haven’t said one thing about yourself.”

“That’s not true. Astarion hasn’t said anything.”

“I beg your pardon. I’ve said plenty. What more do you want?” 

“Well, for starters, I’ve never known a magistrate so interested in bloodshed.”

“What’s life without a little danger, darling? Besides, you’ve rather impressed me these last weeks. Goblins and bugbears, those poor dwellers in the crypt. There’s plenty of blood on your hands.” He lowered his voice as he spoke, like the very idea of violence excited him. 

Noa scoffed into the fire. “Not a thought that comforts me. Mark my words on this, night-walker. I’ve been around a long time—life’s easier with a sheathed sword.”

Gale smiled but Astarion flicked his wrist. “Spoken like a true, boring adventurer. I, for one, can’t wait to see what other massacres lie ahead of us. Gods know there’ll be plenty before our next sunset.” 

Noa rolled her eyes. “Gale, how about you? How’re you faring under all these…oh, let’s call them adventures?”

“Well, it’s certainly a leap from the comfort of my tower. I’m far more used to a crackling hearth, a good book, and an equally soothing glass of Blackstaff wine.” The thought needed only to be spoken and he was back at home, all but felt the veins of mature pages in his hands before he let the moment pass. He raised a finger. “But, adventure never strays far from a talented wizard, as I’m sure someone of your demonstrable capabilities can attest.” 

He wasn’t sure why but Noa laughed then, and the sound lifted some pressure from his heart. 

Gale blinked at the tent. He breathed slowly and with some difficulty, torn between chasing away what he’d rather remember. But her image haunted him like a childhood mistake and it wasn’t long before the faintest thrum of lilac tangled in the moonlight, the orb stirred to life.

“Coming from the great Gale of Waterdeep, I appreciate that. It’s not every day a golden boy finds you impressive.”

“Ha, oh well, hardly a ‘golden boy,’ though my natural abilities did catch unequivocal attention from the most spectacular beings. That said, it does put a bit of pep in one’s step to know their name travelled across Faerûn, eh?” 

Astarion audibly scoffed but Gale relished in the idea. He ignored the ignorance, forgave it even. It was the very same he’d dealt with all his life from those who could only watch as he mastered the Weave, destined for greatness—that of which he had in Mystra’s reverent embrace. His eyes fell to the snapping firewood. As quickly as it’d come, the thought soured. 

“It has,” Noa said plainly. 

“All good things, I hope.”

She brought the goblet to her mouth and held it there without drinking. “I’ve heard your story.” Her eyes flicked to his and they watched each other for an eternal second. A queer look accompanied her words, silent recognition piercing as a blade. “I’m really glad we ran into you, Gale of Waterdeep.”

Nothing existed but her face across the flames. He could only stare; he didn’t know what to say. 

The need was in his hands before it was in his cock. He folded them behind his head and tried to focus on the dull ache of his knotted fingers. He blinked, inhaled through his mouth, but there she stood above the flames in a long stretch before bed. She reached to the stars and it was all he could do to avoid her silhouette as she bid him goodnight. 

But alone now he snuck a boyish glance at the memory of her breasts. The orb burned through his tunic and onto the canvas above him, an aurora borealis in that Waterdeep sky, and he watched the colours billow until an intrusive thought of her naked made his ears simmer. 

Energy crackled around his briefs, warmth pulsing between his legs with every unstoppable thought of her face, her eyes—one rich and dark as earth and the other obsidian as a mountainside. He thought of the freckles that spilled across her nose and wondered how many adorned places he couldn’t see.

Stop it, he thought. By the gods, stop it. But she didn’t leave and he wouldn’t let her. 

When Astarion and Karlach eventually retired, he was alone. Flames lapped at the darkness and he curled his hands into fists to stop the shaking. Through the spots in his vision, a lantern burned from Noa’s tent and he watched her gently unwind her braid in the sliver of gold that shone through. When she lifted her shirt he looked away so quickly the whole world spun. 

The orb radiated from chest to cheek with pain, a hellish prick of needles coursing through his hands. He breathed deeply, pleaded with his mind to free itself from these calamitous desires, but everything was black against the light of her face. 

He didn’t want to will her away any longer—he wanted to touch gold. 

His face burned, and with great shame he unlaced his trousers. The simple caress of fingertips made him shiver, his shaft already hard and leaking by the time he freed himself. He pinched his eyes shut and reconsidered the whole sordid indulgence but she immediately stood before him, smiled at him, and with the first timid stroke he nearly whispered her name. 

Together they soared past the skies above him, their naked bodies entwined within the Weave. She outshone the stars, overthrew those swirling constellations he often dreamed of, and he could only float in awe of her. She bit her lip the longer he stared, a simple gesture that made him grin as he imagined a dahlia flush in her cheeks. It was enough to coax a faster rhythm. 

Back in his tent the orb singed his chest but he ignored the fire to press his tongue into her mouth. It shamed him and even in his mind he hesitated, but she moaned and wound her arms around his neck until he relaxed. He tentatively twisted up and down and she inched closer to bite his lip. He trembled at the brazenness of it, but envisioned her leg around his hip, her fingers in his hair, and when she moaned again he started to pump faster. 

With that same shy look in her eyes she squeezed the length of his cock. His head tipped back and she pressed a kiss to his neck so warm he swore he felt it. He stroked faster, grabbing her breast with one hand, cradling her head with the other, but it wasn’t enough. With a moan he multiplied, arms born from arms to have enough hands for every inch of her. Countless fingers caressed her back and gripped her thighs, touched her tongue and brushed the hair from her face, and in that paradise of starved simulacra all her moans rang out like music. Whether his hands throbbed from the orb or his grip on the bedroll, he didn’t know—all he knew was somewhere in those stars Noa belonged to him.  

Wildflowers billowed in the camp’s lazy breeze and he felt it through the canvas, the way it quickly became her breath against his shoulder. His eyes watered from the choking pain in his chest but he’d let nothing take her, each stroke a blacksmith’s bellow that kept her image alive. 

She rocked into him, slow and natural as a boat on water. The orb sizzled like a branding but he held her gaze, stroking until his back lifted off the bedroll. He tried to speak, to beg her not to go, not now, not when the world was so close to making sense again, but no sound came. Still she smiled and brought her lips to his ear, close enough to feel her breath, close enough to feel the tip of her tongue when she at long last whispered, “Gale.” 

His eyes shot open. The Weave flowed from his pupils and drowned the world in lilac, droplets spilling down his fingers. He sat up and clutched his heart. Copper dribbled from his mouth and he coughed at the taste, a pounding in his head like a great aching heartbeat. He looked around, tried to catch his breath, but only coughed again. 

He was blind. There was nothing but the Weave, so bright in his eyes it burned white. A terrible shiver ran through him and for a moment he thought the last thing he’d ever see was Noa’s face. He tucked himself back into his trousers and blinked again and again until the monstrous glow dwindled back to lilac, and finally to nothing.  

With enough breathing the crickets’ song poked through the thunderclap in his ears and he steadied himself on one hand. Felt the soil beneath his fingers as the world retook shape. Focused on the toppled tomes at his feet as the vice loosened around his temple. He lifted his sticky palm without looking and lightly jerked his wrist, the Weave slipping over his skin like a glove before it disappeared again to take the mess with it. 

But when that hushed breeze no more than a whisper rolled into his tent, he turned toward it, opening and closing his fist though he didn’t know why. Perhaps as a reminder of how foolish he’d been, that he’d nearly broken the promise he made to himself by doing something this stupid, by putting this many innocent lives in danger. He studied his hand, its shape mostly lost to the dark, and slowly opened his fist again. Perhaps it was something else. 

An unwelcome wavelet of guilt trickled down his back and he cinched his tent closed, lying on his bedroll as if he hadn’t just tainted Noa’s trust or nearly blown away half the Sword Coast. All around was black and there was nothing he could do now but wait for the shadows to make sense, to watch the canvas overhead and see if he could return home. 

And in time, he did. 

He didn’t know how he’d look at her in the morning. How he’d look at himself. But in that quiet moment beneath the Waterdeep moon he remembered the way she looked at him, and sleep came easy.

[mask131]

So you want to know about Oz! (1)

Then congratulations! Welcome to this quick crash course to know everything about the world of Oz! The movies, the adaptations, the musicals, the books! Yes, books, with an S, because "The Wizard of Oz" everybody knows and love was just the first book of an entire BOOK SERIES that became the enormous franchise we know today! You thought there was just ONE Wizard of Oz movie? Think again! You thought "Wicked" was the only work that gave a backstory to the Witches? Get ready for some discoveries!

And so we begin our journey to the wonderful land of Oz...

The story of Oz begins with one novel. No, not one movie - but the novel that caused the movie... L. Frank Baum's "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz"

Published in 1900, this children novel is still to this day one of the most famous works of American youth literature, as well as the master-piece of Baum, THE book everybody knows he wrote. Baum intended, with this book, to create a purely American fairy tale: he wanted to rival the European tales of Charles Perrault, the brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Andersen - and he succeeded! The novel was a best-seller as soon as it was released, and is still considered as "America's greatest fairy-tale".

Most people know of "The Wizard of Oz" through its famous adaptation, the 1939 musical movie. While these two works do share a same set of main characters and a similar plot, the novel contains many, many details that were not adapted into the movie ; and, in return, the movie brought a lot of elements that were absent from the novel. Both, however, are still the story of a little girl by the name of Dorothy (she wasn't yet named "Gale") and her dog Toto, who are swept up into a tornado and taken to the magical Land of Oz. There she meets three comical companions (the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion), and together they go seek the Wizard of Oz in hope he can grant their wishes, only to have to escape from the clutches of the Wicked Witch of the West...

If you want to read the original novel, it will be very easy! Not only is it still regularly printed today, with various anniversary editions ; but it is in public domain since the 1950s! So you can go read it for free right now, without any problems!

Most people tend to stop at just this book... Not wondering if there was any sequel, treating it as if this was just a one-shot. Except, we told you, this book was a best-seller! An ENORMOUS success! Never before had a children's book brought so much money in the United-States! As such, Baum was not going to just stop there...

While he did intent "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" to be a self-contained novel existing as its own thing, in 1904 he published a sequel "The Marvelous Land of Oz":

This novel does not follow Dorothy however, but rather a very different character... A little boy who lives in the Land of Oz post-Dorothy: Tip (short for Tippetarius), an orphan boy who escapes the clutches of his wicked witch of a caretaker alongside a pumpkin-headed scarecrow he just brought to life. And the two undergo a journey to the Emerald City ruled by the Scarecrow-king, only to get swept into a revolution...

This novel was conceived in a similar way to the first one, as a "self-contained" story. While it does take place after the events of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", reuses several of the same characters (The Scarecrow and the Tin Man are part of the main party, Glinda plays a key part in the final act) and briefly recaps the events of the first novel, it can still be read on its own. This novel especially get a lot of attention today (after decades and decades of falling into pur oblivion) due to its fantasy-dissection of the topics of genders - differences between men and women, boys and girls, unfairness and injustice among sexes (the revolution in question is a "girl revolution" seeking to destroy what is perceived as a misogynistic patriarchy)... All culminating with what is still to this day one of the most famous accidental depictions of a trans character in fantasy!

But I'll return to this all in a later post, possibly...

This novel was ALSO a best-seller and a huge success. And as such... you know what that means. Yes, Baum wrote a THIRD book taking place in Oz! Well, almost... The novel actually mostly takes place in lands neighbors to those of Oz, the land of Ev and the realm of the Nome King... But all the Oz characters return - including Dorothy, who is again swept away into fairy-lands, this time not with her dog Toto, but with a pet chicken Billina.

This story is the novel "Ozma of Oz", published in 1907:

And with these three books, you have the original Oz trilogy!

"But wait, there were other Oz books, weren't there?" you ask. Oh yes, there were more books, indeed! However, I want to stop at this point because these three books do form a specific trilogy for various reasons. The trilogy of the "good" Oz books before everything went... let's say downhill (but more about that next post). But more importantly, the trilogy of Oz books most people know about!

Indeed, even if you have never read "The Marvelous Land of Oz" or "Ozma of Oz", you probably came across various elements of these books, that are regularly scattered throughout Oz adaptations and novels. For example the famous Disney movie "Return to Oz" is mostly an adaptation of "Ozma of Oz", but with numerous elements of "The Marvelous Land of Oz" added to the plot

More recently, the trilogy also formed the basis of the new plot offered by the short-lived TV series "Emerald City"!

Langwidere the princess with a hundred heads, Mombi the witch, Ozma the princess of Oz, the Nome king, Tik-Tok the automaton, Jack Pumpkinhead, general Jinjur, the land of Ev, the Powder of Life and many other names and concepts you might be familiar with come from these two direct sequels to "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz". Sequels which unfortunately never knew the lasting popularity of their predecessor, despite being just as famous, if not more, in their time...

Next post: Baum's downfall...

[johnslittlespoon]

guys i accidentally just. on discord. brainrotted 1900+ words of uhhh modern au buckbucky john rimming his 'straight' very vanilla bestfriend gale and it all spawned from this concept

and listen. this wasn't intentional. i know i have so many wips. but surely... a little bit of very head over heels john enthusiastically eating gale out (and very selfishly hoping gale can't stop thinking about him when he hooks up with marge from then on) can't hurt... as a treat....

[yellowbrickramble]

It's easy to forget that four years ago in 1900, Dorothy Gale was in this room talking to a giant papier mâché head.

[midnigtartist]

I AM HEAR TO ASK ABOUT GALE AND DOTTY

Curious about how you came up with Dotty's character design because I love it a lot djfhvbdfh

Also very curious about what happens between her and Gale post-canon. I know that there's angst in their future and I'm 👀👀

I made a little inspo graphic for Dottys design actually! I think you could find if if you search her tag on my blog but basically i wanted to do a Proper Lady design, mixing elements from 1900 and 1960 design. I also wanted to include parts of heritage in the design (dotty is very heavily based off of india during imperialism- the pressure to conform to western standards of style- it was more obvious in her original ttrpg) hence the nose ring and the saree sash

Also royal blue is such a pretty color and wanted her to have a darker color palette so i went with greys and purples

But YES Dotty is just tragic and one of the things she and Gale would need to deal with post game would be her bone hurt curse

I think that kind of like Astarion and his vampirism the tadpole suppresses the worse symptoms but after its gone it starts to hit her full force. Necrotic deterioration of her bones from the inside causes her hands to shake and she starts to develop chronic pain that makes it hard for her to walk. It takes awhile for her to say anything to Gale bc she doesnt know whats wrong and doesnt want to worry him

The curse will eventually kill her so they need to get the party back together and go on a quest to break it, ultimately culminating in Dotty having to kill her uncle (who cursed her and her father before her) to break the curse. Despite that her life span is pretty significantly shortened and leaves her with chronic pain the rest of life

Dottys my sad girl and i love her so dearly

[marvelousmop]

The Mystery of John Burr the Chestnut Man

The Land of Oz is a series with many an obscure characters - most people could probably tell you about Dorothy, the Tin-Man, the Lion, and the Scarecrow, but how many know of Ozma? Or Tik-Tok? What of Professor H.M. Wogglebug T.E.? And that's just scratching the surface, considering there are so many books (around 40 considered "Canonical"), and then beyond that there are characters who pop up in works connected to Oz... and then there's the case of John Burr the Chestnut Man. Who the Hell is he?

Well, first, some context:

In the year 1900, L. Frank Baum published The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, complete with illustrations from W.W. Denslow. Due to their collaborative efforts on the book, it was agreed that both men should have the rights to the characters and various elements within the first book. This arrangement may sound a bit unusual, but really it should be fine as long as Denslow and Baum don't have some sort of falling out.

Guess what happened in 1902 while they were working on the Wizard of Oz Stage Musical?

So, Denslow and Baum went their separate ways, with Baum going on to write "The Marvelous Land of Oz", while Denslow continued illustrating for books such as "The Pearl and the Pumpkin". He also worked on a small book called "Denslow's Scarecrow and the Tin-Man", featuring a short story about the duo getting into some hijinx after deciding they were tired of working endlessly on the Wizard of Oz stage show - I'm sure he wasn't working through anything there.

Around the time Marvelous Land got published, he also worked on a newspaper series called "Queer Visitors from the Marvelous Land of Oz" which served both to promote the sequel and increase the reach of the Oz brand. It's also one of the few remaining artefacts of a time when Baum really wanted Professor Wogglebug to be the mascot of the Oz series, but that's a discussion for another time.

Denslow sees this and thinks "Well, I'll show him! I'll make my own newspaper series!" and so we got Denslow’s Scarecrow and the Tin-Man (yes he used the same name as he did for the book - he also split that book into two halves and published them in the newspaper series, so that’s confusing). Unlike Baum's strip, this series mainly stuck to the events of the 1902 stage musical, so Dorothy never left Oz and is also referred to as Dorothy Gale (a name Baum wouldn't use in prose until Ozma of Oz) or Dotty (her show-exclusive nickname). The first story also makes reference to a Good Witch covering the poppy field with snow, which didn't happen in the book but did happen in the musical. Other than this though, they keep references deliberately vague - no mention is made of King Pastoria II, Cynthia Synch, or Dorothy’s pet cow, Imogene (who replaces Toto in the stage musical - similarly, this series makes no reference to Toto). It’s interesting to see an Oz-related work be influenced by a very popular adaptation other than the MGM movie.

Okay, but who is John Burr the Chestnut Man?

John Burr is introduced in the second story in the Scarecrow and Tin-Man series, and immediately he raises questions. Apparently, he's the Fairy Godfather of the Scarecrow (which possibly links him to the Scarecrow's 1902 musical origin wherein he comes to life because Dorothy wished for a friend, but this isn't made explicit) and possibly the Tin-Man. It's not clear. The Scarecrow and the Tin-Man are joined at the hip for most of this series though, so it hardly matters. In his first appearance, he transports the Scarecrow, Tin-Man, and the Cowardly Lion down to Earth, making him one of the most powerful characters in the series at this point.

Later in the series, he hands the Scarecrow and the Tin-Man "Magic Passes" because nobody will tell these poor guys how money works, so they just keep stealing things (relatedly, the Scarecrow and the Tin-Man book I mentioned earlier where they're performing in the musical mentions that the two just aren't paid for their work... again, I'm sure Denslow wasn't working through anything there)... and that's it. That's all we know of him. He enters the narrative, fulfils this oddly powerful role for someone who isn't even hinted at in anything prior and is then forgotten about entirely.

Also, he sells chestnuts, that's why he's the chestnut man.

[Honestly, the funniest thing about this whole situation to me is that Denslow's Scarecrow and the Tin-Man series is just significantly better than Queer Visitors from the Marvelous Land of Oz - better art and the writing is just very charming - both are probably equally racist though, so be warned if you want to seek these out].

[scotianostra]

On October 26th 1953 six crew members of the coaster Islandmagee carrying a gargo of sand drowned in a storm on passage from Dundee to Leith.

This turned into a double tragedy as one of the lifeboats sent to search for the Islandmagee also got into trouble....

The Dundee sandboat Islandmagee sank with all hands on October 26/27 and the Arbroath lifeboat, which was dispatched to the scene after being alerted by rocket flares and calls of mayday on the radio, also went down into the dark abyss.

She set sail from Birkhill around 5pm on October 26 1953 despite warnings of gale force winds on the BBC shipping forecast.

On board the ship was a crew of six.

The Islandmagee was last seen off Crail at around 9.15pm.

A storm gale came up that quickly turned into a force 9 storm, with strong winds and high waves.

The Islandmagee managed to fire off her distress rockets before going down like a stone with all hands, off the mouth of the Tay on passage to the Forth.

Passing the North Carr Light vessel the Islandmagee was noted as ‘making very heavy weather’.

Fife Ness coastguards then saw some red distress flares about three miles out to sea.

This led to the launching of the Arbroath and Anstruther lifeboats on a rescue mission that tragically failed to discover any trace of the Islandmagee.

The lifeboats returned reluctantly to their respective harbours, but then further disaster struck.

As it entered the harbour at Arbroath, the lifeboat capsized.

Lifeboat officials saw the Robert Lindsay approaching the gap between the breakwater and the harbour wall before the lights disappeared.

The Arbroath lifeboat was within sight of safety when it was overwhelmed by 20-foot waves.

Cries for help were heard and the coastguard fired rocket lines at random.

Only one man survived.

Archibald Smith, of Ladyloan, managed to grasp a rope shot from the shore.

They were David Bruce, Harry Swankie, Thomas Adams—Bowman, William Swankie, Charles Cargill and David Cargill.

They came from the town’s fishing community and hardly a family from it was left untouched by the tragedy.

The town awoke to find the lifeboat upside down on the rocks west of the breakwater.

While Arbroath was still deep in shock, it was only days later that three bodies were washed ashore in the Tay Estuary. They were identified as members of the crew of the Islandmagee.

The wreck of the Islandmagee was positively identified by recovery of the ship’s maker’s plate and bell in 1986.

More about the Islandmagee and pics of the wreck on the link below

[middlingmay]

more TODCL qs 🤔

1. i love Nonna Demarco! any backstory you can share?

2. what’s Bucky’s fave gelato?

3. did any of the 100th go to college?

4. when did curt start crushing on marge?

5. when did marge and gale meet?

🩷🤍❤️

Revelling in these asks! Thank you anon. Smooches

1. Nonna DeMarco

I love her too! I've actually had a great time building Benny's family in particular. I haven't developed too much of a backstory for Nonna though. She emigrated to America with her children sometime around 1900-1910. I'm not sure where the real Benny DeMarco's family emigrated from (if they even did), but I headcanon northern Italy maybe? But totally open to what anyone else thinks here? Or if they know?

She's a sweet lady if a bit brusque and no nonsense. She likes to adopt any of Benny's friends that hang around long enough, and has such a soft spot for her grandson. She likes Bucky a lot. He eats anything she puts in front of him and always compliments her and offers to do the dishes. However, when she meets Gale, John's position as her favourite of Benny's friends is majorly under threat.

2. What’s Bucky’s fave gelato?

So even though he shared a chocolate fudge gelato with Gale (which Nonna DeMarco did not want to put on the menu but her Americanised children convinced her it would be good for business and she was furious when they were right), John doesn't have much of a sweet tooth. I think he'd like lemon, pistachio or coffee flavours.

3. Did any of the 100th go to college?

They didn't! A lot of skills back in the '40s were taught informally, usually between friends and families, but sometimes by labouring for trades people like mechanics as a young person (like an informal apprenticeship).

Tuition in colleges in the '40s could range from $100 up to several hundred dollars per year: so around $2000 in today's money, to $11000 ($500 in 1940). None of the 100th, asides from Benny, is particularly well off, and he avoids using his family's money as much as he can.

Kenny's mum wants him to go the college though, but he's not so keen.

4. When did Curt start crushing on Marge?

So there are three years between Curt and Marge (24 and 21 respectively). He had a little baby crush on her as a kid, but it was mostly forgotten as they grew up and never spent any time together or anything, as they didn't have the same friend group. However, he drove down the street one day, and sees Marge walking in the afternoon sun, and promptly rolls into the car that stopped in front of him and he didn't notice. He's too embarrassed to look at her again, but from that moment on, he was crushing. I'd say Marge was 18 and he was 21.

5. When did Marge and Gale meet?

So I actually mention this buried deep in one of the chapters :) they meet as kids when Gale is playing with some boys he doesn't really like and they're mean to Marge when she asks to play. She proceeds to pelt them with rocks and her and Gale become fast friends. I realise I never mentioned their ages though! There's only a year between them, so I think Marge is seven and Gale is eight.

[miraplayssims]

Theodora had to go in to town to visit the shop. Magdalena, who had the day off, joined her.

“Will that be all for today, madam?” the man behind the counter asked, his gaze lingering a moment on her stomach.

Theodora smiled politely and shook her head. “Just the soap, thank you.” Money was tight, as it always was during winter. As much as she would like to buy new toys and clothes for the baby, she just couldn’t justify it. They already had all the necessities—perfectly usable hand me downs from the Gale children’s younger years. No, new toys and clothes would have to wait at least until summer, she thought.

The shopkeeper rang up the soap on the till, “That’ll be six pence please.”

She placed the pennies on the counter and thanked the man, tucking the soap into her purse, which she kept under her coat.

Hearing Theodora approaching, Magdalena turned around, her eyes sparkling, “Have you seen these, Theo?” she beamed, gesturing towards a couple prams.

“I have indeed,” Theodora replied. Hoping to change the subject, she then quickly added, “Shall we go?”

But Magdalena had already shifted her focus back to the prams. “Aren’t they lovely? You should get one!”

Theodora felt her face flush, acutely aware of the man behind the desk who occasionally glanced over at them. She didn’t feel like explaining to Magdalena that a pram was far too expensive—not here, and especially not in front of the shopkeeper who could hear their every word. Besides, why did Magdalena even bring it up? Had she already forgotten about life on the farm now that she had her own job and salary?

With a hushed voice that perhaps sounded a bit harsher than she’d intended, Theodora whispered, “Let’s just go.”

Magdalena, surprised by Theodora's sudden outburst, opened her mouth as if to protest, but seemingly changed her mind and instead nodded obediently.

Theodora walked along the familiar path back to the farm. Having managed to calmed down a bit, a feeling of guilt started to gnaw at her. Perhaps she had been too harsh, she knew Magdalena meant well.

As she reached the bridge that led to the house, she spotted Benjamin walking towards her. He waved enthusiastically, and she found herself smiling despite the lingering sense of guilt.

“Hello my love!” Benjamin called out as he got closer. He grabbed her hand while the other one affectionately stroked her stomach, "You know that mother could've gone instead. You should be getting rest."

"You're being dramatic, I'm perfectly fine," Theodora chuckled, rolling her eyes, "But thank you."

"How's Magda?" Benjamin asked as they walked the last stretch towards the farm together, hand in hand.

Theodora tensed up, "She's well," clearing her throat, she continued, "But I fear I might have acted unfairly towards her."

Benjamin's thumb stroked the back of Theodoras hand—his way of reassuring her that everything was all right. "She probably had it coming," he joked. But Theodora didn't laugh, so he tried again, "I wouldn't worry, dear. Now, let's get you inside, mother has prepared some wonderful bread."

[cmonbartender]

Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz (1908) - John R Neill

[ricardian-werewolf]

This may feel passe but let's go: The man, the myth, the legend, the Reanimator Herbert West

OH MY LORD DID YOU READ MY MIND???? I was literally thinking: damn, no one's sent me a reanimator ask!! The way that man got me on tumblr for a second time is something that should be studied! ahem.

So, my perception of Herbert West is remarkably different. The people who knew me in 2020 (JFC how was this nearly 4 years AGOOO? Fuck, I'm old!) Anyways. When i first watched reanimator, I was depressed and he was my first foray into the mad scientist. I, admittedly, overlooked a lot of his negative behaviors because to me he was the most Autistic coded character I had seen on screen. The fandom of people on tumblr and discord who I joined were, shall we say, very particular in their perception of Herbert and his relationships with Meg and Daniel Cain.

Romantically, I ship Herbert with... no one! I did ship him and Daniel very, very heavily during Covid times. However 4 years of difference made me realize that he and Daniel's relationship is fundamentally abusive that it doesn't work. I've read a lot of really good Herbert x Meg x Daniel polycule fics that do a great job of redeeming Daniel from his himbo fanon prison and giving Meg an amazing amount of agency. As someone who heard about the original source material having Herbert in the great war, I wrote a very extensive (now deleted) fic of Herbert marrying my original character Harriet, who was an american doctor and vampire. She and him served in the (Real) 42nd Canadian Black Watch Highland battalion as the supernatural doctors assigned to the battalion.

Non romantic OTP: Dan/Meg/Herbert. They have chemistry, but Yuzna and Gordon fumbled it by making Meg the victim of extensive stalking and rape from Hill (no disrespect towards the late David Gale and Barbara Crampton, who did mention that the filming of the infamous scene from the film made her in no way uncomfortable).

OHO I have many unpopular feelings about herbert, mostly wrapped up in how the fandom blorbifies him. I am, admittedly, guilty of this too. Herbert is *not* a good person, and it's what makes him so attractive to many ND peeps, and the especially transgender-lens of takes by fans needs to be respected, because it is extremely valid. However, and I know I'm going to get slammed for this, the fandom when I was active, was incredibly full of double standards and fans who were largely exclusionary towards the female and female presenting fans. I still get notes for my one reanimator fic on here, and I'm consistently shocked because it is in no ways good, at ALL.

Beyond reanimator didn't happen, and that there's a world out there where Renaimtor was a successful, if somewhat gory (and not racist) early 1900s period piece. I'd kill for it. (jk)

[princesssarisa]

Oc Info Questions: Dorothy Gale (MGM, or book version of you prefer)

FULL NAMES: Dorothy Louise Gale.

NICKNAME(S): None.

FACECLAIM: W.W. Denslow's iconic illustrations:

Or Judy Garland in the classic movie.

BIRTH: March 20, 1894 (books) or 1926 (movie).

(I assume the original book takes place in 1900, when it was published. But according to the date on the Munchkin coroner's death certificate for the Wicked Witch of the East, the movie takes place in 1938, when it was filmed - it just looks earlier because the backwater Kansas farm county hasn’t caught up with the rest of the world, while Oz is a non-industrial magic land. I also assume that Baum's Dorothy is six years old in the first book, but movie Dorothy is twelve. For her birthday, I picked the eve of the Spring Equinox because it seems right for such a fresh-faced, innocent girl.)

DEATH: N/A: She lives in Oz now, which means she's immortal, because no one ever dies in Oz as long as the rightful ruler Princess Ozma is on the throne.

(Just because I want to, I'm headcanoning that Oz is a real place in the movie too – the ruby slippers' magic just makes it seem like it was a dream – and that Dorothy will eventually move permanently to Oz and bring Aunt Em and Uncle Henry with her, just like she does in the book series. Hunk, Hickory, and Zeke will come too, and become good friends with their lookalikes, the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion.)

ZODIAC SIGN: Pisces.

SEXUALITY: Unknown.

GENDER: Female.

ORIGIN: The state of Kansas, USA.

NATIONALITY: US American (Caucasian).

FAMILY: Henry Gale (uncle), Emily "Em" Gale (aunt), Zebediah "Zeb" Hugson (distant cousin by marriage), William "Bill" Hugson (aunt's brother-in-law), Toto (pet dog), Eureka (pet cat), Billina (pet chicken).

CHARACTERISTICS:

+ Friendly, loving, determined, brave

– Sometimes too dreamy, occasionally rash and thoughtless

WEAPON OF CHOICE: A bucket of water in the Witch's castle.

OTHER PERSONAL INFO: Dorothy is one of the most iconic heroines of both children's literature and Hollywood, and rightfully so. Her blend of sweetness and tenderness with spunk and determination makes her easy for every generation to love and relate to.

[cladriteradio]

April 5 should be a national holiday for old-movie buffs. Look at the stars it produced: Walter Huston (1883), Spencer Tracy (1900), Melvyn Douglas (1901), Bette Davis (1908) and Gregory Peck (1916), plus such lesser lights as Grady Sutton and Gale Storm.

[onefootin1941]

Charles Farrell

Charles David Farrell (August 9, 1900 – May 6, 1990) was an American film actor whose height was in the 1920s and 1930s and the Mayor of Palm Springs from 1947 to 1955. Farrell was known for his onscreen romances with actress Janet Gaynor in more than a dozen films, including 7th Heaven, Street Angel, and Lucky Star.

He was a popular Hollywood leading man, first silent and then early talkie movies. By the end of the 30's, Farrell's star diminished but in 1938, he with several partners founded the fabled Hollywood Racquet Club which became the watering hole of the stars in Palm Springs that took a dusty, hot little town where no one ever ventured to a place of prosperity, plush development and the winter home of movie stars and famous people of every description including Presidents.

His success with the club also resurrected his career with the popular TV sitcom "My Little Margie" where he costarred with Gale Storm. The series was aired shortly after his election as the fifth mayor of Palm Springs to a six year term. The successful show made Charles Farrell the best-known mayor in the entire country. Soon, he would also headline an alternate TV series, the long running "Charlie Farrell Show" a sitcom which was virtually a national commercial for Palm Springs and his Racquet Club.

Farrell married Virginia Valli, a former silent film star, on February 1, 1931, in Yonkers, New York, after which the couple settled in Palm Springs. She died from a stroke on September 24, 1968. According to historian Stephen O'Brien, Farrell became increasingly reclusive after his wife’s death, until he died from heart failure on May 6, 1990, in Palm Springs. He was buried next to his wife at the Welwood Murray Cemetery.