#tilly north

[celluloidrainbow]

BOUND (1996) dir. Lilly & Lana Wachowski Corky, a tough female ex-convict working on an apartment renovation in a Chicago building, meets a couple living next door, Caesar, a paranoid mobster, and Violet, his seductive girlfriend, who is immediately attracted to her. Violet, longing to escape her relationship, enters into a clandestine affair with Corky, and the two women hatch a scheme to steal $2 million of Mafia money. (link in title)

[oneofthosecrazycatladies]

If you need a pick me up, here’s a song that some of Thom Tillis’ constituents wrote for him.

[holyrunawaychild]

Tilly and her relationship with Amelie aka Shadowhaven!Tilly

So, this theory largely spawned from just the details on Tilly's character. She was born and raised in Shadowhaven. At some point she became a member of Amelie's staff. Eventually going to Highcliff with her when Amelie became Queen. Just a simple and fun headcanon for a character that we get very little lore on in the books.

Then Wolf King drops, we learn Bergan, Manfred and Vega swore oaths of protection and loyalty to Drew when he was born. And in Amelie's first verbal exchange with Drew she refers to Tilly by name. Mind you, a minute after coming out of a - likely years long - tea induced hypnosis.

This wasn't just a Queen and some maid, these two women KNEW each other.

Knew each other enough that Amelie trusted Tilly with her youngest child. Not to deliver him to one of the men who swore oaths to him at birth. To raise Drew as her own.

So where did this trust derive from?

In terms of her parentage, you could kind of do whatever seems interesting for you. For me? Tilly's father was a tradesman in Shadowhaven, while her mother was a caribou herder from the valleys to the west.

She grew up in Shadowhaven's markets, around traders from the Dalelands to Omir's Red Coast arriving for Sturmish goods.

It was in these markets that she met Amelie for the first time when they were girls. As the ruling nobility of House Amarok (or House Bayanai if you prefer) would regularly visit the markets to ensure their city's trade economy was prospering. Amelie happened to walk up to Tilly's father's stall and Tilly tried to sell her caribou pelts.

Give the girl a break, there's likely a fair number of White Wolves in Shadowhaven. What were the chances the girl she was talking to was the Count’s daughter?

One revelation and an awkward, unnecessary apology later the two of them leave on a friendly note. The next time Amelie came to the markets with her parents she went straight to Tilly's stall to talk to her new friend.

As she did the next time.

And the next time...

And the next time.

Eventually she'd leave the estate just to meet with Tilly.

The two of them would talk about various things. Tilly often told stories of the tradesmen that arrived in town or what her mother's tribe was doing in the western valley. Amelie informed Tilly of the latest gossip spreading in the noble courts. A few of which likely concerned the Prince, Wergar and his growing entourage of friends among the young lords of Lyssia. And the chaos that follows them.

Years go by, and Tilly and Amelie continue to be close. Amelie sometimes even inviting Tilly to events at the Count’s estate. I imagine she ran into numerous lords and ladies we know.

Bergan, Huth, Manfred, Mikkel, Henrik, Greta, possibly even a then prince Fasal. If and when the Jackals and the Wolves weren't at each other's throats.

Eventually Amelie and Wergar fell in love and were engaged. When Amelie was preparing to move to Highcliff, she asked Tilly to join her as her handmaid.

"We're Werelords, the courts are an eat or be eaten world. It's easier to survive with others that have your back. Wergar has his pack, it would be nice if I could bring a member of mine."

And so Tilly goes to Highcliff with Amelie and the rest is history.

Now, this isn't directly Shadowhaven!Tilly related, but I do have my own personal headcanon on how Tilly and Mack met.

Wergar, believing his future Queen should be readily equipped to defend herself, offered the services of one of his guards (one who's been stuck with him for nearly 10 years at that point). A one Mack Ferran. Tilly would join in on the training sessions from time to time and their romance blossomed from there.

Their first 'date' was at the inn in All Hallows Bay where the Hostage Trio met Vega.

Lastly, to explain the 'Pack Parenting' tag I put in Amelie's character detail post as well as this post. I'm going to put it simply and not elaborate in this post. But if anyone wants me to elaborate, you are free to ask me.

Pack Parenting

Wergar x Amelie x Tilly x Mack

[onlytiktoks]

[gwydionmisha]

North Carolina GOP votes to censure Sen. Thom Tillis for straying from party platform

[floorcharts]

Who: Senator Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina)

X: https://x.com/SenThomTillis

When: February 2025

What: Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)

Watch on C-SPAN

Read the Congressional Record

[gayfertilitygoddess]

If you live in North Carolina and feel like calling your senators, you can give feedback on Thom Tillis’s remarks about the Dubious Oligarchs Grabbing Everything.

Tl;dr: he accuses the democrats of trying to hold back progress, makes a vague reference to “having some guardrails,” claims the muskrat is actually an astute businessman and that running the us govt like one of the muskrat’s businesses is going to solve all of our problems.

Source: https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record/volume-171/issue-24/senate-section/article/S750-1

Mr. TILLIS. Mr. President, this week has been interesting, as I have seen from some of my friends on the other side of the aisle, a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth and all the horrible things that are going to come before us. And it reminded me of a book that I used as a basis for management consulting training back in 1998. It was called ``Who Moved My Cheese.'' It is a story about two mice and two small people in a maze. The mice are named Sniff and Scurry, and the two little people are Hem and Haw. And it is only about a hundred-page book. But the premise of the book is the cheese was moved in the maze, and the challenge was to figure out where the food source was.

Well, Sniff and Scurry, the mice, actually did a pretty good job, fairly quickly, to kind of move where the cheese was and deal with the status quo. But Hem and Haw really had more challenges.

And I think we have some hemming and hawing going on here in Washington right now because they just don't understand business practices that we are trying to apply to government that have never been applied at scale before.

And I decided that I would give you an idea because a lot of people think that Elon Musk is off the chain and causing all kinds of havoc. I haven't seen that yet. As a matter of fact, if time allows, I am going to talk a little bit about the narrative this week over the payment system and all the detailed payment data that supposedly got out--which is patently untrue, contrary to what press reports have said.

But I thought I would start with the story of SpaceX. When Elon Musk decided to invest in and create SpaceX, he did something that has never been done before in this industry. He decided that instead of doing what the old players do--which is to be perfect, never launch a rocket until you are absolutely certain that that mission can be accomplished--he decided that you can learn from failure.

This is actually a social media post of one of his first launches where the booster failed to come back to Earth. His immediate response--whether it was either his instincts or really good communications people--his immediate response was a social media post that said: ``Great launch, unscheduled RUD''--R-U-D, which is rapid unscheduled disassembly.

So he was telling his shareholders and the people that have invested in SpaceX, that what happened, on its face, looked like a disaster. But, in fact, it was being willing to fail--provided that human life was not at risk--that being willing to fail was how you accelerate and you bypass everybody who has a partnership with the Federal Government. You get through all of that, and now you have the premiere launch platform, while all the other competitors have been working on it for years or decades, because he understands the concept that I understand in business, where I spent most of my life, that you learn from failure, if you know how to measure it and you are responsive and resilient.

Now, when I advised clients on enterprise transformation, we would push the envelope. We would pull back if we thought it was a market reputation risk or a center business risk.

So I believe that we need to do more of that, but we need to have guardrails, clearly.

Now there are just people that they just can't figure out where the cheese is. Now, if I just go back to the one area on payments, I have to admit, when I first heard about the payments information with read-only access being provided to someone who may be technically a government employee, but not a career government employee, it did give me concern.

So I had my staff dig into it. And since then, the administration has put out a fact sheet that anybody who is concerned about what is happening in the payments platform should look at it.

They are not looking at detailed payment data. What they are looking at is the way payments are processed to determine whether or not there is an opportunity to do it more efficiently, more cost effectively, and leave more money in the U.S. Treasury as a result--maybe more money that we can use to retire our debt. That seems like a reasonable thing to do.

People said they are getting top secret information and confidential information they shouldn't have.

I asked the specific question. I have been assured that if there is classified information, that the only ones who are going to see it are people that already have the appropriate clearances. And I have also been assured that there is no confidential information being passed.

So I would defy those in the press or maybe some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. I am all about facts here. If I have established no reputation in the U.S. Senate, it is that I am tedious and I complete my due diligence.

I went to the administration. I asked these questions, and I believe we are dealing with a false narrative because people don't want to know where the cheese has been moved. They have got to get used to change.

I have been in the U.S. Senate for 10 years. I am sick of saying: Medicare has to get better. I am sick of saying: Medicaid has to get better. I am sick of saying: We are not getting people more healthy on Medicaid today. I am sick of hearing people say that on both sides of the aisles, folks.

So if we don't take some calculated risk, then we are going to be talking about the same sort of vexing issues 10 years from now.

And so I want to ask everybody to reject this narrative that we are going too fast, too soon, too many things on the line, and let's get to specific examples.

I have used the example that has dominated the press this week to determine most of what is being said is a red herring to take the President and, in this case, Elon Musk, off of the trail of trying to find efficiencies. You have facts to dispute that? Come to the Senate floor; I can learn from it. But stop creating a false narrative because you don't want to go through change because you want to continue to establish and follow the status quo, which is failing the American people and failing to fulfill promises that I have heard people make for the last decade.

Mr. President, I come here to say--I also shared a story. I had a friend of Greek ancestry call me this week and say: What is going on with Mr. Musk?

I will say, Mr. Musk has put out some social media posts that are incorrect. He actually is one of the reasons why we are having to complete this due diligence because he was talking about looking at payment data versus having professionals who--some of them are career personnel looking at source code to figure out how to make it better. He probably needs to tighten it up.

But my Greek friend told me--when I thought about all this stuff, I said: I think the President has enabled Mr. Musk and other people a lot like Icarus's father provided him with wings. They were made of wax and feathers. If you know mythology, the idea was for Icarus to fly and never go so low as to drown in the sea but never go so high as to have his wings melted, his feathers float away, and ultimately drown in the sea.

So to those who are looking at all of this in the way that I am, I want that sweet spot. I want those who are looking at government efficiencies to understand the rules. They need to understand confidentiality, national security, and when lives are on the line.

When we are talking about DOD, the intel community, the Foreign Service, you need adult supervision in the room to make absolutely certain we don't compromise or put those men or women in danger. But in the meantime, if we really want to force change, if we really want to fulfill the promises that we made to the American people when we took control of Washington, we have to get people comfortable with change.

We have to start fulfilling promises--some of the big promises that for the 10 years I have been here, I heard it every year, and we haven't made appreciable progress.

Look, the American people are patient. If my colleagues on the other side of the aisle will present facts, not innuendo that could be politically motivated at best or just bad information at worst, then we can get through this, and we can do right by the American people as a result.

[grison-in-space]

anyway for a little dog some threats are apparently more exciting than others

[foxiapp]

North Carolina Republican Thom Tillis won't back Trump DC prosecutor pick

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Sen. Thom Tillis says he’s informed the White House that he won’t support Ed Martin, President Donald Trump’spick for top federal prosecutor in Washington, stalling the nomination in the Senate weeks before the temporary appointment expires. The North Carolina Republican told reporters Tuesday that he had met with Martin and was opposing his nomination because of his…

[jerichopalms]

Her brother lies on an iron cot, all day and watches, on a mattress of rags he lies. For twenty-five years he worked for the railroad, then they laid him off (racked days, searching for work; rebuffs; suspicious eyes of policemen.) goodbye ambrose, mebbe in dallas I find work; desperate swing for a freight, surprised hadns, clutching air, and the wheel goes over a leg, the railroad cuts if off, as it cut off twenty-five years of his life.) She says that he prays and dreams of another world, as he lies there, a heaven (which he does not know was brought to earth in 1917 in Russia, by workers like him).

"I Want You Women Up North to Know" by Tillie Olsen from she walks in beauty: A Woman's Journey Through Poems selected and edited by Caroline Kennedy

[lovelake]

Everyone’s sick of the two lovebirds at camp putting off an inevitable confession. Some of the members have their own way of pushing you two together, though. 

arthur morgan x gn!reader, drabble, 700+ wc, fluff, arthur and reader are oblivious fools pining for one another, gift giving, brief mention of drinking, set in horseshoe overlook, characters involved: javier, mary-beth, and lenny

note: would’ve finished this like four days ago if it weren’t for fucking finals LMAOO but i’m done 😌 comments/reblogs are always appreciated <3

˚₊·—̳͟͞͞♡. masterlist read on ao3

Everyone could see it. Even Kieran, who has only been around for a few weeks, could see it. Hell, a Pinkerton could show up and figure it out in the matter of minutes. 

Nobody could force a confession, but there were ways they could influence one.

The metal vibrations of the acoustic guitar combined with the Spanish language was a powerful force in the world of romance. Javier truly was the heart of nightly camp gatherings. And there was always a silent consensus to leave space for you and Arthur to sit right next to one another in the space surrounding the main campfire.

“Hasta un gorrioncito amoroso la oyó y dijo, ‘mi bonita, te quiero mucho yo.’ Hasta un gorrioncito amoroso…”

It was the subtlest of gestures that sent sparks flying in the air. Knees pressed up against one another, not daring to move from the other. Shoulders occasionally bumping into each other when you swayed to the sound of the music. Shy glances at one another whenever a joke was made, just to see if the other smiled/laughed or not.

There were so many people around, but it always felt like it was just the two of you in a small bubble trying so hard to act normal.

Mary-Beth, ever the romantic, also had her own tricks up her sleeve. Sometimes whenever Arthur walked by while she was with Tilly or Karen, she switched the topic and began talking about things you liked, small hints for him to know just what to pick up during his journeys to bring back to you. 

It worked like a charm. Every. Single. Time. 

“Got somethin’ for ya,” he murmured as he reached into his satchel, his palms sweaty with nerves underneath his well-used riding gloves. “I know ya didn’t ask, but, well…just thought you’d be sick of Pearson’s cooking and could use somethin’ nice, so here. Would’ve taken you myself, but I know you’re a busy bee.”

He fished out a spoon and a tin cup, pulling back the lid and revealing none other than banana pudding—something sweet, a far cry from what you usually ate. And you knew no places served pudding in a tin cup of all things. Arthur must’ve gone out of his way to order it and then stuff it in so he could bring it back to you. Honestly, the display looked clumsy and the pudding was a little melted, but it was oh so endearing. 

“That’s real sweet of you, Arthur. Thank you.” 

After taking the cup and spoon into your hands, fingers grazing his, you leaned in so you could press a kiss of appreciation against his cheek. Lord almighty, his knees nearly buckled, and it felt like all his blood rushed to that lucky patch of skin. He looked like a puppy, all wide-eyed before he regained his composure, nodding in response as he tipped his hat down to hide the upturn of his lips.

“I hope ya like it.” And like me, he thought to himself.

Was it normal for a thirty-six year old man to act like this? As far as he knew, everyone else at camp made it abundantly clear if they were sweet on someone. Sean flirted with Karen the instant he was brought back. And here Arthur was, trying and failing (miserably, in his mind) to express his feelings. Confessions weren’t his forte.

You asked him how his trip was while you started digging in. His crow's feet became more pronounced as he watched you eat—you were cute.

“Same ol’, same ol’. Headed up north towards the Grizzlies and lost track of time up there. Helped some folks out, too. It’s real pretty up there, quiet and peaceful. Reckon you’d like it.” A silent invitation lingered in the air, but he eventually decided to voice it. “...If you’re not too busy one of these days, maybe I could take–”

“I won’t be busy!”

“You sure 'bout that?"

“Yeah, I mean,” you shrugged, trying to act casual after your abrupt answer. “I’ve gotten enough done to get Miss Grimshaw and Dutch off my back for a while and I could use a change of scenery.”

Plus, you missed him. He was rarely around these days, one-on-one time with him was hard to get.

A certain pair of ears had overheard the entire thing. And boy, was he ready to tease.

People didn’t usually remember much on the nights they got shit-face drunk. A brief conversation stuck to Lenny like a second skin, though. Specifically, the part where he asked why Arthur wasn’t married. 

“‘No one would have me’ my ass.” Lenny muttered with a grin as Arthur eventually walked by.

“What?”

“Nothin’, Arthur.”

[nthspecialll]

I think we sometimes as a fandom tend to hyper-focus on certian characters' backgrounds simply because we like the character when in reality other characters who might not be as interesting has way better backstories, because no, Javier, Arthur and John are not the only ones with sad backstories

Like why does no one talk about what happened to Leopold's sister? Why does no one talk about young Lenny tracking down and killing folk? Why does no one talk about Javier actually in a way working for the government for a while and the reason why he killed that powerful military man? Why does no one talk about why Dutch is called Dutch and not by his actual first name? Why does no one talk about Bill's worst childhood fear coming true? Why does no one talk about both Swanson and Micah saving Dutch's life or that Tilly is also a murderer?

Anyways here is a full explanation of all the Van Der Linde gang members backstories.

Sean MacQuire

Sean Macquire and his father lived in Ireland possibly with more family but had to flee because the English (who were at the time in charge of ireland) were chasing them. They fled for their lives and they were in Boston for a month before his dad was shot in his sleep, showing the remaining Sean that there was truly no honor or shame in the world.

He was then sent to a reform school, which we all know was abusive and a living hell, so he ran, living as a low-life thief, he was a teenager, when he in a bar somewhere in North Elizabeth saw Dutch and Hosea and liked Dutch's watch. He followed the two into an alleyway and threatened them at gunpoint, however they laughed at him and told him to shoot, so he did, except the two others had noticed him first and taken the bullets from his gun. Sean started crying, thinking they were going to kill him but instead of doing that they gave him a home, a place to belong.

Lenny Summers

Lenny's grandparents as well as parents were slaves and his mother was born on a cotton field and taken away from his grandmother, who hadn't even known she was pregnant, immediately. His grandmother was then told to simply get back to work.

After the civil war, the old overseer kept making advandages towards Lenny's grandmother, to a point that in the end she needed to kill him and just barely escaped being lynched. Lenny's mother never saw the grandmother again.

Lenny's mother later met Mr Summers who was an educated man and taught Lenny to both read and write, however when Lenny was 15, his dad was beaten to death by several drunk men. Lenny stole a gun, tracked and hunted down the men, shooting them and showing no remorse even years later.

Kieran Duffy

Kieran Duffy's father was an Irishman who came to America with a dream of farming. It was there that he met Kieran's mother and not long after having Kieran, they both passed due to Cholera and not shortly after that the stables that he worked at to support himself threw him out. He decided to join the army to support himself but it didn't last long before he quit due to it "not working out well."

After returning from the army, he fell into work with a bunch of unnamed outlaws, though they all passed away, leaving him alone once again.

At some point he ran into the O'Driscolls who gave him a choice, to ride with them or to get killed, esencially forcing him to join them and work as a stable hand for them, though he was at the bottom of the latter simply working with the horses before being kidnapped by Arthur Morgan and joining the Van Der Linde gang.

Leopold Strauss

Leopold Strauss was born into severe poverty in Austria and his family struggled heavily with food. By the time that Strauss was only twelve, his older brother was beating up nightwatch men for whatever cash and food scraps they had on them. By that time Strauss's father had already sold his younger sister Anna, by the age of nine, into bonded labour to be able to provide for the rest of the family.

When Stauss was seventeen he was sent with his uncle to the US due to health problems, however the hellish sight of Brooklyn gave Strauss's uncle a heart attack on the spot, leaving Strauss alone in a forgein country. To survive he began doing illegal money scams and after doing so for years Dutch picked him up.

Tilly Jackson

Tilly Jackson was the daughter of a slave and became an outlaw by the mere age of twelve, running with a gang called the Foreman brothers who kidnapped her but after murdering the leaders cousin after he made advandages on her, she had to flee. She returned to her mothers workplace but found that she had already passed.

Later Tilly ran into Dutch Van Der Linde and as he was already taking care of John Marston and Arthur Morgan, he took her in, becoming just as much as a father figure to her as to the boys.

Micah Bell

Micah Bell was born directly into a life of crime as his father Micah Bell jr was a petty but ruthless and violent outlaw. Already when Micah was 17 him and his father were on run from the law as they had slid Jean and Roscoe Briggs throats and later hung them as well. His father was also his primary partner in crime, however he also seemed to have teamed up with his brother Amos a few times as well, however Amos regretted his past life and started a proper one with wife and children and threatened to kill Micah if he came close.

Micah had several partners in crime later in life, including Joe and Cleet who appears later in the game, as well as a fellow named Norman.

Micah runs into Dutch Van Der Linde in 1898 in a bar as Dutch is trying to sell some stolen goods, however the deal doesn’t work out and Micah steps in to help Dutch and save his life, earning a place in the gang.

Bill Williamson

Bill Williamson, also known as Marion Williamson, was born into an abusive family with a father who lost his mind to alchohol, even going to the point of mixing moonshine with whiskey. Watching this Bill always feared falling in love with liquor and suffering the same fate.

Bill always showed signs of being more of a troubled kid and being sent to a reform school did not stop him from building s solid criminal record as a kid.

Bill would later apply to the military and serve in the 15th infantry, fighting against the native americans before being dishonorably discharged for deviancy and attempted murder in 1892. For a year after he lived rough, truly falling in love with liqour and stealing from people om the side of the roads, one time being robbed himself by a "woman" (likely a cross dresser or genderqueer person).

In 1893 Bill tried to rob Dutch and got angry as the man simply laughed at him, however he calmed down as he was allowed a spot in the Van Der Linde gang.

Daniel(?) "Dutch" Van Der Linde

Dutch's mother was an english woman named Greta and his father a dutch man who lived somewhere near Philadelphia who fought in the civil war and died, which is why Dutch hated southeners.

Dutch's nickname rumors to come from his father's desperate attempt at keeping touch with his ancerstory.

When he was 15, he left home due to troubles with his mother whom he never got along with and simply saw him as a disobedient and troubled kid. He wished for freedom above all so to gain this he started a life of crime and in mid 1870 met Hosea Matthews.

(Second edit: I am not 100% sure Daniel is his true name, thus the ?, however I found it on his wiki page and added it)

Hosea Matthews

Hosea was born in around 1844 and lived the majority of his earlier life in the mountians, growing to love fishing and hunting. His father was mostly absent, living a life of "sin and debauchery that would make an emperor blush." Hosea saw his dad only about three times in his life but loved him none the less.

He tried to make his way with comedy as a stage actor, however he turned to petty thieft, stealing from his audience and later others in town. He was caught by the sheif stealing a chicken and sentenced to be hanged. Luckiy for Hosea the town folk saw it as a punishment too cruel and a riot broke out which ended with someone shooting the noose around Hosea's neck, allowing him to flee.

Mid 1870 Hosea found Dutch sitting by a campfire and decided to rob him, however found that Dutch had already robbed him. Hosea feared for a moment for his life but it ended with the two of them laughing it off and teaming up.

Molly O'Shea

Molly O'Shea was born into a wealthy Irish family, set up to live a proper and educated life, however she quickly got bored and showed little interest in the life set up for her, so she ran off to America in search of adventure and excitment. At some point she ran into Dutch Van Der Linde and found an interest in him and his life style, only to later genuiently fall in love with him.

Arthur Morgan

Arthur Morgan was born to Beatrice and Lyle Morgan in northen US. His mother died in his early life and he never really got along with his father whom there are rumors was abusive. Lyle lived a life of petty crime and was arrested and executed. Arthur saw his father die and although not having the best relationship, Arthur kept his father's hat and picture.

In 1877 Arthur was 14 and a wild delinquent. He ran into Dutch and Hosea, being picked up and taken under their wing, taught not only the ways of crime but also skills like reading, writing, hunting and so on.

Uncle

Uncle was born in Ohio (insert Penelope Braithwaithe shutter) with the only family present being his parents who died when he was nine and an "uncle" named Jeb whom Uncle hints at being a pedofile.

After his parents death he was on his own and was forced to a new city where he had to care for himself, and from that time to the game start in 1899, we know he has been married at least twice.

Uncle tells many stories of his past such as going to Africa and being worthshipped like a god by the locals, however the truth of these stories are highly doubted due to his tendency to lie. He does tell stories of being a "one shot kid" in his younger days, the truth of these also being doubted, however it may have been his tricket into the Van Der Linde gang.

Susan Grimsaw

Along with Hosea, Dutch and Arthur Susan was one of the founding memebers of the Van Der Linde gang, having run into Dutch during a poker game where both he and she found interest in one another, causing the curious couple and their unruly son to stay in the area a bit longer, paying poker long into the night while Susan sat on Dutch's lap.

Having gotten into a romantic relationship with Dutch, Susan was allowed to join the small group and even stayed when Dutch moved on to Annabelle, now serving as a form of housemother, making sure that people did their work, took properly care of themselves and made camp feel like home.

You can also hear Susan talking to Mary-Beth one time in camp, admitting that she had a fiance once however he went to heaven.

John Marston

John Marston was born in 1873 to an illiterate scottish father born on the boat to New York and a prositute mother who died during his birth. At first John lived with his father who constantly spoke of Scotland and his love for the country, however he was blinded in a bar fight south of Chicargo and later died when John was eight. The true cause of his father's death is unknown however John was told it was a barfight.

John spent a few years in an orphanage before running off and living on his own, at the mere age of eleven commiting his first murder by shooting a man, though he claims it was not his fault.

At the age of twelve John had been caught stealing from homesteaders who planned to have him hanged, however Dutch stepped in and took him under his wing.

Orville Swanson

Swanson used to wrok as a Clergyman but after indulging in the "earthly pleasures", being seduced by alchohol and sex, he lost his family, job and in the end faith, though he desperately tried to regain it.

At some point or another he fell in love with a woman named Margaret, though she was already married, so he simply added bigamy to the list of sins he had already commited. When the two of them were in San Fransisco, the law finally caught up wth them and while she fled onto a ship headed for Shanghai he was stuck and never saw her again.

Under unknown circomstances Swanson came to save Dutch's life and due to Dutch's debt to Swanson he was allowed to join the gang.

Mary-Beth Gaskill

Being a woman of good nature, Mary-Beth did not struggle getting close to her victims after having found herself needing to find a living in the streets. Due to her looks and personality she could with ease fool the richer men into thinking they were saving a poor maiden in need while her fingers slipped into their pockets.

It was through this that Mary-Beth got in trouble with not just the law but her victims as well. One night she had gotten a few foul men on her tail that she ran into the Van Der Linde gang who saved her and asked her to join them.

Charles Smith

Charles Smith was born to a Native Mother and a free African American father, all three of them living fairly happily with his mothets tripe together with a few other free men before the US army chased them away.

They continued to live together but a few years later Charles' mother was captured by the army, leading Charles' father to fall into alcoholism and a deep depression.

At the mere age of 13 Charles left his father and began to live on his own, becoming a supreme survivalist from an early age.

Some point during the late 1898 ran into the Van Der Linde gang in the Grizzlies and joined them.

Simon Pearson

Simon Pearson's family were whale hunters and although Pearson wished to follow in their footsteps it did not go that way due to the whale industry having lessened by the time that he got out of school. Having been forced to look for new employment options, Pearson joins the Navy where he even managed to get stranded for fifty days on a ship filled with plauge, watching his friends and coworkers slowly drop one by one.

After having returned from the Navy Pearson begins to struggle financially and takes a loan, however unable to pay it off loansharks comes after him and it is during one of these attempts at getting to Pearson that the Van Der Linde gang saves him and brings him to camp as a cook.

Abigail Marston

Abigail Marston, originally born Abigail Roberts, was orphaned at a young age and started roaming around bars, scraping whatever few coins she could take from folk before starting a work of prostitution, making an earning by selling her body and at some point running into Uncle at a bar who introduced her to the gang.

Now living with the gang, Abigail still worked as a prositute up until falling pregnant with Jack Marston by John Marston.

Josiah Trelawny

Josiah Trelawny was born in England though he has no memories of his life there, he later imigated to America where he starts working as a conman and trickster. It was during this line of work that he met yhe Van Der Linde gang and joined them bur with a special advandage as he, unlike the others, was allowed to appear and disappear as he pleased, always knowing when Dutch planned to cut him off and return with a big hit.

Josiah has a family living in Saint Denis concisting of a wife and two sons named Tarquin and Cornelius. Just as with the gang, he would disappear on them for months.

Karen Jones

Karen Jones lived as a scam artist in her early years and absolutely loved the outlaw lifestyle and hoped for a bit more which partly drove her to accept the Van Der Linde gang's invitation, hoping to achieve more.

Javier Escuella

Javier Escuella was born in Mexico to a drunkard father who worked for Allende' (a main antagonist in rdr1, a military man) uncle. When he was young he saw his own uncle as well as four other separate men get casterated and fed to pigs for simply suggesting fair wages for their work.

Javier moved on to become a violent and known bounty hunter and revolutionary, fighting against what he saw as a corupt system.

Javier ended up killing a powerful former military man for a woman that he loved, fearing for his loved ones life he fled to America where he knew no english and had no work or food, leaving him starving.

It was in America that he ran into Dutch as they both were trying to steal the same chickens. Dutch took Javier in, fed him, gave him a family and a life, leading Javuer to idiolize Dutch also for his revolutionary ideals.

At some unknown point someone attempted to kill Javier, leading to him having a prominent scar on his throat.

Sadie Alder

Sadie Alder grew up in a harsh envioment and from a very early age learned how to hunt and ride to care for herself, things that Jack Adler fell in love with. The two of them married september 1896, moving to a ranch in Ambarino where they had three happy years of marriage before the O'Driscolls arrived at their cabin.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Margaret Sullivan at American Crisis:

Jamelle Bouie gets it. The New York Times columnist wrote something a few days ago that stood out to me because it was so directly stated and so horrifyingly correct. It began: “Even if anyone had elected Elon Musk to anything, the past week would still be one of the most serious examples of executive branch malfeasance in American history.” Bouie went on: “Musk has seized hold of critical levers of power and authority within the federal government, apparently enabling him to destroy federal agencies at will, barring congressional action or judicial pushback.” The piece was titled, “There is No Going Back.” Here’s a gift link. Read it in full and weep for what we’re losing, day by day. But Bouie’s sense of alarm, well founded as it is, is strangely rare in Big Journalism these days. Witness, for example, a piece last week by Jason Willick, a regular opinion columnist at the Washington Post, who wrote something titled “Save the panic over Trump’s ‘power grabs.’ It might be needed later.” Calm down, Willick counseled, mocking the idea that a coup is underway, and concludes that, instead of having what he calls a “meltdown,” everyone should just wait and see. Why? Because, he argues, casting Trump and Musk’s early moves as a constitutional crisis “will diminish the force of such warnings if they are needed.” Willick was appropriately blasted in the reader-comments section: “This sycophantic, willfully delusional apologia for the dismantling of the American republic and the shredding of the constitution … is contemptible sophistry of the very worst kind,” said one. Read Willick’s column, if you have the stomach, and judge for yourself; here’s a gift link. Overall, the tone in the major media is much more like Willick than Bouie. For example, the popular Times newsletter, The Morning, offered this tepid headline one day last week: “A Constitutional Crisis?” Then it considered the question from various angles, including only one quote from a lawmaker — Republican senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina who notes that what Trump and Musk are doing “runs afoul of the Constitution in the strictest sense,” but “nobody should bellyache about that.” As Jamelle Bouie put it in the column I mentioned above, no question mark is appropriate here. In fact, calling what’s happening a constitutional crisis “does not even begin to capture the radicalism of what is unfolding in the federal bureaucracy.”

[...] Righteous indignation like that is hard to come by. That’s why I wrote a Guardian column last week about two new-generation Democrats who have become strong voices: Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett of Texas and Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut. I quoted political consultant Sawyer Hackett: “There’s been no better messenger in the first two weeks of Trump 2.0 than Chris Murphy. At a time when too many Democrats are afraid of their shadow, Murphy is showing how to fight back with a compelling populist message that should be a blueprint for the Democrats moving forward.” My Guardian editor asked me to include a paragraph at the end about what’s giving me hope right now. You can read that, and the rest of the column, here.

Margaret Sullivan is spot-on: Our press needs righteous truth-telling during these constitutional crisis times.

[saywhat-politics]

On Tuesday, a liberal judge cleaned out her conservative rival in a pivotal court race in Wisconsin, while GOP House candidates in two Florida districts underperformed Donald Trump's 2024 result by more than 15 points, sending jolts of panic through a Republican Party wary of what those portend for the 2026 midterms. And that's before the president announced "reciprocal" tariffs Wednesday that some Republican lawmakers fear will wreak havoc on both the economy and their standing among voters.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., was a beneficiary of both the 2010 and 2014 midterm backlash against former President Barack Obama, which carried him to the speakership of the North Carolina House of Representatives and then to the Senate, respectively. On Wednesday, he warned in an interview with Politico that Republicans risk inviting the same fate in 2026, when he is up for re-election.

“What we don’t want to do is overreach,” Tillis said. “We’ve got to be careful not to do the same thing. And I think that these elections are going to be proxies, or almost like weather devices for figuring out what kind of storm we’re going to be up against next year.”

[floorcharts]

Who: Senator Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina)

X: https://x.com/SenThomTillis

When: February 2025

What: Russia-Ukraine War

Watch on C-SPAN

Read the Congressional Record

[mammoth-clangen]

I love seeing the colour patterns on your clan gen homotherium and smilodon.

They remind me of cat colours. Colour mutations in animals (cats and prehistoric animals on general too) are my special interest

I remember that my favourite smilodon design was the one from Primeval. I still have the box sets and they were my favourite as a kid (and now lol).

Sad that Smilodon was most likely tawny like lions. It apparently lived in open areas so most likely wouldn't have spots or stripes. But that doesn't mean we can't draw them like it. Also I wonder what mutations they did have in real life (like white lions, white tigers, "strawberry" erythristic leopards, albino leopard, and melanistic leopards and jaguars do appear in the wild)

I actually discovered your comic when I followed the homotherium tag after seeing the frozen cub. I once saw lyuba the mammoth at the natural history museum, London, at a limited exhibition. I'm completely obsessed with the permafrost mummies. I hope I get to see more in person one day.

Here's my kitty, Zoe.

Oh my goosh what a cute cat ;A;

here's my creature, Fat Tilly! She's an 11yr old Selkirk rex who likes loafing and lying in the sun c:

And thank you! I adore colour mutations in extant animals and I agree that it's really fun to contemplate them in extinct ones c:

I'm gonna preempt this getting long and put a cut here jhrjhrf

I'm sure you will already have seen this, but for anyone interested in paleoart depictions of colour mutations, I'd really recommend this great article all about it

White Cat, Gold Plains was actually all about the premise of a Homotherium with piebaldism. Pied is one of my favourite pigment mutations because it's so much deeper than integument patterns; it's actually a neural tube defect that leads to distinct behavioural changes. WC,GP was about Kiina, the pied cat, and her struggles with always being view as 'childish' by her peers and struggling to fit in. There was also more human impact in this story, as Kiina gets picked up as a cub by a group of early humans. It was sort of my own experience/musings on neurodivergency played alongside some thoughts on early domestication attempts humans must have had (though we all know that, sadly, Homotherium did not end up domesticated). Pied animals are typically more trusting, which is why you see so many pied domestic animals! (Fat Tilly and Zoe both are, for example lolol)

Also the Primeval Smilodon has one of the most gorgeous and distinct designs of any media sabercat tbh, I really loved the episode as a whole even though it had a sort of sad-but-expected ending.

I don't remember where I read it, but there was someone discussing Smilodon patterns and the conclusion was basically "we can't be sure". While lions are solid as adults, they're spotted as cubs and likely had spotted ancestors seeing Pantherines seem to have strongly contrasting patterns as the default. Machairodontids aren't even the same lineage as Pantherines, so we really can't know what patterns they had except for Homotherium latidens having dark brown cubs! They could just as easily grow into a different adult coat, like hyena do. (side note, I was sorta hoping that absolutely amazing Homotherium mummy news might drag some people to my comic so I'm glad it did lolol)

Smilodon was also likely very ambush dependent, being too bulky for pursuits even as long as modern lions. Disruptive colouration could have helped with this even in fairly open habitats. This is actually why I gave the Ice Fangs very faint stripes; high contrast tiger striping didn't make much sense, but breaking up the outline a little couldn't be a bad thing even in a steppe environment. I also didn't want them completely solid because there are actual lions to differentiate cx