#union jack garden

[popentertainment-concertphotos]

The Garden – Union Transfer – Philadelphia, PA – October 8, 2022

Photos by Jack Farrell © 2022

[burtonsdoodles]

🇬🇧 CORONATION READY…

2 weeks to go…

Drawing the sights of Covent Garden…

Available on REDBUBBLE

[thebettybook]

｡ The Great Union That Defies All Odds ｡

💐: My entry for the @briarvalleyarchives “Wedding Day” event

💐: As wedding bells chime in June for the Fairy Gala’s Fairy Queen and her fiancé the Fairy Lord of Winter, Leona and gn!reader join hands in coming up with a wedding dress design for the Fairy Queen.

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Strawbetty’s notes:

🍓 Characters: Leona Kingscholar x gn!reader. Leona and gn!reader are in an established romantic relationship.

🍓 Warning: This fic contains spoilers from the Fairy Gala Remix: Operation Illusive Evolution event.

🍓 Song rec: In this fic, I included some lyrics from “The Great Divide” by The McClain Sisters, which is a total bop and I highly recommend listening to it!

🍓 Other notes: Text borders used from the website Cute Kaomoji

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ꕥ ┈┈┈┈┈┈ ⑅﹤୨♡୧﹥⑅ ┈┈┈┈┈┈ ꕥ

You tossed a crumpled ball of white mixed media paper over your shoulder unceremoniously for the umpteenth time that afternoon. Your eyes trailed to the glass window panes on the stone walls of NRC’s spacious attic-turned-elective classroom studio as you noted the spring sky’s robin-egg-blue hue dotted with wispy ivory clouds.

Around you stood adjustable dress forms draped with haphazard fabrics of students’ unfinished projects. Next to the dress forms were rectangular sewing tables with ruby pin cushions, cream sewing machines, and sewing threads of every color of the rainbow that were more than enough for fabled sewing mice to use.

Sigh. You turned your attention back to your mixed media sketchbook, flipping to a new page and tapping your pencil against it. I could use some fabled sewing mice to help me come up with a wedding dress design idea right now.

Your final assignment for Fashion Design class (a new elective class at NRC taught by Crewel) was to sketch a wedding dress design for the Fairy Queen, ruler of the Faeland’s fairies who held the recent Fairy Gala event in NRC’s Botanical Garden.

Ever since Ace, Jack, Ortho, and Silver were discovered by the fae at the event, the Fairy Queen grew enamored by their Fairy Gala outfits designed by Crewel. After the Fairy Gala, the Queen’s representatives sought out Crewel and asked him via translator bell to design a wedding dress for the Queen’s upcoming wedding to the Fairy Lord of Winter.

Crewel, who usually never turned down a challenge or opportunity related to fashion, thought this was an opportunity better suited for his Fashion Design students’ final assignments instead. The student whose sketch design gained the highest marks would be chosen to bring their wedding dress design to life with Crewel’s help. Crewel also emphasized the addition of extra credit points for the student whose sketch design would be chosen.

You didn’t want to pass up the chance to gain extra credit points to boost your overall GPA at NRC. Plus, it wasn’t everyday that one got to design a wedding dress for a Fairy Queen. What you didn’t anticipate, however, was that you’d have problems coming up with a wedding dress design in the first place.

There were just so many options when it came to wedding dress silhouettes, fabrics, and more. Puff sleeves? Tight sleeves? A ballgown skirt? A trumpet skirt? Chiffon? Lace? Tulle??

You wracked your brain, finding it difficult to commit to an idea when there were so many possibilities—the possibilities, not unlike the length of a wedding veil, were endless. Even all the episodes of “Say Yes to the Fairy Godmother’s Dress,” a bridal reality TV series you enjoyed watching with Cater, couldn’t help you think of an idea.

Instead of saying “yes” to a wedding dress idea, your head was filled with “no”’s to all your ideas. You let out another sigh and plopped your pencil down onto the sketchbook. Your eyes shifted to all the crumpled pieces of paper on the floor. I should clean this up.

Littering wasn’t helping you come up with any ideas either, so you decided to give yourself a teeny break and went over to pick up the three crumpled-up paper balls that laid a few feet away from your sewing table. You crouched down, your lips parting to hum a random song that just came to mind.

“Oi,” a voice called to you at the door, making you forget what song you were going to hum. Your eyes shot up to see Leona leaning against the door frame with his ever-so-smug smirk. Rather than one hand propped on his hip as usual, both of his arms bulged with two packaged sandwiches, various snacks, and two carton drinks from the Dining Hall.

You could tell that the smugness of his smirk came from how proud Leona was that he got lunch for the two of you on his own from the Dining Hall rather than Ruggie doing so, even if Leona overdid it a bit.

“Leona,” your face lit up at the sight of him nonetheless, and especially at the sight of lunch. Leona set down all the food at the nearest table, making his way over to you.

Bending down on one knee, Leona picked up all three balls of paper for you. “What’s got you litterin’ like there’s no tomorrow?” The lion beastman raised an eyebrow, his smirk softening into an amused smile as he stood up and threw the paper balls into a nearby recycling bin.

“Uuugh, I can’t think of a wedding dress to design for the life of me.” You joined Leona in grabbing all the food off the table before both making your way to your sewing table. He settled onto the wooden stool next to yours, his knees brushing against yours.

Leona’s emerald orbs settled on the blank paper of your drawing pad. “A wedding dress?” His fingers swiftly unfolded the sand-colored sandwich wrapping paper of a menchi katsu sandwich while you opened a (your favorite meat/veggie/filling) sandwich. The crinkles of the wrapping papers added to your chatting with Leona, making the classroom seem livelier despite it being just the two of you. “Who’s getting married?”

“The Fairy Queen from the Fairy Gala,” you tapped your pencil against your cheek while you held your sandwich in another hand. “She’s getting married to the Fairy Lord of Winter from a neighboring kingdom in a few weeks. She comes from a land of warmth, while he comes from a land of frost. They met last winter and fell in love despite all odds, so the theme Crewel gave us is ‘The Great Union That Defies All Odds.’ But how can I put that into a wedding dress?”

“‘The Great Union That Defies All Odds,’ huh?” Leona sipped his earl grey milk tea box, his thin dark-brown eyebrows knitting together as he pondered over the theme. “To me, that sounds like the impossible being possible.”

You paused your pencil midway before the pencil’s charcoal tip could land on the page. “Wait, you’re onto something,” you set the pencil down on the page and munched on your sandwich. “The Fairy Queen embodies spring, while the Fairy Lord of Winter embodies winter…You’d think nothing could bloom in winter, like their love, but it’s possible. Just like flowers that bloom in winter!”

Without a word, Leona pulled out his sleek ebony smartphone from his school uniform pants pocket and typed “flowers that bloom in winter” into MagiGoogle with one hand while still holding his sandwich in his other hand. You scooted on your stool closer to Leona, your shoulder touching his as the two of you scrolled down a list on MagiGoogle of all the flowers in Twisted Wonderland that bloomed in winter.

“Leucojum, camellias…,” you read the list aloud, none of them screaming “wedding” to you yet. “Wait!”

Leona paused his finger on the smartphone screen. “Did something in the list catch your eye?”

You nodded, leaning in closer to his smartphone screen. “Ornamental cabbage…it says here that the colors of ornamental cabbage grow more intense as the weather grows colder…which could be PERFECT for the ‘The Great Union That Defies All Odds’ theme!”

“I could use the ornamental cabbage as the main material for the Queen’s wedding dress, and have the colors be more vivid at the skirt of the dress like a gradient…,” your voice trailed off as you thought of possible wedding dress design ideas with ornamental cabbage. You finished off your sandwich with a hearty bite, now energized to start designing a wedding dress.

Leona lifted an eyebrow, but his lips quirked into a loving smile at your creativity. “Gotta tell you, herbivore, you know I’m not surprised by many things. But an ornamental cabbage wedding dress takes the cake. The wedding cake, heh.”

“Haha, you’re so punny.” You lovingly rolled your eyes at Leona, who simply winked at you and resumed eating his sandwich. “But now that I’m saying it out loud, ornamental cabbage might not be fitting enough for a queen’s wedding dress. It’s a good start for brainstorming, though.”

Leona finished his sandwich, dabbing a napkin against the corners of his mouth. “Why don’t ‘cha go with camellias? They symbolize romantic love, adoration, devotion, and care,” Leona listed off the symbolism of camellias as if remembering flower language and symbolism were the most casual things in the world.

Those who didn’t know Leona well would never guess that he was well-versed in flower language and symbolism. It was one of those well-hidden hobbies or topics of interest of Leona’s that he shared with you over time, and it added to one of the many things you loved about Leona: his love for the knowledge of topics that related to nurturing the world.

To Leona’s surprise, you brought your right hand up to rest it on top of his left hand—the hand you wanted to hold while you walked through life with Leona. “That sounds perfect.”

Leona slouched in his stool and nuzzled his cheek against the side of your head. His eyelids drooped as the daffodil-yellow afternoon sunlight danced through the glass panes of the classroom windows, adding to the warmth that embraced Leona with your hand on his.

You rested your head on his shoulder, closing your eyes to enjoy the moment as well. The fact that it was just you and Leona in the room, with comfortable silence now between you two as you basked in each other’s company, made a melody bloom from your mouth.

“Mm, mmm, mmm, mm,” You began humming the melody of the song you were going to hum before Leona came in. It was a song known throughout Twisted Wonderland about bringing all species—no matter how great the odds were—together.

Leona’s lion ears flicked at your humming as your lips parted.

“I’m on your side, let’s take this ride.”

Your singing voice possessed a softness to it, yet the lyrics you sang were loud enough for Leona’s ears and heart to hear.

“And together we’re facing the world, doing things nobody’s done before.”

With your right hand still on Leona’s left hand, you used your thumb to draw circles across the somewhat-dry skin of his hand. Your thumb moved upwards to massage his fingers—first his pinky, and then his ring finger.

Before you could massage his other fingers, Leona flipped his hand up so that his palm faced yours, and he intertwined his fingers with yours. His fingers wasted no time in giving yours a firm yet gentle squeeze. The lyrics you sang made Leona think about you—how he too wanted to hold your hand while walking through life with you.

It was your hands, with always the most loving and caring of even the smallest of touches, that helped him gain the courage to want to care for his own life—from the days where you would brush away a crumb from the corner of his mouth with the back of your thumb, to the nights where you would thread your fingers through his mane during the rare times he had trouble falling asleep.

It was those touches from your hands that motivated him to bring to surface and share with you and others his interests, passions, and just anything genuine that Leona thought he had given up hope for or thought he kept hidden painfully well for a long time now.

Because why nurture anything in an endless winter of being overlooked and compared to, with none of his achievements or even actions mattering for as long as he could remember?

His endless winter wasn’t endless anymore, replaced by the blooms of Leona sharing his passions and interests with others (such as teaching you about flower language and symbolism or about the stars, or spending more time with his Magift Club teammates by watching Pro Magift games with them) that led to his experiences over the past year at NRC with those he could now confidently call his loved ones.

While being each other’s most significant loved ones, you and Leona weren’t perfect, and the two of you had your fair share of squabbles from time to time. At the end of any squabble, however, the two of you would always communicate, take each other’s hands, and choose to be part of each other’s lives.

Leona cracked his eyes open, taking in the view that was your hand in his. It was your hands, soft and warm as spring, that never failed to make Leona feel safe, loved, and supported. He wanted his hands to make you feel the same way for the rest of your life.

The first thing you saw when you opened your eyes only a few minutes later was Leona admiring your hand in his. When his eyes shifted to meet yours, you returned his squeeze with your own before gently prying your fingers away from his. “I should get started on my drawing.” You wanted to keep sitting there with your hand in Leona’s, but the lunch period was probably ending soon.

Propping his right elbow up on the table, Leona rested his cheek against his palm and watched you etch light charcoal lines onto your paper.

A low hum rose from his throat. “Mm mm mm mmn.” The light scratches of your pencil against the paper created an odd harmony with his low humming, but your smile at his humming encouraged Leona to keep going.

In a near whisper, he sang the same lyrics you sang to him just moments ago in his baritone singing voice that never failed to soothe you.

“I’m on your side, let’s take this ride.”

To Leona, the lyrics sounded like a marriage proposal disguised in a song. He wondered if you thought that, too, with the way the song came to your mind earlier in the midst of coming up with a wedding dress design for the Fairy Queen.

“The Great Union That Defies All Odds.” It was the theme that symbolized the Fairy Queen and the Fairy Lord of Winter’s love story, but the theme made Leona reflect on your and his love story.

The love story of a human from a magic-less world and a lion beastman from a magic-filled world, where they experience adventures and chaos practically every day on the campus of NRC.

No matter what life threw at you and Leona everyday, the two of you chose to stay by each other’s side.

Hand-in-hand, through it all.

Leona cracked a grin while singing when you parted your lips to join him.

“And together we’re facing the world, doing things nobody’s done before.”

If his relationship with you wasn’t a great union that defies all odds, Leona didn’t know what was.

ꕥ ┈┈┈┈┈┈ ⑅﹤୨♡୧﹥⑅ ┈┈┈┈┈┈ ꕥ

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Important:

🍓 I don’t own any of the characters I mention or write about; they belong to their original and respective creators.

🍓 All content on this blog is created by me, @thebettybook (excluding posts I reblog that aren’t my own posts and unless I state otherwise). Do not modify, claim, repost, or translate my work onto this platform and any other platform.

🍓 Reblogs are appreciated :). Want more Leona romance fluff? Check out my masterlist

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[xeansicemane]

I want to share my opening monologue for my Lancer campaign, so here it is under the cut

Calliope isn’t the sort of place normal stories last long - children are raised on the Five Minutes and the Duality here for a good reason. But no matter how much printloaf most folks eat, no matter how many times Impact Dynamics jacks up the prices on their shitty yeast substitute, you still hear one old ice bucker in every bar talking wistfully about Union. Union isn’t a myth, with a good enough scope you can read the registry number off the Union carrier just inside Asphodel orbit. People joke, of course; “Union’s Presence in Calliope” is a local in-joke for things that don’t exist. The Three Pillars are a cruel joke on more stations than anyone is willing to admit even in this system. But the idea that Cradle is out there somewhere does help  in some small way. Calliope isn’t a cold place; it’s difficult, you well know that, tetanus vaccines have been put in the water supply in Hell’s Gate, Asphodel is a blast furnace with a bad attitude. But there are still art shows in that abandoned settling tank in the aft section and Furnace City is still a garden in the middle of an acid storm. The stories that get told here are about doing what you can with what you have, Lancers. Because even if the posters for the Calliope project are battered and worn, even if visitors take them as some kind of black-humored joke, “Our many hands shall make heaven here” still adorns the walls of the Gate and other homes. But none of you came here for a lecture on philosophy or ethnographies. It’s as close to morning on the gate as it gets, some of you are already on shift, some of you are just peeling yourself out of bed. So let’s catch up with the SRT.

[chussyracing]

what's been happening in motorsport lately?

(long overdue update from me so it's very long and therefore hidden under the cut)

F1 teams and drivers:

Williams (union jack) and Red Bull (red pattern) brought special liveries to Silverstone

Andy Cowell (previously Merc PU chief) joins Aston Martin as new CEO

Mick Schumacher will do a Pirelli tyre test for McLaren because no other reserve driver of thier has the criteria to drive the car and their F1 drivers are coming off a triple header (so their activated the option to use Merc juniors/reserves)

Matt Whyman is Publishing „Inside Mercedes F1: Life in te Fast Lane“ book

Mercedes will bring more upgrades to both Spa and Hungary

Checo will get the new Red Bull floor Max has been running in the next race as well although Helmut Marko said that upgrade was only worth 6 points of downforce

i am so sure that i wrote this down about a month ago but since everyone has been talking about it: Enrico Cardile left Ferrari and will serve gardening leave for the rest of the season before joining Aston Martin, so Fred will oversee the area himself before Loic Serra comes (and potentially Newey as according to rumour that’s main reason behind Enrico leaving)

Ferrari is also set to have a board meeting to discuss the current form

Ollie and Pietro Fittipaldi completed Pirelli tyre testing for Haas

Michael Broadhurst became Alpine’s chief aerodynamicist (previously in Red Bull and McLaren) and Vin Dhanani became their head of vehicle performance (previously in Red Bull) and finally Jacopo Fantoni is their new deputy chief engineer (in Ferrari last year)

Visa Cash App RB partnered with Warner Bros to promote Twisters in Silverstone

oh and after complaining about the tickets the N*rstappen ruffle in Austria helped them sell out the Silverstone weekend

Charles is Peroni’s world brand ambassador and an ad and the first part of short video series to promote the drink was posted

Adidas will be Merc’s official clothing partner

Lewis was reading CBeebies Bedtime Story on BBC on 3rd July called „Small’s Big Dream“ by Manjeet Mann

Charles expanded the export of his LEC ice cream so now you can get it in Italy (can confirm that one, had Chocolate Crunch from Unes and it was delicious), France and Monaco

Pierre extended with Alpine and Lance extended with Aston Martin for next year (and beyond)

oh lol i almost forgot Ollie Bearman is officially Haas 2025 F1 driver!!!

Williams announced 26 new employees joining this year with some big names from RBR, Merc, Ferrari and others (like Matt Harman joining after summer break)

Logan started his own app (i didn’t research more on it so far but apparently there are a few articles about him so far)

Ferrari asked for an explanation from FIA after RBR’s mid season RB18 test that led to performance upgrades which shouldn’t be allowed with tests

McLaren sent out thank you packages to other teams as they helped them out after their hospitality caught fire

Alex made (and almost sold out already) Albon Pets merch

Toto Wolff confirmed they included police to research the email that was sent to journalists and F1 figures concerning the sabotage of Lewis in the team

Mercedes will have a charity football match against Aston Martin today

and Levi’s partnered with McLaren to make special edition of merch

after Almave Ambar, Almave Blanco will be distributed in the UK as well

Andretti Cadillac hired Chris Green as IT director and Laura Sturland as finance director (both previously in Merc)

Future of F1:

6 sprint weekends in 2025 will be: China, Miami, Spa, Cota, Brazil and Qatar (there is one or maybe two locations that make sense otherwise it kills the weekend imo but ok)

Rolex ends their sponsorship of F1 after 10 years (11 if you count this one), instead LVMH will step up into their position starting in 2025 (it is also very much possible Tag Heuer will be their title sponsor since it falls under LVMH umbrella and occupies similar position in business as Rolex, side note: Rag Heuer is the current sponsor of Red Bull) – rumouredly this is about money like everything in F1, the new contract is supposed to be $ 150m, so about three times as much as Rolex gave them

besides this, F1 is also finalising deal with American Express as a global partner

Zandvoort is contemplating making gravel traps to avoid track limits like they did in Austria

Rumours of the paddock:

Zak Brown has been asking for a possibility of engine supply from RBPT instead of Mercedes due to fear of reliability if they start supplying Alpine as well (considering they will drop Aston who gets Honda’s engine and knowing how much he publicly criticizes Red Bull and the culture in the team i kinda doubt it)

Alpine is also exploring RBPT and Ferari as potential engine suppliers instead of Renault

Jos Verstappen still very much wants to get his son out of the Red Bull team and Mercedes could be the next destination, Jos said in Austria that Christian Horner is the one responsible for not allowing him to drive during legends parade during the weekend and they had a lil argument speaking to media, there is still the rumour about Merc engines in 2026 being strong and that being a good argument for Max

this is technically not a rumour but also not confirmed either but Fred Vasseur strongly indicated in an interview that Lewis‘ contract will be for three years (he said they want to be champions in 2025, 2026, 2027 or something along those lines basically)

Haas is about to announce the extending of engine supply from Ferrari (with stronger links as Ollie becomes their official driver while being a part of FDA), they might get some kind of parts from Toyota as well (along with their knowhow) with potential title sponsorship deal

also Gene Haas apparently wants to expand their facilities in the UK

racingnews365 believe that Esteban is going to announce his deal with Haas before summer break

i want to prelude this by saying that driver contracts are highly confidential and nobody knows what exactly is in them, because they simply do not talk about the legal stuff so it wouldn’t get out BUT there has been a lot of speculation about Checo and his contract including clauses of performance compared to Max, some of which he is currently not complying so there is a rumour if he doesn’t improve over the next two races, they can terminate his contract and replace him mid-season (with candidates being Daniel Ricciardo – Horner’s favourite + good for their marketing where Checo is strong, Liam Lawson – Marko’s favourite + has a close to look among other teams if he doesn’t get a RBR backed seat for 2025, and apparently also Yuki)

also Liam is doing a filming day (200 kms test) with RB20 in Silverstone today which is a similar move they did with Daniel Ricciardo last year before he replaced Nyck

and Joe Saward thinks he will replace Daniel in July

also some people freaked out about Mick doing a Pirelli test for McLaren and honestly he has bigger change in Alpine where he did kind of a shootout with Jack Doohan (we have no info about how it went besides Toto saying he was strong)

after Williams were ready to announce a contract with Carlos in Spain with Netflix ready to shoot the footage of it and after he pulled out of it with new offer from Alpine (or rather Flavio Briatore), they now focused on getting Valtteri Bottas as a stable driver to partner Alex

that leaves Carlos waiting if Max really leaves RBR (but Marko made it clear they don’t want him anyway), potentially Merc (Toto said they are not interested in him but after Kimi’s  results in F2 so far, he said maybe the door is not fully closed for him yet), Audi (where Liam Lawson was seen in Austria, but even after Carlos missed a deadline from them, they might be interested) or Alpine (and if he says no, they still have Jack and Mick lined up and ready)

meanwhile Guanyu has been exploring the option to get a seat in FE if he cannot find one in F1 (with Alpine, Haas and Sauber as possible options) or even being a reserve for an F1 team for 2025

Ted Kravitz mentioned paddock gossip of Estaban leaving earlier than planned to replace Logan mid season in Williams and make space for Jack Doohan in Alpine (the only thing supporting this right now is interview with James Vowles talking about this and mentioning potential changes event his season)

Will Buxton on the other hand mentioned Daniel Ricciardo is talking to Williams

and finally Blick reported that Drugovich might be on Williams‘ list after Carlos

as for Logan he is reportedly in talks with Prema to get their Indycar seat

Lewis Hamilton is rumoured to buy Gresini Racing motogp team

apparently Lewis also called Seb to ask about what Adami is like as a race engineer and Seb gave him positive feedback

Jeremy Clarkson said he can calm people down and say that Newey is not looking for houses in Italy but rather UK

the superlicence request in Miami was potentially meant for Arvid Linblad (if you don’t know who he is, he is rbr junior currently crushing it in F3)

Briatore wants to bring Binotto into Alpine (lol)

Other series and juniors:

Franco Colapinto, Ollie Bearman, Jack Doohan and Isack Hadjar got their FP1 junior drive in Silverstone

Roman Staněk will end in Trident after Monza, he terminated the contract due to the team not performing like expected and is currently looking for a possibility of another seat in F2 (when it’s on dry, the car lacks too much to others and only on wet like in Silverstone’s sprint, the differences are diminished and the driver can show what’s in them like he did going from p22 to p8)

British F4 race in Zandvoort will have SO many F1 Academy drivers: Abbi Pulling, Bianca Bustamante, Carrie Schreiner, Jessica Edgar (and of course Chloe Chong which is driving full season in British F4)

so Arrow McLaren cannot behave for a week, to sum it up: David Malukas (who got a full time seat after Alex Palou was sued for not driving for them) got injured, they got Callum Illot drove instead of him for some time, since David wasn’t healing, they fired him and hired Theo Pourchaire for the rest of the season, INSTEAD they fired him as well after he posted about how he can’t wait for another race, and now hired Nolan Siegel (and on top Rossi will leave the team and will get replaces by Lundgaard  in 2025)

freaking Nikita Mazepin was testing GT3 in Hungary after the EU sanctions were lifted (side note idk if i stated before but Haas has to pay off Ural Kali)

Other news:

Goodwood festival of speed is coming up with interesting names (like Frederik Vesti, whole of Williams team, RB team including Horner etc)

the F1 movie everyone has been in frenzy about will be called… F1 (i think there is some teaser too if you are interested, also Fernando did an interview after Silverstone which will be used for the movie as well as some other real life stuff, like Pierre’s onboards modified) OHHH also Hans Zimmer should compose music for it like he did for Hunt vs Lauda (however it is called in English)

there was a rumour that Danica Patrick is leaving Sky Sports but that fake (or rather AI generated)

the Silverstone trophy was made by ex-F1 mechanic Alastair Gibson from car parts (there are two trophies always but the Iconic golden one is returned)

i am putting this in other category because it’s simply too unhinged but there was an open letter from some fans that Leo Leclerc is not loved and cared for enough (be so serious he has better life than i do)

[sarahjacobs]

i find it really interesting how, as newsies made its transition from film to stage, it took on a rhetorical militancy that wasn't there before, ie "once and for all there'll be / blood on the wall if they / doubt us."

which bothers some people because of how violent the language is, but i think the rhetorical militancy itself isn't bad, per se. the state is already waging war on the oppressed, one of the most obvious examples being how usamerican police were drilled in military formations to break strikes by the mid-1880s. when leftists use language that evokes the military, even in non violent contexts (guerilla gardening), it's not about militarism, it's about militancy, and recognizing the terrain of struggle.

and violence is more complicated than we often like to believe. when the state enacts violence on people everyday, ranging from slow (poverty) to fast (police brutality), it's only natural that people resort to violence as a means of liberating themselves. and these expressions of violence aren't equivalent at all because of the context, resistance vs reaffirming pre-existing power/authority, illegitimate vs legitimate violence. to elaborate on the latter, pulitzer is allowed to sic strikebreakers and cops on the newsies without facing any kind of consequence, but it would be a completely different story if the newsies even tried to assault pulitzer.

my criticism of the rhetoric lies in that it's just a veneer of militancy, of rebellion. newsies live also likens the strike to revolution, which the 92 film didn't do either —

MEDDA: Welcome, Newsies of New York City. Welcome to my theater and your revolution!

JACK: (being funny) Bill? So I suppose you're the son of William Randolph Hearst? BILL: And proud to be part of your revolution!

— but newsies is incongruous with revolution. i don't think that's necessarily a bad thing; like anarcho-nihilist serafinski says, "it is not the outcome of the act, but the moment of action itself that speaks the loudest here. . . . [whether or not revolution succeeds] can only be secondary to the visceral need to rebel against the shitty conditions of our lives." but we should also be accurate and precise in our assessments of resistance. revolutions are specifically about the overthrow and replacement of the current order, or, at the very least, the deposition of rulers, and the newsie strike, historically and across adaptions, ends with a return to the status quo — back to work under the same employer, with marginally better wages, which are still poverty wages and still under an inherently exploitative, industrial-capitalist system. in her coverage of the strike on the podcast cool people who did cool stuff, margaret killjoy calls it insurrectionary unionism, which more accurately reflects the spontaneity, informality, and emphasis on direct action seen in the strike, but also acknowledges that it didn't achieve, nor was it necessarily seeking, systemic change/destruction.

with this in mind, newsies live is especially not revolutionary. it proposes that class struggle is interchangeable with generational divides, and it favors a more conciliatory, employers and employed as partners approach to unionism. again, i don't think the 92 film is a perfect political text, but the older script’s references to socialism and eugene debs make it clear to me that they at least did the reading. newsies live lacks this political framework, which is necessary to make the rhetorical militancy work in the first place. i mean, when you have the newsies singing, "we'll be ready to fight us a war" and "they're gonna damn well pay!" and follow that up with katherine reading the newsie banner, in which they declare that "we will work with you" to pulitzer, doesn't that contradict? there's no real way to reconcile the newsies's call for escalation into open class war where the employing class and the working class are inherent enemies, with the more palatable/liberal willingness to "work with" pulitzer, building off of all the other business unionist like desires to have a "place at the table" and be "treated like equals," which culminates in a negotiation scene full of concessions.

in general, i find that newsies live is self conscious, in a way, almost constantly referencing its place in history as being unique —

DAVEY: We're doing something that has never been done before. How could that not be dangerous?

DAVEY: Newsies of New York… look at what we've done! We've got newsies from every pape and every neighborhood tonight. Tonight you're making history.

— in addition to the script noting that roosevelt is "recognizing this historical moment" as he delivers his last lines, and the previous examples of the strike being equated to revolution. there’s this eagerness to singularize the newsie strike as something that's never been done before, as a one and done revolution rather than revolution/abolition as a continual process; just as capitalism is a structure, not an event, true revolution isn’t an event, either.

newsies live as a whole is eager to claim easy victories. it's comforting to believe that we should work within and with the confines of institutional power and the piecemeal reform it affords, that a government official like roosevelt will intervene in favor of the workers, and when pulitzer says he can't put the price back where it was, the newsies giving up their only leverage at the height of its escalation (the localized newsie strike into a generalized, children's strike that stops the city) in favor of concessions is still a "win." similarly, it's comforting to believe that these institutions, and power itself, can be fixed, so long as the right people (the young people, in this case) are in power — as if there's anything even worth saving about these things. these beliefs don't demand much of us because it doesn’t disrupt our worldview, just asks us to keep holding onto what we already know.

to me, newsies live is part of a broader conversation about how anti-capitalist struggles and forms are recuperated and re-integrated into capitalism, how discourse reflects and codifies power, even as it makes room for dissent — or more accurately, controlled opposition. even as the show dons the mantle of revolution, of rhetorical militancy, a part of it is unwilling, perhaps even afraid of, to let go of its liberalism. it can't quite acknowledge the possibility that what’s needed is the end of the World — both the newspaper world and the literal world — as we know it.

(i highly recommend "a love letter from the end of the world," a short essay that more thoroughly deals with apocalyptic anarchism.)

[pix4japan]

A Touch of British Color in Yokohama English Garden・英国の風、横浜イングリッシュガーデンのユニオンジャックベンチ

Location: Yokohama English Garden, Yokohama, Japan Timestamp: 16:29・2024/08/13 Pentax K-1 II + DFA 28-105mm F3.5-5.6 + CP 45 mm ISO 400 for 1/160 sec. at ƒ/4.0

In addition to the gazebo, several wooden, stone, and concrete benches were scattered throughout the garden, making it a delight to sit and relax while soaking in the vibrant colors, fragrant aromas of flowering plants, and the gentle hum of insects thriving in this urban oasis.

One bench that particularly caught my eye was this white bench adorned with a Union Jack. For me, the wear and tear on this particular bench, with its peeling paint, adds a charming touch and nostalgic-like vibe, perfectly complementing the character of this English garden.

Full write-up and references here (1-minute read): https://www.pix4japan.com/blog/20240813-bench

[vintagerpg]

Let’s take a look at the UK-series of module this week, shall we? This is UK1: Beyond the Crystal Cave (1983).

There had already been some UK-produced D&D material at this point — Fiend Folio, the U-series modules — and there would be more to come intermittently in other modules series (usually indicated by a Union Jack up by the product code). This line was produced by TSR’s UK offices between 1983 and 1985. They all have that hard-to-describe British quality about them in the substance of the adventures (and usually in the art and layout, but this one features gorgeous but nevertheless American illustrations by Tim Truman).

This one is equal parts brilliant and, at least from the 21st century, a bit of a groaner. That’s not entirely the module’s fault though — you see, at its core, this is a riff on Romeo & Juliet. In the decades since, I think the number of videogame RPGs that have had a Romeo & Juliet riff in its sidequests approaches the ninetieth percentile. This might be patient zero or close to it, and points I guess for originating a long-running trend, but I am just not so interested in variations on that particular story any more or ever again.

Still! There is a lot to love here. At least for me — I love a minimal combat module. There are not many of them at this moment in time (I can’t actually think of any). There are a couple encounters that seem bound to lean toward combat, or at least flight (can’t really chat with an ochre jelly), but most of the adventure, which sees players exploring an enchanted garden, involves doing favors for the locals and solving puzzles. Jellies aside, the main storyline can be handled without a single sword being drawn, which is just unheard of in D&D in 1983. Good stuff!

[mech4nicalbr1de]

Floral Sins

Rating: Explicit

Fandom: Hannibal (TV)

Pairing: Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter

Chapter: 1/?

Characters: Will Graham, Hannibal Lecter, Alana Bloom, Jack Crawford, Beverly Katz, Molly Graham

Tags: Cheating, Infidelity, The whole point of this fic is Will cheating on Molly with Hannibal, Alternate Universe, Florist AU, Florist Hannibal Lecter, Professor Will Graham, Will is not with the FBI, Cannibalism, Hannibal Lecter is a Cannibal, Hannibal Lecter is the Chesapeake Ripper, Floriography, Sexual Tension, Resolved Sexual Tension, Blood and Gore, Blood, Deception, Autistic Will Graham, Graysexual Will Graham, more tags to be added as I update, A lot of the ones I put down will show later, no beta we die like will's morality

Summary:

'There is a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable' — Mark Twain

To the unobservant eye, Will is living an ordinary life. He has an ordinary job, an ordinary home and an ordinary family to return to everyday. But Will was not meant for ordinary. His marriage has been steadily crumbling for some time, and when he visits the Garden of Hesperides to buy his dear wife a present, he inadvertently sows the seeds of his union's final destruction — and his soul's along with it.

Word count: 5.3k

[pandorasopenboxes]

Names Beneath Scars - Chapter 2 WIP

TW: None

Snippet:

Soap can’t find his lighter. The hindrance – despite being a very minor one – causes him to grit his teeth together and allow air to escape the gaps in a hissed breath. He recalls placing it in the left zipper pocket of his trousers, the tiny thing knocking against his keys and used tissues accumulated over the past few days of moving. But, the minute he dug his hand into his oversized pocket, brushing past the wrapper of his favourite Cadbury chocolate or the written note of directions to his room, the lighter’s existence vanished. It was cheap, is his first thought, attempting to soothe his need for a nicotine rush. He bought it at some random corner shop where the owner, dubbed ‘Boss Man’ by the younger crowd of customers, was placing up Union Jacks to appeal to the foreign tourists bustling down the streets outside. Some tourists, wearing sun hats despite the lack of such, strolled over to the main window display and eyed the miniature trinkets of bright red buses. Or poked their heads through the open door to view the ceramic plates with the Royal family emblem engraved. Soap ignored all, including the youngsters huddled together in a corner, trying out the latest flavour of vapes.

It was the vivid green colour of the lighter which caught Soap’s attention; a neon toxicity in all its hue. There is nothing special about the specific colour. No sentimental meaning which grips him. He just likes it. The brightness of it. And now it’s gone.

Shoulders sagging in frustration, Soap sits on one of the slanted beach chairs placed outside in what he assumes to be the smoking area. It isn’t a bad place; a little dingy perhaps as it’s found at one corner of the compound where Soap had to squeeze through a slightly broken door to step outside. It must have been a lovely garden in the past as remnants of plant pots – all in different sizes and shapes – litter the ground. Soap wonders what sort of flowers were brought here, were the colours as intense as the lighter he lost? He has no way of knowing, not when death has touched the withered stems and the pretty petals were consumed by growing weeds. In the midst of all the large vegetation, is a singular bucket with the words ‘DISPOSED BUTTS HERE’ written in a black marker. Members of the 141 must have taken that direction seriously, as no cigarette waste is found on the surrounding floor. Good on them for being environmentalists, he thinks, humouring himself while fiddling with the lid of the Marlboro Gold packet. Soap, repeatedly opening and closing the lid, gazes past the long grass and trees to see if he can spot parts of the town. The compound is situated on a hill which should allow Soap to see the shape of semi-detached houses or the large Tesco’s close by.

Chapter to be up by the end of the week.

Read first chapter here

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Umar Lee:

Before Mike Brown

Growing up in North St. Louis County, I remember a vibrant community full of churches, bars, VFW halls, Knights of Columbus, shopping malls, movie theatres, and all of the amenities working, and middle-class post-war Americans desired. To be a kid who loved sports, like me, North County offered Khoury League baseball, JFL football, little league wrestling, boxing gyms, soccer clubs, hockey clubs, basketball leagues, and much more. I played plenty of sports growing up in organized leagues (wrestling, baseball, and football); but I played more with kids in the street. When I wasn’t playing sports, I was listening to Jack Buck and Mike Shannon call Cardinals games on KMOX radio, sneaking up late at night to watch pro wrestling, reading wrestling and boxing magazines in the store because I couldn’t afford to buy them, also reading the St. Louis-based The Sporting News to keep track of stats, admiring the photos and articles in Sports Illustrated, of course reading the sports section in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch daily, and watching whatever sports were aired TV on the weekend for households without cable, topped off by sports news coverage from the likes of Jay Randolph, Ron Jacober, and Art Holliday on Channel 5.

Yet, while all of this was going on, which has left me with a life of fond memories, the North County, and my personal story, isn’t complete without looking at other events. The sports sections of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch discussed Whiteyball, our loss of Big Red football, almost losing the Blues to Canada, and the Steamers; but the news and businesses pages were far bleaker. St. Louis had then, and has now, one of the highest rates of violent crime in America, political dysfunction and corruption, and countless municipal fiefdoms. These pages also contained news of factory closings and job losses. Like Michigan, Pennsylvania, northeast Ohio, and other parts of the Rust Belt; working-class St. Louisans were reeling from job losses. North County was built up and populated by factory workers and those in the building trades, the small houses were built for guys like my dad who left high school and walked right onto an assembly line, and when those factories close, and the builders stop building, the economic conditions that underpin the health of families and communities erode. When Combustion Engineering in North St. Louis laid off my dad, uncle, and other relatives in the 80s, it hit like a micro version of the Great Depression. The saving grace would come years later when my dad joined my grandpa at GM, which had moved from North City to St. Charles County, skipping North County in the process, and my uncle getting rewarded for his service loading dead and wounded American bodies into helicopters in Vietnam by getting hired at the federal records center in Overland.

Beneath the changing economic conditions was the issue that defines St. Louis, and in particular, North County. Race. North County was largely farmland before World War II with a sprinkling of small towns mixed in. Old Town Florissant and Sacred Heart Parish in an example of historic North County which was a community of French and German Catholics who later welcomed and embraced Irish and Italian Catholics. Like south St. Louis City, places like Ferguson and Florissant, bonded together at church, in labor unions, and in neighborhoods. The problem is that these tended to be nearly exclusively white, and as the Black population of North City spilled into North County in large numbers beginning in the 1970s, this began to create tension. As a reference point, my dad graduated from Riverview Gardens in 1970 when the first Black student enrolled, today the school is virtually 100% Black. After splitting with my dad, my mother, who lived in North City and North County with us as small kids, took my biracial younger half-siblings to be raised in the Shaw and Dutchtown neighborhoods of South City, because she deemed the Riverview Gardens schools to be too white and racist. I stayed in Black Jack and then Florissant along with my older sisters, dad, stepmom, and grandparents.

As economic conditions became unstable in North County, white families began moving out to St. Charles County, and Black families began settling in areas that had previously been all-white, the existing white establishment relied on police departments, most of them either all-white or close to it, to act as a buffer zone. This frequently was manifested in traffic stops with places like Jennings being the worst. White residents of North County feared crime rates would soon mirror those in north city, and these fears were only heightened after high-profile crimes such as the 1982 kidnapping and murders of Gary and Donna Decker in Bellefontaine Neighbors, the stabbing death of McCluer North student and football player Dan Mckeon (brother of two professional soccer players) at a 1987 party in Florissant, the rape and murders of the Kerry sisters in 1991 at the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, and the rape and murder of freshman student Christine Smetzer by a fellow student in a McCluer North bathroom in 1995.

Meanwhile, Black families arriving in north county for better schools, safer communities, and more amenities, after generations of legalized housing segregation in St. Louis City and County, often faced the brunt force of aggressive north county policing. Instead of harassing criminals and reducing crime, police departments in north county were often harassing students and law-abiding citizens coming home from work, church, or a night out. Before body cameras and smart phones these police interactions often included profane and racially abusive language and frequently beatings. This created a climate of distrust and anger in the Black community in North County. Crime was going up, but police were harassing law-abiding citizens instead of stopping criminals, and Black residents were also disproportionately victims of crimes that received far less media attention. As the racial composition of North County municipalities changed to majority-Black, voter turnout remained higher among longtime and typically older white residents. This meant that the numerous city halls and police departments in places like Ferguson remained nearly all-white even as whites became a minority in those communities.

In 2014, North County was a powder keg waiting to erupt. All it needed was a spark. That’s why I began writing about north county in my Evening-Whirl column and for the Huffington Post. No one was talking about North County and it was ready to explode. Local media focused on stories about bike lanes, hipster neighborhoods, and business as usual. Months before August 9th, I told Paul Fehler, of the Pruitt-Igoe Myth and political fame, that if there was a riot and civil unrest in St. Louis it would be in North County. A week before August 9th, with future mayoral candidate Cara Spencer watching, I had a heated argument with legislative aide Michael Powers at The Royale because he said I talked about problems in North County too much. Everything in the County is fine, I was told, all focus must be on the city.

Then it happened. Mike Brown Jr., a recent graduate of Normandy High School, walked to an immigrant-owned and ran store with a friend (most such stores in the Black communities of St. Louis are owned by Palestinian Muslims), there was an altercation, but nothing out of the ordinary for a St. Louis hood store, and as he walked through the apartments and onto Canfield at the edge of Ferguson, he met up with Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson. The encounter was fatal and almost certainly avoidable. Ferguson immediately handled the situation in a reckless and insensitive manner. Allowing the dead body of Mike Brown to lay in the streets for hours, and bringing out police dogs to intimidate family members, neighbors, friends, and those brought out by social media posts and discussions on Black radio. What happened that day, we’ll probably never know the entire truth. What we do know is what happened on August 9th of 2014 permanently changed St. Louis and America.

My Time in Ferguson

People have to remember that what became known as the Ferguson Uprising was not something that was instigated by academics, leftist political organizations and organizers, out of town celebrity activists, intersectional dogmatists, or people with college degrees. The anger at the death of Mike Brown came from the neighborhood. A neighborhood ranging from lower middle-class to generational poverty. People struggling and hustling just to stay above water. The community came out August 9th, but the uprising began August 10th and that was a day when an older generation of pastors, community leaders, and politicians were largely pushed aside, by a younger generation seeking an immediate redress to their grievances. It was leaderless and often without direction. Purely organic and there was a beautiful sense of community in the early days. Elders such as Anthony Bell attempted to provide direction (Bell setting up voter registration tables); but the situation was too fluid and beyond the capabilities of individual organizers.

[...]

From the beginning, I sought to use whatever platform I had to highlight the history of North County and attempt to tell a story of how we arrived at this moment. Having said that, like everyone else, I was caught up in the drama and passion of the Ferguson moment. I made videos, wrote some articles, cowrote a few pieces with Sarah Kendzior, and appeared on many local, national, and international news outlets (Al Jazeera links aren’t working). I was also arrested twice in Ferguson, threatened with arrest many more times, received numerous and graphic death threats, sparred with police supporters, lost my cool, provoked, was provoked, and finally lost my job and shortly thereafter my apartment (and in the middle of all of this, my grandma died and I was in a messy relationship). If you look at photos I didn't have grey hair before Ferguson. A few months later I was buying Just For Men.

I found a way to piss off police supporters and get under their skin, as did guys like Bassem Masri. In my estimation, the reasons for that are twofold. Firstly, we both grew-up in north county, so many of the people responsible for targeting and doxxing us were those we either grew-up with or went to school with. I saw lifelong friendships created in the Ferguson-Florissant School District end over Facebook posts during the Ferguson Unrest. This was mostly along racial lines. Secondly, unlike most activists, or those you see on Ivy League campuses today, we didn't talk and sound like spoiled brats, smart alecky rich kids who'd have to go to therapy for decades after one physical altercation. We'd been in plenty of fistfights, street brawls, and I'd been shot at and stabbed. Twitter trolls, insults, and radio talkshow hosts like Mark Reardon and Bob Romanik weren't gonna hurt my feelings.

[...]

Trump and The 2020 Sham

For the sake of time, and if anyone is still here, I'll fast forward to 2020. I've already previously stated, and Sarah Kendzior noted this in her book discussing St. Louis, that I believe Ferguson is partially responsible for electing Donald Trump as president. As in 1968, when Richard Nixon promised law and order, I knew conditions were ripe for a populist right-wing politician promising to restore law and order. No one saw COVID-19 coming, the shutdowns, the summer of massive protests after the murder of George Floyd, and the crazy presidential election. Four years later, I think we're still all trying to make sense of it.

While I fully embraced vaccines, and I'm happy I'm vaxxed, and I supported shutdowns at the time, I think it's pretty clear they did more harm than good. Most harmed were our children- particularly poor and working-class kids, who fell behind due to the virtual learning sham, and never caught up. I was at the Dallas campaign event where Biden was endorsed by multiple presidential candidates, thus virtually sealing the nomination. The South Side Ballroom was so packed, that I could barely move or breath, and couldn't get in a position to take a good photo, despite being relatively close to Biden. The next week it was too dangerous to publicly campaign, Biden stayed at home, and we elected an elderly man who was not up to the job but has generally been good in office both for American workers and our international allies. Mainstream media, so eager to defeat Trump, played along. Oh, the viable Democratic alternative was another elderly gentleman who honeymooned in the Soviet Union. It was not a year of good choices, but Biden was the best in my estimation.

[...]

The Aftermath: Where We Stand

Where are we today? A decade later, are we in a better place? North County is still in a state of serious decline and seems to be getting worse each year, North City is doing even worse, the population of both St. Louis City and County is declining, and many are opting for more prosperous communities, most notably Texas and Georgia suburbs (both reddish states). Violent crime spiked for a period, the decline in traffic enforcement has made driving and walking our streets far less safe and often deadly, and area police have essentially stopped policing. They don't want to be stars in a viral video or become a hashtag. For many cops, if they couldn't do things the old school way, they aren’t gonna do it at all. This has made our communities more dangerous, less livable for the most vulnerable, and places few people want to live in. This is a negative consequence from the lack of a strategic plan after Ferguson and failures on both the parts of law-enforcement and the community to hear one another.

The good news is that St. Louis now has better prosecutors (Wesley Bell and Gabe Gore) who are committed to public safety, holding those accountable who harm our community, and enacting diversion programs and other positive post-Ferguson reforms. St. Louis has a mayor in Tishaura Jones who wasn't created in a lab by white progressives; but is a genuine leader, reared and educated locally. Without Ferguson, I'm doubtful Mayor Jones would've been elected, nor a new generation of leaders such as Adam Layne and Marty Murray.

So, it must be recognized, that while there have been some unintended negative consequences from Ferguson, there are also positive developments. These aren't just political. What inspires me isn't politics. I'm inspired by faith leaders in our community who took the Ferguson moment and began having serious conversations with their congregations. Fathers and mothers who began having difficult conversations at home with their sons and daughters. Teachers who began listening to their students. Old classmates who reached out to one another to have a beer and talk across the racial divide. Our increased racially diverse families and suburbs who are defying our political discourse on both sides as progressives have adopted a rigid and dogmatic Race Science and MAGA is doubling down on Nativism and Majoritarian racial grievances. By our faithful and intact immigrant families providing needed life to a region desperately in need.

@Umar Lee wrote a solid perspective on the 10-year anniversary of the killing of Mike Brown in Ferguson and North County from a North County POV. #Ferguson

Read the full story at Umar Lee's Substack.

[tallymonster]

This last episode of The Gilded Age made me cry AGAIN. this show is perfection and I am so here for what's coming next. Spoilers under cut cuz I have mutuals who arent caught up to the most recent episode. I'm not talking about EVERYTHING tho cuz I only remember the big parts tbh.

HOLY SHIT okay so first off, Peggy and the reporter guy whose name I always forget KISSED last episode!!!!

So glad Marian was like GIRL HE'S MARRIED TF?!

Also the whole thing with the school closing, like I cannot believe they would just close it because it's a school for black kids wtf 1880's New York!! You're supposed to be more progressive, but yeah stark reminder of the times we're in during the show.

The whole thing with Mrs. Russell and Mrs. Winterton being all petty with each other now that Winterton has some pull with the old guard who are leaving the Academy for the Met??? 🤌🤌🤌🤌🤌🤌🤌🤌🤌🤌🤌. HERE. FOR. IT. love the bargaining to get the center box. Like Winterton, girl, this is BERTHA RUSSELL.

oh and speaking of hbic Mrs. Russell, the Duke is coming to the Met omfg her whole world just ended right there!! The look on her face when Larry and Gladys were like " Hey, were off to the party, see ya!"

That fucking party too!!!! Omfg Dash, I cannot with you!!!!! To like invite everyone that you know to this solarium thing which, baller move btw I would love to have my own solarium in a garden like living the dream

Okay, so this party is popping off too like all the DRAMA

Gladys is getting hit on by ANOTHER bachelor, and Larry comes to the rescue like a protective older brother, we stan.

Oscar and Maud are hella cute together, like I know he's gay and kind of a fortune chaser, and I have a feeling she's got something going on with her...like idk there's just some slightly red tinged flags with her background...I guess we'll see...BUT they kissed too!!!!!! And it was so hot!!!! Like daaamn Oscar!!! I didn't know you could kiss a lady like that!!

So Dashiel puts the party together for the dedication of the solarium, but then as he's making a speech about it, he brings up Marian!!!

And then he starts going on this rant about moving back to NY to have his daughter grow up where he did and he didn't expect to fall in love

Y'all the look on Marian's FACE!!??? it was the same look I had too tbh

HE PROPOSED TO HER!!!!! AND AUNT AGNES WAS ALL ABOUT IT CUZ DUH

Omg and Aunt Ada and Forte were both like UH UH YOU DO NOT WANNA SAY YES WE CAN TELL!!!!

Like everyone was hella shocked and YALL THE SCREAM I SCREAMED WHEN THEY SHOWED LARRY'S FACE!!!! this poor man just got dumped by his boss/milfy widow just to come back to NY and see the other girl he liked get engaged. Big fat L for Larry.

Cut to Jack, he sent in for a patent for that clock piece he invented, and he gets denied because he's not part of a clockmakers guild or whatever.

Fucking Armstrong over here has to shit in his Cheerios and just talk mad shit like I cannot wait for her to say the wrong thing in front of Agnes. like you're on thin ice already because of all the racist shit you did and said to Peggy, Armstrong like what is your game plan???

So Mr. Russell goes to one of the union dudes houses. Like it's the same guy who came to his house but again, I forget their names

They talk for a min and it looks like Russell is having a small change of heart when he sees the man's family. The oldest son who doesn't look more than like 17 tells Russell that he's working in the mill too, to support his family.

Russell leaves and is greeted by a mob of people who work in the mills. Like they brought their families too so you see women with babies in their arms.

Rest of the episode is going back and forth between the smaller plots. Like Bannister and one of the other servants whose name I also forget seeing Church come back to the Russell home drunk, which ended up being that it was the 30th anniversary of the death of Church's wife who died so he got drunk.

Same small plot thing, Mrs. Astor, Mrs. Van Rhijn, and Mr. McAllister all come together to plot how to save the Academy since Winterton is taking a bunch of people and taking them to the Met.

Okay, now for the worst cry I had.

Forte and Ada come to visit Agnes after their honeymoon to Niagara Falls.He had been having some back pain and he went to some doctors

At first it was just like oh here's some pain meds to take care of it, let's go do some tests though.

Well....he goes to another specialist and he tells Forte that he has something more serious.

Cut to Marian coming to visit, she's thinking it's about her engagement to Dash, so she starts to talk about it with Ada

Ada was like "I didn't call for you?"

Forte comes out and says "I did. I need to talk to the both of you." And makes Ada and Marian sit.

Scene cuts to Marian rushing into the Van Rhijn house, Agnes, Oscar, and cousin Aurora are all there.

We find out that Uncle Forte as Marian calls him, has cancer. It's the kind that starts in the back and begins to spread. So it sounds like he has some sort of bone cancer?

Agnes immediately rushed over to Ada

Scene change and we go to Ada and Forte in his bed, she's cuddling him and telling him that they'll get through it. She starts to tear up which makes him cry.

The doorbell rings, and Ada goes downstairs

She sees Agnes there and she runs into her sister's arms.

The sobbing that Cynthia Nixon did here absolutely destroyed me.

Agnes saying to Ada, "I'm here. You've not to worry." Just reminded me of my brother doing that with me when our mom died and it broke me.

Agnes tried to get Ada and Forte to come to the Van Rhijn home but they said no

Props to Ada and Forte. Death with dignity will always be my stance and I think that's what is going to be implied here.

Mad props also go to Mr. Russell for not shooting the strikers. I think he's starting to have a change of heart with the robber baron tendencies.

All in all, GOOD EPISODE. MADE ME CRY. I LOVED IT. can't wait to see how the opening night will go lololol specially cuz Winterton doesn't know about Mr. Russell basically blackmailing the dude from the Met!! Ohohohohhooooo

[kazhanko-art]

random skills I have developed since starting my job at a museum

-weeding a garden with a hoe

-potato planting

-removing horseradish from gardens

-singing the God Save the King

-hanging up the Union Jack on an old flagpole

-writing in cursive on a chalkboard

-knowing roman numerals up to 1,000

-splitting wood

-lighting and using a stove from the 1920’s

-memorizing a Ukrainian poem about the Canadian Red Ensign in both Ukrainian and English

-how to play a Ukrainian card game

-how to put on a french cuff, collars, and ties

-herding chickens

-how to clean a clay floor

[incarnateirony]

This might be the wildest take yet but... Roxy is Cas? But Dean doesn't know. And as he tells the story, he thinks she was the villain. Because he's our unreliable narrator. But then we find out The Truth.

You are actually very very very very very very close but like 1° off. I'm using voice to text on this so pardon if this ends up coming across funny but.

Do we remember nihilism. Where Pamela was this complicated construct of Dean's own thoughts reflecting back at him? A sort of reflection of wanting what he couldn't have?

It's the same thing. The Akrida work similarly to the shadow on the face. We see them as monsters. They hide in our darkest memories that can be our most beautiful gardens if we Face the truth. We might see them as nuisances. Flies, roaches, whatever else. But Castiel always preferred insects over angels. He loves bees. These are just worker bees. They can sting you. They can be scary or even dangerous. But they're really just tending the garden and the garden doesn't work without them. So Roxy and the others are transmutating leaden grudges into gold.

Just like we know, or some of us know, that she isn't the villain really, neither are these bugs. We actually have to go back to the place Mary got stung by the birds and the bees. And the trauma. And the doors that she fears opening. But her garden and her future is inside of it and it's time to start dreaming about what to come next. And so it is for Dean as well.

Right now, there is a light in the road calling him home. Dean is dead or dying. In the very least episode 6 he was still in the barn. We know the whole know thyself thing. I had myself. I knew myself. Dean only knows who he isn't. Not who he is. Roxy is the dissonance of that until he opens the door. The final door. Which he may just find in the closet like his dad's music box. Or a mixtape. That their son accidentally broke playing over and over and over again trying to drown out the noise hearing Dean and Castiel fight about him. Because Jack just wanted to make himself small. He didn't mean to go bad. But that door has Generations at the same trauma behind it and that buzzing trauma drove the empty into death's Library seeking silence. Almost not too unlike Millie going into the atrium to speak with Ada. She just had to get away from that handwriting. Get away from that music. Get away from all of that loud trauma.

We are at the point of an aeon bounce. We are actually still in season 12 while Dean is dying in season 15. Roxy is coming through the cracks. Rips that were born the moment Jack started being born into this world. Because he exploded outside of time and always is and always was and was always there Union and that trauma was always there

That's why death went mad and needed sealed. Death is supposed to be benign.

Roxy is just Dean's interpretation of the truth. That's why it's roxy. Rocky's bar. Pamela. His perfect woman. Right now Jack and Castiel are trying to call Dean home in the light in the road. They are trying to call him. There's a phone booth. Not unlike the end of advanced thanatology. Listen close to everything she says. It's only people thinking that they are a threat that has determined them to be a threat. Roxy is just trying to get Dean to open his door and quite frankly show up for his own wedding in heaven and he's running from her. Because she's actually Castiel but he can't face that. Well Roxy isn't castiel. Roxy is Dean. He's that little trauma leech and that reflection trying to fix his garden and fix his broken tape deck. But the queen is trying to call him home God damn it. Castiel noticed that their code name is the name of popular musicians. He became full and his soul went to heaven big surprise. You can call him queen bee. Roxxy wasn't the queen.

Such a shame to ruin such a beauty though. Whether that be Mary and traumaLisa's bleeding uterus, or Kelly being ripped open like the worlds to give birth to Jack, or Castiel subsuming The One for Jack in rediscovering who he was. And that being taken out on the kid. The same trap, the same grudge, the same truth. Dean's perfect woman has always been a man. And he spent his whole life running from that. And if he doesn't stop running, he's going to fade away into emptiness. He needs to find the Ostiuum. The road. The path. The opening. Giggity goo. In order to be in The Occultumstiel, the Occultumstiel must be in you. All the squishy bits of your real body, her hands are all over it. And nothing can stop what's Coming for all Humanity to make it full. Let's just stick with a Mouth for now.

[edwinspaynes]

"send me ask about thomastair or matthew"

12 days of Christmas, Qs about our beloveds!

what are all three of them watching during the holiday season?

What would a skincare / make up routine (if he wears it) be for our Matthew on an average morning?

if each of them were on social media, what would be their go-to social media app and why?

who would you consider the most street smart, book smart and the most emotionally smart and why?

what would be each of their fav holiday traditions this time of year?

One can allege that both characters are super alike but extremely different in a lot of ways. so how do you think Matthew and Magnus in personality overlap and where do they differ?

what are some questions you HATE receiving in your ask about these three characters and why?

Between Thomas and Alastair, who is assigned what choir and why in the maintanance of their flat at Cornwall Gardens?

Who is more prone to bouts of sadness between thomas and alastair and what does the other do to help them feel better or take them out of their funk?

What are some of their favourite dishes they make for each other? They give me the vibe of being massive loving home bodies so i'm curious to know your take on what they make for food and what are their go to dishes!

What are in each of their stockings and who gave what to contribute to stuffing their stalkings (for all three of them! Matthew and Thomastair)

Last day of christmas question :) - What are YOUR predictions/wishes of who/what the scene each of them will be, in the better in black novella? :))

Ily! I hope you liked this! it took me over half an hour to think up q for what i was trying to do hahaha

Nice I'm so glad that I saved this for when I was high.

I think that they're watching various shows and Christmas movies. But I also think that they're watching their usual things.

This is actually so interesting : https://www.beautifulwithbrains.com/beauty-history-cosmetics-in-the-edwardian-era/. So he had Concoctions and creams with Cocoa Butter, Coconut Oil, Almond Oil, Lanolin, Petrolatum, Witch Hazel and Glycerin.

Matthew is a Tumblrina and you can pry that from my cold dead hands. But also probably TikTok and Instagram, because he can't stay away from the travel videos for long. He has a whole IG page to his travels (@/wilde-wanderer, of course). And he has tons of followers who love the aesthetic landscapes and dog pictures. Thomas is a Duolingo boy - languages? Owls? Definitely, and that's most of what he does on his phone. But he does have a Twitter account to share his scores to, and he competes with Alastair to try to get ahead of the other one in their target languages. Thomas also uses his Twitter to follow accounts in Spain and language learning accounts. Alastair hits it big on YouTube because Thomas encourages him to showcase his piano. So he has many followers. It's really amazing for him, and he posts new things frequently. Kind of like VSQ, but solo piano.

Street smart is Matthew because he has all walks of life experience. Like this dude woke up wrapped in the Union Jack one night when he was drunk (Waterstones edition bonus letter). He could get by in back alley deals and make his way thrugh the world. Book smart is Alastair because he grows up lonely and reads a lot, and also he has a natural curiousity for life and the world around him. Thomas is emotionally smart, he sees minute details in people and can tell what they need so they can feel better.

Thomas likes to make cinnamon bread. Alastair likes to sing and play carols. Matthew likes to decorate and make beautiful.

MATTHEW AND MAGNUS okay. I will make a venn diagram:

Idk dude

ALASTAIR CHORES: cleaning the counters, cleaning the floors (he is a very cleanly man and just does these things), cooking dinner for both THOMAS CHORES: laundry, organizing (can reach tall cabinets), cooking breakfast for both. both characters do dishes

I think both are equally prone to bouts of sadness. I think Thomas will be more prone then Alastair to bouts sadness for a while, first, because of terrible grief over his family members. Alastair will still be in that "thank God I can breathe" phase but not in te "oh god how can I breathe i have to learn" phase, which will come in time and be the worst bit. But I think that Alastair has a shitmine of trauma to process and it will be incredibly emotional journey for probably the rest of his life, so he will be the most prone in the long run. Both of them are of course there for each other, I think that they hold each other and they talk about what the grief is and they comfort each other and they feel acceptance and support for one of the first times ever. I love them.

Thomas and Alastair, right? Yeah lol I wrote in my fic they spent a long time together alone and then they had their friends over and they wanted to get rid of everyone and be alone together again. I think they're, like, each other's favourite person. I think they are like being in a partnership. in all things. Like , if Alastair does something wrong, Thomas still has his back. And if Thomas does something recless, Alastair is not mad with him but he is worried for his safety. Anyway, I'm higher than I want to be. This is not the question. I think that thomas makes Alastair a lot of Persian food when he wants to, but he is kind of not a naturally amazing cook so he has to be taught by Alastair. Alastair shows him though and it is fun and romantic and bonding experience. I think Alastair makes for Thomas handmade trifle. It is his favorite dessert. Also salads without a hint of celery.

I will draw an image

I jsut want them to be IN the short stories! It's important to me. My mutual posted a post about how Cassie said something promising. Also when I asked SoS team they sent me a ;).

[nameless-brand]

Apparently, some of the stores have started union busting. You know the like. Propaganda about how the unions just want to pocket your money - I recall a popular ad involved talking about how the money you saved from not paying a union could've gone to a PS5 or video game. It's pretty sad that it worked as well as it did.

I'll probably keep an eye out, but it's not actually my priority right now. The hydroponics garden was a success (thank you Jack), even the ones that aren't in the Inn. Gotham could always use more green and all.

...Don't really feel like doing anything though. But not doing anything makes me feel like I'm being lazy. Mrmm.