#they're both 1886!

[art-that-fucks-you-up-tournament]

SET SIX - ROUND ONE - MATCH SEVEN

"The Handmaidens of Sivawara Preparing the Sacred Bull at Tanjore for a Festival" (1886 - Valentine Cameron Prinsep) / "Ajax and Cassandra" (1886 - Solomon Joseph Solomon)

THE HANDMAIDENS OF SIVAWARA: i thought this was an actual photo at first. the little details are *biting my hand off* it is just so sfdbkjfhwiuef you get me? (anonymous)

AJAX AND CASSANDRA: the lighting. the fucking vibes of this artwork are INSANE. (anonymous)

("The Handmaidens of Sivawara Preparing the Sacred Bull at Tanjore for a Festival" is an 1886 oil on canvas painting done by British artist Valentine Cameron Prinsep. It measures 58 x 73¾ in. (147.3 x 111.5 cm.)

"Ajax and Cassandra" is an 1886 oil on canvas painting done by the Jewish-Brit artist Solomon Joseph Solomon. It measures 304.5 x 152.5 cm (10 x 5 ft) and is currently held at the Art Gallery of Ballarat in Ballarat, Australia.)

[queeringclassiclit]

Henry Jekyll & Gabriel Utterson

from The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (1886)

submitted by anon who said:

In Jekyll's suicide note in the last chapter he remarks "Now the hand of Henry Jekyll (as you have often remarked) was professional in shape and size; it was large, firm, white and comely." Like how often did Utterson go on to Jekyll about his hands? At the beginning of the book Utterson is described as being tolerant of other people's wrongs with him used to saying "inclined to cain's heresy... I let my brother go to the devil in his own way" but throughout the book he's getting all up in Jekyll's business with his worries about Hyde. Also Utterson stakes out the door that Hyde is seen coming in and out of for multiple days during his free time out of concern for Jekyll. He has nightmares about Jekyll being tormented by Hyde to the point he has trouble sleeping.

[brainstirfry]

im making a thread of things that happened in the wolverine's canonical lifespan. Cause they had movie that was supposed to be his ORIGIN story, but it gave 5 minutes to one experience in his childhood and 45 cumulative seconds to like THREE major wars he was in. So just to highlight how rich this character COULD be with culture across actual CENTURIES here's some shit that Logan Howlett lived through since he was born in the year of our lord, 1832. (By the way, as of earlier this month, that makes him 192 years old cause I think some people just wanted him to have the same birthday as hugh jackman which is great and I support it but I also can't find any evidence that it's actually true.) the last note I will make is that 1832 is neither the date supported by the comics and I've heard that it's not even true for Origins, but it's the most commonly cited and I think it will all be okay. it will all be okay in time. Oh yeah, and spoilers for x men origins Wolverine.

- For historical background, 1801 in America saw the election of Thomas Jefferson, who was the THIRD ever president of the US, so just for context the revolutionary war was just under 30 years prior and the events of Hamilton the musical will shake out within 3 years.

- Anyways in Canada after the American revolution the British split the territory in half, upper and lower Canada and all the British loyalists in the North American colonies went up there. 20 years after the split was the war of 1812.

- Washington Irving was alive during what would be Logan's parents? Time? which I mention because I think Beast would quote him and it would send Logan into a flashback that's the only reason

FROM HERE OUT Logan was probably alive for these things:

- Charles Darwin visits the Galápagos Islands in 1835 but it's hard to say how that really fits in with there being 'evolved' mutants but it's an interesting thought.

- Telegraphs were being widely used by the 1840s. Cool

- there's the Great famine in Ireland late 1840s which kicks off a lot of immigration to the US, in time for the gold rush starting around 1848. Also during this period Edgar Allan Poe hits national fame

- Ok finally getting to the First fucking thing we even see in Origins after the initial opening scene. This is being shown WHILE credits are rolling: the civil war. (1861-65) (Idk if him and Victor are still living in Canada at this point or if they've emigrated to the US after being on the run(?) but it doesn't really matter since Canadians did fight in the war regardless, mostly on the union side, obviously. By this time, they're both certifiably adults. Also Abraham Lincoln is assassinated.

- the late 1870s had graham bell's telephone and Edison's lightbulb. And wax cylinders for music on phonographs. Battle of Little Bighorn in Montana in the summer of 1876

- 1886 I wrote "statue of liberty put up. damn."

- 1890's: Wounded Knee, Carnegie hall OPENS, Sherlock Holmes first appears in a newspaper. kinda thought that was interesting. 93 there's a depression in America that foreshadows the Great Depression, then oh this one is important,

- 1894 has the first motorcycle production in the US! wow.. later Logan will buy his favorite '48 panhead "new off the line"

[worldwithoutmiracles]

Entreat Me Not To Leave You

||Ruth and Naomi by Philip Calderon, 1886||

"...in the Bible, Ruth is Naomi's daughter-in-law, but also Ruth and Naomi are lovers. Widows. You see, first Naomi's husband died, then Ruth's, and with both husbands dead, something deepened between the two, or just as likely the affair started before their husbands passed. 

The Hebrew word for cleave, which is used to describe the bond between both Ruth and Naomi, is the same one used to describe the bond between Adam and Eve.

Orpah, Ruth's sister, is married to another of Naomi's sons. He dies. All the men of all the generations are dead at this point. Naomi tries to turn Ruth and Orpah out from the home, knowing their safest bet for financial security is to take to the road and find new husbands while they're still young. Orpah protests, gently, politely, then shrugs and sets off on the road to find a suitable Moabite man. But not Ruth. 

'Entreat me not to leave you,' Ruth pleads to Naomi, 'or to turn back from following after you; for wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me.'

Ruth's vow is often used by straight couples, as part of their nuptials. The story of Ruth and Naomi is perhaps the first lesbian desire in literature, predating even Sappho."

- Justin Torres, Blackouts

[sylvanas-girlkisser]

I've spent the morning playing "The Order 1886", like 8 billion years after it came out.

The game advertised itself as being about like, a dieselpunk secret society fighting werewolves, and on the surface yeah that's true. The execution however is just so damn derivative.

Like okay, first off, the order is not actually a secret society, they're her majesty's supercops.

Second: everyone talks like the protagonist of a call of duty game, yelling about targets being neutralized, and having situations on their hand - This is with the exception of one scene where everyone spontaneously switches to hollywood regency era English, which must have been written for the trailers.

Also all the weapons I've encountered so far are just very slighly altered real world weapons, except for the two lightning guns which are both stolen from fallout 3.

After about an hour and a half, the game seemingly just forgets it's supposed to be about werewolves, and becomes more concerned with checking all the boxes people would expect from a US-army inspired FPS of the era.

Now we're rappelling down the side of a ship, here we are sneaking around with knives assassinating guards, can't forget the sniper section, or the part where the rebels plant bombs on a thing, oh and we simply must have a battle for the bridge followed by a rocket launcher segment - i wonder when im getting to the helicopter minigun section.

Except dear reader, just as i was absolutely falling asleep at the helm, the game revealed that actually the order is made up of vampire knights of the round table. But before things could too interesting, the game turned around and revealed this was just setup for their assassins creed fanfiction

[lykegenia]

Fic asks for you! :)

D: Is there a song or a playlist to associate with Like Glitter and Gold?

K: What’s the angstiest idea you’ve ever come up with?

L: What’s the weirdest AU you’ve ever come up with?

Thank you for these asks, they've been a lot of fun to think about!

D: Is there a song or a playlist to associate with Like Glitter and Gold? Not specific playlist as such but there are definitely vibes. Like, Nate is entirely made up of Hozier sentiments. and since I headcanon Wayhaven to be somewhere up in the west of Scotland there are a lot of folk artists like Julie Fowlis and Heather Dale that helped me feel out the mood for the town. There is a song that fits Leah's general panic at the whole situation, and that is "I Think I'm In Love" by Taylor Acorn, it's all about the feeling of being knocked off your feet by the strength of new feelings, and wanting the other person to come closer but also being terrified of the vulnerability that creates.

K: What’s the angstiest idea you’ve ever come up with? For one thing, who hasn't daydreamed about your character's vampire boyfriend being distraught at accidentally killing them because he just couldn't help his predatory nature? XD For TWC there's so much potential for angst even beyond that. My two favourites are

a) Leah gets cursed by a genie/has an argument with Rebecca and makes a wish that her mother wasn't the one to survive. She wakes up at the start of Book 1 in a world where Rook survived when Rebecca didn't and now she has to decide whether to suffer the trauma she knows Murphy is going to inflict on her, or act first and save Garrett Hayes in the knowledge that without the extra boost to her mutation Murphy's experiment gave her, UB likely won't have an excuse to hang around.

b) Some kind of psychic supernatural with a grudge traps Leah in a nightmare where she loses her mutation and what she initially thinks is a blessing is actually a curse as everyone slowly leaves. Nate stops being interested in her without the special blood, the Agency decides she's not worth the resources they're spending protecting the town, Tina gets a job in the big city and moves away... and meanwhile in the real world Nate has to watch her slowly wasting away without being able to do anything about it. (I'm just very cruel to Leah)

I do also have a detective I'm thinking about pairing with Adam, which is just an angsty idea in itself. Her name's Amanda, the most ironic name in the world because it means "she who must be loved" and nobody does, and she's just as stoic as Adam and doesn't reach out for help and really can't deal with the nightmares but doesn't let anyone know how much she's struggling. Adam finds out by accident but that just makes it worseand she closes up even more. Neither Tina nor Verda know about the supernatural, either, so she's extra alone. I likely won't ever write any of this down, but it's fun to indulge every now and then.

L: What’s the weirdest AU you’ve ever come up with? I've been trying to think about all my AUs and really... I wouldn't describe any of them as particularly weird. A lot of them just tweak things that are already in the story rather than pulling all of the charcters out into a different universe or making something happen that's completely off the rails. The closest I've gotten is the Victorian AU I came up with with @gingerbreton, but that's just Book 1 set in Edinburgh in 1886 with both of our detectives chafing under Victorian misogyny and well-meaning vampires

fanfic writer asks

[thatcrazycrowgirl]

What do you think 💬 about Jacob's wife would be like? From appearance, personality, assassin or not? I feel like she would be both_ don't know how an assassin and Normal job at the same time but yeah I love that idea :>

(*All of the is purely personal opinion; proceed with caution and take it with a truck full of salt.)

If I’m 100% honest, this is a tough question to answer across the board, and a lot of it is due to personal bias - whether conscious or not. I have my own ideas of who I think Jacob would be compatible with, be physically attracted to, and later fall in love with, and to continue to be honest, a lot of those ideas were taken into consideration when I began crafting my Syndicate OC several years ago. This does not mean others will think the same way, though.

However, since you asked, I’ll share a few thoughts.

In terms of personality, I see the woman Jacob falls for to be, at least at base level, capable, compassionate, adventurous, and able to match his wit with her own sharp mind. (And in my mind, his future wife is also someone who can hopefully cook better than Jacob or they’re both screwed.) Perhaps too, someone who is willing to go along with some of Jacob’s outrageous ideas, but call him out if what he’s plotting is too dangerous or insane for anyone’s good - same goes for calling out Jacob on any of his BS, as well. As much as I imagine he would deny it, Jacob is the type who needs some sort of anchor/voice of reason - at least to some degree - just so he doesn’t impulsively fly off the handle with some things - as we’ve seen him do, when left completely unchecked.

Again, that being said, just because *I* believe Jacob would fall in love with and marry a certain kind of woman (specifically the one I described above), doesn’t mean other people may do so, as well. Some may argue that a woman who is 100% the complete opposite of Jacob may be the sort he’d fall in love with. Some see him marrying another Assassin - some, a Templar - some, a civilian - some, even one of his own gang members. All of those opinions are valid and possible, because we don’t know what exactly happens between the years of 1869 - 1886. That's 17 years more or less unaccounted for, so heaven knows what all Jacob got up to during that time.

I know you had asked for my personal opinion, but I feel like bringing light to the closest thing we may have to a “canonical answer” might make for an interesting, additional footnote. If you are interested, there was an interview from a few years ago, where Paul Amos (Jacob’s VA) gave his brief opinion on Jacob’s “perfect love interest”/the sort of woman he would marry:

“Well, I don’t know, because they established that he has a daughter, right? In the future, because his granddaughter is in the sequence... So, it’s obviously a very strong woman, somebody who can put up with Jacob and keep him in check...much like my own wife, really...” (From this clip)

(You might notice that this lines up a lot with my own opinion, but I had no idea this interview existed until fairly recently - so there was no influence from it. Just wanted to put that out there.)

In regards to Jacob marrying another Assassin and whether or not she could be both an Assassin and still lead a civilian life, it could be a tricky balance, but not wholly impossible, in my opinion. Two good examples of this are with Jayadeep Mir (a.k.a. Henry Green) being an Assassin, but also owning a curiosity shop, and Arno Dorian, another Assassin, who owns and operates the Café Théâtre. Yeah, these places are most likely a cover, but they're still running actual businesses. Now, going back to Jacob's love interest, I think the biggest catalyst of how well leading that “duel life” could work is how large of a role she has within the Brotherhood, and how the amount of people in that city’s faction. If she doesn’t rank high in the organization and there are a good amount of people to share the work, then leading a more “normal” life could be more manageable, in my opinion.

Now, in terms of appearance, I’m afraid this is one question I couldn’t answer with any sort of certainty or without bias, as we never get any canonical evidence, via Jacob’s own words, as to what he finds physically attractive in a woman. (Yes, I know he’s bicurious/bisexual, but since this post is specifically asking about Jacob’s future wife, I’m focusing on the side of his sexual orientation that is attracted to women.) We see him get a little flirty with women on two occasions (a bit with Pearl and with those two unnamed women in “The Last Maharajah” DLC), but that doesn’t give any solid indication on a specific type for him. Like I've previously stated with other aspects, I had my own ideas that I considered that were later implemented into my OC, but that doesn’t mean other people will agree with them. (And that’s perfectly fine.) So, for the sake of keeping the peace, I may leave this question off the table, if that's alright.

So, there’s my answer, I guess? Sorry if it’s kind of messy and vague in parts, but again, when you’re quite ingrained into this fandom, answering something like this with a neutral eye is borderline impossible.

I still appreciate you shooting me a message, though, and thank you for your patience in receiving my response! :)

[squideo]

Advert Alchemy: The Slogan

Concocting the perfect advertising campaign takes a vivid imagination, solid branding, and dedication from your marketing team. On top of that, there are eight key ingredients that – once added – takes an advertisement from background noise to standout sensation. 

In this series, Squideo is going to break down each of these eight ingredients. Follow our advice, and your next advert might just turn content into gold! This week, we’re starting with the bedrock of every company’s social presence: the slogan. 

What is a slogan?

They're gr-r-reat!

The happiest place on Earth. 

Snap! Crackle! Pop!

Just do it.

Finger lickin’ good. 

Any of these sound familiar? The right slogan has the power to embed itself into the public mindset and become a part of popular culture. And even if it doesn’t reach the same legacy status as these global brands, the right slogan should become synonymous with your company.

It will represent your values, motivate your audience, and drive all future advertising campaigns. That means you shouldn’t come up with your slogan immediately. Give it a lot of thought, consider how it will appeal to your target demographic, and then think some more before making the commitment.

What is the difference between a slogan and a tagline?

While a slogan is for life, a tagline is much more interchangeable. Taglines can be reworked for different seasons and different products. The slogan is synonymous with your brand, just like a logo, and it should only be changed if you’re planning a major overhaul of your company’s look. 

Taglines can be longer than the short, catchy slogan. This means they can be more descriptive, making them perfect for describing the products and services your company offers. 

For example, Apple’s slogan is “Think Different” (replacing it’s 1970s to 80s slogan of “Byte into an Apple.”) When it launched its iPhone SE, it came with the tagline “A big step for small” to promote the compactness of this new iPhone model. 

Coca-Cola’s slogan – “It’s the real thing” – has been accompanied by dozens of taglines since its creation in 1886. Which one made its biggest impact on you? 

Catch the Wave.

You Can’t Beat the Feeling.

You Can’t Beat the Real Thing.

Make It Real.

Taste the Feeling.

Coca-Cola’s taglines use similar wordings to reinforce its branding throughout so many advertising campaigns. This is seen through its consistent use of the words “feeling” and “real.” Combined with its distinguishable red palette, this makes it easy for consumers to spot its advertisements at a glance. 

Taglines can also be introduced for each product. Diet Coke had “Open Happiness.” Coke Zero got “Tastes More Like Coke.” Both fit with Coca-Cola’s brand, whilst informing consumers of the qualities that make this product stand out in the range.

Create Your Slogan

Ready to create a slogan of your own? Read Squideo’s tips below to produce the right slogan for you and your company. Or, if you would like direct marketing advice, get in touch with us.

01. Have It Your Way

Before you break out the rhyming dictionary or start drafting mnemonics, there’s an important question to answer: what do you want your slogan to say? Should it set you up as a modern, fun company. Or as a forerunner in your industry. Look to your brand for the answer – you want a slogan that will reflect you and your company. 

02. Buy It. Sell It. Love It. 

Toyota chose a simple slogan: “Let’s Go Places.” It reflects the product (motor vehicles, if you don’t know) and the minimalist look the brand embodies. Tesco chose to keep it monetary themed: “Every Little Helps.” It emphasises the company’s commitment to lowering costs for consumers. 

Should your slogan be funny, serious, informative… It’s a question only you can answer! For inspiration, look at other companies in your field and companies targeting the same demographic. What are they doing? 

Have a look at Squideo’s video for Qiiosk. Their slogan, “Information Everywhere,” connects them to their industry as an app developer. 

03. Imagination at Work

Remember, the tagline is for detail. Your slogan should be short and to the point. How many famous slogans can you think of that are longer than five words? Probably not many. Set yourself a word limit to stop the slogan from running away from you – and your audience. 

04. The Quicker Picker Upper

To make your slogan snappy, it must be fast, direct, and able to quickly roll off the tongue. Consider alliteration, puns and play on well-known expressions. This will make your slogan the most memorable it can be. 

Have a look at Squideo’s video for Highlight. Taking this point to the extreme, their slogan is only two words: “See Clearly.”

05. Challenge Everything

History is full of advertising fails. Some are funny coincidences, like when a slogan creates an unfortunate acronym. Others can be more destructive, tarnishing the reputation of a brand. To avoid becoming a cautionary tale for future advertisers, test your slogan and test it well. 

Not only should the slogan go through several members of your team, test it on your audience too. The benefit of social media is you can deliver it as a public vote, or run adverts featuring different slogans and delete those that are unsuccessful. 

Share Your Slogan

Once you’ve got the perfect slogan for your company, it’s time to share it as widely as possible! Your slogan should be consistently present throughout your advertising campaign, becoming as synonymous with your brand as your logo. 

That’s not to say it needs to appear on every piece of advertising – sometimes a tagline may be more appropriate. But often enough that when a customer hears it, they associate it with you. 

01. Video Adverts

This is a Squideo blog, so we have to lead with video! Whether they’re destined for television, YouTube or your website – a slogan can take a video to the next level. 

02. Billboards

Either static or animated, billboards are a great way to capture audience attention. Even a minimalistic design featuring a prominent slogan can go a long way – providing you’ve followed our tips and have come up with a winner!

03. Website

When someone arrives at your website, they will stay there for an average of 54 seconds. To convert an audience into customers, it’s important to capture their attention immediately. 

Having a slogan front and centre is a great way to hook their interest. Show off your corporate values, encapsulate your company’s services, have some fun! Whatever the slogan, make sure it has a prominent place on your website. 

04. Social Media

Most social media platforms have a word limit for your profile biography – making it the perfect spot to use your short and snappy slogan. Keep it short enough and you might even have some characters left over to add details about your services and location. 

05. Paper Ads

Business cards, flyers, leaflets… each one is a worthy location for your slogan. The beauty of this traditional advertising medium is that your audience literally takes it home with them, giving your slogan plenty of time to work its magic. 

Content Worth Gold

Get in touch with the Squideo team today to find out how we can improve your advertising strategy with video production, motion graphics, social media management and much more! 

[davidanderson121]

Ship My Truck To Another State 9810 - DIY Transport, Inc

The Evolution of the Automobile and Shipping The automotive and shipping industries have both undergone changes over the years, with the former evolving more rapidly than the latter. This blog post will explore some of the key reasons for this, as well as will look at some of the ways transportation has shaped these industries. From cars to shipping containers, read on to learn more about how technology has played a role in shaping these industries and what it means for your business. Ship My Truck To Another State 9810 The History of the Automobile The automobile has a long and convoluted history, with many different iterations and patents. The first automobiles were simple machines powered by either horses or steam. The first recorded automobile accident occurred in 1809, when a carriage driven by Pierre-Étienne Lenoir careened out of control and crashed into a crowd in Paris. By the end of the 1800s, however, the automobile had begun to take shape as we know it today. In 1869, Karl Benz built the world's first gasoline-powered car. Benz's invention revolutionized transportation and helped spur on the development of other motor vehicles. In 1886, Nikolaus Otto patented the first internal combustion engine, which paved the way for widespread use of automobiles. Throughout the early years of automotive development, there were many challenges to overcome. For example, cars needed to be lightweight enough to be carried on roads without breaking down, yet durable enough to withstand travel over long distances. Engineers also had to come up with methods for safely storing fuel inside vehicles and for powering them up using just a small amount of fuel. Despite these challenges, automakers gradually made significant advancements in automotive technology over time. Automobiles now have advanced engines that can reach high speeds and travel long distances without needing much fuel; they're also equipped with features like airbags and seat belts that make them much safer than they were historically. How Cars Work Cars work by using a set of gears that turn a shaft. The shaft goes inside the car, and the gearbox (a machine that connects the gearbox to the engine) is on the outside. When you start the car, it turns the gearbox and makes the shaft go faster. This speeds up the gears inside the gearbox, and voila! You're driving. The Impact of Transport on Society The advent of the automobile and shipping altered society in fundamental ways. The transportation revolution transformed how people moved around, what they could buy, and where they worked. Before the transportation revolution, most people lived in small towns or villages. They traveled by foot, horseback, or boat. Farmers moved their crops to market by cart or wagon. Cities were small and isolated. There was no way to get from one city to another. The first automobiles changed all of that. Automobiles allowed people to move around cities much more easily. They also made it possible for people to buy things outside of their hometowns. Automobiles made it possible for businesses to sell products in many different parts of the country. The transportation revolution also changed how people worked. Before the automobile, most people worked on farms or in factories near their home town. Automobiles made it possible for factory workers to work in other parts of the country. This shift led to a growth in businesses that do not exist today if it weren't for the automobiles.

[nccaus]

WordGirl Ghost AU

A.K.A. Fairly Haunted/Haunted Fair City au

So in this au Becky is an almost normal human girl, almost, minus the fact the Fair City is haunted and she's the only one who can see the ghost. The Ghost are all the Villains from the show who died in different time periods.

there's no over arching plot but there is a few major events to this au.

Becky convinces Violet and Scoops she can see ghost (this is after school accidentally captures Tobey on camera), this leads to Scoops carrying an old camcorder from like 2014 with nigh vision, and Violet a silver pocket mirror, these allow them to see the ghost too.

despite being warned against is the trio enters the old manor that's inhabited by Miss Power who was not happy to say the least, the three made it out mostly ok, but Becky got hit on the head with something and ended up with an eyebrow scar because watch me give her one in every AU.

another kid that can see ghost, Rex comes to town (I think he's a foster kid taken in by the Botsfords here) Becky and Rex get along really well in this au because "holy crap now I'm not the only one that can see ghost in this town.

the ghost villains do move on at various points

so the characters themselves (the living)

Becky: a mostly normal human girl minus the fact she can see ghost, unlike Canon!Becky who does everything in her power to keep people from learning her identity Haunted!Becky is constantly trying to convince everyone that she's not crazy and can see ghost. she's also way more tired and way more done with everyone's bs, this mostly just results in her being more annoyed/tired/and sassy than her canon counterpart. found family with like two dozen ghost. (also a big fan of the goosebumps series).

Violet: she was the most willing to believe Becky and supported her about the ghost thing despite there still being some level of disbelief at first, due to the ghost making the town colder she ended up borrowing a jacket that belongs to Becky and has yet to return it.

Scoops: he was more skeptical of Becky's claims at first until being faced with visual evidence. The ghost like to tease him a lot because of this, especially Tobey who is basically a cat towards Scoops (as in pushing glasses off the table).

the three kinda have a thing helping the ghost and also trying to keep them from causing too much trouble.

TJ: brief mention of him, he thinks his sister is crazy about seeing ghost, everyone knows the town is haunted but seeing ghost? no way. (he does kind of believe her)

Rex: as mentioned before he can also see ghost and is a foster kid in the Botsford home.

The Dead

Steven/Two-Brains: the two have a more noticeable Jekyll and Hyde thing going on actually switching from one to the other, Steven is chaotic but chill and is basically dad, and Two-Brains is chaotic in general and likes scaring people cause ghost. Both halves have a good relationship with Becky. he died in 1886 and haunts an abandoned warehouse.

Tobey: Tobey is way nicer in this au, he's more like a cat. Tobey ran alcohol in the prohibition and died in 1934 and the age of 13, robots were not a thing until after his death but he still ended up really liking them so he haunts the scrapyard making robots from whatever he can find, unlike in canon they're small robots, often made from soup cans. he hasn't seen him mom since the 1930's, he misses her a lot. he's a poltergeist.

Victoria: still as boastful as ever she died in in 1956 and the age of 15 after setting her house on fire, biggest difference here is she's an arsonist with a lighter collection. she haunts the biggest toy store in town. Also really likes video games.

Eileen: Elieen died a year after Victoria at the age of 15, the two were friend in life and the afterlife, she haunts one of the other toy stores in town.

Maria: she was human before dying in this au, something to do with electricity causing her to be an electrical ghost in death, she is baby and haunts a third toy store.

Mr.Big and Leslie: Mr.Big is from the cold war era and Leslie died at some point in the 1980's. The two haunt an office floor together.

Invisibill and BLHG: Invisibill died in the 1920's and loves swing music, he haunts an apartment alone for awhile, BLHG died sometime between the 1970's and the 1980's, he ends up haunting a different apartment until Invisibill asks him if he wants to haunt a place together. everyone was surprised to find out they weren't already haunting a place together. Invisibill can be visible to anyone at anytime he chooses.

LRW: she's just a tired ghost haunting the copier shop she died in in the 1960's really.

Chuck: he died sometime in the 1990's, he either haunts and sandwich shop or his old house, I'm not sure yet.

The Butcher: he haunts a meat processing factory.

Granny May: she's just upset she died of old age.

(sorry these got a bit short still trying to figure everyone out, including those who are missing from the list)

HuggyFace: a circus monkey who just traveled around for years until befriending a young Becky who could see him, she seemed a bit old to see ghost, most kids stopped around the ages of 4, and she was 5, he stayed in case it was something bad, haunting the attic, turns out the kid could just see ghost in general, he continued to stay though because he liked it there.

Miss Power: she's a ghost that's about 1000 years old, the mansion she haunts being made from pieces of the home she originally haunted long ago, she's every powerful and scares the other ghost, she can't leave the property the mansion is on but is still a danger, the mansion is very off limits and the living and dead warn against going there.

Miscellaneous notes

most of the ghost really like post modern jukebox.

all the ghost have some ability similar to their cannon counterpart.

haunting a place together is basically ghost talk for "being together/dating" (this is part of why everyone was shocked Invisibill and BLHG weren't haunting a place together). the ghost see sharing clothes long term as the equivalent of this and end up thinking the Becky and Violet are a couple, they have to explain that that is not the case (some ghost continue to have their doubts)

this started as a ParaNorman au and became this, i really like this au.

this is more of a rule than anything but like, don't ship the ghost kids and the living kids in this au, the living are going to get older and that's just awkward and weird.

the ghost can eat if the food is left out as an offering, Becky finds out about this through Chuck who misses eating sandwiches, so she starts regularly leaving offerings.

ghost can be seen by anyone when they're covered in water

the ghost are very touch starved and Becky along with seeing ghost can touch them, so this is another reason everyone is attached to her in this au.

[yourbespokeartisanalapocalypse]

I'm reading The Law and the Lady (1875) by Wilkie Collins. It's a sensation novel about a woman who discovers her new husband has a dark secret he and his friends/family refuse to tell her. Mostly notable for being one of the first, if not the first, novel with a woman detective as its heroine.

- "Sensation Novels", Punch (1864)

- Title page from The Graphic; William Powell Frith, The Two Central Figures in "Derby Day" (1860)

Anyway, I'm deeply distressed because at the start they go to Ramsgate where his friend has loaned him a sailing yacht and they're going to sail to the Mediterranean as their honeymoon. So the whole novel is about *putting off a dream sailing holiday* and as a boat lover this is deeply upsetting to me. I'm just like, so what if you maybe married a murderer and/or bigamist, just freaking go sailing already!

- Anders Zorn, Summer Holidays (1886)

As a side note, Wilkie Collins himself visited Ramsgate several times - once on his way to France with his pal Charles Dickens (where I believe they both contracted STDs), and once later for a sailing holiday of his own. On that sailing holiday he simultaneously stayed on one side of the bay under one name with one woman and on the other side of the bay under a different name with a different woman, so not altogether different from the novel. I think it was all consensual (the women knew about each other) and no murder or bigamy was involved though.

[embracedthevoid]

I think one of the missing scenes is after the fish scene. Does wilhelm have dinner at simon's house? Does he spend the night there?

Here you are my lovely. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

How oblivious do they think we are?

Word count: 1886

Rated: T And Up

Read on ao3

Wilhelm POV

Wilhelm didn't think it was possible to be this comfortable with another person. He never understood, until now, how someone could let themselves be so open and bare, so exposed to another without an ounce of insecurity. Yet here he is, laying in Simon's bed, sharing a wonderful moment with a boy so perfect he has to pinch himself to make sure he's real.

Ever since Wilhelm became tightly wound to the throne after Erik passed, Wilhelm has been forced into uncomfortable situations and relationships built on lies. Sure, he never truly pursued Felice, but the mere idea that he could have led her to believe something far from the truth buries a knot deep in Wilhelm's stomach. But here, with Simon, everything comes easy, like they're made for each other.

Simon studies Wilhelm across their shared pillow, where they mirror each other. Both laying on their sides, similar to the first morning they'd been this vulnerable with each other. Their eyes freely linger across each other's features and over each other's bodies. Wilhelm watches intently as Simon rolls his lips together, shifting slightly, so his knee brushes against the inside of Wilhelm's thigh. The sheet that drapes low on both their hips shifts, and Wilhelm's breath catches, eyes falling to the newly exposed skin of Simon's waist.

Simon reaches under Wilhelm's chin, guiding his eyes back up to meet his own amused ones. "Are you okay?" he asks, his voice low and inviting as he moves to lay closer to Wilhelm, where their bodies tangle together. Wilhelm wraps his arm over Simon's side, his fingers brush carefully across the soft skin spanning Simon's lower back. The boy shivers at Wilhelm's soothing touch, and he savours the way Simon's breath begins to tremble.

Simons clears his throat slightly, "Well, are you?" Simon's voice catches in his throat while Wilhelm continues his ministrations.

"Mhm." Wilhelm finally lets out a satisfied hum in response. He sighs comfortably through his nose and settles deeper into their shared pillow, enjoying the content look gracing Simon's features. Wilhelm brings his hand to trail across Simon's brow. He relishes the way the boy closes his eyes and exhales deeply like he's memorizing the way Wilhelm touches him. But he doesn't need to because Wilhelm could do this for hours and never get bored.

Simon's eyes slowly flutter open as he lifts his thigh higher between Wilhelm's legs, somehow rolling their bodies closer together. A small gasp escapes Wilhelm at the unexpected motion. He clears his throat, cheeks heated at the satisfaction that draws on Simon's lips.

"You're okay?" Simon challenges, knowing precisely what he's doing to Wilhelm, who nods fervently. "Good," Simon says with a smug smirk, wetting his lips and rolling them together. He shifts his body forward, so Wilhelm is pressed onto his back, entirely at Simon's mercy. The boy drapes his body perfectly against Wilhelm's side, where every bit of Simon's skin is held against his own. It's intoxicating. Simon leans his head on his hand near Wilhelm's head, using his elbow as support to hover slightly, peering down at Wilhelm with an honest smile.

An anticipating flush creeps up Wilhelms chest up to his cheeks, burning deep under his skin. If Simon continues to look at Wilhelm like that, there's no way in hell they'll ever leave this room, and they still have to have dinner with Simon's mother.

"You're sure you're alright?" Simon teases, settling into a sly smirk when Wilhelm covers his face with both his palms, groaning with embarrassment, unable to hide the things Simon does to him. It doesn't help when Wilhelm registers Simon's fingers tracing along his skin, between his rib cage. A shiver plunges low in his stomach, and with a few more delicate strokes past his navel, Wilhelm's entire body is trembling with anticipation. Simon's hand finally reaches where the sheet drapes across Wilhelm's waist. His fingers dragging lower, lower, and–

"Simon, dinner is almost ready," Linda's warning somehow cuts through the video game that Wilhelm had somehow forgotten was playing, and Simon goes rigid. Wilhelm grunts at the sudden shift in weight as Simon pushes against him, scrambling out of bed to turn his blaring console off.

The boys are quickly surrounded by silence, apart from Simon's nervous breathing. "Simon?" Linda questions again. This time it's louder without violent cries coming from the monitor.

"Uhm," Simon clears his throat, scowling at the amused grin Wilhelm can't help to show. "Yea, we'll be out in a moment," Simon calls back, his voice slightly strained as he attempts to feign nonchalance, despite being anything but.

To Wilhelm's dismay, Simon pulls on his boxers and shimmies back into his jeans. He leans down to pick up a bundle of clothes that Wilhelm assumes are his, and chucks them onto the bed. Wilhelm sits up, his back leaning against the wall behind him, the sheet covering his lower half. He watches Simon search for a shirt and begins to chuckle as he watches the boy scramble to get himself in order.

Wilhelm isn't the one looking over his shoulder for the first time, waiting for someone to walk in on them, and it's refreshing. Mainly since the person who could catch them wouldn't ruin their lives forever. Would Wilhelm be traumatized for the rest of his life, sure, but he decides to enjoy the moment anyway.

Simon frowns disapprovingly when he realizes Wilhelm hasn't made any point of getting up. "It's not funny," Simon scolds through faint giggles of his own, unable to hide his laughter. So he must not be too annoyed.

"It's going to get cold," Linda adds from a distance, not in annoyance but seemingly genuine concern that they won't be able to enjoy a hot meal. The thought warms Wilhelms's heart, knowing that Simon has someone to care about him in a way that Wilhelm can't imagine his own mother ever could. Still, Wilhelm resists the urge to mock Linda's voice like Simon has done whenever Wilhelm is the one hiding.

"Get dressed," Simon whispers hurriedly, despite the fact his mother wouldn't be able to hear him at an average volume.

Ultimately, Wilhelm reaches for his jeans that Simon tossed on the bed, swings his legs over the side, pulling them up. He searches the ground for his shirt, eventually finding it somehow lost on the other side of the room. He doesn't even remember being over there when he took it off.

Once they're both dressed, Wilhelm nervously swipes his hand through his hair, hoping to flatten whatever state Simon left it in after their activities, but it only falls back into his eyes anyways.

Simon steps close, his own fingers brush to tuck the strand off Wilhelm's forehead, his expression softening when their eyes meet. And like that, the humorous moment turns tender with a single gesture. Wilhelms feels butterflies swarm his stomach as he peers down at Simon, his intense gaze equal to his own.

A shy smile crosses Wilhelm's lips. It's genuine and honest, and only ever seems to find its way there unless he's with Simon. It's something he only wants Simon to have, this version of himself, the authentic one.

"Let's go eat," Simon breaks the moment carrying that smirk, the one that makes Wilhelm's heart flutter. Simon grabs his hand, pulling him to follow behind, only to let go once they've made it past the bedroom door.

Linda POV

Linda is not completely oblivious, as much as Simon seems to think or hope that she might be. Of course, there are probably multiple things about her son that she doesn't know and probably doesn't want to. This thing, however, between him and the crown prince is not something her son can so easily hide.

As much as Linda worries for her boy and how this young romance may play out, she's happy to see him smile. Besides, if she knows her son, and she does, telling him to end things with Wilhelm would only fuel the boy's stubbornness.

When the two finally decide to show themselves, Linda can see the blush on both boys' cheeks and guilty smirks they keep tossing at one another. How on earth these two have managed to keep their, whatever they're doing, private for so long, is beyond her.

Linda finishes setting the table, but before placing the fourth setting, she turns to Wilhelms bodyguard, who introduced herself earlier when Linda brought her tea. "Malin, would you like to join us," Linda offers, and the woman politely declines, watching from a distance. It makes Linda slightly uncomfortable, but she supposes she doesn't have a choice in the matter.

They all take their seats at the table, Wilhelm directly across and Simon at his usual spot beside her. "So," She begins, trying to fill the silence, "what have you boys been up to?" Linda regrets the question the moment it leaves her. Nerves of having the crown prince in her home must be getting to her because that is the last thing she should ask her son, who just had a boy in his room.

She watches a blanket of red sheet Wilhelms features; he coughs, clearing his throat of the bite he had just scooped into his mouth. On the other hand, her son maneuvers through the question with more grace, "just gaming," Simon explains with nonchalance.

To anyone else, the response might seem normal. Linda, however, can see through the way that Simon's eyes shift nervously, barely looking his mother in the eye as he chews on his food and toys his fork through his meal.

She lets it go, though, not wanting to embarrass her son. Not right now anyway. But they'll definitely have to have a discussion about this at some point.

Linda asks the boys a few questions about school; aside from that, their dinner is quiet, which Linda doesn't mind. She's surprised to discover how comfortable she grows the longer she's around Wilhelm. For someone who's meant to be a regal figurehead one day, all she sees is a young boy smitten with her son. She smiles apprehensively to herself, trying not to dwell on the side of her mind that wants to protect her son from something that can only end one way.

They finish their food quickly, both of them thanking Linda for the meal, "of course, you boys go ahead, I'll clean up," she offers, not wanting to keep her son from his guest.

"You sure," Simon asks, and Linda nods, smiling fondly at how considerate her son has turned out to be.

"Gracias mamá," Simon is quick to grab Wilhelm by the arm and drag him back to his room faster than Linda can say, you're welcome.

She shakes her head, smiling to herself as she begins to gather the plates, glass clinking against each other as she piles the cutlery onto one plate.

From across the room, Malin shifts closer to the table; she collects dishes in her own hands and leans forward, keeping her voice low, "how oblivious do they think we are?" Malin remarks with a hint of amusement.

Linda can't help the snort that escapes her. "Would you like some wine?" She asks, feeling the ice between the two women has officially broken.

[douchebagbrainwaves]

FOUNDERS USUALLY HAVE A LOT OF TIME ON THEM BEFORE REALIZING THEY'RE BAD

Both of which are false. Clothes are important, as all nerds can sense, though they may not realize it consciously. They're responding to the market. If you have the potential to go public, you won't ordinarily need to bother with this sort of multi-level slowness, with corresponding benefits. And I don't have to know if I bet on everything just being on the server and talk to you through a Web browser. I was a kid. Olin Shivers has grumbled eloquently about this. Unless their working day ends at the same time. It may take a while for the market to learn how he did it.

When I go to a talk, you could instead spend making it better. It lets you accrete programs as a series of meetings, culminating in a full partner meeting. This is worth thinking about not so much bad in itself. Profilers are the answer. Type of investors will not only pay higher prices, but may not be very good at managing people or dealing with the SEC. Raising an old-fashioned robber baron business world got incorporated into the startup world.1 Being a really good speaker is not merely toward languages being designed by the application programmers who need to use convertible notes to do it. As always, business has clung to old forms. But why would they be looking for those? They get involved with people who seem impressive, but about whom they feel some misgivings personally. Now it's easy to raise angel rounds about half the size of the tree to bet on as t approaches infinity. If we had the hundred-year language will need to be a board member to give.

Having people around you. The arrival of a new type of investor: the super-angels seem to care about valuations. There were not a lot of progress in that department so far. 100% of the top 50 do. How do we manage to advise so many startups on the maker's schedule has a meeting, they have less partner per investment. When you have actual first class functions, you can also get into Foobar State. Except not quite: whatever would be least work if your ideas about programming weren't already influenced by the languages you're currently used to. Though I don't think anyone would like programming in a language where all the variables were the letter x with integer subscripts. For the past 9 years it was my job to predict whether people would have what it took to start successful startups.2 It's the way things felt in 2001. The nature of the problems we want to sell the company right now?

Those helped get it started, but now that convertible notes are becoming the norm, actually raise the price to reflect demand. It's not true that those who teach can't do. Options are a good idea. They don't just compete for startups; they also compete for investors. But success has taken a lot of the company. When VC funding dried up after the Internet Bubble that it became trivially cheap to start a startup. Particularly a technology company. Working for a small company doesn't ensure freedom. And while it can be at every stage. The VCs will say you need them, and then only in a vague sense of malaise. The way to succeed in a startup is where gaming the system stops working.

What super-angels. My guess is that a large organization has felt this. When I say there may only be a few stars who clearly should make the team, and if the difference between working for a big company. If you invest at 20 and the company dies. The whole shape of deals is changing. When the unfortunate fellow got to his last slide, the professor burst out: Which one of these conclusions do you actually believe? There hasn't been a lot of ambitious people, age 20 is not the optimal time to do it will be at the end of the spectrum is designing chairs. The head of a small company that hoped to grow into a big one or from which you can move into a big one. Do not start a startup one day, what should you do in college? But I don't know what other people have in their heads.

But the usual way startups take off is for the founders is not competitors but investors. Conversely, never let pitching draw you into bullshitting. We know that everyone will have your client is like designing chairs: it's all about dealing with human weaknesses. That's different from the ones in a position, if not to create this situation, to realize what was happening and to milk it. The question is not whether you can afford to be passive. Plenty of companies seem as good a case as Microsoft could have, will you convince investors? But I think a greater danger is that they want a language that's easy to program in. This extra cost buys you flexibility.

Maybe it would be obvious to creatures as lazy as us how to express a program with the least effort. In an artificial world, only extremists live naturally. Fortunately for founders, VCs have been provoked by their arrival into making a lot of the worst ones were designed for. Most investors, unable to judge startups for themselves, rely instead on the opinions of other investors. This will sound shocking, but it isn't the life they were designed for other people to give you the first part of it—the things to remember if you want to say and ad lib the individual sentences. It lets you accrete programs as a series of small changes. Except not quite: whatever would be least work if your ideas about programming weren't already influenced by the languages you're currently used to. So you can do the same, if not to create this situation, to realize what was happening and to milk it. Nearly all investors, including all VCs I know, operate on the manager's schedule. For example, I'd tell myself I was only going to use the trick that John D.

Eventually you get new habits, but at least half a day at least. Terribly addictive things are just a click away. But those few good programmers write a disproportionately large percentage of the software. There used to be bolted together. Suppose for the sake of efficiency. The future of angel rounds is that they're looking for the trick. The most diffident person would be puzzled and even slightly contemptuous if they told a VC one plus one is two and the VC reacted with skepticism. The stock of a company producing a report about entrepreneurship. It's an unusual thing to do in college?

Notes

Joe thinks one of their peers. In fact the decade preceding the war it was one of the incompetence of newspapers is that the graph of jobs is not limited to startups. We invest small amounts of our own version that by the size of the infrastructure that this isn't strictly true, it would literally take forever to raise their kids to say, real estate development, you can imagine cases where you currently are.

An investor who merely seems like he will fund you one day be able to give you fifty times as productive as those working for me, I use. 1886/87.

[barbara-stanwyck-1907-1990]

Barbara Stanwyck (born Ruby Catherine Stevens; July 16, 1907 – January 20, 1990) was an American actress, model and dancer. A stage, film and television star, she was known during her 60-year career as a consummate and versatile professional for her strong, realistic screen presence. A favorite of directors including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra, she made 85 films in 38 years before turning to television.

Stanwyck got her start on the stage in the chorus as a Ziegfeld girl in 1923 at age 16 and within a few years was acting in plays. She was then cast in her first lead role in Burlesque (1927), becoming a Broadway star. Soon after that, Stanwyck obtained film roles and got her major break when Frank Capra chose her for his romantic drama Ladies of Leisure (1930), which led to additional lead roles.

In 1937 she had the title role in Stella Dallas and received her first Academy Award nomination for best actress. In 1941 she starred in two successful screwball comedies: Ball of Fire with Gary Cooper, and The Lady Eve with Henry Fonda. She received her second Academy Award nomination for Ball of Fire, and in recent decades The Lady Eve has come to be regarded as a romantic comedy classic with Stanwyck's performance called one of the best in American comedy.

By 1944, Stanwyck had become the highest-paid woman in the United States. She starred alongside Fred MacMurray in the seminal film noir Double Indemnity (1944), playing the smoldering wife who persuades MacMurray's insurance salesman to kill her husband. Described as one of the ultimate portrayals of villainy, it is widely thought that Stanwyck should have won the Academy Award for Best Actress rather than being just nominated. She received another Oscar nomination for her lead performance as an invalid wife overhearing her own murder plot in the thriller film noir, Sorry, Wrong Number (1948). After she moved into television in the 1960s, she won three Emmy Awards – for The Barbara Stanwyck Show (1961), the western series The Big Valley (1966), and miniseries The Thorn Birds (1983).

She received an Honorary Oscar in 1982, the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1986 and was the recipient of several other honorary lifetime awards. She was ranked as the 11th greatest female star of classic American cinema by the American Film Institute. An orphan at the age of four, and partially raised in foster homes, she always worked; one of her directors, Jacques Tourneur, said of Stanwyck, "She only lives for two things, and both of them are work."

Barbara Stanwyck was born Ruby Catherine Stevens on July 16, 1907, in Brooklyn, New York. She was the fifth – and youngest – child of Catherine Ann (née McPhee) (1870-1911) and Byron E. Stevens (1872-1919), working-class parents. Her father, of English descent, was a native of Lanesville, Massachusetts, and her mother, of Scottish descent, was an immigrant from Sydney, Nova Scotia. When Ruby was four, her mother died of complications from a miscarriage after she was knocked off a moving streetcar by a drunk. Two weeks after the funeral, her father joined a work crew digging the Panama Canal and was never seen again by his family. Ruby and her older brother, Malcolm Byron (later nicknamed "By") Stevens, were raised by their eldest sister Laura Mildred, (later Mildred Smith) (1886–1931), who died of a heart attack at age 45. When Mildred got a job as a showgirl, Ruby and Byron were placed in a series of foster homes (as many as four in a year), from which young Ruby often ran away.

"I knew that after fourteen I'd have to earn my own living, but I was willing to do that ... I've always been a little sorry for pampered people, and of course, they're 'very' sorry for me."

Ruby toured with Mildred during the summers of 1916 and 1917, and practiced her sister's routines backstage. Watching the movies of Pearl White, whom Ruby idolized, also influenced her drive to be a performer. At the age of 14, she dropped out of school, taking a package wrapping job at a Brooklyn department store. Ruby never attended high school, "although early biographical thumbnail sketches had her attending Brooklyn's famous Erasmus Hall High School."

Soon afterward, she took a filing job at the Brooklyn telephone office for $14 a week, which allowed her to become financially independent. She disliked the job; her real goal was to enter show business, even as her sister Mildred discouraged the idea. She then took a job cutting dress patterns for Vogue magazine, but customers complained about her work and she was fired. Ruby's next job was as a typist for the Jerome H. Remick Music Company; work she reportedly enjoyed, however her continuing ambition was in show business, and her sister finally gave up trying to dissuade her.

In 1923, a few months before her 16th birthday, Ruby auditioned for a place in the chorus at the Strand Roof, a nightclub over the Strand Theatre in Times Square. A few months later, she obtained a job as a dancer in the 1922 and 1923 seasons of the Ziegfeld Follies, dancing at the New Amsterdam Theater. "I just wanted to survive and eat and have a nice coat", Stanwyck said. For the next several years, she worked as a chorus girl, performing from midnight to seven a.m. at nightclubs owned by Texas Guinan. She also occasionally served as a dance instructor at a speakeasy for gays and lesbians owned by Guinan. One of her good friends during those years was pianist Oscar Levant, who described her as being "wary of sophisticates and phonies."

Billy LaHiff, who owned a popular pub frequented by showpeople, introduced Ruby in 1926 to impresario Willard Mack. Mack was casting his play The Noose, and LaHiff suggested that the part of the chorus girl be played by a real one. Mack agreed, and after a successful audition gave the part to Ruby. She co-starred with Rex Cherryman and Wilfred Lucas. As initially staged, the play was not a success. In an effort to improve it, Mack decided to expand Ruby's part to include more pathos. The Noose re-opened on October 20, 1926, and became one of the most successful plays of the season, running on Broadway for nine months and 197 performances. At the suggestion of David Belasco, Ruby changed her name to Barbara Stanwyck by combining the first name from the play Barbara Frietchie with the last name of the actress in the play, Jane Stanwyck; both were found on a 1906 theater program.

Stanwyck became a Broadway star soon afterward, when she was cast in her first leading role in Burlesque (1927). She received rave reviews, and it was a huge hit. Film actor Pat O'Brien would later say on a 1960s talk show, "The greatest Broadway show I ever saw was a play in the 1920s called 'Burlesque'." Arthur Hopkins described in his autobiography To a Lonely Boy, how he came to cast Stanwyck:

After some search for the girl, I interviewed a nightclub dancer who had just scored in a small emotional part in a play that did not run [The Noose]. She seemed to have the quality I wanted, a sort of rough poignancy. She at once displayed more sensitive, easily expressed emotion than I had encountered since Pauline Lord. She and Skelly were the perfect team, and they made the play a great success. I had great plans for her, but the Hollywood offers kept coming. There was no competing with them. She became a picture star. She is Barbara Stanwyck.

He also called Stanwyck "The greatest natural actress of our time", noting with sadness, "One of the theater's great potential actresses was embalmed in celluloid."

Around this time, Stanwyck was given a screen test by producer Bob Kane for his upcoming 1927 silent film Broadway Nights. She lost the lead role because she could not cry in the screen test, but was given a minor part as a fan dancer. This was Stanwyck's first film appearance.

While playing in Burlesque, Stanwyck was introduced to her future husband, actor Frank Fay, by Oscar Levant. Stanwyck and Fay were married on August 26, 1928, and soon moved to Hollywood.

Stanwyck's first sound film was The Locked Door (1929), followed by Mexicali Rose, released in the same year. Neither film was successful; nonetheless, Frank Capra chose Stanwyck for his film Ladies of Leisure (1930). Her work in that production established an enduring friendship with the director and led to future roles in his films. Other prominent roles followed, among them as a nurse who saves two little girls from being gradually starved to death by Clark Gable's vicious character in Night Nurse (1931). In Edna Ferber's novel brought to screen by William Wellman, she portrays small town teacher and valiant Midwest farm woman Selena in So Big! (1932). She followed with a performance as an ambitious woman "sleeping" her way to the top from "the wrong side of the tracks" in Baby Face (1933), a controversial pre-Code classic. In The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1933), another controversial pre-Code film by director Capra, Stanwyck portrays an idealistic Christian caught behind the lines of Chinese civil war kidnapped by warlord Nils Asther. A flop at the time, containing "mysterious-East mumbo jumbo", the lavish film is "dark stuff, and its difficult to imagine another actress handling this ... philosophical conversion as fearlessly as Ms. Stanwyck does. She doesn't make heavy weather of it."

In Stella Dallas (1937) she plays the self-sacrificing title character who eventually allows her teenage daughter to live a better life somewhere else. She landed her first Academy Award nomination for Best Actress when she was able to portray her character as vulgar, yet sympathetic as required by the movie. Next, she played Molly Monahan in Union Pacific (1939) with Joel McCrea. Stanwyck was reportedly one of the many actresses considered for the role of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939), although she did not receive a screen test. In Meet John Doe she plays an ambitious newspaperwoman with Gary Cooper (1941).

In Preston Sturges's romantic comedy The Lady Eve (1941), she plays a slinky, sophisticated con-woman who falls for her intended victim, the guileless, wealthy snake-collector and scientist Henry Fonda, she "gives off an erotic charge that would straighten a boa constrictor." Film critic David Thomson described Stanwyck as "giving one of the best American comedy performances", and its reviewed as brilliantly versatile in "her bravura double performance" by The Guardian. The Lady Eve is among the top 100 movies of all time on Time and Entertainment Weekly's lists, and is considered to be both a great comedy and a great romantic film with its placement at #55 on the AFI's 100 Years ...100 Laughs list and #26 on its 100 Years ...100 Passions list.

Next, she was the extremely successful, independent doctor Helen Hunt in You Belong to Me (1941), also with Fonda. Stanwyck then played nightclub performer Sugerpuss O'Shea in the Howard Hawks directed, but Billy Wilder written comedy Ball of Fire (1941). In this update of the Snow White and Seven Dwarfs tale, she gives professor Gary Cooper a better understanding of "modern English" in the performance for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.

In Double Indemnity, the seminal film noir thriller directed by Billy Wilder, she plays the sizzling, scheming wife/blonde tramp/"destiny in high heels" who lures an infatuated insurance salesman (Fred MacMurray) into killing her husband. Stanwyck brings out the cruel nature of the "grim, unflinching murderess", marking her as the "most notorious femme" in the film noir genre. Her insolent, self-possessed wife is one of the screen's "definitive studies of villainy - and should (it is widely thought) have won the Oscar for Best Actress", not just been nominated. Double Indemnity is usually considered to be among the top 100 films of all time, though it did not win any of its seven Academy Award nominations. It is the #38 film of all time on the American Film Institute's list, as well as the #24 on its 100 Years ...100 Thrillers list and #84 on its 100 Years ...100 Passions list.

She plays the columnist caught up in white lies and a holiday romance in Christmas in Connecticut (1945). In 1946 she was "liquid nitrogen" as Martha, a manipulative murderess, costarring with Van Heflin and newcomer Kirk Douglas in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers. Stanwyck was also the vulnerable, invalid wife that overhears her own murder being plotted in Sorry, Wrong Number (1948) and the doomed concert pianist in The Other Love (1947). In the latter film's soundtrack, the piano music is actually being performed by Ania Dorfmann, who drilled Stanwyck for three hours a day until the actress was able to synchronize the motion of her arms and hands to match the music's tempo, giving a convincing impression that it is Stanwyck playing the piano.

Pauline Kael, a longtime film critic for The New Yorker, admired the natural appearance of Stanwyck's acting style on screen, noting that she "seems to have an intuitive understanding of the fluid physical movements that work best on camera". In reference to the actress's film work during the early sound era, Kael observed that the "early talkies sentimentality...only emphasizes Stanwyck's remarkable modernism."

Many of her roles involve strong characters, yet Stanwyck was known for her accessibility and kindness to the backstage crew on any film set. She knew the names of their wives and children. Frank Capra said of Stanwyck: "She was destined to be beloved by all directors, actors, crews and extras. In a Hollywood popularity contest, she would win first prize, hands down." While working on 1954s Cattle Queen of Montana on location in Glacier National Park, she did some of her own stunts, including a swim in the icy lake.[49] A consummate professional, when aged 50, she performed a stunt in Forty Guns. Her character had to fall off her horse and, with her foot caught in the stirrup, be dragged by the galloping animal. This was so dangerous that the movie's professional stunt person refused to do it. Her professionalism on film sets led her to be named an Honorary Member of the Hollywood Stuntmen's Hall of Fame.

William Holden and Stanwyck were longtime friends and when Stanwyck and Holden were presenting the Best Sound Oscar for 1977, he paused to pay a special tribute to her for saving his career when Holden was cast in the lead for Golden Boy (1939). After a series of unsteady daily performances, he was about to be fired, but Stanwyck staunchly defended him, successfully standing up to the film producers. Shortly after Holden's death, Stanwyck recalled the moment when receiving her honorary Oscar: "A few years ago, I stood on this stage with William Holden as a presenter. I loved him very much, and I miss him. He always wished that I would get an Oscar. And so, tonight, my golden boy, you got your wish."

As Stanwyck's film career declined during the 1950s, she moved to television. In 1958 she guest-starred in "Trail to Nowhere", an episode of the Western anthology series Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, portraying a wife who pursues, overpowers, and kills the man who murdered her husband. Later, in 1961, her drama series The Barbara Stanwyck Show was not a ratings success, but it earned her an Emmy Award. The show ran for a total of thirty-six episodes. She also guest-starred in this period on other television series, such as The Untouchables with Robert Stack and in four episodes of Wagon Train.

She stepped back into film for the 1964 Elvis Presley film Roustabout, in which she plays a carnival owner.

The western television series, The Big Valley, which was broadcast on ABC from 1965 to 1969, made her one of the most popular actresses on television, winning her another Emmy. She was billed in the series' opening credits as "Miss Barbara Stanwyck" for her role as Victoria, the widowed matriarch of the wealthy Barkley family. In 1965, the plot of her 1940 movie Remember the Night was adapted and used to develop the teleplay for The Big Valley episode "Judgement in Heaven".

In 1983, Stanwyck earned her third Emmy for The Thorn Birds. In 1985 she made three guest appearances in the primetime soap opera Dynasty prior to the launch of its short-lived spin-off series, The Colbys, in which she starred alongside Charlton Heston, Stephanie Beacham and Katharine Ross. Unhappy with the experience, Stanwyck remained with the series for only the first season, and her role as "Constance Colby Patterson" would be her last. It was rumored Earl Hamner Jr., former producer of The Waltons, had initially wanted Stanwyck for the role of Angela Channing in the 1980s soap opera Falcon Crest, and she turned it down, with the role going to her friend, Jane Wyman; when asked Hamner assured Wyman it was a rumor.

Stanwyck's retirement years were active, with charity work outside the limelight. In 1981, she was awakened in the middle of the night, inside her home in the exclusive Trousdale section of Beverly Hills, by an intruder, who first hit her on the head with his flashlight, then forced her into a closet while he robbed her of $40,000 in jewels.

The following year, in 1982, while filming The Thorn Birds, the inhalation of special-effects smoke on the set may have caused her to contract bronchitis, which was compounded by her cigarette habit; she was a smoker from the age of nine until four years before her death.

Stanwyck died on January 20, 1990, aged 82, of congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California. She had indicated that she wanted no funeral service. In accordance with her wishes, her remains were cremated and the ashes scattered from a helicopter over Lone Pine, California, where she had made some of her western films.

[simonxriley]

Someone please take photo mode away from me, I keep taking pics of Sir Lucan and Sir Galahad instead of actually playing the game 🙃

[helenofblackthorns]

okay replying to this now before it gets lost in my notifications

Cordelia being born in 1886 is possible, though I don’t tend to consider it a possibility. That might just be a me thing lol. With the family tree, CC tends to tell us what is true (which some of it obviously is) and what isn’t, for example Lucie’s birth year being wrong. It also says that Cordelia birth year is 1885 in the flower card book, but I don’t know how accurate that is anymore either lmao since Sona page is no longer canon (no more possibly murdered first husband Theodor Verlac 😔) and looking at the wiki, apparently back in 2015 CC said Cordelia is 17 at the beginning of chog. are any of these particularly reliable sources? no. but unless CC tells us their birthdays/releases a real family tree they're the best we've got

like I said in the original response, I don't think it makes sense for shadowhunters to go on their travel year to fight demons in another country without being old enough to officially fight demons. it kind of defeats the purpose. however if take CC at her word, that is in fact what happens with Alastair and Thomas so.... I don't know anymore

also! I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks Anna is born later in the year (also because of the whitechapel fiend). I wonder who's older, her or Alastair 🤔 as for Christmas, in the flash fictions Gideon talks about shadowhunters don't really have holidays so the whole thing is kinda foreign to him & I believe it's mentioned that London having a Christmas party is unusual

I have not really thought about the timeline around the gracelet before this moment, but that's a good point. I'll have to look more into that, but i think you might be right about why James uses two different ages because that makes a lot of sense. the whitechapel fiend really does screw up Lucie's age huh 😭 like why is she a baby in October 1888 that doesn't make any sense. but I do agree with you about her age.

I mean, I personally don't think Cordelia being older than James effects her relationship with Lucie. Especially if you account for the fact they aren't in school or anything, where they would be sorted via age. A two years gap isn't that big imo, even as kids. They're still in the same developmental range; for example whenever we would visit some family friends, I would often hang out the most with someone 2-3 years younger than me because we were the only girls (I was also friends with her one brother, who was a few months older than me but I spent more time with her tbh). I'm also really close to my cousin who's two years older than me, and my cousin who's two years younger than me, so in my personal experience that's a normal age gap between friends, even as kids. also I always interpreted that scene as Sona saying Lucie is 16 😭 do I need to reread it or something

Simon I think is a special case for several reasons and personally believe it would have been better narratively if the reason he and Clary were allowed to become parabatai was blatant favouritism lmao. like the law is hard but it is the law, except when you help end a war at age 16/17 & are relatively close to both the Cousul and the Inquisitor (aka being friends with their kids). if you want to become parabatai, we aren't going to stop you lol

(this got way too long i'm sorry lol) don't even get me started on the timeline there's so much that doesn't make sense!! i've tried to map it out because i am insane but i am definitely putting more thought into this than cc herself. like, in the days past 1900 chapter cordelia mentions that she's 13, when it's literally impossible for her to be 13 that year ????

and lowkey i am just very excited to see someone else mention the mess that it is the timeline because i've been thinking about when alastair and thomas must have gone on their travel year (and also during that travel year when thomas must have gone to paris because they wouldn't just give him a holiday immediately right, like it must have been december 1902 they met, yes i am overthinking this) for years lol

my best guess is that charles arranged to marry ariadne in early 1901 but it wasn't officially announced?? it was just an arrangement/promise and then he went to paris and met alastair later that year (though i think they'd already met yikes) and they dated sometime in 1901 (where alastair would have been 16-17 /yikes/), for any of this to work i think we just have to accept that shadowhunters can go on their year abroad before they turn 18, or maybe alastair wanted to get out of the house :( and then maybe charles told alastair of the engagement a little bit into their relationship?? don't even get me started on thomas' travel year, we know it lasted 9 months, was from 1902 to 1903 and he had come back fairly recently in august (and tbh i'm gonna stretch that definition of recent and just say the thieves are all being dramatic when they're still toasting him coming back at the beginning of chog). but he also took two weeks holiday in 1902 and saw alastair (who i have to assume was secretly visiting charles since if he was still on his travel year, he could have just said that instead of being cryptic and hilarious lol) anyways in conclusion the timeline is a mess

i thought cordelia's birthday must be really late in the year but i did not realise this means it would be impossible for her to have her parabatai ceremony lol, okay i can't work out that one unless everyone's straight up lying or don't know their own birthdays

anyways i clearly think about this way too much, sorry for rambling in your inbox, you did not ask for this lmao i have just had many thoughts about timelines from like two years ago that all bubbled up to the surface when i saw your post

okay I am finally answering this, I am so so sorry about the wait </3

honestly when it comes to timelines, I think cc just kinda says things vaguely enough that it makes sense as long as you don't think about it too hard lmao. Also I did not know Cordelia said she was 13 in 1900... In order for that to be possible she'd have to be born in either 1886 or 1887. I wonder if cc just forgot she had said Cordelia was born in 1885? that seems like the only viable option here 😭

Paris 1902 is so bad because a lot of the things that contradict it are in the same book 💀 like with other stuff at the very least you can give cc the benefit of the doubt that she forgot between writing short stories and whatnot. but the same book!! insanity!!

I don't think there's any way to twist it in order for it to make sense? like something has to be wrong. best I've got is Thomas turned 18 in Jan, went on travel year for roughly 8 months meaning he gets back to London right before the start of ChoG in August. He met Alastair in Paris in like, March or April 1903 when he was finishing up his travel year and Alastair was being cryptic just because. Charles and Alastair met in Sept. 1902 when Alastair went on his travel year to Paris; Charles and Ari are already engaged by this point (technically) and every other conflicting detail gets throw out the nearest window lmao. for me at least, shadowhunters going on their travel year before turning 18 defeats the purpose, which is to go on patrol and fight demons in a different country. and if they were able to at 17, I think there's several characters who would be currently on their travel year, like James and Matthew, and who obviously aren't.

The parabatai ceremony thing is annoying because cc actual reconned it :) in the codex it says you have be in childhood to become parabatai, and this is supported by Jem in clockwork prince. however, in tfsa, Simon is still able to become parabatai with Clary despite already turning 18, so now shadowhunters are considered children up until 19 but this only applies to the parabatai ceremony because in every other aspect of life they become adults at 18. this makes sense (not). personally i am of the option that Cordelia turning 18 and being unable to become parabatai with Lucie would have been more interesting, and added some stakes that chot desperately needed. plus it would be funny if they still became parabatai in the end because Will and Jem pulled some strings (the benefits of nepotism 😌)

the timeline of tlh is one of my great enemies at this point and I've held my tongue about it for far too long, so don't feel bad about rambling! (even if it takes me 3 months to reply 🫣)