#kingdom of the west franks

[dreamconsumer]

Louis V (c. 967-987), proclaimed King of France under the protection of Hugh Capet, future King of France, in 986. Drawn and engraved by Ambroise Tardieu in 1825.

[artbyblastweave]

Haven’t read many comics, but I’ve started reading stuff you post about, so I’ve read immortal hulk and 20th century men, and am going to start ultimate spiderman. Do you have any recommendations?

Here's a few that run the gamut from "quasi-foundational" to "I personally thought it was neat:"

Superhero:

Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons- the comic every superhero comic published since the 1980s has had to reckon with in some way, and which half the genre spent the 90s trying to emulate.

Superman: Birthright by Mark Waid and Lenil Yu- the bespoke canon origin story for Superman that was canon in the early 2000s through the twenty-tens. Remains one of the stronger attempts to do a retelling of his origin.

Batman: Year One by Frank Miller and David Mazzuchelli- a four-issue storyline covering Batman's extremely early career in Gotham.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller. Conceived as "The last Batman Story," features a fifty-something Bruce Wayne after he comes out of retirement to fight against an enormous crime wave against the backdrop of incipient nuclear war with the Soviet Union. This is the other grim and gritty superhero deconstruction that half the genre spent the 90s trying to emulate, and although it hasn't aged as well it's a useful read for context.

Runaways by Brian K Vaughn and Adrian Alphona. A marvel-universe excursion about a group of six teens and tweens who learn that their parents are actually a coven of incredibly powerful supervillains functionally running the entire west coast. They proceed to, well. This was one of those franchises that got zombified and pingponged between different creative teams, but the Vaughn parts are pretty strong.

Ex Machina By Brian K Vaughn and Tony Harris: The world's first and only superhero stops one of the twin towers from being destroyed and parlays this into a successful bid for mayor of New York.

Invincible by Robert Kirkman, Corey Walker and Ryan Ottley. Son of the most powerful superhero, yadda yadda, if you'd dodged awareness of the amazon adaptation I'm not sure how

Astro City by Kurt Busiek, Brent Anderson and Alex Ross- an anthology set in a constructed superhero universe, alternating between one-shots and longer arcs covering an enormous cast of characters over the settings 80-year internal chronology.

Rising Stars by J. Michael Strazynski- follows the rise and fall of the Pederson Specials, 113 children who were granted superpowers in utero when a meteor exploded over their home town-narrated decades later by the last of their number standing.

Marvels by Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross. A retelling of the first 30 years of the Marvel Universe from the perspective of photojournalist Phil Sheldon. On top of being an excellent story it's useful as a recap/primer for much of golden and silver age marvel.

Kingdom Come by Mark Waid and Alex Ross. In the future of the DC universe, A jaded Superman comes out of retirement after the superhuman population balloons out of control and causes a nuclear detonation as a consequence of their cavalier approach to heroics. Unfortunately, his old-school approach isn't much better...

DC: The New Frontier by Darwyn Cooke. Retells the founding of the silver-age justice league against the backdrop of the red scare and following the collapse of the golden-age superheroic community after world war two.

Non-Superhero

Bone By Jeff Smith- Lord of the Rings by way of Mickey, Donald and Goofy. Three cartoon-creature cousins are run out of town and into a remote valley that's the site of a sprawling fantasy epic.

The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard- The zombie comic. There really hasn't ever been a runner-up

Monstress by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda. Steampunk Dark Fantasy thing about a woman forced to share a body with a horrifying elder-parasite thing. Hard to summarize. If you thought RWBY handled the Faunus with insufficient gravity and thoughtfulness this is a good comic for you

East of West by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta. Weird-west alternate history where the U.S. balkanized after the Civil War. In the resultant cyberpunk urban-fantasy dystopia, three of the four horsemen are attempting to end the world; Death has defected and is attempting to stop them, in the hopes of reuniting with his missing wife and child.

Once and Future by Keiron Gillen and Dan Mora. A seventy-something retired monster hunter breaks out of her nursing home and press-gangs her hapless academic grandson into helping her prevent the return of King Arthur.

The Department of Truth By James Tynion and Martin Simmonds: In a world where reality is affected by consensus by collective belief, a deep state organization works to prevent conspiracy theories from being willed into existence by weirdos on the internet. Notable in that it's very visibly an exercise in trying to grapple with the uglier implications of the postmodern "reality-shaped-by-belief" tropes present in works like American Gods.

Saga by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples. The indie comic everyone wouldn't shut the fuck up about. Star crossed lovers attempting to navigate their mutual defection from two star-spanning empires locked in an eternal galactic turbowar.

Chew By John Layman and Rob Guillory. Tony Chu is a police detective with the power of Chibopathy- the ability to gain psychometric impressions from whatever he eats. Kept on retainer to partially cannibalize the corpses of murder victims to find out who killed them, his abilities ultimately see him drawn into a bizarre conspiracy surrounding an outbreak of bird flu that killed millions and resulted in the criminalization of poultry products.

Atomic Robo by Brian Clevenger and Scott Wegener The high-octane adventures of action-scientist Atomic Robo, an android constructed by Nikola Tesla in the 1920s who runs a think-tank of science-heroes. Described as "applying the Indiana Jones model to every other field of study." Very fun comic.

We Only Find Them When They're Dead By Al Ewing and Simone Di Meo: follows the exploits of a freelance crew of miners who work to extract tissues from the corpses of gigantic humanoid entities found floating in space, and their captain's heretical goal of being the first to find a living specimen.

Literally Any Comic Written By Kyle Starks, including (lightning round time) Rock Candy Mountain, Old Head, Sexcastle, Kill Them All, Assassin Nation, and Fuck this Place/I Hate This Place (title dependent on retailer squeamishness)

This list isn't exhaustive but I've been typing for a really really long time here

[despairgal2312]

The ages of the characters are vaguely mentioned many times throughout the series, but we don’t know specifically when they were born or their actual age.

So I decided to do a bit of research and try to find the age of each character (many are however arguable).

All ages were counted subtracting from 2025, regardless of the exact date (else it would have been way too tedious).

Here’s the list:

Italy: 1328 y.o. or 164 y.o.

(The first as the Republic of Venice, founded in 697. The Second as the Kingdom of Italy, founded in 1861)

Germany: 154 y.o.

(As the German Empire, founded in 1871)

Japan: 2685 y.o.

(Supposed foundation of the Japanese Empire in 660 BC)

America: 418 y.o.

(As the 13 Colonies, first of which was founded in 1607)

England: 1139 y.o. or 1098 y.o.

(Two dates are considered for the foundation of the Kingdom of England: 886 and 927)

France: 1182 y.o.

(As the Kingdom of West Franks, founded in 843)

Russia: 762 y.o.

(As the Grand Principality of Moscow, founded in 1263)

China: 4095 y.o.

(As the Xia dynasty, established in 2070 BC)

Prussia: 721 y.o. or 799 y.o.

(The first is if we count up until Prussia’s abolishment in 1947. The second is if we keep going)

Romano: 743 y.o. or 164 y.o.

(The first is as the Kingdom of Naples and the second as the Kingdom of Italy)

Canada: 422 y.o.

(The first French settlement in Canada was established in 1603)

That’s all! I might do a part two if I feel like it, since there are so many more characters I could research about.

[genillustrate]

The House of Capet. 987-1328

The Capetian dinasty was the first French dinasty resulting after the death of Louis V (c.967-987) last Frankish king of the Carolingian Empire. In my HC, this Frankish personification is father of both France and HRE, and also Austria. After the colapse of the Carolingian empire, the Kingdom of Francia disappeared and the empire was partitioned in three big territories; West Francia (France), East Francia (HRE) and Middle Francia (the territories that the both of them will be fighting for in the centuries to come, the Benelux spawned from those territorial wars in between them, as well and Switzerland and everything in between).

France and the Holy Roman Empire would become natural enemies, then, as Franco's inheritance would be the same as that of the Carolingian Empire; to become the next Roman Empire. And both kingdoms would spend the rest of the centuries until the World Wars trying to achieve that inherited goal. It has a name, in fact; Franco-German enmity.

Hence, then, the name Holy Roman Empire, from the intentions to become the next great empire uniting the three continents. France is the older son, by the way. The Frank had... a little favoritism towards the youngest, because it was identical to him. And more visibly German, of course. This fueled the competition between the two and the hereditary and historic animosity between the two "princes". It was the Franks that started the monarchical rule, feudalism and the hereditary rule for the sons in Europe. So France, HRE and Austria would be the first princes, haha.

[book--brackets]

The BFG by Roald Dahl (1982)

Captured by a giant! The BFG is no ordinary bone-crunching giant. He is far too nice and jumbly. It's lucky for Sophie that he is. Had she been carried off in the middle of the night by the Bloodbottler, the Fleshlumpeater, the Bonecruncher, or any of the other giants-rather than the BFG-she would have soon become breakfast. 

When Sophie hears that they are flush-bunking off in England to swollomp a few nice little chiddlers, she decides she must stop them once and for all. And the BFG is going to help her!

Graceling Realm by Kristen Cashore (2008-2022)

Graceling tells the story of the vulnerable-yet-strong Katsa, who is smart and beautiful and lives in the Seven Kingdoms where selected people are born with a Grace, a special talent that can be anything at all. Katsa's Grace is killing. As the king's niece, she is forced to use her extreme skills as his brutal enforcer. Until the day she meets Prince Po, who is Graced with combat skills, and Katsa's life begins to change. She never expects to become Po's friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace--or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

Oz by L. Frank Baum (1900-1920)

Join Dorothy and her little dog Toto on the yellow brick road, as they set off to explore the magical Land of Oz. Can they find the Wizard, defeat the Wicked Witch of the West, and return to Kansas?

Stardust by Neil Gaiman (1997)

Catch a fallen star . . .

Tristran Thorn promised to bring back a fallen star. So he sets out on a journey to fulfill the request of his beloved, the hauntingly beautiful Victoria Forester--and stumbles into the enchanted realm that lies beyond the wall of his English country town. Rich with adventure and magic, Stardust is one of master storyteller Neil Gaiman's most beloved tales, and the inspiration for the hit movie.

Inkworld by Cornelia Funke (2003-2023)

One cruel night, Meggie's father reads aloud from a book called INKHEART-- and an evil ruler escapes the boundaries of fiction and lands in their living room. Suddenly, Meggie is smack in the middle of the kind of adventure she has only read about in books. Meggie must learn to harness the magic that has conjured this nightmare. For only she can change the course of the story that has changed her life forever. 

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine (1997)

At birth, Ella is inadvertently cursed by an imprudent young fairy named Lucinda, who bestows on her the "gift" of obedience. Anything anyone tells her to do, Ella must obey. Another girl might have been cowed by this affliction, but not feisty Ella: "Instead of making me docile, Lucinda's curse made a rebel of me. Or perhaps I was that way naturally." When her beloved mother dies, leaving her in the care of a mostly absent and avaricious father, and later, a loathsome stepmother and two treacherous stepsisters, Ella's life and well-being seem to be in grave peril. But her intelligence and saucy nature keep her in good stead as she sets out on a quest for freedom and self-discovery as she tries to track down Lucinda to undo the curse, fending off ogres, befriending elves, and falling in love with a prince along the way. Yes, there is a pumpkin coach, a glass slipper, and a happily ever after, but this is the most remarkable, delightful, and profound version of Cinderella you'll ever read.

The Witches by Roald Dahl (1983)

This is not a fairy-tale. This is about real witches. Real witches don't ride around on broomsticks. They don't even wear black cloaks and hats. They are vile, cunning, detestable creatures who disguise themselves as nice, ordinary ladies. So how can you tell when you're face to face with one? Well, if you don't know yet you'd better find out quickly-because there's nothing a witch loathes quite as much as children and she'll wield all kinds of terrifying powers to get rid of them.

The Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan (2010-2012)

Since their mother's death, Carter and Sadie have become near strangers. While Sadie has lived with her grandparents in London, her brother has traveled the world with their father, the brilliant Egyptologist, Dr. Julius Kane.  One night, Dr. Kane brings the siblings together for a "research experiment" at the British Museum, where he hopes to set things right for his family. Instead, he unleashes the Egyptian god Set, who banishes him to oblivion and forces the children to flee for their lives.  Soon, Sadie and Carter discover that the gods of Egypt are waking, and the worst of them--Set?has his sights on the Kanes. To stop him, the siblings embark on a dangerous journey across the globe -- a quest that brings them ever closer to the truth about their family, and their links to a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs.

Discworld by Terry Pratchett (1983-2015)

In the beginning there was… a turtle.

 Somewhere on the frontier between thought and reality exists the Discworld, a parallel time and place which might sound and smell very much like our own, but which looks completely different.

 Particularly as it’s carried through space on the back of a giant turtle.

 It plays by different rules. But then, some things are the same everywhere. The Disc’s very existence is about to be threatened by a strange new blight: the world’s first tourist, upon whose survival rests the peace and prosperity of the land.

 Unfortunately, the person charged with maintaining that survival in the face of robbers, mercenaries and, well, Death, is a spectacularly inept wizard…

Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor (2011-2014)

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages—not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers—beautiful, haunted Akiva—fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

[holly-natnicole]

If I ever get around to writing a 'Percy Jackson' (2005) franchise & 'Avatar: the Last Airbender' (2005) franchise Crossover Alternate Multiverse that's set in A.t.L.A. but stars the P.J. characters (...or, more accurately, my P.J. A.M. rewrite timeline's versions of them), this is more or less how it'll go:

All of the Gods (Titans and Primordials included), nymphs, satyrs, monsters, giants, dwarves, elves, etc. are either humans or spirits (who gets which option varies);

All demigods, magicians, clear-sighted mortal humans, and non-clear-sighted mortal humans are humans;

Anyone controlling water, earth, sand, metal, electricity, fire, or wind in canon P.J. is a bender (as in, an elemental magic user in A.t.L.A. 'verse);

Anyone without elemental magic yet having some other type of magic is a bender if their canon P.J. magic can correspond to the canon A.t.L.A. abilities of benders;

A.t.L.A.'s Inuit and East Asian influences stay, but I'll add at least 1 location based on East Africa and at least 1 location based on West Africa plus at least 1 location based on South Asia along with at least 1 location based on South Europe;

Although the setting is mostly East Asian, the people's respective ethnicities vary a lot more thus there are ethnically black folks, ethnically white folks, Native Americans who aren't Inuits, etc. in the story (however, I'll make sure each canon Asian character from P.J. gets several Chapters/Episodes focused on them as individuals);

Estelle is an earthbender born in & raised at the Southern Water Tribe and Percy & Jeremias & Felix are waterbenders from the Southern Water Tribe,

Frank is the Avatar & from the Northern Water Tribe (his predecessor was Aeolus who ran away from the Northern Air Temple to the North Pole at age 16 after 4 years of dealing with huge pressure from being the Avatar, unaware that his people were slaughtered by the Fire Nation shortly after he left, then got frozen for 80 years by the Avatar Spirit before dying),

Will is (1 of 10 halfsibs &) a healing-focused waterbender from the Northern Water Tribe whose healing-focused firebender bio dad Apollon ran away from the Fire Nation (where he was born) at age 12 alongside his nonbender older bio fraternal twin Artemiana who founded a celibate team called the Hunters after she trained with the Hekate Warriors (Hekate was the Avatar before Aeolus and died from old age when 248),

Luke (whose bio dad Mermes is an airbender descended from Air Nomads) & Annabeth & Clarisse & Hylla & Reyna & T.J. & Mallory & Gunilla & Julian are nonbenders who are Hekate Warriors living on a small island located between the Earth Kingdom and the Southern Water Tribe (healing-focused waterbender Magnus lives on the island too, with his & Annabeth's non-combatant nonbending legally adoptive dads Blitzen and Hearthstone, but Magnus barely knows how to swing a sword or sail),

Meg is a plant-focused waterbender from the Foggy Swamp Tribe,

Jaz is a healing-focused waterbender from the Northern Water Tribe,

Cleo is a sand-focused earthbender from the Si Wong Desert (plus she likes using her bending to harden the sand into stone to make statues),

Samirah & Alex are nonbending Air Nomad descendants who were born in the Si Wong Desert then their complicated family moved to the Lower Ring of Ba Sing Se (secretly keeping their own culture's customs alive as much as possible, though Samirah is more concerned with historical preservation than her genderfluid sibling since Alex isn't as focused on traditions) and do their best to keep innocent people safe from the Dai Li,

Walt is an earthbender who manages to figure out bonebending (which 'bout a century prior Plades had figured out too, his 3 kids seeing him use it) thanks to help from the spirit Anubis as Walt is spiritually enlightened enough to see spirits even when they don't take on a physical form (nonbender Bast was his spirituality teacher thus Walt decides to teach Nico & Hazel when he meets them, to pass on communication with spirits & bonebending),

Carter & Sadie are airbender bio fullsibs who travel all over the World with their nonbender bio dad Julius Kane whose dead wife Ruby was an Air Nomad descendant like him plus his dead bio fullbro Amos was an airbender (which is why Sadie & Kane haven't really been trained since their dad is terrified of losing them too),

Zia & Alyssa are earthbenders and from 1 of the Fire Nation colonies in the Earth Kingdom,

Rachel is a wealthy spirit-touched nonbender from Gaoling in the Earth Kingdom who has visions of the future & the past,

Bianca & earthbenders Luna & Nico & Hazel were born in the early days of the war but their dad Plades (who is Hazel & Luna & Nico's bio dad and Bianca's stepdad) put them in the Spirit World then Grover – a nonbender from the Earth Kingdom who lives as a nomad – gets kidnapped into the Spirit World during Frank's adventures & meets the sib trio who join Team Avatar (although, Luna & nonbender Bianca soon leave it to join the Hunters),

Reyna eventually leaves the Hekate Warriors to join the Hunters,

Foívi is a healing-focused waterbender born in & raised at the Fire Nation who ran away then at age 17 joined the Hunters who taught her to become a tracking expert,

Zoë is an Air Nomad descendant – through Atlas, along with being the bio daughter of Pleione who was a waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe – & a nonbender who at age 14 was the 1st person to join the newly created Hunters team,

Calliope is an airbender who figured out how to use wind to generate lightning and at age 16 joins the Hunters,

Thalia is a lightning-focused firebending princess from the Fire Nation who ran away after her bio halfbro prince Jason was on his 3rd birthday left by Fire Lord Zeter to be eaten by wolves solely for having airbent (Zeter himself is a lightning-focused firebender who – coz of help from his Northern Water Tribe descendant born-in-the-Fire-Nation nonbending first wife Metis – killed Sanos with a potent poison mixed into the previous Fire Lord's usual mustard and wine sauce),

Jason isn't ripped apart by wild wolves coz his Air Nomad descendant born-in-the-Fire-Nation nonbending bio mum Jura manages to convince the wolf spirit Lupa to save her son by paying with her own memories then Lupa decides to adopt Jason since she had 2005 years prior adopted a pair of orphaned baby identical twins named Romulus & Remus,

Piper is a Cherokee nonbender from the rich Upper Ring of Ba Sing Se the capital city of the Earth Kingdom (living there alongside her 6 halfsibs), and

Leo is a firebender whose flames burning his nonbender bio mum Esperanza to death traumatised him thus he ran away from the Fire Nation (age 3 at the time & almost immediately joined by Thalia who was age 6) then joined the Hunters (alongside Thalia) and a decade later he became Team Avatar's mechanic (having been taught by nonbender bio fullsibs Charlie & Nyssa how to improve his mechanic skills).

That 'bout covers the basics of this story, right? I'll figure out the details later.

[protect-daniel-james]

Would love to hear your thoughts about Bramley-Moore Dock!

Oh, what an ask! Where do I even begin?

(I dedicated a big part of my master's thesis to it, and I still know shit about it, lmao). I was in Liverpool three times - in October 2022, April 2023, and finally in September 2024, and every time I went to see it (the first two trips were "part of my research", so I say).

Disclaimer at first: I love Liverpool. I love the city, I love the vibe, I love the accent, I love the humor - I know it's the stereotype but I genuinely think there is some truth in it, having a laugh because what else can you do. "Supposedly universal Scouse qualities as resilience, cheery buoyancy in the face of adversity, and the ubiquitous good sense of humour" ; "micro-culture of truculent defiance, collective solidarity and fatalist humour” - I love all of it. Or maybe I'm just in awe of port cities (coming from a landlocked country) and I love people calling you "luv". So, I will never be fully objective when it comes to this.

Anyway! Back to Bramley-Moore Dock! I, in general, love old stadiums, stadiums that have been built in ancient times, because of the things I write about in the enfermo Unai stories - the history, the heritage, the place the old stadium has in the folklore, and the role it plays in the memories of the supporters. I highly recommend the two books - or, rather, one book and one thesis - that changed my life and made me a stadium fucker (not literally), and that I use a lot for stuff in building Unai's World of Wonder & Fútbol:

Frank, S., Steets, S. (eds.) (2010). Stadium Worlds: Football, Space, and the Built Environment. Routledge.

Thomas, F. E. (2018). The visual culture of football – heritage and nostalgia in ground moves. [University of Central Lancashire, Preston, United Kingdom].

I could copy and paste all the literature I gathered for my research lmao. But these two volumes I really remember fondly and come back to for a quick skim when writing about Unai.

Well, during my visits to Liverpool, I saw the stadium "coming to life". And, I will be honest, at first, I hated the idea of a club moving to a new place. Obviously, as a latent West Ham fan, I have had my share of (online) experience of fans moaning about "the soulless bowl" of London Stadium, and the neverending longing for the Boleyn Ground spirit and atmosphere. BUT - I think the difference in Liverpool is the placement of the new stadium.

(left: April 2023, right: September 2024)

I think the dock was/is a genius idea, especially once the waterfront is fully regenerated and the actual "promenade" reaches all the way from the city center to the stadium. Honestly, as things stand now, the stadium is in a very "wasteland-like" area, and I feel like the current bus routes only rarely pass anywhere near it? (I walked there every time from the city center and back lmao). There's basically nothing to see around as you walk down Regent Road. I'm curious to see how it will look at the beginning of the new season - and a few years from now on. (In a few years’ time, hopefully, it will be possible to evaluate whether 'marching down the Regent Road' will retain some of the qualities and values associated with the practice of 'marching down the Goodison Road'.)

Tl;dr I started off as a new stadium hater. But when the move is inevitable - there should be a place of significance in the city used for the new stadium. I would hate it - and I understand why there was an uproar about those plans - if Everton had moved to Kirkby when they had the chance. Like, fuck no. The club is woven in the fabric of the city, and it should be proudly kept in it. The Fans' Led Review called for football clubs to be classed (or at least considered) as heritage, and many of them have long been treated as tourist attractions in their cities - so their placement in the city should be in line with that.

Also, since I fell in love with Liverpool, I genuinely think the Albert Docks look cool and offer so much and is in general such a great blueprint for the use of the other docks of Liverpool. So if Bramley-Moore Dock can be anything like that, I will be happy.

And it seems like the reaction of the actual Everton fans - whose opinion matters much more than mine over here - has been positive this week (I get it that with Moyes at the wheel now, everything is sunshine and flowers but I think the response has been very positive because of the location for a long time). From what I've seen, it looks really cool. I'll definitely check it out when I'm in Liverpool.

I'll end this lovely stadium fuckery with a quote from the podcast Royal Blue:

“You couldn’t have dreamt it better. If I was to interview 100 000 Everton fans across the world where would they love their brand new stadium, I guess 99 % of them would say Liverpool city centre, on the docks, on the waterfront, shining like a beacon to the rest of the world. You can’t ask for more than that. And I think that’s what they’ve got, that’s what they deserve. They’ve been patient for twenty odd years with no trophies, watching their neighbors with everything in sight – this is their reward for patience and support, and I think they deserve it.”

[jordanianroyals]

5 February 2025: King Abdullah II held talks with Federal President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier, covering bilateral relations and regional developments.

The bilateral talks, followed by expanded ones and attended by Crown Prince Hussein, focused on means of enhancing the solid partnership between the two countries.

The meeting covered keenness of Jordan and Germany to carry on with joint projects in vital development sectors, like water and education.

In remarks at the beginning of the talks, His Majesty said that despite regional challenges over the past years, bilateral relations have grown and cooperation has enhanced.

The King also expressed his and Jordanians’ appreciation for Germany’s ongoing support for the Kingdom.

His Majesty said there are many opportunities that can be further explored between the two countries, and how they can work together to bring peace, solidarity, and prosperity to the Middle East.

For his part, the German president highlighted the close cooperation between Jordan and Germany, noting that his country works with Jordan to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.

He said he was happy to deliver a new batch of medical supplies to the Jordanian hospitals in Gaza on Tuesday.

During the talks, His Majesty commended Germany’s support for peace efforts on the basis of the two-state solution, and for sending aid to Gaza.

The King also stressed the need to maintain the Gaza ceasefire, warning against escalations in the West Bank.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, Director of the Office of His Majesty Alaa Batayneh, and Jordan’s Ambassador to Germany Fayez Khouri attended the meeting.

[lordmartiya]

Dear Americans, let this history buff tell you of an old history.

It happened in France... Or rather the Kingdom of the Franks, as it was still known. Back then, as per the use of the Germanic peoples, they had an elective monarchy, as in when the king died the counts would assemble and choose one of their number as the new King of the Franks. In practice it was hereditary, as they would elect the most powerful of them and it was usually the old king's son, but Childeric III, last of the Merovingians, was deposed by his Mayor of the Palace Pepin the Short, who then got elected as the first king from the Carolingian dynasty, and when the Carolingian power over West Francia (what is now France) started diminishing the counts alternated between the Carolingian candidate, the Bovinid one, and the Robertian one, the last being most of all the Count of Paris. Then the newest Robertian king, Hugh Capet, told the counts that had just elected him that he planned to launch an expedition against the Moors in Spain (and by all accounts he meant it before his election was contested by the Carolingian Charles of Lorraine), so, in case he died in combat, they needed to elect his son Robert as co-king so that someone could counter the Moorish counterattack, and convinced them. Then Robert II, once his father died, got them to elect his son Hugh, and when Hugh died had them elect his other son Henry. Henry I then got his own son Philip elected as co-king, Philip I got his son Louis, Louis VI did it with a younger Louis, Louis VII did it with his own son Philip, and Philip II Augustus... Well, he declared himself King of FRANCE and told everyone his son would succeed him because he was his son, and anyone who objected better think twice because his predecessors worked tirelessly to insure the Robertians, or rather the Capetians, had direct control over an increasingly large part of France and his personal army was the biggest in the country - not that anyone did, by then the few who remembered it was supposed to be an elective monarchy wondered why it was still such...

That's how France became a hereditary monarchy, it started with electing a guy's son early because of an emergency and after a few generations it happened one of them decided it was hereditary.

Why am I saying this to you Americans? Because this reminds me the idea of modifying your constitution to allow Trump to run for a third term. And if they do, he'll get more and more, and then, if he's not stopped, the VP when he dies will want to make presidency a lifelong thing. And somewhere down the line his son will be VP, and then "President of the United States" will be just another king and the VP the crown prince.

I hope I'm wrong... But considering this guy admitted on live TV to have rigged the election and not only is still there but is already having undesirables deported without due process (something done mostly by absolute monarchies - fascists love their show trials too much to not do them when they feel strong enough)...

[cleverhottubmiracle]

If you were one of the thousands of people who tuned into the first two episodes of Good American Family on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, then you probably found yourself wondering where you had seen the cast before. Well, there’s no need to guess, because we’ve found out where stars like Ellen Pompeo, Mark Duplass and more are from! Read on for the full info.  Ellen Pompeo as Kristine Barnett Ellen Pompeo as Kristine BarnettDisney/Ser Baffo Ellen Pompeo is best known for her role as Dr. Meredith Grey in the hit ABC medical drama Grey’s Anatomy. She has been there since 2005 and starred in over 440 episodes. It’s a role that earned her the title of “highest-paid TV actress of all time.”  Pompeo is still on the show, which is currently in its 21st season, despite also having a starring role in Good American Family.  “I was looking for a real creative challenge. I think this was an opportunity for me to completely disappear into a role,″ Pompeo said of the series. ”Characters like this don’t come along all that often.” The actress has been married to Chris Ivery since 2007 and has three kids.  Mark Duplass as Michael Barnett Mark Duplass as Michael BarnettDisney/Ser Baffo Emmy Award-winning actor Mark Duplass was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on December 7, 1976.  Before joining The Good American Family cast, he appeared in things like Your Sister’s Sister (2011), The One I Love (2014), The League (2009 to 2015), Creep (2014), Togetherness (2015 to 2016), Paddington (2019), Bombshell (2019), The Morning Show (2019 to 2023) and The Creep Tapes (2024).  “[I was] very skeptical,” Duplass told Variety of joining the Good American Family cast. “Look, there’s a documentary, there’s a movie called Orphan that has similar themes, it’s been in the press. Why do we need another ripped-from-the-headlines story?” In the end, though, Duplass joined the cast and is set to star in all eight episodes of the mini-series.  He has been married to Katie Aselton since 2006, and they have two kids.  Imogen Faith Reid as Natalia Grace Imogen Faith Reid as Natalia GraceDisney/Ser Baffo For Imogen Faith Reid, 27, Good American Family serves as her debut role. Originally from the United Kingdom, the actress has dwarfism like Natalia Grace but says it’s a different type.  “With my dwarfism,  it’s not seen as a disability, but a lot are,” the actress told First for Women. “This show does a really good job of telling you not to judge people by the way they look and the way they sound. As a little person, I go through everyday struggles of reaching things, or I have to get my friends to open my water bottle because I can’t, and so I can relate to what little people go through, which is why I also wanted to play Natalia.” “We all go through things in life and we all have different emotions, and I think it was really important to showcase this show.”  Christina Hendricks as Cynthia Mans Christina HendricksDisney/Frank Micelotta Christina Hendricks, 49, is a six-time Emmy-nominated actress best known for Mad Men (2007 to 2015), Ginger & Rosa (2012), The Neon Demon (2016), Bad Santa 2 (2016) and Good Girls (2018 to 2021). In Good American Family, she plays Cynthia Mans—Natalia’s (Reid) third adoptive mother.  “We’re not necessarily born into the perfect families, and we don’t necessarily have the perfect situation,” Hendricks said to First for Women about what the show means to her. “But I think there’s a lot of love out there. And if you can create your family and find that love, that’s the most important thing.”  Hendricks has been married twice, most recently to George Bianchini.  Dulé Hill as Brandon Drysdale Dulé Hill as Brandon DrysdaleDisney/Ser Baffo Actor Dulé Hill is a versatile actor who has appeared in various movies and TV shows like The West Wing (1999–2006), Holes (2003), Psych (2006–2024), Ballers (2015 to 2017), Suits (2017 to 2019) and The Wonder Years (2021 to 2023). He will play Brandon Drysdale, a detective tasked with investigating the Barnetts in Good American Family.  “I loved playing the character,” Hill said, per TV Insider. “It really was a joy to work with the entire cast, but especially Imogen Faith Reid. She really delivered a phenomenal performance and made doing the scenes so easy.”  Hill has been married twice and has two kids.  Sarayu Blue as Valika Kim ShawDisney/Frank Micelotta Originally from Madison, Wisconsin, Sarayu Blue quickly became a household name thanks to projects like I Feel Bad (2018), Blockers (2018), The Unicorn (2019 to 2020) and Inside Out 2 (2024).  Blue’s character Valika in Good American Family serves as a friend of Kristine’s (Pompeo’s) and is set to appear in all eight episodes of the show.  “This entire cast are so kind and truly magnificent,” the actress wrote on Instagram. “Thank you to the incredible creative team, production team and casting for all the heart you put into this show. And @imogenfaith,  you are a brilliant star and the brightest light, and I love you so much.”  Blue has been married to her husband Jonathan for over 10 years and has no children.  Kim Shaw as Jennifer Barnett Sarayu Blue as ValikaDisney/Ser Baffo Kim Shaw is a 40-year-old actress from Ontario, Canada. She is best known for I Just Want My Pants Back (2011 to 2012), Audrey (2012), Saving Hope (2015 to 2017) and You (2021).  Her role in Good American Family will be Michael Barnett’s second wife.  Aias Dalman as Jacob Barnett At just 15 years old, Aias Dalman already has 36 film and TV credits to his name. Most of them are short films, but he played one of the leads in the 2023 Hallmark movie A World Record Christmas.  In Good American Family, he plays Jacob Barnett, one of Kristine) and Michael’s kids, who soon becomes the adopted brother of Natalia Grace. His character has autism and is believed to be the reason Pompeo’s character Kristine felt drawn to adopt a daughter with a disability.  Azriel Dalman as Ethan Barnett Azriel Dalman in 2023Noam Galai/Getty Azriel Dalman is all set to star alongside his real-life brother Aias in Good American Family. He will play Ethan, another Barnett kid. Before this, he was in The Neighbor in the Window (2020), Coyote Creek Christmas (2021), We Need A Little Christmas (2022) and Percy Jackson and the Olympians (2023–2024).  He and his brother are both from Vancouver, Canada.  Source link

[norajworld]

If you were one of the thousands of people who tuned into the first two episodes of Good American Family on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, then you probably found yourself wondering where you had seen the cast before. Well, there’s no need to guess, because we’ve found out where stars like Ellen Pompeo, Mark Duplass and more are from! Read on for the full info.  Ellen Pompeo as Kristine Barnett Ellen Pompeo as Kristine BarnettDisney/Ser Baffo Ellen Pompeo is best known for her role as Dr. Meredith Grey in the hit ABC medical drama Grey’s Anatomy. She has been there since 2005 and starred in over 440 episodes. It’s a role that earned her the title of “highest-paid TV actress of all time.”  Pompeo is still on the show, which is currently in its 21st season, despite also having a starring role in Good American Family.  “I was looking for a real creative challenge. I think this was an opportunity for me to completely disappear into a role,″ Pompeo said of the series. ”Characters like this don’t come along all that often.” The actress has been married to Chris Ivery since 2007 and has three kids.  Mark Duplass as Michael Barnett Mark Duplass as Michael BarnettDisney/Ser Baffo Emmy Award-winning actor Mark Duplass was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on December 7, 1976.  Before joining The Good American Family cast, he appeared in things like Your Sister’s Sister (2011), The One I Love (2014), The League (2009 to 2015), Creep (2014), Togetherness (2015 to 2016), Paddington (2019), Bombshell (2019), The Morning Show (2019 to 2023) and The Creep Tapes (2024).  “[I was] very skeptical,” Duplass told Variety of joining the Good American Family cast. “Look, there’s a documentary, there’s a movie called Orphan that has similar themes, it’s been in the press. Why do we need another ripped-from-the-headlines story?” In the end, though, Duplass joined the cast and is set to star in all eight episodes of the mini-series.  He has been married to Katie Aselton since 2006, and they have two kids.  Imogen Faith Reid as Natalia Grace Imogen Faith Reid as Natalia GraceDisney/Ser Baffo For Imogen Faith Reid, 27, Good American Family serves as her debut role. Originally from the United Kingdom, the actress has dwarfism like Natalia Grace but says it’s a different type.  “With my dwarfism,  it’s not seen as a disability, but a lot are,” the actress told First for Women. “This show does a really good job of telling you not to judge people by the way they look and the way they sound. As a little person, I go through everyday struggles of reaching things, or I have to get my friends to open my water bottle because I can’t, and so I can relate to what little people go through, which is why I also wanted to play Natalia.” “We all go through things in life and we all have different emotions, and I think it was really important to showcase this show.”  Christina Hendricks as Cynthia Mans Christina HendricksDisney/Frank Micelotta Christina Hendricks, 49, is a six-time Emmy-nominated actress best known for Mad Men (2007 to 2015), Ginger & Rosa (2012), The Neon Demon (2016), Bad Santa 2 (2016) and Good Girls (2018 to 2021). In Good American Family, she plays Cynthia Mans—Natalia’s (Reid) third adoptive mother.  “We’re not necessarily born into the perfect families, and we don’t necessarily have the perfect situation,” Hendricks said to First for Women about what the show means to her. “But I think there’s a lot of love out there. And if you can create your family and find that love, that’s the most important thing.”  Hendricks has been married twice, most recently to George Bianchini.  Dulé Hill as Brandon Drysdale Dulé Hill as Brandon DrysdaleDisney/Ser Baffo Actor Dulé Hill is a versatile actor who has appeared in various movies and TV shows like The West Wing (1999–2006), Holes (2003), Psych (2006–2024), Ballers (2015 to 2017), Suits (2017 to 2019) and The Wonder Years (2021 to 2023). He will play Brandon Drysdale, a detective tasked with investigating the Barnetts in Good American Family.  “I loved playing the character,” Hill said, per TV Insider. “It really was a joy to work with the entire cast, but especially Imogen Faith Reid. She really delivered a phenomenal performance and made doing the scenes so easy.”  Hill has been married twice and has two kids.  Sarayu Blue as Valika Kim ShawDisney/Frank Micelotta Originally from Madison, Wisconsin, Sarayu Blue quickly became a household name thanks to projects like I Feel Bad (2018), Blockers (2018), The Unicorn (2019 to 2020) and Inside Out 2 (2024).  Blue’s character Valika in Good American Family serves as a friend of Kristine’s (Pompeo’s) and is set to appear in all eight episodes of the show.  “This entire cast are so kind and truly magnificent,” the actress wrote on Instagram. “Thank you to the incredible creative team, production team and casting for all the heart you put into this show. And @imogenfaith,  you are a brilliant star and the brightest light, and I love you so much.”  Blue has been married to her husband Jonathan for over 10 years and has no children.  Kim Shaw as Jennifer Barnett Sarayu Blue as ValikaDisney/Ser Baffo Kim Shaw is a 40-year-old actress from Ontario, Canada. She is best known for I Just Want My Pants Back (2011 to 2012), Audrey (2012), Saving Hope (2015 to 2017) and You (2021).  Her role in Good American Family will be Michael Barnett’s second wife.  Aias Dalman as Jacob Barnett At just 15 years old, Aias Dalman already has 36 film and TV credits to his name. Most of them are short films, but he played one of the leads in the 2023 Hallmark movie A World Record Christmas.  In Good American Family, he plays Jacob Barnett, one of Kristine) and Michael’s kids, who soon becomes the adopted brother of Natalia Grace. His character has autism and is believed to be the reason Pompeo’s character Kristine felt drawn to adopt a daughter with a disability.  Azriel Dalman as Ethan Barnett Azriel Dalman in 2023Noam Galai/Getty Azriel Dalman is all set to star alongside his real-life brother Aias in Good American Family. He will play Ethan, another Barnett kid. Before this, he was in The Neighbor in the Window (2020), Coyote Creek Christmas (2021), We Need A Little Christmas (2022) and Percy Jackson and the Olympians (2023–2024).  He and his brother are both from Vancouver, Canada.  Source link

[jainasoloswife]

Fic Masterlist

July 22, 1955 | Agents of SHIELD + Agent Carter | Now Complete!

The team's attempt to save Agent Sousa's life in 1955 doesn't go like it's supposed to. He survives, but Daisy, May, and an extremely confused Sousa are all stranded in the past. Without Mack there to stop her, Daisy decides to make the world a better place, timeline be dammed.

This fic is my baby. It's by far the longest thing I've ever written, the product of copious research, and I've had a ton of fun with it. Updates weekly on Thursday evenings (Eastern time)

The No Good Very Bad Trip to Westeros | PJO + A Song of Ice and Fire

Annabeth and Percy, now juniors at New Rome University, just wanted to catch up with Frank over lunch. Instead, a demigod with a grudge sent all three of them to some fucked-up medieval fantasy world, where everyone seems to want to kill everyone else, and they have to intervene in the local monarchy's succession crises before they can find a way home. They may be obsessed with noble titles, but Percy is technically a prince after all.

Percabeth and Frank appear in the sky over Dragonstone right before Melisandre sets the statues of the Seven aflame. Frank saves them from going splat by turning into a dragon, chaos ensues. Inspired in premise by The Old Gods Called, They'd Like Their Kingdom Back, I'm really enjoying writing this. Irregular updates- though I've got plenty of stuff planned!

October 14, 1960 | 1955 'Verse

The first of what will likely be many one-shots in the July 22, 1955 universe. Short and sweet hurt/comfort.

The Seashell, the Wolf, and the Eagle | Old Gods 'Verse

After the fall of Riverrun, a forgotten Queen is sent west, surrounded by guards who have orders to kill her should she forget her place. After escaping her cruel mother, who had never forgiven her for falling in love with the enemy, Jeyne Westerling Stark, Queen Dowager of the North and Trident, strikes out on her own in the Riverlands. Not long after winning her freedom, she begins to hear strange tales from the North. Tales of her husband’s family retaking his home, with the aid of a warrior goddess sent by the Old Gods of the First Men. Jeyne resolves to make her way North, despite the cold winds and bloodied lions, in the hopes of finding a home among the siblings her Robb had loved so dearly. What she finds there is beyond her wildest imaginings. The North has three queens now.

Old Gods, but if Jeyne Westerling existed instead of Talisa. Jeyne-centric. This was originally a one shot but it expanded- I'm most proud of chapter one.

Unexpected Revelations | Star Wars

When Luke falls ill a few weeks after the Battle of Yavin, the Rebellion's medical droids run some tests to find out what's wrong. No one expected a simple DNA test to turn up a relative already in the Rebels' databanks…

Crack treated seriously. I had fun with this.

Where the Sun Shines Through the Rain | Star Wars Legends

3 ABY, Muunilinst

Mara Jade, the Emperor's Hand, is sent by Palpatine to investigate a disturbance in the Force. The disturbance turns out to be a woman claiming to be from the future, where she knows Mara well. As Jaina Solo and Mara Jade get to know each other through a ray-shielded cell door in the Imperial Palace, the Emperor's Hand's entire worldview slowly crumbles around her, and Mara realizes she's made a terrible mistake.

[bewareofitalics]

I finally figured out that I can watch Wicked: The Real Story (the documentary about how it got adapted, starting with Baum) on Hoopla, so I'm doing that, and I don't want to liveblog it because that adds a whole lot of time that I should be spending doing other things, but I'm less than a minute and a half in and the narrator said that Wicked the musical is "so popular that it held its place on Broadway and West End stages while The Wizard of Oz, its predecessor, has come and gone," and I can't roll my eyes hard enough. Yes there is no direct adaptation of The Wizard of Oz currently running on Broadway, but like, The Movie. There is The Movie. People can watch it whenever they want. And they do! It is an extremely popular movie!

...was America really a "newly independent nation" when L. Frank Baum was born in 1856. I mean I guess so in the grand scheme of things? But if I heard that without knowing approximately when he was born I would've guessed, like, 1800 at the latest. Okay time to stop nitpicking the narrator's phrasing or I'll never get through this.

Father Goose, His Book wasn't "a follow-up story" to Mother Goose in Prose. Neither of those books was "a story," Mother was multiple short stories and Father was poems. "A follow-up book" would've been perfectly acceptable. Just saying.

Gregory Maguire is trying to have it both ways with the political allegory theory, UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH.

Greg are you aware that Narnia, Middle Earth, and Neverland came after Oz, because it doesn't sound like you are.

They've got a Judy Garland impersonator talking (not in character) about all the directors on The Movie, and she conflates Norman Taurog and Richard Thorpe. Never even said Thorpe's name. This is not an obscure series of events!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Also apparently she thinks that MGM brought in King Vidor on purpose because Victor Fleming wasn't good at quiet scenes? Fleming left to work on Gone with the Wind! Even less obscure!

Greg thinks it's hilarious that, because all we see of the Wicked Witch of the East is her feet, she could've been "grossly fat" and we'd never know it. Ha...ha? But I guess that's where the idea for Nessarose not having arms came from. Also he says that thing I've seen him say elsewhere about how weird it is that the Wicked Witch of the West uses Glinda's first name, but... is it? It's her only name!

Stephen Schwartz is talking about how audiences didn't care if things were changed from Baum or Maguire, but they did care if things were changed from MGM. "And very early on, Winnie and I came to the conclusion that we could not do anything that contradicted the 1939 movie." There is so much in Wicked that contradicts the 1939 movie!!!!!!!! Plot aside, Glinda is blonde and makes her first appearance wearing blue!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And that's fine! But what the heck are you talking about!

(I mean, it does seem like fans don't realize how much of the movie absolutely can't happen in the context of the musical. But I digress.)

Anyway, my kingdom for faithful adaptations of the Oz books. :(

[rygoespop]

Thomas and Friends: Legends of Sodor (Story 100): The Railway Tourists (80th Anniversary Special)

In honor of May 2025 marking 80 Years of The Railway Series and this being the 100th Story, I decided to make this a Double Special, so enjoy

Scene opens with Earth spinning around

Narrator: All around the world, there are Railways, and railways have engines all over the world

Scene shows 7 Countries with their respective engines, Sam and Vinnie (The US), Gator (Colombia), Axel (Belgium), Ivan (Russia), Ashima (India), Yong Bao (China), and Hiro (Japan)

Narrator: And every engine on the railway pull or push coaches and goods to their destinations

The world turns as it zooms in on The United Kingdom, more commonly known as The Mainland

Narrator: But the most important railway is British Railways on The Mainland, which runs from Victoria Station, to Vicarstown on The Island of Sodor

Scene shows Flying Scotsman racing down the line pulling 6 Red Express Coaches, puffing through the Canal

Flying Scotsman: *whistling and racing* Morning express coming through!

Beresford: Good mornin Scotsman!

Flying Scotsman puffs into Roosevelt as Samson was puffing down on the other line pulling a Flour Car, a car full of Milk Churns, a Coal Car, a car full of crates, and Bradford, on the bridge above, a group of people from across the globe were taking pictures and recording

Flying Scotsman: *sees the tourists* Hello there! *whistles*

Samson whistled back

American Tourist: Wow! I can’t believe that was the Flying Scotsman

Finnish Tourist: I know man, and soon, we got a next stop

American Tourist: On the Island of Sodor, that’s our next stop!

British Tourist: Come on lots, let’s catch the next passenger train!

Soon, the Tourists came down from the Bridge and onto the platform

American Tourist 2: Look! Someone is coming!

Mallard puffed into Roosevelt, pulling 4 Blue Express Coaches

Mallard: Hello there, are you going to Vicarstown?

Canadian Tourist: Of course! We have a plan to see around the Island of Sodor

Mallard: Well, get in the coaches please

The Tourists all got in Mallard’s Coaches

Mallard: *blew his whistle* Next stop, Vicarstown! *puffs off*

American Tourist 3: This is grand, we’re gonna see the Island of Sodor

American Tourist 4: I know, they got the four railways

British Tourist: The North Western Railway

American Tourist 2: The Skarloey Railway

Canadian Tourist: The Culdee Fell Railway

Finnish Tourist: And the Arlesdale Railway

American Tourist 5: How Joy!

Mallard: We have arrived at Vicarstown!

The tourists peeked out of windows and see the Vicarstown as it was busy, followed by cameos of Murdoch, Paxton, Connor, and Theo all hauling and shunting coaches and cars

American Tourist: This is gonna be the best day ever

Camera pans up to the sky

Title Card: The Railway Tourists

Scene cuts to Thomas puffing down on his Branchline pulling Annie and Clarabel

Narrator: Meanwhile, Thomas was out on his Branchline

Thomas arriving at Elsbridge

Thomas: Ah, nothing like a good passenger run to start the day

Emily: You said it *blew her whistle*

Thomas: Oh, morning Emily!

Emily: Morning Thomas! Have you heard?

Thomas: No what?

Emily: We are gonna get a visit from Tourists, they wanna see us

Thomas: Wooooow, that’s amazing! Are they visiting us now?

Emily: No Thomas, their first visit is the Arlesdale Railway

Thomas: Oh, ok then

Scene transitions to the Tourists arriving at Arlesburgh West

Narrator: Later that day, the Tourists made their visit to the Arlesdale Railway

American Tourist 6: Wooooow, look at this railway, it looks like a toy railway

Mike: Toy? *puffed in*

American Tourist 6: Oh, sorry I said that

Mike: Yeah, you better

Bert: *puffed in* Sorry about that, that’s Mike, he’s a rather grumpy one! You must be the tourists

Finnish Tourist: Indeed we are

Bert: Then welcome to the Arlesdale Railway, you met Mike, I’m Bert

Camera shows to Frank pushing Ballast up, as well as Jock pulling coaches and Rex pulling coal cars

Bert: That’s Frank, and Jock too, and Rex

Frank: Hello there

Rex: Well, we got quite some tourists visiting this Island

American Tourist: Indeed

Australian Tourist: Which one of you will give us a tour around this railway

Jock: I will!

Scene transitions to Jock, puffing down the line, pulling the coaches with Tourists all in

Narrator: Soon, Jock began to take the tourists around the Arlesdale Railway

Jock: Over here we have the Arlesdale Station

The Tourists were surprised as they took pictures

Jock puffed into Arlesburgh Harbor

Jock: And here we have Arlesburgh Harbor, a harbor that connects both the Arlesdale Railway and the North Western Railway

Frank oiled down the other line pulling Wool Cars, followed by cameos from Daisy and Neville carrying passengers and cars respectively

American Tourist: You can smell the sea air, its breath taking for the view

British Tourist: I know, it’s quite the view

Scene transitions to Jock arriving back at Arlesburgh West

Narrator: Later, Jock arrived back at Arlesburgh Junction

Jock: Thus concludes the tour around the Miniature Railway, now where do you plan on going to next?

American Tourist: Why we’re going to visit the Culdee Fell Railway next

Jock: Ok then, have a nice time over there

Oliver puffed in pulling Old Slow Coach and Toad

Oliver: I can get you there

Australian Tourist: Much obliged

Old Slow Coach: Oh this is fascinating, carrying tourists

Toad: Like a dream come true

The Tourists got in Old Slow Coach

Oliver: Next stop, Kirk Machan *blew his whistle and puffs off*

Scene transitions to Tidmouth Roundhouse Shed, the 12 Members of the Steam 14 (Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy, Toby, Molly, Rosie, Stanley, Belle, Nia, and Rebecca) were getting the shed decorated

Narrator: Meanwhile at Tidmouth Roundhouse Shed, decorations were being put up

Belle: Oooh I’m so excited for the Tourists to see us!

Gordon: I know, they knew about my brother, but now it’s my turn!

Molly: Oh Gordon, don’t showboat

Toby: I wonder if they’ll appreciate a tram engine like me

Percy: I’m sure they will Toby

Stanley: I agree with Percy

Rosie: Same too

Henry: Although it’s gonna be one celebration to have tourists see us

Nia: I agree with Henry

Rebecca: Me too, it’ll be quite a party

Edward: Well, it’s only a matter of time until Thomas and Emily get here

James: Oooh yes

Scene transitions to Oliver arriving at Kirk Machan

Narrator: Meanwhile, Oliver brought the Tourists to Kirk Machan

American Tourist: Wooooow, look at that mountain

Culdee: *puffed backwards pulling Catherine* Hello Oliver! I see you brought me passengers

Oliver: Not just any ordinary passengers Culdee

Culdee: What do you mean?

Toad: They are Tourists from around the world Mr. Culdee

Culdee: Tourists?! Well I’ll be, get in please, and I’ll show you the mountain view

The Tourists all got in Catherine

Culdee: Thank you Oliver! *blew his whistle and puffs off as he pushes Catherine*

Oliver: Anytime Culdee!

Scene transitions to Culdee pushing Catherine up on the hills

Narrator: Soon, Culdee took the Tourists around the mountains

Culdee: Up there is the Summit, engines like us bring the hikers up for a view of the island

American Tourist: Ooooooh

Australian Tourist: What’s that down there?

Culdee: That, that track leads down to the passenger transfer on the Skarloey Railway

Finnish Tourist: Another Narrow Gauge Railway?

American Tourist: Sounds interesting

American Tourist 2: Lets go down there!

Culdee: If you insist *blew his whistle and puffs down*

Canadian Tourist: Oooooh, what’s that

Culdee: That, that’s the Lakeside Station on the Skarloey Railway, I heard stories about it, and one time, I was told that Peter Sam once left the Refreshment Lady behind

American Tourist 6: Was that true?

Culdee: Of course!

Scene transitions to Culdee arriving at the Passenger Transfer Shed

Narrator: Soon, Culdee brought the passengers down

Culdee: Here we are

British Tourist: I wonder who-

A whistle was heard

Duke: I’ll take it from here!

Duke puffed backwards with 2 Blue Narrow Gauge Coaches and a Green Narrow Gauge Coach

Finnish Tourist: Is that?

Australian Tourist: It is! It’s Duke! The legend, the Myth!

Duke: The myth? *chuckles* Oh you youngins never cease to make me laugh

British Tourist: Indeed

Duke blew his whistle and puffs off down the hill

Culdee: Goodbye Duke

Scene transitions to Duke puffing down the line with the tourists

Narrator: Soon, Duke began to show the tourists around the Skarloey Railway

Duke: First up is Rheneas Station

American Tourist; Rheneas Station?

Duke: Yes, named after one of the engines on this railway

Finnish Tourist: Oooooh, interesting!

Duke puffed into Rheneas Station

Duke: And here’s the station

Luke blew his whistle as he puffed in with Empty Slate Cars

Luke: Hello Duke! What are ya doing?

Duke: Greetings Luke, I’m showing these Railway Tourists around our Railway

Canadian Tourist: Look, it’s the engine who saved Thomas!

The Tourists took pictures on Luke

Luke: Oh thank ya kindly, if it weren’t for Thomas, then I would stay hidden forever!

Duke: Indeed! Well, time to get going, goodbye young Luke *blew his whistle and puffs off*

Luke: Goodbye Duke!

Scene transitions to Duke coming across a level crossing, the same one Sir Handel met George

Narrator: Soon, Duke came across a Level Crossing

Duke comes to a stop

American Tourist 4: Hey! Why are we stopping?

Duke: There’s a level crossing, so we got to let someone go through

Soon, Caroline rolled down the road

Caroline: Hello Duke

Duke: Hello Caroline

Caroline: Carrying tourists I see

Duke: Yes, and these tourists are from around the world

Caroline: Around the world you say, fascinating!

Finnish Tourist: Indeed it’s fascinating

Caroline: Well, better get going, goodbye Duke! *rolled away*

Duke: Farewell Caroline!

The Tourists took pictures of Kirk Ronan Station as it’s in the distance

Duke: Now then, onto Crovan’s Gate! *blew his whistle and puffs off*

Scene transitions to Thomas and Emily at Crovan’s Gate, they were waiting

Narrator: Meanwhile at Crovan’s Gate, Thomas and Emily were waiting for Duke

Thomas: Where is Duke?

Annie: He must not be late

Clarabel: As we got to take these tourists

Emily: Oh he’ll be here!

Soon, Duke blew his whistle as he arrived

Duke: Don’t worry you youngins, I’m here!

Thomas: There you are Duke, I was worried we would be delayed

Emily: Now the tourists are happy to see us

The Tourists got out and see Thomas and Emily

American Tourist: I don’t believe it, it’s them, it’s really them

Finnish Tourist: Oh this is perfect

Emily: Are you coming in?

British Tourist 2: Oh, right!

Soon, the tourists got in Annie and Clarabel, as well as Emily’s Coaches

Thomas: Ready Emily?

Emily: Ready Thomas!

Thomas and Emily blew their whistles and puff off

American Tourist: I can’t believe we got the king and queen of the Ffarquhar Branchline to take us

Finnish Tourist: I know right, it’s amazing!

Thomas: First stop, Ulfstead Castle!

Scene transitions to Thomas and Emily arriving at Ulfstead Castle

Narrator: Soon, Thomas and Emily arrive at Ulfstead Castle

Thomas: This, is Ulfstead Castle, a landmark on Sodor

The Tourists were amazed as they take pictures

American Tourist 5: This is amazing

Glynn: Indeed my young friends

Glynn and Stephen puff in

Thomas: Oh, Stephen! Glynn!

Glynn: Hello Thomas, what brings you and Emily here?

Emily: We are showing tourists around the railway

Stephen: And landmarks like Ulfstead Castle?

British Tourist 3: Whoa! It’s Stephenson’s Rocket! He does exist!

Stephen: Oh please, do call me Stephen!

American Tourist 4: By your request

Glynn: I never thought Tourists would visit the Island

Thomas: Well, there’s a surprise for them at Tidmouth

Glynn: Ooooh

Stephen: Sounds interesting

Finnish Tourist: *walks up to Glynn* So, your the old Coffeepot Engine who once ran on Thomas’s Branchline

Glynn: Indeed I am

Stephen: As long you didn’t get cream and sugar in your boiler *chuckled*

Glynn: You are funny Stephen

Thomas: *Chuckled* I guess that’s a coffee too sweet

Glynn: Real funny my predecessor!

Emily: *giggled* So, should we get onto Tidmouth?

Thomas: Your right Emily! We should get going

The Tourists got back in Annie and Clarabel and Emily’s coaches

Thomas: It was fun seeing you again, bye Glynn!

Emily: Bye Stephen!

Both Thomas and Emily puff backwards

Glynn: Goodbye Thomas and Emily!

Stephen: See you soon

Scene transitions to Thomas and Emily puffing down the line on separate tracks to Tidmouth

Narrator: Soon, Thomas and Emily were on their way to Tidmouth with the Tourists

Thomas: I can’t wait to show the tourists to everyone

Emily: I know Thomas

Scene transitions to Thomas and Emily arriving at Tidmouth Roundhouse Shed

Narrator: At last, they arrived at the shed

Thomas: And here, is Tidmouth Roundhouse Shed, home to 12 members of the Steam 14

American Tourist: Wooooooow

Emily: Now let’s show them everyone inside

Thomas’s Driver and Emily’s driver open the door, showing the other engines

Gordon: Well, they’re here!

James: Helloooooo Tourists!

American Tourist 7: Look, it’s really them

Canadian Tourist; This, is an amazing visit we get to have

Australian Tourist: You got that right

Finnish Tourist; Best, day, ever!

Soon, the tourists all got to meet all of the members of the 14, taking pictures with them

Narrator: Soon, everyone was delighted to see all the members of the Steam 14, they were taking pictures, evenly meeting Sir Topham Hatt for the first time l

STH: I’m sure you all have a splendid time visiting my railway, as well as the other railways

???: Oh, except one they haven’t visited yet

Thomas: Who said- Wait, I know that voice!

A golden glow appears on the Turntable, revealing the voice to be Lady

Lady: Hello Thomas

Thomas: Lady! I knew you came to see all of us!

Gordon: *sees Lady* So the magic engine, does exist!

Lady: Of course I do Gordon

Belle: It’s nice to meet you Lady!

Lady: I know Belle

Thomas: What brings you here from the Spirit Realm?

Lady: I’m here to say this to you Thomas, you are, a Really Useful Engine

Thomas: Oh, thank you Lady!

Scene cuts to a montage of Thomas and all of his friends working together on the Island of Sodor, evenly engines on The Mainland and Around the World, while the Thomas Anthem by Headmaster Hastings play, as the story ending with Thomas puffing into Ffarquhar Station like he did in the original intro, as the scene freeze frames and fades to black

HAPPY 80 YEARS TO THE RAILWAY SERIES!

I hope you all enjoyed this 80th Anniversary Special/100th Story, stay tune for the next story