#Jeannie Curious

[simm-mouse]

Nevermind, my brain wouldn't let me stop drawing all night and wants me to share this

Last night doodle of how my game's going rn

When one father doesn't want to get bitten by his werewolf daughter, while the other one does🐺

[lookwhatijustfound-blog]

At Wallmart for $15.99

“I Dream of Jeanie” bottle house

😃

[kumquatpoo]

Dear god please help me

[petnews2day]

"The Curious Life of Cookie the Cat" will have a book launch Saturday

New Post has been published on https://petn.ws/8bt1T

"The Curious Life of Cookie the Cat" will have a book launch Saturday

A book launch will be held April 20 for “The Curious Life of Cookie the Cat” at Shop With Moxie (formerly called Joyful Tantrum Recess) in Midland. screen shot First-time Midland author Michelle Vouaux’s new book shares the story of a real-life cat with the “superpower” of helping people connect. “The Curious Life of Cookie the […]

See full article at https://petn.ws/8bt1T #CatsNews #BooksLiteratureChildrenX27SLiterature, #PeopleSociety, #4000Jefferson, #ArtsEntertainment, #Auburn, #Cat, #Christmas, #Cookie8217, #DickTouvell, #GerstackerAward, #Hannah, #Jeannie, #JoyfulTantrumRecess, #JuliaKepler, #KarenSharp, #KatieBaker, #MichelleVouaux, #Midland, #Moxie, #PamTaylor, #Pete, #PlymouthElementary, #RonSharp, #ShopWithMoxie, #TheCookieAffect, #TheCuriousLifeOfCookieTheCat, #Touvell, #Touvells, #TraverseCity, #Vouaux, #Vouauxs

[mattyriddlesbitch]

okay okay… fem!reader x Sub!Theo where she makes him wear a collar. Like her dragging him by a collar towards her while she stands in front of him while he’s crawling on his knees… lord help me.

I hope this works!!!

Leash

Theodore Nott x F!Reader

Warnings: Oral(Female receiving), fingering, sub!Theo

18+ Minors DNI!

Theo was curious when you said you had something for him. He showed up to your dorm, closing the door behind him as he smiled at you.

“What's this thing you're talking about, cara mia?” He asked as he walked over to you.

“You trust me, right?” You asked sweetly, wrapping your arms around the back of his neck as you gave him a quick kiss.

“Of course.” He said, but eyed you curiously.

“Close your eyes then.” You smiled. He took a second before complying. You stripped down to your lingerie you had on and grabbed the collar and leash. You put the collar on him as he frowned at the feeling.

“What is this?” He asked, but kept his eyes closed.

“Oh, just a new accessory for my good boy.” You said sweetly as you adjusted the collar. “You're my good boy, right?” You asked as you touched his cheek.

“Yes.” He breathed out and you could see the bulge in his pants beginning to form.

“Good. Keep your eyes closed.” You said as you backed away as far as the leash would allow. “Open your eyes.” He did and he looked at the leash, touching the collar as he looked back at you in surprise. “On all fours.” He hesitated but did it. “Crawl to me.” Theo didn't hesitate this time, crawling towards you until he reached just in front of you. “You're so good. Such a good boy for me.” You praised. “Now, come make me feel good.” You said, sitting on the desk behind you and spreading your legs.

He eagerly filled that space and pulled your panties to the side to lick at your cunt. He moaned into you, only moaning louder once you put a hand in his hair, brushing it from his eyes.

“You're so good at this, baby. You always make me feel good.” You moaned.

He pushed his fingers in you, happily lapping at your clit, trying to make you cum. You tugged him closer by the leash, making him groan as he buried his head further into your cunt. Praises fell out of your mouth until he had you trembling and crying out his name as you came. He moaned into you as he helped you ride out your orgasm.

You were going to help him out when you noticed a wet patch on his pants.

“Did you cum?” You asked.

“Yeah.” He said, looking away embarrassed.

“That’s hot.”

Safe to say, he really loved the collar.

Taglist:

@jeannie-beannie @yourenogoodforme @mixvchelle @helendeath @evaslytherpuff @ireallyneed-somesleep @soaked4abby @hpnsfwaddict @mayamonroem

Let me know if you wanna be added!

[lelelego]

Have you ever drawn Carla? I’m curious what your interpretation of Boones departed-wifey would be?

tbh i hadn't thought much about what she looks like, but now i did think about it and here's my thoughts :^D

i think she was pretty classically beautiful, given that even paggro ass stupid ass bitch ass jeannie may acknowledged she was pretty, and ranger andy calls her a knockout.

given that the only concrete thing we know about her is that boone and her met on the strip, my interpretation is that she was a common strip-goer/lived in the strip. a very charming and social woman, probably put a lot of care into her appearance (i have to imagine makeup of some kind exists in fallout) and from that, most likely loaded and/or had a lot of connections. a real socialite!

which would fit in well with the idea that novac made her unhappy (from ranger andy's dialogue). i mean, she probably had a great social life and many creature comforts in the strip, and she left that all behind for boone when manny talked him into moving to novac, a small countryside settlement with basically no amenities (the horror).

rip carla

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

Someone on a Discord group I'm in has been reading Animorphs for the first time, and they're bothered by the way Ax has trouble with walking/balancing on two legs, compared to how other complicated bodily stuff (e.g. flying as a bird) is always simple when paying attention to the body's instincts. From an out of universe point of view this is obviously to show that he's alien and has trouble fitting in with humans, but from an in-universe point of view it seems inconsistent with other morphing stuff. Sure, humans have to learn to walk, so it's not entirely instinctual, but birds also have to learn to fly (I think? I am very much not a biologist, maybe I'm wrong about that) and yet they can use instincts to fly reasonably well with no practice at all.

We ended up deciding that because he mixed four different bodies in the Frolis maneuver, his balance instincts expect him to be a different height than his body is, which I think is a cool idea even though it's certainly not Applegate's intent. But I'm curious if you have any thoughts on the issue?

So I actually don't think Ax struggling with human morph is at all inconsistent with the rest of the series. There are loads of times the kids struggle to perform actions that a real version of the animal would be able to perform effortlessly.

Marco takes a lot of trial-and-error before he determines how to make web as a spider (#10). He says he doesn't understand how it happened but that the resultant webbing is probably ugly as hell by spider standards.

Everyone nearly gets trapped in morph in #21 because the kids are terrible at orienting as fleas, to the point where it takes them half an hour to land on a dragonfly that's less than a foot away.

The first time a human morphs an andalite (#33), Tobias immediately gets his own tail blade stuck in a tree.

In MM1, Tobias notes the colossal stupidity of Marco and Ax being mice who walk directly across an open field; anyone who's ever released a mouse in the middle of an open lot will tell you that that's the best way to get it insta-killed by predators.

The kids' inability to use echolocation all that well is a major plot point in #4, #10, #17, MM2, and #27.

And then throw in the fact that humans themselves don't pick up bipedal forward motion that quickly. Babies take an entire year to go from sitting to rolling to creeping to crawling to "cruising" (using furniture for support) to standing. And even then, they're not called "toddlers" because their gait is particularly smooth or skillful. There are instances of feral children (Jeannie, Ramachandra) who didn't learn to walk at all with no one to teach them. Walking is natural for humans, but that doesn't mean it's automatic or effortless.

[ronearoundblindly]

Hello darling! No pressure (I fukin tried to write this anon and YOU WOULD HAVE KNOWN), but I keep thinking about a workaholic reader who needs cared for! It’s the beginning of a new year but she’s already worn out from last year.

You write such a real Steve, can he be stern about it? Tough, rewarding love? And you can request (that I stfu) anything from me, I wish you the whole world 💚💚💚💚

Drag me kicking and screaming :P

Dear bestie,

You bish. Fine. I see what you did there. Be warned, I'mma tap you back for this. Oh, it'll happen...

Not Today

Warnings for...Steve is a bit of a hypocrite? and that might be it? Oh, and Steve uses completely canonical profanity. It's literally the exact same line. You're welcome. WC 3.1k

The tech support department is a team. There are about a dozen people who are tasked with directly answering any Avenger's call at any time, day or night or holiday. You know your own team but not socially since you all rotate and shift hours. It's a fairly lonely job, and that's fine.

The world's superheroes don't know your names, can't distinguish your voices, and don't really care which of you picks up as long as they get the information they need. Steve Rogers is guilty of this, too. It's not on purpose, but he still struggles to remember more than just a 2-D connection can come from technology. Old habits are hard to break.

Then came Thanksgiving, and Steve took several for the team by coordinating casual progress on a few upcoming missions while the rest of the Avengers scattered to celebrate with family. He still saw people; he still enjoyed the festivities. He just also worked.

That's when Steve noticed.

He called your department at 1900h after the big dinner because a document scan was cut off oddly and he needed to see the original. You answered. 

He called again after the house was quiet and everyone slept. At 2300h, you answered. 

With barely-bridled irritation, Steve called instead of a morning run because he needed clarification on a recon analysis. You answered at the ripe 0500h, but he was too distracted to notice it was the same voice until that afternoon.

When it occurred to him that the same person answered four calls in a row, Steve asks for your name, but you politely remind him you aren’t supposed to say it over the line.

“Plus, it’s not important, Captain Rogers. Answering your questions is.”

He doesn’t like that one bit.

After the holiday though, it’s you picking up less often. The others are back in rotation more, and perhaps it was just a fluke, he thinks. If you can’t say your name, you certainly can’t tell him that you filled in for coworkers hoping to spend just a few extra hours with their families.

Your team works out of one central computer lab which Steve knows, but since it’s all by phone and online, remote shifts are common. Steve wouldn’t have time to stalk around the facility anyway.

He lets it go.

On his way out to the landing pad one night, Sam Wilson joins him in the elevator, suited up, ready, and on the phone.

“Thanks, Genie, I’ll call if there’s anything else,” Sam says before hanging up and nodding at Steve. “Ready?”

“Always,” he grunts back. “Who’s Jeannie?”

“One of the techs.”

“She told you her name?” Steve looks stunned. One of your coworkers doesn’t seem to follow the rules.

“Didn’t. She’s just particularly magical…and effectively trapped in a bottle since she’s always on the phone, I guess.”

Oh—Steve gets it now—Genie is like a nickname. That doesn’t explain why it is still you (because he just knows it’s you) answering calls so frequently.

“Are they short-staffed or something? People out on leave?”

Sam shrugs. “I don’t know, Cap. She just tells me what I need to know.”

They head off on their mission.

Steve Rogers doesn’t have much of a social life. Ok, fine, he doesn’t have any social life, but he’s a curious sort of man. It bugs him to not understand what’s going on around him, and in theory, this isn’t a huge mystery. He pulls up the time logs for the on-call analysis team and glances over it.

Whether he expected a simple coincidence or a mostly-female staff now that could sound similar, Steve’s not sure, but what he finds infuriates him by proxy. He stops himself from looking up the personnel file for your employee number though. He’s not so mad as to break that protocol.

For another week or so, he fights the urge to hang up on you and call again since he knows there are likely at least three other people available. It probably wouldn’t make his point clear because Steve doesn’t know what his point is yet. Instead, he grits his teeth and does his work, oblivious to his annoyance growing.

Until Christmas Eve when he walks by the lobby coffee bar just as he’s dialing your team’s hotline.

He doesn’t notice at first but the woman next in a long line to order scurries out to hold the phone to her ear, pinning it to her shoulder and opening her laptop right there as she stands. He hears your response echo in both his ears and looks up.

“You gotta be shitting me,” he huffs, stomping over.

It’s only when he snatches your phone away that you realize he’s there. “Oh, gosh, sir—I mean, hello, Captain.”

“What are you doing?!”

He’s downright terrifying when angry, and his fury coupled with your alarm makes you shrink in your own skin.

“I—I just—“

“What is this? Day nine? In a row?!” His voice cracks slightly as he barks out questions he already knows the answer to. He sees people staring around you, so he points down the far hall. “Conference room, now.”

He keeps your phone in hand and ignores it ringing three times before you even make it to the giant table. You look tired. He complains it’s unhealthy but when you try to say something he cuts you off and asks when you last ate. That’s simple, right? You have to feed yourself.

“I was in line, sir. That’s what I was doing.”

“Then you shouldn’t have answered the phone. Sit there, no, right there.” He points and presses one finger against the wood for emphasis. “You don’t move. You don’t leave this room. I’m taking this—“ he pockets your phone “—and you sit there.”

As he’s about to let the door close behind him, he turns. “And if you so much as touch that laptop…”

It’s explicitly clear that you are still terrified, but you nod.

He comes back with food from their private lounge, a variety since he doesn’t know if you have restrictions or allergies. There’s water and coffee already in the room. He sits and eats something with you, staring until you munch on a few things.

When he’s satisfied, he stands and hands back your silenced phone. “I don’t want to catch you overworking like this again, you hear?”

Your very wide eyes blink twice.

He takes that as yes, wraps his knuckles on the table, and goes back to his own work.

Steve gets exactly what he wants. You log long—but no extra—shifts all the way through to New Year. He never hears your voice when he’s not supposed to.

Except…he celebrated the clock striking midnight with Wilson, Torres, and some other employees on the roof, and after the crowd dissipated, Steve couldn’t get to sleep. He walks (wanders) the halls when this happens. The building is empty.

Of course, the building is not empty, so Steve smacks the glass door open in frustration.

“Nobody works in this lab for third shift.”

You’re startled, ripping your headset off and half-rising from a rolling chair. “This is my shift, and…I’m not nobody.”

“Agreed,” he spits before realizing how that sounds. “Gah—“ he runs his hand through his hair, pulling harder than necessary “—this is insufferable.”

“Agreed,” you mumble, sitting back down with a questioning gaze.

Thinking of nothing else to say, Steve then bursts, “have you at least eaten?”

“Uh…it’s two in the morning. It’s not a meal time.” You flinch at his powerful huff. “Have you? Do you need to eat, Captain Rogers?”

You point him toward a tiny table.

Of course, the phone rings, but he stares you down. “Are there other people working remotely?”

“Yeah but—“

“But what,” he says in a very specific way to indicate there is no correct response except—

“Nothing. I am actually supposed to work though.”

“Seventy-plus hours this week and you still think it’s required?” Steve kicks himself internally. He just showed his hand.

“No…?”

“Just stop—“ He doesn’t get to finish.

His phone rings, and he suddenly can’t say squat. Steve simply answers it, wearing the most sternly disappointed face he can muster, and leaves.

He gets bold. Something about the anger boiling up inside him at the whole situation makes him far more aggressive at trying to change your habits, more so now that he’s seen your face. You’re not a 2-D sound anymore. You’re real, and you really work too much.

He keeps a closer track of the time logs and sees you’ve, in fact, reduced your hours. Then he hears Torres say something about ‘you rock, Genie’ on the phone…nine hours after he spoke to you that morning. So he checks and you’re not on-call. That’s when he realizes you’ve been working after and before clocking in so it looks like you have no overtime.

That’s nonsensical to Steve. He’s livid.

He picks out one of the burner phones constantly available to his Team and does something he’s not super proud of but feels justified in: he looks up your address in your file. It ends up not being a huge deal because you live in an apartment complex almost entirely rented out by compound employees. Still. Steve folds in his own self-condemnation with his fury at your deceit.

And you lied. You lied to him.

He drives over and stands by the door, flips open the phone, and calls the hotline.

“Ready,” a female voice chirps. It’s customary. No chit-chat just immediately prepared to listen to and research the caller’s question, but he can’t be sure it’s you from one word. Then Steve realizes he can’t say anything because he’ll give away that he also knows you have screened his calls from his normal number during times you are supposed to be off.

“Unclear. Weak audio connection. Boosting in three, two—“

Steve pounds on your door because goddamnit, stop working, woman. There’s a very sharp squeak from the phone (and through the entry) before the line cuts out. His heart rate and breathing spike in anger when he hears a muffled, “what do you want?”

It’s sad, not quizzical or alarmed. You’ve looked through the peephole at him.

“Open the door,” Steve says in his Captain voice, and you do, right away, unable to not comply. He wiggles the phone. “I know for a fact three other people are on-call. Explain yourself.”

You’ve also straightened in anger, but the posture is defensive and fragile. “It’s not like my work suffers, and I can keep going—“

“Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should,” he barks back, stepping over the threshold and blocking the entire doorway. “And you suffer even if the work doesn’t.”

You have no rebuttal for a long moment, frowning at his intrusion until you try again.

“Well, you…you’ve been up since at least five—“

“I have a physical advantage to handle more than you on less sleep.”

Your face sours further. “And that makes you better than me?!”

He’s defeated by that, having first scared the daylights out of you by yelling in the atrium, then interrupting you at the lab, and now showing up at your home to yell some more. Steve isn’t at all sure what’s gotten into him.

His shoulders sink. He finally takes a second to look around.

“You’re done. You are off work for the night. Do not pick up that phone.” He snatches it away again. “Just do something else.”

Without moving your feet, your whole body swivels to look around your apartment. You fill the silence with a short sniffle before confessing, “I…I don’t have anything else to do.”

Neither does he. Steve has not a single clue what he’d do if he were told the exact same thing.

“It won’t fit,” you gasp in frustration.

Steve sighs. “You’re making this harder than it needs to be.” He continues to watch you struggle, leaning forward just enough so his breath fans over your face. “Go on. You can do it. It’s meant to be.”

“Shut up,” you whimper before dropping the slippery piece in defeat.

“You know in real life—“ he clucks his tongue “—they make cars big enough for your brood there.”

“Steve, this is the game of LIFE. I don’t know that anyone is supposed to end up with five children and a spouse. I’ll just have to strap him to the top of the van.”

As you delicately lay the little man to the side, Steve frowns.

“That’s no way to treat your beloved second son!”

“Who said it was my son I kicked outta the car?”

He barely stifles a laugh and goes to spin for his turn, but not Steve’s turn.

In order to make the game last longer, and because you both have somewhat alter egos, you are playing with Steve, Captain America, Genie, and yourself.

Genie has apparently been super busy having five children. It’s ridiculous.

So Captain America scores one for his perfect little life: a mansion.

“Look at you, Mister Two-Kids-and-A-White-Picket-Fence,” you chide.

One boy and one girl, of course. It’s now the running joke of the game that everyone’s life is terrible compared to Cap’s, even Steve’s.

Steve has three sons, and he keeps grumbling that he wants a daughter. You have offered him one of yours. He feigned offense. He openly hopes to avoid ending up like Genie though.

“I guess I’m just very dedicated to servicing my customers,” you joke in your best phone voice.

Steve sputters and blushes, putting down his to-go container in favor of sipping more water.

He withheld your phone to order, too, and insisted on paying for the obscene amount of food (because he eats like a horse, it seems). In addition, you are required to have half a glass of water every time your phone goes off. Self-care, he says. Hydration is good.

His phone has vibrated a few times as well, and because he’s him, Steve always answers to make absolutely sure it’s not urgent. He talks in his Captain voice, which gave you the idea to make him play the board game like that. He’s actually quite funny trying to get it together and ‘act the part’ while he spins a tiny rainbow dial that he’s already broken twice.

The air of irritation he arrived with has dissipated, and he smiles more. It makes you smile to see him relax. He’s more animated than you would have guessed. He holds himself very straight and still as Cap; Steve is a lot more approachable and a lot easier to make fun of.

He almost left in a completely flabbergasted huff when his original suggestion was for you to have a hot bath or something. Your quick “what are you gonna do? Watch me?” made Steve nearly crawl out of his skin in apology, but you decided to put him out of his misery and suggested eating instead.

“Right. Food,” he muttered under his breath, “that’s a good, basic life requirement…”

And that’s when you also had the idea for this game.

Best decision ever.

He’s never played, so you only made it through a few turns before the delivery arrived. Steve is practically a natural…a natural loser, that is, and it somehow makes him even more perfect. As Cap, he fights for justice, but he doesn’t fight over game rules or what’s fair about random cards and moving in an arbitrary pattern on the board. He doesn’t care if he wins, and oddly, you feel like the gleam in his eyes says “I’m winning by just being here.”

You feel the same. This is the most fun you’ve had in a long time, and it’s just a stupid foldout piece of cardboard. He’s just that magical.

So you both hide away in your own little bottle all night.

More jabs, more setbacks, more triumphant returns from behind later, and you barely care who wins. You chat absently between every spin. You have too much fun going wild with your alter ego’s stories. Then it’s past the three-hour mark of no-calls and quite late.

The food isn’t all gone, so you hop up to make Steve a doggy bag to take home. He shifts from relaxed to wildly awkward in the space of your walk back over.

“So,” he drawls, staring at your two phones on the coffee table, side by side and silent.

“So,” you mimic with a smirk, “I promise to not work until tomorrow, logged in or not. You have my word. Scouts’ honor.”

“I’d say I trust you—“ he bobs his head around, thinking “—but I don’t, so I might have to check up on you.”

“Oh dear,” you gasp. “A home visit? Expected or unexpected?”

He clearly feels bad about how he ended up here for the night, but Steve steps forward to take the wrapped offering of leftovers.

“Maybe expected. Next week? Same time?”

“Sure. I can survive on eating once a week.” It’s cheeky and a little forward of you, implying you might only eat with him and so he should see you that much more, but Steve beams.

He squints a little. “Or maybe sooner?”

“I’d like that. This…this was fun.” You step closer to gently kiss his cheek. “Thank you, Captai—Steve. Thanks.”

“Next time, I want a daughter,” he laughs, tilting to kiss your cheek, too, and then he jumps back and slaps his forehead. “No. Not like. I’m so sorry. That came out all wrong.”

You cackle while he still tries to correct himself.

“We can play the game. And in the game, it would be nice if—would you stop? I didn’t mean it like that.”

A few big breaths has you settling but just barely.

“I know, but hey, maybe next time you’ll be the one tied up?”

Steve swallows hard with huge eyes.

“To the top of the van, that is, because you would give up your seat for the children, right?”

Yeah, he would, he agrees and sees himself out, adding one more good night as he plucks his phone back, pushing it into his pocket next to the burner.

On his ride home, he already has the urge to check.

“Hey,” you answer immediately. “What’s up?”

“You aren’t supposed to pick up. You promised,” he snorts, smiling.

“But I knew it was you.”

He’ll be mad at that eventually. He should be mad at that. He could give another Captain speech about overworking and caring for yourself and yadda yadda, but not today.

No. Not today.

Today, you cared for each other, even though you didn’t know how, even though you didn’t want to, even though it was hard. Tomorrow, you can both care even more.

Immediately started bawling. Whoops.

Reminder to self: it isn't even the big things that make you feel cared for. Sometimes it's just a very simple joy.

[Main Masterlist]

[astarkey]

So I was tagged forever ago by my lovelies @archeryqueen95, and @bloodychamber, that I decided to combine the tag games since they're basically the same thing. Thank you so much for tagging me guys, and I'm so sorry I'm now getting around to doing them! 🙏🏽💖 The last few months have not been so kind to me at all 😔

Last movie: Scandal (1950)

Last show: I Dream of Jeannie

Last song: Pure Morning // Placebo

Song stuck in my head: Foe // Blackmail

Favorite color: Purple and black

Currently reading: Nothing at the moment

Currently watching: Seinfeld, Wellington Paranormal, Dexter's Laboratory, King of the Hill, Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, The Mighty Boosh, The IT Crowd, Sweet Home (even though I'm having a hard time trying to go through this latest season since I stopped halfway into episode 5. Idk how to feel about it 😔), Community, Alice in Borderland and The Wayans Bros.

Next on your to watchlist: Bargain, The Bequeathed, and Shining Vale

Currently consuming: Well I was consuming some Ruffles sour cream & onion chips lol.

Currently craving: Beef lo mein and general tso's chicken from Szechuan, even though I don't think I'm going back there to eat for a while.

Sweet/spicy/savory: Sweet and savory :p

Relationship status: Still single, even though I tried to change that status last year 😣 Still trying this year.

Current obsession: I think the Yakuza series. Like I was obsessed with it's spin-off Judgement series last year, which I guess is in that same universe, and now I got into Yakuza just because I was curious and wanted to know more about the universe since I finished the Judgement games.

3 favorite foods: Mac and cheese, tacos, and cheese pizza.

Last thing you googled: avatar netflix

Dream trip: Take a road trip across the country to go to the west coast. Maybe travel to Spain, France, Italy, or Japan.

Anything I want right now: For my dad to be okay and to make it through another night at the hospital 😔

I'm tagging (no obligations!) @onyxheartbeat, @bonnielass23, @heatherannchristie, @the-highest-most-exalted-one, @eizagonzalezs, @alwaysupatnight, @lilmissuncreative, @astriferias, @georgieharrisons, @musicrunsthroughmysoul, @esteblogsiesp0rn0, @mediumrarefallingcow, @bustedandblue, @camiladnne, @userlestat, @bentcoppers, @weloveachother and anyone else who wants to do this! 💕

[jeanniebug623]

Expect a new chapter of Weaving the Web before the end of the night! 🕷️🕸️

Pardon the typo in MJ’s option…I posted too quick, it’s supposed to say “before life got hard”. 🥲

[simm-mouse]

Happy birthday Sims 2 and Tycho!!!🎊🎊🎂🎊🎊

I unfortunately don't have time to make a drawing for today as I have to go to work, So please accept my sketches I made at work on Monday as a sacrifice for this day. I know Emperor Xizzle is From the DS version, but come on, How could I not draw the future mayor of Strangetown

[auryborealis]

Am curious (but also I would actually like some suggestions because if you've followed me for a while, you'd know that I'm an indecisive af person)..

What sort of voice do you imagine Yuna having?

As of now, I've considered:

Britt Baron (Tifa Lockhart in Final Fantasy 7 Remake)

Jeannie Tirado (Female Byleth in Fire Emblem: Three Houses) though I do know that she provides dubbed voice for Koala

Kira Buckland (2B from NieR: Automata)

[mermaidsirennikita]

your latest review made me curious about regency/historical romances featuring the servants or working class characters, how prevalent are they? any you would recommend?

It's not really prevalent, and there are several reasons why.

a) many (not all) historical romance writers do suffer from classist or elitist streaks, and tbh, a lot of historical romance readers also suffer from this streak. There's historically (get it) been this uplifting of not only the wealth that comes with the elite, but simply the title. Like, a lot of dukes have plots where they don't have any money, and that's not new; but them being dukes keeps them "above" and thus venerated by the genre.

b) there is also a big race problem in historical romance. Think the Julia Quinn "I don't write people of color because people of color don't have happy endings" mentality--she's not the only one with that mindset (and I'm gonna be real, in one of the multiple situations where she made comments like this, Eloisa James was pretty much backing her up right there). Not that people of color were inherently working class at all, but I do think that if we had seen more diversity in general in historical romance from the jump, we would also 100% see more working class people depicted in historical romance.

c) there is, either way, an element of fantasy involved. I work very hard for my money, and I'm living paycheck to paycheck nonetheless. I think that there should be more depictions of working class love in historical romance, but I'd be lying to you if I said I sought out books in which, at the end of the story, money remains a big concern for people. It's very stressful for me, versus relatable; and I don't think I'm alone there. There relatability perhaps comes from money being a concern at the beginning, but for me to feel okay with an HEA, I don't want it to be an active concern at the end. This doesn't mean people need to be SUPER WEALTHY or that it needs to be a huge plot factor. But I think this is why the concept of the "interclass" romance exists, or the person who began working class but has become super rich before the story even began. You can start struggling, but you can't end struggling for a lot of readers.

And this, considering my previous point, goes across the racial divide in historical romance--Beverly Jenkins writers about Black characters in the 1800s, but her heroes often come from wealth, or are at least quite comfortable (and often her heroines are the same). Jeannie Lin writes Tang Dynasty Chinese characters who are often of the extreme upper classes. And I think these choices do an extra layer of work when people are writing about people of color, because there is this idea pushed that all people of color did in the past was suffer under white oppression, which ignores thriving communities, massively expansive eras of history, culture, etc. Beverly Jenkins in particular does great work with exploring the different levels of class in 1800s Black America; Forbidden and Indigo are so compelling on that level. As much as the heroines are "working class", the heroes are both wealthy upon meeting them, influential, etc.

So what you will see a lot of is books with the "working class hero has gotten rich", like Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas. Neither Derek nor Sara are upper class. She's decidedly middle class, though she makes a good living as an author. She doesn't have titled parents, she doesn't come from a grand house, but she does come from "respectable stock" and is well-bred enough for Derek to feel a way about it. Derek comes from the literal gutter and was essentially a sex worker for years before getting rich enough to invest in his own gambling club. His entire identity is wrapped up in him being lower class and considering himself less than Sara--he can't ever truly drop his accent, no matter how hard he works at it. But he is also.... super rich, lol. Her other self made men are similar; Simon Hunt is looked down on by his heroine initially for being poorly bred, but he's much wealthier than her from the jump and is tight with an earl. Evie Jenner and Sebastian St. Vincent flip this, in a sense. Her mom married down when she got with a gambling club owner, but his money makes Evie an heiress and Sebastian is well-bred but poor, so it all works out.

Lorraine Heath does similar stuff--in her Scoundrels of St. James series, you have one hero who grew up impoverished much of his life but was a secret nobleman, Jack Dodger grew up poor but became wealthy, James Swindler grew up on the streets and is now a respected inspector who probably isn't making a ton of money but is comfortable and has friends in high places and doesn't really want for anything. Kerrigan Byrne has several heroes who grew up in the dredges but are now like, criminal masterminds with tons of money.

I feel like Thief of Shadows by Elizabeth Hoyt gets like... close....? Because Winter is a poor schoolmaster, and though his heroine is a society lady, she's also a widow and she would have to give some shit up to be with him, for sure. Hoyt is much more interested in working class people than a lot of writers, imo--The Leopard Prince has a steward hero (but he gets with an heiress), Scandalous Desires has a heroine who also works at the orphanage and her hero is not upper class at all (but he is a rich pirate--I mean, shit does happen there), Sweetest Scoundrel has a heroine who is not poor but is not legitimate either, and a hero who's trying to build his business.

I can't think of many about servants that don't involve the servant getting with someone who is not a servant, lol. Like, a lot of people recommend An Offer from a Gentleman as the classic "servant heroine" romance, and I'll be real, I super dislike that book in general because I find it boring and the hero is a total flop... But also, the heroine gets with Thee Most Idle Riche guy ever (he's a painter! he doesn't even have rent to collect! Anthony is at least sending out strongly worded "the rent is due" reminders, which... look, there are problems with truly upper class heroes, for sure lol) and it's like... okay..... When a "servant/upper class person" romance hits for me, it hits, but I can be a hard sell. I think the one I've liked most was probably The Leopard Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt, and that was again, a steward hero and an heiress heroine.

Anyway, I have a lot of feelings, on to more recs that might scratch the itch:

The Queer Principles of Kit Webb by Cat Sebastian--the book actually examines class a lot, and while one hero is the son of a duke, there are.......... many things explored there. It's also just super romantic and good and I love it.

Glory and the Master of Shadows by Grace Callaway--the heroine is 1/4 Chinese (but it's not really something she can publicly acknowledge for reasons relating to her birth and her parents'... complex past) and the hero is Chinese and came to England as a young man. She's the daughter of a duke, but he obviously does not come from any kind of title or even heritage the English aristocracy will acknowledge, and I found the dynamic in this one super compelling in terms of how the heroine connected with him over their shared cultural backgrounds that he was super in touch with already, while she felt disconnected.

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by K.J. Charles--one hero is a minor baron but to be blunt he doesn't have a lot of money and power, while the other hero is "working class", but is a powerful smuggler, so the dynamics examined here are super interesting

A Rogue's Rules for Seduction by Eva Leigh--heroine is upper class but doesn't have a lot of money, hero is working class but his family made a lot of cash when he was young, so he remembers being poor but is not now, but still feels that level of being ostracized

What A Rogue Desires by Caroline Linden--this one has a con artist heroine and a second son hero, who actually has to like... shape the fuck up to be worthy of her, which I liked a lot

Any Duchess Will Do by Tessa Dare--very classic class divide, heroine was a barmaid, hero is a duke

But yeah, honestly, I can't think of any books that have worked for me where both sides are not well off--and I think that's partially on me and my taste, but also on the genre making them not super like... popular, accessible, whatever. Often, when you do see the supporting or "servant" characters getting a love story, it'll be in a novella.

[stargatebarbie]

tempted to say sinkhole BUT I am curious about Back On Earth

Back on Earth is me being incredibly self-indulgent and writing mcshep shore leave in Australia. Basically John was planning on a surfing trip and Rodney accidentally invites himself along and then freaks the fuck out because "everything there wants to kill you, Sheppard!"

Really, it was Jeannie’s fault. If she hadn’t been on a cruise of all things with Madison and her English teacher, then Rodney would have had somewhere to go for his shore leave, and when asked to inform the SGC of his itinerary over the next eight days (so they know where to contact him when they invariably needed him to save their asses from some world-ending catastrophe) he had panicked. Weren’t cruises supposed to be some sort of massive pollutant? What kind of environmentalist was she?

[spurious]

Five Times Rodney (and John) Visit the Millers

Jeannie isn’t sure why her brother has brought John Sheppard to her house with him. She’d gotten a last-minute phone call and made up the guest room, but somehow had missed Meredith using the word we, as though Jeannie should just expect him to bring a guest to her home, as though that was something they did.

Neither does Jeannie have a handle on what, precisely, the relationship between the two of them is. John Sheppard is exactly the kind of man with whom Meredith tends toward sort of bizarre obsessions—Jeannie had used the word “crush” within his earshot once, and the ensuing screaming frankly wasn’t worth the more accurate vernacular—and that bore out when he repeatedly accused Sheppard of hitting on her the first time they met, but she can’t seem to figure out what John Sheppard’s angle is. He seems to vacillate between schoolyard teasing and surprisingly thoughtful doting, where Meredith is concerned, which makes Jeannie feel both protective and charmed, by turns. Unlike Meredith, Sheppard expresses no complaints about sharing the guest room’s queen size bed, behaves with truly impeccable houseguest manners that make Jeannie curious how he’d grown up, and Madison loves him, almost immediately starting to call him “Uncle John” and taking him on a tour of the cardboard stables she’s created for her stuffed horses.

They stay for three days, and on the evening of the second, as Sheppard is helping with the dishes after dinner (because he’d insisted—again, truly impeccable houseguest manners), Jeannie can’t keep herself from saying something.

(Read on AO3)

[jhsharman]

one little dot

Curious that they added a navel. I do not think I see it elsewhere. But I guess it follows along with its loose source inspiration.

In 1951, the United States Code of Practices for Television Broadcasters came into force, which, besides other things, prohibited female navel exposure on American television. During the 1960s, Barbara Eden was not allowed to show her navel on the NBC TV show I Dream of Jeannie (1965–70). Her pants had to be worn above the navel, which became ineffective. After a few frames of her navel exposure went unnoticed, they decided to use fabric and skin-colored makeup to conceal her navel. Her costume became low-rise (without censorship) in 1985 and in 2013, 81-year-old Eden attended the Life Ball event in Vienna dressed in the same costume of I Dream of Jeannie but revealing her navel.

They tried to get the navel on via a guest appearance on Laugh In, though as I now scan the videos to see when and where they pan over to Goldie Hawn's as they move about painted slogans on her body -- I am not sure you saw her belly button too much either.

In the manner Archie Comics is following trendlines -- and best I can see they do not add navels to old comic book stories without them -- and here I skip to the years issues of Betty and Veronica Summer Fun to mark deliniations. It appears that in 1968, they pop in and out and then when you skip over to 1969 -- there they are. Right there on the first page -- on a page analyzed in the scholarly work of Bart Beaty in his book Twelve Cent Archie: