#becoming dr ruth

[that70sshowgoldencouple]

Debra Jo Rupp on stage of her one woman play “Becoming Dr. Ruth”

Yes, that Dr. Ruth, the woman has lived quite the life!

[cutesilyo]

the thing i really like about just for once in nerdy prudes must die is that it's best iteration of the musical within a musical trope that has become characteristic of the hatchetfield musicals

like both show-stopping number and deck the halls (of northville high) are catchy songs from in-universe musicals that were very much written to have plots that suck

and show-stopping number was so well-beloved because it is, frankly, a hilarious scene that robert manion put 100% into

but i argue that only just for once is thematically relevant to its musical and fully emblematic of the wants and desires of the character singing it

because what is just for once, as a scene? it's ruth singing a song because she thinks she's got a chance of doing it better. it's ruth singing a song about a character who looks back on the mundane miseries of her lonely life and — at the last second — remembering who she used to be before the pain set in. it's ruth singing her version of cooler than i think i am and reflecting on how she is perceived and wondering what it takes to break away from it. it's ruth singing right after she says, "in my dreams, i'm the star of the show."

of all the losers that max jagerman victimizes, only ruth says who she'd like to become beyond that. where pete can't even admit to liking steph at gunpoint and richie doesn't ever get the chance to verbalize what he wants, ruth gets on the stage in the few minutes of break time and just for once, the spotlight is on her.

and the really crazy thing about just for once is — it has the "i'm not a loser" motif. possibly the most iconic and important motif of the whole musical, it's the motif that starts the opening number. and here it is, in the silly musical within a musical by the silly character who has — until this song — always served as comic relief.

in the climax of the song, just for once is no longer the song of a character from the barbecue monologues. it's ruth's. in those few seconds, it's her lamentation of the life that max jagerman forced on her.

but that's the thing about the "i'm not a loser" motif. the way it functions in the musical is as a harbinger for max's violence. the police at the beginning ask, "what the hell happened here?" and its the motif that answers. pete is the first character that sings the line and is immediately beaten up by max in the next scene. then richie sings it and max kills him in the same song. when ruth has the motif running as the crescendo to just for once, it sounds absolutely incredible... and it should come as no surprise when max appears shortly after.

(as a quick note: you can also hear the motif after max makes the car crash, then max appears two scenes later. you then hear the motif in the cooler than i think i am reprise and max also appears right after the song. it's like max is instantly summoned by any instance of the losers trying to shake off the role he placed on them — of trying to defy him.)

tl;dr: the inclusion of the "i'm not a loser" motif in just for once makes it the big lipped alligator moment that wasn't. like yeah, it accomplishes its goal in being the funny musical within a musical trope! the character acting makes it a funny song, and its a funny character performing it! but it also furthers our understanding of ruth AND of what the "i'm not a loser" really is: it's the characters trying to develop past being nerdy prudes and max doing everything in his power to prevent that.

and it does all that while being a banging musical tribute to stephen sondheim and, especially, his song the ladies who lunch. which in itself is a massive flex on jeff blim's part. what a brilliant song in a brilliant musical.

[ofliterarynature]

TBR TAKEDOWN: Week 14 (September 1)

TLDR: I have too many unread books, and I’m asking tumblr to help me downsize. Pick one or none, comment if you have opinions, and please reblog if you can! Book descriptions below the cut, see my pinned post for more info.

The Ladies of Mandrigyn by Barbara Hambly

The City of Mandrigyn was conquered, and its men enslaved in the foul mines of the evil Wizard King, Altiokis. Now the women of the city, led by Sheera Galernas, have come to hire the mercenary army of Captain Sun Wolf. But Sun Wolf was too wise to become involved in fighting against wizardry…

...Until he woke to find himself kidnapped and offered a grim choice by Sheera. He could train and lead the ladies of Mandrigyn against Altiokis - or he could die in lingering agony from the anzid they had given him and for which only they had the antidote.

There was more to the ladies than Sun Wolf could have guessed. There was also far more to the evil of Altiokis then anyone knew.

But above all, there was a great deal more to Sun Wolf and his destiny then he had ever dreamed.

Gideon Smith and the Mechanical Girl by David Barnett

Nineteenth century London is the center of a vast British Empire. Airships ply the skies and Queen Victoria presides over three-quarters of the known world--including the East Coast of America, following the failed revolution of 1775.

London might as well be a world away from Sandsend, a tiny village on the Yorkshire coast. Gideon Smith dreams of the adventure promised him by the lurid tales of Captain Lucian Trigger, the Hero of the Empire, told in Gideon's favorite penny dreadful. When Gideon's father is lost at sea in highly mysterious circumstances Gideon is convinced that supernatural forces are at work. Deciding only Captain Lucian Trigger himself can aid him, Gideon sets off for London. On the way he rescues the mysterious mechanical girl Maria from a tumbledown house of shadows and iniquities. Together they make for London, where Gideon finally meets Captain Trigger.

But Trigger is little more than an aging fraud, providing cover for the covert activities of his lover, Dr. John Reed, a privateer and sometime agent of the British Crown. Looking for heroes but finding only frauds and crooks, it falls to Gideon to step up to the plate and attempt to save the day...but can a humble fisherman really become the true Hero of the Empire?

The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths

Forensic archeologist Dr. Ruth Galloway is in her late thirties. She lives happily alone with her two cats in a bleak, remote area near Norfolk, land that was sacred to its Iron Age inhabitants—not quite earth, not quite sea. But her routine days of digging up bones and other ancient objects are harshly upended when a child’s bones are found on a desolate beach. Detective Chief Inspector Nelson calls Galloway for help, believing they are the remains of Lucy Downey, a little girl who went missing a decade ago and whose abductor continues to taunt him with bizarre letters containing references to ritual sacrifice, Shakespeare, and the Bible. Then a second girl goes missing and Nelson receives a new letter—exactly like the ones about Lucy.

Is it the same killer? Or a copycat murderer, linked in some way to the site near Ruth’s remote home?

[l-norris]

Canadian GP 2024 Recap

This is becoming a series now I fear.

This race was utter madness and I was in SHAMBLES by the end of it.

Enjoy me going crazy for the next few paragraphs.

As last time, numbers in brackets are laps. (That I definitely didn't forget to add the first few laps)

PRE-RACE

- Ruth Buscombe calling Esteban "Estie bestie"😶‍🌫️

- Beautiful anthem!

- Apparently Yuki was late for the anthem? Bro's getting detention💀

- Zak and Toto chatting away

- Landoscar spotted‼️

- Danny Ric getting his shoes cleaned like the king he is

RACE!

- The intro is playing and I'm anxiously chewing on my fingernails already

- Accidentally had German commentary on - disgusting

- It's pissing down by the way.

- This one will need actual strategies... rip to Ferrari.

- Logan outqualified Checo just as a reminder

- Saubers starting from pitlane

- Carnage? Yes? No? We'll see.

- The pre-race anxiety keeps building up

- Formation lap starting!

- We get it Crofty, they resurfaced the track.

- Formation lap complete.

- IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO

- No crashes into the first two turns?

- Nevermind, someone went flying (Pierre pushed Checo into the grass)

- George is still in the lead! YIPPEE!

- Charles fumbled😞

- Carlos fumbled too😭

- Horrible day for Tifosi 2.0

- Kmag gaining like 100 positions in 2 laps

-Funky Danish man just FLEW to P4

- CHARLES ENGINE ISSUES? DON'T DO THIS TO ME

- 1st yellow flag. Oh Logan...

- At least he's back to pace

- Lewis binning it

- Fernando almost kissing the fucking wall lmao

- Kmag 8 second pitstop rip

- Daniel apparently did a false start🫣

- It's not raining anymore apparently but no slicks in sight just yet (understandably so)

- Hulk is holding onto these full wets like a lifeline

- Hulk train!

- Daniel 5 second penalty😮‍💨

- Max is closing in on George

- Lando closing in on Max and George

- Yeah, uh... Haas fumbled btw

- Lando keeps setting fastest laps

- Max went wide omg

- Lando is catching Max (17)

- DRS enabled (18)

- Oscar fastes lap (19)

- HELP THIS IS SO NERVE WRACKING

- LANDO OVERTOOK MAX

- LANDO ON THE WAY TO THE LEAD

- HE'S LEADIIIIING (22)

- AND MAX PASSES GEORGE AS WELL

- Oh my God this is stressful

- Lando is driving like his life is depending on it

- I mean... it kinda is.

- both Ferraris out of the points by the way... sigh

- quick toilet break, hope I don't miss anything

- Jinxed it. I missed a crash. Hm.

- SAFETY CAR. (26)

- ... Of course it was Logan... poor man

- Lando missed the chance to pit😭

- There's still hope for Lando.

- He pits (27)

- ... He came back in third...

- "FUCK!" As Lando once said

- Let's hope Lando can pick up the pace again after this

- Charles retiring?? Restarting the car?? Idk man.

- HUH??? Also on slicks? (28)

- Safety Car in (29)

- 40 laps to go

- Pain and suffering

- Ferrari fucked it

- Lewis is probably rethinking if he wants to join Ferrari after all rn

- And Charles is back in the pits😮‍💨

- Charles is getting lapped now. Fun. (37)

- Lando is my last hope

- I'm so tired (no literally I should be getting ready to go to bed lmao)

- DRS would be nice right about now

- IT HAS BEEN ENABLED (40)

- We have 30 laps to go and I'm seriously debating on whether I should just go to bed

- Pierre is on slicks (41)

- And immediately bins it (but saves it)

- Lando is lawnmowing

- Charles is retiring (43)

- I can't do this no more

- Slicks are coming out

- Lando stays out??

- Overcut? (44)

- OVERCUT!

- ... nevermind...

- And George got Lando too🫣

- Nevermind ahaha he's back up in 2nd

- Max complaining and setting fastest laps continuously.

- Checo fucked his rearwing

- Carlos binned it

- Which made Alex bin it

- Safety Car 2.0

- Both Ferrari out😮‍💨

- Both Williams out🫣

- I'm seeing a pattern here.

- oh no hopefully I'm not jinxing it

- Max is pulling away... yawn...

- 7 laps left

- George binning it while trying to overtake Oscar

- Let Oscar cook Goddammit!

- Oscar has to deal with Lewis now

- Aaaand he's gone.

- Oscar is struggling man

- Merc boys battling it out over P3

- Yuki destroying that one damn bollard everyone ignores consistently (thank you king)

- Lando wanting a Safety Car (same)

- But alas... Max Verstappen wins once more.

- I honestly turned off the broadcast as soon as the top 3 crossed the finish line

- I stayed up late for THIS???

- Conflicted whether it was worth it or not tbh

- Like yes it was an exciting race BUT😭

- I want my McLaren double podium RIGHT NOW

All in all, it was a pretty chaotic race. Yeah. That sums it up pretty well.

[gamgwat]

I saw a post that was asking why Talokan is named after the Aztec underworld paradise Tlālōcān when the Talokanil are Mayan. I was pleasantly surprised by the backstory given by one of the film’s cultural consultants, Dr. Gerardo Aldana, on this week’s episode of the Wakanda Forever podcast (which is excellent btw). He makes the distinction that they came up with Talokan as a Maya pronunciation of Tlālōcān, and that Tenoch’s input was crucial to finalizing the backstory: 

“Ryan comes to me and he says ‘Hey, Tenoch says he doesn’t look totally Mayan, so can he possibly be mixed? Can he be mixed indigenous?’ And I said that’s perfect, because if Tenoch’s father’s family is pochteca, that means there’s these mercenary spies from the Aztec empire, and they come out, and they live in Yucatán, and then his mom is Mayan, so he’s like this mixed indigenous race, and then it gets even better because once they go into the underworld...and Namor’s like, ‘Hey I want to know more about my dad, I want to know about his community,’ she’s telling him all these stories about what he [Namor’s father] would tell her, and he talks about Tlālōcān, which becomes Talokan. So then you end up with the final name: he’s inspired by this father that he never knew, this paradise in the underworld, and that becomes the name of what he wants to build.”

I'm so moved by the idea of Namor’s love for his people being influenced by his love and grief for both of his parents—and his vision for Talokan being influenced by both parts of his heritage. Also appreciated that, on the podcast, Tenoch made a point of clarifying 1) the film’s imagining of a pre-Hispanic Maya community is distinct from current indigenous communities and the oppression they face, and 2) he’s not indigenous so “that doesn’t mean that the current indigenous and the mixed people in Latin America can feel represented” (though they can possibly feel connected). 

I def don’t think the movie is perfect and I defer to how indigenous folks of Latin America feel about the incorporation of Mayan culture. But I have a lot of admiration for how thoughtful every member of the team seems to have been in approaching it, and the specific generosity of Black filmmakers including non-Black indigenous people in an Afrofuturist project. Other episodes of the podcast highlight the immense amount of research and work that Hannah Beachler and Ruth E. Carter conducted in creating the visual world of Talokan—and their determination, along with Ryan Coogler’s, to do it with respect for the people and culture and understanding of the stakes—and imo it really shows.

[gyrovagus-bibliophile]

Sooo, the Metal Sonic hyperfixation is hitting HARD, so i made an OC called Ruth Robotnik (kinda Metal Sonic's Maria, but she aint dead) (they both think the other is dead due to Metal's first fight against Sonic, in which she saw Metal lose and "die", while Metal saw her before that in a lab accident, which ended up messing with half of her face, using robotic parts to replace the damaged ones)

Ruth starts hating Sonic (since she was very young when Sonic CD happened and blames him for Metal's "death") and becomes Dr. Voltage, a minor antagonist in Sonic's journey.

If anyone has any questions about her PLEASE ASK. I NEED TO INFODUMP ABOUT HER, I'M HOLDING SO MUCH INFORMATION ABOUT HER THAT'S SO COOL PLS

Btw here's some drawings i made and her gacha design (with some Metal Sonic sprinkled here and there)

[engagedpureland]

Trans President of the American Buddhist Study Center Tells Her Life Story

Pure Land Buddhist Hoshina Seki was raised by a missionary monk in New York City. As she aged, she came to understand that she was trans. With the support of her local temple and the national Buddhist Churches of America, she transitioned to more fully become herself. She continues her role as president of the American Buddhist Study Center.

"How grateful I am to have been born into a Jodo Shinshu family. Never doubting my faith was my life’s constant denominator. When I finally came out, my temple Sangha members welcomed me. Most temples have a couple of ladies who are the unsung heroes. They cook, clean, care for the resident minister’s needs, and visit the sick. One such hero is Ruth Funai; she was there for me before and after my surgery. Dr. Gordon Bermant and his wife Geri visited while I was recovering. I will never forget all the other people and temple ladies who helped me."

[cdd-media-share]

Ruth's Story: 'Inside, I Feel Like Screaming'

The Press-Courier - Jun. 23, 1985.

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

DISCLAIMER:

This is from 1985, so the wording might be quite odd/off/weird/questionable, and it might not reflect current-day understandings of DID.

I am simply sharing this for archival purposes, and to generally share some old, neat things related to CDDs. I'm just sharing for fun and out of interest.

THIS IS NOT AN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE!

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

To protect her identity, "Ruth," Dr. Neal Kline's patient with multiple personality disorder, did not want to be interviewed. But because she wants to alert people that this damaging condition is directly related to child abuse, Ruth - a woman of obvious intelligence - consented to answer some questions in writing. Follow is her story, and excerpts from her eloquent reply:

By RUTH Copley News Service

". . . My childhood was strewn with hideous, repeated traumatic episodes, but I seemed to be developing normally . . . except that I was constantly accused of (or attributed with) certain actions that I could not recall. . ."

"Bizarre, weird, alien, frightening, hysterical, hurtful, sad, futile, lost. These are all words that would apply to my feelings since childhood . . .

"To. . .ask what it feels like to 'wake up' after a period of being 'gone' seems almost insulting. What do you think I feel like? I usually feel like SCREAMING. I look at the calendar, and the clothes I have used, and my checkbook, and strange photographs on my bureau . . . or I examine the bruised on my body . . . and other things . . . and I feel like SCREAMING. My life is a nightmare (which I must keep hidden from friends and associates) and I go about pretending like nothing is wrong, but inside I feel like SCREAMING."

"Thank God I am an intelligent person. I keep a tenacious hold on my sanity and I function. When I am myself, I am reasonably calm, even happy some days. The rest of the time, I don't know what happens.

"I have learned to cope with waking up in strange beds, strange cities, strange countries. I have learned to reply to questions and situations as though I knew perfectly well what people are talking about. I have learned to smile and chat with perfect strangers who seem to know me very well.

"Actually, until a couple of years ago (and I am now over 50), I refused to admit that there was anything wrong with my life. I thought I simply had a poor memory and none of my friends ever told me anything so bizarre as my displaying a different personality in their presence.

"The comments were usually to the effect that maybe I'd had a drink or two, or perhaps I was in a strange mood yesterday, or whenever. So I was blocking out the multiple personality disorder knowledge on a conscious level. Since being treated by Dr. Kline, I have come to accept my illness for what it is: the result of a sadly twisted childhood and a sensitive nature that could not cope with the horrors of that childhood.

"Looking back, I can recall only two periods when I did not have blackouts: once for four years, and once for five years. These were periods when I was involved or living with one organization or person and I am sure that I remained myself those two periods.

As for describing my various personalities, I can only go by what others tell me. As we continue with analysis, I am becoming aware of them. But generally, they are STRANGERS to me and I do not know how, or why, they think the way they do, act that way, etc. No I am not aware of them in any other form. I cannot control their comings and goings, and I do not know how to 'summon them up' when being treated.

"I am very discouraged about 'integrating' these personalities at this time. It seems as though the pattern repeats and repeats, over and over again. Just as I feel happy and adjusted to my situation, I 'black out' and wake up days, or weeks later . . . where? In Puerto Rico? In Georgia? In New York? In Germany? There is no form of control and I am dejected as to finding a control factor.

"I have no ability to work and live on a disability pension. I have short-term relationships (and many I don't know about, from the evidence). I have become very surefooted with certain neighbors who must wonder at my comings and goings, and I have an excellent doctor who accepts my calls from strange airports, etc. What hope do I have along the lines of a cure? Very little.

"The fear of facing some secret in my childhood? This is, of course, the crux of the matter. Since the very beginning of my mental problems (depressions, suicidal feelings. . . many years ago), I have always been aware that one TREMENDOUSLY BAD THING happened to me in my childhood. I have always felt that, if this could be dug out, that perhaps the MPD would simply fade away.

"That is altogether too optimistic, I am learning. We have attempted several methods of reaching back to that child's brain of mind. So far, each time we have approached anything like those early years, another personality has popped out and prevented the probing from continuing.

"Hypnosis may yet be a viable path to this memory. We are not sure, but are trying many avenues."

"The problem, obviously, is helping the child AT THE TIME TO COPE WITH THESE FEELINGS. But first, a parent has to be present, and aware, and mine were neither.

"A major point I'd like to make about MPD? First of all, that it's REAL (too many people doubt its existence). Second, the care of a child is a serious matter. Parents cannot shirk this responsibility, and if they are not willing to really work at it, they have no right to have children. Today's attitudes are even worse than they were 50 years ago. Does that mean that years from now we will have more and more cases of MPD running around the world? It would be a funny thought if it were not so sad."

[lxmitlxss]

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ Mobile Friendly Muse List

as of 08/29/24

Canon Characters

Pandora Hearts:

Xerxes Break

Gilbert Nightray

Vincent Nightray

Elliot Nightray

Levi Baskerville

Vanitas no Carte:

Noé Archiviste

Vanitas

D. Grey Man:

Allen Walker

Lavi Bookman

Marian Cross

Tikki Mikk

The Ancient Magus Bride:

Elias Answorth

Ruth

The Millionaire Detective: BALANCE UNLIMITED:

Haru Kato

Moriarty the Patriot:

William James Moriarty

Sherlock Holmes

Angels of Death:

Zack

Trigun/Trigun STAMPEDE:

Vash the Stampede ( both versions )

Nicholas D. Wolfwood ( both )

Millions Knives

Meryl Stryfe

One Piece:

Sanji Vinsmoke

Zoro Roronoa

Trafalgar Law

My Hero Academia:

Izuku Midoriya

Shoto Todoroki

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Dabi

Jujutsu Kaisen

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Nobara Kugisaki

Satoru Gojo

Suguru Geto

Yeah I haven't finished this one so BE KIIIIIIND

K Project

Yashiro Isana

Saruhiko Fushimi

Reisi Munakata

Izumo Kusanagi

Durarara!:

Izaya Orihara

Shizuo Heiwajima

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Bungou Stray Dogs

Osamu Dazai

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Chuuya Nakahara

Atsushi Nakajima

Sigma

Jouno Saigiku

Tetchou Suehiro

Honkai Star Rail

Trailblazer

Dan Heng

Welt Yang

Aventurine

Veritas Ratio

Kafka

Boothill

Gallagher

Serval Landau

Sampo Koski

Seele

Huohuo

Genshin Impact

Tartaglia

Kaveh

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Baizhu

Bennett

Xingqiu

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Detroit Become Human

Gavin Reed/GV900

PROMARE

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Lucia Fex

Bluelock

Rensuke Kunigami

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Reo Mikage

Hyouma Chigiri

Danganronpa

Byakuya Togami

Junko Enoshima

Leon Kuwata

Yugioh

Yugi Mutou

Yami Yugi

Joey Wheeler / Katsuya Jonouchi

Seto Kaiba

Ryou Bakura

Yami Bakura / Bakura

Duke Devlin / Ryuji Otogi

Jaden Yuki / Judai Yuki

Syrus Truesdale / Sho Marufuji

Yusei Fudo

Crow Hogan

Leo / Lua

Marvel

Tony Stark

Loki

Hawkeye

Bucky Barnes

Clint Barton

Moon Knight ( Marc & Steven )

Steve Rogers

Thor

Phil Coulson

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Peter Quill

Rocket Racoon

Steven Strange

Eddie Brock ( mix comic/Sony )

Full Metal Alchemist

Edward Elric

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Van Hohenheim

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Lust

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Vaan

Balthier

Prompto Argentum

Ignis Scientia

Servamp

Lawless

Shadowhunters

Magnus Bane

Supernatural

Castiel

Doctor Who

Tenth

Jack Harkness ( req only, might end up discord only )

BBC Sherlock

John Watson

Black Butler

Sebastian Michaelis

Ciel Phantomhive

Alois Trancy

Finnian

Mey-rin

Ronald Knox

Mashle: Magic and Muscles

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Sinbad

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Aladdin

Mythical Detective Loki Ragnorok

Loki

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Fenris

Persona

Joker/Ren Amamiya

Sojiro Sakura

Munehisa Iwai

Yu Narukami

Makoto Yuki

Tatsuya Suou ( req, discord prefered )

Princess Tutu

Ahiru/Duck

Fakir

Mr. Cat

Droccelmeyr

Pike & Lillie

Pretear

Himeno Awayuki

Hayate

Sasame

Kei

Go

Mannen

Hajime

Shin

Petite Princess Yucie

Arrow/Arc

Gaga

Cube

Soul Eater

Soul Evans

Death the Kid

Dr. Stein

OCs can be found over on @beyondlxmits

[hamliet]

Love your blog, Hamliet and also your take on theology. What do you think about Jezebel and Vashti? Now, as Christian myself, I've been told since childhood to not grow up to be like both queens above but become like Eshter and Ruth. But as I grew older, I started to think differenly of those two queens. I grew to like their characters and think they are more interesting than Eshter and Ruth (not that I think badly of the later, I also like them).

What do you think?

Hi! Thank you for this ask; I love talking about Biblical narrative!

To start with, I'm gonna chat about Vashti-Esther, and Jezebel, under the cut. But first I'm gonna go to bat for my girl Ruth, because she is so not the "good girl" modern Christians depict her as. Her story is so much more complex, and there's a reason a lot of modern churches ignore talking about the Jewish context.

Ruth: Brave, Bold, Thirsty

Ruth is a go-getter. Ruth didn't patiently wait like a meek girl. Ruth took her destiny into her own hands--with her mother-in-law's guidance.

See, when Ruth goes to lie down with Boaz at night and uncovers his "feet," she didn't uncover his feet. Feet is a euphemism. It is indisputably his penis.

Like, Christians rarely talk about this because they don't want to acknowledge it because it goes against their image of Ruth. But they also don't have a counter for it because it factually is Ruth, y'know, having agency.

So, Ruth is trying to seduce Boaz, because she knows he likes her. And being crafty about it, because if someone catches her there, Boaz (being an honorable man which she already knows he is), even if they haven't had sex he'll have to marry her because everyone will think they have. Genius.

And despite people trying to say Boaz and Ruth are too honorable so clearly it was just about marriage and nor her actually attempting to initiate premarital sex, the Bible expressly has another widow called honorable for initiating premarital sex that actually happens (with her father-in-law no less) specifically to ensure her survival when she would else wise have been left childless and abandoned. tl;dr: Ruth was attempting to seduce Boaz. That's the obvious meaning of this, and whoever wrote the story wasn't obsessed with getting the audiece to think otherwise.

Thematically, also, Ruth going outside of the norms of what is considered moral (via asking for sex before marriage, even if there is an understanding that sex would lead to marriage) is kind of a major tie-in with the other aspect of Ruth's story: she's a foreigner. The Law frowns on marrying foreigners for the most part. Yet, by going outside the normal parameters, they get King David and later, for Christians, Jesus himself.

Ruth left her homeland after losing her husband and stuck with her mother-in-law, knowing that doing so meant that she had no future (she would need children to provide for her in her old age; as a foreigner, she likely wouldn't be able to marry again and have kids. But she went with Naomi so that Naomi wouldn't be alone, because she could ensure Naomi had someone to take care of her at the very least, without any hope for herself).

But when she saw a chance to secure her future, she took it. And Naomi encouraged her to do so. Ruth is brave, and smart, and kind. And Boaz is also a good man who not only helped Ruth, but didn't take advantage of her desperation on the threshing room floor. He didn't have sex with her, and he forbade others from talking about her coming there. Instead he went about it the honorable and human-affirming way--marrying Ruth according to traditional cultural customs, at the city gates.

In other words, Boaz said this isn't going to be a shameful, backroom thing. He says, I'm going to make it public, because I'm proud to have you as my wife.

Honestly, healthiest couple in all of Scripture.

Others below!

Esther and Vashti: Bringing Good from Bad

Esther and Vashti I see as a story about making the best of a terrible situation. Vashti deserves no hate, and I do see Christians coming around to that as well. I mean, her husband essentially said come parade yourself naked in front of all my drunk friends. Sounds like he wanted an orgy, or at the very least public sex with her. And she said no, like she should have. King, you're gross. Vashti did nothing wrong.

But Ahasuerus is kinda portrayed like a... very passionate but not very wise person throughout the story. So not really surprising. But the point also is that while he doesn't want to acknowledge his stupidity or allow a woman to counter his authority, he does eventually not only pardon Esther when she flouts his authority by entering without permission, but comes up with a counter to his previously issued decree to slaughter the Jews. A king can't go back on his word, but he can give others power to counter it when he's wrong. Which is kind of the main theme--making the best out of a shitty situation.

Esther is then taken from everyone she's ever known and forced to become a concubine wherein most of the girls around her will be used once, probably not get pregnant, and live the rest of their lives alone and untouched in the king's harem. But Esther, like Ruth, is clever. She asks for advice from the eunuchs to endear herself to the king because she wants more than a life of luxury and loneliness. Because of her attempts to save herself from a fate that, on the surface, isn't nearly as terrible as what Ruth was facing but is still emotionally devastating, she ends in a perfect position to save all of her people from annihilation.

Jezebel (and Athaliah): A Critique of Power

Jezebel... well, she's kind of portrayed as vain and cruel. Plus she murders some people whenever they flout her authority. So she's not like, a morally awesome person.

That said, I always felt sorry for her. She also clearly wanted power and lived in a society where women had little say and little power, even as queen, which is probably why she lashes out so brutally at those who threaten her power and position--the vineyard owner, the prophets, etc.*

But instead of Jezebel being seen as a sign for how marriages to foreigners is a way of corrupting the Israelites with foreign gods, I wonder whether the story would be different if people had treated Jezebel more of as a potential Ruth, as a human being, instead of just a symbol of political power.

Because that's what she was--her marriage is a symbol of power for King Ahab and for her father. I see her corruption and cruelty as a condemnation far more of what happens when we focus on gaining political power than what happens when we marry the wrong person or whatnot. And also, like, maybe the way women were treated may have led to her desperation for power. Just maybe.

Along those lines, I also wonder if the prophets had been less condemning of her as a person and more corrective (and if her husband wasn't himself such a spineless meatbrain), if her story might have been more of an Esther's.

But patriarchy is far more interested in condemning Jezebel as a whore despite like, there being no record of that, rather than in, like, examining their own human desire for control and political power and how that can corrupt (but also! doesn't! have! to! see Esther).

*Like, Jezebel's flaw being her focus on power is very clear not just in her actions but her daughter Athaliah's--Athaliah marries the king of Judah and then massacres all his sons to take the crown for herself, with only one son, a baby, surviving thanks to a princess named Jehoshabeath, who was married to the chief priest, smuggling him out. Later on there's a coup and Joash, the son, reclaims his father's throne. Yes, the classic fantasy trope of secret son reclaiming a father's throne is partially Biblically based.

[11cleyvaart]

More gadget headcanons pre Gadget please?😘😘😘😘

Augustin was born into an immigrant family who left Europe before the second war when the feeling of unease came over. His parents were from just the border of Hungary and Austria.

They came to America and settled in Massachusetts. They had Augustin first, then had his sister, Leilah, just a few years after him. His parents named him from the Croatian variant of their own Ágoston, not wanting to get rid of their roots entirely in America. His sister was named from the Torah. 

His father and mother ran a small shop in the town they settled in, selling goods. His father fished and sold his catches and his mother did sewing jobs and was a seamstress. They became successful in their own ways and soon became respected by the community. 

Little Augustin would often follow his parents but when he got his sister, he would mostly spend time watching her at home. And once she got old enough, they often played together. 

He was raised in a Hebrew household, yet they wouldn't outwardly show their Jewish roots to those in the city they settled in. He would often partake in the religion. Something he would continue as an adult but would begin to forget as he became Gadget, with only occasional moments of remembering something but not knowing where it came from. 

He didn't have many friends growing up but didn't have any bullies. He was a pretty average child. 

His family was able to afford toys and gifts for him and his sister for birthdays and celebrations. 

He never tapped into his sexual life until much later in his young years, for most of the time he enjoyed just spending time with his family and sister. He had a more lean towards men, but never acted or knew anything about it.

He didn't become a police officer off the bat, he worked odd jobs until he stumbled upon a better opportunity to make money for his retired parents as an officer. His time with the Massachusetts department would be short as his parents had passed away from old age. 

He and his sister moved, she wished to go to better places that were more built up and he couldn't let go of the last part of his family. So he followed. But they eventually broke apart when she married a man of the last name of Ruth, (who would turn out to be Dr. Claw himself and leader of MAD, which she would join and soon give up her only daughter of Penny Ruth) 

He joined the police force in the Pittsburgh area (where the setting of the IG area is, just my HC due to the local and steel mills shown in the show) but also did after night school to better understand his job.

Once he was taken into the detective department, he became infatuated with Quimby. First due to his work ethics but then it turned into a sexual longing. Making him push himself to outshine the others in the department to gain the attention of Quimby. 

It worked as Quimby began to have respect for the man, which brought more yearning into his life. And the drive of sexual desire pushed him to keep trying to show off to Quimby. He's a man driven by sexual needs once he found his first crush in his boss.

At the same time he was also given custody of Penny, her being five years old, she knew her uncle as her uncle. Yet he would often feel he was a father to her. Her parents often left her in his care and they gave the rights of her to him. 

[b4rk1ng-l0t]

TMC Timeline

I'm not including anything before Mark's birth. Aside from that, lmk if I'm missing anything or somethings wrong.

1974

July 24— Mark is born

?- Thatcher is most likely born this decade

1981

MandelaTech is formed, US Department of unforeseen temporal phenomena too

1982

95% increase in MAD cases

1988

January 18th— Adam is born in Mandela

March 7-- Jonah is born

?— Eve is most likely born

1989

?-- Sarah is born when Mark is 15

1990

Population: 19,867

June 8— Jude and Lynn married

1991

Population: 19,465

1992

Population: 14,763

April 4— Thatcher’s and Ruth’s promotion, Thatcher is in his twenties

April 18- Car passes through Mandela/Yonder border numerous times within 11 days

August 29— Jude and Lynn divorced

August 30— Pictures of window (exhibition)

September 13-15— Mark and Cesar. Mark died on the 15 (Sarah is 3)

September 14— Adam is tested at 4

September 21— Mark's body was discovered

?— Intruder Alert takes place. Alternate(?) Jude calls Ruth and Thatcher. Ruth is killed and Thatcher gets an alternate (N). 

?- Vol 5 takes place over the span of two-ish days. Jude joins the Midwestern Relocation Services to evacuate/start a new life. He talks with Dr. Williamson about his medication, Timoril. Alternate Thatcher swings by to ask about the TV. Jude later declines the vehicle picking him up much to Dr. Williamson's dismay. Jude then hallucinates a preacher-like alternate closing in on him.

1995

Population: 5,024

March— Newspeak issue ("Off duty mandela officers withhold information about alternate invasion")

2004

Population: 2,403

July 3— Post created for Mandela Meerkats vs Brighton Bunnies soccer game on the 21st (old Mandela police site leak)

July 24— Sarah recorded the message on mandelapolice.com

November 12— Post is created about Mandela’s population decrease (old Mandela police site leak)

2005

Population: 2,069

US Department of Temporal Phenomena releases "Know Your Enemy-A guide on alternate types as of 2005"

2006

Population: 1,786

June 11— Sarah advertises BPC

2007

Population: 1,687

July 10— Adam is added to BPC, and it becomes BPS! Adam makes the first entry in his diary

July 14— Adam shows Sarah the first piece of footage

July 15— Adam and Sarah watch the green hand video. Adam makes his next diary entry about this

July 17— Adam finds Jonah online

Population: 1,687

2008

Population: 1,347

June 24— Thatcher accepts Eve into department. (I'm not sure if this part is still canon to the series because it doesnt really line up with Vol 4 and Alex had taken the video down)

August 14— Adam's 3rd diary entry about sleep paralysis

2009

Population: 1,075

Soccer game video and Mymovie.mp4 (no longer canon)

(Winter break) Jan 10-13— Volume 2. Takes them a day to arrive.

Jan 13-- Jonah leaves and offs himself. Adam eventually leaves the house, and walks through snow until he finds the van

Past Jan 13— Sarah and Adam talk about Jonah

Jan 14- Dave's death at Gabriel Church (church Sarah and Mark went to) is reported on Channel 3. His death was around midnight. Nurses talk about him later in the evening.

Jan 15— Adam's 4th diary entry about waking up and hearing his screams from the van. It makes him feel bad

Jan ?- Adam goes all 'Preacher Mode' on Eve. Sarah eventually contacts her asking about him.

Jan 16- Thatcher drives out to Werksha at 1:57 and finds Adam in his home at 2:21. Adam starts screaming (and Thatcher does too from MAD). At 4, he drives him to the station and comforts questions him. Meanwhile, Sarah hacks into the security cameras and watches this go down.

(Last edit: June 25, 2024)

[bracketsoffear]

Mexican Gothic (Silvia Moreno-Garcia) "In 1950s Mexico City, beautiful young socialite Noemí Taboada receives a letter from her cousin Catalina, begging for help. She firmly believes that her English husband, Virgil Doyle, intends to poison her. Suspecting that Virgil may be after Catalina's money, Noemí's father, Leocadio, sends her to the Doyle home, High Place, which is located in the mountains outside of a small town named El Triunfo. Once there, Noemí is struck by the strange and unwelcoming atmosphere of the Doyles' house and the controlling and patronising attitude of its inhabitants. Catalina is proclaimed to be suffering from consumption and Noemí is mostly kept away from her cousin. Noemí spends her time learning about the Doyle family, which also includes Florence Doyle and the frail family patriarch, Howard. The family has a history of incestuous marriages and deep intergenerational traumas, such as one of Howard's daughters, Ruth, killing several family members before shooting herself."

SPOILERS BELOW CUT

Rappaccini's Daughter (Nathaniel Hawthorne) "Giovanni Guasconti, a young student renting a room in Padua, has a view from his quarters of a beautiful garden. Here, he looks at Beatrice, the beautiful daughter of Dr. Giacomo Rappaccini, a botanist who works in isolation. Beatrice is confined to the lush and locked gardens, which are filled with exotic poisonous plants grown by her father. Having fallen in love, Giovanni enters the garden and secretly meets with Beatrice a number of times, while ignoring his mentor, Professor Pietro Baglioni. Professor Baglioni is a rival of Dr. Rappaccini and he warns Giovanni that Rappaccini is devious and that he and his work (which involves using poison as medicine) should be avoided.

Giovanni notices Beatrice's strangely intimate relationship with the plants as well as the withering of fresh regular flowers and the death of an insect when exposed to her skin or breath. On one occasion, Beatrice embraces a plant in a way that she seems part of the plant itself; then she talks to the plant, "Give me thy breath, my sister, for I am faint with common air."

Giovanni eventually realizes that Beatrice, having been raised in the presence of poison, has developed an immunity to it and has become poisonous herself. A gentle touch of her hand leaves a purple print on his wrist. Beatrice urges Giovanni to look past her poisonous exterior and see her pure and innocent essence, creating great feelings of doubt and confusion in Giovanni.

In the end, Giovanni becomes poisonous himself: insects die when they come into contact with his breath. Giovanni is troubled by this, which he sees as a curse, and he blames Beatrice. Professor Baglioni gives him an antidote to cure Beatrice and free her from her father's cruel experiment. However, when Beatrice drinks the antidote, she becomes sick and dies. Before realizing that Beatrice is dying, Dr. Rappaccini excitedly welcomes the love between his two creatures, his daughter and her suitor, Giovanni, who has been transformed so that he can now be a true and worthy companion to Beatrice.

While Beatrice is dying, Professor Baglioni looks down from a window into the garden and triumphantly shouts "Rappaccini! Rappaccini! and is THIS the upshot of your experiment!""

When she begins to sleepwalk and experience strange dreams and visions, Noemí decides that she must leave the Doyle household, only to be told that she cannot leave. They reveal that Howard discovered a strain of mushroom that has a symbiotic relationship with humans. The Doyles use this fungus and remain at High Place, the house infused with the spores of the mushrooms, which has grown inside its walls and all around it, in order to heal themselves and prolong their lives. As the fungus's potency is lessened depending on the individual's genetics, the Doyles have intermarried in order to ensure that their offspring can also receive these benefits. Because it is interlaced with mycelium and infested with the mushroom's spores, the house can hold memories, which the family refers to as the "gloom". The spores can also help the Doyles control people who have inhaled them, which frightens Noemí. She grows more horrified, however, when she learns that Howard's wife Agnes was used as a sacrifice to grow the spores - and that Howard can use the gloom to take over the bodies of family members, which he's used to further preserve his own life.

[miintsprigz]

Thinking about TMC Vol 4’s “remembrance”…and having a conniption.

Thatcher’s letter to Ruth. Gosh I could go on for days about how this scene emotionally steamrolled me.

There’s something so…almost childlike, about writing a letter to someone who’s passed like they’re still alive. And the fact that Thatcher, the closest thing we’ve had to a hero, is still in emotional shambles YEARS after his encounter with that Goliath alternate…it hammers in just how invincible The Unspeakable’s forces are becoming.

But the grief of it.

Like I’m just picturing Thatcher sitting at his desk. Reports of more deaths and disappearances everywhere. Whole place is a mess. All these distorted faces on the screen, but he doesn’t even need to look anymore. He opens up this old, weathered notebook with pages full of hardly readable letters. He starts writing again, while the TV plays in the background, an old black and white movie. The only colors he seems to see anymore.

And he just feels that lump in his throat that seems to have become part of him, but just keeps on writing. He’s replaying that moment he lost her again and again. How maybe if he’d been just a little faster, a little braver, a little better, he wouldn’t be all alone.

They’d still be watching movies together, and listening to old cassettes. Maybe making fun of each other and laughing, maybe. The world would still be ending, but he wouldn’t have to face it alone.

But that’s not what happened, is it?

Tears fall onto the page, starting with one or two, and then so many that it’s rendered completely illegible, and he just looks over and sees that face in the closet…probably can’t remember what the real Ruth looked like anymore.

And he just falls apart, letting his head drop onto the book as he just sobs. Eyes probably hurting too much to even open from how often this happens. Just lays there, letting the pain spill out of him until he’s once again just this empty shell of bitterness and incurable anger.

And you know what? He’ll have to find out about Dave. His final friend. Gone. And then there will be letters to Dave in that notebook too.

I have hope that perhaps Thatcher will take what Dave said in that call to heart…but this is not a series that treats hope kindly. So I unfortunately still anticipate the worst.

TL;DR: seeing our “hero” clinging to life and sanity is truly the most horrific thing, in a way that warrants not nightmares, but tears. I hope he comes around. I really do.

[ladychandraofthemoone]

Do Sandy and Kana exist in this universe? If so, were their basis changed so as to keep faithful to the series' British roots? (for example, Sandy being changed from a Motorcar/Rail Speeder into a BR Class 15)

Hi, Sandy and Kana do exist in my au. Sandy is a fairmont mt14 rail speeder/inspection trolley built by the current CME at Crovan’s Gate Dr. Ruth Bell who has also built Philip and Cleo, thus becoming siblings like and best friends. She is currently owned by the works though Sandy loften shunt at the big stations but usually is seen doing track repairs and maintenance on all of the others as well alongside the works gang/crew with her ability to switch her tools.

Sandy also acts as Ruth’s main personal inspection trolley since Cleo isn’t that use to the busy railway life. Also fun fact, both Sandy and Cleo can switch their gauges from miniature-narrow-standard (though this might change for Cleo) sandy especially to help out with maintenance on all the railways (except the cfr though knowing how much spunk and a bit of a daredevil Sandy is, that’s probably for the best.)

Kana on the other hand, works on the Peel Godred Branchline alongside her twin Akira, Riff and Jiff (who’s names are changed) Stafford and a bunch of ocs having been introduced during my take of the International Railway Show Competition in the 90s-early 2000s. Kana and Akira are high speed electric engines (they are either Class 951 Shinkansen built in the 1970s or my take of the BR Class 93 (InterCity 250) billy by Hitachi Rail (so they’re a A-train). that works on the Peel Godred Branch Line extension from Peel Godred to Barrow-In-Furness. They’re both very good friends with the CFR engines.

Once Ruth attempted to make them and some of the other electric engines independent from electricity albeit via power charging stations hence to why Kana tries to go about the island more while the other were content being in one place, mainly to the earl’s estate railway despite her battery draining quicker though they have charging stations in the museums since she’s rechargeable like Stafford as Ruth helped install it at Crovan’s Gate Works, there’s also charging stations at both Ulfstead, Vicarstown and of course Peel Godred itself.

thank you for the ask 👋😊😊

[thedocruby]

27. any nicknames?

AYOO WE GOT A QUESTION LFG

oogh, nicknamesss, this will be an interesting one HEHGEHHRHRRH

It's a great question! We don't quite have any nicknames based on our given or chosen legal names, except one that belongs to our IRL bestie that I won't say here (Bob does NOT count! *glares menacingly*)

Howeverrr,,, We do have a couple of nicknames based on our online username, Dr. Rubisco (@thedocruby), which we have had for quite some time now! Especially at first, we started going by Doc, and then Rubi/Ruby started to become more and more common.

Eventually we discovered our plurality, and the nicknames Doc and Ruby were claimed respectively by Milo (me) and Riley (who is sadly on hiatus at the moment)

I don't quite know if you can call them nicknames, but each of our alters also have chosen names! Besides myself and Riley, we have Ruth, Ava, Selene, Sarah and a few others that shall remain anon for the moment 👍

You can also call any or all of us by the name Aster! It's our chosen name IRL, and also the system name! That's why each of us are ✨ Asterids ✨

Anyways, I hope that answers your question! Thanks for asking! 💖

~ The Asterids ✨