#heir to a railroad fortune?

[angrykidnomoney]

Snitch Backstory

The Thumbsucker needs more love. I feel like this guy is the least-loved of the 92sies, but I've always had a soft spot for him. So, here's an elaborate backstory with main character energy that no one asked for:

Snitch was born Nathaniel Kester, the eldest son of William Kester, a ruthless railroad magnate who built his fortune by exploiting laborers and crushing unions. Growing up in a sprawling mansion in upstate New York, Nathaniel was destined to inherit his father’s empire. However, from an early age, he witnessed the harsh realities behind his family’s wealth: workers facing unsafe conditions, children his age breaking their backs, and his father’s disregard for human life.

His father was equally cruel at home, enforcing strict discipline and punishing any sign of weakness or rebellion. Nathaniel's younger siblings looked to him for protection, but even he couldn’t shield them from their father’s wrath. As Nathaniel grew older, he began to challenge his father’s authority, which only escalated the abuse.

At age 15, after a particularly brutal confrontation where his father beat him for voicing sympathy for striking workers, Nathaniel fled. He hopped a freight train to Manhattan, taking only the clothes on his back and a stolen pocketful of cash. In the city, he quickly realized that survival required more than money; he needed allies.

When he stumbled upon a group of newsies in a heated argument with a policeman, Nathaniel immediately admired their courage and sense of camaraderie. They took him in, dubbing him "Snitch" as he was a bit of a tattle tale (hard to shed the lessons of a "proper" upbringing!)—though they soon realized he could use his knack for observation to gather valuable information.

Snitch thrived among the newsies, and he developed a fierce loyalty to Jack and the Manhattan crew. His privileged upbringing made him resourceful; he taught the others how to recognize counterfeit coins and find loopholes in rules.

Despite fitting in, Snitch kept his past a secret. He feared his father’s influence and worried the newsies would reject him if they knew the truth. The only person who knows part of his story is Itey. Feeling he could trust him, Snitch admitted that he came from a wealthy family, but didn’t reveal his father’s identity. A loyal friend, Itey never said a word to the others.

When Pulitzer raises the price of papes, Snitch is torn. He knows all too well how powerful men like Pulitzer operate—they won’t yield without a fight. The strike becomes personal when he learns that Pulitzer is working with his father to block union efforts across the city.

Snitch’s dual identity leaves him in a tense state. On one hand, he is fiercely loyal to the newsies and their cause. On the other, he fears that his past could ruin everything if he's exposed as being linked to the enemy. His father's shadow looms large; Snitch knows that if he’s discovered, his father will do whatever it takes to drag him back and crush the efforts of his friends.

As the strike escalates, Snitch discovers critical information: his father is planning to bring in scab workers by train to replace striking laborers across the city. This knowledge gives the newsies an advantage, but revealing it means confessing his true identity.

Eventually, Snitch admits his lineage to the group, expecting rejection. Instead, Jack and the others rally around him, recognizing the courage it took to stand up to his father and risk everything for his found family. Armed with Snitch’s insider knowledge, the newsies execute a daring plan to sabotage the scab train, forcing Kester into a corner. Pulitzer is made weaker by it, and the rest of the strike plays out in the favor of the newsies.

By the end of the strike, Snitch has fully embraced his new family and shed his past. Though he knows his father won’t stop searching for him, he is ready to face whatever comes next, as long as he has his fellow newsies. Family isn’t just about blood—it’s about the bonds you choose to fight for.

[robertreich]

From Robber Barons to Bezos: Is History Repeating Itself?

Ultra-wealthy elites…Political corruption…Vast inequality…

These problems aren’t new — in the late 1800s they dominated the country during America’s first Gilded Age.

We overcame these abuses back then, and we can do it again.

Mark Twain coined the moniker “The Gilded Age” in his 1873 novel to describe the era in American history characterized by corruption and inequality that was masked by a thin layer of prosperity for a select few.

The end of the 19th century and start of the 20th marked a time of great invention — bustling railroads, telephones, motion pictures, electricity, automobiles — which changed American life forever.

But it was also an era of giant monopolies — oil, railroad, steel, finance — run by a small group of men who had grown rich beyond anything America had ever seen.

They were known as ��robber barons” because they ran competitors out of business, exploited workers, charged customers exorbitant prices, and lived like royalty as a result.

Money consumed politics. Robber barons and their lackeys donated bundles of cash to any lawmaker willing to do bidding on their behalf. And when lobbying wasn’t enough, the powerful turned to bribery — resulting in some of the most infamous political scandals in American history.

The gap between the rich and poor in America reached astronomical levels. Large numbers of Americans lived in squalor.

Anti-immigrant sentiment raged, leading to the enactment of racist laws to restrict immigration. And voter suppression, largely aimed at Black men who had recently won the right to vote, was rampant.

The era was also marked by dangerous working conditions. Children often as young as 10, but sometimes younger, worked brutal hours in sweatshops. Workers trying to organize labor unions were attacked and killed.

It seemed as if American capitalism was out of control, and American democracy couldn’t do anything about it because it was bought and paid for by the rich.

But Americans were fed up, and they demanded reform. Many took to the streets in protest.

Investigative journalists, often called “muckrakers” then, helped amplify their cries by exposing what was occurring throughout the country.

And a new generation of political leaders rose to end the abuses.

Politicians like Teddy Roosevelt, who warned that, “a small class of enormously wealthy and economically powerful men, whose chief object is to hold and increase their power,” could destroy American democracy.

After becoming president in 1901, Roosevelt used the Sherman Antitrust Act to break up dozens of powerful corporations, including the giant Northern Securities Company which had come to dominate railroad transportation through a series of mergers.

Seeking to limit the vast fortunes that were creating a new American aristocracy, Congress enacted a progressive income tax through the 16th Amendment, as well as two wealth taxes.

The first wealth tax, in 1916, was the estate tax — a tax on the wealth someone accumulated during their lifetime, paid by the heirs who inherited it. The second tax on wealth, enacted in 1922, was a capital gains tax — a tax on the increased value of assets, paid when those assets were sold.

The reformers of the Gilded Age also stopped corporations from directly giving money to politicians or political candidates.

And then Teddy Roosevelt’s fifth cousin — you may have heard of him — continued the work through his New Deal programs — creating Social Security, unemployment insurance, a 40-hour workweek, and requiring that employers bargain in good faith with labor unions.

But following the death of FDR and the end of World War II, when America was building the largest middle class the world had ever seen — we seemed to forget about the abuses of the Gilded Age.

Now, more than a century later, America has entered a second Gilded Age.

It is also a time of extraordinary invention.

And a time when monopolies are taking over vast swathes of the economy, so we must renew antitrust enforcement to bust up powerful companies.

Now, another generation of robber barons is accumulating unprecedented money and power. So once again, we must tax these exorbitant fortunes.  

Wealthy individuals and big corporations are once again paying off lawmakers, sending them billions to conduct their political campaigns, even giving luxurious gifts to Supreme Court justices. So we need to protect our democracy from Big Money, just as we did before.

Voter suppression runs rampant in the states as during the first Gilded Age, making it harder for people of color to participate in what’s left of our democracy. So it’s once again critical to defend and expand voting rights.

Working people are once again being exploited and abused, child labor is returning, unions are busted, the poor are again living in unhealthy conditions, homelessness is on the rise, and the gap between the ultra-rich and everyone else is nearly as large as in the first Gilded Age. So once again we need to protect the rights of workers to organize, invest in social safety nets, and revive guardrails to protect against the abuses of great wealth and power.

The question now is the same as it was at the start of the 20th century: Will we fight for an economy and a democracy that works for all rather than the few?

We’ve done it before. We can — and must — do it again.

[sparklepocalypse]

Happy Sunday!

Thanks to @onthewaytosomewhere, @kiwiana-writes, @faketrex, @blueeyedgrlwrites, @myheartalivewrites, aaaaand

@thesleepyskipper and @stellarmeadow for the tags! (Is Tumblr still doing the only 5 tags per line thing? So dumb.)

As of this weekend, I have tentatively dusted off the @aroyallybigbangrwrb document after a month and a half of absolute brainfarts! There are currently 700-ish more words in the doc than yesterday morning, but I'm trying not to be too loud and scare the muse back to the decidedly easier-to-write smut epic I've been speed-running through recently. So, six seven sentences from Meet Me on the other Side (and some tags!) comin' atcha under the jump.

Henry is many things, but getting married is decidedly not one of them. He’s known this since Eton, and suspects his mother and grandmother have known even longer. This hasn’t, of course, prevented Her Majesty the Queen from pressing him into an engagement with an unsuspecting mining heiress in the American West who’d romanticized the notion of being a princess, after it’d become clear that none of the eligible society women of Great Britain would debase themselves by marrying a reputed navigator of the windward passage. The Americans’ transcontinental railroad is truly a marvel of modern engineering. But to Henry, the private rail car that followed the private and cramped saloon class berth aboard the Britannic may as well be a military transport sending him to the front lines of one of Her Majesty’s several colonial wars.  “You needn’t look so glum, Henry,” Philip says from behind his newspaper with a tone of barely restrained botheration. “This time next week, you’ll be a husband and heir to a mining fortune through your wife, and once you’ve got her in the family way, you can fritter away your time at the gentlemen’s club like all the other married men with similar… inclinations.”

If there's something less than no pressure, that's what I'm applying when I call on @hgejfmw-hgejhsf, @priincebutt, @whimsymanaged, @gayrootvegetable, @rockyroadkylers,

@duchessdepolignaca03, @porcelainmortal, @wordsofhoneydew, @lostcol, @thinkof-england,

@orchidscript, @cha-melodius, @thesleepyskipper, @firenati0n, and literally anyone who would like an open tag to show me what you got!

[fountainpenguin]

130 Reasons Why I'm Fairy Trash

💛 Yellow Train Arc

(July 2016 - Ongoing)

“Those aren’t El Rules.” “They are the rules of social Fairy etiquette. And thus, I am bound to uphold them as a graceful swan protects her eggs.” “Well, I wish you weren’t.” “It does not work that way, child. You can wish for your desires until your heart overflows like a piñata of dreams, but you cannot force me to deviate from the honor code I ascribe to. I simply wouldn’t be me.”

Drama, Fluff, & Angst

Prompts related to Remy and Juandissimo

Summary

Juandissimo (a fairy godparent with a string of deaths and emotional damage attached to his name) waited 12 years for the latest Buxaplenty heir to tip into misery. Can you blame him for getting so attached to the little brat, he'd do anything - even defy El Rules themselves - to make him smile? Remy is a boy without a single friend. What- Did you expect him NOT to fall in with the chaotic duo who seem more interested in him than the Buxaplenty fortune? They could talk forever about those memories that ended up back in his head... ... No ulterior motives involved, I'm sure.

Rated Gen and T

Read on FFN | Read this arc on AO3

130 Sums | Full 130 Prompts Series (AO3) | Other Arcs

Cloudlands AU - Detailed warnings & other AU info

#130 arc guides - More posts like this

More Fairly OddParents 'fics

Highlights of this arc:

- Juandissimo comes down with the Fairy Flu. Not sure who else to turn to, Remy seeks Timmy in the middle of the night. - After Remy's mother (pregnant with him at the time) discovers magic, Juandissimo is tasked to watch over her until her memories can be erased. Yeah, so far she sucks. - Juandissimo defies Da Rules and returns Remy's magical memories. Consequences? Let them fall where they may. - What did Remy do with his rule-free fairyversary muffin anyway? - When Timmy is accused of murdering the Head Pixie, Remy and Juandissimo engage in detective work to prove his innocence. Nobody dies, but try telling that to creatures who communicate with pheromones. - Remy faces down magical enemies on a train. Eat your heart out, railroad king. - A person of questionable motives gets their grubby hands on Remy's yoo-doo doll. Yeah, I think we can all see where this is going.

Read on FFN | Read this arc on AO3

"Was a spoiled, selfish brat and I really regret that... I always caused problems for you..." (x)

[mariacallous]

According to filings released by the US Federal Election Commission on Tuesday night, Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX and owner of X, is now one of the biggest donors to Donald Trump’s campaign. Since publicly endorsing Trump on the heels of the July assassination attempt against him in Butler, Pennsylvania, Musk has donated close to $75 million to his own political action committee, America PAC, which is aggressively campaigning on the ground in swing states for the Trump campaign.

Musk has been one of many Silicon Valley elites who have expressed their support for Trump. Peter Thiel, billionaire and cofounder of Palantir, has been a longtime Trump supporter (though he said he would not be donating to candidates in 2024), and venture capitalist David Sacks, who is also a friend of Musk’s, has also thrown his support to the Republicans. Trump has also received support from PACs and individuals in the crypto space.

But Musk has put more money into the Trump campaign than nearly any other individual from the tech industry. In addition to his support for the America PAC, he also donated more than $289,000 to the National Republican Congressional Committee. While some companies and institutions in Silicon Valley, like venture firm Andreessen Horowitz, have backed Trump, individual donors from those same companies may not. For instance, Marc Andreessen and his business partner Ben Horowitz each donated $2.5 million to the pro-Trump Right for America PAC last quarter. Andreessen has also donated to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee; Horowitz has backed Democratic campaigns as well, and in early October said he would support Harris rather than Trump going forward.

The graphic below focuses specifically on donations that help Trump directly, rather than GOP giving more broadly. You can see a breakdown of how much each person gave—and where the money went—by scrolling over or tapping each name.

Sacks donated only $6,600 to Trump’s campaign directly, but $114,500 to the Republican National Committee and $250,000 to the Trump 47 PAC. Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, who run the crypto exchange Gemini, each donated more than $350,000 to the Make America Great Again PAC, which supports the Trump campaign. The twins also donated $250,000 each to the America PAC. Shaun Maguire, a partner at the venture firm Sequoia Capital, has donated $500,000 to the America PAC, $300,000 to the Trump 47 PAC, and $6,600 to the Trump campaign directly. Billionaire and early Tesla backer Antonio Gracias donated $1 million to the America PAC, as did Palantir cofounder and venture capitalist Joe Lonsdale. Kenneth Howery, a PayPal Mafia member and former ambassador to Sweden under Trump, put $1 million into America PAC in addition to smaller direct contributions to the Trump campaign.

Musk has contributed more to the Trump campaign than all of them combined, several times over. That puts him in a league with Trump’s most lavish donors, including Miriam Adelson, the widow of Sheldon Adelson, who donated $95 million to the pro-Trump Preserve America PAC over the past three months—including $45 million in September alone. Billionaire Timothy Mellon, heir to the Mellon railroad fortune, remains the campaign’s largest donor, having put at least $115 million in the Make America Great Again PAC just this year.

Musk’s largesse, combined with his vocal support of Trump on the platform he controls, has been a windfall for Trump in an increasingly close presidential race. He’ll continue trying to get out the vote in person this weekend with a series of appearances in Pennsylvania.

[servants-hall]

‘The Gilded Age’ Season 2 Behind the Scenes: How Fashion Defines Each Character (PHOTOS)

by Kelli Boyle

Julian Fellowes, the creator of Downton Abbey (2011-2016) [mod note: on PBS in the US], set that upstairs-downstairs series at a palatial British estate on the eve of World War I. He moved his newest costume drama Stateside to the streets of New York City. Set in the late 1800s, The Gilded Age, which has its second-season premiere on Sunday, October 29 on HBO (streaming on Max), pits the new money of railroad barons against the old money of New York society. The powerful fight for control of the city and use their wealth to measure social success. And dressing for success was its own full-time occupation.

When researching women’s fashion in 1800s New York, the show’s costume designer Kasia Walicka-Maimone saw one thing clearly: “Their life was a catwalk. There was this enormous excitement” when the ladies trekked the bustling, dusty streets of Manhattan. Her job was to recreate that excitement for contemporary viewers of The Gilded Age.

Fashion as a Sign of Status

Who’s doing all this promenading? Marian Brook (Louisa Jacobson) arrived in NYC with no money and was taken in by her aunts Ada (Cynthia Nixon) and Agnes (Christine Baranski), both living off an inheritance. Then the newly affluent Russells—headed by railroad baron George (Morgan Spector) and wife Bertha (Carrie Coon), who is determined to break into polite society—moved in across the street.

Ada Brook (Cynthia Nixon) and Agnes van Rhijn (Christine Baranski) head to church on Easter morning in ‘The Gilded Age’ Season 2 premiere. Niece Marian Brook (Louisa Jacobson) follows close behind (Credit: Barbara Nitke/HBO)

The frill thrills continue in Season 2, especially in a pivotal garden party scene (pictured below) that TV Insider observed being filmed in September 2022 at New York’s lavish Old Westbury Gardens estate. (Westbury House was previously home to an heir of the Phipps family, real-life Gilded Age figures whose patriarch made his fortune alongside Andrew Carnegie at his steel company.) On set was Fellowes, whose smart black suit and tie were the only dark hues around.

Gladys Russell (Taissa Farmiga), George Russell (Morgan Spector), and Bertha Russell (Carrie Coon) step out for Easter mass in ‘The Gilded Age’ Season 2 premiere (Credit: Barbara Nitke/HBO)

Historically Accurate Costumes

It’s a testament to the wardrobe department that the stunning colors of the sprawling grounds nearly pale in comparison to the vibrancy of the women’s period garb. Despite the sepia-toned images in history books, Walicka-Maimone says, those bright tints are decidedly historically accurate. She has a library of more than 35,000 reference images to prove it.

“It’s shocking to our modern eye to see the explosion of color from that period,” she said. Production designer Bob Shaw (who won an Emmy for his work on Gilded Age) was present to share his creative process, which, just as Walicka-Maimone described of her own work, is “deeply steeped in history.”

Nicole Brydon Bloom joins the cast for Season 2, pictured here at the garden party with Blake Ritson’s Oscar van Rhijn (Credit: Barbara Nitke/HBO)

He does note that, when deciding between “what is correct and what feels correct,” the latter always wins. Creative liberties are taken to “build [character] histories into the costumes,” Walicka-Maimone added.

A Garden Party to Remember

Take Brit newcomers Dashiell Montgomery (David Furr) and his daughter, Frances (Matilda Lawler), for example. Nephew by marriage to Baranski’s Agnes, Dashiell requires more “toned-down” attire suitable for social outings, which contrasts with Season 1’s primarily business and formal menswear.

Aurora Fane (Kelli O’Hara) and husband Charles Fane (Ward Horton) attend the garden party in ‘The Gilded Age’ Season 2 (Credit: Barbara Nitke/HBO)

Dashiell must escort Frances through society in his late wife’s absence. One consideration for Walicka-Maimone: “This is a girl who doesn’t have a mother, so there’s probably extra care from all the other family members in [dressing her],” she said.

Meanwhile, Marian, who Jacobson said is “shining this season and sees herself in [younger] Frances,” will be more open to a strategic marriage. Marian’s “not necessarily cynical” after being jilted by Tom Raikes (Thomas Cocquerel) in last season’s finale, the actress continued, but the heartbreak gives her a “spice and edge.”

Don’t count out the possibility of a romance with Larry Russell (Harry Richardson), son of the railroad titan, which was teased last year. Jacobson shared: “They will definitely continue to deepen their friendship.” Old money and new money unite!

[wisteria-project-archives]

T!Wis's story - the long version ❤️

[MTAS and MTAP spoilers below]

🪙 Childhood

When they married, Viktor Willows and Sophia Willows brought together two heads of the biggest industries in the Alliance: Viktor, banking and finances, and Sophia, the railroad. Obviously, to preserve their fortunes and their names, they wished to have children who would grow up to prosperous futures. Outside all the material needs for their children (a life of comfort, the best education money could buy, the smartest and most resourceful people in the Alliance mere handshakes away), they wanted to truly cover all of their bases. That included on a spiritual front, despite neither having really grown up with particularly superstitious beliefs.

And so they paid a visit to the most famous soothsayer in the world, in the capital of Seesai, who read the stars and their energies and compatibilities and all sorts to determine the best way to go about the future, including how many children to have. Three, the soothsayer said. Three children, no more, no less, and their business and family would be prosperous and well.

Viktor and Sophia were able to have two children themselves; first their son Diamantis, then their daughter Chrysanthi. But they sadly found themselves unable to produce another child, so in a panic, they turned to adoption.

Meanwhile, V5!Wis and her father were still in the process of adopting out the other clones. Vega 5 was their facilitator, helping them seek out potential good families. Once they got word that the wealthy Willows family was looking to adopt a child, they pressured the Lins to let them adopt the next clone. Not only would it be a boost for their reputations, but help Vega 5 score a potential private funding partner. The Lins weren't entirely sold on the Willows' potential to be a good family for a clone; their fame and prominent standing in society was actually the exact opposite of what they wanted. They aimed for more ordinary people, focused on making the best for themselves and those around them, not entirely clouded by external ambition. But as time passed, Vega 5's pressure only grew, and they were all but forced to let the Willows take the next clone in.

T!Wis's childhood wasn't entirely bad. Her parents doted on all of their children, fostering their interests. While her siblings took interest in the family business and the cutthroat world of politics, Wis was intrigued by the relatively humble occupation of building. A highly-respected profession across the world, essential for the continued well-being of every society, but comparatively...low class. At first, Wis's parents thought her interest in it was merely a phase. But when she was in middle school, she expressed interest in becoming a builder for a living. And that was when things started taking a turn for the worse.

While her siblings shot to the top of their school rankings with nearly every honor and award under the sun, Wis was more focused on shop classes and practical science and engineering classes. Her parents tried to dissuade her from her path, but when you tell a teenager that they're wrong and wasting their potential, they naturally only want to double down. The parental comparisons began, both among her siblings and with her classmates (which, of course, they knew all the families of). Why couldn't Wis be more like her brother and sister? Doesn't she know that building's a saturated market in Atara? She'd be a lot more secure if she goes for something better. It wasn't too late to change courses. They could get tutors. Have her shadow within the Willows' company. Her brother's the heir to the big man's chair, but certainly with enough effort they could at least get her into the C-suite...

The more time passed, the less and less Wis wanted to listen to the grumbling of her parents. Her relationship with her siblings strained as she tried to get them to realize that something was wrong. They admitted that they weren't entirely comfortable with all the things they were saying, and tried to dissuade their parents' remarks a little bit, but they ultimately still felt too intimidated to do anything drastic, fearing that displeasing them would lead to the loss of their support and their home. Far easier to lie and save face to keep the household together.

☁️ Tallsky

Wis began applying to builder academies in late high school, and her parents finally relented a little once she had received an offer from Tallsky's academy. Tallsky was known as the "City of Builders," having originated the profession as we know it today, and only continuing to foster a community of incredibly skilled builders, even entire lineages dedicated to the craft and passing techniques down through the ages. Wis's parents figured that as long as she was at the top of the building industry, maybe it'd be okay.

Wis's time at academy was a breath of fresh air. A solid 4 years away from the pressures of her family (though people did recognize her as being a Willows, which was always awkward at best), surrounded by people and a culture that was driven so much by what she was passionate about. She always dreaded going home during breaks and vacations.

After she graduated, she was to immediately start a workshop in Atara, hopefully to climb the ranks and build herself a good enough reputation there. After a year, though, whatever results she got weren't enough to satisfy her parents, once again comparing her to her older siblings, primed to take over the Willows' company at a moment's notice and freshly elected to the Alliance Counsel (the youngest member in history, no less).

At her wit's end and just a hair's breadth away from exploding entirely, Wis managed to finagle a deal out of her parents. One last chance. She'd move back to Tallsky instead and build her career there. It wasn't Atara, but for builders, it was definitely the next best thing.

And so she got herself a fresh start, but unlike her time in the academy, she wasn't terribly interested in being agreeable. She had to prove herself, and with what she experienced in Atara, she had to be able to do anything to get ahead. So while her rankings were unmatched, she quickly garnered another reputation: for being the most ruthless and deceptive builder anyone had the displeasure of working with. Don't take her offers of collaboration, she'll write you a contract to screw you out of the profits and rep points. Snatch commissions up while you can, because we're pretty sure she's exploiting legal loopholes to get more. She's not technically doing anything illegal, so we can't bring the Commerce Guild down on her. Her clients don't complain, because her work is legitimately incredibly skilled. Everyone was at a deadlock when it came to Wis.

🪻 Another her...?

One day, at a meeting with a supplier in Walnut Groove, Wis was wandering down a street filled with happy, passionate artisans, all going about their day. She didn't think very much of them. The whole culture of Walnut Groove was kind of laughable to her. So lackadaisical. No ambition. So imagine her displeasure when she suddenly sees her own face...happily throwing lopsided pots on a wheel, in a workshop on the side of a street. This was Wisteria Lark.

As it turns out....Wis's parents neglected to tell her that how she got adopted...and the fact that she was a clone. This other clone, Walnut Groove!Wis, was delighted to meet another one of them for the first time, but was immediately put off a little by her new clone sister's rather unpleasant disposition. T!Wis saw WG!Wis as everything she couldn't be. Middle of the road. Making mistakes. Happy with mediocrity. Despite that, she was convinced to give WG!Wis her address, if only to send her letters every once in a while to gloat.

Things only escalated from there, because only a few weeks later, she saw her face again. This time on every newspaper in the news stand. The Hero of Sandrock. Wisteria Cyprens. And then again just a few days later. Also in the papers, posing tranquilly next to in progress repairs in Portia, which was just devastated by the attack by the Rogue Knight. Wisteria Birck.

Her own face, elsewhere in the world, being happy and finding fame and caring people by the circumstances dropping them into their laps. While she toils around in the dust, everything she wants constantly evading her.

She angrily reached out to S!Wis and P!Wis, sending them letters and telegrams to challenge them to build-offs, demanding that they square off in order prove her superiority. Both of them, exhausted and not up for another hostile threat, especially from another clone, refused and told her to back down. Undeterred, she ventured out to Sandrock herself to give S!Wis a piece of her mind. Luckily (though it would soon be unluckily), not only was S!Wis there, but so were P!Wis and D!Wis. D!Wis happened to be traveling the world at the time and arrived in Sandrock after the invasion, and both she and P!Wis were there to see S!Wis and aid in her recovery from the invasion.

Naturally, none of them were pleased to meet the very annoyed T!Wis, and while they harshly told her to stand down, after doing some digging, they approached her again with the worst thing imaginable: pity. It seems like they managed to figure things out from what WG!Wis told them, and from news in Tallsky and what they knew about the Willows family. It doesn't have to be like this, they said. Who was T!Wis even trying to prove herself to?

❌ The Breaking Point

T!Wis abruptly left Sandrock once her sisters started trying to sympathize with her. This was even worse than dealing with her family. Or so she thought.

All the pent up resentment, combined the all the new anger towards her clone sisters, finally came crashing down the next Winter Solstice, when she returned to Atara for the holidays, and what would be the last time.

What started as an ordinary New Year's feast turned sour once Wis's career was mentioned, along with the other clones. Things escalated quickly, ending explosively as Wis screamed out all her true feelings towards her parents' treatment throughout the years, before rifling through the estate, grabbing as any valuables and her things as she could carry, and leaving for good, catching the next train to Tallsky just a few hours later.

She couldn't work for a week solid after that. Rumors quickly started churning, and Wis started feeling the walls closing in on her. She couldn't do this anymore. She had to run away. Someone where no one would talk about her, no one would recognize her, nothing.

In a desperate measure, she vented to WG!Wis in a letter, not expecting anything to come out of it. She was the only one left who she hadn't completely infuriated. To her surprise, WG!Wis offered her a place at her workshop in Walnut Groove. Being such a carefree place that hardly paid attention to rankings and things like that over the love and passion of individual craft, it was the perfect place to get away and lie low. Her name wasn't anywhere near as big there.

So T!Wis pulled some strings, striking her name from the Atara and Tallsky resident records, and set her old workshop alight. And then she saddled up a horse and made her way to Walnut Groove, to hopefully live a calmer, more fulfilled life.

💅 What's next?

T!Wis's biggest goal from here on out will be to relearn her true passion for her craft, which she lost when it got swallowed by her need to prove herself. And more importantly, how to calm tf down 💀 WG!Wis will help her accomplish that with her incredibly contrasting nature, being a serial hobbyist that chases the high of finding new passions, and T!Wis will gradually help her in turn by teaching her how to bite the bullet and strive for mastery in a craft, which requires dealing with the frustration plateaus and blocks.

Eventually she'll reconcile with her other clone sisters, and come to see them as her true family. Their eccentricities and their different approaches to life, despite them all having the same face, voice, and name, become a source of comfort for her. She doesn't have to be the one disgraced Willows, the tumor on their perfect nuclear family. She's a Wisteria. Doing her own thing like all the others.

...Perhaps until MTAE, though. Given how the background of the story is about the ever increasing tensions with Duvos, I think that a wealthy family like the Willows would start getting involved...and maybe not in good ways. We'll have to see how T!Wis manages to handle her old parents and brother potentially trying to fund war efforts along the border and in Evershine...she might have to head on over there to try and persuade P!Wis not to take their sponsorships...

Perhaps she may even try to reconcile with the Willows siblings and have them finally resolve their family conflicts for the better? 👀 Have her brother start running the business in more ethical ways and for better reasons? Maybe her sister gets voted out of office when she doesn't take the more extreme platform to bolster efforts towards all out war and T!Wis helps her to advocate for more beneficial policies at a local level? Who knows...

[adamsvanrhijn]

‘The Gilded Age’ Stars Reveal the Social Battlefronts of Season 2 (PHOTOS)

[These interviews were conducted before the SAG-AFTRA strike authorization.]

Bertha Russell (Carrie Coon) finally has her foot in the door of 1883 Manhattan society in HBO‘s The Gilded Age Season 2, but the door to the coveted Academy of Music remains closed. No matter. She’ll make the fledgling Metropolitan Opera the place to be instead! And that’s just one intrigue for The Gilded Age’s second season.

TV Insider was on set of Julian Fellowes‘ glamorous period drama in September 2022. There, we spoke with Coon, Christine Baranski, Cynthia Nixon, Louisa Jacobson, Fellowes, and the team behind the camera as they filmed a pivotal garden party scene on the lush grounds of Long Island’s Old Westbury estate. The former home to an heir of the Phipps family fortune, this was a perfect locale to host the series’ fictional steel magnates and their families.

George (Morgan Spector) and Bertha Russell are as hellbent to get to the top as ever in the new episodes, premiering October 29 on HBO and streaming on Max, and last season’s setbacks and victories will make them even more cutthroat. While George handles the money (and union troubles at his railroad), Bertha handles their social rise.

“George wants to be the richest and most powerful man in the country. That is his motivation,” Fellowes told journalists on set. “I personally don’t think he cares much about society, but he cares about his wife. And because she wants to be the dominating factor in New York society, he will support her in that and anything he can do to support her, he will do. That’s why I don’t think he cares if he knows a duchess or he’s having dinner with a princess. He could give a monkey’s toss about that. He just wants people to shake in the knee when he comes in the room, because he can break them just like that.”

“What I hope I’ve created in Bertha and George are one of those marriages where they both have quite separate fields of endeavor and each one of them is 100 percent supportive of the other one’s ambitions,” Fellowes continues, “so any way they can help, they will.”

The Russells aren’t the only well-off family with their eyes on the social prize. Below, the stars of The Gilded Age reveal the social battlefronts of Season 2.

Instead of Vying for a Seat, Bertha Makes Her Own Table

Bertha (Coon, above, with Nathan Lane) “thrives” on the bitterness her friendship with Mrs. Astor (Donna Murphy) stirs up in town, Coon says, adding, “It’s not just the other ladies who get ruffled. Mrs. Astor herself is in for a few surprises if she thinks she’s pacified Bertha by allowing her to enter society.”

When it comes to her and George’s children, Larry (Harry Richardson) and Gladys (Taissa Farmiga), Bertha has her sights set on a noteworthy marriage for her newly out daughter.

“Gladys is developing a mind of her own, much to Bertha’s chagrin. [Gladys] doesn’t always go along with what Bertha wants for her, and so we’ll see a lot of butting heads between the two of them,” Coon explains. “Larry, she doesn’t worry about. The world’s set up for Larry, but he makes some bad decisions, and it wouldn’t be like Bertha to keep her nose out of that business. She’s going to insert herself wherever she can to make sure her kids are on the right track.”

George's Past May Come Back to Haunt Him

Bertha and railroad baron husband George “are very much working in concert,” Coon says, to secure their rise, but the firing of gold-digging lady’s maid Turner (Kelley Curran) is the “monkey wrench” in their best-laid plans.

“Turner’s been dismissed, but we’ll see,” Coon warns. “That may not be the last of that lie. Bertha and George are going to have to deal with some personal issues in their marriage while they’re trying to complete this rise in society.”

Marian Searches for a Husband on Her Own Terms

Despite her money problems, Marian Brook (Jacobson) was the bright-eyed lovebird of Season 1. But being jilted by would-be husband Tom Raikes (Thomas Cocquerel) may have cast a love match out of her mind in Season 2. Nevertheless, Jacobson told us on set that Marian’s “shining this season.”

“I think she’s really stepping into herself. Having a bit of heartbreak has made her not necessarily cynical, but have a little bit of spice and edge. She’s not so timid,” she says. Timid, she’s not, but blind she may be.

Dashing neighbor Larry (Richardson) showed romantic interest in the Season 1 ender, and Jacobson says they will “continue to deepen their friendship” in Season 2 as Marian “feels relief when she’s around him.” But this former romantic may be shirking love for pragmatism like her Aunt Agnes (Baranski), much to Aunt Ada’s (Nixon) displeasure.

Agnes van Rhijn Wants Marian Married

Agnes van Rhijn experiences a tectonic shift in her relationship with sister Ada Brook.

“You’ll see a level of depth and feeling there that’s going to be quite rich,” Baranski tells TV Insider. Adds Nixon: “The power skirmishes that have been subtextual come out.”

As Marian searches for her life partner, Agnes will continue to urge her to be pragmatic, as her pragmatism saved their family from destitution after Marian’s late father squandered their family fortune.

Ada Brook Asserts Her Independence

While Nixon says that “Ada is not a rule-breaker,” the spinster will be outspoken about niece Marian not following in Agnes’ strategic footsteps when choosing a husband. Still, Ada fears Marian becoming the next Mrs. Chamberlain should she only follow her heart.

“I think [Ada’s] a person who likes to push it and try to push the envelope and sort of see what she can get,” Nixon says, “but for herself and also for her niece, she doesn’t want her to speak to Mrs. Chamberlain because there’s such a price to pay.”

As for her personal life, Ada won’t be as meek and meager this season. Her newfound independence and insistence that she can live a life separate from her sister may be what brings on that tectonic shift. Or could it be political differences as social issues, especially women’s right to vote, start to come to the surface?

[siiinfully]

starter for @kingdom-of-vanity’s doyle from: lavinia verse: main

It came as almost a shock to everyone when she revealed who her fiancé was. Many expected her to go for the heir of the railroad fortune or maybe the shipping magnate’s son, not some up-and-coming Captain poised to be the next Commissioner. Now, almost everyone in her social circle wondered if that promotion came because of the backing of the Beresford name and not because of his skill.

However, all the vapid whispers that surrounded them as she pulled her fiancé through the crowd of guests faded in the background, and she was giggling as she finally had him in a more private hallway and into her study. “Alone at last,” she murmured, kissing Doyle heatedly, her fingers feverishly working the buttons of his shirt open. One might think that he hadn’t touched her intimately for years with the way she was behaving, but she found that she could no longer wait until their wedding night to have him again.

This might be viewed as inappropriate, but when did a Beresford ever do something that society expected of them?

[heavenzscent]

Authors Note:

So as I was working on finishing up my longest fic I realized there was a lot I was unhappy with and felt that I could at least try to do better and that this would be a great exercise in improving my writing. I didn't feel right going on to the final chapters without feeling satisfied with the first.

Here is an snippet of the edited version of Return To Me. I don't plan on changing the plot just the wording. Also my sister is helping me edit which is a little embarrassing but kind of fun.

RETURN TO ME

CHAPTER ONE : INTRODUCTION

MAY 1921 

Armin Arlert, full of youth and restlessness, made the migration to the East Coast to work the stocks much like every other fellow who was trying to make a name for himself outside of the family money.

His Grandfather was an American through and through. “If you must explore, explore all this golden continent has to offer. Go on one of those railroad buffalo hunts or something, whatever you young men like to do these days.” He would say to shut Armin up every time he would mention some foreign wonder he had read about in a book or The Cosmopolitan. He believed the only reason one should leave American soil was for war or business and all the better (and more worthwhile)  if it was for both. 

Armin was now acquainted with both. 

He was no longer the college boy he once was. No longer did medicine and laboratories hold his interest, although these subjects barely had achieved this task to begin with. 

Armin was a romantic and a stargazer at heart who had been born about half a century too late. During his college days he often had daydreamed of going on Safaris on the African savannah and Jungle Cruises down the Amazon River from Peru to Brazil, but never dared upset his aging grandfather with such talk.

That had been the Armin before the war, for on the other side of the terror and hell he endured within the trenches he had also bore witness to miracles and staggering curiosities that he never thought he would have the bravery to seek out.

Verdon Gorge.

Calanques de la Piana.

 Ille-sur-tet Organs.

Aiguilles Rouges.

He had seen so much more than he had hoped yet not enough. 

Simply surviving would have been enough for someone else, but not Armin, he was only more hungry and sought to establish himself further within society, starting with the East Coast then Europe and then wherever the winds would lead him. 

Many had come back with minds broken, shorter tempers. But his affliction had embodied the form of irrepressible greed. He wasn’t more important, nor more loved then many men who hadn’t made it back past the atlantic. Nonetheless he was home and he couldn’t find it in him to squander his luck due to his devotion to a stubborn old man, even if that old man had raised him with the most caring of hands. 

His dear friend Mikasa had been uncharacteristically vocal about how she found such pursuits of wealth to be silly for those who already had it. That such adventures should be left to those less fortunate than themselves. Over the years she would often tell him that it shouldn’t be so hard to stay within the confines of the 48 states and play the good grandson until his grandfather died. Then Armin wouldn’t have to worry about being disowned from the family business. For years he had listened because, as usual, she was correct and her logic was sound. 

But he had come to understand that Mikasa, despite her intelligence, couldn't understand because she was different. She was one who took pride in her duty and wasn't one to crave much more than what was right in front of her. A rare trait in the wealthy, but then again easy to say when she was filthy rich. 

Armin was born into a life that was more fortunate than most, being the heir to a chain of bookstores that sold everything from magazines to college text books on the West Coast, as well as receiving his fathers royalties from his still beloved novels. Still he wasn’t quite as blessed as her husband Eren. Eren Jaeger.

His first and oldest friend.

They hadn’t seen one another since New Years. And since Erens relocation East, their correspondence had not been as rich as it had been in the past. Even so Armin made sure to ring and leave a message with the maid that he had settled into his home and looked forward to Eren and Mikasa’s company in the near future.

Less than three hours later a red automobile was parked in front of the modest carriage house that Armin was renting in West Egg. The driver identified himself as Dr. Jaeger’s employee and that he had been sent over to fetch Mr. Armin Arlert and transport him to the Jaeger residence which resided across the bay in old money East Egg.

Eren and Mikasa had settled down on the East Coast so that Eren could teach or open a practice. Or so the hearsay said. Armin knew that part of it was true, but he felt the true motivator was similar to Armin’s: they just weren't the type of men who liked being under the thumbs of others. 

Eren was the younger of the two heirs of the famous Jaeger family. His grandfather was Leland Jaeger, a doctor who had capitalized on the lack of development in the West. He followed the forty-niners to California to sell them goods and open up a practice of his own. Doctor Jaeger himself had taken up prospecting as a hobby in his spare time. And as the universe seems to work miracles blessing those who aren't searching too hard, almost indifferent to grace and devoid of superstition. When the Doctor struck gold it allowed him to build his own empire. First with a hospital and then he invested in other ventures from the telegraph wires to the railroads. Later, once his empire was firmly established Doctor Jaeger served a term as Governor of California until his daughter Faye had died of an unidentifiable illness. Consequently, he founded Jaeger University in 1885, which had a medical school that focused on medical research and after not even 50 years the school was already a competitor to Columbia in the East. 

Jaeger University was where he and Eren both had been reunited with Mikasa Ackerman, their childhood friend and undoubtedly the most fascinating woman in American high society. 

[wemeetby-accident]

- BODY OF DAVAR HEIRESS STILL MISSING -

- FUNERAL FOR FORBES DUNN PLANNED DESPITE MOB CONNECTION -

NEW YORK, NY - The body of the Davar heiress is still missing, officials report. The young woman was engaged to be married to the heir to the Forbes Dunn family this summer. The couple was last seen together the night of their engagement party on May 14th at Hotel Astor.

Mr. Thomas Forbes Dunn was found in their Central Park apartment violently disfigured. Further investigation into the rumors of Irish mob involvement has proved that Mr. Forbes Dunn was connected to the Lovett mob through purchase orders.

The Forbes Dunn family is known largely for their railroad expansion, however, the young heir was involved in trading stocks and goods, amassing a fortune for himself these past five years.

It is to be noted that much of the money in the Central Park apartment was stolen the night of the murders; authorities believe the robbery and the murders occurred at the same time. Witnesses can confirm that no one was seen at the penthouse until the couple arrived home from their celebration around 1 am.

The amount of blood present on the scene suggests that Ms. Davar was also killed the same evening, but her body remains to be found. Authorities are still looking for information regarding the murders. Please forward any information regarding the Forbes Dunn and Davar case to the 19th Precinct on 67th.

[loosesodamarble]

Songs for the Night and Morning Part 2

Links to PART 1 and PART 3.

Here are songs of Yonezu's which connect to both brothers, either in that it's the perspective of one to another or shared thoughts of the two.

..........

Kind Person (guitar cover): This song is again from Nacht’s perspective and timeline wise, I’d place it somewhere in the twins’ late teenhood, before Morgen’s death. The song lyrics are Nacht’s thoughts on the differences between himself and his brother.

Born into misfortune, that dirtied child, You said to them, "you're pretty" To my eyes, watching from nearby, They looked very ugly

From Nacht’s flashbacks, we know that Morgen was an incredibly kind individual. He was good to all and so would’ve treated those less fortunate than him with great consideration. Like how he befriended a gruff individual like Yami after they joined the Grey Deer squad. Meanwhile, Nacht is not such a gentle individual. He judged and criticized the Black Bulls (as part of his projection but still) rather than accepting their flaws. The lyrics point out the difference between Morgen and Nacht’s natures.

A frail child being taken advantage of With too much happiness to handle, my morals can be selective; I quietly concealed my pity

Stroking their head, and just telling them "good kid" - Look at me with the gaze you give to them...

These lyrics show the singer as a bystander, content with their own life and so they don’t act when they see someone suffering. Nacht is the bystander. His “morals” growing up were based on what entertained him at any given point in time. The parts of him that were genuinely nice, that cared for others (primarily Morgen and Yami), were hidden away. And as Nacht watches Morgen live his life, he wishes that they could be closer.

The sight of someone being unloved and laughed at, I felt relief about on the other side of a window The one getting singled out and left behind; I'm glad that wasn't me

Giving harsh beatings, scolding "bad kid" - I'm different from them, so heal me...

These lines can address both Morgen and the Black Bulls from Nacht’s perspective. Morgen was the black sheep of the Faust family, likely unloved by his parents. The Black Bulls are laughed at and looked down upon by Clover Kingdom. And Nacht sees himself as different from both of the other parties. As being the desired heir of House Faust and then holding himself at arm’s length from his squad. And yet, a part of him recognizes that he’s in the wrong. The way he sees it, he’s the evil to Morgen’s goodness. It’s only after the events in Spade where Nacht is able to open up and change to be a proper Bull.

I know that the main line of the song is voicing a desire to be a kinder person, like a “you” mentioned in the lyrics, but I have said in the past that I don’t believe Nacht wants to be like Morgen. He straight up says he can’t be like Morgen, not bright or kind. At most, Nacht resigned himself to fighting evil with the evil power of the devils, to try and reward good after Morgen’s goodness was killed off. What I get from the song is mainly Nacht’s observations of how he is cruel where Morgen is kind.

Campanella (music video): This is a song expressing some of Nacht’s feelings towards Morgen, of a longing for a connection with his brother, especially after Morgen’s death. Before getting into the song lyrics, I want to point out that Yonezu has stated that the song’s title was inspired by a character from the movie Night on the Galactic Railroad. Long story short, Campanella is a character who dies in order to save someone else, connecting Campanella to Morgen’s character, who died to save Nacht. The overall message of the song is the words of someone who was left behind to the cherished person who left them.

Campanella, I was having a dream, Of bellflowers that bloomed after you This town only continues to change, Unintentionally leaving you behind

First thing I want to note is the use of bellflowers in the imagery. The scientific name of that genus of plant is Campanula, which is very similar to the name “Campanella.” It’s no coincidence as the name Campanella does mean “little bell” in Italian. Now the symbolism of the bellflower is that of constancy, affection, and everlasting love. Very sweet and tender sentiments which feel suitable when addressing someone who has passed, in this case Morgen. Humility and delicacy are other meanings to the bellflower which brings to mind Morgen’s short-lived goodness, done simply as second nature rather than for recognition. The remark on the changing town expresses how Nacht’s life and the world as a whole changed ever since Morgen’s death. The squad he served in changed and the allies within the Grey Deer have also moved on as well.

Thoughts of that day that'll never return circle my mind A statue dancing to the sound of an organ

Nacht’s mind is haunted by the memory of the day Morgen died. He never lets go of the memory, having it as his driving force for years after. The image of a statue dancing is one of contradiction, the statue is stuck in whatever pose it was put in and yet it’s expected to move. And calling out an organ, it brings to mind haunting or morose music, something dark and heavy. Such imagery reflects Nacht, being stuck in the past while trying to move forward in some way and his heart is weighed down.

Just like that person said, surely my hands will be stained Blown by the tailwind, surely I'll still be living Until the day it ends, so as to get closer, I want to remember you...

Nacht, in contrast to good and kind and pure Morgen, is someone evil and stained with sin. If we think back to Flying Swallow, we can again imagine the wind being Nacht’s will to make right all his wrongs. While he never intended for there to be an end to his atonement/punishment, he goes on toward whatever he feels he needs to do. And, because he loves Morgen so, professes his desire to be close with Morgen, to remember him while the world moves on.

A white bird, and a singing coniferous tree Everything I look at becomes a vestige of you A single button left on the shore; It's the lonesomeness you gave me...

Following up on stating he wants to remember Morgen, Nacht laments how there are things that remind him of Morgen. A pure white bird symbolizing how pure and peaceful Morgen was. A coniferous tree, alive and ever green, as Morgen should’ve been instead of dying young. Everything seems to make Nacht lonely without Morgen really being there.

Just like that person said, surely there are wounds that can never heal Every time I look back at the twilight, surely I'll learn my mistake The days without you continue on, Amid silence, alone

The wounds that never heal are Nacht’s own fault, as I stated before. He’s avoiding resolution, seeking out eternal punishment. But even if he didn’t self-destruct, the pain of losing someone like Morgen would surely stay with Nacht forever. The line about looking back and learning, it’s something that Nacht has done, at least partially. He realized that living as carelessly as he did was wrong and he changed to do good but he never learned how to do it with the kindness and ease that Morgen did.

A crystal taking in light, and rebounding it with a sparkle; The wounds you gave me, too, are part of that sparkle

Eventually, after the events of Spade Kingdom, Nacht learns how to live properly. Accepting his past and his mistakes. And the pain Nacht was left with after Morgen’s death are a part of the truly good man he will become.

This song gives me such feelings. It’s not a broken and hopeless song but it’s a tender melancholy. The words of someone who could be, and should be, better than they once were. It’s a kind message for someone who cannot accept the words. But even if they can’t be received, the admiration and love which is offered is still something beautiful.

I'm Sorry (guitar cover): Given the title of the song, it’s easy to assume that this song is merely Nacht apologizing to Morgen. But I also believe it’s Morgen apologizing to Nacht, for not being as close to him as he could’ve been, for not being a better partner the way Yami turns out to be. It’s a mutual reconciliation, although one that never happens.

I want you to listen, not laugh, to my foolish dreams Before the sun sets, I want to have us talk...

The first stanza is Morgen’s perspective. He wants Nacht to hear him out about becoming a Magic Knight. He wants to work alongside Nacht, instead of leaving him out of his life. Morgen’s dream was left unfulfilled as we know though.

My praying voice grows intense; there's just a little more Until we can touch from the bottom of our hearts, I just want to be connected to you...

Nacht is speaking in this stanza. The image of Nacht praying has irony to it as a devil host. Though do recall that he cried out to the gods to bring Morgen back. So whether if it was back in his youth or in the present long after Morgen’s death, Nacht prays for the chance to be able to be near Morgen, despite his fear of hurting his brother. He wants to be able to love his brother after pushing him away for too long.

Simply sobbing about it won't do anything, I've learned, So I'll go out and apologize, for the harm I caused...

Again we hear from Nacht. He’s lamenting how, no matter how much he grieved, Morgen wasn’t going to come back to life. And his self-destructive atonement didn’t do anything either, for Morgen or Nacht himself. Nacht does apologize to Morgen in his heart when he’s about to die and I wouldn’t be surprised if he apologized throughout the years.

I just want to always be close, close by to you I'm not able to say goodbye, it's just too terrifying Though my hands tremble in the flood of light, If I'm with you, I can be stronger, that's all...

This stanza brings us back to Morgen’s thoughts. Just like Nacht, Morgen wanted to be closer with his brother. And the way Morgen died, there really wasn’t any goodbye shared between the twins. And in Morgen’s desire for him and Nacht to be Magic Knights together, one gets the feeling that Morgen felt like Nacht would make him better rather than being hurt.

Please watch me from there - I'll be okay - thank you...

The last line of the song is Nacht once more. He asks Morgen’s spirit to watch over him, gives a reassurance, and says thanks rather than apologizing again. Because Nacht doesn’t need to feel shame for being alive. He should be grateful that Morgen loved him enough to save him, even if it cost Morgen his life.

I love how mutual this song is. With Kind Person and Campanella, it’s focusing on Nacht’s thoughts but with I’m Sorry, both of the twins have a voice. The song conveys how much the brothers care for each other and how both wanted the same thing the whole time.

Repentance Town (guitar cover): Another song where the lyrics can be read from either Morgen or Nacht’s perspectives. And oh boy the words of this song just hit it for me!

One day it occurred to me, I'd gotten good at faking laughs Twisting and turning down street corners, again and again, got me here At what corner, on what street, did I make a wrong turn? Searching for something I dropped long, long ago…

Here we see Nacht lamenting the confused and twisted path he took throughout his life. Where he faked a cool, nonchalant demeanor while hiding his how he feared losing Morgen and his jealousy over Morgen and Yami’s friendship (don’t tell me Nacht wasn’t jealous because he so definitely was). All of his choices, the ones he made when he was going through his delinquent phase, led him to where he is in the present, searching for a purpose to his life without Morgen there. And he does have a place with the Bulls.

One day it occurred to me, I'd been crying less than ever Just born the way I was, I went walking all across this town

This could honestly go both ways. Nacht and Morgen both put on a facade of sorts in their young adulthood. Nacht’s was one of cool-headedness and lack of care to hide his worry that he might one day taint Morgen’s light. Morgen was all smiles and just deed but he also had to endure Nacht repeatedly pushing him away and hid his family’s secret practices to confront them on his own. And they went about their lives until that fateful day.

One day it occurred to me, I could no longer see things far away The streetlights popped, and came to look like fireworks Though I want so much to see into someone else's heart... I can't even see the text on a sign just in front of me...

This section of the song feels like it’s from Morgen’s perspective. A broken streetlight is compared to something beautiful, similar to how Morgen was able to see the goodness hidden deep inside Nacht despite his rough exterior. But even then, Morgen couldn’t fully understand Nacht’s thoughts and emotions. He couldn’t be a partner to Nacht, not like Yami could.

One day, in a waiting room, I was together with a woman She was a beautifully smiling sort, no words could describe her well enough But though we both lived in this town just the same... That very thought was so embarrassing, I couldn't bear it...

The woman in the waiting room is, to me, a stand-in for Jo- (gets shot) Okay okay! No mentioning Josele! We’ll keep our focus squarely on the Faust twins! I get it! I actually think this is from Nacht’s perspective with the woman actually being Morgen. He was too pure and good for Nacht to be close to. Despite being brothers, twins even, Nacht was too ashamed of himself to think they were similar.

A procession of saints, a hymn and a prayer, Wrap your bandages around this town;

The play of angels, the breath of a goddess, Pour your water on this town; I await the healing... While I keep on regretting...

These choruses, I swear! The holy imagery has always worked with the Fausts, ironically with Nacht’s devils and more straight with Morgen as Nacht’s foil. And with Paladin Morgen in recent chapters, it’s all the more relevant. On the mention of wrapping bandages and pouring water… Repentance, at least how I’ve learned it, is a cleansing and healing process. It cleanses a person of sin and heals them of the guilt they carry for committing those deeds. The lyrics even say there’s healing being waited for while the speaker continues to regret. And both Morgen and Nacht are regretting. For Morgen, it’s being unable to better understand Nacht. For Nacht, it’s Morgen’s death.

Gosh this song is just… Really good for Nacht and Morgen! They’re voicing their regrets through this song. They both want to reconcile and heal from their broken bond and the music just carries a pain in the vocals that makes me a little feral.

[readitreviewit]

The Vanderbilts: An American Dynasty - Review The Vanderbilts: An American Dynasty is not your typical history book. Written by Anderson Cooper, the famous journalist, and Katherine Howe, a New York Times best-selling historian and novelist, this book tells the story of Cooper's mother's family - the Vanderbilts. The book starts with the rise of Cornelius Vanderbilt, who began working on his father's small boat ferrying supplies in New York Harbor at the beginning of the 19th century. From there, he built two empires - one in shipping and another in railroads - that made him the richest man in America. However, his staggering fortune was fought over by his heirs after his death in 1877, causing familial discord. But this book isn't just a dry retelling of the Vanderbilts' history. Cooper and Howe bring the family to life, from their extravagant parties to their personal quirks. They show how the family became synonymous with unfettered American capitalism and high society, and how subsequent generations competed to find new and ever more extraordinary ways of spending their wealth. Reading this book is like visiting an old friend who's telling you a story. It's warm, funny, and engaging. Cooper and Howe don't shy away from the darker aspects of the Vanderbilts' history, but they present it in a way that's both informative and entertaining. The authors also did an incredible job of weaving together different time periods and locations, from the hardscrabble wharves of old Manhattan to the lavish drawing rooms of Gilded Age Fifth Avenue, from the ornate summer palaces of Newport to the courts of Europe. The book is a rollicking ride that takes you through American history, from the early days of the republic to the modern-day. One of the standout features of the book is its insider's viewpoint. Cooper is a member of the Vanderbilt family, and he brings his personal experiences to the table. He doesn't hold back in his descriptions of his family members, whether they're positive or negative. The Vanderbilts: An American Dynasty is an outstanding book that's well worth the read. Whether you're a history buff or just looking for a good story, this book is sure to entertain and inform you. The accompanying PDF adds even more value, with photographs, family trees, and additional information. In conclusion, this is a book that's both informative and enjoyable. Cooper and Howe did an excellent job of bringing the Vanderbilts to life, and their unique perspectives make the book even more interesting. If you're looking for a book that tells the story of one of America's most fascinating families, then look no further than The Vanderbilts: An American Dynasty. Don't miss out on the eye-opening insights of this must-read book! Order your copy now and experience a profound shift in your perspective. Or, for busy listeners, sign up for a 30-day free trial of Audible and enjoy this transformative read on-the-go. Start your journey today! Price: [price_with_discount] (as of [price_update_date] - Details)

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From Robber Barons to Bezos: Is History Repeating...

New Post has been published on https://robertreich.org/post/730907453424795648

From Robber Barons to Bezos: Is History Repeating...

From Robber Barons to Bezos: Is History Repeating Itself?

Ultra-wealthy elites…Political corruption…Vast inequality…

These problems aren’t new — in the late 1800s they dominated the country during America’s first Gilded Age.

We overcame these abuses back then, and we can do it again.

Mark Twain coined the moniker “The Gilded Age” in his 1873 novel to describe the era in American history characterized by corruption and inequality that was masked by a thin layer of prosperity for a select few.

The end of the 19th century and start of the 20th marked a time of great invention — bustling railroads, telephones, motion pictures, electricity, automobiles — which changed American life forever.

But it was also an era of giant monopolies — oil, railroad, steel, finance — run by a small group of men who had grown rich beyond anything America had ever seen.

They were known as “robber barons” because they ran competitors out of business, exploited workers, charged customers exorbitant prices, and lived like royalty as a result.

Money consumed politics. Robber barons and their lackeys donated bundles of cash to any lawmaker willing to do bidding on their behalf. And when lobbying wasn’t enough, the powerful turned to bribery — resulting in some of the most infamous political scandals in American history.

The gap between the rich and poor in America reached astronomical levels. Large numbers of Americans lived in squalor.

Anti-immigrant sentiment raged, leading to the enactment of racist laws to restrict immigration. And voter suppression, largely aimed at Black men who had recently won the right to vote, was rampant.

The era was also marked by dangerous working conditions. Children often as young as 10, but sometimes younger, worked brutal hours in sweatshops. Workers trying to organize labor unions were attacked and killed.

It seemed as if American capitalism was out of control, and American democracy couldn’t do anything about it because it was bought and paid for by the rich.

But Americans were fed up, and they demanded reform. Many took to the streets in protest.

Investigative journalists, often called “muckrakers” then, helped amplify their cries by exposing what was occurring throughout the country.

And a new generation of political leaders rose to end the abuses.

Politicians like Teddy Roosevelt, who warned that, “a small class of enormously wealthy and economically powerful men, whose chief object is to hold and increase their power,” could destroy American democracy.

After becoming president in 1901, Roosevelt used the Sherman Antitrust Act to break up dozens of powerful corporations, including the giant Northern Securities Company which had come to dominate railroad transportation through a series of mergers.

Seeking to limit the vast fortunes that were creating a new American aristocracy, Congress enacted a progressive income tax through the 16th Amendment, as well as two wealth taxes.

The first wealth tax, in 1916, was the estate tax — a tax on the wealth someone accumulated during their lifetime, paid by the heirs who inherited it. The second tax on wealth, enacted in 1922, was a capital gains tax — a tax on the increased value of assets, paid when those assets were sold.

The reformers of the Gilded Age also stopped corporations from directly giving money to politicians or political candidates.

And then Teddy Roosevelt’s fifth cousin — you may have heard of him — continued the work through his New Deal programs — creating Social Security, unemployment insurance, a 40-hour workweek, and requiring that employers bargain in good faith with labor unions.

But following the death of FDR and the end of World War II, when America was building the largest middle class the world had ever seen — we seemed to forget about the abuses of the Gilded Age.

Now, more than a century later, America has entered a second Gilded Age.

It is also a time of extraordinary invention.

And a time when monopolies are taking over vast swathes of the economy, so we must renew antitrust enforcement to bust up powerful companies.

Now, another generation of robber barons is accumulating unprecedented money and power. So once again, we must tax these exorbitant fortunes.  

Wealthy individuals and big corporations are once again paying off lawmakers, sending them billions to conduct their political campaigns, even giving luxurious gifts to Supreme Court justices. So we need to protect our democracy from Big Money, just as we did before.

Voter suppression runs rampant in the states as during the first Gilded Age, making it harder for people of color to participate in what’s left of our democracy. So it’s once again critical to defend and expand voting rights.

Working people are once again being exploited and abused, child labor is returning, unions are busted, the poor are again living in unhealthy conditions, homelessness is on the rise, and the gap between the ultra-rich and everyone else is nearly as large as in the first Gilded Age. So once again we need to protect the rights of workers to organize, invest in social safety nets, and revive guardrails to protect against the abuses of great wealth and power.

The question now is the same as it was at the start of the 20th century: Will we fight for an economy and a democracy that works for all rather than the few?

We’ve done it before. We can — and must — do it again.

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I didn't buy this book, but took a photo of the blurb in the inside cover. I've typed it out here:

Rachel Beer [1858 - 1927] was a rebel and a pioneer. In the late nineteenth century, at a time when women were still denied the vote, she became the first and only woman ever to edit not one but two national British newspapers - the Sunday Times and The Observer - and to do it simultaneously. It was to be over 80 years before another woman took the helm of a Fleet Street paper. [ Rosie Boycott?]

As a woman she was barred not only from frequenting the London Clubs that fed her rival male editors with political gossip, but also from the Press Gallery of the House of Commons. However, whilst other female journalists were restricted to frocks, frills and frippery, Rachel managed to raise her formidable voice on national and foreign political issues, including the Dreyfus affair, as well as on social and women's issues, often controversially. Rachel was a member of the Sassoon family, who had made their fortune in Indian opium and cotton, and she was aunt of the poet Siegfried Sassoon [war poet, writer, and soldier]. Her marriage to Frederick Beer brought together two wealthy dynasties. Julius Beer, Frederick's father, came from Germany and made his fortune on the London Sock Exchange and as an entrepreneur of railroads and telegraphy. But the loving union of the two heirs also brought Rachel strife and heartbreak - for while the Prime Minister, William Gladstone, attended the wedding, Julius Beer's decision to abandon the Jewish religion and baptize his son led to Rachel being disowned by many of her proudly Jewish family. Rachel anticipated her family's rage, but ultimately followed her heart, only for tragedy to strike when her beloved husband died and she was certified as a person of unsound mind.

Indeed, until three years ago, her grave in Tunbridge Wells laid untended and simply described her as "daughter of David Sassoon'', with no reference to her remarkable achievements. Thanks to the campaigning work of the former Observer journalist Ann Treneman, and donations from the Guardian and the Sunday Times, her grave was cleaned up and decorated with a commemorative plaque. Tunbridge Wells Borough Council also erected a plaque on the building that now stands on the site of her former home, thus finally affording her the recognition that her family failed to offer during her lifetime or in the nearly ninety intervening years.* 

The doctor who judged Rachel to have become mentally unstable was Sir George Savage, who also diagnosed Virginia Woolf as insane a few years later (he is among the figures lampooned in the character of Sir William Bradshaw in her novel, Mrs. Dalloway). Beer had been committed for psychiatric treatment after the death of her husband. (Acc. to Wikipedia, he died of syphilis, which he [possibly] passed on to his wife).

She spent the last two decades of her life living in Tunbridge Wells, but was as good as "erased from history". This book by Eilat Negev and Yehuda Koren appears to have been the first attempt at shining a light on this forgotten story.

*Info from a blog called Siegfried Sassoon Fellowship ('The Sad Story of Auntie Rachel' here), which is an interesting read about Sassoon's apparent disregard for his aunt, despite the fact that it was her money which enabled him to buy the comfortable residence where he would spend the last thirty years of his life.

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‘The Gilded Age’ Stars Reveal the Social Battlefronts of Season 2 (PHOTOS)

[These interviews were conducted before the SAG-AFTRA strike authorization.]

Bertha Russell (Carrie Coon) finally has her foot in the door of 1883 Manhattan society in HBO‘s The Gilded Age Season 2, but the door to the coveted Academy of Music remains closed. No matter. She’ll make the fledgling Metropolitan Opera the place to be instead! And that’s just one intrigue for The Gilded Age’s second season.

TV Insider was on set of Julian Fellowes‘ glamorous period drama in September 2022. There, we spoke with Coon, Christine Baranski, Cynthia Nixon, Louisa Jacobson, Fellowes, and the team behind the camera as they filmed a pivotal garden party scene on the lush grounds of Long Island’s Old Westbury estate. The former home to an heir of the Phipps family fortune, this was a perfect locale to host the series’ fictional steel magnates and their families.

George (Morgan Spector) and Bertha Russell are as hellbent to get to the top as ever in the new episodes, premiering October 29 on HBO and streaming on Max, and last season’s setbacks and victories will make them even more cutthroat. While George handles the money (and union troubles at his railroad), Bertha handles their social rise.

“George wants to be the richest and most powerful man in the country. That is his motivation,” Fellowes told journalists on set. “I personally don’t think he cares much about society, but he cares about his wife. And because she wants to be the dominating factor in New York society, he will support her in that and anything he can do to support her, he will do. That’s why I don’t think he cares if he knows a duchess or he’s having dinner with a princess. He could give a monkey’s toss about that. He just wants people to shake in the knee when he comes in the room, because he can break them just like that.”

“What I hope I’ve created in Bertha and George are one of those marriages where they both have quite separate fields of endeavor and each one of them is 100 percent supportive of the other one’s ambitions,” Fellowes continues, “so any way they can help, they will.”

The Russells aren’t the only well-off family with their eyes on the social prize. Below, the stars of The Gilded Age reveal the social battlefronts of Season 2.

The Gilded Age, Season 2 Premiere, Sunday, October 29, 9/8c, HBO

This is an expanded excerpt from TV Guide Magazine’s 2023 Returning Favorites issue. For more first looks at fall’s returning shows, pick up the issue, on newsstands now. {mod note: this was shared on Tumblr here}

Instead of Vying for a Seat, Bertha Makes Her Own Table

Bertha (Coon, above, with Nathan Lane) “thrives” on the bitterness her friendship with Mrs. Astor (Donna Murphy) stirs up in town, Coon says, adding, “It’s not just the other ladies who get ruffled. Mrs. Astor herself is in for a few surprises if she thinks she’s pacified Bertha by allowing her to enter society.”

When it comes to her and George’s children, Larry (Harry Richardson) and Gladys (Taissa Farmiga), Bertha has her sights set on a noteworthy marriage for her newly out daughter.

“Gladys is developing a mind of her own, much to Bertha’s chagrin. [Gladys] doesn’t always go along with what Bertha wants for her, and so we’ll see a lot of butting heads between the two of them,” Coon explains. “Larry, she doesn’t worry about. The world’s set up for Larry, but he makes some bad decisions, and it wouldn’t be like Bertha to keep her nose out of that business. She’s going to insert herself wherever she can to make sure her kids are on the right track.”

George's Past May Come Back to Haunt Him

Bertha and railroad baron husband George “are very much working in concert,” Coon says, to secure their rise, but the firing of gold-digging lady’s maid Turner (Kelley Curran) is the “monkey wrench” in their best-laid plans.

“Turner’s been dismissed, but we’ll see,” Coon warns. “That may not be the last of that lie. Bertha and George are going to have to deal with some personal issues in their marriage while they’re trying to complete this rise in society.”

Marian Searches for a Husband on Her Own Terms

Despite her money problems, Marian Brook (Jacobson) was the bright-eyed lovebird of Season 1. But being jilted by would-be husband Tom Raikes (Thomas Cocquerel) may have cast a love match out of her mind in Season 2. Nevertheless, Jacobson told us on set that Marian’s “shining this season.”

“I think she’s really stepping into herself. Having a bit of heartbreak has made her not necessarily cynical, but have a little bit of spice and edge. She’s not so timid,” she says. Timid, she’s not, but blind she may be.

Dashing neighbor Larry (Richardson) showed romantic interest in the Season 1 ender, and Jacobson says they will “continue to deepen their friendship” in Season 2 as Marian “feels relief when she’s around him.” But this former romantic may be shirking love for pragmatism like her Aunt Agnes (Baranski), much to Aunt Ada’s (Nixon) displeasure.

Agnes van Rhijn Wants Marian Married

Agnes van Rhijn experiences a tectonic shift in her relationship with sister Ada Brook.

“You’ll see a level of depth and feeling there that’s going to be quite rich,” Baranski tells TV Insider. Adds Nixon: “The power skirmishes that have been subtextual come out.”

As Marian searches for her life partner, Agnes will continue to urge her to be pragmatic, as her pragmatism saved their family from destitution after Marian’s late father squandered their family fortune.

Ada Brook Asserts Her Independence

While Nixon says that “Ada is not a rule-breaker,” the spinster will be outspoken about niece Marian not following in Agnes’ strategic footsteps when choosing a husband. Still, Ada fears Marian becoming the next Mrs. Chamberlain should she only follow her heart.

“I think [Ada’s] a person who likes to push it and try to push the envelope and sort of see what she can get,” Nixon says, “but for herself and also for her niece, she doesn’t want her to speak to Mrs. Chamberlain because there’s such a price to pay.”

As for her personal life, Ada won’t be as meek and meager this season. Her newfound independence and insistence that she can live a life separate from her sister may be what brings on that tectonic shift. Or could it be political differences as social issues, especially women’s right to vote, start to come to the surface?