#china cups and top hats

[inky-duchess]

Etiquette of the Edwardian Era and La Belle Époque: Tea

This is a new set of posts focusing on the period of time stretching from the late 19th century to the early 20th Century right up to the start of WWI. I'll be going through different aspects of life. This series can be linked to my Great House series as well as my Season post and Debutant post.

Today will be focusing on the rules of tea with this time period.

Tea was a staple in society, not only as a comforting beverage but as a social gathering beset by strict rules. Etiquette at tea is not only important for guests but is a sign of respect to one's host.

High Tea vs Afternoon Tea

You're reading both terms and you're thinking high tea is the formal version and afternoon is informal. In fact, no. It is the opposite. High tea was actually served far later, about 6pm/7pm and focused on more savoury, substantial dishes. High tea was more of a lower class tradition, designed to fill the stomachs of hungry workers. The word "high" is derived from the tall tables used. Afternoon tea is served at 4pm, designed to fill the gap between lunch and dinner. Afternoon tea is served at low tables with all the guests seated and involve a lighter meal, more nibbles than anything.

Hosting and Attending Tea

Tea is an event that happens every day, it's not an excuse for a snack, it's a ritual. One can have tea served in one's own home or at the home of a friend. One must be invited to tea, one can't just show up and expect to get fed. Tea was typically served in libraries or drawing rooms and done times outside in the gardens if weather permits. One had to dress for tea usually in comfortable but appropriate clothing. Men would wear suits, women would wear tea gowns or a simple gown - keeping their hats upon their head, if they are visiting. Tea was not poured by the footman but by the host or if it is a large party, by one assigned guest. The hostess or designated tea pourer would serve themselves last.

The Tea Set

Tea sets are highly coveted and much remarked upon at tea. One would usually inherit a service (that's what the collection was called) or be gifted it at one's wedding. Services would all match and most households had different kinds, the best usually reserved for important guests.

Teapot: the tea pot held the hot water and tea leaves was was usually made of china and decorated.

Cups: the cups were generally low, shallow.

Saucer: a small plate for the cup to rest on

Tea cannister: where dried tea leaves would rest until needed.

Sugar bowl: was a small container made of china with a cover to protect the sugar from moisture.

Milk jug: a container for the milk

Slop basin: was a porcelain dish used for disposing tea leaves left behind with the dregs of tea.

Tea spoon: small spoon used to stir tea

Side Plate: small serving plate used for food.

As you might have noticed, other than a tea spoon, cutlery is not listed. There would be a spoon for jam and a knife for a scone, most food was designed to be eaten with one's hands.

There is also one instrument not listed here and it's the most recognisable thing at afternoon tea.

The Tiered Tray

The tiered tray is a set of trays stacked upon one another holding on each one, a different course. Sandwiches and savouries were served on the bottom (Favourites include smoked salmon, cucumber, cress, egg salad sandwiches), scones on the second and sweeter delights served on the top (sponge cake, macaroons, pastries etc). One would begin ay the bottom and work one's way upward.

Making the Perfect Cup of Tea in the Edwardian Era/Belle Epoque/Gilded Age

Disclaimers: Let's make one thing clear. Tea is not prepared one way for all. Tea is culturally important across the world and every culture has their own rules about how tea is consumed and served. There's no one right way.

I will be discussing the English way of brewing tea in this post.

As mentioned before, tea is held in a cannister before use. Tea leaves were added to the hot water and lightly stirred.

Controversially for most people, milk was commonly added first.

One would then set a strainer in one's cup, tilting the pot. The strainer will catch the leaves and leave your cup almost tea-pulp free.

With the tea added, one could add in sugar. The trick is not to make a show about it or be too loud. One simply should gently turn your spoon from the 6 o'clock position to the 12 o'clock position. Also, the spoon rests on the saucer when not in use and doesn't stay in your cup.

When drinking your tea, put your pinky down. That's an American myth. Simply lift your cup to you, lifting the cup to your mouth by the handle. Saucers are not lifted unless your cup is far away. Don't slurp it, there's plenty more where that came from.

Etiquette at Tea

Afternoon tea is for light conversation, do avoid heavy topics.

Listen attentively when being spoken to.

Don't talk with your mouth full or stuff your mouth. Typically everything should be polished off with 2-3 bites.

Gloves should be removed at tea because one is eating with their fingers.

If one is leaving the table to go to the bathroom or a breath of air, simply turn to your neighbours and excuse yourself. No explanation needed.

Napkins should be removed from the table and set across one's lap when one is sitting down. When finished with tea, set it beside your plate before you rise.

Also you daub, not smear.

Don't cut your scone but break it.

Don't lick your fingers.

Don't bang the spoon on the side of the cup.

Also there's no dunking biscuits into your tea. It's just not done at afternoon tea.

Never thank the staff for fetching anything - or at very least, don't be overhead doing so.

Always say your goodbyes to the hostess and compliment the tea, even if you had a rubbish time.

Also most importantly, never criticise somebody else's manners. That's the height of rudeness.

[erotica-author-liz-adams]

MAD TEA PARTY EXCERPT FROM “Alice’s Salacious Adventures in Wonderland”

After a few minutes of walking through a quiet forest, Alice arrived at an enormous house that must have belonged to the Hare for the path ended there. In front of the house was a long table decorated with china teacups, teapots, teakettles, and teaspoons. Two men sat with a sleeping woman between them. One of the men had a Roman nose and big jaw, wore an orange shirt and green vest, and an enormous top hat. Clearly, the Hatter. His orange shirt sported a picture of a teapot on it. Ridiculous. Shirts with tea illustrations on them. Such tea-shirts would never stay in fashion long.

The other man was, well, yum. The signs must have made a spelling error. The sign should have read “Bare,” not “Hare.” This other man was naked, muscle-clad, and covered with hair. The woman had a beautiful flow of blonde hair draped over her shoulders. She, too, was naked. She slept leaning back in her chair.

As Alice approached, their discussion became more distinct.

“Some more tea?” the Hatter asked the Hare.

“Yes, please.”

The Hatter poured, but as far as she could tell, nothing came out of the spout.

“Milk?” the Hatter asked.

“Yes, please,” the Hare replied.

The Hatter placed the empty teacup directly under the woman’s breast and tweaked her nipple. The woman giggled in her sleep and her nipple hardened, but no milk had come from it.

She did a quick check and squeezed her own nipple. No milk.

She walked to the table as the Hatter handed the teacup past the woman to the Hare.

It wasn’t until Alice took a seat across from the three that the Hatter noticed her.

“You can’t sit there,” the Hatter said. “There isn’t enough room.”

“There’s plenty of room,” Alice protested.

“Alright then,” the Hatter said. “If you want to join us, you must figure out the one thing that is wrong with this poem. ‘Twinkle twinkle goes your eye, as I finger you to cry. Moan above my fingers’ thrusts, like a tortured soul of lust.’”

She scowled.

“Well?” the Hatter asked.

“Well, everything seems wrong with that poem.” She folded her arms across her chest.

“Ha! You can’t find the one thing, can you?”

“I give up,” she said. “What’s the one thing wrong with it?”

“Beats me.” The Hatter turned to the Hare. “Do you know?”

The Hare shrugged, his flexed muscles glistening in the sunlight.

The woman blurted out, “I love you, Hare!” and mumbled back into sleep.

“Well then, have some more tea, Mr. Hare.” The Hatter poured another cup of emptiness.

“Milk?” the Hatter asked.

“Of course,” the Hare said.

The Hatter pinched the woman’s nipple again, over the empty cup. She giggled and then snored.

Alice asked, “Why do you pinch her nipples all the time?”

The Hatter said, “Why, to get milk for our tea, of course.”

“But there is no milk.”

“There is no tea, either,” sighed the Hatter. “Honestly. Do keep up.”

The woman shouted, “I love you, Hatter!” and mumbled back to sleep.

“Who is she, anyway?” Alice asked.

The Hare said, “This is Minnie. The most wonderful woman in the world.”

Minnie cried out, “Kiss, please!”

The Hare kissed Minnie’s lips until Minnie fell back to sleep.

He turned to Alice and said, “Would you like to hear a story? Minnie tells the best stories!”

“Yes, very much!” Alice said.

The Hatter lovingly brushed Minnie’s hair past her ear and whispered, “Minnie, wake up. It’s story time.”

Minnie’s eyes fluttered from a dream. She looked back and forth between the Hatter and the Hare.

“Oh, good,” she said smiling. “It wasn’t just a dream.”

The Hare kissed her cheek and said, “It’s story time.”

“But I don’t have a book to read from.”

Alice jumped in.

“I have a book.” She pulled it out of her pocket and looked at the title. “But it’s broken.”

“How can a book be broken?” asked Minnie.

“It says, ‘The Story of OMH,’ but that’s not right.”

“Let me see,” said the Hatter with an outstretched arm.

He took the book and showed it to Minnie.

Minnie said, “You’re correct. That’s not right.”

Alice nodded.

“It doesn’t say, ‘The Story of OMH,’” Minnie said. “It says ‘The Story of O.’”

“Really?” Alice said. She rounded the table to look over Minnie’s shoulder. As far as she could see, it read, The Story of OMH. She took the book from Minnie’s hands and read to herself the beginning. “Old Mother Hubbard lived in a cupboard…”

“You better read it aloud.” She gave the book back to Minnie. “It seems to work with you.”

Minnie started on page one and it was just how Alice remembered it. The starting scenes of O meeting her lover René at the park, taking the taxi ride, taking off her panties, and René removing her bra before arriving at a chateau. The scene where O is bathed by two chambermaids, then dressed in a collar and bracelets and cape and paraded in front of anonymous men.

Alice, the Hatter, and the Hare listened in silence as the erotic words left Minnie’s lips. The Hatter and Hare gazed upon Minnie with love in their eyes. Such a contrast to The Story of O. Every so often, the Hatter and the Hare drank from their teacups. Alice ignored the ridiculousness of them drinking nothing and listened to Minnie’s reading.

“‘Finally, finished with her, they moved away...’” Then Minnie stopped.

“What’s wrong?” Alice asked.

“What do they mean by ‘finished’?” Minnie said.

“You know,” she said. “They had an orgasm.”

“What’s an ‘orgasm’?” Minnie asked.

How confusing. Did Minnie have the same problem with reaching climax?

“You know when you have sex?” she asked.

The Hatter said, “Male or female?”

“No,” she said. “Sex like what they were talking about in the book.”

The Hare said, “They weren’t talking about gender?”

“No!”

Minnie murmured, “I think I may have completely misunderstood this story.”

The Hare and Hatter looked at Minnie and nodded sympathetically.

Alice observed the three of them. They seemed to love each other so much. And without having made love. Perhaps she could be the one to take them to a whole new height of appreciating each other. With both the Hatter and the Hare, there was ample penetration that could even provide Minnie with the orgasm she so deserved.

“I’ll do it,” Alice said.

“Do what?” The Hatter asked.

“I’ll show you what an orgasm is, and while I’ll definitely be able to get you guys to experience one, Minnie, I’ll do my best to make sure you have one, too.”

“Yay!” Minnie said. “Do I get to choose its color?”

She chuckled. “Orgasms don’t come in different colors,” she said.

“Then I guess I’ll have it in its normal color,” Minnie said.

Alice moved dishes, cups, saucers, and spoons down to the far end of the table.

“Hare,” she said, “I need you to lie down on the table.”

“Face up or face down?”

“Face up,” she said.

The Adonis lay his naked, muscled body on the table. His hairy chest filled and emptied with each breath. His penis rested flaccid at his hips. His strong legs and arms looked clenched even in their relaxed state.

“Minnie,” she said. “You need to kiss the Hare on the lips.”

“It’s a kiss?” asked Minnie. “Well, in that case, I’ve had puh-lenty of orgasms!”

She smiled. “The orgasm comes later. For now, love him with your kisses.”

Meanwhile, I’ll give him a hand job to make him hard.

Minnie sat in the chair beside the Hare’s head and looked into his eyes. Alice was about to reach for the Hare’s cock but stopped when she saw Minnie wasn’t kissing him.

Minnie sat there, and the two of them looked into each other’s eyes. Alice couldn’t believe it but watching them interact this way made her pulse race.

Minnie moved her head closer to his, still gazing into his eyes.

Amazing. He was getting hard just anticipating the kiss.

Alice watched the Hare’s cock come to life, growing bigger, increasing every inch their lips came closer together.

Alice’s nipples hardened.

Lord, this is so hot!

At last, Minnie kissed the Hare full on the mouth. The Hare pulsed, his length bobbed, aching for attention.

“Okay, Minnie,” she said. “You can stop kissing him and come over here. Now I want you to—”

Minnie continued to kiss the Hare.

For goodness sake!

“Minnie! Wake up!”

Minnie separated from the kiss but kept her eyes fixed on the Hare who smiled up at her.

“Now, come sit here”—she pointed to the Hare’s waist—“with a knee on either side of him.”

“That’s a funny way to sit,” Minnie said. But she climbed atop the Hare letting his cock nuzzle against her cleft.

“Now rock your hips back and forth on top of him.”

Minnie placed her hands on his abs and shifted forward and back along his length.

“Mmm. I quite like this trick,” Minnie said with a breathy voice.

“As do I.” The Hare took her hands in his. He watched the rapture in her face and seemed to take more pleasure with that.

“As do I,” the Hatter said.

The crazy man had a spoon stuffed down his pants like he was using it as a back scratcher but for his itches in other places.

Minnie brought the Hare’s hands upon her breasts, pushing them against her nipples. The Hare got the message and massaged them. Minnie arched her back, her head tilted up to enjoy the feel of skin and sunshine.

Alice had to make sure Minnie was good and wet for the Hare. She buried her fingers between Minnie and the Hare, feeling the moisture between Minnie’s folds, noticing the slickness of the Hare’s pulsating cock. Whoa. They were ready, alright. They felt like they had been ready for months.

“Sit up off of him,” she told Minnie.

Minnie kept right on moving her hips and looked at her with pleading eyes, “Do I have to?”

She placed a gentle hand on her face and smiled.

“Just for a moment,” she said. “I promise.”

Minnie sighed and positioned herself above the Hare, revealing the Hare’s impressive length. His hardness must have doubled in size from the attention Minnie gave him.

Alice wrapped her hand around the Hare’s cock and pointed it up at Minnie’s center.

“Okay, Minnie,” she said, “It’s time for you and the Hare to become one. Sit back down, take him inside of you. As slow as you need.”

She expected Minnie to require a gradual filling of her pussy. First the head of the Hare pushing past the entrance, time to feel that, to accommodate to his size. Then a slow inch further, overcoming any discomfort, letting subtle pain become pleasure. Releasing moans of delight. A slow inch further, and further, to fill her completely, with caution and attention to the sensations.

But that was not the case. Minnie drifted down onto the Hare in one movement. She must have been so wet inside, the Hare’s shaft clearly soothed and satisfied her aches more than caused any. To confirm her suspicion, Minnie’s face turned to rapture, and Minnie screamed out the Hare’s name.

The Hatter ran beside Minnie. “Oh, my love. You look positively stunning!”

He guided her chin with a delicate hand to his face and kissed her full on the lips. Minnie wrapped her arms around the Hatter’s head. Kissed him back with a passion Alice longed for. Minnie eased up off of the Hare, revealing much of his shaft, and impaled herself upon him once more. Her kiss with the Hatter became several deep kisses, one after the other, as she moved up and down the Hare, letting him fill her, again and again.

The naked Hare moaned. He met Minnie’s movements by thrusting up into her as she came down, his hairy chest covered with the rising dew of sweat. He kept right on handling Minnie’s breasts, lifting them, brushing his fingers across her nipples, gently tweaking them.

Minnie broke from the Hatter’s kiss, apparently to enjoy the sensations the Hare triggered at her core. The Hare shoved into her faster. No doubt, he would have no trouble with his climax, but would their exertions be enough for Minnie to have her own? Minnie was properly stuffed with a man’s cock, but she could be penetrated in other places.

To make sure Minnie had an orgasm, Alice looked at the Hatter. He had his pants open, his length in his hand. It was long and narrow. That was good. But she was not so sure the Hatter would be careful enough for what she had in mind.

She stepped to the Hatter, took hold of his cock, and stroked him gently.

“Hatter,” she said, “watch carefully what I do so you know how to do it later with this magnificent tool of yours.”

She kissed his cheek and gave his cock a squeeze before letting it go. She looked at Minnie and the Hare. Minnie sat planted firmly on the Hare, completely filled with his length, and moved her hips back and forth, keeping his full cock inside of her.

“Yes!” Minnie cried out, the open air kissing her body. “Oh, yes!”

The Hare grunted and growled as Minnie used his cock to stir inside of her. He ground his pelvis in circles against her.

Alice took off her panties and placed them on the tea table. The Hatter returned to pumping himself, the others let their moans echo through the tree-sized plants. Alice climbed behind Minnie, knees on either side of the Hare’s thighs. She moved Minnie’s golden hair over to bare the nape of her neck. Kissed her there once, twice, and hugged Minnie from behind. Alice rested her head against Minnie’s neck and shoulder. She placed her hands over the Hare’s, pressing them onto Minnie’s breasts. She squeezed Minnie’s body tight. Holding her. Loving her. She felt Minnie’s warmth through the front of her dress.

“This is the kind of love you deserve,” Alice whispered. “The kind of love every woman deserves.”

Minnie moaned.

Alice squeezed her tight. Minnie leaned her body into Alice, letting Alice hold her. When Minnie leaned her head back onto Alice’s shoulder, Alice kissed Minnie’s neck, tenderly, gently, in the fragile place behind the chin. Minnie sighed and continued to gyrate full with the Hare’s thickness.

She released Minnie. She picked up a teapot beside her. Its spout was long and narrow. Alice ran a finger around the ceramic lip.

“This teapot feels like rubber.” She stroked around the mouth of the spout and felt it get softer, more flexible. She placed the teapot under her dress in front of her waist with the spout poking out her dress. “This teapot is like having my own penis.”

Her waist tingled. The handle of the teapot melted warm into her skin, the back of the teapot collapsed onto her, all until she was left with the spout attached to her waist.

With the dress draping on either side of the spout, allowing the spout to protrude from under her dress, she moved closer to Minnie. She placed her hands on Minnie’s shoulders, and whispered, “Bend over and hug the Hare close to your body.”

As Minnie rested her body down, Alice planted kisses along her spine. Minnie and the Hare kissed each other. The Hare thrust into her. Alice caressed the Hare’s warm sac and traced the line underneath with her finger. It was slick from the juices flowing out of Minnie.

With her other hand, she traced the line on Minnie’s now exposed skin leading to her other entrance. Not as slick, so Alice joined the Hare by putting a finger alongside the Hare’s cock. She pushed her finger inside Minnie’s pussy and felt the underside of the Hare’s cock pushing back and forth against it. The stroking sensation Alice was giving the Hare must have been good for him, for he called out, “Yes!”

By the way Minnie moaned in response, stretching Minnie’s walls with her finger did good things for her, too.

Alice pushed in another.

She twirled her fingers inside Minnie, alongside the Hare’s length, working to get her fingers as wet as possible.

“Incredible,” Minnie cried.

She removed her hand and traced Minnie’s other opening with the moistened pads of her fingers. She placed kisses on Minnie’s lower back and with her other hand clutching Minnie’s bottom, she pushed her open and slid a finger inside.

“Mmm,” Minnie said through her kiss with the Hare, and Minnie clenched tight around her finger.

This isn’t going to be wet enough.

She looked at the spout sticking out of her and said, “This spout is like it has a never-ending supply of delicious, warm tea.”

She placed her hands at the lip of the spout, tilted the spout down, and collected the warm water in her hands. She rubbed the spout with her wet hands and brought the lip to Minnie’s dark entrance. She grabbed hold of Minnie’s fleshy cheeks and opened her to more easily accept this additional penetration. The tip of the spout pushed past Minnie’s clenching hole. Minnie gasped.

“Hatter,” Alice said. “You see how I’m being very slow?”

“Yes.” The Hatter rubbed his cock. “Slowly, slowly.”

Minnie resisted Alice’s penetration. She stopped pushing.

“Help Minnie relax,” she told the Hatter.

The Hatter stood beside Minnie, stroking her hair and whispered words to help her relax. Minnie responded by grabbing the Hatter’s cock and taking him in her lips. The Hatter cried out with shouts of pleasure. Minnie let her mouth drip freely, coating the Hatter with whatever wetness remained in her.

Alice looked at her spout and watched the tea pour in and spill out of Minnie, and when she felt less resistance, she pushed the spout in deeper.

“You’re doing great,” she called out to Minnie.

“Yes,” the Hatter said. “You’re doing great!”

She smiled. The Hatter was referring to something else.

Minnie presented less resistance again, so she pushed in deeper.

Minnie let the Hatter’s shaft fall from her mouth, dripping with saliva, and called out, “More, more!”

Alice glided in and out of Minnie, kneading her ass with her hands. Minnie rested her head on the Hare’s shoulder. Perhaps Minnie was fully concentrating on feeling Alice and the Hare thrust in and out of her. The Hare kissed her wherever he could reach. The Hatter’s slick-coated cock awaited more attention.

Alice said, “Hatter, it’s your turn.”

The Hatter went to Alice.

“Get behind me and kneel like me,” she said.

He placed a knee on either side of the Hare’s legs.

Alice lifted the back of her dress to bare her pussy, and leaned over Minnie.

“Ok, Hatter. Now that you’re behind me, go inside me. Remember how I did it.”

“Slowly, slowly,” he said.

“Right.” She placed her head and hands on Minnie’s back, keeping the spout inside Minnie, and she waited for the Hatter’s tip to penetrate her pussy.

When it did, she opened her eyes wide. He had pushed the head of his cock inside her, alright, but at the wrong opening. She wasn’t expecting to get her ass filled. But oh, it felt so good! The head slid right in having been slick with Minnie’s saliva.

The Hatter leaned over without pushing further and stroked Alice’s hair.

“Lovely,” he said tracing her cheek with his fingertips.

She shivered at his touch. So gentle. So dear. Goosebumps tingled her arms and down her back. At the same time, she felt her core flush with heat. She clenched around the Hatter’s length, wanting him to experience orgasm but seeing no way he could possibly stick that huge thing any deeper. Should she tell him to pull out and prep himself clean for her pussy? No. She didn’t want him to leave. At least, not yet. Having him fill her ass made her throb in places inside of her that she didn’t even know existed.

She hadn’t thought about it before, but perhaps she had never climaxed because she had been pleasing the wrong passage.

She slid a hand down past the spout between her legs and found the nub to stimulate. She rubbed herself with her fingertips, enjoying the new sensation behind her, and relaxed.

And the Hatter pushed deeper.

She wrapped her free arm around Minnie’s torso and held her tight as she rubbed herself faster. That cock felt hot, hot, hot, opening her wide, turning on waves of energy through her body.

The Hatter placed his hands on Alice’s shoulders and massaged them.

“You’re lovely,” he said. “So lovely.”

She rested her fingers at her clit and enjoyed how the Hatter’s hands massaged away the tension in her shoulders.

And the Hatter pushed deeper.

Hot! So hot! Her hand hastened, alternating between rubbing herself and sticking two fingers inside of her. Her two fingers became three when the Hatter pushed his remaining length into her, filling her completely. Right then, she had an immense appreciation for Minnie. There ought to be an award for any girl who can fully take a shaft inside each of her passages, much less just one from behind as she was feeling now.

The Hatter stayed there, keeping her fully stuffed. He leaned over and placed kisses on her back. She clenched around him, relishing his thickness penetrating her.

She closed her eyes. Taking in the moment. She could feel the Hatter’s hands on her shoulders again, kneading out the stiffness there. She could hear Minnie and the Hare kissing each other again. She could smell the lust wafting up from their bodies’ cores. She kissed Minnie’s back and could taste the salty sweat upon her.

“You are so lovely,” the Hatter said.

She pushed her hips forward—enough to ease a bit of the Hatter’s length out of her—then arched back against him. The re-entrance was as fiery as when he first inched that thick cock into her, and just as smooth, thanks to Minnie’s tongue.

She repeated the small movement. Back and forth, controlling the in and out strokes of his cock.

Minnie moaned. Oh, right. Moving her hips forward to relieve herself of the Hatter’s shaft pushed the spout deeper into Minnie.

Alice started up a slow rhythm, moving forward to delve into Minnie, moving back to take more of the Hatter’s lovely cock. She moaned with the rush.

Hot! Hot! Hot! His thickness opened her wide and she rubbed herself with rapid fingertips. The Hare joined the rhythm, thrusting into Minnie as Alice moved out.

“Yes!” Minnie called out. “Faster!”

Alice grabbed hold of Minnie’s waist and thrust inside her tea-filled hole. The Hatter followed suit. The Hatter held her waist and thrust his full length into her, pushing her deeper into Minnie.

“That’s it!” Minnie shouted. “Yes!”

The Hatter focused on a constant shuttling of his long cock. The blissful heat set Alice ablaze. She went back to rubbing her clit as the Hatter did the work, thrusting into Alice, pushing her into Minnie. His strokes shoved into both the women, and they moved together, jolted together, cried out together.

Alice felt connected to Minnie like twins experiencing the same feelings. She slid her free hand down Minnie’s arm, found Minnie’s hand, and clasped tight. Together they held hands, and the Hatter thrust into them, drove into them, filling them. The Hare kissed Minnie deeply.

Alice understood the love the Hare had for Minnie because Alice, too, wanted to make sure Minnie felt the loving orgasm she so deserved.

The Hatter throbbing in her dark channel. He was close.

And that was all due to me. Lovely Alice. The Hatter feels this way because of me.

“Oh!” cried Minnie. “I think I’m going to explode!”

“Me too!” the Hare said.

“Yes.” Alice smiled. “That’s an orgasm. Let it happen.”

Minnie cried out and the Hare cried out at the same time.

Their beautiful bodies tensed, shook, and shuddered, and she rammed three fingers deep inside herself.

Her walls pulse around her fingers. She squeezed her eyes shut. She screamed. Her muscles tensed. She clenched around the Hatter’s cock. All her nerves erupted. She had visions of fire sparks bursting, green and blue, red and orange. The Hatter thrust and pinned his waist against hers, and his seed filled deep within her uncharted passage.

And Alice realized she was wrong. Orgasms do come in different colors.

She opened her eyes, head spinning and dizzy. And soon she felt the table at her knees, the cool air blowing against her legs and face, and the heat of Minnie at her chest and the Hatter softening within her.

The four of them stayed still, all of them connected. All of them one. Her legs felt wobbly. She had to rest on Minnie’s back. The Hatter lay on top of Alice. She felt the weight of his love. It made the love feel solid. Real.

“Okay,” Minnie said. “I’m getting squished.”

The Hatter climbed off the table, and Alice carefully pulled out of Minnie, backing up on the table.

The Hatter caressed Alice’s face and said, “Lovely. Thank you.”

She smiled and kissed his cheek.

Minnie and the Hare held each other. The Hatter went to their side. When they saw him, they each reached out an arm to him. The Hatter put his head close to theirs to hug them as best as he could.

I believe I actually had an orgasm. Maybe that was all it took, to be penetrated in that untouched passage.

She took the spout in her hands and said, “This is like a regular, ceramic teapot.”

Her waist tingled and the teapot separated itself from her. She set it on the table, climbed off, and put her underwear back on. It was time to move on.

She turned to wish her friends goodbye, but Minnie had turned herself around, lying with her back on the Hare, and now had the Hatter on top of her in her arms. They were in a sweet embrace, in their own world. Better not to disturb them.

She wandered towards the forest.

Wow, I actually had an orgasm.

Since she could climax, she wasn’t a freak after all. She could, in fact, love a man as much as any other girl. And just wait until Carol heard about her successful orgasm!

Alice giggled. “I feel like I’m walking on air!”

Her giggles turned to laughter as she floated above the ground, the earth no longer pinching her feet. She scampered toward the forest of plants letting the puffs of air at her feet lead the way.

EXCERPT FROM “Alice’s Salacious Adventures in Wonderland”

[alexbkrieger13]

German media loves writing about P

https://www.sportschau.de/fussball/frauen-nationalmannschaft/gegner-daenemark-im-fokus-100.html

Pernille Harder and her special drive

There was a lot of recognition when Britta Carlson spoke about the first task in the newly created Nations League for the German footballers. The fact that the DFB women first face Denmark (Friday at 6 p.m./live on ARD and in the Sportschau live stream ) is a “nice challenge ,” said the interim head coach.By 

Frank Hellmann

" Denmark is a top opponent: a robust, defensively strong team, but also with qualities on the offensive." And "Pernille Harder certainly stands out as a top player. "

From her many years as an assistant at VfL Wolfsburg, Carlson of course knows best what Harder in particular embodies on a good day: world class. The star striker, who has been under contract with FC Bayern since this summer, claims the ball just as smoothly and elegantly. Hardly anyone in the penalty area has such instinct and such precise finishing.

The special connection to the venue Viborg

The fact that this international match is taking place in Viborg reminds the 30-year-old of her beginnings as a footballer; for her this is now a special home game: the Danish captain comes from the small Danish town of Ikast. At the age of ten, Pernille Harder came to the Midtjylland Youth Academy with her sister Louise - as the only two girls. "My sister was invited, and basically I wanted to do it because my sister did it. I've always looked up to her."

It soon became clear that she had even more talent. She played for Team Viborg for three years before moving to IK Skovbakken in 2010 at the age of 17. Two years later she went to the Swedish club Linköpings FC, where she was already scoring goals on the assembly line. At the end of 2016 she moved to VfL Wolfsburg because the current women's football director, Ralf Kellermann, had been following her career for a long time.

Pernille Harder: To England as Germany's Footballer of the Year

The commitment was worth it, because with Harder the factory club won the double four times in a row, only narrowly failing in the Champions League final twice before Harder moved to Chelsea as Germany's female footballer of the year three years ago. Until then, she had made the difference for the “she-wolves” often enough.

"Even when she's at less than 100 percent, you feel her presence. When you need that one moment to make the difference, she's the player to do it, no matter what condition she's in," said her former coach Stephan Lerch , who now trains TSG Hoffenheim.

The Dane was also held in high esteem in England, as Chelsea's charismatic team boss Emma Hayes revealed, who greatly regretted her departure to Munich: "She is one of the most eccentric characters I have ever coached. I will miss her eccentricity, no question, hers Attention to detail, their thirst for victories. "

At the World Cup, Denmark lost to Australia in the round of 16

This only became visible again at the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Denmark had prevailed in the group with England, China and Haiti when they entered the atmospheric round of 16 against hosts Australia in the huge Australia Stadium in Sydney. In the end, after the deserved 2-0 defeat, no one seemed as disappointed as the Danish captain, who embarrassed the “Matildas” several times in the early stages.

But at some point it seemed as if Harder was fighting against elimination on his own. Their disappointment was palpable, but superstar Sam Kerr, with whom Harder had played at Chelsea, provided consolation. Her move to Munich together with her partner Magdalena Eriksson had already been confirmed since last year. An exclamation mark also for the women's Bundesliga, which is struggling for international attention.

Bayern's sports director Bianca Rech tried early on to get the two top players Harder and Eriksson free of charge. The fact that the coup worked reveals a lot about the international ambitions on the Bayern campus. “These are two experienced personalities who help us a lot – on and off the pitch ,” praises Rech.

Whoever takes the Danish striker out of the game has gained a lot

Harder certainly brings with it a higher level of recognition and perhaps also a greater glamor factor. She is a big personality in Denmark, whose greatest success in the national team was certainly reaching the 2017 European Championship final against the Netherlands. Although the atmospheric final in Enschede was lost 4-2 against the “Oranje Leuwinnen”, who were then coached by Sarina Wiegman, the Danes had at least won 2-1 against Germany in the quarter-finals on the way there. Harder scored her 50th international goal in the tournament. It goes without saying that she has long been Denmark's record goalscorer, with 71 goals after 145 international matches.

And yet she often has to fight for support in the national team, where the Swede Andrée Jeglertz took over from Lars Søndergaard after the World Cup. Whoever takes Harder out of the game has already gained a lot. The DFB women turned the tables again in the first group game at the European Championships in England, and Germany carried the momentum from the 4-0 win against the team with no chance around the attacker who was withdrawn throughout the tournament. Carlson now expects a game on equal terms. Or as the 45-year-old said: “A nice challenge.”

[rmfantasysetpieces1]

By Nick Miller Jul 18, 2022

Barbra Banda is a woman.

It’s important to start from that point for a couple of reasons.

The first is that nothing in what follows here should suggest she is not a woman. The second reason is that this is ultimately an extremely sad human story — one about a footballer who is potentially about to be denied her career — not an “issue” to be jumped on by anyone with malign intent.

You might be familiar with Banda if you watched the women’s football tournament at the Olympics last summer. Zambia only gained a point from their three games in Japan, comprehensively outmatched in a 10-3 opening defeat by the Netherlands, although they did draw 4-4 with China and performed credibly in only losing 1-0 to Brazil.

Banda dazzled, though.

The forward scored hat-tricks against the Dutch and the Chinese — the first woman to ever score back-to-back trebles at the Olympics — a combination of pace, wily movement and slick finishing earmarking the then 21-year-old as arguably the breakout star from the women’s football.

Banda moved from Dux Logrono in northern Spain to the slightly more lucrative environs of Shanghai Shengli at the start of 2020. In her first season in Shanghai, she was top scorer in the Chinese Women’s Super League with 18 goals from 13 games.

Her performances have been such that she has been heavily linked with a move back to Spanish football with Real Madrid this summer, although neither the club nor a source close to the player could confirm how advanced that potential transfer is.

She was thus expected to be one of the key players at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, currently taking place in Morocco.

FIFA was using her image to promote the tournament only a week or so before it started. The tournament’s Twitter feed hyped her as one of the players to watch at WAFCON. Zambia have never made it beyond the group stage on the other two occasions they qualified for WAFCON in its current format in 2014 and 2018. But with Banda as their captain, supported by brilliant No 10 Grace Chanda and electric winger Xiomara Mapepa, they had a real shot at making a significant impact this time.

Then, just before the tournament started, Zambia announced a squad that did not have Banda, along with two other players who were expected to be named, in it.

Initially, the official line was that Banda was not present for slightly vague-sounding “medical reasons”. Ultimately it emerged that she had not met the criteria put forward in the gender verification tests laid down by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), African football’s governing body.

Banda’s tests revealed elevated levels of testosterone — naturally occurring, but higher than the levels permitted by CAF (which maintains it is simply applying standards put forward by FIFA, football’s global rulers).

Testosterone level is not the only criterion, but neither CAF nor officials from the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) would confirm what those other criteria were.

It was an echo of the previous edition of the tournament four years ago, when Banda was initially named in the Zambia squad but was ultimately prevented from competing for similar reasons. But it left a star on the sidelines, opened a debate that could easily stray into desperately toxic areas, and perhaps most importantly denied a young woman the chance to play on one of the biggest stages of her career.

The whole business is, to be frank, an absolute mess. There has been claim and counter-claim throughout, but the situation as The Athletic understands it is as follows.

Before the tournament, FAZ medical staff conducted tests to, in their view, comply with gender recognition regulations set forward by CAF and FIFA. After those tests, Banda and three players were not named in their WAFCON squad. Zambia did not call up any replacements: a maximum of 26 players are allowed in each squad, and they named 22.

The players were offered hormone suppression medication that could bring their testosterone down to “acceptable” levels, but — setting aside the moral issues of whether that is acceptable — due to side effects reported by athletes who have taken them in the past, such as South African middle-distance runner Caster Semenya, they declined.

“These are personal issues, and she refused,” former FAZ official Blackwell Siwale told ESPN. “Someone should first counsel (them), and tell that how it would affect them, or that it might affect their energy levels et cetera.”

It was reported that CAF had “banned” the players from competing, but the African federation’s position was that Zambia simply named a squad as they saw fit, rather than the players in question being included and CAF rejecting them.

Ergo, in CAF’s view, this was all essentially nothing to do with it as the governing body.

Zambia, clearly, took a different view.

“Everybody at home has been made to believe that FAZ did nothing and decided on their own to exclude the player,” FAZ president Andrew Kamanga told the BBC. “We the federations are compelled to undertake the tests and then we pass on the information to CAF, and CAF, equally, test the players if needs be in the tournament. So it will be unfair to turn around and say CAF is not part and parcel of whatever has transpired.”

FAZ made representations to a meeting on July 7 that involved officials from FIFA, the CAF medical department and others. It “appealed” Banda’s omission from the tournament.

Meanwhile, Zambia’s campaign on the pitch was underway. Banda was still with the squad in Morocco, supporting the team from the stands.

Rumours circulated on social media in the following days that FIFA had intervened and Banda would be allowed to play in the remainder of the tournament, but these turned out to be false.

FIFA did not respond when asked by The Athletic for comment.

Then, on July 12, CAF wrote to Adrian Kashala, the general secretary of FAZ — a rather brusque letter that has been seen by The Athletic. In so many words, the letter tells Zambia to get lost. The letter reiterates the position that there was “no decision taken by any CAF body” so, officially and technically speaking, there is nothing to appeal against.

A FAZ spokesman suggested that it will work in the future to change the regulations in the long term, but as things stand Banda and the other players will not be allowed to compete in the ongoing WAFCON, where Zambia face South Africa in the semi-finals today (Monday).

And that, at the time of writing, is that.

A situation that is, at best, deeply unsatisfactory, whereby a player is being prevented from representing their country and nobody seems to be taking responsibility for the decision to prevent her from doing so.

The FAZ says it is complying with CAF rules. CAF says it had nothing to do with the decision.

When asked to supply more details about its medical processes, CAF declined to do so. FIFA is, at present, saying nothing.

It is worth pausing for a minute to look at exactly why increased levels of testosterone are considered to provide an athletic advantage.

“Testosterone is an anabolic hormone,” says professor Anthony Hackney from the exercise and sports science department of the University of North Carolina in the US. “One of the major things that anabolisms do is build protein.

“One of the largest tissues of your body that contains the most protein is skeletal muscle, and when skeletal muscle is asked to do its job — to contract and produce force, strength, endurance — it has to use those proteins.

“One of the reasons testosterone is viewed as a possible enhancement to sports performance is to allow you to have more muscle, which means you have more force-generating capacity, more strength and greater endurance.

“The other aspect of this anabolism is that one of the proteins that it helps to synthesise is haemoglobin, which is found in your red blood cells, and haemoglobin’s job is to carry oxygen. Any highly aerobic sporting activity is potentially going to be benefitted by more haemoglobin, which could be due to more testosterone.”

So, in short, testosterone could potentially make you stronger and faster for longer. Which is why artificial enhancements, such as anabolic steroids, are banned in sport.

But there is no suggestion the testosterone levels found in Banda are anything but naturally occurring.

The most prominent and obvious case that will come to the mind of most people when hearing about Banda’s situation is that of Semenya, who has been barred from competing in her favoured 800m event (the event she has two Olympic and three World Championship gold medals in) since 2019, unless she first takes medication that lowers her testosterone levels, which she has refused to do. Recently, Semenya called leading figures in African athletics “cowards” for not fighting harder for competitors in her situation.

However, directly comparing Banda and Semenya is tricky, simply because not enough is publicly known about Banda’s condition to put them both in the same category. Their issues are both related to “differences in sexual development” tests and regulations but they could be different, so at this stage, it is probably wise not to make a direct comparison.

From its perspective, CAF will argue that it is simply trying to be fair, and trying to avoid a situation similar to the one that came to a head after the 2010 WAFCON when complaints were lodged against two Equatorial Guinea players who took part in that tournament.

After that, CAF introduced the regulations at the centre of this case.

The whole situation seems deeply unsatisfying, partly because it is so opaque, but also from a distance at least, it is inconsistent. A FAZ official, when contacted by The Athletic, bemoaned a situation where Banda and other athletes in her position could appear in some international competitions but not in others.

“The points we touch upon in our position is the inconsistency in these rules,” says Tim Harper, executive director of Equity Sport, a group that aims to advance equality in global sport and does much of its work in sub-Saharan Africa. “Banda was allowed to play in the Olympics and was celebrated throughout as a superstar, and now, a year later, she’s suddenly not allowed to even be on the pitch.”

Olympic rules in this area only apply to a select few sports, including the 400-metre, 800-metre and hammer throw. Football isn’t included, so Banda was allowed to play at the Games last summer, and did so brilliantly.

Equity Sport also points out that this is an issue which seems to disproportionately impact Black, sub-Saharan African women.

In addition to Banda and Semenya, recent examples include Christine Mboma and Beatrice Masilingi, two Namibian 400-metre runners who were banned from those same Tokyo Olympics.

“What we want to understand is whether this is a biological matter,” Harper says.

The short answer to which is: It might be.

Professor Hackney is at pains to point out that the vast majority of research into whether higher levels of testosterone naturally occur in Black athletes has been conducted on men, but: “If you look at just the male research, there is evidence to suggest very definitely that testosterone happens to be higher in African Americans, than in matched Caucasian white populations.

“The difference is consistent, it seems to be across age ranges, but it’s not a large magnitude of difference. It’s in the range of five per cent, maybe 10 per cent, so it’s not as if it’s astronomically higher. I would suspect it would also be true in women, but again, without the same body of evidence and literature, I couldn’t say Black women are always going to have higher testosterone levels.”

“It should concern all of us,” Harper says. “If it was happening to the England team, there would be even more of a global media storm about it.

“The question we have to ask ourselves is: Is this what we want sport to be?”

Again, it should be repeated that testosterone is not the sole marker in this case, although FAZ seems to think it forms a disproportionate part of the regulations.

“Many players can be affected by these regulations, and football is their livelihood,” FAZ communications director Sydney Mungala told ESPN. “I think the CAF regulations are a lot more stringent (than Olympic regulations), and they put too much stress on testosterone levels.”

But what of the woman at the centre of this latest episode?

It’s easy to forget that, although Banda has been part of the Zambia team for some time and was their captain, she is still just 22.

Banda grew up playing on the streets of capital city Lusaka, and her talent meant she became the first female Zambian footballer to play for a European club. She is a wildly popular member of the squad, and not just because she is their best player. A source close to Banda described her as “jovial” but also “a warrior”.

The source suggested she was coping as well as can be expected with her omission from the WAFCON squad, although there were concerns that the debate around her could adversely impact her mental state.

Even if she is unable to play for Zambia in Morocco, she has been present at their games and has posted her encouragement to the team on social media as they have progressed to the final four.

After each victory, she has tweeted messages of congratulations, all of which include a variant of “I am with you all the way”.

And “all the way” might not just be a turn of phrase, because Zambia — nicknamed The Copper Queens (copper mining is big business there) — have been exceptional so far. They were arguably the most eye-catching team in the group stage, easing into things with a 0-0 draw against Cameroon, then squeezing past Tunisia 1-0 with a stoppage-time winner before really cutting loose to defeat Togo 4-1.

With her direct, rapid running, Mapepa won a penalty after 47 seconds against Togo. That was missed by defender Lushomo Mweemba, but from that point Chanda took over, dictating the game from the No 10 position and helping herself to two goals. Another came from Ireen Lungu, architect of some remarkable passes elsewhere in the game (some have nicknamed her “Xavi”), who skimmed a 35-yard effort over the goalkeeper after the ball had broken to her.

Mapepa, who has described Banda as her “idol” and is wearing her No 11 shirt at the tournament, scored the pick of the goals late in the first half, shortly after Togo had made it 2-1; driving down the left flank, leaving defenders in her wake, she thrashed a finish into the roof of the net from an implausible angle. Then came their quarter-final against Senegal on Wednesday. It was a nervy affair, the tension raised by the fact that the teams knew victory would also earn them a World Cup spot (WAFCON doubles as African qualification for next summer’s global tournament in Australia and New Zealand), something neither side had previously achieved.

It went to penalties, and in what can only be described as “quite the flex”, goalkeeper Hazel Nali stepped up to take Zambia’s fifth kick. Into the top corner it went and Zambia were through — to the semis, and to their first ever World Cup. Whether Banda will be there with them is another question entirely.

Even given her absence on the field, Banda was with the team off it. She was there in the dressing room after that shootout victory in Casablanca, wearing a team tracksuit and a shirt with the number 23 (remember, Zambia only named 22 players in their squad when 26 are permitted) on it, leading her team-mates in celebratory song.

“This was for Barbra Bandaaaaaaaaaa!!!!” yelled Nali as the whole squad celebrated.

“We still missed them,” said Zambia coach Bruce Mwape after the Togo game, when asked about the missing players. “They are part of our team.”

Zambia could be on the verge of doing something extraordinary.

It’s just profoundly sad that Banda won’t be on the pitch to do it with them.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/3426458/2022/07/18/barbra-banda-womens-football/

#rmsoccer

[nalasan]

Hello! Hope you are doing well ! I’m here just to tell you that I was going through a very difficult time in my life and I found comfort in reading again your fanfiction China Cups and Top Hats, it’s my favorite fanfiction and my to go to comfort read when things get hard.. I hope to see the end of it one day but until then I thank you for the story that you wrote, it really helped me a lot.

I'm really sorry to hear that you went through a rough time, I sincerely hope things are better for you now! I'm very happy to hear that my fic could help a little bit - that is probably the biggest compliment any writer can receive.

I hope to write the end one day, to put down the final words and then bore everyone to death with a not-quite-canon epilogue that has haunted my thoughts for years now. 2023 feels like the year of finishing things that have been long in the making, and I really hope ccath will be one of them.

[dailyrugbytoday]

Australia and France were named the HSBC SVNS 2024 Champions

New Post has been published on https://thedailyrugby.com/australia-france-were-named-hsbc-svns-2024/

The Daily Rugby

https://thedailyrugby.com/australia-france-were-named-hsbc-svns-2024/

Australia and France were named the HSBC SVNS 2024 Champions

At the first-ever Grand Final in Madrid, France’s men and Australia’s women were declared the HSBC SVNS 2024 Champions following the most dramatic and intense rugby sevens competition in history. Following an incredible 19-5 victory against Argentina in the men’s final to deprive the HSBC SVNS 2024 League Winners the double in Madrid, France will head into their home Olympic Games with a lot of confidence.

After winning in Vancouver, France ended their 19-year cup drought. They sealed the victory with two tries in the second half, and Rodrigo Isgro of Argentina was sent out late for an illegal tackle.

Meanwhile, with the Olympics approaching, a rejuvenated Fiji defeated New Zealand for the second time this weekend to take home bronze, matching their best finish of the year. Australia won the women’s division after defeating France 26-7 behind a hat-trick from Maddison Levi, who gave her team their first cup victory since Cape Town in December. Australia was the best team all weekend in Madrid, defeating New Zealand 21-19 in an exciting semifinal comeback. Australia was the HSBC SVNS League leaders for nearly the whole season until falling short to fierce rivals New Zealand in the last round in Singapore.

In retaliation for losing to the same opponents in the pool round, the Blacks Ferns Sevens defeated Canada 26–14 to win the bronze medal. The top four teams from the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2024 competed against the teams placed ninth through twelfth in the SVNS 2024 promotion and relegation Play Off competition.

Samoa and Canada lost their spots on the HSBC SVNS series in the men’s HSBC SVNS Play-Offs, but the USA and Spain kept their spots thanks to wins. Following their respective victories over Germany and Chile in the Challenger Series, Kenya and Uruguay will be joining them.

China won the women’s play-offs and will join South Africa on the SVNS Series the following season. In the qualification final, the newcomers overcame Belgium 33-0, while South Africa was crushed 22-0 by hosts Spain. Brazil defeated Poland 38–7 with a commanding performance, and Japan defeated Argentina 26–12 to keep their spots on HSBC SVNS 2025. The Play Off losing teams will go through the regional qualification process to compete in the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2025. News for The Daily Rugby

“We’re finally getting some pay for our hard work, which is good,” Maddison Levi of Australia stated. We’re finally building; the Olympics are so close. It’s always a hard struggle between the two, and the fact that we haven’t defeated New Zealand since Perth, in my opinion, simply shows that we can succeed.

They did a great job with the framework, in my opinion. Sevens is an exhilarating experience, and as an athlete, you can’t always perform at your best. Our coaches have our utmost confidence and trust, and I believe that their efforts are truly evident on the pitch. the bravery and readiness of each person to delve deeply throughout training.

[littlewalken]

Aug 16

Got my Good Omens, thank you fellow Tumblr user. You see, kids, if you ask someone politely you might get what you're asking for instead of just demanding it and ending up on a Choosing Beggers sub forum.

I would have made 1 dram of peppermint oil to 4 oz of lotion base bug repellant sooner if I knew I wasn't allergic to it. But seriously, my boobs will decide they are allergic to what the bra cups are made out of but nothing else in the bra or my feet alternate between liking sox and not liking sox.

But the peppermint lotion did provide a nice cooling sensation during a hot flash.

Again I ended up going out and doing some real life, getting my peppermint lotion ingredients, but it also reminded me I haven't made anything for Xavier and fam in ever so long.

I can't find the exact ones I made but this gives you the idea. This years outfits will have this fabric-

The lines will be inspired by 1827 because of Good Omens. So I'll need to take X or his wife out to find a top hat. They wear the same size everything. I wasn't really going to get anything, then it was the mesh with velvet coffins, then I decided it would be good to make some new outfits event ho they have a nearly full storage tub of clothes.

But aren't dolls supposed to be clothes horses any ways?

Key parts to the look are puffed sleeves and full skirts to make the waist look smaller. Along with the Spaniel ear hairstyle. I made a fake China Head 1830s doll, self look at your Susan Sirkis books and see if she has this era. From the late 1820s until the early 1870s women's fashion sort of stagnated in general shape and it's the sleeves and bodices that give specific dates away. Men's fashion just got more boring.

Haven't decided which fabrics go where or anything but I might make some stuff that needs to be lined reversible. It solved several prombles when I was making stuff for Britches.

[themadnesslinkedtoahat]

To quote a passage from the dictionary, the term 'love handles' comes from an individual's partner or loved one embracing them around the hips, which is where these excess fat and skin pockets occur. Cute name, though he understood how it could affect those with dwindling self-esteem.

Jefferson had always been somewhat slim, even as he edged onward towards his older years, though now, he was no longer deemed as flighty. Not that his profession required it.

He was a renowned maker of hats, a messenger, and a repairer of watches, each one either done with or followed up with a freshly brewed Earl Gray from a bone china cup.

A gift from Alice. His Alice.

Distracting himself from his thoughts, Jefferson looked down, his formal attire bunched up just below his ribs as he jiggled his added roll of padding (or muffin top, as he'd once heard it referred.) Some of his tattoos were already worn and slightly stretched. One; already showing clear signs of disproportion.

"No matter" he mumbled with a breathy chuckle. The corner of his smile tugged heavier on one side.

Now, there was simply more of him to love. More to embrace. More to appreciate.

[snake-eyes-11]

۞

send me a "۞" and I'll introduce you to one of my other muses || accepting || @dreamingofmuses

Dolly: OC: Discord Exclusive

Dolly skipped across the circus grounds in her little daydream, her baby pink double layer skirt with white scalloped edging bouncing along with her pigtails. In her arms, she held a bundle of fur and tiny knitted clothes. It was such a nice day that she had decided she was going to have a little tea party with some of dolls and teddy bears. She set out a selection of white plastic patio furniture on a patch of grass and had cleaned up her most favourite china tea set.

As she returned to her setup, she dusted some dirt from one of the chairs and carefully placed Mr Snuffington Bear on the seat. He was a very snooty sort of grizzly with a top hat and a monocle and he would NOT appreciate getting dirty, even if Dolly had told him that was the point of being outside. Next to him, she positioned Isabella, a plastic baby doll dressed in a lavender knitted bonnet and matching dress. She was a shy little morsel, but she said she had been delighted to be invited to Dolly's little garden party. Then, beside her, three primary coloured crocheted teddy-bears by the names of Ruffle, Snuffle and Fluffle. A troublesome trio of triplets, slightly uncouth but full of gossip - which was why they made such perfect guests!

Dolly sat between them, picking up her rose pattern teapot and pouring them all cups of imaginary tea. Then, she took out the wooden food she had laid out and silently asked all of them what snacks they preferred. There were hours to kill before Dolly's aerial dancing act in the Big Top would take place, which meant she'd have plenty of time to spend with her friends and get herself ready.

[alexseanchai]

[image: top far left: a very small Phichit Chulanont posing on the ice of the Imperial World rink in Bangkok. top center left: Yuri Katsuki mid-jump in Ice Castle Hasetsu. top center right: Phichit mid-jump in Imperial World. top far right: a very small Yuri posing on the ice of Ice Castle Hasetsu. bottom: Yuri skates backwards across the ice of Detroit Skate Club, laughing and wearing Phichit's Pikachu hat, with Phichit himself in hot pursuit.]

—the one where the first time Victor and Yuuri interact after Sochi GPF is when they're both competing in Cup of China

This week’s word is…

✨ LAUGH ✨

Find it in any WIP and share the sentence containing it! Reply, reblog, stick it in the tags, tag us in a new post, or keep it private.

All fandoms, all ships, all writers welcome.

[sscrambledmeggss]

some very random niff and kurt headcanons

(because I love them)

Jeff and Kurt share the same room in Dalton, and that's kind of how they became friends ( it went something like "hi, I'm Jeff, and we're now friends).

Because Nick spends all of his time at Jeff's and Kurt's (Kuff? Jert? nvm) dorm, their friendship kinda came naturally.

Jeff is a morning person, who will wake up at the crack of dawn, a habit that Kurt (who will not make up before he has his coffee), resents (ft. Kurt throwing pillows at Jeff).

somehow Jeff always knows the recent drama, so the three of them just gossip about everything.

they do karaoke a lot, and since the three of them have such different music taste, they always argue (affectionately) over what to sign

nick is almost as much as a musical enthusiast as Kurt and they watch them together (ft Jeff being clueless but also heart eyes as he watches nick rambles).

You really came into my inbox with pure serotonin I- 😭 Jeff and Kurt being roommates my beloved 🥰 these are all so cute I can’t 🥺 I literally love them so much hshdhdh

Okay but imagine Kurt and Nick making Jeff watch musical movies, but he actually knows one of the songs, and he doesn’t stop bragging about it for days 😭 like “look Nick, I knew dancing queen <3” and Nick is like “Jeff, that’s abba, they play it on the radio” 🦧

Jeff gives off “wants to be plant parent vibes” but he has an awful green thumb. So Kurt and Nick secretly take care of them for him 😭 he lets Kurt and Nick name them 🥰

Kurt teaching them how to fix cars 🥺 do they understand? No. But are the highly intrigued? Yes. 🥰

I love them so much, and they will always be a trio in my mind 😭

[things-arent-what-they-seem66]

Lucifer got the carpet to take them all over the world. He showed Adam Greece, Rome, Egypt (Where a poor worker broke the nose off a sphinx).

Adam was so amazed by how beautiful the world outside of the palace was. He had missed so much being cooped up like a bird in a cage.

Lucifer: 🎶 A whole new world 🎶

Adam: 🎶 A whole new world 🎶

Lucifer picked a fresh apple and rolled it down his sleeve to pass it to Adam, just like the guy in the market place did.

Lucifer: 🎶 A thrilling chase 🎶

Adam: 🎶 A wondrous place. 🎶

Adam and Lucifer: 🎶 For you and me. 🎶

The carpet floated over a calm river, Adam placed his head on Lucifer's shoulder and they held hands as they flew off into the moonlight.

Their tour ended in China, where they were sitting on top of a building watching the fireworks.

Adam: Tonight has been so much fun, thank you.

Lucifer: You are most welcome, Adam.

Adam knew it was time to test his "Prince".

Adam smirked as he held the apple: It's too bad Charlie couldn't come.

Lucifer: Nah, she's not a big fan of how loud fireworks are. She just likes the pretty colors.

Shit.

Lucifer: Umm, I mean, oh no....

Adam snatched his hat off his head: You are the guy from the market place! Why did you lie to me?

Lucifer: Adam!

Adam: Did you think I was fucking stupid!? That I wouldn't figure it out? Tell me the truth, who are you?

Lucifer gulped: The Truth?

Adam: Yes.

Lucifer knew he couldn't tell him the truth, the real truth sounded crazy. He got a magical Genie to make him a Prince to win Adams love.

Yeah, they would lock him up.

Lucifer: The truth is, I just sometimes dress like a commoner, to escape the pressure of palace life.

Adam eyed him: Why didn't you just tell me that?

Lucifer: I thought you would think it was weird. Royalty dressing up and going to the market? Sounds strange right? I really am a Prince.

Adam hummed: Not that strange.

Adam placed his hat back on Lucifer's head and cupped his face. He leaned in and kissed him.

Lucifer hugged Adam around his waist and pulled him close, deepening the kiss only a little.

A little later, Lucifer brought Adam home and dropped him off on his balcony. They kissed one more time.

Lucifer watched Adam go inside, the Prince turned around and winked at him. It made Lucifer's heart skip a beat. Adam went inside.

Lucifer: Yes!

Lucifer floated down on the carpet, he was so happy.

And then he was grabbed.

Alastor: Make sure him and his sister are never found. The throne is mine you little prick.

Lucifer glared that was the same guy from before! Adam was in danger! He was hit in the back of the head and everything went black.

-

Adam hummed happily as he fixed his hair for bed. He was so in love he felt silly.

Sera: Adam dear....

His mom sounded funny.

Adam: Oh mom, I had the most wonderful time!

Sera: That's good Adam, I have found you a husband.

Adam stopped, his smile fell: What?

Sera: You will marry Alastor.

Alastor grinned down at him, he had to admit the Prince was a rather handsome young man.

Adam: WHAT!?! But mom I choose Prince Lucas!

Alastor: Prince Lucas is gone.

(Aladdin AU)

*Alastor the chief advisor of Queen Sera waited for a pimp named Valentino to meet him, standing by Alastor was his assistant Vox, a man who had the ability to hypnotize people which Alastor used to hypnotize the Queen, thankfully Valentino arrived*

Alastor: You are late.

Valentino: A thousand apologies Lord Alastor.

*Valentino bowed and Vox glared at the slimy pimp in disgust*

Valentino: Is this the cave?

*the men men stood in front of a cave that was shaped like a tiger’s head, it made Alastor think of Prince Adam’s beloved pet tiger Lute who would bite anyone who made the young man uncomfortable*

Vox: This is the Cave of Wonders.

Cave of Wonders: Who disturbs my slumber.

Valentino: It is, Valentino.

Cave of Wonders: Only one may enter here, the Diamond in the Rough.

Alastor: What are you waiting for? Go on.

*Valentino slowly approached the cave and when he stepped in the mouth closed crushing Valentino leaving blood and guts everywhere*

Vox: Great, another failure.

Cave of Wonders: Seek me out the Diamond in the Rough.

*the royal guards chased a short blonde young man clutching a loaf of bread with a slightly younger woman running alongside him, they were Lucifer and Charlie, a brother and sister who had to steal to survive*

Lucifer: All this for a loaf of bread.

Captain of the Guards: I will have your hands for a trophy.

*Lucifer ran until he found Rosie, a woman who was friends with their mother, who pulled them into her home until the guards went away, when they Lucifer and Charlie left they sat down while Lucifer tore the bread in half so he could share it with Charlie, but they saw a pair of homeless children who needed food more than either of them did*

Lucifer: You can have this.

*Lucifer handed his half of the bread to the older child*

Charlie: You can have mine too.

*Charlie handed her half of the bread to the younger child, it was another night without food, but the children being fed was more important, Lucifer saw a crowd gathering, it was a princess named Lilith riding into the city seeking the hand of Sera’s beloved son and Prince Adam in marriage*

Guy #1: Another Princess for Prince Adam to reject.

Guy #2: Why doesn't he just pick someone?

Lucifer sighed, Adam was the Prince Heaven, Queen Sera's only child after her husband the King passed away when Adam was still in diapers.

The children from before ran out into the street.

Lilith: Ugh! You little brats!

She went to whip them and Lucifer ran out and took the whip to his arm.

Lucifer: If I were as rich as you, I would be able to afford some manners.

Lilith: Out of my way!

She kicked him into the mud.

Lucifer: Look Charlie! It's not every day you see a horse with two asses!

Everyone laughed.

Lilith glared: You're nothing but a filthy street rat. You'll die a street rat and only your flees will mourn you!

The palace gates closed as Lucifer charged them.

Lucifer: I don't have flees..... Bitch. I hope Prince Adam rejects you.

-

A few hours later and Princess Lilith was storming out of the room.

Lilith: GOOD LUCK MARRYING HIM OFF!!

Sera: Leaving so ...... Soon?

Lilith had some of her dress missing as she stormed out.

Sera: Adam.....

Adam was sitting by the pond with his pet tiger Lute.

Sera: Adam! Adam! Oh confound it Lute!

Adam: Oh Lute was only playing with that spoiled princess Lilith. Weren't you girl? Hehehe.

Sera did not look impressed.

Sera: Adam my dear, you know the law, you have to get married-

Adam: To someone of royal statues I know. But mom if I do get married one day I want it to be for love.

[nalasan]

Will China Cups and Top Hats ever continue? Either way, best kurtbastian fic I've ever come across, you've created a wonderful world to get lost in

Hey Nonnie, thank you for the ask <3

The short answer is: yes, definitely.

The longer answer is: I've managed small writing sessions over the last couple months. Most of the remaining chapters currently have between 2k and 5k words - the problem is that at least three of them will come close to the 10k mark once they're finished, which means there's a lot of work left to do. My plan is to finish the story this year, but life has a habit of getting in the way (it definitely has these past weeks), and I'd hate to make promises when I don't know if I can keep them.

[birdgirlvia]

Wednesday Characters as D+F Fragrances

I’m currently heavily hyperfixated on two things: Wednesday and perfume. I decided I might as well combine the two, and have some fun with one of the most Wednesday-esque perfume houses I have ever seen, that being Death and Floral. These aren’t necessarily what I think these characters would wear, but more what they would smell like as a whole, or maybe they just fit the vibe? I don’t totally know, because this is just for fun! Use this as an interesting look into the characters, OR use it as a perfume rec list! Support small, ethical fragrance houses!!

I have the characters listed, followed by the titles of the scents and then the D+F descriptions of each scent!

Wednesday

- Damned Nightfall

     “The deepest and darkest amber blended with violets, black labdanum, vanilla absolute, espresso absolute, fresh cocoa beans, and honey”

- Queen of Moths

     “Incense, rich chocolate, decaying flowers, tobacco, dark woods, attic dust”

- She was the storm

     “Black hemlock, driftwood, hay absolute, dreamy sandalwood, spiced oudh, dried fruits, dead leaves”

Tyler

- Someday I’ll get on that train

     “Earth grass underfoot, the morning after a long rainy spring night. Warm morning air and the far off scent of sweet tobacco and forgotten linens swaying in the early breeze”

- ‘Tis the season to acknowledge the void

     “Black musk, black amber, pinyon pine needles, and the knowledge that time's arrow marches on. Contains a very slim profile of warm nuttiness, black coffee, and dark cocoa beans”

- We took the gig for the mileage writeoff

     “A waft of a gasoline puddle outside of the stop’n’go, quiet night air surrounding the car parked under flickering fluorescent lights, a tiny tinge of salty sweat, the milky scent of quiet and happy dog feet, asleep in the backseat”

Enid

- Girls and graves

     “Sugare’d grapefruit, pink musk, soft cherry blossoms, fluffy pink clouds of fairy floss”

- Time marches on

     “Fluffy blend of blue and pink cotton candy, early morning English ivy, and light spring rain”

- Pop Donuts

     “Pink and blue frosted donuts, blended with maple syrup and blueberry jam”

Xavier

- I was born a bitch, I was born a painter

     “Sweet basil and violets, blended with Spanish moss, yarrow oil, and blue musk”

- Whispers of Strange Sounds

     “Creaking floorboard wood, sweet olive tree, dark patchouli and rye, overgrown ivy on abandoned brick”

- It’s beginning to look a lot like [REDACTED]

     “Glidingly smooth fresh pen ink, warm vetiver and red leaves”

Bianca

- I could never stay long enough on the shore

     “A quiet and empty beach full of barren miles of white sand, under a cool night moon. The soft smell of old, salty boardwalk wood in the air. A small hint of smoke in the air from a distant fire, warmth on the edge of the cold winter coastline”

- With the fishes and the dead

     “Black squid ink and mile long oceans. Black ambergris, black labdanum absolute, salty ocean water, and black pits of stretched out emptiness”

- Red string of fate

     “Red musk and black, burnt amber blended with golden honey and black molasses”

Morticia

- Full of fire and stars and all of October

     “Dark red wine, barrel-aged in a long abandoned cellar, blended with golden patchouli and osmanthus”

- Goth Dolly

     “Peru balsam blended with spiced sandalwood, and black lipstick accord. A tribute to womanhood and being whoever you want to be”

- The secret of wives and widows

     “A dark and mysterious blend of Arabian sandalwood, luscious vanilla, orchids and southern night air; white tea in a fine cup of china held by a figure with long painted nails”

Gomez

- I am a rich man

     “Vanilla bean cut with vetiver, swirled over raw animal musk (vegan) and blended with tuberose”

- Monsters Still Under My Bed

     “Creaky floor wood, spiced nutmeg, golden oudh, chewy tobacco, vanilla copal resins, smokey warm amber”

- The more I give to you, the more I die

     “A velvet top hat delicately blended with fancy silk robes sitting in a room made of cold stone. A tinge of cold metal mixed with the finest green absinthe and black musk”

Eugene

- Honeycomb

     “Green and floral honey, not sweetened. Deep Honey of the earth. Blended with 100% beeswax absolute”

- Happier than a corgi on stilts

     “Warm blueberry bread muffins and furry corgi fur, with hints of musky toe beans and shaven saw-wood”

- Sweet tea in the summer

     “Honey and sugar swirling in iced tea, white florals, ginger, coconut cream, Egyptian musk”

Sheriff Galpin

- 11 days in December

     “The scent of an abandoned car, wet footprints leading to a path, an exotic mystery trail of citrus, spice, dust, and oil”

- That’s a rock fact!

     “Wet rocks and spooky darkened trees, damp grass underfoot and a glistening tinge of being followed”

- The wolf only needs luck to find you once

     “Crisp forest night air, lunar musk, large drifting oakwood trees, the musky scent of a trailing shadow”

Principal Weems

- The same way I am in love with the moon

     “Palo santo blended with smoked sandalwood and a lunar accord. Deep and reminiscent of a breezy night under a looming full moon”

- The library, still burning down with us

     “Burnt edges of books, the overpowering scent of gasoline wafting around the wooden banister, wax candles melting on a desk”

- Ray

     “A comfy leather armchair on a chilly autumn night, surrounded by the scent of piles upon piles of books, sweet cigars from an open box, and a nice cup of Lapsang Souchong tea”

Miss Thornhill

- The soft crunch of bread and bones

     “Flakey coconut French madeleines, stifling bakery air, vanilla cremé and crunchy macarons, the last sip of green tea with a mysterious lover”

- Two cups of tea, a summer monsoon, and me and you

     “Rain on cracked soil, wet creosote, a swelling monsoon, desert cedar, black tea”

- You are our May Queen!

     “A sinister floral blend of chrysanthemums, hyacinths, and bright red poppies laid on a bed of stark white linen sitting upon a pile of bluegrass. Blended with green tea and hallucinogenic juniper leaves. Warm, inviting, and completely unnerving”

[ahorseofeverycolor]

It’s My Little Monday! With...Twice As Fancy Scoops! Scoops is the TAF pony who was only released with the Satin Slipper Sweet Shoppe playset. The play set is as the name suggests, shaped like a giant baby shoe with a swirl-cone theme ice cream counter. The shoe can be carried by the pink bow on top that serves as the handle. It is hinged on one side to split the shoe in half (ish) to open it for play. The floor is checkered like an old fashion ice cream shop. Why ice cream in a shoe? Why a baby human shoe? It’s an abstract shoe too, because it has to have no toe and be unenclosed so you can actually use it. Ice cream shoes aside though... Scoops herself is quite a nice pony. It is interesting that they chose to make her a TAF, she didn’t have to be, but Fifi of the salon was too. She has ice cream tall sundae-cup symbol all over, and a small one for her cheek. She came with an apron & soda-shop style cloth cap to manage her shop.  Her pose is appropriate for going behind the counter, and she does look nice in the play set. The story of the shop is that Scoops was excited to open it, but nobody knew it was open yet. So she flew into the air (Randomly it seems like almost any pony can fly even though they shouldn’t) and sculpted a cloud to look like an ice cream cone & threw ‘rainbow dew’ on it to look like sprinkles. Anyone who saw it could follow it to the shop & get ice cream. North Star (So Soft) chooses Roseberry and Slugger wants Strawberry with Hot Fudge. Then, she is very happy to run the shop. Roseberry seems to be a fictional flavor, which is a nice touch. Knowing Slugger’s favorite flavors are strawberry and chocolate is a fun detail for his character. While the stories don’t always make sense, it is a nice touch that they add details to other, unrelated ponies in them.  Why are there “Two Scoops”? Ice cream pun IS intended. It’s because the bolder colored one is the China version, and the other is Hong Kong. As you can see, the China one appears to age better somehow. She’s still a crisp, bright white. Her symbols are brighter, but her eye is the same color as the ice cream. (Oddly, her apron/hat are also brighter) HK’s has a different, 3rd color for her eye. This is another one of the “Got to have both” that I encounter. Variations are pretty and attract me to collect them. 

[airandangels]

I've never read much about the costuming for M*A*S*H so my thoughts about it are informed only by observation. I've got a semi-baked concept that sitcom costuming in particular is somewhat akin to cartoon costuming - the characters don't wear exactly the same outfit all the time, but they often have a type of outfit or garment that recurs and keeps their look consistent (eg Eleanor's tops and sweaters with rainbow designs in The Good Place), and I was thinking about that today (I've been rewatching the whole series over the past few weeks, as you may have noticed).

Obviously most of the cast is in some variation of army uniform most of the time, and the most attention-getting part of the wardrobe for years was Klinger's outfits. Even after he mostly gives up on cross-dressing and costumes, he still makes himself visually different a lot of the time by wearing a Toledo Mud Hens jersey and baseball cap (I have however read that it was actually a Texas Rangers cap because they couldn't find a real Mud Hens one and the Rangers cap was at least the right colours with a T on the front). I also like how he never gets rid of some of his feminine clothing - he keeps on wearing a bright pink plush dressing gown, and there was a scene in the episode "Give 'Em Hell, Hawkeye" where he goes to get a bottle out of his footlocker and first takes out what looks like pink lingerie, implying either that he still wears it sometimes or at least that he wants to hold onto it for sentimental value.

You can also see character development reflected in Margaret's wardrobe; as she becomes less of an antagonist/martinet and more of a tough friend, she wears more soft and casual-looking sweaters and cardigans, and the black turtleneck she often wore in early seasons falls out of rotation (which I regret because she looked terrific in it). She also has a range of happi coats/kimono-style jackets that are her casual.party-wear equivalent of the boys' ubiquitous Hawaiian shirts. Margaret's hair and make-up have never reflected the supposed period of the show but it's particularly noticeable when she wears teeshirts that she's either not wearing a bra or just a soft-cupped type that I'm not sure existed in the 50s.

Father Mulcahy's wardrobe never changes appreciably because Mulcahy doesn't need to change; he begins as a good, kind, helpful person and remains a good, kind, helpful person whose convictions aren't altered by his experiences except to make him increasingly broad-minded in his compassion. He sports a black turtleneck and a dirty white Panama hat with his fatigues and silver crucifix throughout, and we sometimes see him in Loyola sweats to reinforce his athleticism (also to make him look soft and cuddly).

Henry Blake (mayherestinpeace) of course was seldom in correct uniform, wearing his fishing vest and hat as much as possible, so you always knew he wanted to be elsewhere doing something recreational, not professional; Colonel Potter is much more regulation in his dress but likes to wear his cavalry hat (and sometimes an odd cowboy hat that appears to be made of cardboard) and occasionally breaks out a glorious item like his brown and white horsie cardigan. His variations from uniform represent what he loves (horsies) but not a lack of commitment to his role. He's kept his earlier uniforms going back to WWI, as he represents continuity, pride in service but a growing weariness and grief at the futile repeating cycle of wars to end wars.

There is really no need to say anything about Frank Burns.

Major Winchester wears his uniform the most formally and neatly of any of the officers, because he's a gentleman who maintains Standards regardless of where he is. I think he expresses his individuality more in his personal effects, like his red velvet pillow and fine china tea-set.

Everyone seems to have a different bathrobe or dressing-gown, some of them very grubby-looking (Colonel Potter's in particular is so cruddy it's hard to see the point of having a shower and then putting it back on). Hawkeye's stands out not only because of its rich red colour (or purple if he's writing his will) but because it's not a civilian dressing-gown, it's a convalescent robe issued to patients, creating an association with being ill or wounded, all the time. He obviously loves his Hawaiian shirts and his straw cowboy hat.

BJ, I think, is actually the person other than Klinger who messes with his uniform the most. He wears a jacket with the sleeves cut off, he wears bright red braces, he wears an assortment of henley tops of which the pink one is only the most alluring, he has an extremely silly straw hat for party time, and of course much of the time he wears high-top Chuck Taylor sneakers instead of army boots. Hawkeye is the person who complains the most verbally about being in the army but BJ seems to be registering his protest visually through the clothes he wears (in addition to his cheesy moustache). I also like his comfy grey sweatshirt with the sleeves hacked off, and he is the most enjoyable member of the male cast to see with his shirt off. I find him pleasingly chaotic and choose to believe this is how he dresses in his time off at home too.

that's all I have about that at the moment